Connecting Scriptures: Isaiah 42:8, Malachi 3:6, Genesis 17:1, Psalm 68:4, Psalm 83:18, John 8:58, Revelation 1:8, Genesis 15:18, Genesis 17:8, Psalm 136:11-12, 1 Peter 2:9, Revelation 21:7, Acts 7:25, Isaiah 6:5 

Maybe Moses thought this whole deliverance process would be simple?  Since it was a new Pharaoh, maybe this one would understand?  By the end of chapter 4, we see a deflated Moses, looking to God with the same questions and point of view as the last chapter, “Why did you ever send me?”.  

With a hard heart and a position of power that insulated him, Pharaoh declares boldly, “Who is the LORD?…I do not know the LORD…”.  Certainly, why would any god he knew ask him, who was revered to be a god himself, to do something that didn’t benefit himself?  Moses is faced with a hard “no” and the anger and frustration of the very people, his people, that he was sent to save!  Moses has the wrong perspective here.  He needed to remember (and keep being reminded) that this was God’s story.  He alone, was going to accomplish deliverance for His people.  Moses role was to trust and obey.  In this way, he would lead Israel well.  But again, God knew Moses was just a man.  In truly human fashion, when the results of obedient actions don’t produce instant results, Moses despairs.  God is showing him, and us, that deliverance isn’t because we do all the right things—miracles and deliverance are acts of grace.  In remembering who the LORD is, we have the opportunity to see that undoing years spent in slavery (literally here for Israel, but it can be figuratively for those enslaved to sin) takes time.  It is in this time spent that we are given the chance to see the glory of God.  Sometimes, there is no other way.  Getting Israel out of Egypt was going to take time and patience, and complete dependence on God. 

In chapter 6, we see the power dynamics from the last chapter, answered in God’s “I” statements.  While Pharaoh had the power to make life worse for Israel, only God had the power to save them.  18 times (in the ESV) God assures Moses that, “I will do…I am the LORD…I established…I have heard…I have remembered…I will deliver…I will redeem…I will be your God…”.  They didn’t have to feel this for it to be true, either.  God was who He was, and He would bring His people out of Egypt, His way. 

“Behold, the people of Israel have not listened to me.  How then shall Pharaoh listen to me, for I am of uncircumcised lips?”  Moses is back to thinking from his limited perspective.  God is merciful to encourage him, and Aaron, about what His intentions were.  But then, a lineage. 

If we aren’t careful, we could just skim this and think—wow that’s random, where were we?  Look at Moses’ complaint of himself above.  “…I am of uncircumcised lips…”.  Wait a minute.  Moses is absolutely circumcised, and God reminds him as he writes his own lineage down for posterity.  God is like, “Nope.  No hyperbole.  No dramatic dialog.  You are the man I have chosen from Israel—for Israel.  Set apart to be set apart.”  Imagine the embarrassment Moses must have felt as God gently reminds him of his heritage here as well as who the One doing the calling is.  The LORD!  What excuse can stand to that?!  Indeed, God is merciful and patient to remind Moses, and us, who is in charge.  We can rest and trust in the One who calls!

Questions for Reflection:

1.  How does God’s name, Yahweh (LORD), revealed to Moses, differ from the name he shared with the patriarchs?  What does it reveal about his character and heart for Israel?

2.  What can you learn about persevering through discouragement and setbacks from Moses’s experience?