Take a Minute -- Tuesday, 4/20/10 -- WHAT'S IN A NAME? - Exodus 3:13

[J.R. & Bonnie Ricks]

 

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WHAT'S IN A NAME?  - Exodus 3:13 NIV

 

Moses said to God, "Suppose I go to the Israelites and say to them, 'The God of your fathers has sent me to you,' and they ask me, 'What is his name?' Then what shall I tell them?"

 

Picture Moses at this point... he's having a pretty wild experience here!  God has dropped a pretty heavy load on him and, up until now, he's been pretty shaken up by the entire thing.  But now, he's beginning to get into the situation.  He's starting to accept his assignment.  But he still has problems with it.  If he does take on this seemingly impossible task, he doesn't want to appear stupid (ego getting in the way, maybe?).  At the same time, in Moses' day, a man's name was a very important thing to know.  Sharing your name with someone gave them some sort of power over you, so people rarely shared their name with anyone other than those very close to them.  It was essential to Moses to know the name of the God who was sending him on this mission.  Still feeling inadequate, Moses perhaps felt that he could better carry out this assignment if he knew who God really was.

 

Again, it's the same with you and me.  The better we know God, the better we can serve Him.  You can't share the plot of a book unless you've read it.  You can't teach school unless you're educated.  You can't run a marathon unless you build your strength and stamina.  You can't develop an intimate relationship with someone unless you know them.  You can't witness to others about the wonderful nature of our Lord unless you get to know that wonderful nature for yourself!  And the very best way to do that is to spend time with Him in prayer and study of the Bible, every day.

 

You know His name..."I AM."  This was the name by which God wanted to be known and worshipped – the name that expressed His character as the dependable and faithful self-existent God who desires the full trust of His people.  That one piece of knowledge is so vast, so compelling, that just studying and learning what that means could take the rest of your life!  Why don't you start today?  One good place to start would be with the book of John – all of it.  But you could also just start with a portion.  For instance, in John 8:24 (NIV), Jesus says, “I told you that you would die in your sins; if you do not believe that I am the one I claim to be, you will indeed die in your sins."  Then, in John 8:58 (NIV), He says, "I tell you the truth, before Abraham was born, I am!”  Verse 59 says that the people picked up stones to stone him, but he slipped away.  Why would they want to stone him?  Because He had just identified himself as the one and only God who spoke to Moses at the burning bush… the One who said His name was, “I AM.”  Jesus had just told the people that He was God, and they thought he had committed blasphemy.

 

I AM WHO I AM.  This name also reveals God as the Being who is absolutely self-existent, and who, in Himself, possesses essential life and permanent existence.  To the Hebrew, "to be" does not just mean to exist, but to be active, to express oneself in active being.  God is the One who acts.  When you understand this, the imperfect tense of the verb becomes clear.  God's manifestation to Israel is in the future at the time of the burning bush incident.  The "I AM" or "I will be" is God's promise that He will redeem the children of Israel.  The people wanted to be reassured that this God would meet them in their time of need, proving His Character and promises. 

 

I AM WHO I AM.  So simple, and yet so profound.  He had no beginning and has no end…  I AM.  He requires nothing and no one to be Who He is… I AM.  The Hebrews called Him Yahweh (which is often incorrectly spelled “Jehovah”), which means simply, “HE IS.”  So when God speaks of Himself, He says, “I AM”, and when we speak of Him, we say, “HE IS”. 

 

 That will get you started… Now, this week, take that one piece of information – the name “I AM” – and discover what that means, and what it means to you.  Do you believe he is who he says he is?  Think about it.

 

"…but grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ...."  2 Peter 3:18 NIV

 

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