The Almost Untranslatable Kindess of God
One summer during my studies at bible school I signed up for a condensed Hebrew course. It was designed to cram a full year’s worth of Biblical Hebrew in two weeks. I was ready for a summer of parsing verbs, memorizing vocabulary and a lot of headache.
What I didn’t expect that first day, and each day, was singing Hebrew songs, learning to greet one another in Hebrew, and I think we were all given Hebrew names. It was a unique approach by a unique instructor.
But nothing got this instructor more excited than when he began to talk about the Hebrew word, hesed.
(Sometimes spelled with a ‘k’ or ‘c’ in front, it begins with a soft guttural sound at the back of your mouth: hesed.)
There was a glimmer in his eyes. A smile from a deep kind of joy.
It’s almost untranslatable. But we have to try. In various English Bible translations we read it as: kindness, mercy, compassion, loyalty, lovingkindness, steadfast love, and loyal love.
The fruit of the Spirit is love, joy peace, patience, kindness…
When Paul writes about kindness being one of the fruit of the Spirit, it’s way more than about being nice, or polite. It’s more than holding the door for someone. It’s more than being generally kind, like, eighty-percent of the time. Hesed is more than withholding an outburst of anger or letting go of offence.
It’s not less than those things, but it is so much more.
One of my favourite translations is in a children’s Bible. Sally Lloyd-Jones in The Jesus Story-Book Bible over and over refers to God’s,
“Never Stopping, Never Giving Up, Unbreaking, Always and Forever Love"
This Never Stopping Love is God’s character.
This Never Giving Up Love rescued the Israelites out of Egypt.
This Unbreaking Love sent His one and only Son to earth.
This Always and Forever Love gave His life for the rebellion of mankind.
Hesed.
Difficult to translate and even harder to demonstrate. How could this hesed be yours and mine? Thankfully, this kindness that we are to bear fruit in is not based on our work or our strength. It is the character of God given to us through His Spirit who now lives in each of us who call Jesus Lord and Saviour.
Difficult to translate and even harder to demonstrate. But I am all the more thankful to think about you, the church of Jesus gathered at Two Rivers. By God’s grace we have hesed in abundance. Just think about all the kindness that is poured out from so many of you each and every week. I am so grateful to be a witness, participant and recipient of this kindness.
May there be more, doubly more, triple, quadruple(!) the hesed in Your people, the church at Two Rivers, in Quesnel, across this nation, O Lord, from the God who is,
“merciful and gracious, slow to anger, and abounding in steadfast love and faithfulness.” Exodus 34:6