Let's begin by looking at Hosea 6:6. It's a verse that Jesus considered so vital he told the Pharisees to go learn what it meant (Matt. 9:13). If they had obeyed Him, that one scripture could have softened even their hardened, religious hearts.
What truth could be that powerful? Read it for yourself: "For I desired mercy, and not sacrifice; and the knowledge of God more than burnt offerings. But they like men have transgressed the covenant" (vv. 6-7).
The word "mercy" in that verse is actually the Hebrew word "hesed." It is translated in the Old Testament as "mercy, kindness, tender mercies, loving kindness, and fidelity." Its counterpart in the Greek language is "agape." Although "agape" was in the Greek dictionary in Jesus' day, until He used it, most people didn't know what it meant. It was not heard on the street.
If you doubt it, take some time and read Psalm 136. It says:
"O give thanks unto the Lord; for he is good: for his mercy (hesed) endures forever. To him who alone doeth great wonders: for his mercy (hesed) endures forever.To Him which divided the Red sea into parts: for his mercy endures forever. And Made Israel to pass through the midst of it: for his mercy (hesed) endures forever" (vv. 1,4,13-14).
Notice, in just those four verses, the hesed of God is mentioned four times. If you'll read the whole Psalm, you'll find it in all 26 verses. Obviously, the psalmist was driving home a point. He was telling us that the compelling force behind all of God's actions is hesed. More than just a quality He possesses, hesed is God's very nature. The New Testament puts it this way: "God is agape" (1 John 4:16).
How is it that we've failed to grasp something as vital as this hesed of God? Because it is a word rooted in and born out of covenant relationship, and modern men (especially those from Western cultures) don't know anything about covenant. Our society as a whole is so full of backbiting and lying that we don't even think in terms of unbreakable covenants, but God does. In fact, the whole Bible - Old Testament and New - is absolutely, irrevocably, forever based on covenant relationship.
If we're ever going to understand the Word, we must renew our minds to the fact that we are covenanted to God Almighty. As Christians, our very lives are based on that covenant. It is the most serious relationship that exists.
When a person genuinely enters covenant, his life will never for one moment be the same. Once the covenant blood is mingled, he has given his life, the life of all his family forever, all of his assets, everything he owns to his covenant brother. He'll never make another decision as long as he lives without having that person on his mind.
That's the commitment God made when He entered covenant with man. And He ratified that covenant with the blood of Jesus.
In the natural realm, hesed can be compared to that tender, yet fiercely protective love a mother has when she holds her baby in her arms and her heart goes out to it. It's the love that causes her to say, "I'll nurse you, little one. I'll care for you. I'll teach you all that I know. I'll see to it that no one harms you."
God loves you because He wants to love you. He loves you because you and He are connected by the pure, covenant blood of Jesus - and there's nothing you can do to change that. That's what agape-hesed is!
You didn't do anything to get any of those things except receive Jesus. Once you did that and got in on His blood covenant with the Father, the Holy Ghost went out and "fetched" you and placed you in the middle of the abundance of God Himself. You are surrounded by His blood. You are filled with His Spirit. You are crowned with His crown. You wear the robe of His righteousness.
It's time you stopped squawking about what an old unworthy dog you are. Just hush up, and come to the table! You have a covenant. You have the hesed of Almighty God. What's more, to be quite honest, hanging onto that old dog mentality is an insult to God.
Get a Revelation
When you get a revelation of hesed, that's how you'll talk about your relationship to God. God wants you to talk that way! He is burning up on the inside to give to you. Hesed is driving Him every moment of every day to love you, protect you and give you everything He has. He has been trying for years to get us to come to His table. But we've been crawling underneath it begging for the crumbs!
Today He's calling to us more fervently than ever! "Get out from under the table and put your robe on. Take My promises by faith. They're yours. Come boldly to the throne of grace and obtain hesed." It's time we listened to Him.
It's time we all took our place at the Table of the King.
Eagle Mountain International Church, Inc.
aka: Kenneth Copeland Ministries
For the last 50 years Kenneth and Gloria Copeland have been passionately teaching Christians all over the world how to apply the principles of faith found in God’s WORD to their lives.
