What is the meaning of Exodus 34:6? Then the LORD passed in front of Moses and called out • God takes the initiative to reveal Himself; Moses does not climb to heaven—he stands as God descends (Exodus 33:19-23). • The passing presence is personal, not abstract; the same God later comes “in a gentle whisper” to Elijah (1 Kings 19:11-13). • Worship begins with God’s self-disclosure; our response is always second. The LORD, the LORD God • Repetition underscores certainty: “Yahweh, Yahweh.” The Eternal One reminds Moses that the covenant Maker is still the covenant Keeper (Exodus 3:14-15). • Declaring the divine name right after Israel’s golden-calf failure (Exodus 32) highlights mercy over abandonment. • “Know that the LORD is God” (Psalm 100:3). His identity is settled; our world may wobble, but His throne does not (Deuteronomy 6:4). Compassionate and gracious • Compassion: God’s gut-level care for the helpless (Psalm 103:13-14). • Grace: favor unearned, mirroring how He chose Israel “not because you were numerous” (Deuteronomy 7:7-8). • Joel 2:13 holds these same words as an invitation to return; the character of God fuels repentance, not fear alone. Slow to anger • Literally “long of nose,” picturing controlled breathing instead of flaring nostrils; patience is built into His nature (Nahum 1:3). • His slowness is not indifference; it is space for sinners to repent (Romans 2:4; 2 Peter 3:9). • Israel has already tested this patience, yet the fire of Sinai does not consume them—mercy tempers majesty. Abounding in loving devotion and faithfulness • Loving devotion (ḥesed): covenant love that never quits; every verse of Psalm 136 repeats, “His loving devotion endures forever.” • Faithfulness (’emet): reliability, truth; “Great is Your faithfulness” (Lamentations 3:22-23). • The pairing appears again in John 1:14, 17—Jesus is “full of grace and truth,” the living embodiment of Exodus 34:6. • God is not merely adequate in love; He overflows. Our need is met by His surplus. summary Exodus 34:6 is God’s own self-portrait: the eternal LORD personally reveals Himself as compassionate, gracious, patient, and overflowing with loyal love and steady faithfulness. Spoken after a national failure, these words assure every generation that the God who descends to sinners offers more mercy than we can exhaust and more truth than we can deny. |
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