In this passage God was preparing Moses for a very important task. Moses was going to go before the Pharaoh of Egypt and declare the name Jehovah before him many times. Not only that, but the nation of Israel would also see another aspect of God they had never seen earlier.
God stated that He had made Himself known to the nation of Israel with the name “God Almighty”. It was important for them to know Him as such. Notice that God is talking to Moses. He stated that He had not spoken to Abraham, Isaac or Jacob by His name, Jehovah. We know from the Scriptures that God has indeed presented Himself to Abraham, Isaac and Jacob as Jehovah. However, what He had not shown them was the significance of this name. He presented Himself by that title, but He showed Himself to God Almighty.
God spoke to Abraham in Genesis 17 as Jehovah God. He promised him that He would make a great nation out of him. He demonstrated that ability in changing Abram’s name to Abraham. He demonstrated His power and authority, but as we read in our text, He did not reveal Himself as the self-existent God who is capable of doing all things that He proclaims He will do. The false gods of Egypt would not interfere with the LORD’s promise to bring the nation out of bondage.
In the book of Exodus, God was going to show Himself in a new way to both Pharaoh and the nation of Israel. He was going to do things that they had never witnessed before. He was also going to separate the land of Goshen from the rest of the land of Egypt.
As Jehovah God, the self-existent God, He would reveal to them His greatness in another way. Pharaoh’s magicians would be able to duplicate some of the plagues that God sent against Egypt. However, they could not stop the plagues. They would make trouble but they had no way of stopping the trouble. It was the true God, the “self-existent” God who could both bring the plagues, but also remove them. He did not need a process to terminate them. He could do so in an instant.
In Moses’ confrontations with the Pharaoh, Moses would ask him when he wanted a certain plague to stop. Pharaoh would give his timeline and God would honour his timeline.
We also know that after the first several plagues, God separated the land of Goshen from the rest of the nation of Israel. The nation of Israel did not suffer from the rest of the plagues sent upon Egypt. This should certainly have spoken loudly and clearly to the nation of Israel. It should also have demonstrated God’s authority over Egypt.
Sadly, neither the Hebrews, nor the Egyptians were impressed with God’s authority and greatness. The Hebrews no doubt were thankful not to have to endure the plagues, but they did not turn to the true God and worship Him. We see that as we follow them from that time forward. In fact they spent forty years wandering in the wilderness because an entire generation of adults, except for two men, rejected Him.
There was a large number of children that continuously witnessed the rebellion of their parents. God showed those children that rebellion is sin and if persisted in, is punishable by death. Sadly, those children did not learn that lesson either.
The Bible is clear that the heart of man is desperately wicked. It is not that God has not made Himself known to man. It is that man is born a lost sinner and chooses to remain in that state. Only a few in any generation will turn to the true God and be saved.
Most people are so accustomed to this life of sin, that they assume that is the only life there is. There are even professed Christians who prove they are lost because they have adopted this false narrative and remain bound by it. They know what they are doing and what they are experiencing is not good and they seek some secular help with it. Yet few will turn to the living God for help. Many pastors have been indoctrinated in the humanistic philosophies of psychiatry and psychology and they use those methods to try to lull their listeners to sleep. Thus many people go through life crippled and bound by the works of the flesh, never coming to know the blessing of the fruit of the Spirit.
God gave us His Word so that we might know Him as JEHOVAH as well. Interestingly, the Jews refuse to even say the name JEHOVAH. They are so afraid that they might say it wrong, so they do not use it. They are so fearful because they do not know the LORD. God spoke that name before Moses. Moses knew how to pronounce it and He used that name before Pharaoh and when he spoke with the Hebrews.
As we have already noted, the Hebrews had such a strained relationship with the LORD, and they refused to repent. They did not want to know the blessing of the LORD. They wanted a blessing, but they wanted it on their own terms.
This sounds very familiar for the Gentile world as well. We are all guilty of this sin at some point in our lives. Those who are truly saved, need to constantly ask God to show us where we are still clinging to that detrimental philosophy. We can know His blessing if we submit to His authority in our lives as His children. Too often it is accepted that some Christians will be so bound by their sinful habits, that they just cannot break free.
The devil would like to have us believe this lie. However, the Bible shows us this is not true. We can be set free from the power of sin in all areas. In fact, in salvation we have been set free from the power of sin in all areas. It is when we reject what God has declared, that we run into problems. There are many professing Christians who are living a lie, believing they are saved, when they do not know the Lord. Any person who is saved and is humbly studying God’s Word will see this.
JEHOVAH God is well able to deliver us from bondage today just as He declared He would do for the Hebrews in Moses’ day. Physically, God did deliver them from the Egyptian bondage. Spiritually, the majority of the nation of Israel refused to be delivered from bondage. They died in their sins. This is still true for the majority of the Jews today. Sadly, it is also true for many Gentiles.
We need to take God at His Word, and not allow the flesh to twist what God has said. That is the way of blessing.
Pastor Bartel