Blogging Bible Study: The Heart of the Matter - Old Testament Recap

 Posted by Lisa Laree to Beer Lahai Roi

So, I rather foolishly decided to skim back over the last three years' worth of posts to kind of see if I could see some trends or patterns in the use of heart/hearts in the Old Testament...it took me the better part of two days, lol.  I knew there was a lot...but, y'all, it's a LOT.

Some really good stuff in there, too.  I scribbled down some notes on things that recurred....

God hears prayers of the heart/ in the heart.

The basis of obedience is the heart; faith must be taken to heart...otherwise, it's just performance.

Fear melts hearts.

A fully devoted heart protects against hardening of the heart.

A hardened heart is one that refuses to consider truth.

David's heart was his qualification to be king.

When we read that we are not to judge one another it is instruction not to make assumptions about what is in another's heart.

A heart that is not fully committed will make wrong decisions.

We are to give NO heart space to idols.

Circumcision of the body is pretty much useless unless the heart is circumcised as well 

And, this thought recurred so often that I just copied the best description of it... 

 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.

The idea that 'God knows my heart' should have each of us shaking in our shoes.  HE KNOWS.

If you want numbers, I sort of have them.  I think this reflects the scope more than actual numbers because I am SURE I forgot to count the words a few times.  But the exact numbers probably don't matter; there was enough difference that my booboos wouldn't have changed the ranks for the top three, at least.

As best as I could count, Strong's 3820, Leb, was translated 'heart/hearts' 285 times.  Strong's 3824, Lebab, was translated as 'heart/ hearts' 139 times.  In the early books, we encountered more occurrences of Lebab, but after the Pentateuch Leb became the most frequently used word.  The meaning of these two words is almost identical; I didn't really pick up on why one would be used over the other.  But, last fall, I stumbled onto an essay by Chaim Bentorah that expounded on Lebab, explaining that it was used to indicate a heart joined to God's.  Knowing that earlier might have changed some of the way those verses hit; if you go back and re-read posts from before 11/7/25 just keep that little tidbit of info in mind; it might give more insight.    The third most frequent word was WAY down the count with 19 occurrences...Strong's 5315, Nepes (or Nepesh, I think I picked up on the phonetic spelling a few times).  and has a more emotional context, like passion, appetite, desire. There were about 19 other words, most of which were used only once or twice.  We had a couple of Sixes and fives, one four...and the rest were ones and twos.

So, three years in and we're just now heading into the New Testament...and Greek/ Aramaic.

But...anyone else surprised by New Testament concepts regarding the heart that actually were first in the Old Testament?  I mean, I knew there was a mention of the importance of the heart...but it really is emphasized all the way through the OT more than I realized....

 

Blogging Bible Study: The Heart of the Matter - Zephaniah, Zechariah, Malachi

 Posted by Lisa Laree to Beer Lahai Roi

Well, well, here we are, at the end of the Old Testament in our look at 'heart/ hearts' as translated by the NIV 84. Haggai does not have any references to 'heart' listed, so we're not stopping there, but we will be looking at three out of the four final minor prophets.

Our first reference is anticipating the restoration of Israel after punishment; it's worth noting that Mr Scofield's notes indicate that Zephaniah was writing during the reign of King Josiah,  before the fall to Babylon and the Exile, which is prophesied in chapter 1.  But the encouragement is...the judgment has an expiration date

Sing, O Daughter of Zion; shout aloud, O Israel!  Be glad and rejoice with all your heart, O Daughter of Jerusalem! -- Zeph. 3:14; 'heart' is  Strong's 3820, Leb - inner man, mind, will, heart, understanding.

There was hard stuff...devastatingly hard stuff...coming, but the prophet calls for rejoicing because of the restoration on the other side. That actually is a pretty strong  theme throughout the Bible...enduring tribulation for the glory that comes after.  Maybe someday that will be a blog series, lol.

There are several verses referencing heart/ hearts in Zechariah; the first passage is in response to a question about observing a couple of traditional fasts, a bit of a historical review.

"This is what the LORD Almighty says: 'Administer true justice; show mercy and compassion to one another.  Do not oppress the widow or the fatherless, the alien or the poor.  In your hearts, do not think evil of each other.' But they refused to pay attention; stubbornly they turned their backs and stopped up their ears. They made their hearts as hard as flint and would not listen to the law or to the words that the LORD Almighty had sent by his Spirit through the earlier prophets. So the LORD was very angry."  -- Zech. 7:9-12;  in verse 10, 'Hearts' is Strong's H 3824, lebab - inner man, mind, will, heart, soul, understanding.  From previously mentioned writings of Chaim Bentorah, we have also learned that this word carries a connotation of joining one's heart to God's.  Now I have to ponder the significance of thinking evil of someone in the joining of my heart to God's heart.  Does this mean I am accusing someone before God if I inwardly complain about them in some way?  Or, how could I join my heart to God's and then also think evil of someone in that same space?  That's deep, y'all...  in verse 12, 'hearts' is H 3820 again. Making one's heart as hard as flint will definitely shut God out, so there is no joining of hearts implied there.

The next verse, like the verse in Zephaniah, references a future restoration of God's people:

The Ephraimites will become like mighty men, and their hearts will be glad as with wine.  Their children will see it and be joyful; their hearts will rejoice in the LORD.  -- Zech. 10: 7; both instances of 'hearts'  are H 3820.   God's people and their children will rejoice after that restoration.

