And it came to pass on the day when Jehovah spoke to Moses in the land of Egypt,
The genealogy of Exodus 6 breaks off here, and the story starts again with a date stamp — the day God spoke to Moses while he was still in Egypt. This verse is a hinge. It reaches back to a charge Moses had already resisted, and it sets up what God says in verses 29 and 30.
So which earlier words does this verse pick up, and where do they lead?
Verses 28-30 refer back to verses 10-12, so that the question of Moses there is answered at the beginning of chapter 7.
Everything just before this had gone wrong. Pharaoh refused, the people would not listen, and Moses drew back. Yet the chapter pauses here, and what follows is a new beginning.
Notice that verses 13 to 30 form a parenthesis. There seem to be two reasons for it. First, it makes a new starting point. Exodus 5, and the first part of Exodus 6, are, as we explained, preliminary — a kind of preface... That period now past, the Lord begins again. Second, it gives the opportunity to bring in the genealogy of the people He was about to redeem.
Nothing in the collapse of the previous chapter alters what God intends to do.
But human weakness and human resistance do not affect the Lord. His purposes flow from His own heart, and His own power carries them out. They cannot change.
What the Lord says on that day begins with His own name: "I am the LORD" (v. 29). In Hebrew that name is Jehovah. Moses had already heard it at the start of the chapter. So was the word itself new?
Remember carefully: this does not mean that the word "Jehovah" was unknown. We have no real reason to doubt that men heard it from the beginning... What then is the true meaning? God now takes this name as the revealed character in which He was about to act openly for the children of Israel.
That is why the promises earlier in the chapter are framed by it at both ends.
Look, these blessed promises begin with "I am the LORD," and close with "I am the LORD."
The Lord tells Moses to say to Pharaoh everything He speaks to him. He had already given that charge earlier in the chapter (v. 13).
But the Lord will make His servant perfect and happy in His work. So He now gives Moses and Aaron a charge to the people of Israel and to Pharaoh, king of Egypt. They are to bring the children of Israel out of the land of Egypt. The charge is the first thing in service. No certainty of character or purpose will do without it... A man who does not know his line of service can never expect to fulfil it, or to pursue it properly. But when he knows that the Lord has given him a distinct charge or line of work, he has a sense of trust as well as the responsibility of trust.
One writer sets Moses' pattern for the tabernacle beside Paul's preaching.
Moses, in his mission to build the tabernacle, had to keep to the pattern God showed him on the mountain. In the same way Paul could preach only what he had seen and heard — only the things he had received from the Lord... The least mixture of human thought or imagination will only corrupt the divine Word.
Moses answers by pointing to his own poor speech (v. 30). But he is measuring the work by the wrong thing.
It is always a fatal mistake to measure the difficulties of service by what we are. The question is what God is. Those difficulties loom like mountains through the mists of our unbelief, but to Him they are nothing — only an occasion to display His almighty power.
The weakness is not wasted.
We also see here the remains of unbelief in Moses; he is of uncircumcised lips, and cannot speak to Pharaoh. God uses this to bring about His own plans, and to put Aaron in his place, and to show where true power was... Yet God uses our weakness, and puts everything in its place through this; he who boasts must boast in the Lord.
- Resumption. Verses 28-30 pick up the command of verses 10-12, and chapter 7 opens with God's answer to Moses' objection.
- Restart. Verses 13-30 are a parenthesis and a new starting point. The preliminary period is over, and the Lord begins again.
- Name. The word spoken that day opens with "I am the LORD" — the name God now takes as the character in which He would act for Israel.
- Charge. A definite commission is where service starts. The messenger keeps to what he received; human additions only corrupt the message.
- Weakness. Measuring service by what we are is the fatal mistake. The question is what God is — and He uses our weakness, so that all boasting is in Him.
that Jehovah spoke to Moses, saying, I am Jehovah speak thou unto Pharaoh king of Egypt all that I say unto thee.
God speaks to Moses again here, and He begins with His own name before He gives the command. Why does the message to Pharaoh rest on that name, and why does Moses answer with an objection about his lips?
This is not a new event. One writer marks off a section that stands apart, and explains why the story goes back and starts over:
From the thirteenth verse to the thirtieth is a parenthesis. It seems to be there for two reasons. First, it is a new point of departure. Exodus 5, and the first part of Exodus 6 are, as we explained, preliminary — a kind of preface... At the same time, Jehovah lays the foundations of His coming action for His people broad and deep in His own character and covenant. That period now passed, the Lord starts again.
The verse says "I am the LORD." Where the ESV prints "the LORD" in capital letters, older translations put the name "Jehovah" — the name these writers use. One writer ties it to the rescue God was about to carry out:
"JEHOVAH" is the title He takes as the Deliverer of His people, on the ground of His covenant of pure and sovereign grace. He reveals Himself as the great self-existing Source of redeeming love. He establishes His counsels, fulfills His promises, and delivers His elect people from every enemy and every evil.
Does this mean nobody had heard the name before? One writer says no:
This does not mean that the word "Jehovah" was unknown. It occurs often in the book of Genesis, in a way that shows it was in use from the beginning. What then is the true meaning? God now takes this name as the revealed character in which He was going to act publicly for the children of Israel. Notice what this means. When our Lord came, Scripture says, He declared the Father. What an absurd inference it would be that the term "Father" had never been known before!
God measures out the message, not the messenger. One writer states the rule for everyone sent with God's word:
If a messenger had no revelation from the Lord on a subject brought before him, he would have to stay silent. A divine messenger must be able to guarantee the truth of his message with the assurance "Thus says the Lord." The principle still holds. If any man speaks, he should speak as "oracles of God." The least mixture of human thought or imagination will only corrupt the divine Word.
