Isaiah 6:9-10 (MSG) He said, “Go and tell this people: “ ‘Listen hard, but you aren’t going to get it; look hard, but you won’t catch on.’
Make these people blockheads, with fingers in their ears and blindfolds on their eyes, So they won’t see a thing, won’t hear a word, So they won’t have a clue about what’s going on and, yes, so they won’t turn around and be made whole.”
God’s commission recognised that, because of its sin , Israel healing could only come about through their punishment. Isaiah message of judgment would serve only to distance them more from God. The heart is the organ of Understanding.
Proverbs 4: 23 Be careful how you think; your life is shaped by your thoughts.
Proverbs 4:23
[23]Above all else, guard your heart, For everything you do flows from it.
Proverbs 4:23 Keep your heart with all diligence, For out of it spring the issues of life.
Proverbs 4:23 (MSG) Keep vigilant watch over your heart; that’s where life starts.
With all diligence is literally “ more than all guarding.”
To keep something is to make sure it doesn’t get away and that it is safe from attack. In Hebrew the heart is the location of knowledge whether good or bad
Genesis 3:17 But of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil you shall not eat, for in the day that you eat of it you shall surely die.”
And also the preconscious source of decision
Proverbs 27: 19 As in water face reflects face, So a man’s heart reveals the man.
Matthew 15:18 (MSG) But what comes out of the mouth gets its start in the heart.
Your heart is who you are, the “True you” that directs all your thoughts and emotions.
YOU CAN EDUCATE YOUR HEART
Proverbs 24:32
[32]I applied my heart to what I observed And learned a lesson from what I saw:
Consciously form and modify a worldview – after which decisions and actions flows from it
Proverbs 16:9, 23 (MSG) We plan the way we want to live, but only God makes us able to live it.
They make a lot of sense, these wise folks; whenever they speak, their reputation increases.
Luke 6:45 A good man out of the good treasure of his heart brings forth good; and an evil man out of the evil treasure of his heart brings forth evil. For out of the abundance of the heart his mouth speaks.
Romans 10:10 (NLT) For it is by believing in your heart that you are made right with God, and it is by openly declaring your faith that you are saved.
2 Corinthians 9:7 (MSG) I want each of you to take plenty of time to think it over, and make up your own mind what you will give. That will protect you against sob stories and arm-twisting. God loves it when the giver delights in the giving.
This education can be worldly, carried out by yourself or godly carried out by the Holy spirit
Proverbs 2:6
[6]For the Lord gives wisdom;
From his mouth come knowledge and understanding.
Jeremiah 24:7 Then I will give them a heart to know Me, that I am the Lord; and they shall be My people, and I will be their God, for they shall return to Me with their whole heart.
Ezekiel 36:26-27 (MSG) I’ll give you a new heart, put a new spirit in you. I’ll remove the stone heart from your body and replace it with a heart that’s God-willed, not self-willed.
I’ll put my Spirit in you and make it possible for you to do what I tell you and live by my commands.
Acts 16:14 Now a certain woman named Lydia heard us. She was a seller of purple from the city of Thyatira, who worshiped God. The Lord opened her heart to heed the things spoken by Paul.
Romans 2:29 (MSG) You become a Jew by who you are. It’s the mark of God on your heart, not of a knife on your skin, that makes a Jew. And recognition comes from God, not legalistic critics.
The inclination of your heart directs your mortal life and determines whether you enter eternal life
Proverbs 3:22 They will provide you with life—a pleasant and happy life.