[16] So Paul got up, motioned with his hand, and said, "Fellow Israelites and you others who are God-fearing, listen. [17] The God of this people Israel chose our ancestors and exalted the people during their sojourn in the land of Egypt. With uplifted arm he led them out of it [18] and for about forty years he put up with them in the desert. [19] When he had destroyed seven nations in the land of Canaan, he gave them their land as an inheritance [20] at the end of about four hundred and fifty years. After these things he provided judges up to Samuel (the) prophet. [21] Then they asked for a king. God gave them Saul, son of Kish, a man from the tribe of Benjamin, for forty years. [22] Then he removed him and raised up David as their king; of him he testified, 'I have found David, son of Jesse, a man after my own heart; he will carry out my every wish.'
(CCC 203) God revealed himself to his people Israel by making his name known to them. A name expresses a person's essence and identity and the meaning of this person's life. God has a name; he is not an anonymous force. To disclose one's name is to make oneself known to others; in a way it is to hand oneself over by becoming accessible, capable of being known more intimately and addressed personally. (CCC 207) By revealing his name God at the same time reveals his faithfulness which is from everlasting to everlasting, valid for the past ("I am the God of your father"), as for the future ("I will be with you") (Ex 3:6, 12). God, who reveals his name as "I AM", reveals himself as the God who is always there, present to his people in order to save them. (CCC 212) Over the centuries, Israel's faith was able to manifest and deepen realization of the riches contained in the revelation of the divine name. God is unique; there are no other gods besides him (Cf. Isa 44:6). He transcends the world and history. He made heaven and earth: "They will perish, but you endure; they will all wear out like a garment... but you are the same, and your years have no end" (Ps 102:26-27). In God "there is no variation or shadow due to change" (Jas 1:17). God is "He who Is", from everlasting to everlasting, and as such remains ever faithful to himself and to his promises.
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