I AM Who I AM: אני מי שאני

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. This is what you are to say to the Israelites: ‘I AM has sent me to you.'” Exodus 3:13-14 New International Version

Today, I had one of those days where I was in excruciating physical pain. I recently had surgery on my ankle and was placed on bed rest. The Lord prompted me to call my sister-in-law. We had such a beautiful conversation about the Lord and the amazing things He is doing in our lives.

Of course, the enemy was not happy with our conversation, and as soon as we ended our beautiful chat, he started to bring up some painful memories. As I often do, I tried to brush it off. So, I decided to shower and listen to worship music. “All of a Sudden by Elevation Worship” was the first song to play. Tears began to fall down my face, and my mind started to take me on a documentary-style trip down memory lane.

Suddenly, I heard the Lord whisper to me, “You are chosen, you’re forgiven; you are my child. Why do you look back to the past? I’m not there. I Am Who I Am. I’m not Who I Was, or I Will Be. I Am.”

Upon hearing His words, I came to realize that we have a tendency to travel down memory lane when things are not going as planned or when we are overcome with regrets. Naturally, there’s nothing wrong with visiting certain memories; the problem arises when we find ourselves stuck in the past and find it difficult to leave memory lane. There’s an analogy that compares life to driving a vehicle while your eyes are focused on the rearview mirror rather than the windshield. The small rearview mirror provides an image of what’s behind you. The large windshield clearly shows you the road ahead of you. You won’t notice what’s going on in front of you if your focus is always on what’s behind you. Well, tonight, God (Elohim) showed me that I don’t need to look back because He is already here. He’s with me in the present. He reminded me that He is not I WAS, or I WILL BE. His name is I AM.

God (Elohim) has never left us and continues to walk with us. He’s in our present; our race is not in the past. Friends, I don’t know about you, but going down memory lane has always served as bait for the enemy to get me to forget who I am and Whose I am.

Let’s visit the scripture and discover when our God (Elohim) first introduced Himself as I AM WHO I AM.

Let us visit the scripture and discover when our God (Elohim) first introduced Himself as I AM WHO I AM.

In Exodus 3:13-14 we read:

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. This is what you are to say to the Israelites: ‘I AM has sent me to you.’”

Wow! I can only imagine how Moses must have felt when God revealed Himself as “I AM WHO I AM.”  Moses surely wondered what that meant. What was the Lord trying to teach Moses and every one of us? I decided to look into it further. I found that there are several meanings of “I AM WHO I AM” in the Hebrew Torah.

In Exodus 3:14, God gives his name as‎, Ehyeh-Asher-Ehyeh (אֶהְיֶה אֲשֶׁר אֶהְיֶה).  Ehyeh is translated as “I AM THAT I AM” or “I SHALL BE WHAT I AM.” According to the Hebrew Bible (Exodus 3:14), this is the personal name of God, revealed directly to Moses. The idea of God’s self-existence and eternal, unchanging nature is demonstrated in this statement. God announces that He is here and that He is the source of His own existence and does not need any outside reason to be. “I AM THAT I AM” is a powerful reminder of God’s divine authority and sovereignty.

It is interesting to see that during Jesus’ (Yeshua) earthly ministry, He identified Himself as the source to whom His people should seek redemption. Jesus frequently identified Himself as I AM

Let us look at the times when Jesus identified Himself as the I AM. Here are some passages from the New Testament that contain the I AM statements.

• The Book of Isaiah 7:14 introduces us to Immanuel. Therefore, the Lord himself will give you a sign: The virgin will conceive and give birth to a son and will call him Immanuel.

According to Isaiah, God is stating that He will one day dwell among us and be with us.

The Book of Matthew introduces Jesus as Immanuel.

• “The virgin will conceive and give birth to a son, and they will call him Immanuel,”’ (which means “God with us”). Matt. 1:23.
• “For where two or three gather in my name, there I am with them.” Matt. 18:20
• “And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.” Matt. 28:20.

In the gospel of John, Jesus (Yeshua) identifies Himself as God by using the name I AM. The following scriptures contain references to Jesus (Yeshua) as I AM.

