Ezekiel 11:19

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: I WILL GIVE THEM ONE HEART. Lest they should claim to themselves the praise given them in , God declares it is to be the free gift of His Spirit. ONE HEART. Not singleness - i:e., uprightness-but oneness of heart in all unanimously seeking Him, in contrast to their state at that time when only single scattered individuals sought God (; ). (Hengstenberg.) Or, 'content with one God,' not distracted with 'the many detestable things' (;...

As God had already spoken concerning the piety of the Israelites, he shows that they could not forsake their sins until they were renewed, and so born again by his Spirit. Therefore he seemed in the last verse to praise the Israelites; but because men too eagerly claim as their own what has been given them from above, now God claims to himself glow of their virtues, of which he had formerly spoken. Their zeal in purging the land of all abominations was worthy of praise; hence the survivors of the people of Israel are deservedly celebrated, because they were impelled by the fervor of zeal to free the worship of God from all corruptions; but lest they should boast, that they had done it in their own strength, and from the impulse of their own hearts, God now modifies his former assertions, and shows that such pursuit of piety would exist among the Israelites, after he had regenerated them...

14-21 The pious captives in Babylon were insulted by the Jews who continued in Jerusalem; but God made gracious promises to them. It is promised, that God will give them one heart; a heart firmly fixed for God, and not wavering. All who are made holy have a new spirit, a new temper and dispositions; they act from new principles, walk by new rules, and aim at new ends. A new name, or a new face, will not serve without a new spirit. If any man be in Christ, he is a new creature. The carnal heart, like a stone, cannot be made to feel. Men live among the dead and dying, and are neither concerned nor humbled. He will make their hearts tender and fit to receive impressions: this is God's work, it is his gift by promise; and a wonderful and happy change is wrought by it, from death to life. Their practices shall be agreeable to those principles. These two must and will go together. When the si...

Verse Ezekiel 11:19. _AND I WILL GIVE THEM ONE HEART_] A whole system of _renewed affections_. _AND I WILL PUT A NEW SPIRIT WITHIN YOU_] To direct and influence these new affections. _AND I WILL TAKE THE STONY HEART OUT OF THEIR FLESH_] That which would not receive the impressions of my Spirit. _AND WILL GIVE THEM A HEART OF FLESH_] One that is capable of receiving and retaining these impressions....

Compare Revelation 21. The identity of thought and language in Ezekiel, predicting the new kingdom of Israel, and in John, foretelling the kingdom of heaven, forces upon us the conclusion that the prophecy of Ezekiel has an ultimate reference to that climax which John plainly indicates. Ezekiel 11:19 ONE HEART - So long as the Israelites were distracted by the service of many gods, such unity was impossible; but now, when they shall have taken away the “abominations” from the land, they shall be united in heart to serve the true God. STONY HEART ... HEART OF FLESH - The heart unnaturally hardened, and the heart reawakened to feelings proper to man....

EXPOSITION EZEKIEL 11:1 MOREOVER THE SPIRIT LIFTED ME UP, etc. It is noticeable that the position to which Ezekiel was thus transported in his vision from his place in the inner court (Ezekiel 8:14), was identical with that which he had just seen occupied by the cherub chariot before its departure (Ezekiel 10:19). What he is about to see will throw light on the significance of their departure. The gate is probably, here as there, that of the court of the temple. FIVE AND TWENTY MEN. The number at first reminds us of the worshippers of the sun, in Ezekiel 8:16; but tha

AND I WILL GIVE THEM ONE HEART,.... In opposition to a divided heart, Hosea 10:2; divided between the true God and idols, wavering and halting between two opinions, sometimes serving God, and sometimes Baal; a heart to pursue one way of worship, and to serve the Lord with one shoulder or consent, Jeremiah 32:40; a heart sincere to God and man, in opposition to a double or hypocritical one, Psalms 12:2; a heart single to the honour and glory of God, and firmly attached to his word and worship: also concord, harmony, an unity of affections to one another, so as to be of one heart and one soul, as the first Christians were, who were Jews, Acts

Ezekiel 11:1. The priests and the leaders of the nation were steeped in wickedness, defied God and the judgments His prophets had announced. They devised mischief (or iniquity) and gave wicked counsel. Their wicked counsel consisted in disobedience against Jehovah and His Word. In regard to the judgment they said, “It is not the time to build houses; this is the cauldron and we are the flesh.” They knew of Jeremiah's letter which he had sent to the elders who were carried away captives. In that letter, Jeremiah, believing God's Word concerning the long duration of the captivity, gave the advice, “Build ye houses and dwell in them” Jeremiah 29:1. They ridiculed that divinely given advice. They still thought themselves safe in Jerusalem. The phrase “this is the cauldron” means the city of Jerusalem; and we are

A GLIMMER OF HOPE. The people who, at the first deportation (597 B.C.), were allowed to remain in the land, clearly thought themselves superior to those who, like Ezekiel, had been taken to Babylon far from Yahweh's land and therefore far from Yahweh (Ezekiel 11:15, read _they are far)._ Ezekiel undeceives them: the future lies with the exiles, not with them. True, Yahweh had been (see _mg._) to the exiles but little of a sanctuary_ i.e._ their religious privileges had been inevitably curtailed but some day they would come back to the land, and establish upon it the true worship of Yahweh. First they would sweep it clean of every idolatrous thing, and then for their callous obstinate hearts God would give them soft impressionable hearts on which His laws would be easily written (Ezekiel 36

I WILL GIVE, &c. Compare Ezekiel 36:25. and Jeremiah 32:39....