Who Is YHWH? I. The return of Moses and Aaron A. Chiasm: acceptance turns to rejection A: Acceptance by Israelites B: Fruitless appeal to Pharaoh C: Suffering under Pharaoh B : Fruitless appeal to Pharaoh A : Rejection by Israelites 1. The fickle acceptance of Moses. Living NOT by faith BUT by sight a) Moses does the signs and the people believe Apparently not even two signs were enough [see Ex. 4:8] for these people who were living by sight. That, of course, becomes a major theme of the exodus event: the people of Israel frequently lived by sight and not by faith they believe because of physical manifestations. (Currid, 119) 2. Moses fruitless appeal a) Thus says the LORD This rare (Childs, 105) expression mimics an Egyptian idiom which was commonly used to introduce the commands of that god- and as such nothing they could have said would have displayed more authority and confidence. (Enns, 152) b) Pharaoh is unimpressed; he will NOT let Israel go! The construction of this clause is the definitive no followed by an imperfect. It is the strongest possible negative in Hebrew. (Currid, 122) 3. Moses seeks rest- Pharaoh gives work Exodus 4:27 7:5, page 1
a) This should not be a surprise to anyone- God said He was going to harden Pharaoh s heart. 4. Israel s fruitless appeal a) The Foreman appeal to Pharaoh instead of the LORD Then the foremen of the people of Israel came and cried to Pharaoh, Why do you treat your servants like this? [Ex. 5:15] During those many days the king of Egypt died, and the people of Israel groaned because of their slavery and cried out for help. Their cry for rescue from slavery came up to God. [Ex. 2:23] 5. The rejection of Moses The LORD look on you and judge is the traditional prayer of the innocent sufferer (Cole, 83) But suffering, according to the apostle Peter in I Peter 4:7 has the purpose that our faith may be found to result in praise and glory and honor at the revelation of Jesus Christ. (Motyer, 97) And these are the ones sown on rocky ground: the ones who, when they hear the word, immediately receive it with joy. And they have no root in themselves, but endure for a while; then, when tribulation or persecution arises on account of the word, immediately they fall away. [Mk 4:16 17] B. What went wrong? 1. The wrong delegation a) Where are the elders? 2. The wrong approach a) Reliving the seminal sin- adding to and subtracting from God s command. (1) What God said: And they will listen to your voice, and you and the elders of Israel shall go to the king of Egypt and say to him, The LORD, the Exodus 4:27 7:5, page 2
God of the Hebrews, has met with us; and now, please let us go a three days' journey into the wilderness, that we may sacrifice to the LORD our God. [Ex 3:18] (2) What Moses said: Thus says the LORD let my people go [Ex. 5:1] 3. The wrong terminology a) Hebrew vs. Israelite 4. The wrong request a) The request to leave for a few days would be considered normal (Cole, 80 81; Enns, 153; Jacob s funeral in Genesis 50). Moses made an absolute demand for national emancipation. (Motyer, 99) C. Moses knows the solution 1. He turns to the LORD, but he is still impetuous. II. Pharaoh and Moses seem to ask the same question- Who is the LORD? This is the culminating point of the first part of Exodus- which is dominated by the theme of coming to a personal knowledge of God. (Alexander 2002, 159) A. And HE S got an answer. I am YHWH. The divine answer is short and to the point. There is no reference whatever to the past failure, but only a word for the future.yhwh will now demonstrate what real power is like. (Childs, 107) The Name YHWH I am who I am implies It is for me to decide when and how I will be actively present. (Motyer, 101) 1. The ancient promises are brought together and so as to explain what I am the LORD means. (Kaiser, 341) YHWH, Who a) appeared to Abraham, Isaac and Jacob b) established His covenant with them Exodus 4:27 7:5, page 3
