The Same G-d

Yesterday, Today and Forever

If you have ever felt that the G-d of the Old Testament and the G-d of the New Testament sound like two different characters, know that this impression is far more common than you might think. A fragmented reading of Scripture easily creates the sense that we begin with a stern and severe G-d and end with a gentle and gracious one. Yet, when the Bible is read carefully, a very different picture emerges. Above all, Scripture is a book about humanity – its failures, falls, struggles and attempts to walk with the Creator. G-d acts from Genesis to Revelation, but rarely describes Himself directly. He reveals who He is through His actions. And that is precisely why Exodus 34 is so remarkable: it is one of the few moments in which G-d explicitly declares His own character.

This revelation comes immediately after the spiritual disaster of the Golden Calf. Moses is on Mount Sinai receiving divine instruction while the people craft a glittering idol and present it as the god who brought them out of Egypt. The divine response is unsurprising: G-d declares that He will wipe out that generation. But Moses intercedes, and the impossible happens. G-d chooses to forgive, and more than that, He unveils His essential attributes.

The text reads: “The LORD, the LORD, a compassionate and gracious G-d, slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love and truth; keeping mercy for thousands, forgiving iniquity, transgression and sin, yet by no means clearing the guilty.” Here lies the heart of G-d – the same heart made visible later in the words and actions of Jesus. Jewish tradition identifies in this passage the Thirteen Attributes of Mercy, a kind of inner map of the divine character. Below they appear with the original Hebrew beside each one:

1. ADONAI, ADONAI (יהוה יהוה – merciful before and after sin)

G-d is merciful before a person sins, fully aware of our tendencies and weaknesses, and He remains merciful after the fall, offering the opportunity for return and restoration.

2. EL (אל – The Almighty One)

The absolute power who governs nature and humanity with true justice, judging each person according to the reality of their heart and their choices.

3. Rachum (רחום – compassionate)

The G-d who bends towards human suffering, especially the weak, the poor and the oppressed. He is not indifferent to human pain but acts to relieve, rescue and protect.

4. VeChanun (וְחַנּוּן – gracious)

The G-d who offers grace even to those who do not deserve it, extending comfort, help and presence to the fallen, the undeserving and the broken.

5. Erech Appayim (אֶרֶךְ אַפַּיִם – patient, slow to anger)

G-d grants time for repentance and transformation. He does not react impulsively but waits, instructs, calls and offers new opportunities.

6. Rav Chesed (רַב חֶסֶד – abundant in kindness)

G-d gives more kindness than we ask for and more than we deserve. His generosity exceeds expectations and surpasses our limitations.

7. VeEmet (וֶאֱמֶת – truthful and faithful)

G-d keeps His word and His covenant. He never promises what He will not fulfil. His faithfulness stretches across circumstances and generations.

8. Notzer Chesed Laalafim (נֹצֵר חֶסֶד לָאֲלָפִים – preserves kindness for thousands)

G-d remembers the actions of the righteous and pours blessings upon their descendants, even when these descendants are not particularly virtuous. His memory of human goodness is long and deep.

9. Nosei Avon (נֹשֵׂא עָוֹן – forgives deliberate iniquity)

Iniquity is sin committed with full intention. G-d forgives even premeditated wrongdoing when genuine repentance is present.

10. Nosei Pesha (נֹשֵׂא פֶשַׁע – forgives rebellious transgression)

Pesha is transgression carried out in conscious rebellion. Even then, G-d opens a way back when a person decides to return.

11. Nosei Chata’ah (נֹשֵׂא חַטָּאָה – forgives unintentional sin)

Chet refers to mistakes committed without intention. G-d considers human frailty, ignorance and limitation, offering forgiveness and restoration.

12. Venakeh (וְנַקֵּה – purifies)

G-d cleanses and purifies those who truly repent. He removes the stain, restores the soul and rebuilds what was broken. Yet He does not purify the one who refuses repentance, for justice and mercy walk together.

These are 12 Attributes of Mercy

Forgiveness, patience, kindness, grace.

The dominant essence of G-d’s character is merciful. He is, in His very nature, goodness, forgiveness, restoration and patience. The entire Old Testament confirms this on every page: renewed covenants, prophets sent again and again, continual invitations to return. Jesus does not introduce mercy. He embodies ancient mercy.

There is 1 Attribute of Justice

Without repentance, there can be no purification.

Divine justice does not cancel mercy, nor is it cancelled by it. G-d does not suppress human freedom. He forgives the one who accepts forgiveness. He purifies the one who desires purification. Jesus echoes this principle repeatedly when He calls people to repent. It is the same spiritual foundation, simply revealed more clearly.

And there are 3 Types of Sin Forgiven

Premeditated, rebellious and unintentional.

This triad shows the breadth of divine mercy. G-d does not forgive only accidental errors. He offers forgiveness even for intentional and rebellious sins. Peter denied Jesus knowingly and repeatedly, yet he was restored. The persecutors of the Messiah acted with collective rebellion and ignorance, yet Jesus prayed, “Father, forgive them.” The Old Testament teaches this; the New Testament displays it openly.

When we read this list attentively, the picture of G-d that emerges is not one of impatience or cruelty, but of a G-d deeply committed to mercy, kindness, patience and restoration. Justice is present, but always accompanied by grace. This is the G-d who reveals Himself at Sinai, and it is this same G-d who appears in Jesus.

Jesus does not introduce a new G-d onto the biblical stage. He reveals in human form the ancient G-d, the G-d who has always been. When He touches a leper, we see Rachum. When He forgives Peter before and after the denial, we see ADONAI repeated. When He is patient with disciples who fail to understand His teachings, we see Erech Appayim. When He multiplies food for a crowd that never even asked for it, we see Rav Chesed. When He says He came to fulfil the Torah rather than abolish it, we see VeEmet. When, on the cross, He extends forgiveness to the repentant thief, we see Nosei Avon, Nosei Pesha and Nosei Chata’ah all at work. And when He rises, making purification possible, we see Venakeh in its fullest expression.

When John says that Jesus was “full of grace and truth”, he is directly echoing Exodus 34. A first-century Jew would have recognised the parallel immediately. John is not inventing theology; he is declaring that the One who walked among them was the living embodiment of the attributes revealed to Moses. There is no contradiction between the G-d of the Old Testament and the G-d of the New. There is, instead, a perfect continuity.

This understanding challenges us to examine our own reflection. If G-d is patient, why are we so impatient? If He preserves kindness for thousands, why do we often struggle to preserve kindness for a single day? If He forgives iniquity, transgression and sin, why do we find it so difficult to tolerate even small mistakes in others? Perhaps the difficulty is not in grasping who G-d is, but in accepting that He is not like us. He is infinitely more merciful than we assume.

The Thirteen Attributes show clearly that G-d does not tire of broken human beings. He acts, forgives, restores and reveals Himself. Jesus does not create a new kind of divinity; He manifests the G-d who has always been present – the One who walked in Eden, who spoke at Sinai, who inspired the prophets and who entered human history through Jesus. The G-d of the beginning is the G-d of the end. The same yesterday, today and always.

Adivalter Sfalsin