Exodus 3:13

11 But Moses said to God, ^a“Who am I that I should go to Pharaoh, and that I should bring the children of Israel out of Egypt?”

12 So He said, ^a“I will certainly be with you. And this shall be a ^bsign to you that I have sent you: When you have brought the people out of Egypt, you shall serve God on this mountain.”

13 Then Moses said to God, “Indeed, when I come to the children of Israel and say to them, ‘The God of your fathers has sent me to you,’ and they say to me, ‘What is His name?’ what shall I say to them?”

14 And God said to Moses, “I AM WHO I AM.” And He said, “Thus you shall say to the children of Israel, ^a‘I AM has sent me to you.’ ”

15 Moreover God said to Moses, “Thus you shall say to the children of Israel: ‘The Lord God of your fathers, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob, has sent me to you. This is ^aMy name forever, and this is My memorial to all generations.’

16 Go and ^agather the elders of Israel together, and say to them, ‘The Lord God of your fathers, the God of Abraham, of Isaac, and of Jacob, appeared to me, saying, ^b“I have surely visited you and seen what is done to you in Egypt;

17 and I have said ^aI will bring you up out of the affliction of Egypt to the land of the Canaanites and the Hittites and the Amorites and the Perizzites and the Hivites and the Jebusites, to a land flowing with milk and honey.” ’

18 Then ^athey will heed your voice; and ^byou shall come, you and the elders of Israel, to the king of Egypt; and you shall say to him, ‘The Lord God of the Hebrews has ^cmet with us; and now, please, let us go three days’ journey into the wilderness, that we may sacrifice to the Lord our God.’

19 But I am sure that the king of Egypt ^awill not let you go, no, not even by a mighty hand.

Commentaries:

Forerunner Commentary
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What Does Exodus 3:13 Mean?

Exodus 3:13-14

A name expresses more than mere identification. God's name expresses His nature and operations, so He must explain His name to Moses. The Israelites in Egypt did not know God. They undoubtedly had a memory of Him, or they would not have cried out to Him to relieve them of their bondage. However, they had no relationship with Him and therefore did not really know Him. They knew of Him, but they did not know Him.

By comparison, neither did we know Him when we were in spiritual Egypt, even though we were not completely ignorant of Him. When Paul spoke to the pagan Greeks in Acts 17, he spoke assuming that they knew somewhat of the God he represented. He introduced his God to them as the "unknown God," and explained enough about Him to enable them to relate to Him. Nor were they completely ignorant of the God of creation. Nevertheless, when in spiritual Egypt, ignorance of God and His true nature and operations is pretty deep, and that is part of humanity's basic problem.

John W. Ritenbaugh
A Pre-Passover Look

Other Forerunner Commentary entries containing Exodus 3:13:

Genesis 18:1-8
Matthew 14:27
Mark 6:50
John 6:20

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Exodus 3:14 >>

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What Does Exodus 3:13 Mean?

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