The God of Compassion | God’s Nature Revealed

SPEAKER 03 : 0:01

It seems to many believers that the God of the Hebrew Bible is a different God than the God that we see revealed through Jesus. God bless you and shalom, beloved ones. We’re going to be looking in the Hebrew Bible in the Old Testament, and I’m going to show you such a fabulous revelation of who God is that you’re going to say to yourself, you know what? That’s Jesus. Many Christians are raised in environments where they associate the God of the Old Testament with being harsh and judgmental and hard. And then they read about Jesus in the New Testament, who they know is kind and gracious and loving, and they’re wondering, how the God of the Old Testament is the same God that they read about in the New Testament. It seems to many believers that the God of the Hebrew Bible is a different God than the God that we see revealed through Jesus. But I’m going to show you today that the God of the Hebrew Bible is exactly the same nature God as we see revealed in the person of Yeshua HaMashiach, of Jesus Christ. Remember Jesus said, if you’ve seen me, you’ve seen the Father. And so today I’m going to show you the Father revealed in the Torah, the Old Testament, and I’m going to show you how the Old and New Testaments fit together like a hand in a glove as it relates to revealing who God is in his essence, person, and nature. Now, we’re going to be going today to the book of Exodus, chapter number 33. And I’m going to be reading a portion of Scripture in Exodus 33 that leads up to the revelation of God revealing who He is to Moses in Exodus 34. I want to set the stage. God had commissioned Moses to lead the children of Israel out of Egypt into the Promised Land. But Moses was really insecure. I mean, this was a huge task. This was a huge responsibility. He was asking himself, how am I going to do this? He was saying to God, how am I going to do this? You remember when God commissioned him and Moses said, well, how am I going to speak to them, Lord? I stutter. I’m a man that has stuttering of speech. And God said, am I not the one, Moses, that made man’s mouth? Well, Moses is dealing with the same type of insecurity in himself that we experienced when God was commissioning him at the burning bush. Moses was revealing his insecurity once again as we pick up in Exodus 33. Let’s look now at the Word of God. I’m going to begin Exodus 33, verse number 12. Then Moses said to the Lord, See? You say to me, bring up this people. But you yourself have not let me know whom you will send with me. Moreover, you have said to me, I have known you by name and you have also found favor in my sight. So Moses is saying to God, you know, you’ve said to me all these things, but still I don’t even know who is going to go with me. And Lord, you told me that you know me by name and that your favor is on me. But God, I don’t know. I’m not so sure about this. The text continues. Moses is praying. He says, now, therefore, I pray you, if I have found favor in your sight, let me know your ways that I might know you so that I might find favor in your sight. Consider, too, that this nation is your people. And he said, meaning God said back to Moses, my presence shall go with you and I will give you rest. So God keeps on reassuring Moses, Moses, my favor is on you. And then Moses says back to God, now, if your favor is on me, Moses keeps on needing a little bit more reassurance. Again, church, he’s been commissioned with leading the chosen people out of Egypt into the promised land. And all he knows is his own strength and power. He says, how am I going to do this? He needs to know that God’s with him. Let’s continue on. Verse number 15. Then he said to him, Moses is speaking to the Lord. If your presence does not go with us, do not lead us up from here. For how then could it be known that I have found favor in your sight, I in your people? Is it not by your going with us so that we… I and your people may be distinguished from all the other people who are upon the face of the earth. So Moses is saying, Lord, if you’re not going to go with us, please don’t lead me this way. I need to know that you’re going to be with me. I need to know that you’re going to do this because I can’t do this on my own. Who am I? Let’s continue on, verse 17. Then the Lord said to Moses, I will also do this thing of which you have spoken, for you have found favor in my sight, and I have known you, Moses, by name. Then Moses said, I pray you show me your glory. So Moses is getting confident now. Moses is inspired now. God said, I have known you, Moses, and you have found favor in my sight. Now Moses gets the courage to ask, show me, God, your glory. Let me see who you are. The glory of God. is God’s manifest power. Glory in Scripture is most often seen when the invisible God manifests Himself in the visible world. And so when we read about God’s glory, what we’re most often, church, talking about is when the invisible God causes His power to be known in the physical universe so that human beings can see it, experience it, and feel it. So we continue on. Moses says in verse number 18, I pray you, show me your glory. And the Lord said to him, he said, I myself will make all my goodness pass before you and will proclaim the name of Yahweh before you, the Lord, and I’ll be gracious to whom I’ll be gracious and I’ll show compassion on whom I’ll show compassion. But he said, you cannot see my face for no man can see me and live. Then the Lord said, behold, There is a place by me and you shall stand there on the rock and it will come about. Well, my glory is passing by that I’ll put you in the cleft of the rock and cover you with my hand until I have passed by. Then I will take my hand away and you shall see my back. but my face shall not be seen. So I want you to kind of step back with me for a second so we can put all this in context. God keeps saying to Moses, Moses, I’m using you to lead my people out of Egypt into the promised land. Moses is insecure. He said, Lord, show me that you love me. Show me that you’re with me. Show me that I have found favor with you. Show me that you’re going to do this thing. God gives him all that assurance. Then Moses goes a step further. He says, show me your glory. And God says, Moses, I want you to go stand in this place over there. And I’m going to pass by that place. You’re not going to be able to see all my glory. You’re not going to be able to see my face. I’m going to hide you in the cleft of the rock. But after my face has gone before you, I’m going to uncover your eyes and you’re going to see my back. You’re going to see, Moses, who I am. So as we come now to Exodus 34, Moses is at that place that the Lord instructed him to go to. He’s at the cleft of the rock and he calls upon the name of the Lord. He calls upon the name of Yahweh God. And as Moses calls upon Yahweh’s name, God’s glory descends at that place where Moses is. Then the Lord reveals to Moses who he is so that God can proclaims who he is to Moses, but it’s not just that Moses hears who God is with his ears, but God fills Moses with revelation, light, and knowledge in his interior being. So that as God proclaims who he is to Moses, Moses is actually filled with an internal light that causes Moses to understand who this great God is. So let’s pick up now in Exodus 34, where this incident takes place. Moses is in the cleft of the rock. I’m beginning now in verse number five. The Lord descended in the cloud and stood there with them as he called, as Moses called upon the name of Yahweh, the name of the Lord. Then Yahweh, whenever you see in the scriptures, capital L, capital O, capital R and capital D, that is God’s personal sacred name composed of the four Hebrew letters, Yud, He, Vav. Hey, so when it says the Lord, Moses is actually calling upon the name Yahweh, God’s personal covenant, sacred name. So it says there in verse number six, then Yahweh passed by in front of him and proclaimed Yahweh. Yahweh God. And then God reveals to Moshe, to Moses, who he is. I want you to get this. God isn’t just saying to Moses, Yahweh is compassionate. God is filling Moses with revelation, light and internal glory so that Moses understands what the word compassionate means. So listen what happens. Then the Lord passed by in front of him and proclaimed, the Lord, Yahweh God, compassionate and gracious. slow to anger and abounding in loving kindness and truth, who keeps loving kindness for thousands, who forgives iniquity, transgression, and sin, yet he’ll by no means leave the guilty go unpunished, visiting the iniquity of fathers and the children and on the grandchildren to the third and fourth generations. Then Moses made haste to bow low toward the earth and worship.”

