Exodus 06
Ex 06:1Then the Lord said to Moses, “Now you will see what I will do to Pharaoh, for compelled by my strong hand he will release them, and by my strong hand he will drive them out of his land.”
Moses received some hard words from his critics. Moses complained that God’s name was being tarnished, because God did not fulfill His word and deliver Israel. Therefore, God answered Moses and assured him that He was still in control. God would keep His word. First, God demonstrated to the invisible angelic world that Pharaoh deserved the punishment that he was about to receive. God promised that Israel would not only leave Egypt, but Egypt would drive Israel out.
2God spoke to Moses and said to him, “I am the Lord.
The Hebrew word for “Lord” is יְהוָֽה (Jehovah), meaning the One who keeps His promises. God uses this memorial name when He is dealing with Israel and His covenants.
3I appeared to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob as God Almighty, but by my name ‘the Lord’ I was not known to them.
The Hebrew for “God Almighty” is אֵ֣ל שַׁדָּ֑י (El Shaddai), meaning “the all powerful one,” or “the many-breasted one.” Although Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob called God “יְהוָֽה (Jehovah),” God did not appear to them in this form. He appeared as the Covenant-Maker, but not as the Covenant-Keeper. God appeared to Abraham, Isaac and Jacob as אֵ֣ל שַׁדָּ֑י (El Shaddai). To Abraham, He demonstrated His power in birthing the seed-child through the dead womb of Sarah. In Isaac, He demonstrated His power in protecting him from his enemies. In Jacob, He demonstrated His power in elevating His slave son to the highest position in Egypt. God was אֵ֣ל שַׁדָּ֑י (El Shaddai) to the patriarchs, but He was not יְהוָֽה (Jehovah).
4I also established my covenant with them to give them the land of Canaan, where they were living as resident foreigners.
To Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, God was the Covenant-Maker and the Mighty One, but He was not the Covenant-Keeper.
5I have also heard the groaning of the Israelites, whom the Egyptians are enslaving, and I have remembered my covenant.
God heard the cries of His first born son. God has not forgotten the covenant that He made with Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. God will keep His promises of the Abrahamic Covenant.
6Therefore, tell the Israelites, ‘I am the Lord. I will bring you out from your enslavement to the Egyptians, I will rescue you from the hard labor they impose, and I will redeem you with an outstretched arm and with great judgments.
God commanded Moses to give a message to the Israelites. His message was that He is יְהוָֽה (Jehovah), the Covenant-Keeping God. The generation to whom Moses speaks will know God as יְהוָֽה (Jehovah). They will experience God keeping His promise and moving them back into the land of Canaan.
God promised seven things to Israel. First, He will bring Israel out of captivity. Second, He will rescue them from their hard labor. Third, He will redeem them with mighty miraculous judgments.
7I will take you to myself for a people, and I will be your God. Then you will know that I am the Lord your God, who brought you out from your enslavement to the Egyptians.
Fourth, He will make Israel His own personal nation. Fifth, He will be their God.
8I will bring you to the land I swore to give to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob – and I will give it to you as a possession. I am the Lord!’”
Sixth, He will bring them into the land which He promised to the three patriarchs. Seventh, they will own the land. He will do this, because His name is יְהוָֽה (Jehovah). He is the One who keeps His promises.
9Moses told this to the Israelites, but they did not listen to him because of their discouragement and hard labor.
Israel was too dispirited and too discouraged to believe Moses. They were living in darkness with no escape.
10Then the Lord said to Moses, 11“Go, tell Pharaoh king of Egypt that he must release the Israelites from his land.”
God commanded Moses to give Pharaoh a new message. Instead of allowing the Israelites to celebrate a three day sacrifice in the wilderness, Pharaoh was to release the Israelites from the land. Pharaoh thought that he was a god on earth, so he did not appreciate this message.
12But Moses replied to the Lord, “If the Israelites did not listen to me, then how will Pharaoh listen to me, since I speak with difficulty?”
Moses objected. If he could not convince Israel to listen to him, then he would not be able to convince Pharaoh to listen to him either. Moses mentioned his speech impairment to God once again.
