today's meditation (Ez.43) Realizing Sin and Forgiveness

(Dear Lord Jesus, guide me and give me insight as I read and study Your word, and let it be the meditation of my heart...)

(Ezekiel 43:1-27)  Then he led me to the gate, the gate facing east; 2 and behold, the glory of the God of Israel was coming from the way of the east. And His voice was like the sound of many waters; and the earth shone from His glory. 3 And it was like the appearance of the vision which I saw, like the vision which I saw when He came to destroy the city. And the visions were like the vision which I saw by the river Chebar; and I fell on my face. 4 And the glory of the Lord entered the house by way of the gate facing east. 5 And the Spirit lifted me up and brought me into the inner courtyard; and behold, the glory of the Lord filled the house.

6 Then I heard Him speaking to me from the house, while a man was standing beside me. 7 And He said to me, “Son of man, this is the place of My throne and the place of the soles of My feet, where I will dwell among the sons of Israel forever. And the house of Israel will not again defile My holy name, neither they nor their kings, by their prostitution and by the corpses of their kings when they die, 8 by putting their threshold by My threshold, and their door post beside My door post, with only the wall between Me and them. And they have defiled My holy name by their abominations which they have committed. So I have consumed them in My anger. 9 Now let them remove their prostitution and the corpses of their kings far from Me, and I will dwell among them forever.

10 “As for you, son of man, inform the house of Israel of the temple, so that they will be ashamed of their wrongdoings; and have them measure the plan. 11 And if they are ashamed of everything that they have done, make known to them the plan of the house, its layout, its exits, its entrances, all its plans, all its statutes, and all its laws. And write it in their sight, so that they may observe its entire plan and all its statutes and execute them. 12 This is the law of the house: its entire area on the top of the mountain all around shall be most holy. Behold, this is the law of the house.

13 “And these are the measurements of the altar by cubits (the cubit being a cubit and a hand width): the base shall be a cubit and the width a cubit, and its border on its edge all around one span; and this shall be the height of the base of the altar. 14 And from the base on the ground to the lower ledge shall be two cubits, and the width one cubit; and from the smaller ledge to the larger ledge shall be four cubits, and the width one cubit. 15 The altar hearth shall be four cubits; and from the altar hearth shall extend upward four horns. 16 Now the altar hearth shall be twelve cubits long by twelve wide, square in its four sides. 17 And the ledge shall be fourteen cubits long by fourteen wide in its four sides, the border around it shall be half a cubit, and its base shall be a cubit all around; and its steps shall face east.”

18 And He said to me, “Son of man, this is what the Lord God says: ‘These are the statutes for the altar on the day it is built, to offer burnt offerings on it and to sprinkle blood on it. 19 You shall give to the Levitical priests who are from the descendants of Zadok, who come near to Me to serve Me,’ declares the Lord God, ‘a bull as a sin offering. 20 And you shall take some of its blood and put it on its four horns and on the four corners of the ledge, and on the border all around; so you shall cleanse it and make atonement for it. 21 You shall also take the bull as the sin offering, and it shall be burned in the appointed place of the house, outside the sanctuary.

22 ‘And on the second day you shall offer a male goat without blemish as a sin offering, and they shall cleanse the altar from sin as they cleansed it with the bull. 23 When you have finished cleansing it, you shall offer a bull without blemish and a ram without blemish from the flock. 24 You shall offer them before the Lord, and the priests shall throw salt on them, and they shall offer them up as a burnt offering to the Lord. 25 For seven days you shall prepare a goat as a sin offering daily; also a bull and a ram from the flock, both without blemish, shall be prepared. 26 For seven days they shall make atonement for the altar and purify it; so shall they consecrate it. 27 When they have completed the days, it shall be that on the eighth day and onward, the priests shall offer your burnt offerings on the altar, and your peace offerings; and I will accept you,’ declares the Lord God.”

TODAY'S THOUGHTS AND MEDITATION:

Verse 11 is interesting and informative.  "...IF they are ashamed of everything that they have done, make known to them the plan..."  The Lord was explaining the construction of the temple, which was to be free of sin.  And the people and the priests were to continually offer sacrifices in order to cleanse the temple.  In doing so, they could maintain a close relationship with the Lord and be blessed by this.

