“I Am That I Am”

“Iam that I am” is to be found in Exodus 3:14 and represents the words spoken out of the burning bush to Moses by an angel. The angel was manifesting God but was not the Creator Himself. When Moses was given his commission to lead Israel out of Egypt, he asked to be told the name of the angel who was speaking to him, but the angel was not speaking for himself but for God. This request for a name led on to a deeper understanding: since there is only one God, it is unnecessary for the One God to have a name to distinguish Him from other, non-existent gods. When we speak of the one true God, we do not use a name: instead we use a title. Therefore when asked for a name, the angel speaking as the mouthpiece of God said, “I am that I am”. The Hebrew for this expression is “EYAH ASHER EYAH”, which can also be interpreted as “I was that I was” and “I will be that I will be”. God thus has a purpose. And that purpose is explained by the other name that the angel revealed: YAHWEH ELOHIM. This can be translated as “I will be manifested in a multitude”. Instead of giving a name, the angel replied with a title which manifests the divine plan and purpose. The divine plan is what God intends to do, and the divine purpose represents the manner in which God intends to do it. The plan is that “God will be manifested in His glory” and this glory we learn from Numbers 14:21 will cover the earth. The manner of manifestation is that the glory of God will be manifested in a multitude of saints populating the whole earth. All this is condensed in the short title of “I will be what I will be.”

Bro Moses Dhlakama (Chipinge, Zimbabwe)