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.”

Exodus 34:6-7a

Moses had made the audacious request to God: “Show me your glory!” God loves the request, a request born of hunger to know God, and says “Yes!”

Early the next morning, Moses chisels two stone tablets and climbs Mt. Sinai. God comes down to earth in a cloud and reveals his glory to Moses. “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’” (34:6-7a).

God is revealing to Moses his glory, his attributes, his essence. “Moses, this is my glory!”

God is saying for all time:

This is who I am. This is my essence. I am the compassionate God, bursting with relentless tenderness and affection for you. I am the gracious God, the God who extends grace to those who don’t deserve it. I am abounding in love. I don’t have just a little love for you. No! I am crazy about you! I am overflowing with love for you! I am abounding in faithfulness. I am worthy of your complete trust because I am faithful and true. I will do what I say. I am forgiving. I am the God who can remove your sin as far as the east is from the west!

Is this the way you see God? I hope so because this is who God is. And how you see God will shape everything in your life.

See God the way he is, in his resplendent glory.