Exodus 6:1-13
From our study of the history of God’s people, we can learn many foundational truths. But one of them is sure, GOD DOES NOT FORGET! Men may forget, but never God. When He seems to have forgotten, it is because it takes time to work out His purposes. He is surely working behind the scenes.
This truth is illustrated in the Scripture, Exodus 6:1-13. We base our thoughts on this text.
1. Then the LORD said unto Moses, now shalt thou see what I will do to Pharaoh: for with a strong hand shall he let them go, and with a strong hand shall he drive them out of his land.
2. And God spoke unto Moses, and said unto him, I am the LORD:
3. And I appeared unto Abraham, unto Isaac, and unto Jacob, by the name of God Almighty, but by my name JEHOVAH was I not known to them.
4. And I have also established my covenant with them, to give them the land of Canaan, the land of their pilgrimage, wherein they were strangers.
5. And I have also heard the groaning of the children of Israel, whom the Egyptians keep in bondage; and I have remembered my covenant.
6. Wherefore say unto the children of Israel, I am the LORD, and I will bring you out from under the burdens of the Egyptians, and I will rid you out of their bondage, and I will redeem you with a stretched-out arm, and with great judgments:
7. And I will take you to me for a people, and I will be to you a God: and ye shall know that I am the LORD your God, which bringeth you out from under the burdens of the Egyptians.
8. And I will bring you in unto the land, concerning the which I did swear to give it to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob; and I will give it you for a heritage: I am the LORD.
9. And Moses spoke so unto the children of Israel: but they hearkened not unto Moses for anguish of spirit, and for cruel bondage.
10. And the LORD spoke unto Moses, saying,
11. Go in, speak unto Pharaoh king of Egypt, that he let the children of Israel go out of his land.
12. And Moses spoke before the LORD, saying, Behold, the children of Israel have not hearkened unto me; how then shall Pharaoh hear me, who am of uncircumcised lips?
13. And the LORD spoke unto Moses and unto Aaron and gave them a charge unto the children of Israel, and unto Pharaoh king of Egypt, to bring the children of Israel out of the land of Egypt.
Immediately before this reminder, Moses had complained to God that nothing was happening in the fulfillment of his call. No deliverance was in sight! Yet, in this text, we find several PROOFS which will surely convince us that God does not forget. When God makes a promise, He keeps it. His promises are not like papers to be disregarded or treaties to be broken.
In the first proof to Moses, God stated,
The Appeal to Remembrance.
God recalls the history of how He had come to the fathers Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. These are the patriarchal fathers, the progenitors, the fathers of the Hebrew people. They lived long before Moses’ time. God said, “I appeared unto them by the name of El Shaddai, God the Almighty,” but as the Redeemer God, He had not come to them. Here He is telling Moses that “this is how I am going to be known from now on.” Jehovah, as defined and described in this text, means that He is the Redeemer.
So, there was the appearance of God to the fathers and the appointment of the land. God said, “I have made my covenant with them to give them the land of Canaan.” That was the land in which Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob were strangers. Their pilgrimages took them across the land from one part to the other. They had no permanent dwelling place in the land that God said He was giving to them. Now to Moses, the Lord appeals to His remembrance. He has not forgotten this agreement He made with the people of Israel and, indeed, with their fathers that the land would belong to the seed of Abraham, Isaac, and to Jacob.
He further appeals to the covenant, “I have remembered my covenant.” The memory of the covenant grew out of the fact that the people of Israel were enduring great suffering. He said, “I have heard the groanings of the children of Israel, and I have come now to deliver them.” God never forgets.
Our redemption also grows out of God hearing our groanings under the burden of our sin. That’s why He sent Jesus to be our Deliverer. He rescued us from our bondage to the power of sin and set us free to worship and serve Him. We are the beneficiaries of the New Covenant, which was ratified by the shed blood of Jesus Christ.
In the second proof God set forth,
The Proposal of Redemption.
