EXODUS CHAPTER SIX

3:1-4:31, Moses received God's call at the burning bush; He was to go to Pharaoh to demand that Israel be released.

5:1-23, Pharaoh responded by making the burden of slavery even harder than it was before.

6:1-13, God's promise to redeem Israel.

6:1 THEN THE LORD SAID UNTO MOSES, NOW SHALT THOU SEE WHAT I WILL DO TO PHARAOH: FOR WITH A STRONG HAND SHALL HE LET THEM GO, AND WITH A STRONG HAND SHALL HE DRIVE THEM OUT OF HIS LAND.

A.Rather than express anger to Moses, God replied with a series of promises which would give assurance to him and the people.

B.NOW SHALT THOU SEE: Moses had complained that God had delayed the deliverance of the people; God's response that the work is about to begin -- NOW shall you see (not just by faith).

C.WITH A STRONG HAND: Not Pharaoh's "overpowering might," but God's power would release them and then DRIVE THEM OUT. When the time came, Pharaoh had the desire that they be driven out of the land - EX 12:31-33 (31 AND HE CALLED FOR MOSES AND AARON BY NIGHT, AND SAID, RISE UP, [AND] GET YOU FORTH FROM AMONG MY PEOPLE, BOTH YE AND THE CHILDREN OF ISRAEL; AND GO, SERVE THE LORD, AS YE HAVE SAID. 32 ALSO TAKE YOUR FLOCKS AND YOUR HERDS, AS YE HAVE SAID, AND BE GONE; AND BLESS ME ALSO. 33 AND THE EGYPTIANS WERE URGENT UPON THE PEOPLE, THAT THEY MIGHT SEND THEM OUT OF THE LAND IN HASTE; FOR THEY SAID, WE [BE] ALL DEAD [MEN].

6:2 AND GOD SPAKE UNTO MOSES, AND SAID UNTO HIM, I [AM] THE LORD:

A.AND GOD SPAKE: This may suggest there was a time lapse between Verses 1 and 2. Or it may suggest that Verse 1 was specifi-cally for Moses, whereas the remainder of the promises are directed to the entire Nation of Israel.

B.I AM THE LORD: That is, JEHOVAH - Verse 3; cf EXO 3:14-15 (14 AND GOD SAID UNTO MOSES, I AM THAT I AM: AND HE SAID, THUS SHALT THOU SAY UNTO THE CHILDREN OF ISRAEL, I AM HATH SENT ME UNTO YOU. 15 AND GOD SAID MOREOVER UNTO MOSES, THUS SHALT THOU SAY UNTO THE CHILDREN OF ISRAEL, THE LORD GOD OF YOUR FATHERS, THE GOD OF ABRAHAM, THE GOD OF ISAAC, AND THE GOD OF JACOB, HATH SENT ME UNTO YOU: THIS [IS] MY NAME FOR EVER, AND THIS [IS] MY MEMORIAL UNTO ALL GENERATIONS).

6:3 AND I APPEARED UNTO ABRAHAM, UNTO ISAAC, AND UNTO JACOB, BY [THE NAME OF] GOD ALMIGHTY, BUT BY MY NAME JEHOVAH WAS I NOT KNOWN TO THEM.

A.I APPEARED: As ALMIGHTY GOD He appeared to Abraham in GEN 17:1 (THE LORD APPEARED TO ABRAM, AND SAID UNTO HIM, I [AM] THE ALMIGHTY GOD); As GOD ALMIGHTY He appeared to Jacob in GEN 35:11 (AND GOD SAID UNTO HIM, I [AM] GOD ALMIGHTY). We have no record of such an appearance to Isaac, but Isaac referred to Him as GOD ALMIGHTY when he spoke to Jacob in GEN 28:3 (AND GOD ALMIGHTY BLESS THEE, AND MAKE THEE FRUITFUL).

B.BUT BY MY NAME JEHOVAH WAS I NOT KNOWN TO THEM: Many passages contain The Name (usually upper case LORD in KJV), but perhaps they did not know Him as "The Covenant God" (the significance of JEHOVAH). They knew God as a Being of might and power, but did not know His Eternal Existence as the I AM Who keeps covenant with His people. He is about to reveal Himself as "The Covenant God" (note COVENANT in following Verses).

6:4 AND I HAVE ALSO ESTABLISHED MY COVENANT WITH THEM, TO GIVE THEM THE LAND OF CANAAN, THE LAND OF THEIR PILGRIMAGE, WHEREIN THEY WERE STRANGERS.

A.God had made this covenant with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob (Gen 15:18-21; 17:7-8; 26:3; 28:13).

