19. *He is much more than
any name or number of
names can express.
20. *Yet the name by which
He makes Himself known
—Yahweh—is
foundational in our
limited understanding of
Him.
21. The name Yahweh stresses
that God is personal,
has always existed,
is the Creator,
is the only God,
is adequate to meet needs,
and does not change.
23. Yahweh Promises
Exodus 6:2-8 HCSB
2 “Then God spoke to
Moses, telling him, “I am
Yahweh.
3 I appeared to Abraham,
Isaac, and Jacob as God
24. Almighty, but I did not
reveal My name Yahweh
to them.
4 I also established My
covenant with them to
give them the land of
Canaan, the land they
25. lived in as foreigners.
5 Furthermore, I have
heard the groaning of the
Israelites, whom the
Egyptians are forcing to
work as slaves, and I
have remembered My
26. covenant.
6 “Therefore tell the
Israelites: I am Yahweh,
and I will deliver you
from the forced labor of
the Egyptians and free
you from slavery to them.
27. I will redeem you with
an outstretched arm and
great acts of judgment.
7 I will take you as My
people, and I will be
your God. You will know
that I am Yahweh your
28. God, Who delivered you
from the forced labor of
the Egyptians.
8 I will bring you to the
land that I swore to give
to Abraham, Isaac, and
Jacob, and I will give it to
29. you as a possession. I am
Yahweh.”
Exodus 6:2-8
30. *Later, as part of the Ten
Commandments in
Exodus 20:7, God
prohibited the misuse of
His name (taking His
name in vain).
31. Exodus 20:7 HCSB
7 “Do not misuse the
name of the Lord your
God, because
the Lord will not leave
anyone unpunished who
misuses His name.”
32. *The Jews came to
consider the name Yahweh
so sacred they would not
use it but substituted the
word Adonai (Lord) for it.
33. *The name Yahweh is
based on the Hebrew verb
“to be” and is a
combination of the
consonants YHWH and
the vowels of the word
Adonai (translated Lord).
36. *The difficulty of arriving
at a definite translation
demonstrates the mystery
God retains for Himself
and the inadequacy of
words to express His
indescribable greatness.
38. Genesis 2:4
4 “These are the records of
the heavens and the earth,
concerning their creation at
the time that the LORD
God made the earth and
the heavens.”
39. *The Amplified Bible uses
the name Yahweh for God
in Exodus 6:3 and calls it :
the redemptive name of
God.
40. *The Holman Christian
Standard Bible uses
"Yahweh" over 50 times.
*The only OT books it
does not appear in are:
Ecclesiastes, the Book of
Esther, and Song of Songs.
41. *The name expresses God’s
exclusiveness and
covenant loyalty.
1 Kings 8:23 NIV
23 “O Lord, God of Israel,
there is no God like You in
heaven above or on earth
42. below—You Who keep
Your covenant of
love with Your servants
who continue
wholeheartedly in Your
way.”
1 Kings 8:23 NIV
43. *It also indicated that God
is not just a superior
power or force but He is a
Person.
44. In the Old Testament, the
name came to describe the
God Who was present to
save and supremely able
to deal with all
circumstances.
45. *In Genesis 17:1, God
identified Himself to
Abram as
“God Almighty,”
Who would establish His
covenant with Abram and
fulfill His promise of a
46. son for Abram and Sarai.
*The Hebrew term
rendered God conveys the
sense of strength, power,
and separateness from
humans.
47. *The word almighty has
the idea of self-sufficiency.
*The patriarchs (“first
fathers”) had known God
primarily as the one and
only true God Who could
and would do what He
48. said He would do and
was to be approached
reverently.
49. *God’s statement that He
had not revealed His
name Yahweh to them
did not mean they were
totally unaware of the
name (see Gen. 15:7).
50. Genesis 15:7
7 “He also said to him, ‘I
am Yahweh Who brought
you from Ur of the
Chaldeans to give you
this land to possess.’”
51. *He likely meant He
related to them in terms of
His power to keep His
promises to Abraham.
*They may have known
the name Yahweh but not
what it revealed about
52. God’s nature.
*In Exodus, He would
relate to His people not
only in terms of might but
also in terms of His
presence with them.
53. Yesterday is the past,
tomorrow is the future,
today is a gift from God,
that’s why we call it the
Present!
54.
55. *In relationship with Him,
they would continue to
learn about His nature as
He made Himself known
to them.
56.
57. *God had established a
covenant with Abraham
and extended it through
Isaac and Jacob, in which
He promised to give them
the land of Canaan.
58.
59.
