“Say to the people of Israel, ‘I AM has sent me to you.’”
With all the drama surrounding the burning bush, surely the highest point of this chapter is when God names Himself. Although Moses was drawn by a bush that burned but did not burn up, he was about to meet our God who is a consuming fire and receive his commission, “I AM has sent me!”
We have often remembered that names matter in the Bible, and when God gives a name it matters doubly! God reveals things through names, and when he gives a name, or takes a name to Himself, He is revealing something about Himself. In this case God simply says, “I Am who I Am.”
What does that mean?
Well, Zeus is the king of the gods and the god of thunder and lightning (along with Baal, Jupiter and Thor). Poseidon is the god of the sea (as is Yam). Marduk is the god of Babylon and ruled the river, judgement and magic. Ra is the Egyptian god of the sun. Osirus is the god of the dead.
What kind of god is this One who sends Moses to the Israelites? He is the God who Is. There are no boundaries of Olympus, Heliopolis, or Babylon limiting his power. His deity is not limited to the sun, lightning, water, judgment, or even life and death. He is the God who Is.
God is very much positioning Himself in contrast to the gods of this world; gods who are limited, who are unrighteous and even destructive. He is showing that the gods of the nations are not even gods. Some are idols. Others are demons. He, however, is the One who Is.
It is no accident that God chooses a verb for His name. He is not an adjective, indeed there is not adjective that can adequately describe him. He is not a noun requiring something to move Him or act upon him. His very essence is Being. He exists. He is real. He is the verb that impacts and moves this world exists because of Him. It is in Him that we live and move and have our being. How is that for an ontological reality?
It is this God who called Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob to follow him. He is the One who is about to rescue the Israelites. And it is this God who has called us in Jesus to be his modern Israel – those who follow Him in faith and who now exist as the redeemed.
Many think that faith is outmoded. It’s passé. But God is not the God who was. He is the God who is, and He still rescues His people, calls us to believe in Him, and redeems us through Jesus’ outstretched arms. He is Himself. He does what He does, and He has inserted Himself into our lives through His Word and Sacraments where He Is present and active. The One Who Is made us human beings to be truly human in Christ, forgives our sins, and rescues us from our slavery to sin, death and the devil. God Is . . . . That can be a good thing or a bad thing. Knowing God Is, is bad if that brings us under judgment, fear and condemnation. But it can be very good if we know that God Is love, with us, and for us.
“I AM who I AM,” help me to know You’re reality more in Jesus’ salvation. Amen.
With all the drama surrounding the burning bush, surely the highest point of this chapter is when God names Himself. Although Moses was drawn by a bush that burned but did not burn up, he was about to meet our God who is a consuming fire and receive his commission, “I AM has sent me!”
We have often remembered that names matter in the Bible, and when God gives a name it matters doubly! God reveals things through names, and when he gives a name, or takes a name to Himself, He is revealing something about Himself. In this case God simply says, “I Am who I Am.”
What does that mean?
Well, Zeus is the king of the gods and the god of thunder and lightning (along with Baal, Jupiter and Thor). Poseidon is the god of the sea (as is Yam). Marduk is the god of Babylon and ruled the river, judgement and magic. Ra is the Egyptian god of the sun. Osirus is the god of the dead.
What kind of god is this One who sends Moses to the Israelites? He is the God who Is. There are no boundaries of Olympus, Heliopolis, or Babylon limiting his power. His deity is not limited to the sun, lightning, water, judgment, or even life and death. He is the God who Is.
God is very much positioning Himself in contrast to the gods of this world; gods who are limited, who are unrighteous and even destructive. He is showing that the gods of the nations are not even gods. Some are idols. Others are demons. He, however, is the One who Is.
It is no accident that God chooses a verb for His name. He is not an adjective, indeed there is not adjective that can adequately describe him. He is not a noun requiring something to move Him or act upon him. His very essence is Being. He exists. He is real. He is the verb that impacts and moves this world exists because of Him. It is in Him that we live and move and have our being. How is that for an ontological reality?
It is this God who called Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob to follow him. He is the One who is about to rescue the Israelites. And it is this God who has called us in Jesus to be his modern Israel – those who follow Him in faith and who now exist as the redeemed.
Many think that faith is outmoded. It’s passé. But God is not the God who was. He is the God who is, and He still rescues His people, calls us to believe in Him, and redeems us through Jesus’ outstretched arms. He is Himself. He does what He does, and He has inserted Himself into our lives through His Word and Sacraments where He Is present and active. The One Who Is made us human beings to be truly human in Christ, forgives our sins, and rescues us from our slavery to sin, death and the devil. God Is . . . . That can be a good thing or a bad thing. Knowing God Is, is bad if that brings us under judgment, fear and condemnation. But it can be very good if we know that God Is love, with us, and for us.
“I AM who I AM,” help me to know You’re reality more in Jesus’ salvation. Amen.
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