5/ 13-21 /92

Exodus 6

This chapter follows the cursing of Moses and Aaron by the very ones they are there to help: the officers of Israel.

Let me start this chapter with Edersheime's close of the previous: "the more tyrannical Pharaoh's oppression, the more glorious the triumph of Jehovah, and the more complete the manifestation of His enemy's impotence... For when Satan cannot otherwise oppose, he calls forth in us unbelieving doubts as to our aptitude or call for a work. The direction which Moses now received from God applies, in principle, to all similar cases. It conveyed a fresh assurance that God would certainly accomplish His purpose... pg. 65."

Observe: Moses had obeyed God and confronted the people and Pharaoh. Hope and expectation was high, but when it did not work out, the bottom fell out. Pharaoh acts and the people react against Moses. Then Moses expressed his doubts about the whole situation to the Lord, 5:22. What we need to see is that the answer which the Lord gave to him to urge him on is in this chapter. What did the Lord do? First, the Lord did not rebuke Moses for his shortness of faith. (Did not Moses try to tell the Lord that he was not qualified?) Second, the Lord reminds Moses of: 1) who He (the Lord) is, 2) the promise to Abraham, and 3) that He (the Lord) did indeed call Moses to the task.

For us: The Lord also expects us to assure ourselves of His call then find the promises of God and continue on in spite of Pharaoh's opposition and the unbelief of God's people.

Vs. 1-8.
The striking thing to me about this passage is the number of times the Lord says "I." (15 times in 8 verses.) There can be no mistake, what is about to take place is totally of God.

Note: I will.. is used 7 times in these 8 verses.
I am the Lord is used 4 times in these 8 verses.

1) V.1. Now shalt thou see.. Before the Lord could move in redeeming Israel, all hope in any kind of human strength for deliverance had to be removed. There were three areas which had to be dealt with before the Lord could show Himself strong.

A) Pharaoh: His hardness and determination not to let Israel go had to be revealed.

B) Israel: Israel's faithless attitude had to be revealed. Moses has one more confrontation with them to bring this to a climax.

C) Moses: The matter had to be settled that the people did not believe Moses and the delivery was not the work of Moses. All self-esteem, self-help and self-confidence that Moses might be still clinging to (thus in the individual Christian) had to be destroyed.

Each area was dealt with in a different way: A) the state which oppressed the covenant-people was judged and finally destroyed. B) the people's faith in the state was destroyed by oppressed and finally by death. C) every effort by Moses which had the slightest seed of self-confidence had to fail.

Vs. 6-9 is the final step for Israel and Moses: one more time God instructs Moses to present the promise to Israel which Israel again rejects. Moses again returns to the Lord and tells Him that these faithless people will not listen. Then vs. 10-12, the Lord commands Moses to go back to Pharaoh. Moses tells the Lord, "Lord, if the children of Israel will not listen to me, how can we expect Pharaoh to listen?" Moses loses his last glimmer of self-confidence and self-esteem; the final proof that there is no human agency involved in Israel's deliverance is complete and the Lord can now show Himself strong. All false hope in Pharaoh, Israel and Moses has been evaporated by the Son of God. Now the Lord can build hope in Himself as shown by the 15 "Is" in these 8 verses.

Vs 14-27, records Moses' & Aaron's genealogy which proves their identity with the people they are here to deliver. They were indeed kinsmen to those in bondage.

[Personal observation: The devil's crowd has done their assigned task well: they have persuaded all of mankind that there is political hope (in Pharaoh. See April 92 MO, False Hope), or there is hope in the church (the nation Israel will somehow get their act together and deliver itself) or there is hope in some kind of leader, Moses (there will be a man with a plan, or group of men with workable plans, who will unite all men and righteousness will prevail), or that man can somehow do something to deliver himself. This is dealt with in the destruction of Moses' self-esteem and self-confidence.

I think that the actions of the Lord here in the first 6 chapters of Exodus clearly establish the fact that all hope in any kind of human agency at all must be totally destroyed before the hand of the Lord can move. It appears to be a fact of history that human means of redemption are allowed to rise, then the Lord puts then down with His mighty hand. Furthermore, I believe we are seeing such an action in our day: the church has abandon its faith in a sovereign God who alone can deliver from the oppression of the world by obedience to His every law-word.

