Hello again, friends! I hope you’ve been enjoying this foundational wellness series so far, and that you have found new things to think about, and ways to grow your personal foundation in this Winter season. If you’ve missed the previous emails, you can find them here and here or check your email boxes.
I know these emails are really information dense, so please go read the previous emails first as they lay the groundwork for everything we’re discussing here, and give you a better idea of what to expect. We have to nourish our minds, bodies and souls, and our soul (spiritual) food is the foundation for everything else. We’re going to be discussing Proverbs 17:22 in its original Hebrew, and then in future emails, I will be sharing how I practically apply this verse in my own life to seek true health and wellness. We’ll get spiritual food followed by the food our minds and bodies need, too.
I do think it’s important for me to reiterate: I am not a biblical scholar. I was raised a Christian, and my dad was a preacher for much of my childhood. That said, my current theology and interpretation of the Bible are definitely my own and do not fall in line with any particular religion or christian denomination. Everything I’m about to discuss is my interpretation of what the Bible is telling us based on history, context and the original language it’s written in, and is not based on any religious theology, although areas may overlap. I am not trying to convince anyone of anything. I’m just sharing my own takeaways. I’m on my own journey, learning my own lessons, and everything I’m talking about here are things that I need to hear for myself. As always, I point you back to God, the Creator of All Things. Don’t take my word for any of this. Pray about it and seek discernment for yourself.
As I mentioned in the last email, we know the Bible has gone through many translations, and the fact it’s important to understand the original language and context of what you’re reading, is why I like to study scripture by looking into the original Hebrew (Old Testament) or Greek (New Testament), so I have a better understanding of what a verse is truly saying. I’m certainly not a Hebrew expert and I’m relying on other sources for help. For my breakdown below, I’ve used the Blue Letter Bible website and the Strong’s Concordance as my main reference for the Hebrew words and meanings. I’m going to break down what each word means, and then we’ll tie it all together at the end. The pronunciation for each Hebrew word is in parentheses after the word. For any english words that I define further, I just googled the word and used the Oxford Languages or Miriam-Webster definition that came up.
“A cheerful heart does good like medicine; but a broken spirit makes one sick.” Proverbs 17:22
I have never been able to find this exact translation of this verse, so to keep things simple, I will be using the King James Version of this verse for the purposes of our study:
“A merry heart doeth good like a medicine: but a broken spirit drieth the bones.” Proverbs 17:22 KJV
– Merry – The Hebrew word used here is śāmēaḥ (saw-may’-akh). This a verbal adjective that means joyful, merry, glad, or those who rejoice. In context throughout the Bible, it is used to denote showing joy or being in thankfulness to God.
Starting at the beginning of the verse with the phrase “merry (cheerful) heart.” We see that merry here means exactly what we think – joyful, merry, glad; but we also have to note that it means showing joy and being in thankfulness to God. It is an active situation here. Actively choosing joy and showing our gratitude to the Creator of All Things. This isn’t about toxic positivity or shoving our feelings down either. We have to actively do the work, and then actively choose to get our minds right, and our thoughts under control. Let’s look to the Bible to dig a little deeper on this active work. Ecclesiastes 10:18 KJV says, “By much sloth the building decayeth; and through idleness of the hands the house droppeth through.” The simple meaning of this verse is that when you’re lazy, when you don’t have self-discipline, the state of your house goes into decay. The word house used here is the Hebrew word bayiṯ (bah’-yith) which means house, home, inwards (as in places or parts) and temple. Our bodies are our soul’s home and the temple in which the Creator of All Things meets with us, and work is required of us to keep our bodily homes from falling into decay. The word bayiṯ (bah’-yith) specifically refers to not only temples, but the inwards (as in places or parts). Our inner places – all those places where we carry our emotions, traumas, guilt, joy, love, hope, all of it. Whether physical, spiritual, or emotional, there is work demanded of us to keep our bodies, our temples, in good working order. Choosing to do the work and living in thankfulness is an active, ongoing, minute-by-minute, day-by-day choice, but is also a requirement if you want true healing and wellness. Choosing to be joyful, merry, glad, or being one that rejoices – even in the face of hardships – requires work on our part, but it mostly requires a relationship with God, The Creator of All Things. It’s in God and spiritual teachings that we are able to find solid ground in the midst of the storm, and in turn rejoice in the storms. “Count it all joy, my brothers, when you meet trials of various kinds, for you know that the testing of your faith produces steadfastness. And let steadfastness have its full effect, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking in nothing.” James 1:2-4, ESV
I know all of this is easier said than done – especially when you are dealing with chronic illness or other stress-filled life situations. This is truly a one step at a time – baby steps – situation. Okay, let’s move on to the word heart used in Proverbs 17:22.
– Heart – The Hebrew word used here is lēḇ (lave). This masculine noun can mean the actual heart organ, but it is used just as often to mean our inner man, mind, will, understanding.
