“The heart is deceitful above all things and beyond cure. Who can understand it? “I the Lord search the heart and examine the mind, to reward each person according to their conduct, according to what their deeds deserve.” Jeremiah 17:9-10
The Lord explains to Jeremiah and His people the severity and magnitude of their sin by addressing their corrupt human nature. Those who turn away from the Lord have no hope and must perish; only the person who trusts God “with all of his (or her) heart, soul and mind” will survive in eternity.
The “heart” can only be understood in its true character by God Himself, for only He can discern the motives and the reasoning behind the heart, and only He may search and test the mind. This is a most powerful statement about the process of God’s discernment of our human nature.
The phrase “deceitful above all things and beyond cure” is stating our sin is “incurable”, like a disease for which there is no hope of cure. We not only want God’s grace, but we NEED God’s grace.
Bottom line … God rewards or punishes according to faith, namely, believing and trusting in Him and His name. And God continues to offer hope to people who turn away from sin and seek His forgiveness. They will be blessed and will flourish by His grace alone.
God’s blessings on your day…