Blogging Bible Study: The Heart of the Matter - Isaiah, Part 5

 Posted by Lisa Laree to Beer Lahai Roi

So we are in the latter part of Isaiah in our look at 'Heart/ Hearts' through the NIV 84 translation; starting in chapter 46 today.

"Remember this, fix it in mind, take it to heart, you rebels."  -- Is. 46:8; 'Heart' is the Hebrew word that has been translated as 'heart', Strong's H3820, Leb - inner man, mind will, heart, understanding.

God is speaking here, and is about to reiterate to the audience who he is and what he does. And he is exhorting them to pay attention and remember it....cause, like, it's kinda important.  Might help their decision making..

The next verse refers to the time when God's people are restored to their land and flourishing; referring to children born in a time of bereavement but have grown up to prosperity:

"Then you will say in your heart, 'Who bore me these?  I was bereaved and barren; I was exiled and rejected.  Who brought these up?  I was left all alone, but these -- where have they come from?'" -- Isaiah 49:21; 'Heart' here is the second most common Hebrew word translated as 'heart'.. Strong's H3824, Lebab - Inner man, mind, will, heart, soul, understanding. 

This is an inner amazement at the way things have turned around.  After a time of such extreme hardship, now not only are the people prospering but their children are as well.  It's almost too much to take in.

Still talking to the restored remnant here:

"Hear me, you who know what is right, you people who have my law in your hearts:  do not fear the reproach of men or be terrified by their insults."  -- Isaiah 51:7; 'Hearts' is H3820 again.

That's a the foundation of knowing and doing what is right...having the law of God in the heart.  This isn't just learned information; this is fundamental identity. What is in the heart determines how an individual lives his or her life.

The rest of the verses we'll look at this week are in chapter 57..the first part of the chapter describes folks who are following their own ideas of right/ wrong and ignoring God, with two verses using 'Heart/ hearts':

The righteous perish, and no one ponders it in his heart; devout men are taken away, and no one understands that the righteous are taken away to be spared from evil. -- Is. 57:1; 'Heart' is H 3820 again.

This verse kinda slapped me.  Righteous folks were dying...or being taken into captivity...and God says it was to spare them from evil.  And no one was considering the pattern or wondering why.  The point isn't what God was doing to protect the righteous from the evil that was coming...the point is that the hearts of the folks were so far removed from following God that they failed utterly to consider what it might mean.

God goes on to iterate the wickedness of those who were left in the land to bear the coming evil.  Sorcery, rebellion, idolatry...it was bad.

Whom have you so dreaded and feared that you have been false to me, and have neither remembered me nor pondered this in your hearts? -- Is. 57:11; 'Hearts' is H 3820 again.

Who is bigger, more powerful, more to be reverenced and in-awe-of than God?  But the people of God had apparently considered another to be more worthy of fear and reverence, as they abandoned the worship of God to follow other practices.  And, again, did not consider the impact of this.  Kinda like Scarlett O'Hara...they shrugged it off, no doubt to 'think about it tomorrow'.

Nothing good can come of putting off considering God's viewpoint on things.

The end of chapter 57, however, shows the value of repentance, and the last verse from today comes from that section.

For this is what the high and lofty One says -- he who lives forever, whose name is holy: "I live in a high and holy place, but also with him who is contrite and lowly in spirit, to revive the spirit of the lowly and to revive the heart of the contrite." -- Is. 57:15; 'Heart' is, once more, H 3820.

I did a quick search for a definition of 'contrite' and this is what popped up first...feeling or expressing remorse or penitence; affected by guilt

The one who recognizes his/her wrongdoing for wat it is and is repentant...that is a contrite person.  And this person is one that God will make his dwelling, to revive the heart and the spirit.

So...once God's word, God's laws, God's character are taken into consideration and pondered in the heart, the response should be repentance...and that brings God and his blessings near.

Blogging Bible Study - The Heart of the Matter: Isaiah, part 4

 Posted by Lisa Laree to Beer Lahai Roi

Halfway through Isaiah in our look at 'Heart/hearts' in the entire Bible (as reported in the NIV 84 Exhaustive concordance), we have some very meaty verses in today's section.

Starting with the first.  I could probably do a whole post on just this one...

