Yahweh Makes A Proclamation Concerning Himself To His People's Representative (Exodus 34:5-7).
‘And Yahweh descended in the cloud, and stood with him there, and proclaimed the name of Yahweh.'
As ever Yahweh is surrounded by cloud. The previous chapter has brought home why this was so as never before. His glory must be hidden or it would devastate whoever saw it. And He stood there with Moses. Here again He had come to speak with His friend. ‘He stood with him there'.
“ And proclaimed the name of Yahweh.” Compare Exodus 33:19. Thus all the glory of the previous appearance is manifested, although shielded by the cloud. He declared Who He was, He revealed What He is. The proclamation was mainly by a manifestation of Himself in the heart of Moses, a bringing home to him something of His very being.
To know someone's name was to know him fully. Moses came to know ‘His name' as proclaimed by Yahweh Himself. He received a full revelation of what Yahweh's name meant, of what He is. He was enabled to appreciate the very nature of God. (We may compare the idea here with the revealing work of the Holy Spirit, only active in those who are His - 1 Corinthians 2:9-16).
‘And Yahweh passed before him, and proclaimed, “Yahweh, Yahweh, a God full of compassion, and gracious, slow to anger, and plenteous in covenant love and truth. Keeping mercy for thousands, forgiving iniquity and transgression and sin, and who will by no means clear the guilty, visiting the iniquity of the fathers on the children, and on the children's children, on the third and on the fourth generation.”
“ And Yahweh passed before him.” We cannot even begin to appreciate what Moses experienced here (compare Exodus 33:22). His whole being was taken up with God. And then Yahweh proclaimed Himself in His fullness.
We read the proclamation, Moses experienced the full reality of the proclamation, for it was not only communicated in words, it was communicated in spirit. As he stood there in awe the glory and holiness and love of Yahweh swept through him, suffusing his whole being. Words cannot even begin to describe what he must have experienced.
Note the order of the words. Compassion and graciousness, covenant love and truth, come first. Mercy and forgiveness are of the very being and essence of God. And yet the corollary of this must be the awful judgment for those who fail to respond to that mercy and forgiveness. He will by no means clear men who do not respond. Here Yahweh reveals the future for mankind. His offer will come to them, His compassion will reach out to them, but in the end only those who respond from the heart will experience His covenant faithfulness. Those who reject it will be condemned.
“Yahweh, Yahweh.” The duality is the duality of witness. This was a full manifestation of Yahweh witnessed in the very innermost being of Moses. As the words were spoken they would illuminate Moses' heart and mind. This is a unique ascription to God. Yah Yahweh, while coming close, is not quite comparable with it (Isaiah 12:2).
“ A God full of compassion, and gracious.” This is part of His essential being, tender of heart, compassionate of spirit, and self-giving even to the unworthy. No words can really express it. If we add together all the compassion revealed by all the most compassionate of men throughout all history we only come up with a pale reflection of it. John later puts it simply in the terms ‘God is love' (1 John 4:7-8). But there as here he has to temper it with ‘God is light' (1 John 1:5). For in Him there is no darkness at all. It proclaims to us all that God wants to forgive and be forgiving. But He can only be so to those who will receive forgiveness.
“ Slow to anger, and plenteous in covenant love and truth.” The positive note continues, but with a slight hint of warning. He is slow to anger, anger is contrary to all that He wants to be, (but the hint is that angry He will be in the end towards the continually stubborn heart). He is plenteous in covenant love and truth. ‘Plenteous' indicates an abundant supply. There is no stinting of His love to those within His covenant (chesed indicates Scripturally love within the covenant). There is no stinting of His trueness and faithfulness. But again it can only be in truth. Truth is essential to knowing God. ‘What is truth?' asked Pilate, failing to recognise that the Truth stood before him. Only those who desire the truth can enjoy fully what He is.
“ Keeping mercy for thousands, forgiving iniquity and transgression and sin.” There is no limit to His desire to show mercy and forgive. ‘Thousands' is broad in its significance, it indicates a countless multitude, which no man can number (Revelation 7:9). His mercy is preserved for all of them. He wants to forgive, He longs to forgive, and there is no limit to what He will forgive. The threefold ‘iniquity and transgression and sin' indicates the totality of sin, sin in all its forms. The One Who was all compassion declared, ‘Every sin and blasphemy will be forgiven men', but the caveat was that those who finally failed to respond, those who hardened themselves against the work of the Spirit, would remain unforgiven (Matthew 12:31). Hell is full of ungrateful, unresponsive people. For ‘He will by no means clear those who fail to respond'.
“ And who will by no means clear the guilty (leave unpunished, exempt from punishment), visiting the iniquity of the fathers on the children, and on the children” s children, on the third and on the fourth generation.' Again in the midst of the light the dark side has to be revealed. He does not automatically clear men. There is no automatic forgiveness. Forgiveness is offered all of His grace but it has to be received and accepted. For those who will not turn to Him and receive that forgiveness the awful power of iniquity will continue on through the generations. Man's failure to respond to God affects not only himself but also his progeny.
So Yahweh reveals more of His glory to Moses as He had promised, but in what He reveals He makes clear that with the renewing of the covenant He has also forgiven His people for their major lapse. That is the clear implication of His words. But within them is included the warning that if they fail to take advantage of His forgiveness worse will follow.