Exodus chapter 34. In the larger context of the book of Exodus, we're in the third section. The first section deals with the deliverance of Israel out of Egypt by God. That's in chapters 1 to 18. The second section is demand, or God's call to them in terms of obedience. So chapters 19 to 24, and then chapters 25 to 40, the emphasis is upon dwelling. So they receive the instructions on how to build the tabernacle, we have this interruption in terms of their sin and idolatry in chapter 32, and then from 33 on we see something of renewal or restoration by God to the covenant in terms of the people. So tonight we're going to look at chapter 34. I'll read the whole chapter. We'll only get to the first section this evening. So beginning in chapter 34 at verse 1. And the Lord said to Moses, cut two tablets of stone like the first ones, and I will write on these tablets the words that were on the first tablets which you broke. So be ready in the morning and come up in the morning to Mount Sinai and present yourself to me there on the top of the mountain. And no man shall come up with you and let no man be seen throughout all the mountain. Let neither flocks nor herds feed before that mountain. So he cut two tablets of stone like the first ones. Then Moses rose early in the morning and went up Mount Sinai, as the Lord had commanded him. And he took in his hand the two tablets of stone. Now the Lord descended in the cloud and stood with him there. and proclaimed the name of the Lord. And the Lord passed before him and proclaimed, the Lord, the Lord God, merciful and gracious, long-suffering 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. So Moses made haste and bowed his head toward the earth and worshipped. Then he 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. And he said, behold, I make a covenant, before all your people I will do marvels such as have not been done in all the earth, nor in any nation. And all the people among whom you are shall see the work of the Lord. For it is an awesome thing that I will do with you. Observe what I command you this day. Behold, I am driving out from before you the Amorite, and the Canaanite, and the Hittite, and the Perizzite, and the Hivite, and the Jebusite. Take heed to yourself, lest you make a covenant with the inhabitants of the land where you are going, lest it be a snare in your midst. But you shall destroy their altars, break their sacred pillars, and cut down their wooden images. For you shall worship no other god, for the Lord, whose name is Jealous, is a jealous God. Lest you make a covenant with the inhabitants of the land, and they play the harlot with their gods, and make sacrifice to their gods, and one of them invites you, and you eat of his sacrifice, and you take of his daughters for your sons, and his daughters play the harlot with their gods, and make your sons play the harlot with their gods. You shall make no molded gods for yourselves. The feast of unleavened bread you shall keep. Seven days you shall eat unleavened bread, as I commanded you, in the appointed time of the month of Abib, for in the month of Abib you came out from Egypt. All that open the womb are mine, and every male firstborn among your livestock, whether ox or sheep. But the firstborn of a donkey you shall redeem with a lamb, and if you will not redeem him, then you shall break his neck. All the firstborn of your sons you shall redeem, and none shall appear before me empty-handed. Six days you shall work, but on the seventh day you shall rest. In plowing time and in harvesting you shall rest. And you shall observe the feast of weeks, of the first fruits of wheat harvest, and the feast of ingathering at the year's end. Three times in the year all your men shall appear before the Lord, the Lord God of Israel. For I will cast out the nations before you and enlarge your borders. Neither will any man covet your land when you go up to appear before the Lord your God three times in the year. You shall not offer the blood of my sacrifice with leaven, nor shall the sacrifice of the feast of the Passover be left until morning. The first of the first fruits of your land you shall bring to the house of the Lord your God. You shall not boil a young goat in its mother's milk. Then the Lord said to Moses, Write these words, for according to the tenor of these words I have made a covenant with you and with Israel. So he was there with the Lord forty days and forty nights. He neither ate bread nor drank water. And he wrote on the tablets the words of the covenant, the Ten Commandments. Now it was so, when Moses came down from Mount Sinai, and the two tablets of the testimony were in Moses' hand when he came down from the mountain, that Moses did not know that the skin of his face shone while he talked with him. So when Aaron and all the children of Israel saw Moses, behold, the skin of his face shone, and they were afraid to come near him. Then Moses called to them, and Aaron and all the rulers of the congregation returned to him, and Moses talked with them. Afterward all the children of Israel came near, and he gave them as commandments all that the Lord had spoken with him on Mount Sinai. And when Moses had finished speaking with them, he put a veil on his face. But whenever Moses went in before the Lord to speak with him, he would take the veil off until he came out. And he would come out and speak to the children of Israel, whatever he had been commanded. And whenever the children of Israel saw the face of Moses, that the skin of Moses face shone, then Moses would put the veil on his face again until he went in to speak with him. Amen. Well, as we look at this particular chapter, again, it's closely connected to the chapters that