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Exodus chapter 6 I'll read the chapter and then we'll look at mainly the first half we have the Assurance of Israel's Deliverance in verses 1 to13 and then we have the genealogy of Moses and Aaron from verses 14 to 27 and then the chapter resumes where Moses left off prior to the genealogy sometimes I think as as um Canadians or Americans we read this and we wonder why in the world would the writer put the genealogy in this place well Hebrew narrative doesn't work in the same sort of way our narrative does and this is perfectly legit just to indicate and distinguish the Moses and the Aaron that are going to be going head-to-head with Pharaoh so beginning in chapter 6 we'll pick up actually in 522 so Moses returned to the Lord and said Lord why have you brought trouble on this people why is it you have sent me for since I came to pharaoh to speak in your name he has done evil to this people neither have you delivered your people at all then the Lord said to Moses now you shall see what I will do to Pharaoh for with a strong hand he will let them go and with a strong hand he will drive them out of his out of his land and God spoke to Moses and said to him I am the Lord I appeared to Abraham to Isaac and to Jacob as God Almighty but by My Name Lord I was not known to them I have also established my Covenant with them to give them the land of Cana Canan the land of their pilgrimage in which they were strangers and I have also heard the groaning of the children of Israel whom the Egyptians keep in bondage and I have remembered my Covenant therefore say to the children of Israel I am the Lord I will bring you out from under the burdens of the Egyptians I will rescue you from their bondage and I will redeem you with an outstretched arm and with great judgments I will take you as my people and I will be your God then you shall know know that I am the Lord your God who brings you out from under the burdens of the Egyptians and I will bring you into the land which I swore to give to Abraham Isaac and Jacob and I will give it to you as a Heritage I am the Lord so Moses spoke thus to the children of Israel but they did not heed Moses because of Anguish of spirit and cruel bondage and the Lord spoke to Moses saying go in tell Pharaoh king of Egypt to let the children of Israel go out of his land and Moses spoke before the Lord saying the children of Israel have not heeded me how then shall Pharaoh heed me for I am of uncircumcised lips then the Lord spoke to Moses and Aaron and gave them a command for the children of Israel and for Pharaoh king of Egypt to bring the children of Israel out of the land of Egypt these are the heads of their father's houses the sons of Reuben the firstborn of Israel where hanoch pooo heon and Cari these are the families of Reuben and the sons of zimon were jamuel Jamon Ohad jacin Zohar and Shaw the son of a Canaanite Woman these are the families of Simeon these are the names of the sons of Levi according to their Generations Gerson Co coath and marari and the years of the life of Levi were 137 the sons of Gerson were libney and shimmy according to their families and the sons of Kath were amram iar Hebron and uziel and the years of the life of Kath were 133 the sons of marari were Mahi and Mushi these are the families of Levi according to their Generations now amram took for himself joed his father's sister as wife and she bore him Aaron and Moses and the years of the life of amram amram were 137 the sons of itar were Kora neph and zik and the sons of uziel were mishel elaan and zeithri Aaron took to himself elishaba daughter of aminadab sister of Nan as wife and she bore him naab Abu Eleazar and ithamar and the sons of Kora were assir Elana and abasa these are the families of the korahites Eleazar Aon Aaron's son took for himself one of the daughters of puel as wife and she bore him Phineas these are the heads of the fathers houses of the Levites according to their families these are the same Aaron and Moses to whom the Lord said bring out the children of Israel from the land of Egypt according to their armies these are the ones who spoke to Pharaoh king of Egypt to bring out the children of Israel from Egypt these are the same Moses and Aaron and it came to pass on the day the Lord spoke to Moses in the land of Egypt that the Lord spoke to Moses saying I am the Lord speak to Pharaoh king of Egypt all that I say to you but Moses said before the Lord behold I am of uncircumcised lips and how shall Pharaoh heed me amen well essentially we are building up to the 10 plagues remember that God has previously announced to Moses that it will be through an outstretched arm or through a demonstration of God's Mighty power that will ultimately break the back of Egypt's oppression over Israel in other words they're going to have to feel some pain and experience death before they ever light uh lighten up and let the people of Israel go so as I said we have in the first half of the chapter the Assurance of Israel's Deliverance in verses 1 to13 and then secondly the genealogy of Moses and Aaron but with reference to the Assurance of Israel's Deliverance notice in the first place God again indicates this demonstration of power so backing up just a bit in terms of the context we know that the people