April 20, 2018: Day 6 – Exodus 6

There is a common theme here that Moses is a bit unsure of his abilities and as a result doubts that the Lord’s command is going to come to fruition.  This chapter is bookmarked by Moses’ statement that if the Israelites wouldn’t listen to him, then why in the world would Pharaoh.  He says this from experience.  He told the Israelites the promises that the Lord had given him, that God would deliver the Israelites from slavery and lead them to the promised land, a land that was promised to their ancestors.  But we read in vs.9 that they would not listen to Moses because of their broken spirit and their cruel slavery.

It is hard to overcome a broken spirit.  It is hard to bounce back once you have learned that you are helpless.  There is a condition called learned helplessness which is a state where you have learned that no matter what you do it makes no difference what you do, you will always be helpless.  It is not reality, it is not the truth, but some people learn this and think that as a result they will never be able to do anything positive or anything to change the trajectory of their life.

The presence of God lifts our helplessness and provides us hope that we can do all things in Christ who strengthens us (Philippians 4:13).  The strength of our faith is found in that we are never in a position to think that death, the negative, or evil has won.  God will always conquer which means that we can do all things and that all things are possible, as Mary responds to the angel Gabriel.  A crucial part of our Christian life is to believe that all things are possible.  

We find a genealogy in these verses which serves to place Moses and Aaron right in the middle of history.  This portion of Scripture, yes serves as a reminder that Moses was a reluctant servant, but also shows that both Moses and Aaron are situated in some of the most prominent households of Israel.  The stage is set for a second showdown between Moses and Pharaoh.