Welcome to my ROLLED SCROLL study, where I follow cultural and literary images found in the Bible in an attempt to unearth God’s meaning in His pattern of usage.
HEART
Geppetto carved Pinocchio out of a piece of enchanted firewood that came from a tree the old man had engraved, many years before, with the initials of his one true love enclosed within a heart. I think that’s illegal in most parks nowadays! But whether sprayed as graffiti or tattooed onto flesh or inserted into an email, the symbol of the heart unmistakably represents the cultural message of love.
In the Bible, the word “heart” (OT leb, NT kardia) appears more than 800 times, its meaning much broader than our current understanding of the heart as, primarily, the receptacle of feelings. Instead Scripture speaks of the heart in reference to the core of the whole personality—the seat of emotions, intellect, will (making up the “soul”), and spirit (the capacity to relate to God).
Emotions: The heart is the storehouse of our feelings. Recall how the hearts of Joseph’s brothers trembled in fear when they discovered money hidden in their sacks, implicating them in theft from Egypt’s royal coffers (Gen. 42:28. See also Job 37:1; Isa. 35:4; 1 Sam. 4:13; John 14:27). Isaiah drew a picture of God’s mothering comfort that caused hearts to rejoice, and Jesus continued this maternal theme in promising His disciples a future joy like that attending birth (Isa. 66: 13-14; John 16:21-22). The writer of Ecclesiastes didn’t deny his heart any pleasure and, indeed, God satisfies hearts with food and gladness (Eccl. 2:10; Acts 14:17). Hearts can be filled with murderous rage, bitter jealousy, selfish ambition, lust, and other evil passions that defile (Matt. 15:19; Rom. 1:24; James 3:14). Alternately, the heart’s sexual desire can be pure; praise and merriment are sometimes vices (as attended Samson’s downfall at Delilah’s hand); and anger is a virtue of God’s heart necessary to His holiness (Song of Sol 5:2-4; Judg. 16:23-25; Matt. 22:7). Our hearts can be troubled or find rest (John 14:1; Luke 24:38; Col. 3:15). Paul, who bore sorrow and unceasing anguish in his heart, also told of the heart’s capacity for compassion, kindness, and selflessness in regarding others’ spiritual well-being (Rom. 9:2; Rom. 10:1). He admonished us to make room in our hearts, throwing them wide open to other believers so that the saints would be refreshed (2 Cor. 7:2-3; Philem. 1:7). Above all, love is to rule our hearts, as the first commandment and Jesus’ own dictum demand (Deut. 6:5; Matt. 22:37-39). So we see that the heart represents emotions; yet, in the New Testament, the heart predominantly refers to the intellect.
Intellect: The heart is where thinking happens. (The word for “brain” isn’t even found in the original Bible languages, and “head” is used in reference to the skull or to indicate a position of authority or submission). It is, therefore, the heart that reasons and perceives (Mark 2:6-8). The heart is able to understand what the eyes see and ears hear, and can remember or disregard the truth about God (Deut. 29:2-4; Deut. 8:3-5; Deut. 4:9; Deut. 8:14; Deut. 9:4; Job 22:22). King Solomon prayed for a heart (that is, leb, often translated as “mind”) able to judge between good and evil (1 Kings 3:9; 1 Kings 4:29; see also Job 38:36). To his ruination, prideful Haman thought he’d outsmart his godly enemies and told himself (transliteration: “said in his leb”) that he was about to be honoured (Esther 6:6). Others were likewise intellectually misled by their arrogant hearts (Deut. 7:17; Matt. 24:48; Rev. 18:7). Both Daniel and Jesus’ mother, Mary, temporarily stored in their hearts the secrets God revealed to them (Dan. 7:28; Luke 2:19). Knowledge, wisdom, and prudence, are all activities that take place in the heart (Prov. 2:10; Prov. 8:12; Jer. 3:15).
The intellectual functioning of the imagination also dwells in the heart—which God warns is deceitful and so damaged by sin that it’s able of itself to blind us, and is untrustworthy as a source of truth, for “out of the heart come evil and incorrect thoughts” (Jer. 9:13-14; 1 Cor. 2:9; Jer. 17:9; Mark 7:21). But God hasn’t disregarded, or left without His influence, the intellectual functioning of our hearts; first we recognize that He exists through logical observation of nature and the code of ethics He’s etched upon every human heart (Rom. 1:20-21; Rom. 2:15). Next, rational study of God’s written Word helps us “set our minds on” (or “live by” or “think about” or “understand,” depending on the translation) the things of the Spirit (Rom. 3:2; Rom. 10:14; Rom. 8:5). It is with our hearts that we learn about and then believe for salvation in Jesus as the Living Word (2 Tim. 3:16; Rom. 10:9-10). God invites us to know and serve Him wholeheartedly with our minds (1 Chron. 28:9).
