Revealing the Eternal Name

God revealed himself to Moses as the “God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob”.  I don’t know how many times I have read that and thought, “OK, that’s nice, he’s highlighting three of the patriarchs.” But I never understood the richness of what he was trying to communicate. The Creator reveals himself through many names and different ways in the Bible.  Calling himself the God of the patriarchs is one of my favorites.  Let me tell you why.

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. This is my eternal name, my name to remember for all generations.
Exodus 3:14-15

Recently, while reading Exodus, I was caught by this passage and felt it was important for me to sit with it for a while.  After a few days of meditating on the eternal name, the Lord began to unpack some of its beauty and glory.  It unfolded like this.

Abraham is the father of our faith, the one who received the covenant and the promise.  Isaac was the child of promise, the one who experienced resurrection life as he was brought back from the brink of death (in a sense).  And Jacob had to flee his brother’s vengeance, suffered fourteen years under his ruthless uncle’s business practices, and eventually had to make amends with his brother Esau. He also wrestled with the angel of God throughout the night as part of his transformational journey. 

The application for me was that God is a God of covenant, keeping his covenants and promises. He is the God of resurrection and life, the restorer of that which was hopeless and dead – working in ways I cannot imagine. And lastly, he is the God of transformation – taking my old nature and making me like himself, blessing me with a new name reflective of my destiny. This is the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, the eternal “I am.”

Just as it was for the patriarchs, so it is in our lives. We come into a covenant relationship with him.  We experience his power and receive resurrection life in answer to our prayers. But ultimately, he wants us transformed so we reflect his nature to a world lost in darkness.  This is how the eternal name is revealed in us, molding and shaping us into his likeness. 

This is the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob.  The God of covenant, the God of resurrection and power, and the God of transformation.  And this is how he makes himself known.  

~~be blessed