“Then the king said to Ittai the Gitti, ‘You too? Why are you going with us? Go back, and stay with your king, since you are both a foreigner and in exile from your own place. You arrived only yesterday; should I ask you to wander around with us? There’s no telling where I may go. Return, and take your kinsmen back with you. Grace and truth be with you.”– 2 Samuel 15:19-20
When we last left off, David was telling Ittai the Gittite that he had absolutely zero obligation to support him or join Israel because he was an uncircumcised gentile.
David tells him to return to his kinsmen and then finishes up by saying, “Grace and truth be with you.”
Let’s examine that phrase for a second.
The Hebrew words for “Grace” and “Truth” are CHESED and EMETH.
David was not speaking condescendingly here.
Nor was this a mere customary greeting or blessing.
What David said is packed to the hilt with deep spiritual meaning.
This is gonna be difficult to explain.
But I’m gonna try.
First, look at these words of Yeshua:
“Peace I leave with you;
My peace I give you.
I do not give to you as the world gives.
Do not let your hearts
be troubled and do not be afraid.”
-John 14:27
So, what can we discern from these words?
We can discern there are two kinds of “peace,” right?
There’s the kind of peace the world gives.
And there’s the kind of peace that only the God of Israel can give.
And this divine peace is the type that surpasses all understanding.
So what David said to Ittai the Gittite is kind of like that.
When he said, CHESED and EMETH be with you, he was referring to a condition or state of being that can only come from the God of Israel.
Ya feeling me here?
CHESED is one of those words that needs some explaining.
Scholars often say it means “grace,” or “kindness,” or even “loving kindness.”
And yeah, those words are close.
But they don’t quite capture the true essence of the word.
CHESED encompasses way more than that.
It’s like a mix of deep love, strong loyalty, and enduring kindness all rolled into one.
Why am I harping on this so strongly?
Because theologically speaking…
And from a faith perspective…
Grasping the true meaning of CHESED is super-duper important, man!
Especially if you wanna overcome the manmade doctrines that the gentile Christian world has perpetrated on mankind.
Namely, that “grace” is only a New Testament innovation and that it didn’t exist until Yeshua ushered it in.
That’s simply not true.
CHESED, or God’s enduring love and grace, has ALWAYS existed.
It ain’t some new basis for a relationship between God and mankind that somehow renders the “Old” Testament law null and void.
Ya feel me?
We’ll continue this discussion the next time we meet.
Many Christians, from what I have heard and read, think that “Grace” is the same thing as forgiveness.
It isn’t.
Forgiveness is taking away the spiritual consequences of sin, and grace is God’s willingness to forgive. He examplifies this in Ezekiel 18:23.
Without grace, we can’t count on forgiveness, and without forgivenes, there can be no salvation, so grace, in a way, is the first step towards salvation, and it comes from God, the ONLY one who forgives sin.
And God existed LONG before Yeshua came on the scene. 😉
Thanks for making clear the difference between “Grace” and “Forgiveness.”
Yes, they go together, but they are not the same thing.