Note: I am posting this much earlier than usual, because there is a good chance I will be offline at the normal time.

Prayer

O Father of our Lord Jesus Christ,
O Holy Spirit,
Please be with us in our weakness.
Help us to turn away from practices that cause harm.
Help us to turn to Your practice of Peace and Love.
Help us to accept that You Love us, even in our sins,
and that You forgive us in the name of Jesus,
who died for us.
Let us take strength and comfort in Your Love and forgiveness,
and let us accept Your Peace.
Thank You for taking care of all for whom we are concerned.
In Jesus' name we pray,
amen.

2 Corinthians 1, New King James Version

(For alternate translations, see here.)

1

¹ Paul, an apostle of Jesus Christ by the will of God, and Timothy our brother,

To the church of God which is at Corinth, with all the saints who are in all Achaia:

² Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.

³ Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of mercies and God of all comfort, ⁴ who comforts us in all our tribulation, that we may be able to comfort those who are in any trouble, with the comfort with which we ourselves are comforted by God. ⁵ For as the sufferings of Christ abound in us, so our consolation also abounds through Christ. ⁶ Now if we are afflicted, it is for your consolation and salvation, which is effective for enduring the same sufferings which we also suffer. Or if we are comforted, it is for your consolation and salvation. ⁷ And our hope for you is steadfast, because we know that as you are partakers of the sufferings, so also you will partake of the consolation.

⁸ For we do not want you to be ignorant, brethren, of our trouble which came to us in Asia: that we were burdened beyond measure, above strength, so that we despaired even of life. ⁹ Yes, we had the sentence of death in ourselves, that we should not trust in ourselves but in God who raises the dead, ¹⁰ who delivered us from so great a death, and does deliver us; in whom we trust that He will still deliver us, ¹¹ you also helping together in prayer for us, that thanks may be given by many persons on our behalf for the gift granted to us through many.

¹² For our boasting is this: the testimony of our conscience that we conducted ourselves in the world in simplicity and godly sincerity, not with fleshly wisdom but by the grace of God, and more abundantly toward you. ¹³ For we are not writing any other things to you than what you read or understand. Now I trust you will understand, even to the end ¹⁴ (as also you have understood us in part), that we are your boast as you also are ours, in the day of the Lord Jesus.

¹⁵ And in this confidence I intended to come to you before, that you might have a second benefit— ¹⁶ to pass by way of you to Macedonia, to come again from Macedonia to you, and be helped by you on my way to Judea. ¹⁷ Therefore, when I was planning this, did I do it lightly? Or the things I plan, do I plan according to the flesh, that with me there should be Yes, Yes, and No, No? ¹⁸ But as God is faithful, our word to you was not Yes and No. ¹⁹ For the Son of God, Jesus Christ, who was preached among you by us—by me, Silvanus, and Timothy—was not Yes and No, but in Him was Yes. ²⁰ For all the promises of God in Him are Yes, and in Him Amen, to the glory of God through us. ²¹ Now He who establishes us with you in Christ and has anointed us is God, ²² who also has sealed us and given us the Spirit in our hearts as a guarantee.

²³ Moreover I call God as witness against my soul, that to spare you I came no more to Corinth. ²⁴ Not that we have dominion over your faith, but are fellow workers for your joy; for by faith you stand.

THOUGHTS and COMMENTS

I found that reading the NLT version, found in the link "For alternate translations" above, helped to clarify some of the things I did not quite understand the first time around.

QUESTIONS

1. This first chapter, or opening of Paul's letter: How would you summarize its points?

2. How are the Corinthians to understand their own sufferings? Does this apply to us, and if so, how?

3. Verses 8 and 9 read,
   For we do not want you to be ignorant, brethren, of our trouble which came to us in Asia: that we were burdened beyond measure, above strength, so that we despaired even of life. Yes, we had the sentence of death in ourselves, that we should not trust in ourselves but in God who raises the dead...
   What happened to them in Asia? Do we know?

4. Paul had intended to visit them again, but then declined. Why is this?

5. Verse 22 reads,
   Now He who establishes us with you in Christ and has anointed us is God, who also has sealed us and given us the Spirit in our hearts as a guarantee.
   What does this mean, "as a guarantee." How is the Spirit in our hearts a guarantee, and of what?

Feel free to leave any thoughts, comments, or questions of your own!

“Now may our Lord Jesus Christ himself, and God our Father…comfort your hearts and establish them in every good work and word.”
2 Thessalonians 2:16-17

The apostle Paul wrote 2 Corinthians as one of the follow ups to the initial letter known as 1 Corinthians addressing the issues in the church he had planted during his time in Corinth. 2 Corinthians reads more like a diary than a letter to the Corinthian church, as Paul describes the problems he experienced himself. After the Corinthian church reacted to his first letter, many people rejected his message and threatened the unity of the church.

Paul is writing carefully to address both his supporters and dissenters, and starts out 2 Corinthians with the joy he felt in receiving the acceptance of his first letter and following second visit to Corinth. He quickly changes to personal reflections, including vulnerability of the state of his mind, reactions to criticism he faces from the dissenters in Corinth, and tying up any loos ends as he prepares for his third missionary journey to Corinth.

Chapters 1-7 really showcase Paul’s reconciliation with the Corinthians after the rejection of his first letter and what happened during his second visit to Corinth.

Chapters 8-9 addressing generosity and how it has been forgotten among the people of the church of Corinth.

Chapters 10-13 serve as a challenge to those dissenters who still reject Paul’s message.

Questions/Discussion

1. What is missing from or could be added to the synopsis above?

2. If you have read through 2 Corinthians before, what is one thing that you recall from your last read through of 2 Corinthians? When was the last time you read it?

3. What questions do you have going into this study?

Wow, this has been a truly wonderful and eye-opening study in the book of Ezekiel. I was a bit intimidated at first, but honestly, when you read this book in its entirety, and always keep it connected to the rest of the Bible in its entirety, it's not as weird or wild or confusing as I worried it would be.

Thank You, Jesus, for calling us corporately together to get equipped to discern and disseminate what You are trying to communicate to Your people right now, today, from the words of Ezekiel thousands of years ago. Thank You for bringing us in as Your adopted brothers and sisters, with a warm, open heart and generosity, not fear and lack and distrust. Thank You for looping us into this eternal story that began before Genesis and will stretch on forever, with You safely and securely at the helm. Bless today's study and reading and bless each of us to go out into the world around us never forgetting that we don't have to worry how this all turns out. You have shown us exactly how it ends. Keep us standing, and above all, let us stand. In Your worthy, holy and powerful name we pray. Amen.

Ezekiel 48

English Standard Version

48 “These are the names of the tribes: Beginning at the northern extreme, beside the way of Hethlon to Lebo-hamath, as far as Hazar-enan (which is on the northern border of Damascus over against Hamath), and extending^\)^a\) from the east side to the west,^\)^b\) Dan, one portion. ² Adjoining the territory of Dan, from the east side to the west, Asher, one portion. ³ Adjoining the territory of Asher, from the east side to the west, Naphtali, one portion. ⁴ Adjoining the territory of Naphtali, from the east side to the west, Manasseh, one portion. ⁵ Adjoining the territory of Manasseh, from the east side to the west, Ephraim, one portion. ⁶ Adjoining the territory of Ephraim, from the east side to the west, Reuben, one portion. ⁷ Adjoining the territory of Reuben, from the east side to the west, Judah, one portion.

⁸ “Adjoining the territory of Judah, from the east side to the west, shall be the portion which you shall set apart, 25,000 cubits^\)^c\) in breadth, and in length equal to one of the tribal portions, from the east side to the west, with the sanctuary in the midst of it. ⁹ The portion that you shall set apart for the Lord shall be 25,000 cubits in length, and 20,000^\)^d\) in breadth. ¹⁰ These shall be the allotments of the holy portion: the priests shall have an allotment measuring 25,000 cubits on the northern side, 10,000 cubits in breadth on the western side, 10,000 in breadth on the eastern side, and 25,000 in length on the southern side, with the sanctuary of the Lord in the midst of it. ¹¹ This shall be for the consecrated priests, the sons of Zadok, who kept my charge, who did not go astray when the people of Israel went astray, as the Levites did. ¹² And it shall belong to them as a special portion from the holy portion of the land, a most holy place, adjoining the territory of the Levites. ¹³ And alongside the territory of the priests, the Levites shall have an allotment 25,000 cubits in length and 10,000 in breadth. The whole length shall be 25,000 cubits and the breadth 20,000.^\)^e\) ¹⁴ They shall not sell or exchange any of it. They shall not alienate this choice portion of the land, for it is holy to the Lord.

