Isn’t it wonderful that the Lord spoke to Moses face to face as an intimate friend? Moses had a close friendship and deep companionship with the Lord, but he desired more. Moses prayed to the Lord to show him His way so he could become more intimately and deeply acquainted with God, and understand more clearly who God is. Moses wanted to see the glory of God, which is the manifested brilliance and radiant beauty of everything God is. Glory is the majestic display of God’s character, reputation and nature. Glory shows forth the perfection and excellence of all the attributes of God. It is the ultimate manifestation of all of the goodness of God. 

      God identifies his glory with the proclamation of His name. His name is to represent all of His goodness and reveal the splendor of his character. The word “Lord” in verse 19 is Yahweh which embodies and signifies all of the glory and goodness of God. The name Yahweh and the goodness of God are forever woven together, and a study of this magnificent name of God will reveal the characteristics and attributes of His goodness. Wherever Yahweh is, the goodness of God is in manifestation. Wherever Yahweh is, the goodness of God is in action. Wherever Yahweh is, the goodness of God overflows. Yahweh is the covenant name of goodness to God’s people.

     Yahweh is the proper name by which God revealed Himself to His covenant people. It represents God in a loving, committed covenant relationship with His children. It is a God who is reaching out for us to know him. Yahweh is the God who promises to be with us, to continually unfold Himself to us in new and deeper ways of understanding, and to protect and deliver us from every form of oppression. Yahweh is the God who communicates with us and reveals to us His awesome Word and Will. Yahweh means the Eternal One, the Immutable One, He who WAS and IS and IS TO COME.

  Yahweh is a form of the verb “to be” meaning He is: He is alive, active, and present. Yahweh also means, “He who will be, the Coming One,” who will fulfill his original covenant promise in Genesis 3:15 of the crushing the head of the serpent (devil) and bringing to full completion the salvation of His people. Yahweh’s name is the pledge, the commitment and the unbreakable bond of this covenant promise to His people. He is also the Coming One who is always ready to intercede and intervene in any obstacle or problem of His children.  Yahweh is the God of action for His people, getting intimately involved in every phase of their lives. Yahweh is the great deliverer, the wonderful redeemer, and the firm rescuer who transforms our life with the touch of His mighty hand. The name Yahweh denotes a very special and unique relationship with his treasured children. Yahweh is the God who supplies all the needs of His people. Yahweh is able to be whatever His people need. As Yahweh, the Immutable One, He is unchangeable in His promises and His heart of love for His people. He is steadfast, faithful, and sure even in the most desperate hour. This is beautifully illustrated when the children of Israel were in bondage and captivity in Egypt.

Exodus 6:2-8 (American Standard Version):

And God spake unto Moses, and said unto him,

I am Jehovah (Yahweh).                                                            

And I appeared unto Abraham, unto Isaac, and                         

unto Jacob, as God Almighty, but by my name

Jehovah (Yahweh) I was not known unto them.

And I also established my covenant with them,

to give them the land of Canaan, the land of their

sojournings, wherein they sojourned.

And moreover I have heard the groaning of the

children of Israel, whom the Egyptians keep in

bondage;  and  I have remembered my covenant.

Wherefore say unto the children of Israel, I am

Jehovah (Yahweh), and I will bring you out from under the

burdens of the Egyptians, and I will rid you out

of their bondage, and I will redeem you with an

outstretched arm, and with great judgments.

And I will take you to me for a people and I will

be to you a God; and ye shall know that I am

Jehovah (Yahweh) your God, who bringeth you out from

under the burdens of the Egyptians.

And I will bring you in unto the land which I

sware to give to Abraham, to Isaac and to Jacob;

and I will give it to you for a heritage: I am

Jehovah (Yahweh).

     Yahweh is the God who yearns and earnestly desires a relationship with His people, where He is their loving God who lifts every burden and releases every bondage in their life. Yahweh cries out for a people who will love Him, trust Him, and cherish Him. Yahweh cries out for a people who will seek Him first with all their heart, soul, mind, and strength. Yahweh wants a people he can tenderly embrace and lovingly guide through all the challenges of life. Yahweh is a God of intimacy. Yahweh wants us to know Him deeply and intimately by experience as a living, vital, and essential part of our life. Yahweh is a God of redemption that redeems us and lovingly brings us back into the fold in a complete and vital union with Him.

