This somewhat cryptic verse draws us to consider the unequaled knowledge and power of the Sovereign One: “Sheol and Abaddon lie open before the LORD; how much more the hearts of the children of man!” (Proverbs 15:11). Job declared similarly, “Sheol is naked before God, and Abaddon has nocovering” (Job 26:6). “Sheol” and “Abaddon” represent an unseen world. They are personifications of death and destruction, and while they are a terror to humanity, there is nothing in their realm and capability that is outside of God’s control. They are fully known to God, accountable to Him, and subject to His command.
There is much of the created order that we do not see and cannot observe except for its influence. The fact that all of it is fully known to God is a comfort to those in the grip of His grace; “If I ascend to heaven, You are there! If I make my bed in Sheol, You are there! (Psalm 139:8)
This verse in Proverbs and many others in Scripture bring God’s omniscience down to a very specific point – “He knows the secrets of the heart” (Psalm 44:21). If we take God at His word, this truth can be quite sobering, for “no creature is hidden from His sight, but all are naked and exposed to the eyes of Him to whom we must give account” (Hebrews 4:13).
The “heart” as it is used in Scripture is the place of one’s affections and attitudes. Behavior proceeds from the heart, “Above all else, guard your heart, for everything you do flows from it” (Proverbs 4:23). The heart is where evil originates and resides. “For out of the heart come evil thoughts, murder, adultery, sexual immorality, theft, false witness, slander” (Matthew 15:19). A law code can compel people to obedience out of duty – even serve to develop habits of moral behavior — but it cannot change a person at the level of affections and attitudes.
This reality introduces us to the necessity of an inward revolution – a heart for what is good and right by the measure of God’s character and purpose. The prophets Jeremiah, who witness the destruction of Jerusalem, and Ezekiel, who was in exile with Judah, introduce us to the New Covenant where God promises a “new heart” for His people. Jesus understood Himself to be the One providing the means for that new heart as He expressed, “this cup is the new covenant in My blood” (Luke 22:20).
This new heart in the people of God is bent toward pleasing God — “But thanks be to God, that you who were once slaves of sin have become obedient from the heart to the standard of teaching to which you were committed” (Romans 6:17). The one who follows Jesus Christ — communing with and delighting in Him — will experience the inward revolution by thinking His thoughts, seeing through His eyes, loving what He loves, and hating what He hates. The committed follower of Jesus is “doing the will of God from the heart” (Ephesians 6:6).
What is informing your heart? Is what you set your heart (and mind) on moving you to please God and point others to Him, or is it making you calloused in the passions of the flesh? There is a daily battle for your affections (heart) and your attitudes (mind). So, “whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is commendable, if there is any excellence, if there is anything worthy of praise, think about these things” (Philippians4:8).
“Search me, O God,and know my heart!
Try me and know my thoughts!
And see if there be any grievous way in me,
and lead me in the way everlasting!“
Psalm 139:23-24
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