Shabbat Shalom all,
Luqas/Luke 6:45 “The good man brings forth what is good out of the good treasure of his heart, and the wicked man brings forth what is wicked out of the wicked treasure of his heart. For out of the overflow of the heart his mouth speaks.”
While teaching a parable, יהושע Messiah expressed the clear fact that each tree is known by its fruit, and He makes it very clear that what is in your heart will be brought out; and while the mouth will speak from the overflow of what is on one’s heart, He then says in the next verse:
Luqas/Luke 6:46 “But why do you call Me ‘Master, Master,’ and do not do what I say?”
In a message tonight called, ‘IT’S A HEART THING!’, I want us to be reminded what is to be upon our hearts, and in a manner of speaking, ‘get to the heart of the matter’, as we are reminded to guard the good deposit of His Truth in our hearts, as we guard to do all He has commanded us, so that our words and actions are in sync with the Truth of the Word!
Out of the overflow of the heart a man speaks…! Standing here before a corrupt and wicked generation, יהושע Messiah makes it very clear that a person cannot hide their attitude toward righteousness! Just as people will know the kind of tree by the fruit it bears, so will people know, from what a person speaks, whether they walk in true righteousness or not, or whether their confession is based on lies and tradition and results in a vain and twisted form of an assumed righteousness that is nothing more that flat out unrighteousness! And here in this parable the fruit stands for what is said and not what is done, for it is clear that the words of the unrighteous may never line up with their actions. In fact our Master and Elohim goes on here to tell us that everyone who comes to Him and hears His Words and does them will be like a wise man who builds his house on the rock, while those who hear and does not do will be like a man who builds his house on the sand with no foundation and will be unable to stand when the storms come! The wicked and rebellious may speak and say what is right, but it by one’s fruit that they are known! We are to have rivers of Living Water flowing out of our innermost – rivers that are delivered with a clear and bold confession that matches our actions of obedience – for then it will be clear that the truth in in our hearts! יהושע asks the wicked why they call Him Master yet do not do what He commands – and this is what so many are doing today – they claim to know Him and call him ‘Master’, yet they refuse to submit to walking in His Torah, and their confession and boasting is in vain!
When Ya’aqob/James tells us that we are to be doers of the Word that we hear and not just hearers only, he was making it clear that if the Torah is not upon your heart, then any vain words are empty lies!
Ya’aqob/James 3:14 “But if you have bitter jealousy and self-seeking in your hearts, do not boast against and lie against the truth.”
Yoḥanan Aleph/1 John 2:4 “The one who says, “I know Him,” and does not guard His commands, is a liar, and the truth is not in him.”
We guard what has been entrusted to us, by ‘doing’ – that is by obeying His Torah and walking in it!
When Dawiḏ, in a poem to יהוה, asked who may sojourn in the Tent of יהוה and who may go up to His Set-Apart mountain, he answers by saying:
Tehillim/Psalm 15:2 “He who walks blamelessly, and does righteousness, and speaks the truth in his heart.”
Here it is made very clear – the one who walks ‘blamelessly’ does righteousness and speaks the truth in his heart! Doing and speaking that line up with the perfect Truth! The Hebrew word used here for ‘blamelessly’ is תָּמִים tamiym – Strong’s H8549, meaning ‘perfect, without blemish, complete, sound, and blameless, without defect’, and comes from the primitive root word תָּמַם tamam – Strong’s H8552 meaning, ‘to be complete, to be finished, be at an end’.
In Yehoshua’s last address to the nation he made a clear call to Yisra’ĕl and commanded them the following:
Yehoshua/Joshua 24:14 “And now, fear יהוה, serve Him in perfection and in truth, and put away the mighty ones which your fathers served beyond the River and in Mitsrayim, and serve יהוה!”
