Moses staff becomes a snake (Exodus 3) by Julius Schnorr von Carolsfeld, 1873
that signs and wonders are given in part to reveal
the name of God. In Moses’s day a name was not
just a label, it was a revelation. Sometimes it was a
faith revelation or a description of a character, destiny,
or purpose. So when Moses anticipates that the
elders of Israel would ask, “You say God appeared to
you. Well, what’s his name?”, it wasn’t about giving
God a label; it was carrying a revelation of what
God was going to do for them.
God said to Moses: “Tell them ‘I am’ has sent you.”
(Exodus 3:14). This is the word we understand to
be Yahweh. And it was, and still is, a very holy name.
In our Bible, it’s it is translated as LORD, in capital
letters. But far more important than this is what this
name means. It is connected to the Hebrew
verb hayah, to be. It is God in action.
When we call him Yahweh, it is an acknowledgement
that God promises to do whatever we need him to
do, at any point in our lives, to fulfil his purposes so
that his covenant faithfulness will be confirmed.
In a sense, the miracles that flowed from this
moment onwards were coming out of the authority
of that revelation and were indeed a revelation of
God’s name. They were confirmation of who he is.
So miracles are there to glorify the name of God, to
demonstrate that he is faithful, that he is with us and
that he is active in this world in a supernatural way.
That brings us into the New Testament. Jesus
said, “These signs will follow those that believe in
my name. They will cast out demons, lay hands
on the sick.” (Mark 16:17-18). When we perform ➜
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