Undivided Heart

I’m still really tired. It was very nice to see my aunt last night. Didn’t sleep too well. Mom woke me up and handed me the phone. Good morning, time for an impromptu phone interview. I guess it didn’t go too badly, though. I was invited to come to their office on Thursday for a face-to-face. I had no idea what the company was, so I googled them. They are an international aerospace tech company that also offers language training to pilots. Wow, a teaching position. It seems like it will be a very corporate atmosphere. I’ve been advised to “dress for success” when I come to the interview. Not that I don’t usually wear nice clothes to an interview, but I have never worked in a corporate setting and most of my clothes are not quite that formal. I’m glad that I bought that blazer! Took a long nap this afternoon. I’m still making progress in Ezekiel. Here is one of my favorite verses.

Ezekiel 11:18-20
“They will return to it (the land of Israel) and remove all its vile images and detestable idols. I will give them an undivided heart and put a new spirit in them; I will remove from them their heart of stone and give them a heart of flesh. Then they will follow my decrees and be careful to keep my laws. They will be my people, and I will be their God.”

I have heard this verse many times and read it quoted here and there. I love this verse. It is so easy for my heart and my attention to be divided so many ways. There is another similar verse.

Jeremiah 31:33-34
"This is the covenant I will make with the house of Israel after that time," declares the LORD. "I will put my law in their minds and write it on their hearts. I will be their God, and they will be my people. No longer will a man teach his neighbor, or a man his brother, saying, 'Know the LORD,' because they will all know me, from the least of them to the greatest," declares the LORD. "For I will forgive their wickedness and will remember their sins no more."

Ezekiel and Jeremiah were prophets at the same time. They lived right before the destruction of Jerusalem by the Babylonian empire. I like these verses because it is describing such a close relationship between God and believers. God did keep his promise to bring the exiles back to Israel. Nehemiah came back with a group of exiles and descendents that had been born in Babylon. Together they rebuilt the city in the face of opposition and threats from their neighbors. The temple was also eventually rebuilt. These verses offer hope in the middle of a dark time. God’s purpose was not to annihilate Israel, but to cleanse and restore His people. These verses also look forward to the new covenant (or contract) God would initiate with all people through Jesus. Now believers have the spirit of God living directly inside them, to guide and help them. We can have the same closeness with God described in these verses.