Grow Your Vision
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WHAT IS THE DERAKIM?
There are two great revelatory moments in history, when God told us who He is. The first time is on mount Sinai when He describes His ways (Hebrew: derakim) to Moses (Exodus 34:6). The second time He describes His ways in person of Jesus Christ, when "the Word became flesh, and dwelt among us" (John 1:14). Both events reveal that God is
compassionate and gracious,
slow to anger
and great in lovingkindness
and faithfulness.
This amazing string of words is called The Derakim (The Ways), and they first came directly from the mouth of God. This is the most foundational description of God in the Bible. Psalmist sing about it (Psalm 86:15; 103:8; 145:8), the prophets proclaim it (Joel 2:13; Jonah 4:2), and Jesus Christ embodied it. The Derakim can bring peace to the restless human soul: It can satisfies our deepest longings, and answers the greatest questions of our human existence. It is a key for understanding the mysteries of the Scripture, and is the clearest statement of theology ever given to humanity. Jesus once said that eternal life was a matter of coming to know the only true God (John 17:3). In Scripture, those who know God know The Derakim.
01
THE DERAKIM CHASING ME DOWN
I had embraced the gospel and I really wanted to please God, I just didn’t have a very clear understanding of God, THE PERSON. Like so many real, born-again Christians, I only knew Him from a distance...
02
GOD UNSEEN... YET SEEN
The Bible clearly says that it’s not the theological brainiacs who get to walk closely with God. It’s those with childlike simplicity who get to enter into intimacy with the Almighty (Matthew 11:25-30; 19:14; 21:16)...
03
LOVINGKINDNESS (HESED)
I couldn’t even bring myself to go into the church service, he said. I went into an empty Sunday School classroom, got on my face, and just wept. I told God, “If that is who You are, I surrender my life to you completely.” ...
04
COMPASSIONATE (RAHUM)
God has a spontaneous, irrepressible reaction to human need, similar to a mother’s response to her crying child. Why does a mother run to her newborn when it is in pain, or has a need? Answer: They can’t help themselves. It’s automatic.
05
SLOW TO ANGER
God doesn’t like to punish people. When all the dust settles, I hope the notion that God is easily irritated and has an itchy trigger finger will be obliterated forever. God the Father is revealed in Jesus Christ, and this is even true when it comes to His anger and wrath.
06
BEING A HASID
God’s goal in creating us was to make us like Him—"Compassionate and gracious, slow to anger, and great in loving-kindness and faithfulness.” Those who understand this and live it out have discovered their created purpose. In biblical terms, they are called “hasid”
07
PRAYER
If a person is talking to the God who revealed Himself in The Derakim, and later in the person of Jesus Christ, they will plead and wrestle like Moses or Elijah. Their hearts resonate with the words of Jacob in the Old Testament, “I will not let You go until You bless me” (Genesis 32:)
08
DID GOD REALLY SAY...?
Theologians down through history have insisted on steering us away from the simple message of The Derakim, and leading us into a labyrinth of speculation about God’s infinite nature. The life-changing experience of God we all long for can only be experienced as we see Him and know Him as a child would—embracing the simple words of The Derakim.
09
GOD WANTS TO WRECK YOUR THEOLOGY
Ultimately God allows trials to come into our lives so that we give up our warped vision of Him, and embrace Him as He wants us to know Him—the God of The Derakim. The book of Job provides us with a classic paradigm of how God moves us from theology to intimacy with Him.
10
NOTE TO SCHOLARS
Why have theologians been unwilling to explain the most important description of God in the Bible, The Derakim (Exodus 34:6)? ...
