Ezekiel 36:26 ~ Daily Devotion July 27 2023

Ezekiel 36:26 Devotional (Daily Bible Verse)

A New Heart

Ezekiel 36:26, which I have themed “A new heart“, is one of three (3) places in the Old Testament (Covenant) where God described and promised the New Covenant in Jesus Christ. This verse, therefore, is part of a very encouraging chapter in the Old Testament. Because in Ezekiel chapter 36, specifically verses 16 to 38, God promised to implement a one-sided and permanent covenant – He didn’t depend on the response of Israel and He wouldn’t, of course, depend on our response to the same.

Ezekiel 36:16-38

No wonder, Ezekiel recorded that God charged Israel for defiling the land He had given them through their unclean ways and deeds (Ezekiel 36:16-17). God, therefore, judged them (Ezekiel 36:18-19).

But His judgment profaned His name among the nations (Ezekiel 36:20-21). He, therefore, gathered them from the nations where they were scattered and restored them to their land, and cleansed them for the sake of His name (Ezekiel 36:22-26).

Thereafter, God put His Spirit within them to cause them to walk in His ways, and they dwelled in the land in abundance (Ezekiel 36:27-35). And God, in doing all the above, made the nations acknowledge that He is God (Ezekiel 33:36) and allowed Israel to ask Him for an increase (Ezekiel 36:37-38).

God’s cleansing then and now

Therefore, God, for the sake of His holy name among the nations, which Israel had profaned, vindicated the same by gathering and cleansing them. He, consequently, “gave them a new heart and put a new spirit in them, and removed from them their heart of stone and gave them a heart of flesh” (Ezekiel 36:26). And He “put His Spirit in them and moved them to follow His decrees so that they could be careful to keep His laws” (Ezekiel 36:27).

While God, during Ezekiel’s time, acted to vindicate His name among the nations, He, today, acts, through Jesus, to save you and me. He has never changed because just like He told Israel that He had no pleasure in their death courtesy of their sin, He has no pleasure in your death because of sin (Romans 6:23). And He has never changed because just like He had pleasure in their repentance, He still has pleasure in your repentance (Ezekiel 33:10-11).

Repentance

It is, therefore, clear that God’s desire is for you and me to repent and live repentantly. When Jesus, in Luke 15:3-7 told a parable about one of the people in the gathering losing one out of His one hundred sheep, He told them such a person would “leave the ninety-nine in the open country and go after the lost sheep until he finds it” (Luke 15:4). He also told them that “when such a person finds his sheep, he would joyfully put it on his shoulders and go home and call his friends and neighbors to rejoice with him because he found his lost sheep” (Luke 15:5-6).

Jesus, then, concluded that “in the same way, there will be more rejoicing in heaven over one sinner who repents than over ninety-nine righteous persons who do not need to repent” (Luke 15:7).

God’s promise of regeneration

God, therefore, promised to give you a new heart and put a new spirit within you. He promised to remove our sin-filled hearts (hearts of stone or rebellion) in favor of hearts of flesh (or obedience).

This is a process, not an event. It is the process known as regeneration.

New heart

Consequently, God’s plan/intention to give His people a new heart is revealed in Ezekiel 36:26, where He committed/promised to implement this plan all by Himself. And He did it in the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ.

Moreover, God’s new heart is the result of a changed heart. And a change of heart is the most powerful agent of growth and transformation in this world.

It is a change that takes place from the inside to the outside.

Prayer

Thank you, Lord, for the promise of a new heart. I’m grateful for what You have done and continue to do as You promised.

I thank You for the new heart that pleases You. In Jesus’ Name, Amen.

Prayer to Receive and Believe in Jesus Christ

Lord God, I want to possess the new heart that You promised. I, therefore, confess that I am a sinner who is separated from You.

I am truly sorry and want to turn away from my sinful (rebellious) past. Therefore please forgive me of my sins and keep me away from temptation and sin. I believe Your only Son, Jesus Christ, died for my sins, was resurrected from the dead, and is alive.

I invite You, Jesus, to come into my life and become the Lord of my life. Rule and reign in my heart from this day forward.

Please send Your Holy Spirit to help me obey You, and to do Your will for the rest of my life. I pray this in Jesus’ Name, Amen.

Daily Bible Reading

2 Samuel 21-22 (see How to Read the Bible in One Year or How to Read the Bible (for Beginners))