Bible Readings for November 21, 2019

Today our passages are Ezekiel 42:1– 43:27; James 5:1-20; Psalm 119:1-16; and Proverbs 28:6-7.  The readings are from the Contemporary English Version. If you find these readings helpful, please consider sending an offering directly to Cove Presbyterian Church, 3404 Main Street, Weirton, West Virginia or through PayPal by using the link below.

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Ezekiel 42-43:27 (Contemporary English Version)

Ezekiel 42

The Sacred Rooms for the Priests

 ^1-2After the man and I left the temple and walked back to the outer courtyard, he showed me a set of rooms on the north side of the west building. ^a] This set of rooms was one hundred seventy feet long and eighty-five feet wide. ³On one side of them was the thirty-four feet of open space that ran alongside the temple, ^b] and on the other side was the sidewalk that circled the outer courtyard. ^c] The rooms were arranged in three levels ⁴with doors that opened toward the north, and in front of them was a walkway seventeen feet wide and one hundred seventy feet long. ^d]5The rooms on the top level were narrower than those on the middle level, and the rooms on the middle level were narrower than those on the bottom level. ⁶The rooms on the bottom level supported those on the two upper levels, and so these rooms did not have columns like other buildings in the courtyard. ^7-8To the north was a privacy wall eighty-five feet long, ^e] 9-10and at the east end of this wall was the door leading from the courtyard to these rooms. There was also a set of rooms on the south ^f] side of the west building. ¹¹These rooms were exactly like those on the north side, and they also had a walkway in front of them. ¹²The door to these rooms was at the east end of the wall that stood in front of them. ¹³The man then said to me:   These rooms on the north and south sides of the temple are the sacred rooms where the LORD's priests will eat the most holy offerings. These offerings include the grain sacrifices, the sacrifices for sin, and the sacrifices to make things right. ¹⁴When the priests are ready to leave the temple, they must go through these rooms before they return to the outer courtyard. They must leave their sacred clothes in these rooms and put on regular clothes before going anywhere near other people.  

The Size of the Temple Area

 ¹⁵After the man had finished measuring the buildings inside the temple area, he took me back through the east gate and measured the wall around this area. ¹⁶He used his measuring stick to measure the east side of this wall; it was eight hundred forty feet long. ^17-19Then he measured the north side, the south side, and the west side of the wall, and they were each eight hundred forty feet long, ²⁰and so the temple area was a perfect square. The wall around this area separated what was sacred from what was ordinary.   

Ezekiel 43

The LORD's Glory Returns to the Temple

 ¹The man took me back to the east gate of the temple, ²where I saw the brightness of the glory of Israel's God coming from the east. The sound I heard was as loud as ocean waves, and everything around was shining with the dazzling brightness of his glory. ³This vision was like the one I had seen when God came to destroy Jerusalem and like the one I had seen near the Chebar River.   I immediately bowed with my face to the ground, ⁴and the LORD's glory came through the east gate and into the temple. ^g] 5The LORD's Spirit lifted me to my feet and carried me to the inner courtyard, where I saw that the LORD's glory had filled the temple. ⁶The man was standing beside me, and I heard the LORD ^h] say from inside the temple: ⁷Ezekiel, son of man, this temple is my throne on earth. I will live here among the people of Israel forever. They and their kings will never again disgrace me by worshiping idols at local shrines or by setting up memorials to their dead kings. ^i]8Israel's kings built their palaces so close to my holy temple that only a wall separated them from me. Then these kings disgraced me with their evil ways, and in my fierce anger I destroyed them. ⁹But if the people and their kings stop worshiping other gods and tear down those memorials, I will live among them forever. ¹⁰The people of Israel must suffer shame for sinning against me, so tell them about my holy temple. Let them think about it, ¹¹then if they are truly sorry, describe for them the design and shape of the temple, the gates, the measurements, and how the buildings are arranged. Explain the regulations about worshiping there, then write down these things, so they can study and obey them.
    ¹²The temple area on my holy mountain must be kept sacred! This is the most important law about the temple.   

The Altar

 ¹³According to the official standards, the altar in the temple had the following measurements: Around the bottom of the altar was a gutter twenty inches wide and twenty inches deep, with a ten inch ledge on the outer rim. ^14-17The altar rested on a base and had three sections, each one of them square. The bottom section was twenty-seven feet on each side and three feet high. The middle section was twenty-four feet on each side and seven feet high, and it had a ten inch rim around its outer edge. The top section, which was twenty feet on each side and seven feet high, was the place where sacrifices were burned, and the four corners of the top section looked like the horns of a bull. The steps leading up to the altar were on the east side.   