He proceeds to make it clear that if this does not seem right in their eyes then they had better choose who they would serve, but he and his house would serve יהוה! There is only one way to serve יהוה, and that is to fear Him and serve Him in perfection and Truth and have nothing to do with vain and empty traditions of falsified worship.
The call to “be perfect” is often seen as a hard expectation if understood in the wrong way, but what is it to be perfect or have a perfect heart?
To not have a perfect heart often speaks of one who may have even began well, yet did not endure to the end – it can speak of one who does not carry on to completion that which they are called to! It can be a ‘doing right, but…’ kind of scenario. There are to be no ‘buts’ in our committed life unto יהוה!
So when we are told to be תָּמִים tamiym – ‘perfect’, we are told we are to be complete, and be mature in our thoughts and actions. We are to move on to maturity, which comes through the perseverance of trials, in order to be complete and not lack anything.
It is those who are immature – those who stay on the milk of the Word, who cannot walk perfect before יהוה. Although many ought to be teachers by now, they have not moved on to maturity in the Word and stumble continually through their inability to take responsibility of seeking, learning and growing in the Truth as they would either wait for others to spoon feed them continually, or hold fast to and rely upon the man-made traditions that have held people captive on milk.
What is in our heart will be revealed in our actions and the corresponding words we speak! The Truth is to be on our hearts and it is the truth that is in our heart that we are to be speaking, followed up by a committed obedience to walking and serving in the Truth!
The Hebrew word for ‘truth’ is אֱמֶת emeth – Strong’s H571 means, ‘truth, firmness, faithfulness’, and this word carries an underlying sense of certainty and dependability – and we know that The Word of יהוה is Truth:
Tehillim/Psalm 119:142 “Your righteousness is righteousness forever, and Your Torah is truth.”
Tehillim/Psalm 119:151 “You are near, O יהוה, and all Your commands are truth.”
Tehillim/Psalm 119:160 “The sum of Your word is truth, and all Your righteous right-rulings are forever.”
Anyone who claims to serve יהוה without walking in and giving heed to follow His Torah, commands and instructions are not serving in Truth, and those who claim that the Torah/Law of Elohim has been done away with are sadly riddled with the leaven of the hypocrisy of man’s theologies and dogmas that seeks only to serve self rather than the Giver of Life, while claiming the opposite! Anyone who says Master, Master yet does not guard the commands of Elohim is a liar and the Truth is not in them – that is the truth is not in their heart! The words we speak reveals a great deal of what is in our heart! A couple of weeks ago, in a message called ‘WALKING IN THE WAY!’ I shared with you in the ancient pictographic script what the words, WAY, TRUTH and LIFE look like and how the Truth, in its picture form clearly teaches us that the ‘Aleph’ and ‘Taw’ is to be upon our hearts as we allow His Word to wash us.
While reading Yirmeyahu this week, I got stirred by the continual theme we see, not only in his book but all throughout Scripture, about how ‘it’s a heart thing’, and as we look at various verses tonight, I hope that we continue to look intently into the mirror of the Word and do our utmost at keeping our hearts clean and free from any form of compromise and that which can contaminate the Truth.
Yirmeyahu was clearly shown the state of the hearts of Yisra’ĕl and Yehuḏah, and under the influence of inherited lies and vain traditions, the hearts of a called out nation had become desperately sick, and we see a call to get cleaned up in:
Yirmeyahu/Jeremiah 4:14 “O Yerushalayim, wash your heart from evil, and be saved. Till when would your wicked thoughts remain within you?”
The Truth was no longer in their hearts, even though they boasted in the Hěḵal of יהוה, and all that was in their hearts was wicked thoughts.
The Hebrew word translated as ‘ your wicked’ is אוֹנֵךְ – ‘owneyḵ’ which is from the root אָוֶן aven – Strong’s H202 which means, ‘trouble, sorrow, wickedness, iniquity, emptiness’. The primary meaning of this word seems to have two facets: 1) a stress on trouble which moves on to wickedness, and 2) an emphasis on emptiness which moves on to idolatry.
