Exodus 6:1-13

Then Moses turned again to the Lord and said, "O Lord, why have you mistreated this people?¹ Why did you ever send me?² Since I first came to Pharaoh to speak in your name, he has mistreated this people, and you have done nothing at all to deliver your people."³

Then the Lord said to Moses, "Now you shall see what I will do to Pharaoh:⁴ Indeed, by a mighty hand he will let them go; by a mighty hand⁵ he will drive them out⁶ of his land."

God also spoke to Moses and said to him: "I am the Lord. I appeared to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob as God Almighty, but by my name 'The Lord' I did not make myself known to them.⁷ I also established my covenant with them,⁸ to give them the land of Canaan, the land in which they resided as aliens. I have also heard the groaning of the Israelites, whom the Egyptians are holding as slaves,⁹ and I have remembered my covenant. Say therefore to the Israelites, 'I am the Lord, and I will free you from the burdens of the Egyptians and deliver you from slavery to them. I will redeem you with an outstretched arm and with mighty acts of judgement. I will take you as my people, and I will be your God. You shall know that I am the Lord your God,¹⁰ who has freed you from the burdens of the Egyptians. I will bring you into the land that I swore to give to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob; I will give it to you for a possession. I am the Lord.’"

Moses told this to the Israelites; but they would not listen to Moses,¹¹ because of their broken spirit and their cruel slavery.¹²



Then the Lord spoke to Moses, "Go and tell Pharaoh king of Egypt to let the Israelites go out of his land."¹³

But Moses spoke to the Lord, "The Israelites have not listened to me; how then shall Pharaoh listen to me, poor speaker that I am?"¹⁴

Thus the Lord spoke to Moses and Aaron, and gave them orders regarding the Israelites and Pharaoh king of Egypt, charging them to free the Israelites from the land of Egypt.¹⁵



1 Moses agrees with the people's complaint

2 Once again, Moses's trust in God is wavering

3 To be honest, these are true statements

4 God does not defend himself or berate Moses, He just states what will happen next.

5 “a mighty hand” repeated twice as God's self-descriptor

6 He won't just let the people go, by the time God is done he will drive them out!

7 Study Bible states that the revelation of the name YHWH here is due to this being a “P” section, while the revelation in 3:13-22 was part of the “J” section.

8 Mention of the “covenant” focuses on their special status again.

9 “Slaves” and “groaning” shows his care for the oppressed again. (later “slavery” and “burdens”)

10 Continues to personalize what he will do for the Israelites, his own people.

11 The previous enthusiasm of the people has wavered. Moses's fears are confirmed.

12 Their situation, their broken spirit, is blamed on their cruel slavery. Not their fault, but the result of oppression.

13 The people's poor reaction is irrelevant – God commands Moses to continue in obedience.

14 Moses self-doubts yet again!

15 Before it was just a three-day journey, but now God is asking Pharaoh to free them from Egypt entirely.

Take-home: God reveals his purposes to Moses. He shows both compassion for the Hebrews' situation of slavery and oppression as well as a special concern for them as his covenant people. Pharaoh has been unresponsive, Moses is self-doubting, and the people have a broken spirit, but God presses on – he knows that his purposes will be fulfilled and asks for obedience despite the odds.