SPEAKER 01 : 10:07

You’re listening to Discovering the Jewish Jesus with Rabbi Schneider, and he’ll be right back. But first, have you thought about the legacy you’ll leave when you’re no longer on this earth? Planning for the future, it’s an important step in walking with wisdom. So we’ve partnered with Freewill, a free online tool that makes creating a will simple, secure, and accessible to everyone. I’ve used it myself, and it’s really easy and efficient. And this tool, it also gives you the opportunity to make a lasting impact. And if you want to support this ministry, you can include a financial gift to us in your plans to help us share the love of Yeshua with generations to come. You can get started today at discoveringthejewishjesus.com. Just click on our resources and need a will tab. It’s completely free, whether you choose to give to this ministry or not. So check it out today. And for those of you who do choose to give, thank you so much. And now back to Rabbi with the second half of today’s lesson.

SPEAKER 03 : 11:11

So what I want to do with you now, church, is I want to go back to what the Lord reveals to Moses as the Word of God enters Moses’ heart. I want to look at some of these Hebrew words so that we can understand God’s nature. Because I believe that this encounter that Moses had with God is the clearest and most profound revelation of who God is in the entire Hebrew Bible. Moses met God. God called Moses the face to face prophet because Moses had seen God face to face. In other words, he didn’t see the fullness of God’s glory, as I said, but Moses entered into such a spectacularly supernatural experience with God that Moses walked away from this church He knew who God was. And you see here that this revelation that Moses received is the same person as Jesus. So let’s take a look. The Lord says, first of all, in verse number six, he says, the Lord God. And the first word that God uses to describe himself is the word in English, compassionate. Now, this word compassionate comes from the Hebrew word rachum and it actually is connected to a mother’s womb. Isn’t that interesting? The first thing a baby sees when they come out of the mother’s womb is the mother’s face. What is a mother? Nurturing, compassionate. When God describes who He is, the first word that he uses is connected to a mother’s womb. So people that have an idea of God that He’s hard and harsh and judgmental, that’s not, first of all, who God is. The first and most essential part of God’s nature is that He is rachum. He is compassionate. And then God continues on. He says, the Lord, the Lord God, compassionate, rachum, again, coming from the word that means a mother’s womb. The next way that God describes who he is to Moses is that he is gracious. And once again, I want you to hear that Moses wasn’t just hearing God say, I’m compassionate. When the Lord revealed to Moses that he was compassionate, Moses was filled with an interior revelation, knowledge, and light that he knew who God was, that he knew that God was compassionate. He didn’t just hear it with his ear. He knew inside what it meant, that this God that he was worshiping was a God who was compassionate above all else. And then God says he was gracious, coming from the Hebrew word chanun. And the word gracious means to show favor. to feel pity, listen, to stoop to an inferior in love and tenderness. So God’s disposition towards you and I is compassionate and listen, gracious, that He shows favor and kindness to us, that He stoops to us as His inferiors and treats us mercifully. This is who God is. This is the God that Jesus revealed, right? Let’s continue on. The next word. compassionate and gracious. And then the Lord continues in verse number six. Listen now, slow to anger and abounding in loving kindness and truth. I want to speak about the word loving kindness. The word loving kindness here is from the Hebrew word chesed. And this Hebrew word chesed means devotion. Once again, loving kindness, kindness. So God’s disposition towards you, my friend, his disposition towards you, beloved, is compassionate, chesed. It’s loving kindness, devotion, chesed, devotion. He’s devoted to you and I in kindness, chesed. and in love.” And notice here that he says, he’s slow to anger. Again, sometimes people, when they read the Hebrew Bible, they get this feeling like God was quick to anger. But this isn’t true. God was continually trying to show compassion and loving kindness and grace to his people. but it always seemed to reach a point where they were not responding properly. So God had to bring separation and judgment in order to preserve Israel so that their destiny could be fulfilled. Slow to anger. He doesn’t