How God Strengthened Moses Faith | Exodus 6:1-9
I invite you to turn to Exodus 6. We’ll be giving our attention to vv. 1-9. This is the Word of the Lord.
“Then Moses turned to the LORD and said, “O Lord, why have you done evil to this people? Why did you ever send me? For since I came to Pharaoh to speak in your name, he has done evil to this people, and you have not delivered your people at all.” But 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.”
God spoke to Moses and said to him, “I am the LORD. I appeared to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob as God Almighty, but by my name the LORD I did not make myself known to them. I also established my covenant with them to give them the land of Canaan, the land in which they lived as sojourners. Moreover, I have heard the groaning of the people of Israel whom the Egyptians hold as slaves, and I have remembered my covenant.
Say 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 judgment. I 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. I will bring you into the land that I swore to give to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob. I will give it to you for a possession. I am the LORD.”
Moses spoke thus to the people of Israel, but they did not listen to Moses, because of their broken spirit and harsh slavery.”
—Exodus 6:9
May God cause His word to run and be glorified. Let’s pray.
A friend and mentor recommended I read Meg Meeker’s book, Hero: The Strong Father Your Children Need. In it, she recounts this personal experience.
“I ignored the storm warning, and the counsel of my parents. That was a mistake. My flight was canceled due to the storm. And having waited many hours to be rebooked, I had to face the reality that no flights were going to leave that night. I called my parents, and my father answered and said, ‘I’ve already booked a room for you by the airport.’ I would not have to sleep on the airport floor that night.
I could always rely on my dad, even when I did not want to. When I had burdens and pressures, he always took them on himself, even when I stubbornly resisted his care. He went ahead of me to provide for me. That’s what dads do, even when we’re stubborn and say we don’t want it” (Meg Meeker).
That, loved ones, captures what I believe is the main point of our text today. Even when God’s children stubbornly resist Him and His care, “The Lord Himself Goes Ahead of Them to Provide for Them, All Because of His Love for Them.”
To recap the situation – at the end of chap. 4, Moses and Aaron had gathered the people of Israel and spoke all the words of promise that God had given them to speak. And they were received favorably. The people believed, and bowed their heads, and worshipped.
And it’s fair to assume that this warm reception engendered confidence in Moses and Aaron that God really was on the move. And thus emboldened, they proceeded to confront Pharaoh with the message from God to let the people go. They trusted God’s word, and obeyed. And then everything went “pear-shaped.”
Not only did Pharaoh respond in the negative. He jacks up the pressure on God’s people even more. “So, your God wants you set free? Here’s what I think of your God – same number of brinks, but now you find your own straw.” And in Ex. 5:21, the Israelites turn on Moses and Aaron, saying, “The LORD look on you and judge, because you have made us stink in the sight of Pharaoh and his servants, and have put a sword in their hand to kill us.”
So, it appears to Moses that his steps of obedience, inspired by his faith in God has only made things worse for the people of God. He expected his obedient faith to result in the deliverance of the people, not the worsening of their already pitiful situation.
But it also seems that Moses had not paid careful attention to the what the Lord had said as recorded in Ex. 4:21. “When you go back to Egypt, see that you do before Pharaoh all the miracles that I have put in your power. But I will harden his heart, so that he will not let the people go.”
Which part of that would have been hard to understand? “Moses, what were you expecting?” But Moses was surprised. He was disappointed, shaken, and not a little ticked off. You hear it plainly in his prayer. “Then Moses turned to the LORD and said, “O Lord, why have you done evil to this people? Why did you ever send me? For since I came to Pharaoh to speak in your name, he has done evil to this people, and you have not delivered your people at all” (Exodus 5:22-23).
Moses is to be commended, at least, for turning toward the Lord, rather than away from the Lord.
“The wise and humble move every time we’re discouraged, disillusioned, or despairing is to turn to the Lord in prayer, not away from the Lord in sulking and complaining.”
—C.J. Mahaney
Moses really does need to be commended for his humility since he is the one who wrote this unvarnished account of his own fight for faith. Moses’ humanity and sinfulness – they are on full display in this prayer. “Why?” Is it not the most common impulse when things go south? Oh, but this more than just “why.” This is a blatant accusation of God. Moses is blaming God. Moses is attributing God with wrong-doing. Moses clearly expected immediate deliverance of the people by God. But instead, “You have not delivered your people AT ALL.”
Lest we ever think that the hero of Exodus is Moses, Moses himself, dispels that idea. Moses is a sinner, and in need of salvation and God’s grace, just like you and like me.