follow. And it does show restoration. So we see that idolatry in chapter 32, which is kind of an anti sort of tabernacle emphasis. God gives them instructions on how they're to worship. And in the absence of Moses, they hanker after a physical representation of the living and the true God. So they make this interruption, then we see God, or Moses rather, plead with God in chapter 33 in terms of his presence, and then the chapter ends with Moses requesting to see the glory of the Lord. Well, that is fulfilled here in chapter 34 at verses 6 and 7. And essentially, in chapter 34, you have three things. You have first the revelation of God's glory in verses 1 to 9. Secondly, the renewal of God's covenant in verses 10 to 28. And then finally, the reflection of God's glory in the face of Moses in verses 29 to 35. We'll just take up that first section tonight, verses 1 to 9. And here we have the command concerning the tablets, and then the descent of God in the cloud, and then the response of Moses in terms of worship and prayer. But notice in the first place the command concerning the tablets. We remember that in chapter 32, after the people are dancing before the golden calf, Moses responds by taking the tablets and throwing them to the ground. If you look at chapter 32, specifically at verse 17, Joshua heard the noise of the people as they shouted. He said to Moses, there is a noise of war in the camp. But he said, it is not the noise of the shout of victory nor the noise of the cry of defeat, but the sound of singing I hear. So it was as soon as he came near the camp that he saw the calf and the dancing, so Moses' anger became hot, and he cast the tablets out of his hands and broke them at the foot of the mountain." Now God doesn't upbraid him for that. God does not reprove him for that. God is not indicting him for having done that. It is not only the response of Moses to the idolatry of Israel, but it does picture or demonstrate or show something concerning the covenant. They had just sworn fidelity to God in chapter 24, and now they've broken that covenant represented by these two tablets. So now here in a covenant renewal ceremony, it makes sense that God calls upon Moses to cut two tablets of stone, 34-1, like the first ones, and I will write on these tablets the words that were on the first tablets, which you broke. Now, I should tell you that chapter 34 is an interesting chapter. There is a competing view as to what is happening here. Some count 10 commandments in chapter 34, 10 commandments that are different than the 10 commandments delivered in Exodus chapter 20. And therefore they posit that this is a different scenario altogether. So that when Moses goes up on the mount, he receives these ten commandments, but they're different than what was expressed in Exodus chapter 20. I do not think that's correct. I think that just as Moses wrote the book of the covenant in Exodus chapter 24, so he writes things that God commands him. But in terms of the Decalogue, or the moral law, or the Ten Commandments, God writes that specifically Himself. So again, in verse 1, I will write on these tablets the words that were on the first tablets, which you broke. And then if you look at chapter 34, verse 27, write these words, for according to the tenor of these words, I have made a covenant with you and with Israel. And again, it's those ceremonial commands. The covenant wasn't just simply the Ten Commandments, but it was that ceremonial law, it was also the judicial law, so Moses writes that as well. Then you notice specifically in verse 28, he was there with the Lord forty days and forty nights, he neither ate bread nor drank water, and he wrote on the tablets the words of the covenant, the Ten Commandments. And I think the he there refers to God. So when it comes to the Decalogue of the moral law, the Ten Commandments that were given at Exodus chapter 20, that's what's happening again here. And remember that the two tablets don't have five commandments and then five commandments. All ten are on one, all ten are on another, because what these represent are the covenant documents. One belongs to God as the covenant Lord, and the other belongs to Israel as the covenant vassal or the subject. And so then those two tablets are put into the Ark of the Testimony for safekeeping. So this is something that's even duplicated in our own day. We make copies of contracts, we put them in safe deposit boxes, and we do that sort of thing to provide security over things that really matter. Well, that wasn't only exercised here in Israel, but it was something common in the ancient Near Eastern world. Covenant documents were put under lock and key, as it were, and they did represent the parties involved. involved in that covenant. So I don't think that what we have are 10 different commandments and a new giving of the Decalogue. It's the same 10 commandments that were given in Exodus chapter 20, but accompanying those tablets, there's a book of the covenant that Moses is already recording according to chapter 24, so he writes these other things in there as well. And then with reference to the command, it's very simple. Cut two tablets of stone like the first ones, and I will write on these tablets the words that were on the first tablets which you broke. So this again is a picture, it is a symbol, it is emblematic of the renewal of the covenant. So just as the tablets were thrown down by Moses in chapter 32, the fact that they're being re-inscribed, or a new set of documents are being prepared, that indicates that the covenant is going forward. This is a covenant renewal ceremony. In fact, when you look at verse 10, behold, I make a covenant. This isn't brand new. He's speaking about renewing the one that's already extant. The language typically used is cutting a covenant. And it refers to that practice of dividing the animals and that sort of thing. So it's not a brand new thing going on in chapter 34. It is rather the restoration of Israel after they had engaged in idolatry. And interestingly, chapter 32 and their engagement with idolatry, we see God's wrath. Remember God, according to the first section, He wants to just destroy them and He wants to start afresh with Moses. Now again, God doesn't change, He's not given to passions. These things are written in the manner of men to accommodate to us and teach us something about God's justice and righteousness. But anyways, we do see a sanction come on at least 3,000 people. 