What

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Whats in a name?

• pp. 73 - 75

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Group Discussion

• Why is it important that Moses is given the Name
  of God?

3
Whats in a name?

• Moses is given a new name for God YHWH
• I shall be (for you) who I am I am there beside
  you, and I shall be there as the God who helps
  and saves.
• The Name reveals God in what God will do for
  others.

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1) The name has consequences for Moses

• This encounter with God changes Moses life
  radically.
• He receives the Name of God as part of his
  mission.
• The Name has the power to liberate people.
• As a prophet, Moses gives witness and reveals the
  the meaning of the Name.

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2) YHWH is a Name with power

• The Name changes history and releases Israel from
  slavery.
• A slave people become a nation by the Name.
• The people at Sinai respond Here I am just as
  Moses did echoing the Name.
• There can be no Israel without YHWH the Name is
  revealed in what happens to the people.

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3) The Name results in a new way of living

• This is an ethical event. Israel receives the Ten
  Commandments.
• The reason for keeping the Commandments is, For
  I am YHWH, your God.
• The Ten Commandments are a legal and ethical
  commentary on the divine Name.
• We are called to be agents of Gods nearness by
  acting out of responsibility for others.

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4) The Name is a source of judgment

• The revelation of the Name provokes a decision
  from those who hear it.
• The Name is not only a blessing but a curse.
• The prophets act as spokespersons for God in
  Israel making the people aware fo the
  repercussions for breaching the covenant and
  neglecting their identity as Gods people.

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• In the Book of Exodus, the people of Israel come
  to understand themselves as Gods people
  adopted sons and daughters.
• We understand ourselves as people of the covenant
  in continuity with the Jewish people.
• When God chooses them, Gods choice mirrored in
  Israels choice is addressed to all nations.
• Today the Ten Commandments still describe this
  covenant with God, making us responsible for
  others.

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• This and the other stories of the bible testify
  that for us and for Israel, life is about
  relationship with God.
• We are not meant to be alone and isolated by
  our very being we are oriented towards others. In
  the second creation story we are told this when
  woman is created.
• The steadfast relationship between God and
  Abraham was called the covenant a word which
  expresses the most solemn unbreakable bond.

10

• When Moses encounters the burning bush, he
  recalls the covenant made by Abraham.
• Because of this promise to Abraham, God delivers
  them from slavery.
• God makes another covenant on Sinai and Israel
  understands itself through this covenant it
  becomes their identity.

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• As Christians, this covenant is even more
  powerfully renewed in Jesus.
• Our identity as Christians is rooted in God
  through our relationship a covenant with
  Jesus Christ.

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Activity Internet Name Search

• What does your name mean?
• Why do you think you were given this name?

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Contemporary Prophets Search

• Prophets were the spokespeople for God who often
  saw the world differently from everyone else.
  Through their teachings and actions they revealed
  God to the people of their times.
• With a partner, use your smartphone and find a
  contemporary prophet (someone who today is a
  spokesperson for God, revealing Him to us). Make
  sure you are able to explain why you feel this
  person is a contemporary prophet.