And I will give them one heart, and put a new spirit within them. And I will take the heart of stone out of their flesh and give them a heart of flesh, ²⁰ that they may walk in My statutes and keep My ordinances and do them. Then they will be My people, and I shall be their God, (11:19).

During his vision from God, Ezekiel is shown the people in Jerusalem who have convinced themselves that because they are still in the land of promise, God is on their side. And those lowly exiles now in Babylon, taken in the first siege, are esteemed as hopelessly cast aside and far from the Lord.

Then the word of the Lord came to me, saying, ¹⁵ “Son of man, your brothers, your relatives, your fellow exiles and the whole house of Israel, all of them, are those to whom the inhabitants of Jerusalem have said, ‘Go far from the Lord; this land has been given us as a possession,’”  (11:14-15).

But the Lord had repeatedly proclaimed through His prophet, Jeremiah, that captivity would surely be their fate as a result of their stiff-necked disobedience.

“Thus says the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel, ‘Behold, I am about to bring on this city and all its towns the entire calamity that I have declared against it, because they have stiffened their necks so as not to heed My words,’” (Jeremiah 19:15).

And those left in Jerusalem were instructed to reject the lies of the false prophets and serve Nebuchadnezzar if they wished to stay in their land and survive.

“It will be, that the nation or the kingdom which will not serve him, Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon, and which will not put its neck under the yoke of the king of Babylon, I will punish that nation with the sword, with famine and with pestilence,” declares the Lord, “until I have destroyed it by his hand. ⁹ But as for you, do not listen to your prophets, your diviners, your dreamers, your soothsayers or your sorcerers who speak to you, saying, ‘You will not serve the king of Babylon.’ ¹⁰ For they prophesy a lie to you in order to remove you far from your land; and I will drive you out and you will perish,” (Jeremiah 27:8-10).

But they continued to reject His Word, choosing to listen to the advice conjured up in the minds of sinful men who smugly judged the exiles and proclaimed their own safety, for surely they would be safe and protected in the Holy City. And again, the Lord calls on Ezekiel to prophesy against Jerusalem.

He said to me, “Son of man, these are the men who devise iniquity and give evil advice in this city, ³ who say, ‘Is not the time near to build houses? This city is the pot and we are the flesh.’ ⁴ Therefore, prophesy against them, son of man, prophesy!” (11:2-4).

And while God commands Ezekiel to prophesy against those who rely on their own wisdom, He reminds the exiles of how He has provided a sanctuary for them, even in His discipline, and in spite of their unfaithfulness.

“Therefore say, ‘Thus says the Lord God, “Though I had removed them far away among the nations and though I had scattered them among the countries, yet I was a sanctuary for them a little while in the countries where they had gone,” (11:16).

He is a sanctuary, reminding us that we were created for a relationship with the Creator God, created to dwell in the sanctuary of His Presence as His people. And since the dawn of creation, the enemy has been ruthless in his attempts to thwart God’s purpose for man. And rather than living the life we were created to live, our trespasses and sins marked us as those who are dead.

And you were dead in your trespasses and sins, ² in which you formerly walked according to the course of this world, according to the prince of the power of the air, of the spirit that is now working in the sons of disobedience, (Ephesians 2:1-2).

But who can bring life out of death? Who can Restore the condition of fallen man? Only One Is able to do the impossible. Only God, in His Provision for Our Restoration.

Those who heard Him said, “And so who can be saved?” ²⁷ But He said, “The things that are impossible with people are possible with God,” (Luke 18:26-27).

Consider His Provision for Our Restoration

“And I will give them one heart, and put a new spirit within them. And I will take the heart of stone out of their flesh and give them a heart of flesh, ²⁰ that they may walk in My statutes and keep My ordinances and do them. Then they will be My people, and I shall be their God,” (11:19).

• Only God Provides what is needed for Our Restoration: a united heart.
  • “And I will give them one heart…”
    • Teach me Your way, O Lord;
      I will walk in Your truth;
      Unite my heart to fear Your name, (Psalm 86:11).
    • “for where your treasure is, there your heart will be also,” (Matthew 6:21).

• Only God Provides what is needed for Our Restoration: a new spirit.
  • “…and put a new spirit within them.”
    • For he is not a Jew who is one outwardly, nor is circumcision that which is outward in the flesh. ²⁹ But he is a Jew who is one inwardly; and circumcision is that which is of the heart, by the Spirit, not by the letter; and his praise is not from men, but from God, (Romans 2:28-29).

• Only God Provides what is needed for Our Restoration: a heart that is brought from death to life.
  • “And I will take the heart of stone out of their flesh and give them a heart of flesh,”
    • For the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus has set you free from the law of sin and of death…⁶ For the mind set on the flesh is death, but the mind set on the Spirit is life and peace, (Romans 8:1, 6).

• Only God Provides what is needed for Our Restoration: a heart of faith to walk in obedience.
  • “that they may walk in My statutes and keep My ordinances and do them.”
    • I have been crucified with Christ; and it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me; and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself up for me, (Galatians 2:20).

• Only God Provides what is needed for Our Restoration: a new name and restored relationship conferred through His mercy.
  • “Then they will be My people, and I shall be their God.”
    • for you once were not a people, but now you are the people of God; you had not received mercy, but now you have received mercy, (1 Peter 2:10).

• Only God Provides what is needed for Our Restoration: His blood shed on the cross for us, that we would be reconciled and Restored through His Everlasting Covenant of Peace.
  • I will make a covenant of peace with them; it will be an everlasting covenant with them. And I will place them and multiply them, and will set My sanctuary in their midst forever, (Ezekiel 37:26).
    • For it was the Father’s good pleasure for all the fullness to dwell in Him, ²⁰ and through Him to reconcile all things to Himself, having made peace through the blood of His cross; through Him, I say, whether things on earth or things in heaven, (Colossians 1:19-20).

reconciled: “604. ἀποκαταλλάσσω apokatallássō; … to reconcile… the restoration of a relationship of peace which has been disturbed,” Strong’s Exhaustive Concordance

How do we respond to His Provision for Our Restoration?

We were created for a relationship with the Creator God, created to dwell in His Presence as His people. And one day, we will live in His Perfectly Provided Restoration.

And I heard a loud voice from the throne, saying, “Behold, the tabernacle of God is among men, and He will dwell among them, and they shall be His people, and God Himself will be among them, ⁴ and He will wipe away every tear from their eyes; and there will no longer be any death; there will no longer be any mourning, or crying, or pain; the first things have passed away.” (Revelation 21:3-4).

The day is coming when there will no longer be trespasses and sins, no longer be death or mourning or pain, for we will live with Him in peace. But for now, we still live on this side of heaven, and all of us are all too familiar with the struggles and afflictions, the crying and pain that so often accompany our life journeys. As the saying goes, “Life happens.” And perhaps one of the most painful ways that “life happens,” is in our relationships.

We were created for relationship. Relationship with God and with one another. And when “life happens,” let us trust God Who has done the impossible in giving us His Spirit that we would obey Him Who is our God.

Oh, that we would strive to live as His people who seek His Provision for Restoration in our personal relationships as we depend on His Spirit to Restore us to Love and Peace in Him.

Finally, brothers and sisters, rejoice! Strive for full restoration, encourage one another, be of one mind, live in peace. And the God of love and peace will be with you, (2 Corinthians 13:11).

And as we trust Him to do the impossible, we must do what is possible for us, that we might live as His people who demonstrate His Provision for Restoration to everyone He brings into our life.

If possible, so far as it depends on you, be at peace with all people, (Romans 12:18).

Let’s Grow Together!