of Israel are are upset with Moses and Aaron at this particular time they've already met unsuccessfully with Pharaoh they have laid out yahweh's demands to Pharaoh that he let their people or that he let his people go let the children of Israel leave from Egypt and of course Pharaoh repudiated that Pharaoh rejected that and Pharaoh increased the hardship of the children of Israel so when Moses and Aaron meet with the people of Israel notice what we find in chapter 5 at verse 20 then as they came out from pH they met Moses and Aaron who stood there to meet them and they said to them let the Lord look on you and judge because you have made us abhorent in the sight of pharaoh and in the sight of his servants to put a sword in their hand to kill us so they're very upset about this increased activity as far as they're concerned Moses is not the deliverer that he has purported to be in fact his first attempt has failed miserably and it's only red uh uh uh uh made uh life harder for the Israelites so of course Moses is exasperated by that and that's the ethos between or behind verses 22 and 23 Lord why have you brought trouble on this people why is it you have sent me for since I came to pharaoh to speak e in your name he has done evil to this people neither have you delivered your people at all so essentially everything that you said God hasn't come to pass it's only gotten more difficult the people of Israel are upset Pharaoh is none the none the happier with us and everything's a whole lot worse than it was even prior to are meeting at the burning bush so there God answers him he answers him in a two-fold way first there's going to be this demonstration of power and then secondly he confirms what he's going to do based on his Covenant faithfulness so in verse one now you shall see what I will do to Pharaoh for with a strong hand he will let them go this is the strong hand of God this is not the strong hand of pharaoh but rather it is a demonstration of God's Power Visa the 10 plagues culminating in the death of the firstborn that will be the reason or the rationale behind Pharaoh eventually saying go ahead and leave once and for all so with a strong hand he will drive them out of his land so God's already announced that to Moses back in chapter 3 at verses 18 and 19 God has this purpose and plan to demonstrate his power through the agency of pharaoh and Paul makes that very clear in Romans 9:14 to18 theologizing on this particular situation the Apostle Paul is LED and constrained to say he will show Mercy to whom he shows Mercy he will have compassion on whom he has compassion but he will harden Those whom he will harden in other words this underscores in the mind of the Apostle Paul the absolute sovereignty of God Almighty and remember the larger context turn over to Exodus CH 12 for just a moment something we are not supposed to forget as we study this book of Exodus and as we come to these 10 plagues not only is is God freeing the children of Israel but God is judging the people of Egypt both for having enslave the Israelites but as well for being idolators notice in Exodus 12:12 for I will pass through the land of Egypt on that night and will strike all the firstborn in the land of Egypt both man and Beast and against all the gods of Egypt I will execute judgment I am the Lord so this was a demonstration of the power of God and as well his uniqueness as the living and true God the children of Egypt or rather the Egyptians were dependent for instance on the Nile they saw it as being Divine they saw it as being a lifegiving agent and so when God changes it into blood that sends a message to them that their God is fake their God is a fraud their God isn't real so he's demonstrating his power not only for the Vindication of his elect but as well to sh down and bring judgment upon these Egyptians in fact if you turn for just a moment to Psalm 136 Psalm 136 should be a familiar Psalm to all of us there is a constant refrain a continual refrain and that refrain is for his Mercy endures forever and the psalmist traces God's dealings and doings with the children of Israel and if you get to verse 10 notice to him who struck Egypt in their firstborn for his Mercy endures forever again it depends on what side of the of the line you're standing upon I doubt the Egyptians would have interpreted it that way but certainly it was an act of Mercy for the children of Israel for God to bring that judgment upon the firstborn in Egypt verse 11 and brought out Israel from among them for his Mercy endures forever with an outstretched arm and with an uh uh with a strong hand and with an outstretched arm for his Mercy endures forever to him who divided the Red Sea in two for his Mercy endures forever and made Israel pass through the midst of it for his Mercy endures forever but overthrew pharaoh and his Mercy in the red and his army in the Red Sea for his Mercy endures forever again pharaoh and his army didn't interpret this as God's mercy but when God vindicates his elect that typically and normally means the subjugation the decimation of the enemies of God's elect and it's in that that the psalmist rejoices it's in that that the people of God throughout the history of the world rejoice when God not only vindicates his elect to cry to him day and night but when he renders judgment