This is an amazing allegory of salvation through Jesus which is freely offered to everyone.  God's plan and desire is that everyone recognize they are sinners in need of saving.   When we ask for Jesus' forgiveness of our sins, He cleanses us, and we are immediately reconciled with God and eternally sealed with the Holy Spirit.  

As Christians, our bodies are a temple of God, a dwelling place of the Lord.   There is no need for further blood to be shed in order to cleanse us, because Jesus is the spotless Lamb of God who accomplished this work on the cross, once and for all.

Our personal sacrifice is when we humbly give our hearts to the Lord when we become believers.  And our offerings are shown when we thankfully and humbly give of our money, time, energy and resources.  As we live to honor our Lord and Savior, which includes confessing our sins as we realize them, we will continue growing in our personal relationship with Him and be blessed by this.  

today's meditation (Ez.42) Nourishing Our Souls

(Dear Lord Jesus, guide me and give me insight as I read and study Your word, and let it be the meditation of my heart...)

(Ezekiel 42:1-20)  Then he brought me out into the outer courtyard, the way toward the north; and he brought me to the chamber which was opposite the separate area and opposite the building toward the north. 2 Along the length, which was a hundred cubits, was the north door; the width was fifty cubits. 3 Opposite the twenty cubits which belonged to the inner courtyard, and opposite the stone pavement which belonged to the outer courtyard, was gallery corresponding to gallery in three stories. 4 In front of the chambers was an inner passage ten cubits wide, a way of one hundred cubits; and their openings were on the north. 5 Now the upper chambers were smaller because the galleries took more space away from them than from the lower and middle ones in the building. 6 For they were in three stories and had no pillars like the pillars of the courtyards; for that reason the upper chambers were set back from the ground upward, more than the lower and middle ones. 7 As for the outer wall by the side of the chambers, toward the outer courtyard facing the chambers, its length was fifty cubits. 8 For the length of the chambers which were in the outer courtyard was fifty cubits; and behold, the length of those facing the main room was a hundred cubits. 9 And below these chambers was the entrance on the east side, as one enters them from the outer courtyard.

10 In the thickness of the wall of the courtyard toward the east, facing the separate area and facing the building, there were chambers. 11 And the way in front of them was like the appearance of the chambers which were on the north; according to their length, so was their width, and all their exits were according to their building plans and openings. 12 Corresponding to the openings of the chambers which were toward the south was an opening at the head of the way, the way in front of the wall toward the east, as one enters them.

13 Then he said to me, “The north chambers and the south chambers, which are opposite the separate area, they are the holy chambers where the priests who are near to the Lord shall eat the most holy things. There they shall set the most holy things, the grain offering, the sin offering, and the guilt offering; for the place is holy. 14 When the priests enter, they shall not go out into the outer courtyard from the sanctuary without laying their garments there in which they minister, for they are holy. They shall put on other garments; then they shall approach that which is for the people.”

15 Now when he had finished measuring the inner house, he brought me out by way of the gate which faced east, and measured it all around. 16 He measured on the east side with the measuring rod: five hundred rods by the measuring rod. 17 He measured on the north side: five hundred rods by the measuring rod. 18 On the south side he measured five hundred rods with the measuring rod. 19 He turned to the west side and measured five hundred rods with the measuring rod. 20 He measured it on the four sides; it had a wall all around, the length five hundred rods and the width five hundred, to divide between the holy and the common.

TODAY'S THOUGHTS AND MEDITATION:

As believers, we are priests, clothed in the righteousness of Jesus, who is holy and perfect.  And as we have embraced Him as our Lord and Savior, we should hunger and thirst after Him and everything He tells us. We should desire to live a holy and perfect life, in His will, all to His glory.  And the way we can know Him, and His will is to nourish our bodies with His holy word.  Just as we feed our bodies at least three times a day for energy and health, it does not sound unreasonable to feed our souls with scripture at least once a day!

today's meditation (Ez.41) Approaching the Throne of God

(Dear Lord Jesus, guide me and give me insight as I read and study Your word, and let it be the meditation of my heart...)

(Ezekiel 41:1-26)  Then he brought me to the sanctuary, and he measured the side pillars: six cubits wide on each side was the width of the side pillar. 2 The width of the entrance was ten cubits and the sides of the entrance were five cubits on each side. He also measured the length of the sanctuary, forty cubits, and the width, twenty cubits. 3 Then he went inside and measured each side pillar of the doorway, two cubits, and the doorway, six cubits high; and the width of the doorway, seven cubits. 4 And he measured its length, twenty cubits, and the width, twenty cubits, before the sanctuary; and he said to me, “This is the Most Holy Place.”