The Dedication of the Altar

 ¹⁸The LORD God said:   Ezekiel, son of man, after the altar is built, it must be dedicated by offering sacrifices on it and by splattering it with blood. Here is what you must do: ¹⁹The priests of the Levi tribe from the family of Zadok the priest are the only ones who may serve in my temple--this is my law. So give them a young bull to slaughter as a sacrifice for sin. ²⁰Take some of the animal's blood and smear it on the four corners of the altar, some on the corners of the middle section, and some more on the rim around its edge. That will purify the altar and make it fit for offering sacrifices to me. ²¹Then take the body of the bull outside the temple area and burn it at the special place.
    ²²The next day, a goat ^j] that has nothing wrong with it must be offered as a sacrifice for sin. Purify the altar with its blood, just as you did with the blood of the bull. ²³Then choose a young bull and a young ram that have nothing wrong with them, ²⁴and bring them to my temple. The priests will sprinkle salt on them ^k] and offer them as sacrifices to please me. ^l] 25Each day for the next seven days, you must offer a goat and a bull and a ram as sacrifices for sin. These animals must have nothing wrong with them. ²⁶The priests will purify the altar during those days, so that it will be acceptable to me and ready to use. ²⁷From then on, the priests will use this altar to offer sacrifices to please me and sacrifices to ask my blessing. ^m] Then I will be pleased with the people of Israel. I, the LORD God, have spoken.

Footnotes:

1. Ezekiel 42:1 he showed me. . . the west building: One possible meaning for the difficult Hebrew text.
2. Ezekiel 42:3 the thirty-four feet of open space. . . the temple: See 41.10.
3. Ezekiel 42:3 the sidewalk that circled the outer courtyard: See 40.17.
4. Ezekiel 42:4 one hundred seventy feet long: Two ancient translations; Hebrew "twenty inches long."
5. Ezekiel 42:7 long: One possible meaning for the difficult Hebrew text of verses 5-8.
6. Ezekiel 42:9 south: One ancient translation; Hebrew "east."
7. Ezekiel 43:4 the LORD's glory. . . temple: This was the same gate the LORD's glory went through when it left Jerusalem (see 10.19 and 11.22,23).
8. Ezekiel 43:6 the LORD: Hebrew "a voice."
9. Ezekiel 43:7 by setting up memorials to their dead kings: One possible meaning for the difficult Hebrew text.
10. Ezekiel 43:22 goat: Hebrew "male goat."
11. Ezekiel 43:24 The priests will sprinkle salt on them: See Leviticus 2.13.
12. Ezekiel 43:24 sacrifices to please me: See the note at 40.38,39.
13. Ezekiel 43:27 sacrifices to ask my blessing: These sacrifices have traditionally been called "peace offerings" or "offerings of well-being." A main purpose was to ask for the LORD's blessing, and so in the CEV they are sometimes called "sacrifices to ask the LORD's blessing."

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James 5:1-20 (Contemporary English Version)

James 5

Warning to the Rich

 ¹You rich people should cry and weep! Terrible things are going to happen to you. ²Your treasures have already rotted, and moths have eaten your clothes. ³Your money has rusted, and the rust will be evidence against you, as it burns your body like fire. Yet you keep on storing up wealth in these last days. ⁴You refused to pay the people who worked in your fields, and now their unpaid wages are shouting out against you. The Lord All-Powerful has surely heard the cries of the workers who harvested your crops.    ⁵While here on earth, you have thought only of filling your own stomachs and having a good time. But now you are like fat cattle on their way to be butchered. ⁶You have condemned and murdered innocent people, who couldn't even fight back.   

Be Patient and Kind

 ⁷My friends, be patient until the Lord returns. Think of farmers who wait patiently for the spring and summer rains to make their valuable crops grow. ⁸Be patient like those farmers and don't give up. The Lord will soon be here! ⁹Don't grumble about each other or you will be judged, and the judge is right outside the door.    ¹⁰My friends, follow the example of the prophets who spoke for the Lord. They were patient, even when they had to suffer. ¹¹In fact, we praise the ones who endured the most. You remember how patient Job was and how the Lord finally helped him. The Lord did this because he is so merciful and kind.
    ¹²My friends, above all else, don't take an oath. You must not swear by heaven or by earth or by anything else. "Yes" or "No" is all you need to say. If you say anything more, you will be condemned.
    ¹³If you are having trouble, you should pray. And if you are feeling good, you should sing praises. ¹⁴If you are sick, ask the church leaders ^a] to come and pray for you. Ask them to put olive oil ^b] on you in the name of the Lord. ¹⁵If you have faith when you pray for sick people, they will get well. The Lord will heal them, and if they have sinned, he will forgive them. ¹⁶If you have sinned, you should tell each other what you have done. Then you can pray for one another and be healed. The prayer of an innocent person is powerful, and it can help a lot. ¹⁷Elijah was just as human as we are, and for three and a half years his prayers kept the rain from falling. ¹⁸But when he did pray for rain, it fell from the skies and made the crops grow.
    ¹⁹My friends, if any followers have wandered away from the truth, you should try to lead them back. ²⁰If you turn sinners from the wrong way, you will save them from death, and many of their sins will be forgiven. 

