The Heart Of The Matter

The Heart Of The Matter

“For the LORD does not see as man sees; for man looks at the
outward appearance, but the LORD looks at the heart.”

1 Samuel 16:7

When the prophet Samuel went to Bethlehem to anoint the future king of Israel, he sought out a son of Jesse. The proud father lined up his six strong and strapping, hardened and handsome sons before the prophet. They were the personification of the best the flesh had to offer. However, Samuel was not impressed. He inquired if there was not another son. Indeed there was. He was a “ruddy” shepherd boy named David who was out tending his father’s sheep. The rest is history, and Samuel reminded us that “man looks at the outward appearance, but the LORD looks at the heart.” The Lord looks where? At the heart.

Now to the heart of the matter. What is it, exactly, that the Bible refers to when it mentions “the heart”? The word appears over eight hundred times in the King James Version. Is it that mass of muscle, about the size of a man’s fist, located in front of his vertebral column and in back of his sternum? Is it that organ that beats, on average, about seventy-two times a minute or, in the course of a day, over one hundred thousand times—and, for the most part, without our conscious awareness? Is it that mass of muscle that beats 28 million times in a year and, if we reach age seventy, will have beaten steadily 2.5 billion times?

One of the helpful principles in understanding biblical truth is what might be called the “law of first mention.” That is, there is significant insight to be found as to the meaning of a word by studying its first uses in Scripture. In the early chapters of Genesis, we see three clues that reveal to us what God’s Word really means when it refers to the heart.

THE HEART IS OUR INTELLECT
“Then the LORD saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth, and that every intent of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually.” (Genesis 6:5)

This is the first use of the word heart in the Bible. Here, it is associated with the thought process, the intellect. When the Bible speaks of the heart, it is not referring to the actual physical organ that pumps blood throughout our circulatory system, but to the thoughts that help shape our being. This is why we read, “As he thinks in his heart, so is he” (Proverbs 23:7). The heart is our intellect, the thinking part of our being.

When we read that the Lord looks upon our heart, we understand that He is watching how we think, whether our thoughts are pure or not. Yes, while man can only observe our outward appearance, the Lord has the capacity to look into our hearts, to know what we really think.

THE HEART IS OUR EMOTIONS
“[The LORD] was grieved in His heart.” (Genesis 6:6)

The second occurrence of the word heart in Scripture reveals that it involves our emotions. When the Lord saw the rebellion of man, it “grieved [Him] in His heart.” The heart is the seat of our emotions. It is not simply our intellect; it involves our feelings as well. How many thousands of love songs have been written about the heart?

When the good Samaritan saw the beaten man on the road to Jericho, the Bible reveals that “he had compassion” upon him. Another translation says, “His heart went out to him” (Luke 10:33 MSG). The night before the crucifixion, with His disciples in Gethsemane’s garden, the Lord revealed that “My soul (heart) is exceedingly sorrowful, even to death” (Matthew 26:38). And we have Solomon’s reminder that “a merry heart does good, like medicine” (Proverbs 17:22). Compassion, grief, sorrow, and happiness are all emotions that emanate from the heart. When the Scriptures speak of the heart, they are speaking to us of our intellect and our emotions.

THE HEART IS OUR VOLITION
“Then the LORD said in His heart, ‘I will.’” (Genesis 8:21)

This third appearance of the word heart refers to the essence of our own will, our volition. The Lord said “in His heart, ‘I will.’” Often we find this volition entwined with the heart. The prodigal son was out in the far country, a long way from home, when his heart was changed. He changed his mind. Or, as the Scripture says, “he came to himself” (Luke 15:17). Once this happened, he changed his volition. He said, “I will arise and go to my father” (v. 18). Then he got up and turned his heart—his intellect, his emotion, his volition—toward home.

It is God Himself, at our conversion, who takes that old heart of ours and gives us one that is brand-new. For He said, “I will give them a heart to know Me, that I am the LORD; and they shall be My people, and I will be their God, for they shall return to Me with their whole heart” (Jeremiah 24:7).

As you memorize this verse, meditate on the truth that, while man may look on the outward appearance, God is looking upon our hearts. He is mindful of our thoughts, our emotions, and our will. Today is a good time to “return to the LORD with all your hearts” (1 Samuel 7:3). And that is the real heart of the matter.