Monday, February 19, 2024

He Who Searches the Minds and Hearts.

O LORD, You have searched me and known me.
You know when I sit down and when I rise up;
You understand my thought from afar.
You scrutinize my path and my lying down, 
And are intimately aquatinted with all my ways.
Even before there is a word on my tongue,
Behold, O LORD, You know it all.
                  Psalm 139:1-4 NASB

God knows everything about us. There is nothing hidden from Him. Even our thoughts are known to Him. The deepest secrets of our hearts cannot be hidden from the searching gaze of the Almighty God.

"The heart is more deceitful than all else and is desperately sick; who can understand it?
"I the LORD, search the heart, I test the mind, even to give to each man according to his ways, according to the results of his deeds."
                 Jeremiah 17:9-10 NASB

This passage reaffirms what we read above. The LORD (YAHWEH) is the one who knows us inside and out. Again, nothing is hidden from Him. Our very thoughts, things we might think are known only to us, lie exposed before God. And we can rest assured that we will reap what we sow (Gal 6:7). God will repay us according to our deeds.

I would assume we all agree that no one really knows our inner thoughts, the intents of our hearts. We might know someone fairly well, and have a good idea what might be on their minds, but to truly know the deepest secrets, the hidden things of the heart, that is something only God can discern.

Again we read in Revelation 2:23,

"And I will kill her children with pestilence, and all the churches will know that I am He who searches the minds and hearts; and I will give to each one of you according to your deeds."

This warning was given to the church in Thyatira. They were tolerating a so called prophetess who was leading them into immorality. If those involved in this sin did not repent, they would face severe judgement.

Here we see the same passage from Jeremiah quoted. However, this is Jesus speaking. Understand, Jesus is claiming to be the LORD who searches the minds and hearts. He is boldly declaring that He is YAHWEH. Make no mistake. Jesus is intentionally applying Jeremiah 17:10, a verse describing something only God can do, to Himself. 

Not only is Jesus stating that He is the God who searches the minds and hearts, but He is also the God who will give us what our deeds deserve. He is indeed the final Judge.

Compare these verses,

Behold , the Lord God will come with might, with His arm ruling for Him. Behold, His reward is with Him and His recompense before Him.
                        Isaiah 40:10 NASB

Ah Lord God! Behold, you have made the heavens and the earth by Your great power and by your outstretched arm! Nothing is too difficult for You, who shows lovingkindness to thousands, but repays the iniquity of the fathers into the bosoms of their children after them, O great and mighty God. The LORD of hosts is His name. Great in council and mighty in deed, whose eyes are open to all the ways of the sons of men, giving to everyone according to his ways and according to the fruit of his deeds.
                  Jeremiah 32:17-19 NASB

"Behold, I am coming quickly, and My reward is with Me, to render to every man according to what he has done."
                        Rev 22:12 NASB

Jesus cannot be clearer. He is making claims that only God can make. We need to pay attention to the things that He says about Himself, as there are so many false teachings out there that deny the deity of Christ. However, it is there before our eyes in scripture if we take the time to search it out, letting scripture interpret scripture.





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