"I AM"

God has made Himself known by many names.  Each name tells us something about Him—who He is, what He cares about, what He does.  Today I’d like to share some of these names from the Old and New Testament.  All of these names are variations of Yahweh, the personal name of God which means “I AM.”

In Genesis chapter 32, God is referred to as Yahweh-yireh, the Lord who provides.  God had tested Abraham’s faith by instructing the old man to sacrifice his one and only son to the Lord.  When Abraham put aside his personal desires in order to obey God’s command, the Lord spared Isaac’s life by providing a ram to die in the boy’s place.  When you trust in God, He will provide what you need.

In Exodus chapter 15, God is named Yahweh-ropheka, the Lord our physician.  God had punished Egypt with 10 awful plagues because that nation was mistreating God’s people.  Miraculously, only the Egyptians suffered—the Israelites remained unharmed.   After they were released from captivity, God made them a promise: If you listen carefully to the voice of the LORD your God and do what is right in his eyes, if you pay attention to his commands and keep all his decrees, I will not bring on you any of the diseases I brought on the Egyptians, for I am the LORD who heals you.  Any time you are blessed with recovery from sickness or injury, it is a gift from the Lord.

In Exodus chapter 17, God is named Yahweh-nissi, the Lord our banner of victory.  The Israelites were caught in a vicious battle that went on and on.  The only reason they won the day was because God blessed their struggle through Moses.  So long as the prophet held up his hands in blessing, the Israelites fought with power; when his strength faltered and he lowered his arms, the enemy rallied.  So two men of God helped Moses keep his arms raised until the enemy was defeated.  The Bible says that Moses built an altar and called it The LORD is my Banner.  When you depend on God for help, the forces of evil cannot overcome you.

In Judges chapter 6, God is revealed by the name Yahweh-shalom, the Lord is our peace.  The Israelites were suffering raids from hostile foreigners.  God chose Gideon to organize a team of warriors to stop the attacks.  But when Gideon realized that he was in the presence of God, he was terrified—he knew that he was a sinner and that God punishes sin with death. But the LORD said to him, "Peace! Do not be afraid. You are not going to die." So Gideon built an altar to the LORD there and called it The LORD is Peace. If you humble yourself before God, He will treat you with gentleness.

In the very familiar 23rd Psalm, God is called Yahweh-raah, the Lord our shepherd.  The Bible often compares us to sheep—animals who wander into danger with hardly a thought and cannot defend themselves from savage predators.  The predator we must fear is Satan; 1 Peter 5:8 says, Your enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour.  We need a shepherd, someone who leads us to good pastures and defends us from all evil.  The Lord is our shepherd.

In Jeremiah chapter 23, God is spoken of as Yahweh-tsidkenu, the Lord our righteousness.  Jeremiah was a prophet at the time when Babylon conquered Jerusalem and deported the leaders, the wealthy, and the educated.  God had allowed Jerusalem to fall because most of the people had turned away from the Lord and devoted themselves to lives of sin.  But Jeremiah offered hope in this time of tragedy; God would restore His people through a special man, a King who will reign wisely and do what is just and right in the land…This is the name by which he will be called: The LORD Our Righteousness.  Of course Jeremiah was speaking about Jesus, the Holy One through whom we are made righteous and acceptable to God.  As Paul writes in 2 Corinthians chapter 5, God made him who had no sin to be sin for us, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.  When guilt over sin weighs you down, remember that Jesus can forgive anything and wants to share His righteousness with you.

In Ezekiel chapter 48, God is named Yahweh-shammah, the Lord ever-present.  After the nation of Israel fell and its people were scattered, Ezekiel spoke of the day when God would return His people to their homeland.  The prophet talked about life after the restoration, and he had this to say about the capital: the name of the city from that time on will be: THE LORD IS THERE.  God would always be present with His people; He would never walk away from them.  God is always with you; even when you feel all alone with your troubles, the Lord is near and is paying close attention to your situation.

I said earlier that Yahweh translates as “I AM”.  Jesus applied this name to Himself frequently in the New Testament.  Let’s look at some examples.

In John chapter 6 Jesus declared…"I AM the living bread that came down from heaven. If anyone eats of this bread, he will live forever. This bread is my flesh, which I will give for the life of the world."  Jesus compares Himself to bread, one of the most basic of foods.  Just as bread keeps the body alive, Jesus keeps the soul alive.  Food for the soul is essential; in Deuteronomy 8:3 God says man does not live on bread alone, but on every word that comes from the mouth of the LORD.  Jesus is the Word of God that came to walk among us; when He speaks, our souls are made healthy and strong.  If we listen to Christ, His words can free us from anger and fear, loneliness and despair.

In John chapter 8 Jesus said, "I AM the light of the world. Whoever follows me will never walk in darkness, but will have the light of life."  God views darkness as evil; the first thing He did was to create light.  Sadly, our sin makes the world a very dark place.  Without light, everything eventually dies; darkness is the enemy of life.  Thankfully, Jesus brought the light of God into our dark world; if we stand in His light, we will be invigorated, so invigorated that we can live on in spite of death.  The light of Christ reveals the grave to be a shallow thing, not worthy of our fear.

In John chapter 10 Jesus said, I AM the good shepherd. The good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep.  As I said earlier, we are like sheep who need careful tending and constant protection.  Jesus is devoted to our welfare—so devoted that He gave up His life to save us from the enemy.  The enemy is sin, the ugly defect we all share which leads to evil thoughts, hurtful words and foolish behavior.  Jesus went to the cross to end sin’s cursed hold on us, and He died in our defense. 

In John chapter 11 Jesus told Martha, I AM the resurrection and the life. He who believes in me will live, even though he dies; and whoever lives and believes in me will never die.  Jesus is the Lord of Life.  Death cannot withstand His power.  Jesus restored a young boy, a little girl, and a grown man back to life.  He Himself rose from the grave, assuring us that death does not have the final say over our lives.

In John chapter 14 Jesus said, I AM the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.  The world is a confusing place, full of different opinions.  How can you know what’s true and what’s not?  Truth cannot be found in human wisdom because all human thinking is flawed by sin.  The only way to know the truth is to seek it from God, the Maker of all that is.  Only Jesus’ words can be fully trusted; only the Son of God can reveal to you the path that leads to heaven.

In John chapter 15 Jesus told the disciples, I AM the vine; you are the branches. If a man remains in me and I in him, he will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing.  Each of us likes to believe that we are something special.  Each of us takes pride in our accomplishments.  But every now and then, things go wrong and we realize that we aren’t as smart or as talented as we thought.  Because of sin, everything we do is substandard.  Thankfully, Jesus helps us to do things that we cannot do on our own. 

Our Lord is the great I AM.  He has done all kinds of marvelous things.  He is our provider and physician.  He is our banner of victory and our source of peace.  He is our shepherd and He shares His righteousness with us.  He is always at our side and will never forsake us.  He is food for the soul and our light in the darkness.  He is our Savior from sin and our promise of resurrection after death.  He is the source of truth and He is our strength when we are weak.  He is the great I AM.  And He cares for you.