EXODUS 6 – by Sonny Islas, for the full teaching go here Facebook video.
INTRODUCTION: EXODUS 6 - GOD PROMISES FREEDOM
In EXODUS 5 during Moses’ first encounter with Pharaoh, Moses tells Pharaoh “Thus says the LORD God of Israel: let My people go (Pharaoh became comfortable with the idea of Israel being his property), that they may hold a feast to Me in the wilderness.”
God wanted to get alone with His people in order to introduce Himself to them and for them to enjoy His company, but ultimately for them to joyfully worship Him who is worthy (of all worship and honor and glory).
Pharaoh refuses and decides to double down on the Israelites’ slave labor and workload – “make bricks without straw!” (I know masonry work firsthand – not easy work to begin with). Pharaoh was far more concerned with his power and economy than the worship of the LORD. Pharaoh pridefully asks, “Who is the LORD?” To which I say, “He will introduce Himself soon, with plagues to prove His power over you, Pharaoh and your false gods!”
Moses becomes extremely discouraged by Pharaoh’s refusal and cold-bloodedness towards Israel and returns back to God and basically blames God for Pharaoh’s cruelty towards Israel.
Let’s pick up where we left off last week:
EXODUS 5:22-23
22 And Moses returned unto the Lord, and said, Lord, wherefore hast thou so evil entreated this people? why is it that thou hast sent me? 23 For since I came to Pharaoh to speak in thy name, he hath done evil to this people; neither hast thou delivered thy people at all.
EXODUS 6:1-13
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. 2 And God spake unto Moses, and said unto him, I am the Lord: 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. 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. 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. 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:
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. 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. 9 And Moses spake so unto the children of Israel: but they hearkened not unto Moses for anguish of spirit, and for cruel bondage. 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.
At this point Moses doubts and questions God’s goodness (“Why have You brought trouble on these people?”), questions God’s choice and plan (“Why is it You have sent me?”) and questions God’s power and word (“Neither have you delivered Your people at all”).
Moses expected ‘friendly Pharaoh’ to co-operate with a smile from ear to ear – no hassles – smooth sailing. And when Moses’ expectations fell through, God was the One to accuse and blame.
Moses was essentially telling God “I thought You knew what You were doing? Now look what You have done! Things are getting WORSE – NOT BETER! What are You really up to anyway?!” Moses disrespected God – he crossed the line in my opinion.
There are times when we can become frustrated with God. Mainly when we do what is commanded of us in Scripture and things don’t go as we expected (like Moses who did what God commanded but then it seemingly backfired). Say, for example,
“I got married and my marriage is falling apart!”
“I prayed for a dying friend and You didn’t heal him!”
“I started a new ministry and it’s not thriving! (It’s moving forward at 1MPH)”
“I’m sharing the gospel with everyone (we exaggerate at times) and I haven’t caught one fish (soul)! What’s the point!?”
Listen, the LORD never promised that it would be easy (and this is something Moses is now learning firsthand) i.e. In JOHN 16:33 Jesus said to his troubled disciples,
These things I have spoken to you, that in Me you may have peace. In the world you will have tribulation; but be of good cheer, I have overcome the world.
Obeying God is not always a walk in the park. Ministry is not always easy; planting a church is not easy, Marriage is not easy, parenting is not easy, rescuing souls from Satan’s grip is not easy. Life in general is not easy – BUT GOD. . .!!
The LORD had already given Moses a heads up just like Jesus did in JOHN 16:33 where in:
EXODUS 4:21
And the Lord said to Moses, ‘When you go back to Egypt, see that you do all those wonders before Pharaoh which I have put in your hand. But I will harden his heart, so that he will not let the people go.’
Moses should not have been surprised but he was just like us, even after Jesus told us to expect tough times. What Moses failed to understand is that God’s plans, His ways, and His timings are better than his or ours – God’s got this!
“Now you shall see what I will do to Pharaoh; for with a strong hand he will send them out”
“Now” . . . not in your timing Moses but in Mine. What Moses failed to understand was that Pharaoh’s prideful refusal was all a part of the plan of God. If God wouldn’t have hardened Pharaoh’s hard heart even more, Egypt and Israel would have never seen and experienced the great and awesome power of God!
God was not only interested in rescuing Israel – no – He was going to get much more out of all of this mess. He was going to humble Pharaoh (who thought he was a god – untouchable), He was going to judge Egypt for their ongoing idolatry and evil deeds and above all of this, He was going to reveal His unparalleled power by performing breathtaking signs and wonders. The same LORD Pharaoh knew nothing about, he will now come to know and never forget!
Moses was just concerned with freeing Israel from slavery - God was too, but above that, He was concerned with displaying His might and power! God was cooking up a grand Exodus where the Red Sea would be split, not some lame agreement and permission from Pharaoh!
Remember this, the time you go through a difficult time – God is up to something bigger than what we think or want. What we must understand is that God is in it for God – He does what He does for our good but even more for His own glory.
