a restored temple

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a restored temple

Ezekiel 40:5-16 (JDV)

Ezekiel 40:5 I noticed there was a wall surrounding the outside of the house. The measuring reed in the man’s hand was six long cubits; each unit was a cubit and a hand-breadth.1 He measured the thickness of the wall structure; it was six cubits, and its height was the same.
Ezekiel 40:6 Then he came to the gate that faced east and climbed its steps. He measured the threshold of the gate; it was six long cubits deep – one threshold was six long cubits deep.
Ezekiel 40:7 Each recess was six long cubits long and six long cubits deep, and there was a space of five cubits between the recesses. The inner threshold of the gate on the house side next to the gate’s portico was six cubits.
Ezekiel 40:8 Next he measured the gate’s portico;
Ezekiel 40:9 it was eight cubits, and its jambs were two cubits. The gate’s portico was on the house side.
Ezekiel 40:10 There were three recesses on each side of the east gate, each with the same measurements, and the jambs on either side also had the same measurements.
Ezekiel 40:11 Then he measured the width of the gate’s entrance; it was ten cubits, while the width of the gate was thirteen cubits.
Ezekiel 40:12 There was a barrier of a cubit in front of the recesses on both sides, and the recesses on each side were six long cubits square.
Ezekiel 40:13 Then he measured the gate from the roof of one recess to the roof of the opposite one; the distance was 43 3/4 feet. The openings of the recesses faced each other.
Ezekiel 40:14 Next, he measured the porch – 105 feet.
Ezekiel 40:15 The distance from the front of the gate at the entrance to the front of the gate’s portico on the inside was 50 cubits.
Ezekiel 40:16 The recesses and their jambs had beveled windows all around the inside of the gate. The porticoes also had windows all around on the inside. Each jamb was decorated with palm trees.

a restored temple

In a previous vision, Ezekiel had seen the corruption of his people by touring the temple. Now, Ezekiel is given a tour of a new temple and only sees beauty, order, and magnificence. The restored temple represents a restored people. The presence of God can live there again. The worship of God can take place there again. Access to the LORD is restored.

LORD, restore the beauty, order, and magnificence of your temple in us.

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new year, old responsibility

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new year, old responsibility

Ezekiel 40:1-4 (JDV)

Ezekiel 40:1 In the twenty-fifth year of our exile, at the beginning of the year, on the tenth day of the month in the fourteenth year after the city had been captured, on that very day Yahveh’s hand was on me, and he brought me there.
Ezekiel 40:2 In visions of God he took me to the land of Israel and set me down on a very high mountain. On its southern slope was a structure resembling a city.
Ezekiel 40:3 He brought me there, and I noticed a man whose appearance was like bronze, with a linen cord and a measuring reed in his hand. He was standing by the city gate.
Ezekiel 40:4 He spoke to me: “Son of Adam, look with your eyes, listen with your ears, and pay attention to everything I am going to show you because you have been brought here so that I might show it to you. Report everything you see to the house of Israel.”

new year, old responsibility

A new year was beginning, but it didn’t promise any changes. For fourteen years the city of Jerusalem had been captured by a foreign power. The new normal had become captivity and shame.

Then the old prophet had a new vision. God was going to do something extraordinary. He told the old prophet to pay attention because everything he saw in the vision had to be passed on to the people.

Do we have a new vision for this new year? Wrong question. What we should be asking is how careful have we been in our responsibility to pass on the biblical truth we have already been given. If we don’t pay attention to that truth, we have no reason to expect a new vision.

LORD, forgive our neglect of your visions from heaven. We resolve to pass your word on to our generation, starting today.

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restore, regather, revive

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Ezekiel 39:25-29 (JDV)

restore, regather, revive

Ezekiel 39:25 “So this is what the Lord Yahveh says: Now I will restore the fortunes of Jacob and have compassion on the whole house of Israel, and I will be jealous for my sacred name.
Ezekiel 39:26 They will feel remorse for their disgrace and all the unfaithfulness they committed against me when they live securely in their land with no one to frighten them.
Ezekiel 39:27 When I bring them back from the peoples and gather them from the countries of their enemies, I will demonstrate my devotion through them in the sight of many nations.
Ezekiel 39:28 They will know that I am Yahveh their God when I regather them to their own land after having exiled them among the nations. I will leave none of them behind.
Ezekiel 39:29 I will no longer hide my face from them, for I will pour out my Breath on the house of Israel.” This is the declaration of the Lord Yahveh.

restore, regather, revive

God promises to do three things for his people. He will restore their fortunes lost while in exile. He will regather them to the promised land. He will revive them by pouring out his Breath — his Holy Spirit — on them.

