- The Character of the Lord
Exodus 34:6 And the Lord passed by before him, and proclaimed, The Lord, The Lord God, merciful and gracious, longsuffering, and abundant in goodness and truth.
This characterization of the Lord God is repeated several times in the Old Testament so that we have no question regarding who God is and what He is like. The Hebrew word “Chesed” is translated “goodness.” Chesed means faithful love. God is love and He will keep His promises. This essential character of the Lord as revealed to Moses in a personal encounter is the foundation of all God promises. All the promises of God depend on who He is.
God is merciful and gracious, patient, abounding in steadfast love and faithfulness. God promises mercy and grace. God promises to be patient and longsuffering with us. God promises to show us faithful love and to act according to His word and promise. God couldn’t make it clearer; He couldn’t give greater assurance; He couldn’t reveal Himself better. We have all we could possibly have to trust God completely, unconditionally, and without reservation. We can take Him at His word and believe what He says because of who He is in nature and essence.
We see the baby in the manger, the works and ministry of Jesus’ life, the sacrifice of His death, and His glorious resurrection. We believe it, and we see it, we possess all of God, and we live on the great and abundant promises of God. The mercy, grace and goodness of the Lord are promised to Moses, Abraham, David, to the Church of believers, and to each of us personally. We don’t need to see the Lord as Moses did; we simply believe the event as if it happened to us. When we believe God’s Word we see the Lord, just like Moses. When we hear the Gospel we see the Lord in His glorious holiness and extravagant love. We have no excuse to say we don’t know God or what He is like. We do know; we do see; we do own the love. When God talks to Moses He is talking to us.