have a short fuse, but he’s gentle and patient. Notice what we read here in the next verse, who keeps loving kindness for thousands, who forgives, listen now, iniquity, transgression, and sin. Notice once again, the Lord forgives, we read here, iniquity, transgression, and sin.” Now, these are three different Hebrew words for iniquity, transgression, and sin. And these three words, listen, cover all types of sin. It’s not just that God forgives some sin. He forgives all sin through the blood of His Son. He forgives iniquity from the Hebrew word avon. And it’s very serious. It’s deadly serious because people that are committing iniquity are not just committing ignorant sin. People that are committing iniquity, which is the first word, once again, he forgives iniquity, transgression and sin. People that commit iniquity are hearted in their attitude. They’re unrepentant. It’s a state of being in rebellion. It’s premeditated. People that are committing iniquity know that what they’re doing is wrong. And yet through Jesus, We’re forgiven. And then notice also He forgives transgression in verse number seven from the Hebrew word pesha. And transgression is a breach of trust. God forgives people when they turn back to Him that have broken trust with Him, that have denied Him, that have broken the relationship with Him, that have betrayed Him. And you and I are all guilty of this at times. We betrayed God because we were more concerned with what other people thought because of our fear, because of worry. We’ve broken trust with God. We’ve breached the relationship. Yet God forgives that. And then we read here that he forgives sin from the Hebrew word hatah, which means to go so wrong that the wages of sin are death. And yet God forgives iniquity, transgression and sin. He’s a forgiving God. but he’s also, listen, beloved, a God of truth, from the Hebrew word emeth. And he says he will no longer forever leave the guilty go unpunished. Let’s pick up there again at verse number seven. He’s a loving God, a compassionate God, a tenderhearted God, a gentle God, but he’s not gonna let people rebel and destroy his universe and creation forever. So listen to what he says. He keeps loving kindness for thousands. He forgives iniquity, transgression, and sin. yet he will by no means leave the guilty go unpunished, visiting the iniquity of fathers and the children and the grandchildren to the third and fourth generation.” What does this mean? It means that eventually, when people don’t repent, they’re going to be held accountable for their sin. It says, he will by no means leave the guilty go unpunished. People that will not respond to his offer of forgiveness, people that will not be reconciled to him as he’s calling them back in tender mercy to come to him, he’s going to judge them. And we also learn here that people that are living lives of sin, their sin is passed on to their children, their grandchildren, to the third and fourth generations. People that have been raised in alcoholic homes have to fight becoming an alcoholic because the iniquity is passed down through the family tree. What I hope you’ve seen today is that the nature of God that is revealed in the New Testament is exactly the same nature, beloved, as God revealed to Moses here in Exodus 33 and 36. He’s a God that’s full of loving kindness and compassion. He’s a tenderhearted God, and He desires to have a relationship with you. That’s why he created you and I in his own image. I want to ask you right now, if you’ve never given your life to Jesus, all you have to do is do this. Come to him, say, Jesus, I love you. Please forgive me for my iniquity, transgression and sin. I ask you to come into my life and save me. Father God, I want you to be my daddy. I give my life to you right now. Thank you for saving me in the name of your son, Jesus. Beloved, I hope and trust that you received something and were blessed by today’s broadcast. Now I want to give you the opportunity to do something even greater than receiving, and that’s giving. Many of us know that Jesus said, it’s more blessed to give than to receive. In fact, when we give, we’re participating in our Christlikeness because God is by nature a giver. He so loved you and me that He gave His only begotten Son. If you believe in me and believe that this broadcast is helping people, I want to ask you, just open up your heart to the Holy Spirit. Just give as he leads you to give. I can promise you this. In so doing, you’ll be being conformed to the image of Christ, who is a giver, and you’ll be blessed, beloved, for your obedience to God. I love you, and I want to thank you for your love and financial gifts today. It makes this program possible.

