THE ESSENCE OF GOD
Jacob once asked the Lord His name, that is, to give some expression of His essence. He received the following answer, “Why is it that you ask after my name?” God was telling him He did not want Him to penetrate any further into the mysteries of God. In Judges 13:18, God says to Manoah, “Why asks thou thus after my name, seeing it is secret?” The essence of God is His eternal self-existence. When Moses asked what he should tell the children of Israel if they asked him who sent him, God responded, “Tell them I AM THAT I AM hath sent me to you.” God is a mystery to us and we will spend eternity learning more about Him and never learning it all. Whoever wishes to know more concerning God’s essence should join me in worship as we close our eyes before an unapproachable light. Yet in some measure He has revealed Himself to us, but we perceive only the uttermost fringes of His Being by reflecting on His divine attributes.
