Jehovah – the Great I AM
God introduced Himself to Moses back in Exodus 3:14
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.’”
You know the story. Moses was out in the desert and saw a bush on fire but it wasn’t being consumed by the fire. He moves closer and God stops him, and tells him to take off his sandals as that ground he’s on is holy ground!
We understand that it wasn’t the SOIL itself that was holy — it was the presence of GOD that made it holy. And how astounding that God would actually be speaking to Moses from within the bush! When I was a kid, people would have been asking, “Am I on Candid Camera?” These kinds of things just DO NOT HAPPEN in real life! But, when it is the Great I AM in the center, stepping in to deliver His people, you better believe it’s a huge supernatural expression of Himself!
Who are YOU?
Let’s back up to Moses’ question in verse 13:
Then Moses said to God, “Behold, I am going to the sons of Israel, and I will say to them, ‘The God of your fathers has sent me to you.’ Now they may say to me, ‘What is His name?’ What shall I say to them?”
In all God’s revelation that He is gonna send Moses to deliver the people out of Egypt, Moses doesn’t ask, “Who am I?” He asks “Who are YOU?” In order for him to go to Israel and say God has sent me to deliver you, he knew good and well they were gonna ask, “Oh yeah? Well what’s His name? Huh??”
Moses knew, in some deep level, that the question is never “Who are WE?” The real question the fuels our lives and fills our souls and answers all our longings is: WHO ARE YOU, WHAT IS YOUR NAME?
I love how God always answers the longing heart. He doesn’t reprove or say, “SERIOUSLY? Can’t you guess by this non-burning burning bush?” No, He gives an answer that is THE answer to every question we have – I AM WHO I AM.
What is Your name?
This is the name Jesus references when He tells His disciples, “Before Abraham was, I AM.”
He IS –
- He is the answer to all our needs
- He is the One to fill up our emptiness
- He is the One who has always existed and always will exist
Think about this name that means Self-Existing One. In Revelation we see Jesus called The Alpha and Omega – The Beginning and The End. Does this sound like it’s reflecting His name from Exodus?
There are many books and studies and teachings done on this holy name of God by people much more learned than I. These are just thoughts from my meditation today on the name Jehovah.
How His name gives me HOPE
To know that He is The Great I AM fills me with hope
- that He never changes – that He is the same yesterday, today and forever
- that He is bigger than I, stronger than I, more all-encompassing than I
- that He lifts me when I fail and fall
- that His forgiveness is eternal and never falters
- that He has called me to live a journey larger than these few temporal years
Knowing that He is from BEFORE the beginning and is the Author of all I hold dear settles me into a rhythm that my life is not all in a rush… I’ve got time to allow His character to be built in me. And His name I AM WHO I AM fills me with tranquility that, while I’m always still learning who I am, He IS.
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