Ehyeh

Transcript

so i wanted to share a study tonight uh x linking x um the hebrew word that we have on the x screen here x uh with god's name and his purpose and x that word is x yeah x um x and it means i am or i will be x um and x it was read three times x in the passage uh that we x actually x um four times sorry in the passage that x we x uh just read in in exodus chapter three x um so it's an important word um x that is you know when when you see a x reward repeated a number of times i x think that's uh uh an important x kind of clue that hey we got to pay x attention to this word to um x get the message of the story um so x we'll get into that x um let's see x gotta move and get a little technical x difficulty hold on let's see if this x works x no x i'm gonna try x [Music] x picture well i know i know i can do that x um x so x when um x first of all let me start with with uh x the x a basic important thought that sometimes x is lost sometimes we we kind of forget x this as we um x as we read our english bibles and as we x talk in our everyday language um x we can we can describe a person with a x title with a job description we can x describe a person with a name um so from x for example for myself um my job title x is uh chemistry physics teacher x uh and today was my uh last day uh x before summer break so x i'm uh kind of reached a point of you x know very very very busy and now i'm x about to enjoy the x um x one of the benefits of being a teacher x is that i get i get some time to x rejuvenate and and uh x power up for the the coming year um with x a little bit of rest and chance to well x a chance to do a lot of work that that x got put on the on the back burner around x the house uh among other things but x um anyway that's that's me now we often x think of of of god x as a name um when when we when we talk x about god but we need to remember that's x it's a title x uh for a divine being a divine being is x a god we um x worship the true god x and the hebrew word for that is elohim x but god has a name his name x is yahweh x so x remember that yahweh is is his name so x we are x we're going to x interact with x um x a personal god who has revealed to us x his name x and x he's x shared that with us now x we we need to remember you know who it x is that we're we're dealing with we're x dealing with x the the creator of the universe um so x when we come to his name um i think it's x important to show x uh respect and honor that's due x um x and if if you you think about the people x uh god's people x they definitely x have a great respect x for x the name x yahweh they um will not typically speak x the name um and will replace it with x with adonai which which means uh lord x and and that's that tradition is is x carried over into x um the new testament for example where x the the greek word curios is used in x uh passages quoting the old testament x where yahweh would be there x curios lord is used instead jewish x people today read uh the bible when they x come across x that name um in fact the vowel pointings x are even set up to kind of remind them x uh to say adonai x rather than than yahweh x um x to give you another x appreciation of just how much respect x uh and honor is given to the name x um there's a short story x written by an israeli noble laureate in x literature x named shmuel yosef agnon um who x describes a scribe named raphael and the x diligent care with which he undertook x his work x and and the scribe would customarily x rise early x at night x while the sun was still x still not risen uh he would take two x ritual baths before he began his work of x of copying uh x the text of the bible x according from the story he sat secluded x and isolated and no one was with him x except his name may be blessed x and he studied a portion of the talmud x in order to tie together the oral x teachings with the written ones and x concentrated and all the sacred meanings x hinted at in scripture x was careful x never to write the holy name x without first x having purified his body x for this reason he often wrote an entire x sheet of parchment but left blank the x spaces for the holy name x and later he wrote the name x in the blank spaces only after having x immersed himself again in the purifying x ritual bath x he may be thus likened to a craftsman x making a crown for a king x does he not first make the crown x and that said and then set into it the x diamonds and other precious jewels x so x here agnon captures the the immense x respect and honor that the jewish x scribes would give x the name x uh it was common practice for the x scribes to wipe the pen x um and wash their entire bodies before x writing the most holy name of god x each time they wrote it x um x note also below and on the screen now x i've got x god's name written twice um the one on x the left um well they're written in two x different scripts the one on the left is x using a block script that that comes x from the aramaic alphabet x and it came into use around 300 bc x the scribes who copied the dead sea x scrolls they used that script a script x like that x [Music] x but x every time they came x to x god's name x they ended up using a much older x middle hebrew script x that's shown on the right x so here's like here's a copy of the dead x sea scrolls and x actually x above the arrow um x god's name is there uh where the arrow's x pointing to is another instance and the x line below that there's another instance x um and there's a line kind of cut off on x the bottom um x and and x you might be able to pick out i mean i x guess i read in hebrew i i wouldn't x recognize those letters when i when i x first saw this i'm like what's going on x here and x and and then read read into it a little x bit and saw that that's that they were x using a very very old script that x with letters that that are not familiar x uh to somebody reading modern hebrew or x even reading the masoretic text from the x middle ages x um x so x they they recognize they wanted to give x out of reverence um and even thought x that they may have been taking a x conservative approach because they x thought it might have been a sin to x actually write god's x name using these modern letters um x and so they used this uh older script x so x that's that's one way that people x showed uh reverence to god's name x um x so with reverence honor and respect i x want us to go to in our minds to the x burning bush x to the holy ground where we learn of x the name x hebrew x jewish people will often speak of rather x than saying the name will do actually x simply say hashem which means the name x so let us go x to x learn x of the name from the story of moses x when moses was here in exodus 2 at the x burning bush x god x you know he asked god you know x what should i what should i x uh tell the people your you know your x your name is when when you send me um x and and god x explains his name and and gives us some x insight into the meaning of his name uh x in x verses 13 through 15 of of exodus 3 that x butch read for us x um x it says x uh moses said to god x um if i come to the people of israel and x say to them the god of your fathers has x sent me to you and they asked me x what is his name x what shall i say to them x and god said to moses x i am who i am x or in the hebrew ey x and he said say to this people of israel x i am or el x has sent me to you x god also said to moses say this to the x people of israel the lord yahweh x the god of your fathers the god of x abraham the god of isaac and the god of x jacob has sent me to you x this is my name forever and thus i am to x be remembered throughout all generations x so x god introduces this name uh in verse 14. x and x we have different translations and i can x take care of that x we have things like i am that i am x or i am who i am x or x those are the most popular uh x translations um and you might have a x side note in your margin that might say x i will be who i will be x so why is there this um x kind x of unclearness about the x uh about the x the tense x is it i am or is it i will be x um x part of x part of understanding x why there's that ambiguity is is we need x to understand that in english we have we x have tenses we have past present and x future x so we could say you know i was i for the x past i am for the present or i will be x in the future x but in hebrew in biblical hebrew x there are simply two what they're what x are called aspects rather than tenses um x the perfect x which we would kind of translate the x maps somewhat into our past x like i was x and imperfect which could be translated x i am or i will be depending on the x context um and and it takes x some judgment on the translator's part x to try to figure out which one would be x the best translation and we call this x imperfect it's um think about x you know when we x actually you know and would come across x the word perfect in in the king james x bible for example we often know that x that that typically means complete um so x imperfect would be x incompleted actions or not completed x actions uh perfect would be ones that x are completed x so past is something that's been x completed but something that's currently x happening or something that will happen x in the future both fit into that x imperfect category they have not yet x been completed x so x yeah x is x in that imperfect uh aspect and as a x result we don't really know clearly x um x whether it's you know i am or i will be x um we have to use context to try to try x to decide x well going back to the passage again uh x i want you to notice that you know in x verse 14 and the beginning of 15 you x know god said to moses i am who i am and x he said say this to the people of israel x i am a sent me to you x then it says god said to moses say to x the people of israel the lord the god of x your fathers the god of abraham the god x of isaac and the god of jacob has sent x me to you x notice that there's x repetition there x [Music] x why is it why is the same essentially x the same message repeated twice x and x really with two different names um x in the top section he says x say this to the people of israel i am i x sent me to you um and then the bottom x section he says say this to the people x israel the lord x the god of the fathers has sent me to x you x why that x switch x um x so x the part of the the reason is so x homing in on on that that uh x block of of conjugations of of um x english well and actually switching it a x little bit to the show the hebrew um x the taking just a section of the of the x verb table that for for the word x which is to be x so think of karate x if it helps to help you remember it um x haya is is is to be x and it can be conjugated in different x ways if we want to say um i in the x future then we say x basically put an aleph x letter in front of hayah and change the x vowel pointing and it becomes x i am or i will be in in imperfect tense x in x but if we're talking that so that's if x it's if it's me okay but if it's if x we're going to talk about somebody else x in the third person like he x then you would put instead of an olive x in the front you put a ud in the front x so a yeah becomes yeah x um so a different letter in the front x and again different vowels will x change it to x uh he is or he will be x and so going back to x well okay so hey x um x i have here x the um it's kind of a mapping the x english letters to the hebrews to help x so this is actually going backwards x aleph uh backwards in english but x actually x english came thousands of years later so x i would say this is actually the right x way and english is backwards but anyway x um so aleph uh corresponds with the a x sound um the k x is the is the h the uh is the y x and the the ending uh hey is is like the x h here and then the vowel comes in as x well so eh x is that i will be x word x so as i said if we're talking about x third person when we're talking about he x then we we change that that letter in x the front so here you can see what i was x talking about earlier on the last slide x that we just changed that letter in the x front and it becomes x which is x he will be x okay so just that's that's one of the x ways that you can recognize like x who the subject in uh in a hebrew x sentence uh is um sometimes that there's x no separate word for the for the subject x of a sentence it's just embedded in the x verb other times x you will have the subject um and the x subject will match that letter in front x and sometimes there's a letter at the x end x but that helps you see who the subject x is x now x tie that in with x yahweh god's name now you can see x the similarity here we got basically the x same letters except for that third x letter x instead of being a yud as a fob the same x shape just a little bit lengthened um x and that's x jave x [Music] x which also means x he will be x and we'll get into x why x that changing that letter doesn't x actually um change it x the meaning that it still is still x actually means he will be so but kind of x coming back to our passage so you can x see that i am x um is god speaking he's kind of saying x to moses like okay moses is asking who x who are you what's your name and god's x saying x and then x shortened version just a yeah that sent x me to you so he's saying i will be x is is his name x but then when moses is going to the x people x it would be kind of confusing x for moses to use that first person form x i am because god is someone else and x moses is not god so x instead i think god is is x converting it to third person for others x speaking about him to that he will be x formed x so that that is i think the reason why x you had that repetition that parallel x structure there uh in those two x um sections as i laid out uh for there x at the top of the slide x so x this uh is perhaps we've heard this x before um x but it's just good good review even if x not and if it's x not review i hope it's making sense let x me know if it's confusing if anything x is unclear x so back to that like why is it um jave x instead of x um x let me x just see if i can explain that as well x so here is that he will be this is a x very common word uh in hebrew um he will x be that comes from this word um x which is kind of like the dictionary x form um actually it's also the past form x like he was would be written this way x um but this is the word the way you x would look it up in a strong's x dictionary for example x you wouldn't find this kind of like you x wouldn't typically look up the word ran x um in your in your english dictionary x look up the word run x so x there's different forms of a word and x there's this is like the dictionary form x so anyway yeah x he will be x now x yahweh x um x or yahweh x comes from this x dictionary form x and it's it's a x an older word it's not x used in the bible very much at all it's x only a handful of times x but it also means to be x and it's used in in this passage here x that we quoted here in genesis 27 29 x be lord