Who Is God ? (Continues) A crucial encounter with Moses Moses was concerned about how the Israelites would receive him and the commission God gave him, so he asked God, “Indeed, when I come to the children of Israel and say to them, ‘The God of your fathers has sent me to you,’ and they say to me, ‘What is His name? What shall I say to them?’” (Exodus 3:13).Observe the Creator’s reply: “And God said to Moses, ‘I AM WHO I AM.’ And He said, ‘Thus you shall say to the children of Israel, ‘I AM has sent me to you’” (Exodus 3:14). Note also the next verse: “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, and this is My memorial to all generations” (verse 15). As is common throughout most English translations of the Old Testament, the word “Lord” here with capital letters is substituted for the Hebrew consonants Y-H-W-H (commonly known as the Tetragrammaton, meaning four letters). No one today knows for certain how to pronounce this name, but the most common pronunciation now is Yahweh. (A common, though errant, earlier rendering was Jehovah.) The name YHWH is similar in meaning to “I AM” (Hebrew EHYH or Eheyeh). Both imply eternal, self inherent existence (compare John 5:26). No one created God. We should understand that He has many names in Scripture, each of which tells us something about His wonderful, divine nature and character.Given this background, therefore,when Jesus said in John 8:58 that He preceded Abraham and referred to Him self with continuous existence using the term “I AM,” there really should be no doubt as to just what He meant. The Jews well knew what He meant, which is why they immediately tried to stone Him to death (verse 59). Jesus was saying that He was the very God of Israel. Amen
Posted on: Wed, 21 Jan 2015 03:33:50 +0000
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