Treasures New and Old
Treasures New and OldGod’s Pattern for His Disciples: Guard Your Heart
In the year 2020, we did a series on discipleship. Now we will take a deeper look at that discipleship lifestyle than we did in 2020 by looking at what I call God’s pattern for His disciples.
For our article this month, we will look at guarding our hearts. We will use Deuteronomy 4:9 as the main text to get us started. You will note as we look at Deuteronomy 4:9 that I have inserted three numbers and a W into the text. I’ve also left the Strong’s numbers so that you can look them up later and get a deeper understanding of each one of the Hebrew words.
The three things that God wants us to do as highlighted in Deuteronomy 4:9, are as follows:
- Take heed to ourselves
- Keep our souls diligently
- And teach them to our children and our children’s children
But Deuteronomy 4:9 comes with a warning: If we do not do those three things listed above, we will find that we will forget the things that God has taught us, and we will forget the things that we have seen God do in our lives, and we will forget the testimonies that He has given us, and we will certainly forget the things that He has promised us. In addition, because we will forget them, the Bible says that they will simply depart from our heart. They will leave us void of understanding, and we will lose the benefit of the wisdom of God.
However, if we do these things, and do them diligently, God says that they will not depart from our hearts all the days of our lives. That means they will always be available for the Holy Spirit to bring them to our minds as we confront evil, or are tempted, or need to counsel someone, or even make a serious decision for ourselves.
So, let’s take a deeper look now at just this one verse and what it means to guard our hearts.
Guard Your Heart
Deuteronomy 4:9 (bold added): “Only (H7535) [1] take heed (H8104) to thyself, [2] and keep (H8104) thy soul (H5315) diligently (H3966), [W] lest (H6435) thou forget (H7911) the things (H1697) which (H834) thine eyes (H5869) have seen (H7200), and lest (H6435) they depart (H5493) from thy heart (H3824) all (H3605) the days (H3117) of thy life (H2416): [3] but teach (H3045) them thy sons (H1121), and thy sons’ (H1121) sons (H1121);”
First, Some Key Definitions:
Heed/Keep: (Strong’s H8104): shamar: “A primitive root; properly to hedge about (as with thorns), that is, guard; generally to protect, attend to, etc.:- beware, be circumspect, take heed (to self), keep (-er, self), mark, look narrowly, observe, preserve, regard, reserve, save (self), sure, (that lay) wait (for), watch (-man).”
Strong’s H5341 (elsewhere in Scripture): natsar: “A primitive root; to guard, in a good sense (to protect, maintain, obey, etc.) or a bad one (to conceal, etc.):- besieged, hidden thing, keep (-er, -ing), monument, observe, preserve (-r), subtil, watcher (-man).”
Soul: (Strong’s H5315): nephesh: “From H5314; properly a breathing creature, that is, animal or (abstractly) vitality; used very widely in a literal, accommodated or figurative sense (bodily or mental):- any, appetite, beast, body, breath, creature, X dead (-ly), desire, X [dis-] contented, X fish, ghost, + greedy, he, heart (-y), (hath, X jeopardy of) life (X in jeopardy), lust, man, me, mind, mortality, one, own, person, pleasure, (her-, him-, my-, thy-) self, them (your) -selves, + slay, soul, + tablet, they, thing, (X she) will, X would have it.”
Diligently: (Strong’s H3966): meod: “From the same as H181; properly vehemence, that is, (with or without preposition) vehemently; by implication wholly, speedily, etc. (often with other words as an intensive or superlative; especially when repeated):- diligently, especially, exceeding (-ly), far, fast, good, great (-ly), X louder and louder, might (-ily, -y), (so) much, quickly, (so) sore, utterly, very (+ much, sore), well.”
Depart: (Strong’s H5493): sur: “A primitive root; to turn off (literally or figuratively):- be [-head], bring, call back, decline, depart, eschew, get [you], go (aside), X grievous, lay away (by), leave undone, be past, pluck away, put (away, down), rebel, remove (to and fro), revolt, X be sour, take (away, off), turn (aside, away, in), withdraw, be without.”
