HESED in the Covenant Community of Jesus Christ

HESED in the Covenant Community of Jesus Christ. ü This is to be a comprehensive study through the whole Bible concerning a word so significant that without it there simply IS NO WORD OF GOD TO MAN. And that means: without the word mercy -lovingkindness (hesed) the Bible is a dead book, in which is no revelation of God at all. Stated another way: Take the word mercylovingkindness (hesed) out of the Bible and there is no Bible, no salvation, no Saviour, no kingdom of God, no eternal life - nothing! Rex B. Andrews - What The Bible Teaches About Mercy p. 2 ü Hesed – What is it? God’s breath > God’s heart-beat > God’s Life-Blood!

HESED in the Covenant Community of Jesus Christ. q Ps 50: 1 -6 The mighty God, even the LORD, hath spoken, and called the earth from the rising of the sun unto the going down thereof. Out of Zion, the perfection of beauty, God hath shined. Our God shall come, and shall not keep silence: a fire shall devour before him, and it shall be very tempestuous round about him. He shall call to the heavens from above, and to the earth, that he may judge his people. Gather my saints together unto me; those that have made a covenant with me by sacrifice. And the heavens shall declare his righteousness: for God is judge himself. Selah! (Pause! Think! Chew-over! Meditate!) ü In this Psalm, as in so many others, and in the Prophets, Zion is the synonym for that which embodies the full pleasure and satisfaction of God’s heart and mind. In the NT Zion is no longer any physical earthly point, but is synonymous with the ideal Church which is Christ in His corporate expression (Heb 12: 22 -24)

Hesed - Its Etymological Origin q A dynamic equivalence (thought-for-thought) translation prepared by a group of capable scholars has the potential to represent the intended meaning of the original text even more accurately than a formal equivalence (word-for-word) translation. This is illustrated by the various renderings of the Hebrew word hesed. This term cannot be adequately translated by any single English word because it can connote love, mercy, grace, kindness, faithfulness and loyalty. The context - not the lexicon must determine which English term is selected for translation. Intro’ to NLT p. xv “Award Edition” © 1999 – “Floppy Version” üPs 119: 64 The earth is full of Your lovingkindness, O LORD; teach me Your statutes. NASB

Various Bible Translations of Hesed. ü ü ü NLT NIV RSV NASB KJV BERKELEY > unfailing love/faithful > love > steadfast love > loving-kindness > mercy > covenant love ü Hesed: Gracious > Active > Saving > Providing Power towards His Covenant People ü. . . the consistent, ever-faithful, relentless, constantly-pursuing, lavish, extravagant, unrestrained, furious love of our Father God!

GOD ‘MARRIED’ TO HIS PEOPLE ü The covenant concluded at Sinai could, then, be understood in Hebrew theology only as a response to grace: man’s hesed for God’s hesed… Israel had begun its history as a nation, summoned, by God’s grace, to be His people, to serve Him alone and to obey His covenant law. The notion of a people of God, called to live under the rule of God, begins just here, and with it the notion of the Kingdom of God… The covenant laid heavy demands on Israel. Specifically, it demanded hesed, a grateful and complete loyalty to the God of the covenant to the exclusion of all other gods. Equally, it demanded strict obedience to the laws of the covenant in all human relationships within the covenant brotherhood. (N. B. Jer 31: 32; Isa 54: 5; Jer 2: 2 devotion = hesed) John Bright - The Kingdom of God in Bible and Church p. 28 -29 ü Hos 6: 6 For I desire mercy, not sacrifice, and acknowledgment of God rather than burnt offerings. üMic 6: 8 He has showed you, O man, what is good. And what does the LORD require of you? To act justly and to love mercy and to walk humbly with your God. ü Zec 7: 9 This is what the LORD Almighty says: Administer true justice; show mercy and compassion to one another.

