Midras Yeremia 17:9: Aggadat Bereshit & Midrash Tehillim

Chapter 2: Prophets. [1] Thus says the Lord God, "On that day, thoughts will arise in your heart, and you will devise an evil plan." (Ezekiel 38:10) The Holy One, blessed be He, said to Gog, "Do not say that which you are thinking in your heart, as if I do not know. Jeremiah said, 'The heart is deceitful above all things and desperately wicked; who can know it?' (Jeremiah 17:9) I said to him, 'I created 248 organs in man, and all of them act according to their nature as I created them, except for the heart. The heart changes from moment to moment and twists itself. It is crooked and deceitful above all things.' The heart is crooked and deceitful above all things, and who can know it? I am the Lord who searches the heart (Jeremiah 17:10). I created you, and I know what you are. Do not say that since I created you, I know your heart. Even before I created you, I knew what you would think." This is why David commanded Solomon his son, saying, "And you, Solomon my son, know the God of your father and serve Him with a perfect heart and with a willing mind" (1 Chronicles 28:9). Why? Because the Lord searches all hearts and understands every intent of the thoughts (ibid). Rabbi Acha said, "What is the meaning of 'and understands every intent of the thoughts'? Even before a man forms his thoughts in his heart, the Holy One, blessed be He, knows what he is going to think." This is what He said to Sennacherib, "Because you rage against Me, and your arrogance has come up to My ears, therefore I will put My hook in your nose and My bridle in your lips, and I will turn you back by the way which you came" (Isaiah 37:29). Even before I created you, I knew what you were going to do, as it is said, "And your going out and your coming in I know" (ibid. 37:28), "When you made yourself stand up from your throne and do repentance, as it says 'The matter reached the king of Nineveh, and he arose from his throne, and removed his robe, and covered himself with sackcloth, and sat in ashes.' (Jonah 3:6) But because you became angry with me, as it says 'Because you raged against me...' (Isaiah 37:29), Rabbi Hiyya bar Kahana asked, 'What caused you to become angry with me?' God replied, 'Because I gave you peace and quiet. If you had been a launderer with a basket in your hand and a hoe on your shoulder and cleaning a pit, you would not have angered me.' Therefore it is said, 'Because you became angry, for what reason, and your arrogance has reached my ears.' (Isaiah 37:28) And what should I do? I will put my hook in your nose and my bit in your mouth (Isaiah 37:29), like how one leads a donkey. I did the same with Gog, as it says 'I am against you, Gog... and I will turn you back and put hooks into your jaws...' (Ezekiel 38:3-4). God said to him, 'Do not say that I do not know what you were destined to do. Look, I said to you many generations before.'" "As it is said, thus says the Lord God: Are you the one of whom I spoke in former days by my servants the prophets of Israel, who in those days prophesied for years that I would bring you against them? (Ezekiel 38:17) Do not say 'years,' but rather 'generations.' Many generations ago, I spoke to Eldad and Medad, who prophesied about you, as it is written, 'And there remained two men in the camp, the name of one was Eldad, and the name of the other was Medad: and the spirit rested upon them; and they were of them that were written, but went not out unto the tabernacle: and they prophesied in the camp' (Numbers 11:26). What does it mean that 'they prophesied, and did not continue'? They prophesied and said that after Gog and Magog there would be no more exile or servitude. Many generations before you, they prophesied about you. And not only that, but Ezekiel also prophesied about what you are planning in your heart, as it is written, 'Thus says the Lord God: It shall also come to pass, that at the same time shall things come into thy mind, and thou shalt think an evil thought' (Ezekiel 38:10). Therefore it is said, 'Scoffers set a snare for thyself' (Proverbs 9:12). I, the Lord, search the heart, I search it's thoughts (Jeremiah 17:10)."

"To the leader; a psalm of David," says Nabal. Why does the verse mention the heart and kidneys out of all the organs? Because the eyes follow the heart, and the ears, intestines, and 248 organs in a person all follow the heart. The kidneys advise the heart, and the heart decides. Therefore, only the heart and kidneys are mentioned, and the Lord examines the heart and tests the kidneys. Similarly, it says, "And you, Solomon, my son, know the God of your fathers and serve him with a perfect heart, for all hearts seek the Lord" (1 Chronicles 28:9). What are these "all hearts"? They are the two hearts that a person has, the good inclination and the evil inclination. Another explanation: "I am the Lord who searches the heart." The wicked say, "We dig deep in our hearts as if the Lord does not know." The Lord says to them, "Woe to those who hide their plans from me" (Isaiah 29:15). You think I am like you, that you can make a likeness to the Creator and plant it for the planter? "Will you be accounted as clay?" (Isaiah 29:16). Rabbi Levi said, "What is this like?" It is like an architect who built a city and made hiding places and chambers, but in the end, a ruler came to take the listers, and they fled and hid themselves in those rooms. He said to them, "Fools, before whom are you hiding? I am the artist who built the city, and I know all of its hiding places better than you." So too, the Lord says to the wicked, "Fools, before whom are you hiding? I created man, and I know all the chambers within him. Woe to those who dig deep to hide their plans from the Lord" (Isaiah 29:15). Rabbi Jeremiah said, "What is meant by 'The heart is deceitful above all things, and it is exceedingly perverse: who can know it?' (Jeremiah 17:9)?" And it is written afterward, "I the Lord search the heart" (Jeremiah 17:10). I search for the hearts and reveal the hidden things. And so Daniel says, "He reveals deep and secret things" (Daniel 2:22).