over your brothers x so here this is this is the word for be x um so x normally in x 99 percent of the time when you when you x would say you see um x something related to b or was or x were um or will be or anything like that x it's going to be based on that on the x the word with the the you'd hear x the little shorter letter but there is x this rare word that um that's again x older um x that that is in this form here but x they're synonymous they mean the same x they mean similar things i mean x so that's where x what god's name is not kind of the most x common version but but there's that play x in this conversation with moses and x moses would have understood that okay so x he's his name is carries that same x meaning x so god is the one who will be x um the one who is and will be in fact i x mean we could we can think about you x know how it says in in revelation the x one who who was and is and is to be i x mean god is eternal he is beyond time um x and he is the one who will be x into eternity unlike um x people who are mortal unless we are x given x uh the gift of immortality from x from god who who possesses it x so there's lots we could talk about um x you know in terms of x the different perspectives on on what x the saying of of god saying you know i x am that i am or i will be who i will be x different interpretations that have been x made over the years um but i want to x share with you something that that x popped out at me x when we x um looked at this passage a couple x months ago in a wednesday night class x and when i was following along x in my x hebrew bible x something jumped out at me that i hadn't x noticed before x and x it was in x a couple verses before the x the core verses we were looking at in x verses 14 and 15 back in 11 and 12. x um which reads but moses said to god who x am i x that i should go to pharaoh x and bring the children of israel out to x egypt x and he said x but i will be with you x and this shall be the sign for you that x i have sent you x when you've brought the people out of x egypt x you shall serve god on this mountain x now the thing that jumped out at me x was this that here x um in verse 12 god is using that same x word yeah just two verses before he uses x it as his name x and it's part of a a message part of a x some important words of comfort to moses x i will be with you x he's con he's he's giving uh moses x confidence x that that he is x going to be with him in this task that x he has for him x and that x he's going to come back to this very x place this place called the mountain of x god um x which is another interesting study just x you know tracing the mountain of god or x the mountain of the lord um x and and and seeing that but x but anyway x what struck me is that here god is is x you know just two verses before he uses x this as his name he's using this word x as part of his x comfort to moses i will be with you x now you might be thinking brian x you're making a lot out of a common word x it can't be that significant i mean x think about x am is a pretty common word right if you x search in x in x um x using a bible program the word am x you're going to see 704 times am shows x up x in the old testament so it's all over x the bible right so x this shouldn't really be that big of a x deal to see that it's that it's here x but x consider x um the following x hayah or its different forms um x is a lot more rare than you would think x um in this same chapter um and when the x verse we just looked at when moses said x to god who am i that i should go to unto x pharaoh x in that x passage um actually in another another x another place just a few chapters later x um x it says wherefore sand are the children x of israel i am the lord and i will bring x you out from x um x from egypt basically x now x i'm actually doing something x unusual for me i'm in a x presentation i'm quoting here from the x king james version i don't usually do x that because i think it's x it's harder to understand and when x you're dealing with 400 year old english x there's a lot of chances to x misunderstand things um that's a whole x other subject but x um x but x here there's there's something unique to x the king james version x that shows up in in these two passages x and many many other passages anybody x know what's kind of unique to the king x james x here x as opposed to other versions x the italics they highlight what's not in x the original text yeah thanks jake so um x yeah so that italics notice the word am x our kind of one of our key words here x in this study is in italics so when x moses is speaking to god x um you know x he could have you know he could have x said x um x ani like who am i x using the a yeah word x um but x in hebrew it's not usually said that way x it's usually it's actually just who i if x you were to try to translate it x literally who i x um that doesn't make good english the am x is kind of understood uh in hebrew when x it's absent it's not really necessary in x hebrew x but uh a good x english translation puts it in there x because x we're trying to bring it from one x language x bring the meaning over to another x language and it needs to be x understandable so the nice thing about x the king james and i i wish that the x modern versions um x would have copied the x the pattern of the king james of x doing this and putting it in italics x because it helps you see sometimes when x words are there that are kind of filling x in the meaning to help x make it smoother english um so x and and when god said i am the lord he x says x literally x yahweh or i yahweh um the am is not x there but it's understood x um but it's perfectly correct for the x king james to put the word am there and x and for every other version to put the x word m in there as well because that's x that's how we speak in english x so x when you consider that if if you kind of x thumb through and look at places where x am shows up x um most of the cases are in italics and x i can show you you know page after page x but um x you just take my word for it or x take it as a homework assignment do a x quick bible search and a bible program x in the king james and look for the x word am and notice how much or how often x it's in italics most of the time by far x and away it's in italics x um x the bottom one here um x sarah speaking um the word hayah is x actually a form of is there but actually x the way the wording is in hebrew it's x it's kind of like saying worn out is to x me x in hebrew so the the subject of that x verb is uh x is different than x um x than sarah speaking the one who's x speaking so it's not uh yeah it's not x conjugated that way um so even though we x bring it into english as i am it's not x so x point is it's it's kind of it's not as x the word am in hebrew is not as often uh x not as common as you'd think so if we x search for all the different forms of to x be x in english x in the bible i did a search there's x about 18 000 times where in our english x translation the old testament we're x going to see is was where am are will be x but if you look for the hebrew word x in all of its forms you see that there's x only 3 500 or so x time so x basically only one and six times that x you see an english to be word verb x um version of to be x there's actually a hebrew to be behind x it x um and then when you uh search for this x particular x form x the number drops down to just about just x over 50 times x so it's actually in this particular form x in the imperfect form um x in the incompleted action form x it's only 50 times that's only about you x know just a little over one time on x average per book of the old testament x but you know here in exodus 3 in just a x couple verses we have it four times x so x a fairly uncommon x form of a word x um is is concentrated in this passage in x exodus 3. x so i think it really is supposed to be x linked i think x when god reveals his name x i think that x that we're supposed to take the message x and when we hear his name yahweh i think x that that we should be remembering that x those words of comfort that god gave to x moses that x i will be with you x that is in the context of of god x revealing himself i will be who i will x be x and you know who he will be is x somebody who delivers his people he x heard their cry he knew he understood x the pain and the suffering they were x going through and he was going to be x with moses so that moses could deliver x his people x from the bondage that they were in x now so x maybe you know okay it's right there in x the context but is there any more x evidence that that you have x uh brian for this idea well x that that night during the bible class i x did a quick search x of this you know specific form eh yeah x and i saw something remarkable if we x look at x the torah and in the books of moses it's x there eight times um so we just four of x them are right there and in x in exodus three x but if we look at the other passages um x god speaks to oh first of all x only god x speaks x and uses that word in all the first five x books actually the first six and a half x books of the bible it's only god x speaking and in the majority of the x passages and out of those 50 passages 30 x plus of them are god speaking so the x majority of the time we see this x word x in in in modern hebrew you know you x could be using it all the time x but in the biblical writings they they x kind of gave priority x um to using it reserving it more often x for god than for other for other x um other speakers you know other people x did use it job uses it david uses it um x other speakers use this word so it's not x you um x only used by god but but priority is x definitely there and in x the books of moses x it's x only god um and and notice what he says x he says to isaac sojourn in this land x and i will be with you x and will bless you x for to you and your offspring oh give x all these lands and i will establish the x oath that i swore to abraham your father x he says it to jacob x then the lord said to jacob return to x the land of your fathers and to your x kindred and i will be with you x so the context of these two uh x you know isaac's in going into exile in x gerar um x and x jacob is now going to kind of face uh x his father-in-law and and bring his x wives away from his father-in-law who's x been trying to keep him there for as x long as possible and he's going to go x return to the promised land and so he's x got a little bit of a x um x you know a challenge up ahead of him x ahead of him and god is giving him this x these words of comfort i will be with x you x and then we came to to moses god says x this to moses in the passage we read but x i will be with you x um and he says it to moses again in uh x chapter well chapter four x now go therefore go there for a go and i x will be with your mouth and will teach x you what you shall speak x um so x specifically not just with moses but x actually with moses mouth god promises x to be so that x moses was worried about you know what's x he going to be saying how you know he's x going to stumble over his words when x he's talking to x pharaoh but now god's saying i will be x with your mouth x and he says it again and uh three verses x later you shall speak to him and put the x words in his uh and put the words in his x mouth and i will be with your mouth i'm x sorry and this is in aaron's mouth and i x will be with your mouth moses mouth and x with his mouth aaron's mouth and we'll x teach you both what to do x so god is saying you know x you're unsure i get it moses x we're going to bring aaron you can bring x aaron along as well x he can speak for you but i'm going to be x with both of your mouths so you guys can x can speak my words to pharaoh i'm going x to be with you x so we continue on um at the end of x the the torah in deuteronomy x we see uh god speaking to joshua who's x about to pick up the baton and and lead x god's people x the lord commissioned joshua the son of x noon and said be strong and courageous x for you shall bring the people of israel x into the land that i swore to give them x i will be with you x and x he says it to joshua a number of times x again in the book of joshua x no man shall be able to stand before you x all the days of your life just as i was x with moses so i will be with you x i will not leave you or forsake you x in a joshua 3 verse 7 the lord said to x joshua today i will begin to exalt you x in the sight of all israel that they may x know that as i was with moses x so i will be with you x this is a yeah again and again and again x and it's the same theme x and judges x going on out of the uh x first six you know beginning judges x the beginning x of judges also uses in this way and the x lord said to him but i will be with you x and you shall strike the midianites as x one man so god's promising to be with x with gideon as well x so that repeating theme just keeps x coming again and again and again to all x these israelite fathers and leaders god x is promising to be with them as they x face difficult trials x as joshua goes into exile as jacob flees x his father-in-law to go back to the land x as moses faces the powerful pharaoh as x joshua and gideon go into battle god is x promising to be with them x so elia is reserved x in in these beginning books of the bible x to be only used by god and it's it's x again all over and over and over again x used to reassure his people that he's x with them x and x he introduces his name x so when you think about that it's x surrounded on both sides this x you know x his revealing of his name to moses by x these messages of x god being with them x i think that x as moses you know reflected on the name x as he was writing on that word as he was x writing down the books of the bible i x think i think that would have popped out x that as he was inspired to write x that god's giving this message again and x again and again and it's there for us to x to see x um as well x um x so think about the lessons now it's x there the lessons are there in the x imagery as well the burning bush x there x think about the lesson the burning bush x it was it was consumed it was in fire x but not consumed x god is telling moses x that yeah you're going to go through a x fiery trial right now x this is going to be a challenge x but you're not gonna be consumed x i'm with you x try you're gonna come through this trial x unburned x does anybody know x where the last time before the burning x bush x fire is mentioned in the bible x not the cherubim or between the two of x them x it's with abraham and isaac yeah x yes so x when abraham was called to take x isaac his beloved son x to mount moriah x it mentions this little detail that that x moses or that what the the wood was x placed on isaac's back x but the fire x was in the father's hand abraham was x carrying the fire so you imagine like a x little fire pan x um that kept some embers going because x you know x diamond the diamond match company wasn't x set up for business in