Restoration and New Life

Ezekiel 11:14-25 

14 Again the word of the LORD came to me, saying, 15 "Son of man, your brethren, your relatives, your countrymen, and all the house of Israel in its entirety, are those about whom the inhabitants of Jerusalem have said, 'Get far away from the LORD; this land has been given to us as a possession.' 16 Therefore say, 'Thus says the Lord GOD: "Although I have cast them far off among the Gentiles, and although I have scattered them among the countries, yet I shall be a little sanctuary for them in the countries where they have gone."' 17 Therefore say, 'Thus says the Lord GOD: "I will gather you from the peoples, assemble you from the countries where you have been scattered, and I will give you the land of Israel."' 18 And they will go there, and they will take away all its detestable things and all its abominations from there. 

19 Then I will give them one heart, and I will put a new spirit within them, and take the stony heart out of their flesh, and give them a heart of flesh, 20 that they may walk in My statutes and keep My judgments and do them; and they shall be My people, and I will be their God. 21 But as for those whose hearts follow the desire for their detestable things and their abominations, I will recompense their deeds on their own heads," says the Lord GOD.

22 So the cherubim lifted up their wings, with the wheels beside them, and the glory of the God of Israel was high above them. 23 And the glory of the LORD went up from the midst of the city and stood on the mountain, which is on the east side of the city.

24 Then the Spirit took me up and brought me in a vision by the Spirit of God into Chaldea, to those in captivity. And the vision that I had seen went up from me. 25 So I spoke to those in captivity of all the things the LORD had shown me.

God judged the idolatry and immortality of His people, but a remnant was promised restoration and new life.  Those who continued to pursue those things would be held accountable and judged according to their own wages earned by unrepentant sin.  The nations mocked those under God’s judgment and told them to leave Jerusalem and their God.  The LORD told them through Ezekiel that He was still Israel’s sanctuary to come back to no matter how far they had been scattered because of their sin.  They would be given their land as promised because His word is irrevocable (Romans 11:29).  When they returned, they would remove and destroy the remaining idols of abomination in the sight of God.  Those who continued to reject Him and continued to worship lifeless gods of their own imagination would be recompensed in kind.  Those who repented and sought His face would be given a new heart that was not hardened and a new spirit from God Himself for the willingness and ability to obey His word willingly and wholeheartedly (Jeremiah 31:33, 32:39-40, Ezekiel 36:26-27, 2 Corinthians 3:3).  This is a foreshadowing and prophetic explanation of the new life of a reborn man or woman in Christ.  We now have His Spirit in us and a heart willing to desire and do according to His word and heart (Philippians 2:13).  Those continuing to reject God’s Son reject Him and will earn the wages of their sin, namely death (Romans 6:23), just as the Israelites who continued in idolatry and immortality in the time of Ezekiel.  After hearing this message to tell others, Ezekiel witnessed the glory of God and saw a vision of those still in captivity.  He bore witness of that message of hope to them for restoration and reconciliation of the remnant according to grace, a message of future metamorphosis of the heart and mind and will with strength to fulfill God’s word.  That is the beginning of the hope we now have fulfilled in Jesus Christ our Lord, restoration and new life!