Mercy and Truth (Exodus 24:6-7)

[It was not the original intention to do the following study, as specifically, the focus was on the names of God, but obviously, He wanted this aspect of His character declared. Enjoy.]

In EXODUS 34:6-7, God declares, before Moses, His eternal character. "And the LORD passed before him, and proclaimed, 'The LORD, the LORD God, merciful and gracious, longsuffering, and abundant in goodness and truth, keeping mercy for thousands, forgiving iniquity and transgression and sin..."

We make assertions concerning ourselves, which may or may not be true, and some of them are made, no doubt, in jest, or frivolous conversation; but in God's assertions about Himself, there is no variance from the reality of His true nature.

MERCY & TRUTH

Two words of focus, are the declaration of Him being "...abundant in goodness and truth.." [The word "mercy", in the next part of the statement, is the same as the word "goodness", our KJV failing to consistently translate the same Hebrew word]. God is "..abundant in mercy and truth.."

The two terms occur together about 25 times, and in another 7 passages, they are used in close proximity to one another.

MERCY

 The first word occurs about 246 times in the OT, [over half of the uses are in the book of Psalms], and it is often transliterated as (hesed). It is translated as, mercy; kindness; goodness; pity; favor; loving-kindness; most frequently, as "mercy", or "(loving) kindness".

TRUTH

 The second word occurs about 125 times, [over a third of the uses in the Psalms], and is transliterated as (emet). It is translated as truth, (or a variation of the same); right; establishment; faithful; verity; assured; but over 95% of all renderings are "truth", (or a variation of the same).

MERCY

When a person thinks of "mercy", there is often imagery of a kindness shown, undeservedly, to a person, or group of people, for which a superior renders some type of aid or support, without any obligation to do so, but merely as an extension of compassion from themselves, with no "strings attached". [Keeping in mind, that there are several Hebrew words that are translated as "mercy", (hesed) being the most common, and that (hesed) is plural in use, describing not just one act, but many acts (i.e., "mercies")].

TRUTH

(emet) is the most common Hebrew word for "truth", and describes what is reliable; dependable; and without variation, and can be counted upon or trusted.

COVENANT WORDS

The other consideration concerning these two words, is that they are words related to covenant, especially when coupled together.

(Hesed), though predominantly translated as "mercy", with varying meanings, it's central use, especially when joined with (emet), is "covenant loyalty".

[The following translations have the word (hesed) consistently rendered the same, rather than the frequent variation found in the KJV. Also, though it may seem grammatically awkward, the words are written to display the plurality found in the Hebrew].

ABRAHAM'S SERVANT

Abraham's servant, upon finding Rebekah, as a wife for Isaac, said, "Blessed be the LORD God of my master Abraham, who has not left destitute my master of His Mercies and His Truth: I being in the way, the LORD led me to the house of my master's brethren....now if you will deal with Mercies and Truth with my master, tell me: and if not tell me; that I may turn to the right hand, or to the left." (Gen.24:27,49)

JACOB

Jacob referring to God's faithfulness in blessing him, just before he was to meet Esau, on his return; in praying to God, said, "I am not worthy of the least of all the Mercies, and of all the Truth, which You have showed to your servant; for with my staff I passed over this Jordan; and now I am become two bands." (Gen.32:10)

JOSEPH

Concerning Jacob making Joseph swear an oath, concerning his burial it is said, "...the time drew near that Israel must die and he called his son Joseph and said to him, 'If now I have found grace in your sight, put , I pray you, your hand under my thigh, and deal with Mercies and Truth with me; bury me not , I pray you, in Egypt' ". (Gen.47:29)

MOSES

"And the LORD passed by before him [Moses], and proclaimed, 'the LORD, the LORD God, merciful and gracious, longsuffering, and abundant in Mercies and Truth,'.." (Ex.34:6)

RAHAB

Rahab to the spies, "...swear to me by the LORD, since I have showed you mercy, that you will also show Mercies to my father's house, and give me a token of Truth: and that you will save alive my father, and my mother, and my brothers, and my sisters, and all that they have, and deliver our lives from death. And the men answered...we will deal with Mercies and Truth with you." (Josh.2:12,13,14)

