Chances are you’ve met a famous person or someone who is regularly on television. There is a sense of familiarity with someone you’ve seen in movies or in a TV show or even giving the weather report. But then when you see them in person, face to face, in the flesh, they become more real.
I’ve always been a fan of James Taylor. I’ve loved his music for as long as I can remember. Back when it was normal to own 8-tracks, cassette tapes, records, and CD’s, I pretty much had his music on one or more devices. I listened to his music in the car, in the house. I watched him on PBS specials and when YouTube became a thing, I would watch him perform on there, as well.
James Taylor had a concert in Chastain Park some years ago and Tim, knowing how much I love JT, bought tickets for us to go. I was so excited and giddy. When James Taylor walked out on stage, I was overcome with emotion. I was bawling. I had always thought it was preposterous when people stood and cried around the stage when someone was performing. But that night, I found myself doing the exact same thing.
There was something more genuine and personal about James Taylor when I could see him and be in his presence. I did not get to meet him up close, shake his hand, hug him, or even speak to him, but just knowing that he was physically there was overwhelming. I left that night with a greater appreciation and love of his music and of him because he became more real to me.
Moses is about to have a personal encounter with God. God is about to become a lot more real to Moses. And God makes sure that this encounter is something extraordinary.
Up to this point in Moses’ life, what do we know about him?
Moses was born at a time when newborn Hebrew boys were ordered to be killed. This was when the two midwives, Shiphrah and Puah were told to kill any Hebrew boys upon birth but they disobeyed and claimed that they never could get there in time. As a result, Pharoah ordered that Hebrew boys be thrown into the Nile. Upon his birth, Moses’ mom saw that he was special, so she hid him for 3 months.
When it became clear that she could hide him no longer, she nestled him in a basket and set him in the Nile. As God would have it, Pharaoh’s own daughter sees the basket and sends her female servant to retrieve it. She recognizes the baby as being a Hebrew and feels sorrowful. Again, God intervenes and places Moses’ sister there who asks Pharaoh’s daughter if she needs a nursemaid. When instructed to find someone, Moses’ own sister retrieves Moses’ very own mother to nurse him and raise him. Therefore, he grew up as a member of Pharaoh’s household.
When he was older, he witnessed an Egyptian beating a Hebrew. Moses intervened and ended up killing the Egyptian and hiding his body. He wrongly assumed no one knew what he had done. But when Moses came upon two Hebrews embroiled in a battle, one of them mentioned that they knew he had killed a man. Pharaoh got wind of this and sought to have Moses killed as punishment. Moses, however, ran away to a place called Midian.
There, he encountered the daughters of a priest named Jethro. After showing kindness and chivalry to his daughters, Jethro gives his daughter, Zipporah in marriage to Moses. He settles down, has a child, and works for his father-in-law tending his flock.
Moses has lived a bit of a conflicted life up to this point. A life riddled with identity crisis because he basically had dual citizenship.
Born a Hebrew, destined to die by the hand of the Egyptian ruler. But instead, he was adopted by the daughter of the Egyptian ruler making him Egyptian and yet raised by his Hebrew biological mother.
He defends a Hebrew being attacked by an Egyptian. He kills the Egyptian but then is threatened by other Hebrews and ultimately must flee to escape being killed in retaliation by an Egyptian. He is driven out of Egypt and ultimately settles in Midian. There he will have the closest thing to a traditional family that he’s ever had. A wife, a son, a father-in-law, and other relatives. But Moses still considers himself a foreigner. (Exodus 2:22)
His life before Midian had several extraordinary events. Now, though, he’s just an ordinary man out on an ordinary day doing what he ordinarily does. But God…
Exodus 3:1 GNT “One day while Moses was taking care of the sheep and goats of his father-in-law Jethro, the priest of Midian, he led the flock across the desert and came to Sinai, the holy mountain. 2 There the angel of the Lord appeared to him as a flame coming from the middle of a bush. Moses saw that the bush was on fire but that it was not burning up. 3 “This is strange,” he thought. “Why isn’t the bush burning up? I will go closer and see.”
