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There are wonderful examples of God’s mercy in the Bible. Below are a few. You might be familiar with most of them, but did you know that even Job serves as an example of God being “very merciful” (James 5:11)? Read on to find out why.
Table of Contents
- 1. Manasseh, King of Judah
- 2. Ahab, King of Israel
- 3. The Ninevites
- 4. The Prodigal Son
- 5. Those Crucifying Jesus
- 6. Job
The text in this post is from Enduring Trials God’s Way: A Biblical Recipe for Finding Joy in Suffering, and the audio is from the accompanying audiobook. I am praying God uses the book and audiobook to strengthen your faith and exalt Christ!
1. Manasseh, King of Judah
Manasseh was the wickedest king of Judah. It seemed like there was no false god he did not worship and no command he did not break. He even sacrificed his own sons to Molech. God punished him by taking him into captivity:
Now when he was in affliction, he implored the Lord his God, and humbled himself greatly before the God of his fathers, and prayed to Him; and He received his entreaty, heard his supplication, and brought him back to Jerusalem into his kingdom. Then Manasseh knew that the Lord was God.
2 Chronicles 33:12-13
God not only forgave Manasseh, He even restored him as king.
2. Ahab, King of Israel
Ahab was the wickedest king of Israel. Consider his description:
There was none who sold himself to do what was evil in the sight of the Lord like Ahab, whom Jezebel his wife incited. He acted very abominably in going after idols, as the Amorites had done, whom the Lord cast out before the people of Israel.)
1 Kings 21:25-26
Ahab was so evil God couldn’t even compare anyone with him. God sent Elijah to tell Ahab that he would be punished for his sin:
When Ahab heard [Elijah’s] words, he tore his clothes and put sackcloth on his flesh and fasted and lay in sackcloth and went about dejectedly. And the word of the Lord came to Elijah the Tishbite, saying, “Have you seen how Ahab has humbled himself before me? Because he has humbled himself before me, I will not bring the disaster in his days; but in his son’s days I will bring the disaster upon his house.”
1 Kings 21:27-29
Ahab’s humility is not very impressive. He only humbled himself because he learned he was going to be judged. It doesn’t even look like repentance. “Dejectedly,” means he felt sorry for himself. But God still relented of the judgment He was going to bring against him.
3. The Ninevites
Some of the evilest people in the Old Testament. When they repented, God spared them. This made Jonah so angry that he wanted to die, but God rebuked him:
Should I not pity Nineveh, that great city, in which are more than one hundred and twenty thousand persons who cannot discern between their right hand and their left?”
Jonah 4:11
4. The Prodigal Son
This parable reveals the heart of God the Father:
The son arose and came to his father. But when he was still a great way off, his father saw him and had compassion, and ran and fell on his neck and kissed him.
Luke 15:20
5. Those Crucifying Jesus
When He was crucified, He prayed:
“Father, forgive them, for they do not know what they do.”
Luke 23:34
6. Job
Are you surprised to see this example? You shouldn’t be based on this verse:
You have heard of the perseverance of Job and seen the end intended by the Lord—that the Lord is very compassionate and merciful.
James 5:11
If someone said, “Show me an example of God being compassionate and merciful,” you wouldn’t point to Job. Trials can make God look cruel and unmerciful. We tend to think if God was compassionate and merciful, He wouldn’t let people suffer. But James 5:11 says that even with Job—a man whose very name is associated with trials—God was still “very compassionate and merciful.” Here are four reasons that is the case.
First, God’s Mercy Was Shown When He Blessed Job
God blessed Job with twice as much as he had before, and vindicated him before his family and friends (Job 42:10–11; see chapters 6 and 7).
The Lord restored the fortunes of Job, when he had prayed for his friends. And the Lord gave Job twice as much as he had before. Then came to him all his brothers and sisters and all who had known him before, and ate bread with him in his house. And they showed him sympathy and comforted him for all the evil that the Lord had brought upon him. And each of them gave him a piece of money and a ring of gold.
Job 42:10-11
Second, God’s Mercy Was Shown When He Put Restrictions on Satan
We might not be comfortable with those restrictions, but they were present nonetheless:
- Job 1:12—“The Lord said to Satan, ‘Behold, all that he has is in your power; only do not lay a hand on his person.’”
