Friday, December 29, 2023

Blogging Bible Study: The Heart of the Matter - 1 Samuel, Part 5 -- A Man After God's Own Heart

 Posted by Lisa Laree to Beer Lahai Roi


I'm going to finish 1 Samuel in our cruise through the Bible looking at 'Heart/ hearts' today; there's a lot of ground to cover so buckle up, lol.  We'll start with a reference from the Part 4 post...1Sam 13:14...

"But now your kingdom will not endure; the LORD has sought out a man after his own heart and appointed him leader of his people, because you have not kept the LORD's command."

The 'man after his own heart' was, at that time, likely still a teenager slinging rocks at trees and stumps and such in the hills around Bethlehem.  His name was David, the youngest of 8 sons of a fellow with a questionable reputation named Jesse.  I say 'questionable reputation', because whenever anyone wanted to discredit or downplay David, they referred to him as the 'son of Jesse'....which makes me think Jesse was not highly regarded in the area.

After Saul's disobedience regarding the spoil from the Amalekites, God sent Samuel to Bethlehem, to Jesse's house, to anoint the new king.

Samuel, still mourning Saul's downfall, went, even though he believed Saul would kill him should he get wind of it. (1 Sam. 16:2).  He told the elders of Bethlehem he had come there to make a sacrifice, and asked the elders of the town to consecrate themselves and join him.  Then he specifically consecrated Jesse and his sons and invited them. (1 Sam. 16:5).

When everyone had arrived, Samuel saw Jesse's oldest son, Eliab, and, impressed by his height and strength and bearing, believed this was the man he'd been sent to anoint. But God told him no, this was not the one, explaining

"The LORD does not look at the things man looks at.  Man looks at the outward appearance, but the LORD looks at the heart."  - 1 Sam. 16:7; 'Heart' is Strong's H3824, the same word used in 13:14 above.

David's heart...his innermost being...was his qualification for the kingship. All seven of David's older brothers appeared before Samuel, and he announced over each of them, 'God has not chosen this one.'  I am not sure if he ever really told them WHAT God was choosing at this point...did they assume it was the kingship? Or could they have assumed it was some other task or office?  Samuel is not recorded as mentioning the kingship anywhere in the narrative. But after the seventh brother, he turned to Jesse and asked, "Are these all the sons you have?"  (1 Sam. 16:11)  Jesse rather sheepishly replied (no pun intended but I will take it, lol), "There's the youngest, but he's tending the sheep."  Of course, David is fetched and comes in and Samuel dumps the oil on him.  We still do not know what was said, but the Spirit of God came upon David and he...went back to the sheep.  Until one of Saul's aides happened to remember that he knew of a young shepherd who sang and played the harp really well, and David got a sporadic music gig playing for Saul when his demonic depression/ anxiety came upon him.  Apparently Saul never thought of him as anything but a background servant/ hired musician because he literally didn't even look at him enough to recognize him later.  David would come and play for Saul for a bit and then...go back to the sheep.  Nobody seems to think of David as one who was anointed to be king...which is why I think Samuel was really vague about just what exactly God was choosing David to do.  Perhaps this was to protect David should Saul hear anything about it.  And maybe they all decided he had been anointed to be a ministering musician/ worship leader, as that seems to be all anyone associated with him at the time.

Until the Israelites and the Philistines went to battle again, setting up camps opposite each other in the Valley of Elah.  The Philistines had a big ol' dude named Goliath, who was descended from those Anakites the Israelites were so afraid of back in Numbers 13, and who came out daily to hurl insults at Israel and their God, trying to provoke someone to come out and battle him one on one, which would certainly be suicidal.  Jesse sent David with some provender to his brothers, and David got there in time to hear that day's jeering and insults.  He, of course, was ticked at the insults and began to ask the soldiers what would be the reward of the man who killed Goliath and removed the disgrace.  I don't think that he, at that moment, was considering doing it himself so much as he was trying to motivate the actual soldiers into standing up to the oversized bully.  But his older brother heard David's questioning...

When Eliab, David's oldest brother, heard him speaking with the men, he burned with anger at him and asked, "Why have you come down here?  And with whom did you leave those few sheep in the desert?  I know how conceited you are and how wicked your heart is; you came down only to watch the battle." -- 1 Sam. 17:28  (Also Strong's H3824)

Oh, but Eliab didn't know David's heart at all. Yet he was convinced he knew the 'why' behind what David was doing.  

That, my friends, is judgment.  The kind we are instructed NOT to engage in.  Because we do not know the heart at all. God saw David's heart and chose him to be king.  Eliab had not a clue of what was in his younger brother's heart.

Word, of course, got back to Saul about the young man who was going through the camp talking about slaying the uncircumcised Philistine who was insulting the armies of the living God and sent for David.  David, seeing no one else seemed to be willing, apparently decided he was going to have to do it.

David said to Saul, "Let no one lose heart on account of this Philistine; your servant will go and fight him."  1 Sam. 17:32; 'heart' is Strong's H3820.

David, of course, kills the Philistine and becomes Saul's general and son-in-law.   The people start praising David over Saul and Saul becomes insanely jealous, leading David to ultimately flee to the Philistines, looking for a place to hide from Saul.  But his reputation has preceded him, and the servants of the king of Gath, Achish, report it to him in David's hearing.

David took these words to heart and was very much afraid of Achish king of Gath. - 1 Sam 28:24; 'heart' is H3824 again.

David then proceeded to behave as if he were a madman having a fit, and Achish had him thrown out.  So David became a fugitive, living in the Judean desert and moving from place to place, defending Israelite towns and people as he moved about.  One such person, a wealthy landowner named Nabal, spurned giving David and his men any provisions during a festival, despite the fact that David's band had actively protected Nabal's holdings. David, furious over Nabal's scorn, called for his sword to go to battle against him.  Nabal's wife, Abigail, intervened with provisions from her own allowance and prevented David and his men from slaughtering the household.  But Nabal was a stingy, ill-tempered fellow and Abigail waited until he was sobered up after the feast to tell him what she'd done.

Then in the morning, when Nabal was sober, his wife told him all these things and his heart failed him and he became like a stone.  About ten days later, the LORD struck Nabal and he died. -- 1 Sam 25:37-38 (Heart: H3820 again.  I thought it would be a word that specified the physical organ, but, no, this is still the innermost part...heart, mind, will, etc.  Referencing the emotional center...the same as 1 Sam 17:32.  I believe he was so angry he had a stroke.)

David married Abigail, had a run-in with Saul after being betrayed by the Ziphites and, for the second time, refused to kill the king.  But he knew he couldn't trust Saul and he'd been too close to capture, so he returned to Achish...who, this time, believed David to be Saul's enemy and therefore a good ally.  He gave David Ziklag for his base, and reveled in the reports of David raiding Israelite villages.  Only, of course, David was raiding Geshurite, Girzites, and the Amalekite villages instead, leaving no survivors to send reports back to Achish.  The Phililstines planned a big assault against Israel, and Achish was counting on David and his men to fight for them...and David and his men actually traveled to the Philistine camp as if they were part of that force.

Saul and the Israelites set up camp at Giboa, and Saul looked over the enemy camp from his vantage point.

When Saul saw the Philistine army, he was afraid; terror filled his heart.  He inquired of the LORD, but the LORD did not answer him by dreams or Urim or prophets. --  1 Sam 28:5-6; 'Heart' is, again, Strong's H3820

The terror Saul was experiencing and the silence from God drove him to a medium to inquire of Samuel's dead spirit...which terrified the lady, as she clearly did not expect an actual supernatural response to her inquiry.  The apparition...whether it was actually Samuel or not is kind of open to interpretation...confirmed that God had rejected Saul and that the Philistines would defeat him and his army on the next day.

Meanwhile, while Achish was confident David would fight against Saul, the other Philistine leaders were just as certain that he would turn against them in battle and had him sent away. So David was not it the battle that saw both Saul and Jonathan slain and the Israelite army routed.  He had his own problems, but as 'heart' is not mentioned again in 1 Samuel, I'll just refer you to the scripture if you want to see what happened.

