Thursday Giveaway: Gospel Foundations

Each week on Thursdays we highlight a trustworthy discipleship resource that can help you in your mission to make disciples. This week’s post is from Gospel Foundations Volume 2: A Wandering People (Exodus–Judges), Session 1 God Hears His People. At the end of this post there is a link to sign up for a chance to win a free giveaway of this resource!

From Gospel Foundations Volume 2: A Wandering People (Exodus–Judges), Session 1 God Hears His People

Read Exodus 3:11-15.

In the Old Testament, a name was much more than the means by which you could address someone. A name was a description of a person’s character.

Even at this relatively early point in the Bible’s story, we’ve seen the significance of names many times. God had already changed the names of Abram, Sarai, and Jacob.

When they encountered God, the fabric of their identities was altered and God signified this change by changing their names. But while we have seen the importance of the names of people, we have not seen the importance of God’s name to this point. Even in the foundational covenants God established with Noah and Abraham (Gen. 9:9; 17:2,7), He never explained the meaning of His name—“the Lord,” or “Yahweh.” Then came Moses’ dramatic encounter with Yahweh at the burning bush.

Having been raised in the epicenter of Egypt, Pharaoh’s house, Moses knew about the many gods of that ancient land, each with a name revealing something about him or her. Among these were Horus, the falcon-headed god of the sky and the pharaohs; Isis, the goddess of magic, motherhood, and fertility; and Ra, the sun god and creator. But what was the meaning of the name Yahweh?

There was good reason for Moses’ question about God’s name. Though the Israelites were already familiar with the name Yahweh (Gen. 12:8; 26:25; 28:13), they had been enslaved for centuries without any word from this God. Perhaps Moses was voicing the curiosity of many of his kinsmen when he asked the Lord about His name, wondering, “What does Your name signify?” In other words, Moses was asking in light of these long years of suffering, “Who are You?”

Perhaps you can identify with that. Perhaps you too know the feeling of reading in the Bible the promises of God to the believer in Christ and then looking closely at your life circumstances and wondering who is this God who would make such claims. It’s during such times when we also might look to God and ask about His true identity: “Are You really the God I’ve read about? Are You really the God who promises never to leave or forsake me? Are You really the God who works all things for good?”

Yahweh’s reply to Moses in verses 14-15 points to His identity as the covenant-making and covenant-keeping God. The Lord had made an everlasting promise to Abraham that he would be the father of many nations (Gen. 17:4). God had also told Abraham that his descendants would be enslaved for four hundred years but that He would set them free from slavery (Gen. 15:13-14). Now to Moses, God expressed that the meaning of the name Yahweh would be connected forever with His fulfilling the covenant promises made to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob.

Even though Yahweh appeared in connection with a burning flame in a bush, He revealed Himself to Moses as a personal Being, not an abstract force. God makes promises and then He keeps them. He is “to be remembered in every generation” by the name Yahweh, the covenant-keeping King of His people who is always true to His word. This is His name, and His name can be trusted.

From Gospel Foundations Volume 2: A Wandering People (Exodus–Judges), Session 1 God Hears His People

This article is an excerpt from Gospel Foundations Volume 2: A Wandering People (Exodus–Judges), Session 1 God Hears His People. Gospel Foundations takes groups through the storyline of scripture in one year.  Learn more and preview three free sessions at lifeway.com/gospelfoundations. Fill out the form below before tomorrow night at 11:59pm for an opportunity to win a free bundle of this resource. The bundle includes 10 Bible Study Books and 1 Leader Kit.