What is the meaning of Exodus 3:17? I have promised - The statement opens with God’s personal commitment. He is binding Himself to His word, demonstrating perfect faithfulness (Numbers 23:19; Hebrews 10:23). - This promise reaches back centuries to Genesis 15:13-16, where the LORD told Abram his descendants would be oppressed but would surely emerge with great possessions. - Exodus 2:24 notes that “God heard their groaning, and He remembered His covenant with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob.” The pledge in 3:17 is the outworking of that remembered covenant. To bring you up - Salvation is not merely escape; it is an elevation. God lifts His people from a low place to a higher one (Psalm 40:2; 1 Peter 2:9). - The phrase underscores divine initiative. Israel contributes nothing to the mechanics of the rescue; the LORD carries them, much like the eagle imagery of Deuteronomy 32:11-12. - Exodus 33:1 echoes the same wording, reinforcing that the journey upward is a continuing act of grace, not a one-time burst of help. Out of your affliction in Egypt - “Affliction” recalls the crushing labor of Exodus 1:11-14, the murder of Hebrew sons in 1:22, and the bitter cry that rose to heaven (Exodus 2:23-24). - God identifies with the pain of His people (Isaiah 63:9) and steps in personally: “I have surely seen the affliction of My people … and I have come down to rescue them” (Exodus 3:7-8). - Acts 7:34, in Stephen’s sermon, confirms that the exodus showcases the LORD’s compassion and power toward the oppressed. Into the land of the Canaanites, Hittites, Amorites, Perizzites, Hivites, and Jebusites - Six specific peoples are named, anchoring the promise in real geography and history (Genesis 10:15-19; Deuteronomy 7:1). - The list signals that God’s gift will involve conquest and displacement of entrenched cultures opposed to Him (Joshua 3:10). - This land was already promised to Abram in Genesis 12:7; 13:15; 17:8. The LORD now prepares to hand it over to the nation that bears His name. A land flowing with milk and honey - “Flowing” paints a vivid picture of natural abundance—pasture for livestock (“milk”) and fertile fields where bees thrive (“honey”) (Deuteronomy 6:3; 11:9). - The phrase recurs as a refrain of hope throughout the Pentateuch (Exodus 13:5; Leviticus 20:24). - Material blessing foreshadows spiritual fullness. Jesus later promises, “I have come that they may have life, and have it in all its fullness” (John 10:10), linking the exodus motif to the gospel. summary Exodus 3:17 encapsulates the heart of God’s covenant: He personally guarantees to lift His people from real oppression, escort them to a definite homeland, overcome every obstacle in their path, and settle them in abundant provision. The verse showcases divine faithfulness, sovereign power, compassionate deliverance, and generous blessing—threads that weave all the way to Christ’s redemptive work and the eternal inheritance awaiting all who trust Him. |
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