Exodus 6

God, forbearing fellow that He is, doesn't react to Moses's whining by hurling a lightning bolt at him. In fact, He doesn't even get irked. Doesn't make for a dramatically satisfying resolution to last chapter's serial cliffhanger--after all, who wants to watch a movie or read a book devoid of conflict?--but this further bespeaks God's endlessly merciful nature.

God decides to repeat His promise to Moses (perhaps thinking, "Surely, he will get it through his thick skull this time"), but he doesn't use cantankerous language. You know how teachers and parents often say, "I don't want to have to say this again?" As a kid, I was never on the receiving end of this barb from anyone except for my parents (of course). Now, it's my turn to serve as the source from which this timeless phrase emits, and it only decides to show itself when I'm truly exasperated. I'm the last person you'd see running around trying to antagonize people, but I do know that I definitely perform actions that disgruntle God. Even though I don't need to "gruntle" God in order to win His favor, I'm only showing that I don't truly value God's grace when I sin.

Moses relays God's promise to his fellow Israelites, but they ignore him because they're so despondent. I do find some encouragement from words of affirmation in most situations. But in times of extreme anguish, such encouragement may seem like empty words. Like I've said before, I've been blessed enough not to have undergone anything too excruciating, but I can understand why the Israelites aren't listening to Moses. After all, God hasn't done anything for them in hundreds of years, they reason, so why should He start now? I admit that I can come close to this kind of thinking, but about more superficial issues like my career path and extra-family relationships because, in case you're wondering, I happen to not be a slave. But then God reminds me of all that I am blessed with. Many people would be utterly euphoric to have any job or a loving family, so to ask for anything more than that seems greedy.

We then proceed to genealogies of Jacob's first three sons, Reuben, Simeon, and Levi. We learn that Moses and Aaron are of Levi's line, which foreshadows Aaron's eventual occupation. I guess the genealogy stops after Levi because Moses, as the author, didn't want to bother with all those random folks born after his ancestor. "Who cares?" he might have said to himself. "I don't even remember all their names anyway."

Because this slightly oddly placed genealogy interrupted the narrative, the final three verses, 28-30, basically repeat the three verses (10-12) right before the genealogy. They're not restated verbatim; after all, Moses knew that plagiarism, even self-plagiarism, is the domain of the dastardly.