John 1:14 And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we beheld His glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father, full of grace and truth.
Joh 1:15 John bore witness of Him and cried out, saying, “This was He of whom I said, ‘He who comes after me is preferred before me, for He was before me.’ ”
Joh 1:16 And of His fullness we have all received, and grace for grace.
Joh 1:17 For the law was given through Moses, but grace and truth came through Jesus Christ.
In the Bible we see the characteristics of the LORD through the many Hebrew names of God, and one beautiful characteristic of God is compassion, grace and mercy.
Yes, the LORD was unique in the Old Testament with his disciplinary love, but his love for his people has never changed! We see the manifestation of it in the New Covenant and the ministry of Jesus Christ who was full of grace and truth!
The Bible says that the law came through Moses, but grace and truth came by Jesus Christ.
Joh 1:14 And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we beheld His glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father, full of grace and truth.
Joh 1:15 John bore witness of Him and cried out, saying, “This was He of whom I said, ‘He who comes after me is preferred before me, for He was before me.’ ”
Joh 1:16 And of His fullness we have all received, and grace for grace.
Joh 1:17 For the law was given through Moses, but grace and truth came through Jesus Christ.
Although Moses was given the law and was under the law, he got a glimpse of God’s grace and compassion in the Old Testament when he asked the LORD to show him his glory!
Moses said to the LORD in Exo 33:13, “Now therefore, I pray, if I have found grace in Your sight, show me now Your way, that I may know You and that I may find grace in Your sight, and consider that this nation is Your people.”
Exo 33:14 And He (the LORD) said, “My Presence will go with you, and I will give you rest.”
Exo 33:15 Then he said to Him, “If Your Presence does not go with us, do not bring us up from here.
Exo 33:16 For how then will it be known that Your people and I have found grace in Your sight, except You go with us? So we shall be separate, Your people and I, from all the people who are upon the face of the earth.”
Exo 33:17 So the LORD said to Moses, “I will also do this thing that you have spoken; for you have found grace in My sight, and I know you by name.”
Exo 33:18 And he said, “Please, show me Your glory.”
Exo 33:19 Then He said, “I will make all My goodness pass before you, and I will proclaim the name of the LORD before you. I will be gracious to whom I will be gracious, and I will have compassion on whom I will have compassion.”
Exo 33:20 But He said, “You cannot see My face; for no man shall see Me, and live.”
Exo 33:21 And the LORD said, “Here is a place by Me, and you shall stand on the rock.
Exo 33:22 So it shall be, while My glory passes by, that I will put you in the cleft of the rock, and will cover you with My hand while I pass by.
Exo 33:23 Then I will take away My hand, and you shall see My back; but My face shall not be seen.”
So, in Exodus 34, the LORD shows Moses a glimpse of his glory!
Exo 34:5 Now the LORD descended in the cloud and stood with him there, and proclaimed the name of the LORD.
Exo 34:6 And the LORD passed before him and proclaimed, “The LORD, the LORD God, merciful and gracious, longsuffering, and abounding in goodness and truth,
Exo 34:7 keeping mercy for thousands, forgiving iniquity and transgression and sin, by no means clearing the guilty, visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children and the children’s children to the third and the fourth generation.”
Exo 34:8 So Moses made haste and bowed his head toward the earth, and worshiped.
In this revelatory passage of scripture, we find the LORD revealing himself to Moses giving him a glimpse of his glorious presence, but also revealing his character.
When God revealed himself to Moses he said, “ I am the LORD, the LORD God, merciful, gracious, longsuffering and abounding in goodness and truth.” Keeping mercy for thousands, forgiving iniquity and transgression and sin, but by no means clearing the guilty!
Did you get that? The LORD told Moses, “I am merciful, gracious, longsuffering, and abounding in goodness and truth, but I am still a righteous judge, who will by no means clear the guilty.
In other words, God is gracious, merciful, compassionate and abounding in love, but still a God of judgment and an all-consuming fire!
The writer of Hebrews said in Heb 12:28, “Therefore, since we are receiving a kingdom which cannot be shaken, let us have grace, by which we may serve God acceptably with reverence and godly fear.
Heb 12:29 For our God is a consuming fire.
Although we have the grace of God through Jesus Christ in the New Covenant, we see the grace, compassion and mercy of God throughout the Old Covenant as well although they were under the law!
For example, Hezekiah received a word from the LORD through the Prophet Isaiah that he was going to die and cried out to the LORD for mercy!
2 Kings 20:1 In those days Hezekiah was sick and near death. And Isaiah the prophet, the son of Amoz, went to him and said to him, “Thus says the LORD: ‘Set your house in order, for you shall die, and not live.’ ”
2 Kings 20:2 Then he turned his face toward the wall, and prayed to the LORD, saying,
2 Kings 20:3 “Remember now, O LORD, I pray, how I have walked before You in truth and with a loyal heart, and have done what was good in Your sight.” And Hezekiah wept bitterly.
