All right, I would let you pay
a special close attention to what we're going to be reading
today, beginning in Exodus 3 and 7, down through verse 15. And verse 13 and 14 are our principal
focuses of study for today. God, the great I am. All right, in verse 7, Moses
has had God appear to him at the burning bush. Now God commissions
him. And the Lord said, I have surely
seen the affliction of my people which are in Egypt and have heard
their cry by reason of their taskmasters, for I know their
sorrows. And I'm come down to deliver
them out of the hand of the Egyptian and to bring them up out of the
land that a good, onto a good land and large, onto a land flowing
with milk and honey under the place of the Canaanites, the
Hittites, the Amorites, the Persites, the Hivites, and the Jebusites. Now therefore, behold, the cry
of the children of Israel is, Come unto me. And I have also
seen the oppression wherewith the Egyptians oppressed them. Come now therefore, I will send
thee unto Pharaoh, that thou mayest go forth, that thou mayest
bring forth my people, the children of Israel, out of Egypt. Moses said unto God, Who am I
that I should go unto Pharaoh, and that I should bring forth
the children of Israel out of Egypt? And he said, Certainly
I will be with thee, and this shall be a token unto thee that
I have sent you. When thou hast brought forth
a people out of Egypt, ye shall serve God upon this mountain. And Moses said unto God, Behold,
When I come unto the children of Israel, and I say unto them,
the God of your fathers has sent me unto you, and they shall say
unto me, what is his name? What shall I say unto them? And God said unto Moses, I am
that I am. And he said, thus shalt thou
say unto the children of Israel, I am hath sent me unto you. And God said moreover unto Moses,
Thus shalt thou say unto the children of Israel, The Lord
God of your fathers, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac,
and the God of Jacob, hath sent me unto you. This is my name
forever. And this is my memorial unto
all generations. Take that in. We'll come back
to it later. I am that I am. Say unto them, I am hath sent
me. Now, perhaps, since Moses is
so involved, it would be well to remind ourselves of a few
things about this great man, Moses. Now though Moses was but
a common and ordinary man as to the flesh and humanity, yet
he was to play an extraordinary part in the purpose, the will,
and the deliverance of God according to the descendants of Abraham
and Isaac and Jacob. And there are two things here
in Exodus that really stand out with regard to Moses as a special
vessel of mercy unto God to deliver the children of Israel. in delivering
them from the cruel hand of Pharaoh and their bondage in the land
of Egypt and bringing them into the land of promise flowing with
milk and with honey. Now those two things are here
in the book of Exodus. The first thing that is extraordinary
about Moses are the circumstances of his being preserved at birth. by the providence of God. For this, we drop back to Exodus
chapter 1. And there you have the account. A new Pharaoh had arisen that
knew not Joseph, whereby Israel had the favor in that land. And this new Pharaoh had given
an order to the midwives of Israel that whenever a woman came to
deliver, and delivered a boy, then that boy was to be killed
right there. He was to be thrown in the river,
he was to be killed, he was to be left there unto die. And we have that in Exodus chapter
1 and verse 16. Kill him in Exodus chapter 1
and verse 22. Now this was selective murder
and post-birth abortion of the very worst kind. Born alive and
then killed and put to death because he was of the wrong gender. Now the midwives feared God and
did not obey the king and risked the wrath of the king. And Moses'
mother kept him as long as she could. You remember the story.
Put him in a little bull, put him in a little ark in the bulrush
there in the river. where in the providence of God,
he was guided to be adopted by the daughter of Pharaoh and raised
in the house of Pharaoh. And you have that in the second
chapter of the book of Exodus. Now, the second thing that we
notice here is the call and the commission of Moses at the burning
bush, which is in the first part of chapter three, that he wants
to be the deliverer of Israel out of the land of Egypt. His conversion or call and commission
was extraordinary. Put me in the mind of that of
Saul of Tarshish in Acts chapter 9. In fact, the Puritan Thomas
Goodwin called Moses, and I quote, the most extraordinary ambassador
of God until Christ came into the world, unquote. John Owen,
the Puritan, reminds us that Moses was the first man that
was inspired to write the holy writings of God and the scripture. And they are the first five books
of the Bible, called the Pentateuch, and sometimes referred to by
the Jew as the Law. And here in Exodus chapter 3,
we have the lead-in to our text and of our subject of study for
today. I am the Great I Am. And in verses 1 through 6, You
have Moses keeping the sheep in the backside of the desert.
