“And he said, ‘Who art thou, Lord?’ And the Lord said, ‘I am Jesus whom thou persecutest.'” Acts 9:5
Dear Ones:
What is a name? It is an identifier, a means of revealing who someone is. What is the importance of a name? The answer lies in who the name belongs to, and who exactly the person is. From a human standpoint, we gauge the worth and wealth of a name by many earthly criteria. So, what about the names of those who are born into this world, and do not know Christ? What about those who do know Christ? What about the name of God? What does it mean, and how can we compare His name with the names of earth?
When Saul of Tarsus met the Lord Jesus on the road to Damascus, he was confronted with something, and someone, beyond his imagination, and certainly outside of his understanding. We see the effect and impact of the revelation upon Saul because he not only inquired about Jesus’ identity, but called him Lord, a term recognizing power and authority. Jesus then reveals himself very clearly as, “Jesus, whom thou persecutest.” By that one phrase the entire life of Saul was brought into question. He had been brought face to face with a reality that shattered all of his concepts of life and eternity. There is power in a name. The question is: What is represented by the name?
Moses was more than eighty years old when we find him praying to God, and asking to see His glory. He had already come a good distance in his increasing knowledge of God. The more that was revealed to him, the more he wanted to know God. Therefore, his petition is to see the glory of God. God will grant Moses his request by promising to make all His goodness pass before him. (Exodus 33:19) It is then that the Lord gives him another promise: “…and I will proclaim the name of the Lord before thee.” (v.19) Why does the Lord speak of His name?
When Moses was commissioned by God to go down to Egypt and bring the people of Israel up out of Egypt, Moses relayed to God a question that Israel would certainly ask: “What is His name?” (3:14) It is in God’s response that He reveals to Israel the truths which they needed to know of Him, His character and power. God said to Moses, “I AM THAT I AM.” (3:14) “Thou shalt thou say unto the children of Israel, ‘I AM hath sent me unto you.” Why did God answer in this manner? The revelation of His name, specifically with regard to His eternal nature, and His almighty power, and unchanging character, was exactly what Israel needed to understand about God. That knowledge of God, revealed in His name, was the bedrock for the people’s faith in the midst of the massive changes in their circumstances with regard to their deliverance from Egypt, and their trek towards the promised land.
Returning to Moses, and God’s promise to “proclaim the name of the Lord, ” Moses needed to see certain aspects of God that were essential to his faith in God. And so, as the Lord passed by, he proclaimed to Moses: “The Lord, the Lord God, merciful and gracious, longsuffering, and abundant in goodness and truth, keeping mercy for thousands, forgiving iniquity and transgression and sin, and that will by no means clear the guilty…” (34:6,7) Why did Moses need to see God in this manner, by this name? According to his calling, Moses would need this knowledge of God in order to believe God for it in his own life in dealing with Israel. Moses was God’s servant, His ambassador, His example before the people. In some sense, he was a faint reflection of God by virtue of the Spirit of God upon him. If the people would be in a right relationship with God concerning forgiveness of their sins, and the grace and mercy of God, then they too would need to know these truths that His name declared.
Dear Father, Give us to grasp that Jesus’ name is given to sinners, scattering guilty fear, turning hell to heaven. In Jesus’ name, Amen.
Love, Dad