Moses said to God, “Suppose I go to the Israelites and say to them, ‘The God of your fathers has sent me to you,’ and they ask me, ‘What is his name?’ Then what shall I tell them?” God said to Moses, “I am who I am.” This is what you are to say to the Israelites: ‘I am has sent me to you.’…This is my name forever, the name you shall call me from generation to generation. (Exodus 3:13-15, NIV)
Over the span of a Tour player’s career, it is unsurprising to see them change various aspects of their game. They change equipment— clubs, putters, and balls. They change caddies. They change their swing.
These changes intend to improve their game, but sometimes they can be disastrous. Club changes by Rory McIlroy in 2013 and David Duval in 2001 were ill-fated.
In 2017 Bubba Watson’s switch from playing Titleist balls to neon Volvik balls lasted only a year. One can only wonder what these players’ careers might have been like if they had “stayed the course” and had not succumbed to the temptation of change.
Early in Genesis, we learn a second name for God that reveals more about his character—he is changeless. Genesis 2:4 introduces us to God’s very personal and proper name —Yahweh (YHWH) or Jehovah.
When we see the name LORD in the text, we know it refers to YHWH. Yahweh is used over 6500 times—more than any other name in the Old Testament. We discover more about Yahweh in Exodus 3:13-15 when Moses encounters the burning bush on Mt. Horeb.
God tells Moses to return to Egypt to lead his people to freedom. Anticipating that if he tells the Israelites that the God of their fathers has sent him, they will ask what his name is, Moses asks God what he should tell them. God says: “I AM WHO I AM.” You should say to them that “I AM” sent me to you.”
I AM WHO I AM comes from the Hebrew verb “harah” which means “to be” or “being.” It reveals that God is self-existent. He always was, is, and will be. He is self-sufficient—he is not dependent on anything or anyone. Moreover, he is changeless and immutable.
The fact that he is changeless and will never change ought to give us great confidence that his promises will never fail. Not only does his name assure us of his unchangeable character, but passages in both the Old and New Testament also remind us of that fact. (“I the LORD do not change.” Malachi 3:6; “Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today, and forever.” Hebrews 13:8) (NIV).
We live in a world where an ethos of moral relativism—“you have your truth, and I have mine”—permeates our culture. When we encounter this worldview of moral relativism that strives to destroy, change, or ignore what God has taught us to be his unchanging truths, we can rely on Jehovah’s unchangeable character, which provides us with the necessary stability and security to stand strong.
We should be extremely thankful and thank Jehovah for providing us with these unchanging truths.
PRAYER: Jehovah, thank you for your changelessness and for teaching us unchanging truths that enable us to stand strong in a culture that threatens those truths.