Exodus 6:14

At this point in the book of Exodus a small genealogy is given of the twelve sons of Jacob and their immediate descendents. Perhaps this genealogy is given at this point in order to help establish the fact that God’s plan to deliver the children of Israel from Egypt was going to be realized. The children of Israel were going to be given their own land and their own identity as the children of God. The spiritual principle is this: God knows those who belong to Him. He has a plan for everyone who belongs to Jesus, and everyone who belongs to Jesus will one day be delivered from this world and taken to the promised-land, which in our case is heaven. The Bible starts this genealogy in Exodus 6:14-16 and says, “These be the heads of their fathers' houses: The sons of Reuben the firstborn of Israel; Hanoch, and Pallu, Hezron, and Carmi: these be the families of Reuben. And the sons of Simeon; Jemuel, and Jamin, and Ohad, and Jachin, and Zohar, and Shaul the son of a Canaanitish woman: these are the families of Simeon. And 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 an hundred thirty and seven years.” The genealogy concludes in Exodus 6:25 that says, “And Eleazar Aaron's son took him one of the daughters of Putiel to wife; and she bare him Phinehas: these are the heads of the fathers of the Levites according to their families.”

The Bible says in Exodus 6:26-30, “These are that Aaron and Moses, to whom the LORD said, Bring out the children of Israel from the land of Egypt according to their armies. These are they which spake to Pharaoh king of Egypt, to bring out the children of Israel from Egypt: these are that Moses and Aaron. And it came to pass on the day when the LORD spake unto Moses in the land of Egypt, That the LORD spake unto Moses, saying, I am the LORD: speak thou unto Pharaoh king of Egypt all that I say unto thee. And Moses said before the LORD, Behold, I am of uncircumcised lips, and how shall Pharaoh hearken unto me?” Notice that in Exodus 6:30 Moses once again expresses his doubts about himself, and especially his inability and perceived weakness in speaking. Did Moses have a weakness and an inability? Yes, he did. We all have weaknesses and inabilities. We must learn to rely upon the Lord and not upon ourselves.

Moses had a low opinion of himself, but what we see the next time that God speaks is that Pharaoh did not at all have a low opinion of Moses. The Bible says in Exodus 7:1, “And the LORD said unto Moses, See, I have made thee a god to Pharaoh: and Aaron thy brother shall be thy prophet.” When the Lord said, “See, I have made thee a god to Pharaoh,” an emphasis was on the fact that Moses was held in a certain amount of awe and esteem by Pharaoh. Remember that Moses grew up in the family of the pharaoh’s of Egypt and had all of the training that anyone in such a household would have had, including military training. Add to that the fact Moses had been somewhat of a fugitive, living a very rugged life as a shepherd in the wilderness. Moses was now the leader of the children of Israel who had grown to be at least one million in number. Of course, Moses now had a spiritual life: being in contact with the one true God through faith. The people of the world who have no spiritual life whatsoever do respect true Christians who walk faithfully with God. Believers have something that unbelievers cannot have: spiritual strength and character and the blessings of God.

Unbelievers notice believers, and they are touched. Moses may have had a low opinion of himself, but Pharaoh certainly did not have a low opinion of Moses. In a way each of us can be viewed from three different perspectives. First of all, we are the person that we think we are. Usually, the opinion we have about ourselves is very inaccurate, as was the case with Moses. Sometimes we have too low of an opinion of ourselves, as was the case with Moses, and sometimes we have too high of an opinion of ourselves. The Bible says in Romans 12:3, “For I say, through the grace given unto me, to every man that is among you, not to think of himself more highly than he ought to think; but to think soberly, according as God hath dealt to every man the measure of faith.”

Secondly, we are viewed by what other people think about us. People form their own opinions about us, and their own opinions are often very different from our own opinion of ourselves. Which opinion is correct: probably neither. The real you is known only to God, who sees and knows and understands all things with no bias one way or the other. That is one reason that we must have an honest relationship with the Lord Jesus Christ in order to improve as a human being. Once you become saved through faith in Jesus Christ, the Lord begins to work on you in order to improve you as a person. He knows all our weaknesses and needs, and since we are His creation and He loves us more then anyone, He knows best how to improve us. That is why it says in Ephesians 2:10, “For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus unto good works…”

