A Glorious Name
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?
Exodus 3:13
Read Exodus 3:1-14
You probably know the biblical name which is written with all capital letters,
the name LORD. That was the name Moses was instructed to use in
answer to the question posed in the above verse. Moses had already taken
off his sandals in reverence to God. The use of God’s Name is the acknowledgement
of God’s existence. It means that we are standing on holy ground.
The name LORD in Hebrew is JHWH, which we would write as Jahweh. Jews
today will never use that name for fear that they might use it in vain or inappropriately.
The Lord did not reveal His name so we would refuse to use it,
yet we can learn from the Jews about how to keep the name of the Lord holy.
The term holy means that something is set apart and has a special purpose
or meaning.
The name LORD means I am that I am; He is the unchangeable, faithful God.
He is trustworthy and reliable. Another term sometimes used is: The One
who is present. This truth underlines the fact that the LORD, Jehovah, will
not forsake His people but will go with them. However, a little later in Israel’s
history, after they had set up the golden calf, the Lord threatened not
to accompany them any longer. Instead, He would send His angel to guide
them. But Moses did not want to continue the journey without the Lord, the
I am that I am.
Thought: Do you dare to go on in this life without the LORD?
Psalter 213:1,3 (based on Psalm 78)
My people give ear, attend to my word,
In parables new deep truths shall be heard;
The wonderful story our fathers made known
To children succeeding by us must be shown.
Let children thus learn from history’s light
To hope in our God and walk in His sight,
The God of their fathers to fear and obey,
And ne’er like their fathers to turn from His way.
