The Heart is Encouraged and Discouraged--20

The Hebrew Bible uses the word "heart" [Hebrew lebh and lebhabh] in connection with encouragement and discourgament.

1. There is one texts in which the word "heart" is used concerning encouragement. This is 2 Kings 14:10. King Jehoash of North Israel sent a message to Amaziah king of Judah telling him not to fight against North Israel. He said to him:
    "You have indeed defeated Edom, and YOUR HEART HAS LIFTED YOU UP [Hebrew nasa']. Be content with your glory, and stay at home; for why should you provoke trouble so that you fall, you and Judah with you?"
    Obviously Amaziah's defeated of Edom encouraged him.

2. FIVE Hebrew verbs convey the emotion of discouragement.
    a. no'--"to restrain, make reverse." This verb occurs two times with lebh.
        1. Numbers 32:7--Moses said to the Gadites and the Reubenites: "Why will you discourage the hearts of the Israelites from going over into the land that the Lord has given them?"
        2. Numbers 32:9--Moses continued to tell the Gadites and the Reubenites that Moses sent their fathers from Kadesh-barnea to see the land. Then he said: "When they went up to the Wadi Eshcol and saw the land, they discouraged the hearts of the Israelites from going into the land that he Lord had given them."
    b. masas--"to melt." This verb occurs six times with lebhabh.
        1. Deuteronomy 1:28--In the wilderness, the Israelites complained about the report of the twelve spies that Moses sent into Canaan: "Where are we headed? Our kindred have made our hearts melt by reporting, 'The people [of Canaan] are taller and stronger than we; the cities are large and fortified up to heaven! We actually saw the offspring of the Anakim!'"
       2-3. Deuteronomy 20:8 [2x]--"The officials shall continue to address the troops, saying, 'Is anyone afraid or disheartened? He should go back to his house, or he might cause the heart of his comrades to melt like his own.'"
       4. Joshua 2:11--Rahab said to the Israelites spies concerning the Canaanites at Jericho: "As soon as we heard of it [that is, the delivery of the Israelites from Egypt, and the victories of the Israelites over Sihon and Og], our hearts melted, and there was no courage left in any of us because of you. The Lord your God is indeed God in heaven above and on earth below."
       5. Joshua 5:1--"When all the kings of the Amorites beyond the Jordan to the west, and all the kings of the Canaanites by the [Mediterranean] sea, heard that the Lord had dried up the waters of the Jordan for the Israelites until they had crossed over, their hearts melted and there was no longer any spirit in them, because of the Israelites."
      6. Joshua 7:5--When Joshua and about 3,000 of his men attacked Ai, "The men of Ai killed about thirty-six of them, chasing them from outside the gate as far as Shebarim and killing them on the slope. The hearts of the people melted and turned to water."

   c. masah--"to melt, dissolve, be liquefied." This verb appears one time with lebh in Joshua 14:8. Caleb said to Joshua: "My companions [the ten spies whom Moses sent with Joshua and Caleb to Canaan] who went up with me made the heart of the people melt; yet I wholeheartedly followed the Lord my God."

   d. kalah--"to waste away, be exhausted." This verb appears one time with lebhabh in Psalm 73:26:
       "My flesh and my heart may fail,
             but God is the strength of my heart and my portion forever."

  e. ya'ash--"to despair." This verb occurs one time with lebh in Ecclesiastes 2:20:
       "So I turned and gave my heart up to despair
         concerning all the toil of my labors under the sun."

These five verbs are usually connected with mental decay. As the mind or heart feels inferior, it becomes discouraged. Unhealthy meditation cannot be severed from the emotion of discouragement, because this emotion can thrive only in such an atmosphere. The "heart" is the seat of emotions, but only as one relies on the other for sustenance.

Evaluate your feelings, your emotions, your experiences, your ideas with others. Let me hear from YOU.

John Willis

The Biblical Teaching of Disciples--15

Mark 9-16 contains 19 references to disciples, most of which are also in Matthew, and many of which are grouped together in paragraphs. Here we will look at each text in its context.