5/15/92, note of interest: I heard a radio speaker yesterday speaking about Elijah and prayer. He used James 5:17 (Elijah was a man subject to like passions.. prayed..) to teach some points about prayer. As he went down the typical list of qualifications for prayer, sincerity &c, he spiritualized Elijah so much that I could not tolerate listening. He never mentioned that Elijah prayed according to the law of God (Det 28:23). Furthermore, Elijah, fleeing from Jezebel, told God that he was sure that he was the only remaining true prophet who was zealous for the law of God, 1 Kgs 19:10. The secret of Elijah's prayer power was his knowledge of and zeal for the law of God, and not his zeal in prayer. Prayer without the works of the law is deadness; it is no more than phariseeism. May God see fit to deliver us from such false teaching, and HE WILL, just as He did Israel. In other words, every ounce of false hope in anything that any man can do must be destroyed as it was for Israel. And it will be. Our hope is in the I wills of God, not in the "we cans" of man. 5/15/92, I long to see the I will of God's strong hand subdue the evil Pharaoh's of our day; I long to see the I wills of God's strong hand destroy the false political hope of the Israel of our day; I long to see the I wills of God's strong hand destroy the both the false prophets of the "self-gospel" and the self- hopes of individuals. I may not see this in my life time, but it will come to pass. Personal note: I should not be too hard on these Peistic preachers because I was one of them for a great number of years.)

I. The first I will.. do to Pharaoh...

Everything in Exodus up to this point has led to this statement: I will do to Pharaoh. The way had to be cleared of all which might take away from the fact that the Lord is the One doing the action to Pharaoh.

This is the only I will of the 7 given to Moses personally. The Lord assures Moses that what is about to happen to Pharaoh is totally of Him. The reason that Moses was told to confront Pharaoh as he did in chapter 5 was because Moses and all Israel had to see that Pharaoh was not willingly going to let the people. In other words, the Lord wanted to "nip in the bud" any idea that Pharaoh was "soft in his old age" and leaning toward releasing Israel. Pharaoh's first response to the demand for release was increased burden upon Israel and beating the officers, thus removing forever any thought that Pharaoh himself was inclined in any way toward releasing the covenant people.

With a strong hand... The strong hand of God (I will) worked so strong in the situation that Pharaoh was forced by God to drive Israel out of his land. With a strong hand -- Pharaoh increased their burden, but after the Lord gets done with him, with a strong hand he forced them to leave. We might mention that it appears that Israel did not especially want to leave, but the strong hand of God drove them out.

A) V. 2. The first I of the Lord under the I will of v. 1.

The Lord had prewarned Moses at the bush (3:19) that it would take the mighty hand of the Lord to deliver Israel. Moses had failed to see any results in chapter 5, and now the Lord gently reminds Moses of what he had already been told.

Furthermore, and probably most importantly, the Lord reminds Moses of the covenant-promise, vs. 2-8. The Lord bases His command for Moses to speak to the hardened faithless people and latter to return to Pharaoh on His covenant-promise to Abraham.

[Personal note: Every time I read and think about the strength of this promise of God to Abraham, I am overwhelmed that the Sovereign God of Creation would bind Himself for all eternity to one of His creation: Abraham. Abraham was a man with the weaknesses of a man, yet the Eternal God made a promise to him which controls everything that God does in all of history.
I believe the answer to this perplexity lies in Eph 3 (v. 10). The Lord needed a human instrument to reveal His mystery, might, wisdom, grace, mercy, &c. through, so He arbitrarily chose Abraham to bind Himself to by covenant. Thus, it was not any merit on Abraham's part which influenced God; He was bound by the covenant which He made with Christ before the foundation of the world. The Father had to have a human instrument to work His covenant through, so He arbitrarily chose Abraham. Therefore, one is not brought into the covenant because of any merit on Abraham's part; rather, it is the grace and mercy of God as revealed in the covenant which brings one into it. This was a major bone of contention between Christ and the religious leaders.
A thought about Abraham.
The faith which Abraham exhibited when he answered the call had to be placed there by the Lord, for faith is the gift of God, Eph. 2:8, 9. Therefore, though the faith of Abraham which obeyed God makes good preaching and a good pattern for God's people to follow, actually the fact is that the great faith which Abraham exhibited is nothing less than the faith of the great and sovereign God placed in Abraham; Abraham's faith was the hand of God at work as Abraham acted out acted out the sovereign plan of God through man. God placed the faith in Abraham to do what he did in departing Ur and in sacrificing his son. "From the very start he exercised faith, but it is clear that such faith was God-given... It was a long and slow process, but Abraham had to learn that salvation was in the hands of God alone." The logical conclusion is that the Lord could have chosen anyone to make the covenant with, but, in His sovereignty, He chose Abraham. See The Classic Bible Dictionary, Sovereign Grace Trust Fund, Lafayette, IN. Abraham, pgs 10-14 & Covenants, pg. 319.
Note then Hebrews 11 could read something like this: "Through the faith which God's Spirit places within our heart, we understand.." Or, "By the faith which God placed in his heart, Enoch was translated.." Thus all the mighty works of faith in Hebrews 11 are the end result of God working in His servants to make them faithful and obedient unto the death. Hebrews 11 makes very good preaching and many Arminians use it with great zeal because, to them, it proves that man has the ability to chose to faithfully serve God. But, as with every other passage of Scripture, Hebrews 11 will not stand alone. It is followed by Hebrews 12, which reviews the previous chapter with v. 2, Looking unto Jesus the author and finisher of our faith... Clearly, faith is a result of the Spirit of Christ working within the individual.
In a word: It is all of God: If we have any faith, it is there because the Lord chose to place it there. If one is faithful, it is because faithfulness has been authored by the sovereignty of God.]

