“Knowing the Great I AM” (Exodus 3:1-14) - The God We Can Know I -

“Knowing the Great I AM” (Exodus 3:1-14)

- The God We Can Know I -

When God Names Himself

I have two children and the third one is on the way. Joyce and I named our two children Lydia and Abe. And in fact, they also have Korean middle names. At home, we call Lydia “예주” (Ye-Joo) which means “Prepare the way of the Lord” and call Abe “예성” (Ye-Sung) which means “Proclaim the way of the Lord.” Joyce and I have tried to give our children’s names that will be their destinies and their character. We have given them names to grow into and pray for. Now there is a big difference between me and God. When I name my children, I don’t have the power or the authority to make them fit the names. I just give names in hope and prayer that my children will become what their names imply. But God has the right and the power to cause anyone he names to become what the name implies. And when he names himself, that name really expresses who he is and what he intends to do. Today’s scripture is one of the most important texts in the Bible for understanding the meaning of God’s name. In verse 13 Moses asks God, “What is your name?” And God says to Moses, “I AM WHO I AM.” But what does it really mean? There are at least four implications in God’s divine name, I AM WHO I AM.

God Exists

First, I AM WHO I AM means God exists. Many people affirm God’s existence especially when they see the mystery of the universe and the mystery of human body. They ponder about a supreme being. And they say “I believe in God.” But they live as if God makes no difference in life. God’s existence makes no difference in their lives. In Romans 1:20-21 Apostle Paul says, “For since the creation of the world God's invisible qualities--his eternal power and divine nature--have been clearly seen, being understood from what has been made, so that men are without excuse. For although they knew God, they neither glorified him as God nor gave thanks to him, but their thinking became futile and their foolish hearts were darkened.” God exists. People affirm the existence of a supreme being and are curious about a generic deity. But that is not enough. That belief, that curiosity makes no difference in life.

God Is YHWH (“God of Our Ancestors”; vv. 6, 15)

The second implication in the name I AM WHO I AM is that God is the God of Israel. In Hebrew God’s name has four letters – hwhy  (YHWH) – and it may pronounce something like Yahweh. In the Old Testament the name YHWH occurs 6,828 times. That’s more than three times as often as the simple word for “God.” Pastor John Piper rightly comments as follows: “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.” The Bible is not a story about a generic deity but all about YHWH, the God of Israel. But here Israel doesn’t mean the nation of Israel. The church is God’s Israel today. Galatians 3:29 says, “If you belong to Christ, then you are Abraham’s seed, and heirs according to the promise” (cf. Rom 9:6-8; Gal 6:15-16). Christians are the true Jews and true Israel today. So the God of Israel, the God of Abraham is the God of ours.

At first, in today’s text, Moses was just curious about a burning bush. God then says to him, “I am the God of your father, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac and the God of Jacob.” Here God is saying, “I am the one you have heard about!” Yes, Moses has always heard about God from his ancestors, but he had never experienced God. But now he comes face-to-face with the very God of his ancestors. Moses encounters the everlasting God who has no beginning and no end. He encounters the God who made an eternal covenant with Abraham. He encounters the God who blessed Isaac. He encounters the God who wrestled with Jacob all night. Then, Moses’ simple curiosity turns into godly fear and reverence. So he hides his face (v. 6). When we come face-to-face with YHWH, the God of our fathers, we come to have reverence for God, and that godly reverence makes a difference in life.

God Is Present (“My God”; vv. 2, 7-8)

Third, I AM WHO I AM means God is present here and now with us. The heart of the revelation of the burning bush is the present nature of God. Moses was living an ordinary day and doing an ordinary work, tending the sheep. But God was already there and inviting Moses to see and experience God’s presence – a common bush uncommonly on fire. If God could make a bush blaze, he could do the same with a home or a shop or a hospital or a sickroom. God knows the tears you have shed in secret. He hears your cries in agony. In verse 7 the LORD says to Moses, “I have indeed seen the misery of my people in Egypt. I have heard them crying out because of their slave drivers, and I am concerned about their suffering.” Our God is a personal God. But not only is God concerned about you, but also he is mighty to save you! God continues in verse 8, “So I have come down to rescue them from the hand of the Egyptians and to bring them up out of that land into a good and spacious land, a land flowing with milk and honey…” God is our refuge and strength. He is an ever-present help in times of trouble (Ps 46:1). He gives power to the weak and strength to the powerless. When you trust in the LORD, you will renew your strength. You will sour on wings like eagles! (Isa 40:29-31a) And you will say, “God, you are my God!” (Ps 63:1; 118:28; Isa 25:1)

Jesus Is God

Last but not least, actually most importantly, I AM WHO I AM means God has drawn near to us in Jesus Christ. In John 8 Jesus claims about himself. He says to the Jews, “Your father Abraham rejoiced at the thought of seeing my day; he saw it and was glad.” The Jews then say to him, “You are not yet fifty years old, and you have seen Abraham?” Jesus says to them, “I tell you the truth, before Abraham was born, I AM!” This is another majestic name of Jesus, I AM WHO I AM. God is vast and infinite, but he is also personal and desires to be personally known by us. That is why God came to us in the Person of Jesus. God revealed himself through Jesus Christ. Jesus said I AM the Bread of Life. I AM the Light of the World. I AM the Good Shepherd. I AM the True Vine. I AM the Way, the Truth, and the Life. And I AM the Resurrection and the Life. We can know God, touch God, feel God, and talk to God through Jesus Christ our Lord.

Are You Listening to God?

In today’s scripture God reveals his divine name I AM WHO I AM to Moses. God exists. More than that, he is YHWH, the God of Israel, not a generic deity. He is also a personal God. And he has been fully and perfectly revealed in Jesus Christ. Moses encounters this God and becomes a new person. If we read through the Book of Exodus, we find a crucial difference between Moses and the Israelites. Every time trials come in the wilderness, the people of Israel stumble and fall, but Moses always waits upon the LORD and follows his lead. Why are they so different? It is because Moses spoke face to face with God (Exo 33:11; Num 12:8; Dt 34:10), but the people did not. In fact, God wanted to reveal himself and speak to his people. But the people said to Moses in Exodus 20:19, “Speak to us yourself and we will listen. But do not have God speak to us or we will die.” They didn’t want God to speak to them. Many of us in this room like to listen to personal testimonies, but we don’t want God Himself to speak to us. Why are we so terrified or reluctant for God to speak to us? Oswald Chambers in his book My Utmost for His Highest answers to this question. He says it is because we know that when God speaks we must either do what he asks or tell him we will not obey. But if it is simply one of God’s servants speaking to us, we feel obedience is optional, not imperative. We respond by saying, “Well, that’s only your own idea, even though I don’t deny that what you said is probably God’s truth.”

When did the LORD last speak to you face to face? Are you listening to God? Once we finally do hear him, we then will realize how much we were insensitive and stubborn. For the next six Sundays we will explore Jesus’ I AM sayings. My prayer is that as we meditate on the meaning of Jesus’ majestic names, the LORD will open our eyes to know him face-to-face and deepen our love for him and strengthen our faith in him. “Let us know, let us press on to know the LORD; his appearing is as sure as the dawn; he will come to us like the showers, like the spring rains that water the earth” (Hos 6:3, NRSV). Amen.