Blogging Bible Study: The Heart of the Matter - Psalms, part 3, Ps. 21 - 30

 Posted by Lisa Laree to Beer Lahai Roi

Returned from the mountains and the awesome writer's retreat and actually posting on my scheduled day! (ETA...well, I was working on it on the scheduled day, anyway...and it's still Friday in the Mountain Time zone and points west).  We are looking through the Bible at Heart/Hearts, as translated by the NIV 84, and are just chopping away at the Psalms, and we jump right into Ps. 21, one of David's.  Starting with verse 1 for context:

O LORD, the king rejoices in your strength.  How great is his joy in the victories you give!  You have granted him the desire of his heart and have not withheld the request of his lips.  Selah.  -- Ps. 21:1-2. 'Heart' is the familiar Strong's H3820 - leb : Inner man, mind, will, heart, understanding. 

 This whole psalm is written in third person, which is an interesting literary choice.  I wonder at what point in his life David wrote this Psalm...clearly after being crowned King of all Israel, but...before the family drama with his kids?  Or after?  Has he endured the hardest parts of his life, and is still grateful, recognizing what God has really done for him?  I kind of think that would be David's attitude, regardless of when this was written.  He never really forgot what God had done for him.

At least the first bit of Ps. 22 is considered Messianic; it's a pretty fair description of crucifixion and is the Psalm Jesus references while on the cross. It is not attributed to anyone. 

I am poured out like water, and all my bones are out of joint.  My heart has turned to wax; it has melted away within me.  'Heart' is Strong's H3820 again.  

I have heard that this is a description of the physical effects of crucifixion, that it actually affects the organ.  Bones out of joint is also associated with hanging on the cross.  
But at about verse 22, the tone of the psalm changes...as is common...and in verse 26 we have 

The poor will eat and be satisfied; they who seek the LORD will praise him  -- may your hearts live forever!   'Hearts' here is Strong's H 3824 - lebab:  Inner man, mind, will, heart, soul, understanding.  It's also the word from which H 3820 was derived.  

When I looked up the Hebrew, I saw that the KJV translates this singular. ..'your heart shall live forever'...but, singular or plural, that seems to be the result of seeking/ praising God.

Psalm 25 is attributed to David; the notes in my Bible  subtitle it 'A plea for defense, guidance, pardon'.  In verse 17 he laments, 

The troubles of my heart have multiplied; free me from my anguish.  -- 'Heart' is H 2834 again.

In the verse before, we read that the psalmist is 'lonely and afflicted'; the following verse mentions 'affliction and distress'.  This is  not, primarily, stress from the outside,...in terms of circumstances, although circumstances could be a contributing factor... but interior distress...worry, regret, disappointment, grief, etc.  I think it's worth noting that he is taking his inner turmoil to God.

Psalm 26 is David kind of doing a Job...he's declaring his integrity.  In a later psalm we will see David asking God to search him in order to purify him...but in this case, he is asking God to search him to see that his heart is pure.

Vindicate me, O LORD, for I have led a blameless life; I have trusted the LORD without wavering.  Test me, O LORD, and try me, examine my heart and my mind; for your love is ever before me, and I walk continually in your truth.  -- Ps. 26:1-3; 'heart' is Strong's H3629, Kiya -kidneys, reins.  Also the mind, interior self.  

I honestly am kind of surprised that we see this word here.  Maybe my modern Western thinking is just inclined to 'pure heart' whereas the connotation in that time was 'pure guts'...both meaning the same thing in their time/place. The psalmist is blameless.  His conscience is clear.

Ps. 27 is a declaration of David's faith; three verses mention heart:

Though an army besiege me, my heart will not fear; though war break out against me, even then I will be confident.  Ps.27:3, "heart" is H3820

My heart says of you, "Seek his face!"  Your face, LORD, I will seek. -- Ps. 27:8; 'heart' is H3820

Wait for the LORD; be strong and take heart and wait for the LORD.  Ps. 24:14; 'heart' is H3820

This whole psalm is just a joyous declaration.  These three verses are a good representation .  I will be confident, I will not fear, I will seek God's face, I will wait on him.  The combination of 'be strong' and 'wait' is very interesting.  'Be strong' usually suggests taking a course of action, but this implies that waiting is the thing that requires strength.  