A servant can fail in two directions:
It is unworthy of a servant to pare down the message of the Master. Only let him take care that he does not add to His words, nor to the tone in which they should be conveyed.
Moses answers the command by pointing at himself and his own lips. One writer says his mistake was not about himself but about God:
He recalls his old objection. He knew something of his own natural incompetence, but he had not yet learnt that his all-sufficiency lay in the Lord. It is always a fatal mistake to measure the difficulties of service by what we are. The question is what God is. The difficulties appear like mountains through the mists of our unbelief. To Him they are only an occasion to display His omnipotent power.
Circumcision was an outward rite, done to the body. Moses applies the word to his lips instead, and one writer sees in that a grasp of its real meaning:
It is not just an outward rite to be observed, but an inward reality affecting the use of the lips... What God requires is circumcised lips, that is, lips that speak for Him apart from the activity of the flesh.
Moses' hesitation does not stop the mission. One writer traces what God did with it:
We see also here the remains of unbelief in Moses; he is of uncircumcised lips, and cannot speak to Pharaoh. God uses this to bring about His own plans, and put Aaron in his place, and show where true power was... Yet God uses our weakness, and puts everything in its place through this; he that glories must glory in the Lord.
- Name first. God opens with who He is. The message to Pharaoh rests on His covenant, not on the messenger's ability.
- Charge second. The preface ends and the Lord starts again. He lays the foundations of the rescue "broad and deep in His own character and covenant."
- Words third. The servant carries all that God says. He cuts nothing away and adds nothing of his own, since human thought only corrupts the divine Word.
- Weakness fourth. Moses measures the job by himself and shrinks; the fatal mistake is asking what we are instead of what God is.
- Power last. God does not drop the unwilling servant. He uses the weakness to show where the real power lies, so that all boasting belongs to the Lord.
And Moses said before Jehovah, Behold, I am of uncircumcised lips, and how will Pharaoh hearken unto me?
A nation's freedom rests on the voice of Moses, and he answers God with a question about his own mouth. He had raised this objection before, and it puts the real issue plainly: does God's errand depend on the quality of the messenger?
The long family record earlier in the chapter breaks the story. This verse picks the thread up again:
The other tribes of Israel are not covered here, because God is focusing on Israel's two chosen leaders, Moses and Aaron (vv. 26-27). Verses 28-30 refer back to verses 10-12, so the question Moses asks there gets its answer at the start of chapter 7.
Moses had already carried God's message to Israel, and they would not listen. His words about Pharaoh come out of that disappointment — and out of a mistake about where his strength lay:
God sends Moses again to Pharaoh to demand freedom for the people. But the mission to the Israelites had come to nothing, and Moses is discouraged. ... He is unwilling to go on. He falls back on his old objection. He knew something of his own natural inability, but he had not yet learned that all his sufficiency is found in the Lord. It is always a fatal mistake to measure the difficulties of service by what we are. The question is what God is. Difficulties that look like mountains through the mist of our unbelief are nothing to Him. They are only an opportunity for Him to display His almighty power.
Circumcision was an outward rite performed on the body. Moses uses the word of his lips instead:
It is obvious that Moses had grasped the true meaning of circumcision. It is not just an outward rite to keep, but an inward reality that shapes how we use our lips. Was it a feeling of his unworthiness to speak for God that caused Moses to draw back, or was it the fear of man? It is difficult to say. But whatever it was, the vital message for us is that he understood the real meaning of circumcision. What God looks for is circumcised lips — lips that speak for Him apart from the activity of the flesh.
Moses had once gone in his own strength, and forty years passed before that confidence died. What is left here is unbelief, and God puts even that to use:
We see also here the remains of unbelief in Moses; he is of uncircumcised lips, and cannot speak to Pharaoh. God uses it to carry out His own plans, to put Aaron in his place, and to show where true power lay. ... Yet God uses our weakness, and puts all in its place through this; Anyone who boasts must boast in the Lord. It took forty years to cure him of Egyptian confidence in the flesh, even though his heart was right. He had gone in his own strength and will.
God answers the objection with a job. Notice what a definite charge does for a servant:
Forty years earlier he had tried to deliver Israel in his own natural strength, and he suffered so much for it that he now loses heart more easily. The further he goes into service, the more he finds its difficulties and his own lack of the qualities it needs. But the Lord will make His servant perfect and happy in His work. So He now gives Moses and Aaron a charge about the people of Israel and about Pharaoh, king of Egypt: to bring the people of Israel out of the land of Egypt. The charge is the first thing in service. ... A man who does not know his line of service can never expect to carry it out. But when he knows the Lord has given him a definite charge, he feels the trust placed in him and carries the responsibility of that trust.
The answer comes at the start of the next chapter. It changes the standing of Moses, not his speech:
Moses had protested that he was of uncircumcised lips. Yet God assured him that He was making Moses a god to Pharaoh, so Pharaoh would not be able to ignore Moses completely. Aaron was to be Moses' prophet, and would speak everything Moses passed on to him as the command of God.
- Call. The family record interrupts. Verses 28-30 pick up the command of verses 10-12, and the answer to Moses comes in chapter 7.
- Excuse. Moses measures the errand by himself. The fatal mistake is asking what we are instead of what God is.
- Diagnosis. Uncircumcised lips are an inward matter. God looks for lips that speak for Him apart from the activity of the flesh.
- Grace. The hesitation is left-over unbelief. God uses the weakness anyway: He gives Aaron his place and shows where true power lay.
- Commission. A charge from the Lord is the first thing in service. God makes Moses a god to Pharaoh, and the king cannot ignore him.