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Exodus 6: I Am the Lord

God renews his covenant promise to redeem Israel and reassures a discouraged Moses, grounding deliverance in his own faithful name.

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Exodus 6 (WEB)

1 Yahweh said to Moses, “Now you shall see what I will do to Pharaoh, for by a strong hand he shall let them go, and by a strong hand he shall drive them out of his land.”

2 God spoke to Moses, and said to him, “I am Yahweh;

3 and I appeared to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob, as God Almighty; but by my name Yahweh I was not known to them.

4 I have also established my covenant with them, to give them the land of Canaan, the land of their travels, in which they lived as aliens.

5 Moreover I have heard the groaning of the children of Israel, whom the Egyptians keep in bondage, and I have remembered my covenant.

6 Therefore tell the children of Israel, ‘I am Yahweh, 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 an outstretched arm, and with great judgments:

7 and I will take you to me for a people, and I will be to you a God; and you shall know that I am Yahweh your God, who brings you out from under the burdens of the Egyptians.

8 I will bring you into the land which I swore to give to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob; and I will give it to you for a heritage: I am Yahweh.’”

9 Moses spoke so to the children of Israel, but they didn’t listen to Moses for anguish of spirit, and for cruel bondage.

10 Yahweh spoke to Moses, saying,

11 “Go in, speak to Pharaoh king of Egypt, that he let the children of Israel go out of his land.”

12 Moses spoke before Yahweh, saying, “Behold, the children of Israel haven’t listened to me. How then shall Pharaoh listen to me, who am of uncircumcised lips?”

13 Yahweh spoke to Moses and to Aaron, and gave them a command to the children of Israel, and to Pharaoh king of Egypt, to bring the children of Israel out of the land of Egypt.

14 These are the heads of their fathers’ houses. The sons of Reuben the firstborn of Israel: Hanoch, and Pallu, Hezron, and Carmi; these are the families of Reuben.

15 The sons of Simeon: Jemuel, and Jamin, and Ohad, and Jachin, and Zohar, and Shaul the son of a Canaanite woman; these are the families of Simeon.

16 These are the names of the sons of Levi according to their generations: Gershon, and Kohath, and Merari; and the years of the life of Levi were one hundred thirty-seven years.

17 The sons of Gershon: Libni and Shimei, according to their families.

18 The sons of Kohath: Amram, and Izhar, and Hebron, and Uzziel; and the years of the life of Kohath were one hundred thirty-three years.

19 The sons of Merari: Mahli and Mushi. These are the families of the Levites according to their generations.

20 Amram took Jochebed his father’s sister to himself as wife; and she bore him Aaron and Moses: and the years of the life of Amram were a hundred and thirty-seven years.

21 The sons of Izhar: Korah, and Nepheg, and Zichri.

22 The sons of Uzziel: Mishael, and Elzaphan, and Sithri.

23 Aaron took Elisheba, the daughter of Amminadab, the sister of Nahshon, as his wife; and she bore him Nadab and Abihu, Eleazar and Ithamar.

24 The sons of Korah: Assir, and Elkanah, and Abiasaph; these are the families of the Korahites.

25 Eleazar Aaron’s son took one of the daughters of Putiel as his wife; and she bore him Phinehas. These are the heads of the fathers’ houses of the Levites according to their families.

26 These are that Aaron and Moses, to whom Yahweh said, “Bring out the children of Israel from the land of Egypt according to their armies.”

27 These are those who spoke to Pharaoh king of Egypt, to bring out the children of Israel from Egypt. These are that Moses and Aaron.

