I AM

“Then Moses said to God, ‘If I come to the people of Israel…and they ask me, ‘What is his name?’ what shall I say to them?’ God said to Moses, ‘I AM WHO I AM….I AM has sent me to you.’” Exodus 3:13-14

I love cracking open a new Bible Study with all of its information, history and application of God’s word through the eyes of one of His vessels. This new Bible Study has more to do with the different names of our powerful God. In studying one of God’s primary names, Yahweh, I discovered that we have a great deal to learn from our Jewish friends in the honoring department.

Yahweh means to exist, to be, was, is, will be. It was the most sacred name upon which they would call, a name so sacred on their lips it would only be uttered by the priest when blessing the people in the temple and when he entered the most holy place along with a few religious observances. One of the most interesting facts I learned follows: “When a Jewish scribe copied the Scriptures and came to God’s sacred name Yahweh, he would set aside his quill and get a brand new one with which to write. After writing the Name, he would break and discard the quill so that no other word would ever flow from it.”

When I look around and witness the honoring of one’s self over God and the use of God’s name in vain, I wonder where our honor for the great I AM lies, and where is our sacred worship for the One who was, is and will be.

Do we lessen our perception of God because we do not truly know Him or because we want more of ourselves? We know each other through our relationships and the characteristics we possess. I am known as mother, daughter, sister, aunt, grandmother, wife, etc…I am known as silly, clutsy, fearful of the dark, spiritual…etc. The I AM of the universe has been known across the generations according to the relationship forged with God and the characteristics that God has possessed for them. Our sovereign God has been, is presently and will be the great I AM according to how we experience Him.

For me, the great I AM this year has been the God of Comfort, the God of Deliverance and God of Faithfulness. Do we truthfully approach God with the honor, the respect, the humility deserving only to the “I AM” of creation?