Now Moses was tending the flock of Jethro his father-in-law, and he led the flock to the far side of the desert and came to Horeb, the mountain of God. There the LORD appeared to him in flames of fire from within a bush. Moses saw that though the bush was on fire it did not burn up. So Moses said to himself, “Self!” And Moses replied, “What?” and Moses said, “Go over and see this strange sight—why the bush does not burn up.” And Moses said, “Okay.”
When the LORD saw that he had gone over to look, He called to him from within the bush, “Moses! Moses!” And Moses replied, “What?”
“Do not come any closer,” the LORD said, “and take off your sandals.”
Moses said in awe, “For this is holy ground?”
The LORD relied, “No, it’s just that I got this puppy really stoked, and your straps are starting to smoulder.”
So when Moses had obediently removed his sandals and reverently extinguished his feet in the sand, he asked, “Who are you?”
The LORD said, “I am the God of your father, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac and the God of Jacob.” At this, Moses hid his face, because he was afraid to look at God, and because his eyebrows were beginning to singe.
The LORD said, “I have indeed seen the misery of my people in Egypt. I have heard them crying out because of their slave drivers, and lamenting because of their suffering. Truth to tell, I’m getting tired of the whining. So I have come down to rescue them from the hand of the Egyptians and to bring them up out of that land into Promised Land.”
And Moses said, “What is this Promised Land?”
And the LORD said, “The land I’m promising you. Keep up, son! So now, go. I am sending you to Pharaoh to bring my people the Israelites out of Egypt.”
Moses said to the LORD, “Suppose I go to the Israelites and say to them, ‘The God of your fathers has sent me to you,’ and they ask me, ‘What is his name?’ Then what shall I tell them?”
The LORD said to Moses, “I don’t have a name. I don’t need one.”
But Moses replied, “Everyone has a name! How shall we call you?”
And the LORD replied, “‘God’ works. Or ‘LORD’, with all caps. ‘Father’ is cool, too. Doesn’t really matter, I’ll know when you are talking to me.”
But Moses cried, “But they are not names!”
And the LORD replied, “Look, mate, you lot all have names to tell each other apart. I do not have a name, because I don’t need to be told apart from anyone. I am the LORD your God.”
But Moses was in anguish. "That makes no sense! I cannot just say ‘God has sent me’ or “The LORD has sent me’! They will ask, ‘Which God?’ or ‘What Lord?’”
And the LORD replied, “I need no name, for I just am. I Am who I Am.”
And Moses dared to look up and said, “Come again?”
And the LORD repeated, “I Am who I Am”, or in the language of the day, “Yahweh”.
And Moses brightened and answered, “Yahweh!”
And the LORD replied, “Uh, no, see, not you, but ‘I Am…’”
But Moses was filled with joy, for he knew the Name of the LORD. “I shall go to the Children of Israel, and their Parents, and say, ‘Yahweh saith, “I will deliver you out of bondage and bring to the Promised Land!”’”
And the Lord interjected, “Whoa, there, pilgrim, that’s *not *My name, I just said…”
But Moses heard Him not, but said, “And I shall say to Pharaoh, ‘Yahweh saith, “Let My people go!”’”
And the LORD did sigh a mighty sigh, such that the sound was heard down the slopes of Horeb, and throughout the lands of the Canaanites, and the Hittites, and the Amorites, and the Jebusites, and even rustled some leaves in what would eventually be known as Muncie.
And the LORD relented and said, “All right, call Me ‘Yahweh’…”
But then Moses said, “But, lo, it is not meet that I should call my LORD by His Name, for it is Holy, and I must not profane it.”
And the LORD said, “Say what? You just spent all this time prying a name out of Me, a name I never had nor needed, and when I finally give you one, you won’t use it?”
But Moses was steadfast, and said, “None shall say Thy Name, O LORD, lest we profane It. We shall call You ‘The Name’, and when we write the Name, we won’t use vowels, whenever we get around to inventing them. For the Name of the LORD is holy! Blessed be His Holy Name, which no one will ever say, or write properly (and it will get even better when they finally expand the alphabet and add ‘J’ and ‘W’!), so that eventually no one will be able to profane it because they won’t know how to pronounce it!”
And the LORD said unto Himself, “Gevalt…”
Unfortunately, in my opinion, “You Are Near” and “I Lift Up My Soul” are readily fixed by using ’ O, Lord’. Even worse is “Sing a New Song” will probably use ‘The Lord’s’ people, which just doesn’t sound right. (try it… The Lord’s people dance for joy…, seems clunky).