upon those who would oppress them upon those who would hinder them upon those who would enslave him enslave them verse 16 to him who led his people through the Wilderness for his Mercy endures forever to him who struck down found great Kings for his Mercy endures forever and slew famous Kings for his Mercy endures forever sihon King of the amorites for his Mercy endures forever and OG king of basa for his Mercy endures forever and gave their land as a Heritage for his Mercy endures forever a Heritage to Israel his servant for his Mercy endures forever so this would be a demonstration of God's power and might and underscore would underscore the reality that he alone is the living and true God so the answer to Moses complaint and it is a complaint to God is in the first place Moses you're going to witness the power of God Almighty but then secondly he confirms this by Covenant in verses 2 to 5 notice he highlights his name that name he reveals at the g at the burning bush that that statement I am who I am so verse two and God spoke to Moses and said to him I am the Lord or literally I am Yahweh or we might say I am Jehovah that typically refers to the Covenant God of Israel it typically refers to the to the Eternal the immutable the unchanging the Glorious God who is over his people and does them good now he moves to this appearance to the fathers in verse three and he says something here that's a bit puzzling so I'm going to lean on Matthew P and a modern commentator to help us uh get our get our minds wrapped around this notice what he says in verse three I appeared to Abraham to Isaac and to Jacob as God Almighty now we typically translate that as El Shai or elai is the original Hebrew translated into God Almighty so I appeared to Abraham to Isaac and to Jacob as God Almighty but by My Name Lord or Yahweh I was not known to them now he doesn't mean he was not known to them at all it's probably a comparative statement you're going to know me as y yeh a lot more now than they knew me as Yahweh previous God had revealed himself as Yahweh to Abraham in Genesis chapter 15 and he does so with Isaac or Jacob rather in Genesis chapter 28 that name Yahweh is scattered throughout the Book of Genesis now you realize if you're using the new King James version when you come to the word Lord and it's in all caps capital L capital O capital r capital D that is a reference to the name of God which is Yahweh as far as I know the only English translation that uses the Covenant name of God is the American Standard Version of 1901 that's the Bible that the Jehovah's Witnesses used prior to publishing their heretical uh uh Bible called The New World Translation they utilized that because it had the name Jehovah them being Jehovah's Witnesses it seemed like a wise thing to them that doesn't mean they're good it doesn't mean they're wise I'm simply pointing out that most English translations typically use that convention does the NIV do that all caps l d to signify Yahweh yeah ESV not all the time a couple of times yeah yeah but I mean consistently the ASV of 1901 yeah yeah the King James does have it a couple of times along the way but as far as I know the ASV translates uh instead of Lord it's going to be Yahweh so you'll see that capital L capital O capital r capital D or the name Yahweh all the way in in uh Genesis chapter 2 and I think one of the reasons why we see it in Genesis chapter 2 is because we're learning about the Covenant of works and so the Covenant name of God Almighty is utilized in that section but all that to say God had revealed himself previous ly by name to Abraham and to Jacob and others but it's a comparative statement but as well I just want to read Matthew P I think he has a good good sort of statement on this he says he speaks not of the letters or the syllables not just the the the tetr Graton that's the four letters YH wh he's not speaking simply of the letters or syllables but of the things signified by that name when you look at the names of God given to us in the Bible they are revelatory El Shai tells us something unique about God yahwe tells us something unique about God the various names in fact we have a wonderful Banner that Mrs Mars made with the Sunday school kids many years ago with the various names of God so when those names are given they they they highlight or they demonstrate or they illustrate certain facets of the Perfections of God so that the name of God isn't irrelevant it's not not something that you know it's just something that a convention we have to have a name but it's revelatory of certain things about God so P says he speaks not of the letters or syllables but of the things signified by that name for that name denotes all his Perfections and among others The Eternity constancy and immutability of his nature and will and the infallible certainty of his word and promises and this saith he though it was believed by Abraham Isaac and Jacob yet it was not experimentally known to them for they only saw the promises a far off and that's where he cites Hebrews 11:13 his second answer is this negative expression may be understood comparatively as many others are they knew this but Darkly and imperfectly which will now be made more uh made known more clearly and fully I think that's a good way to understand that so somebody