So...God knows the hearts of people; other people do not.  And deep-seated, intense emotions can drive our actions...or overwhelm us to actual physical consequences.  All in all, what happens in the heart...matters in many ways.  And that's a good thing to keep in mind when contemplating the new year.

Sunday, December 17, 2023

Christmas time is here....

Posted by Lisa Laree to Beer Lahai Roi


 It's Christmastime, y'all, and things are...rather disorganized.  Long story, but I ended up with covid a couple of weeks ago and it has put everything out of sorts, because I just didn't have the spoons to keep up with the schedule.  All is better now, but I am woefully behind on my holiday preparations.  I know, I know, what's new...but I thought since I wasn't really participating in the Christmas production at church this year due to the craziness that was the 'two weddings and three out of town trips' fall, my post-Thanksgiving time would be dedicated to making sure All Things Christmas happened in an ORDERLY fashion this year.

Um.  The best laid plans done gone all aglee....

So, I'm not going to try to keep up with the current word study schedule.  It will be there when the holidays are over.

Meantime, I have been posting 'Advent from the Archives' on Sundays on Facebook...from the 2008 'Expectant Season' advent series.  It's linked on the sidebar if you'd like to revisit that series with us!  It was the first Advent series I posted; it's been interesting to look at it again.

So...to all of you who, like me, are trying to maintain a little bit of order in chaos, take a deep breath.  The important stuff will get done, and some of the nonessential stuff might fall by the wayside, but at the end of the year it will all be memories so enjoy the people and don't worry about the stuff. (Advice I am giving myself...)

Taking a deep breath...lol...

Friday, December 8, 2023

Blogging Bible Study: The Heart of the Matter - 1 Samuel, Part 4 -- Saul's Presumption

 Posted by Lisa Laree to Beer Lahai Roi


Saul, Saul, Saul...simple obedience would have preserved a dynasty.  But Saul proved himself incapable of simple obedience.

Now, I honestly don't know how much time has passed between chapters 12 and 13.  Chapter 13 says that Saul was 30 when he became king...but we start off with Saul's son, Jonathan, attacking a Philistine outpost.  We kinda  have to assume Saul was really, really young when he became a dad, and Jonathan was really, really young when he led the attack... like, both in their teens...and even then, it could easily have been a couple...or even five...years later.  In any case, Jonathan effectively swatted the bees nest and all the bees were out for blood, converging on the Israelites as they waited at Gilgal for Samuel to come and make the proper sacrifices before they headed into battle.  But, for whatever reason, Samuel was delayed and he didn't arrive at the set time.  The soldiers started to scatter and Saul, worried that he would not have enough men to fight if they waited any longer,  made the sacrifices himself.  And of course, Samuel arrived just as they were finishing up.

"I felt compelled to offer the burnt offering," Saul protested...and Samuel responded

"You acted foolishly," Samuel said. "You have not kept the command the LORD your God gave you; if you had, he would have established your kingdom over Israel for all time.  But now your kingdom will not endure; the LORD has sought out a man after his own heart and appointed him leader of his people, because you have not kept the LORD's command." 1 Sam. 13:13-14: 'Heart' is H 3824

On the surface, this doesn't look so awful...Saul made an offering.  But the problem was that Saul wasn't authorized to make that specific offering.  And, as we saw back in Numbers, authority matters in these things.  Samuel represented the guidance of God, and by offering the sacrifice himself, Saul actually dishonored both Samuel and God; he ignored the holiness of the sacrifices, treating them as a rather mundane thing.  Waiting for Samuel to offer the sacrifice was a symbol of waiting for God to act on their behalf.  But Saul couldn't wait.

Then, in the next chapter, Saul does another foolish thing, but it's not related to the verse mentioning 'heart'...or, at least, not directly.  Johnathan once again takes the initiative to attack a Philistine outpost, slipping out of camp with only his armor bearer, saying 'Perhaps the LORD will act in our behalf....'

"Do all that you have in mind, " his armor-bearer replied.  "Go ahead; I am with you heart and soul."  - 1 Sam. 14:7, 'heart' is also H 3824

He had the complete support of his armor bearer, and the two of them, with God's help, actually decimated the outpost, which God used to incite a panic attack amongst the Philistines who began what appears to have been a chaotic retreat.  Amazing what God does with someone who is fully committed.  The Israelites in the area noticed the retreat, they began to pursue them...and Saul spoke a curse against any man who would stop and eat before the battle was over.  Jonathan, who wasn't there, didn't hear this, and at one point he ate some wild honey...which none of the other men would touch, because of the oath of Saul.  Needless to say, the men were fainting from hunger after pursuing the enemy while fasting, which lead to other problems besides just fainting soldiers...the men gorged themselves when they were finally allowed to eat, dishonoring God again by eating meat with the blood still in it.  And, of course, when Saul found out what Jonathan had done, he intended to kill him for breaking the fast but the men prevented it.  However, they had to cease their pursuit of the enemy because of Saul's oath...which was completely unnecessary. The men did not need any more incentive to pursue their enemies.  Saul was still trying to be the one in control...the one who is calling the shots.   Contrast that with Jonathan, who just wanted to give God a chance to do something.

Finally, in chapter 15 Saul's disobedience not only cost him a dynasty, but it cost him the kingship personally.  Sent by Samuel to obliterate the Amelekites, carrying out a long-standing judgement, Saul kept their king and the best of their animals alive, in direct opposition to his instructions.  He set his own standard of obedience, so by his definition, he did obey.  (see 1 Sam. 15:20) Only problem...it wasn't his definition of obedience that mattered.    Samuel pronounced God's judgment on what Saul had done, then left him and went home.

Samuel never visited Saul again, although he mourned for him.  Saul never fully relied on God, and he considered  God's instructions to be more guidelines than actual commands.    And, make no mistake, it cost him.

As it will cost anyone who takes it upon him/herself to  determine what the standard of obedience is or who attempts to define the terms oneself instead of listening to what God has said.  Consider Saul before thinking it really isn't a big deal.

It is.

Friday, December 1, 2023

Blogging Bible Study: The Heart of the Matter - 1 Samuel, part 3 , Israel gets a King

 Posted by Lisa Laree to Beer Lahai Roi


Well...I am under drs orders to 'rest and hydrate' ...and take the prescribed meds...for the next few days to try and beat back an ear/sinus infection.  But I don't think writing a blog post is going to be too strenuous; although the foggy brain may make things a little less well ordered than is normal.  But this is intended to be kinda raw anyway, so, it is what it is, lol.  It's a long narrative, but without the narrative the isolated verses don't make much sense.  So bear with me here...

Anyway, our look at the words heart/hearts in the Bible has brought us to a transition point in Israel's history.  Samuel's sons did not serve God and actually perverted justice, accepting bribes and the Israelites (justifiably) rejected them as leaders, but instead of praying and seeking who the new leader should be, they came to Samuel and demanded that he appoint a king to rule over them, 'such as all the other nations have.' (1 Sam. 8:5).

Red flag.  It's always a bad thing if God's people want to be 'like everyone else'.

Samuel is ticked, but God reminds him that the people aren't rejecting him as their leader; they are rejecting the leadership of God.  God is going to allow them to have what they want, but he instructs Samuel to solemnly warn the people just exactly what it will mean to have a king ruling them.

Samuel warns the folks (1 Sam 8: 10 - 18) but the people refuse to listen and insist that they want a king.  God instructed Samuel to give them a king, and Samuel told the people to go home.

Now, a day or two later a guy from the tribe of Benjamin had had some donkeys wander off, and his tall, rather good-looking son, Saul, was out looking for them with one of his father's servants.  Samuel had a word from God on the previous day that a Benjamite would come to him, and Samuel was to anoint this man as king.  So, when Saul and his servant wandered into town looking for the seer, so they could offer a coin and hopefully get a prophetic word about the location of the donkeys, God pointed him out to Samuel as the one he'd spoken about.  When Saul approached him, asking for directions to the seer's house...

