Okay, I know.
About 92% of you just gasped and are ready to say, "Well, you know Shauna, the Bible says in Jeremiah 17:9, 'the heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately sick; who can understand it?' HELLO?!"
Let's do a study together, shall we? Really quick, even!
The Hebrew word where we use "deceitful" is the word, "`aqob". It is used only 2 times in Scripture and can also be translated, "slippery, steep, hilly, foot-tracked". Imagine if we translated this passage with those definitions?
Let's also look at what's going on in this passage in Jeremiah.
First off, Jeremiah was a prophet during Old Testament times, even during the destruction of Jerusalem. He was sent specifically to Israel (unless otherwise stated), to warn, rebuke and encourage ("to pluck up and to break down...to build and to plant". (1:10)
Let's now zoom in to chapter 17.
The verses before it are, "Blessed is the man who trusts in the Lord, whose trust is the Lord. He like a tree planted by water... It does not fear when heat comes... and is not anxious... it does not cease to bear fruit." (v7-8). Now, the verses before that (5-6) are in the negative and then Jeremiah says in verse 9 those famous words that we are now studying.
But what about the verses after?
I'm so glad you asked.
"I the LORD search the heart and test the mind, to give every man according to his ways, according to the fruit of his deeds. (v10)
So even in just a quick glance we get a bigger and better picture of what is going on. Jeremiah is not saying to all of us today that our hearts are deceitful, wicked and beyond repair. Jeremiah is saying that Israel and us have a choice: to repent and serve God and be blessed by honoring Him, or to continue in our ways and see destruction. Because God will give to every man according to his ways, according to the fruit of his deeds.
To further prove this thought and conclusion, let us just read even a few more verses about what God says about our hearts throughout the rest of Scripture. (Again, these are just a few.)
From the Old Covenant/ Under the Law:
Proverbs 3:5 - Trust in the Lord with all your heart [but lean not on your own understanding]...
Proverbs 4:23 - Guard your heart, for everything you do flows from [your heart]...
Psalm 51:10 - Create in me a new heart...
Psalm 73:26 - My heart and flesh my fail, but God is the strength of my heart...
Psalm 37:4 - Take delight in the Lord and He will give you the desires of your heart...
Ezekiel 36:26 - I will give you a new heart and... give you a heart of flesh.
From the New Covenant/ Under Grace
Matthew 5:8 - Blessed are the pure in heart [for they shall see God]
Matthew 22:37 - Love the Lord God with all your heart...
Matthew 6:21 - For where your treasure is, there is your heart also...
Romans 5:5 - And hope does not put us to shame because God's love has been poured into our hearts...
So, do you see what I mean?
How could our hearts be deceptively wicked but yet, we are supposed to trust the Lord with them? Why would we need to guard them? How could God be the strength of our [wicked] hearts? How could we desire and receive those desires if our hearts are wicked? Why would God bless our hearts? How could we love God with all of our hearts? How could our treasure lie in our hearts? How could God's love be shed into our wicked hearts?
So at the very least, from what we can see even just from these verses... our hearts can and are changed upon salvation. (And in the Old Testament, being renewed, as the Holy Spirit did not indwell, but came upon the righteous.)
I understand what people are trying to say when they say that our hearts are wicked. That sin is our livelihood until we give our lives to God. But what many are also saying when using this verse is that emotions are bad but there could be nothing further from the truth.
Now to make life-altering decisions solely based on emotions, sure, absolutely: Don't do it! But sadly, the Church has almost swung in the opposite direction (though, as of very recently, the pendulum is slowing coming back the other way). The Church for too long has stood on principle and run people over. From the Pharisees to today even there have been those that have taught [us] to eliminate our emotions or put our emotions on the back-burner and just do what is right.
I propose to you that this mindset is from the pit of hell.
It is what Job's friends did to him and God wanted to slay all three of them.
It is what the Pharisees did in their pompous pride and refusal to have and show compassion unless it somehow benefited them... and we all know how Jesus felt about the Pharisees.
Scripture is full of the statements and mentality of "there is safety in a multitude of counselors" but hopefully I have challenged the view point of believing that emotions are wrong, sinful and/or something to run from. In fact, David was called a man after God's own heart, and is there anyone more emotional than David? He fought anger, depression and pride of course, but he also danced because of God's victories and loved God's laws more than anything else in his life (most of the time).
I'll even challenge you with this: in those moments where you are feeling deep-rooted emotions, stop and ask the Lord to help you discern why you're feeling what you're feeling and what He has for you in it.
Perhaps it's fear showing up as anger.
Perhaps it's pride.
Perhaps it's sadness.
Perhaps it's that you've come to believe that God doesn't really want you to be happy, so you try to not hang on to it for fear that God will take it away someday.
Perhaps it's.....you name it.
According to Scripture God... laughs. is angry. (In His defense, He gets to be righteously angry, but the Apostle Paul says we can be angry too.) God is love. God cried. (Perhaps He still does...) God got tired. (Note: Jesus needing places to stay and eat.)
Beloved, don't fear your emotions.
Let your emotions serve you. Don't serve your emotions.
