Tag Archives: Isaiah 40:13

Our Wonderful Counselor

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The Son will be called Wonderful Counselor (Isaiah 9:6).

I am writing this between Easter and Pentecost, this period of time for Jews is known as Counting the Omer, and the Catholic Church is in an “Easter season” on their calendar. Either thought still is the fifty days from Passover to Pentecost. Historically, it is the time from leaving Egypt until the Children reached Mt. Sinai. Some things are recorded that Jesus did in this season, but I believe we were not told half of them. I think this time was the Master’s mini-lesson for His leaders. Yes, He left (ascended) after forty days.

Hebrew Mentions of the Counselor

The Complete Jewish Bible, the Orthodox Jewish Bible, and the concordances I use all seem to have a slightly different take on how to spell things. (God bless translators!) That can take a little getting used to but the message is the same and very clear. The idea of counselor really hit this home.  

H3289 is yaats or yoetz and ish etzah H 6098 are terms I ran across in this study. Besides Isaiah 9:6, I spent some time with 40:13. 40:13 is quoted by Paul in Romans 11:34. All of this highlights the importance of wisdom and advice in the Jewish culture.

The Tree of Life Biblical | Tree of Life in Bible – Hebrewversity  One takeaway from this article was tree or etz is very much like the word etzah or advice, H6098.

The Hebrews who wrote the New Testament had the same values; they were just writing them in Greek. In Romans 11:34 Paul used the word symboulos G4825 for counselor or advisor. Yes, it looks like our word symbiote, so it implies a long-term relationship.

Parakletos or Paraclete

Pentecost is the fulfillment of Jesus’ promise to send the Holy Spirit. It is also the birthday of the Church or the beginning of gathering the Bride of Christ. The Apostle John uses Paraclete five times in his writing: John 14:16, 26, 15:26, 16:7, and 1 John 2:1. Strong’s Greek: 3875. παράκλητος (paraklétos) — called to one’s aid (biblehub.com) This article mentions three Gospel references of when Jesus states that the Spirit will do what John declared on Thursday of Holy Week: Matthew 10:19 + 20, Mark 13:11, Luke 12:11 + 12. These tell when Jesus said that arrests were coming, but the Holy Spirit would speak through them. In other words, He would be their lawyer, counselor, or helper. Back to John. 

John 13 is the beginning of Jesus’ last meal on Thursday. Chapters 14, 15, and 16 are in the Upper Room or in the Garden outside of Jerusalem. They contain important teachings about the Holy Spirit. It is better to read the verses in context so as to get the full effect.

  • c+17 Jesus will ask for the Spirit of Truth to be sent to believers.
  • John 14:26 + 27 This Counselor will instruct us and give us peace. The Father will send Him in the name or power of Jesus.
  • John 15:26 He will testify the truth about Jesus.
  • John 16:7 If Jesus does not leave (dies on the cross, resurrects, and ascends) the Paraclete will not come. Verses 7 -16 explain what the Spirit will do. Verse 15 has a word in it that John uses thirty-two times in his Gospel, emos. It is translated “mine” and is associated with Jesus giving things to us.
  • 1 John 2:1 This verse is about Jesus advocating for us before the Father.

The Holy Spirit is here on earth helping us to do the work here. Jesus is in Heaven helping us there.

Our Wonderful Counselor is for us, is here to help us, and has a good plan for us. The thing I have found about counselors, they can only help if you let them and follow their advice. This implies that you have to let Our Wonderful Counselor in so He can get close, and you get to know Him.

Heart of God

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The heart, the heart of God, the heart of man, follow your heart, and Valentine’s Day all had something to do with starting this study. No, I am not going to cover all of those topics, but this study led me to places I did not expect. I began by putting “heart God” in the search box in Bible Gateway. Many verses came up, I looked at every one of them. What I did not find surprised me, more on that later.

The Heart

Preachers, poets, and movie people provide palpitations. Do our modern thoughts on the “heart” actually sync with the ancient words and ideas? Over the years I have read many different opinions and thoughts on the subject (I have no references). Read the Strong’s references and you will see there were metaphorical aspects to the thoughts on the heart or what controlled people.

Strong’s Greek: 2588. καρδία (kardia) — heart (biblehub.com)

Strong’s Hebrew: 3820. לֵב (leb) — inner man, mind, will, heart (biblehub.com)   See H3824.