    Yahweh is a God of deliverance, freedom, and victory who desires to bear His mighty arm for His people and work His awesome miracles in their life. There is nothing that Yahweh will not do to break the chains of any bondage, any burden, and any trouble in our lives. Yahweh wants his people free in body, mind, and soul so they can serve Him without fear or oppression. Yahweh performed incredible miracles and took bold action to deliver His people from the bondage and slavery of the Egyptians. Yahweh moved when all seemed lost in Egypt and brought great deliverance to His people against all odds. When Yahweh acts, the impossible comes to pass as nothing is too hard for Yahweh. Yahweh is a God of promise-a God who is bound by a heavenly contract to protect and provide for His people.  It is a covenant that Yahweh will never break and always honor. Yahweh remembers His covenant with you, and He pledges to take care of you, to succor you, to love you, to watch over you, to help you, and to strengthen you all the days of your life. Yahweh is always present in the time of adversity, and ever ready to energize his mighty power on your behalf. This is what the wonderful name of Yahweh means, as it emphasizes an intimate relationship, a complete deliverance, an eternal and everlasting God who is always involved in every part of your life and a God who promises to be forever bound to you by an eternal compact of His love, protection, and security. 

    The Psalmist declares the greatness of Yahweh and further illustrates the meaning of His name.

Psalm 40:1 (NIV):

I waited patiently for the Lord (Yahweh), he turned to

me and heard my cry.

   Yahweh always turns and hears His people when they trust and wait on Him. The word “wait” in the Hebrew means: to look for eagerly, to have great expectation, and to confidently hope for. We can confidently and eagerly wait in great expectation upon Yahweh for His mighty deliverance in our lives.

Verse 2 (NIV):

He lifted me out of the slimy pit, out of the mud and

mire, he set my feet upon a rock and gave me a firm

place to stand.

  Yahweh is the one who lovingly reaches out to us and lifts us out of the muck and mire of the world. Yahweh enables us to stand for Him with unmovable strength against all the terror and fear of our age.  Only in Yahweh do we have a firm foundation for our lives in the midst of the uncertainty of our times.

Verse 3 (NIV):

He put a new song in my mouth, a hymn of praise to

our God. Many will see and fear and put their trust in

the Lord (Yahweh).

   Yahweh brings great joy and delight to His children as they sing praise to their awesome God. Yahweh acts and brings forth enormous works of deliverance for His children, so that all can see and turn their hearts to the Lord.

 Verse 4 (NIV):

 Blessed is the man who makes the Lord (Yahweh)

his trust, who does not look to the proud, to those

who turn aside to false gods.

    In the Hebrew, “blessed” conveys the meaning of a complete happiness and sense of well-being as you move forward on the path that God has chosen for you. Yahweh blesses His children; Yahweh brings happiness and contentment to His children; Yahweh brings peace to His children. Nothing compares to the blessing of trusting and seeking Yahweh first in your life. The blessing of Yahweh is far greater than any temporary benefits of following a false god. The blessing of Yahweh is far greater than any fleeting pleasures of selfishness. A false god does not necessarily mean a wooden image, but can be anything we put ahead of our Lord including money, ambition, people, relationships, material possessions, career, and self. In the Hebrew “turn aside”  literally means: to be lead astray by a lie. So many people have been bitterly disappointed in life to find out they have spent their entire life and all their energy chasing a lie. So many people have rejected Yahweh and turned aside from Him to pursue other things only to come up empty in heart and soul. Yahweh is one Lord, He is One God, and He requires our full allegiance and devotion to Him. Yahweh wants your heart and your obedience to Him, so you can fully enjoy the richness and depth of His blessing.

 Verse 5 (NIV):

 Many, oh Lord (Yahweh) my God, are the wonders

you have done. The things you planned for us, no one

can recount to you., were I to speak and tell of them,

they would be too many to declare.

  Yahweh is a God of wonders. Yahweh is a God with a plan. Yahweh has marvelous, tremendous, and wonderful things planned for you that are too numerous to be counted. Everyday walking with your Lord should be full of wonders and great expectation of the mighty and breathtaking things He has planned for you. Yahweh wants to be an integral part of your life-a close companion, a loving friend, a caring Father, and a strong protector. Yahweh thinks about you and prepares a way for you every second of the day.  He earnestly desires to help you grow and develop into a mature and fruitful spiritual man or woman of God who glorifies Him in word and deed. Yahweh is the God of goodness and His plan and design for you is a masterpiece of love as only He knows what is best for you. Yahweh cares about every detail of your life and is a God who works, moves, and acts daily to bring to pass His plans of goodness for you. Yahweh does so many good things for us each day that we often do not even realize or appreciate how deeply He is involved in our lives. God speaks loudly through His name of Yahweh about His awesome, unchangeable nature.  God’s Word stands firm in declaring that we can trust in our Lord and His unalterable commitment to His beloved children.

Excerpt from “The Magnificent Gooodness of God and How it Will Transform Your Life” by Tim Rowe.