Exodus 6:6-8
6 “Therefore, say to the Israelites: ‘I am the Lord, and I will bring you out from under the yoke of the Egyptians. I will free you from being slaves to them, and I will redeem you with an outstretched arm and with mighty acts of judgment. 7 I will take you as my own people, and I will be your God. Then you will know that I am the Lord your God, who brought you out from under the yoke of the Egyptians. 8 And I will bring you to the land I swore with uplifted hand to give to Abraham, to Isaac and to Jacob. I will give it to you as a possession. I am the Lord.’”
In Exodus 6:6-8, God made the following promises to the children of Israel. In the same way, if we trust Him wholeheartedly, He will do the same for each one of us!
i) 6:6a God said: I am the Lord
The God whom we worship is the God who created this universe and everything in it, the non-ling things and the living things, including us humans. God introduces Himself to His people. He said, I AM THE LORD! When God appeared to Moses, he asked God’s name and God answered him saying I AM THAT I AM (Exodus 3:14). This means, God introduces Himself as the Lord God Almighty – the Sovereign God. There is none like our Lord God Almighty (Exodus 15:11; Jeremiah 10:6; Psalm 86:8). He is the Lord over everything in this universe for He created the universe and everything in it. Psalm 24:1 says, The earth is the Lord’s, and everything in it, the world, and all who live in it. He changes seasons and appoints mighty kings to reign on earth. Prophet Daniel praised God (Daniel 2:20-22), saying:
20 “Praise be to the name of God for ever and ever; wisdom and power are his. 21 He changes times and seasons; he deposes kings and raises up others. He gives wisdom to the wise and knowledge to the discerning. 22 He reveals deep and hidden things; he knows what lies in darkness, and light dwells with him.
Therefore, let us trust in the Lord and surrender our lives before Him for He is the Lord God Almighty and there is none like Him.
ii) 6:6b God said: I will bring you out from under the labors of the Egyptians
God promised the Children of Israel through His servant Moses that He will bring them out from the labors of the Egyptians. In due time, God fulfilled His promise by bringing them out from the bondage of the Egyptians. Similarly, you and I can be assured that God will fulfill all the promises that are specified in the written Word of God, all of which are applicable to each one of us.
iii) 6:6c God said: I will deliver you from their bondage
God promised the Children of Israel that He will deliver them from their bondage. God kept His promise and delivered them from their bondage – from the bondage under the Egyptians. There are several similar examples recorded in the Bible. For instance, God delivered the Israelites numerous times from their enemies; God delivered Joseph, David, Daniel and many others from their powerful enemies. In a similar manner, if any one of us is suffering under any kind of bondage or addiction or fear, and would like to come out of it, let us ask God for help and pray to Him earnestly, He will certainly deliver us from any such situations.
iv) 6:6d God said: I will also redeem you with an outstretched arm, and with mighty acts of judgment
When God delivered the children of Israel from their slavery under the Egyptians, He not only just freed them from their oppressors but He redeemed them. He redeemed them with outstretched arm and mighty acts of judgment. In the same way, when God delivers us from the bondages under which we are suffering, He will deliver us and redeem us with an outstretched arm and mighty acts so that the world will know that He is Sovereign. So, let us place our trust in Him who is able to deliver us and redeem us. Jesus said, Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest (Matthew 11:28, also refer Psalm 55:22).
v) 6:7a God said: I will take you as My own people
God made a covenant with Abraham that He will bless him, his descendants, and the all the nations of the earth through his offspring. Genesis 12:2-3 states,
2 I will make you into a great nation, and I will bless you;
I will make your name great, and you will be a blessing.
3 I will bless those who bless you, and
whoever curses you I will curse; and
all peoples on earth will be blessed through you.
