Exodus 6:1-30
Divisions of
the chapter:
I. Verse 1-5 – God speaks to Moses, explaining His plan, and encouraging Him to continue to be faithful.
II. Verse 6-9 – God instructs Moses to explain His plan to the Israelites.
III. Verse 10-13 – God instructs Moses to continue with His plan, regardless of the unbelief of the Israelites.
IV. Verse 14-27 – The genealogy of Moses and Aaron.
V. Verse 28-30 – Returning to the story.
Section I:
Verse 1-5 – God speaks to Moses, explaining His plan, and encouraging Him to continue to be faithful.
Verse 1,
Then the LORD said unto Moses, Now shalt
thou see what I will do to Pharaoh: for with a strong hand shall he let them go,
and with a strong hand shall he drive them out of his land.
I. Then -
A. Troubles mean God is getting ready to deliver. Keep trusting in God.
1. Moses and all Israel were at the lowest point imaginable.
2. It’s always darkest just before the dawn.
3. This is when God steps in to show His glorious power and authority.
4. This certainly proves that God doesn’t need us, but it is a real blessing to be used of Him.
B. An answer to 5:22,23.
1. When God’s people ask in total honesty, God answers.
C. All shall bow the knee - willingly or by His power.
D. Thou –
1. Moses shall understand, but all the Israelites won’t understand.
2. The leader must understand, else he won’t be able to lead the people to understand.
3. It is as impossible to lead where you won’t go as it is to come back from where you haven’t been.
4. Often times, church members have an idea of what they want to do, but God speaks to the pastor.
a. If God speaks to a single church member, that single church member will present his thoughts to the pastor, then the pastor will present that thought to the church.
b. There is room in a church for only one leader.
c. Most of the time, church members don’t see the overall picture of where God is leading the church.
d. They only see their own little world.
II. It is also true that God must use Pharaoh to drive Israel out of Egypt.
A. They did pray that God would deliver them from the oppression of Egypt.
B. But when it came time to believe the promises of God about leaving, they refused to listen.
1. See Verse 9.
2. Moses told them what God said to tell them, but they refused to believe because of the hard times they were going through.
3. Since they wouldn’t believe when they were in the “valley,” why wouldn’t believe when they were on the “mountain top.”
4. Another point is that Israel really refused to believe God is God, therefore they also refused to believe He could (would) do what He said He would do.
C. This generation of Israel never really believed the promises of God.
1. They could believe only those things they saw, and only for that moment.
2. This generation lost their lives during the 40 years wanderings in the wilderness.
3. This is a most terrible thing, but it can happen to us.
4. May God help us to believe the promises of God regardless of our circumstances.
There are three things God reveals to Moses that He has done for Israel. These things God instructs Moses to tell Israel about. When Israel hears and knows these things, they should be greatly encouraged to stand faithful to God. When Israel sees the “big picture,” she will understand God is still watching over them, and they should remain faithful and teach their children to be faithful. The three thing are:
1. Verse 3 – God reveals His name “Jehovah” to Israel.
2. Verse 4 – God has established His covenant with Israel, not with any other nation. It is God that has established the covenant. Israel didn’t initiate the covenant.
3. Verse 5 – God has heard the groaning of Israel and their desire to be freed from the land of Egypt.
Verse 2-3,
And God spake unto Moses, and said unto him, I am the LORD: {3} And I appeared
unto Abraham, unto Isaac, and unto Jacob, by the name of God Almighty, but by my
name JEHOVAH was I not known to them.
I. Name Jehovah.
A. God Almighty.
1. El Shaddai - God all sufficient.
B. Jehovah - The eternal ever existing one. Continual greater revealing of God.
1. God will now be performing what He has promised.
2. God will now be perfecting what He has begun.
3. Gen. 2:4 - LORD God - compare “God” in Gen. 1 and 2. The word “God” in Genesis 1 and 2 is always “elohiym” (the supreme God). The word “LORD” in Genesis 2:4 is “yehovah” (self-Existent or Eternal; Jeho-vah).
4. Gen. 2:7 - LORD God creating man. Notice the two different words used to describe God.
5. Ex. 6:3 – Abraham, Isaac and Jacob hoped to see but now it is revealed.
6. Rev. 19:12 - A name of God not revealed. “His eyes were as a flame of fire, and on his head were many crowns; and he had a name written, that no man knew, but he himself.”