5 Then he measured the wall of the temple, six cubits; and the width of the side chambers, four cubits, all around the house on every side. 6 The side chambers were in three stories, one above another, and thirty in each story; and the side chambers extended to the wall which stood on their inward side all around, so that they could be attached, but not be attached to the wall of the temple itself. 7 And the side chambers surrounding the temple were wider at each successive story. Because the structure surrounding the temple went upward by stages on all sides of the temple, for that reason the width of the temple increased as it went higher; and so one went up from the lowest story to the highest by way of the second story. 8 I saw also that the house had a raised platform all around; the foundations of the side chambers were a full rod of six long cubits in height. 9 The thickness of the outer wall of the side chambers was five cubits. But the free space between the side chambers belonging to the temple  10 and the outer chambers was twenty cubits in width around the temple on every side. 11 The doorways of the side chambers toward the free space consisted of one doorway toward the north, and another doorway toward the south; and the width of the free space was five cubits all around.

12 The building that was in front of the separate area at the side toward the west was seventy cubits wide; and the wall of the building was five cubits thick all around, and its length was ninety cubits.

13 Then he measured the temple, a hundred cubits long; the separate area with the building and its walls were also a hundred cubits long. 14 Also the width of the front of the temple and that of the separate areas along the east side totaled a hundred cubits.

15 And he measured the length of the building along the front of the separate area behind it, with a gallery on each side, a hundred cubits; he also measured the inner sanctuary and the porches of the courtyard. 16 The thresholds, the latticed windows, and the galleries all around their three stories, opposite the threshold, were paneled with wood all around, and from the ground to the windows (but the windows were covered), 17 over the entrance, and to the inner house, and on the outside, and on all the wall all around inside and outside, by measurement. 18 It was carved with cherubim and palm trees; and a palm tree was between cherub and cherub, and every cherub had two faces: 19 a human face toward the palm tree on one side and a young lion’s face toward the palm tree on the other side; they were carved on all the house all around. 20 From the ground to above the entrance cherubim and palm trees were carved, as well as on the wall of the sanctuary.

21 The doorposts of the sanctuary were square; as for the front of the inner sanctuary, the appearance of one doorpost was like that of the other. 22 The altar was of wood, three cubits high, and its length two cubits; its corners, its base, and its sides were of wood. And he said to me, “This is the table that is before the Lord.” 23 The sanctuary and the inner sanctuary each had a double door. 24 Each of the doors had two leaves, two swinging leaves; two leaves for one door and two leaves for the other. 25 Also there were carved on them, on the doors of the main room, cherubim and palm trees like those carved on the walls; and there was a threshold of wood on the front of the porch outside. 26 And there were latticed windows and palm trees on one side and on the other, on the sides of the porch; the same were on the side chambers of the house and the thresholds.

TODAY'S THOUGHTS AND MEDITATION:

In order for anyone to enter the temple's holy of holies, one had to be a priest and he had to be completely cleansed or he would have died instantly.  In fear of this happening, the priests would tie a rope around the waist of the one entering the holy of holies.  That way, if he did die, they could pull him out.  In this vision, we see that the pre-incarnate Lord Jesus Christ brings Ezekiel into the most holy place.  From this we can understand that if one is with Jesus, we are able to enter and live.  

As believers, since our sins are completely forgiven and God chooses to remember them no more, He then sees us through the righteousness of Jesus.   It is only in this way - His way - that we may enter the most holy place and approach the throne of God with humble confidence.  How awesome it is to have a personal relationship with the Lord and be able to call Him our heavenly Father!

today's meditation (Ez.40) Being Edified

(Dear Lord Jesus, guide me and give me insight as I read and study Your word, and let it be the meditation of my heart...)

(Ezekiel 40:1-49)   In the twenty-fifth year of our exile, at the beginning of the year, on the tenth of the month, in the fourteenth year after the city was taken, on this very day the hand of the Lord was upon me and He brought me there. 2 In the visions of God He brought me into the land of Israel and set me on a very high mountain, and on it to the south there was something like a structure of a city. 3 So He brought me there; and behold, there was a man whose appearance was like the appearance of bronze, with a thread of flax and a measuring rod in his hand; and he was standing in the gateway. 4 And the man said to me, “Son of man, see with your eyes, hear with your ears, and pay attention to all that I am going to show you; for you have been brought here in order to show it to you. Declare to the house of Israel all that you see.”

