The Mystery; His Characteristics
Characteristic /ˌker(ə)ktəˈristik / From Ancient Greek χαρακτηριστικός ( kharaktēristikós ), from χαρακτηρίζω ( kharaktērízō, “to designate by a characteristic mark” ), from χαρακτήρ ( kharaktḗr, “a mark, character” ).
/ adjective /
1. typical of a particular person, place, or thing.
/ noun /
1. a feature or quality belonging typically to a person, place, or thing and serving to identify it.
The scriptures are full of the characteristics of God, both directly and indirectly. When Adam and Eve were in the Garden of Eden, arguably an earthly paradise, after they ate from the tree which God asked them not to, we read this:
Then the man and his wife heard the sound of the Lord God as He was walking in the garden in the cool of the day, and they hid from the Lord God among the trees of the garden. But the Lord God called to the man, “Where are you?” He answered, “I heard you in the garden, and I was afraid because I was naked; so I hid.”
- Genesis 3:8-10
They heard Him walking in the garden and asking for them. It also says this in chapters prior:
Then God said, “Let us make mankind in our image, in our likeness, so that they may rule over the fish in the sea and the birds in the sky, over the livestock and all the wild animals, and over all the creatures that move along the ground.” So God created mankind in His own image, in the image of God He created them; male and female He created them.
- Genesis 1:26-27
We read it says God made man in "his image" and "his likeness" and also "our image" and "our likeness." Let us keep in mind God created the angels before creating man. Knowing this, we can consider the possible characteristics God had in mind when creating mankind.
When God speaks to Moses in the cave, He reveals Himself in this manner:
There the angel of the Lord appeared to him in flames of fire from within a bush. Moses saw that though the bush was on fire it did not burn up. So Moses thought, “I will go over and see this strange sight - why the bush does not burn up.”
When the Lord saw that he had gone over to look, God called to him from within the bush, “Moses! Moses!”
And Moses said, “Here I am.”
“Do not come any closer,” God said. “Take off your sandals, for the place where you are standing is holy ground.” Then He said, “I am the God of your father, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac and the God of Jacob.” At this, Moses hid his face, because he was afraid to look at God.
- Exodus 3:2-6
God was able to get Moses' attention and spoke to Moses via a burning bush that would not burn.
By day the Lord went ahead of them in a pillar of cloud to guide them on their way and by night in a pillar of fire to give them light, so that they could travel by day or night. Neither the pillar of cloud by day nor the pillar of fire by night left its place in front of the people.
- Exodus 13:21-22
God does certain things to help people believe His messages and show them which way to go. Moses heard and saw the signs. The people saw the signs and heard what God had told Moses and they obeyed. As time went on in the desert with Moses and the people, the following developed:
Now Moses used to take a tent and pitch it outside the camp some distance away, calling it the “tent of meeting.” Anyone inquiring of the Lord would go to the tent of meeting outside the camp. And whenever Moses went out to the tent, all the people rose and stood at the entrances to their tents, watching Moses until he entered the tent. As Moses went into the tent, the pillar of cloud would come down and stay at the entrance, while the Lord spoke with Moses. Whenever the people saw the pillar of cloud standing at the entrance to the tent, they all stood and worshiped, each at the entrance to their tent. The Lord would speak to Moses face to face, as one speaks to a friend. Then Moses would return to the camp, but his young aide Joshua son of Nun did not leave the tent.
Moses said to the Lord, “You have been telling me, ‘Lead these people,’ but you have not let me know whom you will send with me. You have said, ‘I know you by name and you have found favor with me.’ If you are pleased with me, teach me your ways so I may know you and continue to find favor with you. Remember that this nation is your people.”
The Lord replied, “My Presence will go with you, and I will give you rest.”
Then Moses said to Him, “If your Presence does not go with us, do not send us up from here. How will anyone know that you are pleased with me and with your people unless you go with us? What else will distinguish me and your people from all the other people on the face of the earth?”
And the Lord said to Moses, “I will do the very thing you have asked, because I am pleased with you and I know you by name.”
Then Moses said, “Now show me your glory.”
And the Lord said, “I will cause all my goodness to pass in front of you, and I will proclaim My Name, the Lord, in your presence. I will have mercy on whom I will have mercy, and I will have compassion on whom I will have compassion. But,” He said, “you cannot see my face, for no one may see me and live.”