60. *Canaan lay between the
Mediterranean Sea and
the Jordan River.
*From south to north, it
stretched roughly from
the Brook of Egypt to the
Euphrates River.
61. *In Genesis 17:8, God
promised to give Canaan
to Abraham and his
descendants.
*Abraham, Isaac, Jacob,
and their families had
lived in the land as
63. *In addition to having
established His covenant
with the patriarchs, God
had heard the groaning
of the Israelites as they
toiled in forced labor
under the Egyptians.
64. *That God heard meant
He was attentive to the
Israelites’ plight, implying
an answer of help.
*His statement, “I have
remembered My
covenant,” does not mean
65. the covenant had slipped
His mind, that He had
forgotten.
*Remembered has the
sense of readiness to act.
*God was about to fulfill
His covenant promises.
66. *God directed Moses to
tell the Israelites that
Yahweh—the covenant-
making, covenant-
keeping God—would
rescue them from
Egyptian slavery.
67.
68. *Their forced labor was
about to end.
*By His sovereign power
(outstretched arm) and
mighty acts of judgment
on Egypt, Yahweh would
redeem them from the
69. Egyptians’ iron grip.
*Redeem comes from a
Hebrew term that means
“kinsman redeemer,” the
closest of kin whose
responsibilities included
avenging his kinsman’s
70. death, marrying his
kinsman’s widow to
produce a son to extend
the family name, buying
back land that had been
sold, and freeing his
kinsman from bondage.
71. *That God would act as
the Israelites’ kinsman-
redeemer stressed two
truths:
(1) The relationship
between God and His
people was as close and
73. *The kinsman-redeemer is
also seen in the book of
Ruth where Boaz is the
kinsman-redeemer who
marries Ruth.
*The kinsman-redeemer is
a picture of Jesus Christ!
74.
75.
76. *The exodus of the
Hebrews from Egypt and
their return to the
promised land constitutes
on of the most remarkable
liberations in world
history.
77.
78.
79.
80.
81. *The exodus makes up an
integral part of Biblical
faith in both Testaments.
*There arose a Pharaoh
who knew not Joseph
(Exodus 1:8) and had no
appreciation that Joseph
83. The land of Goshen in
Egypt, was located east of
the Nile River (otherwise
the Israelites would have
had to also cross the Nile
at the time of the Exodus).
84. Goshen was the capital
region and the
agricultural heartland of
the nation.
85. *The geographical
location of the Hebrews
caused additional concern
for this new Pharaoh since
they lived east of Egypt in
Goshen.
86. *Most of Egypt’s enemies
came from the east and
the Pharaoh knew that the
numerous Hebrews might
unite with an enemy that
came from the east.
88. numerous and powerful
than we are.
10 Let us deal shrewdly
with them; otherwise they
will multiply further, and
if war breaks out, they
may join our enemies,
89. fight against us, and leave
the country.”
11 So the Egyptians
assigned taskmasters over
the Israelites to oppress
them with forced labor.
90. 12 But the more they
oppressed them, the more
they multiplied and
spread so that the
Egyptians came to
dread the Israelites.
91. 13 They worked the
Israelites ruthlessly
14 and made their lives
bitter with difficult labor
in brick and mortar and
in all kinds of fieldwork.
93. Exodus 3:11-16
11 “But Moses asked God,
“Who am I that I should
go to Pharaoh and that I
should bring the Israelites
out of Egypt?”
94. 12 He answered, “I will
certainly be with you, and
this will be the sign to you
that I have sent you: when
you bring the people out
of Egypt, you will all
worship God at this
95. mountain.”
13 Then Moses asked God,
“If I go to the Israelites and
say to them: The God of
your fathers has sent me to
you, and they ask me,
‘What is His name?’
96. what should I tell them?”
14 God replied to Moses,
“I AM WHO I AM.
This is what you are to
say to the Israelites: I AM
has sent me to you.”
97. 15 God also said to Moses,
“Say this to the Israelites:
Yahweh, the God of your
fathers, the God of
Abraham, the God of
Isaac, and the God of
Jacob, has sent me to you.
98. This is My name
forever; this is how I am
to be remembered in
every generation.
99. 16 “Go and assemble the
elders of Israel and say to
them: Yahweh, the God of
your fathers, the God of
Abraham, Isaac, and
Jacob, has appeared to me
and said: I have paid close
100. attention to you and to
what has been done to
you in Egypt.”
Exodus 3:11-16
101. Exodus 5:1-2
1 “Later, Moses and
Aaron went in and said to
Pharaoh, “This is what
Yahweh, the God of Israel,
says: Let My people go, so
that they may hold a
102. festival for Me in the
wilderness.”
