Hesed
August 24 - 30, 2025 | Always Peachy Devotionals | Love Week 4
What is a covenant anyway?
In modern-day society, we probably only see the word covenant in swanky residential neighborhoods. I’ve seen them called covenant community neighborhoods, and it’s a situation where the neighborhood is governed by a set of rule and regulations that homeowners agree to follow to keep up the property values and standards of the community itself.
It’s a glorified HOA, and for anyone who has ever lived in an HOA—well, the idea of a covenant community may not be as shiny in practice as it is on paper. The rules and regulations are often so detailed and so intense and so unyielding that it makes living in the neighborhood according to their standards a challenge. The idea is solid, but the execution often leaves much to be desired.
So when God talks about covenants and covenant love, I suspect that’s where our minds go. That’s the only experience most of us have had with covenants. The only other time we hear about the concept of a covenant is in marriage, and looking at the state of families in our world today, the average experience with marriage is probably about as pleasant as dealing with an HOA.
But God is all about covenants. And as His followers, we need to be about what He is about. So if God wants to be in a covenant relationship with us, He’s not the one doing it wrong.
All this month, we’ve been talking about Love and how the Bible defines it. I hope it’s been as meaningful and encouraging for you as it has been for me. It’s hard to believe we are in our final week on this theme. I saved the best for last, though.
All God’s words for love are good, of course, but my personal favorite is hesed (חֵסֵד). Sometimes you’ll see it transliterated as checed (note the ch- sound is that fun back-of-throat sound when pronounced). Just like any other word in any other language, this one has multiple connotations. It can mean different things culturally depending on how you use it.
This word shows up in Scripture 247 times, primarily in the Psalms, although it is the foundational influence on every major book in the Bible. Hesed is God’s Covenant Love. Steadfast. Unfailing. Faithful.
Agapé love is sacrificial and selfless, and it is the way we should love others. But hesed love is the way God loves us. It is the kind of love that humanity can only attempt, unwavering, unquestioning, unrelenting, unchanging.
To truly understand covenant love, we need to understand a covenant itself (GotQuestions.org has a good article about it, and BibleHub.com has a good article too). But from my understanding of a covenant, it is a promise or an agreement made between two parties of unequal standing. Someone of higher power/status/authority makes an agreement with someone of lower status. The one with the power promises to fulfill a specific need, and they bear the cost. The weight of that promise is on them, not on the person of lower status.
This is a terrible summary, but the point is, God made a covenant with humanity, and the price He paid was Jesus. But that means the weight of God’s covenant promise has nothing to do with whether or not we deserve it or can earn it. It’s all on Him. And if you’ve ever wondered why sometimes the two segments of the Bible are called the Old Covenant and the New Covenant, now you know.
God’s Covenant Love is a promise that will endure no matter what. His love is steadfast and unchanging, and there is nothing you can do to make Him stop loving you.
Are you ready to learn more about God’s Covenant Love? I can’t wait.
Monday - God’s name (Deuteronomy 7:9)
Tuesday - God’s redemption (1 Samuel 20:13b-25)
Wednesday - God’s worship (Psalm 136)
Thursday - God’s constancy (Micah 7:18-20)
Friday - God’s character (Joel 2:12-14)
So much of this idea of unfailing, steadfast love is connected to God’s identity. It’s irrevocably connected to His very name. You can’t separate the concept of unchanging love from who God is, so for our memory verse this week, we’re going to learn Exodus 34:6.
It’s easy to point fingers at God and call Him harsh and cruel and judgmental, especially if you’ve only read bits and pieces of the Old Testament. Many people will try to convince you that the God of the Old Testament is different than the God of the New Testament, and that’s a lie. He’s the same as He always was, and His unfailing love hasn’t changed either.
His faithful love is the only thing humanity can truly count on in our lives. It is the one thing in our lives that will change because we don’t have the power to change it, and He has promised it won’t.
God loves you. You can’t change that. You can’t escape it. You can run from it, but eventually His love will catch up to you. His love for you has nothing to do with your performance, your abilities, your good choices, your bad choices, your family, your righteousness, any of it. His love for you is based in who He is; He is God.
So stop running. Let His unfailing, unyielding, steadfast love change your life. Isn’t it time?
Praying for you all this week,
Amy
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