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Observations from today’s readings and today’s S-WOD, Friday, 9 October 2026:
Ezekiel 36:5, 7 — Surely I have spoken in my hot jealousy against the rest of the nations and against all Edom, who gave my land to themselves as a possession with wholehearted joy and utter contempt…. I swear that the nations that are all around you shall themselves suffer reproach.
Following God’s judgment against Edom in chapter 35, Ezekiel now announces His promise to restore Israel. Edom and the surrounding nations had taken advantage of Israel’s suffering, celebrating its defeat and claiming its land. But God had not abandoned His people or surrendered His promises. The nations that had treated Israel with contempt would themselves experience reproach. Once again, Scripture reveals God’s justice in returning upon the wicked the very treatment they inflicted upon others (Obadiah 15; Galatians 6:7). God’s people are not promised freedom from suffering or consequences for their sins, but they can trust that He sees every injustice and will ultimately judge rightly. Rather than seeking revenge, we are called to entrust justice to God and respond to our enemies as Jesus commanded, with love and prayer (Matthew 5:44; Romans 12:19). Are you trusting God to deal justly with those who have wronged you, or are you allowing bitterness and resentment to take root?
Ezekiel 36:8-11 – “But you, O mountains of Israel, shall shoot forth your branches and yield your fruit to my people Israel, for they will soon come home. For behold, I am for you, and I will turn to you, and you shall be tilled and sown…. The cities shall be inhabited and the waste places rebuilt…. Then you will know that I am the LORD.”
The same land that had witnessed destruction would again produce fruit, and the cities that lay in ruins would be rebuilt. Israel’s restoration would demonstrate that God’s judgment had not canceled His covenant promises. Notice the source of this renewal: God repeatedly declares what He will do. Israel could not restore itself, but the Lord remained faithful even when His people had been faithless. This points us to the greater restoration accomplished through Jesus Christ. Sin has damaged far more than our circumstances; it has separated us from God and corrupted our hearts. Yet through Christ’s death and resurrection, God reconciles sinners to Himself and begins restoring what sin has destroyed (2 Corinthians 5:18-19). The promise of renewed land also points forward to the new creation, when God will make all things new (Revelation 21:5). We should never confuse a season of spiritual barrenness with the limits of God’s power to restore. Where have you begun to believe that something in your life is beyond God’s ability to redeem?
Ezekiel 36:17-19 – “Son of man, when the house of Israel lived in their own land, they defiled it by their ways and their deeds…. So I poured out my wrath upon them for the blood that they had shed in the land, for the idols with which they had defiled it. I scattered them among the nations, and they were dispersed through the countries. In accordance with their ways and their deeds I judged them.”
God makes clear that Israel’s suffering was not merely the result of stronger enemies or unfortunate circumstances. His people had defiled the land through idolatry, injustice, and bloodshed. Their exile was the consequence of persistent rebellion against the God who had delivered and blessed them. We are often quicker to recognize what is wrong with our circumstances than what is wrong within our hearts. Israel needed more than deliverance from Babylon; it needed deliverance from the sin that had led it there. The same is true of us. Changing our environment, improving our habits, or removing difficult people from our lives cannot cure the sinful desires that travel with us wherever we go. Jesus taught that evil actions come from within the human heart (Mark 7:20-23). Until we acknowledge that our deepest problem is sin, we will continue looking for solutions that cannot save us. When something goes wrong, is your first instinct to examine your circumstances and blame others, or to ask God what He may be revealing about your own heart?
Ezekiel 36:20-23 — But when they came to the nations, wherever they came, they profaned my holy name…. But I had concern for my holy name, which the house of Israel had profaned among the nations to which they came…. It is not for your sake, O house of Israel, that I am about to act, but for the sake of my holy name, which you have profaned among the nations to which you came.”
Israel’s rebellion had consequences beyond its own suffering. As God’s chosen people, their conduct reflected upon the God they claimed to worship. Their sin, judgment, and exile gave the surrounding nations reason to question His name and character. God therefore announces that He will restore His people, not because they deserve it, but for the sake of His holiness and glory. This reminds us that God’s purposes are far greater than our immediate circumstances, comfort, or personal ambitions. His ultimate purpose is to glorify Himself by revealing His character and accomplishing His redemptive work. His mercy is astonishing precisely because we have not earned it. Salvation displays the greatness of His grace, not the worthiness of the sinner (Ephesians 2:8-9).
