We continue with Moses’ response to God’s call from the burning bush. His first question was “Who am I?” And God’s answer was, essentially, “Who you are is irrelevant. I will be with you.” So Moses’ next question is a good one: “Who are you?”

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, LSB)

“I AM has sent me to you.” I just saw a fascinating post from Heather Holleman, quoting someone else’s post. It begins this way:

My friend posted something on Facebook yesterday that amazed Ashley and me. It immediately reminded me of the verse, “Let everything that has breath praise the Lord” (Psalm 150: 6). Enjoy the post below:

There was a moment when Moses had the nerve to ask God what his name is. God was gracious enough to answer, and the name he gave is recorded in the original Hebrew as YHWH.

Over time we’ve arbitrarily added an “a” and an “e” in there to get YaHWeH, presumably because we have a preference for vowels.

But scholars and rabbis have noted that the letters YHWH represent breathing sounds or aspirated consonants. When pronounced without intervening vowels, it actually sounds like breathing.

YH (inhale): WH (exhale).

So a baby’s first cry, his first breath, speaks the name of God.

A deep sigh calls His name – or a groan or gasp that is too heavy for mere words.

Even an atheist would speak His name, unaware that their very breath is giving constant acknowledgment to God.

Likewise, a person leaves this earth with their last breath, when God’s name is no longer filling their lungs... – Heather Holleman quoting Sandra Thurman Caporale from the Memorial Church of Christ in Houston, February 21, 2023.

Not everyone believes that this interpretation of YHWH is accurate, but I’ve never been able to get into “Yahweh,” which the LSB translation I’m reading this year uses. (The earliest attempts to pronounce YHWH came out “Jehovah.”)

According to this article by Bill Perkins, there’s an anonymous article floating around that Sandra drew from. (The Perkins article is a good one, with additional information and application.)

All that to say this “breath” interpretation of YHWH resonated with me. It reminds me of Jesus’ reference to the Spirit in John 3, using the word pneuma, translated wind.

The wind (pneuma) blows where it wishes, and you hear its sound, but you do not know where it comes from or where it goes. So it is with everyone who is born of the Spirit (also pneuma). (John 3.8, ESV)

Let everything that has breath praise the LORD! Praise the LORD! (Psalm 150.6, ESV)

It’s not enough for Moses though – we’ll see his next question/objection tomorrow.