Footnotes:

1. James 5:14 church leaders: Or "elders" or "presbyters" or "priests."
2. James 5:14 olive oil: The Jewish people used olive oil for healing.

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Psalm 119:1-16 (Contemporary English Version)

Psalm 119

In Praise of the Law of the LORD

 ¹Our LORD, you bless everyone   who lives right
   and obeys your Law.
    ²You bless all of those
   who follow your commands
   from deep in their hearts
    ³and who never do wrong
   or turn from you.
    ⁴You have ordered us always
   to obey your teachings;
    ⁵I don't ever want to stray
   from your laws.
    ⁶Thinking about your commands
   will keep me from doing
   some foolish thing.
    ⁷I will do right and praise you
   by learning to respect
   your perfect laws.
    ⁸I will obey all of them!
   Don't turn your back on me.
    ⁹Young people can live
   a clean life
   by obeying your word.
    ¹⁰I worship you
   with all my heart.
   Don't let me walk away
   from your commands.
    ¹¹I treasure your word
   above all else;
   it keeps me from sinning
   against you.
    ¹²I praise you, LORD!
   Teach me your laws.
    ¹³With my own mouth,
   I tell others the laws
   that you have spoken.
    ¹⁴Obeying your instructions
   brings as much happiness
   as being rich.
    ¹⁵I will study your teachings
   and follow your footsteps.
    ¹⁶I will take pleasure
   in your laws
   and remember your words.

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Proverbs 28:6-7 (Contemporary English Version)

⁶It's better to be poor
   and live right,
   than to be rich
   and dishonest.
    ⁷It makes good sense
   to obey the Law of God,
   but you disgrace your parents
   if you make friends
   with worthless nobodies.

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Verse of the Day

“I never stop thanking my God for being kind enough to give you Christ Jesus, who helps you speak and understand so well.” - 1 Corinthians 1:4-5

Today's passage is from the Contemporary English Version.

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Thought for the Day

American baseball outfielder and first baseman, Stan Musial wrote, “The first principle of contract negotiations is don't remind them of what you did in the past - tell them what you're going to do in the future.”

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A Joke for Today

One student fell into a cycle of classes, studying, working and sleeping.

He didn't realize how long he had neglected writing home until he received the following note:
"Dear Son, Your mother and I enjoyed your last letter. Of course, we were much younger then, and more impressionable. Love, Dad."

Bible Readings for November 20, 2019

Today our passages are Ezekiel 40:28–41:26; James 4:1-17; Psalm 118:19-29; and Proverbs 28:3-5.  The readings are from the Contemporary English Version. If you find these readings helpful, please consider sending an offering directly to Cove Presbyterian Church, 3404 Main Street, Weirton, West Virginia or through PayPal by using the link below.

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Ezekiel 40:28-41:26 (Contemporary English Version)

The Gates Leading to the Inner Courtyard

 ²⁸We then went into the inner courtyard, through the gate on the south side of the temple. The man measured the gate, and it was the same size as the gates in the outer wall. ^29-30In fact, everything along the passageway was also the same size, including the guardrooms, the walls separating them, the entrance room at the far end, and the windows. This gate, like the others, was eighty-five feet long and forty-two feet wide. ³¹The entrance room of this gate faced the outer courtyard, and carvings of palm trees decorated the walls of the passageway. Eight steps led up to this gate.    ³²Next, we went through the east gate to the inner courtyard. The man measured this gate, and it was the same size as the others. ³³The guardrooms, the walls separating them, and its entrance room had the same measurements as the other gates. The guardrooms and the entrance room had windows, and the gate was eighty-five feet long and forty-two feet wide. ³⁴The entrance room faced the outer courtyard, and the walls in the passageway were decorated with carvings of palm trees. Eight steps also led up to this gate.
    ³⁵Then the man took me to the north gate. He measured it, and it was the same size as the others, ³⁶including the guardrooms, the walls separating them, and the entrance room. There were also windows in this gate. It was eighty-five feet long and forty-two feet wide, ³⁷and like the other inner gates, its entrance room faced the outer courtyard, and its walls were decorated with carvings of palm trees. Eight steps also led up to this gate.   

The Rooms for Sacrificing Animals

 ^38-39Inside the entrance room of the north gate, I saw four tables, two on each side of the room, where the animals to be sacrificed were killed. Just outside ^a] this room was a small building used for washing the animals before they were offered as sacrifices to please the LORD ^b] or sacrifices for sin ^c] or sacrifices to make things right. ^d]40Four more tables were in the outer courtyard, two on each side of the steps leading into the entrance room. ⁴¹So there was a total of eight tables, four inside and four outside, where the animals were killed, ^42-43and where the meat was placed until it was sacrificed on the altar. ^e] Next to the tables in the entrance room were four stone tables twenty inches high and thirty inches square; the equipment used for killing the animals was kept on top of these tables. All around the walls of this room was a three inch shelf. ^f]

The Rooms Belonging to the Priests

 ⁴⁴The man then took me to the inner courtyard, where I saw two buildings, one beside the inner gate on the north and the other beside the inner gate on the south. ^g] 45He said, "The building beside the north gate belongs to the priests who serve in the temple, ⁴⁶and the building beside the south gate belongs to those who serve at the altar. All of them are descendants of Zadok and are the only Levites allowed to serve as the LORD's priests."

