The Names of God

 

Then Moses said to God, “If I come to the people of Israel and say to them, ‘The God of your fathers has sent me to you,’ and they ask me, ‘What is his name?’ what shall I say to them?” God said to Moses, “I AM WHO I AM.” And he said, “Say this to the people of Israel: ‘I AM has sent me to you.’” (Exodus 3:13-14 ESV).

 

Today we are beginning a short series looking at the names of God in the Scripture. Our reading today is an example of one of those, “I AM WHO I AM.” Often you will see this name of God in all caps as “THE LORD.” The reason is that it was held in such high regard that the people of Israel would not even verbalize it. In Hebrew it is may be transliterated as Yahweh. We are most familiar with it as “Jehovah.” We certainly will look more carefully at this particular name of God later; however, today I bring it to mind simply to underscore how important names were in the days of the writing of the Scripture.

 

In Shakespeare’s play Romeo and Juliet, Juliet asks, “What’s in a name? … That which we call a rose by any other name would smell as sweet.” She’s certainly right. The person we love is far more valuable than his or her name. Still, names are important. Names today don’t reveal much about us, but names in Bible times often did. For example, Adam’s name comes from the Hebrew noun adamah, meaning “ground” or “earth.” People are truly earthlings. Throughout the Bible, names tend to reveal something about the person they name.

 

If the names of the people in the Bible reveal something important, how much more do the names of God, the main actor in all of Scripture! God has graciously stooped to reveal himself to us. He reveals his personality and character through his actions and his names. This month, as we look at God’s names in the Old and New Testaments, we learn who he is by reflecting on the meaning of his names.

 

My hope is that as we learn more about God’s names we will be challenged us to take him seriously in all areas of our lives. Each one carries a specific detail about God and His character that has been especially helpful to me in my journey. Today, recognize that when God introduces Himself as “I AM”, He is saying that He is more than enough for all that we may need in this life or the next!