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

 Posted by Lisa Laree to Beer Lahai Roi

A day late, but, well, life happens, lol.  Today our cruise through the NIV84 looking at verses containing 'Heart' or 'Hearts' has brought us to Jeremiah chapter 16.

This chapter opens with God's instruction to Jeremiah to NOT get married and have children, due to the judgement coming upon the land; he is also not to comfort mourners or join celebrations....because the time was soon to come when no one would be able to mourn the dead or celebrate a marriage.  And, of course, the people were going to complain and wonder what they have done to deserve such judgement.  Generations before had forsaken God and worshiped idols.

"But you have behaved more wickedly than your fathers.  See how each of you is following the stubbornness of his own evil heart instead of obeying me." -- Jer. 16:12; 'heart' is Strong's H3820, Leb - inner man, mind, will, heart, understanding.

This is not just the cumulative error of the nation, but also the result of individual error among the people.  They were following their own systems, values, opinions, etc., instead of following God's instructions.

I told you Jeremiah hits hard in the current day...

Chapter 17 is a contrast between the heart that trusts God, and the heart that doesn't...

"Judah's sin is engraved with an iron tool, inscribed with a flint point, on the tablets of their hearts and on the horns of their altars."  Jer. 17:1; 'Hearts' is H3820 again.

Their deliberate choice to not follow God is not something that can be overlooked; it is plain and obvious, affecting their behavior and their worship.

This is what the LORD says, "Cursed is the one who trusts in man, who depends on flesh for his strength and whose heart turns away from the LORD." -- Jer. 17:5; 'Heart' is, once again, H 3820.

I know we usually associate 'strength' with, like, military strength, as in the kings who made alliances with pagan nations rather than trusting in God to deliver them when they were threatened by foreign armies (and were called out on it)...but I think this also applies to human reasoning...or expecting political leaders to solve all the problems.  It has a broader application than just political alliances.  It kind of puts a demand on all of us to see where our trust truly lies.

The heart is deceitful above all things and beyond cure.  Who can understand it?  "I the LORD search the heart and examine the mind, to reward a man according to his conduct, according to what his deeds deserve."  -- Jer. 17:9-10; 'Heart' is, again, H 3820 in both verses.

I have mentioned this before but it is worth hammering home.  God knows EXACTLY what is in an individual's heart. He KNOWS where we are ignoring that nagging thing that tries to remind us of the right thing; he KNOWS where we are choosing to believe a narrative that indulges some desire that is not entirely admirable.  He KNOWS.  We can fool others, we can even fool ourselves, but we can't fool Him.  

Chapter 18 begins with the famous trip to the potter's house, where Jeremiah watches a potter remake a defective pot into something else. God explains the lesson of the potter, and instructs Jeremiah to warn the people of impending disaster and exhort them to repent and change....

"But they will reply, 'It's no use  We will continue with our own plans; each of us will follow the stubbornness of his evil heart.'" -Jer. 18:12; 'heart' is, once more, H 3820.

I can't imagine someone actually verbalizing that response, but I can very well see them shrug off Jeremiah's  warnings as the ramblings of a crazed fanatic...which, in effect, is the same.  No understanding of their situation, and no intent to change anything about their daily life.

Sort of like getting that speech from the doctor about changing diet and exercise habits....which I just heard this week and am struggling with, lol (transparency....).  Hearing is one thing.  Heeding and applying is something else altogether.

Hodgepodge for Fall

 Posted by Lisa Laree to Beer Lahai Roi

Because the autumnal equinox caught me completely off guard, I was looking for something to help the ol' brain make the paradigm shift.  And it so happened that this week's Hodgepodge questions are about...fall. 

Clicking the picture link will take you to home base, where all the Fall posts will be linked up...

1. Fall officially rolls into the Northern Hemisphere on Monday (9/22)...what's your favorite thing about fall?

Probably when we can turn off the AC and open the windows for a bit.  It won't be long before we have to turn on the heat but it is lovely while it lasts.

2. What's one thing on your real or proverbial autumn bucket list? 

Hm...fall bucket list...maybe doing a week long stay cation to do some serious pre-holiday housecleaning?  Real or proverbial?   Um, probably proverbial...life is busy... 

