The Name of God - Part 2

Hi Everyone-

First, a bit of housekeeping.  I hear there's been some trouble posting comments from multiple people.  Near as I can figure out ... you need to be signed in and below your comments you need to select a profile to send the comments from.  Then, you should be good to go ... hopefully that helps.

Now, I'd planned on this probably being part 2 of 2 on God's name because I'm going to write about something I studied quite a bit last term, namely when Moses asks God for His name.  I have lots to say on the subject, feel passionate about it, and think it's really cool, so planned to end on that high note.  But, on my run this morning I heard a podcast sermon where the pastor talked about a different name for God from John in the New Testament that I think is awesome.  What is it you ask?  Well, wait for it ... until next blog. :)

At the beginning of the exodus story (in Exodus ironically enough) the Israelites are slaves in Egypt and Moses meets God at the famous burning bush, where God says He's heard the cry of His people and is going to use Moses to free them.  As the scene unfolds:

" But Moses said to God, “Who am I, that I should go to Pharaoh, and that I should bring the sons of Israel out of Egypt?”  And He said, “Certainly I will be with you, and this shall be the sign to you that it is I who have sent you: when you have brought the people out of Egypt, you shall worship God at this mountain.”  Then Moses said to God, “Behold, I am going to the sons of Israel, and I will say to them, ‘The God of your fathers has sent me to you.’ Now they may say to me, ‘What is His name?’ What shall I say to them?”  God said to Moses, “I am who I am”; and He said, “Thus you shall say to the sons of Israel, ‘I am has sent me to you.’”  God, furthermore, said to Moses, “Thus you shall say to the sons of Israel, ‘The lord , the God of your fathers, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob, has sent me to you.’ This is My name forever, and this is My memorial-name to all generations.” (Exodus 3:11-15, NASB)

But, what kind of name is “I am who I am," which interestingly enough is quickly followed by God telling Moses to say "“I am" sent you?  As they appear in the English translation the two Hebrew terms are in fact related, rooted in the verb "to be."  The first is ehyeh asher ehyeh in Hebrew, while the second is YHWH (often pronounced Yahweh, but we don't know for sure how to pronounce it because the Jews stopped saying it, due to its holiness, before they put vowels in their writings).

This is all interesting (at least to me :) but what is God saying?  Is it an arrogant or elusive proclamation?  Is it a bold Popeye-like statement?  I think it's a definitive declaration of presence and relationship.  Names had power in antiquity, and the Israelites had been captive for some 400 years, so it's easy to think that by asking for God's name Moses is also asking, "Can you defeat the Egyptian gods?"  As such, one way to understand the response is as God saying He’s bigger than Moses, any Egyptian, or any Israelite thinks, and He cannot be defined or contained.  He is mysterious, the best name for God is a declaration of His being.  "My name?" God asks, "I just am."  Perhaps God later forbids images of Himself (Exodus 20:4) in part because no image can possibly do Him justice.  “I AM,” He says, because nothing can prescribe God.  The mysterious lord is of such great power, breadth, and depth He “cannot be defined by or as anything else, he is his own definition.”  To put it in modern terms, perhaps God is telling Moses "I got your back."

 In antiquity a way people frequently translated ehyeh asher ehyeh was "I am the One who is."  In other words, it was a declaration of God's existence in the world, and with His people.  It has past, present, and future implications.  So, God is saying to Moses, "I was with the Israelites, I am with the Israelites, and I always will be with the Isrealites."  He is the God of presence.  John affirms this view by beginning Revelation with  “John to the seven churches that are in Asia: Grace to you and peace, from Him who is and who was and who is to come." (Revelation 1:4, NASB)

I could go on (the paper I wrote on this was 15 pages :), but to close I want to go back to God effectively saying "I got your back."  If you look at verse 3:11 above you see Moses wonder, "Who am I" to go to Pharaoh and free my people?  So, Moses is concerned that he's inadequate for the task God is giving him.  Do any of you ever have the same doubts?  I know I do.  We may think ... I wonder if I can finish this job or can I love this person or is there any way I can save my marriage?  In giving His name, God is answering this question for Moses, and I think us as well.    You want to know who you are, God is saying, you are a man I am with.  To put it differently, the lord declares to this speech impaired murder that when Pharaoh, the Israelites, or anyone else wonders how, why, or who Moses is to try and free his people, the answer is because God is with him.  Just like God's with us I think.

Grace and peace,
Lang