I AM WHO I AM!

“Now Moses was keeping the flock of his father-in-law, Jethro, the priest of Midian, and he led his flock to the west side of the wilderness and came to Horeb, the mountain of God. The angel of the LORD appeared to him in a blazing fire from the midst of a bush; and he looked, and behold, the bush was burning with fire, yet the bush was not consumed. So Moses said, "I must turn aside now and see this marvelous sight, why the bush is not burned up." When the LORD saw that he turned aside to look, God called to him from the midst of the bush and said, "Moses, Moses!" And he said, "Here I am." Then He said, "Do not come near here; remove your sandals from your feet, for the place on which you are standing is holy ground."” (Exodus 3:1-5)

The scene is the Sinai Desert. Into this hot, arid region comes Moses. He is a fugitive from Egypt, having escaped from the consequences of a past murder. He has found refuge in the tents of a wealthy sheik named Jethro. Over the years, he has taken a wife from among the daughters of Jethro and he has settled down to become a simple shepherd. 40 years pass by until one day when Moses comes upon a strange sight. At this low point in Moses life he is surprised by the presence of God in a place where he’d least expect it. It is a bush burning on the slopes of a mountain. The strange thing is not the bush or the fact that it is burning, but that it continues to burn without burning up the bush.

His curiosity aroused, Moses moves closer to investigate. As he does, God speaks to him from the midst of the bush. God first instructs Moses to show proper reverence for the ground upon which he stands. He is to do this by removing his sandals. Forever afterward, the priests would enter the Temple of God barefoot in order to show the same reverence. Next the Lord identifies Himself to Moses: "He said also, "I am the God of your father, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob." Then Moses hid his face, for he was afraid to look at God. (Exodus 3:6).

Moses had come out of Egypt. The land of Egypt was filled with gods. There was a god of the harvest and a god for the rain and a god for the sun and a god for the river and a god for the cattle. There was a god for everything in Egypt. But God identifies Himself as the God of Abraham and the God of Isaac and the God of Jacob. He is the God of Moses’ ancestors. Hundreds of years earlier, God had appeared to Abraham and had promised Him certain things. The entire history of the Israelite people had been laid out in a detailed prophecy in Genesis 15:13-16. Now God tells Moses that He is the same God who made the covenant with Abraham. He is the same God who repeated the same promises to Isaac and to Jacob. He is the God of Israel, even though they have become enslaved in Egypt.

He is known as the God who promises. He has not forgotten His promises. He is now going to bring them to fulfillment. The brightness of the glory of God in the fire causes Moses to shield his eyes and shrink back in stupefied horror quacking in terror before the spectacular bush of fire. God continues to speak to Moses about what He is going for His covenant people. “And the LORD said, "I have surely seen the affliction of My people who are in Egypt, and have given heed to their cry because of their taskmasters, for I am aware of their sufferings. So I have come down to deliver them from the power of the Egyptians, and to bring them up from that land to a good and spacious land, to a land flowing with milk and honey, to the place of the Canaanite and the Hittite and the Amorite and the Perizzite and the Hivite and the Jebusite. (Exodus 3:7-8).

These are the same words that the Lord had spoken to Abraham. He now says that He is going to keep the promise that He had made to Abraham. The terms of that covenant will be fulfilled. What God had promised so many hundreds of years earlier would now come to pass. God is going to deliver the Israelites from their bondage in Egypt. He is going to lead them through the wilderness. He is going to bring them to the land of promise. Moses is called to return to Egypt with this message. Up to this point, Moses has been nodding his head and thinking to himself, "This is quite a good thing." But then God says that the way He was going to accomplish His plan would be through Moses. “And now, behold, the cry of the people of Israel has come to me, and I have also seen the oppression with which the Egyptians oppress them. 10 Come, I will send you to Pharaoh that you may bring my people, the children of Israel, out of Egypt" (verses 9-10)

Moses discovered that God had not stopped by for a casual conversation and a cup of tea. An intrusion by God like this always signifies a call to a weighty mission. God got right to the point and told Moses that he was to liberate the entire Jewish populace from the yoke of Egyptian bondage. God was calling him to lead the most spectacular liberation movement in the history of the world. But Moses said to God, "Who am I that I should go to Pharaoh and bring the children of Israel out of Egypt?" He said, "But I will be with you, and this shall be the sign for you, that I have sent you: when you have brought the people out of Egypt, you shall serve God on this mountain." Then Moses said to God, "If I come to the people of Israel and say to them, 'The God of your fathers has sent me to you,' and they ask me, 'What is his name?' what shall I say to them?" (Verses 11-13)

At this point the humbled and astonished Moses pressed God to at least tell him His name. This was a significant question. In the ancient world, the name of a person or a city or a deity was not without meaning. The name of a person would often describe an attribute of that person. Likewise, the name of a deity would usually indicate some specific attribute of that deity. "And God said to Moses, "I AM WHO I AM"; and He said, "Thus you shall say to the sons of Israel, ‘I AM has sent me to you.’"And God, furthermore, said to Moses, "Thus you shall say to the sons of Israel, ‘The LORD, the God of your fathers, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob, has sent me to you.’ This is My name forever, and this is My memorial-name to all generations." (Exodus 3:14-15).