I will be chewing on that one for a bit.  

Psalm 28 is another one of David's; we have two verses here:

Do not drag me away with the wicked, with those who do evil, who speak cordially with their neighbors but harbor malice in their hearts."  -  Ps. 28:3; 'Hearts' is H 3824

There are several points that could be made here, but since we're looking at hearts I will focus the attention on the description of 'the wicked, those who do evil' as people who 'speak cordially ...but harbor malice in their hearts.'  Notice...these wicked people are called out just for carrying malice towards others.  They aren't talking about it, but it's there.  And there is judgement coming for it.  

That's worth a selah to check motives, what?

The LORD is my strength and my shield; my heart trusts in him and I am helped.  My heart leaps for joy and I will give thanks to him in song.  - Ps. 28:7, both instances of 'heart' are H3820.

This is just a happy verse.  My heart trusts in God...it leaps for joy.

The last verse for today is Ps. 30:12; David is still praising God

You turned my wailing into dancing; you removed my sackcloth and clothed me with joy, that my heart may sing to you and not be silent. O Lord my God, I will give you thanks forever.          

I was just going to conclude that this verse is continuing the praise but got pulled up by the Hebrew. The word translated 'heart' in this verse is one we haven't encountered here before... It's Strong's H3519, kabod - 'good' weight, splendor, glory... 'That my glory may sing...'

I am not entirely sure why the NIV used 'heart' here; it has a different connotation altogether.  Clothed with joy and dancing, the glory of coming out of  wailing and sackcloth does indeed sing and give thanks to God.  "My heart sings" speaks of something internal, perhaps even private; but glory, the heavy weighty kabad, is a thing that is observed from the outside...it is a testimony

Something else worth a ponder or two over the next few days.

Taking advantage of the hodgepodge...

Posted by Lisa Laree to Beer Lahai Roi

Just for grins...because I feel like using a writing prompt today, lol.  You can click the picture to see other folks' answers...

 1. What are your current priorities in this season of life? Elaborate as much or as little as you like. 

Wow, that can have a LOT of applications.  And I've always had problems establishing priorities.  Some don't change...commitment to faith, to family, to work...but I have had a challenge this last weekend to be more intentional, more disciplined about writing.  And that is going to carry over into the rest of my life.

2. What's one thing you wish you had more of? 

T.I.M.E.

3. Do you celebrate Halloween? If so, what are your Halloween traditions? Any special plans for Halloween this year? 

Halloween has never been a high priority holiday, really.  We did the Halloween Party at Magic Kingdom back in September, because we were there, and we watched Great Pumpkin last week after my hubby's birthday dinner, which is rather a tradition now.  We'll probably hang out with our local kids and roast some hot dogs...assuming the rain holds off.  For many years we did a fall festival type thing at the small church we were in at the time; I ran a candy walk game in my Sunday School classroom...someone gets a piece of candy when the music stops.  I listened to the cast recording of Godspell on repeat every year for that, and now that is a necessity on Oct. 31st.  I will probably play it on repeat on Spotify at work tomorrow, lol.  Not typical Halloween music, but it tells my brain where we are on the calendar.

4. Last thing you ate that contained chocolate? Last thing you made that called for chocolate? 

Just ate a couple of fun-sized chocolate bars from the above mentioned Magic Kingdom party, lol.  I still have a wee bit left.  I made a chocolate milkshake last week, does that count? LOL

5. Do you prefer laid back weekends or do you like to have a lot of plans? Thinking back to this past weekend... which was it? 

I really like an unstructured weekend; it feels like a break.  A busy weekend doesn't give me breathing time before diving back into the workweek.  But I drove close to 1,000 round trip last weekend to attend a writer's retreat in the mountains of North Carolina (had to go around the 'Essential Travel Only' zones...)  That was definitely planned out!  I took a day off of work when I got back to catch that breath.

6. Insert your own random thought here. 

How 'bout a picture from the afternoon walk I took up the hill where we were meeting for the writer's retreat?  Isn't that a view???

Weekend ...questing....

