DONNIE DAILY GEMS FOR SUNDAY AUGUST 30:
DAILY BIBLE READING
Ezekiel 13-15 New King James Version (NKJV)
Woe to Foolish Prophets
13 And the word of the Lord came to me, saying, 2 "Son of man, prophesy
against the prophets of Israel who prophesy, and say to those who prophesy
out of their own heart,[a] 'Hear the word of the Lord!' "
3 Thus says the Lord God: "Woe to the foolish prophets, who follow their own
spirit and have seen [b]nothing! 4 O Israel, your prophets are like foxes in
the deserts. 5 You have not gone up into the [c]gaps to build a wall for the
house of Israel to stand in battle on the day of the Lord. 6 They have
envisioned futility and false divination, saying, 'Thus says the Lord!' But
the Lord has not sent them; yet they hope that the word may [d]be confirmed.
7 Have you not seen a futile vision, and have you not spoken false
divination? You say, 'The Lord says,' but I have not spoken."
8 Therefore thus says the Lord God: "Because you have spoken nonsense and
envisioned lies, therefore I am indeed against you," says the Lord God. 9
"My hand will be against the prophets who envision futility and who divine
lies; they shall not be in the assembly of My people, nor be written in the
record of the house of Israel, nor shall they enter into the land of Israel.
Then you shall know that I am the Lord God.
10 "Because, indeed, because they have seduced My people, saying, 'Peace!'
when there is no peace-and one builds a wall, and they plaster[e] it with
untempered mortar- 11 say to those who plaster it with untempered mortar,
that it will fall. There will be flooding rain, and you, O great hailstones,
shall fall; and a stormy wind shall tear it down. 12 Surely, when the wall
has fallen, will it not be said to you, 'Where is the mortar with which you
plastered it?' "
13 Therefore thus says the Lord God: "I will cause a stormy wind to break
forth in My fury; and there shall be a flooding rain in My anger, and great
hailstones in fury to consume it. 14 So I will break down the wall you have
plastered with untempered mortar, and bring it down to the ground, so that
its foundation will be uncovered; it will fall, and you shall be consumed in
the midst of it. Then you shall know that I am the Lord.
15 "Thus will I accomplish My wrath on the wall and on those who have
plastered it with untempered mortar; and I will say to you, 'The wall is no
more, nor those who plastered it, 16 that is, the prophets of Israel who
prophesy concerning Jerusalem, and who see visions of peace for her when
there is no peace,' " says the Lord God.
17 "Likewise, son of man, set your face against the daughters of your
people, who prophesy out of their own [f]heart; prophesy against them, 18
and say, 'Thus says the Lord God: "Woe to the women who sew magic charms
[g]on their sleeves and make veils for the heads of people of every height
to hunt souls! Will you hunt the souls of My people, and keep yourselves
alive? 19 And will you profane Me among My people for handfuls of barley and
for pieces of bread, killing people who should not die, and keeping people
alive who should not live, by your lying to My people who listen to lies?"
20 'Therefore thus says the Lord God: "Behold, I am against your magic
charms by which you hunt souls there like [h]birds. I will tear them from
your arms, and let the souls go, the souls you hunt like birds. 21 I will
also tear off your veils and deliver My people out of your hand, and they
shall no longer be as prey in your hand. Then you shall know that I am the
Lord.
22 "Because with lies you have made the heart of the righteous sad, whom I
have not made sad; and you have strengthened the hands of the wicked, so
that he does not turn from his wicked way to save his life. 23 Therefore you
shall no longer envision futility nor practice divination; for I will
deliver My people out of your hand, and you shall know that I am the Lord."
' "
Idolatry Will Be Punished
14 Now some of the elders of Israel came to me and sat before me. 2 And the
word of the Lord came to me, saying, 3 "Son of man, these men have set up
their idols in their hearts, and put before them that which causes them to
stumble into iniquity. Should I let Myself be inquired of at all by them?
