Read the series.
As Moses continues his narrative of beginnings, he comes quickly to an account of the Flood, God’s global judgment on human sin. Perhaps you’ve never noticed how thoroughly the flood account is imbued with Creation language.
Read the series.
We’re exploring God’s foundational description of himself, on the assumption—well founded in Scripture—that we ought to treat others the way he does. We’re getting to the end of the list, where there’s a cluster of attributes that we really need to discuss together.
Exodus 34.7 puts it this way:
Exodus 34:6-7 “It is truly amazing to discover, therefore, that the first thing God had determined to reveal to us about His name (or character) was that He is merciful.” - Ligonier
“If Jonah is right to have compassion on the plant, is not the Lord’s right to have compassion on a city of more than 120,000 people, along with much cattle? Now, with the context settled, we can get back to our question: Why does the Lord mention cattle?” - Desiring God
Read Part 1.
Let me offer two reasons why I believe mercy was the primary message communicated through Jesus’ gaze:
“God calls us to share the world, to share our homes, and to share our churches with people who are weak…. And we ought to be gentle and patient and merciful in those weaknesses.” - Challies
One of the primary ways the church advances the kingdom of God is through corporate prayer. And when God’s people gather at the throne of grace, they shouldn’t limit their prayers to the elect. They should pray for all people. Why? Because there’s a wideness in God’s mercy. While his special grace secures the repentance of some, his common grace solicits the repentance of many.1 Thus, there’s a real sense in which our heavenly Father desires, provides for, and pursues the salvation of all people. Such a big-hearted God calls for big-hearted prayers.
Jonah is “a paradox: a prophet of God, and yet a runaway from God: a man drowned, and yet alive: a preacher of repentance, yet one that repines at repentance.”1
A sermon delivered on Sunday, May 20, 1855 by C.H. Spurgeon at Exeter Hall.
“I, even I, am he that blotteth out thy transgressions for mine own sake, and will not remember thy sins.”—Isaiah 43:25
