We have moved on from Exodus chapter 4 in our study together as a church, but I can't get Zipporah out of my head...some might say she just isn't that interesting... but to me she is fascinating. I have to go back to chapter 2, however, to explore my connection to her. She was one of the seven daughters of the priest of Midian that Moses' finds at the well...trying to draw water for their sheep, but having to step aside for the oppression of male domination. I wonder if shepherding was mostly a male occupation - and perhaps Reuel (also known as Jethro) simply didn't have any sons. Perhaps the world of shepherding was a "man's world" much like many occupations today - in which women find themselves, either by necessity or desire, operating under conditions of gender inequality. How was it that Moses, a man, had power over these male shepherds and was able to rescue the seven sisters? Was his class reflected in his clothes and manner? He was clearly outnumbered. What exactly did he do? It is hard not to read this as the typical "knight in shining armor" hero story. But this chafes at our modern-day feminist tendencies.
And yet, I find myself in this story. I think back to the little girl, her baby sister, and her mother, who were rescued from the an abusive, alcoholic man - rescued by my uncle and grandfather. We were whisked away to a new life to start over.
And Zipporah was one of these women. She is given to Moses as a wife. Perhaps she, like most young women, longed to get out from under the loving authority of her father. Perhaps she was attracted to the exotic, foreign nature of this powerful man, Moses. Maybe she felt stifled as a shepherdess and daughter of a priestess and saw in a Moses a way out. She probably didn't have much say in this decision - but perhaps the spark in her was more than Reuel knew how to handle and giving her in marriage to such a unique stranger was a way out for Reuel as well.
If we are believers of the story of the people of God, then we must, at the very least, believe that God's hand was in this. Moses and Zipporah turn out to be an quite and interesting couple. I realize that I am projecting my own issues of dysfunctional relationships with men on Zipporah and want to find in her story a way of redemption in male-female relationships. I have lived with an abusive, alcoholic man; a passive-agressive man; and an arrogant, avoidant man. Yet, somehow, I still have a desire for healthy relationships with men. Some sisters, with similar stories, have simply decided that "all men suck". That could be a tempting route to take, but I have been blessed with two young men whom I am left to raise - most of the time without their father around. I do not desire a disparaging attitude to become a part of their formation. Instead, I deeply desire to invite them into the story of redemption that I am now a part of.
The story of Moses and Zipporah really gets interesting in chapter 4 - when God is so angry with Moses that he is ready to kill him. And Zipporah does something startling - she cuts off her sons' foreskin - and somehow assuages God's wrath. Zipporah saves Moses. Somehow, in my mind, this adds balance to Moses' act of heroism at the beginning of their relationship. Their salvation is actually found in God alone, but He has allowed their relationship to become a stage for the redemptive story - where we really do need each other to find and be in right relationship with God.
So, thank you to my brothers (and my sisters) who surround me with God's love, both giving and receiving, as we move foward toward this redemption together. I think I will not, actually, leave Zipporah behind, but carry her story with me along with my own on our journey together.
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