#14 – Exodus 5:22-6:13
When G-d Says “I Will”
Moses and Aaron are in a tough spot. The only thing that is working right now is the Jewish people – and they are working overtime to try to keep up with the increased demands Pharaoh has placed upon them. The king won’t listen, the taskmasters won’t relent, and the Hebrew foremen are angry with the brothers who came promising deliverance. To whom can they turn?
O L-rd why?
“Then Moses returned to the L-RD . . . .” (Exodus 5:22a.) Great idea! Amidst his frustrations he pours out his heart.
“O L-rd, why have You brought harm to this people? Why did You ever send me? Ever since I came to Pharaoh to speak in Your name, he has done harm to this people, and You have not delivered Your people at all.”
(Exodus 5:22b-23.)
Laying blame at G-d’s feet is a very human response to life’s difficulties. Ever since Adam’s “the woman You gave me” (Genesis 3:12) [so it’s Your fault!] charge in Eden, mankind has been prone to make the Sovereign of the Universe responsible for what has gone wrong. Disappointment provides very fertile ground for the Enemy of our souls to sow seeds of discontent with the Almighty.
Moses makes his case: I did what You asked and represented You to Pharaoh. Not only did he not release the people, he’s making their lives far worse! Why in the world did you ever give me this mission in the first place?
The divine response
The L-RD neither dismisses Moses nor rebukes him. He simply indicates the story is far from over. “Now you will see what I will do to Pharaoh, for under compulsion he will let them go.”[1] (Exodus 6:1.)
That the G-d of Israel desires a personal relationship with His children is demonstrated what He next tells Moses by way of reminder:
1. I am the L-RD.
(Exodus 6:2 echoes Exodus 3:14.)
2. I appeared to the patriarchs; they knew Me as G-d Almighty,[2] and I covenanted to give Canaan to them.
(Exodus 6:3-4 echoes Exodus 3:15.)
3. I am well aware of the sufferings of My people and I haven’t forgotten my covenant with them.
(Exodus 6:5 echoes Exodus 3:7; see also Exodus 2:24.)
The “I will” statements which follow, bracketed front and back by “I am the L-RD,” are G-d’s declaration to the Israelites of His plan of action and purpose for His people:
1. “I will bring you out from under the burdens of the Egyptians, and I will deliver you from their bondage.”
(Exodus 6:6)
2.“I will also redeem you with an outstretched arm and with great judgments.”
(Exodus 6:6)
3.“Then I will take you for My people, and I will be your G-d.”
(Exodus 6:7.)
4.“I will bring you to the land which I swore to give to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, and I will give it to you for a possession.”
(Exodus 6:8)
“And you shall know”
Tucked into G-d’s third “I will” is this statement: “and you shall know that I am the L-RD your G-d, who brought you out from under the burdens of the Egyptians.” (Exodus 6:7) G-d first declares His intention to adopt the Jewish people as His own after He delivers them. He then states, “You shall know that I am the L-RD your G-d.”
“Why, G-d?” is a question which often goes unanswered. Why did G-d intend Abraham’s descendants to be in bondage in Egypt? Why have there been generations of suffering?
Here we are given insight into G-d’s “why.” One of His primary purposes in staging what is about to unfold: that His people truly would know the L-RD.[3] Know Him as THEIR G-d. Know Him as their Redeemer. Henceforth, He will remind them of this in two specific ways. He will institute Passover as the first holiday to be commemorated. (Exodus 12:17.) And He will continue to refer to Himself as “the L-RD your G-d who brought you out of Egypt.”[4]
Armed with these specific assurances from the mouth of the Almighty, Moses returns to the Israelites to share the heartening message. “But they did not listen to Moses on account of their despondency and cruel bondage.” (Exodus 6:b.)
Fear factor/Misery Index
Moses is miserable. Very miserable. Disappointment and discouragement fuel many fires of anger. But he stays on mission.
The children of Israel are miserable. And fed up. And losing hope. So much so that when Moses brings more words from the L-RD they don’t want to hear it. When our eyes are downcast, focused on our troubles, traumas, and tragedies, it’s easy for our ears to be closed to the promises of G-d’s Word. And to allow our circumstances to determine our view of our Creator.
Satan delights to offer other options when our faith in the L-RD shrinks. If G-d isn’t coming through, then surely there is another way to ease the pain, find a detour, seek satisfaction in something else.
The prophet Ezekiel provides details we don’t find in Exodus. (See Ezekiel 20:5-9.) Apparently, many of the Hebrews had begun to follow the idols of Egypt during the time of their captivity.[5]
Where is G-d?
Thankfully, G-d is gracious, patient, and merciful.
“He does not deal with us according to our sins,
nor repay us according to our iniquities.”
(Psalm 103:10.)
The Lord will fullfill his purpose for me;
Your steadfast love, O L-rd, endures forever.
Do not forsake the works of Your hands.
(Psalm 138:8.)
Nothing will thwart His eternal plan!
[1] Back at the burning bush G-d had already foretold Pharaoh would act “under compulsion” (3:19). Moses didn’t yet see the big picture of what was to unfold.
[2] “El Shaddai” appears five times in Genesis (17:1 is the first); “Shaddai” is also used alone to refer to the Almighty in 49:25. “The L-RD” appears 165 times in Genesis beginning with the creation story in 2:4. Genesis 13:14 specifically says that Abram “called on the name of the L-RD.” Some infer from this that for the patriarchs the emphasis had been on G-d’s powerful protection of individuals and provision (of the Land in particular). Beginning in Exodus He relates to the nation as the great “I AM” who will redeem His people. “The L-RD” is His “memorial name” for all generations (Exodus 3:15).
[3] G-d says to Israel “that you may know that I am the L-RD” four more times in Exodus: 10:2, 16:12, 29:46. and 31:13.
[4] Indeed, this is how G-d begins the giving of the Ten Commandments on Mount Sinai (Exodus 20:2). See also Exodus 29:46; Leviticus 11:45, 19:36, 22:33,43, 25:38,55, 26:13,45; Numbers 15:41; Deuteronomy 5:6; Psalm 81:10, e.g. Many other times in the Tanakh God references bringing Israel out of bondage/Egypt in speaking to His people. And Moses (e.g., Exodus 16:6) and other prophets in Israel will also refer to the L-RD as the One who performed this seminal event in Jewish history.
[5] Piecing together the response of the Israelites in Exodus 4:29-31 (where they joyfully accepted the news of their pending redemption, and worshiped the L-RD) it would seem they initially agreed to G-d’s precondition to forsake “the detestable things of their eyes.” But, as Ezekiel 20:8 indicates, they decided to hang onto their Egyptian deities – likely when their lives grew more bitter after Moses went to Pharaoh to demand the release of the captives.
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