Zechariah then prophesies a coming attack against Jerusalem in which God will fortify the city and protect his people

Then the leaders of Judah will say in their hearts, "The people of Jerusalem are strong, because the LORD Almighty is their God." -- Zech. 12:5; 'Hearts" is, once again, H 3820.  This is a deep acknowledgement of truth, knowing that it is God who gives them their strength.

Now, finally, we are at the the book of Malachi, a little book about practical judgments against God's people, who are going through the motions of worship but are clueless about what true devotion means.  The first verse we have is directed at the priests, who are supposed to be leading the people spiritually:

"If you do not listen, and if you do not set your heart to honor my name," says the LORD Almighty, "I will send a curse upon you, and I will curse your blessings.  Yes, I have already cursed them, because you have not set your heart to honor me." -- Mal. 2:2;  both instances of 'heart' are, again, H 3820.

It is one thing to go through all the rituals of worship; it is something else entirely to set one's heart to honor God.  It is entirely possible to do all the stuff related to worship and still not honor God.  It's especially easy in our place and time, because it is so easy to completely separate worship from daily life.  It's far too easy for folks to claim to follow Jesus because they show up for Sunday worship...maybe even serve in that house...but do whatever seems desirable to them the rest of the week, serving their own desires and ambitions without a consideration for honoring God and his ways.  It was no different in Malachi's time.

Our last verse in the Old Testament  is the last verse in the Old Testament...looking forward to the one who was yet to come.

"See, I will send you the prophet Elijah before that great and dreadful day of the LORD comes.  He will turn the hearts of the fathers to their children, and the hearts of the children to their fathers; or else I will come and strike the land with a curse."  -- Mal. 4: 5-6; again, both uses of 'Hearts' are translated from H 3820.

Jesus himself said that John the Baptist was the one who came as Elijah; but I think this possibly has a future interpretation also. Many scholars believe that Elijah is one of the two Prophets mentioned in Revelation, who appear during the tribulation time.  In which case, this would not just be a figurative prophecy but a literal one...Elijah returns just before the final judgment falls.  But this passage implies a healing between generations and, to be honest, I am not sure just exactly what that should look like.  It may be that John the Baptist did do that in his day; it may be that the Prophets in the end times will also have that aspect to their ministry.  Or, it may be that the message from John to follow Jesus is the ministry of reconciliation that comes around when there is an awakening/ revival.  

Or all three.

Next week, I will take a pause to kind of look back over the journey so far before we jump into the New Testament and change languages....

...And the Crazy Continues...

 Posted by Lisa Laree to Beer Lahai Roi.

I thought I would get in that last post from the Old Testament portion of  the heart study before we left town for a week and a half...but there was just too much work to do, on too many fronts, to do it justice.  We should get that this weekend, though.  Hopefully.

But I thought I'd throw in a post about where we went.  The Actor, aka Number 2 Son, had a birthday the day before Mother's Day, and we had a carload of household goods that came from the grandparents' house in Elkhart to take down to them, so we headed down for that weekend, then checked into Disney's Caribbean Beach resort for four nights before making the return trip.  The kids were blessed with a couple of days off of work to hang with us in Disney, so we got an almost family vacation out of it (Thanks Pastor John!).

I will say, those long hot days are getting harder the older I get...but we had a good time.  My feet almost feel normal at this point, lol.

The Essential Photo...the Actor's wife, the Little Red-Haired Girl, had to work.  Different boss.

I will share one thing that struck me whilst we were there...we had several character meet-and-greet moments, some because we stood in line and some because we got a couple of major discounts on character dining.  And after the last day, something that I had kind of been subconsciously stewing on finally bubbled up into actual coherent words.

Every one of those character interactions involved a character who behaved exactly as if we were the folks s/he had been waiting all day to see.  And I watched them treat the folks before and after us in line the same way.  I'm not sure how that training goes, but it was clear that is a major priority.  They noticed details...even with the limited visibility out of the, um, outfits they were wearing.   I had a celebration button ("I'm celebrating a data base migration!")  and every character pointed it out.  I have had characters notice those little pins on my lanyard before.  I tell you, it's one of the charms of visiting the kingdom of the mouse...it's a real esteem boost, even knowing that it's the job.  It *feels* real at the moment.

I need to study that approach.  I don't think I need to immediately embrace everyone I meet, but surely I can learn the art of making folks feel like I've been waiting all day to meet up with them.  

Everyone needs a bit of that from time to time.

Blogging Bible Study: The Heart of the Matter - Minor prophets Amos, Obadiah, Jonah, Nahum and Habbakkuk

 Posted by Lisa Laree to Beer Lahai Roi

Told you we were going to be moving fast...we have FIVE books to look at today, each book has ONE passage referencing heart/ hearts (Micah has none).

This is going to be interesting...

Starting with Amos, who was prophesying during the reign of Uzziah, king of Judah, and Jeroboam, King of Israel...

Then Amaziah the priest of Bethel sent a message too Jeroboam king of Israel: "Amos is raising a conspiracy against you  in the very heart of Israel.  The land cannot bear all his words."  -- Amos 7:10, 'heart' is Strong's H 7130, qereb - midst, among, inner part, middle  This is literally a geographic reference, that Amos was prophesying right in the middle of the land, not out in some remote setting. 

