The Lord Reveals His Name

Sermon on Exodus 34:5-9

Text: Then the LORD came down in the cloud and stood there with him and proclaimed his name, the LORD. 6 And he passed in front of Moses, proclaiming, “The LORD, the LORD, the compassionate and gracious God, slow to anger, abounding in love and faithfulness, 7 maintaining love to thousands, and forgiving wickedness, rebellion and sin. Yet he does not leave the guilty unpunished; he punishes the children and their children for the sin of the parents to the third and fourth generation.”
8 Moses bowed to the ground at once and worshiped. 9 “Lord,” he said, “if I have found favor in your eyes, then let the Lord go with us. Although this is a stiff-necked people, forgive our wickedness and our sin, and take us as your inheritance.”

A person’s name is very important. First, it identifies who we are. Your name distinguishes you from everyone else. Your name is on your driver’s license, banking accounts, insurance policies. Your mail comes to you specifically because your name is on the letter. In addition, the mere mention of a person’s name causes certain qualities to be suggested. For example, if I were to say the name “George Washington,” you might think of honesty or the “Father of our country.” In our text, the LORD REVEALS HIS NAME to us. In doing so, we see that he is 1. The Lord Of Justice and that he is 2. The Lord Of Grace.

Our text follows the sad account of the golden calf. The people of Israel worshiped the golden calf, even saying that it was the one who led the people out of Egypt. After Moses confronted the people for their sin of idolatry, God spoke to Moses. He said, “Leave this place, you and the people you brought up out of Egypt, and go up to the land I promised on oath to Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, saying, ‘I will give it to your descendants.’ I will send an angel before you and drive out the Canaanites, Amorites, Hittites, Perizzites, Hivites and Jebusites. Go up to the land flowing with milk and honey. But I will not go with you, because you are a stiff-necked people and I might destroy you on the way.” (Exodus 33:1-3) How distressing those words were! God said that he would give the land to the Israelites, as he had promised, but he, himself, would not accompany them. The Israelites would be on their own. Moses pleaded for the people. The Lord relented and said, “My Presence will go with you, and I will give you rest.” (Exodus 33:14) So that Moses might be assured of the Lord’s presence, Moses made a request, “Now show me your glory.” (Exodus 33:18) Our text is the response to Moses’ request.

“Then the LORD came down in the cloud and stood there with him and proclaimed his name, the LORD.” (Verse 5) What is important to note is that the name of the Lord isn’t just the title by which he was known, “the LORD.” As we learn from here and other places in the Scriptures, the name of the Lord also refers to everything that he reveals to us about himself in his Word. This is the name of the LORD, as he revealed it to Moses: “The LORD, the LORD, the compassionate and gracious God, slow to anger, abounding in love and faithfulness, maintaining love to thousands, and forgiving wickedness, rebellion and sin. Yet he does not leave the guilty unpunished; he punishes the children and their children for the sin of the parents to the third and fourth generation.” (Verses 6-7) We’re going to look at the various aspects of the name of the Lord.

We begin with the last part of verse 7, “He does not leave the guilty unpunished; he punishes the children and their children for the sin of the parents to the third and fourth generation.” Can you imagine the terror that must have run through Moses’ mind and those of the Israelites when they heard these words? Here they had just worshipped an idol. Many had died as a result of this sin. Just prior to our text, the Lord had said that he would not accompany them to the Promised Land as a result of this sin. Yes, as the Lord said in verse 6, he is “slow to anger,” but don’t be fooled. The Lord takes sin very seriously. Just because they weren’t wiped from the face of the earth the exact second that they sinned, didn’t mean that God was ok with their sin. He will not “leave the guilty unpunished.”

How do those words make us feel? Since we’re talking about God’s name, let’s take a few moments and look at the Second Commandment: “You shall not misuse the name of the Lord your God.” In the explanation of the commandment, we read “We should fear and love God that we do not use his name to curse, swear, lie, or deceive or use witchcraft, but call upon God’s name in every trouble, pray, praise, and give thanks.” It says that we should not use God’s name to swear. This means that we are calling upon God as a witness that we are telling the truth. There are some times when it is perfectly acceptable to swear such as in a courtroom. But have we even sworn when we did not need to? For example, you’re out in the heat of an August day and you utter something to the effect of “I swear it’s so hot out!” Did you really need to call on God as a witness to the discomfort you’re feeling? How about when we get excited, or upset or startled and we say “Oh, my God”? We might say “Gosh,” but it means the same thing. Is that using God’s name as he intended it to be used? We might try to excuse this as a minor thing, but it is a misuse of God’s name. As God said in verse 7, “He does not leave the guilty unpunished.” We deserve God’s punishment for each and every infraction of his law.