7. Eph. 2:6,7 - Taught in eternity. “And hath raised us up together, and made us sit together in heavenly places in Christ Jesus: 7 That in the ages to come he might show the exceeding riches of his grace in his kindness toward us through Christ Jesus.”
C. God is revealing more and more of Himself as time goes by.
1. Abraham, Isaac and Jacob knew God as the all sufficient God.
a. Abraham – Genesis 17:1 – “And when Abram was ninety years old and nine, the LORD appeared to Abram, and said unto him, I am the Almighty God; walk before me, and be thou perfect.”
b. Isaac – Genesis 28:3 – “And God Almighty bless thee, and make thee fruitful, and multiply thee, that thou mayest be a multitude of people;”
c. Jacob – Genesis 35:11 – “And God said unto him, I am God Almighty: be fruitful and multiply; a nation and a company of nations shall be of thee, and kings shall come out of thy loins;”
2. Refer to verse 9 – Israel would not believe God is the all sufficient God (God Almighty), therefore they refuse to believe God is the eternally existing one (Jehovah).
Verse 4,
And I have also established my covenant
with them, to give them the land of Canaan, the land of their pilgrimage,
wherein they were strangers.
I. Strangers ------ Seed – Gen. 15:13 – “And he said unto Abram, Know of a surety that thy seed shall be a stranger in a land that is not theirs, and shall serve them; and they shall afflict them four hundred years;”
A. Abraham –
1. Gen. 23:4 – “I am a stranger and a sojourner with you: give me a possession of a buryingplace with you, that I may bury my dead out of my sight.”
2. Heb. 11:9 – “By faith he sojourned in the land of promise, as in a strange country, dwelling in tabernacles with Isaac and Jacob, the heirs with him of the same promise:”
B. Isaac - Gen. 28:4 - “And give thee the blessing of Abraham, to thee, and to thy seed with thee; that thou mayest inherit the land wherein thou art a stranger, which God gave unto Abraham.”
C. Jacob - Gen. 28:4. “And give thee the blessing of Abraham, to thee, and to thy seed with thee; that thou mayest inherit the land wherein thou art a stranger, which God gave unto Abraham.”
D. Moses - Ex. 2:22 – “And she bare him a son, and he called his name Gershom: for he said, I have been a stranger in a strange land.”
II. God has also established his covenant with them.
A. Also means God has done something in addition to what He had previously done.
1. God has previously appeared to Abraham, Isaac and Jacob by the name of God Almighty.
2. Now God has appeared to Moses by the name of Jehovah.
3. God has revealed Himself as the all sufficient one, and the everlasting, self existing one.
4. God has also established His covenant with the nation of Israel.
B. They haven’t established a covenant with Him.
C. What God says He will do, He will do!
D. The land of Canaan belongs to Israel.
1. It may not belong to them physically at the present time.
2. But it belongs to them just as surely as it can belong to them in the promises of God.
E. Heaven is ours.
1. It may not belong to us physically at this present time.
2. But it belongs to us just as surely as if we were already there.
Verse 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.
I. God has also heard the groaning of the children of Israel.
A. God hearing their groaning is a sign to all that He hasn’t forgotten his covenant.
B. God hasn't forgotten He first appeared to Abraham, Isaac and Jacob by the name of God Almighty.
C. God continues to reveal Himself to the nation of Israel by revealing His name Jehovah, the everlasting, self-existing one.
D. God will not forget His covenant, but will continue to reveal more and more of the covenant as time goes by.
II. There is no indication that God forgot his covenant with Israel.
A. God never forgets anything, for He always knows everything.
B. God made this covenant with Israel, and will answer their prayers according to that covenant.
1. We must remember that God always answers our prayers according to his everlasting plan.
2. We pray for God’s will to be done in everything.
3. When we pray out of the Lord’s will, He will not answer that prayer.
C. God first remembered (brought again to His mind) His covenant with Israel in Ex. 2:24 when He heard their prayers. [1]
Section II:
Verse 6-9 – God instructs Moses to explain His plan to the Israelites.
Verse 6-8 ,
Wherefore say unto the children of
Israel, 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: {7} And I will take you to me for a
people, and I will be to you a God: and ye shall know that I am the LORD your
God, which bringeth you out from under the burdens of the Egyptians. {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; and I will give it you for an heritage: I am
the LORD.
