Before we left the state we were born and raised, God prepared our hearts, minds, and souls for the leaving of all that we knew as “normal” living.  We were called to go a thousand miles away to another state (and another culture) to do God’s work.  I look back on this momentous event and stand in awe of our God who prepared the way for our leaving months ahead of the actual departure without fully realizing what God was doing in us before doing another work through us.  There was the conclusion of my master degree in educational leadership, wrapping up my last school year as a public school teacher, the rearranging of our finances to make the move, preparing our home to be put on the market, cleaning out the school supplies I would no longer need, preparing the parents for our leaving as well as our almost adult children still living with us and telling our church what the Lord was about to do in us. 

There were many other things on the list as well but you get the picture.  God calls, He prepares, He equips by changing our minds and rearranging our lives for the next work, and then He prepares our hearts for the leaving so we won’t turn back.  Leaving what you once knew and were comfortable with, even though it was hard, is not as easy as it sounds.  God also prepares us spiritually, emotionally, and mentally for the trip.  He also prepares the hearts of those we are leaving behind—who do not want us to leave.

Exodus 6

Then the Lord said to Moses, “Now you will see what I will do to Pharaoh: Because of my mighty hand he will let them go; because of my mighty hand he will drive them out of his country.”

² God also said to Moses, “I am the Lord. ³ I appeared to Abraham, to Isaac and to Jacob as God Almighty, but by my name the Lord I did not make myself fully known to them. ⁴ I also established my covenant with them to give them the land of Canaan, where they resided as foreigners. ⁵ Moreover, I have heard the groaning of the Israelites, whom the Egyptians are enslaving, and I have remembered my covenant.

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.’”

⁹ Moses reported this to the Israelites, but they did not listen to him because of their discouragement and harsh labor.

¹⁰ Then the Lord said to Moses, ¹¹ “Go, tell Pharaoh king of Egypt to let the Israelites go out of his country.”

¹² But Moses said to the Lord, “If the Israelites will not listen to me, why would Pharaoh listen to me, since I speak with faltering lips?”

Family Record of Moses and Aaron

¹³ Now the Lord spoke to Moses and Aaron about the Israelites and Pharaoh king of Egypt, and he commanded them to bring the Israelites out of Egypt.

¹⁴ These were the heads of their families:

The sons of Reuben the firstborn son of Israel were Hanok and Pallu, Hezron and Karmi. These were the clans of Reuben.

¹⁵ The sons of Simeon were Jemuel, Jamin, Ohad, Jakin, Zohar and Shaul the son of a Canaanite woman. These were the clans of Simeon.

¹⁶ These were the names of the sons of Levi according to their records: Gershon, Kohath and Merari. Levi lived 137 years.

¹⁷ The sons of Gershon, by clans, were Libni and Shimei.

¹⁸ The sons of Kohath were Amram, Izhar, Hebron and Uzziel. Kohath lived 133 years.

¹⁹ The sons of Merari were Mahli and Mushi.

These were the clans of Levi according to their records.

²⁰ Amram married his father’s sister Jochebed, who bore him Aaron and Moses. Amram lived 137 years.

²¹ The sons of Izhar were Korah, Nepheg and Zikri.

²² The sons of Uzziel were Mishael, Elzaphan and Sithri.

²³ Aaron married Elisheba, daughter of Amminadab and sister of Nahshon, and she bore him Nadab and Abihu, Eleazar and Ithamar.

²⁴ The sons of Korah were Assir, Elkanah and Abiasaph. These were the Korahite clans.

²⁵ Eleazar son of Aaron married one of the daughters of Putiel, and she bore him Phinehas.

These were the heads of the Levite families, clan by clan.

²⁶ It was this Aaron and Moses to whom the Lord said, “Bring the Israelites out of Egypt by their divisions.” ²⁷ They were the ones who spoke to Pharaoh king of Egypt about bringing the Israelites out of Egypt—this same Moses and Aaron.

Aaron to Speak for Moses

²⁸ Now when the Lord spoke to Moses in Egypt, ²⁹ he said to him, “I am the Lord. Tell Pharaoh king of Egypt everything I tell you.”

³⁰ But Moses said to the Lord, “Since I speak with faltering lips, why would Pharaoh listen to me?”

WHAT DO WE LEARN—HOW DO WE RESPOND?

God frees His people for their good and His glory.  He will use a faltering Moses and his brother Aaron as a team to make it happen.  God is already at work in His people, preparing their hearts, organizing them into family divisions, while building their faith in the promise that this will indeed happen! God is at work in building the confidence and faith in His leader, Moses.  Moses has a lot to learn as he leaves the shepherd life for the life of a leader, the ambassador of God, to tell the Pharoah, that God has spoken—”Let My people go.” 

But we are not there yet.  Pharoah sees no advantage to losing the slaves that do all the work in building his kingdom.  Meanwhile Moses is looking inward, reminding  (nagging) God about his disabilities instead of looking upward at God’s power to accomplish His Plan of Rescue.  (But, we don’t do that, do we?  Mm, yes, we do.)

When Moses complained, God reminded him, not once but four times; “I am the LORD.”  And seven times, God said, “I will.” When we know that God is in control and we claim His promises, then we can experience peace and courage in the battles of life. God promised to bring Israel out of Egypt, free them from bondage, and take them into their Promised Land. At the heart of the seven “I will” promises is “I will take you as My people” (v. 7), which is the basis for all that God did for the Israelites.

God provided His blessed assurance to a very unsure Moses.  God assured Moses that He felt the burdens of His people and was working on their behalf (6:5; see 2:24). Everything was working according to His plan, and nothing God had planned would fail.

Whenever we feel the Lord has abandoned us and doesn’t really care, we need to remember His assuring words, “casting all your care upon Him, for He cares for you” (1 Peter 5:7).  We have a compassionate God who fails not!

God always has a reason.  This genealogy isn’t here by accident, for it’s the Lord’s way of reminding us, the readers, that God had prepared Moses and Aaron for their ministry in Egypt. Their arrival in Jacob’s family was part of His providential working.

God’s calling means God’s enabling, and what He begins He always completes (Ephesians 2:10; Philippians 1:6). 

Lord,

Thank you for your reminders to reassure our hearts, minds, and souls. Thank you for cleansing our hearts, renewing our minds, refreshing our souls, and continually restoring the joy and peace of your salvation at work within us.

In Jesus Name, Amen