He Is The Lord, There Is No Other, See His Glory (Exo 6:1-9; Exo. 20:1-3)

Intro: Good Morning FE, we are glad you here with us this morning and if you are watching us on line, welcome. On vision Sunday we learned of our goal this year, to make much of God in our lives, in our city and in the world. This week we are kicking off a new series through the book Exodus, called see his glory.

When we sit and think about God’s glory, we need to remember God’s glory is the public display of God’s holiness, his infinite beauty and greatness. God’s glory is the manifestation of who he is, his character, his manifold perfections. In Exodus we see God’s, power, God’s love, God’s justice, God’s mercy, God’s wisdom, God’s sovereignty and much more on display. All these is God’s holiness on display. Our challenge will be, can we see God’s glory?

Exodus is the second book in the Old Testament, in this book we will learn about Moses, the formation of the nation of Israel, God’s covenant with his people, the giving of the law, the wandering in the wilderness, the successes and failures of Israel’s journey to the promise land. Most importantly, Exodus is the story of the Lord, the Lord redeeming his people from slavery and bondage, choosing a people for his own possession, and through his people, he will bless the world.

In Genesis we learn of the Great Promise Maker, In Exodus We Discover He is the Glorious Promise Keeper

In Genesis God makes promises to Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, in Exodus we begin to see the promises God made to them, fulfilled. In Exodus, we see God tell the people he saves;

Exodus 20:1–3 (ESV)

“I am the Lord your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of slavery.

“You shall have no other gods before me.

Yo soy el Señor tu Dios, que te saqué de la tierra de Egipto, de la casa de servidumbre[a].

3 No tendrás otros dioses delante de mí.

The Lord tells his people, I saved you, delivered you, I displayed my power and put to shame of the so called gods of the Egyptians. I am the Lord…you shall have no other gods before me. We may hear those words and maybe we have a negative reaction, but when you read those words, they are words of love. The Lord is saying I delivered you and only I can satisfy you, the gods of the Egyptians can’t satisfy you, the gods of this culture can not satisfy you, I am the Lord and only I can bring salvation, only I can quench your thirst, only I can satisfy you, see my Glory and put down all other gods you have put your hope and trust in.

In Exodus 6 the Lord begins to tell the people his plan to deliver them, it is a good summary of everything we will learn about in this series in Exodus, See His Glory. The first of the many glories we need to see is

The Lord is Sovereign over all creation.

Exodus 6:1–4 (ESV)

But the Lord said to Moses, “Now you shall see what I will do to Pharaoh; for with a strong hand he will send them out, and with a strong hand he will drive them out of his land.”

God spoke to Moses and said to him, “I am the Lord. I appeared to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob, as God Almighty, but by my name the Lord I did not make myself known to them. I also established my covenant with them to give them the land of Canaan, the land in which they lived as sojourners.

Respondió el Señor a Moisés: Ahora verás lo que haré a Faraón; porque por la fuerza[a] los dejará ir; y por la fuerza[b] los echará de su tierra.

2 Continuó hablando Dios a Moisés, y le dijo: Yo soy el Señor; 3 y me aparecí a Abraham, a Isaac y a Jacob como Dios Todopoderoso[c], mas por mi nombre, Señor[d], no me di a conocer a ellos. 4 También establecí mi pacto con ellos, de darles la tierra de Canaán, la tierra donde[e] peregrinaron.

In Exodus 6, the Lord begins to respond to Moses, because Moses went to Pharoah and did what the Lord told him to do, to tell Pharoah to let his people go. But Pharoah refused, not only did he refuse, but he also made their work harder. Moses does what many of us would have done, go to the Lord and ask, why? Why did you send me? Exodus 6 is God’s response.

What is the first point he wants to get across to Moses? The Lord is sovereign over all creation. What does that mean, what does sovereignty mean? Sovereignty means God reigns supreme over all creation, He sits on his throne, ruling by his “mighty hand” working out his plan. Sovereignty means God is in control even when it seems like he isn’t.

When trouble comes, like in the case with Moses, the Pharoah didn’t let the people go, but made the work harder for them. God was reassuring Moses, I am the Lord and I am in control. Sometimes God allows our troubles to continue so that we can realize he is the only one who can save us. The story of the Exodus will remind of this time and time again. When trouble comes put your trust in the Lord.

