Exodus 3:13 | Pastor Burns' Study Notes
And Moses said unto God, Behold, when I come unto the children of Israel, and shall say unto them, The God of your fathers hath sent me unto you; and they shall say to me, What is his name? what shall I say unto them? — Exodus 3:13
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Moses next questions his authority. If Israel asks for the name of the God who sent him, what shall he say?
God responds with the great declaration, “I AM THAT I AM.” This name reveals God’s self-existence, eternality, unchangeableness, and sufficiency. He is the One who depends on no one else for His being. He is not becoming; He simply is.
The name also emphasizes God’s covenant faithfulness and abiding presence. He is the same God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, and this remains His memorial to all generations.
This divine name is also crucial Christologically. Jesus alludes to it in John 8:58, identifying Himself with the eternal “I AM.” Thus the God who sends Moses is the eternal, self-existent God, and the mission rests on His authority, not Moses’ status.