Ezekiel 36:26 (NKJV)

I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit within you; I will take the heart of stone out of your flesh and give you a heart of flesh.

Bible Commentary

Ezekiel 36:26 is a Bible verse and prophesy from the Old Testament where God speaks renewal, healing and peace to His people.The words God uses in this verse sound like a surgical operation performed by a medical doctor. He says He will give us a new heart, taking the heart of stone out of our flesh and giving us a heart of flesh.

Do you ever feel like your heart is made out of stone? Like the stress and difficulty of life has sucked all the feeling right out of you? We wish for a compassionate heart, but we can’t manufacture it. It feels like the dull ache has become the new normal.

The Lord is talking to us, the house of Israel—those of us who are His—in Ezekiel 36:26. He gives us a new heart and a new spirit, performing the surgery of taking the heart of stone out of our flesh and replacing it with a heart of flesh—one that can feel.

For His Holy Name’s Sake

It is not because of anything we have done, or believed, or accepted. He does this not for our sake, but for His holy name’s sake.

Ezekiel 36:22-23 Therefore say to the house of Israel, ‘Thus says the Lord God: “I do not do this for your sake, O house of Israel, but for My holy name’s sake, which you have profaned among the nations wherever you went. ²³And I will sanctify My great name, which has been profaned among the nations, which you have profaned in their midst; and the nations shall know that I am the Lord,” says the Lord God, “when I am hallowed in you before their eyes.

The 36^th chapter of Ezekiel is fascinating reading. He convicts us, heals us and rewards us all in the same chapter. Then He re-establishes His Glorious Name and uses His people to do it! How great and mysterious are His ways!

He speaks of the Holy Spirit, which He also promises us and has already given to those who have accepted His Son, Jesus Christ.