 If you read on, you will find that Amaziah rebukes Amos and tells him to go back where he came from; and Amos replies with "I was neither a prophet or the son of a prophet...but God said 'Go prophesy.' " (see verses 12-15)...and he slaps a pretty heavy judgment on Amaziah.  I am continually amazed at the number of times folks commanded people who had been sent from God...prophets in the OT, apostles in the NT...to stop proclaiming God's word.  If someone is truly proclaiming a word from God...trying to bottle it up is a prescription for disaster.  As those folks would find out, time and time again.  Problem is...there are a bunch of folks who claim to be speaking God's words who aren't.  They make a lot of noise, and it can be hard to discern the folks who really do hear from God and speak what they hear.  But we do have the Holy Spirit, who has promised to guide us into all truth, to help discern whether or not an individual is actually prophesying...or just talking.

Obadiah's time frame is debated; some feel it was very early; others think it was as late as the year after the fall of Jerusalem to Nebuchadnezzer.  But his words have always given me a bit of a chill...

"The pride of your heart has deceived you, you who live in the clefts of the rocks and make your home on the heights, you who say to yourself, 'Who can bring me down to the ground?'  Though you soar like the eagle and make your nest among the stars, from there I will bring you down," declares the LORD. Obadaiah, vs 3-4; 'heart'  is the familiar Strong's H 3820, leb - inner man, mind, will, heart, understanding.

Is anyone else disturbed by the thought of being deceived by one's own heart?  That hearkens back to Jer. 17:9 - 'The heart is deceitful above all things'... that's not about the heart plotting to deceive others, that's the unregenerated heart deceiving ones self.  

That's worth a selah.

Jonah, who had some heart issues, found himself in a nasty predicament and prayed.

"You hurled me into the deep, into the very heart of the seas, and the currents swirled  about me;  all your waves and breakers swept over me."  -  Jonah 2:3; 'heart' is, to my surprise, Strong's H 3824, lebab - inner man, mind, will, heart, soul, understanding; inner part, midst is also there.  I was expecting to see qereb again, as this struck me as a geographic reference.  Now I'm pondering the choice of a word that, as we have learned in the past, carries the connotation of a connection to God's heart.  Jonah's ordeal wasn't just so he would ultimately do what God said; it was also to confront a flaw in Jonah's heart.  Jonah wasn't just thrown into the midst of the sea, he was also thrown right into the plan God had for his redemption.  It seems to me that, given his word choice, he considered himself to have been thrown right into God's heart.

That's another selah.

As Micah has no references to heart/ hearts, our next stop is in Nahum...who, interestingly enough, is prophesying against Nineveh, which, according to Mr. Scofield's intro to the book in my edition. is a sequel to the book of Jonah.  Jonah's preaching had brought an awakening to Nineveh in which they repented and honored God, but about a century had passed and they had regressed back to their cruel, pagan ways. 

Nineveh is like a pool and its water is draining away.  "Stop! Stop!" they cry, but no one turns back.  Plunder the silver!  Plunder the gold!  The supply is endless, the wealth from all its treasures!  She is pillaged, plundered, stripped!  Hearts melt, knees give way, bodies tremble, every face grows pale. -- Nahum 2:8 - 10; 'Hearts' is once more Strong's H 3820.

When God's final wrath falls, and those who had failed to consider him have no recourse.  Fear, trembling, despair...without  hope.  It's a scary place to be.

One more passage to consider today from the little book of Habakkuk, which I find to be quite encouraging; chapter three is a psalm with a triumphant finale. Our passage is JUST BEFORE that ringing declaration.

I heard and my heart pounded, my lips quivered at the sound; decay crept into my bones and my legs trembled.  Yet I will wait patiently for the day of calamity to come on the nation invading us.   - Hab. 3:16; 'heart'  is a word we've only seen once before, Strong's H 990, beten - belly (seat of hunger, seat of mental faculties, figuratively, depth of Sheol), womb, body .  King James actually translates this as 'belly'.

I think this is another idiomatic translation which describes a physical response to fear, rephrased in a more culturally recognized way.  Being employed in an organization which, in recent history, has proven to be in a category that is somewhat of a target for violence, we have have training on what to do in the highly unlikely but still possible scenario of a violent attack.  One of the first things our trainer told us was that we must keep our heart rate down, because at a high enough rate, a number of unpleasant mental and physical things happen, one of which is the belly becomes uncontrolled, if you take my meaning; he gave us some pointers on that.  So the two conditions...a pounding heart, a trembling belly...are both part of an adrenaline dump.  Both phrases indicate terror.  But the resolution is astonishing; he is going to calm himself and wait in faith.

Though the fig tree does not bud and there are no grapes on the vines, though the olive crop fails and the fields produce no food, though there are no sheep in the pen and no cattle in the stalls, yet I will rejoice in the LORD, and I will be joyful in God my Savior.  The Sovereign LORD is my strength; he makes my feet like the feet of a deer, he enables me to go on the heights.  -- Hab. 3:17-19a

Blogging Bible Study: The Heart of the Matter: Hosea and Joel

 Posted by Lisa Laree to Beer Lahai Roi

Not me hanging onto the crazy by my fingernails of late...mayhap life will settle down a bit by June.  Or July.  Or Christmas, lol.

But we are back looking at 'Heart/ Hearts' in the NIV 84, and we have arrived at the minor prophets, which is going to be a VERY quick (relatively speaking) trip.  Not every book has a reference, and some only have a few, so we're combining things.  

