After Zipporah took a flint knife and cut off her son's foreskin, why did she touch Moses’ feet with it?

Sincerely,
Not A Doctor

Dear Not A Doctor,

Zipporah didn’t touch Moses’ feet with the foreskin; she cast the foreskin at his feet (Ex 4:25).  Zipporah threw the circumcised foreskin at Moses’ feet because it was Moses’ Hebrew heritage that required the circumcision.  Moses was a descendant of Abraham, and all of Abraham’s descendants needed to be circumcised because of the covenant between God and Abraham (Gen 17:10-11).  Zipporah was not a Hebrew from birth – it was her marriage to Moses that forced her to circumcise their son.  That is why she threw the circumcised foreskin at Moses’ feet and told him that he was her “groom of blood” (Ex 4:26).  Her marriage to Moses forced her to shed her own son’s blood in circumcising him.

The Bible in Genesis 6:3 says that no man will live past 120.  There have been a couple of people that have lived past 120 in recent history.  How can you explain this?

Sincerely,
Full Of Life

Dear Full Of Life,

Gen 6:3 isn’t a statement concerning the maximum age for all people; it was how long God would wait until flooding the earth.  Genesis 6 is the beginning of the account of Noah’s flood.  God said that He would only put up with the wickedness of mankind for another 120 years because all their thoughts and ways were evil (Gen 6:5-7).  During that 120-year period, God tasked Noah with building an ark for the safety of his family and the collection of all the animal kinds (Gen 6:13-21).  That verse is a flood verse, not a proclamation of the age limit for humans.

Is it plausible to say that "Wisdom" is an actual spiritual being of some sort?  Reading Proverbs seems to give me that impression.

Sincerely,
Scratching My Head

Dear Scratching My Head,

Proverbs uses figurative language to talk about the importance of wisdom, but wisdom isn’t a physical being.  The verses you are referring to are found in Proverbs 8.  The figurative language being used is called ‘personification’.  Personification gives human characteristics to an object, animal, or in this case, an idea.  Pr 8:2 talks about wisdom standing in the streets, and Pr 8:12 says wisdom “dwells in prudence”.  These are both great examples of personification.

Do you believe that Joseph, while being a slave in Egypt, had access to the Scriptures, so he could be filled with God's Holy Word in order to be able to withstand all that he had to endure, including Potiphar's wife?

Sincerely,
Looking for a Librarian

Dear Looking for a Librarian,

Joseph didn’t have access to the Scriptures because the first books of the Bible weren’t written until long after Joseph died.  Genesis through Deuteronomy were written by Moses – several generations after Joseph.  God gave the Jews the Old Testament Law when they went to Mt. Sinai (Num 3:1, Jhn 1:17).  Though the life of Joseph and his temptations are recorded in Genesis, Joseph didn’t have the book of Genesis in his lifetime.

What is the meaning behind Psalms 56:8?  What does God do with the tears He collects?

Sincerely,
Kleenex Please

Dear Kleenex Please,

The Psalms are poetry, and they use poetic language.  God doesn’t physically collect tears, but He is aware of all of our sorrows (Ex 3:7).  God numbers the hairs on our head and is aware of all that goes on in our lives (Lk 12:6-7).  No matter how deep our suffering may be, God has compassion on us (Heb 4:15).