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Index of
Compass Articles
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(#3) Worship Begins with THE VISION OF GOD
(Exodus 33:18-34:8)
The starting point of these opening articles is this. Worship begins with God--with who God is and what he does. First, it is he who initiates worship, by seeking worshipers. Then, it is his nature--what he has revealed about who he is--that shapes how we worship him. In the previous article I stressed that, since our worship of God is rooted in the nature of God himself, worship that lies about the nature of God is idolatrous. Thus it is very important that we know the truth about God's nature if we are to worship him.
What then IS the "revealed nature of God"? What does he teach us about how we should conceive him? This is such a vast subject we may feel lost about where to begin.
STARTING AT THE THRONE
One helpful place to begin is with the great "visions" of God. A significant part of worship is filling our minds and hearts with these pictures, and so refreshing, correcting and expanding our vision of God. Many of us have one or two "pictures" of God which are especially dear to us. But the Bible is a great picture-book, full of pictures of God in action, and of the Great King on his throne: from the burning bush to Isaiah's temple vision of God's glory, from Ezekiel's vision of God's "chariot" (of "Ezek'l saw de wheel" fame) to John's vision of Christ on Patmos. (In future "compass points" we will visit many of these.)
One feature of these visions that we might at first overlook is that they are not descriptions of God "sitting still". The King marches into battle to defeat his enemies and to deliver a people, and he returns to build his temple (Exodus 15, Psalm 68 ). Elsewhere we see God as the King firmly established on the throne of the universe. Yet he is actively reigning: he speaks, he sends out his messengers, he commands and it is so (Genesis 1). And so his glory is displayed in his acts, his character--his wisdom, power and love--is made known in his deeds.
One of the most important Visions of God, with echoes throughout the rest of Scripture, is found in Exodus 34. Here the Lord answers Moses' request "show me your glory" by letting him catch a glimpse of his splendor. That great revelation has two parts. First, there is the visible glory--the holiness and majesty of the great King, which God has to "tone down" for "no one can look at me and live." (Even the angels cannot bear to look at his glory, but must cover their faces. Isaiah 6:2 )
Along with this display of his glory, and not to be separated from it, is God's own declaration of his name:
The LORD, the LORD, the compassionate and gracious God. . . .
Now this is not the first time we find God revealing his "name." When the LORD first appears to Moses in the burning bush he declares that . (Exodus 3:13-17)
There he emphasizes his faithfulness, for he is about to fulfill his promises to Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. In fact, we soon see that God is not just giving the people a word to use to refer to him. It is not just in the word, but in the great acts of redeeming his people that he is making his name known. (Exodus 6: 6-7) Thus God reveals his name by both acting and speaking. And when he is done, "they will know that I am the LORD" (Exodus 6:7). This expression "then they will know" becomes a powerful refrain through the book of Exodus. It is God's purpose to make himself known, recognized and worshiped.
In Exodus 34:5-7 we find the climax of this great revelation of God's "name." But the words "the LORD, the LORD. . . . " are not just some abstract theological statement. Just as God made known his name in his acts of deliverance, God is here making his name known not only by what he is saying, but by what he is doing. In Exodus 32-34, following the Golden Calf rebellion, God is demonstrating what he is like. He is a jealous God who judges the guilty idolaters (32:27-35), as he had promised (20:5-6). But that is not all, nor what is now most emphasized. The glorious thing that he revealing is that though he judges sin he is the God of compassion and grace, who even forgives rebels. When God announces his name here, he is announcing that forgiveness.
God chooses language that underlines what he is doing. "Maintaining love to thousands" and "judging to the third and fourth generation" repeats the words of Exodus 20:4-6--the very command against making images that the people had just violated. They had indeed broken his covenant (and Moses' shattering of the tablets [Ex 32: ] is a visible proclamation of this fact). Yet the LORD instructs Moses to return to the mountain with a new set of tablets (34:1-2), for he is about to restore them. He will make a "new" covenant with them (cf. Jer.31:31).
Little wonder that God tells Moses, "I will cause all my GOODNESS to pass in front of you." (33:19).
This passage became a central confession of O.T. worship. Moses appeals to it when he intercedes for Israel (Numbers 14:17-19). Throughout Israel's history, as Nehemiah recounts (Nehemiah 9:17-31) , the Lord reveals that he is a gracious and compassionate God, forgiving and restoring his people. The Psalmist pick up the refrain (86:15, 116:5, 145:8). In one of the most beloved psalms, after describing his own salvation in terms drawn from the Exodus, the Psalmist links his experience to the great revelation to Moses and Israel, that the LORD is the gracious and compassionate God. (Psalm 103:7-8).
In Micah 7, God promises that there will be a deliverance like that from Exodus, when the One who showed his power over the Red Sea will show his compassion by forgiving his people's transgression and throwing their sins into the depths of the sea. (Micah 7:15-20)
But this is not the end. This revelation of God's glory is taken even further for, centuries later, John writes:
We have beheld his glory, the glory of the One and Only, full of grace and truth (John 1:14)
In this passage John takes us back to Moses' vision at Sinai, but tells us that something far better has come, for
the law came by Moses, grace and truth came by Jesus Christ. This is not a statement denigrating the glory of God's revelation to Moses; but telling us how much fuller and greater Jesus is.
Now it is less clear in our English translations, but the expression "full of grace and truth" is taken from the Greek translation of Exodus 34. It is the Greek translation for "abounding in love and faithfulness". Do you want to see the true revelation of the NAME, of the glory and grace of God? Here is the fullness of his revelation, beside which even the pinnacle of the O.T. pales. Here is the clear revelation of the compassionate, gracious and faithful one. Behold the Son!
The revelation of God's name and glory always calls for a response. Isaiah fell down and cried out "Woe is me!" Daniel was like a dead man. And when Moses saw God's glory and heard his gracious name-- He bowed down and worshiped him. (Exodus 34:8) How much greater is the glory and grace God has now revealed in his only Son! Let us then bow down in wonder and awe, and worship.
Putting it Into Practice
- Compile a list of a number of great visions to meditate on. Here are just a few to start with: Exodus 3-4, Exodus 15:1-18, Exodus 34, Isaiah 6, Revelation 1:12-20, 4-5, Psalms 18, 29, 68 (the psalms are full of them!), Matthew 28:17-20.
- This central O.T. vision declares that God is both holy and gracious; the same is true in the N.T. How do we overlook the holiness of God in the NT, or miss the gospel in the O.T.?
- On the other hand, in Jesus we have something much greater--the fulfillment of the "grace and truth" Israel confessed. How do we emphasize the new and greater things that come with Christ?
- "The LORD, the LORD, the compassionate and gracious God. . . ." is a central refrain in Israel's worship, confessing who God is . What "refrains" do we use in our worship to emphasize central truths about God? Are there some we should add?
- God's words are paired with his actions, and so the "theology" and "stories" of Scripture work together. How do we use "words about God" and stories of his deeds together in our worship?
- (see Pathways Service #3)
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