Yahweh's Deliverance and Destruction

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R edeem er Bible Church

Unreserved Accountability to Christ. Undeserved Acceptance from Christ.
Yahweh’s Deliverance and Destruction

Exodus 6:10-7:7
Introduction
The Scriptures are clear that the whole world will glorify, honor, and magnify the
Lord. Here is just one example:
Gather yourselves and come; Draw near together, you fugitives of the
nations; They have no knowledge, Who carry about their wooden idol And pray
to a god who cannot save. Declare and set forth your case; Indeed, let them
consult together. Who has announced this from of old? Who has long since
declared it? Is it not I, the LORD? And there is no other God besides Me, A
righteous God and a Savior; There is none except Me. Turn to Me and be saved,
all the ends of the earth; For I am God, and there is no other. I have sworn by
Myself, The word has gone forth from My mouth in righteousness And will not
turn back, That to Me every knee will bow, every tongue will swear allegiance.
They will say of Me, ‘Only in the LORD are righteousness and strength.’ Men will
come to Him, And all who were angry at Him will be put to shame. In the LORD
all the offspring of Israel Will be justified and will glory (Isa 45:20-25).
It is without question that God will be glorified, that the Lord’s sovereignty will be
acknowledged by everyone.
And he will be glorified either actively or passively. Those who love him will
praise him for all eternity, thus ascribing to him the fame due his name. And those who
hate him will be put to shame; they will be eternally condemned, thus ascribing to him
the fame due his name.
This may be difficult to comprehend. You may be wondering how it is possible

