I AM

In Exodus 3, Moses comes across a rather troubling sight: a burning bush that isn’t actually burning. Exodus 3:2 says that “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 what did Moses do? Go for a closer look, of course!

What follows is God revealing His plan for Moses and His own divine name. Moses is to be God’s instrument of redemption because he will lead the people out of Egypt and into the land promised to Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. Moses is to go before Pharaoh, his adopted grandfather, who has already tried to kill him (Exodus 2:15), and demand that the people be released from their oppressive slavery so they can freely worship their God in their land.

When Moses states that the Egyptians would ask what god sent him, he is actually asking a rather practical question. In Egypt, all the gods had names, histories, and mythologies, that explained who they were and why they did what they did. Furthermore, their gods had bodily figures. For example, the sun God, Ra, had the head of a falcon crowned with the golden disk of the sun. Bastet, the god of cats, had the head of a cat. By stark contrast, the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob looked like…nothing. He has no image to define Him because he has made humanity in His image. But try telling that to the Egyptians.

Furthermore, remember the Egyptians had built an empire, and were a strong and very advanced culture at this time. The Canaanites were still living in city states. To the Egyptians, they must have seemed small, puny, uneducated, and insignificant. So when Moses would tell them that their God demanded their worship and the time and space to do it, the Egyptians would have heard that their small, tribal god wanted them to conduct some sort of stupid festival.

As Moses would enter the palace, there would have been colorful and detailed etchings on the magnificent stone columns and walls the depicted the glory and splendor of the Egyptian gods, and the deeds of their Pharaohs, who were also considered to be gods. All Pharaoh had to do was glance to the side to be reminded of his glorious heritage, strength and power. Moses needed at least a name to show that their indeed had a God who was powerful and able to do as he demanded.

So he was given a name, a memorial name for all generations of His people: I AM. As you read the rest of the story, the plagues, the destruction, and humiliation of the Pharaoh and all Egypt, you can tell that the Egyptians still didn’t take Moses or his God, I AM seriously. Do we do better today? In Revelation, there are three places where God proclaims that he is the Alpha and Omega:

1:8 – “ I am the Alpha and the Omega…who is, and who was, and who is to come, the Almighty.”

21:6 – “I am the Alpha and the Omega, the Beginning and the End.”

22:13 – “I am the Alpha and the Omega, the First and the Last, the Beginning and the End.”

These verses point to the eternality of God. He has always been around, is always around, and will always be around. There is no point in time where he did not exist, so it is completely proper for Him to call Himself, “I AM.”

When we pray, therefore, we are praying to this God. His hands have never been tied, and never will be. He is as completely powerful and glorious then, as he is now, as he will be later. God does not change. He did not become more graceful and loving when Jesus came, He has always been just as graceful and loving. He was not more angry and wrathful then, He is still as angry and wrathful, and still as slow to anger as He was then. Remember that Abraham lived about 2000 years before Jesus was born. He believed that God would redeem the world, and so God has, by sending His only son 2000 years later. So now, 2000 years after Jesus, let us not become anxious when we do not see what we believe would be a quick and righteous judgment of others, let us instead be thankful that our God, I AM, is still the same I AM He has always been, and graciously gives us all time to repent and seek His forgiveness rather than demanding justice for our sins immediately.