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In our day, the heart is commonly thought of as the seat of the emotions and the affections. Most people think of it as a reliable guide to life and practice, as in the saying “Follow your heart.” In biblical usage, however, the heart is thought of very differently, primarily in two ways. First, the heart is not only the seat of the emotions but also the seat of the understanding and the will. The book of Proverbs indicates that keeping the heart involves gaining knowledge, understanding, wisdom, and memory.

Second, the heart is indeed a guide to one’s life and practice, but unless it is submitted to the Lord, it is an unreliable guide. The wicked man has a perverted heart that devises wicked plans (Prov. 6:14, 18). The youth is told to write the commandments of the Lord on the tablet of his heart so that his ways might be properly directed (Prov. 7:3). That the heart is an unreliable guide is pungently expressed by Jeremiah in 17:9: “The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately sick; who can understand it?”

the hardness of the heart

The hardness of the heart of God’s people is expressed in many ways by the prophets. Isaiah begins his book with a condemnation of Israel’s worship. Israel has fallen under the discipline of the Lord because of its iniquity, but the hardness of the people’s hearts has prevented them from learning the lesson that God would teach. “Why will you still be struck down? Why will you continue to rebel? The whole head is sick, and the whole heart faint” (Isa. 1:5). The people of God draw near with their mouths, but their hearts are far from Him (29:13). The work that God gives to Isaiah is to further harden the hearts of the people until God’s judgment falls on them (6:9–10).

the circumcision of the heart

In Deuteronomy, the people are told that they must circumcise their hearts and no longer be stubborn (Deut. 10:16). In that context, the requirement of the Lord is set before Israel: “to fear the Lord your God, to walk in all his ways, to love him, to serve the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul” (v. 12). In Micah 6:8, the prophet echoes this verse, reminding the people that it is not so much the sacrifices that the Lord desires but the hearts of His people. Ultimately, however, it is God who must circumcise the people’s hearts: “The Lord your God will circumcise your heart and the heart of your offspring, so that you will love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul, that you may live” (Deut. 30:6).

God, in His grace, changes the hard, wicked hearts of His people, giving them hearts of flesh instead of hearts of stone. He inscribes His law on their hearts so that they may faithfully walk in His ways.

This promise seems to disappear during much of the history of Israel. But the call to repentance and a change of heart appears frequently in the books of the prophets. Jeremiah echoes the call for the people to circumcise their hearts to avoid God’s judgment (Jer. 4:4). Joel calls on the people to rend their hearts and not their garments because of the graciousness of the Lord (Joel 2:12–13). Malachi promises that when Elijah comes, he will “turn the hearts of fathers to their children and the hearts of children to their fathers” to avoid the curse on the land (Mal. 4:6).

the new covenant and the new heart

The fullest treatment of the gift of the new heart is found in the two prophets who prophesied at the beginning of the exile: Jeremiah and Ezekiel. In Jeremiah, the exile is right around the corner. But the word from God is that the promise of the new covenant includes a new heart on which the law of the Lord is written (Jer. 31:33). In renewing the covenant ideal that “they shall be my people, and I will be their God,” God promised that He would give them “one heart and one way, that they may fear me forever” (32:38–39). The people would be restored and given the circumcised hearts that God had promised long before in Deuteronomy.


Ezekiel, at the very time he records that the glory of the Lord has left the Jerusalem temple, offers this word from the Lord:

“‘I will gather you from the peoples . . . , and I will give you the land of Israel.’ . . . And I will give them one heart, and a new spirit I will put within them. I will remove the heart of stone from their flesh and give them a heart of flesh, that they may walk in my statutes.” (Ezek. 11:17–20)

After the people have gone into exile, Ezekiel reiterates the promise made when God vacated the Jerusalem temple:

“I will take you from the nations and gather you from all the countries and bring you into your own land. I will sprinkle clean water on you, and you shall be clean from all your uncleannesses, and from all your idols I will cleanse you. And I will give you a new heart, and a new spirit I will put within you. And I will remove the heart of stone from your flesh and give you a heart of flesh. And I will put my Spirit within you, and cause you to walk in my statutes and be careful to obey my rules. You shall dwell in the land that I gave to your fathers, and you shall be my people, and I will be your God.” (36:24–28)

God, in His grace, changes the hard, wicked hearts of His people, giving them hearts of flesh instead of hearts of stone. He inscribes His law on their hearts so that they may faithfully walk in His ways. That is the promise that He has extended to us.

The Temple

The People of God

Keep Reading Understanding Biblical Prophecy

From the July 2025 Issue
Jul 2025 Issue