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David Guzik · Citado em PreceptAustin
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Guzik explains it this way - the patriarchs knew God Almighty (El Shaddai), they did not know Him as extensively and intimately as He would reveal Himself to Moses and his generation. They knew the power of God, but didn’t have the same personal relationship and revelation Moses would come to know. For us, God wants to be more than God Almighty—He wants us also to know Him as a personal, promise making and promise keeping God, whom we can trust in everything. Believers should ask themselves if they really know God by such names. (Enduring Word Bible Commentary ) G C
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Guzik points out that "There is a strong contrast with the later five I will statements of Satan in Isaiah 14:13–15. The great difference is that Satan was powerless to make any of his “I wills” come to pass. God is more than able to fulfill each of His promises. John
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Guzik summarizes the 7 I Wills - The promises were glorious, and equally so in their spiritual application to believers today: I will bring you out I will rescue you from their bondage I will redeem you I will take you as My people I will be your God I will bring you into the land I will give it to you as a heritage ILLUSTRATION - The full enjoyment of your inheritance is future. We already have the earnest or down payment of our inheritance in Christ. Columnist L.M. Boyd recently described the amazing good fortune of a man named Jack Wurm. In 1949, Mr. Wurm was broke and out of a job. One day he was walking along a San Francisco beach when he came across a bottle with a piece of paper in it. As he read the note, he discovered that it was the last will and testament of Daisy Singer Alexander, heir to the Singer sewing machine fortune. The note read, "To avoid confusion, I leave my entire estate to the lucky person who finds this bottle and to my attorney, Barry Cohen, share and share alike." According to Boyd, the courts accepted the theory that the heiress had written the note 12 years earlier, and had thrown the bottle into the Thames River in London, from where it had drifted across the oceans to the feet of a penniless and jobless Jack Wurm. His chance discovery netted him over 6 million dollars in cash and Singer stock. How would you like to have been making Mr. Wurm's footprints on that San Francisco beach? What a find, and yet, 6 million dollars doesn't even begin to compare with our spiritual inheritance in the Lord Jesus Christ. We have so much to look forward to. In Christ we now have the Holy Spirit to comfort us. He is our engagement ring or down payment. We have the joy and peace of the Lord, and a home in Heaven that we will enjoy when we leave this world behind. Ephesians 1:13-14+ In Him, you also, after listening to the message of truth, the gospel of your salvation–having also believed, you were sealed in Him with the Holy Spirit of promise, 14 Who is given as a pledge of our inheritance, with a view to the redemption of God’s own possession, to the praise of His glory. Exodus 6:9 So Moses spoke thus to the sons of Israel, but they did not listen to Moses on account of their despondency and cruel bondage. they did not listen- Ex 5:21 14:12 Job 21:4 Pr 14:19 despondency and cruel bondage., Nu 21:4 DESPONDENT ISRAEL REJECTS GOD'S PROMISES OF DELIVERANCE Despondency means dejection or depression of spirits from loss of hope, confidence, or courage. It means feeling downcast, disheartened and hopeless. It describes an utter lack of hope and a feeling of dismally low spirits. So Moses spoke thus to the sons of Israel - Note that here it is not Aaron serving as Moses' mouthpiece, but it is Moses himself speaking to the sons of Israel. What did he speak to them? Apparently the incredible truths God had just declared in Ex 6:2-8! One would have thought these precious promises would have stirred faith in any downcast heart, but sadly that was not to be the case! Have you ever spoken to someone, but they would not listen to you? This is primarily a rhetorical questions. And if you have children you know that clearly the answer is yes! But - This is a sad term of contrast! The sons of Israel even after the incredible divine affirmation refuse to receive these promises from the great I Am. We are beginning to see something about the heart of the sons of Israel aren't we. Sadly this will ferment and come out in manifold ways in the days and months to come. Ryken quips that "In verse 9 we turn from the “I wills” of salvation to the “I won’t” of