B.PILGRIMAGE...STRANGERS: They wandered as foreigners, and lived in the land only by the permission of the Canaanites, to the time of Jacob's descent into Egypt.

6:5 AND I HAVE ALSO HEARD THE GROANING OF THE CHILDREN OF ISRAEL, WHOM THE EGYPTIANS KEEP IN BONDAGE; AND I HAVE REMEMBERED MY COVENANT.

**God had not forgotten His children nor His promises to them; At His time He would deliver them.

6:6 WHEREFORE SAY UNTO 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 A STRETCHED OUT ARM, AND WITH GREAT JUDGMENTS:

A.A STRETCHED OUT ARM: Active, energetic help.

B.GREAT JUDGMENTS: The plagues which later came on Egypt were not just miracles to cause people to wonder, but they were punishments inflicted on a cruel nation by the Judge of all the world; God had told Abraham this would happen - GEN 15:14 (ALSO THAT NATION WHOM THEY SERVE WILL I JUDGE).

6:7 AND I WILL TAKE YOU TO ME FOR A PEOPLE, AND I WILL BE TO YOU A GOD: AND YE SHALL KNOW THAT I [AM] THE LORD YOUR GOD, WHICH BRINGETH YOU OUT FROM UNDER THE BURDENS OF THE EGYPTIANS.

6:8 AND I WILL BRING YOU IN UNTO THE LAND, CONCERNING THE WHICH I DID SWEAR TO GIVE IT TO ABRAHAM, TO ISAAC, AND TO JACOB; AND I WILL GIVE IT YOU FOR AN HERITAGE: I [AM] THE LORD.

A.The promises are heaped one upon another.

B.THE LAND...I WILL GIVE IT YOU: They were led into the Land by Joshua, gained more and more of it through the years, until at last, under David and Solomon, they possessed the entire Land that had been promised to Abraham -- See 1KG 4:21 (AND SOLOMON REIGNED OVER ALL KINGDOMS FROM THE RIVER UNTO THE LAND OF THE PHILISTINES, AND UNTO THE BORDER OF EGYPT: THEY BROUGHT PRESENTS, AND SERVED SOLOMON ALL THE DAYS OF HIS LIFE).

C.I AM THE LORD: They had His pledge that the Eternal One would fulfill His promise. "With Christians, too, God enters into covenant at their baptism, promising them protection, spiri-tual aid, and eternal life in heaven, on their maintaining faith and repentance. This covenant like His others, He will assuredly keep. Let them be but true to Him, and they need have no fear but that He will be true to them. The Promised Land will be theirs -- He will give it to them for an heritage -- He, Jehovah." -- PULPIT COMMENTARY. Perhaps this is not saying that they had never heard the Name Jehovah, but that all that is in that Name had not dawned on them. They needed to enlarge their idea about the greatness of God (one modern writer penned a book entitled YOUR GOD IS NOT BIG ENOUGH).

6:9 AND MOSES SPAKE SO UNTO THE CHILDREN OF ISRAEL: BUT THEY HEARKENED NOT UNTO MOSES FOR ANGUISH OF SPIRIT, AND FOR CRUEL BONDAGE.

**BUT THEY HEARKENED NOT: They had been so downtrodden and cruelly treated that Moses now just seemed like a dreamer; They did not feel disposed to hear any more.

6:10 AND THE LORD SPAKE UNTO MOSES, SAYING,

6:11 GO IN, SPEAK UNTO PHARAOH KING OF EGYPT, THAT HE LET THE CHILDREN OF ISRAEL GO OUT OF HIS LAND.

A.Once the request was for a three days' absence; Now God uncovers all His purpose, and demands a complete release.

B.The renewal of the commission, and its enlargement call forth from Moses two excuses: The dissatisfaction of the people, and the inadequacy of Moses (Verse 12).

6:12 AND MOSES SPAKE BEFORE THE LORD, SAYING, BEHOLD, THE CHILDREN OF ISRAEL HAVE NOT HEARKENED UNTO ME; HOW THEN SHALL PHARAOH HEAR ME, WHO [AM] OF UNCIRCUMCISED LIPS?

A.CHILDREN OF ISRAEL HAVE NOT HEARKENED: Their faith did not cause them to be far-sighted enough to believe that although one generation might suffer, the whole Nation was in due time and at the best time to be fully redeemed. They would not be free until they accepted the assurance given and submitted themselves fully. Lesson for us: We will not be free from anguish and worry until we accept the certain assurance that if we fully submit, in God's time all sorrow and sighing will flee away forever.

