Compassionate
The Character of God • Sermon • Submitted • Presented
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God is Compassionate
God is Compassionate
6 And the Lord passed before him and proclaimed, “The Lord, the Lord God, merciful and - gracious, longsuffering, and abounding in goodness and truth, 7 keeping mercy for thousands, forgiving iniquity and transgression and sin, by no means clearing the guilty, visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children and the children’s children to the third and the fourth generation.”
We have been dealing with the very character of God at the core of this study, and today we drive home what we started last week, which is the reading of Exodus 34.
One of the ways we have to be clear as God’s people is that God is known primarily via revelation. We find references of this all through the old testament writings.
2 And God spoke to Moses and said to him: “I am the Lord. 3 I appeared to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob, as God Almighty, but by My name Lord I was not known to them.
The word “appeared” there is of much importance.
רָאָה (rāʾâ). vb. to see; to appear; to show. Used to denote the act of seeing in both literal and figurative senses or the act of appearing, showing, or perceiving.
Important for the notion of divine revelation are instances where people are said to have seen (rāʾâ) God or where God is said to have appeared (rāʾâ)to people.
Now this is important as you can see the appearance was a “divine” revelation. God made himself known to Abraham, Isaac and Jacob.
Let us consider other examples;
7 Then the Lord appeared to Abram and said, “To your descendants I will give this land.” And there he built an altar to the Lord, who had appeared to him.
Yahweh “appeared”. Same word there. Meaning, Abraham knowing Yahweh, was by “Revelation”.
It is pretty clear that God would only be known by his “divine appearance”.
Hence, what Moses said also in Exodus 33:12-13
12 Then Moses said to the Lord, “See, You say to me, ‘Bring up this people.’ But You have not let me know whom You will send with me. Yet You have said, ‘I know you by name, and you have also found grace in My sight.’ 13 Now therefore, I pray, if I have found grace in Your sight, show me now Your way, that I may know You and that I may find grace in Your sight. And consider that this nation is Your people.”
“Make known to me, please, your way, and so I may know you so that I can find favor in your eyes”.
The word “way” is Derek
Lexham Theological Wordbook דֶּרֶךְ
דֶּרֶךְ (derek). n. masc. way, road, path, journey. Literally, a road; metaphorically, a lifestyle.T
The usage mostly in the OT is actually about lifestyle i.e. this is not what you do once and let go, i.e. consistently, and this is influenced by the character of a man or person. The character shapes WHO they are and why they act the way they do.
manner of acting or controlling yourself
When we consider some examples in relation to God, this becomes very clear;
2Let my teaching drop as the rain,
My speech distill as the dew,
As raindrops on the tender herb,
And as showers on the grass.
3For I proclaim the name of the Lord:
Ascribe greatness to our God.
4He is the Rock, His work is perfect;
For all His ways are justice,
A God of truth and without injustice;
Righteous and upright is He.
The word “ways” there is the word “Derek”. i.e. This is how he bahaves, i.e. acts, because this is “WHO” he is (he is a faithful God, and without injustice). Hence, the “work” of God that is perfect, is because of his characteristics, as faithful, without injustice, righteous and upright.
Hence, Moses was seeking not just to know God in his acts, but “WHY” he acts the way he does. “WHO ARE YOU YAHWEH?”
Notice, it is God who makes himself known, hence a divine revelation again, not by assumptions or guess work, God reveals himself.
“Knowing God is by him revealing his own character to us”
The name of Yahweh
The name of Yahweh
Also, notice the phrase “I will proclaim the name of Yahweh”, what does that mean?
The word “name” there is “šēm”
שֵׁם (šēm). n. masc. name, reputation, renown, presence. When used of God, this word not only refers to God’s self-designation or renowned character, but also in a sense represents him.
