Notes
Michael Heiser’s study on “Believing Loyalty”.
Naked Bible Podcast episode: 350, November 15, 2020
“Hesed”
The word “Hesed” in the Bible and what it means for God and for His people. How Hesed is given by God to people and by people to God, reciprocating.
“Hesed” is often translated “lovingkindness”, “steadfast love”, or “loving loyalty”.
Heiser introduces the term “believing loyalty” for Hesed in Unseen Realm, but here he wants to elaborate. Matthew Bates elaborates on this as well but instead uses the term “allegiance”.
Heiser defines “believing loyalty” as “We believe, and we need to be loyal to what we believe. We need to be loyal to the savior in whom we believe. And by virtue of that, we’re being loyal to the God whose salvation plan the whole thing is.”
Examples of God’s “loving loyalty” or Hesed toward His people/ His plan (He’s expressing His Hesed through covenants):
-toward His plan for humanity/to have a companion with man despite the “fall” and his “divorcing” humanity at Babel, He still forms a group to express this Hesed to, to further His plan. He formed His people out of Abraham, but still required Abraham’s (and the people’s) belief and loyalty. They can’t only give one or the other (belief but no loyalty or loyalty but no belief (which would works-based religion). Because they/we believe, we are loyal. Abraham believed, and he was loyal to God.
-toward King David: despite having to punish Israel and Judah, including David’s blood line, He still held to His loyalty to His original plan with humanity and to David and kept the blood line all the way to Jesus.
Hesed is the balance between “faith without works is dead” and “works based salvation”. We are loyal because we believe. We have believing loyalty toward God, He reciprocates and vice versa.
-Hesed in the Bible: 245 times in the OT. (Heiser likes the Theological Lexicon of the Old Testament by Ernst Jenni Clause Westerman.
-Hesed has a homonym, mentioned once in the OT: Leviticus 20:17 translated at “disgrace”.
-Hesed often accompanies the word “‘emet” which is translated “faithfulness”.
So we still have to choose. Unlike Calvinism, which God forces us to choose. Our choice to Hesed God is the only condition for His Hesed. (Calvinism sees this “choosing” as a “work”)
-even Abraham still chose, and he had to keep choosing (staying loyal). He proved it by his obedience (circumcision, not seeking after other gods, sacrificing Isaac)- as well as Moses and others.
–Hesed is mostly found in Psalms and wisdom literature, which should be expected. As imagers of God, people of God, we should relate to others similarly. It is the basis of relationship. Be loyal, honorable, hold integrity.
Heiser’s thoughts:
“1. Believing loyalty on our part reflects God’s Hesed- that term usually translated “steadfast love” or “loving loyalty” in English Bibles. I like the loyalty element. “Believing loyalty” is our act of hesed toward God and toward the gospel of Christ. We are going to stick with it.” “Rooted in love, expressed in covenant.”
“2. God’s Hesed is rooted in love, not human merit or performance. He loves all people. Nevertheless, He shows Hesed to a subset. He’s going to use the subset to bring other people outside of Abraham’s family into God’s family.” The way God chooses to show his Hesed to humanity is through redeeming.
Heiser points out Deut 7:6-10 to reiterate these points:
–“For you are a people holy to the LORD your God. The LORD your God has chosen you to be a people for his treasured possession, out of all the peoples who are on the face of the earth. It was not because you were more in number than any other people that the LORD set his love on you and chose you, for you were the fewest of all peoples, but it is because the LORD loves you and is keeping the oath that he swore to your fathers, that the LORD has brought you out with a mighty hand and redeemed you from the house of slavery, from the hand of Pharaoh king of Egypt. Know therefore that the LORD your God is God, the faithful God who keeps covenant and steadfast love with those who love him and keep his commandments, to a thousand generations, and repays to their face those who hate him, by destroying them. He will not be slack with one who hates him. He will repay him to his face.
Because God loves His people, He shows His Hesed through covenant, He is loyal to them. Yet vs 10 implies He won’t Hesed those who don’t Hesed Him.
2 Sam 7:12-17 (God’s Hesed/covenant with David) When your days are fulfilled and you lie down with your fathers, I will raise up your offspring after you, who shall come from your body, and I will establish his kingdom. He shall build a house for my name, and I will establish the throne of his kingdom forever. I will be to him a father, and he shall be to me a son. When he commits iniquity, I will discipline him with the rod of men, with the stripes of the sons of men, but my steadfast love will not depart from him, as I took it from Saul, whom I put away from before you. And your house and your kingdom shall be made sure forever before me. Your throne shall be established forever.’ ” In accordance with all these words, and in accordance with all this vision, Nathan spoke to David.
Joyce Baldwin comments on 1 Samuel (where God takes the kingdom away from Saul):
In a memorable prophetic utterance, Samuel pronounces for all time the futility of attempting to rely on ritual sacrifice when what is required is obedience. No ceremonial can make up for a rebellious attitude to God and His commandments, because obstinate resistance to God exalts self-will to the place of authority, which belongs only to God. That is why it is as bad as divination and tantamount to idolatry, because another god, self, has usurped His place.
Ezra 9:9 For we are slaves. Yet our God has not forsaken us in our slavery, but has extended to us his steadfast love before the kings of Persia, to grant us some reviving to set up the house of our God, to repair its ruins, and to give us protection in Judea and Jerusalem.
Hosea 6:4-6 (God’s response to vs 3 which is the people saying “let’s turn back to God”) What shall I do with you, O Ephraim? What shall I do with you, O Judah? Your love is like a morning cloud, like the dew that goes early away. Therefore I have hewn them by the prophets; I have slain them by the words of my mouth, and my judgment goes forth as the light. For I desire steadfast love and not sacrifice, the knowledge of God rather than burnt offerings.
Micah 6:8 He has told you, O man, what is good; and what does the LORD require of you but to do justice, and to love kindness, and to walk humbly with your God?
This Hesed links the salvation relationship in the Old and New Testament. This is what God wants.