¹⁵ “The remainder, 5,000 cubits in breadth and 25,000 in length, shall be for common use for the city, for dwellings and for open country. In the midst of it shall be the city, ¹⁶ and these shall be its measurements: the north side 4,500 cubits, the south side 4,500, the east side 4,500, and the west side 4,500. ¹⁷ And the city shall have open land: on the north 250 cubits, on the south 250, on the east 250, and on the west 250. ¹⁸ The remainder of the length alongside the holy portion shall be 10,000 cubits to the east, and 10,000 to the west, and it shall be alongside the holy portion. Its produce shall be food for the workers of the city. ¹⁹ And the workers of the city, from all the tribes of Israel, shall till it. ²⁰ The whole portion that you shall set apart shall be 25,000 cubits square, that is, the holy portion together with the property of the city.

²¹ “What remains on both sides of the holy portion and of the property of the city shall belong to the prince. Extending from the 25,000 cubits of the holy portion to the east border, and westward from the 25,000 cubits to the west border, parallel to the tribal portions, it shall belong to the prince. The holy portion with the sanctuary of the temple shall be in its midst. ²² It shall be separate from the property of the Levites and the property of the city, which are in the midst of that which belongs to the prince. The portion of the prince shall lie between the territory of Judah and the territory of Benjamin.

²³ “As for the rest of the tribes: from the east side to the west, Benjamin, one portion. ²⁴ Adjoining the territory of Benjamin, from the east side to the west, Simeon, one portion. ²⁵ Adjoining the territory of Simeon, from the east side to the west, Issachar, one portion. ²⁶ Adjoining the territory of Issachar, from the east side to the west, Zebulun, one portion. ²⁷ Adjoining the territory of Zebulun, from the east side to the west, Gad, one portion. ²⁸ And adjoining the territory of Gad to the south, the boundary shall run from Tamar to the waters of Meribah-kadesh, from there along the Brook of Egypt^\)^f\) to the Great Sea.^\)^g\) ²⁹ This is the land that you shall allot as an inheritance among the tribes of Israel, and these are their portions, declares the Lord God.

The Gates of the City

³⁰ “These shall be the exits of the city: On the north side, which is to be 4,500 cubits by measure, ³¹ three gates, the gate of Reuben, the gate of Judah, and the gate of Levi, the gates of the city being named after the tribes of Israel. ³² On the east side, which is to be 4,500 cubits, three gates, the gate of Joseph, the gate of Benjamin, and the gate of Dan. ³³ On the south side, which is to be 4,500 cubits by measure, three gates, the gate of Simeon, the gate of Issachar, and the gate of Zebulun. ³⁴ On the west side, which is to be 4,500 cubits, three gates,^\)^h\) the gate of Gad, the gate of Asher, and the gate of Naphtali. ³⁵ The circumference of the city shall be 18,000 cubits. And the name of the city from that time on shall be, The Lord Is There.”

Footnotes

1. Ezekiel 48:1 Probable reading; Hebrew and they shall be his
2. Ezekiel 48:1 Septuagint (compare verses 2–8); Hebrew the east side the west
3. Ezekiel 48:8 A cubit was about 18 inches or 45 centimeters; a long cubit (see 40:5) was about 21 inches or 53 centimeters
4. Ezekiel 48:9 Compare 45:1; Hebrew 10,000
5. Ezekiel 48:13 Septuagint; Hebrew 10,000
6. Ezekiel 48:28 Hebrew lacks of Egypt
7. Ezekiel 48:28 That is, the Mediterranean Sea
8. Ezekiel 48:34 One Hebrew manuscript, Syriac (compare Septuagint); most Hebrew manuscripts their gates three

Discussion Questions:

1. This division of the land is very different from Israel’s original inheritance in Joshua. What has God preserved, what has He changed, and what might that tell us about the difference between restoration and simply returning to the past?
2. Why are the sanctuary, priests, Levites, shared city, and prince’s territory placed between the tribal portions? What does their arrangement teach about the proper relationship between God’s presence, worship, ordinary community life, and human authority?
3. Compare the tribal names used for the land, the city gates, and the sealed tribes in Revelation 7. Why are Joseph, Ephraim, Manasseh, Levi, and Dan counted differently? What does Dan’s inheritance and city gate in Ezekiel 48 tell us with certainty, and where would we cross into speculation?
4. Ezekiel’s city and the New Jerusalem in Revelation 21 both have a square shape, twelve tribal gates, precise measurements, and the presence of God. But Ezekiel still has a temple, priests, sacrifices, farmland, tribal territories, and a prince. Do these visions describe the same time and place, or does Ezekiel’s city anticipate something that Revelation later brings to completion?
5. Ezekiel 47 commands Israel to treat resident foreigners as native-born and give them an inheritance among the tribes. How does that promise shape the way we read Ezekiel 48, and how does it anticipate Gentile believers becoming God’s adopted children, fellow citizens, and co-heirs with Christ? (Useful passages: Ezekiel 47:21–23; Romans 8:15–17; Ephesians 2:11–22; Ephesians 3:6; Hebrews 2:10–11)
6. Why does Ezekiel end with the name “The LORD Is There”? How does that ending answer the departure of God’s glory earlier in the book, and how does Jesus bridge the separation between God and humanity so that sinful outsiders can finally be brought home to the Father?

Apologies for getting this posted late today, I usually write them the night before and post them early in the morning. My daughter who recently moved out stopped by unexpectedly last night which derailed my normal routine and I didn't have a chance to get to it again until after work today.

Ezekiel 47 (ESV)

Water Flowing from the Temple

47 Then he brought me back to the door of the temple, and behold, water was issuing from below the threshold of the temple toward the east (for the temple faced east). The water was flowing down from below the south end of the threshold of the temple, south of the altar. ² Then he brought me out by way of the north gate and led me around on the outside to the outer gate that faces toward the east; and behold, the water was trickling out on the south side.

³ Going on eastward with a measuring line in his hand, the man measured a thousand cubits, and then led me through the water, and it was ankle-deep. ⁴ Again he measured a thousand, and led me through the water, and it was knee-deep. Again he measured a thousand, and led me through the water, and it was waist-deep. ⁵ Again he measured a thousand, and it was a river that I could not pass through, for the water had risen. It was deep enough to swim in, a river that could not be passed through. ⁶ And he said to me, “Son of man, have you seen this?”

Then he led me back to the bank of the river. ⁷ As I went back, I saw on the bank of the river very many trees on the one side and on the other. ⁸ And he said to me, “This water flows toward the eastern region and goes down into the Arabah, and enters the sea; when the water flows into the sea, the water will become fresh. ⁹ And wherever the river goes, every living creature that swarms will live, and there will be very many fish. For this water goes there, that the waters of the sea may become fresh; so everything will live where the river goes. ¹⁰ Fishermen will stand beside the sea. From Engedi to Eneglaim it will be a place for the spreading of nets. Its fish will be of very many kinds, like the fish of the Great Sea. ¹¹ But its swamps and marshes will not become fresh; they are to be left for salt. ¹² And on the banks, on both sides of the river, there will grow all kinds of trees for food. Their leaves will not wither, nor their fruit fail, but they will bear fresh fruit every month, because the water for them flows from the sanctuary. Their fruit will be for food, and their leaves for healing.”

Division of the Land

¹³ Thus says the Lord God: “This is the boundary by which you shall divide the land for inheritance among the twelve tribes of Israel. Joseph shall have two portions. ¹⁴ And you shall divide equally what I swore to give to your fathers. This land shall fall to you as your inheritance.

¹⁵ “This shall be the boundary of the land: On the north side, from the Great Sea by way of Hethlon to Lebo-hamath, and on to Zedad, ¹⁶ Berothah, Sibraim (which lies on the border between Damascus and Hamath), as far as Hazer-hatticon, which is on the border of Hauran. ¹⁷ So the boundary shall run from the sea to Hazar-enan, which is on the northern border of Damascus, with the border of Hamath to the north. This shall be the north side.

¹⁸ “On the east side, the boundary shall run between Hauran and Damascus; along the Jordan between Gilead and the land of Israel; to the eastern sea and as far as Tamar. This shall be the east side.

¹⁹ “On the south side, it shall run from Tamar as far as the waters of Meribah-kadesh, from there along the Brook of Egypt to the Great Sea. This shall be the south side.

²⁰ “On the west side, the Great Sea shall be the boundary to a point opposite Lebo-hamath. This shall be the west side.

²¹ “So you shall divide this land among you according to the tribes of Israel. ²² You shall allot it as an inheritance for yourselves and for the sojourners who reside among you and have had children among you. They shall be to you as native-born children of Israel. With you they shall be allotted an inheritance among the tribes of Israel. ²³ In whatever tribe the sojourner resides, there you shall assign him his inheritance, declares the Lord God.

Questions For Contemplation and Discussion

1.      The water starts as a trickle at the threshold and becomes uncrossable within four precisely measured stages covering a relatively small distance 4000 cubits (around a quarter mile for each stage...just over a mile in total). Why do you think the passage marks the increase so specifically instead of just saying "the river was large"?

2.      The water from this river “heals” the Dead Sea, turning it nto a sea "teeming with life" (47:8-10), yet verse 11 specifically preserves the swamps and marshes as they are "for salt." Why leave anything in an unhealed state in a vision that's otherwise about total transformation?

