Let's take a look at another verse that speaks of a matter of the heart. Here's the picture: Saul has been chasing after David to kill him, but winds up dying with three of his sons. David gets word of Saul's death and mourns him. Not long afterwards, David is proclaimed king over Judah. The house of Saul gets weaker and David's house became stronger. However, one of the commanders of Saul's army was gaining strength. He gathered 20 men and they came to David's house. David put out a feast for the men. Here's how Abner responded to David:
2 Samuel 3:21 Abner said to David, "Let me arise and go and gather all Israel to my lord the king, that they may make a covenant with you, and that you may be king over all that your heart desires." So David sent Abner away, and he went in peace.
The word for heart in this verse is nephesh (neh'-fesh) which means an appetite, lust, pleasure.
Notice that this word is proclaimed by a man to a man. This is a purely self centered statement. There are 10 more verses which use this word. They are: Exodus 23:9; Leviticus 26:16; Deuteronomy 24:15; I Samuel 2:33; Proverbs 23:7; Proverbs 28:25; Lamentations 3:51 Ezekiel 25:6; Ezekiel 25:15 and Ezekiel 27:31.
I encourage you to take a few moments and read each of these ten verses.
Let's think about what we read and ask ourselves some questions. Does the knowledge of the meaning for the word heart (or in some versions, soul) make more sense in these verses? Is there one that seems to jump out at you? How can we become more Christ-like by reading these verses with the correct interpretation?
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