in x the holy land at this time so x you had to kind of make do and and keep x fire going in other ways um so he had a x little fire x pan with some embers to be able to start x a fire x that fire was in the hand of the father x and if you think about the symbolism of x abraham and isaac the father and the son x walking together towards the sacrifice x and we know that of course it points x forward to jesus x the fire of jesus trial was in god's x hands and and and similarly all of our x trials x are in the father's hands he's in x control x uh as we go through trials x and you could that that message is x carried forward as well x um so it's there in the burning bush x it's there and and x hinted at in the in the in the fire pan x that that x abraham's carrying but think forward to x another fiery trial x the fiery furnace the three friends x of daniel x they went into that fire but god was x with them x and not a hair of them was singed there x was no smell of smoke on them so x god is with us in the fiery trials of x our life god is working for good x as paul says in romans for those who x love god all things work together for x good and for those who are called x according to his purpose x you know you think of you know the less x as as uh x brother rich when went through the story x of joseph and his trials and his x suffering in sunday school um a couple x weeks ago x you know i was thinking about how that x resonated with this theme that you know x that in the suffering and the trials x that that that joseph was going through x um x and x you know the years of waiting x um x the hebrew is actually agonizing to me x when i when i read that that time when x he's in prison he he has this hope he x like has these two people that know him x they're going to pharaoh uh well one of x them's not going to be x around very long to be much help for him x but but the other you know he's saying x remember me remember me x and then the next thing in this in the x storyline says x for two years of days x he waited i mean here he remember the x exact phrasing but x but for waiting but basically he he x waited x um x and there was a long time before that x dream came to pharaoh so moses or so so x joseph was still in prison for two years x of days day after day after day x waiting um x hoping maybe losing hope um x not sure is is you know god i thought x this was this was the way that you're x going to kind of get me out of here and x yet it didn't seem he seems like he's x forgotten me um x god was working in all of those trials x um and in the end in hindsight joseph x said to his brothers you know you meant x it for evil but god meant it for good uh x to save life x so god is working in our trials and and x here in the exodus x god x knew the suffering of his people he x heard their cries he is sending a x deliverer x to bring them x back x so x in in closing i want to x bring out um x one other place where this lesson x continues in a slightly different way um x we've kind of gone over the eh yeah x i will be uh part of of um god's x message that keeps coming back again and x again and again x um and by the way you know it's also x another maybe another interesting study x that we could do sometime that x the majority of the x ending times that uh yeah is used in the x hebrew bible it's in the prophets and x almost exclusively through the prophets x it's used of god i think there's one x time maybe that it's not um x and again and again there the message is x i will be your god um and it's just x repeated again and again and again so it x is kind of again reserved for a powerful x message um but here in the beginning x it's i will be with you x now that's five words in english i will x be with you but in hebrew very concise x language you can do that with two words x now the second word x um x is the with you part x um x is the beginning of the word that means x with and then you can tack on different x endings uh depending on x who you're with um x so i will be with you x so x is um x with you x you can put other things on the end of x that x you can put me with me x you can put x imo with him you could put ima with her x so x there's different x just by by x putting a different letter on the end x you can you can kind of change who x is uh with x in the in the message there x there's one that i think you've heard of x before x imanu x so imanu el x so imanu x so is god or sorry imanu is is with us x with us so we put that anu ending on and x we get with us x and that's the message that god is x revealing x through his son as well x so imanu l x like elohim means god so god is with us x that's the lesson of his son and that's x why jesus was was given that name x emmanuel x the biggest lesson of all x about god being with us x was what he taught us through his son x jesus x saves us x um x through through is with us and walking x with us and supporting us through our x trials think of x think of jesus x looking down x on stephen x as he's being stoned x he was at the right hand of god and he x normally is sitting at the right hand of x god he x stood x to watch x watch steven as x as he x held firm to his faith x and was enduring great suffering and x pain um as the crowd stoned him he's x with us in our trials x jesus is there x and he is x representative representing god and god x is with us as well x so x they're they have the same x purpose and and x uh x and mission really in working with god's x people x so x jesus is with us and jesus like moses x was god's instrument to deliver us from x bondage moses delivered god's people x from the bondage of egypt and jesus x delivers god's people x from the bondage of sin and death and x what greater x way could there be for god to show us x that he is with us than to send x his only beloved son x and x and to use him as an instrument to x demonstrate his love for us x that he x would undergo the suffering that he did x to try to draw us in and to x bring about the covering for our sins x and the x and are x reconnecting us x to to god whom we were estranged from x um x god is showing us in jesus that he is x with us x so x eh yeah imanu um x god will be with us x um just like god was with moses god was x with the patriarchs god was with joshua x um x god is with us and i think that's the x a really powerful lesson that i was x really x encouraged to find and

Transcript

I want to do a little bit of a recap x because uh I gave this class I think x back in the a class back in x August uh and Rich recognizes the value x of a leap after one week so I think x after you know a few months taking a x little bit of a a recap would be um x helpful x so be but then we'll we'll expand uh x from from Beyond uh what we did that x that time so just a couple things we'll x be focusing in on on on the name of God x which he initially or initially calls x Asher and um which is translated I am x that I am or I will be what I will x be um but keep in mind that you know x this is uh this is really God's name so x we we think of God sometimes as a name x but remember that's more of a title or a x job description that God has that comes x from the Hebrew word Elohim and and it's x the which is the you know the title for x a for a Divine being but his name is is x Yahweh which was a name and is a name x worthy of honor and x respect and that name uh was was x revealed in a special way to Moses at at x the burning bush and God explained and x introduced his name uh to x Moses because or in a way that I mean we x see that Divine name showing up early in x in Genesis uh two and and in the words x of x of people like you know Abraham and x Isaac and Jacob x but yeah but here in in Exodus 3 we have x this explanation that God gives that is x really really x powerful uh and x it's it we could read it as I will be x who I will be um or I am who I am and x it's in in some ways it's kind of an x enigma it's x like God is almost saying like I'm x undefinable I can't really be described x simply x um so I'm going to give you this x uh almost um confusing enigmatic name x that that only hints at at at the x reality of of his being and his x greatness uh and his and his ability to x bring things uh into being this is the x god who created the x universe x um x now x the x thing to understand as well is that to x to to recap that that that there's a x connection between God's telling Moses x uh aser I will be who I will be and the x name that he gives a little bit later in x in verse 15 when he said say to the x people of Israel the Lord in our English x versions the god of your fathers the god x of Abraham Isaac and Jacob has sent me x to you that word x Lord is the more common Divine name that x we that we read all throughout the Bible x over and over again and we when you see x it in all caps like that remember that's x the the reminder that that's x really not even a translation uh for the x for the name Yahweh it's it's really x just a x substitution because the uh it's partly x to to out of reverence and respect for x God's name many thought that they it x should not be said the Jews Jews vow x pointed uh this name with vow pointings x for Adonai which means Lord and so most x English translators kind of followed x suit and and translate it or or x represent the name uh as the Lord but x the Lord uh but x Yahweh which uh at least an attempt to x to to to pronounce the name and the true x the true pronunciation I would submit is x is probably pretty hard to to be x confident about there's there's many x opinions and on on that x but the I think more important than x pronunciation is is the fact that the x meaning of that name actually is is x connected to uh the I will be concept x because this is simply the third person x description of God's name because it x wouldn't make sense for Moses to say x uh I will be is sent me uh or to x regularly talk about God that way x because it would sound almost like Moses x is calling himself God instead the third x person he will be is really what Yahweh x is x communicating um so that was the reason x why it kind of switches from tell them a x has sent me to you and then later he x says say this to the people of Israel x the Lord or Yahweh the god of your x fathers has sent me to you so it's the x it's just a kind of a conversion of the x name uh to be in the third person to to x communicate that idea uh x better x so um we talked about yeah so here is's x a little chart to kind of visualize that x like a is I am and I will be while ye is x the Hebrew word for he is and he will be x but just a slight change in that a an x older synonym for for hayya uh which x would be conjugated y to be he will be x is um hey VAV and that's where um yud he x VAV Yahweh comes from so it's synonymous x with uh he will be x and we mentioned that there's that this x uh well so related to that the the the x phrase eh um as I will x be uh and well yeah so here I'll spell x it out and show you y is he will be and x then uh x Yahweh is really x uh another alternate way of saying he x will be x so that's those are Basics uh about some x some things that we can gather from x God's name knowing a little bit of x Hebrew uh and reading uh others x explanations of the x name but the interesting thing that that x hit me about nine months ago or or so x was reading this passage uh during a x Wednesday night bible class following x along in Hebrew x that in verse x 12 there x was a revelation when that that kind of x Pops off the page when you read it in x Hebrew uh when God said to Moses in x respon well in verse 11 Mo Moses says to x God who am I that I should go to pharaoh x and bring the children of Israel out of x Egypt and he said but I will be with you x and this shall be the sign for you that x I have sent you you when you brought the x people out of Egypt You Shall Serve God x on this x mountain x so that statement I will be with you x uses that same word ehed just two verses x earlier that where God Reveals His name x so I think we we're taught uh as young x people and reminded again and again that x context is really really important to x understand scripture and I think there's x importance here in the context to try to x understand God's name because God is x saying to Moses just two verses x earlier but he x says IM I will be with x you and if to me that x that made me think about well this is is x this really part of what God's message x is when he gave Moses's name and said x aser was he hinting back to what he had x said just just uh moments earlier that I x will be with you when you go to x Pharaoh um I started thinking about it I x think well maybe I'm just making a lot x out of a out of out of a very common x word maybe it can't be that significant x um but part of what we we don't realize x at first probably is that the the the x phrase I am uh in Hebrew is x often a different way it comes across x comes comes to our English in from a x different way than than the word x a because pretty much any verb that's x put in a in an imperfect tense will kind x of get the helping verb will be or or am x along with the verb and it's really x built into the verb verb so we don't use x the typical the Hebrew word uh to be x which is in your upper left corner there x Haya um so there's that but nevertheless x hayya is still a very common word if you x look up in Strong's um you know x concordance you'll see that it's you x know used over 30 3500 times um in its x different x forms but when you do a search for the x particular conjugation which you can't x do with the strongest concordance but x with with a computer x search in the Hebrew you see that x actually the I will be form is much much x more Uncommon only 55 times in the x entire Bible only about once per book in x the Hebrew Bible um and here in Exodus 3 x we have it four times in just a couple x vers three verses or three four verses x so that to me said well I think think x they really are supposed to be x linked x and looking further digging into it a x little bit further and looking at some x of those other 55 references actually x most of those 55 x references are used by God so it's x almost as if in in the in the Hebrew x text of the Bible that that that word is x kind of treated with reverence and x majority of the time is used by God now x I that's maybe overstating it a little x bit because it's you know other people x use it like David and and and others but x the fact that well all of the Torah in x the first five books of Moses and all of x Joshua the only time you see a is x referring to God so there seems to be x almost uh in Moses writings and and and x a little bit x beyond a res reserving of that word for x for our heavenly father x but even more remarkable is the way that x that word is used in the in the Torah x and in Isa uh in um Joshua and and even x into judges every time other than the x introduction of the name aser and to say x a has sent you every other time it x mirrors what was said in Exodus 3 12 I x will be with you so God's always saying x it using