[And He Walks With Me] Exodus 6
1 In Exodus 5, Moses and Aaron obediently confronted Pharaoh. They issued the ultimatum God gave them, but there was no accompanying demonstration of his power. They did not even utilize the signs of the staff, leprosy, or water (see 4:1-9), presumably because these signs were given to convince the Israelites. Pharaoh’s initial refusal to release Israel (see 5:1-4), and the subsequent intensification of their suffering (see 5:6-22), then, were a response to their purely human effort. Often, God waits to move in power until our efforts have been exhausted and failed. In this way, he can be assured we are utterly unable to claim the credit for his work and so steal his glory. Indeed, everyone saw what Moses could do in chapter 5 (i.e., make things worse), but now you will see what I will do to Pharaoh.
2-3 Progressive revelation is the notion that God did not reveal everything about himself at once but instead revealed bits and pieces of himself over a long period of time, culminating with the revelation of Christ. Whether or not God continues to reveal himself is a matter of some debate. Though the revelation of Scripture is complete, and Christians believe everything necessary to know God and be saved is contained therein, the fact remains that Chirstians often gain new insights into Scripture through archaeological, literary, and even scientific advances. Further, while a certain aspect of God’s character may be known to Christians collectively, God may yet reveal it to the individual Christ follower in a new and personal way as they study Scripture for themselves and endeavor to follow him through real life. Here, God reminded Moses that, while he appeared to Israel’s forefathers, he was not known to them by… name. This was not revealed until Moses’ generation.
6-9 God reiterated and even expanded his promise to Israel. In Exodus 3:7-8, the promise was only to bring them to the Promised Land. Here, he added that he will give it to you as a possession. That is, they will not live in the land as aliens (4), but it will be theirs. This is encouraging, but it is crucial to notice that God doubled down on the promise in the exact moment when, after the failure of chapter 5, it seemed to be dead on arrival. It is no wonder that Moses told this to the Israelites, but they did not listen to him because of their broken spirit and hard labor. Often, God reiterates and expands on his promises in the least likely moments. It is easy to believe such things in moments of victory and excitement because God’s promises seem attainable. However, it is in moments when promises seem distant or even impossible that real faith is required.
10-11 Obstacles, opposition, setbacks, initial failures, and even an utter lack of allies and followers do not equate to a release from God’s calling upon one’s life. By all human standards, Moses’ mission was at an end and he was a failure when the Israelites did not listen to him in vs 9. Yet, God essentially reiterated his command from 3:10: I am sending you to Pharaoh so that you may lead my people, the Israelites, out of Egypt.
12-13 Moses’ discouragement is here made plain when he returned to an objection that God already answered in 3:10-17. Notice, though, that God did not react in anger to Moses’ discouragement as he did in 3:14 when Moses was merely obstinate. God welcomes sincerity, even when it reveals hurt, anger, and despair. Instead, he did three things: (1) He spoke. The Hebrew word used here, dāḇar (וַיְדַבֵּר – H1696), most commonly conveys the idea of conversing. That is, instead of berating Moses for his discouragement, God sat down and had a dialogue with him in which he both listened and shared.[27] (2) He spoke to Moses and Aaron. By including Aaron in the conversation, God accomplished two things. First, he reminded Moses that he was not alone in his mission. It is much easier to do something hard alongside someone else. Second, by speaking also to Aaron, God provided a witness who could attest to the veracity of Moses’ account that God spoke to him. And (3) God gave them commands concerning both the Israelites and Pharaoh king of Egypt to bring the Israelites out of the land of Egypt. I.e., he reaffirmed that Moses’ calling was no mistake or pipe dream, and the promise that God was about to deliver Israel from its servitude was real.
14-27 The interjection of Moses’ and Aaron’s abbreviated genealogy is abrupt. The format of the genealogy is also strange as it only barely touches upon the lines of Jacob’s eldest sons, Reuben and Simeon, and makes absolutely no mention of the other nine. Further, it clearly skips several generations because 12:40 states the Israelites lived in Egypt… 430 years but even simply adding together the ages included in the genealogical record accounts for only 407 years. Yet, Levi was a grown man with a family of his own by the time Jacob moved to Egypt, and people are not born pregnant like tribbles.[28] The exact nature of the relationships documented here, then, are uncertain. E.g., verse 20 in most English translations describes Jochebed as Amram’s father’s sister (i.e., Amram’s aunt). However, the Septuagint (LXX) refers to her as “daughter of the brother of his father” (i.e., Amram’s cousin), and Numbers 26:59 is even more generic, saying only that she is a descendant of Levi.[29] Clearly, the details of this genealogy are not intended to bear intense scrutiny, but perhaps that is the point. At a time when one’s ancestry was a key part of a person’s identity, Moses’ and Aaron’s ancestry was intentionally vague and even ambiguous, as if to say that their identity was no longer rooted in the people and actions of the past. Rather, it is now based in God’s estimation and mission.
It is also interesting that, while Moses is certainly the focalpoint of the Exodus account overall, the focalpoint of this genealogy is clearly Aaron, and the apparent purpose is to establish his legitimacy as priest.[30]
28-29 God here again clarified his command to Moses. In 3:10, God said only that he was sending [Moses] to Pharaoh so that [he] may lead [God’s] people… out of Egypt. In Moses’ mind, this meant he was to be the catalyst. However, that clearly failed in chapter 5. At the beginning of chapter 6, God made clear he was the one who would effect Israel’s freedom, and now, he made clear that Moses’ role was merely as a mouthpiece or agent. Moses was sent only to tell Pharaoh… everything I am telling you. God will take care of the rest.
In some ways, the narrowing of Moses’ call must have been a relief. He was not responsible to force Pharaoh’s hand. He merely delivered the message. However, this task also represented the epitome of Moses’ insecurities. For the third time since God appeared to him in the burning bush, Moses protested about his speaking inability (4:10; 6:12; 6:30). Often, God chooses to work through the very thing that makes us most insecure so there will be no chance of us stealing credit for his work. This is striking because so much of modern culture revolves around leveraging a person’s strengths or charisma to do something of significance and so earn a place in the spotlight. Certainly, there is merit to using one’s gifts and skills, but that always carries the risk that the spotlight will be turned on the person rather than God. What if God would rather work in and through our weaknesses so he need not share the glory?
[27] “H1696 – dāḇar – Strong’s Hebrew Lexicon (KJV)”, n.d.; Mounce 2009, 1917
[28] Star Trek, season 2, episode 15. Original air date December 29, 2967.
[29] Durham 2018, 80
[30] Durham 2018, 81