Reading: Ezekiel 37-39
And it shall come to pass at the same time when Gog shall come against the land of Israel, saith the Lord God, that My fury shall come up in My face. For in My jealousy and in the fire of My wrath have I spoken, Surely in that day there shall be a great shaking in the land of Israel; So that the fishes of the sea, and the fowls of the heaven, and the beasts of the field, and all creeping things that creep upon the earth, and all the men that are upon the face of the earth, shall shake at My presence, and the mountains shall be thrown down, and the steep places shall fall, and every wall shall fall to the ground. And I will call for a sword against him throughout all my mountains, saith the Lord God: every man’s sword shall be against his brother. And I will plead against him with pestilence and with blood; and I will rain upon him, and upon his bands, and upon the many people that are with him, an overflowing rain, and great hailstones, fire, and brimstone. Thus will I magnify Myself, and sanctify Myself; and I will be known in the eyes of many nations, and they shall know that I am the Lord(Ezek. 38:18-23).
In today’s reading, Ezekiel looked beyond Israel’s desperate circumstances into a promised time of hope and restoration. In chapter 37, Ezekiel described how God would once again gather all His people (Ezek. 37:16-21), restore their land, heal their hearts, and place His Spirit within them. And ye shall know that I am the Lord, when I have opened your graves, O My people, and brought you up out of your graves, And shall put My spirit in you, and ye shall live, and I shall place you in your own land: then shall ye know that I the Lord have spoken it, and performed it, saith the Lord (37:13-14). With these words, Ezekiel reaffirmed the glory and power of God. Whatever trials God’s people faced at that moment were transient and irrelevant; God’s eternal plan would continue until it reached its predetermined and perfect end.
In addition to revealing the restoration of God’s people, Eze- kiel went on to explain the way in which God would ultimately stand in their defense against the united evil of the world, vanquishing all those who would seek to do His people harm and establishing His identity with all of creation in a way that would not be able to be denied. Thus will I magnify Myself, and sanctify Myself; and I will be known in the eyes of many nations, and they shall know that I am the Lord.
God has given us His Word so we might come to know Him in faith. He has given us His Word so that we might learn to recognize His will and follow the path down which He leads us. Lastly, He has given us His Word so we might find hope when faced with darkness and love when inundated by hate. God is with us; therefore, victory is assured.
And when the thousand years are expired, Satan shall be loosed out of his prison, And shall go out to deceive the nations which are in the four quarters of the earth, Gog and Magog, to gather them together to battle: the number of whom is as the sand of the sea. And they went up on the breadth of the earth, and compassed the camp of the saints about, and the beloved city: and fire came down from God out of heaven, and devoured them. (Rev. 20:6-9).
Thought for Today: God’s promise lets us know that not only will His light brighten whatever current darkness plagues us, but also that He will continue shining through all the hard times to come.
Christ Revealed: As the One who made possible our resurrection from the grave (Ezek. 37:12). The Lord Himself shall descend from heaven with a shout . . . and the dead in Christ shall rise first (I Thess. 4:13-18; also John 11:25; Rev. 1:18).
Word Studies:37:26 place them = settle and bless them; 38:19 shaking = earth-quake; 39:6 carelessly = securely, undisturbed; 39:14 sever out men = select men; with the passengers = with the already-collected dead.
Pray for Radio: In Memory of Winston A. Grant (9/11/01 Tower 1) • Government Official: Rep. Bob Good (VA) • Country: Brazil (202,656,788) South America • Major Language: Portuguese • Religious Freedom • 65.1% Catholic; 22.2% Protestant; 0.7% Other Christian; 2.2% Spiritist; 1.4% Other; 8% None; 0.4% Unspecified • Prayer Suggestion: Sing praises to God, for He hears your prayers and delivers you (Ps. 40:1-3).
Optional Reading:Revelation 16