Back in June, Rachel and I went to see my brother and his family because his youngest daughter was graduating from high school. You all know that I am an amateur historian and I knew that the Appomattox Court House was not too far from where my brother lives – 80 miles away. So, the Saturday we were there, Tim, Rachel, me, and his youngest daughter all went to see this famous historical site from the Civil War.
“Appomattox Court House” is actually the name of the city where General Ulysses S. Grant and General Robert E. Lee met. The two met in the home of Wilmer McClean. The purpose was for General Lee to surrender the Confederate Army of Northern Virginia to Grant and the Federal army. It is well known just how merciful Grant was – at the instigation of President Lincoln – with General Lee and the rest of the Confederate officers. Grant did not charge any of the army with treason, which could have brought the death penalty. Instead, he placed them on parole, confiscated their weapons and sent them back home to their families.
One thing that General Lee requested was that – in contrast to the army of the federal government – the Confederate soldiers were riding their own personal horses. Grant let the men keep their horses. Also, General Grant gave 25,000 meals to General Lee’s army because they had gone days without anything significant to eat.
God is merciful.
GOD IS MERCIFUL:
Merriam-Webster dictionary online defines “mercy” as “compassion or forbearance shown especially to an offender or to one subject to one’s power. A blessing that is an act of divine favor or compassion.” So we might see that “compassionate” is an adjective for “merciful.”
There is not one Hebrew word that is normally translated “merciful.” The verse that came to my mind as I began this study is from the famous Psalm 23:6: “Surely goodness and lovingkindness will follow me all the days of my life, and I will dwell in the house of the Lord forever.” That’s the NASV; as you know, the more popular KJV/NKJV has “goodness and mercy…” But the word “mercy” here is the word for “lovingkindness” that we studied last month when we talked about being “good.”
The expression “mercy seat” is found twenty-eight times in the OT. It refers to the top of the Ark of the Covenant where the sacrifice of atonement was performed by the high priest once each year on the Day of Atonement. The expression “mercy seat” is one word and it is related to the verb “to atone” or – more literally – “to cover.” This was the sacrifice which God commanded Israel to perform in order for their sins to be “covered.” Why? Because God is merciful (Deut.13:17; Jer. 31:20).
JESUS CHRIST IS MERCIFUL:
Thankfully, one of the key qualities of Jesus Christ is that He is merciful. The Hebrew writer tells us this in Hebrews 2:17: “Therefore, He had to be made like His brethren in all things, so that He might become a merciful and faithful high priest in things pertaining to God, to make propitiation for the sins of the people.”
When Jesus healed people who could not pay Him back, He was being merciful. When Jesus fed people who could not pay Him back, He was being merciful. When Jesus taught people who could not pay Him back, He was being merciful.
JESUS EXPECTS US TO BE MERCIFUL:
That is, He expects us to give without expecting anything in return from people who can’t given in return. That’s mercy.
Jesus criticized the Pharisees for not being “merciful” (Matt. 23:23). The description of the Good Samaritan is that he was one “who showed mercy toward” his neighbor (Luke 10:37). James tells us that judgment will be “without mercy” for those who do not show mercy (James 2:13). In the same context of Jude 21 where Jude talks about the mercy of Christ, he also says that you and I, as mature Christians, need to have mercy in teaching those who are lost (Jude 22-23). Meditate on these two texts: Luke 6:31-36 and Matthew 6:1-4.
Let’s be a beacon of mercy and generosity to those around us, inspired by the abundant mercy we have received from above.
Paul Holland