- Job 2:6—“The Lord said to Satan, ‘Behold, he is in your hand, but spare his life.’”
No matter how painful a trial might be—physically, mentally, emotionally, or spiritually—God still restricted it from being worse. As a pastor, I have regularly told people not to say, “It could be worse,” but it is true—things could always be worse. If we could see how much worse, we would be thankful for God’s compassion and mercy.
Third, God’s Mercy Was Shown by not Killing Job
Third, although Job was a godly man, he was still a sinner. At times, Job was angry, accusing, and demanding. He thought God owed him an audience and explanation. He was self-righteous, especially when declaring his innocence. Even this criticized God, because it implied He was unjust for treating Job so poorly. God revealed His compassion and mercy when He spoke to Job, but did not kill him.
Most parents would not let their children speak to them the way Job spoke of God, but God did little more than ask Job difficult questions he could not answer. While nobody would want to be questioned by God the way Job was, this was mild considering the punishment Job deserved. The lesson for us is we deserve much worse than we receive. If God gave full vent to His wrath, we would be destroyed. Instead:
- Lamentations 3:22—“Through the Lord’s mercies we are not consumed, because His compassions fail not.”
- Hosea 11:8b–9a—“My heart recoils within me; my compassion grows warm and tender. I will not execute My burning anger” (ESV).
- Job 34:14–15—“If He should set His heart on it, if He should gather to Himself His Spirit and His breath, all flesh would perish together, and man would return to dust.”
Fourth, God’s Mercy Was Shown Through the “End [God] Intended”
God’s compassion and mercy to Job is shown by the words “end intended by the Lord” (James 5:11). This phrase is so important you might underline, circle, or highlight it in your Bible. Do whatever you need to do to make sure you do not forget it.
Whatever trial we experience, God has a reason for it. In Job’s case, part of the end God intended was removing his self-righteousness and pride. God might use trials to accomplish the same end in our lives. Few things humble people more effectively than trials. Suffering is an equalizer that can bring even the highest people low.
Other times God uses trials to accomplish different ends in our lives. Regardless of what God is doing, we can be confident He does not allow suffering except for His purpose.
Speaking of God “What Is Right”
God does not use highlighting, italics, bold, or underlining for emphasis. But He does use repetition. God repeated Himself to Eliphaz:
“My anger burns against you and against your two friends, for you have not spoken of me what is right, as my servant Job has…For you have not spoken of me what is right, as my servant Job has.”
Job 42:7-8
God wants His character described correctly. He rebuked Job’s friends for misrepresenting Him, but He commended Job for speaking truthfully about Him. Understanding God’s character is always important, but it is especially important during trials. When we suffer, we are most tempted to draw incorrect conclusions about God: “God has forgotten about me,” “God has changed,” or “God does not love me.”
During trials we must turn to Scripture to be convinced of the truth and see what is “spoken of [God that] is right.” If God can be described this way with Job, then regardless of our trials, we must recognize God is still acting very compassionately and mercifully toward us.
Discussion Questions to Answer in the Comments Section
- Which of the examples of the examples of God’s mercy in the bible most encouraged you? Why?
- Can you think of other examples of God’s mercy in the bible?
- Provide examples of God’s mercy from your life, or the life of others.
22 Responses
The article and the replies were a blessing to me. Thanks to you all.
Truly, mercy saves the weak from the life he JUSTLY deserves (of pains and sorrows for his weaknesses).
Grace empowers the unworthy to live the life he doesn’t deserve (the godly and blessed life of Christ Jesus).
Hello Afelumo,
Nice to hear from you. I am thankful that the post and responses has ministered to you. Yes, praise God for His mercy and grace!
I am blessed by your message on mercy. I was trying to teach different types of mercy. Examples like journey mercies, healing mercies (blind Bartimaeus) protection mercies, and so on. I am blessed by the mercies
shown to Job. Thank you for your wonderful message.
Hello Onipede,
Nice to hear from you. Thank you for letting me know. I’m blessed that my post ministered to you.