DAVID

David to the men of Jabesh-Gilead said, "...you are blessed of the LORD, since you have showed this mercy to your lord, to Saul, and have buried him, and now the LORD show Mercies and Truth to you..." (2 Sam.2:5,6)

David's blessing on Ittai saying, "...Mercies and Truth be with you." (2 Sam.15:20)

THE PSALMS:

"All the paths of the LORD are Mercies and Truth to such as keep His covenant and His testimonies." (Ps.25:10)

"I have not hid Your righteousness within my heart; I have declared Your faithfulness and Your salvation: I have not concealed Your Mercies and Your Truth from the great congregation. Withhold not Your tender mercies from me, O LORD: let Your Mercies and Your Truth continually preserve me." (Ps.40:10,11)

"I will cry to God most high; to God that performs for me. He shall send from heaven, and save me from the reproach of him that would swallow me up. Selah. God shall send forth His Mercies and Truth. For Your Mercies is great to the heavens, and Your Truth to the clouds" (Ps.57:2,3,10)

"You will prolong the king's life: his years as many generations. He shall abide before God forever: O prepare Mercies and Truth, which may preserve him." (Ps.61:7)

"...my prayer is to You, O LORD, in an acceptable time: O God, in the multitude of Your Mercies hear me, in the Truth of Your salvation. Deliver me out of the mire, and let me not sink: let me be delivered from them that hate me, and out of deep waters." (Ps.69:13,14)

"Surely His salvation is nigh them that fear Him; that glory may dwell in our land. Mercies and Truth are met together; righteousness and peace have kissed." (Ps.85:9,10)

"You, O LORD, are a God full of compassion, and gracious, longsuffering, and plenteous in Mercies and Truth." (Ps.86:15)

"Justice and judgment are the habitation of Your throne: Mercies and Truth shall go before Your face." (Ps.89:14)

"He has remembered His Mercies and His Truth toward the house of Israel: all the ends of the earth have seen the salvation of our God." (Ps.98:3)

"For the LORD is good; His Mercies everlasting; and His Truth to all generations." (Ps.100:5)

"For Your Mercies is great above the heavens: and Your Truth to the clouds." (Ps.108:4)

"Not to us, O LORD, not to us, but to Your name give glory, for Your Mercies, and for Your Truth's sake." (Ps.115:1)

"For His Mercies is great toward us: and the Truth of the LORD forever. You praise the LORD." (Ps.117:2)

"I will worship toward Your holy temple, and praise Your name for Your Mercies and Your Truth: for You have magnified Your word above all Your name." (Ps.138:2)

PROVERBS:

"Let not Mercies and Truth forsake you: bind them about your neck; write them on the table of your heart" (Prov.3:3)

"...Mercies and Truth shall be to them that devise good." (Prov.14:22)

"By Mercies and Truth iniquity is purged: and by the fear of the LORD (men) depart from evil." (Prov.16:6)

"Mercies and Truth preserve the king: and his throne is upheld by mercy." (Prov.20:28)

"...in Mercies shall the throne be established: and He shall sit upon it in Truth in the tabernacle of David, judging, and seeking judgment, and hasting righteousness." (Is.16:5)

"You will perform the Truth to Jacob, the Mercies to Abraham, which You have sworn to our fathers from days of old." (Micah 7:20)

The above scriptures cited, speak of an actual commodity of God's goodness and faithfulness that is towards us, because He has chosen to establish an unbreakable covenant with us. It is a one-sided aspect of His character that will not forsake His favor toward us, simply because He has chosen to do so, based on His nature, and not for some merit that we deserve or have earned. He describes this generous display of His nature, toward us, by the words, translated as "mercies and truth".

PICTOGRAPHS

(HESED)

The word, often transliterated as (hesed), represents three letters, in the pictographic origins of the Hebrew, [being read from right to left]:

HHETS

1) The first letter is (Hhets), a picture of a tent wall. More practically, if you can visualize a ladder, laying on it's side, the top and bottom edges of equal length, and the middle having 3 slats, or steps, this would be the image of (Hhets).

The pronunciation is a strong guttural sound, similar to that found in the English word "Bach", with emphasis on the double "HH's". It is where we get our letter "H" from, the "ladder" being turned upright, over time, and losing two of it's rungs, or steps.

