God Works Through Ordinary People: Exodus 6:14-30
Note: This article is an AI-generated adaptation of a spoken transcript and may not fully capture the nuances of the original presentation.
The passage from Exodus 6:14-30 presents us with something that might seem tedious at first glance—a genealogy. The text lists the heads of the fathers’ houses, beginning with Reuben’s sons: Hanuk, Palu, Hezron, and Kami. It continues through Simeon’s descendants, then focuses particularly on Levi’s line through Gershon, Kohath, and Merari.
The genealogy traces down to Aaron and Moses, noting that these were the ones “to whom the Lord said, ‘bring out the people of Israel from the land of Egypt by their hosts.’” The passage concludes with Moses expressing his familiar objection: “Behold, I am of uncircumcised lips. How will Pharaoh listen to me?”
At first, this may seem like just another list of difficult-to-pronounce names. But this genealogy carries a profound message for us today: God’s redeeming plan is carried forward through real and flawed people who belong to His covenant family—not because of their strength, but because of His faithfulness.
Grounded in Covenant History
This genealogy isn’t random history—it’s covenant history. God’s promise to Abraham is now being worked out through his descendants, specifically through the line of Levi, and ultimately through Moses and Aaron.
When we encounter lists like these in Scripture, they serve as a powerful reminder that God’s plan stretches across generations. He doesn’t forget people. He keeps His word from one generation to the next to the next, because He is committed to completing the work He has already started.
This should encourage us tremendously. We are part of a much larger story than just our own lives. God has been faithful for thousands of years, and He will continue to be faithful to complete His purposes in our generation and beyond.
God Chooses Ordinary, Imperfect People
The second truth this passage highlights is that it focuses on real families—ordinary people with real imperfections. God deliberately chooses imperfect people, people just like you and me, to carry out His purposes.
We all have our own sins, our own failures, our own complicated stories. Yet God chose this particular family—Moses and Aaron from the tribe of Levi—to lead and serve Him. Moses and Aaron aren’t heroes of faith because of their impressive pedigree or natural abilities. They’re simply instruments of God’s grace, chosen by God to perform His works.
In fact, they seem to be chosen partly because of their weaknesses. Moses can’t speak well, and Aaron doesn’t always know what to say. This is actually good news for us.
God’s work in the world has always depended on His mercy, not on the power or strength of His people. It’s not human perfection that drives God’s plan forward—it’s God’s plan that uses human imperfection to achieve His purposes.
Our weaknesses glorify God the most. Our inadequacies don’t disqualify us from God’s service. Instead, they put us in a unique position where we must rely entirely on God for His purposes to be accomplished through us. That’s actually a pretty special place to be when you think about it.
It means we don’t have to produce the fruit for God through our own efforts. God will produce the fruit through our weakness, and that will bring Him glory rather than glory to ourselves. There’s tremendous safety and freedom in that truth.
God’s Call Persists Through Our Doubts
The section closes with the same familiar line from Moses that we encountered earlier: “I am of uncircumcised lips. How will Pharaoh listen to me?”
This repetition reminds us that God’s call on our lives persists even when we, as His servants, doubt Him again and again. Even after God’s repeated assurances, Moses still feels unqualified. Remember, Moses himself wrote these words—he’s highlighting his own imperfections and doubts toward God.
And yet God still sends him.
We should be astonished at God’s patience with Moses. God doesn’t replace him or find someone more confident. He keeps working through him. Yes, God provides Aaron to help Moses, but at the end of the day, Moses is still the one who goes. Moses is still the deliverer of God’s people.
God’s mission will be accomplished even through this faltering servant, this flawed messenger. Because God is sovereign over all things, His plans will not fail. We can trust in His plans even when we are weak, knowing that He will accomplish them.
The Upside-Down Way God Works
This upside-down way in which God works comes to its fullest expression in Jesus on the cross. There, the world seemed to have won. Jesus dies—the Savior of the world is killed. The greatest weakness, in a sense, is being displayed.
But at the same time, it’s this very weakness that ultimately leads to the redemption of God’s people. God worked through the brokenness of the world—through the killing of His Son—to save the world.
God can use upside-down means to achieve His purposes, and when He does, He is most glorified. The cross demonstrates once and for all that God doesn’t need our strength or our perfection. He uses our weakness, our insufficiency, even our brokenness to accomplish His redemptive work.
Application for Us Today
This genealogy and Moses’s repeated objections teach us several vital truths:
First, we are part of God’s ongoing covenant story. Our lives aren’t isolated or insignificant—we’re connected to God’s faithful work across generations.
Second, God deliberately chooses to work through imperfect people like Moses, Aaron, and us. When we doubt, when our calling feels too big, when we feel unworthy, we need to remember that God is the one who equips and sustains us.
Third, God’s patience with our doubts is remarkable. He doesn’t discard us when we question Him or feel inadequate. He persists in His call and works through us anyway.
Finally, God’s plan is still unfolding, even when we cannot see it clearly. We can rest in His covenant love and trust that He remains the same faithful God who still keeps His word.
Prayer: Father, thank You for choosing to work through imperfect people like Moses and Aaron and even us to carry out Your work. When we doubt, when we feel that our calling is too big for us, when we feel unworthy, remind us that You are the one who equips us and sustains us. Teach us to rest in Your covenant love. Help us to trust that Your plan is still unfolding, even when we cannot see it clearly. Strengthen our faith to obey You today, knowing that You remain the same faithful God who still keeps His word. In Jesus’ name we pray. Amen.