The Genealogy of Moses and Aaron

Story: The Genealogy of Moses and Aaron

Passage: Exodus 6:14-30

Characters:  Lots of random people

Summary:  This is just a list of people in the genealogy of Moses and Aaron.  At the end, we get a summary of where the story of Moses is right now.  God tells Moses to speak to Pharaoh and Moses expresses doubt that Pharaoh will listen to him.

Notes:  I always wonder about the lives of the people mentioned in lists like this.  We know nothing about them, but their lives were probably just as interesting as those who are mentioned.  Interestingly, this genealogy includes a Canaanite woman, and a man marrying his Aunt.  Every now and then, a wife is mentioned by name. Today, we have no idea who some of these names were, but in Moses’ time, these names must have been well known. The genealogies are given the most detail for Aaron’s descendants and Korah’s descendants.  This is because both families will play a role in the coming chapters.  This passage is giving background for the upcoming narrative.

Questions:  Why were these people mentioned?  How many cool stories did these people have that we no longer know?  How well known were these names to the original audience of this book?

Lessons:  Honestly, a lesson is hard to pull from this passage.  We see at the end of the passage once again that God tells Moses what to do and Moses doubts God.  We can shake our heads at Moses’ stupidity all we want, but are we any different?  Do we trust God with the impossible or do we limit our trust in Him to what is already possible?

God Promises Deliverance

Story: God promises Deliverance

Passage: Exodus 6:1-13

Characters:  Moses, God

Summary: God told Moses He was going to lead them out of Egypt.  He said He was the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, but He did not tell them His name.  He promised to give them Canaan and now he heard the Israelites crying out and He remembered His covenant.  God told Moses what to tell the Israelites.  God was going to redeem them with great acts judgement.  God would take them as His people and they would take Him as their God.  The people did not listen though because they were broken.  God told Moses to tell Pharaoh to let the people out of the land.  Moses objected but God gave Moses and Aaron a charge to bring the people out of Egypt.

Notes:  There are a few interesting things in this passage.  God started this dialogue by outlining His history with Israel.  Now He was going to fulfill His covenant.  He told Moses exactly what to say to the people.  Interestingly, it sounds like Moses did not argue this time.  God promised the people that He would deliver them and redeem them with acts of judgment.  He would take them as His people and He would be their God.  You get the sense that God is a husband telling His girl that He’s chosen her and He’s committed to her.  In fact, in the context of the rest of the Bible, this is exactly what God is telling Israel!  He speaks of His delivering them as if it had already happened.  Moses told them that, but they didn’t listen.  The passage even explains why they didn’t listen.  They had broken spirits and harsh slavery.  Sometimes, when we are extremely oppressed and discouraged, it is easy to get caught up in our own problems and not believe God is really there.  This is exactly what Israel was doing.  God was unfazed though and he told Moses to go to Pharaoh next.  Moses felt that if his own people didn’t listen to him, why would Pharaoh?  The passage says the Lord spoke to Moses and Aaron and gave them a a charge about the people of Israel and about Pharaoh: to bring the people of Israel out of the land of Egypt.  I don’t know exactly what God said here, but apparently it gave Moses and Aaron the confidence they needed to obey.


Questions:  What did God tell Moses and Aaron?  Did anyone in Israel believe God was going to deliver them?  Why did God still love these people?

Lessons:  Sometimes, it is easy to get caught up in our circumstances and lose trust in God.  The Israelites did this and so did Moses.  God knows what to do to wake our hearts up to Him again.  It is vital that we trust Him, but when it is hard, we need to pray that God will give us the ability to trust Him.  He knew what to say to Moses and Aaron to give them purpose again and He can do the same for us.