“He that hath a froward heart findeth no good: and he that hath a perverse tongue falleth into mischief..” Proverbs 17:20 KJV
I have chosen the King James translation today as it uses a word which we all but never hear, froward! King Solomon this morning deals with the internal motivations of a man that govern his outward actions. The word froward is the old English adverb that means to be willfully disobedient. It was used to describe someone who is difficult and ornery! In the Hebrew language, the word was used to describe a person who was perverse and turning away from God. It was demonstrated by the improper behavior of the person and a demonstration of opposing that which is right and morally pure. We could say that the word describes a great deal of mankind today! It speaks of a person who knowing does the opposite of what is right.
You remember that the seat of man in the Hebrew culture was his heart. Every aspect of his life came from the seat of his emotion. This is why if you remember, Proverbs 4 warned us,
“My son, pay attention to my words and be willing to learn; Open your ears to my sayings. 21Do not let them escape from your sight; Keep them in the center of your heart. 22For they are life to those who find them, And healing and health to all their flesh. 23Watch over your heart with all diligence, For from it flow the springs of life.”
Proverbs 4: 20-23 AMP
Jesus addressed this issue after an encounter with the Pharisees reliance on their traditions.
“17When Jesus had left the crowd and gone into the house, His disciples asked Him about the parable.18And He said to them, “Are you, too, so foolish and lacking in understanding? Do you not understand that whatever goes into the man from outside cannot defile and dishonor him, 19since it does not enter his heart, but [only] his stomach, and [from there it] is eliminated?” (By this, He declared all foods ceremonially clean.) 20And He said, “Whatever comes from [the heart of] a man, that is what defiles and dishonors him.21For from within, [that is] out the heart of men, come base and malevolent thoughts and schemes, acts of sexual immorality, thefts, murders, adulteries, 22acts of greed and covetousness, wickedness, deceit, unrestrained conduct, envy and jealousy, slander and profanity, arrogance and self-righteousness and foolishness (poor judgment). 23All these evil things [schemes and desires] come from within and defile and dishonor the man.”
Mark 7:17-23 AMP
Notice that the focus of His discourse is “what goes into the heart!” Jerimiah put it this way,
“The heart is deceitful above all things And it is extremely sick; Who can understand it fully and know its secret motives?” Jerimiah 17:9 AMP
It is the heart that needs restored! Because we did not know God in a personal way, we were like those who were obstinate and rebellious toward God. Our hearts were as stone unable to accept the seed of God’s Word to be planted there. There is no other power on the face of the earth that has the ability to turn a heart of stone into fertile ground able to produce good things for the Kingdom! The only fruit from our old life was death and destruction! Our verse tells us that this kind of heart will “findeth no good.” Literarily it says that it “brings forth no good thing”
We are told to hide God’s Word in our hearts. That is because it is the only thing that can keep a heart of stone from hardening again! We must keep our eyes and ears focused on the Word so that we may continue to bear good fruit for the King! Have a blessed day, Pastor Ken