Commentary - Exodus 6:10-13

Bird's-eye view

In this brief but potent section, we find a moment of profound discouragement in the midst of God's unfolding plan of redemption. Having just received the glorious promises of God's "I AM" and the seven "I will" statements of deliverance, Moses is once again commanded to go to Pharaoh. But the initial attempt has backfired spectacularly. The Israelites are not rallied but crushed, and their spirits are broken. Moses, caught between the immutable promise of God and the immovable misery of the people, falters. He presents a logical, albeit faithless, argument to Yahweh: if my own people won't listen to me, how on earth will the king of Egypt listen? He points to his own inadequacy, his "uncircumcised lips," as the reason for this failure. The passage concludes not with a direct answer to Moses' objection, but with a restatement of the divine command, now including Aaron, underscoring God's sovereign determination to accomplish His purpose through the flawed instruments He has chosen.

This is a critical juncture. It demonstrates the raw honesty of the biblical narrative and the reality of leadership. God's man is despairing. The people of God are despairing. The only one not despairing is God. He does not rebuke Moses' weakness so much as He overrides it with His authoritative command. The problem is not ultimately Moses' eloquence, but Pharaoh's hard heart and Israel's crushed spirit. And the solution to both is not a better spokesman, but a mightier God. This passage sets the stage for the plagues, where God will bypass all human argumentation and speak directly to Egypt and to Israel through overwhelming acts of power.

Outline

Context In Exodus

This passage sits as a hinge between two major sections. It follows directly after God's magnificent self-revelation to Moses in Exodus 6:1-9. There, God responded to Moses' initial failure and complaint (Exod 5:22-23) by revealing His covenant name, Yahweh, and issuing a series of powerful promises to redeem Israel. It was a high point of divine reassurance. However, when Moses relayed this message to the Israelites, they "did not listen" because of their "anguish of spirit and cruel bondage" (Exod 6:9). Our text (6:10-13) is the direct result of that rejection. It shows the human reality on the ground in the face of divine promises from heaven. Immediately following this section is a genealogy (Exod 6:14-25), which seems like an interruption but actually serves to formally establish the credentials of Moses and Aaron as the designated leaders of the Levitical priesthood, the very men God is commissioning here. After the genealogy, the narrative picks up with the same account of Moses' reluctance and the reissuing of the command (Exod 6:26-7:7), leading directly into the confrontation with Pharaoh and the ten plagues.

Key Issues

The Eloquence of God

Moses' complaint here is a familiar one. Back at the burning bush, his primary objection was his lack of eloquence. "I am not a man of words... I am slow of speech and of tongue" (Exod 4:10). God's answer then was to point to Himself as the creator of the mouth and to promise His divine assistance, and also to provide Aaron as a spokesman. Here, the objection resurfaces, but with a new twist. He describes himself as having "uncircumcised lips."

Circumcision was the sign of the covenant, the mark that set something or someone apart as belonging to God and fit for His service. To be uncircumcised was to be common, unclean, an outsider, unfit. When the prophets speak of an "uncircumcised heart" (Jer 9:26) or "uncircumcised ears" (Jer 6:10), they mean a heart that is rebellious and closed to God's word, or ears that are deaf to His commands. So when Moses speaks of "uncircumcised lips," he is saying more than "I'm a bad speaker." He is making a covenantal statement. He is saying his speech is profane, unfit, and unacceptable for the holy task of speaking for Yahweh to a king. It is a profound statement of inadequacy. And in a glorious sense, he is right. No man's lips are fit for such a task. The story of Exodus is not about the eloquence of Moses. It is about the eloquence of God, who speaks in mighty acts and wonders. God will use Moses' faltering speech to show that the power is not in the vessel, but in the God who sends him.

Verse by Verse Commentary

10 Now Yahweh spoke to Moses, saying, 11 “Come, tell Pharaoh king of Egypt to let the sons of Israel go out of his land.”