I. “I am” and “I will.”
A. “I will” is a very positive statement.
1. Verse 6 - 3 times.
2. Verse 7 - 2 times.
3. Verse 8 - 2 times
4. This makes 7 times altogether, which speaks of the completeness of God’s promises.
B. God’s promises are very sure.
1. If God said it, He will bring it to pass.
2. It was important for Israel to believe the promises of God because they are delivered by the fulfillment of those promises.
3. It is important for us to believe the promises of God because we are delivered by the fulfillment of those promises.
II. Verse 5-8.
A. The stages God will deal with Israel.
1. Heard – verse 5.
2. Remembered – verse 5.
3. Bring out – verse 6.
4. Rid of bondage – verse 6.
5. Redeem – verse 6.
6. Take you – verse 7.
7. Receive God – verse 7.
8. Know – verse 7.
9. Bring into – verse 8.
10. Give you – verse 8.
B. We also have stages of deliverance.
1. I Cor. 10:6 – “Now these things were our examples, to the intent we should not lust after evil things, as they also lusted.”
2. It is apparent that Israel went through a time in Egypt when it seemed God wasn’t doing anything for them.
a. There was 400 “silent years” between the Old and New Testaments, when it seemed God wasn’t doing anything.
b. The heavens have been silent for many years since Christ returned to heaven after dying on the cross for our sins.
c. Psalms 50:3-6 states, “Our God shall come, and shall not keep silence: a fire shall devour before him, and it shall be very tempestuous round about him. 4 He shall call to the heavens from above, and to the earth, that he may judge his people. 5 Gather my saints together unto me; those that have made a covenant with me by sacrifice. 6 And the heavens shall declare his righteousness: for God is judge himself.”
C. Lessons we can learn from Israel.
1. Let us not get in too big a hurry with God.
2. Stay faithful every day, even when there is nothing visible to stay faithful about.
3. Don’t look too closely at today.
4. Present troubles will discourage us from being faithful in the long term if we only look at the present troubles.
5. Too much taking care of the affairs of today will hinder us from taking care of long-term spiritual affairs.
Verse 9,
And Moses spake so unto the children of
Israel: but they hearkened not unto Moses for anguish of spirit, and for cruel
bondage.
I. Moses was obedient to the command of God.
A. Moses was obedient when Israel didn’t listen.
1. His command wasn’t to tell them God’s Word only when they listened.
2. It really didn’t make any difference whether they heard or not.
3. Moses instructions, like our instructions, is to tell the people.
B. Let us be faithful to declare the truth of God’s Word.
1. Many won’t listen.
2. Many will listen.
3. Let us leave the results to God, but let us do everything God commands.
II. We might be ready to blame the Israelites for their hardness of hearing.
A. We must remember that during times of great trouble and distress, we also find it hard to listen.
1. Israel, like us, have no excuse for failing to believe the promises of God.
2. God holds them guilty, and God will hold us guilty.
3. It is a measure of our faith if we are able to hear the Words of God during trying times.
4. It is easy to say we have faith when there are no trials, but when trials come, that is when faith really shows up.
B. This is especially hard for Israel at this point.
1. This is no excuse, although we might consider it an excuse.
2. God continued to work with Israel, just like He continues to work with us.
3. For this we can thank God, but we should never take the long suffering of God as an excuse for sin.
4. Moses and Aaron has just come unto them, and they believed these men would be able to lead them out of Egypt.
5. They were trusting men instead of God, thus became discouraged.
6. Men will always fail you, but God will always sustain you.
III. Spoke - As the four points above (Verse 1-8).
IV. Didn’t hear.
A. Couldn’t hear or heed.
B. Bitterly disappointed over past failures.
C. Fear of Pharaoh’s harshness.
D. Changed circumstances caused a change of “faith.”
E. Be careful to always hear God’s Word.
V. When the people didn’t hear, Moses did nothing else.
A. Moses job, like ours, is to speak the Words of God and let God do with those words what He wants to do.
B. We can’t make anybody hear, but we can tell them. [2]
Section III:
Verse 10-13 – God instructs Moses to continue with His plan, regardless of the unbelief of the Israelites.