3.      Verses 22-23 instructs that foreigners residing among the tribes are to be allotted land "as native-born", a significant contrast to the strict zoned holiness elsewhere in the vision (chs. 40-46). What do you make of that combination?

4.      Read Revelation 22:1-2. How does John draw on this vision of water flowing from the temple?  What did John keep from Ezekiel's river, and what did he change or add?

5.      Read John 7:37-39, where Jesus applies "living water" language at the Feast of Booths. Does that connect to this passage, and if so, how?

6.      This river starts at the temple threshold and its effects expand outward until it reaches and transforms the sea. What is the chapter suggesting about how holiness or God's presence moves?  How does this compare or contrast to what is described in the rules and regulations of Leviticus?

Ezekiel Chapters 45-46 King James Version

Chapter 45

Consecration of the Land

1Moreover, when ye shall divide by lot the land for inheritance, ye shall offer an oblation unto the LORD, an holy portion of the land: the length shall be the length of five and twenty thousand reeds, and the breadth shall be ten thousand. This shall be holy in all the borders thereof round about. 2Of this there shall be for the sanctuary five hundred in length, with five hundred in breadth, square round about; and fifty cubits round about for the suburbs thereof. 3And of this measure shalt thou measure the length of five and twenty thousand, and the breadth of ten thousand: and in it shall be the sanctuary and the most holy place. 4The holy portion of the land shall be for the priests the ministers of the sanctuary, which shall come near to minister unto the LORD: and it shall be a place for their houses, and an holy place for the sanctuary. 5And the five and twenty thousand of length, and the ten thousand of breadth, shall also the Levites, the ministers of the house, have for themselves, for a possession for twenty chambers.

6And ye shall appoint the possession of the city five thousand broad, and five and twenty thousand long, over against the oblation of the holy portion: it shall be for the whole house of Israel.

The Prince's Portion

7And a portion shall be for the prince on the one side and on the other side of the oblation of the holy portion, and of the possession of the city, before the oblation of the holy portion, and before the possession of the city, from the west side westward, and from the east side eastward: and the length shall be over against one of the portions, from the west border unto the east border. 8In the land shall be his possession in Israel: and my princes shall no more oppress my people; and the rest of the land shall they give to the house of Israel according to their tribes.

9Thus saith the Lord GOD; Let it suffice you, O princes of Israel: remove violence and spoil, and execute judgment and justice, take away your exactions from my people, saith the Lord GOD.

10Ye shall have just balances, and a just ephah, and a just bath. 11The ephah and the bath shall be of one measure, that the bath may contain the tenth part of an homer, and the ephah the tenth part of an homer: the measure thereof shall be after the homer. 12And the shekel shall be twenty gerahs: twenty shekels, five and twenty shekels, fifteen shekels, shall be your maneh.

Offerings and Feasts

13This is the oblation that ye shall offer; the sixth part of an ephah of an homer of wheat, and ye shall give the sixth part of an ephah of an homer of barley: 14Concerning the ordinance of oil, the bath of oil, ye shall offer the tenth part of a bath out of the cor, which is an homer of ten baths; for ten baths are an homer: 15And one lamb out of the flock, out of two hundred, out of the fat pastures of Israel; for a meat offering, and for a burnt offering, and for peace offerings, to make reconciliation for them, saith the Lord GOD. 16All the people of the land shall give this oblation for the prince in Israel. 17And it shall be the prince's part to give burnt offerings, and meat offerings, and drink offerings, in the feasts, and in the new moons, and in the sabbaths, in all solemnities of the house of Israel: he shall prepare the sin offering, and the meat offering, and the burnt offering, and the peace offerings, to make reconciliation for the house of Israel.

18Thus saith the Lord GOD; In the first month, in the first day of the month, thou shalt take a young bullock without blemish, and cleanse the sanctuary: 19And the priest shall take of the blood of the sin offering, and put it upon the posts of the house, and upon the four corners of the settle of the altar, and upon the posts of the gate of the inner court. 20And so thou shalt do the seventh day of the month for every one that erreth, and for him that is simple: so shall ye reconcile the house.

21In the first month, in the fourteenth day of the month, ye shall have the passover, a feast of seven days; unleavened bread shall be eaten. 22And upon that day shall the prince prepare for himself and for all the people of the land a bullock for a sin offering. 23And seven days of the feast he shall prepare a burnt offering to the LORD, seven bullocks and seven rams without blemish daily the seven days; and a kid of the goats daily for a sin offering. 24And he shall prepare a meat offering of an ephah for a bullock, and an ephah for a ram, and an hin of oil for an ephah. 25In the seventh month, in the fifteenth day of the month, shall he do the like in the feast of the seven days, according to the sin offering, according to the burnt offering, and according to the meat offering, and according to the oil.

Chapter 46

The Prince's Offerings

1Thus saith the Lord GOD; The gate of the inner court that looketh toward the east shall be shut the six working days; but on the sabbath it shall be opened, and in the day of the new moon it shall be opened. 2And the prince shall enter by the way of the porch of that gate without, and shall stand by the post of the gate, and the priests shall prepare his burnt offering and his peace offerings, and he shall worship at the threshold of the gate: then he shall go forth; but the gate shall not be shut until the evening. 3Likewise the people of the land shall worship at the door of this gate before the LORD in the sabbaths and in the new moons. 4And the burnt offering that the prince shall offer unto the LORD in the sabbath day shall be six lambs without blemish, and a ram without blemish. 5And the meat offering shall be an ephah for a ram, and the meat offering for the lambs as he shall be able to give, and an hin of oil to an ephah. 6And in the day of the new moon it shall be a young bullock without blemish, and six lambs, and a ram: they shall be without blemish. 7And he shall prepare a meat offering, an ephah for a bullock, and an ephah for a ram, and for the lambs according as his hand shall attain unto, and an hin of oil to an ephah. 8And when the prince shall enter, he shall go in by the way of the porch of that gate, and he shall go forth by the way thereof. 9But when the people of the land shall come before the LORD in the solemn feasts, he that entereth in by the way of the north gate to worship shall go out by the way of the south gate; and he that entereth by the way of the south gate shall go forth by the way of the north gate: he shall not return by the way of the gate whereby he came in, but shall go forth over against it. 10And the prince in the midst of them, when they go in, shall go in; and when they go forth, shall go forth.

11And in the feasts and in the solemnities the meat offering shall be an ephah to a bullock, and an ephah to a ram, and to the lambs as he is able to give, and an hin of oil to an ephah. 12Now when the prince shall prepare a voluntary burnt offering or peace offerings voluntarily unto the LORD, one shall then open him the gate that looketh toward the east, and he shall prepare his burnt offering and his peace offerings, as he did on the sabbath day: then he shall go forth; and after his going forth one shall shut the gate.

13Thou shalt daily prepare a burnt offering unto the LORD of a lamb of the first year without blemish: thou shalt prepare it every morning. 14And thou shalt prepare a meat offering for it every morning, the sixth part of an ephah, and the third part of an hin of oil, to temper with the fine flour; a meat offering continually by a perpetual ordinance unto the LORD. 15Thus shall they prepare the lamb, and the meat offering, and the oil, every morning for a continual burnt offering.

16Thus saith the Lord GOD; If the prince give a gift unto any of his sons, the inheritance thereof shall be his sons'; it shall be their possession by inheritance. 17But if he give a gift of his inheritance to one of his servants, then it shall be his to the year of liberty; after it shall return to the prince: but his inheritance shall be his sons' for them. 18Moreover the prince shall not take of the people's inheritance by oppression, to thrust them out of their possession; but he shall give his sons inheritance out of his own possession: that my people be not scattered every man from his possession.

Courts for Boiling and Baking

19After he brought me through the entry, which was at the side of the gate, into the holy chambers of the priests, which looked toward the north: and, behold, there was a place on the two sides westward. 20Then said he unto me, This is the place where the priests shall boil the trespass offering and the sin offering, where they shall bake the meat offering; that they bear them not out into the utter court, to sanctify the people.

21Then he brought me forth into the utter court, and caused me to pass by the four corners of the court; and, behold, in every corner of the court there was a court. 22In the four corners of the court there were courts joined of forty cubits long and thirty broad: these four corners were of one measure. 23And there was a row of building round about in them, round about them four, and it was made with boiling places under the rows round about. 24Then said he unto me, These are the places of them that boil, where the ministers of the house shall boil the sacrifice of the people.

NOTES

The dimensions of Israel given by Ezekiel are rather peculiar. The tribal lands are divided by straight East/West lines with a holy portion, mentioned here, in the center. My belief is the time period covered by the final section of Ezekiel is regarding the Millennial Kingdom. This would start after the 7 Year Tribulation. If this understanding is correct (or if you disagree, humor me for a minute) I’d like to share a pet theory of mine. The tribulation will usher in global catastrophic changes that remodel the Earth. As Jesus says it will be like, ‘the days of Noah.’ Israel sits on the northeastern part of the African plate which butts up against the Arabian plate. A great fault line runs North and South along the Jordan River Valley. I believe it is possible that during the tribulation these plates separate, potentially hundreds of miles from each other, creating new land between them. If this is true (and it very well may not be) it will accomplish 2 things. First, the borders described for Israel will be much much larger than we assume them to be. Secondly, this will create a road or The Way for the rest of the world to travel to the Millennial Kingdom to worship Christ in Jerusalem.

