Zipporah

Learn: Matthew 10:37-39

He that loveth father or mother more than me is not worthy of me: and he that loveth son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me. And he that taketh not his cross, and followeth after me is not worthy of me. He that findeth his life shall lose it: and he that loseth his life for my sake shall finds it.

Read: Exodus 2:11-25

1.Verse 11 states that this incident occurred when Moses was grown. According to Acts 7:23, what was Moses’ age at this time?

2. Moses grew up and was trained in the household of Pharaoh. He was trained to hold an important position in the kingdom of Egypt, maybe to even become the next Pharaoh. But though he had been trained to be Egyptian, we can see by his actions that Moses’ heart was not aligned with Egypt, but instead he viewed himself as a ________________.  vv 11, 12   Also see Acts 7:23, 24.

3. It seems that the smiting of the Hebrew by the Egyptian killed the man, and Moses in his zeal for his people took revenge and killed that Egyptian. According to Acts 7:25, what did Moses already know that the Hebrews did not know?

4. What made the difference in the life of Moses so that he would give up all the riches and power of Egypt?  Hebrews 11:24

5. Moses had worldly training to lead a nation and the knowledge of the need of his people. He also had an understanding of God’s call on his life, but he was not yet ready to lead Israel out of Egypt. What response by two Hebrew men opened up his eyes to the reality of the fact he was not qualified or yet prepared for the role of leader of Israel?  vv 13, 14  Also see Acts 7:26-28.

6. Because of his actions, which aligned him with the Hebrews rather than the Egyptians who had adopted him, Moses knew that he was not safe in Egypt. Where did he go?  v 15 

7. In verse 16 we are introduced to the priest of Midian. Use the following Scripture to give a picture of who this man was, and who he worshiped. Exodus 2:18; 3:1; 18:1, 9-12, 19-23

8. What do verses 16, 17 tell us about the man Moses?

9. How did Zipporah become the wife of Moses?  vv 18-21

10. Zipporah gave Moses a son. What was he named and why?  v 22

11. What happened to change the quiet life of Moses and Zipporah that they shared in the land of Midian?  Exodus 2:23-25; 3:1-10 Give a brief summary. Read: Exodus 4:18-26

12. What did Moses do in response to God’s call?  v 18 

13. How did Moses know that it was safe for him to return to Egypt?  v 19

14. From verse 20 we learn that Zipporah had given Moses another son besides Gershom, what was his name and why was he so named?  Exodus 18:4

15. Who traveled to Egypt with Moses? v 20

16. What was Moses commission from God?  vv 20-23

17. How was Zipporah a hindrance to the call that God put on the life of Moses?  vv 24-26

18. It is clear from these verses that Moses had disobeyed the LORD’S command in order to please his wife Zipporah. What was that command that Moses disobeyed?  Genesis 17:9-14

19. What warning are we given by the Lord concerning this attitude of disobeying the Lord in order to please a loved one?  Matthew 10:32-39   Especially note verses 37, 38.

NOTE: We may criticize Moses for his disobedience because of the pressure of Zipporah, but how many times do we hold back from sharing the gospel, and standing up for truth because we don’t want to upset or offend those around us, and because we want to be accepted.

20. As Christians, what should be our desire and highest goal as we live our lives?    Colossians 3:22-24; Ephesians 6:7

21. From this Scripture we know that God made it evident to both Moses and Zipporah exactly why Moses’ life was in jeopardy. Even though Zipporah obeyed God’s command, what attitude did she display? vv 25, 26, Read: Exodus 18:1-11

22. The last time that we hear of Zipporah is found in Exodus 18. From what we read in verse 2, we understand that Zipporah was not with Moses when he was doing the LORD’S work in Egypt. Where was she and why? vv 1, 2

23. Where was Moses when Zipporah and their sons were reunited?  v 5

24. In this reunion we see that Moses shared all that God had done for Israel with his father-in-law. How did Jethro answer all that Moses told him?  vv 9-11

25. There is no mention of Zipporah, other than that she was present and then stayed with her husband 

Moses. We are left only with the ____________________attitude that she displayed when she 

circumcised the boys in order to save Moses’ life found Exodus 4. 

26. How does the LORD regard a rebellious attitude?  I Samuel 15:23

27. What lessons can we learn from the life of Zipporah which is found in God’s Word?