Exodus 6:9-30

October 15, 2014

God sent Moses to Egypt to demand freedom for the Israelites. The people believed, but
they quickly lost heart after Pharaoh rejected Moses and increased their labors. They
blamed Moses for their new trouble, and Moses questioned God for sending him on such
an impossible task. God, however, was patient in his response and promised that he
would change Pharaohs mind with his own strong hand. The Israelites were about to see
the next phase of the plan in the promise to the fathers, and they received a new name
for God in it: YHWH. He is the King, Creator, Redeemer, and Savior of his people, and he
will lead them out of Egypt and into the promised land.

Now we come to verse nine:

And Moses spake so unto the children of Israel: but they hearkened not unto Moses for
anguish of spirit, and for cruel bondage.

Moses told the new name to the people and promised freedom, but they were so
discouraged by their outward trials that they wouldnt hear him about it. This sets us up
for what comes next:

10
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.
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?
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.

Moses has already been to see Pharaoh once and it backfired. The Israelites wont listen,
so why should Pharaoh? The reason he believes hes been unsuccessful is because he has
uncircumcised lips. This expression is hard to understand, and it doesnt show up
anywhere else (apart from verse thirty), but I dont think well understand the main
point until we deal with it.

It might help to remember that circumcision is the sign of the covenant between God and
Abraham to show that God will multiply Abraham through seed. Abraham tried to
produce that seed on his own through Ishmael, but God rejected him, gave circumcision
as a constant reminder that Abraham must put away the works of the flesh, and delivered
Isaac as promised. Moses knew that story, but he grew up in an Egyptian household then
ran away into the desert for 40 years. He suddenly comes back one day, and I dont think
its too much to say that he didnt feel like he fit in. Hes not really an Egyptian or an
Israelite, so how could he be expected to be the spokesman?

If youll skip down to verse 30 youll see that its recorded again, so that 12 and 30 serve
as bookends to the verses in between. This is important because it shows us the issue
being addressed in these verses. Moses doesnt fit in and he knows it, but God hasnt
called him because of his earthly associations or abilities; Moses is Gods prophet, and
hes a part of this family by birth:

14
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 fathers 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 Aarons 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.

Theres some debate about some of the particulars of this genealogy, but the bottom line
is that it shows how Moses belongs to Israel. More importantly it ties Moses to Levi and
ultimately to the priesthood; he was a part of that family who lived and served in and
around the tabernacle:

Of Gershon was the family of the Libnites, and the family of the Shimites: these are the families
of the Gershonites.
22
Those that were numbered of them, according to the number of all the
males, from a month old and upward, even those that were numbered of them were seven
thousand and five hundred.
23
The families of the Gershonites shall pitch behind the
tabernacle westward.
24
And the chief of the house of the father of the Gershonites shall be
Eliasaph the son of Lael.
25
And the charge of the sons of Gershon in the tabernacle of the
congregation shall be the tabernacle, and the tent, the covering thereof, and the hanging for
the door of the tabernacle of the congregation,
26
And the hangings of the court, and the
curtain for the door of the court, which is by the tabernacle, and by the altar round about,
and the cords of it for all the service thereof.

27
And of Kohath was the family of the Amramites, and the family of the Izeharites, and the
family of the Hebronites, and the family of the Uzzielites: these are the families of the
Kohathites.
28
In the number of all the males, from a month old and upward, were eight
thousand and six hundred, keeping the charge of the sanctuary.
29
The families of the sons of
Kohath shall pitch on the side of the tabernacle southward.
30
And the chief of the house of the
father of the families of the Kohathites shall be Elizaphan the son of Uzziel.
31
And their charge
shall be the ark, and the table, and the candlestick, and the altars, and the vessels of the
sanctuary wherewith they minister, and the hanging, and all the service thereof.
32
And
Eleazar the son of Aaron the priest shall be chief over the chief of the Levites, and have
the oversight of them that keep the charge of the sanctuary.

33
Of Merari was the family of the Mahlites, and the family of the Mushites: these are the
families of Merari.
34
And those that were numbered of them, according to the number of all
the males, from a month old and upward, were six thousand and two hundred.
35
And the chief
of the house of the father of the families of Merari was Zuriel the son of Abihail: these shall
pitch on the side of the tabernacle northward.
36
And under the custody and charge of the sons
of Merari shall be the boards of the tabernacle, and the bars thereof, and the pillars thereof,
and the sockets thereof, and all the vessels thereof, and all that serveth thereto,
37
And the
pillars of the court round about, and their sockets, and their pins, and their cords.