Exodus 6:2, Observe: Many times we need a loving reminder of the covenant-word of God, especially in the face of the oppression of the state and the hardness of the covenant-people.

I will, v. 1, is expanded upon by the Lord for Moses; the Lord builds Moses faith; He encourages Moses and strengthens him for the task ahead. The Lord does not really give Moses a new revelation; rather, He expands upon the one already given at the bush, 3:19. Moses is assured again of what the Lord is going to do to Pharaoh. This is hard for Moses to believe because of what just happened in chapter 5. Now the Lord reminds Moses of the past, I am the Lord... (mar. JEHOVAH).

This phrase (I am the Lord) is given four times, vs. 2, 6, 7, 8. V. 6 starts the direct commission which Moses is given to give to the people, and v. 8 concludes the commission. Note the purpose of starting and concluding the powerful passage of vs. 6-8 with I am the Lord is to show that the redemption of Israel is totally of God. It is the Lord who will accomplish these 7 marvelous things in vs. 6-8.

Observe that all of our hope lies in this Sovereign God of the 7 I wills. He is in complete (the number 7) control and will work it all out for His glory (I will).

V. 3.
I appeared to.. This sounds quite similar to the first message at the bush, 3:15, 16. God is reminding Moses that what he is doing in confronting Pharaoh is not some spur-of-the-moment decision on the Lord's part. What Moses is doing is 1) according to God's promise to the patriarchs, v. 4, and 2) further than had been given to the patriarchs, v. 3.
The Lord is going to do a greater work through Moses than He did through the patriarchs, but it will be according to the promise He made to them, v. 4.

JEHOVAH... In v. 3, the Lord tells Moses that He was not known to the patriarchs by the name of Jehovah. The name Jehovah or Yahweh first occurs in Gen 2:4, and is the most frequently used name for God in the OT, occurring 6,823 times -- 164 times in Genesis alone. In our KJV it is translated LORD, with a larger L than O R D, but all letters in upper case. If the name LORD was used this many times, then what did the Lord mean in Exodus 6:3?

The name Jehovah "speaks of the aseity of God. God possesses being, eternity and immutability in contradistinction to the absolute nonexistence of other gods and the derivative existence of created reality. God is; all else that exists becomes." Jehovah God is the totally self-existent One. Thus, it was Jehovah God of your fathers which met Moses at the bush in Exodus 3:15, 16 (which is before 6:3).

This brings us to an interesting question: what did the Lord mean when He told Moses that Abraham, Isaac and Jacob did not know God by the name of JEHOVAH? The rest of the passage here in Exodus 6:4-8 is built upon the proper understanding of what the Lord meant. There are two things here:

1) First, a quick reference back to Exodus 34:14 when the Lord revealed Himself to Moses as I AM THAT I AM. He is the self-existent one who is beyond any human comprehension and/or understanding. In Gen 41:44, Joseph was told, I am Pharaoh.. All of creation, including man, can be described, understood, classified and named by man; thus, I am Pharaoh, the King of Egypt. On the other hand, the Lord is the ONE WHO IS - THE ONE WHO WILL BE WHAT HE WILL BE - THE ONE WHO IS WHAT HE IS.

In other words:

A) He cannot be defined by man, nor can He be understood by man; He is beyond man. In contrast to Pharaoh's "I am Pharaoh," the Lord says "I am the Lord." An interesting point here is that when man attempts to define God, he is attempting an impossible task.

B) This speaks of a God totally outside of time: HE IS WHAT HE IS; I AM WHAT I AM; I WILL BE WHAT I WILL BE. He is ever present and ever the same (the same yesterday, today and tomorrow, for He changes not). Though He speaks in a manner which man can understand and identify, He says things which must be accepted by faith. Though we are locked in and restricted by time and history, Jehovah God knows no such restriction.

2) Although the Lord does define Himself for Moses in Ex 6, we get a clearer understanding of the meaning of Jehovah in Exodus 33 & 34.

