Nougat 18

When I read this this morning, I couldn’t help but realize this is a foundational promise of God. My next thought was that I had to share it with you. Please receive today’s Holy Nougat

“God replied to Moses, “I Am Who I Am. Say this to the people of Israel: I Am has sent me to you.” God also said to Moses, “Say this to the people of Israel: Yahweh, the God of your ancestors—the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob—has sent me to you. This is my eternal name, my name to remember for all generations.” ‭‭Exodus‬ ‭3:14-15‬ ‭NLT‬‬

Many in my generation are familiar with Gloria Gaynor’s epic song ‘I am what I am’. For me, the most memorable lines are in the second verse: /I am what I am and what I am needs no excuses/ I deal my own deck sometimes the Aces, sometimes the deuces …/ Life ain’t worth a d***, till you can shout out ‘I am what I am’/. It represented a declaration of personal independence, an unyieldedness to the self-seeking ‘abuse’ meted out to the vulnerable by others.

When coming from the Lord however, we ought to hear it differently. Not as an in-your-face statement about God’s self but a clear, unbiased, existential promise that is eternal and sure. Before getting into a bit of Judeo-Christian theology, let’s unpack the words from a human grammatical perspective:

Considered as a phrase, ’what I am’ is a statement of a person’s belief about themselves, especially in regard to race, gender, nationality, political beliefs, role, personality, or ethnicity. Who I am refers to one’s identity, relationship and position (status). On the other hand, I am what (who) I am is is a complete reflection on one’s self, often without attempting to justify or make allowances for one’s perceived faults.

When God replies to Moses’s question, one may consider that God was answering the unstated questions regarding the Children of Israel’s enslavement by the Egyptians. For, in earlier verses God self-introduced to Moses as the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob (see verse 6); and then continued the description by also stating that God had seen the suffering of the Children of Israel. God’s invitation to Moses to rescue the Children of Israel after 400+ years, may have seen a little too late to one such as Moses. We recall Moses’ attempts to rescue his people before God intervened, and that’s what led to him living as a shepherd in the wilderness. A statement from God saying he was now the one to rescue the Children of Israel could conceivably result in Moses’s unspoken question – ‘After so many years of silence, and now with me as a fugitive; what do You expect us to believe? You don’t quite match the stories of El Shaddai or Jireh we heard about from our ancestors – er; who are you; really, and what’s your purpose?

And God’s response does not explain the silence but it was enough for Moses – you aren’t obliged to understand Me; but accept Me as God, for that is Who I always am.

But God’s response is a promise because it also can be transliterated to suggest God’s infinite and constant presence with us. For whether ‘what’ or ‘who’, when God’s I AM translates into ‘Was’, ‘Is’, and ‘Will Be’; we come to the realization of ‘Emmanuel – God with us‘. That is with you and me individually and collectively. For God’s response spoke about the individual patriarchs as well as the collective people in the moment as well as God’s invitation to Moses, the individual, for the future of Israel, the yet you be formed nation. God is present and inter-related. And that’s a promise worth holding on to.

Finally (for now), we also note that the title I Am Who I Am is referred to as the Tetragrammaton – the Most Holy Name of God, not to be referenced by anyone – in the Jewish tradition. It speaks to God’s Sovereignty, Supremacy, Self-Sufficiency and Salvific-icity. For this name, the name above all others – which provided grounds for blasphemy if used in conjunction with one’s self – was used seven times (the number symbolic of perfection) by Jesus Himself to describe Himself in John’s Gospel. And ironically, the human Jesus, like Moses, was here with us to save us from bondage. The difference is – Jesus is, was and will always be Divine.

When we call on I Am – YHWH, also known as the Bread of Life, the Light of the World; the Door of the Sheep; the Good Shepherd; the True Vine; the Way, Truth and the Light; and the Resurrection and the Life – we’re not only invoking all those aspects of God’s persona and identity; but we are also calling on the Triune relationship and status of God. And that’s the God Who is with us always; through God’s Spirit dwelling in us!

WOW – I learned and re-grasped some truths in that promise in this nougat. May the name of YHWH be our comfort as we grasp God’s presence with us always.

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May all we seek be found in Christ