5 And behold, there was a wall on the outside of the temple all around, and in the man’s hand was a measuring rod of six cubits, each of which was a cubit and a hand width. So he measured the thickness of the wall, one rod; and the height, one rod. 6 Then he went to the gate which faced east, went up its steps, and measured the threshold of the gate, one rod in width; and the other threshold was one rod in width. 7 The guardroom was one rod long and one rod wide; and there were five cubits between the guardrooms. And the threshold of the gate by the porch of the gate facing inward was one rod. 8 Then he measured the porch of the gate facing inward, one rod. 9 And he measured the porch of the gate, eight cubits; and its side pillars, two cubits. And the porch of the gate was faced inward. 10 The guardrooms of the gate toward the east numbered three on each side; the three of them had the same measurement. The side pillars also had the same measurement on each side. 11 And he measured the width of the gateway, ten cubits, and the length of the gate, thirteen cubits. 12 There was a barrier wall one cubit wide in front of the guardrooms on each side; and the guardrooms were six cubits square on each side. 13 And he measured the gate from the roof of the one guardroom to the roof of the other, a width of twenty-five cubits, from one door to the door opposite. 14 He made the side pillars sixty cubits high; the gate extended all around to the side pillar of the courtyard. 15 And from the front of the entrance gate to the front of the inner porch of the gate was fifty cubits. 16 And there were shuttered windows looking toward the guardrooms, and toward their side pillars within the gate all around, and likewise for the porches. And there were windows all around inside; and on each side pillar were palm tree decorations.

17 Then he brought me into the outer courtyard, and behold, there were chambers and a stone pavement made for the courtyard all around; thirty chambers faced the pavement. 18 And the pavement (that is, the lower pavement) was by the side of the gates, corresponding to the length of the gates. 19 Then he measured the width from the front of the lower gate to the front of the exterior of the inner courtyard, a hundred cubits on the east and on the north.

20 And as for the gate of the outer courtyard which faced north, he measured its length and its width. 21 It had three guardrooms on each side; and its side pillars and its porches had the same measurement as the first gate. Its length was fifty cubits, and the width twenty-five cubits. 22 Its windows, its porches, and its palm tree decorations had the same measurements as the gate which faced east; and it was reached by seven steps, and its porch was in front of them. 23 The inner courtyard had a gate opposite the gate on the north as well as the gate on the east; and he measured a hundred cubits from gate to gate.

24 Then he led me toward the south, and behold, there was a gate toward the south; and he measured its side pillars and its porches according to those same measurements. 25 The gate and its porches had windows all around like those other windows; the length was fifty cubits and the width, twenty-five cubits. 26 There were seven steps going up to it, and its porches were in front of them; and it had palm tree decorations on its side pillars, one on each side. 27 The inner courtyard had a gate toward the south; and he measured from gate to gate toward the south, a hundred cubits.

28 Then he brought me to the inner courtyard by the south gate; and he measured the south gate according to those same measurements. 29 Its guardrooms also, its side pillars, and its porches were according to those same measurements. And the gate and its porches had windows all around; it was fifty cubits long and twenty-five cubits wide. 30 There were porches all around, twenty-five cubits long and five cubits wide. 31 And its porches were toward the outer courtyard; and palm tree decorations were on its side pillars, and its stairway had eight steps.

32 Then he brought me into the inner courtyard toward the east. And he measured the gate according to those same measurements. 33 Its guardrooms also, its side pillars, and its porches were according to those same measurements. And the gate and its porches had windows all around; it was fifty cubits long and twenty-five cubits wide. 34 Its porches were toward the outer courtyard; and palm tree decorations were on its side pillars, on each side, and its stairway had eight steps.

35 Then he brought me to the north gate; and he measured it according to those same measurements, 36 with its guardrooms, its side pillars, and its porches. And the gate had windows all around; the length was fifty cubits and the width twenty-five cubits. 37 And its side pillars were toward the outer courtyard; and palm tree decorations were on its side pillars, on each side, and its stairway had eight steps.

