Remembering the Covenant
Background and Printed Text: Exodus 6:2-9
Exodus 6:2 And Elohim spoke unto Draw [Moshe]. And He said unto him, “I am Yehovah [He-Will-Be, He-Is, He-Was]. 3 “And I appeared unto Father-Of-A-Crowd [Avraham], unto He-Will-Laugh [Isaac] and unto He-Will-Heel [Jacob] via Mighty-[One]-My-Breasts [El Shaddai]. And my name is Yehovah [He-Will-Be, He-Is, He-Was]! Was I not known to them?
4 “And I also made-stand my Covenant with them to give the land of Canaan to them, the land of their sojournings that they sojourned in her.
5 “And also I, I hearkened-to the groaning of the children of Israel whom the Egyptians are enslaving them. And I remembered my Covenant.
6 “Therefore, say-thou to the children of Israel, ‘I am Yehovah [He-Will-Be, He-Is, He-Was]! And I will exit you out from under the burdens of the Egyptians! And I will rescue you from their slavery. And I will redeem you via a stretched out arm and via big justices! 7And I will take you to me to a people. And I will be to you to Gods. And ye shall know that I am Yehovah [He-Will-Be, He-Is, He-Was] your Gods Who exits you from under the burdens of the Egyptians! 8And I will bring you unto the land that I carried my hand to give her to Father-Of-A-Crowd [Avraham], to He-Will-Laugh [Isaac] and to He-Will-Heel [Jacob]. And I will give her to you, an inheritance. I am Yehovah [He-Will-Be, He-Is, He-Was].’”
9And Draw [Moshe] spoke establishment unto the children of Israel. And they didn’t hearken unto Draw [Moshe] from shortness of spirit/wind and from hard slavery.
I. Appearances (verses 2-3)
Elohim again communicated with Moshe, first identifying Himself: “I am Yehovah.” He then associated Himself with Avraham, Isaac and Jacob: “And I appeared unto Avraham, unto Isaac and unto Jacob via El Shaddai.”
Yehovah again stated, “And my name is Yehovah!” He then asked Moshe a question: “Was I not known to them?”
Questions
1. Why did Yehovah start by identifying Himself as Yehovah?
2. Who is El Shaddai?
3. What does “And I appeared unto Avraham, unto Isaac and unto Jacob via El Shaddai” mean?
4. Why did Elohim find it necessary to again state, “And my name is Yehovah”?
5. Why did Elohim ask, “Was I not known to them”?
II. Promised Land (verse 4)
Yehovah next spoke in the past tense as if what He described had already happened: “And I also made-stand my Covenant with them to give the land of Canaan to them, the land of their sojournings that they sojourned in her.”
Questions
1. What does making a covenant stand involve?
2. What is a Covenant?
3. Who are them in, “I also made-stand my Covenant with them”?
4. What does “the land of their sojournings” mean?
5. Who is her in, “… that they sojourned in her”?
III. Hearing and Remembering (verse 5)
Yehovah now responded to their present predicament: “And also I, I hearkened-to the groaning of the children of Israel whom the Egyptians are enslaving them. And I remembered my Covenant.”
Questions
1. Why is the pronoun, I mentioned twice in, “And also, I, I hearkened to the groaning …”?
2. When Elohim heard their groaning, why didn’t He just use His power to stop the Egyptians and to make life much better for the Israelis instead of going through this whole process of taking them out of Egypt?
3. Why were the Egyptians so mean to the Israelis?
4. The text states that Elohim remembered His Covenant. Had He forgotten it?
IV. I Am, I Will, I Am (verses 6-8)
He next gave Moshe the speech to say to the Israelis: “Therefore, say-thou to the children of Israel, ‘I am Yehovah [He-Will-Be, He-Is, He-Was]! And I will exit you out from under the burdens of the Egyptians! And I will rescue you from their slavery. And I will redeem you via a stretched out arm and via big justices! 7And I will take you to me to a people. And I will be to you to Gods. And ye shall know that I am Yehovah [He-Will-Be, He-Is, He-Was] your Gods Who exits you from under the burdens of the Egyptians! 8And I will bring you unto the land that I carried my hand to give her to Father-Of-A-Crowd [Avraham], to He-Will-Laugh [Isaac] and to He-Will-Heel [Jacob]. And I will give her to you, an inheritance. I am Yehovah [He-Will-Be, He-Is, He-Was].’”
Questions
1. What was the first thing that Moshe was told to tell the children of Israel?
2. When the Bible says children of Israel, are they little children?
3. Yehovah said, “And I will exit you out from under the burdens of the Egyptians!” How long will that take?
4. What is the difference between these two statements: “I will exit you out from under the burdens of the Egyptians” and “I will rescue you from their slavery”?
5. What does redeem mean?
6. What kind of redemption will Yehovah do in this case?
7. If the answer to the above question is the correct answer, how will this occur?
8. What will be the result of this redemption via a stretched out arm and via big justices?
9. What is a people in the Bible?
10. What does “I will be to you to Gods” mean?
11. Elohim said, “And ye shall know that I am Yehovah your Gods Who exits you from under the burdens of the Egyptians.” Did this occur in Moshe’s day?
12. Which land is in mind in, “I will bring you unto the land”?
13. Yehovah said that He carried His hand. What does that mean?
14. Who is her in, “I carried my hand to give her to Avraham …”?
15. The Israelis will later have to fight their way into the land of Canaan. Elohim states here, “I will give her to you, an inheritance.” Why would anyone have to fight for an inheritance?
16. This paragraph ends with, “I am Yehovah.” Why does He say this again?
V. Shortness of Spirit (verse 9)
Moshe spoke with certainty to the Israelis: he spoke establishment unto them. They didn’t hearken to him; they were out of breath, and were being worked far too hard to hear him.
Questions
1. What does “Moshe spoke establishment unto the children of Israel” mean?
2. What does hearken mean?
3. Why didn’t the Israelis hearken unto Moshe?