The Kindness of God

If you'd like to open your Bibles to Exodus 33.

!

See, you say to me, bring up this people, but you've not let me know whom you will send with me.

Yet you have said, I know you by name, and you've also found favour in my sight.

Now, therefore, if I have found favour in your sight, please show me now your ways that I may know you in order to find favour in your sight.

Consider, too, that this nation is your people.

And he said, my presence will go with you, and I will give you rest.

And he said to him, if your presence will not go with me, do not bring us up from here.

For how shall it be known that I have found favour in your sight, I and your people?

Is it not in you going with us so that we are distinct, I and your people, from every other people on the face of the earth?

And the Lord said to Moses, this very thing that you have spoken, I will do.

For you have found favour in my sight, and I know you by name.

Moses said, please show me your glory.

And he said, I will make all my goodness pass before you, and will proclaim before you my name, the Lord.

And I will be gracious to whom I will be gracious, and will show mercy on whom I will show mercy.

But, he said, you cannot see my face, for man shall not see me and live.

And the Lord said, behold, there is a place by me where you shall stand on the rock, and while my glory passes by, I will put you in a cleft of the rock, and I will cover you with my hand until I have passed by.

Then I will take away my hand, and you shall see my back, but my face shall not be seen.

The Lord said to Moses, cut for yourself two tablets of stone, like the first, and I'll write on the tablets the words that were on the first tablets, which you broke.

Be ready by the morning, and come up in the morning to Mount Sinai, and present yourself there to me on the top of the mountain.

No one shall come up with you, and let no one be seen throughout all the mountain.

Let no flocks or herds graze opposite the mountain.

So Moses cut two tablets of stone like the first, and he rose early in the morning and went up on Mount Sinai, as the Lord had commanded him,

and took in his hand two tablets of stone.

The Lord descended in the cloud, and stood with him there, and proclaimed the name of the Lord.

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,

but who will by no means clear the guilty, visiting the iniquities of the fathers on the children,

and the children's children to the third and fourth generation.

And Moses quickly bowed his head toward the earth and worshipped.

And he said,

If I now have found favour in your sight, O Lord, please let the Lord go in the midst of us,

for it is a stiff-necked people, and pardon our iniquity and our sin, and take us for your inheritance.

This is God's word.

Good morning, everyone.

Good morning.

Good morning.

My computer is not coming to the party.

There we go.

It's all right.

I'll make do.

Please keep your Bibles open at Exodus chapters 32 to 34.

Exodus 32 · chapter mention

We're actually going to be looking at quite a few different Bible passages this morning,

but most of the other ones will come up on the screen,

but the Exodus part won't come up on the screen,

and that's the section we'll be looking at most closely.

How we treat the poor and the weak and the vulnerable reveals something about our hearts.

It reveals the degree to which our hearts have been gripped by the love of God.

That's a prominent theme in the Bible across both Testaments, Old and New Testament.

So, for example, are our acts of worship genuine?

Are our acts of worship genuine?

Well, the people in Isaiah's day, the prophet Isaiah's day, were very religious.

They offered all the sacrifices.

They observed all the ceremonies.

But here's what God said to them in Isaiah chapter 1.

Isaiah 1 · chapter mention

What to me, I think this will come up on the screen.

Here we go.

Yep, and we'll step through it.

What to me is the multitude of your sacrifices, says the Lord.

I have had enough of burnt offerings and rams and the fat of well-fed beasts.

I do not delight in the blood of bulls or of lambs or of goats.

When you come to appear before me, who is required of you this trampling of my courts?

Bring no more vain offerings.

Incense is an abomination to me.

New moon and Sabbath and the calling of convocations.

I cannot endure iniquity and solemn assembly.

Your new moons and your appointed feasts, my soul hates.

They've become a burden to me.

I'm weary of bearing them.

When you spread your hands, I'll hide my eyes from you.

Even though you make many prayers, I will not listen.

Your hands are full of blood.

Wash yourselves and make yourselves clean.

Remove the evil of your deeds from before my eyes.

Cease to do evil.

Learn to do good.

Seek justice.

Correct oppression.

Bring justice to the fatherless.

Lead the widow's cause.

I mean, God's language here is very strong.

They had religion.

But God says it was all meaningless.

It was all empty.

It was just a show.

In fact, more than, worse than meaningless, it was offensive to God.

Why?

Because of the injustice of their lives.

Because their hands were full of blood.

Because they did not seek justice.