Maybe it’s cognitive degeneration. “Moses, you’re 80 yrs. old. Do you even remember the burning bush?” Everything God had revealed to Moses about His name should have made a difference. It should have had a fundamental effect in Moses, and on his perspective, and his expectations, and his reaction to the subsequent circumstances. This is so instructive for us. Moses knew the personal name of God. He experienced the revelation of the active and dynamic presence of God. And God’s revelation of His name, and His presence, and His promise – Oh how they should have functioned to generate faith – a faith that gives rise to obedience – an obedient faith EVEN IF things don’t work out as planned, or WHEN planned. The name, the presence, the promise – crystalized - should have been more than sufficient to sustain Moses’ soul, and restrain Moses’ emotional response in the midst of frustrated expectations, and even intensified suffering.
Yet, it now appears that Moses is convinced that God is absent – NOT present, that God is passive – NOT active, that God is UN-reliable – NOT trustworthy, all because God has NOT conformed to Moses’ expectations.
How do we cope with trials, and troubles, and sufferings – when we’ve prayed – and God just seems slow? How do we cope with trials, and troubles, and sufferings when God feels absent? You find a promise from God. You read the promise. You meditate on the promise. You pray the promise back to God. And then? Nothing. Nothing is different. And then? Things just get worse. How, do, we, cope?
I want to draw your attention, now, to how God strengthened Moses’ faith. First, notice how God responds to Moses’ charge that directly calls into question God’s very character. Exodus 6:1, “But 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.”
How does God respond when Moses throws shade on God’s character? This is instructive. God ignores it. And instead of taking Moses out “behind the woodshed”, so to speak, He graciously re-assures Moses of who He is, and what He intends to do. God’s love covers a multitude of sins. Rather than give Moses a divine tongue-lashing, He strengthens Moses’ faith by reminding Moses of what Moses already knew about God.
In times of trials, and troubles, and sufferings, and delayed deliverance, and slow sanctification – this is what we need most as well. And this is what God so graciously and lavishly provides for us to strengthen and sustain our faith. In times of trials and troubles, we need to be freshly reminded of what we (most of us) already know about God. Who He is, and what He has done, and what He promises to do.
Despite their resistance, and impatience, and unbelief, and frustration, and anger, God graciously, kindly, mercifully reminds them AGAIN. Of what does God remind them? That, “The Lord Himself Goes Ahead of Them to Provide for Them All Because of His Love for Them.”
“Now! It’s about to happen now, Moses!” And with this declaration of His action, God strengthens Moses’ faith, with a fresh review of what Moses had apparently forgotten. Maybe it’s aging, or cognitive decline. But don’t we all experience chronic spiritual dementia? We need constant reminders of the character of God, and the gracious acts of God and the mind-blowing promises of God on behalf of the undeserving people of God. So, the text divides in two sections. Vv. 2-5 are a review for Moses of all that God is, and has promised to be. Vv. 6-8 are a review for God’s downcast people of all that God is and has promised to be. And it is all framed by God’s repeated use of the phrase – “I am the LORD.” “I am the LORD” is meant to convey the authority of God. It is intended to engender AWE and TRUST toward God.
There’s nothing new here. God is simply repeating the same material again, albeit, graciously. And the first and most important thing God says is the most repeated thing He says.
“I am the LORD.”
Four times (vv. 2, 6, 7, 8). And the Israelites would come to know very soon what “I am the LORD” means. It is this revelation of God that Exodus is all about. And this revelation of God is the greatest need in Moses’ life. This revelation of God is the greatest need in our lives. And it’s because, listen, “The Knowledge of God Addresses All Our Questions, Complaints, Trials, Troubles, and Suffering.”
Get this. The self-disclosure of God is our greatest need. And the good news is that his own self-disclosure is God’s greatest passion. “You shall know that I am the LORD your God.” Then, 2nd, God reviews redemptive history up to that point.
Redemptive History
“I appeared to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob as God Almighty, but by my name the LORD I did not make myself known to them” (Exodus 6:3).
It almost sounds as though God had never revealed His personal name, Yahweh, to the Patriarchs. But that’s not right. “Yahweh” is used several times in the book of Genesis. So, it’s not that the Patriarchs were unfamiliar with God’s personal name. It’s that they did not fully comprehend the meaning and significance of that name. That’s because its essence for them was only in the form of a promise. The fulfillment of that promise awaited the Exodus. So, God’s personal name as understood by the Patriarchs was about to be more fully disclosed in what God going to do in the Exodus. Same God. Same name. Just a more comprehensive revelation of the name in the experience that was about to come. In the Exodus, in their deliverance from Pharaoh, the Israelites were about to come to know God in a depth and breadth the Patriarchs did not. Then, 3rd, God reminds Moses of the covenant.
The Covenant
“I also established my covenant with them to give them the land of Canaan, the land in which they lived as sojourners” (Exodus 6:4).
Why does God keep reminding Moses of the past when what Moses wants most is for God to act in the present? It’s because the most effective way to strengthen Moses’ faith in the present is to remind Moses of the promises God had made in the past. God strengthens Moses’ faith by reminding him of the promises He made in the past, promises He has every intention of fulfilling.
