God’s Special Name

objectives

know the story

know God’s name

know Why this name would have been significant to the Israeltes

know Why this name is significant to us.

know that Jesus claimed to be God when He said He was the I am.

Introduction

We talked last week about God’s Special Servant.

Knowing that we are studying in the book of Exodus, who is that Servant?

Today we will continue the story of Moses, but in doing so, we will focus on God’s special name. Did you know that God has a name?

Did you know that this name is not “God”?

God is more of a title, but here in our text today, He reveals to us more of what this name is and it’s significance.

Before we jump into todays story though, let me set the scene for you.

Background story

We will start with Jospeh being betrayed by His brothers and sold into slavery in Egypt. As the years went on, Joseph became very powerful in Egypt, even second to Pharaoh.

This was God’s hand on Joseph, both due to His faithfulness, and as God’s way of keeping His promises to Abraham, because Joseph was able to bring his whole family to Egypt during a great long famine.

This saved Israel and His family, and they multiplied greatly while in Egypt, filling the land as the years went on.

They multiplied so much, that when a new Pharaoh came into power, he feared the Israelites, that they may join their enemies and fight against him.

This fear pushed him to begin treating the Israelites harshly. They became slaves, living incredibly hard lives without freedom.

Life for Israel was hard for many years.

Pharaoh even told the midwives working with the Hebrew woman to kill all sons born to them, but they refused to do this, because they feared God.

The fear of Pharaoh brought so much hostility, that he told all of Egypt to throw all baby boys into the nile river.

Can you imagine being an Israelite during this time? I love how many new babies there are in City Church right now, they are such a joy, so to turn this joy into the worst kind of torment must have been brutal for the people of God.

I can’t imagine what they must have been thinking during this time about the promises God made to Abraham, and I wonder if they began to doubt His promises.

But it was during this time, that a woman gave birth to a son, and hid him for three months.

When she could hide him no longer, she put him in a basket and placed him in the river. Pharaoh’s daughter went to the river that day and found the young boy, and after having him nursed, she adopted him as her own son. She named her son, Moses.

When Moses grew up, he one day went out and saw the great burdens of the Hebrew people, and saw an Egyptian beating a man. This greatly bothered Moses, so he attacked the Egyptian and hid his body in the sand.

The next day, two Hebrew men were fighting, so Moses intervened and asked why the one in the wrong would strike his companion.

Exodus 2:14 “14 He answered, “Who made you a prince and a judge over us? Do you mean to kill me as you killed the Egyptian?” Then Moses was afraid, and thought, “Surely the thing is known.””

When Pharoah found out, he wanted Moses dead, so what was Moses to do? He had to flee, so he left his home, and went to Madina.

Eventually, the Pharaoh who wanted Moses dead died, and the people of Israel were crying out to God because they were being treated harshly.

God heard the cries of His people, and He remembered the promises He made to Abraham, Issac, and Jacob, which leads us to our main text today, the text that “>>>” read earlier.

Burning bush and God’s name story

Moses was taking care of his father-in-law’s sheep when see’s a bush on fire, yet the bush was not being destroyed. He does what any of us would have done, went to check it out and see this crazy thing happening.

God then calls out to Moses, from the Bush saying “Moses, Moses!”

What else is Moses to say but “Here I am”. So God tells him to not come any closer and to take off his sandals, for he is standing on Holy ground.

We see in verse 6…

Exodus 3:6 ESV

6 And he said, “I am the God of your 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 at God.

God tells Moses that He has heard the cries of His people and that He knows their sufferings, and that He has come to deliver them from the hands of the Egyptians.

Exodus 3:10 “10 Come, I will send you to Pharaoh that you may bring my people, the children of Israel, out of Egypt.””

You can imagine the shock this must have been for Moses, who had to flee Egypt and was just minding his own business taking care of sheep. So he asked…

Exodus 3:11 “11 But Moses said to God, “Who am I that I should go to Pharaoh and bring the children of Israel out of Egypt?””

Do you ever have those thoughts when looking at your calling as a Christian to disciple and serve others?

Story of being worried to do ministry because can’t talk right.

…..and if you have too questioned how you can possibly do what God has called you to do…look at God’s response here in verse 12.

Exodus 3:12 “12 He said, “But I will be with you, and this shall be the sign for you, that I have sent you: when you have brought the people out of Egypt, you shall serve God on this mountain.””

What a great strengthening truth, to know that God would be with Him and that because of this, He, and even we, can serve and worship God, even when it seems impossible.

But Moses was not fully convinced yet. He was still concerned on the details. So he asks in verse 13…

Exodus 3:13 “13 Then Moses said to God, “If I come to the people of Israel and say to them, ‘The God of your fathers has sent me to you,’ and they ask me, ‘What is his name?’ what shall I say to them?””