3,000 people are executed that day for their participation in that particular idolatry. Now when Moses cries to God or says to God at the end of chapter 33, that I want to see your glory. Certainly God could have revealed his glory in judgment. God could have revealed his glory in wrath. God could have revealed his glory in the execution of justice and the destruction of these people. but notice the emphasis in terms of the revelation of God's glory. We saw that in chapter 33 at verse 19. I will make all my goodness pass before you. So Moses asks in verse 18, please show me your glory. Well, where do we see God's glory summarized? Where do we see God's glory expressed? Yes, we see it in justice, we see it in wrath, we see it in the execution of His punishment upon criminal offenders, but we see it primarily in terms of His goodness. And there's a compendium of that there in verse 19. I will be gracious to whom I will be gracious, and I will have compassion on whom I will have compassion. So when we move to verses 6 and 7, we have theology proper taught by God Himself. We have the revelation of God's glory in terms of certain perfections or attributes that demonstrate to us His goodness. It demonstrates to us His nature. It demonstrates to us His being and His majesty. So Moses is told to cut two tablets and bring them up onto the mountain. And then notice in verse 2, be ready in the morning and come up in the morning to Mount Sinai and present yourself to me there on the top of the mountain. So Moses went up on the mountain in Exodus chapter 19. Moses went back up on the mountain in Exodus 24, 12, and that carried him all the way, 40 days and 40 nights, to Exodus 32 when he comes down in the midst of the idolatrous calf incident. Now he goes back up on Mount Sinai for another meeting with God Almighty. Now notice the prohibition in verse 3. It's similar to Exodus 19. No one was supposed to draw near the mountain. No one was supposed to get close when God's glory was revealed. But in that second ascent by Moses up on the Mount Sinai, according to Exodus 24, 12, he took Joshua the son of Nun. He took his assistant. Now Joshua didn't go to the summit, he didn't go all the way to the top, but he was there about halfway. He's the one that told Moses that he thought it was the sound of war going on in the camp. So in verse 3 it says, So it's a similar prohibition that we find in chapter 19. It's a more strict prohibition than what we find in chapter 24. And now it's Moses that goes up and converses with God. We've already been taught, we've already been told that he has a special relationship with God. He has this face-to-face reality with God. Now notice he complies with that. Verse 4, he cut two tablets of stone, like the first ones. Then Moses rose early in the morning and went up Mount Sinai, as the Lord had commanded him, and he took in his hand the two tablets of stone. This is also going to confirm and verify in the eyes of all of the Israelites that Moses was to be trusted. Moses was the leader. The end of this particular chapter is that they couldn't even look upon his face because it was glowing with the glory of God. Now, the text or translation is horns, and some have pictured this scene with Moses having horns, but it's probably like horns going out of his head. was this emanation of light, the radiance that he had had having been in the presence of God. But that would confirm to the Israelites that he was in fact God's man and that they do need in fact to follow him. Remember, we still got a long way to go in terms of getting them into the land of Canaan. This is still pretty early. In fact, when God says in that passage in like verses 10 to 16 where he's sort of rehearsing He says in verse 10, "...before all your people I will do marvels such as have not been done in all the earth, nor in any nation. And all the people among whom you are shall see the work of the Lord." We know that to be the case. We know that God does incredible and glorious things as they move through the wilderness, as they ultimately move to the promised land. such that even Rahab the harlot had heard about the glorious and mighty works that God had done as it had been published among the nations around Israel at that time. Now notice, we've got the command concerning the tablets, now we've got the descent of God in the cloud in verses 5 to 7. We have this pillar of cloud and fire, here we refer to the descent of Yahweh in the cloud, and He stood with Him there. Now remember, an omnipresent God, a God who is immense, a God who fills all things, is not a God who moves from one location to another. This is language for us. Now the Lord descended in the cloud and stood with him there and proclaimed the name of the Lord. I've mentioned to you before about anthropomorphism. Anthropomorphism is the attribution of human parts to God. And in this case, human motion. So this descent by the Lord to go stand with Moses. It's written in the manner