05/04/2023
Exodus 34:6 “The Lord, the Lord, the compassionate and gracious God, slow to anger, abounding in love and faithfulness”
Grace or graciousness is the second word used to describe God’s character in this verse. The Hebrew word for gracious is Khanun and the noun version is Khen. The word khen means grace or favorable.
God has khen or grace on people even when they don’t deserve it. And that’s one of the defining characteristics of the word. For example, when the Israelites disobeyed God by worshipping the golden calf, God was initially going to punish them by wiping them all out, but in His khen, He withheld punishment and dwelt among them with His life giving presence, even when they didn’t deserve it.
In the New Testament, the Greek word used to describe God’s grace is the word kharis, which just means gracious gift. John the Apostle writes that “from His fullness we have all received grace upon grace” (John 1:16). Even when we were in our darkest state, God still has grace on those who repent and own up to their mistakes—that it, God still shows favor to those who don’t deserve it. The story of Christ upon the cross is the greatest example of God’s favor for the world and through Christ, God calls all people to repent, so that they may receive His grace.