The meaning, as that of a tent wall, is "that which separates what is without, from within; what divides; what protects, from outside forces".

SIN

2) The second pictograph, is the letter (Sin), and is the picture of a thorn. Visually, it looks like a telephone pole that is leaning at a 45 degree slant, to the left, and having 3 smaller cross beams intersecting it at equal distances, one at the very top, and two others slightly lower.

The pronunciation of the letter is the "s" sound, and over time, the top two cross beams were dropped, to leave only the bottom beam, which was extended, to give us our letter "X". This letter is where the English word "sin" comes from. [Though it is not a true rendering, if it would help to remember it, one could think of the letter "sin" as what is "wrong", or as in correcting school work, what is marked by an "X"].

The meaning of the letter varies, taking form and definition, dependent upon what other letters it is coupled with. Being the picture of a thorn, it represents "that which causes pain, and suffering" [hence sin and it's consequences, which the Lord Jesus Christ was literally and spiritually, pierced with], but more specific to it's meaning, when joined with (Hhets), is 'the visual of shepherds, with their flock by night, that would take thick long thorn bushes, and form a corral of protection and defense against night predators, keeping them out, and the flock safely guarded within. The shepherd, as illustrated in John 10, would then lay across the opening, becoming the "door" to provide further safety against all hostile attacks against the flock.

DAL

3) The third pictograph, that forms the Hebrew word, is (Dal), which represents a tent door, with a tent pole running left to right, equal distances, and the square flap hanging down in the middle. It is illustrated, visually, like a "top hat", sitting, upside down, on it's "top", with the rim being equal distances across the top.

The letter is pronounced as (dal) or (dar), as often the "L" sound morphed into an "R" sound over time, and so has both pronunciations. [It is where our English word "door" is derived from]. The right edge of the rim on the "top hat" was lost, over time, and the letter turned on it's right, to give us the English, lower case "d", and if a person could visually see both sides of the rim being erased, or removed, and the tent flap being pushed up to the left, we could see the upper case "D".

The meaning, again, varies with what it is coupled with, but generally, "it is representative of a door". However, it can also mean that which is weak, or hangs down, as the tent flap would be accustomed to doing. In relation to this Hebrew word, it represents "comings and goings", or the activities of daily life in moving in and out of the tent.

HESED [Pronunciation]

The combined pronunciation of the 3 letters has been transliterated as (hesed). More properly, it is (hhets), [the "ts" being silent]; (sin) [with emphasis on the "s" sound, at the expense of the "in"]; and (dal), [with a stronger emphasis on the "d" sound, at the expense of the "al" sound].

DEFINITION

By definition, according to the pictographic origins, "mercy", or "mercies", is God, our Father, being a "wall" for us (Hhets), dividing and separating us from the evil against us; like a barrier or corral of thick Judean thorns (Sin), He is a protection, in the darkest night, against the predators that seek our harm, He Himself being the door of our defense (Dar), keeping us in all our comings and goings, on a daily basis.

Basically, then, appeals to His "mercies", are cries out for His protection; deliverance; and salvation, from every assault against us; spiritually; physically; mentally, or in whatever form evil presents itself, as our adversary. He Himself has not just covenanted to send deliverance, but He is our salvation and protection.

EMET

The second word, transliterated as (emet), represents four letters in the origins of pictographic Hebrew:

AL

1) The first letter is (Al), represented by the pictograph of a drawn ox head. The "ox head", over time, became two drawn lines, as in our upper case "V", with a parallel line drawn between the two lines, about a third of the way down.

This letter is pronounced as the short "a" sound, as in "ah", the "L" being silent, although the letter is where our English word "all" is derived from, and our English letter "A" has it's origin. The picture of the ox head, with the upper case "V", with the line drawn between them, joining the two lines, over time, became inverted, to form the upper case "A".

The meaning of (Al), is extremely significant. Although it represents first [as "a" is the first letter of the alphabet; the written number 1 also being derived from this letter]; it also represents strength [as the ox is the strongest of all the agricultural animals]; power; leadership [as an older, more experienced ox would be yoked with a younger, less experienced one, the older oxen showing the younger how to bear the burden of the yoke; and do the work properly; and accomplish the task - this being the meaning of Jesus' admonition, to take His yoke upon us and learn of Him (Matt.11:28-30)].