for God to be glorified in the damnation of the unbelieving. How can it be that God’s
character is magnified by the destruction of the wicked? Jonathan Edwards explores
this question in a sermon entitled, “Wicked Men Useful in Their Destruction Only.” The
reason why he is able to say that wicked men are useful only in their destruction is that
their wickedness prevents them from living for the reason God made them in the first
place: to glorify him. Man can only be useful when he is actively bringing forth godly
fruit and living for God’s glory. Therefore if we do not live to serve and glorify our
creator, we have a purposeless existence, and are good for nothing, except to be
destroyed.
Many texts of Scripture can be set forth to show that this is indeed the case.
Listen, for instance, to Jesus: “I am the vine, you are the branches; he who abides in Me
and I in him, he bears much fruit, for apart from Me you can do nothing. If anyone does
Manuscript for Exodus 6:10-7:7: Yahweh’s Deliverance and Destruction © 2004 by R W Glenn
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not abide in Me, he is thrown away as a branch and dries up; and they gather them, and
cast them into the fire and they are burned” (John 15:5-6).
Edwards simply follows Jesus in his argument:
Men who bring forth no fruit to God, yet in suffering destruction may be
useful. Although they be not useful actively, or by any thing which they do; yet
they may be useful in what they may suffer; just as a barren tree, which is no way
useful standing in the vineyard, yet may be good fuel, and be very useful in the
fire. God can find use for the most wicked men; he [has] his use for vessels of
wrath as well as for vessels of mercy; as in [a] house there is use for vessels [to]
dishonor, as well as for vessels [to] honor: “Now in a large house there are not
only gold and silver vessels, but also vessels of wood and of earthenware, and
some to honor and some to dishonor” (2 Tim 2:20). “The LORD has made
everything for its own purpose, Even the wicked for the day of evil” (Prov 16:4).1
The point is that God is glorified not only in the deliverance of his people
for salvation but also in the destruction of his enemies for damnation. In
salvation, God’s mercy and grace and love are put on display, while in damnation
God’s justice and righteousness and wrath are put on display as well.
This is precisely God’s intention in the deliverance Israel and the destruction of
Egypt in the text for this morning’s meditation.
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Now the LORD spoke to Moses, saying, 11"Go, tell Pharaoh king of
Egypt to let the sons of Israel go out of his land." 12But Moses spoke before the
LORD, saying, "Behold, the sons of Israel have not listened to me; how then will
Pharaoh listen to me, for I am unskilled in speech?" 13Then the LORD spoke to
Moses and to Aaron, and gave them a charge to the sons of Israel and to
Pharaoh king of Egypt, to bring the sons of Israel out of the land of Egypt.
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These are the heads of their fathers' households. The sons of Reuben,
Israel's firstborn: Hanoch and Pallu, Hezron and Carmi; these are the families of
Reuben. 15The sons of Simeon: Jemuel and Jamin and Ohad and Jachin and
Zohar and Shaul the son of a Canaanite woman; these are the families of
Simeon. 16These are the names of the sons of Levi according to their
generations: Gershon and Kohath and Merari; and the length of Levi's life was
one hundred and thirty-seven years. 17The sons of Gershon: Libni and Shimei,
according to their families. 18The sons of Kohath: Amram and Izhar and Hebron
and Uzziel; and the length of Kohath's life was one hundred and thirty-three
years. 19The sons of Merari: Mahli and Mushi. These are the families of the
Levites according to their generations. 20Amram married his father's sister
Jochebed, and she bore him Aaron and Moses; and the length of Amram's life
was one hundred and thirty-seven years. 21The sons of Izhar: Korah and
Nepheg and Zichri. 22The sons of Uzziel: Mishael and Elzaphan and Sithri.
23
Aaron married Elisheba, the daughter of Amminadab, the sister of Nahshon,
and she bore him Nadab and Abihu, Eleazar and Ithamar. 24The sons of Korah:
Assir and Elkanah and Abiasaph; these are the families of the Korahites.
1
Jonathan Edwards, “Wicked Men Useful in Their Destruction Only,” Collected Sermons (AGES
Software), 224.
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25
Aaron's son Eleazar married one of the daughters of Putiel, and she bore him
Phinehas. These are the heads of the fathers' households of the Levites
according to their families. 26It was the same Aaron and Moses to whom the
LORD said, "Bring out the sons of Israel from the land of Egypt according to their
hosts." 27They were the ones who spoke to Pharaoh king of Egypt about bringing
out the sons of Israel from Egypt; it was the same Moses and Aaron.
28
Now it came about on the day when the LORD spoke to Moses in the
land of Egypt, 29that the LORD spoke to Moses, saying, "I am the LORD; speak
to Pharaoh king of Egypt all that I speak to you." 30But Moses said before the
LORD, "Behold, I am unskilled in speech; how then will Pharaoh listen to me?"
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Then the LORD said to Moses, "See, I make you as God to Pharaoh,
and your brother Aaron shall be your prophet. 2You shall speak all that I
command you, and your brother Aaron shall speak to Pharaoh that he let the
sons of Israel go out of his land. 3But I will harden Pharaoh's heart that I may
multiply My signs and My wonders in the land of Egypt. 4When Pharaoh does not
listen to you, then I will lay My hand on Egypt and bring out My hosts, My people
the sons of Israel, from the land of Egypt by great judgments. 5The Egyptians
shall know that I am the LORD, when I stretch out My hand on Egypt and bring
out the sons of Israel from their midst." 6So Moses and Aaron did it; as the
LORD commanded them, thus they did. 7Moses was eighty years old and Aaron
eighty-three, when they spoke to Pharaoh. (Exodus 6:10-7:7)
The Lord’s Undaunted Purpose (6:10-30)

As you can see 6:10-30 form a kind of envelope with the Lord’s commission and
Moses’ complaint at the beginning and at the end. Stuffed in the envelope is a Hebrew
genealogy that addresses not the sons of Israel in their entirety, but simply looks at
Israel’s first three sons: Reuben, Simeon, and Levi—the first three sons of Jacob’s wife,
Leah.
The fact that the events and language of 6:10-12 are repeated in verses 28-30
indicates not that God and Moses spoke to one another twice, but is a common device
in Hebrew narrative used to indicate the resumption of action previously begun. In
addition, it helps to set apart the material in between repetitions to give it significance.
In other words, don’t skip the genealogy. It’s communicating something important—
something important enough to interrupt the flow of the plot’s development.
I will not take the time to reread the genealogy in its entirety; instead, let me point
out several of its salient features.
First, we have already mentioned that the genealogy is incomplete. Though it

