Today we look ahead and then we look backwards. Daniel warns of future wars and tribulations for which God’s elect must be prepared. David reminds us in 78 of all that the Lord has done for his people. It is only by looking backwards and forwards that we can figure out the truth of the present. We aren’t supposed to go through life simply responding to things. We are expected to, in a proactive and principled way, navigate life with wisdom. One can only do that when one properly knows oneself in relation to the world. This is exactly what reading the Bible does for us, when done in the illumination of the Holy Spirit. May the Lord grant you such illumination!

Daniel 11

“And I, in the first year of Darius the Mede, stood up to strengthen and protect him.

Now then, I will tell you the truth: Three more kings will arise in Persia, and then a fourth, who will be far richer than all the others. By the power of his wealth, he will stir up everyone against the kingdom of Greece.

Then a mighty king will arise, who will rule with great authority and do as he pleases.

But as soon as he is established, his kingdom will be broken up and parceled out toward the four winds of heaven. It will not go to his descendants, nor will it have the authority with which he ruled, because his kingdom will be uprooted and given to others.

The king of the South will grow strong, but one of his commanders will grow even stronger and will rule his own kingdom with great authority.

After some years they will form an alliance, and the daughter of the king of the South will go to the king of the North to seal the agreement. But his daughter will not retain her position of power, nor will his strength endure. At that time she will be given up, along with her royal escort and her father and the one who supported her.

But one from her family line will rise up in his place, come against the army of the king of the North, and enter his fortress, fighting and prevailing.

He will take even their gods captive to Egypt, with their metal images and their precious vessels of silver and gold. For some years he will stay away from the king of the North,

who will invade the realm of the king of the South and then return to his own land.

But his sons will stir up strife and assemble a great army, which will advance forcefully, sweeping through like a flood, and will again carry the battle as far as his fortress.

In a rage, the king of the South will march out to fight the king of the North, who will raise a large army, but it will be delivered into the hand of his enemy.

When the army is carried off, the king of the South will be proud in heart and will cast down tens of thousands, but he will not triumph.

For the king of the North will raise another army, larger than the first, and after some years he will advance with a great army and many supplies.

In those times many will rise up against the king of the South. Violent ones among your own people will exalt themselves in fulfillment of the vision, but they will fail.

Then the king of the North will come, build up a siege ramp, and capture a fortified city. The forces of the South will not stand; even their best troops will not be able to resist.

The invader will do as he pleases, and no one will stand against him. He will establish himself in the Beautiful Land, with destruction in his hand.

He will resolve to come with the strength of his whole kingdom, and will reach an agreement with the king of the South. He will give him a daughter in marriage in order to overthrow the kingdom, but his plan will not succeed or help him.

Then he will turn his face to the coastlands and capture many of them. But a commander will put an end to his reproach and will turn it back upon him.

After this, he will turn back toward the fortresses of his own land, but he will stumble and fall and be no more.

In his place one will arise who will send out a tax collector for the glory of the kingdom; but within a few days he will be destroyed, though not in anger or in battle.

In his place a despicable person will arise; royal honors will not be given to him, but he will come in a time of peace and seize the kingdom by intrigue.

Then a flood of forces will be swept away before him and destroyed, along with a prince of the covenant.

After an alliance is made with him, he will act deceitfully; for he will rise to power with only a few people.

In a time of peace, he will invade the richest provinces and do what his fathers and forefathers never did. He will lavish plunder, loot, and wealth on his followers, and he will plot against the strongholds—but only for a time.

And with a large army he will stir up his power and his courage against the king of the South, who will mobilize a very large and powerful army but will not withstand the plots devised against him.

Those who eat from his provisions will seek to destroy him; his army will be swept away, and many will fall slain.

And the two kings, with their hearts bent on evil, will speak lies at the same table, but to no avail, for still the end will come at the appointed time.

The king of the North will return to his land with great wealth, but his heart will be set against the holy covenant; so he will do damage and return to his own land.

At the appointed time he will invade the South again, but this time will not be like the first.

Ships of Kittim will come against him, and he will lose heart. Then he will turn back and rage against the holy covenant and do damage. So he will return and show favor to those who forsake the holy covenant.

His forces will rise up and desecrate the temple fortress. They will abolish the daily sacrifice and set up the abomination of desolation.

With flattery he will corrupt those who violate the covenant, but the people who know their God will firmly resist him.

Those with insight will instruct many, though for a time they will fall by sword or flame, or be captured or plundered.

Now when they fall, they will be granted a little help, but many will join them insincerely.

Some of the wise will fall, so that they may be refined, purified, and made spotless until the time of the end, for it will still come at the appointed time.

Then the king will do as he pleases and will exalt and magnify himself above every god, and he will speak monstrous things against the God of gods. He will be successful until the time of wrath is completed, for what has been decreed must be accomplished.

He will show no regard for the gods of his fathers, nor for the one desired by women, nor for any other god, because he will magnify himself above them all.

And in their place, he will honor a god of fortresses—a god his fathers did not know—with gold, silver, precious stones, and riches.

He will attack the strongest fortresses with the help of a foreign god and will greatly honor those who acknowledge him, making them rulers over many and distributing the land for a price.

At the time of the end, the king of the South will engage him in battle, but the king of the North will storm out against him with chariots, horsemen, and many ships, invading many countries and sweeping through them like a flood.

He will also invade the Beautiful Land, and many countries will fall. But these will be delivered from his hand: Edom, Moab, and the leaders of the Ammonites.

He will extend his power over many countries, and not even the land of Egypt will escape.

He will gain control of the treasures of gold and silver and over all the riches of Egypt, and the Libyans and Cushites will also submit to him.

But news from the east and the north will alarm him, and he will go out with great fury to destroy many and devote them to destruction.

He will pitch his royal tents between the sea and the beautiful holy mountain, but he will meet his end with no one to help him.

Daniel 12

“At that time Michael, the great prince who stands watch over your people, will rise up. There will be a time of distress, the likes of which will not have occurred from the beginning of nations until that time. But at that time your people—everyone whose name is found written in the book—will be delivered.

And many who sleep in the dust of the earth will awake, some to everlasting life, but others to shame and everlasting contempt.

Then the wise will shine like the brightness of the heavens, and those who lead many to righteousness will shine like the stars forever and ever.

But you, Daniel, shut up these words and seal the book until the time of the end. Many will roam to and fro, and knowledge will increase.”

Then I, Daniel, looked and saw two others standing there, one on this bank of the river and one on the opposite bank.

One of them said to the man dressed in linen, who was above the waters of the river, “How long until the fulfillment of these wonders?”

And the man dressed in linen, who was above the waters of the river, raised his right hand and his left hand toward heaven, and I heard him swear by Him who lives forever, saying, “It will be for a time, and times, and half a time. When the power of the holy people has finally been shattered, all these things will be completed.”

I heard, but I did not understand. So I asked, “My lord, what will be the outcome of these things?”

“Go on your way, Daniel,” he replied, “for the words are closed up and sealed until the time of the end.

Many will be purified, made spotless, and refined, but the wicked will continue to act wickedly. None of the wicked will understand, but the wise will understand.

And from the time the daily sacrifice is abolished and the abomination of desolation set up, there will be 1,290 days. Blessed is he who waits and reaches the end of the 1,335 days.

But as for you, go on your way until the end. You will rest, and will arise to your inheritance at the end of the days.”

Psalm 76

God is known in Judah;

His name is great in Israel.

His tent is in Salem,

His dwelling place in Zion.

There He shattered the flaming arrows,

the shield and sword and weapons of war.

Selah

You are resplendent with light,

more majestic than mountains filled with game.

The valiant lie plundered; they sleep their last sleep.

No men of might could lift a hand.

At Your rebuke, O God of Jacob,

both horse and rider lie stunned.

You alone are to be feared.

When You are angry, who can stand before You?

From heaven You pronounced judgment,

and the earth feared and was still

when God rose up to judge,

to save all the lowly of the earth.

Selah

Even the wrath of man shall praise You;

with the survivors of wrath You will clothe Yourself.

Make and fulfill your vows to the LORD your God;

let all the neighboring lands bring tribute

to Him who is to be feared.

He breaks the spirits of princes;

He is feared by the kings of the earth.

Psalm 77

I cried out to God;

I cried aloud to God to hear me.

In the day of trouble I sought the Lord;

through the night my outstretched hands did not grow weary;

my soul refused to be comforted.

I remembered You, O God, and I groaned;

I mused and my spirit grew faint.

Selah

You have kept my eyes from closing;

I am too troubled to speak.

I considered the days of old,

the years long in the past.

At night I remembered my song;

in my heart I mused, and my spirit pondered:

“Will the Lord spurn us forever

and never show His favor again?

Is His loving devotion gone forever?

Has His promise failed for all time?

Has God forgotten to be gracious?

Has His anger shut off His compassion?”

Selah

So I said, “I am grieved

that the right hand of the Most High has changed.”

I will remember the works of the LORD;

yes, I will remember Your wonders of old.

I will reflect on all You have done

and ponder Your mighty deeds.

Your way, O God, is holy.

What god is so great as our God?

You are the God who works wonders;

You display Your strength among the peoples.

With power You redeemed Your people,

the sons of Jacob and Joseph.

Selah

The waters saw You, O God;

the waters saw You and swirled;

even the depths were shaken.

The clouds poured down water;

the skies resounded with thunder;

Your arrows flashed back and forth.

Your thunder resounded in the whirlwind;

the lightning lit up the world;

the earth trembled and quaked.

Your path led through the sea,

Your way through the mighty waters,

but Your footprints were not to be found.

You led Your people like a flock

by the hand of Moses and Aaron.

Psalm 78

Give ear, O my people, to my instruction;

listen to the words of my mouth.

I will open my mouth in parables;

I will utter things hidden from the beginning,

that we have heard and known

and our fathers have relayed to us.

We will not hide them from their children,

but will declare to the next generation

the praises of the LORD and His might,

and the wonders He has performed.

For He established a testimony in Jacob

and appointed a law in Israel,

which He commanded our fathers

to teach to their children,

that the coming generation would know them—

even children yet to be born—

to arise and tell their own children

that they should put their confidence in God,

not forgetting His works,

but keeping His commandments.

Then they will not be like their fathers,

a stubborn and rebellious generation,

whose heart was not loyal,

whose spirit was not faithful to God.

The archers of Ephraim

turned back on the day of battle.

They failed to keep God’s covenant

and refused to live by His law.

They forgot what He had done,

the wonders He had shown them.

He worked wonders before their fathers

in the land of Egypt, in the region of Zoan.

He split the sea and brought them through;

He set the waters upright like a wall.

He led them with a cloud by day

and with a light of fire all night.

He split the rocks in the wilderness

and gave them drink as abundant as the seas.

He brought streams from the stone

and made water flow down like rivers.

But they continued to sin against Him,

rebelling in the desert against the Most High.

They willfully tested God

by demanding the food they craved.

They spoke against God, saying,

“Can God really prepare a table in the wilderness?

When He struck the rock, water gushed out

and torrents raged.

But can He also give bread

or supply His people with meat?”

Therefore the LORD heard

and was filled with wrath;

so a fire was kindled against Jacob,

and His anger flared against Israel,

because they did not believe God

or rely on His salvation.

Yet He commanded the clouds above

and opened the doors of the heavens.

He rained down manna for them to eat;

He gave them grain from heaven.

Man ate the bread of angels;

He sent them food in abundance.

He stirred the east wind from the heavens

and drove the south wind by His might.

He rained meat on them like dust,

and winged birds like the sand of the sea.

He felled them in the midst of their camp,

all around their dwellings.

So they ate and were well filled,

for He gave them what they craved.

Yet before they had filled their desire,

with the food still in their mouths,

God’s anger flared against them,

and He put to death their strongest

and subdued the young men of Israel.

In spite of all this, they kept on sinning;

despite His wonderful works, they did not believe.

So He ended their days in futility,

and their years in sudden terror.

When He slew them, they would seek Him;

they repented and searched for God.

And they remembered that God was their Rock,

that God Most High was their Redeemer.

But they deceived Him with their mouths,

and lied to Him with their tongues.

Their hearts were disloyal to Him,

and they were unfaithful to His covenant.

And yet He was compassionate;

He forgave their iniquity and did not destroy them.

He often restrained His anger

and did not unleash His full wrath.

He remembered that they were but flesh,

a passing breeze that does not return.

How often they disobeyed Him in the wilderness

and grieved Him in the desert!

Again and again they tested God

and provoked the Holy One of Israel.

They did not remember His power —

the day He redeemed them from the adversary,

when He performed His signs in Egypt

and His wonders in the fields of Zoan.

He turned their rivers to blood,

and from their streams they could not drink.

He sent swarms of flies that devoured them,

and frogs that devastated them.

He gave their crops to the grasshopper,

the fruit of their labor to the locust.

He killed their vines with hailstones

and their sycamore-figs with sleet.

He abandoned their cattle to the hail

and their livestock to bolts of lightning.

He unleashed His fury against them,

wrath, indignation, and calamity—

a band of destroying angels.

He cleared a path for His anger;

He did not spare them from death

but delivered their lives to the plague.

He struck all the firstborn of Egypt,

the virility in the tents of Ham.

He led out His people like sheep

and guided them like a flock in the wilderness.

He led them safely, so they did not fear,

but the sea engulfed their enemies.

He brought them to His holy land,

to the mountain His right hand had acquired.

He drove out nations before them

and apportioned their inheritance;

He settled the tribes of Israel in their tents.

But they tested and disobeyed God Most High,

for they did not keep His decrees.

They turned back and were faithless like their fathers,

twisted like a faulty bow.

They enraged Him with their high places

and provoked His jealousy with their idols.

On hearing it, God was furious

and rejected Israel completely.

He abandoned the tabernacle of Shiloh,

the tent He had pitched among men.

He delivered His strength to captivity,

and His splendor to the hand of the adversary.

He surrendered His people to the sword

because He was enraged by His heritage.

Fire consumed His young men,

and their maidens were left without wedding songs.

His priests fell by the sword,

but their widows could not lament.

Then the Lord awoke as from sleep,

like a mighty warrior overcome by wine.

He beat back His foes;

He put them to everlasting shame.

He rejected the tent of Joseph

and refused the tribe of Ephraim.

But He chose the tribe of Judah,

Mount Zion, which He loved.

He built His sanctuary like the heights,

like the earth He has established forever.

He chose David His servant

and took him from the sheepfolds;

from tending the ewes He brought him

to be shepherd of His people Jacob,

of Israel His inheritance.

So David shepherded them with integrity of heart

and guided them with skillful hands.

Daniel 7 is referenced explicitly by Jesus himself to give us a frame of reference for “the Son of Man.” He is the one that the Ancient of Days gives authority to reign forever. Here is also where we are introduced to the symbolism of these beasts with horns that is later used in Revelation. The Bible is hyperlinked. It benefits us to see what themes the New Testament takes from the Old in order to better know what the Lord is saying. Are you listening?

Daniel 6

Now it pleased Darius to appoint 120 satraps to rule throughout the kingdom, and over them three administrators, including Daniel, to whom these satraps were accountable so that the king would not suffer loss.

Soon, by his extraordinary spirit, Daniel distinguished himself among the administrators and satraps. So the king planned to set him over the whole kingdom.

Thus the administrators and satraps sought a charge against Daniel concerning the kingdom, but they could find no charge or corruption, because he was trustworthy, and no negligence or corruption was found in him.

Finally these men said, “We will never find any charge against this Daniel, unless we find something against him concerning the law of his God.”

So the administrators and satraps went together to the king and said, “O King Darius, may you live forever!

All the royal administrators, prefects, satraps, advisers, and governors have agreed that the king should establish an ordinance and enforce a decree that for thirty days anyone who petitions any god or man except you, O king, will be thrown into the den of lions.

Therefore, O king, establish the decree and sign the document so that it cannot be changed—in accordance with the law of the Medes and Persians, which cannot be repealed.”

Therefore King Darius signed the written decree.

Now when Daniel learned that the document had been signed, he went into his house, where the windows of his upper room opened toward Jerusalem, and three times a day he got down on his knees, prayed, and gave thanks to his God, just as he had done before.

Then these men went as a group and found Daniel petitioning and imploring his God.

So they approached the king and asked about his royal decree: “Did you not sign a decree that for thirty days any man who petitions any god or man except you, O king, will be thrown into the den of lions?”

The king replied, “According to the law of the Medes and Persians the order stands, and it cannot be repealed.”

Then they told the king, “Daniel, one of the exiles from Judah, shows no regard for you, O king, or for the decree that you have signed. He still makes his petition three times a day.”

As soon as the king heard this, he was deeply distressed and set his mind on delivering Daniel, and he labored until sundown to rescue him.

Then the men approached the king together and said to him, “Remember, O king, that by the law of the Medes and Persians no decree or ordinance established by the king can be changed.”

So the king gave the order, and they brought Daniel and threw him into the den of lions.

The king said to Daniel, “May your God, whom you serve continually, deliver you!”

A stone was brought and placed over the mouth of the den, and the king sealed it with his own signet ring and with the rings of his nobles, so that nothing concerning Daniel could be changed.

Then the king went to his palace and spent the night fasting. No entertainment was brought before him, and sleep fled from him.

At the first light of dawn, the king got up and hurried to the den of lions.

When he reached the den, he cried out in a voice of anguish, “O Daniel, servant of the living God, has your God, whom you serve continually, been able to deliver you from the lions?”

Then Daniel replied, “O king, may you live forever!

My God sent His angel and shut the mouths of the lions. They have not hurt me, for I was found innocent in His sight, and I have done no wrong against you, O king.”

The king was overjoyed and gave orders to lift Daniel out of the den, and when Daniel was lifted out of the den, no wounds whatsoever were found on him, because he had trusted in his God.

At the command of the king, the men who had falsely accused Daniel were brought and thrown into the den of lions—they and their children and wives. And before they had reached the bottom of the den, the lions overpowered them and crushed all their bones.

Then King Darius wrote to the people of every nation and language throughout the land: “May your prosperity abound.

I hereby decree that in every part of my kingdom, men are to tremble in fear before the God of Daniel:

For He is the living God,

and He endures forever;

His kingdom will never be destroyed,

and His dominion will never end.

He delivers and rescues;

He performs signs and wonders

in the heavens and on the earth,

for He has rescued Daniel

from the power of the lions.”

So Daniel prospered during the reign of Darius and the reign of Cyrus the Persian.

Daniel 7

In the first year of the reign of Belshazzar over Babylon, Daniel had a dream, and visions passed through his mind as he lay on his bed. He wrote down the dream, and this is the summary of his account.

Daniel declared: “In my vision in the night I looked, and suddenly the four winds of heaven were churning up the great sea.

Then four great beasts came up out of the sea, each one different from the others:

The first beast was like a lion, and it had the wings of an eagle. I watched until its wings were torn off and it was lifted up from the ground and made to stand on two feet like a man, and given the mind of a man.

Suddenly another beast appeared, which looked like a bear. It was raised up on one of its sides, and it had three ribs in its mouth between its teeth. So it was told, ‘Get up and gorge yourself on flesh!’

Next, as I watched, another beast appeared. It was like a leopard, and on its back it had four wings like those of a bird. The beast also had four heads, and it was given authority to rule.

After this, as I watched in my vision in the night, suddenly a fourth beast appeared, and it was terrifying—dreadful and extremely strong—with large iron teeth. It devoured and crushed; then it trampled underfoot whatever was left. It was different from all the beasts before it, and it had ten horns.

While I was contemplating the horns, suddenly another horn, a little one, came up among them, and three of the first horns were uprooted before it. This horn had eyes like those of a man and a mouth that spoke words of arrogance.

As I continued to watch,

thrones were set in place,

and the Ancient of Days took His seat.

His clothing was white as snow,

and the hair of His head was like pure wool.

His throne was flaming with fire,

and its wheels were all ablaze.

A river of fire was flowing,

coming out from His presence.

Thousands upon thousands attended Him,

and myriads upon myriads stood before Him.

