Guided Bible Studies for Hungry Christians

The Word on the Mountain
(Lesson 13)

The Merciful

            “Blessed [are] the merciful: for they shall obtain mercy.“ (Matthew 5:7)

“Blessed [are] the merciful: for they shall obtain mercy.” (Matthew 5:7 av)

“And when the morning arose, then the angels hastened Lot, saying, Arise, take thy wife, and thy two daughters, which are here; lest thou be consumed in the iniquity of the city. And while he lingered, the men laid hold upon his hand, and upon the hand of his wife, and upon the hand of his two daughters; the LORD being merciful unto him: and they brought him forth, and set him without the city. And it came to pass, when they had brought them forth abroad, that he said, Escape for thy life; look not behind thee, neither stay thou in all the plain; escape to the mountain, lest thou be consumed.” (Genesis 19:15-17 av)

It is moments of shaky faith, when doubts, questions and hesitations slow response to the things of God, that His Mercy, His active compassion, overrides our physical reluctance, and rescues us from the dangers we have placed ourselves.

“And the LORD descended in the cloud, and stood with him there, and proclaimed the name of the LORD. And the LORD passed by before him, and proclaimed, The LORD, The LORD God, merciful and gracious, longsuffering, and abundant in goodness and truth, 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]. And Moses made haste, and bowed his head toward the earth, and worshipped. And he said, If now I have found grace in thy sight, O Lord, let my Lord, I pray thee, go among us; for it [is] a stiffnecked people; and pardon our iniquity and our sin, and take us for thine inheritance.” (Exodus 34:5-9 av)

Pay special attention to the actual Hebrew used to describe the word "goodness". It is a "neck bow" not a "body bow", and that difference is important. When we are merciful and show abundant goodness, we are not doing it among our peers, but rather those underneath our spiritual place. To show mercy through goodness does not require giving the troubled person a place equal or better than your own spiritual position with that "body bow". In fact, if you "body bow" you are making yourself a lesser, and unable to show merciful goodness from that position.

It is through the "neck bow, that a mercy-giving Christian bestows goodness upon those in a lesser place, and the mercy giver must maintain that superior place if mercy is to be shown.

Giving up position to the lesser will result in a loss of your own spiritual position, and take away completely your ability to offer mercy. When the LORD God gives us His Mercy, He bows his neck in goodness, and notices us, and gives kindness to us. That is the pattern that all merciful goodness should be expressed.

Lessers cannot show mercy...only those of superior place have that option.

“When thou art in tribulation, and all these things are come upon thee, [even] in the latter days, if thou turn to the LORD thy God, and shalt be obedient unto his voice; (For the LORD thy God [is] a merciful God;) he will not forsake thee, neither destroy thee, nor forget the covenant of thy fathers which he sware unto them.” (Deuteronomy 4:30-31 av)

“If [one] be found slain in the land which the LORD thy God giveth thee to possess it, lying in the field, [and] it be not known who hath slain him: Then thy elders and thy judges shall come forth, and they shall measure unto the cities which [are] round about him that is slain: And it shall be, [that] the city [which is] next unto the slain man, even the elders of that city shall take an heifer, which hath not been wrought with, [and] which hath not drawn in the yoke; And the elders of that city shall bring down the heifer unto a rough valley, which is neither eared nor sown, and shall strike off the heifer’s neck there in the valley: And the priests the sons of Levi shall come near; for them the LORD thy God hath chosen to minister unto him, and to bless in the name of the LORD; and by their word shall every controversy and every stroke be [tried]: And all the elders of that city, [that are] next unto the slain [man], shall wash their hands over the heifer that is beheaded in the valley: And they shall answer and say, Our hands have not shed this blood, neither have our eyes seen [it]. Be merciful, O LORD, unto thy people Israel, whom thou hast redeemed, and lay not innocent blood unto thy people of Israel’s charge. And the blood shall be forgiven them. So shalt thou put away the [guilt of] innocent blood from among you, when thou shalt do [that which is] right in the sight of the LORD.” (Deuteronomy 21:1-9 av)

If one were to declare the most serious, soul-tearing accidental sin, then surely the shedding of innocent blood is the worst; to be accused falsely of murder for not even doing the sinful deed runs a close second to the circumstances a person of God just doesn't want to be involved. You don't want to be falsely accused, and you sure don't want to be involved in an accident where a person dies with no purposeful, planned action on your part.