There's a lot going on in the next month, so I don't expect to get a post up each week, but we are very close to finishing the Old Testament.

We have five passages to look at in Hosea, four of which are laments about the waywardness of God's people,  so let's look at those in one group:

"I know all about Ephraim; Israel is not hidden from me.  Ephraim, you have now turned to prostitution; Israel is corrupt.  Their deeds do not permit them to  return to their God.  A spirit of prostitution ins in their heart; they do not acknowledge the LORD."   -- Hos. 5:3 -4; 'heart' is Strong's H 7130, qereb - midst, among, inner part, middle.  

"On the day of the festival of our king the princes become inflamed with wine, and he joins hands with the mockers.  Their hearts are like an oven; they approach him with intrigue.  Their passion smolders all night; in the morning it blazes like a flaming fire. "-- Hos. 7:5 - 6 

"They do not cry  out to me from their hearts but wail upon their beds.  They gather together for grain and new wine  but turn away from me. "  -- Hos. 7:14

Their heart is deceitful, and now they must bear their guilt.  - Hos. 10:2; all instances of 'heart/ hearts' in the preceding three verses are H 3820. Leb - inner man, mind, will, heart, understanding.

Hosea's story is an interesting tale of marriage, infidelity and redemption as an analogy of  the relationship of God and his people.  This is not a series of pleas for the people to repent, this is a description of the apostasy of the people.  It's not God who prevents the people from repenting...it's their own deeds.  That's worth a ponder.  The deeds they elected to do now keep them from returning to God. The deeds set the barriers up.  But folks refuse to even acknowledge the mess and turn to God; even while lamenting their circumstances.  They look for help everywhere but where the help is.

But there is yet hope.

"How can I give you up, Ephraim?  How can I hand you over, Israel?  How can I treat you like Admah?  How can I make you like Zeboiim?  My heart is changed within me; all my compassion is aroused.  I will not carry out my fierce anger, nor will I turn and  devastate Ephraim.  For I am God, and not man-- the Holy One among you.  I will not come in wrath."  Hos. 11:8 - 9; 'Heart' is once again H 3820. 

God knows where the descendants of each of the tribes of Israel are, even today.  We know from the book of Revelation that there will be representatives from all the tribes .  The end of the story is not yet.

We have one passage in Joel that contains the word 'heart'...

"Even now," declares the LORD, "Return to me with all your heart, with fasting and weeping and mourning.  Rend your heart and not your garments.  Return to the LORD your God, for he is gracious and compassionate, slow to anger and abounding in love,  and he relents from sending calamity."  - Joel 2:12-13; bot instances of  'Heart' in this passage are H 3824, lebab -  inner man, mind, will, heart, soul, understanding -- and, as we have learned  from Hebrew scholar Chaim along this journey , this word carries an extra connotation of a heart joined to God.

Our sin is a barrier we can't overcome.  It has hooks that we can't escape.  But God can unhook us, untangle us,  redeem our mess...and all it takes from us is a heart desire for him.

Blogging Bible Study: The Heart of the Matter - Daniel

 Posted by Lisa Laree to Beer Lahai Roi

Well, my friends, our look at 'heart/ hearts' as translated in the NIV 84 has brought us to the last of the Major Prophets, Daniel.  We are quickly approaching the end of the Old Testament...hard to believe that we have really stuck to it for all this time...or is that just me? 

We have only three passages in Daniel to look at today, but buckle your seatbelts; we are digging into some prophetic imagery before we are done...

The first reference is contained in Daniel's scathing address to Belshazzar prior to interpreting the writing on the wall, in which he summarizes the fall and restoration of Nebuchadnezzar:

But when his heart became arrogant and hardened with pride, he was deposed from his royal throne and stripped of his glory. He was driven away from people and given the mind of an animal; he lived with the wild donkeys and ate grass like cattle; and his body was drenched with the dew of heaven, until he acknowledges that the Most High God is sovereign over the kingdoms of men and sets over them anyone he wishes. --Dan. 5:20-21, speaking of Nebuchadnezzar;  'Heart' is Strong's H 3825, Lebab - heart, mind .  It is identified as an Aramaic word corresponding to the Hebrew H 3824 and only shows up in the book of Daniel; all but three times it is translated as 'mind' in the NIV 84; it isn't directly translated at all in one verse ('Humbled your heart/ mind' is translated as 'humbled yourself' in 5:22).   

The referenced episode with Nebuchadnezzar is recorded in Daniel 4, if you are interested in looking it up.

The next reference to 'heart/hearts' is also Strong's 3825 - in a description of one of Daniel's prophetic visions, describing the first of four beasts:

The first was like a lion, and it had the wings of an eagle.  I watched until its wings were torn off so that it stood on two feet like a man, and the heart of a man was given to it.  -- Dan. 7:4.  Mr. Scofield's notes in my margins indicate that these beasts represented world empires, the first being Babylon.  To be honest, digging into the full interpretation of that vision is beyond the scope of this series;  reading the whole chapter it does seem to make sense that the four empires (Babylon, Persia, Greece, and Rome) are the beasts but I can't begin to figure out the symbolism of each one.

The final reference is an equally mystical reference; Mr. Scofield implies the passage speaks of Antiochus Epiphanes, who famously defiled the altar in the Temple by sacrificing a pig and throwing its blood around, but I have also seen this passage referenced in attempts to explain the events of the last days of earth...

