God Describes Himself-Exodus 34:1-7

Exodus, Sermons

Video recording 7/24/2022. The worst of people and the best of God is captured in Exodus 32-34 with the climax of all of God’s “goodness” (Exo 33:19) expressed in God’s very own self-disclosure / self-description (Exo 34:6-7).

  • What would you say about yourself? I’m AA, BB, CC, D E F GGGGG: Abrupt, Abrasive, Blunt, Brutal, Confounding, Confrontational, but Delivered Effectively by Faith in the Goodness, Generosity and Grace of God through the Gospel.
  • What does God say about Himself [His own self-disclosure]? Just who exactly is He? What’s he really like?

“Yet such are the pity and compassion of this Lord of ours, so desirous is He that we should seek Him and enjoy His company, that in one way or another He never ceases calling us to Him . . . God here speaks to souls through words uttered by pious people, by sermons or good books, and in many other such ways. Sometimes He calls souls by means of sickness or troubles, or by some truth He teaches them during prayer, for tepid as they may be in seeking Him, yet God holds them very dear.”—St. Teresa of Avila.

Exodus 34:6-7 is one of the most important verses in the entire Bible.

  • It is the first description of God’s attributes found in the Bible and the most quoted or referred to [> 20x]: (Num 14:17-19; Dt 5:9-10; 2 Chron 30:8-9; Neh 9:17; Psalm 31:19; 57:10; 86:5, 14; 103:8-13; 108:4; 111:4; 112:4; 116:5; 145:8-13; Lam 3:23; Joel 2:13; Mic 7:18-19; Jonah 4:1-2; Nah 1:2-3; Jn 1:14, 17; Rom 2:4; 5:20-21; Eph 1:7-8).

And he passed in front of Moses, proclaiming, “The Lord, the Lord [Yahweh, Yahweh],

  • the compassionate and
  • gracious God,
  • slow to anger,
  • abounding in love [chesed] and
  • faithfulness,
  • maintaining love [chesed] to thousands, and
  • forgiving wickedness, rebellion and sin.
  • Yet [And] he does not leave the guilty unpunished; he punishes [visits] the children and their children for the sin of the parents to the third and fourth generation” (Exo 34:6-7).

Exodus 32-34 shows Israel’s great sin and God’s great mercy. It shows the worst of people and the best of God with the climax of all of God’s “goodness” (Exo 33:19) expressed in God’s very own self-disclosure / self-description (Exo 34:6-7). Exo 33:12-34:7—a lively, vigorous, intimate, heart to heart dialogue between Moses and God in the “tent of meeting” (Exo 33:7, 11) and on Mt. Sinai (Exo 34:4)—is a highpoint in the revelation of God’s character in the OT, for the God of the OT and the God of the NT touch, even merge.

Exodus 34 is the theological center of Exodus; Exo 34:5-7 is the heart and the theological core of Exodus, where Yahweh [the Lord] proclaims His divine name with a full description of who He truly is. In response to the golden calf idolatry God promises to forgive in their midst and how forgiveness functions with a description of His divine characteristics and attributes (34:5-7)–as a confession of faith in God and God’s redeeming work throughout the OT. Throughout their history, Israel frequently repeats this credo, or portions of it, in a wide variety of contexts (Num 14:17-19; Dt 5:9-10; 2 Chron 30:8-9; Neh 9:17; Ps 31:19; 57:10; 86:5, 15; 103:8-13; 108:4; 111:4; 112:4; 116:5; 145:8-13; Lam 3:23; Joel 2:13; Mic 7:18-19; Jonah 4:1-2; Nah 1:2-3; Jn 1:14, 17; Rom 2:4; 5:20-21; Eph 1:7-8).

The replacement tablets (Exo 34:1-4) shows God’s decision to renew his broken covenant with his people (Exo 32), forgive them and accept them again as his covenant people–like an employer saying to a previously dismissed employee, “Welcome back to the company. Let me show you your work station” or a judge saying to one whose punishment has been completed, “You’re free to resume your former life.” Thro’ Moses God in effect says to Israel, “Bring some new tablets. Let’s put the covenant back in force.”

“Chisel out 2 stone tablets” (Exo 34:1; Dt 10:1-4). God provided the original tablets (Exo 32:16) but here Moses was commanded to provide the tablets. God would only write on them. Why? 2 considerations:

  1. While God entirely initiated the original covenant, all subsequent covenants were renewals and thus required human initiation lest humans do nothing about the broken covenant and simply wait for God to forgive them and to reinstate his covenant. The imperative command, “Chisel out 2 stone tablets like the 1st ones” (Exo 34:1), imply that from now on Israel would be expected to start the process of covenant restoration whenever it was needed. Israel [leaders] had to take responsibility to repent and initiate covenant renewal as they became aware that the covenant was broken with the preaching of the prophets (Josh 24:25; 2 Kgs 11:17; 23:3; Neh 8).
  2. The requirement for producing the tablets represents a way of reminding the Israelites that “it won’t be quite as easy this time. You need to show your commitment.” It’s a reminder that they have to show a commitment–a proper level of responsibility–the 2nd time around. It’s like, “Yes, you can be on the team again, but this time you supply your own uniform.”

