Immerse: Beginnings Full Volume - Flipbook - Page 104
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IMMERSE
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BEGINNINGS
6:1-17
Then the Lord told Moses, “Now you will see what I will do to Pharaoh. When he feels the force of my strong hand, he will let the people go.
In fact, he will force them to leave his land!”
And God said to Moses, “I am Yahweh—‘the Lord.’ I appeared to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob as E
l-Shaddai—‘God Almighty’—but I did
not reveal my name, Yahweh, to them. And I reaffirmed my covenant with
them. Under its terms, I promised to give them the land of Canaan, where
they were living as foreigners. You can be sure that I have heard the groans
of the people of Israel, who are now slaves to the Egyptians. And I am well
aware of my covenant with them.
“Therefore, say to the people of Israel: ‘I am the Lord. I will free you
from your oppression and will rescue you from your slavery in Egypt. I
will redeem you with a powerful arm and great acts of judgment. I will
claim you as my own people, and I will be your God. Then you will know
that I am the Lord your God who has freed you from your oppression in
Egypt. I will bring you into the land I swore to give to Abraham, Isaac, and
Jacob. I will give it to you as your very own possession. I am the Lord!’”
So Moses told the people of Israel what the Lord had said, but they
refused to listen anymore. They had become too discouraged by the brutality of their slavery.
Then the Lord said to Moses, “Go back to Pharaoh, the king of Egypt,
and tell him to let the people of Israel leave his country.”
“But Lord!” Moses objected. “My own people won’t listen to me anymore. How can I expect Pharaoh to listen? I’m such a clumsy speaker!”
But the Lord spoke to Moses and Aaron and gave them orders for the
Israelites and for Pharaoh, the king of Egypt. The Lord commanded
Moses and Aaron to lead the people of Israel out of Egypt.
These are the ancestors of some of the clans of Israel:
The sons of Reuben, Israel’s oldest son, were Hanoch, Pallu, Hezron,
and Carmi. Their descendants became the clans of Reuben.
The sons of Simeon were Jemuel, Jamin, Ohad, Jakin, Zohar, and Shaul.
(Shaul’s mother was a Canaanite woman.) Their descendants became
the clans of Simeon.
These are the descendants of Levi, as listed in their family records: The
sons of Levi were Gershon, Kohath, and Merari. (Levi lived to be
137 years old.)
The descendants of Gershon included Libni and Shimei, each of
whom became the ancestor of a clan.
