A Blast from the Past...

 Posted by Lisa Laree to Beer Lahai Roi

Just a little story about my writing process...or not, lol.

Last week I had a chat with a friend who is a published author and a supporter of new writers.  Something came up in our conversation that hit a nerve and I suddenly remembered A Thing I had started writing back when my kids were small.

I gave her a quick -ish- synopsis of the story and she strongly encouraged me to pull it out and finish it.

She asked me how many words I'd written and.. I had no idea.  I was, however, pretty sure everything I've ever written was somewhere in my writing folder under my documents.  I'd been pretty careful to make sure to move stuff over.

So the next day, whilst My Sweet Babboo was on a camping trip, I sat down to the computer and pulled up the writing folder.

Nothing.

I poked around a while in some other folders.

Still nothing.

I ran searches on key words and...still nothing.

I looked on our backup drive. More nothing.

Somehow, that file didn't get transferred over to this computer.  It may not even have been on the previous one.

Rats.  Could I re-write it?  

As I was heading to bed that night, I suddenly remembered that there is a physical folder in the filing cabinet with some of my old writing in it.  Maybe...

The next day, I looked and, lo and behold, there it was.

Y'all.  That is CONTIUNOUS FEED paper from a DOT MATRIX printer.  I knew it was old, but I didn't know it was THAT old.  And the backup is apparently on that old floppy disc.  I'd written it on the very first computer we owned... a hand-me-down Apple IIc.  I suspect the files weren't compatible with the Windows machine we replaced it with.

Only about half of what I wrote is on the printout, but what is there is a hoot.

Nobody has a cell phone.  The protagonist checks her phone messages.  They rent a movie from Blockbuster.   She made coffee from those little single-serving tea-bag thingies (remember those?).

I am going to see if a local Old Computer Tech company can extract the files from the floppy disc...but, wow, there's a LOT of work that needs doing, lol. The basic plot is not affected by the time period but all those details...

Or maybe I'll just leave it set in the 90's and call it a creative choice, lol.  

But first to see if the files can be salvaged.

Blogging Bible Study: the Heart of the Matter - Psalms, Part 4; Ps. 31 - 40

 Posted by Lisa Laree to Beer Lahai Roi

Our perusal through the scripture, looking at verses containing 'heart/ hearts' as listed in the NIV Exhaustive Concordance brings us to the last verse in Ps. 31,  another of David's,  which seems particularly appropriate at this point in time:

Be strong and take heart, all you who hope in the LORD.  -- Ps. 31:24  

"Heart" here is Strong's H3824, Lebab which we have seen many times.  But as best I can tell, that first phrase is translated from three words, Hazaq (Strong's 2388) amets (Strong's h553) lebab  ...strong courage heart.

Other translations phrase this such that it is GOD who strengthens the heart. "Take heart' as always seemed to be a rather odd phrase to me.  From where do I take this?  What specifically am I taking?  I've always just sort of read that as 'receive strength and courage from God' anyway, so for it to be translated along those lines makes sense.     

Next up is the last verse in Ps. 32, again, written by David; I'm going to add the previous verse for context - 

Many are the woes of the wicked, but the LORD's unfailing love surrounds the man who trusts in him.     Rejoice in the LORD and be glad, you righteous; sing, all you who are upright in heart! --Ps. 32:11

"Heart" is the other most-frequently-used word, Strong's H3820, Leb   This is a description of character...'upright in heart' ...folks who have a clear conscience and earnestly try to do the right thing.  Praising God is a natural occurrence with those folks.

No psalmist is mentioned as authoring Ps. 33; there are three verses that mention 'Heart/Hearts': 

But the plans of the LORD stand firm forever, the purposes of his heart through all generations. - Ps. 33:11; 'heart' is H3820 again.  This verse speaks of God's heart, not man's.  God's heart has purposes...which are fixed and eternal.

From his dwelling place he watches all who live on earth -- he who forms the hearts of all, who considers everything they do.  Ps. 33:14-15 "hearts'  is H3820 again.  The hearts of mankind, formed by God and visible to him.  

