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?”

Exodus 3:13

Why did Moses ask this question?

Perhaps he wanted a more personal identification. Yes, God had said that He is the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob, but it was not enough for Moses (Exod. 3:6). Moses wanted more. He wanted to know a more intimate name of God. He wanted a personal identification beyond the relational identification with the patriarchs.

There are many gods of nations and peoples. But each of them has a more personal name that intimates them to their subjects. That was Moses’ experience in the Egyptian courts and culture. It was that which Moses was asking for.

The Lord went beyond the ordinary with His response to Moses. Effectively, God said, “Yes, I know what you are talking about, Moses. But I am not like one of those gods of Egypt or the nations.”

“I AM THAT I AM” (14).

It was a name God had never revealed to anybody before then. Certainly, not to Abraham, His friend. But now He was revealing Himself more intimately to Israel, His people. I wonder if God would have revealed this name that showed His personal, continuous, and absolute existence if Moses had not posed that question. That is the kind of response the inquiring believer gets from the Holy Spirit.

Are you that curious to know Christ that intimately?