Deuteronomy 29:4
But to this day the LORD has not given you a heart to understand
or eyes to see or ears to hear.
NIV Jesus Bible (This is The full study note.)
The Need for a New Heart
Moses traced the Israelites’ inability to keep the terms of the covenant of God to a root problem. According to verse 4, the Lord had not given them the ability to understand, see and hear. Immediately following chapter 28, which contrasts the blessings for keeping God’s covenant commands with curses for not doing so, Moses connected their potential inability to uphold their end of the covenant requirements with the fact that they were unable to appreciate all the Lord had done for them. Elsewhere, it is clear that their inadequacies are connected to needing a new or changed heart (Dt 10:16; 30:6; Eze 36:26). Being an ethnic Israelite had limitations. Physical connection to a genealogical line did not equate to blessings from the Lord. Therefore, the Old Testament authors offered a consistent message: the people of God were unable to keep God’s law, thus they needed spiritual renewal. This message prefigured the new heart to come in Christ (Jer 31:31–34). Apart from renewal in Christ Jesus, no one can come to God by pleasing him and keeping all his commands (Ro 3:10–12,21–26).
My reflection is from here down. Let me give a disclaimer to begin. I do not pretend to understand or to be giving an answer to the questions about the meaning of God hardening hearts or giving or not giving hearts, it is a mystery way above my pay grade, but I do think it pleases Him when we wrestle with the questions or with Him around the questions. We cannot wrestle with out engaging and once we engage He gets His hands on us. Once He gets His hands on us we are far more likely to be drawn to Him. It may be kicking and screaming, but if we stay in the wrestling we may find that His grip is a gentle touch, not brute strength. When we wrestle with open hearts and minds it becomes possible, maybe even likely, that our fears (Scared) turn to fear (Awe) and awe opens the door to worship and worship is what we are made for.
The “faith” progression (Living by faith, see Jn 14:21) seems to be: Desire -> Obedience ->Understanding. This is not linear, by the way. True understanding, seeing Him, as John says, increases my desire for Him, which makes me more willing to obey, etc. My tendency is to want to understand before I am willing to obey. This “logic” short circuits the very thing God wants most from us, our desire (Heart). If I choose and do what seems logical/sensible to me I may be able to live rightly, but without desire it undoes the order of the universe which is desire/relationship driven. Obedience without desire is religion not relationship. This was Jesus’ point to the Pharisees in John 5. “You look to the scriptures to find eternal life , but they are talking about me, and you do not want anything to do with me.” This is logic and law without desire.
If God gave us hearts that desired Him would it be true desire or just the “programing” we received? It seems here He is saying I have given you the capacity and the space in which you can be drawn to me, He invites persistently, creatively, with steadfast love and faithfulness, but He does not program.
To ignore this invitation, to try to live contrary to the order of the universe results in what is described here as hardening of the heart. It is like running an engine without oil, it progressively hardens until it seizes up. Dallas Willard says, “Sensuality (Self driven.) deadens.” All addictions, spiritual and physical, deaden our senses. That is why they are addictions, it is satisfaction of desire with something that is inadequate. It is addictive because it’s use deadens the receptors that experience it and they require progressively larger doses in order to be “felt”. Deadening is slow death, and be not deceived, it leads to the real thing, death. Like a heart with coronary artery disease the slowly hardening arteries end in death.
When I give up and say I cannot do it without You, O Lord, my ways do not work, then He graciously and at great cost to Himself, gives me a new heart. (See all the cross references above.) Mercy, grace, steadfast love and faithfulness in action. How awesome is that? LHM/CHM
