Ex 34:5-7
5 And the Lord descended in the cloud, and stood with him there, and proclaimed the name of the Lord.
6 And the Lord passed by before him, and proclaimed, The Lord, The Lord God, merciful and gracious, longsuffering, and abundant in goodness and truth,
7 Keeping mercy for thousands, forgiving iniquity and transgression and sin, and that will by no means clear the guilty; visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children, and upon the children's children, unto the third and to the fourth generation.
This verse here Vs 7 shows hat the LORD did not have mercy to Save all mankind, but only some.
Now God's Mercy in forgiving Iniquity, and Transgression and Sin was provided for in Christ before the World began 1 Pet 1:20
20 Who verily was foreordained before the foundation of the world, but was manifest in these last times for you,
He was the Surety set up for the Everlasting Covenant Ps 103:10-17
10 He hath not dealt with us after our sins; nor rewarded us according to our iniquities.
11 For as the heaven is high above the earth, so great is his mercy toward them that fear him.
12 As far as the east is from the west, so far hath he removed our transgressions from us.
13 Like as a father pitieth his children, so the Lord pitieth them that fear him.
14 For he knoweth our frame; he remembereth that we are dust.
15 As for man, his days are as grass: as a flower of the field, so he flourisheth.
16 For the wind passeth over it, and it is gone; and the place thereof shall know it no more.
17 But the mercy of the Lord is from everlasting to everlasting upon them that fear him, and his righteousness unto children's children;
These would also be describing the Vessels of Mercy Rom 9:23
And that he might make known the riches of his glory on the vessels of mercy, which he had afore prepared unto glory,
God's Mercy is exercised towards them Christ died for, because Christ bare their Punishment for their sin and in doing so He purged them of their sins Heb 1:3
Who being the brightness of his glory, and the express image of his person, and upholding all things by the word of his power, when he had by himself purged our sins, sat down on the right hand of the Majesty on high:
Now this word purged[katharismos] means, :
a cleansing, purification, a ritual purgation or washing
a) of the washing of the Jews before and after their meals
b) of levitical purification of women after childbirth
c) a cleansing from the guilt of sins wrought by the expiatory sacrifice of Christ
So this corresponds to those God shews Mercy to forgiving sin, transgression and iniquity.
But on the other hand, God does not clear the guilty ! The Guilty are those Christ did not die for. The word clear in Ex 34:7
7 Keeping mercy for thousands, forgiving iniquity and transgression and sin, and that will by no means clear the guilty; visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children, and upon the children's children, unto the third and to the fourth generation.
That word is the Hebrew naqah and means:
to be empty, be clear, be pure, be free, be innocent, be desolate, be cut off
a) (Qal) to be empty, be clean, be pure
b) (Niphal)
1) to be cleaned out, be purged out
2) to be clean, be free from guilt, be innocent
3) to be free, be exempt from punishment
4) to be free, be exempt from obligation
c) (Piel)
1) to hold innocent, acquit
2) to leave unpunished
And yet that is the very thing Christ's Death alone, of Himself did for those He died for. They are free from guilt and punishment of their sins because of the sacrifice of Christ Per Heb 1:3
3 Who being the brightness of his glory, and the express image of his person, and upholding all things by the word of his power, when he had by himself purged our sins, sat down on the right hand of the Majesty on high:
Again purged our sins meaning :
a cleansing from the guilt of sins wrought by the expiatory sacrifice of Christ
Now all this was in line with what God said to Moses in Ex 33:19
after Moses asked the LORD to shew him His Glory Ex 33:18-19
18 And he said, I beseech thee, shew me thy glory.
19 And he said, I will make all my goodness pass before thee, and I will proclaim the name of the Lord before thee; and will be gracious to whom I will be gracious, and will shew mercy on whom I will shew mercy.
That Mercy is restricted to those He keeps it for Ex 34:7
7 Keeping [ Guard with fidelity]mercy for thousands, forgiving iniquity and transgression and sin, and that will by no means clear the guilty; visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children, and upon the children's children, unto the third and to the fourth generation.
God that Mercy Keeps out of Covenant Faithfulness to them for Christ's Sake !
Ps 89:1,24,33
I will sing of the mercies of the Lord for ever: with my mouth will I make known thy faithfulness to all generations.
But my faithfulness and my mercy shall be with him: and in my name shall his horn be exalted.
Nevertheless my lovingkindness will I not utterly take from him, nor suffer my faithfulness to fail.493
