On Shabbat, late summer 2008, I was telling the 20+ students in Torah Study the miraculous things that YAH had recently done in my life. One miracle on 6 August 2005 brought me back from atheism to faith. Another miracle on 6 October 2007 pushed me to Shabbat at my Messianic Jewish Congregation. During that same Shabbat a 50 year old dream that had recurred from age 8 to age 11 was fulfilled. I was so excited to tell what YAH had done! What happened next tempered my excitement, but then grew into wisdom.

 

     The loving voice of a woman, very dry and factual but overflowing with conviction broke the silence. She bent forward, and looking down the long table at me, said: "You will find that your story is not unique."

 

     At first I thought she was dismissing my testimony, but then the importance of what she was saying shot through me like lightning! I was stunned! She was saying that there are more stories of miracles in this Shul! And so it was!

 

     But then what is the point of all these miracles? I started praying. Why me? Why YAH, did you do these three things for me? After about two weeks of praying, I clearly heard –The-VOICE-:

 

"Do you think I did that for you?"

 

     OK!!  If not for me, for whom did YOU do these things? Finally in Torah study one day I understood.

It is written all through the Tanakh:

 

"For MY NAME sake."

 

 

Do you believe in God? Which god? What is HIS NAME?

 

    In a lifetime search (1967-2007) including two semesters as a Lutheran pre-theological student (1967-1968) and my atheist days (1999-2005) how many times did I look up at a clear blue sky in desperation and yell: “Who are YOU?”

 

Exodus 3: (Complete Jewish Bible)

3 (iv) Now Moshe was tending the sheep of Yitro his father-in-law, the priest of Midyan. Leading the flock to the far side of the desert, he came to the mountain of God, to Horev. 2 The angel of Adonai appeared to him in a fire blazing from the middle of a bush. He looked and saw that although the bush was flaming with fire, yet the bush was not being burned up. 3 Moshe said, “I’m going to go over and see this amazing sight and find out why the bush isn’t being burned up.” 4 When Adonai saw that he had gone over to see, God called to him from the middle of the bush, “Moshe! Moshe!” He answered, “Here I am.” 5 He said, “Don’t come any closer! Take your sandals off your feet, because the place where you are standing is holy ground. 6 I am the God of your father,” he continued, “the God of Avraham, the God of Yitz’chak and the God of Ya‘akov.” Moshe covered his face, because he was afraid to look at God. 7 Adonai said, “I have seen how my people are being oppressed in Egypt and heard their cry for release from their slave masters, because I know their pain. 8 I have come down to rescue them from the Egyptians and to bring them up out of that country to a good and spacious land, a land flowing with milk and honey, the place of the Kena‘ani, Hitti, Emori, P’rizi, Hivi and Y’vusi. 9 Yes, the cry of the people of Isra’el has come to me, and I have seen how terribly the Egyptians oppress them. 10 Therefore, now, come; and I will send you to Pharaoh; so that you can lead my people, the descendants of Isra’el, out of Egypt.” 11 Moshe said to God, “Who am I, that I should go to Pharaoh and lead the people of Isra’el out of Egypt?” 12 He replied, “I will surely be with you. Your sign that I have sent you will be that when you have led the people out of Egypt, you will worship God on this mountain.” 13 Moshe said to God, “Look, when I appear before the people of Isra’el and say to them, ‘The God of your ancestors has sent me to you’; and they ask me, ‘What is his name?’ what am I to tell them?” 14 God said to Moshe, “Ehyeh Asher Ehyeh [I am/will be what I am/will be],” and added, “Here is what to say to the people of Isra’el: ‘Ehyeh [I Am or I Will Be] has sent me to you.’” 15 God said further to Moshe, “Say this to the people of Isra’el: ‘Yud-Heh-Vav-Heh [Adonai], the God of your fathers, the God of Avraham, the God of Yitz’chak and the God of Ya‘akov, has sent me to you.’ This is my name forever; this is how I am to be remembered generation after generation.

 

Parsha #13: Shemot (“the names”) | Torah Study Notes 2015 | Andrew Gabriel Roth

One Faith One People Ministries | www.onefaithonepeopleministries.com

 

HOREB (3:1) = means “wasteland” because of its desert climate. Its other name SINAI means “thorny” so it’s a thorny wasteland where Moshe gets the Torah!

 

SNEH (3:2) = thorn-bush. There may be a word play or other connection between SNEH and SINAI, since this is the Burning Bush.

 

VAYERA MALACH YAHWEH ELAV BELABAT ESH (3:2) = And appeared the Messenger of Yahweh (to Moshe) in the heart of the fire. Later there will be no form whatsoever in the pillar of fire or the Burning Bush but only a voice. This time however, Moshe sees a pre-incarnate Y’shua as the Messenger who has Yah in his name (Exodus 23:20-22).

 

KI YARE MEHABIT EL-HA ELOHIM (3:6) = for he [Moshe] was afraid to look at Elohim. One could say Moshe then had the fear of Elohim and this leads to YHWH-Yireh (the fear of YHWH), one of His titles.

 

VA’ERED (3:8) = Literally, “I have come down”, which indicates that Abba YHWH has decided to act soon. While He is everywhere, the sense of the Hebrew is that YHWH has descended from highest heaven to be “near” His people that He is about to deliver. Also notice the Kenites, which were mentioned in Genesis 15 and 36, are not mentioned here, because by this time they have moved into Edomite territory under Esau their ancestor.

 

EHYEH EHYEH ASHER EHYEH (3:14) = I am that I am/ I will be what I will be. The fact that the Name encompasses all tense or in Hebrew terms “states of being” showcases Abba YHWH as the Eternal One. More fundamentally however is the fact that the I AM is what is revealed to Moshe. Previously patriarchs like Abraham knew the Name of Abba YHWH but not what YHWH calls HIMSELF in the First Person (I am).

 

YAHWEH (3:15) = “He is” or “YAH, He who is”. This is the THIRD PERSON MASCULINE of the first person EHYEH. It is EHYEH that YHWH calls Himself to Himself but YHWH is what MAN calls Him. The simplified form of YAHWEH is YAH (Exodus 15:1-2), and this is the same exact name in shortened form (Psalm 68:4).