Thursday, August 13 — The God Who Announces His Own Name

If you got to describe yourself in one sentence, what would you lead with? When God describes Himself to Moses, He leads with mercy.

Exodus 34:5-9 — KJV

5 And the LORD descended in the cloud, and stood with him there, and proclaimed the name of the LORD. 6 And the LORD passed by before him, and proclaimed, The LORD, The LORD God, merciful and gracious, longsuffering, and abundant in goodness and truth, 7 Keeping mercy for thousands, forgiving iniquity and transgression and sin, and that will by no means clear the guilty; visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children, and upon the children's children, unto the third and to the fourth generation. 8 And Moses made haste, and bowed his head toward the earth, and worshipped. 9 And he said, If now I have found grace in thy sight, O Lord, let my Lord, I pray thee, go among us; for it is a stiffnecked people; and pardon our iniquity and our sin, and take us for thine inheritance.

Exodus 34:5-9 — WEB

5 Yahweh descended in the cloud, and stood with him there, and proclaimed Yahweh's name. 6 Yahweh passed by before him, and proclaimed, "Yahweh! Yahweh, a merciful and gracious God, slow to anger, and abundant in loving kindness and truth, 7 keeping loving kindness for thousands, forgiving iniquity and disobedience and sin; and who will by no means clear the guilty, visiting the iniquity of the fathers on the children, and on the children's children, on the third and on the fourth generation." 8 Moses hurried and bowed his head toward the earth, and worshiped. 9 He said, "If now I have found favor in your sight, Lord, please let the Lord go among us, even though this is a stiff-necked people; pardon our iniquity and our sin, and take us for your inheritance."

Explanation

This scene comes right after one of Israel's lowest moments. The people had made a golden calf while Moses was still up on the mountain. By every fair measure, the relationship should have been over. Instead, God calls Moses back up, and in this moment God does something remarkable: He announces His own name, His own character, out loud.

And listen to what He leads with. Not "the all-powerful," not "the terrifying," though He is holy beyond our imagining. He proclaims, "The LORD, The LORD God, merciful and gracious, longsuffering, and abundant in goodness and truth." Mercy comes first. Slow to anger. Overflowing with steadfast love. This is God's own self-description, given to a people who had just failed Him badly.

Verse 7 keeps a real tension, and we shouldn't smooth it over. God forgives iniquity and transgression and sin — and He does not simply wink at evil as though it doesn't matter. He is both merciful and just. Sin has consequences that ripple. But the emphasis, the thing God says first and dwells on longest, is mercy that reaches thousands of generations.

Moses' response is the only sane one: he hurries to bow down and worship. And then he prays boldly. He asks this merciful God to go with them — not because the people deserve it, but because that's who God just said He is. He even names the problem: "it is a stiffnecked people." He's basically saying, "Lord, we're hardheaded and we'll fail again, so come with us anyway, and take us as Your own."

This is the God our whole week points to. When we get to Sunday and watch Saul the persecutor knocked to the ground on the Damascus road, we shouldn't be surprised that mercy is what he meets. The God who described Himself to Moses hadn't changed. He is still "merciful and gracious, slow to anger."

So carry this into your day. When you fail — and you will — your first thought about God matters enormously. If you picture Him standing over you with folded arms, you'll hide. But God's own testimony is that He leads with mercy. That's not permission to take Him lightly. It's an invitation to come back quickly, like Moses, and ask Him to keep walking with a stiff-necked people who need Him. Which is all of us.

Thought for the Day

Our God is merciful, gracious, and slow to anger.

Reflection Question

When you picture God's face turned toward you, what expression do you assume He's wearing?

Prayer

Lord, You know how easily I imagine You disappointed and distant. Thank You for telling me who You really are: merciful, gracious, slow to anger, abundant in love. When I fail, help me run toward You instead of hiding. Go with us, stubborn as we are, and take us as Your own. We're grateful to belong to You. Amen.

This week we walk toward Sunday's lesson: Saul of Tarsus, How a Pharisee Became a Christian.