Did you take note of the number of times the phrase “I am the LORD” appeared as you read Exodus 6 today?

This phrase appeared five times in this chapter, and the original language of “Lord” is “Yahweh“, God’s divine name. Now, God’s divine name is not new to Moses, therefore the repetition in this chapter is surely not to demonstrate the newness of the name. Instead, the repetition of “I am Yahweh”, not just in this chapter, but throughout Exodus, is to demonstrate that Yahwah is not just the God of the patriarchs, but also the saving God who will bring the Israelites out of Egypt.

And so, here in this chapter, we see God instructing Moses to go to the Israelites to tell them of His character and presence, and to speak God’s promise to them, that He will bring them out, free them from slavery and redeem them. And in so doing, that the Israelites will know that Yahweh has delivered them (verse 7).

The Israelites, however, did not listen to Moses, because their present reality did not allow them to believe that God can do what He said he would (verse 9).

Then, the Lord told Moses to go to Pharaoh to tell him to let the Israelites go out of Egypt. As we see in Moses’ response, neither could He believe that God was able to do what He said He would. He, too, was unable to see past the present situation.

It is at this point in the narrative that we read a genealogy of Moses and Aaron (verses 14-25). What is this genealogy doing here, especially when it seems to disrupt the flow of the narrative? As we read on, we realise that verses 28-30 are a repetition of verses 10-12. In both sets of verses, God commanded Moses to go to Pharaoh, and both times, Moses reminded God that he was of uncircumcised lips – that he had a problem speaking.

These two passages are not separate events, but the same, and therefore, these two passages are an effort to sandwich the genealogy, suggesting that the genealogy is therefore purposeful. As we read the genealogy, we see that it began as any genealogy would, starting from the eldest son, Reuben, the second son Simeon, and then the third son, Levi. The author has began to draw the link back to the patriarch Jacob through the mentioning of his sons. But the author stops at Levi, and continues to develop the line, through which Aaron was from, and stopping at Phinehas, a highly regarded figure in the Old Testament (Numbers 25:1-17, Joshua 22:1-34).

The clear focus of the genealogy is the Levitical lineage from Levi to Phinehas, to establish Aaron and Moses as from the tribe of Levi, as well as to establish Aaron as a worthy partner in the deliverance of Israel from Egypt. But more so that that, in drawing the link back to the patriarchs and ending with two generations after Aaron, the insertion of the genealogy suggests that the author was trying place the Exodus event in a broad historical perspective – That God’s purpose reaches backward and forward, and that He was the God of the past, the present and the future.

Yahweh, God of the patriarchs, saving and redeeming God, is also the God of the past, the present, and the future. Dear brothers and sisters, whatever situation we are in at present, may we be able to trust in the sovereignty of our Lord, who is in control of history, who is in control of our present, and who will be in control in our future. He will definitely be able to do what He said He would. May we be able to trust in Him, and to know that our Lord who loves us, will save us.

Dear Lord, thank you, for showing that you are a God of my past, my present and my future. Thank you for saving and redeeming me, and I trust in your sovereign control. In Jesus’ name, I pray, Amen.