The name YHWH comes from the Hebrew word "to be" ('hayah'). Nearly everyone agrees on this. However, exactly how to render the tense is a bit more complicated. This is because Ancient Hebrew had no tense system as we have today (e.g., past tense, present tense, future tense). There was no distinct form that clearly indicated the present tense of "to be" (e.g., "is," "am," are"). If the speaker wanted to say "I am here" he would say "I here."
The word translated "I am" is in a form that is called the "imperfect" --this means that it describes uncompleted, sustained action, or a series of actions. In Exodus 3:14 it can be translated either as a present or future tense. This being so, it can be translated "I am who I am" or "I will be whom I will be." If we choose to translate this as future then God may be saying "I will be whom I will be--watch what I will do to learn what I am." This is an intriguing possibility. However, I think that the Hebrew is better rendered as a present tense. The Greek translation of this passage (LXX) clearly viewed it as a present ("I am the Being [One?]"). We still have the sense of the future if we regard this as ongoing (eternal) action. This present tense allows this.
I think it is best to see this as God saying "I am being what I am being--watch as you see who I am through the unfolding of events and the issuing of commandments." If we want to know who God is, then we should pay close attention to how God acts and what God commands. Translating the Hebrew verb "to be" as a present can fully have this force, just as the future tense would.
In saying "I am the God of your father — the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob" YHWH indicated that one of His attributes is faithfulness. He is faithful to His promises. God promised to give the Jews the land ("To your descendants I will give this land." - Gen. 12:7, etc.) and He promised to deliver them from a 400 year oppression (Gen. 15:13).
In Moses' call and commission in chapter three God is the One who sends forth and empowers His servants. God acts, but he often does so through people (or angels, or even providence).
In the plagues, God demonstrates His power over nature and over the gods of Egypt. The plagues are a remarkable display of two other attributes. One of them is His unchangeableness. God acts with great uniformity of purpose; He is not fickle like the gods of Egypt. This contrast is also acted out in the respective characters of Moses and Pharaoh. Moses believes in a God who never changes, and as a result Moses never wavers or relents in his message or actions. Pharaoh, on the other hand, believes in fickle gods who must be constantly placated, appeased, and entreated on account of their capricious nature. Because we become like that which we worship, Pharaoh is also fickle in repeatedly giving the command to go and then relenting.
The patience of God is also prominently displayed in the plagues. He could have killed the firstborn of Egypt as the first plague. Indeed He could have killed Pharaoh and all the Egyptians at once if He had wanted to. Instead, God chose to afflict Egypt in stages, giving them opportunities to see God's power, realize Who He is and repent. Regarding YHWH's actions the Egyptian magicians confessed candidly: "This is the finger of God" (Exodus 8:19).
YHWH is a God who acts and responds to prayer. This is seen in God's response to Moses (And the LORD did as Moses asked, and removed the swarms of insects from Pharaoh - 8:31). The need for prayer and dependence on God is dramatically illustrated in Moses holding up his staff in order to assure Joshua victory over Amalek in Exodus 17:11).
One very remarkable aspect of the Passover is God's power over people's minds and attitudes. God shows in an amazing way His sovereignty over the thoughts and dispositions of men. He is very careful to show that this was His active control -- not just a prediction. When God first appeared to Moses He announced that He would cause the Egyptian people to respect the Jews and desire to give them wealth - "And I will grant this people favor in the sight of the Egyptians; and it shall be that when you go, you will not go empty-handed. But every woman shall ask of her neighbor and the woman who lives in her house, articles of silver and articles of gold, and clothing; and you will put them on your sons and daughters. Thus you will plunder the Egyptians." - 3:21-22. This was principally done so that the people would have gold that would be melted down for the future tabernacle in the wilderness. But in this we see that God is able and free to put a desire into people's minds (the fulfillment of this promise is found in Exodus 12:35-36). This being so, God shows His ability to open men's hearts to the gospel. God has control over the dispositions as well the actions of men. It is striking that God didn't change Pharaoh's mind internally as he did the minds of the Egyptian people who gave their gold. The reason for this is found in Romans 9:17: "For this very purpose I have raised you up, that I may show My power in you, and that My name may be declared in all the earth."
In the command to sacrifice a lamb and to sprinkle its blood on the doorposts we see that redemption comes through death and blood. Not the blood of the redeemed people, but the blood of an innocent lamb. Here we see a hint of the doctrine of substitution that is further developed in the New Testament. This concept of substitution is further developed in Exodus: the firstborn sons of Israel were special for God because they weren't killed as were the firstborn sons of Egypt; later God consecrated the Levites as a substitution for the firstborn sons of Israel. The greatest act of substitution was the way in which Christ in His atoning death substituted for guilty sinners.
In the judgment of the firstborn and in the parting of the Red Sea we see God's further displays of God's power and His hand of judgment. His judgments are selective, and God saves His people as He judges the ungodly.
God is One who tests people to reveal their spiritual condition (Deut. 8:2 In the wilderness He fed you manna which your fathers did not know, that He might humble you and that He might test you, to do good for you in the end. Deut. 8:16 And you shall remember all the way which the LORD your God has led you in the wilderness these forty years, that He might humble you, testing you, to know what was in your heart, whether you would keep His commandments or not.).
Throughout the wilderness wanderings God demonstrated his provision. This is seen in the providing of food and water for which the people did not labor. During this period the Israelites neither farmed nor dug wells. Everything they received came out of a rock or fell down from heaven. Manna was a vivid display of this kind of daily provision. God is thus seen as One who provides for and sustains people. God's benevolence to all (common grace) is seen in His giving of food and drink to the saved and unsaved alike.
The giving of commands, and especially the ten commandments is a revelation of the character of God. Behind all of the commandments we can see God's holiness, purity, and glory.
God showcases His attributes in a special way through the tabernacle. God is to be worshipped and served, but only on His terms; man is not free to invent his own way. God is utterly unapproachable, except through His own prescribed means. The tabernacle shows His design, provision for cleansing, His holiness, Christ's intercessory work, and His glory. In a special way it also showcases the presence of God. After man is redeemed and cleansed, God is pleased to dwell with man. The presence of God underscores His love, power, provision, redemption.
The book of Exodus reveals in a special way the character of God. In chapter three God said "I am that I am" and this is fleshed out in His decisive intervention in Israel's history at this critical time. The commands and acts of God that relate to the redemption from Egypt, the provision in the wilderness, the giving of the law, and the erecting of the tabernacle are the means by which God tells all mankind Who He Is.
It wasn't until the supreme revelation of God in Christ that this unveiling of God in Exodus was surpassed. This book provided a magnificent portrait of who God that wasn't superceded until the arrival of the the One who is the "brightness of His glory and the express image of His person;" the"only begotten Son, who...has declared Him."
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