Verse 10-11,
And the LORD spake unto Moses, saying,
{11} Go in, speak unto Pharaoh king of Egypt, that he let the children of Israel
go out of his land.
I. The command is for Moses to continue to go before Pharaoh even though Pharaoh and Israel hasn’t believed.
A. A good principal of management is to get everybody working and thinking together.
1. It is a lot easier to manage a project if everybody knows what the end result is supposed to be.
2. This is why God told Moses to speak everything to Israel.
3. It wasn’t Moses fault when Israel didn’t listen.
B. It is good for us to remember to continue in the ways of God regardless of whether the message is received or not.
1. We must always remember that God is a majority.
2. Whatever God says we ought to do, that is what we ought to do.
3. The results will always come out exactly like God said they would.
4. We are the ones who will lose blessings if we don’t agree with God.
5. This generation of Israel will certainly lose blessings (eventually they lose their lives) if they don’t listen to God’s message.
II. Rebellious people must be talked with many times if God commands. Worse judgment to those who hear most often.
A. Moses is reminded he is speaking to the king of Egypt, not some person with no authority.
1. This might frighten Moses, but God wants Moses to understand that God is the King of kings and Lord of lords.
2. God wants Moses to not be afraid because God has put Pharaoh on the throne for this very purpose.
3. It is God who sets up kings, and takes them down.
B. Moses is to speak with authority, not in a supplicate way.
1. Moses will speak to the king of Egypt from the King of Kings and Lord of lords.
2. It is really God who is commanding Pharaoh, not Moses.
3. This is the way Moses should look at his duties.
4. This is the way we should look at our duties.
C. It is of no consequence that Moses told Pharaoh before and the command was refused.
1. God often tells sinners many times before they are finally destroyed.
2. It is not our duty to count the number of times we talk to sinners, but to continue to talk to them as long as God commands.
3. The command is repeated to Pharaoh in order for God to punish him and Egypt for their disobedience.
4. We always reap what we sow, there are no exceptions.
5. God will appear to all to be completely justified in His actions of destroying Egypt for their willful disobedience to His commands.
III. Not a command for a three day journey to worship.
A. The original command, Exodus 5:3, was for Israel to go three days journey into the wilderness to offer sacrifices to God.
1. That command was made in such a manner that Pharaoh might accept it.
2. It is explained that the worship of Israel is an abomination to the Egyptians, and there is no intend on the part of Israel to be offensive to the Egyptians.
B. This command is for Israel to go out of his land.
1. Because the first command was not obeyed, this command was given.
2. It is clear from this command that Israel doesn’t plan on returning to Egypt.
Verse 12,
And Moses spake before the LORD, saying,
Behold, the children of Israel have not hearkened unto me; how then shall
Pharaoh hear me, who [am] of uncircumcised lips?
I. It is common for us to believe our enemies will listen to us if our friends have heard us, and that our enemies won’t listen to us if our friends won’t listen.
A. This is a total fallacy.
1. Only God can open the minds, ears, and hearts of people.
2. It is our duty to declare the truth and let God open the hearts of people.
B. Preachers say, “How will the lost hear if saved people don’t hear?”
1. It is a great discouragement to ministers when saved people don’t hear and heed God’s messages.
2. Ezk. 33:1-9 - We should sound the warning, regardless.
3. We are no better than the prophets.
C. The message Moses brought to Israel was a good message and they didn’t hear, so Moses concludes Pharaoh won’t hear when he brings him an uncomfortable message.
1. Israel was going to leave the land of bondage (Egypt) and go into the land God had promised them, and they didn’t believe because they had no faith to believe.
2. Egypt is going to lose all their slave labor, go through great trials and tribulations, so they don’t want to believe all that bad stuff is going to happen to them.
II. Moses is not saying he is uncircumcised.
A. He is saying his lips are uncircumcised.
1. He is not talking about physical circumcision.
2. He means that he doesn’t have the ability to speak in such a way as to convince Israel to follow God.
B. I believe Moses is referring to the fact that he has refused to preach directly to the people, using Aaron instead.
Verse 13,
And the LORD spake unto Moses and unto
Aaron, and gave them a charge unto the children of Israel, and unto Pharaoh king
of Egypt, to bring the children of Israel out of the land of Egypt.
I. God didn’t pay any attention to Moses objection, but gave him a charge (a message to deliver which contained orders for belief and action) to the people of Israel and to Pharaoh.
