Tuesday
Again the word of the Lord came to me: “Son of man, when the people of Israel were living in their own land, they defiled it by their conduct and their actions. Their conduct was like a woman’s uncleanness in my sight. So I poured out my wrath on them because they had shed blood in the land and because they had defiled it with their idols. I dispersed them among the nations, and they were scattered through the countries: I judged them accordingly to their conduct and their actions. . . .”
Therefore say to the house of Israel, “This is what the Sovereign Lord says: It is not for your sake, O house of Israel, that I am going to do these things, but for the sake of my holy name, which you have profaned among the nations where you have gone. . . .”
“For I will take you out of the nations; I will gather you from all the countries and bring you back into your own land. I will sprinkle clean water on you, and you will be clean; I will cleanse you from all impurities and from all your idols. I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit in you; I will remove from you your heart of stone and give you a heart of flesh. And I will put my Spirit in you and move you to follow my decrees and be careful to keep my laws. You will live in the land I gave your forefathers; you will be my people, and I will be your God. I will save you from all your uncleanness. I will call for the grain and make it plentiful and will not bring famine upon you. I will increase the fruit of the trees and the crops of the field, so that you will no longer suffer disgrace among the nations because of famine.”
(Ezekiel 36:16-19, 22, 24-30, NIV)
Following Ezekiel’s pronouncements of judgment against Judah and the nations surrounding the southern kingdom, God uses his prophet to pass on words of consolation. Even though God’s righteous judgment means that Jerusalem will be destroyed, as it was during Ezekiel’s lifetime, God still offers words of hope to his faithful followers.
Today’s verses describe the promise that God will someday gather his people together and purify them once again. The beautiful picture of what Jesus the Messiah subsequently offers his followers is sketched for us here. Ezekiel graphically depicts shalom in all its fullness when he describes plentiful grain, fruitful harvests, the end of hunger and famine, and security in the land. A “new heart,” a heart of “flesh” not “stone,” is promised. And this heart transplant will be accompanied by the presence of the Holy Spirit.
Does this prophecy remind you of David’s plea to God, following his confessed sin with Bathsheba, to “create in me a pure heart and renew a steadfast spirit within me. Do not cast me from your presence or take your Holy Spirit from me” (Psalms 51:10-11)?
Shortly after his resurrection, Jesus appears to the disciples who are hiding behind locked doors in Jerusalem. In fulfillment of the promises of Ezekiel, he gives his disciples the gift of peace and empowers them with the Holy Spirit (John 20:19-23).
Prayer
God of History, we thank you for the promise that your Spirit will come and remove our hearts of stone and give us a heart of flesh, a heart open and teachable. Thank you for the Messiah who, following his resurrection, offered us the presence of the Holy Spirit as our Comforter and Enabler. Amen.