QUESTIONS/DISCUSSION

1. Who is inheriting the land? (45:1)

2. One of the mysterious aspects to some parts of Ezekiel is that he doesn’t use units of measurement. Whether he is talking about cubits, royal cubits, reeds, or something else, the places described are pretty large. Why are they so large?

3. Who is the prince? (45:7, 17, 21-25; 46:2-10, 16-18)

4. Several feasts mentioned by Ezekiel parallel those in Leviticus, but not everything is there. Which ones are missing? Why do you think they are not present? Does this add meaning to the ones that are described?

5. The sin offering is present (45:19; 46:20). Does this mean that sin will be present during this time? (See also 44:25 regarding the reality of death).

6. What else jumped out at you in these two chapters? Some of this can be rather monotonous and boring, but these are sign posts that say ‘Stop here, dig.’

Please use this thread for any discussions outside of the scheduled readings:

• Questions/comments
• Prayer Requests
• Praises

Sorry this is showing up so early. I'm going out of town today and won't be back until Sunday, and didn't want this falling through the cracks.

O Lord, Do Not Delay

To the choirmaster. Of David, for the memorial offering.

70 Make haste, O God, to deliver me!
O Lord, make haste to help me!
² Let them be put to shame and confusion
who seek my life!
Let them be turned back and brought to dishonor
who delight in my hurt!
³ Let them turn back because of their shame
who say, “Aha, Aha!”

⁴ May all who seek you
rejoice and be glad in you!
May those who love your salvation
say evermore, “God is great!”
⁵ But I am poor and needy;
hasten to me, O God!
You are my help and my deliverer;
O Lord, do not delay!

Prayer:

Lord, meet us in our need today. Quiet our fears, strengthen our faith, and teach us to wait without losing heart. Keep praise on our lips and our eyes fixed on You, because You are always faithful.

In Jesus’ name, Amen.

Discussion Questions:

1. Is it okay to ask God to hurry? Have you ever prayed some version of “Lord, I need You to do something now”?
2. David doesn’t soften how he feels about the people enjoying his pain. What do you make of that kind of honesty in prayer?
3. Even while David is desperate for help, he stops to pray for everyone else who seeks God. Why do you think that matters?
4. David calls himself “poor and needy,” even though he’s a king. What changes when we stop trying to appear strong before God?
5. What helps you keep saying “God is great” when He hasn’t answered yet?

Prayer

Oh Lord,
Help us to trust in You.
You are trustworthy,
but sometimes we fail to trust you.
Forgive us our sins,
and clear out any blockage between us and You,
so that with us trusting You,
You may work mightily to help those we pray for,
and to help us, too.
Thank you, Lord.
In Jesus' name we pray, amen!

Ezekiel chapters 43 and 44 , New King James Version

43

(For alternate translations for chapter 43, see here.)

¹ Afterward he brought me to the gate, the gate that faces toward the east. ² And behold, the glory of the God of Israel came from the way of the east. His voice was like the sound of many waters; and the earth shone with His glory. ³ It was like the appearance of the vision which I saw—like the vision which I saw when I came to destroy the city. The visions were like the vision which I saw by the River Chebar; and I fell on my face. ⁴ And the glory of the Lord came into the temple by way of the gate which faces toward the east. ⁵ The Spirit lifted me up and brought me into the inner court; and behold, the glory of the Lord filled the temple.

⁶ Then I heard Him speaking to me from the temple, while a man stood beside me. ⁷ And He said to me, “Son of man, this is the place of My throne and the place of the soles of My feet, where I will dwell in the midst of the children of Israel forever. No more shall the house of Israel defile My holy name, they nor their kings, by their harlotry or with the carcasses of their kings on their high places. ⁸ When they set their threshold by My threshold, and their doorpost by My doorpost, with a wall between them and Me, they defiled My holy name by the abominations which they committed; therefore I have consumed them in My anger. ⁹ Now let them put their harlotry and the carcasses of their kings far away from Me, and I will dwell in their midst forever.

¹⁰ “Son of man, describe the temple to the house of Israel, that they may be ashamed of their iniquities; and let them measure the pattern. ¹¹ And if they are ashamed of all that they have done, make known to them the design of the temple and its arrangement, its exits and its entrances, its entire design and all its ordinances, all its forms and all its laws. Write it down in their sight, so that they may keep its whole design and all its ordinances, and perform them. ¹² This is the law of the temple: The whole area surrounding the mountaintop is most holy. Behold, this is the law of the temple.

¹³ “These are the measurements of the altar in cubits (the cubit is one cubit and a handbreadth): the base one cubit high and one cubit wide, with a rim all around its edge of one span. This is the height of the altar: ¹⁴ from the base on the ground to the lower ledge, two cubits; the width of the ledge, one cubit; from the smaller ledge to the larger ledge, four cubits; and the width of the ledge, one cubit. ¹⁵ The altar hearth is four cubits high, with four horns extending upward from the hearth. ¹⁶ The altar hearth is twelve cubits long, twelve wide, square at its four corners; ¹⁷ the ledge, fourteen cubits long and fourteen wide on its four sides, with a rim of half a cubit around it; its base, one cubit all around; and its steps face toward the east.”

¹⁸ And He said to me, “Son of man, thus says the Lord God: ‘These are the ordinances for the altar on the day when it is made, for sacrificing burnt offerings on it, and for sprinkling blood on it. ¹⁹ You shall give a young bull for a sin offering to the priests, the Levites, who are of the seed of Zadok, who approach Me to minister to Me,’ says the Lord God. ²⁰ You shall take some of its blood and put it on the four horns of the altar, on the four corners of the ledge, and on the rim around it; thus you shall cleanse it and make atonement for it. ²¹ Then you shall also take the bull of the sin offering, and burn it in the appointed place of the temple, outside the sanctuary. ²² On the second day you shall offer a kid of the goats without blemish for a sin offering; and they shall cleanse the altar, as they cleansed it with the bull. ²³ When you have finished cleansing it, you shall offer a young bull without blemish, and a ram from the flock without blemish. ²⁴ When you offer them before the Lord, the priests shall throw salt on them, and they will offer them up as a burnt offering to the Lord. ²⁵ Every day for seven days you shall prepare a goat for a sin offering; they shall also prepare a young bull and a ram from the flock, both without blemish. ²⁶ Seven days they shall make atonement for the altar and purify it, and so consecrate it. ²⁷ When these days are over it shall be, on the eighth day and thereafter, that the priests shall offer your burnt offerings and your peace offerings on the altar; and I will accept you,’ says the Lord God.”

44

(For alternate translations for chapter 44, see here.)

¹ Then He brought me back to the outer gate of the sanctuary which faces toward the east, but it was shut. ² And the Lord said to me, “This gate shall be shut; it shall not be opened, and no man shall enter by it, because the Lord God of Israel has entered by it; therefore it shall be shut. ³ As for the prince, because he is the prince, he may sit in it to eat bread before the Lord; he shall enter by way of the vestibule of the gateway, and go out the same way.”

⁴ Also He brought me by way of the north gate to the front of the temple; so I looked, and behold, the glory of the Lord filled the house of the Lord; and I fell on my face. ⁵ And the Lord said to me, “Son of man, mark well, see with your eyes and hear with your ears, all that I say to you concerning all the ordinances of the house of the Lord and all its laws. Mark well who may enter the house and all who go out from the sanctuary.

⁶ “Now say to the rebellious, to the house of Israel, ‘Thus says the Lord God: “O house of Israel, let Us have no more of all your abominations. ⁷ When you brought in foreigners, uncircumcised in heart and uncircumcised in flesh, to be in My sanctuary to defile it—My house—and when you offered My food, the fat and the blood, then they broke My covenant because of all your abominations. ⁸ And you have not kept charge of My holy things, but you have set others to keep charge of My sanctuary for you.” ⁹ Thus says the Lord God: “No foreigner, uncircumcised in heart or uncircumcised in flesh, shall enter My sanctuary, including any foreigner who is among the children of Israel.

¹⁰ “And the Levites who went far from Me, when Israel went astray, who strayed away from Me after their idols, they shall bear their iniquity. ¹¹ Yet they shall be ministers in My sanctuary, as gatekeepers of the house and ministers of the house; they shall slay the burnt offering and the sacrifice for the people, and they shall stand before them to minister to them. ¹² Because they ministered to them before their idols and caused the house of Israel to fall into iniquity, therefore I have raised My hand in an oath against them,” says the Lord God, “that they shall bear their iniquity. ¹³ And they shall not come near Me to minister to Me as priest, nor come near any of My holy things, nor into the Most Holy Place; but they shall bear their shame and their abominations which they have committed. ¹⁴ Nevertheless I will make them keep charge of the temple, for all its work, and for all that has to be done in it.