The Inner Courtyard and the Temple

 ⁴⁷Now the man measured the inner courtyard; it was one hundred seventy feet square. I also saw an altar in front of the temple.    ⁴⁸We walked to the porch of the temple, and the man measured the doorway of the porch: It was twenty-four feet long, ^h] eight feet wide, and the distance from the doorway to the wall on either side was five feet. ⁴⁹The porch itself was thirty-four feet by twenty ^i] feet, with steps ^j] leading up to it. There was a column on each side of these steps.

Ezekiel 41

 ¹Next we went into the main room of the temple. The man measured the doorway of this room: It was ten feet wide, ^k]2seventeen feet long, and the distance from the doorway to the wall on either side was eight feet. The main room itself was sixty-eight feet by thirty-four feet. ^3-4Then the man walked to the far end of the temple's main room and said, "Beyond this doorway is the most holy place." He first measured the doorway: It was three feet wide, ten feet long, and the distance from the doorway to the wall on either side was twelve feet. Then he measured the most holy place, and it was thirty-four feet square.   

The Storage Rooms of the Temple

 ⁵The man measured the wall of the temple, and it was ten feet thick. Storage rooms seven feet wide were built against the outside of the wall. ⁶There were three levels of rooms, with thirty rooms on each level, and they rested on ledges that were attached to the temple walls, so that nothing was built into the walls. ⁷The walls of the temple were thicker at the bottom than at the top, which meant that the storage rooms on the top level were wider than those on the bottom level. ^l] Steps led from the bottom level, through the middle level, and into the top level. ⁸The temple rested on a stone base ten feet high, which also served as the foundation for the storage rooms.⁹The outside walls of the storage rooms were eight feet thick; there was nothing between these walls ¹⁰and the nearest buildings thirty-four feet away. ¹¹One door led into the storage rooms on the north side of the temple, and another door led to those on the south side. The stone base extended eight feet beyond the outside wall of the storage rooms.   

The West Building and the Measurements of the Temple

 ¹²I noticed another building: It faced the west end of the temple and was one hundred seventeen feet wide, one hundred fifty feet long, and had walls over eight feet thick.    ¹³The man measured the length of the temple, and it was one hundred seventy feet. He then measured from the back wall of the temple, across the open space behind the temple, to the back wall of the west building; it was one hundred seventy feet. ¹⁴The distance across the front of the temple, including the open space on either side, was also one hundred seventy feet.
    ¹⁵Finally, the man measured the length of the west building, including the side rooms on each end, and it was also one hundred seventy feet.
   The inside walls of the temple's porch and main room ^m]

The Inside of the Temple

 ¹⁶were paneled with wood all the way from the floor to the windows, while the doorways, the small windows, and the three side rooms were trimmed in wood. ^n] 17The paneling stopped just above the doorway. These walls were decorated ^o] 18-20with carvings of winged creatures and had a carving of a palm tree between the creatures. Each winged creature had two faces: A human face looking at the palm tree on one side, and a lion's face looking at the palm tree on the other side. These designs were carved into the paneling all the way around the two rooms. ²¹The doorframe to the temple's main room was in the shape of a rectangle.   In front of the doorway to the most holy place was something that looked like

The Wooden Altar

 ²²a wooden altar. It was five feet high and four feet square, ^p] and its corners, its base, ^q] and its sides were made of wood. The man said, "This is a reminder that the LORD is constantly watching over his temple."

The Doors in the Temple

 ²³Both the doorway to the main room of the temple and the doorway to the most holy place had two doors, ²⁴and each door had two sections that could fold open. ²⁵The doors to the main room were decorated with carvings of winged creatures and palm trees just like those on the walls, and there was a wooden covering over the porch just outside these doors. ²⁶The walls on each side of this porch had small windows and were also decorated with carvings of palm trees.  

