BIBLE TEXT
Ezekiel 11:14-20
SUMMARY
God promises to bring the Jews back from exile, destroying their idolatry and replacing their heart of stone with a heart of flesh.
ANALYSIS
The Jews in exile think they are far from the Lord and must settle down in Babylon. In response, this section presents a new promise: God’s own self will be their Temple while they are in exile (11:16). What is more, God promises to cleanse them from idolatry, gather them again, and give them back the Promised Land. God will renew the covenant and “give them one heart, and put a new spirit within them,” removing their “heart of stone” and giving them a “heart of flesh” (11:19). Thus God will bring Israel back to spiritual life in the Promised Land–they will not live in foreign lands forever. See also 36:16-38.
