For the past few weeks, we have been talking about trying to discern if what we are hearing and reading is truly coming from God. Now, I believe that God speaks to people. But I have to challenge some people when they declare that God told them something and I knew it wasn't right. Have you ever had that happen to you? How would you respond if your friend claimed that God told him he didn't have to forgive someone who had offended him? What would you say if someone told you that God told them it was okay to get back at someone because they deserve it?
Our God is Holy and loving. And I can tell you that God will never say or do anything that is unholy or unloving. And He would never call us to do something unholy or unloving. If anyone ever says that God told them to do something that is contrary to God's nature, we can be confident that they have not heard that from God. God always speaks in ways that are consistent with His character. He makes no exceptions. God will never speak out of character.
So let's take a look today at God's character. I think we have a pretty good idea of what His character is but let's see what the Bible says. We will be using Exodus 34 and hear the very words of God about His faithfulness and unchanging character. And I think that once we have seen all of this, we will gain a newborn confidence to trust God in what He says.
PRAYER
Exodus 34 is very encouraging and inspiring passage from the OT. At this point in biblical history, the Israelites had forsaken God after He had delivered them from slavery in Egypt. But while Moses was on Mount Sinai receiving God's commandments, the people made an idol of a golden calf and worshipped it. As a result, Moses became very angry and he threw the stone tablets that were inscribed with the Ten Commandments to the ground and broke them, which symbolically broke the covenant that the people had with God. But through all of this, the event led us to an act of mercy. God agreed to reenter a covenant with His wayward people.
Exodus 34:1-5 – “The Lord said to Moses, “Cut two stone tablets like the first ones, and I will write on them the words that were on the first tablets, which you broke. 2 Be prepared by morning. Come up Mount Sinai in the morning and stand before me on the mountaintop. 3 No one may go up with you; in fact, no one should be seen anywhere on the mountain. Even the flocks and herds are not to graze in front of that mountain.”
********4 Moses cut two stone tablets like the first ones. He got up early in the morning, and taking the two stone tablets in his hand, he climbed Mount Sinai, just as the Lord had commanded him. 5 The Lord came down in a cloud, stood with him there, and proclaimed his name, “the Lord.”
In the beginning of all of this, God had provided the stone tablets that He inscribed the Ten Commandments on. But this time, Moses was instructed to carve them. It’s as if God said, “I’ve already cut these stone tablets once and you broke those, so you cut them out this time.” It seems like this represented the people's need to participate in drawing near to God in order to renew the covenant. So, Moses was instructed to carve out the stone tablets, but God would write on the tablets what He had written before.
God tells Moses to climb Mount Sinai in the morning because it was going to take some time and effort to climb to the top. No one was allowed to go with Moses. Even the flocks and the herds were forbidden to graze near the mountain.
Let's go back with what God told Moses when he first ascended the mountain. Remember when he told Moses to take off his shoes because the ground upon which he was standing was holy ground? So, the Israelites were to treat the entire mountain as Holy when God met with Moses on it.
In ancient times people always assumed that the gods dwelt on the mountain tops. The pagan shrines were many times constructed on the high places. Keep in mind that God didn't live on the mountain. But He did descend to the mountains in a cloud. And he stood with Moses there. As we picture this in our minds, we can see that God met with Moses in a personal way.
I'm pretty sure that Moses enjoyed this intimate fellowship with God. Yet God told Moses he could not see Him and live. This tells us that there was a limit to how much Moses could experience Almighty God.
Verse 5 tells us that when God met with Moses to reestablish the covenant with the Israelites that He declared his name, "The Lord", or Yahweh. This was God's sacred covenant name. You might remember that when Moses had his first encounter with God, God explained His name YAHWEH as meaning "I AM WHO I AM". It was the holiest, most revered name of God that was used by His people. It signified God's eternal existence. He was, He is, and He is to come. And when God shared His name with Moses, He was inviting Moses to know Him. That had to be an awesome invitation! And when we think about it, the only way for people to know God is for God to reveal Himself to them.
Exodus 34:6 – “The Lord passed in front of him and proclaimed: The Lord—the Lord is a compassionate and gracious God, slow to anger and abounding in faithful love and truth,
In order for us to recognize God's voice when He speaks, we need to know what His character is like. When God speaks, He does so out of a heart of compassion, grace, and faithful love. God wants us to know Him and to walk obediently with Him so that we can experience His blessings. We don't ever need to be afraid of a word from God. His words will always reflect His character just as He revealed it to Moses so many centuries ago.
If we pause for a moment and put ourselves in the place of the Israelites, we would begin to realize that to the Israelites, God was a great mystery. He appeared to be a powerful, righteous God. After the Israelites made and worshiped golden calf, Moses probably expected God to judge their sin and punish the sinners.
But notice that instead of that, look what God revealed first. Yes, God could have emphasized His power and His purity, and His wrath. Instead, God showed compassion, and grace, and being slow to anger. This is God describing Himself.
