Knowing God

March 4, 2022 (Friday)

 

There are many reasons people do not respond to God. One of them is ignorance of His name. When Moses first approached Pharaoh about releasing the Israelites from slavery, things did not go well. When Moses first approached Israel about God, things did not go well. What’s happening?

 

The problem many of us face is we only know God in name only. It is an old and very real problem. God was introducing Himself to Israel (and the world) with a new name, revealing a new understand. Exodus 6:2 tells us, “And God said to Moses, “I am Yahweh—‘the Lord.’” [NLT] This is the tetragrammaton, or the sacred name of God. It consists of four vowels and has erroneously been translated “Jehovah” (an derivative for the Greek god Zeus). Then again, the name “Jesus” is the Greek translation for the Hebrew “Yahshua” (“Joshua” in English).

 

The sacred name of God roughly translates into “I am.” God is revealing a new way to understand Him. Before this, God revealed Himself through various attributes, “I appeared to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob as El-Shaddai—‘God Almighty’—but I did not reveal my name, Yahweh, to them.” [Exodus 6:3 NLT] Other names include Rohi (Shepherd), Jireh (Provider), Rapha (Healer), Nissi (Banner), Roi (Sees), Sabbaoth (Armies), Shalom (peace), Shammah (Present), and Tsidkenu (Righteousness). The idea of “name” reveals God’s character. What God revealed to (and through) Moses was a significant shift in understanding.

 

This new revelation of understanding emphasizes who God is beyond what God does for us. This is a shift we have to make in our understanding. The Christian tendency is to see God as someone who does something for us. We declare, God loves you. The shift is understanding “God is love” (see 1 John 4:8, 16).

 

Here’s the trap we fall into when God must be doing something for us. We become the center of our understanding. We become the reference point for understanding God. It is true God loves us, it is something we cherish. The question is can we understand God as unconditional love transcending the individual, situation, or our perception.

 

“Moses spoke thus to the people of Israel, but they did not listen to Moses, because of their broken spirit and harsh slavery.” [Exodus 6:9 ESV] Their spirits were broken, they were utterly discouraged and completely exhausted emotionally. The thing here is they were counting on God to do something for them, and missing God completely. The brutality of their slavery captivated their entire existence.

 

In those brutal, utterly discouraged, and completely exhausted moments we cry out in natural human pain. The thing to remember is we have been separated from God since Adam. This human condition of sin has plunged us into our despair.

 

We ask, is there hope in such a void? God answer I AM hope.