The merciful LORD God, in His Providence, gave His people a way to resolve the shedding of blood through innocent actions...whether that be through the appearance of guilt because the dead body is left in their midst without their knowledge, or whether it is the taking of life accidentally. It is His great mercy that understands the difference between deliberately spilled blood, and accidentally causing death. It is His omnipotent mercy that gives His people a way to declare their innocence before Him, and be relieved on the accusation of guilt among His People.

This Scripture treats the unplanned death of a human being with great seriousness, and shows the somberness that the LORD God considers all murder, planned or not. But in His loving mercy He gives his beloved people a way to deal with this heart-rending situation. As long as His people are walking right in His sight, and innocent blood is shed, they are forgiven of murder. The LORD God is not a god of pettiness, nor a god of black and white. His Commandments are tempered with mercy, and He shares that mercy with the innocent shedders of blood, and as long as they are right with Him when the accident occurs.

His mercy continues to exonerate the congregation of believer's in Him, who find the shedding of blood in their midst by someone unknown, to which they are innocent. Furthermore, this Scripture leads one to understand that the LORD God holds His congregations accountable to the sinful doings of individual congregants, but offers them forgiveness if the shedding of blood is done by one of their members without their knowledge. Unplanned murder is declared forgiven when a person is right with God. Unknown murder is declared forgiven when a community is not involved. What a merciful and understanding LORD God we have!

“Therefore the LORD hath recompensed me according to my righteousness; according to my cleanness in his eye sight. With the merciful thou wilt shew thyself merciful, [and] with the upright man thou wilt shew thyself upright. With the pure thou wilt shew thyself pure; and with the froward thou wilt shew thyself unsavoury. And the afflicted people thou wilt save: but thine eyes [are] upon the haughty, [that] thou mayest bring [them] down. For thou [art] my lamp, O LORD: and the LORD will lighten my darkness.” (2 Samuel 22:25-29 av)

“And Hezekiah sent to all Israel and Judah, and wrote letters also to Ephraim and Manasseh, that they should come to the house of the LORD at Jerusalem, to keep the passover unto the LORD God of Israel. For the king had taken counsel, and his princes, and all the congregation in Jerusalem, to keep the passover in the second month. For they could not keep it at that time, because the priests had not sanctified themselves sufficiently, neither had the people gathered themselves together to Jerusalem. And the thing pleased the king and all the congregation. So they established a decree to make proclamation throughout all Israel, from Beersheba even to Dan, that they should come to keep the passover unto the LORD God of Israel at Jerusalem: for they had not done [it] of a long [time in such sort] as it was written. So the posts went with the letters from the king and his princes throughout all Israel and Judah, and according to the commandment of the king, saying, Ye children of Israel, turn again unto the LORD God of Abraham, Isaac, and Israel, and he will return to the remnant of you, that are escaped out of the hand of the kings of Assyria. And be not ye like your fathers, and like your brethren, which trespassed against the LORD God of their fathers, [who] therefore gave them up to desolation, as ye see. Now be ye not stiffnecked, as your fathers [were, but] yield yourselves unto the LORD, and enter into his sanctuary, which he hath sanctified for ever: and serve the LORD your God, that the fierceness of his wrath may turn away from you. For if ye turn again unto the LORD, your brethren and your children [shall find] compassion before them that lead them captive, so that they shall come again into this land: for the LORD your God [is] gracious and merciful, and will not turn away [his] face from you, if ye return unto him.” (2 Chronicles 30:1-9 av)

Stiffnecked means to be dense, tough, and severe. It is the exact opposite pf merciful and the act of kindness and giving when giving is not deserved. It is being stubborn and rigid, not giving or receiving anything of the LORD God. Remember how we discussed that mercy was shown through the bowing of the neck to one who is lesser than us? A stiffnecked person will never bow the neck, not even to the LORD God who promises to be His God!

