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Exodus 6:

Reading #169  Moses and Aaron and their families

Now that the wheels of redemption from Egypt for that generation had been set in motion (they may be slow but they are sure) we have these words:-

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Exodus 6:

1 Then the LORD said to Moses, “Now shall you see what I will do to Pharaoh: for with a strong hand shall he let them go, and with a strong hand shall he drive them out of his land.”

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God was promising Moses that Pharaoh would be glad to see the last of the Hebrews one day.  In the meantime, they needed to see where the real battle lay.

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Exodus 6:

2 And [the Son of] God spoke to Moses, and said to him, “I am the LORD: 3 and I appeared to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob, by the name of God Almighty [El Shaddai], but by My name JEHOVAH was I not known to them.” [“No man has seen God (the Father) at any time”,  John 1:18, so it was Jesus who appeared to the trio.  Jehovah means “the unchanging, eternal, self-existent God,” the "I am that I am," a convenant-keeping God. — Easton's Illustrated Dictionary]

4 “And I have also established My covenant with them, to give them the land of Canaan, the land of their pilgrimage [their past witness], wherein 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 Wherefore say to 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 a stretched out arm, and with great judgments: 7 and I will take you to Me for a people, and I will be to you a God: and you shall know that I am the LORD your God, which brings you out from under the burdens of the Egyptians.”

8 “And I will bring you in to the land, concerning the which I did swear to give it to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob; and I will give it you for an heritage: I am the LORD [the One who keeps His promises].”

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We have already looked at this name Jehovah in another reading (“The Son of God” in early May), but basically it means “the self-existent One”.  Here Jesus is referring to it as the centre for His keeping of the agreement He had made with them, in that He ever lives to be able to do this.  This thought was repeated to the Hebrew Christians soon after the event of Calvary in the following words:

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Hebrews 7:

24 But this Man [the Son of God], because He continues [for]ever, has an unchangeable priesthood. 25 Wherefore He is able also to save them to the uttermost that come to God by Him, seeing He ever lives to make intercession for them.

26 For such a High Priest became us [is what we need], who is holy [close to God], harmless [never hurts anyone], undefiled [sinless], separate from sinners [a Christian], and made higher than the heavens [is above angels]; 27 who needs not daily, as those [earthly] high priests, to offer up sacrifice [on the Day of Atonement, Leviticus 16:6, 9], first for His own sins, and then for the people's: for this He did once [all in one] when He offered up Himself.

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Because they have the same character and are both self-existent, God the Father and God His Son share the same name.  “I and My Father are one”, Jesus said.  “If you have seen Me you have seen the Father.”  John 10:30; 14:9.  So, sometimes the personal name “Jehovah” refers to the Father and sometimes to the Son.  However, each time it is used in the Bible it is associated with the LORD, as in the following quote. 

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Isaiah 12:

1 And in that day you shall say, “O LORD, I will praise You: though You were angry with me, Your anger is turned away, and You comforted me. 2 Behold, [the Son of] God is my salvation [Acts 4:12]; I will trust, and not be afraid: for the LORD JEHOVAH is my strength and my song; He also is become my salvation.”

3 Therefore with joy shall you draw water out of the wells of salvation [“He that believes on Me, as the Scripture has said, out of his belly shall flow rivers of living water (to give to others).”  John 7:38; and 4:10].

4 And in that day [the day of that experience] shall you say, “Praise the LORD, call upon His name, declare His doings among the people, make mention that His name is exalted.” [This is a way of saying “Thank You.”]

5 Sing to the LORD; for He has done excellent things: this is known in all the earth [the gospel is taught everywhere, but some people need evidences in Christians]. 6 Cry out and shout, you inhabitant of Zion: for great is the Holy One of Israel in the midst of you. [Isaiah 41:14.]  

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We are told about the most important example:

“And the Word was made flesh, and dwelt [tabernacled] among us, (and we beheld His glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father,) full of grace and truth.”  John 1:14. 

This example should be copied. 

“For this is thankworthy, if a man for conscience toward God endure grief, suffering wrongfully. For what glory is it, if, when you be buffeted for your faults, you shall take it patiently?  But if, when you do well, and suffer for it, you take it patiently, this is acceptable with God. For even hereunto were you called: because Christ also suffered for us, leaving us an example, that you should follow His steps . . .” 1 Peter 2:19-21.

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Exodus 6:

9 And Moses spoke so [in this way] to the children of Israel: but they hearkened not to Moses for anguish of spirit, and for cruel bondage [because of their misunderstanding as to where the fight was and who was fighting it].

