Exodus 34:4-7
4 So Moses chiseled out two stone tablets like the first ones and went up Mount Sinai early in the morning, as the Lord had commanded him; and he carried the two stone tablets in his hands. 5 Then the Lord came down in the cloud and stood there with him and proclaimed his name, the Lord. 6 And he passed in front of Moses, proclaiming, “The Lord, the Lord, the compassionate and gracious God, slow to anger, abounding in love and faithfulness, 7 maintaining love to thousands, and forgiving wickedness, rebellion and sin. Yet he does not leave the guilty unpunished; he punishes the children and their children for the sin of the parents to the third and fourth generation.”
4 So Moses chiseled out two stone tablets like the first ones and went up Mount Sinai early in the morning, as the Lord had commanded him; and he carried the two stone tablets in his hands. 5 Then the Lord came down in the cloud and stood there with him and proclaimed his name, the Lord. 6 And he passed in front of Moses, proclaiming, “The Lord, the Lord, the compassionate and gracious God, slow to anger, abounding in love and faithfulness, 7 maintaining love to thousands, and forgiving wickedness, rebellion and sin. Yet he does not leave the guilty unpunished; he punishes the children and their children for the sin of the parents to the third and fourth generation.”
Reflection
Today we hear the phrase, ““The Lord, the Lord, the compassionate and gracious God, slow to anger, abounding in love and faithfulness, “ The phrase we see translated here as abounding in love is the Hebrew word “hesed” (pronounced chesed). This word is so deep a direct translation it is difficult to translate. But, it is one of the most used words in scripture. Most of the time where we see the word good or love translated in English the Hebrew word is hesed. Most scholars agree the best translation we have for this word is steadfast love. A deep love that God has for us. And when we say God is good we should think God is steadfast love. The trouble is that the word good is subjective, it means something different to different people. Do you think it is more important for us to think of God as good or see God by His defining quality God’s steadfast love? Why?
