Ezekiel 36:16-38

“And I will give you a new heart, and a new spirit I will put within you. And I will remove the heart of stone from your flesh and give you a heart of flesh. And I will put my Spirit within you and cause you to walk in my statutes and be careful to obey my rules.” (Ezekiel 36:26–27, ESV)

Earlier in the book of Ezekiel, the LORD rebuked Israel for her many abominations.

“You eat meat with blood in it, you worship idols, and you murder the innocent. Do you really think the land should be yours? Murderers! Idolaters! Adulterers! Should the land belong to you?” (Ezekiel 33:25–26, NLT)

Consequently, the LORD scattered them among the nations, and wherever they went they profaned His holy name. But do you think God was done with His people? Not at all! Later, He would speak through the prophet Malachi:

“For I am the LORD, I do not change. Therefore you are not consumed, O sons of Jacob.” (Malachi 3:6, NKJV)

In other words, despite Israel’s waywardness and disobedience, the LORD would save them because of His everlasting promise to Abraham that He would give his descendants the land of Canaan. Therefore, God would gather them from all the nations where He had scattered them. But when they returned to the land things would be much different. God would cleanse them from all their filthiness and idolatry, and He would give them a new heart and a new spirit. He would remove the stony heart from them and give them a heart of flesh. Rather than being stubborn and stiff-necked, they would be tender and responsive. God would put His Spirit in them and write His laws on their hearts. He would be their God, and they would be His people. Moreover, He would forgive all their wickedness and remember their sins no more (Jeremiah 31:31-34). This describes the New Covenant.

God was willing to forgive them completely, restore them in the land, and make them fruitful. But He required one thing from them:

“Then you will remember your past sins and despise yourselves for all the detestable things you did.” (Ezekiel 36:31, NLT)

The LORD saves His people to the uttermost. But we must remember our sins, turn from them, and feel so sorry over them that we don’t repeat them. This is true repentance, and without it, there can be no lasting forgiveness, reconciliation, and restoration.