Something else we will see in the book of exodus is sometime God allows us to go through troubles so that we can see his glory. God’s glory is on display when he delivers his people through the troubles they go through. Too often we are focused on the trouble we miss seeing the glory of God on display. God tells Moses, “Now you will see what I will do to Pharoah.” My glory will be on display for everyone to see.

Before we move on there is a statement in this passage we need to spend a few moments on because it may confuse some. Exo 6:2-3

Exodus 6:2–3 (ESV)

God spoke to Moses and said to him, “I am the Lord. I appeared to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob, as God Almighty, but by my name the Lord I did not make myself known to them.

2 Continuó hablando Dios a Moisés, y le dijo: Yo soy el Señor; 3 y me aparecí a Abraham, a Isaac y a Jacob como Dios Todopoderoso, mas por mi nombre, Señor, no me di a conocer a ellos

If you are a student of the Bible, you will know the name, Lord is used in Genesis about 100 times. When Seth was born to Adam and Eve it said, people began to call on the name of the Lord or in Gen 15, Abraham refers to God as the Lord God. What does the Lord mean when he tells Moses, “by my name the Lord I did not make myself known to them”. Some have said that since Moses wrote the book of Genesis, he is using God’s later name to tell an earlier story. This is an acceptable explanation, but a better explanation is the patriarchs did not fully understand the meaning of God’s proper name. There is a difference between knowing someone’s name and actually knowing that person. Abraham, Isaac and Jacob knew the God, but they never witnessed his mighty work of salvation, they only recieved it by promise.

Exodus—Saved for God's Glory God Remembers His Covenant

Peter Enns thus offers this paraphrase: “I appeared to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, but only partially—in the capacity of El Shaddai. But who I am fully, which is what my name Yahweh captures, I did not make known to them. This is made known first only now, to you, the Exodus generation, who will witness my mighty saving power.”

Which brings us to the next truth The Lord also wants to remind Moses ,

The Lord is abounding in steadfast love toward his people.

Exodus 6:5 (ESV)

Moreover, I have heard the groaning of the people of Israel whom the Egyptians hold as slaves, and I have remembered my covenant.

Y además, he oído el gemido de los hijos de Israel, porque los egipcios los tienen esclavizados, y me he acordado de mi pacto.

The Lord remembers his covenant he made with Abraham, the Lord hears the groaning of the people. In love the Lord responds and with a mighty hand will save his people. In love the Lord chooses a people for his own possession. In love the Lord will deliver the people from Egypt, In love he will care for them as they wander in the wilderness, in love he will provide manna from Heaven. The Lord is abounding in steadfast love for his people.

When Moses asked the Lord to see his glory, The Lord responds by saying no one can see the full glory of the Lord and live, but the Lord says I will pass by the cleft of the rock and give you a glimpse of the glory of the Lord, what does the Lord show Moses?

Exodus 34:6–8 (ESV)

The Lord passed before him and proclaimed, “The Lord, the Lord, a God merciful and gracious, slow to anger, and abounding in steadfast love and faithfulness, keeping steadfast love for thousands, forgiving iniquity and transgression and sin, but who will by no means clear the guilty, visiting the iniquity of the fathers on the children and the children’s children, to the third and the fourth generation.” And Moses quickly bowed his head toward the earth and worshiped.

Entonces pasó el Señor por delante de él y proclamó: El Señor, el Señor, Dios compasivo y clemente, lento para la ira y abundante en misericordia y fidelidad; 7 el que guarda misericordia a millares, el que perdona la iniquidad, la transgresión y el pecado, y que no tendrá por inocente al culpable; el que castiga la iniquidad de los padres sobre los hijos y sobre los hijos de los hijos hasta la tercera y cuarta generación. 8 Y Moisés se apresuró a inclinarse a tierra y adoró,

The passes by and proclaims

his mercy

his grace

his patience

his steadfast love

his faithfulness

his forgiveness

his justice

See his Glory.... See his perfect mercy and grace, see his perfect patience and love, see his perfect faithfulness and forgiveness, see his perfect justice. If you are a follower of Jesus, then you have experienced all of these perfections of the Lord’s character, you have seen his love and mercy in your life, are you still in awe of the what the Lord has done for you? Or have you lost the wonder of the glory of the Lord? Has sin and the things of the world causing you to miss seeing God’s glory?

