One of the most powerful, meaningful, and significant words in the Bible is the Hebrew word checed, pronounced kheh’-sed. We have been talking about God’s love, that it is the essence of our lives. God didn’t create a physical universe because he was bored. He created because He wanted to have an intimate and loving relationship with us. He is first and foremost a lover. He wanted to make creatures like himself, made in His image, so He could love us and we could love Him back. This is the first part, the most critical part of our story. If you don’t understand and believe this, nothing else in this life will ever make sense, not the sense it is supposed to make, nor the blessings it imparts. 

The following are some excerpts from a Hebrew word dictionary1 for the meaning of checed, the best I have ever found: 

“Checed as a noun means lovingkindness; steadfast love; grace; mercy; faithfulness; goodness; devotion. This word is used 240 times in the Old Testament and is especially frequent in the Psalter (Psalms). The term is one of the most important in the vocabulary of Old Testament theology and ethics. In general, one may identify three basic meanings of the word, which always intersect: ‘strength,’ ‘steadfastness,’ and ‘love.’ Any understanding of the word that fails to suggest all three inevitably loses some of its richness. ‘Love’ by itself easily becomes sentimentalized or universalized apart from the covenant. Yet ‘strength’ or ‘steadfastness’ suggests only the fulfillment of a legal or other obligation. 

“The word refers primarily to mutual and reciprocal rights and obligations between the parties of a relationship (especially Yahweh and Israel). But checed is not only a matter of obligation; it is also of generosity. It is not only a matter of loyalty, but also of mercy. The weaker party seeks the protection and blessing of the patron and protector, but he may not lay absolute claim to it. The stronger party remains committed to his promises, but retains his freedom, especially with regard to the manner in which he will implement those promises. 

“Checed implies personal involvement and commitment in a relationship beyond the rule of law. Marital love is often related checed. Marriage certainly is a legal matter, and there are legal sanctions for infractions. Yet the relationship, if sound, far transcends mere legalities. The prophet Hosea applies the analogy to Yahweh’s checed to Israel within the covenant. Hence, ‘devotion’ is sometimes the single English word best capable of capturing the nuance of the original. Hebrew writers sometimes often underscored the element of steadfastness (or strength) by pairing checed with ‘emet (truth, reliability) and ‘emunah’ (faithfulness).

And so, God “remains committed to his promises,” regardless of what we do. His checed will never fail nor forsake us. He is the father of the prodigal son who not only gave his rebellious and disrespectful son his inheritance when he asked, but waits, always ready to embrace, forgive and welcome him home. But even more, He is our eternal lover, who will always wait for us no matter how long we wander. 

In this context, I hope our stories from the song Pretty Fair Maid in the Garden and the movie Cast Away strike you in a deeper and richer way. How blown away would we by a human lover who would always wait for us, no matter how long we are “gone,” and is there waiting to embrace us when we return? This may actually happen to a few of us in this life, but it is very, very rare.

I hope you can see that the greater meaning imparted by these stories and others like them, is that God’s checed love is real and always has been, but on most days we have forgotten our first love. 

But He is still waiting for us in the garden, nevertheless. His undying devotion should bring us to tears, and then to our knees. Only one question remains. Can we believe and receive it? 

1  The New Strong’s Expanded Dictionary of Bible Words, James Strong, LL.D., S.T.D., Thomas Nelson Publishers, copyright @ 2001, Nashville, TN