Because they did not confront oppression or defend the orphans and widows in their midst.

Religion, God says, without care for the vulnerable is just an empty show.

What about our faith?

Is our faith in God genuine?

Well, listen to James, the brother of the Lord Jesus.

In James chapter 2, he says,

James 2 · chapter mention

What good is it, my brothers, if someone says he has faith but does not have works?

Can that faith save him?

If a brother or sister is poorly clothed and lacking in daily food and one of you says to them,

go in peace, be warmed and filled, without giving them the things needed for the body,

what good is that?

So also faith by itself, if it does not have works, is dead.

Verses 15 and 16 there are not just a mere illustration.

They're a case study.

They're an example, James says, of the kinds of works that faith must produce if it's truly alive and not dead.

Do we know God's love?

Well, listen to the Apostle John in 1 John 3.

1 John 3,

Little children, let us not love in word or talk, but in deed and in truth.

If we say we know God's love, if we truly have God's love abiding in us,

then that must overflow in works of compassion and love towards others in need.

Are we actually God's saved people?

Well, in Jesus' parable in Matthew 25,

the parable of the sheep and the goats,

what differentiates the sheep from the goats are acts of mercy and kindness shown to Jesus' brothers, to his people.

Do we give food to the hungry and drink to the thirsty?

Do we welcome the stranger and clothe the naked?

Do we visit the sick and help the prisoner?

Do we see the poor and the vulnerable and the weak reveals whether or not we truly know God.

Now, today and for the next two weeks,

we're taking a little break from our series in Romans

for a mini-sermon series on God's justice and mercy.

Now, my plan for this series is really based around a single verse,

which may be a familiar verse to you.

It's Micah 6, verse 8.

Micah 6:8

Micah 6, verse 8 in context is one of those passages,

Micah 6:8

a bit like the ones that we just read,

where the prophet is asking, or God is asking,

what is genuine religion?

What does God actually want from us?

And this is how it reads, Micah 6, verse 8.

Micah 6:8

He has told you, O man, what is good.

And what does the Lord require of you?

But to do justice and to love kindness

and to walk humbly with your God.

What might it look like if we commit together,

commit ourselves under God to doing justice

and loving kindness with one another

and in our wider community?

What would it look like?

Luke wrote of the early church, in Acts chapter 4,

Acts 4 · chapter mention

he wrote of the early church that

there was not a needy person among them.

It's not that there were no needs in the early church,

it's just that they gave sacrificially

to meet one another's needs.

Could we be so committed to justice and kindness

that there would not be a needy person among us?

Wouldn't that be a wonderful thing?

What difference might it make in Glendale

and Newcastle and Lake Macquarie

if in our neighbourhoods and our workplaces

and our schools and our community groups,

we carry with us that commitment

to justice and kindness

into every place God sends us

from Monday to Saturday each week?

Well, brothers and sisters,

there's no doing justice and loving kindness

without walking humbly with our God.

And there's no walking humbly with our God

without knowing our God.

So the way I want us to approach this series

is quite simple.

In this first talk,

we're going to reflect on the kindness of God.

In the second talk,

we're going to reflect on the justice of God,

that is two sermons helping us know God.

And in the third talk,

we're going to think about doing justice

and loving kindness,

our response.

My prayer is that this series

will help us be ready individually

and collectively

for whatever works of justice and mercy

God may put before us.

In fact, why don't we pray that now?

Heavenly Father,

we do ask that as we meditate on your word today

and in coming weeks,

you would help us to know you deeply and truly,

to know your justice and your kindness.

And so,

fill us with wonder at who you are,

that that might overflow in our works of justice

and kindness for others.

In Jesus' name.

Amen.

Well, today we're going to reflect on the kindness of God.

Now, there are many places in the Bible

we could go to do this.

For all who live after Christ,

there is an obvious starting point.

But I actually want us to start somewhere else.

In the Old Testament,

with a moment that was for Israel

both pivotal and foundational.

A moment when the Lord showed Moses

who he truly is.

In particular, showed Israel

that it is God's glory

that he is kind.

Now, the key text is in Exodus 34,

Exodus 34:5–7

verses 5 to 7.

We've heard that already

from Emma's kids' talk

that she did a moment ago.

To my mind,

those verses that Emma covered

in her kids' talk,

that they are the high point

of the entire book of Exodus.

Now, that's a bold claim

because the book of Exodus

is full of seismic events.

There's the burning bush

where the Lord appeared to

and spoke to Moses.

