Exodus (Messianic) - The Harvest Torah Teacher Ariel ben-Lyman HaNaviy

Moshe said to God, "Look, when I appear before the people of Isra'el and say to them, 'The God of your ancestors has sent me to you'; and they ask me, 'What is his name?' what am I to tell them?" God said to Moshe, "Ehyeh Asher Ehyeh [I am/will be what I am/will be]," and added, "Here is what to say to the people of Isra'el: 'Ehyeh [I Am or I Will Be] has sent me to you.'" God said further to Moshe, "Say this to the people of Isra'el: 'Yud-Heh-Vav-Heh [ADONAI], the God of your fathers, the God of Avraham, the God of Yitz'chak and the God of Ya'akov, has sent me to you. 'This is my name forever; this is how I am to be remembered generation after generation.

I believe that HaShem wants us to come to the awesome realization, through the Ruach HaKodesh, that the “name” of the LORD is Yeshua! If you don’t believe me, read the rest of Philippians where the Torah teaches that one day, everyone will acknowledge that Yeshua is ADONAI, to the glory of God the Father! This word “adonai” is the Greek word “kurios”, which can be translated “sir” or “lord” depending on the context. Since Sha’ul is quoting from the TaNaKH book of Isaiah, then the context demands the rendering “LORD” (i.e. YHVH). In fact, to further the seeming controversy, Isaiah 45:23 is specifically referring to ADONAI the Father! This means that the verse in Philippians is hinting that Yeshua will be acknowledged as ADONAI without explicitly stating that Yeshua IS the Father. We must be careful not to put something into the text that is not there.

HaShem was revealing an aspect of his character that would later play a very important role in the identity of the Jewish People as a Nation. This title would also serve as a reminder to the surrounding nations that "with a great out-stretched arm, ADONAI almighty delivered his beloved people!" To be sure, the reference of HaShem as the "God who delivered [them] from the bondage of Egypt" would become a "household" name of sorts. Fast-forward in the book of Sh’mot to the "Ten Commandments" (Sh'mot 20:1, 2) and see if you can find this phrase used to identify HaShem. Thumb through the rest of your TaNaKH (Old Testament) and you will find that this phrase is used numerous times. As believers in Messiah Yeshua, we know that this is one of the primary character traits of HaShem, which unifies the Messiah and the Godhead as an "echad", that is as "one". The name of the Messiah is related to the Hebrew name "Y'hoshua", which itself stems from the Hebrew name "Hoshea". Both of these names are composites of the two Hebrew words for "God" and "will save", respectively. When we combine this knowledge with the fact that it is "YHVH" who offers us salvation from sin THROUGH Yeshua the Messiah, then we can begin to understand the significance of the type and shadow that the Exodus from Egypt plays in our lives as new creations.

We have here at least two very important characteristics of our Loving, Heavenly Abba: he can be trusted at his Word, despite the chaotic circumstances surrounding us; he is faithful to deliver us completely, even before we have received his written revelation and put it into practice in our everyday lives! To be sure, the Children of Isra'el did not keep the Torah the way that they would eventually be instructed to keep it, after Sinai. Yet, HaShem honored their faith in him (demonstrated by the Pesach incident), and brought about the greatest collective deliverance that the world has ever known! This monumental deliverance should have caused that people, both Isra'el and Egyptian, to understand that faith in HaShem alone is what brings about the freedom so desperately desired in the midst of slavery! I must state it plainly one more time for my brothers according to the flesh, the majority of which are seeking to be justified by their Jewish heritage and by obediently keeping the "Torah" of Moshe, while remaining (seemingly) ignorant of the "Torah" of Avraham: our ancestors were delivered (a symbol of genuine faith in the Holy One) BEFORE they received the Torah on Mount Sinai! The sequence of the covenants is crucial for a proper understanding of the righteousness of HaShem!

Another lesson preserved within the stories of the Jewish People is the tradition that as the people observed the horses and riders drowning in the Sea of Reeds, as they began to rejoice, that HaShem became saddened, and scolded them. "How can you rejoice at the death of my children? For even Pharaoh and his armies are my children also." This causes us to recognize the fact that our Great Heavenly Abba is compassionate beyond our comprehension. Even though the King of Egypt willfully hardened his heart against the Holy One, it was not our Maker’s original intent to destroy him. Indeed as I have stated elsewhere, as taught in the Torah, our God is not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance! Our LORD is not a "killing machine", ready to strike down all that oppose him. To be sure, he has demonstrated his patience and abundant mercy time and time again throughout the pages of the Torah. The option to turn from his wickedness, unto repentance, was offered to Pharaoh time and time again, yet he chose to refuse. Ours is a lesson in humility and fear: if he did not spare those evil men who persistently refused to surrender under the almighty hand of the Almighty personified, how much more will he not spare us, who have been given the revelation of the Son of God and the free gift of the Ruach HaKodesh who testifies of him (a short drash of Romans 11:21)?

In traditional Jewish thought, a marriage is also certified by a wedding contract, known as a “ketubah” (say "keh-too-bah"). This legally binding document is agreed upon by both parties, and serves as a visible reminder to all that this bride belongs to this groom and vice-versa. The Hebrew word “ketubah” posses the root word “katav”, which means, “to write”. The Torah tells us in 19:3-8 that HaShem delivered them out of the bondage of the Egyptians so that he might enter into a special kind of relationship with them. This relationship would involve them adhering to the covenant that HaShem already made with their forefathers some 430 years prior to this. In this manner, they would become HaShem’s most peculiar treasure among all of the peoples of the earth! What was the people’s response in 19:8? “All the people answered as one, “Everything ADONAI has said, we will do.”” This is amazing when it becomes apparent that HaShem hadn’t even spelled out the conditions of this contract yet! But what was the contract? Where was the ketubah? The answer is obvious. The Torah is the ketubah, acting as a marriage contract between the groom (HaShem) and his bride (Isra'el)!