Footnotes:

1. Ezekiel 40:38 Just outside: Or "Inside."
2. Ezekiel 40:38 sacrifices to please the LORD: These sacrifices have traditionally been called "whole burnt offerings" because the whole animal was burned on the altar. A main purpose of such sacrifices was to please the LORD with the smell of the sacrifice, and so in the CEV they are often called "sacrifices to please the LORD."
3. Ezekiel 40:38 sacrifices for sin: See Leviticus 4.1,2; 6.24-30.
4. Ezekiel 40:38 sacrifices to make things right: See Leviticus 5.14-19; 7.1-10.
5. Ezekiel 40:42 where the meat. . . altar: One possible meaning for the difficult Hebrew text.
6. Ezekiel 40:42 was a three inch shelf: Or "were three inch pegs."
7. Ezekiel 40:44 south: One possible meaning for the difficult Hebrew text of verse 44.
8. Ezekiel 40:48 twenty-four feet long: One ancient translation; these words are not in the Hebrew text of this verse.
9. Ezekiel 40:49 twenty: One ancient translation; Hebrew "eighteen."
10. Ezekiel 40:49 steps: Hebrew; one ancient translation "ten steps."
11. Ezekiel 41:1 It was ten feet wide: One possible meaning for the difficult Hebrew text.
12. Ezekiel 41:7 which meant that. . . on the bottom level: One possible meaning for the difficult Hebrew text.
13. Ezekiel 41:15 The inside walls of the temple's porch and main room: One possible meaning for the difficult Hebrew text.
14. Ezekiel 41:16 were trimmed in wood: One possible meaning for the difficult Hebrew text.
15. Ezekiel 41:17 decorated: One possible meaning for the difficult Hebrew text of verse 17.
16. Ezekiel 41:22 four feet square: One ancient translation; Hebrew "four feet wide."
17. Ezekiel 41:22 base: One ancient translation; Hebrew "length."

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James 4:1-17 (Contemporary English Version)

James 4

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"? ^a] 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 honor 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 Bragging

 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 brag, and it is wrong to be so proud. ¹⁷If you don't do what you know is right, you have sinned.  

Footnotes:

1. James 4:5 God truly cares about the Spirit he has put in us: One possible meaning for the difficult Greek text; other translations are possible, such as, "the Spirit that God put in us truly cares."

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Psalm 118:19-29 (Contemporary English Version)

¹⁹Open the gates of justice!
   I will enter and tell the LORD
   how thankful I am.
    ²⁰Here is the gate of the LORD!
   Everyone who does right
   may enter this gate.
    ²¹I praise the LORD
   for answering my prayers
   and saving me.
    ²²The stone that the builders
   tossed aside
   has now become
   the most important stone.
    ²³The LORD has done this,
   and it is amazing to us.
    ²⁴This day belongs to the LORD!
   Let's celebrate
   and be glad today.
    ²⁵We'll ask the LORD to save us!
   We'll sincerely ask the LORD
   to let us win.
    ²⁶God bless the one who comes
   in the name of the LORD!
   We praise you from here
   in the house of the LORD.
    ²⁷The LORD is our God,
   and he has given us light!
   Start the celebration!
   March with palm branches
   all the way to the altar. ^a] 28The LORD is my God!
   I will praise him and tell him
   how thankful I am.
    ²⁹Tell the LORD
   how thankful you are,
   because he is kind
   and always merciful. 

Footnotes:

1. Psalm 118:27 Start. . . altar: One possible meaning for the difficult Hebrew text.

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Proverbs 28:3-5 (Contemporary English Version)

³When someone poor takes over
   and mistreats the poor,
   it's like a heavy rain
   destroying the crops.
    ⁴Lawbreakers praise criminals,
   but law-abiding citizens
   always oppose them.
    ⁵Criminals don't know
   what justice means,
   but all who respect the LORD
   understand it completely.

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Verse of the Day

“[Worship and Obey the LORD]Sing joyful songs to the LORD! Praise the mighty rock where we are safe. Come to worship him with thankful hearts and songs of praise.” - Psalm 95:1-2

Today's passage is from the Contemporary English Version.

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Thought for the Day

American Presbyterian minister who achieved fame as a socialist, pacifist, and six-time presidential candidate for the Socialist Party of America, Norman Thomas wrote, “To us Americans much has been given; of us much is required. With all our faults and mistakes, it is our strength in support of the freedom our forefathers loved which has saved mankind from subjection to totalitarian power.”

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A Joke for Today

The newlywed wife said to her husband when he returned from work, "I have great news for you. Pretty soon, we're going to be three in this house instead of two."

Her husband ran to her with a smile on his face and delight in his eyes.

He was glowing of happiness and kissing his wife when she said, "I'm glad that you feel this way since tomorrow morning, my mother moves in with us."

Bible Readings for November 19, 2019

Today our passages are Ezekiel 39:1– 40:27; James 2:18–3:18; Psalm 118:1-18; and Proverbs 28:2.  The readings are from the Contemporary English Version. If you find these readings helpful, please consider sending an offering directly to Cove Presbyterian Church, 3404 Main Street, Weirton, West Virginia or through PayPal by using the link below.

