MOVED WITH
Compassion
by Amy Bird
HOW DO YOU RESPOND TO A DISOBEDIENT CHILD? An insubordinate employee? An
out-of-control driver? Compassion is probably not the first emotion rushing through your veins.
And yet when God meets with Moses after the
Israelites have rebelled against God—not trusting
Him and choosing to worship a golden calf instead—
God tells Moses He is a God of compassion.
Check out Exodus 34:5–6:
The Lord descended in the cloud and stood with
[Moses] there, and proclaimed the name of the
Lord. The Lord passed before him and proclaimed,
"The Lord, the Lord, a God merciful and gracious,
slow to anger, and abounding in steadfast love and
faithfulness"
While the ESV translates it "merciful," the
Hebrew word used here is rakhum, meaning "com-
passion". It's related to rekhem, the Hebrew word for
womb. Compassion is an intense emotion felt deep
in a person's gut.
14 Lutheran Life