In Ex 33:18, Moses asks the LORD to show him His glory. V. 19, the Lord promises to make all His goodness pass before Moses and to proclaim the name of the LORD before Moses. Moses was then to hew out two tables of stone like the first ones which he broke, and come up to the mountain the next day. Moses did as the Lord commanded, and early the next morning, he went up unto mount Sinai with the two tables of stone. Ex 34:5-7, the Lord descended in the cloud, and stood with him there, and proclaimed the name of the LORD (ie. JEHOVAH). And Jehovah passed by before him, and proclaimed, Jehovah, Jehovah God, merciful and gracious, long suffering, and abundant in goodness and truth, keeping mercy for thousands, forgiving iniquity and transgression and sin, and that will be no means clear the guilty; visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children, and upon the children's children, unto the third and to the fourth generation.

Ex 33:10, the Lord further reveals Himself as the covenant-making God, a God of marvels such as have not been done in all the earth, a great and terrible God, and (v. 11, 12) a God which demands uncompromised obedience and separation from the surrounding pagans.

Ex 33:14, the name for God, Jehovah, is further revealed as Jealous, for He is a jealous God; therefore, do not fail to obey His every word.

JEHOVAH means redemption which is based upon the fact that the Lord God is the covenant-making and the covenant-keeping God. The patriarchs had seen the covenant of the LORD (Jehovah); in fact, they were the possessors of the covenant (of course, the original covenant was with Adam in the garden). They not only had knowledge of the covenant, but they also had dim knowledge of the promised redemption, Gen 15:1-14 (Jn 8:56 Your father Abraham rejoiced to see my day: and he saw it, and was glad. The Lord said that in some way Abraham saw Christ's day of redemption. This upset the Jews so much that they attempted to stone Him).

JEHOVAH.. "The redemptive significance of God's name jehovah had not been known by the patriarchs, but it was to be revealed to the enslaved Israelites, who were redeemed from Egypt and saved by the mighty hand of Jehovah... The patriarchs no doubt knew the meaning of the name, but had not yet seen the salvation of the Lord. Thus Jacob exclaims in Genesis 49:18, "I have waited for thy salvation, O Jehovah." What God was going to do through Moses was to bring salvation to the enslaved Israel, and reveal His redemptive character. Thus this name was given to Moses to encourage Israel in the trust in the promises of redemption and deliverance."

(See The Classic Bible Dictionary, Jay P. Green, Editor. Sovereign Grace Trust Fund, Lafayette In, 1988. God, The Names of, pg. 479)

JEHOVAH

1) It had to be Jehovah God which made the covenant with Adam, Gen 3:14ff. It was a covenant of redemption from the results of Adam's transgression, bondage to the enemy of God.

2) Even though it was God who made the covenant with Noah (Gen 9), it was Jehovah who smelled the sweet savour of Noah's sacrifice in Gen 8:20, and Who promised not again to curse the ground nor smite every living thing, v. 21. Therefore, the covenant made by God in ch 9 is only confirming what Jehovah said in 8:21.

We might mention that it was Jehovah, whose name is Jealous, who judged the tower of Babel, Gen 11:6-9, which means that it is the Lord Jesus Christ which will judge all continued effort toward a one world government.

4) It was Jehovah God who made the covenant of redemption with Abraham, Gen 15:1ff. Note that the covenant with Abraham included his descendant's redemption from their Egyptian bondage and their victorious possession of the land of Canaan. But we know from the book of Hebrews that the possession of the physical land of Canaan was not the actual covenant; the covenant was Christ and the rest for His people in Him.

5) So then of necessity it had to be Jehovah God which met Moses at the bush because Moses was being sent to deliver Israel for the redeeming God. But this fact was not made plain to Moses until Exodus 6:2 & 3, then it is expanded on in vs. 4-8. The people had heard about the redemption (thus, Jehovah God, their redeemer), but they do not believe, ie. they turned against Moses, 5:21; 6:9. They will know that He is indeed the LORD after their redemption, 6:7.

6) Finally, it is impossible for Christ to be anyone other than the OT Jehovah (LORD) God. Christ was the redemption of which the OT name Jehovah spoke. Christ continually asserted that He was the great I AM which met Moses at the bush, and thus the One who delivered Israel.

JEHOVAH - LORD, any time we see this name in the OT it must be understood as speaking of at least five things: 1) a God that is beyond human comprehension (and if anything is beyond human understanding, the mystery of redemption and faith is), 2) unmerited redemption, 3) this unmerited redemption is always connected with a covenant between God and man: Christ was/is the covenant, Isa 42:6; 48:8, 4) blessings for obedience to the law of the covenant (Ex 34:28), and 5) my name is Jealous.., the jealousy of God and His judgment against sin. #4 & #5, Det 30:15ff.

Ex 6, after the Lord gives Moses further revelation which tells Moses that the Lord is the redemptive Jehovah God of the covenant, He goes on to remind him further of the covenant.

