God According to God

compassionate gracious slow to anger abounding in love and faithfulness maintaining love to thousands forgiving wickedness rebellion and sin does not leave the guilty unpunished

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A Study of Exodus 34:6-7

• What comes to mind when you hear the name “Benedict Arnold?
• Why do we despise traitors so much?
• Why is the opposite quality (loyalty) so admired?

Psalms 136:1-26

Psalms 136:1-26

• This psalm nicely sums up Israel’s view of God.
• The psalm tells the story of God’s work through history.
• Each line is punctuated by “His love endures forever.”
• The word in this psalm for love is ḥesed and means more than just “affection.”
• It refers to faithful, steadfast care.
• “Love” and “faithfulness” are related.

Psalms 136:1-26

• The psalm begins with a general call to praise (1-4).
• Following the introduction, the psalm begins to praise God as the creator (4-9).
• Next, the psalm tells about God delivering the Israelites from Egypt (10-15) and through the wilderness (16).
• After that, the psalm tells about God giving victories to the Israelites as they conquered the land of Canaan (17-22).

Psalms 136:1-26

• The psalmist praises God for delivering the Israelites from enemies:
• God remembered his people in their low estate (23).
• God freed his people from their enemies (24).
• God gives food to all creatures (25).
• The psalm closes with a general note of thanks to God (26).

Psalms 136:1-26

• This psalm repeatedly calls readers to praise, and it affirms God’s faithfulness. Where are these things rooted? In other words, on what basis can the psalmist call people to praise and affirm God’s faithfulness?
• Why keep repeating “His love endures forever”?
• From what you know about Israel’s history, what kinds of betrayals did God’s steadfast love have to endure?
• Is steadfast love different from other kinds of love?

Lamentations 3:22-24

• The steadfast love of the LORD never ceases; his mercies never come to an end;23 they are new every morning; great is your faithfulness.24 “The LORD is my portion,” says my soul, “therefore I will hope in him.”
• This passage, from a book written to reflect on the disasters that came upon Israel in the exile, praises God for his “great love” (hesed) (22a).
• The writer believes that Israel is only kept alive and not consumed because of God’s steadfast love (22a).

Lamentations 3:22-24

• In fact, God’s compassions “never fail” (22b).
• God’s faithfulness is “great” (23).
• According to this writer, what is God’s role in Israel’s well-being?
• Is this writer naïve? He’s writing that God’s faithfulness lasts forever, even as Israel looks around and sees destruction and their enemies triumphing. How can a person affirm God’s faithfulness in these circumstances?

The Steadfast Love of the Lord

Proverbs 20:6

• 6 Many a man proclaims his own steadfast love, but a faithful man who can find?
• Startling claim, many claim to have steadfast love, but in reality, faithful people are hard to find (6).
• Have you felt the reality of this verse? In what ways?
• What does betrayal feel like?
• How can showing true faithfulness be a helpful reflection of God?

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Proverbs 20:28

• 28 Steadfast love and faithfulness preserve the king, and by steadfast love his throne is upheld.
• Startling claim: “love and faithfulness” keep a king safe (not guards, military might, brute strength, or other related things that usually “keep a king safe”) (28).
• Is the verse saying that kings can keep their throne secure by ruling with love and faithfulness? Or is the verse saying that kings’ thrones are secure when their subjects demonstrate love and faithfulness toward the king?

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Proverbs 20:28

• How do you interpret this verse?
• How could love and faithfulness be more secure than brute strength?
• What would it look like for a person in power to rule with love and faithfulness instead of might?
• What would it look like for the king’s subjects to respond with love and faithfulness instead of bitterness and resentment?

Applying Scripture

• Love and faithfulness
• We often separate these words
• Love is an emotion – sometimes fleeting – that we feel.
• Faithfulness is a series of acts – sometimes done begrudgingly or out of obligation.
• But scripture puts them together

Applying Scripture

The Fellowship of the Ring

• “You can trust us to stick to you through thick and thin – to the bitter end. And you can trust us to keep any secret of yours – closer than you yourself keep it. But you cannot trust us to let you face trouble alone, and go off without a word. We are your friends, Frodo. Anyway: there it is. We know most of what Gandalf has told you. We know a good deal about the ring. We are horribly afraid–but we are coming with you; or following you like hounds.”

J.R.R. Tolkien, The Fellowship of the Ring (New York: Ballantine Books, 1954), 103

• Think about the phrase “We are horribly afraid – but we are coming with you.” In what situations are we called to demonstrate this kind of faithfulness and loyalty?
• Name some types of people to whom we are generally called to demonstrate faithfulness.
• Now name some situations in which our faithfulness to the people above is often tested.
• How, then, can God’s faithfulness inform and inspire us to continue to demonstrate faithfulness in these situations?

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