What does it mean to “let your heart … be perfect with the Lord”? Is that different from our actions being perfect? How so?
"47 Yet if they shall bethink themselves in the land whither they were carried captives, and repent, and make supplication unto thee in the land of them that carried them captives, saying, We have sinned, and have done perversely, we have committed wickedness;
48 And so return unto thee with all their heart, and with all their soul, in the land of their enemies, which led them away captive, and pray unto thee toward their land, which thou gavest unto their fathers, the city which thou hast chosen, and the house which I have built for thy name:" (1 Kings 8:47–48)
"13 And I will dwell among the children of Israel, and will not forsake my people Israel." (1 Kings 6:13)
And here's the introductory commentary for this week's reading assignment: "June 22–28: “Hear Thou in Heaven Their Prayer” 2 Samuel 11–12; 1 Kings 3; 6–9; 11"
"Saul, David, and Solomon, the first three kings of Israel, all started out with so much promise. Humble, courageous, and wise, they each found favor with the Lord—at least at first. Sadly, each king also gave in to human weaknesses and temptation. They put their own desires before the Lord’s. And as we’ve seen over and over in the scriptures—and in our own lives—that led to tragedy.
But something important happened during the reign of Solomon that provided some hope for stability in the lives of the covenant people. Solomon built a temple. It was to be a more permanent house of the Lord than the tabernacle had been. And it would represent a more permanent presence of the Lord among His people. Solomon knew that the people would continue to face weakness and trials of various kinds. In dedicating the new holy house, Solomon pleaded with the Lord, “If they … return unto thee with all their heart, … then hear thou their prayer” (1 Kings 8:47–48). That’s part of what temple covenants do for us—they create a connection to God. They secure for us the promise that through our repentance and His mercy, He can “dwell among [us]” and never forsake us (1 Kings 6:13).
For an overview of the book of 1 Kings, see “Kings, books of” in the Bible Dictionary."
What stood out to me during this week's reading assignment is King's Solomon's admonition to the Israelites to “let your heart … be perfect with the Lord”. That's why I created the video of 1 Kings 8: 61.
Nobody is perfect. We all have a tendency to give in to temptation and think thoughts and take actions that are not aligned with the Lord's will. And yet, when our heart is perfect with the Lord, despite our tendency to leave Him due to our weaknesses and sins, we always make the choice to repent and align our thoughts and actions more with the Lord's will.
Having our hearts perfect with the Lord is different from our actions being perfect. When our heart is perfect, our desires and intentions align with the Lord's will. Our actions being perfect means we're always doing what is right; we never make mistakes at all. And yet none of us is perfect with our actions. Only our Lord, Jesus Christ, is the one who lived on the earth whose actions are perfect. Striving to let our heart become perfect with the Lord is more realistic than striving to be perfect with our actions. We can choose to have our desires and intentions pure. It's doable. And even though we still make mistakes with our thoughts and actions, it doesn't necessarily mean our desires and intentions are not perfect with the Lord. It's because we do have the tendency to think thoughts and take action on impulse. And yet, the more our heart becomes perfect with the Lord, the more our desires and intentions become pure, the more we naturally tend to think and act according to the Lord's will.
I'm grateful for David's example of having a more perfect heart compared with his son, Solomon. Despite giving in to temptations and disobeying two of God's ten commandments, David was repentant until the day he died. He did not turn to and leave God for other gods. Solomon pleased God with what He asked Him (an understanding heart, instead of riches and honor) and admonished his people to have their hearts be perfect with the Lord, and yet his own heart was not perfect with the Lord. He did not walk his talk. After giving in to the temptation of thinking thoughts and doing actions that don't align with the Lord's will (accepting to marry and loving a wife who worships other gods), he didn't repent. Instead, he kept doing it over and over again, marrying up to 700 wives who worship other gods, and even having 300 concubines. So, when he was old, he was fully influenced by his wives and concubines to worship other gods, forgetting the true and living God of his fathers.
We wouldn't want to forget God as Solomon did. We want to be as repentant as David was to have our hearts more perfect with the Lord.
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