Concerning this truth that people will observe you and form an opinion about you, we are reminded of the importance of living a life that is a Christian testimony. Of course, some people will unjustly judge you. Concerning these types of people, Jesus said in Matthew 5:11, “Blessed are ye, when men shall revile you, and persecute you, and shall say all manner of evil against you falsely, for my sake.” But many will not judge you in an unjust way. Concerning them, Jesus said in Matthew 5:13-16, “Ye are the salt of the earth: but if the salt have lost his savour, wherewith shall it be salted? It is thenceforth good for nothing, but to be cast out, and to be trodden under foot of men. Ye are the light of the world. A city that is set on an hill cannot be hid. Nether do men light a candle, and put it under a bushel, but on a candlestick; and it giveth light unto all that are in the house. Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works, and glorify your father which is in heaven.”

There is an important point that should be emphasized that is found in Exodus 6:29. It says,” That the LORD spake unto Moses, saying, I am the LORD: speak thou unto Pharaoh king of Egypt all that I say unto thee.” Notice that God told Moses to speak to Pharaoh and to say “all that I say unto thee.” Moses was not told to come up with his own words or his own ideas. Moses was told to give Pharaoh the word of God. Hopefully all preachers understand fully that this is what they are called to do also. No one is called to speak their own ideas or their own supposed wisdom. Preaching should not be a type of “Christian humanism” made up of man’s wisdom and pithy sayings instead of God’s Word. Only God’s Word can feed our souls. Only God’s Word gives the message from God. The Apostle Paul told Timothy in Second Timothy 4:2, “Preach the word; be instant in season, out of season; reprove, rebuke, exhort with all longsuffering and doctrine.” Paul said about himself in First Corinthians 1:17, “For Christ sent me not to baptize, but to preach the gospel: not with wisdom of words, lest the cross of Christ should be made of none effect.”

Notice also that the Lord told Moses in Exodus 6:29 to say ““all that I say unto thee.” The Apostle Paul said in Acts 20:27, “For I have not shunned to declare unto you all the counsel of God.” You will not declare “all the counsel of God” if you only preach the doctrines of your denomination or the popular biblical subjects. Every page of the Bible has an important message in it from God and from Christ. Preach through the Bible verse by verse, and then maybe you will have had a chance to preach “all the counsel of God.” Of course, that will only be true if you preach what God says and not your own opinions. It will probably take a life-time for you to accomplish such a daunting task of preaching “all the counsel of God,” but that is exactly what you have been called to do.

The Bible says in Exodus 7:1-6, “And the LORD said unto Moses, See, I have made thee a god to Pharaoh: and Aaron thy brother shall be thy prophet. Thou shalt speak all that I command thee: and Aaron thy brother shall speak unto Pharaoh, that he send the children of Israel out of his land. And I will harden Pharaoh's heart, and multiply my signs and my wonders in the land of Egypt. But Pharaoh shall not hearken unto you, that I may lay my hand upon Egypt, and bring forth mine armies, and my people the children of Israel, out of the land of Egypt by great judgments. And the Egyptians shall know that I am the LORD, when I stretch forth mine hand upon Egypt, and bring out the children of Israel from among them. And Moses and Aaron did as the LORD commanded them, so did they.” Notice that God said to Moses in Exodus 7:3, “And I will harden Pharaoh's heart…” Of course, we know that Pharaoh hardened his own heart, but nothing happens without God allowing it to happen, and even making it happen.

The Lord is God, and there is none else. By Him all things consist. From Him, through Him, and to Him are all things. If someone who affects your life makes a decision and becomes determined to continue on a particular course, even doing so with a hard heart against spiritual things, remember that this too is the hand of God working according to God’s purpose for all things. God uses all things. God said that He hardened Pharaoh’s heart, but God also made it clear that there was a purpose to this. God said, “And I will harden Pharaoh's heart, and multiply my signs and my wonders in the land of Egypt.” And God also said in Exodus 7:5, “And the Egyptians shall know that I am the LORD, when I stretch forth mine hand upon Egypt, and bring out the children of Israel from among them.” Remember the next time that you must deal with someone who has a hard heart, that God is at work. God allowed it for a reason, and part of that reason is so that eventually the name of God will be glorified.

But your heart does not have to be hardened. You can turn to the Lord Jesus Christ and believe on Him for the forgiveness of your sins. God said in Isaiah 1:18, “Come now, and let us reason together, saith the LORD: though your sins be as scarlet, they shall be as white as snow; though they be red like crimson, they shall be as wool.”

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