He uses rhetorical questions in order to cause His people to think the consequences of their actions. Proverbs 21:21 explores this, "He that followeth after righteousness and mercy findeth life, righteousness, and honour." When God shows his love or mercy, he manifests this by a certain action. Other verses to consider are Proverbs 3:3; 11:17 as well as 20:28.

Chesed occurs the first time in the Old Testament in Genesis 19:19. In context, the passage is one of God's decision to end Sodom and Gomorrah. But he spares Lot and his family in response to Abraham's pleading as an act of mercy. Genesis 32:10 represents Jacob as realizing God's unmerited mercy This is also the issue in Chronicles 16:34; Nehemiah 9:17; Psalms 103:8).

Numbers 14:18 portrays Gdd as longsuffering, and of great mercy, forgiving iniquity and transgression..." Moses begs for God's mercy and reminds Him of the surrounding peoples who will say that He is incapable of delivering on His promises. Instead of destroying the entire nation of Israel, God in his mercy spares Israel but declares that those individuals who have observed the wondrous works and disobeyed Him would not enter the land of Canaan.

Thus, God is seen as showing mercy on a national level but not an individual level for the nation of Israel. Again, unmerited grace and mercy is described for the nation as Moses and Caleb observe in verses 12, 20-24. This is also the case in Exodus 20:6; Deuteronomy 5:10; 7:9, 12; 2 Chronicles 6:14; Nehemiah 1:5; 13:14 and Psalm 25:10 where merited mercy is an issue. This is further seen in Psalm 136:1 where...

In this way, we will the relationship to have existed in the first place.
God is depicted in the Old Testament as full of chesed. His unchanging love, kindness and mercy are illustrated to Israel. God reminds them and us repeatedly that He is worthy of praise because of the mercy He has shown upon humanity. God's implicit nature centers on His mercy, loviningkindness and goodness. He wants those who believe in Him center their lives on mercy toward their fellows as well.

Firstly, God's mercy is unmerited. No human has in any way a claim that he has merited God's approval and salvation for works. God delights in His people acting as he acts. God wants to be gracious to those who are obedient to Him. Unfortunately, Israel rejected God's love and tested His mercy. The lesson is that we must recognize and praise the Lord for unmerited grace and mercy. Also, it is vital that we seek to win more from the Lord to ensure our survival.

One of the last of the Old Testament prophets, Hosea n Hosea 6:4-6 emphasizes that mercy is required and not just sacrifice. Hesed refers to the right conduct on does toward one's fellow person or loyalty to God or both of these concepts. Mercy, loyalty and love are all completely interchangeable. Hesed represents a circle of hope in which we call upon God. It is a circle of caring in which we include the almighty to complete the circle. We should pray for others to who offer hesed (loyalty to God and humanity) to all…