A. God doesn’t listen to our objections, but continues to instruct us to follow Him.
1. Moses is honest with God, which is necessary. We should also be honest with God.
2. God can fix all our hindrances, or He can leave our hindrances in place and overcome them.
3. Our place is to trust God, and not look at all the things that hinder us.
B. This is a very important principal.
1. It is always better to trust God than our eloquence, or circumstances around us.
2. Many prophets of God preached long and hard, yet had no converts.
a. People didn’t believe Isaiah. Isaiah 53:1 states, “Who hath believed our report? and to whom is the arm of the LORD revealed?”
b. People didn’t believe Jesus Christ Himself. John 12:37-38 declares, “But though he had done so many miracles before them, yet they believed not on him: 38 That the saying of Esaias the prophet might be fulfilled, which he spake, Lord, who hath believed our report? and to whom hath the arm of the Lord been revealed?”
c. Paul declares that many won’t hear the blessed gospel message. Romans 12:16 comments, “But they have not all obeyed the gospel. For Esaias saith, Lord, who hath believed our report?”
d. We shouldn’t be surprised, hurt, or discouraged if people don’t hear the report God gives to us.
e. We must keep on preaching, teaching, and staying true regardless of what happens, whether we are accepted or not or whether our message is popular or not.
II. A charge (a message from God) to:
A. Israel.
B. Pharaoh.
C. There is no record of exactly what this charge is, but I imagine it contains information about who God is, and what He expects.
1. There is a record of the general information in the charge.
2. It is to bring Israel out of the land of Egypt.
3. Note: God hasn’t changed His plans even though everybody objects to it.
4. God has made a promise to Israel and He will keep it, period.
D. Note: There is no more record of Israel not heeding the message - All the commands God gives Moses to give to the people of Israel are obeyed even to putting the blood on the door posts. The rebellion against God and Moses leadership occurs in the wilderness because of and after Israel listened to the wrong spies and failed to take the victory in the promised land.
The Genealogy of Moses and Aaron
Verse 14-27
Section IV:
Verse 14-27 – The genealogy of Moses and Aaron.
Verse 14-27, 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. {15} 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. {16} 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. {17} The sons of Gershon; Libni, and Shimi, according to their families. {18} And the sons of Kohath; Amram, and Izhar, and Hebron, and Uzziel: and the years of the life of Kohath [were] an hundred thirty and three years. {19} And the sons of Merari; Mahali and Mushi: these [are] the families of Levi according to their generations. {20} And Amram took him Jochebed his father’s sister to wife; and she bare him Aaron and Moses: and the years of the life of Amram [were] an hundred and thirty and seven years. {21} And the sons of Izhar; Korah, and Nepheg, and Zichri. {22} And the sons of Uzziel; Mishael, and Elzaphan, and Zithri. {23} And Aaron took him Elisheba, daughter of Amminadab, sister of Naashon, to wife; and she bare him Nadab, and Abihu, Eleazar, and Ithamar. {24} And the sons of Korah; Assir, and Elkanah, and Abiasaph: these [are] the families of the Korhites. {25} 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. {26} 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. {27} 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.
I. The above genealogy can be outlined as follows:
A. Reuben the firstborn of Israel. (Verse 14)
1. Hanoch
2. Pallu
3. Hezron
4. Carmi
B. Simeon. (Verse 15)
1. Jemuel
2. Jamin
3. Ohad
4. Jachin
5. Zohar
6. Shaul, the son of a Canaanitish woman.
C. Levi lived 137 years. (Verse 16-27)
1. Gershon
a. Libni
b. Shimi
2. Kohath lived 133 years
a. Amram (lived 137 years) married Jochebed (his fathers sister)
1) Aaron married Elisheba (daughter of Amminadab, and sister of Naashon from the tribe of Judah.)
a) Nadab
b) Abihu
c) Eleazar married the daughter of Putiel
(1) Phinehas
d) Ithamar
2) Moses lived 120 years
b. Izhar
1) Korah
a) Assir
b) Elkanah
c) Abiasaph
2) Nepheg
3) Zichri
c. Hebron
d. Uzziel
1) Mishael
2) Elzaphan
3) Zithri
3. Merari
a. Mahali
b. Mushi
II. Points about this genealogy.
A. This is not supposed to be a complete genealogy of Israel, but a genealogy of Moses and Aaron, the leaders of Israel at this time: see verse 26,27.