Heart: (Strong’s H3824): lebab: “From H3823; the heart (as the most interior organ); used also like H3820:- + bethink themselves, breast, comfortably, courage, ([faint], [tender-] heart([-ed]), midst, mind, X unawares, understanding.” H3820: leb: “A form of H3824; the heart; also used (figuratively) very wildly for the feelings, the will and even the intellect; likewise for the centre of anything:- + care for, comfortably, consent, X considered, courage [-eous], friend [-ly], ([broken-], [hard-], [merry-], [stiff-], [stout-], double) heart ([-ed]), X heed, X I, kindly, midst, mind (-ed), X regard ([-ed)], X themselves, X unawares, understanding, X well, willingly, wisdom.”
I. Greek Words for Keep
I’ve also added the Greek words for keep that are in the New Testament. You’ll note that the meaning of keep in the New Testament is very close to the meaning of keep in the Old Testament. Although I’ve used Deuteronomy 4:9 for my text, you’ll notice as we get into the study that key verses within the New Testament use the word diligently and the word keep to give us the same basic meaning that was found in the Old Testament. If God put it in both the Old and the New Testaments, then I think this is an important concept that He wants us to really pay attention to. So here is the definition for keep which occurs in several Greek words, not just in one.
Keep: (Strong’s G5083): tereo: “From teros (a watch; perhaps akin to G2334); to guard (from loss or injury, properly by keeping the eye upon; and thus differing from G5442, which is properly to prevent escaping; and from G2892, which implies a fortress or full military lines of apparatus), that is, to note (a prophecy; figuratively to fulfil a command); by implication to detain (in custody; figuratively to maintain); by extension to withhold (for personal ends; figuratively to keep unmarried):- hold fast, keep (-er), (ob-, pre-, re) serve, watch.”
Keep: (Strong’s G5442): phulasso: “Probably from G5443 through the idea of isolation; to watch, that is, be on guard (literally or figuratively); by implication to preserve. obey, avoid:- beware, keep (self), observe, save. Compare G5083.”
Watch: (Strong’s G2892): koustodia: “Of Latin origin; “custody”, that is, a Roman sentry:- watch.” (1 John 5:21)
Keep: (Strong’s G2722): katecho: “From G2596 and G2192; to hold down (fast), in various applications (literally or figuratively):- have, hold (fast), keep (in memory), let, X make toward, possess, retain, seize on, stay, take, withhold.” (Luke 8:15)
Have: (Strong’s G2192): echo: “A primary verb . . . to hold . . . (as possession, ability, contiguity, relation or condition):- . . . have, hold, keep.”
- God is very serious about this issue of our hearts. These are just some of the verses warning us to keep and guard our hearts diligently. That means we don’t slack off, quit, or assume the job is ever completed. The day we stop guarding the treasure of God’s Word in our hearts is the day it will be robbed from us.
Diligently (OT): (Strong’s H3966): meod: “From the same as <H181>; properly vehemence, that is, (with or without preposition) vehemently; by implication wholly, speedily, etc. (often with other words as an intensive or superlative; especially when repeated) :- diligently, especially, exceeding (-ly), far, fast, good, great, (-ly), x louder and louder, might (-ily, -y), (so) much, quickly, (so) sore, utterly, very (+much, sore), well.”
Diligence (NT): (Strong’s G4704): spoudazo: “From <G4710>; to use speed, i.e. to make effort, to be prompt or earnest :- do (give) diligence, be diligent (forward), endeavour, labour, study.” (See 2 Peter 1:10.)
