God's Promise of Deliverance in Exodus 6:1-13

Exodus 6

Pharaoh, Pharaoh, ohhhh baby let my people go, Hoo! Ok, I’m done singing. Everyone who grew up going to church remembers the story of Moses. Maybe you learned the song and hand motions too (if not, I can totally teach you! LOL). We were taught about his story of surviving the slaughter of Hebrew babies, being raised by the daughter of Pharaoh, fleeing to the wilderness after committing murder, and leading the Exodus of the Israelites from Egypt after God’s promise of deliverance.

CONTEXT

In Exodus 6, we find Moses brand new in his spokesperson career. Ever found yourself feeling completely unqualified in a new role that God has put you in? Me too! He has encountered God as a burning bush and returned to Egypt in obedience. He’s followed God’s plan and revealed himself to the Hebrew people, reunited with his brother Aaron, and taken the bold walk up to the palace to confront Pharaoh about letting the Israelites go.

And what happened? Things got even worse, even harder! Pharaoh not only refused to free them but also took a very important brick making ingredient away from them just to make their job more difficult and force them to work harder.

Do you ever feel like you’ve been obedient in what the Lord is telling you to do in life only to have things get harder?

Moses cries out to God, “Why’d you do this?! Why’d you even send me?! You said you were going to deliver your people and you haven’t delivered them at all!” See, you and I aren’t the only ones that have ever questioned God’s methods. 😉

That is where we pick up in Exodus 6.

GOD’S PROMISE OF DELIVERANCE

6:1-5

¹But the Lord said to Moses, “Now you shall see what I will do to Pharaoh; for with a strong hand he will send them out, and with a strong hand he will drive them out of his land. ²God spoke to Moses and said to him, “I am the Lord. ³I appeared to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob, as El Shaddai, but by my name the Lord I did not make myself known to them. ⁴I also established my covenant with them to give them the land of Canaan, the land in which they lived as sojourners. ⁵Moreover, I have heard the groaning of the people of Israel whom the Egyptians hold as slaves and I have remembered my covenant.”

HIGHLIGHTING

I use the Good Morning Girls Bible Highlighting Chart to categorize the verses in my Bible. Not only does it make scripture a beautiful palette of color on the pages, it also helps me slow down and really digest a verse. My Bible study game completely changed after finding this little trick. I highly recommend it! You can find bible highlighters at Mardel, Hobby Lobby, Michaels, or on Amazon.

READ ABOUT STUDYING THE BIBLE IN THESE 3 EASY STEPS

If you feel the verse fits in a different category than I have it marked, please highlight it that color. There’s really no set in stone color and there’s not gonna be a test later. 😉 I highlighted verses 1-5 all purple.

MY NOTES

God is speaking about himself. Can you even imagine?! The audible voice of God?!

Remember, at the end of chapter 5 Moses is whining why and notifying God that He didn’t do what He said He was going to do. Youch!! I don’t know about you but I’ve had my moments of doubt. Trust takes time to build but I have to remember that I can trust His promises.

Then my NLT study notes explain to me that Moses expected faster results and fewer problems. Suffering, set backs, and hardship may occur when God is at work in our lives. Romans 5:3 tells us that “..we rejoice in our sufferings, knowing that suffering produces endurance..”.

Have you ever worked really hard to get something? Something that isn’t just an easy task or success, but that took long hours of hard work, many days, and hard hurdles to clear? You probably really appreciate obtaining that success. You value it more because of the trial it took to achieve.

James 1:2-4 teaches us to trust God, honor Him in the present situation, know that He won’t abandon us, and watch for God’s plan for us. God is reminding Moses of who He is, what He’s done, and telling Moses to be ready! He doesn’t forget, friend!

6:6-8

⁶Say therefore to the people of Israel, ‘I am the Lord, and I will bring you out from under the burdens of the Egyptians, and I will deliver you from slavery to them, and I will redeem you with an outstretched arm and with great acts of judgement. ⁷I will take you to be my people, and I will be your God, and you shall know that I am the Lord your God, who has brought you out from under the burdens of the Egyptians. ⁸I will bring you into the land that I swore to give to Abraham, Isaac, and to Jacob. I will give it to your for a possession. I am the Lord.'”

HIGHLIGHTING

Verse 6= instruction/God
Verse 7= God
Verse 8= God

MY NOTES

God is giving Moses instruction. When we’re not sure what to do next we can always come to God in prayer and remind ourselves of what He says through the Bible. We can trust His word. It is His promise to us and is a living, breathing word for us to hear in our hearts and absorb in our minds. It may not have exact step by step instructions for modern day life situations but its principles and teachings apply. God knew it would before its creation. He’s cool like that!

He tells Moses what to tell the Israelites. It’s basically a reminder of who God is and what He’s promised to do. WOW! I love that last sentence! Sometimes I just need to do the same thing and remind myself of who God is. He is the creator of heaven and earth. The one who formed all my most inner being. The Almighty (that’s what El Shaddai translates to) that holds me in His hand and promises in Hebrews 13 to never leave me or forsake me.

6:9-13

⁹Moses spoke thus to the people of Israel, but they did not listen to Moses, because of their broken spirit and harsh slavery. ¹⁰So the Lord said to Moses, ¹¹“Go in, tell Pharaoh king of Egypt to let the people of Israel go out of his land.” ¹²But Moses said to the Lord, “Behold, the people of Israel have not listened to me. How then shall Pharaoh listen to me, for I am of uncircumcised lips?” ¹³But the Lord spoke to Moses and Aaron and gave them a charge about the people of Israel and about Pharaoh king of Egypt; to bring the people of Israel out of the land of Egypt.

HIGHLIGHTING

Verse 9= people (Moses & Israelites)
Verse 10= God
Verse 11= instructions
Verse 12= prayer
Verse 13= instructions

MY NOTES

How many times have I let my emotions keep me from trusting Him?! Things go wrong, even little things sometimes, and my broken spirit leaves me feeling just completely defeated. We can do the same thing the Israelites did if we’re not careful and shut our eyes and ears off from the God’s promises. Does it mean His promises are then null and void? Of course not! So even when we feel demolished, defeated, and in despair let’s remind ourselves that God’s promise of deliverance (and all the others too) always stand firm.

From my NLT notes: We need to see beyond temporary setbacks or reversals. Anyone can obey God when the task is easy and everyone seems to be backing you up but only those with persistent faith can obey when the task seems impossible. Keep going friend! Keep following Him!

EVERYONE’S A WORK IN PROGRESS

We can tend to be hard on ourselves and let the enemy convince us we’ll never be used in tremendous ways for God’s glory. That’s just a lie from the enemy! Everyone is a work in progress. No-one is perfect. But God is still God!! He can use anyone! Think you’re too messed up? Print out the printable below and frame it or put it on the fridge if you need the daily reminder. Whew, it’s such a relief to realize I’m not disqualified even though I have royally screwed up over and over again.

ARE YOU TOO MESSED UP FOR GOD TO USE?

Know His promises friend. Trust His plan for you. Open your eyes to see Him at work and don’t let the setbacks defeat you. He’s got you!!

Love & Encouragement,