Creation Science Winter 2008

Exodus 3:13-15 (NKJV)

Then Moses said to God, "Indeed, when I come to the children of Israel and say to them, 'The God of your fathers has sent me to you,' and they say to me, 'What is His name?' what shall I say to them?"

And God said to Moses, "I AM WHO I AM." And He said, "Thus you shall say to the children of Israel, 'I AM has sent me to you.' " Moreover God said to Moses, "Thus you shall say to the children of Israel: 'The Lord 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 to all generations.'

"I AM" is a strange name isn't it? It is the name we transliterate into Yahweh or anglicize into Jehovah. Why would God pick a name such as "I AM"? I am glad he did not say that His name is "I WAS" or even "I WILL BE." You get a glimpse of the idea that God is timeless. It is as if He is saying "I always was, I always am, I always will be...I AM". Eternity is always in the present. I have thought a lot about the physics of Eternity if such a thing can even be comprehended.

I heard one preacher say that we can think of God's name as I AM _________ where you fill in the blank for whatever you need right now. That is certainly true because God can supply all of our needs. But I think this name must be far more profound. It not only speaks of His timelessness but also of his supreme power in the sense that everything derives from Him. Nothing exists without Him.

Jesus replied to the soldiers who were looking to arrest him saying, "I am He." In my Bible, the He is italicized meaning that that word is not in the original Greek. He was speaking his eternal name. The Jesus of the New Testament is the I AM of the Old Testament. By the way, notice what happened to the soldiers when Jesus spoke his name, they fell backward to the ground. The force of that name spoken by God Himself must be awesome!

John 18:4-6 (NKJV)

Jesus therefore, knowing all things that would come upon Him, went forward and said to them, "Whom are you seeking?" They answered Him, "Jesus of Nazareth." Jesus said to them, "I am He" And Judas, who betrayed Him, also stood with them. Now when He said to them, "I am He, " they drew back and fell to the ground.

This post was supposed to go to David's Bible Blog (where I write something daily about what I am reading) but I posted it here by mistake, but enjoy it anyway!

Matthew 11:28-30 (NKJV)

Come to Me, all you who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For My yoke is easy and My burden is light.

Jesus is amazing, on the one hand he says that He is the only way, the only solution. If someone were to say the kinds of things Jesus said about himself today you would say he was an egotistical maniac. But then Jesus says that he is gentle and lowly in heart, and somehow you agree with this statement too. He is at once mighty and humble. That is because he is both God and man. He is the God-man, Emanuel, God with us.

Jesus just says, "Come to Me." He doesn't speak of any difficult requirements to find the rest he speaks of. No doubt we are to serve Him but He says that His burden is easy and light. Notice that it is His yoke and not yours. He is carrying it. We are like the little child who wants to help his father carry the heavy load. The father picks it up in the middle bearing most of the weight and allows the child to "carry" one end. If you find it difficult then something is wrong. Could it be that you are carrying a yoke of your own choosing rather than the one Jesus is asking you to carry?