The Heart Is Sick

Sunday morning was quite busy...

God said,

"The heart is sick"

The heart is sick?


"The heart is more deceitful than all else And is desperately sick; Who can understand it? "I, the LORD, search the heart, I test the mind, Even to give to each man according to his ways, According to the results of his deeds." Jeremiah 17:9-10 NASB

This reminds me of how/what started all of this-

Where will you be stricken again, As you continue in your rebellion? The whole head is sick And the whole heart is faint. Isaiah 1:5 NASB

If you continue to read in that chapter-

"So when you spread out your hands in prayer, I will hide My eyes from you; Yes, even though you multiply prayers, I will not listen. Your hands are covered with blood. "Wash yourselves, make yourselves clean; Remove the evil of your deeds from My sight. Cease to do evil, Learn to do good... Isaiah 1:15-17 NASB


In the Bible, the words "Heart" and "spirit" can be readily interchanged.

All of this is referring to the spiritual condition of the people.

These staunch warnings keep coming and the worship is confounded in the house of God.

Someone said that they kept hearing a trumpet when God was speaking-

'They have blown the trumpet and made everything ready, but no one is going to the battle, for My wrath is against all their multitude. 'The sword is outside and the plague and the famine are within... Ezekiel 7:14-15 NASB

This goes back to what God was saying on December 4th; it starts in Ezekiel 7, is reiterated in Ezekiel 21, and is broken down for the New Testament church in Hebrews 12.

I don't know how else to say this-

But you have forgotten that the Scriptures say to God's children, "When the Lord punishes you, don't make light of it... Hebrews 12:5 CEV

We have all been warned.

God says "Take heed"

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The Head Is Sick

Sunday morning God said,

"the head is sick"...

That is Isaiah -
"Where will you be stricken again, As you continue in your rebellion? The whole head is sick And the whole heart is faint. From the sole of the foot even to the head There is nothing sound in it, Only bruises, welts and raw wounds, Not pressed out or bandaged, Nor softened with oil."  Isaiah 1:5-6 NASB

There is a problem. The head is sick and the body is feeling the pain.
One rendering of the passage puts it as the body has been punished so much there isn't a fresh spot to scourge; the continual punishment has beaten it to a pulp.

Joel comes to mind. Joel 1:16 says gladness and joy have been cut off from God's house.

"Yet even now," declares the LORD, "Return to Me with all your heart, And with fasting, weeping and mourning; And rend your heart and not your garments." Now return to the LORD your God, For He is gracious and compassionate, Slow to anger, abounding in lovingkindness And relenting of evil. Who knows whether He will not turn and relent And leave a blessing behind Him, Even a grain offering and a drink offering For the LORD your God? Blow a trumpet in Zion, Consecrate a fast, proclaim a solemn assembly, Gather the people, sanctify the congregation, Assemble the elders, Gather the children and the nursing infants. Let the bridegroom come out of his room And the bride out of her bridal chamber. Let the priests, the LORD'S ministers, Weep between the porch and the altar, And let them say, "Spare Your people, O LORD, And do not make Your inheritance a reproach, A byword among the nations. Why should they among the peoples say, 'Where is their God?'" Joel 2:12-17 NASB

That sounds like a great game plan, but it doesn't jive with the first chapter of Isaiah.

"What are your multiplied sacrifices to Me?" Says the LORD. "I have had enough of burnt offerings of rams And the fat of fed cattle; And I take no pleasure in the blood of bulls, lambs or goats. "When you come to appear before Me, Who requires of you this trampling of My courts? "Bring your worthless offerings no longer, Incense is an abomination to Me. New moon and sabbath, the calling of assemblies-- I cannot endure iniquity and the solemn assembly. "I hate your new moon festivals and your appointed feasts, They have become a burden to Me; I am weary of bearing them. "So when you spread out your hands in prayer, I will hide My eyes from you; Yes, even though you multiply prayers, I will not listen. Your hands are covered with blood. Isaiah 1:11-15 NASB

As I was waking up Tuesday, God said,

"go to the potter's house"

"Arise and go down to the potter's house, and there I will announce My words to you." Jeremiah 18:2 NASB

 Here is the answer-

But the vessel that he was making of clay was spoiled in the hand of the potter; so he remade it into another vessel, as it pleased the potter to make. Jeremiah 18:4 NASB

The head is sick, the vessel is spoiled.

We must let God make us a new vessel, in whatever manner pleases Him!

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