I’ve been spending time reading in the Old Covenant lately and have come across an amazing thing. A dear friend of mine has a saying that the longest trip is the 18 inches from your head to your heart, making something you know an integral part of you. As I’ve been reading through parts of I have been struck, again and again, with how important the heart is to God. Take the Ten Commandments. The second one reads:

You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your might. Keep these words that I am commanding you today in your heart. Deuteronomy 6:5,6

Not only are we to love God with all our heart but to keep his law. Not only did God tell Moses and the Israelites this, the Israelites got a chance to ask God, “Of all the laws you’ve given us, which is most important?” God’s response?

(Jesus) said to him, " "You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind.' This is the greatest and first commandment. And a second is like it: "You shall love your neighbor as yourself.' On these two commandments hang all the law and the prophets." Matthew 22:37-40

Why is loving God with all our heart so important? I think the answer lies in 1 Samuel. Israel rejects God as their sovereign and demands a king. Samuel warns them, as God tells them to, about the problems with a king but the people are adamant, so God gives them Saul. Saul is described in the Bible as:

...a man of Benjamin whose name was Kish son of Abiel son of Zeror son of Becorath son of Aphiah, a Benjaminite, a man of wealth. He had a son whose name was Saul, a handsome young man. There was not a man among the people of Israel more handsome than he; he stood head and shoulders above everyone else. 1 Samuel 9:1,2

The whole story of how Saul became King is interesting but I’m going to condense it here. Saul is searching for lost donkeys and ends up visiting Samuel. When Saul shows up he is expected for God told Samuel in advance that this would happen. Samuel anoints Saul and tells him that God has chosen him to be king. Not only that, but he also tells Saul certain events would happen to validate Samuel’s prophecy. The most interesting thing is that Samuel didn’t predict the most important thing that would happen to Saul that day.

As (Saul) turned away to leave Samuel, God gave him another heart; and all these signs were fulfilled that day. 1 Samuel 10:9

God replaced Saul’s heart with one of His own making. Unfortunately, Saul didn’t pay much attention to that fact. In fact, when it came to making war with the Philistines, Saul went ahead in his own way. 1 Samuel 13 tells what happened:

He waited seven days, the time appointed by Samuel; but Samuel did not come to Gilgal, and the people began to slip away from Saul. So Saul said, "Bring the burnt offering here to me, and the offerings of well-being." And he offered the burnt offering. As soon as he had finished offering the burnt offering, Samuel arrived; and Saul went out to meet him and salute him. Samuel said, "What have you done?" Saul replied, "When I saw that the people were slipping away from me, and that you did not come within the days appointed, and that the Philistines were mustering at Michmash, I said, "Now the Philistines will come down upon me at Gilgal, and I have not entreated the favor of the Lord'; so I forced myself, and offered the burnt offering." Samuel said to Saul, "You have done foolishly; you have not kept the commandment of the Lord your God, which he commanded you. The Lord would have established your kingdom over Israel forever, but now your kingdom will not continue; the Lord has sought out a man after his own heart; and the Lord has appointed him to be ruler over his people, because you have not kept what the Lord commanded you." 1 Samuel 13:8-14

It may have been from the best of motives but it appears that Saul may have been concerned with his people for it says that they “began to slip away from Saul.” If so, then Saul had forgotten that he was merely king over God’s people, they weren't Saul's. His chance to have his line rule forever was broken because he didn’t follow God. Instead, God would find someone “after His own heart.” In fact, when Samuel went to find Saul’s successor, he had to be reminded of that:

But the Lord said to Samuel, "Do not look on his appearance or on the height of his stature, because I have rejected him; for the Lord does not see as mortals see; they look on the outward appearance, but the Lord looks on the heart." 1 Samuel 16:7

Once Samuel anointed David with oil God didn’t need to replace David’s heart. Instead, “the Spirit of the Lord came mightily upon David from that day forward.” (1 Samuel 16:13b)

Indeed, when David had his little fling with Bathsheba and was called to task, he had much to say about heart. In Psalm 51 he says:

Create in me a clean heart, O God, and put a new and right spirit within me. Psalm 51:10

The sacrifice acceptable to God is a broken spirit; a broken and contrite heart, O God, you will not despise. Psalm 51:17

So it appears that our Heart is important to God. But why? Well, if I remember my biology correctly, the heart pumps our blood to every nook and cranny of our body. There is no part of our body that the heart does not send blood to and receive it back from. Our heart affects each and every cell of our being. Thus, what we know in our heart will be known throughout and seen by all. In Proverbs we hear:

Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and do not rely on your own insight. Proverbs 3:5

The crucible is for silver, and the furnace is for gold, but the Lord tests the heart. Proverbs 17:3

So our heart is obviously important but what can we do about it? After all, God replaced Saul’s heart and it didn’t help, must we all have hearts “after God’s heart?” Well, yes and no. I believe that Saul, having been picked, had his heart replaced though he had never asked for it to be done and thus he failed to recognize the gift. But I hope based on Ezekiel that God replaces our hearts at our request.

A new heart I will give you, and a new spirit I will put within you; and I will remove from your body the heart of stone and give you a heart of flesh. I will put my spirit within you, and make you follow my statutes and be careful to observe my ordinances. Ezekiel 36:26,27

That is one of the amazing things about having Christ as our Savior. He asks the impossible, that we follow Him and live as He would have us. Then, in His foolish wisdom, He equips us to do the impossible. When we couldn’t live righteous lives, God sent His only begotten Son to die on the Cross for us. And when we come to know Christ He takes our heart of stone and replaces it with one of flesh. Isn’t life Great?

