Sermon Tone Analysis

What’s in a Name?

A Famous Question: Shakespeare

Juliet Capulet

In a garden, set high above her family’s estate, the lovestruck Juliet Capulet would pose what is perhaps one of the most famous/infamous questions in all of Western Poetry:

What’s in a name?

that which we call a rose

By any other name would smell as sweet;

So Romeo would, were he not Romeo call’d,

Retain that dear perfection which he owes  

Without that title.

Romeo, doff thy name;

And for that name, which is no part of thee,

Take all myself.

(2.1.85–86)

Leaning out of her upstairs window, unaware that Romeo stands just below her in an orchard, Juliet asks why Romeo must be Romeo—why he must be a Montague, the son of her family’s greatest enemy.

What’s in a name?

that which we call a roseBy any other name would smell as sweet;So Romeo would, were he not Romeo call’d,Retain that dear perfection which he owes  Without that title.

Romeo, doff thy name;And for that name, which is no part of thee,Take all myself.

What’s in a name?

that which we call a rose

By any other name would smell as sweet;

By any other name would smell as sweet; So Romeo would, were he not Romeo call’d, Retain that dear perfection which he owes  Without that title.

Romeo, doff thy name;And for that name, which is no part of thee, Take all myself.

So Romeo would, were he not Romeo call’d,

Retain that dear perfection which he owes  

Unaware of Romeo’s presence, she asks her dear Romeo to deny the name of his family for her love, and adds that if he will not, she will deny her family name in order to be with him if he were to simply confess that he loves her.

Without that title.

Romeo, doff thy name;

And for that name, which is no part of thee,

This famous balcony scene presents a major theme that will run throughout the remainder of the story, that of the tension between one’s outer identity (defined by one’s name) and inner identity (defined by the one’s character).

Juliet believes that that the two can be separated, having nothing to do with one another; however, the brilliant Shakespeare sets out, EVEN from the stories prologue, that such hopes are but youthful ignorance.

Take all myself.

(2.1.85–86)

Unfortunately, for those who know how this story ends, there will be no separation for these star-crossed lovers.

“What’s in a name?” she asks.

“That which we call a rose / By any other word would smell as sweet”

We find through this tale that their is much in a name, and that more often than not, what we choose to call ourselves reflects a great deal upon who we are, and how we wish to be perceived.

So what are we to make of the name of our God?

The living and active, cosmic creator of all that we see?

How has he chosen to define himself to us?

Well, if you have your bibles, now is the time to take them up and read; for it is *here* (and only *here*) that we will find for ourselves an answer to such a question.

What’s in the Name of Our God?

To answer this, we must first ask - “What is the Name of our God?

How does this sovereign, cosmic ruler and creator of all the universe choose to be referenced?

Well, I have attempted to set out 4 major texts of Scripture, each pointing us to a new attribute of who God is.

The Majest of His Name

The Declaration of His Name

The Incarnation of His Name

The Commission of His Name

The Commission of His Name

And so we begin with...

1. THE MAJESTY OF HIS NAME

We see early in scripture that the first man, Adam, refers to the Creator God as YHWH (yehwaw), or LORD, an historical divine name, EMANATING from a divine being.

In fact, such a name for God is so historical and so ancient, that its first reference sits at the very front of God’s word.

that it first occurs

These are the generations

of the heavens and the earth when they were created,

in the day that the LORD God made the earth and the heavens.

It is from this account that we know that Adam himself used this name for God as a symbol of his close relationship with him; however, this companionship, this intimacy, like so many other truly good things, was ruined at the fall

Adam would choose sin over knowing intimately this name

Adam would value self over truly knowing his life-sourse

And so mankind, through Adam, would lose the ability to understand and employ this divine name for God, instead reducing it to a place holder, four letters, known as the tetragrammaton, in scripture...

Waiting for the day when we might fully come to know the majesty behind this one true name again… YHWH.

Though we no longer inherently know what meaning stood behind that name, YHWH // God, in his grace, has seen fit to reveal snapshots of his majesty to us in our fallen state.

So, I would like us to move forward as we explore the name of God in Scripture together.

Please flip in your bibles to Ex. Ch. 3:14-17, as we will attempt to learn (or RE-learn) FIRST the Supremacy of God’s Name, and then other characteristics which stand behind his name as well.

THE DECLARATION OF OUR GOD

To set the stage for , God has commissioned the once royal, now disgraced, shepherd Moses to go into Egypt and be His voice for deliverance to the people.

Understandably frightened, perhaps overwhelmed by the task, Moses raises an objection to the God of his fathers.

“Who am I that I should go to Pharaoh and bring the children of Israel out of Egypt?”

In response, the LORD would comforts him “I will be with you”

This, however, is still not enough.

Moses seeks more detail.

He pushes for more authority.

[When I] say to them, ‘The God of your fathers has sent me to you’… they may say to me, ‘What is his name?’

What shall I say to them?

God’s response is one of the most

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.

16 Go and gather the elders of Israel together and say to them, ‘The LORD, the God of your fathers, the God of Abraham, of Isaac, and of Jacob, has appeared to me, saying, “I have observed you and what has been done to you in Egypt, 17 and I promise that I will bring you up out of the affliction of Egypt to the land of the Canaanites, the Hittites, the Amorites, the Perizzites, the Hivites, and the Jebusites, a land flowing with milk and honey.”

’

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?” 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.

16 Go and gather the elders of Israel together and say to them, ‘The LORD, the God of your fathers, the God of Abraham, of Isaac, and of Jacob, has appeared to me, saying, “I have observed you and what has been done to you in Egypt, 17 and I promise that I will bring you up out of the affliction of Egypt to the land of the Canaanites, the Hittites, the Amorites, the Perizzites, the Hivites, and the Jebusites, a land flowing with milk and honey.”

’ 18

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 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.’ ”

...

This is my name forever, and thus I am to be remembered throughout all generations.

… (OPTIONA

… (OPTIONAL)

I will bring you up out of the affliction of Egypt to the land of the Canaanites, the Hittites, the Amorites, the Perizzites, the Hivites, and the Jebusites, a land flowing with milk and honey.

Here the God of Moses, the God of Jacob, and Isaac, and Abraham has revealed an important characteristic about himself.

Here the God of Moses, the God of Jacob, and Isaac, and Abraham has revealed an important characteristic about himself.

Here the God of Moses, the God of Jacob, and Isaac, and Abraham has revealed an important characteristic about himself.

(‘ehyeh Asher ‘ehyeh) ------- אֶֽהיה אֲשֶׁר אֶֽהיה ------- (I AM WHO I AM)

(‘ehyeh Asher ‘ehyeh) ------- אֶֽהיה אֲשֶׁר אֶֽהיה ------- (I AM WHO I AM)

The Hebrew phrasing here could also be understood as I AM WHAT I AM, or I WILL BE WHAT I WILL BE

This is the supreme title for God, emphasizing his presence, care, concern for relationship with his people.

a title of God with a focus on presence, care, concern, and relationship