EZEKIEL 21:1- 22:31
HEBREWS 10:1- 17
PSALM 108:1- 13
PROVERBS 27:12
Then this message came to me [Ezekiel] from the LORD:2 "Son of man, look toward Jerusalem and prophesy against Israel and her sanctuaries. 3 Give her this message from the LORD:I am your enemy, O Israel, and I am about to unsheath my sword to destroy your people-- the righteous and the wicked alike. 4 Yes, I will not spare even the righteous! I will make a clean sweep throughout the land from south to north. 5 All the world will know that I am the LORD. My sword is in my hand, and it will not return to its sheath until its work is finished. 6" Son of man, groan before the people! Groan before them with bitter anguish and a broken heart. 7 When they ask you why, tell them, `I groan because of the terrifying news I have heard. When it comes true, the boldest heart will melt with fear; all strength will disappear. Every spirit will faint; strong knees will tremble and become as weak as water. And the Sovereign LORD says:It is coming! It's on its way! '"8 Then the LORD said to me, 9" Son of man, give the people this message from the LORD:A sword is being sharpened and polished. 10 It is being prepared for terrible slaughter; it will flash like lightning! Now will you laugh? Those far stronger than you have fallen beneath its power! 11 Yes, the sword is now being sharpened and polished; it is being prepared for the executioner! 12 "Son of man, cry out and wail; pound your thighs in anguish, for that sword will slaughter my people and their leaders-- everyone will die! 13 It will put them all to the test! So now the Sovereign LORD asks:What chance do they have? 14" Son of man, prophesy to them and clap your hands vigorously. Then take the sword and brandish it twice, even three times, to symbolize the great massacre they will face! 15 Let their hearts melt with terror, for the sword glitters at every gate. It flashes like lightning; it is polished for slaughter! 16 O sword, slash to the right, and slash to the left, wherever you will, wherever you want. 17 I, too, will clap my hands, and I will satisfy my fury. I, the LORD, have spoken! "18 Then this message came to me from the LORD:19" Son of man, make a map and trace two routes on it for the sword of Babylon's king to follow. Put a signpost on the road that comes out of Babylon where the road forks into two-- 20 one road going to Ammon and its capital, Rabbah, and the other to Judah and fortified Jerusalem. 21 The king of Babylon now stands at the fork, uncertain whether to attack Jerusalem or Rabbah. He will call his magicians to use divination. They will cast lots by shaking arrows from the quiver. They will inspect the livers of their animal sacrifices. 22 Then they will decide to turn toward Jerusalem! With battering rams they will go against the gates, shouting for the kill. They will put up siege towers and build ramps against the walls to reach the top. 23 The people of Jerusalem will think it is a mistake, because of their treaty with the Babylonians. But the king of Babylon will remind the people of their rebellion. Then he will attack and capture them. 24 "Therefore, this is what the Sovereign LORD says:Again and again your guilt cries out against you, for you are not ashamed of your sin. You don't even try to hide it! Wherever you go, whatever you do, all your actions are filled with sin. So now the time of your punishment has come! 25" O you corrupt and wicked prince of Israel, your final day of reckoning is here! 26 Take off your jeweled crown, says the Sovereign LORD. The old order changes-- now the lowly are exalted, and the mighty are brought low. 27 Destruction! Destruction! I will surely destroy the kingdom. And it will not be restored until the one appears who has the right to judge it. Then I will hand it over to him. 28 "And now, son of man, prophesy concerning the Ammonites and their mockery. Give them this message from the Sovereign LORD:My sword is drawn for your slaughter; it is sharpened to destroy, flashing like lightning! 29 Your magicians and false prophets have given false visions and told lies about the sword. And now it will fall with even greater force on the wicked for whom the day of final reckoning has come. 30 Should I return my sword to its sheath before I deal with you? No, I will destroy you in your own country, the land of your birth. 31 I will pour out my fury on you and blow on you with the fire of my anger. I will hand you over to cruel men who are skilled in destruction. 32 You are fuel for the fire, and your blood will be spilled in your own land. You will be utterly wiped out, your memory lost to history. I, the LORD, have spoken!" 