Introduction to Chesed--The kindness, love, and mercy of God toward humanity.

 

 "The LORD passed before him and proclaimed, 'The LORD, the LORD, a God merciful and gracious, slow to anger, and abounding in steadfast love and faithfulness, keeping steadfast love for thousands, forgiving iniquity and transgression and sin, but who will by no means clear the guilty, visiting the iniquity of the fathers on the children and the children's children, to the third and the fourth generation.'"

We've heard those who have gone before us say things like "Back in my day, this wouldn't have happened." Or "We knew how to make things that last!!" And they weren't necessarily wrong.   Each generation has felt the paradigm shift a little for the worse.  And I would say the generations on the earth today have felt the shift even more quickly and distinctly. Those who follow the daily news, either seriously or casually, know that the media is not often known for their trustworthiness.  What we read in the morning may be refuted by evening.  What is fact today may be "factchecked and flagged" by tomorrow. Truth is considered relative, if there's even any thing true at all.  We may throw up our hands and yell at the TV, or computer, or newspaper--"I don't know what to believe anymore!"

We only have to read three chapters in to the Bible to find out that that is human nature.   The serpent in Genesis 3 twisted the truth of God's Word to Eve, making her question what she heard.  She then spun her own version to her husband.  And he, in turn, altered the story, making himself the victim, right to God's face.  They tried to build a stable foundation with excuses and half-truths, and the rest is history.  

But not God.  He is steadfast, loyal, adamant, ardent, dedicated, faithful, inflexible, relentless, single-minded, stubborn, and unwavering in His promise of kindness, love, and mercy towards us.  He is a trustworthy foundation.  How do we know? Because He Himself proclaimed it!

 Exodus 34:6-7 is the most quoted verse by other authors in the Bible.  It is quoted 27 times in the Old Testament.  We will begin studying the context of this foundational verse tomorrow (March 22, 2022). We will spend the next 3 weeks turning our minds and our hearts away from the crumbling foundation of our world, and turning toward the LORD, the LORD, a God merciful and gracious, slow to anger, and abounding in steadfast love and faithfulness.  💓