Israel." (PW-Exodus) They did not listen to Moses - What this says is that in effect they did not believe the promises God had made in the preceding passages! They did not listen to Moses because of despondency but one can only imagine Moses' despondency at their rejection of his recitation of God's great promises in Exodus 6:3-8! In Ex 3:18+ God had told Moses "they will pay heed to what you say" and this was fulfilled in Ex 4:29-31+. At that time Israel heard Moses and believed the words he spoke about God's concern for them (even to the point of bowing down and worshipping!). Remember however that these words of Moses were accompanied by signs (staff > snake > staff; hand > leprosy > cured and Nile water > blood). There are no signs associated with the 7 I will statements of God (SEVEN I WILL'S SHOULD HAVE BEEN SUFFICIENT!!!) There is just the immutable Word of God. And they refused to accept just the Word of God. So here they do not pay heed to what Moses says. This phrase not listen is become a recurrent theme in the rest of Exodus. Here it is the sons of Israel and then it will the Pharaoh. Not listen = Ex 6:9; Ex. 7:4; Ex 7:13; Ex 7:22; Ex 8:15; Ex 8:19; Ex. 9:12; Ex 11:9; And then again the sons of Israel in Ex 16:20 Cole on did not listen - This is very true to life. Moses’ confidence was apparently restored by this recommissioning, but Israel (once bitten, twice shy) will no longer listen to him. (Ibid) Rod Mattoon - Imagine how Moses must have felt when the people would not listen to him. He was excited, enthused, and encouraged because he heard from God. When he delivered God's wonderful message to the people, they responded like rocks... nothing. It did not move or encourage them at all. It did nothing for them. THOUGHT - If you are a preacher, you may go through this same experience. God may bless your soul as you study throughout the week, but when you share with your people what you have learned, they may respond like bumps on a log. Does this mean God's Word is irrelevant for today? Does this mean you are a crummy preacher? The answer is "No." Many times the message is great, but the condition of the hearts of God's people has become cold and hard. They become unteachable and miss out on what God is trying to tell them. (cf Zech 7:12) What does a pastor do when God's people seem indifferent to the Word? Make sure you are not the problem. If you have been offensive, seek the forgiveness of the church. If that is not the problem, keep trying to do you best in your preaching. Pray and study, study, study the Book. It takes time and it's hard work, but will yield great rewards. Be faithful in preaching the wonderful truths of God's Word. Let me stress to you to carefully and accurately preach the Word, not your philosophy or a bunch of jokes. Many times people are not responding or growing because you are not feeding them anything. Preach the Word! It will have its impact on someone. That is God's promise to us in Isaiah 55:11. (Mattoon) OVERWHELMED BY THEIR CIRCUMSTANCES On account of their despondency and cruel bondage - The Septuagint translates despondency with oligopsuchia (little + soul) which means loss of heart or discouragement. The Hebrew phrase despondency means "because of the shortness of spirit." or "shortness of breath." As a doctor I used to ask patients if they had experienced an "shortness of breath" (abbreviated S.O.B. - not a curse word by the way!)? And if they said "Yes" then there was a good chance that they had a heart problem (especially congestive heart failure - CHF). Israel had "SOB" indicative of a serious heart problem, spiritually speaking of course! This explains why Israel did not listen to Moses. Of course they heard his words, but they failed/refused to take his words to heart. In short, they refused to believe his words which were in fact God's Words! Instead they focused on their feelings and their experience. They needed to focus on the truth I Am the LORD, for when one does it makes the problems look much smaller in comparison. This is a good principle of all of God's people when confronted with adversity. Focus of Jesus and His Word and the things of this world will grow strangely dim in the light of His glory and grace! Walter Kaiser on despondency - The NIV weakly translates “their discouragement” (v.9); but it was the inward pressure caused by deep anguish that prevented proper breathing—like children sobbing and gasping for their breath. This made such an impact on Moses that he had another attack of self-distrust and despondency. How could he persuade Pharaoh when he failed so miserably to impress his own countrymen who presumably would have had a naturally deep