"Apply Your Hearts" To God's Word
When admonishing the sons of Israel gathered on the Plains of the Moab prior to entering the Promised Land, Moses said: " Apply your hearts to all the words that I am speaking in warning to you today, that you may command your sons to take care to do all the words of this law." (Deuteronomy 32:46) The Israelites were to "pay good heed." Only by being throughly familiar with God's commands could they inculcate them in their offspring. - Deuteronomy 6:6-8.
A key requirement for acquiring a pure heart is that of gaining accurate knowledge of God's will and purposes. There is only one source of that knowledge, the inspired Word of God. (2Timothy 3:16,17) Head knowledge alone, though, is not going to help us acquire a heart that pleases Jehovah. For knowledge to affect what we really are inside, we must 'apply our heart' to, or "take to heart," what we are learning. (Deuteronomy 32:46, An American Translation) How is this done? The psalmist David explains: " I have remembered days of long ago; I have meditated on all your activity; I willingly kept myself concerned with the work of your own hands." - Psalm 143:5.
We too should appreciatively meditate on Jehovah's activity. When reading the Bible or Bible-based publications, we need to ponder over such questions as: 'What does this teach me about Jehovah? What attributes of Jehovah do I see displayed here? What does this account teach me about what Jehovah likes and dislikes? What are the consequences of following a course that Jehovah loves as compared with following one that he hates? How does this information connect wiht what I already know?'


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