The sinner in exile from God today must face three questions. First, how much are you willing to lose before coming to God for his help? Second, how long are you planning on staying away from where you know you belong? Finally, how long do you plan on winging it without God’s power in your life?

Make it your new year’s resolution to repent!

LORD, we want to come back to you. Restore our lost fortunes, regather us to where we belong, and revive us again!

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his history

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his history

Ezekiel 39:21-24 (JDV)

Ezekiel 39:21 “I will display my impressive appearance among the nations, and all the nations will see the judgment I have enacted and the hand I have laid on them.
Ezekiel 39:22 From that day forward the house of Israel will know that I am Yahveh their God.
Ezekiel 39:23 And the nations will know that the house of Israel went into exile on account of their violation because they dealt unfaithfully with me. Therefore, I hid my face from them and handed them over to their enemies, so that they all fell by the sword.
Ezekiel 39:24 I dealt with them according to their uncleanness and rebellions, and I hid my face from them.

his history

History is His Story — that is what the nations would learn. They would learn that the exile was not the result of Yahveh’s weakness, but an act of justice from Yahveh because his own people had dealt unfaithfully with him. The restoration would also be a historical event proving God’s impressive appearance among the nations.

As we approach the new year, we would be wise to learn that God shows himself in the events of history. Sometimes history shows the evil work of Adam’s race, and God seems to be hiding his face. But there will also be signs of God’s intervention.

LORD, may this new year be a revelation of your glory and justice.

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buzzard paradise

20221229

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buzzard paradise

Ezekiel 39:17-20 (JDV)

Ezekiel 39:17 “Son of Adam, this is what the Lord Yahveh says: Tell every kind of bird and all the wild animals, ‘Assemble and come! Gather from all around to My sacrificial feast that I am slaughtering for you, a great feast on the mountains of Israel; you will eat flesh and drink blood.
Ezekiel 39:18 You will eat the flesh of mighty men and drink the blood of the land’s princes: rams, lambs, male goats, and all the fattened bulls of Bashan.
Ezekiel 39:19 You will eat fat until you are satisfied and drink blood until you are drunk, at My sacrificial feast that I have prepared for you.
Ezekiel 39:20 At my table you will eat your fill of horses and riders, of mighty men and all the warriors. This is the declaration of the Lord Yahveh.’

buzzard paradise

The prophet is told to advertize a feast — for all the buzzards and other scavengers. There will be plenty of carrion and blood for everyone.

Such an announcement was designed to warn Gog of Magog that his planned invasion of Israel would not turn out as expected. It is a reminder to all of us that if we are being mistreated, God is watching. There will be justice. If we are the ones doing the mistreating — same message.

LORD, we trust in you to make right all wrongs.

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cemetery space for Gog

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cemetery space for Gog

Ezekiel 39:11-16 (JDV)

Ezekiel 39:11 ” ‘Now on that day, I will give Gog a burial place there in Israel – the Travelers’ Valley east of the Sea. It will block those who travel through, for Gog and all his processions will be buried there. So it will be called processions of Gog Valley.
Ezekiel 39:12 The house of Israel will spend seven months burying them in order to cleanse the land.
Ezekiel 39:13 All the people of the land will bury them and their fame will spread on the day I display my impressive appearance. This is the declaration of the Lord Yahveh.
Ezekiel 39:14 ” ‘They will appoint men on a full-time basis to pass through the land and bury the invaders who remain on the surface of the ground, in order to cleanse it. They will make their search at the end of the seven months.
Ezekiel 39:15 When they pass through the land and one of them sees a human bone, he will set up a marker next to it until the buriers have buried it in processions of Gog Valley.
Ezekiel 39:16 There will even be a city named Hamonah there. So they will cleanse the land.’

cemetery space for Gog

The evil king’s army will not go home. They will be buried where they fell, as a monument to the power of the God who defeated them. It will take a long time to bury all the fallen warriors. All that time the surrounding nations will learn that the God of Israel is not to be threatened. He takes care of his people.

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weapons of mass combustion

20221227

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weapons of mass combustion

Ezekiel 39:9-10 (JDV)

Ezekiel 39:9 ” ‘Then the residents of Israel’s cities will go out, kindle fires, and burn the weapons – the small and large shields, the bows and arrows, the clubs and spears. For seven years they will use them to make fires.
Ezekiel 39:10 They will not gather wood from the countryside or cut it down from the forests, for they will use the weapons to make fires. They will take the loot from those who looted them and plunder those who plundered them. This is the declaration of the Lord Yahveh.

weapons of mass combustion

The weapons that were intended to destroy Israel would be dropped where their owners fell, and picked up for firewood by the rescued Israelites. For seven years, no trees would have to be cut down because those unused weapons would provide all the firewood the Israelites would need.

