In 1968, the Rolling Stones released a new album entitled Beggars Banquet. The lead track was a song called Sympathy for the Devil, composed primarily by lead singer Mick Jagger with help from guitarist Keith Richards. This tune has become one of the great classics of Rock and Roll. Many readers know the lyrics, which cast the singer in the first-person role of the devil.
Please allow me to introduce myself
I’m a man of wealth and taste
I’ve been around for a long, long year
Stole many a man’s soul and faith
Mick Jagger’s version of the devil produces a long list of his ‘achievements’ and then repeatedly exhorts the listener, “Can you guess my name?” The devil points out that he was right there when Pontius Pilate washed his hands and sealed the condemnation of Jesus. He was there too during the Russian Revolution when the Bolsheviks executed the Tsar & his family. And he was there during the Blitzkrieg, when Hitler’s tanks stormed across Europe, leaving stinking bodies in their wake. Throughout the song, the devil delights in his deceptions; he sows confusion among humans, leaving them in misery.
Ah, what’s puzzling you is the nature of my game, oh yeah
Recalling this bit of music history got me thinking. What if God were to compose a song introducing himself to the world? What would the Almighty have to say on his behalf?
Of course, the entire Bible is God’s self-revelation to mankind. But there is one fascinating account in the scriptures when God really does introduce himself.
The story is found in Exodus chapters 32-34.
With a mighty hand and an outstretched arm, God brought the children of Israel out of slavery in Egypt. He led them safely through the Red Sea, where the army of Pharaoh was drowned. Following this moment of triumph, Moses led Israel to Mount Sinai where they entered into covenant with God.
No sooner had Israel received God’s law than things went disastrously wrong. While Moses was on the mountain, the people became impatient. They pressured Aaron into making an idol in the form of a golden calf; the Israelites promptly prostrated themselves in worship before this image.
Things went from bad to worse. “Afterward, they sat down to eat and drink and got up to indulge in revelry.” These Biblical euphemisms might sound somewhat innocent, but don’t be mistaken: the language indicates that the Israelites engaged in all manner of debauchery & sexual immorality.
Unsurprisingly, God’s anger burned against the people. Moses rallied the Levites and ordered them to strike down those who had embraced rebellion. About 3,000 suffered the consequences of their sin when they fell under the Levites’ swords. Only on account of Moses’ passionate intervention did God relent from completely destroying Israel.
This dark turn of events understandably left a deep impression on Moses. Moses has witnessed the goodness and power of God when Israel was rescued from Egypt. The Lord executed his justice upon Pharaoh, who had held Israel in cruel bondage and murdered their firstborn sons.
But Moses also realized that God shows no favoritism. For when Israel engaged in idolatry & immorality, she too faced God’s wrath. Moses recognized that God is not a god who offers unconditional support to Israel. True, God chose Israel as his very own people. But this lofty status came with clear conditions, “Now if you obey me fully and keep my covenant, then out of all nations you will be my treasured possession.” (Exodus 19:5)
Faced with this reality, Moses wisely determined to learn more about the God who governs the world. He cried out to the LORD, “If you are pleased with me, teach me your ways so I may know you and continue to find favor with you…Show me your glory.”
God graciously complied. “I will cause all my goodness to pass in front of you, and I will proclaim my name, the LORD, in your presence.”
But it was a dangerous proposition. For his own protection, God instructs Moses to stand in a cleft in the rock while the divine presence passed by.
At this remarkable moment, the one true God introduced himself.
“[The LORD] passed in front of Moses, proclaiming, ‘The LORD, the LORD, the compassionate and gracious God, slow to anger, abounding in love and faithfulness, maintaining love to thousands, and forgiving wickedness, rebellion and sin. Yet he does not leave the guilty unpunished; he punishes the children and their children for the sin of the fathers to the third and fourth generation.'”
These immortal words are well worth pondering or even committing to heart.
Much of this language is quite comforting. God is truly compassionate and gracious, loving and faithful. However, this passage also reminds us that God’s love can never be presumed.
The short phrase “maintaining love to thousands” refers back to Exodus 20, where God declared that he shows “love to a thousand generations of those who love me and keep my commandments.” Once again, note the conditional nature of God’s love. Divine favor comes to those who love him in return precisely by keeping his commands. This principle is echoed by Jesus himself: “If you love me, you will obey what I command.”
God is slow to anger. He does not simply obliterate the wicked. He is amazingly patient, giving people many opportunities to amend their mistaken ways. As the Apostle Paul writes, “Don’t you realize that God’s kindness leads you towards repentance?”
The Lord is willing to forgive even the deepest and darkest sins. But again, this forgiveness comes with strict conditions: God requires that the offender renounce their iniquity and commit themselves to righteousness.
“He will not let the guilty go unpunished.” The creator will ultimately bring his destructive judgment upon those who persist in evil. This might trouble those who only want to wax lyrical about God’s love. But a moment’s reflection shows that if God is truly loving and good, he must eventually bring the curtain down on those who celebrate wickedness. If God simply sat back and allowed evil to go on ruining his world, he would not be good.
The last phrase might seem quite unfair. Why would the Lord punish the children for the sin of their fathers? However, the parallel in Exodus 20 clarifies: “I [punish] the children for the sin of the fathers to the third and fourth generation of those who hate me.” This language indicates that, like their fathers, the children are equally guilty of hatred towards God.
God is no arbitrary tyrant. His wrath justly comes upon those who persist in resisting his grace.
This introduction gives us a remarkably balanced portrait of God. He is indeed the loving creator who longs to give life and blessing to all people. But he is also the righteous judge who is determined to extinguish the evil which threatens to destroy his creation.
I recently saw a rainbow bumper sticker which read: “My God loves everyone!” Of course, the sticker’s real message is that God approves & celebrates those who practice homosexuality and transgenderism.
Anyone who has allowed God to speak for himself knows that this is untrue. God despises such behavior. Sexual immorality of any kind harms those who practice it as well as societies who approve it.
Certainly, God loves even those trapped in sin. But it’s also true that such people are in a very dangerous place. For if they persist in rejecting God’s wisdom, the creator’s love is replaced by anger and then wrath. As the Apostle Paul wrote, “Because of your stubbornness and your unrepentant heart, you are storing up wrath against yourself for the day of God’s wrath, when his righteous judgment will be revealed.”
All this must be kept in mind when we reflect on the nature of God. Love, compassion, anger, patience, forgiveness and wrath. If we want to properly worship and serve God, we must remember his whole introduction.
