June 2, 2024
Reading: Exodus 3:13-22
Focus: Exodus 3:14 – God said to Moses, “I AM WHO I AM. This is what you are to say to the Israelites: ‘I AM has sent me to you.’
Father God, help us to understand Who You are. To us, to the Israelites of old and to the world today. Open our eyes to You, In Jesus Name, Amen.
Moses is standing before God and has been told that he will go to Egypt to lead the Israelites out and into the Promised Land. Moses knows he is speaking with God. He knows that God has given him a monumental task. What do you think his response should be? Yes, sir!! I’m on it! And off he goes. Right? Nope. Not this Moses. He asks another question. Who are You? Well, not in so many words, but you know what I mean.
Moses knows his people. He knew that they were aware of the many gods of Egypt. Gods that were named for what the worshipers believed they were responsible for. They were going to want to know who sent Moses and why they should follow him. So, he asks what he is to say. God used only five words. I AM WHO I AM. Throughout Genesis, God was known by titles. God of your fathers. Elohim – God Most High. El Shaddai – Almighty God. Everlasting God. The God Who sees. Now God gives us a name. I AM. The very definition of ‘am’ is the singular form of ‘be’. God is. ‘I AM’ is full of meaning. It tells us who He is. He is self-existent, not created. He is eternal and unchangeable. He Is in the past – not was, He IS in the present and He IS, not will be, in the future. ‘I AM’ the God of your fathers. Not ‘I was’, but ‘I AM’. He states that He IS the God of their fathers. Present tense.
In Hebrew, it is Yahweh. It literally means ‘HE IS’. The name was so sacred that it was not even spoken out loud according to Jewish tradition. This name was unknown to the patriarchs. He was known to them as El Shaddai – God Almighty. God tells Moses that “This is My Name forever, the name you shall call Me from generation to generation.” (Exodus 3:15b). Yahweh was translated into English as ‘the Lord’. The Greeks and Romans translated it as ‘Jehovah’. Yahweh or Jehovah is God’s personal name. We use the name Jehovah often. In music and in worship. I have read that saying the name Yahweh, is like breathing. Breathing in with ‘Yah’ and breathing out ‘weh’. Try it.
Jehovah is often paired with what He is to and for us. Here is a list of some of those names.
- Jehovah Elohim: The Lord, Our Creator
- Jehovah El Elyon: The Lord, Most High God
- Jehovah Adonai: The Lord, The Master
- Jehovah El Olam: The Lord, The Everlasting
- Jehovah Jireh: The Lord, our Provider
- Jehovah Rapha: The Lord, our Healer
- Jehovah Nissi: The Lord, our Banner
- Jehovah M’kaddesh: The Lord, Our Sanctification
- Jehovah Shalom: The Lord, Our Peace
- Jehovah Shaphat: The Lord, The Judge
- Jehovah Saba’oth: The Lord of Hosts
- Jehovah Tsidkenu: The Lord, Our Righteousness
- Jehovah Ro’i: The Lord, our Shepherd
- Jehovah Hosenu: The Lord, our Maker
- Jehovah Gibbor: The Lord, The Mighty
- Jehovah Shammah: The Lord, The Ever present
This list could probably go on and on. God is all these and more.
The name ‘I AM’ is powerful. The night that Judas led the soldiers to arrest Jesus in the Garden of Gethsemane, Jesus asked who they were looking for. They said, “Jesus of Nazareth”. He replied, “I am he”. At those words, the ones coming to arrest Him fell to the ground. (John 18:5-6).
Let’s go back to Moses’ temerity in asking God what His name was. Who should he say sent him to the Israelites and ultimately to Pharoah? By asking for a Name, Moses was asking for some credentials to present to both. A validation for his being in Egypt and for asking for the freedom of the Israelites. Knowing God’s name became a part of Israel’s heritage. It became a sacred, unspoken name for God Himself. According to Jewish tradition, the name, YAHWEH, was spoken only once a year, on the Day of Atonement, and only by the high priest. It was God’s covenant name and assured the Israelites that He would always be with them.
The name Yahweh, I AM, shows God as eternal and unchanging. No matter how our world changes and whatever troubles surround us, God is always the same. Unchanging, sovereign and all powerful. His promises do not change. His faithfulness does not change. He does not change. Who He was yesterday is who He is today or tomorrow. We can count on His presence, His promises and His protection. We can know that if God said that we would be saved if we believed that Jesus is the Son of God, then we are saved by that belief. We can know that Jesus will return to conquer Satan once and for all time. We can know that we will live with Him forever.
I AM WHO I AM. I said it before and I say it again, God IS in the past, God IS in the present and God IS in the future.
Who is God to you?
Father God, Help us to see that You are all that Your name implies. Unchanging, everlasting, ever present and ever powerful. Help us to believe that You are who You are. Now and forever, In Jesus name. Amen.
Food for Thought
- Was Moses foolish or brave to ask God for a name? Why?
- Do you believe that God always has been and always will be? Why or why not?
- If you were an Israelite in Egypt and someone said they had come from God to lead you out of your slavery, how would you react?
- Would you have asked God for His name if you had been Moses? Why or why not?
- Do you believe that God can be trusted, no matter what? Why or why not?