the word and again and again x and again he's giving the message I will x be with you for example to Isaac he said x sood in the land and I will be with you x and I will bless you uh to you and your x Offspring I will give these lands and I x will establish the oath that I swore to x Abraham your father he says it to Jacob x then the Lord said to Jacob return to x the land of the fathers and to your x Kindred and and I will be with you he x says it again um he said it to we said x in to Moses two verses before he x declares the name I will be with you x when Moses had his x reservations um x and a chapter x later God says it to Moses again but he x says a slightly different way instead of x just I will be with you it's I will be x with your mouth when Moses said I'm slow x speech and heavy of tongue um you know x please son somebody else and God said I x will be with your mouth and teach you x what you shall speak so God promised him x he would be with him and he again said x it you shall speak to him and put the x words uh in his mouth into Aaron's mouth x and I will be with your mouth and with x his mouth and I will teach both of you x what to do so God is promising again and x again and again I will be with you and x here he's saying the same message you x know in terms of I will be with you and x guiding and helping you and what what x you're gonna x say uh he says it to Joshua um that I x will be with you well x Moses uh let's see no sorry the Lord x commissioned Joshua the son of no and x said be strong and courageous for you x shall bring the people of Israel into x the land that I swore to give to them I x will be with you so he said it to Moses x or to Joshua he said it to Gideon uh the x and and it's in the prophets as well x again and again and again we hear this x promise I will be with x you x so there's Joshua um God said repeats it x again in Joshua chapter 1 and and he x says it in Joshua 3 is in Joshua 6 so x again and again and again we have God x giving the message I will be with you x and he uses this x word and it's the same word he used as x his name and and Yahweh is a form of x this word so in our community you know x there's a lot of uh talk about the x memorial name and and the meaning x that uh x it's putting together uh that with uh x Elohim and saying it it means x uh I will be Mighty ones and it's about x God manifestation and and so on which x goes back to to Dr Thomas x but I when I saw this I started to think x you know I really think that you know x there there could be an application x there I I really should study that a x little bit more to draw a firm x conclusion one way the other x but but I have a x well yeah um x p and yeah x so x anyway when coming across all of these x these verses it to me said you know this x I think is the primary meaning of God's x name based on the context and based on x the fact that again and again and again x the message is being repeated I will be x with you and and think about where this x was happening God was speaking to Moses x at the burning bush which was not x consumed and and x that's actually there's a whole another x study that I've x begun that links there's there's a bunch x of linkages between this passage in x Exodus 3 which where Moses came with the x flock to the Mountain of God well the x last time fire was mentioned was when uh x Abraham was journeying to the mountain x of x Yahweh mountain of of God's name and x that's in in Genesis uh x 22 and fire is mentioned that's the last x time fire is mentioned until here in x Exodus 3 so if you're reading through x the Torah and here you come across x fire the the last time you would have x encountered that word fire is in the the x Journey of Abraham and Isaac for Isaac x to be sacrificed and and the message x there was that the fire was in Abraham's x hand it was in the father's hand and if x you think about the the symbolism and x the type of of Abraham and Isaac walking x together towards Isaac's sacrifice it x mirrors and foreshadows God being with x Jesus as Jesus ascends to uh Calvary for x his for his x sacrifice and I Think Jesus would have x seen the message there the reminder x there that God is with with me in this x most difficult of Trials and I can have x trust just like Abraham was there x walking beside that the message again x and x again is is mentioned in Genesis 22 the x two of them went up x together God would have Jesus I think x God saw to it that Jesus had that x Comfort seeing that he God was going to x be with Jesus and Jesus wasn't walking x alone all forsook him and fled yes but x God was there by his x side uh and and the fire was in the x father's hand so the trial God was in x control it's like what Paul says uh that x God is working for good uh for all for x for those who love God all things work x together for good for those who are x called according to his purpose God was x working good even though incredible x suffering was going to happen the fire x was there the but it would not consume x Jesus uh and and the lesson you carries x through forward to as well to you know x haniah Azariah and mishel the three x friends of Daniel who go into the fiery x furnace and what's there again is the x reminder God was with him there was a x fourth one in the fire one who looked x like a son of the Gods uh but in in x coming from the mouth uh of one of the x Babylonians but but that but that phrase x could be translated just is easily one x like the Son of God so they were x fellowshipping the Son of God in their x sufferings in the firey furnace and they x were not harmed eternally the trials we x go through we are not harmed all things x work for good because God is with x us so I mentioned that I had some x apprehension um about you know when I x first saw it I this because I know I'm x treading on Holy Ground uh the meaning x of God's x name you know thinking and considering x it and i' never heard anybody teach that x that connection or that possible meaning x before so I I wondered was I just x reading into things well I mentioned x that you know the whole of Torah uses x a as saying God is with uh God is with x you again and again and again and and x Beyond so I felt a little more safe x after after seeing that x uh but since then since I since I gave x the class on the subject uh I stumbled x upon uh a video by one of my favorite x podcasters a rabbi by the name of David x Foreman uh he's the one who I mentioned x before who gave the ideas that I shared x uh one or two classes ago about the x three signs that Moses gave to x Pharaoh also from this Burning Bush x narrative and and when I and and if you x think about it that that that image of x God giving Moses those signs from from x that last class remember that God was x choosing not just magic tricks but x particular signs that were to show the x children of Israel that God was with x them he saw the suffering that they were x going through he knows the suffering and x he was willing to call out the lies that x were being told uh about them and show x the truth as he in in the the images of x those x signs so anyway as I saying I stumbled x across x uh Rabbi foran talking x about God's name and the being revealed x at the burning x bush and it was in the context of x reflection reflecting on the October 7th x attacks in Israel so Foreman is from uh x New York but he was in Israel at the x time of the of the attacks and it was x clear that the trauma of that event has x has made an impact on him and many of x the P or maybe all the podcasts and x videos since then have been really a x response and reflection about what was x happening or I should say many probably x not all x so what I wanted to do is take a minute x and x share um that x a a a a clip a portion I guess there's x two videos but I'll just show you the x first one if we take like 15 minutes to x do that um I have to do a little bit of x screen share swapping here tested this x out and it seemed to work so we'll see x if I x can continue making it work yet one more x time um so x boom and you'll have to let me know if x give me a shout if the sound doesn't x work but I think x should be able to make it work screen x share boom x share and x then these maskers that's not really the x point that I want you to focus on oops x all right so just after that quick x start there uh can can anybody confirm x for me that you guys can see and hear x yeah we can we can we can see it if you x could Turnin it up maybe a little bit x but we can hear it as well all x right hey folks I'm back with emu um we x wanted you to take a look at another x video here too to kind of get some x context or some sort of spiritual hand x grip of how to deal with Times Like x These that were in in the aftermath of x the Hamas terrorist Massacre of October x 7th of simpas uh this past year um and x this is a para video that we put x together in parot um which talks about x um the Declaration that God makes of the x burning bush in the story of the burning x bush um one of the things that happens x is that mosha asks God's name and God x gives us very puzzling x reply the reply is oops forgive x me is a which isn't easy to translate x often it's translated as I am that which x I am sometimes I will be that which I x will be on the face of it God's just x saying look I'm x undefinable um I'm only definable in x terms of myself the definition of a x definition is that if I try to define x something you can't use the word you're x trying to Define uh in your explanation x of the word so when God says I am that x which I am he's basically saying there's x nothing in your experience that you can x reach to when trying to figure out who I x am I'm utterly unique and that's the x simple way of understanding I am that I x am but what you'll see this video is a x um a beautiful piece uh from Rashi x quoting the the sages on a midrashic x understanding of I am that which I am x almost as if the Sages took that idea in x shot which is that God is utterly unique x and uh so let me do a little translation x uh when he mentions takes that verse in x pasat um typically when Jews interpret x scripture they they do it on two levels x they'll do a pasat which means like the x simple level the simple interpretation x but then something called a d or midash x trying to inquire deeper into the text x to try try to see what kind of uh deeper x meanings might be there so x um and the x um also mentioned U so so he's x mentioning Rashi so the fact that this x is something that goes back quite a ways x uh and and and Rashi is quoting earlier x uh Scholars and so this is something x that not something that I'm vered as x govern by any means and others have x meditated on it have come up with uh x even more powerful messages and that's x partly why I wanted to share this with x you uh because it's an even deeper x meaning can be can x be conveyed when you when you think of x both that simple meaning of the Enigma x of God's name I will be who I will be x you know what is that it's undefinable x in a sense who God is uh a name can't x even capture just how immense and x Powerful all powerful God is x is but also uh we'll see that if you x combine that with the with the I will be x with you x message it's like even more powerful so x I'll mention one other thing that so x Rashi will and maybe the earlier sages x to do a little bit of imagining a x conversation between Moses and God uh x and maybe I don't know I'm a little bit x uncomfortable with like kind of putting x too much weight into into into that but x the message is clearly there I think x even even without that aspect of it but x but give it a x listen gave their own spin on the nature x of that uniqueness how it is that God is x different from humans this video talks x about the question sort of philosophical x question of whether God has emotions he x doesn't have emotions how God relates to x other other people other creatur es in x this earth in terms of the question of x emotions it's an interesting x philosophical question that for the x purposes of now of sort of spiritually x grappling with what's going on in the x aftermath of this of these kidnappings x and these these massacres that's not x really the point that I want you to x focus on but watch this video um and in x particular this point x about how Rashi understands that how x kazal understand it how it plays off of x the uniqueness of God and x um God being undefinable in Human terms x that I think has something to speak to x us about this time and uh emu you know x let's come back and and let people take x a look at this and talk about at least x what it means to us and we can hear the x comments that would if I may I'll add x one more thing before we go which is x like to me what's what's surprising x about why are we watching a burning bush x video um what would that have anything x to do with um the current conflict that x and the current tragedy that we're x facing I think it's just important to x recognize that burning bush is the grand x Intervention when our people were x suffering in Egypt there there was a x brand National crisis that was um you x know an oppressor doing violence to our x people um and there was a moment where x God himself chooses to see and hear the x the terrible anguish and suffering um x and that moment where things uh are x about to change for the people of Israel x is that Burnie Bush moment that's that's x all I really want to say and saying x before I I let you go and experience x this video is is to remember that there x was another time uh of uh God talking to x us uh after uh in responding to Great x Cal x catastrophe so just a quick comment on x that like so I talked about how the x context help helps us understand uh you x know God's name x but uh emu is mentioning the context the x actual situational context of of when x God is talking to Moses here as well x this situation is God is is seen the x suffering and was about to intervene so x that's very very important when we think x about the message as well yep I I'll x take that too so let's let folks watch x this and and we'll come back and and x kind of process it see the end of the x video I want to consider a philosophical x puzzle with you does God have emotions x one of the things that great thinkers x like my Mones have always said about God x is that God is Not comprehensible we can x say nothing about the essence of God we x can describe how God acts with us he x says but we can't talk about who he is x in his Essence because his Essence is x utterly Beyond us which means also that x any traits that we talk about any human x traits you can't really expect those to x app to God human traits human feelings x are human feelings they're not God x feelings so we might well conclude you x know God doesn't have emotions but x here's the problem are you comfortable x worshiping a being that cannot x experience love love is an emotion x compassion is an emotion are we really x comfortable with just saying that God x acts compassionately