- inner man, mind, will, heart, understanding
- inner part, midst
- midst (of things)
- heart (of man)
- soul, heart (of man)
- mind, knowledge, thinking, reflection, memory
- inclination, resolution, determination (of will)
- conscience
- heart (of moral character)
- as seat of appetites
- as seat of emotions and passions
- as seat of courage
- inner part, midst
As you can see, this word can mean the literal heart organ, but this also refers to the innermost parts of our being – our heart and soul, our mind, knowledge, thinking, reflection, memory, inclination, resolution, determination, will, conscience, moral character, the seat of appetites (this is all appetites – for food, sex, money, entertainment, desires, dreams, all of it), the seat of our emotions, our passions, and our courage. Whew! That word really means a lot, and we really need to take it all in.
When you put “merry heart” together in the context of this verse, you really start to get a sense of the deeper meanings at play here. We established that we have to do the work and choose to actively be joyful and in thankfulness to God, but when you look at the meanings of the word heart, you really see all the areas in which we have to do the work in order to get to the medicine mentioned in this verse. The word heart does mean the physical organ of the heart, so yes, we do have to take care of our physical heart, but there are a lot of other areas this word implies that we have to work on, and I’d argue that these “innermost” areas are just as, if not more, important than the physical heart. Let’s just start at the beginning of the list of meanings for the innermost heart and work through it.
Our soul – our very essence, the work of our souls is why we are on this earth, in these bodies. If our soul is disconnected from God, its source, then the drying up of bones is what follows. This verse clearly demonstrates how everything is connected. Next up we have our mind – knowledge, thinking, reflection, memory. If we are to have merry hearts, that means having merry minds. We have to think and reflect on things that are good and pleasing to God. If we are constantly letting worry, anxiety, anger, frustration, events from the past, any other emotion, or ego take over, then we are walking a path to dis-ease in our bodies. The merry heart includes our inclination, resolution, determination, will, conscience, moral character. In other words, if any of these areas are out of alignment with God’s calling and purpose for you, and if you are mired in worry and anxiety and intrusive thoughts, you are going to experience some level of dis-ease. The last few meanings really stand out to me. These describe the heart as the “seat” of our appetites, our emotions, passions and courage.
We have to look at the definition of the word “seat” to dig deeper here. Seat is a noun that means several things, but a few of the definitions stand out in context of what we’re reading here.
1. A place in an elected legislative or other body
2. A principle site or location
3. A part of a machine that supports or guides another part
Our bodies are our temples. This is made reference to multiple times in the Bible. Our bodies are the place our souls reside while we’re in this lifetime. Our bodies are the place that holds our sacred light. Our souls are our direct connection to God, the Creator of All Things who meets with us to guide us, lead us, comfort us. We see how this fits in with those definitions above. If our “heart”, our innermost being, is the seat of our appetites, emotions, passions and courage, we see that these things are truly what guide everything we do. They are the part of our machine that supports and guides the other parts. If our appetites – as I said before, appetite can cover a range of things: food, money, power, control, sex, Western beauty standards, etc. – are out of balance and out of alignment, we have the potential to be doing a lot of damage to our bodies and causing dis-ease and a drying of the bones. The same is to be said for our emotions and passions. If we are controlled by, and act on, all of our emotions (positive and negative), there are going to be health consequences. There is a balance to be found for all of these things. Balance in our appetites, balance in our emotions and passions. We have to feel our feelings, that’s for sure, but we have to process them, deal with them, release them from our bodies and move on. If we stuff emotions and carry them with us, dis-ease will follow. Look back at the definition of heart. Think about the implications of courage being a factor in our well-being. If we don’t have the courage to live as God calls us to live, or to deal with our traumas and issues, or to set boundaries for ourselves in areas of our lives that don’t serve us or in relationships that don’t serve us, we will have dis-ease. And on the flip side of that, if we live in fear, and let anxiety and worry take over as our guide, dis-ease will soon follow. The fact that all of these things are the “seat” of our innermost being and at the “heart” of our wellness is powerful.
When I saw the word seat, I immediately thought about the mercy seat that is on the Ark of the Covenant in the Tabernacle. I know that I’m taking us in a lot of different directions right now, but it’s all connected. I strongly believe that there is a correlation between the Tabernacle we read about in Exodus, and our own bodies as temples. That is a study in itself, but I think in this context, it warrants talking about the mercy seat in the Tabernacle for just a moment. You can read about it fully in Exodus 25. The short version is that the Tabernacle was to be the mobile version of the Temple. As they wandered the desert, the Israelites could set up, take down, and move the temple as they moved around. In the innermost room of the Tabernacle was the Ark of the Covenant. The Israelites were to build the Ark of the Covenant and the Tabernacle to exact specifications. On top of the Ark were two cherubim facing each other, and between their wings was the mercy seat – a spot on top of the Ark where God’s spirit would meet with His people. The Ark was to carry certain items that would remind the Israelites of God’s love, provision and mercy. The Ark had to be carried by poles because if you touched it, you would immediately die. The Ark was an object to be highly protected, highly respected and treated as holy. I recommend reading the book of Exodus to have a better understanding. I have my suspicions that the Ark of the Covenant is a mirror for the “seat” of our souls – for all of the things we just talked about above. I think perhaps that in our own personal Arks are all of the things that guide us – our appetites, our emotions, our passions, our courage, our experiences, our lessons and learnings, our values and the things we hold dear. As you can see, there’s a lot of power in what we choose to store in our Arks because they have a direct effect on our health. We have to protect our souls and the things we carry in our “hearts”.
