The Candle of LOVE
Advent Week Two, Day One

Then a throne will be established in steadfast love, and on it will sit in faithfulness
in the tent of David one who judges and seeks justice and is swift to do righteousness. – Isaiah 16:5 ESV

Love gets left out of most Christmas celebrations. Maybe that’s because we think love has its own holiday in a couple of months. Christmas, however, celebrates God’s love.

The word that most people familiar with the Bible associate with God’s love is the Greek word “agape.” It comes from the New Testament and is the heartbeat of Paul’s inspired description of love in 1 Corinthians 13. We associate it with God’s love because it is broadly defined as “unconditional love.” It communicates the idea of loving those unworthy of love; the idea of a Holy God loving sinners.

But those expecting the Jewish messiah would have associated a different word with God’s love; a Hebrew word; “hesed.” And I, for one, think it is a far richer word. In fact, it is such a rich word that 24 different English words are used in the New International Version to translate it, though the most frequent is the word “lovingkindness.”

It was a word that was frequently associated with the Jewish kings and their rule. They were charged by God to rule with “hesed” and time and time again, they failed at this task. So the people of Israel looked for the day when the Messiah would come: a King who would rule with unwavering hesed.

Today, we celebrate the coming of that Messiah, the advent of His rule, and his love.