Moreover He said, “I am the God of your father—the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob.” And Moses hid his face, for he was afraid to look upon God. Exodus 3: 6, NKJV.
Abba, we come to You today, rejoicing that You are not only the God of our mothers and fathers, but our personal God as well. Please help us to take full advantage of this privilege. In the holy name of Jesus Christ we pray. Amen.
YHWH refers to Himself with some frequency, as, “the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob,” in the Hebrew Scriptures. I find that interesting. Equally interesting, is the fact that He had a personal encounter with all three of them, and repeated to each of them, the same promise. I am glad that I serve – a personal God.
God knows how important it is for people to know Him for themselves (John 3: 17). It is not enough for me to know that my parents loved and served God. I want my personal encounter with Him; and I accept His promises as if they were made to me, personally.
When God called Abram away from the house of his father Terah, God established a covenant with him, that included a heir, fame, and fortune (see Genesis 12: 1-3;15: 1-5). All of these promises, had to be accepted by faith, because his wife was barren, he was taking a leap of faith, as he traveled to a land unknown to him, and I do not believe that any of the neighboring nations even knew who Abraham was, until God exalted him, and made of him, a man of renown.
Therefore, God was to Abram, who later became Abraham, the Almighty God! The self-existing God. The God of the impossible! Abram, would need such a God, if the promises that were made to him, were to find fulfillment. Of Abraham it is said, “And he believed in the LORD, and He accounted it to him for righteousness” (6).
Now notice what God says to Moses in Exodus 6: 3, “And I appeared unto Abraham, unto Isaac, and unto Jacob, by the name of God Almighty, but by my name JEHOVAH was I not known to them.” Emphasis supplied. God made Moses aware of the fact, that although He was the same God, the revelation that He was receiving of Him, was different to the one that Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, had received. Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, had their personal doubts and fears to deal with. Besides his own doubts and fears, Moses had to face, and challenge, Pharaoh, the greatest ruler of his time. Add to that, “a mixed multitude” of murmurers, who would provoke him so severely, that he would lose his temper and sin against God, and also lose the opportunity to enter the earthly Canaan.
Compare the preceding self-revelation of God, to the following Scripture: “Then Moses said to God, “Indeed, when I come to the children of Israel and say to them, ‘The God of your fathers has sent me to you,’ and they say to me, ‘What is His name?’ what shall I say to them?” And God said to Moses, “I AM WHO I AM.” And He said, “Thus you shall say to the children of Israel, ‘I AM has sent me to you.’ ”
“Moreover God said to Moses, ‘ “Thus you shall say to the children of Israel: ‘The LORD 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, and this is My memorial to all generations.’ Go and gather the elders of Israel together, and say to them, ‘The LORD God of your fathers, the God of Abraham, of Isaac, and of Jacob, appeared to me, saying, ‘ “I have surely visited you and seen what is done to you in Egypt” ‘ ” (Exodus 3: 13-16).
I would like to share this note in the margin of the New Oxford Annotated Bible NRSV with the Apocrypha, referring to the preceding verses, with you: “The word ‘ “LORD” ‘ when spelled with capital letters stands for the divine name YHWH, which is here connected with the verb hayah, ‘ “to be” ‘ ” Yes, YHWH, is the God who is, who was, and who will be.
The God of Moses, is the God of our fathers – Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. He is also your personal God and mine! Remain in the relationship with Him, and He will reveal Himself to you, by a name known only to you – that of a God who is greater than your needs!