Encountering God (6)

Our main text this morning is going to be Exodus 6:3 however, we need a little context.

Moses went to Egypt as God commanded him. Moses and Aaron went and talked with the leaders of Israel. After explaining all God wanted Moses to say and do and showing them miracles Israel jumped on board and worshipped God for they believed Freedom will be theres.

This often reminds me of when someone first receives Christ or direction in their life. They are all excited and ready to embrace what God has for them. Their hearts are on fire, but then something happens and we begin to loose faith. Jesus uses this in a parable in two different ways to explain crops that grow, but do not thrive. In his parable the wheat springs, but but is either suffocated by weeds, or burnt up from the sun. These people hear the words of God, receive them, and are excited for them, but life quickly blows the flame of Godly passion out of their lives.

When Moses leaves the Israelites to see Pharoh they are rejoicing because they believe the Word of God that they will be set free. Moses goes to Pharoh presents his desire to take Israel out of Egypt and Pharoh responds by increasing their work load and removing the resources to complete the task.

The task masters are told to be make sure they produce more than they normally would, but without resources and if they don’t they were given the directive to whip them and beat them. As this oppression increases Israel looses faith.

Understand: When you take leaps of faith Satan isn’t going to let you enjoy the immediate benefits, he wants to discredit God, he wants you think you were better off in sin and without Christ. He wants to put distance between you and God so that he could have ultimate control of your life.

Israel starts to complain and tells Moses to leave them alone. Moses returns back to God questioning his very calling.

There are some here this morning who are questioning their calling and need to hear this message. There are some here who are still dabbling in their past struggles and yet wonder why God hasn’t freed you. You drink too much, you go back to romantic relationships when God is try to get your attention and to help you grow, you are more in tune to the noise around you then the still small voice inside of you.

Moses, who is struggling, goes to God seeking answers and God says this:

Exodus 6:2–3 ESV

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

We see this name Lord, but many don’t relize that the first time God, who has many names and attrbutes, only reveals this name to Moses and Israel at this point in time. Before Exodus 3 Yahweh never been used in the bible. He only reveals himself as Yahweh to Israel at this time. Why?

Lord/Yahweh/YHWH

If you go back to the origional Hebrew many people state that I am and Yahweh are used interchangeably, but that isn’t the case. Although they sound close and look close in spelling there are subtle differences which stop these words from being the same. Kind of like:

Their/there/they’re

Prof Israel Knohl a Hebrew Bible Dr. who works at the Hebrew University in Jerusalem suggest that the word Yahweh derives from the midianites and not of Jewish dialect. He quotes many sources and language differences. If you’re interested I can give you the information to read on your own, but aren’t going to dive into it today.

What we need to know is that the name Yahweh means

Impassioned God

God is trying to explain the Love and desire he has for Israel ,which he reiterates in his hearing of their suffering and agony driven pleas.

Exodus 6:5–7 (ESV)

Moreover, I have heard the groaning of the people of Israel whom the Egyptians hold as slaves, and I have remembered my covenant.

Say therefore to the people of Israel, ‘I am the (ImpassionedGod) Lord, and I will bring you out from under the burdens of the Egyptians, and I will deliver you from slavery to them, and I will redeem you with an outstretched arm and with great acts of judgment.

I will take you to be my people, and I will be your God, and you shall know that I am the (impassioned God) Lord your God, who has brought you out from under the burdens of the Egyptians.

Impassioned- Driven with deep emotion

In this case love and desire to be reunited with them.

There are so many verses that back this up- Just the imagary of god being our husband we his bride. As we saw yesterday the impassioned vows that were delivered by Bob and Ruth is the imagery God is trying to get across to his people.

In fact:

John 3:16 ESV

“For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life.

Here we see Yahweh-The impasioned God- a God driven by love for his creation that he sent his only Son so we could be reunited with God himself.

Understand God has this deep love for you and this burning desire to be with you, that he created a way at such great personal expense to himself for you to come to Him.

God says I am Impassioned and I desire to reunited with my people that I will at any expense free my people from Egyptian slavery.

God has such a desire to be with you that he has created an unbreakable bridge just to reach out and connect with you, but sometimes we get so over run by our life problems and dilemas and choices that we cannot hear the voice of God crying out to be connected and united with us.

We believe we are lone, when God says he will never leave you nor forsake you. But Satan wants the task masters of life to be so abusive and so sensory driven that we cannot focus on the still calm voice calling out to us from the wilderness to bring us Home.

Satan wants you to feel hopeless, unheard, and alone. He wants you to feel as though God doesn’t care, but God is crying out

I am impassioned to be with you.

That all you have to do is receive me and follow me. I will be your God and You will be my people.

Exodus 6:7 (ESV)

I will take you to be my people, and I will be your God, and you shall know that I am the (impassioned God) Lord your God, who has brought you out from under the burdens of the Egyptians (of your own creation).

How: Through my Son and your continued obedience to God. That’s all he requires which isn’t much in comparison to what he rescued us from.