V. 4.
Observe:
1) I have also.. The covenant was a covenant of grace. It was a covenant between a greater and a lessor, not between two equals. Therefore, the Lord did not have to make the covenant and give covenant-law.

What the Lord is going to do is according to the promise to these men. And the Lord must fulfill His promise. This assures Moses that even though he is now working with a faithless generation who turned upon him at the first chance, the Lord will deliver the people (in spite of themselves) because of the promise He made with their fathers. (See faith of Abraham above.) The promise was several hundreds of years old, yet the Lord remembered it.

2) to give them the land of Canaan... It is important we understand that although the promise included the physical land for the nation of Israel which came out of Egypt, the promise was not fulfilled when they came into Canaan. The fulfillment of the covenant was/is Christ, Hebrews 4:8 (see all of Heb 3 & 4).

Therefore, any kind of a hope that the promise of the physical land of Canaan was the everlasting promise to the physical nation of Israel, is a false hope. The everlasting promise is the rest in Christ.

3) the land of their pilgrimage, wherein they were strangers.. Interesting! the promised rest in Christ was expanded to include the whole earth, Acts 1:8.

Gen 17:8, And I will give unto thee, and to thy seed after thee, the land wherein thou art a stranger, all the land of Canaan, for an everlasting possession; and I will be their God.

Then, Exodus 6:4, And I have also established my covenant with them, to give then the land of Canaan, the land of their pilgrimage, wherein they were strangers.

Then Hebrews 11:13, These all died in faith, not having received the promises, but having seen them afar off, and were persuaded of them, and embraced them, and confessed that they were strangers and pilgrims on the earth.

The original promise to the seed of Abraham was restricted to the physical land wherein they were strangers: Canaan. The next time it is given to Moses, it appears to be expanded a little. But Hebrews expands the promise by saying that to the seed of Abraham is given all the land wherein they are strangers and pilgrims: the whole earth.

The seed of Abraham in expanded to include all who are in Christ, Gal 3:16, 26-29. Hebrews 11, written after Christ came including all believers in the promise, includes the whole earth in the promise. In other words, the promise to Abraham was not annulled by Christ; rather, it was expanded in Him to include, not just the land of Canaan, but the whole earth. The covenant to Abraham promises to give the physical land of the whole earth to the seed of Abraham wherein they are now strangers.

V. 5.
1) And I have also heard.. This is covered back under Exodus 2:24. Might mention this additional point: V. 4 & v. 5 start with the same 4 words. The Lord spoke of the many hundreds of years time-span between the giving of the covenant to Abraham and the hearing of the cry as though it was but a moment. The vast amount of time which affects us so much is as but a moment in His sight.

2) and I have remembered my covenant. This also we have covered in the past, so we will only mention 2 points in passing. The bondage of the Egyptians caused the Israelites to grown and desire to be released from Egypt. This caused the Lord to remember His covenant-promise to Abraham.

I) Seeing as how the covenant-promise has been expanded to include all believers since Christ, this leads to these conclusions.

A) The land wherein the old Israel was strangers was Egypt. They loved the land and were Egyptians at heart. They were heirs to the promise, but they really had no desire to claim the promise. They were pleasantly content.

a) The land wherein the new Israel is content is the world. They love the land and are pagans at heart. They are heirs to the promise, but they really have no desire to claim it. They are pleasantly content.

B) The old nation of Israel was only broken from Egypt in their heart by bitter bondage which was bitter enough to cause them to cry unto the Lord their God. Sadly, that generation which was broken by the bondage was not actually broken. They desired to go back until every last man was dead (with two exceptions out of the tens of thousands). It was a new generation which inherited Canaan.

b) The new nation of Israel will only be broken from Egypt in their heart by bitter bondage which will be bitter enough to cause them to cry unto the Lord their God. Sadly, this generation which will be broken by the bondage will not actually be broken. Their desire to go back will last until every last man is dead (with few exceptions out of hundreds of thousands). It is the new generation which will inherit the earth, Mat 5.

C) Israel was redeemed in spite of their hardness and indifference to the God of their father Abraham. He redeemed them because of His covenant, not because of either their merit or Abraham's merit. They inherited the promised land for the same reason.

c) Israel today is redeemed in spite of their hardness and indifference to the God of their father Abraham. He will/dose redeem them because of His covenant, not because of either their merit or Abraham's merit. They will inherit the promised land because of God's covenant (the meek shall inherit the earth, Mat 5:5).

The conclusion: Because of God's covenant and not because of either Abraham's goodness nor His people's goodness today, will God fulfill His redemption of His people and victory over the enemies of God.

What a glorious promise this is.

5/20/92

II) I have remembered my covenant...

Israel's deliverance did not depend upon them remembering the covenant; rather, it depended totally upon the Lord remembering His covenant. The covenant was one-sided. The possessors of the covenant were Egyptinized, but God remembered what He told Abraham. Now it is time to move according to what He told him.