of men. John Calvin wrote about these people. They were called the anthropomorphites. And the anthropomorphites thought that God actually had body parts. And he said, the anthropomorphites also, who imagined a corporeal God, that means a bodily God, from the fact that scripture often ascribes to him a mouth, ears, eyes, hands, and feet, are easily refuted. For who even of slight intelligence does not understand I love the little diss that some of these older theologians used to give to anybody that disagreed with them. For who, even of slight intelligence, does not understand that as nurses commonly do with infants, God is wont in a measure to lisp in speaking to us. Thus, such forms of speaking do not so much express clearly what God is like as accommodate the knowledge of him to our slight capacity. To do this, he must descend far beneath his loftiness. So this is accommodation language. This is language that is designed to instruct us concerning truth about God in a means or manner by which we can understand it. Because God is infinite, and because we are finite, there is this chasm, there is this separation. And so we need to learn by way of analogy, and the scripture uses analogy to illustrate, or rather to teach us, truth about God. So this descent in the cloud to stand with Moses there speaks of his special presence with Moses on the top of Mount Sinai to renew this covenant with the children of Israel. So it's actually a glorious thing. So the children of Israel are dancing before a golden calf. God threatens to cut them off and start afresh with Moses. They do put the sanction on 3,000 of them. There were still those among them that had been participants in that sin. Chapter 33, Moses pleads with God to come with us. We don't want to go to the promised land unless you're with us. And here, what do we find in chapter 34? We find God come down. Every movement, and again, in the manner of men, of God toward us is a blessed and a wonderful encouragement. You go back to the book of Genesis, it's God who comes after Adam and Eve. It's God who comes after Abram. It's God who makes the covenant. It's God who initiates. It's God who brings it to pass. It's God who guarantees the fruition of these particular things. So the descent of God in the cloud to stand with Moses there is an act of His grace, His mercy and His accommodation to us. And then notice, He proclaimed the name of the Lord. He proclaimed the name of the Lord. So God is preaching God. God is preaching theology proper. He is preaching the doctrine of God. And so we should take notice with reference to this. Now in terms of the name, There are many names given to God in the Scriptures. I mean, we've got that banner there that highlights and indicates several of the names that are given to God throughout Scripture. Those are revelatory. Those are vehicles of God's revelation. They bring to us certain knowledge about God, who God is. Bovink says, all we can learn about God from his revelation is designated his name in scripture. He says, the name of God in scripture does not describe God as he exists within himself, but God in his revelation and multiple relations to his creatures. This name, however, is not arbitrary. God reveals himself in the way he does because he is who he is. That's a reflection on Exodus 3.14. He is who he is. And then he goes on to say, summed up in his name, therefore, is his honor, his fame, his excellencies, his entire revelation, his very being. Now, it used to be that we would name, we, people, would name children with some particular significance attaching to their name. That doesn't always hold fast. Nowadays, we just like a name. We like the way it sounds, and so we give that child the name. But typically, names would carry some meaning about the owner of that name, and the scripture refers to the name of God in such a way as to communicate to us His perfections, to communicate to us His attributes. If you've read theology, you'll notice that they typically refer to the attributes of God. Those are things that we can say are true of God. We attribute certain things to God. We might also say perfections. I think perfections is probably a more preferable term, though attributes is not incorrect. And so what God does here in terms of proclaiming the name of the Lord, we see that he demonstrates what the name of the Lord contains in terms of who the Lord is. So there is the proclamation of God Almighty by God Almighty. This is a sermon preached by God about God to Moses on top of Mount Sinai. Moses' face shone with the glory of God when he comes down from the mountain. That seems absolutely, positively logical and consistent. To enjoy that kind of communion, to enjoy that kind of intimacy, to hear that kind of a Bible study affects a man, and it certainly affected Moses in a most awesome way. So notice, the name of God is ultimately a revelation of who God is. Look at verse 14, for you shall worship no other God. For the Lord, whose name is jealous, is a jealous God. How could it be jealous? Because everything that is in God, all that is in God is God. Just like in 1 John, we looked at it in the Lord's Supper meditation, God is love. It's not the case that God has love, God can love, God does love, God wants to love. God is love. God is His perfections. God is His attributes. There are not so many parts that make up God. Rather, God is identical with His perfections. All that is in God is God. So notice this particular list that He gives. So again, this is in response to Moses' question in 33 verse 18. Please show me your glory. Verse 19, I will make all my goodness pass before you, and I will proclaim the name of the Lord before you. Well, here that comes to fruition. Here