Imagine for a moment that we had a time machine. We all jump in and go back to the range of 1580-1620. Try to think about what life would be like. The United States wouldn’t be born as a nation for about 150-200 years. William Shakespeare is writing all of his famous plays. There were no cars, indoor plumbing, telegraph machine and the list could go on and on. It almost seems like a whole other world.
Why is that significant? Because it would be about the same amount of time between now and then as when Jacob and his family entered Egypt and Moses comes to deliver the people from slavery. It would have seemed like just a distant past that would almost be hard to connect with in the present.
I am sure the Israelites, when they were slaves in Egypt, told each other the stories of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. But in the pain of their current circumstances this may have felt so far away. They may have believed it but the founding of the United States seems like a long time ago and this is almost double that time.
So when God shows up to Moses to call him to lead them out of captivity they have an interesting conversation. Moses asks how he should introduce God. God tells him to introduce Him as: “I am.” God is the same now in the present as He was in history. They were no longer going to be just talking about the God who did great things for Abraham, but they would be talking about a God who brought them up out of Egypt. He was a God of the living.
This is powerful news for us as well. He is still a God who would introduce Himself as, “I am.” He is not just a God who moved in the history books; He is a God of today. He is a God for your today. Even if your circumstances don’t change, your God is with you each step of the way.
Pick your favorite revival from history: Azusa Street, the Welsh Revival, the Reformation or something else. Jesus is the same today. You don’t have to jump into a time machine to experience God. You can meet with the God who is, “I am” today. {eoa}
