Exodus 1-18

The idea of God has been a common and frequent theme throughout the world for centuries as there have been many religions created to worship people’s idea of God. Even atheism “represents a form of man’s concern with the question of God” according to Joseph Ratzinger. So, who exactly is God? We can see that even the characters in the story of Exodus question who God is, for example, when Moses encounters God in the burning bush and asks for his name and God mysteriously replies with “I am who I am.” This is a confusing answer, especially since throughout the rest of the story of the Israelites’ escape from Egypt God consistently says he is the one who hardens Pharaoh’s heart to keep the Israelites in Egypt so that he can continue giving signs so that the Israelites will “know that I am the Lord your God.” And this is truly the only way we can know who God is, not through him telling us, but through him showing us. God is not someone we can know by name or be told about because the idea of God is beyond human comprehension. Yet, God’s desire to form a close relationship with us has brought him to reach out and lower himself to our human level. This idea is more literally seen in the life of Jesus Christ as God became man and made himself known to humanity. The only way to really know him is through experiencing his endless love and grace. God wants to bring the Israelites out of Egypt so that they will know him and live in communion with him and God wants us to do the same. God is the love and joy that we find in our lives and by living out and sharing the love and grace God brings in our lives, we come to know who God is through experience.