Compassion. Despite, the Israelites rebellion, God still had compassion, for them. A perfect God had a concern for His sinful creation.
Gracious. It's God's grace that gives people what they don't deserve. God doesn't owe us anything and yet He's so generous to us.
Slow to anger. I'm thankful that God is slow to anger. That means that He is patient with me when I fail Him so often.
Abounding in faithful love. This characteristic of God surely shows how different God is from us.
But God continues to reveal more of His character:
Exodus 34:7 – “maintaining faithful love to a thousand generations, forgiving iniquity, rebellion, and sin. But he will not leave the guilty unpunished, bringing the consequences of the fathers’ iniquity on the children and grandchildren to the third and fourth generation.”
The Israelites had just broken their promise to God. But God would never default on a promise He made with them. And not only to them, but God says "to a thousand generations." When God enters into a relationship with His people, He is fully prepared to continue that relationship not only with them but their descendants.
God is abounding in truth. The world wants to immerse us in lies. We don't know what is true and what is not especially in this political election. But God always speaks the truth.
Forgiving. The Israelites definitely needed forgiveness for their sins. But the truth be known, so do we.
Just. Now, here is something that we need to note. God is just. That means that yes, God forgives, but He does not leave the guilty unpunished. But we need to note that God does not punish people for the sins that were committed by their ancestors. We are each accountable for our own transgressions.
For example, let's say that a father commits a terrible sin. It doesn't matter what that sin is because in God's eyes a sin is a sin, is a sin. Now let's say that the child of that man chooses to follow the father's example and gets involved in the same sinful practice. God doesn't punish that child for his father's sin. But when sin is repeated by the next generation, God's punishment is also repeated.
Exodus 34:8-9 – “ Moses immediately knelt low on the ground and worshiped. 9 Then he said, “My Lord, if I have indeed found favor with you, my Lord, please go with us (even though this is a stiff-necked people), forgive our iniquity and our sin, and accept us as your own possession.”
Let me ask you, "Is God worthy of our worship?" Ihe wasn’t we wouldn’t be here. After Moses had experienced his amazing encounter with God, his immediate response was to bow low to the ground and worship God. This physical act of bowing low meant Moses was minimizing himself and maximizing God in his life.
Moses knew in his heart that the Israelites were extremely blessed to have such a loving and gracious God that was willing to enter a covenant with them and to provide for all of their needs. Moses asks God to go with them into Canaan. In chapter 33, God had previously said that He would not go with them into Canaan, but that He would send an angel. But after God revealed the fact that He is compassionate and gracious, Moses appealed for God's presence and His guidance for His people.
By responding to God's word, Moses restored the people's relationship with God. No matter how rebellious the Israelite people were, God was willing to restore their relationship with Him. That should speak to your heart. That should tell you that there is nothing so bad that you have done that God will not forgive and restore your relationship to Him.
Let's make this personal now. Every one of us has been through a trying time in our life at one point or another. Each of us has probably been to the point of wanting to just throw up our hands and give up. Anxiety builds. We lose sleep. We cry. We wring our hands in worry. It's okay to admit it. We have all been there.
But God has just told us that he is a God that is compassionate, gracious, slow to anger, abounding in faithful love, abounding in truth, forgiving, and just. What a mighty God we serve! So, when you find yourself in one of those distraught moments, let God speak to you through His Holy Word. Put yourself in the place of the man mentioned in:
Psalm 34:6-7 – “This poor man cried, and the Lord heard him and saved him from all his troubles. 7 The angel of the Lord encamps around those who fear him, and rescues them.” (Doesn’t that just make you feel all good inside?”)
Read passages like this and feel that profound sense of peace that only our Lord can give. That peace is only one of God's rich blessings that He pours out on those who love Him.
John 10:27-28 – “My sheep hear my voice, I know them, and they follow me. 28 I give them eternal life, and they will never perish. No one will snatch them out of my hand.” (That’s eternal security for us as believers.)
Every word from God is an opportunity to learn something about Him and is an invitation to experience God in a fresh new way. As you read and hear God's word, experience His blessings. For instance:
- When God reveals to you that he is a forgiving God, you have the opportunity to experience His forgiveness.
- When God discloses to you that he is powerful. You have an opportunity to experience that power in your life.
God will always speak words to you that perfectly match your current situation and need. God's words are never accidental or coincidental. His words will perfectly match your life at that moment.
A true encounter with God is not self- centered. It is God-centered. When God speaks to you, it should lead you to worship Him, just as it did Moses. A genuine word from God is a humbling experience. A true word from God should make you think more highly of Him and less of yourself.
In reality, God's word will point you to anything that harms your relationship with Him so that you can turn away from that sin and be restored to a loving relationship with Him. I am grateful that God Himself has explained to us this morning the details of His character.
God will never steer you wrong. He loves you too much for that. Yes, what a mighty God we serve. I close with what the psalmist recorded, God tells you today,
Psalm 32:8 – “I will instruct you and show you the way to go;
with my eye on you, I will give counsel.”
As a believer, you can count on that. You can count on God.