 Posted by Lisa Laree to Beer Lahai Roi

In the fall of 2020, we braved the pandemic to attend the 25th Anniversary Heart of David conference.  It was a real blessing in the midst of the crazy, but I really connected with the talk from one of the speakers, Stephen Roach, who had begun an arts collective called The Breath and the Clay.  who spoke of creativity and faith.  I participated in an online writer's conference sponsored by them later that fall; ultimately, I joined the collective myself, just for the prod to continue creating faith-based work.

This past weekend, The Breath and the Clay sponsored another writer's conference; the first in-person writer's conference since the pandemic.  My Sweet Babboo gave me his blessing, and, since there was still space available after we got back from our Florida trip, I signed up.  It was a small conference, with about 30 folks attending, including the presenters.  It was in a lodge up in the mountains of North Carolina...Moravian Falls, actually, if any of you are familiar with the history of that area.

The conference venue

I drove myself, so you know I REALLY wanted to go, but it was totally worth the trip.  I left with a question I wanted to get answered...am I really a writer, or am I just someone who noodles around with writing?

I printed out a good bit of my writing...a lot of which I have published either on Beer Lahai Roi or my sewing blog, Sew Random, over the years.  Two things struck me as I was pulling the lot together...1) Most of my writing is derivative; it starts with something else, like a Bible story or a fairy tale or some other well-known (or not so well-known) source; and, 2) Most of it was really old.  Like, 10 - 20 years old.  Now, I have been blogging away and writing here and there...like getting the curriculum for my beginning Bible study class recorded...but the actual fever to sit down and write a piece hasn't hit me in a while.  I had attributed it to the fact that pretty much none of my writing has found an audience (not that I don't love you, my few and faithful readers, but there really aren't' very many of you, lol).  I kinda thought that, if I was a Real Writer (TM), I would have some...outlet...for it by now, other than the seeds sown at random on the blogs.  I had a long talk with myself over the whole thing and resolved that, if it did indeed prove out that I had the chops to write...maybe not spectacularly, but solidly, I would put more effort into doing it.

The whole weekend was amazingly affirming.  I left feeling like, yes, I AM a Real Writer...even if I don't have a lot of Real Readers.  And I realized my number one weakness is a lack of discipline.  Not just in writing...in life in general.  

It's hard for a Tigger to thrive in discipline; Tiggers don't do structure well. And I have gotten very...self indulgent...over the years since I HAD to have discipline going to keep four kids fed and in clean clothes and where they needed to be.  It was something of a come-to-Jesus moment.  I'm going to have to relearn the skills again.

Because that's the only way I can get the discipline to work on the writing again.  It may take a bit for that to trickle down to something that's visible to folks watching from the outside, but as long as I keep trying...it will get there.

The first step is...going to bed on time.  I'm something of a night owl, so that's going to take some work.  

And discipline. 

Here we go.

Blogging Bible Study: The Heart of the Matter - Psalms part 2, Ps. 11 - 20

 Posted by Lisa Laree to Beer Lahai Roi

As I mentioned on my Facebook page, when I linked last week's post, I am way out of whack on my blogging schedule...well, actually, everything is way off schedule...and I'm not sure how long it's going to take to get it reined back in.  It may be January, for all I can tell from here.  But I'll sit down and have a dive into the list of verses with 'Heart/ hearts' in them as much as I can...

Our journey though the Bible looking at the NIV 84 renderings of 'heart/hearts' has brought us to the Psalms, and I'm just kinda arbitrarily looking at ten-psalm chunks.  More or less.  Ps. 119 will likely be a post of its own, lol...

But this is week two in the Psalms and we are looking at the 11th through the 20th Psalms.  Taking a deep breath, 'cause there are a lot of references here....

And we don't get far before we hit a verse w/ 'Heart' in it:

For look, the wicked bend their bows, they set their arrows against the strings to shoot from the shadows at the upright in heart.  - Ps 11:2; 'heart' is once more Strong's H3820, Leb - 'the heart, also used (figuratively) for the feelings, the will and even the intellect, likewise for the centre of anything'.  Just for grins, I also looked up 'upright' and found that it is Strong's H3477 - yasar - 'just, meet(-est), pleased well right(-eous), straight, (most) upright(-ly, -ness).