13The Lord spoke to Moses and Aaron and gave them a charge for the Israelites and Pharaoh, king of Egypt to bring the Israelites out of the land of Egypt.
God had a message ready for both Israel and Pharaoh. The message was that יְהוָֽה (Jehovah) would keep His promise to the patriarchs and bring Israel out of the land.
The Ancestry of the Deliverer
14These are the heads of their fathers’ households: The sons of Reuben, the firstborn son of Israel, were Hanoch and Pallu, Hezron and Carmi. These were the clans of Reuben.
Moses recorded the partial genealogy of Israel. He began with the tribe of Reuben, who was the oldest son of Jacob.
15The sons of Simeon were Jemuel, Jamin, Ohad, Jakin, Zohar, and Shaul, the son of a Canaanite woman. These were the clans of Simeon.
Simeon was the second son of Jacob.
16Now these are the names of the sons of Levi, according to their records: Gershon, Kohath, and Merari. (The length of Levi’s life was 137 years.)
Levi was the third son of Jacob. Moses and Aaron would come from this tribe, so the rest of this chapter will give details about the genealogy of Levi. The three sons of Levi were Gershina, Kohath, and Merari.
17The sons of Gershon, by their families, were Libni and Shimei.
Gershon was the oldest son of Levi.
18The sons of Kohath were Amram, Izhar, Hebron, and Uzziel. (The length of Kohath’s life was 133 years.)
Kohath was the second son of Levi.
19The sons of Merari were Mahli and Mushi. These were the clans of Levi, according to their records.
Merari was the third son of Levi.
20Amram married his father’s sister Jochebed, and she bore him Aaron and Moses. (The length of Amram’s life was 137 years.)
Amram was the father of Moses and Aaron. He married Jochebed, who was his aunt. This was not illegal incest yet, because the Mosaic Law had not yet been given. Moses will later have to write a law that makes his type of birth immoral.
21The sons of Izhar were Korah, Nepheg, and Zikri.
Izhar was the son of Kohath, who was the second son of Levi. Korah will later lead a rebellion against Moses and Aaron, so this genealogy was mentioned.
22The sons of Uzziel were Mishael, Elzaphan, and Sithri.
Uzziel was the fourth son of Kohath. Kohath was the second son of Levi.
23Aaron married Elisheba, the daughter of Amminadab and sister of Nahshon, and she bore him Nadab and Abihu, Eleazar and Ithamar.
Elisheba means “the oath of God.” This was the origin of the name “Elizabeth.” Elisheba was from the tribe of Judah. Since she married Aaron, who was a Levite, all of their children will be considered as the tribe of Levi.
24The sons of Korah were Assir, Elkanah, and Abiasaph. These were the Korahite clans.
The sons of Korah will later rebel against Moses and Aaron.
25Now Eleazar son of Aaron married one of the daughters of Putiel and she bore him Phinehas. These are the heads of the fathers’ households of Levi according to their clans.
Phineas will become the high priest during the era of the judges.
26It was the same Aaron and Moses to whom the Lord said, “Bring the Israelites out of the land of Egypt by their regiments.”
The purpose of this genealogy was to show the true line of Moses and Aaron so that false leaders would not raise up and claim to be priests of the Levitical order.
27They were the men who were speaking to Pharaoh king of Egypt, in order to bring the Israelites out of Egypt. It was the same Moses and Aaron.
The Moses and Aaron from the line of Merari were the true spokesmen of God.
The Authentication of the Word
28When the Lord spoke to Moses in the land of Egypt,
Moses received his information directly from Jehovah.
29He said to him, “I am the Lord. Tell Pharaoh, king of Egypt all that I am telling you.”
The message to Pharaoh was that יְהוָֽה (Jehovah) was coming to Israel and He was going to keep His promise that He made to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob.
30But Moses said before the Lord, “Since I speak with difficulty, why should Pharaoh listen to me?”
Even though Moses had the God of the universe on his side, he did not want to go in front of Pharaoh again.