The court was convened,

and the books were opened.

Then I kept watching because of the arrogant words the horn was speaking. As I continued to watch, the beast was slain, and its body was destroyed and thrown into the blazing fire.

As for the rest of the beasts, their dominion was removed, but they were granted an extension of life for a season and a time.

In my vision in the night I continued to watch,

and I saw One like the Son of Man

coming with the clouds of heaven.

He approached the Ancient of Days

and was led into His presence.

And He was given dominion,

glory, and kingship,

that the people of every nation and language

should serve Him.

His dominion is an everlasting dominion

that will not pass away,

and His kingdom is one

that will never be destroyed.

I, Daniel, was grieved in my spirit, and the visions in my mind alarmed me. I approached one of those who were standing there, and I asked him the true meaning of all this.

So he told me the interpretation of these things: ‘These four great beasts are four kings who will arise from the earth.

But the saints of the Most High will receive the kingdom and possess it forever—yes, forever and ever.’

Then I wanted to know the true meaning of the fourth beast, which was different from all the others—extremely terrifying—devouring and crushing with iron teeth and bronze claws, then trampling underfoot whatever was left.

I also wanted to know about the ten horns on its head and the other horn that came up, before which three of them fell—the horn whose appearance was more imposing than the others, with eyes and with a mouth that spoke words of arrogance.

As I watched, this horn was waging war against the saints and prevailing against them,

until the Ancient of Days arrived and pronounced judgment in favor of the saints of the Most High, and the time came for them to possess the kingdom.

This is what he said: ‘The fourth beast is a fourth kingdom that will appear on the earth, different from all the other kingdoms, and it will devour the whole earth, trample it down, and crush it.

And the ten horns are ten kings who will rise from this kingdom. After them another king, different from the earlier ones, will rise and subdue three kings.

He will speak out against the Most High and oppress the saints of the Most High, intending to change the appointed times and laws; and the saints will be given into his hand for a time, and times, and half a time.

But the court will convene, and his dominion will be taken away and completely destroyed forever.

Then the sovereignty, dominion, and greatness of the kingdoms under all of heaven will be given to the people, the saints of the Most High. His kingdom will be an everlasting kingdom, and all rulers will serve and obey Him.’

Thus ends the matter. As for me, Daniel, my thoughts troubled me greatly, and my face turned pale. But I kept the matter to myself.”

Daniel 8

In the third year of the reign of King Belshazzar, a vision appeared to me, Daniel, subsequent to the one that had appeared to me earlier.

And in the vision I saw myself in the citadel of Susa, in the province of Elam. I saw in the vision that I was beside the Ulai Canal.

Then I lifted up my eyes and saw a ram with two horns standing beside the canal. The horns were long, but one was longer than the other, and the longer one grew up later.

I saw the ram charging toward the west and the north and the south. No animal could stand against him, and there was no deliverance from his power. He did as he pleased and became great.

As I was contemplating all this, suddenly a goat with a prominent horn between his eyes came out of the west, crossing the surface of the entire earth without touching the ground.

He came toward the two-horned ram I had seen standing beside the canal and rushed at him with furious power.

I saw him approach the ram in a rage against him, and he struck the ram and shattered his two horns. The ram was powerless to stand against him, and the goat threw him to the ground and trampled him, and no one could deliver the ram from his power.

Thus the goat became very great, but at the height of his power, his large horn was broken off, and four prominent horns came up in its place, pointing toward the four winds of heaven.

From one of these horns a little horn emerged and grew extensively toward the south and the east and toward the Beautiful Land.

It grew as high as the host of heaven, and it cast down some of the host and some of the stars to the earth, and trampled them.

It magnified itself, even to the Prince of the host; it removed His daily sacrifice and overthrew the place of His sanctuary.

And in the rebellion, the host and the daily sacrifice were given over to the horn, and it flung truth to the ground and prospered in whatever it did.

Then I heard a holy one speaking, and another holy one said to him, “How long until the fulfillment of the vision of the daily sacrifice, the rebellion that causes desolation, and the surrender of the sanctuary and of the host to be trampled?”

He said to me, “It will take 2,300 evenings and mornings; then the sanctuary will be properly restored.”

While I, Daniel, was watching the vision and trying to understand it, there stood before me one having the appearance of a man.

And I heard the voice of a man calling from between the banks of the Ulai: “Gabriel, explain the vision to this man.”

As he came near to where I stood, I was terrified and fell facedown.

“Son of man,” he said to me, “understand that the vision concerns the time of the end.”

While he was speaking with me, I fell into a deep sleep, with my face to the ground.

Then he touched me, helped me to my feet,

and said, “Behold, I will make known to you what will happen in the latter time of wrath, because it concerns the appointed time of the end.

The two-horned ram that you saw represents the kings of Media and Persia. The shaggy goat represents the king of Greece, and the large horn between his eyes is the first king.

The four horns that replaced the broken one represent four kingdoms that will rise from that nation, but will not have the same power.

In the latter part of their reign, when the rebellion has reached its full measure, an insolent king, skilled in intrigue, will come to the throne.

His power will be great, but it will not be his own. He will cause terrible destruction and succeed in whatever he does. He will destroy the mighty men along with the holy people.

Through his craft and by his hand, he will cause deceit to prosper, and in his own mind he will make himself great. In a time of peace he will destroy many, and he will even stand against the Prince of princes. Yet he will be broken off, but not by human hands.

The vision of the evenings and the mornings that has been spoken is true. Now you must seal up the vision, for it concerns the distant future.”

I, Daniel, was exhausted and lay ill for days. Then I got up and went about the king’s business. I was confounded by the vision; it was beyond understanding.

Daniel 9

In the first year of Darius son of Xerxes, a Mede by descent, who was made ruler over the kingdom of the Chaldeans —

in the first year of his reign, I, Daniel, understood from the sacred books, according to the word of the LORD to Jeremiah the prophet, that the desolation of Jerusalem would last seventy years.

So I turned my attention to the Lord God to seek Him by prayer and petition, with fasting, sackcloth, and ashes.

And I prayed to the LORD my God and confessed, “O, Lord, the great and awesome God, who keeps His covenant of loving devotion to those who love Him and keep His commandments,

we have sinned and done wrong. We have acted wickedly and rebelled. We have turned away from Your commandments and ordinances.

We have not listened to Your servants the prophets, who spoke in Your name to our kings, leaders, and fathers, and to all the people of the land.

To You, O Lord, belongs righteousness, but this day we are covered with shame—the men of Judah, the people of Jerusalem, and all Israel near and far, in all the countries to which You have driven us because of our unfaithfulness to You.

O LORD, we are covered with shame—our kings, our leaders, and our fathers—because we have sinned against You.

To the Lord our God belong compassion and forgiveness, even though we have rebelled against Him

and have not obeyed the voice of the LORD our God to walk in His laws, which He set before us through His servants the prophets.

All Israel has transgressed Your law and turned away, refusing to obey Your voice; so the oath and the curse written in the Law of Moses the servant of God has been poured out on us, because we have sinned against You.

You have carried out the words spoken against us and against our rulers by bringing upon us a great disaster. For under all of heaven, nothing has ever been done like what has been done to Jerusalem.

Just as it is written in the Law of Moses, all this disaster has come upon us, yet we have not sought the favor of the LORD our God by turning from our iniquities and giving attention to Your truth.

Therefore the LORD has kept the calamity in store and brought it upon us. For the LORD our God is righteous in all He does; yet we have not obeyed His voice.

Now, O Lord our God, who brought Your people out of the land of Egypt with a mighty hand, and who made for Yourself a name renowned to this day, we have sinned; we have acted wickedly.

O Lord, in keeping with all Your righteous acts, I pray that Your anger and wrath may turn away from Your city Jerusalem, Your holy mountain; for because of our sins and the iniquities of our fathers, Jerusalem and Your people are a reproach to all around us.

So now, our God, hear the prayers and petitions of Your servant. For Your sake, O Lord, cause Your face to shine upon Your desolate sanctuary.

Incline Your ear, O my God, and hear; open Your eyes and see the desolation of the city that bears Your name. For we are not presenting our petitions before You because of our righteous acts, but because of Your great compassion.

O Lord, listen! O Lord, forgive! O Lord, hear and act! For Your sake, O my God, do not delay, because Your city and Your people bear Your name.”

While I was speaking, praying, confessing my sin and that of my people Israel, and presenting my petition before the LORD my God concerning His holy mountain—

while I was still praying, Gabriel, the man I had seen in the earlier vision, came to me in swift flight about the time of the evening sacrifice.

He instructed me and spoke with me, saying: “O Daniel, I have come now to give you insight and understanding.

At the beginning of your petitions, an answer went out, and I have come to tell you, for you are highly precious. So consider the message and understand the vision:

Seventy weeks are decreed for your people and your holy city to stop their transgression, to put an end to sin, to make atonement for iniquity, to bring in everlasting righteousness, to seal up vision and prophecy, and to anoint the Most Holy Place.

Know and understand this: From the issuance of the decree to restore and rebuild Jerusalem, until the Messiah, the Prince, there will be seven weeks and sixty-two weeks. It will be rebuilt with streets and a trench, but in times of distress.

Then after the sixty-two weeks the Messiah will be cut off and will have nothing.

Then the people of the prince who is to come will destroy the city and the sanctuary. The end will come like a flood, and until the end there will be war; desolations have been decreed.

And he will confirm a covenant with many for one week, but in the middle of the week he will put an end to sacrifice and offering. And on the wing of the temple will come the abomination that causes desolation, until the decreed destruction is poured out upon him.”

Daniel 10

In the third year of Cyrus king of Persia, a message was revealed to Daniel, who was called Belteshazzar. The message was true, and it concerned a great conflict. And the understanding of the message was given to him in a vision.

In those days I, Daniel, was mourning for three full weeks. I ate no rich food, no meat or wine entered my mouth, and I did not anoint myself with oil until the three weeks were completed.

On the twenty-fourth day of the first month, as I was standing on the bank of the great river, the Tigris,

I lifted up my eyes, and behold, there was a certain man dressed in linen, with a belt of fine gold from Uphaz around his waist.

His body was like beryl, his face like the brilliance of lightning, his eyes like flaming torches, his arms and legs like the gleam of polished bronze, and his voice like the sound of a multitude.

Only I, Daniel, saw the vision; the men with me did not see it, but a great terror fell upon them, and they ran and hid themselves.

So I was left alone, gazing at this great vision. No strength remained in me; my face grew deathly pale, and I was powerless.

I heard the sound of his words, and as I listened, I fell into a deep sleep, with my face to the ground.

Suddenly, a hand touched me and set me trembling on my hands and knees.

He said to me, “Daniel, you are a man who is highly precious. Consider carefully the words that I am about to say to you. Stand up, for I have now been sent to you.”

And when he had said this to me, I stood up trembling.

“Do not be afraid, Daniel,” he said, “for from the first day that you purposed to understand and to humble yourself before your God, your words were heard, and I have come in response to them.

However, the prince of the kingdom of Persia opposed me for twenty-one days. Then Michael, one of the chief princes, came to help me, for I had been left there with the kings of Persia.

Now I have come to explain to you what will happen to your people in the latter days, for the vision concerns those days.”

While he was speaking these words to me, I set my face toward the ground and became speechless.

And suddenly one with the likeness of a man touched my lips, and I opened my mouth and said to the one standing before me, “My lord, because of the vision, I am overcome with anguish, and I have no strength.

How can I, your servant, speak with you, my lord? Now I have no strength, nor is any breath left in me.”

Again the one with the likeness of a man touched me and strengthened me.

“Do not be afraid, you who are highly precious,” he said. “Peace be with you! Be strong now; be very strong!”

As he spoke with me, I was strengthened and said, “Speak, my lord, for you have strengthened me.”

“Do you know why I have come to you?” he said. “I must return at once to fight against the prince of Persia, and when I have gone forth, behold, the prince of Greece will come.

But first I will tell you what is inscribed in the Book of Truth. Yet no one has the courage to support me against these, except Michael your prince.

Psalm 75

We give thanks to You, O God;

we give thanks, for Your Name is near.

The people declare Your wondrous works.

“When I choose a time,

I will judge fairly.

When the earth and all its dwellers quake,

it is I who bear up its pillars.

Selah

I say to the proud, ‘Do not boast,’

and to the wicked, ‘Do not lift up your horn.

Do not lift up your horn against heaven

or speak with an outstretched neck.’ ”

For exaltation comes neither from east nor west,

nor out of the desert,

but it is God who judges;

He brings down one and exalts another.

For a cup is in the hand of the LORD,

full of foaming wine mixed with spices.

He pours from His cup,

and all the wicked of the earth

drink it down to the dregs.

But I will proclaim Him forever;

I will sing praise to the God of Jacob.

“All the horns of the wicked I will cut off,

but the horns of the righteous will be exalted.”

We get to read Daniel now! God’s power and protection is displayed in the midst of enemy territory. Daniel and his three Hebrew compatriots stand boldly on faith, and the Lord is faithful to them, delivering them through palace intrigue, through fire, through instability, through the hatred of the Jews, through uncertainty…

It has a lot to teach us about how we ought to travel through this strange land. This world is not our home. We are but poor wayfaring strangers, traveling through this world of woe. We have been tasked as holy priest-kings with the noble task of reconciling the God of gods and Lord of lords with his fallen creation by interceding on behalf of sinners. Daniel is a foreshadowing of how that is done in Christ Jesus.

Daniel 1

In the third year of the reign of Jehoiakim king of Judah, Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon came to Jerusalem and besieged it.

And the Lord delivered into his hand Jehoiakim king of Judah, along with some of the articles from the house of God. He carried these off to the land of Shinar, to the house of his god, where he put them in the treasury of his god.

Then the king ordered Ashpenaz, the chief of his court officials, to bring in some Israelites from the royal family and the nobility—

young men without blemish, handsome, gifted in all wisdom, knowledgeable, quick to understand, and qualified to serve in the king’s palace—and to teach them the language and literature of the Chaldeans.

The king assigned them daily provisions of the royal food and wine. They were to be trained for three years, after which they were to enter the king’s service.

Among these young men were some from Judah: Daniel, Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah.

The chief official gave them new names: To Daniel he gave the name Belteshazzar; to Hananiah, Shadrach; to Mishael, Meshach; and to Azariah, Abednego.

But Daniel made up his mind that he would not defile himself with the king’s food or wine. So he asked the chief official for permission not to defile himself.

Now God had granted Daniel favor and compassion from the chief official,

but he said to Daniel, “I fear my lord the king, who has assigned your food and drink. For why should he see your faces looking thinner than those of the other young men your age? You would endanger my head before the king!”

Then Daniel said to the steward whom the chief official had appointed over Daniel, Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah,

“Please test your servants for ten days. Let us be given only vegetables to eat and water to drink.

Then compare our appearances with those of the young men who are eating the royal food, and deal with your servants according to what you see.”

So he consented to this and tested them for ten days. And at the end of ten days, they looked healthier and better nourished than all the young men who were eating the king’s food.

So the steward continued to withhold their choice food and the wine they were to drink, and he gave them vegetables instead.

To these four young men God gave knowledge and understanding in every kind of literature and wisdom. And Daniel had insight into all kinds of visions and dreams.

Now at the end of the time specified by the king, the chief official presented them to Nebuchadnezzar.

And the king spoke with them, and among all the young men he found no one equal to Daniel, Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah. So they entered the king’s service.

In every matter of wisdom and understanding about which the king consulted them, he found them ten times better than all the magicians and enchanters in his entire kingdom.

And Daniel remained there until the first year of King Cyrus.

Daniel 2

In the second year of his reign, Nebuchadnezzar had dreams that troubled his spirit, and sleep escaped him.

So the king gave orders to summon the magicians, enchanters, sorcerers, and astrologers to explain his dreams. When they came and stood before the king,

he said to them, “I have had a dream, and my spirit is anxious to understand it.”

Then the astrologers answered the king in Aramaic, “O king, may you live forever! Tell your servants the dream, and we will give the interpretation.”

The king replied to the astrologers, “My word is final: If you do not tell me the dream and its interpretation, you will be cut into pieces and your houses will be reduced to rubble.

But if you tell me the dream and its interpretation, you will receive from me gifts and rewards and great honor. So tell me the dream and its interpretation.”

They answered a second time, “Let the king tell the dream to his servants, and we will give the interpretation.”

The king replied, “I know for sure that you are stalling for time, because you see that my word is final.

If you do not tell me the dream, there is only one decree for you. You have conspired to speak before me false and fraudulent words, hoping the situation will change. Therefore tell me the dream, and I will know that you can give me its interpretation.”

The astrologers answered the king, “No one on earth can do what the king requests! No king, however great and powerful, has ever asked anything like this of any magician, enchanter, or astrologer.

What the king requests is so difficult that no one can tell it to him except the gods, whose dwelling is not with mortals.”

This response made the king so furious with anger that he gave orders to destroy all the wise men of Babylon.

So the decree went out that the wise men were to be executed, and men went to look for Daniel and his friends to execute them.

When Arioch, the commander of the king’s guard, had gone out to execute the wise men of Babylon, Daniel replied with discretion and tact.

“Why is the decree from the king so harsh?” he asked.

At this time Arioch explained the situation to Daniel. So Daniel went in and asked the king to give him some time, so that he could give him the interpretation.

Then Daniel returned to his house and explained the matter to his friends Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah,

urging them to plead for mercy from the God of heaven concerning this mystery, so that Daniel and his friends would not be killed with the rest of the wise men of Babylon.

During the night, the mystery was revealed to Daniel in a vision, and he blessed the God of heaven and declared:

“Blessed be the name of God forever and ever,

for wisdom and power belong to Him.

He changes the times and seasons;

He removes kings and establishes them.

He gives wisdom to the wise

and knowledge to the discerning.

He reveals the deep and hidden things;

He knows what lies in darkness,

and light dwells with Him.

To You, O God of my fathers,

I give thanks and praise,

because You have given me

wisdom and power.

And now You have made known to me

what we have requested,

for You have made known to us

the dream of the king.”

Therefore Daniel went to Arioch, whom the king had appointed to destroy the wise men of Babylon, and said to him, “Do not execute the wise men of Babylon! Bring me before the king, and I will give him the interpretation.”

Arioch hastily brought Daniel before the king and said to him, “I have found a man among the exiles from Judah who will tell the king the interpretation.”

The king responded to Daniel, whose name was Belteshazzar, “Are you able to tell me what I saw in the dream, as well as its interpretation?”

Daniel answered the king, “No wise man, enchanter, medium, or magician can explain to the king the mystery of which he inquires.

But there is a God in heaven who reveals mysteries, and He has made known to King Nebuchadnezzar what will happen in the latter days. Your dream and the visions that came into your mind as you lay on your bed were these:

As you lay on your bed, O king, your thoughts turned to the future, and the Revealer of Mysteries made known to you what will happen.

And to me this mystery has been revealed, not because I have more wisdom than any man alive, but in order that the interpretation might be made known to the king, and that you may understand the thoughts of your mind.

As you, O king, were watching, a great statue appeared. A great and dazzling statue stood before you, and its form was awesome.

The head of the statue was pure gold, its chest and arms were silver, its belly and thighs were bronze, its legs were iron, and its feet were part iron and part clay.

As you watched, a stone was cut out, but not by human hands. It struck the statue on its feet of iron and clay, and crushed them.

Then the iron, clay, bronze, silver, and gold were shattered and became like chaff on the threshing floor in summer. The wind carried them away, and not a trace of them could be found. But the stone that had struck the statue became a great mountain and filled the whole earth.

This was the dream; now we will tell the king its interpretation.

You, O king, are the king of kings, to whom the God of heaven has given sovereignty, power, strength, and glory.

Wherever the sons of men or beasts of the field or birds of the air dwell, He has given them into your hand and has made you ruler over them all. You are that head of gold.

But after you, there will arise another kingdom, inferior to yours.

Next, a third kingdom, one of bronze, will rule the whole earth.

Finally, there will be a fourth kingdom as strong as iron; for iron shatters and crushes all things, and like iron that crushes all things, it will shatter and crush all the others.

