Knows My Name
“And the LORD said to Moses, ‘This very thing that you have spoken I will do, for you have found favor in My sight, and I know you by name.’"—Exodus 33:17
Moses is one of the greatest figures in the Old Testament. He was born during the Hebrew baby boom—a time when Hebrew slaves in Egypt were multiplying at what the Egyptian government believed to be a rapid rate. The Hebrew baby boom was seen as a threat to the Egyptian government, so Pharaoh issued an edict of infanticide for all Hebrew baby boys. But the Hebrew midwives who were to carry out the edict feared God more than man and spared the boys. Moses was thus born to Hebrew parents who were slaves in Egypt. His first three months were spent in hiding as Egyptian authorities would have undoubtedly seen him and carried out the death warrant themselves. Unable to conceal her growing baby, his mother, Jochebed, took a basket and made it watertight, then placed her son in it and set it adrift in the Nile River in the hope that someone might find him and he would escape the death sentence. The basket found its way to the daughter of Pharaoh who discovered it while bathing. She took the child and raised him as her own, giving him the name Moses because he was drawn from the water.
Moses was raised in Pharaoh’s daughter’s house, but when grown chose to leave the life of an Egyptian aristocrat in order to identify with the people of God. He became the leader of the Hebrew people, their deliverer, and the spokesperson for the nation before Pharaoh and God. He led the Hebrew people out of slavery, across the Red Sea on dry land, and then on into the wilderness to Mt. Sinai, where God’s manifest presence would descend and He would converse with Moses. “Thus the LORD used to speak to Moses face to face, as a man speaks to his friend”—Exodus 33:11.
After one particular meeting with God on Mt. Sinai, Moses asked for direction on how he was to lead God’s people, as well as some insight into the ways of God so that He might do what God desired. God responds that He will be manifestly present among the people and give them rest. Moses responds with a request that if God will not be present with the Hebrew people, then they should be allowed to stay right where they are, because without God’s presence the Hebrew nation is nothing—it was the presence of God in their midst that made the Hebrew people different. God responds to Moses’ request in our passage for today—He would be with them because Moses had found favor in God’s sight. Not only had Moses found favor, but God knew him by name. God had an intimate connection with and esteem for Moses. He regarded Moses favorably because Moses valued God above all things. He wanted God’s will for his life more than anything else. He didn’t consider himself higher than he should, but saw himself as a humble servant in the sight of God, and he knew better than anyone else of that era that without God’s manifest presence among the Hebrew people, they were nothing. His desire for God and a proper understanding of himself in the sight of God brought God glory. God spoke to him face to face and knew his name, a sign of intimate relationship.
As beneficiaries of salvation through Christ, God knows our names. He knows our ins and outs, our struggles and sins. He knows our hopes, our dreams, our fears and our aspirations, and still loves us. God will not leave us or forsake us; He has promised to be with us until the end..
God is loving, compassionate, and aware of everything that we are going through right now—He cares enough for us to know our names. We are not just numbers, or people on the street—we are known intimately and tenderly by our Creator God who gave Himself for us because He loves us so much. There is nothing that we are going through that He is not intimately aware of and concerned about. May we come to Him in humble adoration, laying down our burdens, asking for guidance, wisdom and strength, knowing that He cares more for us than we can imagine. He wants to take our burdens from us in order that we might experience the joy of worshipping Him and find rest and strength in fellowship with Him. May it be so today and forever. Amen.
Moses is one of the greatest figures in the Old Testament. He was born during the Hebrew baby boom—a time when Hebrew slaves in Egypt were multiplying at what the Egyptian government believed to be a rapid rate. The Hebrew baby boom was seen as a threat to the Egyptian government, so Pharaoh issued an edict of infanticide for all Hebrew baby boys. But the Hebrew midwives who were to carry out the edict feared God more than man and spared the boys. Moses was thus born to Hebrew parents who were slaves in Egypt. His first three months were spent in hiding as Egyptian authorities would have undoubtedly seen him and carried out the death warrant themselves. Unable to conceal her growing baby, his mother, Jochebed, took a basket and made it watertight, then placed her son in it and set it adrift in the Nile River in the hope that someone might find him and he would escape the death sentence. The basket found its way to the daughter of Pharaoh who discovered it while bathing. She took the child and raised him as her own, giving him the name Moses because he was drawn from the water.
Moses was raised in Pharaoh’s daughter’s house, but when grown chose to leave the life of an Egyptian aristocrat in order to identify with the people of God. He became the leader of the Hebrew people, their deliverer, and the spokesperson for the nation before Pharaoh and God. He led the Hebrew people out of slavery, across the Red Sea on dry land, and then on into the wilderness to Mt. Sinai, where God’s manifest presence would descend and He would converse with Moses. “Thus the LORD used to speak to Moses face to face, as a man speaks to his friend”—Exodus 33:11.
After one particular meeting with God on Mt. Sinai, Moses asked for direction on how he was to lead God’s people, as well as some insight into the ways of God so that He might do what God desired. God responds that He will be manifestly present among the people and give them rest. Moses responds with a request that if God will not be present with the Hebrew people, then they should be allowed to stay right where they are, because without God’s presence the Hebrew nation is nothing—it was the presence of God in their midst that made the Hebrew people different. God responds to Moses’ request in our passage for today—He would be with them because Moses had found favor in God’s sight. Not only had Moses found favor, but God knew him by name. God had an intimate connection with and esteem for Moses. He regarded Moses favorably because Moses valued God above all things. He wanted God’s will for his life more than anything else. He didn’t consider himself higher than he should, but saw himself as a humble servant in the sight of God, and he knew better than anyone else of that era that without God’s manifest presence among the Hebrew people, they were nothing. His desire for God and a proper understanding of himself in the sight of God brought God glory. God spoke to him face to face and knew his name, a sign of intimate relationship.
As beneficiaries of salvation through Christ, God knows our names. He knows our ins and outs, our struggles and sins. He knows our hopes, our dreams, our fears and our aspirations, and still loves us. God will not leave us or forsake us; He has promised to be with us until the end..
God is loving, compassionate, and aware of everything that we are going through right now—He cares enough for us to know our names. We are not just numbers, or people on the street—we are known intimately and tenderly by our Creator God who gave Himself for us because He loves us so much. There is nothing that we are going through that He is not intimately aware of and concerned about. May we come to Him in humble adoration, laying down our burdens, asking for guidance, wisdom and strength, knowing that He cares more for us than we can imagine. He wants to take our burdens from us in order that we might experience the joy of worshipping Him and find rest and strength in fellowship with Him. May it be so today and forever. Amen.
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