There are the ten plagues

that God sent on the land of Egypt,

culminating in the Passover.

There's the parting of the sea,

the Red Sea,

so that Israel could pass through

on dry land.

And then the sea came over

and covered the armies

of the Egyptians.

There's the coming to Mount Sinai,

the giving of the law,

the Ten Commandments.

There's the construction

of the tabernacle.

So many major events

in the book of Exodus,

but I believe that these few verses

are the high point

because they follow the lowest point.

These verses are the zenith

because they follow the nadir.

It's one of the most important texts

of the entire Bible.

But before we look at those verses

that Emma's already read for us

in Exodus 34

and chairs as well

in the Bible reading,

we need to take in some of the context.

Exodus chapter 32 records

Exodus 32 · chapter mention

a catastrophic failure

on the part of God's people Israel.

Look at the start of Exodus 32 with me.

Exodus 32 verses 6 and 7.

Exodus 32:6

This won't be on the screen,

but if you have Bibles open,

it'd be great if you could see it

and follow along.

Exodus 32 verses 1 to 6.

Exodus 32:1–6

I'm going to read, sorry.

32.

When the people saw that Moses

delayed to come down the mountain,

the people gathered themselves together

to Aaron and said to him,

up,

make us gods who shall go before us.

As for this Moses,

the man who brought us up

out of the land of Egypt,

we do not know what has become of him.

So Aaron said to them,

take off the rings of gold

that are in the ears of your wives,

your sons and your daughters

and bring them to me.

So all the people took off

the rings of gold

that were in their ears

and brought them to Aaron

and he received the gold

from their hand

and fashioned it

with a graving tool

and made a golden calf.

And they said,

these are your gods,

O Israel,

who brought you up

out of the land of Egypt.

When Aaron saw this,

he built an altar before it

and Aaron made a proclamation

and said,

tomorrow shall be a feast

to the Lord.

And they rose up early

the next day

and offered burnt offerings

and brought peace offerings

and the people sat down

to eat and drink

and rose up to play.

Now for no better reason

than that Moses

was taking a while

on Mount Sinai,

Israel disobeyed

the law they had just received

and broke the covenant

they had just made.

They engage in idolatry,

the crafting of a graven image,

in false worship,

in blasphemy

against the name of the Lord,

in implementing novel sacrifices,

an invented festival,

and I think it suggested

debauchery

and they rose up to play

in implying drunkenness

and promiscuity.

If Israel had deliberately

sat down

and brainstormed

how they could break

as many commandments

as possible

in one fell swoop,

I don't think,

you know,

they would have been

hard-pressed to come up

with a better scheme

than this.

I'm a catastrophic failure.

And God's response

is devastating.

Look at what God says

to Moses

in verse 7.

And the Lord

says to Moses,

said to Moses,

listen to God's words here,

the Lord said to Moses,

go down

for

your people

whom

you brought up

out of the land of Egypt

have corrupted themselves.

See how God's just

completely disowned Israel.

Not my people,

your people

whom you brought out.

And verse 10,

he declares his intention

to destroy them.

He says,

God says to Moses,

now therefore let me alone

that my wrath

may burn hot

against them

and I may consume them

in order that I may make

a great nation

of you.

God says,

I'll wipe them out.

I'll just start again

with you,

Moses.

No more of this

corrupt,

rebellious

Israel.

Israel is on the cusp

of complete

and utter

ruin.

And it raises

the question for us,

has everything

that's happened before

in the book of Exodus,

all the events

that have taken place,

the plagues,

the parting of the sea,

the war,

all of it,

is it all just

a complete waste of time?

Is it all pointless?

Is it all utterly

in vain?

Is it all

at this point,

it would have been

better off,

Israel would have been

better off

if God had left

them in Egypt

than that he'd

brought them out?

There'd been

earlier points

in Israel's escape

from Egypt

where things

had looked a bit

shaky.

But at each

of those points,

all Israel really

needed was the

power of God

to rescue them.

The power of God

to keep sending

plagues

until finally

even hard-hearted

Pharaoh

was forced

to capitulate.

The power

of God

to confuse

the Egyptian army,

the power

of God

to part

the sea,

the power

of God

to bring

water from

a rock

and provide

food in

the wilderness.

But the

golden calf

crisis

was a crisis

on a whole

new level

because now

the power

of God

was not an

ally

to the

Israelites

but a

threat to

their very

existence.

The Israelites

had become

Pharaoh

and the

Egyptians.

