What Did God Promise in Exodus 6?

God said He would rescue Israel, who were under the harsh labor of Egypt, make them His own people, and lead them to the land He had promised. Exodus 6 records this promise, along with God’s command to Moses and Aaron to deliver His message before Pharaoh.

Why Couldn’t Israel Hear God’s Word?

The children of Israel were being held as slaves by the Egyptians and were suffering under heavy burdens and hard labor. God said that He had heard their groaning. He also revealed that He remembered the covenant He had established with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob.

Moses delivered God’s words to the children of Israel exactly as he had received them. But they did not listen to Moses because their spirits were broken and their labor was cruel. The passage does not say that they rejected the promise. It records that the suffering they were enduring was so severe that they could not listen to Moses’ words.

This scene shows the situation in which God’s word was being spoken. Israel’s circumstances had not yet changed, and Pharaoh had not let them go. At that very moment, God first spoke about what He would do next.

What Did God Promise Israel?

God first reaffirmed, “I am the LORD.” He then promised that He would bring Israel out from under the heavy burdens of the Egyptians. He also said that He would deliver them from their bondage and redeem them with an outstretched arm and with great acts of judgment.

God’s promise did not stop at leaving Egypt. God said that He would take Israel as His own people and that He would be their God. Israel would know that it was the LORD who brought them out from under the heavy burdens placed upon them.

God also said that He would bring Israel into the land He had sworn to give their ancestors. He made clear the promise that He would give them that land as their inheritance. In Exodus 6, deliverance, becoming God’s people, and being led into the promised land are all things God declared He Himself would do.

Even With Moses’ Concern, the Command Continued

When the children of Israel did not listen, Moses worried whether Pharaoh would listen to him. Moses said that he was a man with uncircumcised lips. The same concern appears again at the end of the chapter.

But God told Moses and Aaron to deliver His command to the children of Israel and to Pharaoh. That command was to bring the children of Israel out of the land of Egypt. God did not withdraw His command because of Moses’ concern.

The genealogy recorded in the passage introduces the descendants of Levi through Reuben and Simeon. It then identifies Aaron and Moses, who were born to Amram and Jochebed. And it confirms that the one who received God’s command and the one who spoke to Pharaoh were none other than Aaron and Moses.

One Promise to Confirm Today

Today, take time to slowly read Exodus 6:6-8 once. Look for the things God said He Himself would do in these verses. You can see, in order, His promise to bring out, deliver, redeem, take as His own people, and lead them into the land of promise.

There is no need to force your present circumstances to be the same as Israel’s bondage. Today, simply focus on who the subject of the passage is. Read the passage in Bible Reading, and write down one of the things God said, “I will,” do.

Passage Basis

• Exodus 6:1-8
• Exodus 6:9-13
• Exodus 6:14-27
• Exodus 6:28-30