Ezekiel 11:19 – “And I will give them one heart, and I will put a new spirit within you; and I will take the stone out of their flesh, and will give them an heart of flesh:”

ABSTRACT

This discourse explores God’s covenant relationship with humanity, contrasting His ideal “Plan A”—an internal, faith-based indwelling of His law of love in the human heart—with the necessity of “Plan B,” external rituals and structures instituted as divine accommodations to human weakness and rebellion. Drawing from biblical narratives, it illustrates this through Abraham’s faltering faith, prompting the ordinance of circumcision as a tangible reminder against reliance on the flesh; Israel’s fearful rejection of direct communion at Sinai, leading to the earthly sanctuary as a symbolic model of salvation. Extending to prophetic warnings, it identifies the antitype in last-days apostasy, where external forms supplant genuine spiritual power, embodying the “man of sin” and a religion of works over faith. Yet, God’s adaptive love shines through His patient condescension, meeting humanity in brokenness to restore the internal reality. Believers are thus called to reject superficial externalism, embrace the new covenant by yielding their hearts as living sanctuaries, and manifest Christ’s indwelling through loving actions toward others, ultimately moving beyond shadows to the substance of a vibrant, Spirit-led walk with God.

A STUDY IN DIVINE ADAPTATION

Welcome, friends, to our continued exploration of God’s covenant relationship with humanity. We have established that God’s perfect will, His “Plan A,” has always been to dwell within the human heart, writing His law of love upon the mind as an internal, living reality. Yet, as we read the Scriptures, we are confronted with a vast array of external rituals, laws, and structures: circumcision, stone tablets, and an earthly sanctuary. This poses a vital question: If the goal is an internal spiritual walk, why did God institute so many external forms? Today, we will investigate the painful but necessary reason for God’s “Plan B”—how humanity’s persistent refusal to internalize His law forced our loving Creator to resort to tangible, outward symbols as divine “crutches” to guide a stubborn people back to Him.

ABRAHAM: A PERSONAL FAILURE, A PHYSICAL SIGN

The principle of God adapting to human weakness is powerfully illustrated in the life of Abraham. God made a purely faith-based, new covenant promise to an aging Abraham: he would be the father of a great nation through a miracle child. This required Abraham simply to trust God’s word. For years, he did. But as time stretched on, his faith wavered, and he resorted to a solution of the flesh, taking Hagar to produce a son, Ishmael. This act represented a departure from the new covenant experience of faith into the old covenant experience of human effort. In response, God instituted the ordinance of circumcision, a physical sign in the very flesh where the problem began. The Bible says, “And ye shall circumcise the flesh of your foreskin; and it shall be a token of the covenant betwixt me and you” (Genesis 17:11, KJV). This was not God’s original plan. As Sr. White states, “If man had kept the law of God, as given to Adam after his fall, preserved by Noah, and observed by Abraham, there would have been no necessity for the ordinance of circumcision” (Patriarchs and Prophets, 364, 1890). Circumcision was a divine accommodation to human failure, a tangible reminder of the need for faith. To further illustrate this, Scripture declares, “By faith Abraham, when he was called to go out into a place which he should after receive for an inheritance, obeyed; and he went out, not knowing whither he went” (Hebrews 11:8, KJV). Yet, when faith faltered, God provided a physical sign to refocus Abraham’s trust, as seen in “And the Lord visited Sarah as he had said, and the Lord did unto Sarah as he had spoken” (Genesis 21:1, KJV). Sr. White further explains, “God had called Abraham to be the father of the faithful, and his life was to stand as an example of faith to succeeding generations” (Patriarchs and Prophets, 140, 1890). She adds, “The covenant of grace was first made with man in Eden… This same covenant was renewed to Abraham” (Patriarchs and Prophets, 370, 1890). Circumcision became a necessary, painful, and constant reminder for Abraham to stop trusting in his own strength and to depend wholly on the promises of God. What does this pattern of divine adaptation reveal about Israel’s experience at Sinai?