The LORD says, "These people come near to me with their mouths, but their hearts are far from me.  Their worship is made up only of rules taught by men."  -- Is. 29:13; 'hearts' is the most common Hebrew word translated 'heart' -- Strong's H 3820, Leb - inner man, mind, will, heart, understanding.

Friends, this is social religion.  Doing the thing because, well, it is what one does.  Doesn't matter if that thing is leaving a bit of one's possession along a walking path so as to not go farther afield than what has been determined an appropriate distance to travel on a particular day, or going through the motions of a church service...of whatever doctrine/denomination...without actually engaging in what is happening.  And that can describe someone in a two-stepping rambunctious worship set just as much as in a  stand-up-sit-down responsive reading.  It's not a question of what, exactly, one is doing during a time of worship; it's a question of where one's heart is positioned.  Am I regarding the voice of the Spirit?  Listening for correction and encouragement; thankful for all the grace I have been shown?  Or am I thinking about...something else?  It's easy to fall into routine and giving everyone around us the impression that I am being pious, or am abandoning myself to uninhibited worship...when, in fact, I am more concerned about the opinion of other people...not God.  Sort of like Barnabas bringing the proceeds from a property sale to the church...and Ananias and Sapphira deciding they wanted the same good opinion Barnabas got, only they didn't want to give it all up.  Just look like they did.  (Acts 5).  And...let's just say it kinda backfired.  Because God knows our true motives.  Even if we lie to ourselves and pretend really well that our motives are altruistic.  God knows the truth.

Like I said, I could do a whole post on that but I gotta keep going.

The next verse is from a passage describing Israel's rejoicing when God's deliverance comes

And you will sing as on the night you celebrate a holy festival; your hearts will rejoice as when people go up with flutes to the mountain of the LORD, to the Rock of Israel. -- Is. 30:29; 'Hearts' is the second most common Hebrew word translated 'Heart',  Strong's H 2834, Lebab -- inner man, mind, will, heart, soul, understanding.

There is something so...joyful...about a rejoicing heart.  This verse reminds me of a couple of dreams I had years ago.  One was just a simple outing...as I recall, our church choir was on a picnic in the fall.  We were making piles of leaves and jumping in them like we were little kids, having an absolute ball.  That's what stood out to me when I woke up; that child like sense of just pure fun.  The other, which I don't remember happening particularly close to the first one, also involved some of the choir, only we were taking a perilous journey; the feeling I had was that we were fleeing government agents who were  rounding up believers.  We clambered through mountainous terrain, over old ruins, along chasms, and finally arrived at a massive amphitheater that was in the top of a mountain...like an extinct volcano crater.  I'm not sure why that was safe, but it clearly was as thousands of other believers were pouring into the amphitheater from all directions, worshiping as we gathered.  Again, I woke up with a sense of joy and wonder and, yes, a glad heart.

Those were good dreams, lol.

Here's another verse about God's deliverance; encouraging those who are giving up:

Strengthen the feeble hands, steady the knees that give way; say to those with fearful hearts, "Be strong and do not fear; your God will come with vengeance; with divine retribution, he will come to save you."  Is. 35:3-4; 'hearts' is H 3820 again.

I had never considered those two verses together; I'd always just focused on verse 3, about strengthening arms and knees.  But verse 4 explains WHY the arms and knees are weak; the hearts are fearful.  But if one really knows that rescue is coming, soon...that's hope that brings strength.

Isaiah 40 is the basis for some of the most recognizable bits of Handel's Messiah, and our next verse shows up there as well...at least, the King James version of it,

He tends his flock like a shepherd:  He gathers the lambs in his arms and carries them close to his heart; he gently leads those who have young. -- Is. 40:11; 'Heart' is a word we have only seen once so far, Strong's H 2436, heq -- bosom, hollow bottom, midst.  KJV renders this 'carries them in his bosom', which, technically, is 'close to his heart', which is the phrasing that makes the most sense to our modern ears.

Messiah as shepherd is an imagery that Jesus himself used (John 10)  -- the Good Shepherd who truly cared for his sheep...and the sheep knew his voice and followed him.  Of course he would carry the lamb near his heart.

Getting the previous verse here, for context...

