And say unto them, Thus saith the Lord GOD; In the day when I chose Israel, and lifted up mine hand unto the seed of the house of Jacob, and made myself known unto them in the land of Egypt, when I lifted up mine hand unto them, saying, I am the LORD your God;
In the day when I ... lifted up mine hand ... lifted up mine hand ... lifted up mine hand unto them. The thrice lifting up of God's hand (the sign of His oath, Revelation 10:5-6; Exodus 6:8, margin; Numbers 14:30; to which passages the form of words here alludes) implies the solemn earnestness of God's purpose of grace to them. The lifting up of the hand toward heaven was the appeal of man to Him who reigns there. When He Himself, in figurative language, lifts it up, it is His declaration of His power and faithfulness in fulfilling His Word, the hand being the symbol of power and faithfulness to an engagement.
When I ... made myself known unto them - proving myself faithful and true by the actual fulfillment of my promises (Exodus 4:31; Exodus 6:3); revealing myself as "Yahweh" - i:e., not that the name was unknown before, but that then first the force of that name was manifested in the promises of God then being realized in performances.
Verse 6. To bring them forth of the land of Egypt into a land that I had espied for them, flowing with milk and honey - as though God had spied out all other lands, and chose Canaan as the best of all lands (Deuteronomy 8:7-8. See Daniel 8:9, "the pleasant land;" Daniel 11:16; Daniel 11:41, "the glorious land;" see margin, 'goodly land,' 'land of delight or ornament;' Zechariah 7:14, "the pleasant land," or land of desire).
Which is the glory of all lands - i:e., Canaan was "the beauty of all lands;" the most lovely and delightful land; "milk and honey" are not the antecedent to "which" - "a land that I had espied for them" is its antecedent.