Exo 6:6-8 | Clarke | STEP | Verse 6 Say unto the children of Israel, I am the Lord, and I will bring you out, etc. - This confirms the explanation given of , which see Clarke's note on .

Exodus 6:6-8

Verse 6

Say unto the children of Israel, I am the Lord, and I will bring you out, etc. - This confirms the explanation given of Exo 6:3, which see Clarke's note on Exo 6:3. Verse 7

I will take you to me for a people, etc. - This was precisely the covenant that he had made with Abraham. See Gen 17:7, and see Clarke's note on Gen 17:7.

And ye shall know that I am the Lord your God - By thus fulfilling my promises ye shall know what is implied in my name. See Clarke's note on Exo 6:3.

But why should God take such a most stupid, refractory, and totally worthless people for his people? 1. Because he had promised to do so to their noble ancestors Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, Joseph, Judah, etc., men worthy of all praise, because in general friends of God, devoted to his will and to the good of mankind.

2. "That (as Bishop Warburton properly observes) the extraordinary providence by which they were protected, might become the more visible and illustrious; for had they been endowed with the shining qualities of the more polished nations, the effects of that providence might have been ascribed to their own wisdom."

3. That God might show to all succeeding generations that he delights to instruct the ignorant, help the weak, and save the lost; for if he bore long with Israel, showed them especial mercy, and graciously received them whenever they implored his protection, none need despair. God seems to have chosen the worst people in the universe, to give by them unto mankind the highest and most expressive proofs, that he wills not the death of a sinner, but rather that he may turn from his iniquity and live. Verse 8

Which I did swear - נשאתי את ידי nasathi eth yadi, I have lifted up my hand. The usual mode of making an appeal to God, and hence considered to be a form of swearing. It is thus that Isa 62:8 is to be understood: The Lord hath sworn by his right hand, and by the arm of his strength.