The heart is deceitful above all things

Jeremiah 17:9-10 - Who do you put your trust in — God, or man?

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“The heart is deceitful above all things and beyond cure. Who can understand it? “I the Lord search the heart and examine the mind, to reward each person according to their conduct, according to what their deeds deserve.””

‭‭Jeremiah‬ ‭17‬:‭9‬-‭10‬ ‭NIV‬‬

Who do you put your trust in - God, or man?

Throughout Scripture we are given excellent and repeating examples of why it is infinitely better to trust in God than in our fellow man or even ourselves. Trusting our hearts (i.e., “I just feel in my heart that he/she is the right person for me” or “My heart tells me that giving this unknown person who texted me my credit card number is a good thing”) is trusting in man rather than God.

The book of Jeremiah has many examples of why one should always consult God instead of depending on the opinions of others or personal feelings. He had seen — and had heard directly from God — how the evil hearts of the people of Judah had sent them down a path of destruction:

“But they did not listen or pay attention; instead, they followed the stubbornness of their evil hearts. So I brought on them all the curses of the covenant I had commanded them to follow but that they did not keep.” Jeremiah‬ ‭11‬:‭8‬ ‭NIV‬‬

“But you have behaved more wickedly than your ancestors. See how all of you are following the stubbornness of your evil hearts instead of obeying me.” ‭‭Jeremiah‬ ‭16‬:‭12‬ ‭NIV‬‬

God is speaking in both of these verses, and He knew that the people were following their “evil hearts” rather than His commandments. Our Creator also knew (and knows!) that our hearts can deceive us. From Enduring Word:

b. The heart is deceitful above all things: Our hearts often deceive us, presenting heart-fulfillment as the key to happiness. What we desire is often not what we need. The advice “be true to your heart” fails when the heart is deceitful above all things.

i. “In the OT usage the heart signifies the total inner being and includes reason. From the heart come action and will.” (Feinberg¹)

ii. “The pravity and perversity of the man’s heart, full of harlotry and creature confidence, deceiving and being deceived, is here plainly and plentifully described; and oh that it were duly and deeply considered.” (Trapp²)

God goes on to say that the heart is “beyond cure”. The NKJV translation of the Bible uses the term “desperately wicked” here, and it is so much more descriptive. Once again from Enduring Word:

c. And desperately wicked: The heart is not only deceitful, but also wicked — and desperately so. Many have been led to rebellion, disobedience, and great sorrow by following their heart, without challenging their heart and judging it by the measure of God’s truth. “Follow your heart” is poor advice when the heart is desperately wicked.

This hasn’t changed for non-believers in our time, and even believers have that deep-rooted tendency toward sin and flesh — even when we are a “new creation” in Christ.(2 Corinthians‬ ‭5‬:‭17‬ ‭NIV‬‬). That’s why we need God’s grace and Christ’s redemptive sacrifice for our salvation.

The question in these verses — “Who can understand it?” — indicates that the deceit of the heart is powerful enough to keep us from understanding our own hearts, and it’s more difficult to discern the heart of others - do they really have our best interests in mind?

Since we cannot know the heart of ourself or others, who must we fall back on? God. He tells us through Jeremiah that “I the Lord search the heart and examine the mind”. It’s always much wiser to trust His examination of us than to trust our own thoughts or feelings.

God perfectly knows the heart and mind of every human being, so His judgement is fair and true. He alone knows whether we deserve the eternal reward of heaven through our faith (justification) and our ability to live within His covenant (sanctification), or the equally eternal separation from Him through our lack of faith and our human tendency to listen to our hearts.

The next time you feel the urge to follow your heart, talk to God before you act.

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Heaven On Wheels Daily Prayer:

Today’s prayer comes from Knowing Jesus:

Heavenly Father, thank You that I am Your child and have been saved by grace through faith in Christ. Nonetheless, it is uncomfortable to realise that, like all men, my heart is deceitful and desperately wicked. I pray that You would search my heart, my motives, my conscious thoughts, and even my unconscious imaginings, to see if there is anything in me that needs to be rooted out. Purify my heart, I pray. Lord, I am so aware that these days, we are encouraged to follow the desires of our own hearts. May the deep desire of my heart be to follow only You and Your leading, in the power of the Holy Spirit, to Your praise and glory. In Jesus’ name, AMEN.

Scripture quotations taken from THE HOLY BIBLE, NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION®, NIV®. Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica US, Inc.®. Used by permission.

Commentary quotations from Enduring Word are used with the written permission of the author

1. Feinberg, Charles L. “Jeremiah: The Expositor’s Bible Commentary” Volume 6 (Isaiah-Ezekiel) (Grand Rapids, Michigan: Zondervan, 1985)

2. Trapp, John “A Commentary on the Old and New Testaments” Volume 3 (Proverbs to Daniel) (Eureka, California: Tanski Publications, 1997)