"And God passed in front of Moses, proclaiming, 'the LORD, the
LORD (Adonai), the compassionate and gracious God, slow to anger,
abounding in love and faithfulness, 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 (Exodus 34:6,7).'"
Too often it is assumed that the Hebrew Bible is a book of law and
punishment, and the Christian Bible is one of grace and love. But by
reading the Bible through in this systematic fashion, it is amazing to
discover that God's overwhelming love, long-suffering grace and
kindness, and willingness to recall judgments and punishments is found
throughout the texts that Christians refer to as the "Old Testament."
Jesus nor the apostles ever referred to the Hebrew scriptures as "old
testament," for it was their Bible. Jesus said that not one diacritical
mark, punctuation or accent mark would pass away from these texts.
Moses was so distraught by the complaining and rebellion of the Hebrew
people as they traveled to the land promised, that God allowed him to
"see His train" as a means of encouraging him. When God passed by,
Moses saw that God's primary and principle attributes were in this
order: compassion, kindness, mercy, patience, unconditional love,
faithfulness (keeps promises even when He seems to have forgotten us).
The statement on punishing the guilty is interesting. While it is a
reiteration from the Ten Words (ten commandments), it is an afterthought
in the text. It's like saying, "Oh yeah, don't forget, God is
righteous and God's standards of righteousness have not been relaxed
(concerning aggression against the neighbor, worshiping things and
people that are not God, irreverence and disregard for life and the
planet, and seeking material gain over and against the well being of the
community of persons)." But God's love and faithfulness and
forgiveness is there for you when you fail to measure up. You are
expected to seek to live by that standard. But the essence of God is
love, kindness, mercy and forgiveness in the face of our failure.
It was a way of saying, "yes, you are sinners--you fail--you often do
not measure up," but remember to balance this against the fact that I am
Love itself, and will keep you and the promise I made to you. I will
not leave you, nor will I abandon you. I will honor your efforts and
intentions."
Meditate on these wonderful truths sisters and brothers.
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