Skip to main content

347. "I Am"

Exodus 3:1-15
Key Verse: God said to Moses, "I Am who I Am.  This is what you are to say to the Israelites:  "I Am has sent me to you."
Exodus 3:14

Okay, I'm sure that at today's reading, you are scratching your head and wondering if I have lost track of the subject matter altogether. This is meant to be an exercise in helping us to get to know Jesus better. Why in the world are we back on Moses again?

We discussed this subject once before as Jesus was sparring with the Jewish leadership.  Jesus had really made them angry by referring to Himself as, "I Am," a name that in their Jewish minds could only mean the Holy God of the burning bush, "JYWH."   Yet, we now know for certain that Jesus was speaking the truth.

It's understandable, in human terms that the leaders did not recognize Him. When God told Moses, "I am that I am." He let the statement stand on its own. He gave no description in words, yet, His actions served to be a foreshadowing of the truth that Jesus would live.  Jesus brought what God meant into further reality.

I see it like this. When God first spoke to Moses from the burning bush, it was as though He had handed Moses a simple black and white sketch of who He is. There were no details, just a simple outline to go by.

God then delivered the children of Israel from their slavery in Egypt. As they progressed, God became everything that they needed for the journey. They didn't always appreciate what He did for them. It was as if He were using pastel pencils to faintly color in the sketch, but most of the people could not see the difference.

When Jesus came, John records many statements that Jesus made about Himself to add more color to the drawing. More people could see the colors now and make out some details, but this also led to disputes over what the colors really were and what they really meant.

 Finally, after the resurrection, the brightness of God's glory shown brightly on the portrait, revealing Jesus in vivid detail. The picture was now clear to see. What He had been for His people in the desert, He had demonstrated to His people while He walked among them.  Now, He is what He was for them, but He is the same for us today. He is the image become visible and clear. We now know what we have in Him because of the glory that reveals Him to us in the present.

Moses couldn't see what we see. God had told Moses that to look upon His face would bring death. Now, however, because of Christ's death and resurrection, we have been redeemed and considered Holy because we are covered by His blood which makes us clean. Now, we can look in Jesus’ face and see His love, and not fear death. We can see, because of His completed portrait what we, His children, still have in Him. So, for the next several days we'll take a look at Jesus' "I am" statements to enjoy the details.

He is leading us out of the slavery of our sin, across the desert of this life in to the promised eternal land where we can live forever with Him. More than milk and honey await us there.  We have the promise of His presence. His "I Am," statements, clearly tell us what we have in Him, what He will provide for us, what He can and will do for us and what we can believe about Him as we continue the journey of this life.  It's all there, not just in black and white, but in the vivid color of Jesus.  We are called to trust in what He claims and not doubt as our ancestors did.  "I Am" is calling to us to follow. 

 Hymn: "I Am Thine O Lord"

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

211. The Sons of Thunder's Request

Matthew 20:20-28 , Mark 10:35-45 , Key verse: "Whoever wants to become great among you must be your servant, and whoever wants to be first must be slave of all." Mark 10:43B-44 In our readings for yesterday, in which Jesus outlined what was about to happen to Him, for His disciples, the passage in Luke ends: "The disciples did not understand any of this. It's meaning was hidden from them, and they did not know what He was talking about." ( Luke 18:34 ) Now, we see just how truly clueless they were. Jesus had laid out a plan before them of pain and suffering and death and now James and John are focused on a promotion. The disconnect is so obvious. It's really not important to know whether James and john came up with this request on their own or if their mother put them up to it. The request was made and James and John thought that they could handle the responsibility that would come with it. What is that saying, "Fools rush in where angels fe...
Post a Comment
Read more

174. Pleading for the Fig Tree

Proverbs 27:18 , Luke 13:6-9 Key Verse: He who tends a fig tree will eat its fruit, and he who looks after his master will be honored. Proverbs 27:18 We have here three main characters: a master, who acquired the tree in hopes of eventually enjoying its fruit, a servant, who looks to the tree to reflect his care and attention, and lastly, the tree itself. The master has the right to expect his investment to pay off. The servant, who has obviously put much effort into the tree, would also like to see fruit. The servant's interest is not only to show his own talent in gardening, but because he wants to please his master. Both the servant and the master are dependent upon the tree to do what it was designed to do. Their little parable is an interesting way for Jesus to finish off His exhortation to, "repent or perish."  God is the Master. He had a purpose for you before you were even born. ( Jeremiah 1:5 & Psalm 139:16 ) He planted you on this earth to ful...
Post a Comment
Read more

204. Come Like a Child

Psalm 127 , Matthew 19:13-15 , Luke 18:15-17 , Mark 10:13-16 Key Verse: Jesus said, "Let the little children come to me, and do not hinder them, for the kingdom of heaven belongs to such as these." Matthew 19:14 The attitude of the disciples isn't much different than the attitude of many people, even Christians, today. Instead of seeing children as a blessing from the Lord, too many regard them as a burden to bear that gets in the way of our own selfish happiness. Family size is determined by what we think we can afford rather than openness to God's blessing, trusting God to provide. Satan hates children. Children represent innocence. The sooner he can corrupt and or damage a child, the happier he is. This is why Jesus warned in Matthew 18:6: "If anyone causes one of these little ones who believe in Me to sin, it would be better for him to have a large millstone hung around his neck and to be drown in the depths of the sea." To corrupt or damage ...
Post a Comment
Read more