Loving-Kindness

 

The chief characteristic of who God is at his very core is defined as being a God of love and loving-kindness. The Bible says in 1 John 4 vs. 8 “GOD IS LOVE”.

God's Love and Ours

 

1 John 4 vs. 7-21

 

 ⁷ “Dear friends, let us love one another, for love comes from God. Everyone who loves has been born of God and knows God. ⁸ Whoever does not love does not know God, because God is love. ⁹ This is how God showed his love among us: He sent his one and only Son into the world that we might live through him. ¹⁰ This is love: not that we loved God, but that he loved us and sent his Son as an atoning sacrifice for our sins. ¹¹ Dear friends, since God so loved us, we also ought to love one another. ¹² No-one has ever seen God; but if we love one another, God lives in us and his love is made complete in us. ³ We know that we live in him and he in us, because he has given us of his Spirit. ¹⁴ And we have seen and testify that the Father has sent his Son to be the Saviour of the world. ¹⁵ If anyone acknowledges that Jesus is the Son of God, God lives in him and he in God. ¹⁶ And so we know and rely on the love God has for us. God is love. Whoever lives in love lives in God, and God in him. ¹⁷ In this way, love is made complete among us so that we will have confidence on the day of judgment, because in this world we are like him. ¹⁸ There is no fear in love. But perfect love drives out fear, because fear has to do with punishment. The one who fears is not made perfect in love. ¹⁹ We love because he first loved us. ²⁰ If anyone says, I love God, yet hates his brother, he is a liar. For anyone who does not love his brother, whom he has seen, cannot love God, whom he has not seen. ²¹ And he has given us this command: Whoever loves God must also love his brother.”

 

 

Psalm 25:6 

Remember, O LORD, Your tender mercies and Your loving-kindness, For they are from of old.

Jeremiah 9:24

But let him who glories glory in this, That he understands and knows Me, That I am the LORD, exercising loving-kindness, judgment, and righteousness in the earth. For in these I delight,” says the LORD

Jeremiah 31:3

The LORD has appeared of old to me, saying:“ Yes, I have loved you with an everlasting love; Therefore with loving-kindness I have drawn you.

 

The Hebrew/Greek definitions of love and his loving-kindness include:

 

Strongs #	Hb/Gk Word	Pronunciation	English Equivalent
Old Testament (Hebrew) for "love*"
H157	'ahab	ä·hav'	love, lover(s), friend(s), beloved, liketh, lovely, loving
H160	'ahabah	a·hav·ä	love
H1730	dowd	dōde	beloved, uncle, love(s), father's brother, well beloved
H2836	chashaq	khä·shak'	desire, set his love, filleted, log, delight, in love
H5690	`egeb	eh'·ghev	love, lovely
H5691	`agabah	ag·ä·vä'	inordinate love
H7355	racham	rä·kham'	...mercy, ...compassion, pity, love, merciful, Ruhamah, surely
H7356	racham	rakh'·am	mercy, compassion, womb, bowels, pity, damsel, tender love
H7474	ra`yah	rah·yä'	love, variant
New Testament (Greek) for "love*"
G25	agapaō	ä-gä-pä'-ō	love, beloved
G26	agapē	ä-gä'-pā	love, charity, dear, charitably, feast of charity
G5360	philadelphia	fē-lä-del-fē'-ä	brotherly love, brotherly kindness, love of the brethren
G5361	philadelphos	fē-lä'-del-fos	love as brethren
G5362	philandros	fē'-län-dros	love their husbands
G5363	philanthrōpia	fē-län-thrō-pē'-ä	kindness, love toward man
G5365	philargyria	fē-lär-gü-rē'-ä	love of money
G5368	phileō	fē-le'-ō	love, kiss
G5383	philoprōteuō	fē-lo-prō-tyü'-ō	love to have the preeminence
G5388	philoteknos	fē-lo'-tek-nos	love (one's) children
Strongs #	Hb/Gk Word	Pronunciation	English Equivalent
Old Testament (Hebrew) for "lovingkindness"
H2617	checed	kheh'·sed	mercy, kindness, lovingkindness, goodness, kindly, merciful, favour, good, goodliness, pity, reproach, wicked thing

 

 

There are three types of love defined in the scriptures. Agape: which is defined as fatherly love, Phileo which is defined as brotherly love and Eros, which is defined as passionate/intimate love.