28 On the day when Yahweh spoke to Moses in the land of Egypt,

29 Yahweh spoke to Moses, saying, “I am Yahweh. Speak to Pharaoh king of Egypt all that I speak to you.”

30 Moses said before Yahweh, “Behold, I am of uncircumcised lips, and how shall Pharaoh listen to me?”

Summary

In answer to Moses' complaint, God promises that he will act with a strong hand to make Pharaoh drive Israel out. He reveals himself anew as Yahweh, the God who appeared to the patriarchs as God Almighty and who established his covenant to give them the land of Canaan. He has heard the groaning of Israel and remembered his covenant, and he gives a string of magnificent promises: I will bring you out, I will rid you of bondage, I will redeem you with an outstretched arm, I will take you to be my people, I will be your God, and I will bring you into the promised land. Yet when Moses relays this, the people do not listen because of their anguish of spirit and cruel bondage. God again sends Moses to Pharaoh, and Moses protests that even Israel will not listen, so how will Pharaoh, since he is of uncircumcised lips. A genealogy then anchors Moses and Aaron in the tribe of Levi, establishing their identity and authority. The chapter returns to God's command to bring Israel out and Moses' continued hesitation, reminding us that deliverance rests not on the strength of the messenger but on the covenant faithfulness of the Lord who says again and again, “I am Yahweh.”

Key Figures

  • Yahweh (the LORD) — The covenant God who reveals his name afresh, recalls his promises to the patriarchs, and pledges to redeem Israel with an outstretched arm.
  • Moses — The discouraged servant whom God reassures, who still protests his unfitness yet receives the renewed commission to confront Pharaoh.
  • The children of Israel — The people too crushed in spirit and labor to listen to God's promises, the very ones God is determined to redeem and claim as his own.
  • Aaron and the house of Levi — Moses' brother and their Levite ancestry, recorded to establish the lineage and authority of the men God sends to Pharaoh.

Key Verse

Exodus 6:7 (WEB)

and I will take you to me for a people, and I will be to you a God; and you shall know that I am Yahweh your God, who brings you out from under the burdens of the Egyptians.

Lessons Learned

  • God grounds his promises in his own name and unchanging covenant faithfulness.
  • Redemption is God's work: he brings out, frees, redeems, takes, and brings in.
  • Discouragement and hardship can deafen us to God's good promises.
  • God's purposes do not depend on the eloquence or worthiness of his servants.
  • God's promises rest on his own name. Again and again he declares, “I am Yahweh” (Exodus 6:2, 6, 8, WEB). The certainty of redemption is anchored in who God is.
  • Redemption is entirely God's initiative. “I will bring you out… I will redeem you… I will take you to me for a people” (Exodus 6:6-7, WEB). Salvation is a series of God's own actions.
  • Suffering can blunt our hearing of grace. The people “didn’t listen to Moses for anguish of spirit, and for cruel bondage” (Exodus 6:9, WEB). Hardship can make even glorious promises hard to receive.
  • God works through weak instruments. Moses protests he is “of uncircumcised lips” (Exodus 6:12, WEB), yet God still commissions him. Our inadequacy never cancels God's call.
  1. How does God answer Moses' discouraged questions from the end of chapter 5?
  2. Trace the “I will” promises in verses 6-8. What do they reveal about who does the saving?
  3. Why do the people fail to listen, and what does this teach us about the effects of suffering?
  4. Why might the chapter pause to record the genealogy of Moses and Aaron?
  5. When you feel too crushed or distracted to hear God's promises, what helps you listen again?
  1. God responds not by explaining the delay but by reasserting his name and covenant: “I am Yahweh” (6:2-8). He reassures Moses that deliverance is certain because it depends on God's faithfulness, not on present circumstances.
  2. The seven “I will” statements—bring out, rid, redeem, take, be your God, you shall know, bring in (6:6-8)—make clear that every step of redemption is God's own doing. Israel's role is to be rescued by his grace.
  3. They cannot hear “for anguish of spirit, and for cruel bondage” (6:9). Prolonged suffering can crowd out hope, reminding us to be patient with those overwhelmed by trials and to keep speaking God's promises gently.
  4. The genealogy roots Moses and Aaron in Levi (6:14-27), establishing that the deliverers are real, accountable members of Israel with rightful standing. It grounds the grand promises in concrete history and credentialed messengers.
  5. This is a personal-application question. Invite members to share what restores their hearing of God's word in hard seasons—Scripture, community, worship. As leader, anchor the discussion in God's repeated “I am Yahweh,” the firm ground of every promise.

Scripture quotations are from the World English Bible (WEB), the King James Version (KJV), and the American Standard Version (ASV), all of which are in the public domain.