Back in chapter 3, Moses had received an order from God: “So now, go, I am sending you to Pharaoh to bring my people the Israelites out of Egypt” (3:10). But Moses demanded to know more about God, and God responded by telling Moses His name: “[Yahweh] I AM WHO I AM” (it is normally translated ‘The LORD’ (capital letters) in the NIV). But it was a name that required further explanation – indeed, it starts here a process of revelation that will run right through the Book of Exodus, as that name of God is unpacked, explained, illustrated and revealed to us. And there is a striking pattern to the process. In order to obey God, Moses needed to know more about God (3:13). In order to know more about God, Moses needed to obey God. It sounds like a Catch 22 riddle. It is in fact one of the great secrets of the life of faith: in order to obey God we need to know more about Him. In order to know more about God we need to obey Him. It may be worth pondering that.
That pattern begins to unfold in chapter 4. For example, in that reference (v.23) to the killing of Pharaoh’s firstborn, and the threat to Moses’ own life in vv.24-26 because his firstborn wasn’t circumcised (and so didn’t bear the mark of the covenant showing he was a Jew). Moses was to learn from that how much this rescue actually mattered to God: it was to kill for – and eventually to die for. So, at chapter 5, Moses and Aaron go to confront Pharaoh for the first time: ‘Afterwards Moses and Aaron went to Pharaoh and said, “This is what the LORD, the God of Israel, says, ‘Let my people go, so that they may hold a festival to me in the desert.’”’ (5:1).
1) “Who is the LORD?” – the question asked by the unbelieving world (5:1-23)
‘Pharaoh said, “Who is the LORD, that I should obey him and let Israel go? I do not know the LORD and I will not let Israel go.” ’ (5:2). Pharaoh, the greatest ruler on earth at the time, wanted to know who was this God who was giving him orders. How could the God of a slave people be anything but a slave god? What insolence to think that He could give orders to Egypt! Who is this God? ‘Then they said, “The God of the Hebrews has met with us” ’ (5:3a) – just as Pharaoh suspected, the feeble god of an enslaved people – a god whose existence Pharaoh can afford to ignore by calling their claims about him ‘lies’ (in verse 9). The only further reference Pharaoh makes to God in chapter 5 is in verse 17 where he subtly made sure that the Israelite foremen knew why their workload had been so harshly increased. Pharaoh put the blame firmly on Moses and Aaron; and so set the Israelites at loggerheads with one another (vv. 19-21).
“I do not know the LORD,” Pharaoh had said (in verse 2), and therefore I will not do his will. Well, Pharaoh would come to know the LORD in due course; and it would prove a bitter experience for him, because he was determined not to do God’s will. Every man and woman discovers eventually that there is a God, but it is a bitter experience for those who are determined not to do His will in their lives. Without a doubt there are some here today who do not know God; and you need to ask yourself, is that because I will not do His will? If there is somebody here today who is determined to do the will of God and still feels they do not know God, you need to see a Christian friend quickly who can tell you the way out of that position. It is not a position that God means you to be in for one more day of your life. If you are prepared to do His will, He wants you to know Him; and He is ready to know you.
The disillusioned mood of the Israelite foremen (at the end of the chapter) is contagious, so that Moses, too, is right back where he started in terms of his relationship with God when we get to verses 22 & 23: ‘Moses returned to the LORD and said, “O Lord, why have you brought trouble upon this people? Is this why you sent me? Ever since I went to Pharaoh to speak in your name, he has brought trouble upon this people, and you have not rescued your people at all.” ’ He’s saying, “I’ve done my part and it’s turned out just as badly as I expected. And You’ve not done your part; and it’s not turned out as You predicted at all.” I think actually Moses could be excused his pessimism at this moment in the story. If it had been you or I, I think we would have been saying exactly the same sort of thing to God. I’m reminded of that conversation at the start of the third Star Wars film, when Luke Skywalker is rescuing Hans Solo from Jabba the Hutt; and they are in deep trouble trying to fight their way out of Jabba the Hutt’s cave dungeon. Hans Solo, who is still blind from his recent experience of carbon-freezing, says, “How are we doing, kid?” Luke tries to brush it aside light-heartedly to cover over their perilous predicament. “Oh, about the same as usual,” he says airily. But Hans is not fooled, and grimly replies: “It’s as bad as that, is it?”