He sees a burning bush there, by the way, and his curiosity
was stirred and he turned aside to see about it. And out of that
burning bush God spoke unto Moses and an awesome sight and experience
it was. And Moses was greatly afraid
and was afraid to look upon the one who declared himself to be
the God of Abraham, of Isaac, and of Jacob. And then beginning
at verse 7 through verse 10, God tells Moses that he will
deliver Israel by his leadership and by his hand. Particularly,
did we read it in verse 10. Now from verse 11 and forward,
Moses tried his best to recuse himself from this divine call
and mission, upon the ground that he was not competent for
such a thing. I am not competent. for such
a thing. Verse 11, who am I that I should
march in to the court of Pharaoh and demand that he let the people
go? And he says further, Israel would
not believe me, chapter 4 and verse 1, when I tell them that
God has appeared unto me, they're not going to believe my story
or account." Again, in chapter 4 and verse 10, he tries to excuse
himself, saying, I am not eloquent. I'm slow of speech and not a
good orator. We might think that the Hebrew
is heavy. I am heavy of speech and tongue. I'm not eloquent. I'm not fluent. I'm not a silver-tongued orator,
as if he thought that would be necessary to convince Pharaoh. And besides, Moses said, You've
never spoken unto me like this before or sin. Never have I had
such an experience. Now let's make a quick point.
And that is that Moses feels inadequate to be the deliverer
in such a thing. And in this I think there is
humility. In this he joins the Judge Gideon
sent to deliver Israel from the Midianites who said In Judges
chapter 6, and I believe verse 15, wherewith shall I save Israel? My family is poor in Manasseh,
and I am the least in my father's house. There's another example
of that, Jeremiah the prophet, chapter one and verse six. I cannot speak for I am a child. How then shall I be a prophet
unto the nation? I think of Paul who said, whom
is sufficient for these things in the Corinthian letter. But
finally, Moses would beg off. If you look at chapter 4 and
verse 13, seeking to decline the mission that is set before
him, just like Jonah did, except Jonah, you remember, fled from
the presence of the Lord. Chapter 3, verse 11. The Lord
overturns each excuse and objection of Moses. When Moses said, Who
am I that I command Pharaoh? The Lord answered, I will be
with you. Then if you look at chapter 4
and verse 1, Moses said, they're not going to believe me when
I come and say God has sent me. They're not going to believe
it when I say that you've appeared unto me in a burning bush. And the Lord answers. I will
endow you with confirming signs and miracles as credentials of
your authority and of your commission that they will believe." Then
again, chapter 4, verse 10, Moses said, I am not an eloquent man. I'm slow of speech and I'm not
good of tongue. Well, neither was Paul, if I
understand him right. So the Lord's answer to Moses
is this. Who made man's mouth? Who is
it that gave him the ability to speak? Who formed the vocal
chords in the throat and the tongue that one might make sound? And in Exodus chapter 4, verse
12, I will be with your mouth. I will put words in your mouth. I will guide you and impress
you and lead you in what you ought to say. Now in chapter
4, verse 13, a little confusing unto me. Commentators are divided
here whether Moses is asking or whether Moses means, number
one, asking God to send someone else. Find someone else, more
qualified, and better than I, or whether to Moses is now submitted
to the will of God, I'll not use time discussing that question
to take us off of our subject. Coming to our primary text now,
in Exodus 3, verse 13 and 14. Upon hearing the assignment,
Moses poses a question in verse 13. When I say to the children
of Israel, I'm sent, I'm come in the name of God, and they
ask me, and he figured they would, what is his name, what am I going
to tell them? Who am I going to say? How am
I going to answer? What name shall I use? What name
shall I give? Now back in verse 6, of the chapter,
God had identified himself to Moses as the God of Abraham,
of Isaac, and of Jacob. As when the Lord appeared to
Saul of Tarsus in Acts chapter 9, and Saul cried out, Lord,