ISRAEL AT SINAI: A NATIONAL REJECTION, A VISIBLE SANCTUARY

From one man’s personal failure of faith, this principle of divine adaptation was magnified in the experience of the entire nation of Israel at Sinai. After liberating them from Egypt, God’s desire was to enter into an intimate, new covenant relationship with each person directly, to make the entire nation His temple and dwell in their hearts. But when confronted with the awesome glory of His direct presence, the people recoiled in terror. They told Moses, “No, no, no. You stay over there. We’ll stay over here. You talk to Moses.” They rejected the offer of an internal relationship. In their fear, they opted for an external one, tragically declaring their own ability to obey: “All that the LORD hath said will we do, and be obedient” (Exodus 24:7, KJV). This was a catastrophic mistake born from not understanding their own sinful hearts. In response to this rejection, God condescended again. He instructed them to build an earthly sanctuary, saying, “And let them make me a sanctuary; that I may dwell among them” (Exodus 25:8, KJV). This structure was not His first choice; it was a divine concession, a way to explain the plan of salvation through a tangible model because they had refused to become the living model themselves. Scripture reinforces this with, “And look that thou make them after their pattern, which was shewed thee in the mount” (Exodus 25:40, KJV), showing God’s provision of a clear model for worship. Additionally, “And the Lord said unto Moses, Speak unto the children of Israel, that they bring me an offering: of every man that giveth it willingly with his heart ye shall take my offering” (Exodus 25:2, KJV), emphasizing the heart’s role even in external offerings. Sr. White notes, “The sanctuary in heaven is the very center of Christ’s work in behalf of men” (The Great Controversy, 488, 1888). She further states, “The sanctuary was a perpetual reminder of the coming of the Messiah” (The Desire of Ages, 52, 1898). This structure was not His first choice; it was a divine concession, a way to explain the plan of salvation through a tangible model because they had refused to become the living model themselves. How does this rejection manifest in the prophetic warnings of the last days?

THE PROPHETIC ANTITYPE OF EXTERNALISM

This tragic pattern of choosing external forms over an internal reality finds its ultimate prophetic antitype in the apostate religious systems of the last days. The “man of sin” described by Paul is the epitome of this principle, “Who opposeth and exalteth himself above all that is called God, or that is worshipped; so that he as God sitteth in the temple of God, shewing himself that he is God” (2 Thessalonians 2:4, KJV). This is not just a historical figure but a system that replaces the direct, internal leadership of the Holy Spirit with an external, human-centered authority and a religion of elaborate ceremonies and traditions. This creates a people who have, as prophecy warns, “a form of godliness, but denying the power thereof” (2 Timothy 3:5, KJV). The core of this apostasy is the same as Abraham’s and Israel’s: a rejection of the new covenant experience of faith in favor of an old covenant system of works, merit, and trusting in the flesh. Sr. White warns of this subtle danger: “Satan is now using every device in this sealing time to keep the minds of God’s people from the present truth and to cause them to waver” (Early Writings, 43, 1882). This leads to a spiritual desolation where the church becomes just another man-made institution. She states, “I saw that the nominal church and nominal Adventists, like Judas, would betray us to the Catholics to obtain their influence to come against the truth” (Spalding and Magan Collection, 1, 1905). Scripture further warns, “For the time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine; but after their own lusts shall they heap to themselves teachers, having itching ears” (2 Timothy 4:3, KJV). Additionally, “But there were false prophets also among the people, even as there shall be false teachers among you, who privily shall bring in damnable heresies” (2 Peter 2:1, KJV). Sr. White elaborates, “The truth will be criticized, scorned, and derided, but the closer it is examined and tested, the more clearly it will appear” (Testimonies for the Church, vol. 1, 290, 1862). She also warns, “Satan has wrought with deceiving power, bringing in false reforms to lead souls away from the truth” (Selected Messages, book 2, 159, 1958). The prophetic warning is clear: any religion, no matter how doctrinally sound it appears, becomes part of antitypical Babylon the moment it substitutes a living, internal connection to Christ for a reliance on external structures, leaders, or rituals. How does God’s love shine through His patient adaptations to human weakness?

GOD’S LOVE REVEALED

These concepts beautifully reflect God’s love by revealing His incredible patience and condescension in the face of our stubborn rebellion. God’s love is not a rigid, all-or-nothing proposition; it is a creative, adaptive, and deeply relational force that meets us in our brokenness. When we are too spiritually immature or fearful to accept His ideal plan, He does not abandon us but lovingly creates object lessons we can understand. This is the heart of a Father who declares, “For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways, saith the LORD” (Isaiah 55:8, KJV). His mercy is evident in His longsuffering, as Peter writes, “The Lord is not slack concerning his promise, as some men count slackness; but is longsuffering to us-ward, not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance” (2 Peter 3:9, KJV). God’s love is also profoundly humble; He who dwells in eternity is willing to stoop, as the Psalmist says, “Who is like unto the LORD our God, who dwelleth on high, Who humbleth himself to behold the things that are in heaven, and in the earth!” (Psalm 113:5-6, KJV). And this love is ultimately restorative, as promised in Joel 2:25, “And I will restore to you the years that the locust hath eaten” (KJV). Sr. White describes this adaptive love: “By His own example He taught that it is our duty to be patient with the ignorant and the erring” (The Signs of the Times, January 27, 1881). She adds, “God deals with men as with children. He bears with their ignorance, and pities their weakness” (The Signs of the Times, August 25, 1881). Furthermore, “God’s love for the human race is a special and peculiar love. He has given His only begotten Son that whosoever believeth in Him should not perish, but have everlasting life” (The Signs of the Times, May 29, 1893). Finally, she confirms His ultimate goal: “God designed that the temple at Jerusalem should be a continual witness to the high destiny open to every soul” (The Desire of Ages, 428, 1898). God’s love is shown in His willingness to use crutches like the sanctuary and circumcision, not because they are His ideal, but because He loves us too much to let our weakness be the final word. What responsibilities do these truths place upon us as believers?

