The
traditional Jewish mercy traits of God from Exodus 34:6-7
Exodus
34:6-7 JPS And the LORD passed by before him, and proclaimed: 'The
LORD, the LORD, God, merciful and gracious, long-suffering, and
abundant in goodness and truth; 7 keeping mercy unto the thousandth
generation, forgiving iniquity and transgression and sin; and that
will by no means clear the guilty; visiting the iniquity of the
fathers upon the children, and upon the children's children, unto the
third and unto the fourth generation.'
B1 The Lord
C1 The Hebrew word
is יְהוָֹה
Yhvh. It means
the one bringing into being, life-giver and/or
the one who is: i.e. the absolute and unchangeable one, Ri;
the existing, ever living.
C2
John, speaking of God,
writes:
D1 Referring to the Lord Jesus John 1:4 EMTV In Him was life, and
the life was the light of men.
D2 Referring to the Lord Jesus John 5:21 EMTV For as the Father
raises up the dead and gives life, thus also the Son gives life to
whom He wills.
D3 Referring to the Holy Spirit John 6:63 EMTV It is the Spirit
who makes alive; the flesh profits nothing. The words that I speak to
you are spirit, and they are life.
D4 Referring to the Lord Jesus John 11:25 EMTV Jesus said to her,
"I am the resurrection and the life. He that believes in Me,
though he may die, he shall live.
D5 See also John 14:6, Acts 3:15, Acts 17:25, 1 Corinthians 15:45,
Revelation 11:11, etc.
C3 The first trait concerning God is that He is life, has life in
Himself without prior cause, and can create life.
B2 The Lord—this is repeated for emphasis. He and only He is life.
B3 God
C1 The Hebrew word
is אֵל ʼêl.
It means ultimate strong and mighty.
C2 God is both
D1 Omniscient
E1 Psalms 139:4 NASB77 Even before there is a word on my tongue,
Behold, O LORD, Thou dost know it all.
E2 Hebrews 4:13 GNB92 There is nothing that can be hid from God;
everything in all creation is exposed and lies open before his eyes.
And it is to him that we must all give an account of ourselves.
D2 Omnipotent
E1 The Lord Jesus practiced this as seen in the Gospel of Mark where
He had authority over the weather, demons, sickness, hunger, the
devil, death, etc.
E2 Isaiah 43:13 NASB77 Even from eternity I am He; And there is
none who can deliver out of My hand; I act and who can reverse it?
E3 Matthew 19:26 NASB77 And looking upon them Jesus said to them,
“With men this is impossible, but with God all things are
possible.”
B4 Merciful
C1 The Hebrew word
is רַחוּם
rachûwm. It means: This root refers to deep love
(usually of a “superior” for an “inferior”) rooted in some
“natural” bond. [Source in TWOT]
C2 Mercy is not receiving what we do deserve. Since He is the King of
all kings, lawmaker, judge, etc., He can show mercy. There are
conditions that He sets and is noted in the context of the Bible
passage.
C3 Verses
D1 Titus 3:5 GNB92 he saved us. It was not because of any good
deeds that we ourselves had done, but because of his own mercy that
he saved us, through the Holy Spirit, who gives us new birth and new
life by washing us.
D2 1 Peter 1:3 AFV Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus
Christ, Who, according to His abundant mercy, has begotten us again
unto a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the
dead.
B5 Gracious
C1 The Hebrew word
is חַנּוּן
channûwn. It means depicts a heartfelt response by
someone who has something to give to one who has a need [Source
is TWOT].
C2 Grace is receiving what we do not deserve.
C3 Note both concepts (has a need plus heartfelt response): Ephesians
2:3-8 NASB77 Among them we too all formerly lived in the lusts of
our flesh, indulging the desires of the flesh and of the mind, and
were by nature children of wrath, even as the rest. 4 But God, being
rich in mercy, because of His great love with which He loved us, 5
even when we were dead in our transgressions, made us alive together
with Christ (by grace you have been saved), 6 and raised us up with
Him, and seated us with Him in the heavenly places, in Christ Jesus,
7 in order that in the ages to come He might show the surpassing
riches of His grace in kindness toward us in Christ Jesus. 8 For by
grace you have been saved through faith; and that not of yourselves,
it is the gift of God.
B6 Longsuffering
C1 The Hebrew word
is אָרֵךְ
ʼârêk. It means: Applied to either God or man it
is used most frequently in construct to the word ’appayı̂m, and
is translated “longsuffering, slow to anger/ wrath.” Literally,
when the Bible says God is “longsuffering.” [Source
is TWOT]
C2
It takes a long time for God to become angry. Compare the long time
He gave Moses in Exodus 3-4:17.
C3 2 Peter 3:9 NASB77 The
Lord is not slow about His promise, as some count slowness, but is
patient toward you, not wishing for any to perish but for all to come
to repentance.
B7 Abundant in goodness
C1 The Hebrew word
for goodness is חֶסֶד
cheçed. It means: The beautiful story of Ruth is
tarnished by considering Ruth’s action as motivated by contractual
obligations. The Lord had no obligation to get the widows new
husbands in Moab (1:8–9). Ruth went with Naomi from pure love. Boaz
recognized her action as goodness in 2:11–12 and calls it ḥesed
in 3:10. [Source is TWOT]
C2 The principle by example is given in Esther 2:9 ESV2011 And the
young woman pleased him and won his favor. And he quickly provided
her with her cosmetics and her portion of food, and with seven chosen
young women from the king's palace, and advanced her and her young
women to the best place in the harem.
