“Then the LORD said to Moses, ‘Now you will see what I will do to Pharaoh.’”
— Exodus 6:1 (CEV)
Exodus 6 is a response chapter.
The last chapter ended with:
- Israel discouraged
- Moses discouraged
- Pharaoh unbroken
- Circumstances worse than before
- No sign of progress
Moses cried out:
“Lord, why … why did You send me? You have not rescued Your people at all.”
— Exodus 5:22–23
Exodus 6 is God’s answer.
And God does not:
- Apologize
- Explain the delay
- Soften the struggle
- Lower the difficulty
God re-centers the story on Himself.
The deliverance of Israel will not rest on Moses’ ability — but on God’s identity.
The message of Exodus 6 is this:
When the people can’t see hope, God speaks hope again.
When the servant feels disqualified, God calls again.
When the situation worsens, God promises again.
Exodus 6 is the reaffirming of the covenant in the darkest moment.
1. God Restates His Identity Before Restating His Promise
“I am the LORD.”
— Exodus 6:2
This phrase will be repeated 7 times in this chapter.
When the people are discouraged, God does not begin with:
- Comfort
- Explanation
- Advice
He begins with Himself.
Because:
- Our hope is not in change.
- Our hope is in the One who causes the change.
**God doesn’t say “You can do this.”
He says, “I AM the LORD.”**
This is the anchor of faith.
When the mind is overwhelmed, the heart must rest in who God is.
2. God Reminds Moses of the Covenant Story He Is Part Of
“I appeared to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob…”
— Exodus 6:3
God is saying:
- I have done this before.
- I am not new to deliverance.
- I am not new to impossible situations.
- I am not new to hopeless conditions.
- I have been faithful to your fathers — I will be faithful to you.
Moses is not starting something — he is continuing something.
Your calling did not begin with you.
Your purpose did not begin with you.
Your struggle is not isolated.
Your story is part of a much bigger one.
The God who began the story will finish it.
3. God Makes the Seven “I Will” Promises — The Core of Exodus
These seven promises are the foundation of biblical salvation:
1. I will bring you out
2. I will deliver you
3. I will redeem you
4. I will take you as My people
5. I will be your God
6. I will bring you into the land
7. I will give it to you as your possession
— Exodus 6:6–8
This is the gospel in seed form.
Let’s understand them:
1. I will bring you out
God removes you from what controls you.
2. I will deliver you
God breaks the chains that follow you.
3. I will redeem you
God purchases your freedom at His cost.
4. I will take you as My people
Identity restored — you belong to Him.
5. I will be your God
Relationship is the point of salvation.
6. I will bring you into the land
Purpose restored — God leads forward.
7. I will give it to you
Inheritance is not earned — it is received.
This is not just the story of Israel —
this is your salvation story.
4. Israel Cannot Hear — Pain Has Closed Their Ears
“But they did not listen to Moses because of their broken spirit and harsh slavery.”
— Exodus 6:9
This is one of the most heartbreaking verses in Scripture.
Their pain drowned out hope.
Sometimes:
- You are so tired you cannot believe
- You are so wounded you cannot trust
- You are so discouraged you cannot hear God
God does not rebuke them.
He understands.
This is compassionate realism:
Pain can make faith difficult — and God speaks anyway.
God does not give up when our strength is gone.
God carries us when we cannot carry belief.
5. Moses Loses Confidence Again
“Moses said to the Lord, ‘I am a man of uncircumcised lips.’”
— Exodus 6:12
This is the same insecurity as before.
The battlefield has shifted:
- From Pharaoh
- To Moses’ own identity
God does not replace him.
God does not change the mission.
God does not choose someone “better.”
God reaffirms the calling:
“Tell Pharaoh king of Egypt everything I tell you.”
— Exodus 6:29
Moses is not chosen because he is powerful.
Moses is chosen because God is powerful.
Your weakness is not a reason God will not use you.
Your weakness is the reason God can use you —
so the glory will belong to Him.
6. The Genealogy — God Roots Calling in Real Family History
The chapter pauses to trace the line of Levi:
- Reuben is listed → not chosen
- Simeon is listed → not chosen
- Levi is listed → chosen
Why list the genealogy here?
