After pouring his heart out to God about the trouble the Israelites are going through and questioning why God hasn’t freed His people, Exodus 5:22-23, God replies to Moses and reassures him, that Pharaoh will let his people go Exodus 6:1.
He not only reassures him but tells Moses that Pharaoh will actually drive them out of the land, Exodus 6:1. The demonstration of God’s power through the upcoming plagues would be so great that Pharaoh will be glad to see the back of the Israelites.
Keil, in his commentary, says the following.
‘The necessity for the great judgments of God against Egypt was demonstrated, and is here distinctly expressed in the words, ‘Now shalt thou see what I will do to Pharaoh.’
God didn’t forget his covenant with Abraham, Isaac and Jacob when they lived as strangers in the very land which Israel was given as a possession, Exodus 6:2-3 / Genesis 15:18. He was waiting until Israel was prepared to enter the land, and for the wickedness of the inhabitants to degenerate to the point of no moral return.
Notice God says that ‘by my name the LORD I did not make myself fully known to them’, Exodus 6:3. Some translations have the phrase, ‘by my name Jehovah I was not known to them’.
This could be misleading because the Patriarchs certainly did know His name, Genesis 22:14 / Exodus 6:20 / Genesis 15:7 / Genesis 15:8 / Genesis 4:1 / Genesis 18:13 / Genesis 18:17 / Genesis 26:2 / Genesis 27:20 / Genesis 9:26. Most scholars agree that this is a difficult text to understand.
The Pulpit Commentary says the following concerning this verse.
‘Perhaps the true sense is, ‘I was known to them as a Being of might and power, not as mere absolute (and so eternal and immutable) existence.’ This meaning of the word, though its etymological and original meaning, may have been unknown to the patriarchs, who were not etymologists. It was first distinctly declared to Moses at Sinai, Exodus 3:14 / Exodus 3:15.’
The fact that He is the only God is evidence that He is omnipotent, Genesis 4:26 / Genesis 12:8 / Genesis 17:1 / Genesis 28:3. God is the only eternal and absolute power.
Unlike most of us, when God makes a covenant, He doesn’t break it, and because He knows that He can keep the conditions for the establishment of His covenants with man, He can bind Himself to a covenant, Exodus 6:4-5.
Notice also that what God called ‘wonders’ earlier, Exodus 3:20 / Exodus 4:22, He now calls judgments, Exodus 6:6. The plagues are clearly to be seen as judgments against Pharaoh.
Unger, in his commentary, says the following.
‘Exodus as a book of redemption presents a type of all redemption. It is wholly from God, Exodus 3:7-8. It is through a Person, Exodus 2:2. It is by blood, Exodus 12:13 / Exodus 12:23 / Exodus 12:27. It is by power, Exodus 6:6.’
Notice the statements which God says in these verses.
‘I have established, Exodus 6:4. ‘I have heard’, Exodus 6:5. ‘I have remembered, Exodus 6:5. ‘I AM the LORD, Exodus 6:6. ‘I will bring’, Exodus 6:6. ‘I will free,’ Exodus 6:6. ‘I will redeem!’ Exodus 6:6. ‘I will take’, Exodus 6:7. ‘I will be’, Exodus 6:7. ‘I will bring’, Exodus 6:8. ‘I will give’, Exodus 6:8.
By the time Moses reported what God had said to the Israelites, it was clear that things were just getting worse for them, Exodus 6:9. The burden was becoming intolerable, and so, they must have come to the conclusion that things were getting worse because of Moses.
When God asks Moses to go to Pharaoh and tell him to let His people go, Exodus 6:10-11, Moses says his people won’t listen to him because he has faltering lips, Exodus 6:12 / Exodus 6:30, which literally translated means uncircumcised lips.
This is a Hebrew idiom referring to imperfection with reference to communication, Jeremiah 6:10 / Jeremiah 9:26. Moses genuinely did have a speech impediment, Exodus 4:10, but that didn’t stop God from using him to do great things. God doesn’t reply to Moses at this point, but will do so in Exodus 7:1.
Now we read of the family genealogy of Moses and Aaron, Exodus 6:13-27 / Numbers 3:27-28.
Henry, in his commentary, says the following.
‘The genealogy was simply intended to show that Moses and Aaron came in a direct line from Abraham, and to ascertain the time of Israel’s deliverance. The whole account from Exodus 6:14-26, inclusive, is a sort of parenthesis, and does not belong to the narration; and what follows from Exodus 6:28 is a recapitulation of what was spoken in the preceding chapters.’
Barnes, in his commentary, says the following.
‘We have in the following verses, not a complete genealogy, but a summary account of the family of the two brothers. Moses records for the satisfaction of Hebrew readers, to whom genealogical questions were always interesting, the descent and position of the designated leaders of the nation, Exodus 6:26-27.’
The sons of Levi mentioned in Exodus 6:16 are given because of the importance of their work as outlined later in the Pentateuch. The Amram of Exodus 6:18 isn’t the same Amram of Exodus 6:20 because there are several generations between the two. The Amram in Exodus 6:20 is Moses’ father.
Mahli and Mushi, Exodus 6:19, were among the most important of the Levitical families. Korah, Exodus 6:21, later figured prominently in a rebellion against Moses, Numbers 16:1-3 / Numbers 16:32 / Jude 1:11. Though Korah, Moses’ cousin, later perished because of rebellion, his mention here is to affirm to his descendants their genealogical heritage, Numbers 26:11.
Jochebed, Exodus 6:20, was the mother of Moses and the aunt of Amram, Numbers 26:59. Aaron is mentioned first here because he was older. The order of their importance is observed in Exodus 6:27, where we have Moses and Aaron.
Nadab and Abihu, Exodus 6:23, were killed by God for their presumption in offering strange fire, Numbers 3:4. Elisheba, Exodus 6:23, is the name of Aaron’s wife, which is in Greek, Elizabeth.
Eleazar and Ithamar, Exodus 6:25, ministered in the office of the high priest and Eleazar succeeded Aaron in that office, Numbers 3:4. Eleazar was Aaron’s son, whose grandson was Phinehas.
Notice that God says that He will ‘bring the Israelites out of Egypt by their divisions,’ Exodus 6:26. Some translations use the word ‘armies’, Exodus 7:4, but God’s people were armed for battle, this simply means that they will come out in an orderly fashion, Exodus 3:16 / Exodus 12:17 / Exodus 13:18.
God wanted it to be clear throughout Israel’s history that He was working through and with Moses and Aaron to bring about Israel’s deliverance, Exodus 6:27.
Barnes, in his commentary, says the following.
‘The names of Moses and Aaron are given twice and in a different order; used in Exodus 6:26 probably to mark Aaron as the older in the genealogy and used in Exodus 6:27 to denote the leadership of Moses.’
Here we have one of the problems with chapter breaks, as these verses should really begin at the start of the next chapter, instead of the end of this chapter. Moses was told that he was to tell Pharaoh everything that the LORD had said, Exodus 6:28-29. As we saw earlier, faltering lips, Exodus 6:30, literally translated, means uncircumcised lips.
This is a Hebrew idiom referring to imperfection with reference to communication, Jeremiah 6:10 / Jeremiah 9:26. Moses genuinely did have a speech impediment, Exodus 4:10, and so God was going to use Aaron to do the speaking.