The Lord God Reveals Himself to Us
Moses moved his tent outside the camp and made it a place to call out to God and to meet with Him, so all of the people could see how important this was and even see it happening. When Moses called to the Lord, He responded by revealing Himself to him, and in turn Moses could relate what God said to the people.(Exodus 34:6,7) We need to hear what God showed Moses about Himself.
The Lord God is merciful, gracious, longsuffering, abounding in goodness and truth, keeping mercy for thousands, and forgiving sin of all kinds. This is the side of the Lord that we like to think about. We need His mercy, grace, truth, and forgiveness. It is comforting to know that it is available to us, as we come to Him in sincerity. However, that is not the complete picture of the Lord God.
The Lord God by no means clears the guilty, and He visits the iniquity of the fathers upon the children and the children's children to the third and fourth generation. That almost sounds contrary to what He revealed at first, unless we realize that God is love and holy at the same time. We do not get one without the other. If we sin, there is forgiveness and mercy. He will show us truth and goodness, but we will be punished for our sins, and our sins will effect our families for generations. That is why we do not need to simply confess our sins and ask for forgiveness, we need to stop sinning by the power of God.
His mercy and grace must not lead us to sin more. His goodness is not a reason to think we can get away with anything. His mercy and grace give us time to realize our sins and to repent as soon as possible. When we repent, we stop sinning, and we go the other way. We do His will in His power. We must not presume upon the grace of God. We must always remember He is holy and that side of the Lord God never changes.
Tomorrow, I intend to read Exodus 37-39.
The Lord God is merciful, gracious, longsuffering, abounding in goodness and truth, keeping mercy for thousands, and forgiving sin of all kinds. This is the side of the Lord that we like to think about. We need His mercy, grace, truth, and forgiveness. It is comforting to know that it is available to us, as we come to Him in sincerity. However, that is not the complete picture of the Lord God.
The Lord God by no means clears the guilty, and He visits the iniquity of the fathers upon the children and the children's children to the third and fourth generation. That almost sounds contrary to what He revealed at first, unless we realize that God is love and holy at the same time. We do not get one without the other. If we sin, there is forgiveness and mercy. He will show us truth and goodness, but we will be punished for our sins, and our sins will effect our families for generations. That is why we do not need to simply confess our sins and ask for forgiveness, we need to stop sinning by the power of God.
His mercy and grace must not lead us to sin more. His goodness is not a reason to think we can get away with anything. His mercy and grace give us time to realize our sins and to repent as soon as possible. When we repent, we stop sinning, and we go the other way. We do His will in His power. We must not presume upon the grace of God. We must always remember He is holy and that side of the Lord God never changes.
Tomorrow, I intend to read Exodus 37-39.