In terms of deception we see in Mishlĕ/Proverbs 17:4 how the word אָוֶן aven is tied to thoughts and words of falsehood that the unrighteous give heed to:
Mishlĕ/Proverbs 17:4 “An evil-doer gives heed to wicked lips; a liar gives ear to a tongue of desire.”
In Yirmeyahu/Jeremiah 4:14 the Hebrew root word for ‘thoughts’ is מַחֲשֶׁבֶת maḥasheḇeth – Strong’s H4284 which means, ‘thoughts, devise, plan, purpose’. In the days of Noaḥ man’s thoughts were wicked, and this is what we read in:
Berěshith/Genesis 6:5 “And יהוה saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth, and that every inclination of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually.”
Messiah clearly warned us that the last days will be as the days of Noaḥ, and we are certainly able to see how the inclinations of the thoughts of most are only evil continually! The Hebrew word for ‘good’, as we have discussed before, is טוֹב toḇ – Strong’s H2896 and carries the meaning, ‘pleasant, good, agreeable, beautiful, to be pleasing, done well’. In the true understanding of this word טוֹב toḇ we can see that it may best be translated in most cases as ‘functional’, for when יהוה said in Berěshith/Genesis 1:31 that when He saw all that He had made, that He said it was very good. What He saw was His creation functioning properly and working the way it should and this is why it was ‘good’. The opposite to טוֹב toḇ (good) is evil which is Hebrew is רַע ra – Strong’s H7451 meaning, ‘bad, evil, wicked, harmful’. Just as we understand that טוֹב toḇ represents that which is ‘functional’, we can then see that רַע ra represents that which is ‘dysfunctional’, which simply put speaks of that which reveals and abnormal and unhealthy lifestyle that is not functioning as it should.
We may often think something is good, yet if it is not ‘functional’ according to the plumb line of the Torah of יהוה, then we had best be careful to consider our steps!
In other words we can see today, by the lawlessness of many, that the inclinations of their thoughts of their heart is only dysfunction, as the refusal to submit to the perfect Torah and function according to it through complete obedience is seen by the fruit of lawlessness! In a song of praise for Elohim who heard the psalmist prayer, we see in:
Tehillim/Psalm 66:18 “If I have seen wickedness in my heart, יהוה would not hear.”
This was the song and praise of a fearing servant of Elohim, a servant that looked intently into the Torah and walked accordingly. He knew that if he had seen wickedness in his heart that Elohim would not hear his prayer! The way we can see if their wickedness in our heart or not is by looking into the mirror of the Word and allowing the Word to wash away any dust of the world that we make pick up on our journey!
Mishlĕ/Proverbs 28:9 “He who turns away his ear from hearing the Torah, even his prayer is an abomination.”
While this is not a truth that many want to hear today, we see it made clear in the Renewed Writings:
Yoḥanan/John 9:31 “And we know that Elohim does not hear sinners. But if anyone fears Elohim and does His desire, He hears him.”
Sinners are lawless, in that the Truth is not in them and have not the Torah on their hearts, which have become hardened by the deceit of unrighteousness because they did not receive a love for the Truth in order to be saved!
It is a heart thing – and while we may at times think that our hearts are perfect we must be careful to not fall into the trap of so many delusional and lawless people who use words such as, “He knows my heart”, as a vain reason to not submit and obey to the Torah!
Yirmeyahu/Jeremiah 17:9 “The heart is crooked above all, and desperately sick – who shall know it?”
