Let’s talk a little more about the Hebrew concept of CHESED.
This term is so important because it reflects God’s relationship with man in all ages.
Now, as I was harping on yesterday.
This word is freakin’ difficult to translate.
Lemme give you an example.
Imagine I told you I fly to New York every week for business.
You’d probably picture me on a plane, right?
But what is a plane?
It’s not just one object, right?
It’s a complex piece of machinery made out of wings, engines, seats, landing gear, a cockpit, and that tiny tray table you can barely fit your coffee cup on.
Now, let’s say you ask me…
“How do you travel to New York for business?”
And what if I told you…
“I get to New York by flying an engine.”
You’d have a quizzical look on your face, right?
An engine?
Sure, the engine’s the main part of the plane that enables the 500-ton chunk of metal to get off the ground.
But here’s the thing.
An engine by itself won’t get you off the ground.
It’s just one part of the package that makes flight a reality.
So it’d be much easier to grasp if I simply told you…
“I fly on a plane.”
That gives you the full picture, right?
Well, it’s the same thing with the word CHESED.
Like an airplane, CHESED is a mix of different components.
It’s made up of grace, kindness, loyalty, mercy, truth, and faithfulness.
So when our English Bibles only translate CHESED into one word, like “grace”…
That doesn’t even come close to doing justice to the real meaning of the word.
Ya feel me?
CHESED is not just about treating people with love and kindness.
CHESED is at the very heart of how God wants us to treat each other.
It goes beyond the covenant relationship the Lord has established with His people.
One could argue that it was the most important virtue that overrode all others in ancient Israel.
What are some notable instances of CHESED in the Scripture?
A perfect example is how the Moabite Ruth dealt with her mother-in-law Naomi.
Technically speaking, the two didn’t have a covenant relationship with each other, right?
Yet Ruth’s Godly attitude and her loving behavior towards Naomi reflect what CHESED is all about.
The Covenant at Sinai that God established with Israel was also an act of CHESED.
That’s right, folks.
The Law of Moses was and is a form of God’s grace and loving-kindness towards His people.
Or how about when the Lord kept his promises to David despite his many sins?
That was also a form of chesed.
But here’s the thing.
The Lord doesn’t consider CHESED to be a one-sided thing.
He demands reciprocal behavior in the form of obedience to His commands.
So I guess another way to describe CHESED is to say it’s a form of “loyal love.”
It’s the type of love that is reciprocal and endures.
It’s not fickle like some bar girl in Bangkok.
Although practically non-existent in our day and age, I think a Godly marriage is also a great example of CHESED in action.
Think about it.
What is marriage?
It’s the ultimate form of self-sacrifice.
Each partner commits to care for the other till death do them part…
And not file for divorce at the drop of a hat because one partner forgot to put the cap on the toothpaste bottle one morning.
Even Scripture employs a marriage analogy to describe God’s relationship with Israel.
I’ll leave it at that for today.
But we ain’t done yet.
I’ve got more stuff to share about CHESED.
This concept is too important to just lightly brush over.
See ya all next time.
Leave a Reply