In Hebrew, the word used for mercy seat is kapōreṯ (kap-po’-reth). This feminine noun means mercy seat or place of atonement. Note first that the word itself is feminine. One of the traits of the feminine is being receptive (like a vessel), which further helps us to see how the Mercy Seat of the Ark (a Vessel) could be the place where we carry what’s most important, and God meets us there. We see the word atonement means reparation for a wrong or injury. The word reparation means the making of amends for a wrong one has done, or otherwise helping someone who has been wronged, or the action of repairing something.
We can’t skim over the fact that part of the definition of reparations is helping someone who has been wronged. If we’re lashing out at others or manipulating people or being passive-aggressive or doing any other unkind things to others, and we aren’t making amends and fixing those things, we may see physical symptoms. It’s important to note that sometimes we can’t fix relationships with other people for a variety of reasons. In those cases, we have to do the work of giving ourselves forgiveness and then actually changing the behavior and not repeating it. It’s an area many of us, myself included, get wrong. Whether we’re going to God or to others for forgiveness of a wrongdoing, an apology or repentance means nothing if we don’t actually change our behavior. We have to do the work of choosing to be different – choosing a merry heart and living in that fully. We also have to note that the definition of reparations says “or otherwise helping someone who has been wronged.” It’s not always about us. If we see someone who has been wronged (by someone else) out in the world, we’re called upon to help them. We need to do the work in ourselves, and the work of helping others along the way. All of this speaks to the idea of karma, or “what goes around, comes around.” We have to treat others the way we want to be treated – not only because it’s the loving thing to do, but because living outside of that causes imbalance that leads to dis-ease. We have to tap into that feminine energy of the mercy seat, or kapōreṯ (kap-po’-reth), and do the internal, reflective, nurturing, compassionate work of helping ourselves and others.
Can you start to see the bigger picture here when it comes to our physical health and well-being? It’s intimately connected to our spiritual and emotional being. And by connected, I mean they are all one in the same. When we have a symptom or an illness, we have to go to the source – and that’s inside ourselves, at the mercy seat of our souls, where the Creator of All Things waits for us. We have to pray and seek discernment and clarity about what is out of balance inside our Arks. We have to work to identify what we’re carrying in our Ark that is causing dis-ease in the physical realm. Again, we know what belongs in the Ark: our balanced, God-seeking appetites, emotions, passions, courage. If we’re carrying around trauma, negative emotions, negative thoughts, unkind or negative actions towards others and so forth, the dis-ease will be felt physically. Our symptoms are our signs that things are out of balance somewhere. And this is not to discount that there aren’t actual physical imbalances and other things like toxins, chemicals, allergens and other outside factors that have to be considered. Those things do exist and have to be factored in when we’re looking at our health. I think we have to also fully realize how important a “merry heart” is when it comes to being our medicine.
We should note here that the word lēḇ (lave) is a masculine noun. We need to realize that the energy of the “heart” is masculine. It is assertive, direct, strong and forceful. That means that making changes in this area can be really hard. It can take a lot of work to change habits, thoughts, desires and so on. Our bad habits can be stubborn and hard to change. Our traumas and hurts really stick with us, and rooting those out and dealing with those can be tough. The truth is, though, that we want that masculine energy here. Once we do the work, and we’ve made those changes to the seat of our souls and we are living in the merry heart, that masculine energy keeps all of those things steady, stable, and protected.
We’ve only talked about the phrase “merry heart” so far, and let’s be real, I’ve just scratched the surface of what these words mean, and what this verse is telling us. I’ll send out the next email in the series soon, but in the meantime, please take the time to pray, reflect, seek discernment and study. Think about the phrase “merry heart” and what it truly means. Think about your own life and what areas might be out of balance and how that could be manifesting in physical symptoms. Think about what small steps you can start taking to live in that “merry heart” state more often than not. As always, take what resonates with you, and leave the rest here.
“Rejoice in the Lord always; again I will say, rejoice. Let your reasonableness be known to everyone. The Lord is at hand; do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus. Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is lovely, whatever is commendable, if there is any excellence, if there is anything worthy of praise, think about these things. What you have learned and received and heard and seen in me – practice these things, and the God of peace will be with you.” Philippians 4:4-9, ESV (emphasis mine)
Reflection
Do you have a merry heart? Do you actively choose joy and to be in thankfulness to God? What do you actively think about and focus on in your mind? Have you done the work to release emotional traumas and baggage? Are your passions and desires in or out of alignment? Are there ways in which you want to do better when it comes to doing the work of helping yourself or others?
How do you interpret the words and meanings we’ve covered so far? Do you see anything different or does something different resonate with you?
Be sure to send me an email and let me know your thoughts, or leave a comment for group discussion. I’d love to connect with you, hear your thoughts, or offer you encouragement and support.
I’ll be back in this space soon and we’ll discuss the word for “cure” that’s only used ONCE in the entire Bible.
With gratitude, sending love and blessings,
Kelly
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