That is exactly the mood of Moses at this moment, “It’s as bad as that!” And in effect Moses ends the chapter asking the same question as Pharaoh began it with – it’s a sort of more believing version of “Who is the LORD?” And we must now consider how God responds to His servant’s despair, in the first part of Chapter 6.
2) God’s Response – how does God deal with discouragement? (6:1-8)
‘Then the LORD said to Moses, “Now you will see what I will do to Pharaoh: Because of my mighty hand he will let them go; because of my mighty hand he will drive them out of his country” ’ (6:1). Surely it was time for action. But no – more words. Once again God told Moses what He was about to do. I’ve done a quick check on this, and I reckon this is the sixth time since chapter 3 that God had told Moses what He was about to do. He’s going to say it twice more before He unleashes the first plague. If He was a human being, what would we say of people like that? – “He is all talk!” But it would be a serious mistake to say of God, “He is all talk!” But why so much repetition? “Now you will see what I will do to Pharaoh; Because of my mighty hand he will let them go; because of my mighty hand he will drive them out of his country.”
(i) God’s actions need explanations
All actions need explanations, or they may be misunderstood. I showed a newspaper photograph a little while ago. Looking at it we assume at once that the scenario is a policeman pursuing a criminal. We would need the caption to discover it was actually two policemen (one in uniform and one in plain clothes) pursuing a criminal who had already gone around the corner. You could never have known that without the explanation. You would have been certain to come to the other conclusion. How much more would we misunderstand God’s actions if He did not explain them to us! That’s why the Communion Service needs Biblical words to explain to us that it is a simple reminder and proclamation of Christ’s death for us: otherwise it will quickly be obscured by all sorts of magic and mumbo-jumbo and rank superstition – as it is in so many people’s minds today. It needs Biblical explanation.
(ii) Revelation focussed on decisive moments in history
God is going to act at one decisive moment in Israel’s history, to rescue them from Egypt. But the whole of the Old Testament is going to look forward or back to that moment as the defining act of God’s revelation of His character: showing that He is indeed a rescuing God who saves His people. It is all wrapped up in the Exodus, which occurred at one point in time. But the whole Old Testament discusses and explains it.
Similarly, Jesus Christ came at one brief period in human history. His ministry, His death, His resurrection took a mere 3 years of our time. But the whole Bible discusses and explains that action of God. It is right at the centre of time for God, and His word throws many searchlight beams of illumination on to it for us.
(iii) I am stupid and disbelieving
But why so much explanation? Why so many words? Why so much repetition? Why does God go on and on and on? I wish I knew how to put this delicately – but the answer is simple, if offensive: because we are thick. God has to keep saying it because you and I are stupid and unbelieving. He is a God of perfect revelation and He never wasted one word, and if He says something to you and me over and over and over again, it is because you and I need to hear it over and over and over again. Notice the repetition in verse 1 of chapter 6: “ … because of my mighty hand …” – why does He have to say it twice? Because you and I think we can save ourselves. Because the Israelites would have come out of Egypt and said, “We did it!” Somehow we would take some credit for it. And God has had to say to them over and over again, “I am going to do it. It is me, God, the LORD, stepping into history to save you.” We humans always want to claim the credit. (You may remember the Beaver saying to the Rabbit as they looked up at the Hoover Dam, “No, I didn’t actually build it myself, but it is based on an idea of mine.”) Well, you and I certainly try to claim the credit for our salvation: “Well, I was good enough. I was special … you know, God had a bit of a soft spot for me because I was just that little bit different from other people.” And we will forget what God’s word says to us over and over and over again: “I am the LORD, and besides me there is no Saviour” (Isaiah 43:11); “For by grace you have been saved through faith; not because of works lest any man [or woman] should boast” (Ephesians 2:8,9). It is God’s work from beginning to end.
