I've spent three years in seminary studying the implications of 'I AM.' My Hebrew professor made us sit with it without immediately jumping to Greek metaphysics. The phrase doesn't say 'I am your answer' or 'I am your strength.' It says 'I am.'
In that moment, Moses is asking for a name - something concrete to tell the Israelites. God's response is almost evasive in its completeness. As if to say: you want Me to fit into your category of knowledge? I am the one who simply exists, independent of your understanding of Me, your need for Me, or your ability to control the narrative about Me.
Old Testament scholar John Goldingay notes the name appears in contexts where God's presence seems absent - at the burning bush, God appearing to Moses in the wilderness where no one else can see. 'I AM' isn't a cosmic principle. It's a commitment: I will be present. That echoes through every generation.
No comments yet. Be the first.