I AM THAT I AM: the God who simply is

I AM THAT I AM is the answer God gave Moses at the burning bush when Moses asked for His name (Exodus 3:14). In Hebrew it is ehyeh asher ehyeh, three words built on the verb to be. It means God is the One who simply is: He has no beginning, He needs no one, and He will always be there. It is one of the most mysterious names of God in the Bible, and one of the most comforting.

A shepherd, a bush on fire, and two questions

Moses had a strange life story. He was born to Hebrew slaves in Egypt, raised in Pharaoh's palace, and then had to run for his life after he killed an Egyptian who was beating a Hebrew (Exodus 2:11 to 15). He ended up in the land of Midian, married, and spent years taking care of his father-in-law's sheep. By the time Pharaoh finally heard from him again, Moses was eighty (Exodus 7:7).

One day he led the flock to Horeb, which the Bible calls the mountain of God. There he saw something that made no sense:

And the angel of the LORD appeared unto him in a flame of fire out of the midst of a bush: and he looked, and, behold, the bush burned with fire, and the bush was not consumed.

Exodus 3:2

Consumed means burned up. The fire kept going, but the bush stayed whole. When Moses walked over to look, God called his name from the bush and told him to take off his shoes, because the ground was holy. Then God told him the reason for the visit. He had heard His people crying in Egypt, and He was sending Moses to bring them out.

Moses did not jump at the job. His first question was about himself: Who am I, that I should go unto Pharaoh (Exodus 3:11)? God did not answer with a pep talk about Moses' skills. He said, Certainly I will be with thee (Exodus 3:12).

So Moses asked a second question. If the people of Israel ask which God sent me, What is his name? what shall I say unto them? This was the moment of the great reply.

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.

Exodus 3:14

Ehyeh asher ehyeh: the Hebrew, word by word

The Hebrew line is short. Here is what each piece means:

• Ehyeh is a form of hayah, the Hebrew verb to be. Strong's Concordance defines it as to exist, to be or become, to come to pass. This form is first person, so it means I am or I will be. God is speaking about Himself.
• Asher is a small linking word that means that, who or which.
• Ehyeh again, the same word repeated.

English verbs are locked into past, present or future. This Hebrew verb form is more open. It can describe what is true now or what will happen. That is why some modern Bibles add a note that the words can also mean I will be what I will be. Bible scholars still discuss which sense comes first, and many think both are meant. God is the One who exists without beginning, and He is the One who will prove to be whatever His people need.

Here is a detail you cannot see in English. When God told Moses I will be with thee in verse 12, the Hebrew word for I will be is ehyeh, the very same word. Two verses before God says His name, He uses it as a promise. So this name is not only about God existing somewhere far away. It is about God showing up and staying.

In the next verse God gives Moses the personal name YHWH, the LORD, which comes from the same verb, and calls it my name for ever (Exodus 3:15). That name has its own page, Jehovah.

Bible verses that echo the great I AM

God keeps speaking about Himself in this way all through the Old Testament. These verses sound the same note as the burning bush:

Before the mountains were brought forth, or ever thou hadst formed the earth and the world, even from everlasting to everlasting, thou art God.

Psalm 90:2

This psalm is called a prayer of Moses. Look at the last words: not thou wast God, but thou art. Everlasting to everlasting means with no start and no end.

Thus saith the LORD the King of Israel, and his redeemer the LORD of hosts; I am the first, and I am the last; and beside me there is no God.

Isaiah 44:6

A redeemer is someone who pays to set a person free. The God who was there first and will be there last is also the One who rescues.

See now that I, even I, am he, and there is no god with me: I kill, and I make alive; I wound, and I heal: neither is there any that can deliver out of my hand.

Deuteronomy 32:39

Near the end of his life, Moses taught Israel a song with these words. The shepherd who once asked God's name ended up teaching a nation to sing it.

The New Testament picks up the same words. In John 8, Jesus said Before Abraham was, I am (John 8:58). He did not say I was. The crowd understood exactly what He meant, and they reached for stones. The book follows that thread much further.

What I AM THAT I AM means for you

A lot of life is spent on Moses' first question. Who am I? Teenagers ask it about where they fit in. Adults ask it when a job ends, a marriage changes, or the kids leave home. People look for the answer in grades, money, looks, likes, and other people's opinions.

God's answer to Moses is worth noticing. He never said, You are more talented than you think. He said, I will be with you. The question moved from who am I to who is going with me. When you feel unqualified, you might be right. Moses was not a good speaker, and he knew it. But the job never depended on him alone.

This name also steadies you because God does not change. You have a past you may regret and a future you may worry about. He has neither. The One who says I AM is not different this year from last year, and He will not be different next year.

• Write down the thing you feel least ready for, and next to it write the words of Exodus 3:12.
• When you catch yourself asking who am I, add a second question: who is with me?
• Read Exodus 3 and 4 and count how many excuses Moses gave. Then notice that God kept answering.

I AM THAT I AM is name 4 of the 70 in the book. The next name takes us back to Abram, after a battle, and a king who blessed him in the name of El Elyon, the Most High God. The whole list is on the names of God in the Bible page.