EL Khanun Gracious God
I would like to say all the ways people take our God’s name in vain, when they say with no reverence one of God’s precious names or when people flippantly and vainly spew out a name of God as a curse word.
I would repeat all these glibly spoken names, but I won’t. It would be wrong for me to say these names irrelevantly as I have heard others speak. Here’s why:
Exodus 20:7 NASB
7 “You shall not take the name of the Lord (YHWH) your God (Elohim) in vain, for the Lord (YHWH) will not leave him unpunished who takes His name in vain.
-Speak God’s name, all of God’s names, with reverence every time, everywhere and let no blasphemy cross our lips, no ill-suited use of God’s Holy Name be ever spoken. Our God, YHWH, can be known more deeply through His names and this is what God wants of us, a deep respectful relationship always.
Why am I speaking of this? Because I am going to give you an other name of God which is be revered.
EL KHANUN Gracious God
The word grace and gracious appear 169 times in the Bible. Biblical grace means “undeserved favor”! Repeatedly, God reminds people that He is gracious. That El Khanun, our Gracious God, gives to us even when we don’t deserve His favour! Why? Because our God is gracious. David was a murderer, an adulterous man and disobeyed God and yet God blessed him. Why? – because God is gracious!
Our main text is from a scene on Mt. Sinai where Moses had just broken the 1st set of tablets containing the 10 Commandments and God wanted to meet Moses again. It is in this scene that God describes Himself with names. These God names are for us to ponder and revere.
Exodus 34 New International Version
34 The Lord said to Moses, “Chisel out two stone tablets like the first ones, and I will write on them the words that were on the first tablets, which you broke. 2 Be ready in the morning, and then come up on Mount Sinai. Present yourself to me there on top of the mountain. 3 No one is to come with you or be seen anywhere on the mountain; not even the flocks and herds may graze in front of the mountain.”
4 So Moses chiseled out two stone tablets like the first ones and went up Mount Sinai early in the morning, as the Lord had commanded him; and he carried the two stone tablets in his hands. 5 Then the Lord came down in the cloud and stood there with him and proclaimed his name, the Lord. 6 And he passed in front of Moses, proclaiming, “The Lord, the Lord, the compassionate and gracious God, slow to anger, abounding in love and faithfulness, 7 maintaining love to thousands, and forgiving wickedness, rebellion, and sin. Yet he does not leave the guilty unpunished; …
Gracious God EL KHANUN
2 Chronicles 30:9 If you return to the Lord, then your fellow Israelites and your children will be shown compassion by their captors and will return to this land, for the Lord your God is gracious and compassionate. He will not turn his face from you if you return to him.”
Nehemiah 9:17 They refused to listen and failed to remember the miracles you performed among them. They became stiff-necked and, in their rebellion, appointed a leader in order to return to their slavery. But you are a forgiving God, gracious and compassionate, slow to anger and abounding in love. Therefore, you did not desert them,
Nehemiah 9:31 But in your great mercy you did not put an end to them or abandon them, for you are a gracious and merciful God.
Psalm 86:15 But you, Lord, are a compassionate and gracious God, slow to anger, abounding in love and faithfulness.
Isaiah 30:18 Yet the Lord longs to be gracious to you; therefore, he will rise up to show you compassion. For the Lord is a God of justice. Blessed are all who wait for him!
Joel 2:13 Rend your heart and not your garments. Return to the Lord your God, for he is gracious and compassionate, slow to anger and abounding in love, and he relents from sending calamity.
Jonah 4:2 He prayed to the Lord, “Isn’t this what I said, Lord, when I was still at home? That is what I tried to forestall by fleeing to Tarshish. I knew that you are a gracious and compassionate God, slow to anger and abounding in love, a God who relents from sending calamity.
Psalm 145:8 The Lord is gracious and merciful (full of compassion RACHUM); Slow to anger and great in lovingkindness.
Psalm 116:5 Gracious is the Lord, and righteous;
Yes, our God is compassionate.
Definition gracious
Adj.
courteous, kind, pleasant, benevolent, generous, polite, compassionate
Gracious God. Here in lies one of the most personal names of God. The name, gracious, which represents how much God cares for you, how much God feels for you. When you hurt, God sighs, when you sorrow, God sighs, when trouble disturbs, God is troubled for you. God’s graciousness encompasses God’s compassionate care for you.
-because He cares so deeply for you, because His compassion is so great and consistent God asks you in your struggles :can I help you and He reminds you –“I am with you always” God is El Khanun, Gracious God.
(Illus)
A little girl was sent on an errand by her mother. She took much too long to come back. When the girl finally got home her mother demanded an explanation. The little girl explained that on her way back she met one of her friends who was crying because her doll was broken. “Oh” her mother exclaimed “then you stopped to help her fix her doll?” “oh no, I stopped to help her cry”.
-this is like God’s great graciousness and compassion for us. God’s heart is touched by our griefs,
Gracious God helps us:
In our sorrows with comfort because He is present and concerned
In our lack of peace with the peace only He can give as we trust Him
In our fears with His protection as we shelter under His wings
In our worries with His assurance that we can trust Him
In our sins with His sweet forgiveness
In our confusion with God’s light to guide us and to protect our steps
In our accidents, our adversities, in criticism that come against us, in our frustrations, in our handicaps, in our loneliness, in our youth and in our old age, in our marriages, with our children and grandchildren, in our failures and in our temptation à the great, compassionate and gracious God, El Khanun, is with us, feels for us and wants to help us.
the great, compassionate and gracious God, El Khanun, is with us, feels for us and wants to help us
(Gospel)
Psalm 86:15 But you, Lord, are a compassionate and gracious God, slow to anger, abounding in love and faithfulness.
Isaiah 30:18 Yet the Lord longs to be gracious to you;
I think we need to quickly access God’s graciousness and compassion in our daily troubles. He sees and feels for us and waits for our requests, our prayers. God doesn’t force this upon us but rather waits for us to connect with Him. The Lord longs to be gracious to you.
-
Is there anything in your life that you need to ask God to be gracious onto you?
-
Is there anything in your life that you have asked God to be gracious onto you but haven’t answered yet? Keep asking.
Psalm 116:5 Gracious is the Lord, and righteous;
Yes, our God is compassionate.
Close with this God blessing The Lord, YHWH, told Moses to tell Aaron to use this blessing over the people:
Numbers 6:24-26
“‘“The Lord, (YHWH) bless you and keep you; the Lord (YHWH) make his face shine on you and be gracious (KHANUN) to you; the Lord (YHWH) turn his face toward you and give you peace (SHALOM).”’ Amen
April 23, 2023