interest in what he had to say, given their circumstances (Ex 6:11–12)(EBC) J Ligon Duncan on despondency - These people were both physically beaten down, and frankly, they had lost heart. There is a lesson, I suspect even in the connection between the weariness of the body and the weariness of the soul. But whatever the case, their oppression was heavy, and it is described in amazing terms here. We are told that they did not listen on account of their shortness of breath. Maybe you know what that is like. Maybe you know what it is like to be so under his hand that you are out of breath, you can’t breath. Man, you just can’t catch your breath. And when you can’t catch your breath, it is pretty hard to listen to sermon. Have you ever been grasping for breath and you don’t think the next one is coming? It is hard to concentrate on anything else. Ryken - In other words, the Israelites were enslaved by their slavery. Their very chains were what prevented them from hearing the cry of freedom. As they slaved away for Pharaoh, making bricks without straw, they lost any hope of emancipation. The Bible says that they were discouraged. More literally, their spirits were broken—so broken that they would not listen to the promise of deliverance. What kept them in bondage was their bondage itself. (Ibid) Mattoon - Their despair was rooted in their unbelief and bitterness. Moses was looked upon as a deceiver. God was considered as a deserter. Their bondage was more devastating than before. Discouragement is an effective tool of Satan that is used to rob us of God's blessings and His best for us. Such was the case here with God's people....Their discouragement led them to reject the very message which would give them relief. THOUGHT- In times of despair, it's best to ignore our feelings and simply do what God tells us to do, leaving the consequences with Him. (Wiersbe) Cruel (07186)(qasheh) means hard, harsh, cruel, severe, strong, violent, fierce. This term's basic function is to describe something as hard. The root qāshî apparently arose from an agricultural milieu. It emphasizes, first, the subjective effect exerted by an overly heavy yoke, which is hard to bear, and secondarily, the rebellious resistance of oxen to the yoke. Thus we see hard labor (Ex 1:14, Ex 6:9, 1 Ki 12:4, 2 Chr 10:4, Isa 14:3), Joseph's hard words (Ge 42:7, 30), Nabal was harsh (1 Sa 25:3), Israel was often described as stubborn or obstinate (Ex 32:9, 33:3, 33:5, 34:9, Dt 9:6, 13, Dt 31:27, Jdg 2:19), obstinate (Is 48:4, Ezek 3:7), oppressed ("hard") in spirit (Hannah in 1 Sa 1:15), hard or difficult legal question (Ex. 18:26), severe battle (2 Sa 2:17), wind (Isa. 27:8), vision (Isa. 21:2); difficult times (Job 30:25), a relentless sword (Isa. 27:1) and fierce jealousy (Song 8:6). The Septuagint translates qasheh here in Exodus 6:9 with skleros meaning literally hard, dry, rough; figuratively in the NT; (a) of words harsh, unpleasant, hard to take, intolerable Qasheh - 36x in 36v - cruel(2), difficult(2), fierce(2), hard(5), hardship(1), harsh(4), harshly(5), heavier(1), obstinate(1), obstinate*(5), oppressed(1), severe(2), stubborn(1), stubborn*(3), stubbornness*(1). Gen. 42:7; Gen. 42:30; Exod. 1:14; Exod. 6:9; Exod. 18:26; Exod. 32:9; Exod. 33:3; Exod. 33:5; Exod. 34:9; Deut. 9:6; Deut. 9:13; Deut. 26:6; Deut. 31:27; Jdg. 2:19; Jdg. 4:24; 1 Sam. 1:15; 1 Sam. 20:10; 1 Sam. 25:3; 2 Sam. 2:17; 2 Sam. 3:39; 1 Ki. 12:4; 1 Ki. 12:13; 1 Ki. 14:6; 2 Chr. 10:4; 2 Chr. 10:13; Job 30:25; Ps. 60:3; Cant. 8:6; Isa. 14:3; Isa. 19:4; Isa. 21:2; Isa. 27:1; Isa. 27:8; Isa. 48:4; Ezek. 2:4; Ezek. 3:7 David Guzik - Many Christians find themselves in the same place (AS UNBELIEVING ISRAEL). They find it hard to trust God and believe that He is for them. This is why Paul says we must not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind (Romans 12:1–2). The children of Israel needed their minds renewed, and we do also. Guzik suggests that Israel's heart was cold to God's hot promises because not only were they despondent, they were also worshiping idols. Ezekiel describes their syncretism... Now in the seventh year, in the fifth month, on the tenth of the month, certain of the elders of Israel came to inquire of the LORD, and sat before me. 2 And the word of the LORD came to me saying, 3 “Son of man, speak to the elders of Israel and say to them, ‘Thus says the Lord GOD, “Do you come to inquire of Me? As I live,” declares the Lord GOD, “I will not be inquired of by you.”’ 4 “Will you judge them, will you judge them, son of man? Make them know the abominations (toebah = detestable, loathsome) of their fathers (GOD IS GOING TO GO ALL THE WAY BACK TO THE BEHAVIOR OF THEIR FATHERS IN EGYPT); 5 and say to them, ‘Thus says the Lord GOD, “On the day when I chose Israel and swore to the descendants of the house of Jacob and made Myself known to them in the land of Egypt (COMPARE Ex 6:3), when I swore to them, saying, I am the LORD your God (Ex 6:2, 6, 7, 8), 6 on that day I swore to them, to bring them out from the land of Egypt into a land that I had selected for them, flowing with milk and honey, which is the glory of all lands (READ THE 7 "I WILL'S" IN Ex 6:4-8). 