Exodus 6:7
I will take you to be my people, and I will be your God, and you shall know that I am the LORD your God, who has brought you out from under the burdens of the Egyptians.
English Standard Version (ESV)
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This verse highlights that God's promise isn't just about rescue, but about a profound, intimate relationship. It's not just that He will save them, but that His bringing them out of slavery is the very proof that establishes Him as their God and them as His people.
After Moses expresses his frustration about Pharaoh's hardened heart and the people's suffering, God reassures him with a powerful declaration of His intent to deliver them. This promise of a special relationship, where God will be their God and they will be His people, is rooted in His covenant with their ancestors and is meant to be proven through their miraculous exodus from Egyptian bondage.
God declares He will 'take you to be my people.' What does this intimate phrase really mean for us today?
In Exodus 6:7, God uses language that goes beyond political or national belonging. He says, 'I will take you to me for a people.' This isn't just about forming a nation; it's about forming a family.
A Chosen Relationship
This phrase signifies a deep, personal, and exclusive relationship. God chooses Israel not based on their merit (they were deeply flawed, as the commentaries note), but out of His faithfulness to His promises made to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. This choice sets them apart, making them His 'peculiar people.'
The Divine Family Motto
The promise 'I will be to you a God' is the divine counterpart to 'I will take you to me for a people.' It means He will be their King, their Protector, their Provider, and their intimate Father. This covenant relationship is the foundation of their identity and security. It’s a promise of divine presence and care that extends beyond the immediate deliverance from Egypt.
God promises that Israel will 'know' Him through His actions. How does experience shape our understanding of God?
The verse emphasizes a profound experiential knowledge: 'ye shall know that I am the LORD your God, who has brought you out from under the burdens of the Egyptians.' This isn't just intellectual assent; it's a deep, lived understanding.
From Ignorance to Insight
God knew that the Israelites, oppressed for generations, had likely forgotten or distorted the true nature of their God. Their 'stupidity' and 'distrust,' as the commentaries suggest, stemmed from their suffering. Through the powerful act of bringing them out of Egypt, God would reveal His character – His power, faithfulness, and justice.
The Power of Divine Action
Deliverance from the 'burdens of the Egyptians' would be the irrefutable evidence of God's identity and covenant commitment. This act would not only free them physically but also re-establish their understanding of who He is. This pattern repeats throughout Scripture: God often reveals Himself most clearly through His mighty acts of salvation.
Understand the original words
am · Hebrew Noun
Refers to the covenant relationship where God sets apart a specific group of people as His own special possession. It implies a mutual relationship of protection, service, and allegiance between the Creator and His covenant community.
Elohim · Hebrew Noun/Title
A legally binding agreement between God and His people, characterized by God’s initiative and promise to be their God. It provides the foundation for the believer's identity and security.
c. 1845 BC
Abraham Called to Canaan
God calls Abraham to leave his homeland and promises him descendants who will become a great nation and inherit the land of Canaan. This establishes the foundational covenant.
c. 1730 BC
Jacob's Family Moves to Egypt
Due to famine, Jacob and his family (around 70 people) settle in Egypt. Initially welcomed, they are later subjected to increasing hardship and servitude over generations.
c. 1446 BC— this verse
The Exodus from Egypt
God, through Moses, confronts Pharaoh and unleashes plagues upon Egypt. The Israelites are finally released from over 400 years of bondage, marking the central event of this promise.
c. 1446 BC
Israelites Receive the Law at Sinai
Shortly after their deliverance from Egypt, the Israelites enter into a covenant relationship with God at Mount Sinai, receiving the Ten Commandments and other laws.
c. 1406 BC
Conquest and Division of Canaan
This passage echoes the covenant promise of God becoming our God and His people knowing Him, but with a new covenant written on the heart, signifying a deeper, internal relationship than the one established with Israel in Exodus.
Deuteronomy 7:6Here, God reiterates His chosen status for Israel, emphasizing they are a 'holy nation' and 'treasured possession,' which directly parallels the idea of God taking them to be His people in Exodus 6:7.
Ezekiel 36:28This prophecy speaks of God restoring Israel, giving them a new heart, and dwelling within them, fulfilling the promise in Exodus 6:7 that He would be their God and they would 'know' Him through His actions.
Hebrews 8:10Quoting Jeremiah's prophecy, this New Testament passage shows how the promise of God writing His laws on their hearts and being their God is realized in the New Covenant through Christ, a fulfillment of the initial covenant made at Sinai.
John 17:3Jesus Himself defines eternal life as knowing God, linking directly to the Exodus promise that the people would 'know that I am the LORD your God.' This highlights that knowing God is the ultimate purpose and outcome of His redemptive actions.
clarkeExodus 6:7: "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."
I will take you to me for a people, etc. - This was precisely the covenant that he had made with Abraham. See Genesis 17:7 , and see Clarke's note on Genesis 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…
gillExodus 6:7: "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."
And I will take you to me for a people,.... Out of the hands of the Egyptians, and out of their country, to be in a political sense his kingdom and subjects; and in a religious sense a holy people to himself, to fear, serve, worship, and glorify him, by walking according to laws and rules given them by hi…
This verse highlights that God's promise isn't just about rescue, but about a profound, intimate relationship. It's not just that He will save them, but that His bringing them out of slavery is the very proof that establishes Him as their God and them as His people.
After Moses expresses his frustration about Pharaoh's hardened heart and the people's suffering, God reassures him with a powerful declaration of His intent to deliver them. This promise of a special relationship, where God will be their God and they will be His people, is rooted in His covenant with their ancestors and is meant to be proven through their miraculous exodus from Egyptian bondage.
After Moses expresses his frustration about Pharaoh's hardened heart and the people's suffering, God reassures him with a powerful declaration of His intent to deliver them. This promise of a special relationship, where God will be their God and they will be His people, is rooted in His covenant with their ancestors and is meant to be proven through their miraculous exodus from Egyptian bondage.
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Led by Joshua, the Israelites conquer the land of Canaan and divide it among the twelve tribes, fulfilling God's promise of an inheritance.
"I will take you to be my people, and I will be your God, and you shall know that I am the LORD your God, who has brought you out from under the burdens of the Egyptians." — This verse highlights that God's promise isn't just about rescue, but about a profound, intimate relationship. It's not just that He will save them, but that His bringing them out of slavery is the…
