Episode 356 - "The LORD's Purposes are Revealed" - Exodus 6:14-Exodus 7:13

August 15, 2026 by David Largent in Bible Study, Christian, Exodus

Ex. 6:14 These are the heads of their fathers’ houses: the sons of Reuben, the firstborn of Israel: Hanoch, Pallu, Hezron, and Carmi; these are the clans of Reuben. 15 The sons of Simeon: Jemuel, Jamin, Ohad, Jachin, Zohar, and Shaul, the son of a Canaanite woman; these are the clans of Simeon. 16 These are the names of the sons of Levi according to their generations: Gershon, Kohath, and Merari, the years of the life of Levi being 137 years. 17 The sons of Gershon: Libni and Shimei, by their clans. 18 The sons of Kohath: Amram, Izhar, Hebron, and Uzziel, the years of the life of Kohath being 133 years. 19 The sons of Merari: Mahli and Mushi. These are the clans of the Levites according to their generations. 20 Amram took as his wife Jochebed his father’s sister, and she bore him Aaron and Moses, the years of the life of Amram being 137 years. 21 The sons of Izhar: Korah, Nepheg, and Zichri. 22 The sons of Uzziel: Mishael, Elzaphan, and Sithri. 23 Aaron took as his wife Elisheba, the daughter of Amminadab and the sister of Nahshon, and she bore him Nadab, Abihu, Eleazar, and Ithamar. 24 The sons of Korah: Assir, Elkanah, and Abiasaph; these are the clans of the Korahites. 25 Eleazar, Aaron’s son, took as his wife one of the daughters of Putiel, and she bore him Phinehas. These are the heads of the fathers’ houses of the Levites by their clans.

Ex. 6:26 These are the Aaron and Moses to whom the LORD said: “Bring out the people of Israel from the land of Egypt by their hosts.” 27 It was they who spoke to Pharaoh king of Egypt about bringing out the people of Israel from Egypt, this Moses and this Aaron.

Ex. 6:28 On the day when the LORD spoke to Moses in the land of Egypt, 29 the LORD said to Moses, “I am the LORD; tell Pharaoh king of Egypt all that I say to you.” 30 But Moses said to the LORD, “Behold, I am of uncircumcised lips. How will Pharaoh listen to me?”

Moses and Aaron Before Pharaoh

Ex. 7:1 And the LORD said to Moses, “See, I have made you like God to Pharaoh, and your brother Aaron shall be your prophet. 2 You shall speak all that I command you, and your brother Aaron shall tell Pharaoh to let the people of Israel go out of his land. 3 But I will harden Pharaoh’s heart, and though I multiply my signs and wonders in the land of Egypt, 4 Pharaoh will not listen to you. Then I will lay my hand on Egypt and bring my hosts, my people the children of Israel, out of the land of Egypt by great acts of judgment. 5 The Egyptians shall know that I am the LORD, when I stretch out my hand against Egypt and bring out the people of Israel from among them.” 6 Moses and Aaron did so; they did just as the LORD commanded them. 7 Now Moses was eighty years old, and Aaron eighty-three years old, when they spoke to Pharaoh.

Ex. 7:8 Then the LORD said to Moses and Aaron, 9 “When Pharaoh says to you, ‘Prove yourselves by working a miracle,’ then you shall say to Aaron, ‘Take your staff and cast it down before Pharaoh, that it may become a serpent.’” 10 So Moses and Aaron went to Pharaoh and did just as the LORD commanded. Aaron cast down his staff before Pharaoh and his servants, and it became a serpent. 11 Then Pharaoh summoned the wise men and the sorcerers, and they, the magicians of Egypt, also did the same by their secret arts. 12 For each man cast down his staff, and they became serpents. But Aaron’s staff swallowed up their staffs. 13 Still Pharaoh’s heart was hardened, and he would not listen to them, as the LORD had said.

The Bible has many genealogical lists. Have you considered why this particular list is given here? Remember that this book wasn't written at the time of the Exodus. Moses delivered this to Joshua shortly before he died, and Joshua was his successor, who would ultimately lead the people decades later into the Promised Land.

The point is to show the authority the LORD had granted Aaron and Moses to speak the LORD’s message to Pharaoh and to Israel. As descendants of Levi, the LORD is revealing his sovereign choice for the priestly line. Aaron’s descendants would carry on the responsibilities and authority of Israel's priesthood. In short, this genealogical record shows to the future generations of Israel that Moses and Aaron were not maverick leaders, but ordained by the LORD for this specific role.

After the genealogical record is given, Exodus 6:26-28 explains that the LORD has given these men this responsibility, and they obeyed the LORD’s command even though Moses still revealed his doubts that he was the right person for the job.