38 A chamber with its doorway was by the side pillars at the gates; there they rinse the burnt offering. 39 And in the porch of the gate were two tables on each side, on which to slaughter the burnt offering, the sin offering, and the guilt offering. 40 On the outer side, as one went up to the gateway toward the north, were two tables; and on the other side of the porch of the gate were two tables. 41 Four tables were on each side next to the gate; eight tables on which they slaughter sacrifices. 42 For the burnt offering there were four tables of cut stone, a cubit and a half long, a cubit and a half wide, and one cubit high, on which they set the utensils with which they slaughter the burnt offering and the sacrifice. 43 And the double hooks, one hand width in length, were installed in the house all around; and on the tables was the flesh of the offering.

44 From the outside to the inner gate were chambers for the singers in the inner courtyard, one of which was at the side of the north gate, with its front toward the south, and one at the side of the south gate facing north. 45 Then he said to me, “This is the chamber which faces south, intended for the priests who are responsible for the temple; 46 but the chamber which faces north is for the priests who are responsible for the altar. They are the sons of Zadok, who from the sons of Levi come near to the Lord to serve Him.” 47 He measured the courtyard, a perfect square, a hundred cubits long and a hundred cubits wide; and the altar was in front of the temple.

48 Then he brought me to the porch of the temple and measured each side pillar of the porch, five cubits on each side; and the width of the gate was three cubits on each side. 49 The length of the porch was twenty cubits, and the width eleven cubits; and at the stairway by which it was ascended were columns belonging to the side pillars, one on each side.

TODAY'S THOUGHTS AND MEDITATION:

As I read ahead a bit, Ezekiel chapter 43 gives more context so we can see that "the man" is the preincarnate Lord Jesus Christ Himself.  This makes sense.  And I find it delightfully interesting that when the Lord came in flesh, He was a carpenter by trade, before He began His ministry to the people.  

As the Creator of all things, who else could perfectly guide us in how to build and shape our lives?!  While Satan is all about death and destruction, God is all about life and edification!  In order to be built up, productive and satisfied, I choose to go to the Master Architect!

today's meditation (Ez.39) Living to Glorify God

(Dear Lord Jesus, guide me and give me insight as I read and study Your word, and let it be the meditation of my heart...)

(Ezekiel 39:1-29)  “And you, son of man, prophesy against Gog and say, ‘This is what the Lord God says: “Behold, I am against you, Gog, chief prince of Meshech and Tubal; 2 and I will turn you around, lead you on a rope, take you up from the remotest parts of the north, and bring you against the mountains of Israel. 3 Then I will strike your bow from your left hand and make your arrows fall from your right hand. 4 You will fall on the mountains of Israel, you and all your troops, and the peoples who are with you; I will give you as food to every kind of predatory bird and animal of the field. 5 You will fall on the open field; for it is I who have spoken,” declares the Lord God. 6 “And I will send fire upon Magog and those who inhabit the coastlands in safety; and they will know that I am the Lord.

7 “And I will make My holy name known in the midst of My people Israel; and I will not allow My holy name to be profaned anymore. But the nations will know that I am the Lord, the Holy One in Israel. 8 Behold, it is coming and it shall be done,” declares the Lord God. “That is the day of which I have spoken.

9 “Then those who inhabit the cities of Israel will go out and make fires with the weapons and burn them, both bucklers and shields, bows and arrows, war clubs and spears, and for seven years they will make fires of them. 10 They will not take wood from the field or gather firewood from the forests, because they will make fires with the weapons; and they will take the spoils of those who plundered them and seize the plunder of those who plundered them,” declares the Lord God.

11 “On that day I will give Gog a burial place there in Israel, the valley of those who pass by east of the sea, and it will block the way of those who would pass by. So they will bury Gog there with all his horde, and they will call it the Valley of Hamon-gog. 12 For seven months the house of Israel will be burying them in order to cleanse the land. 13 And all the people of the land will bury them; and it will be to their renown on the day that I appear in My glory,” declares the Lord God. 14 “They will also select men who will constantly pass through the land, burying those who were passing through, those left on the surface of the ground, in order to cleanse it. At the end of seven months they will conduct a search. 15 As those who pass through the land pass through and anyone sees a human bone, then he will set up a marker by it until the burial detail has buried it in the Valley of Hamon-gog. 16 And even the name of the city will be Hamonah. So they will cleanse the land.”’

