I want to talk today about a Hebrew word that adds richness and depth to our faith - and it’s sad that far too many believers have no idea of the word because they don’t read Hebrew. It’s the word “chesed.” This word appears 250 times in the OT. You’d think it's kind of important, right? And what’s intriguing to me is that (talk about getting our attention!) 127 out of those 250 times, over half the time the word appears in the Bible, it’s here in the book of Psalms.
Last week I misspoke in saying that “chesed” means enduring love. So that’s true - but not true as well. Yes, love is PART of what this word means; BUT when you try to pin down a definition of “chesed,” you’ll find something interesting. The word is truly beautiful - like a diamond - whose beauty is enhanced by the many facets on the diamond, each reflecting the light in a different way. As such, the meaning of “chesed” is many faceted - each definition reflecting something unique and beautiful; and you can’t capture the definition with just one English word. So, in the NIV there are at least 12 different translations of this word!
Included in the list of translations of “chesed:” Graciousness, loving-kindness, faithful love, enduring love, benevolence, favor. At times it describes God’s forgiveness; at times it represents tenderness. AND it’s said to be a word with gravitational pull because the OT authors attached other Hebrew words to “hesed” to bring out more of the flavors of the word.
It is the driving force in the Psalm we are studying this morning: Psalm 136.
