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...
No comments:
Post a Comment