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Exodus 6:14–25
“These are the clans of the Levites according to their generations. Amram took as his wife Jochebed his father’s sister, and she bore him Aaron and Moses, the years of the life of Amram being 137 years” (vv. 19–20).
The story of God’s people is truly a family story. When the Lord saves people, He incorporates them into a family, giving us the “Spirit of adoption” by which we call out “Abba! Father!” (Rom. 8:15). We need to personally trust in Christ to be saved, yet we are saved not to remain discrete individuals but to become children of God, sisters and brothers and fathers and mothers of other believers.
God’s family ultimately consists only of those who are in Christ by faith alone (John 1:11–13), and it is not bound primarily by ties of blood. Nevertheless, the Lord typically saves natural families, incorporating many who are blood relatives into His church by granting them faith and repentance. One of the ways that the Bible makes this evident is through its concern for listing genealogies, especially in the Old Testament. Though not everyone in a given genealogy necessarily had faith, the genealogies of God’s servants highlight how the Lord passes down His blessings and promises through families and the natural process of parents’ handing on the faith to their children for many generations (Gen. 17:7; Acts 2:37–41).
In today’s passage, Moses records the genealogy of him and his brother Aaron. Since we live so far removed from the historical era in which the events of the exodus took place, we may be tempted to gloss over this record, but it is important. First, it establishes Moses and Aaron as part of Israel’s family line, who were the primary inheritors of God’s promises before the coming of Christ (Ex. 6:16–20; see Gen. 35). Second, because Moses and Aaron were of the priestly clan of Levi (see Num. 3), it shows why Moses was able to act not only as a prophet but also as a priest in overseeing the construction of the tabernacle and in offering sacrifices to the Lord (see Ex. 24–40).
The genealogy also shows us how knowledge of the Lord was passed down in Israel’s history. Moses’ mother was named Jochebed, which means “The LORD [Yahweh] is glory” (6:20). Hers is the first name in the Bible to include the shortened form of the divine name Yahweh, or Yah, indicating that Israel knew the Lord, albeit imperfectly, before the birth of Moses. The genealogy also mentions Aaron’s grandson Phinehas (v. 25), who was known for his zeal for the Lord (see Num. 25). Despite the many sins of the old covenant people, knowledge of God was never fully lost.
Coram Deo Living before the face of God
God has purposed to bless all the families of the earth through Abraham’s family, which is nothing less than the Lord’s family. If we trust in the Lord Jesus Christ, we are truly part of that family and thus called to bring the gospel to the nations (Gen. 12:1–3; Gal. 3:1–4:7). Let us strive to pass down the knowledge of God in our natural family lines and to bless the nations by taking the gospel to them and supporting those who are doing such work.
For Further Study
- 1 Chronicles 6
- Ezra 7:1–10
- Ezekiel 48:8–14
- Hebrews 7