DONNIE DAILY GEMS FOR THURSDAY SEPTEMBER 1:
WORD OF WISDOM
Quit living as if the purpose in life is to arrive safely at death. Run to
the roar!
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DAILY DEVOTION
The Days of Noah
"But first must he suffer many things, and be rejected of this generation.
And as it was in the days of Noe, so shall it be also in the days of the Son
of man. They did eat, they drank, they married wives, they were given in
marriage, until the day that Noe entered into the ark, and the flood came,
and destroyed them all."
Luke 17:25-27
The Flood that destroyed all of mankind, except for those in the ark, in
Noah's day remains a powerful reminder of the holy hatred God has for sin.
The fact that when it occurred the Flood was completely unexpected says so
much about human nature. Jesus tells us that people continued their routines
right up to the very day that Noah went into the ark and the rain began. Yet
we also know that for more than one hundred years Noah had proclaimed to
those around him the warning that Divine judgment was coming. They received
the warning. They simply refused to heed it.
We are living in a similar day. The judgment of God came on the world not
primarily because they were so wicked (there is plenty of wickedness in our
day) but because they refused to repent. If the notably evil city of Nineveh
was spared because they responded to Jonah's warning and the city of Sodom
would have been spared if there had been at least ten righteous people
there, there is little doubt that if the people had responded to Noah, God's
hand of judgment would have been stayed.
There are many lessons that could be drawn from this teaching, but one of
the most important for us is the reality that it is a mistake to think that
because God has not yet carried out judgment He will never do so. Instead of
continuing on in our careless routines, we need to believe what He says.
Let us be quick to heed warning from the Spirit of God and His Word and turn
to Him for forgiveness.
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DAILY BIBLE READING
Ezekiel 7-9Easy-to-Read Version (ERV)
Disaster Is Coming to Jerusalem
7 Then the word of the Lord came to me. 2 He said, "Now, son of man, here is
a message from the Lord God. This message is for the land of Israel:
"The end!
The end is coming.
The whole country will be destroyed.
3
Your end is coming now!
I will show how angry I am with you.
I will punish you for the evil things you did.
I will make you pay for all the terrible things you did.
4
I will not show you any mercy or feel sorry for you.
I am punishing you for the evil things you did.
You have done such terrible things.
Now, you will know that I am the Lord."
5 This is what the Lord God said: "There will be one disaster after another!
6 The end is coming, and it will come quickly! 7 You people living in
Israel, disaster is coming. It is time for punishment. Those are not shouts
of joy in the mountains. Those are cries of panic. 8 Very soon now, I will
show you how angry I am. I will show all of my anger against you. I will
punish you for the evil things you did. I will make you pay for all the
terrible things you did. 9 I will not show you any mercy or feel sorry for
you. I am punishing you for the evil things you did. You have done such
terrible things. Now, you will know that I am the Lord.
10 "That time of punishment has come like a plant sprouting, budding, and
flowering. God has given the signal, the enemy is prepared, and their proud
king is ready. 11 This violent man is ready to punish the evil people. There
are many people in Israel-but he is not one of them. He is not a person in
that crowd. He is not some important leader from them.
12 "The time of punishment has come. The day is here. Those who buy things
will not be happy, and those who sell things will not feel bad about selling
them because that terrible punishment will happen to everyone. 13 The people
who sold their property[a] will never go back to it. Even if some people
escape alive, they will never go back to their property, because this vision
is for the whole crowd. So even if some people escape alive, it will not
make everyone feel better.
14 "They will blow the trumpet to warn the people. The people will get ready
for battle, but they will not go out to fight because I will show the whole
crowd how angry I am. 15 The enemy with his sword is outside the city.
Disease and hunger is inside the city. If some people go out into the
fields, enemy soldiers will kill them. If they stay in the city, hunger and
disease will destroy them.
16 "But some people will escape. The survivors will run to the mountains,
but they will not be happy. They will be sad for all their sins. They will
cry and make sad noises like doves. 17 They will be too tired and sad to
raise their arms. Their legs will be like water. 18 They will wear sackcloth
and be covered with fear. You will see the shame on every face. They will
shave their heads to show their sadness. 19 They will throw their silver
idols into the streets. They will treat their gold statues like dirty rags,
because those things will not be able to save them when the Lord shows his
anger. Those things were nothing but a trap that caused the people to fall.
