One Story That Leads to Jesus, Day 197
Ezekiel 37
37The Lord took hold of me, and I was carried away by the Spirit of the Lord to a valley filled with bones.H3027H3068H3318H7307H3068H5117H8432H1237H4392H6106 2He led me all around among the bones that covered the valley floor. They were scattered everywhere across the ground and were completely dried out.H5674H5439H3966H7227H6440H1237H3966H3002 3Then he asked me, “Son of man, can these bones become living people again?” “O Sovereign Lord,” I replied, “you alone know the answer to that.”H559H1121H120H6106H2421H559H136H3069H3045 4Then he said to me, “Speak a prophetic message to these bones and say, ‘Dry bones, listen to the word of the Lord!H559H5012H6106H559H3002H6106H8085H1697H3068 5This is what the Sovereign Lord says: Look! I am going to put breath into you and make you live again!H559H136H3069H6106H7307H935H2421 6I will put flesh and muscles on you and cover you with skin. I will put breath into you, and you will come to life. Then you will know that I am the Lord.’”H5414H1517H5927H1320H7159H5785H5414H7307H2421H3045H3068 7So I spoke this message, just as he told me. Suddenly as I spoke, there was a rattling noise all across the valley. The bones of each body came together and attached themselves as complete skeletons.H5012H6680H5012H6963H7494H6106H7126H6106H6106 8Then as I watched, muscles and flesh formed over the bones. Then skin formed to cover their bodies, but they still had no breath in them.H7200H1517H1320H5927H5785H7159H4605H7307 9Then he said to me, “Speak a prophetic message to the winds, son of man. Speak a prophetic message and say, ‘This is what the Sovereign Lord says: Come, O breath, from the four winds! Breathe into these dead bodies so they may live again.’”H559H5012H7307H5012H1121H120H559H7307H559H136H3069H935H702H7307H7307H5301H2026H2421 10So I spoke the message as he commanded me, and breath came into their bodies. They all came to life and stood up on their feet—a great army.H5012H6680H7307H935H2421H5975H7272H3966H3966H1419H2428 11Then he said to me, “Son of man, these bones represent the people of Israel. They are saying, ‘We have become old, dry bones—all hope is gone. Our nation is finished.’H559H1121H120H6106H1004H3478H559H6106H3001H8615H6H1504 12Therefore, prophesy to them and say, ‘This is what the Sovereign Lord says: O my people, I will open your graves of exile and cause you to rise again. Then I will bring you back to the land of Israel.H5012H559H559H136H3069H5971H6605H6913H5927H6913H935H127H3478 13When this happens, O my people, you will know that I am the Lord.H3045H3068H6605H6913H5971H5927H6913 14I will put my Spirit in you, and you will live again and return home to your own land. Then you will know that I, the Lord, have spoken, and I have done what I said. Yes, the Lord has spoken!’”H5414H7307H2421H3240H127H3045H3068H1696H6213H5002H3068 15Again a message came to me from the Lord:H1697H3068H559 16“Son of man, take a piece of wood and carve on it these words: ‘This represents Judah and its allied tribes.’ Then take another piece and carve these words on it: ‘This represents Ephraim and the northern tribes of Israel.’H1121H120H3947H259H6086H3789H3063H1121H3478H2270H3947H259H6086H3789H3130H6086H669H1004H3478H2270 17Now hold them together in your hand as if they were one piece of wood.H7126H259H259H259H6086H259H3027 18When your people ask you what your actions mean,H1121H5971H559H559H5046 19say to them, ‘This is what the Sovereign Lord says: I will take Ephraim and the northern tribes and join them to Judah. I will make them one piece of wood in my hand.’H1696H559H136H3069H3947H6086H3130H3027H669H7626H3478H2270H5414H6086H3063H6213H259H6086H259H3027 20“Then hold out the pieces of wood you have inscribed, so the people can see them.H6086H3789H3027H5869 21And give them this message from the Sovereign Lord: I will gather the people of Israel from among the nations. I will bring them home to their own land from the places where they have been scattered.H1696H559H136H3069H3947H1121H3478H996H1471H1980H6908H5439H935H127 22I will unify them into one nation on the mountains of Israel. One king will rule them all; no longer will they be divided into two nations or into two kingdoms.H6213H259H1471H776H2022H3478H259H4428H4428H5750H8147H1471H2673H8147H4467 23They will never again pollute themselves with their idols and vile images and rebellion, for I will save them from their sinful backsliding. I will cleanse them. Then they will truly be my people, and