The Lie of The Wicked Heart
(4 minutes)
The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked; who can know it? (Jeremiah 17:9 Masoretic)
If you've been in religion for any length of time, you've probably heard this scripture. It has shaped so much of the theology of the West - the bedrock belief that we are rotten to the core from the moment we emerge from our mother's womb. We even pepper this theology in the songs we sing - a constant reminder of how filthy we are on the inside. This verse is the reason so many of us grow up in religion not being able to trust ourselves, even when we've become new creatures in Christ. This belief that our heart is desperately wicked still lingers in our relationship with Yeshua. The things that we are helpless to change in our lives, the things we still struggle with, have been explained away using this verse - our heart is wicked. But what if this verse meant something completely different? What if this whole time we formed an entire belief system on the wrong perspective? It turns out that there's more than one interpretation of this verse. Read the verse as it is interpreted in the Septuagint tradition:
The heart is deeper than all things; a person is also. And who will understand him? (Jeremiah 17:9 Septuagint)
Here's another translation:
The heart is deep beyond all things, and it is the man. Even so, who can know him? (Jeremiah 17:9)
How does it make you feel to see such a huge difference in these two interpretations, considering that we've hung some pretty significant theological hats on the first translation?
We've been walking around cursing the very core of who we are, because of this first perspective. What if your heart was never desperately wicked above all things? What if it was just incredibly deep, so deep that only Yahweh could truly know it? One perspective sends us into insecurity and confusion. The other perspective propels us into the arms of Abba, the only one who truly knows us!
Now, Pastor Tim mentioned this on Sunday - some people will read this and immediately become offended, thinking that this kind of talk leads people to believe that the word of God is wrong. We must understand this - the word of God, in its original form, is infallible and completely inspired. Like Pastor Tim said on Sunday, "The fallible part is the men and women who interpreted it." The people who translated these original scriptures in their original languages all had unique perspectives concerning God, and that perspective was bound to leak out onto the pages of these translations. This is why we always read Scripture with the Holy Spirit, through the lens of Jesus. Jesus is perfect theology! Jesus is everything the Father has to say about Himself. It's dangerous to read the Bible without Him!
As you take the walk with Abba today, allow Him to give you His lens and His perspective. You are a new creature in Christ, the new has come and the old has passed away. You can trust Your heart. It's not wicked, it's incredibly deep, and Yahweh has made it brand new. And now that you are walking hand in hand with the Heart-Knower, you can trust every step that is being taken. When you are intimately connected to Jesus, you can be confident that He is weaving every single step into His good and perfect plan. You can't mess this up! Tell yourself that again, "I can't mess this up! Abba has wrapped me up in His presence! His goodness and mercy are following me everywhere that I go."
Beloved One, let go of the lie and embrace the truth. You have been made new!
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Worship: "Have My Heart" by Maverick City
Honor: Give Online to The Wilderness Place
Share With Us: We would love to hear how you're encountering Abba in your daily walks. Don't hesitate to share what you're hearing, seeing, or sensing in His presence. Email us here!