who are you? Who is it? And the Lord answered,
I am Jesus whom you persecute. So Moses anticipates them asking
for his credential and authority. What is his name? This God in
whose authority you presume to come and deliver us. Literally,
who is it that sent you? Because you see, it is the name
that identifies the person. And this is even more true in
the Bible, where people have names that reflect their call
and their due in their life. I suspect that Moses has in mind
the question that Israel and even Pharaoh might ask. Chapter 5, 1 and 2, Pharaoh said,
who is this God? I don't know him, and I'm not
going to let the people go. There's a footnote in the New
Geneva Bible, and it has this to say, quote, a personal name
has not merely a form of address, but a description of the character
and the personality of the person, unquote, of the name. Some of
the names of God in scripture are very significant. There are
four of them early in the book of Genesis. We're not going into
it in depth, but there is the name Elohim. in chapter 1, used
a lot of time. God. And then there is the name
Jehovah, the Lord, as it is here in this chapter. There is the
name El Shaddai, which reflects or means the Almighty. And there's one more name. There
is El Elyon, meaning the Most High. And so in all of these
things, these names reflect something about God. A man named Andrew
Jukes wrote a book on the names of God in the scripture. I've had it for some time. And
he wrote this, quote, No one name can express His fullness,
but each name tells us something of His glory." And the different
names by which He is known are a result of the manifold perfection
and attributes that are innate in the very being and essence
of God. And from these, God cannot be
separated, his great name. He is in every sense what His
names declare. He is God, He is Almighty, and
He is Most High. So, in all things, He is what
His name implies. I'll say it another way, and
that is that His name matches His being, His power, His eternality,
and His holiness and attribute. As an example of a name, we read
in Matthew chapter 1. I think it's verse 21. Thou shalt
call his name Jesus. Now, Jesus means Savior. Thou shalt call his name Jesus,
for he shall save his people from their sin. Now, in verse
13 and 14 of Exodus chapter 3. What is his name? What shall
I say? What shall I answer? What shall
I tell them? In verse 14, let's turn aside
here and hear this, for it is like the burning bush to Moses. We want to hear and see more. God said to Moses, I am that
I am. Now notice something before we
move along, and that is that these letters are every one of
in caps. They are so, and I checked it
out in our English King James, the Geneva, the NASB, and the
ASB. All of these letters are in caps. Now concerning God's name or
names, they appear in the scripture. There is a definite connection,
again I'll say, between the name and the person, even among men. You find that with Adam, you
find it with Abel, you find it with Noah. And God sometimes
changed the names of people as he brought them to know him and
to be converted. So they reflect some significant
information about the name that is given unto them. And God's
names are or a revelation of his being, his attribute, his
purpose. And God is self-named, if you
understand what I mean. No one named him. No one gave
him that name. He is self-named, and he put
his name among Israel as to how He would be known and would be
worshipped by them. And in our text, when Moses asked,
what name should I use to identify God? He received a very clear
answer. And we notice that it has two
parts, if we look at it very closely. Number one, God said
to Moses directly, I am that I am. I am who and I am what. I am. Calvin wrote that the Hebrew
word is in the future tense, yet having present tense meaning
as well. Here's what he said, that is
Calvin, quote, it designates the perpetual duration of time,
unquote. I am that I am. I am what I have been. I am what I am. I will be what
I will be. For Moses desires a name that
would be a clear and distinguishing mark of the God that had sent
him, and he got it. I am that I am. He was not to use El Shaddai
or Elohim. He was to use the name I am that
I am. Some have expressed it this way.
