The Name of God
September 28th, 2025 “The Name of God” Rev. Heather Jepsen
Exodus 2:23-3:15 and 4:10-17
This morning we continue in the narrative lectionary and our overarching look through the story of the Bible as a whole. Last week we read about God choosing to bless Jacob with the ancestral blessing that was given to Isaac and Abraham before him.
Since our reading, Jacob has become the father of a nation. God has given him a new name, “Israel” and God has blessed him with 12 sons who will become the 12 tribes of Israel. At the end of the Jacob story, his son Joseph is reigning as king of Egypt and all the family moves to Egypt to survive a famine. In Egypt if the people can’t pay for the food that they need, then they must work off the debt as slaves. Hence, generations later, we find the Israelites enslaved under Pharoh. What started as a blessing from Jacob’s son Joseph becomes a curse.
Deep within the depths of their suffering the people of Israel cry out for help. Finally, God turns to notice them. God sees the people suffering and God remembers God’s promise of care and blessing. God devises a plan to bring the people out of slavery and into freedom.
God’s plan revolves around one person to lead and that person is Moses. When we find him in our story for today, he is hiding in the wilderness. In anger he murdered a man and so he has been on the run. He has made a life for himself in Midian with a wife and children, but God has other plans.
As Moses is out in the wilderness he sees a bush, on fire, but not consumed by the flames. Moses recognizes a holy sight, and God calls to him from within the mystery. God tells Moses that he has heard the Israelites’ suffering in Egypt, and he would like to rescue the people. So, God plans to send Moses to Pharoh to demand the people’s release.
Moses is definitely not interested in this mission and over and over again he tries to make excuses or talk God out of sending him. One thing he does to slow God down is to ask for God’s name. Previously, Jacob asked for the name of God, but he was denied such knowledge. This time God relents and gives Moses a name which is Yahweh translated as “I am who I am”, or “I will be who I will be”, or simply “I am”.
Scholars really struggle with what to make of this name and the history of the name of God is murky at best. We’ve talked previously in this series about the various authors of the Pentateuch and that of course is relevant here. The Priestly source uses only the name El Shaddai which is God Almighty until God gives Moses the name Yahweh. The Elohist source uses Elohim until Yahweh is given here. But the Yahwist source uses this name, Yahweh, way back in Genesis like it was always the name people called God.
Most of our reading for today was written by the Yahwist writer but this name section is actually from the Elohist tradition which is so interesting. The divine name given here is formed from the Hebrew verb “to be” and Hebrew has no tense distinctions in grammar. So, God could be just “I am” or it could be “he will be” or “he always is”. There is no way to know for sure. Scholars think that perhaps this name is deliberately vague or cryptic in order to highlight the mystery that is God.
As the story continues, God tries to tell Moses that he needs to go to Pharoah and work to free the Israelites from slavery. And Moses keeps trying to evade God or convince God to choose somebody else. He says he doesn’t know God’s name, he says he needs a promise of success, he says he needs something to demonstrate the power of God, and finally he says he simply isn’t a good public speaker. Moses is full of excuses. Once he has run out of excuses Moses simply says to God, “O my Lord, please send someone else.”
God doesn’t like it when we say no. There are thousands of people begging for help, God has a plan, Moses is the plan, God promises Moses that he will be with him and that the plan will work, and still Moses says no. It’s all very selfish and disappointing. And the anger of the Lord was kindled against Moses, just as our anger burns when folks refuse to help us. God finally relents and says that Moses can use his brother Aaron to speak for him, but Moses will still be the go between between Aaron and God.
When I was reading the text this week, I was really struck by how much we cry to God for help but then we aren’t willing to do anything to change the world around us. Every day we are faced with injustice in our world. From the corruption in government, to the threats to immigrants and refugees, from the slander of the gay and the trans community, to the plague of income inequality, to our complete and utter lack of care regarding the warming of our planet or the plastics in our very own bodies. Our nation and our world are on a destructive collision course of our own making and while we might pray about it, we do very little to change anything.
I wondered how often this week we find ourselves in Moses’ shoes. People are crying to the Lord for help, and the Lord turns and hears their cries. God remembers God’s promises to the least of these, and God makes a plan to help. And then when God comes to us and asks us to help our neighbor, we refuse.
Like Moses, we prefer to stay on the sidelines, in the wilderness, with our safe little family and our friends. We have the nerve to tell God to “please send someone else.” Is it any wonder the Lord’s anger is kindled against us?
Just a few weeks ago I had a meeting with other church leaders in our community in the Warrensburg Ministerial Association. These are all small churches mind you. In the 13 years that I have lived and ministered in this town I have never seen the pastors of the big churches participate in any group activity. I was shocked to hear at this meeting that one of these other churches in town are ending all their ministry to the homeless population. It’s just too hard, the Sunday worshippers don’t like it, people don’t feel safe, and so the church circles the wagons and closes the door to those in need. Other pastors told me, “What this community needs is for your church to be open 5 or even 7 days a week”. It was all I could do not to storm out of the meeting. How come we are the only ones to do the mission and ministry of the church in Warrensburg? What are you even doing as a church if you aren’t doing anything to help the least of these right on our doorstep?!?
Now I know I’m on a bit of a high horse here so I will step back a bit. But, I really want us to consider what we are praying to God for, and how those prayers align or don’t align with how we show up in the world. God surely hears the cries of the poor and the oppressed in our world today. God is surely working to bring people out of a slavery to unjust systems. But just like with Moses, God can’t do it if we say no. If we aren’t willing participants for the kingdom of God, then nothing will ever change.
As we have been reading this long story of God and God’s relationship with God’s people we have seen God learn and grow. From creating a perfect creation of order and division to realizing that humans equal chaos. From testing Abraham by asking him to kill his own child to realizing that maybe that wasn’t such a good test after all. From Jacob stealing a blessing and to God doubling down on the trouble maker by giving grace upon grace. Both God and God’s people learn and grow.
I am sure God thought it would be easy to convince Moses to do the work with Pharoh. I mean, he was talking to a burning bush for god’s sake. Who can say no to a burning bush?? And yet Moses says no over and over and over again. Such a reluctant leader, Moses does not want to put his life on the line to save other people. In the end, Moses will lead them out of Egypt. But the people will complain for 40 years, and Moses will never get to that Promised Land.
I wonder how often today God hears our cries for help and yet no one will do anything. Surely God hears the orphaned children of Gaza. Surely God hears the starving mothers in Sudan. Surely God hears the widows of Ukraine. Surely God hears the families who are hiding from ICE. Surely God hears the heart of the young man who fears to tell his parents that he is gay. Surely God hears the cries of the very people who gather in our basement for lunch two times a week.
And God looks to the world, God turns and remembers, and God tells us to go help. That God will be with us. That we can do it. That we can be the positive change in our world and God will meet us here in worship when we are done. The only question is, will we say “yes” to God? Or will we be full of excuses like Moses was?
The name of God is Yahweh. God simply is. God will be. Ever and always God. But what is our name? Are we going to be called the people of God, or not? Amen.