They had

made God

into their

enemy.

Now,

brothers and

sisters,

just imagine

if we

found ourselves

in this

place

every time

we sinned

against God.

If every

time we

put idols

before God,

we found

ourselves

here,

where the

Israelites

were that

day.

For

example,

let's

say

I'm

feeling

anxious

or stressed

about

something.

something's

really

troubling

me.

And

instead of

praying,

instead of

turning to

God,

I turn

to

Netflix

or

alcohol

or

exercise

or

whatever

it might

be.

And I

say,

Netflix,

you're the

one who can

help me deal

with my

worries.

Exercise,

you're the

one that's

going to

save me

from my

troubles.

And that's

the kind of

thing we

often do,

isn't it?

When we're

anxious or

worried or

weighed down

with something,

we know

instead of

turning to

God,

we turn to

these other

things.

That may be

less extreme

than the

golden

calf,

but it's

not that

dissimilar

in terms of

what we're

doing.

Imagine if

any time we

did something

like that,

God said,

enough,

I'm done

with you.

My wrath

is burning

against you.

I'm going

to wipe

you out

and start

again.

Which one

of us

would last

even a

day?

Yet that's

exactly where

Israel found

itself,

through their

own rebellion

and idolatry.

Israel

and

with

destruction

hovering over

Israel

and about

to descend,

Moses

interceded.

Moses had

this offer

from God

that God

would wipe

out the

rest of

them and

start again

with Moses,

but Moses

wasn't

interested in

that.

He refused

to let

himself be

separated

from Israel.

He rather

instead

identified with

Israel and

he interceded

for them.

In verse

11 of

chapter 32,

he implored

the Lord

his God.

Now there

are three

stages to

Moses'

intercession.

We don't

really have

time to

go into

all the

details

here,

but I'll

just try

and fly

through it

a bit.

Stage

one is

in chapter

32

verses

11 to

13.

First

notice how

he starts

in verse

11.

O Lord,

why does

your wrath

burn hot

against

your people

whom you

have brought

out of the

land of

Egypt with

great power

and with

a mighty

hand?

Notice

how he

challenges

God who

had just

disowned his

people and

says,

no God,

they're yours

and you're

the one who

redeemed

them.

Verse

13,

he calls

on the

Lord to

remember his

promise to

Abraham,

Isaac and

Jacob,

calls on

him to

turn from

his burning

anger and

the outcome

in verse

14 is

the Lord

relented

from the

disaster that

he'd spoken

of bringing

on his

people.

So the

Lord doesn't

just wipe

them out

and destroy

them.

That's stage

one of

Moses'

intercession.

But there

are still

some questions

unresolved.

You know,

okay,

God's not

going to

wipe them

out,

but what

does this

mean for

Israel's

future?

So stage

two comes

in chapter

32 verses

31 and

32,

where Moses

confesses the

people's

sin to

the Lord

and asks

God's

forgiveness

and even

offers himself

in their

place.

And the

outcome is

that God

reinstates

their future.

He says,

verse 34,

chapter 32,

verse 34,

now go lead

the people to

the place about

which I've

spoken to

you.

Behold,

my angel

shall go

before you.

And it

continues in

chapter 33

verse 1,

depart,

go up from

here,

you and

the people

whom you

brought up

from the

land of

Egypt.

He says,

you can

go to

the land,

I'll give

you the

land,

verse 2,

33,

verse 2,

I'll send

my angel

before you,

he'll drive

out the

Canaanites,

verse 3,

go to the

land of

flowing with

milk and

honey,

they have

their future,

they have

their life,

they have

their future,

but look

what God

says at

33 verse

3,

at the end

of verse

3,

so they

have their

life,

they're not

going to be

destroyed,

they have

their future,

they can

continue and

go to the

land and

God will

give it

to them,

but they

have forfeited

their most

precious

treasure,

the presence

of God

himself with

them.

And so

stage 3 of

Moses'

intercession

comes in

chapters 33

verse 12

to 16,

which

Ches read

for us

earlier.

And it

begins

chapter 33

verse 12,

see you

say to

me bring

up this

people but

you've not

let me know

whom you

shall send

with me.

Yet

you've said

I know

you by

name and

you've

also found

favour in

my son.

Moses is

appealing to

the Lord

are you

going to

come with

us Lord?

Verse

15,

Moses said

to the

Lord,

if your

presence

will not

go with

me,

don't

bring us

up from

here.

For how

shall it

be known

that I

have found

favour in

your sight,

I and

your people?

