Mensa Otabil - I Am The Lord (10/07/2025)
We are still in the book of Exodus, and this is chapter 6, verses 2 and 3. And God spoke to Moses and said to him, «I am the Lord. I appeared to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob as God Almighty, but by my name, Lord, I was not known to them.» Now, when Moses first went to Pharaoh and said, «The God of the Hebrews has sent me to tell you to let His people go,» Pharaoh asked the question, «Who is the Lord?» Now God is responding to Pharaoh because that question is still in Moses’s mind, and so God says to Moses, «I am the Lord.» That is all God has to say about Himself: «I am.» Who is the Lord? «I am. I am. I am the Lord,» and that name reveals who God is to both Moses, Pharaoh, and Israel.
So, what does it mean when He says, «I am the Lord»? God is assuring Moses that He is Pharaoh’s Lord. Pharaoh is not the Lord; he does not own you, and he is not the one who controls your life. For all this time, Pharaoh has been the lord of the Israelites; he is the one who owns them.
God says to Moses, «I am the Lord. I am the Lord, and I own Pharaoh too.» So that is the first thing God is impressing on Moses: «I am the Lord.» Secondly, God is assuring Moses that He is the Lord of Egypt’s gods because the gods of Egypt were also called lords. They were the lord of the Nile, the lord of frogs, and the lord of many things, and God says, «Listen, Moses, I am the big one. I am the Lord of Pharaoh. I am the Lord of Egypt’s gods.»
This is in preparation for the confrontation that will take place later because God will confront the lords of Egypt in all the plagues and deliver Israel from Egypt. God is saying, «We are going to see who is the Lord of lords. We will see who the real boss is. I am the Lord over Pharaoh, I am the Lord over the gods of Egypt, and then He is the Lord over His promises.» What does that mean? God doesn’t need outside help for His promises to come true. When He makes a promise, He is Lord over it; He rules over His promises. He is able to say things and make them come to pass, and He is the same God who revealed Himself to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob.
When He revealed Himself to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, He was the Lord who is their provider, the Lord who is their sufficiency. But now He is going to show Israel another side of Himself. He is not just the Lord who gives us our daily bread and provision, but He is also the Lord who rules over other gods, who encounters and subdues the gods of the nations. In this spiritual warfare, God is going to come out clearly before Israel as the Supreme One, the Almighty One, the Lord over heaven and earth. So, the God who showed Himself to Abraham has now come to redeem the promises He made to the children of Abraham.
You see how God works; when we come to Him, we may worry, «Lord, you know, there are too many people against me. So many things, and the people don’t even believe.» God says, «Take it easy. I am the Lord. I am Lord over the gods, I am Lord over the opponents, and I am Lord over My promises, and what I say, I am able to bring to pass.» He is the same Lord you worship, and He is Lord over every adversity that confronts you.
Let us pray. Say with me, «Heavenly Father, you are the unchanging One. Through all the changing seasons of my life, you remain the same.» In Jesus' name, amen and amen. I’ll catch you again tomorrow. I’m Pastor Mensa Otabil. Shalom, peace, and life to you.