LESSON 6
GOD'S ANSWER TO MOSES
Exodus 6:1-30
—by E. L. Bynum
Memory Verse: Exodus 6:7, “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.”
Introduction:
In the last lesson, we learned that Israel's harsh words to Moses, caused him to pray unto the Lord. While he went to the right place, yet his words were wrong. Even so, God answered him in love and mercy, Psalm 103:8, 14, “The LORD is merciful and gracious, slow to anger, and plenteous in mercy. For he knoweth our frame; he remembereth that we [are] dust.”
God had promised that Israel would be delivered (Exodus 3:19-20), and God always keeps His promises, Isaiah 46:9-10, “Remember the former things of old: for I am God, and there is none else; I am God, and there is none like me, Declaring the end from the beginning, and from ancient times the things that are not yet done, saying, My counsel shall stand, and I will do all my pleasure.” Proverbs 21:30, “There is no wisdom nor understanding nor counsel against the LORD.” Isaiah 55:11, “So shall my word be that goeth forth out of my mouth: it shall not return unto me void, but it shall accomplish that which I please, and it shall prosper in the thing whereto I sent it. God speaks to us by the written word of God.”
Since His promises were not yet written, God spoke to Moses in an audible voice. Exodus 33:11, “And the LORD spake unto Moses face to face, as a man speaketh unto his friend. And he turned again into the camp: but his servant Joshua, the son of Nun, a young man, departed not out of the tabernacle.” Deuteronomy 34:10, “And there arose not a prophet since in Israel like unto Moses, whom the LORD knew face to face,”
I. GOD'S ANSWER TO A DISAPPOINTED MOSES vv. 1-13
A. God Will Keep His Covenant, vv. 1-4.
1. Pharaoh will not only let them go, but he will drive them out, v. 1; Exodus 12:31-33, “And he called for Moses and Aaron by night, and said, Rise up, and get you forth from among my people, both ye and the children of Israel; and go, serve the LORD, as ye have said. 32 Also take your flocks and your herds, as ye have said, and be gone; and bless me also. 33 And the Egyptians were urgent upon the people, that they might send them out of the land in haste; for they said, We be all dead men.”
2. God reveals His COVENANT NAME, vv. 2-3.
a. He reveals Himself as JEHOVAH, v. 2. Remember when “LORD” is spelled with caps, it is Jehovah.
b. He had made Himself known to Abraham as God Almighty (EI-Shaddai). v. 3.
c. “By my name JEHOVAH was I not known to them.” v. 3. This is admittedly a hard passage of Scripture, but it does yield to careful study. God was known by Jehovah (LORD), to Abraham. See Genesis 13:4, “Unto the place of the altar, which he had made there at the first: and there Abram called on the name of the LORD.” See also Genesis15:7; 26:25; 32:9-10.
Note: Although Abraham was acquainted with the title of Jehovah (LORD), he "had no experimental acquaintance with all that it stood for. God has entered into a `covenant' with them, but, as Hebrews 11:13 tells us, ‘These all died in faith, not having received the promises.'" ---A.W. Pink. Now God is going to give them the deliverance that His name (Jehovah) implies. Jehovah is the covenant name of God and it was so sacred, the Jews would not speak it. They substituted "Adonai" which means "Master."
3. Jehovah will now keep that covenant formerly made with them, v. 4. The saints today are related to God by covenant.
B. The Covenant Keeping Jehovah Will Have Mercy, vv. 5-8.
1. God had heard their groaning and He had remembered His covenant, Deuteronomy 7:7-8, “The LORD did not set his love upon you, nor choose you, because ye were more in number than any people; for ye were the fewest of all people: But because the LORD loved you, and because he would keep the oath which he had sworn unto your fathers, hath the LORD brought you out with a mighty hand, and redeemed you out of the house of bondmen, from the hand of Pharaoh king of Egypt.” Isaiah 55:3, “Incline your ear, and come unto me: hear, and your soul shall live; and I will make an everlasting covenant with you, even the sure mercies of David.” Acts 13:34, “And as concerning that he raised him up from the dead, now no more to return to corruption, he said on this wise, I will give you the sure mercies of David.” Hebrews 13:20, “Now the God of peace, that brought again from the dead our Lord Jesus, that great shepherd of the sheep, through the blood of the everlasting covenant.”