22:1 NOW this message came to me from the LORD:2 "Son of man, are you ready to judge Jerusalem? Are you ready to judge this city of murderers? Denounce her terrible deeds in public, 3 and give her this message from the Sovereign LORD:O city of murderers, doomed and damned-- city of idols, filthy and foul-- 4 you are guilty of both murder and idolatry. Your day of destruction has come! You have reached the end of your years. I will make you an object of mockery throughout the world. 5 O infamous city, filled with confusion, you will be mocked by people both far and near. 6" Every leader in Israel who lives within your walls is bent on murder. 7 Fathers and mothers are contemptuously ignored. Resident foreigners are forced to pay for protection. Orphans and widows are wronged and oppressed. 8 Inside your walls you despise my holy things and violate my Sabbath days of rest. 9 People accuse others falsely and send them to their death. You are filled with idol worshipers and people who take part in lewd activities. 10 Men sleep with their fathers' wives and have intercourse with women who are menstruating. 11 Within your walls live men who commit adultery with their neighbors 'wives, who defile their daughters- in- law or who rape their own sisters. 12 There are hired murderers, loan racketeers, and extortioners everywhere! They never even think of me and my commands, says the Sovereign LORD. 13 "But now I clap my hands in indignation over your dishonest gain and bloodshed. 14 How strong and courageous will you be in my day of reckoning? I, the LORD, have spoken! I will do what I have said. 15 I will scatter you among the nations and purge you of your wickedness. 16 And when you have been dishonored among the nations, you will know that I am the LORD." 17 Then this message came to me from the LORD:18 "Son of man, the people of Israel are the worthless slag that remains after silver is smelted. They are the dross that is left over-- a useless mixture of copper, tin, iron, and lead. 19 So give them this message from the Sovereign LORD:Because you are all worthless slag, I will bring you to my crucible in Jerusalem. 20 I will melt you down in the heat of my fury, just as copper, tin, iron, and lead are melted down in a furnace. 21 I will gather you together and blow the fire of my anger upon you, 22 and you will melt like silver in fierce heat. Then you will know that I, the LORD, have poured out my fury on you." 23 Again a message came to me from the LORD:24 "Son of man, give the people of Israel this message:In the day of my indignation, you will become like an uncleared wilderness or a desert without rain. 25 Your princes plot conspiracies just as lions stalk their prey. They devour innocent people, seizing treasures and extorting wealth. They increase the number of widows in the land. 26 Your priests have violated my laws and defiled my holy things. To them there is no difference between what is holy and what is not. And they do not teach my people the difference between what is ceremonially clean and unclean. They disregard my Sabbath days so that my holy name is greatly dishonored among them. 27 Your leaders are like wolves, who tear apart their victims. They actually destroy people's lives for profit! 28 And your prophets announce false visions and speak false messages. They say, `My message is from the Sovereign LORD,' when the LORD hasn't spoken a single word to them. They repair cracked walls with whitewash! 29 Even common people oppress the poor, rob the needy, and deprive foreigners of justice. 30" I looked for someone who might rebuild the wall of righteousness that guards the land. I searched for someone to stand in the gap in the wall so I wouldn't have to destroy the land, but I found no one. 31 So now I will pour out my fury on them, consuming them in the fire of my anger. I will heap on them the full penalty for all their sins, says the Sovereign LORD. "
The old system in the law of Moses was only a shadow of the things to come, not the reality of the good things Christ has done for us. The sacrifices under the old system were repeated again and again, year after year, but they were never able to provide perfect cleansing for those who came to worship. 2 If they could have provided perfect cleansing, the sacrifices would have stopped, for the worshipers would have been purified once for all time, and their feelings of guilt would have disappeared. 3 But just the opposite happened. Those yearly sacrifices reminded them of their sins year after year. 4 For it is not possible for the blood of bulls and goats to take away sins. 5 That is why Christ, when he came into the world, said," You did not want animal sacrifices and grain offerings.
But you have given me a body so that I may obey you.
6 No, you were not pleased with animals burned on the altar
or with other offerings for sin.