Number one, I am because I am. Number two, I am who I am. And number three, I will be what
I will be. And then again, in that same
verse, God shortens it and says, tell them, I am has sent you. First, I am that I am, and then
simply, I am. Same down in verse 15. This is
my name forever and a memorial to all generations. That is,
by this name or by this title, he would be known among them
from that time forward as they worshipped him. And expositors
believe it to be the name that best related to the covenant
and faithfulness of God that he made with Israel. So it marks
him, then, as the covenant God. I am. I am that I am. That it was the name most often
used in Hebrew worship. this name, which we'll get to
in a moment. It was the most name used in
worship, it was the name used in prayer, it was the name used
in praise of their great God. Some say it was considered the
most holy name of all to Israel as their God. And some have said
that the name came to be regarded as too holy to say or to pronounce. And according to some, the Jews
might substitute the word Adonai for it, my Lord, to avoid profaning
the name of the Most High God, as they thought in their mind.
Now, just a thought in passing, how irreverently you might agree,
the names of God and of Lord Jesus Christ are bantered about
today in our society. How loosely and irreverently
and even vulgarly do they use the name of our Holy Father and
of our Holy Christ. They're used lightly in profanity. I bet you go out and count them.
I bet you'll hear, my God, my God, oh my God, oh my God, a
hundred times a day as you converse back and forth with people. and
the name Jesus Christ without the slightest thought of its
meaning. Jesus, Savior. Jesus, Savior. But let's consider
the words of the name I Am. Now, we have it three times in
Exodus chapter 3 and verse 14. And this kind of gets deep for
me, and I had to do a little mental sweat and toil this week
to try to get this right. But sometimes it is reduced to
the initials, Y-H-B. You might see it in the margin
of some of your Bible. And they say that it is from
a verb, hoyah, and is, if I understand it, from the same root word as
Jehovah. And this word is most often translated
by the word Lord. particularly in the King James
Version. Hundreds and hundreds of times
this word is translated Lord in the Bible and in the Old Testament. three times in the early part
of Exodus chapter 3, where it is Lord. You have it in verse
2, verse 4, and verse 7. The same word, however, rendered
Lord in those three verses is translated Jehovah Exodus chapter
6 and verse 3. Psalm 83 18 and Isaiah 12 and
verse 2 you have the word Jehovah. Now the word Am in Exodus 3 and
verse 14 means literally to exist, to be. to exist and to be. He is not made by another. God was not made by some other. He is not evolved. He did not
make himself. He never was non-existent. There never was a time when he
was not. He had no beginning. and therefore
can have no end. Now this boggles our mind unless
we are in the faith of Christ. In other words, He is truly eternal. He never was non-existent. He was before all things. He
was before the world. He was before time. In fact,
there would be no time if God had not made the earth and instituted
time and set it in motion, which is measured by increments. Days, weeks, months, years, centuries,
millennium, and such like. And there's something interesting
in Exodus 6, if you want to turn there with me, and it is in verse
2 and verse 3. Told to Moses when he was in
Egypt. Now Exodus 6, 2 and 3, let me
read it in your hearing. And God spake unto Moses and
said unto him, I am the Lord. And I appeared unto Abraham,
unto Isaac, and unto Jacob by the name of God Almighty. But by my name Jehovah was I
not known unto them. Now let's look at it very carefully.
