One week after Christmas the world celebrates New Year’s Day. In the Christian calendar, one week after the birth of the Savior, we celebrate the Holy Name of Jesus. This is because eight days after His birth, Mary and Joseph would have brought the infant Jesus to the Temple to be circumcised, and at this time He would have been officially named. Names are very important, and many parents take a lot of thought and consideration before they pick the name of their baby. They want a name that has a good meaning, and perhaps characteristics that they wish their child to have. Jesus was given His Name by the angel who appeared to both Mary and Joseph at different times before His birth (Luke 1:31; Matthew 1:21). Today’s Old Testament Scripture is a passage where the Lord God proclaims His Name to Moses, and through him, to the people of Israel.
As our Scripture opens the Lord instructed Moses to cut out two new tablets of stone so that He could replace the original stones where the Ten Commandments had been written on. Moses had broken them in a display of anger when he saw the people of Israel taking part in idol worship and an orgy of sin. The Lord called Moses back up on Mount Sinai. This was to be a special, holy occasion, and no other person or animal was to come anywhere near. Moses obeyed, made two new tablets, and came back up the mountain (vs. 1-4).
While upon Mount Sinai the Lord descended in a cloud of glory and proclaimed His Name, Yahweh, to Moses (vs. 5). The Lord also proclaimed some of His characteristics to Moses. These characteristics tell us more about what the Lord is like, in addition to His Name. When we hear someone’s name mentioned, we often think of some specific characteristics about that person, either good or bad. You hear this person’s name and you think of how kind and compassionate they are. You hear another name and you think of the lies they told. Another name and you think of a bitter, angry woman. Our personality and characteristics further describe us in addition to just our name. This is why many new parents take such care when selecting a name. They won’t pick a name that means “stupid boy” or “ugly woman”!
As the Lord God passed before Moses, He proclaimed that He is merciful, gracious, longsuffering, good, and truthful (vs. 6). When describing Himself, God didn’t list all of His great accomplishments. People often do that if asked to describe themselves. They talk of their job, their university degrees, how many awards they’ve won, etc. Instead, the Lord told of His character, not in a bragging way, but showing who He truly is. God’s glory is His character, His nature. It is revealed to us by His great mercy, His grace, compassion, faithfulness, forgiveness, and His justice.
God is merciful and gracious, but He is also just in His punishment of the guilty (vs. 7). This is something that many people do not like to think about, and sometimes even deny. Some modern preachers refuse to preach about this, and even sometimes deny it from the pulpit. They like to focus solely on God’s love and compassion, and never on His just punishment of sin. We cannot just portray God with only our favorite attributes. When the Lord proclaimed His Name and characteristics, He listed both His loving and merciful ones, along with stating that He will not clear the guilty and sinful person who does not repent. We may portray ourselves or our loved ones with just one or two favorite characteristics, and we often do that with the Lord, however that is not giving an honest picture of who He truly is. We must worship all of God, not just what we like.
Some people look at verse 7 and say that God is not being fair or kind in His treatment of some people by punishing them for the sins of their forebears. However, that is not what this verse is really saying. God isn’t punishing a sinner’s children or grandchildren for what dad or grandpa did. Instead, God is saying that one’s children and grandchildren will suffer from the fall-out of their sins. When a gambler throws all of his money away in Las Vegas, his children and possibly grandchildren will suffer. They are not exempt. When a parent commits adultery, the whole family suffers. This is even more clearly shown by the suffering of the alcoholic and drug addict’s family. Children also frequently learn and copy the sinful behavior of their parents, thus carrying it down for often multiple generations. Good and godly behavior and blessings are also frequently carried down for generations, as well.
When Moses heard the Lord God Yahweh proclaim His mighty and glorious Name and attributes, he did the only thing he could possibly do, and that was to bow down and worship Him (vs. 8). As we begin this new year, let us celebrate the day that the Lord Jesus was officially given His Name, bow down and worship Him.
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