HE GOES BY THE NAME YAHWEH
A story is told that Alexander the Great was inspecting and motivating his army before a great battle when he saw a young soldier who was visibly terrified. Alexander is said to have asked this young soldier what his name was, to which he replied, with his voice shaking in fear, Alexander sir! Alexander the Great was taken aback and much agitated by this young soldier’s response, so he said to him, “Young man, you better change your name or change your conduct.”
It is clear that what bothered Alexander The Great the most was that this young soldier’s conduct didn’t match up to the name he had built up to deserve the title, ‘Great.’
We live in a society where names are essential identification markers. Today the name, Nelson Mandela is synonymous with reconciliation. While the name, Martin Luther is synonymous with Protestantism. The name, Mahatma Gandhi, is strongly identified with non-violence, while the name Adolf Hitler is associated with the direct opposite.
Though these similarities may be accurate for the world we live in today, it wasn’t entirely the case in the ancient world. Names in the ancient world represented essence.
There are many stories in the Bible where there is a significant correlation between an individual’s name and their story. In 1 Samuel 25, there is the story of David and Nabal, whose name means fool; and he indeed behaved like a fool in the story. In Genesis chapter 12-25:11, we have the account of Abraham and the beginning of Israel as a nation. With that in mind, it comes as no surprise that Abraham’s name means ‘The father of a multitude/nation’. It was not entirely unheard of in the ancient world for kings or ordinary people to change their names at significant turning points of their lives.
God’s in the ancient world were named and also known by what they stand for. Molech was known for child sacrifices (Jeremiah 32:35), while Asherah was a fertility god. With this in mind, the logical question to then ask is, what is Yahweh’s reason for existence?
The story of Moses’s encounter with Yahweh helps in answering this question. In Exodus 3, Moses leads his father in-law’s livestock to Horeb, the mountain of the Lord. And while there, God speaks to Him through a bush engulfed with flames and yet not consumed. God commissions Moses to go back to Egypt and lead the Israelites out of captivity and into the promised land (Canaan).
Moses doesn’t see himself as the right man for the job because he left Egypt as a fugitive from the law and not a tourist on vacation. He knew that his reputation among the Israelites was not the most attractive, and his low self-esteem only magnified his verbal shortcomings. And so Moses asked God in the slight possibility he would accept this job. If the Israelites asked for the name of the God who sent him, what shall he say (Exodus 3:13)? What Moses was fundamentally asking here was God’s purpose for existence. He wanted to be clear on what God’s essence truly is.
God responded in Exodus 3:14 saying, “I am who I am” or in Hebrew “Ehyeh Asher Ehyeh.” Although theologically beautiful and poetic, it is hard to figure out what God is about from the statement “I am who I am.” But if we consider the text’s immediate context, especially looking at Exodus 3:12 where ‘Ehyeh’ first appears. We will see that the idea that is made clear is that of a God who is ever-present, especially when we have to do something seemingly impossible.
In Exodus 3:15, God emphasizes to Moses that this is to be His name forever. Meaning that this is what He is about, His reason for existence. The creator God of the Bible desires to be known as a God who is always present with and close to people.
Adam and Eve found this to be true when God came looking for them armed with a solution to the sin problem (Genesis 3:15). During the Exodus, the Israelites found it to be true when God told Moses to build Him a tent so He can move into camp (Exodus 25:8). In the first century, people found this to be true when Jesus the Messiah came preaching reconciliation and Kingdom citizenship.
What is most strikingly beautiful about this is that it also holds true of the world we live in today. God has a way of giving you strength when you need it the most, and peace in the middle of the storm. What God does for those who fully submit to Him can be far more experienced than explained. So the next time you find yourself facing a difficult challenge, remember He who goes by the name Yahweh!
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