Who handed Jacob over to become loot, and Israel to plunderers?  Was it not the LORD, against whom we have sinned?  For they would not follow his ways; they did not obey his law.  So he poured out on them his burning anger, the violence of war.  It enveloped them in flames, yet they did not understand; it consumed them, but they did not take it to heart. -- Is. 42:24-25; 'Heart' is 3820 again.

Punishment, judgement,  consequences...all descended upon the kingdoms of Israel and Judah, because of their idolatry, but they put it down to anything BUT God.  They did not do any kind of self - appraisal, because that would have led them to repentance.  It is dangerously easy to convince ourselves that events are caused by circumstances outside our control...when, in fact, they are simply consequences of our own behavior.  Cain, for instance, had his error laid plainly before him by God.  Yet...he didn't take it to heart, and killed Abel instead.  It really is inescapable...what we sow, we will reap.  Unless there is genuine repentance.  Which means taking God's word to heart.

One more.

This one is in a passage discussing the uselessness of idols

He feeds on ashes, a deluded heart misleads him; he cannot save himself, or say, "Is not this thing in my right hand a lie? -- Is. 44:20; 'heart' is H 3820 again.

'His deluded heart misleads him....'  Is there a better description of the larger part of our western society today?  Walking around with a deluded, deceived heart...to the point that lies are not even detectable any more.  That is a sad state of affairs.  

And all that's necessary is...to take the warnings to heart.  Serve God whole-heartedly.

It starts with paying attention to Him.

Blogging Bible Study: The Heart of the Matter - Isaiah, part 3

 Posted by Lisa Laree to Beer Lahai Roi

Our cruise through the Bible looking at the words translated 'heart' or 'hearts' in the NIV84 has brought us to Isaiah 19,  which is a prophecy against Egypt.  Let's just list out the verses that contain 'Heart/hearts' and look at them together:

An oracle concerning Egypt:  See the LORD rides on a swift cloud and is coming to Egypt.  The idols of Egypt tremble before him and the hearts of the Egyptians melt within them. -- Is. 19:1; 'Hearts' is Strong's  H3824, Lebab - inner man, mind, will, heart, soul, understanding.  This is the second of the two Hebrew words most commonly translated as 'heart'.

The Egyptians will lose heart, and I will bring their plans to nothing; they will consult the idols and the spirits of the dead, the mediums and the spiritists.-- Is. 19:3; 'Heart' here is Strong's H7307, Ruah -- wind breath, mind, spirit.  This is the 5th time (if I have recorded everything correctly) that the NIV has translated this word as 'heart'; the King James never does. That 'dynamic equivalence' thing again, that 'losing heart' is more understandable to modern readers than 'losing spirit', I suppose.

The workers in cloth will be dejected, all the wage earners will be sick at heart. -- Is. 19:10; the word translated 'heart' is Strong's H5315,  nepes - soul, self, life, creature, person, appetite, mind, living being, desire, emotion, passion.  The King James (which is the translation the Blue Letter Bible has linked to the interlinear)  translates this verse quite differently; I had to double check to verify I was looking at the right verse.  To be honest, I think the NIV has a better rendering this time.  But we have seen nepes translated as 'heart' several times before; after the main two words, it's probably the next most common...although it is a very distant third.

In that day there will be am altar to the LORD in the heart of Egypt, and a monument to the LORD at its border. - Is. 19:19; 'Heart' is Strong's H 8432, tavek - midst, middle

Four verses, four different Hebrew words all rendered 'heart(s)' in English.  The first three are in the passage describing the judgment to come to Egypt; all of them indicate that the event will have an emotional toll on the people.  Lose heart, be sick at heart, have a heart that has melted...all carry the same connotation.  No strength, no hope.  The fourth verse is in a description of the repentance that comes from the fear of judgement at the hands of God's people; that the folks will turn to the Lord and be healed, in which there will be physical structures representing service to God.

The next verse concerns a prophecy against Babylon, but the verse is describing the prophet's reaction to what he has seen:

My heart falters, fear makes me tremble; the twilight that I longed for has become a horror to me. -- Is. 21:4; 'heart' is H 3824 again.

I think the prophet is having a visceral reaction to the horror of the fall of Babylon; the next verse describes the state of the Babylonians when the judgment fell...they were utterly unaware that it was upon them...which is exactly what we see in the account in Daniel. (Daniel 5).  Even though Babylon was the oppressor, the prophet staggered under the judgment against them.

