1Then the Lord said to Moses, “Now you shall see what I will do to Pharaoh. For with a strong hand he will let them go, and with a strong hand he will drive them out of his land.”

2And God spoke to Moses and said to him: “I am the Lord. 3I appeared to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob, as God Almighty, but by My name Lord I was not known to them. 4I have also established My covenant with them, to give them the land of Canaan, the land of their pilgrimage, in which they were strangers. 5And I have also heard the groaning of the children of Israel whom the Egyptians keep in bondage, and I have remembered My covenant. 6Therefore say to the children of Israel: ‘I am the Lord; I will bring you out from under the burdens of the Egyptians, I will rescue you from their bondage, and I will redeem you with an outstretched arm and with great judgments. 7I will take you as My people, and I will be your God. Then you shall know that I am the Lord your God who brings you out from under the burdens of the Egyptians. 8And I will bring you into the land which I swore to give to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob; and I will give it to you as a heritage: I am the Lord.’” 9So Moses spoke thus to the children of Israel; but they did not heed Moses, because of anguish of spirit and cruel bondage.

Notice how the Lord continues to reiterate His character and nature to His people. Unfortunately, we are slow to remember the goodness of the Lord, but thank God He is quick to remind us! As the Israelites found out firsthand, it is difficult to hear God when we are in anguish or in bondage. That’s a good checkpoint for us as believers. If we aren’t hearing from God or we feel as though He is distant, it’s time to check our hearts and see if there is discouragement or sin in our lives that is causing us to reject His Word.

We serve a God of “I will.” Seven times He uses this “I will” statement in this section of Exodus:

·         “I will bring you out” (v. 6).

·         “I will rescue you” (v. 6).

·         “I will redeem you” (v. 6).

·         “I will take you as My people” (v. 7).

·         “I will be your God” (v. 7).

·         “I will bring you into the land” (v. 8).

·         “I will give it to you as a heritage” (v. 8).

The next time you feel as though God doesn’t have your back, remember these powerful “I will” statements because they still hold true today.

10And the Lord spoke to Moses, saying, 11“Go in, tell Pharaoh king of Egypt to let the children of Israel go out of his land.”

12And Moses spoke before the Lord, saying, “The children of Israel have not heeded me. How then shall Pharaoh heed me, for I am of uncircumcised lips?”

Again, Moses brings up his fear of public speaking, even after the Lord assigned Aaron to speak on his behalf. Funny how our doubts tend to revisit us, isn’t it? That is why it’s so important to plant the word of truth in our hearts. Truth is the only thing that can deter the lies Satan tries to shoot at us regarding our failures, shortcomings, and inadequacies. Psalm 91:4 says, “He shall cover you with His feathers, and under His wings you shall take refuge; His truth shall be your shield and buckler.”

13Then the Lord spoke to Moses and Aaron, and gave them a command for the children of Israel and for Pharaoh king of Egypt, to bring the children of Israel out of the land of Egypt.

Notice that the Lord didn’t “suggest” the children of Israel leave Egypt—it was a command. The world today has diluted the Word of God by thinking of it as a recommendation or a guideline and not the absolute Truth. When the Lord commands, He commands—and He desires us to respond. “Today, if you will hear His voice, Do not harden your hearts” (Hebrews 3:7b-8a).

14These are the heads of their fathers’ houses: The sons of Reuben, the firstborn of Israel, were Hanoch, Pallu, Hezron, and Carmi. These are the families of Reuben. 15And the sons of Simeon were Jemuel, Jamin, Ohad, Jachin, Zohar, and Shaul the son of a Canaanite woman. These are the families of Simeon. 16These are the names of the sons of Levi according to their generations: Gershon, Kohath, and Merari. And the years of the life of Levi were one hundred and thirty-seven. 17The sons of Gershon were Libni and Shimi according to their families. 18And the sons of Kohath were Amram, Izhar, Hebron, and Uzziel. And the years of the life of Kohath were one hundred and thirty-three. 19The sons of Merari were Mahli and Mushi. These are the families of Levi according to their generations.

20Now Amram took for himself Jochebed, his father’s sister, as wife; and she bore him Aaron and Moses. And the years of the life of Amram were one hundred and thirty-seven. 21The sons of Izhar were Korah, Nepheg, and Zichri. 22And the sons of Uzziel were Mishael, Elzaphan, and Zithri. 23Aaron took to himself Elisheba, daughter of Amminadab, sister of Nahshon, as wife; and she bore him Nadab, Abihu, Eleazar, and Ithamar. 24And the sons of Korah were Assir, Elkanah, and Abiasaph. These are the families of the Korahites. 25Eleazar, Aaron’s son, took for himself one of the daughters of Putiel as wife; and she bore him Phinehas. These are the heads of the fathers’ houses of the Levites according to their families.

26These are the same Aaron and Moses to whom the Lord said, “Bring out the children of Israel from the land of Egypt according to their armies.” 27These are the ones who spoke to Pharaoh king of Egypt, to bring out the children of Israel from Egypt. These are the same Moses and Aaron.

I know; when the genealogy in the Bible hits, the eyes glaze over. But everything is in the Word of God for a purpose. You may know only a few of these names mentioned in the paragraphs above, but the point of this lineage is to show how God worked in every life because He had an end goal of bringing His people out of Egypt by using Moses and Aaron. My beloved friend, the same is true for you. When you get a moment, jot down your own family tree. Go back a few generations and map it out; then, once you get to your name, write below it this statement: No one else can do what God called me to do. He has intentionally placed me here for “such a time as this” (Esther 4:14).

28And it came to pass, on the day the Lord spoke to Moses in the land of Egypt, 29that the Lord spoke to Moses, saying, “I am the Lord. Speak to Pharaoh king of Egypt all that I say to you.”

30But Moses said before the Lord, “Behold, I am of uncircumcised lips, and how shall Pharaoh heed me?”

Are you ready to give Moses a swift kick in the pants yet? I am. Really, Moses? Don’t you understand God is on your side?! Don’t you understand that He made your mouth? Don’t you get that you are serving I AM? Nope. He still doubts God’s ability to work through him. And we doubt too. Maybe not just like Moses did, but in our own ways and ideas we doubt God. You can use any synonym you’d like: anxious, worried, concerned, unsure, uneasy, or hesitant. But the root of them all is doubt. I’m sure most of you know the prayer in Mark 9:24: “Lord, I believe; help my unbelief!” These are six very powerful words and ones that I pray you speak to Him day in and day out. We need to allow God to build up the weak areas of our hearts. Remember, He has worked for generations and generations to bring you into existence. Don’t think for one moment that He doesn’t have something outlandishly awesome for you (and that only you can do). Amen.