Lessons from a Burning Bush— I AM: When God Names Himself

Welcome to Lessons from a Burning Bush—a 3-part devotional series drawn from Exodus 3 and 4, where God meets Moses in a fire and calls him into purpose. These verses are packed with spiritual insight for anyone who’s ever felt unqualified, unseen, or unsure.

In today’s post, we begin where the story begins: with a question about identity and a name that defies human explanation. What does it mean when God calls Himself, “I AM THAT I AM”? Why does He answer Moses’s request for a name with what sounds like a riddle? We’ll explore the richness of that name, how Jesus echoes it in the New Testament, and what it means for us today.

Now Moses was tending the flock of Jethro his father-in-law, the priest of Midian, and he led the flock to the far side of the wilderness and came to Horeb, the mountain of God. There the angel of the LORD appeared to him in flames of fire from within a bush. Moses saw that though the bush was on fire it did not burn up. So Moses thought, “I will go over and see this strange sight—why the bush does not burn up.”

When the LORD saw that he had gone over to look, God called to him from within the bush. “Moses! Moses!”

And Moses said, “Here I am.”

“Do not come any closer,” God said. “Take off your sandals, for the place where you are standing is holy ground.” Then He said, “I am the God of your father, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac and the God of Jacob.” At this, Moses hid his face, because he was afraid to look at God.

The LORD said, “I have indeed seen the misery of My people in Egypt. I have heard them crying out because of their slave drivers, and I am concerned about their suffering. So I have come down to rescue them from the land of the Egyptians and to bring them up out of that land into a good and spacious land, a land flowing with milk and honey. . . And now the cry of the Israelites has reached Me, and I have seen the Egyptians are oppressing them. So now, go. I am sending you to Pharaoh to bring My people the Israelites out of Egypt.”

But Moses said to God, “Who am I that I should go to Pharaoh and bring the Israelites out of Egypt?”

And God said, “I will be with you.” . . .

Moses said to God, “Suppose I go to the Israelites and say to them, ‘The God of your fathers has sent me to you,’ and they ask me, ‘What is His name?’ Then what shall I tell them?”

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.’” God also said to Moses, “Say to the Israelites, ‘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, the name you shall call Me from generation to generation.”

Exodus 3:1-15

Have you ever longed for answers from God, only to receive what felt like a riddle in response? Moses did. When he asked God for a name to bring back to the Israelites, he was given something unexpected, something eternal: “I AM THAT I AM.” Moses asked for a name, and God gave him a promise disguised as identity.

Moses was taking care of his father-in-law’s sheep on what should have been an ordinary day. Yet in a divine interruption, God appeared in a burning bush. When Moses turned to see this, God called out to him twice by name. In Hebrew, this was a sign of intimacy, friendship, and urgency. He told Moses that He had heard the cries of His people and was sending him to deliver them from slavery. In confusion and fear, Moses asked, “Who am I that I should go?” Then, “Who shall I say sent me?” (Exodus 3:13)

You can’t really blame Moses for asking—he wasn’t rebelling, he was requesting some credibility! Imagine if a voice started coming from a burning bush that couldn’t even toast a marshmallow, instructing you to tell the big, bad Pharaoh that he had to give up all of his slaves because God said so. Then you have to go to the enslaved Israelites who are terrified of said Pharaoh and tell them to follow you out of Egypt into the wilderness because a talking bush said you were their leader now. In today’s world, we have many names for that kind of person—and not one of them is “Messenger of God.” We have an innate human desire to define, label, and control. Ancient cultures valued names as authority and character. Moses wasn’t acting like a bad guy, he was acting like a human.

God answered, “I AM WHO I AM” (Exodus 3:14). In Hebrew, this phrase is Ehyeh Asher Ehyeh—a phrase that carries depth beyond what English can capture:

אֶהְיֶה אֲשֶׁר אֶהְיֶה

Ehyeh = “I will be / I am / I am being”

“I Am Who I Am” — Self-existent, needing no source

“I Will Be Who I Will Be” — Faithful and unchanging; active and unfolding

“I Am Because I Am” — Entirely dependent on no one

This isn’t just a name. It’s a declaration: God IS. Not a past tense story. Not a future hope. A present reality. Jesus says in John 8:58, “Before Abraham was, I AM.” He connects Himself directly to Yahweh, revealing that He is the same eternal God that spoke to Moses. God appeared in the burning bush the same way Jesus’s presence dwells among us. In Revelation 1:8 He says, “I am the Alpha and the Omega. . .who is, and who was, and who is to come.” You can trust His name when your situation doesn’t make sense, and you don’t need all the answers when you know that you’ve been sent by the great “I AM.”

The “I AM” Challenge

For the next 7 days:

o   Practice 5 minutes of daily silence. The goal is stillness in God’s presence without demanding clarity or answers—just be with Him! Let His presence be your answer!

o   Whenever you feel anxious or overwhelmed, remind yourself, “I AM is here.” Trust in the unchanging nature of God and speak His name over your life.

o   Keep a “Names of God” journal, tracking where you’ve seen “I AM” show up in your story. Record moments where you saw God be your Provider, Protector, Healer, Comforter, Redeemer, etc.

When we face uncertainty, we often want God to tell us what will happen. Instead, just like with Moses, He gives us who He is. God doesn’t define Himself by the situation—He defines the situation by Himself. How differently would we look at life if we viewed it through the lens of God’s character?

God of I AM, You are not defined by time, lack, or limits. When I seek clarity, give me confidence. When I ask for a name, remind me that You are enough. Root me in the truth that You were, are, and always will be. Teach me to rest in Your presence even when You do not give me details. Help me to find joy not in knowing what’s next, but in knowing Who goes with me. Amen.