We often live as if we deserve mercy from the hands of the Lord. Some seem to believe He is obligated to provide it to us. Many people seem to assume he is at fault if he does not give equal mercy to all. All of these assumptions are wrong.
A god who is required to give mercy to sinful people is not only a fictitious god of our own making but also violates the very definition of mercy. If mercy were required, it would be justice. Mercy does not equal justice according to the biblical record. Scripture says that we have all sinned and fallen short of the glory of God (Romans 3:23). The only thing we deserve from the hand of the Lord is His wrath.
We get a glimpse of God’s freedom in giving or withholding mercy in the book of Joshua. As a background, we must remember that God chose to show Israel mercy not because they deserved it but because He wanted to show them mercy. When He sends them out to take the land He has given them, He commands them to remove the inhabitants of the land because they are guilty of great wickedness.
In Joshua Chapter 11, the Lord gives Israel victory over northern Canaan. Every king and nation that came against them was defeated, and it was God’s will that they be defeated and not saved.
In verse 20, we read that all the kings came against Israel except for the Hivites and the inhabitants of Gibeon. Then, we are told the reason all the other kings came against them as enemies. “It was the Lord’s doing to harden their hearts that they should come against Israel in battle, in order that they should be devoted to destruction, and should receive no mercy but be destroyed.”
Did you catch that last line? It was God’s will that they should receive no mercy. Not because they deserve more wrath than Israel. No, both Israel and those nations have fallen short of the glory of God, and the wages of sin is death. We, too, have sinned, and God shows mercy to whom He will show mercy and hardens whom He will harden (Romans 9:18).
None of us deserves God’s mercy. He can make vessels of honor and dishonor from the same lump of sinful humanity (Romans 9:21-24). If you have received mercy, rejoice. If you still have an opportunity to receive it, receive it. We have no reason to boast. His mercy truly is mercy; it is not demanded of him.
-D. Eaton
The Fight of Faith 