The Name Above All Names Text: Exodus 3:13-22
Introduction: The God Who Is
We come now to one of the most foundational moments in all of Scripture. Moses, a fugitive shepherd on the backside of the desert, has been confronted by a bush that burns but is not consumed. Out of that fire, God has commissioned him to go to the most powerful man on earth, Pharaoh, and demand the release of an entire nation of slaves. Moses, understandably, has questions. His first question was about his own authority, "Who am I?" God's answer was simple: "I will be with you." But Moses knows the slaves in Egypt will have a more pointed question. They won't ask, "Who is Moses?" They will ask, "Who is God?"
This is not an abstract, philosophical inquiry. This is the desperate question of an oppressed people. For four hundred years, they have been crushed under the heel of a pagan empire that worships a pantheon of gods represented by frogs, flies, cattle, and the sun. Their own God, the God of their fathers, has been silent. Is He real? Is He powerful? Does He have a name? In the ancient world, a name was not a mere label. A name represented character, authority, and power. To know a god's name was to have a claim on his attention, to know what he was like. So when the Israelites ask, "What is His name?" they are asking, "What kind of God are you? Are you just one more god among many? Or are you something else entirely?"
God's answer to this question is a thunderclap that echoes down through all of history. It is the bedrock of reality. It is the ultimate declaration of war against every idol, every tyrant, and every worldview that seeks to build on a foundation other than God Himself. What God reveals here is not just a name, but His very being. He is the self-existent, covenant-keeping, sovereign Lord who not only makes promises but has the absolute power to bring them to pass, even if it means dismantling an entire empire to do it.
The Text
Then Moses said to God, “Behold, I am about to come to the sons of Israel, and I will say to them, ‘The God of your fathers has sent me to you.’ And they will say to me, ‘What is His name?’ What shall I say to them?” And God said to Moses, “I AM WHO I AM”; and He said, “Thus you shall say to the sons of Israel, ‘I AM has sent me to you.’ ” And God furthermore said to Moses, “Thus you shall say to the sons of Israel, ‘Yahweh, the God of your fathers, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob, has sent me to you.’ This is My name forever, and this is My memorial-name from generation to generation. Go and gather the elders of Israel together and say to them, ‘Yahweh, the God of your fathers, the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, has appeared to me, saying, “I indeed care about you and what has been done to you in Egypt. So I said, I will bring you up out of the affliction of Egypt to the land of the Canaanite and the Hittite and the Amorite and the Perizzite and the Hivite and the Jebusite, to a land flowing with milk and honey.” ’ And they will listen to your voice; and you with the elders of Israel will come to the king of Egypt, and you all will say to him, ‘Yahweh, the God of the Hebrews, has met with us. So now, please, let us go a three days’ journey into the wilderness, that we may sacrifice to Yahweh our God.’ But I know that the king of Egypt will not give you permission to go, except by a strong hand. So I will stretch out My hand and strike Egypt with all My wondrous deeds which I shall do in the midst of it; and after that he will let you go. And I will give this people favor in the sight of the Egyptians; and it shall be that when you go, you will not go empty. But every woman shall ask of her neighbor and of the woman who lives in her house, for articles of silver and articles of gold, and clothing; and you will put them on your sons and daughters. Thus you will plunder the Egyptians.”
(Exodus 3:13-22 LSB)
The Uncontingent God (vv. 13-14)
Moses anticipates the crucial question:
"Then Moses said to God, 'Behold, I am about to come to the sons of Israel, and I will say to them, "The God of your fathers has sent me to you." And they will say to me, "What is His name?" What shall I say to them?' And God said to Moses, 'I AM WHO I AM'; and He said, 'Thus you shall say to the sons of Israel, "I AM has sent me to you."'" (Exodus 3:13-14)
God's answer, "I AM WHO I AM," is the most profound statement of being in all of literature. In Hebrew, it is Ehyeh Asher Ehyeh. This is not a riddle. It is the ultimate definition. All other beings in the universe must be defined by something else. A tree is defined by its species, its location, its relation to the soil. You are defined by your parents, your DNA, your history. Everything in creation is contingent; it depends on something else for its existence. But God is not contingent. He is the uncaused cause. He is the one being in the universe who is utterly self-existent and self-sufficient.
When the pagan asks his god, "Who are you?" the god might reply, "I am the god of the sun," or "I am the god of the river," or "I am the god of war." Each is defined by some part of the creation. But when Moses asks the true God who He is, the answer is essentially, "I am the one who is." He is not the God of something; everything else is because of Him. This name demolishes all idolatry. The gods of Egypt are part of the created order, dependent and limited. Yahweh is the Creator who stands outside and above it all. He needs nothing. He depends on nothing. He just is.
When God tells Moses to say "I AM has sent me to you," He is giving Israel the ultimate assurance. The God who is sending Moses is not a god who might be, or a god who used to be, but the God who eternally is. His existence is the central fact of the universe. This is why, centuries later, when the Lord Jesus stood in the temple and was challenged by the Jews, He reached back to this very moment. They asked Him, "You are not yet fifty years old, and have you seen Abraham?" And Jesus said to them, "Truly, truly, I say to you, before Abraham was, I am" (John 8:58). He was not just claiming to have existed before Abraham. He was claiming the divine name. He was claiming to be Yahweh in the flesh, the great I AM. And they knew it, which is why they picked up stones to kill Him for blasphemy.
The Covenant God (v. 15)
God does not leave His name as a purely philosophical concept. He immediately grounds it in history and relationship.