The term šēm usually refers simply to what an individual, location, or object is called. In many cases, however, it refers metaphorically to the reputation or stature of a human or God himself. For instance, God promises to make great the šēm of both Abraham and David (
The šēm of God can denote His self-disclosure or the revelation of his essential identity
It doesn’t just mean like a name you call someone, cos there is a proclaimation of that name. It is the self-disclosure or the revelation of his identity. In other words, when you hear “I will proclaim the name of Yahweh”, he is saying, I will make known the revelation of his character.
Hence, when we return to Exodus 33, in God response to Moses, we see exactly thesame phrase;
17 So the Lord said to Moses, “I will also do this thing that you have spoken; for you have found grace in My sight, and I know you by name.”
18 And he said, “Please, show me Your glory.”
19 Then He said, “I will make all My goodness pass before you, and I will proclaim the name of the Lord before you. I will be gracious to whom I will be gracious, and I will have compassion on whom I will have compassion.”
“I will proclaim the name of Yahweh before you”, meaning, I will make known to you my very character.
Hence, as we read on, we see the divine “character” “I will be gracious to whom I will be gracious”, and “I will show compassion to whom I will show compassion”.
Now, this aren’t conditional statements, neither are they statements with negations. This is the revelation of God himself “I am the one who is gracious. That’s who I AM.”
Meaning that Gracious and Compassionate is not what he does when he is in the mood, it is “WHO HE IS”.
God is a gracious and compassionate God
The proclaimation of his character is that he is the one who shows grace and compassion. This is very vital for us to know and let it sink in us pretty well, that the grace and compassion of God has nothing to do with human endeavors or actions, it is simply within his prerogative to give.
Say with me, God is gracious & compassionate
So, before we proceed, who is yahweh? He is a merciful and gracious God. Hence, when we get to Exodus 34, we come to the same thing spoken of his character.
5 Now the Lord descended in the cloud and stood with him there, and proclaimed the name of the Lord. 6 And the Lord passed before him and proclaimed, “The Lord, the Lord God, merciful and gracious, longsuffering, and abounding in goodness and truth, 7 keeping mercy for thousands, forgiving iniquity and transgression and sin, by no means clearing the guilty, visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children and the children’s children to the third and the fourth generation.”
Notice the same phrase, “proclaimed the name of the Lord”. It is exactly the same thing. That is, this is the proclamation of his character. I.e. the revelation of his essential identity. And the first thing we noticed, is what begins his character, which is “merciful (compassionate) and gracious”.
Into the heart of his Character (compassionate)
Into the heart of his Character (compassionate)
Let us zoom in more into the heart of the character of God more. What do we mean by God is compassionate?
Those two phrases go together almost every time in the Old Testament writings, and we should study them to really get to the heart of what it means that God is compassionate and gracious.
Notice Exodus 34:5-7
And the Lord passed before him and proclaimed, “The Lord, the Lord God, merciful and gracious, longsuffering, and abounding in goodness and truth,
Now, I mentioned the last time, that in the NKJV, it obscure somethings and I would rather read this in maybe LEB or ESV
And Yahweh passed over before him, and he proclaimed, “Yahweh, Yahweh, God, who is compassionate and gracious, ⌊slow to anger⌋, and abounding with loyal love and faithfulness,
ESV
And Yahweh passed over before him, and he proclaimed, “Yahweh, Yahweh, God, who is compassionate and gracious, ⌊slow to anger⌋, and abounding with loyal love and faithfulness,
The word “compassionate” is a word that is used only for God in the scriptures. It is the word raḥûm
Lexham Theological Wordbook רַחוּם
רַחוּם (raḥûm). adj. masc. sg. merciful, gracious, compassionate. Describes the quality or character of a merciful or compassionate person or being.
It is commonly used alongside the word “gracious”.
Now it is an adjective (describes a noun), i.e. this is the description of God. It is like saying “Bro. Henry is kind”, hence, that means the “WHY” brother Henry will be hosting us this Sunday after service, is because “He is kind”. Meaning, that the “ACTION (verb) reveal the Character”, but I will interprete God through circumstances rather can character when I am unsure about who God is.
