Exodus 6:2-3 English Standard Version

² God spoke to Moses and said to him, “I am the Lord. ³ I appeared to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob, as God Almighty, but by my name the Lord I did not make myself known to them.

The Lord now appears before Moses to enact God Almighty’s promise. He promised Abram in Genesis 12:3 “him who dishonors you I will curse”. Now here in Exodus 6 God is appearing as Lord to carry out that promise.

Exodus 6:5-7 English Standard Version

⁵ Moreover, I have heard the groaning of the people of Israel whom the Egyptians hold as slaves, and I have remembered my covenant. ⁶ Say therefore to the people of Israel, ‘I am the Lord, and I will bring you out from under the burdens of the Egyptians, and I will deliver you from slavery to them, and I will redeem you with an outstretched arm and with great acts of judgment. ⁷ I will take you to be my people, and I will be your God, and you shall know that I am the Lord your God, who has brought you out from under the burdens of the Egyptians.

Abraham, Isaac and Jacob were not enslaved. There was no need to show Himself to them as the Lord who saves. The time had not come to enact His great promise of cursing those who had dishonored Abram. Now with great numbers of His people being dishonored, God chose Moses to be His voice to his people.

Verse 9 says “Moses spoke thus to the people of Israel, but they did not listen to Moses, because of their broken spirit and harsh slavery.”

Here is the key to our inclusion into this family of God. Like those slaves we had a broken spirit and were slaves to sin which was no longer pleasing. In this we should admit that the gospel message alone does not save us. It is only after He reveals Himself as Lord that we can leave with Him.

Genesis 12:1-3 English Standard Version

¹ Now the Lord said to Abram, “Go from your country and your kindred and your father’s house to the land that I will show you. ² And I will make of you a great nation, and I will bless you and make your name great, so that you will be a blessing. ³ I will bless those who bless you, and him who dishonors you I will curse, and in you all the families of the earth shall be blessed.”

Searching for the meaning of El Shaddai is difficult as this name of God is best described in how God acts or interacts with His creation. Descriptions vary in definition from Storm God to pours out. The opening verses indicate that God Almighty chose to speak to this one individual who is over 20 generations removed from Adam. God Almighty’s first contact with Abram is loaded with promise and blessings and curses. But why Abram? He was from the Haran.

Ur was consecrated to the worship of Sin, the Babylonian moon-god. It shared this honour, however, with another city, and this city was Haran, or Harran. Harran was in Mesopotamia, and took its name from the highroad which led through it from the east to the west. Ref. Easton’s Bible Dictionary

Abram was born in a land laden with pagan worship. There is no history of Abram’s affiliations with worship of any kind. There is no indication that Abram was special in any way except lineage.

Matthew’s lineage of Jesus begins with Abraham, Luke’s lineage backs in via Jesus son of Joseph, son of Heli, etc. etc. etc. There is no exceptional reason for choosing Abram beyond lineage.

Considering this as a valid reason to choose Abram, then God Almighty’s characteristic in personality could be seen as foreknowledge. God Almighty sees everything from one end of eternity to another and chooses to interact with His creation at times and places to enact His will with purpose of forethought. God Almighty knows the outcome of His interaction with man.