B.HOW THEN SHALL PHARAOH HEAR ME: If he had failed in the easier part of the work, how could he possibly succeed in the more difficult? He had failed to see that deliverance is a pro-cess, not a one-time miraculous act. What he had done thus far in speaking to Pharaoh may have looked to him to be a failure, but in the whole scheme of things it was the first step, and a necessary one. Whether it seemed so or not, it was the first step up for Israel and the first step down for Pharaoh. The work was begun; And this beginning would lead to the Red Sea. Faith must learn to wait.

C.Something else Moses had yet to fully grasp is that God does not hold us responsible for the failure or success which may attend the doing of our duty, but simply for the doing of it. Our part is to obey, then leave results to God - cf 1Co 3:6.

D.WHO AM OF UNCIRCUMCISED LIPS: After the seeming failure, Moses again distrusts himself. In Ex 4:10 he had said that he was "SLOW OF SPEECH AND OF A SLOW TONGUE." There may be the sug-gestion that Moses had been thinking (after the circumcision of the younger son by Zipporah?) about the true meaning of circumcision. It was a separating sign, the sign of special duties and privileges, and it required the full dedication of the heart to God. Moses may here have been confessing that he was not yet as good a man as he could be and should be.

6:13 AND THE LORD SPAKE UNTO MOSES AND UNTO AARON, AND GAVE THEM A CHARGE UNTO THE CHILDREN OF ISRAEL, AND UNTO PHARAOH KING OF EGYPT, TO BRING THE CHILDREN OF ISRAEL OUT OF THE LAND OF EGYPT.

A.No matter how weak the case seemed to Moses, God set the agenda by ordering Moses and Aaron to go to Pharaoh, and through them ordering Pharaoh to let the people go.

B.Perhaps in His Providence God allowed the Israelites, includ-ing Moses and Aaron, to reach the lowest depth of weakness and depression. They seemed completely without strength or hope in the circumstance, and if anything was to be done, it had to be done totally by the power of God - cf Rom 5:6.

C.The battle was now going to be between Jehovah and Pharaoh. It would end at the Red Sea, and the result would be that all the world could (can) see how completely God can overcome the most powerful and most stubborn human power.

6:14-30, The family tree of Moses is given, beginning at the point at which it was left in Ex 1:5 (1 NOW THESE ARE THE NAMES OF THE CHILDREN OF ISRAEL, WHICH CAME INTO EGYPT; EVERY MAN AND HIS HOUSEHOLD CAME WITH JACOB. 2 REUBEN, SIMEON, LEVI, AND JUDAH, 3 ISSACHAR, ZEBULUN, AND BENJAMIN, 4 DAN, AND NAPHTALI, GAD, AND ASHER. 5 AND ALL THE SOULS THAT CAME OUT OF THE LOINS OF JACOB WERE SEVENTY SOULS).

  1. The political system of Israel was based on the tribal relation, so it was important that there be a record of the divisions and subdivisions of families.
  2. In particular, there needed to be a specific record of the descent and relationship of the two principal figures in the history which is to be presented -- Moses, the Law-giver of Israel, and Aaron, the head of the priesthood.
  3. The story has here come to a turning-point: All the pre-liminaries were over, and the action of the Exodus was about to begin; So the family connection is recalled.

6:14 THESE [BE] THE HEADS OF THEIR FATHERS' HOUSES: THE SONS OF REUBEN THE FIRSTBORN OF ISRAEL; HANOCH, AND PALLU, HEZRON, AND CARMI: THESE [BE] THE FAMILIES OF REUBEN.

A.HEADS OF THEIR FATHERS' HOUSES: These are the founders of fam-ilies which descended from the original sons of Jacob; Each of these was a chief or leader.

B.All these names may seem uninteresting to us, but they are vital to the political connection in the OT story, and to the genealogy of the Lord Jesus Christ; They also serve to impress us with the rapid flight of time as one generation quickly passes away and another arises. Also to the thoughtful mind, it is obvious that good and bad people come from the same con-ditions, making it clear that the human will is involved in the shaping of one's character; Therefore we are responsible.

C.Those who want to study each one and see all the connections and all the passages where the names appear may check commen-taries and other reference works.

6:15 AND THE SONS OF SIMEON; JEMUEL, AND JAMIN, AND OHAD, AND JACHIN, AND ZOHAR, AND SHAUL THE SON OF A CANAANITISH WOMAN: THESE [ARE] THE FAMILIES OF SIMEON.

6:16 AND 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] AN HUNDRED THIRTY AND SEVEN YEARS.

