· Excuse #2: “Who are You that I should trust you?” (3:13-22)
Moses’ second excuse
or “problem” with accepting God’s call has to do with the character of
God. Perhaps I didn’t say it the way
Moses did, but I think I have it right.
Moses is going to be a prophet, one who speaks for God to the
people. Thus, he does need to be able to
tell the people who this God is and what He is like. He can’t just say, “I am speaking for the God
of your fathers.” It’s been nearly 400
years, and they have been in Egypt with their many “gods.”
All the gods of
Egypt had names. Each had his (or her)
area of authority. So to do something in
the name of that God was useful in dealing with the area of life in which that
god had authority. The “name” of that god
was synonymous with the character and ability of that god. So, Moses asks God for His “name.”
God’s answer to
Moses is, I AM WHO I AM; tell them “I AM has sent me to you.” As strange as this answer might sound, it is
deeply profound. God simply is! He is transcendent over all of the universe
of creation. He is not some local deity
such as the Egyptians and other nations had.
He is self-existent, meaning He is infinite, eternal, the Lord of
all. There is no corner of all that
exists where God does not have supreme authority. There are no events in history, no locations
on earth, and no soul that breathes that is not subject to His Lordship! Here are a couple of definitions that I have
found helpful …
J. I.
Packer: This is a declaration of His self-existence, and His eternal
changelessness; a reminder to mankind that He has life in Himself, and that
what He is now, He is eternally.
Ron
Allen in his book God: What Is He Like?: the words I AM refer not to
static being but to active existence.
But then, in v15,
God gives to Moses what is actually His name, by which He can be distinguished from
the gods of other nations: “the LORD God of your fathers … this is My name
forever, and this is My memorial to all generations.” The LORD (all caps in most English versions)
is the “tetragrammaton” (4 letters in Hebrew which did not have vowels),
usually pronounced YAHWEH or the traditional Jehovah. The exact meaning of this name is not clear,
but likely has something to do with God’s self-existent character. It is a specific name (Ex. 6:3) and
identifies God as the God of Israel (6:6-8).
We have posted in much detail on “the Names of
God” so we won’t repeat that here. But
here are some reminders of the many perfection of the God of Israel: He is
YAHEWH- Tsebhaoth (LORD of hosts, 2 Ki. 6:8-18); YAHWEH-Jirah (the LORD will
provide, Gen. 22:8,14); YAHWEH-Nissi (the LORD my banner, Ex. 17:15); YAHWEH-Shalom
(the LORD is peace, Jud. 6:24), YAHWEH-Shammah (the LORD is dwells there (Ezek.
48:35) and YAHWEH-Tsedeq (the LORD our righteousness, Jer. 33:15-16)
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