starts out with the characteristic these are the heads of their fathers’ households,
the narrator stops abruptly with Levi and chooses to elaborate on his descendants.
Second, the elaboration of Levi’s posterity is framed by a separate introduction

and conclusion at verses 16 & 25: These are the names of the sons of Levi
according to their generations (verse 16) and, These are the heads of the fathers'
households of the Levites according to their families (verse 25).
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Third, the life spans of the individuals in the genealogy are given only for Levi’s
offspring. Notice verses 16, 18, & 20: (verse 16) the length of Levi's life was one
hundred and thirty-seven years; (verse 18) the length of Kohath’s life was one
hundred and thirty-three years; and (verse 20) the length of Amram’s life was one
hundred and thirty-seven years.
Fourth, the descendants of Levi are traced for five generations while the
Reubenites and Simeonites are traced each for only one.
Clearly, then, the narrator is interested in focusing our attention on the Levitical
line. This seems fairly natural in light of Moses and Aaron’s Levitical heritage. Moses’
ancestry has already been noted. You will, of course, remember Exodus 2:1 in which
Moses' parents are described as “a man from the house of Levi” and “a daughter of
Levi.” The attention to the Levitical line is important for Moses and Aaron because of
Israel’s future position as a kingdom of priests of the most holy God (see 19:5-6).
But there is more to this genealogy than a reiteration of Moses as priest. In

reality, the genealogy itself is barely concerned with Moses. Aaron instead receives the
most attention.
The first indication of special attention for Aaron is that his name is listed ahead
of Moses’ in verse 20: and she bore him Aaron and Moses. Now in the light of the
genealogy, it is perfectly natural that Aaron should be named first since he is the older
son. Yet compared with the overall narrative of Exodus it is unusual for Aaron to be
named first. Both are mentioned together at four earlier times in Exodus and each time
Moses’ name is listed first (see 4:29; 5:1, 4, 20).
The second feature of the genealogy that places the spotlight on Aaron is that
while Aaron’s wife is mentioned, Moses’ is not. Notice verse 23: Aaron married
Elisheba. Zipporah is not included.
Third, only Aaron’s brother-in-law is given attention. Look again at verse 23:
Aaron married Elisheba, the daughter of Amminadab, the sister of Nahshon. The
inclusion of Aaron’s brother-in-law, Nahshon, is of singular importance since it indicates
that Aaron married into royalty. According to Numbers 2:3 & 10:14, Nahshon was the
leader of the tribe of Judah, which is the tribe from which King David has come.
Fourth, only the fathers-in-law of Aaron and Eleazar (Aaron’s son) are named.
Notice yet again verse 23: Aaron married Elisheba, the daughter of Amminadab.
And now look to verse 25: Aaron’s son Eleazar married one of the daughters of
Putiel.
Fifth, none of Moses’ descendants are listed, while three generations of Aaron’s
are given attention.
Finally, the genealogy terminates with Aaron’s grandson, Phinehas. Look again
at verse 25: Aaron’s son Eleazar married one of the daughters of Putiel, and she
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bore him Phinehas. Phinehas is a significant character in the Old Testament, held in
very high regard.
Numbers 25 records an incident in which the people of God engaged in Moabite