c) remembered His covenant d) will bring them out from under the burdens of the Egyptians and into their land. [Ex. 6:2 8] e) and will redeem His people and make them His own (1) their Gā al, who knows and possesses His people and is ready to pay whatever price is needed in order to implement His next-ofkin right to redeem them and to take upon Himself all their needs as His own. (Motyer, 105) (2) The Immanuel Principle (Currid, 140) which finds its fulfillment in Jesus, our Emmanuel. III. The Sidebar- why a genealogy? A. Establishes the pedigree of (Moses) and Aaron, and highlights the purposefulness of God and His plan to redeem Israel. Moreover, the genealogy ends with the grandson of Aaron, Phineas, a fact that suggests that the author s view is not only past but future as well God s purpose reaches backward and forward. (Enns, 177) B. THESE are the Aaron and Moses. [Ex 6:26] IV. A chiasm and a cliffhanger A: Moses transmits YHWH s word B: YHWH is sovereign over his words B : YHWH is sovereign Egyptian actions &results A : Will Moses be obedient A. Though Moses has unclean lips [Ex 6:30] (like Isaiah 6:4) YHWH makes him God. 1. Who is it in the Bible who, more than any other, receives God s absolute imprimatur and who was sent by God for a special mission of deliverance Yet Exodus 4:27 7:5, page 4
Christ s ministry, as that of Moses, is beset with resistance, both from outside and from within. (Enns, 163) 2. Moses is a powerful reminder of what was lost in the garden, but likewise of what is to come in Israel s history. Moses is the most striking Old Testament example of regaining the glory that humanity once had in the garden as the bearers of God s image Christ embodies what it means to be truly human not so much by His frailty and other human characteristics, but by His exemplifying what God intended for humanity: perfect image-bearers. Christ fulfills the ideal hinted at in the life of Moses (Enns, 183) B. His words will not move Pharaoh whose heart is hard. V. A question answered who is YHWH?!? [Ex 5:2] A. The Egyptians shall know that I am YHWH and some will believe [Ex 9:20, 12:38] B. Perhaps the great irony of all this, as we will see later, is that whereas Egypt learns this lesson in most decisive terms, it is Israel, the people whom God came to deliver, who are so slow to understand what God has done. (Enns, 179) For Group Discussion 1. Consider the statement made by Exodus commentator, J.A. Motyer, If we cannot blame God, neither can we trust Him. If He was not there when the tragedy happened, how can He be trusted with our trouble? 2. What does it mean to be God as Moses was God in this passage? 3. In Exodus 6:12 Moses says he has unclean lips. What do you take this to mean? Is he scared, aware of his sinfulness, etc.? 4. God s sovereignty is an underlying theme of this passage. How do you reconcile God s sovereignty over Pharaoh s action to Pharaoh s culpability? References Exodus 4:27 7:5, page 5
Alexander, T. Desmond. From Paradise to the Promised Land: An Introduction to the Pentateuch. Grand Rapids, Mich: Baker Academic, 2002. Print Alexander, T.D. New Bible Commentary: 21st Century Edition. Ed. Carson, D A. Leicester, England: Inter-Varsity Press, 1994. Print. Blackburn, W. Ross. The God Who Makes Himself Known. Downer s Grove, Ill: Inter-Varsity Press. 2012. Print Campbell, Iain D. Opening Up Exodus. Leominster, Great Britain: Day One Publications. 2006. Print Childs, Brevard S. The Book of Exodus. Philadelphia, Penn: The Westminster Press. 1974. Print Cole, R. Alan. Exodus An Introduction and Commentary. London, Eng: Inter-Varsity Press. 1974. Print Currid, John D. A Study Commentary of Exodus. Darlington, England: Evangelical Press. 2000. Print Enns, Peter. The NIV Application Commentary: Exodus. Grand Rapids, Mich: Zondervan. 2000. Print Kaiser, Walter Jr. The Expositor s Bible Commentary, Vol. 2: Exodus. Ed. Longman, Tremper and Garland, David. E. Grand Rapids, Mich: Zondervan. 1990. Print Motyer, J.A. The Message of Exodus: The Days of our Pilgrimage. The Bible Speaks Today Ed. Motyer, J.A. Downer s Grove, Ill: Inter-Varsity Press. 2005. Print Exodus 4:27 7:5, page 6