What does the Lord God say about himself?
VERSE:
Exodus 34:5-7 (New International Version)
5 Then the LORD came down in the cloud and stood there with him and proclaimed his name, the LORD. 6 And he passed in front of Moses, proclaiming, "The LORD, the LORD, the compassionate and gracious God, slow to anger, abounding in love and faithfulness, 7 maintaining love to thousands, and forgiving wickedness, rebellion and sin. Yet he does not leave the guilty unpunished; he punishes the children and their children for the sin of the fathers to the third and fourth generation."
LESSON:
The words from this verse come from the time that Moses encountered God when he was given the 2nd copy of the 10 Commandments (perhaps some other time we will discuss what happened to the 1st set of tablets).
First God let's Moses know who he is..."The LORD, the LORD...".
He then begins to explain some of the qualities of God.
He says that he is "...the compassionate and gracious God...", "...slow to anger...", "...abounding in love and faithfulness...", "...maintaining love to thousands...", "...forgiving wickedness, rebellion and sin".
But, God also tells Moses that his nature is NOT without limits when he says "...Yet he does not leave the guilty unpunished; he punishes the children and their children for the sin of the fathers to the third and fourth generation...".
God's overwhelming nature or qualities are meant for our good...however...as a loving father...he knows that sometimes our behavior must be corrected...for our own good.
