Originally posted: 02/24/2019

God spoke further to Moses and said to him, “I am the Lord; ³ and I appeared to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, as God Almighty, but by My name, Lord, I did not make Myself known to them. ⁴ I also established My covenant with them, to give them the land of Canaan, the land in which they sojourned. (6:2-4).

⁵ Furthermore I have heard the groaning of the sons of Israel, because the Egyptians are holding them in bondage, and I have remembered My covenant. ⁶ Say, therefore, to the sons of Israel, ‘I am the Lord, and I will bring you out from under the burdens of the Egyptians, and I will deliver you from their bondage. I will also redeem you with an outstretched arm and with great judgments. ⁷ Then I will take you for My people, and I will be your God; and you shall know that I am the Lord your God, who brought you out from under the burdens of the Egyptians. ⁸ I will bring you to the land which I swore to give to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, and I will give it to you for a possession; I am the Lord,’” (6:5-8)

In just seven verses, the LORD repeats Himself five times! The LORD emphasizes this Name, a Name He had not made known before, even to Abraham, Isaac and Jacob.

Up to this point in history, He had appeared as God Almighty; that, in and of itself, is more than any would dare hope. But here, He reveals Himself in a new way. God Almighty explicitly informs Moses now He is to be known as the LORD, translated from the Hebrew written as YHWH.

YHWH: “most scholars agree that its primary meaning should be understood in the context of God’s existence, namely, that He is the “I AM THAT I AM” (Ex. 3:14), the One who was, who is, and who always will be (cf. Rev. 11:17).” (Bible Logos Software 4)

These seven verses could be studied a lifetime and never fully exhausted; in them the LORD makes known His heart and intentions for His people through His Covenant Name. A Covenant dependent on Only One, the Self-Existing One, Who was, Who is, and Who always will be, the “I AM THAT I AM.”

Consider His Covenant Name

1. His Covenant Name was an introduction to a new understanding of Himself as the Covenant Keeping God.
2. His Covenant Name conveyed His attentiveness to the groanings of His people.
3. His Covenant Name chose to remember His covenant.
4. His Covenant Name expressed His faithfulness to bring His people out from under their burdens.
5. His Covenant Name voiced His authority to deliver His people from their bondage.
6. His Covenant Name confirmed His love and power to redeem His people with an outstretched arm and great judgments.
7. His Covenant Name established relationship; for He will take them for His people.
8. His Covenant Name established His Lordship; He will be their God.
9. His Covenant Name invited His people to know and experience Him as their Deliverer.
10. His Covenant Name assured His people He would bring them to the Promised Land.

How do we respond to His Covenant Name?

He is the same yesterday, today and forever. Today, let us take time to meditate over the following New Testament verses (and any others the Lord brings to mind) to prayerfully consider and respond to His Truth: What the LORD declared of Himself to Moses is fully realized in Jesus Christ, by His Holy Spirit.

let it be known to all of you and to all the people of Israel, that by the name of Jesus Christ the Nazarene, whom you crucified, whom God raised from the dead—by this name …¹² And there is salvation in no one else; for there is no other name under heaven that has been given among men by which we must be save,” (Acts 4:10, 12).

1. Jesus introduced a new understanding of the LORD as the Covenant Keeping God.
   • “God, after He spoke long ago to the fathers in the prophets in many portions and in many ways, ² in these last days has spoken to us in His Son, whom He appointed heir of all things, through whom also He made the world,” (Hebrews 1:1-2).
2. Jesus conveyed His attentiveness to the groanings of His people.
   •  “’Jesus, Son of David, have mercy on me!’ ³⁹ Those who led the way were sternly telling him to be quiet; but he kept crying out all the more, ‘Son of David, have mercy on me!’ ⁴⁰ And Jesus stopped and commanded that he be brought to Him; and when he came near, He questioned him, ^{41 ‘}What do you want Me to do for you?’ And he said, ‘Lord, I want to regain my sight!’ ⁴² And Jesus said to him, ‘Receive your sight; your faith has made you well,'” (Luke 18:38-42).
3. Jesus chose to remember His covenant.
   • “And he was saying, ‘Jesus, remember me when You come in Your kingdom!’ ⁴³ And He said to him, ‘Truly I say to you, today you shall be with Me in Paradise,’” (Luke 32:42-43).
4. Jesus expressed His faithfulness to bring His people out from under their burdens.
   • “For He rescued us from the domain of darkness, and transferred us to the kingdom of His beloved Son, ¹⁴ in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins,” (Colossians 1:13-14).
5. Jesus voiced His authority to deliver His people from their bondage.
   • “After this, Jesus, knowing that all things had already been accomplished, to fulfill the Scripture, said, ‘I am thirsty.’ ²⁹ A jar full of sour wine was standing there; so they put a sponge full of the sour wine upon a branch of hyssop and brought it up to His mouth. ³⁰ Therefore when Jesus had received the sour wine, He said, ‘It is finished!’ And He bowed His head and gave up His spirit,” (John 19:28-30).
6. Jesus confirmed His love and power to redeem His people through His outstretched arms nailed to a cross and the great judgment over death defeated by His resurrection.
   • “…Jesus the Nazarene, a man attested to you by God with miracles and wonders and signs which God performed through Him in your midst, just as you yourselves know— ²³ this Man, delivered over by the predetermined plan and foreknowledge of God, you nailed to a cross by the hands of godless men and put Him to death. ²⁴ But God raised Him up again, putting an end to the agony of death, since it was impossible for Him to be held in its power,” (Acts 2:22-24).
7. Jesus, by paying the great and only acceptable price to establish relationship, takes us for His people.
   •  “But you are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for God’s own possession, so that you may proclaim the excellencies of Him who has called you out of darkness into His marvelous light; ¹⁰ for you once were not a people, but now you are the people of God; you had not received mercy, but now you have received mercy,” (1 Peter 2:9-10).
8. Jesus is established as Lord; by faith we bow before Him as God.
   • “Thomas answered and said to Him, ‘My Lord and my God!’” (John 20:28).
     
9. Jesus, through faith, invites people to know and experience Him as their Deliverer from death.
   •  “This is eternal life, that they may know You, the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom You have sent,” (John 17:3).
10. Jesus assures His people He will bring them to the Promised Land.
    • “Do not let your heart be troubled; believe in God, believe also in Me. ² In My Father’s house are many dwelling places; if it were not so, I would have told you; for I go to prepare a place for you. ³ If I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and receive you to Myself, that where I am, there you may be also.” (John 14:1-3).

Let’s Grow Together!