acts as if he loves x us that the feeling of love and x compassion is utterly alien to God what x if you felt that your mother acted x lovingly towards you but didn't feel any x love in her heart it wouldn't feel so x good is that the way you're supposed to x feel about God so this is the puzzle x that I want to talk with you about today x and I want to talk with you about it x through the lens of a fascinating mic x statement in this week's par mosha asks x God what his name x is he says I will be that which I will x be and then God adds something x else tell them that I will be sent you x to them before we even get to the midic x analysis of these words let's spend a x few moments just talking about the the x simple meaning of what's going on here x what would you say the simplest most x basic understanding of this conversation x between God and Moses is what did God x mean when he said or I will be that x which I will be you know the simple x understanding pretty much is God says x look leave me alone I'm not going to x tell you my name I am what I am I'm x going to be what I'm going to be I'm the x one who just is and to explain that just x think a little bit about what it is that x we mean when we ask for the name of x something we're trying to come to grips x with it to Define it somehow and if x someone defines themselves in terms of x themselves they're actually sort of x breaking the very first rule of x definitions which is you never Define x something in terms of itself you can't x say what's the color purple oh The Color x Purple is sort of purplish proper way to x define something like The Color Purple x is well you take a little bit of red you x take a little bit of blue mix it x together and you get a purple if you x actually choose to define something in x terms of itself what you're really x saying is that you can't just throw x together two or three other Concepts and x make this New Concept the thing itself x is utterly x unique which is what God's saying about x himself there is nothing in your world x that can explain me I'm not from your x work the maker of the world you want to x know who I am I'll be what I'll be the x only thing you really know about me is x that I exist tell them I will be sent x you you can almost hear the exclamation x mark at the end of I will be I shall be x my existence as inscrutable as it may be x is the basis of it all everything comes x from my being so something like that is x what probably the plain meaning of the x text is but the rabbis had a midrashic x interpretation they pick up on the fact x that God first x says I will be that which I will be and x then after that says tell them I will be x they focus on that discrepancy and they x suggest there was a kind of dialogue x going on here between God and mosha x first God x said in answer to moshe's question I x will be that which I will be but then x the rabbi suggests Moshe objected to x that and in response to that objection x God relented and just said okay tell x them I will be sent you to them what was x this debate between God and mosha about x well the rabis impute a whole new x understanding to what I will be that x which I will be means and x my name you want to know my name the one x who is with them right now during their x times of trouble that's the one who will x always be with them in all their times x of trouble for thousands and thousands x of years x that's I will be that which I will be x now to that MOA objected x he said Master of the x Universe what do you want me to tell x them about future troubles D they have x enough on their minds right now with x this trouble that they're in in Egypt to x that God said y you're saying good M x you're absolutely right just tell them x tell them the one who will be with them x right now that's my name can leave out x the rest now what the rabit are saying x is a little bit puzzl there's this x dialogue between God and mosha God says x something and then supposedly Moses x objects where do the rabbis get this x idea from at all how do they know to x interpret the words I will be that which x I will be in such a particular kind of x way the one who will be with them now in x their time of trouble will always be x with them a very interesting x interpretation but just seems to come x out of the air where are they getting x this it turns out that there was a clue x that suggested this particular x interpretation the clue is the word I am x or I will be this is not the first time x it's used by God with in this x conversation of the bur all the sages x were doing was asking us to look at how x God used it earlier in order to x understand how God is using it now so it x turns out that earlier in the x conversation by MIM mosha had said to x God me who am I that I should go to x Pharaoh I totally cannot do this what x was God x respond because I will be with you god x understood that mosha felt in battled x how is he going to go stand before x pharaoh and get the Jews out of Egypt he x can't do that alone God says you won't x be alone he I'm GNA be with you the x whole time so all the SS are saying is x that the next time God is using these x words he means the same thing mosha you x felt yourself to be in a time of trouble x listen to how I reassured you I told you x it's going to be okay I will be with you x you're never alone in your times of x trouble I'm with you now you want to x know what to tell the embattled people x of Israel tell them the same thing I x wasn't just there for one individual you x motion I'll be there for them I'm with x them in their times of trouble now and x always and now think about how this x interpretation relates back to the x simple meaning of the text I've often x talked about the relationship between x medish and the simple text is kind of x like the relationship between Harmony x and x Melody the simple meaning of the text is x like Melody the medish is kind of like x Harmony you listen to Harmony on its own x it doesn't seem to make that much x sense but you listen to it in connection x to the melody it's playing off the x melody and all sorts of intriguing x ways here what was the melody what was x the simple meaning of the text God was x saying to Moshe I'm the master of the x universe and you're a human being you x want to know who I am you can't know who x I am I'm utterly inscrutable but what's x the harmony the harmony is a mirror x image of this what I can give you is the x most familiar thing in the world need x the most human thing in the world need I x can give you empathy I can be there with x you in your times of trouble the x unknowable being can give you the most x human most familiar thing of all can x give you love but you know what the Ser x just say there's another strain in the x Harmon that's actually something about x God's love that is so deep that it's x actually unknown the plain meaning of x yeah sure I am unknowable the trash is I x am unknowable too there's something x about my love that's unn think about the x conversation between God and God spoke x of a love so vast that the people x couldn't comprehend it I will always be x with them now and forever in every one x of these x troubles mosha represents the human you x betray all human beings they can't x absorb all of that in their mind God x says I know what I just told you was the x absolute truth you tell them what they x can hear and I will be with them right x now you know when we talk about this x question does God have emotion what x answer are the same is really given let x me give you a bit of an analogy I want x to share with you an interesting pattern x that seems to hold when we talk about x love between parent and child take an x amoeba an amiba divides now there's two x amibas what's the emotional connection x between amoeba a and amoeba B not very x much right an ant has a child what's the x emotional connection between mother ant x and child ant I imagine maybe it's a x little bit more an amoeba a to Amoeba b x a bird makes a nest brings home food for x it chicks so You' say mother bird to x Little Bird probably a little bit more x connected than mother end to Little Ant x let's continue let's talk about humpback x whales I once brought home a documentary x for my children nice g- of documentary x my kids are watching and there's this x scene there are two killer whales x stalking a mother humpback whale in her x baby calf the mother is willing to give x up her life for her calf it's putting x herself between the camp and the killer x whales the hunt goes on for hours to x find finally the killer whales break x through the calf is killed the mother x proceeds ahead slowly warly my kids were x like I gas get us out of here this is x worst of the worst horror movie the x sadness of the mother was palpable and x now imagine a human mother for baby for x child to anything for a baby another x level on to complexity and richness of x love so there's a pattern here right the x more complex the being the more complex x Rich the feeling of love x and now take it one step further a x higher life form even than us that would x be God does God have no emotion we just x no emotion we can understand of course x God has emotion utterly inscrutable x emotion God possesses a richness and x complexity of love which is completely x Beyond us the same way that you can't x expect an ant to understand the love of x a bird you can't expect a human to x understand the love of God you can use x the words love but it doesn't do justice x to the richness the tension of an x experience that's completely out of x relue God's love is the x inscrutable I will be that which I will x be human beings can only hear a piece of x that love so God says tell them I will x be x so I you know the last thing you x mentioned is this notion that here's x this great oppressor there's pharoh and x there's God and one way that so I found x that to be so powerful um to think about x that on that on those two x levels x and uh x when uh you do that you recognize just x how great x God's compassion his love his empathy x for us x is x um that it it really was kind of x mind-blowing I mean I've been thinking x about this passage for for quite some x time and and and then I came across that x presentation and and and it really made x me think x of uh the that that really was helping x me understand that a deeper level the x words of Paul when he said blessed be x the God and father of our Lord Jesus x Christ the the father of mercies or x compassions uh I think is a better x translation and and God of All Comfort x who comforts us in our Affliction so x that we may we may be able to comfort x those who are in any Affliction with the x comfort with which we ourselves are x comforted by God for as we share x abundantly in Christ's sufferings so x through Christ we share abundantly in x Comfort too if we are afflicted it is x for your comfort and salvation if we are x and if we are comforted it is for your x comfort which you experience when you x patiently endure the same sufferings x that we x suffer Our Hope for you is x unshaken and for we know that as you x share in our sufferings you will also x share in our x comfort and uh you know the you know x taking this understanding it allows us x to rely on God uh the there and it's x funny that you know in this time period x as well as I've been reflecting on this x um on this passage and in this message x uh my son Jacob gave me this this x wristband that I've been wearing for I x don't know four or five months now and x one of the things on it that it says I x will never forsake you um God and and x that's uh a reference to this passage uh x in Hebrews x 13:5 keep your life free from the love x of money and be content with what you x have for he said I will never leave you x nor forsake you so we can confidently x say the Lord is my helper I will not x fear what can man do to x me so here the you know the the writer x to the Hebrews is is is taking he's x quoting an Old Testament passage that we x can look at in a minute but he's x applying it to a new context a context x of being able to trust God whatever x we're going through we don't have to put x confidence we can't there's no there's x no point to putting confidence in money x money will riches will will fail us even x if you know we we get great Mass great x amounts of wealth it's not going to x bring satisfaction or x Comfort um x even yeah and and and and often it will x just let you down so instead we can be x content with what we have knowing that x God is in control and will take care of x us uh taking the lessons of Jesus from x The Sermon on the Mount and trusting in x our heavenly x father knowing that he will not leave us x or forsake x us and and he's quoting x here the words of of Moses to x Joshua when he said the Lord will give x them over um the Lord will give them x over to you the people of the land and x you shall do to them according to the x whole Commandment that I have commanded x you be strong and courageous do not be x do not fear or be in dread of them for x the Lord your x God it's it is the Lord your God who x goes with x you Yahweh your God who goes with you x notice Moses I think Moses is thinking x back to that time when God revealed his x name to him because you have those two x elements there together again he will x not leave you nor forsake AK you so it's x in that in that context and it continues x then Moses summoned Joshua and said to x him in the sight of all Israel be strong x and courageous for you shall go with his x people into the land that the Lord has x sworn to their fathers to give them and x you shall put them in possession of it x it is the Lord it is Yahweh who goes x before you he will be with you he will x not leave you nor for or forsake you so x do not fear or be dismayed x he will be with you that here Moses is x saying he will be with you he's using x that same like third person phrase that x gets it's modified ever so slightly to x to become uh God's name and he's he's x he's making that statement he will be x with x you so and I see places like this pop up x um over and over again um and what's x that that image of the Lord going before x you brings back that beautiful image of x in Exodus 13 as the Lord went before x them by day in a pillar of cloud to lead x them along the x way and at night a pillar of fire to x give them light that they might travel x by day and by night so that that uh x image of God's presence God being with x his people it it it's so powerful x and uh you know that the first e that x comes after the Torah uh was God now so x Moses made those that statement to God x well God reiterates it in Joshua 1 after x Moses x died um God said Moses in verse two x Moses my servant is dead now therefore x arise go over this Jordan you and all x this people into the land that I am x giving them to the people of x Israel and he lists the places in verse x skipping to verse 5 no man shall be able x to stand before you all the days of your x life just as