In Jeremiah 31:21, we read:
Set thee up waymarks, make thee high heaps: set thine heart toward the highway, even the way which thou wentest: turn again, O virgin of Israel, turn again to these thy cities.
(Jeremiah 31:21)
What does that mean?
Well, for today’s blog post, I’d like for us to zoom in and study more on this particular part of Jeremiah 31:21–
…….set thine heart toward the highway……
(Jeremiah 31:21 C)
What does it mean to “set” our hearts “toward the highway”?
Word Study!
Let’s do a word study on this.
Because, I mean, after all, my church’s pastor would always say that “you can learn a lot from words.”
Now, with that in mind, what does the word “set” mean?
According to Gesenius’ Hebrew-Chaldee Lexicon, the original Hebrew word for “set” actually means “to collect, put together.”
What about the “heart”?
Well, according to Strong’s Definitions, the word for “heart” in the original Hebrew has the figurative meaning of “the feelings, the will, and even the intellect.”
Lastly, what does the word “highway” mean?
Well, in the original Hebrew, the word “highway” actually means “a raised way, a ladder.”
When I saw that, it really reminded me of a statement from one of my favorite authors:
Let every power of your being go to each day’s work, improve each precious opportunity, appreciate the helps that God gives you, and make advancement up the ladder of progress step by step.
(Messages To Young People pg. 46)
I also like how the Lexham English Bible (LEB) version puts this particular part of Jeremiah 31:21–
……..set your mind to the main road…….
(Jeremiah 31:21)
So, now, how does all this apply to us?
Application
We are to collect and gather together every thought, feeling, motive, and impulse in our mind and have them focus on the main ladder of climbing upward to God’s will for us.
We are to fix the focal point of our hearts on all that matters in light of eternity.
It’s like how Colossians 3:2 puts it:
Set your affection on things above, not on things on the earth.
(Colossians 3:2)
But, dear reader, have you ever wondered WHY there’s so few who are putting their affections together and having them focus on eternal values?
Have you ever wondered why so few professed Christian young people are seriously desiring to focus on progressing in their faith and love for God and His calling on each of them?
Well, stay tuned for part 2 of this series, where we’ll look into WHY the majority–especially among professed Christian young people–don’t have much of an interest in living life with an eternal, spiritual focus!
For now, I wanna close out this blog post with a prayer:
Amen! Maranatha!