Chapter (67) 68: Prophets [1] "In the second year of King Darius, the word of the Lord came through the prophet Haggai" (Haggai 1:1). Like the scriptures say: "A voice of one calling: “In the wilderness prepare the way for the Lord; make straight in the desert a highway for our God. Every valley shall be raised up, every mountain and hill made low; the rough ground shall become level,the rugged places a plain. And the glory of the Lord will be revealed, and all people will see it together. For the mouth of the Lord has spoken.” (Isaiah 40:3-5) [also look: Eikhah Rabbah 1:23]. "A voice calls out [in the wilderness]" [edit: ] . Rabbi Levi said: "Why is it called 'in the wilderness'? Rather, it is in accordance with the practice of the world. Just as someone who lost a valuable object does not search for it in the place where it was lost, but rather in a public place where many people pass through, so too the Holy One, blessed be He, caused Israel to be lost in the wilderness, as it is said, 'In this wilderness they shall be consumed, and there they shall die' (Numbers 14:35), and there He goes and seeks them. A voice calls out in the wilderness, 'Prepare the way.' What should we prepare? He said to them, 'Remove the obstacles from among you.' As Laban said to Eliezer, 'Do not be delayed by me, now that the Lord has granted success to your journey. Let me see you off and send you on your way to my master' (Genesis 24:56). Laban had already uprooted [Rebecca] from here [Haran] for Eliezer's sake, as it is said, 'And I have set my face towards the Lord' (Genesis 24:27). And what about the place for the camels? He said to him, 'Rebecca does not steal in this place. And I have set my face towards the Lord.' And who will steal [the idols]? Rachel, who is destined to stand up [to Laban], will steal them and put them among the camels, as it is said, 'And Rachel took the teraphim * [*תְּרָפִים m.n. pl. a kind of household idols. Of uncertain origin. According to Neubauer and others, related to רֽפָאִים ᴵ (= shades, ghosts ).], and put them in the camel's saddle' (Genesis 31:34). Alternatively, 'And I have set my face towards the Lord' is a reference to the statue of Manasseh. And when was it [that it was hidden]? When Nebuchadnezzar went out to destroy it, as it is compared to a camel, as it is said, 'The burden upon beasts of burden' (Isaiah 21:7). The burden upon beasts of burden is the Messiah, and the burden upon a camel is Nebuchadnezzar. On the day that Nebuchadnezzar destroyed the Temple, the Messiah was born, as it is said, 'And Lebanon shall fall by a mighty one' (Isaiah 10:34), and 'a shoot shall grow out of the stock of Jesse' (Isaiah 11:1). Therefore, 'Prepare the way of the Lord, make straight in the wilderness a highway for our God' (Isaiah 40:3), straighten yourselves like those whom I straightened out in the wilderness who were crooked, 'and let every valley be exalted, and every mountain and hill be made low' (Isaiah 40:4), so that you will no longer be afraid of sin, as it is said, 'Look at your way in the valley' (Jeremiah 2:23)." Alternative interpretation: "All valleys will be exalted. I will carry Moshe, who was buried in a valley, as it is written 'And He buried him in the valley' (Deuteronomy 34:6). This can be compared to a wise man who entrusted his son to a scribe to learn Torah laws and teachings. When they came to appoint him as a wise man, he said, 'I swear that my son has not yet been appointed a wise man until his teacher comes and sanctifies him.' Similarly, Hashem entrusted Israel to Moshe and taught them everything, as it is written, 'See, I have taught you statutes and laws' (Deuteronomy 4:5). And the Messiah will come to redeem them, and Hashem says to him, 'I swear that my children will not be redeemed until Moshe Rabbeinu comes,' as it is written, 'I saw his beginning and ending' (Isaiah 41:4). Why do I carry him? 'Every valley shall be raised up, every mountain and hill shall be made low' (Isaiah 40:4). These are the kingdoms, as it is written, 'And I looked up and saw four chariots coming out from between two mountains' (Zechariah 6:1). And 'The crooked shall be made straight and the rough places smooth' (Isaiah 40:4). This refers to the evil inclination, as it is written, 'The heart is deceitful above all things' (Jeremiah 17:9). And 'The riders shall come down to the plain' (Isaiah 40:4). These are wicked people, as David says, 'You will hide them in the shelter of Your presence from the intrigues of men' (Psalms 31:21). Afterwards, 'And the glory of Hashem shall be revealed' (Isaiah 40:5), because in this world the prophets prophesy indirectly, saying, 'I saw Hashem standing by the altar' (Amos 9:1). Ezekiel says, 'The word of Hashem came to me and I saw visions by the river Kevar' (Ezekiel 1:1). Amos says, 'Behold, Hashem stood upon a wall with a plumb line' (Amos 7:7). "And the prophet Haggai prophesied about the Jews who were in Judah and Jerusalem" (Ezra 5:1), but in the future, everyone will see it, as it is said, "And the glory of the Lord will be revealed, and all flesh will see it together, for the mouth of the Lord has spoken" (Isaiah 40:5).