Exodus 3:13-17 The way to truly know God is to walk with Him while fulfilling His divine commission

Exodus 3:13-17 The way to truly know God is to walk with Him while fulfilling His divine commission

Then Moses said to God, “Behold, I am going to the sons of Israel, and I will say to them, ‘The God of your fathers has sent me to you.’ Now they may say to me, ‘What is His name?’ What shall I say to them?” 14 God said to Moses, “I AM WHO I AM”; and He said, “Thus you shall say to the sons of Israel, ‘I AM has sent me to you.’” 15 God, furthermore, said to Moses, “Thus you shall say to the sons of Israel, ‘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-name to all generations.

16 Go and gather the elders of Israel together and say to them, ‘The Lord, the God of your fathers, the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, has appeared to me, saying, “I am indeed concerned about you and what has been done to you in Egypt. 17 So I said, I will bring you up out of the affliction of Egypt to the land of the Canaanite and the Hittite and the Amorite and the Perizzite and the Hivite and the Jebusite, to a land flowing with milk and honey.”’

Background

Against Jewish convention, Moses sought out God’s name, for he wanted to know God intimately. God made known that He is “I AM”, the God who reveals His attributes to those who love Him. The name “I AM” pushes us beyond mental assent to know God by walking with Him. Many in today’s church knew about God but did not truly know Him. Some are even revered as great teachers of the word. But they have never conversed with Him or felt His tangible presence. Today’s devotion teaches us: The way to truly know God is to walk with Him while fulfilling His divine commission.

Observation

God said to Moses, “I AM WHO I AM… Thus you shall say to the sons of Israel, ‘I AM has sent me to you.’”

Moses asked God for His name ostensibly to answer the people’s queries. This question though never before asked by any of the patriarchs of old revealed Moses’s desire to know God intimately. To the Jewish people, God is known only as the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. Here, for the first time, God revealed Himself as “I AM”. And that name speaks of His willingness to walk with men intimately.

God’s answer to Moses (“I AM WHO I AM”) in its Hebrew form can also be translated as “I AM WHAT I AM” or “I WILL BE WHAT I WILL BE” or even “I CREATE WHATEVER I CREATE”. God made known that He should be addressed by the name “I AM” (Thus you shall say to the sons of Israel, “I AM has sent me to you.”) “I AM” is HAYAH in Hebrew. And HAYAH is related to the Hebrew name YHWH, which is translated as “The LORD” (see Exodus 3:15). “I AM” is pregnant with divine attributes that cannot be expressed through spoken or written words. For “I AM” can only be known to those who walk with Him closely. As Moses walked with God, “I AM” begins to unpack itself through His works of miracles, wisdom and compassion. In a sense, “I AM”, speaks of the Creator God who is continually revealing Himself. Nevertheless, His eternal attributes can never be fully understood by finite men.

Thus you shall say to the sons of Israel, ‘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.’

God elaborated on the name “I AM” (HAYAH) by pointing to the fact that He is the Lord (YHWH), the God of your fathers. Indeed, “I AM” is the unchanging God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. How the LORD is righteous in fulfilling His promises to the patriarchs of old, He will continue to do the same to the Israelites in the days of Moses. Thus, the name “I AM” points us to the kind of God He is through His dealings with the patriarchs: And He will continue to be “I AM” in the past, present and the future (this is My memorial-name to all generations.)

Go and gather the elders of Israel together and say to them, … “I am indeed concerned about you and what has been done to you in Egypt….”

“I AM” is perfectly faithful, compassionate and just in all His ways. Thus, He has been concerned with the people’s suffering and had never allowed Israel to be destroyed. Nevertheless, the time has come for them to be delivered and to enter into the promised land. Indeed, “I AM” is the covenant-fulfilling God who will fulfil the promises made to their fathers.

Truth

The way to truly know God is to walk with Him while fulfilling His divine commission.

After God gave Moses an introduction of Himself, “I am the God of your father—the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob… I AM WHO I AM”, God is now not only the God of the fathers but also of Moses. From henceforth Moses knows God by name. But apart from that, Moses does not yet know God intimately. What drove Moses to accept God’s mission for him is his desire to know God and to see His glory. And in the next 40 years, Moses experienced first hand God’s presence, righteousness, mercy and power.

