Shalom Mishpacha! (family)
 
Trailing a Hebrew word through Scripture is an excellent way to pursue truth and give us insights into the heart of our Heavenly Father. In Shemot/Exodus 34 this week, YHWH gave Moshe a special revelation of His attributes. One of the first listed is rachum, often translated as compassion.

Shemot/Exodus 34:6 Then YHWH passed by in front of him and proclaimed, "YHWH, YHWH El, compassionate (rachum) and gracious, slow to anger, and abounding in lovingkindness and truth;

With the help of TWOT (Theological Wordbook of the Old Testament), let's follow rachum/racham throughout the Hebrew Scriptures and then finish with some verses from the Brit Chadasha.
 
Racham refers to deep love, usually of a "superior" for an "inferior" (consider our 'superior' Covenant Partner and His love for us). Isaiah uses this word to speak of a mother's love toward her nursing baby:
Isaiah 49:15 "Can a woman forget her nursing child, And not have compassion on the son of her womb? Surely they may forget, Yet I will not forget you.
 
It is also used in reference to a father's love:
 
Psalm 103:13 As a father has compassion on his children, so YHWH has compassion on those who fear him

Jeremiah 31:20 Is not Ephraim my dear son, the child in whom I delight? Though I often speak against him, I still remember him. Therefore my heart yearns for him; I have great compassion for him," declares YHWH.

Our Elohim is able to choose for Himself whom He will show compassion on:
 
Shemot/Exodus 33:19 Then He said, "I will make all My goodness pass before you, and I will proclaim the Name of YHWH before you. I will be gracious to whom I will be gracious, and I will have compassion on whom I will have compassion."
 
First we see that YHWH's deep, tender love/compassion is unconditional for those He is in covenant with. We also see that His continuing compassion often preserved His unrepentant, chosen people:
 
2 Kings 13:23 But YHWH was gracious to them, had compassion on them, and regarded them, because of His covenant with Avraham, Yitzchak, and Ya'acov, and would not yet destroy them or cast them from His Presence.
Compassion then in part, becomes the hope of the prophets regarding Israel's return to the Land and His forgiveness of their sins:
 
Isaiah 14:1 YHWH will have compassion on Ya'acov; once again He will choose Israel and will settle them in their own Land. Aliens will join them and unite with the house of Ya'acov.
 
Jeremiah 12:14 Thus says YHWH: "Against all My evil neighbors who touch the inheritance which I have caused My people Israel to inherit - behold, I will pluck them out of their land and pluck out the house of Yehudah from among them. "Then it shall be, after I have plucked them out, that I will return and have compassion on them and bring them back, everyone to his heritage and everyone to his land.
 
Micah 7:19 You will again have compassion on us; you will tread our sins underfoot and hurl all our iniquities into the depths of the sea.
 
It is noteworthy that Devarim 30:3 prophesies the exile is because of Israel's sin, stipulating that repentance will precede YHWH's compassion:
Devarim/Deuteronomy 30:1 "Now it shall come to pass, when all these things come upon you, the blessing and the curse which I have set before you, and you call them to mind among all the nations where the YHWH your Elohim drives you, 2 "and you return to YHWH your Elohim and obey His voice, according to all that I command you today, you and your children, with all your heart and with all your soul, 3 "that YHWH your Elohim will bring you back from captivity, and have compassion on you, and gather you again from all the nations where YHWH your Elohim has scattered you.
The exile was brought about by Elohim and will be terminated by Elohim, all according to His Divine Plan and all with compassion:
Ezekiel 39:23 "The Gentiles shall know that the house of Israel went into captivity for their iniquity; because they were unfaithful to Me, therefore I hid My face from them. I gave them into the hand of their enemies, and they all fell by the sword. 24 "According to their uncleanness and according to their transgressions I have dealt with them, and hidden My face from them." ' 25 " Therefore thus says Adonai YHWH: 'Now I will bring back the captives of Ya'acov, and have compassion on the whole house of Israel; and I will be jealous for My holy name --

Isaiah 30:18 Therefore YHWH will wait, that He may be gracious to you; And therefore He will be exalted, that He may have compassion on you. For YHWH is and Elohim of justice; Blessed are all those who wait for Him. 19 For the people shall dwell in Zion at Jerusalem; You shall weep no more. He will be very gracious to you at the sound of your cry; When He hears it, He will answer you.