“Moses! I am the LORD. Moses! I made a promise in the past. I have not forgotten my promise. And so, Moses, you need not despair because there is nothing more certain, nothing more reliable, more durable than my covenant promise. Because, Moses, I am the LORD. “Moreover, I have heard the groaning of the people of Israel whom the Egyptians hold as slaves, and I have remembered my covenant” (Exodus 6:5).
Sounds so much like Ex. 2:23-25, where God hears, sees, and knows, and remembers. “I’m attentive to their sufferings. I see it all. I see them. I’m affected by their cries. I have remembered. And to remember is to respond.” And then after rehearsing what is so vital for the strengthening of Moses’ faith in vv. 2-5, God instructs Moses with what to say to the people in vv. 6-8. And notice again how it is framed with that brief, but poignant punchline – “I am the LORD.”
‘“Say 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 judgment.
I 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. I will bring you into the land that I swore to give to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob. I will give it to you for a possession. I am the LORD.”
—Exodus 6:6-8
Moses complained that God wasn’t doing a thing to rescue His people. And the LORD’s response? “Tell them ‘I am the LORD.’ It’s on My calendar. And here’s what I’m going to do NOW!” A day will come, when Joshua is going to tell the people of God to look back, and recognize that “not one word of all the good promises that the LORD made to Israel had failed to come to pass.” And it will happen because “I am the LORD.”
So what do we know about God Almighty – who revealed His personal name to Moses back Ex. 3? One scholar writes, “Who, then, is Yahweh, the LORD . . . Faithfulness, empathy, deliverance, intimacy and inheritance are all embraced by the gracious inclusion, ‘I am the LORD” (Motyer).
Could there be a greater contrast to their perception of their present circumstances of suffering and slavery? They perceive God as distant, far off, ambivalent. He’s a complete “no show.” And yet, here’s the thing that God makes crystal clear.
Salvation Belongs to the LORD!
And Exodus is not merely the salvation history of Israel. The Exodus points forward to the story of our salvation. This is the family story. This is our history. This is about our future. Phil Ryken says, “As we listen to Exodus, we hear the first strains of a melody that becomes a symphony in the Gospels . . . Salvation is not about us doing something for God. It is about what God has done for us in Jesus Christ . . . All that is required is to trust in Jesus, believing that he has turned the ‘I wills’ of salvation into the ‘I have done its’ of the gospel.”
Want to hear some strains of this fully formed symphony?
“He has delivered us from the domain of darkness and transferred us into the kingdom of his beloved Son, in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins.”
—Colossians 1:13-14
“When the fullness of time had come, God sent forth his Son, born of a woman, born under the law, to redeem those who were under the law, so that we might receive adoption as sons. And because you are sons, God has sent the Spirit of his Son into our hearts, crying ‘Abba Father!’ So you are no longer a slave, but a son, and if a son, then an heir through God.”
—Galatians 4:4-7
“But you are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, that you may proclaim the excellencies of him who called you out of darkness into his marvelous light. Once you were not a people, but now you are God’s people. Once you had not received mercy, but now you have received mercy.”
—1 Peter 2:9-10
And there IS a promised land that is still before us.
“Then I saw a new heaven and new earth, for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away . . . And I saw the holy city, new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God . . . Behold, the dwelling place of God is with man. He will dwell with them, and they will be his people, and God himself will be with them as their God. He will wipe away every tear from their eyes, and death shall be no more, neither shall there be mourning, nor crying, nor pain anymore, for the former things have passed away.”
—Revelation 21:1-4
When the trials, and troubles, and cares, and burdens, and consequences of our countless sins threaten to run us over, and circumstances only seem to get worse rather than better, be reminded of the “I have done its” from the one who says, “I am the LORD.” They are more than sufficient to sustain us in all our troubles. But having then delivered this message, hear what happens next in Ex. 6:9.
“Moses spoke thus to the people of Israel, but they did not listen to Moses, because of their broken spirit and harsh slavery.”
—Exodus 6:9
Perhaps you can relate to the Israelites, and their struggle, their inability to entrust themselves to the promises of God. We’re vulnerable to the same doubts. “I’m not sure He will.” Or at least, “I’m not sure He will, this time.” Or, “I don’t think He will, at least not in my situation, my struggle, my heartache, my suffering. For someone else, maybe. Just not me.” In all these things, our greatest need, remember, is a true and accurate knowledge of the greatness, the goodness, the generosity of God. But so often, I’m not all that interested in going deeper in my knowledge of God, or closer in my walk with God. I just want my problems to go away. According to Exodus, and all of Scripture, the remedy for the despairing soul is revelation of God, growing knowledge of God, going deeper in our relationship with God. And to this end, may God reveal Himself to us as He is, and strengthen and encourage our faith in Him, through the power of His Word, and the Spirit of His Son. Let’s pray.