The Importance of the Exodus

The Importance of the Exodus
(by manolete-je)

Dear Readers! What is the importance of the Exodus? As the song says, from the Prince of Egypt, "there can be miracles when you believe." What was the miralce? There were many, of course.
The exodus of Israel from Egypt is "miracle." It was a glaring testimony to the majestic, awesome, power of the One and only, living and true God, the LORD God of life- the God of the bible! He, who in a sense has no Name, is the over arching focus of the exodus. This, of course, does not lessen the importance of the many lessons we can and must glean from the exodus story. But, for the moment, I'd like to focus or think about what the overall important focus of the exodus is. (And yet, how can one over look the details? From Egypt to Sinai, and then the promised land; from Pesah or passover to what it is we celebrate in our Easter and Passover celebrations today, when we think about the exodus. Especially, our need to bow before the Lord, our Maker, and thank him for Salvation, and redemption- all, of course, fulfilled, perfectly in Jesus the Messiah, the Lamb of God).

For centuries the seed of Abraham called Him "El". For years, in English, the Jewish people spelled His name as G-D or G-d, so as to avoid invoking His Holy name in vain. For centuries "El" or "ELoHiM" was His name, in the Hebrew tongue- a descriptive title referring to His creative power as Creator of the Universe, the earth, and man. In English- God. "Theos" in Greek. "Deus" in Latin. He was also Named, in Hebrew, "ADoNai." A title stating that He is the LORD and KING of His creation. The God of the bible is both "Lord and God" of all that is.
But, it wasn't until God spoke to Moses, a prince in Egypt, yet a Hebrew, that God revealed or made known His identity and His name to his people. It was when Moses turned aside from tending his flocks to observe the bush that burned, but was not consumed, that he met God, and heard Him speak. He heard the Voice of Him who had no Name and who was invisible. God said, "I aM the GoD of your fathers, the God of Abraham, and the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob." And so G-d (ELoHiM) revealed Himself or made Himself known to Moses (MoSHe). God eventually told Moses He was sending Him to Egypt and to Pharoah to command him to let Israel go. And so, the man Moses (another story in itself) obeyed the voice of God and went.

But, in the course of that amazing, space and time, communication, as Moses stood before that burning bush, God spoke to a man- to the man Moses whom He had set apart and comissioned for a most important mission. The man Moses, dared to ask the creator an all important question: "And whom shall I say sent me?" I like the King James translation at that point! God's answer was clear and authoritaive: "I AM That I AM." "Thus shall you say unto the children of Israel, 'I AM' has sent me unto you." Furthermore, God went on to tell Moses that until now he had not revealed Himself by His Name. God went on to say: "Thus shalt thou say unto the children of Israel, The LORD God of your fathers, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob, hath sent me unto you: this is my name forever, and this is my memorial (Name) unto all generations." (Exodus 3:15).

As some of you well know, God declared Himself to be "The LORD God." LORD God is His proper title Name or The Name (Ha SHeM). Specifically, in Hebrew, God used the word YHWH. This is His Name- YHWH. Related, especifically, to His declaration "I aM." God used His Name in conjuction with His title "El" or "ELoHiM." YHWH, commonly known as the Tetragrammeton, is translated as "LORD" in English and in capitals. ("ADoNai" is translated as "Lord" without caps).
So God revealed His memorial Name to Moses for all generations- "I aM" (meaning the Self-Existent One) and YHWH. The Hebrew language, of course, has no vowels. Because of the desire to not take G-ds (ELHM) Name in vain the Hebrews eventually, apparently, lost or forgot how to pronounce the Divine Name. So today, depending where the vowels are placed, God's Name is known as YeHoWaH or YaHWeH. With time, depending on the evolution of the language, lettering, and pronouciation, the Hebrew sound "W" (Shewa) became the "V" (Vav) sound, hence spelling God's Name as "YeHoVaH". Similarly, the "Y" (Yod) sound became a "J" sound, hence the spelling "JeHoVaH" or Jehovah. Many scholars, today, seem to think the Name is YaHWeH or YaHVeH.
The importance of all this, dear friends, is God's self-revelation! For there does the miralce begin. In the story of the exodus and God's self revelation we come to understand Who God Is and What He Is like. God, the LORD God, revealed Himself in all His awesome wonder and power! Both through what He did and what he said. What more can be said? Well, that it really happened in space and time! But, more thoughts on all this later.

But please, friends, what do think? Please let me know. I'd like your feed back. What's the importance of the Exodus? God bless.