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Ezekiel 39-40:27 (Contemporary English Version)

Ezekiel 39

Gog Is Defeated

The LORD said:

 ¹Ezekiel, son of man, condemn Gog and tell him:   You are the ruler of Meshech and Tubal, but I, the LORD, am your enemy! ²I will turn you around and drag you from the north until you reach the mountains of Israel. ³I will knock the bow out of your left hand and the arrows out of your right hand, ⁴and you and your army will die on those mountains. Then birds and wild animals will eat the flesh ⁵of your dead bodies left lying in open fields. I, the LORD, have spoken.
    ⁶I will set fire to the land of Magog and to those nations along the seacoast that think they are so secure, and they will know that I am the LORD.
    ⁷My people Israel will know me, and they will no longer disgrace my holy name. Everyone on earth will know that I am the holy LORD God of Israel. ⁸The day is coming when these things will happen, just as I have promised.
    ⁹When that day comes, the people in the towns of Israel will collect the weapons of their dead enemies. They will use these shields, bows and arrows, spears, and clubs as firewood, and there will be enough to last for seven years. ¹⁰They will burn these weapons instead of gathering sticks or chopping down trees. That's how the Israelites will take revenge on those who robbed and abused them. I, the LORD, have spoken.   

The Burial of Gog

The LORD said:

 ¹¹After Gog has been destroyed, I will bury him and his army in Israel, in Travelers' ^a] Valley, east of the Dead Sea. That graveyard will be so large that it will block the way of anyone who tries to walk through the valley, ^b] which will then be known as "The Valley of Gog's Army." ^c] 12The Israelites will spend seven months burying dead bodies and cleaning up their land. ¹³Everyone will help with the burial, and they will be honored for this on the day the brightness of my glory is seen. ¹⁴After those seven months, the people will appoint a group of men to look for any dead bodies left unburied. This must be done for seven months to make sure that the land is no longer unclean. ¹⁵Whenever they find a human bone, they will set up a marker next to it. Then the gravediggers will bury it in "The Valley of Gog's Army" ¹⁶near the town of "Gog's Army." After that, the land will be pure again. ¹⁷Ezekiel, son of man, I am going to hold a feast on Israel's mountains and offer sacrifices there. So invite all the birds and wild animals to come from every direction and eat the meat of sacrifices and drink the blood. The birds and animals ¹⁸will feast on the bodies of warriors and foreign rulers that I will sacrifice like sheep, goats, and bulls. ¹⁹I want the birds and animals to eat until they are full and drink until they are drunk. ²⁰They will come to my table and stuff themselves with the flesh of horses and warriors of every kind. I, the LORD God, have spoken.   

Israel Will Be Restored

The LORD said:

 ²¹When I punish the nations of the earth, they will see the brightness of my glory. ²²The people of Israel will know from then on that I am the LORD their God. ²³Foreign nations will realize that the Israelites were forced to leave their own land because they sinned against me. I turned my back on my people and let enemies attack and kill them. ²⁴Their lives were wicked and corrupt, and they deserved to be punished.    ²⁵Now I will show mercy to the people of Israel and bring them back from the nations where they are living. They are Jacob's descendants, so I will bless them and show that I am holy. ²⁶They will live safely in their own land, but will be ashamed when they remember their evil ways and how they disgraced me. ^d] 27Foreign nations will watch as I take the Israelites from enemy lands and bring them back home, and those nations will see that I am holy. ²⁸My people will realize that I, the LORD their God, sent them away as prisoners and now will bring them back to their own land. ²⁹Never again will I turn my back on the people of Israel, and my Spirit will live in them. I, the LORD, have spoken.
   

Ezekiel 40

Ezekiel Sees the Future Temple in Jerusalem

 ^1-2Twenty-five years after King Jehoiachin and the rest of us had been led away as prisoners to Babylonia, and fourteen years after the Babylonians had captured Jerusalem, the LORD's power took control of me on the tenth day of the first month. ^e] The LORD showed me some visions in which I was carried to the top of a high mountain in Jerusalem. I looked to the south and saw what looked like a city full of buildings. ³In my vision the LORD took me closer, and I saw a man who was sparkling like polished bronze. He was standing near one of the gates and was holding a tape measure in one hand and a measuring stick in the other. ⁴The man said, "Ezekiel, son of man, pay close attention to everything I'm going to show you--that's why you've been brought here. Listen carefully, because you must tell the people of Israel what you see."

