THE NAMES OF GOD-JEHOVAH

THE NAMES OF GOD-JEHOVAH

I AM THAT I AM

   The second Name of God we will look at is revealed to Moses at the burning bush.  Moses was a Hebrew by birth but was raised an Egyptian.  (You can read that story in Exodus 1.)   After killing an Egyptian guard, he had fled Egypt.  This story, from the Book of Exodus, chapter 3, takes place about forty years after that incident:

1) Now Moses kept the flock of Jethro his father in law, the priest of Midian:  and he led the flock to the backside of the desert, and came to the mountain of God, even to Horeb.

2) And the Angel of the Lord appeared unto him in a flame of fire out of the midst of a bush:  and he looked, and, behold, the bush burned with fire, and the bush was not consumed.

photo courtesy of Dr. Kirk Lewis

3) And Moses said, I will now turn aside, and see this great sight, why the bush is not burnt.

4) And when the Lord saw that he turned aside to see, God called unto him out of the midst of the bush, and said, Moses, Moses.  And he said, Here am I.

5) And He said, Draw not nigh hither:  put off thy shoes from off thy feet, for the place whereon thou standest is holy ground.

6) Moreover He said, I am the God of thy father, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob.  And Moses hid his face; for he was afraid to look upon God.

7) And the Lord said, I have surely seen the affliction of My people which are in Egypt,and have heard their cry by reason of the taskmasters; for I know their sorrows;

8) And I am come down to deliver them out of the hand of the Egyptians, and to bring them up out of that land unto a good land and a large, unto a land flowing with milk and honey; unto the place of the Canaanites, and the Hittites, and the Amorites, and the Perizzites, and the Hivites, and the Jebusites.

9) Now therefore, behold, the cry of the children of Israel is come unto me:  and I have also seen the oppression wherewith the Egyptians oppress them.

10) Come now therefore, and I will send thee unto Pharaoh, that thou mayest bring forth My people the children of Israel out of Egypt.

11) And Moses said unto God, Who am I, that I should go unto Pharaoh, and that I should bring forth the children of Israel out of Egypt?

12) And He said, Certainly I will be with thee; and this shall be a token unto thee, that I have sent thee:  when thou hast brought forth the people out of Egypt, ye shall serve God upon this mountain.

13) And Moses said unto God, Behold, when I come unto the children of Israel, and say unto them, The God of your fathers hath sent me unto you; and they shall say to me, What is His Name?  what shall I say unto them?

14) And God said unto Moses, I Am That I Am:  and He said, Thus shalt thou say unto the children of Israel, I Am hath sent me unto you.

15) And God said moreover unto Moses, Thus shalt thou say unto the children of Israel, the Lord God of your fathers, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob, hath sent me unto you:  this is My Name for ever, and this is My memorial unto all generations.

16) Go, and gather the elders of Israel together, and say unto them, The Lord God of your fathers, the God of Abraham, of Isaac, and of Jacob, appeared unto me, saying, I have surely visited you, and seen that which is done to you in Egypt.

   I Am What I Am.  In Hebrew, The Name is YHWY (YAHWEH); in English, we say "Jehovah".  This reveals His relational nature.  He is not a God Who sits on a throne dictating what is to be done and how it is to be done or "off with your head!"  He is a God Who wants us to love Him and to be involved with Him and His kingdom.

   In verse 3, Moses turned aside from the mundane task of shepherding the flock to investigate the unusual site.  Had he ignored it, he would have missed the greatest opportunity of his life....a closer walk with God!

   Now, look again at verse 6:  Did you catch the part where God knew Moses was not an Egyptian by birth?  God introduced Himself as the God of Moses' ancestors:  Hebrews.  He doesn't need to see our DNA to know who we are and from where we came.  HE KNOWS US BY NAME!

   In verses 7, 8,  and 9,  He tells Moses that He hears the cry of His people.  He is compassionate.  He will rescue them.  The fact is, that they got themselves in that position by not obeying God to begin with.  Right?

   Note in verse 12 that He tells Moses that He will be with him as he carries out this mission that is given to him.  Where He sends us, He will stay with us.  I love where God is talking to Moses as if this were a done deal; Moses wants to argue and make excuses.  Do you know anyone like this...especially parents talking to their children when the parents have made up their minds about how it is going to be?

   After Moses obeyed God, went to Pharaoh, witnessed the plagues that God sent, led the Israelites out of Egypt through the parted sea, conversed with Him in the tent in the wilderness, Moses wanted more.  He asked God to show him more of  Himself!   Do you know anyone THAT hungry for God?

   When Moses asked to see God, he was granted that request!  (Exodus 33: 19-23)   He experienced the creation of the worlds and wrote about it in detail.  He was the author of Genesis.

   Friend, God is not finished.  He wants to reveal things to you and me.  It is true that God is Elohim, Creator of all, Powerful God.  But strive to have a relationship with Jehovah, Yahweh, our Relational, Self-Revealing God.  Purposefully make reading/studying the Holy Bible a priority.  There are many blessings waiting for you.

If you have not accepted the gift of salvation, click here:   https://omaswisdom.blogspot.com/p/path-to-salvation.html.


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