4 "Therefore speak to them, and say to them, 'Thus says the Lord God:
"Everyone of the house of Israel who sets up his idols in his heart, and
puts before him what causes him to stumble into iniquity, and then comes to
the prophet, I the Lord will answer him who comes, according to the
multitude of his idols, 5 that I may seize the house of Israel by their
heart, because they are all estranged from Me by their idols." '
6 "Therefore say to the house of Israel, 'Thus says the Lord God: "Repent,
turn away from your idols, and turn your faces away from all your
abominations. 7 For anyone of the house of Israel, or of the strangers who
dwell in Israel, who separates himself from Me and sets up his idols in his
heart and puts before him what causes him to stumble into iniquity, then
comes to a prophet to inquire of him concerning Me, I the Lord will answer
him by Myself. 8 I will set My face against that man and make him a sign and
a proverb, and I will cut him off from the midst of My people. Then you
shall know that I am the Lord.
9 "And if the prophet is induced to speak anything, I the Lord have induced
that prophet, and I will stretch out My hand against him and destroy him
from among My people Israel. 10 And they shall bear their iniquity; the
punishment of the prophet shall be the same as the punishment of the one who
inquired, 11 that the house of Israel may no longer stray from Me, nor be
profaned anymore with all their transgressions, but that they may be My
people and I may be their God," says the Lord God.' "
Judgment on Persistent Unfaithfulness
12 The word of the Lord came again to me, saying: 13 "Son of man, when a
land sins against Me by persistent unfaithfulness, I will stretch out My
hand against it; I will cut off its supply of bread, send famine on it, and
cut off man and beast from it. 14 Even if these three men, Noah, Daniel, and
Job, were in it, they would deliver only themselves by their righteousness,"
says the Lord God.
15 "If I cause wild beasts to pass through the land, and they [i]empty it,
and make it so desolate that no man may pass through because of the beasts,
16 even though these three men were [j]in it, as I live," says the Lord God,
"they would deliver neither sons nor daughters; only they would be
delivered, and the land would be desolate.
17 "Or if I bring a sword on that land, and say, 'Sword, go through the
land,' and I cut off man and beast from it, 18 even though these three men
were in it, as I live," says the Lord God, "they would deliver neither sons
nor daughters, but only they themselves would be delivered.
19 "Or if I send a pestilence into that land and pour out My fury on it in
blood, and cut off from it man and beast, 20 even though Noah, Daniel, and
Job were in it, as I live," says the Lord God, "they would deliver neither
son nor daughter; they would deliver only themselves by their
righteousness."
21 For thus says the Lord God: "How much more it shall be when I send My
four [k]severe judgments on Jerusalem-the sword and famine and wild beasts
and pestilence-to cut off man and beast from it? 22 Yet behold, there shall
be left in it a remnant who will be brought out, both sons and daughters;
surely they will come out to you, and you will see their ways and their
doings. Then you will be comforted concerning the disaster that I have
brought upon Jerusalem, all that I have brought upon it. 23 And they will
comfort you, when you see their ways and their doings; and you shall know
that I have done nothing without cause that I have done in it," says the
Lord God.
The Outcast Vine
15 Then the word of the Lord came to me, saying: 2 "Son of man, how is the
wood of the vine better than any other wood, the vine branch which is among
the trees of the forest? 3 Is wood taken from it to make any object? Or can
men make a peg from it to hang any vessel on? 4 Instead, it is thrown into
the fire for fuel; the fire devours both ends of it, and its middle is
burned. Is it useful for any work? 5 Indeed, when it was whole, no object
could be made from it. How much less will it be useful for any work when the
fire has devoured it, and it is burned?
6 "Therefore thus says the Lord God: 'Like the wood of the vine among the
trees of the forest, which I have given to the fire for fuel, so I will give
up the inhabitants of Jerusalem; 7 and I will set My face against them. They
will go out from one fire, but another fire shall devour them. Then you
shall know that I am the Lord, when I set My face against them. 8 Thus I
will make the land desolate, because they have persisted in unfaithfulness,'
says the Lord God."