“But they and our fathers dealt proudly, and hardened their necks, and hearkened not to thy commandments, And refused to obey, neither were mindful of thy wonders that thou didst among them; but hardened their necks, and in their rebellion appointed a captain to return to their bondage: but thou [art] a God ready to pardon, gracious and merciful, slow to anger, and of great kindness, and forsookest them not. Yea, when they had made them a molten calf, and said, This [is] thy God that brought thee up out of Egypt, and had wrought great provocations; Yet thou in thy manifold mercies forsookest them not in the wilderness: the pillar of the cloud departed not from them by day, to lead them in the way; neither the pillar of fire by night, to shew them light, and the way wherein they should go. Thou gavest also thy good spirit to instruct them, and withheldest not thy manna from their mouth, and gavest them water for their thirst. Yea, forty years didst thou sustain them in the wilderness, [so that] they lacked nothing; their clothes waxed not old, and their feet swelled not.” (Nehemiah 9:16-21 av)

This is so important for the people that love the LORD God to realize...His mercy is not just reflected in His Grace by accepting the sacrifice of Jesus Christ as redemption for our sins. His mercy is also shown every time He teaches us something about Him, every time He gives us the direction to travel, every time He feeds us with the bread of life, or gives us drink from his flowing river. It is in His providence, in the provisions He give to each of His people, to sustain and uphold and guide them in both their natural and spiritual life, that reflects His true mercy in giving us gifts undeserved, but so necessary in our service and growth toward Him.

“Yet many years didst thou forbear them, and testifiedst against them by thy spirit in thy prophets: yet would they not give ear: therefore gavest thou them into the hand of the people of the lands. Nevertheless for thy great mercies’ sake thou didst not utterly consume them, nor forsake them; for thou [art] a gracious and merciful God. Now therefore, our God, the great, the mighty, and the terrible God, who keepest covenant and mercy, let not all the trouble seem little before thee, that hath come upon us, on our kings, on our princes, and on our priests, and on our prophets, and on our fathers, and on all thy people, since the time of the kings of Assyria unto this day. Howbeit thou [art] just in all that is brought upon us; for thou hast done right, but we have done wickedly:” (Nehemiah 9:30-33 av)

“The steps of a [good] man are ordered by the LORD: and he delighteth in his way. Though he fall, he shall not be utterly cast down: for the LORD upholdeth [him with] his hand. I have been young, and [now] am old; yet have I not seen the righteous forsaken, nor his seed begging bread. [He is] ever merciful, and lendeth; and his seed [is] blessed.” (Psalms 37:23-26 av)

“The LORD will preserve him, and keep him alive; [and] he shall be blessed upon the earth: and thou wilt not deliver him unto the will of his enemies. The LORD will strengthen him upon the bed of languishing: thou wilt make all his bed in his sickness. I said, LORD, be merciful unto me: heal my soul; for I have sinned against thee.” (Psalms 41:2-4 av)

“The LORD [is] merciful and gracious, slow to anger, and plenteous in mercy.” (Psalms 103:8 av)

“I intreated thy favour with [my] whole heart: be merciful unto me according to thy word.” (Psalms 119:58 av)

“The merciful man doeth good to his own soul: but [he that is] cruel troubleth his own flesh.” (Proverbs 11:17 av)

“But I say unto you which hear, Love your enemies, do good to them which hate you, Bless them that curse you, and pray for them which despitefully use you. And unto him that smiteth thee on the [one] cheek offer also the other; and him that taketh away thy cloke forbid not [to take thy] coat also. Give to every man that asketh of thee; and of him that taketh away thy goods ask [them] not again. And as ye would that men should do to you, do ye also to them likewise. For if ye love them which love you, what thank have ye? for sinners also love those that love them. And if ye do good to them which do good to you, what thank have ye? for sinners also do even the same. And if ye lend [to them] of whom ye hope to receive, what thank have ye? for sinners also lend to sinners, to receive as much again. But love ye your enemies, and do good, and lend, hoping for nothing again; and your reward shall be great, and ye shall be the children of the Highest: for he is kind unto the unthankful and [to] the evil. Be ye therefore merciful, as your Father also is merciful.” (Luke 6:27-36 av)

The LORD God has endured mankind's curses, hatreds, and He has been despitefully used over and over in the world. We have smited Him and His beloved son; yet He has continuously expressed love for His Creation. If our righteous LORD God had not bent his neck in mercy, we would not have been given a chance for redemption through the sacrifice of His Son. If our LORD God had not chosen to bless us in spite of mankind's curse, we would have no chance for eternal life. And if our Father God had treated us in the manner we deserved, we would not want to seek to be held in His bosom as His adopted children. Yet, His mercy is so wonderful and perfect; He loved us in spite of ourselves, and gives to every man that asks Him in faith.