38
But those that encamp before the tabernacle toward the east, even before the tabernacle of
the congregation eastward, shall be Moses, and Aaron and his sons, keeping the charge of the
sanctuary for the charge of the children of Israel; and the stranger that cometh nigh shall be
put to death.

Remember that the presence of the Levites prevented Gods wrath from falling onto the
community, and here we see they surround the tabernacle. The one place on earth
designated as a meeting place with God is surrounded by his priests, and Moses camps at
the most prominent place with the high priest and his sons! Theyre stationed to the east
in front of the tent of meeting.

Interestingly, its not a complete list, but he includes several famous Levites at the end of
the genealogy: Nadab and his brother, Abihu, were Aarons sons and served as priests.
Theyre most well known for offering strange fire before God resulting in their deaths
(Lev. 10:1-2), yet they were priests nonetheless.

Also in this list are the descendants of Korah. He led a coup against Moses and his life
ended when the ground opened beneath his feet and swallowed him whole (Num. 16:1-3;
31-35). Pretty much everything connected to him perished as well, but later we learn
that his children survived (Num. 26:11). This line of priests went on to do some
wonderful things and even wrote more than 20 Psalms.

Finally, we also find Phineas. Israel committed idolatry with the Moabites and God
commanded Moses to kill the guilty parties. Phineas was one of the men who responded
when he went into a tent and killed an Israelite man and the Midianite woman he was
with. God says that his wrath turned away because of it, and as a reward he gave Phineas
a covenant of peace: and he shall have it, and his seed after him, even the covenant of an
everlasting priesthood; because he was zealous for his God, and made an atonement for the
children of Israel (Num. 25:6-13).

Moses feels unworthy and like he doesnt belong, but God included him in this family of
priests who were commanded to serve regardless of their personal conditions or
abilities.

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.
28
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?

Well, the answer to that question is found in 7:1; God is the one who calls and gives the
message. Moses is Gods prophet, and he has everything he needs. It doesnt matter how
he feels or what he thinks of himself. Pharaoh will comply because God is the power
behind the message.

Now lets think of that with practical application for ourselves. Who are we that anyone
should listen to us? We have no power over Satan and no authority over sin or death, but
God has given us the gospel that we should preach it. We might be like Moses and feel
unworthy, but were reminded that were included in this priesthood by birth and not by
associations or abilities.

Wherefore laying aside all malice, and all guile, and hypocrisies, and envies, all evil speakings,
2
As newborn babes, desire the sincere milk of the word, that ye may grow thereby:
3
If so be ye
have tasted that the Lord is gracious.
4
To whom coming, as unto a living stone, disallowed
indeed of men, but chosen of God, and precious,
5
Ye also, as lively stones, are built up a
spiritual house, an holy priesthood, to offer up spiritual sacrifices, acceptable to God by Jesus
Christ.
6
Wherefore also it is contained in the scripture, Behold, I lay in Sion a chief corner
stone, elect, precious: and he that believeth on him shall not be confounded.
7
Unto you
therefore which believe he is precious: but unto them which be disobedient, the stone which
the builders disallowed, the same is made the head of the corner,
8
And a stone of stumbling,
and a rock of offence, even to them which stumble at the word, being disobedient: whereunto
also they were appointed.
9
But ye are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, an holy nation,
a peculiar people; that ye should shew forth the praises of him who hath called you out of
darkness into his marvellous light;
10
Which in time past were not a people, but are now the
people of God: which had not obtained mercy, but now have obtained mercy (1 Pt. 2:1-10).

Take note that this priesthood offers acceptable sacrifices by Jesus Christ. You see, where
Moses had honor among the priests, and where Aaron was the high priest, Jesus is
greater and his honor is more.

By so much was Jesus made a surety of a better testament.
23
And they truly were many
priests, because they were not suffered to continue by reason of death:
24
But this man,
because he continueth ever, hath an unchangeable priesthood.
25
Wherefore he is able also to
save them to the uttermost that come unto God by him, seeing he ever liveth to make
intercession for them.
26
For such an high priest became us, who is holy, harmless, undefiled,
separate from sinners, and made higher than the heavens;
27
Who needeth not daily, as those
high priests, to offer up sacrifice, first for his own sins, and then for the peoples: for this he
did once, when he offered up himself.
28
For the law maketh men high priests which have
infirmity; but the word of the oath, which was since the law, maketh the Son, who is
consecrated for evermor (Heb. 7:22-28).

Let us speak with confidence and find rest in our Priest who is better than all!

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