God Proclaims His Own Name
By Carol Wollaston
In the early morning light, Moses went up alone into the cloud covered mountain, to present himself to the Lord, for God had promised to proclaim His name there to Moses. Moses, himself, dared not define God, for God is sovereign. Only God has the capacity to name Himself. That is why Moses bowed and worshipped. Here is the declaration of His name from His own mouth. Ex. 34:1-7.
THE LORD, THE LORD GOD.
The name ‘LORD’ (‘YHVH’ in Hebrew) is the name God uses to describe the sovereignty of His being. When God first revealed His name to Moses He said ‘I AM WHO I AM’, which could be better rendered ‘I
WILL BE WHO I WILL BE’. Only He decides who He will be. Ex 3:15.
The word ‘God’ establishes Him as One to be worshipped, thus God declares Himself to be accessible to us.
MERCIFUL
Even though we are sinners and unworthy to receive mercy, yet the Lord is merciful towards us: rich in mercy. He does not overlook sin, yet He gives us the opportunity to confess our sins and find forgiveness and deliverance from its power. He looks with loving eyes upon us and in His mercy grants repentance and the gift of eternal life, through Jesus.
GRACIOUS
In His grace we can stand, no matter what the circumstances. He makes all of His glory and grace available to us to equip us for daily living and to do the work He has planned for us.
SLOW TO ANGER
Towards those who are humble of heart, He is slow to anger but rich in mercy and grace.
ABUNDANT IN LOVING-KINDNESS
As a loving Father He looks upon us His children and lavishes His loving-kindness on us – far more than our earthly fathers ever could.
ABUNDANT IN TRUTH
What comes from His mouth is ultimate truth, for His word brings to pass the reality of what is in His heart.
KEEPING MERCY AND LOVING-KINDNESS FOR THOUSANDS
Not just towards thousands of people is He merciful and loving, but for thousands of generations.
FORGIVING INIQUITY, TRANSGRESSION AND SIN
These three elements sum up our waywardness. When we call upon Him, He forgives perverseness of our iniquity, and our rebellious transgression against what He ordains, and the offense of our sin in the pride and arrogance of our self-naming.
BUT HE WILL BY NO MEANS CLEAR THE GUILTY
There is no place to hide for those who reject the Royal Law of Love that is in the heart of God. His ways are holy and just and He cannot deny the purity of His own being. It is a fearful thing to fall into His hands if we refuse to acknowledge Him and our own sinfulness.
VISITING THE INIQUITY OF THE FATHERS UPON THE CHILDREN AND THE CHILDREN’S CHILDREN, TO THE THIRD AND FOURTH GENERATION
All sin is ultimately against relationship, and will have an effect upon others. We must face the reality that God holds each of us accountable for the effect we have upon others. We cannot blame God for what we do to the innocent, even if He allows the effects to go on for three or four generations. The scope of freedom we have as human beings makes us all vulnerable to each other.
Old Testament writers extolled the Name of the Lord. They spoke of His Name as Supreme, Exalted, Majestic and Holy. Prophets declared, ‘the Lord of Hosts is His Name’ – Ruler of multitudes of Heavenly armies, angels and archangels. His Name was declared a strong tower, a place of refuge for those who believe. Like ointment poured forth, His name provides solace and a healing for those in need. Prov. 18:10; Song of Sol 1:3.
Mary and Joseph were instructed to call the Christ child, ‘Jesus’, which means ‘the Lord is Saviour’. Thus He came in the Name of the Lord, and His name is above every name. At His Name, every knee must bow and every tongue confess Him Lord, to the glory of God. Matt. 21:9; Phil. 2:9
The intellect of men and women cannot hope to fully comprehend the Name of the Lord, yet Jesus prayed one of the greatest prayers to His Father on our behalf. He said, ‘I have manifested Your name to the men whom You have given Me out of the world … Keep through Your name those whom You have given Me, that they may be one as We are. I have declared to them Your Name … that the love with which You loved Me may be in them, and I in them.’ How wonderful that the great Name of the Lord is now our name! John 17: 6-26.