The East Gate

 ⁵The first thing I saw was an outer wall that completely surrounded the temple area. The man took his measuring stick, which was ten feet long, and measured the wall; it was ten feet high and ten feet thick. ^6-7Then he went to the east gate, where he walked up steps that led to a long passageway. On each side of this passageway were three guardrooms, which were ten feet square, and they were separated by walls over eight feet thick. The man measured the distance between the opening of the gate and the first guardroom, and it was ten feet, the thickness of the outer wall.   At the far end of this passageway, I saw an entrance room that faced the courtyard of the temple itself. There was also a distance of ten feet between the last guardroom and the entrance room ^8-9at the end of the passageway. The man measured this room: It was thirteen feet from the doorway to the opposite wall, and the distance from the doorway to the wall on either side was three feet. ¹⁰The three guardrooms on each side of the passageway were the same size, and the walls that separated them were the same thickness.
    ¹¹Next, the man measured the width of the passageway, and it was twenty-two feet, but the two doors of the gate were only sixteen feet wide. ^f] 12In front of the guardrooms, which were ten feet square, was a railing about twenty inches high and twenty inches thick. ¹³The man measured the distance from the back wall ^g] of one of these rooms to the same spot in the room directly across the passageway, and it was forty-two feet. ¹⁴He measured the entrance room at the far end of the passageway, and it was thirty-four feet wide. ^h] 15Finally, he measured the total length of the passageway, from the outer wall to the entrance room, and it was eighty-five feet. ¹⁶The three walls in the guardrooms had small windows in them, just like the ones in the entrance room. ^i] The walls along the passageway were decorated with carvings of palm trees.

The Outer Courtyard

 ¹⁷The man then led me through the passageway and into the outer courtyard of the temple, where I saw thirty rooms built around the outside of the courtyard. ^j] These side rooms were built against the outer wall, and in front of them was a sidewalk that circled the courtyard. ¹⁸This was known as the lower sidewalk, and it was eighty-five feet wide. ¹⁹I saw the gates that led to the inner courtyard of the temple and noticed that they were higher than those leading to the outer courtyard. The man measured the distance between the outer and inner gates, and it was one hundred seventy feet. ^k]

The North Gate

 ²⁰Next, the man measured the north gate that led to the outer courtyard. ²¹This gate also had three guardrooms on each side of a passageway. The measurements of these rooms, the walls between them, and the entrance room at the far end of the passageway were exactly the same as those of the east gate. The north gate was also eighty-five feet long and forty-two feet wide, ²²and the windows, the entrance room, and the carvings of palm trees were just like those in the east gate. The entrance room also faced the courtyard of the temple and had seven steps leading up to it. ²³Directly across the outer courtyard was a gate that led to the inner courtyard, just as there was for the east gate. The man measured the distance between the outer and inner gate, and it was one hundred seventy feet.   

The South Gate

 ²⁴The man then took me to the south gate. He measured the walls and the entrance room of this gate, and the measurements were exactly the same as those of the other two gates. ²⁵There were windows in the guardrooms of this gate and in the entrance room, just like the others, and this gate was also eighty-five feet long and forty-two feet wide. ²⁶Seven steps led up to the gate; the entrance room was at the far end of the passageway and faced the courtyard of the temple. Carvings of palm trees decorated the walls along the passageway. ²⁷And directly across the outer courtyard was a gate on the south side of the inner courtyard. The man measured the distance between the outer and inner gate, and it was also one hundred seventy feet.  

Footnotes:

1. Ezekiel 39:11 Travelers': Hebrew "Abarim."
2. Ezekiel 39:11 That graveyard. . . the valley: One possible meaning for the difficult Hebrew text.
3. Ezekiel 39:11 Gog's Army: Hebrew "Hamon-Gog."
4. Ezekiel 39:26 me: One possible meaning for the difficult Hebrew text of verse 26.
5. Ezekiel 40:1 Twenty-five years. . . first month: Probably March of 573 B.C.
6. Ezekiel 40:11 the width of the passageway. . . twenty-two feet. . . the two doors of the gate. . . sixteen feet wide: The doors themselves probably were hung on stone sockets, which could explain the six-foot difference in width between the passageway and the doors.
7. Ezekiel 40:13 back wall: One ancient translation; Hebrew "roof."
8. Ezekiel 40:14 wide: One possible meaning for the difficult Hebrew text of verse 14.
9. Ezekiel 40:16 just like the ones in the entrance room: One possible meaning for the difficult Hebrew text.
10. Ezekiel 40:17 thirty rooms built around the outside of the courtyard: These were probably used by worshipers as places to meet and share sacrificial meals (see, for example, Jeremiah 35.2).
11. Ezekiel 40:19 feet: The Hebrew text adds "the east and the north."

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James 2:18-3:18 (Contemporary English Version)

¹⁸Suppose someone disagrees and says, "It is possible to have faith without doing kind deeds."
   I would answer, "Prove that you have faith without doing kind deeds, and I will prove that I have faith by doing them." ¹⁹You surely believe there is only one God. That's fine. Even demons believe this, and it makes them shake with fear.
    ²⁰Does some stupid person want proof that faith without deeds is useless? ²¹Well, our ancestor Abraham pleased God by putting his son Isaac on the altar to sacrifice him. ²²Now you see how Abraham's faith and deeds worked together. He proved that his faith was real by what he did. ²³This is what the Scriptures mean by saying, "Abraham had faith in God, and God was pleased with him." That's how Abraham became God's friend.
    ²⁴You can now see that we please God by what we do and not only by what we believe. ²⁵For example, Rahab had been a prostitute. But she pleased God when she welcomed the spies and sent them home by another way.
    ²⁶Anyone who doesn't breathe is dead, and faith that doesn't do anything is just as dead!
   

