An Exposition of Exodus 4:18–6:8
Introduction
What is the most vital prerequisite for effectiveness in God’s service? How would you answer that question?
Throughout history, both of the nation Israel as well as the Christian church, there is scattered a host of heroes who by any standard must be graded effective servants of God. There is no doubt how most of them would answer this question.
It is a personal knowledge of God for ourselves. One can know a great deal about God without knowing God. One can even know a great deal about godliness without much knowledge of God. But one cannot be a really effective servant of God apart from a personal knowledge of God for himself.
This explains the early chapters of Exodus. As a young child Moses had been taught about God, but that was hardly sufficient. At forty years of age, the Lord led him to the desert of Midian to shepherd a flock of sheep. For forty years he was in relative seclusion and then he experienced the spectacular phenomenon of the burning bush. What had been happening? The servant was growing in his personal knowledge of God.
Having received his commission from God and permission from Jethro, his father-in-law, Moses started out on his epoch-making mission. Moses’ first steps as a Servant of God, Savior of Israel, led him into three encounters with God, each of which is designed to enhance his personal knowledge of God. First,
Moses Before God in Midian, 4:21-23
And the Lord said to Moses, “When you go back to Egypt see that you perform before Pharaoh all the wonders which I have put in your power; but I will harden his heart so that he will not let the people go. Then you shall say to Pharaoh, ‘Thus says the Lord, Israel is My son, My first-born. So I said to you, Let My son go, that he may serve Me; but you have refused to let him go. Behold, I will kill your son, your first-born’” (Exodus 4:21–23).
Here is a revelation calculated to lead Moses into a personal knowledge that GOD IS ABSOLUTELY SOVEREIGN. The sovereignty of God is seen here on two levels.
God’s Sovereignty in History, 4:21
I will harden his heart so that he will not let the people go (4:21).The hardening of Pharaoh’s heart has been a problem to Bible students for centuries. What can we say about it?
It was a hardening.
Three different Hebrew words are used to describe the condition attributed to Pharaoh:
- kaḇēd (כָּד) — “to be heavy, insensible or dull” (7:14; 8:15[11], 32[28]; 9:7, 34; 10:1).
- qās̆āh (קָשָׁה) — “being hard, severe, or fierce” (7:3; 13:15).
- ḥāzaq (חָזַק) — “to be or grow firm, strong, rigid, hard” (4:21; 7:13, 22; 8:19[15]; 9:12, 35; 10:20, 27; 11:10; 14:4, 8).
This does not refer to his emotions, as in English, but rather to his mind, intellect, will, and response.
It was a sovereign act of God.
God did it. He hardened Pharaoh’s heart. It is clearly so stated: 4:21; 7:3; 9:12; 10:1, 20, 27; 11:10; 14:4, 8, 17. This was an act of God. Paul uses it in Romans 9 as an illustration of the absolute power and inscrutable will of God.
It does not deny the reality and moral responsibility of the human agent involved.
Frequently we read that Pharaoh hardened his own heart and resisted the demands of God (7:13, 14, 22; 8:15, 19, 32; 9:7, 34–35; 13:15). Obviously, he refused to acknowledge the power and will of God. He stands responsible before God for his action. Yet, before the encounter begins, before Moses leaves Midian, God says, “I will harden his heart.”
It was a judicial act of God.
The hardening of the heart of any man who has resisted God’s will is one way that God judges sin. He reserves the right to judge sin and the sinner in any way, at any time that He sees fit.
While it is true that God desires all men to repent and be saved (cf. Ezek. 33:11, I Tim. 2:4, II Pet. 3:9), it is equally true that God reserves the right to judge sin and the sinner whenever He desires. The sinner is subject to the wrath of God at any point in his life. The fact of the matter is, God has the right to judge sin in any way He so desires the first time one commits a sin. It is really the mercy of God that allows the sinner to continue to live. [2]
God’s just and righteous judgment upon sinful Pharaoh was a judicial hardening of his heart. No man is lost forever because God hardens his heart. Rather, God hardens his heart because he is lost, because he is a rebellious sinner.
It was a purposeful act of God.
“I will harden his heart so that he will not let the people go,” that is, let them go on the three day retreat into the desert to worship and sacrifice (5:1, 3). This is the request Moses would make. It was a modest and reasonable request. But God said He would harden Pharaoh’s heart so he would not let them go on their retreat. This would precipitate the plagues which would bring Pharaoh to the point of thrusting them forth permanently from the land. God caused the hardening, then, to fulfill His purpose for a complete delivery from Egypt. This was the way God accomplished His purposes for Israel (cf. Rom. 9:17; Josh. 11:20).
God’s Sovereignty in Election, 4:22-23
Israel is My son, My first-born (4:22).
In the culture of the ancient world, the first-born was the choicest, the special and sacred child. To say Israel is God’s first-born is to say they are His chosen people. God’s choice of Israel as His people was an act of sovereign election, an act which illustrates His sovereign election of individuals to salvation (Rom. 9).
