Tues.’s Devo - Judgement on Israel’s Enemies

Read: Ezekiel 39:1-40:27; James 2:18-3:18; Psalm 118:1-18; Proverbs 28:2 God gave Ezekiel another prophecy about Gog and Magog which are modern day Russia and Iran - the descendants of of Japheth. Their armies would die on the mountain and be fed to the vultures and wild animals. God would rain down fire on them and they would know that God is the Lord. *** Israel would also know that God is their Lord and that he was not going to let any nation shame them anymore. They would go and pick up the weapons of their enemies and use them for fuel for their fires. They would plunder the ones who meant to plunder them. They would bury their bodies in a mass graveyard and callout the Valley of Gog’s Hordes. It will take 7 months to bury the bodies and cleanse the land. They will set up a town near the valley and call it Hamonah which means “horde”. Its purpose will be to gather any skeleton they find afterwards and bring it there. *** God told Ezekiel to call all the birds and wild animals and tell them to gather for a great sacrificial feast. They will come from everywhere to eat the flesh and drink the blood of their enemies. What happened in Ezekiel’s day is a picture of what will happen in the final days. Revelation calls this the Feast of Leviathan. *** God had sent his people into exile because of their sin against him, but he would then turn and destroy their enemies. For his own reputation, God would bring Israel home to live in peace in their own land. They would have accepted responsibility for their past sins and God will then display his holiness among them for all the nations to see. *** During the 25th year of their 70 year captivity, the Lord took him to the land of Israel and set him down on a very high mountain. He told him to pay close attention so he could go back and tell the people everything he saw. *** He saw a wall completely surrounding the Temple area. The man with him had a measuring rod that was ten and a half feet long. He used it to measure the wall which was as thick as the length of the rod and as tall. The man took Ezekiel to the eastern gateway and they climbed the steps to measure the gateway. It was the length of the rod. There were guaed alcoves on each side built into the wall. The alcoves were a rod square. Ever 5 cubits (8 3/4’) there was another alcove. This led to the entry room with was 14 feet across. There were three guard alcoves on each side of the passage way. *** The gateway was 87.5 feet long with windows between the guard alcoves. On the walls were carved palm trees. *** The outer courtyard of the Temple had a stone pavement along the walls and thirty rooms built against the walls, opening onto the pavement. The north wall was just like the one on the east. Seven steps lead from both gateways to the level of the inner courtyard. The distance between the two entrances was 175 feet. *** In James, he explains that faith and works go together. You can’t have one without the other. Abraham showed his faith by obeying what God told him to do. His faith was counted to him as righteousness and he was even called a friend of God. *** Rahab was another who showed her faith by hiding the men who came to spy out Jericho. Her actions saved her life physically and spiritually. *** James goes back to talking about how our words condemn us or our words save us. Our words determine the course of our lives. *** God’s wisdom leads us to live an honorable life of doing good works with humility. It is pure, loving, gentle and willing to yield to others. It is full of mercy and the fruit of good deeds. It shows no favoritism and is always sincere. Those who are peacemakers will plant seeds of peace and reap a harvest of righteousness. *** Lord, may we plant good seed and watch our words, that they honor you and mankind. May we honor the Temple of the Holy Spirit within our hearts.