"I am the seer," Samuel replied.  Go up ahead of me to the high place, for today you are to eat with me, and in the morning I will let you go and will tell you all that is in your heart." - 1 Sam. 9:19  (Heart : H 3824)

Samuel told him the donkeys had been found, so there would be no problem with him staying. They ate together and talked on the roof of Samuel's house for some time; in the morning, Samuel sent the servant ahead while he privately anointed Saul as king, and gave him some instructions and told him of several prophetic events that would happen that day to confirm the word of God to him.

As Saul turned to leave Samuel, God changed Saul's heart, and all these signs were fulfilled that day. -- 1 Sam 10:9 (Heart: H 3020)

Despite all the prophetic confirmation, Saul didn't tell anyone what Samuel had said to him, and when the people were called together so Samuel could introduce them to their new king, he was actually found hiding among the baggage...not a terribly impressive first meeting.  But he was tall and good-looking and most of the people were pleased.  Samuel went over the regulations regarding the king. Then he sent everyone home, including Saul:

Saul also went to his home in Gibeah, accompanied by valiant men whose hearts God had touched. --- 1 Sam 10:26 (Hearts: H 3020) 

Almost immediately, the Ammonites attacked Jabesh Gilead.  With the people of that area under dire threat, word came to Saul and the Holy Spirit fell upon him and with surprising decisiveness for a man who tried to hide from the kingship, he slaughtered the oxen he was working with and sent the pieces throughout Israel, summoning them to battle.  Saul showed himself a capable battle strategist, and the Ammonites were slaughtered in their camp.  This victory convinced the holdouts that Saul was indeed the man for the job of king, and everyone went to Gilgal to reaffirm Saul as king.

As part of the meeting, Samuel released his leadership over to Saul, confirming with the people that he had always acted with integrity, and he went over a bit of the history leading up to Saul's appointment.  After mentioning it was the time of the wheat harvest (apparently that's the dry season?), he asked God to send rain and thunder to show the Israelites that they had actually done a great evil by insisting that God give them a king.

Then Samuel called upon the LORD, and that same day the LORD send thunder and rain.  So all the people stood in awe of the LORD and of Samuel.  The people all said to Samuel, "Pray to the LORD your God  for your servants so that we will not die, for we have added to all our other sins the evil of asking for a king."

"Do not be afraid," Samuel replied.  "You have done all this evil; yet do not turn away from the LORD, but serve the LORD with all your heart" - 1 Sam 12: 18 - 20 (heart:  H 3824)

Samuel reassured them that God would not destroy them for his own name's sake, exhorted them to resist idolatry, reassured them he would pray for them and continue to teach them 'what is good and right,' then concludes:

"But be sure to fear the LORD and serve him faithfully with all your heart; consider what great things he has done for you.  Yet if you persist in doing evil, both you and your king will be swept away."  -- 1 Sam 12:24-25 (heart: H 3824)

So, as I pondered through this story, I had a few thoughts pop up...

1)  How would I respond if a prophet of God told me s/he would 'tell me everything in my heart'?  I kind of think I'd be shaking in my boots.  That's going right to the quick, there.  Oh, it would be a good thing...a marvelous thing... for a prophet to address the hidden questions and desires of my heart and tell me God's perspective on those things, but I don't know if I could handle someone looking into my heart and seeing those things that I'm trying to ignore.  Of course, a true prophet would be doing that sort of thing with the interest of growth and freedom, so it would still be a good thing but...that might hurt a bit, you know?

2) God's change in Saul's heart was something that Saul had to grow into; he prophesied at once, but kinda shook it off and fell back into old patterns (hiding in the baggage).  But when the Spirit of God came upon him, he became a man of action.

3) God gave Saul 'valiant men' who supported him in his position....an aside, I kinda suspect one of these guys was Abner, who became one of Saul's top generals...but God didn't leave Saul to learn the ropes of leadership alone. 

4) The people did, finally, realize what they had done was a serious offence against God.  But God, in his mercy and grace, reiterated the promise that all will be well if the people serve him whole-heartedly.  No compromise with 'useless idols'...things valued by the unbelieving societies around them.

Mayhap next week I will be less rambly, lol.

Friday, November 24, 2023

Blogging Bible Study: The heart of the Matter - 1 Samuel part 2, God defends the Ark

 Posted by Lisa Laree to Beer Lahai Roi


We have a couple of chapters now dealing with the ongoing hostilities between the Philistines and the Hebrews, with the captured Ark playing a large part.  The Philistines had captured the Ark and taken it to Ashdod and placed it in the temple of their pagan god, Dagon.  While Israel was mourning the loss of Eli and his sons, and doubtless others, along with the tragic loss of the symbol of God's dwelling with them, the Philistines were learning that the God of the Israelites wasn't to be trifled with.

1) The day after the Ark was placed in the pagan temple, the  statue of Dagon was found fallen facedown in front of the Ark  (1 Sam 5:3).  The Philistines thought, gee, that's odd, and set the statue back in its place.

2) The second day after the Ark was placed in the pagan temple, the statue of Dagon had fallen facedown in front of the Ark again...only this time his head and hands were broken off and lying on the doorway. (1 Sam 5:4)

3) The people of Ashdod and the surrounding area were suddenly afflicted by...something.  The NIV 84 says that God 'brought devastation upon them and afflicted them with tumors.' (1 Sam 5:6; some manuscripts add that a plague of rats had also appeared; noted in the margin of the NIV 84)...other translations indicate these tumors were hemorrhoids.  So the people of Ashdod begged the rulers to move the Ark away so it was moved to Gath.

4) Same thing happened to the people of Gath...young and old were afflicted with tumors and the city was thrown into a panic (1 Sam 5:9).  So the Ark was sent to Ekron. 

5) When the Ark was brought into Ekron, the people there began lamenting, and a death plague hit the city.  The folks there, in a panic, requested that the Ark be sent back to Israel; anyone who didn't die was afflicted with the same tumors that had hit Asdod and Gath.

So...7 months after the Ark was captured, the leaders of the Philistines went to to their priests and asked them to figure out how they could return the Ark to Israel (1 Sam 6:1-2)

Their recommendation was to be sure to send the Ark back with a 'guilt offering' of 'Five gold tumors and five gold rats' (1 Sam 6:5).  Then they make an interesting statement:

"Why do you harden your hearts as the Egyptians and Pharaoh did?  When he treated them harshly, did they not send the Israelites out so they could go on their way?" - 1 Sam 6:6

Consulting the timeline of Biblical Events in my Inductive Study Bible, it had been somewhere around 400 years since the Exodus at this point.  But the Philistines remembered.  And their own pagan priests warned them against hardening their heart against the God of the Hebrews, like the Egyptians had done.  They came up with a test: Take a couple of cows who had nursing calves, pen the calves up so their mothers can't get to them.  Then hitch the mama cows to a wagon, put the Ark and the gold offering on the wagon, and let the mama cows go where they will.  Nature would have them head over to their calves in the pen...if they headed down the road to Israel, then everyone would know this was the Hebrews' God at work and they should let it go. (1 Sam 6: 7 -9).

The cows, lowing and mooing all the way, nonetheless headed straight down the road to Israel.  The Philistine rulers followed them all the way to the border, watched them keep going,   Then, no doubt greatly relieved, they turned around and went home, convinced that everything would be ok now that the Ark was no longer in their territory. God returned the Ark 7 months after it had been captured.

But there is another little tidbit here about God protecting the Ark.  We read in 1 Sam 6:19 that 70 men were killed ...Israelites...because 'they had looked into the Ark of God.'

The Philistines had learned from the Egyptians not to try to prove themselves greater than the God of the Hebrews; apparently the Hebrews themselves needed a reminder not to treat the Ark of God like something common. The people of the area sent word to the next city over, Kiriath Jearim, and asked them to take the Ark because...they were not comfortable with it amongst them.  So it went to the house of Abinidab, where it stayed until King David undertook to move it to Jerusalem twenty years later.