David is the psalmist here, and this verse is actually the middle of a quote.  He opens the psalm by stating that he takes refuge in God, and asks how anyone can then instruct him to  (paraphrased) 'run away and hide because the wicked are laying traps for the righteous and the foundations are crumbled, so what can a righteous person do anyway? '   He then uses the rest of the psalm to affirm that God is on the throne, he sees everything,  and the wicked will get their due from him.

This seems especially pertinent to me, right now, because there's a lot of hand-wringing about the foundations being destroyed and what can the righteous do and, oh woe is...all of us.  I'm sure you've heard it.  Yes, it's bad.  Not gonna lie.  But read the rest of the psalm.  God is on his throne.  He's still ultimately calling the shots.  Don't pull the quote out of the context of David basically chastising the person who's so worried.  His refuge is in God, and he's looking to the final outcome that God is going to bring.

The next two verses, in Ps. 13, which is another one of David's, kind of summarize the whole psalm:

How long must I wrestle with my thoughts and every day have sorrow in my heart?  How long will my enemy triumph over me? ...  But I trust in your unfailing love, my heart rejoices in your salvation.  -  Ps. 13: 2, 5;  in verse 2, 'Heart' is Strong's 3824, lebab, which we have also frequently seen:  the Heart (as the most interior organ) - bethink themselves, breast, comfortably, courage (faint) (tender-) heart(-ed), mind ; while verse 5 is 3820 again.  A repeated pattern in Psalms is that David (or another psalmist) will ask a question, and then answer it with a declaration of faith. I think this is an interesting couplet; on the one hand, his heart is sorrowing; on the other, his heart is rejoicing. This appears to be happening at the same time.  Despite the sorrow in his heart, David rejoices in God's salvation.  They are not mutually exclusive things.

As probably anyone who is grieving with hope can attest.

Ooo, 14:1 is a verse I have talked about before.  Also a psalm of David.

The fool says in his heart, "There is no God."  They are corrupt, their deeds are vile, there is no one who does good. "Heart" is Strong's 3820 again.  

I have a footnote from the NIV translators that clarifies that the words rendered 'fool' in the Psalms denote someone who is morally deficient, not someone lacking intelligence.

I have always thought it interesting that this verse (and we will encounter it again; it's repeated verbatim later in Psalms) specifies that the phrase is spoken in the heart, not out loud.  This is not someone who proclaims an atheistic viewpoint.  This is someone who, to all outward appearances, seems to believe.  S/he is going through the motions of  proper Christian (or, at the time, Hebrew) ritual.  Yet, when it comes down to it, the individual does not believe that God matters, and follows his/her own agendas,  keeping up the religious activities for the sake of appearances.  It is what one does, after all.  This is the person who  divides life between 'religious activity' and...everything else, and who will be most surprised at the end of all things to see the results of that, because 1) it will be real after all and 2) none of their religious activity will help them at all.

Psalm 15, another one from David, begins with a question...who can live on God's holy hill?

The answer is two sentences, the first of which begins in verse 2 and goes on for two and a half more verses:

He whose walk is blameless and who does what is righteous, who speaks the truth from his heart and has no slander on his tongue, who does his neighbor no wrong and casts no slur on his fellowman, who despises a vile man but honors those who fear the LORD, who keeps his oath even whin it hurts, who lends money without usury and does not accept a bribe against the innocent.  Ps. 15:2-5a; 'Heart' is Strong's 3824 again.

You know, that's a rougher list than I was expecting, really.  A lot more to it than just 'clean hands and a pure heart',  which we'll encounter next post.  'Keeps his oath even when it hurts'....wow...that's worth a selah right there...but I gotta keep going.