And just as you saw that the feet and toes were made partly of fired clay and partly of iron, so this will be a divided kingdom, yet some of the strength of iron will be in it—just as you saw the iron mixed with clay.

And as the toes of the feet were partly iron and partly clay, so this kingdom will be partly strong and partly brittle.

As you saw the iron mixed with clay, so the peoples will mix with one another, but will not hold together any more than iron mixes with clay.

In the days of those kings, the God of heaven will set up a kingdom that will never be destroyed, nor will it be left to another people. It will shatter all these kingdoms and bring them to an end, but will itself stand forever.

And just as you saw a stone being cut out of the mountain without human hands, and it shattered the iron, bronze, clay, silver, and gold, so the great God has told the king what will happen in the future.

The dream is true, and its interpretation is trustworthy.”

At this, King Nebuchadnezzar fell on his face, paid homage to Daniel, and ordered that an offering of incense be presented to him.

The king said to Daniel, “Your God is truly the God of gods and Lord of kings, the Revealer of Mysteries, since you were able to reveal this mystery.”

Then the king promoted Daniel and gave him many generous gifts. He made him ruler over the entire province of Babylon and chief administrator over all the wise men of Babylon.

And at Daniel’s request, the king appointed Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego to manage the province of Babylon, while Daniel remained in the king’s court.

Daniel 3

King Nebuchadnezzar made a golden statue sixty cubits high and six cubits wide, and he set it up on the plain of Dura in the province of Babylon.

Then King Nebuchadnezzar sent word to assemble the satraps, prefects, governors, advisers, treasurers, judges, magistrates, and all the other officials of the provinces to attend the dedication of the statue he had set up.

So the satraps, prefects, governors, advisers, treasurers, judges, magistrates, and all the rulers of the provinces assembled for the dedication of the statue that King Nebuchadnezzar had set up, and they stood before it.

Then the herald loudly proclaimed, “O people of every nation and language, this is what you are commanded:

As soon as you hear the sound of the horn, flute, zither, lyre, harp, pipes, and all kinds of music, you must fall down and worship the golden statue that King Nebuchadnezzar has set up.

And whoever does not fall down and worship will immediately be thrown into the blazing fiery furnace.”

Therefore, as soon as all the people heard the sound of the horn, flute, zither, lyre, harp, and all kinds of music, the people of every nation and language would fall down and worship the golden statue that King Nebuchadnezzar had set up.

At this time some astrologers came forward and maliciously accused the Jews, saying to King Nebuchadnezzar, “O king, may you live forever!

You, O king, have issued a decree that everyone who hears the sound of the horn, flute, zither, lyre, harp, pipes, and all kinds of music must fall down and worship the golden statue,

and that whoever does not fall down and worship will be thrown into the blazing fiery furnace.

But there are some Jews you have appointed to manage the province of Babylon—Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego—who have ignored you, O king, and have refused to serve your gods or worship the golden statue you have set up.”

Then Nebuchadnezzar, furious with rage, summoned Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego. So these men were brought before the king,

and Nebuchadnezzar said to them, “Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, is it true that you do not serve my gods or worship the golden statue I have set up?

Now, if you are ready, as soon as you hear the sound of the horn, flute, zither, lyre, harp, pipes, and all kinds of music, you must fall down and worship the statue I have made. But if you refuse to worship, you will be thrown at once into the blazing fiery furnace. Then what god will be able to deliver you from my hands?”

Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego replied to the king, “O Nebuchadnezzar, we have no need to answer you in this matter.

If the God whom we serve exists, then He is able to deliver us from the blazing fiery furnace and from your hand, O king.

But even if He does not, let it be known to you, O king, that we will not serve your gods or worship the golden statue you have set up.”

At this, Nebuchadnezzar was filled with rage, and the expression on his face changed toward Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego. He gave orders to heat the furnace seven times hotter than usual,

and he commanded some mighty men of valor in his army to tie up Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego and throw them into the blazing fiery furnace.

So they were tied up, wearing robes, trousers, turbans, and other clothes, and they were thrown into the blazing fiery furnace.

The king’s command was so urgent and the furnace so hot that the fiery flames killed the men who carried up Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego.

And these three men, Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, firmly bound, fell into the blazing fiery furnace.

Suddenly King Nebuchadnezzar jumped up in amazement and asked his advisers, “Did we not throw three men, firmly bound, into the fire?”

“Certainly, O king,” they replied.

“Look!” he exclaimed. “I see four men, unbound and unharmed, walking around in the fire—and the fourth looks like a son of the gods!”

Then Nebuchadnezzar approached the door of the blazing fiery furnace and called out, “Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, servants of the Most High God, come out!”

So Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego came out of the fire,

and when the satraps, prefects, governors, and royal advisers had gathered around, they saw that the fire had no effect on the bodies of these men. Not a hair of their heads was singed, their robes were unaffected, and there was no smell of fire on them.

Nebuchadnezzar declared, “Blessed be the God of Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, who has sent His angel and delivered His servants who trusted in Him. They violated the king’s command and risked their lives rather than serve or worship any god except their own God.

Therefore I decree that the people of any nation or language who say anything offensive against the God of Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego will be cut into pieces and their houses reduced to rubble. For there is no other god who can deliver in this way.”

Then the king promoted Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego in the province of Babylon.

Daniel 4

King Nebuchadnezzar,

To the people of every nation and language who dwell in all the earth:

May your prosperity be multiplied.

I am pleased to declare the signs and wonders that the Most High God has performed for me.

How great are His signs,

how mighty His wonders!

His kingdom is an eternal kingdom;

His dominion endures from generation to generation.

I, Nebuchadnezzar, was at ease in my house and flourishing in my palace. I had a dream, and it frightened me; while in my bed, the images and visions in my mind alarmed me.

So I issued a decree that all the wise men of Babylon be brought before me to interpret the dream for me.

When the magicians, enchanters, astrologers, and diviners came in, I told them the dream, and they could not interpret it for me.

But at last, into my presence came Daniel (whose name is Belteshazzar after the name of my god, and in whom is the spirit of the holy gods). And I told him the dream:

“O Belteshazzar, chief of the magicians, I know that the spirit of the holy gods is in you and that no mystery baffles you. So explain to me the visions I saw in my dream, and their interpretation.

In these visions of my mind as I was lying in bed, I saw this come to pass:

There was a tree in the midst of the land,

and its height was great.

The tree grew large and strong;

its top reached the sky,

and it was visible

to the ends of the earth.

Its leaves were beautiful,

its fruit was abundant,

and upon it was food for all.

Under it the beasts of the field found shelter,

in its branches the birds of the air nested,

and from it every creature was fed.

As I lay on my bed, I also saw in the visions of my mind a watcher, a holy one, coming down from heaven. He called out in a loud voice:

‘Cut down the tree and chop off its branches;

strip off its leaves and scatter its fruit.

Let the beasts flee from under it,

and the birds from its branches.

But leave the stump with its roots in the ground,

and a band of iron and bronze around it,

in the tender grass of the field.

Let him be drenched with the dew of heaven

and graze with the beasts on the grass of the earth.

Let his mind be changed from that of a man,

and let him be given the mind of a beast

till seven times pass him by.

This decision is the decree of the watchers,

the verdict declared by the holy ones,

so that the living will know

that the Most High rules over the kingdom of mankind

and gives it to whom He wishes,

setting over it the lowliest of men.’

This is the dream that I, King Nebuchadnezzar, saw. Now, Belteshazzar, tell me the interpretation, because none of the wise men of my kingdom can interpret it for me. But you are able, because the spirit of the holy gods is in you.”

For a time, Daniel, who was also known as Belteshazzar, was perplexed, and his thoughts alarmed him.

So the king said, “Belteshazzar, do not let the dream or its interpretation alarm you.”

“My lord,” replied Belteshazzar, “may the dream apply to those who hate you, and its interpretation to your enemies!

The tree you saw that grew large and strong, whose top reached the sky and was visible to all the earth,

whose foliage was beautiful and whose fruit was abundant, providing food for all, under which the beasts of the field lived, and in whose branches the birds of the air nested—

you, O king, are that tree! For you have become great and strong; your greatness has grown to reach the sky, and your dominion extends to the ends of the earth.

And you, O king, saw a watcher, a holy one, coming down from heaven and saying:

‘Cut down the tree and destroy it,

but leave the stump with its roots in the ground,

and a band of iron and bronze around it,

in the tender grass of the field.

Let him be drenched with the dew of heaven,

and graze with the beasts of the field

till seven times pass him by.’

This is the interpretation, O king, and this is the decree that the Most High has issued against my lord the king:

You will be driven away from mankind, and your dwelling will be with the beasts of the field. You will feed on grass like an ox and be drenched with the dew of heaven, and seven times shall pass you by, until you acknowledge that the Most High rules over the kingdom of mankind and gives it to whom He wishes.

As for the command to leave the stump of the tree with its roots, your kingdom will be restored to you as soon as you acknowledge that Heaven rules.

Therefore, may my advice be pleasing to you, O king. Break away from your sins by doing what is right, and from your iniquities by showing mercy to the oppressed. Perhaps there will be an extension of your prosperity.”

All this happened to King Nebuchadnezzar. Twelve months later, as he was walking on the roof of the royal palace of Babylon,

the king exclaimed, “Is this not Babylon the Great, which I myself have built by the might of my power as a royal residence and for the glory of my majesty?”

While the words were still in the king’s mouth, a voice came from heaven: “It is decreed to you, King Nebuchadnezzar, that the kingdom has departed from you.

You will be driven away from mankind to live with the beasts of the field, and you will feed on grass like an ox. And seven times will pass you by, until you acknowledge that the Most High rules over the kingdom of mankind and gives it to whom He wishes.”

At that moment the sentence against Nebuchadnezzar was fulfilled. He was driven away from mankind. He ate grass like an ox, and his body was drenched with the dew of heaven, until his hair grew like the feathers of an eagle and his nails like the claws of a bird.

But at the end of those days I, Nebuchadnezzar, looked up to heaven, and my sanity was restored to me. Then I praised the Most High, and I honored and glorified Him who lives forever:

“For His dominion is an everlasting dominion,

and His kingdom endures from generation to generation.

All the peoples of the earth

are counted as nothing,

and He does as He pleases

with the army of heaven

and the peoples of the earth.

There is no one who can restrain His hand

or say to Him, ‘What have You done?’ ”

At the same time my sanity was restored, my honor and splendor returned to me for the glory of my kingdom. My advisers and nobles sought me out, and I was restored to my throne, and surpassing greatness was added to me.

Now I, Nebuchadnezzar, praise and exalt and glorify the King of heaven, for all His works are true and all His ways are just. And He is able to humble those who walk in pride.

Daniel 5

Later, King Belshazzar held a great feast for a thousand of his nobles, and he drank wine with them.

Under the influence of the wine, Belshazzar gave orders to bring in the gold and silver vessels that Nebuchadnezzar his father had taken from the temple in Jerusalem, so that the king could drink from them, along with his nobles, his wives, and his concubines.

Thus they brought in the gold vessels that had been taken from the temple, the house of God in Jerusalem, and the king drank from them, along with his nobles, his wives, and his concubines.

As they drank the wine, they praised their gods of gold and silver, bronze and iron, wood and stone.

At that moment the fingers of a human hand appeared and wrote on the plaster of the wall, near the lampstand in the royal palace. As the king watched the hand that was writing,

his face grew pale and his thoughts so alarmed him that his hips gave way and his knees knocked together.

The king called out for the enchanters, astrologers, and diviners to be brought in, and he said to these wise men of Babylon, “Whoever reads this inscription and tells me its interpretation will be clothed in purple and have a gold chain placed around his neck, and he will be made the third highest ruler in the kingdom.”

So all the king’s wise men came in, but they could not read the inscription or interpret it for him.

Then King Belshazzar became even more terrified, his face grew even more pale, and his nobles were bewildered.

Hearing the outcry of the king and his nobles, the queen entered the banquet hall. “O king, may you live forever!” she said. “Do not let your thoughts terrify you, or your face grow pale.

There is a man in your kingdom who has the spirit of the holy gods in him. In the days of your father he was found to have insight, intelligence, and wisdom like that of the gods.

Your father, King Nebuchadnezzar, appointed him chief of the magicians, enchanters, astrologers, and diviners. Your own father, the king,

did this because Daniel, the one he named Belteshazzar, was found to have an extraordinary spirit, as well as knowledge, understanding, and the ability to interpret dreams, explain riddles, and solve difficult problems. Summon Daniel, therefore, and he will give you the interpretation.”

So Daniel was brought before the king, who asked him, “Are you Daniel, one of the exiles my father the king brought from Judah?

I have heard that the spirit of the gods is in you, and that you have insight, intelligence, and extraordinary wisdom.

Now the wise men and enchanters were brought before me to read this inscription and interpret it for me, but they could not give its interpretation.

But I have heard about you, that you are able to give interpretations and solve difficult problems. Therefore, if you can read this inscription and give me its interpretation, you will be clothed in purple and have a gold chain placed around your neck, and you will be made the third highest ruler in the kingdom.”

In response, Daniel said to the king, “You may keep your gifts for yourself and give your rewards to someone else. Nevertheless, I will read the inscription for the king and interpret it for him.

As for you, O king, the Most High God gave your father Nebuchadnezzar sovereignty and greatness, glory and honor.

Because of the greatness that He bestowed on him, the people of every nation and language trembled in fear before him. He killed whom he wished and kept alive whom he wished; he exalted whom he wished and humbled whom he wished.

But when his heart became arrogant and his spirit was hardened with pride, he was deposed from his royal throne, and his glory was taken from him.

He was driven away from mankind, and his mind was like that of a beast. He lived with the wild donkeys and ate grass like an ox, and his body was drenched with the dew of heaven until he acknowledged that the Most High God rules over the kingdom of mankind, setting over it whom He wishes.

But you his son, O Belshazzar, have not humbled your heart, even though you knew all this.

Instead, you have exalted yourself against the Lord of heaven. The vessels from His house were brought to you, and as you drank wine from them with your nobles, wives, and concubines, you praised your gods of silver and gold, bronze and iron, wood and stone, which cannot see or hear or understand. But you have failed to glorify the God who holds in His hand your very breath and all your ways.

Therefore He sent the hand that wrote the inscription.

Now this is the inscription that was written:

MENE, MENE, TEKEL, PARSIN.

And this is the interpretation of the message:

MENE means that God has numbered the days of your reign and brought it to an end.

TEKEL means that you have been weighed on the scales and found deficient.

PERES means that your kingdom has been divided and given over to the Medes and Persians.”

Then Belshazzar gave the command, and they clothed Daniel in purple, placed a gold chain around his neck, and proclaimed him the third highest ruler in the kingdom.

That very night Belshazzar king of the Chaldeans was slain, and Darius the Mede received the kingdom at the age of sixty-two.

Psalm 74

Why have You rejected us forever, O God?

Why does Your anger smolder

against the sheep of Your pasture?

Remember Your congregation,

which You purchased long ago

and redeemed as the tribe of Your inheritance—

Mount Zion where You dwell.

Turn Your steps to the everlasting ruins,

to everything in the sanctuary the enemy has destroyed.

Your foes have roared within Your meeting place;

they have unfurled their banners as signs,

like men wielding axes in a thicket of trees

and smashing all the carvings with hatchets and picks.

They have burned Your sanctuary to the ground;

they have defiled the dwelling place of Your Name.

They said in their hearts,

“We will crush them completely.”

They burned down every place

where God met us in the land.

There are no signs for us to see.

There is no longer any prophet.

And none of us knows how long this will last.

How long, O God, will the enemy taunt You?

Will the foe revile Your name forever?

Why do You withdraw Your strong right hand?

Stretch it out to destroy them!

Yet God is my King from ancient times,

working salvation on the earth.

You divided the sea by Your strength;

You smashed the heads of the dragons of the sea;

You crushed the heads of Leviathan;

You fed him to the creatures of the desert.

You broke open the fountain and the flood;

You dried up the ever-flowing rivers.

The day is Yours, and also the night;

You established the moon and the sun.

You set all the boundaries of the earth;

You made the summer and winter.

Remember how the enemy has mocked You, O LORD,

how a foolish people has spurned Your name.

Do not deliver the soul of Your dove to beasts;

do not forget the lives of Your afflicted forever.

Consider Your covenant,

for haunts of violence fill the dark places of the land.

Do not let the oppressed retreat in shame;

may the poor and needy praise Your name.

Rise up, O God; defend Your cause!

Remember how the fool mocks You all day long.

Do not disregard the clamor of Your adversaries,

the uproar of Your enemies that ascends continually.

'“And the angel answered and said to the women, “Do not be afraid; for I know that you are looking for Jesus who has been crucified. He is not here, for He has risen, just as He said. Come, see the place where He was lying.” - Matthew 28:5-6

This week we return to our study of the Gospel of Matthew and finishing it up with the resurrection story in chapter 28, the final chapter of this gospel.

Malachi is the last book of the Old Testament in Christian bibles. It sets things up for the arrival of John the Baptist, as well as Jesus. We get some good reflections on the nature of sacrifice and devotion. Good stuff. Enjoy!

Malachi 1

This is the burden of the word of the LORD to Israel through Malachi:

“I have loved you,” says the LORD.

But you ask, “How have You loved us?”

“Was not Esau Jacob’s brother?” declares the LORD. “Yet Jacob I have loved,

but Esau I have hated, and I have made his mountains a wasteland and left his inheritance to the desert jackals.”

Though Edom may say, “We have been devastated, but we will rebuild the ruins,” this is what the LORD of Hosts says: “They may build, but I will demolish. They will be called the Land of Wickedness, and a people with whom the LORD is indignant forever.

You will see this with your own eyes, and you yourselves will say, ‘The LORD is great—even beyond the borders of Israel.’ ”

“A son honors his father, and a servant his master. But if I am a father, where is My honor? And if I am a master, where is your fear of Me?” says the LORD of Hosts to you priests who despise My name.

“But you ask, ‘How have we despised Your name?’

By presenting defiled food on My altar.

But you ask, ‘How have we defiled You ?’

By saying that the table of the LORD is contemptible.

When you offer blind animals for sacrifice, is it not wrong? And when you present the lame and sick ones, is it not wrong? Try offering them to your governor! Would he be pleased with you or show you favor?” asks the LORD of Hosts.

“But ask now for God’s favor. Will He be gracious? Since this has come from your hands, will He show you favor?” asks the LORD of Hosts.

“Oh, that one of you would shut the temple doors, so that you would no longer kindle useless fires on My altar! I take no pleasure in you,” says the LORD of Hosts, “and I will accept no offering from your hands.

For My name will be great among the nations, from where the sun rises to where it sets. In every place, incense and pure offerings will be presented in My name, because My name will be great among the nations,” says the LORD of Hosts.

“But you profane it when you say, ‘The table of the Lord is defiled, and as for its fruit, its food is contemptible.’

You also say: ‘Oh, what a nuisance!’ And you turn up your nose at it,” says the LORD of Hosts.

“You bring offerings that are stolen, lame, or sick! Should I accept these from your hands?” asks the LORD.

“But cursed is the deceiver who has an acceptable male in his flock and vows to give it, but sacrifices a defective animal to the Lord. For I am a great King,” says the LORD of Hosts, “and My name is to be feared among the nations.

Malachi 2

“And now this decree is for you, O priests:

If you do not listen, and if you do not take it to heart to honor My name,” says the LORD of Hosts, “I will send a curse among you, and I will curse your blessings. Yes, I have already begun to curse them, because you are not taking it to heart.

Behold, I will rebuke your descendants, and I will spread dung on your faces, the waste from your feasts, and you will be carried off with it.

Then you will know that I have sent you this commandment so that My covenant with Levi may continue,” says the LORD of Hosts.

“My covenant with him was one of life and peace, which I gave to him; it called for reverence, and he revered Me and stood in awe of My name.

True instruction was in his mouth, and nothing false was found on his lips. He walked with Me in peace and uprightness, and he turned many from iniquity.