One thing that has struck me through the years...folks who are, um, lackadaisical about following the exhortation of scripture but shrug it off as too difficult or inconvenient, saying 'The Lord knows my heart."  ...don't seem to realize that yes, the Lord knows every individual's  heart.   And knows the self-deception that makes deliberate disobedience seem ok.  The Lord knows our hearts better than we do.  To me, my heart desires to do better but I struggle.  God sees the underlying rebellion that my actions manifest, despite claiming the heart wants to do better. He REALLY knows.  Which is why the fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom...recognizing that he is not fooled.  He. Knows.

In him our hearts rejoice, for we trust in his holy name. -- Ps. 33:21; 'Hearts' is H3020 again.  

I am reminded of the almost physical sensation of a 'rejoicing heart'...something that almost always happens when I contemplate God's goodness.

The next Psalm that mentions 'heart/ hearts' is Ps. 36...one of David's

An oracle is within my heart concerning the sinfulness of the wicked:  There is no fear of God before his eyes. -- Ps. 36:1; 'Heart' is, once more, Strong's H3820.  

"Oracle" - prophetic declaration...As a writer, I can kind of identify here. The word that is fizzing around and must be written down.  David  has something burning inside and he has to express it.

Continue your love to those who know you, your righteousness to the upright in heart  -- Ps. 36: 10.  We are going to get some repetition of poetic phrases; I'm kind of surprised we haven't really had more.  "Heart" is, again, H3820, and it's a repeat of the phrase 'Upright in heart', except this time David is talking about the response of God to someone who is upright in heart. 

Psalm 37 is also one of David's:

This is one of the verses that gets quoted a LOT:

Delight yourself in the LORD and he will give you the desires of your heart. -- Ps 37:4; 'Heart' is H3820 again.

We tend to look at that verse and think that means God will give us whatever we want.  But there's a frequently overlooked condition that begs the question -- What does it mean to 'delight oneself in the LORD'.  Doesn't that mean that we make HIM our main desire?  Pursuing God out of the desire of the heart WILL find that desire fulfilled.  It doesn't mean if I go to church and do the stuff that God's going to give me a new car and a bigger house....

The next two verses need context so I'll include it.

The wicked draw the sword and bend the bow to bring down the poor and needy, to slay those whose ways are upright.  But their swords will pierce their own hearts, and their bows will be broken.  -- Ps. 37: 14-15.  'Hearts' is, again, H3820, referring this time to the actual organ; basically, the attacks of the wicked will be turned back on them.  Eventually.

The mouth of the righteous man utters wisdom, and his tongue speaks what is just. The law of his God is in his heart and his feet do not slip.  -- Ps. 37:30-31; H3820 again.

Again, a character description.  The heart...the source...contains God's law.  So wisdom and justice are what is spoken and the walk is solid.

Ps. 38 is a lament of David, owing to his own sin.

I am feeble and utterly crushed; I groan in aguish of heart.  All my longings lie open before you, O Lord; my sighing is not hidden from you.  My heart pounds, my strength fails me, even the light has gone from my eyes. -- Ps. 38:8-10; both instances of 'Heart' are H3820.

The whole psalm describes the physical and mental anguish of guilt and shame, with full acknowledgement that God sees, God knows, and God helps once confession is made.

In Ps. 39, David laments the futility of trying to keep from saying things that will cause trouble by just...not saying anything.  Didn't work.

My heart grew hot within me, and as I meditated, the fire burned; then I spoke with my tongue. - Ps. 39:3; 'Heart' is, once more, H3820

Oh, I know this feeling!  The bee in the bonnet that just gets louder and more bothersome until...the words come out of the mouth (or posted on social media) and, oh, then there's TROUBLE.

Seen a lot of that lately....

One more Psalm today, another of David's...

I desire to do your will, O my God; you law is within my heart. I proclaim righteousness in the great assembly; I do not seal my lips, as you know, O LORD. I do not hid your righteousness in my heart; i speak of your faithfulness and salvation.  I do not conceal your love and your truth from the great assembly. -- Ps. 40:8-10.  'Heart' in verse 10 is H 3820 again, but the word rendered 'Heart; in verse 8 is H 4578 - me'e  - belly, bowels, heart, womb.  Guts.

