All week, we have been talking about Scripture’s call to love God with all of our heart and soul. As you have been studying Scripture and reflecting on this calling, you may have realized that obeying it is no easy task. You see, loving God with our entire being, our heart and soul, goes against our sinful nature. On our own, we love ourselves and live to appease our sinful nature. The good news from Scripture today is that God can do the impossible. He can change our hearts and help us live for Him.
Throughout Scripture, we are reminded that God is capable of changing the human heart, bringing restoration and forgiveness. One place we read about how God changes hearts is in Ezekiel 36. This book of the Bible was written when the people of Judah were taken as captives in Babylon as a result of their sin against God. In the midst of their captivity, God reminded them that there was still hope for His people through the prophet Ezekiel. He explained in this passage of Scripture through Ezekiel that because of their sin, He had allowed them to be in exile. During their exile, God explained that they had brought shame upon His name and left their enemies saying things like, “These are the people of the Lord, but He couldn’t keep them safe in His own land!” (verse 20). Their enemies were mocking the fact that God’s people were in exile. They did not realize that God had allowed His people to be in exile because of their sin and that in His power, he could rescue them from exile. As a result of His concern for His holy name, God promised to bring them back to their land (verse 22). He also promised to bring forgiveness and change the hearts of His people. He continued saying through the prophet Ezekiel, “I will sprinkle clean water on you, and you will be clean. Your filth will be washed away, and you will no longer worship idols. And I will give you a new heart, and I will put a new spirit in you” (verses 25-26). God was going to bring His people back to Himself and change their hearts, nothing short of a miracle. Only God can change an unrepentant, disobedient heart so that it turns back to Him. What a gracious God we serve!
My friend, God is in the business of changing unrepentant hearts; He even changed the unrepentant, idol-worshipping hearts like the people of Judah. He can work in your own life and change your heart, too. Will you trust Him to work and move in your heart as you seek to grow in your faith and follow Him?
The truth that God can restore our hearts and change our hearts from the inside out is something worth celebrating! Make plans to join us at one of our services this weekend to praise God for all He has done and will do in and through us. We can’t wait to see you there!
“God, You alone have the power to change the human heart. I worship You because…”
1“Son of man, prophesy to Israel’s mountains. Give them this message: O mountains of Israel, hear the word of the Lord! 2 This is what the Sovereign Lord says: Your enemies have taunted you, saying, ‘Aha! Now the ancient heights belong to us!’ 3 Therefore, son of man, give the mountains of Israel this message from the Sovereign Lord: Your enemies have attacked you from all directions, making you the property of many nations and the object of much mocking and slander. 4 Therefore, O mountains of Israel, hear the word of the Sovereign Lord. He speaks to the hills and mountains, ravines and valleys, and to ruined wastes and long-deserted cities that have been destroyed and mocked by the surrounding nations. 5 This is what the Sovereign Lord says: My jealous anger burns against these nations, especially Edom, because they have shown utter contempt for me by gleefully taking my land for themselves as plunder.
6 “Therefore, prophesy to the hills and mountains, the ravines and valleys of Israel. This is what the Sovereign Lord says: I am furious that you have suffered shame before the surrounding nations. 7 Therefore, this is what the Sovereign Lord says: I have taken a solemn oath that those nations will soon have their own shame to endure.
8 “But the mountains of Israel will produce heavy crops of fruit for my people—for they will be coming home again soon! 9 See, I care about you, and I will pay attention to you. Your ground will be plowed and your crops planted. 10 I will greatly increase the population of Israel, and the ruined cities will be rebuilt and filled with people. 11 I will increase not only the people, but also your animals. O mountains of Israel, I will bring people to live on you once again. I will make you even more prosperous than you were before. Then you will know that I am the Lord. 12 I will cause my people to walk on you once again, and you will be their territory. You will never again rob them of their children.
13 “This is what the Sovereign Lord says: The other nations taunt you, saying, ‘Israel is a land that devours its own people and robs them of their children!’ 14 But you will never again devour your people or rob them of their children, says the Sovereign Lord. 15 I will not let you hear those other nations insult you, and you will no longer be mocked by them. You will not be a land that causes its nation to fall, says the Sovereign Lord.”
16 Then this further message came to me from the Lord: 17 “Son of man, when the people of Israel were living in their own land, they defiled it by the evil way they lived. To me their conduct was as unclean as a woman’s menstrual cloth. 18 They polluted the land with murder and the worship of idols, so I poured out my fury on them. 19 I scattered them to many lands to punish them for the evil way they had lived. 20 But when they were scattered among the nations, they brought shame on my holy name. For the nations said, ‘These are the people of the Lord, but he couldn’t keep them safe in his own land!’ 21 Then I was concerned for my holy name, on which my people brought shame among the nations.
22 “Therefore, give the people of Israel this message from the Sovereign Lord: I am bringing you back, but not because you deserve it. I am doing it to protect my holy name, on which you brought shame while you were scattered among the nations. 23 I will show how holy my great name is—the name on which you brought shame among the nations. And when I reveal my holiness through you before their very eyes, says the Sovereign Lord, then the nations will know that I am the Lord. 24 For I will gather you up from all the nations and bring you home again to your land.
25 “Then I will sprinkle clean water on you, and you will be clean. Your filth will be washed away, and you will no longer worship idols. 26 And I will give you a new heart, and I will put a new spirit in you. I will take out your stony, stubborn heart and give you a tender, responsive heart. 27 And I will put my Spirit in you so that you will follow my decrees and be careful to obey my regulations.
28 “And you will live in Israel, the land I gave your ancestors long ago. You will be my people, and I will be your God.