II. Warning about Keeping Our Hearts:
I have added several verses here from mostly the Old Testament that reminds us how important the idea of keeping our heart diligently is to God the Father. As you look at these verses, you’ll find that guarding our heart and our soul is very high on the list of commandments, statutes, and testimonies that God has issued to us in the Old Testament. In the New Testament, we will see verses that deal with the same issue of guarding our hearts and keeping it diligently. If we are, indeed, to be disciples of the Lord Jesus Christ, then one of the most important things that we need to do on a daily basis is to keep our hearts pure as much as possible as we walk in the Spirit. The key to doing that is total surrender to the Lord Jesus Christ. When we dip into Peter in our next article, we will see how very important it is to make our calling and election sure. A big part of that is diligently keeping our hearts pure, just as the Scripture teaches in both the Old and New Testaments. Now for a few extra verses on this subject:
Deuteronomy 5:29 (bold added): “O that there were such a heart in them, that they would fear me, and keep all my commandments always, that it might be well with them, and with their children forever!”
Deuteronomy 8:2 (bold added): “And thou shalt remember all the way which the LORD thy God led thee these forty years in the wilderness, to humble thee, and to prove thee, to know what was in thine heart, whether thou wouldest keep his commandments, or not.”
Deuteronomy 26:16 (bold added): “This day the LORD thy God hath commanded thee to do these statutes and judgments: thou shalt therefore keep and do them with all thine heart, and with all thy soul.”
Deuteronomy 30:9-10: “And the LORD thy God will make thee plenteous in every work of thine hand, in the fruit of thy body, and in the fruit of thy cattle, and in the fruit of thy land, for good: for the LORD will again rejoice over thee for good, as he rejoiced over thy fathers: If thou shalt hearken unto the voice of the LORD thy God, to keep his commandments and his statutes which are written in this book of the law, and if thou turn unto the LORD thy God with all thine heart, and with all thy soul.”
Joshua 22:5: “But take diligent heed to do the commandment and the law, which Moses the servant of the LORD charge you, to love the LORD your God, and to walk in all his ways, and to keep his commandments, and to cleave unto him, and to serve him with all your heart and with all your soul.”
1 King 8:61: “Let your heart therefore be perfect with the LORD our God, to walk in his statutes, and to keep his commandments, as at this day.”
1 King 9:4-5: “And if thou wilt walk before me, as David thy father walked, in integrity of heart, and in uprightness, to do according to all that I have commanded thee, and wilt keep my statutes and my judgments: Then I will establish the throne of thy kingdom upon Israel forever, as I promised to David thy father, saying, There shall not fail thee a man upon the throne of Israel.”
2 King 23:3 (bold added): “And the king stood by a pillar, and made a covenant before the LORD, to walk after the LORD, and to keep his commandments and his testimonies and his statutes with all their heart and all their soul, to perform the words of this covenant that were written in this book. And all the people stood to the covenant.”
- God does not desire a divided heart. He also knows the many dangers that exist if our hearts are divided towards Him. He warns us to guard our hearts lest they be lost to the world.
III. What of Your Whole Heart?
The world is trying really hard to keep our attention and focus on worldly things. But these next few verses remind us how very important it is to give God our whole heart. We need to seek Him with our whole heart, keep His words and His precepts with our whole heart, literally cry out to Him in prayer with our whole heart. You’ll also note that in James we are admonished to not be double-minded. Double mindedness is when I have my focus on both the world as a master and the Lord as a master. I cannot serve two masters for Jesus warns us of that in Matthew 6:24.
As part of the single-mindedness that God expects from us, I note also that in James the double minded man has a remedy to become single-minded as he purifies his heart. What does it mean to purify your heart? It means to purge it from that old leaven, from our old sin nature, from those old habits that keep us focused on the worldly things and on worldly pleasures. If we are to keep our heart diligently for the Lord, we must diligently purge if from the world. That’s why God says love not the world, neither the things that are in the world, for the love of the father is not in them (1 John 2:15).
Psalm 119:2 (bold added): “Blessed are they that keep his testimonies, and that seek him with the whole heart.”
Psalm 119:34 (bold added): “Give me understanding, and I shall keep thy law; yea, I shall observe it with my whole heart.”
Psalm 119:69 (bold added): “The proud have forged a lie against me: but I will keep thy precepts with my whole heart.”