Just a side note about the phrase: “He punishes the children and their children for the sin of the parents to the third and fourth generation.” (Verse 7) How is this true? If someone had an ancestor who did something particularly notorious, aren’t their descendants marked by what their ancestor did? There is also the fact that each generation passes to the next a sinful nature, that part of us that delights in doing evil and hates doing good. In this way, we are punished for our ancestors’ actions. We see that when the Lord reveals his name to us, we see that he is the Lord of justice.

We find out more about the name of the Lord in verses 6-7, “The LORD, the LORD, the compassionate and gracious God, slow to anger, abounding in love and faithfulness, maintaining love to thousands, and forgiving wickedness, rebellion and sin.” What wonderful, comforting words we read! The Lord is “compassionate.” He knows and cares about what is going on in our lives. He doesn’t just leave us to fend for ourselves. The Lord is “abounding in love and faithfulness.” This is who the Lord is. He is overflowing with love for us. He is faithful to every one of his promises. He maintains “maintaining love to thousands.” This is not literally thousands, as if you might possibly be left out of the number. Rather, this love is maintained for an unlimited number of people and generations. In other words, his love will never run dry. Finally, we read that the Lord forgives “wickedness, rebellion and sin.” This is the greatness of his glory. The Lord forgives sins of all kinds. There are no sins so great that they cannot be forgiven. When the Lord forgives a sin, it is completely forgiven. There is nothing that you do to be forgiven. The Lord forgives sins. He is the Lord of grace.

How can these two sides of the Lord agree? How can the Lord be one who does not leave the guilty unpunished and yet, at the same time, be one who forgives every wickedness, sin, and rebellion? Is he indecisive? Is he the Lord of justice one day and the Lord of grace the next? The answer is “No.” The Lord is both the Lord of justice and the Lord of grace? How can we reconcile the two? The answer is found in Jesus Christ on the cross of Calvary. There we see both in action. We see the Lord of justice as every single sin that has ever been committed is punished. While on the cross, Jesus suffered the torments of hell that you and I deserved. Not one sin was left unpunished. We also see the Lord of grace in action. Grace means God’s undeserved love. Instead of punishing us, who rightly deserved it, the Lord punished his own Son in our place. Instead of punishment, we are the recipients of God’s love. Now when he looks at us, he sees us as holy, perfect. This is how he can forgive every “wickedness, rebellion and sin.” This is how what Paul writes in Romans 3:23-24 can be true: “All have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, and all are justified freely by his grace through the redemption that came by Christ Jesus.” Our Lord is the Lord of justice, in that sins were punished. Our Lord is the Lord of grace in that Jesus was punished in our place and now we are forgiven. This is how the Lord revealed his name to both Moses, on Mt. Sinai, and us, through the pages of his Word.

Moses had asked to see the Lord’s glory. The Lord showed his glory as he revealed his name to Moses. What was Moses’ reaction? “Moses bowed to the ground at once and worshiped.” (Verse 9) He heard the justice and the grace of the Lord and praised him for what was revealed. May the same be said of us. We want to worship God for what he has done for us. May we never grow tired of hearing the law, though it condemns us. May never grow tired of hearing the gospel, which tells us what Jesus has done for us. We praise him for revealing his name to us. We also note Moses’ prayer: “Lord, if I have found favor in your eyes, then let the Lord go with us. Although this is a stiff-necked people, forgive our wickedness and our sin, and take us as your inheritance.” Moses knew that neither he nor the Israelites deserved the Lord to go with them as they journeyed to the Promised Land. Yet, he prayed for the Lord’s presence and guidance as they traveled. This mirrors our daily plea to the Lord for forgiveness and rescue through Jesus Christ. Our prayer is: ‘Lord, though I am a sinner, I pray that you would not forsake me, but that you would forgive me. I know that, for Jesus’ sake, I am forgiven and your child and your possession. Go with me today and strengthen my faith, as I live in worship of you. It is in your name, the name that you revealed to Moses on Mt. Sinai, the name that you reveal in your Holy Word, the Lord, that I pray. Amen.’