DONNIE DAILY GEMS FOR MONDAY SEPTEMBER 9:
WORD OF WISDOM
Store the Bible in your heart, not on a shelf.
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DAILY DEVOTION
An Unwanted Blessing
"Blessed are they which are persecuted for righteousness' sake: for theirs
is the kingdom of heaven. Blessed are ye, when men shall revile you, and
persecute you, and shall say all manner of evil against you falsely, for my
sake. Rejoice, and be exceeding glad: for great is your reward in heaven:
for so persecuted they the prophets which were before you."
Matthew 5:10-12
The repressive Communist government of Romania did everything they could to
silence Richard Wurmbrand after their takeover of the country following
World War II. He was arrested and imprisoned, but not even prison bars could
stop him from proclaiming the truth of the gospel. In his autobiography,
Tortured for Christ, Wurmbrand wrote, "It was strictly forbidden to preach
to other prisoners. It was understood that whoever was caught doing this
received a severe beating. A number of us decided to pay the price for the
privilege of preaching, so we accepted their terms. It was a deal; we
preached and they beat us. We were happy preaching. They were happy beating
us, so everyone was happy." Wurmbrand's perspective could only come through
his confidence in God's promises and the Holy Spirit's work of grace in his
life.
Though Jesus promised a blessing for those who are persecuted for their
faith, that is a blessing most of us are willing to miss out on receiving.
As a result, there are times when we are tempted to be silent with the
gospel or avoid taking a stand for Christ when we think it would not be well
received. The temptation to take the easy way out is not new. Peter faced it
as he warmed himself by the fire outside where Jesus was being tried (John
18:25). But as our society does more to promote evil, our firm stand for the
truth must never waver. While none of us would be excited to have to suffer
serious persecution, beatings, or worse, as many Christians in the world
today do, we should be so committed to following Jesus that if that becomes
the choice we face, we will make the right decision.
Fear of what others may say or do should never stop us from doing what is
right.
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DAILY BIBLE READING
Ezekiel 31-33 New King James Version (NKJV)
Egypt Cut Down Like a Great Tree
31 Now it came to pass in the eleventh year, in the third month, on the
first day of the month, that the word of the Lord came to me, saying, 2
"Son of man, say to Pharaoh king of Egypt and to his multitude:
'Whom are you like in your greatness?
3
Indeed Assyria was a cedar in Lebanon,
With fine branches that shaded the forest,
And of high stature;
And its top was among the thick boughs.
4
The waters made it grow;
Underground waters gave it height,
With their rivers running around the place where it was planted,
And sent out [a]rivulets to all the trees of the field.
5
'Therefore its height was exalted above all the trees of the field;
Its boughs were multiplied,
And its branches became long because of the abundance of water,
As it sent them out.
6
All the birds of the heavens made their nests in its boughs;
Under its branches all the beasts of the field brought forth their young;
And in its shadow all great nations [b]made their home.
7
'Thus it was beautiful in greatness and in the length of its branches,
Because its roots reached to abundant waters.
8
The cedars in the garden of God could not hide it;
The fir trees were not like its boughs,
And the [c]chestnut trees were not like its branches;
No tree in the garden of God was like it in beauty.
9
I made it beautiful with a multitude of branches,
So that all the trees of Eden envied it,
That were in the garden of God.'
10 "Therefore thus says the Lord God: 'Because you have increased in height,
and it set its top among the thick boughs, and its heart was [d]lifted up in
its height, 11 therefore I will deliver it into the hand of the mighty one
of the nations, and he shall surely deal with it; I have driven it out for
its wickedness. 12 And aliens, the most terrible of the nations, have cut
it down and left it; its branches have fallen on the mountains and in all
the valleys; its boughs lie broken by all the rivers of the land; and all
the peoples of the earth have gone from under its shadow and left it.
13
'On its ruin will remain all the birds of the heavens,
And all the beasts of the field will come to its branches-
14 So that no trees by the waters may ever again exalt themselves for their
height, nor set their tops among the thick boughs, that no tree which drinks
water may ever be high enough to reach up to them.
