Text: Exodus 34:1-8
Theme: Abundant Love
Greetings: The Lord is good and His love endures forever.
Remember our theme verse: “Oh, how abundant is your goodness, which you have stored up for those who fear you and worked for those who take refuge in you, in the sight of the children of mankind!” (Psalm 31:19).
Introduction:
The appearance of Yahweh to Moses is found in Exodus 34:1-8. It was an answer to his desirous request in the previous Chapter. Moses prayed to God, “Please show me your glory.” Moses had seen the glory of God in many occasions.
God revealed His name to him as “I am that I am”, God enabled to Moses to perform many miracles through ten Plagues and demonstrated His glory, His power, and His judgment. God delivered Israelites out of slavery in Egypt. Moses saw God split Red sea and lead his people through on dry land. Moses saw God lead his people with a pillar of cloud by day and fire by night. Moses saw God give bread from heaven and water from rocks. Moses saw the glory of God than anyone else in his time.
Then Why Moses prays, “Please show me your glory.”(Exodus 33:18). Moses was struggling within his understanding of God because he is a God who has a bipolar identity. It seems that there is a tension between his two sides a fact that is not unknown in the world. Then, God showed his character.
Exodus 34:6-7: 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. Yet he does not leave the guilty unpunished; he punishes the children and their children for the sin of the parents to the third and fourth generation.”
Moses received the law at Sinai and also this classic declaration of God’s character. The words and phrases of this declaration reverberate through the rest of the Old Testament.
“Yahweh, Yahweh, compassionate and gracious, slow to anger, overflowing with loyal-love and faithfulness.” The words compassionate, slow to anger, abundant love, faithfulness, forgiveness and not leaving the guilty are the signs of abundant love. He is a trustworthy and graceful God.
This verse is the most quoted and reused verse in the Hebrew Bible. Exodus 20:5 -7; 33:19; Numbers 14:18; Deuteronomy 5:9-11; 7:9; 2 Kings 13:23; 2 Chronicles 30:9; Nehemiah 9:17; 9:31; Psalms 25:6; 78:38; 86:5, 15; 99:8; 103:8; 106:45; 111:4; 112:4; 116:5; 145:8; Jeremiah 30:11; 32:18; Daniel 9:9; Joel 2:13; Jon 4:2; Nahum 1:3; Micah 7:18-20. It is a liturgical credo of the OT.
God told Moses that he is:
He’s a God of mercy (refraining from giving to others what they do deserve). Which means compassion and tenderness, almost like a mother towards her children. Psalm 86:15.
He’s a God of grace (giving to others that which they don’t deserve). Psalm 145:8
He is slow to anger (ever-so patient with stiff-necked sinners). But very terrifying the punishments he brought upon the people of Sodom and Gomorrah and the worldwide flood.
He is forgiving (pardoning us of our sins and not holding them against us). Psalm 103:8-13, Nehemiah 9:17, Micah 7:18.
He is just (rightly punishing sin and not just overlooking it as if it never happened).Number 14:17-19
This verse has poetic description of God is an often-repeated statement of belief (Numbers 14:18; Psalm 103:8; 145:8; Joel 2:13; Jonah 4:2). All the terms describe God’s relationship to the covenant people.
ABUNDANT LOVE:
He described it with a great emphasis on ABUNDANT LOVE. In this passage, the prominence is given not to what Moses saw, rather what God said. Abundant Love of God reveals his FULLNESS OF LOVE, it reminds my EMPTINESS OF MY STATE and it propels me TO PREACH GOOD NEWS.
It reveals the FULLNESS OF LOVE
He’s a God of mercy means refraining from giving to others what they do deserve. It means compassion and tenderness, almost like a mother towards her children.
This abounding love is even stronger as it is not just a gift but implies some kind of intimate relationship between the giver and receiver. It indicates the Lord’s steadfastness or being true to himself.
In the dialogue we see the precarious nature of the relationship between Yahweh and his people and it is only after many verses that Yahweh speaks the confession that He will forgive and we learn that he is indeed a stern Judge, but that his love is stronger. The second meeting and second writing on the tablet itself the sign of mercy of God.
