Exodus 34:6 And the Lord passed by before him, and proclaimed, The Lord, The Lord God, merciful and gracious, longsuffering, and abundant in goodness and truth.
The mercy seat in the ancient sanctuary system put the emphasis on mercy, because God directed that it be located strategically above the law, contained in the ark. Not only was its location and its position strategic, it was definitely meant to send an ongoing message to all concerned, that The God of heaven deals, and communicates with us all in the language of mercy.
He sends His sunshine and rain on the just, and also on the unjust, and the “Just” are never to consider themselves as more deserving of mercy, because, guess what, it is God’s mercy that made them just in the first place. God dealt with David from the perspective of mercy and He dealt with king Saul the very same way.
God dealt with Sodom and Gomorrah mercifully for if He had let them continue to exist, the world would be led astray into false paths, the same as we are now witnessing in our day, as it pertains to the plethora of divergent views and practices, on marriage and gender. In addition to this, If God did not stop them in their tracks, they would continue to live and pile up sins upon sins, which they would eventually have to pay for when crunch time comes around.
Exodus 34:7 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.
May God add His blessing to the study of His word. “Good night” and God bless!