I was with Moses x so imach I will be with you I will not x leave you nor forsake you be strong and x courageous uh for you shall cause this x people to inherit the land I swore to x the fathers to give x them um and jumping down to verse N9 x have I not have I not commanded you be x strong and courageous do not be x frightened and do not be dismayed for x Yahweh your God is with you wherever you x go it's it's just reiterated again and x again um and so that's what allows us to x you know to have that confidence that x God's not going to leave us uh that x promise is carried forth into the into x the New Testament and applied to the x body of Christ and and that phrase you x know what can man do to me x that that that confidence the confidence x of knowing God is with you is the x confidence that that David had in that x passage that where he x said to to Saul let no man's heart fail x because of him because of Goliath your x servant will go and fight with this x Philistine and Saul said to David you're x not able to to go against this x Philistine and fight with him for you're x but a youth and he's been a man of war x from his youth but David said to Saul x your servant used to keep sheep for his x father and when there came a lion or a x bear and took a lamb from the flock I x went after him and struck him and x delivered it out of his mouth and if he x rose against me I caught him by his x beard and struck him and killed him your x servant has struck down both lions and x bears and this uncircumcised Philistine x shall be like one of them for now up to x that point you might think oh is David x just being confident here in himself no x because he said for he Goliath has x defied the armies of the Living God and x David said the Lord who delivered me x Yahweh think of the meaning of that name x the one who is with us he delivered me x from the Paw of The Lion and the Paw of x the bear he will deliver me from the x hand of this x Philistine and Saul said to David go and x Yahweh be with you so it's it's there x again and again and again again um x in uh x in these passages and it's just I think x it's it's exciting x um there's a you know another another uh x kind of powerful thing I'll just uh take x real quick to say that those three forms x of of of um the word that have to do x with God was and God's being and and God x will be uh those three words in Hebrew x notice that if you overlay them on top x of one x another you get you get God's name x Yahweh and and I think that's what's the x the point of um in Revelation four the x four living creatures with the six wings x full of eyes all around and within and x day and night they never cease to say x holy holy holy is the Lord is Yahweh God x Almighty who who was and is and is to x come you know God's presence with his x people has promised to be there is x something in the past we can look back x on and have confidence in and it's x something that we have currently in our x present need and it's something we can x rely on for the future God is with x us and like father like son the second x thing on my bracelet that Jacob gave x gave me um comes from Matthew 28 when x when Jesus brought the disciples to to x the mountain and um skipping to verse 19 x go therefore and Make Disciples of all x Nations baptizing them name in the F in x the name of the father and of the son x and of the Holy Spirit teaching them to x observe all that I have commanded you x and behold I Am With You Always to the x end of the x age Jesus is with us too x um and we made the point before that x that is actually the meaning um well and x the meaning the power and the meaning of x of jesus' name as well is again x emphasizing this message that x Immanuel that IM x IM with you becomes with us in the name x Emmanuel IM Anu is we or us L God God Is x With Us Jesus x life and his salvation that he wrought x for his people through God sending x him that is is a is a a gift from God x that teaches us that God is with us even x to the point of rescuing us like Moses x rescued the people from Egypt God God x rescues us from sin and death through x Jesus God is with x us so thank you uh for what at times I'm x sure maybe a little bit of technical x uh presentation when I get into some of x the Hebrew things there and and x definitely I know Rabbi Foreman's x reading in Hebrew didn't help too many x of us but um the message hopefully came x through that that God is with us in our x sufferings in our trials he is with his x people and his compassion and his x empathy for us is is just x unknowable

Transcript

so good evening x everybody um I'm excited to to share x with you guys uh more things that I x found that really came sprung from like x trying to dig x in a lot to the the passage in Exodus 3 x with Moses at the burning x bush and some of the things that that uh x came to me from that passage well you x know I've been sharing in other classes x uh a lot of the ideas that have just x kind of been like really exciting to me x have been have come by way of Rabbi x David Foreman who I mentioned um early x before and that's that's the case x tonight as well so um I will not take x credit for these insights for the most x part um I've made some further x connections but but the the uh the bulk x of it is coming from from uh a study he x did on shared with connecting x the Moses at the burning bush with the x ten commandments so let's take a look x let's let's dig in x um x and I x L so I got to move my mouse maybe to x here no Works no there we go x okay so if we look at so you want to x keep your your finger in Exodus x 20 and if you're following along your x Bibles in Exodus 3 we'll be flipping x back and forth between Exodus 3:4 3 and x 4 and Exodus 20 because that's really x what the class is uh built on here is a x comparison and a connection between x those x two so we read in Exodus 31 that Moses x was keeping the flock of his x father-in-law Jethro the priest of x Midian and he led his flock to the west x side of the Wilderness and came to Horeb x the Mountain of x God so the beginning of the the the x burning bush episode has Moses bringing x this this flock uh to the flock of his x father-in-law to what's called God's x Mountain really the Mountain of x God x now uh how does that do that connect in x any way to to to something later in in x in Moses life well if we look at Exodus x 19 verses 1 and two we read that on the x third New Moon after the people of x Israel had gone out of the land of Egypt x on that day they came to the Wilderness x of Si they sent set out from refidim and x came to the Wilderness of Si and they x encamped in the wilderness there Israel x encamped before the x mountain so thinking about those two x passages uh separated in in time here we x there's there's a lot of parallels and x and uh Reflections that go back and x forth between the x two first uh youve got Moses the x shepherd bringing the flock of his x father-in-law in Exodus 3 and if you x jump forward to Exodus 19 again just x just building up to the The Ten x Commandments we have Moses the shepherd x bringing uh some sheep the sheep of the x people of Israel to his F the Sheep of x his father in Heaven to the to the same x Mountain Mount horb is another name for x Mount Si so there it's it's like one x passage is is pointing forward to to the x other so the the mountain of of well x this the shepherd this that kept the x flock uh is the same Shepherd that x brings the flock of God's people to the x same x Mountain so when when they're parallel x events in Scripture that that seem to x mirror each other I think God has x inspired the record to have these x connections to make us think about and x reflect about them and and gain better x insight and depth of understanding on x one passage or the other or both x sometimes and so let's let's take let's x take a look at that thinking about x how the the burning bush x really Echoes and or or foreshadows x hyperlinks forward to x the the giving of the ten x commandments x so uh before drawing to any conclusions x though let's let's look is there any x more evidence for connecting these two x events is there any other hints that is x it you know just happen to be you know x two uh cases of of of a flock am I x stretching it a little bit by saying x Moses is bringing a flock here in this x in the second situation or or is there x really some some further basis for this x well let's consider one of the key x things in in the burning bush episode is x is the bush itself the Hebrew word for x Bush is snay and the if you look at the x letters there U on the top s there's x there's three Hebrew letters of three uh x consonants the last one though the hey x at the end is on the left side is is x sometimes thought of as a as a weak x letter that drops out sometimes in x different versions uh of of a x word x and you see that the same the those so x the other two consonants are stronger x and they they hold and they hold in the x name Sinai or as we say in English x Sinai and and so really there's a x there's a linguistic connection between x the book x Bush uh and the mountain itself in fact x some think that the name horb kind of x became Sinai because of uh because of x the Bush that was there and and then the x name was kind of being reflective of x that the location of the x Bush so let's look at another another uh x piece of evidence um in verse two of x chapter 3 we see that the angel of the x Lord appeared to him Moses in a flame of x fire out of the midst of the Bush of a x bush he looked and behold the Bush was x burning yet it was not x consumed well if we look forward to the x second event we read now Mount Si was x wrapped in Smoke because the Lord had x descended on it in fire the smoke of it x went up like the smoke of a kiln and the x whole Mountain trembled x greatly so first it was a bush that was x burning but yet not consumed and now now x we have the whole Mountain enveloped in x in Smoke and fire and it's burning but x it's not x consumed so um well so let's and there's x another the links continue so if we look x at chapter chapter 3 verse4 the second x part of the verse it says God Called to x him to Moses out of the Bush Moses x Moses um the God was calling to Moses x out of the burning Bush and that x parallels in Exodus x 19:19 that as the sound of the trumpet x grew louder and louder Moses spoke and x God answered him in Thunder so God first x was speaking to Moses out of a burning x bush and now God is speaking to Moses x out of the the smoke of a burning x Mountain so again I think pretty pretty x strong evidence x so uh uh to make it even more x clear um if we look at the the account x in Deuteronomy where Moses is recounting x the event to the people in Deuteronomy x 5:4 it says the Lord spoke with you face x to face at the mountain out of the midst x of the fire so Moses makes the link even x stronger when he's looking back on those x events so another piece of evidence the x first time in in Exodus 3 we read in x verse 5 that he saido not come near take x off your sandals off of your feet for x the place on which you are standing is x Holy x Ground so Moses was warned not to come x near the bush until the sandal removed x in the second uh count we're reading in x verses uh 12- 13 of chapter 19 and you x shall set limits for the people all x around saying take care not to go up to x the into the mountain or touch the edge x of it whoever touches the mountain shall x be put to death no hand shall touch him x but he shall be stoned or shot whether x Beast or man he shall not live when the x trumpet sounds a long blast they shall x come up to the x mountain um just a side note an x interesting study that x uh that about that particular verse that x that that translation up to the mountain x I think is better translated by a number x of uh versions than the new RSV the N x RSV the ne the JBS and the reb all JPS x all uh translated as up onto the x mountain God was actually calling his x people to ascend the mountain and to uh x come to intimacy with God on that x mountain to have intimate contact really x it's coming back to what was lost in the x Garden of Eden but they actually were x well they they were too afraid when when x the sound came up to actually go up and x only Moses did but you know that more x could be said on that but just I'll wet x your appetite on that one um with that x so looking at all those parallels I x think we can see the connection is x pretty clear the place is the same the x parallels and the events uh are there x pretty convincingly x I think that God saw to it and that that x the words of scripture were recorded to x show those parallels between these two x events to draw us to consider what God x wants us to x see so what is he x communicating well I think that we'll x we'll find out if we actually consider x his communication with Moses in these x two events I think we'll see the answer x and and I think the answer is all about x our response to God's x Deliverance The Burning Bush was Moses x prep preparation and call before the x Deliverance of The Exodus Sinai is after x that Deliverance when God is calling his x people into Covenant relationship to x him and and in between there's the x miraculous Deliverance of God's people x through the plagues and the the Passover x and and The x Exodus and so it's it's really a a x reflection from x before the miraculous deliverance and x now looking back on it and and and x giving the people a chance to respond to x draw near to God and to to show uh or to x build that relationship that Covenant x relationship to x him so so we're going to look at those x at the communication the communication x that God gave to Moses at the burning x bush uh he had with Moses said the x burning bush and we'll see what God x communicated in the Ten x Commandments well first before we get x into it let's make I'll make a quick x note about x structure the Hebrew Bible is is is x filled with so many structural elements x that that that help see you know x interesting patterns and insights um x what and a note on on that'll help us x see the structure is that what we have x recorded for us that Moses received in x Exodus 20 what we call the 10 x commandments are not really called that x in the Bible instead if we look at x Exodus 20 x verse1 um we we instead see the x introduction and God spoke all these x words and x when it does in our English Bible say x the 10 uh Commandments um it's actually x using the word x darim the same word that's used as the x introduction here in verse one to x describe them uh so they're really the x 10 words if you wanted to be literal or x the 10 thoughts or sayings or the 10 x things that's the idea uh that's being x communicated when when the Bible is x talking about this event so in our x English Bible we we have this x translation x Commandments Ten Commandments there are x Commandments within uh this Revelation x to Moses but the description of the x Bible about this about these words is is x