7 “I said to them, ‘Cast away, each of you, the detestable things of his eyes, and do not defile yourselves with the idols of Egypt; I am the LORD your God.’ 8 “But they rebelled against Me and were not willing to listen to Me; they did not cast away the detestable things of their eyes, nor did they forsake the idols of Egypt. Then I resolved to pour out My wrath on them, to accomplish My anger against them in the midst of the land of Egypt. 9 “But I acted for the sake of My name, that it should not be profaned in the sight of the nations among whom they lived, in whose sight I made Myself known to them by bringing them out of the land of Egypt. (Ezekiel 20:1-9) David Thompson - PRACTICAL THOUGHTS: 1. When we are depressed, we need to get alone with God and talk with God. 2. We may expect to see God working more and doing more when we are at our lowest. 3. God has a very specific program with Israel that includes specific land. 4. No one can stop the sovereign will of God and God does use circumstances to even cause His enemies to do His will pertaining to His people. 5. When we have believed on Jesus Christ, we are redeemed forever. Exodus 6:10 Now the LORD spoke to Moses, saying, MOSES NEEDS A WORD FROM JEHOVAH Now the LORD spoke to Moses, saying - God's timing is always perfect. The now corresponds to Israel refusing to hear/heed his words and Moses undoubtedly falling into a "blue funk." Moses was in need of a Word of encouragement from the LORD! David Thompson - So once again Moses’ faith was right back where it started; it was shattered. Moses didn’t want this job and he wanted out of this job. But once again God comes to Moses and what he tells him is–your job is to accurately communicate My Word to Pharaoh because when you do I am going to show Pharaoh and the world that I am God and I accomplish My will. WHEN WE ARE BEING DOMINATED BY AN ARROGANT GODLESS POWER AND WHEN WE ARE TOTALLY DEPRESSED, OUR RESPONSIBILITY IS TO KNOW THE WORD OF GOD, OBEY THE WORD OF GOD AND COMMUNICATE THE WORD OF GOD AND WATCH GOD SOVEREIGNLY WORK. Exodus 6:11 "Go, tell Pharaoh king of Egypt to let the sons of Israel go out of his land." Ex 6:29 Ex 3:10 Ex 5:1,23 7:1 MARCHING ORDERS GO TO PHARAOH AGAIN! Go, tell Pharaoh king of Egypt to let the sons of Israel go out of his land - It is interesting that God does not even address Israel's failure to hear or believe Moses' words, but Pharaoh's failure to receive Moses' (God's) words. And so God bypasses the people's unbelief and moves on to the next major act His grand drama of redemption. And in a sense He "re-commissions" Moses. It did not work the first time with Pharaoh but go and tell again! He is still God's man for the task. Failure of Israel to listen did not mean failure of God's promises. God's first two words were commandments - go, tell. We repeatedly see in Scripture that God's commandments come pre-packaged with His enablements! Thompson - The language here is not a nice suggestion like that of 5:1; this is, as one commentator said, “blunt, full exodus language.” This language indicates that this is to be a direct confrontation and demand. There is warning in the language. God is through fooling around with Pharaoh.
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Guzik points out that "Moses wanted to quit after the first setback. God had much to do in his heart before Moses would be ready to deal with all the discouragement ahead as he led Israel to the Promised Land.. God was building endurance in Moses, the ability to stick with God’s plan and will even when it didn’t seem to work. This is faith; this is patient endurance in the LORD." Rod Mattoon - His claim, "I am a failure because I have uncircumcised lips which means "I am unable to talk eloquently." Moses has a great fear of failure. It is one of the pains of life that we just cannot bear. No one wants to fail. Unfortunately, we are bad judges of identifying failure. Our service to the Lord Jesus Christ must not be conditioned on how folks respond to our message. We are to do what God says whether people believe God's message or do not believe it. God sent Moses back to Pharaoh again and again even though Pharaoh never