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"Blessed are the merciful,
For they shall obtain mercy."
(Matthew 5:7)
The Ten Commandments have a shift inherent in them similar to the eight Beatitudes. When you look at the Ten Commandments, you note that the first four deal with one's relationship with God, and the remaining six deal with our horizontal relationships with others. If you don't worship God alone and keep Him first, then you will not be able to keep His commandments. And so it is in the Beatitudes: you must first be in right relationship with God before you can perform responsibilities for God. Fellowship before function; relationship before responsibilities. If you and I try to live the Christian life without the Holy Spirit living in us and through us, then we are destined for a legalistic, Pharisaical religion that leaves us dry, tormented, judgmental, and focused on getting what is right in our own eyes.
As I write today and try to teach on this fifth beatitude of Jesus that speaks of mercy, I have such an overwhelming sense of inadequacy bubbling up in me. It is like trying to describe the Grand Canyon to a blind person, or the glories of knowing Jesus to one who is atheistic and smug about the divine. But I will launch out in the deep with you and give you my best. I do pray that I am able to communicate with you what God has shown me in my time of seeking Him and studying His Word and researching what others have shared regarding this amazing sermon of Jesus Christ.
Who are the merciful?
The Greek word Jesus uses here is eleemon. It is also used in one other place in the New Testament when it is used to describe Jesus Himself. Hebrews 2:17 states, "Therefore, in all things He had to be made like His brethren, that He might be a merciful and faithful High Priest in things pertaining to God, to make propitiation for the sins of the people."
What is mercy? The root word is eleos or elee, one definition of which is kindness exhibited toward the miserable and afflicted with a desire to help them. The word is given in Romans 12:8 as one of the spiritual gifts that the Holy Spirit grants to God's people: "He who shows mercy (eleeo), with cheerfulness." The Old Testament counterpart is the Hebrew word checed, which is used in Micah 6:8:
"He has shown you, O man, what is good;
And what does the Lord require of you
But to do justly,
To love mercy,
And to walk humbly with your God?"
It is interesting to me that the first word God uses in a sermon on His name in Exodus 34:6 to describe His divine nature is this word "mercy".
More on mercy tomorrow!
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