Exodus 34: 6 And the Lord passed by before him, and proclaimed, The Lord, The Lord God, merciful and gracious, longsuffering, and abundant in goodness and truth.
Whenever the Ten commandments are being presented, the focus should not be heavily weighted to the prohibitory side, with heavy emphasis placed on the negative, and adverse consequences, for in this way some of the hearers might be scared into obedience, which, in some instances, does not last. It is the goodness of God that brings individuals to repentance, and even though in our day we have to emphasize all the laws of God, because of the false doctrines, teaching that they were abolished at the cross, yet, Calvary should not get lost in the mix.
In fact, it would be well to follow the model given to us, as when Moses asked to see God’s glory. At that time, the people had sinned greatly, by worshipping the golden calf, and 3000 lay dead as the result. So, what they needed was emphasis on the goodness of God, not primarily adverse results.
Even though the adverse consequences are to be mentioned to bring about a balance to the equation we should endeavor to dwell at length on the bright side, with the positives being given much attention, for in this way, persons would be drawn to God for His goodness, and not because of negative results. Hence the reason why, in this presentation we let the simplicity and the goodness of Gods commands have the preeminence, so that persons would learn to trust Him at his word.
Exodus 34:7 Keeping mercy for thousands, forgiving iniquity and transgression and sin, and that will by no means clear the guilty; visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children, and upon the children's children, unto the third and to the fourth generation.
May The Lord add His blessing to the study of His word. God bless!