I Am That I Am
“Moses said to God, “Suppose I go to the Israelites and say to them, ‘The God of your fathers has sent me to you,’ and they ask me, ‘What is his name?’ Then what shall I tell them?” God said to Moses, “I am who I am. This is what you are to say to the Israelites: ‘I AM has sent me to you.’” Exodus 3:13-14
A name stands for an individuals’ identity, power and authority.
So when Moses asks God’s name, he knew the name would say a lot about God’s identity, integrity, power and authority to deliver the Israelites from the Egyptian bondage. They needed to know if he was able to be their deliverer and provider and place of refuge and all that they need him to be.
So Moses asks God’s name so he can tell it to the Israelites and thereby help them to have confidence in God.
God replies, “I am who I am.”
By this God means “I am the Existing One.” The Hebrew may also be translated as “I will be what/who I will be.”
In essence, God was telling Moses not to try to pin him down to one specific identity; he is so much greater than any name that he could give.
God is thereby asserting several truths: He is the eternal one, the Creator, the one who is unchangeable and the one who is always trustworthy.
We also need to come to this realisation that we cannot box God into one identity. We cannot limit the Holy One of Israel. He is the “I am that I am” and He will be to us all that we need Him to be. Praise The Lord.