I had to come back a day later; I realized I missed something in that verse.  'The twilight that I longed for' kinda puzzled me when I read it, then I got focused on the prophet's reaction and forgot about it.  As I was reading it over again this morning, it struck me that 'the twilight' he longed for was the fall of Babylon; the end of that oppressive regime.  But now that it was happening...he was horrified.  

Just had to make that point, lol.  Back to the originally scheduled broadcast.

One more verse today; this one taken from a prophecy about worshiping God in the restored land of Judah:

Yes, LORD, walking in the way of your laws, we wait for you; your name and renown are the desire of our hearts. -- Is. 26:8; 'hearts' is H 5315 again.

Not their own fame, success, prosperity...the name and renown of the Lord.  When that is a joint desire of a community of hearts...that is revival.

Blogging Bible Study - The Heart of the Matter: Isaiah, part 2

 Posted by Lisa Laree to Beer Lahai Roi

Our look at 'heart/ hearts' through the NIV '84 is now edging into Isaiah; we're up to Chapter 10:

When the LORD has finished all his work against Mount Zion and Jerusalem, he will say, "I will punish the King of Assyria for the willful pride of his heart and the haughty look in his eyes." -- Is. 10:12; 'Heart' is  Strong's H 3824, Lebab - inner man, mind, will, heart, soul, understanding.

Previously in chapter 10, we read of how God used Assyria in judgement against the idolatry of Israel and Judah, but the Assyrian king was not content to punish but went out with a will to obliterate.  Furthermore, he believed his success against the nations was a result of his own ability; he disdained all the gods of the countries he attacked and believed the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob to be no more significant than any of the idols of the other countries he had defeated.

Pride of his heart, indeed.  He was no more than a tool used by God for a purpose...and his pride of heart would be his downfall.

We have a similar passage discussing judgement against Babylon in chapter 13.

Wail, for the day of the LORD is near; it will come like destruction from the Almighty.  Because of this, all hands will go limp, every man's heart will melt.  -- Is. 13: 6-7; 'Heart' is H 3824 again.

We are not looking at the cause of the judgment against Babylon here, but at its effect.  Judgement against Babylon would be swift, and would cause all those under that judgement to lose strength in the inner man, mind, will, heart, soul and understanding.  Fear, confusion, indecision...disaster incoming.

There is a passage in Isaiah that, strictly speaking, is addressed to the king of Babylon but has long been considered to have a double meaning, describing the fall of Satan, due to the details included, and the next verse is cited as the core of that rebellion

You said in your heart, "I will ascend to heaven; I will raise my throne above the stars of God; I will sit enthroned on the mount of assembly, on the utmost heights of the sacred mountain. I will ascend above the tops of the clouds; I will make myself like the Most High."  -- Is. 14:13-14; 'heart' is H3824 again.

This is one of the passages (Ez. 28 has the other) that is used for the narrative of the backstory of Lucifer, the fallen.  The king of Babylon, also exalting himself, followed the path, but the ultimate rebel is the one who actually wanted to surpass God.  And that decision was first made in the heart.

That's where rebellion starts. 

Chapter 15 shifts the focus from Babylon to Moab; 16:6 implies the pride of Moab is the cause of the downfall...

Heshbon and Elealeh cry out, their voices are heard all the way to Jahaz. Therefore the armed men of Moab cry out, and their hearts are faint.   My heart cries out over Moab; her fugitives flee as far as Zoar, as far as Eglath Shelishiyah. They go up the way to Luhith, weeping as they go; on the road to Horonaim they lament their destruction. -- Is. 15:4-5.  "heart" in verse 5 is the familiar H 3820, Leb - inner man, min, will, heart, understanding. ...but 'Hearts' in verse 4 is apparently an idiomatic translation.    "And their hearts are faint'   H 5315, nepes - soul, self, life, creature, person, appetite, mind, living being, desire, emotion, passion' is the word likely translated as 'heart'...we have seen it done before...but the second word is H3415, yara- to be broken up; figuratively, to fear; to tremble.    King James translates it 'his life shall be grievous unto him.'  "Their lives are broken" would be fair, I think.  

