Heart 1
These teaching on the words translated heart occurred over four weeks
Over the next few weeks we will be looking at the
word heart in scripture. It is so big a subject that only giving it one week we
would barely scratch the surface. There are twenty-one words that are
translated heart in the Hebrew Scriptures alone and nine more in the Greek
Scriptures. This is enough so you could write a book on the subject.
I want to start with the Hebrew word, Leb, which would be
pronounced lav with a long a.
Outline of Biblical usage
1) inner man, mind, will, heart, understanding
a) inner part, midst
1) midst (of things)
2) heart (of man)
3) soul, heart (of man)
4) mind, knowledge, thinking, reflection, memory
5) inclination, resolution, determination (of will)
6) conscience
7) heart (of moral character)
8) as seat of appetites
9) as seat of emotions and passions
10) as seat of courage
Here is how it is translated
AV — heart 508, mind 12, midst 11, understanding 10,
hearted 7, wisdom 6, comfortably 4, well 4, considered 2, friendly 2, kindly 2,
stouthearted + 047 2, care + 07760 2, misc 21
So let’s start into the scriptures to see how this
word is used. I will have the word that we are looking at in red.
Genesis
6:5 His is not imagination of the thoughts of his heart
was only evil continually.
6
And it repented the Lord that he had made man on the earth, and it grieved him
at his heart.
Men had become so evil and had moved so far away
from God and open themselves to the devil and his willingness to destroy
everyone so that the promised seed would never come along and crush his head.
It hurt God’s heart that man had become so evil. This is not talking about the
organ we call the heart. This is describing his center or the thing that makes
God who he is. Just as when it speaks of a man’s heart it is talk about what
makes a man who he is.
Genesis
8:20 And builded an altar unto the Lord; and took of every clean beast, and of
every clean fowl, and offered burnt offerings on the altar.
21
And the Lord smelled a sweet savour; and the Lord said in his heart, I will not again curse the ground any more for
man's sake; for the imagination of man's heart
is evil from his youth; neither will I again smite any more every thing living,
as I have done.
22
While the earth remaineth, seedtime and harvest, and cold and heat, and summer
and winter, and day and night shall not cease.
Genesis 9:1
And God blessed Noah and his sons, and said unto them, Be fruitful, and
multiply, and replenish the earth.
Noah made a sacrifice unto God and God looked at
Noah’s heart and saw Noah’s desire to please God and that is what the sweet
smell was. God saw Noah unlike all others had a desire to please God. All
others could not have cared less about pleasing God they just served themselves
and what they wanted to do.
Noah always looked to please God and that should
also be our desire to please God even when what we need to do isn’t pleasant
like building a boat in the middle of the dessert.
Let’s see some of the other way’s this word leb is translated.
Genesis50: 18 And his brethren also went and fell down before his face;
and they said, Behold, we be thy servants.
19 And Joseph said unto them, Fear not: for am I in the place
of God?
20 But as for you, ye thought evil against me; but God meant
it unto good, to bring to pass, as it is this day, to save much people alive.
21 Now therefore fear ye not: I will nourish you, and your
little ones. And he comforted them, and spake kindly unto them.
22 And Joseph dwelt in Egypt, he, and his father's house: and
Joseph lived an hundred and ten years.
So here
the word kindly is this word. I like how it is translated in the Amplified
Bible:
21 Now therefore,
do not be afraid. I will provide for and support you and your little ones. And
he comforted them [imparting cheer, hope, strength] and spoke to their hearts [kindly].
Joseph spoke what was in
his heart to them.
Now you get to
Exodus. In Exodus the phrase hardened pharaoh’s heart shows up many times and
it is this word leb when it talks of
his heart.
This is an interesting one used in a figure of
speech.
Exodus 15:8 And
with the blast of thy nostrils the waters were gathered together, the floods
stood upright as an heap, and the depths were congealed in the heart of the sea.
Heart of the sea is a figure of speech in this case.
me·ton·y·my
[mi-ton-uh-mee]
noun Rhetoric .
a figure of speech that consists of the use of the
name of one object or concept for that of another to which it is related, or of
which it is a part, as “scepter” for “sovereignty,” or “the bottle” for “strong
drink,” or “count heads (or noses)” for “count people.”
The word " heart " is sometimes used
pleonastically by Metonymy
(q.v.) for the midst, when it does not mean
literally the precise middle
point
ple·o·nasm
[plee-uh-naz-uhm] Show IPA
noun
1.
the use of more words than are necessary to express an idea; redundancy.
2.
an instance of this, as free gift or true fact.
Exodus 25:2 Speak unto the children of Israel, that they bring
me an offering: of every man that giveth it willingly with his heart ye shall take my
offering
Even in
the Hebrew Scriptures God wanted the children of Israel giving from their
heart, something given out of obligation isn’t as meaningful as one given
because you want to show s the your love for God. We give from our desire to
help and cause our dad says it is a good idea!
Numbers
16:28 And Moses said, Hereby ye shall know that the LORD hath sent me to do all
these works; for [I have] not [done them] of mine own mind.
Moses wanted to be sure
that the people understood what he was telling them was not something that came
from himself but it came from God.
Numbers 24:13 If Balak
would give me his house full of silver and gold, I cannot go beyond the
commandment of the LORD, to do [either] good or bad of mine own mind: [but] what the LORD saith, that will I speak?
This was Balaam telling
Balak he is not the one who decides who is to be cursed and that no matter what
God still makes that call. Mind is our word here. Again it is what makes the
person who they are
Judges 19:3 And her
husband arose, and went after her, to speak friendly
unto her, [and] to bring her again, having his servant with him, and a couple
of asses: and she brought him into her father's house: and when the father of
the damsel saw him, he rejoiced to meet him.
Here the word friendly
is leb . Micah went to his wife to
share his heart just like we do.
Psalms 27:3 Though an
host should encamp against me, my heart shall
not fear: though war should rise against me, in this [will] I [be] confident.
David knows within the
depth of his soul he has nothing to fear as long as God is with him. We o
Here is one you should
all know.
Psalms 37:4 Delight
thyself also in the LORD; and he shall give thee the desires of thine heart.
Have you ever had a
desire to do something for God? There have been many times I have done things
that blessed someone else because I have the desire to do what will bless
someone else. I believe that God was able to place that desire in my heart
because I was willing to help.
Proverbs 23:17 Let not
thine heart envy sinners: but [be thou] in the
fear of the LORD all the day long.
Never envy a sinner you
are asking for a problem. Our hearts desire should be to serve God and our Lord
Jesus Christ.
23 Burning lips and a
wicked heart are like a potsherd covered with
silver dross.
24 He that hateth
dissembleth with his lips, and layeth up deceit within him;
25 When he speaketh
fair, believe him not: for there are seven abominations in his heart
The truth is if the
person is deceitful his motives which come from the heart are just wrong and
you cannot trust him or her. Their hearts are full of abominations.
Isaiah 40:2 Speak ye comfortably to Jerusalem, and cry unto her, that her
warfare is accomplished, that her iniquity is pardoned: for she hath received
of the LORD'S hand double for all her sins
Here we have a figure
again because a country no heart.
This is speaking of a
future time because the price has not yet been paid.
One final one.
Eze 27:25 The ships of
Tarshish did sing of thee in thy market: and thou wast replenished, and made
very glorious in the midst of the seas.
These are just a few of
the usages of this word.
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