idolatry and (apparently) sexual immorality. Moses is ordered by the Lord to execute all
those who joined themselves to the god Baal of Peor. While the people are still
weeping over their loss, a certain Israelite enters the congregation with a foreign,
idolatrous woman. And the Bible says that “when Phinehas the son of Eleazar, the son
of Aaron the priest, saw it, he arose from the midst of the congregation and took a spear
in his hand, and he went after the man of Israel into the tent and pierced both of them
through, the man of Israel and the woman, through the body. So the plague on the sons
of Israel was checked” (Numbers 25:7-8).
This act of zeal and heroism was lauded by the Lord himself. Listen:
Then the LORD spoke to Moses, saying, “Phinehas the son of Eleazar,
the son of Aaron the priest, has turned away My wrath from the sons of Israel in
that he was jealous with My jealousy among them, so that I did not destroy the
sons of Israel in My jealousy. Therefore say, ‘Behold, I give him My covenant of
peace; and it shall be for him and his descendants after him, a covenant of a
perpetual priesthood, because he was jealous for his God and made atonement
for the sons of Israel’” (Numbers 25:10-13).
It is this Phinehas who holds the final place in the genealogy of Exodus 6.
So from before Aaron’s day to the present and even into the future, Levi has
exhibited faithfulness to the covenant. By ending the genealogy with Phinehas
the narrator is saying that throughout the generations, Levi has been faithful to
the Lord. And included among the sons of Levi is Aaron himself.
Summing up what we have seen so far, this genealogy singles out the Levites
from among the tribes of Israel and Aaron from among the other Levitical families. Of
course, the really pressing question is, “Why?”
The answer to the “why” question is found in verses 26 & 27: It was the same
Aaron and Moses to whom the LORD said, “Bring out the sons of Israel from the
land of Egypt according to their hosts.” They were the ones who spoke to
Pharaoh king of Egypt about bringing out the sons of Israel from Egypt; it was the
same Moses and Aaron. Twice in as many verses the narrator is quick to point out
that the Aaron and Moses of Levitical descent are the same Aaron and Moses who
had been commissioned by the Lord to bring out the sons of Israel from the land of
Egypt (summarized in 6:132).
Moses’ Levitical pedigree has already been emphasized in the narrative to this
point; Aaron’s, however, has not. So the narrator uses this genealogy to set forth Aaron
as a worthy partner for Moses, functioning as his mouthpiece. That this is the point of
2
I am inclined to agree with John Calvin, Calvin’s Commentaries, Vol 2.1 (Grand Rapids, MI: Baker
Books, 1996 reprint), 134 and others that 6:13 is not speaking of a second commissioning of Moses and
Aaron; rather, I see it as a summary of the original commission recorded in Chs 3-4.
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locating the genealogy at this juncture is indicated by its being framed by Moses’
complaint that he lacks eloquence (6:10-12, 28-30). Remember that it is owing to
Moses’ self-confessed poor speaking ability that the Lord commissions Aaron in the first
place (see 4:14-16). Aaron has been assigned to Moses, and his heritage does not at
all disqualify him from the mission.
At the same time the genealogy legitimizes Aaron’s position alongside his
brother, in the broader context of the Exodus narrative it marks a break and transition
between the unfruitful human efforts at Israel’s liberation and God’s decisive
intervention on Israel’s behalf that will be accomplished through the plagues.
Moses and Aaron’s first trip to Pharaoh has been a dismal failure. And despite
God’s encouragement in 6:2-8, the sons of Israel “did not listen to Moses.” Pharaoh
has proven himself to be immovable to any human agent and the people of Israel have
proven themselves to be quick to blame the Lord and his emissaries for their worsening
predicament.
What the genealogy says is, “God is faithful. He is the God of the past (Levi), the
God of the present (Aaron) and the God of the future (Phinehas).” And God is
committed to his original purposes; he remains untrammeled and undaunted by the
current developments in Israel’s condition.
The forward motion of the plot resumes with a second iteration of 6:10-12 in
verses 28-30: Now it came about on the day when the LORD spoke to Moses in the
land of Egypt, that the LORD spoke to Moses, saying, “I am the LORD; speak to
Pharaoh king of Egypt all that I speak to you.” But Moses said before the LORD,
“Behold, I am unskilled in speech; how then will Pharaoh listen to me?”
There is only one notable difference between this version of the exchange
between the Lord and Moses that is recorded earlier in chapter 6. Here in verses 28-
30, God commissions Moses with the words I am the Lord, signifying the gravity of
God’s call on Moses’ life. “The one who revealed himself as Yahweh to you in the
burning bush is the one who is calling you to speak to Pharaoh king of Egypt all that I
speak to you.”
After being encouraged and commanded to return to Pharaoh, Moses asks the
Lord a very natural question, arguing from the lesser to the greater (I’ll use the fuller
question of 6:12): Behold, the sons of Israel have not listened to me; how then will
Pharaoh listen to me, for I am unskilled in speech?
The Lord’s Unparalleled Power (7:1-7)

