Read it: Genesis 2:4-5, Exodus 3:14-22
Live it:
Yahweh appears more than 6,800 times in the Hebrew Bible (Old Testament). This name is important and was considered so sacred that it was hardly, if ever, pronounced out loud. That was because it is considered the personal name of God. In our English Bible, it is often translated as “LORD” (in all capital letters).
Our first reading (Genesis 2:4) shows us when the name was first used, and the first part of our second reading (Exodus 3:14-15) further explains what Yahweh means. Yahweh means the God of your ancestors: the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob. The term Yahweh signifies God’s personal and covenantal relationship with His people.
God is telling Moses something important. He is reminding Moses that he isn’t alone because he has a personal and covenantal relationship with God. That is a powerful statement because the same God who created our world is with us, which means we aren’t alone. We can call upon God for support. However, we still need to take a step of faith. Knowledge alone wasn’t enough for Moses. He still had to take a step of faith, and he needed a purpose. God gave him that purpose in the directions that he gave to Moses (Exodus 3:16-22): to bring the people out of Egypt, out of slavery.
The two most important events in our lives are when we are born and when we find out why. Moses was experiencing the second event, but he still questioned his worth. We often question our worth, but our worth is not determined by the things we accomplish in our lives. Our worth is defined by who God says he is and who he says we are. But who is he? We are going to further examine that question this month and end with who he says we are.
Ps. James