 

LOVING-KINDNESS

 

I want to take a further look at the word “loving-kindness” and its meaning.

HEBREW LEXICON -- STRONG'S NUMBER 2617 Checed

2617 checed {kheh'-sed} d,s,x from 2616; TWOT -- 698a,699a; n m

1) tov, kindness, faithfulness
2) a reproach, shame

Strongs: 2617 checed kheh'-sed from 2616; kindness; by implication (towards God) piety: rarely (by opposition) reproof, or (subject.) beauty:--(KJV words used)- favour, tov deed(-liness, -ness), kindly, (loving-kindness), merciful (kindness), mercy, pity, reproach, wicked thing.

Vines: checed (2617), "loving-kindness; steadfast love; grace (grace is a roman goddess) (free unmerited love and favor); mercy; faithfulness; tov; devotion." This word is used 240 times in the Old Covenant, and is especially frequent in the Psalms. The term is one of the most important in the vocabulary of Old Covenant theology and ethics. The Septuagint nearly always renders checed with eleos ("mercy"), and that usage is reflected in the New Covenant. Modern translations, in contrast, generally prefer renditions close to the word "grace." KJV usually has "mercy," although "loving-kindness" (following Coverdale), "favor," and other translations also occur. RSV generally prefers "steadfast love." NIV often offers simply "love." In general, one may identify three basic meanings of the word, which always interact: "strength," "steadfastness," and "love." Any understanding of the word that fails to suggest all three inevitably loses some of its richness. "Love" by itself easily becomes sentimentalized or universalized apart from the covenant. Yet "strength" or "steadfastness" suggests only the fulfillment of a legal or other obligation. The word refers primarily to mutual and reciprocal rights and obligations between the parties of a relationship especially God and Israel. But checed is not only a matter of obligation; it is also of generosity. It is not only a matter of loyalty, but also of mercy (checed). The weaker party seeks the protection and blessing of the patron and protector, but he may not lay absolute claim to it. The stronger party remains committed to his promise, but retains his freedom, especially with regard to the manner in which he will implement those promises. Checed implies personal involvement and commitment in a relationship beyond the rule of law. Marital love is often related to checed Marriage certainly is a legal matter, and there are legal sanctions for infractions. Yet the relationship, if sound, far transcends mere legalities. The prophet Hosea applies the analogy to God’s checed to Israel within the covenant (e.g., 2:21). Hence, "devotion" is sometimes the single English word best capable of capturing the nuance of the original. The RSV attempts to bring this out by its translation, "steadfast love." Hebrew writers often underscored the element of steadfastness (or strength) by pairing checed with 'emet ("truth, reliability") and 'emunah ("faithfulness"). Biblical usage frequently speaks of someone "doing," "showing," or "keeping" checed The concrete content of the word is especially evident when it is used in the plural. God’s "mercies," "kindnesses," or "faithfulnesses" are His specific, concrete acts of redemption in fulfillment of His promise. An example appears in Isa. 55:3: "...And I will make an everlasting covenant with you, even the sure mercies of David." Checed has both God and man as its subject. When man is the subject of checed, the word usually describes the person's kindness (checed) or loyalty to another; cf. 2 Sam. 9:7: "And David said...I will surely show you (Mephibosheth) kindness (checed) for Jonathan your father's sake". Only rarely is the term applied explicitly to man's affection or fidelity toward God; the clearest example is probably Jer. 2:2: "Go and cry in the ears of Jerusalem, saying, thus saith God; I remember you, the kindness (checed) of your youth, the love of your espousals, when you wentest after me in the wilderness. ..." Man exercises checed toward various units within the community - toward family and relatives, but also to friends, guests, masters, and servants. Checed