But we are not only stupid and slow to grasp what God has done for us, we are also disbelieving by nature. Even when we have understood it, we are quick to stop believing it again. Just like Moses. So God keeps saying it to us. Our faith may only have a bare word to go on: but it is a bare word that God never tires of repeating to us. He is a promise-making and a promise-keeping God; but He is also a promise-repeating God – to help us to trust. Keep reading the promises! Don’t think you can do without the basic truths of His word. He has said them to you often enough. If your faith is weak, you’re not listening.
See how God goes on (in 6:2) ‘God also said to Moses, “I am the LORD” …’ [that’s that YAHWEH – I am YAHWEH, again]. It’s going to keep coming (in verses 6, 7 and 8). It is like one of the libraries that stamp their name all over their books. Or perhaps a better analogy would be one of those legal documents where you have to keep initialling the changes, because this ‘I am YAHWEH – I am the LORD’ is God’s own guarantee and endorsement of this revelation.
Now notice how the name is unpacked for us here: “I appeared to Abraham, to Isaac and to Jacob as God Almighty, but by my name the LORD [YAHWEH] I did not make myself known to them” (6:3) He’s a God of Revelation, who takes the initiative in making Himself known to human beings. The word YAHWEH does occur back in Genesis, but it is at this point that God is going to reveal further what that name actually means. Then, “I also established My covenant with them to give them the land of Canaan, where they lived as aliens. Moreover I have heard the groaning of the Israelites, whom the Egyptians are enslaving, and I have remembered My covenant” (vv. 4, 5) – He is a God of Covenant Faithfulness, who keeps His word. To remember is always to act, with God. Now verse 6 (and here we go again with God telling Moses what He is about to do – for the 7th time): “Therefore say to the Israelites: ‘I am the LORD, and I will bring you out from under the yoke of the Egyptians. I will free you from being slaves to them, and I will redeem you with an outstretched arm and with mighty acts of judgment.’” He is a God of Rescuing Grace, who takes action, showing mercy to Israel, and judgment on Egypt. “I 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” (v. 7). He is a God of Personal Relationships. And then verse 8: “And I will bring you to the land I swore with uplifted hand to give to Abraham, to Isaac and to Jacob. I will give it to you as a possession. I am the LORD” (v. 8). He is a God of Magnificent Provision; the God who is no man’s debtor, which we need to remind ourselves of on a Gift Day. Five tremendous truths about God, each worth a sermon in themselves.
God has not answered Moses’ ‘Why?’ questions from the end of chapter 5. Did you notice that? Instead He has shown Moses a glimpse of His own great and glorious nature – just as, you may remember, He dealt with Job at the end of that book (which we were looking at before Easter). No answer to Job’s ‘Why?’ questions, but an overwhelming vision of God’s glory. What you and I need is not an answer to our Why?s, but the assurance that there is a God. A small child will sometimes badger a parent with a relentless and almost unending battery of questions (often Why? … Why? … Why?) not so much in a quest for new knowledge, as in seeking the assurance of that parent’s continued attention. God gives us His attention, He shows us His glory, because we do not always need to know why, but we always need to know that He is there. There is a God – the most important fact in your and my minds as we leave the service today would be that one fact: there is a God – utterly true to what we read about Him here in His word.
Notice again how the revelation of God and the action of God are interwoven. Just glance back at verse 7: “I 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.” The revelation has to be experienced. That is one of the interwoven strands of Exodus that keeps going on: God says things about Himself, but in order fully to grasp and understand them the people have to walk with Him. They have to obey Him, they have to experience salvation. All of us can only come to know God fully as He saves us, and by His saving of us: “I 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.” It is the same as that ‘ice-cream verse’ we were looking at last week: ‘Taste and see that the LORD is good.’
But how do men respond to God as He shows Himself to them?
3) Man’s Response
(a) The Israelites: ‘Moses reported this to the Israelites, but they did not listen to him because of their discouragement and cruel bondage’ (v. 9). Isn’t the Bible wonderfully practical, down-to-earth and non-pious? One of the greatest passages of God’s self-revelation in the whole Old Testament is in those preceding verses. And Moses takes that revelation and he preaches it to the Israelites. But they didn’t listen to him because of their discouragement and cruel bondage. The pressure of their present kept them from hearing Moses’ words to them and from trusting God’s future for them.
