Latest / The Leah Effect / 2.1 | What's In A Name?

Transcript

2.1 | What's In A Name? · The Leah Effect

• 0:01
  SPEAKER_00: Hey everybody! You know what time it is?
• 0:06
  SPEAKER_00: It's time for season two of the Leah effect! Yes! Yes! Yes! It's true! I am back and I have returned with gifts! It's a new season! It's a new day! Y'all thought I was gonna keep quoting that Israel song.
• 0:22
  SPEAKER_00: You thought wrong.
• 0:23
  SPEAKER_00: It's a new theme, it's a new episode, and on top of that, we have fresh grace.
• 0:29
  SPEAKER_00: Can somebody say fresh grace?
• 0:32
  SPEAKER_00: Thank you.
• 0:32
  SPEAKER_00: Yesterday was yesterday.
• 0:34
  SPEAKER_00: And today we're here with a fresh 24 to get it right.
• 0:39
  SPEAKER_00: And today we do the best we can with what we have.
• 0:43
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah.
• 0:45
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah.
• 0:46
  SPEAKER_00: I am so thrilled that we are back together again and ready to dive into this season.
• 0:53
  SPEAKER_00: But if you are new and this is your very first episode ever of the Leah Effect, allow me to introduce myself.
• 1:00
  SPEAKER_00: Hi! I'm Charnel, the host of the Leah Effect, a podcast where we dive into the stories of biblical figures and explore how the effects of their stories can affect ours.
• 1:12
  SPEAKER_00: But here we laugh, we reflect, we relate, and season one started off with a bang.
• 1:20
  SPEAKER_00: Okay?
• 1:21
  SPEAKER_00: The theme was the season of the slept on, where we highlighted the forgotten, the overlooked, the outcast, and the people where you read in the Bible and you're like, oh, mmm, okay, I didn't I didn't know about this.
• 1:34
  SPEAKER_00: I didn't know about the story.
• 1:36
  SPEAKER_00: Wow, cool, cool.
• 1:39
  SPEAKER_00: But this season, after much prayer and reflection, I felt drawn to a different theme, which is kind of the point.
• 1:50
  SPEAKER_00: Every season, a new theme.
• 1:53
  SPEAKER_00: But this season's theme is the names of God.
• 2:00
  SPEAKER_00: Now, I know this is a big task to undertake because there are a lot of names.
• 2:06
  SPEAKER_00: But I was drawn to this theme because much like in any relationship where you learn about a person, you learn about their dimensions, their facets, their layers, the intimacy is bound to grow as well.
• 2:21
  SPEAKER_00: And honestly, it's all about the journey.
• 2:26
  SPEAKER_00: Notisha Campbell.
• 2:28
  SPEAKER_00: But truly, no, for real.
• 2:29
  SPEAKER_00: Like, it really has been a journey to get here.
• 2:32
  SPEAKER_00: And there are still ways to go, but I was like, you know what?
• 2:35
  SPEAKER_00: Why should I go alone?
• 2:36
  SPEAKER_00: So this season, we're gonna take that journey into discovering the names of God together.
• 2:42
  SPEAKER_00: But before we dive into today's episode, I want us to take a few seconds to reflect, to be present, and introduce this new segment.
• 2:55
  SPEAKER_00: Right?
• 2:56
  SPEAKER_00: Philippians 4 8 says, Finally, brothers and sisters, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable, if anything is excellent or praiseworthy, think about such things.
• 3:15
  SPEAKER_00: So, I dare you.
• 3:19
  SPEAKER_00: I dare you to think about it.
• 3:23
  SPEAKER_00: Say it out loud.
• 3:25
  SPEAKER_00: Write it down.
• 3:26
  SPEAKER_00: Put your hand on your heart.
• 3:28
  SPEAKER_00: Inhale and exhale.
• 3:31
  SPEAKER_00: Yes.
• 3:32
  SPEAKER_00: Think about the good things, the pure things, the lovely things.
• 3:40
  SPEAKER_00: And today I want to share with you this.
• 3:46
  SPEAKER_00: God is not worried.
• 3:50
  SPEAKER_00: A few weeks ago, I was reading my Bible and really sitting with the story of Martha, Mary, and Lazarus.
• 4:01
  SPEAKER_00: And specifically, I was thinking about what Martha and Mary said to Jesus when he finally arrived to Bethany.
• 4:08
  SPEAKER_00: And they said, Lord, if you had been here, my brother would not have died.
• 4:15
  SPEAKER_00: And like, yeah.
• 4:20
  SPEAKER_00: I felt them on that, like, heavily.
• 4:24
  SPEAKER_00: Because I called on you for help and you didn't come in time.
• 4:29
  SPEAKER_00: I I didn't even tell you that he died.
• 4:32
  SPEAKER_00: I just sent word to you that he was sick.
• 4:34
  SPEAKER_00: I didn't say he was deathly ill, I just said he was sick.
• 4:37
  SPEAKER_00: And the scripture says Jesus loved them.
• 4:42
  SPEAKER_00: So he waited where he was for two more days before he went back home.
• 4:49
  SPEAKER_00: I waited and I called on you for help, and you didn't come in time or the time that I thought you should have showed up.
• 4:57
  SPEAKER_00: And then when you finally showed up, you weren't worried.
• 5:02
  SPEAKER_00: You didn't worry with me.
• 5:06
  SPEAKER_00: But even in the middle of their disappointment and their loss, the sisters still came to Jesus.
• 5:12
  SPEAKER_00: They still looked to him as a present help in the time of trouble because he had always been one.
• 5:20
  SPEAKER_00: And sometimes when we're in the middle of a Lazarus-level loss, we we fear that God didn't hear us.
• 5:28
  SPEAKER_00: That he missed it.
• 5:31
  SPEAKER_00: That he didn't see us.
• 5:36
  SPEAKER_00: But he knew.
• 5:38
  SPEAKER_00: He saw.
• 5:40
  SPEAKER_00: He heard.
• 5:42
  SPEAKER_00: And he didn't worry.
• 5:46
  SPEAKER_00: Lazarus was sick.
