Readings for today: 2 Chronicles 4-7, Psalms 134, 136
Hesed. God’s eternal, faithful love. This is the love that delivered Israel from all her enemies. This is the love that established Israel in the land. This is the love that put David and his son, Solomon, on the throne. The Temple was built to be the embodiment of love. It was built to remind Israel of God’s love. It was built as a celebration of God’s love. It’s why, once the Temple was complete and the glory of the Lord filled the Holy of Holies, the people cried out, “For He is good; His faithful love (His hesed) endures forever.” It’s why the Psalmist composes Psalm 136 as a song of praise for God’s faithful love. I know sometimes we don’t like to sing songs with the choruses over and over again but this didn’t seem to bother the Psalmist! Not when the subject was God’s hesed! God’s faithful love.
The Hebrew word, hesed, conveys a deep sense of connection. A faithfulness that will never end. It is eternal. It is forever. Nothing can break it. Nothing can defeat it. Not even Israel’s sin. Yes, God promises that if the people of Israel turn away from Him that He will judge them with righteousness and send them into exile but when they repent, His faithful love will always bring them back home. Restore them to their former place. Return them to the Land and renew the covenantal relationship He has always had with them. The faithful love of God is why we can always hold onto hope. No matter how dark things get. No matter how hard things get. No matter what life may throw at us. God’s love never ends. God’s love always holds. God’s love never fails. As the Apostle Paul says in 1 Corinthians 13:7, “God’s love bears all things. Believes all things. Hopes all things. Endures all things. It never fails.”
So where do you find yourself today? What challenges did you wake up to this morning? What obstacles in your life are you working to overcome? What is the state of your heart? Are you following Christ or do you find yourself far from Him? Are you on the narrow road to salvation or have you taken a step off onto the wide path that leads to judgment? No matter where you find yourself, know that God loves you and is waiting for you to repent and turn back to Him. He is waiting to welcome you not with condemnation but with His eternal, faithful love.
Readings for tomorrow: Psalms 146-150