But that's another story.

Meantime, the Israelites saw the hand of God in all of this and repented of their idolatry...

And Samuel said to the whole house of Israel, "If you are returning to the LORD with all your hearts, then rid yourselves of the foreign gods and the Ashtoreths and commit yourselves to the LORD and serve him only, and he will deliver you out of the hand of the Philistines." - 1 Sam 7:3

So, if I am reading things right (and the reference to the 20 years that the Ark was at Abinidab's is, I think, kind of a parenthetic thing, because Samuel died before the Ark was moved again.), Samuel's speech was right after the Ark was installed at Abinidab's.  So we are somewhere between 7 months and maybe a year or so after the Ark was captured, and the Israelites were still reeling from their losses in that battle.  So Samuel interceded, God intervened,  and we read in 2 Sam 7:13 - "So the Philistines were subdued and did not invate  Israelite territory again.  Throughout Samuel's lifetime, the hand of the LORD was against the Philistines."

Because the Israelites gave up their idols and served God with all their hearts. 

(Both references are Strong's 3824)

Friday, November 17, 2023

Blogging Bible Study: The Heart of the Matter - 1 Samuel Part 1 - Samuel and the Fall of the House of Eli

 Posted  by Lisa Laree to Beer Lahai Roi


Our perusal through the Bible looking at occurrences of 'Heart/ Hearts'  has wandered through Joshua, but, despite the prevailing thought that Ruth is a romantic story...there isn't a single mention of heart/hearts in the entire 4 chapters.  It's all about the inheritance, not romance.  So that brings us to the book of 1 Samuel, which has a surprising number of mentions.  I debated trying to look at the references thematically, but decided the best thing is probably to just follow the narrative, so today we're looking at the first 4 chapters (all references today, per usual, are from the NIV 84).

1 Samuel opens with the story of Hannah, the favored but childless second wife of one Elkanah, who was an Ephraimite.  Up to this time, the spiritual leaders of Israel had been the priests descended from Aaron, with the current leaders being Hophni and Phineas, sons of Eli of the house of Aaron.  These were corrupt leaders, who pursued their own agenda and abused their position, as we find in chapter 2, and Eli, their father, did nothing to correct them.  But this was all peripheral to Hannah, who was desperate to have a son.  When Elkanah's family were in Shiloh for a time of sacrifice and worship, Hannah made her way to the tabernacle to bring her pain and hope to God; Eli was sitting in a chair at the entrance.

As she kept on praying to the LORD, Eli observed her mouth. Hannah was praying in her heart, and her lips were moving but her voice was not heard.  Eli thought she was drunk and said to her, "How long will you keep on getting drunk?  Get rid of your wine." -- 1 Sam 1:13 [Heart: Strong's H3820]

Would all my private pray-ers wave at me?  I can pray with others, in front of others, for common concerns but if it comes to praying for me or mine...I wanna keep that between me and God.  This verse is extremely comforting to me...it is the second one we've encountered that indicates that God hears the prayers spoken only in the heart. Those burdens or concerns that should not be spoken to others can be spoken to God.  He hears.  And there's something else that this passage says, kind of tangentially, about Hannah's heart.  She didn't react to Eli's judgmental rebuke with offense.  She replied with humility, and Eli blessed her....although he didn't apologize.  She was comforted all the same...she left, she ate, and she received the answer she sought. And, as she had vowed, she brought her son Samuel back to Shiloh to serve God as soon as he was weaned, which I am sure was extremely difficult for her, but she rejoiced that God had heard her and blessed her even then.

Then Hannah prayed and said: "My heart rejoices in the LORD; in the LORD my horn is lifted high.  My mouth boasts over my enemies, for I delight in your deliverance"   -- 1 Sam 2:1, Strong's H3820.

Hannah's song goes on through verse 10; it's pretty amazing.  And they do, indeed, leave Samuel with Eli to be raised to serve God.  Hannah had 5 more kids...two daughters and three sons. Hannah saw Samuel when they came to Shiloh for worship, about once a year, and she would bring him a coat she'd made.  Her heart was brought from pain and despair to contentment.

But Eli and his family were under judgement.  You know how you think you know something and then suddenly realize it wasn't what you knew?  Yeah, that happened.  I thought Samuel was the one who prophesied the downfall of Eli's house...and he did, but he wasn't the first.  An unnamed 'man of God'  (1 Sam 2:27) came to Eli, apparently  while Samuel was still very young, and gave him a blistering prophecy, which includes

"Every one of you that I do not cut off from my altar will be spared only to blind your eyes with tears and to grieve your heart, and all your descendants will die in the prime of life." -- 1 Sam 2:33.  'Heart' here is a different Hebrew word - nepes (Strong's H5315), which is more commonly translated 'soul', having distinct implications of 'breath' .  Why it was translated 'heart' here instead of  'soul' I cannot guess...because 'grieve your soul' would make just as much sense.  In both cases, the implication is the seat of emotion.    

The man of God goes on to proclaim that, to prove his word true, both Hophni and Phineas would die on the same day, and that God said, "I will raise up for my self a faithful priest, who will do according to what is in my heart and mind.  I will firmly establish his house, and he will minister before my anointed one always." - 1 Sam. 2:35. (Strong's H3824)   As I typed that, I am reminded of something we'll see later, when God rejects Saul with almost the same language.  And, if I'm not mistaken, this is the first time we have encountered a reference to God's heart since the very first post, which looked at God's heart being grieved, and God making a promise in his heart.  In this case, he's referring to a man who does what is in his (God's) heart.  Which implies that humans can know the heart of God...or at least, know it enough to know his character and order their lives in accordance with the character of God.  Which is both an encouragement and a challenge.

In chapter 4, we come to the fulfillment of the prophecy of both the unknown 'man of God' and young Samuel.  I don't know how old Samuel is at this time; the chronology is a little vague, but the Israelites are battling the Philistines and try to use the Ark of the Covenant as a magic weapon of some sort, thinking God would act to protect it, which fails utterly.  Hophni and Phineas are killed and the Ark is captured.  News travels...

That same day, a Benjamite ran from the battle line and went to Shiloh, his clothes torn and dust on his head.  When he arrived, there was Eli sitting on his chair by the side of the road, watching, because his heart feared for the ark of God.  When the man entered the town and told what had happened, the whole town sent up a cry. -- 1 Sam 4:13 (Strong's H3820 again).

Eli, with a premonition of doom, probably related to the prophecies he had heard, was worried about the Ark and seated where he could get news.  I also wonder if Eli had counseled against taking the Ark to battle.  It was a bad idea...especially since they had had no word of God to do so (remember Ai?).  God did, of course, protect the Ark, but not how the Israelites had expected.  They were soundly defeated for their presumption.  Not once in the account of the fighting is there any indication the Israelites did what God had demonstrated to them over and over was necessary...seek His counsel for the coming battle.  Eli's heart knew.  And when he got word, he fell backwards from his chair...stricken?  Fainted?  Hard to say, because he broke his neck.  So even if he had a stroke or a heart attack, the fall killed him.

God hears our hearts...and God's heart can be known.  That's a good place to start if one is honestly seeking God.  


Friday, November 10, 2023

Blogging Bible Study: The Heart of the Matter- Judges, The Song of Deborah

 Posted by Lisa Laree to Beer Lahai Roi


In all the book of Judges, there are only three verses that reference 'heart/hearts'...all Strong's H3820 ...and they all occur in chapter 5. Mr. Scofield has labeled this chapter 'The Song of Deborah and Barak', a poetic response to the victory of Israel over the Canaanite army of Jabin, led by one bad dude named Sisera, who was dispatched in a grisly manner by a lady named Jael.

The song praises God for the victory, lauds the leaders who took initiative, berates the tribes that lagged and didn't fight, and recounts the actions of Jael, the woman who dealt the enemy the final blow.

