Exodus 6:1-9 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." (2)
God spoke to Moses and said to him, "I am the LORD. (3) 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.
(4) I also established my
covenant with them to give them the land of Canaan, the land in which they
lived as sojourners. (5) Moreover, I have heard the groaning of the
people of Israel whom the Egyptians hold as slaves, and I have remembered my
covenant. (6) 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. (7) 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. (8) 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.'" (9) Moses spoke thus to the people of Israel, but
they did not listen to Moses, because of their broken spirit and harsh slavery.
After having received such a harsh response from Pharaoh, the
Israelites are feeling dejected and utterly downcast. Their hopes had been
raised with Moses’ arrival and the promise of deliverance, but those hopes were
dash with cruelty by Pharaoh. In Exodus 6, God seeks to speak words of comfort
and encouragement to them.
God restates His promise to deliver them from the land, and He points
the attention of the Israelites to His previous works and promises, so as to
give them the assurance that He does what He promises. God reminds them of
their heritage, He had revealed Himself to Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, He had
entered into a covenant with these men and made a promise to give them the land
of Canaan, a covenant and promise that He has not forgotten. He reminds them
that He has heard their groaning and desperate pleas for rescue, and has come
now to their aid.
In verses 6-8, God makes a wonderful promise to them, He tells them of
that which He is going to do. He speaks of how He will bring them out of
slavery into freedom and in doing so He will reveal Himself to the Israelites,
they will see and know that He is God, He is their God, they will know His
salvation. Also they will see His power as He breaks the bonds and burdens of
the Egyptians, as they witness His acts and works of great power. He promises
to enter into a covenant with them, He will become their God and they will
become His people, His promised nation, and a people belonging to God. Finally
God promises to bring them into the Promised Land, and not just bring them into
it, but give it to them as their very own possession. They will not be
sojourners in the Promised Land, it will be their land.
This is a remarkable promise, one that should have greatly encouraged
and assured the Israelites. But in the midst of their harsh slavery they were
unable to find encouragement and assurance, if anything these words seemed too
good to be true and thus false, more hurtful than helpful, as they feared they
would never come to pass, why taunt us with these promises, when they are a
false and vain hope.
Often we are the same as the Israelites, we refuse to be comforted by
God’s Word, God’s promises, God’s presence and God’s works. We can find
ourselves in the midst of deep and great distress refusing the comfort of God,
refusing to find encouragement and assurance in God’s Word. We look at our
situation, the source and cause of our distress and allow it to determine our
reality, both present and future. We allow it so dominate our minds, hearts and
sight, so that we can see any further than this trial. It is tragic that in
these times we can accuse God of failing to be compassionate, concerned or even
present, we think that He is not coming to comfort us, and is deaf to our
prayers. This could not be further from the truth, God’s Word shouts out words
of comfort, encouragement and assurance, yet we will not hear them, receive
them, or believe them. God’s Word reminds us of God’s promises, works and
presence, yet we will not be comforted by them, we think them to be false and
vain hopes. It is in these times that we need to lift our heads and look up to
God and realise that God is the only one that determines reality and controls
the future. Thus the trials may threaten, the burdens may be great, but they do
not control our future. Though all may be darkness and distress now, that doesn’t
mean that it will be darkness and distress forever more because this trial has
defeated God. We need to take ourselves to these words of comfort, to the true
and certain promises of God, we need to bathe our minds and hearts in them,
clinging on to them, meditating upon them and trusting that they will come to
pass in the sovereignty of God.
Our great God, we thank You that Your Word
and Your promises are not defeated by our trials and distress, but continue to
stand and shine out with hope and comfort even in the midst of the deepest and
blackest darkness. We pray that You might help us to bask in the light of Your
Word and Your promises, instead of dwelling in the darkness of our distress.
Help us to cling fast to Your Word and look forward to Your deliverance, no
matter how long it might take to come. Amen
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