17 “Now as for you, son of man, this is what the Lord God says: ‘Say to every kind of bird and to every animal of the field: “Assemble and come, gather from every direction to My sacrifice, which I am going to sacrifice for you as a great sacrifice on the mountains of Israel; and you will eat flesh and drink blood. 18 You will eat the flesh of warriors and drink the blood of the leaders of the earth, as though they were rams, lambs, goats, and bulls, all of them fattened livestock of Bashan. 19 So you will eat fat until you are full, and drink blood until you are drunk, from My sacrifice which I have sacrificed for you. 20 You will eat your fill at My table with horses and charioteers, with warriors and all the men of war,” declares the Lord God.

21 “And I will place My glory among the nations; and all the nations will see My judgment which I have executed, and My hand which I have laid on them. 22 And the house of Israel will know that I am the Lord their God, from that day onward. 23 The nations will know that the house of Israel went into exile for their wrongdoing, because they were disloyal to Me, and I hid My face from them; so I handed them over to their adversaries, and all of them fell by the sword. 24 In accordance with their uncleanness and their offenses I dealt with them, and I hid My face from them.”’”

25 Therefore this is what the Lord God says: “Now I will restore the fortunes of Jacob and have mercy on all the house of Israel; and I will be jealous for My holy name. 26 They will forget their disgrace and all their treachery which they perpetrated against Me, when they live securely on their own land with no one to make them afraid. 27 When I bring them back from the peoples and gather them from the lands of their enemies, then I shall show Myself holy through them in the sight of the many nations. 28 Then they will know that I am the Lord their God because I made them go into exile among the nations, and then I gathered them again to their own land; and I will leave none of them there any longer. 29 I will not hide My face from them any longer, for I will have poured out My Spirit on the house of Israel,” declares the Lord God.

TODAY'S THOUGHTS AND MEDITATION:

Exemplifying God's power and grace, the last few verses stand out for me.  When anyone becomes a believer, we are sealed with the Holy Spirit so that we have eternal security.  And with the indwelling Spirit, as we allow Him to work in our hearts and our lives, He guides us and changes us from the inside out.  Let us continually ask that the Lord live through us so that others may see God's glory!

today's meditation (Ez.38) Saying "Peace and Safety"

(Dear Lord Jesus, guide me and give me insight as I read and study Your word, and let it be the meditation of my heart...)

(Ezekiel 38:1-23)  Now the word of the Lord came to me, saying, 2 “Son of man, set your face toward Gog of the land of Magog, the chief prince of Meshech and Tubal, and prophesy against him, 3 and say, ‘This is what the Lord God says: “Behold, I am against you, Gog, chief prince of Meshech and Tubal. 4 So I will turn you around and put hooks into your jaws, and I will bring you out, and all your army, horses and horsemen, all of them magnificently dressed, a great contingent with shield and buckler, all of them wielding swords; 5 Persia, Cush, and Put with them, all of them with buckler and helmet; 6 Gomer with all its troops; Beth-togarmah from the remote parts of the north with all its troops—many peoples with you.

7 “Be ready, and be prepared, you and all your contingents that are assembled around you, and be a guard for them. 8 After many days you will be summoned; in the latter years you will come into the land that is restored from the sword, whose inhabitants have been gathered from many nations to the mountains of Israel which had been a continual place of ruins; but its people were brought out from the nations, and they are living securely, all of them. 9 And you will go up, you will come like a storm; you will be like a cloud covering the land, you and all your troops, and many peoples with you.”

10 ‘This is what the Lord God says: “It will come about on that day, that thoughts will come into your mind and you will devise an evil plan, 11 and you will say, ‘I will go up against the land of unwalled villages. I will go against those who are at rest, who live securely, all of them living without walls and having no bars or gates, 12 to capture spoils and to seize plunder, to turn your hand against the ruins that are now inhabited, and against the people who are gathered from the nations, who have acquired livestock and goods, who live at the center of the world.’ 13 Sheba and Dedan and the merchants of Tarshish with all its villages will say to you, ‘Have you come to capture spoils? Have you assembled your contingent to seize plunder, to carry away silver and gold, to take away livestock and goods, to capture great spoils?’”’

