Then Moses said to God, “Behold, I am going to the sons of Israel, and I will say to them, ‘The God of your fathers has sent me to you.’ Now they may say to me, ‘What is His name?’ What shall I say to them?” God said to Moses, “I AM WHO I AM”; and He said, “Thus you shall say to the sons of Israel, ‘I AM has sent me to you.’ ” God, furthermore, said to Moses, “Thus you shall say to the sons of Israel, ‘The LORD, the God of your fathers, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob, has sent me to you.’ This is My name forever, and this is My memorial-name to all generations.” (Exodus 3:13-15, NASB)
The book of Exodus details the story of Moses leading the Israelites out of bondage in Egypt, and the beginning of their journey through the wilderness of Sinai enroute to the Promised Land. The Bible passage above relates the story of Moses at the burning bush.
Moses had grown up in Pharaoh’s household, but he longed to be with his people, the Hebrews. One day he encountered an Egyptian mistreating one of his countrymen, and he killed the Egyptian. Soon after, he came across two Israelis fighting, and went to break it up. One of the Hebrews asked if Moses was going to kill him like he did the Egyptian. Having been discovered, Moses fled to the Sinai Peninsula. He got married there, and that’s where the story of the burning bush picks up.
Moses was out tending the sheep of his father-in-law, Jethro. He heard the voice of the Angel of the LORD, and when he answered, noticed a bush aflame, but not being consumed. God told him He wanted Moses to go to Pharaoh to tell him to release the Israelites so they could worship Him, and He wanted Moses to lead the Hebrews out of Egypt. Moses objected, saying he wasn’t qualified, and the portion above is part of his conversation with God.
God tells Moses to go to the Israelites to tell them he’s spoken with God. Moses asks God if they ask him Who sent him, what should be his reply? God then answers, “I AM WHO I AM”; and He said, “Thus you shall say to the sons of Israel, ‘I AM has sent me to you.'” “I AM” means that God has always been. He Who created the earth and the sea and all that is in them, and the universe, and you and me, was and is, and will be, hereafter and forever! The notes in my electronic Bible says this about “I AM”: “Related to the name of God, YHWH, rendered LORD, which is derived from the verb HAYAH, to be.” (bible.com, note on Exodus 3:14) So anytime we see the name of God rendered “LORD”, we should think of YHWH (pronounced in the English-speaking world as “Yahweh”), which means “I AM.”
I AM is the eternal, everlasting, God, Who was, and Who is, and Who is to come. Since the dawn of creation and time, I AM had a plan of redemption, of saving us imperfect humans from our sins. That plan was to send His Son, Jesus, to the earth, to die on the cross, and to be a substitute to take the punishment we all deserve. God is an eternal being, and so are we. God requires we put our trust in Jesus while we’re on earth, to spend eternity with Him in heaven. In Jesus I’ve placed my hope and trust!