Introduction
Various biblical terms, such as love, compassion, and mercy, relate to God’s lovingkindness or hesed. While these traits are distinct, they harmoniously combine to reveal His character and manifest through His redemptive work when dealing with humanity. When God is described as faithful, this is expressed through His goodness and lovingkindness (King James Bible, Psalm 23.6 7; Psalm 36.7 9). Therefore, hesed describes an essential part of God’s character, linked to salvation, and demonstrates His covenant relationship with the Israelites and humanity. In this case, God expresses His mercifulness through the concept of love, characterized by His absolute faithfulness to the covenant He made with the Israelites.
In the Old Testament (OT), individuals such as Abraham and David renewed their oath to God. These pacts were rooted in God’s faithful commitment to the people and His promises to bless and redeem them (Gen 17.4-8; Ex 24.8; Deut 4.13). God demonstrates His mercy within these covenants by constantly forgiving the Israelites, despite their unfaithfulness and disobedience. This paper investigates God’s faithfulness as portrayed in the OT while utilizing external academic sources to understand this theme comprehensively.
Overview of Hesed in the Old Testament
In the OT, the word hesed encompasses various meanings. These include lovingkindness, steadfast love, unfailing love, favor, loyalty, mercy, and goodness (Orr 87). In this case, hesed is not merely a feeling or an emotion but involves God’s action on behalf of the people of Israel who needed his divine intervention. Thus, the faithfulness of God describes a sense of love and loyalty, which inspires His compassionate and merciful behavior toward the Israelites. This attribute is crucial for God to bring redemption to Israel throughout the OT.
Even when it was not deserved, God demonstrated His mercy through various actions or divine interventions that led to His people’s restoration, forgiveness, and reconciliation. The initial state of the oath between God and His people is when He delivered the Israelites out of Egypt and established the covenant at Mount Sinai (Hos. 2.18 20). Therefore, God’s faithfulness through His covenants with Israel is one way the Israelites can be redeemed because His mercy is intertwined with the pacts He made with them.
Hesed is the Lord’s ever-enduring covenantal and unfailing love for His people. For example, God demonstrated His mercifulness to the Israelites after they committed idolatry by sacrificing and worshiping a golden calf, which violated the commandments (Ex. 32). In this case, to be redeemed meant that the Israelites were shown unconditional forgiveness for their sins and reconciled (Psalm 130.7-8).
Therefore, redemption is an act of God’s grace to rescue and restore His people. During repentance, God’s mercy is reflected through His unwavering commitment to the covenantal promises and restoring Israel to its privileged position as the chosen nation. These highlight God’s hesed to His people despite their shortcomings.
Summary of Findings from Academic Sources
Since God created human beings and the earth’s dominion for them to dwell in, He witnessed the rebellion of the Israelites against His love and authority. In the OT, the Tower of Babel demonstrates the peak of the human race’s sinful nature (Gen. 11.1 11). This story is relevant in showing God’s mercy and redemptive work because it reveals what happens when humankind tries to revolt against the OT teachings by creating a fortress that would reach the heavens and become like God. According to Wright, God chose Abraham, Moses, and the prophets and leaders despite their unfaithfulness for His redemptive work (11). The author indicates that God used all his servants to extend grace and mercy even when the Israelites strayed from their commitment.
Abraham’s descendants became ethnic minorities and enslaved people when they migrated to Egypt. However, God demonstrated his faithfulness by using Moses to liberate the Israelites from their captors, who subjected them to various forms of oppression (Wright 12). Thus, hesed is reflected by fulfilling His promise to provide justice for the oppressed.
In addition, through Moses, God entered a covenant with them as a nation and provided the 10 commandments. God indicated that He was the Israelites’ sole redeemer, and they would be His people (Wright 12). Although the Israelites perished in the wilderness due to their unbelief and rebellion, the future generations who took possession of the Promised Land under Joshua’s leadership fulfilled the purpose of the exodus liberation. This shows that God’s mercy brought redemption to the Israelites because He saved them from physical threats, delivered them from spiritual bondage, and restored their descendants to a place of freedom and blessing.
Having entered a covenant relationship with the Israelites, God bound Himself to act toward them with hesed by being utterly faithful to His self-commitment. In this case, Christians believe He will love them unconditionally due to his unwavering promise, as demonstrated through His relationship with the Israelites. Botterweck et al. (6) highlight various miraculous events inaugurated by God to uphold His side of the covenant, which opened the way for redemption and restoration of Israel as a nation. These include feeding the Israelites during their stay and wandering in the desert. Hence, God showed His faithfulness and mercy to the people of Israel by pardoning their transgressions and providing food in the wilderness.