This is the mercy of the LORD God and this is the mercy that Jesus Christ speaks of from the Sermon on the Mount. It is not the mercy we show our friends and family that is counted as righteousness. It is the mercy we show our enemies that is measured by the LORD God and our King Jesus Christ.

“And he spake this parable unto certain which trusted in themselves that they were righteous, and despised others: Two men went up into the temple to pray; the one a Pharisee, and the other a publican. The Pharisee stood and prayed thus with himself, God, I thank thee, that I am not as other men [are], extortioners, unjust, adulterers, or even as this publican. I fast twice in the week, I give tithes of all that I possess. And the publican, standing afar off, would not lift up so much as [his] eyes unto heaven, but smote upon his breast, saying, God be merciful to me a sinner. I tell you, this man went down to his house justified [rather] than the other: for every one that exalteth himself shall be abased; and he that humbleth himself shall be exalted.” (Luke 18:9-14 av)

Justification means "To be declared innocent". This is the way the LORD God works. He gives mercy to those who remorsefully recognize their sinful state, and seek Him to render justice, having confidence in His great Mercy. This delights Him. The LORD God wants His children to trust that mercy, and recognize the special gift of grace that He gives His loved ones every time He justifies them.

What does justification mean really? Imagine that you have done something wrong to someone that you love, but you didn't mean to. You are guilty of that transgression, but there are extenuating circumstances that can explain your action, if only you are allowed to speak. If your wronged loved one does not allow you to explain, then you are declared fully culpable for your action, and banned from his presence. But, if your loved one could only hear your words, you are confident in that love, and sure that your explanation will justify your action.

The LORD God loves us to the point of offering His mercy. He loves us so much, that He allows a repentant sinner to explain the transgression, and justify his actions through Jesus Christ. Jesus Christ loves us so much, that He speaks to His Father about our sin, to ensure the LORD God's knowledge of the transgression is balanced, just and complete. In the final weighing, the sinner is justified in the LORD God's mercy, and he is declared innocent, and redeemed to the point that the sin never happened in the first place.

BUT! If a perfect, righteous acting man, who really despises others and shows no mercy toward his enemies were to enter into judgment of the LORD God, there would be no Godly Mercy shown. The religious actor would not receive mercy, he would not receive justification, he would not receive forgiveness, because he would be esteeming himself greater than the LORD God. How? If the LORD God will bow His neck toward the unworthy, but the Pharisee refuses to bow his own neck toward his own enemies and his own shortcomings, then the stiffnecked Pharisee postures himself to be superior to God. There will never be justification given to a religious prentender by our LORD God, and their will never be a defense offered by Jesus Christ for the Pharisees transgressions.

“Forasmuch then as the children are partakers of flesh and blood, he also himself likewise took part of the same; that through death he might destroy him that had the power of death, that is, the devil; And deliver them who through fear of death were all their lifetime subject to bondage. For verily he took not on [him the nature of] angels; but he took on [him] the seed of Abraham. Wherefore in all things it behoved him to be made like unto [his] brethren, that he might be a merciful and faithful high priest in things [pertaining] to God, to make reconciliation for the sins of the people. For in that he himself hath suffered being tempted, he is able to succour them that are tempted.” (Hebrews 2:14-18 av)

Because Jesus Christ suffered temptation, he understands how we mess us. He gets that we try to be good, but the temptations of life trick us at many turns. That's why He is such a perfect advocate for us. We can bring our transgressions to him, and he allows us to explain to Him the particular situations that brought us to sin. He doesn't push us away and prohibit us from explaining, because He is a wise and merciful King, and understands that there is more to sin than the black and white colors that religion often paints.