He feels God's love deep in his guts, and declares it freely.  Which is so much better than spewing the long-stewed-over reaction speech that causes issues.

Do not withhold your mercy from me, O LORD; may your love and your truth always protect me.  For troubles without number surround me; my sins have overtaken me and I cannot see.   They are more than the hairs of my head, and my heart fails within me. -- Ps. 40:11-12.; H3820 again.

Sounds like the results of sin have caught up to him and he's feeling overwhelmed; so he does the only thing he can do...he turns to God for deliverance and help.

There were a lot of verses today;  it's kind of disjointed feeling to me but there are some nuggets definitely worth pondering.  Do I truly delight myself in the Lord??? is definitely not the least of them.

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.

What do you mean Monday is Labor Day?????

Posted by Lisa Laree to Beer Lahai Roi

It's been busy in...and out of...these parts.  Work like crazy, and head out of town for the weekend.

I worked Friday the...9th? Yeah, the 9th.  Then was gone the next two weeks.  Fridays are normally not a work day, as our church offices are closed, but there is a big project going down and I went in to get a jump on it.  

Then the 16th was our 44th wedding anniversary, and we repeated a trip from ten years ago and spent the weekend at Cheaha State Park...which includes the highest point in Alabama.

Pulpit Rock, from the lodge area

Gorgeous views.  And, according to my Strava reading, we walked 5 miles on Saturday. 

My Sweet Babboo at the top of the mountain.

 May have overdone it just a bit, being 10 weeks out from hip replacement, but I survived so I'm hopeful the upcoming family trip to Famous Florida Theme Parks will not be too rough on the hip.

Called my mother to check in with her on Tuesday last week and my dad, from the background, hollered, 'We have a lot of corn going to waste up here!'  ...long story short, I got permission to take yesterday and today off from work and did a spur-of-the-moment trip up to the farm, driving up by myself on Friday.

18 quarts of corn to put in freezers, from roughly 8 dozen ears we pulled on Saturday, was a good day's work.

The folks decided they didn't want to freeze again on Monday, so I came back a day early (shhh).  Spending today doing things I had MEANT to do over the weekend, lol.

But...I want to chat a bit about Sunday.  I had contacted one of my high school buddies that I was up for the weekend and would love to catch up.  We decided to meet at Culver's in Brownsburg, IN, for lunch.    

We hadn't seen each other for 2 years;  we hadn't had a long, just-us conversation in, well, a really long time.

We sat in a corner and talked for EIGHT HOURS.  It flew by.  I did mention once or twice that I should probably go, but the conversation clearly wasn't over so I didn't push it.  And I'm so glad I didn't.  The last hour and a half to two hours was some real, heart level conversation.  If we had stopped after four or six hours, we would never have gotten to the deep part.  

So, that's my takeaway lesson to share today, lol.  Don't skimp on the conversations, and don't quit before they're done.  But more than that, be intentional about keeping in touch.  

Hopefully we will.

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

 Posted to Beer Lahai Roi by Lisa Laree

Job is...interesting.  It kind of falls into the same category as Ecclesiastes.  The words are coming from individuals who are not necessarily speaking the heart of God.  This is a narrative, a recording of conversations about faith from folks who are speaking from assumptions that they can't really back up (sound familiar?).  People who are coming from a 'this is what makes sense to me' viewpoint...because when the events recorded in Job took place, there was no written word, no Law...just the oral traditions..  Job is considered to be the oldest book of the Bible;  Job is generally accepted to have lived during the time of the Patriarchs, before the deportation to Egypt, due to his very long life. So we can, perhaps, understand why there may have been some misunderstandings about the character and nature of God.

So what that boils down to is that the context has to be carefully considered when looking at verses from Job.  A verse considered outside of that context could be...misleading.

