Exodus 3:13-22 Notes: The Divine Name Revealed

Section 6: The Divine Name Revealed – Exodus 3:13-22

Theme or topic of this section

Look, I’m God, This is the Plan, You’re My Man, and
             Here’s Your Instructions

Moses’ Assignment

Start Packing

Trust Me

I Have a Name and You Have a Mission

Questions written by the class

- Moses, what are your intentions when you get to Egypt?  How are you able to do this chore, and why did you take it on?

- How is God going to make the Egyptians give the jewelry and other articles?

Some interesting points

- Moses’s second objection is “The Israelites won’t know who you are.”

- Why does God need Moses to speak instead of just God speaking himself?  Perhaps because generations after will know that an ordinary guy could do an extraordinary task.   See Philippians 4:13

- God says his name is

            I am who I am                       or

            I will be what I will be          or

            I am who I will be                 or

            I will be who I am                 or...

In other words, God is infinite, and has no definition.

- Moses needs to know that God is not one of the Egyptian gods.

- God has to re-establish monotheism (and is still re-establishing it today).

- Does Moses get a satisfactory answer to his question about God’s name?

            - Yes and no.

            - It’s as clear as it could be.

            - Moses wanted him to say something like, “My name is Paul.”

- the name “I am” denotes just how big God is.  There are no words to describe God in human terms.

- Throughout the Bible we see these regular old schmoes getting a mission.

- What would you do if your rhododendron started talking to you?

What we learned about the nature of God from this passage

- God is everywhere all the time.

- God has compassion.

- God is trying to give Moses confidence.

What we learned about other characters from this passage

- Moses was Prince of Egypt, now humble shepherd, is wanted for murder.  He’s not too ambitious now.

- Moses was probably used to the wilderness.

- Pharaoh will not easily let them go, but God wil compel him.

- Egyptians will be disposed to give plunder willingly.

What we learned from this passage that we can apply to our lives

- Trust God even if you are not feeling qualified.

- God helps me out of difficulty.  I thank God every day for that.

- Some things don’t have an answer that can be articulated.

Nov 9: On the Road to Emmaus

Luke 24:13-15 On the Road to Emmaus
Now that same day two of them were going to a village called Emmaus, about seven miles from Jerusalem. They were talking with each other about everything that had happened. As they talked and discussed these things with each other, Jesus himself came up and walked along with them; 16but they were kept from recognizing him.


Why were these two disciples kept from recognizing Jesus? How would their walk have been different if they had recognized him from the beginning?