"Let not steadfast love and faithfulness forsake you; bind them around your neck; write them on the tablet of your heart.” Proverbs 3:3, ESV
I have always been intrigued by ancient writings archaeologists uncover on stones and walls of historical sites. I remember going on field trips in middle school and getting to see some of these artifacts and was awed at how they survived, allowing us to see and appreciate them thousands of years later. Learning of the way in which these writings had to be carved into the stone in the first place is so impressive. A lot of hard work and effort went into it, unlike the simplicity of just grabbing a pen and paper and quickly jotting something down. I would think that the people in those days must have been very intentional with what they wrote, and it had to have been something of great importance to warrant going through all the work it required.
A couple of places in the bible speak of times in which God Himself wrote on tablets of stone and plastered walls. One being the writing of the ten commandments when He visited Moses on Mt. Sinai, and the other when He wrote a message to King Belshazzar after the king performed sacrilegious acts against God. Of course, God being God, writing in stone isn’t a big deal by means of effort. However, both instances were huge in the messages He wanted to communicate, and He was serious about it. When something is written in stone, it is permanent and cannot be changed.
We know that God’s word is everlasting and will never pass away, in a sense, “written in stone”. He tells us in Proverbs 3 to write His words on the tablets of our hearts. The word, tablets, in this scripture is defined as slabs or tablets of stone. This tells me that if we write His word on the tablets of our heart, it remains permanent and is with us forever, wherever we go. If for some reason our world came to a place in which we no longer had physical or electronic access to the bible (unfortunately, there are countries where this is true), we would still never be without it as long as we have taken the time to write it on and hide it in our hearts.
Obviously we are speaking in metaphors, so how do we achieve this? Carving on tablets of stone took time, effort and perseverance. It also required an etch-able piece of stone. It is no different when it comes to writing His word on the tablets of our hearts. We must make sure our heart is a receptive “tablet” and put in the time, effort and perseverance it takes to read it, study it and put it to memorization. Start with scriptures that speak to you in the place you are currently in, or choose a specific topic, such as peace. Begin meditating on those specific scriptures and you will soon find that they have become a part of you, permanently written on the tablet of your heart.
Scripture
“Heaven and earth shall pass away but my words shall not pass away.” Luke 21:33, ESV
“My son, do not forget my teaching, but let your heart keep my commandments, for length of days and years of life and peace they will add to you. Let not steadfast love and faithfulness forsake you; bind them around your neck; write them on the tablet of your heart.” Proverbs 3:1-3, ESV
“For this is the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel after those days, declares the Lord: I will put my laws into their minds, and write them on their hearts, and I will be their God, and they shall be my people.” Hebrews 8:10
Prayer:
Lord, I pray that my heart would be teachable and receptive to learn from Your word. Show me ways in which I can write Your word on the tablets of my heart, whether it be through meditation, reading, studying or memorization.
Image by Heritage Auctions
https://historical.ha.com/heritage-auctions-press-releases-and-news/world-s-earliest-10-commandments-tablet-sold-for-850-000-by-heritage-auctions.s?releaseId=3057#:~:text=World's%20Earliest%2010%20Commandments%20Tablet%20Sold%20for%20%24850%2C000%20by%20Heritage%20Auctions,-Ancient%20inscribed%20stone&text=BEVERLY%20HILLS%2C%20California%20%E2%80%94%20The%20world's,for%20%24850%2C000%20Wednesday%20evening%2C%20Nov.
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