SPEAKER 01 : 20:40

amen and as the lord leads you to support discovering the jewish jesus today with a gift of any amount would you go online and give at discovering the jewish jesus.com or you can give over the phone just by calling us our number is 800-777-7835 that’s 800-777-7835 And if you’d like, you can also send a financial donation of any amount in the mail. Our address is Discovering the Jewish Jesus, P.O. Box 777, Blissfield, Michigan 49228. And then don’t forget, We’re offering a free resource package and it explores the wisdom of the Aaronic blessing. It’s complimentary and it includes a PDF guide and an audio file that walks you through each powerful phrase of this sacred benediction. You’re gonna discover how these ancient words provide power and protection over your life right now, today. We’re offering this free gift because we wanna help you understand how the God of the Old Testament is the same God in the New Testament. And you can request this free gift online at myfreegift.com forward slash peace. Don’t forget that forward slash peace. And as you receive this resource, please know that it’s made possible by friends and listeners just like you who decided to give and support this ministry. And hey, while you’re there, if you’ve never supported us and you feel God is leading you to support this ministry, I want to encourage you, give today. Now, let’s wrap up our message with the Aaronic blessing.

SPEAKER 03 : 22:23

In the Old Testament book of Numbers, we find a blessing God speaks over His children through Moses and Aaron. It carries the idea of favor and expression. Open your heart to the Spirit and the Word today and receive Father’s goodness into your life with confidence.

SPEAKER 02 : 22:41

Yevarechech Yahweh, vayishmarecha. Ya’er Yahweh, panavelecha, vichunecha. Yissa Yahweh, P’navei Lecha Ve’asem Lecha

SPEAKER 03 : 23:32

The Lord bless you and keep you. The Lord make his face shine on you and be gracious to you. The Lord lift you up with his countenance. And the Lord give you, beloved one, his peace. God bless you and shalom.

SPEAKER 01 : 23:51

I’m your host, Dustin Roberts, and this program is produced and sponsored by Discovering the Jewish Jesus. Next time, Rabbi Schneider is going to show us how we can walk with God like one of my favorite biblical characters, King David. That’s coming up Tuesday on Discovering the Jewish Jesus.