Here's something, here's an epoch here. The Lord, this word, or
name, or title, if you will, is the same as Jehovah. Where it's Lord, it's the same
as this word Jehovah here in verse 3 of Exodus 6. Jehovah. and means the self-existent one. It means the eternal one. As some say, this name Jehovah
became the Jewish national name for God, whom they followed and
they worshipped. Now it's the same, therefore,
with, I am that I am. And it marks him again as the
covenant God to his people. So if we look again at verse
3 of chapter 6, by my name Jehovah was I not known unto them. I appeared to Abraham, to Isaac,
and Jacob, sometimes called the fathers by the name of God Almighty. This I understand is the name
El Shaddai, which means Almighty, the Almighty One, the One Almighty
to carry out His will and His purpose, the Divine One, indeed
Almighty. But the verse goes on, by this
name, Jehovah, or My name, was I not known unto them. Now Jehovah signifies existence,
as in I am, that I am the existing one, yea, the first. the beginning,
the fountain of being. Beside Him, there is none else. That is, there is no other God
beside Him. It was not that the patriarchs
had never heard the name Jehovah, for it's translated Lord again
and again, but they knew not all that was signified and inclusive
in that name. They knew the name itself, but
they did not know the full significance and meaning of it. So there is
at Exodus 3 and verse 14, a new thing as it were added or brought
before Israel. Matthew Henry wrote this, quote,
God would now be known by his name Jehovah, unquote. I am that I am. Tell them I am
has sent you. Thus we might say that the light
of revelation was increased somewhat here at this time in their history
by some calling it now the essential name of God, Jehovah. Jehovah or Lord. This was the
name God would now be known by and put that name among his people. Now a short digression concerning
this name. The Jews developed what John
Gill called, quote, a false and superstitious notion, unquote. And here it is. Josephus, the
historian, said that it was not lawful for a Jew to speak that
name. They considered it too holy to
ever be spoken. That this is the common notion
of the Jew, that it is ineffable and not lawful to be pronounced
was their position and attitude. And so they substituted Adonai
or Elohim for the name Jehovah. Now by using the name I AM Jehovah,
it has been said that it designates the perpetual duration which
is synonymous with eternity, and which is the claim exclusively
of God. None other can claim that eternality. He's called Jehovah, one reason,
because he is eternal. And that means that God has an
independent existence. For emphasis, let me repeat those
two words. Independent existence. Independent existence. So that
this attribute of his eternality is actually the forerunner of
all other of the great attributes of God. Yea, his eternality is
the perfection of his essence. That he is eternal is the perfection
of his essence and of his Godhood. Now the Psalmist wrote this,
Psalm chapter 90 and verse 2. even from everlasting to everlasting,
thou art God. Now, if God had a beginning,
he would not be God, would he not? And he that had no beginning
can therefore have no end. I'm Omega, I'm the beginning
and the end, the first and the last, as it is said in the book
of Revelation. Hear what Stephen Charnock, who
probably wrote the best book on the attributes of God that
have ever been written by a man. But he wrote this about the eternity
of God. Quote, eternity is the choice,
perfection of God, yea, the gloss and luster of all other attributes. Herman Bevinck said about the
same thing, quote, all other divine attributes are derived
from this one, unquote. That is his eternality. Since
God is eternal, since he is from everlasting, that he was not
created, he was not born into his Godhood by any action outside
of himself, nor did he come into being accidentally. like the
evolutionists say of the great bang theory. He is the eternal,
uncreated God, which means that God being eternal, He not only
is independent, He is self-sufficient. God is self-sufficient as to
himself, yet not in the sense of having caused himself or in
the sense that he became God, for he is self-sufficient because
he is self-existent. He exists for nothing outside
of himself. His being is eternal so that
he is the existing one I am." Now, from this great doctrine
flow, some very great attributes of God, and we want to kind of
dabble into them for the rest of our morning today, such as
the aseity of God, A-S-E-I-T-Y, and the independence of God,
the immensity of God, the infinity of God. Now I know there are
some who interchange independence and aseity, that by his aseity
he exists of himself and by himself. I still remember the call I got
years and years ago from a man in the church who said, Preacher,
my son just asked me, where did God come from? Who made God? And he said, I could not answer