This seemed to be a strange answer to Moses' simple question. God says His name three times, first, in verse 14 God says, "I AM WHO I AM." Second, in verse 14 God says, "I AM has sent me to you." Third, in verse 15 God says, "The LORD . . . has sent me to you . . . this is my name forever." Is that even an answer? What does it mean? It almost sounds as if God was saying, "Never mind what My name is. My name is none of your business. I am who I am and that's all you need to know. Moses, you can see that I am a very powerful force. But I came here to ask you questions, not to answer yours!" But such an interpretation doesn't make sense for God goes on to say that this name is to be His memorial. It is to be the name by which He is to be known by all future generations.

No, God is not evading Moses' question. He has revealed His name. This is God’s own chosen forever name. It is a strange-sounding name, indeed, but it is His real name. I AM WHO I AM, I AM, JEHOVAH, YAWEH, THE LORD. The importance of this name it can be seen in the sheer frequency of its use. It occurs 6,828 times in the Old Testament. What this shows is that God aims to be known not as a generic deity, but as a specific Person with a name that carries his unique character and mission.

What does it mean when you ask your God, Who are you? He answers, I AM WHO I AM? I hope you can begin to feel how important these words are. There aren't any words more important than these. The more you ponder them, the more awesome they become. I know I can't do them justice, but perhaps the Holy Spirit might take my stammering attempt to think of a few and open some view for you.

Because God’s name is “I am”, this means that…

God Does Not Change

In Malachi 3:6 God says, "I Yahweh do not change..." If who God is not determined by any forces outside himself, then he is not subject to the changes we are. God has always been I AM and will always be the I AM. People change their mind because of unforeseen circumstances or weak resolution. God foresees all circumstances and has no weaknesses. Nothing in all creation takes him off guard and backs him into a corner where he might have to act out of character or compromise his integrity. He is who he is, and therefore, as James says, "With him there is no variation or shadow due to change" (James 1:17). He is the same yesterday, today, and forever. He cannot change for the better, He is already perfect; and being perfect, He cannot change for the worse. He needs no improvement and deterioration is impossible. He utterly uninfluenced by the passing of time. His power can never diminish nor can His glory ever fade. He is I AM WHO I AM. His nature never changes, His character doesn't change, His truth doesn't change, His purposes don't change, His promises never change, and His love for His people never changes. His absolute name is the granite foundation of our confidence in his ongoing faithfulness.

This God Has Drawn Near to Us in Jesus Christ

One other implication of this magnificent name, I AM WHO I AM, is that this infinite, absolute, self-determining God has drawn near to us in Jesus Christ. In John 8:56–58 Jesus is answering the criticism of the Jewish leaders. He says, "Your father Abraham rejoiced that he was to see my day; he saw it and was glad." The Jews then said to him, "You are not yet fifty years old, and have you seen Abraham?" Jesus said to them, "Truly, truly! I say to you, before Abraham was, I AM." Could Jesus have taken any more exalted words upon his lips? When Jesus said, "Before Abraham was, I AM," he took up Himself all the majestic truth of the name of God, wrapped it in the humility of servanthood, offered himself to atone for all our rebellion, and made a way for us to see the glory of God without fear. 2 Corinthians 4:6, “God, (who always was, is, and ever shall be I AM) who (before creation) said, "Let light shine out of darkness (and brought all things into existence)," has shone in our hearts to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ.” ‘

Jesus is the image of the invisible God. —Colossians 1:15. Jesus put flesh on God's bare-boned answer to Moses' question, "Who are You?" In Jesus Christ we who are born of God have the unspeakable privilege of knowing Yahweh as our Father—I AM WHO I AM—Paul says in Ephesians 3:14-15,“For this reason I bow my knees before the Father, from whom every family in heaven and on earth derives its name.” Our family name is I AM WHO I AM. Whatever last name or family name I once had before must now have an addition that is stronger and more significant-I AM. I must understand that my name is now Bill Robison I AM as a member of His family.

Oh what a privilege, oh what grace, oh what mercy to be called one of I AM’s kids! What’s in a name? I AM, the God who exists whose personality and power owes solely to Himself; who never changes from whom all power and energy in the universe flows to whom all creation should conform its life. This is the name of God: I AM WHO I AM! And may this name be the desire of our hearts and may those who know the name of God put their trust in him.

Pastor Bill