I. Introduction
A. Children Describing God
1. Children have a very concrete and literal view of God.
2. But the reality is that most of what they think about Him is caught, not taught.
B. Background of Text
1. As Moses ascends Mt Sinai to receive the commandments again from God, God speaks to Moses and reveals a little bit of who He is.
2. He describes Himself by listing five attributes. This statement became something of a creed for Israel in describing God (see Numbers 14:18; Nehemiah 9:17; Psalm 86:15; Jonah 4:2).
C. Foundational
1. It is important for us to understand the God we serve inasmuch as we can.
a. It shapes our view of Him and the world He created.
b. It gives us direction.
c. It helps us understand who we can become.
2. God’s Nature
a. Who is God? What is He like?
b. These are just a few of the myriad of questions that we ask throughout life about the God we serve.
II. God Is…
A. God is
1. God is not defined by time; He created it.
a. Genesis 1:1 In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth.
b. Psalm 90:2 Before the mountains were brought forth, or ever you had formed the earth and the world, from everlasting to everlasting you are God.
c. John 8:58 Jesus said to them, “Truly, truly, I say to you, before Abraham was, I am.”
2. Because God is not bound by time, it means there is nothing that surprises Him or pushes Him.
B. God is &
1. God’s nature is one of .
a. Isaiah 6:3
b. Psalm 18:3
2. In our passage, God states that, even though He is a forgiving God, He will act justly against sin.
3. In his commentary on this passage, Stuart observes that the seemingly continuous punishment is more like a warning to future generations. We often think we can get away with things others cannot. We think that we can justify our sin, but we cannot trick God.
C. God is &
1. God withholds what we in order to give us that which we do not .
2. You would expect that such a righteous and powerful God would be harsh and unforgiving, but He is not.
a. In Exodus 34:6-7 (ESV), God describes Himself as having steadfast love. The Hebrew word for steadfast love is חֶסֶד (hesed). It is the word often used when God speaks in terms of the keeping of His covenant promises with man. It is a love demonstrated in loyalty.
b. Roper observes, “The depth of God’s mercy is emphasized by the use of three terms for disobedience: ‘iniquity, transgression,’ and ‘sin.”
c. Psalm 25:7
d. Ephesians 2:1-6 (especially v 4)
3. God’s nature is one of righteousness, but He is also gracious, merciful, and patient.
D. God is
1. God is faithful to His , even when we are not.
a. The passage in Exodus 34 follows the people’s great sin of building the golden calf (Exodus 32).
b. When God declares that He will wipe out the people and start over with Moses, Moses reminds Him of the covenant He made with the patriarchs (Ex 32:13-14).
c. 2 Timothy 2:13
d. 1 John 1:9
2. God does not break His promises.
E. God is
1. God’s love is not a feeling. It is a choice to want what is for us, even though we are unable to reciprocate that same love to Him. (1 John 4:7-9)
2. That love was ultimately expressed in God sending His Son to die for our sins.
III. Conclusion
A. God’s Attributes in Us
1. As we finish today, God calls us to be like Him.
2. Remember, we are made in His image after His likeness, which means that each of us is born with the capacity to be like Him.
3. Somewhere along the way, we lose that concrete image of God and tend to forget that we are designed in His image.
4. We begin to define who we are based on images of those around us. God’s nature calls us back to a better view of ourselves and one another.
B. Invitation