5
“I Am That I Am”
| Bro Moses Dhlakama (Chipinge, Zimbabwe)
“I
am 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 trans-
lated 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 repre-
sents 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.”
I Will Make You (Mark 1:17)
| Bro David Banda Yelulani (Banket, Zimbabwe)
T
here is something
fascinating about
a teacher taking a
group of students and
training them up to
be an effective team,
work force or unit. A
team of raw begin-
ners in sport is
assembled and put
under an experienced
coach. Soon they
acquire new skills,
learn how to work with each other, build up
their fitness and start winning matches. As
they do so, they grow in confidence and com-
petence.
This is what Jesus did with his disciples. They
were a motley group of ordinary working men.
Jesus called them, taught them, lived with
them, discussed things with them, prayed with
them, chided them, demanded sacrifice of
them. Over a three-year period he moulded
them. Then he sent them out to the task of
mission for which he
had schooled them.
They fulfilled that
mission.
When he calls you,
Jesus says to you, “I
will make you.” He
does not make all
people “fishers of
men”. But however
raw in religious terms
you may be, however
lacking in knowledge, however deficient in
self-confidence, however unprepared in
personal development, however sparse your
talents might be, Jesus still promises to
make you what you are not yet. He sees the
potential in you which you cannot see in
yourself. He knows the finished product he
will make of you. However young and inexpe-
rienced you may be, or however old and ‘past
it’, Jesus can make something of you. Are you
willing to hear his call and to be crafted by
him?