The Divine Attributes of the Lord
Exodus 34:5-7: "The Lord descended in the cloud and stood with him there, and proclaimed the name of the Lord. The Lord passed before him and proclaimed, 'The Lord, the Lord, a God merciful and gracious, slow to anger, and abounding in steadfast love and faithfulness, keeping steadfast love for thousands, forgiving iniquity and transgression and sin, but who will by no means clear the guilty, visiting the iniquity of the fathers on the children and the children's children to the third and the fourth generation.'"
God's grace and mercy are seen all throughout Exodus chapter 34. The Lord instructed Moses to cut two more tablets, like the ones on which he had already written the Ten Commandments and to head back up Mount Sinai to meet with him. Moses obeyed the Lord and was blessed for his obedience. At the end of chapter 33, Moses asked a great thing of the Lord: "Please, show me your glory" (Exodus 33:18). No man can see the Lord's glory and live. Nevertheless, the Lord would cover Moses in the cleft of the rock and make his glory pass by Moses.
While Moses was back on Mt. Sinai, God fulfilled his promise. The text tells us that he descended in a cloud on the mountain then spoke these words to Moses: "The Lord, the Lord, a God merciful and gracious, slow to anger, and abounding in steadfast love" (Exodus 34:6). While Moses did not get to see the fullness of God's glory (only his backside), he did get to hear of God's glory as the Lord revealed his divine attributes: mercy, grace, patience, and steadfast love. It is interesting that the Lord did not speak of his power, his majesty, or his wrath. In his anger against the sin of Israel, these are the attributes one might expect. Yet, the Lord emphasized his tenderness towards the people.
These divine attributes allowed the Lord to continue this wilderness wandering with the nation of Israel. He continued to love them, to provide for them, to guide them, and to instruct them in how they were to live in the promised land. The Lord sought to win the hearts of his people with this mercy and love. Just as he enjoyed a special relationship with Moses, so he longed to enjoy a relationship with all his people.
We are now his people, and he longs to enjoy that relationship with us. My husband, Charlie, has presided at many weddings through our twenty-five years of ministry. My all-time favorite sermon used at these weddings is from 1 Corinthians 13. Charlie takes this passage and places the name of Jesus in every occasion when the word "love" is used in the passage: "Jesus is patient and kind; Jesus does not envy or boast; Jesus is not arrogant or rude. Jesus does not insist on his own way; Jesus is not irritable or resentful; Jesus does not rejoice at wrongdoing but rejoices with truth. Jesus bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things. Jesus never ends." Following this, he encourages the bride and groom to replace their individual names in for the word "love." The exercise usually gains a few chuckles from the family. While Jesus' name works every time, it never works perfectly for a bride or a groom. None of us have yet achieved in our lives the perfect representation of the way of love. Only Jesus offers perfect love, yet he shows us the way.
When we fall short, as we will so often do, when we can't feel or sense the presence of Jesus, these are powerful words to speak to ourselves about Jesus. He is so patient; he is so kind; his love endures all things - even your greatest failings. As God's beloved child, he longs for you to live in light of this love. Yes, you too, will face consequences for sin, yet Jesus has taken the ultimate punishment upon himself so that you can remain in relationship with a holy, holy, holy God.
Reflection:
Can you take some time today to go through the exercise of replacing the name of Jesus for love throughout 1 Corinthians 13? Then put your name there. Where are the places where you can better represent his love? Set aside some time to not only speak these truths but to ask God to allow you to feel this perfect and steadfast love of the Lord.
God's grace and mercy are seen all throughout Exodus chapter 34. The Lord instructed Moses to cut two more tablets, like the ones on which he had already written the Ten Commandments and to head back up Mount Sinai to meet with him. Moses obeyed the Lord and was blessed for his obedience. At the end of chapter 33, Moses asked a great thing of the Lord: "Please, show me your glory" (Exodus 33:18). No man can see the Lord's glory and live. Nevertheless, the Lord would cover Moses in the cleft of the rock and make his glory pass by Moses.
While Moses was back on Mt. Sinai, God fulfilled his promise. The text tells us that he descended in a cloud on the mountain then spoke these words to Moses: "The Lord, the Lord, a God merciful and gracious, slow to anger, and abounding in steadfast love" (Exodus 34:6). While Moses did not get to see the fullness of God's glory (only his backside), he did get to hear of God's glory as the Lord revealed his divine attributes: mercy, grace, patience, and steadfast love. It is interesting that the Lord did not speak of his power, his majesty, or his wrath. In his anger against the sin of Israel, these are the attributes one might expect. Yet, the Lord emphasized his tenderness towards the people.
These divine attributes allowed the Lord to continue this wilderness wandering with the nation of Israel. He continued to love them, to provide for them, to guide them, and to instruct them in how they were to live in the promised land. The Lord sought to win the hearts of his people with this mercy and love. Just as he enjoyed a special relationship with Moses, so he longed to enjoy a relationship with all his people.
We are now his people, and he longs to enjoy that relationship with us. My husband, Charlie, has presided at many weddings through our twenty-five years of ministry. My all-time favorite sermon used at these weddings is from 1 Corinthians 13. Charlie takes this passage and places the name of Jesus in every occasion when the word "love" is used in the passage: "Jesus is patient and kind; Jesus does not envy or boast; Jesus is not arrogant or rude. Jesus does not insist on his own way; Jesus is not irritable or resentful; Jesus does not rejoice at wrongdoing but rejoices with truth. Jesus bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things. Jesus never ends." Following this, he encourages the bride and groom to replace their individual names in for the word "love." The exercise usually gains a few chuckles from the family. While Jesus' name works every time, it never works perfectly for a bride or a groom. None of us have yet achieved in our lives the perfect representation of the way of love. Only Jesus offers perfect love, yet he shows us the way.
When we fall short, as we will so often do, when we can't feel or sense the presence of Jesus, these are powerful words to speak to ourselves about Jesus. He is so patient; he is so kind; his love endures all things - even your greatest failings. As God's beloved child, he longs for you to live in light of this love. Yes, you too, will face consequences for sin, yet Jesus has taken the ultimate punishment upon himself so that you can remain in relationship with a holy, holy, holy God.
Reflection:
Can you take some time today to go through the exercise of replacing the name of Jesus for love throughout 1 Corinthians 13? Then put your name there. Where are the places where you can better represent his love? Set aside some time to not only speak these truths but to ask God to allow you to feel this perfect and steadfast love of the Lord.
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