Blessed are the merciful, for they shall obtain mercy.

Matthew 5:7

Are we merciful?  To show mercy or to be merciful is to treat with compassion those who have done wrong.  To be lenient toward them, forgiving, not seeking revenge, or repaying injury for injury.  It means to not give the offender what they deserve. 

God is merciful.  He is one who loves to give mercy.  Nehemiah 9:17 & 31 gives us a picture of what mercy looks like. Nehemiah is talking to God here:

They (Israel) refused to obey, and they were not mindful of Your wonders that You did among them. But they hardened their necks, and in their rebellion, they appointed a leader to return to their bondage. But You are God, ready to pardon, gracious and merciful, slow to anger, abundant in kindness, and did not forsake them…. Nevertheless, in Your great mercy You did not utterly consume them nor forsake them; for You are God, gracious and merciful.

Gracious and merciful—Do you see that?  God not only doesn’t give the offender what they deserve, He gives them grace—power to do what is right, blessing, and favor they don’t deserve.

Okay, let’s dig in and see what more we can find.

We will start with the Greek definition.  It is Strong’s #1655 and it means compassionate or merciful.  But the primitive root is ##1656.

It means mercy: kindness or good will towards the miserable and the afflicted, joined with a desire to help them. God in His mercy offered men salvation by Christ.

Titus 3:3-5a says it best– For we ourselves were also once foolish, disobedient, deceived, serving various lusts and pleasures, living in malice and envy, hateful and hating one another. ⁴ But when the kindness and the love of God our Savior toward man appeared, ⁵ not by works of righteousness which we have done, but according to His mercy He saved us…

In Matthew 9:11-13, The Pharisees said to His disciples, “Why does your Teacher eat with tax collectors and sinners?”

¹² When Jesus heard that, He said to them, “Those who are well have no need of a physician, but those who are sick.  But go and learn what this means: ‘I desire mercy and not sacrifice.’ For I did not come to call the righteous, but sinners, to repentance.’”

I think of one other scripture that doesn’t mention mercy by name but describes it well. 

Romans 5:6-9 For when we were still without strength, in due time Christ died for the ungodly. ⁷ For scarcely for a righteous man will one die; yet perhaps for a good man someone would even dare to die. ⁸ But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us. ⁹ Much more then, having now been justified by His blood, we shall be saved from wrath through Him.

Let’s jump over to Hebrew and see if there is more.  There are two words for merciful in Hebrew.  The first one is in the scripture Jesus was hinting back to when He spoke this beatitude.  It is Strong’s #2623 and its primitive root is #2616.  It looks like this:

That is a Chet, Samekh, Dallet – reading from right to left

Chet  8 = New Beginnings. Means: Fence, Gate, Tent wall to Separate, Protect, Cut off. Torah

Samekh  60 = Pride, Conceit, Earthly. Picture: A Tree propped up by a piece of wood. Means: To Lean Upon, a Prop or Aid, Hold, Assist or Support  – the heart of God

Dallet  4 =  Earth or creation.  Means: Door, Gate, Impoverished man, to come from indicates a pathway, a place of decision, or an entrance to life or death. 

Merciful: It is the heart of God to lead us as impoverished men through the Door (Jesus) and give us a New Beginning, Separated and Protected from the enemy by God’s Torah—His Word.

When Jesus said, “Blessed are the merciful for they shall obtain mercy,” He was hinting back to these two scriptures in the Old Testament.

2 Samuel  22:26  With the merciful You will show Yourself merciful;
With a upright man You will show Yourself upright;

Psalm 18:25   With the merciful You will show Yourself merciful;
With a blameless man You will show Yourself blameless;

Other scriptures that align perfectly are these:

Joel 2:13 So rend your heart, and not your garments;
Return to the Lord your God,
For He is gracious and merciful,
Slow to anger, and of great kindness;
And He relents from doing harm.

Micah 7:18  Who is a God like You, pardoning iniquity and passing over the transgression of the remnant of His heritage? He does not retain His anger forever, because He delights in mercy.

Psalm 51:1 Have mercy upon me, O God, according to Your lovingkindness; according to the multitude of Your tender mercies, Blot out my transgressions.

Isaiah 30:18 Therefore the Lord will wait, that He may be gracious to you; And therefore He will be exalted, that He may have mercy on you. For the Lord is a God of justice; Blessed are all those who wait for Him.

Isaiah 55:7 Let the wicked forsake his way, And the unrighteous man his thoughts; Let him return to the Lord, And He will have mercy on him; And to our God, For He will abundantly pardon.

The other merciful word is Strong’s #7349 and it looks like this:

It is defined as full of compassion, merciful. 

The letters tell us more.  Resh, Chet, Vav, and Closed Mem

Resh  200 = Insufficiency, Poverty. Picture: Head Means: Head, Chief, Beginning, Highest, Most Important, a Person, Human Reasoning vs. Obedience.  (When we allow human reasoning to be our master, our head, poverty of the Spirit results.)

Chet  8 = New Beginnings. Means: Fence, Gate, Tent wall to Separate, Protect, Cut off. Torah

Vav 6 =  Man.  Means: Nail or Hook, to Secure, Pin together, Connect -Yeshua

A closed Mem 600= Means: Hidden Truth

Merciful: God, the Head, gave us a New Beginning by Securing us to Jesus Who would lead us in Truth.

Here are some scriptures with this word merciful in them.

Exodus 34:6   And the Lord passed before him and proclaimed, “The Lord, the Lord God, merciful and gracious, longsuffering, and abounding in goodness and truth,

 Deuteronomy 4:31 (for the Lord your God is a merciful God), He will not forsake you nor destroy you, nor forget the covenant of your fathers which He swore to them. 

2 Chronicles 30:9  For if you return to the Lord, your brethren and your children will be treated with compassion by those who lead them captive, so that they may come back to this land; for the Lord your God is gracious and merciful, and will not turn His face from you if you return to Him.” 

Psalm 78:38 But He, being full of compassion, forgave their iniquity, and did not destroy them.  Yes, many a time He turned His anger away, and did not stir up all His wrath;

If you would like to see a living parable about mercy that forever changed how I viewed God and His mercy, go HERE.

Now, let’s consider the opposite of being merciful.

The opposite of mercy is the opposite of love.  One having no feeling or passion for another.  No empathy.  Selfish, Valuing self above others, Self-centered, Prideful, Stubborn, Hard-hearted, and Rebellious.

“Those who are merciful obtain mercy.”  Galatians 6 has some wise counsel about being merciful.

Brethren, if a man is overtaken in any trespass, you who are spiritual restore such a one in a spirit of gentleness, considering yourself lest you also be tempted. ² Bear one another’s burdens, and so fulfill the law of Christ. ³ For if anyone thinks himself to be something, when he is nothing, he deceives himself.

⁴ But let each one examine his own work, and then he will have rejoicing in himself alone, and not in another. ⁵ For each one shall bear his own load…⁷ Do not be deceived, God is not mocked; for whatever a man sows, that he will also reap.  Galatians 6:1-5, 7.

May each of us examine our hearts with Holy Spirit and allow Him to uncover and uproot any unmerciful attitudes in us.  May we be filled with mercy for others that God extends to us. And may we receive His mercy for all the times we do not walk in His will.

Shalom ♥