• • According to John 6:35, Jesus confidently states, ‘“I am the bread of life.”’ Whoever comes to me will never go hungry, and whoever believes in me will never be thirsty.
  • John 8:12: When Jesus spoke again to the people, he said, “I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will never walk in darkness but will have the light of life.”
  • John 10:7 states that Jesus is the gate or door. Therefore, Jesus said again, “Very truly I tell you, I am the gate for the sheep.”
  • John 10:11,14: “I am the good shepherd; I know my sheep and my sheep know me—just as the Father knows me and I know the Father—and I lay down his life for the sheep.”
  • John 11:25: Jesus said to her, “I am the resurrection and the life. The one who believes in me will live, even though they die; and whoever lives by believing in me will never die.”
  • John 14:6; 15:1: Jesus answered, “I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.”
  • John 15:1: “I am the true vine, and my Father is the gardener.”

Jesus was being attacked by the Pharisees and Sadducees who failed to recognize Him as the promised Messiah; He shocked them not by claiming to be the Messiah but by identifying Himself with Yahweh, saying, “Very Truly I tell you,” Jesus answered, “before Abraham was born, I am.!”  (John 8:58 NIV)

Just imagine how these leaders of the Law must have felt when Jesus identified Himself as the I AM. As we’ve seen, I AM is a personal name that God revealed to Moses. The word “personal” resonates in my heart because God is not a distant God; instead, He wants us to know that He is here, right now, with you and me. The teachers of the Law accused Jesus (Yeshua) of blasphemy when He uttered the name I AM. Jesus was the exact opposite of what the Torah said the Messiah would be. They expected a great military and political leader who would free them from Roman rule and restore the nation of Israel. He wasn’t a warrior king but a humble man whose earthly father was a carpenter from Nazareth.

Upon hearing Jesus’s words, the religious leaders realized that Jesus was claiming to be God. How tragic that with all the knowledge they possessed, they did not recognize that God Himself was already among them.  Jesus is the everlasting God who existed not only during Abraham’s time but also before creation. He informed them that He was the voice of the covenant that the God of Israel had revealed to Moses at the burning bush when He proclaimed, “Before Abraham was born, I AM” (John 8:58). Jesus was, is, and always will be the Great I AM.

Here are some questions to help you meditate on I AM.

1. Many scholars believe that when God said, “I AM WHO I AM,” this was His promise to always be with His people. In what ways have you experienced God’s faithful presence, particularly during a difficult time in your life?
2. Why do you suppose the Pharisees and Sadducees reacted so violently when Jesus said, “Before Abraham was born, I AM?” What are your thoughts on what Jesus said?
3. What do Jesus’ words teach us about His enduring presence?
4. Just before His crucifixion, Jesus told His disciples, “I am the way and the truth and the life.” Why do you think Jesus waited to reveal this truth to His disciples until He was nearing His time to go to the Cross?
5. In John 15:1-5 Jesus says He is the true vine and invites us to stay with Him. What does it mean for you to “remain in me (the vine)”?

There are many verses in the Bible where Yahweh and Jesus are referred to as I AM. As you search and read the following scriptures, meditate on the name I AM and how its meaning relates to the context of each passage.

• Matthew 16:15-16
• Matthew 28:20
• John 14:1-6
• Revelation 1:8

 

Prayer:

Yeshua, the Great I AM. Thank You for reminding us today that You are not only the self-sufficient One, the eternal One, the voice of Your Covenant with Your people, but You are also our constant, the One who’s personal and present in our lives. Yeshua, You, our eternal Father, knew how much You would suffer for our sake. But none of that mattered to You because Your love for us was greater than our sins. Because of Your love, You chose to take our place on the Cross instead of living an eternity without us. Barukh Atah Adonai- Blessed are You, Lord. King of the Universe, the all-sufficient One Who was, is, and is to come. In Your precious name, amen.

 

Reference

I AM that I AM. (2024. May 19). In Wikipedia. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/I_Am_that_I_Am#:~:text=%22I%20Am%20that%20I%20Am,I%20am%20the%20Existing%20One%22

Israel by Locals. (2024). I am that I Am: Hebrew Meaning & Significance. [Article]. https://israelbylocals.com/i-am-that-i-am-hebrew/

Scripture quotations taken from The Holy Bible, New International Version, NIV. Copyright 1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.

Humphrey, Dan. I AM Who I AM [Photograph].