2. Notice the 7 “I WILL's” of vv. 6-8: “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.”
a. “I WILL bring you out from under the burdens,” v. 6.
b. “I WILL rid you out of their bondage,” v. 6.
c. "I WILL redeem you." v. 6. This means to purchase and set free.
1) This purchase made by the blood of the lamb, 1 Peter 1:18-19, “Forasmuch as ye know that ye were not redeemed with corruptible things, as silver and gold, from your vain conversation received by tradition from your fathers; But with the precious blood of Christ, as of a lamb without blemish and without spot.”
2) They were bought out of slavery “with a price”, 1 Corinthians 6:20, “For ye are bought with a price: therefore glorify God in your body, and in your spirit, which are God's.”
3) Bought by God’s mighty power, Ephesians 1:19, “And what is the exceeding greatness of his power to us-ward who believe, according to the working of his mighty power.”
d. “I WILL take you to me for a people,” v. 7.
Note: They were to be His peculiar treasure and the objects of His care. This is the basis for all that God did for the Jews.
e. “I WILL be to you a God,” v. 7. Only God could do for them what He did at the Red Sea, 2 Corinthians 6:16, “And what agreement hath the temple of God with idols? for ye are the temple of the living God; as God hath said, I will dwell in them, and walk in them; and I will be their God, and they shall be my people.”
f. “I WILL bring you in unto the land,” v. 8. He not only brought them out, but He brought them in. Thus will He do for all His blood bought Saints
g. “I WILL give it you for a heritage,” v. 8. In the millennium they will fully possess it.
1) We NOW have the EARNEST OF OUR INHERITANCE, soon we shall have it all, Ephesians 1:14, “According as he hath chosen us in him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and without blame before him in love.”
2) Note it is a GIFT, 2 Corinthians 9:15, “Thanks be unto God for his unspeakable gift.”
3) Notice that the 7 “I WILL'S” ARE PREFACED and FOLLOWED by, “I am the LORD” (Jehovah).
4) See the NEW COVENANT, where we see 7 PROMISES from the Lord, Jeremiah 31:33-34, “But this shall be the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel; After those days, saith the LORD, I will put my law in their inward parts, and write it in their hearts; and will be their God, and they shall be my people. And they shall teach no more every man his neighbour, and every man his brother, saying, Know the LORD: for they shall all know me, from the least of them unto the greatest of them, saith the LORD: for I will forgive their iniquity, and I will remember their sin no more.”
3. God's covenant has an inheritance connected with it, Hebrews 7:22, “By so much was Jesus made a surety of a better testament.” 1 Peter 1:4, “To an inheritance incorruptible, and undefiled, and that fadeth not away, reserved in heaven for you.”
C. Moses Speaks to the People of the Covenant, v. 9.
1. He speaks to them what God said the second time, but they were TOO DISCOURAGED to be helped, Exodus 5:21, “And they said unto them, The LORD look upon you, and judge; because ye have made our savour to be abhorred in the eyes of Pharaoh, and in the eyes of his servants, to put a sword in their hand to slay us.”
2. Moses and the people had GIVEN UP under the heavy labor, but God had not.
Note: Shortness of spirit or breath. The words signify that their labor was so continual, and their bondage so cruel and oppressive, that they had scarcely time to breathe. ---Adam Clarke’s Commentary. They were “Reduced to utter hopelessness, with their misery darkening all their souls, they are deaf to the gracious voice that proclaimed liberty and blessing.” ---Eclectic Note for Exodus.
D. The Covenant Maker Sends Moses to Pharaoh again, vv. 10-13
1. God renewed Moses’ orders to him TO GO AGAIN to Pharaoh to let the people go, vv. 10-11; 1 Kings 18:43, “And said to his servant, Go up now, look toward the sea. And he went up, and looked, and said, There is nothing. And he said, Go again seven times.”
