Wednesday in The Word for May 17, 2023

Exodus 6:1-7:13

God Renews His Promise to Israel

1 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 land.”

2 And 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 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 pilgrimage, in which they were strangers.

5 And I have also heard the groaning of the children of Israel whom the Egyptians keep in bondage, and I have remembered My covenant.

6 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.

7 I will take you as My people, and I will be your God. Then you shall know that I am the Lord your God who brings you out from under the burdens of the Egyptians.

8 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.’ ”
9 So Moses spoke thus to the children of Israel; but they did not heed Moses, because of anguish of spirit and cruel bondage.

10 And the Lord spoke to Moses, saying, 11 “Go in, tell Pharaoh king of Egypt to let the children of Israel go out of his land.”

12 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?”

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.

The Family of Moses and Aaron

14 These are the heads of their fathers’ houses: The sons of Reuben, the firstborn of Israel, were Hanoch, Pallu, Hezron, and Carmi. These are the families of Reuben.

15 And the sons of Simeon were Jemuel, Jamin, Ohad, Jachin, 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, Kohath, and Merari. And the years of the life of Levi were one hundred and thirty-seven.

17 The sons of Gershon were Libni and Shimi according to their families.

18 And the sons of Kohath were Amram, Izhar, Hebron, and Uzziel. And the years of the life of Kohath were one hundred and thirty-three.

19 The sons of Merari were Mahli and Mushi. These are the families of Levi according to their generations.

20 Now Amram took for himself Jochebed, his father’s sister, as wife; and she bore him Aaron and Moses. And the years of the life of Amram were one hundred and thirty-seven.

21 The sons of Izhar were Korah, Nepheg, and Zichri.

22 And the sons of Uzziel were Mishael, Elzaphan, and Zithri.

23 Aaron took to himself Elisheba, daughter of Amminadab, sister of Nahshon, as wife; and she bore him Nadab, Abihu, Eleazar, and Ithamar.

24 And the sons of Korah were Assir, Elkanah, and Abiasaph. These are the families of the Korahites.

25 Eleazar, Aaron’s son, took for himself one of the daughters of Putiel as wife; and she bore him Phinehas. These are the heads of the fathers’ houses of the Levites according to their families.

26 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.”

27 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.

Aaron Is Moses’ Spokesman

28 And it came to pass, on the day the Lord spoke to Moses in the land of Egypt, 29 that the Lord spoke to Moses, saying, “I am the Lord. Speak to Pharaoh king of Egypt all that I say to you.”

30 But Moses said before the Lord, “Behold, I am of uncircumcised lips, and how shall Pharaoh heed me?”

Moses Before Pharaoh

7 So the Lord said to Moses: “See, I have made you as God to Pharaoh, and Aaron your brother shall be your prophet.

2 You shall speak all that I command you. And Aaron your brother shall tell Pharaoh to send the children of Israel out of his land.

3 And I will harden Pharaoh’s heart, and multiply My signs and My wonders in the land of Egypt.

4 But Pharaoh will not heed you, so that I may lay My hand on Egypt and bring My armies and My people, the children of Israel, out of the land of Egypt by great judgments.

5 And the Egyptians shall know that I am the Lord, when I stretch out My hand on Egypt and bring out the children of Israel from among them.”

6 Then Moses and Aaron did so; just as the Lord commanded them, so they did.

7 And Moses was eighty years old and Aaron eighty-three years old when they spoke to Pharaoh.

Aaron’s Miraculous Rod

8 Then the Lord spoke to Moses and Aaron, saying,

9 “When Pharaoh speaks to you, saying, ‘Show a miracle for yourselves, ’ then you shall say to Aaron, ‘Take your rod and cast it before Pharaoh, and let it become a serpent.’ ”

10 So Moses and Aaron went in to Pharaoh, and they did so, just as the Lord commanded. And Aaron cast down his rod before Pharaoh and before his servants, and it became a serpent.

11 But Pharaoh also called the wise men and the sorcerers; so the magicians of Egypt, they also did in like manner with their enchantments.

12 For every man threw down his rod, and they became serpents. But Aaron’s rod swallowed up their rods.

13 And Pharaoh’s heart grew hard, and he did not heed them, as the Lord had said.

Context

What’s important about ‘now’ in verse one and God’s perfect timing for deliverance? (1 Kings 8:56, Isaiah 55:11, Eccl 3:11, Hebrews 11:13)

Reflection

Why does God again reveal His name and character? (Exodus 3:6, 14-16, 20:2, 33:19-23, Isaiah 42:8, Proverbs 18:10)
Why the 7 ‘I wills’ of God in 6:6-8? (Genesis 17:6-21, Zephaniah 3:17, Ephesians 1:14-19)
Who hardened Pharaoh’s heart? (Exodus 4:21, 7:3, 13, 14, 22, 8:15, 9:7, 11:10, Job 12:23, Proverbs 29:1, Romans 1:28)
What’s significant about the sign of the rod? (Genesis 3:1, 15, Exodus 4:2-5, Matthew 24:24, 2 Corinthians 11:13-15, 2 Timothy 3:8)