Title: The divided heart
Scripture Reading: 2 Chronicles 25:1-2; Ezekiel 36:25-33
Amaziah was twenty and five years old when he began to reign, and he reigned twenty and nine years in Jerusalem. And his mother’s name was Jehoaddan of Jerusalem.
2 And he did that which was right in the sight of the Lord, but not with a perfect heart.
Then will I sprinkle clean water upon you, and ye shall be clean: from all your filthiness, and from all your idols, will I cleanse you.
26 A new heart also will I give you, and a new spirit will I put within you: and I will take away the stony heart out of your flesh, and I will give you an heart of flesh.
27 And I will put my spirit within you, and cause you to walk in my statutes, and ye shall keep my judgments, and do them.
28 And ye shall dwell in the land that I gave to your fathers; and ye shall be my people, and I will be your God.
29 I will also save you from all your uncleannesses: and I will call for the corn, and will increase it, and lay no famine upon you.
30 And I will multiply the fruit of the tree, and the increase of the field, that ye shall receive no more reproach of famine among the heathen.
31 Then shall ye remember your own evil ways, and your doings that were not good, and shall loathe yourselves in your own sight for your iniquities and for your abominations.
32 Not for your sakes do I this, saith the Lord God, be it known unto you: be ashamed and confounded for your own ways, O house of Israel.
33 Thus saith the Lord God; In the day that I shall have cleansed you from all your iniquities I will also cause you to dwell in the cities, and the wastes shall be builded.
The passage of scripture does not record any of the unusual repertoire of indications of divine favor. On the contrary, we read that the walls of Jerusalem are destroyed, the king is plundered. Instead of peace, there is war, defeat instead of victory. Short life instead of long life and conspiracy instead of loyalty.
A bible commentator says that such is the character of too many in this Laodicean age: they do that which is good, but not with the heart, not with a perfect heart.
And Jesus said, ‘because you are neither cold or hot, I will spew you out of my mouth.’
- A divided heart
Amaziah was twenty and five years old when he began to reign, and he reigned twenty and nine years in Jerusalem. And his mother’s name was Jehoaddan of Jerusalem.
2 And he did that which was right in the sight of the Lord, but not with a perfect heart.
In 2 Chronicles 25:2 there is good news and bad news. The good news is Amaziah did right in the sight of the LORD. The bad news is his walk with God was not with a perfect heart.
One of the things mentioned about Amaziah was the high places.
Just a theological note, which applies to all of us. This verse focuses on the spiritual responsibility of each individual.
Some bible translation uses the noun ‘perfect’ for ‘loyal’ or ‘whole.’ The root idea of the Hebrew word translated ‘perfect’ (loyal in the NKJV) is being whole, complete.
What is a divided heart?
- The historical definition of this heart indicates a ‘flawed spirituality,’
- Imperfection of heart consists in incomplete surrender.
- Some chamber of the temple is retained for selfish purposes.
What the bible is trying to project in 2 Chronicles 25:1-2 is that the whole heart was not set on doing the will of God.
YHWH cautioned us in Deuteronomy 8:1 with the word ‘you shall be careful to do’ and Deuteronomy 8:2 with another word ‘remember.’
- ‘Be careful’ shows a loving covenant relationship and obedience are God’s way of blessing us and fulfilling His promises.
- ‘Remember’ is used in two ways in the Old Testament. It is covenant humanity’s requirement to remember God’s acts and His laws. This was a Hebrew Idiom, ‘keep God as priority.’ It is also humanity request that God not remember our sins.
Another important principle we can gather from this verse is that you will never be judged because of the sins of your mother or the sins of your father.
- High Places
Throughout biblical history, we read accounts of how the people established high places that were an offence to the Lord.
The ‘high places’ were places of pagan worship, most often built on high hills or mountains and under trees, and thought to bring people closer to their false gods. It is even thought to bring people closer to their true God.
We have high places in ancient Israel, supposedly erected by the people of God, high places in Ancient Egypt that are still standing today and mysterious high places all over the world.
The greatest time of compromise for God’s people in the Old Testament, the Israelites, was when in addition to worshipping YHWH, the only true God, they worshipped false gods too
This can be termed as collective worship.
What is the meaning of idols in today’s society?