Psalm 119:145 (bold added): “I cried with my whole heart; hear me, O LORD: I will keep thy statutes.”
James 1:8: “A double minded man is unstable in all his ways.”
James 4:8 (bold added): “Draw nigh to God, and he will draw nigh to you. Cleanse your hands, ye sinners; and purify your hearts, ye double minded.”
- Have we given our whole heart to God or is it divided? A double-minded man is unstable in all his ways.
IV. What to Keep: His Words/Law
I am reminded of the parable that Jesus taught regarding the man who expunged the wicked spirit in his house (in other words, his soul) but did not refill the home with anything. That demon walked around for a while looking for a place to live, and coming back to that man, found that his house (his soul) was swept clean and empty. So, he brought with him seven more demons worse than himself. He reoccupied the house and fostered a worse condition than when he was forced out of it.
These Old Testament verses that follow give us a hint as to what we should replace those things with that we purged out of our lives. We need to replace them with God’s word, His commandments, His precepts, and His promises. These are best learned through the Gospels in all of Jesus’ teachings because He is our master. The things He taught us a our Rabbi, our teacher, are the things we need to learn while we purge our heart. As we learn them, we should diligently keep them with our heart and soul focused on Him.
Proverbs 3:1: “My son, forget not my law; but let thine heart keep my commandments:”
Proverbs 4:4 (bold added): “He taught me also, and said unto me, Let thine heart retain my words: keep my commandments, and live.”
Proverbs 4:21 (bold added): “Let them not depart from thine eyes; keep them in the midst of thine heart.”
Proverbs 4:23 (bold added): “Keep thy heart with all diligence; for out of it are the issues of life.”
- What does your heart desire? Does it desire to know God, to learn of Him? Is your heart divided? Are you protecting (guarding) what your heart longs for?
V. Emphasis is on “Keep Thyself”
I find it interesting that these New Testament verses not only tell us to keep our souls and our hearts diligently, but also to keep “ourselves” from sin and to keep our bodies pure. That means our whole selves. Our body, soul, and spirit. In fact, I am reminded of a verse that says: 1 Thessalonians 5:23: “And the very God of peace sanctify you wholly; and I pray God your whole spirit and soul and body be preserved blameless unto the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ.”
Luke 8:15: “But that on the good ground are they, which in an honest and good heart, having heard the word, keep it, and bring forth fruit with patience.”
Acts 15:29 (bold added): “That ye abstain from meats offered to idols, and from blood, and from things strangled, and from fornication: from which if ye keep yourselves, ye shall do well, Fare ye well.”
1 Timothy 5:22 (bold added): “Lay hands suddenly on no man, neither be partaker of other man’s sins: keep thyself pure.”
James 1:27 (bold added): “Pure religion and undefiled before God and the Father is this, To visit the fatherless and widows in their affliction, and to keep himself unspotted from the world.”
1 John 5:21: “Little children, keep yourselves from idols. Amen.”
Jude 21: “Keep yourselves in the love of God, looking for the mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ unto eternal life.”
- How does one “keep thyself”? By keeping God’s Word as the darling of your heart. By staying unspotted through the Word. By loving God and not the things of the world – for the love of the Father is not in them.
VI. Where Your Treasure Is:
I know I’ve said the next phrase several times at church in different messages and at different times. But it does bear repeating. It’s actually a principle that applies for both heavenly and worldly matters. That principle is simply this: where I spend my treasure (that includes my time, my skills, my resources, my money, and my efforts) that is where my heart will be. The more time I spend doing something, especially if I like doing it, the more my heart will be invested into that effort. I love doing woodworking. I sometimes invest a lot of my effort and resources in woodworking, and I have a heart for woodworking as a result of that. The more I pray for someone and spend time on my knees for them, the more my heart will bend in their direction. So, this principle is important for us to understand. Where your treasure is, Jesus said, is where your heart will be. So, I ask you now: where are you spending your treasures?
Proverbs 15:6 (bold added): “In the house of the righteous is much treasure: but in the revenues of the wicked is trouble.”