Is it

not by

your

going

with us

so that

we are

distinct?

I and

your

people from

every other

people on

the face

of your

earth?

None of

the rest

of it

matters,

God,

if you

do not

go with

us.

And so

the outcome

to this

third stage

of intercession,

chapter 33,

verse 17,

and the

Lord said

to Moses,

this very

thing that

you've

spoken,

I will

do,

for you

have found

favour in

my sight,

and I

know you

by name.

So by

three

stages,

God

grants

Israel

their

life,

he

grants

Israel

their

future,

and he

grants

Israel

his

presence

with

them.

And in

33,

verse 18,

Moses said,

please show

me your

glory.

Now there's

two

possible,

you know,

show me

your glory,

Lord.

There are

two possible

reasons Moses

is asking

this,

maybe it's

just in

his

exuberance.

He's

overcome

with

thankfulness.

He wants

to see

more of

God.

Or perhaps

secondly,

maybe he's

seeking

reassurance.

He's

asking for

a sign

that God

really will

do what

he's just

said he'll

do.

Either way,

God's

response

comes in

verse 19,

I'll make

all my

goodness

pass

before you

and will

proclaim

before you

my name,

the Lord.

notice that

God's

glory that

Moses asked

to see

in verse

18 is

God's

goodness,

which he

says will

pass before

him in

verse 19.

And both

are connected

to God's

name,

God's

glory,

God's

goodness,

God's

name.

God's

God's

God's

God's

face

is a

deeper

revelation

of who

God

himself

is,

of who

God

is.

Verse

20 to

23,

God

explains

that

Moses

can't

see

God's

face

and

live

so

great

is

the

Lord

that

God

will

hide

Moses

in

the

cleft

of

a

rock

until

he

passes

by

so

that

Moses

will

only

see

the

back

of

God.

Nevertheless,

God

is

revealing

himself

to

Moses.

His

glory,

his

goodness,

his

name,

they're

interconnected.

This

is

God's

identity,

this

is

his

nature,

his

core

nature.

And

what

did

God

reveal

to

Moses?

The

glory

that

God

showed

to

Moses

is

that

he

is

kind.

34

verse

5.

The

Lord

descended

in

the

cloud

and

stood

with

him

there

and

proclaimed

the

name

of

the

Lord.

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.

Now,

yes,

there's

more that

follows

and maybe

we'll

look at

that

next

week.

But I

want us

to focus

on God's

revelation

here of

his

kindness.

Notice

in verses

5 and

6,

it's

the

Lord

who

is

proclaiming

his

own

name.

This

isn't

what

Moses

is

saying

about

God,

this

is

what

God

is

saying

about

himself.

God

is

making

himself

known,

he is

declaring

who

he

is

to

Moses.

And

this

revelation

of who

God

is

in

these

verses

here

as

he

passes

before

Moses

is

not

incidental

to

what's

happened

in

chapters

32

and

33.

Rather,

as

God

declares

his

name,

as

he

shows

his

goodness,

his

glory,

his

character,

God is

explaining

what's

taken

place

in

chapters

32

and

33.

God

is

explaining

why

when

Moses

interceded

the first

time,

the Lord

relented

from the

disaster

he'd

planned

and

did

not

destroy

Israel.

He's

explaining

why

when

Moses

interceded

the second

time,

the Lord

reinstated

their future

in the

promised

land.

He's

explaining

why

when

Moses

interceded

the third

time,

the Lord

even

agreed

that

he

would

go

with

them.

Why

he was

willing

to forgive

their

iniquity

and

transgression

and

sin.

Now,

there are

three key

words in

Exodus 34

Exodus 34:6

verse 6

that

describe

the kind

heart

of God.

Merciful,

gracious

and

steadfast

love.

Now,

I want to

spend a few

moments thinking

about those

words.

Now,

just about

any words

in any

language

will have

a range

of meanings.

If you

look up

in the

Oxford

English

Dictionary

the word

merciful,

you'll

find three

different

meanings.

Eleven

different

meanings

for gracious

and 24

for the

noun

love.

So,

words

have a

range

of

meanings.

The

same

general

principle

that

applies

to

English

words,

it

applies

to

the

Hebrew

words

that

underlie

these

English

words

in our

translations

here.

So,

at one

level,

what God's

doing here

as he

speaks of

being

merciful

and

gracious

and

abounding

in

steadfast

love

is that

he's

kind

of

piling

on

synonyms

or

near

synonyms

for

effect

to show

who he

truly is.

