… I AM …
2 I am the
LORD thy God, which have brought thee out of the land of Egypt, out of the
house of bondage. 3 Thou shalt have no other gods
before me. (Ex
20:2-3)
The
Great I
AM!
This is a preface to the Ten Commandments addressed
singularly and individually to each of us and showing that the reasonableness
of the law is founded in our eternal relation as creatures to our Creator, and
our mutual relations to each other.
The term ‘God’ in the English originates in the old English
meaning Good. God is of the supreme GOOD. This is the source of the English
Term, Good bye. Good bye is a contraction and derivative of the term meaning “God
be wi’ ye!” or “God be with you!”
The term for God here, as in Genesis 1:1, is Elohim –
a peculiar (to English) word in Hebrew which is termed a plurality in one
(Eloah being the singular form). Elohim is plural with a singular
meaning. It may warp our brains a bit to realize this, but it alludes to the
Trinity from the very first line of Scripture and every place thereafter. The
venerable Dr. Adam Clarke describes the term in these words: “The original
word אלהים Elohim, God, is certainly the plural
form of אל El, or אלה Eloah, and has long been supposed, by
the most eminently learned and pious men, to imply a plurality of Persons in
the Divine nature. As this plurality appears in so many parts of the sacred
writings to be confined to three Persons, hence the doctrine of the TRINITY,
which has formed a part of the creed of all those who have been deemed sound in
the faith, from the earliest ages of Christianity. Nor are the Christians
singular in receiving this doctrine, and in deriving it from the first words of
Divine revelation. An eminent Jewish rabbi, Simeon ben Joachi, in his comment
on the sixth section of Leviticus, has these remarkable words: "Come and
see the mystery of the word Elohim; there are three degrees, and each degree by
itself alone, and yet notwithstanding they are all one, and joined together in
one, and are not divided from each other."
It is important for us to know who our God is if we are to follow Him and obey
His law; thus the purpose of catechism in Church. God is a stranger to the
world, but known by all who love and follow Him in knowledge, wisdom, and
obedience to His Law.
Insofar as being and existence is concerned, there is no past, or future, tense
with God. He is forever and always the great I Am for His presence is forever
NOW. He does not conform to the space-time continuum of His own creation. Jesus
referred to Himself as “I AM” seven times in the Gospel of St. John.
1.
Bread - I am the bread of
life; he who comes to Me shall not hunger. John
6:35
2.
Light - I am the light of the world; he who fallows Me shall not walk
in the darkness, but shall have the light of life. John 8:12
3.
Gate - I am
the door: by me if any man enter in, he shall be saved, and shall go in and
out, and find pasture. John 10:9
4.
Good Shepherd - I am the good shepherd: the good shepherd giveth his life for
the sheep. John 10:11
5.
Resurrection and Life - I am the resurrection, and the life: he that believeth in me,
though he were dead, yet shall he live: And whosoever liveth and believeth in
me shall never die. Believest thou this? John
11:25-26
6.
Way, Truth, Life – I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the
Father, but by me. John
14:6
7.
True vine - I am the true vine, and my Father is the husbandman.
John 15:1
Until we come to grasp with the
sovereignty of God as Creator, Sovereign, Lord, Redeemer, and Savior, we are
yet on the Marshes of Glynn. There is no solid ground for the foot without
faith in God and a knowledge of His wondrous works in nature and in the hearts
of men.
It is God Almighty who has brought us out of the Land of Bondage
to Sin (figuratively, Egypt). It is God whose Laws govern in all of nature, and
it governs the destinies of men and nations. Being set free and at liberty, our
actions must reflect the values of that family to which we have been adopted
and under whose name and banner we march – CHRISTIAN!
As old Israel was baptized in
the Red Sea, so are we baptized into the New Jerusalem of God. Our mortal
salvation comes at a lesser cost than did that of our souls. The only Begotten
son of God was the Passover Lamb at Calvary foreshadowed by the lamb without blemish
of the Passover in Egypt. If we have been brought out of that old house
of bondage, we have been set free indeed to do all things convenient for our
souls. Our old desires and wants were left to fester in Egypt, and our new
desires are those of the Father who loved us and bought us with such a great
price of the blood shed by His only Begotten Son.
He desires that we know more
than a simple term. “I am the Lord thy God…” I have set your feet
on solid ground and made you free. I made your soul and body at the beginning,
and I am steward of the same until today if you hear and follow my Voice. I
have brought you to a place of promise – not alone did you come out of bondage.
I was with you all of the way and more….I both followed you and led you through
the Wilderness of Sin to a safe haven where sin has no sway over you.
Do you KNOW me?
Do you hear my Voice?
Do you follow me?
Do you LOVE me as I have loved
you? The most important of all!
Being your God, I will now
command, and I expect to be obeyed. Here are my Commandments given to you for
your good health and happiness – not as a bar to pleasure or joy! I am your
Maker and I know what behavior is best suited to your joy and long life. Keep
these Commandments and live a full, rich life both now, and forevermore!
If you forget the first of
these Commandments, you may as well ignore the others, for they will be
meaningless without the acknowledgment of their Author.
Keep these whole and live!