It is a disaster upon Moab, to be sure, and the prophet is actually grieving over the situation.   Chapter 16 is more declaration of disaster, and the prophet continues to mourn.

My  heart laments for Moab like a harp.  My inmost being for Kir Hareseth. -- Is. 16:11; 'Heart' is, to my surprise, not H 3820.  It's H4578, Mee - internal organs, inward parts, bowels, intestines, belly.  We saw this same word translated 'Heart' back in Song of Songs; which, I guess as the center of one's being it works, but the truth is this is a gut-level cry.  It's true that the Moabites were distant cousins of the Hebrews, descended from Abraham's nephew Lot (Genesis 19, for that dismal story), and I wonder if that relationship had anything to do with the grief expressed here.  Moab had not been friendly to the Hebrews; it is interesting that the prophet is mourning instead of experiencing schadenfreude at Moab's downfall.  How many of us would truly grieve over judgement falling on those whom we find ourselves on opposite sides of an issue?  

Hmmm? 

Blogging Bible Study: The Heart of the Matter - Isaiah, part 1

 Posted by Lisa Laree to Beer Lahai Roi

It just seems like an interesting coincidence that, in our cruise through the NIV 84 exhaustive concordance listings for verses containing 'Heart/ hearts', we have come to Isaiah, which has 66 chapters, on the day that happens to be my 66th birthday, lol.

After spending 11 months in the books of poetry,  it will only be a slight adjustment to ponder the prophets.  Both types of literature use poetic and allegorical language, although there is also some narrative included in the prophetic books.

For some books, we'll spend several weeks working through; once we get to the Minor prophets, we may have more than one book in a post.  It's going to be, as it has been, rather unstructured.

But I'm looking at the first five verses in my Isaiah list today, starting right off in chapter one...

Why should you be beaten anymore?  Why do you persist in rebellion?  Your whole head is injured, your whole heart afflicted.  -- Is. 1:5; 'heart' is Strong's H3824, lebab,  our second-most-frequently used Hebrew word for 'heart' -- inner man, mind, will, heart, soul, understanding.

Isaiah is writing in the years leading up do and including the exile of the northern kingdom of Israel (Samaria), and the invasion of the southern kingdom (Judah) by the Assyrians.  Judgement has been declared for Judah, but it has also been delayed, giving the people time to repent.  But, as we shall see over and over in the prophetic writings, the people do NOT truly repent; even when they do follow a godly king, once that king's influence has ended, they revert right back to their idolatry.  Isaiah's word  right in the beginning...why do you keep doing the things that ultimately hurt you?...is a question that reverberates through the prophets as well.  Obedience kept them in God's protection.  Idolatry moved them from it.  Yet they persisted in thinking they knew better than God did.

Adding verse 9 for context here:

He said, "Go and tell this people:  'Be ever hearing, but never understanding; be ever seeing, but never perceiving.'  Make the heart of this people calloused; make their ears dull and close their eyes.  Otherwise they might see with their eyes, hear with their hears, understand with their hearts, and turn and be healed."  -- Is. 6: 9 - 10;  'heart' is the most frequently seen Strong's H3820, leb, -- inner man, mind will, heart, understanding ; and is actually a form of lebab...which is the word translated as 'hearts' at the end of verse 10.

This once more crosses over into that discussion of the 'hardened heart' that we have had from time to time.  Taking into account the poetic nature of this passage, I read this as a description of the people; Kind of  'ok, do what you want and see how that turns out; but you could still listen to me and be ok' sort of thing a parent might say to a kid who's determined to do things his own way, even when the parent can clearly see it is not going to work...and is determined to let the kid experience the consequences of the decision (which, as a parent who's raise four kids, is FREAKING HARD).

We next have a bit of historical narrative

Now the house of David was told "Aram has allied itself with Ephraim"; so the hearts of Ahaz and his people were shaken, as the trees of the forest are shaken by the wind.  Then the LORD said to Isaiah, "Go out, you and your son Shear-Jashub, to meet Ahaz at the end of the aqueduct of the Upper Pool, on the road to the Washerman's Field.  Say to him, 'Be careful, keep calm and don't be afraid.  Do not lose heart because of these two smoldering stubs of firewood -- because of the fierce anger of Rezin and Aram and of the son of Remaliah.  -- Is. 7:2 - 4; hearts/ heart are both H 3824.