God’s answer to this question is found in 7:1-5. On the face of it, the Lord’s
response is quite surprising. First, he reiterates what he said at the burning bush in
response to Moses’ claim to a lack of eloquence (4:14-16).
Look at verses 1-2: Then the LORD said to Moses, “See, I make you as God
to Pharaoh, and your brother Aaron shall be your prophet. You shall speak all
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that I command you, and your brother Aaron shall speak to Pharaoh that he let
the sons of Israel go out of his land.”
Aaron will continue to function as Moses’ mouthpiece. Nothing has

changed…except one thing: the Lord says to Moses that he will make him as God to
Pharaoh. In their earlier encounter, the Lord had told Moses that he would make him
as God to Aaron (4:16). Now the Lord says that Moses will be as God to Pharaoh.
Moreover, the Hebrew of 7:1 does not say that the Lord will make Moses as God to
Pharaoh, but that he will make him God to Pharaoh. The Lord is “upping the ante,” so
to speak.
Earlier, when the Lord had said that Moses would be as God to Aaron, his
concern was with Moses’ relationship to Israel. Now his concern is with Moses’
relationship to Egypt, and especially to Pharaoh. Moses stands as an authority superior
to that of Pharaoh; in fact, functioning as God in this way, Moses is Pharaoh’s authority.
To be God to Pharaoh is to posses the Lord’s authority and power and thus to demand
Pharaoh’s submission.
Keep in mind that Egypt’s Pharaoh claimed divinity for himself. Now Moses,
wielding the power and authority of the Lord will manifest for Pharaoh the hollowness of
such a claim.
Yet in spite of Moses’ unique authority and unparalleled power, Pharaoh will not
comply with his demand to let the people of Israel go. Look at verses 3-4: But I will
harden Pharaoh's heart that I may multiply My signs and My wonders in the land
of Egypt. When Pharaoh does not listen to you, then I will lay My hand on Egypt
and bring out My hosts, My people the sons of Israel, from the land of Egypt by
great judgments.
So when Moses asks, How then will Pharaoh listen to me? God’s answer is
that he won’t! And why won’t Pharaoh listen to a man who wields the power and
authority of the God of all creation? Because the God of all creation will harden his
heart.
What! Pharaoh will not listen because God will be actively involved in hardening
Pharaoh’s resistance to the divine mandate? Yes. Now this is encouraging. All the
resistance that Moses will experience at the hand of Pharaoh not only will have been
foreseen according to God’s omniscience but it will also have been inflicted by his
omnipotence.3 Pharaoh’s noncompliance is part of the Lord’s overall strategy.
And although this is not the time to address the subtleties of the questions
surrounding divine sovereignty and human responsibility, what we can say with certainty
is that our questions are not in the interest of the narrative. The point here is that even
though Moses has been invested with divine authority, Pharaoh will remain recalcitrant
because God is acting on him to keep him that way.
3
I am borrowing the language from Keil & Delitzsch, Biblical Commentary on the Old Testament, Vol
1: The Pentateuch (Grand Rapids, MI: Eerdmans, 1971 reprint), 457.
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“And so,” says the Lord in verse 4, “when Pharaoh does not listen to you, do
not be dismayed, for it is then that I will lay my heavy hand on Egypt and deliver you,
my hosts, my numerous people, out from under the sadistic cruelty of Egyptian
bondage.” God reminds Moses of his sovereign and mysterious activity on Israel’s
behalf in order to encourage him in the task that has been set before him. More than
that, the Lord’s word here is intended to show that it is not Moses or Aaron or Pharaoh
or any other human being who will ultimately deliver Israel. It is the Lord alone who is
Israel’s redeemer.
As one commentator has so aptly stated, “It is not Moses who will make things
happen in Egypt, or who will be trusted to bring powerful deliverance, or whose own
eloquence or lack of eloquence will matter at all, or whose coming to Pharaoh will
inspire respect and receive attention. The determining Presence will be Yahweh’s.”4
The point, then, is this: Israel’s deliverance is entirely of God; it is under his complete
control.
So acting on this knowledge, verses 6 & 7 tell us of Moses and Aaron’s