The return of the exiles brings about a permanent state where the relationship of compassion will never again be broken:

Isaiah 54:8 With a little wrath I hid My face from you for a moment; But with everlasting kindness I will have compassion on you," Says YHWH, your Redeemer. 9 " For this is like the waters of Noah to Me; For as I have sworn That the waters of Noah would no longer cover the earth, So have I sworn That I would not be angry with you, nor rebuke you. 10 For the mountains shall depart And the hills be removed, But My kindness shall not depart from you, Nor shall My covenant of peace be removed," Says YHWH, who has compassion on you.

And finally, this attribute of compassion and desire to gather together Israel was also very evident in Yeshua's ministry:

Matthew 9:36 But when He saw the multitudes, He was moved with compassion for them, because they were weary and scattered, like sheep having no shepherd.

Luke 15:20 "And he arose and came to his father. But when he was still a great way off, his father saw him and had compassion, and ran and fell on his neck and kissed him.

And one more thing on compassion - we are commanded to show compassion one for another:

1 Peter 3:8 Finally, all of you be of one mind, having compassion for one another; love as brothers, be tenderhearted, be courteous;

Now, through the complete listing of His attributes in this week's Torah portion (Shemot 34:6-7), we begin to see that we are not mere creations of His. How could it be that such a loving Father would desire to be so closely associated with us in every way - spiritually, intellectually, emotionally....at every moment?
Song of Solomon 6:3 I am my beloved's, And my beloved is mine.
Notice how many times He declares Himself to be "ours" and we are "His":

Shemot/Exodus 6:7 'I will take you as My people, and I will be your Elohim

Shemot/Exodus 8:23 "I will make a difference between My people and your people.

Vayikra/Leviticus 26:12 I will walk among you and be your Elohim, and you shall be My people.

Ezekiel 11:20 "that they may walk in My statutes and keep My judgments and do them; and they shall be My people, and I will be their Elohim.

Ezekiel 14:11 "that the house of Israel may no longer stray from Me, nor be profaned anymore with all their transgressions, but that they may be My people and I may be their Elohim," says Adonai Elohim.'

Ezekiel 34:30 "Thus they shall know that I, YHWH their Elohim, am with them, and they, the house of Israel, are My people," says Adonai YHWH.'

Ezekiel 36:28 "Then you shall dwell in the land that I gave to your fathers; you shall be My people, and I will be your Elohim.

Zechariah 13:9 I will bring the one-third through the fire, Will refine them as silver is refined, And test them as gold is tested. They will call on My name, And I will answer them. I will say, 'This is My people'; And each one will say, YHWH is my Elohim.' "

Hebrews 8:10 "For this is the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel after those days, says YHWH: I will put My laws in their mind and write them on their hearts; and I will be their Elohim, and they shall be My people.

Quote from Mr. William Bullock:
"We came to realize to our amazement that the betrothal covenant that the Holy One contracted with us on Mt. Sinai is not at its essence a matter of 'law giving' as we thought previously but is instead the birthing in our spirits of the capacity to enjoy a living, breathing relationship with the Creator of the Universe based upon the reality that the covenant partner of Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, and Joseph is now our God and our covenant partner just as he was theirs."
 
This love of a father. I never knew that the love of a father was a concept I didn't really understand. My own father died when I was a teenager. I loved him so much and although 40 years have passed, I still could not talk of him without tears. A kind of grief has always been with me. But this week something happened. We have friends here in Israel - a father and his adult daughter. We spent some time with them, and when I witnessed the love in his eyes for her and how she responded to his love, I understood that this has been something I have longed for. The love of a father for his grown daughter. Because my father died when I was young, I never knew this kind of love. But I don't have to grieve for this any longer. Because I have seen this living example which has pointed me to the passionate love my Heavenly Father has for me. I think now I can get beyond my grief and respond to my Heavenly Father's love. I am so thankful for this lesson!
 
 
Shabbat Shalom!
Ardelle