Exodus Chapter 6
1 The LORD said to Moses, "Now you shall see what I will do to Pharaoh, for by a strong hand he shall let them go, and by a strong hand he shall drive them out of his land."
2 God spoke to Moses, and said to him, "I am the LORD.
3 I appeared to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob, as God Almighty; but by my name the LORD I was not known to them.
4 I have also established my covenant with them, to give them the land of Canaan, the land of their travels, in which they lived as aliens.
5 Moreover I have heard the groaning of the children of Israel, whom the Egyptians keep in bondage, and I have remembered my covenant.
6 Therefore tell 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 an outstretched arm, and with great judgements.
7 I will take you to myself for a people. I will be your God; and you shall know that I am the LORD your God, who brings you out from under the burdens of the Egyptians.
8 I will bring you into the land which I swore to give to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob; and I will give it to you for a heritage: I am the LORD.' "
9 Moses spoke so to the children of Israel, but they didn't listen to Moses for anguish of spirit, and for cruel bondage.
10 The LORD spoke to Moses, saying,
11 "Go in, speak to Pharaoh king of Egypt, that he let the children of Israel go out of his land."
12 Moses spoke before the LORD, saying, "Behold, the children of Israel haven't listened to me. How then shall Pharaoh listen to me, when I have uncircumcised lips?"
13 The LORD spoke to Moses and to Aaron, and gave them a command to the children of Israel, and to Pharaoh king of Egypt, to bring the children of Israel out of the land of Egypt.
14 These are the heads of their fathers' houses. The sons of Reuben the firstborn of Israel: Hanoch, and Pallu, Hezron, and Carmi; these are the families of Reuben.
15 The sons of Simeon: Jemuel, and Jamin, and Ohad, and Jachin, and Zohar, and Shaul the son of a Canaanite woman; these are the families of Simeon.
16 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 one hundred and thirty-seven years.
17 The sons of Gershon: Libni and Shimei, according to their families.
18 The sons of Kohath: Amram, and Izhar, and Hebron, and Uzziel; and the years of the life of Kohath were one hundred and thirty-three years.
19 The sons of Merari: Mahli and Mushi. These are the families of the Levites according to their generations.
20 Amram took Jochebed his father's sister to himself as wife; and she bore him Aaron and Moses. The years of the life of Amram were one hundred and thirty-seven years.
21 The sons of Izhar: Korah, and Nepheg, and Zichri.
22 The sons of Uzziel: Mishael, and Elzaphan, and Sithri.
23 Aaron took Elisheba, the daughter of Amminadab, the sister of Nahshon, as his wife; and she bore him Nadab and Abihu, Eleazar and Ithamar.
24 The sons of Korah: Assir, and Elkanah, and Abiasaph; these are the families of the Korahites.
25 Eleazar Aaron's son took one of the daughters of Putiel as his wife; and she bore him Phinehas. These are the heads of the fathers' houses 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 those who spoke to Pharaoh king of Egypt, to bring out the children of Israel from Egypt. These are that Moses and Aaron.
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 tell you."
30 Moses said before the LORD, "Behold, I am of uncircumcised lips, and how shall Pharaoh listen to me?"
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Exodus Chapter 6 Guide
Here commences the section of Exodus devoted to the subject of national deliverance. Everything began with a solemn charge to Moses. It is first an answer to the complaint which God's servant had uttered in His presence. It was a message of divine self-assertion and, therefore, necessarily a message of grace. Mark the recurrence of the personal pronoun. That is the permanent value of this wonderful passage. The supreme need in every hour of difficulty and depression is a vision of God. To see Him is to see all else in proper proportion and perspective. Moreover, in this passage we have the unfolding of the real value of the name Jehovah.
After this the command to go to Pharaoh was reiterated and a new fear took possession of the heart of Moses which again was expressed in the presence of God. He no longer complained at God's treatment of the people but spoke of his own inability to deliver God's message. That inability was now born of a sense, not as before of his lack of eloquence, but of his uncleanness. He spoke of himself as of uncircumcised lips. As when Isaiah beheld the glory of God he cried, "I am a man of unclean lips"; and as Daniel in the presence of the same glory said, "My comeliness was turned in me into corruption"; and as Job in the presence of the matchless splendor of God said, "Behold, I am of small account"; so Moses became conscious of his own moral imperfection.
From "An Exposition of the Whole Bible" by G. Campbell Morgan.
Exodus Chapter 6 Commentary
Chapter Outline
- God renews his promise. -- (1-9)
- Moses and Aaron again sent to Pharaoh. -- (10-13)
- The parentage of Moses and Aaron. -- (14-30)
Verses 1-9
We are most likely to prosper in attempts to glorify God, and to be useful to men, when we learn by experience that we can do nothing of ourselves; when our whole dependence is placed on him, and our only expectation is from him. Moses had been expecting what God would do; but now he shall see what he will do. God would now be known by his name Jehovah, that is, a God performing what he had promised, and finishing his own work. God intended their happiness: I will take you to me for a people, a peculiar people, and I will be to you a God. More than this we need not ask, we cannot have, to make us happy. He intended his own glory: Ye shall know that I am the Lord. These good words, and comfortable words, should have revived the drooping Israelites, and have made them forget their misery; but they were so taken up with their troubles, that they did not heed God's promises. By indulging discontent and fretfulness, we deprive ourselves of the comfort we might have, both from God's word and from his providence, and go comfortless.
Verses 10-13
The faith of Moses was so feeble that he could scarcely be kept to his work. Ready obedience is always according to the strength of our faith. Though our weaknesses ought to humble us, yet they ought not to discourage us from doing our best in any service we have to do for God. When Moses repeats his baffled arguments, he is argued with no longer, but God gives him and Aaron a charge, both to the children of Israel, and to Pharaoh. God's authority is sufficient to answer all objections, and binds all to obey, without murmuring or disputing, Php 2:14.
Verses 14-30
Moses and Aaron were Israelites; raised up unto them of their brethren, as Christ also should be, who was to be the Prophet and Priest, the Redeemer and Lawgiver of the people of Israel. Moses returns to his narrative, and repeats the charge God had given him to deliver his message to Pharaoh, and his objection against it. Those who have spoken unadvisedly with their lips ought to reflect upon it with regret, as Moses seems to do here. "Uncircumcised," is used in Scripture to note the unsuitableness there may be in any thing to answer its proper purpose; as the carnal heart and depraved nature of fallen man are wholly unsuited to the services of God, and to the purposes of his glory. It is profitable to place no confidence in ourselves, all our sufficiency must be in the Lord. We never can trust ourselves too little, or our God too much. I can do nothing by myself, said the apostle, but I can do all things through Christ which strengtheneth me.
From the "Concise Commentary on the Bible" by Matthew Henry.