Exo 33:18-19 God loves to show mercy

Exo 33:18-19 = God loves to show mercy.

Moses said, “Please show me your glory.” And he said, “I will make all my goodness pass before you and will proclaim before you my name ‘The LORD.’ And I will be gracious to whom I will be gracious, and will show mercy on whom I will show mercy.” Exo 33:18-19

Mercy is God's attribute that he himself is most proud of, it sums up “all his goodness;” it is the one which best sums up his name, meaning it is the one that most expresses who he really is.

Unbelievers love to say, “If there is a God, if God is good, why is there so much evil in the world?”

I have often thought the question should be, “If there was no God, how much more evil would there be?”

He is the one who restrains evil, meaning the Evil One, the Devil, from running rampant and expressing every one of his malicious desires. Right now the devil is like a lion on a leash, doing all the evil he able to do. That is how John Bunyan portrays him in The Pilgrim's Progress. And while the devil is trying to do all the evil he can, God is calling out to people: repent, believe, and live!

God clearly says to us: “Say to them, as I live, declares the Lord GOD, I have no pleasure in the death of the wicked, but that the wicked turn from his way and live; turn back, turn back from your evil ways, for why will you die, O house of Israel?” Eze 33:11

And when that message enters into the heart of a person, as the Holy Spirit works within them, they realize two (2) things: 1) they need to change, but 2) they cannot change themselves; they need someone to change them.

It is the Holy Spirit working in them that produces these two (2) realizations. The Theological term is “Effectual Calling:” God working within a person, calling them out of their natural lost and dead state into life. The Holy Spirit causes the sinner to cry out, “I want to stop, I cannot stop, I cannot turn, I cannot change; Lord change me, Lord save me!” And because he does not delight in the death of the wicked, but rather that they turn and live, he shows mercy and saves.

Think of these examples of people who called out to the Lord Jesus, in humble faith, meaning they believed he would hear and help.

The Thief on the Cross: “Lord when you come into your kingdom remember me!” Luk 23:42

Peter as he was sinking into the sea: “Lord save me!” Mat 14:30

The Publican when praying: “Lord be merciful to me a sinner!” Luk 18:13

The leper asking to be cleansed: “Lord it thou wilt thou canst make me clean!” Luk 5:12

Those are New Testament examples, the same is found in the Old Testament, for there is only one God, who has only ever and always conducted himself in the same way with people; after all, the verse I used for the title of this Blog, is an Old Testament verse! Exodus is an Old Testament book.

I would say the shining example of God delighting to show mercy, would be his mercy toward the Ninevites, a terribly wicked heathen nation, and enemies of God's people the Jews, but what does God do? He sends Jonah to them, with a message of mercy, and gives them a 40 day window of opportunity during which to repent. He did not need to send a messenger; he did not need to wait 40 days; and he did not need to “change” is mind. In fact, his intention was never to destroy them, but that they would repent, and so to cause them to repent, he sends a messenger, and waits 40 days.

Some of you who are reading this Blog, how many days, weeks, months, and years has God given you to repent? Maybe you grew up in a Christian home, or with Christian relatives or friends, who have spoken to you, urging you to repent, telling you of God's love and mercy, but you have not; you will not.

“And Jonah began to enter into the city a day's journey, and he cried, and said, Yet forty days, and Nineveh shall be overthrown. So the people of Nineveh believed God, and proclaimed a fast, and put on sackcloth, from the greatest of them even to the least of them. For word came unto the king of Nineveh, and he arose from his throne, and he laid his robe from him, and covered him with sackcloth, and sat in ashes. And he caused it to be proclaimed and published through Nineveh by the decree of the king and his nobles, saying, Let neither man nor beast, herd nor flock, taste any thing: let them not feed, nor drink water: But let man and beast be covered with sackcloth, and cry mightily unto God: yea, let them turn every one from his evil way, and from the violence that is in their hands. Who can tell if God will turn and repent, and turn away from his fierce anger, that we perish not? And God saw their works, that they turned from their evil way; and God repented of the evil, that he had said that he would do unto them; and he did it not.” Jon 3:4-10

You have not repented, but see what happens at Nineveh! A heathen kings hears, proclaims a fast, and says, “Maybe God will repent and not destroy us,” ... “and God repented of the evil, that he had said that he would do unto them; and he did it not,” that is mercy!

Mercy is not doing to us the punishment that we do deserve.

The shortest chapter in the bible is Psalm 117, in which David gives the two (2) MAIN reasons why we should praise God: “his merciful kindness is great” and “the truth of the LORD endures forever.”

“O praise the LORD, all ye nations: praise him, all ye people. For his merciful kindness is great toward us: and the truth of the LORD endureth for ever. Praise ye the LORD.” Psa 117:1-2

The question is not, “Why is there so much evil,” but “Why is there so much mercy?”

Think of the evil that we do each and every day to each other: crimes, abuse, thefts, murders, drugs, human trafficking, child abuse, elder abuse, lying, cheating, sexual sins, violence; both on the individual level and among nations.

Augustine said all war is wrong, because it is stealing: “I want what you have, and I will use the utmost violence upon you to get it.”

Today in 2024:

China toward Taiwan.

Russia toward Ukraine.

Iran, Hamas, and others toward Israel.

North Korea toward South Korea.

And the sins we commit directly against God, by not giving him the honor he is due “Hallowed be thy name;” by having all kinds of idols which supplant him “Make no graven image;” by using his name, not just frivolously, but as a curse “Thou shalt not take the name of the Lord thy God in vain;” and by not setting aside one day for him “Remember the Sabbath to keep it holy.”

Think of the number of sins we commit each and everyday. How many in an hour? One an hour? Lie or misrepresent something, a white lie (how is that for a misnomer, a euphemism), a half-truth? A bad though about someone? A sinful thought of stealing, lying, sexual wrong doing, or harm to someone whether in their person or property or name? One sin an hour is 16 per day (assuming we don't have sinful dreams and we sleep 8 hours a day), is 112 a week, is 480 a month, is 5840 a year; people go to jail for 1 single crime.

Sins are crimes against God and his government, and should be punished, BUT GOD ... “But God, who is rich in mercy, for his great love wherewith he loved us, … Eph 2:4

… does not punish us now, but sends the gospel message to us saying, “Come, confess you sins, and believe that when Jesus died on the cross he bore the punishment for your sins.

God is now extending mercy to us by not punishing our sins, and he delights to do it!

Yes, there is a day coming when the door of mercy closes, and the judgment will take place, BUT NOW it is open to all.

All you need do is humble yourself by confessing your hard heart, and the sins that originate from it, and ask for mercy – there's our word – mercy! “Lord don't do to me as I deserve!”

And he will be merciful.

Start reading the bible; start with the four (4) gospels, Matthew – Mark – Luke – John, they are full of accounts of Jesus extending mercy to sinners.

Today is still the day when gospel forgiveness is available – ask and you shall receive, because God loves to be merciful.

20 October 2024