- Exodus 33:7-20
It was pretty obvious to everyone in the camp that God was having communion with Moses ( the sharing or exchanging of intimate thoughts and feelings ). Was it a contradiction when it says earlier in this passage that God spoke to Moses "face to face, as one does a friend" while later we read God warning Moses that he cannot see His face and live?
Consider the term "Presence" and what else may be going on. Consider the other times Moses spoke with the Lord ( the bush, for example ) and had a direct conversation with God. These are a few examples of God's characteristics. You could find many more characteristics or manners in which God sends people messages, gets people's attention and shows the Way all throughout the scriptures.
The angel of the Lord came back a second time and touched him and said, “Get up and eat, for the journey is too much for you.” So he got up and ate and drank. Strengthened by that food, he traveled forty days and forty nights until he reached Horeb, the mountain of God. There he went into a cave and spent the night.
And the word of the Lord came to him: “What are you doing here, Elijah?”
He replied, “I have been very zealous for the Lord God Almighty. The Israelites have rejected your covenant, torn down your altars, and put your prophets to death with the sword. I am the only one left, and now they are trying to kill me too.”
The Lord said, “Go out and stand on the mountain in the presence of the Lord, for the Lord is about to pass by.”
Then a great and powerful wind tore the mountains apart and shattered the rocks before the Lord, but the Lord was not in the wind. After the wind there was an earthquake, but the Lord was not in the earthquake. After the earthquake came a fire, but the Lord was not in the fire. And after the fire came a gentle whisper. When Elijah heard it, he pulled his cloak over his face and went out and stood at the mouth of the cave.
Then a voice said to him, “What are you doing here, Elijah?”
- 1 Kings 19:10-13
How humbling an experience it must have been for Elijah, to be in fear for his life yet forgetting that God is in complete control. It is a nice read to continue on your own with this passage, to see the full message of what God had to tell Elijah and what later happened to him. God showed Elijah that he shouldn't fear men nor their threats, for He is able to do anything and everything, sometimes doing things unimaginable to our logic and our mind's comprehension. God can make mountains break apart with a wind, can cause earthquakes, start fires and more. Yet, let us notice how gentle God is here when speaking with Elijah. God spoke with a gentle whisper to console Elijah while sending him back to work. We don't know what Elijah saw because he had covered his face, but the Lord said He was about to pass by, much like He did with Moses. Did you catch the part where Moses asked to see God's 'glory?' What was God's response?
Oh if only all of His children could hear a gentle whisper from the Lord Himself while on this plain and be eternally encouraged!
/ adjective /
1. typical of a particular person, place, or thing.
/ noun /
1. a feature or quality belonging typically to a person, place, or thing and serving to identify it.
The scriptures are full of the characteristics of God, both directly and indirectly. When Adam and Eve were in the Garden of Eden, arguably an earthly paradise, after they ate from the tree which God asked them not to, we read this:
Then the man and his wife heard the sound of the Lord God as He was walking in the garden in the cool of the day, and they hid from the Lord God among the trees of the garden. But the Lord God called to the man, “Where are you?” He answered, “I heard you in the garden, and I was afraid because I was naked; so I hid.”
- Genesis 3:8-10
They heard Him walking in the garden and asking for them. It also says this in chapters prior:
Then God said, “Let us make mankind in our image, in our likeness, so that they may rule over the fish in the sea and the birds in the sky, over the livestock and all the wild animals, and over all the creatures that move along the ground.” So God created mankind in His own image, in the image of God He created them; male and female He created them.
- Genesis 1:26-27
We read it says God made man in "his image" and "his likeness" and also "our image" and "our likeness." Let us keep in mind God created the angels before creating man. Knowing this, we can consider the possible characteristics God had in mind when creating mankind.
When God speaks to Moses in the cave, He reveals Himself in this manner:
There the angel of the Lord appeared to him in flames of fire from within a bush. Moses saw that though the bush was on fire it did not burn up. So Moses thought, “I will go over and see this strange sight - why the bush does not burn up.”
When the Lord saw that he had gone over to look, God called to him from within the bush, “Moses! Moses!”
And Moses said, “Here I am.”
“Do not come any closer,” God said. “Take off your sandals, for the place where you are standing is holy ground.” Then He said, “I am the God of your father, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac and the God of Jacob.” At this, Moses hid his face, because he was afraid to look at God.
- Exodus 3:2-6
God was able to get Moses' attention and spoke to Moses via a burning bush that would not burn.
By day the Lord went ahead of them in a pillar of cloud to guide them on their way and by night in a pillar of fire to give them light, so that they could travel by day or night. Neither the pillar of cloud by day nor the pillar of fire by night left its place in front of the people.
