"Hearken; Behold, there went out a sower to sow: And it came to pass, as he sowed, some fell by the way side, and the fowls of the air came and devoured it up. And some fell on stony ground, where it had not much earth; and immediately it sprang up, because it had no depth of earth: But when the sun was up, it was scorched; and because it had no root, it withered away."

In Mark 4:14-17, the Jewish Messiah (Mashiach) Yeshua/Jesus explains the parable and the meaning of the stony ground (heart) as it is written:

"The sower soweth the word [Torah]. And these are they by the way side, where the word is sown; but when they have heard, Satan cometh immediately, and taketh away the word [Torah] that was sown in their hearts. And these are they likewise which are sown on stony ground; who, when they have heard the word [Torah], immediately receive it with gladness; And have no root in themselves, and so endure but for a time: afterward, when affliction or persecution ariseth for the word’s [Torah] sake, immediately they are offended."

Therefore, what are the characteristics of a stony heart according to the Jewish Messiah (Mashiach) Yeshua/Jesus?

• Hears the Word
• Receives the Word with gladness
• No root/endures for a time
• When affliction and persecution arises for the Torah/Word’s sake they are offended and turn away

The Children of Israel Received the Torah Upon a Stony Heart
When the G-d of Israel gave His Torah to the children of Israel through Moses (Moshe) at mount Sinai, they heard the Torah/Word and received it with gladness (Mark 4:16). In Exodus (Shemot) 24:3 it is written:

"And Moses came and told the people all the words of the Lord, and all the judgments: and all the people answered with one voice, and said, All the words which the Lord hath said will we do."

The joy and gladness of the hearts of the children of Israel to receive and obey the Word/Torah of the G-d of Israel is seen in a greater dimension by understanding the Hebrew meaning of the phrase, "All the words which the Lord has said will we do." In Hebrew the phrase reads, "Na’aseh v’Nishmah," which means, "We agree to do even before we have heard/listened !!"

The heart of the children of Israel was so eager to please the G-d of Israel that when the G-d of Israel said "Will you ..." the people said, YES! even before they heard/knew what the G-d of Israel was going to request of them. This should be the ATTITUDE of every member from the house of Israel (Christianity) and the house of Judah (Judaism)!! What the children of Israel lacked was the POWER of the indwelling Holy Spirit (Ruach HaKodesh) to fulfill their initial conviction to love and serve the G-d of Israel with all their heart, mind, soul and strength.

In Mark 4:17, the Jewish Messiah (Mashiach) Yeshua/Jesus taught that a stony heart becomes offended by affliction and persecution. This is exactly what happened to the children of Israel in the wilderness. Time after time they were tempted in the wilderness and became offended by their trials and tribulations and desired to return to Egypt (Mitzrayim).

When the twelve spies were sent to explore the land of Canaan, ten spies came back with an evil report that the children of Israel were not able to take the land of Canaan even though the G-d of Israel promised Abraham (Avraham) that He would give the descendents of Abraham (Avraham) the land of Canaan as their eternal inheritance. Therefore, the ten spies and those who believed their evil report became offended at the promise of the G-d of Israel to Abraham (Avraham) and desired to return to Egypt (Mitzrayim). In Numbers (Bamidbar) 14:1-4 it is written:

"And all the congregation lifted up their voice, and cried; and the people wept that night. And all the children of Israel murmured against Moses and against Aaron: and the whole congregation said unto them, Would God that we had died in the land of Egypt! Or would God we had died in this wilderness! And wherefore hath the Lord brought us unto this land, to fall by the sword, that our wives and our children should be a prey? were it not better for us to return into Egypt? And they said one to another, Let us make a captain, and let us return into Egypt."

This is the characteristic of a stony heart. The children of Israel received the Torah of the G-d of Israel with gladness (Exodus [Shemot] 24:3), however, when they encountered the trials and tribulations of the wilderness and they viewed with their natural eyes the giants in the land of Canaan, they became offended by the promise of the G-d of Israel to Abraham (Avraham) and desired to return to Egypt (Mitzrayim).

A stony heart rejects the Torah/Word of the G-d of Israel. In Zechariah (Zecharyah) 7:11-12 it is written:

"But they refused to hearken, and pulled away the shoulder, and stopped their ears, that they should not hear. Yea, they made their hearts as an adamant stone lest they should hear the law [TORAH], and the WORDS which the Lord of hosts hath sent in his spirit by the former prophets: therefore came a great wrath from the Lord of hosts."

The Ten Commandments were written on tablets (hearts) of stone (Exodus [Shemot] 24:12, 31:18, Deuteronomy [Devarim] 4:13-14, 5:22, 9:10-11).