The One and Only
Then the Lord passed by in front of him and proclaimed, “The Lord, the Lord God, compassionate and gracious, slow to anger, and abounding in lovingkindness and truth;” Exodus 34:6 NASB
Compassionate – Exodus 34:6-7 is God’s personally endorsed self-description. As such, it is vitally important, perhaps one of the most important parts of the entire Bible. If you want to know what God is like, this is the place. Immediately you will notice that virtually all the usual theological attributes are absent. There is no mention of omnipotence, omniscience, omnipresence, eternal, immutable, perfect, etc. Every word God uses is relational, particularly with regard to men. In the list one word is used two times. That word is ḥesed, a unique Hebrew word of significant importance (which we have examined multiple times). But Heschel draws attention to another feature of this list; a feature of the first word God uses to describe Himself.
“Only one attribute is reserved for God: He alone is called in the Bible raḥum the Merciful One.”[1]
The root is rāḥam (“to love deeply”). A derivative is reḥem or raḥam, both meaning, “the womb,” perhaps the most apt physical description of the depth of relationship God feels.
rāḥam is used infrequently (twelve of forty-seven times) of men. It is used only once in the Qal when the Psalmist confesses his love for Jehovah (18:1 [H 2]). The depth of this love is shown by the connection of this word with reḥem/raḥam. Compare, Isaiah (49:15) who uses it of a mother’s love toward her nursing baby. It can also refer to a father’s love (Ps 103:13).[2]
This root is frequently used of God. It incorporates two concepts: first, the strong tie God has with those whom he has called as his children (Ps 103:13). God looks upon his own as a father looks upon his children; he has pity on them (cf. Mic 7:19). The second concept is that of God’s unconditioned choice (ḥānēn, grace). God tells Moses that he is gracious and merciful to whomever he chooses (Ex 33:19).[3]
Have you every wondered why God opens His description with raḥum? If God wanted to impress Moses with His power or His wisdom, with His glory or His sovereignty, this would have been the time. But, instead, the first thing He says about Himself is that He loves deeply, so much so that He is unwilling to ever break fellowship with His chosen. The most powerful thing about God is His care. Apparently that’s what Moses needed to know the most. Maybe we do too.
Topical Index: raḥum, compassion, Exodus 34:6
[1] Abraham Heschel, Man Is Not Alone, p. 148.
[2] Coppes, L. J. (1999). 2146 רָחַם. R. L. Harris, G. L. Archer Jr., & B. K. Waltke (Eds.), Theological Wordbook of the Old Testament (electronic ed., p. 841). Chicago: Moody Press.
[3] Ibid.
