EZEKIEL 31:1-32:32
HEBREWS 12:14-29
PSALM 113:1-114:8
PROVERBS 27:18-20
EZEKIEL 31:1-32:32
On June 21, during the eleventh year of King Jehoiachin's captivity, this message came to me [Ezekiel] from the LORD: 2 " Son of man, give this message to Pharaoh, king of Egypt, and all his people: To whom would you compare your greatness? 3 You are as Assyria was--a great and mighty nation. Assyria, too, was once like a cedar of Lebanon, full of thick branches that cast deep forest shade with its top high among the clouds. 4 Deep springs watered it and helped it to grow tall and luxuriant. The water was so abundant that there was enough for all the trees nearby. 5 This great tree towered above all the other trees around it. It prospered and grew long thick branches because of all the water at its roots. 6 The birds nested in its branches, and in its shade all the wild animals gave birth to their young. All the great nations of the world lived in its shadow. 7 It was strong and beautiful, for its roots went deep into abundant water. 8 This tree became taller than any of the other cedars in the garden of God. No cypress had branches equal to it; no plane tree had boughs to compare. No tree in the garden of God came close to it in beauty. 9 Because of the magnificence I gave this tree, it was the envy of all the other trees of Eden, the garden of God. 10 " Therefore, this is what the Sovereign LORD says: Because it became proud and arrogant, and because it set itself so high above the others, reaching to the clouds, 11 I handed it over to a mighty nation that destroyed it as its wickedness deserved. I myself discarded it. 12 A foreign army--the terror of the nations--cut it down and left it fallen on the ground. Its branches were scattered across the mountains and valleys and ravines of the land. All those who lived beneath its shadow went away and left it lying there. 13 The birds roosted on its fallen trunk, and the wild animals lay among its branches. 14 Let no other nation proudly exult in its own prosperity, though it be higher than the clouds, for all are doomed. They will land in the pit along with all the proud people of the world. 15 " This is what the Sovereign LORD says: When Assyria went down into the grave, I made the deep places mourn, and I restrained the mighty waters. I clothed Lebanon in black and caused the trees of the field to wilt. 16 I made the nations shake with fear at the sound of its fall, for I sent it down to the grave with all the others like it. And all the other proud trees of Eden, the most beautiful and the best of Lebanon, the ones whose roots went deep into the water, were relieved to find it there with them in the pit. 17 Its allies, too, were all destroyed and had passed away. They had gone down to the grave--all those nations that had lived in its shade. 18 " O Egypt, to which of the trees of Eden will you compare your strength and glory? You, too, will be brought down to the pit with all these other nations. You will lie there among the outcasts who have died by the sword. This will be the fate of Pharaoh and all his teeming hordes. I, the Sovereign LORD, have spoken!"32:1 ON March 3, during the twelfth year of King Jehoiachin's captivity, this message came to me from the LORD: 2 " Son of man, mourn for Pharaoh, king of Egypt, and give him this message: You think of yourself as a strong young lion among the nations, but you are really just a sea monster, heaving around in your own rivers, stirring up mud with your feet. 3 " Therefore, this is what the Sovereign LORD says: I will send many people to catch you in my net and haul you out of the water. 4 I will leave you stranded on the land to die. All the birds of the heavens will land on you, and the wild animals of the whole earth will gorge themselves on you. 5 I will cover the hills with your flesh and fill the valleys with your bones. 6 I will drench the earth with your gushing blood all the way to the mountains, filling the ravines to the brim. 7 When I blot you out, I will veil the heavens and darken the stars. I will cover the sun with a cloud, and the moon will not give you its light. 8 Yes, I will bring darkness everywhere across your land. Even the brightest stars will become dark above you. I, the Sovereign LORD, have spoken! 9 " And when I bring your shattered remains to distant nations that you have never seen, I will disturb many hearts. 10 Yes, I will bring terror to many lands, and their kings will be terrified because of all I do to you. They will shudder in fear for their lives as I brandish my sword before them on the day of your fall. 11 " For this is what the Sovereign LORD says: The sword of the king of Babylon will come against you. 12 I will destroy you with the swords of mighty warriors--the terror of the nations. They will shatter the pride of Egypt, and all its hordes will be destroyed. 13 I will destroy all your flocks and herds that graze beside the streams. Never again will people or animals disturb those waters with their feet. 14 Then I will let the waters of Egypt become calm again, and they will flow as smoothly as olive oil, says the Sovereign LORD. 15 And when I destroy Egypt and wipe out everything you have and strike down all your people, then you will know that I am the LORD. 16 Yes, this is the funeral song they will sing for Egypt. Let all the nations mourn for Egypt and its hordes. I, the Sovereign LORD, have spoken!" 17 On March 17, during the twelfth year, another message came to me from the LORD: 18 " Son of man, weep for the hordes of Egypt and for the other mighty nations. For I will send them down to the world below in company with those who descend to the pit. 19 Say to them, ` O Egypt, are you lovelier than the other nations? No! So go down to the pit and lie there among the outcasts.' 20 The Egyptians will fall with the many who have died by the sword, for the sword is drawn against them. Egypt will be dragged away to its judgment. 21 Down in the grave mighty leaders will mockingly welcome Egypt and its allies, saying, ` They have come down; they lie among the outcasts, all victims of the sword.' 