For the lips of a priest should preserve knowledge, and people should seek instruction from his mouth, because he is the messenger of the LORD of Hosts.

But you have departed from the way, and your instruction has caused many to stumble. You have violated the covenant of Levi,” says the LORD of Hosts.

“So I in turn have made you despised and humiliated before all the people, because you have not kept My ways, but have shown partiality in matters of the law.”

Do we not all have one Father? Did not one God create us? Why then do we break faith with one another so as to profane the covenant of our fathers?

Judah has broken faith; an abomination has been committed in Israel and in Jerusalem. For Judah has profaned the LORD’s beloved sanctuary by marrying the daughter of a foreign god.

As for the man who does this, may the LORD cut off from the tents of Jacob everyone who is awake and aware—even if he brings an offering to the LORD of Hosts.

And this is another thing you do: You cover the altar of the LORD with tears, with weeping and groaning, because He no longer regards your offerings or receives them gladly from your hands.

Yet you ask, “Why?”

It is because the LORD has been a witness between you and the wife of your youth, against whom you have broken faith, though she is your companion and your wife by covenant.

Has not the LORD made them one, having a portion of the Spirit? And why one? Because He seeks godly offspring. So guard yourselves in your spirit and do not break faith with the wife of your youth.

“For I hate divorce,” says the LORD, the God of Israel. “He who divorces his wife covers his garment with violence,” says the LORD of Hosts. So guard yourselves in your spirit and do not break faith.

You have wearied the LORD with your words; yet you ask, “How have we wearied Him?”

By saying, “All who do evil are good in the sight of the LORD, and in them He delights,” or, “Where is the God of justice?”

Malachi 3

“Behold, I will send My messenger, who will prepare the way before Me. Then the Lord whom you seek will suddenly come to His temple—the Messenger of the covenant, in whom you delight—see, He is coming,” says the LORD of Hosts.

But who can endure the day of His coming? And who can stand when He appears? For He will be like a refiner’s fire, like a launderer’s soap.

And He will sit as a refiner and purifier of silver; He will purify the sons of Levi and refine them like gold and silver. Then they will present offerings to the LORD in righteousness.

Then the offerings of Judah and Jerusalem will please the LORD, as in days of old and years gone by.

“Then I will draw near to you for judgment. And I will be a swift witness against sorcerers and adulterers and perjurers, against oppressors of the widowed and fatherless, and against those who defraud laborers of their wages and deny justice to the foreigner but do not fear Me,” says the LORD of Hosts.

“Because I, the LORD, do not change, you descendants of Jacob have not been destroyed.

Yet from the days of your fathers, you have turned away from My statutes and have not kept them. Return to Me, and I will return to you,” says the LORD of Hosts.

“But you ask, ‘How can we return?’

Will a man rob God? Yet you are robbing Me!

But you ask, ‘How do we rob You?’

In tithes and offerings.

You are cursed with a curse, yet you—the whole nation—are still robbing Me.

Bring the full tithe into the storehouse, so that there may be food in My house. Test Me in this,” says the LORD of Hosts. “See if I will not open the windows of heaven and pour out for you blessing without measure.

I will rebuke the devourer for you, so that it will not destroy the fruits of your land, and the vine in your field will not fail to produce fruit,” says the LORD of Hosts.

“Then all the nations will call you blessed, for you will be a land of delight,” says the LORD of Hosts.

“Your words against Me have been harsh,” says the LORD. “Yet you ask, ‘What have we spoken against You?’

You have said, ‘It is futile to serve God. What have we gained by keeping His requirements and walking mournfully before the LORD of Hosts?

So now we call the arrogant blessed. Not only do evildoers prosper, they even test God and escape.’ ”

At that time those who feared the LORD spoke with one another, and the LORD listened and heard them. So a scroll of remembrance was written before Him regarding those who feared the LORD and honored His name.

“They will be Mine,” says the LORD of Hosts, “on the day when I prepare My treasured possession. And I will spare them as a man spares his own son who serves him.

So you will again distinguish between the righteous and the wicked, between those who serve God and those who do not.”

Malachi 4

“For behold, the day is coming, burning like a furnace, when all the arrogant and every evildoer will be stubble; the day is coming when I will set them ablaze,” says the LORD of Hosts. “Not a root or branch will be left to them.”

“But for you who fear My name, the sun of righteousness will rise with healing in its wings, and you will go out and leap like calves from the stall.

Then you will trample the wicked, for they will be ashes under the soles of your feet on the day I am preparing,” says the LORD of Hosts.

“Remember the law of My servant Moses, the statutes and ordinances I commanded him for all Israel at Horeb.

Behold, I will send you Elijah the prophet before the coming of the great and awesome Day of the LORD.

And he will turn the hearts of the fathers to their children, and the hearts of the children to their fathers. Otherwise, I will come and strike the land with a curse.”

Psalm 71

In You, O LORD, I have taken refuge;

let me never be put to shame.

In Your justice, rescue and deliver me;

incline Your ear and save me.

Be my rock of refuge,

where I can always go.

Give the command to save me,

for You are my rock and my fortress.

Deliver me, O my God, from the hand of the wicked,

from the grasp of the unjust and ruthless.

For You are my hope, O Lord GOD,

my confidence from my youth.

I have leaned on You since birth;

You pulled me from my mother’s womb.

My praise is always for You.

I have become a portent to many,

but You are my strong refuge.

My mouth is filled with Your praise

and with Your splendor all day long.

Do not discard me in my old age;

do not forsake me when my strength fails.

For my enemies speak against me,

and those who lie in wait for my life conspire,

saying, “God has forsaken him;

pursue him and seize him,

for there is no one to rescue him.”

Be not far from me, O God.

Hurry, O my God, to help me.

May the accusers of my soul

be ashamed and consumed;

may those who seek my harm

be covered with scorn and disgrace.

But I will always hope

and will praise You more and more.

My mouth will declare Your righteousness

and Your salvation all day long,

though I cannot know their full measure.

I will enter in the strength of the Lord GOD;

I will proclaim Your righteousness—Yours alone.

O God, You have taught me from my youth,

and to this day I proclaim Your marvelous deeds.

Even when I am old and gray,

do not forsake me, O God,

until I proclaim Your power to the next generation,

Your might to all who are to come.

Your righteousness reaches to the heavens, O God,

You who have done great things.

Who, O God, is like You?

Though You have shown me many troubles and misfortunes,

You will revive me once again.

Even from the depths of the earth

You will bring me back up.

You will increase my honor

and comfort me once again.

So I will praise You with the harp

for Your faithfulness, O my God;

I will sing praise to You with the lyre,

O Holy One of Israel.

When I sing praise to You

my lips will shout for joy,

along with my soul,

which You have redeemed.

My tongue will indeed proclaim

Your righteousness all day long,

for those who seek my harm

are disgraced and confounded.

Psalm 73

Surely God is good to Israel,

to those who are pure in heart.

But as for me, my feet had almost stumbled;

my steps had nearly slipped.

For I envied the arrogant

when I saw the prosperity of the wicked.

They have no struggle in their death;

their bodies are well-fed.

They are free of the burdens others carry;

they are not afflicted like other men.

Therefore pride is their necklace;

a garment of violence covers them.

From their prosperity proceeds iniquity;

the imaginations of their hearts run wild.

They mock and speak with malice;

with arrogance they threaten oppression.

They set their mouths against the heavens,

and their tongues strut across the earth.

So their people return to this place

and drink up waters in abundance.

The wicked say, “How can God know?

Does the Most High have knowledge?”

Behold, these are the wicked—

always carefree as they increase their wealth.

Surely in vain I have kept my heart pure;

in innocence I have washed my hands.

For I am afflicted all day long

and punished every morning.

If I had said, “I will speak this way,”

then I would have betrayed Your children.

When I tried to understand all this,

it was troublesome in my sight

until I entered God’s sanctuary;

then I discerned their end.

Surely You set them on slick ground;

You cast them down into ruin.

How suddenly they are laid waste,

completely swept away by terrors!

Like one waking from a dream,

so You, O Lord, awaken and despise their form.

When my heart was grieved

and I was pierced within,

I was senseless and ignorant;

I was a brute beast before You.

Yet I am always with You;

You hold my right hand.

You guide me with Your counsel,

and later receive me in glory.

Whom have I in heaven but You?

And on earth I desire no one besides You.

My flesh and my heart may fail,

but God is the strength of my heart

and my portion forever.

Those far from You will surely perish;

You destroy all who are unfaithful to You.

But as for me, it is good to draw near to God.

I have made the Lord GOD my refuge,

that I may proclaim all Your works.

Today we finish Ezekiel with a finished description of the temple grounds, the dimensions of the restored Jerusalem, and a reapportioning of the land to the restored Twelve Tribes of Israel. Much of this prefigures what is laid out in Revelation, as we have already seen. How amazing it will be when the Lord makes good on all of these promises!

Ezekiel 46

“This is what the Lord GOD says: ‘The gate of the inner court that faces east must be kept shut during the six days of work, but on the Sabbath day and on the day of the New Moon it shall be opened.

The prince is to enter from the outside through the portico of the gateway and stand by the gatepost, while the priests sacrifice his burnt offerings and peace offerings. He is to bow in worship at the threshold of the gate and then depart, but the gate must not be shut until evening.

On the Sabbaths and New Moons the people of the land are also to bow in worship before the LORD at the entrance to that gateway.

The burnt offering that the prince presents to the LORD on the Sabbath day shall be six unblemished male lambs and an unblemished ram.

The grain offering with the ram shall be one ephah, and the grain offering with the lambs shall be as much as he is able, along with a hin of oil per ephah.

On the day of the New Moon he shall offer a young, unblemished bull, six lambs, and a ram without blemish.

He is to provide a grain offering of an ephah with the bull, an ephah with the ram, and as much as he is able with the lambs, along with a hin of oil per ephah.

When the prince enters, he shall go in through the portico of the gateway, and he shall go out the same way.

When the people of the land come before the LORD at the appointed feasts, whoever enters by the north gate to worship must go out by the south gate, and whoever enters by the south gate must go out by the north gate. No one is to return through the gate by which he entered, but each must go out by the opposite gate.

When the people enter, the prince shall go in with them, and when they leave, he shall leave.

At the festivals and appointed feasts, the grain offering shall be an ephah with a bull, an ephah with a ram, and as much as one is able to give with the lambs, along with a hin of oil per ephah.

When the prince makes a freewill offering to the LORD, whether a burnt offering or a peace offering, the gate facing east must be opened for him. He is to offer his burnt offering or peace offering just as he does on the Sabbath day. Then he shall go out, and the gate must be closed after he goes out.

And you shall provide an unblemished year-old lamb as a daily burnt offering to the LORD; you are to offer it every morning.

You are also to provide with it every morning a grain offering of a sixth of an ephah with a third of a hin of oil to moisten the fine flour—a grain offering to the LORD. This is a permanent statute.

Thus they shall provide the lamb, the grain offering, and the oil every morning as a regular burnt offering.’

This is what the Lord GOD says: ‘If the prince gives a gift to any of his sons as an inheritance, it will belong to his descendants. It will become their property by inheritance.

But if he gives a gift from his inheritance to one of his servants, it will belong to that servant until the year of freedom; then it will revert to the prince. His inheritance belongs only to his sons; it shall be theirs.

The prince must not take any of the inheritance of the people by evicting them from their property. He is to provide an inheritance for his sons from his own property, so that none of My people will be displaced from his property.’ ”

Then the man brought me through the entrance at the side of the gate into the holy chambers facing north, which belonged to the priests, and he showed me a place there at the far western end

and said to me, “This is the place where the priests shall boil the guilt offering and the sin offering, and where they shall bake the grain offering, so that they do not bring them into the outer court and transmit holiness to the people.”

Then he brought me into the outer court and led me around to its four corners, and I saw a separate court in each of its corners.

In the four corners of the outer court there were enclosed courts, each forty cubits long and thirty cubits wide. Each of the four corner areas had the same dimensions.

Around the inside of each of the four courts was a row of masonry with ovens built at the base of the walls on all sides.

And he said to me, “These are the kitchens where those who minister at the temple will cook the sacrifices offered by the people.”

Ezekiel 47

Then the man brought me back to the entrance of the temple, and I saw water flowing from under the threshold of the temple toward the east (for the temple faced east). The water was coming down from under the south side of the temple, south of the altar.

Next he brought me out through the north gate and led me around the outside to the outer gate facing east, and there I saw the water trickling out from the south side.

As the man went eastward with a measuring line in his hand, he measured off a thousand cubits and led me through ankle-deep water.

Then he measured off a thousand cubits and led me through knee-deep water.

Again he measured a thousand cubits and led me through waist-deep water.

Once again he measured off a thousand cubits, but now it was a river that I could not cross, because the water had risen and was deep enough for swimming—a river that could not be crossed on foot.

“Son of man, do you see this?” he asked. Then he led me back to the bank of the river.

When I arrived, I saw a great number of trees along both banks of the river.

And he said to me, “This water flows out to the eastern region and goes down into the Arabah. When it empties into the Sea, the water there becomes fresh.

Wherever the river flows, there will be swarms of living creatures and a great number of fish, because it flows there and makes the waters fresh; so wherever the river flows, everything will flourish.

Fishermen will stand by the shore; from En-gedi to En-eglaim they will spread their nets to catch fish of many kinds, like the fish of the Great Sea.

But the swamps and marshes will not become fresh; they will be left for salt.

Along both banks of the river, fruit trees of all kinds will grow. Their leaves will not wither, and their fruit will not fail. Each month they will bear fruit, because the water from the sanctuary flows to them. Their fruit will be used for food and their leaves for healing.”

This is what the Lord GOD says: “These are the boundaries by which you are to divide the land as an inheritance among the twelve tribes of Israel; Joseph shall receive two portions.

You are to divide it equally among them. Because I swore with an uplifted hand to give it to your forefathers, this land will fall to you as an inheritance.

This shall be the boundary of the land:

On the north side it will extend from the Great Sea by way of Hethlon through Lebo-hamath to Zedad,

Berothah, and Sibraim (which is on the border between Damascus and Hamath), as far as Hazer-hatticon, which is on the border of Hauran.

So the border will run from the Sea to Hazar-enan, along the northern border of Damascus, with the territory of Hamath to the north. This will be the northern boundary.

On the east side the border will run between Hauran and Damascus, along the Jordan between Gilead and the land of Israel, to the Eastern Sea and as far as Tamar. This will be the eastern boundary.

On the south side it will run from Tamar to the waters of Meribath-kadesh, and along the Brook of Egypt to the Great Sea. This will be the southern boundary.

And on the west side, the Great Sea will be the boundary up to a point opposite Lebo-hamath. This will be the western boundary.

You are to divide this land among yourselves according to the tribes of Israel.

You shall allot it as an inheritance for yourselves and for the foreigners who dwell among you and who have children. You are to treat them as native-born Israelites; along with you, they shall be allotted an inheritance among the tribes of Israel.

In whatever tribe a foreigner dwells, you are to assign his inheritance there,” declares the Lord GOD.

Ezekiel 48

“Now these are the names of the tribes:

At the northern frontier, Dan will have one portion bordering the road of Hethlon to Lebo-hamath and running on to Hazar-enan on the border of Damascus with Hamath to the north, and extending from the east side to the west side.

Asher will have one portion bordering the territory of Dan from east to west.

Naphtali will have one portion bordering the territory of Asher from east to west.

Manasseh will have one portion bordering the territory of Naphtali from east to west.

Ephraim will have one portion bordering the territory of Manasseh from east to west.

Reuben will have one portion bordering the territory of Ephraim from east to west.

Judah will have one portion bordering the territory of Reuben from east to west.

Bordering the territory of Judah, from east to west, will be the portion you are to set apart. It will be 25,000 cubits wide, and the length of a tribal portion from east to west. In the center will be the sanctuary.

The special portion you set apart to the LORD shall be 25,000 cubits long and 10,000 cubits wide.

This will be the holy portion for the priests. It will be 25,000 cubits long on the north side, 10,000 cubits wide on the west side, 10,000 cubits wide on the east side, and 25,000 cubits long on the south side. In the center will be the sanctuary of the LORD.

It will be for the consecrated priests, the descendants of Zadok, who kept My charge and did not go astray as the Levites did when the Israelites went astray.

It will be a special portion for them set apart from the land, a most holy portion adjacent to the territory of the Levites.

Bordering the territory of the priests, the Levites shall have an area 25,000 cubits long and 10,000 cubits wide. The whole length will be 25,000 cubits, and the width 10,000 cubits.

They must not sell or exchange any of it, and they must not transfer this best part of the land, for it is holy to the LORD.

The remaining area, 5,000 cubits wide and 25,000 cubits long, will be for common use by the city, for houses, and for pastureland. The city will be in the center of it

and will have these measurements: 4,500 cubits on the north side, 4,500 cubits on the south side, 4,500 cubits on the east side, and 4,500 cubits on the west side.

The pastureland of the city will extend 250 cubits to the north, 250 cubits to the south, 250 cubits to the east, and 250 cubits to the west.

The remainder of the length bordering the holy portion and running adjacent to it will be 10,000 cubits on the east side and 10,000 cubits on the west side. Its produce will supply food for the workers of the city.

The workers of the city who cultivate it will come from all the tribes of Israel.

The entire portion will be a square, 25,000 cubits by 25,000 cubits. You are to set apart the holy portion, along with the city property.

The remaining area on both sides of the holy portion and of the property of the city will belong to the prince. He will own the land adjacent to the tribal portions, extending eastward from the 25,000 cubits of the holy district toward the eastern border, and westward from the 25,000 cubits to the western border. And in the center of them will be the holy portion and the sanctuary of the temple.

So the Levitical property and the city property will lie in the center of the area belonging to the prince—the area between the borders of Judah and Benjamin.

As for the rest of the tribes:

Benjamin will have one portion extending from the east side to the west side.

Simeon will have one portion bordering the territory of Benjamin from east to west.

Issachar will have one portion bordering the territory of Simeon from east to west.

Zebulun will have one portion bordering the territory of Issachar from east to west.

And Gad will have one portion bordering the territory of Zebulun from east to west.

The southern border of Gad will run from Tamar to the waters of Meribath-kadesh, then along the Brook of Egypt and out to the Great Sea.

This is the land you are to allot as an inheritance to the tribes of Israel, and these will be their portions,” declares the Lord GOD.

“These will be the exits of the city:

Beginning on the north side, which will be 4,500 cubits long,

the gates of the city will be named after the tribes of Israel. On the north side there will be three gates: the gate of Reuben, the gate of Judah, and the gate of Levi.

On the east side, which will be 4,500 cubits long, there will be three gates: the gate of Joseph, the gate of Benjamin, and the gate of Dan.

On the south side, which will be 4,500 cubits long, there will be three gates: the gate of Simeon, the gate of Issachar, and the gate of Zebulun.

And on the west side, which will be 4,500 cubits long, there will be three gates: the gate of Gad, the gate of Asher, and the gate of Naphtali.

The perimeter of the city will be 18,000 cubits, and from that day on the name of the city will be:

THE LORD IS THERE.”

Psalm 67

May God be gracious to us and bless us,

and cause His face to shine upon us,

Selah

that Your ways may be known on earth,

Your salvation among all nations.

Let the peoples praise You, O God;

let all the peoples praise You.

Let the nations be glad and sing for joy,

for You judge the peoples justly

and lead the nations of the earth.

Selah

Let the peoples praise You, O God;

let all the peoples praise You.

The earth has yielded its harvest;

God, our God, blesses us.

God blesses us,

that all the ends of the earth shall fear Him.

Psalm 68

God arises. His enemies are scattered,

and those who hate Him flee His presence.

As smoke is blown away,

You will drive them out;

as wax melts before the fire,

the wicked will perish in the presence of God.

But the righteous will be glad

and rejoice before God;

they will celebrate with joy.

Sing to God!

Sing praises to His name.

Exalt Him who rides on the clouds —

His name is the LORD—

and rejoice before Him.

