Do you describe your God as personable?
Moses most likely didn’t — until the day a burning bush caught his attention. In a very intimate revealing of Himself, God appears to Moses and reintroduces Himself as “I Am”. It was a name that Moses could relate to, being a derivative of the name “Yahweh”. Additionally, embedded in the name “I Am” was a profound truth and invitation.
God was letting Moses know He was a God with no equal. He had always been, always would be…and most importantly, He was the God of the present. He was a God ready for a relationship one on one.
Today, it is easier to understand our God in the context of an intimate relationship. Through study and experience we have learned He can be actively present in our lives, we have the opportunity to pray directly to Him, we see evidences of His workings in our lives and in the world around us. He is our friend and father.
Do you realize how revolutionary that would have sounded less than a hundred years ago? AND how foreign that would have sounded to the Hebrew slaves in Egypt. Back then, a person did not have a personal relationship with a god. And certainly, gods did not seek a relationship with you. In Egypt, gods were seen as needing to be appeased and manipulated in order to respond and provide for their subjects.
The only ones who had personal relationship with gods were the priests. And even they had a relationship of fear, not of love. No one loved gods in Egypt. No one said, “I talk to him every day…and he talks to me too.” No one would ever say that in Egypt. The gods were to be feared. Gods did not have a personal relationship.
I think that’s why it’s so profound that when God introduces himself to Moses, He approaches Moses and asks him “help introduce Me to a people who have absolutely no concept that I want to spend time with them.”
It shows the concreteness of a relationship with God. It reveals to us a God who involves Himself in our lives, our past, our present and our future. He is “I Am” and He’s seeking a personal relationship with each one of us. And, just like the Hebrews, a relationship with Him will set us all free.
Roy
