Hello, My Name Is Yahweh

Now we are streaming today because I want us to all be on the same page in this series. We talk about God quite a bit. We talk about who Jesus is quite a bit. But there are times every few years we need to stop and pause and ensure that we are all using the same nomenclature, the same language, the same understanding, and the same context of who God is.

For many of us, we understand the value of a name. Some of you love your name so much that maybe when you were in middle school, you wrote it over and over and over again. My daughter saw my signature last week and she was like, “Dad, your signature is so cool.” I was like, “I know, I had to write it over and over again.” She was like, “Oh, you really like your name?” I said, “No, when I was in school, we had to learn our signature because we use our signature in everyday life.” Remember the days of writing checks, or writing your signature on paper? Now I have this signature that looks like a doctor’s signature, which means you can’t read it. It’s really big.

Some of us don’t like our name at all, whether it’s based on trauma, we don’t like the name itself, or people can’t pronounce it. Or maybe you came from another country and your parents wanted you to keep that name, but we all understand what happens with a name. It’s the thing by which people know you, unless you are Mexican—because in Mexican culture, they don’t call you by your name, they call you by the thing you hate about yourself. So if you’re a little overweight, they call you Gordo, the chubby one. That’s so wrong, I know. So if you have a Mexican friend, hug them today because this is the culture we grew up in.

For most people, you go by your name, and that shows the importance of a name. Throughout history, names had meanings, and they had an identity tied to them, or a character, or a futuristic prophetic element. Now we give names sometimes because of family, because it’s cool, or because we take two names and just mash them together. It might seem cool to create a new name that never existed, but you’re not thinking of your kids when they go to school. We had a teacher at our church one time, and we were talking about names. She said, “Yeah, I have two kids in my class who are twins, and their names are Lemonjello and Orangejello, but you pronounce it Le-MON-gelo and Or-AHN-gelo.”

See, some of us have purpose in our names, and some of us have parents that maybe just thought it would be really cool to make up a name. Yet, when it comes to the names of God, God Himself tells us who He is. In our broken, fallen world, we have culture, experiences, and all sorts of things that inform us of who God is. Yet if we don’t go back to Scripture to really understand how God sees Himself and how God wants us to know Him, then we really fall short. We can gather information about God—which some of us do, especially if we’re exploring faith. We look at the wonders of God, the historicity of God, and we memorize all sorts of Scripture, doctrines, or attributes of God. But the goal is not just information. Although information is important, the goal is to know a knowable God—not just about God, but to know God intimately and experience who He is.

In this series, I want you to be here every single week as we take one attribute, one name of God that God calls Himself, as we get to understand who He is. Whether you’re here for the very first time exploring faith and coming to know God, or you’ve been following Jesus for decades, this is a time to re-explore and re-know the true story—the better, bigger story of who God is and how He reveals Himself throughout Scripture to different people.

We’re going to pick up in Exodus chapter 3. If you have a Bible, go ahead and take it out; we’re going to read a pretty long passage today in Exodus chapter 3. When we pick this up, it’s about a man named Moses, who is an Israelite who was raised in Pharaoh’s house. There’s a great story behind that which we won’t cover today. As an Israelite raised by Pharaoh’s daughter in the house of Pharaoh in Egypt, Moses has an anger streak and a short fuse. He finds himself in a situation where he’s defending somebody from his ethnicity against the Egyptians. There’s a bickering going on, Moses kills an Egyptian, and he runs for his life. He runs to the land of Midian, which some people think is about 150 to 200 miles away from that part of Egypt.

He’s building a new life. He’s found a wife, and he becomes a father. Yet back home in Egypt, his people are groaning because of slavery. So he’s found a new life and escaped, but as he’s building this new life, he begins to have an encounter where God shows up.

Let’s read the story from there:

“There the angel of the Lord appeared to him in flames of fire from within a bush. Moses saw that though the bush was on fire it did not burn up. So Moses thought, ‘I will go over and see this strange sight—why the bush does not burn up.’ When the Lord saw that he had gone over to look, God called to him from within the bush, ‘Moses! Moses!’ And Moses said, ‘Here I am.’ ‘Do not come any closer,’ God said. ‘Take off your sandals, for the place where you are standing is holy ground.’ Then he said, ‘I am the God of your father, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac and the God of Jacob.’ At this, Moses hid his face, because he was afraid to look at God.”

“The Lord said, ‘I have indeed seen the misery of my people in Egypt. I have heard them crying out because of their slave drivers, and I am concerned about their suffering. So I have come down to rescue them from the hand of the Egyptians and to bring them up out of that land into a good and spacious land, a land flowing with milk and honey… And now the cry of the Israelites has reached me, and I have seen the way the Egyptians are oppressing them. So now, go. I am sending you to Pharaoh to bring my people the Israelites out of Egypt.'”

“But Moses said to God, ‘Who am I that I should go to Pharaoh and bring the Israelites out of Egypt?’ And God said, ‘I will be with you. And this will be the sign to you that it is I who have sent you: When you have brought the people out of Egypt, you will worship God on this mountain.'”