¹⁵ “But the priests, the Levites, the sons of Zadok, who kept charge of My sanctuary when the children of Israel went astray from Me, they shall come near Me to minister to Me; and they shall stand before Me to offer to Me the fat and the blood,” says the Lord God. ¹⁶ “They shall enter My sanctuary, and they shall come near My table to minister to Me, and they shall keep My charge. ¹⁷ And it shall be, whenever they enter the gates of the inner court, that they shall put on linen garments; no wool shall come upon them while they minister within the gates of the inner court or within the house. ¹⁸ They shall have linen turbans on their heads and linen trousers on their bodies; they shall not clothe themselves with anything that causes sweat. ¹⁹ When they go out to the outer court, to the outer court to the people, they shall take off their garments in which they have ministered, leave them in the holy chambers, and put on other garments; and in their holy garments they shall not sanctify the people.

²⁰ “They shall neither shave their heads nor let their hair grow long, but they shall keep their hair well trimmed. ²¹ No priest shall drink wine when he enters the inner court. ²² They shall not take as wife a widow or a divorced woman, but take virgins of the descendants of the house of Israel, or widows of priests.

²³ “And they shall teach My people the difference between the holy and the unholy, and cause them to discern between the unclean and the clean. ²⁴ In controversy they shall stand as judges, and judge it according to My judgments. They shall keep My laws and My statutes in all My appointed meetings, and they shall hallow My Sabbaths.

²⁵ “They shall not defile themselves by coming near a dead person. Only for father or mother, for son or daughter, for brother or unmarried sister may they defile themselves. ²⁶ After he is cleansed, they shall count seven days for him. ²⁷ And on the day that he goes to the sanctuary to minister in the sanctuary, he must offer his sin offering in the inner court,” says the Lord God.

²⁸ “It shall be, in regard to their inheritance, that I am their inheritance. You shall give them no possession in Israel, for I am their possession. ²⁹ They shall eat the grain offering, the sin offering, and the trespass offering; every dedicated thing in Israel shall be theirs. ³⁰ The best of all firstfruits of any kind, and every sacrifice of any kind from all your sacrifices, shall be the priest’s; also you shall give to the priest the first of your ground meal, to cause a blessing to rest on your house. ³¹ The priests shall not eat anything, bird or beast, that died naturally or was torn by wild beasts.”

QUESTIONS

1. Today's two chapters are about Ezekiel's vision of returning to the Temple, and of the repentant people returning as well, where God will be with us forever.
   In the Revelation to John, when the New Jerusalem comes down from Heaven and God's people will be with God, it reads,

   But I saw no temple in it, for the Lord God Almighty and the Lamb are its temple. The city had no need of the sun or of the moon to shine in it, for the glory of God illuminated it. The Lamb is its light.
   Revelation 21:22-23

   How then do you reconcile these two visions of our future home with God?

2. What do you think about 44:9?

   Thus says the Lord God: “No foreigner, uncircumcised in heart or uncircumcised in flesh, shall enter My sanctuary, including any foreigner who is among the children of Israel.”

   Does this change later on time?

3. Regarding the priests of the Temple, God gives this merciful statement:
   “They shall not defile themselves by coming near a dead person. Only for father or mother, for son or daughter, for brother or unmarried sister may they defile themselves.”

   What about a wife? Or were the priests to be unmarried?

4. Also regarding the priests, God says,
   “It shall be, in regard to their inheritance, that I am their inheritance. You shall give them no possession in Israel, for I am their possession.”

   What does this mean, that God is there inheritance; that God is their possession: How do you see this playing out?

5. There's a lot in these two chapters. What would you like to either ask or comment on?

Now I saw a new heaven and a new earth, for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away. Also there was no more sea. Then I, John, saw the holy city, New Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband. And I heard a loud voice from heaven saying, “Behold, the tabernacle of God is with men, and He will dwell with them, and they shall be His people. God Himself will be with them and be their God. And God will wipe away every tear from their eyes; there shall be no more death, nor sorrow, nor crying. There shall be no more pain, for the former things have passed away.”
Revelation 21:1-4

To this end we always pray for you, that our God may make you worthy of his calling and may fulfill every resolve for good and every work of faith by his power, so that the name of our Lord Jesus may be glorified in you, and you in him, according to the grace of our God and the Lord Jesus Christ.
2 Thessalonians 1:11-12, ESV

The Temple Area Restored

40 In the twenty-fifth year of our exile, at the beginning of the year, on the tenth of the month, in the fourteenth year after the fall of the city—on that very day the hand of the Lord was on me and he took me there. ² In visions of God he took me to the land of Israel and set me on a very high mountain, on whose south side were some buildings that looked like a city. ³ He took me there, and I saw a man whose appearance was like bronze; he was standing in the gateway with a linen cord and a measuring rod in his hand. ⁴ The man said to me, “Son of man, look carefully and listen closely and pay attention to everything I am going to show you, for that is why you have been brought here. Tell the people of Israel everything you see.”

The East Gate to the Outer Court

⁵ I saw a wall completely surrounding the temple area. The length of the measuring rod in the man’s hand was six long cubits,^\)^a\) each of which was a cubit and a handbreadth. He measured the wall; it was one measuring rod thick and one rod high.

⁶ Then he went to the east gate. He climbed its steps and measured the threshold of the gate; it was one rod deep. ⁷ The alcoves for the guards were one rod long and one rod wide, and the projecting walls between the alcoves were five cubits^\)^b\) thick. And the threshold of the gate next to the portico facing the temple was one rod deep.

⁸ Then he measured the portico of the gateway; ⁹ it^\)^c\) was eight cubits^\)^d\) deep and its jambs were two cubits^\)^e\) thick. The portico of the gateway faced the temple.

¹⁰ Inside the east gate were three alcoves on each side; the three had the same measurements, and the faces of the projecting walls on each side had the same measurements. ¹¹ Then he measured the width of the entrance of the gateway; it was ten cubits and its length was thirteen cubits.^\)^f\) ¹² In front of each alcove was a wall one cubit high, and the alcoves were six cubits square. ¹³ Then he measured the gateway from the top of the rear wall of one alcove to the top of the opposite one; the distance was twenty-five cubits^\)^g\) from one parapet opening to the opposite one. ¹⁴ He measured along the faces of the projecting walls all around the inside of the gateway—sixty cubits.^\)^h\) The measurement was up to the portico^\)^i\) facing the courtyard.^\)^j\) ¹⁵ The distance from the entrance of the gateway to the far end of its portico was fifty cubits.^\)^k\) ¹⁶ The alcoves and the projecting walls inside the gateway were surmounted by narrow parapet openings all around, as was the portico; the openings all around faced inward. The faces of the projecting walls were decorated with palm trees.

The Outer Court

¹⁷ Then he brought me into the outer court. There I saw some rooms and a pavement that had been constructed all around the court; there were thirty rooms along the pavement. ¹⁸ It abutted the sides of the gateways and was as wide as they were long; this was the lower pavement. ¹⁹ Then he measured the distance from the inside of the lower gateway to the outside of the inner court; it was a hundred cubits^\)^l\) on the east side as well as on the north.

The North Gate

²⁰ Then he measured the length and width of the north gate, leading into the outer court. ²¹ Its alcoves—three on each side—its projecting walls and its portico had the same measurements as those of the first gateway. It was fifty cubits long and twenty-five cubits wide. ²² Its openings, its portico and its palm tree decorations had the same measurements as those of the gate facing east. Seven steps led up to it, with its portico opposite them. ²³ There was a gate to the inner court facing the north gate, just as there was on the east. He measured from one gate to the opposite one; it was a hundred cubits.

The South Gate

²⁴ Then he led me to the south side and I saw the south gate. He measured its jambs and its portico, and they had the same measurements as the others. ²⁵ The gateway and its portico had narrow openings all around, like the openings of the others. It was fifty cubits long and twenty-five cubits wide. ²⁶ Seven steps led up to it, with its portico opposite them; it had palm tree decorations on the faces of the projecting walls on each side. ²⁷ The inner court also had a gate facing south, and he measured from this gate to the outer gate on the south side; it was a hundred cubits.

The Gates to the Inner Court

²⁸ Then he brought me into the inner court through the south gate, and he measured the south gate; it had the same measurements as the others. ²⁹ Its alcoves, its projecting walls and its portico had the same measurements as the others. The gateway and its portico had openings all around. It was fifty cubits long and twenty-five cubits wide. ³⁰ (The porticoes of the gateways around the inner court were twenty-five cubits wide and five cubits deep.) ³¹ Its portico faced the outer court; palm trees decorated its jambs, and eight steps led up to it.

³² Then he brought me to the inner court on the east side, and he measured the gateway; it had the same measurements as the others. ³³ Its alcoves, its projecting walls and its portico had the same measurements as the others. The gateway and its portico had openings all around. It was fifty cubits long and twenty-five cubits wide. ³⁴ Its portico faced the outer court; palm trees decorated the jambs on either side, and eight steps led up to it.