I will be their God.H2930H1544H8251H6588H3467H4186H2398H2891H5971H430 24“My servant David will be their king, and they will have only one shepherd. They will obey my regulations and be careful to keep my decrees.H1732H5650H4428H259H7462H3212H4941H8104H2708H6213 25They will live in the land I gave my servant Jacob, the land where their ancestors lived. They and their children and their grandchildren after them will live there forever, generation after generation. And my servant David will be their prince forever.H3427H776H5414H3290H5650H1H3427H3427H1121H1121H1121H5769H5650H1732H5387H5704H5769 26And I will make a covenant of peace with them, an everlasting covenant. I will give them their land and increase their numbers, and I will put my Temple among them forever.H3772H1285H7965H5769H1285H5414H7235H5414H4720H8432H5769 27I will make my home among them. I will be their God, and they will be my people.H4908H430H5971 28And when my Temple is among them forever, the nations will know that I am the Lord, who makes Israel holy.”H1471H3045H3068H6942H3478H4720H8432H5769
Ezekiel 38
38This is another message that came to me from the Lord:H1697H3068H5592“Son of man, turn and face Gog of the land of Magog, the prince who rules over the nations of Meshech and Tubal, and prophesy against him.H1121H120H7760H6440H1463H776H4031H7218H5387H4902H8422H50123Give him this message from the Sovereign Lord: Gog, I am your enemy!H559H559H136H3069H1463H7218H5387H4902H84224I will turn you around and put hooks in your jaws to lead you out with your whole army—your horses and charioteers in full armor and a great horde armed with shields and swords.H7725H5414H2397H3895H3318H2428H5483H6571H3847H4358H7227H6951H6793H4043H8610H27195Persia, Ethiopia, and Libya will join you, too, with all their weapons.H6539H3568H6316H4043H35536Gomer and all its armies will also join you, along with the armies of Beth-togarmah from the distant north, and many others.H1586H102H1004H8425H6828H3411H102H7227H59717“Get ready; be prepared! Keep all the armies around you mobilized, and take command of them.H3559H3559H6951H6950H49298A long time from now you will be called into action. In the distant future you will swoop down on the land of Israel, which will be enjoying peace after recovering from war and after its people have returned from many lands to the mountains of Israel.H7227H3117H6485H319H8141H935H776H7725H2719H6908H7227H5971H2022H3478H8548H2723H3318H5971H3427H9839You and all your allies—a vast and awesome army—will roll down on them like a storm and cover the land like a cloud.H5927H935H7722H6051H3680H776H102H7227H597110“This is what the Sovereign Lord says: At that time evil thoughts will come to your mind, and you will devise a wicked scheme.H559H136H3069H3117H1697H5927H3824H2803H7451H428411You will say, ‘Israel is an unprotected land filled with unwalled villages! I will march against her and destroy these people who live in such confidence!H559H5927H776H6519H935H8252H3427H983H3427H2346H1280H181712I will go to those formerly desolate cities that are now filled with people who have returned from exile in many nations. I will capture vast amounts of plunder, for the people are rich with livestock and other possessions now. They think the whole world revolves around them!’H7997H7998H962H957H7725H3027H2723H3427H5971H622H1471H6213H4735H7075H3427H2872H77613But Sheba and Dedan and the merchants of Tarshish will ask, ‘Do you really think the armies you have gathered can rob them of silver and gold? Do you think you can drive away their livestock and seize their goods and carry off plunder?’H7614H1719H5503H8659H3715H559H935H7997H7998H6950H6951H962H957H5375H3701H2091H3947H4735H7075H7997H1419H799814“Therefore, son of man, prophesy against Gog. Give him this message from the Sovereign Lord: When my people are living in peace in their land, then you will rouse yourself.H1121H120H5012H559H1463H559H136H3069H3117H5971H3478H3427H983H304515You will come from your homeland in the distant north with your vast cavalry and your mighty army,H935H4725H6828H3411H7227H5971H7392H5483H1419H6951H7227H242816and you will attack my people Israel, covering their land like a cloud. At that time in the distant future, I will bring you against my land as everyone watches, and my holiness will be displayed by what happens to you, Gog. Then all the nations will know that I am the Lord.H5927H5971H3478H6051H3680H776H319H3117H935H776H1471H3045H6942H1463H586917“This is what the Sovereign Lord asks: Are you