In His Peace,

Josef

I’ve been spending time reading in the Old Covenant lately and have come across an amazing thing. A dear friend of mine has a saying that the longest trip is the 18 inches from your head to your heart, making something you know an integral part of you. As I’ve been reading through parts of I have been struck, again and again, with how important the heart is to God. Take the Ten Commandments. The second one reads:

You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your might. Keep these words that I am commanding you today in your heart. Deuteronomy 6:5,6

Not only are we to love God with all our heart but to keep his law. Not only did God tell Moses and the Israelites this, the Israelites got a chance to ask God, “Of all the laws you’ve given us, which is most important?” God’s response?

(Jesus) said to him, " "You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind.' This is the greatest and first commandment. And a second is like it: "You shall love your neighbor as yourself.' On these two commandments hang all the law and the prophets." Matthew 22:37-40

Why is loving God with all our heart so important? I think the answer lies in 1 Samuel. Israel rejects God as their sovereign and demands a king. Samuel warns them, as God tells them to, about the problems with a king but the people are adamant, so God gives them Saul. Saul is described in the Bible as:

...a man of Benjamin whose name was Kish son of Abiel son of Zeror son of Becorath son of Aphiah, a Benjaminite, a man of wealth. He had a son whose name was Saul, a handsome young man. There was not a man among the people of Israel more handsome than he; he stood head and shoulders above everyone else. 1 Samuel 9:1,2

The whole story of how Saul became King is interesting but I’m going to condense it here. Saul is searching for lost donkeys and ends up visiting Samuel. When Saul shows up he is expected for God told Samuel in advance that this would happen. Samuel anoints Saul and tells him that God has chosen him to be king. Not only that, but he also tells Saul certain events would happen to validate Samuel’s prophecy. The most interesting thing is that Samuel didn’t predict the most important thing that would happen to Saul that day.

As (Saul) turned away to leave Samuel, God gave him another heart; and all these signs were fulfilled that day. 1 Samuel 10:9

God replaced Saul’s heart with one of His own making. Unfortunately, Saul didn’t pay much attention to that fact. In fact, when it came to making war with the Philistines, Saul went ahead in his own way. 1 Samuel 13 tells what happened:

He waited seven days, the time appointed by Samuel; but Samuel did not come to Gilgal, and the people began to slip away from Saul. So Saul said, "Bring the burnt offering here to me, and the offerings of well-being." And he offered the burnt offering. As soon as he had finished offering the burnt offering, Samuel arrived; and Saul went out to meet him and salute him. Samuel said, "What have you done?" Saul replied, "When I saw that the people were slipping away from me, and that you did not come within the days appointed, and that the Philistines were mustering at Michmash, I said, "Now the Philistines will come down upon me at Gilgal, and I have not entreated the favor of the Lord'; so I forced myself, and offered the burnt offering." Samuel said to Saul, "You have done foolishly; you have not kept the commandment of the Lord your God, which he commanded you. The Lord would have established your kingdom over Israel forever, but now your kingdom will not continue; the Lord has sought out a man after his own heart; and the Lord has appointed him to be ruler over his people, because you have not kept what the Lord commanded you." 1 Samuel 13:8-14

It may have been from the best of motives but it appears that Saul may have been concerned with his people for it says that they “began to slip away from Saul.” If so, then Saul had forgotten that he was merely king over God’s people, they weren't Saul's. His chance to have his line rule forever was broken because he didn’t follow God. Instead, God would find someone “after His own heart.” In fact, when Samuel went to find Saul’s successor, he had to be reminded of that:

But the Lord said to Samuel, "Do not look on his appearance or on the height of his stature, because I have rejected him; for the Lord does not see as mortals see; they look on the outward appearance, but the Lord looks on the heart." 1 Samuel 16:7

Once Samuel anointed David with oil God didn’t need to replace David’s heart. Instead, “the Spirit of the Lord came mightily upon David from that day forward.” (1 Samuel 16:13b)

Indeed, when David had his little fling with Bathsheba and was called to task, he had much to say about heart. In Psalm 51 he says:

Create in me a clean heart, O God, and put a new and right spirit within me. Psalm 51:10

The sacrifice acceptable to God is a broken spirit; a broken and contrite heart, O God, you will not despise. Psalm 51:17

So it appears that our Heart is important to God. But why? Well, if I remember my biology correctly, the heart pumps our blood to every nook and cranny of our body. There is no part of our body that the heart does not send blood to and receive it back from. Our heart affects each and every cell of our being. Thus, what we know in our heart will be known throughout and seen by all. In Proverbs we hear:

Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and do not rely on your own insight. Proverbs 3:5

The crucible is for silver, and the furnace is for gold, but the Lord tests the heart. Proverbs 17:3

So our heart is obviously important but what can we do about it? After all, God replaced Saul’s heart and it didn’t help, must we all have hearts “after God’s heart?” Well, yes and no. I believe that Saul, having been picked, had his heart replaced though he had never asked for it to be done and thus he failed to recognize the gift. But I hope based on Ezekiel that God replaces our hearts at our request.

A new heart I will give you, and a new spirit I will put within you; and I will remove from your body the heart of stone and give you a heart of flesh. I will put my spirit within you, and make you follow my statutes and be careful to observe my ordinances. Ezekiel 36:26,27

That is one of the amazing things about having Christ as our Savior. He asks the impossible, that we follow Him and live as He would have us. Then, in His foolish wisdom, He equips us to do the impossible. When we couldn’t live righteous lives, God sent His only begotten Son to die on the Cross for us. And when we come to know Christ He takes our heart of stone and replaces it with one of flesh. Isn’t life Great?

In His Peace,

Josef