Proverbs 21:20 (bold added): “There is treasure to be desired and oil in the dwelling of the wise; but a foolish man spendeth it up.”
Isaiah 33:6 (bold added): “And wisdom and knowledge shall be the stability of thy times, and strength of salvation: the fear of the LORD is his treasure.”
Mark 10:21 (bold added): “Then Jesus beholding him loved him, and said unto him, One thing thou lackest: go thy way, sell whatsoever thou hast, and give to the poor, and thou shalt have treasure in heaven: and come, take up the cross, and follow me.”
Luke 6:45 (bold added): “A good man out of the good treasure of his heart bringeth forth that which is good; and an evil man out of the evil treasure of his heart bringeth forth that which is evil: for of the abundance of the heart his mouth speaketh.”
Luke 12:33 (bold added): “Sell that ye have, and give alms; provide yourselves bags which wax not old, a treasure in the heavens that faileth not, where no thief approacheth, neither moth corrupteth.”
Luke 12:34: “For where your treasure is, there will your heart be also.”
Luke 18:22 (bold added): “Now when Jesus heard these things, he said unto him, Yet lackest thou one thing: sell all that thou hast, and distribute unto the poor, and thou shalt have treasure in heaven: and come, follow me.”
- Where is your treasure? That treasure we sent on ahead to the Bank of Heaven will never fade, decline, erode, become devalued. Where do we spend our time (a sort of currency) because that reveals where our heart is and, therefore, what we are putting treasure into.
VII. Purge out Your Hearts
I have listed several verses here that reiterate some of the arguments I made in point number IV earlier in this article. It is simply we have to purge out the old leaven, the old sin habits. Going back to the original verse that we started this article with (Deuteronomy 4:9), we are to keep our hearts diligently. We are to heed the things God has taught us, or they will simply be forgotten, and we will lose them and their benefits. Part of that work of keeping and heeding is getting rid of the old leaven, the old works, the old habits that keep us from doing those things that please God. They prevent us from keeping our souls diligently. As long as those old habits, old sins, old thought patterns remain in our hearts and in our minds, there simply won’t be any room for the new eternal truths that God wants to teach us. Or worse, there will be a constant conflict between the old and the new, and we will become double minded. Therefore, purge out the old leaven, the old sin habits, and do so with hyssop (which is a pretty serious way of beating them out of ourselves)!
Psalm 51:7 (bold added): “Purge me with hyssop, and I shall be clean: wash me, and I shall be whiter than snow.”
1 Corinthians 5:7 (bold added): “Purge out therefore the old leaven, that ye may be a new lump, as ye are unleavened. For even Christ our passover is sacrificed for us:”
2 Timothy 2:21 (bold added): “If a man therefore purge himself from these, he shall be a vessel unto honor, sanctified, and meet for the master’s use, and prepared unto every good work.
Hebrews 9:14 (bold added): “How much more shall the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered himself without spot to God, purge your conscience from dead works to serve the living God?”
- How do I purge my heart? I must first confess that I have allowed other things to take first place in my life. Next, I ask God to forgive me for leaving my first love. Then I purpose by God’s grace (for I can’t do it myself) to place God first in my life.
- The world wants your heart to follow them.
- Satan wants your heart corrupted.
- Christ wants your heart to be pure and sanctified towards God.
So where is your heart today? Are you guarding it? Or have deceptions, lies, pleasures, and worldly things grabbed ownership?
I hope this article had helped you understand the importance of diligently keeping our hearts pure before the Lord. Next month we will look at the subject of making our calling and election sure. I will note we don’t do this alone; we have help because Jesus Christ is in the process of conforming us into His image. But we do have work to do, too. In our next article, we will highlight some of that work that we need to do in keeping our calling and election sure.
Maranatha!
Bro. Joe
References
Strong, J. Strong's Hebrew and Greek Dictionaries. Meyers, R. (2005). e-Sword. [computer software] . Franklin, TN: Equipping Ministries Foundation. (Original work published 1539)