Do you believe in God?
This is a question we ask others and ourselves often in our culture, but rarely do we pause and recognize the many assumptions that are embedded in this question. Which god are we believing in or doubting? What is he, or she, or it like? Is this god kind, vindictive, permissive, or cruel? Why does it matter to believe in that god or not? What does this god do for me? What does this god want me to do in response?
Rather than asking ourselves or others, “Do you believe in God?” we should be asking “What god do you believe in?”
It is easy to assume what we mean by “God” but in a rapidly changing and increasingly pluralistic culture, we must reconsider our idea of God so it is in line with who he actually is. Moreover, we all have a god of one kind or another. Whether it be Jesus, Allah, Buddha, Krishna, money, sex, or power, we all have something above ourselves to which we give our heart’s devotion and honor. Much of what and who we think god to be may be the result of how we were raised, how we’ve been treated by others, or what the broader culture around us believes. Who and what we imagine God to be will drastically shape and form the people we are becoming. This is why it is so important to experience who the Christian God in Scripture reveals himself to be.*
God as Revealed in Exodus
One of the most foundational stories of God’s self-revelation is the Exodus narrative. This is not only the second book of the Bible, but it is one of the most referenced books by other biblical books in all of Scripture. The Exodus story of God rescuing Israel from slavery in Egypt to be his special people is alluded to within the Bible more than just about any other story in the Bible. Again and again, God introduces himself or is described by others as “the Lord God who brought Israel out of Egypt.” Also, it could be argued that God’s revelation of his own name and character in Exodus 34:5–7 is God’s favorite Bible verse, since it is the one that is quoted and referenced more than any other passage.
The god displayed in this story is not an idea or theological abstraction, but he is a personal agent who has a name. At the burning bush in Exodus 3, God reveals his personal name, Yahweh (I Am Who I Am, or LORD in most English translations). Many Jewish people eventually went beyond God’s command not take his name in vain (Exodus 20:7) by not vocalizing his name at all and instead saying Adonai (Lord) instead of pronouncing the four letters of YHWH. As Christians and Yahweh’s covenant people, we can use his personal name as an expression of our relational intimacy with him (read more about why HERE). While it is totally okay to use “God” or “Lord” to refer to our Christian deity, occasionally using his personal Hebrew name “Yahweh” in reflection and devotion can be a helpful practice to remind us that the God we worship as Christians is radically different from other conceptions of the divine.
Join Us as We Relive Yahweh’s Defining Rescue Story
Not only does the Exodus story reveal God’s name, but it tells what God does in relation to us, his people…Yahweh Rescues. This is the defining activity of Yahweh and is the story that becomes the paradigm for his relationship with Israel, and later the church, through Jesus. Through this epic story, we will see how God saved Israel from slavery in Egypt, and he saved them for his special people who would experience Yahweh’s presence and share that with the rest of the world.
While we may think the Exodus story is over once Israel gets out of slavery from Egypt and crosses the Red Sea (since that’s where the Prince of Egypt movie ends!), at that point we are barely a third of the way through the book of Exodus.
The larger narrative of Israel’s wandering through the wilderness, receiving Yahweh’s law and divine presence at Mount Sinai, and their struggle to follow Yahweh faithfully because of their continued bondage to sin, all reminds us that Yahweh’s rescue of us is also an ongoing journey.
We hope you join us for this upcoming sermon series Yahweh Rescues as we experience our God Yahweh’s defining rescue story together.
*For more great reflections on this idea, see John Mark Comer’s book, God Has a Name: What You Believe about God Will Shape Who You Become.
