Written On the Heart

Posted by Karen on Jul 30, 2012 | 0 comments

The Greek word for “write” is gráphō, and was first used by Homer for “the tearing of the flesh by a lance” (i.e. carving), and of “engraving in tablets”.

In ancient Greece, tablets of ivory, metal or wood were coated with wax, on which words were traced with a pointed stylus. In the Scriptures, we read that God Himself engraved the first set of stone tablets with His laws and commands, including what we refer to as The Ten Commandments (Exodus 24:12; 31:18).

But what about this ancient definition of “the tearing of the flesh by a lance”? The Scriptures also support this line of thinking:

Proverbs 3:3—“Let love and faithfulness never leave you; bind them around your neck, write them on the tablet of your heart.”

Proverbs 7:1-3—“My son, keep my words and store up my commands within you. Keep my commands and you will live; guard my teachings as the apple of your eye. Bind them on your fingers; write them on the tablet of your heart.”

Jeremiah 31:33a—“This is the covenant I will make with the house of Israel after that time,” declares the LORD. “I will put My law in their minds and write it on their hearts…”

According to Kittel, “The perfect expression of the divine will consists in writing on and in persons.” This amazing concept is tenderly affirmed in 2 Corinthians 3:2—“You yourselves are our letter, written on our hearts, known and read by everybody.”