(b) Moses: he sort of stumbles on (doesn’t he?), still complaining each time God patiently repeats His orders: ‘Then the LORD said to Moses, “Go, tell Pharaoh king of Egypt to let the Israelites go out of his country.” But Moses said to the LORD, “If the Israelites will not listen to me, why would Pharaoh listen to me, since I speak with faltering lips?” ’ (vv. 10-12). And then in the next little bit we are given the family tree of Moses and Aaron, possibly to make the point that it wasn’t a very distinguished family tree and that they were not very distinguished people, or perhaps to herald the start of the serious action. Maybe it plays a role a bit like when you’re watching the build-up to a big international football match (or perhaps that very satisfying F.A. Cup Final yesterday) and they give you that final burst of commercials – we’ve had all the interviews and the briefing and we get that final burst of commercials, and we know the next thing is going to be the referee’s whistle and the kick-off. Well, that may be what this little bit here, setting them in their historical context, is all about. We’re about to start in earnest – but then … well, we hear Moses whinging again: ‘Now when the LORD spoke to Moses in Egypt, he said to him, “I am the LORD. Tell Pharaoh king of Egypt everything I tell you.” But Moses said to the LORD, “Since I speak with faltering lips, why would Pharaoh listen to me?” ’ (vv. 28-30). He keeps being told, he keeps objecting, he keeps being told again. So what happens at the beginning of chapter 7? ‘Then the LORD said to Moses, “See, I have made you like God to Pharaoh, and your brother Aaron will be your prophet. You are to say everything I command you, and your brother Aaron is to tell Pharaoh to let the Israelites go out of his country” (7:1, 2). Despite all his whining, notice that Moses is going to be like God to Pharaoh. Because he is, however reluctantly, going to do what God tells him to do: ‘Moses and Aaron did just as the LORD commanded them’ (v. 6). He reminds me of Puddleglum, the Marshwiggle in C.S. Lewis’ The Silver Chair. I dipped into The Silver Chair just to remind myself of this, and I think it’s probably the best parable of the Christian life written in the last century. If you haven’t read it, I really would commend it to you. It’s a children’s story, but it’s a brilliant parable of the Christian life. Puddleglum, the Marshwiggle, when he is invited by Eustace and Jill to join them, and they ask for his help to go and find Prince Rilion obeying Aslan’s orders, said, ‘“I don’t know that anyone can exactly help. It stands to reason we’re not likely to get very far on a journey to the north, not at this time of year with the winter coming on soon and all. And an early winter, too, by the look of things. But you mustn’t let that make you downhearted. Very likely, what with enemies and mountains and rivers to cross and losing our way and next to nothing to eat and sore feet, we’ll hardly notice the weather. And if we don’t get far enough to do any good, we may get far enough not to get back in a hurry.” Both the children noticed that he said, ‘we’ not ‘you’, and both exclaimed at the same time: “Are you coming with us?”’ You must read the rest for yourselves, but the point about the Puddleglum is that he soldiers on. It doesn’t matter to what degree we are ebullient and effervescent about the Christian life, it matters that we obey. Feelings follow the will. They follow the facts of the Christian life. Puddleglum sticks to what Aslan has told the children, and he is the one faithful character in the story.
c) Pharaoh: Let’s end where we began: “But I will harden Pharaoh’s heart, and though I multiply my miraculous signs and wonders in Egypt, he will not listen to you. Then I will lay my hand on Egypt [guess what is coming again here – this is the eighth time] and with mighty acts of judgment I will bring out my divisions, my people the Israelites. And the Egyptians will know that I am the LORD when I stretch out my hand against Egypt and bring the Israelites out of it” (7:3-5). Neither argument nor miracle can create faith in a human being. I am sure you are aware of that. But if we will not come to know God through His rescuing us, then we will come to know Him in judgment as He condemns us. “The Egyptians will know that I am the LORD when I stretch out my hand against Egypt and bring the Israelites out of it.” It is a fearful alternative.
Who is the LORD? Pharaoh had arrogantly asked at the beginning of our passage. The answer was there for him, as it is for us, if he had eyes to see and ears to hear. But the unfolding story of Pharaoh is going to take us through the next few chapters as we look at The Plagues next week.