V. 6.
Moses is told to return to the children of Israel and tell them three things for the Lord:

There are 7 I wills in these three verses, 6-8, all based upon the first statement: I am the Lord. (See vs. 2, 3, & v. 1, I will do to Pharaoh.) In these seven things mentioned, we see seven actions of God in the world and in His people today.

1) I will bring you (spoken to Israel) out of Egypt, v. 6.

2) I will rid you (Israel) out of their (Egyptian) bondage, v. 6.

3) I will redeem you, v. 6.
Redeemed... The Lord is going to pay the price for His people: 1) with the lamb, and 2) with the first-born of Egypt.

4) I will take you (Israel) unto myself for a people, v. 7.
The Lord is going to adopt Israel as His people according to the promise given to Abraham. The time is here to fulfill His covenant-promise.

5) I will be to you (Israel) a God, v. 7.
and ye shall know.. How will they know? He is going to prove beyond any doubt to this stubborn people that it was by His mighty hand that they were delivered. Look at what it is going to take on the Lord's part to cause the people to know the Lord, He is God.

6) I will bring you (Israel) in unto the land, v. 8.
The Lord makes it clear that He is doing this for one reason: He swore to Abraham that He would do this. Therefore, He must move or be unfaithful to His covenant-word which He gave.

7) I will give it you (Israel) for an heritage, v. 8.

The Lord starts and concludes His 7 I wills to Israel with this statement: I am the Lord, vs. 6 & 8. In other words, He will do these 7 things because He is the Lord, not because of anything on man's part.

Personal note:
This is one of my favorite topics in Scripture: the I WILLs of God. They are scattered throughout the word of God, and they show us that God's plan is and will be carried out regardless of man. God will move in terms of His covenant, and all of the best efforts of fallen man will not prevent the Lord from performing His I wills. The situation with Israel in Egypt, Pharaoh's hardness, Moses' unwillingness and Israel's unbelief, all three added up to a seemingly impossible situation, proves that God moves according to His predetermined plan, not according to anything on man's part. Why are we so weak in faith that we believe that the Lord cannot indeed perform His I wills in our day? Maybe we are unable to find any I wills which apply to us today.... But we have already seen that the promises given to Abraham our ours in Christ, the true seed of Abraham.

Seven "I wills" within 3 verses, and these three verses after every effort of man failed. There are two more steps before God can start performing His I wills: Israel must again reject the offer, and Moses must confess his helplessness in the situation. This will be the final evidence that no man had anything to do with Israel's redemption.

V. 9.
The Lord instructs Moses give the 7 I wills to the children of Israel containing His promise of deliverance, v. 6. The children of Israel tell Moses, "We believed you once and things did not work out. We will not believe you again." They reject the word of the Lord through Moses now because of what happened last time, v. 9.

It could not be made any clearer: God says 7 times that the people will be delivered in spite of their stubbornness, lack of faith and rebellion; Why? Because Jehovah God wills it; He wills that they be delivered. They will be delivered because of the unmerited promise to Abraham. God did not have to, but he bound himself by a covenant-promise to a man: Abraham, a man that God chose to be friends with. Now He is going to move according to that promise to a man regardless of Israel's desire. In fact, their desire is now to be just left alone, v. 9. The Lord is removing all doubt about His sovereignty.

Observe:
We are confronted over and over with the fact that Israel's deliverance had not the slightest thing to do with man. Notice what the Apostle John said in this regard: John 1:13, Which were born, not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God. The theme of the book of John is the Sovereignty of God in all seven of these areas mentioned in these I wills of Exodus.

Fallen man refuses to admit that he has nothing to do with his own redemption (Arminianism); therefore, Calvinism is anathema to him. The Baptist have not turned completely away from Calvinism because then still believe in eternal security, but that is about the only Calvinistic trait they have left.

Look at what it took to teach the covenant-people in Egypt that it is all of God. What will it take to teach God's people today...?

As I study Scripture, (esp Is 38-42), I am overwhelmed with the I wills of the Lord. The people who feel that the Lord cannot call the world and all the pagans in it unto Himself through His Spirit of Grace are fools. Jessica asked me last night (5/19/92) what is the difference between Post-mil and Pre-mil. My answer was that the premil believe that the Lord cannot subdue the earth unto Himself without a armed might, such as the Soviets would use to accomplish their world rule. On the other hand, the Postmil holds to the view that the Lord can subdue the world to Himself through His spirit of grace working in the hearts of individuals. Her answer was that it was crazy not to believe that the Lord can subdue mankind unto Himself through His spirit.