3. Apples, pumpkins, sweet potatoes, butternut squash and cranberries are some of the top fall foods. Which one is your favorite and how do you like it prepared? Any on the list you don't eat? Which one have you had most recently? 

Probably my FAVORITE is apples.  Especially in the fall.  Apple cider, apple pie, stewed apples...and just enjoyed as they come, sweet and crisp.  I am not a huge fan of cooked squash...pumpkin pie being an exception.  Not part of the question...but I am over Pumpkin Spice Everything, lol.  And I'm sure I have eaten something apple the most recently of all the things on that list.

4. 'Fall is proof that change is beautiful' is a popular sentiment. Would you agree or no? Elaborate.

The flaming color before winter drab is one of my favorite seasons. It is edged out slightly by spring, to be sure, but a lovely fall day with time to enjoy the color is high up on the 'it don't get better than this' list.   The last couple of years have not been full out color due to weather conditions in these parts; hope springs eternal that this fall will show out. And, you know, God could have just had the leaves fall off the trees, but he designed it so that they change to vibrant colors first.  Amazing. 

  5. Is there a spot near you where people go to see the leaves change color? Will you try to leaf peep somewhere this fall? Lonely Planet lists the following ten places as the best for leaf peeping...of those listed which would you most like to visit? 

Stowe, Vermont~Shenandoah National Park, Virginia~Columbia River Gorge, Oregon~Zion National Park, Utah~Tennessee/North Carolina border~West Virgina~Northwestern Wyoming~Wisconsin Northwoods~Northern Nevada~Ozark Highlands Scenic Byway, Arkansas

We actually live at the base of what passes for a mountain in these parts; in the right conditions, it is breathtaking, so I don't have to travel far, although a lot of folks do head up into the Smoky Mountains for leaf peeping.  Last year, though, I actually happened to be travelling through Tennessee, Virginia, and North Carolina at the end of October and I can tell you that the 80 miles of Virginia I traveled were absolutely SPECTACULAR.  Much better than our local area that time.  It was a real treat...and it pained me that I was driving alone and had no one to share it with.  Couldn't even take a photo because...driving...   

6. Insert your own random thought here. 

Has the Invasion of the Giant Skeletons hit as hard elsewhere as it has hit in the Rocket City? Two houses on my street have already got a 12-foot skeleton with a couple of 5-foot buddies hanging out in their front yards.  It was a novelty a couple of years ago but now...well, someone's making a bunch of money off of those things...

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

 Posted by Lisa Laree to Beer Lahai Roi

Today's look at 'Heart/ Hearts' is from Jeremiah chapters 11 - 15.  There is a sort of pattern emerging; Jeremiah receives a prophecy from God, and then he and God have a bit of a chat about it.  Chapters 11 and 12  and chapters 14 and 15 both follow that pattern; chapter 13 is God instructing Jeremiah.  We've got 5 verses from these chapters.

God is speaking in our first selection; I will include the previous verse for context.

"From the time I brought you forefathers up from Egypt until today, I warned them again and again, saying 'Obey me.'  But they did not listen or pay attention; instead, they followed the stubbornness of their evil hearts.  So I brought on them all the curses of the covenant I had commanded them to follow but that they did not keep."  -- Jer. 11:8; 'hearts' is Strong's H3820: Leb - inner man, mind, will, heart, understanding.  

This is a theme that is repeated in Jeremiah...that God had instructed the people, warned the people,  called the people to obedience but they consistently did what they wanted instead of what he instructed. The consequences escalated as time passed, but the people still refused to adhere to God's commandments. 

Another repeated theme in Jeremiah is the outright hostility that was aimed at him because he spoke what God told him to speak.  Jeremiah has learned of a plot against his life in 11:18-19; his response to God is verse 20:

"But, O LORD Almighty, you who judge righteously  and test the heart and mind, let me see your vengeance upon them, for to you I have committed my cause."  -- Jer. 11:20; 'heart' is, once more, H3820.

Jeremiah put his trust in God to protect and deliver him; in the next verses, God assures Jeremiah that judgment will fall on those who were threatening him.

In the next verse we are considering, Jeremiah is again struggling with understanding what God is doing; speaking of the 'wicked and faithless', he says

"You have planted them, and they have taken root; they grow and bear fruit.  You are always on their lips but far from their hearts."  -- Jer. 12:2 ; 'heart' here is Strong's  H 3629. kiya -- kidneys, reins; figuratively, the mind... interior self... the seat of the desires and affections.

