A God...Abounding in Steadfast Love: Exodus 34:6-7

What we are currently doing is one long exposition of Exodus 34:6-7, where God shows His glory to Moses.  Not only does this passage become a central confession about God in the Old Testament, there are fewer passages in the Bible that are more helpful to a person’s understanding of God.  Last week we gave attention to the truth that God is “a God merciful, and gracious” (34:6a).  Today we are going to focus on the truth that God is “abounding in steadfast love and faithfulness, keeping steadfast love for thousands” (34:6b-7a).  Basically, we want to contemplate the love of God.  There are three points that I want to make about the love of God this morning. 

I.              The Nature of God’s Love

Let’s first consider the nature of God’s love.  This is important because many different things come to mind for many different people when we talk about God’s love.  What we want discover is what the Bible has in mind when it talks about the love of God.  From the context, especially in Exodus 33:18-20, we need to point out a few of the same things about God’s love that we did about God’s mercy and grace: that God’s steadfast love is a manifestation of His glory (33:18) and an expression of His goodness (33:19).  God describes showing His “glory” to Moses as Him causing all His goodness to pass before Moses and proclaiming His name (Exodus 33:18-22).  The way that God causes His glory to pass before Moses is in a self-declaration of who He is and what He is like.  All of these attributes described in 34:6-7 are necessary to display God’s glory to Moses.  He is not one of these attributes at the expense of the other; He is all of these things in continuity with each other. 

The Hebrew word used here for God’s “steadfast love” is, “HESED.”  There is no English word that adequately translates “HESED” because there is so much wrapped up in the word.  Essentially, “hesed” means covenant faithfulness/loyalty, but also includes goodness, kindness, mercy, and compassion, and it is a deeply relational concept.  It is also much more than feelings; it is something shown and kept.  So the “steadfast love” of God is essentially an affectionate covenant faithfulness and loyalty to those whom He commits Himself to. 

One beautiful illustration of “hesed” is found in part one of J. R. Tolkien’s Lord of the Rings Trilogy, The Fellowship of the Ring.  When Samwise nearly drowns coming after Frodo, he makes this statement: “I made a promise, Mr. Frodo. A promise! 'Don't you leave him Samwise Gamgee.' And I don't mean to! I don't mean to.” Another beautiful illustration of “hesed” is seen in the book of Ruth.  Ruth embodies affectionate covenant faithfulness and loyalty in her commitment to Naomi: [16] But Ruth said, “Do not urge me to leave you or to return from following you. For where you go I will go, and where you lodge I will lodge. Your people shall be my people, and your God my God. [17] Where you die I will die, and there will I be buried. May the LORD do so to me and more also if anything but death parts me from you.” (Ruth 1:16-17 ESV)  It is very fitting that these words are so often quoted at weddings, because marriage is supposed to be another illustration of “hesed” that God built into creation.  Marriages should be marked by “hesed” because they are meant to display the type of covenant loyalty that God shows to His people. 

There are several places that we could go in the New Testament to expand upon this Old Testament concept of the love of God, but one place that comes to my mind is 1 John 4:7-12:   [7] Beloved, let us love one another, for love is from God, and whoever loves has been born of God and knows God. [8] Anyone who does not love does not know God, because God is love. [9] In this the love of God was made manifest among us, that God sent his only Son into the world, so that we might live through him. [10] In this is love, not that we have loved God but that he loved us and sent his Son to be the propitiation for our sins. [11] Beloved, if God so loved us, we also ought to love one another. [12] No one has ever seen God; if we love one another, God abides in us and his love is perfected in us.

I simply want to point out a few additional things from this passage about the nature of God’s love.  First, we see that God is love (8,16) and that love is from God (7).  Love is not God; it is from God.  Second, we see that love from God is unmerited (10,19).  We did not love God first and God did not love us because we were lovable.  We were about as lovable to God as an intruder would be who broke into my house and killed one of my children right before my eyes.  We were God’s enemies.  But God is a God who is “abounding in steadfast love” and He loved us because He is such a God, even to unlovable people like us.  So putting these two ideas about the love of God together, we can say that God’s steadfast love is His unmerited covenant faithfulness and affection.