response: So Moses and Aaron did it; as the LORD commanded them, thus they
did. Moses was eighty years old and Aaron eighty-three, when they spoke to
Pharaoh. The narrator concludes this portion of narrative with two points:
The second point of the conclusion of our narrative portion is that Moses and
Aaron were octogenarians—it was not until they reached their eighties that they fully
took on the task of liberating God’s people. Moses was 80 and Aaron was 83 when
they spoke to Pharaoh (verse 7).
The significance of their ages has been variously construed, but it seems fair to
say that their elderly stature indicates not that it took this long for them to be sufficiently
ready to serve the Lord. Instead, what is in view is that for them to have been assigned
such a task this late in life indicates that they are the recipients of profound blessing
from the Lord. For to live to a ripe old age is considered the sign of divine favor. Aaron
lived to the age of 123.5 And though Moses only lived to 120, the Bible says that “his
eye was not dim, nor his vigor abated” (Deuteronomy 34:7).
The first point is that Moses and Aaron were unequivocally compliant with the
divine mandate. Twice in verse 6 we are told that Moses and Aaron did what the
Lord commanded them. Added to what has come before, this word from the Lord
apparently does the trick. On the basis of God’s sovereign and saving activity, Moses
and Aaron are encouraged to comply.
For the Fame of His Name

Now although it is certainly heartening to know that the Lord is in control of
Egypt’s vicious dictator, there is more to God’s declaration about hardening Pharaoh’s
heart than simply a word of encouragement. Verse 3 gives the reason for God’s action.
4
John I Durham, Exodus (Waco, TX: Word, 1987), 86, italics in original.
5
Numbers 33:39
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Look again at verse 3: But I will harden Pharaoh’s heart that I may multiply My
signs and My wonders in the land of Egypt. The Lord will harden Pharaoh’s heart
so that he may multiply his signs and wonders in Egypt.
If Pharaoh were to capitulate to Moses and Aaron’s demands immediately, then

the Lord would not be able to multiply his signs and his wonders in Egypt. Of
course, this all makes very good sense, for there could hardly be a multiplication of
miracles if Pharaoh immediately conceded to Yahweh’s mandate. But it still ought to
leave a nagging question in our minds: why is it important that the Lord multiply his
signs and his wonders in the land of Egypt? To use the language of verse 4, why is
it important that the Lord bring out his people from the land of Egypt by great
judgments?
The answer is found in verse 5: The Egyptians shall know that I am the LORD,
when I stretch out My hand on Egypt and bring out the sons of Israel from their
midst. This is what preoccupies our Lord. He wants his name to be honored by the
whole world, by Israel and by Egypt (see 6:7). He wants his name known; he wants his
fame exalted.
The Lord could have destroyed Pharaoh at any time; however, to do so

