The Revelation of God

Moses said, “Please show me your glory.”

Exodus 33.18

When Yahweh revealed himself on Mount Sinai, he did two things. The first is that he revealed himself with words, Yahweh, Yahweh, 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 fourth generation. Ex. 34.6-7. This is important here. This is the only place in the Bible where God speaks his name twice like this! We better listen. It is like when our parents used our middle name. If we don’t listen there will be consequences. Here in Exodus, if we don’t view God as merciful and gracious, we are viewing him incorrectly. So when people see the God of the Old Testament as angry and vengeful, they are viewing him wrongly and miss the beauty of a God who loves his people with steadfast love and faithfulness.

The second way that God reveals himself in the wilderness is by being with his people tangibly. When the people complained to God in the wilderness, they weren’t just complaining to a vague deity whose idol had been crafted by human hands. Rather they were complaining against a God who had promised to be with his people and showed his presence by a cloud and fire: a cloud to shade them from the piecing sun by day and a fire to warm them from the bitter cold by night. He also provided for his people by giving them food to eat and water from a rock.

This revelation in Exodus is foreshadowing the day when Jesus would be present with his people in a personal way. Yahweh became a man and dwelt among us. He was among his people as the bread of life and the living water. He took the judgment that we deserved and lived a life full of grace and truth, full of hesed and emet. He revealed himself as Yahweh God, the glorious savior of the world.

This is whom we worship and adore. As we prepare to worship on Sunday let us meditate on this glorious and beautiful savior Jesus Christ.

Originally written 2.14.2016