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| God’s Secret Name
Still unsure of what lies ahead, and wanting to verify just whose messenger he is to be, Moses asks God, “What is your name?” Moses’ inquiry into God’s name may sound strange to us who have grown up in a monotheistic culture, but it was a practical question given the culture in which Moses found himself. The Egyptians practiced a polytheistic religion with many gods, not only worshiping these gods but also their manifestations in created animals and realities. After ten generations in Egypt, the Israelites would certainly be accustomed to hearing the names of many gods on a daily basis. When Moses returns to Egypt and announces God’s plan to the Israelites, the first question put to him would likely be, “Which god sent you?” God answers Moses’ request and reveals his name: Yahweh (in Hebrew, ’ehyeh ’asher ’ehyeh), which consists of a double use of the Hebrew verb “to be,” hayah, meaning “I am who I am,” or “I will be who I will be” (Ex 3:14). To Moses’ question “ Who am I that I should go to Pharaoh?” (Ex 3:11; emphasis added), God responds that “he is” (“I am”). But this implies more than simply that God’s existence is certain and firmly established. Rather, it means that the God of the Hebrews is the one who “is with” Moses. The narrative understanding for God’s name is quite striking and simple: according to the logic of the story, the name Yahweh means that God is with his people. Yahweh is not a distant God, but a God who is present. In Egyptian religious practice, each god had not only a public name known to all, but also a secret name known only to their priests. The priests would invoke this secret name in spells and in their black magic; use of this secret name gave access to the presence and the power of that god. Here, at the burning bush, Moses p 65 is the first of God’s people to learn God’s inmost, secret name. The patriarchs, who did not know God’s true name, never performed any miracles. Now, however, the Lord reveals his name, and Moses will work signs and wonders in God’s name! In the New Testament, Jesus will say, “Whenever two or more are gathered in my name, there I am in their midst” (emphasis added); invoking Jesus’ name invokes his presence ( Catechism No. 2666). The Acts of the Apostles repeatedly speaks of “wonders and signs” being done in the name of Jesus Christ. Jesus’ name is a sacrament; it makes present what it signifies. So, too, in Exodus, for Moses to say the name of Yahweh is to invoke his presence and his power. With the gift of God’s name, Moses now has access to God’s presence, and mighty deeds of power are soon to follow. Haggling with God Haggling was a part of life in the ancient Middle East, and in Exodus 4:1–17, Moses attempts to haggle with God about his mission to return to Egypt. To Moses’ objection that the Israelites will not believe him, the Lord gives three incredible signs. First, God turns Moses’ staff into a serpent (in Hebrew, nahash, the identical word used to describe the tempter in Genesis 3). God commands Moses to seize the serpent by the tail, which then stiffens back into his staff, showing that Moses can triumph over evil in God’s name. Next, God turns Moses’ hand leprous and then heals the leprosy, showing how he will soon heal his people of their misery. Finally, God turns water from the Nile to blood, suggesting that God has not forgotten the blood of Israel’s children shed in the Nile. God will soon act on Israel’s behalf. Moses is still not persuaded and puts forward a second objection: “Oh, my Lord, I am not eloquent … I am slow of speech and of tongue” (Ex 4:10). Moses tries to get out of the mission by claiming that he is not sufficiently gifted. The Lord responds: “Who has made man’s mouth? Who makes him mute, or deaf, or seeing, or blind? Is it not I, the L ORD ? Now therefore go, and I will be your mouth and teach you what you shall speak” (Ex 4:11–12). The Lord wants Moses to know that even though Moses does not feel suited to this monumental task, God has prepared him and given him the necessary gifts to do his will. Moses has been p 66 preserved from an early death, educated in Pharaoh’s court, and even directed to Midian, where he has learned the paths to and around God’s holy mountain while shepherding Jethro’s flocks. God tells Moses what he tells us: he uses everything in our lives for his plan. A CT 2: S IGNS AND W ONDERS |