the Second Week after Epiphany
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Daily Devotionals
Voice of the Lord
The Torah was given through Moshe; grace and truth came through Yeshua the Messiah (John 1:17).
Grace and truth (chesed ve'emet) are two of the "Thirteen Attributes of Mercy" that Jewish authorities deduce from Exodus 34:6-7. In this passage of Torah, Moshe (Moses) implores the Lord, "I beg you to show me your glory!" (Exodus 33:18) The Lord explains to Moshe that it would be impossible to see his face, "because a human being cannot look at me and remain alive" (Exodus 33:20). Nevertheless, he allows Moshe to see his back, his glory, as it passes by. Then he proclaims his name (his thirteen attributes), including chesed ve'emet.
Similarly, Yochanan (John) writes that when Yeshua appeared, "We saw his Sh'khinah [Glory].... No one has ever seen God; but the only and unique Son, who is identical with God and is at the Father's side—he has made him known" (John 1:14,18). Yeshua, who is full of chesed ve'emet, embodies and makes known the attributes of mercy described in the Torah. In the above Scripture, we are told that Moshe gave the Torah; Yeshua, however, is the embodiment of Torah. Yochanan is not drawing a contrast between Torah and chesed ve'emet; rather, he is showing how Yeshua became the living Torah, so that we might know God more fully in all his attributes, including his chesed ve'emet.
When we say to God "Please, show me your glory," he points us to Yeshua.
...seek to know God's glory more fully by drawing closer to Yeshua.
RR
The Voice of the Lord, Copyright © 1998 by the Lewis and Harriet Lederer Foundation, Inc. Published by Messianic Jewish Publishers, Distributed by Messianic Jewish Resources, www.messianicjewish.net. All rights reserved. Used by permission. No part of this article may be reproduced in print or on the web, or transmitted in any form, without the written permission of the publisher.
