Exodus 3:13-15
13 And Moses said unto God, Behold, when I come unto the children of Israel, and shall say unto them, The God of your fathers hath sent me unto you; and they shall say to me, What is his name? what shall I say unto them?
14 And God said unto Moses, I AM THAT I AM: and he said, Thus shalt thou say unto the children of Israel, I AM hath sent me unto you.
15 And God said moreover unto Moses, Thus shalt thou say unto the children of Israel, the LORD God of your fathers, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob, hath sent me unto you: this is my name for ever, and this is my memorial unto all generations.
If you have children, there's no doubt you took the time to think of what to name your children before they were born. I know of no one that just numbers their children. Although in the case of my father's family, that would have been much easier. My Grandmother gave birth to 18 children. They raised their children on their family farm in Yawkey, West Virginia. Yet even with 18 children, they knew and understood that each child had a distinct personality of their own.
We chose names for our children for many reasons. My wife and I named our three daughters, based on not only the sound of the name, but also the meaning to us. All names seem to carry a meaning with them. At times someone by their actions will taint a name we used to love. If for example, if we knew a Sally that has stolen from us or told outrageous lies about us, the very sound of the name Sally may bring a bad taste to our mouth. The next Sally we meet may have to overcome an unfair bias that we carry with us from the bad Sally of our past.
When we chose names for our children based on meaning, it is our hope of many of us that the child will mirror some if not all of the meaning. But there is a big difference between us and God. When we name someone, we don't have the power or the authority to make the person fit the name. We give names in hope and prayer that our children will become what their names imply. On the other hand God has the right and the power to cause anyone he names to become what the name implies. God can name a person and give them destiny of that name.
This holds true with the names that God has given Himself. And when He names himself, we may be sure the name is full of meaning about God's nature and what he intends to do. God does not choose names for himself at random. He chooses names for the sake of revealing things about himself that will deepen our love for him.
The most important name of God is LORD. Please notice that all the letters are capital letters. This comes from four Hebrew letters, "YHWH." We are not 100% sure of the pronunciation, but it is likely pronounced something like "Yahweh". Jewish scholars in full reverence of the name YHWH would never say the name. So whenever they came to this name in their reading, they pronounced the word "adonai" which means "my lord." Most all of the English versions have basically followed the same pattern. They translate the proper name Yahweh with the word LORD in all caps.
Yahweh is God's proper name in Hebrew. Just to study this name shows that God is a personal God. Yahweh occurs 6,828 times in the Old Testament. That's more than three times as often as the simple word for "God," Elohim. Elohim, the simple Hebrew word for God is used only 2,600 and El 238 times. God wastes no time telling mankind His personal name. In the second chapter of the Bible his personal name is first found.
To study the meaning of God's personal name will give great understanding of God. The meaning of Yahweh is found in Exodus 3: Moses said to God in Exodus 3:13, "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?"
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.'"
God also said to Moses, "Say this to the people of Israel, "The LORD (that is, Yahweh!), the God of your fathers, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, the God of Jacob, has sent me to you': this is my name for ever, and thus I am to be remembered throughout all generations."
The wording of this text tells us that "I AM WHO I AM" is the meaning of the name Yahweh.
So what are we to think of this?
What is God telling us, when He is asked, who are you, and He replies I AM WHO I AM? There aren't any words more important than these in understanding God. The more you think about this meaning, the deeper we know God.
First this is simply saying God exists. Francis Schaffer said it this way, "God is there". I kind of like the way Schaffer words this. This may not seem a great study on its own. But when applied fully, the impact is great.
Matthew Henry said,
"The greatest and best man in the world must say, "By the grace of God I am what I am"; but God says absolutely, and it is more than any creature, man or angel, can say, "I AM THAT I AM""
God is self-existence. It's hard for us to understand this meaning fully. Everything we see, smell, hear, taste or touch had a beginning. Anything we observe must have a cause adequate to explain it. The cause and effect point to God, but this is the issue. They point to a God that is beyond us in every way. This look at God in itself tells us God knew and evaluated other like things.
A W Tozer wrote:
"Few of us have let our hearts gaze in wonder at the I AM, the self-existent Self back of which no creature can think. Such thoughts are painful for us. We prefer to think where it will do more good, about how to build a better mousetrap, for instance, or how to make two blades of grass grow where one grew before. And for this we now paying a too heavy price in secularization of our religion and decay of our inner lives."
We want God to give an account of Himself and to defend his actions. God answers to no one. There is much more to learn from this name of God. But I would like to move this short study to the New Testament.
Please notice if you will the "I am" statement by Christ.
John 8:24
"Therefore I said to you that you will die in your sins; for if you do not believe that I am (He), you will die in your sins."
This is a clear statement by Jesus claiming to be LORD. Remember the Jewish leaders would never talk like this, for they held this phrase in full reverence. But this was not the only time Jesus used this phrase.
John 6:51:"I am the living bread which came down from heaven. If anyone eats of this bread, he will live forever;"
John 8:23: And He said to them, "You are from beneath; I AM from above. You are of this world; I am not of this world.
John 8:12: Then Jesus spoke to them again, saying, "I AM the light of the world. He who follows Me shall not walk in darkness, but have the light of life."
John 10:9: "I AM the door. If anyone enters by Me, he will be saved, and will go in and out and find pasture."
John 10:11: "I AM the good shepherd. The good shepherd gives His life for the sheep.
John 10:36: "do you say of Him whom the Father sanctified and sent into the world, 'You are blaspheming,' because I said, 'I am the Son of God'?
John 11:25: Jesus said to her, "I AM the resurrection and the life. He who believes in Me, though he may die, he shall live.
John 14:6: Jesus said to him, "I AM the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me.
John 15:1: "I AM the true vine, and My Father is the vinedresser.
What does this mean to us?
Remember Francis Schaffer words "God is there". Lets apply what Christ said with Schaffer's words:
God is there, as the living bread of life.
God is there as the good shepherd of His sheep.
God is there as light in a darkened world.
Seeking for truth? God is there for He is the truth.
Do you long for understanding in life? God is there.
Could you use peace in our life? God is there.
What is your greatest need? God is there.
In Christ is where we find these blessings. Your greatest need may not be the thing you first think of. Your greatest need is to ready yourself to meet your maker. With this comes the light, the truth, and understanding of life. With this, comes peace.
In Christ, God is there.