II.            The Demonstration of God’s Love

I would like to point out two demonstrations of the love of God from this passage this morning, one, which is explicit, and another, which I believe is implicit.  The demonstration of God’s steadfast love that is explicit in this passage is His covenant faithfulness and affection shown to His people, Israel.  Last week we took note of how, as Moses was on top of the mountain receiving God’s law, the Israelites were at the bottom of the mountain breaking God’s law.  This is but one of countless examples of Israel’s unfaithfulness to God in the Old Testament.  And yet here God is, promising to be with them again and keep His promises to them.  The story of the Israelites in the Old Testament is really one of an unfaithful people, and of a God who remains faithful to them in spite of their unfaithfulness. 

The demonstration of God’s steadfast love that is implicit in this passage is that of the gospel of Jesus Christ.  The gospel of Jesus Christ is the ultimate demonstration of God’s steadfast love for His people.  And I say that it is implicit in this passage because the cross provides the only way God can abound in steadfast love to His people for eternity.  If there is no gospel, then there can be no forgiveness of iniquity and transgression and sin (7).  The gospel of Jesus Christ provides the only way for both God’s love and justice to be served forever.  And the gospel is God keeping His promise to Adam & Eve, to Abraham, to Israel, and to the nations. 

The New Testament explicitly confirms that the gospel is the ultimate demonstration of the love of God for His people.  1 John 4:9-10: [9] In this the love of God was made manifest among us, that God sent his only Son into the world, so that we might live through him. [10] In this is love, not that we have loved God but that he loved us and sent his Son to be the propitiation for our sins.  The love of God was manifested in God sending His only Son to be the propitiation for sinners, so that they might live through Him. 

Romans 5:6-8: [6] For while we were still weak, at the right time Christ died for the ungodly. [7] For one will scarcely die for a righteous person—though perhaps for a good person one would dare even to die—[8] but God shows his love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.  John 3:16: [16] “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life. 

May we close our eyes and envision Jesus Christ on the cross, beaten and bloodied, gasping for breath.  Do you see His wounds?  Do you see the thorns on His brow?  Do you see the blood and sweat running down His face?  As He hangs there bearing the wrath of God in your place, may you hear Him say what Ruth and Samwise said: “I made a promise.  A promise!  And I will die to keep it.  Not even death will part you from me.  This is how much I love you!” 

How deep the Father’s love for us! 

How vast beyond all measure,

that He should give His only Son,

to make a wretch His pleasure. 

III.         The Implications of God’s Love

I would like to return to 1 John 4, and point out a few implications of being loved by God is such a remarkable way.  The first implication of my being loved by God is that I have no reason to fear.  [16] So we have come to know and to believe the love that God has for us. God is love, and whoever abides in love abides in God, and God abides in him. [17] By this is love perfected with us, so that we may have confidence for the day of judgment, because as he is so also are we in this world. [18] There is no fear in love, but perfect love casts out fear. For fear has to do with punishment, and whoever fears has not been perfected in love. (1 John 4:16-18)  Believers should live with a Romans 8 type of confidence because there is nothing that can separate us from the love of God in Christ. 

The second implication of being loved by God in such a way is that I have every reason to love.  John makes clear that the proper response to experiencing the love of God is love in return for God and for others.  [19] We love because he first loved us. [20] If anyone says, “I love God,” and hates his brother, he is a liar; for he who does not love his brother whom he has seen cannot love God whom he has not seen. [21] And this commandment we have from him: whoever loves God must also love his brother.  (1 John 4:16-21)  We demonstrate that we have experienced the love of God by loving others, and by doing so in a way that reflects God’s love to us. 

I’d like to close today by praying Ephesians 3:16-19 over our congregation.  Here Paul prays that the Ephesians believers would have “strength to comprehend with all the saints what is the breadth and length and height and depth, and to know the love of Christ that surpasses knowledge.”  May we experience and embody the steadfast love of our God here at Dry Creek Baptist Church.