Moses grew up in the court of Pharoah, so he was familiar with many of the Egyptian gods. Standing before the burning bush that day I wonder the thoughts that went through his mind. The Bible (Exodus 3:2-3) says that "Moses saw that though the bush was on fire it did not burn up. So Moses thought, 'I will go over and see this strange sight-why the bush does not burn up'". So what does God do? He got his attention. So here is my thought: How is God trying to get my attention? Verse 4 of the same chapter says "When the Lord saw that he had gone over to look, God called to him from within the bush, 'Moses! Moses!'" What was Moses' response? "Here I am." God then tells Moses not to come any closer but to take his sandals off because he was standing on holy ground. God then announced that He was the God of his father, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac and the God of Jacob. What was Moses response now? He hid his face because he was afraid to look at God. Now having grown up in the Pharoah's court and learning of the Egyptian gods what would cause him to want to hide his face? I believe he was understanding the holiness of the voice speaking to him. I believe that he was experiencing an overwhelming feeling of awe! I believe he also hid his face because of the shame he had. Remember he had killed someone and then fled to Midian. Thought question: How do I respond to God's voice? Continuing on in this chapter God goes on to tell Moses that He has seen the misery and heard the cries of His people. Something that just struck me as I was typing this and then rereading the Scripture is that in verse 7(b) it says, "I have heard them crying out because of their slave drivers, and I am concerned about their suffering." What struck me is that God said He was concerned about their suffering. What encouragement for me today! Because I am a child of God He is concerned about my suffering. What is even more encouraging is that He already knows ahead of time what is going to happen in my life, but when I'm suffering He is still concerned about it! What a God! How do I respond God knowing this? I believe I can began to feel a little like Moses! What an awesome God! God then goes on to tell Moses that He has come down to rescue them from the Egyptians and bring them to an awesome land-spacious land and a land flowing with milk and honey. He tells Moses He is sending him to Pharoah to bring the Israelite people out of Egypt. Now stop and think about this for a minute. Look at Moses' past. God is going to use him to bring His people out of bondage. What does that tell me? God is using an ordinary man! A man with a past of killing another. Therefore, this tells me that no matter my past God can use me for His kingdom and His glory! Hallelujah! How do I respond to God? Here again is that feeling of awe!! Moses, of course, questions God. Don't we sometimes do the same thing? When God has called us to do something we think is impossible we question Him! "Who am I that I should go?" Same thing Moses was asking God. God lets him know that He will be with him. Moses asks in verse 13 "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?" Verse 14 says, "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.'" So God responded to Moses's question about His identity with the name "I AM that I AM". So here we have YHWH=I AM=Lord=Yahweh. Isaiah 42:8 says "I am the LORD; that is my name; my glory I give to no other, nor my praise to carved idols."
Yahweh means: to exist, to be, was, is will be (Knowing God By Name by Mary Kassain). God is self-existent meaning He was not created. God is self-sufficient because He does not depend on anyone or anything. God is self-directed meaning He is free to do as He pleases. God is eternal meaning He has lived and will live forever. Finally, God is consistent meaning He is who he is; He is true and unchanging. "Yahweh is God's incredibly unique name. The Jews regarded it as so holy that they refrained from spelling it in its entirety and speaking it out loud. Instead, they referred to it as 'the Name', 'the Extra-ordinary Name', or 'the Ineffable Name'. The priests in the temple only dared to utter the name 'Yahweh' when blessing the people (Num 6:23-27). When a Jewish scribe copied the Scriptures and came to God's sacred name Yahweh, he would set aside his quill and get a brand new one with which to write. After writing the Name, he would break and discard the quill so that on other word would ever flow from it. The Jews honored God's name so much that when Christ stood before them and openly called Himself 'I AM,' they sought to stone Him to death for what they perceived to be blasphemy (John 8:24, 58-59)." (Knowing God By Name by Mary Kassain) This brings me to the title of this blog: How holy do we consider the name of Yahweh? "How does the fact that the Lord is "I AM" impact you?" How do I respond? Do I respond with awe and hide my face? Oh that I could grasp a small portion of Yahweh and respond to His holiness!
