“So David sent messengers to the men of Yavesh-Gil‘ad with this message: ‘May you be blessed by Adonai, because you showed this kindness to your lord, Sha’ul, and buried him. Now may Adonai show kindness and truth to you; and I too will show you favor because you have done this. Be strong, and be brave. Sha’ul your lord is dead, but the house of Y’hudah have anointed me king over them.’”-2 Samuel 2:5-7
Let’s talk a little bit about the word CHESED or חֶסֶד.
This word communicates an important concept we need to grasp if we’re going to understand ancient Middle Eastern morality.
CHESED is a rich and multifaceted term.
It’s often translated as “loving-kindness,”“mercy,”“steadfast love,” or “covenant loyalty.”
It reflects a deep sense of love and commitment, particularly within the context of God’s relationship with humanity.
Again, as I mentioned yesterday, it ain’t “casual kindness.”
CHESED implies loyalty and faithfulness.
It’s often tied to a covenant.
When I say it’s “tied to a covenant,” you understand what I’m talking about, right?
If you don’t, lemme lay it down on the line for you.
It refers to love expressed through ACTIONS of generosity, faithfulness, and enduring commitment, NOT just through ridiculous warm fuzzy feelings.
This is what David meant when he told the leaders of Jabesh that since they had shown CHESED to Saul, he would ask Adonai to show CHESED to them, and on top of that, he wished to demonstrate CHESED to them as well.
The word CHESED is all over the place in this passage.
It refers to an act of grace that mimics God’s love.
However, there is another aspect of CHESED that flies over the heads of most Westerners.
Those of Eastern or Asian extract will more readily grasp this, but not Westerners.
What am I talking about?
Well, here’s the thing.
Embedded within Middle Eastern thought is the idea that when someone asks for CHESED due to a good deed performed, it’s because the person on the receiving end of the good deed cannot repay it.
The people of Jabesh-Gilead were a perfect case in point.
They showed kindness to Saul and his family by retrieving his headless corpse from the walls of Beit Shan.
But since Saul is dead, he obviously can’t do anything to repay them.
To the typical Western mind, “Well, that’s the end of that transaction” is how the normal thought pattern goes.
But in Middle Eastern culture, that dog ain’t gonna hunt homies.
That’s a HUGE problem that needs to be rectified.
We see this same idea expressed in the Book of Ruth.
Check out these verses:
“Na’omi said to her two daughters-in-law,
‘Each of you, go back to your mother’s house.
May ADONAI show grace (chesed) to you,
as you did to those who died and to me.
May ADONAI grant you security in
the home of a new husband.’
Then she kissed them,
but they began weeping aloud.”
-Ruth 1:8-9
Naomi is telling Ruth and Oprah that although they showed her CHESED by being good wives to her sons and good daughters-in-law to her, she can’t repay them as would normally be expected.
So, she prays the Lord will pay them back instead.
Once they get new husbands (which would be considered God’s grace), those new husbands would then repay the kindness or CHESED previously shown.
Again, this idea of repaying good for good is embedded in Middle Eastern culture.
You ain’t gonna be able to understand many parts of the Bible without grasping this.
Since Saul has passed away and the people of Jabesh can’t show loyalty or kindness to each other anymore, David says he’s stepping in to repay them for their act of CHESED to Saul.
He is inviting them to enter into a covenant of faith with him that would REPLACE the former covenant they had with Saul.
This leads to our takeaway for today.
Just as the newly crowned King of Israel in 2 Samuel Chapter 2 is knocking on the door to the hearts of the people of Jabesh and inviting them to enter into a bond with him…
Today, a Son of David named Yeshua is knocking on the doors to the hearts of all people in all nations to enter into a covenant relationship with him.
This is the heart of the gospel message.
If you have yet to be grafted into the Commonwealth of Israel through faith in the Jewish Messiah, the resurrected Son of David is knocking on the door to your heart as well.
The question is are you going to answer that knock or ignore it?
CONNECTING THIS TEACHING TO THE NEW TESTAMENT
“Behold, I stand at the door,
and knock:
if any man hear my voice,
and open the door,
I will come in to him,
and will sup with him,
and he with me.”
-Revelation 3:20
Leave a Reply