2 But Pharaoh responded,
“Who is Yahweh that I
should obey Him by
letting Israel go? I do not
know anything about
106. *Each of the ten plaques
corresponded to a god
that the Egyptians
worshiped so God was
showing His absolute
authority over each one of
them.
107.
108.
109. In addition to the death
knell for Egyptian beliefs,
might the plaques have
served another purpose?
The answer is, yes.
Loudly and clearly, the
plagues answered
110. Pharaoh’s question:
“Who is Yahweh?”
*Two conclusions appear
obvious: The plagues
communicated
Yahweh’s sovereignty and
Yahweh’s power.
112. *When the plagues
concluded, Pharaoh had
the answer to his
question,
“Who is Yahweh?”
*The Exodus occurred
about 1446 B.C.
113. *The Exodus, with the
plagues, represent more
than the central event of
the OT.
*They remind subsequent
generations of God’s
sovereignty and power.
114. In delivering the Israelites
from Egyptian slavery,
God would make them
His covenant people.
*The covenant involved
mutual responsibilities:
God would take them as
115. His people.
*The Hebrew word
translated take could have
the ideas of buying,
taking in marriage, and
acquiring for oneself.
116. *God would redeem the
Israelites for relationship
with Him.
*In turn, they would
recognize Him as their
God.
117. “I will be your God”
expressed God’s close
relationship with His
people and His singular
right to them.
*Through His redemptive
activity, the Israelites
118. would know by
experience He was their
covenant God.
*Delivering them from the
forced labor of the
Egyptians would
demonstrate His reality
119. and power as the one true
God.
*It also would stand as
irrefutable historical
evidence of His entering a
covenant with them.
120. *God stressed He would
take the Israelites to
Canaan, the land He had
sworn to give the
patriarchs.
*He would fulfill the
covenant promise to
121. which He referred in
verse 4.
*The Hebrew term
rendered swore is
picturesque.
*It means “lifted up the
hand” as a gesture in
122. affirming an oath.
*God vowed to keep His
word that He would give
Canaan to the Israelites as
a possession.
*For the fourth time in
verses 2-8, God affirmed:
123. “I am Yahweh” (see vv.
2,6,7).
*He is; He is the only God;
and He is the God Who
makes and keeps
covenant promises.
124. *Proverbs 3:5-6 discloses a
foundational truth in
relationship with God.
Under His inspiration, the
writer advised:
5 “Trust in the Lord with
all your heart
125. And do not lean on your
own understanding.
6 In all your
ways acknowledge Him,
And He will make your
paths straight.”
Proverbs 3:5-6 NASB
126. *Faith in the covenant
God—focusing life on
Him—will be met with
His provision for right
living.
*He is present and active
in His people’s lives.
127. We can count on that
Scriptural promise!
*God wants a personal,
covenant relationship
with all people, including
you and me.
128. *His promises to us
demonstrate He wants to
be involved in our lives.
*We discover His
promises by reading and
studying His Word.
130. Exodus 15:1-3
1 “Then Moses and the
Israelites sang this song
to the Lord. They said:
‘I will sing to the Lord,
for He is highly exalted;
He has thrown the horse
131. and its rider into the sea.
2 The Lord is my strength
and my song;
He has become my
salvation.
This is my God, and I
will praise Him,
132. my father’s God, and I
will exalt Him.
3 The Lord is a warrior;
Yahweh is His name.”
Exodus 15:1-3
133. *Pharaoh refused to free
the Israelites, but through
a series of 10 plagues
(blows or strokes) against
the Egyptians, God
effected their release.
134. *Pharaoh and his people
urged the Israelites to
leave; they did so quickly.
*As the Israelites traveled
toward the Red Sea,
Pharaoh had second
thoughts about losing
135. such a large number of
forced laborers.
*He and a large military
contingent pursued the
Israelites, overtaking
them on the Red Sea
shores.
146. Perhaps it would be good to
remember that just as God
cared for His ancient
people, He cares for us
today! David, the Shepherd
King of Israel once declared
-- "This I know, that God is
FOR me." Psalm 56:9
147. *Moses and the Israelites
sang a song to the Lord
(Yahweh).
*With profound relief, joy,
and gratitude, they lifted
their voices in praise to
God for His mighty
148. redemptive act.
*It probably is the oldest
written record of the
exodus event.
*The singers addressed
their hymn to the Lord—
Yahweh, Who had kept
149. His promise to free them
from slavery (see Ex. 6:6).