• 5:48
  SPEAKER_00: Lazarus was good and dead.
• 5:52
  SPEAKER_00: Like dead, dead.
• 5:54
  SPEAKER_00: And Jesus did not worry.
• 5:57
  SPEAKER_00: Another story in the New Testament where a storm came in the middle of the disciples and his journey from one place to another, and in the middle of the storm, where the disciples are fearing for their lives.
• 6:14
  SPEAKER_00: Jesus is napping.
• 6:18
  SPEAKER_00: And he didn't worry.
• 6:23
  SPEAKER_00: Another instance where the disciples are worried about how they're going to feed the thousands of people who are hungry after hearing Jesus preach.
• 6:33
  SPEAKER_00: And Jesus didn't worry.
• 6:37
  SPEAKER_00: Why?
• 6:40
  SPEAKER_00: Because as long as he was there, the solution to the problem was to.
• 6:49
  SPEAKER_00: So as worried as I am about a myriad of things right now.
• 6:55
  SPEAKER_00: Like a handful and then some.
• 7:09
  SPEAKER_00: The provision will come.
• 7:12
  SPEAKER_00: Lazarus will live again.
• 7:15
  SPEAKER_00: And it's not because I figured it out on my own.
• 7:17
  SPEAKER_00: It's not because I rushed him according to my own plans and timelines.
• 7:23
  SPEAKER_00: It's because he knew the outcome and he didn't worry.
• 7:29
  SPEAKER_00: Yes.
• 7:30
  SPEAKER_00: So I want to know what good, lovely, excellent, and praiseworthy thing you're thinking on.
• 7:37
  SPEAKER_00: You're thinking about.
• 7:39
  SPEAKER_00: You're thinking of.
• 7:40
  SPEAKER_00: So please hit us up on Instagram at underscore the Leah Effect.
• 7:45
  SPEAKER_00: Or you can reach us by email at thelea effectpod at gmail.com.
• 7:51
  SPEAKER_00: I can't wait to hear from you and celebrate all the things that you are thinking about.
• 7:57
  SPEAKER_00: So now let's set the scene.
• 8:02
  SPEAKER_00: What's in a name?
• 8:04
  SPEAKER_00: What does it mean?
• 8:05
  SPEAKER_00: Where does it come from?
• 8:07
  SPEAKER_00: Right?
• 8:07
  SPEAKER_00: We have endless songs that speak about the names of God.
• 8:13
  SPEAKER_00: But this season we're going to do a deeper introspection into what these names mean and more importantly, how they came to be through the stories where we encounter them.
• 8:23
  SPEAKER_00: So, all right.
• 8:25
  SPEAKER_00: Now I'm gonna be honest.
• 8:27
  SPEAKER_00: There are a lot of names.
• 8:30
  SPEAKER_00: So this is just part one.
• 8:32
  SPEAKER_00: Part two and part three will come, may come at another time.
• 8:36
  SPEAKER_00: But before we get into specific titles and singular attributes used to name or identify God through this very good book, I think we have to begin with the name that in many ways encompasses the fullness of who God reveals himself to be.
• 8:56
  SPEAKER_00: Yahweh.
• 8:58
  SPEAKER_00: Mm-hmm.
• 8:59
  SPEAKER_00: Right?
• 9:00
  unknown: Good.
• 9:01
  SPEAKER_00: So turn with me or scroll with me, or if you're driving, do neither.
• 9:06
  SPEAKER_00: And turn to the book of Exodus, chapters one through four.
• 9:12
  SPEAKER_00: And y'all, we got a lot of ground to cover, so let's just start from the beginning.
• 9:15
  SPEAKER_00: Okay, the book opens up with a listing of Jacob's sons, Jacob, who is now known as Israel, who went down to Egypt with their families.
• 9:24
  SPEAKER_00: So we have Reuben, Simeon, Levi, Judah, all four of Leah's babies, by the way.
• 9:30
  SPEAKER_00: Issachar, Zebulun, Benjamin, Dan, Naphtali, Gad, and Asher.
• 9:36
  SPEAKER_00: Now these are the descendants of Jacob.
• 9:38
  SPEAKER_00: Okay?
• 9:39
  SPEAKER_00: These descendants numbered about 70 people in total.
• 9:43
  SPEAKER_00: And Joseph was already in Egypt, because if you read in the book of Genesis, he had risen to a position of power, really second in command of all of Egypt at the time.
• 9:54
  SPEAKER_00: So Joseph is already there.
• 9:56
  SPEAKER_00: And eventually, as time passes, Joseph and that entire generation dies.
• 10:05
  SPEAKER_00: But the Israelites kept multiplying and multiplying and multiplying.
• 10:13
  SPEAKER_00: They became exceedingly numerous.
• 10:17
  SPEAKER_00: Then a new pharaoh comes into power in Egypt, and this pharaoh does not know anything about Joseph, knows nothing about Joseph's God, knows nothing about the past and the history of the Israelites.
• 10:30
  SPEAKER_00: And he looks at the Israelites in their growing number and sees a threat.
• 10:36
  SPEAKER_00: He fears that if war breaks out, the Israelites will join Egypt's enemies, they'll fight against them and eventually leave the country, leaving Egypt in financial ruin, right?
• 10:47
  SPEAKER_00: So Pharaoh responded by placing slave masters over them to oppress them.
• 10:52
  SPEAKER_00: And the Israelites were forced into labor and made to build their own cities of captivity and internment.
• 11:01
  SPEAKER_00: Wickedness.
• 11:02
  SPEAKER_00: But here's the thing: the more they were oppressed, the more they multiplied.
• 11:10
  SPEAKER_00: They didn't die.
• 11:11
  SPEAKER_00: They multiplied.
• 11:13
  SPEAKER_00: Word to baby's kids.
• 11:15
  SPEAKER_00: And because of this, the Egyptians grew increasingly afraid of them.
• 11:21
  SPEAKER_00: So they worked them down to the bone.
• 11:24
  SPEAKER_00: Worked them down to the point of exhaustion.