B8 Truth
C1 The Hebrew word
is אֶמֶת
ʼemeth. It means: The basic root idea is firmness
or certainty. In the Qal it expresses the basic concept of support
and is used in the sense of the strong arms of the parent supporting
the helpless infant. [Source is TWOT]
C2 Thus truth is related to reality and God’s character. He cannot
lie. His word is good.
C3 Verses
D1 God cannot lie. Titus 1:2 NKJV in hope of eternal life which
God, who cannot lie, promised before time began.
D2 Psalms 146:6 AMPC Who made heaven and earth, the sea, and all
that is in them, Who keeps truth and is faithful forever.
D3 God does have conditions. This principle is taught Psalms 25:10
WEB All the paths of Yahweh are loving kindness and truth to such
as keep his covenant and his testimonies.
D4 Truth is a characteristic of love. 1
Corinthians 13:6 NIV Love
does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth.
B9 Keeping mercy
C1 The Hebrew word
for keeping is נָצַר
nâtsar. It means to guard and protect.
C2 Verses
D1 Deuteronomy 32:10 NIV In a desert land he found him, in a
barren and howling waste. He shielded him and cared for him; he
guarded him as the apple of his eye.
D2 Psalms 31:23 NLT Love
the LORD, all you godly ones! For the LORD protects
those who are loyal to him, but he harshly punishes the arrogant.
B10 Forgiving iniquity
C1 The Hebrew word
for forgiving is נָשָׂא
nâsâ.
D1 It means:
E1 The second semantical category, of bearing or carrying, is used
especially of bearing the guilt or punishment of sin.
E2 The third category stressed the taking away, forgiveness, or
pardon of sin, iniquity, and transgression. [Source is TWOT]
D2 Forgiveness is to carry away the guilt and punishment of sin.
D3 God forgives if people meet His conditions.
D4 The Messiah Jesus did just as is prophesied about Him. Isaiah
53:12 NIV Therefore I will give him a portion among the great, and
he will divide the spoils with the strong, because he poured out his
life unto death, and was numbered with the transgressors. For he bore
the sin of many, and made intercession for the
transgressors.
D5 Psalms 25:18 NKJV Look on my affliction and my pain, And
forgive all my sins.
C2 The Hebrew word
for iniquity is עָוֺן
ʻâvôn. It means to bend, twist, and to
distort...Moreover, as
the above references indicate, it denotes both the deed and its
consequences, the misdeed and its punishment.
[TWOT] THE
standard of right and wrong becomes bent,
twisted, and distorted. Usually this happens because people want to
sin and then
try to find an aberrant explanation of God’s words
and law to
justify their beliefs and actions.
D1 Genesis 15:16 GNB It
will be four generations before your descendants come back here,
because I will not drive out the Amorites until they become so
wicked that they must be punished.
D2 Isaiah 53:6, 11 NIV We
all, like sheep, have gone astray, each of us has turned to our own
way; and the LORD has laid on him the iniquity
of us all. ... 11 After he has suffered, he will see the light of
life and be satisfied; by his knowledge my righteous servant will
justify many, and he will bear their iniquities.
B11 Forgiving transgression
C1 The Hebrew word
for transgression is פֶּשַׁע
peshaʻ. It means rebellion [TWOT]. Rather than
twisting and distorting God’s law (iniquity), people just plainly
know the law but choose to deliberately break it.
C2 Verses:
D1 Ezekiel 2:3 NET He said to me, “Son of man, I am sending you
to the house of Israel, to rebellious nations who have rebelled
against me; both they and their fathers have revolted
against me to this very day.
D2 Hosea 8:1 NET Sound the alarm! An eagle looms over the temple
of the Lord! For they have broken their covenant with me, and have
rebelled against my law.
B12 Forgiving sin
C1 The Hebrew word
for sin is חַטָּאת
ḥaṭṭā’t. It means
D1 The noun: miss the mark, disobedience.
D2 The verb: The verb has the connotation of breach of civil law,
i.e. failure to live up to expectations. [TWOT]
C2 Verses
D1 Moses speaking states: Deuteronomy 9:18 NLT Then, as before, I
threw myself down before the LORD for forty days and nights. I ate no
bread and drank no water because of the great sin you
had committed by doing what the LORD hated, provoking him to anger.
D2 1 Samuel 15:23 NRSV For rebellion is no less a sin than
divination, and stubbornness is like iniquity and idolatry. Because
you have rejected the word of the LORD, he has also rejected you from
being king.
B13 Will not clear the guilty
C1 The Hebrew word
for clear is נָקָה
nâqâh. It means From the basic notion “to be
poured out” the word may derive notions with either favorable or
unfavorable connotations.
[Source is TWOT]
C2 Verses
D1 In the favorable sense: Psalm
19:12 NKJV Who can understand [his] errors? Cleanse
me from secret [faults].
D2 In the unfavorable sense:
Proverbs 11:21 NLT Evil people will surely be punished,
but the children of the godly will go free.
Thus, from our passage we learn much about God and His character. He
alone is life. He is omnipotent. He is merciful and gracious. He is
longsuffering. He is good in His actions and plans. He is the final
standard for truth. He is trustworthy. He is the protector. He is the
only one who can forgive us of different types of sins (if we meet
His conditions). He does not forgive those who persist in sin, do not
ask, and meet His conditions.