God, at Sinai, is doing that with Moses to reveal His glory to him. And in the first place, notice again where He starts. He is merciful and gracious. Now, coming off the heels of this idolatry in chapter 32, it almost seems counter-revolutionary, counter-intuitive, that this is where God starts. But the fact that the children of Israel have not been decimated, The fact that they have not been obliterated, the fact that there is going to be this renewal ceremony expressed by God to Moses to bring the two tablets up is proof positive that he is in fact merciful and gracious. Now this isn't confined simply to this part in the Bible. We know that the scriptures are replete with this emphasis. Psalm 103, beautiful psalm that calls us to praise and thank and bless God for who He is. Well in Psalm 103, specifically at verse 8, we read the same emphasis. The Lord is merciful and gracious, slow to anger and abounding in mercy. So as the psalmist reflects upon the attributes or perfections of God, as he rehearses reasons to praise God, certainly the mercy and grace of God are primary elements in terms of that encouragement. Now, with reference to grace, we know that that means unmerited favor. Mercy is just a bit different. Mercy is kindness or concern expressed for someone in need. Mercy, compassion, pity, clemency. The target and the definition, those who are in need. Grace is the communication of unmerited favor. Mercy is the communication of that unmerited favor to those in need. And so we see that God, when He starts off with this exposition of His glory slash goodness, He starts with mercy and grace. It is a most blessed emphasis. Look at Psalm 116. Psalm 116, verse 5. Gracious is the Lord and righteous. Yes, our God is merciful. And you see this all throughout the Old Testament. Look at Jonah chapter 4. It's one of the reasons why Jonah was upset at the end of his prophetic career. Well, I don't know how much longer he lived, but at the end of his book anyways. Jonah chapter 4, when he's under the tree, when he's getting the respite from the heat. Notice in chapter 4 of Jonah at verse 2. So he prayed to the Lord and said, Ah Lord, was not this what I said when I was still in my country? Therefore I fled previously to Tarshish, for I know that you are a gracious and merciful God, slow to anger and abundant in loving kindness. one who relents from doing harm. Therefore now, O Lord, please take my life from me, for it is better for me to die than to live." You're right there in Micah. Look at Micah chapter 7. Micah chapter 7, this emphasis on the mercy and the graciousness of God. Micah chapter 7, specifically at verse 18, who is a God like you, pardoning iniquity and passing over the transgression of the remnant of his heritage. He does not retain his anger forever because he delights in mercy. He will again have compassion on us and will subdue our iniquities. You will cast all our sins into the depths of the sea. You will give truth to Jacob and mercy to Abraham, which you have sworn to our fathers from days of old. In the New Testament, these themes are replete, the grace and mercy of God. We've seen it in the book of Ephesians. Ephesians chapters 1, 1-7 and 2-7 both speak of the riches of God's grace. So in Ephesians 1-7, in Him we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of sins according to the riches of His grace. This isn't a new thing with God. When Paul writes to the Ephesians, he's not developing a new doctrine of God. God, on Sinai, is revealing to Moses his glory slash goodness, and he starts the list with his mercy and grace. Notice in chapter 2, specifically at, well, verse 4, "...but God, who is rich in mercy, because of his great love with which he loved us, even when we were dead in trespasses, made us alive together with Christ by grace you have been saved, and raised us up together, and made us sit together in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus." that in the ages to come he might show the exceeding riches of his grace in his kindness toward us in Christ Jesus." And then one other place, not one other place only, but one other place for tonight, look at Hebrews chapter 2. Hebrews chapter 2. We see these perfections, these attributes come to application in and through the life and ministry of our mediator, the Lord Jesus Christ. Not that they were unaware of it in the Old Covenant, but just showing that, tracing from Old to New. Notice in 2.17 in the book of Hebrews, Therefore, in all things, he had to be made like his brethren, that he might be a merciful and faithful high priest in things pertaining to God, to make propitiation for the sins of the people. That statement is definitive. That statement is secure. That statement is programmatic. It tells us the work of the Savior. He makes propitiation, not just kind of throws it out there in case somebody might want to be saved. Remember that propitiation presupposes the wrath of God. God is angry with the wicked every day. There is wrath targeted against the ungodly. So propitiation is when Christ comes to take that wrath, but not, again, in a generic, vague, or ambiguous sense. Notice the definiteness here. To make propitiation for the sins. Not sin in general, not sin kind of, but the sins that you and I had committed. This is articulate, that means it's got the article, it means it identifies specific sins, the sins that you and I have committed, he made propitiation for the sins of the people. Again, not vague, not ambiguous, not whoever votes to be his people in terms of free will. And then verse 18, for in that he himself has suffered being tempted, he is able to aid those who are tempted. So when God preaches God, he starts off with mercy and grace. But