A few points of interest. Moses is believed to be about 80 years old at this point.[i] He had apparently traveled with the flock a good distance because he went across the desert to get to the holy mountain. While Moses is doing what he normally does, a bush is spontaneously ignited but Moses notices that it’s not burning up. The leaves, the foliage, and the branches are all left undamaged by the flames and the heat. He’s so intrigued that he moves closer to get a better look. It’s only when God has the attention of Moses does He start speaking.
Exodus 3:4 GNT “4 When the Lord saw that Moses was coming closer, he called to him from the middle of the bush and said, “Moses! Moses!” He answered, “Yes, here I am.”
God greets Moses by calling his name twice. When we hear someone call someone’s name twice it could be because we’re not sure if they heard us the first time. When God does it, it’s to get someone’s attention because something major is about to happen or something critical needs to be learned. There are just a handful of instances in which God repeats someone’s name twice like He did here with Moses.
Abraham was about to sacrifice Isaac when the angel of the Lord cried out, “Abraham, Abraham!”
Samuel was awakened by God calling out to him, “Samuel, Samuel!” and was given his calling as a priest, prophet, and judge.
Martha found herself pouting because Mary had positioned herself at the feet of Jesus while Martha did all the work. She learned what was most important when Jesus addressed her, “Martha, Martha.”
Exodus 3:6 GNT “5 God said, “Do not come any closer. Take off your sandals, because you are standing on holy ground. 6 I am the God of your ancestors, the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob.” So Moses covered his face, because he was afraid to look at God.”
“God knew Moses, calling his name twice. However, Moses did not know God. God first introduced Himself as the ‘God of your father, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob.’ He also spoke in the present tense ‘I am’ rather than ‘I was.’ This emphasizes continuity. The same God who was with the patriarchs Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, was now with Moses, and this was too much for Moses to endure. He ‘hid his face because he was afraid to look at God.’”[ii]
Although God had been involved in Moses’ life up to this point, Moses had not heard God’s voice. With his upbringing, as it was, he wouldn’t have been taught to really know God.
So God, being God, doesn’t just say, “Hey Moses. It’s Me. God.” He identifies Himself as the God of the patriarchs which would have sparked the idea of the covenant that had been made several generations prior. It seems likely that Moses understood that it was God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob Who was speaking because he covered his face and didn’t dare to look at God.
God wasted no time in getting to the point of this extraordinary event.
Exodus 3:7 GNT “7 Then the Lord said, “I have seen how cruelly my people are being treated in Egypt; I have heard them cry out to be rescued from their slave drivers. I know all about their sufferings, 8 and so I have come down to rescue them from the Egyptians and to bring them out of Egypt to a spacious land, one which is rich and fertile and in which the Canaanites, the Hittites, the Amorites, the Perizzites, the Hivites, and the Jebusites now live. 9 I have indeed heard the cry of my people, and I see how the Egyptians are oppressing them. 10 Now I am sending you to the king of Egypt so that you can lead my people out of his country.”
This is one of those stories that we read and sort of skim through. But imagine for a moment, being Moses. An ordinary man on an ordinary day doing an ordinary task. A bush is ignited, and a voice comes forth from the bush. He’s told to take off his sandals because he is standing on holy ground. God begins talking about His people. We assume Moses would have understood that God was referring to the Jews (Moses’ biological background). God talks about the mistreatment of the Jews by the Egyptians (Moses’ adopted background.) God is telling Moses that He has heard their cries and has come down to rescue them, and take them into a land where many people already live. While Moses is most likely processing all of this, God mentions the purpose of this conversation. “I’m sending you, Moses, to the Egyptian king to get all of this done for me so that My people are rescued.”
