Moses, by all human accounts; looked like the most unlikely person to lead the nation of Israel. Certainly, his life was spared; when his mother hid him in a basket by the river so that Pharaoh’s daughter would find him and raise him in the palace. But, he had long ago run in fear from Egypt, after having stood up against a guard who had beaten one of the Israeli slaves. In the quiet life that he had become accustomed to as a shepherd; he had no thought of returning to Egypt. Then, God called upon Moses to lead the people. Indeed, this is the first-time God refers to Himself as I AM. For you and I to embrace the truth of God IS; we must understand the truth of God’s own name for Himself as I AM. God IS the Absolute Being-the eternal creator of heaven and earth.
God IS transcendent–meaning that He exists independent of the materials of this world (not needing anything of us to exist) while at the same time He IS immanently involved in every detail of this His creation. To begin to understand the absoluteness of God we must begin to see Him as Yahweh. For this I do suggest you read How to see God as Yahweh: The Great I AM; which I wrote back in February.
Let us look at this exchange between Moses and God to further understand God as LORD-the Absolute Being by whom and for whom we can find our being and place in this vast Universe. Certainly, Moses came to discover his place in God’s Story and so can you and me.
A PERSONAL ENCOUNTER WITH GOD
So, it was that day; Moses was out tending to his sheep, peacefully minding his own business; when he saw a burning bush. Despite it burning, it wasn’t consumed by the fire; which was quite an oddity. Because Moses wondered about this rarity, he approached. As he approached, he heard a voice cry out, “Moses.” To this he replied, “here am I”.
“Draw not nigh hither: put off thy shoes from off thy feet, for the place whereon thou standest is holy ground. Moreover he said, I am the God of thy father, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob. And Moses hid his face; for he was afraid to look upon God. And the Lord said, I have surely seen the affliction of my people which are in Egypt, and have heard their cry by reason of their taskmasters; for I know their sorrows;
And I am come down to deliver them out of the hand of the Egyptians, and to bring them up out of that land unto a good land and a large, unto a land flowing with milk and honey; unto the place of the Canaanites, and the Hittites, and the Amorites, and the Perizzites, and the Hivites, and the Jebusites. Now therefore, behold, the cry of the children of Israel is come unto me: and I have also seen the oppression wherewith the Egyptians oppress them. Exodus 3: 6-9
God very clearly demonstrated His personal knowledge of the affairs of the world and His definite plan. Not idly watching the events with no plan, God knew everything about this encounter before Moses had ever been born.
GOD IS THE ABSOLUTE BEING
Having obtained the full attention of Moses, God declares His plan,
Come now therefore, and I will send thee unto Pharaoh, that thou mayest bring forth my people the children of Israel out of Egypt. 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? Exodus 3: 10-11
Did you notice that? Moses, who previously answered “Here I am!” now responds “Who am I?” Don’t miss this! When God declares His Being, Moses recognizes his own nothingness and his powerlessness to be anything apart from God. Moses then begins a long dissertation with God concerning all the reasons he cannot be the one to perform this task. To which, God essentially says; “I know that; but I AM is with you. I am the voice you need, the strength and courage you don’t have. Moses, still arguing said, “No one would believe me.” To which God replies,
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. Exodus 3:14-15
God declared His Name forever to be I AM. Without me there is none other. No being exists apart from God willing their existence; because, God is the absolute being
GOD IN HIS ABSOLUTE BEING OF GRACE
There is no task too great for God, the absolute being; who in Sovereignty reigns over this world. His Grace and Mercy, patiently abides; awaiting the Salvation of one more soul before He reigns down His final just and righteous judgement upon this earth. He has given His only Begotten Son and extended forth His greatest gift of salvation through Jesus Christ. And now He holds steady His final hand of judgement against all those who choose to spit upon this His offer of Mercy and Grace. He endures the injustice of all those who declare their own significance of apart from God; never, recognizing their insignificant, finite importance in the Universe, denying the very God who gave them life and allows them to enjoy the beauty of His creation.
God will complete and perform all that He has planned on the earth. He is calling to you from the burning bushes of trials in this life, to come, remove your shoes and step on Holy Ground before Him. He asks that you, too; change your stance before Him from “Here I am” to “Who am I?” Only then, can you truly find your place in this Universe; as you find your being in God-the Absolute Being.
Concluding Tweets
[bctt tweet=”An Encounter with Absolute Being (God) awakens us to our non being without Him” username=”effiedarlene”]
[tweetthis]In Christ, I find my being and my place in this world[/tweetthis]
This is an original Drawing by an amazing artist whom I love and admire. Please check out his work at http://roninron.com He did this drawing with a piece of paper and a pencil. Because it is protected under copyright, it cannot be copied or duplicated without permission.
©Effie Darlene Barba, 2017
Disclosure of Material Connection: I have not received any compensation for writing this post. I have no material connection to the brands, products, or services that I have mentioned. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255: “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.