"The two kings, with their hearts bent on evil, will sit at the same table and lie to each other, but to no avail, because an end will still come at the appointed time.  The king of the North will return to his own country with great wealth, but his heart will be set against the holy covenant.  At the appointed time he will invade the South again, but this time the outcome will be different from what it was before.  Ships of the western coastlands will oppose him, and he will lose heart.  the he will turn back and vent his fury against the holy covenant.  He will return and show favor to those who forsake the holy covenant." -- Dan. 11:27- 30;  the first two instances of hearts/heart in verses 27 and 28 are both Strong's H 3824, the actual Hebrew word Lebab - inner man, mind will, heart, soul, understanding; what we have come to see over the course of the study as being the particular aspect of one's heart that bonds to God...but in this case, it speaks of folks whose hearts are set against God.  The reference to 'heart' in verse 30 is an NIV idiom; the word there is Strong's  H3512, ka'a - to be sad, be disheartened, be cowed.  King James renders this as 'shall be grieved'  Either way, the evil king will give up his attack and turn back to oppose God's covenant.

There are whole books written to try and unravel the prophetic images Daniel describes; for our purposes, it's enough to see that the heart can be a source of rebellion and evil, and can influence decisions.

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

 Posted by Lisa Laree to Beer Lahai Roi

Our look at 'heart/hearts' in the NIV 84 has come to the final chapters of Ezekiel.  I probably should have included the first selection in last week's post, but when I saw there were four chapters referencing Egypt/ Pharaoh, I thought it would be too many verses to include; I should have checked the list instead of just skimming ahead.  We have ONE verse out of all four chapters that refers to Pharaoh/ Egypt:

"I will trouble the hearts of many peoples when I bring about your destruction among the nations, among lands you have not known."  - Ez.  32:9; 'hearts' is our most common word, Strong's H 3820, Leb -  inner man, mind, will, heart, understanding

I thought this might be a reference to the battle of Carchemish, but according to internet searches that happened in 605 BC, while marginal notes indicate that the 'twelfth year' Ezekiel mentions would be 586 BC.  That battle would already have happened. So perhaps this a lament for what has resulted.  Egypt had a long history of being A Power in the entire region...but after the battle of Carchemish,  Babylon was the ruling power and included the land of Egypt in her territory.

In Chapter 33 we return to Ezekiel's charge to speak to his own people.

"My people come to you, as they usually do, and sit before you to listen to your words, but they do not put them into practice.  With their mouths they express devotion, but their hearts are greedy for unjust gain." -- Ez. 33:31; 'hearts' is again H 3820.

Ooooh, does anyone else see a typical Sunday church service, full of folks who come and worship and listen and go out the door and do whatever they want?  Like the house built on the sand, or the people that James referred to as 'hearers of the word but not doers of the word'.  There have always been those amongst the people of God who  rely on formality and religious activity rather than actually taking God's instructions to heart, somehow rationalizing that God's standards don't apply to his/her particular set of circumstances.  Once again...it's what is in the heart that matters.

In chapter 36, we see the prophetic words shifting to the restoration of God's people, and judgement coming to the nations that plundered them

"This is what the Sovereign LORD says: 'In my burning zeal I have spoken against the rest of the nations, and against all Edom, for with glee and with malice in their hearts they made my land their own possession so that they might plunder its pastureland. '" -- Ez. 36: 5; 'Hearts' here is Strong's 3824, lebab - inner man, mind, will, heart, soul, understanding. 

The next verse may be my favorite out of the whole book of Ezekiel...the promise of what is ultimately a new birth...

"I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit in you; I will remove from you your heart of stone and give you a heart of flesh. And I will put my Spirit in you and move you to follow my decrees and be careful to keep my laws." - Ez. 36:26-27; all occurrences of 'Heart' are H 3820 again.

That's one of the best descriptions of the new birth you will find anywhere...and it's in the Old Testament.  A NEW heart.  A NEW spirit.  And...with regard to a previous verse I listed, it's worth noting that that new heart and new spirit will cause the individual to desire to follow God's laws and decrees, as opposed to someone who shows up for worship and listens to sound teaching but then...follows his/her own desires instead of God's.  One's own desires may not be a licentious lifestyle...it may just be self centered priorities.  It is putting one's own opinions/ desires above that of God.

The last two verses are from a comparison of the Levites who were shirking their duties and/or giving into social pressure vs. Levites who served faithfully.

"Say to the rebellious house of Israel, 'This is what the Sovereign LORD says: Enough of your detestable practices, O house of Israel!  In addition to all your other detestable practices, you brought foreigners uncircumcised in heart and flesh into my sanctuary, desecrating my temple while you offered me food, fat and blood, and you broke my covenant.... This is what the Sovereign LORD says: No foreigner uncircumcised in heart and flesh is to enter my sanctuary, not even the foreigners who live among the Israelites'"  - Ez. 44:6 -7, 9;  both occurrences of 'heart' are H 3820 again.

We are again encountering the concept of an uncircumcised heart; we have seen that God considers an uncircumcised heart to be a greater fault than uncircumcised body.  A circumcised body was a mark of the covenant between God and the nation; a circumcised heart indicates the devotion of the individual.  One who was uncircumcised in heart and body was not subject to the covenant of the nation and had no individual commitment to God.  

It doesn't matter if this individual lives among God's people and knows all the catch phrases and dress code and what not...the covenant matters.  What business has someone with no deep relationship to either God or his people, who is unrestrained in heart and body, to be serving in the house of God?   