God tells Moses “I AM the LORD. I appeared to Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, as God Almighty, but by My Name LORD I was not known to them.”
Regarding Canaan, the patriarchs knew the LORD as the promise maker; but the children of the Israelites will know the LORD as the promise keeper. The patriarchs knew Him as LORD, but they didn’t know Him like Moses and the Israelites will know Him – in a deeper way – through the Ten Commandments, the terrible and awesome scene on the mountain, and the new ongoing worship in the Tabernacle.
God also says, “I have also established My covenant with them, to give them the land of Canaan, the land of their pilgrimage, in which they were strangers.”
Here we see just how gracious God dealt with Moses even after Moses seemingly disrespected God.
This points to God being patient with our finite minds and flaky emotions. At times we are so near sighted that God as our loving Father has no choice but to have pity on us.
Here, The LORD begins to unfold His plan a little more by telling Moses that He was up to more than just a great rescue, but that He was keeping His promise by eventually giving the land of Canaan to the Israelites.
At times when we become frustrated with a certain circumstance due to how little we understand it, the LORD in His grace may shine a little more light on our situation to comfort us – like He did here for Moses.
“And I have also heard the groaning of the children of Israel”
God was not only concerned with keeping His promise, He was also moved with compassion as He heard His people cry out for relief and rescue. Listen, our tears, fears and worries poured about before the LORD in prayer moves His loving heart and His almighty arm!
“I will take you as My people, and I will be your God. Then you shall know that I am the Lord your God who brings you out from under the burdens of the Egyptians.”
This is the point of salvation and deliverance at all levels – God desires to draw us near, share His heart, show His power and be our God. God longs to show Himself great to His people. God desires for us to grow in the knowledge of His character, His wisdom, His love, His greatness. God saves us in order to start a relationship with us and continues to save us to strengthen that relationship - continually.
“So Moses spoke thus to the children of Israel; but they did not heed Moses, because of anguish of spirit and cruel bondage.”
The people reacted to Moses’ good news in just about the same way Moses reacted to God’s – with speculation and doubt. The people were too hurt and discouraged to really believe and rejoice.
Two Vital Things to Always Remember:
1. It’s hard to trust God and take in God’s Word with confidence when we’re down and out. But our issues don’t change God’s kind heart towards us. Our discouragement doesn’t make God’s goodness towards us void.
2. As a pastor I’m reminded that God’s people are not always on ten. You are not always happy and singing hymns on cloud nine. You go through real struggles that are not easy to shake off and for this reason I, like Moses am called to be patient with you and to allow God to move in your lives and circumstances. People are not always going to joyfully heed all my preaching - at times - because of their painful situations my teachings, preaching and encouragements may go in through one ear and out the other.
God then tells Moses to go back to Pharaoh and tell him to let God’s people go. To which Moses replies “The children of Israel have not heeded me (that is, they haven’t listened - to the point of belief and action). How shall Pharaoh heed me, for I am of uncircumcised lips?” In other words “I’m a poor speaker.”
Moses keeps making the mistake of looking to himself instead of looking to God. He focuses more on Pharaoh, the Israelites, and his own handicaps rather than focusing on God who is all powerful.
Two More Vital Points To Keep in Mind:
1. When God calls us to do something, and we see that we are inadequate, unable, inexperienced etc. at this time we are to trust in God’s power not ours. It wasn’t Moses’ lips or ability to speak that was going to move Pharaoh and rescue Israel, it was going to be God’s Words and His power that was going to get the job done. God was just bringing Moses along for the ride.
2. Also, keep obeying. Moses was sent to Pharaoh over and over again until finally Pharaoh heeded. In the same way, we are to repeat our obedience until something happens. If our obedience seems to be unsuccessful – try again and again and again.
Let’s conclude with the family line of Moses and Aaron:
EXODUS 6:14-30
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. 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. 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. 17 The sons of Gershon; Libni, and Shimi, according to their families. 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.19 And the sons of Merari; Mahali and Mushi: these are the families of Levi according to their generations.
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. 21 And the sons of Izhar; Korah, and Nepheg, and Zichri. 22 And the sons of Uzziel; Mishael, and Elzaphan, and Zithri. 23 And Aaron took him Elisheba, daughter of Amminadab, sister of Naashon, to wife; and she bare him Nadab, and Abihu, Eleazar, and Ithamar. 24 And the sons of Korah; Assir, and Elkanah, and Abiasaph: these are the families of the Korhites.
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. 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. 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. 28 And it came to pass on the day when the Lord spake unto Moses in the land of Egypt, 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. 30 And Moses said before the Lord, Behold, I am of uncircumcised lips, and how shall Pharaoh hearken unto me?
There are people in this lineage that we will see later on in Scripture, such as Phinehas, a son of Aaron who was zealous for the name of the LORD.
Check out ZEALOUS For The Name of the LORD, where we see what Phinehas did that pleased the LORD.
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