Never Forsaken: When it all Comes Together

 

Image credit: Gemini and me

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 3:14

 In today’s passage (Exodus 3:1-17), Moses encounters God in the burning bush in the desert. I love how God puts things together perfectly, and today’s passage was no exception. Upon encountering God, Moses asks two questions: Who am I and who are You?

 Yesterday we looked at Moses’ fall from grace in his own eyes. He went from the high and mighty, self-assumed deliverer of his people to a fugitive, murderer, shepherd – the lowest of the low. This was a work God had to do in his heart to prepare Moses for the tasks ahead of him. The fact that Moses asked the first question he did is a testimony to this truth. Instead of telling God, “You’ve come to the right man! I’ll do great at this!” Moses asks God, “Who am I that I should go to Pharaoh and bring the Israelites out of Egypt?” He recognizes that he is not worthy of the responsibility or honor of serving God and his people in this way. God answers Moses, telling him that this task is not about him, it’s about God. “And God said, ‘I will be with you.’” (Exodus 3:12). God has clearly communicated to Moses that this whole scenario isn’t about him, who he is, or his worthiness. It’s about God and what God is going to do through him. Seemingly accepting that answer, Moses moves on.

 “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?’” Moses grew up in the Egyptian courts where their gods were a part of everything around them and everything they did. And the Egyptian gods had names, lots of them. Every day Moses was hearing about Ra and Amon and Thoth. Do you think he ever wondered about the name of the Hebrew God? Do you think he was teased by the Egyptian kids in the court, saying that his God didn’t even have a name? In any case, I don’t think it was a coincidence that two days ago, God had me focusing on all the names at the beginning of this story. I think that names matter to God, and His names are included in that. God’s Names are the way that His attributes are communicated to His people, and “I AM” is no exception.

 According to Strongs*, in Exodus 3:12 the Hebrew אֶהְיֶה עִמָּ֑ךְ is literally translated, “I shall be with thee.” Then, at the beginning of 3:14, it shifts to אֶהְיֶה אֲשֶׁר אֶהְיֶה, “I shall be the one who will be.” Finally, at the end of 3:14 and continuing forward in the Bible, it is compressed to אֶהְיֶה, YHWH/Jehovah, “He who will be.” God is identifying Himself with His ever-present nature. He was, He is, He will forever be God. He is the definition of always.

 First, Moses needed to see himself rightly – not as a powerful prince of Egypt, but as a humble, sinful man. Next, Moses needed to see God rightly. He needed to know that God had been there from the beginning, from before the beginning truly. That He had seen the oppression of His people in Egypt, had in fact known about it before it took place. And that God was there and willing and able to take His people on to the next step in their progression – out of Egypt. Further, Moses needed to know that God would be there in the future. He wasn’t just directing Moses today, but He would be there for Moses tomorrow, and all of tomorrow’s tomorrows.

Here’s the Thing: Why did God make sure that this interaction above many others was recorded in His Word for all time? Because we need to know these things too. We need to see ourselves rightly before God, and we need to see God rightly for who He is. He is the eternal “I AM”, YHWH, He who will be. We can trust Him because of this. We can believe in Him for all of our tomorrows.

* "H3068 - yᵊhōvâ - Strong's Hebrew Lexicon (NIV)." Blue Letter Bible. Web. 18 Mar, 2026. <https://www.blueletterbible.org/lexicon/h3068/niv/wlc/0-1/>.