Reading… and Thinking

     Then Moses said, “I pray you, show me your glory!” And He said, “I myself will make all my goodness pass before you, and will proclaim the name of the LORD before you; and I will be gracious to whom I will be gracious, and will show compassion on whom I will show compassion.”
     Then the LORD passed by in front of him and proclaimed, “The LORD, the LORD God, compassionate and gracious, slow to anger, and abounding in lovingkindness and truth; who keeps lovingkindness for thousands, who forgives iniquity, transgression and sin; yet He will by no means leave the guilty unpunished, visiting the iniquity of fathers on the children and on the grandchildren to the third and fourth generations.”

— Exodus 33:18-19 & 34:6-7 (NASB)

This section of Exodus is one of the most important passages in the Bible. That’s not just my opinion. Moses, David, and other prophets refer back to this passage many times. They make their appeals to God on the basis of this declaration of His graciousness. And there are numerous allusions in the New Testament as well.

You only have to look at it to see why it’s so important. It’s a declaration of who God is, of what He is like. That’s important!

Moses asked to see God’s glory. In response, God told him He would make His goodness pass before him. And, He said He would tell him His name. That takes our mind back to chapter 3, where Moses had asked at the burning bush what God’s name was. God told Moses that His name was “I Am”. Then He also said His name was Yahweh, which means “I Will Be”. So He is the very essence of existence (I Am). But there is also a sense of purpose (I Will Be). What He is, His own existence, is going somewhere.

Back to chapter 34, and we see that when God declares His name, it’s not just a repeat of Yahweh. Instead, it is a description of His character: phrase after phrase that emphasize His mercy and love and grace, but balanced by His justice—the guilty will be held accountable.

Putting all of this together, we can see that God’s glory = His goodness = His name = His purpose = His character.

This is a key revelation. When we read elsewhere about God’s glory, what does that mean? What does it mean for His name to be exalted? His glory, His name, equals His purpose and His character. To glorify Him, we must exalt His purpose and His character. His purpose is that His will be done on earth, so we glorify Him when we do His will, and when we proclaim His kingdom. His character is to be compassionate and merciful, so we glorify Him when we are merciful, and when we proclaim His grace.

To put all this another way, we cannot be part of God’s purpose, if we are at odds with His character. And again, bearing the name of the Lord isn’t about pronouncing the name “Yahweh”—it means we have absorbed His character, and are aligned with His purpose.

When we understand that this passage is a foundation stone of the entire Bible, many other passages take on a richer meaning. For example, when we read in the New Testament “whoever will call on the name of the Lord will be saved” (Romans 10:13), we can see how much that involves. Calling on the name of the Lord means understanding and embracing His character and His purpose, and appealing to Him on that basis.

David wrote, “Magnify the LORD with me; let us exalt his name together.” (Psalm 34:3) Yes, let us!