I think I'm just going to leave that thought there for something to ponder...

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

 Posted by Lisa Laree to Beer Lahai Roi

Whoa, buddy, it's been a minute!  I can't believe how fast the time has gotten by me, or how incredibly chaotic life has been...and continues to be...in 2026.  Gonna grab a minute here and push a little deeper into Ezekiel in our look at 'Heart/ hearts' as translated by the NIV 84, even though we've got things coming up that may break my streak again.  Life is lifing, lol.

We have arrived at chapter 25, which is a bit of a shift in focus from the warnings to  Judah to judgment against the nations around them.

The first two verses are similar, although they are aimed at different nations.  Other nations are named in chapter 25, but the verses we're looking at involve Ammon and Phililstia:

"For this is what the Sovereign LORD says:  Because you  have clapped your hands and stamped your feet, rejoicing with all the malice of your heart against the land of Israel, therefore I will stretch out my hand against you and give you as plunder to the nations.  I will cut you off from the nations and exterminate you from the countries.  I will destroy you, and you will know that I am the LORD."

Ez. 25:6-7, speaking to Ammon. Let's also consider the next verse:

"This is what the Sovereign LORD says: 'Because the Philistines acted in vengeance and took revenge with malice in their hearts and with ancient hostility sought to destroy Judah, therefore this is what the Sovereign LORD says:  I am about to stretch out my hand against the Philistines, and I will cut off the Kerethites and destroy those remaining along the coast." 

Ez. 25:15-16.  In both passages, 'Heart' is Strong's H5315, nepes - soul, self, life, creature, person, appetite, mind, living being, desire, emotion, passion.  Nepes is actually the 3rd most commonly translated 'Heart/Hearts'...but it is FAR behind the first two.  Like, this is number 18 and 19 that we have encountered, while the other two (Leb and Lebab) are both well over 100. But, looking at the lexicon, it's pretty clear that this is talking about deep desire...in this case, malicious desire. 

Y'all, that pronounces judgment against both the folks who are attempting to destroy the Hebrews and those that celebrate those attempts.  It was ancient even then.  Sound contemporary much?  I think I'm just going to let that sit there, with an encouragement to think about the significance of malicious, hostile, inner desire.

Chapter 27 is a lament over Tyre, and there is a passage in it that mentions heart, although it is not a reference to a heart of a being...it is a prophecy of judgment:

"The ships of Tarshish serve as carriers for your wares.  You are filled with heavy cargo in the heart of the sea.  Your oarsmen take you out to the high seas.  But the east wind will break you to pieces in the heart of the sea.  Your wealth, merchandise and wares, your mariners, seamen and shipwrights, your merchants and all your soldiers, and everyone else on board will sink into the heart of the sea on the day of your shipwreck."  -- Ez. 27:25-27; all occurrences of 'Heart' are Strong's H 3820,  Leb - inner man, mind, will, heart, understanding but also inner part, midst.  This is the most common Hebrew word translated as 'Heart/ hearts'

Of course, Tyre being located on the coast, it had a seafaring economy, so the imagery of the sea was appropriate...but I honestly believe this is allegorical, describing downfall in the midst of going about the normal business, the very thing that provided the wealth now becoming the destructive force. (Totally irrelevant note...Not gonna lie, 'The Wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald' just began playing in my head.  I'm a child of the seventies for sure....).  Tyre's destruction likened to a catastrophic shipwreck, far away from any hope of rescue.

Chapter 28 is still pronouncing judgment against Tyre, but the focus shifts from the nation to the ruler, in a poetic passage that is considered by many to contain an allegorical reference to Satan himself.  We have a handful of verses that refer to 'heart' in that chapter; let's just look at them all together:

"Son of man, say to the ruler of Tyre, 'This is what the Sovereign LORD says: "' In the pride of your heart you say, "I am a god; I sit on the throne of a god in the heart of the seas."  But you are a man and not a god, though you think you are as wise as a god."  -- Ez. 28:2; all occurrences of 'heart' are H 3820 again. 

By your great skill in trading you have increased your wealth, and because of your wealth your heart has grown proud. -- Ez. 28:5; Heart' here is H 3824 - lebab: inner man, mind, will, heart, soul, understanding.  

I am going to bring foreigners against you, the most ruthless of nations; they will draw their swords against your beauty and wisdom and pierce your shining splendor.  They will bring you down to the pit, and you will die a violent death in the heart of the seas." -- Ez. 28:7-8; 'Heart' is H 3820 again.

Your heart became proud on account of your beauty, and you corrupted your wisdom because of your splendor.  So I threw you to the earth; I made a spectacle of you before kings. -- Ez. 28:17...and, 'Heart' is, once more H 3820.

The first thing that caught my eye as I looked at these verses was the repetition of the 'heart of the sea' imagery, this time as the place where the ruler believes he has set up his throne....which turns out to be the place of his downfall and destruction.  The other uses refer to a proud heart....beauty and wealth led to a proud heart, which lead to...hello, isn't this the same trap that snared Eve?  Becoming god-like?  Taking authority to determine right and wrong for oneself?

It was a lie in Genesis and it's still a lie in Ezekiel.  There is only one God who knows good from evil in a way we mere mortals can never comprehend...so when he tells us what is good and what is...not...we should pay attention.

We Remember....

