Exodus 6

The previous chapter of Exodus ended with discouragement and doubt. The people of Israel were turning against Moses, and Moses was questioning the plan of God. God speaks into this situation that seems hopeless to men. His Word turns our gaze away from powers of dictators and toward the authority of heaven's King.

God says, “Now you shall see what I will do to Pharaoh; for with a strong hand he will send them out, and with a strong hand he will drive them out of his land.” This will not happen immediately, but it will most certainly happen.

The Lord reminds Moses of His commitment to the people of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, and His revelation of Himself to Moses as the great “I-AM.” He also renews His ancient promise to give the land of Canaan to His people. This great God of history is also the God of the future. He has heard the cry of His people and He is working decisively according to His plans. Even during a time when the world seems to be falling apart all around you, perhaps especially during those times, you need to hear the sure Word of God again. You need to trust. You need to believe.

God has a message for His suffering people. They are being played by Pharaoh. But Pharaoh is not the biggest player in the game. He is not the Lord of heaven and earth. God will bring the people out of Egypt. He will do this in a way that shows His “outstretched arm.” This is a great privilege for anyone to see. He will establish the descendents of Jacob as His people, and He will be their God. This will be a moment to remember. Pharaoh may be quite the man of oppression, but I-AM is the Lord.

Moses told all this to the people, but they did not listen. They were broken. They could not hear the Word of God with faith.

So God moved. He knows our weakness, and He still loves us. He used Moses, who himself continued to doubt that Pharaoh would ever listen to him. This Moses, from the tribe of Levi, the man the people of Israel would not listen to, the man who considered his inability to speak as a fatal flaw; God would use this Moses to speak to Pharaoh, and to lead the oppressed people of Israel out of Egypt.

The tribes of Israel were still intact after all those years in Egypt. Reuben, Simeon, Levi, and the rest had leaders and followers. But God picked this one man, the son of Amram and his wife Jochebed, the brother of Aaron and Miriam, the boy that was rescued out of the waters. He would be the man that God would call to this important and difficult post.

“Bring out the people of Israel from the land of Egypt by their hosts.” That was God's Word. It was impossible for man, but the Lord would show forth His great power. This Moses and Aaron would speak again to Pharaoh king of Egypt about bringing out the people of Israel from their bondage in Egypt.

Yet when the time came for this man Moses to act, would he follow what the Lord told him to do?

God said to Him, “I am the Lord.” Would Moses continue to argue with the God of His fathers, the God of the burning bush?

God said to him, “Tell Pharaoh king of Egypt all that I say to you.”

So far this had not gone very well on two levels. Moses had not delivered the precise message of God to Pharaoh. He did not say that Israel was God's special son. He did not tell Pharaoh what would happen to Pharaoh's own son if the king dared to resist Israel's God. He had appealed to Pharaoh's sympathy for the Israelites who might be hurt by their God if they did not obey His command to worship them in the wilderness. Moses did not glorify God in the Lord's particular love for Israel. This was a disappointing start.

Furthermore, the reaction of Pharaoh had been so strategic and so fiercely evil that not only did the people falter in their faith, but even Moses continued to look for a way out of his divine calling. He said, “I am of uncircumcised lips. How will Pharaoh listen to me?”

God knows our weakness. He hears our cries. He loves His church. He will step in with mighty acts of deliverance when we have run out of strength.

How can we be sure of this? The gifts and calling of God are irrevocable. See Romans 11:29. When we doubt the determination of God, when we cannot hear His voice, when we hear only our own uncircumcised lips, we need to remember Jesus, the Mediator of the New Covenant. He heard the call of God upon His life, and He obeyed. He obeyed even when obedience insisted on a cross.

It is from that cross that we are reminded of our own sad failure. But it is also from that cross that we remember the Lord's perfect atoning sacrifice. God knows the full situation. He is committed. He will not be stopped. He will rescue His people according to His Word.