he doesn't stop there. Notice that he moves on. The Lord, the Lord God, merciful and gracious. He then highlights that perfection called long-suffering. That perfection called patience. Now, that perfection is most excellent and most wonderful. Turn to the book of Numbers. Numbers chapter 14, a passage that's somewhat similar to what we're finding or what we're seeing here in the book of Exodus. Basically you have the children of Israel in numbers 13 and 14, basically siding with the unbelieving spies. The spies that come back and they say, oh, the land is nice, but there's too many giants and we're not going to be able to take that land. Whereas Joshua and Caleb are like, no, we need to go right now. Let's go take the land. Well, of course, the congregation, the assembly sides with the ten whiners. They don't go with the two men that are believing and trusting the God who said, I'm giving you this land. So it wasn't like you've got to go in and battle these giants in order to get possession. They'd already known it was given to them. It was an inheritance. It was a gift. They just had to go and dispossess the land of these Pesky giants. They had to get rid of these Anakim. Well, of course, they didn't want to do that. They just wanted the good stuff for free. They didn't want to engage in any of this. So in chapter 14, they whine, they complain, they moan, and then Moses intercedes for them. And look at how Moses intercedes. He does so in a few ways, but notice in verse 16. Well, verse 15. Now, if you kill these people as one man, then the nations which have heard of your fame will speak, saying, Because the Lord was not able to bring this people to the land which He swore to give them, therefore He killed them in the wilderness. And now I pray, let the power of my Lord be great, just as you have spoken, saying, the Lord is long-suffering and abundant in mercy, forgiving iniquity and transgression, but he by no means clears the guilty." So Moses uses this perfection of God vis-a-vis long-suffering, coupled with a few of these others, to plead with God to be that to the people. And so this long-suffering is evident all throughout the scriptures. We see the long-suffering of God in terms of the history of Israel. We read the history of Israel, we say, man, they sure got a lot of judgment, they sure had a lot of bloodshed. This was over a long period of time. This was over a long time of transgressing, a long period of time of aping and taking on the characteristics of the Canaanites. It was God's judgment. It was according to the covenant. It was the reality that they filled up the measure of their guilt and such that it would be now their time to reap the consequences. But there was a long time in there. The New Testament celebrates the same sort of perfection in terms of who God is. The long suffering of God, Romans 2.4, that should lead you to repentance. We're to forgive one another, even as God in Christ has forgiven us. We need to be patient, we need to forebear, we need to be bearing, because our God is like that. It's a fruit of the Spirit, according to Galatians 5.22, but look at 2 Peter chapter 3, relative to the long-suffering of God, the patience of God. 2 Peter chapter 3, specifically at verse 8. But, beloved, do not forget this one thing, that with the Lord one day is as a thousand years, and a thousand years as one day. The Lord is not slack concerning His promise, as some count slackness, but is longsuffering toward us, not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance. And then notice over in verse 15, well verse 14, The long-suffering of our Lord is salvation. What does that mean? It means the fact that the earth continues, the fact that, you know, the world has not been destroyed indicates there's elect sinners out there that need to be called by the preaching of the gospel, come out of darkness into marvelous light, and confess saving faith in the Lord Jesus Christ. Consider the long-suffering of our God to be salvation. So, while there is breath, there is hope, and our God is certainly gracious and merciful and He's long-suffering. But going back to this doctrine of God as preached by God, after merciful and gracious and long-suffering, it then goes on to say abounding in goodness and truth. So like Paul sort of throws adjectives on top of words or adverbs to show and illustrate the exceeding riches of his grace, the great love with which he loved us, he just piles up all these words, so does God in this doctrine of God, and abounding in goodness and truth. He doesn't just sort of give you a little bit here or there, he abounds in goodness and truth. One theologian says, if it is God's attribute of majestic holiness that emphasizes his transcendence over his creation, it is God's attribute of goodness that underscores his condescension toward his creation. So holiness demonstrates His transcendence, goodness demonstrates His condescension. The fact that He relates to us in kindness, and in love, and in mercy, and in grace, that He does so with this long suffering. He's abundant in goodness, and He abounds in truth. Psalm 31.5, the Lord God is the Lord God of truth. Psalm 138, Yahweh magnifies His Word even above His name. The Lord Jesus, obviously, in the New Testament, I am the way, the truth, and the life. In the passage we're coming up to in John 10, I came that they might have life, and that they might have it what? Abundantly, not just in a miserly, okay, here's your pittance, here's what I'm gonna give you, and then there's no more. That's not the God of Holy Scripture. That's not the God who's revealing Himself here at Mount Sinai in this Old Covenant setting. It's not the God who reveals Himself in the New Testament