Exodus Chapter 6 comes at a moment when Moses is discouraged and Israel’s suffering has intensified. Instead of immediately removing Pharaoh, God reassures Moses by revealing His faithfulness, His covenant promises, and His determination to deliver His people. God declares repeatedly what He will do for Israel: bring them out of slavery, redeem them with great acts of judgment, make them His people, and bring them into the land promised to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. The chapter emphasizes that Israel’s deliverance will depend not on human strength, but on the power and faithfulness of the Lord.
Exodus Chapter 6 Summary
Exodus 6 begins with God responding to Moses after Pharaoh has increased the Israelites’ suffering. God assures Moses that Pharaoh will eventually release Israel because of God’s mighty hand.
God identifies Himself as the LORD and reminds Moses of the covenant He established with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. He has heard the groaning of the Israelites under Egyptian slavery and has remembered His covenant.
God commands Moses to deliver a powerful message of hope to Israel. He promises to bring them out from under the burdens of Egypt, free them from slavery, redeem them with an outstretched arm and great judgments, take them as His own people, and be their God. He will also bring them into the land He promised to their ancestors and give it to them as an inheritance.
Moses delivers these promises to the Israelites, but they do not listen because their spirits have been broken by cruel bondage. Their suffering has made it difficult for them to receive the hope God is offering.
God then commands Moses to return to Pharaoh and demand that he release the Israelites. Moses hesitates, questioning how Pharaoh will listen when even the Israelites have not listened to him. Nevertheless, God continues preparing Moses and Aaron for their mission.
The chapter then records the family lines of Reuben, Simeon, and Levi, placing particular emphasis on the ancestry of Moses and Aaron. Aaron’s sons are also identified, establishing the family line that will later become central to Israel’s priesthood.
Exodus 6 closes by returning to Moses’ concern about his ability to speak before Pharaoh. Although Moses feels inadequate, God’s plan does not depend upon Moses’ natural ability. God has chosen him, and the Lord Himself will accomplish Israel’s deliverance.
Key Lessons – Exodus Chapter 6
- God remains faithful even when circumstances appear to get worse. Israel’s suffering had increased, but God’s promise of deliverance had not changed.
- God remembers His covenant. His commitment to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob becomes the foundation for His actions toward Israel.
- Deliverance comes through God’s power. God repeatedly declares what He will do, emphasizing that Israel cannot rescue itself from Egypt.
- Suffering can make hope difficult to hear. The Israelites were so crushed by slavery that they struggled to receive Moses’ message of deliverance.
- God’s promises are greater than human weakness. Moses continued to focus on his limitations, but God continued to focus on His purpose.
- God desires a relationship with His people. His plan was not simply to remove Israel from slavery but to take them as His people and be their God.
- God finishes what He promises. The same God who promised the land to Israel’s ancestors declares that He will bring their descendants into it.
Important Verses
- Exodus 6:2
- “And God spake unto Moses, and said unto him, I am the LORD.”
- Exodus 6:5
- “And I have also heard the groaning of the children of Israel, whom the Egyptians keep in bondage; and I have remembered my covenant.”
- Exodus 6:6
- “I am the LORD, and I will bring you out from under the burdens of the Egyptians, and I will rid you out of their bondage, and I will redeem you with a stretched out arm, and with great judgments.”
- Exodus 6:7
- “And I will take you to me for a people, and I will be to you a God.”
- Exodus 6:8
- “And I will bring you in unto the land, concerning the which I did swear to give it to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob.”
- Exodus 6:9
- “And Moses spake so unto the children of Israel: but they hearkened not unto Moses for anguish of spirit, and for cruel bondage.”