My heart is with Israel's princes, with the willing volunteers among the people.  Praise the LORD!...The princes of Issachar were with Deborah; yes, Issachar was with Barak, rushing after him into the valley.  In the districts of Reuben there was much searching of heart.  Why did you stay among the campfires to hear the whistling for the flocks?  In the districts of Reuben there was much searching of heart.  - Judges 5:9, 15-16 NIV84

I really like the first verse of the song...When the princes in Israel take the lead, when the people willingly offer themselves -- praise the LORD!  (5:2); that kind of sets the tone for the whole song.  The leaders stepped up and the people followed.

Y'all, that'll preach.  But we are here to talk about hearts.

And the uses for 'heart' are kinda different than what we have looked at before.  The first one indicates that the heart of the psalmist (in this case, Deborah, from v. 7) is with the folks who rose up willingly to fight the battle.  She was interceding for them and proud of them.  They were doing the right thing.

It's a contrast to the use of 'heart' later in the chapter, which is the same phrase repeated:  In the districts of Reuben there was much searching of heart.  The folks of the tribe of Reuben apparently did not muster to the battle as the passage implies that they stayed around the campfires to mind sheep.  But what DID the 'searching of heart' actually mean here?  That they hemmed and hawed over the call to arms too long and missed it?  That they wanted to go to battle but couldn't convince themselves it was worth the risk? That they dug around in order to find an excuse not to go and decided they had to mind the sheep?  I'm honest, I really don't know what their issue was.  But whatever it was...they were listening to the internal dialogue and did not show up to help Israel defeat their enemies.

And that, too, will preach.  The enemy doesn't have to flat out convince us to choose wrongly; he can just throw us into enough internal conflict that, if we don't recognize what's going on, we spend so much time wrestling over some aspect of the issue that we ultimately take no action.  Which was his actual goal anyway.  Searching one's heart to find and root out sin and disobedience is a good thing; searching one's heart to find an excuse to not turn up when called is a whole 'nuther issue, and I'm as guilty of that as the next person.  

I would even go so far as to posit that searching one's heart to find an 'out' in such a situation is the first step to hardening one's heart to reject such appeals in the future.  And that is definitely a problem.

Friday, November 3, 2023

Blogging Bible Study: The Heart of the Matter - Joshua, Part 2

 Posted by Lisa Laree to Beer Lahai Roi


Of all the rest of the verses in Joshua that reference heart/hearts, one refers to hardened hearts; the rest refer to hearts devoted to God.

And...I'll be honest, given the current world events, I kinda feel like I need to treat that one verse with kid gloves; folks who are not convinced of the origin and authority of scripture could have a knee-jerk reaction to the content. So I am providing some context, but I can't quote the whole preceding two chapters about the battles....

Joshua waged war against these kings for a long time.  Except for the Hivites living in Gibeon, not one city made a treaty of peace with the Israelites, who took them all in battle. For it was the LORD himself who hardened their hearts to wage war against Israel, so that he  might destroy them totally, exterminating them without mercy, as the LORD had commanded Moses. -- Josh. 11: 18-20 (all references today from the NIV 84).

There are references in Scripture to the reasons why God commanded the Israelites to be merciless; I'm not going to chase that rabbit right now but if you are curious, look up the sin of the Amorites, and also look up the references to the practices of the people who occupied the land before the Israelites returned...particularly where God promises to send judgement upon the Israelites should they adopt those practices.  Conquering/ invading nations was one way God visited judgment upon disobedient and rebellious nations...even Israel/ Judah were subject to that judgement because they fell into the heinous idolatry of the day.  But it's a long and heavy topic and I'm looking at hearts so...I will also recommend going back and re-reading the posts about the hardening of Pharoah's heart from earlier in the study for a more detailed look at just what leads to a heart being hardened.

But...what is the protection against a hardened heart that brings judgment?  A fully devoted heart.

[Joshua speaking to the people] "But be very careful to keep the commandment and the law that Moses the servant of the LORD gave you: to love the LORD your God, to walk in all his ways, to obey his commands, to hold fast to him and serve him with all your heart and all your soul." - Josh. 22:5

[Joshua speaking to the people] "Now I am about to go the way of all the earth.  You know with all your heart and soul that not one of all the good promises the LORD your God gave you has failed.  Every promise has been fulfilled; not one has failed."  -- Josh. 23:14

[from Joshua's last address to the people] - "Now then," said Joshua, "throw away the foreign gods that are among you and yield your hearts to the LORD, the God of Israel." -- Josh. 24:23

I think it's interesting that Joshua reminds them that they know in their heart and soul what God has done for them...they have experienced it themselves.  They saw the Jordan run dry, they felt the ground shake when the walls of Jericho fell, they utterly defeated alliances of armies that far outnumbered them.  They had also seen the ground open up and swallow rebellion,  watched Aaron stand between the living and the dead to make atonement to stop a deadly plague, and they knew the sting of defeat because of greed and rebellion in the camp.  God kept ALL of his promises.

But the ultimate reminder from Joshua's last words to the people he led...fully commit your heart to your God.  

[I didn't include the Strong's numbers in the verses as I have been doing...it seems distracting when I re-read past posts.  But I still feel like I should still include them, so we'll try footnotes, lol. Josh. 11:20 uses H 3820, while the other three references are all H 3824, both of which we've looked at before..in fact, H 3820 is listed as a form of H 3824.]

Friday, October 13, 2023

Blogging Bible Study: The Heart of the Matter -- Joshua part 1, Melted Hearts

 Posted by Lisa Laree to Beer Lahai Roi


Part of the reason this post got delayed is that I wrote down a reference incorrectly when I was making my list and I had to go back to the concordance to see what it should have been.  That should have been a simple thing, but just getting around to pulling out that massive tome was a thing, lol.  But I have corrected my error and am moving forward, lol.

And I decided to split our time in Joshua into two posts, because, out of the eight verses that reference heart/ hearts, half of them reference fear.

Did you know fear is a solvent that melts hearts?   All references today from the NIV 84.

(Rahab speaking) "We have heard how the LORD dried up the water of the Red Sea for you when you came out of Egypt, and what you did to Sihon and Og, the two kings of the Amorites east of the Jordan, whom you completely destroyed. When we heard of it, our  hearts  [Strong's H3824melted and everyone's courage failed because of you, for the LORD your God is God in heaven above and on the earth below."    Josh. 2:10 - 11

Now when all the Amorite kings west of the Jordan and all the Canaanite kings along the coast heard how the LORD had dried up the Jordan before the Israelites until we had crossed over, their hearts [Strong's H3824] melted and they no longer had the courage to face the Israelites.  - Josh. 5:1 

When they returned, they said to Joshua, "Not all the people will have to go up against Ai.  Send two or three thousand men to take it and do not weary all the people, for only a few men are there." So about three thousand men went up, but they were routed by the men of Ai, who  killed about thirty-six of them.  They chased the Israelites from the city gate as far as the stone quarries and struck them down on the slopes.  At this, the hearts [Strong's H3824] of the people melted and became like water. -- Josh. 7: 3 -5

(Caleb speaking) "I was forty years old when Moses the servant of the LORD sent me from Kadesh Barnea to explore the land.  And I brought him back a report according to my convictions, but my brothers who went up with me made the hearts [Strong's H3820 of the people melt with fear.  I, however, followed the LORD my God wholeheartedly." -- Josh. 14: 7-8

Can I just be honest?  I was really surprised to see that the last reference uses a different Hebrew word, Leb, instead of Lebab, which is what we have been seeing over and over and is what is used in the first three references.

Which immediately set me on a rabbit trail to figure out why....what's the difference?  I found  that Leb is actually a form of Lebab (the 'b's are pronounced as 'v's, for what it's worth); both connotate the center, or innermost part, and they are used for identical meanings...almost interchangeably. But Strong's definitions seem to put a little more emphasis on emotions with Leb and possibly a little more emphasis on the actual heart (the organ) and the intellect and courage with Lebab.  But it's a very slight difference.  Someone who is a true Hebrew scholar could probably discern the difference based on the spelling but I'm not anywhere near that level.  For what we are looking at here, it's probably not enough of a difference to affect things.

