“How will they know we had this conversation?” Moses likely stuttered. “They won’t believe the burning bush thing even if I tell them and they won’t be able to sense the ‘otherness’ of Your presence like I can right now. If they say, ‘And just who was this God you were talking to out in the wilderness?’ what will I tell them?”
Can you believe it? Moses is asking the God of all Creation to tell him His name. It’s important here to grasp the gravity of the situation. Of course, God already knew Moses’ name (He had repeatedly called him by his first name at the outset of this exchange). But Moses didn’t know His. Since the dawn of time, God had been referred to as Yahweh, mean Most High God – a name so revered by the generations preceding Moses, they rarely even wrote it out in full (choosing instead to abbreviate it). But the revered title was really more of a description than a personal name. No one knew God’s personal name. And, as fare as we know, no one had dared to ask.
You have to understand, it’s not at though God was a little higher and a little more holy than Moses, someone you’d just stroll up to and say, “Hey man, what’s up?” No, we’re talking about the Infinite One – the One whose voice alone causes worlds to be born and grown men to hide their faces – having a conversation with a little, frail, finite creature. A creature who wants to know if he can call almighty God by name.
God was in no way obligated to answer, yet without hesitation, He did. To this aging shepherd, God revealed His name, saying,
“I AM WHO I AM TELL THEM, I AM SENT ME TO YOU.”
What? I’m pretty sure Moses didn’t get it right away. In facet he was probably thinking, That’s what I’m asking You, God. You are, who? And the reply come back, “I AM [long pause], that’s who.”
“Your name is I AM?”
“That’s right, Moses, my name is I AM WHO I AM, My name is I AM.”
I wonder how long it took for God’s name to register in Moses’ brain . . .
It’s an amazing name. In Hebrew the word for I AM is Hayah, the pronunciation of which originates deep down in the throat (think of the loud Karate expression here). Hayah carries with it the idea of the very breath of God.
In English the name I AM translates into the verb to be. Or simply be.
Therefore, God’s name is Be. I AM = I BE. Not great grammar, I know, but powerful theology.
God knew it was imperative for Moses to know who He was – that He was the I AM. I AM is the present tense, active form of the verb to be. As God’s name, it declares that He is unchanging, constant, unending, always present, always God.
God was telling Moses:
I AM the center of everything.
I AM running the show.
I AM the same every day, forever.
I AM the owner of everything.
I AM the Lord.
I AM the Creator and Sustainer of life.
I AM the Savior.
I AM more than enough.
I AM inexhaustible and immeasurable.
I AM God.
In a heartbeat, Moses knew God’s name – and something more. He finally knew his. For if God’s name is I AM, “Moses’ name must be I am not.
I am not the center of everything.
I am not in control.
I am not the solution.
I am not all – powerful.
I am not calling the shots.
I am not the owner of anything.
I am not the Lord.
That’s my name, too. And yours. I am not. Just try it under your breath, “my name is I am not.”
I am not running anything.
I am not the head of anything.
I am not in charge of anything.
I am not the maker.
I am not the savior.
I am not holding all together.
I am not all – knowing.
I am not God.
Sure, people might call you Tommy or Eddie or Amanda or Juan or Michelle or Erin or Michael. But, let’s face it, when you get right down to it, all of our names are I am not.
And God’s name is still I AM.
While Moses was still reeling, God continued, “This is my name forever, the name by which I am to be remembered from generation to generation” (Exodus 3:15). In other words, God wanted Moses to know that not only would He remain the same, His name would endure to every generation that would inhabit earth – even to our generations, mine and yours.
I love this verse, because it puts us in the story. Oh, you may have just been calling Him God all these years – and, in facts that’s who He is. But He gladly told Moses His name is I AM [BE] and that’s still His name today. Right now. Wherever and whoever you are.
God is big. We are not. He is calling the shots, directing the script, and determining the plot. We are not, and, what’s really wild is that while He doesn’t need any of us, He is choosing to include us, inviting us into the story t hat never ends. Try to fathom it – little you and me invited into the massive and mysterious story of the great I AM.
Are you up for it?
I am not, but He knows my name.
I am not, but He has pursued me in His love.
I am not, but I have been purchased and redeemed.
I am not, but I have been invited into The Story.
I am not, but I know the Creator of the universe.
I am not, but I know I AM!
Let the depth and wonder of the words sink in.
I am not, but I know I AM.
That’s the complete story – the entire Gospel – the whole truth about who you are. You are small, but you can be on first – name basis with I AM. You’re beyond tiny, but every ounce of you has been bought and redeemed by God’s Son. You are a galactic nobody – in fact 99.9999999999999999999999999999999 percent of the people on earth have never heard of you. But God knows everything about you and calls you His own.
What more could we possibly achieve on earth that is greater that what we already have? We are already friends of God. What greater prize or position could we hope to gain? What praise of men could eclipse the voice of I AM speaking to us by name?
Take from: i am not but i know I AM -by Louie Giglio
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