A father of the fatherless,

and a defender of the widows,

is God in His holy habitation.

God settles the lonely in families;

He leads the prisoners out to prosperity,

but the rebellious dwell in a sun-scorched land.

O God, when You went out before Your people,

when You marched through the wasteland,

Selah

the earth shook and the heavens poured down rain

before God, the One on Sinai,

before God, the God of Israel.

You sent abundant rain, O God;

You refreshed Your weary inheritance.

Your flock settled therein;

O God, from Your bounty You provided for the poor.

The Lord gives the command;

a great company of women proclaim it:

“Kings and their armies flee in haste;

she who waits at home divides the plunder.

Though you lie down among the sheepfolds,

the wings of the dove are covered with silver,

and her feathers with shimmering gold.”

When the Almighty scattered the kings in the land,

it was like the snow falling on Zalmon.

A mountain of God is Mount Bashan;

a mountain of many peaks is Mount Bashan.

Why do you gaze in envy, O mountains of many peaks?

This is the mountain God chose for His dwelling,

where the LORD will surely dwell forever.

The chariots of God are tens of thousands—

thousands of thousands are they;

the Lord is in His sanctuary

as He was at Sinai.

You have ascended on high;

You have led captives away.

You have received gifts from men,

even from the rebellious,

that the LORD God may dwell there.

Blessed be the Lord,

who daily bears our burden,

the God of our salvation.

Selah

Our God is a God of deliverance;

the Lord GOD is our rescuer from death.

Surely God will crush the heads of His enemies,

the hairy crowns of those who persist in guilty ways.

The Lord said, “I will retrieve them from Bashan,

I will bring them up from the depths of the sea,

that your foot may be dipped

in the blood of your foes—

the tongues of your dogs in the same.”

They have seen Your procession, O God—

the march of my God and King into the sanctuary.

The singers lead the way,

the musicians follow after,

among the maidens playing tambourines.

Bless God in the great congregation;

bless the LORD from the fountain of Israel.

There is Benjamin, the youngest, ruling them,

the princes of Judah in their company,

the princes of Zebulun and of Naphtali.

Summon Your power, O God;

show Your strength, O God,

which You have exerted on our behalf.

Because of Your temple at Jerusalem

kings will bring You gifts.

Rebuke the beast in the reeds,

the herd of bulls among the calves of the nations,

until it submits, bringing bars of silver.

Scatter the nations who delight in war.

Envoys will arrive from Egypt;

Cush will stretch out her hands to God.

Sing to God, O kingdoms of the earth;

sing praises to the Lord—

Selah

to Him who rides upon the highest heavens of old;

behold, His mighty voice resounds.

Ascribe the power to God,

whose majesty is over Israel,

whose strength is in the skies.

O God, You are awesome in Your sanctuary;

the God of Israel Himself

gives strength and power to His people.

Blessed be God!

Psalm 69

Save me, O God,

for the waters are up to my neck.

I have sunk into the miry depths,

where there is no footing;

I have drifted into deep waters,

where the flood engulfs me.

I am weary from my crying;

my throat is parched.

My eyes fail,

looking for my God.

Those who hate me without cause

outnumber the hairs of my head;

many are those who would destroy me—

my enemies for no reason.

Though I did not steal,

I must repay.

You know my folly, O God,

and my guilt is not hidden from You.

May those who hope in You not be ashamed through me,

O Lord GOD of Hosts;

may those who seek You not be dishonored through me,

O God of Israel.

For I have endured scorn for Your sake,

and shame has covered my face.

I have become a stranger to my brothers

and a foreigner to my mother’s sons,

because zeal for Your house has consumed me,

and the insults of those who insult You have fallen on me.

I wept and fasted,

but it brought me reproach.

I made sackcloth my clothing,

and I was sport to them.

Those who sit at the gate mock me,

and I am the song of drunkards.

But my prayer to You, O LORD,

is for a time of favor.

In Your abundant loving devotion, O God,

answer me with Your sure salvation.

Rescue me from the mire

and do not let me sink;

deliver me from my foes

and out of the deep waters.

Do not let the floods engulf me

or the depths swallow me up;

let not the Pit close its mouth over me.

Answer me, O LORD,

for Your loving devotion is good;

turn to me in keeping with Your great compassion.

Hide not Your face from Your servant,

for I am in distress.

Answer me quickly!

Draw near to my soul and redeem me;

ransom me because of my foes.

You know my reproach, my shame and disgrace.

All my adversaries are before You.

Insults have broken my heart,

and I am in despair.

I looked for sympathy, but there was none,

for comforters, but I found no one.

They poisoned my food with gall

and gave me vinegar to quench my thirst.

May their table become a snare;

may it be a retribution and a trap.

May their eyes be darkened so they cannot see,

and their backs be bent forever.

Pour out Your wrath upon them,

and let Your burning anger overtake them.

May their place be deserted;

let there be no one to dwell in their tents.

For they persecute the one You struck

and recount the pain of those You wounded.

Add iniquity to their iniquity;

let them not share in Your righteousness.

May they be blotted out of the Book of Life

and not listed with the righteous.

But I am in pain and distress;

let Your salvation protect me, O God.

I will praise God’s name in song

and exalt Him with thanksgiving.

And this will please the LORD more than an ox,

more than a bull with horns and hooves.

The humble will see and rejoice.

You who seek God, let your hearts be revived!

For the LORD listens to the needy

and does not despise His captive people.

Let heaven and earth praise Him,

the seas and everything that moves in them.

For God will save Zion

and rebuild the cities of Judah,

that they may dwell there and possess it.

The descendants of His servants will inherit it,

and those who love His name will settle in it.

Psalm 70

Make haste, O God, to deliver me!

Hurry, O LORD, to help me!

May those who seek my life

be ashamed and confounded;

may those who wish me harm

be repelled and humiliated.

May those who say, “Aha, aha!”

retreat because of their shame.

May all who seek You

rejoice and be glad in You;

may those who love Your salvation always say,

“Let God be magnified!”

But I am poor and needy;

hurry to me, O God.

You are my help and my deliverer;

O LORD, do not delay.

Ezekiel continues the description of the new temple given him by the heavenly messenger. So many of the different phrases and conventions here prefigure what we see fulfilled in Revelation. It is worth remembering that this description was given before the construction of the second temple. Based on this description, in recent years some scholars have questioned whether or not the Dome of the Rock really does sit atop the location of the second temple. I won’t pretend to recall the arguments used by the scholars I read on this matter a few years ago. Remember Ezekiel was a priest. The fact that he is given revelation to speak to the restoration of the priestly order is quite a compliment to his service.

Ezekiel 41

Then the man brought me into the outer sanctuary and measured the side pillars to be six cubits wide on each side.

The width of the entrance was ten cubits, and the sides of the entrance were five cubits on each side. He also measured the length of the outer sanctuary to be forty cubits, and the width to be twenty cubits.

And he went into the inner sanctuary and measured the side pillars at the entrance to be two cubits wide. The entrance was six cubits wide, and the walls on each side were seven cubits wide.

Then he measured the room adjacent to the inner sanctuary to be twenty cubits long and twenty cubits wide. And he said to me, “This is the Most Holy Place.”

Next he measured the wall of the temple to be six cubits thick, and the width of each side room around the temple was four cubits.

The side rooms were arranged one above another in three levels of thirty rooms each. There were ledges all around the wall of the temple to serve as supports for the side rooms, so that the supports would not be fastened into the wall of the temple itself.

The side rooms surrounding the temple widened at each successive level, because the structure surrounding the temple ascended by stages corresponding to the narrowing of the temple wall as it rose upward. And so a stairway went up from the lowest story to the highest, through the middle one.

I saw that the temple had a raised base all around it, forming the foundation of the side rooms. It was the full length of a rod, six long cubits.

The outer wall of the side rooms was five cubits thick, and the open area between the side rooms of the temple and the outer chambers was twenty cubits wide all around the temple.

The side rooms opened into this area, with one entrance on the north and another on the south. The open area was five cubits wide all around.

Now the building that faced the temple courtyard on the west was seventy cubits wide, and the wall of the building was five cubits thick all around, with a length of ninety cubits.

Then he measured the temple to be a hundred cubits long, and the temple courtyard and the building with its walls were also a hundred cubits long.

The width of the temple courtyard on the east, including the front of the temple, was a hundred cubits.

Next he measured the length of the building facing the temple courtyard at the rear of the temple, including its galleries on each side; it was a hundred cubits. The outer sanctuary, the inner sanctuary, and the porticoes facing the court,

as well as the thresholds and the beveled windows and the galleries all around with their three levels opposite the threshold, were overlaid with wood on all sides. They were paneled from the ground to the windows, and the windows were covered.

In the space above the outside of the entrance to the inner sanctuary on all the walls, spaced evenly around the inner and outer sanctuary,

were alternating carved cherubim and palm trees. Each cherub had two faces:

the face of a man was toward the palm tree on one side, and the face of a young lion was toward the palm tree on the other side. They were carved all the way around the temple.

Cherubim and palm trees were carved on the wall of the outer sanctuary from the floor to the space above the entrance.

The outer sanctuary had a rectangular doorframe, and the doorframe of the sanctuary was similar.

There was an altar of wood three cubits high and two cubits square. Its corners, base, and sides were of wood. And the man told me, “This is the table that is before the LORD.”

Both the outer sanctuary and the inner sanctuary had double doors, and each door had two swinging panels. There were two panels for one door and two for the other.

Cherubim and palm trees like those on the walls were carved on the doors of the outer sanctuary, and there was a wooden canopy outside, on the front of the portico.

There were beveled windows and palm trees on the sidewalls of the portico. The side rooms of the temple also had canopies.

Ezekiel 42

Then the man led me out northward into the outer court, and he brought me to the group of chambers opposite the temple courtyard and the outer wall on the north side.

The building with the door facing north was a hundred cubits long and fifty cubits wide.

Gallery faced gallery in three levels opposite the twenty cubits that belonged to the inner court and opposite the pavement that belonged to the outer court.

In front of the chambers was an inner walkway ten cubits wide and a hundred cubits long. Their doors were on the north.

Now the upper chambers were smaller because the galleries took more space from the chambers on the lower and middle floors of the building.

For they were arranged in three stories, and unlike the courts, they had no pillars. So the upper chambers were set back further than the lower and middle floors.

An outer wall in front of the chambers was fifty cubits long and ran parallel to the chambers and the outer court.

For the chambers on the outer court were fifty cubits long, while those facing the temple were a hundred cubits long.

And below these chambers was the entrance on the east side as one enters them from the outer court.

On the south side along the length of the wall of the outer court were chambers adjoining the courtyard and opposite the building,

with a passageway in front of them, just like the chambers that were on the north. They had the same length and width, with similar exits and dimensions.

And corresponding to the doors of the chambers that were facing south, there was a door in front of the walkway that was parallel to the wall extending eastward.

Then the man said to me, “The north and south chambers facing the temple courtyard are the holy chambers where the priests who approach the LORD will eat the most holy offerings. There they will place the most holy offerings—the grain offerings, the sin offerings, and the guilt offerings—for the place is holy.

Once the priests have entered the holy area, they must not go out into the outer court until they have left behind the garments in which they minister, for these are holy. They are to put on other clothes before they approach the places that are for the people.”

Now when the man had finished measuring the interior of the temple area, he led me out by the gate that faced east, and he measured the area all around:

With a measuring rod he measured the east side to be five hundred cubits long.

He measured the north side to be five hundred cubits long.

He measured the south side to be five hundred cubits long.

And he came around and measured the west side to be five hundred cubits long.

So he measured the area on all four sides. It had a wall all around, five hundred cubits long and five hundred cubits wide, to separate the holy from the common.

Ezekiel 43

Then the man brought me back to the gate that faces east, and I saw the glory of the God of Israel coming from the east. His voice was like the roar of many waters, and the earth shone with His glory.

The vision I saw was like the vision I had seen when He came to destroy the city and like the visions I had seen by the River Kebar. I fell facedown,

and the glory of the LORD entered the temple through the gate facing east.

Then the Spirit lifted me up and brought me into the inner court, and the glory of the LORD filled the temple.

While the man was standing beside me, I heard someone speaking to me from inside the temple,

and He said to me, “Son of man, this is the place of My throne and the place for the soles of My feet, where I will dwell among the Israelites forever. The house of Israel will never again defile My holy name—neither they nor their kings—by their prostitution and by the funeral offerings for their kings at their deaths.

When they placed their threshold next to My threshold and their doorposts beside My doorposts, with only a wall between Me and them, they defiled My holy name by the abominations they committed. Therefore I have consumed them in My anger.

Now let them remove far from Me their prostitution and the funeral offerings for their kings, and I will dwell among them forever.

As for you, son of man, describe the temple to the people of Israel, so that they may be ashamed of their iniquities. Let them measure the plan,

and if they are ashamed of all they have done, then make known to them the design of the temple—its arrangement and its exits and entrances—its whole design along with all its statutes, forms, and laws. Write it down in their sight, so that they may keep its complete design and all its statutes and may carry them out.

This is the law of the temple: All its surrounding territory on top of the mountain will be most holy. Yes, this is the law of the temple.

These are the measurements of the altar in long cubits (a cubit and a handbreadth): Its gutter shall be a cubit deep and a cubit wide, with a rim of one span around its edge.

And this is the height of the altar:

The space from the gutter on the ground to the lower ledge shall be two cubits, and the ledge one cubit wide. The space from the smaller ledge to the larger ledge shall be four cubits, and the ledge one cubit wide.

The altar hearth shall be four cubits high, and four horns shall project upward from the hearth.

The altar hearth shall be square at its four corners, twelve cubits long and twelve cubits wide.

The ledge shall also be square, fourteen cubits long and fourteen cubits wide, with a rim of half a cubit and a gutter of a cubit all around it. The steps of the altar shall face east.”

Then He said to me: “Son of man, this is what the Lord GOD says: ‘These are the statutes for the altar on the day it is constructed, so that burnt offerings may be sacrificed on it and blood may be sprinkled on it:

You are to give a young bull from the herd as a sin offering to the Levitical priests who are of the family of Zadok, who approach Me to minister before Me, declares the Lord GOD.

You are to take some of its blood and put it on the four horns of the altar, on the four corners of the ledge, and all around the rim; thus you will cleanse the altar and make atonement for it.

Then you are to take away the bull for the sin offering and burn it in the appointed part of the temple area outside the sanctuary.

On the second day you are to present an unblemished male goat as a sin offering, and the altar is to be cleansed as it was with the bull.

When you have finished the purification, you are to present a young, unblemished bull and an unblemished ram from the flock.

You must present them before the LORD; the priests are to sprinkle salt on them and sacrifice them as a burnt offering to the LORD.

For seven days you are to provide a male goat daily for a sin offering; you are also to provide a young bull and a ram from the flock, both unblemished.

For seven days the priests are to make atonement for the altar and cleanse it; so they shall consecrate it.

At the end of these days, from the eighth day on, the priests are to present your burnt offerings and peace offerings on the altar. Then I will accept you, declares the Lord GOD.’ ”

Ezekiel 44

The man then brought me back to the outer gate of the sanctuary that faced east, but it was shut.

And the LORD said to me, “This gate is to remain shut. It shall not be opened, and no man shall enter through it, because the LORD, the God of Israel, has entered through it. Therefore it will remain shut.

Only the prince himself may sit inside the gateway to eat in the presence of the LORD. He must enter by way of the portico of the gateway and go out the same way.”

Then the man brought me to the front of the temple by way of the north gate. I looked and saw the glory of the LORD filling His temple, and I fell facedown.

The LORD said to me: “Son of man, pay attention; look carefully with your eyes and listen closely with your ears to everything I tell you concerning all the statutes and laws of the house of the LORD. Take careful note of the entrance to the temple, along with all the exits of the sanctuary.

Tell the rebellious house of Israel that this is what the Lord GOD says: ‘I have had enough of all your abominations, O house of Israel.

In addition to all your other abominations, you brought in foreigners uncircumcised in both heart and flesh to occupy My sanctuary; you defiled My temple when you offered My food—the fat and the blood; you broke My covenant.

And you have not kept charge of My holy things, but have appointed others to keep charge of My sanctuary for you.’

This is what the Lord GOD says: No foreigner uncircumcised in heart and flesh may enter My sanctuary—not even a foreigner who lives among the Israelites.

Surely the Levites who wandered away from Me when Israel went astray, and who wandered away from Me after their idols, will bear the consequences of their iniquity.

Yet they shall be ministers in My sanctuary, having charge of the gates of the temple and ministering there. They shall slaughter the burnt offerings and other sacrifices for the people and stand before them to minister to them.

Because they ministered before their idols and became a stumbling block of iniquity to the house of Israel, therefore I swore with an uplifted hand concerning them that they would bear the consequences of their iniquity, declares the Lord GOD.

They must not approach Me to serve Me as priests or come near any of My holy things or the most holy things. They will bear the shame of the abominations they have committed.

Yet I will appoint them to keep charge of all the work for the temple and everything to be done in it.

But the Levitical priests, who are descended from Zadok and who kept charge of My sanctuary when the Israelites went astray from Me, are to approach Me to minister before Me. They will stand before Me to offer Me fat and blood, declares the Lord GOD.

They alone shall enter My sanctuary and draw near to My table to minister before Me. They will keep My charge.

When they enter the gates of the inner court, they are to wear linen garments; they must not wear anything made of wool when they minister at the gates of the inner court or inside the temple.

They are to wear linen turbans on their heads and linen undergarments around their waists. They must not wear anything that makes them perspire.

When they go out to the outer court, to the people, they are to take off the garments in which they have ministered, leave them in the holy chambers, and dress in other clothes so that they do not transmit holiness to the people with their garments.

They must not shave their heads or let their hair grow long, but must carefully trim their hair. No priest may drink wine before he enters the inner court.

And they shall not marry a widow or a divorced woman, but must marry a virgin of the descendants of the house of Israel, or a widow of a priest.

They are to teach My people the difference between the holy and the common, and show them how to discern between the clean and the unclean.

In any dispute, they shall officiate as judges and judge according to My ordinances. They must keep My laws and statutes regarding all My appointed feasts, and they must keep My Sabbaths holy.

A priest must not defile himself by going near a dead person. However, for a father, a mother, a son, a daughter, a brother, or an unmarried sister, he may do so,

and after he is cleansed, he must count off seven days for himself.

And on the day he goes into the sanctuary, into the inner court, to minister in the sanctuary, he must present his sin offering, declares the Lord GOD.

In regard to their inheritance, I am their inheritance. You are to give them no possession in Israel, for I am their possession.

They shall eat the grain offerings, the sin offerings, and the guilt offerings. Everything in Israel devoted to the LORD will belong to them.

The best of all the firstfruits and of every contribution from all your offerings will belong to the priests. You are to give your first batch of dough to the priest, so that a blessing may rest upon your homes.

The priests may not eat any bird or animal found dead or torn by wild beasts.

Ezekiel 45

“When you divide the land by lot as an inheritance, you are to set aside a portion for the LORD, a holy portion of the land 25,000 cubits long and 20,000 cubits wide. This entire tract of land will be holy.

Within this area there is to be a section for the sanctuary 500 cubits square, with 50 cubits around it for open land.

From this holy portion, you are to measure off a length of 25,000 cubits and a width of 10,000 cubits, and in it will be the sanctuary, the Most Holy Place.

It will be a holy portion of the land to be used by the priests who minister in the sanctuary, who draw near to minister before the LORD. It will be a place for their houses, as well as a holy area for the sanctuary.

An adjacent area 25,000 cubits long and 10,000 cubits wide shall belong to the Levites who minister in the temple; it will be their possession for towns in which to live.

As the property of the city, you are to set aside an area 5,000 cubits wide and 25,000 cubits long, adjacent to the holy district. It will belong to the whole house of Israel.

Now the prince will have the area bordering each side of the area formed by the holy district and the property of the city, extending westward from the western side and eastward from the eastern side, running lengthwise from the western boundary to the eastern boundary and parallel to one of the tribal portions.