The Lord referred to redemption as He was talking with Moses. Observe closely the various aspects of this redemption. He said, “I will bring you out from under the burdens of the Egyptians; I will rid you out of their bondage; I will redeem you with an outstretched arm and with great judgments.”
One aspect of redemption is very clearly demonstrated here; it is deliverance. God said He is going to take the children of Israel out of Egypt, deliver them from the bondage, and bring them out with an outstretched arm. Deliverance from sin is a very important part of our redemption through Jesus Christ. The deliverance from Egypt was a type or shadow of the deliverance we experience when we place our faith in Jesus for salvation.
Another part of redemption is the distinction that it brought to the people of Israel. God said He would take them to Himself for a people, and He would be to them a God. That is a particular distinctive role that no other people of the earth have ever been called to fill in quite the same way.
Today, all Believers, according to I Peter 2:9, are “a chosen people, a holy nation, proclaiming the excellencies of Him who called you out of darkness into His marvelous light.” The Bible makes it clear in many places. However, the distinctive role of the people of Israel throughout the generations is one to which no other people have been called.
Redemption also has in it a determination because God said He would do what He had sworn to Abraham to do. Redemption means that God is going to carry out that which He has determined to do. The Lord said, “I am going to fulfill that which I have sworn to give to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob.” Then He said, “I will give it to you for a heritage, I am the LORD.”
So, we can depend upon this proposal of redemption because the Lord is who He is. If God were a man, then we couldn’t depend upon it. But since He is not a man, He does not forget what He has purposed to do.
There is a third proof which reveals,
The Progress of Reaction.
Moses spoke to the children of Israel in harmony with what God had said to him. But they would not listen to him because they had great anguish of spirit. They were under cruel bondage. God had spoken of a time to come, but the people could not hear that because the present was too difficult to bear.
Here is Moses’ reaction. He came to God and said, “I told you that would be the situation. I’ve gone in unto the children of Israel, and they have not listened to me. So, what can I do by going to Pharaoh?” Moses might have reminded the Lord that he had said that very thing when he was in the back side of the desert of Sinai. But God insisted; He would not take “no” for an answer. He would not permit Moses to evade his calling. Instead, the Lord said again, very emphatically, that He was surely going to bring the children of Israel out of the land of Egypt. He gave Moses and Aaron the charge to the children of Israel and to Pharaoh king that He was going to bring them out of Egypt so they could worship Him.
God always has the last word. It is clearly presented in the Bible. So, you now have the progress of reaction from the people to Moses to God. Once again, we see clearly that what God has promised He will surely do. There can be no doubt about that in our minds.
Here then, are the proofs that God does not forget: His appeal to remembrance, His proposal of redemption, and the progress of reaction. These truths are still valid today. You, too, can find in them proofs that God does not forget you.
Thanks, J. Mark, for teaching us more from Exodus, and thank you for being there. If you would like this teaching or if you have any questions, please feel free to reach out to us; I’ll give you our information shortly.
I love how Exodus teaches us that God is in control and He’s at work, He always has been, and He always will be. We can trust Him right now, no matter what we are experiencing. We won’t always understand Him, but we can trust Him. His timing might be different than ours; think about Moses. And He may not do what we think He should be doing; remember what happened to Joseph. However, we have the benefit of looking back at many years of history, and we can see God is Sovereign: His purposes will be accomplished. This is His story, and He is the author.
If you are interested, we have a study guide for Exodus available. It is a small booklet designed to help you learn more from each of these lessons. We call it the Hope Herald, and if you would like one, all you have to do is ask.
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Thanks again for joining us for today’s program. I encourage you to join us again next week as we continue our study in Exodus. We look forward to being with you then and will leave you with a verse from I Corinthians 10, “So whether you eat or drink or whatever you do, do it all for the glory of God!” Blessings to you as you glorify Him.
This episode is an exposition of Exodus 6:1-13 by J. Otis Yoder, re-recorded by J. Mark Horst, with an opening and closing by Arlin Horst.