Pointing to Jesus (Exodus 6)

Summary:

In Exodus 6, God responds to Moses’ discouragement by revealing Himself more fully as Yahweh (“I AM WHO I AM” / the LORD), distinguishing this covenant name from how He appeared to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob as God Almighty (El Shaddai). 

He reaffirms His covenant promises, declaring that He has heard Israel’s groaning in Egyptian slavery and “remembered” His covenant. 

God then delivers seven majestic “I will” promises:

•  I will bring you out from under the burdens of the Egyptians,

•  I will deliver you from slavery,

•  I will redeem you with an outstretched arm and great judgments,

•  I will take you to be My people,

•  I will be your God,

•  I will bring you into the land I swore to give to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob,

•  I will give it to you as a possession.

Moses relays this to the people, but they cannot listen because of their broken spirit and harsh bondage. 

Moses again objects, citing his “uncircumcised lips,” yet God recommissions him and Aaron, and the chapter includes a selective genealogy of Levi leading to Moses and Aaron to authenticate their calling.

Pointing to Jesus: 

The central redemptive heartbeat of the chapter is God’s sovereign declaration in verses 6–7: “I will redeem you with an outstretched arm…I will take you to be my people, and I will be your God.”

The exodus is not merely a historical deliverance but a typological foreshadowing of the eternal redemption accomplished by Christ under the one covenant of grace. 

The “outstretched arm” of Yahweh that redeems Israel from the slavery of Egypt prefigures the outstretched arms of Jesus Christ on the cross, by which He redeems His elect people from the far worse slavery of sin, Satan, and death (Col 2:15; Gal 4:4–5; Heb 2:14–15).

Just as Israel’s redemption was entirely monergistic—wholly the work of God’s mighty arm—so our redemption is solely by Christ’s blood and righteousness, not by human merit or effort (Eph 2:8–9; Rom 3:24). 

The promise “I will take you to be My people, and I will be your God” finds its ultimate fulfillment in the new covenant purchased by Christ’s outstretched arms, where the elect from every nation are made God’s treasured possession forever (Jer 31:33; 32:38–40; Rev 21:3).

Reflection:

Exodus 6 is profoundly encouraging for the discouraged believer. 

The Israelites could not receive God’s glorious promises because of anguish of spirit and cruel bondage—we too often cannot hear God’s word when trials crush us. 

Moses, the chosen mediator, feels utterly inadequate and keeps objecting—we too doubt our calling and usefulness when God commands us to speak or act.

Yet the chapter thunders one unshakable truth: God’s purposes and promises do not depend on our faith, obedience, or felt readiness—they rest on His own immutable character and sovereign power (“I am the LORD”).

In the Christian life, when oppression, failure, or spiritual dryness makes God’s word seem distant, we are to cling to the same redeeming God who always keeps His covenant, who redeemed us at infinite cost with outstretched arms on Calvary, and who will certainly bring us into the inheritance He swore to give us. 

Our discouragement never thwarts His plan; it only drives us to rest more fully in His doing, not ours.