DONNIE DAILY DELIGHTS FOR FRIDAY SEPTEMBER 11:
WORD OF WISDOM
There should be a warning label on every Bible - "Warning: When used as
directed this book could get you arrested, beaten or killed!"
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DAILY DEVOTION
The Lord is My Shepherd
We humans want to do things our way. Forget the easy way. Forget the common
way. Forget the best way. Forget God's way. We want to do things our way!
And according to Isaiah 53:6 that is exactly our problem. "We all have
wandered away like sheep; each of us has gone his own way."
You wouldn't think sheep would be obstinate. Of all God's animals, the sheep
is the least able to take care of himself. David said, "The Lord is my
shepherd." We wonder.couldn't David have thought of a better metaphor? Sheep
are dumb. Why didn't he choose something other than sheep? How about, "The
Lord is my King and I am his ambassador?" Everyone stops when the ambassador
speaks. But who notices when God's sheep show up? Only one person notices.
The shepherd. And that is precisely David's point!
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DAILY BIBLE READING
Ezekiel 37-40The Message (MSG)
Breath of Life
37 1-2 God grabbed me. God's Spirit took me up and set me down in the middle
of an open plain strewn with bones. He led me around and among them-a lot of
bones! There were bones all over the plain-dry bones, bleached by the sun.
3 He said to me, "Son of man, can these bones live?"
I said, "Master God, only you know that."
4 He said to me, "Prophesy over these bones: 'Dry bones, listen to the
Message of God!'"
5-6 God, the Master, told the dry bones, "Watch this: I'm bringing the
breath of life to you and you'll come to life. I'll attach sinews to you,
put meat on your bones, cover you with skin, and breathe life into you.
You'll come alive and you'll realize that I am God!"
7-8 I prophesied just as I'd been commanded. As I prophesied, there was a
sound and, oh, rustling! The bones moved and came together, bone to bone. I
kept watching. Sinews formed, then muscles on the bones, then skin stretched
over them. But they had no breath in them.
9 He said to me, "Prophesy to the breath. Prophesy, son of man. Tell the
breath, 'God, the Master, says, Come from the four winds. Come, breath.
Breathe on these slain bodies. Breathe life!'"
10 So I prophesied, just as he commanded me. The breath entered them and
they came alive! They stood up on their feet, a huge army.
11 Then God said to me, "Son of man, these bones are the whole house of
Israel. Listen to what they're saying: 'Our bones are dried up, our hope is
gone, there's nothing left of us.'
12-14 "Therefore, prophesy. Tell them, 'God, the Master, says: I'll dig up
your graves and bring you out alive-O my people! Then I'll take you straight
to the land of Israel. When I dig up graves and bring you out as my people,
you'll realize that I am God. I'll breathe my life into you and you'll live.
Then I'll lead you straight back to your land and you'll realize that I am
God. I've said it and I'll do it. God's Decree.'"
15-17 God's Message came to me: "You, son of man: Take a stick and write on
it, 'For Judah, with his Israelite companions.' Then take another stick and
write on it, 'For Joseph-Ephraim's stick, together with all his Israelite
companions.' Then tie the two sticks together so that you're holding one
stick.
18-19 "When your people ask you, 'Are you going to tell us what you're
doing?' tell them, 'God, the Master, says, Watch me! I'll take the Joseph
stick that is in Ephraim's hand, with the tribes of Israel connected with
him, and lay the Judah stick on it. I'll make them into one stick. I'm
holding one stick.'
20-24 "Then take the sticks you've inscribed and hold them up so the people
can see them. Tell them, 'God, the Master, says, Watch me! I'm taking the
Israelites out of the nations in which they've been exiled. I'll gather them
in from all directions and bring them back home. I'll make them one nation
in the land, on the mountains of Israel, and give them one king-one king
over all of them. Never again will they be divided into two nations, two
kingdoms. Never again will they pollute their lives with their no-god idols
and all those vile obscenities and rebellions. I'll save them out of all
their old sinful haunts. I'll clean them up. They'll be my people! I'll be
their God! My servant David will be king over them. They'll all be under one
shepherd.
24-27 "'They'll follow my laws and keep my statutes. They'll live in the
same land I gave my servant Jacob, the land where your ancestors lived. They
and their children and their grandchildren will live there forever, and my
servant David will be their prince forever. I'll make a covenant of peace
with them that will hold everything together, an everlasting covenant. I'll
make them secure and place my holy place of worship at the center of their
lives forever. I'll live right there with them. I'll be their God! They'll
be my people!