 Posted by Lisa Laree to Beer Lahai Roi

So...I have been kinda incommunicado of late; we had an Event in northern Indiana ...gosh, it's been two weeks ago already...and I came home to a dumpster fire at work that was mostly my fault.  To be honest, I have just kinda of not pushed my brain any harder than recovery.

But I do need to address The Event before I resume Normal Blogging, because it is such a pivotal thing.

My precious mother in law came to the end of her life...having just turned 97...on December 12.  The decision was made to hold off on the memorial until after the holidays, so it was on January 31st that we all gathered...except for one young wife who could not get off of work...to, as my sister-in-law so aptly put it when we made the same trek home for my father-in-law's service two years earlier, 'to honor [her] and comfort one another.'

There is a lot that I could say about the trip itself...but I would like to talk about Her.   She was the polar opposite of the trope of the meddling mother-in-law.  She was engaging, encouraging, and always ready to help.  She was an amazing hostess; I remember one Christmas when unexpected guests arrived; she put on the coffee, pulled out tins of goodies she'd baked over the previous couple of weeks, set out the Royal Albert Poinsettia china and - boom - instant party. 

She sang in the church choir, was one of the organizers for the Christmas bazaar her church hosted for many years, taught high school biology and, along with her hubby, who taught math and chemistry, was a senior class sponsor year after year.   

She loved to travel; my inlaws were chaperones on high school trips to Europe...and then traveled on tours themselves.  They  retired young, made good use of time share points and even rode the mules to the Grand Canyon floor.  

A couple of days after my hip surgery a year and half ago, she called to see how I was doing and let me know that she was praying for me.

At the end, she was more than ready to go; the struggles with her health wore her down but she never lost her mental acuity.  

Beyond what her passing means to the family...and I may or may not get into that at some point...I am going to miss her for herself.  I was blessed to have such a caring mother-in-law.

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

 Posted by Lisa Laree to Beer Lahai Roi

Our cruise through the NIV 84, looking at words translated 'Heart/ hearts' , has brought us to the middling chapters of Ezekiel. We'll look at four selections today, starting in chapter 18...

"Rid yourselves of all the offenses you have committed, and get a new heart and and a new spirit.  Why will you die, O house of Israel? For I take no pleasure in the death of anyone, declares the Sovereign LORD.  Repent and live!"  -- Ez. 18:31-32; 'heart' is the familiar Strong's H 3820,  Leb inner man, mind, will, heart, understanding 

Here's another passage that foreshadows the concept of a new birth... a new heart and a new spirit.  The plea to repent and live...Why will you die? strikes me as especially poignant.  Why indeed?  It's just as relevant today. 

In chapter 20, Ezekiel is doing a review of Israel's history:

"Also with uplifted hand I swore to them in the desert that I would  not bring them into the land I had given them -- a land flowing with milk and honey, most beautiful of all lands -- because they rejected my laws and did not follow my decrees and desecrated my Sabbaths.  For their hearts were devoted to their idols."  -- Ez. 20:15-16; 'Hearts' is H 3820 again.

A heart devoted to an idol cannot be a heart devoted to God.  

"Therefore groan, son of man!  Groan before them with broken heart and bitter grief.   And when they ask you, 'Why are you groaning?' you shall say, 'Because of the news that is coming.  Every heart will melt and every hand go limp; every spirit will become faint and every knee become as weak as water.'  It is coming!  It will surely take place, declares the Sovereign LORD. -- Ez. 21:6-7; the second occurrence of 'heart' is , once again, H3820, but the first one is a word we have not seen yet, Strong's H4975, Matnayim - loins, side, greyhound (? 'perhaps an extinct animal').  I actually think this is a literal reference to, um, broken loins....let's just say acute, excruciating pain.  The NIV translating it as a broken heart is an idiomatic translation that's a little more delicate than an exact translation would be.

In any case, Ezekiel is instructed to grieve over the coming judgment.  His timeline is that he is prophesying after the first deportation of Jewish leaders to Babylon, but before the final destruction of Jerusalem.    The context of the chapter is very clearly prophesying the final and utter defeat of the nation of Judah. Judgment was coming...and the people were not believing it.  

The warning continues; we have another reference to melting hearts...

"So that hearts may melt and the fallen be many, I have stationed the sword for slaughter at their gates.  Oh! It is made to flash like lightning, it is grasped for slaughter."  -- Ez. 21:15; 'Hearts' is, again, H 3820.

It actually did not matter one whit that the people didn't think it was going to  happen; that they were doing what seemed right to them.  Horrible, tragic, absolute judgment was coming.  

And all the people had to do to avert it was listen to the prophet, confess and repent of their idolatry, and follow God's covenant.

Why will you die?

Blogging Bible Study: The Heart of the Matter - Ezekiel, Part 1

 Posted by Lisa Laree to Beer Lahai Roi

Why does it always take so long to get back into the routine after Christmas?  Or is it just me....?

But better late than never and it's a new year and we are jumping into the final stages of the Old Testament; if I am looking at my notes correctly, we have about 10 weeks left before we come to the end of the minor prophets in our look at 'heart/ hearts', as translated by the NIV 85.  And today we are starting the surreal book of Ezekiel.

There are not a lot of references to 'heart/ hearts' in Ezekiel, given the length of the book. He focuses on ...other things, mostly.  But there are a few verses for us to look at, and we will begin in chapter three, with God giving instruction to Ezekiel:

And he said to me, "Son of man, listen carefully and take to heart all the words I speak to you." -- Ez. 3:10; 'Heart' is the second most frequent word we've seen,  Strong's H3824, Lebab - inner man, mind, will, heart, soul, understanding. Also, as we have seen of late, it has a particular connotation of joining one's heart to God's.

