Stone cold?

The prophet Ezekiel, who has quite a reputation among the prophets for outrageous behavior, tells the people of Israel that the Lord will 'give them a new heart and a new spirit.'  God will 'take their heart of stone and give them a heart of flesh'.

So I got thinking about hearts of stone.  In the Exodus story, Moses goes up against the Pharaoh of Egypt and over the course of 10 plagues, God hardens Pharaoh's heart.  Turns it to stone.  If you thought poisonous snakes were a dilemma, this episode of God actively hardening the heart of someone - so that they would continue to defy God and not repent - well, this is a tough one.  But we will struggle with a God who acts in this manner another day.

I want to look at the heart itself.  In the Pharaoh episode, the hardened heart keeps Pharaoh from releasing the people of Israel and giving them their freedom.  On at least one occasion Pharaoh appears ready to make a compromise, but God hardens his heart.

What is a hardened heart?  My first guess is that it didn't start out that way.  It was something else before and over time became hardened - like hardening of the arteries - and no longer functioned as it should.

Well, then how should a heart function?  Physiologically, the heart pumps blood through the system, bringing oxygen, taking CO2 and keeping all our parts humming.  It is the source of our energy and carries away that which will kill us.  Could we expand that image to consider the heart doing the same work for us emotionally?  spiritually?

 I doubt that God was busy hardening Pharaoh's arteries, but possibly, God was clogging up the emotional and spiritual baggage Pharaoh carried until his heart no longer brought energy and life, but allowed death and destruction to take hold.

Here's an example that makes some sense in my life. A little bit of greed resides in everyone's heart.  However, if you allow it room, nourish it, allow it to grow, it will harden like cement and your heart will turn to stone.  Ebenezer Scrooge is our favorite example of this.  Or the Grinch.

A heart of flesh on the other hand is a heart that is vulnerable, able to be wounded, capable of compassion and love, and can break in two.  Without a capacity for compassion and love, we are unable to connect with others, to nurture relationships, and empathize with our neighbor.  We cannot truly see the other's need and reach out to lend a hand.  We cannot honor God and those whom God loves.  Yet, with every heart of flesh comes the risk of pain and sorrow.

Flesh:  love and sorrow   Stone:  protection and death.  That's what it is looking like to me today.