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The twofold significance of God’s name means that God’s sovereignty does not hold Him back from a personal relationship with you.
SCRIPTURE MEDITATION
And God said unto Moses, I AM THAT I AM: and he said, Thus shalt thou say unto the children of Israel, I AM hath sent me unto you. And God saidmoreover unto Moses, Thus shalt thou say unto the children of Israel, the LORD God of your fathers, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob, hath sent me unto you: this is my name for ever, and this is my memorial unto all generations. — EXODUS 3:14–15
PRAYER
Ever-faithful, covenant-keeping Lord in heaven, hallowed be Thy name. Thy name declares Thy majesty and Thy mercy. Thou art high and lifted up, yet Thou dwellest with the humble and contrite in heart. As I turn to meditate upon Thy great name “The LORD,” expose any tendency in me that does not rest in Thy covenant promises, that asserts itself against Thy will, and that stifles a clear apprehension of Thy truth. May Thy name instill in me a fear and love of Thee that bears fruit unto Thy glory. I pray this in the strong name of the Savior. Amen.
BIBLICAL PERSPECTIVE
Decades after Moses had fled as a fugitive from Pharaoh, he led his fatherin- law’s flock through the rocky desert of Sinai. At Mount Horeb, Moses saw a bush that burned with fire but was not consumed by it. Drawn to it by curiosity, he was shocked to hear the voice of God speaking from the midst of the flames. God spoke to Moses about His compassion for the children of Israel and His intent to rescue them from slavery. God commissioned him to go to Pharaoh and lead Israel out of Egypt. Moses asked for the name of the One who sent him. God replied, “I AM THAT I AM: and he said, Thus shalt thou say unto the children of Israel, I AM hath sent me unto you” (Ex. 3:14). Thus God revealed His name “I AM,” translated “the LORD,” to Moses.
When does God reveal His name “I AM” in the Bible? He reveals it especially when He is about to redeem His people. Therefore, God’s name “I AM” should forever remind us of God’s gracious initiative to save His people—from the time of Israel’s first Passover, to its fulfillment in Christ’s work of eternal salvation as our true Passover lamb (1 Cor. 5:7), who redeemed people out of every nation (Rev. 5:6, 9).
The divine name that God revealed to Moses is expanded in two ways: “I AM THAT I AM,” revealing God’s sovereign lordship (Ex. 3:14)—and “I AM with you” (v. 12), revealing His covenantal faithfulness. First, God’s name “the LORD”—expanded to “I AM THAT I AM” or “I will be”—reveals His sovereign Lordship. “I AM” speaks of God’s absolute being and implies God’s self-existence and independence as the only God. “I will be” suggests that God’s dealings with Moses and Israel are not subject to time, but He is free to exercise His sovereign lordship over time. He has always been and will always be Lord. So when we come to God for grace, we can rest confidently in His sovereign freedom to bestow grace upon us (Ex. 33:19; Rom. 9:15–18).
Second, God’s name “the LORD”—expanded to “I will be with you”— reveals His covenant faithfulness (3:12; 4:12, 15). God repeatedly affirms His compassion for His suffering people and His intention to save them (Ex. 2:24–25; 3:7–10, 16–17). God then connects His name “I AM” with “the LORD God of your fathers, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob” (3:14–15). God is giving Abraham’s offspring salvation and inheritance because He keeps His covenant promises. When you trust God as your covenant Lord, you also glorify Him as your sovereign Lord.
The twofold significance of God’s name means that God’s sovereignty does not hold Him back from a personal relationship with you. You should never think that God’s transcendent glory as the LORD inhibits His compassionate faithfulness to His people. God’s lordship over the world means that He controls all things, whether pharaohs or frogs, to fulfill the words of His covenant. On the other hand, God’s covenantal faithfulness teaches us to view Him not as a frighteningly arbitrary and chaotic power, but as a personal, righteous God worthy of our absolute trust and fervent hope. Let us rely on God’s covenant precisely because He is sovereign.
Let us also consider that God’s name “the LORD” points us to His Trinitarian nature. The Trinity—the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit—is the sovereign, eternal “I AM.” God the Son and God the Spirit share in the one divine “name” of the Father (Matt. 28:19). Christ identified Himself as the Lord who appeared to Moses, for He said, “Before Abraham was, I am” (John 8:56, 58). The most basic confession of the Christian faith is that “Jesus Christ is Lord” (Phil. 2:10–11; cf. Isa. 45:21–23). Likewise, the Holy Spirit is also “the LORD” (Isa. 63:11–14; Jer. 31:33–34; Heb. 10:15–17). In all three divine persons, the Father, the Son sent by the Father, and the Spirit of the Son sent by the Father, we encounter the one covenant Lord who draws us into reverent and loving relationship with Himself (Gal. 4:4– 6; Eph. 3:14–21).
The name of the Lord thus stands at the heart of the gospel, for we must know and call upon His name to be saved (Acts 2:21; Rom. 10:13). Let us, therefore, humble ourselves with holy awe in the presence of the great “I AM.” Let us consider His absolute independence from all limitations and His constant faithfulness to His covenant. Let us worship Him with joy and trembling. Let us trust Him wholeheartedly as our only Redeemer. In the divine name, “the LORD,” we find the root from which grow all the sweet fruits that nourish the believer’s soul in every trial and temptation.
Excerpt from
NONE ELSE: 31 Meditations on God’s Character and Attributes
By Joel R. Beeke and Brian Cosby