The prior covenant had been broken (Exo 32:19) and not just violated in some limited way. So this offer of covenant reinstatement is gracious divine willingness to forgive and restore. God still wanted them to:

  • live by his law,
  • worshiping him alone,
  • honoring his holy day,
  • respecting authority,
  • practicing sexual purity,
  • telling the truth, and
  • keeping all his holy commands.

The tablets were again both complete copies of the 10 Words/Commandments (Exo 34:28) [not 5 on 1 tablet and 5 on the other], with 1 tablet representing the sovereign’s [God’s] copy and the other the vassal’s [Israel’s] copy.

“Be ready in the morning…present yourself on the mountain” (Exo 34:2). Depart at dawn to cover the maximum distance. [What you do 1st thing in the morning above other commitments and responsibilities. The Jewish Sanhedrin met 1st thing in the morning in NT times.] Then go where you usually go and wait for the cloud of Yahweh’s glory to appear and envelop him as in the past (Exo 19:9; 24:15-18).

God‘s holiness is a threat to the unholy (Exo 34:3), so nothing and no one may safely approach him. “…in front of the mountain” is better translated “toward/in the vicinity of the mountain.” They could not go around the back.

God shows Moses his glory (Exo 34:5-7) in response to both of Moses’ earlier appeals:

  1. to see God‘s glory (Exo 33:18)–God responds by “passing in front of Moses” (Exo 33:19)–and
  2. the desire to teach him his ways (Exo 33:13)–God responds with the proclamation of his name and what it stands for (Exo 34:6-7), which includes both compassion and justice.

God came down (Exo 34:5). God told Moses to go up to the top of God’s mountain (Exo 34:2), but God still had to come down to meet him. God is a great God, and no matter how high we reach, he still has to stoop. For us to have an encounter with God at all requires his infinite condescension. He is the Creator; we are creatures. He is enthroned in Heaven; we dwell on earth below. He’s God; we’re not. So if God relates to us at all, he must come down.

God coming down in a glorious cloud (Exo 34:5) is a theophany–a visible manifestation of the invisible God, just as God appeared in a burning bush (Exo 3:4-6), and in the tent of meeting (Exo 33:7, 11). The Bible says almost nothing about God’s appearance (Exo 24:10; Isa 6:1).

God manifested himself specially and personally in Moses‘ presence (Exo 34:5). So perceived a real personal being coming to him and not just a concept, or a feeling, or some vague impression. Moses asked to see God (Exo 33:18). Though God showed him a glimpse of himself (Exo 33:23), what God mainly did was preach a sermon on his divine sovereign attributes. Moses had to live by faith and not by sight (2 Cor 5:7). It was a revelation of God “in terms of his attributes, rather than his appearance” [Brevard Childs]. God told Moses some of his perfections: compassion, grace, patience, love, faithfulness and forgiveness (Exo 34:6-7). This is what God wanted Moses to “see”: the goodness of his divine nature (Exo 33:19). For what is the glory of God? It is the weightiness of his being, the totality of his perfections. It’s not about seeing what God looks like, but about knowing God’s infinite perfections, especially in the salvation of sinners.

God: a definition. God then “proclaimed his name, the LORD [Yahweh]” (Exo 34:5). God’s name stands for his entire being. It is his nature. It is who he is. This is his special divine name–the “salvation name” [Peter Enns]. God revealed this sacred name to Moses at the burning bush: “I AM WHO I AM” and ” I AM has sent me to you” (Exo 3:14). God’s name testifies to his eternal self–existence and self–sufficiency. He always has been and always will be. Who exactly is God? God revealed himself as:

  • the God of creation and salvation–the God who made and saves people.

It’s not like invoking the name of Jesus or God, but it is the divine person behind the name that one seeks when invoking a divine name. Moses had sought to know that Yahweh would be with him and Israel as they left Sinai to head toward the promised land, and knowing Yahweh–knowing who he really was and what he would be like in reference to his people–was what Moses craved. Yahweh’s self–proclamation provides that.

