Words of Grace © 2009 FamiliesAlive® Word 1/Chapter 1/The God who is LORD

Word #1 Chapter 1

Words of Grace

The God who is LORD

From the time of creation to the time of Abraham, from the time of Abraham to the time of Moses,

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from the time of Moses to the time of Paul, from the time of Paul to today, the LORD has always been the God of His people.

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This is why the very first commandment God gave to His people is this: “I am the LORD your God…you shall have no other gods before me.”

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When Adam and Eve were created…

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they got to walk with the LORD God like no one else ever has.

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…But when they sinned by eating from the tree God told them not to eat from, they were no longer able to do that. Their close relationship with God ended.

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Ashamed, Adam and Eve hid from God, but God came looking for them.

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He even called out to them while they were hiding. Of course, God knows everything – and God already knew where Adam and Eve were hiding. So why did God come and call them?

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God did this because He loved them very much. Even when His people do things that are wrong and are hiding or are far away, God is faithful and still loves them.

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A long, long time ago, God’s people, the Israelites, were in a terrible place. They had been slaves in Egypt for many, many years. They were so unhappy and they didn’t know what to do. But God changed all of that in an amazing way...

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While Moses was tending the sheep of his father-in-law, the Angel of the Lord appeared to him in the flames of a burning bush.

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God called to Moses from within the bush. “Moses! Moses!” And Moses said, “Here I am.” “Don’t come any closer,” God said.

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Then, like moms sometimes tell us when we come into the house with dirty shoes on, God told Moses to take off his sandals – because the place where Moses had come was holy ground. God then told Moses that He was the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob.

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He wanted Moses to do a special job: Moses was to go to Pharaoh, the ruler of Egypt. There, God would use him to lead the Israelites out of Egypt so they would no longer be slaves to the Egyptians.

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Moses said, “What if I go to the Israelites in Egypt and say to them, ‘God has sent me to you,’ and they ask me what your name is? What should I tell them?”

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God replied to Moses, “I AM WHO I AM. I want you to tell the Israelites that I AM is my name.”

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This name shows that God is eternal – that He was and is and always will be. He will always be the God of His people.

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God also wanted Moses to tell the Israelites that His name is LORD. The LORD was sending Moses to Egypt to free His people.

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The LORD is the name that God wants for us and our children and our grandchildren and our great grandchildren to call Him forever.

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The name LORD is the same name that only the One True God is known as – Yahweh. This is His Hebrew name. There is only one Yahweh God. He is the LORD.

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All other gods are false, made up by men. We have no other God but the One True God.

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The first Word of Grace God would later give to His people is this: “I am the LORD your God, who brought you out of Egypt, out of the land of slavery. You shall have no other gods before me.”

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We have no other God – He is the LORD. This is His name forever. This is the God His people love.

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Note to Families: Of course, all of us fail to keep the commandments the way we should. Our only hope is Jesus Christ. Begin talking now about what the Lord has done and is doing to rescue us from our sin and to help us please Him. In Word of Grace #4, REST, we will learn that already in this life we can rest every day in our Savior Jesus Christ.