that there are 10 sayings uh rather than x 10 uh x Commandments and there's a there's a x name uh that you I've come across I x can't remember I haven't seen it x recently but it's stuck in the back of x my head that it's sometimes called the x decalogue um which is a a good way of x capturing from a Greek perspective of of x what what the Bible says about this this x this passage Deca meaning 10 and and x logos the word for word uh is is a kind x of equivalent to the Hebrew word darar x so Deca logos would be um turned into x into English is decalogue the 10 x sayings so when we read about uh well x yeah in Exodus 34 when they're looking x back that says that he was there with x the Lord 40 days and 40 nights he x neither ate bread nor drank water he x wrote on the tablets the words of the x Covenant The Ten Commandments the Hebrew x there is the 10 words or the 10 10 x things so that's Point number one is x that we should probably call it the x decalogue or the or the tenens things x more accurately than the Ten x Commandments and when we do that it x frees us up a little bit to kind of x see a different way of viewing the the x the counting of the x 10 because of our English idea of Ten x Commandments we tend to think that x Exodus uh uh 20:2 is or well s yeah 20 x verse2 is is really just an introduction x to the first Commandment that we have in x verse three you shall have no other gods x before me so verse two I am the Lord x your God who brought you out of the land x of Egypt out of the house of slavery is x is kind of like the prologue to the x first commandment you shall have no x other gods before me in Christian x tradition that is what we encapsulate as x commandment number x one but in Jewish tradition Breaking x Free from the mtitle of the Ten x Commandments um we can see that verse x two is is thought of well I can just x tell you that verse two is thought of in x in in Jewish tradition as being the x first saying I am the Lord your God who x brought you out of the land of Egypt out x of the house of x slavery and then verse three you shall x have no other gods before me is the x second x saying um but then what we think of as x the second saying is really part of so x verses uh 4 through six get grouped x together with x uh verse three rather than verse two in x the Jewish tradition so if you think x about it you shall have no other gods x before me you shall not make for x yourself a carved image any likeness so x it's all about idols and that's what x other gods are they're just Idols there x are no other true Gods I am the Lord x there is no other God says again and x again in Isaiah that other so-called x gods are just engraved images and and x Idols that that uh have no reality have x no x power so to consider seeing the x connection U I'll be using the the the x Jewish tradition for the ordering not x the Ten Commandments but the 10 x sayings x um also um it's interesting to see that x that the that when you think of it that x way there actually are some interesting x con connections if you think about the x the the 10 sayings being on two tablets x that would seem to imply that there's U x two groups of five which invites us to x explore parallelisms between the first x and the fifth the the second and the x sixth and so on so let's look at that so x using that the Jewish tradition of of x verse two being the first saying I am x the Lord your God who brought you out of x the land of Egypt out of the house of x slavery think about the parallel x you shall not x murder well that parallels very well x with what they were brought out of they x were brought out of the house of slavery x where x Moses uh was almost murdered and many of x his you know uh people born in that in x that same time frame they were literally x murdered by being thrown into the into x the the Nile and so the parallel is okay x you were brought out of the land of x Egypt out of the house of slavery and x out of a murderous x situation so now the response you should x not be murdering obviously it doesn't it x just follows that you you've been freed x from that don't become murderers x yourselves well what about the second x saying you shall have no other gods x before me well how does that con connect x with uh sorry so the sixth one you x should all not murder seems to connect x with the first saying the seventh you x shall not commit x adultery adultery is spiritual idolatry x it's spiritual spiritually having other x Gods uh having other x wives or or having another woman that is x not your wife that would be x adultery in the human sense but adultery x with God would be having other gods and x and making Idols so there's a Clear x Connection there when you look at those x two um looking at the Third saying you x shall not take the Lord the name of the x Lord your God in vain uh for the Lord x will not hold him Guiltless who takes x his name is in vain um you can see a x connection um you shall not x steal uh if you think about the the idea x of taking the name of the Lord um well x this one maybe a little bit harder to x explain but the you know you've been x you've been given the name of the Lord I x think taking the name of the Lord is not x really about about swearing U profanity x it's it's it I think it's more about the x idea of bearing the L the littleit word x there is the word for bearing or x carrying the name of the Lord um when x that name is upon us we shouldn't be x stealing that and and and and living a x life that that uh doesn't honor the fact x that we are bearing the name of the Lord x um I need to work on that one a little x bit more for explanation but x um again looking continuing on x uh two three this x is um number four remember the Sabbath x day keep it holy and it's about bearing x witness uh to God's creation in six days x the Lord the the reason why is because x uh on it you shall do no work you you x son your daughter your main servant your x female servant uh for because in verse x 11 for in six days the Lord made Heaven x and Earth the seed and all that all that x is in them uh x that truth about God being the creator x of the world and of the x universe is is testifying to that truth x so think about the parallel and you x shall not bear false witness against x your neighbor that would be an untruth x it's saying fault witness W witness x about a human person kind of like not x remembering the Sabbath would be bearing x false witness against God and not not x remembering and honoring uh the day that x he set aside for remembering that truth x and then um honor your father and mother x that your days may be long um in the x land that the Lord your God has giving x you think about that in terms of x covetousness uh is there a parallel x there x well part of what I think we're going to x see when we get into this into the the x connections to Exodus 3 and 4 as well is x that your your mother and father have x given you a set of gifts and and some x deficiencies we have we all have x strengths and weaknesses that that come x from our genetic makeup and sometimes we x feel like oh I wish I could be like that x person or I could you know be taller or x I could you know we see other people and x we we want to be like them um well x that's really a form of covetousness so x for honoring our father and mother then x we're appreciative of the gifts that x that God has given us through our x parents um and we try to make the most x of our lives that we x have in honor um in honor to the the x ones that that gave us life to our x Earthly parents and to our Heavenly x Father x so anyway those those those are thinking x about that structure now when we do that x then think about as as we look at how x Moses interaction at the bush points to x there's five interactions five x discourses between Moses and God at the x burning bush those link up very strongly x with the first five of the 10 sayings of x the x decalog but since those five first five x are connected to the second five then x then really it's it's all they're all x connected in a x way x so um basically the five the the the x meat of the class here is we're looking x at the five discourses that point x forward to the first five of the sayings x so let's get into that uh we read in x Exodus x 3:6 x God's speaking to to Moses says I am the x god of your father the god of Abraham x the god of Isaac and the god of x Jacob now when we read that at first we x think um well well first let's look and x forward let's see do we have a link uh x to to Exodus 20 and and look look and x see in the first saying I am the Lord x your God and and the Hebrew there I am x uh is one Hebrew word um that and and x and but I didn't notice but was here x today I guess not um but somebody with a x King James could could verify by by x seeing or you can all check that the x word am is an italics which indicates x that it's not really there the word anoi x is really um just I so it's I and the am x is kind of x implied apologize for for the grammar x but uh that's the same thing that's x going on here in Exodus 20 and so it's x really I x the Lord your God um the god of your x father but in English we we we need that x helping word am in there but it's not x necessary in Hebrew last y verified x thank x you so I'm not misleading you Jim Jims x backing me up so last week our Focus was x on the word eh which is also translated x I am uh it was used later in Exodus 3 as x part of God's name there we were looking x at a x verb where the pronoun I was kind of B x bundled in with the verb together in one x word uh here we have just the pronoun x without a verb um so but a verb isn't x isn't needed here so this is a a x different phrase then than we have in x Exodus 3:14 but but notice the linkage x is very strong with Exodus x 20:2 okay well it doesn't stop x there um notice notice notice uh also a x difference so when we have x parallelism sometimes there there they x definitely linkages to bring your eyes x to bring the connection there to help x you see the connection but oftentimes x there are differences to help us reflect x on H you know this has changed what does x that x mean uh and if you look at x this you see that there is a difference x uh the difference being x that before The Exodus it'si am the god x of your father the god of Abraham the x god of Isaac the god of Jacob and now x after The Exodus I am the Lord your x God x so he's become not just the god of their x fathers he's become their personal God x this is the god who delivered them out x of bondage out of slavery in Egypt to a x new life of x Freedom uh in a discussion group a x couple weeks ago a comment was made x about baptism being a point where you're x you're going Beyond just having the the x faith of your fathers but you're or your x parents but you're you're making it more x personal it is you're making it your x faith um and and here we have a parallel x this new nation baptized into the sea x with Moses now have a God not just the x god of their fathers but a God who is x their own because of the miracul ulous x Deliverance that he has x provided x so went from being the god of your x father x to the Lord your x God so sometimes there's parallels but x sometimes there are important x differences you think of them as a foil x uh maybe in some way well I don't know x but somebody else will have to help me x with the proper literary terms but that x that difference there I think is x important now let's let's continue x looking at the first discourse in Exodus x 3 in verses 7-10 God x expresses his care and compassion for x his people he says I've surely seen the x Affliction of my people who are in Egypt x and I've heard their cry because of x their taskmasters I've known their x sufferings I've come down to deliver x them out of the hand of the x Egyptians uh and to bring them up out of x that land to a good and Broad land to x and flowing with milk and honey and Now x Behold The Cry of the people of Israel x has come to me and I have also seen the x oppression with which the Egyptians x oppressed them come I will send you to x Pharaoh that you may bring my people the x children of Israel out of x Egypt so if we look at the like the x first saying again it's I am the Lord x your God who brought you out of the land x of Egypt out of the house of slavery so x we see that connection x again in in the saying that links back x now notice the difference here now it's x it's it's been fulfilled so it's who has x done this God has delivered you it's x it's pointing back to that promise and x and saying it's been fulfilled God has x God x has um has done that now thinking about x us you know thinking about our x Deliverance out of out of bondage out of x Egypt out of Slavery to sin you know we x have been brought out and we can look x back in thankfulness having been x baptized into Christ we have we can kind x of have a mirror of this as well in our x lives x and and we can look back recognizing x with thankfulness that God has done that x he's delivered us from the house of x slavery x uh so the parallels exist very strongly x of this Deliverance the promise of x Deliverance and looking back and seeing x that the promise has been x fulfilled but what about the middle what x about the middle part that we read um x well that we that we didn't read I x actually I skipped it um I had the dot x dot dot forgive me I should have x mentioned that I'm not reading the whole x thing but if I put that in there now and x now Now Behold The Cry of the people of x Israel has come to me and I've also seen x the oppression with which the Egyptians x oppressed them in that middle section x God x explains um why he was going to deliver x this people because that cry that cry x had come up to him he had care for his x people and their suffering and he wanted x to deliver them so why is that not x paralleled in Exodus 20:2 in the first x saying um we have I am the god of your x father um paralleled with I am your God x and then we have the the the the x Deliverance that I've highlighted in red x but what about that underlined part is x there why does that get skipped in the x in the echos back to uh Exodus x 3 maybe actually it didn't though x because what's in between the yellow and x the red or well in the middle of the x yellow I guess in Exodus 20 it's the x lord it's all cap so Yahweh so if you x think back to what we discussed in our x class last week this is the god whose x name really is an expression of I will x be with you I will be with you the link x to eh uh which which God says two verses x before he says aser he says to x Moses IM I will be with you and and so x when he says aser I will be that which I x will be yes it expresses God's x Transcendence and that you can't even x really put into words x just how great and magnificent he is and x how powerful he is but yet that great x powerful God also has x an amazing powerful compassion and care x and empathy for his people in our needs x he's with us that's expressed here in x Exodus 20 in the first