through His Son, the Lord Jesus Christ. He abounds in goodness and truth. Notice then it goes on to say He keeps mercy for thousands. And I think we should supply the word generation. He keeps mercy for thousands of generations. And this harkens back to the second commandment in Exodus chapter 20. Exodus 20 and verse 4, You shall not make for yourself a carved image, any likeness of anything that is in heaven above, or that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth. You shall not bow down to them, nor serve them. For I, the Lord your God, am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children to the third and fourth generations of those who hate me, but showing mercy to thousands." And again, I would supply generations to those who love me and keep my commandments. So it's demonstrating, it's highlighting, it's showing. Not that, you know, everybody always only ever receives good from God. There is justice. And this list is going to end with that. He's going to visit, rather, the iniquity of the fathers upon the children and the children's children. There is justice, there's righteousness. He's not a pushover, but the overarching reflection or revelation here is on the goodness of God in terms of the grace and mercy He pours out upon His people. And then notice, not only this keeping mercy for thousands of generations, notice that He forgives iniquity, transgression, and sin. That's a good thing, because we're full of iniquity, transgression, and sin. He could have just said one of those terms, and that would have been great. Oh great, he forgives sin, alright. But sin, iniquity, transgression. There's not a whole lot of difference between those words. Might be a little bit here or there, little nuances here or there. But I think it's a comprehensive list. I think the take-home message is that when it comes to God, In terms of his relation to his people, he forgives them of their sins. He cleanses them from all unrighteousness. He doesn't just partially engage. Rather, the blood of Jesus Christ, his Son, does cleanse us from all sin. John Gill says, forgiving iniquity and transgression and sin. The word used signifies lifting it up and taking it away. Thus Jehovah has taken it from the sinner, and put it on his son who has borne it, and made satisfaction for it. And in so doing has taken it quite away, so as to be seen no more. And through the application of his blood to the conscience of a sinner, it is taken away from thence, and removed as far as the east is from the west. The psalmist rehearses in Psalm 103, as far as the east is from the west. God takes our transgression. The prophet Micah says he casts our sins into the depths of the sea. He goes on to say, from whence it appears that it is in Christ, and for his sake that God forgives sin, even through his blood, righteousness, sacrifice, and satisfaction. And this forgiveness is of all sin, of all sorts of sin, original or actual, greater or lesser, public or private, open or secret, of omission or commission, of heart, lip, and life. Now I think at times we are a bit hesitant to publish that. We want to tell sinners that God really does forgive sin, because then they might get it in their head that they can go sin. Paul counters that argument in Romans 6.1. What shall we say then? Shall we continue in sin that grace may abound? May it never be. I think he probably counters that objection because he had heard that objection. He preached justification by faith alone in a synagogue, and at the back of the synagogue they'd come by and they'd say, if justification by faith alone is true, then it really doesn't matter how we live. If justification by faith alone is true, then I can go out and sin and God's going to forgive me. Paul says, may it never be. The true gospel never results in a desire for sin or license in terms of sin, but nevertheless, there is forgiveness with thee that thou mayest be feared. So when Gill makes a statement like this, and this forgiveness is of all sin, of all sorts of sin, original or actual, greater or lesser, public or private, open or secret, of omission or commission, of heart, lip, and life, he's right. If that's not the forgiveness of sins that the Bible brings to us, then we're all going to be dead in our sin and perish eternally in hell forever. We need to come to grips with the reality of God's forgiveness, not so that we can go out and sin, but when we do sin, we remember that we have an advocate with the Father, even Jesus Christ the righteous, and He cleanses us, and He washes us, and He restores us. Now certainly throughout the scripture, just a couple of passages, look at Psalm 25. Psalm 25 specifically at verse 11. Look at how the psalmist argues here in terms of forgiveness. Psalm 25, well verse 8, good and upright is the Lord, therefore he teaches sinners in the way, the humble he guides in justice, and the humble he teaches his way. All the paths of the Lord are mercy and truth, to such as keep his covenant in his testimonies. Now notice, for your namesake, O Lord, pardon my iniquity, for it is great. Two arguments as to why he wants God to forgive his sin. One, for the glory of God, and two, because the greatness of his sin. That's not typical Christian praying, God forgive my sin because I'm so bad. It should be. I think that's consistent with what we find here. For your name's sake, O Lord, pardon my iniquity, for it is great. When God says in Exodus 34 that He forgives iniquity and transgression and sin, that is not to encourage the people of Israel to go out and sin. It is rather to encourage them to see how good and glorious God is. and how worthy he is to be served and feared and honored and loved and adored. So when we