This land will be his possession in Israel.

And My princes will no longer oppress My people, but will give the rest of the land to the house of Israel according to their tribes.

For this is what the Lord GOD says: ‘Enough, O princes of Israel! Cease your violence and oppression, and do what is just and right. Stop dispossessing My people, declares the Lord GOD.’

You must use honest scales, a just ephah, and a just bath.

The ephah and the bath shall be the same quantity so that the bath will contain a tenth of a homer, and the ephah a tenth of a homer; the homer will be the standard measure for both.

The shekel will consist of twenty gerahs. Twenty shekels plus twenty-five shekels plus fifteen shekels will equal one mina.

This is the contribution you are to offer: a sixth of an ephah from each homer of wheat, and a sixth of an ephah from each homer of barley.

The prescribed portion of oil, measured by the bath, is a tenth of a bath from each cor (a cor consists of ten baths or one homer, since ten baths are equivalent to a homer).

And one sheep shall be given from each flock of two hundred from the well-watered pastures of Israel. These are for the grain offerings, burnt offerings, and peace offerings, to make atonement for the people, declares the Lord GOD.

All the people of the land must participate in this contribution for the prince in Israel.

And it shall be the prince’s part to provide the burnt offerings, grain offerings, and drink offerings for the feasts, New Moons, and Sabbaths—for all the appointed feasts of the house of Israel. He will provide the sin offerings, grain offerings, burnt offerings, and peace offerings to make atonement for the house of Israel.

This is what the Lord GOD says: ‘On the first day of the first month you are to take a young bull without blemish and purify the sanctuary.

And the priest is to take some of the blood from the sin offering and put it on the doorposts of the temple, on the four corners of the ledge of the altar, and on the gateposts of the inner court.

You must do the same thing on the seventh day of the month for anyone who strays unintentionally or in ignorance. In this way you will make atonement for the temple.

On the fourteenth day of the first month you are to observe the Passover, a feast of seven days, during which unleavened bread shall be eaten.

On that day the prince shall provide a bull as a sin offering for himself and for all the people of the land.

Each day during the seven days of the feast, he shall provide seven bulls and seven rams without blemish as a burnt offering to the LORD, along with a male goat for a sin offering.

He shall also provide as a grain offering an ephah for each bull and an ephah for each ram, along with a hin of olive oil for each ephah of grain.

During the seven days of the feast that begins on the fifteenth day of the seventh month, he is to make the same provision for sin offerings, burnt offerings, grain offerings, and oil.’

Psalm 66

Make a joyful noise to God,

all the earth!

Sing the glory of His name;

make His praise glorious.

Say to God, “How awesome are Your deeds!

So great is Your power

that Your enemies cower before You.

All the earth bows down to You;

they sing praise to You;

they sing praise to Your name.”

Selah

Come and see the works of God;

how awesome are His deeds toward mankind.

He turned the sea into dry land;

they passed through the waters on foot;

there we rejoiced in Him.

He rules forever by His power;

His eyes watch the nations.

Do not let the rebellious exalt themselves.

Selah

Bless our God, O peoples;

let the sound of His praise be heard.

He preserves our lives

and keeps our feet from slipping.

For You, O God, have tested us;

You have refined us like silver.

You led us into the net;

You laid burdens on our backs.

You let men ride over our heads;

we went through fire and water,

but You brought us into abundance.

I will enter Your house with burnt offerings;

I will fulfill my vows to You—

the vows that my lips promised

and my mouth spoke in my distress.

I will offer You fatlings as burnt offerings,

with the fragrant smoke of rams;

I will offer bulls and goats.

Selah

Come and listen, all you who fear God,

and I will declare what He has done for me.

I cried out to Him with my mouth

and praised Him with my tongue.

If I had cherished iniquity in my heart,

the Lord would not have listened.

But God has surely heard;

He has attended to the sound of my prayer.

Blessed be God, who has not rejected my prayer

or withheld from me His loving devotion!

The Valley of Dry Bones is found in this section, as is God’s promise to restore his people for his own glory. The apocalyptic battle from Gog of Magog is foretold, which one cannot help but wonder at. Also is a description of a new temple, hard to image in my little pea brain. We close with a psalm about the glory of God’s restored Jerusalem for which we are yearning!

Ezekiel 36

“And you, son of man, prophesy to the mountains of Israel and say: O mountains of Israel, hear the word of the LORD.

This is what the Lord GOD says: Because the enemy has said of you, ‘Aha! The ancient heights have become our possession,’

therefore prophesy and declare that this is what the Lord GOD says: Because they have made you desolate and have trampled you on every side, so that you became a possession of the rest of the nations and were taken up in slander by the lips of their talkers,

therefore, O mountains of Israel, hear the word of the Lord GOD.

This is what the Lord GOD says to the mountains and hills, to the ravines and valleys, to the desolate ruins and abandoned cities, which have become a spoil and a mockery to the rest of the nations around you.

Therefore this is what the Lord GOD says: Surely in My burning zeal I have spoken against the rest of the nations, and against all Edom, who took My land as their own possession with wholehearted joy and utter contempt, so that its pastureland became plunder.

Therefore, prophesy concerning the land of Israel and tell the mountains and hills, the ravines and valleys, that this is what the Lord GOD says: Behold, I have spoken in My burning zeal because you have endured the reproach of the nations.

Therefore this is what the Lord GOD says: I have sworn with an uplifted hand that surely the nations around you will endure reproach of their own.

But you, O mountains of Israel, will produce branches and bear fruit for My people Israel, for they will soon come home.

For behold, I am on your side; I will turn toward you, and you will be tilled and sown.

I will multiply the people upon you—the house of Israel in its entirety. The cities will be inhabited and the ruins rebuilt.

I will fill you with people and animals, and they will multiply and be fruitful. I will make you as inhabited as you once were, and I will make you prosper more than before. Then you will know that I am the LORD.

Yes, I will cause My people Israel to walk upon you; they will possess you, and you will be their inheritance, and you will no longer deprive them of their children.

For this is what the Lord GOD says: Because people say to you, ‘You devour men and deprive your nation of its children,’

therefore you will no longer devour men or deprive your nation of its children, declares the Lord GOD.

I will no longer allow the taunts of the nations to be heard against you, and you will no longer endure the reproach of the peoples or cause your nation to stumble, declares the Lord GOD.”

Again the word of the LORD came to me, saying,

“Son of man, when the people of Israel lived in their land, they defiled it by their own ways and deeds. Their behavior before Me was like the uncleanness of a woman’s impurity.

So I poured out My wrath upon them because of the blood they had shed on the land, and because they had defiled it with their idols.

I dispersed them among the nations, and they were scattered throughout the lands. I judged them according to their ways and deeds.

And wherever they went among the nations, they profaned My holy name, because it was said of them, ‘These are the people of the LORD, yet they had to leave His land.’

But I had concern for My holy name, which the house of Israel had profaned among the nations to which they had gone.

Therefore tell the house of Israel that this is what the Lord GOD says: It is not for your sake that I will act, O house of Israel, but for My holy name, which you profaned among the nations to which you went.

I will show the holiness of My great name, which has been profaned among the nations—the name you have profaned among them. Then the nations will know that I am the LORD, declares the Lord GOD, when I show My holiness in you before their eyes.

For I will take you from among the nations and gather you out of all the countries, and I will bring you back into your own land.

I will also sprinkle clean water on you, and you will be clean. I will cleanse you from all your impurities and all your idols.

I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit within you; I will remove your heart of stone and give you a heart of flesh.

And I will put My Spirit within you and cause you to walk in My statutes and to carefully observe My ordinances.

Then you will live in the land that I gave your forefathers; you will be My people, and I will be your God.

I will save you from all your uncleanness. I will summon the grain and make it plentiful, and I will not bring famine upon you.

I will also make the fruit of the trees and the crops of the field plentiful, so that you will no longer bear reproach among the nations on account of famine.

Then you will remember your evil ways and wicked deeds, and you will loathe yourselves for your iniquities and abominations.

It is not for your sake that I will act, declares the Lord GOD—let it be known to you. Be ashamed and disgraced for your ways, O house of Israel!

This is what the Lord GOD says: On the day I cleanse you from all your iniquities, I will cause the cities to be resettled and the ruins to be rebuilt.

The desolate land will be cultivated instead of lying desolate in the sight of all who pass through.

Then they will say, ‘This land that was desolate has become like the garden of Eden. The cities that were once ruined, desolate, and destroyed are now fortified and inhabited.’

Then the nations around you that remain will know that I, the LORD, have rebuilt what was destroyed, and I have replanted what was desolate. I, the LORD, have spoken, and I will do it.

This is what the Lord GOD says: Once again I will hear the plea of the house of Israel and do for them this: I will multiply their people like a flock.

Like the numerous flocks for sacrifices at Jerusalem during her appointed feasts, so the ruined cities will be filled with flocks of people. Then they will know that I am the LORD.”

Ezekiel 37

The hand of the LORD was upon me, and He brought me out by His Spirit and set me down in the middle of the valley, and it was full of bones.

He led me all around among them, and I saw a great many bones on the floor of the valley, and indeed, they were very dry.

Then He asked me, “Son of man, can these bones come to life?”

“O Lord GOD,” I replied, “only You know.”

And He said to me, “Prophesy concerning these bones and tell them, ‘Dry bones, hear the word of the LORD!

This is what the Lord GOD says to these bones: I will cause breath to enter you, and you will come to life.

I will attach tendons to you and make flesh grow upon you and cover you with skin. I will put breath within you so that you will come to life. Then you will know that I am the LORD.’ ”

So I prophesied as I had been commanded. And as I prophesied, there was suddenly a noise, a rattling, and the bones came together, bone to bone.

As I looked on, tendons appeared on them, flesh grew, and skin covered them; but there was no breath in them.

Then He said to me, “Prophesy to the breath; prophesy, son of man, and tell the breath that this is what the Lord GOD says: Come from the four winds, O breath, and breathe into these slain, so that they may live!”

So I prophesied as He had commanded me, and the breath entered them, and they came to life and stood on their feet—a vast army.

Then He said to me, “Son of man, these bones are the whole house of Israel. Look, they are saying, ‘Our bones are dried up, and our hope has perished; we are cut off.’

Therefore prophesy and tell them that this is what the Lord GOD says: ‘O My people, I will open your graves and bring you up from them, and I will bring you back to the land of Israel.

Then you, My people, will know that I am the LORD, when I open your graves and bring you up from them.

I will put My Spirit in you and you will live, and I will settle you in your own land. Then you will know that I, the LORD, have spoken, and I will do it, declares the LORD.’ ”

Again the word of the LORD came to me, saying,

“And you, son of man, take a single stick and write on it: ‘Belonging to Judah and to the Israelites associated with him.’ Then take another stick and write on it: ‘Belonging to Joseph—the stick of Ephraim—and to all the house of Israel associated with him.’

Then join them together into one stick, so that they become one in your hand.

When your people ask you, ‘Won’t you explain to us what you mean by these?’

you are to tell them that this is what the Lord GOD says: ‘I will take the stick of Joseph, which is in the hand of Ephraim, and the tribes of Israel associated with him, and I will put them together with the stick of Judah. I will make them into a single stick, and they will become one in My hand.’

When the sticks on which you write are in your hand and in full view of the people,

you are to tell them that this is what the Lord GOD says: ‘I will take the Israelites out of the nations to which they have gone, and I will gather them from all around and bring them into their own land.

I will make them one nation in the land, on the mountains of Israel, and one king will rule over all of them. Then they will no longer be two nations and will never again be divided into two kingdoms.

They will no longer defile themselves with their idols or detestable images, or with any of their transgressions. I will save them from all their apostasies by which they sinned, and I will cleanse them. Then they will be My people, and I will be their God.

My servant David will be king over them, and there will be one shepherd for all of them. They will follow My ordinances and keep and observe My statutes.

They will live in the land that I gave to My servant Jacob, where your fathers lived. They will live there forever with their children and grandchildren, and My servant David will be their prince forever.

And I will make a covenant of peace with them; it will be an everlasting covenant. I will establish them and multiply them, and I will set My sanctuary among them forever.

My dwelling place will be with them; I will be their God, and they will be My people.

Then the nations will know that I the LORD sanctify Israel, when My sanctuary is among them forever.’ ”

Ezekiel 38

And the word of the LORD came to me, saying, “Son of man, set your face against Gog of the land of Magog, the chief prince of Meshech and Tubal. Prophesy against him

and declare that this is what the Lord GOD says: Behold, I am against you, O Gog, chief prince of Meshech and Tubal.

I will turn you around, put hooks in your jaws, and bring you out with all your army—your horses, your horsemen in full armor, and a great company armed with shields and bucklers, all brandishing their swords.

Persia, Cush, and Put will accompany them, all with shields and helmets, as well as Gomer with all its troops, and Beth-togarmah from the far north with all its troops—the many nations with you.

Get ready; prepare yourself, you and all your company gathered around you; you will be their guard.

After a long time you will be summoned. In the latter years you will enter a land that has recovered from war, whose people were gathered from many nations to the mountains of Israel, which had long been desolate. They had been brought out from the nations, and all now dwell securely.

You and all your troops, and many peoples with you will go up, advancing like a thunderstorm; you will be like a cloud covering the land.

This is what the Lord GOD says: On that day, thoughts will arise in your mind, and you will devise an evil plan.

You will say, ‘I will go up against a land of unwalled villages; I will come against a tranquil people who dwell securely, all of them living without walls or bars or gates—

in order to seize the spoil and carry off the plunder, to turn a hand against the desolate places now inhabited and against a people gathered from the nations, who have acquired livestock and possessions and who live at the center of the land.’

Sheba and Dedan and the merchants of Tarshish with all its villages will ask, ‘Have you come to capture the plunder? Have you assembled your hordes to carry away loot, to make off with silver and gold, to take cattle and goods, to seize great spoil?’

Therefore prophesy, son of man, and tell Gog that this is what the Lord GOD says: On that day when My people Israel are dwelling securely, will you not take notice of this?

And you will come from your place out of the far north—you and many peoples with you, all riding horses—a mighty horde, a huge army.

You will advance against My people Israel like a cloud covering the land. It will happen in the latter days, O Gog, that I will bring you against My land, so that the nations may know Me when I show Myself holy in you before their eyes.

This is what the Lord GOD says: Are you the one of whom I have spoken in former days through My servants, the prophets of Israel, who in those times prophesied for years that I would bring you against them?

Now on that day when Gog comes against the land of Israel, declares the Lord GOD, My wrath will flare up.

In My zeal and fiery rage I proclaim that on that day there will be a great earthquake in the land of Israel.

The fish of the sea, the birds of the air, the beasts of the field, every creature that crawls upon the ground, and all mankind on the face of the earth will tremble at My presence. The mountains will be thrown down, the cliffs will collapse, and every wall will fall to the ground.

And I will summon a sword against Gog on all My mountains, declares the Lord GOD, and every man’s sword will be against his brother.

I will execute judgment upon him with plague and bloodshed. I will pour out torrents of rain, hailstones, fire, and sulfur on him and on his troops and on the many nations with him.

I will magnify and sanctify Myself, and will reveal Myself in the sight of many nations. Then they will know that I am the LORD.

Ezekiel 39

“As for you, O son of man, prophesy against Gog and declare that this is what the Lord GOD says: Behold, I am against you, O Gog, chief prince of Meshech and Tubal.

I will turn you around, drive you along, bring you up from the far north, and send you against the mountains of Israel. Then I will strike the bow from your left hand and dash down the arrows from your right hand.

On the mountains of Israel you will fall—you and all your troops and the nations with you. I will give you as food to every kind of ravenous bird and wild beast.

You will fall in the open field, for I have spoken, declares the Lord GOD.

I will send fire on Magog and on those who dwell securely in the coastlands, and they will know that I am the LORD.

So I will make My holy name known among My people Israel and will no longer allow it to be profaned. Then the nations will know that I am the LORD, the Holy One in Israel.

Yes, it is coming, and it will surely happen, declares the Lord GOD. This is the day of which I have spoken.

Then those who dwell in the cities of Israel will go out, kindle fires, and burn up the weapons—the bucklers and shields, the bows and arrows, the clubs and spears. For seven years they will use them for fuel.

They will not gather wood from the countryside or cut it from the forests, for they will use the weapons for fuel. They will loot those who looted them and plunder those who plundered them, declares the Lord GOD.

And on that day I will give Gog a burial place in Israel, the Valley of the Travelers, east of the Sea. It will block those who travel through, because Gog and all his hordes will be buried there. So it will be called the Valley of Hamon-gog.

For seven months the house of Israel will be burying them in order to cleanse the land.

All the people of the land will bury them, and it will bring them renown on the day I display My glory, declares the Lord GOD.

And men will be employed to continually pass through the land to cleanse it by burying the invaders who remain on the ground. At the end of the seven months they will begin their search.

As they pass through the land, anyone who sees a human bone will set up a pillar next to it, until the gravediggers have buried it in the Valley of Hamon-gog.

(Even the city will be named Hamonah.) And so they will cleanse the land.

And as for you, son of man, this is what the Lord GOD says: Call out to every kind of bird and to every beast of the field: ‘Assemble and come together from all around to the sacrificial feast that I am preparing for you, a great feast on the mountains of Israel. There you will eat flesh and drink blood.

You will eat the flesh of the mighty and drink the blood of the princes of the earth as though they were rams, lambs, goats, and bulls—all the fattened animals of Bashan.

At the sacrifice I am preparing, you will eat fat until you are gorged and drink blood until you are drunk.

And at My table you will eat your fill of horses and riders, of mighty men and warriors of every kind,’ declares the Lord GOD.

I will display My glory among the nations, and all the nations will see the judgment that I execute and the hand that I lay upon them.

From that day forward the house of Israel will know that I am the LORD their God.

And the nations will know that the house of Israel went into exile for their iniquity, because they were unfaithful to Me. So I hid My face from them and delivered them into the hands of their enemies, so that they all fell by the sword.

I dealt with them according to their uncleanness and transgressions, and I hid My face from them.

Therefore this is what the Lord GOD says: Now I will restore Jacob from captivity and will have compassion on the whole house of Israel, and I will be jealous for My holy name.

They will forget their disgrace and all the treachery they committed against Me, when they dwell securely in their land, with no one to frighten them.

When I bring them back from the peoples and gather them out of the lands of their enemies, I will show My holiness in them in the sight of many nations.

Then they will know that I am the LORD their God, when I regather them to their own land, not leaving any of them behind after their exile among the nations.

And I will no longer hide My face from them, for I will pour out My Spirit on the house of Israel, declares the Lord GOD.”

Ezekiel 40

In the twenty-fifth year of our exile, at the beginning of the year, on the tenth day of the month—in the fourteenth year after Jerusalem had been struck down—on that very day the hand of the LORD was upon me, and He took me there.

In visions of God He took me to the land of Israel and set me on a very high mountain, on whose southern slope was a structure that resembled a city.

So He took me there, and I saw a man whose appearance was like bronze. He was standing in the gateway with a linen cord and a measuring rod in his hand.

“Son of man,” he said to me, “look with your eyes, hear with your ears, and pay attention to everything I am going to show you, for that is why you have been brought here. Report to the house of Israel everything you see.”

And I saw a wall surrounding the temple area. Now the length of the measuring rod in the man’s hand was six long cubits (each measuring a cubit and a handbreadth), and he measured the wall to be one rod thick and one rod high.

Then he came to the gate facing east and climbed its steps. He measured the threshold of the gate to be one rod deep.

Each gate chamber was one rod long and one rod wide, and there were five cubits between the gate chambers. The inner threshold of the gate by the portico facing inward was one rod deep.

Then he measured the portico of the gateway inside; it was eight cubits deep, and its jambs were two cubits thick. And the portico of the gateway faced the temple.

There were three gate chambers on each side of the east gate, each with the same measurements, and the gateposts on either side also had the same measurements.

And he measured the width of the gateway entrance to be ten cubits, and its length was thirteen cubits.