I can categorize these verses several ways...two deal with fear in Israel; two deal with fear in their enemies.  Three deal with reputation...word of mouth...hearsay; one deals with an actual battle.  Of the two that deal with Israel's fear, one involves fear that comes as a result of  presumption and the other is fear that comes from a lack of faith. Both involve not consulting/ listening to God; doing things based on human reasoning instead of what God spoke.

But it's interesting that a heart that has melted from fear becomes incapable of doing anything.  For those who were opposing God's people, their fear was a protection for the Israelites while they re-circumcised the men...a very vulnerable few days for them.  But fear kept everyone away.  But for God's people...the fear came as a result of not asking God (presumption) or not listening to God (refusing to believe).  In both cases, it was disastrous.

So, how does this apply to fear today?  In an increasingly violent world...how do we deal with fear?

Rahab found herself in the camp of the enemies of Israel...and she abandoned her people to join with the Hebrews, and so saved herself and her family.  She took action in the face of fear...moving toward God.  For the Israelites themselves, dealing with the fear was a long lesson in obedience; one they didn't always remember, as there was 40 years in between the two referenced incidents.  But...after the debacle at Ai, they DID seek God and they DID follow his instructions and then...they got a do-over and won the second time, defeating two entities instead of just one.

It is a fallen world, and faith is not an absolute guarantee there won't be horrible things to endure.  It's not for nothing that we see the phrase 'the one who endures to the end' over and over in Revelation.  But an assurance of following God will go a long way to taking the solvent power out of fear.

Monday, October 9, 2023

Where's Lisa Been???

 Posted by Lisa Laree to Beer Lahai Roi

I told ya it was going to be a crazy fall.  

We're almost through it.

First...this happened...

Photo courtesy of The Princess.  I didn't pull my phone out to take pictures...

The Artist and his Dancer married on a bluff overlooking the Tennessee River, on a lovely day with eagles hanging around.  Couldn't have asked for a more perfect setting.  And, yes, I did finish the dress on time...barely.  (If you haven't read that post yet, click through...I'm not going to retype the shenanigans The Artist pulled on his family in the ceremony, lol).  To top off the weekend, I had to be at church early the next morning to get folks registered for the quarterly baptism service.  So, yeah. Crazy.

I thought I would get stuff done the next weekend.  My Sweet Babboo was on a Royal Ranger campout, so I had the weekend to work on a project for a friend, catch up the laundry that didn't get done over the wedding weekend, clean up the sewing room, write the next Heart blog post...

But, well, a few weeks ago I listened to a Makers and Mystics podcast on which Stephen interviewed Sam Smith, who'd written an epic series about anthropomorphized rabbits.  Think Redwall, not 
Watership Down.  After listening to the podcast, I bopped over to Sam's website and ordered the books.

And then forgot about them.

Well, Thursday night, on the brink of my 'I'm going to catch up' weekend...those books came in the mail.

So guess what I did on my 'catch up' weekend....

Had a very late night, but I can report that the good guys win, albeit not without cost. and I might even have shed a tear or two in the final boss fight...er, last battle.  I found the books easier to get 'in to' than the Wingfeather series, if a bit long in descriptions in places.  Overall...good books.  

I'm calling it a mental health break, lol.

I did get the dress  hemmed for my friend (it was a rather crisis thing and she had no one else to do it.  I made her promise not to tell who did it, lol), so it wasn't a complete washout, but I did NOT get the laundry done.


Then this past weekend we went to the state Assembly of God conference center for the annual Ranger Commander/ wives conference.


We had a cold front come through, and I managed to catch the resulting mist dancing on the small lake yesterday morning.  It's such a pretty, restful place.  

We had a fair amount of free time, so I dug into another book...



this one was 'suggested' to the church staff.  It's...interesting.  I'm about 2/3 of the way through it.

The wifi/ cell signal is not terrific up on the mountain where the conference center is, but the news about the attack on Israel filtered up to us in pieces.  We had a little over 50 folks from church on a tour of Israel last week; they were headed to the airport to start the trip home when the attacks began.  They did manage to get out, after a bit of time in a bomb shelter at the airport.  They were on what turned out to be the last commercial flight to leave on Saturday, but they are all home safe.  I am gobsmacked by the details coming out about that attack; remembering a quote from the Lord of the Rings movies...'What can men do against such unreasoning hate?'  


The photo is from my trip to Israel in 2019.   When they first announced this year's trip, I told my hubby..."this is our trip.  We need to go."  But then both sons decided to get married this fall, so a trip to Israel just wasn't going to happen for us. Who knows now when or if we'll get to make the trip together. This could get very bad...but we can pray.

I don't know if I will manage to get the next Heart post up before the end of the month or not.  We still have some crazy left to get through; but at least the rest of the crazy should be somewhat fun...

All that to say, yeah, I'm still here and I'll post the next few instalments in the series when I can...around the laundry, I'm sure. ;-)


Wednesday, September 27, 2023

Falling into the Hodgepodge...just for fun

 Posted by Lisa Laree to Beer Lahai Roi



I haven't done the Hodgepodge in a hot minute...but now that the Weddings are both in the rear view mirror, and Fall is officially...well, at least sort of...here, I thought I'd just jump in and have some fun.  So here are my thoughts for this week's edition...

1. It's officially fall y'all. In the northern hemisphere anyway. Any signs of it where you are? What's your favorite thing about this time of year? 

Well, in these parts we really don't see what I'd call Fall until around the first weekend of November...peak fall color can be as late as Thanksgiving. We're still in mid-to-upper 80's for the 10 day forecast, so I'm not hurrying to pull out the sweaters and the boots.  But it is nice that it's not absolutely ROASTING outside.  My favorite thing about fall is probably the cozy settling in...the fire in the fire place, s'mores, and knowing that the holidays are coming and we'll see everyone before too long.

2. Have you visited any 'falls' in person? Tell us about one of your favorites? Of the following top ten famous falls (according to this site ) which would you most like to see in person-

Victoria Falls (Zimbabwe/Zambia), Igazu Falls (Argentina/Brazil), Niagara Falls (US/Canada), Angel Falls (Venezuela), Yosemite Falls (California), Dettifoss (Iceland) Kaieteur Falls (Guyana), Plitvice Waterfalls (Croatia), Gullfoss-Golden Falls (Iceland), or Sutherland Falls (New Zealand)

I've been to Niagara and Yosemite, although the trip to Yosemite was in August and there was barely a trickle over the falls.  Niagara was amazing; there's a spot on the Canadian side where the walkway railing is just a few feet from the edge; you can see through the water as it goes over and really, it's not that deep.  But it's moving fast.  I kind of subconsciously felt like it should be turned off at night, which I know is completely absurd.  I think my puny little brain just couldn't fathom that much water pouring down without stopping.

3. What's something you'll miss about summer? 

Daylight.  We're on the eastern edge of the time zone, so by the winter solstice the sun sets at like, 4:30 in the afternoon.  Depressing.

4. A favorite fall recipe?

Russian Tea!

2 cups Tang

1 cup instant tea (no sugar, no lemon)

2 packages unsweetened lemon Kool-aid

2 tsp. ground cinnamon

1 tsp. ground cloves.

Put all in a tupperware container, seal it up and shake it really well.  2 teaspoons of mix in a cup of hot water...sweeten with sugar or honey to taste.

Beats Pumpkin Spice Anything hands down....

5. Something you enjoy but lately have allowed it to 'fall by the wayside'? 

Oy.  I have been hankering to pull out my clarinet and play a bit, but I've lost my binder of music.  I put it in a new one a couple of years back because the old black one was falling apart and...now I can't find it.

6. Insert your own random thought here. 

I have much Fall Cleaning to do.  Much too much.  But I have managed...so far...to keep my Commitment Level for Things in the Fall down considerably from the past few years, so maybe I can actually get that Round Tuit thing...

