Ezekiel 7-13

“Son of man, have you seen what the elders of Israel are doing in the darkness, each at the shrine of his own idol?” (8:12). God showed Ezekiel how corrupted Israel had become: in the Temple, Israel’s leaders worshipped grotesque idols and bowed to the sun. In response, God’s glory “departed from the Temple” (10:18) along with the cherubim, whose wheels were a reminder that God could make his home anywhere. What Israel needed was for God to replace their “heart of stone” with a heart of flesh (11:19).

Israel’s rebellion reflected the hard heart of all humanity. Yet, God’s love was greater. One day, he promised, “I will give them an undivided heart and put a new spirit in them” (11:19).