1. It is interesting to notice the literary structure of this part of the Bible places the introduction to the passage at the end of the passage.
2. This is not often done in contemporary writing, but it often occurs in the Bible.
3. Many passages in the Old Testament talk about a subject for some verses, then gives the subject at the end of that passage.
4. This may sound wrong to us, but the intent is to make us think about what we are reading.
5. Then when we finish reading that particular section, the Bible will either confirm or reject our thinking.
B. It is very interesting to note that the age of Levi (verse 16), the age of Kohath (verse 18), and the age of Amram (verse 20), is given, but not the other sons of Jacob.
1. This very small point is very important.
2. God expects us to use this information to more clearly understand the time element of the Bible.
3. This very small point will help us understand that the age of the world is approximately 6,000 years!
4. This information will also help us understand that Israel wasn’t in Egypt for 430 years as many teach. ..\OTSURVEY\Book\Sch 1 - Estimate generations in Egypt.sdr (A copy of this file is included as an appendix to my notes on this chapter) ..\OTSURVEY\Book\Chart & explanations\Note 03 - 215 years.doc
a. They were in Egypt for 215 years.
b. This information also shows us the seven year tribulation period that will come upon Israel is divided into two equal 3½ year parts!
5. This information shows us how God has disallowed Reuben and the ten generations of Judah from being in the genealogy of Christ, AND kept the details of a Biblical time line intact.
a. I Chron. 5:1,2 - Reuben held the birthright as he was the eldest son of Leah, the first wife of Jacob. He lost his birthright by defiling his father’s bed. The birthright then passed to Joseph, the eldest son of Jacob’s second wife, Rachel. Judah became the chief ruler, or more clearly stated, the one whom the Christ child would come through.
b. The previous statement would indicate that the genealogy should be traced through Judah, not Joseph, but according to Deuteronomy 23:2, a bastard shall not enter into the congregation of the Lord until the tenth generation.
1) The following story relates why ten generations of Judah are left out of the genealogy.
a) Genesis 38:1,2 records that Judah married a Canaanite whose name was Hirah, the daughter of Shuah.
b) Genesis 38:3-5 records that they had three children: (1) Er, (2) Onan and (3) Shelah.
c) Genesis 38:6-10 records that Judah chose Tamar for Er’s wife.
d) Er was wicked in the sight of the Lord, and the Lord killed him.
e) Judah instructed his second son, Onan, to perform the duty of the kinsman redeemer and raise up children by Tamar for Er.
f) Er married Tamar, but refused to consummate the marriage, and God killed him.
g) Genesis 38:11 records that Shelah was too young for marriage, and Judah asked Tamar to wait until Shelah was grown before he performed the duty of the kinsman redeemer.
h) Genesis 38:12 records that Judah’s wife, Hirah died, and after an appropriate time of mourning, Judah returned to work.
i) Genesis 38:13-30 records that Judah went in unto Tamar, thinking she was a harlot. Tamar conceived twins by her father in law whom she named Pharez and Zarah.
2) Pharez and Zarah were bastards, and were not permitted to enter into the congregation of the Lord.
3) The names of their descendants were included in the genealogy of Christ, but the dates of their birth, death, and length of life is not given.
4) King David is the tenth generation from Judah.
a) He was the first king of Israel from the tribe of Judah.
b) He is the first king of Israel that is a type of Jesus Christ, the King of the Jews.
c) The generations can be counted from King David until the end of the kings.
C. Verse 20 – Amram married his fathers sister, which was his aunt.
1. Leviticus 18 tells about not uncovering the nakedness of a near kinsman.
a. Verse 14 says not to uncover the nakedness of thy father’s brother’s wife, she is thy aunt.
b. Jochebed is Amram’s aunt, but it must be noted that Lev. 18:14 speaks about the aunt who is the uncle’s wife, not the father’s sister, who is also an aunt.
2. It should also be noted that the marriage of close relatives is not forbidden yet, because that portion of God’s law isn’t revealed yet.
3. Cain probably married his sister, or some other woman who would have to be a near relative.
a. The same thing could be said about Seth.
b. He would have had to marry his sister, a daughter of Adam and Eve or a daughter of Cain and his wife.
c. There were no other women available!