1-3--Healing of a boy with a spirit--Mark 9:14-29 [parallel to Matthew 17:14-21]. After the transfiguration, Jesus, Peter, James, and John came to the other twelve apostles, where Jewish scribes were arguing with them. Jesus asked them what they were arguing about. A man stepped forward, explaining that he had brought his son who could not speak, and the spirit dashes him down ; he foams and grinds his teeth and becomes rigid; this man asked Jesus' disciples to cast out this spirit from his son, but they could not. Jesus brought the man's son and cast the spirit out of him. When Jesus and his disciples went into the house, his disciples asked Jesus why they could not cast out the spirit. Jesus explained: "This kind can come out only through prayer." Disciples constantly have much to learn from Jesus. This is always the case.
4--Jesus foretells his death and resurrection--Mark 9:30-32 [parallel to Matthew 17:22-23]. Jesus went through Galilee with his disciples telling him that he would die on the cross and be raised from the dead.
5--After Jesus taught the biblical message about divorce, he and his disciples went into a house, and his disciples asked Jesus about this--Mark 10:2-12 [parallel to Matthew 19:1-9]. Jesus told them: "Whoever divorces his wife and marries another commits adultery against her; and if she divorces her husband and marries another, she commits adultery."
6--Jesus blesses little children--Mark 10:13-16 [parallel to Matthew 19:13-15]. People brought their children to Jesus so that Jesus could touch him, but Jesus' disciples spoke sternly to them. Jesus rebuked his disciples, and told them that to such as these little children that the kingdom of God belongs. Disciples always have much to learn. Disciples are learners from Jesus.
7-8--Jesus and the Rich Man--Mark 10:17-31 [parallel to Matthew 19:16-30]. A rich man came to Jesus asking him what he must do to inherit eternal life. Jesus told them to keep the Ten Commandments. He told Jesus that he had kept all these commandments. Does he lack anything else. Jesus said: Sell what you have and give it to the poor. The rich man was grievous because he had many possessions. Jesus told his disciples that it is hard for the wealthy to enter the kingdom of God. Jesus' disciples were perplexed at Jesus' message. Jesus told them that no one can enter the kingdom of God without God's grace. Disciples keep growing in faith by learning from Jesus.
9--Jesus heals blind Bartimaeus--Mark 10:46-52 [parallel to Matthew 20:29-34].When Jesus and his disciple came to Jericho, they met blind Bartimaeus, and Jesus healed him.
10--Jesus' Triumphal Entry into Jerusalem--Mark 11:1-11 [parallel to Matthew 21:1-11]. When Jesus and his disciples approached the Mount of Olives, Jesus told two of his disciples to Bethany and find a colt that had never been ridden and bring it to Jesus. They did so, and Jesus rode on the colt into Jerusalem.
11--Jesus curses the fig tree--Mark 11:12-14 [Matthew 21:18-19]. Jesus left Betheny and was hungry. He came to a fig tree but it had no figs, so he cursed the fig tree. Jesus' disciples hear this.
12--Jesus praises the poor widow--Mark 12:41-44 [no parallel in Matthew]. Jesus sat beside the Jerusalem treasury and saw a poor widow casting in two small copper coins. Then Jesus called his disciples to him and told him that this poor widow put in more than all the other people who put money into the treasury. This poor widow put in everything she had. Jesus is trying to teach his disciples by her example.
13--Jesus tells one of his disciples that the Jerusalem temple will be destroyed--Mark 13:1-2 [parallel to Matthew 24:1-2.
14-17--Jesus prepares his twelve disciples to initiate the Lord's Supper--Mark 14:12-16 [Matthew 26:17-25]. On the first day of Unleavened Bread when the Passover Lamb is sacrificed, Jesus told his disciples where they were to go in the upper room and prepare for the Lord's Supper.
18--Jesus prays in Gethsemane--Mark 14:32-42. Jesus went with his disciples to go to Gethsemane and told them to sit there while Jesus would go further to pray. Peter, James, and John went along further with Jesus, and then Jesus went on alone to pray. When Jesus returned his disciple were asleep. Jesus was greatly disappointed because they did not realize the importance of this event.
19--Three women tell the disciples that God had raised Jesus from the tomb--Mark 16:1-8 [parallel to Matthew 28:1-10]. Mary Magdalene, Mary the mother of James, and Salome came to the tomb early Sunday morning and met an angel who told them that Jesus had been raised from the dead, and they must tell the twelve disciples and Peter that Jesus would meet them soon.

