The Story: 4 The Bible: Exodus 1-9
Exodus 3:13 Moses said to God, “If I go to the Israelites and tell them, ‘The God of your fathers has sent me to you,’ and they ask me, ‘What is his name?’ –what should I say to them?”
God has just given instructions to Moses. Our first cursory observation is Moses’ immediate hesitancy. What if I do this? What if people question me? How do I respond? Perhaps Moses had a good reason for asking God’s name. The Egyptians were a polytheistic society—many gods of all sorts for many needs. The Israelites were a monotheistic society and Moses would want to give them verification that it was indeed the one true LORD God Almighty sending him for the deliverance of God’s people. Perhaps Moses was acting out of his own need to be reassured.
Exodus 3:14 God said to Moses, “I AM that I AM.” And he said, “You must say this to the Israelites, “I AM has sent me to you.”
Most biblical scholars agree that a good phrase of explanation might be, I WILL BE WHAT I WILL BE. The Israelites used the term Yahweh, which can be translated “he is” but here we see a very definitive response from God, “I AM.” God is not bound by time. God declares that who He is now (present tense) is exactly who He has always been (past tense) and exactly who He will always be (future tense). This should be enough to reassure Moses. Yet there is an additional reinforcement given to Moses; one that carries down to us today; one that will provide hope for all who come.
Exodus 3:15 God also said to Moses, “You must say to the Israelites, ‘The LORD—the 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 from generation to generation.
God is who He is and will always be, and this continues from generation to generation—to the remotest generation—to us and all who follow.
Today’s Prayer Suggestion: In this unsettled world in which we live, offer a praise of thanksgiving to your Heavenly Father for his consistency. The LORD God Almighty is I AM.
The devotional To the Remotest Generation appeared first on Write From My Heart at
https://writefrommyheartblog.blogspot.com
Email: Dotty Willmon, writefrommyheartblog@gmail.com
The Scriptures quoted are from the NET Bible® http://netbible.com copyright © 1996, 2019 used with permission from Biblical Studies Press, L.L.C. All rights reserved.
General format for WFMH devotionals will follow the pattern of chapters outlined in The Story: The Bible as One Continuing Story of God and His People, M. Lucado & R. Frazee, Zondervan, 2005, 2008, 2011.
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