Exodus 3:11-15 "And Moses said unto God, Who am I, that I should go unto Pharaoh, and that I should bring forth the children of Israel out of Egypt? And he said, Certainly I will be with thee; and this shall be a token unto thee, that I have sent thee: When thou hast brought forth the people out of Egypt, ye shall serve God upon this mountain. 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? And God said unto Moses, I AM THAT I AM: and he said, Thus shalt thou say unto the children of Israel, I AM hath sent me unto you. And God said moreover unto Moses, Thus shalt thou say unto the children of Israel, The LORD God of your fathers, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob, hath sent me unto you: this is my name for ever, and this is my memorial unto all generations."
Moses was afraid to look upon the appearance of God in the burning bush (Exodus 3:6). Yet, when God told Moses He was going to send him to bring the children of Israel out of Egypt, Moses had no trouble telling God this was not a good idea. Moses had left Egypt running for his life after killing an Egyptian taskmaster. Further, an Israelite had already rejected his intervention forty years before, so why should they listen to him now (Exodus 2:11-15)?
Strong’s Hebrew and Greek dictionary tells us that the word translated as “certainly” in verse twelve indicates a “causal relationship.” God was not just telling Moses that He would go with him. God was telling Moses that He would be the cause of Moses’ ability to do what God was commanding him. Not only would Moses lead the children of Israel out of Egypt, but he would bring them to the very mountain he was standing on to worship God.
Moses still sought to escape this plan that God had for him. Moses did not know what to call God, so how was he supposed to tell the Israelites who had sent him. What name was he supposed to use to convey to them that God had appeared in a burning bush and sent him (an outcast) to deliver this great host of people out of bondage. This was the only life they had ever known, so they were not prepared to fight or to survive the wilderness with so great a host.
God spoke a wondrous truth to Moses at that moment: “I AM THAT I AM.” God told Moses that He was the self-existent One and needed no other. He told Moses He had always been and would always be. In this, He declared Himself to be the One who had always watched over Israel, and He was the One who was sending Moses to do His will.
It should be very humbling to us to realize the power and worship that we are expressing when we still today call Him the Great I AM. He does not make mistakes when calling His servants (and that includes you). He does not call His servants without being the causative force in our ability to do His will. Being blessed to declare with His might today that He is I AM still delivers multitudes from bondage!