"And God furthermore said to Moses, 'Thus you shall say to the sons of Israel, "Yahweh, the God of your fathers, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob, has sent me to you." This is My name forever, and this is My memorial-name from generation to generation.'" (Exodus 3:15 LSB)
Here, God connects His eternal being ("I AM," or Yahweh) with His covenant promises. He is not some distant, deistic force. He is the God who makes promises and keeps them. By identifying Himself as the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, He is reminding Israel of the covenant He made centuries before, a covenant to give them a land, to make them a great nation, and to bless the world through them. The name Yahweh is not a new name, but a new revelation of the meaning of His name. He is the I AM who is now acting to fulfill the promises He made to their fathers.
This is intensely personal. He is not just "God" in the abstract; He is their God. He is the God who walked with Abraham, who provided for Isaac, who wrestled with Jacob. His eternal power is now being deployed on behalf of His covenant people. This name, Yahweh, is to be His "memorial-name." It is the name by which they are to remember Him. When they say "Yahweh," they are to remember His absolute, self-existent power, and they are to remember His steadfast, covenant-keeping love. These two truths are the pillars of our faith. He is infinitely powerful, and He is personally committed to us. What more could we need?
The Plan of Redemption (vv. 16-20)
God then lays out the battle plan for Moses, a plan that reveals His total sovereignty over human affairs.
"Go and gather the elders of Israel... I will bring you up out of the affliction of Egypt to a land flowing with milk and honey... And they will listen to your voice... But I know that the king of Egypt will not give you permission to go, except by a strong hand. So I will stretch out My hand and strike Egypt with all My wondrous deeds..." (Exodus 3:16-20 LSB)
Notice the glorious certainty in God's language. He doesn't say, "I hope to bring you up," or "If all goes well, you'll get out." He says, "I will bring you up." He doesn't say, "The elders might listen to you." He says, "They will listen to your voice." God is not predicting the future; He is declaring it. He is the author of the story.
And this includes the opposition. God is not surprised by Pharaoh's hard heart. He announces it in advance: "I know that the king of Egypt will not give you permission to go." God is not reacting to Pharaoh; Pharaoh is reacting to God. God's sovereignty extends even to the rebellion of wicked men. The apostle Paul would later use this very incident to explain the doctrine of election and reprobation in Romans 9. God raises up Pharaoh, a vessel of wrath, precisely so that He might display His power and make His name known throughout the earth. Pharaoh's stubbornness does not thwart God's plan; it is the very stage upon which God's glorious power will be displayed.
The request they are to make is deceptively simple: "let us go a three days' journey into the wilderness, that we may sacrifice to Yahweh our God." This is a test. It establishes the central conflict of the entire story. Who is Lord? Pharaoh, who claims divinity and controls the labor of the Hebrews? Or Yahweh, the God of the Hebrews, who demands their worship? Every confrontation in the Bible, and in our lives, boils down to this: who has the right to demand worship? Pharaoh's refusal to let them go for a three-day worship service is a declaration that he believes he is god, and he will not tolerate any rivals. God's response, to "strike Egypt with all My wondrous deeds," is His declaration that He alone is God, and He will not share His glory with another.
The Plunder of Egypt (vv. 21-22)
The plan concludes with a stunning reversal of fortunes, an act of divine justice and provision.
"And I will give this people favor in the sight of the Egyptians; and it shall be that when you go, you will not go empty... Thus you will plunder the Egyptians." (Exodus 3:21-22 LSB)
This is not theft. This is the payment of back wages. For centuries, the Egyptians had grown rich through the stolen labor of the Hebrews. God, in His perfect justice, sees to it that they are compensated. But notice how He does it. He does not command the Israelites to take up arms and seize the wealth. He says, "I will give this people favor." God is so sovereign that He can turn the hearts of the oppressors to suddenly become generous toward their victims. The very people who had enslaved them would now load them down with silver, gold, and clothing.
The word "plunder" is a deliberate, polemical jab. Plunder is what a victorious army does to a defeated enemy. God is framing the Exodus not as an escape, but as a military conquest. The Israelites, unarmed slaves, will walk out of Egypt as a triumphant army, having plundered the nation's wealth without lifting a sword. This is God's doing, and it is marvelous in our eyes. It demonstrates that the victory belongs to the Lord. This wealth would later be used to construct the Tabernacle, the dwelling place of God. The stolen wages of slavery would be consecrated to build the house of the God who sets captives free.
Conclusion: The Greater Exodus
This entire chapter is a glorious preview of a greater exodus to come. We, like the Israelites, were slaves in a foreign land. We were in bondage to sin, serving a cruel tyrant, Satan, the prince of this world. We were afflicted, without hope, and our labor produced only death.
But the God of the covenant, the great I AM, remembered His promises. He saw our affliction. And He sent a deliverer, one greater than Moses. He sent His own Son, Jesus Christ, the eternal I AM. He came to the court of the tyrant and said, "Let my people go." And when the prince of this world refused, God stretched out His hand. Not with plagues of frogs and flies, but with the ultimate wondrous deed. He struck His own Son on the cross.
On that cross, Jesus plundered the strong man's house. He disarmed the rulers and authorities and put them to open shame, triumphing over them (Colossians 2:15). He paid the wages of our sin, and in His resurrection, He broke the power of death and led a host of captives free. And He did not send us out empty-handed. He lavished upon us the riches of His grace. He gave us the favor of God. He clothed us in His own righteousness and adorned us with the imperishable gold of His own Spirit.
The name of God is still Yahweh. He is still the I AM. He is still the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. And He is the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ. His name is our memorial forever. He is the God who is, who keeps His promises, who defeats tyrants, and who sets His people free. And He has sent us, not to Pharaoh, but into all the world, to declare this name, the name of Jesus, which is the name above every name, so that every knee should bow and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.