If you were to describe God in three words, what words would you choose? Would they be words based on your experiences with other Christians? Would they be words based on how the Lord has worked in your life? Would they be words that you’ve heard about God from others, but you aren’t sure yourself? Or, would they be words found in the pages of Scripture?
It is vitally important for every person to decide how he or she thinks about God. The way we think about Him has great implications for our lives. It impacts the way we act, think, treat others, and interact with others. It changes the way we view our time, talents, and treasures.
When the people of Israel escaped Egypt, they found themselves in the wilderness and eventually at Mount Sinai. God had chosen the Israelites as His special people. They were to be holy, or set apart. He made a covenant with the Israelites, known as the Mosaic Law. This set of rules was designed to show the people and the nations around them what holy living looks like.
God gave Moses these commands because He was about to bring His people into the Promised Land, the land God swore to Abraham back in Genesis. (Spoiler alert: This won’t happen for forty years because of the nation’s disobedience. It will be their children that would enter the Promised Land.)
When the Israelites would enter the land, they were to embark on a big conquest to conquer the nations already living in the land. This would require a great deal of faith and dependence upon God. In order to do this, Moses and the people needed to know what kind of God they were following (even though they had already seen God do miracles and wonders and provide for them day after day).
It is here in Exodus 34 that we see some of the most profound and clear statements of God’s character. This passage is one that I cling to often when I am questioning or unsure of who God is or if He can be trusted when I’m going through hard things.
Exodus 34:6-7 states, “The LORD passed by before him and proclaimed: ‘The LORD, the LORD, the compassionate and gracious God, slow to anger, and abounding loyal love and faithfulness, keeping loyal love for thousands, forgiving iniquity and transgression and sin.”
Let’s look at these characteristics of God and why they’re important for us to know.
Compassionate
God is full of compassion. His care for His people is greater than we could ever imagine. It’s not that God feels sorry for us and uses my favorite phrase “Bless your heart.”
No, God is moved with compassion. He moves towards us out of deep love. His heart breaks when we experience the results of this sinful world. He wants to see all people come to Him in repentance.
He is a loving Father. As such, He wants to bring His children close to Himself. God is keenly aware of all that we go through, for He can see every facet of our lives and those around us.
We see this perfectly embodied in Jesus Christ. The Gospel writers tell us that He was moved with compassion (Matthew 14:14), which led Him to heal the sick and hurting. Since Jesus was fully God and fully man, He experience all that we experience: joy, sorrow, pain, love, etc. He is a Savior who is acquainted with our grief (Isaiah 53:3) and one who loves deeply.
Though God’s plan may be to temporarily allow sin and pain to endure so that more can know Him, we must not mistake that for His indifference over these things. He grieves over them and will one day make all things completely new.
Jesus does not move away from you when you have sinned or are hurting or doubting or lost. He moves in to be with you. He is compassionate.
Gracious
God is also gracious. Grace is unmerited favor. It is getting a reward that we did not earn.
The people of Israel knew this character trait of God well. When God first gave Moses the law, the people were at the bottom of the mountain building a golden calf to worship (Exodus 32). They abandoned the worship of the one true God.
God had every right to punish the people and leave them, but He didn’t. The people did have to face consequences for their sin, but God forgave them and gave Moses the law once again. God still used the Israelites in His ultimate plan of redemption.
They didn’t deserve such favor, but that’s who God is.
God has given us far more than we deserve. Our sin completely separates us from God. He could have easily left us in our broken state, but He didn’t. Instead, He sent His one and only Son to be the payment for our sin.
Jesus went to the cross for a crime He did not commit. He took on Himself the punishment for all sins. He did this out of His great love, mercy, and compassion. Three days later after His death, He rose from the grave, conquering Satan and death forever. Now, those who come to Him in faith and ask Him for forgiveness for their sins are met with forgiveness and redemption.
This is the good news of the gospel. It is the greatest source of grace ever that God would redeem a sinful people and make them His children.
If you’ve never placed your faith in Jesus, this can be your story today! Stop right now and pray to God. If you have trusted in Jesus for the forgiveness of your sins, take time to sit and marvel at the depth of God’s grace in your life.
Slow to Anger
God is slow to anger. Praise Him that this is one of His character traits! I know that I have been a beneficiary of God’s slowness to anger.
So often, we can be stubborn and forgetful people. I know that I am. I can justify my actions, thoughts, or words very easily. But God doesn’t immediately strike me down for doing these things. Rather, the Holy Spirit works in my heart and life to convict me of my sin so that I will turn to God in repentance.
We see this at work countless times with the Israelites. As soon as they crossed through the Red Sea, the people begin to complain about being hungry. Instead of getting mad at the people, God provided quail and manna (Exodus 16). He is slow to anger with His children.
Abounding in Loyal Love and Faithfulness
God is also abounding in loyal love and faithfulness. His love is fierce and steady. He always keeps His promises.
When we speak of God’s love, it is completely different from what we experience here on earth. For some, you may have experienced a positive example of love from a parent, spouse, or friend. For others, your idea of love has been tainted by someone’s mistreatment or abandonment.
Whatever kind of love we have experienced here on earth, it pales in comparison to God’s love. God’s love is perfect. It never fades. It never leaves. It never criticizes. It never fails.
God is faithful. This characteristic comes from His great love. Because God loves perfectly, He is faithful to His children. When He says that are sins are forgiven when we trust in Jesus, He is faithful to His promise. Nothing can separate you from the love of God (Romans 8:38-39).
Knowing, believing, and trusting the character of God shapes who we are. May these words of Exodus 34 be an encouragement to you and one that you meditate on regularly to know that our God is compassionate, gracious, slow to anger, and abounding in loyal love and faithfulness. It was true for the Israelites in Exodus, and it is true for us today.
