When Moses is sent to Egypt to deliver God’s people he inquires: “If I come to the people of Israel and say to them, ‘The God of your fathers has sent me to you,’ and they ask me, ‘What is his name,’ What shall I say to them?” God responded, “I AM WHO I AM (or I WILL BE WHAT I WILL BE)…Say this… I AM has sent me to you” (Ex. 3:13,14 RSV as all quotes).
I am, I will be
The terms “I am” and “I will be” are key elements in the revelation of the divine name, linking the present and future roles of the Lord. Both phrases also comprise promises that occur repeatedly in the most basic elements of the everlasting covenant.
Before revealing the Name, God reassured Moses, “I will be with you” (v.12). Moses found this to be abundantly true. At the end of his life, he confidently assures Joshua, “…He will be with you, he will not fail you or forsake you…” (Deut. 31:8).
The fuller form of the covenant name is expressed as, “The LORD, the God of your fathers, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob…” (Ex. 3:15). In the promises to these three individuals, the terms “I am” and “I will be” feature prominently.
To Abram God says, “I am your shield;” “I am God Almighty;” “I will be their God” (Gen. 15:1; 17:1,8). To Isaac He promises: “I will be with you;” “I am the God of Abraham;” “I am with you” (26:3,24). To Jacob the assurance is: “I am the LORD, the God of Abraham…the God of Isaac;” “I am with you;” “I will be with you” (28:13,15; 31:3).
The very name of God Himself is thus linked inseparably to the promises He has made. As, therefore, His name is truth, so He, without fail, keeps His part of the covenant.
The promise proves true
Others observe the fulfillment of these promises: “God is with you,” say the neighbors of Abraham (Gen. 21:22). Of Isaac they say, “We see plainly that the LORD is with you” (26:28).
Jacob attests to the faithfulness of the God who “has been with me wherever I have gone,” “who has led (fed KJV) me all my life long…” (35:3; 48:15).
Many faithful individuals inherit the same blessing. Of Joseph, for instance, it is affirmed four times in one chapter that “the LORD was with him” (39:2,3,21,23). Joshua is assured, “as I was with Moses, so I will be with you; I will not fail you or forsake you…The LORD your God is with you wherever you go” (Josh. 1:5,9).
Everlasting covenant conditional
While God is faithful to His part of the covenant, it is important to note that these promises are always conditional. The principle is, “The LORD is with you, while you are with him. If you seek him, he will be found by you, but if you forsake him, he will forsake you” (II Chr. 15:2).
All scriptural covenants regarding relationships have two basic elements, a promise and a requirement When Abram is told “I Am God Almighty,” the divine requirement is specified, “walk before me, and be blameless” (Gen. 17:1).
There is no basis for regarding the Abrahamic covenant as “unconditional.” Genesis 12:2,3 enumerates seven elements of the divine promise commencing, “and I will make of you a great nation…” Preceding the “and” is a requirement, a commandment, “go from your country and your kindred and your father’s house to the land that I will show you.” ‘ “So Abram went, as the LORD had told him” (vs. 1,4). If he had not obeyed, he would not have received the blessing. If he had not continued faithfully in God’s way to the end of his days, he would have been disqualified.
God’s promises are always conditional.
The Lord had chosen Abraham, “that he may charge his children and his household after him to keep the way of the LORD by doing righteousness and justice; so that the LORD may bring to Abraham what he has promised him” (18:19).
The ultimate test
Abraham was not faultless, but he was faithful. His faithfulness is put to a heart-rending test when he is directed to “Take your son, your only son, Isaac, whom you love…and offer him as a burnt offering” (22:2). It was his obedience that brought the final confirmation of the promise, “…because you have done this…I will indeed bless you” (22:16,17).
Isaac is assured, “…I will fulfill the oath which I swore to Abraham your father…because Abraham obeyed my voice and kept my charge, my commandments, my statutes and my laws” (26:3,5).
Keeping my commandments
The initial promises to Isaac are also immediately preceded by a requirement, “Do not go down to Egypt…sojourn in this land…” (26:2,3). Isaac obeyed. It is always on the basis of faithful, though not flawless, obedience that the covenant is confirmed to the true heirs of Abraham.
At no time, before or after Sinai, before or after Christ, does keeping “my charge, my commandments, my statutes and my laws” constitute a requirement that mere mortals be sinless. Rather, we should “do justice, love steadfast love and walk humbly” with our God (Mic. 6:8). The “high and lofty one” will dwell “with him who is of a contrite and humble spirit” (Isa. 57:15).
Circumcision of the heart
For the patriarchs and their successors of many generations, the token of their acceptance of the covenant involved circumcision (Gen. 17). For us, it involves baptism into Christ. “In him you were circumcised with a circumcision made without hands, by putting off the body of flesh in the circumcision of Christ” (Col. 2:11-14). The ritual has changed, but the requirement is constant, for the reality involves the heart (Deut. 10:12-16).
For the Jew or the Gentile to abide in covenant relationship with the Lord, circumcision of the heart is mandatory. We must cut off the thinking of the flesh. One who spurns this process “shall be cut off from his people; he has broken my covenant” (Gen. 17:14).
The everlasting covenant
The promises to Abraham involved “an everlasting covenant.” His faithful descendants, “throughout their generations” (17:7), have rejoiced in this covenant. Each successive elaboration of the covenant embodies the same basic promises and the same basic requirements.
“I will establish my covenant between me and you and your descendants after you throughout their generations for an everlasting covenant, to be God to you and to your descendants after you. And I will give to you, and to your descendants after you, the land of your sojourning’s…for an everlasting possession; and I will be their God” (17:7,8).
“I AM” is willing to be our God, abiding with us, blessing and protecting us. We are required, in return, to be His people, loving, honoring and obeying Him. To such, says the Lord, “If you walk in my statutes and observe my commandments and do them…I will walk among you, and will be your God, and you shall be my people” (Lev. 26:3,12).
The Origin of the Organic World – Part One