This is similar to the verse we had last week about folks not having circumcised hearts; they went through the motions of devotion to God, but that's all it was.  Checking the boxes.

In chapter 13, we see the illustration of the ruined linen belt...that Jeremiah had purchased, worn, then buried for a time, then dug up again.   God is speaking, explaining what it meant.

"These wicked people, who refuse to listen to my words, who follow the stubbornness of their hearts and go after other gods to serve and worship them, will be like this belt -- completely useless!" -- Jer. 13:10; 'heart' is H 3820 again.

It is worth mentioning...again...that the Hebrews had not completely forsaken God.  No, they still went to the temple and did the sacrifices and observed the holidays, but they had added in worship of the local pagan gods as well.  As if serving God was not sufficient for them...or as if God was not capable of keeping his end of the covenant.  Which was why they were so aggravated at Jeremiah.  They were doing the stuff!  They were serving God!  What difference did it make if they also poured out a little wine for  the god their (friend, spouse, inlaws, etc) also served?  Why would God care?  They were observing his rituals...right?  Bur...mixed loyalty isn't loyalty.  They didn't understand that they couldn't serve both light and darkness. That sort of devotion was...and is...completely useless.

And that sort of mixed loyalty broke both the law and the heart of God.

Then the LORD said to me, "Even if Moses and Samuel were to stand before me, my heart would not go out to this people.  Send them away from my presence! Let them go!"   -- Jer. 15:1; 'Heart' here is Strong's H 5315, Nepes - soul, self, life, creature, person, appetite, mind, living being, desire, emotion, passion....a breathing creature...breath

This is God's heart that is being referenced here; God's breath, God's emotion, God's passion.  Jeremiah had tried to plead for mercy for the people; God refused to hear him.  The error of the people had become so grievous that judgment was inevitable.  There was no turning back, based on a plea for mercy.  Now, had the people truly repented...there might have been hope.  But intercession on their behalf would not generate any mercy.  In fact, God had forbidden Jeremiah to even pray for them (Jer. 11:14)  Because those people were determined to do what they wanted. 

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

 Posted by Lisa Laree to Beer Lahai Roi

Jumping back into the study after the annual women's conference, we are arriving at  Jeremiah 5 in our tour through the NIV 84 translation, looking at words translated as 'heart' or 'hearts'.

God is speaking here:

"But these people have stubborn and rebellious hearts; they have turned aside and gone away."  -- Jer. 5:23; 'Hearts' is Strong's H3820, leb - inner man, mind will, heart, understanding.

Just for grins, I looked up the words translated 'stubborn' (H5637, sarar) and 'rebellious'  (H4784, mara) and found that together they imply stubborn, rebellious, disobedient...examples are an untamed cow or a son who refuses to submit to his father.  This is not only how God described the folks in the time leading up to the Babylonian exile, but, pretty much a summation of how the people have acted from the time they came out of Egypt.   They had some revivals under kings who feared God, but when left on their own...they 'turned aside and went away.'  That was the result of having stubborn and rebellious hearts.

The next verse is from a sermon Jeremiah preached at the temple, with a couple preceding verses for context; he's repeating what God told him to say:

"For when I brought your forefathers out of Egypt and spoke with them, I did not just give them commands about burnt offerings and sacrifices, but I gave them this command: Obey me, and I will be your God and you will be my people.  Walk in all the ways I command you, that it may go well with you.  But they did not listen or pay attention; instead, they followed the stubborn inclinations of their evil hearts.  They went backward and not forward." Jer.7:22-24; 'hearts' is H3820 again.

Literally, the Israelites went backwards; when they were at Kadesh Barnea, on the threshold of the promise, they rebelled and ...instead of going into the land, retreated and wandered around in the wilderness for 40 years.  Obedience would have taken them straight to the promise.  As I mentioned above, this has been the case right from the birth of the nation.  I would also say...right from the earliest days of humanity, if we're being honest...Adam and Eve definitely went backwards and not forwards.

Jeremiah 8:18 is Jeremiah's response to another word from God about judgment to come:

O my Comforter in sorrow, my heart is faint within me.  -- 'Heart' is, once more, H 3820.

