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(Tuesday, March 25, 2008-)
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# To Know Your Name
God has many names. And we are in fact privileged to know so many of His names. I think that may have motivated Matt Crocker to write the song by that name. So why are we so privileged to know His name? Well,let's go back to one of the first names of God.
Ever wondered why God called Himself the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob? Well, there is one part of the Bible that talks about it as the fact that He is the God of the living and not the dead and hence there is a hope of resurrection for us all. But I discovered something more during these past few days of QT.
The God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob is in fact NOT a name of God. OK OK, before any of you guys stone me to death, let me explain.
When God spoke to Abraham, God was just God, or perhaps the first name should be El Shaddai (God Almighty), but still, He was just God to Abraham, the figure of an almighty being, with nothing much else known. And even with just that, Abraham believed God and it was credited to him as righteousness. And for the next few generations, Israel just knew God as the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob cuz no other revelation was made to them.
Along came Moses. A man whom God chose, raised up and did the most amazing wonders ever. Even Jesus didn't split the Sea of Galilee when there was a storm (though He definitely could), He just calmed it. Though I think if Jesus did split it, they would have trouble explaining how their boat got stuck at the bottom of the sea to others. Anyway, God chose Moses, a man who had deep concern for the welfare of people. Raised in the palace, that trait itself is already quite unique. He couldn't stand the unfair treatment of the Israelites and killed an Egyptian (this is of course before God appeared to Him in a bush and changed his life forever). He saw two Israelites fighting and wanted to settle their dispute (this of course led to them accusing him of murder and Moses went running.... and eventually met God!). Then even later, Moses was still settling ALL the disputes of Israel until Jethro came along and gave him good advice. And even through the desert wandering, Moses still upheld the welfare of the Israelites, provided with them with water in the desert, manna (which actually means "what is it?") in the morning and quails in the evening.
He showed a deep care and concern for His people, Israel, and I believe God chose Moses cuz his heart was right.
So now, where does To Know Your Name come in? This is just what I found out about how close God and Moses was. Yes, Abraham was called God's friend, but in human terms, i think Moses and God were like best friends. Well, if i asked you who your best friend is, you'd most likely give an answer like, Alvin or Alwyn or Fang Xian or Mei Yian or something like that. What am i trying to say? Try this, ask Moses who his best friend was and I believe his answer would be...
Exodus 3v14
God said to Moses, "I AM who I AM . This is what you are to say to the Israelites: 'I AM has sent me to you.' "
And this name was God's revelation to Moses, you know, like how you know the full name of your friends and their birthday, telephone number (this i don't remember anymore), where they stay and what they ate for dinner last night. To Moses, God revealed His name. And from Exodus 3:14 onward, Moses knew God's name. It was a special privilege he got, because
Exodus 6v3
I appeared to Abraham, to Isaac and to Jacob as God Almighty, but by my name the LORD I did not make myself known to them.
God chose to reveal it to Moses. God trusted Moses and Moses trusted God. And Moses served God all his days, and God was with Him.
Now what about us? We (unless you're a Jew) not God's chosen people. We're not the ones who God delivered with a mighty hand. We're the Gentiles, the outsiders. Nowhere close to being God's friend, enemies even. But because of that, God went the extra mile (many miles if you wanna measure from heaven to earth) to reach out to us. So that we can know His name. How?
Cuz I know You gave,
the world Your only Son,
for us to know Your name,
to live within the Saviour's love,
and He took my place,
knowing He'd be crucified,
and You loved, You loved,
a people undeserving.
We don't have to be like Moses and the Israelites, who were given a whole set of commandments to follow in order to be close to God. To know Him and to worship Him is no longer a set of sacrifices at appointed times.
God showed His true character (which He always does =) by giving His Son, so that we could know His name. Emmanuel, God With Us. That's the name God chose for the Saviour. That we could know Him as a friend. Just as how a friend is always there for us, so is the name God revealed for all mankind. God With Us. Jesus came to be with us, so that, forever, we will be with Him.
And He took my place,
Knowing He'd be crucified,
And You loved, You loved,
A people undeserving (=
the story ends like this;
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