7 Then I said, `Look, I have come to do your will, O God--
just as it is written about me in the Scriptures. '"
8 Christ said," You did not want animal sacrifices or grain offerings or animals burned on the altar or other offerings for sin, nor were you pleased with them "(though they are required by the law of Moses). 9 Then he added," Look, I have come to do your will. "He cancels the first covenant in order to establish the second. 10 And what God wants is for us to be made holy by the sacrifice of the body of Jesus Christ once for all time. 11 Under the old covenant, the priest stands before the altar day after day, offering sacrifices that can never take away sins. 12 But our High Priest offered himself to God as one sacrifice for sins, good for all time. Then he sat down at the place of highest honor at God's right hand. 13 There he waits until his enemies are humbled as a footstool under his feet. 14 For by that one offering he perfected forever all those whom he is making holy. 15 And the Holy Spirit also testifies that this is so. First he says,16" This is the new covenant I will make
with my people on that day, says the Lord:
I will put my laws in their hearts
so they will understand them,
and I will write them on their minds
so they will obey them. "
17 Then he adds," I will never again remember
their sins and lawless deeds. "
A psalm of David. A song.
1 My heart is confident in you, O God;
no wonder I can sing your praises!
Wake up, my soul!
2 Wake up, O harp and lyre!
I will waken the dawn with my song.
3 I will thank you, LORD, in front of all the people.
I will sing your praises among the nations.
4 For your unfailing love is higher than the heavens.
Your faithfulness reaches to the clouds.
5 Be exalted, O God, above the highest heavens.
May your glory shine over all the earth.
6 Use your strong right arm to save me,
and rescue your beloved people.
7 God has promised this by his holiness:
" I will divide up Shechem with joy.
I will measure out the valley of Succoth.
8 Gilead is mine,
and Manasseh is mine.
Ephraim will produce my warriors,
and Judah will produce my kings.
9 Moab will become my lowly servant,
and Edom will be my slave.
I will shout in triumph over the Philistines. "
10 But who will bring me into the fortified city?
Who will bring me victory over Edom?
11 Have you rejected us, O God?
Will you no longer march with our armies?
12 Oh, please help us against our enemies,
for all human help is useless.
13 With God's help we will do mighty things,
for he will trample down our foes.
A prudent person foresees the danger ahead and takes precautions. The simpleton goes blindly on and suffers the consequences
HEBREWS 10:1- 17
PSALM 108:1- 13
PROVERBS 27:12
Then this message came to me [Ezekiel] from the LORD:2 "Son of man, look toward Jerusalem and prophesy against Israel and her sanctuaries. 3 Give her this message from the LORD:I am your enemy, O Israel, and I am about to unsheath my sword to destroy your people-- the righteous and the wicked alike. 4 Yes, I will not spare even the righteous! I will make a clean sweep throughout the land from south to north. 5 All the world will know that I am the LORD. My sword is in my hand, and it will not return to its sheath until its work is finished. 6" Son of man, groan before the people! Groan before them with bitter anguish and a broken heart. 7 When they ask you why, tell them, `I groan because of the terrifying news I have heard. When it comes true, the boldest heart will melt with fear; all strength will disappear. Every spirit will faint; strong knees will tremble and become as weak as water. And the Sovereign LORD says:It is coming! It's on its way! '"8 Then the LORD said to me, 9" Son of man, give the people this message from the LORD:A sword is being sharpened and polished. 10 It is being prepared for terrible slaughter; it will flash like lightning! Now will you laugh? Those far stronger than you have fallen beneath its power! 11 Yes, the sword is now being sharpened and polished; it is being prepared for the executioner! 12 "Son of man, cry out and wail; pound your thighs in anguish, for that sword will slaughter my people and their leaders-- everyone will die! 13 It will put them all to the test! So now the Sovereign LORD asks:What chance do they have? 14" Son of man, prophesy to them and clap your hands vigorously. Then take the sword and brandish it twice, even three times, to symbolize the great massacre they will face! 15 Let their hearts melt with terror, for the sword glitters at every gate. It flashes like lightning; it is polished for slaughter! 16 O sword, slash to the right, and slash to the left, wherever you will, wherever you want. 17 I, too, will clap my hands, and I will satisfy my fury. I, the LORD, have spoken! "18 Then this message came to me from the LORD:19" Son of man, make a map and trace two routes on it for the sword of Babylon's king to follow. Put a signpost on the road that comes out of Babylon where the road forks into two-- 20 one road going to Ammon and its capital, Rabbah, and the other to Judah and fortified Jerusalem. 