A.Only Reuben, Simeon, and Levi are named, with a reference to their sons, grandsons, and on down.

B.Perhaps the reason is that the special concern here is the genealogy of Moses; So it is shown that he did not descend from the two oldest sons; But their names are included just to show the way in which the descent of the families is traced.

6:17 THE SONS OF GERSHON; LIBNI, AND SHIMI, ACCORDING TO THEIR FAMILIES.

6:18 AND THE SONS OF KOHATH; AMRAM, AND IZHAR, AND HEBRON, AND UZZIEL: AND THE YEARS OF THE LIFE OF KOHATH [WERE] AN HUNDRED THIRTY AND THREE YEARS.

6:19 AND THE SONS OF MERARI; MAHALI AND MUSHI: THESE [ARE] THE FAMILIES OF LEVI ACCORDING TO THEIR GENERATIONS.

6:20 AND AMRAM TOOK HIM JOCHEBED HIS FATHER'S SISTER TO WIFE; AND SHE BARE HIM AARON AND MOSES: AND THE YEARS OF THE LIFE OF AMRAM [WERE] AN HUNDRED AND THIRTY AND SEVEN YEARS.

A.Now we come to the immediate family of Moses.

B.It was not unusual for there to be intermarriage in families; Such relationship was later forbidden in Lev 18.

C.Miriam is not here mentioned because the descent was traced through the males.

6:21 AND THE SONS OF IZHAR; KORAH, AND NEPHEG, AND ZICHRI.

6:22 AND THE SONS OF UZZIEL; MISHAEL, AND ELZAPHAN, AND ZITHRI.

6:23 AND AARON TOOK HIM ELISHEBA, DAUGHTER OF AMMINADAB, SISTER OF NAASHON, TO WIFE; AND SHE BARE HIM NADAB, AND ABIHU, ELEAZAR, AND ITHAMAR.

6:24 AND THE SONS OF KORAH; ASSIR, AND ELKANAH, AND ABIASAPH: THESE [ARE] THE FAMILIES OF THE KORHITES.

6:25 AND ELEAZAR AARON'S SON TOOK HIM [ONE] OF THE DAUGHTERS OF PUTIEL TO WIFE; AND SHE BARE HIM PHINEHAS: THESE [ARE] THE HEADS OF THE FATHERS OF THE LEVITES ACCORDING TO THEIR FAMILIES.

6:26 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.

6:27 THESE [ARE] THEY WHICH SPAKE TO PHARAOH KING OF EGYPT, TO BRING OUT THE CHILDREN OF ISRAEL FROM EGYPT: THESE [ARE] THAT MOSES AND AARON.

A.The genealogy surrounding Moses is concluded, so there is added the note that this is the very Aaron and Moses who went to Pharaoh to demand the release of Israel. They were real people -- This is history, and these are facts.

B.After the genealogy is given, Verses 28-30 pick up the story from Verses 10-13 (10 AND THE LORD SPAKE UNTO MOSES, SAYING, 11 GO IN, SPEAK UNTO PHARAOH KING OF EGYPT, THAT HE LET THE CHILDREN OF ISRAEL GO OUT OF HIS LAND. 12 AND MOSES SPAKE BEFORE THE LORD, SAYING, BEHOLD, THE CHILDREN OF ISRAEL HAVE NOT HEARKENED UNTO ME; HOW THEN SHALL PHARAOH HEAR ME, WHO [AM] OF UNCIRCUMCISED LIPS? 13 AND THE LORD SPAKE UNTO MOSES AND UNTO AARON, AND GAVE THEM A CHARGE UNTO THE CHILDREN OF ISRAEL, AND UNTO PHARAOH KING OF EGYPT, TO BRING THE CHILDREN OF ISRAEL OUT OF THE LAND OF EGYPT).

6:28 AND IT CAME TO PASS ON THE DAY [WHEN] THE LORD SPAKE UNTO MOSES IN THE LAND OF EGYPT,

6:29 THAT THE LORD SPAKE UNTO MOSES, SAYING, I [AM] THE LORD: SPEAK THOU UNTO PHARAOH KING OF EGYPT ALL THAT I SAY UNTO THEE.

6:30 AND MOSES SAID BEFORE THE LORD, BEHOLD, I [AM] OF UNCIRCUMCISED LIPS, AND HOW SHALL PHARAOH HEARKEN UNTO ME?

**I AM THE LORD: Perhaps this addition is the only significant difference between Verses 28-30 and Verses 10-13. The empha-sis on the Person of Jehovah gives serious meaning to anything He says; So Pharaoh had better listen when Moses comes to him and says, "Thus saith the LORD."

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