Number four on the list … “a heart that deviseth wicked imaginations” … is not quite as precise as the first three.

But we do have to remember that (in the Hebrew mind) one’s “heart” does not just pump blood. It is also the seat of one’s thinking. Jesus believes so too. “And, behold, certain of the scribes said within themselves, This man (Jesus) blasphemeth. And Jesus knowing their thoughts said, Wherefore THINK YE EVIL IN YOUR HEARTS?” Matthew 9:3-4

Solomon also, in Proverbs 23:7 wrote: “For as he (the wicked man) THINKETH IN HIS HEART, so is he: Eat and drink, saith he to thee; but his heart is not with thee.”

So, back to our Text, God hates anyone whose heart thinks upon evil or wicked things. Thinks on them constantly, anyway. Habitually, as a lifestyle.

“This thing doth the Lord hate … a heart that deviseth wicked imaginations.”

Now, what does the verb “devise” mean? Spelled “charash” in Hebrew, it means “to plough, to engrave, to cut into something.” Then it comes to mean “to imagine” something. TO THINK UPON A MATTER SO MUCH THAT IT BECOMES SECOND NATURE TO YOU. YOU SELDOM GET IT OUT OF YOUR MIND. YOU ALLOW THAT WICKED THOUGHT TO “MAKE A RUT” IN YOUR MENTAL LANDSCAPE!

Wow!

Even the word “wicked” is interesting here. “Aven” indeed means “wickedness,” but is derived from a root verb meaning “to pant!” So it represents sin about which a man gets “excited!” He is that “fervent” (to the point of breathing hard) in his pursuit of unrighteousness!

And “imaginations?” Long noun, “machashabah.” Once (yes, only one time in the whole Bible) I noticed it means “inventions!” Six times it means “purposes.”

Yes, today there are people who “invent” new ways of being wicked.

New avenues of leading people astray!

Ways of alluring people away from God and His Word!

And … GOD HATES THEM!

Let’s pray. “O Lord, let our hearts think on good things! On things true, honest, just, pure, lovely, and of good report. We sincerely ask this in Jesus’ Name.” Based on Philippians 4:8.

Amen.

— Dr. Mike Bagwell