A Loyal Love Story - July 19

Read Exodus 34:6 (ESV)

The LORD passed before him and proclaimed, “The LORD, the LORD, a God merciful and gracious, slow to anger, and abounding in steadfast love and faithfulness.”

Reflect

How does the world’s idea of love differ from the love of God?

Lots of people are in love with the concept of love. They totally buy into what the chick flicks and greeting card companies on Valentine’s Day were selling. They love a good romance story in which boy meets girl, they fall passionately in love, get married, and live happily ever after.

But have you ever wondered…what happens once real life kicks in after the credits roll? Is it still "happily ever after”? Even when the kids are fighting, the baby’s diaper needs changing, the house is a mess, the money is tight, work is stressful, extra pounds have taken up residence, and there is little energy left for things like romance? Does the love remain even then?

Sadly, all too often, love in many marriages fade and fail. What went wrong? Well, they “fell out of love,” of course. Love was based on feelings which are fickle. Once the love was gone, so was their willingness to stay committed to each other. The world gets love wrong all too often.

Thankfully, we can go back to the Bible to find out what love is according to God, who always gets love right. After all, He is the very definition of love and love comes from Him (1 John 4:7-21). I’ve discovered that there is a Hebrew word, hesed, that is often used to describe God’s love in the Old Testament. This is the word used in today’s verse. It is often translated as “steadfast love” or “love and faithfulness” or even “unfailing love.”

In today’s verses, the Lord was giving Moses the Ten Commandments up on Mount Sinai. His presence descended on Moses in a cloud and the Lord passed before him declaring this about Himself: “The LORD, the LORD, a God merciful and gracious, slow to anger, and abounding in steadfast love and faithfulness.”

In context, the Lord was testifying to His own character as He was renewing His covenant with His people, the Israelites. His covenant was not based on His feelings, it was based on His character. And because God is unchanging (Hebrews 13:8), we can trust that He will stay true to His word and honor His promises. According to God’s standard, love is steadfast. It is unfailing. It is merciful and gracious. It is patient. It is faithful. It is loyal.

As we’ve been studying the book of Ruth together, we have seen hesed in action. We’ve seen it in Ruth’s sacrificial love towards Naomi. We’ve seen it in the extravagant and gracious generosity of Boaz towards Ruth. We are going to see Boaz demonstrate even more hesed towards Ruth in the coming chapters. But we are also seeing the perfect hesed—the steadfast, unfailing, merciful, and gracious love of God—as He faithfully works out His redemptive plans. We’ll see God’s faithfulness towards Naomi and Ruth in the short-term through His provision of Boaz. But amazingly, we’ll also see how God’s loyal love towards them moves along His greater plan for the ultimate redemption of mankind.

The book of Ruth is a love story. But it isn’t a romance novel and it’s not a chick flick. It’s a story of love on many levels: Ruth’s love towards her mother-in-law, Boaz’s love towards Ruth, God’s love towards Naomi, Ruth, and Boaz. It’s a loyal love story. But ultimately, it’s a love story about God so loving the world that, in His sovereignty and in His hesed, He faithfully kept His promise to bring about a Savior to the world. Stick with us as we continue our study of Ruth and see what I mean.

Respond

Lord, thank You for showing me what true love really is. It isn’t a fickle feelings kind of love but a loyal love. Help me to demonstrate Your hesed to the people that You have placed in my life. I want to faithfully love like You. Amen.

Reveal: How can you reveal the hesed of God to others in the way that you love them today?

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