In front of each gate chamber was a wall one cubit high, and the gate chambers were six cubits square.

Then he measured the gateway from the roof of one gate chamber to the roof of the opposite one; the distance was twenty-five cubits from doorway to doorway.

Next he measured the gateposts to be sixty cubits high. The gateway extended around to the gatepost of the courtyard.

And the distance from the entrance of the gateway to the far end of its inner portico was fifty cubits.

The gate chambers and their side pillars had beveled windows all around the inside of the gateway. The porticos also had windows all around on the inside. Each side pillar was decorated with palm trees.

Then he brought me into the outer court, and there were chambers and a pavement laid out all around the court. Thirty chambers faced the pavement,

which flanked the gateways and corresponded to the length of the gates; this was the lower pavement.

Then he measured the distance from the front of the lower gateway to the outside of the inner court; it was a hundred cubits on the east side as well as on the north.

He also measured the length and width of the gateway of the outer court facing north.

Its three gate chambers on each side, its side pillars, and its portico all had the same measurements as the first gate: fifty cubits long and twenty-five cubits wide.

Its windows, portico, and palm trees had the same measurements as those of the gate facing east. Seven steps led up to it, with its portico opposite them.

There was a gate to the inner court facing the north gate, just as there was on the east. He measured the distance from gateway to gateway to be a hundred cubits.

Then he led me to the south side, and I saw a gateway facing south. He measured its side pillars and portico, and they had the same measurements as the others.

Both the gateway and its portico had windows all around, like the other windows. It was fifty cubits long and twenty-five cubits wide.

Seven steps led up to it, and its portico was opposite them; it had palm trees on its side pillars, one on each side.

The inner court also had a gate facing south, and he measured the distance from gateway to gateway toward the south to be a hundred cubits.

Next he brought me into the inner court through the south gate, and he measured the south gate; it had the same measurements as the others.

Its gate chambers, side pillars, and portico had the same measurements as the others. Both the gateway and its portico had windows all around; it was fifty cubits long and twenty-five cubits wide.

(The porticoes around the inner court were twenty-five cubits long and five cubits deep.)

Its portico faced the outer court, and its side pillars were decorated with palm trees. Eight steps led up to it.

And he brought me to the inner court on the east side, and he measured the gateway; it had the same measurements as the others.

Its gate chambers, side pillars, and portico had the same measurements as the others. Both the gateway and its portico had windows all around. It was fifty cubits long and twenty-five cubits wide.

Its portico faced the outer court, and its side pillars were decorated with palm trees on each side. Eight steps led up to it.

Then he brought me to the north gate and measured it. It had the same measurements as the others,

as did its gate chambers, side pillars, and portico. It also had windows all around. It was fifty cubits long and twenty-five cubits wide.

Its portico faced the outer court, and its side pillars were decorated with palm trees on each side. Eight steps led up to it.

There was a chamber with a doorway by the portico in each of the inner gateways. There the burnt offering was to be washed.

Inside the portico of the gateway were two tables on each side, on which the burnt offerings, sin offerings, and guilt offerings were to be slaughtered.

Outside, as one goes up to the entrance of the north gateway, there were two tables on one side and two more tables on the other side of the gate’s portico.

So there were four tables inside the gateway and four outside—eight tables in all—on which the sacrifices were to be slaughtered.

There were also four tables of dressed stone for the burnt offering, each a cubit and a half long, a cubit and a half wide, and a cubit high. On these were placed the utensils used to slaughter the burnt offerings and the other sacrifices.

The double-pronged hooks, each a handbreadth long, were fastened all around the inside of the room, and the flesh of the offering was to be placed on the tables.

Outside the inner gate, within the inner court, were two chambers, one beside the north gate and facing south, and another beside the south gate and facing north.

Then the man said to me: “The chamber that faces south is for the priests who keep charge of the temple,

and the chamber that faces north is for the priests who keep charge of the altar. These are the sons of Zadok, the only Levites who may approach the LORD to minister before Him.”

Next he measured the court. It was square, a hundred cubits long and a hundred cubits wide. And the altar was in front of the temple.

Then he brought me to the portico of the temple and measured the side pillars of the portico to be five cubits on each side. The width of the gateway was fourteen cubits and its sidewalls were three cubits on either side.

The portico was twenty cubits wide and twelve cubits deep, and ten steps led up to it. There were columns by the side pillars, one on each side.

Psalm 65

Praise awaits You, O God, in Zion;

to You our vows will be fulfilled.

O You who listen to prayer,

all people will come to You.

When iniquities prevail against me,

You atone for our transgressions.

Blessed is the one You choose

and bring near to dwell in Your courts!

We are filled with the goodness of Your house,

the holiness of Your temple.

With awesome deeds of righteousness You answer us,

O God of our salvation,

the hope of all the ends of the earth

and of the farthest seas.

You formed the mountains by Your power,

having girded Yourself with might.

You stilled the roaring of the seas,

the pounding of their waves,

and the tumult of the nations.

Those who live far away fear Your wonders;

You make the dawn and sunset shout for joy.

You attend to the earth and water it;

with abundance You enrich it.

The streams of God are full of water,

for You prepare our grain

by providing for the earth.

You soak its furrows and level its ridges;

You soften it with showers and bless its growth.

You crown the year with Your bounty,

and Your paths overflow with plenty.

The pastures of the wilderness overflow;

the hills are robed with joy.

The pastures are clothed with flocks,

and the valleys are decked with grain.

They shout in triumph;

indeed, they sing.

Special curses today for Egypt, for the unfaithful shepherds of Israel, and for Edom. It is clear as God dispenses justice that he has a special concern for his own covenant people, but even if he didn’t, these parties stand condemned by basic principles of justice. Moreover, he directly refutes any notion that a life is judged based on the sum of its experiences. It doesn’t matter how much good a person has done earlier in life; if he chooses sin later on, he has canceled out all he did before. The inverse is also true. This is a scandalous concept that is only made more bearable when one sees God on the cross. Speaking of which, today is Good Friday, the day on which Christians celebrate what Christ accomplished for us on the cross. Meditate on these things.

Ezekiel 31

In the eleventh year, on the first day of the third month, the word of the LORD came to me, saying, “Son of man, say to Pharaoh king of Egypt and to his multitude:

‘Who can be compared

to your greatness?

Look at Assyria, a cedar in Lebanon,

with beautiful branches that shaded the forest.

It towered on high;

its top was among the clouds.

The waters made it grow;

the deep springs made it tall,

directing their streams all around its base

and sending their channels to all the trees of the field.

Therefore it towered higher

than all the trees of the field.

Its branches multiplied,

and its boughs grew long

as it spread them out

because of the abundant waters.

All the birds of the air

nested in its branches,

and all the beasts of the field

gave birth beneath its boughs;

all the great nations

lived in its shade.

It was beautiful in its greatness,

in the length of its limbs,

for its roots extended

to abundant waters.

The cedars in the garden of God

could not rival it;

the cypresses could not compare with its branches,

nor the plane trees match its boughs.

No tree in the garden of God

could compare with its beauty.

I made it beautiful with its many branches,

the envy of all the trees of Eden,

which were in the garden of God.’

Therefore this is what the Lord GOD says: ‘Since it became great in height and set its top among the clouds, and it grew proud on account of its height,

I delivered it into the hand of the ruler of the nations, for him to deal with it according to its wickedness. I have banished it.

Foreigners, the most ruthless of the nations, cut it down and left it. Its branches have fallen on the mountains and in every valley; its boughs lay broken in all the earth’s ravines. And all the peoples of the earth left its shade and abandoned it.

All the birds of the air nested on its fallen trunk, and all the beasts of the field lived among its boughs.

This happened so that no other trees by the waters would become great in height and set their tops among the clouds, and no other well-watered trees would reach them in height. For they have all been consigned to death, to the depths of the earth, among the mortals who descend to the Pit.’

This is what the Lord GOD says: ‘On the day it was brought down to Sheol, I caused mourning. I covered the deep because of it; I held back its rivers; its abundant waters were restrained. I made Lebanon mourn for it, and all the trees of the field fainted because of it.

I made the nations quake at the sound of its downfall, when I cast it down to Sheol with those who descend to the Pit.

Then all the trees of Eden, the choicest and best of Lebanon, all the well-watered trees, were consoled in the earth below.

They too descended with it to Sheol, to those slain by the sword. As its allies they had lived in its shade among the nations.

Who then is like you in glory and greatness among the trees of Eden? You also will be brought down to the depths of the earth to be with the trees of Eden. You will lie among the uncircumcised, with those slain by the sword. This is Pharaoh and all his multitude, declares the Lord GOD.’ ”

Ezekiel 32

In the twelfth year, on the first day of the twelfth month, the word of the LORD came to me, saying, “Son of man, take up a lament for Pharaoh king of Egypt and say to him:

‘You are like a lion among the nations;

you are like a monster in the seas.

You thrash about in your rivers,

churning up the waters with your feet

and muddying the streams.’

This is what the Lord GOD says:

‘I will spread My net over you

with a company of many peoples,

and they will draw you up in My net.

I will abandon you on the land

and hurl you into the open field.

I will cause all the birds of the air

to settle upon you,

and all the beasts of the earth

to eat their fill of you.

I will put your flesh on the mountains

and fill the valleys with your remains.

I will drench the land

with the flow of your blood,

all the way to the mountains—

the ravines will be filled.

When I extinguish you,

I will cover the heavens

and darken their stars.

I will cover the sun with a cloud,

and the moon will not give its light.

All the shining lights in the heavens

I will darken over you,

and I will bring darkness

upon your land,’

declares the Lord GOD.

‘I will trouble the hearts of many peoples,

when I bring about your destruction among the nations,

in countries you do not know.

I will cause many peoples

to be appalled over you,

and their kings will shudder in horror because of you

when I brandish My sword before them.

On the day of your downfall

each of them will tremble

every moment for his life.’

For this is what the Lord GOD says:

‘The sword of the king of Babylon

will come against you!

I will make your hordes fall

by the swords of the mighty,

the most ruthless of all nations.

They will ravage the pride of Egypt

and all her multitudes will be destroyed.

I will slaughter all her cattle

beside the abundant waters.

No human foot will muddy them again,

and no cattle hooves will disturb them.

Then I will let her waters settle

and will make her rivers flow like oil,’

declares the Lord GOD.

‘When I make the land of Egypt a desolation

and empty it of all that filled it,

when I strike down all who live there,

then they will know that I am the LORD.’

This is the lament they will chant for her; the daughters of the nations will chant it. Over Egypt and all her multitudes they will chant it, declares the Lord GOD.”

In the twelfth year, on the fifteenth day of the month, the word of the LORD came to me, saying,

“Son of man, wail for the multitudes of Egypt, and consign her and the daughters of the mighty nations to the depths of the earth with those who descend to the Pit:

Whom do you surpass in beauty?

Go down and be placed with the uncircumcised!

They will fall among those slain by the sword.

The sword is appointed!

Let them drag her away

along with all her multitudes.

Mighty chiefs will speak from the midst of Sheol

about Egypt and her allies:

‘They have come down and lie with the uncircumcised,

with those slain by the sword.’

Assyria is there with her whole company;

her graves are all around her.

All of them are slain,

fallen by the sword.

Her graves are set in the depths of the Pit,

and her company is all around her grave.

All of them are slain,

fallen by the sword—

those who once spread terror

in the land of the living.

Elam is there

with all her multitudes around her grave.

All of them are slain,

fallen by the sword—

those who went down uncircumcised

to the earth below,

who once spread their terror

in the land of the living.

They bear their disgrace

with those who descend to the Pit.

Among the slain they prepare

a resting place for Elam

with all her hordes,

with her graves all around her.

All of them are uncircumcised,

slain by the sword,

although their terror was once spread

in the land of the living.

They bear their disgrace

with those who descend to the Pit.

They are placed among the slain.

Meshech and Tubal are there

with all their multitudes,

with their graves all around them.

All of them are uncircumcised,

slain by the sword,

because they spread their terror

in the land of the living.

They do not lie down

with the fallen warriors of old,

who went down to Sheol

with their weapons of war,

whose swords were placed under their heads,

whose shields rested on their bones,

although the terror of the mighty

was once in the land of the living.

But you too will be shattered

and lie down among the uncircumcised,

with those slain by the sword.

Edom is there,

and all her kings and princes,

who despite their might

are laid among those slain by the sword.

They lie down with the uncircumcised,

with those who descend to the Pit.

All the leaders of the north

and all the Sidonians are there;

they went down in disgrace with the slain,

despite the terror of their might.

They lie uncircumcised

with those slain by the sword

and bear their shame

with those who descend to the Pit.

Pharaoh will see them

and be comforted over all his multitude—

Pharaoh and all his army,

slain by the sword,

declares the Lord GOD.

For I will spread My terror

in the land of the living,

so that Pharaoh and all his multitude

will be laid to rest among the uncircumcised,

with those slain by the sword,

declares the Lord GOD.”

Ezekiel 33

Again the word of the LORD came to me, saying,

“Son of man, speak to your people and tell them: ‘Suppose I bring the sword against a land, and the people of that land choose a man from among them, appointing him as their watchman,

and he sees the sword coming against that land and blows the ram’s horn to warn the people.

Then if anyone hears the sound of the horn but fails to heed the warning, and the sword comes and takes him away, his blood will be on his own head.

Since he heard the sound of the horn but failed to heed the warning, his blood will be on his own head. If he had heeded the warning, he would have saved his life.

But if the watchman sees the sword coming and fails to blow the horn to warn the people, and the sword comes and takes away a life, then that one will be taken away in his iniquity, but I will hold the watchman accountable for his blood.’

As for you, O son of man, I have made you a watchman for the house of Israel; so hear the word from My mouth and give them the warning from Me.

If I say to the wicked, ‘O wicked man, you will surely die,’ but you do not speak out to dissuade him from his way, then that wicked man will die in his iniquity, yet I will hold you accountable for his blood.

But if you warn the wicked man to turn from his way, and he does not turn from it, he will die in his iniquity, but you will have saved your life.

Now as for you, son of man, tell the house of Israel that this is what they have said: ‘Our transgressions and our sins are heavy upon us, and we are wasting away because of them! How can we live?’

Say to them: ‘As surely as I live, declares the Lord GOD, I take no pleasure in the death of the wicked, but rather that the wicked should turn from their ways and live. Turn! Turn from your evil ways! For why should you die, O house of Israel?’

Therefore, son of man, say to your people: ‘The righteousness of the righteous man will not deliver him in the day of his transgression; neither will the wickedness of the wicked man cause him to stumble on the day he turns from his wickedness. Nor will the righteous man be able to survive by his righteousness on the day he sins.’

If I tell the righteous man that he will surely live, but he then trusts in his righteousness and commits iniquity, then none of his righteous works will be remembered; he will die because of the iniquity he has committed.

But if I tell the wicked man, ‘You will surely die,’ and he turns from his sin and does what is just and right—

if he restores a pledge, makes restitution for what he has stolen, and walks in the statutes of life without practicing iniquity—then he will surely live; he will not die.

None of the sins he has committed will be held against him. He has done what is just and right; he will surely live.

Yet your people say, ‘The way of the Lord is not just.’ But it is their way that is not just. If a righteous man turns from his righteousness and commits iniquity, he will die for it.

But if a wicked man turns from his wickedness and does what is just and right, he will live because of this.

Yet you say, ‘The way of the Lord is not just.’ But I will judge each of you according to his ways, O house of Israel.”

In the twelfth year of our exile, on the fifth day of the tenth month, a fugitive from Jerusalem came to me and reported, “The city has been taken!”

Now the evening before the fugitive arrived, the hand of the LORD was upon me, and He opened my mouth before the man came to me in the morning. So my mouth was opened and I was no longer mute.

Then the word of the LORD came to me, saying,

“Son of man, those living in the ruins in the land of Israel are saying, ‘Abraham was only one man, yet he possessed the land. But we are many; surely the land has been given to us as a possession.’

Therefore tell them that this is what the Lord GOD says: ‘You eat meat with the blood in it, lift up your eyes to your idols, and shed blood. Should you then possess the land?

You have relied on your swords, you have committed detestable acts, and each of you has defiled his neighbor’s wife. Should you then possess the land?’

Tell them that this is what the Lord GOD says: ‘As surely as I live, those in the ruins will fall by the sword, those in the open field I will give to be devoured by wild animals, and those in the strongholds and caves will die by plague.

I will make the land a desolate waste, and the pride of her strength will come to an end. The mountains of Israel will become desolate, so that no one will pass through.

Then they will know that I am the LORD, when I have made the land a desolate waste because of all the abominations they have committed.’

As for you, son of man, your people are talking about you near the city walls and in the doorways of their houses. One speaks to another, each saying to his brother, ‘Come and hear the message that has come from the LORD!’

So My people come to you as usual, sit before you, and hear your words; but they do not put them into practice. Although they express love with their mouths, their hearts pursue dishonest gain.

Indeed, you are to them like a singer of love songs with a beautiful voice, who skillfully plays an instrument. They hear your words but do not put them into practice.

So when it comes to pass—and surely it will come—then they will know that a prophet has been among them.”

Ezekiel 34

Then the word of the LORD came to me, saying,

“Son of man, prophesy against the shepherds of Israel. Prophesy and tell them that this is what the Lord GOD says: ‘Woe to the shepherds of Israel, who only feed themselves! Should not the shepherds feed their flock?

You eat the fat, wear the wool, and butcher the fattened sheep, but you do not feed the flock.

You have not strengthened the weak, healed the sick, bound up the injured, brought back the strays, or searched for the lost. Instead, you have ruled them with violence and cruelty.

They were scattered for lack of a shepherd, and when they were scattered they became food for all the wild beasts.

My flock went astray on all the mountains and every high hill. They were scattered over the face of all the earth, with no one to search for them or seek them out.’

Therefore, you shepherds, hear the word of the LORD:

‘As surely as I live, declares the Lord GOD, because My flock lacks a shepherd and has become prey and food for every wild beast, and because My shepherds did not search for My flock but fed themselves instead,

therefore, you shepherds, hear the word of the LORD!’

This is what the Lord GOD says: ‘Behold, I am against the shepherds, and I will demand from them My flock and remove them from tending the flock, so that they can no longer feed themselves. For I will deliver My flock from their mouths, and it will no longer be food for them.’

For this is what the Lord GOD says: ‘Behold, I Myself will search for My flock and seek them out.

As a shepherd looks for his scattered sheep when he is among the flock, so I will look for My flock.

I will rescue them from all the places to which they were scattered on a day of clouds and darkness.

I will bring them out from the peoples, gather them from the countries, and bring them into their own land. I will feed them on the mountains of Israel, in the ravines, and in all the settlements of the land.

I will feed them in good pasture, and the lofty mountains of Israel will be their grazing land. There they will lie down in a good grazing land; they will feed in rich pasture on the mountains of Israel.

I will tend My flock and make them lie down, declares the Lord GOD.

I will seek the lost, bring back the strays, bind up the broken, and strengthen the weak; but the sleek and strong I will destroy. I will shepherd them with justice.’

This is what the Lord GOD says to you, My flock: ‘I will judge between one sheep and another, between the rams and the goats.

Is it not enough for you to feed on the good pasture? Must you also trample the rest of the pasture with your feet? Is it not enough for you to drink the clear waters? Must you also muddy the rest with your feet?

Why must My flock feed on what your feet have trampled, and drink what your feet have muddied?’

Therefore this is what the Lord GOD says to them: ‘Behold, I Myself will judge between the fat sheep and the lean sheep.

Since you shove with flank and shoulder, butting all the weak ones with your horns until you have scattered them abroad,

I will save My flock, and they will no longer be prey. I will judge between one sheep and another.

I will appoint over them one shepherd, My servant David, and he will feed them. He will feed them and be their shepherd.

I, the LORD, will be their God, and My servant David will be a prince among them. I, the LORD, have spoken.

I will make with them a covenant of peace and rid the land of wild animals, so that they may dwell securely in the wilderness and sleep in the forest.

