Wednesday, November 5, 2008

I AM WHO I AM

Why do we feel we have to have all the answers at our fingertips? Straight answer: Pride. Pride says, "If I don't have a ready comeback, if I say, 'I don't know,' they'll laugh at me." But that's not true at all. Intelligent throughtful people won't laugh; they'll realize that no one has all the answers.

When Moses gave God that first miserable excuse and said, "I won't have all the answers," God had an immediate reply: "Perhaps not, but you will have all of Me."

God said to Moses, "I AM WHO I AM"; and He said, "Thus you shall say to the
sons of Isreal, 'I AM has sent me to you.'" (Exodus 3:14)

What does that mean? English readers of an English Bible run their eyes across those words and wonder why in the world that answer was significant and why it seemed to satisfy Moses.

Probing a little deeper into the original language, we discover that these words, "I AM WHO I AM," are the very characters in Hebrew that spell out the name YAHWEH. Here is what God was saying, "The only self-existent, infinite Being in all of the universe has dispatched you, Moses. You represent Him. I AM has sent you. You tell them that."

The word "Yahweh" is the most intimate term of the living Lord in the Hebrew vocabulary. God was saying, "Moses, when you stand before those elders of Israel, you let them know that the intimate God of Isreal has sent you to be His representative."

God went on to give Moses two promises, to aid him in his introduction to the elders, and then to Pharoah himself. In verse 18, God tells Moses that the leaders of the Israelites, "will pay heed to what you say." Moses had God's promise on that. And when it came time to deal with Pharoah, the Lord made a second promise: "So I will stretch out My hand and strike Egypt with all My miracles which I shall do in the midst of it; and after that he will let you go" (vs. 20).
What assurance! It was already a done deal. The Lord told Moses, "Not only will the elders of Isreal hear you and believe you, but Pharoah himself will fall in line and unlock the gate to freedom. It's going to happen; He'll let Israel go. So you've got My promise to stand on, Moses. I won't let you down. You feel as if you don't have all the answers, but you'll have all of Me. You represent I AM, and you represent my unfailing promises."

Taken from Charles Swindoll's book, Moses: A Man of Selfless Dedication.

4 comments:

Randy said...

Just a reminder that God is still on the throne and we are still on the job. We represent the I AM.

Des said...

What a perfect, timely reminder for today.

susan said...

Wow! I represent the I AM. WOW!

livnfrog said...

HE is everything that we need... We don't need all the answeres. I definately needed that today. I always "want all the answers!" I am glad to know that God has all the answers. I am so humbled to know and experience His very presence in my life... I can't imagine living without that constant presence. And today, of all days, I am glad to know that "I AM" is still on His throne and He will take care of His people and meet all of our needs. I am anxious to see what happens in the days ahead. I know that I must hold on tight to His hand and trust Him for everything!

shannon