From the definition of the word Mercy I got from an article: Mercy is defined as the Loving Kindness of God, God’s Act of Forgiveness and God’s Act of Compassion….
With what I also red through your message, I got to discover that the Mercy of God Supercede by far the Judgement of Men…
God through His Mercy can turn a Supposed punishment into Favour…
He did that in the case of the woman caught in the very Act of Adultery (John 8:1-11). The woman was actually caught in the very Act and according to the Law of Moses, She should have been stoned to death But Mercy kept Her Alive…. Mercy turn the supposed death Punishment into a Life of Repentance with the statement “Go and Sin no More”
*He also did it in the case of Cain the Brother of Abel…
Cain Killed Abel and the Lord placed grevious punishment on Him, but He pleaded with God after recognizing the Gravity of His Punishment and the Lord again showed Mercy on Cain who was a practical Murderer and turn around His initial Punishment….
My Point of Emphasis is that, THE MERCY OF GOD IS FAR DIFFERENT FROM THE JUDGEMENT OF MEN AND THEIR LAWS….
Lord Show me your Mercy…
Thank you sir for this Message…
I was Blessed…
Hello Pastor James,
Nice to hear from you. Thank you for reading and sharing your thoughts. I’m blessed that my post ministered to you.
The Hebrew word for mercy is raḥam, and it is defined as compassion
The Greek word for mercy is eleeō, and it is defined as, “to have mercy on, to help one afflicted or seeking aid, to help the afflicted, to bring help to the wretched.”
You said that God’s mercy can turn punishment into favor. I would think of that as an example of God’s mercy and grace. It is His mercy that prevents people from receiving the punishment they deserve, and it is His grace that allows them to receive favor they don’t deserve. Grace is often defined as unmerited favor.
I would say the woman caught in adultery is an instance of God’s mercy, but I am not sure that I see the grace involved?
When Cain murdered Abel, I do think that account involves mercy and grace. The mercy is that Cain was not executed for his sin. In other words, he did not receive the punishment he deserved. The grace is that God prevented others from harming Cain.
I needed to hear this right now. Thank you for explaining.
Addy,
You’re welcome. I’m blessed it ministered to you.
God bless you real good. Am preaching on mercy in an international program in few weeks. I came across this download. I am really blessed. I actually felt the presence of God reading through while I allow the Lord to open more channels of mercy. Mercy said, “No, do not be consume by your past. Just look unto Jesus the author and finisher of your faith.”
Thank you for this post. I am sure blessed.
God bless you,
PJ
Hello Pastor Juliet,
Nice to hear from you. I am thankful that my sermon ministered to you and you are able to use it for your upcoming preaching.
Hallelujah, I am an evangelist from Burundi living in Rwanda .
I am so blessed by the message about Mercy .
By God’s mercy we were redeemed through the death of Jesus Christ, we were hopeless due to our unwashed sins .
In 2014 I was healed from mental disorder , due to not obeying and fearing the Lord God , before being sick a prophet came and told me if I don’t change the ways that I was living, I am gonna be mad . I ignored those words told by the prophets then like few weeks , the prophecy was fulfilled. I went to the mental health hospital , I took different treatment and being in the presence of God for forgiveness and my family members prayed for in 2015 I got healing.
Now I am a graduate, healthy and serving the lord via social media .
I experienced God’s mercy, what I am and what I have are God’s mercy .
May God bless you so much for the powerful message!
EVG. Steve Nsengiyumva
Hello Steve,
Nice to hear from you. Thank you for your service to our Lord. I’m blessed that my post ministered to you.
Emmanuel Chukwu from Nigeria,
I feel like the lord lead me to this page! I have been very interested in this talk about Manasseh and Ahab’s humility! In fact, I had wanted to ask you for a video on this!
I came across a quote: “Humility matters more than money.” Do you believe so? Very proud people don’t love people.
In Christ 🙏
Hello Emmanuel,
I’m not sure what you meant by your question about the video. You can see the video tour the top of the post and if you click on it you will be able to watch it.
Yes, I agree humility matters more than money. No, I would not say very proud people don’t love people. I think pride can be an obstacle to loving people, and all of us are prideful to some extent, but even proud people still love some other people.
