Merciful and Gracious, Slow To Anger

Exodus 34:6-7

Exodus 34:6–7 ESV

The Lord passed before him and proclaimed, “The Lord, the Lord, 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 the fourth generation.”

Why This Text

This text gives us a key indicator in who God is.

Is our God a consuming fire? Absolutely!

Is our God merciful and gracious and slow to anger? Absolutely!

Are these in conflict? Not at all!

Even this passage combines these two truths:

God is merciful, gracious, slow to answer, abounding in covenant love and faithfulness, forgiving iniquity/transgression/sin

He will not clear the guilty, and sin has impacts beyond you.

There is no conflict in this Person.

This is not just one obscure passage describing God this way; consider these verses: Numbers 14:18; Nehemiah 9:17; 13:22; Psalms 5:8; 69:14; 86:5, 15; 103:8; 145:8; Isaiah 63:7; Joel 2:13; Jonah 4:2; and Nahum 1:3.

Numbers 14:18 ESV

‘The Lord is slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love, forgiving iniquity and transgression, but he will by no means clear the guilty, visiting the iniquity of the fathers on the children, to the third and the fourth generation.’

Nehemiah 9:17 ESV

They refused to obey and were not mindful of the wonders that you performed among them, but they stiffened their neck and appointed a leader to return to their slavery in Egypt. But you are a God ready to forgive, gracious and merciful, slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love, and did not forsake them.

Psalm 86:5 ESV

For you, O Lord, are good and forgiving, abounding in steadfast love to all who call upon you.

Psalm 86:15 ESV

But you, O Lord, are a God merciful and gracious, slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love and faithfulness.

Psalm 103:8 ESV

The Lord is merciful and gracious, slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love.

Psalm 145:8 ESV

The Lord is gracious and merciful, slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love.

Isaiah 63:7 ESV

I will recount the steadfast love of the Lord, the praises of the Lord, according to all that the Lord has granted us, and the great goodness to the house of Israel that he has granted them according to his compassion, according to the abundance of his steadfast love.

Joel 2:13 ESV

and rend your hearts and not your garments.” Return to the Lord your God, for he is gracious and merciful, slow to anger, and abounding in steadfast love; and he relents over disaster.

Nahum 1:3 ESV

The Lord is slow to anger and great in power, and the Lord will by no means clear the guilty. His way is in whirlwind and storm, and the clouds are the dust of his feet.

What do you think about when you think of God? Exodus 33:18-19 gives us an answer to that; our Theology needs to be guided by this!

Exodus 33:18–19 ESV

Moses said, “Please show me your glory.” And he said, “I will make all my goodness pass before you and will proclaim before you my name ‘The Lord.’ And I will be gracious to whom I will be gracious, and will show mercy on whom I will show mercy.

What is the Lord like? He is full of goodness, He is gracious to those whom He has chosen, and He is a God of mercy.

Dane Ortland makes this statement,

God does not reveal his glory as, “The Lord, the Lord, exacting and precise,” or, “The Lord, the Lord, tolerant and overlooking,” or, “The Lord, the Lord, disappointed and frustrated.” His highest priority and deepest delight and first reaction—his heart—is merciful and gracious. He gently accommodates himself to our terms rather than overwhelming us with his.

Does the Lord punish us? Yes, when we are wayward and refuse to submit to Him; but the heart of God is not in judgement but in Covenant Love (Lam 3:33).

What Does This Teach Us About God?

Steadfast Love (חֶסֶד (ḥě·sěḏ))

This is a word I love - I find it to be full of richness about God. I translate it as covenant love.

Ortland says, [it] refers to God’s special commitment to the people with whom he has gladly bound himself in an unbreakable covenant bond.

Faithfulness (אֱמֶת (ʾěměṯ))

Faithfulness refers to His trustworthiness, He is dependable, not fickle; He will not forsake us!

Ortland says, he will never throw his hands up in the air, despite all the reasons his people give him to do so.

No Limits

The text says He does this for thousands: this does not mean He will stop at 1,000 or 1,001.

It could be stated as thousands of generations but it really means without limit.

Not Without Law

This is NOT saying that God is without leniency!

God says that our sins will affect others, especially our family.

The verse says that our sins affect to the 3rd and 4th generations; but, also, notice that His Covenant Love goes to the thousands of generations.

John Owen stated it this way,

When [God] solemnly declared his nature by his name to the full, that we might know and fear him, he does it by an enumeration of those properties which may convince us of his compassionateness and forbearance, and not till the close of all makes any mention of his severity, as that which he will not exercise towards any but such as by whom his compassion is despised.

How Should This Change Me?

In Lamentations 3:40 we are given three commands:

Lamentations 3:40 ESV

Let us test and examine our ways, and return to the Lord!

To test means to examine for falseness/hypocrisy as it refers to our lives

To examine is to search out our heart - don’t stop with a cursory examination.

To return is our word for repent - to change our direction.

Recognize continuing in sin has ramifications (Isa. 54:7-8)

Isaiah 54:7–8 ESV

For a brief moment I deserted you, but with great compassion I will gather you. In overflowing anger for a moment I hid my face from you, but with everlasting love I will have compassion on you,” says the Lord, your Redeemer.

We often focus on the sins we are easily led astray by but, perhaps, this isn’t what we need to focus on.

Perhaps we need to focus on the wrong thinking that causes us to believe such sins are OK or thinking that would cause us to run from God.

All of what we think, read, contemplate, etc. should tell us that God is good and gracious because of Christ; this should cause us to love Him more and keep His commandments.