The Hebrew word used here for ‘desperately sick’ is אָנַשׁ anash – Strong’s H605 which means, ‘to be weak, sick, desperately sick’ and pictures being in a state of being incurable, and is a word that is also used for a wound or grief, sickness or wickedness. A derivative for this root is אֱנוֹשׁ Enosh – Strong’s H583 and means ‘mortal man, mankind’. The root word translated as ‘crooked’ is עָקֹב aqoḇ – Strong’s H6121 which means, ‘insidious(that is ‘harmful and enticing’), deceitful, polluted, sly’. In other words the heart of mortal man is harmful and enticing, and it will often draw one away to things that can pollute one’s life! And being deceitful – well deceit would not be deceit if it was known at the time! Yirmeyahu goes on and writes in the next verse:
Yirmeyahu/Jeremiah 7:20 “I, יהוה, search the heart, I try the kidneys, and give every man according to his ways, according to the fruit of his deeds.”
When people say that commonly used expression, ‘He knows my heart’, what they do not realise is that what they are saying is 100% correct – יהוה does know their heart! The problem is that mortal man does not always know the state of his own heart!
When the Pharisees accused the taught ones of our Master that they were breaking the traditions of the elders by not washing their hands before eating, he made it clear to them how they break the commands of Elohim by holding fast to their traditions and then proceeds to tell them how their traditions have caused them to neglect the called for obedience of honouring their parents and that they nullified the Truth by their traditions, and He then says in:
Mattithyahu/Matthew 15:8-9 “This people draw near to Me with their mouth, and respect Me with their lips, but their heart is far from Me. 9 ‘But in vain do they worship Me, teaching as teachings the commands of men.’”
When His talmidim (disciples) came and asked Him to explain these words to them, He made it clear that it was not the eating with unwashed hands that defiled a man, but that it was what came out from the heart of man that defiles him:
Mattithyahu/Matthew 15:18-19 “But what comes out of the mouth comes from the heart, and these defile the man. 19 “For out of the heart come forth wicked reasonings, murders, adulteries, whorings, thefts, false witnessings, slanders.”
Once again we are able to see the clear truth of how that which is your heart will come out and identify you as a servant of the Master or not!
One of the things that יהוה hates is a heart that devises ‘wicked’ (אָוֶן aven) ‘schemes’ (מַחֲשֶׁבֶת maḥasheḇeth):
Mishlĕ/Proverbs 6:18 “A heart devising wicked schemes, feet quick to run to evil”
Our thoughts are to be pure and not wicked:
Pilipiyim/Philippians 4:8 “For the rest, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is righteous, whatever is clean, whatever is lovely, whatever is of good report, if there is any uprightness and if there is any praise – think on these.”
As we think on and meditate on that which is good and true – that is to think upon and mediate upon the Torah of Elohim day and night, we will find our hearts being filled with the good treasure of The Word of Elohim, a sure treasure that will come forth from, or brought out of, a pure heart!
In Yirmeyahu/Jeremiah 4:14 the call to wash the heart is very loud and clear, and the Hebrew word translated as ‘wash’ is כָּבַס kaḇas – Strong’s H3526 which carries the meaning ‘washing by treading or wash by the trampling of the feet’ and carries the picture of washing one’s garments. This is different to the word used in referring to the washing of the hands and feet of the priests that was to be done at the bronze laver, which is the word רָחַץ raḥats – Strong’s H7364 and means ‘to wash, wash off, bathe, wash away’.
This ‘washing’ that is called for here is for a washing of one’s garments that have been defiled by sin, and we see the word כָּבַס kaḇas – Strong’s H3526 used in:
Tehillim/Psalm 51:2 “Wash me completely from my guilt, and cleanse me from my sin.”
Tehillim/Psalm 51:7 “Cleanse me with hyssop, and I am clean; wash me, and I am whiter than snow.”
This was a Psalm that Dawiḏ wrote after he was confronted by Nathan the prophet, after Dawiḏ had sinned by going into Bathsheḇa and committing adultery.
This word כָּבַס kaḇas is used in the words that Mosheh was told to speak to Yisra’ĕl in preparation for them being ready to hear Elohim when He would come down upon the Mountain:
Shemoth/Exodus 19:10-11 “And יהוה said to Mosheh, “Go to the people and set them apart today and tomorrow. And they shall wash their garments, 11 and shall be prepared by the third day. For on the third day יהוה shall come down upon Mount Sinai before the eyes of all the people.”
