Exploring The Mind of God (Hebrew Word Study)Намуна

A Man After God’s Own Heart

But now thy kingdom shall not continue; the Lord hath sought him a man after His own heart.   (1 Samuel 13:14 KJV)

I have found David the son of Jesse, a man after Mine own heart, which shall fulfil all my will. (Acts 13:22 KJV)

As a teacher, one of the top ten questions I am asked is, “What does the Bible mean when it says that David was ‘a man after God’s own heart’?” When we take at good look at David’s life, that is an excellent question. He had multiple wives. He was apparently a lousy father, as evidenced from the uncontrollable behavior of two of his sons: Amnon raped his half-sister, Tamar, and her brother Absalom subsequently killed him. Absalom later started a rebellion and tried to usurp the kingdom from his father. David was also an adulterer and a murderer. (See 2 Samuel 11–18.) Additionally, he was “a man of war” who had so much blood on his hands that God would not allow him to build His temple. (See 1 Chronicles 22:7–8; 28:2–3.)

However, we read in 1 Kings 15:5 that David “did what was right in the eyes of the Lord..., except in the matter of Uriah the Hittite” (NKJV). The phrase “except in the matter” does not mean that David never committed any other sinful acts. Instead, it references a continued apostasy against God. It is similar to the phrase “turning aside from God.” All David’s other sins were transient—they were sudden and followed by repentance. However, this matter with Bathsheba was a willful, “I know it is wrong, but I am going to do it anyway” act. This act came after God had allowed David to enter the special, fragile areas of His heart and mind. David’s willful rebellion had bruised and broken God’s heart. 

Aligning Our Desires with God’s

A man after God’s heart is not a sinless man who locks himself in a room and prays and reads the Bible all day. In 1 Samuel 13:14, the Hebrew preposition kap, which is used before the word translated “heart,” levav, is traditionally rendered as “like” or “as” rather than “after.” So, we could render this phrase as “a man with a heart like God’s heart.” In the quote from Acts 13:22, the Greek preposition taka is used, which is often rendered as “according to.” Therefore, David was a man who had “a heart like God’s heart,” or “a heart according to God’s heart.” The Aramaic version of the Bible, called the Peshitta, uses the preposition kia, which is often rendered as “such as” or “as though.” David had “a heart such as God’s heart” or “as though it were God’s heart.”

For more than a decade, I have been on a quest to discover God’s heart. I can only say that I have caught a glimpse of the inner depths of God’s heart and mind, but there are higher levels, levels that are much more fragile but offer even greater intimacy with Him. The greater the intimacy we gain, the greater the responsibility we have to be as careful as possible not to break God’s heart.

As you approach these levels of His heart, you will find that it affects your emotions. You begin to weep over things that you would not normally feel any grief over, and to rejoice over things that would not normally bring you joy. But they are what cause God’s heart to grieve or rejoice, and as you approach those depths of His heart and mind, having, like David, a heart according to His heart, you will feel His grief or His joy. You will weep with Him and you will rejoice with Him—and you will feel His pleasure.

Intimacy Means Responsibility

In human relationships, when two people are intimate, they give one another access to a special part, a very fragile part, of their hearts and minds. They also give each other the opportunity to break their respective hearts. Is it not the same in our relationship with God? If He allows us to enter a very fragile part of His heart, could not our negative, self-centered attitudes or actions break His heart? Therefore, if we wish to enter into intimacy with God, we must be aware of our responsibility.

Do you want a heart after God? Do you want intimacy with Him? Then consider the great responsibility He will put in your hands when you enter special areas of His heart and mind. Expect to weep as much as you rejoice and to find yourself avoiding those annoying little sins you used to commit as you learn to fear God—that is, fear you might wound the fragile area of His heart that He has opened up to you. Remember that David said, “The secret of the Lord is with them that fear him” (Psalm 25:14 KJV).