the one I was talking about long ago, when I announced through Israel’s prophets that in the future I would bring you against my people?H559H136H3069H1696H6931H3117H3027H5650H5030H3478H5012H3117H8141H93518But this is what the Sovereign Lord says: When Gog invades the land of Israel, my fury will boil over!H3117H3117H1463H935H127H3478H5002H136H3069H2534H5927H63919In my jealousy and blazing anger, I promise a mighty shaking in the land of Israel on that day.H7068H784H5678H1696H3117H1419H7494H127H347820All living things—the fish in the sea, the birds of the sky, the animals of the field, the small animals that scurry along the ground, and all the people on earth—will quake in terror at my presence. Mountains will be thrown down; cliffs will crumble; walls will fall to the earth.H1709H3220H5775H8064H2416H7704H7431H7430H127H120H6440H127H7493H6440H2022H2040H4095H5307H2346H5307H77621I will summon the sword against you on all the hills of Israel, says the Sovereign Lord. Your men will turn their swords against each other.H7121H2719H2022H5002H136H3069H376H2719H25122I will punish you and your armies with disease and bloodshed; I will send torrential rain, hailstones, fire, and burning sulfur!H8199H1698H1818H4305H102H7227H5971H7857H1653H417H68H784H161423In this way, I will show my greatness and holiness, and I will make myself known to all the nations of the world. Then they will know that I am the Lord.H1431H6942H3045H5869H7227H1471H3045H3068
Ezekiel 39
39“Son of man, prophesy against Gog. Give him this message from the Sovereign Lord: I am your enemy, O Gog, ruler of the nations of Meshech and Tubal.H1121H120H5012H1463H559H559H136H3069H1463H7218H5387H4902H84222I will turn you around and drive you toward the mountains of Israel, bringing you from the distant north.H7725H8338H5927H6828H3411H935H2022H34783I will knock the bow from your left hand and the arrows from your right hand, and I will leave you helpless.H5221H7198H8040H3027H2671H5307H3225H30274You and your army and your allies will all die on the mountains. I will feed you to the vultures and wild animals.H5307H2022H3478H102H5971H5414H5861H6833H3671H2416H7704H4025You will fall in the open fields, for I have spoken, says the Sovereign Lord.H5307H6440H7704H1696H5002H136H30696And I will rain down fire on Magog and on all your allies who live safely on the coasts. Then they will know that I am the Lord.H7971H784H4031H3427H983H339H3045H30687“In this way, I will make known my holy name among my people of Israel. I will not let anyone bring shame on it. And the nations, too, will know that I am the Lord, the Holy One of Israel.H6944H8034H3045H8432H5971H3478H2490H6944H8034H1471H3045H3068H6918H34788That day of judgment will come, says the Sovereign Lord. Everything will happen just as I have declared it.H935H1961H5002H136H3069H3117H16969“Then the people in the towns of Israel will go out and pick up your small and large shields, bows and arrows, javelins and spears, and they will use them for fuel. There will be enough to last them seven years!H3427H5892H3478H3318H1197H784H5400H5402H4043H6793H7198H2671H3027H4731H7420H1197H784H7651H814110They won’t need to cut wood from the fields or forests, for these weapons will give them all the fuel they need. They will plunder those who planned to plunder them, and they will rob those who planned to rob them, says the Sovereign Lord.H5375H6086H7704H2404H3293H1197H5402H784H7997H7997H962H962H5002H136H306911“And I will make a vast graveyard for Gog and his hordes in the Valley of the Travelers, east of the Dead Sea. It will block the way of those who travel there, and they will change the name of the place to the Valley of Gog’s Hordes.H3117H5414H1463H4725H6913H3478H1516H5674H6926H3220H2629H5674H6912H1463H1995H7121H1516H199612It will take seven months for the people of Israel to bury the bodies and cleanse the land.H7651H2320H1004H3478H6912H2891H77613Everyone in Israel will help, for it will be a glorious victory for Israel when I demonstrate my glory on that day, says the Sovereign Lord.H5971H776H6912H8034H3117H3513H5002H136H306914“After seven months, teams of men will be appointed to search the land for skeletons to bury, so the land will be made clean again.H914H582H8548H5674H776H6912H5674H3498H6440H776H2891H7097H7651H2320H271315Whenever bones are found, a marker will be set up so the burial crews will take them to be buried in the Valley of Gog’s Hordes.H5674H5674H776H7200H120H6106H1129H6725H681H6912H6912H1516H199616(There will be a town there named