4. This type of marriage was not only common, but necessary in the beginning of the human race. As more and more marriage partners became available, and the human gene pool became more and more polluted, God forbade marriages between close relatives so the gene pool would remain stable.
5. As evidenced in history, many mentally and physically handicapped persons were born to parents who were related too closely.
D. Verse 23 – Elisheba was the daughter of Amminadab, and the sister of Naashon.
1. It should be remarked here that Aaron’s wife Elisheba was from the tribe of Judah.
2. Her father was Amminadab, and her brother was Naashon.
3. It is mentioned that Aaron and Elisheba had four sons; Nadab, Abihu, Eleazar, and Ithamar.
a. How many other children they had is not revealed.
b. This passage makes it clear, like many other like passages, that Hebrew couples continued to have children throughout their middle life.
c. Many couples, who had small children still at home, had married children who had children.
4. It is interesting to note the various family members.
a. Aaron married the sister of Naashon, Elisheba.
b. Ruth 4:20 – Naashon’s son, Salmon, married Rahab the harlot. See also Matthew 1:5.
c. The son of Salmon and Rahab is Boaz, who married Ruth the Moabite.
d. In such a holy family (filled with faith) it is hard to understand why Aaron failed to be completely faithful all his life. The truth is that just because a family is faithful to God doesn’t mean each family member is faithful.
E. Verse 25 – Phinehas is mentioned in this genealogy because of the very heroic deed of Numbers 25.
1. This information helps us understand that the book of Exodus was written by Moses.
2. God took the information stored in Moses’ mind, and likely in his personal records, and inspired him to write this account.
F. It is very interesting that none of Moses children are mentioned in this account.
1. This is probably because they didn’t do anything worthy of mention in defending Israel, or the God of Israel.
2. The only mention of any of Moses descendants is in I Chron. 26:24, 25 where Shebuel, the son of Gershom the son of Moses and Shelomith the son of Eliezer took care of the treasury during David’s rule. [3]
Section V:
Returning to the Story
Verse 28-30,
And it came to pass on the day [when]
the LORD spake unto Moses in the land of Egypt, {29} That the LORD spake unto
Moses, saying, I [am] the LORD: speak thou unto Pharaoh king of Egypt all that I
say unto thee. {30} And Moses said before the LORD, Behold, I [am] of
uncircumcised lips, and how shall Pharaoh hearken unto me?
I. To me, verse 28-30 should have been put in chapter 7, but the folks who divided the Bible into verses and chapters didn’t see it that way.
A. God didn’t make the chapter and verse divisions in the Bible, they were made my man so it would be easier to find places.
II. These passages return our thoughts to verse 13.
A. The thought of the passage was interrupted to give us the genealogy of Moses and Aaron.
1. These are the leaders of Israel so it is very important that everybody understand who they are.
2. Their genealogy is given in Exodus 2, and is given again as Moses begins to do the work of God.
B. God always encourages us by revealing to us who He is.
1. God tells us about election, foreknowledge, His sovereignty, and many other things about Himself so we will be encouraged to keep on doing His will.
2. Many have taken these precious doctrines and misused them, making the doctrines of God’s sovereignty the main point, instead of understanding that knowing about God’s sovereignty encourages us to be obedient and good servants.
3. The doctrine of election is not the end in itself. This doctrine gives us assurance that some we preach to will be saved.
4. The doctrine of sanctification is not the end in itself. This doctrine gives us assurance that some we preach to will be faithful to God.
5. The same thing could be said of each of the doctrines concerning the sovereignty of God.
C. Would we be able to do a work for God if we didn’t know how great He is?
1. If we believed God was a weak God, who didn’t have the power to change lives, we would trust more in our delivery than in God.
2. If we believed God was a weak God, it would be senseless to pray to Him, ask Him anything, or expect anything from Him.
3. I am glad God has revealed Himself to us as He has.
4. We know He is a very strong God who does as He desires in heaven and in earth.
D. The charge of verse 13 is given in Exodus 7:1-7.
1. These verses instruct Moses in the overall effect of preaching, miracles, and the work of God upon Egypt.
2. It is very important to note: just because things don’t turn out the way they wanted them to turn out, doesn’t mean God isn’t there, and that His will isn’t being done. [4]