Translation: King James Version
Key Word: “I AM” | Hebrew: “ehyeh” | Meaning: “I am, I will be”
A shepherd notices a bush that burns without burning up, and his life is never the same again. Welcome to Bible Life Basics Chapter Reviews, I am Chris and this is Exodus 3.
While keeping Jethro’s flock near Horeb, “the mountain of God,” Moses sees a bush engulfed in flame yet not consumed. When he turns aside to look closer, God calls to him out of the bush, and Moses answers, “Here am I.” God identifies Himself as “the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob,” and Moses hides his face, afraid to look upon God.
God declares that He has seen the affliction of His people, heard their cry, and come down to deliver them, sending Moses to Pharaoh to bring Israel out of Egypt. Moses immediately objects, asking who he is to do such a thing, and God simply answers, “Certainly I will be with thee.” When Moses asks what name he should give the Israelites for who sent him, God answers with the most important name in the entire Old Testament. “I AM THAT I AM… Thus shalt thou say unto the children of Israel, I AM hath sent me unto you.” The Hebrew word behind this is “ehyeh,” meaning “I am” or “I will be,” a name declaring God’s eternal, self-existing presence.
God instructs Moses to gather the elders of Israel and go to Pharaoh, promising that Pharaoh will resist at first, but that God will stretch out His hand and strike Egypt with wonders until Pharaoh finally lets them go, and that the Israelites will leave Egypt with great possessions.
The name God gives Himself here, I AM, is not a distant title. It is a promise of constant, present reality, God simply is, unchanging, regardless of circumstances. Moses needed that assurance before facing Pharaoh, and it remains just as steady a foundation for anyone facing an impossible task today.
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