Friday, September 22, 2023

Blogging Bible Study: The Heart of the Matter - Deuteronomy, Discourse Five

 Posted by Lisa Laree to Beer Lahai Roi


And so we come to the final discourse and conclusion of Deuteronomy, chapters 31 - 34.  There is only one verse that mentions heart...and that is Deut. 32:46, following the passage known as the 'Song of Moses', verses 1-43 of chapter 32.  I'm going to include the whole sentence, lol.

When Moses finished reciting all these words to all Israel, he said to them, "Take to heart all the words I have solemnly declared to you this day, so that you may command your children to obey carefully all the words of this law."

The Hebrew word for heart is,  as almost all have been, Strong's H3824, Lebab.  

As I typed that verse out, the word command stood out.  Command your children.  

And it hit me...IF the words are taken to heart, THEN the result is that the next generation will be diligently taught...commanded...to carefully obey all of those words.  Which will include taking the words to heart and doing the same with the generation following them.

Take a selah moment right there.

I am reminded of a situation I had back years ago, teaching young people in our denominational church.  One family stood out to me; with a single child, they stated that they were 'going to let [the child] decide what to believe and not push their beliefs onto [said child].'

That wasn't an isolated opinion, although it was more rare in that particular denomination than in more...progressive...churches.

Now, I totally get that forcing kids to toe a religious line just purely from a legalistic stance often produces rebellion and pushes the kids away from faith altogether.  I have seen it happen.

Which is why the phrase take to heart is so key.  We are not talking about an externally enforced list of  requirements.  This is about living out of personal, heart- felt convictions.  Part of teaching the kids to carefully obey the word of God includes teaching them to take those teachings to heart.

And the word 'command' makes it clear that such teaching is not optional, is not left up to the kids to decide what they want to believe.  No, from a very young age, the kids are to be taught to take to heart  the words of God, so then carefully obeying those words will be part of who they are.

So...I have to ask...how are we teaching our children to take God's word to heart?  

Because, has we have found in earlier lessons, obedience is a heart issue. 

Friday, September 15, 2023

Blogging Bible Study: The Heart of the Matter - Deuteronomy, Discourse 4

 Posted by Lisa Laree to Beer Lahai Roi


Like Discourse Three, Discourse 4 only covers 2 chapters... Deuteronomy 29 -30.  We have one verse in chapter 29 (all scriptures today taken as usual from the NIV 84):

Make sure there s no man or woman, clan or tribe among you today whose heart [H 3824] turns away from the LORD our God to go and worship the gods of those nations; make sure there is no root among you that produces such bitter poison.  -- Deut. 29:18

I read that verse and it pulled me up to a full stop....'bitter poison' needs a selah.

What is compared to bitter poison in this verse?  Worshiping the gods of other nations, other cultures.  Foreign gods, which starts with turning away from the Lord, the deliverer and provider that the Israelites have known.  Specifically, the heart turns away.  Why, after seeing God move and work, would someone's heart...or the heart of a family or tribe...turn away from the Lord?  What is the root that leads to the heart turning away?  We will see a similar warning in Hebrews; I thought for a minute about throwing that into the discussion but, no, we'll talk about that when we get there.  Just know that this concept shows up in the New Testament....that the people who seem to follow God can still have a heart that turns away.

But there is something in the core of some people that results in the heart turning away.  A root.  Disappointment, unbelief, entitlement, rebellion...it could be any number of things that, if not dealt with, will fester and result in a heart that turns away.  

And we all know the consequences of turning away from God.  'Bitter poison' is a good analogy.

Is there anything in my heart that could produce a turning away from God? Selah.

Moving on...

When all these blessings and curses I have set before you come upon you and you take them to heart [H 3824] wherever the LORD your God disperses you among the nations, and when you and your children return to the LORD your God with all your heart [H 3824] and with all your soul according to everything I command you today, then the LORD your God will restore your fortunes and have compassion on you and gather you again from all the nations where he has scattered you. -- Deut 30:1-3

The LORD your God will circumcise your hearts [H 3824] and the hearts [H 3824] of your descendants, so that you may love him with all your heart [H 3824] and with all your soul, and live. -- Deut 30:6

The LORD will again delight in you and make you prosperous, just as he delighted in your fathers, if you obey the LORD your God and keep his commands and decrees that are written in this Book of the Law and turn to the LORD your God with all your heart [H 3824] and with all your soul. -- Deut. 30: 9b - 10.

No, the word is very near you; it is in our mouth and in your heart [H 3824] so that you may obey it. -- Deut. 30:14

But if your heart [H 3824] turns away and you are not obedient, and if you are drawn away to other gods and worship them,  I declare to you this day that you will certainly be destroyed.  You will not live long in the land you are crossing the Jordan to enter and possess. -- Deut. 30:17-18

These verses make a very nice little condensation of the narrative... repentance, restoration, obedience, and a warning against idolatry.  

And we see again a reference to a circumcised heart. In Deut. 10:16, the Israelites were instructed to circumcise their own hearts, here we see that God will circumcise their hearts...but that is after dispersion and repentance and restoration.  And...I think I've mentioned it before, but it is worth noting that, after the return from the Babylonian exile, the Hebrews never again fell into national idolatry.  

That's an interesting point to ponder.

Of course, this is all followed up by the well-known passage from Deuteronomy in which Moses exhorts the Israelites to 'choose life'...by loving and obeying the Lord.

Once more I am struck by the concept that the covenant was so simple...obey God and serve him only, and he would prosper and protect the people.

But...that root that led to turning away and following other gods poisoned it all...

Friday, September 8, 2023

Blogging Bible Study: The Heart of the Matter - Deuteronomy, Discourse 3

 Posted by Lisa Willis to Beer Lahai Roi


I went to my list of verses this morning to see how much ground there is to cover today and was surprised to see that Discourse Three is only two chapters long....the blessings and curses.

And there are only two verses in those two chapters that mentions 'heart/hearts'... and they are in the same paragraph so I'll just include the pertinent bit:

Among those nations you will find no repose, no resting place for the sole of your foot.  There the LORD will give you an anxious mind, eyes weary with longing , and a despairing heart. You will live in constant suspense, filled with dread both night and day, never sure of your life.  In the morning you will  say "If only  it were evening!" and in the evening, "If only it were morning!" -- because of the terror that will fill your hearts and the sights that your eyes will see.  -- Deut. 28:65-67, NIV 84

First, a quick look at the Hebrew words used in those two verses shows that  'hearts' in verse 67 is Strong's 3824, which we have seen so often, but the word rendered 'heart' in verse 65 is Strong's 3820.  Both carry the connotation of innermost part, the seat of emotions.

This is a description of trauma.  And if you read the whole context, you will find that it is the consequences of idolatry.

Following other gods.  Worshiping other deities.  Dividing one's loyalty between Yahweh and...others.

As I was pondering that, it suddenly hit me that idolatry is a heart issue.  And look at the consequences... a heart full of fear, dread, despair, terror.  That's what idolatry does.  Because an idol, ultimately, cannot save, deliver, edify, encourage...anything.  

By and large, we don't worship statuettes, but that is not the only expression of idolatry.  Think of the Rich Young Ruler, who loved his riches/ his lifestyle too much to respond to Jesus' instruction to sell everything, give it away and follow him.  That's a clear cut case of idolatry.  The religious rulers of Jesus' day who valued their interpretation of Scripture so highly that they completely missed when their own Messiah stood in front of them.  They valued their status and position so highly that they successfully plotted to hand Jesus over to the Romans to execute, so they could keep the political status quo.

Lifestyle/ position/ power...sounds a lot like the ol' Triple P threat (pleasure, possessions, power).  

Am I more concerned with one of those 'P's' than I am pleasing and obeying God?  

If I am...that's idolatry.  And idolatry will have consequences.

Gonna be pondering that today, I think.