• 11:26
  SPEAKER_00: And when oppression did not stop the growth of the Israelites, Pharaoh took it up a notch and called for the Hebrew midwives, Shifra and Pua, yes, the same Shifra and Pua we talked about in season one, episode five, and ordered them to kill the Hebrew babies when they were born, specifically the baby boys.
• 11:46
  SPEAKER_00: But Shifra and Pua feared God more than they feared Pharaoh, and they disobeyed Pharaoh.
• 11:52
  SPEAKER_00: Not God.
• 11:53
  SPEAKER_00: They disobeyed Pharaoh.
• 11:54
  SPEAKER_00: And when Pharaoh realized what was happening, he issued an even more horrific decree saying, you know what?
• 12:03
  SPEAKER_00: Don't even let the midwives kill them.
• 12:05
  SPEAKER_00: Every baby boy that is born of a Hebrew woman must be thrown into the Nile River.
• 12:11
  SPEAKER_00: The girls can live, the boys cannot.
• 12:13
  SPEAKER_00: And the goal was simple: destroy the generation before they can become a threat to Egypt's power.
• 12:22
  SPEAKER_00: Pharaoh wasn't responding to the current present population of Israel.
• 12:27
  SPEAKER_00: He was trying to stop the future.
• 12:32
  SPEAKER_00: Now, and that's just chapter one.
• 12:34
  SPEAKER_00: Chapter two introduces us to a new character, right?
• 12:38
  SPEAKER_00: There's a man who is from the tribe of Levi who falls in love, marries a woman, and they have a son.
• 12:44
  SPEAKER_00: When the mother sees that this child is so small, so tiny, so fine, as the Bible writes, she hides him for three months.
• 12:56
  SPEAKER_00: But eventually the baby is growing, so she can't hide him any longer, and she creates a basket made out of papyrus.
• 13:02
  SPEAKER_00: Now, papyrus, as we all know, who took fifth grade history, is a plant that grew abundantly along the Nile and was commonly used in ancient Egypt for things like baskets, mats, and yes, writing material.
• 13:18
  SPEAKER_00: Oh my gosh, we're such good students.
• 13:21
  SPEAKER_00: She waterproofed the basket with tar and pitch and placed the baby inside and set him along the bank of the Nile River to float, to safety in one way or another.
• 13:34
  SPEAKER_00: And the sister of this baby stood at a distance watching what was going to happen as the baby is floating on the Nile River.
• 13:43
  SPEAKER_00: And the daughter of Pharaoh comes out from the palace into the Nile River to bathe, which is a little concerning because there's a lot of dangerous creatures in the Nile.
• 13:54
  SPEAKER_00: Anywho, she sees the basket from afar along the reeds and gets the basket, opens the basket, and finds a crying baby in it.
• 14:04
  SPEAKER_00: Same baby.
• 14:07
  SPEAKER_00: Same Hebrew baby that was commanded to die and has compassion on him.
• 14:15
  SPEAKER_00: And now the baby's older sister steps forward and just kind of like wanders into the situation and is like, oh my gosh, shall I go and get one of the Hebrew women to nurse the baby for you?
• 14:27
  SPEAKER_00: And Pharaoh's daughter's like, oh, what a great idea.
• 14:29
  SPEAKER_00: Yes.
• 14:30
  SPEAKER_00: And who does the sister get?
• 14:33
  SPEAKER_00: The baby's own mother.
• 14:37
  SPEAKER_00: So this child is rescued from Pharaoh's death decree and then returned to his mother to be reared.
• 14:43
  SPEAKER_00: And eventually the child grows older.
• 14:47
  SPEAKER_00: His mother brings him back to Pharaoh's daughter, and he becomes Pharaoh's daughter's son.
• 14:55
  SPEAKER_00: And she names him Moses, saying, I drew him out of the water.
• 15:01
  SPEAKER_00: And just like that, no Carrie Bradshaw.
• 15:06
  SPEAKER_00: Moses enters the story.
• 15:10
  SPEAKER_00: Fast forward, Moses grows up, and one day he goes out to where his own people, the Hebrews, the Israelites, are working, and he sees an Egyptian slave master beating a Hebrew, one of his very own people.
• 15:24
  SPEAKER_00: And Moses looks around, slides to the left, slides to the right, cha-cha, real smooth.
• 15:33
  SPEAKER_00: No one's watching, and he kills the Egyptian.
• 15:38
  SPEAKER_00: Then he hides the body in the sand and walks away like nothing happened.
• 15:46
  SPEAKER_00: Then the next day, Moses returns to the same area, sees two Hebrew men fighting, and asks one of them, Why are you hitting your fellow brother?
• 15:55
  SPEAKER_00: Like, why are you hitting your fellow countrymen?
• 15:56
  SPEAKER_00: Like, why are you doing this?
• 15:58
  SPEAKER_00: And the man responds, Whom made you ruler and judge over us?
• 16:04
  SPEAKER_00: Are you about to kill me like you killed old dude yesterday?
• 16:07
  SPEAKER_00: And Moses says, Oh.
• 16:11
  SPEAKER_00: What I did must have become known.
• 16:14
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah, so he's in hot water right now.
• 16:17
  SPEAKER_00: And when Pharaoh hears about it, he tries to kill Moses.
• 16:21
  SPEAKER_00: Pharaoh.
• 16:24
  SPEAKER_00: Moses is the son of Pharaoh's daughter.
• 16:28
  SPEAKER_00: His adoptive grandfather puts a hint out on Moses.
• 16:33
  SPEAKER_00: So Moses runs.
• 16:35
  SPEAKER_00: He flees Egypt and settles in a place called Midian.
• 16:39
  SPEAKER_00: And when he gets there, he sits down by the well.
• 16:41
  SPEAKER_00: Now Midian has a priest, and this priest has seven daughters.
• 16:45
  SPEAKER_00: They come to a well to draw water for their father's shape, and some of the shepherds that are at the well are harassing, berating, bombarding, and really trying to drive the women away or towards them.
• 16:59
  SPEAKER_00: And Moses steps in, saves the daughters, and helps them water the flock.