God is about to give Ezekiel some very specific instructions about what he is to say and do and charged him to listen carefully and 'take [it] to heart'.  

Sound instruction not just for an Old Testament prophet, but for all of us today.  We listen willingly enough to the word from God...but falter at the 'take it to heart' part.  James warns us of being hearers of the word but not do-ers of the word.  If we don't take God's word seriously, applying it to everyday life, letting it influence our actions and deeds...have we even really heard it?

There are consequences for not taking the word to heart.

"Then in the nations where they have been carried away captive, those who escape will remember me -- how I have been grieved by their adulterous hearts, which have turned away from me, and by their eyes, which have lusted after their idols.  They will loathe themselves for the evil they have done and for all their detestable practices." - Ez. 6:9; 'Hearts' is the most common Hebrew word translated 'Heart/ hearts', Strong's H3820, Leb: Inner man, mind will, heart, understanding

Rebellion and idolatry ...turning away from God and embracing idols (of any kind) bring judgment.  Judgment either leads to rejection of God completely or conviction and repentance.  It's rough to see oneself from God's perspective and recognize our self centered behavior for what it is.

We go all the way to chapter 11 for the next mention of heart/ hearts, and what happens when there is repentance and restoration:

"I will give them an undivided heart and put a new spirit in them; I will remove from them their heart of stone and give them a heart of flesh." -- Ez. 11:19;  all instances of 'heart' are H 3820.

This, to me, is one of the most amazing concepts in the Old Testament, foreshadowing the whole idea of a new birth.

But, for the folks who get angry at the judgment and reject God

"But as for those whose hearts are devoted to their vile images and detestable idols, I will bring down on their own heads what they have done, declares the Sovereign LORD."  -- Ez. 11:21; 'Hearts' is H 3020 again.

For a bit more detail on the consequences of idolatry...

Then the word of the LORD came to me:  "Son of man, these men have set up idols in their hearts and put wicked stumbling blocks before their faces.  Should I let them inquire of me at all?  Therefore speak to them and tell them, 'This is what the Sovereign Lord says:  When any Israelite sets up idols in his heart and puts a wicket stumbling block before his face and then goes to a prophet, I the LORD will answer him myself in keeping with his great idolatry.  I will do this to recapture the hearts of the people of Israel, who have all deserted me for their idols.'"  -- Ez. 14:2-5;  all instance of 'heart' are H 3020.

This is an interesting concept...that one who holds idols also puts a stumbling block right in his or her own way. Something that causes a trip and a fall.  And...here's the thing.  That idol doesn't have to be a  Baal or an Ashtoreth.  It could be ANYTHING that takes precedence over taking God's word to heart.

Anything.

That takes some soul searching.

" 'When any Israelite or any alien living in Israel separates himself from me and sets up idols in his heart and puts a wicked stumbling block before his face and then goes to a prophet to inquire of me, I the LORD will answer him myself.  I will set my face against that man and make him an example and a byword.  I will cut him off from my people.  Then you will know that I am the LORD.'" - Ez. 14:7-9; 'Heart' is, once again, H 3820.

Serving idols in one's heart and still going through the motions of devotion to God...brings judgment.  Not just to the individual, but, as you read on down in the chapter, the prophet who ministers to him also falls under the same judgment.  

Idolatry is a serious thing, and the worship of God can NOT be contaminated with it.  We see this over and over in the prophets.  But this is not just a warning to not have little stone statues with burning incense in the house...it's a warning to not give up heart space to serving something that is not God.  

That heart space matters.  

A New Year...

 Posted by Lisa Laree to Beer Lahai Roi

WHAT an original title for the post, lol.  I started writing, left, came back, looked at it and rolled my eyes.

Eh.  It works.

It's January, which means we have a crew of folks at church doing The Shred...which is not a diet-and-exercise routine, lol.  It's a plan to read the entire Bible in 30 days.  I did it two years ago, and debated doing it again, but decided I'd do another personal challenge instead.

It's still a repeat, but it's a test to see if I can do something I've been thinking about for a while.

One of the past challenges I've done is reading the Bible through in a year, following a simple formula of reading 3 chapters in the Old Testament and 1 chapter in the New Testament every day. If you stick to it faithfully, you'll actually finish before the year is over...sometime in October, I think.  But everyone misses a day here and there, so finishing in a year is a definite challenge...but one that's attainable.

But I added another layer on it.  One of the Bible study tools I teach is what I call the Bible Survey, that basically involves writing a sentence summary of each chapter as you read it.  We did that in four years when I was teaching the High School Girls class. 

I wondered if it would be too hard to add the Bible Survey on top of the 3 + 1 reading.

I grabbed a college-ruled, three subject spiral notebook at the grocery store last week and started on Sunday.  Two chapters in Genesis on page one, one chapter in Job on the first page of the second division, and one chapter in Matthew on the first page of the third division.

Today I'm on day 4 owing to a bit of a late start, but, like I said, there is a bit of wiggle room in the 3 + 1 plan.

I will still be doing the Heart/Hearts study on Fridays (or maybe Saturdays...lol).

I feel good about this.  If I am instructing folks to do this, I should be doing it myself, no?  

Here we go...