Take a Muse Moment to consider an intelligent, observant populace. Please compare an active beating heart that was in the center of your chest that changed speeds at certain times; to a glob of stuff locked away in your skull that only gave you headaches. What would you think was important?

I tend to believe that our modern society wants to nullify God and put us in His place. We think too much of our hearts (emotions and feelings). Why would God allow or even use that imagery? When you are in the lead, you have to let your followers catch up.

The Heart of Man

Please consider these popular cliches: follow your heart, my heart was not in it, my heart’s desire, bless your heart. Hollywood, Wall Street, and a sin nature can be a problem, but there are many positive thoughts also.

The free will we have is the problem. God wants us to choose Him. The Tree that Eve picked and Adam ate from also shades the way we “naturally” chose to go. So, as you study the heart of man in the Bible the overwhelming number of verses refer to us not picking Him or going His Way.

What I Did Not Find

I did not find many verses that specifically refer to God’s leb or kardia. In my first search, I found Ezekiel 28: 2 and 6. Because there was a still small voice telling me to go further, I turned to my “leaf and ink” version of Strong’s Concordance and found three more: Genesis 6:6, Jeremiah 3:15, and 32:41. There may be more and the translation you use may require more study; using the meanings of leb or kardia are going to be the path. (Let me know.) The verses I will add from the New Testament will not have kardia in them but the Hebrew ideas associated with leb. I believe these should be part of this study because you have Hebrews writing in Greek.

The exoteric anthropomorphism of a beating heart in our God, in Scripture, was put there by our God. So, it is how He chooses to portray Himself and we need to learn about Him through this self-revelation. I will use bullet points just because, again leb and kardia are the focus thoughts, not our English words.

  • Genesis 6:6 – God is grieved because of man.
  • Jeremiah 3:15 – the Father will give us shepherds who will feed us.
  • Jeremiah 32:41 – He will plant us in His land.
  • Ezekiel 28:2 and 6 – these verses are about the king of Tyre, who believes he has a heart like God’s.
  • Romans 8:27 – the “mind of the Spirit” and the “will of God”. φρόνημα | Free Online Greek Dictionary | billmounce.com
  • Romans 12:2 – “renew our minds” to prove His will. These are different Greek words in this verse.
  • 1 Corinthians 2:16 – “mind of the Lord” and we have the “mind of Christ”. (Isaiah 40:13 is a reference for this verse.) Please start in verse 10 and read through 16 for the complete thought. Your translation may have the word “thought” added for clarity. 1 Corinthians 2:11 Greek Text Analysis (biblehub.com)

The Heart of God

So, there does not seem to be many verses on the heart of God, or is there? Over the years many have told me what the heart of God is, needs, or wants. Were they in the know? (Please, this is a study.)

As I worked on this post, three ideas were reinforced in me. 1. His written Word reveals the heart of God. 2. Do not be quick to claim the heart of God. 3. The Holy Spirit is an integral part of the heart of God.

I give two of many verses that show what our God is like.

Psalm 86:5 (NASB) For You, Lord, are good, and ready to forgive, And abundant in mercy to all who call upon You.

Psalm 33:4-5 (NIV) For the word of the Lord is right and true; he is faithful in all he does. The Lord loves righteousness and justice; the earth is full of his unfailing love.

Ezekiel 28

Verse 2 in the NASB is, “Son of man, say to the leader of Tyre, ‘The Lord God says this: “Because your heart is haughty And you have said, ‘I am a god, I sit in the seat of gods In the heart of the seas’; Yet you are a mortal and not God, Although you make your heart like the heart of God.” (From Bible Gateway) This was the first verse I found that cited the heart of God. I did another search on this website Ezekiel 28:2 Hebrew Text Analysis (biblehub.com). Verse 6 also uses these words and ideas.

Tyre has a long and complicated place in Scripture, it starts with David and continues into the New Testament with Jesus and even into the Book of Acts. Joshua used it as a reference point. I will offer a “light look” at this verse.

  • Ezekiel was a captive in Babylon when God gave him this word to speak.
  • It appears to be written to a man. Most scholars will tell you this also refers to Satan.
  • The Complete Jewish Bible has, “You think that you think like God”. Many translations use this instead of the heart to portray the inner part of God.