Two verses in Psalm 16, another psalm of David:

I will praise the LORD , who counsels me; even at night my heart instructs me.  I have set the LORD always before me, Because he is at my right hand, I will not be shaken.  Therefore my heart is glad and my tongue rejoices; my body also will rest secure, because you will not abandon me to the grave, nor will you let your Holy One see decay.  -- Ps. 16:7-10

We've hit one of the outlying words that the NIV translates as 'heart' again...'heart' in verse 7 is translated from Strong's H3629 - Kilya, which we have encountered once before back in Job 19, and means 'kidneys' or 'reins' but is apparently translated 'heart' because...why, NIV translators?   It's an essential organ?  Strong's definition includes 'figuratively, the mind (as the interior self)', so I suppose that could be clearer represented to modern audiences as 'heart'...but maybe it would be just as clear as 'gut feeling'?  But...looking beyond the semantics, maybe it's a reference to learning from dreams?  Or to the all-too-common-to-the-human-experience of laying awake a night ruminating over things there wasn't time to think about in the daylight?  When we finally slow down and are quiet?  The very first verse we looked at in Psalms hit on that theme...'When you are on your beds, search your hearts...'  I don't think it's a great stretch to apply that here.  'Heart' in verse 9 is H 3820 again; gladness in the seat of emotions reflects deep security.

Ps. 17 verse 3 also applies to the night....

Though you probe my heart and examine me at night, though you test me, you will find nothing; I have resolved that my mouth will not sin. 'Heart' is H3820 again.  This is a psalm of David, and he is DETERMINED to live right.  He seems to be confident that, at the moment, anyway, he is sticking to that resolve and has no conviction of wrongdoing,

In verse 10 of the same psalm, David is in the middle of a description of his enemies:

They close up their callous hearts, and their mouths speak with arrogance.

Ok, wow, another interesting translation.  KJV translates that verse 'They are enclosed in their own fat, with their mouth they speak proudly.'...and the word that's translated 'heart' in the NIV and 'fat' in the KJV is H2459 - heleb, but the definition from the Lexicon cited is  'the best/most excellent'  ...not body fat.  The cream of the crop, the best of the best, the prime part.  Given that this IS poetry, that phrasing fits with speaking arrogantly/proudly....his enemies are bound up in pride.  Which isn't too far from a callous heart, really.  

Pressing on, four more verses to look at.

Psalm 18 is a song of praise David wrote 'when the LORD delivered him  from the hand of all his enemies and from the hand of Saul"

In verse 18, David is referring to the enemies he has defeated

They all lose heart; they come trembling from their strongholds.

King James translates this, 'These strangers shall fade away and be afraid out of their close places'.

So 'lose heart' is 'fade away'.  The  Hebrew word is, surprisingly, H5034, Nabal - yup, the very same as Abigail's first husband (1 Samuel 25), and it does, indeed, mean 'foolish' in some of the forms.  But it also can mean to wilt, fall away, fail, faint, come to naught, wither. However you phrase it...God has given him a clear victory.

Psalm 19 is a psalm of David extolling God's work and God's word.

The precepts of the LORD are right, giving joy to the heart.   The commands of the Lord are radiant, giving light to the eyes.  -- Ps. 19:8; 'Heart' is H 3820.  This is in a litany of similar poetic statements, using different words/ phrases for the word of God and the effects it has.  It's nice poetry, and it definitely should encourage anyone to make a study of the Word.

Verse 14 is VERY familiar:

May the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart be pleasing in your sight, O Lord, my Rock and my Redeemer.  'Heart' is, again, H3820.  I just want to point out that it's not just what we SAY, it's what we THINK. What is in the heart matters, as we have seen before.

Psalm 20 is another psalm of David, and the first 4 verses list blessings prayed over another, concluding with 

May he give you the desires of your heart and make all your plans succeed. -- Ps. 20:4; 'Heart' is H3824 again.  But, putting this with the previous verse ...if the meditations of one's heart please God, then the desires of one's heart will be aligned with God's heart, and the plans will be his plans.  

That's a lot today; I kinda think that's  how its's going to be.  But there's a lot of ...ponderable...points to consider.  I'll probably read back through this a few times before the next post just to get them absorbed.

Blogging Bible Study: Heart of the Matter - Psalms, part 1 Ps. 1-10

 Posted by Lisa Laree to Beer Lahai Roi

It is time to dive into the deep waters.  I have pondered and pondered what the best approach to looking at all the instances of heart/hearts in the book of Psalms  might be...should I lump all the instances of  a particular Hebrew word together?  Should I try to categorize the verses some other way?

I finally decided just plowing through it might be the best approach; I'm going to try to take it 10 chapters at a time, although I may tweak that, depending.  There's going to be a lot of repetition, I'm sure, but maybe the repetition is important.  And it ain't gonna go fast....but I really don't have a deadline so we'll just take it as it comes.  So, here we go...