Hesed in Proverbs! Heb: mashal = Ruling Sayings ü The Golden Rule of the Covenant Community! Pro 3: 3 -4 Never let loyalty & kindness get away from you! Wear them like a necklace; write them deep within your heart. Then you will find favour with both God & people, & you will gain a good reputation. (cf Luke 2: 52; Acts 2: 47) ü Shutty’s 4 Laws of Community 1. Law of personal INTEGRITY 2. Law of personal LOYALTY 3. Law of personal KINDNESS 4. Law of personal FORBEARANCE

#1 Law of Personal INTEGRITY q Pro 14: 22 Do not those who plot evil go astray? But those who plan what is good find love & faithfulness. NIV § If you plot evil you will be lost; but if you plan good, you will be granted unfailing love & faithfulness. NLT q Pro 21: 21 He who pursues righteousness & love finds life, prosperity & honour. NIV § Whoever pursues godliness & unfailing love will find life, godliness, & honour. NLT ü Col 3: 6 -8 You used to walk in these ways, in the life you once lived. But now you must rid yourselves of all such things as these: anger, rage, malice, slander & filthy language from your lips. NIV

#2 Law of Personal LOYALTY q Pro 19: 22 What is desirable in a man is his kindness & it is better to be a poor man than a liar. NASB liar § Loyalty makes a person attractive & it is better to be poor than dishonest. NLT dishonest q Pro 20: 22 Love & faithfulness keep a king safe; through love his throne is made secure. NIV § Loyalty & truth preserve the king, & he upholds his throne through righteousness. NASB § Unfailing love & faithfulness protect the king; his throne is made secure through love. NLT ü Col 3: 9 -10 Do not lie to each other, since you have taken off your old self with its practices & have put on the new self, which is being renewed in knowledge in the image of its Creator. NIV

#3 Law of Personal KINDNESS q Pro 11: 17 A kind man benefits himself, but a cruel man brings trouble upon himself. NIV § A merciful man does himself good, but a cruel man does himself harm. NASB ü Col 3: 11 -12 Here there is no Greek or Jew, circumcised or uncircumcised, barbarian, Scythian, slave or free, but Christ is all, & is in all. Therefore, as God's chosen people, holy & dearly loved, clothe yourselves with compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness & patience. NIV

#4 Law of Personal FORBEARANCE q Pro 16: 6 Through love & faithfulness sin is atoned for; through the fear of the LORD a man avoids evil. NIV § By lovingkindness & truth iniquity is atoned for, & by the fear of the Lord one keeps away from evil. NASB § Unfailing love & faithfulness cover sin; evil is avoided by fear sin of the Lord. NLT q Pro 20: 6 Many a man claims to have unfailing love, but a faithful man who can find? NIV § Many a man proclaims his own loyalty, but who can find a trustworthy man. NASB § Many will say they are loyal friends, but who can find one who is really faithful? NLT ü Col 3: 13 Bear with each other & forgive whatever grievances you may have against one another. Forgive as the Lord forgave you. NIV

HESED in the Covenant Community of Jesus Christ. q Hesed is God’s supply system for every need everywhere. Hesed is that kindness, compassion and tenderness which is a passion to suffer with, or participate in, another’s ills or evils in order to relieve, heal and restore. It accepts another freely and gladly as he is and supplies the needed good of life to build him up and to bring peace and to keep in peace. It is to take another into one’s heart just as he is and to cherish and nourish him there. Rex B. Andrews – What the Bible teaches about Mercy p. 2

HESED in the Covenant Community of Jesus Christ. ü The early Christians never considered life outside covenant. Their covenant commitment to Christ, to one another, and to God's ultimate purpose for all things was rooted in their radical commitment to live covenantally, and it covenantally generated a readiness to be radical in it, no matter what the cost. Whatever their circumstances or condition, they knew it was tied to their keeping or breaking of covenant. The Radical Church (Ch. 8 No Longer Alone) p. 106 – Bryn Jones ü Here we are seeing the Church in its first youth, valiant and unspoiled - a body of ordinary men and women joined in an unconquerable fellowship never before seen on this earth. . . a fellowship of men and women so united in love earth and faith that He can work in them and through them with the minimum of let or hindrance. Consequently it is a matter of sober historical fact that never before has any small body of ordinary people so moved the world that their enemies could say, with tears of rage in their eyes, that these men ‘have turned the world upside down’! “The Young Church In Action” (Acts of the Apostles) page vii-xvi – J. B Phillips