Your talk is of the good Lord!
I’m glad it ministered to you.
Compassion is given when the prodigal son returned home broken. The father knew he had repented and his eyes were opened before he even got home. As parents we know, and we wait, and we love.
Pamela,
Yes, that is true. Thank you for sharing.
The ending of the Book of Job can carry only two messages depending on how you interperet them:
If you believe that God is shouting Job down for questioning His actions, justice, goodness, motivations, then the story says to take the pain of life and put on a fake smile, that God is good because he says so; life’s unfair, and God doesn’t care. God threatens Job into submission and dashes him with his tongue at how truly small and worthless he is.
The other interpretation, is that God is actually comforting him, showing him, hand on shoulder, the immense power he has over evil, having made Behemoth wear his leash, and keeping Leviathan, also a named demon, in his fish bowl, how small Job is, and how delicate God’s instruments are. Then Job is so wonderfully impressed, he’s truly contrite, truly sorry, not threatened, into repentance of his natural reaction to what happened to him.
Hello Gordon,
I agree with the second interpretation. The main question throughout the book is: why is Job suffering? At the end God shows his sovereignty over all of creation, including the powerful creatures you mentioned. The idea is if God has this absolute sovereignty over all of the world, then Job can trust God regarding his trials. Although God didn’t give Job any answers, the questions God asked could give Job confidence and trust in God Himself.
“God’s Mercy and Compassion to Job and Us” resonated with me as I to am caught up in the large number of employer layoff’s in the middle of expensive home repairs. “Job did not sin with his lips” like me going through all these what if’s related to the virus, the locust plagues, the economy, my wife working as a care giver. It’s all Vanity like the definition in a dictionary I use for study “Vanity of vanities, saith the preacher; all is vanity. Ecclesiastes 1” from the quality of being worthless and futile from being removed from that you depend on. Then hear your message about God’s compassion and mercy or grace reminding me that I am dependent on the Father in Heaven not my strength, and peace falls onto me. What’s more is I know from experience that all my trials, the fear (also a horticultural term) to cling to Him like climbing a trellis and I’m thankful for friends reminding me of what I forgot during the prosperous times.
One of the Talmudic rabbis condemned Job for having related to God as if he were arguing with a friend. “Can one be friends with Heaven?” he wonders. Another rabbi, struck by Job’s strong yearning to die, observed, “Either friends like Job’s, or death.” Shall we say that Job’s friends kept him in life because they, like God, turned up when the chips were down? I don’t know but I can testify that He is the on-time God.
I did find an interpretation of Life’s unfairness that is shared below from many years after the Babylonian exile 6th-4th BCE century’s during with time the book of Job was written.
Job, the Protester vs. Job, the Stoic?
In the prose text, the reader is left with no questions: God is entirely righteous, and suffering is to be born in reverent silence. In the poetic text, however, we have no easy answers. While God does not give a reason for the suffering of the innocent, God affirms that the relationship between suffering and sin is tenuous at best, and that our fate is not necessarily explainable by our actions. This led the Rabbis of the Talmud
centuries later to conclude: “It is beyond our ability to explain the prosperity of the wicked, or the suffering of the righteous”
By presenting the reader with two models — stoic resolve and impassioned resistance — we are invited to see both as genuine religious responses to life’s unfairness. At times in our own struggles, we may move between these worlds, sometimes seeking equanimity and sometimes crying out. In this way, the Book of Job is one of the Bible’s most human books, reflecting an internal struggle that most of us have felt, without offering simple directives.
Hi Adrian,
Thanks for reading and sharing your thoughts. I’m sorry to hear about your layoff. The Coronavirus has definitely made this a trying time for many.
I preach sermons and write posts as part of my ministry as a pastor and author; however, they’re as much (and sometimes more) for me as they are for others. I need the same encouragement from God and His Word.
I think the relationship between suffering and sin is clear too. While suffering we’re so tempted to “sin with our lips,” and become bitter toward God or others. By becoming bitter toward others I mean taking our hurt out on those around us.
I will pray for you and your family, including that you can find more work.