Friday, September 1, 2023

Blogging Bible Study - The Heart of the Matter : Deuteronomy, Discourse 2

 Posted by Lisa Laree to Beer Lahai Roi


Oy.  I have a big ol' bite to chew today.  Didn't realize that the second discourse in Deuteronomy covers chapters FOUR through TWENTY-SIX.  There is some repetition...and some interesting thoughts.  

There's a lot to look at here; I'm going to list all the verses out and we'll talk about the concepts pertaining to heart/ hearts...just be ready. Grab a cuppa and let's peruse this list together.  All references today are, as usual, from the NIV 84.

"'Oh, that their hearts would be inclined to fear me and keep all my commands always, so that it might go well with them and their children forever!'"  -- Deut. 5:29

"Hear, O Israel: The LORD our God, the LORD is one. Love the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength. These commandments that I give you today are to be upon your hearts." -- Deut. 6: 4-6

"Remember how the LORD our God led you all the way in the desert these forty years, to humble you and to test you in order to know what was in your heart, whether or not you would keep his commandments....  Know then in your heart that as a man disciplines his son, so the LORD your God disciplines you."   - Deut. 8:2, 5

"Otherwise, when you eat and are satisfied, when you build fine houses and settle down, and when your herds and flocks grow large and your silver and gold increase and all you have is multiplied, then your heart will become proud and you will forget the LORD your God, who brought you out of Egypt, out of the land of slavery."  - Deut. 8:12-14

"And now, O Israel, what does the LORD your God ask of you but to fear the LORD your God, to walk in all his ways, to love him, to serve the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul, and to observe the LORD's commands and decrees that I am giving you today for your own good?.... Circumcise your hearts, therefore, and do not be stiff-necked any longer. -- Deut. 10:12-13, 16

"Remember today that your children were not the ones who saw and experienced the discipline of the LORD your God:  his majesty, his mighty hand, his outstretched arm; the signs he performed and the things he did in the heart of Egypt, both to Pharoah king of Egypt and to his whole country;" - Deut. 11:2-3

"So if you faithfully obey the commands I am giving you today -- to love the LORD your God and to serve him with all your heart and with all your soul -- then I will send rain on the land in its season, both autumn and spring rains, so that you may gather in your grain, new wine and oil." -- Deut. 11: 13-14

"Fix these words of mine in your hearts and minds; tie them as symbols on your hands and bind them on your foreheads." -- Deut. 11:18

"If a prophet, or one who foretells by dreams, appears among you and announces a miraculous sign or wonder, and if the sign or wonder of which he has spoken takes place, and he says, 'Let us follow other gods' (gods you have not known) 'and let us worship them,' you must not listen to the words of that prophet or dreamer.  The LORD your God is testing you to find out whether you love him with all your heart and with all your soul." -- Deut. 13:1-3

"Give generously to [a needy brother] and do so without a grudging heart; then because of this the LORD your God will bless you in all your work and in everything you put your hand to. -- Deut. 15:10

" [The king] must not take many wives, or his heart will be led astray.  He must not accumulate large amounts of silver and gold."  -- Deut.  17:17

"The Lord your God commands you  this day to follow these decrees and laws; carefully observe them with all your heart and with all your soul."  -- Deut. 26:16

First, the technical notes...I did go back to see which Hebrew words were used for 'Heart' and I found a couple of interesting things regarding the translation. All of the words rendered 'Heart' or 'Hearts' in this list are the same Hebrew word we've been looking at in the last couple of posts... Lebab (Strong's H3824)... except  for Deut. 11:3.  That one is Tavek (Strong's H 8432), which is rendered 'Midst' in other translations. I found the BLB listing to be kind of vague, so I actually pulled out our Zodhiates Study Old Testament (no affiliation there, just wanted to show what I was talking about) and looked it up in the Lexical Aids.  Zodhiates rendered  it 'Tawech', and reports that it is from an unused root word meaning 'to sever'. It has a prepositional construction, so in that verse it references a location: between, in the midst of, within.  It is also used to  mean 'in the innermost recesses of a man'...which could be poetically described as 'the heart of' someone, although that meaning isn't a primary interpretation of  H8342.  So including that verse in this list is entirely dependent upon the translation; had I looked up 'heart/ hearts' in a concordance based on a different translation, it wouldn't have shown up.  But...God did do his work in the innermost parts of Egypt, so, yeah, poetic language.  The other thing I found that puzzled me is also in Deut. 11...the voice is Moses' throughout the passage, but suddenly we have a blessing for obedience using the 1st person... 'I will send rain...'.  Now, Moses was not going to send rain.  But there's no indication that he's quoting.  In fact, when I looked this up,  the Hebrew really doesn't list a pronoun at all there....more like 'rain will be sent in its season'.  That's a mystery beyond my elementary level comprehension, lol.  But I had to mention those two things just to be fully transparent.

Now, if you actually read through all of that scripture with attention, give yourself a pat on the back.  I know when a bunch of Bible verses are just listed like that we tend to glaze over and skim.  But if you really read it...you will find, like I did, that it all fits together.

The basis of obedience is in the heart.  Yes, there are lots of specific things recorded in that second discourse that I didn't get into...dos and do nots.  But over and over we see that obedience is a heart issue.  One who truly loves God in their innermost self will be careful to be obedient.  Not from obligation...from love.

I am of the mind that the verses that reference God testing hearts wasn't so GOD could find out what was in their hearts...it was so the people would have to be honest about what was in their hearts.  It's easy to talk faith and obedience...until life actually requires a choice between faith-and-obedience and, say, doing what makes sense.  It's the choice that shows what's really in the heart.

Remember, a choice isn't a decision...a choice is an action. And I'm just gonna straight up say this.....you show what's in your heart by the choices that you make. 

And, as an aside, we did find another characteristic of an uncircumcised heart...an uncircumcised heart is a stubborn ('stiff necked') heart (10:16).  

Lots to ponder today.

Tuesday, August 29, 2023

A Walk At Sunset

 Posted by Lisa Laree to Beer Lahai Roi

The cooler air arrived, and I wanted to go for an evening stroll.

I put in my earbuds and hit the 'Makers and Mystics' podcast, picking up in the middle of a roundtable discussion and started down the hill.

Then I noticed the sky.

And I turned around and went all the way back to the front porch to get a picture.


The textures in the sky were glorious.  I took the pic and then headed back down the street with every intention of doing the Usual Route...maybe a bit shortened, since it was getting on for dark.

I took another picture as I started down the hill again.


The lighting was already changing when I got to the curve at the bottom of the hill


I went around the corner and, coming up on the intersection where I typically would go straight, a couple with a little dog came  up from the main road and turned that way.

Suddenly, I decided I wanted to head to the main road and follow the sunset.



There's just one house between the neighborhood street and the main road through the valley; one little bit of road heading west.  I planned to turn south at the main road and look for open sky.

But just a bit south I decided to cross the road and walk through the park as the light was still changing.


There's a creek that runs along the back of the park, with a foot bridge to the greenway on the other side.  

I got a bit of the reflection in the water.


The athletic fields at the middle school on the other side let me get underneath the power lines and get an unobstructed view.


It's amazing how much the color intensifies when zoomed in a bit.


But the power lines do, after all, add a bit of context/ texture.


I turned around and started back home.  The sky off to the southeast was lit up as well.


I looked back over my shoulder and couldn't resist another shot zoomed in on the fabulousness.


There's something rather metaphorical about looking at the sunset through chain links.


The last look back before I left the park:


Heading back up from the main road the streetlight was just barely strong enough to cast a shadow in the twilight


And finally, took one last picture from the end of the porch...where I took the first one.


Had I taken the normal walk, I'd've been mostly on tree-lined streets where I would barely get a glimpse of the sky now and then.

I'm so glad I followed the sunset.

The heavens declare the glory of God; the skies proclaim the work of his hands.  Day after day, they pour forth speech; night after night they display knowledge.  There is no speech or language where their voice is not heard.  - Ps. 19:1 - 3, NIV84