This perspective is especially important when we face circumstances we cannot understand. God promises to work all things together for good for those who love Him and are called according to His purpose, and the very next verse identifies that purpose: conforming us to the image of His Son (Romans 8:28-29). This does not mean that everything that happens is good, that every hardship results from personal sin, or that we will understand why God permits particular suffering. But while we may not know everything God is doing, Scripture gives us confidence that He is working toward purposes far greater than simply making our circumstances easier.
First, God often uses difficult circumstances to reveal Himself to us in ways we would not otherwise know Him. When Jesus delayed coming to Mary and Martha, Lazarus died, and the sisters struggled to understand why the Lord had not intervened sooner. Yet through that suffering, Jesus revealed Himself as the resurrection and the life, demonstrating a power and glory they had never experienced so personally (John 11:21-27, 40-44). Their grief was real, and Jesus wept with them, but His purposes reached beyond preventing their immediate suffering. Likewise, God may allow us to experience circumstances in which we discover more deeply His faithfulness, sufficiency, wisdom, and love. We may know these truths intellectually, but trials often bring us to know Him through personal dependence and experience.
Second, God uses trials to reveal what is in our own hearts. Peter confidently declared that he would never deny Jesus, even if everyone else abandoned Him. Yet only hours later, he denied knowing his Lord three times (Matthew 26:33-35, 69-75). Peter’s failure exposed a weakness and self-confidence he had not recognized in himself. Jesus already knew what was in Peter’s heart, and He had prayed that Peter’s faith would not fail completely. He would restore Peter and use him to strengthen others (Luke 22:31-32; John 21:15-19). Our own trials can similarly expose pride, fear, misplaced trust, impatience, selfishness, or unbelief that remain hidden when life is comfortable. God does not reveal these things merely to condemn us, but to bring us to repentance and deeper dependence upon Christ.
Third, God uses our circumstances to reveal Himself to others. When Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego refused to worship Nebuchadnezzar’s image, God did not prevent them from being thrown into the fiery furnace. Instead, He revealed His presence and power in the midst of the fire, leading even the pagan king to acknowledge the greatness of their God (Daniel 3:24-29). Sometimes God’s glory is displayed not by removing the trial, but through the faith, peace, courage, and obedience He produces in His people as they endure it. Others are watching how we respond when life does not go as planned. Our reactions can either reinforce the world’s assumptions or demonstrate that our hope rests upon something greater than our circumstances. Jesus calls us to live so that others see our good works and glorify our Father in heaven (Matthew 5:16).
Fourth, God can use our suffering to make us instruments of His grace to others, including those who have wronged us. Joseph endured betrayal, slavery, false accusation, and imprisonment, yet God used those very circumstances to position him to preserve many lives, including the brothers who had betrayed him. Joseph eventually recognized that although his brothers intended evil, God had worked through those events for good (Genesis 50:20). Paul likewise explained that God comforts us in our afflictions so that we can comfort others with the comfort we have received from Him (2 Corinthians 1:3-4). Our hardships can deepen our compassion, prepare us to minister to others, and create opportunities to demonstrate the forgiveness and love of Christ. Even toward our enemies, Jesus calls us to love, pray, and do good, reflecting the mercy of our heavenly Father (Luke 6:27-36).
Finally, God uses trials to conform us to Christlike character and prepare us for the work He has entrusted to us. James teaches that the testing of our faith produces steadfastness, while Paul explains that suffering can produce endurance, character, and hope (James 1:2-4; Romans 5:3-5). God is developing qualities that comfort and success alone often cannot produce: humility, patience, perseverance, compassion, courage, and deeper trust. As we grow in these qualities, He also equips us for greater faithfulness and service. Even Jesus, though without sin, learned obedience through what He suffered, demonstrating perfect submission to His Father (Hebrews 5:8). Our trials are not meaningless interruptions to God’s work in us; He can use them as part of that work.
The Gospel gives us our greatest reason for trusting these purposes. At the cross, the greatest injustice in human history became the means by which God accomplished our salvation. Jesus was betrayed, condemned, and crucified by sinful men, yet God was accomplishing His predetermined purpose of redemption (Acts 2:23). If God could bring the greatest good from the greatest evil, we can trust His wisdom even when we cannot understand His ways. And if He did not spare His own Son but gave Him up for us all, we have every reason to trust His love and faithfulness (Romans 8:32).
We should not assume that we can identify exactly what God is accomplishing in every circumstance, or that every trial will visibly demonstrate all five purposes. But we can trust His revealed character and His promise to complete His work in us. Our calling is not to understand everything He is doing, but to know Him, trust Him, obey Him, and remain available for His purposes. Instead of asking only, “Lord, why is this happening, and when will You change it?” we can also ask, “Lord, what are You revealing about Yourself? What are You exposing in my heart? How can others see Christ through my response? Whom can I serve through this experience? And how are You calling me to become more like Jesus?” Such questions turn our attention from merely escaping difficult circumstances to walking faithfully with Christ through them, confident that He is working for our good and His glory.
