What a beautiful day, Father! We’ve had rain but we’ve also had sun. I’ve seen no rainbows from my vantage point but blessings all around! Praise You, O glorious Creator!
John 8:48-59 (<<click here to read the passage)
The concept of holding something so sacred as to not dare even speak its name is beyond our culture’s mentality. Some would probably say it is behind our mentality but that is only because we place ourselves too high upon the pedestal.
Early on mankind had known of God. Many had interacted with Him, but no one until Moses had asked His name. And reading the story of how the question came about, shows that it was by no means bravado on the part of Moses, for he was just grasping for anything that would get him out of the situation in which he found himself.
Nothing is haphazard or a coincidence when it comes to God, but Moses found himself on Mt. Horeb in the care of his flock and when he came upon a burning bush, his life was forever changed!
God called to him and commissioned him to be his point man in bringing the nation of Israel out of Egyptian bondage. Upon God’s appointment, Moses felt super inadequate for the task and said as much with trembling knees. Regardless of God’s assurances Moses still protested,
“If I go to the people of Israel and tell them, ‘The God of your ancestors has sent me to you,’ they will ask me, ‘What is his name?’ Then what should I tell them?”
God replied to Moses, “I AM Who I AM. Say this to the people of Israel: I AM has sent me to you.” God also said to Moses, “Say this to the people of Israel: Yahweh, the God of your ancestors—the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob—has sent me to you.” Exodus 3:14-15 NLT
A rabbi answering a question on the avoidance of using God’s name even yet today said, “We Jews have an absolute obsession with avoiding uttering G‑d’s name. (Notice that we don’t even spell it out fully when writing the English word for G‑d.) Actually, we are careful not to pronounce G‑d’s names except when reading the Torah or prayers.”
Jews did and still do take the third commandment (which I spoke of yesterday) very seriously. Here it is again,
“You shall not take the name of the Lord your God in vain [that is, irreverently, in false affirmations or in ways that impugn the character of God]; for the Lord will not hold guiltless nor leave unpunished the one who takes His name in vain [disregarding its reverence and its power].” Exodus 20:7 AMP
So, when we read today’s passage and see this huge back-and-forth between Jesus and the Jews, we see the reaction Jesus gets when he proclaims,
“I tell you the truth, before Abraham was even born, I AM!” v58 NLT
Knowing the significance of the acclamation, and though I have read it many times before, nonetheless it was a thrill reading those words once again! Jesus left no doubt whatsoever regarding who He was! And instead of falling on their faces and begging for mercy, the Jews instead picked up rocks to stone Him for what they determined to be blasphemy!
Oh, Lord Jesus, open our blind eyes and our deaf ears! You stand before each of us, Your magnificence displayed in all we see – our world, our very lives – and we do not acknowledge You. “I AM” is broadcast 24/7/365 and we go our delusional merry little way. Forgive us for our stupidity! May we bow at Your feet proclaiming Your sovereignty over our world and our lives! Amen!
July 8th, 2021, Thurs, 3:13 pm
