By Lee Roy Anderson
Blessed are the merciful for they shall obtain mercy. Matthew 5:7. The price of mercy is not a massive collection of rubies, diamonds, sapphires, pearls, gold, and silver. The price of mercy is blood. If it were not for a loving savior who was sacrificed for us. We could not look to the future with hope. See 1, Peter, 1:18-19.
Early in scripture, God wanted man to know of His mercy. So He instructed Moses on how to build the mercy seat, complete with elaborate details about how the ark was to be designed and what materials were to be used, Exodus 25:17-22. This ark was a symbol of God’s throne a place from which He would speak to Moses Num. 7:89.
The gold-covered mercy seat signified the sovereignty of God over the Israelites. On this mercy seat, the high priest would sprinkle the blood of a goat or lamb for sacrifice on the annual Day of Atonement, Lev. 16:15. This blood was an essential part of asking for forgiveness and cleansing of sin. The crimson of blood that flows from Calvary is our salvation.
That blood is not the blood of goats, oxen, or lambs. That blood is the blood Jesus Christ. Only the precious blood of Jesus could save our souls, see Eph. 1:7. Because of God’s mercy, He sent His son to Earth to be our blood sacrifice. Tender mercy compelled Him to kneel beside a prostitute and say, your sins are forgiven.
The religious Pharisees wanted to kill her. But the merciful savior forgave her. The tender mercy stopped a funeral procession to raise the widow’s son back to live. His tender mercy caused Him to touch the flesh of lepers to be healed. Tender mercy caused Him to weep over Jerusalem the Garden of Gethsemane.
Tender mercy commanded that He allow Roman hands to drive nails through His hands and feet. He had the power to call ten thousand angels to destroy the world but mercy formed the final words of His parched lips. Father forgives them for they do not know what they do. Luke, 23:34. Blessed are the merciful for they shall obtain mercy. Remember, the miracle of mercy explode in our souls.