“The Lord replied to Moses, “I will indeed do what you have asked, for I look favorably on you, and I know you by name.” Moses responded, “Then show me your glorious presence.” The Lord replied, “I will make all my goodness pass before you, and I will call out my name, Yahweh, before you. For I will show mercy to anyone I choose, and I will show compassion to anyone I choose.” Exodus 33:17-19 NLT
This name of God is incredibly mysterious and intimate. Names have always been significant to me. It bothers me when parents choose their children’s names flippantly, as if their own children were the brunt of a joke or an attempt to make an outlandish statement to everyone that hears it. I feel sorry for today’s teachers having to learn complicated names and strange spellings of names because parents want to be uniquely cute. Hey moms and dads… it’s NOT about you so stop selfishly screwing up your child from day one!
Names have and hold honor or conversely horrible reputations. Moses (to draw out) repeatedly said, “God you know my name,” which alone is a powerful concept. Of course God knows his name! But when one knows that God knows your name and calls out your name is an experience beyond words.
God’s voice, was and is distinctly recognizable, Adam and Eve heard it in the garden (Gen 3:5). And Moses wrote that the couple heard the “voice of the LORD God.” Here, in Hebrew, Moses uses a doubling effect of God’s name, “אֱלֹהִ֑ים יְהוָֹה” elohim Yhvh – Jehovah God. Yhvh means I Am, I be (hayah). Earlier in Exodus 3, God had told Moses who was sending him to Pharoah to demand the release of His people. God said, “tell them “Yhvh” has sent me to you.” Here, many years later, in a much more personal, relational context, Moses pleads with God to STAY. God tells Moses, I will pass before you and speak my name – Yahweh. The Jewish people mistakenly treated God’s name so holy for fear that they would break law #3. They did not want to accidentally take God’s name in vain or be careless so decided they would never speak His name. They strictly forbid anyone from saying or even writing God’s name and forever used a shortcut to refer to Him – the vowels in God’s name were removed and we were left with Yhvh. Scholars best guess, putting the most likely vowels back in use, “Yahweh” or pronounced “Jehovah.”
The point of this dialog with Moses is that God WANTS to be known. God wants us to call out His name! One of most poignant moments in the New Testament is when the religious leaders started forcing Jesus to reveal who he was, only to trap him in what they considered to be blasphemy and they asked him in John 8:56-59, “Who do you think you are?” Jesus replied, “before Abraham was, I am,” our translations use the Greek equivalent to the Hebrew word “eimi: I exist, I am.” Jesus spoke the forbidden use of God’s name and insisted it is not blasphemy if he is in fact THE person of that highly secretive word! God knows our name. God wants us, like the couple in the garden, like Abram, like Moses, even like Lazarus, to hear and recognize his voice and talk with Him.
Prayer
Dad,
Abba, Father, God – I want to know you more. I know you know my name and I want to not only know your name, but everything about you. I want to bear and reflect your name in and through my own life, giving You glory and honor and praise in how I live, how I love. Thank you for your amazing grace to transform my life into something beautiful.