EXODUS 6:1-7:7
PREPARATION
BEGIN IN PRAYER
OPENING DISCUSSION
Have you ever experienced a “broken spirit”? A time when life felt hopeless, and it was hard to believe things would change?
CONTEXT
The book of Exodus continues the story of Genesis. In a nutshell, Genesis tells the story of how God created the heavens and the earth, and everything God created was good.
At the pinnacle of this good world, God created humanity to live in a perfect love relationship with him and to image his glory to the world. The first man and woman were given a mission: to multiply and fill the earth with image-bearers of God so that the glory of God would cover the earth like the waters cover the sea (Gen 1:26-27). But an enemy crept into God’s creation, that ancient serpent, the Devil. And he deceived the man and woman, and the world was plunged into sin and death. God promised that one day a descendant of Eve would come as a deliverer, and he would crush the serpent’s head and lead humanity back into God’s presence forever. But until that day, there would be a battle between the Serpent's descendants and Eve's descendants (Gen 3:15).
The rest of Genesis tells how God began to fulfill this redemptive promise through a specific descendant of Eve named Abraham. God came to Abraham and promised that through his family line, all the peoples of the world would be blessed (Gen 12:1-3). In other words, God was telling Abraham that the promised descendant of Eve, who would crush the serpent’s head and bring humanity back to God, would come through his line. Abraham had a son named Isaac, and Isaac had a son named Jacob, and Jacob had twelve sons, and God began fulfilling this redemptive promise.
But Genesis ends with a threat. A famine comes upon the land, and this family, chosen to be the family through whom the deliverer would come, is threatened with extinction. It appears that God’s promises hang in the balance. So they flee to Egypt and find relief there for the next 400 years. The chosen family is spared. This is where Exodus picks up.
SNAPSHOT
In Exodus 1-3, we read of the birth and call of Moses, the man God had chosen to deliver Israel from slavery in Egypt. In Chapter 4, we read about Moses’ reluctance to serve as God’s deliverer and how God promised to be with him and display his power through him. In Chapter 5, we read of the severe oppression of the Israelites and Moses’ prayer to God, asking him why he has allowed such evil to come upon his people. In Chapters 6:1-7:7, God promises to deliver his people and sends Moses and Aaron to confront Pharaoh.
OPENING DISCUSSION
Have you ever experienced a “broken spirit”? A time when life felt hopeless, and it was hard to believe things would change?
CONTEXT
The book of Exodus continues the story of Genesis. In a nutshell, Genesis tells the story of how God created the heavens and the earth, and everything God created was good.
At the pinnacle of this good world, God created humanity to live in a perfect love relationship with him and to image his glory to the world. The first man and woman were given a mission: to multiply and fill the earth with image-bearers of God so that the glory of God would cover the earth like the waters cover the sea (Gen 1:26-27). But an enemy crept into God’s creation, that ancient serpent, the Devil. And he deceived the man and woman, and the world was plunged into sin and death. God promised that one day a descendant of Eve would come as a deliverer, and he would crush the serpent’s head and lead humanity back into God’s presence forever. But until that day, there would be a battle between the Serpent's descendants and Eve's descendants (Gen 3:15).
The rest of Genesis tells how God began to fulfill this redemptive promise through a specific descendant of Eve named Abraham. God came to Abraham and promised that through his family line, all the peoples of the world would be blessed (Gen 12:1-3). In other words, God was telling Abraham that the promised descendant of Eve, who would crush the serpent’s head and bring humanity back to God, would come through his line. Abraham had a son named Isaac, and Isaac had a son named Jacob, and Jacob had twelve sons, and God began fulfilling this redemptive promise.
But Genesis ends with a threat. A famine comes upon the land, and this family, chosen to be the family through whom the deliverer would come, is threatened with extinction. It appears that God’s promises hang in the balance. So they flee to Egypt and find relief there for the next 400 years. The chosen family is spared. This is where Exodus picks up.
SNAPSHOT
In Exodus 1-3, we read of the birth and call of Moses, the man God had chosen to deliver Israel from slavery in Egypt. In Chapter 4, we read about Moses’ reluctance to serve as God’s deliverer and how God promised to be with him and display his power through him. In Chapter 5, we read of the severe oppression of the Israelites and Moses’ prayer to God, asking him why he has allowed such evil to come upon his people. In Chapters 6:1-7:7, God promises to deliver his people and sends Moses and Aaron to confront Pharaoh.
READ
Read 6:1-7:7 aloud
EXAMINE
- In Chapter 5, Moses confronted Pharaoh just as God had commanded. And as a result, conditions got far worse for the Israelites. So Chapter 5 ends with Moses asking God why he even sent him to Pharaoh since it only made things worse (5:22-23). Chapter 6:1-8 is God’s response to Moses’ prayer. Read 6:1-8. What stands out to you about God’s answer to Moses?
- In 6:9, Moses relays God’s promise of deliverance to the Israelites, but we are told they would not listen because of their “broken spirit and harsh slavery.” What does it mean that their spirit was broken? And why do you think a broken spirit makes it hard to believe promises of deliverance?
- In 6:10-13, we see that Moses was still doubting God. If God’s own people wouldn’t listen to him, how would Pharaoh ever listen to him? Read Psalm 20. How does this Psalm relate to the struggle Moses is going through?
- In 7:3, God promises that he will “harden” Pharaoh’s heart so that he will not listen to Moses. Later we read that Pharaoh hardened his own heart (8:32). There is a mystery here between God’s sovereignty and human responsibility. Many believe it is unjust of God to harden Pharaoh’s heart and then judge him because he wouldn’t listen. If God hardened Pharaoh’s heart, did he have a choice? How do you make sense of this mystery? Read Romans 9:14-21. How do Paul’s words shed light on this discussion?
APPLY
In Chapter 6, we see that suffering and disappointment in life can make it hard to trust God’s promises. The harshness of their slavery broke the people’s spirits, and it was hard to believe anything could ever change. And because Pharaoh and the Israelites had already rejected Moses, it was hard for Moses to trust that God would use him.
- Where in your life right now are suffering or disappointment (or temptation) making it hard to trust God’s promises?
- What specific promises of the gospel are the most difficult for you to believe right now?1 Why?
- Paul says in 2 Corinthians 5:7 that we “walk by faith and not by sight.” That is to say, the Christian life is a constant battle to trust in God and his promises despite what we see and experience around us. What habits and practices can you incorporate, individually and as a group, to help you walk more by faith and less by sight?
PRAY
Father, open the eyes of our hearts that we might know the hope to which we have been called, the riches of your glorious inheritance in the saints, and the immeasurable greatness of your power towards us in Christ.
1E.g. That Christ is with you; that you are a beloved child of God; that you have spiritual power to resist temptation; that nothing can separate you from God’s love in Christ; that God is working all things for your good; that you have been completely forgiven of all of your sins; etc.