It's that grey area that gives explanation to a Christian's sin, and it is that grey area that the mercy of Jesus Christ allows to be spoken. And when that explanation is offered by the sinner, and that sinner is confident that Jesus Christ's blood sacrifice will redeem them, then they are justified in faith.

Now here is an important part...We trust the mercy of Jesus Christ and that He will represent our sorrowful shortcomings to the LORD God with the words that express our deepest regrets. We trust him to offer our explanations that reveal not only our regretful sorrow of the sin, but also our deep love for the LORD God. We believe that because the merciful LORD God promised that we would be forgiven of our sins because of the sacrifice of Jesus, that it is true.

It is through faith, that we accept the mercy of both Jesus and the LORD God. It is through faith, that we come to Jesus Christ and share our shortcomings, confident of His perfect advocacy for us. And it is faith that assures us that one day we will be declared not-guilty for all of our sins, because of His excellent and merciful Judgment.

“But now hath he obtained a more excellent ministry, by how much also he is the mediator of a better covenant, which was established upon better promises. For if that first [covenant] had been faultless, then should no place have been sought for the second. For finding fault with them, he saith, Behold, the days come, saith the Lord, when I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel and with the house of Judah: Not according to the covenant that I made with their fathers in the day when I took them by the hand to lead them out of the land of Egypt; because they continued not in my covenant, and I regarded them not, saith the Lord. For this [is] the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel after those days, saith the Lord; I will put my laws into their mind, and write them in their hearts: and I will be to them a God, and they shall be to me a people: And they shall not teach every man his neighbour, and every man his brother, saying, Know the Lord: for all shall know me, from the least to the greatest. For I will be merciful to their unrighteousness, and their sins and their iniquities will I remember no more. In that he saith, A new [covenant], he hath made the first old. Now that which decayeth and waxeth old [is] ready to vanish away.” (Hebrews 8:6-13 av)

To be merciful means to show active compassion to our enemies, and to those more lowly than ourselves. This requires the merciful to be

1. Slow Responders - Not given to act in the heat of the moment

2. Rescuers - Bring to safety and toward God's Will, with disregard for the hesitant person who is unable to respond or understand the things of God quickly.

2. Gracious - Bend or stoop in kindness to an inferior and show favor.

3. Longsuffering - Slow to anger.

4. Good - Kindness given to one with inferior spiritual growth and understanding

5. Truthful - Stable and trustworthy nature offering a constant and steady support established on the LORD God's omnipotent Word.

6. Allowing - Giving offenders the chance to offer explanation and and receive justification for their actions

7. Forgiving - When temptations of life temporarily overcome a believer, and true remorse is shown

8. Faithful - Believing not only of the mercy of both the LORD God and Jesus Christ, but also of the mercy given to each us by Them, that can be shared to other remorseful and undeserving offenders

It is those who are merciful who promised the active compassion of Jesus Christ and the LORD God when He spoke these words in his sermon on the mountain...

“Blessed [are] the merciful: for they shall obtain mercy.“ (Matthew 5:7)

Cite Article Source

MLA Style Citation:
McFarland, Kathy L. "The Merciful." The Word on the Mountain Jan 2007.   <http://guidedbiblestudies.com/sermon/13mountain.htm>.

APA Style Citation:
McFarland, Kathy L. (2007, January) "The Merciful." The Word on the Mountain Retrieved   from http://guidedbiblestudies.com/sermon/13mountain.htm

Chicago Style Citation:
McFarland, Kathy L.(2007) "The Merciful." The Word on the Mountain (January), http://guidedbiblestudies.com/sermon/13mountain.htm (accessed )

About the Author

Kathy L. McFarland is a Becker Bible Studies Teacher and Author of Guided Bible Studies for Hungry Christians. She is a Religious Studies student of Liberty University, Hebrew language student attending Israeli taught Ulpan and a Homeschool parent teaching the things of God. She is also well-known as a child advocate of innocent children tortured and suffering from the abuse of sexual perversion, out-of-control violence, and pathetic neglect by a carnal world gone mad.

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