Author's Bias | Interpretation: conservative

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The Character of Lovingkindness and Truth

Lovingkindness and truth

As early as the time of Abraham, God was known for His lovingkindness and His truth (Gen 24:27), and these attributes were often paired together.

"Lovingkindness" is a loyal steadfast love that takes place between two parties that have a significant relationship between them, which in this case is the covenant relationship.

The covenant God made with Abraham and its subsets (Land, King and New) was unconditional and a promise that God made with Himself. This covenant illustrates God's loving response to Abraham's faith.

The Mosaic covenant was a conditional agreement between God and the nation of Israel: if the nation were obedient, God would bless them, if they were otherwise, God would punish them. This covenant illustrates God's fidelity to the Abrahamic Covenant (Gen 15:13-16) and love for Abraham’s descendants (Ex 19:5-6) that included teaching them the meaning of being holy (Rom 7:7-12).

"Truth" means that something is trustworthy, and in reference to a person, it confers the sense of honesty and integrity (Prov 12:17-22).

When associated with "lovingkindness," "truth" conveys the sense that one's faithfulness to his commitments is firm, stable, and reliable. There is the sense that it is something that on others can rely upon.

A person's word is true and reliable when it accords with reality; truth is the correspondence of word and deed.

When God describes Himself as One "abounding in lovingkindness and truth" (Ex 34:6-7), it is a statement that He is absolutely trustworthy, because His loving actions to His people are characterized by a steadfast and loyal commitment to the covenant that He made unconditionally and unilaterally with Abraham.


To learn more, see:

What does "lovingkindness" mean



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