It's a bit

similar to

in verse

7 when he

speaks of

forgiving

iniquity

and

transgression

and sin.

When God

speaks of

forgiving

iniquity

and

transgression

and sin,

those words,

iniquity,

transgression,

they have

different shades

of meaning.

But what

God's

doing,

he's not

legislating

three

different

categories

of

misdemeanor

and saying

I forgive

this category

and that

category.

Rather,

he's

piling up

these

near

synonyms

to show

how expansive

his forgiveness

is.

No matter

what your

sin is

or what

kind of

sin it

is,

forgiveness

is available

for you.

So,

I don't

want to

press the

differences

too much,

but I do

want us

to spend

a little

time

thinking

about

these

three

words

because

these

are the

big

three

when it

comes to

the

kindness

of God.

There

are other

Hebrew

words

in the

Old

Testament

that

overlap

with

these.

There

are a

couple

of

words

that

are

often

translated

to

pity

or

despair

and

there's

others

about

forgiveness

and so on.

But these

are the

big

three.

I

think

these

are

the

most

important

words

in the

Old

Testament

when it

comes

to the

character,

the

word

is

compassionate.

Firstly,

the word

merciful,

which is

the other

way it's

commonly

translated

in Old

Testaments

is as

compassionate.

Here it's

an adjective

!

God is

merciful!

But this

word also

occurs as a

verb to

show mercy

or to

have

compassion

and as

a noun

mercy

or compassion.

In fact,

when it

occurs in the

noun form,

it's always

in a

plural

form,

which is

why some

English

translations

will come

across the

expression

God's

mercies,

plural.

So God's

mercy,

his

compassion,

this word

refers,

it can

refer both

to sort

of an

outward

act of

mercy,

but also

to the

inner

disposition

of

mercy

and

compassion.

That

God is

merciful,

that he's

compassionate,

means that

it is in

God's

very

nature

that he

is moved

by the

suffering

of others.

God is

not indifferent,

he's not

cold,

he's not

aloof,

he's a

God who

cares,

and because

he cares,

he acts.

What about

the second

word,

gracious?

Well,

similarly with

the first

word,

here it's an

adjective,

God is,

the Lord

is gracious,

when it's

used as an

adjective in

the Old

Testament,

it's only

ever used

of God,

in fact.

But again,

it can also

occur in the

Old Testament

as a verb,

translated

as something

like to be

gracious,

or to be

generous,

or to show

favour,

or as a

noun,

translated as

grace or

favour,

or in some

other ways.

So what does

it mean that

God is

gracious?

Well,

to borrow

an expression

from James

James 1 · chapter mention

chapter 1,

that God

is gracious

means that

he gives

generously

without finding

fault.

It's in

God's nature

to give.

He's inclined

to be

generous.

He's inclined

to bestow

favour,

even when

doing so

requires

overlooking

an offence.

he's

gracious.

What about

the third,

steadfast

love?

This one

only really

occurs,

or commonly

at least,

only occurs

commonly as

a noun,

hesed.

And it's

usually

translated in

ESV as

steadfast

love,

sometimes

translated as

in Micah

Micah 6:8

6 verse 8

it's translated

as the word

kindness.

The New

American Standard

Bible translates

it as

loving

kindness,

which goes

way back

to the

Coverdale

Bible

in 1535,

one of

the early

English

translations.

God's

steadfast

love,

that God

abounds

in steadfast

love,

means that

he is

full of

self-giving

love,

a love

that is

generous

and

bountiful

and that

will not

fail.

It means

that God

pledges

himself

to others

to be

for others,

to do

good to

others.

He

pledges

himself to

others

with an

unwavering

commitment

and that

magnificent

trio,

merciful,

gracious,

abounding

in steadfast

love,

that expounds

the name

of God.

That is

essential to

his glory

and his

goodness.

It is the

glory of

God that

he is

kind.

God

and this

is who

God

shows

himself

to be

in the

aftermath

of

Israel's

rebellion

with the

golden

calf.

But this

revelation

of God's

glory and

goodness to

Moses,

that then

echoes

through the

rest of

the Bible,

through the

rest of the

Old Testament,

through the

prophets,

through the

Psalms.

So the

prophet Joel,

for example,

Israel was

suffering a

locust plague

because of

their sin,

or maybe

actually it

was an

invading army

that's

metaphorically

described as

a locust

plague,

but whichever

it is,

Joel calls

on Israel