immediately would be to do so prematurely in terms of God’s overarching purpose of
having his name honored among the Egyptians. Listen to what the Lord tells Pharaoh
through Moses, “For if by now I had put forth My hand and struck you and your people
with pestilence, you would then have been cut off from the earth. But, indeed, for this
reason I have allowed you to remain, in order to show you My power and in order to
proclaim My name through all the earth” (Exodus 9:15-16).
He wants his enemies to know that he is the Lord, he is the sovereign ruler of the
universe, he is the one with whom men must contend. He is God!
You see, God is more interested in Egypt’s destruction and Israel’s deliverance
than Moses could have imagined. This is because the Lord’s fame is at stake. It is
God’s honor that is ultimately being vindicated. The setbacks that Moses and Aaron
experience are not really setbacks at all; God has personally orchestrated them for the
spreading of the fame of his name. All that God is doing is ordered toward the
knowledge of the Lord.
And yet Egypt’s knowledge of the Lord does not entail their deliverance. On the
contrary, it entails the opposite; it entails their destruction. For verse 5 says that the
Egyptians will know Yahweh when he stretches out his hand to destroy them as he
leads his people Israel by the hand to save them.
Notice very carefully that two things are happening at the same time: Egypt is
being destroyed and Israel is being delivered, both of which function to extend the fame
of Yahweh’s name.
For the Fame of Jesus’ Name
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This, of course, is emblematic of God’s ultimate salvation in Jesus Christ. We

currently enjoy the first installment of God’s promise that “the earth will be filled With the
knowledge of the glory of the LORD, As the waters cover the sea” (Habakkuk 2:14).
And like the Old Covenant counterpart, this knowledge of the glory of the Lord involves
both deliverance and destruction.
Turn in your Bibles to 2 Corinthians 2:14-16.

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But thanks be to God, who always leads us in triumph in Christ, and manifests
through us the sweet aroma of the knowledge of Him in every place. 15For we are a
fragrance of Christ to God among those who are being saved and among those who are
perishing; 16to the one an aroma from death to death, to the other an aroma from life to
life. And who is adequate for these things?
The knowledge of Christ has one aroma that evokes two distinct responses. One
is an aroma from life to life, while the other is an aroma from death to death.
Nevertheless, the flowers of victory are still the flowers of victory. The aroma of the
knowledge of Christ is still the knowledge of Christ.
You will acknowledge the Lord. You will either do so positively or you will do so
negatively, but you will do it nonetheless. And my very great concern is that you are
counted among the people of God through Christ, rather than, as it were, counted
among the Egyptians. A final deliverance is going to take place as well as a final
destruction. You will either be saved and express your knowledge of God through
ceaseless praise or you will condemned and express your knowledge of God through
ceaseless lament.
I am deeply concerned for your souls. Our church is deeply concerned for the
plight of the unbelieving. Everyone will someday acknowledge that Jesus Christ is Lord;
and they will know it either by being the recipients of his deliverance or by being the
recipients of his destruction. Because of this reality, our church offers training in
personal evangelism, and we pray corporately for gospel opportunities with our
neighbors, friends, family, and colleagues.
But my deepest concern is for you who come to hear the word of God week in
and week out who have not had a genuinely saving experience of the grace of God. If
you are wondering whether or not you have, do not ignore the nagging of your heart and
mind. You need to test yourself to see whether you are in the faith. Deep inside you
know whether or not you are known by him. Though you do not see him, you love him,
and you rejoice with glorious, God-honoring and unspeakable joy. You must be
reconciled to God; you must submit your will to the irresistible and conquering will of the
sovereign God. You must entrust yourself to the living, reigning Lord Jesus Christ.
I am so burdened by your spiritual condition. I desperately want you to know the

Savior so that you may savor the joys of salvation rather than having to drink down the
wine of God’s wrath. And yet my burden for you as lost souls cannot compare to God’s
interest in bringing people to a saving knowledge of himself. He takes no pleasure in
the destruction of the wicked. He is positively disposed toward all those who call upon
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him. Nevertheless his justice will be satisfied, he will be glorified. Though he endures
with patience vessels of wrath fitted for destruction, his patience will run out. Do not test
him—test yourself. Make your calling and election sure. For Christ’s sake and for your
own—fall upon Jesus for salvation. For the son of man did not come to condemn the
world, but to save it…
Redeemer Bible Church

16205 Highway 7
Minnetonka, MN 55345
Office: 952.935.2425
Fax: 952.938.8299
info@redeemerbiblechurch.com
www.redeemerbiblechurch.com
www.solidfoodmedia.com

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Yahweh's Deliverance and Destruction

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R edeem er Bible Church