I have debated how to cover this, since there is so much here.  There is a pattern to the speechification, with each of the friends speaking and Job answering. Eliphaz and Bildad each speak three times and Zophar speaks twice.  So I think I will split it into rounds.  The first round is Job's original lament, then comments from each friend with a rebuttal from Job in chapters 3-14  and actually only has 2 references to heart/ hearts; the second round is chapters 15 - 21, with three references. 

It's worth noting that the discussions/ arguments all seem to agree that Job's afflictions are judgement. The difference is that  Job has no idea what he could have done to warrant such calamity and his friends are all convinced that he has some hidden, secret sin that needs to be confessed ...and press him to just open up and confess/ repent.  Hence the arguments.  Job gets ticked at this friends for the presumptions of his guilt, and gets rather sarcastic with them at times (another reason to consider the context of any particular verse).

So, with that in mind...let's see what the book of Job has to say about heart/ hearts...

The first reference is in chapter 10, and Job is speaking to God here

"But his is what you concealed in your heart, and I know this was in your mind: if I sinned, you would be watching me and would not let my offense go unpunished.  If I am guilty -- woe to me!  Even if I am innocent, I cannot lift my head, for I am full of shame and drowned in my affliction." -- Job 10:13 - 15;   'heart' is Strong's H3824 again...Lebab - 'inner man, mind, will, heart, soul, understanding'.   Back in 10:2, Job asked God to tell me what charges you have against me.  He kind of portrays a common misconception of God...that God sits in the heavens and waits on us to mess up so he can smack us down.

Zophar's response to Job also contains the word heart - 

"Yet if you devote your heart to him and stretch out your hands to him, if you put away the sin that is in your hand and allow no evil to dwell in your tent, then you will lift up your face without shame; you will stand firm and without fear."  -- Job 11:13-15; 'heart' is Strong's H3820, Leb, the common variant of Lebab, 'inner man, mind, will, heart, understanding'.

Hammering home the opinion that Job just needs to repent of the hidden thing and he'll be fine.

In the second round of exchanges, Eliphaz asks

"Why has your heart carried you away, and why do your eyes flash, so that you vent your rage against God and pour out such words from your mouth?" - Job 15:12-13   'Heart is H3820 again.  Um, the guy lost absolutely everything...from his wealth to his position in the community to his health to his children.  Job was grieving.  He didn't understand.  We know that he couldn't possibly have understood as the tragedy really wasn't about him at all...it was about the individual who was watching his life.  But I think this illustrates some unconscious expectations that folks have...that their friends who suffer loss should do their grieving in a specific way and be 'over it' at some random time.  

It doesn't work that way.  Grief is individual, and what happens in the heart of someone going through it is really not open to inspection by other people.  The loss of his children was a permanent loss.  He eventually got all his stuff and his standing in the community and even his health back, but he never got his children.  He had more, to be sure, and they were fine folks to be proud of.  But his older kids were just a memory for the rest of his life.  

To add insult to injury, Eliphaz went on to describe the consequences to folks who do evil...implying that the events that happened in Job's life fell into that litany, so therefore, he must have done evil.

It was rough.

Job responds, rather testily ('miserable comforters are you all!' - 16:1), but sums up where he is:

"My days have passed, my plans are shattered, and so are the desires of my heart." -- Job 17:11; 'heart' is  H 3824 again.

Job really believed his story was at an end.

But, after Bildad reiterates the fate of the wicked, Job replies with a speech that includes a declaration that rings through the ages and is all the more poignant given his circumstances:

"I know that my Redeemer lives, and that in the end he will stand upon the earth.  And after my skin has been destroyed, yet in my flesh I will see God; I myself will see him with my own eyes -- I, and not another.  How my heart years within me!" -- Job 19:25-27

Wow, this is interesting...the word translated 'Heart' here is Strong's H 3627 - Kilya, which, well, means 'Kidneys' -- seat of emotion and affection, figuratively.

The KJV translates this phrase - 'though my reins be consumed within me'...reins?  Looking at the descriptions in the lexicon, I am taking it to mean that 'reins' just referred to internal organs in general.  Which would make sense in the verse....'I myself will see him with my own eyes -- I, though my internal organs are consumed within me'.  It still shows Job's absolute faith that he would see God, although one connotation is that he was anxiously awaiting that moment and the other is just a reiteration of his conviction that it didn't matter what happened to his physical body (ie, making a pairing of 'after my skin has been destroyed' and 'my internal organs are consumed within me') he knew he would stand before God as himself.