Shemoth/Exodus 19:14 “And Mosheh came down from the mountain to the people and set the people apart, and they washed their garments.”
In the call of repentance given to the assembly in Sardis we see the words of our Master telling them:
Ḥazon/Revelation 3:4 “Nevertheless, you have a few names in Sardis who have not defiled their garments. And they shall walk with Me in white, because they are worthy.”
We are to keep our garments clean as we guard the Torah that Elohim has put on our hearts, and in understanding the instructions given through Mosheh, we are also able to see that Yisra’ĕl has been given 2 days to get ready, for on the 3rd day our Master and Elohim is coming! יהושע Messiah, The Light of the world, came on the 4th day (4th Millennium) in order to separate the light from the darkness, and He has given His body 2 days (5 & 6) to get ready for on the 3rd day (that is the 7th – 7th Millennium) He is coming again to receive unto Himself those who have cleansed themselves and have not defiled their garments of righteousness!
Ya’aqob/James makes a clear call for sinners to wash their hands and hearts:
Ya’aqob/James 4:8 “Draw near to Elohim and He shall draw near to you. Cleanse hands, sinners. And cleanse the hearts, you double-minded!”
This call to get cleaned up is a call to wash the heart – that is the inwards thoughts and intentions and ways of man, and not to simply put on an outward appearance of cleanliness that the religious lawbreakers do:
Luqas/Luke 11:39-40 “And the Master said to him, “Now you Pharisees make the outside of the cup and dish clean, but your inward part is filled with greed and wickedness. 40 “Mindless ones! Did not He who made the outside make the inside also?”
It is a heart thing – and those who fear Elohim and walk humbly before Him as they guard to do all that He commands shall be blessed:
Mishlĕ/proverbs 28:14 “Blessed is the man who always fears Elohim, but he who hardens his heart falls into evil.”
A hardened heart is a picture of one who stubbornly refuses to submit to walking in obedience to the Torah that leads to life, while holding fast to vain and empty traditions that lead to destruction!
Mishlĕ/Proverbs 10:8 “The wise in heart accepts commands, but one with foolish lips falls.”
The Hebrew word for ‘accepts’ is לָקַח laqaḥ – Strong’s H3947 which carries the meaning, ‘take, fetch, lay hold of, seize, snatch away, take away, lead’. This is a powerful picture for us in recognising how it is by the instructions of יהוה that we are equipped and prepared for Him to come and fetch us as a ready Bride. The wise in heart lay hold of and take up the commands – that is to say that the wise walk in the commands and do not cast them down, but take up the responsibility of guarding to do what is commanded! One with foolish lips – that is one who claims that the Torah is no longer needed to be ‘taken up and obeyed’ will fall in their stubborn lawlessness!
It is a heart thing – and obedience flows from the heart, and in a Psalm that is all about the praise of the Torah and commands of Elohim we see Dawiḏ saying in:
Tehillim/Psalm 119:111-112 “Your witnesses are my inheritance forever, for they are the joy of my heart. 112 I have inclined my heart to do Your laws Forever, to the end.”
Romiyim/Romans 6:17 “But thanks to Elohim that you were servants of sin, yet you obeyed from the heart that form of teaching to which you were entrusted.”
The Greek word for ‘heart’ is καρδία kardia – Strong’s G2588 and this word denotes the centre of all physical and spiritual life, and is understood as the centre and seat of the soul and mind; as it is the fountain and seat of the thoughts, passions, desires, appetites, affections, purposes, endeavours. It refers ti the innermost part of a man – that which drives and directs a man’s steps, thoughts and purpose! The Hebrew word for ‘heart’ is לֵב leḇ – Strong’s H3820 which means, ‘inner man, mind, will thought’, or is often also written as לֵבָב leḇaḇ – Strong’s H3824 which means, ‘inner man, heart, mind, understanding’; and what is interesting to take note of here is that these two letters for ‘heart’ in the ancient Hebrew pictographic Script make it clear that the rule and authority of Elohim is to be upon our hearts!
