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Bible story · Ezekiel 36:22–28
A New Heart
Read it yourself in the King James Bible: Ezekiel 36:22–28 ↗
“A new heart also will I give you, and a new spirit will I put within you: and I will take away the stony heart out of your flesh, and I will give you an heart of flesh.”
Ezekiel 36:26 (KJV)The Story
Ezekiel was a priest living among the exiles in Babylon. His people had been carried away because, for generations, they had turned from God to idols. They had heard the prophets and refused to listen.
The problem wasn’t that they didn’t know God’s law. They knew it. The problem was their hearts. Their hearts had become hard, like stone.
So God made them a promise through Ezekiel. He would bring them home. But He would do something much deeper than that.
“Then will I sprinkle clean water upon you, and ye shall be clean: from all your filthiness, and from all your idols, will I cleanse you.”
“A new heart also will I give you, and a new spirit will I put within you: and I will take away the stony heart out of your flesh, and I will give you an heart of flesh.”
And He promised one more thing. “And I will put my spirit within you, and cause you to walk in my statutes.”
“And ye shall be my people, and I will be your God.”
Reflection
God didn’t tell Israel to try harder. They had tried, and failed, for centuries. Instead, God promised to do what they couldn’t: give them a new heart and put His own Spirit inside them.
More Bible stories from Ezekiel. More about: God’s Promises
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Day 15 of Book 8
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