That whole declaration is a pretty amazing thought for the time.  Job called God 'my redeemer'...which clearly not only describes a personal relationship to God but foreshadows the coming of Jesus, the Redeemer. It was Job's anchor in the pain. 

Blogging Bible Study: Heart of the Matter - Job, intro

 Posted to Beer Lahai Roi by Lisa Laree

Ok, folks, deep breaths here.  As there are no verses containing the words 'heart' or 'hearts' in the NIV translation of Esther,  we have arrived at the 'I am quite certain I have bitten off more than I can chew' portion of the study...the Books of Wisdom.  If I have counted right (and my squiggling notes could have messed up the count); we have, to date, covered roughly 160 verses.  In the five books of wisdom, I count something in the neighborhood of 234 verses; 120ish of those are in Psalms.

Just the fact that I even counted them kinda shows how much I am intimidated by this, lol.    Now, I know this is my study and I can adapt/ adjust as much as ever I want, but I really, really do want to just keep ploughing on.  I suspect we're going to see a LOT of repetition, especially in the Psalms.  I don't want to be a snooze fest over here, but neither do I want to overlook something just because I'm trying to do a Readers Digest Condensed Version.  As I've seen in the past, I just never know when some little gem is going to come up where I least expected it.  Like today, for instance....

So we are going to stick our collective toe in the water today with just one verse...because Job changes tone REALLY FAST and the first 'hearts' verse is not really related to the rest of the discussion.

The first two chapters are basically the introduction for the rest of the book, providing the context for the arguments that follow.  In that opening passage, we find that 1) Job was a righteous man 2) Job was a wealthy man 3) Job had 10 children and 4) Job was protected by God.  The scenario is that God showed Satan that Job was an example of a human who did what was right, and Satan taunted God, saying that Job would abandon his faith if that protection was removed.  So God gave permission for Satan to do as he pleased with Job life and family, but he was forbidden to harm Job himself.  Consequently, in very short order Job lost all of his livestock, all of his wealth, almost all of his servants... and all of his children.  When Job still blessed the name of the Lord even in the midst of all his loss, Satan sneered that Job was still protected and would certainly abandon his faith if he suffered physically.  So God gave the enemy permission to torment Job physically, but he was forbidden to take his life.  Job contracted a debilitating affliction, with boils forming all over his body.  He sat in the refuse pile and scraped the boils with broken bits of pottery.  But he did not sin in what he said.

He was joined there by three  (ultimately four, but we don't know when Elihu showed up) friends, Bildad, Eliphaz and Zophar, who sat with him at the dump for a week in silence.

Then the arguments started.

But today, I am just looking at that intro bit, and in it, as I said, there is one verse that mentions 'Hearts':

His sons used to take turns holding feasts in their homes, and they would invite their three sisters to eat and drink with them.  When a period of feasting had run its course, Job would send and have them purified.  Early in the morning, he would sacrifice a burnt offering for each of them, thinking, "Perhaps my children have sinned and cursed God in their hearts."  This was Job's regular custom.  -- Job 1:4-5; 'Hearts' is Strong's H 3824, Lebab, which we have seen repeatedly...the inner man, mind will, heart, soul, understanding.

I just want to point out something that I really hadn't considered before covering this today.  Here we are, in the opening verses of the oldest book of the Old Testament...and sin is described as something that happens in the heart.  This is not a New Testament concept.  Now, we know from the choice of David as king that God considered the heart to be of supreme importance, but I'm not sure this isn't really the first time we have encountered the concept of sin taking place in the heart. 

But that's just a function of how the books are arranged.  If we started with the oldest book, that concept would be introduced right from the git-go.

One can sin in one's heart... and that sin has to do with one's opinion of God. 

Yup, that's a concept I know we are going to touch again before we leave the Books of Wisdom...

