God first calls himself I Am when he reveals himself to Moses in the burning bush. This is one of the key “theophanies” in the Old Testament – the visible, physical appearance of God to humans.
There are many of these across scriptures, mostly by surprise. The appearance to Hagar in the wilderness, the promise of a child to Abraham, the wrestling with Jacob, the appearance to Samson’s parents, the call of Samuel and many others. He also appears in other forms, like the pillars of cloud and fire, or the storm on Mount Sinai.
If you look at a map of these theophanies, the miracles of Jesus, or even all the locations mentioned in scripture, you will see a relatively small window of geography. But if you consider the eternal nature of the name “I Am” you’ll understand that God is everywhere and can work in any and all places – hence the surprise.
We get a taste of this in the story of Jonah – Jonah thinks by leaving the physical location of Israel he will escape the call of God. In reality, God meets him in the middle of the sea, and in a notably surprising way. Jonah’s prayer from the depths gives us a picture of what this surprising encounter can look like when we are at our lowest.
And so he finally obeys and heads to Nineveh where something equally surprising happens – they listen, and are forgiven. Like Jonah, many of us seek for justice, even vengeance, and so the end of the story where Jonah rages at the compassion of God. Ever dramatic, he wishes he would just die. Then comes the story of sitting beneath a plant God causes to grow, but then that God causes to be destroyed by a worm. Again, he wants to die. The story of vengeance deferred because of the mercy of God is a surprise and also a challenge.
— Sermon Notes, Melanie Malone, Renew Church, Lynnwood WA, June 16, 2024