Later in time, God promised the children of Israel, ‘I will take you as my own people.’ Thus, when God delivered and redeemed the children of Israel from their powerful enemies, He consecrated them for Himself. God made the children of Israel His very own people, and thus, they became His possession. As New Testament believers, we are redeemed by the blood of Christ, and thus, we belong to Jesus who is the Lord and Savior of our life. Jesus said, … Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is one (Mark 12:29; also refer Deuteronomy 6:4). Again, Jesus said in John 10:29-30 that My Father who has given them to Me is greater than all. No one can snatch them out of My Father’s hand. I and the Father are one. Yes, Jesus is the Lord God Almighty and we belong to Him. Therefore, let us intentionally call upon His name and place our trust in Him who is able to deliver us, redeem us, and consecrate us for Himself.
vi) 6:7b God said: I will be your God; and you shall know that I am the Lord your God, who brought you out from under the labors of the Egyptians
God declared to the Children of Israel that I will be your God. The nation of Israel is so privileged to have the Sovereign Lord as their God. When God established His covenant between Himself and Abraham, He assured that He will be their God. Genesis 17:6-8 states:
6 I will make you very fruitful; I will make nations of you, and kings will come from you. 7 I will establish my covenant as an everlasting covenant between me and you and your descendants after you for the generations to come, to be your God and the God of your descendants after you. 8 The whole land of Canaan, where you now reside as a foreigner, I will give as an everlasting possession to you and your descendants after you; and I will be their God.
At the time of Israel’s deliverance from Egyptian slavery, God reassured His promise with the descendants of Abraham that He will be their God. It is not only through Moses that God reminded the Children of Israel that He will be their God (Exodus 6:7), but He repeatedly reminded them through His servants that they will be His people and He will be their God. Below are a few references for our understanding:
*I will dwell among the Israelites and be their God (Exodus 29:45)
*I am the Lord their God (Leviticus 26:44b)
*You will be my people, and I will be your God (Jeremiah 30:22)
*They will be my people, and I will be their God (Jeremiah 32:38)
*They will be my people, and I will be their God, declares the Sovereign Lord (Ezekiel 14:11b)
*I will be their God, and they will be My people (Ezekiel 37:27)
*They will be my people, and I will be faithful and righteous to them as their God (Zechariah 8:8b)
*I will live with them and walk among them, and I will be their God, and they will be my people (2 Corinthians 6:16b)
*I will be their God, and they will be my people (Hebrews 8:10b)
*I will be their God and they will be my children (Revelation 21:7)
As believers of Jesus Christ, we have the assurance that the Lord God Almighty is on our side as the Lord and Savior of our life. King David testified that The Lord is my light and my salvation – whom shall I fear? The Lord is the stronghold of my life – of whom shall I be afraid? As king David trusted in the Lord, let us also trust in the Lord wholeheartedly for He has assured to us of His presence, protection and provision at all times.
vii) 6:8a God said: I will bring you to the land that I swore to give to your forefathers - i.e., Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob
As God promised, He delivered the Children of Israel from their slavery in Egypt and brought them to the place that He promised to their forefathers – Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob – and gave it to them as their own possession. God foretold Abraham that his descendants will be strangers in a foreign country for over four hundred years and then return to the land He promised and possess it as an everlasting possession.
13 Then the Lord said to him, “Know for certain that for four hundred years your descendants will be strangers in a country not their own and that they will be enslaved and mistreated there. 14 But I will punish the nation they serve as slaves, and afterward they will come out with great possessions. 15 You, however, will go to your ancestors in peace and be buried at a good old age. 16 In the fourth generation your descendants will come back here, for the sin of the Amorites has not yet reached its full measure (Genesis 15:13-16).
According to Exodus 12:40-41, the Israelites lived in Egypt about 430 years: Now the length of time the Israelite people lived in Egypt was 430 years. At the end of the 430 years, to the very day, all the Lord’s divisions left Egypt.
