John Calvin Commentary Exodus 6:7

"and I will take you to me for a people, and I will be to you a God; and ye shall know that I am Jehovah your God, who bringeth you out from under the burdens of the Egyptians." — Exodus 6:7 (ASV)

And I will take you to me. The purpose of their liberation is described here in the continuous expression of His grace. For it would have meant little for the people to be redeemed once from Egypt, unless, once redeemed, they had lived under the defense and guardianship of God.

Therefore, since He had long ago separated the holy seed of Abraham from the other nations by circumcision, He now again sets it apart (sanctificat), and promises that He will be their God. In these words, then, their peculiar election, as well as its permanence, is asserted. To be considered the people of God means the same as to be received into His favor by special privilege, and to be called by adoption to the hope of eternal salvation.

But the future tense shows that the benefit was not to be merely temporary, when God with a stretched-out arm would bring the people out of Egypt, but that this would only be the beginning of eternal protection. Moreover, we should observe the anagoge , or spiritual analogy, between us and the Israelites. God has delivered us once by the hand of His only-begotten Son from the tyranny of Satan, so that He may always pursue us with His paternal love.

He then adds the possession of the land of Canaan as an earnest or pledge, which was given to the Israelites so that God might always dwell among them, protect them with His help, and defend them with His power. I have said that this was the earnest of their adoption, because the faith of the fathers was not to be confined to earthly blessings, but to aim for a higher object. Meanwhile, by this outward sign God showed them that they were His peculiar people, for whose dwelling He chose the land in which He would be worshipped.

By saying He “would lift up His hand,”⁷⁵ He means it as a confirmation, because the promise was ratified by the addition of an oath. It is indeed certain that there is enough and more than enough steadfastness in the simple word of God. However, He made this concession to human weakness and offered His sacred name as a pledge, so that they might be persuaded with fuller confidence that nothing was promised to them in vain.

To lift up the hand means to swear; an analogy taken from humans, who by this gesture testify that they are speaking in the sight of God, as if they were calling Him down as a witness from heaven. This is not applicable to God, who swears by Himself, because there is no one greater to whom He may lift His hand (Hebrews 6:13); but metaphorically, human custom is transferred to Him.

Regarding the statement that “they should know that He was the Lord,” after they had been brought out, it contains an indirect rebuke, since knowledge that comes only after the event is too late. But at the same time, He promises that He would cause them to experience openly how true He is in all His words, so that the Israelites might more steadfastly expect their redemption.

By repeating at the end that He is Jehovah, He magnifies (as He had just done before) His invincible power, which easily overcomes all obstacles. This expression also contains a testimony to His truth, as if He had said that He alone can be safely trusted, because He is both faithful in His promises and possesses infinite power.

⁷⁵ Vide margin of margin of A..V..