Then God spoke to Moses, telling him, “I am Yahweh. I appeared to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob as God Almighty, but I did not reveal My name Yahweh to them.” Exodus 6:3
God revealed himself to all patriarchs up until Moses only as God Almighty i.e. God who possesses total power and authority. God Almighty also means that God will do what He purposes to do, overpowering all opposition. God will successfully carry out His plans despite all resistance.
Some interpret shaddai as “sufficient,” and God is the “All-sufficient One.” Either interpretation—mighty or sufficient is good, because the Almighty is the God who is enough! He is more than sufficient to meet any need. He is power and provision. In great compassion, He sustains, nourishes and protects me. He takes my weakness and gives me strength. He takes my inadequate resources and in His sufficiency uses them for His great and powerful purposes.
The Patriarchs have seen the manifested nature of God as God Almighty working in their lives. This attribute of God brought victory in battle. This attribute of God was in control and kept them alive during terrible times. They were safe from their enemies thanks to this attribute of God. In waiting period, reminds of God’s greatness and provisions.
The Patriarchs observed saw this attribute of God at work in all of their circumstances and lives.
Abraham’s call came in Genesis 12:1-3.
Now the Lord had said to Abram: “Get out of your country, From your family and from your father’s house, to a land that I will show you. I will make you a great nation; I will bless you and make your name great; and you shall be a blessing. I will bless those who bless you, and I will curse him who curses you; and in you all the families of the earth shall be blessed.”
The above promise was not fulfilled till time of Moses. After this verse, the promise started to come true after a shift in perception from God as just God Almighty to God as Yahweh God.
The patriarchs saw God as the Almighty, who provided for their needs, dealt with their problems, and bestowed favours. The patriarchs did not see a covenant-keeping, dependable, faithful or promise-keeping God. The promises were there, but they did not see or experience God as a covenant- fulfilling God who would keep his original promise(Genesis 12:1-3).
In this verse, God tells Moses that He would change their perception of Him from being just the All-Powerful(Almighty) to Yahweh (Jehovah) from knowledge of one aspect of God to a full comprehension of God ( an understanding of around 1000 natures of God). A part of God’s essence is Almighty. God begins to reveal additional attributes of his essence in the passages that follow Exodus 6:3. Some attributes of God that the patriarchs had not yet experienced are revealed in Exodus 6:4:9. Below are a few of them.
- Covenant establishing God
- Covenant remembering God
- A God who hears our groans
- Rescue from Bondage
- Deliverance from Slavery
- Redeem you with Great might
- God of Judgement
- I will be your God
- Promise fulfilling God
God revealed His name as Yahweh to express his desire to convey the fullest possible comprehension of who He is. Everything we know about God comes only from God revealing about himself. Although we don’t deserve this revelation, God wanted to make it known because of His mercy.
God was revealed to the patriarchs as God Almighty, it meant that they experienced God as Almighty in every circumstance. The Almighty nature of God took care of external needs but did not completely cater to the internal needs. The patriarchs needed a God who took care of their internal needs, including love, patience, and judgement. In order to move from the promise declaration stage to the promise fulfilment stage, the patriarchs needed Yahweh (full understanding of God). Jesus was the whole revelation of God. Jesus embodies all of God’s character traits. Jesus has the power to move you from the stage of waiting on promises to the stage of receiving them. The revealed knowledge about Jesus can make you cross from waiting to promise fulfilment stage.
Jesus, who is an embedment of all the divine natures of God, is already known to Israelites and to our generation. We need to move from knowing stage to experiencing stage. It is possible for us to experience Jesus’ nature in a tangible way. The practical presence or manifestation of Jesus’s nature is available to us. In our difficult situations we can depend on the corresponding nature of Jesus. In decision making, we can depend on the decision making nature of God. We may depend on God’s comfort in times of brokenness. We can rely on Jesus’ healing power when we are ill. The patriarchs only knew God as the God Almighty, gradually coming to understand other natures of God over time.
Following this verse, Moses began to rely on God’s other natures during the wilderness journey. Moses understood God to be the God of provisions, of endurance, of unweariness, of correction, etc.
When God wants to fulfil some purpose, God may change your perception of Jesus’ nature from one nature to another. Don’t get stuck with only one nature of Jesus. Avoid limiting Jesus to just one nature. May be in the past you have experienced Jesus as a healer, but now he can be your provider and comforter. See and encounter Jesus in all of His attributes. Oh, taste and see that the LORD is good, the Psalmist urged in Psalms 34:8. Only someone who has experienced all of God’s natures may compose such a sonnet. David might have experienced God in all of His natures. Surely the Lord is good.
Which manifested nature of Jesus did you experience?
Even though you know God as a Healer, you still have lot of promises in your life to be fulfilled. Ask God to reveal and make you experience the promise fulfilling natures of Jesus.
As the end times approach, we must experience and allow all of Jesus’ natures to manifested in our lives in order to survive them. For example
Jesus is love to be experienced and manifested in our life.
Jesus is Holy to be experienced and manifested in our life.
Try to experience all natures of Jesus during the course of your life. It’s not only about hearing; but also experiencing and manifesting these natures in your life.