I AM THAT I AM
Ready for a little Kingdom exploration? Let's do this.
A long, long time ago, in a desert far away, a man named Moses was tending his father-in-law's sheep when he came upon a remarkable sight: a bush engulfed in flames, which nevertheless remained completely unharmed.
"Holy buckets," said Moses, "I need to check on that real quick. Brb, sheep."
This is the story of Exodus 3, in which the Lord Almighty speaks to Moses from out of a burning bush, introduces Himself, and gives Moses the job of delivering the Israelites from their oppressors, the Egyptians. The part I'm focusing on today is the introduction, and the answer God gives to Moses when Moses asks: "When I show up and tell the children of Israel that the god of their fathers has sent me to them and they ask for your name, what do I say then?"
And God replies: "I AM THAT I AM."
Oh, yes, thanks Lord, that clears it right up– and also, you didn't need to yell.*
Alright, saltiness aside, let's dig into this name God has given Himself, because it has implications for every other name that gets attached to it.
"I am that I am" is actually a title sprinkled all throughout the Bible, though in every other instance we would see it as "Jehovah" or "Yahweh," or "I am the Lord who (blank)."
What does it mean?
In Hebrew, "I am that I am" is "hayah hayah."** The root word of hayah hayah– its very essence– is "hava."
Hayah hayah is defined as "to exist, to become, to come to pass, to be established, to abide, continue, accompany, to be done, to be finished, gone."a
Hava is "to breathe, to be."
What's God saying about Himself here?
I think this question is most succinctly answered in these two verses:
"I am Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the ending,' says the Lord, 'which is, which was, and which is to come, the Almighty.'" Revelation 1:8
"...looking to Jesus, the author and the finisher of our faith, who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is seated at the right hand of the throne of God." Hebrews 12:2 (emphasis mine)
In calling Himself “I am that I am,” God’s making it super clear that He’s the very beginning, He brings it all about, and He completes it. It looks like He’s got it just about covered, doesn’t it? There is no where that He isn't, there is no when that He isn't. He was then, He is now, and He's comin' up next.
Why would we bother to know this?
So we can begin to comprehend the height and depth and scope of His love toward us.
The names God has are not just self-referencing statements, and that's it. God's names are promises to us. Every time He says something about Himself, He is saying something about us. All of His names have implications for us, and when we know what He promises, we know what's possible. We start to know Him. We learn how He sees us, how well he knows us, and how diligently He cares for us.
Think about the root word “hava” for a minute: “to breathe; to be.” The very beginning of human life on this planet– of our being– started with the breath of God filling our lungs.
Everything else God created came about by the power of words He spoke; but when it came to mankind, the Creator dug into the dirt and sculpted a form in His own likeness, and then breathed into this form His own spirit.
“And the Lord God formed man of the dust of the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and man became a living being.” Genesis 2:7
We are connected to God by our very breath, and every breath is proof of this: “I am, therefore you are.”
Here's another one of my favorite examples of what it means for us that God is I AM:
"Where shall I go from your Spirit?
Or where shall I flee from your presence?
If I ascend to heaven, you are there!
If I make my bed in Sheol, you are there!
If I take the wings of the morning
and dwell in the uttermost parts of the sea,
even there your hand shall lead me,
and your right hand shall hold me."
Psalm 139:7-10
Okay that’s cool, anything else?
Yep, glad you asked!
There's an essential component that brings God's Kingdom close; that irrevocably applies His promises to us, that completely embodies those promises, and that, dare I say it? fleshes them out.
Surprise! It's Jesus. (Fleshes them out, get it? Aahhhhhhhhh, sorry. Not really.)
He is the One who crossed the greatest divide to reconcile us to Himself, to lavish all of His love and care and glory on us, and to make us like Himself. I'll leave you with these verses (and my notes, you lucky things):
"From that time Jesus began to preach, and to say, 'Repent: for the kingdom of God is at hand. (i.e. *wink wink,* it me, I'm the kingdom, here I am!)'" Matthew 4:17 (snark mine)
"And the Word (which is Christ, aka "the Kingdom") was made flesh, and dwelt among us..." John 1:14
"For in him (Christ) the fullness of the godhead dwells bodily, and you have been filled in him, who is the head and rule of all authority (the Kingdom, and the very King)." Colossians 2:9-10
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*The Almighty wasn't actually yelling, ancient Hebrew just doesn't do lowercase letters.
**Yep. If you thought "um, hi-ya hi-ya?" you're exactly right. Feel free to let it fly: "HAYAH HAYAH!" Feels good doesn't it?
a- definitions from blueletterbible.org