What a picture that is for us. Our God has a plan to undo all the plans of our enemy. Not only would Gog’s plan to destroy be stopped, but even the aftermath of the threat would turn out to be a blessing.

Trust God in the midst of threatened trouble.

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our choice

20221226

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our choice

Ezekiel 39:7-8 (JDV)

Ezekiel 39:7 So I will make my sacred name known among my people Israel and will no longer allow it to be polluted. Then the nations will know that I am Yahveh, the sacred One in Israel.
Ezekiel 39:8 Yes, it is coming, and it will happen. This is the declaration of the Lord Yahveh. This is the day I have spoken about.

our choice

The Israelites could have worried about Gog, and his coming invasion. Or, they could have taken comfort in God’s promise to defeat him. It was their choice.

We are told that in this world, we will have trouble. We can choose to worry about that. Or, we can choose to trust in Christ, who has overcome this world. Our choice.

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they will fall

20221225

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they will fall

Ezekiel 39:1-6 (JDV)

Ezekiel 39:1 “As for you, son of Adam, prophesy against Gog and say, ‘This is what the Lord Yahveh says: Notice, I am against you, Gog, chief prince of Meshech and Tubal.
Ezekiel 39:2 I will turn you around, drive you on, and lead you up from the remotest parts of the north. I will bring you against the mountains of Israel.
Ezekiel 39:3 Then I will knock your bow from your left hand and make your arrows drop from your right hand.
Ezekiel 39:4 You, all your troops, and the peoples who are with you will fall on the mountains of Israel. I will give you as food to every kind of predatory bird and to the wild animals.
Ezekiel 39:5 You will fall on the open field, for I have spoken. This is the declaration of the Lord Yahveh.
Ezekiel 39:6 ” ‘I will send fire against Magog and those who live securely on the coasts and islands. Then they will know that I am Yahveh.

they will fall

The evil king plans to attack an innocent land and considers himself invincible. But God is watching, and he will knock the weapons from the evil king’s hand and will cause the troops to fall on the mountains — the mountains of Israel.

The weapons formed against God’s people will not prevail. The plans of the evil king will not succeed. God is against him.

No matter what you face today, God knows. He has a plan to defeat your enemies.

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Merry Christmas, Gog

20221224

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Merry Christmas, Gog

Ezekiel 38:17-23 (JDV)

Ezekiel 38:17 ” ‘This is what the Lord Yahveh says: Are you the one I spoke about in former times through my servants, the prophets of Israel, who for years prophesied in those times that I would bring you against them?
Ezekiel 38:18 Now on that day, the day when Gog comes against the land of Israel– this is the declaration of the Lord Yahveh– my wrath will flare up.
Ezekiel 38:19 I swear in my zeal and fiery rage: On that day there will be a great earthquake in the land of Israel.
Ezekiel 38:20 The fish of the sea, the birds of the sky, the animals of the field, every creature that crawls on the ground, and every human being on the face of the land will tremble before me. The mountains will be demolished, the cliffs will collapse, and every wall will fall to the ground.
Ezekiel 38:21 I will call for a sword against him on all my mountains – this is the declaration of the Lord Yahveh – and every man’s sword will be against his brother.
Ezekiel 38:22 I will execute judgment on him with epidemic and bloodshed. I will pour out torrential rain, hailstones, fire, and burning sulfur on him, as well as his troops and the many peoples who are with him.
Ezekiel 38:23 I will display my greatness and sacredness and will reveal myself in the sight of many nations. Then they will know that I am Yahveh.’

Merry Christmas, Gog

This is obviously not a passage about the birth of Christ, and I considered posting a special holiday message instead of continuing my study of Ezekiel. But it occurred to me that the message of today’s text is appropriate. The story of Christmas is — as Pastor Marty Gibbs preached — “We interrupt this message.”

The evil tyrant Gog advances upon Israel and prepares to invade and destroy it. All of a sudden, God shows up. He had predicted this. He is not afraid. God waits for Gog to appear in history because he has a present for this bad boy.

Whatever you are facing this Christmas season, don’t worry. God knows the end from the beginning. If evil comes to your house, God will be there to meet it.

Merry Christmas.

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