God Promises Deliverance (Exodus 6:1-12)

Bible Passage: Exodus 6:1-12

After Moses had experienced a setback in his mission, with the people blaming him for Pharaoh’s harsher treatment of them, he brings his complaint to God (5:22-23). In this passage we have God’s response. This is one of many times through Exodus where God needs to give reassurance to his wavering servant, and he does so by reminding him of some big truths. These same truths can be crucial for us when we start to waver and doubt today.

Know God’s Revelation: Through verses 1-5, God reminds Moses of who he is. He explains the difference between what has been revealed to Moses and what had previously been shown to the patriarchs. Whilst they did experience God and had a relationship with him, they didn’t know him in the same way Moses did because he hadn’t revealed his name to them. Reminding ourselves of the privilege of knowing God is a great antidote to doubt, and we should remember that as New Testament believers, we have an even greater revelation of God than Moses did (see 2 Corinthians 3:7-18). As well as God’s revealing himself by name, he also reminds Moses of the covenant that he made (v4) and the compassion that he has (v5). We know who God is, what he has said, and how much he cares. This gives us confidence for how he will act in the future.

Believe God’s Promises: Verses 6-8 give the message that Moses was to share with the Israelites, and it is bookended with the phrase ‘I am the LORD’. In between these two declarations are seven promises of what God will do. The fact that there are seven is no coincidence, and in scripture this often marks completeness: God will do it all. The specifics of the promise are that God will bring the people out from Egypt, will free them from slavery, will redeem them with mighty acts, will take them as his own people, will be their God, will bring them to the land he promised, and will give it to them as a possession. In other words, he is promising to save them, to be in relationship with them and to give them a home. From our historical moment, we have similar promises of God that we can lean into. We too have a promise of salvation, that through Christ we are set free from the tyranny of sin, death and the devil. We too have been made the people of God, from every tribe and tongue and nation, and we have the promise of the new creation where all things will be made right.

Declare God’s Message: The reminders that Moses received from God were not just for his own sake. He still had a job to do, and God was bolstering Moses’ confidence to ensure he stayed on mission. After hearing from God, Moses went back to the people and reported what God had said. Straight after this, the command to go back to Pharaoh was reiterated. The people still did not listen, and this made Moses worry about how Pharaoh would receive the word. Nevertheless, Moses continued speaking. Often when we have shared God’s message and it hasn’t gone well, or we fear how we will be received, we might want to back off and stop sharing. This passage shows us a great example of getting with God, being reminded of who he is and what he has done, and letting this spur us on to keep going in declaring God’s message.

Potential Applications:

• Some might feel like Moses and lack confidence in stepping out with God’s message. You could pray that they would receive an anointing of the Spirit to give them confidence.
• You could spend some time as a congregation praying out different promises that God has made over us.
• There may be some present who do not know God. You could offer the opportunity to respond to his offer of salvation for the first time.