The first three Psalms don't mention Heart/Hearts at all...at least, not in the NIV.  So we begin in the 4th Psalm, one of David's:

In your anger do not sin; when you are on your beds, search your hearts and be silent.  SELAH. - Ps. 4:4 ; 'Hearts' is H2834 - Lebab, one of the two most-frequently seen Hebrew words in this study....the inner man, mind, will, heart, soul, understanding.

Speaking to the reader/ listener,    Not really any indication of what to search FOR...but maybe we aren't to look FOR anything in particular, so much as to check one's heart over good and know what's there.  Be honest and self-aware.  Not a bad nightly discipline.

You have filled my heart with greater joy than when their grain and new wine abound.  -- Ps. 4:7; 'Heart' is H3820 - Leb, the other one of the two most-frequently used Hebrew words for 'heart', which is actually derived from H2834.  

Speaking to God, David acknowledges that the joy brought by fellowshipping with the Lord is better than an unbeliever's abundance... 'grain' and 'new wine' are wealth-related words.

From the 5th Psalm, a Psalm of David, who is speaking of his enemies:

Not a word from their mouth can be trusted; their heart is filled with destruction, their throat is an open grave; with their tongue they speak deceit.  - Ps. 5:9.    King James and the NASB translate 'heart' as 'inward part';  the Amplified uses 'Heart'; it is Strong's H7130, Qereb:  "properly, the nearest part, i.e., the center, whether literal, figurative, or adverbial (especially with preposition)."  

Rotten to the core.

Psalm 7 is listed as 'a shiggion of David'...probably referring to the musical style.

We have a prayer and a declaration:

O righteous God, who searches minds and hearts, bring to an end the violence of the wicked and make the righteous secure.  My shield is God Most High, who saves the upright in heart."  Ps. 7:9-10. '  'Hearts' in verse 9 is H3826 - Libbah, which is 'feminine of H3820; the Heart'.  There are no other listed options for that translation, and it's used 7 times in the OT; once in Ezekiel and the others are all in Psalms and Proverbs.  "Heart" in verse 10 is H3820., the first repeated Hebrew word today! 

But, wow, what a timeless prayer...bring to an end the violence of the wicked and make the righteous secure. Amen.

David starts the 9th Psalm

I will praise you, O LORD, with all my heart; I will tell of all your wonders. -- Ps. 9:1; 'Heart' is H3820 again. 

'With all my heart'...David is thoroughly committed.

In the Tenth Psalm, the Psalmist (who isn't specifically named) is in the midst of a description of a wicked man:

He boasts of the cravings of his heart; he blesses the greedy and reviles the LORD. --Ps. 10:3; 'Heart' translated from a word we have seen before, but not often...H5314, Nephesh  - "Soul, living being, life, self, person, desire, appetite, emotion, passion"; I get the feeling 'heart' is used more as an adjective here...describing the cravings that are deep-seated; passions, even.  The word translated as 'cravings', H8378, can imply lust, appetite, covetousness.

The wicked one boasts of lusts and appetites and heaps approval on folks who acquire a bunch of stuff...and snubs God.

Um...wow.

Some things don't change.

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

 Posted by Lisa Laree to Beer Lahai Roi

Hoo, boy, it's been a minute.  Back from Vacation, but with the Big Data Fix project still hanging over my head I'm just about maxed out.  Not to mention...Christmas looms and I have, um, Projects that are moving rapidly up the priority ladder...

And Psalms is still intimidating me, lol.

But I'm going to do my best to get through all the verses dealing with 'heart/hearts' in the last 11 chapters of Job; the NIV exhaustive concordance lists 5.

In chapter 32, we find that Eliphaz, Bildad and Zophar finally give up arguing with Job, as they were getting nowhere.  A fourth friend, Elihu, who showed up at some point (probably before the arguing started), has patiently listened to all the discussion but grew increasingly frustrated as NO ONE seemed to make any valid points:  Job just justified himself, and the other three guys couldn't pull out any solid evidence against Job but judged him nonetheless.  Elihu admits to being younger than all the others, and, out of courtesy, listened to them until they quit arguing, then had to make the points that no one else made. "...I am like bottled-up wine, like new wineskins ready to burst.  I must speak and find relief;" he says in Job 32:19-20a.