The action resumes with the simple, driving force of the entire narrative: the word of God. "Yahweh spoke to Moses." Despite the failure of the first approach, despite the groaning of the people, and despite Moses' own discouragement, God's plan has not been derailed in the slightest. The command is the same as it was before. It is direct, unambiguous, and audacious. "Go, speak to Pharaoh." This is not a negotiation. It is a royal summons delivered to a lesser king from the King of all creation. The objective is clear: "let the sons of Israel go." God is laying claim to His people, and He sends His chosen messenger to deliver the eviction notice to the tyrant who holds them captive.

12 But Moses spoke before Yahweh, saying, “Behold, the sons of Israel have not listened to me; how then will Pharaoh listen to me, for I am of uncircumcised lips?”

Moses' response is a masterpiece of human logic steeped in despair. He is arguing with the Almighty, but he is doing so from a place of genuine perplexity. The phrase "spoke before Yahweh" indicates a formal, almost legal, reply. He presents his case. The foundation of his argument is an appeal to a lesser-to-greater reality. "Behold," he says, "look at the facts on the ground." Fact one: "the sons of Israel have not listened to me." These are my kinsmen, the beneficiaries of this whole enterprise, and they have plugged their ears. From this premise, he draws a logical conclusion: "how then will Pharaoh listen to me?" If my friends won't hear me, why would my enemy? To bolster his case, he points to his own deficiency: "for I am of uncircumcised lips." He connects the failure of his mission to the failure of his mouth. He sees his inadequacy as the root cause of the problem. He is looking at his own weakness, at the people's brokenness, and at Pharaoh's power, and the equation simply doesn't add up. What he fails to factor in is the omnipotence of God.

13 Then Yahweh spoke to Moses and to Aaron and gave them a command for the sons of Israel and for Pharaoh king of Egypt, to bring the sons of Israel out of the land of Egypt.

God's response is telling. He does not engage in a lengthy debate with Moses. He does not offer a pep talk or a course in public speaking. He simply overrides the objection by reissuing the command. But notice the subtle and important additions. First, Aaron is now explicitly included again. God provides the help He has already promised. Second, the command is not just for Pharaoh, but also "for the sons of Israel." God is going to address the unbelief of His own people as well as the obstinance of their enemy. Third, the ultimate purpose is stated with divine finality: "to bring the sons of Israel out of the land of Egypt." This is not a request. It is a statement of what is going to happen. God's answer to Moses' "how can I?" is a divine "you will." The authority rests not in the messenger's lips, but in the Sender's sovereign decree. The mission is not stalled; it is being reinforced.

Application

Every Christian, and especially every Christian leader, knows the feeling of Exodus 6:12. We have all stood between the clear command of God and a situation that seems utterly hopeless. We are called to proclaim the gospel, but our own family will not listen. We are called to lead our church, but the people are discouraged and resistant. We look at the task before us, and then we look at ourselves, and we cry out, "I am of uncircumcised lips!" We feel inadequate, unfit, and unequal to the task.

In those moments, this passage is a profound comfort. It teaches us that God does not call the equipped; He equips the called. Our effectiveness in God's kingdom is not finally dependent on our eloquence, our charisma, or our strategic planning. It is dependent on the bare, sovereign command of God. God knew Moses had a stammer. He knew the Israelites were broken. He knew Pharaoh was a megalomaniac. None of this was a surprise to Him. He chose a weak instrument on purpose, so that when the deliverance came, no one would be tempted to give the glory to Moses' silver tongue. The glory would go to God and God alone.

Therefore, when you feel your own inadequacy, do not despair. Confess it, by all means. But do not let it be your final word. The final word belongs to God. Your weakness is the black velvet on which God displays the diamond of His power. Your uncircumcised lips are the occasion for God to speak His own word of power, a word that parts seas, topples thrones, and raises the dead. Our job is not to be adequate. Our job is to be obedient. And when we obey, we find that the God who commands is also the God who accomplishes.