saying Yahweh in x just a word we have that care that was x expressed when he said I heard of or the x Cry of the people has come to me I've x seen the oppression where God's x heart is is there with his people as x they're suffering he suffering that's x expressed in his x name so that's the first discourse we x see some interesting lessons as we look x at the parallels well about the x second uh the second discourse has uh x Moses says to God who am I in this this x case he's using the word anoi that we x had in the first discourse but it's me x anoi who am x I that I should go to pharaoh and bring x the children of Israel out of Egypt you x know you are anoi you're Elohim you're x you're God but who am I what can I do x and that's when God gives his response x that we mentioned from last week but I x will be with x you IM I will be with x you x God's love and compassion and and x willingness to be there in our times of x trial and difficulty and suffering uh is x is just an amazing thing that we can x hold on to to and and x um and it it can change it change our x situation when we know that we're not x alone we're not x alone and to think about how that mean x you know the connection to that the x natural consequence of that is that we x should be fiercely loyal to this God x this God who is with us in all of our x trials and all of our sufferings who's x there to help us get through what we go x through we should have no other gods x before us it just it just totally makes x sense you shall have no other gods x before me uh the Hebrew there uh x connects as well x Lo the the first two words uh which I x don't I'm not gonna even bother um x pointing to um x are that that ye is that word uh he will x be um there there but in this case it's x there will be uh no other God so this is x in contrast to the the one who will be x with us there won't be these other gods x they you know it's it's and you can x think of it as a command yes but it's x also a statement of Truth there won't be x any other gods before him there are no x other gods that that even can compare x everything else is just you know myths x and and idols and and worthless x things so um so that second discourse x when we know when we recognize sorry x that that God is is x the x um who he is The God Who says I will be x with you x then it's just a natural consequence x that that we would want to be fiercely x loyal to God and have no other Gods uh x before us that by loyalty is a natural x result of of God being with his people x in their trial x with Moses when he thought he was x nothing uh you know who am I but God x says I will be with you that God who is x with Moses who was with the Israelites x who's now with us as x well then it just makes sense that we x would worship and honor him x alone so looking at the third discourse x actually Brian you had Hebrew on the on x the last slide second command yeah x second saying yep did you want to make a x point or did you just want to impress us x no I did want to make a well I was x trying to say that the first two words x there which start on the right hand side x uh is the word low which means no or not x a negative thing and then Y is that you x can see almost the resemblance to to x God's name you he V only here it's yud x yud which is that word that really is an x equivalent uh to Yahweh only it's using x you know Yahweh is kind of using the x ancient word for being and this is the x the the more normal word for Hebrew for x being so there there's that Echo that x connection is is what I wanted to x mention than x yep x so the uh third x discourse uh we read in Exodus 3 that x Moses said if I come to the people of x Israel and they and say to them x the god of your fathers has sent me to x you and they asked me what is his name x what shall I say to them and this is x where God Reveals His name I am who I x am x aser and he says say this to the people x of Israel I am or eh has sent me to x you this is where God reveals that that x his name and and again when you see it x in the context you see this beautiful x picture of the Transcendent God uh who x is beyond time and space and the one who x is who was who is and is to be uh the x one who's created the universe this same x God who's Beyond Compare Beyond x description even is the one who loves x and cares for us and Promises to be with x us that was the the power of this this x third discourse and and God's name when x we take that first person a that's here x in in in uh verse x 14 um the bottom section here of this x quote and you take it Forward he later x says he kind of translates that into x when Moses is speaking he puts it in x third person and that's where we get the x word x Yahweh so that x parallels notice this the third discour x third uh saying says you shall not take x the name of the Lord your God in vain x this is not just coincidence the the x name idea is what God revealed in the x third discourse and now here we're not x to take the name of the Lord Our God in x vain and and as I hinted at a little bit x before when I was talking about the x structure that the idea of taking the x name of the Lord in vain is not really x about I think about like about profanity x it's not about uh swearing an oath x perhaps I mean although that's a x commonly thought of uh meaning behind x behind it I think that the word the word x NASA there that is is being used is x about lifting up or bearing or carrying x and if you look at in the in the general x region of Exodus there that we're in x also revealed to to Moses um on sin we x see this word translated bear and and um x in verse well 23 verse one skipping down x a little bit but you should not spread x as false report I think that's where we x get our word tail Bearer you're you're x bringing you're bearing the tail and x bringing it to the next person and and x passing it on um it's also used for x forgiveness uh in verse 21 of chapter x 23 um it's used of carrying things like x carrying the arc with the with the poles x um and so on but notice that if you go x back to the top x two you shall set two stones on the x shoulder pieces of the ephod stones of x remembrance for the sons of Israel and x Aaron shall bear their names before the x Lord on his two shoulders for x remembrance so this is talking about the x ephod that that Moses was wearing had x these stones of remembrance and in verse x 29 Aon shall bear the names of the sons x of Israel on the breast x piece that had the 12 Stones that were x um placed near on his heart when he goes x into the holy place to bring them into x regular remembrance before the Lord and x you have this picture of the the high x priest bearing the names of the tribes x of Israel foreshadowing our lord Jesus x who holds the names of his people his x disciples his and and all who have x learned the message through their their x professing of the x Gospel we're all held close to the heart x of our Lord Jesus as well and and we're x being being born or being lifted you x know being held on our shoulders well x the high priest also bore the name on x the miter um Holiness belonging to x God that name was was was U part of what x he x bore so I think that you know that x meaning you think about bringing forward x to us x we are bearing the name of God as well x and this this people this chosen people x that God had delivered from Israel they x were now a witness to God they were x bearing God's name to the world around x them um and that's what we are to do as x well that I'll have to look into this a x little bit more but the NIV translation x here I mean it's not in the sepagan and x the Amos trans Amos verse that this is x quoting um the sepagan matches but the x but the the the Hebrew doesn't really x match the same word as as uh ing in x Exodus 20 but nevertheless I think the x idea is here that if you look to verse x this is uh James speaking about you know x the Gentiles and and and verse 14 it x says Simon Peter has described to us how x God has intervened to chose Cho choose a x people for his name from the Gentiles x and the words of the Prophet are in x agreement with this as it is written x after this I will I will return and x rebuild David's Fallen tent it's ru x ruins I will build and I will restore it x that the rest of mankind May seek the x Lord even all the Gentiles who bear my x name says the Lord Who does these things x things known from long x ago so this idea of the Gentiles now x bearing God's name not just natural x Israel but those who've been grafted in x uh because of the work of Jesus we too x bear God's x name and we shouldn't do that in vain x because when we recognize that this is x the god of empathy The God Who is with x us who cares for us in our trials and x our x sufferings then we should gladly bear x that name and let it change our lives x and and and we should be an effective x witness because it's it's changed our x hearts and it's changing our minds uh to x be a different people because we've been x saved we've been delivered out of sin x and bondage x so the fourth one I'll do the last two x pretty quick the that remember the that x it was all about the signs Moses was x like doubting that the people would x believe that Yahweh sent me um and God x responds with well I'll give them three x I'll give you three signs and then x they'll see so remember those signs they x were a testimony to the x truth in a previous class I gave uh x about the x Israelites the truth about the x Israelites in contradiction to Pharaoh's x lies lies about the people being x subhuman like snakes um lies about the x stillborn that leprosy was actually x connected in the Torah to uh x still being still born and and it was x put back in in in the cloak and pulled x out and it was restored whole the truth x was that the the babies were not still x born that was a lie they were really um x they were really killed um being killed x by by the Egyptians God test testifies x to the truth um and and that the truth x of of the of the the Nile having the x blood um that was the Nile was hiding x the blood of the the that killed x Israelite babies and and in in the x foreshadowing of the of the plague where x the Nile turned to blood where God was x making clear he didn't just come up with x just magic tricks he was showing that he x knew and cared about the situation x Israelites were going through and he was x proclaiming the truth as well as x promising to deliver x them well that connects to the fourth x saying of remembering the Sabbath day x now Israel is being invited to proclaim x the truth about God being the creator of x the universe and and recognizing that x seventh day and keeping it holy they're x testifying to the truth about God x they're given that opportunity in this x relationship ship with God not it's not x just that um that that uh they're just x takers in the relationship God has done x things for them but they have the x opportunity to to speak the truth about x God and then the fifth x discourse x um in in the ESV and the NIV which are x two versions I spend a lot of time in x they both dro the ball on this one um x there's a key word transl in in the x Hebrew that's duplicated x the nasb does duplicate it as do many x other translations so I'm I'm quoting x here instead of my normal ESV uh the x nasb the Lord said to to Moses said to x the Lord please Lord I have never been x eloquent neither recently or in time x past nor since you've spoken to your x servant for I am slow of speech and slow x of x tongue and um there's a word that slow x the word that's translated slow you can x see is the x you can see a repetition the second word x and the second to last word have the x same three x letters and that word actually more x literally is is heavy so heavy of of x heavy of mouth and heavy of tongue is x really the literal Hebrew there well x that those three letters and remember x the letters are really what's the x original Hebrew text the vowels were x added later um sorry there are highlight x to make it more clear those three x letters are in of course wouldn't x wouldn't you know in the fifth saying in x the word honor honor your father and x your mother in the days and that your x days may be long in the land that the x Lord your God has giving you and there x the vowel pointing is different it's x kabed instead of um uh kavad x but there's a there's a similarity of x meaning if you think heaviness x um and honor is to is to is to give x something weight uh to recognize its x importance to recognize the importance x of your of your x parents so the lesson I think is that x you know God has made us he knit us x together in our mother's womb he's given x each one of us strengths and weaknesses x he's given us tools and gifts to live a x successful life um you x know and so that I think is what God's x response to Moses is all about who made x man's mouth who makes him mute or deaf x or seeing or blind is it not I the Lord x so you can parallel that with that that x honor command because we can't blame our x parents when we feel short changed about x you know what we do or don't have for x for gifts and x weaknesses that we should honor them for x what they've genetically and and time x and money and energy have given to raise x us x so too with our heavenly x father um I think of the words of Paul x um you know my when he said the Lord x Jesus said to him my grace is sufficient x for you for my power is made perfect in x weakness therefore I will boast all the x more gladly of my weaknesses so that the x power of Christ May W rest upon x me so really when you reflect on these x parallels I think the lesson is that we x have a opportunity to have a response to x the Salvation we've been given salvation x comes first for the children of Israel x they're delivered from bondage to Egypt x and then um and God shows his compassion x his love his empathy for his people x those that's all throughout the the the x message of of Exodus 3 and4 it's really x that Common Thread that that runs x through that whole burning bush episode x and x now these laws mirror back to that so x these laws which come afterwards it's x not like do this and then you'll be x saved um you got to do this and then you x get to tick it out of Egypt not at all x it's it's it's not works righteousness x it's it's a call for a thankful response x to the rescue that they've been x given so when we reflect on those x parallels between Exodus 34 and Exodus x 20 those connections are there to teach x us x God has given us an empathetic and and x loving deliverance and we have an x opportunity to respond uh in in awesome x Wonder for The God Who has saved us who x cares for us who's called us to be in a x loving relationship with him to respond x and and to and to to come into Covenant x and and and connect with over the course x of a life together just as Israel had x that opportunity x so thank you for for your patience and x uh I x hope that it was uh encouraging x and as it as it has been for me to see x these things