UCA SA - Reflection for the Week

God’s bio

Have you ever been asked to write a short bio about yourself – two or three sentences that give some important and memorable points of introduction? I usually wrestle with these. Who is my audience? What should I include or leave out? Should I be serious, humorous, or both?

We find what I might call ‘God’s Bio’ in Exodus 34:6–7. Just a bit earlier in Chapter 33, Moses asks God to “show me your ways” (v13) and “show me your glory” (v18). God then promises to proclaim God’s own name to Moses (v19) where “name” probably stands as a representative label for God’s own personhood or identity. That is quite a pledge!

God follows through on this promise in 34:6–7 where a few things stand out. First, God’s gracious character is repeatedly emphasised in the first two-thirds of God’s bio. Depending a bit on your translation, God is “gracious,” “merciful”, “slow to anger”, “abounding in steadfast love and faithfulness”, and “forgiving”. God does qualify this a bit at the end by reminding Moses (and us) that God does hold the guilty accountable. Yet, while God’s steadfast love continues to a thousand generations, accountability for disobedience extends only three or four generations. God’s mercy is 300 times more potent than God’s retribution (compare James 2:13)!

Finally, God is careful in the word selection here. Two things appear twice for emphasis. The first is God’s own name, “THE LORD” (yhwh in Hebrew) at the very beginning. The second is God’s “steadfast love” (hesed in Hebrew). This is God’s unending commitment to Israel, God’s people, which is stressed at this middle of this declaration and throughout the Old Testament (for example, see the refrain in Psalm 136).

So, if you need a reminder of just who God is, remember that God has provided a bio for us in Exodus 34, one that emphasises God’s graciousness and faithful commitment to God’s people.

– Bart Bruehler

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Image: Seventh Day of Creation by Julius Schnorr von Carolsfeld,