“Moses said to God, ‘Suppose I go to the Israelites and say to them, “The God of your fathers has sent me to you,” and they ask me, “What is his name?” Then what shall I tell them?’ God said to Moses, ‘I AM WHO I AM. This is what you are to say to the Israelites: “I AM has sent me to you.”‘ God also said to Moses, ‘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, the name you shall call me from generation to generation.'”

Look at this interaction between God and Moses. Remember, Moses ran away because he murdered someone. He’s building a new life, minding his own business. Yet God chooses him to go back to Pharaoh’s house—a place he grew up—to bring freedom to the people he was born into. You can read the tension Moses is feeling. “Who am I really? Who am I that You would do this? And who are You?” When people ask by what authority he’s doing this or who sent him, he’s asking for a name to give them. He can’t just go and say he’s the new leader. “Who should I say sent me?” And God simply says, “I AM.”

Can you imagine being in detention at school or at work, and God tells you to do something? You go and say, “Hey, we’re supposed to do this.” They ask, “Who told you to do that?” and you reply, “I AM.” You would get fired that day! They’d think you were smoking something.

There is power in this, and I want us to understand it. If you’re new to faith, you’re learning this for the first time. But some of us who have learned Hebrew words and names of God may have had mix-ups at times. I want you to know that when God says, “I AM WHO I AM,” He is saying this in the first person. We don’t get to say “I AM” because we are not; He is. God says, “Ehyeh Asher Ehyeh” in the first person to state that He is self-existent, independent, and above all.

Then the Lord says to Moses, “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 is giving history. He is saying, “These people that you venerate and honor—your forefathers—I was their God, and I want to be your God.” The name “the Lord” is connected to the Hebrew name Yahweh, which many of you have heard. Yahweh is in the third person. Where God speaks in the first person saying “I AM,” we say Yahweh to proclaim “He IS.” We are human and fall short, but God is above it all and independent. This is the covenant name of God.

Sometimes you might go to church, or maybe you grew up in church, or maybe you’ve deconstructed, and when people say “the Lord,” you think it sounds churchy or off-putting. Except God calls Himself the Lord. He says, “I am above all of this.” So we get to say Yahweh or “the Lord, He IS.” Why do we get to say that? Because it’s not in our own strength or power. We serve and surrender to a God who is above everything, who is faithful, and who is not controlled by circumstances, but is above circumstances.

He’s asking the people to do this while talking to a people who are currently slaves. He’s sending Moses back to speak words over slaves, telling them they are going to a land flowing with milk and honey when they can’t even see past their current situation. Yet God is not limited to circumstances because He is the “I AM.” When we see the fullness of who God is, we then get to proclaim Yahweh—He IS.

Now let’s turn to Exodus 34. Moses went back to Pharaoh, and after ten plagues, Pharaoh released the people. They watched incredible miracles happen as they left Egypt as a nation ready to go into the Promised Land. But first, there is a desert season—years in the desert. While in the desert, God continues to show Himself to Moses. He has a relationship with Moses, where Moses is the go-between, the leader of the nation, and the one with the responsibility of connecting to God and interpreting His words for the people.

God calls Moses to bring out tablets, and God Himself writes the Ten Commandments on them. When Moses comes down to talk to the people, he gets angry. He just had an incredible moment with God, seeing His hand write the law, and then he comes back down to reality. Have you ever been in a church service, camp, or retreat where you felt like you could live in that moment forever because it was peaceful and free of anxiety, but then you get in the car and reality hits fast?

That’s what happened to Moses. He comes down and sees that the people have created a golden calf and are worshipping an idol instead of the one true God because they lost patience. They are human just like us—they needed something to worship and make the object of their affection. Moses comes down from encountering the true God, holding these precious tablets, and he is so upset that he throws them down. The tablets God wrote on are broken in his anger.

Have you ever had a moment like that? In our anger, humanity, selfishness, or emotions, we can break something precious—a marriage, a friendship, a business, or a relationship with a parent or child. Moses cries out, “God, be with us. We have sinned against You.”

Then in Exodus 34:6, God passes in front of Moses, proclaiming:

“The Lord, the Lord, the compassionate and gracious God, slow to anger, abounding in love and faithfulness, maintaining love to thousands, and forgiving wickedness, rebellion and sin. Yet he does not leave the guilty unpunished…”

In the middle of an atrocity against Him, God defines Himself. He steps into that space and declares who He is: Yahweh, the compassionate and gracious God, slow to anger, abounding in love and faithfulness.

We all have preconceived notions of God based on how we’ve experienced church or life. If you grew up in a harsh home, it’s easy to project that harshness onto God. If you grew up in a home where you had to earn approval through good grades, sports, or attendance, you might project onto God that you have to earn His love. If you grew up around unfaithfulness or chaos, you might project that God can’t really be faithful. If you grew up experiencing poverty or injustice, you might wonder how God can be just when it feels like the world is out to get you.

