Posted by Lisa Laree to Beer Lahai Roi
So our little tour of the Bible, looking at references to 'Heart/ hearts' has brought us to Deuteronomy.
There are a LOT of references to check in Deuteronomy.
But, Deuteronomy is actually a collection of five discourses that Moses gave to the people before God walked him up the mountain so I think that's going to be a rather natural way to break up the listings into manageable chunks.
The First Discourse is recorded in chapters 1-4, according to Mr. Scofield's notes, so that's what we're considering today. Incidentally, all the references to 'heart' today are same word we looked at last week, Strong's H3824 - lebab,.
In his discussion of their history at Kadesh Barnea, Moses recalled the report returned by the twelve scouts sent to have a look around, and the reaction of the people:
You grumbled in your tents and said, "The LORD hates us; so he brought us up out of Egypt to deliver us into the hands of the Amorites to destroy us. Where can we go? Our brothers have made us lose heart. They say, 'The people are stronger and taller than we are; the cities are large, with walls up to the sky. We even saw the Anakites there.'" -- Deut. 1: 27 -28, NIV84
There is so much twisted stuff in that passage...it really shows the level of deception folks can allow themselves to accept. "The LORD hates us.". No. The Lord loved his people; he was concerned and he delivered them from slavery and oppression in Egypt. Sure, they were going to have to fight and take risks in order to claim the promise, but it was a real promise, not a fake one to lure them to destruction. God doesn't work that way. In fact, everything that they accused God of doing is the OPPOSITE of what God was actually doing. Why? Because 'Our brothers have made us lose heart',' and H 3824 also has the connotation of 'courage'.
They lost all their courage because ten of those scouts were afraid of the effort, completely forgetting that God had promised to deliver everything over to them. And because they forgot what God had promised, they only perceived the threat and decided God was against them.
The next reference is in chapter 2, and it's a generation later and the Israelites are moving to the east, headed for the plains of Moab on the east side of the Jordan. They had asked for permission to cross the territory of one of the Amorite kings...
But Sihon king of Heshbon refused to let us pass through. For the LORD your God had made his spirit stubborn and his heart obstinate in order to give him into your hands, as he has done now. - Deut. 2:30
This concept is not a new one; this is the same sort of thing that happened in Exodus, when Pharoah's heart was hardened.
The other references are all in chapter four...in which Moses looks to the future:
Only be careful, and watch yourselves closely so that you do not forget the things your eyes have seen or let them slip from your heart as long as you live. Teach them to your children and to their children after them. - Deut 4:9 -10
And, if they should ever fall away from worshiping God:
The LORD will scatter you among the peoples, and only a few of you will survive among the nations to which the LORD will drive you. There you will worship man-made gods of wood and stone, which cannot see or hear or eat or smell. But if from there you seek the LORD your God, you will find him if you look for him with all your heart and with all your soul. - Deut 4:27-29
In summation of the First Discourse:
Acknowledge and take to heart this day that the LORD is God in heaven above and on earth below. There is no other. - Deut 4:39
I see a real contrast between the verses in chapter 4 and the passage in chapter 1. They forgot all the things they had seen prior to the events at Kadesh Barnea (4:9), they accused God of treachery instead of seeking him (4:29) and they failed utterly to acknowledge that God is over everything (4:39).
That generation was destroyed. They never saw the promise. They chose to believe a narrative that upended everything they had known about God to that point. He had brought them out of oppression and completely cut off their oppressors. He had given them food, water, and guidance in the desert. He had given them victory over the Amalekites. He had given them guidance, which also provided warmth at night (pillar of fire) and shade in the day (pillar of cloud). They had themselves heard his voice at Sinai. But, because a handful of dudes forgot all this and were afraid that they, in themselves, could not defeat any enemies and said so to the people, all of those things God had done for them in the last year and half or so didn't matter (pause for a moment to consider how truly recent all those events were at that point; it wasn't ancient history). They decided to believe that God was going to abandon them to be annihilated.
I have been in situations where people told me what I thought or why I did something...and what they said had nothing whatever to do with what was going on in my head. But there was no convincing them that their assessments were incorrect. If I felt completely frustrated in those cases, I can only imagine how God felt when the people not only didn't acknowledge what he had done for them but declared that his thoughts and intentions for the people were the exact opposite of what they really were, despite all the evidence. So, yeah, they literally got what they expected...it wasn't his plan, but he gave it to them anyway. Because they declared it to be true.
So...wow. Be careful...be very, very careful...if you find yourself inclined to assign motives or intentions to God's heart. Because you could be wrong. But he could just let you have what you expect instead of what he intended.
Don't assume on God's behalf. Seek him and find him and you'll know.
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