And God said to Moses, “I AM WHO I AM.” And He said, “Thus you shall say to the children of Israel, ‘I AM has sent me to you.’ ” Moreover God said to Moses, “Thus you shall say to the children of Israel: ‘The LORD 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 to all generations.’ ”
In Exodus 3, we’re given a special revelation about God’s personal name. When Moses tells God that the Israelites will want to know His name, God responds by firstly calling Himself ‘I AM WHO I AM’, then ‘I AM’, and finally ‘The LORD’. What significance is it that God has a name essentially meaning ‘I am’, and wants that name to be a memorial to all generations?
So when Moses asks God’s name, He responds firstly by saying, “I AM WHO I AM” (verse 14). He did not say that was His name. He basically said: Before I tell you my name, I want you to be stunned by this fact: “I Am Who I Am.” And God says this to us today too. We want to know who God is? We want to ask about what it means to glorify Him, to do everything to His glory? Then He responds, “Let me tell you something first. Let it sink in that I AM. Before you talk about me or do anything for me, be amazed that I exist. I absolutely am.” This must be first. This is foundational. This is of infinite importance.
Secondly (verse 14): “And He said, ‘Thus you shall say to the children of Israel, “I AM has sent me to you.” ’ ” He still hasn’t given Moses His name. Here he simply puts the statement of His being in the place of His name. “I AM has sent me to you.” The One who is — who absolutely is — sent me to you. This is not yet His name. It’s the basis of His name.
Thirdly, God says, “Thus you shall say to the children of Israel: ‘The LORD 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 to all generations’ ” (verse 15). Finally God gives us His name. The LORD (Hebrew: Yahweh), is built on the Hebrew word for ‘I am’. So what does that mean?
So it’s important to focus and meditate on why God ‘is’. I can think of ten meanings of God being called ‘I am’, or ten reasons for Him to be called by such a name:
God is. He is all of those things. That’s what His name encompasses. This is how He wants to be known throughout all the nations and all the generations (Exodus 3:15). That’s the name He wants you to proclaim to the world. That’s the name He wants you to proclaim to your children and grandchildren. Tat’s the name He wants you to glorify all the days of your life here on earth, and eternity on the new earth.
In Exodus 3, we’re given a special revelation about God’s personal name. When Moses tells God that the Israelites will want to know His name, God responds by firstly calling Himself ‘I AM WHO I AM’, then ‘I AM’, and finally ‘The LORD’. What significance is it that God has a name essentially meaning ‘I am’, and wants that name to be a memorial to all generations?
So when Moses asks God’s name, He responds firstly by saying, “I AM WHO I AM” (verse 14). He did not say that was His name. He basically said: Before I tell you my name, I want you to be stunned by this fact: “I Am Who I Am.” And God says this to us today too. We want to know who God is? We want to ask about what it means to glorify Him, to do everything to His glory? Then He responds, “Let me tell you something first. Let it sink in that I AM. Before you talk about me or do anything for me, be amazed that I exist. I absolutely am.” This must be first. This is foundational. This is of infinite importance.
Secondly (verse 14): “And He said, ‘Thus you shall say to the children of Israel, “I AM has sent me to you.” ’ ” He still hasn’t given Moses His name. Here he simply puts the statement of His being in the place of His name. “I AM has sent me to you.” The One who is — who absolutely is — sent me to you. This is not yet His name. It’s the basis of His name.
Thirdly, God says, “Thus you shall say to the children of Israel: ‘The LORD 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 to all generations’ ” (verse 15). Finally God gives us His name. The LORD (Hebrew: Yahweh), is built on the Hebrew word for ‘I am’. So what does that mean?
So it’s important to focus and meditate on why God ‘is’. I can think of ten meanings of God being called ‘I am’, or ten reasons for Him to be called by such a name:
- God never had a beginning. This staggers our minds. He has always existed (Psalm 93:2).
- God will never end. His being will never go away. He is infinite (Psalm 90:2).
- God is absolute reality. There is no reality apart from Him. There is no reality in which He is not there (1 Corinthians 8:6).
- God is utterly independent, depends on no one, and needs no one (Acts 17:24-25).
- Everything that is not God is made by God, depends on Him and is secondary to Him. All the grandeur of the universe is secondary to God (Ephesians 4:6).
- All the universe, in comparison to Him, is nothing. Counted as nothing before Him (Isaiah 40:17).
- God is constant. The same yesterday, today and forever. There is no improvement or progress or change in Him (Malachi 3:6).
- God is the absolute standard of goodness and truth. He is the definition of right, true, goodness and beauty (Psalm 100:5).
- God does whatever He pleases, and it’s always right. There are no restraints on Him making Him do something He doesn’t want to do (Psalm 135:6).
- God is the most important and most valuable thing in the universe, and the most fitting for our attention that anything else in the universe (Matthew 13:44).
God is. He is all of those things. That’s what His name encompasses. This is how He wants to be known throughout all the nations and all the generations (Exodus 3:15). That’s the name He wants you to proclaim to the world. That’s the name He wants you to proclaim to your children and grandchildren. Tat’s the name He wants you to glorify all the days of your life here on earth, and eternity on the new earth.
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