Evening Bible reading

November 23rd Ezekiel, 24
1: Again in the ninth year, in the tenth month, in the tenth day of the month, the word of the LORD came unto me, saying, 2: Son of man, write thee the name of the day, even of this same day: the king of Babylon set himself against Jerusalem this same day. 3: And utter a parable unto the rebellious house, and say unto them, Thus saith the Lord GOD; Set on a pot, set it on, and also pour water into it: 4: Gather the pieces thereof into it, even every good piece, the thigh, and the shoulder; fill it with the choice bones. 5: Take the choice of the flock, and burn also the bones under it, and make it boil well, and let them seethe the bones of it therein. 6: Wherefore thus saith the Lord GOD; Woe to the bloody city, to the pot whose scum is therein, and whose scum is not gone out of it! bring it out piece by piece; let no lot fall up on it. 7: For her blood is in the midst of her; she set it upon the top of a rock; she poured it not upon the ground, to cover it with dust; 8: That it might cause fury to come up to take vengeance; I have set her blood upon the top of a rock, that it should not be covered. 9: Therefore thus saith the Lord GOD; Woe to the bloody city! I will even make the pile for fire great. 10: Heap on wood, kindle the fire, consume the flesh, and spice it well, and let the bones be burned. 11: Then set it empty upon the coals thereof, that the brass of it may be hot, and may burn, and that the filthiness of it may be molten in it, that the scum of it may be consumed. 12: She hath wearied herself with lies, and her great scum went not forth out of her: her scum shall be in the fire. 13: In thy filthiness is lewdness: because I have purged thee, and thou wast not purged, thou shalt not be purged from thy filthiness any more, till I have caused my fury to rest upon thee. 14: I the LORD have spoken it: it shall come to pass, and I will do it; I will not go back, neither will I spare, neither will I repent; according to thy ways, and according to thy doings, shall they judge thee, saith the Lord GOD. 15: Also the word of the LORD came unto me, saying, 16: Son of man, behold, I take away from thee the desire of thine eyes with a stroke: yet neither shalt thou mourn nor weep, neither shall thy tears run down. 17: Forbear to cry, make no mourning for the dead, bind the tire of thine head upon thee, and put on thy shoes upon thy feet, and cover not thy lips, and eat not the bread of men. 18: So I spake unto the people in the morning: and at even my wife died; and I did in the morning as I was commanded. 19: And the people said unto me, Wilt thou not tell us what these things are to us, that thou doest so? 20: Then I answered them, The word of the LORD came unto me, saying, 21: Speak unto the house of Israel, Thus saith the Lord GOD; Behold, I will profane my sanctuary, the excellency of your strength, the desire of your eyes, and that which your soul pitieth; and your sons and your daughters whom ye have left shall fall by the sword. 22: And ye shall do as I have done: ye shall not cover your lips, nor eat the bread of men. 23: And your tires shall be upon your heads, and your shoes upon your feet: ye shall not mourn nor weep; but ye shall pine away for your iniquities, and mourn one toward another. 24: Thus Ezekiel is unto you a sign: according to all that he hath done shall ye do: and when this cometh, ye shall know that I am the Lord GOD. 25: Also, thou son of man, shall it not be in the day when I take from them their strength, the joy of their glory, the desire of their eyes, and that whereupon they set their minds, their sons and their daughters, 26: That he that escapeth in that day shall come unto thee, to cause thee to hear it with thine ears? 27: In that day shall thy mouth be opened to him which is escaped, and thou shalt speak, and be no more dumb: and thou shalt be a sign unto them; and they shall know that I am the LORD.

Ezekiel, 25
1: The word of the LORD came again unto me, saying, 2: Son of man, set thy face against the Ammonites, and prophesy against them; 3: And say unto the Ammonites, Hear the word of the Lord GOD; Thus saith the Lord GOD; Because thou saidst, Aha, against my sanctuary, when it was profaned; and against the land of Israel, when it was desolate; and against the house of Judah, when they went into captivity; 4: Behold, therefore I will deliver thee to the men of the east for a possession, and they shall set their palaces in thee, and make their dwellings in thee: they shall eat thy fruit, and they shall drink thy milk. 5: And I will make Rabbah a stable for camels, and the Ammonites a couchingplace for flocks: and ye shall know that I am the LORD. 6: For thus saith the Lord GOD; Because thou hast clapped thine hands, and stamped with the feet, and rejoiced in heart with all thy despite against the land of Israel; 7: Behold, therefore I will stretch out mine hand upon thee, and will deliver thee for a spoil to the heathen; and I will cut thee off from the people, and I will cause thee to perish out of the countries: I will destroy thee; and thou shalt know that I am the LORD. 8: Thus saith the Lord GOD; Because that Moab and Seir do say, Behold, the house of Judah is like unto all the heathen; 9: Therefore, behold, I will open the side of Moab from the cities, from his cities which are on his frontiers, the glory of the country, Beth-jeshimoth, Baal-meon, and Kiriathaim, 10: Unto the men of the east with the Ammonites, and will give them in possession, that the Ammonites may not be remembered among the nations. 11: And I will execute judgments upon Moab; and they shall know that I am the LORD. 12: Thus saith the Lord GOD; Because that Edom hath dealt against the house of Judah by taking vengeance, and hath greatly offended, and revenged himself upon them; 13: Therefore thus saith the Lord GOD; I will also stretch out mine hand upon Edom, and will cut off man and beast from it; and I will make it desolate from Teman; and they of Dedan shall fall by the sword. 14: And I will lay my vengeance upon Edom by the hand of my people Israel: and they shall do in Edom according to mine anger and according to my fury; and they shall know my vengeance, saith the Lord GOD. 15: Thus saith the Lord GOD; Because the Philistines have dealt by revenge, and have taken vengeance with a despiteful heart, to destroy it for the old hatred; 16: Therefore thus saith the Lord GOD; Behold, I will stretch out mine hand upon the Philistines, and I will cut off the Cherethims, and destroy the remnant of the sea coast. 17: And I will execute great vengeance upon them with furious rebukes; and they shall know that I am the LORD, when I shall lay my vengeance upon them.

Ezekiel receives another prophecy from the Lord and he gives the date again. The Lord instructs him to write the name of the date when the king of Babylon camped around Jerusalem. He is to perform a living parable. (Parables come to a people who are in rejection of God) He is to set a pot and pour water into it. And he is to gather up pieces of meat. He is to take the best of the sheep and burn its bones under it to boil the bones inside it. Then the Lord said Woe to the bloody city in which the scum is boiling. The blood is to be set on the top of a rock and to be uncovered. Then Ezekiel is to heap on wood to burn the bones. Then the pot is to be allowed to burn itself. Then the Lord said to Ezekiel you are not to weep for the city, nor for the dead. He is not to put shoes on or cover his lips or eat food. In the morning he said this and in the evening his wife died. This was to be a sign to Israel of what will happen to them in the future. Next the Lord said to Ezekiel set your face against the Ammonites and prophecy against them, because they delighted in the profanity of the sanctuary and against the land of Israel and Judah when they were taken away captives. The Babylonians will come into your land and eat everything you have. This is because you clapped your hands and danced in joy against the land of Israel. the Lords judgment will come also on the Philistines because they were despiteful to Israel. All these people will know that God is the Lord.

Steve