These experiences are real, but we can take real hurts and create an false image of God. Our experiences become the lens through which we interpret God. But God is saying, “Don’t invent Me. Let Me introduce Myself to you.”

Throughout Scripture, interactions with God do not begin with humanity’s search for Him; God initiated because He wants to be known. Moses doesn’t just climb a mountain to figure out who God is; he seeks a God who actively wants to know him. It’s both: we search and look, and God is a knowable God who desires to be known.

If we’re not careful, we say, “God, I’m stuck in this box, home, or circumstance, and if You really loved me, You would come get me out.” But Scripture shows a God who says, “Take a step toward Me, and I will take a step toward you.” Have you ever taught a baby to walk? I was terrible at it because I wanted my kids to take five steps right away, and my wife would say, “You have to get closer; they’ve never walked before!” I thought, “They can figure it out!” My oldest son was 30 pounds at six months—a total cannonball. When I tried teaching him to walk, I didn’t understand the physics. Once a 30-pound baby gets momentum, he can’t stop, so he learned to stop by running straight into walls!

I wasn’t a bad father; I just knew that if he took steps, he’d get moving. Some of us tell God, “I want to learn how to walk, but only if You carry me.” We don’t want to move or take a step toward Him; we want Him to do all the moving. But like Moses, we are called to take steps toward a God who is knowable.

When we read Scripture, we’re reading a love letter that reveals who God is. Nowhere is this clearer than Exodus 34. Moses had seen the burning bush, ten plagues, the parting of the Red Sea, and miracle after miracle. Yet in this moment of desperation, after breaking the tablets, Moses has the audacity to ask, “God, show me Your glory.”

Glory implies weightiness. Moses is asking, “Show me the weightiness of who You are. Let me see the depths of who You really are; I want to know You intimately.” And how does God reveal His glory? He proclaims His name: the Lord, compassionate, gracious, slow to anger, abounding in love and faithfulness. God’s glory is revealed through His character, not just His mighty works or miracles. He reveals His character of mercy and justice right while the people are being unfaithful.

Our true character comes out in the fires of life. I have an anger streak just like Moses did, my dad did, and his dad did. But I had to ask myself: Do I want to be driven by what comes naturally to me, or do I want to take on the character of God? The grace of God is not His response to our goodness; grace is God’s response to our need.

Moses intercedes and reminds God of His character. God’s love isn’t a paycheck you get at the end of your life when you go to heaven; it is the foundation on which we build our lives right now. Religion says, “Here is the price; pay it, or God won’t accept you.” The gospel says that through Jesus, God comes to you in mercy, and that mercy creates a new way of living. We don’t obey to become loved; we obey because we are already loved.

Exodus 34 also says that God maintains love to thousands and forgiving wickedness, but He does not leave the guilty unpunished. How can God forgive sinners without compromising His justice? We have all sinned and been sinned against. We carry wounds and have caused wounds. We call out hypocrisy on social media while growing hypocritical ourselves—that is the human condition.

The answer to how God remains both just and forgiving is Jesus Christ. Just as God met Moses on a mountain, God sent His Son Jesus to earth. On the cross, Jesus lived a sinless life and took our sin, shame, and judgment upon Himself. God’s justice was served because the ultimate penalty was paid by Jesus on our behalf.

This shows us two things simultaneously:

1. Your sin is far more serious than you thought. We often diminish our sin as if it’s just an untied shoelace, but it was weighty enough to require Christ’s suffering on the cross.

2. God’s love for you is greater than you ever dared to hope.

Sin rarely stops with the person who commits it; what one generation normalizes, another generation inherits. Do we want to pass down anger, addiction, emotional absence, materialism, or unforgiveness? God’s mercy outruns our sin. Sin may echo for a generation or two, but God’s grace has a longer echo. You can be the person in your family who stops the cycle.

In Exodus, the people were looking for physical land to become a nation. But Jesus came not to give us physical land, but to make us part of God’s kingdom. It’s no longer about geography or ethnicity; it’s about making disciples. We are ambassadors sent to fight for the souls of men and women so they can be reconciled to God.

To do this, we must reject idolatry—success, control, hypersexuality, approval, politics, money, or comfort. An idol is anything we trust to give us what only God can give. God says His name is Jealous because He loves us too much to let us destroy ourselves with substitutes. His boundaries are not meant to restrict our freedom, but to help us live in true freedom.

When the first tablets were broken, God told Moses to go get two more. What humanity destroys, God can restore. God promises a new covenant written not on stone tablets, but on the human heart. Why write it on our hearts when our heart is often the problem? Because your heart is His prize.

To know the name Yahweh means knowing that when you fail, He is compassionate and gracious. When you are tempted to run, He is slow to anger. When everyone else is unreliable, He is abounding in faithfulness. When your past accuses you, He offers forgiveness. When you encounter injustice, He is just.

The question is not simply, “Do you believe in God?” The real question is: Which God do you believe in?