Forming Faith Blog

God Has a Name (Exodus 2, 3, 4)

Posted on September 16 2025 by Gregory Rawn

In Exodus, God gave Moses God’s name: I AM WHO I AM. With God’s name, we can call upon God in prayer and worship. The gift of God’s name is a gift of relationship.

God announced God's name to Moses.
In the Beginning

This reading marks a transition in the Narrative Lectionary. The previous three assigned readings were all in Genesis, the Book of Beginnings. We started in Genesis 1 with the first creation story, the cosmic story of a good beginning. Next, we jump forward to a different kind of beginning, the promise of a chosen people through the birth of Isaac from Sarah and Abraham (and the sacrifice thing), and then the con Isaac’s wife and younger son (Jacob) pulled on Isaac and Esau. We will continue to follow this family for the rest of Scripture. 

Now we move from Genesis to Exodus and the foundational story of the people of Israel, a move from enslavement in Egypt to freedom in the land God promised Abraham and Sarah: the exodus.

Since Last Time… 

One of the purposes of the Narrative Lectionary is the “narrative” part, the sense that all of Scripture is part of a single story. Of course, it is unreasonable to consider reading the entirety of the Bible in worship over a nine-or twelve-month period. So, the lectionary must skip forward. But it is important (to me, at least) for the teacher or preacher to connect the plot between last week and this week.

We left Jacob on the run from a furious Esau and receiving anew God’s promise given to Abraham and Sarah. After that, Jacob arrives at his uncle Laban’s home, collects two wives, their two female slaves, and a large flock. There continues to be dubious means for all of this, leading to Jacob on the run from a different relative. On his way back home, he wrestles a mysterious stranger, who might or might not be God, and receives a new name: Israel.

Jacob (Israel) has twelve sons (and one daughter) whose offspring would eventually become the twelve tribes of Israel. One of those sons, Joseph, had a very dramatic (and traumatic) story that led him to be the second-most-powerful leader in Egypt during a seven-year famine. To save his family, Joseph brought them to settle in Egypt. That is basically where Genesis ends. The book starts at the beginning and ends with God’s chosen people in Egypt.

That is where the Book of Exodus takes over.

Enslavement

As the family of the second-most-powerful leader in Egypt, I assume that Joseph’s family was treated well, perhaps even had a privileged place. And something that I haven’t seen mentioned much in the Bible or elsewhere, but during the famine, Joseph took all of the Egyptian people’s land and made them slaves (Genesis 47:18-21). Seemingly unrelated to this, a pharaoh hundreds of years later was unaware of the special status of the Israelites. He only saw their value for labor and the risk if they turned against him. So, he enslaved them in an attempt to get the benefits (to him) without the risks (also to him).

It’s uncertain how long the Egyptians enslaved God’s people in this story. Exodus 12:40 tells us the people lived in Egypt for 430 years, not that they were enslaved that whole time. But since Moses was reported to be 80 years old when the people left Egypt, the enslavement lasted longer than that.

Regardless, the Israelites were suffering under the hand of the Pharaoh, God heard their cries, and called Moses to lead the people out (“exodus” means “the road/way out”). 

That brings us to our current passage.

The Power of a Name

Some ancient cultures believed that if someone were to have another’s true name, they would have power over them. This is significant in the mythology related to the Egyptian sun god Ra (The Secret Name of Ra). Therefore, no one, especially a god, would voluntarily tell anyone their true name so as not to be under another’s control.

But in Exodus 3, we have God giving God’s name.

Biblical Names

In modern times, we give first names to babies for a number of reasons: honoring someone’s memory, liking the story or history behind a name, or even just liking the sound of the name (my parents apparently liked the name of an actor). And this probably happened often within the biblical narrative, too. But it is also common in Scripture for a name to mean something about the individual, describing them, the circumstances of their birth, or even something in their future.

Adam means “earth,” and Eve relates to the word for “living.” God changed Abram’s name (exalted father) to Abraham (a father of many nations). Isaac (laughter) describes Sarah’s laughter both when she heard God’s promise and when she laughed with joy at his birth. Esau (red) simply refers to his hair color, while Jacob (he takes by the heel) both literally refers to his grasping his brother’s heel at birth and his future of stealing Esau’s birthright and blessing (he supplants). Even Moses was named after the circumstances of his discovery by the princess (drawn out of the water).

Divine Names

Even god names in the ancient world describe the gods in some way, though many of their names are of unknown or uncertain origin. Zeus relates both to “god” and “sky.” Hades, god of the underworld, is derived from “unseen.” In the stories about Elijah the prophet, our God’s nemesis is Ba’al (lord, master).

God’s Name

So what does God give Moses as a name to give to the Israelite elders? The translation God gives is “I AM WHO I AM”—the name YHWH from the verb “to be.” God is declaring that YHWH is the one who exists now and always. We can interpret this as our God not being the god over a particular realm or people, but the Creator of all that is.

A Name to Use or Misuse

While God’s name does not give us power over God, this gift is one of relationship. We are given God’s name so that we can call upon God personally in prayer and worship. It is sometimes said in Scripture that God’s name is on God’s people (see Numbers 6:22-27). It’s not magic, but God’s name has power, and God gives us that name purposefully. 

But just as purposely, we are specifically forbidden to misuse God’s name (there’s even a commandment and a petition in the Lord’s Prayer about that). We not only profane God’s name when we swear falsely by it, but so much more when we, who bear God’s name, misrepresent God in our lives.

May we, at all times, honor the gift of God’s name in our relationships with the great I AM and our neighbors.

In God’s amazing grace,

Gregory Rawn (Publisher)

Download a FREE activity for 9/28/2025
Free Resource

During the main Narrative Lectionary year (September 7 to May 24), we provide a free resource download from one of our products to help you in your faith formation ministry. This week, download “Unbound,” an activity from our Living the Word: Kids Mini Lessons (NL) curriculum, though this can be used with many age groups!

Order Faith Formation Resources

The 2025-2026 program year is here! Do you have all the faith formation resources you need? Order now and download immediately! Our Narrative Lectionary (Year 4, 2025-2026) and Revised Common Lectionary (Years C & A, 2025-2026) resources are online, ready to order, and available for immediate download! If you don’t have much time for full-length children’s Christian education, then check out our Kids Mini Lessons for the NL and RCL. If you don’t use a lectionary, check out our non-lectionary Living the Word: Classroom (PK-2nd, 3rd-6th).

Are you looking for resources for topical Sunday school, family/intergenerational events, retreats, and more?

Learning Together is a series of five-lesson units on a variety of topics. Our faith formation resources are easy to use, theologically sound, and inclusive.

Check out our newest Learning Together unit: Travelers (Immigrants and Refugees).

Our unit Celebrations is a recommended VBS curriculum by Building Faith (and the only curriculum they reviewed from a small, independent publisher)!!!

You can read outside reviews on both our Do Justice and Created to Care units!

I am very honored to announce that I was a guest on the premiere episode of season 3 of the Around the Table podcast! The topic: how faith formation is different than Christian education. Check it out at Around the Table S03E01.

Our Resources

At Spirit & Truth Publishing, we might have exactly what you are looking for:

Stay updated by liking our Facebook page, subscribing to our e-newsletter, or following this blog!

Leave a Reply