When we come to the end of Ch 6 of Exodus, it seems that everything that could be said about situation of the Israelites in Egypt has been said - their slavery and suffering, the call of a deliverer and his reluctance, the stubbornness of Pharaoh, and the commitment of God to save. It seems that all that is left is to do it! But, instead of plunging into the account of the 'plagues' the author gives us one more summary. We might rightly ask, "is this really necessary - can't we just get on with it!" What is the purpose in this retelling of the main points of the story we have already heard repeatedly?
While most of the information in this section is not new, there are two new details that bring into focus the point of restating the facts one more time. First of all, we are given a very selective genealogy from Abraham to Phineas, and the point of the genealogy is to state clearly that it is this Moses and this Aaron who were God's agents, His tools, in bringing about the Exodus. The second addition to the story is that God tells Moses He is going to cause him to be God to Pharaoh. That is, God will accomplish His deliverance through Moses as he is obedient to do all that God commands in Word and deed - telling Pharaoh what God says, and doing mighty signs and wonders in Pharaoh's presence. So what does this add to our understanding of the Exodus?
Bringing the people of Israel out from under the oppression of Egypt, the most powerful nation in the World, was an extraordinary and unparalleled event in history. It would be natural to view Moses as a superhuman legend who so manipulated Pharaoh to bring it all about. Maybe he wasn't even human, but an angel or a god! But, this review of the facts reminds us that Moses was very human - not a god or an angel. Thus, the family tree. It also reminds us that Moses was a very normal person, who was reluctant to even talk to Pharaoh and had no reason to believe that Pharaoh would listen to him. And God reminds Moses, that Pharaoh won't listen to him! That is because it is not Moses who will deliver Israel, but God Himself, by mighty wonders and great acts of judgment he will unleash on Egypt.
The astonishing thing in this story is that God chooses to accomplish His greatest work of deliverance in the OT by great and mighty power, through a very real and common human being. Yahweh made Moses God to Pharaoh. Moses was God to Pharaoh as he spoke words and did mighty deeds that all came from God. In this way, did Egypt come to KNOW Yahweh! Moses wasn't much, really, but he was obedient. God did it all, but He chose to work and to make Himself known, through Moses.
Thus, Moses is a wonderful picture of Jesus and the way God would work to bring about an even greater Exodus. It was by means of the incarnation, the embodiment of God's Word and God's Power in Jesus, that God would save the world. Moses was a prototype, but Jesus was the complete and perfect version. He was fully man, with his own family tree and a body that had all the limitations of humanity. But, he was also fully God. By His obedience He was the very embodiment of God’s Word and saving Works. God used Moses to deliver Israel through acts of judgment upon Egypt. But Jesus brought about our deliverance by taking our judgment on Himself. Moses the deliverer brought judgment on Egypt, but Jesus the deliverer bore the judgement of all mankind upon Himself. He is the Word incarnate who demonstrates the power of God through the saving event of the Cross and the power of the resurrection.
Those who are saved by His redeeming work are transformed into the Body of Christ. Like Moses, we too are made to be like God to the age of skepticism we live in. The life of Moses teaches us, that to be the Body of Christ, to be God to the world, is to embody the Word of God and the Works of God in human flesh, as we do all that He commands us to do and say. We, in our broken humanity, may not be much. But when God transforms us from the inside out, we become an unstoppable force that overcomes the enemy, and through whom God will accomplish His saving work in the world!
