Seder 71 Sermon: Thirteen Aspects of God's Character

 God's self-revelation of important aspects of his character is Exodus 34:6-7 is one of the most important passages of the Bible from a theological standpoint.  Jewish tradition identifies thirteen characteristics of God in this passage.  In a sermon at Church of the Messiah on June 14, 2025, Kyle Kettering enumerated them:

1. "The LORD"--how God is before a great sin, like the sin of the Golden Calf;
2. "The LORD"--how God is after a great sin--the same as before the sin (Mal 3:6).
3. "a God"--one who is mighty.
4. "merciful"
5. "gracious"
6. "slow to anger"
7. "abounding in steadfast love"---Hebrew chesed.
8. "and faithfulness"---or "truth"
9. "keeping steadfast love for thousands"--i.e., for a thousand generations.
10. "forgiving iniquity"--God forgives big sins.
11. "and transgression"--even willful sins, if they are repented of.
12. "and sin"---and God forgives errors.
13. "but who will by no means clear the guilty"--God is the One who cleanses.

When seeking forgiveness, we should remind God (and especially ourselves) of what he is like.

Seder 71: A Question about Exodus 34:7

 God's great revelation of Exodus 34:6-7 emphasizes his gracious, merciful nature.  But God's justice is also included.  Verse 7 states that God will "by no means clear the guilty, visiting the iniquity of the fathers on the children and the children's children to the third and fourth generation."

What does this statement mean?  First, it does not mean that God will hold anyone legally responsible for the sins of an ancestor.  As Deuteronomy 24:16 states, "Fathers shall not be put to death because of their children, nor shall children be put to death because of their fathers.  Each one shall be put to death for his own sin."

I have heard this statement explained in a couple of different ways.  First, our sins often do have effects on our lives and those of our descendants.  When we are forgiven for wrongdoing, we still may experience some consequences of that wrongdoing.  

Second, one common effect of our sins to have our descendants repeat them.  Commentator Douglas Stuart explains that this is what is described in Exodus 34:7.  This statement "describes God's just punishment of a given type of sin in each new generation as that sin continues to be repeated down through the generations."

Seder 71: Exodus 34---A Revelation and a Clean Slate

 When Moses asked God, "Show me your glory'' (Ex 33:18), God did not agree to do that.  God did say, however, that he would proclaim his name before Moses (v 19).  That proclamation is described in Ex 34:5-7.  

God had told Moses to cut two new tables of stone to replace the broken ones, and then to ascend Mt Sinai once again.  The broken covenant was going to be reinstated (Ex 34:1-4).  And so Moses went up the mountain alone to receive further revelation from God.  

God's proclamation to Moses is one of the most important passages in the Bible. It is a statement of the qualities of God's merciful nature.  In Jewish tradition those qualities are divided into thirteen characteristics.  In a sermon at Church of the Messiah on September 4, 2021, Rob Wilson listed them for the congregation.  

After receiving this revelation, Moses asked again for forgiveness for the children of Israel (vv 8-9).  God completely forgave Israel, and the covenant was renewed (vv 10-28).  In God's announcement of the renewal of the covenant, a sample of the covenant provisions are repeated.  Some have counted "10 commandments" in this list.  The list does not seem to be random.  It focuses on things that the Israelites could do to avoid repeating the sin of the golden calf. 

Along with not making any more "molten gods" (v 17), the Israelites were to keep the annual pilgrim feasts, which would help keep the nation in close connection with God.  

According to Jewish tradition, Moses returned to the Israelite camp with a new set of tablets on the Day of Atonement.  The text of Exodus does not indicate this, but such timing would have been fitting.  The great sin had been forgiven, and Israel started over again with a clean slate. 

When Moses returned to the camp, his face shone from his time in the presence of God (v 29).  A word with the same consonants as the Hebrew word for "shone", qaran, means "having horns" (Ps 69:31).  "Horns of light" radiated from Moses' face, so to speak.    

The similarity led to an alternate tradition that Moses had horns on his head at that point.  This tradition is reflected in a famous statue of Moses by Michelangelo.  

Some believe that there is a message in the Hebrew word used here--a message that the Israelites should listen to the "horned" Moses rather than make a statue of a horned bovine creature.