Blogging Bible Study: The Heart of the Matter - Nehemiah

 Posted by Lisa Laree to Beer Lahai Roi

Nehemiah.  He was a character.  Crackerjack administrator...but the dude had a temper.  And he got rather...violent...at times.  I imagine people were rather afraid of him.  He didn't put up with ANY nonsense...not from the enemies of the people, and not from the people themselves.

When the story opens, he is a cupbearer to King Artaxerxes in the Babylonian capitol of Susa. That means he was one of the king's most intimate and trusted servants.  Nehemiah's brother had traveled to Jerusalem and returned, bringing word of how poor and unprotected the city was.

Nehemiah was sorely grieved to hear that news, and he began to fast and pray, first for the city, and then for favor with the king...because Nehemiah wanted to Do Something About It.

Sure enough, not too long after that, Nehemiah took the king his wine while he was pondering the condition of his hometown...and the king noticed.

so the king asked me, "Why does your face look so sad when you are not ill? This can be nothing but sadness of heart."  I was very much afraid, but I said to the king, "May the king live forever!  Why should my face not look sad when the city where my fathers are buried lies in ruins, and its gates have been destroyed by fire?" -- Neh. 2:2-3; 'Heart' is  the common Strong's H 3820 - Leb - 'the heart; also used (figuratively) very widely for the feelings, the will and even the intellect; likewise for the centre of anything' 

The king then responded, 'What do you want?' (verse 4), and Nehemiah had a moment in which he realized his prayer was being answered.  He breathed a quick prayer...the narrative doesn't say what, but I believe it was for favor and for the right words, then asked for  permission to go and rebuild the city, with the proper letters for safe conduct and for needed supplies.

The king only asked him to set a time frame for this, which Nehemiah provided,  and Nehemiah traveled with a military escort back to Jerusalem.

I went to Jerusalem, and after staying there three days I set out during the night with a few men.  I had not told anyone what my God had put into my heart to do for Jerusalem. There were no mounts with me except the one I was riding.  -- Neh. 2:11-12; 'Heart' is H 3820 again.

He inspected the wall, made a plan, and then shared that plan with the people, who immediately jumped  on board.  There were, however, foreigners nearby who were not happy to see Jerusalem rebuilt and who gave Nehemiah fits.  At first, it was just scorn heaped upon the folks doing the building, but the people ignored them, following Nehemiah's lead, and kept working.

So we rebuilt the wall till all of it reached half its height, for the people worked with all their heart. -- Neh. 4:6; 'Heart' is H 3820 again.

Then the jeering turned to threats...enough that the people began to be afraid.  Nehemiah set guards and the workers were armed as they went about building the wall.  There was a kerfluffle about borrowed money, and Nehemiah took the lenders to task for charging interest on the loans and the lenders agreed to NOT charge their brothers any interest.  Nehemiah pointedly did not get any financial advantage for his position...deliberately not taking the governor's allowance.

Then the opposition plotted against Nehemiah himself, trying to get him away from the job so they could kill him, but he refused to even answer the charges they trumped up against him and the wall was finished in 52 days (Neh. 6:15), which was such an astonishing accomplishment that everyone in the area knew that it was done with the help of God (6:16).

So the wall was built, and the schedule for the opening/ closing of the gates was set, but the houses had not been rebuilt inside the city and there weren't a lot of folks living there yet.  

So my God put it into my heart to assemble the nobles, the officials and the common people for registration by families.  I found the genealogical record of those who had been the first to return.  this is what I found written there:  -- Neh. 7:5; 'Heart' is, again, H 3820.  This is followed by a long list of names and numbers, concluding that there were 42,360 folks who were there (likely just counting the men, but that's not clear), with 7,337 servants and 245 singers.  Just for grins, I went back to Numbers to see how many folks came into the land originally...according to Numbers 26:22, the tribe of Judah alone had 76,500 men 20 and older.  So there was, indeed, a remnant that took up residence in Jerusalem.  Judgement had fallen hard on the people, but it was past.  