'For they have all been delivered to death,
To the depths of the earth,
Among the children of men who go down to the Pit.'
15 "Thus says the Lord God: 'In the day when it went down to [e]hell, I
caused mourning. I covered the deep because of it. I restrained its rivers,
and the great waters were held back. I caused Lebanon to [f]mourn for it,
and all the trees of the field wilted because of it. 16 I made the nations
shake at the sound of its fall, when I cast it down to [g]hell together with
those who descend into the Pit; and all the trees of Eden, the choice and
best of Lebanon, all that drink water, were comforted in the depths of the
earth. 17 They also went down to hell with it, with those slain by the
sword; and those who were its strong arm dwelt in its shadows among the
nations.
18 'To which of the trees in Eden will you then be likened in glory and
greatness? Yet you shall be brought down with the trees of Eden to the
depths of the earth; you shall lie in the midst of the uncircumcised, with
those slain by the sword. This is Pharaoh and all his multitude,' says the
Lord God."
Lamentation for Pharaoh and Egypt
32 And it came to pass in the twelfth year, in the twelfth month, on the
first day of the month, that the word of the Lord came to me, saying, 2
"Son of man, take up a lamentation for Pharaoh king of Egypt, and say to
him:
'You are like a young lion among the nations,
And you are like a monster in the seas,
Bursting forth in your rivers,
Troubling the waters with your feet,
And fouling their rivers.
3 'Thus says the Lord God:
"I will therefore spread My net over you with a company of many people,
And they will draw you up in My net.
4
Then I will leave you on the land;
I will cast you out on the open fields,
And cause to [h]settle on you all the birds of the heavens.
And with you I will fill the beasts of the whole earth.
5
I will lay your flesh on the mountains,
And fill the valleys with your carcass.
6
"I will also water the land with the flow of your blood,
Even to the mountains;
And the riverbeds will be full of you.
7
When I put out your light,
I will cover the heavens, and make its stars dark;
I will cover the sun with a cloud,
And the moon shall not give her light.
8
All the [i]bright lights of the heavens I will make dark over you,
And bring darkness upon your land,"
Says the Lord God.
9 'I will also trouble the hearts of many peoples, when I bring your
destruction among the nations, into the countries which you have not known.
10 Yes, I will make many peoples astonished at you, and their kings shall be
horribly afraid of you when I brandish My sword before them; and they shall
tremble every moment, every man for his own life, in the day of your fall.
11 'For thus says the Lord God: "The sword of the king of Babylon shall come
upon you. 12 By the swords of the mighty warriors, all of them the most
terrible of the nations, I will cause your multitude to fall.
"They shall plunder the pomp of Egypt,
And all its multitude shall be destroyed.
13
Also I will destroy all its animals
From beside its great waters;
The foot of man shall muddy them no more,
Nor shall the hooves of animals muddy them.
14
Then I will make their waters [j]clear,
And make their rivers run like oil,"
Says the Lord God.
15
"When I make the land of Egypt desolate,
And the country is destitute of all that once filled it,
When I strike all who dwell in it,
Then they shall know that I am the Lord.
16
"This is the lamentation
With which they shall lament her;
The daughters of the nations shall lament her;
They shall lament for her, for Egypt,
And for all her multitude,"
Says the Lord God.' "
Egypt and Others Consigned to the Pit
17 It came to pass also in the twelfth year, on the fifteenth day of the
month, that the word of the Lord came to me, saying:
18
"Son of man, wail over the multitude of Egypt,
And cast them down to the depths of the earth,
Her and the daughters of the famous nations,
With those who go down to the Pit:
19
'Whom do you surpass in beauty?
Go down, be placed with the uncircumcised.'
20
"They shall fall in the midst of those slain by the sword;
She is delivered to the sword,
Drawing her and all her multitudes.
21
The strong among the mighty
Shall speak to him out of the midst of hell
With those who help him:
'They have gone down,
They lie with the uncircumcised, slain by the sword.'
