Sovereign – Uses of the Law: Make Known the Character of God (3)

Sovereign

Uses of the Law: Make Known the Character of God (3)

The LORD passed before him and proclaimed, “The LORD, the LORD, a god merciful and gracious, slow to anger, and abounding in steadfast love and faithfulness, but who will by no means clear the guilty, visiting the iniquity of the fathers on the children and the children’s children, to the third and fourth generation.” Exodus 34:6, 7

The people of Israel were made to understand, by the revelation God made to them in His Law, that He has all authority and power to accomplish whatever He commands. He is sovereign.

If they did not understand this before the events of their redemption, they certainly should have known it after the Lord brought them out of Egypt.

In the deliverance from Egypt God showed that He has power over all creation, every nation and earthly kingdom, all powers and forces—spiritual and otherwise—and even the wills of men. Nothing can stand before His purposes; nothing can turn Him away from what He intends.

By His steadfast love and faithfulness He provides for the needs of His creatures, especially those on whom He has set His love for redemption. He is able to bring water from rocks, food from heaven, deliverance from plagues and foes, cleansing from sin, and blessing upon every aspect of the lives of those who obey Him. He is also able to destroy to the uttermost all who scorn His self-revelation and His Law and who rebel against His revealed purposes and will.

God is sovereign. Nothing exists outside the scope of His divine authority and power, and nothing can long stand that denies Him or seeks to oppose Him.

For a practical guide to the role of God’s Law in the life of faith, get The Ground for Christian Ethics by going to www.ailbe.org and click on our Bookstore, then Church Issues.

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In the Gates is a devotional series on the Law of God by Rev. T.M. Moore, editor of the Worldview Church. He serves as dean of the Centurions Program of the Wilberforce Forum and principal of The Fellowship of Ailbe, a spiritual fellowship in the Celtic Christian tradition. He is the author or editor of twenty books, and has contributed chapters to four others. His essays, reviews, articles, papers, and poetry have appeared in dozens of national and international journals, and on a wide range of websites. His most recent books are The Ailbe Psalter and The Ground for Christian Ethics (Waxed Tablet).

Scripture quotations in this article are from The Holy Bible, English Standard Version, (c) copyright 2001, 2007 by Crossway Bibles, a division of Good News Publishers. Used by permission. All rights reserved.