• 17:05
  SPEAKER_00: So the day is done, and the daughters return home, and their father is like, Why are y'all back so early?
• 17:11
  SPEAKER_00: And they explain to them that an Egyptian man helped them at the well.
• 17:15
  SPEAKER_00: And the priest invites Moses into his home.
• 17:18
  SPEAKER_00: And eventually, Moses marries one of the priest's daughters named Zipporah, and they have a son.
• 17:25
  SPEAKER_00: Moses settles into this new life.
• 17:28
  SPEAKER_00: He has a child.
• 17:30
  SPEAKER_00: He has a home.
• 17:32
  SPEAKER_00: He's working as a shepherd for his father-in-law.
• 17:34
  SPEAKER_00: He's living.
• 17:36
  SPEAKER_00: He's moved on.
• 17:39
  SPEAKER_00: Or at least that's what it looks like.
• 17:41
  SPEAKER_00: And during this long period of Moses' departure, the Pharaoh dies.
• 17:49
  SPEAKER_00: While the Israelites are still in slavery.
• 17:52
  SPEAKER_00: And in this time, they are crying out to God for help, for deliverance, for a way of escape.
• 18:02
  SPEAKER_00: And God hears their groans.
• 18:04
  SPEAKER_00: God is concerned about his children.
• 18:08
  SPEAKER_00: And God remembers his covenant.
• 18:14
  SPEAKER_00: And then he acts.
• 18:19
  SPEAKER_00: But for the meantime, we're coming back to Moses, minding his business, living a full life, being a husband, being a father, being a family man, being a shepherd.
• 18:28
  SPEAKER_00: And one day he leads his flock of sheep to the far side of the wilderness and comes to this place called Horeb, which is also known as the mountain of God.
• 18:37
  SPEAKER_00: And there the angel of the Lord appears to him in flames of fire from within a bush.
• 18:44
  SPEAKER_00: Meaning that the bush is on fire.
• 18:47
  SPEAKER_00: King James, I can't tell you.
• 18:49
  SPEAKER_00: I don't know.
• 18:51
  SPEAKER_00: The bush is on fire, but the bush is not burning up.
• 18:54
  SPEAKER_00: There's no crisp, there's no ash.
• 18:58
  SPEAKER_00: And Moses says, I'm gonna go over and see what this strange sight is about and why it's on fire, but it's not burning.
• 19:09
  SPEAKER_00: And when the Lord sees Moses approaching, God calls him from within the bush and says, Moses, Moses! And Moses says, Here I am.
• 19:17
  SPEAKER_00: That's me.
• 19:18
  SPEAKER_00: And God tells him, Do not come any closer.
• 19:22
  SPEAKER_00: Take off your shoes.
• 19:24
  SPEAKER_00: For the place where you are standing is holy ground.
• 19:30
  SPEAKER_00: I am the God of your father, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob.
• 19:37
  SPEAKER_00: I have indeed seen the misery of my people in Egypt.
• 19:41
  SPEAKER_00: I have heard them crying out because of their slave drivers, and I am concerned about their suffering.
• 19:50
  SPEAKER_00: So I have come down to rescue them.
• 19:56
  SPEAKER_00: God has seen, God has heard, God is concerned, and God has come down.
• 20:07
  SPEAKER_00: And then God says something that changes the entire trajectory of Moses' life.
• 20:14
  SPEAKER_00: He says, So now go.
• 20:18
  SPEAKER_00: I'm sending you to Pharaoh to bring my people, the Israelites, out of Egypt.
• 20:24
  SPEAKER_00: And Moses responds with, Um, who am I that I should go to Pharaoh and bring out the Israelites out of Egypt?
• 20:32
  SPEAKER_00: And God says, I will be with you.
• 20:37
  SPEAKER_00: God's not giving a resume, God's not listing qualifications, God's not telling him his background, his history, his education, and nothing like that.
• 20:45
  SPEAKER_00: He just says, I will be with you.
• 20:50
  SPEAKER_00: And Moses still has his questions.
• 20:52
  SPEAKER_00: He says, So, hypothetically, if I go to the Israelites and tell them what you told me just now, the God of your fathers has sent me to you, and they ask me, What is his name?
• 21:03
  SPEAKER_00: Then what shall I tell them?
• 21:06
  SPEAKER_00: And God answers with his name.
• 21:10
  SPEAKER_00: I am who I am.
• 21:15
  SPEAKER_00: Yahweh.
• 21:18
  SPEAKER_00: This is what you are to say to the Israelites.
• 21:22
  SPEAKER_00: I am has sent me to you.
• 21:26
  SPEAKER_00: The Lord, the God of your fathers, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, the God of Jacob, has sent me to you.
• 21:34
  SPEAKER_00: This is my name forever.
• 21:37
  SPEAKER_00: The name you shall call me from generation to generation.
• 21:47
  SPEAKER_00: Is Yahweh.
• 21:52
  SPEAKER_00: God then gives Moses the game plan.
• 21:55
  SPEAKER_00: He tells Moses to assemble the elders of Israel.
• 22:00
  SPEAKER_00: Tell them, I've seen what's happening, I've got you, I'm bringing you out, I'm bringing you to a place that's a land flowing with milk and honey, and the elders are going to listen.
• 22:09
  SPEAKER_00: Moses, they are going to go with you to Pharaoh.
• 22:13
  SPEAKER_00: You're gonna go to Pharaoh and tell them, we're gonna take a three-day journey to the wilderness to make sacrifices unto God and to worship God.
• 22:19
  SPEAKER_00: And I already know what Pharaoh is going to say.
• 22:22
  SPEAKER_00: He is going to say no.
• 22:26
  SPEAKER_00: And nothing is going to change his mind unless something great happens that compels him to do so.
• 22:33
  SPEAKER_00: And that is where I, the Lord, God, Yahweh, comes into the picture.
• 22:38
  SPEAKER_00: I'm gonna do what I do, I'm gonna perform my works, I will stretch out my hand, and Pharaoh will let you go.
• 22:48
  SPEAKER_00: And when you leave, you won't be leaving empty-handed.