says well I thought the name Yahweh preceded Exodus 3 yes most certainly it does so why does 63 he says they didn't know me that way again it's a comparative statement they knew but they didn't understand like the way they're coming to know now and Walter Kaiser a modern commentary makes that observation Yahweh is the god who would personally dynamically and Faithfully be present to fulfill the Covenant he had made with Abraham Isaac and Jacob the Patriarchs had only the promises not the things promised the fullness of time had come when God was to be known in the capacity and character of his name Yahweh as he had fulfilled what he had promised and did what he had decreed so there would be a further manifestation a further Revelation a further demonstration of all that that name Yahweh signified so they had it in promise form prior now they're going to see it flashed out in terms of the Covenant God's involvement with the nation of Israel to free them and to vindicate them from the slavery slavery that they are facing or that they are presently in and then verse four he highlights the establishment of that Covenant and he underscores specifically the land promise remember this was always going to be the case there was always going to be an exodus this isn't an afterthought in the mind of God he had announced to to to Abraham in Genesis chapter 15 there would be this period of time where the children of Israel would be out of the land where they would be in bondage but they would be returned to that land so there was always this expectation revealed by God concerning Exodus and verse4 underscores that I've also established my Covenant with them to give them the land of Canaan the land of their pilgrimage in which they were strangers so when God promises that to Abram in Genesis 12 and 13 and uh 14 and 15 and 17 and all the way through the Book of Genesis this has to come to pass God is faithful when he promises it will come to fruition and so he's underscoring that here specifically for Moses so that Moses will be empowered to go stand before Israel and stand before pharaoh and say once again uh uh thus saith the Lord let my people go and then God indicates something of that intimacy that he has with his people that does sort of fall into that context of Covenant when he rehearses in verse 5 again the reality of having observe their suffering and I have also heard the groaning of the children of Israel whom the Egyptians keep in bondage and I have remembered my Covenant I think that's a great encouragement to us God's time frame isn't necessarily our time frame we want everything and we want it right now but that's not the way that God operates but the fact is is that when he covenants and when he promises he doesn't reneg on those things it may take some time from our perspective it may not be something we're thrilled about from our perspective but we ought never to conclude that God has forgotten us that God has deserted us or that God has forsaken us we're going to see them fall into that very problem and I think this is a great lesson for New Covenant Christians to meditate upon and Muse upon so that we don't fall prey to this same sort of thinking that in the midst of Affliction all bets are off in the midst of trial and suffering and difficulty I'm not going to believe God in the midst of hardship and heartache I'm just going to live like an atheist or a pagan that is never okay that is never acceptable and that is something that the children of Israel fall prey to In this passage and it's something that the New Covenant Christian ought to pay attention to and seek by the grace of God to Not Duplicate that we will face hardship we will face trial we will face suffering and difficulty the way we're not supposed to go through it is as practical atheists concluding well we've got Bond and we've got suffering and we've got hardship so we're not going to believe anything that the Covenant God has said no no no no no we need to believe everything the Covenant God has said and understand that that that in the midst of the trial and the suffering and the heartache and the Affliction God is doing something in us and for US Visa typically conforming us unto the image of his beloved Son now we come to God's purpose in verses 6 to 8 and with a series of seven verbs God indicates what he's going to do relative to the children of Israel there is in the first place the promise of redemption verse 6 there is in the second place the promise of adoption in verse 7 and then in the third place the promise of land in verse 8 notice the promise of redemption verse 6 he promises to bring them out of Egypt I will bring you out from under the burdens of the Egyptians again God is gracious to continue to communicate this to Moses remember this isn't the first rodeo God's already called him God's already commissioned him God's already instructed him God's already dispatched him Moses is already gone Moses as far as he's concerned saw nothing but a big failure he comes back to God and what does God do God reaffirms God reconfirms and God even amplifies the benevolence and the graciousness which with which he will deliver Israel so the two uh the three verbs concerning Redemption the promise to bring them out of Egypt secondly the promise to rescue them I will rescue you