toward the lowly and needy is often specified. The Scripture prominently uses the term checed to summarize and characterize a life of sanctification within, and in response to, the covenant. Thus, Hos. 6:6 states that God desires "mercy (checed) [RSV, "steadfast love"] and not sacrifice" (i.e., faithful living in addition to worship). Similarly, Mic. 6:8 features checed in the prophets' summary of biblical ethics: " ...and what doth God require of you, but...to love mercy (checed)... ?" Behind all these uses with man as subject, however, stand the repeated references to God’s checed It is one of His most central characteristics. God’s loving-kindness (checed) is offered to His people, who need redemption from sin, enemies, and troubles. A recurrent refrain describing Gods nature is "abounding / plenteous in checed" (Exod. 34:6; Neh. 9: 17; Ps. 103:8; Jonah 4:2). The entire history of God's covenantal relationship with Israel can be summarized in terms of checed It is the one permanent element in the flux of covenantal history. Even the Creation is the result of God's checed (Ps. 136:5-9). His love lasts for a "thousand generations" (Deut. 7:9; cf. Deut. 5:10 and Exod. 20:6), indeed "forever" (especially in the refrains of certain psalms, such as Ps. 136). Words used in synonymous parallelism with checed help to define and explain it. The word most commonly associated with checed is 'emet ("fidelity; reliability"): " ...Let your loving-kindness (checed) [checed] and your truth ['emet] continually preserve me." 'Emunah with a similar meaning is also common: "He hath remembered his mercy (checed) [checed] and his truth ['emunah] toward the house of Israel. ..." This emphasis is especially appropriate when god is the subject, because His checed is stronger and more enduring than man's. Etymological investigation suggests that hesed's primitive significance may have been "strength" or "permanence." If so, a puzzling use of checed in Isa. 40:6 would be explained: "All flesh is grass, and all the goodliness thereof is as the flower of the field." The association of checed with "covenant" keeps it from being misunderstood as mere providence or love for all creatures; it applies primarily to Gods particular love for His chosen and covenanted people. "Covenant" also stresses the reciprocity of the relationship; but since God’s checed is ultimately beyond the covenant, it will not ultimately be abandoned, even when the human partner is unfaithful and must be disciplined (Isa. 54:8, 10). Since its final triumph and implementation is eschatological, checed can imply the goal and end of all salvation-history (Ps. 85:7, 10; 130:7; Mic. 7:20). The proper noun HasdiYah (1 Chron. 3:20) is related to checed The name of Zerubbabel's son means "God is faithful/," a fitting summary of the prophet's message.

Therefore, when reading the Bible view it through the lens of loving-kindness and let the spirit of God reveal to you just how much the Father God has invested in proving his loving-kindness to you. The whole of scripture is a love letter to you. It is a cry from the Heart of Father God to come back to him.

John 3:15-17 (Amplified Bible)

^15”In order that everyone who believes in Him [who cleaves to Him, trusts Him, and relies on Him] may ^[a]not perish, but have eternal life and [actually] live forever! ¹⁶For God so greatly loved and dearly prized the world that He [even] gave up His only begotten (^[b]unique) Son, so that whoever believes in (trusts in, clings to, relies on) Him shall not perish (come to destruction, be lost) but have eternal (everlasting) life. ¹⁷For God did not send the Son into the world in order to judge (to reject, to condemn, to pass sentence on) the world, but that the world might find salvation and be made safe and sound through Him.” 

Everything he does is motivated by love for you. When you understand that God is for you and not against you and that everything he does is for your good and to restore you back to himself, you will find FREEDOM and PEACE! This is my hearts intent for you, in writing this study.

 

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