All of these texts emphasize that true disciples are constantly learning. They are not rulers or leaders, but disciples, which means they are learners and followers and servants of Jesus. God our Father through Jesus Christ our Lord is our only true leader. When we learn this great important message, we will become true disciples of Jesus.

Share YOUR ideas and concerns and experiences and questions and reversals with others. Let me hear from YOU.

John Willis

The Righteous Will Prevail Against the Wicked--Psalm 58

Psalm 58 contains on of the strongest imprecations [curses] found anywhere in scripture. It falls into four pericopes.

1. The poet begins by addressing "the gods." Verses 1-2.
     Do you indeed decree what is right, you gods?
          Do you judge people fairly?
     No, in your hearts you devise wrongs;
          your hands deal out violence.
     a. It is obvious that the "gods" in verse 1 are invisible superhuman beings created by God and subordinated to God, but allowed to intervene in the world among human beings to cause sin and violence in the lives of human beings. These are wicked beings like those which Jesus described as the devil and his angels in Matthew 25:41. 1 Kings 22:19; Job 1:6-12; 2:1-6; Psalm 82:1 gives descriptions of Yahweh sitting on his heavenly throne surrounded by his created angels, some righteous and some wicked. verse 1.
     b. These "gods" in verse 1 are clearly wicked angels because they devise wrongs in their hearts and lead human beings on earth into sin and bring violence.  verse 2.

2. The poet then moves to a description of wicked human beings motivated by the wicked angels described in verses 1-2. Verses 3-5.
     a. He says the wicked go astray from the womb and err from birth speaking lies. This hrdly means that they inherit original sin from their parents. Rather, this is an idiomatic term declaring they are quick to yield to the temptations of wicked angels mentioned in verse 1. verse 3.
     b. The psalmist compares the wicked with the venom of a serpent and a deaf adder which stops its ear refusing to hear the voice of charmers or of the cunning enchanter. In other words, the wicked cannot be turned from wickedness by divine warnings and exhortations, because they are intent on spreading their venom, that is, their sin. verses 4-5.

3. Because of their hardheartedness in being committed to sin, the poet prays fervently that God will utterly destroy these wicked people. His language is very strong (verses 6-9):
     O God, break the teeth in their mouths'
         tear out the fangs of the young lions, O Lord.
     Let them vanish like water that runs away;
          like grass let them be trodden down and wither.
     Let them be like the snail that dissolves into slime;
          like the untimely birth that shall never see the sun.
     Sooner than your pots can feel the heat of thorns,
          whether green or ablaze, nay he sweep them away!
These four verses contain six curses levelled against the wicked. The poet uses six figures in his prayer that God will destroy the wicked with quick and irreparable destruction. He prays that they will be like:
     a. young lions who have their teeth torn out--verse 6
     b. water that quickly runs off the land after a downpour--verse 7a
     c. grass that is trodden down and withered--verse 7b
     d. a snail that draws itself up into its shell--verse 8a
     e. a miscarriage--verse 8b
     f. a cooking pot that is quickly heated over a fire of thorns--verse 9

4. In bold contrast to the wicked, the poet concludes by proclaiming that ultimately Yahweh will deliver the righteous. Verses 10-11.
     a. The righteous will rejoice when God wreaks vengeance on the wicked. verse 10
     b. All human beings who are made aware of this situation will extol Yahweh for delivering the righteous and destroy the wicked. verse 11.

It is impossible for human beings in contemporary times  to know the motives and tone of voice of ancient speakers and writers. Therefore, it is quite possible that psalmists like the composer of Psalm 58 uttered curses against their enemies not for selfish motives to gleefully watch their persecutors suffer, but because they are totally convinced that these people were wicked and thus enemies of God.

Share YOUR insights and perceptions and beliefs and concerns and concepts with others. Let me hear from YOU.

John Willis