I Am The LORD

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Exodus 6:2–5 NASB95

2 God spoke further to Moses and said to him, “I am the Lord; 3 and I appeared to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, as God Almighty, but by My name, Lord, I did not make Myself known to them. 4 “I also established My covenant with them, to give them the land of Canaan, the land in which they sojourned. 5 “Furthermore I have heard the groaning of the sons of Israel, because the Egyptians are holding them in bondage, and I have remembered My covenant.

One of the key thoughts that emanate from Exodus is the supremacy and sovereignty of YHWH

Yes, God redeems Israel, destroys Pharaoh’s armies, brings Israel throught the wilderness, gives them His law, establishes the tabernacle and its worship

But, the prevailing idea is that all of this goes back to the supremacy and sovereignty of YHWH

This idea is powerful, pertitent but yet problematic. It highlights that someone has full control, full rule, and full reign and that someone is not me. This is problematic to the contemporary world and church because we have gobbled down the juice of self-sufficiency, self-relaince and self-exaltation for so long that God reserving the right to have full reign is now offensive.

Now I want God but I want Him on my terms, Give me Jesus, but He doesn’t get to tell me how to live. No denying of self, no sacrifice, no transformation, no be broken on the unhewn altar of God. Everything must please my appetite and never affect my conscience, preferring a watered down gospel to support all my preferences. Everything must fit me, and please me, and suit me - But Today! God is declaring “I AM THE LORD”

There is sovereignty, supremacy and authority in God’s name when He declares, “I AM THE LORD”.

In Genesis the story of Israel ends with a people who go to Egypt to seek providence due to the famine in Canaan. This was a famine that affected all the land (Gen 41:56), but God made a way for Joseph to ensure the survival of the people He made a promise to.

Exodus picks up with the clan of 70/75 that are now in Egypt and are multiplying, the Pharaoh of Joseph’s day is not succeeded by one that shares the same pleasant and favourable disposition of his predecessor. This one sees Israel as a threat and enslaves them and treats them harshly. APPL. But you cannot stop what God intends to bring to pass!

The hardship only ensures their multiplication (Ex 1:12)

God hears the cry of a people downtrodden and in oppression, He calls an 80 year-old Moses from the wilderness of Midian, for 40 years He led sheep, now he will lead God’s people. God sends Moses a Hebrew, who grew up an Egyptian and also a fugitive, back to Pharaoh with a messgae from God: “Let my people go”

When the people hear about God’s intention they are hopeful and encouraged and moved to worship Exodus 4:31 “31 So the people believed; and when they heard that the Lord was concerned about the sons of Israel and that He had seen their affliction, then they bowed low and worshiped.”

By chap 5, there is a crisis. Pharaoh is unmoved by the request. He then retaliates by afflicting the Israelites even more. They then complain that Moses/God has made things worse. Moses returns to God with more concerns, fears and frustrations...this plan is off to a rocky start.

There is a reassurance given that God will fulfill His plan Exodus 6:1 “1 Then the Lord said to Moses, “Now you shall see what I will do to Pharaoh; for under compulsion he will let them go, and under compulsion he will drive them out of his land.””

God now has a message to send to His people (vs. 2-9)

The God that will deliver them, will not be seen in the same way the patriarchs saw Him. This God is YHWH, He has supreme authority, He will upset an international super nation, and fulfill the promises He made to their fathers. EL SHADDAI is the almighty power that is able to provide to the utmost. He is able to make and fulfill His promises, He is faithful.

El Shaddai (COVENANT-MAKER) said “I will do it”

430 years after YHWH (COVENANT-KEEPER) says, “I am ready”

What Israel needed now was not a promise, but a deliverer - “I AM the LORD”

There is something special in this name. A name thought by Jews to be so sacred, they did not say it for fear of mispronouncing it. Many times they prefer to say ADONAI.

This name is significant becasue Pharaoh asked the question Exodus 5:2 “2 But Pharaoh said, “Who is the Lord that I should obey His voice to let Israel go? I do not know the Lord, and besides, I will not let Israel go.””

Who is that Lord?

Pharaoh was about to find out real soon

This Lord is not like the gods he was accustomed to in Egypt. YHWH is not one that can be likened to man like Ra, He was not one that can be bribed and solicited to action. He was not one that operated on the wim and fancies of his followers.

YHWH sits above the rest, supreme, sovereign. He answers to no one, yet everyone has to answer to Him. He has authority and rule over all that exists. He is the one that told the seas to stop right there, and they stood right there, He told the sun to spin and it’s still spinning to this day.

Remember Moses is fearful, doubtful, and frustrated - He needed a revival and God gives it to him, by telling him - Who HE is!

This will Get him back on track

This is message is needed for the church to get back on track - That God Is The LORD

The church must be reminded who is the Lord, who’s in charge, who makes things happen. Regardless of what we face today, God is still Lord.

His mission is still our #1 priority...,or have we swapped it out for something else? Did we put the command to “make disciples of all men” on the chopping for our careers, personal goals and agendas.

God is still LORD, but is God your LORD!!!

What does YHWH signify?

It calls our mind back to Ex 3:14-15. “I AM” was

YHWH. The self-existant, self-sustained one. The one who was and always was and always will be. He needs nothing, has everything and supplies everything. He accomplishes anything. He is absolutely God!

What does YHWH signify to Israel?

This is an encouraging message to Israel in the midst of a nation that bows to many gods.

This is someone that has more authority. His reign is wider than Pharaoh

This is someone that has more power than Pharaoh and his Gods

This is someone who heard them

This is someone who can save them

These reasons are equally important for us to know and beleive today. There is no greater question to ask than, “Who is God?” We are charged with a mission to declare this to the world.

We do so by lifting up Jesus

John 1:18 “18 No one has seen God at any time; the only begotten God who is in the bosom of the Father, He has explained Him.”

John 6:44 “44 “No one can come to Me unless the Father who sent Me draws him; and I will raise him up on the last day.”

2 Corinthians 5:19 “19 namely, that God was in Christ reconciling the world to Himself, not counting their trespasses against them, and He has committed to us the word of reconciliation.”

We need men who would teach and preach the One God, that He is the LORD. Who would teach their families, then their churches about who is the Lord.

We have a mission. One mission; a soul mission. “Go make disciples”

But,

“Until God becomes the blazing sun at the center of the solar system of our daily lives, until God becomes the Mt. Everest in the foothills of all our concerns;

Until God becomes our only God, we will never truly experience all that He has in store for us, and if we do experience it, we will never appreciate its true significane.