What is even more significant, is that (Al), 'the ox, was representative of God, or gods in general'. Many Near Eastern cultures worshiped (Al), [commonly pronounced and transliterated as El]. This was the reason Israel, in their apostasy, chose a golden calf, to represent the god that had brought them out of Egypt (Ex.1:1-6); and Jeroboam chose two golden calves (1Kg.12:28-33). It is also the reason the historical and archaeological landscape of the Ancient Near Eastern cultures, are littered with images of (Al), the Ox representation of god.

Even in our English word "All", is portrayed, the concept of God, in that He is "all", there is nothing that can be added or taken away from Him; there is no lack; no failure; no limited resources, He is complete, wanting nothing, He is "All".

MAH

2) The second pictographic letter of (emet), is (Mah), represented by a three pointed wavey line, to visually depict the waves of the ocean, and is where our letter "M" is derived from, the "waves", having originally three points, instead of just the two found in the letter "M". The phonetic sound of this letter is the "m" sound.

The word means "seas or oceans", as in a large body of water; "chaos", because of the massive strength and power of the waves; "mighty", because of the force of the waves; and it is a representation of the unknown, in that the vast oceans and seas are a largely uncharted expanse of mystery and intrigue, to man who lives on dry ground. The letter, especially in connection with this Hebrew word, 'represents awesome greatness, shrouded in the mystery of the unknown'.

NUN

3) The third pictographic letter is (Nun). The picture representing this letter, is the "seed", visually characterizing any seed, with the head and tail, but more specifically looks like depictions of "sperm". To be drawn, it is like a tiny circular "head", with a tail extending a short line down, a line across, to the right, and another short line down, almost representative of a lightening bolt.

This "lightening bolt" symbol eventually developed into the first line extending all the way down; the second line, at a 45 degree angle, to the right, extending all the way back up; and a third line dropping all the way back down again. The "sperm" head was lost over time, and the symbol was inverted to become our letter "N". This letter has the "n" sound.

The meaning of this letter speaks of the "seed", and therefore of 'generation; offspring; heir; continuation; what goes on forever; perpetuation'.

TAW

4) The fourth and final letter, in this Hebrew word, is (Taw) or (Tav), and it was represented by two sticks crossing each other. In different Ancient Near Eastern cultures, this letter had two lines intersecting one another exactly in the center, but the Hebrew representation had the top line about a third of the way down, from left to right, horizontally, and the vertical line intersecting it at that point. This is an exact representation and the origin of our lower case letter "t".

The meaning of the letter is "a mark"; "sign"; or even "a signature", identifying someone. It is where our English word "target' comes from, [from which, if a person could visually imagine the cross hairs in the scope of a gun, where they are used to hit the mark, that someone is aiming at; to help to identify the target]. The letter was used as a symbol, or marker, to identify people; places; or, things.

COMBINATION

The combination of these letters is transliterated as (emet), but properly, from the pictographic origins, it is (Al - Mah - Nun - Taw), abbreviated with the "ah" sound of (Al); and the "M" of (Mah) and "N" of (Nun), combining to form "m-n"; with the addition of the "t" sound of (Taw). [ The origins of this Hebrew word is where the English word "amen" is derived from].

MEANING

The meaning of this Hebrew word, translated as "truth", according to pictographic origins, is "God (Al), who is all in all, who is all powerful and awesome (Mah), goes on forever, generation to generation (Nun), as a sign to us (Taw)".

MERCY & TRUTH

When these two Hebrew words are combined, [mercies and truth], we have the meaning of: [Mercy] "God, our Father, being a wall for us (Hhets), dividing and separating us from the evil against us; like a barrier or corral of thick Judean thorns (Sin), He is a protecting us, in the darkest night, against the predators that would seek our harm, He Himself being the door of our defense (Dar), keeping us in all our comings and goings, on a daily basis, and [Truth] as God (Al), who is all in all; who is all powerful and awesome (Mah), He will go on forever; to all our generations (Nun), as a sign to us (Taw), of His constant fulfillment of His covenant".

Be encouraged to declare and speak out the above declaration, and let the reality of those words concerning our Father, penetrate deeply within your being to stir your faith and confidence in His faithfulness towards you!

You are God's Best and God's Best is Yours!