Post by Les Brewer on Apr 20, 2014 21:42:49 GMT
ETERNAL GOD:
(14) And God said to Moses, I AM THAT I AM. And He said, So you shall say to the sons of Israel, I AM has sent me to you. Exodus 3:14
The above verse in so important to our perspective of God’s reality and personal presence in our lives. Let us therefore study some of the attributes of this God who says, “ I AM that I AM “.
I AM; Hebrew: hayah haw-yaw'
A primitive root ; to exist, that is, be or become, come to pass (always emphatic, and not a mere copula or auxiliary):
THAT; Hebrew: 'ăsher ash-er'
A primitive relative pronoun (of every gender and number); who, which, what, that; also (as adverb and conjunction) when, where, how, because, in order that, etc.
As it is indeclinable, it is often accompanied by the personal pronoun expletively, used to show the connection. ( definitions from Strong’s dictionary )
As we study the origin of how we’ve come to know God’s name we must look at the etymology: definition;
: the history of a linguistic form (as a word) shown by tracing its development since its earliest recorded occurrence in the language where it is found, by tracing its transmission from one language to another, or by tracing it and its cognates to a common ancestral form in an ancestral language.
The Jews in an attempt to keep from using the name of God in vain, substituted it with the word “ Adonai “ my lord, and “ HaShem “ the Name. However in Scripture which in Hebrew did not use vowels but only the consonants in the name of God, because of their fear of God:
(16) And he that blasphemes the name of the LORD, he shall surely be put to death; all the congregation shall certainly stone him; as well the stranger, as the home-born, when he blasphemes the Name, shall be put to death. Leviticus 24:16
Taking the vowels out of the name is called the Tetragammaton in Greek meaning four letters. Theonym which is from classical Greek, means God’s proper name. Theos ( god ) and onym ( name ). Hence the YHWH; would most likely be Yahweh; the name God gave to Moses on Mount Sinai. The very name of God means eternal, unchanging, and self-existing independent of anything. God is in fact a self-sustaining reality that shall never perish or diminish in power or capacity. Think about this; if creation were to perish, God would still exist, but if God were to perish, all things would perish with Him.
As I read the account in Josephus, the burning bush encounter with God was made more real by the nature of the bush. It was a time to graze cattle, and as Moses moved to higher more plush grazing ground his attention was caught by a luscious green bush which had boughs of fruit hanging on it, as he drew close he could see all this; yet a flame was burning all about this bush without a singe or scorch anywhere.
We see God: “ The Supreme God “. As represented by a Fire of Illumination, of Revelation, of Enlightenment, and of Instruction. He is still all those things today! He is Omnipresent, Omnipotent, and Omniscient! He is Spirit; therefore present at all times, He is Almighty; therefore able to do all things, and He is Universal; infinite in knowledge therefore able to inform us from an eternal perspective.
It is this God who sent his Son to die for our sins who was Resurrected the third day so that we might find life that is also eternal in Him through our repentance, acceptance, and obedience to the Gospel of Jesus Christ. Selah!
Shalom & Agape!
(14) And God said to Moses, I AM THAT I AM. And He said, So you shall say to the sons of Israel, I AM has sent me to you. Exodus 3:14
The above verse in so important to our perspective of God’s reality and personal presence in our lives. Let us therefore study some of the attributes of this God who says, “ I AM that I AM “.
I AM; Hebrew: hayah haw-yaw'
A primitive root ; to exist, that is, be or become, come to pass (always emphatic, and not a mere copula or auxiliary):
THAT; Hebrew: 'ăsher ash-er'
A primitive relative pronoun (of every gender and number); who, which, what, that; also (as adverb and conjunction) when, where, how, because, in order that, etc.
As it is indeclinable, it is often accompanied by the personal pronoun expletively, used to show the connection. ( definitions from Strong’s dictionary )
As we study the origin of how we’ve come to know God’s name we must look at the etymology: definition;
: the history of a linguistic form (as a word) shown by tracing its development since its earliest recorded occurrence in the language where it is found, by tracing its transmission from one language to another, or by tracing it and its cognates to a common ancestral form in an ancestral language.
The Jews in an attempt to keep from using the name of God in vain, substituted it with the word “ Adonai “ my lord, and “ HaShem “ the Name. However in Scripture which in Hebrew did not use vowels but only the consonants in the name of God, because of their fear of God:
(16) And he that blasphemes the name of the LORD, he shall surely be put to death; all the congregation shall certainly stone him; as well the stranger, as the home-born, when he blasphemes the Name, shall be put to death. Leviticus 24:16
Taking the vowels out of the name is called the Tetragammaton in Greek meaning four letters. Theonym which is from classical Greek, means God’s proper name. Theos ( god ) and onym ( name ). Hence the YHWH; would most likely be Yahweh; the name God gave to Moses on Mount Sinai. The very name of God means eternal, unchanging, and self-existing independent of anything. God is in fact a self-sustaining reality that shall never perish or diminish in power or capacity. Think about this; if creation were to perish, God would still exist, but if God were to perish, all things would perish with Him.
As I read the account in Josephus, the burning bush encounter with God was made more real by the nature of the bush. It was a time to graze cattle, and as Moses moved to higher more plush grazing ground his attention was caught by a luscious green bush which had boughs of fruit hanging on it, as he drew close he could see all this; yet a flame was burning all about this bush without a singe or scorch anywhere.
We see God: “ The Supreme God “. As represented by a Fire of Illumination, of Revelation, of Enlightenment, and of Instruction. He is still all those things today! He is Omnipresent, Omnipotent, and Omniscient! He is Spirit; therefore present at all times, He is Almighty; therefore able to do all things, and He is Universal; infinite in knowledge therefore able to inform us from an eternal perspective.
It is this God who sent his Son to die for our sins who was Resurrected the third day so that we might find life that is also eternal in Him through our repentance, acceptance, and obedience to the Gospel of Jesus Christ. Selah!
Shalom & Agape!