• 22:51
  SPEAKER_00: You're taking jewelry, you're taking clothes, but you are going to leave Egypt.
• 22:58
  SPEAKER_00: So Moses has the plan now.
• 23:00
  SPEAKER_00: He has the instructions, he has the name, he has the promise, he has the assignment, and yet that's not the only thing he has.
• 23:10
  SPEAKER_00: He has questions.
• 23:12
  SPEAKER_00: Questions not rooted in detail, rooted in doubt.
• 23:17
  SPEAKER_00: Moses is like, so what if they don't believe me?
• 23:22
  SPEAKER_00: And God responds, What's that in your hand?
• 23:24
  SPEAKER_00: Moses says, A staff.
• 23:26
  SPEAKER_00: Cool.
• 23:26
  SPEAKER_00: Throw it on the ground.
• 23:28
  SPEAKER_00: Moses throws the staff on the ground, it becomes a snake.
• 23:31
  SPEAKER_00: Moses runs from the snake like any human would.
• 23:36
  SPEAKER_00: God tells him to reach out and to take the snake by the tail.
• 23:41
  SPEAKER_00: Moses does, and it becomes a staff again.
• 23:43
  SPEAKER_00: Just like that.
• 23:44
  SPEAKER_00: And Moses still on the fence about all of this.
• 23:47
  SPEAKER_00: God tells Moses, put your hand inside of your cloak.
• 23:50
  SPEAKER_00: Moses does that.
• 23:51
  SPEAKER_00: Pull out your hand.
• 23:53
  SPEAKER_00: Pulls out his hand, leprosed and diseased.
• 23:56
  SPEAKER_00: God tells him to put his hand back in his cloak.
• 24:00
  SPEAKER_00: Moses does that.
• 24:01
  SPEAKER_00: And what happens when he pulls it out again?
• 24:03
  SPEAKER_00: Completely restored, as if nothing happened.
• 24:08
  SPEAKER_00: God is showing Moses consistent demonstrations of power to show and to confirm and to affirm that you have what you need because I am is with you.
• 24:24
  SPEAKER_00: And Moses still is like really fighting to land the plane here because, like, really talking in circles.
• 24:34
  SPEAKER_00: And Moses is like, pardon your servant, Lord.
• 24:38
  SPEAKER_00: I have never been a speaker, I've never been eloquent, not in my past, and most certainly not as I'm speaking to you in the form of a burning bush.
• 24:47
  SPEAKER_00: I am slow of speech and tongue.
• 24:49
  SPEAKER_00: And this is where I imagine God looking at Moses like, Hello, Moses?
• 24:56
  SPEAKER_00: What am I already knows?
• 25:01
  SPEAKER_00: God knows this.
• 25:02
  SPEAKER_00: God sees this.
• 25:03
  SPEAKER_00: God knows Moses.
• 25:05
  SPEAKER_00: He's literally the I am that I am.
• 25:08
  SPEAKER_00: He is, right?
• 25:09
  SPEAKER_00: He is knowledge.
• 25:10
  SPEAKER_00: He he he knows this.
• 25:12
  SPEAKER_00: This is nothing new to God.
• 25:14
  SPEAKER_00: Moses is not disclosing any new information.
• 25:18
  SPEAKER_00: And God gets angry and he's like, who gave humans their mouths?
• 25:21
  SPEAKER_00: Who makes them deaf?
• 25:22
  SPEAKER_00: Who makes them mute?
• 25:23
  SPEAKER_00: Who gives them sight?
• 25:24
  SPEAKER_00: Who makes them blind?
• 25:25
  SPEAKER_00: Is it not I, the Lord?
• 25:27
  SPEAKER_00: Now go.
• 25:28
  SPEAKER_00: I will help you speak and I will teach you what to say.
• 25:31
  SPEAKER_00: And Moses is still not getting this.
• 25:33
  SPEAKER_00: Like he is like, like he's not understanding.
• 25:38
  SPEAKER_00: And he just keeps fighting this.
• 25:40
  SPEAKER_00: And Moses says, please send someone else.
• 25:44
  SPEAKER_00: And there it is.
• 25:47
  SPEAKER_00: That changes the conversation right there.
• 25:49
  SPEAKER_00: Because now we're not talking about Moses' speech.
• 25:53
  SPEAKER_00: We're talking about his fear.
• 25:54
  SPEAKER_00: Moses is afraid to go back to Egypt.
• 26:00
  SPEAKER_00: Because the man God is sending back to Egypt is the same man who ran from that very place, the same man who killed the Egyptian, the same man who Pharaoh wanted dead, the same man who has spent years building a completely different life.
• 26:17
  SPEAKER_00: To change the fact of his past.
• 26:23
  SPEAKER_00: Whatever fear Moses had about returning to Egypt was bigger than his concern about his speech.
• 26:32
  SPEAKER_00: And God knew that.
• 26:36
  SPEAKER_00: And because Moses continues to resist, God becomes angry.
• 26:40
  SPEAKER_00: And, you know, even in his anger, the gracious God that he is makes provision.
• 26:48
  SPEAKER_00: So he tells Moses, listen, you got a brother named Aaron?
• 26:52
  SPEAKER_00: I know he can speak well.
• 26:53
  SPEAKER_00: Matter of fact, he's on his way to meet you right here, right now.
• 26:57
  SPEAKER_00: Aaron will speak for you.
• 26:58
  SPEAKER_00: I give you the words, you give Aaron the words, Aaron gives the people the words.
• 27:03
  SPEAKER_00: I will help both of you speak and will teach you what to do.
• 27:07
  SPEAKER_00: And honestly, you know what it's giving?
• 27:09
  SPEAKER_00: It's giving American gangster.
• 27:16
  SPEAKER_00: But he's like, listen, from now on, don't nobody talk to me directly.
• 27:19
  SPEAKER_00: You understand?
• 27:19
  SPEAKER_00: You got business with me, you talk to Huey.
• 27:21
  SPEAKER_00: Huey, you talk to me.
• 27:22
  SPEAKER_00: You got it?