First, there was a holiday in which Ezra read from the book of the Law, with the Levites explaining so the people could understand (8:8).  The people, convicted by what they heard, were weeping, but Nehemiah encouraged them and told them to celebrate.  There was a later day in which the people came together to fast and repent, with a prayer that reviews their history and confesses their sins that comprises most of chapter 9, with the final mention of 'heart' being a reference to Abram/Abraham:

You found his heart faithful to you, and you made a covenant with him to give to his descendants the land of the Cannanites, Hittites, Amorites, Perizzites, Jebusites and Girgashites.  You have kept your promise because you are righteous.  -- Neh. 9:8; 'Heart' here is Strong's  H 3824, lebab, which we have also seen used regularly, as it is the word from which  H 3820 is derived.

There is more in Nehemiah about Nehemiah's zealous actions to set the people on a path to prevent them from ever repeating the mistakes of the past...which did creep in a little, but he was FIRM in his refusal to allow the people to return that way.

It is worth noting that the people indeed, never fell again into the trap of pagan influences again.  Possibly due to Nehemiah's strict adherence to the Law in those matters.  Following generations were taught what to do and what not to do and the people remained on their land until 70 AD.  But that's a different circumstance and a different story for another day.

What impressed me going through this again is how much the heart matters in accomplishing God's will/plan.  Abram's heart was faithful;  Nehemiah's heart was grieved.  God put into his heart a plan that saw a miracle happen, because the hearts of the people were committed.

How committed/ receptive to God is MY heart?

Selah.

Blogging Bible Study: The Heart of the Matter - Ezra

 Posted by Lisa Laree to Beer Lahai Roi

Welp.  Best laid plans gan aft aglee...for a number of reasons, I haven't gotten to sit back down with the heart study (not the least of which was that I damaged myself again and am having difficulty typing). And, to be perfectly honest, the Psalms are looming and I'm really intimidated by the sheer volume of 'heart' verses that I have listed from that book.  It's almost as many as I will have covered in the study to date.  I think that is subconsciously messing with my motivation.

Maybe like some of the Hebrews returning to Jerusalem to rebuild the temple, once the local opposition kicked in?  

Hmmmmm...

But Ezra only has three verses that the NIV 84 renders with the word 'heart', so I'm taking a deep breath,  using the backspace button a LOT to correct those errors due to only having 9 functional fingers at the moment, and diving in.

The first two references are in Ezra 1:1 and 1:5

In the first year of Cyrus king of Persia, in order to fulfill the word of the LORD spoken by Jeremiah, the LORD moved the heart of Cyrus king of Persia to make a proclamation throughout his realm and to put it in writing

Then the family heads of Judah and Benjamin, and the priests and Levites -- everyone whose heart God had moved -- prepared to go up and build the house of the LORD in Jerusalem. 

Both of those verses use the same structure we saw in 2 Chron. 36:22 - 'Heart' here is actually ruah -- Strong's H7307  'Wind, breath, mind, spirit'.  As noted in that post, the NIV '84 renders the Hebrew as 'moved the heart', but the phrase is literally 'stirred up the spirit'.  I'm wondering if the scribes writing the postscript in 2 Chronicles actually used Ezra as the source, because it's nearly word-for word.

God moved the heart/ stirred the spirit of the king to  make the decree to rebuild the temple, and He moved the hear/stirred the spirit of the leaders of the people to leave the place they had been for 70 years and return to the land of destruction and begin rebuilding...starting with the temple.

Of course, the folks in the area were not at all happy that the temple was being rebuilt and began a campaign to get it stopped.  They began harassing the Jews and hindered their progress, and construction on the temple ceased until the 2nd year of Darius. There is an anachronistic parenthetical insert about a petition to Artaxerxes to forbid the Jews from rebuilding the city of Jerusalem, but the kings mentioned there follow Darius, so the inclusion of that passage here is rather confusing.  But the sources I found seemed to agree that this is out-of-chronological-order,  and it doesn't really affect the actual narrative we're looking at, so....  Anyway, the Jews resumed the work on the temple in the 2nd year of Darius, and the folks around them began the harassment again.  The Jews maintained that they had been authorized to build the temple by none other than Cyrus, so their enemies asked for an investigation, thinking, I'm sure, that nothing would be found supporting the Jews' claim.  However, king Darius did find the proclamation issued by Cyrus and affirmed it, telling those folks who had been resisting the Jews to not only leave them alone, but to provide anything they needed to proceed with the construction (see Ezra 6:6-10)

Had to be kinda humiliating, doncha think?