it, so can you help me on that? And even as ignorant as I was
then, I said, God has always been. Then again, some speak
of the solitariness of God, that there was a time, if time we
may call it, when God dwelt all alone. There must have been,
because He made all things, and He is absolutely eternal from
everlasting down to everlasting. He made all that was made, John
chapter 1 verse 1 and verse 2. Being alone, let me hurry to
say, God was not lonely. He did not lack anything. He
was not sad. Nothing was missing. Having no
need outside of himself. He had no need that another might
feel. Not the angel, not men, nothing. A.W. Pink wrote this, God was
alone, self-contained, self-sufficient, self-satisfied, in need of nothing,
unquote. So God's independence makes him
both superior and different from all other beings, and even those
that are called God, for none but are in some way dependent
upon another. We, no matter what we might think
or boast, every creature except God is dependent upon some other. Then, let me speak of the infinity
of God, I-N-F-I-N-I-T-Y. In Psalm 147 and verse 5, God
is said to be infinite in his understanding. His infinity means
without limit, unbounded, the margin has it here, no number. No number. Such is true of all
of his attributes. There is the immensity of God
that he is immeasurable. He is past finding out. Who can know his mind? Who can
know him? and infinity and acety and immensity
in regard to time equals eternity. And thus God says, or is the
eternal God, Deuteronomy 33, 27, 1 Timothy 1, 17, the eternal
God. Infinity and immensity applied
under space equals omnipresent. Therefore he is everywhere present. Psalm 139. Now do not I fill
heaven and earth, Jeremiah 23 and 24. He cannot be confined
therefore to any one particular limited place. And he certainly
can't be shut up in a house. or a temple or a shrine. He is everywhere present. He
is everywhere God, and yet not in the pantheistic sense that
matter and God are mixed up together and that they are one and that
matter is God. Again, God's acuity, infinity,
immensity, and eternality form the basis of His immutability. that He is an immutable God,
formed the basis of it, that He changes not, which He declares,
I am the Lord, I change not. Malachi chapter 3 and verse 6. In Hebrews 13 and 8, Jesus Christ,
the same yesterday and today and forever. There is something
about every person, I think, that they would like to change.
You think about it, talk to them, just about every person you could
mention, there is something about them that they would like to
change. Many try and many do. This proves
that they do not view themselves as perfect and as complete and
full. That which changes ceases to
be that which it was. while the immutability of God
is very broad. Not only is he immutable in his
purpose, his will, and his decree, but have you ever thought that
his immutability extends even to His person, His nature, and
His essence. It extends to His being. He changes
not in His purpose, will, or decree, but neither does He change
in His being, His nature, and essence. Remember the God is
dead movement? You remember that years ago?
Some of you are not old enough to remember God is dead. came
out, maybe 60s or 70s, whenever, maybe with the hippie generation,
but anyway, that God died, that God is no more. And I read this
from Herman Bevinck, quote, his name is being, I am, and this
is the unchangeable name, unquote, my name forever. Exodus 315. This is my name forever as a
memorial throughout generations. Psalm 135 and 13 also. The essence of God has nothing
changeable. Neither before or after creation
did God change. For God stays the same. Hebrews 1 and verse 12. Neither the creation, nor the
fall, nor the flood, or the incarnation made any change in the essence
or nature of being of God. Made none in His will either,
but none in His nature or His essence and His being. And being
eternal, He never ages. or he has his being in one eternality,
no passing time, eternality, one constant present. I am that
I am. I am being Jehovah, the ever-living
God, having no beginning, which best answers faith, that God
always is. Or that matter exploded? Which one is the easier for you? That God always was, never began? Or that matter started rattling
around and became? But where did the matter come
from? Where did the matter come from? So evolutionists have that
problem. Which is the greater challenge?
That God ever existed? Or that matter is rearranged? Faith says God, ever-living God. Where did God come from? He's
always been. Where did matter come from? Only
God can create. And all owes its creation unto
God. So, I am that I am. I have my being. I was, I am,
I will be. And next week, God willing, we'll
get in the New Testament where the Lord Jesus used that word,
I am, and the significance of it. But that's for another time.