• 27:23
  SPEAKER_00: Never on the phone.
• 27:25
  SPEAKER_00: Never on the phone.
• 27:30
  SPEAKER_00: So now Moses really has no excuse to not do what he needs to do because he has everything that he needs in order to be successful.
• 27:43
  SPEAKER_00: Because God is behind all of it.
• 27:47
  SPEAKER_00: Now we have to stop the story here because we are only four chapters in.
• 27:55
  SPEAKER_00: And really, we are just getting started with the book of Exodus and the story of Moses.
• 28:01
  SPEAKER_00: But this book is very dense.
• 28:03
  SPEAKER_00: And even though The Prince of Egypt is a beautiful film that helped introduce many of us to this story, it also took several creative liberties in retelling the biblical narrative because there is still so much to unpack.
• 28:19
  SPEAKER_00: But now that we've walked through the story, now that we know where the name came from, now that we've seen what God revealed about Himself to Moses, here is a question we've all been waiting for.
• 28:32
  SPEAKER_00: What is the Yahweh effect?
• 28:38
  SPEAKER_00: I am that I am.
• 28:42
  SPEAKER_00: What I am is what I will be.
• 28:46
  SPEAKER_00: That is what Yahweh means.
• 28:50
  SPEAKER_00: Yahweh is the declaration God makes in Exodus 3.
• 28:56
  SPEAKER_00: And this name is traditionally understood in connection with the Hebrew verb Hayah, which means to be.
• 29:04
  SPEAKER_00: And what makes this moment so significant in this revelation is that Moses isn't asking God to give him a nickname or something that one person out of the millions of Israelites can identify with.
• 29:28
  SPEAKER_00: Who are you?
• 29:29
  SPEAKER_00: And God answers in his own words and just says, I am.
• 29:35
  SPEAKER_00: And that name speaks to the reality of God's presence in every situation.
• 29:41
  SPEAKER_00: Think about what the Israelites needed in this moment.
• 29:44
  SPEAKER_00: They needed deliverance, they needed refuge, they needed confirmation that somebody heard their cries.
• 29:57
  SPEAKER_00: And we come to find that Yahweh is the God who hears, who sees, who remembers, and who acts.
• 30:07
  SPEAKER_00: Yahweh is the name God tells them to remember and to carry forward from generation to generation.
• 30:18
  SPEAKER_00: What we learn from the name Yahweh is that I am becomes a foundational truth we can stand on.
• 30:27
  SPEAKER_00: Because in this name we learn that God is not confined to one adjective.
• 30:40
  SPEAKER_00: Those are things that he does and ways that he reveals himself.
• 30:44
  SPEAKER_00: But before all of those definitions and descriptions and adjectives, he is.
• 31:37
  SPEAKER_00: Yahweh is.
• 31:45
  SPEAKER_00: And because he is, we are.
• 31:48
  SPEAKER_00: We are his creation, we are his handiwork, we are his reflection.
• 31:53
  SPEAKER_00: And in the story, Yahweh reveals himself as the one who is, the one who can and the one who does.
• 32:16
  SPEAKER_00: Learning how God is Yahweh is not simply learning the Hebrew root or Greek definition or origin in Aramaic or whichever, like whichever language.
• 32:31
  SPEAKER_00: But like learning it is one thing, but to experience it is another.
• 32:45
  SPEAKER_00: But experience him show up in your own wilderness.
• 32:50
  SPEAKER_00: Experience him show up as a deliverer in your own Egypt, as a revelator in your own burning bush moment.
• 33:00
  SPEAKER_00: And he is time and time again, age to age, generation to generation, until it's not just a name that you know, it's something you've experienced.
• 33:16
  SPEAKER_00: So John 1, verses 1 through 3 says, In the beginning was the word, and the word was with God, and the word was God.
• 33:22
  SPEAKER_00: The same was in the beginning with God.
• 33:24
  SPEAKER_00: Through him, all things were made.
• 33:26
  SPEAKER_00: Without him, nothing was made that has been made.
• 33:32
  SPEAKER_00: John connects God to creation itself.
• 33:36
  SPEAKER_00: Everything that exists exists because of him.
• 33:41
  SPEAKER_00: So when we think about I am, we're talking about more than God's presence in a particular moment.
• 33:47
  SPEAKER_00: We're talking about the God who is the source of existence itself.
• 33:52
  SPEAKER_00: Everything is downstream from him.
• 33:54
  SPEAKER_00: He is downstream from no one.
• 33:57
  SPEAKER_00: Nothing created him, nothing sustains him, nothing gives him being.
• 34:01
  SPEAKER_00: He is.
• 34:03
  SPEAKER_00: And everything else owes its existence to him.
• 34:07
  SPEAKER_00: From him are all things, and to him are all things.
• 34:10
  SPEAKER_00: Yahweh isn't one force among many contributing to existence.
• 34:14
  SPEAKER_00: He is the source of existence.
• 34:20
  SPEAKER_00: Then we get to Hebrews 11, verse 6, where it says, Without faith, it is impossible to please God, because anybody who comes to him must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who earnestly seek him.
• 34:35
  SPEAKER_00: And this approaches the character of God from a completely different angle.
• 34:39
  SPEAKER_00: It moves from who he is to what he does because of who he is.
• 34:48
  SPEAKER_00: Right?
• 34:48
  SPEAKER_00: So there's two parts to this verse.
• 34:50
  SPEAKER_00: First, we must believe that he exists.
• 34:54
  SPEAKER_00: And that echoes the declaration of Yahweh, which is, I am that I am.
• 34:58
  SPEAKER_00: He is.
• 34:58
  SPEAKER_00: God is.
• 35:00
  SPEAKER_00: But then it says that he rewards those who earnestly, or KJV says, diligently seek him.
• 35:06
  SPEAKER_00: So the God who is is also the God who responds.
• 35:11
  SPEAKER_00: The God who is is the God who does.
• 35:14
  SPEAKER_00: And that's exactly what we're seeing in Exodus.
• 35:16
  SPEAKER_00: The Israelites cried out, God heard, they suffered, God saw, they waited, God remembered, and then God acted.
