“And I will give them an heart to know me, that I am the LORD: and they shall be my people, and I will be their God: for they shall return unto me with their whole heart.”
Opening Summary
Jeremiah 24:7 is a beautiful promise of spiritual restoration and inward transformation.
God does not merely promise to change the circumstances of His people. He promises something deeper:
“I will give them an heart to know me.”
The greatest restoration is not merely returning to a place, recovering possessions, or escaping difficulty. It is having the heart restored to a right relationship with God.
The verse contains four powerful promises:
A heart to know God.
A people belonging to God.
God dwelling in covenant relationship with His people.
A wholehearted return to Him.
The Context of Jeremiah 24
Jeremiah 24 contains the vision of two baskets of figs.
One basket contained very good figs.
The other contained very bad figs.
The good figs represented those from Judah who had been carried away into Babylonian captivity.
Surprisingly, God says concerning the exiles:
“Whom I have sent out of this place into the land of the Chaldeans for their good.”
— Jeremiah 24:5 KJV
Their captivity was painful, but God had not abandoned them.
He promised:
“For I will set mine eyes upon them for good...”
— Jeremiah 24:6 KJV
Then comes verse 7:
“And I will give them an heart to know me...”
Their restoration would involve much more than returning geographically.
God intended to accomplish something within them.
“I Will Give Them”
Once again, notice God's initiative:
“I will give...”
This same pattern appears repeatedly in Jeremiah and Ezekiel.
God says:
“I will give them one heart.”
“I will put my fear in their hearts.”
“A new heart also will I give you.”
Now:
“I will give them an heart to know me.”
The emphasis is grace.
God is not merely demanding transformation.
He is promising to work within His people.
“An Heart to Know Me”
This is the center of the verse.
God does not merely say:
“I will give them more information about Me.”
He says:
“an heart to know me.”
There is a difference between knowing about God and truly knowing God.
A person can know biblical history.
A person can understand theological terminology.
A person can memorize Scripture.
A person can participate in religious activity.
Yet God desires something deeper:
A heart that knows Him.
Biblical knowledge of God is relational and covenantal. It produces reverence, trust, love, obedience, and faithfulness.
Knowing God Begins in the Heart
The heart represents the inner person—our desires, intentions, affections, thoughts, and commitments.
Therefore, God addresses the heart.
This connects with Jeremiah 9:24:
“But let him that glorieth glory in this, that he understandeth and knoweth me...”
The greatest knowledge we can possess is not merely knowledge about the world around us.
It is knowing the LORD.
“That I Am the LORD”
God says He will give them a heart to know:
“that I am the LORD.”
This speaks of recognizing God's identity, authority, faithfulness, holiness, and covenant relationship with His people.
Israel's history had repeatedly demonstrated the danger of acknowledging the LORD while pursuing other gods.
But when God gives His people a heart to know Him, their understanding becomes more than outward confession.
They begin to recognize:
He alone is God.
He is faithful.
He is holy.
He is worthy of obedience.
He is worthy of wholehearted devotion.
“They Shall Be My People”
God then declares:
“they shall be my people.”
This is covenant language.
God's purpose was not merely to produce individuals who possessed religious knowledge.
He desired a people who belonged to Him.
Throughout Scripture this relationship is expressed beautifully:
God belongs to His people, and His people belong to Him.
This is more than religion.
It is relationship.
“I Will Be Their God”
The promise continues:
“and I will be their God.”
This is one of the great covenant declarations of Scripture.
The greatest gift God gives His people is ultimately Himself.
The greatest blessing is not:
wealth,
possessions,
land,
success,
or even deliverance from trouble.
The greatest blessing is being able to say:
“He is my God, and I belong to Him.”
“They Shall Return Unto Me”
The people had wandered.
They had rebelled.
They had experienced judgment.
But God says:
“they shall return unto me.”
This is the language of repentance and restoration.
Repentance is not merely feeling sorry about what happened.
Biblically, repentance involves turning back toward God.
The destination of repentance is not merely improved behavior.
It is restored fellowship with God.
God says:
“return unto me.”
“With Their Whole Heart”
This may be the most searching part of the verse.
God does not say:
“They shall return unto me partially.”
He says:
“with their whole heart.”
The opposite of wholehearted devotion is a divided heart.
A divided heart wants God while continuing to cling to whatever competes with Him.
But God promised that His restored people would return with their whole heart.
This connects directly with Deuteronomy 6:5:
“And thou shalt love the LORD thy God with all thine heart...”
God has always desired wholehearted devotion.
From a Divided Heart to a Whole Heart
There is a beautiful progression in the passages we have been studying.
Zechariah 7:12 describes people making their hearts like an adamant stone.
Ezekiel 11:19 promises the removal of the stony heart and the giving of a heart of flesh.
Ezekiel 36:26 promises a new heart and a new spirit.
Jeremiah 32:39 promises one heart and one way.
Jeremiah 32:40 promises God's fear placed within the heart.
And now Jeremiah 24:7 promises:
“An heart to know me.”
These passages reveal a consistent biblical truth:
God is concerned with the heart.
God Does More Than Change Circumstances
The exiles undoubtedly wanted their circumstances changed.
They wanted to leave Babylon.
They wanted their homeland restored.
They wanted Jerusalem restored.
But God was accomplishing something deeper.
He wanted their hearts.
Sometimes our prayer is:
“Lord, get me out of this situation.”
But God may also be asking:
“What is this situation revealing about your heart?”
We may desire changed circumstances while God desires a changed person.
Deliverance is wonderful.
Restoration is wonderful.
But the greatest work may be what God accomplishes within us during the process.
Knowing God Changes How We Live
A heart that truly knows God cannot remain indifferent toward Him.
Knowing Him produces:
reverence,
trust,
love,
obedience,
humility,
and faithfulness.
The goal of Bible study therefore should never be merely:
“I learned something new.”
The deeper goal should be:
“Through His Word, I am coming to know God more deeply.”
Knowledge that fills the mind but never reaches the heart is incomplete.
God says:
“I will give them an heart to know me.”
Personal Application
Jeremiah 24:7 invites us to ask:
Do I merely know about God, or am I growing in knowing Him?
Is my heart divided, or am I returning to God wholeheartedly?
Do I seek God Himself, or mainly what I want Him to give me?
When God corrects me, do I return to Him or resist Him?
Is studying Scripture increasing my knowledge only, or deepening my relationship with God?
A powerful prayer from this passage is:
Lord, give me a heart to know You.
Not merely to know facts about You.
Not merely to speak religious words.
Not merely to appear spiritual before others.
Give me a heart that truly knows You.
Remove hardness.
Remove divided loyalties.
Remove anything that continually draws my heart away from You.
Teach me to return to You with my whole heart.
Jeremiah 24:7 reminds us that the greatest transformation is not simply when God changes what is happening around us.