22
"Assyria is there, and all her company,
With their graves all around her,
All of them slain, fallen by the sword.
23
Her graves are set in the recesses of the Pit,
And her company is all around her grave,
All of them slain, fallen by the sword,
Who caused terror in the land of the living.
24
"There is Elam and all her multitude,
All around her grave,
All of them slain, fallen by the sword,
Who have gone down uncircumcised to the lower parts of the earth,
Who caused their terror in the land of the living;
Now they bear their shame with those who go down to the Pit.
25
They have set her bed in the midst of the slain,
With all her multitude,
With her graves all around it,
All of them uncircumcised, slain by the sword;
Though their terror was caused
In the land of the living,
Yet they bear their shame
With those who go down to the Pit;
It was put in the midst of the slain.
26
"There are Meshech and Tubal and all their multitudes,
With all their graves around it,
All of them uncircumcised, slain by the sword,
Though they caused their terror in the land of the living.
27
They do not lie with the mighty
Who are fallen of the uncircumcised,
Who have gone down to hell with their weapons of war;
They have laid their swords under their heads,
But their iniquities will be on their bones,
Because of the terror of the mighty in the land of the living.
28
Yes, you shall be broken in the midst of the uncircumcised,
And lie with those slain by the sword.
29
"There is Edom,
Her kings and all her princes,
Who despite their might
Are laid beside those slain by the sword;
They shall lie with the uncircumcised,
And with those who go down to the Pit.
30
There are the princes of the north,
All of them, and all the Sidonians,
Who have gone down with the slain
In shame at the terror which they caused by their might;
They lie uncircumcised with those slain by the sword,
And bear their shame with those who go down to the Pit.
31
"Pharaoh will see them
And be comforted over all his multitude,
Pharaoh and all his army,
Slain by the sword,"
Says the Lord God.
32
"For I have caused My terror in the land of the living;
And he shall be placed in the midst of the uncircumcised
With those slain by the sword,
Pharaoh and all his multitude,"
Says the Lord God.
The Watchman and His Message
33 Again the word of the Lord came to me, saying, 2 "Son of man, speak to
the children of your people, and say to them: 'When I bring the sword upon a
land, and the people of the land take a man from their territory and make
him their watchman, 3 when he sees the sword coming upon the land, if he
blows the trumpet and warns the people, 4 then whoever hears the sound of
the trumpet and does not take warning, if the sword comes and takes him
away, his blood shall be on his own head. 5 He heard the sound of the
trumpet, but did not take warning; his blood shall be upon himself. But he
who takes warning will [k]save his life. 6 But if the watchman sees the
sword coming and does not blow the trumpet, and the people are not warned,
and the sword comes and takes any person from among them, he is taken away
in his iniquity; but his blood I will require at the watchman's hand.'
7 "So you, son of man: I have made you a watchman for the house of Israel;
therefore you shall hear a word from My mouth and warn them for Me. 8 When
I say to the wicked, 'O wicked man, you shall surely die!' and you do not
speak to warn the wicked from his way, that wicked man shall die in his
iniquity; but his blood I will require at your hand. 9 Nevertheless if you
warn the wicked to turn from his way, and he does not turn from his way, he
shall die in his iniquity; but you have [l]delivered your soul.
10 "Therefore you, O son of man, say to the house of Israel: 'Thus you say,
"If our transgressions and our sins lie upon us, and we pine[m] away in
them, how can we then live?" ' 11 Say to them: 'As I live,' says the Lord
God, 'I have no pleasure in the death of the wicked, but that the wicked
turn from his way and live. Turn, turn from your evil ways! For why should
you die, O house of Israel?'