• 35:23
  SPEAKER_00: That's the progression.
• 35:24
  SPEAKER_00: God is, God acts.
• 35:26
  SPEAKER_00: Like that's what Hebrews 11 is showing us throughout that entire chapter.
• 35:30
  SPEAKER_00: Faith isn't simply believing that God exists as some distant fact.
• 35:34
  SPEAKER_00: You can't experience him as deliverer, provider, protector, rewarder without believing that he is first.
• 35:41
  SPEAKER_00: The existence, the acknowledge of the existence must come before the experience.
• 35:48
  SPEAKER_00: The I am has to be trusted as being before he is known through doing.
• 35:56
  SPEAKER_00: So John 1, verse 3 gives us the I am on the creation end, right?
• 36:03
  SPEAKER_00: Everything owes its existence to him.
• 36:06
  SPEAKER_00: And Hebrews 11:6 gives us the relationship side of him.
• 36:09
  SPEAKER_00: We come to him believing that he is the I am that I am, and then we experience what he does.
• 36:18
  SPEAKER_00: And together we see that Yahweh is the God who is and the God who acts.
• 36:26
  SPEAKER_00: When you look at Moses' story, almost everything is changing.
• 36:30
  SPEAKER_00: There is no real stability or steadiness that's happening in Moses' story.
• 36:36
  SPEAKER_00: The government changes, the location changes, Moses changes his identity, his family changes.
• 36:41
  SPEAKER_00: Moses is a man whose life often feels like it's moving at all times.
• 36:47
  SPEAKER_00: But then the constant God steps into the story.
• 36:53
  SPEAKER_00: And suddenly Moses has something that is not moving, something that is stable, something that is consistent.
• 37:03
  SPEAKER_00: Yahweh.
• 37:05
  SPEAKER_00: And this name reveals the stability of God from age to age.
• 37:10
  SPEAKER_00: He will be.
• 37:13
  SPEAKER_00: From generation to generation.
• 37:15
  SPEAKER_00: The I am is still the I am.
• 37:18
  SPEAKER_00: Seasons changing.
• 37:19
  SPEAKER_00: The I am is still the I am.
• 37:21
  SPEAKER_00: In heartbreak, the I am is still the I am.
• 37:24
  SPEAKER_00: In loss, the I am is still the I am.
• 37:28
  SPEAKER_00: In victory, the I am is still the I am.
• 37:30
  SPEAKER_00: And that matters.
• 37:33
  SPEAKER_00: Because sometimes we think the goal of our circumstances is to become stable.
• 37:40
  SPEAKER_00: But maybe what we need to do is focus on the one who is stable.
• 37:45
  SPEAKER_00: And that will steady us.
• 37:49
  SPEAKER_00: You know what I mean?
• 37:50
  SPEAKER_00: Like sometimes we we I keep thinking of Oz.
• 37:56
  SPEAKER_00: Like the land of Oz, not the prison show, Oz.
• 37:59
  SPEAKER_00: Like the land of Oz, like the wizard of Oz, you know, like this grand illusion that's worshipped and served, but there's no real intervention.
• 38:08
  SPEAKER_00: And there's no interaction towards the people that are serving to please him or or having any compassion for those who are working so hard.
• 38:20
  SPEAKER_00: No, but Yahweh is Yahweh is the source.
• 38:24
  SPEAKER_00: He is the being, he's the root, he's divine, he's the sufficiency.
• 38:29
  SPEAKER_00: He is the one who moves everything because nothing exists apart from him.
• 38:36
  SPEAKER_00: He is the one who is, he is the one who will always be.
• 38:40
  SPEAKER_00: He is the very definition of being.
• 38:43
  SPEAKER_00: And yet, this all-sufficient, ever-dependable God still calls Moses in.
• 38:55
  SPEAKER_00: Still calls him to participate in the deliverance of his people.
• 39:00
  SPEAKER_00: And that's what makes Moses' questioning so like irritating yet interesting at the same time because he's Moses is like, who am I?
• 39:11
  SPEAKER_00: Who am I to do any of these things that you're calling me to do?
• 39:14
  SPEAKER_00: Do you know who I am?
• 39:15
  SPEAKER_00: And God is like, I am.
• 39:19
  SPEAKER_00: Moses keeps asking about himself, and God is revealing himself to Moses.
• 39:26
  SPEAKER_00: Moses is trying to find validation in being the everything to the Israelites.
• 39:31
  SPEAKER_00: And God is like, don't worry about that.
• 39:36
  SPEAKER_00: You know who everything is.
• 39:38
  SPEAKER_00: I am everything, speaking to you.
• 39:40
  SPEAKER_00: You don't need to have it all in order.
• 39:42
  SPEAKER_00: You don't need to have it all together.
• 39:44
  SPEAKER_00: You don't need to have it perfectly done.
• 39:45
  SPEAKER_00: I'm telling you, I am will be with you.
• 39:49
  SPEAKER_00: I will be with you.
• 39:50
  SPEAKER_00: I'm walking with you.
• 39:51
  SPEAKER_00: I'm giving you your charge.
• 39:52
  SPEAKER_00: I'm giving you your call.
• 39:53
  SPEAKER_00: I'm giving you the grace.
• 39:54
  SPEAKER_00: I'm giving you the anointing.
• 39:56
  SPEAKER_00: I'm giving you what you need in order to be successful by my hand.
• 40:08
  SPEAKER_00: And sometimes, like, we just really gotta knock, like, give ourselves a good kunk on the head, like, because we we often like, oh my goodness, it's how often do we get a word or an instruction or an assignment and immediately start like, okay, so how am I gonna do this?
• 40:29
  SPEAKER_00: Am I qualified for this?
• 40:30
  SPEAKER_00: Am I ready?
• 40:31
  SPEAKER_00: Can do do I have enough?
• 40:32
  SPEAKER_00: Can I do this?
• 40:33
  SPEAKER_00: What what if they don't listen?
• 40:34
  SPEAKER_00: What if I fail?
