Through the Bible – Day 322

Bible text(s)

Ezekiel 11

A promise of hope

14The LORD replied:

15Ezekiel, son of man, the people living in Jerusalem claim that you and the other Israelites who were taken to Babylonia are too far away to worship me. They also claim that the land of Israel now belongs only to them. 16But here is what I want you to tell the Israelites in Babylonia:

It's true that I, the LORD God, have forced you out of your own country and made you live among foreign nations. But for now, I will be with you wherever you are, so that you can worship me. 17And some day, I will gather you from the nations where you are scattered and let you live in Israel again. 18When that happens, I want you to clear the land of all disgusting idols. 19Then I will take away your stubbornness and make you eager to be completely faithful to me. You will want to obey me 20and all my laws and teachings. You will be my people, and I will be your God. 21But those who worship idols will be punished and get what they deserve. I, the LORD God, have spoken.

The LORD's glory leaves Jerusalem

22After the LORD had finished speaking, the winged creatures spread their wings and flew into the air, and the wheels were beside them. The brightness of the LORD's glory above them 23left Jerusalem and stopped at a hill east of the city.

24Then in my vision, the LORD's Spirit lifted me up and carried me back to the other exiles in Babylonia. The vision faded away, 25and I told them everything the LORD had shown me.

Ezekiel 12

Messages of doom for Judah and Jerusalem

Ezekiel acts out Israel's captivity

1The LORD said:

2Ezekiel, son of man, you are living among rebellious people. They have eyes, but refuse to see; they have ears, but refuse to listen. 3So before it gets dark, here is what I want you to do. Pack a few things as though you were going to be taken away as a prisoner. Then go outside where everyone can see you and walk around from place to place. Perhaps as they watch, they will realize what rebels they are. 4After you have done this, return to your house.

Later that evening leave your house as if you were going into exile. 5Dig through the wall of your house and crawl out, carrying the bag with you. Make sure everyone is watching. 6Lift the bag to your shoulders, and with your face covered, take it into the darkness, so that you cannot see the land you are leaving. All this will be a warning for the people of Israel.

7I did everything the LORD had said. I packed a few things. Then as the sun was going down, and while everyone was watching, I dug a hole through one of the walls of my house. I pulled out my bag, then lifted it to my shoulders and left in the darkness.

8The next morning, the LORD 9reminded me that those rebellious people didn't even ask what I was doing. 10So he sent me back to tell them:

The LORD God has a message for the leader of Jerusalem and everyone living there!

11I have done these things to show them what will happen when they are taken away as prisoners.

12The leader of Jerusalem will lift his own bag to his shoulders at sunset and leave through a hole that the others have dug in the wall of his house. He will cover his face, so he can't see the land he is leaving. 13The LORD will spread out a net and trap him as he leaves Jerusalem. He will then be led away to the city of Babylon, but will never see that place, even though he will die there. 14His own officials and troops will scatter in every direction, and the LORD will track them down and put them to death.

15The LORD will force the rest of the people in Jerusalem to live in foreign nations, where they will realize that he has done all these things. 16Some of them will survive the war, the starvation, and the deadly diseases. That way, they will be able to tell foreigners how disgusting their sins were, and that it was the LORD who punished them in this way.

A sign of fear

17The LORD said:

18Ezekiel, son of man, shake with fear when you eat, and tremble when you drink. 19Tell the people of Israel that I, the LORD, say that some day everyone in Jerusalem will shake when they eat and tremble when they drink. Their country will be destroyed and left empty, because they have been cruel and violent. 20Every town will lie in ruins, and the land will be a barren desert. Then they will know that I am the LORD.

The words of the LORD will come true

21The LORD said:

22Ezekiel, son of man, you've heard people in Israel use the saying, “Time passes, and prophets are proved wrong.” 23Now tell the people that I, the LORD, am going to prove that saying wrong. No one will ever be able to use it again in Israel, because very soon everything I have said will come true! 24The people will hear no more useless warnings and false messages. 25I will give them my message, and what I say will certainly happen. Warn those rebels that the time has come for them to be punished. I, the LORD, make this promise.

26-27Ezekiel, the people of Israel are also saying that your visions and messages are only about things in the future. 28So tell them that my words will soon come true, just as I have warned. I, the LORD, have spoken.

Ezekiel 13

Lying prophets

1The LORD said:

2Ezekiel, son of man, condemn the prophets of Israel who say they speak in my name, but who preach messages that come from their own imagination. Tell them it's time to hear my message.