In chapter seven, the LORD told Moses specifically what to say and do. He also told Moses that Pharaoh would not obey the LORD’s command. Think about that for a minute. What would you think if you believed that God had given you a responsibility, but informed you that you would be completely ineffective in accomplishing that? Likely, it would be discouraging, and we might not be so motivated to do it. I believe this is why the LORD continued to reveal his plans to Moses. I believe he’s telling Moses that he is certainly going to deliver the Israelites out of bondage in Egypt. However, it will not come as easily or painlessly as Moses or the Israelites might have hoped for. Why not?

I believe the LORD reveals in Exodus 7:5 that he has a broader plan and purpose than what anyone might have expected. The LORD told Moses, “The Egyptians shall know that I am the LORD, when I stretch out my hand against Egypt and bring out the people of Israel from among them.” Do you see that? God wants Egypt to know who the LORD is, and that he is greater than all the so-called gods they worshipped.

Exodus 7:8-13 describes Moses and Aaron going to Pharaoh and following the LORD’s instructions. Pharaoh demanded a sign to validate their claim to be speaking for the LORD. Aaron cast down his staff, as instructed by the LORD, and it became a serpent. But Pharaoh called in his magicians, and they performed the same sign. It was as if Pharaoh was mocking the LORD by revealing that his magicians and gods could do the same thing and were equal. But the LORD then revealed something that perhaps no one expected. Aaron’s staff (serpent) swallowed those of the magicians. That’s a powerful message, yet Pharaoh ignored it.

The theological principle revealed in this text is God’s sovereignty. He is in control. He chooses who will be his priest and prophet. Furthermore, God's actions often reveal his power to many people, not just one person or one group. God makes himself known so people might respond positively to that revelation.

Episode 344 - "Pharaoh's Genocidal Plans" - Exodus 1:15-22

May 23, 2026 by David Largent in Bible Study, Christian, Exodus

Ex. 1:15 Then the king of Egypt said to the Hebrew midwives, one of whom was named Shiphrah and the other Puah, 16 “When you serve as midwife to the Hebrew women and see them on the birthstool, if it is a son, you shall kill him, but if it is a daughter, she shall live.” 17 But the midwives feared God and did not do as the king of Egypt commanded them, but let the male children live. 18 So the king of Egypt called the midwives and said to them, “Why have you done this, and let the male children live?” 19 The midwives said to Pharaoh, “Because the Hebrew women are not like the Egyptian women, for they are vigorous and give birth before the midwife comes to them.” 20 So God dealt well with the midwives. And the people multiplied and grew very strong. 21 And because the midwives feared God, he gave them families. 22 Then Pharaoh commanded all his people, “Every son that is born to the Hebrews you shall cast into the Nile, but you shall let every daughter live.”

In our last episode, we were introduced to the initial and primary conflict in the Exodus story. Continuing what Moses recorded in Genesis, the events that unfolded reflected God’s promises to Abraham as well as the warning in the Abrahamic Covenant that Abraham’s descendants would be oppressed in a foreign land for 400 years. God was blessing the Israelites and causing them to multiply. But they were also in a foreign land as God had foretold. Then, after Joseph had died and the Pharaoh who had welcomed Jacob’s family had died, the reader is told that a new king arose who did not know Joseph. The conflict is revealed through the digression of the new Pharaoh’s ignorance, leading to fear, paranoia, and finally, oppression of the Israelites. But Moses noted, “But the more they were oppressed, the more they multiplied and the more they spread abroad. And the Egyptians were in dread of the people of Israel” (Exo 1:12). Pharaoh’s desired effect of limiting the number of the Hebrews had a reverse effect. They multiplied even more. God was revealing that his power and plans were greater than Pharaoh’s.

Rather than backtracking on his plans, the Pharaoh doubled down on his plans and told the Hebrew midwives to kill the Hebrew boys when they were born, but to let the girls live. Scholars debate whether the midwives were actually Hebrews themselves or Egyptians serving the Hebrew women who were delivering children. At least one scholar has argued that the names Shiphrah and Puah are Semitic, suggesting they are Hebrew. What’s important to Moses is the fact that they did not obey Pharaoh’s command because they “feared God”. This fact was reiterated, emphasizing the importance of fearing God rather than Pharaoh. This is a principle that the Israelites to whom this is written are those who would later be on the cusp of entering into the promised land. Moses even wrote that God blessed these women with families of their own because of their commitment to respecting God.

Scholars have also noted the fact that the women lied about why they hadn’t followed Pharaoh’s command. Clearly, fearing God was the primary act of faith for these women, overriding any violation of truthfulness toward Pharaoh, who did not fear God.