believed. Our calling is simply not dependent on whether people believe or not. It is dependent upon God's commands. What Moses considered a defeat, was actually in essence, a delay. His so called "failure" was not one at all. Let me ask at this point a question, "Has Moses done what God has told him to do so far?" The answer is "Yes, even though he was fearful." Thus, Moses is not a failure. It is the doing of our duty God's way and our obedience to God's Word that we are held accountable for, not the failure or success of the response of others which may accompany the work. I know that goes contrary to what preachers are being taught in some Bible colleges today. You are considered a success if your church is big, but you are ordinary or a nobody if your church is not big. How tragic that many have swallowed that philosophy only to quit the ministry because their church was not big. Many times people feel like failures because of a false notion of what success is and because of an incorrect understanding of the will of God. If you are a godly man or woman that has endeavored to obey God's Word and do God's will for your life, you are a success in the eyes of the Lord and that is what really matters. You do not have to be honored or recognized by men to be considered a success. Your value or importance to God is not based upon the recognition of men. Beloved, just do your best for God and don't worry about honor, recognition, popularity, prestige, and praise. You will enjoy these things at the Judgment Seat of Christ if you have been faithful to the Lord. Moses was experiencing a delay with Pharaoh and Israel. Delays in God's service are not necessarily defeats. Take Adoniram Judson for example. Was Judson a failure? By men's standards, he might have been considered one. He preached in Burma for six years before he baptized his first convert to Christ. The first six years were a delay, but not a defeat. Thirty years after his death, there were 63 churches in Burma, 163 missionaries, and 7000 baptized converts. Just think what would not have happened if he quit in the first six years. By current standards of success, Jesus might be considered a failure. Let's look at how Jesus measured up to these standards: Was He popular? No. He was not well-liked. In fact, after one of His sermons, all of His followers deserted Him, except for the Twelve Apostles. Did He have political power? No. He was a political failure. All levels of government first rejected Him. Then they conspired to kill Him. Did He have lots of friends? No. His friends often hurt Him, eventually abandoned Him, and one of them betrayed Him to death. Did He have money and possessions? No. He had no house, no "wheels", no world headquarters, no Christian amusement park. Was the Lord respected by His peers? No. His professional peers (Pharisees) rejected His work. Despite His apparent failure by these standards, Jesus Christ has changed the lives of millions of men and women across the centuries. How could He, in light of His failures? He did His Father's will. Beloved, the Lord wants us to be faithful and obedient to His will. We are to labor onward, believing in due season, we shall reap, if we faint not. We are not to take the plough and look back. We are to focus on God's ability when we are neck-deep in impossibility and it looks like failure is imminent. Some men are failures because they believe in their head that they are a success, when in reality, they are not. One man put it this way, "I climbed the ladder of success only to find my ladder was leaning against the wrong wall." If a person sacrifices his marriage, family, testimony for Christ, or his faith to be a success in the eyes of the world, he is not a success at all according to God's standard. Moses needed an attitude adjustment about failure and success. He gave God his excuses again and God told him to get back to Pharaoh and Israel. He was to tell them it was time to go. Many Christians today have the same fears as Moses. Some Christians are so afraid of failure that they become reserved, overly cautious, and uninvolved in life. They follow a policy of guarded living, holding back time, talents, and treasure from God's service. Their motto is: To keep from failing-don't try! On the other hand, those who are willing to make mistakes and risk failure are the ones who ultimately achieve great things. Instead of being filled with fear, they go forward in faith. Problems are challenges. While they may not all be solved, these courageous people would rather live with that reality than have a clean record of no failures and no accomplishments. Benjamin Franklin said one time, "The man who does things