Ezekiel 36:25 — I will sprinkle clean water on you, and you shall be clean from all your uncleannesses, and from all your idols I will cleanse you.
God’s promised restoration begins with cleansing. Israel’s problem was not simply that it had suffered defeat, but that it stood guilty and defiled before a holy God. The Lord promises to remove the uncleanness and idolatry that His people could never remove themselves. This cleansing points directly to the Gospel. Jesus Christ bore the judgment our sins deserve, and through His sacrifice we receive forgiveness and cleansing from sin (Hebrews 9:13-14; 1 John 1:7). We cannot wash away our guilt through religious activity, good intentions, or efforts to compensate for past failures. Only God can make us clean.
But notice that God promises cleansing not only from sinful actions but also from idols. An idol is anything that takes God’s rightful place in our hearts, whether money, success, approval, comfort, relationships, or even our own abilities. Genuine repentance involves more than regretting the consequences of sin; it means turning from whatever has captured the love, trust, and obedience that belong to God. What are you relying upon, pursuing, or protecting more than your relationship with Christ?
Ezekiel 36:26-27 — And I will give you a new heart, and a new spirit I will put within you. And I will remove the heart of stone from your flesh and give you a heart of flesh. And I will put my Spirit within you, and cause you to walk in my statutes and be careful to obey my rules.
These verses reveal the heart of God’s promise and the foundation of genuine spiritual transformation. God does not promise to repair Israel’s old heart or help His people become better at managing their sinful desires. He promises to replace their heart of stone with a heart of flesh, responsive to Him and His Word. He will also place His own Spirit within them, enabling them to obey. The problem is not merely that people need better instruction; they need new life.
Jeremiah described the human heart as deceitful and desperately sick (Jeremiah 17:9). Jesus explained to Nicodemus that entering God’s kingdom requires being born again by the Spirit (John 3:3-8). Paul declares that anyone in Christ is a new creation (2 Corinthians 5:17). These truths expose the inadequacy of every approach to spiritual change that depends ultimately upon human willpower, self-improvement, or worldly wisdom. Such efforts may modify behavior, but they cannot give spiritual life to a heart dead in sin. Only through Jesus Christ can we be reconciled to God, receive a new heart, and experience the transforming presence of the Holy Spirit.
This also changes how we understand obedience. The Christian life is not an endless attempt to earn God’s approval by following rules. Through Christ, we are accepted by grace and brought into a living relationship with God. The Holy Spirit then changes our desires so that obedience increasingly flows from love, gratitude, and reverence rather than mere obligation. Jesus said, “If you love me, you will keep my commandments” (John 14:15). God’s commands have not become less important; our relationship to them has changed. We obey because we belong to Christ and desire to become like Him.
Yet receiving a new heart does not mean that we will never struggle with sin. Believers must continually resist the flesh, put sin to death, and walk by the Spirit (Galatians 5:16; Romans 8:13). Grace does not eliminate effort; it changes the source and purpose of our effort. Paul explained that God works within us both to will and to work for His good pleasure (Philippians 2:12-13). We therefore pursue holiness diligently, while recognizing that every genuine step of spiritual growth depends upon God’s power.
There is also a serious warning here about allowing our hearts to become hardened. Repeatedly resisting God’s Word, excusing sin, refusing to forgive, or exposing ourselves to ungodly influences can gradually make us less sensitive to the Holy Spirit’s conviction. What once troubled our conscience can become something we barely notice. The answer is not to manufacture stronger religious feelings, but to turn again to Christ, confess our sin, receive His forgiveness, and submit ourselves to His Word and Spirit. David prayed for God to create in him a clean heart (Psalm 51:10). We should regularly pray the same. Has your heart become less responsive to God’s Word? Are you resisting something the Holy Spirit has repeatedly brought to your attention? Do you genuinely desire to become more like Christ, or are you primarily interested in becoming more comfortable with yourself?
Ezekiel 36:28 — You shall dwell in the land that I gave to your fathers, and you shall be my people, and I will be your God.
