.jpg)
Ephesians 4:18 ESV They are darkened in their understanding, alienated from the life of God because of the ignorance that is in them, due to their hardness of heart.
Here is another condition of the heart: A Hardened Heart.
A Hardened Heart in the bible is compared to a stone. This condition is referred to being callous, uncaring, cold-hearted, heartless. Scriptures speaks on the hardened hearts more than any other heart condition that I can tell.
How many of us can feel our hearts not caring like we used too? We don’t care about being kind or showing people Jesus. We don’t care about the things of God like we ought to and our hearts have become hardened.
But here is some good news! God in his faithfulness says:
Ezekiel 36:26-And I will give you a new heart, and a new spirit I will put within you. And I will remove the heart of stone from your flesh and give you a heart of flesh.
A heart of flesh is a soft heart, a heart that is responsive to God. Do you know it’s good to have a responsive heart?
A responsive heart is us reacting to the things of God quickly and in a positive way. A responsive heart cares about the things of God and understands the heart of the Father.
King Josiah was 8 years old when he became King. He was David’s son and he did good in the eyes of the Lord. He had an upright heart, he destroyed false gods in Judah and Jerusalem and in the eighteenth year of Josiah’s reign, he wanted to purify the land and repair the temple of the Lord.
During this time, Hilkiah the high priest found The Book of the Law and this book was given to Moses and now the priest gave it to King Josiah. Now King Josiah had a servant read to him from the book and this is what happened…
2 Chronicles 34:19
19 When the king heard the words of the Law, he tore his robes. 20 He gave these orders to Hilkiah, Ahikam son of Shaphan, Abdon son of Micah,[a] Shaphan the secretary and Asaiah the king’s attendant: 21 “Go and inquire of the LORD for me and for the remnant in Israel and Judah about what is written in this book that has been found. Great is the LORD’s anger that is poured out on us because those who have gone before us have not kept the word of the LORD; they have not acted in accordance with all that is written in this book.”
22 Hilkiah and those the king had sent with him[b] went to speak to the prophet Huldah, 23 She said to them, “This is what the LORD, the God of Israel, says: Tell the man who sent you to me, 24 ‘This is what the LORD says: I am going to bring disaster on this place and its people—all the curses written in the book that has been read in the presence of the king of Judah. 25 Because they have forsaken me and burned incense to other gods and aroused my anger by all that their hands have made,[e] my anger will be poured out on this place and will not be quenched.’ 26 Tell the king of Judah, who sent you to inquire of the LORD, ‘This is what the LORD, the God of Israel, says concerning the words you heard: 27 Because your heart was responsive and you humbled yourself before God when you heard what he spoke against this place and its people, and because you humbled yourself before me and tore your robes and wept in my presence, I have heard you, declares the LORD. 28 Now I will gather you to your ancestors, and you will be buried in peace. Your eyes will not see all the disaster I am going to bring on this place and on those who live here.’”
If King Josiah did not have a responsive heart, he would’ve fallen under the curses that were read in that book even though he was an upright man. The only reason why God spared him from disaster is because he {King Josiah} heard the words, he responded by taring his robe and weeping before God in his presence.
It’s very important for us to have a responsive heart!
To be continued...
Comments