Exodus 3:13-22 Study Guide: I Am Who I Am

Community Group Study Guide — Exodus 3:13-22

Study Information:
What we look for in a name in our culture today is different than in the ancient world and many parts of the the world today. Typically we chose names that sound nice or maybe we keep family names from generation to generation. In the ancient world people typically named a child based on the circumstances of their birth, for example Jacob meant “heel grabber” which was core to his birth story; or based on hopes for their children. Names communicated more than a nice sound, they communicated character and reputation. We read in our last study guide that God called Moses to go back to Egypt and be part of God’s work to free his people. His first question was “who am I?” and his second question to God was, “who are you?” Moses asked God for his name, but he wanted to know more than just what he should call God, he wanted to know who God was. There was a core fear in Moses about the task God had called him to and he needed some certainty in the character and reputation of the one who was sending him (Exodus 3:10-12). 

What’s in a Name?
Exodus 3:13-15
Moses was called to a bold task to go back to Egypt and be part of what God was doing to free his people from slavery. Last time Moses was in Egypt was 40 years prior and the Pharaoh of that time wanted to kill him for his murder of the Egyptian slave master. Moses wanted God to act and fix things, but he preferred if God used someone other than Moses (Exodus 4:13). He had expressed this to God with his question “who am I? (Exodus 3:11-12). God promised “I will be with you,” which is important because part of that phrase is contained in God’s divine name, “I will be…!” Moses’s next question turned his eyes away from himself and onto God, “suppose I go, who will I say sent me?” Basically, he asked God, “who are you?!” Moses simultaneously asked “God, what makes you unique?” and “what can you do?”

God’s answer to this question gives us his divine name, Yahweh (YHWH in transliterated Hebrew). Often in your Bible you will see this word as LORD (all capitals but also in smaller letters in your Bible). Yahweh appears like this in our english translations because of a tradition to not say God’s divine name out loud among the Jews. Traditionally when they’d see YHWH in the Hebrew Bible and they’d say the word for “Lord” out loud which is the Hebrew word Adonai. Modern english translators preserve this tradition, but we do not believe there is a prohibition with saying Yahweh in reverence since that is how God revealed himself in scripture. 

What does God’s name mean and what is in a name? God’s name is a doubling of the Hebrew verb “to be.” Doubling adds emphasis and this word can refer to present or future time. It can be “I am who I am” or “I will be who I will be” or even “I am who I will be.” God communicated to Moses that he is forever present, faithful and unchanging. This name did not just sound good, rather names carry with them the idea of reputation, character and glory. God giving Moses his name was a tremendous blessing and teaches us that God desired to reveal himself and that even when we’ve failed and it seems like God is silent, God never changes. That is why God told Moses in Exodus 3:12, “I will be (same verb) with you!” God’s divine name reminds us that he never abandons his people, he does not change and he is faithful. This name communicates that God calls his people to trust and faith in his ever present and unchanging character.   

God’s Plan to Save
Exodus 3:16-22
The rest of this chapter functions as a road map for the rest of the book of Exodus and even the Christian life. God promised to rescue them, give them victory and blessing. 

This rescue would begin with Moses gathering the people and telling them about who God is and what God planned to do (Exodus 3:16-18). The God of their fathers, Abraham, Isaac and Jacob promised to visit them and bring them out of Egypt. God knows about what happened to them in Egypt and promised to bring them freedom and fulfill the promise he made to Abraham in Genesis 15:13 and bring them back to the land that was promised. 

Next, God would give them victory over a hardhearted Pharaoh (Exodus 3:19-20). Pharaoh would not let them go and serve God easily, he would need to be compelled by wonders and the Egyptians would need to be afflicted. This may sound harsh to us as modern readers, but God was acting in love towards his people. The Hebrews had been afflicted and enslaved and the target of genocide while all the Egyptian prospered from their suffering. Part of God knowing their suffering was this promise of God making all things right, God saw what had happened to his people and he alone knew perfectly the human hearts involved and how to do justice. Striking the Egyptians took the form of the plagues and the death of the firstborn, but along the way the people of Egypt were given respite between plagues, the ability to bring an end to them by letting the Hebrews go free and they had opportunity to trust in the blood of the lamb for rescue. 

Finally, the people of God would be blessed as they left Egypt (Exodus 3:20-22). When they left Egypt they were to ask for silver, gold, jewelry and clothing and the Egyptians would give it to them as they departed. They people of Egypt would be so eager to see the Hebrews leave they’d be willing to pay them on the way out. The divine irony here is that Egypt only got as wealthy as it did from the blessing of God through Joseph in the Genesis story and through the slave labor of the Hebrews. In some ways this was God’s way of making sure they got paid for their labor and in another way it was an overwhelming blessing to his newly formed people. 

This would all be hard to believe for Moses and the Hebrews, which is why Moses will object in Exodus 4:1 “behold, they will not believe me!” And yet this is exactly what happened as the story unfolded.

For the Christian, we follow a similar path. Faith begins when God regenerates our hearts and helps us to know him. We are rescued from sin and death and gathered to a people in the church. Next we have ongoing victory through Christ as we find freedom from the power of sin and walk in new life. Finally, the Christian life is filled with every spiritual blessing in Christ Jesus (Ephesians 1:3-14). These spiritual blessings include things like knowledge of God, the Holy Spirit, being adopted into God’s family, the promise of eternity with God and more and are all given to us in and through our union with Christ. 

Our God who calls us to follow him is unchangeable, eternal and faithful. God’s divine name of Yahweh reflects his character, reputation and glory. As we follow Christ we can be assured of victory of sin and blessings that come from being counted in Christ.  

At your community group:
Take 15-20 minutes to share about how God has been at work in your life, prayer concerns and pray for one another.

How did God speak to you through the scripture and the sermon this week? 

Discussion Questions:
Read Exodus 3:13-22

Why did Moses ask for God’s name? What did asking for someone’s “name” in the ancient world mean? 

What did God’s name communicate about who he is?

Exodus 3:16-22 gives us a road map for the rest of the events leading up to the rescue of God’s people. What did God promise to do? Why would God send them out of Egypt with the riches of the Egyptians?

God revealed to Moses that he is the God who is with him (Exodus 3:12) and that he is the God who is who he will be forever. What are some ways that this truth of God’s faithfulness and unchanging nature help you fight sin and live your Christian life?