Moses is dumbfounded for a lot of reasons. But first and foremost, how is possible that he is God’s solution for getting this done? None of this makes sense. He’s neither a diehard Jew nor a diehard Egyptian. He works for his father-in-law tending flocks of sheep and goats. He doesn’t have a dog in this fight. Exodus 3:11 GNT “11 But Moses said to God, “I am nobody. How can I go to the king and bring the Israelites out of Egypt?”
In a Crosswalk.com article titled “God Uses ‘Nobodies’”, Pastor David Jeremiah notes, “God wants to take us down to the very depths of ourselves to teach us that if there is any power, it is the power that is in God, and not in us. God doesn’t need to make us into performers or superstars in order to use us. Instead, He’s looking for men and women who have hearts that say, ‘Lord, I’m a nobody. I’m nothing without You. Will You use me?’ When God finds such a heart, something extraordinary happens — that nobody is promoted to the ranks of God’s nobility.”
This is something the world rarely understands. The world didn’t understand when God chose the little shepherd boy David as king, it didn’t understand when he chose a teenage girl to be the mother of his only Son, and it often fails to understand how God is working today.[iii]
We so often limit God by our own limitations. We fail to recognize that He is our source of anything great we might accomplish. The more ill-equipped, the more simple, and the more unqualified we are, the more God is seen as the reason for anything good we do. The power and the value don’t come from the vessel; it comes from what is inside.
There is a vodka that is considered to be the world’s most expensive beverage. A 5 liter bottle will cost you $3.7 billion. That’s why it’s called Billionaire Vodka. It is created with a top-secret Russian recipe and a “distillation process that involves running crystal clear water and the finest wheat over millions of dollars’ worth of diamonds.”[iv] Whether that vodka is served in a Waterford crystal glass or a red Solo cup, the value of that vodka isn’t diminished. Whoever has the privilege of taking a few million-dollar sips of the vodka should be more concerned with the contents rather than the glass or cup it’s served in.
We, like Moses, tend to think of ourselves as red Solo cups and certainly not capable or worthy enough to be His vessel. Self-doubt creeps in. Excuses are made.
“When God put a calling on your life, He already factored in your stupidity.”
UNKNOWN
Moses responds to God by stressing that he is of no importance. He has no credentials, no authority, and no qualifications to even appear before Pharaoh, much less to lead more than 600,000 Israelites out of slavery and into an area already occupied by others.
God isn’t surprised by the reluctance of Moses. Exodus 3:12 CEV “God replied, “I will be with you. And you will know that I am the one who sent you, when you worship me on this mountain after you have led my people out of Egypt.”
The fact that God is going with him seems to ease Moses’ mind just a bit and he seems to consider what God is asking of him.
Exodus 3:13 NRSV “But Moses said to God, “If I come to the Israelites and say to them, ‘The God of your ancestors has sent me to you,’ and they ask me, ‘What is his name?’ what shall I say to them?” 14 God said to Moses, “I am who I am.” He said further, “Thus you shall say to the Israelites, ‘I am has sent me to you.’ ” 15 God also said to Moses, “Thus you shall say to the Israelites, ‘The Lord, the God of your ancestors, 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 my title for all generations.”
Moses really has two obstacles: Pharaoh for one. Not just anyone could get an audience with him, for one. Secondly, Moses must convince him to release his primary workforce. That, in itself, seems to be an impossibility. The second obstacle comes in convincing the Israelites to leave their homes, their jobs, and their familiar surroundings and embark on a journey that, at best, would still have required nearly two weeks[v] of traveling on foot.
It’s a bit ironic that Moses seems to be more concerned about convincing the Israelites rather than convincing Pharaoh. He wants God to give him some proof to authenticate this proposal. He asks God, “What is Your name?” For the first time, God reveals His name.[vi] He says, I am Who I am.
“The statement carries a sense of necessity, simplicity, and absolute-ness. In using this particular phrasing, God identifies Himself as the self-existent One—the eternal, unique, uncreated God. God just is.” [vii]
We can’t blame Moses for wanting to be able to namedrop Who sent him on this assignment. Moses lived in a time when multiple pagan gods were worshipped by the Egyptians as well as the Israelites. It wouldn’t have been enough to just say, “God sent me”; he would have needed to be more specific.
