The God of Promise

Introduction

Names are fascinating. There are times when we may wonder what parents are doing when they name their children. These are actual names of people:

Paige Turner

An optometrist named Dr. C. Wong

A dentist named Dr. Payne

Macon Bacon

Jan Sandwich

Sandy Beach

Olive Gardner

Some of you have nicknames. Some of us have names that are family names or that have special meaning to our family. Some of us have been named for special individuals. Some of us are not very creative in naming our children. George Foreman, the former heavyweight boxer, has 10 children. All five of his boys have the same name—George Edward Foreman. He thought this would give them all something in common. By the way they all have nicknames to distinguish. Some of us like our names. Others dislike. And some just tolerate them. What is always true is that people learn to associate our name with our face. Names are the means by which we don’t keep saying “hey, you.”

Today we discover that the name of God has special meaning not just for Moses and the Israelites but for us as well. It is a name that helps us to know that God is a promise keeper. It is a name that says something about God’s nature. It is a name that reassures us that he doesn’t fail. Let’s be encouraged.

The Call of Moses

At the burning bush God calls on Moses to return to Egypt and lead the Israelites out of bondage. Notice in verse 8 that God promises that once out of Egypt, God is going to use Moses to lead the people to a land that is currently occupied by others. The plan is already in effect. The outcome is already known. Moses’ response in verse 11 is the response that most people give when told that they are going to do something that shakes their world. Do not read verse 11 as an excuse but as a man who in 35+ years has gotten used to life. It is a deflection not a rejection. “Who am I?” is the expression of someone who had long since forgotten that he wanted to be a leader. It is the expression of humility seeking further explanation.

God understood. The promise is given and the assurance comes in being able to say, you will go to Egypt and then with all those people you will return to this mountain and worship me. The promise and the assurance.

Again, we tend to think that verse 13 is an excuse. It isn’t. Remember Moses was raised to know the Israelite God. But he also knew that God’s people in Egypt has spent decades away from the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. Moses himself had been serving in his father-in-law’s house who is a priest to a false god. The question is not only valid. The question demonstrates that Moses is shifting his own view. All gods have names. He knows the gods of Egypt by name—Ra, Osiris, Isis, Horus and so many more. So what name shall I use with the Israelites?

Yahweh. I AM. We do not have enough time to unpack this name but recognize what Moses recognized. He knew the gods of Egypt but they did not speak to him. This God did. And for further explanation God says that he is the one who spoke to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. He is the one who has no beginning and no end. Unlike the gods of Egypt who fought among themselves for power and prominence carving out their place to exist, the I AM has no rival. So Moses is told to go to Egypt. Assemble the Israelite leaders and explain to them what is going to happen. And when they ask who sent him tell them that the God is brought Abraham to the land and provided for Isaac and Jacob. The promise is made. The people will leave Egypt without a war and when they leave, the Egyptians will be freely and gladly giving them all kinds of jewels, precious metals and clothing.

Just a brief aside on verse 18. The three day journey is a Hebrew idiom meant to convey a long trip with lasting consequences. It isn’t literal it is figurative. We have very few expressions that capture that essence. But if someone should ask you if you have a second to talk we know that isn’t literal and we also know it may not be brief. If you are at the doctor’s office and the nurse says the doctor will be with you in a moment, you open your book and start reading. We know it is a figurative way of saying that time means nothing but at least you are closer than you were.

So What?

What are we to get from this. Two things. First, a promise does not mean ease. Do not gloss over verse 8 too quickly. The promise is to give the Israelites the land that Abraham once walked through. However, implicit in the promise is that all these nations must be conquered. The escape from Egypt will be easy compared to taking possession of Abraham’s land. For us the point is the same. While we can count on any promise from God the promise does not mean ease. The promise to be with God forever does not include no challenges to the fulfillment of that promise. But here is the other side of that coin.

Second, the promise is made by the one who is named I AM. He is the eternal one. He has no beginning or end. He is Creator. He is holy. He is other than us. He is alive. He is the one who has been active from before the beginning of time and he is the one who has promised that we will one day see him face to face.

Our God has promised to always be with us. He has not promised ease but he has promised his presence and his strength. Just as he promised Moses and the Israelite leaders, so he promises us that he will work for us. But do not think his work means we will not have challenges. The call to Moses and the call to us is to follow and to trust. It is to live life knowing that God is alive. It is to live knowing that he will not fail us.

Some say God exists and then try to prove that they are self-sufficient.

Some say God exists and do not pray.

Some say God exists and then hurry about their day living by earthly wisdom of getting ahead, getting all you can.

Some say God exists and allow filth to enter their minds through pornography and movies.

Some say God exists and believe themselves to be defeated when something goes wrong without thinking how God might be at work.

What difference does God’s existence make to you?

Let us live in faith. Let us live trusting that I AM is our God. Invitation.

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