I guess in a way, this is a fair question.

If you come to me and say that someone has sent you to me to do a great thing, I am going to want to know a little more about who sent you, I am going to want to know something of the character or nature of who sent you to me.

this speaks to each of us in here because God has called each of us who trust in His name to do great things, because each of us are called to make disciples, which is a great thing.

so we too should be asking, what is the character of the one asking us to go and sacrifice for His name?

What is The power of the one saying He will give us strength and wisdom as He sends us out into the world?

And that is exactly what a name meant to them. The Biblical concept of naming was rooted in the ancient idea that a name expressed the essence of who it named. It was not nearly something to distinguish one person from another, but a way to describe who that person was.

Parent’s would name their child in ways to represent who they hoped that Child would be and raise them accordingly.

It was not uncommon for people’s names to change to reflect who they were, their character, their personality, their status, again, their very essence.

I have a similiar experience with my name. Not my English name, that was given to me at birth and I forget the meaning of it. But my Chinese name is Wang Chuan Li.

I love this name so much, and I am incredibly thankful for Lilly for giving it to me. She picked it because it not only sounded like my English name, but because it described me as a person.

It describes who I am and what God has designed my life to be.

Anyone know what my name means?

It means spreader of truth, which is a name I now take very serious and desire to live up to. I love telling Chinese people my name because the reactions are typically suprised at the quality of the name and often ask me about it.

This opens doors to discuss how the name reflects my character and who I am. They learn so much about me, just by learning my name.

Just like those in ancient past, Lilly chose to take the time to name me in a way that described who I am on a deep level.

So Moses is not trying to get the name of God to distinguish Him from other God’s, no He’s trying to learn who this God sending him to do the impossible is.

So what was the name that God gave Himself? What was the name of God that Moses was to take to his people that would convince them that this God was able to do what He says He can do?

How has God chosen to describe His very essence, His very being and personality to Moses, and even to us today?

We see it in verse 14.

English Standard Version (Chapter 3)

God said to Moses, “I AM WHO I AM.” And he said, “Say this to the people of Israel: ‘I AM has sent me to you.

English Standard Version (Chapter 3)

He the tells Moses , “Say this to the people 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 thus I am to be remembered throughout all generations.

The name of God, the very essence of God, a description of who He is as a being is YAHWEY, or in English “I am”.

This was not new knowledge to God’s people. He had likely revealed His name to them before, which may make chapter 6:2-3 confusing at first.

Exodus 6:2–3 (ESV)

2 God spoke to Moses and said to him, “I am the Lord.

3 I appeared to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob, as God Almighty, but by my name the Lord I did not make myself known to them.

Again, a name was more than just something they called each other. A name was a revelation of the named. So although God had reveled much of Himself to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, He had not yet revealed as much of Himself as He was about to. Isreal was in a process of learning more of Who the great I am is, and through their experience, we too have been revealed who YAWEH, the great I AM is.

So who is the great I AM revealing Himself to be in our story?

He shows Himself to be self-existent and Eternal.

He is who He is, there is nothing outside of Him needed for His…

existence,

for His power,

for His magnificence,

for His Glory,

or for His plans to be accomplished.

This would have been in contrast to the Egyptian gods who were either all self created, or created by other gods. But this is the great I AM, He whom had no creation. Had no beginning, and will have no end. That is the God of Abraham, and that is the God we serve here today.

I am in need of so much outside help for my life. I needed God for my creation, and the breath in me.

I needed my parents to keep me alive while growing up, and even for my name.

I needed my wife this morning to help set my suit out and ensure nothing was too wrinkled.

But God needs none of that. He did not create Himself, He simply always was. That is what He means by “I am”. He is simply who He is and He needs nothing outside of Himself.

And Because He is self existent, there is nothing that can change who He is. We can trust that He is the same, yesterday, today, and tomorrow. From eternity past to eternity future, He is whom He is and that will never change.

Us Humans, we change as the years go on, and I am very thankful for that. I’m glad I’m not the same Charlie I was in highschool. That charlie was…just wow. But thank God that He allows me to grow and mature.

Some people change not for the better, but for the worse. We often worry when people make us promises because what if they change their mind???

But we do not need to worry about this with God.

He never changes.

His great attributes, or characteristics have been the same from eternity past to eternity future.

no outside force can change him, he simply is whom He is.

Can you imagine what this would do to those who had been told the promises of God given to Abraham, Issac, and Jacob?

Those who have been told that God would make them a great nation,

would bless them,

and give them the lands He showed to Abraham?

Those whom hearing these promises, have been forced into slavery,

in constant fear of being beaten or killed.

Living with the knowledge that their children could be thrown into the nile to satisfy the anger of Pharoah!