In the ancient Script the Hebrew word לֵב leḇ – Strong’s H3820 looks like this:
Lamed – לֵ:
The ancient script has this letter as , and is pictured as a ‘shepherd’s staff’, can give the meaning of ‘to or toward’ and can represent that which pushes or pulls a flock in a direction, and can speak of authority or a yoke that is used to lead and guide, as well as the ability to bring back by Authority.
Bet – ב:
The ancient script has this letter as , which pictures a tent floor plan and means, ‘house’ or ‘tent’. It represents family and the importance of those who are inside the tent as opposed to the tent structure itself.
In terms of these two pictures representing the ‘heart’ or the inner man and the will and thoughts of man, we are able to see that a pure heart is one that submits to the authority of the Good Shepherd, having been grafted into His Body, that is the Tabernacle of Elohim, which in Messiah we now are. And in recognising this we see that we, as legitimate sons and daughter of the Most High that have been grafted in by the Blood of Messiah, have upon our hearts His Torah, under which we submit to walking in – for His Torah are the rules of His House! Even with the word for heart being expressed as לֵבָב leḇaḇ, we are able to see in the ancient text a second ‘bet’ – ב – , showing us the clear picture of the True authority for both Houses of Yisra’ĕl and Yehuḏah, that collectively make up the entire body of Messiah, or Tabernacle of Elohim, which we now are!
Deḇarim/Deuteronomy 6:5-6 “And you shall love יהוה your Elohim with all your heart, and with all your being, and with all your might. 6 “And these Words which I am commanding you today shall be in your heart”
To love Elohim with all your heart implies that His commands are written upon your heart, for true love for Elohim is to guard His commands; and if one does not think upon or meditate upon His Torah in order to walk in it, then it shall be very clear that the Truth is not in them!
יהוה knows what is in our hearts, while we may not; and He tests our hearts in order to see if we will obey Him or not:
Deḇarim/Deuteronomy 8:2 “And you shall remember that יהוה your Elohim led you all the way these forty years in the wilderness, to humble you, prove you, to know what is in your heart, whether you guard His commands or not.”
Deḇarim/Deuteronomy 10:12-13 “And now, Yisra’ĕl, what is יהוה your Elohim asking of you, but to fear יהוה your Elohim, to walk in all His ways and to love Him, and to serve יהוה your Elohim with all your heart and with all your being, 13 to guard the commands of יהוה and His laws which I command you today for your good?”
Deḇarim/Deuteronomy 11:18 “And you shall lay up these Words of Mine in your heart and in your being, and shall bind them as a sign on your hand, and they shall be as frontlets between your eyes.”
Deḇarim/Deuteronomy 30:14 “For the Word is very near you, in your mouth and in your heart – to do it.”
The reason I am quoting all these verses is to show that ‘it is a heart thing’ and the Word must be in our hearts and mouths, and not just a vain rendering of a corrupted lips service that has no heart or follow through with obedience and submission to doing the commands with joy!
Guarding the good treasure and deposit of the Truth in our hearts will keep us from sinning and being lawless!
Tehillim/Psalm 119:11 “I have treasured up Your word in my heart, that I might not sin against You.”
We are called to walk humbly before Elohim, and this is seen in the joyful submission to being led forth by the commands of Elohim as we, His House, are being built up in Him; and any resistance to this, as seen through pride and a hardened heart, is a severe problem, for pride deceives:
Oḇaḏyah/Obadiah 1:3 “The pride of your heart has deceived you, you who dwell in the clefts of the rock, whose dwelling is high, who say in your heart, ‘Who shall bring me down to the ground?’”