If Pharaoh will not give God’s first-born up to God, then Pharaoh’s own first-born must die instead. So it was on that first Passover evening (Ex. 12:29).
God is absolutely sovereign, not only in history but also in election. It is one thing to read of it. It is another thing to be taught it. But a personal knowledge of God as absolute sovereign is a vital prerequisite to real effectiveness in the service of God.
He is supreme. He is number one. He will run the affairs of this universe. He has the right to rule and govern this universe which He made for His own glory, just as He pleases. He is under no rule or law outside His own will or nature. He is under obligation to no one. He is supreme. This ought to be the first thing that comes into our minds when we think about God!
God so reveals Himself to Moses in Midian that this aspect of God will become part of his personal knowledge of God. With this thought lingering in his mind, Moses begins to wend his way back to Egypt. With him is Zipporah, his wife, as well as Gershom and Eliezer, his two sons. En route to Egypt we find them spending a night in a little roadside shelter provided by the way for travelers. Here is his second encounter with God.
Moses Before God En Route to Egypt, 4:24-27
Now it came about at the lodging place on the way that the Lord met him and sought to put him to death. Then Zipporah took a flint and cut off her son’s foreskin and threw it at Moses’ feet, and she said, “You are indeed a bridegroom of blood to me.” So He let him alone. At that time she said, “You are a bridegroom of blood” — because of the circumcision (Exodus 4:24–26).
Here is a revelation calculated to lead Moses into a personal knowledge that GOD IS PERFECTLY HOLY.
Moses is stricken down by God. His life is in danger. And why? He has too long ignored an important matter. He has neglected to circumcise his son. Yahweh was about to fulfill His covenant to Abraham, but the sign of that covenant was circumcision, and this the son of Moses has not received. Apparently it was because of the objections of Zipporah that the son had not been circumcised. Grudgingly, she performs the rite of circumcision, not from any desire to obey the God of Moses, but primarily out of practical necessity to save his life.
What a lesson for every father! Although it was apparently Zipporah who resisted the ordinance of God, nevertheless, it was Moses, not Zipporah, whom the Lord sought to kill. Moses was the head of the house and is held responsible by God. Seeking to accommodate his wife, he incurred the wrath of God.
More than that, before God allowed Moses to go and minister publicly to Israel, He first required him to set his own house in order. Not until he had attended to his home and family was Moses qualified for his ministry in Egypt (cf. 1 Tim. 3:4).
What a lesson for every servant of God! As Moses fights for his life, he is reminded anew of the holiness of the One whom he serves. A personal knowledge of the holiness of God is a vital prerequisite for effectiveness in the service of God.
Apparently this was communicated to Martin Luther in an unusual way when he was saying his very first mass. He says he trembled because he recognized the holiness of God. He was so moved by this recognition he was unable to complete the mass. He never recovered from this experience. He was marked for life with his knowledge of God in His holiness. Has that attribute worked on your life? Such men flee from sin, judge sin, confess sin, abhor sin. Little wonder they are effective servants of God.
If Moses’ first encounter with God was in Midian and the second was en route to Egypt, the third was in Egypt itself.
Moses Before God in Egypt, 5:1-6:8
Once the child was circumcised, Moses was healed. Zipporah and the two boys were sent back to Jethro. Moses met Aaron, his older brother, and together they moved to Egypt. There he was introduced to the leaders in Israel as God’s leader for the nation. Special signs confirmed the message of Aaron that Moses was the servant of God. The people believed the report and Moses was gladly and unanimously hailed as leader. Now the stage was set for round one between Pharaoh and Moses. Exodus chapter five tells the story.
The Request of Moses, 5:1
And afterward Moses and Aaron came and said to Pharaoh, “Thus says the Lord, the God of Israel, ‘Let My people go that they may celebrate a feast to Me in the wilderness.’”
This request for the release of Israel that they might celebrate a feast to their God, Yahweh, in the wilderness was modest and reasonable.
The Response of Pharaoh, 5:2-19
The answer of Pharaoh is an emphatic negative. He refuses to recognize the name of Yahweh or the request brought in His name. “But Pharaoh said, ‘Who is the Lord that I should obey His voice to let Israel go? I do not know the Lord, and besides, I will not let Israel go’” (5:2). The request was repeated more precisely. Specifically it was only for a three days’ journey into the wilderness that they were asking. “Then they said, ‘The God of the Hebrews has met with us. Please, let us go a three days’ journey into the wilderness that we may sacrifice to the Lord our God, lest He fall upon us with pestilence or with the sword’” (5:3). Pharaoh interprets their request to be the offspring of idleness. “Because they are lazy, therefore they cry out, ‘Let us go and sacrifice to our God’” (5:8). He determined to solve the problem by eliminating their idleness. He refused to provide the chopped straw normally used for reinforcing the sun-dried brick. From here on, they had to gather their own materials. “You are no longer to give the people straw to make brick as previously; let them go and gather straw for themselves. But the quota of bricks which they were making previously, you shall impose on them; you are not to reduce any of it” (5:7–8a). It was a stroke of diabolical genius. The quota remained fixed. To meet the quota, more Hebrews must now be involved. They were forced to scatter to find the necessary supplies. The work time needed to meet the quota was greatly increased. There would be no idle moments now for them to dream up such schemes. To fall short of the quota was to bring a beating upon the Hebrew foremen.