- an idol is anything we praise, celebrate, fixate on, and look to for help that’s not the true God.
John wrote, ‘Little children, keep yourselves from idols’. The New Living Translation captures the meaning this way, ‘keep away from anything that might take God’s place in your hearts.’
- A Promise to cleanse my filth
I believed that many of the curses in our lives is the result of idolatry. I did not say problems in our lives. We will always have problems but God can help us overcome our problem. But curses are the result of idolatry and a punishment from God.
Ezekiel 33:19b says, ‘According to their ways and their deeds I judged them.’ In this same chapter, YHWH says, our uncleanness is like ‘the uncleanness of a woman in her impurity.’
In Ezekiel 18:5. God views idolatry in three terms:
- Covenant disobedience
- Canaanites worship (high places worship)
- National defeat
Many of us are in this category. There are curses and punishment. We are defeated because of a divided heart.
In Deuteronomy 5:29 he says, ‘O that there were such an 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 for ever.’
Ezekiel 36:21 says, ‘But I had concern for my Holy Name, which the house of Israel had profaned among the nations where they went.’ God is concerned for you today. A bible commentator says, when YHWH says he is concerned, literally it means he took pity on you.’ He took pity on what you are going through. He took pity that you are groaning until the heavy weight of life’s burden. He took pity that your family is divided. He took pity that you are living in poverty. He hears your cry. He knows your suffering. Why? YHWH is in the business of winning all his sons and daughters made in his image and likeness to return to faith and repentance in himself or herself. How is YHWH going to go about this concerning you?
A, He will ‘sprinkle clean water on you.
B. He will give you a new heart.
C. He will put His Spirit within you.
D, He will be your God. Ezekiel 36:28e says, ‘You will be my people, and I will be your God.’
E. He will multiply the fruit of the tree.
F. He will cause you to remember your evil ways and your evil deeds that were not good, and you will loathe yourself.
In conclusion, when we are honest with ourselves, we clearly admit we have divided hearts. We confess the sinfulness of our heart. We also recognize the idols in our lives. For some it is a physical idol. For others, we have spiritual idolatry. Idolatry is anything that is in competition with God. Idolatry is anything that is placed above God. Many of us are like Amaziah, we did what is right with God but not with a loyal heart. We started well like Amaziah but didn’t end well. We worshipped the high places. And like Amaziah, we brought curses and punishment upon ourselves, our families and on others even. Why do we have a divided heart. I mean YHWH has said umpteen times in the Old Testament and even in the New Testament to have a loyal, whole and perfect Heart. And yet the problem persists until today, even among God’s people. Why? Because we have an evil heart in the very beginning. We cannot help ourselves. But God sent another man, Jesus to become that man that pleases God for our sakes. Jesus had an undivided heart all the times when he was here on earth. When we are like Mary who say to Jesus, ‘Why do you not care about your family. They are so concerned for you.’ This statement sounded so right. But Jesus said, ‘I must be about my father’s business. God’s priority. When our family comes to us and say, ‘we are looking for you,’ Jesus said, ‘Who is my father and mother, those that doeth the will of my father in heaven. Jesus puts God above his family. Yet Jesus went to the cross because of this evil heart of us. When he died on the cross, the blood of Jesus that fell from the cross brought healing to you. And He says, ‘I will give you a new heart.’ When He died on the cross, he made a provision. He gave us a new heart. Hearts that love God, hearts that want to obey God. Jesus said like Ezekiel, I will take away that stony heart of yours and give you a heart of fresh. Charles Spurgeon says Christ is the great heart changer. You will experience a real ‘change of heart’ and will become by Jesus’ initiative, the kind of person you were in the past, that presently you so signally have failed to be. True region begins, then with the heart, and the heart is the ruling power of manhood. You may enlighten a man’s understanding and you have done much, but as long as his heart is wrong, the enlightenment of the understanding only enables him to sin with a greater weight of responsibility resting upon him. The cross is meant for people with sinful, evil heart who cannot learn and earn their way to heaven. Jesus grants the offer of forgiveness and imparted righteousness of Christ and grace through Christ. Only Christ can give a new heart and fill that heart that satisfies. It is true that the heart is designed only for God. And Christ’s death on the cross made it possible to have that heart that is designed only for God.
