This week we revisit the story of Moses and how God called him to lead the Israelites during the time of judgment against the cruel power of ancient Egypt. When Moses asked God why he (of all people) was chosen to be his prophetic emissary, however, the LORD did not explain His choice in natural terms; nor did he appeal to Moses’ past experiences, or to his potential, or even to his great humility… Instead God simply said that whatever inadequacies Moses may indeed have, being in a personal relationship with Him was going to entirely sufficient for the task: “for I will be with you” (i.e., ki eheyeh imakh: כִּי־אֶהְיֶה עִמָּךְ). That is all that Moses would need (Exod. 3:12).
When Moses further sought to justify his calling as a true prophet sent from God, however, he asked to know God’s “name” (see Exod. 3:13). God’s response to the request was enigmatic: אֶהְיֶה אֲשֶׁר אֶהְיֶה – ehyeh asher ehyeh: “I will be what I will be” (or I am what I am), which may be understood as, “It doesn’t matter what my Name is – I will be what I will be – all that matters is that I will be with you (ehyeh imakh), and that is enough! Indeed, God’s name is nifla (נִפלָא) – “wonderful and incomprehensible” (Judges 13:18; Psalm 139:6), since the LORD is infinite and beyond comparison to finite things (Psalm 147:5). God is the great “I AM” that pervades all of Reality (אָנכִי), the glorious Eternal Personal Presence (i.e., hayah, hoveh, ve’yihyeh) whose power constantly sustains all things. Most of all, He is declared and expressed as our Savior, the One who reveals the face of God to us all (2 Cor. 4:6).