Moses
asked God: Ex. 33:18 “Please, show me Your glory.”
God
proclaimed to Moses: Ex. 34:6-7: “The Lord, the Lord God,
merciful and gracious, longsuffering and abounding in goodness and
truth, keeping mercy for thousands, forgiving iniquity and
transgression and sin, by no means clearing the guilty, visiting the
iniquity of the fathers upon the children and the children's children
to the third and the fourth generation.”
In
Ex. 34:6-7 Moses talked to God about the future of Israel and that
they do not want to go ahead unless God goes with them. God agreed
that He will go with them and then Moses asked the Lord to show him
His glory. Ch. 33:18. Moses cut the two tablets for the 10
commandments and climbed up Mount Sinai. God descended in a cloud
and stood with him and gave Moses a picture of what God is like:
There were 10 names, or attributes, as God
showed Himself on Sinai. six show God's mercy, two show His power and two show God's justice:
GOD's POWER:
- The Lord. This is the basis. Unless we are prepared to admit the sovereignty of God, we can go no further, we shall see no more.
- The Lord God. There we put the two names in combination. The word God in its root means kindness. We put the infinitude of His sovereignty in combination with the boundlessness of His affection, and we say, "The Lord, the Lord God." David Star with 6 points when we think of God's names: All-mighty(Omnipotent), All-present(Omnipresent), All-knowing(Omniscient), Love, Holy, Sovereign.
GOD's
MERCY:
- We come next to the goings forth of that wonderful mystery of Godhead to man in mercy. The strict meaning of the word "mercy" is, a heart for misery. The first thought here is the Lord God stooping down to the wretched, going forth to the miserable.
- And why merciful? Because gracious. Grace is the free flowing of undeserved favour. In two things especially God shows His grace: in the pardon of sin and the gift of the Holy Ghost.
- "Long-suffering." We now come to a wonderful part of the character of God—patience. The end of this world is stayed because "the longsuffering of God leadeth men to repentance." This is the most marvellous part of the character of God—His patience; it contrasts so strongly with the impetuosity, the haste, the impulsiveness, of man.
- "Abundant in goodness and truth." Abundant is enough and something over, cup so full that it overflows. He is abundant in goodness and truth.(7) "Keeping mercy for thousands." There are many people who do not see their mercy, for whom God is now keeping it in reserve. He is holding it till His own appointed time, till His own season comes. The Lord God is keeping mercy for thousands – forgiving iniquity and transgressions and sin. Many times God turned His anger away from Israel. Ps. 78:35-38.(8) "Forgiving iniquity and transgression and sin." In Jer. 31:34 God says I will forgive their iniquity and I will remember their sin no more! This brings us more and more into the work of Christ. All God's attributes met that He might pardon sin. Joh. 3:16 and Joh. 1:12
GOD's
JUSTICE:
The
Lord God will by no means clear the guilty, visiting the iniquity of
the fathers upon the children. Though God pardons, often He does
not remit the consequences of sin. God forgave Moses because he was
disobedient when he hit the rock instead of talking to it, but God
did not allow Moses to go to the promised land! How good, how
faithful, how forgiving, all through these nineteen centuries!
(9)
"By no means clear the guilty." The word "guilty"
is not in the original; it is simply "by no means clear."
He will not clear any one whom He has not pardoned. God's mercy is
infinite in its own bounds, but it keeps within these bounds most
strictly. (10) "He visits the iniquity of the fathers on the
children," etc. This is an ever-standing, visible proof and
monument of God's holiness and justice. He visits sin from
generation to generation. There are inherited dispensations,
inherited calamities, inherited evils.Yet the sins of
the fathers have been visited upon their children. Today we are
suffering from the compromising, unfaithfulness, pride and
wickedness, of those who went before us!
When Moses heard this, he worshipped God and said: "If now I have found grace in Your sight, O Lord, let my Lord, I pray, go among us, even though, we are a stiff-necked people; and pardon our iniquity and our sin, and take us as Your inheritance."
In
the light of God's Holiness and justice we realize that we are
sinners.
Paul
writes in Ephesians 2:1-10 We were dead because of our trespasses
and sins, enslaved by our 3 enemies, the world, Satan and ourselves, and condemned because of God's
wrath, BUT after the Lord Jesus came to die for us, God made us alive
with Christ, He raised us up with Him and made us sit with Him in
heavenly places.
PROPHETS,
PRIESTS AND KINGS:
How
do we apply these truths in our own lives? When we confess Christ's
name, and are born again believers, we have a three-fold ministry.
We are prophets, priests and kings.
1.
We act as prophets knowing and declaring God's Word – Acts
2:36-40. As a prophetess in your home and surroundings, you need to
know the Word of God. You have to tell your children about the
truths of the Word, the promises, the warnings, the doctrines. Your
self-image must be strong because God is your GOD! Ask the Lord to
help you with your quiet time. Pray for your believer husbands and
children and friends to be prophets who know and declare God's Word.
2.
Second we present ourselves to our Creator as living sacrifices in
devoting ourselves to God's service and seeking transformation by His
Word – we are a kingdom of priests who sacrifice ourselves
in thanksgiving to Him – Rom. 12:1-2. Give yourself and your
loved ones to the Lord.
3.
Thirdly we strive against sin and the Devil. Taking up the armor of
God against His and our enemies.
We
fulfill the kingly role of protecting and enlarging the kingdom –
Eph. 6:10-20.
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