“These are the names,” i.e., this is the name of the book of Exodus in the Hebrew. Beginning with an accounting of those who came to Egypt with Jacob, the book then tells the story of Israel’s deliverance and their establishment as a nation. With such a fast moving and fascinating story, I suppose it would be easy to let slip into the back recesses of our minds the promise of a redeemer (Genesis 3:15). In fact, one of our great challenges is, faced with today’s issues, the things of the past fade from our memories, and we tend to think that the things of today are all that matter.
Caught up in the stories of Israel’s suffering, God’s response, Moses, and the deliverance of the nation, however, we must not forget that the saving of Moses and the people of Israel, God’s covenant with them, and his provisions for them, all these events continue the unfolding story in which God prepares the way and, in the fullness of time, makes good on his promise. The God whose name is “I AM WHO I AM” is the God of creation and of the patriarchs and the God who will see Israel through all her troubles. He is also the God who, from Israel, will raise up a “branch of Jesse,” the son of David, our Savior.
The Lord has done great things for us whereof we are glad,
The Lord has done great things for us whereof we are glad.
He cannot fail, His word is true,
We're trusting Him, He’ll see us thru.
The Lord has done great things for us whereof we are glad. –Alfred B. Smith (1970)