Bible Reading: Exodus 34; Proverbs 10; John 13; Ephesians 3
Exodus 34:5-7 And the LORD descended in the cloud, and stood with him there, and proclaimed the name of the LORD. 6 And the LORD passed by before him, and proclaimed, The LORD, The LORD God, merciful and gracious, longsuffering, and abundant in goodness and truth, 7 Keeping mercy for thousands, forgiving iniquity and transgression and sin, and that will by no means clear the guilty; visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children, and upon the children's children, unto the third and to the fourth generation.
After Moses had broken the first two tables of stone that the Ten Commandments were on, he was instructed by God to make two more. He was to present himself early in the morning and God would pass by and proclaim the name of the LORD before him. Here is one of the most wonderful declarations of the Lord's attributes in scripture all in one place. This is our God:
The LORD – this is the covenant name of God Jehovah. It is the name that he revealed himself to Moses at the burning bush when he said, "I AM!"
- The LORD God – He is the Almighty!
- Merciful; Keeping mercy for thousands – God shows mercy to us and does not give us what we deserve.
- Gracious – God is gracious and gives us gifts that we do not deserve. His gift of salvation is the most gracious gift of all!
- Longsuffering – God suffers long with us and shows patience with us that is truly divine.
- Abundant in goodness – God alone is good! He is abundant in the attribute of goodness.
- Abundant in truth – God cannot lie! Jesus is the truth. God has given us his Word, which is truth!
- Forgiving iniquity and transgression and sin – Our God forgives our sin in Christ when we confess it to him.
- Will by no means clear the guilty – God is just and he does not just look over sin. He requires payment for sin.
- Visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children, and upon the children's children, unto the third and fourth generation – God has warned us that idolatry and sin will be learned and repeated by following generations. This is not God saying he will punish a child for a parent's sin. It means that he knows sin will be handed down and we must repent and teach the next generation the truth of our God!
This is God's self-revelation of his name to Moses. Do you know him? He is the Creator and the Redeemer. He loves you and wants you to walk with him every day!
In Christ,
Rody
