He said, is another one of those biblical words, in this case a Hebrew word, that translators

have struggled to capture in English, and yet it's vital for understanding the way God

relates to his people.

It occurs some 250 times in the Old Testament.

In different versions of the Bible, you may see it translated as mercy, kindness, goodness,

faithfulness, loyalty.

There's no single English word that quite gets it, which is why some translators have

used more than one word, steadfast love, loyal love, loving kindness.

Usually, as one scholar puts it, the word describes something that happens within an

existing relationship, whether between two human beings or between God and man.

In human relationships, He said, implies loving our neighbor, not merely in terms of

warm emotional feelings, but in acts of love and service that we owe to the other person

simply because he's part of the covenant community.

You hear that sense of the word, inverses such as Micah 6, verse 8.

What does the Lord require of you?

To do justice and to love kindness, he said, and to walk humbly with your God.

And by the way, Jesus is parable of the good Samaritan, shows that we're obliged to extend

this kind of love to all as we have opportunity, not just other believers.

But we can only love like this with has said loving kindness, when we know at the core

of our being that this is how God loves us.

As first John, chapter 4, verse 19 says, we love because He first loved us.

That's why it's vital to understand the extent of God's hair-said love for His covenant

...