Parents, think back to the time when you were naming your children. Was there a name you absolutely would not give your child because you knew someone with that name? You could not, for example, name the child after an old boyfriend or old girlfriend, right? Among people I know, it is unusual for parents to give a child a name specifically because of its meaning. Most parents choose the name based on whether they like the sound or the looks of the name. Nevertheless, our avoidance of certain names shows that we pay some attention to name associations. The Hebrews gave their children names based on meaning, rather than the sound or look of the name.
Last Sunday I went around my class and looked up the meaning of each child in the room. Some biblical, some not.
I AM
Read Exodus 3:11. God has just told Moses that he is the one to lead the Hebrews out of slavery in Egypt. What is Moses' reaction to his nomination for this duty?
Read Exodus 3:13. Why does Moses ask this question of God? (Moses first says to God, "Who am I to do this?" Now he seems to say to God, "Who are you?" Moses tells God the people will want to know who, exactly, is this God who says that He will free them from slavery.)
What is Moses really saying to God? Do you think the people are just curious about God's name? Or, is it deeper than that? (What they want to know is whether this God (among the many that they knew) was more important than the Egyptian gods.)
Read Exodus 3:14. Does this seem to be a sufficient answer?
What do you understand this name(the Hebrew is YHWH (Yahweh))to mean?
Does this answer the real question? Which was "Can you beat up those other gods?” What do you think? (The word YHWH means several things, and "to be" is one of them. By this God declares His superiority over other gods.)
As I have read various commentaries on what Yahweh meant in Hebrew, it strikes me that much of this can be understood from the English translation of "I AM WHO I AM." Put yourself in the place of the Hebrew slaves. How would "I AM WHO I AM" appear to be superior to an idol, animal, or nature worship?
El Shaddai
Read Genesis 17:1-2. What is God's reason for calling on Abram? (He wanted to talk about the contract (the covenant) between the two of them.)
Why do you think the text starts by mentioning that Abram was 99 years old? (The contract had to do with "greatly" increasing the number of Abram's descendants. Since Abram was now almost one hundred years old, noting his age was an important point.)
Read Genesis 15:1-5. Abram had been complaining about the "descendants" issue. Was it reasonable for God to take the time (Genesis 17:1)to discuss with Abram how their contract was coming along?
Look again at Genesis 17:1-2. God starts out the conversation by introducing Himself. "God Almighty" is the translation for the Hebrew "Eel-Shaday" (El Shaddai). What does this name mean to you?
How would this name give comfort and be meaningful to Abram? (God Almighty means God can do anything. Abram needs God to do quite a lot to give him many descendants at his age.)
Is there any downside to this name "God Almighty?" (If God is so mighty, Abram might ask himself, "Why am I almost 100 years old and only have one son by my maid?")
Right after God introduces Himself to Abram, He notes what He has in mind for Abram. What is that? ("Walk before Me and be blameless.")
Has God's goal for His people changed over the years? Is this His goal for you?
Abraham
Let's continue reading: Genesis 17:3-6. What is Abram's reaction to hearing that God Almighty is speaking to him?
God changes Abram's name to Abraham, which is a change in meaning from "high father" to "populous" - "father of a multitude." What is God's purpose in this?
What do you think Abram thought? (This is a little tricky. I'm not sure I would appreciate this. Let's say I am four feet tall and God comes to me and says, "I'm changing your name to Giant.")
How strong are God's words? Can they overcome what is currently true? (See Genesis 1:3 Creation was spoken into existence.)
Have you ever heard someone say, "Just telling someone you are praying for them is not nearly as good as actually doing something for them?" Do you agree?
Read Genesis 17:7-8. We learned covenant is similar to a contract. A contract and covenant we learned in an earlier lesson are similar promises (and performance) on both sides. What is God promising to Abraham? (That He will be his God and the God of his descendants and that He will give them the land of Canaan.)
How does God's prior promise of many descendants fit into this picture? (God promises not simply to be the God of the descendants, but having many descendants would be essential to possess the land of Canaan.)
Read Genesis 17:9-10. What is Abraham promising God? (What a deal: lose a little skin, get a lot of lands!)
Is that it?
Read Genesis 17:11. What, really, was Abraham promising God? (Circumcision was simply the sign of the covenant. It was like the rainbow.
Read Genesis 18:19. The Bible discusses the sign of the covenant for quite a few verses before we get to an actual discussion of what is required of Abraham and his descendants. What is their part of the covenant? (Doing righteousness and justice - which is God’s approach to life.)
Is this all works? Or, is there any grace here? ("For I have chosen him" sounds like grace to me. However, God clearly expects Abraham to "keep the way of the Lord." This sounds like another "walking" issue to me.)
We know the rainbow was a sign that there would not be another worldwide flood. Now we find that circumcision is a covenant sign. Is there more to Abraham's side of this covenant than what we find in Genesis 18:19?
Read Genesis 12:1-5. Is this part of the covenant?
Read Genesis 15:1-7. Is this another aspect of the covenant?
How would you describe the overall covenant between God and Abraham? (In Genesis 12 God asked Abram to follow Him to an unknown land. In Genesis 15 (especially, verse 6), God asked Abram to believe Him. Thus, Abram's part of the contract was to believe and follow God. God’s part of the covenant was to bless Abraham.)
Does the covenant between God and Abraham reflect the covenant God offers you?
Friend, the Almighty I AM still desires to enter into covenant agreements with His people. In these agreements, He gives us more than we can imagine. However, God has high standards for us.
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