How many times today has someone told you that they love you?

If you have a loving family, you’ll probably hear them express their love for you frequently.

But what if your family ties are a bit strained? What if you don’t have many close relationships at all, and consider yourself to be fairly alone in the world?

Then you probably don’t hear the words “I love you” nearly enough.

There’s a remedy for that:

Open a Bible.

The unfailing love of God is a soundtrack that reverberates through the Scriptures.

It’s easy to find verses in the New Testament that exemplify God’s love:

“But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us.” (Romans 5:8)

“This is real love—not that we loved God, but that he loved us and sent his Son as a sacrifice to take away our sins.” (1 John 4:10)

And of course: “For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.” (John 3:16)

But what about the Old Testament?

Lest you think that the God of the Old Testament was a stern and judgemental deity, quite different from Jesus in nature, look how God introduces Himself to Moses:

In Exodus 34:6 God describes Himself as “merciful and gracious, slow to anger, and abounding in steadfast love and faithfulness.”

This same phrase is repeated in other OT books such as Psalms, Joel, Numbers, Nehemiah, and Jonah. It seems to have been a go-to definition for God used throughout the centuries.

This phrase is perhaps best encapsulated in the Hebrew word “hesed,” which occurs almost 250 times in the Old Testament. There is no single English word that is its equivalent. In fact, the King James Version of the Bible use fourteen different English words to translate hesed.

Commonly used synonyms for this word include love, faithfulness, unfailing love, faithful love, steadfast love, kindness, mercy, compassion, favour, goodness, and lovingkindness (a word coined by Miles Coverdale in 1535). In the New Testament, a comparable term might be grace.

Hesed is used so often in the Bible that some theologians believe it may well be the most important word in Scripture. Simply put, it’s who God is.

In fact, entire books have been written about this one word, one being “Inexpressible: Hesed and the Mystery of God’s Lovingkindness” by Michael Card. His definition of hesed is beautiful:

“When the person from whom I have a right to expect nothing gives me everything.”

Not surprisingly, hesed is the heartbeat of the Psalms. It’s repeated as a chorus in Psalm 136: “His steadfast love [hesed] endures forever.”

The word hesed pops up in probably our most famous and well loved Psalm, the 23rd. Verse 6 reads:

“Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life.”

Different translations of the Bible render the word mercy in verse 6 as faithfulness, love, or lovingkindness. But underlying it is the rich and beautiful Hebrew word hesed.

My own translation of this verse might read like this:

“Surely goodness and unfailing, unwavering, faithful, unconditional, guaranteed, committed, never-let-me-go love shall follow me all the days of my life.”

I think this puts a lovely spin on an already beautiful Psalm!

At the heart of hesed is God’s covenantal or familial love. It speaks of God having chosen you and set His affections on you when you didn’t deserve it. It’s an extravagant expression of unearned kindness.

Ultimately, the fullness of hesed is embodied in the incarnation of Jesus. God’s act of forgiveness and salvation through Jesus’ sacrifice is rooted in His unfailing love for us.

God’s love is sacrificial, unconditional, everlasting, redeeming, patient, relentless, and is freely available to you.

Put your trust in Jesus to open yourself to this love.

Ready to start the adventure?

Open a Bible…

© 2025 Lori J. Cartmell. All rights reserved.