This blog post will cover the devotionals #29, 30 for Exodus Chapter 6.
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[29] Exodus 6:1-9,11-13,28-30
God told Moses who He was after he complained that He hadn’t delivered the people. “I am the Lord…God Almighty…Jehovah.” He gave different names—on top of already having said, “I AM THAT I AM.” (‘to exist / breathe’), but they were all representative of His characteristics: ‘The Lord’ (‘self-existent / eternal’), ‘God Almighty’ (‘powerful diety’), ‘Jehovah’ (‘the self-existent / eternal’). Why did He use these titles, out of the hundreds used to describe God? They’d be working to deliver the people from the gods that Satan used to counterfeit God—but He alone was / is the only God because of those very characteristics. He also reminded Moses of His promise to the patriarchs (Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob) to give them Canaan. He told Moses He’d heard Israel’s prayers in their bondage, and that He intended to keep His promise—and He’d do it in such a way that they, too, would know who He is, and that He was their God. He left no room for Moses to continue in doubt, and he needed to relay the same information to the people. When he did, they wouldn’t listen. They were discouraged and beaten down in their affliction. It seemed like Pharaoh’s plot to distract and deter them from pursuing and obeying God was working. God allowed things to get worse before delivering them—because many of them were still attached to Egypt and unwilling to leave. As Pharaoh became more tyrannical, and God’s power and goodness became more evident, they’d finally realize that it was time to go—regardless of any difficulty they might face in moving to a new land. Pharaoh had defied God, just as He said he’d do. The people blamed Moses. Moses got overwhelmed and questioned God. Now God would follow through on the original plan to convince Pharaoh of Who He was, and what He was capable of. Verse 1 says “Now you will see what I will do to Pharaoh: he will let them go with a strong hand, and he will drive them out of his land with a strong hand.” God told Moses to return to Pharaoh and tell him (again) to let Israel go. Moses was doubtful. He’d spoken with Israel itself—the people to be delivered—and they wouldn’t even listen. Why would Pharaoh—their captor—listen to him then? God stayed firm, though, stating that both Israel and Pharaoh must comply in the deliverance. Moses said that he (himself) was a man of uncircumcised lips, and that Pharaoh wouldn’t listen. In devotional #31, we’ll see how God responded.
[30] Exodus 6:14-27
In this chapter, God gave some lineage. Reuben had four sons. Simeon had six. Levi had three sons, and lived to be 137 years of age. His sons’ names were Gershon (who had two sons himself), Kohath (who had four sons), and Merari (who had two sons). Kohath’s son, Amram, married his aunt, Jochebed (Kohath’s sister), and they had two sons, Aaron and Moses, preceded by their sister, Miriam. Some of Kohath’s sons also had sons: Izhar had three sons, Uzziel had three. Izhar’s son, Korah, had three of his own sons. Now, Aaron married Elisheba, who was the daughter of Amminadab, and the sister of Naashon. They had four sons (which we’ll hear much more about later on), Nadab and Abihu, and Eleazar and Ithamar. Eleazar married one of Putiel’s daughters, and had their son, Phinehas. The Bible doesn’t seem to mention Putiel anywhere (nor the name of his daughter). This chapter also doesn’t mention where Amminadab, Naashon, or Elisheba came from, so we need to dig a little more. 1 Chronicles 6:22 tells us that Levi’s son, Kohath, fathered Amminadab (though that isn’t mentioned in this chapter for some reason). That whole chapter shows a much deeper look at the lines of some of Levi’s sons. However, Ruth 4:18-20 shows us that Amminadab was the son of Ram, one of Judah’s early grandchildren. This is a different Amminadab entirely, and from a different tribe. It does seem to confirm that Aaron’s wife came from the tribe of Judah, rather than from Levi, since this same passage states that this Amminadab fathered Nahshon—which is much like Aaron’s brother-in-law’s name, Naashon (Exodus 6:23). Numbers 1:7 tells us similarly. Luke 3:32 shows the same genealogy as Ruth, but spells his name there as Naasson. As we’ve seen in many other instances (throughout Genesis), names are often spelled differently in different passages. What I do find very interesting, though, is that of the twelve tribes, only three are mentioned (whether briefly, or more extensively) in this chapter—and one that had great importance (not just for the lineage of Aaron’s wife, but also of someone even greater) was not mentioned. The passage states that these were the heads of the Levite families that led to the lives of Moses and Aaron, whom God called to lead the people out of Egypt.
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