22 " Assyria lies there surrounded by the graves of all its people, those who were slaughtered by the sword. 23 Their graves are in the depths of the pit, and they are surrounded by their allies. These mighty men who once struck terror in the hearts of people everywhere are now dead at the hands of their enemies. 24 " Elam lies there buried with its hordes who descended as outcasts to the world below. They terrorized the nations while they lived, but now they lie in the pit and share the humiliation of those who have gone to the world of the dead. 25 They have a resting place among the slaughtered, surrounded by the graves of all their people. Yes, they terrorized the nations while they lived, but now they lie in shame in the pit, all of them outcasts, slaughtered by the sword. 26 " Meshech and Tubal are there, surrounded by the graves of all their hordes. They once struck terror into the hearts of all people. But now they are outcasts, all victims of the sword. 27 They are not buried in honor like the fallen heroes of the outcasts, who went down to the grave with their weapons--their shields covering their bodies, and their swords beneath their heads. They brought terror to everyone while they were still alive. 28 " You too, Egypt, will lie crushed and broken among the outcasts, all victims of the sword.29 " Edom is there with its kings and princes. Mighty as they were, they also lie among those killed by the sword, with the outcasts who have gone down to the pit. 30 All the princes of the north and the Sidonians are there, all victims of the sword. Once a terror, they now lie there in shame. They lie there as outcasts with all the other dead who have descended to the pit. 31 " When Pharaoh arrives, he will be relieved to find that he is not alone in having his entire army killed, says the Sovereign LORD. 32 For I have caused my terror to fall upon all the living. And Pharaoh and his hordes will lie there among the outcasts who have died by the sword. I, the Sovereign LORD, have spoken!"
HEBREWS 12:14-29
Try to live in peace with everyone, and seek to live a clean and holy life, for those who are not holy will not see the Lord. 15 Look after each other so that none of you will miss out on the special favor of God. Watch out that no bitter root of unbelief rises up among you, for whenever it springs up, many are corrupted by its poison. 16 Make sure that no one is immoral or godless like Esau. He traded his birthright as the oldest son for a single meal. 17 And afterward, when he wanted his father's blessing, he was rejected. It was too late for repentance, even though he wept bitter tears. 18 You have not come to a physical mountain, to a place of flaming fire, darkness, gloom, and whirlwind, as the Israelites did at Mount Sinai when God gave them his laws. 19 For they heard an awesome trumpet blast and a voice with a message so terrible that they begged God to stop speaking. 20 They staggered back under God's command: " If even an animal touches the mountain, it must be stoned to death." 21 Moses himself was so frightened at the sight that he said, " I am terrified and trembling." 22 No, you have come to Mount Zion, to the city of the living God, the heavenly Jerusalem, and to thousands of angels in joyful assembly. 23 You have come to the assembly of God's firstborn children, whose names are written in heaven. You have come to God himself, who is the judge of all people. And you have come to the spirits of the redeemed in heaven who have now been made perfect. 24 You have come to Jesus, the one who mediates the new covenant between God and people, and to the sprinkled blood, which graciously forgives instead of crying out for vengeance as the blood of Abel did. 25 See to it that you obey God, the one who is speaking to you. For if the people of Israel did not escape when they refused to listen to Moses, the earthly messenger, how terrible our danger if we reject the One who speaks to us from heaven! 26 When God spoke from Mount Sinai his voice shook the earth, but now he makes another promise: " Once again I will shake not only the earth but the heavens also." 27 This means that the things on earth will be shaken, so that only eternal things will be left. 28 Since we are receiving a kingdom that cannot be destroyed, let us be thankful and please God by worshiping him with holy fear and awe. 29 For our God is a consuming fire.
PSALM 113:1-114:8
Praise the LORD!
Yes, give praise, O servants of the LORD.
Praise the name of the LORD!
2 Blessed be the name of the LORD
forever and ever.
3 Everywhere--from east to west--
praise the name of the LORD.
4 For the LORD is high above the nations;
his glory is far greater than the heavens.
5 Who can be compared with the LORD our God,
who is enthroned on high?
6 Far below him are the heavens and the earth.
He stoops to look,
7 and he lifts the poor from the dirt
and the needy from the garbage dump.
8 He sets them among princes,
even the princes of his own people!
9 He gives the barren woman a home,
so that she becomes a happy mother.
Praise the LORD!
114:1 WHEN the Israelites escaped from Egypt--
when the family of Jacob left that foreign land--
2 the land of Judah became God's sanctuary,
and Israel became his kingdom.
3 The Red Sea saw them coming and hurried out of their way!
The water of the Jordan River turned away.
4 The mountains skipped like rams,
the little hills like lambs!
5 What's wrong, Red Sea, that made you hurry out of their way?
What happened, Jordan River, that you turned away?
6 Why, mountains, did you skip like rams?
Why, little hills, like lambs?
7 Tremble, O earth, at the presence of the Lord,
at the presence of the God of Israel.
8 He turned the rock into pools of water;
yes, springs of water came from solid rock.
PROVERBS 27:18-20
Workers who tend a fig tree are allowed to eat its fruit. In the same way, workers who protect their employer's interests will be rewarded. As a face is reflected in water, so the heart reflects the person. Just as Death and Destruction are never satisfied, so human desire is never satisfied.
