I AM

But Moses said to God, “Who am I, that I should go to Pharaoh and bring the Israelites out of Egypt?” And God said, “I will be with you. And this will be the sign to you that it is I who have sent you: When you have brought the people out of Egypt, you will worship God on this mountain. 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.” – Exodus 3:11-14

We see (2) questions asked by Moses here: #1, who am I? And, #2, who are you?

The first question Moses was asking was about him self. The second question Moses was asking was about God. God answers Moses’ first question by cutting right to the chase, saying, “I will be with you . . .” Immediately, we recognize that it’s not about Moses whatsoever, it’s all about who God is. When Moses asks God who He is in the second question, we see a resounding answer: I AM.

The Hebrew verb of “I Am” means “to be,” or “who IS.” Who is this King of Glory? He is THE LORD ALMIGHTY. Check out John 8:58: Jesus said, “Before Abraham was born, I AM!” Jesus uses the very same word to describe Himself as used in Exodus 3:14. How do we respond to this? We fall on our faces before Him. God’s holiness symbolizes His absolute purity, His perfect uniqueness, and His complete separation.

In Exodus 3 Moses was consumed with bringing a rationalization to the Israelites regarding who God was and a description of His character. There are no words that do justice that we can express. What can possibly come out of our lips other than, He is “I AM.”

Today, I urge you to gaze in wonder at the great “I AM”: The One who holds us together by His mighty power, the One who redeemed us with His very blood in His foreknowledge, the One who is indescribable. Come humbly before His throne and lift His Name on high. Once we get a glimpse of His holiness, our perspective completely changes- we no longer have to ask the questions Moses asked. We cannot possibly be the same once we encounter the great “I AM.”