Exodus chapter 6
The LORD God will free his people. The genealogy of Moses and Aaron. Moses objects again.
THE LORD GOD WILL FREE HIS PEOPLE
VERSE 1. The LORD said to Moses, “Now you shall see what I will do to Pharaoh, for by a strong hand he shall let them go, and by a strong hand he shall drive them out of his land.”
Now you shall see what I will do. Previously, closeness with the LORD God was limited to just a few individuals. For example, Abraham and Isaac and Jacob.
But that was centuries ago. Those patriarchs are gone. And people’s memories of them have faded.
Now, all that is about to change. The LORD God will do tremendous things. They will take place in public, to be witnessed by everybody.
VERSE 2. God spoke to Moses, and said to him, “I am the LORD.
VERSE 3. I appeared to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob, as God Almighty; but by my name the LORD I was not known to them.
by my name the LORD. The Hebrew word is יְהוָ֔ה (“Yahweh”).
I was not known to them. Does this mean the great patriarchs didn’t know the LORD God?
VERSE 4. I have also established my covenant with them, to give them the land of Canaan, the land of their travels, in which they lived as aliens.
VERSE 5. Moreover I have heard the groaning of the children of Israel, whom the Egyptians keep in bondage, and I have remembered my covenant.
VERSE 6. Therefore tell the children of Israel, ‘I am the LORD, and I will bring you out from under the burdens of the Egyptians, and I will rid you out of their bondage, and I will redeem you with an outstretched arm, and with great judgments.
out from under the burdens of the Egyptians. Freedom is in store! They will no longer be slaves to the Egyptians! The LORD God will liberate them!
an outstretched arm. The LORD God will redeem them with an outstretched arm.
And the LORD Jesus Christ redeems us with his arms outstretched on the cross.
VERSE 7. I will take you to myself for a people. I will be your God; and you shall know that I am the LORD your God, who brings you out from under the burdens of the Egyptians.
VERSE 8. I will bring you into the land which I swore to give to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob; and I will give it to you for a heritage: I am the LORD.’ ”
VERSE 9. Moses spoke so to the children of Israel, but they didn’t listen to Moses for anguish of spirit, and for cruel bondage.
they didn’t listen to Moses. Moses was sent as emissary of the Most High God.
He is telling people the truth. It is the most exciting news people will have heard in their entire life.
Yet they didn’t believe him.
For people to accept a radically new idea, they need repeated exposures.
When we speak with people about Jesus Christ, we should not be surprised by a similar thing. A single instance of evangelism might not be effective.
People might need repeated exposures over the course of time, until they become convinced.
VERSE 10. The LORD spoke to Moses, saying,
VERSE 11. “Go in, speak to Pharaoh king of Egypt, that he let the children of Israel go out of his land.”
VERSE 12. Moses spoke before the LORD, saying, “Behold, the children of Israel haven’t listened to me. How then shall Pharaoh listen to me, when I have uncircumcised lips?”
How then shall Pharaoh listen to me. Moses is still worried about his own speaking ability. He repeats this complaint in verse 30, below.
When the LORD God calls us to do something, it is best if we focus our attention on the greatness of God.
Otherwise, if we focus on our own shortcomings, we will be plagued by doubt and uncertainty. We will be unlikely to act.
We often forget that God is limitlessly powerful. We often ask such trivial things of him. But he delights when we ask great and mighty things. Read more »
VERSE 13. The LORD spoke to Moses and to Aaron, and gave them a command to the children of Israel, and to Pharaoh king of Egypt, to bring the children of Israel out of the land of Egypt.
THE GENEALOGY OF MOSES AND AARON
VERSE 14. These are the heads of their fathers’ houses. The sons of Reuben the firstborn of Israel: Hanoch, and Pallu, Hezron, and Carmi; these are the families of Reuben.
VERSE 15. The sons of Simeon: Jemuel, and Jamin, and Ohad, and Jachin, and Zohar, and Shaul the son of a Canaanite woman; these are the families of Simeon.
VERSE 16. These are the names of the sons of Levi according to their generations: Gershon, and Kohath, and Merari; and the years of the life of Levi were one hundred thirty-seven years.
VERSE 17. The sons of Gershon: Libni and Shimei, according to their families.
VERSE 18. The sons of Kohath: Amram, and Izhar, and Hebron, and Uzziel; and the years of the life of Kohath were one hundred thirty-three years.
VERSE 19. The sons of Merari: Mahli and Mushi. These are the families of the Levites according to their generations.
VERSE 20. Amram took Jochebed his father’s sister to himself as wife; and she bore him Aaron and Moses. The years of the life of Amram were one hundred thirty-seven years.
his father’s sister to himself as wife. Amram married his own aunt.
In later centuries, inbreeding like this will be forbidden.
VERSE 21. The sons of Izhar: Korah, and Nepheg, and Zichri.
VERSE 22. The sons of Uzziel: Mishael, Elzaphan, and Sithri.
VERSE 23. Aaron took Elisheba, the daughter of Amminadab, the sister of Nahshon, as his wife; and she bore him Nadab and Abihu, Eleazar and Ithamar.
VERSE 24. The sons of Korah: Assir, Elkanah, and Abiasaph; these are the families of the Korahites.
VERSE 25. Eleazar Aaron’s son took one of the daughters of Putiel as his wife; and she bore him Phinehas. These are the heads of the fathers’ houses of the Levites according to their families.
VERSE 26. These are that Aaron and Moses to whom the LORD said, “Bring out the children of Israel from the land of Egypt according to their armies.”
VERSE 27. These are those who spoke to Pharaoh king of Egypt, to bring out the children of Israel from Egypt. These are that Moses and Aaron.
MOSES OBJECTS AGAIN
VERSE 28. On the day when the LORD spoke to Moses in the land of Egypt,
VERSE 29. The LORD said to Moses, “I am the LORD. Tell Pharaoh king of Egypt all that I tell you.”
VERSE 30. Moses said before the LORD, “Behold, I am of uncircumcised lips, and how shall Pharaoh listen to me?”
how shall Pharaoh listen to me?. Moses is still worried about his poor speaking ability. He is still making up excuses, just like Jonah did.
We saw this earlier, in verse 12. His is focused on his own shortcomings, instead of on the greatness of God to make all things possible.
We often forget that God is limitlessly powerful. We often ask such trivial things of him. But he delights when we ask great and mighty things. Read more »
EXODUS
CHAPTERS: 01, 02, 03, 04, 05, 06, 07, 08, 09, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27, 28, 29, 30, 31, 32, 33, 34, 35, 36, 37, 38, 39, 40
RESOURCES: Summary, Outline, Memorize, Pharaoh’s Heart, Moses’ fast
Unless otherwise noted, all Bible quotations on this page are from the World English Bible and the World Messianic Edition. These translations have no copyright restrictions. They are in the Public Domain.