Live Wire…

Mountains…

While thinking about the Mountains ahead for the Israelites as they headed out into the desert, for some reason Zipporah and her sons popped into my mind. Little is said about her, save the role she played on the night God and Moses fought, in the encampment just before re-entering Pharaohs domain. Beyond that incident, little can be found, aside from the brief mention when Moses sent her home and again when her father brought her back to him. You know, I’d never really given much thought to what things may have been like for the wife and children of Moses.

It’s one thing to pursue your calling, as say a priest or holy man… today I suppose that would be a preacher, or perhaps a missionary. Whether it be modern or ancient times, my thinking is that it’s fairly important for your family and/or loved ones to be on board with your calling, if you want their support. What must it have been like for Zipporah, as well as the couples’ children? Can I go as far as to speculate that the kids possibly felt like Pastors kids? Of course, a great majority of pastors kids are born into the lifestyle… I’m pretty sure that Moses family all came on the scene before he even returned to Egypt, so the adjustment must have been a bit more difficult.

To first pack up and follow Moses all the way to Egypt, and then be sent all the way back home with the kids could not have been easy for any involved. I understand that family coexistence dynamics back then, were different from the way they are now… but the logistics alone, of moving your whole household back in with dad, must have felt daunting to Zipporah after months of travel in both directions. Meanwhile, Moses ministry must have cost him many sleepless nights… alone, without his partner and helpmate to bring him comfort and reassurance. If I simply look at this from my own personal perspective, it just seems like it would be tough.

Remember earlier when I mentioned the importance of All your family being on board for support… a perfect example is where Jethro packs his daughter and her sons up, along with all their things… again… and hand delivers them to Moses out in the middle of the desert. Based off the valuable advice he offered, and the time Jethro took to help Moses while he visited, I think it’s safe to say that he was fully supportive.

The path that the Israelites were about to follow would be a long one, though none of them realized this yet. If Zipporah knew of the actual time commitment this journey would require, I’m not sure she would’ve been so willing to follow her husband. God is wise enough to withhold the timetable of most of what He does, because, if we always knew how long a thing might take… most likely, we’d not be willing to even show up! Did you know that the Israelites could have gotten to the promise land in about 11 days, had they just gone straight there? All of Gods people had mountains to get through, many of which had nothing to do with the actual traveling part of the trip.

Over the next few weeks, we will be camping with these spiritually unruly children, as the God of all wisdom takes His kids to school and grows a Village …

Today, I share 2 songs I like for this Live Wire Sunday, one is How Far by Tasha Layton, and the other is Never Walk Alone by Hope Darst.