I have noticed that the hold of premil and Arminianism has increased with the rise of the "ask jesus into your heart" gospel. No wonder they have no hope. Notice also that if one feels that salvation and redemption is the individuals choice, then it is impossible to believe that enough people can chose to be redeemed to change anything. On the other hand, if we hold that redemption is totally God's choice and work, then it is not difficult at all to believe that in the Lord's good time, He will move and subdue hearts unto Himself.

God redeemed Israel; God delivered Israel; God broke the greatest power of the world in that day (see list above); God took a people unto Himself who did not really want to come; God did great and mighty works because HE WILLED to do it. He moved in response to a covenant which He made 400 years previously with a man to which He owed nothing. He did it out of His free grace and by His Sovereign will.

When God says I Will, all the feeble efforts of man combined are not a drop in the bucket. His I wills will be performed.

And this is our hope. God says I Will, and He will. My, how this applies to us who are chosen to be a people of God; chosen by His sovereign grace.

V. 10, 11.
The Lord recommissions a discouraged Moses to go back and deliver the message again to Pharaoh.

V. 12.
This is the end of any confidence which Moses might have had left in anyone, including himself. He says to the Lord what the Lord already knew. "Lord, Israel will not listen to me or believe me when I deliver Your word to them just a short time ago (v. 9), and now You expect me to go back in to Pharaoh? How can we expect him to believe Your word when Your people will not believe you?"

Observe:
This is an extremely valid question for our day. How can the professed Christians expect the pagans around them to believe the word of God when they do not. How can thy expect the pagans to believe the commandments enough to turn from murder (abortion) when the people of God will not believe it enough to turn from covetousness? There are limitless illustrations like this of the double standard: God's people expect the pagans to respect God's law more than they do.

V. 13.
The Lord speaks again to Moses and Aaron to go back in to speak to Pharaoh. The Lord understands the reservations which Moses and Aaron have, but He tells them again to go speak to Pharaoh.

Ex 6:14-25.
This passage traces the genealogy of Moses and Aaron. It proves which tribe they are from, which is not the first three tribes.

There are two points worth mentioning here:

1) Moses and Aaron are from the tribe of Levi.

The first born of Jacob, had been set aside in the inheritance because of his evil act of laying with his father's wife, Gen 49:4. Simeon & Levi, the second and third born, had joined together, broke their covenant with Schechem over their sister Dinah and killed all the male population of the city of Shechem, Gen 34:25, 26. With the first three sons set aside for their hardness in sin, the blessing of leadership went to the fourth son, Judah, Gen 49:8. After Jacob [Israel] dies, the leadership role passes to the 11th son, Joseph, until Josehp dies. Now many generations latter, the leadership passes to Levi, who had a curse against him, in the form of Moses and Aaron. Joshua, who succedded Moses, was a decendant of Ephraim. Judah dose not gain the promised blessing (promised by Israel upon his death-bed) for many hundreds of years: King David.

A) Note that Judah's confession and repentance for his sin with Tamar (Gen 38:26) dose not pay off for about 700 years: Gen 38 [1729 BC] - 1 Sam 16 [1068 BC]). This is sure a far cry from what we expect out of the Lord today. We want to inherit His blessings now.. in our lifetime.

B) The point in Exo 6 is that the leadership which established the standard for all the world from that time until the end of time (Moses and the giving of the Law, De 10) is now in the hands of Levi.

Observe that the Sovereign God will use who He will; He calls out two men from the linage of the wicked son Levi, places His spirit upon them and destroys the glory, might and power of the world of their day.

C) Furthermore, Ex 7:7 specifically mentions that Moses and Aaron are 80 & 83 respectively; they are no longer young men.

Observe that the Sovereign God not only uses who He will, but He uses who He will WHEN HE WILL. Age is no restriction with God, and He will move an individual into the place where He wants them when He wants them.

2) Notice the names: Let us start at the top and work our way down. (Strong's & BDB numbers. Most of these names have no defination listed in BDB; therefore, most of the definations are from "All the men...")

V. 14, The sons of Rubin..
Hanoch 2585 - 335b [Eldest son of Reben - Dedicated.]
Pallu 6396 - 811a [Second son of Reuben - Distinguished or Wonderful.]
Hezron 2696 - 348a [A son of Reuben - Shut in, Blooming or Dart of joy.]
Carmi 3756 - 501b [A vine dresser - Webster.]

The sons of Simeon..
Jemuel 3223 - 410b [God is Light or Mighty Reverence for God.]
Jamin 3226 - 412b [Right Hand or Prosperity.]
Ohad 161 - 13b [Powerful.]
Jachin 3199 -467b [He Doth Establish or Founding.]
Zohaar 6714 - 850b [White, Shining or Distinction.]
Shaul 7586 - 982a [A son of Simeon by a Canaanitish woman - Asked.]