It took about 40 years for the Children of Israel to reach the land God promised to their ancestors. At end of forty years of journey in the wilderness, they arrived at the land God promised to their ancestors and occupied the land. Apostle Paul testified that,
17 The God of the people of Israel chose our ancestors; he made the people prosper during their stay in Egypt; with mighty power he led them out of that country; 18 for about forty years he endured their conduct in the wilderness; 19 and he overthrew seven nations in Canaan, giving their land to his people as their inheritance. 20 All this took about 450 years (Acts 13:17-20).
God fulfilled what He promised to Abraham that He will give the land of Canaan as an inheritance to Abraham’s descendants. The Lord God Almighty is a promise keeping God, as mentioned in Psalm 145: 13 … The Lord is trustworthy in all he promises and faithful in all he does. Therefore, let us draw closer to the Lord God who keeps His promises to everyone who trust in Him. Amen!
viii) 6:8b God said: I will give it to you as a possession
God promised Abraham that He will give the whole land of Canaan as an everlasting possession to him and his descendants after him (Genesis 17:8). When God gave the land to the descendants of Abraham, He gave it to them as an everlasting possession. Likewise, when God blesses us with something, He gives it to us as an everlasting possession, which means, it has eternal value. All the other things that we own or possess will be burned up and destroyed in fire when it is tested. So, we need to own or possess only what is beneficial for our spiritual journey, and let go of what is not beneficial for us. We must live a life that is worthy of our call and possess things that have everlasting value. Everything else will be of no value for our spiritual journey. Apostle Paul writes to the Church at Corinth:
10 By the grace God has given me, I laid a foundation as a wise builder, and someone else is building on it. But each one should build with care. 11 For no one can lay any foundation other than the one already laid, which is Jesus Christ. 12 If anyone builds on this foundation using gold, silver, costly stones, wood, hay or straw, 13 their work will be shown for what it is, because the Day will bring it to light. It will be revealed with fire, and the fire will test the quality of each person’s work. 14 If what has been built survives, the builder will receive a reward. 15 If it is burned up, the builder will suffer loss but yet will be saved—even though only as one escaping through the flames (1Corinthians 1:10-15).
As a child of God, we must ask God what we need in our life and possess only what God gives us. At the same time, we must be ready to give up everything else that is in our possession which do not have any eternal value. When God blesses us, He blesses us with the best of the best!
ix) 8 6:8c God said: I am the Lord.
In the beginning of the passage (Exodus 6:6-8), we can see that God introduces Himself as I am the Lord, then continues with what He wanted to communicate to the Children of Israel through Moses. Again, at the end of the passage, we can see that God concluded the message by stating I am the Lord. In this passage, God talks about Israelites’ deliverance from the yoke of their oppressors and what He is going to do for them thereafter. God started and ended His communication with Moses by saying I am the Lord. This shows that whatever God commanded to Moses was very much important for the rest of the journey and life of the Israelites. If they obey His commands, it will bring blessings upon them generation after generation, and if they do not obey His commands, it will bring judgment upon them. This also points to the fact that whether the Israelites remain faithful or not, God will remain faithful at all times. Isaiah 25:1 states that Lord, you are my God; I will exalt you and praise your name, for in perfect faithfulness you have done wonderful things, things planned long ago. Apostle Paul stated in 2 Timothy 2:13 that if we are faithless, he remains faithful, for he cannot disown himself.
Conclusion
As spiritual sojourners on Earth, it is very important to notice what God has to tell us regarding our spiritual life. Jesus said, Remain in me, as I also remain in you. No branch can bear fruit by itself; it must remain in the vine. Neither can you bear fruit unless you remain in me (John 15:4). As we advance in our spiritual journey, let us remain in the Lord as He promised to remain in us. Apostle Peter responded precisely to the question Jesus asked the twelve: “Do you want to go away as well? Simon Peter answered him, Lord, to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life, and we have believed, and have come to know, that you are the Holy One of God (John 6:67-69). God is the only one upon whom we can unwaveringly trust in our spiritual journey. He will never leave us nor forsake us (Deuteronomy 31:6b; Hebrews 13:5). God said, I am the Lord. Amen!