The temple was rebuilt, and the folks celebrated the Passover.  

In the seventh year of the reign of Artaxerxes (Ezra. 7:8, after the events recorded in Esther, who was married to Xerxes),  Artaxerxes sent Ezra and a delegation of retuning Jews back to Jerusalem with treasure intended to be used for the temple (Ez. 7:22-23), which brings us to Ezra's declaration of thanksgiving

Praise be to the LORD, the God of our fathers, who has put it into the king's heart to bring honor to the house of the LORD in Jerusalem in this way and who has extended his good favor to me before the king and his advisers and all the king's powerful officials.  Because the hand of the LORD my God was on me, I took courage and gathered leading men from Israel to go up with me. -- Ezra 7:27-28; 'heart' is the familiar leb, Strong's H3820, which we have seen often... the innermost part, the seat of emotions, decisions, thoughts, etc.

There is much more narrative in Ezra about the people repenting of intermarrying with the pagans, recognizing that it was that error that began the decline into the captivity, and they renounced the practice for good, but there is not another mention of 'heart'.

The thing that struck me from these verses is that...God is the one who instigates.  Even amongst those who don't necessarily fear him.  When the set time for the exile was up, God stirred the pagan rulers to allow the people to return home.  God stirred the people to leave what had to be a stable and prosperous home to return to the land of broken walls and burnt stones.

The actions followed because God moved in the heart/spirit of people.  At the time he chose.

Just ask the stone that was rolled in the garden what happens when God says, 'Move!'....Elevation Church, 'Rattle!'

Hodge Podge Recuperation

 Posted by Lisa Laree to Beer Lahai Roi

Welp, I caught this week's Hodge Podge questions in a timely fashion and thought, hey, I'm kicking back a bit this week so why not share a bit?

You can click the image below to see the other answers to Joyce's questions and enjoy the camradarie....

1. It's National Splurge Day...what's something you might splurge on today? What have you splurged on recently? 

LOL.  My splurge was yesterday.  I'd been debating trying linen sheets, and one of the online vendors I use from time to time had a sale...so...real linen sheets are on order.  We'll see if they live up to the hype....

2. Do you have a beach bag? What's in it? Is a trip to the beach on your summer bucket list? Do you have a summer bucket list? 

Ah, the beach.  It's been a hot minute since we went to the beach, not counting a quick trip to the shores of Lake Michigan last year.  With our families of origin in the land locked state of Indiana, and half of our kids living in central Florida, it's hard to find vacation time to spend on a trip to the beach.  Or the mountains, either.  Somehow we end up at theme parks...

Anyway, this summer is dedicated to recovery from hip replacement two weeks ago.  So no beachy travel ...or much else, lol...for the next month or two.

3. What's a song that makes you think of a summer past? What comes to mind when you hear it? What memories does it stir up for you? 

Let's see...I am really having trouble associating a particular song with a particular summer.  Maybe listening to Kansas  on the radio while sitting on the hood of my white mustang at a fireworks show at Lafayette Square Mall in Indianapolis in 1979?  Life was so much simpler back then...

4. Sushi-yay or nay? Have you actually tried it? If you love it what's your go-to order? 

Um, no.  Just no.  Although I am told it actually ISN'T always raw fish...don't have the nerve to find out.  There's plenty of other good eats in this world, lol.

5. I own a ridiculous amount of _____Sewing and craft supplies______. 

6. Insert your own random thought here. 

Thinking of summers made me think of lightning bugs.  I love watching them; it's so calming. We have a few on our lot in town but my memory is watching them just covering the soybean fields back home.  Sitting on the porch watching the lighting bugs come out at this point in life is just about as stress-reducing as it gets.