28 "'The nations will realize that I, God, make Israel holy when my holy
place of worship is established at the center of their lives forever.'"
God Against Gog
38 1-6 God's Message came to me: "Son of man, confront Gog from the country
of Magog, head of Meshech and Tubal. Prophesy against him. Say, 'God, the
Master, says: Be warned, Gog. I am against you, head of Meshech and Tubal.
I'm going to turn you around, put hooks in your jaws, and drag you off with
your whole army, your horses and riders in full armor-all those shields and
bucklers and swords-fighting men armed to the teeth! Persia and Cush and Put
will be in the ranks, also well-armed, as will Gomer and its army and
Beth-togarmah out of the north with its army. Many nations will be with you!
7-9 "'Get ready to fight, you and the whole company that's been called out.
Take charge and wait for orders. After a long time, you'll be given your
orders. In the distant future you'll arrive at a country that has recovered
from a devastating war. People from many nations will be gathered there on
the mountains of Israel, for a long time now a wasteland. These people have
been brought back from many countries and now live safe and secure. You'll
rise like a thunderstorm and roll in like clouds and cover the land, you and
the massed troops with you.
10-12 "'Message of God, the Master: At that time you'll start thinking
things over and cook up an evil plot. You'll say, "I'm going to invade a
country without defenses, attack an unsuspecting, carefree people going
about their business-no gates to their cities, no locks on their doors. And
I'm going to plunder the place, march right in and clean them out, this
rebuilt country risen from the ashes, these returned exiles and their
booming economy centered down at the navel of the earth."
13 "'Sheba and Dedan and Tarshish, traders all out to make a fast buck, will
say, "So! You've opened a new market for plunder! You've brought in your
troops to get rich quick!"'
14-16 "Therefore, son of man, prophesy! Tell Gog, 'A Message from God, the
Master: When my people Israel are established securely, will you make your
move? Will you come down out of the far north, you and that mob of armies,
charging out on your horses like a tidal wave across the land, and invade my
people Israel, covering the country like a cloud? When the time's ripe, I'll
unleash you against my land in such a way that the nations will recognize
me, realize that through you, Gog, in full view of the nations, I am putting
my holiness on display.
17-22 "'A Message of God, the Master: Years ago when I spoke through my
servants, the prophets of Israel, wasn't it you I was talking about? Year
after year they prophesied that I would bring you against them. And when the
day comes, Gog, you will attack that land of Israel. Decree of God, the
Master. My raging anger will erupt. Fueled by blazing jealousy, I tell you
that then there will be an earthquake that rocks the land of Israel. Fish
and birds and wild animals-even ants and beetles!-and every human being will
tremble and shake before me. Mountains will disintegrate, terraces will
crumble. I'll order all-out war against you, Gog-Decree of God, the
Master-Gog killing Gog on all the mountains of Israel. I'll deluge Gog with
judgment: disease and massacre, torrential rain and hail, volcanic lava
pouring down on you and your mobs of troops and people.
23 "'I'll show you how great I am, how holy I am. I'll make myself known all
over the world. Then you'll realize that I am God.'"
Call the Wild Animals!
39 1-5 "Son of man, prophesy against Gog. Say, 'A Message of God, the
Master: I'm against you, Gog, head of Meshech and Tubal. I'm going to turn
you around and drag you out, drag you out of the far north and down on the
mountains of Israel. Then I'll knock your bow out of your left hand and your
arrows from your right hand. On the mountains of Israel you'll be
slaughtered, you and all your troops and the people with you. I'll serve you
up as a meal to carrion birds and scavenging animals. You'll be killed in
the open field. I've given my word. Decree of God, the Master.'
6 "I'll set fire to Magog and the far-off islands, where people are so
seemingly secure. And they'll realize that I am God.
7 "I'll reveal my holy name among my people Israel. Never again will I let
my holy name be dragged in the mud. Then the nations will realize that I,
God, am The Holy in Israel.
8 "It's coming! Yes, it will happen! This is the day I've been telling you
about.
9-10 "People will come out of the cities of Israel and make a huge bonfire
of the weapons of war, piling on shields large and small, bows and arrows,
clubs and spears, a fire they'll keep going for seven years. They won't need
to go into the woods to get fuel for the fire. There'll be plenty of weapons
to keep it going. They'll strip those who stripped them. They'll rob those
who robbed them. Decree of God, the Master.
