Do you know the meaning of your name? I don’t mean the familial association with your name, but the literal, etymological definition of your name?
My name means “spirited” and “large-chested.” Seriously. If you don’t believe me, look it up. I would like to think my parents nailed the whole “spirited” thing, since I was, and still am, an overactive child (even at 38). But I know they got the “large chested” part right, because I was (and still am) an enormous human being.
But if you looked at me now, I don’t think “spirited” and “large chested” would be the first things you think about. I won’t attempt to explain what you would think about, but that’s the danger with names. They have a meaning – but only as much meaning as you ascribe to it.
Unless you’re God.
When Moses was sent to Egypt to let the people go, he asked for an identification of who sent him. This was necessary, considering both the Egyptians and the Israelites may have had very little understanding of who God is.
In response, God simply gave His name as “I AM WHO I AM.”
I’m fascinated by this, primarily because it seems so utterly generic that it could be talking about anything. But it’s precisely in this genericness that we can see who God really is.
Think back to the names we give each other. One might mean “child of Ermanno”, while another may mean “minstrel.“ We give specific names to specific people because we want to separate them from everyone else.
But God doesn’t need separation from everything else because there simply isn’t anything else like Him. He’s one of one. He’s unique, distinct, without comparison or equal.
Even the idolatrous gods of pagan nations have names that signify their differences with each other. One is a god of war, while another is a god of doorways. That’s the basis for the different statues in Athens that Paul witnessed in Acts 17. There were so many of them, that they erected one to another just in case they missed one. Apparently, there were too many to keep track of.
“I AM WHO I AM” is not even really a name, is it? It doesn’t tell us much about Him (besides His singularity and authority), but it’s arguably the easiest way we can relate to Him. Again, as Paul said, God doesn’t “dwell in temples made with hands” and doesn’t need to “be served by human hands” (Acts 17:22-31). He’s above us in every sense of the word.
This isn’t the only time we see this type of approach used in Scripture. The book of Revelation describes Heaven as a city of gold with walls and streets. Is that really what’s there, or is it just the best way for God to describe the place in a way that we would most easily understand?
God can’t be encompassed by a name. He is who He is. But as a way to identify Him specifically to the Israelites, He tells Moses to inform His people that He’s the God of their fathers Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. Those are names 400+ plus years in the past that they should recognize as part of their genealogical history.
That, along with the plagues, should get their attention.
