Exodus 6:1-13·~1 min

God Promises Deliverance

The LORD answers Moses by declaring who he is, recalling his covenant with the patriarchs, and promising to bring Israel out, make them his people, and give them the land.

B¹ut the LORD said to Moses, “Now you will see what I will do to Pharaoh, for because of My mighty hand he will let the people go; because of My strong hand he will drive them out of his land.” ²God also told Moses, “I am the LORD. ³I 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. ⁴I also established My covenant with them to give them the land of Canaan, the land where they lived as foreigners. ⁵Furthermore, I have heard the groaning of the Israelites, whom the Egyptians are enslaving, and I have remembered My covenant. ⁶Therefore tell the Israelites: ‘I am the LORD, and I will bring you out from under the yoke of the Egyptians and deliver you from their bondage. I will redeem you with an outstretched arm and with mighty acts of judgment. ⁷I will take you as My own people, and I will be your God. Then you will know that I am the LORD your God, who brought you out from under the yoke of the Egyptians. ⁸And I will bring you into the land that I swore to give to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. I will give it to you as a possession. I am the LORD!’”

Israel cannot hear Moses because slavery has broken their spirit, and Moses again doubts that Pharaoh will listen. The LORD nevertheless charges Moses and Aaron to bring Israel out of Egypt.

⁹Moses relayed this message to the Israelites, but on account of their broken spirit and cruel bondage, they did not listen to him. ¹⁰So the LORD said to Moses, ¹¹“Go and tell Pharaoh king of Egypt to let the Israelites go out of his land.” ¹²But in the LORD’s presence Moses replied, “If the Israelites will not listen to me, then why would Pharaoh listen to me, since I am unskilled in speech? ” ¹³Then the LORD spoke to Moses and Aaron and gave them a charge concerning both the Israelites and Pharaoh king of Egypt, to bring the Israelites out of the land of Egypt.

Section summaryThe LORD answers Moses with a series of promises rooted in his covenant name, his remembrance of the fathers, and his resolve to redeem Israel from slavery. Israel's crushed spirit does not receive the message, but the command to face Pharaoh is given again to Moses and Aaron.

Role in the chapterThis opening section restores the story after Moses' complaint by shifting attention from failed reception to God's fixed intention. It names what deliverance will mean and recommissions the leaders before the struggle with Pharaoh resumes.