11 "At that time I'll set aside a burial ground for Gog in Israel at
Traveler's Rest, just east of the sea. It will obstruct the route of
travelers, blocking their way, the mass grave of Gog and his mob of an army.
They'll call the place Gog's Mob.
12-16 "Israel will bury the corpses in order to clean up the land. It will
take them seven months. All the people will turn out to help with the
burials. It will be a big day for the people when it's all done and I'm
given my due. Men will be hired full-time for the cleanup burial operation
and will go through the country looking for defiling, decomposing corpses.
At the end of seven months, there'll be an all-out final search. Anyone who
sees a bone will mark the place with a stick so the buriers can get it and
bury it in the mass burial site, Gog's Mob. (A town nearby is called
Mobville, or Hamonah.) That's how they'll clean up the land.
17-20 "Son of man, God, the Master, says: Call the birds! Call the wild
animals! Call out, 'Gather and come, gather around my sacrificial meal that
I'm preparing for you on the mountains of Israel. You'll eat meat and drink
blood. You'll eat off the bodies of great heroes and drink the blood of
famous princes as if they were so many rams and lambs, goats and bulls, the
choicest grain-fed animals of Bashan. At the sacrificial meal I'm fixing for
you, you'll eat fat till you're stuffed and drink blood till you're drunk.
At the table I set for you, you'll stuff yourselves with horses and riders,
heroes and fighters of every kind.' Decree of God, the Master.
21-24 "I'll put my glory on display among the nations and they'll all see
the judgment I execute, see me at work handing out judgment. From that day
on, Israel will realize that I am their God. And the nations will get the
message that it was because of their sins that Israel went into exile. They
were disloyal to me and I turned away from them. I turned them over to their
enemies and they were all killed. I treated them as their polluted and
sin-sated lives deserved. I turned away from them, refused to look at them.
25-29 "But now I will return Jacob back from exile, I'll be compassionate
with all the people of Israel, and I'll be zealous for my holy name.
Eventually the memory will fade, the memory of their shame over their
betrayals of me when they lived securely in their own land, safe and
unafraid. Once I've brought them back from foreign parts, gathered them in
from enemy territories, I'll use them to demonstrate my holiness with all
the nations watching. Then they'll realize for sure that I am their God, for
even though I sent them off into exile, I will gather them back to their own
land, leaving not one soul behind. After I've poured my Spirit on Israel,
filled them with my life, I'll no longer turn away. I'll look them full in
the face. Decree of God, the Master."
Measuring the Temple Complex
40 1-3 In the twenty-fifth year of our exile, at the beginning of the year
on the tenth of the month-it was the fourteenth year after the city fell-God
touched me and brought me here. He brought me in divine vision to the land
of Israel and set me down on a high mountain. To the south there were
buildings that looked like a city. He took me there and I met a man deeply
tanned, like bronze. He stood at the entrance holding a linen cord and a
measuring stick.
4 The man said to me, "Son of man, look and listen carefully. Pay close
attention to everything I'm going to show you. That's why you've been
brought here. And then tell Israel everything you see."
5 First I saw a wall around the outside of the Temple complex. The measuring
stick in the man's hand was about ten feet long. He measured the thickness
of the wall: about ten feet. The height was also about ten feet.
6-7 He went into the gate complex that faced the east and went up the seven
steps. He measured the depth of the outside threshold of the gate complex:
ten feet. There were alcoves flanking the gate corridor, each ten feet
square, each separated by a wall seven and a half feet thick. The inside
threshold of the gate complex that led to the porch facing into the Temple
courtyard was ten feet deep.
8-9 He measured the inside porch of the gate complex: twelve feet deep,
flanked by pillars three feet thick. The porch opened onto the Temple
courtyard.
10 Inside this east gate complex were three alcoves on each side. Each room
was the same size and the separating walls were identical.
11 He measured the outside entrance to the gate complex: fifteen feet wide
and nineteen and a half feet deep.
12 In front of each alcove was a low wall eighteen inches high. The alcoves
were ten feet square.
13 He measured the width of the gate complex from the outside edge of the
alcove roof on one side to the outside edge of the alcove roof on the other:
thirty-seven and a half feet from one top edge to the other.