*The song was about Him,
not them.
“For He is highly exalted”
can be translated “for He
has triumphed
151. The Red Sea’s sweeping
over Pharaoh’s forces
demonstrated Yahweh’s
majestic sovereignty.
152. *Verses 2-3 constitute a
statement concerning
God’s nature.
*The singers celebrated
the Lord (Yah, a
shortened form of
Yahweh) as the Source of
153. their strength (might) and
as their song—either the
reason for or the subject of
their song.
*He had become their
salvation.
154. *Here the term salvation
specifies liberation in a
political or military sense.
*It comes from a word
that means “to make wide
or spacious.”
155. *The term the singers
used presents the idea of
victory God had gained.
*The Israelites enjoyed
freedom or ease because
of God’s work on their
behalf.
156. *He had acted for their
welfare and safety.
*This mighty Deliverer
was the people’s God, the
God the patriarchs
worshiped.
157. *The Hebrew words for
God reflect His strength
or power (see 6:3).
*The sovereign God also
was the covenant,
redeemer God.
158. *The singers depicted God
as a mighty warrior Who
wielded His power to
vanquish His enemies.
*They affirmed that
through the exodus, their
covenant God had given
159. clear evidence of His
sovereign might.
*God keeps every promise
He makes.
*His consistency in doing
so gives us strength and
encouragement.
160. *It provides confidence as
we face the future.
*Our proper response to
His keeping His word is
continuing praise.
162. Exodus 15:11-13
11 “Lord, who is like You
among the gods?
Who is like You, glorious
in holiness,
revered with praises,
performing wonders?
163. 12 You stretched out Your
right hand, and the earth
swallowed them.
13 You will lead the
people You have
redeemed with Your
faithful love;
164. You will guide them to
Your holy dwelling
with Your strength.”
Exodus 15:11-13
165. In verses 4-10, in
picturesque, poetic
language, the joyful song
of praise to Yahweh
chronicled the destruction
of Pharaoh’s army in the
Red Sea.
166.
167. *Throughout the hymn,
the focus is on Yahweh
and His redemptive
action.
*Verse 11 contains two
rhetorical questions
(“Who is like You … ?”)
168. whose expected answers
are “No one!”
*No one among the gods
was like Yahweh.
*He was in a class by
Himself, with no peers.
169. 1 Kings 8:23 NIV
23“O Lord, God of Israel,
there is no God like You
in heaven above or on
earth below—You Who
keep Your covenant of
love
170. with Your servants who
continue wholeheartedly
in Your way.”
1 Kings 8:23 NIV
171. *The Israelites did not
acknowledge other gods’
existence; other nations’
so-called gods were
fictional.
*Yahweh alone is the true,
living God; all other
172. proposed gods were false.
*Only Yahweh is glorious
in holiness.
*The Hebrew term
rendered glorious means
great, high, noble.
173. *It conveys the sense of
unparalleled exaltation.
*The word holiness has
the idea of God’s
separateness, His being
other than human.
174. *He was to be approached
with reverential caution
and praises (recognition
of His awe-inspiring
deeds), for He had
performed wonders
(extraordinary acts).
175. *Yahweh stretched out
His right hand (exerted
His might), and the
Egyptians perished.
*The singers used human
terms to describe God’s
redeeming act for them.
176. *Because most people
were right-handed and
used that hand for
weapons, the phrase right
hand signified strength
and victory.
177.
178. Hebrews 1:3 NIV
3 “The Son is the radiance
of God’s glory and the
exact representation of
His being, sustaining all
things by His powerful
word.
179. After He had provided
purification for sins, He
sat down at the right hand
of the Majesty in heaven.”
Hebrews 1:3 NIV
180.
181. Seated at God's Right
Hand -
has less to do with seating
arrangement and
everything to do with
authority.
182. “My right hand man"
comes from this concept
because if you are at
someone's "right hand",
you are working under
the authority of the one
you represent.
183. We know from many
verses in the New
Testament that Christ is
now seated at the right
hand of God.
184. Romans 8:34
34“Christ Jesus is the One
Who died, but even more,
has been raised;
He also is at the right
hand of God
and intercedes for us.”
185. Ephesians 1:20
20 “He demonstrated this
power in the Messiah by
raising Him from the
dead and seating Him at
His right hand in the
heavens”
186. Once this concept is
established, take a walk
through the Old
Testament and find the
verses that mention God's
right hand.
187. *We know Christ was
with God before His First
Advent on earth.
*Therefore, Christ was
always at God's right
hand.
