And God said to him, “I am God Almighty: be fruitful and multiply. A nation and a company of nations shall come from you, and kings shall come from your own body. 12 The land that I gave to Abraham and Isaac I will give to you, and I will give the land to your offspring after you.”
“The Great and Powerful Oz has spoken! That statement struck fear into Dorothy, the Scarecrow, Tin Man, and the Cowardly Lion. It needn’t have happened because once they knew who the Wizard of Oz was, they knew they were dealing with a frail human being. Not so this encounter, the second Jacob would have with God. Here, God changed his name from Jacob, the deceiver, to Israel, blessed of God. First though, he proclaimed his own name. “I am God Almighty.” That can and does strike fear into anyone who hears from the all powerful Creator of the universe. Everything said after that must be the truth. The command must be obeyed. The promise must be kept.
God promised Jacob that a nation would come from him. Then came the Lion of the tribe of Judah, Jesus Christ, to fulfill the promise and provide a Savior, not only for the nation, but the whole world. He said to the leaders, before Abraham was, I Am. They knew he was claiming to be God. The Great I Am came to give commands to love our neighbor and make disciples. He also came to make promises. I will be crucified. I will rise. I will send a helper. These commands must be obeyed because these promises will be kept…
The Great “I Am” has spoken!
Pastor Brad Boyer
Cape Community Church