How conflicting must those promises have been to their current situation, yet God is saying “I am who I am”. I am in need of no one else, I can care for you all on my own. I have not forgotten my promises!

This leads us to our next point, because…

He shows that HE is present.

It could be easy to look at His self existence and see Him as a cold and distant God, separate from His creation. This is the view of the Deist, but it is not whom God has revealed Himself to be.

Did you catch what He is telling Moses here? HE says “I am” has sent me to YOU!.

He heard the cries of His people. He is not a distant god who does not care about His creation. He works on His own sovereign timing, but He does not forget His people and He has sent them a special servant to lead His people to freedom.

This has even more significance if you look at it in the context of ancient Egypt.

Egyptians believed that the name of a deity was very important, and revealed much of the god. This was so much so that many believed that a deity also had a special, more secret name that if a magician knew, could call upon for even more power. So a god would not reveal his most personal name so easily. He would not allow just anyone to know whom he truly is.

But that was the false gods of Egypt, not the one true God of Abraham. Not the God we serve here today. For what did God tell moses in verse 14?

Exodus 3:14–15 “14 God said to Moses, “I am who I am.” And he said, “Say this to the people of Israel: ‘I am has sent me to you.’ ” 15 God also said to Moses, “Say this to the people 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 thus I am to be remembered throughout all generations.”

God is revealing His personal self to all the people of Israel, and He has revealed Himself even more so to us today.

This leads us to our final point, which is Jesus as the great I am.

Jesus as the great I am.

From the story of Moses and the bush, we have a bit over a thousand years of Israel learning more about God and the Messiah that is to come and bring salvation to the world. Then one day, a man name Jesus is born. From His birth, He is proclaimed by angels and men to be the messiah, the long awaited one.

But what did He say about Himself?

I spoke before the summer on how Jesus was crucified for claiming to be the Messiah, and the Son of God. I said then that I have heard it said so many times that Jesus never claimed to be God, and that this was made up at the council of Nicea.

I simply don’t understand how people can read scripture and come away with such an idea.

We talked about one example of how this was false several weeks ago, but today, we will end our teaching looking at what may be the strongest evidence of Jesus claiming His divinity.

In John chapter 8, Jesus rescued the adulterous woman. It was the story where He famously says “He who is without sin, cast the first stone”.

After this Jesus and the Pharisees go back and forth and Jesus reveals much of Himself in relationship to the Father. This conversation climaxes in verses 48-58, which George read for us earlier.

Did many of you catch the words of Jesus here when the pharisees expressed their confusion and criticism at Jesus saying He knew Abraham when Abraham died about two thousand years earlier

He says in John 8:58 “58 Jesus said to them, “Truly, truly, I say to you, before Abraham was, I am.””

Jesus is using the same wording here as God used to Moses. And before you say, it was just a coincidence or Jesus was not trying to make this connection, why else would He have used this wording?

Got Questions? Bible Questions Answered What Did Jesus Mean When He Said ‘I AM’?

If Jesus had merely wanted to say He existed before Abraham’s time, He would have said, “Before Abraham, I was.” The Greek words translated “was” in the case of Abraham, and “am” in the case of Jesus, are quite different.

So grammatically speaking, this sentence would not make sense unless He was trying to say athat He is the “I am”.

Even more convincing is what happens in the following verse.

John 8:59 (ESV)

59 So they picked up stones to throw at him, but Jesus hid himself and went out of the temple.

Why did the religious leaders, the pharisees react so violently? Why would this answer by Jesus bring out such a response? The answer is simple, because Jesus, in this one sentence, was claiming to be Yaweh. He was claiming to be the great “I am”.

But why is that important to us today? What does any of this have to do with us on earth in the here and now?

Everything.

You see, God sent His special servant Moses to rescue Israel from physical slavery, and to be a type, or image of Christ.

But God sent His Son Jesus to rescue humankind from a far more dangerous slavery, sinful slavery, and where Moses was just an image of a future coming Christ, Jesus was this Christ, this Messiah, this anointed one who was promised time and time again.

So take courage City Church, for we serve the great I AM.

We serve the Eternal God, who has no beginning, who has no end, The Alpha, The Omega, the all powerful and all present Lord of Lord and King of Kings.

We City Church Serve a God who although being fully self sufficient within Himself, in need of nothing or no one, chose to come down to earth in the form of a man in order to suffer and die on the cross, paying the price for my sins, and your sins.

This is the God that we worship City Church, so let us worship Him without shame today. Let us worship Him for He is worthy of our worship. Let us Worship Him in our deeds, let us worship Him with our thoughts, let us worship Him in our conversations on the way home, let us worship Him at work tomorrow, and let us worship Him in song today.