Monday after Quasi modo geniti Sunday
Posted on April 8, 2024 by under
Scripture: Ezekiel 36:22-27 (NKJV)
36:22 “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. 23 And 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. 24 For I will take you from among the nations, gather you out of all countries, and bring you into your own land. 25 Then I will sprinkle clean water on you, and you shall be clean; I will cleanse you from all your filthiness and from all your idols. 26 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. 27 I will put My Spirit within you and cause you to walk in My statutes, and you will keep My judgments and do them.
Devotion
In these words, which God inspired through the prophet Ezekiel, our Lord reminds us of our state before Him. The nation of Israel constantly rebelled against God and His Law, despite numerous promises to obey Him. And yet they were unable to follow God or obey Him through their own strength and merit. All they deserved was death and destruction. Further, their rebellion was so obnoxious that it was causing the other nations to profane the Lord’s name!
Not for their sake (that is, not because of their merit or worthiness), but for God’s own Holy Name’s sake, He will sanctify Israel; that is, make them holy. Out of pure mercy and love, He promises to gather them from their exile in foreign countries, and place within them a new heart and new spirit. And God did fulfill His promise to bring them back from their exile in Babylon.
As we read about God Himself sprinkling “clean water” on them, to cleanse them from their sin, how can we not also think of our own baptism, where God did the same for us? For in baptism we see God’s own power, cleansing us through the water He has blessed for the forgiveness of our sins.
Collect: Grant, we beseech Thee, Almighty God, that we who have celebrated the solemnities of the Lord’s Resurrection, may, by the help of Thy grace, bring forth the fruits thereof in our life and conversation; through the same Jesus Christ, Thy Son, our Lord, Who liveth and reigneth with Thee and the Holy Ghost, ever One God, world without end. Amen.
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