Hence, God himself reveals, states and makes clear his character, so that You and I, can interprete God through his Character and not circumstances.
I can have an expectation about “HOW” God would act why? This is his character.
31 But in your great compassions you did not put an end to them, and you did not abandon them. For you are a gracious and compassionate God.
Notice, his action is because of his character. He did not put an end to them, and did not abandon them in his great compassions, why? for he is a gracious and compassionate God.
Hence, when I look into God and his character consistently, what I see is a compassionate & gracious God which is seen in the consistency of his actions.
Looking into Compassion more
Looking into Compassion more
When I say God is compassionate and gracious, the first way I will see this, is in his reluctance to anger/wrath. That means, does God consistently act in a certain way towards wrongdoings? This is what we need to investigate.
Now, when we look at Psalm 103:6-14
6 The Lord executes righteousness And justice for all who are oppressed. 7 He made known His ways to Moses, His acts to the children of Israel. 8 The Lord is merciful and gracious, Slow to anger, and abounding in mercy. 9 He will not always strive with us, Nor will He keep His anger forever. 10 He has not dealt with us according to our sins, Nor punished us according to our iniquities. 11 For as the heavens are high above the earth, So great is His mercy toward those who fear Him; 12 As far as the east is from the west, So far has He removed our transgressions from us. 13 As a father pities his children, So the Lord pities those who fear Him. 14 For He knows our frame; He remembers that we are dust.
Now, this is a very clear explaination of a compassionate and gracious God. It has a close association with forgiveness of sins.
Because the Lord is always merciful and gracious, he will not always strive with us, Nor will he keep his anger forever.
When we say, God is compassionate and gracious, we see it first in how he deals with us, and that means, God doesn’t deal with us, according to our sins, nor punish us according to our iniquites.
This is a fundamental thing to know about who God is, is that when we say God is merciful & gracious, it has alot to do with him forgiving our iniquity, not dealing with us according to our iniquity.
That’s why, a perfect way of describing this, is, “slow to anger”.
Hence, it shouldn’t be strange that while Israel did what they did with Moses, continuously, we find God who is “compassionate” in not dealing with them according to their sins, neither does he deal with you and I according to our sins.
15 “As in the days when you came out of the land of Egypt, I will show them wonders.” 16 The nations shall see and be ashamed of all their might; They shall put their hand over their mouth; Their ears shall be deaf. 17 They shall lick the dust like a serpent; They shall crawl from their holes like snakes of the earth. They shall be afraid of the Lord our God, And shall fear because of You. 18 Who is a God like You, Pardoning iniquity And passing over the transgression of the remnant of His heritage? He does not retain His anger forever, Because He delights in mercy. 19 He will again have compassion on us, And will subdue our iniquities. You will cast all our sins Into the depths of the sea.
God delights in mercy, and his compassion shows in that he subdues our iniquites.
This is our God, one who delights in mercy.
19 Surely, after my turning, I repented; And after I was instructed, I struck myself on the thigh; I was ashamed, yes, even humiliated, Because I bore the reproach of my youth.’ 20 Is Ephraim My dear son? Is he a pleasant child? For though I spoke against him, I earnestly remember him still; Therefore My heart yearns for him; I will surely have mercy on him, says the Lord.
God’s heart yearns for him, he will surely have “raḥûm” i.e. compassion on him.
22 The loyal love of Yahweh does not cease; his compassions do not come to an end. 23 They are new in the morning, great is your faithfulness. 24 “Yahweh is my portion,” says my soul, “Thus I will hope on him.” 25 Yahweh is good to those who wait on him, to the person that seeks him. 26 It is good to wait in silence for the salvation of Yahweh. 27 It is good for a man who carries the yoke of his childhood. 28 Let him sit alone and be silent when he has laid it on him. 29 Let him put his mouth in the dust; perhaps there is hope. 30 Let him give a cheek to his smiter, let him be filled with disgrace. 31 For the Lord will not reject forever. 32 For even though he causes grief he has compassion according to the greatness of his loyal love. 33 He does not afflict willingly, or grieve anyone. 34 To crush under his feet all the prisoners of the earth; 35 to deprive one of justice before the face of the Most High; 36 to subvert a person in a legal dispute —the Lord has not found delight in these things.