21 The king of Babylon now stands at the fork, uncertain whether to attack Jerusalem or Rabbah. He will call his magicians to use divination. They will cast lots by shaking arrows from the quiver. They will inspect the livers of their animal sacrifices. 22 Then they will decide to turn toward Jerusalem! With battering rams they will go against the gates, shouting for the kill. They will put up siege towers and build ramps against the walls to reach the top. 23 The people of Jerusalem will think it is a mistake, because of their treaty with the Babylonians. But the king of Babylon will remind the people of their rebellion. Then he will attack and capture them. 24 "Therefore, this is what the Sovereign LORD says:Again and again your guilt cries out against you, for you are not ashamed of your sin. You don't even try to hide it! Wherever you go, whatever you do, all your actions are filled with sin. So now the time of your punishment has come! 25" O you corrupt and wicked prince of Israel, your final day of reckoning is here! 26 Take off your jeweled crown, says the Sovereign LORD. The old order changes-- now the lowly are exalted, and the mighty are brought low. 27 Destruction! Destruction! I will surely destroy the kingdom. And it will not be restored until the one appears who has the right to judge it. Then I will hand it over to him. 28 "And now, son of man, prophesy concerning the Ammonites and their mockery. Give them this message from the Sovereign LORD:My sword is drawn for your slaughter; it is sharpened to destroy, flashing like lightning! 29 Your magicians and false prophets have given false visions and told lies about the sword. And now it will fall with even greater force on the wicked for whom the day of final reckoning has come. 30 Should I return my sword to its sheath before I deal with you? No, I will destroy you in your own country, the land of your birth. 31 I will pour out my fury on you and blow on you with the fire of my anger. I will hand you over to cruel men who are skilled in destruction. 32 You are fuel for the fire, and your blood will be spilled in your own land. You will be utterly wiped out, your memory lost to history. I, the LORD, have spoken!" 22:1 NOW this message came to me from the LORD:2 "Son of man, are you ready to judge Jerusalem? Are you ready to judge this city of murderers? Denounce her terrible deeds in public, 3 and give her this message from the Sovereign LORD:O city of murderers, doomed and damned-- city of idols, filthy and foul-- 4 you are guilty of both murder and idolatry. Your day of destruction has come! You have reached the end of your years. I will make you an object of mockery throughout the world. 5 O infamous city, filled with confusion, you will be mocked by people both far and near. 6" Every leader in Israel who lives within your walls is bent on murder. 7 Fathers and mothers are contemptuously ignored. Resident foreigners are forced to pay for protection. Orphans and widows are wronged and oppressed. 8 Inside your walls you despise my holy things and violate my Sabbath days of rest. 9 People accuse others falsely and send them to their death. You are filled with idol worshipers and people who take part in lewd activities. 10 Men sleep with their fathers' wives and have intercourse with women who are menstruating. 11 Within your walls live men who commit adultery with their neighbors 'wives, who defile their daughters- in- law or who rape their own sisters. 12 There are hired murderers, loan racketeers, and extortioners everywhere! They never even think of me and my commands, says the Sovereign LORD. 13 "But now I clap my hands in indignation over your dishonest gain and bloodshed. 14 How strong and courageous will you be in my day of reckoning? I, the LORD, have spoken! I will do what I have said. 15 I will scatter you among the nations and purge you of your wickedness. 16 And when you have been dishonored among the nations, you will know that I am the LORD." 17 Then this message came to me from the LORD:18 "Son of man, the people of Israel are the worthless slag that remains after silver is smelted. They are the dross that is left over-- a useless mixture of copper, tin, iron, and lead. 19 So give them this message from the Sovereign LORD:Because you are all worthless slag, I will bring you to my crucible in Jerusalem. 20 I will melt you down in the heat of my fury, just as copper, tin, iron, and lead are melted down in a furnace. 