14 “Therefore prophesy, son of man, and say to Gog, ‘This is what the Lord God says: “On that day when My people Israel are living securely, will you not know it? 15 You will come from your place out of the remote parts of the north, you and many peoples with you, all of them riding horses, a large assembly and a mighty army; 16 and you will come up against My people Israel like a cloud to cover the land. It shall come about in the last days that I will bring you against My land, so that the nations may know Me when I show Myself holy through you before their eyes, Gog.”

17 ‘This is what the Lord God says: “Are you the one of whom I spoke in former days through My servants the prophets of Israel, who prophesied in those days for many years that I would bring you against them? 18 It will come about on that day, when Gog comes against the land of Israel,” declares the Lord God, “that My fury will mount up in My anger. 19 In My zeal and in My blazing wrath I declare that on that day there will certainly be a great earthquake in the land of Israel. 20 The fish of the sea, the birds of the sky, the animals of the field, all the crawling things that crawl on the earth, and all mankind who are on the face of the earth will shake at My presence; and the mountains will be thrown down, the steep pathways will collapse, and every wall will fall to the ground. 21 And I will call for a sword against him on all My mountains,” declares the Lord God. “Every man’s sword will be against his brother. 22 With plague and with blood I will enter into judgment with him; and I will rain on him and on his troops, and on the many peoples who are with him, a torrential rain, hailstones, fire, and brimstone. 23 So I will prove Myself great, show Myself holy, and make Myself known in the sight of many nations; and they will know that I am the Lord.”’

TODAY'S THOUGHTS AND MEDITATION:

"On that day" and "the day of the Lord" are terms used to describe both the Tribulation and the Millennium.  The Tribulation ("the day of wrath") is specifically intended for the unbelieving Israelites and all other unbelievers.  The Jews will see the "signs" (the judgements), and as a nation, they will then believe!  Other people will become believers during these seven years as well.  

At the end of that time period, Jesus will come again and gather together all Israelites (and other believers) and take them into the Millennium, "the thousand-year reign", where Jesus will fulfill all covenants with Israel.  He will also rebuild and rejuvenate the land so that it will be Garden of Eden-like, which was just mentioned in Ezekiel 36.

So, after reading today's chapter, and seeing the words "living securely", I kept hearing the words "peace" and "safety", the false security that unbelievers will feel at some point.   The great piece of encouragement is explained in 1 Thessalonians 4:13-18, and 2 Thessalonians!  Whoever is saved at any time before the Tribulation, will be truly ready to be raptured!  "Rapture" is the original Greek word used, meaning to "be caught up" (and taken to heaven).  Salvation is our very certain hope of God's peace and safety!  Therefore, Christians are "ready" and have no need to worry! 

(1 Thessalonians 5:1-11) Now as to the periods and times, brothers and sisters, you have no need of anything to be written to you. 2 For you yourselves know full well that the day of the Lord is coming just like a thief in the night. 3 While they are saying, “Peace and safety!” then sudden destruction will come upon them like labor pains upon a pregnant woman, and they will not escape. 4 But you, brothers and sisters, are not in darkness, so that the day would overtake you like a thief; 5 for you are all sons of light and sons of day. We are not of night nor of darkness; 6 so then, let’s not sleep as others do, but let’s be alert and sober. 7 For those who sleep, sleep at night, and those who are drunk, get drunk at night. 8 But since we are of the day, let’s be sober, having put on the breastplate of faith and love, and as a helmet, the hope of salvation. 9 For God has not destined us for wrath, but for obtaining salvation through our Lord Jesus Christ, 10 who died for us, so that whether we are awake or asleep, we will live together with Him. 11 Therefore, encourage one another and build one another up, just as you also are doing.

today's meditation (Ez.37) Having Certain Hope

(Dear Lord Jesus, guide me and give me insight as I read and study Your word, and let it be the meditation of my heart...)

(Ezekiel 37:1-28)  The hand of the Lord was upon me, and He brought me out by the Spirit of the Lord and set me down in the middle of the valley; and it was full of bones. 2 He had me pass among them all around, and behold, there were very many on the surface of the valley; and behold, they were very dry. 3 Then He said to me, “Son of man, can these bones live?” And I answered, “Lord God, You Yourself know.” 4 Again He said to me, “Prophesy over these bones and say to them, ‘You dry bones, hear the word of the Lord.’ 5 This is what the Lord God says to these bones: ‘Behold, I am going to make breath enter you so that you may come to life. 6 And I will attach tendons to you, make flesh grow back on you, cover you with skin, and put breath in you so that you may come to life; and you will know that I am the Lord.’”

