Who did the LORD say He was? Remember that the LORD Himself descended in a cloud and proclaimed His name. He put the words in order. He described Himself. For too long, we have let religion or the world tell us about Him. What is He like?
We already know that He is merciful. He is the great I AM. He is the eternal, unchanging, self-existent God who wanted us for Himself. God, who became God, to live among us and pay the price of our rescue, life, and salvation.
Now notice the second word the great I AM uses to describe Himself to tell us who He is: He is gracious. Let’s dig into that word and its meaning to understand better the great I AM.
Gracious means merciful again. Isn’t that something? He is merciful and merciful. The word also means kind. He exercises grace. He is good.
Being good makes me think of the story Jesus told, in which He said any father among them would never give his son a rock instead of the bread the child asked for. So what do you expect from your father? If you ask, He gives only good and perfect gifts and never changes from that. God, the Father is a good Father.
Being gracious again means He is compassionate, feels for the needy, and hurts with the hurting.
So I AM shows favor or grace to all. He not only forgives sin but takes sin’s penalty on Himself.
God is gracious. There is a sweet goodness about Him. He loves to show favor, not punishment.
Do you remember when they brought the woman taken in adultery to Jesus? He showed grace. He said, neither do I condemn you; go and sin no more. Anyone and everyone else wanted to see the woman suffer. They had caught her in the act, yet Jesus felt her hurt, shame, and fear. He turned the attention away from her so that the accusers left and then let her know kindly that He was not an accuser.
Be honest with yourself and decide if you have viewed God differently. When He wanted Moses to know who He was, He said
I AM MERCIFUL
I AM GRACIOUS
Is that how you think of Him? We all know what it is to be misunderstood by those who do not really know us. Now consider how the devil and nearly everyone else have maligned and falsely accused the Lord God throughout history.
God wants it clear. He is not who they say He is. Why not listen to Him and know Him from His own Words?