21 I will gather you together and blow the fire of my anger upon you, 22 and you will melt like silver in fierce heat. Then you will know that I, the LORD, have poured out my fury on you." 23 Again a message came to me from the LORD:24 "Son of man, give the people of Israel this message:In the day of my indignation, you will become like an uncleared wilderness or a desert without rain. 25 Your princes plot conspiracies just as lions stalk their prey. They devour innocent people, seizing treasures and extorting wealth. They increase the number of widows in the land. 26 Your priests have violated my laws and defiled my holy things. To them there is no difference between what is holy and what is not. And they do not teach my people the difference between what is ceremonially clean and unclean. They disregard my Sabbath days so that my holy name is greatly dishonored among them. 27 Your leaders are like wolves, who tear apart their victims. They actually destroy people's lives for profit! 28 And your prophets announce false visions and speak false messages. They say, `My message is from the Sovereign LORD,' when the LORD hasn't spoken a single word to them. They repair cracked walls with whitewash! 29 Even common people oppress the poor, rob the needy, and deprive foreigners of justice. 30" I looked for someone who might rebuild the wall of righteousness that guards the land. I searched for someone to stand in the gap in the wall so I wouldn't have to destroy the land, but I found no one. 31 So now I will pour out my fury on them, consuming them in the fire of my anger. I will heap on them the full penalty for all their sins, says the Sovereign LORD. "
The old system in the law of Moses was only a shadow of the things to come, not the reality of the good things Christ has done for us. The sacrifices under the old system were repeated again and again, year after year, but they were never able to provide perfect cleansing for those who came to worship. 2 If they could have provided perfect cleansing, the sacrifices would have stopped, for the worshipers would have been purified once for all time, and their feelings of guilt would have disappeared. 3 But just the opposite happened. Those yearly sacrifices reminded them of their sins year after year. 4 For it is not possible for the blood of bulls and goats to take away sins. 5 That is why Christ, when he came into the world, said," You did not want animal sacrifices and grain offerings.
But you have given me a body so that I may obey you.
6 No, you were not pleased with animals burned on the altar
or with other offerings for sin.
7 Then I said, `Look, I have come to do your will, O God--
just as it is written about me in the Scriptures. '"
8 Christ said," You did not want animal sacrifices or grain offerings or animals burned on the altar or other offerings for sin, nor were you pleased with them "(though they are required by the law of Moses). 9 Then he added," Look, I have come to do your will. "He cancels the first covenant in order to establish the second. 10 And what God wants is for us to be made holy by the sacrifice of the body of Jesus Christ once for all time. 11 Under the old covenant, the priest stands before the altar day after day, offering sacrifices that can never take away sins. 12 But our High Priest offered himself to God as one sacrifice for sins, good for all time. Then he sat down at the place of highest honor at God's right hand. 13 There he waits until his enemies are humbled as a footstool under his feet. 14 For by that one offering he perfected forever all those whom he is making holy. 15 And the Holy Spirit also testifies that this is so. First he says,16" This is the new covenant I will make
with my people on that day, says the Lord:
I will put my laws in their hearts
so they will understand them,
and I will write them on their minds
so they will obey them. "
17 Then he adds," I will never again remember
their sins and lawless deeds. "
A psalm of David. A song.
1 My heart is confident in you, O God;
no wonder I can sing your praises!
Wake up, my soul!
2 Wake up, O harp and lyre!
I will waken the dawn with my song.
3 I will thank you, LORD, in front of all the people.
I will sing your praises among the nations.
4 For your unfailing love is higher than the heavens.
Your faithfulness reaches to the clouds.
5 Be exalted, O God, above the highest heavens.
May your glory shine over all the earth.
6 Use your strong right arm to save me,
and rescue your beloved people.
7 God has promised this by his holiness:
" I will divide up Shechem with joy.
I will measure out the valley of Succoth.
8 Gilead is mine,
and Manasseh is mine.
Ephraim will produce my warriors,
and Judah will produce my kings.
9 Moab will become my lowly servant,
and Edom will be my slave.
I will shout in triumph over the Philistines. "
10 But who will bring me into the fortified city?
Who will bring me victory over Edom?
11 Have you rejected us, O God?
Will you no longer march with our armies?
12 Oh, please help us against our enemies,
for all human help is useless.
13 With God's help we will do mighty things,
for he will trample down our foes.
A prudent person foresees the danger ahead and takes precautions. The simpleton goes blindly on and suffers the consequences