Jeremiah is know for his grieving over the nation; his message was hard for him to carry, not just because the people rejected it, but because he mourned for the suffering the people endured. Chapter 9 contains a dialogue between the lamenting of Jeremiah and the response of God.   I'm listing all the pertinent verses together; all of them come in responses from God:

"Their tongue is a deadly arrow; it speaks with deceit.  With his mouth each speaks cordially to his neighbor, but in his heart he sets a trap for him."

The LORD said, "It is because they have forsaken my law, which I set before them; they have not obeyed me or followed my law.  Instead, they have followed the stubbornness of their hearts; they have followed the Baals, as their fathers taught them."

"The days are coming," declares the LORD, "when I will punish all who are circumcised only in the flesh --Egypt, Juda, Edom, Ammon, Moab and all who live in the desert in distant places.  For all these nations are really uncircumcised, and even the whole house of Israel is uncircumcised in heart."  -- Jer. 9:8; 'heart' is Strong's H7130 - qereb - midst, inner part, middle;   9: 14 and 26; 'heart' is H 3820 in both those verses.  

Deceit, stubbornness, idolatry...all descriptions of the hearts of the folks who may have gone through the physical act of circumcision but never applied that principle to the heart.  And, it's interesting...God pretty much declares that the physical circumcision counts for nothing unless it reflects a circumcised heart.

This is the Rise...

 Posted by Lisa Laree to Beer Lahai Roi

This weekend was our annual women's conference at church; it's always the weekend after Labor Day but this year, being as how Labor Day was Sept. 1, it just feels like it came REALLY EARLY.

Like, I wasn't ready.  I'm still stuck somewhere in June, I think.

And this year was different. We partnered with Krista Smith and her B.I.G. Ladies' Club ministry for a conference titled 'This is the Rise'... and we were challenged to 'rise up' like Deborah.  

It inspired me, a bit, to think about Deborah.  We kinda get the idea that Deborah appeared under the palm tree and began dispensing wisdom to Israel, and shortly called Barak to go after Sisera and defeat him...mostly because that story happens completely in Judges 4, and she sings about it in Judges 5.  But, here's what hit me over the weekend....

The Israelites had been oppressed by the Canaanite king Jabin, and his captain Sisera for 20 years when they cried out to God for help (Judges 4:3).  My first reaction was... why did they endure it for 20 years before they asked for help? ...but that's not really part of the story.

Except that we read that Deborah was leading Israel at that time, and she 'held court' under the 'Palm of Deborah' (Judges 4:4).

Here's the thing...we don't know how long Deborah had been meeting folks under that palm tree.  In fact, what I heard in my spirit when I was thinking about it was, "It wasn't known as 'the Palm of Deborah' when she first went there."

When did Deborah 'rise up'? (Judges 5:7)  At what point in those 20 years did she first sit under a palm tree?

I may actually write a story about it sometime...but my thought processes took me to a young lady who was desperate to get some time with her God, and who, at some point, took a short walk away from the everyday setting and sat down under a random  palm tree and poured her heart out to God and was refreshed.  So maybe the next day, or maybe three or four days later, she went back.  And went back again.  And, eventually, this became her regular practice.  

She was regularly communing with God.

Eventually, folks noticed this.  And maybe, one day, one of her neighbors timidly interrupted Deborah's seeking time to ask her to pray for her.  And Deborah did...and got an answer for her.

Which told the neighbor that God saw her and heard her and was an accurate word for her situation.  She told another neighbor, who also came to Deborah with a problem, and who also got a word from God...and...word spread, and eventually the palm tree was designated as Deborah's and people were coming regularly; tribal leaders consulted with her.

She was leading Israel.

This whole process probably took years.  YEARS.  She was likely a grandmother by this time.

But when the people cried out for help, Deborah was positioned to hear from God and give instruction to defeat the enemy.  She didn't just pop up in charge of things; it was a culmination of small moments of obedience over a Very Long Time.

This was  my take away from the weekend; I must become more consistent with those small moments.    True confession: I have been coasting for some time.  I repent.  I need to just go to the palm tree... and keep going.

Beginner artwork inspired by Deborah's sojourns under the palm tree....