God’s Justice and the Human Heart
Today’s reading: Jeremiah 16:1-19:15
My selection: Jeremiah 17:9-10
9 The heart is deceitful above all things,
and desperately sick;
who can understand it?
10 “ I the Lord search the heart
and test the mind,
to give every man according to his ways,
according to the fruit of his deeds.”
My reflections: Here is a classic statement of the natural condition of the human heart in a fallen world. It is “deceitful above all things.” Who is deceived by the heart? We are. We are deceived by our own hearts and we are deceived by each others’ hearts. We are convinced that our motives are always (or almost always) noble. We fail to see the consequences of our sin, that the fruit of our selfishness does not satisfy.
The only One who understands our hearts is the Lord. He searches and knows hearts and minds and He rewards or punishes accordingly. God’s judgment is just because it is based on truth, not the deceptiveness of the heart. One day He will judge “the secrets of men” (Romans 2:16).
Is there any hope for man whose heart is deceitful? Yes, for a man is blessed whose trust is in the Lord (v. 7).
My challenge: Give up blind trust in human ability and nobility, your own and that of others. Trust in the Lord, in His word and His will. Trust Him and obey Him. Blessing is promised.
Tomorrow’s reading: Jeremiah 20:1-23:32