We are most likely to prosper in attempts to glorify God, and to be useful to our fellow human beings, when we realize that we can do nothing of ourselves. It is best when our whole dependence is placed upon our God. After his initial failure to secure the release of the Hebrew slaves, Moses had been wondering what God would do; but now he was about to see what He would do. The Lord would now reveal Himself by His name Jehovah – that is, as the God Who most assuredly performs what He has promised, and Who finishes His own work. Herein God intended the happiness of His own people. He said, “I will take you to me for a people, a peculiar people; and I will be to you a God.” When we have a relationship with the Lord, we need nothing else to make us happy. These comforting words should have revived the afflicted Israelites. But alas! They were so taken up with their troubles that they did not listen to the Lord’s promises, nor receive the encouragement that they might have derived from them. By indulging discontentment and fretfulness, we often deprive ourselves of the comfort that we may freely obtain from God’s Word.

The name Jehovah is only mentioned seven times in our English Bible, and it is always used in reference to the idea of deliverance and salvation. By taking it to Himself at this particular time, it was as if He was telling Moses and the Israelites, “I am your Redeemer!” The holy name Jehovah is only mentioned once in the Book of Genesis; and that was when Abraham offered up his son Isaac, and God stopped his hand and showed him a ram to sacrifice instead. Then Abraham named the place Jehovah-jireh, meaning “the Lord Who provides”; for he had learned to look forward to the day when the Lamb of God would be provided – when Jesus would come and “put away sin by the sacrifice of himself” (Heb. 9:26). But now that His people were to be redeemed out of the land of their bondage, the Almighty Creator and Preserver also makes Himself known as Jehovah – the Redeemer, the Deliverer, and the God Who cannot change. It was very fitting that the children of Israel should trust in His mercy, for it “endureth for ever.” Let us not forget to remember to praise the great name of our Redeemer Who came in the power of God, and in the loving sympathy of holy Man, to “save his people from their sins” (Matt. 1:21). May the Holy Spirit lead each one of us to trust in Him as our own Savior!

The genealogical information that is given in verses 14-27 shows that Moses and Aaron were indeed Israelites, who were raised up from among their brethren to be leaders – just as Christ also would be, Who was to be the Prophet, Priest, Redeemer, and Lawgiver of His chosen people. The ancestry and family of Moses and Aaron were quite humble and ordinary; but through these two men, the Almighty God effected the deliverance of His afflicted people. It was through these feeble instruments that He spoke to the greatest monarch of those times. It is His usual method to choose the weak and foolish things of this world to confuse and confound the strong and the wise, so that no mortal flesh may boast in His presence! Praises be to His holy name.

Lord, under all our discouragements and trials, nothing can be more refreshing to our souls than the firm assurance that we are brought into Covenant with a God Whose promises and performances are sure to correspond. Our spiritual forefathers in the Old Testament knew You under this glorious character, and we thank You that it is now confirmed to us and sealed in the blood of Jesus! Amen.

Archaeological note: Secular historians are quick to point out a supposed lack of archaeological evidence for events that are recorded in the Bible, like the Exodus; and they use this alleged absence of evidence to discredit the authenticity and the authority of the Scriptures. However, the famous British Egyptologist David Rohl has proposed an interesting solution to this “problem.” He agrees that the Bible supports an Exodus date in the 1400s BC, and he suggests that the traditionally accepted timeline of secular Egyptian history needs to be shifted about 200-300 years from what the majority of mainstream scholars believe. When this is done, he makes it clear that the “lacking archaeological evidence” will suddenly corroborate with the Biblical timeframe. In other words, the evidence has been there all along; but most scholars have simply not noticed it because they are looking in a time period that is two or three centuries too late! However, when the Egyptian chronology is revised, everything immediately falls into its proper place. The Egyptian history and archaeology synchronize perfectly with what we would expect to see after reading the Biblical text! Mr. Rohl suggests that the Pharaoh who reigned during the time of the Exodus was Pharaoh Dudimose (Thutmose III) of Egypt’s 13th dynasty. He believes that there is a host of archaeological evidence for the Exodus that can be found during the period of this 13th dynasty in Egyptian history, but it is mostly ignored by the majority of scholars because of the reasons given above. Some of these evidences include an Egyptian slave list containing Hebrew names for some of the slaves; an Egyptian papyrus that records events strikingly similar to the Ten Plagues, but from an Egyptian perspective; burial pits containing bodies that were obviously buried rapidly and without ceremony, as if they were victims of some terrible deadly plague; and the sudden abandonment of Egyptian cities that had a heavy non-Egyptian population. What do you think? Do you think these archaeological findings are connected with the Exodus of the Israelites from Egypt?

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