A Soft Tender Heart-Ezekiel 11:19; 36:26

Falling in love (2008 – 2018) is the synopsis I shared on Feb 18, 2018 at our 10th year anniversay celebration at West Loop Church. It was the 10 best years of my Christian life and of my entire life because I”fell in love.”

Big Idea: A heart of stone is unresponsive; a heart of flesh is responsive–not reactive. Powerpoint: A Soft Tender Heart (Review of Ezekiel 1-24). What can you do to have a soft tender heart?

Key verses:“I will give them an undivided heart and put a new spirit in them; I will remove from them their heart of stone and give them a heart of flesh” (Eze 11:19). “I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit in you; I will remove from you your heart of stone and give you a heart of flesh” (Eze 36:26).

After two months of preaching and sharing on love, we return to Ezekiel. His key emphasis is”a heart of flesh” (Eze 11:19; 36:26).

How will God transform his people (Israel; Ezekiel 36:25-28)?

1. First, God will purify them of their defilement (Eze 36:25).
2. Second, God will remove their insensitive heart of stone and replace it with a responsive heart of flesh (Eze 36:26).
3. Third, God will cause his people to be obedient to himself (Eze 36:27).
4. Fourth, God will renew his covenant with his people (Eze 36:28).

Second, God will remove their fossilized heart and replace it with a sensitive fleshly organ (Eze 36:26). “Heart” (leb) and “spirit” (ruah) represent the person’s internal locus of emotion, will and thought. Ezekiel, like Jesus (Mt 15:17-20), recognized the problem of rebellion and sin against God to be more deeply ingrained than mere external acts. Ezekiel concretizes (makes real) the metaphor by describing the heart as stone, which speaks of coldness, insensitivity, incorrigibility and even lifelessness (1 Sam 25:37). The solution is more radical even than the circumcision of the heart (Dt 30:6-8). The only answer is the removal of the petrified organ and its replacement whith a warm, sensitive, and responsive heart of flesh (basar).

Concomitant with the heart transplant, God will infuse his people with a new spirit, his Spirit. The “new spirit” which the Lord promises parallels with heart (Eze 11:19; 36:26; Ps 51:10) and refers to a change from a mind that had become perverse (“mind” in Eze 11:5 translates “ruah”). This new spirit is associated with God’s Spirit, which he promises to put in Israel.

The change is from a “heart of stone” to a “heart of flesh” (Eze 11:19; 36:26). A hard heart is stubborn and unresponsive to God. In 2 Chr 34:27 God blessed King Josiah because his heart was “soft” (responsive) and he humbled himself before God. After his encounter with David, Nabal’s heart “failed him and he became like a stone.” 10 days later he died (1 Sam 25:37-38). “The heart of stone is the dead heart … which is unreceptive and makes all the limbs incapable of action. Persons with a heart of stone are spiritually dead, following their own lusts and passions. The heart of flesh is the living heart, full of insight, which is at the same time ready for new action. The new spirit (ruah) brings to the perception and will of the heart the new vital power to hold on steadfastly in willing obedience.” (H.W. Wolff, Anthropology of the OT).

Ezekiel saw a new day when God’s covenant people would again be in the land, devoted only to the Lord and enjoying fellowship with him (Eze 11:20; 14:11). After the exile when many Jews returned to a restored province of Judah in fulfillment of prophecy (Ezra 1:1), they were careful to avoid idolatry (Ezra 4:1-3; 6:19-21; Neh 8-10). Nevertheless their obedience was not complete (Ezra 9:1-2, 10-15; 10:15, 44; Neh 9:32-37). Thus the radical spiritual transformation of the people and the associated physical blessings promised in this and other prophecies of the new covenant (Jer 31:31-34; Eze 34:20-31; 36:24-38; 37:15-28) await fulfillment in a future messianic age. Such promises would be only for those who would receive the new heart and spirit by faith (Eze 18:31-32). Those who refused would be judged and eliminated (Eze 11:21). The remnant would be made up of those who repented and returned to the standard of the single heart (Eze 34:17-22). Single-hearted devotion is what God expects from us. Whenever we fail to give him our single-hearted commitment, we invite the chastening of God. This single-minded devotion to God was the seed of the NT standard of one heart (mind) totally dedicated to God (Mt 4:10; 6:24-34; Eph 6:5; Col 3:22).

Practical implications: The only solution for the fallen human race is a fundamental cleansing, a heart transplant, an infusion of the divine Spirit. It is tempting in our context in particular to imagine that social ills can be healed by economic, social and educational programs. But Ezekiel’s radical theocentricity finds the answer in God alone. While efforts to advance the social conditions of all humankind must be lauded, to propose thsse as the answer for a person’s needs without reference to the rundamental problem, the depravity of the human soul, is to continue the idolatry of the Israelites. What is needed in our day is a dramatic reveral and return to the biblical heart imagery, and to a recognition that the required transformation can be achieved only by the gracious act of God. Only God can remove our hearts of stone and give us hearts of flesh; new life comes only by the infuysion of his Spirit.

References:

1. Block, Daniel I. The Book of Ezekiel Chapters 1-24, 25-48 NICOT (New International Commentary on the Old Testament). Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Co, Grand Rapids, Michigan, 1997.
2. Cooper Sr., Lamar Eugene. Ezekiel, the New American Commentary, an exegetical and theological exposition of Holy Scripture NIV test. Broadman & Holman PUblishers, USA, 1994.
3. Wright, Christopher J.H. The Message of Ezekiel, BST (Bible Speaks Today). IVP, Downers Grove, IL, 2001.