from their rescue you from their bondage and then the promise to redeem them I will redeem you with an outstretched arm and with great judgments think about the great judgments for a moment remember the fear of the Pharaoh in Exodus 1 he feared that as they grew and as they mult multiplied they would start to have truck with the other people in the land they would form alliances to go against Egypt that wasn't going to happen so what happened in terms of the slavery and the oppression was wickedness on the part of pharaoh and on the part of the Egyptians and so when God brings the children of Israel out again he does so with great judgments not upon the children of Israel though later they would interpret it in that way at least to some degree they they they'd whine about being in the wilderness and whatnot but the judgments are poured out upon the Egyptians for their vile crime against the living and true God and against his people then there is this promise of adoption notice the promise that God would take Israel as his people verse 7 and then notice at the end of or in the middle of that statement I will take you as my people and I will be your God this is the consummation of Covenant blessing you see this in Genesis 177 in the Covenant of circumcision made with Abraham you see it in Genesis 28 where God is speaking to Jacob you see it in Exodus 29 you see it in Leviticus 11 you see it in Leviticus 26 you see it in Jeremiah 32 is a promise or a featured element of the New Covenant and probably the consummate use of it is found in the New Jerusalem in Revelation 213 now the New Jerusalem has come down out of Heaven as a bride adorned for her husband and we have the consummation of those Covenant blessings God will be their God and we will be his people it is a most glorious and a most wonderful thing one is called the Emanuel principle God With Us that's what's underscored in this statement in verse 7 and at the end of verse 7 it says then you shall know that I am the Lord your God who brings you out from under the burdens of the Egyptians and again the reality here is that they would know this experientially they would know it because they had witnessed it they would know it because they walked out triumphantly while the Egyptians were busy burying their firstborn whom the Lord had killed among them so they would know this experientially as a result of the Exodus that God is bringing them through so there's the promise of redemption in verse 6 the promise of adoption in verse 7 and then the promise of land in verse 8 not only is God going to bring them to the land but he's going to give them the land and that's much of what the Book of Joshua is all about when you get to Joshua it's all about entering the land it's about conquering or taking the land and then it's about dividing up the land and the dividing up the land goes along the tribal uh uh uh lines along the tribal allotments and each tribe gets a portion of land it is their possession it is given to them by God most high so all of this converges upon hopefully Moses in a good way so that he'll go stand before pharaoh and that he will demand that he lets God's people go now notice there is this promise look at verse eight I will bring you into the land which I swore to give to Abraham Isaac and Jacob and I will give it to you as a Heritage I am the Lord the uh margin has for which I swore lifted up my hand it's the idea of an oath he lifted up his hand to take this oath in order to bring this to pass this is reminiscent or at least perhaps in the backdrop of Hebrews chapter 6 Hebrews chap 6 and verse 13 for when God made a promise to Abraham because he could swear by no one greater he swore by himself saying surely blessing I will bless you and multiplying I will multiply you and so after he had patiently endured he obtained the promise for men indeed swear by the greater and an oath for confirmation is for them an end of all dispute thus God determining to show show more abundantly to The Heirs of Promise the immutability of his counsel confirmed it by an oath that by two immutable things in which it is impossible for God to lie we might have strong consolation who have fled for Refuge to lay hold of the Hope set before us this hope we have as an anchor of of the Soul both sure and steadfast and which enters the presence behind the veil where the Forerunner has entered for us even Jesus having become high priest forever according to the order of melkisedek this is an interesting uh statement we have as an anchor of the Soul archaeology has shown that early Christian art was riddled with anchors not crosses as you might suspect I would imagine there were some but anchors fared large in early Christian AR with the idea being that God is the anchor of the Soul he is the faithful one that when he promises confirms and affirms it and he does that here in Exodus 68 he raises his hand to swear an oath in terms of oath taking as it applies to God Q's comments on the Hebrew 6 passage I think very perceptively he says that God should bind himself by an oath is a reflection not on the Divine credibility but on the perversion of the human situation other words God doesn't take an oath for his benefit God doesn't take an oath because his credibility is on the line he takes an oath because our interpretive