Ezekiel 36:26–27: “I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit within you; I will take the heart of stone out of your flesh and give you a heart of flesh. I will put My Spirit within you and cause you to walk in My statutes, and you will keep My judgments and do them.”

September 29th, 2021 by Pastor Ed in devotional

This is 1 of 3 places in the Old Testament where God described and predicted the coming New Covenant (the others being Ezekiel 11:19 and Jeremiah 31:11). God describes the New Covenant as one in which He Himself removes our hearts of stone and gives us hearts of flesh, illustrating how our old sin-filled nature is replaced with a new spirit-filled nature. God’s Spirit so changes us, from the inside out, that we desire to “walk in [His] statutes.” This is the great expectation of every believer and the internal evidence that we have been given a new heart—that we actually begin to desire to serve God and walk with Him. A “heart of stone” is stubborn and self-willed but a “heart of flesh” is pliable and responsive to God’s Spirit.

This gift of a “new heart” signifies the new birth or regeneration by the Holy Spirit. In John 3, Jesus met with the Jewish leader Nicodemus, who at first failed to understand what Jesus meant when He said, “You must be born again.” Jesus confronted Nicodemus, saying that since he was “the teacher of Israel,” he should know of the new birth, and this is exactly where Jesus was pointing him to, the New Covenant that He had proclaimed in the Old Testament.

Someone said, “Even though a person sick with leprosy can cover up all his wounds with a flowing garment, the fact remains that he is still a diseased leper.” In the same way, a sinner may be somewhat successful at reforming all the externals of their lives, as did Saul of Tarsus and Nicodemus; but, until that person is born again, has surrendered to the new birth and been given a new heart, they “cannot see the kingdom of God.” So how do we enter into this New Covenant? How do we receive a new heart? By believing in Jesus Christ and His finished work on the cross. Just ask Him, today, to take away your heart of stone and give you a heart of flesh.

“Thank you, LORD, that You have done as You promised and caused us to walk in Your statutes and do them. We thank you in advance for the victory You extend to us this day.”