Ahaz was the king of Judah (grandson of Uzziah); the news was that Ephraim and Aram were marching against Jerusalem/ Judah.  The king and the people were scared; God told the prophet to reassure them that their enemies would not prevail against them, concluding the message with a phrase that's worth remembering, even if it doesn't contain the word 'heart'... "If you do  not stand firm in your faith, you will not stand at all"  (Is. 7:9b)

The last reference for this week is more of the same message, but I've got to get quite a bit in here for context:

The LORD has sent a message against Jacob; it will fall on Israel.  All the people will know it -- Ephraim and the inhabitants of Samaria -- who say with pride and arrogance of heart, "The bricks have fallen down , but we will rebuild with dressed stones; the fig trees have been felled, but we will replace them with cedars."  But the Lord has strengthened Rezin's foes against them and has spurred their enemies on." -- Is. 9:8-11; 'Heart' is H 3824 again.

These folks had been embattled, but they still refused to consider their roots and covenant with God, believing that they had the strength in themselves to recover and restore.  But they did not.  Pride and arrogance of heart got them into the situation they were in, and pride and arrogance of heart kept them from the one thing that could actually bring restoration.

One of these days I will do a word study on 'pride'...but that's a ways off.  We're going to be looking at 'heart/hearts' for quite a while, yet, lol.

Blogging Bible Study: The Heart of the Matter - Song of Songs

 Posted by Lisa Laree to Beer Lahai Roi

Our little tour through the NIV 84 translation of the Bible, looking at verses containing the words 'Heart/Hearts' has brought us to the very PG13-rated book of Song of Songs. Or Song of Solomon.  Or Canticles...all depends on your translation.  A dialog between the Lover and his Beloved, mostly from the viewpoint of the Beloved, with commentary by a Chorus.  Was this a performance piece?  The Lover is implied to be Solomon in the last part of chapter 3 and named as such in the closing verses of the book; whilst the Beloved is referred to only as the Shulammite at the end of Chapter 6.

I have known that the book of Esther does not mention God; I thought it was the only book in the Bible that didn't.  But, unless I missed it as I read through, there's no mention of God in Song of Songs, either.  All the hearts mentioned are human hearts, with human concepts.

The first mention of 'heart' is in chapter 3, and it's a whole little passage:

All night long on my bed I looked for the one my heart loves; I looked for him but did not find him.  I will get up now and go about the city, through its streets and squares; I will search for the one my heart loves.  So I looked for him but did not find him.  The watchmen found me as they made their rounds in the city. "have you seen the one my heart loves?"  Scarcely had I passed them when I found the one my heart loves.  I held him and would not let him go till I had brought him to my mother's house, to the room of the one who conceived me.  -- SoS 3:1 - 4;  all instances of 'heart' are Strong's H 5315 - nepes - soul, self, life, creature, person, appetite, mind, living being, desire, emotion, passion.  KJV uses the word 'soul' instead of 'heart'. 

I wondered what word we would see used in Songs for 'heart', as this is talking about human love.  Notes in my NIV indicate that the Beloved is the one speaking here, which makes sense. We'll see if this same word repeats in the other 5 references I found.  Not surprising that the word used is associated with 'desire, emotion, passion'.  I may just list out all the verses and then see if that pattern continues before making any observations, lol

Come out, you daughters of Zion, and look at King Solomon wearing the crown,  the crown with which his mother crowned him on the day of his wedding, the day his heart rejoiced. -- SoS 3:11, 'heart' here is H 3820, Leb - inner man, mind, will, heart, understanding.

This is not a reference to romance or desire but happiness, so I'm not surprised that the word used is the the most common word translated 'heart'. I don't have any notes indicating who is speaking here, but it looks like it might be the chorus, describing either Solomon's coronation or his wedding or maybe a combination of the two.  It was a good day for Solomon, that we know.

Solomon is speaking in the next verse:

You have stolen my  heart, my sister, my bride; you have stolen my heart with one glance of your eyes, with one jewel of your necklace. -- SoS 4:9: bot instances of 'heart' is the word I have been waiting to find, H 3823, labab , which is the primitive root from which  H3824 and H3820 are derived.  It's actually a verb; meaning to ravish, become intelligent, get a mind  The Piel tense for the verb is listed as meaning to ravish the heart, encourage, make heart beat faster. 