They will not give food to the people or put food in their bellies.
20 "They used their beautiful jewelry and made an idol. They were proud of
that statue. They made their terrible statues. They made those filthy
things, so I will throw them away like a dirty rag. 21 I will let strangers
take them. Those strangers will make fun of them. They will kill some of the
people and take others away as prisoners. 22 I will turn my head away from
them-I will not look at them. The strangers will ruin my Temple-they will go
into the secret parts of that holy building and make it unfit for worship.
23 "Make chains for the prisoners, because many people will be punished for
killing other people. There will be violence every place in the city. 24 I
will bring evil people from other nations, and they will get all the houses
of the people of Israel. I will stop all you powerful people from being so
proud. Those people from other nations will get all your places of worship.
25 "You will shake with fear. You will look for peace, but there will be
none. 26 You will hear one sad story after another. You will hear nothing
but bad news. You will look for a prophet and ask him for a vision. The
priests will have nothing to teach you, and the elders will not have any
good advice to give you. 27 Your king will be crying for the people who
died. The leaders will wear sackcloth. The common people will be very
afraid, because I will pay them back for what they did. I will decide their
punishment, and I will punish them. Then they will know that I am the Lord."
Sinful Things Done at the Temple
8 One day I, Ezekiel, was sitting in my house, and the elders of Judah were
sitting there in front of me. This was on the fifth day of the sixth month
of the sixth year of exile.[b] Suddenly, the power of the Lord God came on
me. 2 I saw something that looked like fire, like a man's body. From the
waist down, he was like fire. From the waist up, he was bright and shining
like hot metal[c] in a fire. 3 Then I saw something that looked like an arm.
The arm reached out and grabbed me by the hair on my head. Then the
Spirit[d] lifted me into the air, and in a vision from God he took me to
Jerusalem. He took me to the inner gate-the gate that is on the north side.
The statue that makes God jealous is by that gate. 4 But the Glory of the
God of Israel was there. The Glory looked just like the vision I saw in the
valley by the Kebar Canal.
5 God spoke to me. He said, "Son of man,[e] look toward the north." So I
looked, and there, north of the Altar Gate by the entrance, was that statue
that made God jealous.
6 Then God said to me, "Son of man, do you see what terrible things the
people of Israel are doing? They built that thing here, right next to my
Temple! And if you come with me, you will see even more terrible things!"
7 So I went to the entrance to the courtyard, and I saw a hole in the wall.
8 God said to me, "Son of man, make a hole in the wall." So I made a hole in
the wall, and there I saw a door.
9 Then God said to me, "Go in and look at the terrible, evil things that the
people are doing here." 10 So I went in and looked. I saw statues of all
kinds of reptiles[f] and animals that you hate to think about. The statues
were the filthy idols that the people of Israel worshiped. There were
pictures of those animals carved all around on every wall!
11 Then I noticed that Jaazaniah son of Shaphan and the 70 elders of Israel
were there with the people worshiping in that place. There they were, right
at the front of the people, and each leader had his own incense dish in his
hand. The smoke from the burning incense was rising into the air. 12 Then
God said to me, "Son of man, do you see what the elders of Israel do in the
dark? Each man has a special room for his own false god. They say to
themselves, 'The Lord cannot see us. The Lord left this country.'" 13 Then
he said to me, "If you come with me, you will see these men doing even more
terrible things!"
14 Then God led me to the entrance to the Lord's Temple. This gate was on
the north side. I saw women sitting there and crying. They were sad about
the false god Tammuz[g]!
15 God said to me, "Son of man, do you see these terrible things? Come with
me and you will see things that are even worse than this!" 16 Then he led me
to the inner courtyard of the Lord's Temple area. There I saw 25 men bowing
down and worshiping. They were at the entrance to the Lord's Temple between
the porch and the altar-but they were facing the wrong way. Their backs were
to the Holy Place. They were bowing down to worship the sun!