God’s promise reaches beyond cleansing and obedience to the restoration of relationship. The greatest blessing He offers is not prosperity, security, or even freedom from sin’s consequences, but Himself. Israel would once again live as His covenant people, enjoying His presence and fellowship. Through Jesus Christ, believers receive an even greater privilege: union with Christ and the indwelling presence of the Holy Spirit. Jesus prayed that His followers would share in the unity and love He enjoys with the Father (John 17:22-23). Eternal life is knowing the only true God and Jesus Christ whom He has sent (John 17:3). Christianity is therefore not simply a system for becoming morally better; it is a restored relationship with God that transforms who we are and how we live. Are you pursuing obedience primarily to improve your life, or because you want to know, love, and honor Christ more deeply?
Ezekiel 36:31-32 — Then you will remember your evil ways, and your deeds that were not good, and you will loathe yourselves for your iniquities and your abominations. It is not for your sake that I will act, declares the Lord GOD; let that be known to you. Be ashamed and confounded for your ways, O house of Israel.
An important result of God’s transforming work is a clearer understanding of our sin. Israel would look back upon its former conduct with sorrow and shame, recognizing how deeply it had dishonored the Lord. This is not the hopeless self-condemnation that drives people away from God, but the humility of genuine repentance. The closer we draw to Christ, the more clearly we recognize both His holiness and the sinfulness of attitudes and behaviors we once justified.
The Holy Spirit does not expose our sin merely to make us feel guilty. He leads us to repentance, restores our fellowship with God, and increasingly conforms us to the likeness of Christ (Romans 8:29). The Gospel frees us to acknowledge our sins without defending, minimizing, or hiding them, because our acceptance before God rests upon Christ’s righteousness rather than our own. True repentance therefore produces both sorrow over sin and a growing desire to turn away from it. Are you becoming more sensitive to sin as you grow in Christ, or have you become increasingly skilled at explaining it away?
Ezekiel 36:33-36 — On the day that I cleanse you from all your iniquities, I will cause the cities to be inhabited, and the waste places shall be rebuilt…. And they will say, ‘This land that was desolate has become like the garden of Eden, and the waste and desolate and ruined cities are now fortified and inhabited.’… I am the LORD; I have spoken, and I will do it.
God promises to rebuild what had been ruined and restore fruitfulness where there had been desolation. The comparison to Eden reminds us that His ultimate purpose is not simply to return His people to their former condition, but to restore the goodness, fellowship, and fruitfulness that sin has damaged. Israel’s promised restoration includes its land and cities, while also pointing toward God’s greater work of renewing His creation through Christ.
The same God who restores His people is at work in every believer. He does not merely forgive our past and leave us unchanged. Through His Spirit, He progressively transforms our character, relationships, priorities, and conduct. We will not experience complete freedom from sin or its consequences in this life, but we can trust that the One who began a good work in us will bring it to completion (Philippians 1:6). Spiritual growth may be gradual, and sometimes painful, but God’s commitment to making us like Christ does not depend upon our ability to transform ourselves. Where do you need to stop measuring God’s faithfulness by the speed of your progress and instead trust Him while continuing to obey?
Ezekiel 36:37-38 — This also I will let the house of Israel ask me to do for them: to increase their people like a flock…. Then they will know that I am the LORD.
God closes this promise by inviting His people to ask Him for what He has already declared He intends to do. His sovereignty does not make prayer unnecessary; rather, His promises give us confidence to pray. We do not pray to persuade a reluctant God to become gracious. We pray because He is gracious, has revealed His will, and invites us to depend upon Him. Jesus likewise taught His disciples to ask, seek, and knock, trusting the goodness of their heavenly Father (Matthew 7:7-11).
This is especially important when praying for spiritual transformation. God has already revealed His desire that we become holy, bear spiritual fruit, and grow in Christlikeness. We should therefore ask boldly for the Spirit’s help, while faithfully responding to His Word. Are you asking God to change your heart and make you more like Christ, or are most of your prayers focused on changing your circumstances?
“Cross” Fit S-WOD (Spiritual Workout of the Day) – 9 October 2026: Today, identify one attitude or behavior you have repeatedly excused despite knowing it displeases God. Confess it specifically to Him, identify one Scripture that speaks directly to it, and take one concrete step of obedience that demonstrates repentance. Depend upon the Holy Spirit rather than your own willpower, and ask Him to make your obedience an expression of love for Christ.
Pray: “Father, You are holy, merciful, and faithful. Thank You for sending Jesus to cleanse me from sin and reconcile me to You. Forgive me for the attitudes and desires I have allowed to harden my heart. Thank You for giving me new life through Christ and Your Spirit to transform me. Open my eyes to the sin I have excused, deepen my love for You, and give me both the desire and strength to obey. Make me increasingly like Jesus, not for my glory, but for Yours. Amen.”