The word “afflict willingly” there means he doesn’t afflict from the heart. This is not the heart of God, to afflict men (in context here, Israel). Does it happen? Yes, and we will see “How” and “why” much later in this study.
Hence, even though they are experiencing a rejection, Jeremiah is saying to his audience, “our grief is not his heart”.
(skip)**But we have done things that are not “pleasing to him” verse 34-36(this is the key to his mercy seeming to be withheld, we will come back to this in this series.).
Meaning something that, such experience of rejection, is not random, and neither has you and I done this or doing this. **(skip end)
Now, a second thing he said there is “grieve anyone” which is the term to “suffer” or cause to grieve.
Today I bring you a word of comfort, “Our grieve/suffering is not his heart”.
Hence, in grieve, who they will call upon is God who is compassionate. He is the God who is compassionate and cares for us, Just as a mother cares for her children (we will develop this next week).
14 But Zion said, “Yahweh has forsaken me, and the Lord has forgotten me!” 15 Can a woman forget her suckling, refrain from having compassion on the child of her womb? Indeed, these may forget, but I, I will not forget you! 16 Look, I have inscribed you on the palms of my hands; your walls are continually before me. 17 Your children hasten; your destroyers and those who laid you waste depart from you. 18 Lift your eyes up all around and see; all of them gather; they come to you. As surely as I live, declares Yahweh, surely you shall put on all of them like an ornament, and you shall bind them on like a bride. 19 Surely your sites of ruins and desolate places and land of ruins, surely now you will be too cramped for your inhabitants, and those who engulfed you will be far away.
God, will not forget you and me. This is part of his compassion (raḥûm). God will care for you and me.
He is not the source of our pain or hurt, it is not his very heart for that to happen.
Practicality of this
Practicality of this
Hence, we will find in scriptures, some very clear way God is compassionate, and the actions of God based on this.
For example, when I pray, there is an assumption I might have that I am making God compassionate towards me in my prayers, but not really, God who is already compassionate, is the one I am praying to. Hence, there is an assurance in my request, God would have compassion on me, and on you.
Psalm 51:1 (LEB)
1 Be gracious to me, O God, according to your loyal love. According to your abundant mercies, blot out my transgressions.
Psalm 51:1 (LEB)
1 Be gracious to me, O God, according to your loyal love. According to your abundant mercies, blot out my transgressions.
Be gracious to me, O God. I could have done something, but David knew rightly, that he could say to Yahweh, blot out my transgressions, God be gracious to me. Why? Because this is the heart of God.
9 And he also told this parable to some who trusted in themselves that they were righteous, and looked down on everyone else: 10 “Two men went up to the temple to pray, one a Pharisee and the other a tax collector. 11 The Pharisee stood and prayed these things with reference to himself: ‘God, I give thanks to you that I am not like other people—swindlers, unrighteous people, adulterers, or even like this tax collector! 12 I fast twice a week; I give a tenth of all that I get.’ 13 But the tax collector, standing far away, did not want even to raise his eyes to heaven, but was beating his breast, saying, ‘God, be merciful to me, a sinner!’ 14 I tell you, this man went down to his house justified rather than that one! For everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, but the one who humbles himself will be exalted.”
This is quite crucial, “God, be merciful to me, a sinner”. Why we can do this, is because of a certainty, that God is one who “forgives”, why? He is a merciful and gracious God.
People of God, this is our mindset about God, to keep before our eyes.
I won’t look at circumstances and say, well, maybe God didn’t forgive me, maybe this is “karma”, maybe this is because I did this or did that, I must be confident in God who is compassionate and gracious. Don’t second guess it.