see and understand these perfections, it should move us in such a way as it does with Moses. Moses worships and Moses prays to God based on these realities. And then the final aspect, I've already mentioned this, is that he's righteous and just. He is all of this goodness, but even this justice is an expression of his goodness. Brethren, in a world where the wicked is not punished, that does not seem like a good world. When you get to the book of Revelation, you see persons, people groups, excluded from the Holy City, from the New Jerusalem. Why is that? because they're not washed, they're not converted, they're not saved, they don't enter in. And so in that New Jerusalem, that blessed city of God's people, there is an exclusion of those on the outside. Same sort of a thing here. So while there is forgiveness for our iniquity, transgression, and sin, it's nevertheless the case that there's justice and judgment and righteousness on those who are in their sin. And that's how verse 7 ends, 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 generations. And that's not because there's some transgenerational sin passed on through the genes. It's typically through imitation. When one man is an idolater, he typically teaches his sons and his grandsons to engage in idolatry. That's why the emphasis there on second and third generation. It's not the passing on transgenerationally of some DNA. and as a result you're going to be punished for your great-grandfather's sin. The prophet Ezekiel deals with that in Ezekiel chapter 18. The soul that sins shall die. There is nevertheless this imitation in families when you see your father committing idolatry nine times out of ten you're going to follow in his footsteps and do the same thing. Now notice in conclusion the response of Moses to the Lord. The first response is worship. We saw that with that man born blind in John chapter 9. When Jesus says, do you believe in the Son of God? Who is he, Lord, that I can believe? And so Jesus tells him, it's me. So what happens? Lord, I believe, and then he worshipped him. These things go hand in hand. discovering or realizing or recognizing or seeing God as God leads inevitably to worship. The Deuteronomy 6, 4, and 5. Hear, O Israel, the Lord our God, the Lord is one. You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, soul, mind, and strength. So Moses made haste and bowed his head toward the earth and worshiped, a perfectly consistent response. But then on the basis of this, he petitions, he then prays. Then he said, if now I have found grace in your sight, O Lord. And he has mentioned this in chapter 33 at verses 12, 13, and 17. Moses was a skilled intercessor. He knew how to come before God Most High. He knew how to invoke blessing from God Most High. He knew how to petition God Most High. And as a result, we should follow Moses' pattern. We should follow Moses' footsteps in terms of how to pray to God intercessorially. When we come before the Lord, it is not wrong to bring arguments. Paul is oftentimes looked at as a wonderful model or example of praying but as well Moses in the Old Testament certainly demonstrates this if now I have found grace in your sight and he's established that he in fact has on the basis of that he then gives this petition let my Lord I pray go among us something he expressed in chapter 33 verses 14 to 16 this is what Moses wants he wants God with them in the promised land Not just the angel, but rather he wants God Most High. And then notice the assumption built into his prayer. Let my Lord, I pray, go among us, even though we are a stiff-necked people. I think that's kind of interesting. Even though we're a stiff-necked people, kind of almost because we are a stiff-necked people, we need your presence, we need your mercy, we need your grace and your provision and all that you stand poised to do with reference to us. even though we are stiff-necked people, and pardon our iniquity and our sin, and take us as your inheritance." It is a most blessed revelation of who God is under the head of glory slash goodness. He reveals these perfections, and when Moses receives these perfections, the revelation of it, he prays accordingly. Of course they need forgiveness. Of course they need to be counted as God's inheritance. Because in chapter 32, God is saying, I'm going to destroy them, and we'll start with you, Moses, and we'll make a new nation. And so Moses presents this specifically to God in light of what God has said concerning God, and this is the kind of prayer that avails much with God. So, in conclusion, let us not only admire and stand in awe, verses 6 and 7, but let us respond accordingly in terms of worship and confidence and dependence upon this God who reveals himself as he is to the sons of men. Well, let us pray. Our gracious God, we thank you so very much for this list, this list of attributes or perfections, these things that tell us about who you are. And we have learned this by experience in terms of our understanding of the gospel, our faith in Christ, that faith which is a gift given by you. We rejoice in your mercy, we rejoice in your graciousness, the fact that you abound in goodness and truth. And God give us ears to hear and hearts to receive these things and may it affect us in terms of worship, in terms of our lives before you, and in terms of our walk in dependence upon you. And we pray now that you would go with us, watch over all the brothers and sisters in our local church, be with All those who are struggling, we pray that you would just be merciful. We know this has been a difficult season and so many things going on, and yet, Father, we know that we can be still and know that you are God and that you are over all things.