³⁵ Then he brought me to the north gate and measured it. It had the same measurements as the others, ³⁶ as did its alcoves, its projecting walls and its portico, and it had openings all around. It was fifty cubits long and twenty-five cubits wide. ³⁷ Its portico^\)^m\) faced the outer court; palm trees decorated the jambs on either side, and eight steps led up to it.

The Rooms for Preparing Sacrifices

³⁸ A room with a doorway was by the portico in each of the inner gateways, where the burnt offerings were washed. ³⁹ In the portico of the gateway were two tables on each side, on which the burnt offerings, sin offerings^\)^n\) and guilt offerings were slaughtered. ⁴⁰ By the outside wall of the portico of the gateway, near the steps at the entrance of the north gateway were two tables, and on the other side of the steps were two tables. ⁴¹ So there were four tables on one side of the gateway and four on the other—eight tables in all—on which the sacrifices were slaughtered. ⁴² There were also four tables of dressed stone for the burnt offerings, each a cubit and a half long, a cubit and a half wide and a cubit high.^\)^o\) On them were placed the utensils for slaughtering the burnt offerings and the other sacrifices. ⁴³ And double-pronged hooks, each a handbreadth^\)^p\) long, were attached to the wall all around. The tables were for the flesh of the offerings.

The Rooms for the Priests

⁴⁴ Outside the inner gate, within the inner court, were two rooms, one^\)^q\) at the side of the north gate and facing south, and another at the side of the south^\)^r\) gate and facing north. ⁴⁵ He said to me, “The room facing south is for the priests who guard the temple, ⁴⁶ and the room facing north is for the priests who guard the altar. These are the sons of Zadok, who are the only Levites who may draw near to the Lord to minister before him.”

⁴⁷ Then he measured the court: It was square—a hundred cubits long and a hundred cubits wide. And the altar was in front of the temple.

The New Temple

⁴⁸ He brought me to the portico of the temple and measured the jambs of the portico; they were five cubits wide on either side. The width of the entrance was fourteen cubits^\)^s\) and its projecting walls were^\)^t\) three cubits^\)^u\) wide on either side. ⁴⁹ The portico was twenty cubits^\)^v\) wide, and twelve^\)^w\) cubits^\)^x\) from front to back. It was reached by a flight of stairs,^\)^y\) and there were pillars on each side of the jambs.

41 Then the man brought me to the main hall and measured the jambs; the width of the jambs was six cubits^\)^z\) on each side.^\)^aa\) ² The entrance was ten cubits^\)^ab\) wide, and the projecting walls on each side of it were five cubits^\)^ac\) wide. He also measured the main hall; it was forty cubits long and twenty cubits wide.^\)^ad\)

³ Then he went into the inner sanctuary and measured the jambs of the entrance; each was two cubits^\)^ae\) wide. The entrance was six cubits wide, and the projecting walls on each side of it were seven cubits^\)^af\) wide. ⁴ And he measured the length of the inner sanctuary; it was twenty cubits, and its width was twenty cubits across the end of the main hall. He said to me, “This is the Most Holy Place.”

⁵ Then he measured the wall of the temple; it was six cubits thick, and each side room around the temple was four cubits^\)^ag\) wide. ⁶ The side rooms were on three levels, one above another, thirty on each level. There were ledges all around the wall of the temple to serve as supports for the side rooms, so that the supports were not inserted into the wall of the temple. ⁷ The side rooms all around the temple were wider at each successive level. The structure surrounding the temple was built in ascending stages, so that the rooms widened as one went upward. A stairway went up from the lowest floor to the top floor through the middle floor.

⁸ I saw that the temple had a raised base all around it, forming the foundation of the side rooms. It was the length of the rod, six long cubits. ⁹ The outer wall of the side rooms was five cubits thick. The open area between the side rooms of the temple ¹⁰ and the priests’ rooms was twenty cubits wide all around the temple. ¹¹ There were entrances to the side rooms from the open area, one on the north and another on the south; and the base adjoining the open area was five cubits wide all around.

¹² The building facing the temple courtyard on the west side was seventy cubits^\)^ah\) wide. The wall of the building was five cubits thick all around, and its length was ninety cubits.^\)^ai\)

¹³ Then he measured the temple; it was a hundred cubits^\)^aj\) long, and the temple courtyard and the building with its walls were also a hundred cubits long. ¹⁴ The width of the temple courtyard on the east, including the front of the temple, was a hundred cubits.

¹⁵ Then he measured the length of the building facing the courtyard at the rear of the temple, including its galleries on each side; it was a hundred cubits.

The main hall, the inner sanctuary and the portico facing the court, ¹⁶ as well as the thresholds and the narrow windows and galleries around the three of them—everything beyond and including the threshold was covered with wood. The floor, the wall up to the windows, and the windows were covered. ¹⁷ In the space above the outside of the entrance to the inner sanctuary and on the walls at regular intervals all around the inner and outer sanctuary ¹⁸ were carved cherubim and palm trees. Palm trees alternated with cherubim. Each cherub had two faces: ¹⁹ the face of a human being toward the palm tree on one side and the face of a lion toward the palm tree on the other. They were carved all around the whole temple. ²⁰ From the floor to the area above the entrance, cherubim and palm trees were carved on the wall of the main hall.

²¹ The main hall had a rectangular doorframe, and the one at the front of the Most Holy Place was similar. ²² There was a wooden altar three cubits^\)^ak\) high and two cubits square^\)^al\); its corners, its base^\)^am\) and its sides were of wood. The man said to me, “This is the table that is before the Lord.” ²³ Both the main hall and the Most Holy Place had double doors. ²⁴ Each door had two leaves—two hinged leaves for each door. ²⁵ And on the doors of the main hall were carved cherubim and palm trees like those carved on the walls, and there was a wooden overhang on the front of the portico. ²⁶ On the sidewalls of the portico were narrow windows with palm trees carved on each side. The side rooms of the temple also had overhangs.

The Rooms for the Priests

42 Then the man led me northward into the outer court and brought me to the rooms opposite the temple courtyard and opposite the outer wall on the north side. ² The building whose door faced north was a hundred cubits long and fifty cubits wide.^\)^an\) ³ Both in the section twenty cubits^\)^ao\) from the inner court and in the section opposite the pavement of the outer court, gallery faced gallery at the three levels. ⁴ In front of the rooms was an inner passageway ten cubits wide and a hundred cubits^\)^ap\) long.^\)^aq\) Their doors were on the north. ⁵ Now the upper rooms were narrower, for the galleries took more space from them than from the rooms on the lower and middle floors of the building. ⁶ The rooms on the top floor had no pillars, as the courts had; so they were smaller in floor space than those on the lower and middle floors. ⁷ There was an outer wall parallel to the rooms and the outer court; it extended in front of the rooms for fifty cubits. ⁸ While the row of rooms on the side next to the outer court was fifty cubits long, the row on the side nearest the sanctuary was a hundred cubits long. ⁹ The lower rooms had an entrance on the east side as one enters them from the outer court.

¹⁰ On the south side^\)^ar\) along the length of the wall of the outer court, adjoining the temple courtyard and opposite the outer wall, were rooms ¹¹ with a passageway in front of them. These were like the rooms on the north; they had the same length and width, with similar exits and dimensions. Similar to the doorways on the north ¹² were the doorways of the rooms on the south. There was a doorway at the beginning of the passageway that was parallel to the corresponding wall extending eastward, by which one enters the rooms.

¹³ Then he said to me, “The north and south rooms facing the temple courtyard are the priests’ rooms, where the priests who approach the Lord will eat the most holy offerings. There they will put the most holy offerings—the grain offerings, the sin offerings^\)^as\) and the guilt offerings—for the place is holy. ¹⁴ Once the priests enter the holy precincts, they are not to go into the outer court until they leave behind the garments in which they minister, for these are holy. They are to put on other clothes before they go near the places that are for the people.”

¹⁵ When he had finished measuring what was inside the temple area, he led me out by the east gate and measured the area all around: ¹⁶ He measured the east side with the measuring rod; it was five hundred cubits.^\)^at\[)^au\) ¹⁷ He measured the north side; it was five hundred cubits^\)^av\) by the measuring rod. ¹⁸ He measured the south side; it was five hundred cubits by the measuring rod. ¹⁹ Then he turned to the west side and measured; it was five hundred cubits by the measuring rod. ²⁰ So he measured the area on all four sides. It had a wall around it, five hundred cubits long and five hundred cubits wide, to separate the holy from the common.

Questions/Discussion

1. Why do you suppose the temple is described in such detail in this passage? How is this similar or different from other temple descriptions throughout the bible (Exodus 25-31, 1Kings 6-8, 2 Chronicles 3-4, etc.)?

2. Who do you think the person with an appearance of bronze is? Is this someone actually there, just a figure in a dream, or something else?

