God's Mercy

 By: Cindy Browning

Each month, our Northside women meet in small groups for prayer, fellowship, and to read and discuss a devotion written by our writers' group. This year we're studying the book of Exodus as we delve into the character of God. The following is from our August devotion:

Many years ago, when Beth Moore was at the height of her Living Proof tours, I decided that I

would take a group of women to Atlanta to hear her speak. There was no official women’s

ministry in that church, so I acted on my own to arrange this event. I just knew that everyone

would share my enthusiasm for going. Months before the event, I used my credit card to reserve

several rooms at an Atlanta hotel. Sunday after Sunday, I manned a sign-up table in the hall of

the church. But, alas, my efforts were for naught, and I gave up trying to get folks to attend. My

enthusiasm wilted, dried up, and I just let the whole idea go.

Then one day (cue the suspenseful music), I came home late from teaching school. My husband

Kent had beat me home that afternoon and told me that I had a strange message on the

answering machine. (I told you that it was several years ago!) I went to the bedroom to listen to

the message: “Mrs. Browning, this is the hotel in Atlanta, and we are confirming that your group

will be coming this weekend to the conference. We have booked the rooms using your credit

card and we are looking forward to your group’s arrival. See you soon.”

Oh my! I had totally forgotten to call the hotel and cancel those rooms. I knew that Kent was

going to lose it! The money lost would be a sore topic of conversation for the remainder of our

lives! I fell to my knees and begged God to help me in this situation. I dreaded calling the hotel,

but I had to do it. At first, I spoke with a person at the hotel registration desk. I explained my

dilemma and asked if I would be charged for the rooms, even though I knew that the time had

expired for cancelling them and I would be responsible for paying. After all, the hotel had my

credit card number. The person I spoke to felt compassion for me, but did not have the authority

to release me from my debt. He did assure me that the hotel manager would call me later.

Finally, the phone rang, and the hotel manager told me that she would not make me pay. Words

cannot express the level of relief that was inside me. I fell to my knees and thanked God for the

mercy of the hotel manager. Whew! Freedom from that debt I owed!

Now that was mercy: not receiving the consequence I deserved because of my own doing. The

desk receptionist had compassion for me, but the hotel manager, having authority, was able to

extend mercy.

There are many acts of mercy recorded in the book of Exodus. For almost 400 years, God

created a nation from the line of Jacob while in Egypt. After becoming slaves, God raised up

Moses to deliver them out of the land. They witnessed the power of God through mighty signs

and wonders. They received freedom from the burden of slavery. They walked on dry land

through the Red Sea and watched as water swallowed up the Egyptian army. They saw God’s

cloud by day and fire by night leading them where they were to go. And yet, they questioned His

faithfulness. They grumbled when they were hungry and grumbled when they were thirsty. They

lacked trust in His faithful provision. But, instead of turning away from them, God mercifully

provided them with food from heaven and fresh water from a rock. When enemies attacked,

God was their shield, a banner over them. But as wonderful as these acts of mercy were, He

extended the greatest act of mercy through the covenant He made with them on Mt. Sinai.

The covenant is recorded in Exodus 19 – 24.

The covenant provided a way for this faithless, grumbly, and potentially wayward group of

people to become God’s special treasure, a holy nation to Him. This covenant was sealed with

blood sprinkled on the people as they agreed to follow the terms of the covenant.

Almost 300 years later, King Solomon thanked God for the mercy shown through this very

covenant as he dedicated the temple to the LORD.

1 Kings 8:

22 Then Solomon stood before the altar of the Lord in the presence of all the assembly of Israel,

and spread out his hands toward heaven; 23 and he said: “Lord God of Israel, there is no God in

heaven above or on earth below like You, who keep Your covenant and mercy with Your servants

who walk before You with all their hearts.”

But as merciful as this covenant was, it was only a foreshadowing of the greatest act of mercy to

come for all of humanity. The people who were once slaves in Egypt found out that they were

slaves to sin. The law of the covenant exposed their sin. They were unable to live freely under

the burden of the law. But when the time was right, God made a new covenant, a way for man

to be reconciled to Himself and to be freed from the penalty of sin, which is death--a complete

separation from God.

The writer of Hebrews explains how the new covenant, sealed with the blood of Jesus Christ, is

superior to the old covenant in chapter 8.

"Hebrews 8 presents a profound message of transformation, hope, and renewal. Jesus, as our

High Priest in heaven, mediates a New Covenant that surpasses the old, promising not only a

deeper personal relationship with God but also a transformative power that comes from the

laws of God written in our hearts. In the face of this, we are challenged to embrace this New

Covenant, knowing that through it, we are brought into a better promise, a superior hope, and a

more intimate knowledge of God." (from Bible Hub)

(Suggested extended reading, Hebrews 8 – 9)

Jeremiah prophesied about this new covenant that God would make.

Jeremiah 8:

31 “Behold, the days are coming, declares the Lord, when I will make a new covenant with the

house of Israel and the house of Judah, 32 not like the covenant that I made with their fathers on

the day when I took them by the hand to bring them out of the land of Egypt, my covenant that

they broke, though I was their husband, declares the Lord. 33 For this is the covenant that I will

make with the house of Israel after those days, declares the Lord: I will put my law within them,

and I will write it on their hearts. And I will be their God, and they shall be my people. 34 And no

longer shall each one teach his neighbor and each his brother, saying, ‘Know the Lord,’ for they

shall all know me, from the least of them to the greatest, declares the Lord. For I will forgive their

iniquity, and I will remember their sin no more.”

What great news for Israel! What great news for all people because this new covenant would be

for everyone!

“Blessed are the merciful for they shall obtain mercy.” Matthew 5:7