Because:
- God is tying the calling to lineage
- Moses and Aaron are not random
- They are positioned generations in advance
This means:
**You are not accidental.
Your calling has been in motion long before you were born.**
Your:
- Family
- Personality
- Experiences
- Wounds
- Strengths
Are not coincidences.
You were prepared, not improvised.
7. God Repeats the Commission — Because Calling Must Be Reaffirmed
“I am the LORD. Tell Pharaoh everything I say to you.”
— Exodus 6:29
The repetition matters.
God is:
- Strengthening Moses
- Rebuilding courage
- Calling him forward again
This is how God works:
**God speaks again.
God confirms again.
God strengthens again.
God sends again.**
Because deliverance is not instant —
it is a walk of faith through resistance.
What Exodus 6 Teaches the Believer
1. God speaks into disappointment, not just triumph.
He meets Moses in discouragement.
2. Pain can close the ears — but God keeps speaking.
God does not shame broken hearts.
3. Identity is the foundation of calling.
God begins with “I AM.”
4. Deliverance is a process built on promises.
Not instant — inevitable.
5. God does not replace you when you struggle.
He reaffirms you.
6. Your calling is older than your failure.
Your destiny predates your mistakes.
7. The promise stands even when you cannot feel it.
Faith is not emotional — it is covenant.
The Invitation of Exodus 6
If you feel:
- Discouraged
- Weary
- Confused
- Overwhelmed
- Too broken to believe
- Too tired to hope
- Too wounded to listen
God speaks this to you:
“I AM the LORD.”
“I have not changed.”
“My promise to you has not changed.”
“What I began in you — I will finish.”
Your faith does not have to feel strong.
Your hope does not have to feel bright.
Your heart does not have to feel confident.
Because this story is not carried by your strength.
This story is carried by His covenant.
He calls again.
He speaks again.
He strengthens again.
The story continues.
Salvation is the work of God in our Live’s – Salvation by Faith in Jesus Christ – Learning who our Father is by the Spirit of Adoption – We are Children of God by Grace and the Same Spirit that Raised Christ Jesus from the dead is Living in You. By Faith In Jesus Christ – Home
Reading Exodus 6 in Context
Exodus 6 is best understood as part of a living sequence rather than as an isolated devotional fragment. It stands between Exodus 5 — “When Obedience Makes Life Harder: Faith in the Middle of the Storm” and A Study in Exodus 7:1–25, so the chapter carries forward what came before while also preparing the reader for what follows. The subtitle already points toward its burden: “When God Speaks Again: The Promise in the Middle of the Pain”.
The internal movement of the chapter also deserves slower attention. The major turns already named in the study — The deliverance of Israel will not rest on Moses’ ability — but on God’s identity., God Restates His Identity Before Restating His Promise, and **God doesn’t say “You can do this.” — show that this passage is doing more than retelling events. It is teaching the reader how God reveals His character, exposes the heart, and leads His people toward obedience. Read carefully, Exodus 6 presses the reader to notice not only what happens, but why it happens and what response God is calling forth.
For believers, this means Exodus 6 is not preserved merely as history. It becomes instruction for faith, endurance, repentance, worship, and hope in Christ. The same God who speaks, warns, restores, judges, and shepherds in this chapter remains unchanged. That is why the passage still searches the conscience, steadies the heart, and trains the church to walk with reverence and confidence. When read in the wider shape of Scripture, the chapter strengthens trust in God’s timing and reminds the reader that obedience is rarely built through haste; it is formed by hearing God rightly and following Him faithfully.
A fruitful way to revisit Exodus 6 is to trace its key contrasts: human weakness and divine faithfulness, visible struggle and hidden providence, immediate emotion and enduring truth. Those contrasts keep the chapter from becoming flat. They reveal the depth of God’s dealings with His people and help explain why these verses continue to nourish prayer, discipleship, and biblical understanding. This added context also helps the chapter connect more naturally to the surrounding studies in Exodus, giving readers a cleaner path to continue the series without losing the thread.
Keep Reading in Exodus
Previous chapter: Exodus 5 — “When Obedience Makes Life Harder: Faith in the Middle of the Storm”
Next chapter: A Study in Exodus 7:1–25
Exodus opening study: Exodus 1 — “When Faith Grows Under Pressure: The Birthplace of Deliverance”
Books by Drew Higgins
Leave a Reply