You may have heard someone say, "When someone tells you who and what they are, believe them." I'm not sure how much I agree with that. People are complicated creatures; our best selves and our worst selves war with each other constantly. But I think we can all agree, when God tells you who he is, we should listen.
One day Moses dared to ask God to show him his glory. God said, “I will cause all my goodness to pass in front of you, and I will proclaim my name, the LORD, in your presence" (Ex 33:19). So God hid Moses in the cleft in the rock and passed by him proclaiming,
The LORD, the LORD, the compassionate and gracious God, slow to anger, abounding in love and faithfulness, maintaining love to thousands, and forgiving wickedness, rebellion and sin, but he does not leave the guilty unpunished, visiting the sins of the fathers on the children and the children's children, to the third and fourth generation. (Ex 34:5-7) +
Theology is first and foremost the study of God, and theologians have studied how every book and every author of the scriptures describes God. But this is how God describes God, from his own mouth.
It's quite arresting, isn't it? God describes himself in terms of his compassion and patience and love, not his power or glory or even holiness. It is a glimpse into the Father's heart. This is what he wanted Moses to know about himself. And the writers of the Old Testament turned back to it again and again.
Jonah used it as an accusation against God; he was angry because God was quick to forgive Ninevah. Nahum used it as a warning against the same people. Joel used it to call Israel to repentance.
David used it as a source of comfort to sinful humans:
The LORD is compassionate and gracious,
slow to anger, abounding in love.
He will not always accuse,
nor will he harbor his anger forever (Ps 103:8-9).
He also prayed for mercy based on God's own words:
But you, Lord, are a compassionate and gracious God,
slow to anger, abounding in love and faithfulness.
Turn to me and have mercy on me;
show your strength in behalf of your servant (Ps 86:15-16).
Again and again the prophets and the psalmists turned to this truth about God, and we should, too. Who is God? What is he like? This is the answer to those questions. If we want to understand God better, we need to store in our hearts what he has said about himself.
Now let's look at a misunderstanding: You may have heard progressive Christians say something like, "People say, 'God is love, but ...' Well there is no 'but' in God's love!" Or maybe it was, "When someone says 'God is love, but', whatever comes after the but, they are attempting to systematically exclude certain groups or reinforce fear-based theology."
They seem to be convinced that "God is love" rules all, and anything you might add as a qualifier, explanation, or definition is counter to God's love. Would God agree with that statement? No. This passage tells us why. God tells us he is slow to anger, abounding in love and faithfulness, but he does not leave the guilty unpunished. You cannot understand God without accepting that "but".
In light of the cross of Christ, we can grasp this passage so much better than those who came before. Guilt must be paid for. Either Christ will pay for it, or we will. No sin goes unpunished.
God is love, but his is a just, holy love. And those who persist in their sin will find out that "he does not leave the guilty unpunished."
This Old Testament statement about God points us to the gospel, and it should drive us to share the gospel. Our God is compassionate and gracious, slow to anger and eager to forgive. Everyone needs to hear those words. They also need to hear that there is coming a day when he will judge the world in righteousness (Acts 17:31), and when he does, our loving God will punish the unrepentant. Therefore, "We implore you on Christ’s behalf: Be reconciled to God" (2Cor 5:20).
+This is a composite of various translations. I explain why and go deeper into the passage, including that somewhat alarming last clause, here.
Part of Bible 101
Image via Unsplash
No comments:
Post a Comment