In light of God’s painful condescension, my responsibility toward God and my neighbor is to consciously reject the lazy path of external religion and actively pursue the internal reality of the new covenant. My duty to God is to present my heart as the true sanctuary, trusting His power to cleanse and inhabit it, rather than relying on my own fleshly efforts. This means I must heed the call, “Casting down imaginations, and every high thing that exalteth itself against the knowledge of God, and bringing into captivity every thought to the obedience of Christ” (2 Corinthians 10:5, KJV). I have a responsibility to move beyond the symbols and seek the substance. As Sr. White states, “Our faith must pierce through the shadow, and grasp the substance” (The Signs of the Times, March 24, 1887). This inward transformation directly shapes my responsibility to my neighbor. If Christ truly dwells in my heart, I can no longer treat others as objects or inconveniences; I must see them as souls God is desperately trying to reach. My actions must be governed by the law of love written within, fulfilling the command to “Bear ye one another’s burdens, and so fulfil the law of Christ” (Galatians 6:2, KJV). This is not just a duty but the natural fruit of an internal change. Scripture further instructs, “And be ye kind one to another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, even as God for Christ’s sake hath forgiven you” (Ephesians 4:32, KJV). Additionally, “Let nothing be done through strife or vainglory; but in lowliness of mind let each esteem other better than themselves” (Philippians 2:3, KJV). Sr. White makes this connection clear: “The evidence that we have the mind of Christ is found in our love for our neighbors, in our tender pity for the erring” (Testimonies for the Church, vol. 5, 279, 1889). She also states, “The love of Christ in the heart will be expressed in the actions” (Testimonies for the Church, vol. 2, 135, 1870). My responsibility is to stop asking God to bless my external activities and start begging Him to fully occupy my internal life, so that His love can flow naturally through me to others. How can we move beyond these shadows to embrace God’s true plan?

MOVING BEYOND THE SHADOWS

We have seen that God’s use of external forms like circumcision and the sanctuary was never His ideal. These were divine concessions, loving adaptations to a people who, through fear and a lack of faith, repeatedly chose the tangible over the spiritual, the external over the internal. From Abraham’s fleshly solution to Israel’s fearful rejection at Sinai, the pattern is consistent: humanity’s stubborn reliance on self forces God to provide remedial lessons, like a teacher giving picture books to a child who refuses to learn to read. These symbols were never meant to be a final destination. They were signposts, shadows pointing to the true substance: Christ Himself and the new covenant experience of His indwelling Spirit. The tragedy, both in ancient Israel and in many circles today, is when we fall in love with the signpost and refuse to travel to the destination. We build our religion around the crutch and forget that the goal is to walk in the Spirit. Scripture reminds us, “For we walk by faith, not by sight” (2 Corinthians 5:7, KJV). Furthermore, “But we all, with open face beholding as in a glass the glory of the Lord, are changed into the same image from glory to glory, even as by the Spirit of the Lord” (2 Corinthians 3:18, KJV). Sr. White emphasizes, “The work of God in the heart is a living connection with God” (Testimonies for the Church, vol. 6, 230, 1901). She also declares, “Christ in us is our hope of glory, and this is the mystery of the gospel” (The Desire of Ages, 296, 1898). The call to us is therefore clear and urgent. We must ask ourselves: Is my Christianity based on an internal, vibrant relationship with the living Christ, or is it a collection of external practices—church attendance, doctrinal correctness, dietary habits—that substitute for His presence? God is still patiently waiting for us to abandon our spiritual crutches, to cast aside our old covenant mentality, and to fully embrace His “Plan A”: to let Him take the stony heart out of our flesh and make us, at long last, His true and living sanctuary.

“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” (Ezekiel 11:19, KJV).

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