As we let the Truth dwell in our hearts we will guard to do all to the esteem of our Master and Elohim, and anything that that does not esteem Him, whether in word or deed, we must not do:
Qolasim/Colossians 3:16-17 “Let the Word of Messiah dwell in you richly, teaching and admonishing one another in all wisdom, singing with pleasure in your hearts to the Master in psalms and songs of praise and spiritual songs. 17 And whatever you do in word or deed, do all in the Name of the Master יהושע, giving thanks to Elohim the Father through Him.”
It’s a heart thing, and we who have heard the voice of our Master and Elohim, must receive His Word into our heart and go and proclaim the Reign with our words and the corresponding actions of obedience that reveal that His Word is in fact on our hearts.
Yeḥezqěl/Ezekiel 3:10-11 “And He said to me, “Son of man, receive into your heart all My words that I speak to you, and hear with your ears. 11 “And go! Come to the exiles, to the children of your people, and speak to them and say to them, ‘Thus said the Master יהוה,’ whether they hear, or whether they refuse.”
May we also hear these words and go and proclaim as we should – for it’s a heart thing! How is your heart? Has it been defiled through sin and the deceit of lawlessness? Wash your heart and keep it clean as you HEAR, GUARD and DO all He has commanded us to (Deḇarim/Deuteronomy 6:25)!
When anyone refuses to obey the commands and so easily compromises the call to be set-apart – well then quite frankly – it is a heart thing! In his cry of repentance Dawiḏ cried out:
Tehillim/Psalm 51:10 “Create in me a clean heart, O Elohim, and renew a steadfast spirit within me.”
Mattithyahu/Matthew 5:8 “Blessed are the clean in heart, because they shall see Elohim.”
It is יהוה who creates in us a clean heart and renews in us a steadfastness to walking in His Truth, as we look unto Him and walk humbly in His ways before Him, guarding to do all that He commands us to do. Any form of compromise to the Truth, no matter how ‘small’ or ‘insignificant’ it may seem, simply corrupts the heart and begins to harden, and risks the danger of not entering into the rest of Elohim and seeing Him when comes again.
In quoting from Tehillim/Psalm 95, the writer of Iḇ’rim/Hebrews reminds us:
Iḇ’rim/Hebrews 3:7-11 “Therefore, as the Set-apart Spirit says, “Today, if you hear His voice, 8 do not harden your hearts as in the rebellion, in the day of trial in the wilderness, 9 where your fathers tried Me, proved Me, and saw My works forty years. 10 “Therefore I was grieved with that generation, and said, ‘They always go astray in their heart, and they have not known My ways.’ 11 “As I swore in My wrath, ‘If they shall enter into My rest…’ ”
Hardening of hearts happens when one does not HEAR, GUARD and DO the Word of Elohim, and a hardened heart cannot ‘know’ יהוה nor His ways – for this is how we know that we know Him – if we guard His commands!
Compromise, even in the slightest, hardens – and this we must guard against at all times, as we keep our hearts and our garments clean, by walking in and proclaiming the complete Truth! When anyone has an excuse for doing what is commanded or called for, then just know that it is a heart thing – hearts are eventually revealed for what is truly inside!
The words and actions of the righteous line up with the Truth that flows from a pure, cleansed and steadfast heart!
Tehillim/Psalm 37:30-31 “The mouth of the righteous speaks wisdom, and his tongue talks of right-ruling. 31 The Torah of his Elohim is in his heart; his steps do not slide.”
How are the words of your mouth and fruit of your life? Do they please יהוה? There are many people who declare and proclaim that they ‘know’ Elohim, yet their actions deny Him and profane His Set-Apart Spirit!
It’s a heart thing – how is yours?
יהוה bless you and guard you; יהוה make His face shine upon you and show you favour; יהוה lift up His face to you and give you Shalom!