makes many mistakes, but he never makes the biggest mistake of all-doing nothing." Men who have accomplished great things in secular and spiritual matters have done so many times by overcoming their failures. Men like Ty Cobb and Babe Ruth were successful failures in the world of baseball. Ty Cobb was thrown out more times trying to steal than any other man in baseball history. Babe Ruth struck out more times than any man in baseball history. Hank Aaron, who broke Babe Ruth's record, has struck out more times than 99% of the players who make it to the major leagues. Nobody-but nobody-considers them failures and few people even remember their failures. Virtually everyone remembers their successes. Enrico Caruso's voice failed to carry the high notes so many times his voice teacher advised him to quit. He kept singing and was recognized as the greatest tenor in the world. Thomas Edison's teacher called him a dunce and he later failed over 14,000 times in his efforts to perfect the incandescent light. Abraham Lincoln was well known for his failures but nobody considers him a failure. Albert Einstein and Werner von Braun both flunked courses in math. Henry Ford was broke at age 40. Yet, it was Henry Ford who said, "Failure is the opportunity to begin again more intelligently." Spiritual success is a result of not quitting, but faithful obedience to God's Word and will. Moses’ Seven Objections 1. WHO AM I? Ex. 3:11 2. WHAT WILL I SAY? Ex. 3:13 3. WILL NOT BELIEVE ME Ex. 4:1 4. I AM NOT ELOQUENT Ex. 4:10 5. SEND AARON Ex. 4:13 6. ISRAEL HAVE NOT HEARKENED Ex. 6:12 7. I AM OF UNCIRCUMCISED LIPS Ex. 6:30 John Butler - A Common Complaint Exodus 6:12 From this complaint of Moses to God we learn some important truths about serving the Lord. We often complain as Moses did, but our folly is great when we complain. FIRST—THE FAITH OF MOSES IN HIS COMPLAINT "Moses spoke before the Lord." While Moses was complaining to God about the results of his service, he did demonstrate faith in God by the fact that he prayed. You may be struggling in your service and feel as Moses did in your frustration, but if you have faith in God, which will be manifested by prayer to God (man lacking faith do not pray), you will come out all right. SECOND—THE FAILURE OF MOSES IN HIS COMPLAINT "Behold the children of Israel have not hearkened unto; how then shall Pharaoh hear me." It is true from human reasoning that if Israel, God's people, will not listen to Moses, then Pharaoh who represents the ungodly world will certainly not listen. But we must not base our service on results. We serve, preach, witness etc. not because the results are promising but because God commands us to serve. It is not how many you have in Sunday School that keeps you going, but whether or not God has commanded you to keep going. Results are not the criteria by which we judge right and wrong and faithfulness to His precepts. Results have their place but they are not the supreme justification of service. Potential results may be predictably bad, but you are not to serve on that basis but on whether or not God has told you to serve. Many quit because of results being bad. They have not learned that serving or doing anything as a Christian is based on God's Word not on results. The Apostle Paul ended up in prison and was beheaded for preaching Christ. Does that mean we should silence our preaching because it could lead to death? Noah was not successful in convincing others to get in the boat. Does that mean he was wasting his time? No, he did what God told him to do, and so must we, results or not. THIRD—THE FACTOR OF MOSES IN HIS COMPLAINT "Me, who am of uncircumcised lips." Moses reverts back to his former excuse for not serving the Lord. He says his speech is not good enough. Rhetoric, just like results is not the key to serving God. (ED: SOME PEOPLE SAID D L MOODY BUTCHERED HIS ENGLISH! BUT O WHAT A "BUTCHER" HE WAS FOR THE KING!) Divine commands determine our service and our walk. Our excuses are a vain attempt to justify the lack of results. We may be short of talent, but that has nothing to do with results. If the Spirit of God does not work in the hearts of people, the greatest talent of all will not compensate. How often we think if some famous person gives their testimony in church, others will believe. Believing on Jesus Christ is different than selling things. Believing requires the work of God. God likes to use means that we consider defective to honor Him. Exodus 6:13 Then the LORD spoke to Moses and to Aaron, and gave them a charge to the sons of Israel and to Pharaoh king of Egypt, to bring the sons of Israel out of the land of Egypt. NLT Exodus 6:13 But the LORD spoke