Can someone explain Jeremiah 17:9 to me?

Question

I thought that the heart was true... that we accepted Jesus Christ into our heart, that God convicts our hearts of his will, that we love with our heart... etc. What is this verse then talking about?

Here's the verse. Serious answers only, please. Thanks!

"The heart is deceitful above all things and beyond cure. Who can understand it?"

Answer 1

Bekah,
Read it within the context of the chapter. Jeremiah is calling for us to examine our hearts and with God's help cleanse them.

The heart may be true, it is not always pure. Even after accepting Christ into our hearts we still need to be on guard agaist wrong hearted word, deeds and thoughts. Jeremiah is encouraging us to examine our hearts because the heart can be the source of deceit. Sometimes the heart is hard to understand.

In the following verse we are cautioned that the Lord searches the heart and mind and will reward us according to our conduct.

As you review the verse in the context of the chapter you will see that the prophet is teaching us to be of pure heart and be obedient to God so that all will go well for us.

Answer 2

Jeremiah 17 9-10

Answer 3

Jeremiah 17

Answer 4

God told the rebellious nation of Judah: “The heart is more treacherous than anything else and is desperate.” (Jer 17:9) This constitutes a serious warning that those seeking to please God must give attention not merely to what other humans see but to the kind of person they really are, the inner man. A person may have been a Christian for many years, have a fine knowledge of the Bible, and feel confident that he can safely handle any situation that may arise. Yet, although he knows full well that an act is wrong and specifically condemned by God’s law, the thoughts and desires that he has secretly cherished may entice him into sinful action.
Adam, although perfect, let his heart be enticed; he rejected the truth and turned away from God. (See Jas 1:14, 15.) Consequently, all humans, the offspring of fallen Adam, have been conceived in sin and brought forth in error. (Ps 51:5) After the Flood, God said regarding sinful mankind in general: “The inclination of the heart of man is bad from his youth up.”—Ge 8:21.

Answer 5

Well the passage is an Old Testament passage. In the New Testament you would find this similar observation.

Galatians 5:17 For the desires of the flesh are against the Spirit, and the desires of the Spirit are against the flesh, for these are opposed to each other, to keep you from doing the things you want to do. (18) But if you are led by the Spirit, you are not under the law. (19) Now the works of the flesh are evident: sexual immorality, impurity, sensuality, (20) idolatry, sorcery, enmity, strife, jealousy, fits of anger, rivalries, dissensions, divisions, (21) envy, drunkenness, orgies, and things like these. I warn you, as I warned you before, that those who do such things will not inherit the kingdom of God. (22) But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, (23) gentleness, self-control; against such things there is no law. (24) And those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires. (25) If we live by the Spirit, let us also walk by the Spirit.

In the Old Testament God never promised anyone victory over sin and the Holy Spirit only came upon people for a time. Even Samson and King Saul had the Holy Spirit come on them but later they fell into various sins. Since Jesus sent the Spirit Christians have "built in" supernatural aid to overcome the flesh but we still have an ongoing battle where our flesh or our hearts try to get us to do their carnal desires instead of God's will.

Answer 6

The great truth of this verse is hidden from any who do not understand the spiritual nature of the moral Law.

Many years ago we had in our home a stubborn spider that kept building a web against our house. No matter how many times we swept it away, the spider and its web would reappear the next morning. One day I enlisted the help of one of my sons, as well as a small stick and a can of insect spray. I then had my son gently tap the stick on the web while I made the sound of a fly in distress. The hungry spider came out of his hiding place, and that's when I killed him with the insect spray.

There is a stubborn web of sin that continually plagues mankind. It is the web of violence, corruption, rape, greed, wars, theft, etc. We try and sweep it away through political means. Yet these crimes remain, and few seem to identify the root cause of the problem. That remains in hiding.

We must use the stick of God's Law to gently tap on the human heart, Suddenly, the cause of sin appears. An that's wen sin can be put to death wit the power of the gospel that delivers us from the power of sin. In Christ we are born again (John 3:3) and become new creatures.

Answer 7

However, the Bible also says that “the heart is more treacherous than anything else and is desperate.” (Jeremiah 17:9) How can the heart be treacherous—a danger to us? Well, an automobile, for example, is a valuable tool, even a lifesaver in an emergency. But if the driver does not control the car, constantly guiding the steering wheel, that same car may easily become a deadly weapon. Similarly, unless you safeguard your heart, you will be at the mercy of your every inner desire and impulse, and your life course will veer into disaster. God’s Word says: “He that is trusting in his own heart is stupid, but he that is walking in wisdom is the one that will escape.” (Proverbs 28:26) Yes, you can walk in wisdom and escape disaster if you use God’s Word to guide you, much as you would consult a road map before beginning a trip.—Psalm 119:105.

Answer 8

Well look at these scriptures about the heart: Gen. 6:5, Deu. 6:5, 1 Sam. 16:7, and 1 Kings 11:2. I think when we except jesus into our hearts we realize we are sinners and need a savior and we can't do it alone. Letting him intoour hearts is just a metaphor, you are actually letting him come and live inside of you, but you don't actually say that. You say instead come into my life. You relinguish control of yourlife over to him. I hope this helps.

Answer 9

Include verse 10. God makes it clear why we sin. It's matter of the heart. Our hearts have been inclined toward sin from the time we were born. It's easy to fall into the routine of forgetting and forsaking God, but we can still choose whether or not to continue in sin. We can yield to a specific temptation, or we can ask God to help us resist temptation when it comes.

Answer 10

vs. 9 is a fragment in a pasted together chapter in Jeremiah. It reflects the sinful heart inherited through Adam and Eve. We simply cannot love/live as we ought. Only God understood the fulness of our need. In sending Jesus, we are offered a new heart, one which can love and which can receive love.