Gebhard Fugel, Moses vor dem brennenden Dornbusch
Do you remember the story of Moses and the burning bush? Moses was taking care of his father-in-law’s sheep on Mount Horeb when he saw a bush burning. It caught his attention, as any burning bush would, and as he watched, he noticed something strange. Although the bush was on fire, it was not burning up. He approached for a closer look, and this is when God himself called out to Moses from within the bush.
God explained to Moses that he had a plan to rescue the Israelites from slavery in Egypt. He was sending Moses to go before Pharaoh, the ruler of the Egyptians, to bring God’s people out of Egypt.
Moses asked God what he should tell the Israelites when they ask him what God’s name is. Here’s how God answered:
“I am who I am … . Say this to the people of Israel, ‘I am has sent me to you.’ … Say this to the people of Israel, ‘The LORD, the God of your fathers, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob, has sent me to you.’ This is my name forever, and thus I am to be remembered throughout all generations” (Exodus 3:14-15, ESV).
The all-cap “LORD” in this text is the way most translations translate the divine name Yahweh, the most important of all God’s names. It means “I am who I am,” or possibly “I will be who I will be,” or just “I am,” for short. The name Yahweh is mysterious, not because we can’t know something of what it means, but because there are so many possible ways to understand it.
God Exists
At the very least, “I am” means that God exists. We are physical beings and we are surrounded by physical things, so it’s tempting for us to live our lives as if what we can see and touch is all there is. God is not physical, so we can’t see or touch him, but his name “I Am” assures us that he is there, as real as—no, more real than—the material world around us.
God Is Eternal
Where did God come from? As “I Am,” he just is. He didn’t come into being. He had no beginning, and he will have no end. He is the one “who is and who was and who is to come” (Revelation 1:8 ESV). He has always existed and he will always exist. He is eternal.
God Is Unchanging
When a person says, “I am what I am,” what they usually mean is that we have to take them just as they are, warts and all, because they don’t want to change.
God’s statement, “I am who I am” is a little bit like this. Not that God has faults, of course, but he is unchanging. His unchangeability is not a stubborn refusal to improve, since he is perfect as he is. No, that he can’t change is a good thing. It means that all of his perfections—his love, faithfulness, holiness, etc.—are steady and unwavering. He will always be what he’s always been, and we can count on it.
God’s eternal purpose is unchanging, too. This is an aspect of God’s unchangeability that he emphasized in the passage from Exodus quoted above. He was, he said, the God the Israelites’ fathers and he will also be their God. As “I Am,” he will surely carry out his plans for them. He will keep his promises.
God Is Independent
If the name “I Am” tells us that God is eternal, then it also tells us that he is independent. God existed when there was absolutely nothing else, so he cannot be dependent on anything for his existence. He needs nothing from anything outside himself to be who he is.
Instead, the direction of dependency is other way around. God existed by himself before the universe existed, so the entire universe must come from him. Everything that is depends on God for its existence. We need him, but he doesn’t need us.
What’s more, since he is not dependent on anything, nothing outside himself constrains him. Nothing can thwart his purposes (Isaiah 14:27). Whatever he plans, he will accomplish for sure. This is yet another reason he can be counted on to keep his promises.
God Is Near
We might think that the eternal, unchanging, independent “I Am” would only exist as a far-off God who keeps to himself. If he doesn’t need us and he isn’t like us, why would he have anything to do us? But the verses quoted above tie God’s name “I Am” to his covenant faithfulness. “I Am” promises to be with Moses and the Israelites just as he was with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. And it’s by his name “I Am” that they will remember his faithfulness in future generations.
And Jesus, who is the incarnate “I Am,” dwelled right here on earth with us. John Piper said,
when Jesus said, “Before Abraham was, I AM,” he took up all the majestic truth of the name of God, wrapped it in the humility of servanthood, offered himself to atone for all our rebellion, and made a way for us to see the glory of God without fear.1
Through Jesus Christ, we can draw near to our God, who is who he is. Through him, we can know the independent, eternal and unchanging God of “I Am” as our Father, too.
1Quoted from this sermon.
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