I wondered when (and if) we would encounter that Hebrew word.  It's only in 4 verses in the whole Old Testament; and this is the only verse in which it it translated as 'heart', which is not surprising, given the wide range of meanings it has (twice translated as 'made cakes' and once as 'be wise').

She gave Solomon the honey glow, no doubt about it.

Oh, I was going to hold comments till the end, wasn't I?

Onward...

I slept but my heart was awake.  Listen!  My lover is knocking: "Open to me, my sister, my darling, my dove, my flawless one.  My head is drenched with dew, my hair with the dampness of the night." -- SoS 5:2; 'heart' is H 3820 again.  Not the 'desire, emotion, passion', but the 'inner man, mind, will, heart, understanding'.  She was drowsy and not really interested in getting up to let him in.  Of course, once she herself was fully awake, she was, but by that time he'd gotten discouraged and left.

My lover thrust his hand through the latch-opening; my heart began to pound for him.... I opened for my lover, but my lover had left; he was gone.  My heart sank at his departure.  I looked for him but did not find him. I called him but he did not answer. -- SoS 5:4, 6; 'heart' is  H 4578 - mee - internal organs, inward parts, bowels, intestines, belly  in the first occurrence, and H 5315 again in the second.  It's an interesting translation...that 'dynamic equivalency' is going for what we would say in a similar situation now...if I'm reading the lexicon right, the actual translation is closer to my belly began to growl.  Doesn't carry the same connotation now.  In any case, she was ready to open that door...and the moment was lost, because he was gone. 

I do have a marginal reading that translates the phrase in verse 6 as 'My heart had gone out to him when he spoke', which is somewhat different than what is listed in the main text.  The actual verb is H 1696 - dabar - to speak, declare, converse, command, promise, warn, threaten, sing, although the Hiphil tense does  imply to lead away, put to flight so that may be why we have the translation that's listed, although I have to say the marginal note makes more sense to me.  Especially since 'heart' there is Nepes and we're looking at 'desire, emotion, passion' at that point.

One more verse to consider.

Place me like a seal over your heart, like a seal on your arm; for love is as strong as death, its jealousy unyielding as the grave.  It burns like blazing fire, like a mighty flame. - -SoS 8:6;  'Heart' is H 3820 once more. the word 'seal' is H 2368 - hotam: seal, signet, signet-ring.

That's a new thought for me; I'd always thought of 'seal'  in that verse like, you know, Tupperware or something.  Seal it in.  But, no...it's 'seal' , like, official mark of ownership or authority.

I had a whole little thing I wanted to say about Song of Songs in general, but I have said it in other places at other times and that's not really on topic for this series;  in this series, I'm looking at 'heart' and how it's used, so, my opinion on Song of Solomon will have to wait for a more opportune moment.  I will just say that, yes, it is a lovely description of marital love and leave it there.  I will be good.

So, back on topic, we have four different words for 'heart' in Song of Songs  ... three nouns; one dealing with the heart: inner man, one dealing with the desire or passion, and one dealing with, paraphrasing, the gut... and one verb,  making the heart beat faster.  Pretty much covers the emotional range here as we see how the heart is involved in a marriage.

We have officially finished the books of poetry...the Writings.  It's been exactly 11 months to the day since my first post on Job.  I am going to have to adjust to the Prophets, lol.  Next week, being July 4th, probably will not see a post so we'll jump in to Isaiah when the festivities are behind us.

Blogging Bible Study: The Heart of the Matter - Ecclesiastes, Part 4

 Posted by Lisa Laree to Beer Lahai Roi 

Now, at the end, I can confess that Ecclesiastes is, by and large, my least favorite book in the Bible, which, I suppose, is no surprise.  It does have its good moments (the first bit of chapter 3) but, by and large,  it's just...a depressing read. 

