ALL THINGS NEW

 

Sunday, January 1, 2023

 

ALL THINGS NEW

 

Ezek 11:17-20

17 Therefore say, Thus saith the Lord GOD; I will even gather you from the people, and assemble you out of the countries where ye have been scattered, and I will give you the land of Israel.

18 And they shall come thither, and they shall take away all the detestable things thereof and all the abominations thereof from thence.

19 And I will give them one heart, and I will put a new spirit within you; and I will take the stony heart out of their flesh, and will give them an heart of flesh:

20 That they may walk in my statutes, and keep mine ordinances, and do them: and they shall be my people, and I will be their God.

 

          What a wonderful promise God gave to his people, Israel. He acknowledges that a fresh start is problematic but possible. There was disunity, the people were scattered. There were detestable things that needed to be removed. The word detestable was the Hebrew word shiqquts which means “disgusting, filthy, and idolatrous.” All these things were present at the fresh start.

 

          Rising from the rubble of rash decisions and unfulfilled desires was a bright hope. A unified heart instead of chaotic opinions, a new spirit (ruwach) attitude, and a new heart of flesh to replace the stony obstinate one.

 

          The fresh start that God has in mind has a single focus and that is to walk in His statutes and to obey His ordinances. The fruit of this new walk is a wonderful relationship with the divine. “They shall be my people, and I will be their God.”

 

2 Cor 5:17

17 Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new.

 

Dear Lord, come and free us from the frustrating rubble of the past. Come Lord and make all things new in me. AMEN