Exodus Chapter 6 Verses 1-8

:1 “Then the LORD said unto Moses, Now shalt thou see what I will do to Pharaoh: for with a strong hand shall he let them go, and with a strong hand shall he drive them out of his land. 2 And God spake unto Moses, and said unto him, I am the LORD: 3 And I appeared unto Abraham, unto Isaac, and unto Jacob, by the name of God Almighty, but by my name JEHOVAH was I not known to them. 4 And I have also established my covenant with them, to give them the land of Canaan, the land of their pilgrimage, wherein they were strangers. 5 And I have also heard the groaning of the children of Israel, whom the Egyptians keep in bondage; and I have remembered my covenant. 6 Wherefore say unto the children of Israel, I am the LORD, and I will bring you out from under the burdens of the Egyptians, and I will rid you out of their bondage, and I will redeem you with a stretched out arm, and with great judgments: 7 And I will take you to me for a people, and I will be to you a God: and ye shall know that I am the LORD your God, which bringeth you out from under the burdens of the Egyptians. 8 And I will bring you in unto the land, concerning the which I did swear to give it to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob; and I will give it you for an heritage: I am the LORD.”

“Then the LORD said unto Moses, Now shalt thou see what I will do to Pharaoh: for with a strong hand shall he let them go, and with a strong hand shall he drive them out of his land.”  After hearing Moses complaints and accusations, the LORD manifest his grace unto Moses and tells him again that He will deliver Israel with a strong hand and that when all is over Pharaoh will not only be agreeable for Israel to leave but with a strong hand he will drive the children of Israel out because of what the LORD had done unto Pharaoh.   

“And God spake unto Moses, and said unto him, I am the LORD: 3 And I appeared unto Abraham, unto Isaac, and unto Jacob, by the name of God Almighty, but by my name JEHOVAH was I not known to them.”  In the King James translation the word, LORD, is the same as the word, JEHOVAH.  They both mean, a covenant making and covenant keeping God.  The LORD told Moses that Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob did not know him by the name of LORD.  However, they knew him by the name, Almighty.  It wasn’t as though they had not heard the word, LORD, for it is the most frequent word that God used with them.  What it is talking about is that Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob had all been witnesses of the Almighty power of God.  They had not been witnesses of the LORD fulfilling his covenant that he had made with Abraham and confirmed with Isaac and Jacob.  Among the covenant promises that the LORD had made with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob was that He would give them the land of Canaan for a possession.  However, in their lifetime, they had dwelt in the land of Canaan but had not been possessors of that land.  Now God’s appointed time had come for their descendants to possess that land.  Possession of that land would come under God’s name Jehovah or LORD.   

“And I have also established my covenant with them, to give them the land of Canaan, the land of their pilgrimage, wherein they were strangers. 5 And I have also heard the groaning of the children of Israel, whom the Egyptians keep in bondage; and I have remembered my covenant.”  God established a covenant with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob to give them the land of Canaan, the land of their pilgrimage.  They had been strangers in that land and not possessors of that land.  There are times that we may think that God has forgotten his covenant and forgotten us.  However, God cannot forget his covenant and he cannot forget us.  Likewise, he had not forgotten his covenant with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob and when the appointed time came for their deliverance, which God told Abraham that the children of Israel would dwell in Egypt for four hundred years and that they would be sore afflicted in that land.  God heard the groanings of the children of Israel, whom the Egyptians kept in bondage and remembered his covenant.  Now was the time that the LORD came to deliver the children of Israel. 

“Wherefore say unto the children of Israel, I am the LORD, and I will bring you out from under the burdens of the Egyptians, and I will rid you out of their bondage, and I will redeem you with a stretched out arm, and with great judgments: And I will take you to me for a people, and I will be to you a God: and ye shall know that I am the LORD your God, which bringeth you out from under the burdens of the Egyptians. And I will bring you in unto the land, concerning the which I did swear to give it to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob; and I will give it you for an heritage: I am the LORD.”  In this passage of scripture, according to the covenant promise God had made with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob God promises the children of Israel that he will do seven things to establish his covenant promise: 

                   1.  I will bring you out from under the burdens of the Egyptians.

                   2.  I will rid you out of their bondage.

                   3.  I will redeem you with a stretched out arm, and with great judgments.

                   4.  I will take you to me for a people.

                   5.  I will be to you a God.

                   6.  I will bring you in unto the land, concerning the which I did swear to give it to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob.

                   7.  I will give it you for an heritage.   

These seven promises set the tone for what is written in the rest of the book of Exodus as well as the books of Leviticus, Numbers, Deuteronomy, and Joshua.   

Notice that God in making these promises made the promises using the phrase “I am the LORD” three times.  He uses this phrase with the beginning, the ending, and the middle of these seven promises.  The phrase “I am the LORD” is significant in that it combines two names for God.  God had told Moses that his name is “I AM” to which Moses related to the children of Israel.  I AM suggests to us that God is ever present, unchanging, and eternal.  The name “LORD” suggests to us that God is a covenant establishing and covenant keeping God.  By combining these two names, God is showing Moses and the children of Israel that he will not and cannot fail to keep his covenant promises.