Additionally, the authors show that God’s love extended beyond His people’s failures and rejections (Botterweck et al. 403). Similarly, this source reveals that God knows individual deeds even before they happen, which means that human actions are grounded in His predestination. Therefore, despite human shortcomings, God’s faithfulness is based on the unwavering commitment to fulfilling His promises, including redemption (Plantinga et al. 89). This guarantees that He will carry out His plans exactly as He has ordained them.
The people of Israel and their descendants have a long history with God, which traces back to Abraham and his grandson Jacob. In this regard, Falk (194) uses various biblical accounts to provide archaeological and historical evidence about the Israelites, including their time in Egypt and their subsequent exodus. This helps to describe how they were exploited and delivered vividly. Similarly, Carson (3) provides commentary to facilitate understanding of the New Testament (NT). This provides a comprehensive analysis of what occurred after the OT.
Source Evaluation
In the source “Behind the Scenes of the Old Testaments: Cultural, Social, and Historical Contexts,” the authors extensively discuss the OT’s cultural, social, and historical contexts. Using illustrations such as maps, the book is a valuable resource in providing insights into the lives of the Israelites by showing the regions they occupied and their social lives (Falk 194). Knowledge of the OT’s cultures and social and historical settings highlights the Israelites’ background.
The book “Knowing Jesus through the Old Testament” elucidates the link between Jesus and the Old Testament. In this source, the author highlights Jesus’ lineage from the Old Testament through which God’s faithfulness or hesed is revealed (Wright 12). Therefore, this book is relevant for understanding the Old Testament and its concepts, including God’s mercy and faithfulness to his people, the Israelites, who were the descendants of Jesus Christ.
The source “Theological Dictionary of the Old Testament” comprehensively covers various theological terms, such as God’s hesed. The source is valuable in providing an in-depth analysis of the head’s meaning, usage, and theological importance in the OT (Botterweck et al. 393). Nevertheless, being a dictionary, this book focuses on giving concise definitions and explanations of different words used in the OT instead of offering a comprehensive analysis of specific themes or passages. Conversely, the “New Testament Commentary Survey” provides detailed explanations and additional information, such as cross-references related to the New Testament (NT) chapters and their theological reflections, as well as practical applications (Carson 27). These guides help readers engage and understand biblical texts.
Regarding relevance, depth of information, and credibility, “Knowing Jesus through the Old Testament” is the most helpful source, while “New Testament Commentary Survey” is the least helpful. This is because in the book “Knowing Jesus through the Old Testament,” the author gives comprehensive accounts through which God’s faithfulness in the OT is demonstrated. For instance, the source shows how God fulfilled his promises to the Israelites by rescuing them from Egypt and leading them to the Promised Land. Alternatively, the book “New Testament Commentary Survey” only offers an interpretation of biblical texts in the NT by scholars and theologians and does not directly demonstrate the faithfulness of God in the OT.
Conclusion
God’s attributes include faithfulness or staying committed to covenants with the Israelites. Multiple biblical accounts describe him as loving, compassionate, and merciful. Additionally, various academic sources highlight God’s redemptive work towards His people despite their rebellion and unfaithfulness. For instance, God’s mercy and faithfulness saved the Israelites from perishing during the exodus. He rescued them from physical dangers, freed them from spiritual oppression, and granted their descendants liberty and blessings.
Works Cited
Botterweck, G. Johannes, Helmer Ringgren, and Heinz-Josef Fabry, eds. Theological Dictionary of the Old Testament: Volume XIV. William. B. Eerdmans Publishing, 2001.
Carson, Donald A. New Testament Commentary Survey. Baker Academic, 2013.
Falk, David A. “The Egyptian Sojourn and the Exodus.” Behind the Scenes of the Old Testament: Cultural, Social, and Historical Contexts, edited by Greer, Jonathan S. et al., 2018, pp. 194-200.
King James Bible. King James Bible Online, Web.
Orr, Brian J. A Classical Response to Relational Theism: A Reformed Evangelical Critique of Thomas Jay Oord’s Evangelical Process Theology. Wipf and Stock Publishers, 2022.
Plantinga, Richard J., Thomas R. Thompson, and Matthew D. Lundberg. An introduction to Christian theology. Cambridge University Press, 2022.
Wright, Christopher J.H. Knowing Jesus through the Old Testament. Langham Preaching Resources, 2014.