2. Moses’ LIPS had NOT succeeded with Israel, v. 12; Jeremiah 6:10, “To whom shall I speak, and give warning, that they may hear? behold, their ear is uncircumcised, and they cannot hearken: behold, the word of the LORD is unto them a reproach; they have no delight in it.”
3. He was all the MORE AFRAID that they would NOT SUCCEED WITH Pharaoh, v. 12; Exodus 6:30, “And Moses said before the LORD, Behold, I am of uncircumcised lips, and how shall Pharaoh hearken unto me?”
Note: Uncircumcised lips—A metaphorical expression among the Hebrews, who, taught to look on the circumcision of any part as denoting perfection, signified its deficiency or unsuitableness by uncircumcision. The words here express how painfully Moses felt his want of utterance or persuasive oratory.---Jameson, Fausset, Brown Commentary.
4. NEVERTHELESS, God is UNMOVED by the DEAFNESS of His people, the FAILURE of His servant, or the OPEN ANTAGONISM of Pharaoh, He commands his servants TO GO AGAIN, v. 13.
II. THE FAMILIES OF ISRAEL AND THE RENEWED COMMISSION. vv. 14-30
A. The Genealogy of Three Tribes, vv. 14-27.
Note: Some think that these three are taken notice of, to show that they were NOT REJECTED of God, though they seem to be rather cursed than blessed by Jacob; and that though they were guilty of very great crimes, as Reuben of incest, and Simeon and Levi of murder, yet they TRULY REPENTED, and OBTAINED MERCY of God, and were HONOURED in their OFFSPRING, of whom an account is here given; but the two first seem to be taken notice of for the sake of the third, and that order might be observed, and that it might plainly appear that the deliverers of Israel were Israelites. ---John Gill’s Expositor.
1. The sons of Reuben, v. 14.
2. The sons of Simeon, v. 15.
3. The sons of Levi, vv. 16-25.
4. Moses and Aaron identified, vv. 26-27.
Note: Notice that only the first 3 sons of Jacob are named, and that the third one is made the most of. Three is the number of resurrection.
B. The Commission Renewed, vv. 28-30.
1. Moses commanded to speak to Pharaoh, vv. 28-29.
a. What God begins, Ephesians 2:10, “For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus unto good works, which God hath before ordained that we should walk in them.”
b. He always finishes, Philippians 1:6, “Being confident of this very thing, that he which hath begun a good work in you will perform it until the day of Jesus Christ.”
2. Moses once again tries to excuse himself, v. 30; 1 Corinthians 9:16-17, “For though I preach the gospel, I have nothing to glory of: for necessity is laid upon me; yea, woe is unto me, if I preach not the gospel! 17 For if I do this thing willingly, I have a reward: but if against my will, a dispensation of the gospel is committed unto me.”
Note: In chapters 3 and 4, he [Moses] makes 5 excuses to the Lord. In chapter 6, he makes two more, making 7 in all. Seven speaks of completion, and thus we have the complete exhibition of the weakness and unbelief of Moses.
—by E. L. Bynum; Revision by Art Davison
STUDY QUESTIONS
1. God promises that Pharaoh will not only let them go, but that he will
2. What is the meaning of EI-Shaddai?
3. What is God's covenant name with Israel?
4. How is this name often translated and spelled in the Bible? Be specific in this.
5. What is meant by "By my name JEHOVAH was I not known to them?"
6. Name the seven I WILLS of God in this chapter.
7. What excuse did Moses use in this chapter, for not going to Pharaoh'
8. The genealogy of three of Jacob's sons are given in this chapter. Name those three sons, in the right order.
9. Of which tribe were Moses and Aaron?
10. Name the parents of Moses and Aaron.
11. The grandfather of Moses was? This is more important than you migh think.
12. How many excuses did Moses make in all?
13. What is the significance of ;the number of those excuses?
No comments:
Post a Comment