The Fairness of God's Judgment
12 "Therefore you, O son of man, say to the children of your people: 'The
righteousness of the righteous man shall not deliver him in the day of his
transgression; as for the wickedness of the wicked, he shall not fall
because of it in the day that he turns from his wickedness; nor shall the
righteous be able to live because of his righteousness in the day that he
sins.' 13 When I say to the righteous that he shall surely live, but he
trusts in his own righteousness and commits iniquity, none of his righteous
works shall be remembered; but because of the iniquity that he has
committed, he shall die. 14 Again, when I say to the wicked, 'You shall
surely die,' if he turns from his sin and does [n]what is lawful and
[o]right, 15 if the wicked restores the pledge, gives back what he has
stolen, and walks in the statutes of life without committing iniquity, he
shall surely live; he shall not die. 16 None of his sins which he has
committed shall be remembered against him; he has done what is lawful and
right; he shall surely live.
17 "Yet the children of your people say, 'The way of the Lord is not
[p]fair.' But it is their way which is not fair! 18 When the righteous
turns from his righteousness and commits iniquity, he shall die because of
it. 19 But when the wicked turns from his wickedness and does what is
lawful and right, he shall live because of it. 20 Yet you say, 'The way of
the Lord is not [q]fair.' O house of Israel, I will judge every one of you
according to his own ways."
The Fall of Jerusalem
21 And it came to pass in the twelfth year of our captivity, in the tenth
month, on the fifth day of the month, that one who had escaped from
Jerusalem came to me and said, "The city has been [r]captured!"
22 Now the hand of the Lord had been upon me the evening before the man came
who had escaped. And He had opened my mouth; so when he came to me in the
morning, my mouth was opened, and I was no longer mute.
The Cause of Judah's Ruin
23 Then the word of the Lord came to me, saying: 24 "Son of man, they who
inhabit those ruins in the land of Israel are saying, 'Abraham was only one,
and he inherited the land. But we are many; the land has been given to us as
a possession.'
25 "Therefore say to them, 'Thus says the Lord God: "You eat meat with
blood, you lift up your eyes toward your idols, and shed blood. Should you
then possess the land? 26 You rely on your sword, you commit abominations,
and you defile one another's wives. Should you then possess the land?" '
27 "Say thus to them, 'Thus says the Lord God: "As I live, surely those who
are in the ruins shall fall by the sword, and the one who is in the open
field I will give to the beasts to be devoured, and those who are in the
strongholds and caves shall die of the pestilence. 28 For I will make the
land most desolate, [s]her arrogant strength shall cease, and the mountains
of Israel shall be so desolate that no one will pass through. 29 Then they
shall know that I am the Lord, when I have made the land most desolate
because of all their abominations which they have committed." '
Hearing and Not Doing
30 "As for you, son of man, the children of your people are talking about
you beside the walls and in the doors of the houses; and they speak to one
another, everyone saying to his brother, 'Please come and hear what the word
is that comes from the Lord.' 31 So they come to you as people do, they sit
before you as My people, and they hear your words, but they do not do them;
for with their mouth they show much love, but their hearts pursue their own
gain. 32 Indeed you are to them as a very lovely song of one who has a
pleasant voice and can play well on an instrument; for they hear your words,
but they do not do them. 33 And when this comes to pass-surely it will
come-then they will know that a prophet has been among them."
Footnotes:
a.Ezekiel 31:4 Or channels
b.Ezekiel 31:6 Lit. dwelled
c.Ezekiel 31:8 Or plane, Heb. armon
d.Ezekiel 31:10 Proud
e.Ezekiel 31:15 Or Sheol
f.Ezekiel 31:15 Lit. be darkened
g.Ezekiel 31:16 Or Sheol
h.Ezekiel 32:4 Lit. sit or dwell
i.Ezekiel 32:8 Or shining
j.Ezekiel 32:14 Lit. sink; settle, grow clear
k.Ezekiel 33:5 Or deliver his soul
l.Ezekiel 33:9 Or saved your life
m.Ezekiel 33:10 Or waste away
n.Ezekiel 33:14 justice
o.Ezekiel 33:14 righteousness
p.Ezekiel 33:17 Or equitable
q.Ezekiel 33:20 Or equitable
r.Ezekiel 33:21 Lit. struck down
s.Ezekiel 33:28 Lit. pride of her strength