- Exodus 13:21-22
God does certain things to help people believe His messages and show them which way to go. Moses heard and saw the signs. The people saw the signs and heard what God had told Moses and they obeyed. As time went on in the desert with Moses and the people, the following developed:
Now Moses used to take a tent and pitch it outside the camp some distance away, calling it the “tent of meeting.” Anyone inquiring of the Lord would go to the tent of meeting outside the camp. And whenever Moses went out to the tent, all the people rose and stood at the entrances to their tents, watching Moses until he entered the tent. As Moses went into the tent, the pillar of cloud would come down and stay at the entrance, while the Lord spoke with Moses. Whenever the people saw the pillar of cloud standing at the entrance to the tent, they all stood and worshiped, each at the entrance to their tent. The Lord would speak to Moses face to face, as one speaks to a friend. Then Moses would return to the camp, but his young aide Joshua son of Nun did not leave the tent.
Moses said to the Lord, “You have been telling me, ‘Lead these people,’ but you have not let me know whom you will send with me. You have said, ‘I know you by name and you have found favor with me.’ If you are pleased with me, teach me your ways so I may know you and continue to find favor with you. Remember that this nation is your people.”
The Lord replied, “My Presence will go with you, and I will give you rest.”
Then Moses said to Him, “If your Presence does not go with us, do not send us up from here. How will anyone know that you are pleased with me and with your people unless you go with us? What else will distinguish me and your people from all the other people on the face of the earth?”
And the Lord said to Moses, “I will do the very thing you have asked, because I am pleased with you and I know you by name.”
Then Moses said, “Now show me your glory.”
And the Lord said, “I will cause all my goodness to pass in front of you, and I will proclaim My Name, the Lord, in your presence. I will have mercy on whom I will have mercy, and I will have compassion on whom I will have compassion. But,” He said, “you cannot see my face, for no one may see me and live.”
- Exodus 33:7-20
It was pretty obvious to everyone in the camp that God was having communion with Moses ( the sharing or exchanging of intimate thoughts and feelings ). Was it a contradiction when it says earlier in this passage that God spoke to Moses "face to face, as one does a friend" while later we read God warning Moses that he cannot see His face and live?
Consider the term "Presence" and what else may be going on. Consider the other times Moses spoke with the Lord ( the bush, for example ) and had a direct conversation with God. These are a few examples of God's characteristics. You could find many more characteristics or manners in which God sends people messages, gets people's attention and shows the Way all throughout the scriptures.
The angel of the Lord came back a second time and touched him and said, “Get up and eat, for the journey is too much for you.” So he got up and ate and drank. Strengthened by that food, he traveled forty days and forty nights until he reached Horeb, the mountain of God. There he went into a cave and spent the night.
And the word of the Lord came to him: “What are you doing here, Elijah?”
He replied, “I have been very zealous for the Lord God Almighty. The Israelites have rejected your covenant, torn down your altars, and put your prophets to death with the sword. I am the only one left, and now they are trying to kill me too.”
The Lord said, “Go out and stand on the mountain in the presence of the Lord, for the Lord is about to pass by.”
Then a great and powerful wind tore the mountains apart and shattered the rocks before the Lord, but the Lord was not in the wind. After the wind there was an earthquake, but the Lord was not in the earthquake. After the earthquake came a fire, but the Lord was not in the fire. And after the fire came a gentle whisper. When Elijah heard it, he pulled his cloak over his face and went out and stood at the mouth of the cave.
Then a voice said to him, “What are you doing here, Elijah?”
- 1 Kings 19:10-13
How humbling an experience it must have been for Elijah, to be in fear for his life yet forgetting that God is in complete control. It is a nice read to continue on your own with this passage, to see the full message of what God had to tell Elijah and what later happened to him. God showed Elijah that he shouldn't fear men nor their threats, for He is able to do anything and everything, sometimes doing things unimaginable to our logic and our mind's comprehension. God can make mountains break apart with a wind, can cause earthquakes, start fires and more. Yet, let us notice how gentle God is here when speaking with Elijah. God spoke with a gentle whisper to console Elijah while sending him back to work. We don't know what Elijah saw because he had covered his face, but the Lord said He was about to pass by, much like He did with Moses. Did you catch the part where Moses asked to see God's 'glory?' What was God's response?
Oh if only all of His children could hear a gentle whisper from the Lord Himself while on this plain and be eternally encouraged!
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