Episode 355 - The LORD Upholds His Reputation - Exodus 6:1-13
Ex. 6:1 But the LORD said to Moses, “Now you shall see what I will do to Pharaoh; for with a strong hand he will send them out, and with ea strong hand he will fdrive them out of his land.”
Ex. 6:2 God spoke to Moses and said to him, g“I am the LORD. 3 I appeared to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob, as hGod Almighty,1 but by my name the iLORD I did not make myself known to them. 4 jI also established my covenant with them kto give them the land of Canaan, the land in which they lived as sojourners. 5 Moreover, lI have heard the groaning of the people of Israel whom the Egyptians hold as slaves, and I have remembered my covenant. 6 Say therefore to the people of Israel, m‘I am the LORD, and nI will bring you out from under the burdens of the Egyptians, and I will deliver you from slavery to them, and oI will redeem you with an outstretched arm and with great acts of judgment. 7 I pwill take you to be my people, and qI will be your God, and you shall know that mI am the LORD your God, who has brought you out nfrom under the burdens of the Egyptians. 8 I will bring you into rthe land that I sswore to give to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob. I will give it to you for a possession. mI am the LORD.’” 9 Moses spoke thus to the people of Israel, but they did not listen to Moses, because of their broken spirit and harsh slavery.
Ex. 6:10 So the LORD said to Moses, 11 “Go in, tell Pharaoh king of Egypt to let the people of Israel go out of his land.” 12 But Moses said to the LORD, “Behold, the people of Israel have tnot listened to me. How then shall Pharaoh listen to me, for uI am of uncircumcised lips?” 13 But the LORD spoke to Moses and Aaron and gave them a charge about the people of Israel and about Pharaoh, king of Egypt: to bring the people of Israel out of the land of Egypt.
Do you know what I think is great about this early part of Exodus? It’s the fact that Moses, whom tradition holds is the author of the first five books of the Bible, tells the reader how much of a whiner he was to the LORD. He tells on himself. We finished chapter five with Pharaoh refusing to obey the LORD’s command to let the Israelites go and worship their God, and the Israelites were upset with Moses because Pharaoh made it harder on the Israelites because of Moses and Aaron’s message from the LORD to Pharaoh. So, once again, Moses expressed his regret that the LORD had sent him and even accused the LORD of not doing what he said he was going to do.
Chapter six begins with the LORD’s response to Moses that now he will see what the LORD is going to do, and that will be to fulfill the promise he had made to bring Israel out of bondage in Egypt back to the land promised to their ancestors and subsequently to them.
Just read through this section and count how many times the LORD uses the first-person singular pronoun “I.” Particularly, he says, “I am . . . .” or “I will . . . “ numerous times. What’s the point? The point is to strongly affirm that he will be faithful to complete all he promises. How does the reader know the LORD can be trusted to do that? Let’s take a closer look.
If you recall a few chapters back, Moses asked God his name. In our English translations, every time we see the entire word LORD capitalized, that represents his divine name. The LORD tells Moses and Aaron that he had appeared to their forefathers Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob but had never revealed that name to them. Rather, they knew him as God Almighty, “El Shaddai.” Moses and the Israelites should know the stories of what God had done for Abraham and his family. God had tremendously blessed Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob and had fulfilled many promises to them. He demonstrated that he was faithful to his word.
God told Moses that he, the LORD, had enacted a covenant with their ancestors. A covenant is a very strong promise in which the terms set forth guarantee that each party will fulfill their part of the agreement. The whole purpose in what the LORD is telling Moses here is that he is staking his reputation as an able, faithful, and compassionate God to his people.
It’s a very encouraging message to a people who need encouragement and hope. However, they do not receive it. They did not want to listen to Moses. It their mind, there was no hope. We might expect the LORD to say something like, “Well, if they don’t want it, the deal is off.” Instead, the LORD persisted by telling Moses to go back to Pharaoh and tell him to let the people go. Moses’ response is reasonable in assuming that if God’s chosen people would not believe his revelation to them, why would the Pharaoh, who has already admitted that he doesn’t know the LORD, listen and obey this message?
I believe the point of the LORD telling Moses that he had not revealed his name, the LORD, to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob is to point out that the limited self-revelation these forefathers had received resulted in obedience. They trusted him in what he had revealed. Now, Moses and the Israelites were receiving more revelation about God than their forefathers. Therefore, they should also trust and obey him.
There’s a humorous saying that goes, “It’s not bragging, if you can do it.” The LORD is making bold claims as to what he is going to do. From what is revealed here, his plan is not contingent upon whether people believe him or not. He’s going to do it. He’s not just bragging.
It seems to me that God has operated in this manner many times throughout the Scriptures. I think people today have attitudes that God doesn’t know they exist, doesn’t care, or just has limitations of what he is able to accomplish. But the Scriptures frequently affirm that he is aware of what’s happening in the affairs of humanity. He cares and works to show compassion toward his creatures.
This is a God who is faithful, compassionate, and able to do all that he promises.