Ask what your emotions are about and for and surrender to the Lord in wisdom.
And please, PLEASE stop taking Scripture out of context.
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(Because even in this instance, I believe this topic and horrific explanation of this verse is a small sliver why many men in the Church are anti-women. They see [us] strictly emotional beings without logic. (But I digress, as that is a subject for one of my next posts...)
Hey Shauna.
ReplyDeleteI really enjoy reading your posts and I'm not one to comment normally but I had a few questions. First, I want to commend your desire to call out those who say "emotions are always and unequivocally bad!" and say that this is not biblical. I agree with this. Second, I also agree with you that this text is terribly misused if it is used to teach that "heart" here refers to simply our emotions. However, I have some concerns with the way you are (in good intention) treating the text.
My first question I suppose would be: Why does the semantic range of "deceitful" cause you to question the meaning of the verse? I have personally studied the Hebrew of this verse and "akov" (deceitful) is followed by the emphatic "mikkol" (above all) intending to say it is more tricky, slippery, or deceptive than anything. Additionally, it is followed by the more controversial word, "anush" (very sick, incurable) and the rhetorical question, "Who can know it?" I'll also note that "heart" is preceded by the definite article that has no previous reference. This means that Jeremiah is not saying, "Your heart, Israel is more deceptive than anything and incurable." It means he is stating a general principle for mankind by referring to THE heart of man. All of the verses surrounding the text are general principles as well. The point of the verse is to say that there is nothing more deceptive or sick than the heart (inner person, mind, will) of mankind. However, God knows it and will judge accordingly (v. 10).
My other question would be: Why does the statement from Jeremiah that the human heart is deceitful and sick contradict the other verses you bring up? You say that it doesn't make sense that the heart would be wicked if we are called to trust God with them. However, this is the whole point of the OT Law: to show the righteous requirement of God and how we, as human beings, cannot be righteous enough on our own (Rom. 7). This is why we need a NEW heart. This is the climactic moment in Jeremiah when he gets to the promise of a new covenant that involves a new heart that God will write his law upon (Jer. 31). Our sinfulness is what requires God to act in a way that we cannot. We need his grace and sanctifying power.
Please feel free to show me how I misunderstood what you are saying or how I am getting something wrong; however, I think that your main point (emotions are not intrinsically evil and can serve us) is a good one, one that I wholeheartedly agree with. However, it seems to me that you are arguing that this verse is not saying what it is actually saying in order to support that point. I think a better way of correcting a false understanding of this text would be to note that "heart" (leb) here does not solely refer to our emotions. It refers to our inner selves, our wills, our minds, and the seat of our emotions. It is the Hebrew icon for the immaterial part of our being. So, to say that our "emotions" are deceptive and sick is to misunderstand the full meaning of the text. The truth is WE are deceptive and desperately sick and need a Savior.
Micah!
DeleteFirst off, thank you SO MUCH for responding and offering/giving feedback. What a gift! (Though wrestling with pride never seems like a gift in the moment... ha!) But after typing this response, I will actually do a quick edit re: to Israel only vs. human condition... so thank you! I think, in all honestly, I was quick to say that because people use verses out of context too much.. but you are correct in your point in Israel vs. human kind.
Secondly, I just want to point out that the people I am speaking to in my post is to believers only. I have only heard of this verse used in context once re: salvation (and even that was to little kids, in which case, I believe there are better verses to use to serve kids, but, I digress.)
One thing I cut out of my original post was that, at the very least, after salvation (and now the indwelling of the Holy Spirit, new heart, etc), we can not say that our hearts are deceitful any longer.
I believe with my entire being in being thankful daily for the Cross & the resurrection & salvation. However, I believe that we are more than [just] sinners saved by grace- that we are Children of God.
Paul told us he was the chief of sinners, yet he (and John) talk numerous times about being beloved of God as well.
I believe that if we only live at the foot of the Cross and never rise to walk in the freedom, power & love He bestowed on us, then, well, just that. We will walk without the power and confidence that He has called us to walk and live in.
Hope this explains my thoughts better!
But again, the people I am pleading with is Believers who preach to other believers that their hearts are [continuously] deceitful... which again, is the context in which I have heard this verse most of my life.
Shauna,
DeleteThank you so much for that thoughtful and thorough response. I do think it's unfortunate that you never heard someone teach this verse faithfully. However, I am not surprised (which is also sad). It is because of things like this that I believe expositional teaching is the most faithful way to treat the text. I hope and pray God gives me grace to do so faithfully in whatever capacity he grants.
Thank you, also, for bringing up the "new heart" point. I had that on my mind but didn't mention it because it was not in the article. There is a definitive difference in the human heart before and after conversion. The remnants of sin hanging on still affect us; however, we do not sin as believers because of a sinful nature (God has given us a new one) but because we are willingly and deliberately choosing to live in the ways of our flesh. Thank God for his grace!
I'm not sure I would say that we must leave the foot of the cross in order to walk in freedom and love; but, I understand what you mean.
Thanks for engaging with my thoughts so well. We miss you and hope it works out to be in your area in the future!