7 So I prophesied as I was commanded; and as I prophesied, there was a loud noise, and behold, a rattling; and the bones came together, bone to its bone. 8 And I looked, and behold, tendons were on them, and flesh grew and skin covered them; but there was no breath in them. 9 Then He said to me, “Prophesy to the breath, prophesy, son of man, and say to the breath, ‘The Lord God says this: “Come from the four winds, breath, and breathe on these slain, so that they come to life.”’” 10 So I prophesied as He commanded me, and the breath entered them, and they came to life and stood on their feet, an exceedingly great army.

11 Then He said to me, “Son of man, these bones are the entire house of Israel; behold, they say, ‘Our bones are dried up and our hope has perished. We are completely cut off.’ 12 Therefore prophesy and say to them, ‘This is what the Lord God says: “Behold, I am going to open your graves and cause you to come up out of your graves, My people; and I will bring you into the land of Israel. 13 Then you will know that I am the Lord, when I have opened your graves and caused you to come up out of your graves, My people. 14 And I will put My Spirit within you and you will come to life, and I will place you on your own land. Then you will know that I, the Lord, have spoken and done it,” declares the Lord.’”

15 The word of the Lord came again to me, saying, 16 “Now you, son of man, take for yourself one stick and write on it, ‘For Judah and for the sons of Israel, his companions’; then take another stick and write on it, ‘For Joseph, the stick of Ephraim and all the house of Israel, his companions.’ 17 Then put them together for yourself one to another into one stick, so that they may become one in your hand. 18 And when the sons of your people speak to you, saying, ‘Will you not declare to us what you mean by these?’ 19 say to them, ‘This is what the Lord God says: “Behold, I am going to take the stick of Joseph, which is in the hand of Ephraim, and the tribes of Israel, his companions; and I will put them with it, with the stick of Judah, and make them one stick, and they will be one in My hand.”’ 20 The sticks on which you write will be in your hand before their eyes. 21 And say to them, ‘This is what the Lord God says: “Behold, I am going to take the sons of Israel from among the nations where they have gone, and I will gather them from every side and bring them into their own land; 22 and I will make them one nation in the land, on the mountains of Israel; and one king will be king for all of them; and they will no longer be two nations, and no longer be divided into two kingdoms. 23 They will no longer defile themselves with their idols, or with their detestable things, or with any of their offenses; but I will rescue them from all their dwelling places in which they have sinned, and will cleanse them. And they will be My people, and I will be their God.

24 “And My servant David will be king over them, and they will all have one shepherd; and they will walk in My ordinances, and keep My statutes and follow them. 25 And they will live on the land that I gave to My servant Jacob, in which your fathers lived; and they will live on it, they, and their sons and their sons’ sons, forever; and My servant David will be their leader forever. 26 And I will make a covenant of peace with them; it will be an everlasting covenant with them. And I will place them and multiply them, and set My sanctuary in their midst forever. 27 My dwelling place also will be among them; and I will be their God, and they will be My people. 28 And the nations will know that I am the Lord who sanctifies Israel, when My sanctuary is in their midst forever.”’”

TODAY'S THOUGHTS AND MEDITATION:

The Israelites have several covenants that apply directly to them as a nation.  The Abrahamic covenant promises them land, seed and blessing.  The Mosaic covenant promises them that as they live obediently according to God's laws, they will be able to enjoy their land, seed and blessings.  The Davidic covenant promises them that they will have an everlasting King to sit on the throne and guide them towards having their land, seed and blessings.  The fulfillment of all these covenants is only possible through the Lord Jesus Christ.

When Jesus came in flesh the first time, the Israelites rejected Him and crucified Him.  This was to happen in order for Jesus to pay the price for sin, have victory over death, and provide the new covenant - which is forgiveness of sins and perfect obedience through His righteousness.  During the Tribulation, Israel as a nation will become believers as they will see the signs of Jesus' second coming, which will happen at the end of those seven years.  It is then that Jesus will set up the Millennial kingdom and fulfill all their covenants.

For right now, the new covenant is offered to everyone!  So we can have spiritual peace and KNOW that He is Lord, and KNOW Him as our personal Lord, King and Savior.  Salvation through Jesus Christ brings a real and certain hope, which is the promise of eternal life!!!