Exodus 34:5-6
“5 Then the Lord came down in a cloud and stood there with him; and he called out his own name, Yahweh.[a] 6 The Lord passed in front of Moses, calling out, “Yahweh![b] The Lord!
The God of compassion and mercy! I am slow to anger and filled with unfailing love and faithfulness.”
Hello Winnetka! My name is Joshua Crozier, and I’ve had the privilege of serving as the senior high youth ministry intern for this academic year. Although youth group has looked very different like everything else this year, it’s been an honor to teach, learn from, and build relationships with all of your incredible students this Fall. I am humbled that Joel asked me to write a blog post for today, and I am excited to share as I continue to learn more about Scripture and the God whom it’s from and for!
Here in the chaotic wilderness of the Isrealite Exodus, God who abundantly desires to know and be known by His creation describes Himself for the first time in the Old Testament Scriptures. We serve a God who is compassionate, merciful, slow to anger, and overflowing with loyal-love and faithfulness.
I have recently been inspired by the podcast BibleProject, a nonprofit animation studio that is currently releasing a video series on the character of God. In episode three of their series, Tim Mackie, Jon Collins, and Carissa Quinn discuss the Hebrew word ra.chum (pronounced ra-HOOM) meaning “compassion.” I think it is incredibly profound that directly after the Isralites break their covenant promise with God by building a golden calf idol, the first word Yahweh uses to describe Himself is “compassionate.” God will get righteously angry with and discipline His people for their wrong doing as a parent reprimands their wayward child, yet lovingly forgives them still.
This Hebrew word is derived from re.chem (pronounced ra-HEM), which means “womb.” God is literally describing Herself as “womb-like,” having a deep sense of connectedness to Her children much like the biological bond of a mother. During my time as a psychology major at North Park I have been learning about the neurobiological changes that occur when a woman forms an attachment to her child. Just as God created the entire universe from a formless and chaotic void, we were literally formed in the darkness of our mother’s womb and carry Her attributes wherever we go.
Scripture clearly states that both males and females were made in the image of God, and the necessary description of God using more feminine characteristics is reflected throughout the Bible. In Isaiah 49 for example, God is compared to a nursing mother; even if a human mother may forget her child while feeding them (which is unrealistic), God will never forget us and always provide what we need. However grateful I am for having spent my childhood learning from the Evangelical Church tradition at Jesus People USA, it is shocking to me how little I have heard God described in comparison to women. Compassion is a very emotional word, and we serve an emotional, parent-like God who is deeply stirred by the cries of Her children. In Genesis 4, God responds emotionally to the blood of Her son Able which cries out from the ground. Israel betrays God several times in the Old Testiment even after being delivered from Egyptian slavery, witnessing several miracles, and being provided for in the desert for forty years. Yet every time Her people cry out, God is stirred by a womb-like compassion and delivers them.
Re.chem is an emotional characteristic not in the sense of inconsistent or rash decision making. Compassion is an emotion felt deep within the gut; compassion moves us to action. I am reminded of the story of Lazerus, when Jesus’ close friend dies and his sisters are grieving. Even though Jesus knew that He would raise Lazarus to life again soon, He was deeply moved to mourn with the women who were crying out. The compassion that Jesus felt deep in His gut moved him to action.
We carry this attribute of compassion from our Divine Parent, and are called as Christians to be deeply moved by our neighbors crying out. We are called to provide a home to refugees, to amplify the voices of the marginalized, to give our resources to the poor, and to visit those in prison. We are called to mourn with our black brothers and sisters who continually experience their lives be taken by overt and institutionalized racism across our nation. We are called to also care about what happens in the world outside of our country, because we pledge allegiance to a kingdom that is not of this world. And we are called not only to feel compassion, but to allow this emotion to compel us to concretely love our neighbors through our actions.
I hope that this is an encouraging message for you, and perhaps a convicting one. These past four years of college have been incredibly formational in all facets of my development, including the disillusionment and re-learning that I’ve experienced in my faith journey.
Although I have made many mistakes in loving my neighbors as we all do and will, I have been doing my best to implement what I’ve been learning about God’s compassion as I listen to marginalized voices here on campus and in our nation. I hope that this post invites you to do the same. Thank you so much for including me in Winnetka’s mission and service to the world as we bring the Kingdom of God a little closer to our messy world. I appreciate you all greatly!
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