What did Moses tell his readers then? He added, “And the people multiplied and grew very strong” (Exo 1:20). Every time Pharaoh did something to limit the reproduction of the Hebrews, God caused them to multiply and be strong. God was sending a message to Pharaoh. But Pharaoh was not listening. In fact, Pharaoh now went public with his plan. He commanded all the people that male Hebrew babies were to be cast into the Nile. The river that brought life through agricultural sustenance was to become an instrument of death.

The primary point revealed here is that no one can defeat God's plans. Pharaoh is going to fight God and will pay a high price for his defiance. I would suggest that we see this truth revealed time and again through the Scriptures. If we take this to heart, it should remind us that God has made promises to all who will trust Him, and we can rest knowing that nothing can defeat those plans.

Episode 267 - "Sarai 'helps' God" - Genesis 16:1-6

November 23, 2024 by David Largent in Bible Study, Christian, Genesis

Now Sarai, Abram’s wife, had borne him no children. She had a female Egyptian servant whose name was Hagar. 2 And Sarai said to Abram, “Behold now, the LORD has prevented me from bearing children. Go in to my servant; it may be that I shall obtain children by her.” And Abram listened to the voice of Sarai. 3 So, after Abram had lived ten years in the land of Canaan, Sarai, Abram’s wife, took Hagar the Egyptian, her servant, and gave her to Abram her husband as a wife. 4 And he went in to Hagar, and she conceived. And when she saw that she had conceived, she looked with contempt on her mistress. 5 And Sarai said to Abram, “May the wrong done to me be on you! I gave my servant to your embrace, and when she saw that she had conceived, she looked on me with contempt. May the LORD judge between you and me!” 6 But Abram said to Sarai, “Behold, your servant is in your power; do to her as you please.” Then Sarai dealt harshly with her, and she fled from her.

Let’s cover this story of Abram, Sarai, and Hagar over the course of a few episodes. We’ll observe how the problem or conflict created by Abram and Sarai’s actions, apart from God’s promise to them, complicate things. While this story is about a specific situation with specific people to a particular audience, we can glean a principle that is valuable to us today.

This story begins with another reminder that Abram and his wife Sarai still have no children despite the LORD's promise that Abram’s descendants would be innumerable. The reader is next told that Sarai had a female Egyptian servant named Hagar. In all likelihood, Hagar was given as a servant to Sarai when Abram and Sarai traveled to Egypt, and the pharaoh took Sarai into his house to marry her. This detail should interest the intended audience of Israelites who had been in servitude to the Egyptians. The Egyptians were descendants of Ham through his son Mizraim. (See Gen. 10:6) Of course, Ham was the one who dishonored his father, Noah. Abram had risked compromising the LORD’s plan for him by telling the Egyptians that Sarai was his sister and allowing the Egyptian Pharaoh to take her into his house. Now, Abram is the one lying with an Egyptian.

As tragic stories unfold, sometimes the details seem a bit humorous. In this case, the humor is in how Sarai asserts fault in everyone in the story except for Sarai, who instigated this train wreck of a plan to give Abram a descendant. First, it is the LORD’s fault for preventing Sarai from having children. She told Abram to have sexual relations with Hagar in order to have children by her. The story seems to echo the Adam and Eve story, where Abram, like Adam, did not appear to question the wisdom of this opportunity. He just did it. When Hagar conceived, we’re told that “she looked with contempt upon her mistress” (v. 4). Sarai, understandably, could not deal with that but blamed Abram and treated Hagar harshly.

While I’m tempted just to shake my head and chuckle at this mess, I find myself more inclined to empathize with the pain each individual must have felt at some point. If we stop and think about it, Sarai must have been pained over her inability to have a child. The LORD’s promise of many descendants to her husband must have added fuel to that fire when it wasn’t happening, and her biological clock was ticking or perhaps had “tocked.” Abram likely shared that pain to some degree and mostly empathized with his wife’s concern. The LORD’s delay or perceived failure in giving them a child as they were getting older led to his pondering how that promise might be fulfilled. So, when Sarai came up with the plan, he just went along with it. Hagar was a servant to Sarai, a second-class citizen. When she was able to have a child by Abram, it seems to have evoked her pride because she finally had one thing over her mistress. But this backfired on her. It wasn’t her fault in the first place because she was at the mercy of Sarai and Abram’s will.

What it comes down to is that Abram and Sarai decided to help the LORD by devising their own plan to bring about God’s promised descendant. They are successful in producing a descendant of Abram. But was this the promised seed to Abram? Is this the “seed of the woman” who will crush the head of the serpent? We’ll see how this plays out in our next episode.

The theological principle coming to light already is that when God makes a promise, our attempts to make it happen through our own devices will likely create a bigger mess for ourselves. As Abram and Sarai will learn, we need to trust the LORD and wait on him. God can and will bring about every single promise he has made.