This introduces a dilemma that we must understand when we talk about God’s grace: Because God is good, He wants to do good to the people He created. He even says that the punishment for guilt spans generations. Forgiving of wickedness, rebellion and sin.īut immediately after this, God also says that He doesn't leave the guilty unpunished (Exodus 34:7).God wants Moses to understand that He is gracious and compassionate, and those characteristics are witnessed in the fact that He is: God said this to Moses after the people of Israel had broken God’s law in a very bad way. And He passed in front of Moses, proclaiming, “The LORD, the LORD, the compassionate and gracious God, slow to anger, abounding in love and faithfulness, maintaining love to thousands, and forgiving wickedness, rebellion and sin.” (Exodus 34:5–7, NIV) Then the LORD came down in the cloud and stood there with him and proclaimed His name, the LORD. In this passage, God is literally telling Moses His name and describing Himself. God’s name is not normally printed in English translations of the Bible. Note that when the Bible uses the all-caps “LORD,” it is standing in for God’s name, Yahweh (sometimes spelled YHWH because Ancient Hebrew, the language in which the Old Testament is written, does not have vowels). In one exchange with Moses, God defined Himself by His grace. The Bible says God spoke to Moses as one would speak to a friend (Exodus 33:11). God also gave Moses the law that Israel was supposed to follow, which helped them to understand right from wrong. Moses was a man whom God chose to lead Israel out of slavery, as described in the Bible’s Old Testament. From the beginning of the Bible to the end, God displays consistent, unmerited favor. Since God is love, you should expect to see God defined by graciousness - and in fact, He is. In the New Testament, John - one of the men who followed Jesus most closely during His ministry on earth - says, “Whoever does not love does not know God, because God is love” (1 John 4:8, New International Version).
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