I AM THE LORD Larry W Peebles October 2, 2020 20.37
If I wanted to tell someone about myself, I might use a series of statements containing the phrase “I am”. For instance, I might say “I am Larry”. I am 72 years old; I am married; I am the father of two children; and I am the grandfather of five children. I could continue until I had relayed enough information such that the listener felt they knew me.
In the Book of Exodus we find God similarly introduced Himself to Moses, except He used a much abbreviated version. To give background, we read in Exodus Chapter 1 that Joseph and his brothers, the children of Israel (Jacob) had died off. That whole generation had passed. A new Pharaoh had become king of Egypt, and had noticed that the descendants of the twelve sons of Jacob had grown in number while living in Egypt. The accomplishments of Joseph, who implemented God’s plan to save Egypt and the Hebrews during a major drought (Genesis Chapter 47), had been forgotten. The new Pharaoh did not know the history of the relationship, feared the growing numbers of the Hebrews, and began to suppress and enslave the Hebrews. He ordered the midwives to kill the baby boys born to the slaves.
In Exodus Chapter 2, Moses was born. He was hidden from execution at birth, found by Pharaoh’s daughter, and raised in Pharaoh’s house. His own natural mother was hired as his nurse. He later killed an Egyptian who was beating another Hebrew, and had to flee to Midian, where he married and tended sheep for his father-in-law.
In Exodus Chapter 3, while tending sheep, Moses came to Horeb, the mountain of God. He saw a flame coming from a bush on the mountain, but the bush was not consumed by the fire. He turned aside from tending sheep to investigate. The Angel of the Lord (Jesus) called Moses from the bush and told him to take off his sandals, because he was standing on holy ground. The Lord told Moses He had heard the cry of the children of Israel, and He wanted Moses to go to Pharaoh to ask him to release the Israelites from slavery. Moses asked the Lord’s name, for surely the people would want to know. The Lord said “I AM who I AM”. He said tell them “I AM has sent me to you.” That is all the information God gave Moses—I AM is my name, referring to the eternal One. I was, I AM today, and I always will be. The revelation spoke of His unchanging and eternal character. God then promised to bring them out of Egypt and into the land of Canaan, and told Moses they would come out with the wealth of Egypt. He promised to stretch out His hand and do wonders that would cause Pharaoh to let them go.
In Chapters 4 and 5, God appointed Moses’ brother Aaron as his aid, and Moses left Midian for Egypt. Moses met with Pharaoh, but his request for their release was denied. Pharaoh increased the work load on the Hebrews, demanding they find and gather their own straw while making the same numbers of bricks.
Then in Chapter 6, the Lord comes back to the “I AM” theme, using the phrase three more times to tell Moses (and us) more about Himself. This will be the focus of the remainder of this article.
Exodus 6: 2-5– “And God spoke to Moses and said to him: I AM the Lord. I appeared to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob, as God Almighty, but by my name Lord I was not known to them. I have also established My covenant with them, to give them the land of Canaan, the land of their pilgrimage, in which they were strangers. And I have also heard the groaning of the children of Israel whom the Egyptians keep in bondage, and I have remembered My covenant.” The name Lord is Yhwh, Yehwih, or Yahweh in Hebrew. Strong’s Concordance #3068 says- “The proper name of the One True God. Knowledge or use of the name implies personal or covenant relationship. The name pictures God as the One who exists (I AM), and/or causes existence.”
If I say “I am Larry”, I have not told much. If God says “I AM Yahweh”, He has told us much. He had already revealed Himself as God Almighty. In this verse, He reveals that He is eternal, being the One who always has existed and will exist, and that He causes existence. Not only does He exist, but everything else that exists does so because of Him-the powerful Creator of all creation- the One who holds all things together. There is no higher name, power or authority, yet His very name reveals His desire to be in relationship with His human creations. Although not required to do so, as He answers to no one, He also obligates Himself by covenant. The Hebrew word for covenant is b’rit (Strong’s # 1285), which means “a treaty, compact, agreement, or association between two parties with various responsibilities, benefits, and penalties”. God cannot break His own word, because He cannot deny Himself. He must keep His covenant. So we see God revealed as eternal and powerful, yet relational and promise-keeping. He created and maintains the universe, yet desires intimate relationship with all of us. He hears our groaning, and is very aware of our individual situations. In Abraham’s time, it was Hagar who proclaimed “The God who sees (El Roi), sees me! (Genesis 16:13). God not only hears and sees, but He takes action.
Exodus 6: 6-7– “Therefore, say to the children of Israel: I AM the Lord; I will bring you out from under the burden of the Egyptians, I will rescue you from their bondage, and I will redeem you with an outstretched arm and with great judgments. I will take you as My people, and I will be your God. Then you shall know that I am the Lord your God who brings you out from under the burdens of the Egyptians.” God affirmed His pledge to redeem the people from their slavery. He sent Moses as the first redeemer, then Jesus as the ultimate Redeemer. He vowed to lift the burden of slavery off the children of Israel, and through Jesus lifts our burden of sin today. He acknowledged the children of Israel as His people, and committed Himself to be their God. The same relationship is available today for the entire world (Jews and Gentiles). He demonstrated that He is covenant-keeping, burden lifting, sin defeating and eternally unchanging. He brings His mighty right arm (Psalm 44:3) and great judgements against whatever or whoever attempts to oppress us.
Exodus 6:8– “And I will bring you into the land which I swore to give to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob; and I will give it to you as a heritage: I AM the Lord.” In Genesis 15: 13-21, God told Abraham (four hundred years before Moses) that his descendants would be strangers in a land that is not theirs [Egypt], where they would serve and be afflicted. Afterward they would come out with great possessions [the wealth of Egypt]. He also promised them the land of Canaan as a gift or inheritance. He knew of the great sin that would arise in the land of Canaan [v. 16- “the iniquity of the Amorites”], and that the Israelites would ultimately conquer the land, destroy the inhabitants and drive out the sin at the same time. All of His purposes and promises would be accomplished in His perfect timing. Because of His eternal nature, He could tell Abraham of what would happen in Moses’ day, and He could remind Moses of what He had told Abraham four hundred years earlier. Regardless of when it was spoken, we must pay attention to what God has spoken, because He will bring it to pass.
Joseph was sold into slavery and ended up in Egypt. When Jacob and his descendants came to Egypt because of the drought, there were 70 total in his family. From that small beginning what later walked out of Egypt was a wealthy nation of over 2 million people, and they were headed for a land promised to them centuries earlier. Only Yahweh could do something like this- free a new nation from within the most powerful nation on the earth at that time.
Our great challenge as a nation today is to humbly return to Yahweh. The Bible says the nations are Jesus’ inheritance, but we must return to God if we are to be His people. 2 Chronicles 7:14 says- “If my people, who are called by My name will humble themselves, and pray and seek My face, and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven, and will forgive their sins, and heal their land.” Moses had to turn from what he was doing (tending sheep) to find the “I AM”. We must turn from our agenda and our sin and return toward God to find Yahweh-I Am the Lord. When we do that, the covenant-keeping God will heal our land. In Exodus 6 God said to Moses three times “I am the Lord Yahweh” not because He needed to repeat Himself for His benefit. He said it three times for our benefit-it is important to remember who He is, what He has done, and what He can do.