abilities are marred by sin Hugh goes on to say God's oath indeed though in itself redundant since his word is absolute truth is a condescension to human Frailty so to some degree that's precisely what God is doing with reference to Moses Moses has faced Pharaoh we give great you know praise God for what Moses has done thus far but he comes back to God and he's essentially whining that it didn't work everything's worse we're in a worse condition now so God is condescending to deal with Moses according to moses' Frailty and in so doing he swears his hand or or raises his hand in an oath to confirm that what he has promised will in fact transpire now that brings us to the activity of Moses in verses 9-13 notice that he spoke thus according to verse 9 to the children of Israel but they did not heed Moses because of Anguish of spirit and cruel bondage now Brethren maybe that's never been a Temptation for you or maybe you've never met anybody who's gone through this particular situation praise God if that's not ever been you praise praise God if you've never had to deal with somebody that's been in that sort of a weakened condition but file it away in your head and heart because at some point and it sometime afflictions may turn up either in your life or in the lives of someone else where there is a genuine challenge to their faith and their expression of faithfulness to God in the midst of CR of crunch time this is precisely what takes place with Israel Moses spoke thus to the children of Israel but they did not heed Moses es why because of Anguish of spirit and cruel bondage in other words their experience trumped the veracity of God's holy word if we ever learn anything as students of the Bible we mustn't let that happen our experience never invalidates the word of God whether it's a good experience or whether it's a bad experience it is always the truth that God's word is p primary and preeminent the Geneva B Bible makes this observation in the margin so hard a thing it is to show True obedience under the cross so hard a thing it is to show True obedience under the cross Calvin makes this observation since it is natural for us to be thus straightened by pain and grief let us learn from this example to struggle that our minds should escape from their sorrows so far at least as to be able to receive the grace of God for there is no greater curse than to be rendered heavy and dull so as to death to God's Pro uh uh so as to be deaf to God's promises in other words the Geneva Bible and John Calvin recognize that this tendency does arise in some of the people of God and we need to fight against it our bad times our hardships our our heartaches the the the the the horrible things that you and I experienc can't Trump God's word it cannot be the case that we say oh no my experience is such and my pain is so strong and my anguish is so acute that I'm not going to give any thought whatsoever or any obedience to what God's word says let's learn from Israel at this point not to do that the thing that we need the most in our Straits the thing that we need the most in our anguish and in our woe and in our hardship are the promises of God Almighty the people of God resonate with that the people of God love that and the people of God thrive on that so we need to fight against the tendency or the Temptation if it's there to resist that and to find great comfort in the word of the Living God in the in the times where we find great Challenge and great difficulty so that's what Israel does in their response now notice the command to go to Pharaoh in verses 10-13 so God has with these seven verbs indicate that he's going to redeem he's going to adopt and he's going to give them land he is warn uh raised his hand and sworn an oath to confirm this to highlight this to demonstrate this Moses goes to Israel and they say uh-uh this hurts too much we're not going to believe God now verse 10 the Lord spoke to Moses saying go in tell Pharaoh king of Egypt to let the children of Israel go out of his land and Moses spoke before the Lord saying the children of Israel have not heeded me how then shall Pharaoh heed me for I am of uncircumcised lips now Moses is still got some hesitancy I would suggest I mean at the call in chapter 4 we know he had hesitancy because he said I'm not that great of a speaker God says I'm Sovereign over mouths and tongues and all that sort of thing and then Moses essentially says here am I send and so God says okay Aaron can go with you so everything that Moses has evidenced in terms of his own Frailty or his his own weakness God has said I'm going to correct that I'm going to fix it I'm going to help you I will be there with you that is enough for you Moses but follow moses' logic at this particular Point God if the children of Israel didn't receive this message and they're on my side and it's a message that is great greatly beneficial to them if they struggled with this I'm not real confident that Pharaoh is going to do much better so again I'm not I'm I'm just looking at F at at Moses here and to you know his logic is at least to surface level is impeccable he says the children of Israel have not heeded me how then shall Pharaoh heed me for I am of uncircumcised lips PA makes this observation this was a great great weakness of Faith as if God could not