• 40:35
  SPEAKER_00: What if, what if, what if, what if, what if, what if?
• 40:38
  SPEAKER_00: God is like, I am.
• 40:40
  SPEAKER_00: We're focusing on the wrong I here.
• 40:44
  SPEAKER_00: We're focusing on the ability of the wrong one.
• 40:49
  SPEAKER_00: Things can be going topsy turvy, things can be always consistently moving and shifting, but the I am that I am is the stability.
• 41:01
  SPEAKER_00: He's the foundation, he's the root, he's the source, and because he is the source, we can move when he tells us to move.
• 41:12
  SPEAKER_00: Because he is ever-present, no matter where we go, we're covered in grace and goodness and mercy.
• 41:20
  SPEAKER_00: Because he is sufficient, we don't have to put on a show and have so many optics to look like we've got it all together when that's not our job to have it all together.
• 41:38
  SPEAKER_00: Because he is, because the I am that I am is the I am that I am.
• 41:49
  SPEAKER_00: We can become everything he has called us to be.
• 41:58
  SPEAKER_00: And that is the Yahweh effect.
• 42:09
  SPEAKER_00: So I know I typically close out with thanks for listening.
• 42:16
  SPEAKER_00: So happy you came.
• 42:18
  SPEAKER_00: Tune in next time.
• 42:19
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah, not gonna do that this time because I did say I was coming with gifts.
• 42:25
  SPEAKER_00: So that means that I have a new segment! Yes, yes, yes.
• 42:30
  SPEAKER_00: So before we close out, this is our new segment titled Song of Songs.
• 42:35
  SPEAKER_00: So we're gonna run through the Rolodex of Songs and highlight one specific song that speaks to the theme and concept of the episode.
• 42:44
  SPEAKER_00: So, for this episode, and don't beat me for this.
• 42:49
  SPEAKER_00: Like, you're not gonna beat me for this, but like, I know some people are gonna be like, I could find a much better song than the one that you were talking about, and that's great.
• 43:03
  SPEAKER_00: Hit us up at the Leah Effectpod at gmail.com and tell us what song you think.
• 43:08
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah, yeah.
• 43:10
  SPEAKER_00: My song that I'm highlighting for this episode is God Is.
• 43:17
  SPEAKER_00: The arrangement by Melvin Crispel the third.
• 43:20
  SPEAKER_00: Mm-hmm.
• 43:21
  SPEAKER_00: Uh, and I really love this song because it's not a list of requests, it's not asking God for anything, it's not making any petition, but it's it's it's a declaration.
• 43:31
  SPEAKER_00: God is, God is, God is my all and all.
• 43:38
  SPEAKER_00: The song is not asking God to do something, it's a song revering in who and what he already is.
• 43:47
  SPEAKER_00: He's the joy and the strength of my life.
• 43:49
  SPEAKER_00: He removes what he needs to remove, he keeps what he needs to keep.
• 43:54
  SPEAKER_00: And that's the Yahweh effect in the melody, you know.
• 44:00
  SPEAKER_00: Moses needed a name he can carry back to the Israelites, a name that didn't depend on circumstance to remain solid and true and just and right.
• 44:14
  SPEAKER_00: A name that will last through generations, a truth that will last throughout generations.
• 44:20
  SPEAKER_00: And the truth is simply this: God is.
• 44:22
  SPEAKER_00: It's not that he did, and it's not even that he will, but he is.
• 44:30
  SPEAKER_00: That was working back in my grandmother's time, it worked back in my mother's time, it worked back in my father's time, it worked back in my time.
• 44:36
  SPEAKER_00: It's working in my time now, and it's gonna work in my kids' time.
• 44:42
  SPEAKER_00: Because that's a name that can be carried forward from generation to generation.
• 44:48
  SPEAKER_00: God is the strength, God is the joy, God is the one who removes the pain, the one who keeps.
• 44:57
  SPEAKER_00: He will never fall short of his word.
• 44:59
  SPEAKER_00: I gotta fast, I gotta pray, stay in the narrow way.
• 45:01
  SPEAKER_00: Come on, somebody, keep my life clean.
• 45:06
  SPEAKER_00: Because God is the I am that I am.
• 45:13
  SPEAKER_00: So put on the song, sit with it, sing along to it.
• 45:18
  SPEAKER_00: And everything that you need is in the one who already is.
• 45:27
  SPEAKER_00: And beautiful people, that is the first episode of season two of the Leah Effect.
• 45:34
  SPEAKER_00: Woo! Oh my, we are back.
• 45:38
  SPEAKER_00: And let me just say, I miss this.
• 45:40
  SPEAKER_00: I miss this a lot.
• 45:43
  SPEAKER_00: I am so glad to be back here with you all.
• 45:45
  SPEAKER_00: And if this is your first time listening, thank you for spending part of your day with me.
• 45:51
  SPEAKER_00: And if you are a repeated listener, thank you for spending part of your day with me.
• 45:56
  SPEAKER_00: Uh this season, we're going to keep uncovering the names of God, the stories behind them, and what happens when those names become more than words on a page.
• 46:05
  SPEAKER_00: I'm excited to see what comes of this uh on my personal journey and on yours.
• 46:12
  SPEAKER_00: So don't keep the good news to yourself.
• 46:15
  SPEAKER_00: Be sure to follow us on Instagram at underscore the Leah Effect so you don't miss any announcements or updates and all the fun things that we have coming this season.
• 46:24
  SPEAKER_00: And please don't forget about our think about it moment.
• 46:29
  SPEAKER_00: All right, I want to know what you're thinking on, what's good, what's lovely, what's praiseworthy, what's excellent.
• 46:35
  SPEAKER_00: Send it to us at the Leah Effectpod at gmail.com.
• 46:41
  SPEAKER_00: Let's celebrate together.
• 46:44
  SPEAKER_00: I'm your host, Charnel.
• 46:46
  SPEAKER_00: This is the Leah Effect.
• 46:48
  SPEAKER_00: And remember, there's always more to the story, and the effects are truly endless.
• 46:54
  SPEAKER_00: I'll catch you next time.