God responds, “I Am Who I Am.”
“I AM WHO I AM”
GOD
God is known by several different names. Abba, Adonai, El Shaddai, Elohim, Jehovah Jireh to name a few. But in this situation, God gives the name “YHWH” which has become known to us as Yahweh. Yahweh is exclusively God.
Although God is known by many different names, Yahweh is thought to be the actual personal name of God. For many Jews, the name Yahweh is sacred and is not spoken out loud. Jews would often use an alternate name, such as Elohim or Adonai to refer to God. Both Elohim and Adonai are used in other ways other than to identify God. Elohim means “majesty” and is often used to refer to pagan gods or divine beings.[viii] Adonai means “Lord”. People in the Bible would often address those who were master or lord over them as Adonai.[ix] But the name Yahweh is used exclusively for God.
“The name Yahweh comes from a Hebrew word meaning “to be” or “to exist.” Thus it signifies God as “the Self-existing One. That is why in Exodus 3 when Moses asked God, “Who shall I tell Pharaoh has sent me?” God replied, “I AM. Tell Pharaoh I AM has sent you.”
God has always existed; He is before all things. He is the source of all things. Yahweh emphasizes that aspect of God’s being. Because He is self-existent, Yahweh is the source of life for everything and everyone else. He is always there. He is always present and accessible when we call on Him for deliverance, forgiveness, and guidance. That’s the significance of Yahweh as God’s primary name. He is the God who is always there.”
The name Yahweh is only used in regard to a personal relationship between God and His people. “A great example of this is Psalm 19. The author talks in the first 6 verses about Elohim (another name for God) and his relationship with the material world. Then, in verse 7, he shifts and starts to write about Yahweh and his relationship with those who know him and who are in covenant with him.
The fact that God introduces himself to us as “Yahweh” tells us that his first priority in relating to us is making sure we know that he is the intensely personal God, seeking to have a relationship with his people.”[x]
I’m going to be quite honest with you. There was a part of me that wanted to title this lesson “Why is God’s Name Important?” and tell you, “It just is. That’s all we need to know. It simply is important.”
However, our inquisitive and scrutinizing selves often want more. “Only a mysterious God would ask us to know him as the God who is who he is. We weren’t meant to understand everything about him, as evidenced by the fact that we simply can’t!
We worship a God of mystery, yet a God who is closer than our very breath. Yahweh is a paradox, one we will never reach the end of when it comes to our understanding of him. There is simply too much of him to know fully in one lifetime!
But we can always seek more.
That should be our daily goal — to move one step closer to knowing the God who is. The richness and fullness of perfect love await anyone seeking to know the one who would do anything to have us.
And that is worth the pursuit.”[xi]
[i] Moses and the Burning Bush – Bible Story Study Guide (learnreligions.com)
[ii] Bible Studies for Life. A Name Like No Other by Jere Phillips & Gregory T. Pouncey
[iii] Why God Chooses Little Ones to Do Great Things – Trending Christian Blog (crosswalk.com)
[iv] Billionaire Vodka by Leon Verres priced at $3.7M (luxatic.com)
[v] Where in the Bible does it say how long it should have taken the Israelites to reach the Promised Land? – Answers
[vi] What God Means by “I AM WHO I AM” in Exodus 3:14 (biblestudytools.com)
[vii] What does Exodus 3:14 mean? | BibleRef.com
[viii] What Does the Name Elohim Teach Us about God? (christianity.com)
[ix] What Does Adonai Mean? Hebrew Name for God Explained (christianity.com)
[x] What “Yahweh” Means in the Bible – God’s Name Explained (biblestudytools.com)
[xi] What “Yahweh” Means in the Bible – God’s Name Explained (biblestudytools.com)
Beacons of Light 