See The Glory of the Lord Through The “I Will” Statements He makes

In the rest of our passage, the Lord makes 7 “I will” statements to describe how he will save the people from Egypt. You can put these 7 I will statements into 4 categories, the first is

I Will Liberate You Exo. 6:6

Exodus 6:6 (ESV)

Say therefore to the people of Israel, ‘I am the Lord, and I will bring you out from under the burdens of the Egyptians, and I will deliver you from slavery to them,

Por tanto, di a los hijos de Israel: «Yo soy el Señor, y os sacaré de debajo de las cargas de los egipcios, y os libraré de su esclavitud,

The Lord tells the people, I will liberate you from the burdens of Egypt and I will deliver you from slavery. I am the Lord and I will set you free. As we go through Exodus we will see how the Lord liberates the people of Egypt.

2. I will Redeem You Exo 6:6

Exodus 6:6 (ESV)

I will redeem you with an outstretched arm and with great acts of judgment.

y os redimiré con brazo extendido y con juicios grandes.

Redeem is a financial term, it means to purchase back. In the ancient world, it was to describe the release of a slave with the payment of a ransom. What is interesting in the Exodus, is the Lord is going to redeem his people, and the currency the Lord will use is great acts of judgement against the Pharoah and Egypt.

3. I Will Adopt You Exo 6:7

Exodus 6:7 (ESV)

I will take you to be my people, and I will be your God, and you shall know that I am the Lord your God, who has brought you out from under the burdens of the Egyptians.

Y os tomaré por pueblo mío, y yo seré vuestro Dios[g]; y sabréis que yo soy el Señor vuestro Dios, que os sacó de debajo de las cargas de los egipcios.

When the Lord says, “I will take you” the Lord is choosing to enter a relationship with the people of Israel. He is adopting them as the people of God, a people for his own possession. The Lord’s liberation, redemption and adoption is not just an act of justice against Egypt, but it is a demonstration of God’s love for his people.

4. I will Provide For You An Inheritance

Exodus 6:8 (ESV)

I will bring you into the land that I swore to give to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob. I will give it to you for a possession. I am the Lord.’ ”

Y os traeré a la tierra que juré dar a Abraham, a Isaac y a Jacob, y os la daré por heredad. Yo soy el Señor».

The final two I will statements deal with the promise of an inheritance. The land of Canaan was promised to Abraham, Isaac and Jacob and now the promise is given to the people of God in Egypt. Now Abraham, Isaac and Jacob were given the promise by God, now it is time for God to fulfill his promise.

The Lord says I will Liberate you, I will Redeem you, I will adopt you, and I will provide you and inheritance. These are the promise he made to the people of God in the Exodus generation, it is the promise the Lord makes to the people of God of our generation, in the 21st Century. The Lord through the work of Jesus will liberate us from slavery to sin and the attractions of this world. The Lord through Jesus has provided the ransom for our redemption, which was the life and death of Jesus forever sealed by his resurrection. The Lord through Jesus has adopted us into the family of God, we too are now the people of God grafted into the vine because of the work of Jesus. The Lord through Jesus provides for us and inheritance, the glorious riches of his grace, access to the Father, through the Son Jesus Christ, by the power Spirit of God who is given to us as a deposit of our future inheritance. See the Glory of the Lord’s salvation of his people.

When Israel heard the Lord’s message, instead of seeing his glory and trusting his sovereignty, in essence they said “I wont”.

Exodus 6:9 (ESV)

Moses spoke thus to the people of Israel, but they did not listen to Moses, because of their broken spirit and harsh slavery.

De esta manera habló Moisés a los hijos de Israel, pero ellos no escucharon a Moisés a causa del desaliento y de la dura servidumbre.

They didn’t listen to Moses or the message of the Lord. They didn’t trust in the Lord’s sovereignty and his Love for them because of the troubles they were going through, they could now see his Glory. What is keeping you from seeing the Glory of the Lord in your life? Is it sin? Is it the pleasures of this world? The pursuit of a better life and the chase of the American Dream? Is money, sexual pleasures, relationships, friendships, what is keeping you form seeing his glory?

As we go through this series ask yourself that question, is there anything keeping me from seeing the Glory of God in my life? We can respond like Israel or we can respond like Moses, when God proclaimed his grace and mercy, his love and justice, Moses quickly bowed and worshipped God for who he is. FE may we see the Glory of God and worship him.