Yahweh’s presence, which goes hand in hand with the threat of his absence.
Exodus 34:6-7 reacts to the crisis of the golden calf incident – the crisis of “covenant breaking” and the words provide the basis for life beyond the crisis. The Yahweh’s forgiveness and his continuing presence in post-exilic Judah after the destruction of the temple is central. Will Yahweh still be present, although his temple, the symbol of his tabernacle presence has been destroyed?
Illustration: St. Bernard an 11th century Christian leader was once asked how he maintained his faith in the face of such difficulties in this world. He responded that he kept 3 things close to his trust or heart. First, the love of God for making me his child; second, the truth of God in keeping his promise; and third, the power of God being able to make good all that he has promised.
2. It reminds MY STATE OF EMPTINESS
The revelation of God’s name has five expressions: merciful and gracious, slow to anger, abounding in steadfast love and faithfulness, keeping steadfast love for thousands, forgiving iniquity and transgression and sin.
Among them the "Keeping steadfast love for thousands, forgiving iniquity and transgression and sin." The reading and reciting these verses reveals my emptiness and need of a person with motherly love and tender care and concerns. I need a forgiver and lover of my soul.
Here, the bipolar and ambiguous character of Yahweh is being revealed to Moses. This theophany was more auditory than optical revelation of God. This self-proclamation of God on his character and identity is one of the central confessions of Israel’s faith. It is a mercy formula of an important credo. Moses gave to his people to claim it throughout their lives on the earth.
Exodus 34:6-7 plays the most important statement of forgiveness in the Old Testament. It’s a development of God’s punishment being the focus to God’s forgiveness being the central conviction.
Plays vital role in my life. We turn quickly to NT grace and not clearing the guilty and visiting iniquity on three or four generations.
I often feel the emptiness of myself. However, the Lord is ready to forgive because he knows my all manner of depravity; iniquity, twisted or perverse lifestyle; transgression, which is wilful rebellion, violating the clear mandates and commands of the Lord; and sin, which is falling short of the glory of God. However, he is gracious and merciful.
Today, it’s our hymn and song. “Blessed assurance – Jesus is mine: This is my story and this is my song.”
The characterisation of God in these verses takes on nearly creedal form in the Old Testament. In various forms it shows up in the Psalms. (Psalm 103:8, 17; 145:8) and the prophets who condemned Judah's infidelity to God, warned of Babylonian conquest, and promised a new covenant (Jeremiah 32:18-19; Nahum 1:3). It forms the basis for praise and petition (Nehemiah 9:17; Daniel 9:4).
3. It propels me TO PREACH GOOD NEWS.
Through the preaching of Jeremiah 31 and Ezekiel 18, the Lord overturns the older punishment pattern of children paying for the sins of their parents. The idea here is most likely that YHWH is able to forgive any kind of sin that the people might commit. The Lord YHWH will in no way pardon those who are guilty which stands in stark contrast to the merciful aspects of God but available to the repented.
Visiting the iniquity of the parents on their children and their children. The repeated action of YHWH’s visitation, not necessarily negative but turns the punishment into blessings. This phrase is most often used to describe the context of a divine reward for righteousness, both in the Bible and Aramaic inscriptions. Here the phrase is turned around to show that wrath is as likely to follow one as is blessing.
These verses take us to the revelation of Jesus Christ in John 1:14, the word became flesh and lived among us with full of grace and love. The Hebrews 1:1ff reveals that God has revealed himself on the last days through his Son. Jesus had compassion on the crowds (Matthew 9:36).
Jesus was patient, and slow to anger with his disciples, loving, faithful, and forgiving of all kinds of their sins. God demonstrated his justice in punishing iniquity of us in Him, and who justifies us in Jesus (Romans 3:26).
This message of love, message of forgiveness has to declare to our friends, and everyone we meet at various occasions.
Conclusion:
The ABUNDANT LOVE of God is available to all of us. Abundant Love of God reveals his FULLNESS OF LOVE, it reminds our EMPTINESS STATE and fills us with his forgiveness and the assurance of eternal life, and it propels us TO PREACH GOOD NEWS to all the creations.