I will also say it is the perfect example of the need for context; some verses in Ecclesiastes, taken out of context and without the understanding that they were written by a jaded, cynical fellow who tried and failed to find significance in life in every way but being devoted to God, could really mess with sound theology. For one thing, the Teacher apparently had no concept at all of eternal life, as we will see in the first verse in chapter 9 that mentions 'heart':

This is the evil in everything that happens under the sun: The same destiny overtakes all.  The hearts of men, moreover, are full of evil and there is madness in their hearts while they live, and afterward they join the dead. --Ecc. 9:3;  the first occurrence of  'hearts' is Strong's H3820, Leb,  - inner man, mind, will, heart, understanding; but the second is Strong's H3824, Lebab,  inner man, mind will, heart, soul, understanding, Leb is actually a form of Lebab.

So, why the distinction in the verse?  The only real difference I see is that Lebab also carries the connotation of soul.  So, is the Teacher conveying that the hearts of men are full of evil, and there is madness in their souls?  That mankind is corrupt, 'heart and soul'?   That actually makes the most sense to me...and that does line up teaching throughout Scripture on the state of the unredeemed., the natural man. We, in our own selves and own strength, cannot purify our hearts or souls. And, while it's true that all die; the Teacher seems to think that is The End. Which, I believe, largely explains his gloomy outlook.  The cynical tone of the next verse kinda bears that out:

Go, eat your food with gladness and drink your wine with a joyful heart, for it is now that God favors what you do.  -- Eccl 9:7; 'Heart' is H 3820 again.

On the surface, this seems a rather pleasant instruction, but the following verses betray his sarcasm, using phrases like all the days of this meaningless life, all your meaningless days, in the grave where you are going is neither working nor planning nor knowledge nor wisdom.  (from Ecc. 9: 8 - 10).   Now, he is right...we should be glad and joyful in our daily life...but he's missing the point.  And if someone were to pull Ecc. 9:10 out of the context of the Teacher's sarcasm, s/he could use it as Biblical evidence that the Sadducees were right...there is no life after death.  It may have been part of their own argument.  But the actual mindset of the author needs to be considered.  (That raises a point that I'll discuss at the end of the post...)

Chapter ten is, again, a collection of proverbs. There's one that mentions 'heart'...and it has always amused me greatly.

The heart of the wise inclines to the right, but the heart of the fool to the left. -- Ecc. 10:2; 'heart' is H 3820  both times.

I am just going to say right off the bat that I really don't know what the point of that was.  It certainly did not apply to American politics.  It could be a reference to the kind of predisposition for anything on the right hand/ right side to be thought of as good, and anything on the left side to be thought of as sinister or shady...one of the reasons left handed kids suffered forced use of their right hand in times past.  But there's no context to help us, so we're just left with this proverb that seems weirdly applicable in some crazy coincidence...even though that application is really beyond reasonable.  But it does make me chuckle, not gonna lie.

One more passage to look at in Ecclesiastes:

Be happy, young man, while you are young, and let your heart give you joy in the days of your youth.  Follow the ways of your heart and whatever your eyes see, but know that for all these things, God will bring you to judgment.  So then, banish anxiety from your heart and cast off the troubles of your body, for youth and vigor are meaningless. -- Ecc. 11:9-10;  all three occurrences of 'Heart' are H 3820

Interesting that we have the encouragement to 'follow the ways of your heart and whatever your eyes see'...quickly followed by the caveat that 'God will bring you to judgment'.  After his earlier statements that the heart is corrupted, advising folks to follow their heart sounds...odd, to say the least. I confess, I am getting a brain cramp from trying to wrap my head around this.  Ecclesiastes is a rough thing to handle, even taking the cynicism and sarcasm into account.  For instance,  having said that I don't think the Teacher believed in life after death, he goes and says that 'God will bring you to judgment'.  Which implies an after-death thing, taken in context about what he has said earlier about the  righteous and the wicked sharing the same fate of death; it really appears that this judgment has to happen later.  So...see what I mean?  It's like he hasn't completely made up his mind what he thinks/ believes, but has come to the conclusion that it really doesn't matter anyway.

Which all gets me to wondering...why is the book of Ecclesiastes included in the canon of the Bible?  It's clearly Solomon's...er, the Teacher's...viewpoint and opinion and can't be taken at face value as The Word of God, yet I believe God did inspire him to write...if only to show the complete fallacy of being able to be able to find significance and meaning to life apart from one's obedience to God and gratefulness to Him.  It's a depressing book because living life apart from God is, as the Teacher says repeatedly, "Meaningless, a chasing after the wind."  Can we learn from The Teacher?