3. What were the differences between the various guilt offerings (grain, sin, guilt, burnt, fellowship)?

4. Has the temple described in this passage been built?

5. Feel free to add any other comments or questions.

Children and Parents

6 Children, obey your parents in the Lord, for this is right. ² “Honor your father and mother” (this is the first commandment with a promise), ³ “that it may go well with you and that you may live long in the land.” ⁴ Fathers, do not provoke your children to anger, but bring them up in the discipline and instruction of the Lord.

Bondservants and Masters

⁵ Bondservants,^\)^a\) obey your earthly masters^\)^b\) with fear and trembling, with a sincere heart, as you would Christ, ⁶ not by the way of eye-service, as people-pleasers, but as bondservants of Christ, doing the will of God from the heart, ⁷ rendering service with a good will as to the Lord and not to man,⁸ knowing that whatever good anyone does, this he will receive back from the Lord, whether he is a bondservant or is free. ⁹ Masters, do the same to them, and stop your threatening, knowing that he who is both their Master^\)^c\)and yours is in heaven, and that there is no partiality with him.

The Whole Armor of God

¹⁰ Finally, be strong in the Lord and in the strength of his might. ¹¹ Put on the whole armor of God, that you may be able to stand against the schemes of the devil. ¹² For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the cosmic powers over this present darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places.¹³ Therefore take up the whole armor of God, that you may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand firm. ¹⁴ Stand therefore, having fastened on the belt of truth, and having put on the breastplate of righteousness, ¹⁵ and, as shoes for your feet, having put on the readiness given by the gospel of peace. ¹⁶ In all circumstances take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming darts of the evil one; ¹⁷ and take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God, ¹⁸ praying at all times in the Spirit, with all prayer and supplication. To that end, keep alert with all perseverance, making supplication for all the saints, ¹⁹ and also for me, that words may be given to me in opening my mouth boldly to proclaim the mystery of the gospel, ²⁰ for which I am an ambassador in chains, that I may declare it boldly, as I ought to speak.

Final Greetings

²¹ So that you also may know how I am and what I am doing, Tychicus the beloved brother and faithful minister in the Lord will tell you everything. ²² I have sent him to you for this very purpose, that you may know how we are, and that he may encourage your hearts.

²³ Peace be to the brothers,^\)^d\) and love with faith, from God the Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. ²⁴ Grace be with all who love our Lord Jesus Christ with love incorruptible.

Footnotes

1. Ephesians 6:5 For the contextual rendering of the Greek word doulos, see Preface; also verse 6; likewise for bondservant in verse 8
2. Ephesians 6:5 Or your masters according to the flesh
3. Ephesians 6:9 Greek Lord
4. Ephesians 6:23 Or brothers and sisters

Questions

1) Per u/Scared_Eggplant4892 back in Ephesians 1 last week, how does this chapter reflect Ephesians 1 (and vise versa)?

1b) Why does verse 1 include the "in the Lord" part? How much of a difference does that make versus if it had been left out in that sentence?

2) Why does Paul feel the need to point out in verse 2 that this is the first commandment with a promise?

3) Why does verse 4 just mention fathers? And again, why does verse 4 mention bringing up the children "in the discipline and instruction of the Lord" part? Also, what exactly is this discipline and instruction of the Lord? Is Paul speaking generally or is he referring to something specific?

4) In the footnotes, what exactly is a doulos, according to verse 5? In the NIV, the word "slaves" is used instead of bondservants. What exactly would this bondservants and masters dynamic have looked like in Paul's day?

4b) Bit of a side question, you don't have to answer this if you don't want to. A few months ago, I saw a discussion on perfection on YouTube. For part of the discussion I remember seeing, one person took issue that Jesus didn't condemn slavery and seemed unsatisfied with what Jesus did as a result.

How would you answer this objection?

5) What stands out to you about these instructions in verses 1-9 and how do they tie into Ephesians 5/the book as a whole?

6) Again, why is "be strong in the Lord" and his "might" included in verse 10? Does this have anything to do with 2 Corinthians 12:1-10 (particularly verses 9-10), just wondering?

7) Related to this, would you say it's tempting to be strong in your own strength? If this is a real temptation, then what's the solution?

8) Would you say verse 12 is easy to forget when it comes to interacting with people or in general?

9) For verse 13, what is the evil day? Does this have anything to do with Ephesians 5:14-16 or is Paul referring to a specific day?

10) The armor of God section in verses 13-17 is pretty famous, I believe. What stands out to you about verses 10-20?

11) Who is Tychius in verses 21-22 and is he mentioned elsewhere?

12) So whether this is your first time reading Ephesians or if you've read it before, what are your thoughts on Ephesians? If you've read Ephesians before, is there anything in particular that stood out to you this time?

Ephesians 5 (ESV)

Walk in Love

5 Therefore be imitators of God, as beloved children. ² And walk in love, as Christ loved us and gave himself up for us, a fragrant offering and sacrifice to God.

³ But sexual immorality and all impurity or covetousness must not even be named among you, as is proper among saints. ⁴ Let there be no filthiness nor foolish talk nor crude joking, which are out of place, but instead let there be thanksgiving. ⁵ For you may be sure of this, that everyone who is sexually immoral or impure, or who is covetous (that is, an idolater), has no inheritance in the kingdom of Christ and God. ⁶ Let no one deceive you with empty words, for because of these things the wrath of God comes upon the sons of disobedience. ⁷ Therefore do not become partners with them; ⁸ for at one time you were darkness, but now you are light in the Lord. Walk as children of light ⁹ (for the fruit of light is found in all that is good and right and true), ¹⁰ and try to discern what is pleasing to the Lord. ¹¹ Take no part in the unfruitful works of darkness, but instead expose them. ¹² For it is shameful even to speak of the things that they do in secret. ¹³ But when anything is exposed by the light, it becomes visible, ¹⁴ for anything that becomes visible is light. Therefore it says,

“Awake, O sleeper,

and arise from the dead,

and Christ will shine on you.”

¹⁵ Look carefully then how you walk, not as unwise but as wise, ¹⁶ making the best use of the time, because the days are evil. ¹⁷ Therefore do not be foolish, but understand what the will of the Lord is. ¹⁸ And do not get drunk with wine, for that is debauchery, but be filled with the Spirit, ¹⁹ addressing one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making melody to the Lord with your heart, ²⁰ giving thanks always and for everything to God the Father in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, ²¹ submitting to one another out of reverence for Christ.

Wives and Husbands

²² Wives, submit to your own husbands, as to the Lord. ²³ For the husband is the head of the wife even as Christ is the head of the church, his body, and is himself its Savior. ²⁴ Now as the church submits to Christ, so also wives should submit in everything to their husbands.

²⁵ Husbands, love your wives, as Christ loved the church and gave himself up for her, ²⁶ that he might sanctify her, having cleansed her by the washing of water with the word, ²⁷ so that he might present the church to himself in splendor, without spot or wrinkle or any such thing, that she might be holy and without blemish. ²⁸ In the same way husbands should love their wives as their own bodies. He who loves his wife loves himself. ²⁹ For no one ever hated his own flesh, but nourishes and cherishes it, just as Christ does the church, ³⁰ because we are members of his body. ³¹ “Therefore a man shall leave his father and mother and hold fast to his wife, and the two shall become one flesh.” ³² This mystery is profound, and I am saying that it refers to Christ and the church. ³³ However, let each one of you love his wife as himself, and let the wife see that she respects her husband.

Questions For Contemplation and Discussion

1.       Paul seems concerned not only with what we commonly think of a sin, but also with things like “empty talk” and “foolish talk”.   What is this referring to and why is it such a big deal?  How does it bring the wrath of God?

2.       What are darkness and light used to contrast in this passage?

3.       How do we understand what the will of God is?

4.       How are wives supposed to submit to their husbands?  What is the husband’s responsibility in this arrangement?

5.       What does vss 26 and 27 tell us about what Christ has done for us?

6.       What is the “washing of water with the word”?

Can you suggest some scriptures that I could do a short study on this morning and maybe every morning?? I have large doubts if I’m saved or even can be saved Protestant only please. No offense

Ephesians Chapter 4 King James Version

Chapter 4

Unity in the Body

1I therefore, the prisoner of the Lord, beseech you that ye walk worthy of the vocation wherewith ye are called, 2With all lowliness and meekness, with longsuffering, forbearing one another in love; 3Endeavouring to keep the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace. 4There is one body, and one Spirit, even as ye are called in one hope of your calling; 5One Lord, one faith, one baptism, 6One God and Father of all, who is above all, and through all, and in you all.

7But unto every one of us is given grace according to the measure of the gift of Christ.

8Wherefore he saith, When he ascended up on high, he led captivity captive, and gave gifts unto men.

9(Now that he ascended, what is it but that he also descended first into the lower parts of the earth? 10He that descended is the same also that ascended up far above all heavens, that he might fill all things.) 11And he gave some, apostles; and some, prophets; and some, evangelists; and some, pastors and teachers; 12For the perfecting of the saints, for the work of the ministry, for the edifying of the body of Christ: 13Till we all come in the unity of the faith, and of the knowledge of the Son of God, unto a perfect man, unto the measure of the stature of the fulness of Christ: 14That we henceforth be no more children, tossed to and fro, and carried about with every wind of doctrine, by the sleight of men, and cunning craftiness, whereby they lie in wait to deceive; 15But speaking the truth in love, may grow up into him in all things, which is the head, even Christ: 16From whom the whole body fitly joined together and compacted by that which every joint supplieth, according to the effectual working in the measure of every part, maketh increase of the body unto the edifying of itself in love.

