The Faithfulness of God (Exodus 34:6–7)

The Lord passed before Moses and proclaimed, ‘The Lord, the Lord, a God merciful and gracious, slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love and faithfulness, keeping steadfast love for thousands, forgiving iniquity and transgression and sin, but who will by no means clear the guilty, visiting the iniquity of the fathers on the children and the children’s children, to the third and the fourth generation.
—Exodus 34:6–7

Now keep in mind, as I am about to read Exodus 34:6–7, that in the previous chapter Moses prays to God, “Please show me your glory,” which, just think about that, is a bold request. Not only to ask for that, but consider all that Moses had already seen. Moses had seen God reveal his glory in a burning bush as God spoke to him.

Moses had seen God reveal his glory in powerful ways as God revealed his name—the Lord—to Moses, as God called Moses to go to Pharaoh, and as God brought about plague after plague—demonstrations of his glory, his power, his judgment. Then Moses saw God deliver all the Israelites out of slavery in Egypt. Moses saw God split a sea in half and lead his people through on dry land. He saw God lead his people with a pillar of cloud by day and fire by night. Moses saw God give bread from heaven and water from rocks. If anyone had seen the glory of God, Moses had.

Moses is the one who went up on the mountain to meet with God and receive the word of God. There is this picture of God as a consuming fire, and Moses was invited to meet with him. If anyone had seen the glory of God, Moses had. That is what I mean: it feels bold when I read Exodus 33:18, where Moses says, “Please show me your glory.” It is as if to say, “Really? Have you not seen enough glory, Moses?” But I suppose that is the point.

Exodus 34:6–7 shows the glory of God in steadfast love and faithfulness.

Once you see—once you taste—the glory of God, you have an insatiable desire to see more and more and more.

In response to Moses’s request, God brings Moses out and says, “You cannot see my face.” Even as we think about Exodus 33:11, which we were praying through in the previous podcast episode—where God spoke to Moses face to face, as a man speaks with his friend—we know that is a description for us of the personal nature of God’s communion with Moses. The Old Testament is clear: no one can see the face of God and live.

We have seen the glory of God in Jesus. I will return to that in a moment.

So, in light of Moses’s prayer to see God’s glory, Exodus 34:6 says, “The Lord passed before him and proclaimed, ‘The Lord, the Lord, a God merciful and gracious, slow to anger, and abounding in steadfast love and faithfulness, keeping steadfast love for thousands, forgiving iniquity and transgression and sin, but who will by no means clear the guilty, visiting the iniquity of the fathers on the children and the children’s children, to the third and the fourth generation.’”

Exodus 34:6–7 shows the fullness of God’s character in his self-declaration.

See what happens here. Moses asks God to show him his glory, and in response God proclaims his name—“The Lord, the Lord”—and begins describing his character. God reveals his glory by proclaiming his name and his attributes. When we think about the glory of God, we are thinking about the sum of who he is—his attributes and all he does on behalf of his people, specifically for those who trust in him.

So I want to lead us to praise God in light of Exodus 34:6–7 for his glory. Would you join me in your heart?

O God, we praise you as the Lord, as Yahweh, the I AM, the one who was and is and is to come, the self-sufficient, self-existent, eternal, sovereign Lord of all. We praise you for being merciful and gracious. Lord, we praise you for your grace and your mercy. We shudder to think where we would be were it not for your grace and your mercy.

This verse illustrates the glory we are called to declare among the nations.

We praise you that you are slow to anger. I praise you for being slow to anger in my life, and we praise you for being slow to anger in each of our lives. We praise you for abounding in steadfast love and faithfulness. Yes, God, we praise you for this description of who you are. We praise you that you abound in steadfast love—in unfailing, unshakable, never-ending love. We praise you that you abound in faithfulness.

I think about how unfaithful I have been, yet you have remained faithful. You abound in faithfulness. Lord, you keep steadfast love for thousands. You forgive iniquity and transgression and sin. God, we praise you for forgiving our iniquity, our transgression, and our sin.

Jesus, we praise you for coming into this world. We have seen the glory of the Father in you, in the flesh. We praise you for dying on the cross so that we could be forgiven of our iniquity, transgression, and sin. Lord, we praise you for taking our iniquity and transgression and sin upon yourself so that, through faith in you, we—the guilty—might be forgiven, might be made righteous.

God, we love your glory. We praise you for your glory. We pray that you would use our lives as a reflection of your glory. Help us to reflect your love, your mercy, your grace, and your faithfulness. Help us to declare your glory among the nations.

A Prayer for the Garhwali Rajput People

O God, among the Garhwali Rajput in India—where there are no followers of Jesus—there are hundreds of thousands who do not know you or your glory. We pray for the spread of your glory among the Garhwali Rajput in India. We ask for that, God. Please spread your glory in India. Send laborers to make your glory known there.

Spread your glory through our lives as well. Wherever we live today, help us to proclaim your glory. We love your glory. We love your attributes. God, we love who you are. We worship and praise and exalt you in all your glory. This is what we were created to do, and we find our deepest joy in giving glory to you.

In Jesus’s name we pray. Amen.