Exodus 34 reveals the Lord's character to His people through Moses. Showing mercy, grace and love to them. Even after Israel’s unfaithfulness to Him and the devastating moments where Moses smashes the tablets. The Lord, in His mercy, initiates a covenant renewal by instructing Moses to appear before Him with two new tablets. The Lord made a new covenant with the Israelites and spoke to His people face-to-face through Moses. As revealed in this section, the Lord's character forms the foundation of everything seen and heard from Him in the rest of the Bible and our daily experiences.

Verses 6-7 gets us to the heart of who the Lord is really like. He is, in essence, merciful, gracious, slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love and faithfulness. He is that to generations after generations. We truly know the Lord. The wonderful fruit of these characteristics is that the Lord is a God who has forgiveness at the very heart of His being.

This is the foundational character of the Lord. And is the basis of everything we see and hear from Him in the Bible to this day. He says and does everything He says and does because of what He is like, and He does not change. This is seen in the life, death and resurrection of Jesus Christ, wherein the gracious, merciful, abundantly loving forgiveness of the Lord and His just vengeance against sin are embodied.

How do we see this working out in our lives today? It's the 14th day of the Chinese New Year, with many gatherings and reunions with our families and friends over the last few days. Often, we are being prodded with uncomfortable questions such as: Are you attached? When are you having a baby? Where are you working currently?

More than that, we start comparing each other, the houses we stay in, the cars we drive, where we work and where our kids are studying/working.

How one reacts to these questions unveils where our security lies: in cars, houses, income, status, power or being accepted by others.

However, material goods will ultimately fade away, and people will fail.

COE expires in 10 years, houses last 99-999 years, and the average lifespan for a Singaporean is 85 years.

But we have one everlasting and unchanging friend we can trust. And that is God.

Question is, how do we build this trust in our everlasting and unchanging God? Like any other friend, we get to know them by communicating with them. Likewise, by studying the Bible and the life of Jesus Christ and spending time in prayer and meditation, we will better understand and know the Lord's character. We can have deep-seated confidence and an instinctive movement towards the Lord. This understanding will also provide a perspective on all of life that should be unshakable, knowing that whatever else may change in the world, the Lord will not. So you can always count on His abundant love towards you and His forgiveness of your sins.

Dear Lord, thank you for the unlimited access I have to you. Unveil yourself like how Moses unveiled His face to the Israelites. Help me know and understand you better. In Jesus’ name, I pray, Amen.