The sons of Levi..
Gershon 1647 - 177a [A Stranger There.]
Kohath 6955 - 875a [Second son of Levi and ancestor of Moses - Assembly.]
Merari 4847 - 601a [Bitter or Unhappy.]

These born in Egypt?

The sons of Gershon, a son of Levi.
Libni 3845 - 526b [Grandson of Levi - White or Distinguished.]
Shimi 8096 - 1035b [Grandson of Levi - Jehovah is Fame or Famous. This is one of the most popular names with 19 listed in "All..."]

The sons of Kohath, a son of Levi.
Amram 6019 - 771b [Grandson of Levi - Exalted People or Inexperience.]
Izhar 3324 - 844a [Bright One or Olive Oil.]
Hebron 2275 - 289a [Union or Company. BDB-Association, League.]
Uzziel 5816 - 739b [God is Strong. BDB-My strength is El.]

The sons of Merari, a son of Levi.
Mahali 4249 - 563a [Sick or Weak.]
Mushi 4187 - 559a [Drawn Out.]

The sons of Amram, a son of Kohath, a son of Levi.
His wifes name, Jochebed 3115 -220b [BDB doesn't list her. My "All the women.. is missing.]
Aaron 175 14b [A Mountain of Strength or Enlightened.]
Moses 4872

The sons of Izhar, a son of Kohath, a son of Levi.
Korah 7141 - 901a [Baldness or Icy. BDB lists it as an Edomite name.]
Nepheg 5298 - 655b [An Offshoot.]
Zichri 2147 - 271b [Famous, Renowned.]

The sons of Hebron, a son of Kohath, a son of Levi-none listed

> The sons of Uzziel, a son of Kohath, a son of Levi. Note the strong faith that is evident here in these names.
Mishael 4249 - 563a [High Place or Who is What God Is.]
Elzaphan 469 - 45b [God has Concealed or Protected. BDB also.]
Zithri 5644 - 712b [Jehovah is Protection, To Hide or Overturn.]

The sons of Korah, a son of Izhar, a son of Kohath, a son of Levi.
Assir 617 - 64a [Captive.]
Elkanah 511 - 46b [God Hath Created or Is Jealous, Possessing. BDB, same.]
Abiasaph 23 - 4a [Remover of Reproach or Father of Gathering. BDB-my father has gathered. Only one listed for this name.]

The sons of Aaron, a son of Amram, a son of Kohath, a son of Levi.
His wife's name, Elisheba 472 - 45b [BDB-God is an oath], daughter of Amminadab 5992 - 770a [My People is willing or My Kinsman is Generous. BDB-My kingdom is Noble], sister of Naashon 5177 - 638a [Oracle or One That Foretells.]
> Nadab 5070 - 621b [Of One's Free Will or Liberal. BDB-Generous, Noble.]
Abihu 30 - 4a [He is my father. BDB-He is father.]
Eleazar 499 - 46a [God is Helper. BDB-God has helped.]
Ithamar 385 - 16a [Palm-Coast or Palm Trees. BDB-land of palms.]

The son of Eleazar, a son of Aaron, a son of Amram, a son of Kohath, a son of Levi.
His wife was a daughter of Putiel 6317 - 806b [God Enlightens or Afflicted by God.]

> Phinehas 6372 - 810 - [Face of Trust or Mouth of a Serpent. BDB-Egyptian. Penehasi, the negro.l (Eli's son is named Phinehas, 1 Sa 1:3.)

(See hand drawn 'tree' in Exo file.)

The thing to notice here is that the names reflect the faith and facts of the times. What really stands out is the Phinehas is an Egyptian name neaning "The Negro." This means 1) the Hebrews had accepted the Egyptian ways, and 2) they had inner-married with the sons of Ham. Phinehas was a black man who loved the Lord.

Vs. 26, 27.
The Lord clearly identifies who He has sent to, 1) bring out the children of Israel from the land of Egypt according to their armies, and 2) speak to Pharaoh. [Note armies... Speaks of A) an orderly departure, military discipline, and B) bringing them out for warfare, to fight.]

Vs. 28-30.
Vs. 14-27 is a parentheses because vs. 28-30 continues from v. 13. V. 29, the Lord reminds Moses again that He is the Lord God of the promise to Abraham, and that Moses is only to speak the words which the Lord gives to him. Apparently, vs. 28-30 gives the account of the Lord restating vs. 10-13, to Moses to force him to act on what he did not really want to do.

Vs. 30 & 12.
Moses protests to the Lord with the same protest as he had at the bush: "I can't speak."

Vs. 30 & 9.
This passage shows us an important point: both the people and Moses had given up. The people said, "We are not going to listen to you again." Moses said, "Lord, what good is it going to do to talk to Pharaoh again? I am not going to persuade him of anything. All I will do is make matters worse."