to Moses and Aaron and gave them orders for the Israelites and for Pharaoh, the king of Egypt. The LORD commanded Moses and Aaron to lead the people of Israel out of Egypt. (Exo 6:13 NLT) Nu 27:19,23 De 31:14 Ps 91:11 Mt 4:6 1Ti 1:18 5:21 6:13,17 2Ti 2:4 4:1 JEHOVAH'S CHARGE TO MOSES AND AARON Then the LORD spoke to Moses and to Aaron - The conjunction THEN normally marks sequence or progression, so presumably after God had spoke to Moses in the preceding passage. Now He speaks to both Moses and Aaron. Notice that God essentially disregards Moses' 2 reasons for not wanting to carry out this commission. Some think this is commissioning is just a duplication of Moses' early call but there are significant differences - "God first called Moses at Mount Horeb, but this time he spoke to him in Egypt. Furthermore, on this occasion God did not appear to Moses in a burning bush. Nor did he give him any miraculous signs or say anything about Aaron. The response is different too. The first time Moses spoke to the Israelites they believed him, but this time they didn’t even want to hear what he had to say. Given these significant differences, it is clear that Exodus 6 is not simply a rerun but a whole new episode." (Ryken) And gave them a charge to the sons of Israel and to Pharaoh king of Egypt to bring the sons of Israel out of the land of Egypt - A charge is not a suggestion and not a take it or leave it thought - this was God's will for the nation of Israel and it would be accomplished one way or another.
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Guzik - This portion is important because the priesthood that will eventually come from the family of Aaron will be passed down to his descendants. Therefore it was important to know exactly who his descendants were. Believer's Study Bible -Though some scholars have suggested that this "Amram" may not be the same as Amram the son of Kohath (v. 18), 1 Chr. 6:1-3 indicates that they are the same. Thus the genealogy is an abbreviated form, understood to be in harmony with a 430-year stay in Egypt (cf. 12:40, 41). From Levi to Moses there were four "major" generations (cf. Gen. 15:16). Thompson - Amram, who is the father of Moses and Aaron, is now mentioned in Exodus 6:20. It is specifically stated that he married his aunt, whose name was Jochebed, who was his father’s sister. This has presented a problem since Lev. 18:6, 12 teaches that a sexual relationship with one’s aunt is an abomination to God. Now most explain this by observing the fact that the Law had not yet been given and therefore violations of the Law were not imputed by God This point is clearly established by Paul in Romans 5:13. However, in that very Romans text, Paul’s point is that people still died because they had sinned against God. In fact, it is stated in Exodus 6:20 that Amram died at age 137. A theological point here is that no one kept the Law of God perfectly, including the family of Moses (ED: AND NOTE WHAT HEBREWS 11:23+ SAYS ABOUT AMRAM AND JOCHEBED - "BY FAITH" - THEY WERE CALLED FAITHFUL, NOT PERFECT!). In other words, the very family lineage line of Moses proves even the best of families have fallen short of the glory of God. God can and does call people and use people who have come out of backgrounds that have been bizarre. Moses is one such example Exodus 6:21 The sons of Izhar: Korah and Nepheg and Zichri. Korah - Ex 6:24 Nu 16:1,32 26:10,11 1Ch 6:37,38 The sons of Izhar: Korah and Nepheg and Zichri - Thompson - The list introduces us to many of the Israelites who will be delivered, who later will turn out to be losers - (i.e. Korah, Ex 6:21, 24 -- Numbers 16:1-49; Nadab and Abihu, Ex 6:23 -- Numbers 3:2-3). Exodus 6:22 The sons of Uzziel: Mishael and Elzaphan and Sithri. Lev 10:4 Ne 3:20 The sons of Uzziel: Mishael and Elzaphan and Sithri - About whom we know almost nothing except that they removed the dead bodies of disobedient Nadab and Abihu after they were struck by God (see Lev 10:4). Exodus 6:23 Aaron married Elisheba, the daughter of Amminadab, the sister of Nahshon, and she bore him Nadab and Abihu, Eleazar and Ithamar. Elisheba - Lu 1:5 Amminadab - Nu 1:7 2:3 Ru 4:19,20 1Ch 2:10 Mt 1:4 Nadab - Ex 24:1,9 Lev 10:1,2 Nu 3:2-4 20:25 26:60,61 1Ch 6:3 24:1,2 Aaron married Elisheba, the daughter of Amminadab, the sister of Nahshon, and she bore him Nadab and Abihu, Eleazar and Ithamar. Exodus 6:24 The sons of Korah: Assir and Elkanah and Abiasaph; these are the families of the Korahites. Korah - Ex 6:21 Nu 16:1,32 26:9-11 1Ch 6:22,33,37,38 Ps 84:1-12 Ps 85:1 *titles Elkanah - 1Sa 1:1 1Ch 6:23,27,28 The sons of Korah: Assir and Elkanah and Abiasaph; these are the families of the Korahites