affect his purpose because the instrument was unfit and other words God's already assuaged that particular concern when he says I'm of uncircumcised lips it's likely a reference like he made earlier in chapter 4 it doesn't mean he's a stutterer it doesn't mean that he's got you know some impediment it doesn't mean that he's got some you know deficiency by Nature it's rather that he doesn't have the oror story he doesn't have the eloquence he doesn't have the skill and the wherewithal in fact we're going to note his genealogy we're not going to spend a lot of time in the genealogy but the genealogy doesn't reveal that Moses comes from great stock it's not like Moses was the The Chosen One identified by all of his fellows to be the deliverer remember initially when Moses kills the Egyptian and then he goes out to reconcile the Hebrews he thought or suspected according to Peter's sermon that they would understand God had raised him up to be a deliverer but they knew no such thing so his genealogy from W he hailes isn't anything you know wondrous or glorious and he doesn't have these skills of of oratory and eloquence and ability to speak so he is concluding ahead of time that I don't think Pharaoh is going to do a whole lot better with this message than the children of Israel did and now notice What God Says in verse 13 again look at the graciousness of God God doesn't say you filthy faithless wretch depart from my sight and do your job that's not what God does God chides God rebukes but God continues to encourage and God continues to instruct and God continues to lead his frail servant by the hand I see in this God's dealings with Moses what we see flashed out in Psalm 103 God knows our frames he pies us he knows that we're but dust he understands what's in in at stake for Moses to stand before pharaoh and say Let My People Go so God again chides rebukes up braides but never stops guiding directing and assisting Moses so verse 13 then the Lord spoke to Moses and Aaron and gave them a command for the children of Israel and for Pharaoh king of Egypt to bring the children of Israel out of the land of Egypt in other words it's not just pharaoh and Egypt that need this message communicated to them again but it is the children of Israel because they're recalcitrant they're stubborn they're hard-hearted they're incourage so Moses you need to Bear long with them and continue to instruct them So for anybody who ever says oh the god of the Old Testament is this God of Wrath and fury and judgment it's Matthew P and Jim Butler quot quoting Matthew pool Who highlights that this was a weakness of Faith with Moses God doesn't do that God simply tells him more information and simply directs him to the particular task that he needs to carry out with reference to the Vindication of the elect of God so the sending of Moses and Aaron again not just to Pharaoh king of Egypt but as well to the children of Israel they need to be on board they need to be convinced they cannot hide behind their sufferings as a reason to disbelieve the word of the living and true God so before we look briefly at the genealogy look at verse 28 this resumes it's a resumptive passage that points us back to what we find here in verses uh 9-13 so verse 28 it came to pass on the day the Lord spoke to Moses in the land of Egypt that the Lord spoke to Moses saying I am the Lord speak to Pharaoh king of Egypt all the I say to you but Moses said before the Lord behold I am of uncircumcised lips and how shall I how shall Pharaoh heed me so the same thematic concern is present and you can see why we're moving up to the 10 plagues we're moving up to this great Calamity in you know Egypt's life and history I mean this is a a very significant event in Redemptive history leading up to the Red Sea and the children of Israel fleeing or leaving rather that nation of of of Egypt so this is you know big potatoes in terms of Redemptive history and this is why it gets a lot of attention not only in this section but throughout the rest of scripture The Exodus is a paradigmatic it is a pattern uh of God's Redemptive power and work obviously it typifies what is going to ultimately come in the Redemptive work of the Lord Jesus Christ but it's throughout the Old Testament it is a an event that the children of Israel would always appeal to with reference to the power of God displayed in the Vindication of his people now with reference to the genealogy as I said it simply confirms or highlights the the the the pedigree or the heritage of Moses and Aaron so the first three sons of Jacob are indicated you have Reuben Simeon and then Levi and the fact that we have Reuben the firstborn of Israel connects Moses to Jacob connects Moses Moes to Abraham connects Moses to those Covenant promises that were given by God that are yay and amen in the Lord Jesus in the New Covenant sense and even so with reference to Old Covenant application and then you have the tribe of Levi you've got the sons of Levi verse 16 the sons of Gerson verse 17 the sons of Kath verse 18 the sons of marari and verse 19 the sons of amram verse 20 Aaron is listed first Moses is more significant Redemptive history but Aaron was 3 years older so he is referenced first but at the very end of this uh uh section specifically in verse 27 these are the same Moses and Aaron