Will: The heart’s feeling and thinking, then, are accompanied by volition—that is, the conscious act of choosing, intending, or resolving. (It’s important to remember that we cannot apply our will without our intellect.) The heart decides what actions to take in such matters as finances, love, and leadership (it came to Moses’ heart, for example to leave his princely chambers and visit his enslaved brothers) (2 Cor. 9:7; 1 Cor. 7:37; Acts 7:23; cf., Exod. 2:11). The heart contrives wicked plots like Simon the Sorcerer’s bribe or Ananias and Sapphira’s lies (Acts 8:20-22; Acts 5:4). The heart’s priorities show up in the person’s actions, for sincerity and purity are produced in a willing heart and evil intention yields its own fruit (Eph. 6:5-6; Matt. 5:8; Luke 6:43-45). The heart can be stubborn or full of integrity, hardened like the heart of Pharaoh or receptive to truth (Jer. 5:23; Ps. 101:2; Exod. 4:21; Col. 3:2). The will of the predisposed heart might be corrupted by Satan or persuaded by God (John 13:2; Rev. 17:17). A person’s character is formed by life choices; David (a “man after God’s own heart” who willfully kept God’s commands) was anointed king despite his unlikely appearance, for “the Lord looks on the heart” (1 Sam. 13:14; 1 Sam. 16:7). Even the heart of God wills and plans, disclosing His purposes to us as He executes His intentions (1 Cor. 4:5; Jer. 23:20).
Spirit: The human spirit yearns for divine meaning, and the heart is where God meets us. Often the idea of heart or spirit is parallel to attitude, our habit of thinking that results in an orientation towards a subject. At first, without the light of the Gospel of Christ shining in hearts that are darkened and dull and blinded by the god of this world, we are spiritually perishing (2 Cor. 4:6; John 3:16; Rom. 1:21; Acts 28:27). In this natural state, we tend towards sklerokardia (from which we get the English word “cardiosclerosis”) as unbelief and ignorance prevent spiritual growth (Matt. 19:8; Mark 10:5; Mark 16:14; Eph. 4:18; 1 Cor. 2:14). God rejects the hypocrisy of religious formalism as the answer to our spiritual dilemma, for true faith is an attitude of the heart (Isa. 29:13; Deut. 10:16; Rom. 2:29; Rom. 10:8-9). God reveals Himself to our hearts through relationship with Him; He opens the heart to spiritual truth, cleanses our hearts, and calls us by His Son to be His children (1 Cor. 2:9-10; Acts 15:9; Acts 16:14; Eph. 1:18; Gal. 4:6). The heart that hides God’s Word within avoids sin, obeys God, honours Christ, is established in holiness, and is fruitful (Ps. 119:11; Rom. 6:17; 1 Pet. 3:15; 1 Tim. 1:5; Luke 8:15).The heart is convicted, tested, and sealed (1 Cor. 14:24-25; 1 Thess. 2:4; 2 Cor. 1:22). It is into our hearts that God pours His love by the Spirit, and from pure hearts that we are to love one another (Rom. 5:5; 1 Pet. 1:22).
Beyond doubt, the symbol of the heart so extensively employed in the Bible offers a comprehensive picture of the nonmaterial, inner aspects of the individual, and none of these categories can be separated from the others. The heart accommodates emotion, intellect, volition, and spirit, and is where personhood comes together. “Love” is a constant attribute of all four aspects: Our hearts feel love, think lovingly, choose to love, and spiritually experience love. The apostle Paul prayed that God might strengthen believers through the Holy Spirit in our inner beings, and that Christ—who roots and establishes us in love—would dwell in (that is, “be at home in” or “be at the very center of”) our hearts, so that we’d have power to grasp (with our whole selves) the immensity of Jesus’ love for us (Eph. 3:16-19).
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These short literary articles tied to the Bible explore what God might have been saying in His pattern of usage for each symbol. English rendition of the original Hebrew, Aramaic, or Greek varies with translations (e.g., “scroll” is sometimes interchangeable with “book”); however, the quality and underlying meaning of the selected emblem remain consistent across versions. Sketches are by Lorenda Harder. I recommend the website of Dr. Grant C. Richison for thorough expository Bible study: www.versebyversecommentary.com.