3I, the LORD God, say those lying prophets are doomed! They don't see visions—they make up their own messages! 4Israel's prophets are no better than jackals that hunt for food among the ruins of a city. 5They don't warn the people about coming trouble or tell them how dangerous it is to sin against me. 6Those prophets lie by claiming they speak for me, but I have not even chosen them to be my prophets. And they still think their words will come true. 7They say they're preaching my messages, but they are full of lies—I did not speak to them!

8So I am going to punish those lying prophets for deceiving the people of Israel with false messages. 9I will turn against them and no longer let them belong to my people. They will not be allowed to call themselves Israelites or even to set foot in Israel. Then they will realize that I am the LORD God.

10Those prophets refuse to be honest. They tell my people there will be peace, even though there's no peace to be found. They are like workers who think they can fix a shaky wall by covering it with paint. 11But when I send rainstorms, hailstones, and strong winds, the wall will surely collapse. 12People will then ask the workers why the paint didn't hold it up.

13That wall is the city of Jerusalem. And I, the LORD God, am so angry that I will send strong winds, rainstorms, and hailstones to destroy it. 14The lying prophets have tried to cover-up the evil in Jerusalem, but I will tear down the city, all the way to its foundations. And when it collapses, those prophets will be killed, and everyone will know that I have done these things.

15The city of Jerusalem and its lying prophets will feel my fierce anger. Then I will announce that the city has fallen and that the lying prophets are dead, 16because they promised my people peace, when there was no peace. I, the LORD God, have spoken.

Women who wear magic charms

The LORD said:

17Ezekiel, son of man, now condemn the women of Israel who preach messages that come from their own imagination. 18Tell them they're doomed! They wear magic charms on their wrists and scarves on their heads, then trick others into believing they can predict the future. They won't get away with telling those lies. 19They charge my people a few handfuls of barley and a couple of pieces of bread, and then give messages that are insulting to me. They use lies to sentence the innocent to death and to help the guilty go free. And my people believe them!

20I hate the magic charms they use to trick people into believing their lies. I will rip those charms from their wrists and set free the people they have trapped like birds. 21I will tear the scarves from their heads and rescue my people from their power once and for all. Then they will know that I am the LORD God.

22They do things I would never do. They lie to good people and encourage them to do wrong, and they convince the wicked to keep sinning and ruin their lives. 23I will no longer let these women give false messages and use magic, and I will free my people from their control. Then they will know that I, the LORD, have done these things.

Ezekiel 11:14-13:23CEVOpen in Bible reader

James 4

Warning against friendship with the world

1Why do you fight and argue with each other? Isn't it because you are full of selfish desires that fight to control your body? 2You want something you don't have, and you will do anything to get it. You will even kill! But you still cannot get what you want, and you won't get it by fighting and arguing. You should pray for it. 3Yet even when you do pray, your prayers are not answered, because you pray just for selfish reasons.

4You people aren't faithful to God! Don't you know that if you love the world, you are God's enemies? And if you decide to be a friend of the world, you make yourself an enemy of God. 5Do you doubt the Scriptures that say, “God truly cares about the Spirit he has put in us”? 6In fact, God treats us with even greater kindness, just as the Scriptures say,

“God opposes everyone

who is proud,

but he is kind to everyone

who is humble.”

7Surrender to God! Resist the devil, and he will run from you. 8Come near to God, and he will come near to you. Clean up your lives, you sinners. Purify your hearts, you people who can't make up your mind. 9Be sad and sorry and weep. Stop laughing and start crying. Be gloomy instead of glad. 10Be humble in the Lord's presence, and he will honour you.

Saying cruel things about others

11My friends, don't say cruel things about others! If you do, or if you condemn others, you are condemning God's Law. And if you condemn the Law, you put yourself above the Law and refuse to obey either it 12or God who gave it. God is our judge, and he can save or destroy us. What right do you have to condemn anyone?

Warning against boasting

13You should know better than to say, “Today or tomorrow we will go to the city. We will do business there for a year and make a lot of money!” 14What do you know about tomorrow? How can you be so sure about your life? It is nothing more than mist that appears for only a little while before it disappears. 15You should say, “If the Lord lets us live, we will do these things.” 16Yet you are stupid enough to boast, and it is wrong to be so proud. 17If you don't do what you know is right, you have sinned.

James 4:1-17CEVOpen in Bible reader
Canadian Bible Societyv.4.26.9
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