"My words come from an upright heart; my lips sincerely speak what I know."  -- Job 33:3; 'Heart' is the familiar Leb, Strong's H3820.   Elihu spends a bit of time explaining why he feels like he should speak, then begins his discourse on the righteousness of God and Job's presumption to argue against him, and is especially scornful of Job's statements that living righteously has no real reward.

"The godless in heart harbor resentment; even when he fetters them, they do not cry for help." -- Job 36:13; 'Heart' is H3820 again.

As Elihu is speaking, a huge thunderstorm blows up and is threatening; he uses it as an illustration 

"At this my heart pounds and leaps from its place." -  Job 37:1, "heart"  is once again H3820.  

He finally concludes

"The Almighty is beyond our reach and exalted in power; in his justice and great righteousness, he does not oppress.  Therefore, men revere him, for does he not have regard for all the wise in heart?"  --Job 37:23-24...H3820 once more.

Then, what happened next had to be stupifyingly awesome, God actually spoke audibly to the group from the storm (Job 38:1), asking Job question after question that he clearly couldn't answer.  God did not tell Job why all the suffering happened, but he did lay out his knowledge and wisdom, basically saying 'I know what I'm doing." 

The final mention of 'heart/hearts' in the book is God speaking:

"Who endowed the heart with wisdom or gave understanding to the mind?"  -  Job 38:36

My NIV has a footnote on  'heart' in this verse, stating that its meaning is uncertain.  King James translates it 'Inward Parts'; it is Stong's H2910 - tuha; another word which can be translated 'reins'; it's only used one other time in the Old Testament in Ps. 51:8, and actually has the connotation of being covered over or layered with fat, and implies the seat of the mind and thoughts.  No one mentions this, but it would make sense to consider this 'who taught the organs how to function?' as that fits right in with the litany of things only God can do.  In either case...Job clearly had no grounds to accuse God of not knowing/ not understanding any aspect of his creation...including Job and all his problems.

Job repents of his earlier rash words in chapter 42; God, pleased with Job, instructs him to make a sacrifice and pray for his friends.  There is suddenly sympathy from Job's neighbors and family, and they took up a collection for him, which he invested, once more  receiving God's favor and protection on all he did, becoming even more wealthy than he was in the beginning (AND...he had 10 more kids. Bless his wife; there's no mention of other wives or concubines anywhere).

His story wasn't over when the hardship hit; he lived 140 MORE years and saw his great-great-grandchildren before he died "old and full of days." (Job 42:16-17)

God is a bit like Mary Poppins...never explaining anything.  But he does nothing without a purpose and we need to remember that purpose exists...even if we never see it and can't understand it.

Someone we know nothing of may be watching...

Blogging Bible Study: The Heart of the Matter - Job, Part 3

 Posted by Lisa Laree to Beer Lahai Roi

We are about half of the way through Job on our look at 'Heart/hearts' verses in the Bible, in the midst of the argument and rebuttal between Job and his friends Eliphaz, Bildad and Zophar.  In the third round,  we pick up in a harangue by Eliphaz, accusing Job of all SORTS of low-down, mean and nasty things, and he sums up by saying if Job would just repent and turn back to God everything would be fine.

"Submit to God and be at peace with him; in this way prosperity will come to you.   Accept instruction from his mouth and lay up his words in your heart.  If you return to the Almighty, you will be restored;..." -- Job 22:21-23a (Heart is the familiar Strong's H 3824 -Lebab)

Job responds that he wants to plead his case before God; he recognizes that 

"...he stands alone, and who can oppose him?  He does whatever he pleases.  He carries out his decree against me, and many such plans he still has in store.  that is why I am terrified before him; when I think of all this, I fear him.  God has made my heart faint; the Almighty has terrified me."  Job 23:13-16 ('Heart' here is the other familiar word, Strong's H 3820 - Leb)

Of course, Job (and his friends) still believe that God is directly responsible for all the evil...that he caused it, rather than just allowing it, and none of them consider for a moment that there may be a purpose beyond their experience.