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The LORD directed Moses to go again to the people and repeat the promise of deliverance, with a fresh assurance of divine favour by revealing to them His personal name, in this way trying to bring them closer to Him as friends. [“And I say to you My friends, Be not afraid of them that kill the body [or enslave it]. . .”  Luke 12:4.] 

Moses went as he was commanded; but they would not listen because of their suffering so he returned to the LORD. 

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Exodus 6:

10 And 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 And Moses spoke before the LORD [he argued], saying, “Behold, the children of Israel have not hearkened to me; how then shall Pharaoh hear me, who am of uncircumcised [untrained] lips?”

13 And the LORD spoke to Moses and to Aaron, and gave them a charge [a sacred responsibility] to the children of Israel, and to Pharaoh king of Egypt, to bring the children of Israel out of the land of Egypt.

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Regardless of the refusal of the Hebrews Moses was instructed to go to Pharaoh and request their physical freedom.  But he was informed that the monarch would not yield until the Son of God should have to allow judgments to fall upon Egypt and then he would be ready to send Israel out. 

At this point the Spirit interrupts the flow of His story and gives us the background of Moses and Aaron to show how they fit into the family tree.

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Exodus 6:

14 These be the heads of their fathers' houses:

The sons of Reuben the firstborn of Israel;

Hanoch, and Pallu, Hezron, and Carmi: these be the families of Reuben. 

 

15 And the sons of Simeon [the second born];

Jemuel, and Jamin, and Ohad, and Jachin, and Zohar, and Shaul the son of a Canaanitish woman: these are the families of Simeon.

 

16 And these are the names of the sons of Levi [the third born] according to their generations; Gershon, and Kohath, and Merari: and the years of the life of Levi were a hundred [and] thirty-seven years.

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It was necessary to tell us of the first three sons of Jacob because Aaron and Moses belong to the family of the third son and God does not pass over anyone’s position (the other nine are not required though).  Now we move on to Levi’s three sons and their children.

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Exodus 6:

17 The sons of Gershon;

Libni, and Shimi, according to their families.

 

18 And the sons of Kohath;

Amram, and Izhar, and Hebron, and Uzziel: and the years of the life of Kohath were a hundred [and] thirty-three years. 

 

19 And the sons of Merari;

Mahali and Mushi: these are the families of Levi according to their generations.

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Sometimes family trees shown in the Bible appear to have little meaning to us today, but the Spirit often hides little pieces of information in them which can be quite interesting.  e.g. Important people have the length of their usefulness mentioned.

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Exodus 6:

20 And Amram took him Jochebed his father's sister to wife [she was born in Egypt so was contemporary with Amram, Numbers 26:59]; and she bare him Aaron and Moses [and Miriam]: and the years of the life of Amram were a hundred and thirty-seven years.

21 And the sons of Izhar [Amram’s younger brother];

Korah, and Nepheg, and Zichri [these were Moses’ cousins].

22 And the sons of Uzziel [another of Amram’s brothers];

Mishael, and Elzaphan, and Zithri.

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Having established the position of Amram, and therefore Moses, in Levi’s tree after Gershon the firstborn, the Spirit could have stopped there, but He went on to include some of Moses’ cousins.

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Exodus 6:

23 And Aaron [Moses’ brother] took him Elisheba, daughter of Amminadab, sister of Naashon, to wife; and she bare him Nadab, and Abihu, Eleazar, and Ithamar.

24 And the sons of Korah [Moses’ cousin];

Assir, and Elkanah, and Abiasaph: these are the families of the Korhites. 

25 And Eleazar Aaron's [third] son took him one of the daughters of Putiel to wife; and she bare him Phinehas: these are the heads of the fathers of the Levites according to their families.

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While giving us the genealogy of Moses and Aaron the Spirit also takes us on to two people who would figure prominently on opposite sides of the fence during the exodus, Korah, Moses’ cousin and Phinehas, Aaron’s grandson.

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Exodus 6:

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 [multitudes].”

27 These are they which spoke to Pharaoh king of Egypt, to bring out the children of Israel from Egypt: these are that Moses and Aaron. [Repetition is used in the Bible for emphasis, Genesis 41:32.] 

28 And it came to pass on the day when the LORD spoke to Moses in the land of Egypt, 29 that the LORD spoke to Moses, saying, “I am the LORD: speak you to Pharaoh king of Egypt all that I say to you.” 30 And Moses said before the LORD, “Behold, I am of uncircumcised lips, and how shall Pharaoh hearken to me?” 

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So Moses’ objection was noted again to show us that even such a strong and valiant worker for God can have problems with God’s word and yet be obedient.  If the query is a valid one the LORD will take the time to explain.  See Amos 3:7 and John 15:15.

See you next week,  RonP

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