I will make them and the places around My hill a blessing. I will send down showers in season—showers of blessing.

The trees of the field will give their fruit, and the land will yield its produce; My flock will be secure in their land. Then they will know that I am the LORD, when I have broken the bars of their yoke and delivered them from the hands that enslaved them.

They will no longer be prey for the nations, and the beasts of the earth will not consume them. They will dwell securely, and no one will frighten them.

And I will raise up for them a garden of renown, and they will no longer be victims of famine in the land or bear the scorn of the nations.

Then they will know that I, the LORD their God, am with them, and that they, the house of Israel, are My people,’ declares the Lord GOD.

‘You are My flock, the sheep of My pasture, My people, and I am your God,’ declares the Lord GOD.”

Ezekiel 35

Moreover, the word of the LORD came to me, saying, “Son of man, set your face against Mount Seir and prophesy against it, and declare that this is what the Lord GOD says:

Behold, I am against you,

O Mount Seir.

I will stretch out My hand against you

and make you a desolate waste.

I will turn your cities into ruins,

and you will become a desolation.

Then you will know that I am the LORD.

Because you harbored an ancient hatred and delivered the Israelites over to the sword in the time of their disaster at the final stage of their punishment,

therefore as surely as I live, declares the Lord GOD, I will give you over to bloodshed and it will pursue you. Since you did not hate bloodshed, it will pursue you.

I will make Mount Seir a desolate waste and will cut off from it those who come and go.

I will fill its mountains with the slain; those killed by the sword will fall on your hills, in your valleys, and in all your ravines.

I will make you a perpetual desolation, and your cities will not be inhabited. Then you will know that I am the LORD.

Because you have said, ‘These two nations and countries will be ours, and we will possess them,’ even though the LORD was there,

therefore as surely as I live, declares the Lord GOD, I will treat you according to the anger and jealousy you showed in your hatred against them, and I will make Myself known among them when I judge you.

Then you will know that I, the LORD, have heard every contemptuous word you uttered against the mountains of Israel when you said, ‘They are desolate; they are given to us to devour!’

You boasted against Me with your mouth and multiplied your words against Me. I heard it Myself!

This is what the Lord GOD says: While the whole earth rejoices, I will make you desolate.

As you rejoiced when the inheritance of the house of Israel became desolate, so will I do to you. You will become a desolation, O Mount Seir, and so will all of Edom. Then they will know that I am the LORD.

Psalm 64

Hear, O God, my voice of complaint;

preserve my life from dread of the enemy.

Hide me from the scheming of the wicked,

from the mob of workers of iniquity,

who sharpen their tongues like swords

and aim their bitter words like arrows,

ambushing the innocent in seclusion,

shooting suddenly, without fear.

They hold fast to their evil purpose;

they speak of hiding their snares.

“Who will see them?” they say.

They devise injustice and say,

“We have perfected a secret plan.”

For the inner man and the heart are mysterious.

But God will shoot them with arrows;

suddenly they will be wounded.

They will be made to stumble,

their own tongues turned against them.

All who see will shake their heads.

Then all mankind will fear

and proclaim the work of God;

so they will ponder what He has done.

Let the righteous rejoice in the LORD

and take refuge in Him;

let all the upright in heart exult.

Lots of overlap in today’s reading from the Revelation of John and from Job. The nations are depicted as divine in nature in a couple of ways. God threatens to destroy them because they deserve it. One cannot help but think of modern geopolitics, especially as it involves Lebanon and Egypt. The scriptures are not simple, but they are beautiful and deep. May the Lord bless you as his message brings it all together in Psalm 63, where the Lord’s justice is described and dispensed. Glory to God in the Highest Heaven! They Kingdom come!

Ezekiel 26

In the eleventh month of the twelfth year, on the first day of the month, the word of the LORD came to me, saying,

“Son of man, because Tyre has said of Jerusalem, ‘Aha! The gate to the nations is broken; it has swung open to me; now that she lies in ruins I will be filled,’

therefore this is what the Lord GOD says: ‘Behold, O Tyre, I am against you, and I will raise up many nations against you, as the sea brings up its waves.

They will destroy the walls of Tyre and demolish her towers. I will scrape the soil from her and make her a bare rock.

She will become a place to spread nets in the sea, for I have spoken, declares the Lord GOD. She will become plunder for the nations,

and the villages on her mainland will be slain by the sword. Then they will know that I am the LORD.’

For this is what the Lord GOD says: ‘Behold, I will bring against Tyre from the north Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon, king of kings, with horses and chariots, with cavalry and a great company of troops.

He will slaughter the villages of your mainland with the sword; he will set up siege works against you, build a ramp to your walls, and raise his shields against you.

He will direct the blows of his battering rams against your walls and tear down your towers with his axes. His multitude of horses will cover you in their dust.

When he enters your gates as an army entering a breached city, your walls will shake from the noise of cavalry, wagons, and chariots.

The hooves of his horses will trample all your streets. He will slaughter your people with the sword, and your mighty pillars will fall to the ground.

They will plunder your wealth and pillage your merchandise. They will demolish your walls, tear down your beautiful homes, and throw your stones and timber and soil into the water.

So I will silence the sound of your songs, and the music of your lyres will no longer be heard.

I will make you a bare rock, and you will become a place to spread the fishing nets. You will never be rebuilt, for I, the LORD, have spoken, declares the Lord GOD.’

This is what the Lord GOD says to Tyre: ‘Will not the coastlands quake at the sound of your downfall, when the wounded groan at the slaughter in your midst?

All the princes of the sea will descend from their thrones, remove their robes, and strip off their embroidered garments. Clothed with terror, they will sit on the ground, trembling every moment, appalled over you.

Then they will lament for you, saying,

“How you have perished, O city of renown

inhabited by seafaring men—

she who was powerful on the sea, along with her people,

who imposed terror on all peoples!

Now the coastlands tremble

on the day of your downfall;

the islands in the sea

are dismayed by your demise.” ’

For this is what the Lord GOD says: ‘When I make you a desolate city like other deserted cities, and when I raise up the deep against you so that the mighty waters cover you,

then I will bring you down with those who descend to the Pit, to the people of antiquity. I will make you dwell in the earth below like the ancient ruins, with those who descend to the Pit, so that you will no longer be inhabited or set in splendor in the land of the living.

I will make you an object of horror, and you will be no more. You will be sought, but will never be found,’ declares the Lord GOD.”

Ezekiel 27

Then the word of the LORD came to me, saying, “Now you, son of man, take up a lament for Tyre.

Tell Tyre, who dwells at the gateway to the sea, merchant of the peoples on many coasts, that this is what the Lord GOD says:

You have said, O Tyre,

‘I am perfect in beauty.’

Your borders are in the heart of the seas;

your builders perfected your beauty.

They constructed all your planking

with cypress from Senir.

They took a cedar from Lebanon

to make a mast for you.

Of oaks from Bashan

they made your oars;

of wood from the coasts of Cyprus

they made your deck, inlaid with ivory.

Of embroidered fine linen from Egypt

they made your sail,

which served as your banner.

Of blue and purple from the coasts of Elishah

they made your awning.

The men of Sidon and Arvad

were your oarsmen.

Your men of skill, O Tyre,

were there as your captains.

The elders of Gebal were aboard as shipwrights,

repairing your leaks.

All the ships of the sea and their sailors

came alongside to barter for your merchandise.

Men of Persia, Lydia, and Put

served as warriors in your army.

They hung their shields and helmets on your walls;

they gave you splendor.

Men of Arvad and Helech

manned your walls all around,

and the men of Gammad

were in your towers.

They hung their shields around your walls;

they perfected your beauty.

Tarshish was your merchant because of your great wealth of goods; they exchanged silver, iron, tin, and lead for your wares.

Javan, Tubal, and Meshech were your merchants. They exchanged slaves and bronze utensils for your merchandise.

The men of Beth-togarmah exchanged horses, war horses, and mules for your wares.

The men of Dedan were your clients; many coastlands were your market; they paid you with ivory tusks and ebony.

Aram was your customer because of your many products; they exchanged turquoise, purple, embroidered work, fine linen, coral, and rubies for your wares.

Judah and the land of Israel traded with you; they exchanged wheat from Minnith, cakes and honey, oil and balm for your merchandise.

Because of your many products and your great wealth of goods, Damascus traded with you wine from Helbon, wool from Zahar,

and casks of wine from Izal for your wares. Wrought iron, cassia, and sweet cane were exchanged for your merchandise.

Dedan was your merchant in saddlecloths for riding.

Arabia and all the princes of Kedar were your customers, trading in lambs, rams, and goats.

The merchants of Sheba and Raamah traded with you; for your wares they exchanged gold, the finest of all spices, and precious stones.

Haran, Canneh, and Eden traded with you, and so did the merchants of Sheba, Asshur, and Chilmad.

In your marketplace they traded with you fine garments of blue, embroidered work, and multicolored rugs with cords tightly twisted and knotted.

The ships of Tarshish

carried your merchandise.

And you were filled with heavy cargo

in the heart of the sea.

Your oarsmen have brought you

onto the high seas,

but the east wind will shatter you

in the heart of the sea.

Your wealth, wares, and merchandise,

your sailors, captains, and shipwrights,

your merchants and all the warriors within you,

with all the other people on board,

will sink into the heart of the sea

on the day of your downfall.

The countryside will shake

when your sailors cry out.

All who handle the oars

will abandon their ships.

The sailors and all the captains of the sea

will stand on the shore.

They will raise their voices for you

and cry out bitterly.

They will throw dust on their heads

and roll in ashes.

They will shave their heads for you

and wrap themselves in sackcloth.

They will weep over you

with anguish of soul and bitter mourning.

As they wail and mourn over you,

they will take up a lament for you:

‘Who was ever like Tyre,

silenced in the middle of the sea?

When your wares went out to sea,

you satisfied many nations.

You enriched the kings of the earth

with your abundant wealth and merchandise.

Now you are shattered by the seas

in the depths of the waters;

your merchandise and the people among you

have gone down with you.

All the people of the coastlands

are appalled over you.

Their kings shudder with fear;

their faces are contorted.

Those who trade among the nations

hiss at you;

you have come to a horrible end

and will be no more.’ ”

Ezekiel 28

And the word of the LORD came to me, saying, “Son of man, tell the ruler of Tyre that this is what the Lord GOD says:

Your heart is proud,

and you have said,

‘I am a god;

I sit in the seat of gods

in the heart of the sea.’

Yet you are a man and not a god,

though you have regarded your heart

as that of a god.

Behold, you are wiser than Daniel;

no secret is hidden from you!

By your wisdom and understanding

you have gained your wealth

and amassed gold and silver

for your treasuries.

By your great skill in trading

you have increased your wealth,

but your heart has grown proud

because of it.

Therefore this is what the Lord GOD says:

Because you regard your heart

as the heart of a god,

behold, I will bring foreigners against you,

the most ruthless of nations.

They will draw their swords

against the beauty of your wisdom

and will defile your splendor.

They will bring you down to the Pit,

and you will die a violent death

in the heart of the seas.

Will you still say, ‘I am a god,’

in the presence of those who slay you?

You will be only a man, not a god,

in the hands of those who wound you.

You will die the death of the uncircumcised

at the hands of foreigners.

For I have spoken,

declares the Lord GOD.”

Again the word of the LORD came to me, saying, “Son of man, take up a lament for the king of Tyre and tell him that this is what the Lord GOD says:

‘You were the seal of perfection,

full of wisdom and perfect in beauty.

You were in Eden,

the garden of God.

Every kind of precious stone adorned you:

ruby, topaz, and diamond,

beryl, onyx, and jasper,

sapphire, turquoise, and emerald.

Your mountings and settings were crafted in gold,

prepared on the day of your creation.

You were anointed as a guardian cherub,

for I had ordained you.

You were on the holy mountain of God;

you walked among the fiery stones.

From the day you were created

you were blameless in your ways—

until wickedness was found in you.

By the vastness of your trade,

you were filled with violence, and you sinned.

So I drove you in disgrace

from the mountain of God,

and I banished you, O guardian cherub,

from among the fiery stones.

Your heart grew proud of your beauty;

you corrupted your wisdom because of your splendor;

so I cast you to the earth;

I made you a spectacle before kings.

By the multitude of your iniquities

and the dishonesty of your trading

you have profaned your sanctuaries.

So I made fire come from within you,

and it consumed you.

I reduced you to ashes on the ground

in the eyes of all who saw you.

All the nations who know you

are appalled over you.

You have come to a horrible end

and will be no more.’ ”

Then the word of the LORD came to me, saying, “Son of man, set your face against Sidon and prophesy against her. And you are to declare that this is what the Lord GOD says:

‘Behold, I am against you, O Sidon,

and I will be glorified within you.

They will know that I am the LORD

when I execute judgments against her

and demonstrate My holiness through her.

I will send a plague against her

and shed blood in her streets;

the slain will fall within her,

while the sword is against her on every side.

Then they will know that I am the LORD.

For the people of Israel will no longer face a pricking brier or a painful thorn from all around them who treat them with contempt. Then they will know that I am the Lord GOD.’

This is what the Lord GOD says: ‘When I gather the house of Israel from the peoples among whom they have been scattered, I will show Myself holy among them in the sight of the nations.

Then they will dwell in their own land, which I have given to My servant Jacob.

And there they will dwell securely, build houses, and plant vineyards. They will dwell securely when I execute judgments against all those around them who treat them with contempt. Then they will know that I am the LORD their God.’ ”

Ezekiel 29

In the tenth year, on the twelfth day of the tenth month, the word of the LORD came to me, saying, “Son of man, set your face against Pharaoh king of Egypt and prophesy against him and against all Egypt.

Speak to him and tell him that this is what the Lord GOD says:

Behold, I am against you,

O Pharaoh king of Egypt,

O great monster who lies

among his rivers,

who says, ‘The Nile is mine;

I made it myself.’

But I will put hooks in your jaws

and cause the fish of your streams

to cling to your scales.

I will haul you up out of your rivers,

and all the fish of your streams

will cling to your scales.

I will leave you in the desert,

you and all the fish of your streams.

You will fall on the open field

and will not be taken away

or gathered for burial.

I have given you as food

to the beasts of the earth

and the birds of the air.

Then all the people of Egypt

will know that I am the LORD.

For you were only a staff of reeds

to the house of Israel.

When Israel took hold of you with their hands,

you splintered, tearing all their shoulders;

when they leaned on you,

you broke, and their backs were wrenched.

Therefore this is what the Lord GOD says: I will bring a sword against you and cut off from you man and beast.

The land of Egypt will become a desolate wasteland. Then they will know that I am the LORD.

Because you said, ‘The Nile is mine; I made it,’

therefore I am against you and against your rivers. I will turn the land of Egypt into a ruin, a desolate wasteland from Migdol to Syene, and as far as the border of Cush.

No foot of man or beast will pass through, and it will be uninhabited for forty years.

I will make the land of Egypt a desolation among desolate lands, and her cities will lie desolate for forty years among the ruined cities. And I will disperse the Egyptians among the nations and scatter them throughout the countries.

For this is what the Lord GOD says: At the end of forty years I will gather the Egyptians from the nations to which they were scattered.

I will restore Egypt from captivity and bring them back to the land of Pathros, the land of their origin. There they will be a lowly kingdom.

Egypt will be the lowliest of kingdoms and will never again exalt itself above the nations. For I will diminish Egypt so that it will never again rule over the nations.

Egypt will never again be an object of trust for the house of Israel, but will remind them of their iniquity in turning to the Egyptians. Then they will know that I am the Lord GOD.”

In the twenty-seventh year, on the first day of the first month, the word of the LORD came to me, saying,

“Son of man, Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon caused his army to labor strenuously against Tyre. Every head was made bald and every shoulder made raw. But he and his army received no wages from Tyre for the labor they expended on it.

Therefore this is what the Lord GOD says: I will give the land of Egypt to Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon, who will carry off its wealth, seize its spoil, and remove its plunder. This will be the wages for his army.

I have given him the land of Egypt as the reward for his labor, because it was done for Me, declares the Lord GOD.

In that day I will cause a horn to sprout for the house of Israel, and I will open your mouth to speak among them. Then they will know that I am the LORD.”

Ezekiel 30

Again the word of the LORD came to me, saying, “Son of man, prophesy and declare that this is what the Lord GOD says:

Wail, ‘Alas

for that day!’

For the day is near,

the Day of the LORD is near.

It will be a day of clouds,

a time of doom for the nations.

A sword will come against Egypt,

and there will be anguish in Cush

when the slain fall in Egypt,

its wealth is taken away,

and its foundations are torn down.

Cush, Put, and Lud,

and all the various peoples,

as well as Libya and the men of the covenant land,

will fall with Egypt by the sword.

For this is what the LORD says:

The allies of Egypt will fall,

and her proud strength will collapse.

From Migdol to Syene

they will fall by the sword within her,

declares the Lord GOD.

They will be desolate among desolate lands,

and their cities will lie among ruined cities.

Then they will know that I am the LORD

when I set fire to Egypt

and all her helpers are shattered.

On that day messengers will go out from Me in ships to frighten Cush out of complacency. Anguish will come upon them on the day of Egypt’s doom. For it is indeed coming.

This is what the Lord GOD says:

I will put an end to the hordes of Egypt

by the hand of Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon.

He and his people with him,

the most ruthless of the nations,

will be brought in to destroy the land.

They will draw their swords against Egypt

and fill the land with the slain.

I will make the streams dry up

and sell the land to the wicked.

By the hands of foreigners I will bring desolation

upon the land and everything in it.

I, the LORD, have spoken.

This is what the Lord GOD says:

I will destroy the idols

and put an end to the images in Memphis.

There will no longer be a prince in Egypt,

and I will instill fear in that land.

I will lay waste Pathros,

set fire to Zoan,

and execute judgment on Thebes.

I will pour out My wrath on Pelusium,

the stronghold of Egypt,

and cut off the crowds of Thebes.

I will set fire to Egypt,

Pelusium will writhe in anguish,

Thebes will be split open,

and Memphis will face daily distress.

The young men of On and Pi-beseth

will fall by the sword,

and those cities will go into captivity.

The day will be darkened in Tahpanhes

when I break the yoke of Egypt

and her proud strength comes to an end.

A cloud will cover her,

and her daughters will go into captivity.

So I will execute judgment on Egypt,

and they will know that I am the LORD.”

In the eleventh year, on the seventh day of the first month, the word of the LORD came to me, saying,

“Son of man, I have broken the arm of Pharaoh king of Egypt. See, it has not been bound up for healing, or splinted for strength to hold the sword.

Therefore this is what the Lord GOD says: Behold, I am against Pharaoh king of Egypt. I will break his arms, both the strong one and the one already broken, and will make the sword fall from his hand.

I will disperse the Egyptians among the nations and scatter them throughout the lands.

I will strengthen the arms of Babylon’s king and place My sword in his hand, but I will break the arms of Pharaoh, who will groan before him like a mortally wounded man.

I will strengthen the arms of Babylon’s king, but Pharaoh’s arms will fall limp.

Then they will know that I am the LORD, when I place My sword in the hand of Babylon’s king, and he wields it against the land of Egypt.

I will disperse the Egyptians among the nations and scatter them throughout the lands. Then they will know that I am the LORD.”

Psalm 63

O God, You are my God.

Earnestly I seek You;

my soul thirsts for You.

My body yearns for You

in a dry and weary land without water.

So I have seen You in the sanctuary

and beheld Your power and glory.

Because Your loving devotion is better than life,

my lips will glorify You.

So I will bless You as long as I live;

in Your name I will lift my hands.

My soul is satisfied as with the richest of foods;

with joyful lips my mouth will praise You.

When I remember You on my bed,

I think of You through the watches of the night.

For You are my help;

I will sing for joy in the shadow of Your wings.

My soul clings to You;

Your right hand upholds me.

But those who seek my life to destroy it

will go into the depths of the earth.

They will fall to the power of the sword;

they will become a portion for foxes.

But the king will rejoice in God;

all who swear by Him will exult,

for the mouths of liars will be shut.