James 3

The Tongue

 ¹My friends, we should not all try to become teachers. In fact, teachers will be judged more strictly than others. ²All of us do many wrong things. But if you can control your tongue, you are mature and able to control your whole body.    ³By putting a bit into the mouth of a horse, we can turn the horse in different directions. ⁴It takes strong winds to move a large sailing ship, but the captain uses only a small rudder to make it go in any direction. ⁵Our tongues are small too, and yet they brag about big things.
   It takes only a spark to start a forest fire! ⁶The tongue is like a spark. It is an evil power that dirties the rest of the body and sets a person's entire life on fire with flames that come from hell itself. ⁷All kinds of animals, birds, reptiles, and sea creatures can be tamed and have been tamed. ⁸But our tongues get out of control. They are restless and evil, and always spreading deadly poison.
    ^9-10My dear friends, with our tongues we speak both praises and curses. We praise our Lord and Father, and we curse people who were created to be like God, and this isn't right. ¹¹Can clean water and dirty water both flow from the same spring? ¹²Can a fig tree produce olives or a grapevine produce figs? Does fresh water come from a well full of salt water?   

Wisdom from Above

 ¹³Are any of you wise or sensible? Then show it by living right and by being humble and wise in everything you do. ¹⁴But if your heart is full of bitter jealousy and selfishness, don't brag or lie to cover up the truth. ¹⁵That kind of wisdom doesn't come from above. It is earthly and selfish and comes from the devil himself. ¹⁶Whenever people are jealous or selfish, they cause trouble and do all sorts of cruel things. ¹⁷But the wisdom that comes from above leads us to be pure, friendly, gentle, sensible, kind, helpful, genuine, and sincere. ¹⁸When peacemakers plant seeds of peace, they will harvest justice.

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Psalm 118:1-18 (Contemporary English Version)

Psalm 118

The LORD Is Always Merciful

 ¹Tell the LORD   how thankful you are,
   because he is kind
   and always merciful.
    ²Let Israel shout,
   "God is always merciful!"
    ³Let the family of Aaron
   the priest shout,
   "God is always merciful!"
    ⁴Let every true worshiper
   of the LORD shout,
   "God is always merciful!"
    ⁵When I was really hurting,
   I prayed to the LORD.
   He answered my prayer,
   and took my worries away.
    ⁶The LORD is on my side,
   and I am not afraid
   of what others can do to me.
    ⁷With the LORD on my side,
   I will defeat all
   of my hateful enemies.
    ⁸It is better to trust the LORD
   for protection
   than to trust anyone else,
    ⁹including strong leaders.
    ¹⁰Nations surrounded me,
   but I got rid of them
   by the power of the LORD.
    ¹¹They attacked from all sides,
   but I got rid of them
   by the power of the LORD.
    ¹²They swarmed around like bees,
   but by the power of the LORD,
   I got rid of them
   and their fiery sting.
    ¹³Their attacks were so fierce
   that I nearly fell,
   but the LORD helped me.
    ¹⁴My power and my strength
   come from the LORD,
   and he has saved me.
    ¹⁵From the tents of God's people
   come shouts of victory:
   "The LORD is powerful!
    ¹⁶With his mighty arm
   the LORD wins victories!
   The LORD is powerful!"
    ¹⁷And so my life is safe,
   and I will live to tell
   what the LORD has done.
    ¹⁸He punished me terribly,
   but he did not let death
   lay its hands on me.

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Proverbs 28:2 (Contemporary English Version)

²In time of civil war
   there are many leaders,
   but a sensible leader
   restores law and order. ^a]

Footnotes:

1. Proverbs 28:2 but. . . order: One possible meaning for the difficult Hebrew text.

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Verse of the Day

“[BOOK I][(Psalms 1-41)][The Way to Happiness]God blesses those people who refuse evil advice and won't follow sinners or join in sneering at God. Instead, the Law of the LORD makes them happy, and they think about it day and night.” - Psalm 1:1-2

Today's passage is from the Contemporary English Version.

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Thought for the Say

American athlete who, after being a popular outfielder in baseball's National League during the 1880s, became the most celebrated and influential American evangelist during the first two decades of the 20th century, Billy Sunday said, “The fellow that has no money is poor. The fellow that has nothing but money is poorer still.”

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A Joke for Today

Many years ago, in the south pacific, there was a small island kingdom that was ruled by a kind and benevolent King. Each year, on the King's birthday, the residents of the island gave the King a new throne as token of their love and respect for him.

And each year, the King would put last years gift up in the attic of his small grass house. After many years of ruling the island, the weight of the large number of birthday presents stored up in the attic became too heavy and caused the house to collapse down on the King.

Moral to the story is: He who lives in grass house, shouldn't stow thrones.