14 He measured the inside walls of the gate complex: ninety feet to the
porch leading into the courtyard.
15 The distance from the entrance of the gate complex to the far end of the
porch was seventy-five feet.
16 The alcoves and their connecting walls inside the gate complex were
topped by narrow windows all the way around. The porch also. All the windows
faced inward. The doorjambs between the alcoves were decorated with palm
trees.
17-19 The man then led me to the outside courtyard and all its rooms. A
paved walkway had been built connecting the courtyard gates. Thirty rooms
lined the courtyard. The walkway was the same length as the gateways. It
flanked them and ran their entire length. This was the walkway for the
outside courtyard. He measured the distance from the front of the entrance
gateway across to the entrance of the inner court: one hundred fifty feet.
19-23 Then he took me to the north side. Here was another gate complex
facing north, exiting the outside courtyard. He measured its length and
width. It had three alcoves on each side. Its gateposts and porch were the
same as in the first gate: eighty-seven and a half feet by forty-three and
three-quarters feet. The windows and palm trees were identical to the east
gateway. Seven steps led up to it, and its porch faced inward. Opposite this
gate complex was a gate complex to the inside courtyard, on the north as on
the east. The distance between the two was one hundred seventy-five feet.
24-27 Then he took me to the south side, to the south gate complex. He
measured its gateposts and its porch. It was the same size as the others.
The porch with its windows was the same size as those previously mentioned.
It also had seven steps up to it. Its porch opened onto the outside
courtyard, with palm trees decorating its gateposts on both sides. Opposite
to it, the gate complex for the inner court faced south. He measured the
distance across the courtyard from gate to gate: one hundred seventy-five
feet.
28-31 He led me into the inside courtyard through the south gate complex. He
measured it and found it the same as the outside ones. Its alcoves,
connecting walls, and vestibule were the same. The gate complex and porch,
windowed all around, measured eighty-seven and a half by forty-three and
three-quarters feet. The vestibule of each of the gate complexes leading to
the inside courtyard was forty-three and three-quarters by eight and
three-quarters feet. Each vestibule faced the outside courtyard. Palm trees
were carved on its doorposts. Eight steps led up to it.
32-34 He then took me to the inside courtyard on the east and measured the
gate complex. It was identical to the others-alcoves, connecting walls, and
vestibule all the same. The gate complex and vestibule had windows all
around. It measured eighty-seven and a half by forty-three and
three-quarters feet. Its porch faced the outside courtyard. There were palm
trees on the doorposts on both sides. And it had eight steps.
35-37 He brought me to the gate complex to the north and measured it: same
measurements. The alcoves, connecting walls, and vestibule with its windows:
eighty-seven and a half by forty-three and three-quarters feet. Its porch
faced the outside courtyard. There were palm trees on its doorposts on both
sides. And it had eight steps.
38-43 There was a room with a door at the vestibule of the gate complex
where the burnt offerings were cleaned. Two tables were placed within the
vestibule, one on either side, on which the animals for burnt offerings, sin
offerings, and guilt offerings were slaughtered. Two tables were also placed
against both outside walls of the vestibule-four tables inside and four
tables outside, eight tables in all for slaughtering the sacrificial
animals. The four tables used for the burnt offerings were thirty-one and a
half inches square and twenty-one inches high. The tools for slaughtering
the sacrificial animals and other sacrifices were kept there. Meat hooks,
three inches long, were fastened to the walls. The tables were for the
sacrificial animals.
44-46 Right where the inside gate complex opened onto the inside courtyard
there were two rooms, one at the north gate facing south and the one at the
south gate facing north. The man told me, "The room facing south is for the
priests who are in charge of the Temple. And the room facing north is for
the priests who are in charge of the altar. These priests are the sons of
Zadok, the only sons of Levi permitted to come near to God to serve him."
47 He measured the inside courtyard: a hundred seventy-five feet square. The
altar was in front of the Temple.
48-49 He led me to the porch of the Temple and measured the gateposts of the
porch: eight and three-quarters feet high on both sides. The entrance to the
gate complex was twenty-one feet wide and its connecting walls were four and
a half feet thick. The vestibule itself was thirty-five feet wide and
twenty-one feet deep. Ten steps led up to the porch. Columns flanked the
gateposts.
The Message (MSG)
Copyright C 1993, 1994, 1995, 1996, 2000, 2001, 2002 by Eugene H. Peterson
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Victoria E Gilkerson