Exodus 34:6-7 is one of the most important verses in the entire Bible, for it is quoted or referred to more than 20 times in the Bible (Num 14:17-19; Dt 5:9-10; 2 Chron 30:8-9; Neh 9:17; Ps 31:19; 57:10; 86:5, 15; 103:8-13; 108:4; 111:4; 112:4; 116:5; 145:8-13; Lam 3:23; Joel 2:13; Mic 7:18-19; Jonah 4:1-2; Nah 1:2-3; Jn 1:14, 17; Rom 2:4; 5:20-21; Eph 1:7-8).

How does God describe Himself? The divine definition lists 7 attributes of God. Each term is rich in its meaning and application.

  1. “compassionate” [merciful] is from the same root word as “womb,” meaning “to be soft like a womb,” like the soft compassion of a mother for her child in the womb. It’s a word of sympathy. God is sympathetic with our weakness. His heart is drawn to help us whenever we’re in need (Ps 103:13).
  2. “gracious” is a word of mercy or underserved favor–the free gift of his grace. If we are to be saved at all, it will only be by the underserved favor of a gracious God. It means that God often acts generously, giving gifts freely, without asking for anything in return (Exo 22:26-27). The NT cites God’s grace as the source of Jesus’ incarnation (Lk 2:40; Jn 1:14-17; Rom 3:24; 4:16; 5:15-17).
  3. “slow to anger” [“lengthened nostrils” cf. “nostrils burn”–burn with anger] (Rom 2:5-8; 2 Pet 3:9) vividly describes his patience. It implies that he does get angry at times, but he is not capricious or volatile or reactive. God is not a frustrated diety who eventually loses patience and strikes out, but that God is reluctant to act against his creation even when it is in rebellion against him. He waits long to give the sinner opportunity to return in repentance. He is not forgetful and will not condone sin. At a time of is choosing he will act decisively [John Mackay].
  4. “abounding in love” [chesed] [loving kindness] is more than generic “love.” A better translation is “stedfast love” but chesed is even stronger than that. “Unrelenting love” or “pursing love” is closest to its meaning when God is the one loving.
  5. “abounding…in faithfulness” [’emet] has the basic meaning of “truth” or “true,” meaning that God is “completely reliable and trustworthy” (Ps 119:142, 151, 160). God always follows through on his love. His love is loyal and steadfast. God‘s love is boundless. It is love without measure and love beyond degree. Once God promises to love, he keeps on loving. “Chesed” and “’emet” are paired often in the OT, vouching for the reliability of God’s love (Gen 32:10; Ps 25:10; 26:3; 115:1; Isa 16:5).
  6. “maintaining love [chesed] to thousands [a thousand generations] (Exo 20:6).” God “maintains” or “guards” and “protects” this love forever. Chesed is the only word repeated in this description of the Lord and forms the central line of God’s self-disclosure (Exo 20:6). It serves as the transition from the list of adjectives describing who God is to the text explaining how God will deal with sin. God’s dealing with sin begins with love [chesed].
  7. “forgiving” is “nasa” which means “to lift or to carry.” This gives us a picture of what God does with our sin. He takes it away, lifting the heavy burden of guilt right off our shoulders. To show how forgiving he is, God lists 3 things he is willing to forgive–3 categories of unrighteousness to show that God is willing to forgive all kinds of sin [God is willing to forgive our kind of sinner]:
    1. iniquity [avon]–perversity, to turn aside from what is right and good, inwardly bent.
    2. transgression [pesha]–more defiant, rebellion, a willful violation of the terms of the covenant, involving not merely disobeying a rule or regulation, but betraying the relationship one has with the covenant King.
    3. sin [chatta’h] is the most general term; to miss the target.

Reference:

  1. Douglas K. Stuart. Exodus. The New American Commentary: An Exegetical and Theological Exposition of Holy Scripture. 2006.
  2. Eugene Carpenter. Exodus 19-40. Evangelical Exegetical Commentary. 2016.
  3. Philip Graham Ryken. Exodus. Saved for God’s Glory. Preaching the Word. 2015.
  4. Leon R. Kass. Founding God’s Nation. Reading Exodus. 2021.
  5. James K. Bruckner. Exodus. New International Bible Commentary. 2008.
  6. John Goldingay. Exodus & Leviticus for Everyone. 2010.
  7. Robert Alter. The Hebrew Bible. A translation with commentary. The Five Books of Moses. 2019.
  8. Dennis Prager. Exodus. God, Slavery, and Freedom. The Rational Bible. 2018.

Titles considered for Exodus 34:1-7:

  • How God describes Himself. God’s self-disclosure.
  • What God’s name–Yahweh/Yahveh–means.
  • How God relates to our ongoing sin.
  • God didn’t ultimately reveal himself as “I’m angry with you/your sin.”
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