188. *Since this is the case,
many many verses of the
OT open up to a new
understanding.
*The book of Psalms is
amazingly prophetic!
189. Psalm 20:6
6 “Now I know that the
Lord gives victory to His
anointed; He will answer
him from His holy heaven
with mighty victories
from His right hand.”
191. Psalm 60:5
5 “Save with Your right
hand, and answer me,
so that those You love
may be rescued.”
192. Salvation is through
Christ alone, as there is no
other name under
Heaven, given among
men, by which we must
be saved!
193. Psalm 80:17
17 “Let Your hand be with
the Man at Your right
hand,
with the Son of Man
You have made strong for
Yourself.”
194. Psalm 110:1
1 This is the declaration of
the Lord (Yahweh – God)
to my Lord (Yeshua): “Sit
at My right hand until I
make Your enemies Your
footstool.”
195. Ephesians 1:3
3 “Praise the God and
Father of our Lord Jesus
Christ, Who has blessed
us in Christ with every
spiritual blessing in the
heavens”
197. Revelation 3:20-21
20 “Listen! I stand at the
door and knock. If anyone
hears My voice and opens
the door, I will come in to
him and have dinner with
him, and he with Me.
198. 21 The victor: I will give
him the right to sit with
Me on My throne, just as I
also won the victory and
sat down with My Father
on His throne.”
199. *This one verse is
revolutionary in
understanding our FULL
INHERITANCE in Christ.
*We have established that
Christ sat down at the
right hand of God.
200. *This means He has all the
authority of God.
*Christ grants His Church
to sit at His right hand,
thus giving the Church all
the authority of Christ!
*This is amazing.
203. heavenlies, right next to
Christ, Who is right next
to the Father.
*Not even the angels can
boast of that!
204. *When we accept Him, we
become like Him.
*Not "gods", but sons of
God, and co-heirs with
Christ (Romans 8:17).
205.
206. *God exercised His
awesome power to free
His people.
*The words the earth
swallowed them could
refer to the Red Sea’s
rolling over the Egyptians
207. or to their entering Sheol,
the place of the departed
dead.
208. The Israelites expressed
their confidence that
Yahweh, Who had freed
them from slavery, would
continue to lead them
with His faithful love.
209. The Hebrew term
rendered faithful love
almost eludes translation.
It conveys the sense of
God’s covenant loyalty,
His unfailing constancy in
His relationship with the
210. Israelites.
*It has been rendered
“lovingkindness,”
“steadfast love,” and
“mercy.”
*It is the closest OT
equivalent to the NT term
212. *One view is that the
phrase holy dwelling
refers to the future
Jerusalem sanctuary.
*The reference could also
be to Canaan.
213. *The Hebrew term
rendered dwelling means
“meadow” or “pasture”
and then poetically
“home.”
*Thus the whole land of
Canaan, the land God had
214. promised the Israelites,
was the place set apart for
God’s residing in the
midst of His people.
*They had begun their
journey to their home.
215. *Verses 14-17 of the
Israelites’ song rehearses
how God “will … plant”
His people in the land.
*In Hebrew, verses 14-16
can read as presenting the
journey through the
216. wilderness as already
accomplished, and verse
17 pictures the fulfillment
of God’s purpose: to bring
His people to Canaan and
establish them there,
perhaps with specific
217. reference to Jerusalem.
Some interpreters have
suggested references to
Mount Zion and
Solomon’s temple, while
others have opted for the
more general reference to
218. the Israelites’ settling in
the whole land of Canaan.
*Moses and the Israelites’
song concluded with a
resounding affirmation of
God’s absolute rule.
219. *“The Lord” (Yahweh)
would reign as King
“forever and ever” (v. 18).
*Implied was the
Israelites’ submission to
His authority.
220. *They did not always live
up to their covenant
obligation to be God’s
loyal subjects, but they
began with a recognition
of His kingship.
221. *Verse 19 is a narrative
account reemphasizing
God’s making a way
through the sea for the
Israelites.
222. *In response to His
redemptive act, Miriam,
“Aaron’s sister” and a
“prophetess,” led the
women as they played
tambourines and she sang
a song exalting God for
224. *Miriam’s song reflects
the words Moses and the
people sang in verse 1.
*In ancient times, women
often went out to greet
returning victorious
warriors, singing and
226. *In the hymn, “How Great
Thou Art,” the writer
began stanza one by
addressing God in
wonder, then he reflected
on God’s creative power
and His displays of that
227. power in the universe.
*When the writer did so,
he exulted into song much
as the Israelites did.
*Then he repeated the
words for emphasis.