2 Kings 20:4 And it happened, before Isaiah had gone out into the middle court, that the word of the LORD came to him, saying,
2 Kings 20:5 “Return and tell Hezekiah the leader of My people, ‘Thus says the LORD, the God of David your father: “I have heard your prayer, I have seen your tears; surely I will heal you. On the third day you shall go up to the house of the LORD.
2 Kings 20:6 And I will add to your days fifteen years. I will deliver you and this city from the hand of the king of Assyria; and I will defend this city for My own sake, and for the sake of My servant David.”
Hezekiah experienced the compassion, grace, and mercy of God, and 15 years was added to his life, and God gave Jerusalem rest and peace!
Hezekiah then told the people in 2 Chronicles 30:
2Ch 30:8 Now do not be stiff-necked, as your fathers were, but yield yourselves to the LORD; and enter His sanctuary, which He has sanctified forever, and serve the LORD your God, that the fierceness of His wrath may turn away from you.
2Ch 30:9 For if you return to the LORD, your brethren and your children will be treated with compassion by those who lead them captive, so that they may come back to this land; for the LORD your God is gracious and merciful, and will not turn His face from you if you return to Him.”
The Psalmist wrote in Psalm 136:
Psa 136:1 Oh, give thanks to the LORD, for He is good! For His mercy endures forever.
Psa 136:2 Oh, give thanks to the God of gods! For His mercy endures forever.
Psa 136:3 Oh, give thanks to the Lord of lords! For His mercy endures forever:
We also see a picture of the grace of our LORD Jesus Christ in Matt 9 through his compassion for those that were weary and scattered, and had no shepherd!
Matt 9:35 Then Jesus went about all the cities and villages, teaching in their synagogues, preaching the gospel of the kingdom, and healing every sickness and every disease among the people.
Mat 9:36 But when He saw the multitudes, He was moved with compassion for them, because they were weary and scattered, like sheep having no shepherd.
Mat 9:37 Then He said to His disciples, “The harvest truly is plentiful, but the laborers are few.
Mat 9:38 Therefore pray the Lord of the harvest to send out laborers into His harvest.”
The Apostle Paul quoted the words of Moses concerning the compassion and mercy of God speaking about Esau and Jacob.
Rom 9:13 As it is written, Jacob have I loved, but Esau have I hated.
Rom 9:14 What shall we say then? Is there unrighteousness with God? God forbid.
Rom 9:15 For he saith to Moses, I will have mercy on whom I will have mercy, and I will have compassion on whom I will have compassion.
Rom 9:16 So then it is not of him that wills, nor of him that runs, but of God that shows mercy.
In other words, God will use who he desires to use. God will bless who he desires to bless! Why? Because he is the LORD, God Almighty!
So, when look at Exodus 34:6-7 we find the names of God that speak to his characteristics of mercy and grace!
Exo 34:6 And the LORD passed before him and proclaimed, “The LORD, the LORD God, merciful and gracious, longsuffering, and abounding in goodness and truth,
Exo 34:7 keeping mercy for thousands, forgiving iniquity and transgression and sin, by no means clearing the guilty, visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children and the children’s children to the third and the fourth generation.”
Exodus 34:6 says that he is the merciful and compassionate God!
The Hebrew word “rachum” in the Strong’s Hebrew and Greek Dictionary means merciful or compassionate.
EL Rachûm is the Hebrew name of God which means; God who is merciful or compassionate or God who is merciful.
Hebrew word “channun” in the Strong’s Hebrew and Greek Dictionary means gracious.
EL Channûn is the Hebrew name of God which means the Gracious God or God who is gracious.
So, in all of these scriptures we see a picture of the LORD who is compassionate, gracious and merciful! This is powerful!
This is why the Prophet Jeremiah could say :
Lam 3:22 Through the LORD’s mercies we are not consumed, Because His compassions fail not.
Lam 3:23 They are new every morning; Great is Your faithfulness.
This is why Jesus told us in John 3:16, “For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life.”
Peter said in 2 Peter 3:9, “The Lord is not slack concerning His promise, as some count slackness, but is longsuffering toward us, not willing that any should perish but that all should come to repentance.”
God is so gracious, compassionate, merciful and abounding in love, and his desire is that none would perish, but that all would come to the knowledge and truth of Jesus Christ.
This is the nature of God that sometimes we don’t talk about much, but the LORD is compassionate, and full of grace and mercy! I don’t think that we can truly comprehend the steadfast love that the LORD has for us.
So, whatever you are going through or need today, remember the words of the Apostle Paul who said in Heb 4:16, “Let us therefore come boldly to the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy and find grace to help in time of need.”
God Bless, Pastor Quinn