Bildad makes the last response to Job in chapter 25, and Job sarcastically chews him out, basically saying that he doesn't know what he's talking about.  Then Job launches into his final speech, which manages to assert his own integrity and state his longing for wisdom enough to comprehend why God acted as he did; then he reflects on how his life was before the disaster hit, and the good works that he did while he was wealthy and had influence, e.g.

"Whoever heard me spoke well of me, and those who saw me commended me, because I rescued the poor who cried for help, and the fatherless who had none to assist him.  The man who was dying blessed me; I made the widow's heart sing. I put on righteousness as my clothing; justice was my robe and my turban."   -- Job 29 :11-14; (Heart is H 3820 again).  

Then he laments his current state, and concludes by relating a list of evils, saying 'If I did these things, then I deserve this.'...

"If my steps have turned from the path, if my heart has been led by my eyes, or if my hands have been defiled,  then may others eat what I have sown, and my my crops be uprooted.  If my heart has been enticed by a woman, or if I have lurked at my neighbor's door, then may my wife grind another man's grain, and may other men sleep with her."  -- Job 31:7-10 ('Heart' is H 3820 in both instances).  

Yeowch, y'all.  That's harsh. But that's raw emotion.  Job doesn't believe he has done anything to deserve what has happened to him.  He continues,

"If I have seen anyone perishing for lack of clothing, or a needy man without a garment, and his heart did not bless me for warming him with the fleece from my sheep...then let my arm fall from my shoulder, let it be broken off at the joint."  - Job 31:19-20,22  

This is a new one; the word the NIV renders as 'heart'  is  Strong's  H2504, Chalats - " châlâts, 'khaw-lawts'; from H2502 (in the sense of strength); only in the dual; the loins (as the seat of vigor):—loins, reins."

It's not the same word that was rendered 'reins' in the last study; I did a little perusal of other translations and found that the KJV renders it 'loins';  the latest edition of the NASB renders it 'body', and the AMP  reads 'If his loins have not thanked me (for clothing them)...'  I kinda get the idea that the thanking is not just for the quality of the garment but also for the fact that it literally covers up the individual's shame of being naked...as in, the part of the body that is covered is grateful.  I suppose the NIV used 'heart' in the term of the inner man being grateful, like the NASB's use of 'body', to  avoid the slightly crude imagery of the loins being grateful.  Either way, it doesn't really conflict with Job's point.

Moving on...

"...if I have regarded the sun in its radiance or the moon moving in its splendor, so that my heart was secretly enticed and my hand offered them a kiss of homage, then these also would be sins to be judged, for I would have been unfaithful to God on high"  -- Job 31:26-28;  'Heart' is once more H3820.

Job admired the sun and moon...God's handiwork...but he didn't worship them, as have many societies throughout the centuries.

Finally, 

"...If I have concealed my sin as men do, by hiding my guilt in my heart because I so feared the crowd and so dreaded the contempt f the clans that I kept silent and would not go outside -- ...then let briers come up instead of wheat and weeds instead of barley."  The words of Job are ended. -- Job 31:33-34, 40. 

Another interesting translation.  The word translated 'heart' here does not appear anywhere else in the Old Testament.  It is Strong's H2243, hob, apparently derived from H2245...'bosom' ,which is the word used in the Amplified. "Heart" is not a far stretch from 'bosom', but I wonder what was unique to the word 'bosom' that made it the only word that would do in that verse, since it is not used elsewhere?

We will finish Job in the next post; I want to hang here a minute and look at Job's refusal to 1) curse God  or accuse him of wrongdoing, though he was very frustrated that God didn't explain himself and 2) admit to any wrongdoing...because he really and truly had no hidden sin in his life.  His practice was regular confession and sacrifice; there really was nothing that should have brought judgment of this level against him.

But Job and his friends never even considered that the suffering wasn't some sort of judgment.  'Bad things happen to Bad People and Good things happen to Good People' was the basis of their assessment of Job's situation...and it was an error.   Terrible things can and do happen to good people...look at Jesus, for crying out loud.  But what happened to Jesus wasn't about Jesus at all... and what happened to Job really wasn't at all about Job.

Good points to keep in the back of the mind as we head into the conclusion.