...The LORD proclaimed the name of the LORD... and proclaimed, “The LORD, the LORD God, merciful and gracious, longsuffering, and abounding in goodness and truth, keeping mercy for thousands, forgiving iniquity and transgression and sin, by no means clearing the guilty, visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children and the children’s children to the third and the fourth generation.” Exodus 34:5-7

Do not miss the goodness and the grace of God when He proclaimed His Name. He is “merciful and gracious, longsuffering and abounding in goodness and truth.” If it were not so the human race would have been erased when Adam and Eve disobeyed God in the Garden of Eden. And how many times since? But He is “merciful to thousands, forgiving iniquity and transgression and sin.” I trust we are all grateful that we too have been the recipients of His forgiveness!

What about the words in (v.7) “by no means clearing the guilty, visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children and the children's children to the third and the fourth generation"? Is this a contradiction? Not at all. God does forgive, but not by failing to notice and punish iniquity. God cannot pretend our sin does not exist and remain holy and righteous. Instead of castigating all sinners, however, He diverts His wrath. And the ultimate example is God redirecting His just wrath on Jesus instead of on those Jesus came to save.

He truly does remember mercy, even in His justice