Hamonah, which means ‘horde.’) And so the land will finally be cleansed.H8034H5892H1997H2891H77617“And now, son of man, this is what the Sovereign Lord says: Call all the birds and wild animals. Say to them: Gather together for my great sacrificial feast. Come from far and near to the mountains of Israel, and there eat flesh and drink blood!H1121H120H559H136H3069H559H3671H6833H2416H7704H6908H935H622H5439H2077H2076H1419H2077H2022H3478H398H1320H8354H181818Eat the flesh of mighty men and drink the blood of princes as though they were rams, lambs, goats, and bulls—all fattened animals from Bashan!H398H1320H1368H8354H1818H5387H776H352H3733H6260H6499H4806H131619Gorge yourselves with flesh until you are glutted; drink blood until you are drunk. This is the sacrificial feast I have prepared for you.H398H2459H7654H8354H1818H7943H2077H207620Feast at my banquet table—feast on horses and charioteers, on mighty men and all kinds of valiant warriors, says the Sovereign Lord.H7646H7979H5483H7393H1368H376H4421H5002H136H306921“In this way, I will demonstrate my glory to the nations. Everyone will see the punishment I have inflicted on them and the power of my fist when I strike.H5414H3519H1471H1471H7200H4941H6213H3027H776022And from that time on the people of Israel will know that I am the Lord their God.H1004H3478H3045H3068H430H3117H197323The nations will then know why Israel was sent away to exile—it was punishment for sin, for they were unfaithful to their God. Therefore, I turned away from them and let their enemies destroy them.H1471H3045H1004H3478H1540H5771H4603H5641H6440H5414H3027H6862H5307H271924I turned my face away and punished them because of their defilement and their sins.H2932H6588H6213H5641H644025“So now, this is what the Sovereign Lord says: I will end the captivity of my people; I will have mercy on all Israel, for I jealously guard my holy reputation!H559H136H3069H7725H7622H7622H3290H7355H1004H3478H7065H6944H803426They will accept responsibility for their past shame and unfaithfulness after they come home to live in peace in their own land, with no one to bother them.H5375H3639H4604H4603H3427H983H127H272927When I bring them home from the lands of their enemies, I will display my holiness among them for all the nations to see.H7725H5971H6908H341H776H6942H5869H7227H147128Then my people will know that I am the Lord their God, because I sent them away to exile and brought them home again. I will leave none of my people behind.H3045H3068H430H1540H1471H3664H127H349829And I will never again turn my face from them, for I will pour out my Spirit upon the people of Israel. I, the Sovereign Lord, have spoken!”H5641H6440H8210H7307H1004H3478H5002H136H3069
Psalms 42
42[For the choir director: A psalm of the descendants of Korah.] As the deer longs for streams of water, so I long for you, O God.H5329H4905H1121H7141H354H6165H4325H650H6165H5315H4302I thirst for God, the living God. When can I go and stand before him?H5315H6770H430H2416H410H935H7200H6440H4303Day and night I have only tears for food, while my enemies continually taunt me, saying, "Where is this God of yours?"H1832H3899H3119H3915H3117H559H4304My heart is breaking as I remember how it used to be. I walked among the crowds of worshipers, leading a great procession to the house of God, singing for joy and giving thanks amid the sound of a great celebration!H2142H8210H5315H5674H5519H1718H1004H430H6963H7440H8426H1995H22875Why am I discouraged? Why is my heart so sad? I will put my hope in God! I will praise him again—my Savior andH7817H5315H1993H3176H430H3034H3444H64406my God! Now I am deeply discouraged, but I will remember you—even from distant Mount Hermon, the source of the Jordan, from the land of Mount Mizar.H430H5315H7817H2142H776H3383H2769H2022H47067I hear the tumult of the raging seas as your waves and surging tides sweep over me.H8415H7121H8415H6963H6794H4867H1530H56748But each day the LORD pours his unfailing love upon me, and through each night I sing his songs, praying to God who gives me life.H3068H6680H2617H3119H3915H7892H8605H410H24169"O God my rock," I cry, "Why have you forgotten me? Why must I wander around in grief, oppressed by my enemies?"H559H410H5553H7911H3212H6937H3906H34110Their taunts break my bones. They scoff, "Where is this God of yours?"H7524H6106H6887H2778H559H3117H43011Why am I discouraged? Why is my heart so sad? I will put my hope in God! I will praise him again—my Savior and my God!H7817H5315H1993H3176H430H3034H3444H6440H430
Dublin, OH
H1121