Thompson - This Korahite family would become a powerful family clan, whom God would totally destroy (Numbers 16:32-33). Exodus 6:25 Aaron's son Eleazar married one of the daughters of Putiel, and she bore him Phinehas. These are the heads of the fathers' households of the Levites according to their families. Phinehas - Nu 25:7-13 31:6 Jos 22:13,31,32 24:33 Jud 20:28 Ps 106:30,31 the heads - Ex 6:14 Aaron's son Eleazar married one of the daughters of Putiel, and she bore him Phinehas. These are the heads of the fathers' households of the Levites according to their families. Thompson - Most of the names of this genealogy never show up again in Scripture . So God had sovereignly preserved the right lineage prior to Him establishing His priesthood. Aaron’s son, Eleazar, married one of the daughters of Putiel, and they had a son named Phinehas (Exodus 6:25). Now one of the questions is why doesn’t Moses mention Aaron’s other sons–Nadab, Abihu and Ithamar? When Moses wrote this, Nadab and Abihu were dead because God killed them because they offered a strange fire to Him (Num. 3:2-4). Both Eleazar and Ithamar would end up serving as priests during the lifetime of Aaron (Num. 3:4). As far as Ithamar is concerned, he was an honored Priest and did produce a large number of priests (Num. 4:28, 33; 7:8; I Chron. 24:1-6; Ezra 8:2). The reason why Phinehas is mentioned is because he would be the one who would put an end to the cult prostitution scandal at Baal-Peor in Numbers 25. Exodus 6:26 It was the same Aaron and Moses to whom the LORD said, "Bring out the sons of Israel from the land of Egypt according to their hosts." That Aaron - Ex 6:13,20 Jos 24:5 1Sa 12:6,8 1Ch 6:3 Ps 77:20 99:6 Mic 6:4 Bring - Ex 6:7 3:10,11 20:2 32:1,7,11 Ac 7:35,36 their hosts- Ex 7:4 12:17,51 13:18 Ge 2:1 Nu 33:1 It was the same Aaron and Moses to whom the LORD said, "Bring out the sons of Israel from the land of Egypt according to their hosts." Believer's Study Bible - Some have suggested that the wording here is evidence that Exodus was written many years after Moses lived. The reference to Moses and Aaron, however, comes at the end of a genealogy beginning in v. 14. This verse names Aaron first, as the elder, and closes the genealogy. Verse 27 returns to the historical narrative and appropriately names the more important man first. Exodus 6:27 They were the ones who spoke to Pharaoh king of Egypt about bringing out the sons of Israel from Egypt; it was the same Moses and Aaron. who spoke to Pharaoh king - Ex 5:1-3 7:10 about bringing out the sons of Israel from Egypt - Ex 6:13,26 32:7 33:1 Ps 77:20 Mic 6:4 They were the ones who spoke to Pharaoh king of Egypt about bringing out the sons of Israel from Egypt; it was the same Moses and Aaron. Exodus 6:28 Now it came about on the day when the LORD spoke to Moses in the land of Egypt, MOSES IS "RE-COMMISSIONED" Ryken comments that "Since this genealogy was something of a digression, the story now resumes with a brief recap: “Now when the LORD spoke to Moses in Egypt …” (Ex 6:28) and so on." (Ibid) Now it came about on the day when the LORD spoke to Moses in the land of Egypt - So this is clearly a different conversation then God had with Moses on Mt Horeb speaking from the burning bush when He initially "commissioned" Moses to be the deliverer of Israel. Believer's Study Bible on Exodus 6:28-7:5 - Seemingly repetitious portions of the text (cf. Ex 4:10-17, 21) are not signs of different documents or different authors. The Bible was written to be read aloud to the people. Repetition clarified and maintained the unity of thought, and is typical of Semitic narratives. Exodus 6:29 that the LORD spoke to Moses, saying, "I am the LORD; speak to Pharaoh king of Egypt all that I speak to you." I am the LORD- Ex 6:2,6,8 speak to Pharaoh king of Egypt - Ex 6:11 7:2 Jer 1:7,8,17-19 23:28 26:2 Eze 2:6,7 3:11,17 Mt 28:20 Ac 20:27 That the LORD spoke to Moses, saying, "I am the LORD" - This is the fifth time we see this repeated but key self-disclosure from God that "I am the LORD," which theoretically should have calmed and soothed all of Moses' (and our) fear and hesitation. But it did not as the next passage shows. Moses (and we) either do not really believe what God says about Himself and/or we have not really come to know Him as Jehovah, the great I Am Who is able to do anything He pleases or determines to do. As an aside the declaration I am the Lord is frequently used in Exodus (by far most uses of this phrase are found in Leviticus and Ezekiel) - Ex 6:2; Ex 6:6; Ex 6:7; Ex 6:8; Ex 6:29; Exod. 7:5; Exod. 7:17; Exod. 10:2; Exod. 12:12; Exod. 14:4; Exod. 14:18; Exod. 16:12; Exod. 20:2; Exod. 29:46; Exod. 31:13;