Buck Anderson

Grace Bible Church

“Loyal Love”

The Attributes of God: Lovingkindness

One of the most important words in the Bible is the word hesed, most often translated as “lovingkindness.” Not only is the word descriptive of a divine attribute, but it is also the key word for covenant relationships, whether between God and people, or between people themselves.

“I shall make mention of the lovingkindness of the Lord…”

—Isaiah 63:7a

Lovingkindness (Hesed)

• Enduring loving loyalty to a covenantal relationship

• Loyal love; Devoted love

• “Unchanging Love” in a covenant/deal/relationship

Lovingkindness: The glue that bonds a relationship together

Hesed : Covenants in the Bible

• Abrahamic

• Mosaic

• Palestinian

• Davidic

• New

• Financial

• Friendship

• Marriage

“Know therefore that the LORD your God, He is God, the faithful God, who keeps His covenant and His lovingkindness to a thousandth generation…”

—Deuteronomy 7:9

Case Study in Hesed

Who’s Who in Samuel?

Saul – king of Israel

Jonathan – Saul’s oldest son & apparent heir to throne

Mephibosheth – Jonathan’s son; crippled from age 5

David – anointed king; friend of Jonathan

And if I am still alive, will you not show me the lovingkindness of the LORD, that I may not die? And you shall not cut off your lovingkindness from my house forever, not even when the LORD cuts off every one of the enemies of David from the face of the earth. So Jonathan made a covenant with the house of David…

—1 Sam. 20:14-15

Then David said, “Is there yet anyone left of the house of Saul, that I may show him kindness for Jonathan's sake?” … Mephibosheth…here is your servant! And David said to him, “Do not fear, for I will surely show kindness to you for the sake of your father Jonathan…you shall eat at my table regularly.”

—2 Samuel 9:1-13

2 Samuel 19:24-30

• Mephibosheth, at great personal risk, remains loyal to David during Absalom’s rebellion.

• Mephibosheth loyally accepts David’s (seemingly) unfair distribution of Mephibosheth’s land.

Now there was a famine in the days of David for 3 years…And the LORD said, “It is for Saul and his bloody house, because he put the Gibeonites to death”…

—2 Samuel 21:1-9

Joshua 9

• Joshua – “kill all in the land”

• Gibeonites act craftily

• Gibeonites act like foreigners & asked for a peace covenant

• Joshua did not seek the Lord

• Joshua swears YHWH’s name (hesed) & makes a covenant with them

• Gibeonites become servants to the Jews even until Saul’s reign 400 years later

Now there was a famine in the days of David for 3 years…And the LORD said, “It is for Saul and his bloody house, because he put the Gibeonites to death”… But the king spared Mephibosheth, the son of Jonathan the son of Saul, because of the oath of the LORD which was between them, between David and Jonathan.

—2 Samuel 21:1-9

Good & Bad Hesed

Bad Hesed

What shall I do with you, O Ephraim … O Judah? For your loyalty is like a morning cloud, and like the dew which goes away early. Therefore I have hewn them in pieces by the prophets; I have slain them by the words of My mouth; And the judgments on you are like the light that goes forth.

—Hosea 6:4-5

Good Hesed

Lamentations Background:

• Jeremiah writes of the 3rd (final) attack of Jerusalem by Babylonia in 586 B.C.

• He witnesses utter despair: starvation, death, cannibalism

• His witness the destruction and overthrow of his nation

This I recall to my mind, therefore I have hope. The LORD's lovingkindnesses indeed never cease, for His compassions never fail. They are new every morning; Great is Thy faithfulness. The LORD is my portion, says my soul, Therefore I have hope in Him.

—Lamentations 3:20-24

Main Teaching Point of the Book of Lamentations

“For the Lord will not reject forever, for if He causes grief, then He will have compassion according to His abundant lovingkindness. For He does not afflict willingly, or grieve the sons of men.”

—Lamentations 3:31-33

The Heart of Lamentation’s Chiasm

God’s Hesed = Source of Strength

Does it really matter?

It is a trustworthy statement: For if we died with Him, we shall also live with Him; If we endure, we shall also reign with Him; If we deny Him, He also will deny us; If we are faithless, He remains faithful; for He cannot deny Himself.

—2 Timothy 2:11-13

Hesed Implications

• Theologically

• Personally

– Family

– Friends

– Work

– Church

Hope in the LORD; For with the LORD there is lovingkindness, and with Him is abundant redemption.

—Psalm 130:7

Surely goodness & lovingkindness will follow me all the days of my life, and I will dwell in the house of the LORD forever.

—Psalm 23:6