Is reading scripture alone sufficient for us to know God?

Definitely not. We will not truly know God until we walk with Him along the narrow path of eternal life. In fact, it is no different from human relationships. People who stick together through thick and thin will acquire an intimate knowledge of each other. If Moses had not accepted the mission, would he have experienced God’s power in Egypt? Would he have seen God’s glory and His mercies at work among a stiff-necked people? Therefore, unless believers commit themselves to do His will, they will not know Him.

That said, what is the role of scripture? As we have earlier established: scripture alone is insufficient to know God intimately. But scripture is essential in the process of knowing Him. Scripture is not God, but a bridge through which we encounter God. Scripture is not the goal, but only a means to the goal which is to know God. And scripture can only go so far as to provide a theoretical understanding of God. Because God is spirit, we have to encounter Him in the spirit to know Him.

It is unfortunate that many churchgoers stayed on the bridge without actually crossing over to meet with Christ. They make scripture the goal as opposed to a means. They claim to know God through scripture and what He did historically. But they have never actually met Him. Such is like a self-proclaimed surgeon who studied surgery based on the books he read but has never taken practicum or practice surgery on a cadaver. He knows in theory but has never done the real thing. The reverse is also true that a trainee surgeon cannot begin practical training until he has acquired sufficient working knowledge.

How do believers know God at an intimate level?

Believers must converse regularly with Him in the context of the real world challenges in our families, communities and nations. By understanding how He views our world and how He plans to bring about salvation, we know Him intimately. Therefore, believers must venture out of the boundaries of biblical knowledge and understand how Jesus functions in the real world. How do we do that? By formulating the right questions and direct them to Jesus. Indeed, God is willing to share His views with us, so that we may join Him in transforming the world.

Regrettably, many believers are not concern about the things that weigh upon God’s heart. For they are immovably fixated on their pet projects; be it career or church ministries. Such appear to commit to the Great Commission but never actually growing in intimacy with God. God’s command is for Christians to grow in the likeness of His Son. It is through this divine likeness that ministry is derived. Jesus said,

“The foremost is, ‘Hear, O Israel! The Lord our God is one Lord; and you shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind, and with all your strength.’ The second is this, ‘You shall love your neighbour as yourself.’ – Mark 12:29-31

The foremost (first) command is to love Him, to know Him, to become like Him in His virtues, wisdom and power. The second is to love others by ministering to them. Without the first, the second means nothing. Therefore, believers must always make Christ the vision; to think, to love, to exercise divine authority as He does.

Regrettably, the modern church has been utilising the Great Commission as a pretext to shore up membership for themselves. They “convert” others but are unable to lead them to know God intimately. However, the members happily play along because of the glamour the ministry can offer. Believers must never make the “Great Commission” the goal, but rather Christ-likeness. Only in so doing, can we enter into His presence to know the great “I AM”.

Application

Believers can know God intimately by:

• Cultivating a habit of seeking God’s counsel and directives in all things big and small.
• Cultivating a sensitivity towards God using the mind (thoughts), heart (intuition), and body (tangible presence).
• Developing a communication process with God by the following: First, identify a subject matter (e.g. a challenge in the family, work or a political situation in the country). Seek God’s counsel to understand if the ways of the family or leaders are pleasing to God. Give Him time to impress upon you regarding this matter. After you have received a notion from God, seek confirmation by asking God for a tangible sign: “Dear Lord, if you are saying this to me… Give me a sign“ Or you can ask God: “Should I pursue this course of action… Give me a sign” God will confirm with signs that correspond to a “yes”, “no” or “indeterminate”.
• Commit yourself to obey God’s directives by faithfully carrying them out.
• Correlate the outcome of your actions with what God has spoken. Does it make sense? The outcome is not always what you would expect. For God works in mysterious ways. By bringing our findings before God while requesting clarification, we understand how God works and know Him intimately.

Dear Lord, I desire to see you, to hear you and to touch you. I desire to converse with you and to understand your views concerning the world. I desire to know your directives and obey them. Humble me and open my spiritual senses so that I may know you and live as you lived. In Jesus’s name I pray. Amen.