I Myself Am He

Deuteronomy 32:36-39 – The Lord will vindicate his people and relent concerning his servants when he sees their strength is gone and no one is left, slave or free. He will say: “Now where are their gods, the rock they took refuge in, the gods who ate the fat of their sacrifices and drank the wine of their drink offerings? Let them rise up to help you! Let them give you shelter! “See now that I myself am he! There is no god besides me. I put to death and I bring to life, I have wounded and I will heal, and no one can deliver out of my hand.

Numbers 25:1-2 – While Israel was staying in Shittim, the men began to indulge in sexual immorality with Moabite women, who invited them to the sacrifices to their gods. The people ate the sacrificial meal and bowed down before these gods.

Isaiah 41:4 – Who has done this and carried it through, calling forth the generations from the beginning? I, the Lord—with the first of them and with the last—I am he.”

Isaiah 43:10 – “You are my witnesses,” declares the Lord, “and my servant whom I have chosen, so that you may know and believe me and understand that I am he. Before me no god was formed, nor will there be one after me.

John 11:25-26 – Jesus said to her, “I am the resurrection and the life. The one who believes in me will live, even though they die; and whoever lives by believing in me will never die. Do you believe this?”

Isaiah 6:10 – Make the heart of this people calloused; make their ears dull and close their eyes. Otherwise they might see with their eyes, hear with their ears, understand with their hearts, and turn and be healed.”

Isaiah 57:18-19 – I have seen their ways, but I will heal them; I will guide them and restore comfort to Israel’s mourners, creating praise on their lips. Peace, peace, to those far and near,” says the Lord. “And I will heal them.”

Hosea 6:1 – “Come, let us return to the Lord. He has torn us to pieces but he will heal us; he has injured us but he will bind up our wounds.

Malachi 4:2 – But for you who revere my name, the sun of righteousness will rise with healing in its rays. And you will go out and frolic like well-fed calves.

Exodus 3:14 – God said to Moses, “I am who I am. This is what you are to say to the Israelites: ‘I am has sent me to you.’”

Deuteronomy 4:35 – You were shown these things so that you might know that the Lord is God; besides him there is no other.

Application:

• ·         Israel’s engagement in the fertility rites of Baal involved not only the evil of sexual immorality. It was also a breach of covenant with the Lord, a worship of the gods of the land and a foretaste of the people’s ruin in the unfolding of their history.
• ·         Since the Lord was present with the first of the generations and will still be there with the last of them, He is the eternal Lord of history and nations.
• ·         God’s work in behalf of Israel is proof of His saving power.
• ·         Jesus was saying more than that He gives resurrection and life. He is life. Jesus not only is life, but He also conveys life to believers so that death will never triumph over them.
• ·         Believers may die physically but, as those who have eternal life, their physical death is not their ultimate end. Death cannot destroy the life Christ gives.
• ·         Israel’s deafness and blindness are mentioned. One day, however, the nation will be able to see and hear.
• ·         God will forgive and restore His people.
• ·         “Let us return” was a shallow proposal of repentance, in which Israel acknowledged that God, not Assyria, was the true physician.
• ·         Christ is the “rising sun” from heaven.
• ·         I AM WHO I AM was the name by which God wished to be known and worshiped in Israel—the name that expressed His character as the dependable and faithful God who desires the full trust of His people.
• ·         Moses insists that there is only one God.

All Scripture verses taken from NIV