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Exodus 3:1–17
“Moreover God said to Moses, ‘Thus you shall say to the children of Israel: “The LORD 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”’” (Ex. 3:15a).
Names in the Bible usually indicate something about the personality, nature, or mission of the person so named. For instance, Jacob means “supplanter” (Gen. 27:36), Moses means “drawn out” (Ex. 2:10), and Jesus means “Savior” (Matt. 1:21). The same holds true for God, and we can learn much about His nature, much to stimulate our worship, by studying the names assigned to Him in Scripture.
“Yahweh” is the name God gives to Himself. When He spoke to Moses from the burning bush and commanded him to go and tell Pharaoh to release the Israelites, Moses objected that the people would ask the name of the One who had sent him. God responded by declaring “ ‘I AM WHO I AM.’ ” He then went on to say that Moses should tell the Israelites, “ ‘I AM has sent me to you’ ” and “ ‘The LORD God of your fathers … has sent me to you.’ ” The word here translated “the LORD” is Yahweh; this is God’s self-given name. The Reformation Study Bible notes that the word probably derives from the first-person singular form of the Hebrew verb “to be.” Therefore, the classic understanding of the name Yahweh is “I AM WHO I AM.” However, some have variously rendered it as “I will be what I will be” or “I will do what I will do.” Some even believe God was refusing to give a name, essentially saying, “I am who I am—and My name is none of your business.” In any event, the Israelites were to be told that Moses was sent by “the LORD,” the Supreme Being, the Master of all, the one with whom their fathers walked. Furthermore, the name was to be used in worship—“ ‘as a memorial’ ”—forever.
Assuming that “I AM THAT I AM” is the correct meaning of Yahweh, what do we learn from this name? It speaks to us of the most fundamental difference between God and His creatures—His self-existence. All creatures, including man, owe their existence to something else; we are dependent and derived, finite and fragile, with many needs. But God has no needs. He is not dependent. He exists in and of Himself, for He has the power of being. As The Reformation Study Bible says, the name Yahweh “proclaims [God’s] eternal, self-sustaining, self-determining, sovereign reality.”
We come to church to worship the One to whom we owe our very existence.
Coram Deo Living before the face of God
When you go to worship this Lord’s Day, take time to reflect on the One before whom you are coming. Remember, God is the One in whom we “ ‘live and move and have our being’ ” (Acts 17:28), your Creator and Sustainer (Heb. 1:3). With these truths in mind, open your heart to give unto Yahweh the glory due to His name (Ps. 29:2).
for further study
- Psalm 100:3
- Ecclesiastes 12:1
- Colossians 1:16
- Revelation 4:11