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Exodus 16-18

1. Why had Moses sent his wife and sons away? (Exodus 18:2-3)

Jethro, Moses’ father-in-law, took Moses’ wife Zipporah, after he had sent her away, and her two sons (Exodus 18:2-3).

We need to recall that while Moses first intended to bring his wife and sons with him to Egypt, they do not actually continue with him to Egypt. Why? It likely had to do with the strange incident found in Exodus 4:24-26, where the LORD tried to kill Moses. On that occasion we learn that Zipporah, Moses' wife, circumcised her son (perhaps the younger, Eliezer) and threw it at Moses' feet. It has been suggested that Moses and Zipporah failed to do this as prescribed in the Covenant with Abraham. As one commentator has ably argued, Zipporah may have been both culprit and savior here (see Ronald Allen's exposition entitled "The Bloody Bridegroom in Exodus 4:24-26"). As a Midianite, she may have resisted the circumcision of her son, and Moses may have listened to her against the LORD's command for the sake of family harmony. But God ordained that anyone that fails to uphold this rite must be cut off from the people of God:

Any uncircumcised male, who has not been circumcised in the flesh, will be cut off from his people; he has broken my covenant (Genesis 17:14).

Therefore, the LORD was intent on killing Moses for his failure to obey this crucial command as one who would reintroduce the God of the Abrahamic Covenant to the people in Egypt. But Zipporah grudgingly follows through with the circumcision and rescues Moses from death.

But this may also be the reason that she did not continue with Moses to Egypt. Also, even after seeing her in Exodus 18, there is no indication that she remained with Moses. She may have returned with her father Jethro to Midian. What is more, this may be the reason Moses later took a second wife (cf. Numbers 12:1).

Therefore, Moses sent his wife and sons away because they may have become estranged from him over the matter of circumcision, and perhaps over the larger matter of following the LORD. This suggests also that Zipporah may have been "unsaved."

Here's another good discussion of this topic online: Moses and Zipporah