It gets worse before it gets better. In the midst of the problem of trying to make bricks while also having to go harvest the straw for them, the question in these two chapters is: Who Is YHWH?

It’s first asked by Pharaoh.

“And Pharaoh said, “Who is Yahweh that I should listen to his voice to release Israel? I do not know Yahweh, and also I will not release Israel.” Exodus‬ ‭5‬:‭2‬ ‭LEB‬‬

Pharaoh knew plenty of gods. But the name YHWH didn’t ring any bells.

Here’s a tricky thing- the name Yahweh has appeared already many times in Genesis.

Q: Who did Jesus say wrote the Law (the first 5 books of scripture)?

A: Moses (Luke 24:27)

What we’re reading about now (early in Exodus), happened before the writing of Genesis. 🤔

By the time Moses writes Genesis he is using the name Yahweh for the Lord even though that name was not revealed to the patriarchs whose stories he is writing.

Also- two little linguistic notes…🎵

1) The letters YHWH (or YHVH) are all we know for sure. These 4 consonants are called “The Tetragrammaton,” which reverent Jews today will not pronounce. Instead, when they encounter this name in the text, they will read aloud “Ha Shem” (literally “the Name”) or “Adonai” (“Lord”). Would that some of that reverence rub off on Christians.

Because there were no vowel markers in ancient Hebrew, the vowel sounds from “Adonai” are borrowed and plugged in to the consonants. So we get:

Y a H o W ai H – Yahweh or Jehovah.

In German, the letters J and W are pronounced like Y and V respectively. So Martin Luther and the German Protestants gave us Jehovah. Also John instead of Yohan, Joshua instead of Yeshua, and Jerusalem instead of Yahrushalim. But English is notoriously capricious. We say “Hallelu-YA” and not “Hallelu-JAH.” Go figure.

Ok. Language-y things over.

---

Have you ever tried to help someone and your efforts only made things worse? It’s an awful feeling. Moses has that in spades.

It’s easy to forget that God had already told him that this was not going to be an easy, quick-fix situation. I think Moses himself forgot it.

“Then Moses went back to the Lord and protested, “Why have you brought all this trouble on your own people, Lord? Why did you send me? Ever since I came to Pharaoh as your spokesman, he has been even more brutal to your people. And you have done nothing to rescue them!”
‭‭Exodus‬ ‭5‬:‭22‬-‭23‬ ‭NLT‬‬

It’s the process that gets us. Didn’t know it was gonna look like THIS! Might not have signed up for it if I had known. I think we all have times when it looks like God is doing nothing to help us. But that’s not true. God is playing the long game here. This isn’t just about the descendants of Israel being emancipated (the immediate need). This is about doing it in such a way that the gods of Egypt are completely discredited and YHWH is revealed as the Most High. So if you feel like God isn’t doing anything to help you right now- though you have cried out to Him- ask yourself if perhaps He is working to discredit the gods of this world before your eyes. Ideally, by the time He works it all out, we will know that money and success and influence and beauty and pleasure and all the gods this world worships are pathetic losers compared to Yahweh. And if He has to allow us to chafe under worsening conditions for a bit to bring about a more complete deliverance, then brace yourself for the challenge.

God repeats the Hayah Hayah (I Am I Am) revelation of the burning bush to Moses with one additional letter. Hayah is HYH but this time the Lord says He is YHWH or YHVH (yod hey vav hey). Here’s what those letters mean:

Yod – hand, power, make/do

Hey – look! man, life/exist

Vav – join, and

Hey – look! man, life/exist

How ‘bout you just ponder them for a bit.

🤔

“And God said to Moses, “I am Yahweh—‘the Lord.’ I appeared to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob as El-Shaddai—‘God Almighty’—but I did not reveal my name, Yahweh, to them. And I reaffirmed my covenant with them. Under its terms, I promised to give them the land of Canaan, where they were living as foreigners. You can be sure that I have heard the groans of the people of Israel, who are now slaves to the Egyptians. And I am well aware of my covenant with them. “Therefore, say to the people of Israel: ‘I am the Lord. I will free you from your oppression and will rescue you from your slavery in Egypt. I will redeem you with a powerful arm and great acts of judgment. I will claim you as my own people, and I will be your God. Then you will know that I am the Lord your God who has freed you from your oppression in Egypt. I will bring you into the land I swore to give to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. I will give it to you as your very own possession. I am the Lord!’”
‭‭Exodus‬ ‭6‬:‭2‬-‭8‬ ‭NLT‬‬

There must no mistake as to WHO is their God; WHO is accomplishing this deliverance for them.

Why? So they don’t start crediting other things, other gods for it.

Giving credit is part of what worship is. (I could unpack this more here but it would take about a semester so we’re just going to spread it out over the next couple years, ok?) If you are giving credit to something besides YHWH for the blessings He has given, you are by definition committing idolatry. This area deserves ruthless self-scrutiny on our parts. We are careless here to our own peril.

Just 3 more thoughts and I’ll stop.

1.

“So Moses told the people of Israel what the Lord had said, but they refused to listen anymore. They had become too discouraged by the brutality of their slavery.”
‭‭Exodus‬ ‭6‬:‭9‬ ‭NLT‬‬

Be careful, Beloved, when you feel discouraged. Don’t just sit there. Put on worship music. Ask friends to pray for you. Read chapters of scripture. Out loud. Drink water. Take a walk. Take a shower. Take a nap. Lie on the floor and weep before the Lord if you must, but do something. Remaining discouraged is unsafe. It orients us in a way that is unreceptive to the Word of the Lord.

2.

“Go back to Pharaoh, the king of Egypt, and tell him to let the people of Israel leave his country.” “But Lord!” Moses objected. “My own people won’t listen to me anymore. How can I expect Pharaoh to listen? I’m such a clumsy speaker!” Exodus‬ ‭6‬:‭11‬-‭12‬ ‭NLT‬‬

[This is for me but you can listen in on my little pep talk to myself if you like.]

(Ahem)

Stop thinking that the outcome depends on your ability. It depends on your obedience.

💬

And…?

And what?

That’s it? That’s your whole pep talk?

You master that bit and come back and I’ll give ya some more to work on.

👀

3.

“The descendants of Kohath included Amram, Izhar, Hebron, and Uzziel. (Kohath lived to be 133 years old.) Amram married his father’s sister Jochebed, and she gave birth to his sons, Aaron and Moses. (Amram lived to be 137 years old.) The sons of Izhar were Korah, Nepheg, and Zicri.”
‭‭Exodus‬ ‭6‬:‭18‬, ‭20‬-‭21‬ ‭NLT‬‬

(pronunciation of Jochebed is Yo-hkeh-bed)

Izhar is Moses & Aaron’s Uncle.

Korah (yes, that Korah) is their Cousin. 👀🤯

You’re going to need to remember this until April 29. Or you could just peek ahead at Numbers 16 and write “Exodus 6:18-24” in the margin.

Say it with me this time, friends:

“This is why we don’t skip genealogies.”

😅

Have a great week.