The Reaction of the Israelites, 5:20-21
When they [the Israelites] left Pharaoh’s presence, they met Moses and Aaron as they were waiting for them. And they said to them, “May the Lord look upon you and judge you, for you have made us odious in Pharaoh’s sight and in the sight of his servants, to put a sword in their hand to kill us” (5:20–21).
Moses offers them no answer. Quietly he withdraws for his third encounter with God.
The Retreat of Moses, 5:22-6:8
Before the God who sent him, Moses brought his case. He did not surrender the cause. He was not irreverent or insubordinate, but he was deeply perplexed by the turn of events. He says:
O Lord, why hast Thou brought harm to this people? Why didst Thou ever send me? Ever since I came to Pharaoh to speak in Thy name, he has done harm to this people; and Thou hast not delivered Thy people at all (5:22–23).
What can God do to encourage His servant whose faith is frustrated? What better can He do than give Moses a further revelation of Himself? He does just that in 6:1–8.
Here is a revelation calculated to lead Moses into a personal knowledge that GOD IS COMPLETELY FAITHFUL.
God spoke further to Moses and said to him, “I am the Lord; and I appeared to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, as God Almighty, but by My name, LORD [Yahweh], I did not make Myself known to them” (6:2–3).
This does not mean that the name of Yahweh was never previously used by the Israelites or given by God to them. It does mean that the special significance of that name had not been manifested to them as He was now about to make it manifest.
And what is the special significance of that name? It is that He is the God of the covenant, the covenant-keeping God. It is that He is true to His promises — completely faithful. This is clearly implied in the verses that follow — verses 4–8.
And I also established My covenant with them, to give them the land of Canaan, the land in which they sojourned. And furthermore I have heard the groaning of the sons of Israel, because the Egyptians are holding them in bondage; and I have remembered My covenant. Say, therefore, to the sons of Israel, “I am the LORD, and I will bring you out from under the burdens of the Egyptians, and I will deliver you from their bondage. I will also redeem you with an outstretched arm and with great judgments. Then I will take you for My people, and I will be your God; and you shall know that I am the LORD your God, who brought you out from under the burdens of the Egyptians. And I will bring you to the land which I swore to give to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, and I will give it to you for a possession; I am the LORD” (6:4–8).
Note carefully that verses 6–8 begin and end with the declaration “I am the LORD.” I am Yahweh. Between these two statements are seven promises, each of which begins with “I will.” These promises are inherent in His covenant with Abraham. Now to a perplexed and frustrated Moses God says, “I will do it. I will be completely faithful to my covenant promises. I am Yahweh. The special significance of that name is about to be manifested to you.” What a word of encouragement. What a revelation of God. He is completely faithful to His Word. To have such a personal knowledge of God is a vital prerequisite for effectiveness in the service of God.
Adoniram Judson preached to the Buddhists in Burma for six years without a convert. Every first Sunday he and his devoted wife would celebrate the Lord’s Supper and would say at the conclusion, “We are the church of Jesus in Burma.” Somebody wrote to Mr. Judson, after he had been there five years, to know what were the prospects for the conversion of the heathen. He answered, “As bright as the promises of God.” He had a personal knowledge that God is completely faithful!
Conclusion
What is the most vital prerequisite for effectiveness in God’s service? It is surely a personal knowledge of God for ourselves.
J. I. Packer in his great book, Knowing God, says four things of those who know God:
- They have great energy for God.
- They have great thoughts of God.
- They show great boldness for God.
- They have great contentment in God. [3]
And yet, one of the deepest concerns of my soul is that there might be some readers who have not even taken the first step toward knowing God. In your sin, you are estranged from Him. You do not know Him. Worse, you stand under His solemn and just condemnation.
How can such a one come to know God in a personal way? It is through trusting the One who has dealt with the problem of your sin. It is through receiving Jesus Christ personally as your Savior. It is He who says, “I am the way, the truth, and the life; no one comes to the Father, but through Me” (John 14:6).
Notes
- Emmaus alumnus Bill McRae, well-known Bible expositor, author, and educator, presently serves as Chancellor of Ontario Bible College and Seminary. This is the fourth in a series of expositions on the Book of Exodus.
- John J. Davis, Moses and the Gods of Egypt, 2d ed. (Grand Rapids: Baker Book House, 1986), 78.
- J. I. Packer, Knowing God (Downers Grove, Ill.: Inter Varsity Press, 1973), 23–27.
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