17 Then God said, "Son of man, do you see this? The people of Judah think my
Temple is so unimportant that they will do these terrible things here in my
Temple! This country is filled with violence, and they constantly do things
to make me angry. Look, they are wearing rings in their noses to honor the
moon as a false god![h] 18 I will show them my anger! I will not show them
any mercy or feel sorry for them! They will shout to me-but I refuse to
listen to them!"
God's Messengers Punish Jerusalem
9 Then God shouted to the leaders in charge of punishing the city. Each
leader had his own destructive weapon in his hand.[i] 2 Then I saw six men
walking on the road from the upper gate. This gate is on the north side.
Each man had his own deadly weapon in his hand. One of the men wore linen
clothes.[j] He wore a scribe's pen and ink set[k] at his waist. Those men
went to the bronze altar in the Temple and stood there. 3 Then the Glory of
the God of Israel rose from above the Cherub angels where he had been. Then
the Glory went to the door of the Temple and stopped when he was over the
threshold. Then he called to the man wearing the linen clothes and the
scribe's pen and ink set.
4 Then the Lord said to him, "Go through the city of Jerusalem. Put a mark
on the forehead of everyone who feels sad and upset about all the terrible
things people are doing in this city."
5-6 Then I heard God say to the other men, "I want you to follow the first
man. You must kill all those who do not have the mark on their foreheads. It
doesn't matter if they are elders, young men or young women, children or
mothers-you must use your weapon and kill everyone who does not have the
mark on their forehead. Don't show any mercy. Don't feel sorry for anyone.
Start here at my Temple." So they started with the elders in front of the
Temple.
7 He said to them, "Make this Temple unclean-fill this courtyard with dead
bodies! Now go!" So they went and killed the people in the city.
8 I stayed there while the men went to kill the people. I bowed with my face
to the ground and said, "Oh, Lord God, in showing your anger against
Jerusalem, are you killing all the survivors in Israel?"
9 He said, "The family of Israel and Judah has committed many terrible sins!
People are being murdered everywhere in this country, and the city is filled
with crime. That is because the people say to themselves, 'The Lord has left
this country. The Lord cannot see what we are doing.' 10 So I will not show
any mercy or feel sorry for them. They brought it on themselves. I am only
giving them the punishment they deserve!"
11 Then the man wearing linen clothes and a scribe's pen and ink set spoke
up. He said, "I have done what you commanded."
Footnotes:
a.Ezekiel 7:13 sold their property In ancient Israel property did not belong
to a person, it belonged to a family. People might sell their property, but
at the time of Jubilee, their family would get the land back. Here, Ezekiel
says the people will never get their property again.
b.Ezekiel 8:1 sixth year of exile This is the fall of 592 B.C.
c.Ezekiel 8:2 hot metal The Hebrew word might mean "melted copper," "an
alloy of gold and silver," or "amber."
d.Ezekiel 8:3 Spirit Or "wind."
e.Ezekiel 8:5 Son of man This was usually just a way of saying "a person" or
"a human being." Here, it is a way of addressing Ezekiel. Also in verses 6,
7, 12, 15, 17.
f.Ezekiel 8:10 reptiles The Hebrew word can mean "lizards," "snakes," and
"all kinds of bugs and insects."
g.Ezekiel 8:14 Tammuz People thought this false god died and his wife Ishtar
asked everyone to be sad and cry with her. Ishtar hoped this would bring him
back to life. This ceremony was on the 2nd day of the fourth month
(June/July). This month was named Tammuz because of this ceremony.
h.Ezekiel 8:17 Look . god Or "Look at them putting that cut branch in their
noses."
i.Ezekiel 9:1 Each . hand In Hebrew this is like Ezek. 8:11.
j.Ezekiel 9:2 linen clothes Priests usually wore these clothes.
k.Ezekiel 9:2 scribe's pen and ink set A scribe was a person who copied
official documents and counted supplies and things. Scribes often carried a
small board with dry ink in it and a pen. They could put water on the ink
and then write with it. Also in verse 11.
Easy-to-Read Version (ERV)
Copyright C 2006 by Bible League International
