What is Khesed?

Most of us in this congregation are bilingual to a certain extent - some are more bilingual than others.

One of the great things about being bilingual is the ability to translate words and phrases from one language to another.

However, sometimes we get stuck because certain words are impossible to translate, for example try to translate:

Antier

Estrenar

Tutear

Consuegro

…it is impossible to translate these words without using a long string of words.

Well, there are certain words in Hebrew (the language of the Old Testament) that are very difficult to translate.

In Psalm 23:6 we find one of these words.

Salmo 23:6 NIV

6 Surely your goodness and love will follow me all the days of my life, and I will dwell in the house of the Lord forever.

Salmo 23:6 KJV 1900

6 Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life: And I will dwell in the house of the Lord for ever.

Salmo 23:6 CSB

6 Only goodness and faithful love will pursue me all the days of my life, and I will dwell in the house of the Lord as long as I live.

Notice how these three versions translate the word khesed:

NIV: love

KJV: mercy

CSB: faithful love

Showing love to someone is not the same as showing mercy to someone.

The Bible translators had a tough time trying to decide how to translate the word khesed because it is a word that is so rich with meaning.

In order to understand the meaning of khesed…let’s first see what David is saying.

In this Psalm David is God’s guest - he has been invited to a wonderful dinner hosted by God.

God has been very generous with David during this dinner and as David returns home he thinks upon all he has experienced during the dinner.

The thought that immediately comes to his mind is God’s abundant blessings towards him.

…and David sees that these blessings will continue to follow him all the days of his life.

Two of the blessings that standout that will be with him - are God’s goodness and his khesed.

So what is khesed?

What does it mean to experience God’s khesed in our lives?

Khesed means: It is a kind of love that is generous and faithful. It means that God will pour out his abundant love over his people just as he has promised.

So all that believe in Jesus Christ and have committed their lives to follow him - will experience God’s faithful and abundant love because God keeps his promises.

This is wonderful news.

Many of us have had the experience of having a toy that we thought was the best toy in the world…and after a few weeks that toy that we loved so much is sitting away in a dark corner, forgotten, and we’ve moved on to the next best thing.

God’s love is not like that. His abundant love is enduring, it is continuous, it is ever present in our lives until the end.

You know what is so great about God’s khesed?

There are people that one day followed after God, they professed faith in Jesus Christ and appear to have walked away from the faith.

…and yet, God will pursue them, God will be faithful to his promises, and because of his khesed, his faithful abundant love, will one day bring them back to himself and restore their relationship with him - the everlasting loving God.

Do not ever doubt God’s love for you…he who gave his only son to die on the cross for you has promised to pour upon you his faithful abundant love all the days of your life.