DOCTRINE OF CHESED
  1. Etymology.
    1. Verb ds;x' , chasad: in Aramaic, it means kind or mild. In Arabic, it means to put things together. In Hebrew, it means to show zeal or desire over a long period of time.
    2. Noun ds,x, , chesed: loyalty, love, faithfulness, immutability. hd'ysix] , chasidah: stork.
  2. In its earliest usage, chesed refers to a stork, due to the intense and total loyalty of a stork for its young.
    1. Moses mentions them among the unclean birds, Lev.11:19; Deut.14:18.
    2. They are noted for their powerful wings and high flight, Zech.5:9.
    3. They are normally a marsh bird but build their nest in high trees, Ps.104:17.
    4. The stork has a precise migration pattern, Jer.8:7.
    5. Because of their close family, they have become proverbial for parental love and loyalty.
  3. Divine chesed is closely related to:
    1. hn"Wma/ , emuna: immutability, faithfulness (from amen, !mea' meaning support), Ps.88:11; 89:24; 92:2; 98:3.
    2. tm,a/ , emeth: truth, veracity, Ex.34:5,6; Ps.26:3; 86:15; 89:14; 115:1; 117:1,2; 138:2.
    3. ~ymix;r] , rachamim: compassion, expressed love. The motivation of chesed is love, Ps.103:4.
    4. jP'v.mi , mishepat: justice, Jer.9:23,24; Ps.101:1.
    5. rv'y" , yashar: synonym for righteousness, Ps.37:37.
    6. bwOj , tov: goodness, Ps.23:6.
  4. The extent of God's loyalty.
    1. In time: it is daily, Ps.52:1, from eternity past to the future, Isa.54:8.
    2. In space: it fills all three heavens; Isa.57:10; Ps.108:4; 36:5; it fills the earth, Ps.33:5; 119:64. Application: you cannot escape from God's loyalty.
    3. In quality: it is intrinsically good, Ps.69:16. It is the basis for Phase 2 deliverance from one's enemies, Ps.109:21. The result of deliverance is that the people will know it is from God, Ps.109:26-29. Loyalty is better than life itself, Ps.63:5.
    4. In quantity: loyalty exists in carnality and reversionism, Ps.86:5; example: the Exodus generation, Num.14:18,19. There is enough loyalty to meet everyone's needs, Ps.5:7; 69:13; Ex.34:7, from generation to generation, Ex.20;6.
  5. God's loyalty is applied to man as expressed love in three ways.
    1. To Israel in the Covenant, Gen.12:13; Micah.7:20.
      1. To Israel under the Davidic Covenant, Ps.89.
      2. The New Covenant: Israel's restoration and blessing in the Millennium, Jer.31-33.
    2. Covenant acts of loyalty to the nation.
      1. The Exodus itself, Ps.136:10-16; 106:7,45.
      2. The conquest of the land, Ps.136:10-16; 106:7,45.
      3. The rise of the house of David is said to be an act of chesed, Ps.33:12; 44:26.
      4. The Assyrian captivity (721BC). The national identity remained intact.
      5. The Babylonian captivity (586BC), Ps.85:107. Israel returned after this captivity.
    3. Contract acts of loyalty to individuals.
      1. Lot: deliverance for Sodom, Gen.19:15,16.
      2. Job: chesed in suffering.
      3. Abraham: a bride for Isaac, Gen.24:12-14.
      4. Jacob: fear of Esau and deliverance, Gen.32:10.
      5. Joseph: promotion for loyalty, Gen.39:21.
      6. Ruth: loyalty to Naomi and Israel, Ruth.2:20; 3:10.
      7. David: deliverance from Saul, Ps.57:3; 59:16,17; 86:13. Divine discipline, Ps.6:4; 143:12. From the Absolom revolt, Ps.31:1621.
      8. The exile generation, Ps.42:8; 94.
  6. Each adjustment to the justice of God (salvation, rebound, and maturity) has a corresponding hedge of loyalty which surrounds the believer, Ps.32:10.
    1. The enemies of the mature believer come under a reverse mantle of cursing, Ps.109:26-29; Ps.94; 36:710.
    2. This hedge is also called a wall of fire, Zech.2:5 by application.
    3. It is also the basis for Phase 2 deliverance, Ps.33:18ff.
  7. Divine chesed extends to the entire human race:
    1. In spite of negative volition, Ps.103:8,11; Jonah.2:14.
    2. In providential matters, Ps.107.
    3. In the four divine institutions.
  8. Loyalty to man's loyalty.
    1. Loyalty to God is dependant upon knowledge of Bible Doctrine, Ex.20:6; Ps.119.
    2. God knows those who are loyal, Ps.33:18; Ps.139.
    3. God takes pleasure in those who are loyal, Ps.147:11. Your loyalty will be tested, Hos.6:6.
    4. God injects divine discipline where there is no loyalty.
    5. God remembers past generations and individuals who demonstrated loyalty, Jer.2:2; 1Chr.6:42.
    6. God remembers the generation which will be blessed at the Second Advent, Hos.2:19; Ezek.34.
  9. Loyalty is a part of the categories of love.
    1. Loyalty expresses itself in the absence of the object of love.
    2. Category 2 love.
    3. Category 3 love, 1Sam.20:8.
  10. Loyalty is learned in the classroom of Christianity, the local church, Ps.48:9.
  11. God's loyalty is directed toward His Messiah, Ps.21:2.
  12. Ps.136 is a chesed Psalm calling for thanksgiving.
  13. Chesed in the plural refers to the many acts of loyalty God performs toward the human race, Ps.106:7,45; Lam.3:22,32.
© Copyright 1998, Maranatha Church, Inc.