ON THE VANGUARD

WHO AM I TO GO?
“Moses said to God, ‘Who am I, that I should go to Pharaoh and lead the people of Isra’el out of Egypt?’”
Exodus 3:11

Have you ever noticed that many of the men God called were shepherds? Think about this with me. Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob were all shepherds. Before David became king he too was a shepherd. And in reading Exodus 3:1 we see that Moses was tending the sheep of his father-in-law Jethro. It was during one of these times that Moses was leading the flock to the far side of the desert that he came to the mountain of God, Horeb. He saw there a bush that was on fire but not consumed. With curiosity he approached this strange sight.
From out of this fiery bush a voice called, “Moses, Moses.” Moses responded, perhaps with fear or timidity, “Here I am.” And then the voice continued, “Do not come any closer, but take off you sandals for you are standing on holy ground.” I can almost picture Moses recklessly and speedily working to get his sandals off. Continuing on, the voice spoke. ”I am the God of your father, of Abraham, Isaac, and of Jacob.” Moses now covered his eyes as best he could, for he was standing in the presence of God, and reverence for Him overtook him. God spoke, “I have seen the oppression of my people in Egypt, I have heard their cries, and I know their pain. I have a better place for them, a place promised to them in the land of the Canaanites. Therefore, Moses, I am sending you to Pharaoh to lead my people out of Egypt.”
I know for myself, if I was to hear these words, I would have a few questions. The first would be are you sure, and the second would be are you sure. Maybe Moses handled it a little better than I would have in asking, “Who am I that I should go to Pharaoh and lead the people of Israel out of Egypt?” To this, God announced that He would be with Moses on this mission. But although that was welcomed, it didn’t answer all the questions. The Egyptians had many gods, all with their own supposed strengths. If Moses walked into this battlefield of redeeming God’s people, he needed to know more about God. To this Moses questioned, “Who should I tell them has sent me?” The answer was clear, “Say this to the people of Israel: Yud-Heh-Vav-Heh [Adonai].” Moses may have been just a shepherd, but the One calling Him was Adonai.
This name is so holy that it is not spoken as a name, but rather as letters in the Hebrew Bible. It is this name that we are commanded not to take in vain. This name alone holds the power of God Himself. And this name, written as יהוֹה carries an unknown power that makes the devil wince and demons shrink back. As we look a little deeper at this, we can find that this name is known as the Tetragrammaton. In English, this name is written as YHWH, and is derived from the Hebrew triconsonantal root. It is mainly translated from the Hebrew in English texts as “I am what I am” or “I will be that which I am now”.
The point in all this etymology is not to bore you, but rather to help in the understanding of our text. In John 18, as Jesus was finishing His prayer in the garden, the Roman soldiers were on the move. Their mission was to find the Christ and arrest him. It is hard to say if they were unsure of what Jesus looked like, or if it was too dark and they couldn’t make his face out in the light of the torches, but either way they were asked by Jesus who they were looking for. The small army replied, “Jesus of Nazareth.” As Jesus replied, “I am he,” the soldiers fell down.
I had never caught that before now, but there is such power in this name. So what are you battling today? What calling or mission is He speaking to you? Or maybe the question is whose power are you relying on? Who are you that God would call you on the mission He has for you? Simple, you are His, and in His name is all the power you need to accomplish the task He has given you. Never forget, the powers of hell cannot stand up against the powerful name of our God alone. Now go, for He has chosen you.