Exodus 34:6-7 is the first description of God’s character and the most quoted passage in the Bible. In these two verses we learn that all of God’s actions are an expression of these attributes: compassion, grace, patience, loyal-love, and faithfulness. This list of God’s character traits has been carefully designed to help us see the meaning and importance of each one in relation to the others. Though it’s just two verses, this passage has a literary design that illustrates what God values and explains many of his actions throughout the biblical story. In this passage we see that God’s core character traits are rooted in generous mercy and loyal love, which means that God’s anger is not a primary attribute. It’s a divine reaction to selfish and destructive human decisions, and it’s rooted in his love. God’s anger and judgment is an important theme in the Bible, but it’s not the whole story. God’s core character is one of generous love that created the world and longs for its restoration from human evil. Exodus 34:6-7 invites us into a lifetime of pondering the depths and mysteries of the character of God.

Study Notes: CoG_Exodus_VN_final.pdf (d1bsmz3sdihplr.cloudfront.net)