39. We can see that the Lord is called “the God of Israel” and “the God of Jacob” from the following passages:

Moses took the blood and sprinkled it on the people and said, “This is the blood of the covenant that Jehovah has made with you.” And they saw the God of Israel, under whose feet there was something like a work of sapphire stone and like the substance of heaven. (Exodus 24:8-10)

The crowds were amazed when they saw the mute speaking, the lame walking, and the blind seeing; and they glorified the God of Israel. (Matthew 15:31)

Blessed is the Lord God of Israel, because he has visited and freed his people Israel, when he raised up the horn of our salvation in the house of David. (Luke 1:68-69)

I will give you treasures of darkness and the hidden wealth of secret places so that you may recognize that I, Jehovah, who have called you by your name, am the God of Israel. (Isaiah 45:3)

... the house of Jacob, people who swear by the name of Jehovah and of the God of Israel, for they are called by the name of the holy city and rely on the God of Israel: Jehovah Sabaoth is his name. (Isaiah 48:1-2)

Jacob will see his descendants in his midst. They will sanctify my name and will sanctify the Holy One of Jacob; and they will fear the God of Israel. (Isaiah 29:23)

In the very last of days many people will come and say, “Come, and let us go up to the mountain of Jehovah, to the house of the God of Jacob, who will teach us about his ways so that we may walk in his paths.” (Isaiah 2:3; Micah 4:2)

... so that all flesh may know that I, Jehovah, am your Savior, and your Redeemer, the Mighty One of Jacob. (Isaiah 49:26)

I, Jehovah, am your Savior and your Redeemer, the Powerful One of Jacob. (Isaiah 60:16)

In the presence of the Lord you give birth, O earth, in the presence of the God of Jacob. (Psalms 114:7)

David swore to Jehovah and made a vow to the Mighty One of Jacob, “[God forbid] that I enter the tent of my home until I have found a place for Jehovah, a dwelling for the Mighty One of Jacob.” We have heard of him in Ephrata [that is, Bethlehem]. (Psalms 132:2-3, 5-6)

Blessed be the God of Israel; the whole earth will be full of his glory. (Psalms 72:18-19)

There are also many other passages where the Lord is called “God of Israel, ” “Redeemer, ” and “Savior, ” such as Luke 1:47; Isaiah 45:15; 54:5; Psalms 78:35; plus many other places where we find only “the God of Israel, ” as in Isaiah 17:6; 21:10, 17; 24:15; 29:23; Jeremiah 7:3; 9:15; 11:3; 13:12; 16:9; 19:3, 15; 23:2; 24:5; 25:15, 27; 29:4, 8, 21, 25; 30:2; 31:23; 32:14-15, 36; 33:4; 34:2, 13; 35:13, 17-19; 37:7; 38:17; 39:16; 42:9, 15, 18; 43:10; 44:2, 7, 11, 25; 48:1; 50:18; 51:33; Ezekiel 8:4; 9:3; 10:19-20; 11:22; 43:2; 44:2; Zephaniah 2:9; Psalms 41:13; 59:5; 68:8.

The heart means love. A good heart means love to the Lord and to the neighbor, while a hard or stony heart means the love of self or the world -- riches and things. When the psalmist asks the Lord to search his heart, he wants the Lord to see what it is that he loves. And we are what we love. What we eat may form our earthly body, but it's only temporary, what we love forms our spiritual body, beautiful or ugly as we have chosen. It's interesting to note that the first multi-cellular motion of our embryo is the pulsating that starts in a twist of blood vessel that is to become our heart, and the last motion of our natural body is our heartbeat. It is there for all of our natural life. And of course there is a beating heart in our spiritual bodies when we come to put them on.