Ezekiel 11 Devotional

Stone Hearts Made Flesh

“And I will give them singleness of heart and put a new spirit within them; I will remove their heart of stone and give them a heart of flesh,”Ezekiel 11:19 (BSB)

Twenty-five leaders boast that Jerusalem is a cooking pot and they are the meat, safe inside (11:1-3). God answers that he knows every thought in their minds and will judge them (11:5-11). When Pelatiah dies, Ezekiel falls on his face and asks whether God will make a complete end of the remnant (11:13).

The answer is full of hope. The people in Jerusalem had written off the exiles as far from the LORD (11:15). But God says that for a little while he himself has been a sanctuary for those exiles in the lands where they were scattered (11:16). He promises to gather them and to take out their hard, stony hearts and give them living, responsive ones, so they will walk in his ways (11:19-20). The change comes from his side. Paul says whoever is joined to Christ has been made new (2 Corinthians 5:17). The glory then leaves the city (11:23), but the promise stays. The heart you cannot change, God has promised to make new.

To think about: What part of your heart feels hard or unchangeable to you, and how does God's promise to make it new give you hope?