typically Moses is indicated first but in a genealogy where Aaron is the older it makes sense that Aaron comes first then you have the sons of itar verse 21 the sons of uzziel and verse 22 and then the family of Aaron in verse 23 and then the sons of Kora in verse 24 and then the family of Eleazar in verse 25 now there are certain names indicated and mentioned that'll come up later certainly Kora fares large in the rebellion in Numbers chapter 16 Phineas was a great Contender for and defender of Orthodoxy in that situation that obtained when the children of Israel played the Harlot with the daughters of Moab in numbers 25 it was Phineas who drove a javelin through uh an Israelite man and a midi and a moabit woman and so these names will come up later in Redemptive history but it brings this to bear in verses 26 and 27 these are the same Aaron and Moses to whom the Lord said bring out the children of Israel from the land of Egypt according to their armies these are the ones who spoke to Pharaoh king of Egypt to bring out the children of Israel from Egypt these are the same Moses and Aaron now typically in the Western World We like tension we like suspense we like stories that build and we look at this and we have this tension we have this story that builds and then it's like oh but we're going to do a genealogy first and then get back to the tension well the genealogy is part of it it shows the origin it shows that Moses and Aaron are regular guys they have blood and Flesh and Bones like the rest of us they hail from a particular tribe the tribe of Levi they're the ones that God will use to put before pharaoh and demand that Pharaoh let his people go well in conclusion we ought to appreciate the plan of God and that plan is clearly indicated specifically in verses 6 to8 in fact there are new testament commentators that I think specifically with the Gospel of John that see Echoes of verses 6 to8 in some statements concerning the Messiah and his mission of redemption with reference to the unbelief of Israel you see it manifested when they don't trust God's word they they they look at what they're experiencing they look at what their suffering they look at what they're feeling and as a result they do not allow God's word to penetrate their hearts we cannot allow that to happen in good times and in bad times we're not supposed to be fair weather fans as long as God gives me what I want I'll be a faithful singing praying Christian but the moment things get difficult I'm going to whine and Grumble and complain and carry on like an atheist we are never given authorization to do that verse 9 is a violation Moses spoke thus what God had communicated to the children of Israel but they did not heed Moses because of Anguish of spirit and cruel bondage I would argue Brethren and I you know prayerfully argue this way because I'm subject to the same afflictions and hardships and difficulties I'd like to think we would heed Moses or we would heed the word of God with more Resolve and with more of a desire precisely because of Anguish of spirit and cruel bondage as a result of the Affliction that we suffer it ought to cast us into more dependence upon the word of the Living God not less like it does in this particular instance and then ultimately we ought to take from a study of this particular section the power of God if Israel makes it out of Egypt alive it's not because of Israel and it's not ultimately because of Moses and Aaron it's because of the god of the outstretched arm the one who raises the hand to vow or to oath that he's going to do this and the one who raises the hand to bring judgment and pain and Punishment upon these idolators and oppressors of God's people so the power belongs to God not to Israel and not to Moses and I think not not even a careful reading will yield that conclusion when we finish these plagues it is owing to the power and the supremacy and the sovereignty of God and not to the men who are being delivered which obviously is typical of the Redemptive work of God most high as we find ourselves safely folded in the arms of Christ we're not there because of us we're not there because of a human agent we're there because of God's grace God's election God's predestin and the power of Jesus Christ as revealed in his life death and Resurrection well let us pray Our Father we thank you for your word and we thank you for the clarity that that you give it uh give it to us in we thank you for the the reality that you are are are are bent on are committed to uh serving blessing redeeming and saving your people we see it so clearly here in the Old Testament we see it so clearly as well in the New Testament and we see it clearly in our own lives we're not in Christ because of our wisdom we're not in Christ because of our Ingenuity we're in Christ because of your power because of your grace and because of your mercy to us and we rejoice in that increase our faith and help us not to be governed by our by our external circumstances or by our our pain and suffering but help us to be committed to that truth that word which is truth and God do this by your Holy Spirit For Your Glory and for our well-being we ask that you would go with us now continue to watch over all of the brothers and sisters in this local church and we pray through Christ Our Lord amen