Moses asked God his name at the burning bush. God said I am who I am. Most people read that as a statement of self existence. The Hebrew means something completely different. And when you understand what it actually says it changes everything about who God is to you personally. Exodus 3. Moses is eighty years old. A fugitive. Tending sheep in the wilderness when a bush catches fire and does not burn up. God speaks from the fire. I am sending you to Pharaoh. Moses asks. When they ask your name what do I tell them. God answers. Ehyeh asher ehyeh. Most translations say I am who I am. But the Hebrew verb ehyeh is a first person imperfect verb. In Hebrew that communicates ongoing action. Not I am. I will be. I will be what I will be. The difference sounds subtle. It is not. One is a theological declaration. The other is a personal promise to a man about to walk into the most powerful empire on earth alone. Moses was not asking a philosophical question. He needed to know who was sending him into the impossible. And God’s answer was not here is my theological description. It was here is my promise. I will be whatever this moment requires. For you. Six centuries later Jesus stood in the temple and said before Abraham was I am. The religious leaders picked up stones. Because they knew exactly what he was claiming. The specific name spoken from the burning bush. Standing in human flesh. That name has never changed. And it was never just for Moses. 📖 Scripture References: • Exodus 3:13-14 — Moses asks God his name and God says ehyeh asher ehyeh • Exodus 3:6 — Moses hid his face because he was afraid to look at God • John 8:58 — Before Abraham was I am • John 8:59 — The religious leaders picked up stones to stone him • Hebrews 13:8 — Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today and forever
The Hebrew verb ehyeh in Exodus 3:14 is a first person imperfect verb. In Hebrew that communicates ongoing incomplete action. Not I am. I will be. God did not give Moses a theological declaration about his own existence. He gave him a personal promise. I will be whatever this moment requires. For you. Moses was about to walk into the most powerful empire on earth alone. He needed to know who was sending him. And the name God gave him was not a description. It was a commitment. Six centuries later Jesus stood in the temple and said before Abraham was I am. The religious leaders picked up stones immediately. Because they understood exactly what he was claiming. The name spoken from the burning bush was standing in human flesh. That name has never changed. And it was never just for Moses.
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