Living as Children of Light

17This I say therefore, and testify in the Lord, that ye henceforth walk not as other Gentiles walk, in the vanity of their mind, 18Having the understanding darkened, being alienated from the life of God through the ignorance that is in them, because of the blindness of their heart: 19Who being past feeling have given themselves over unto lasciviousness, to work all uncleanness with greediness. 20But ye have not so learned Christ; 21If so be that ye have heard him, and have been taught by him, as the truth is in Jesus: 22That ye put off concerning the former conversation the old man, which is corrupt according to the deceitful lusts; 23And be renewed in the spirit of your mind; 24And that ye put on the new man, which after God is created in righteousness and true holiness.

25Wherefore putting away lying, speak every man truth with his neighbour: for we are members one of another. 26Be ye angry, and sin not: let not the sun go down upon your wrath: 27Neither give place to the devil. 28Let him that stole steal no more: but rather let him labour, working with his hands the thing which is good, that he may have to give to him that needeth. 29Let no corrupt communication proceed out of your mouth, but that which is good to the use of edifying, that it may minister grace unto the hearers. 30And grieve not the holy Spirit of God, whereby ye are sealed unto the day of redemption. 31Let all bitterness, and wrath, and anger, and clamour, and evil speaking, be put away from you, with all malice: 32And be ye kind one to another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, even as God for Christ's sake hath forgiven you.

PRAYER

Thank you Jesus for this day! Today is a great day to worship You. Go before us, come after us, and be with us as we traverse the way You have set before us. We go out faithfully and obediently to worship You by name, Jesus Christ, in all that we do. In Your holy name, amen.

QUESTIONS/DISCUSSION

1. Where did Christ descend to? (v9-10)

2. Where did Christ ascend to? (v8-10)

3. Is there more than one level of heaven? (v10). Do we know what the characteristics are of each level?

4. What is the difference between a pastor and a teacher? (v11)

5. Jesus said we are to have faith like a child, but Paul says, ‘That we… be no more children…’ v14. Why the difference? (Are different Greek words used here?)

6. Verses 17-19 outline what unbelieving gentiles are like. I suspect most of us live in a fairly Christianized culture. But we are surrounded by these people just described even if there is an air of godliness around them. How do you separate yourself from their faux goodness and true Christ-natured obedience?

7. ‘And be renewed in the spirit of your mind…’ v23. Is this the Holy Spirit or your spirit or both? One would be doing the renewing, the other would be getting renewed.

8. What is the new man? v24

9. Paul had previously mentioned sealing of the HS (1:13). He mentions it again (4:30). What does it mean to be sealed by the HS? Is there a tangible change when this happens? Can you become ‘unsealed’ – if yes, how effective was the seal? If no, why not?

10. Do you struggle with ‘bitterness, and wrath, and anger, and clamour, and evil speaking,’? (v31). Is there any good remedy?

11. Do you have any questions? Ephesians is good food. Feel free to share whatever you wish.

Posted with moderator permission

For years, I've had to juggle multiple Bible apps and browser tabs open to read and study the Bible: YouVersion for basic Bible reading and Bible plans, OpenBible for cross references, BLB for Strong's concordance, ccel.org for commentaries, etc.

I've always wondered why studying the Bible felt so fragmented. Why couldn't an app just have all the Bible-study tools I need in one place?

In addition, why don't Bible apps allow me to type to navigate to a book and chapter (instead of scanning a grid of books and chapters), annotate verses and phrases within verses, easily undo navigation when I search or view a cross-reference, or customize the shortcuts that show up when I select a verse?

I'm a full-time mobile app developer, so I built the Bible app I wish existed. The app is called Lux Bible. It's available on Android and iOS for free.

Here are some of my favorite things about Lux:

Everything Absolutely Free: My personal conviction is that Scripture and tools to help people grow in their faith should be freely accessible. I've dedicated hundreds of hours into building Lux, and the only thing I hope for in return is to be a blessing to others. Lux does not track your data, there are no accounts, paywalls, or ads, and all features will always be freely accessible.

Type to Navigate: Navigate to Psalm 119 by typing in "Ps 119" instead of scanning for "Psalms" in one grid and "119" in the next.

Quick Navigation: When you view another chapter of the Bible, whether by going there manually, tapping on a search result, viewing a cross-reference, or viewing a Strong's concordance entry, you can simply swipe right on the toolbar to undo your navigation back to where you were originally reading.

Powerful Study Tools: Tap on a verse to dig into its interlinear data (Hebrew/Greek with Strong's definitions, Biblical Usage, concordance, and morphology in either Forward Interlinear or Reverse Interlinear), study commentary (currently containing 3 public-domain commentaries), view its cross-references in-context, or compare it against other translations.

Search by Word or Strong's Number: Long-press on a word to search for that word everywhere else in Scripture. Type in a Strong's Number (like G2533) to not only see what verses include that Strong's Number, but what exact English words compose that Strong's Word.

Bible-First, Minimal Design: Lux is designed with a minimal interface so that the Bible is front-and-center. The first thing you see when you open the app is the Bible, not a social feed. The study tools stay out of your way until you need them.

Annotate Verses and Text Within Verses: Tap on a verse to select the entire verse. Or long-press and drag to select text within a verse. You can add annotations either way.

Customizable Shortcuts: Choose from toolbar presets (like Reader, Note-Taker, or Studier), or go crazy and customize every single toolbar shortcut. You can even customize shortcuts for long-pressing the toolbar and long-pressing selected verses.

Audio Bibles: Not only can you read the Word, you can hear the Word. The currently-spoken verse is scrolled into view as the audio progresses. You can change the playback speed and even set a timer for when you want the audio to stop.

Pinned Study Panels: Pin a study sheet (like commentary, cross-references, or another translation, etc.), and it will update its contents as you scroll through the main passage. For example, pin commentary which will stay updated as you scroll through, or pin another translation to have a parallel Bible.

Yearly Bible Plans: Stay on-track with your reading by following a guided Bible plan, ranging from One Year Chronological, Through the Bible in a Year, Gospel & Epistles in a Year, etc. You can even listen to your daily passages instead of reading them if you're on the go.

Organizing Annotations: Create and label custom highlight styles (ranging from red highlight to blue squiggly line), and notebooks to organize your annotations. Filter your annotations in a variety of ways, like "Annotations with notes in the 'Group Study' notebook with the 'Blue Squiggly' style in the New Testament sorted by when I created the annotation"

Bookmarks Follow You: When a bookmark is selected, it follows you when you swipe from chapter-to-chapter. No need to keep updating bookmarks when your sermon series moves on to the next chapter.

Lux includes NASB95, NIV, CSB, NLT, NKJV, BSB, KJV, ASV, and even Russian and Dutch translations freely. It also provides the Textus Receptus, Statistical Restoration, Byzantine Textform, LXX, and Open Scriptures Hebrew Bible for those who want to read the original Hebrew and Greek.

I’ve put hundreds of hours into Lux, and it has been a huge blessing to me and to my local church community. I hope it can be to you too! You can learn more and download Lux here: https://www.luxbible.app/

I’m still actively developing Lux, so honest feedback is very welcome. What tools or quality-of-life features would make studying the Bible easier for you?

Blessings!

Please use this thread for any discussions outside of the scheduled readings:

• Questions/comments
• Prayer Requests
• Praises

Psalm 69[^a]

For the director of music. To the tune of “Lilies.” Of David.

¹ Save me, O God,
for the waters have come up to my neck.
² I sink in the miry depths,
where there is no foothold.
I have come into the deep waters;
the floods engulf me.
³ I am worn out calling for help;
my throat is parched.
My eyes fail,
looking for my God.
⁴ Those who hate me without reason
outnumber the hairs of my head;
many are my enemies without cause,
those who seek to destroy me.
I am forced to restore
what I did not steal.

⁵ You, God, know my folly;
my guilt is not hidden from you.

⁶ Lord, the Lord Almighty,
may those who hope in you
not be disgraced because of me;
God of Israel,
may those who seek you
not be put to shame because of me.
⁷ For I endure scorn for your sake,
and shame covers my face.
⁸ I am a foreigner to my own family,
a stranger to my own mother’s children;
⁹ for zeal for your house consumes me,
and the insults of those who insult you fall on me.
¹⁰ When I weep and fast,
I must endure scorn;
¹¹ when I put on sackcloth,
people make sport of me.
¹² Those who sit at the gate mock me,
and I am the song of the drunkards.

¹³ But I pray to you, Lord,
in the time of your favor;
in your great love, O God,
answer me with your sure salvation.
¹⁴ Rescue me from the mire,
do not let me sink;
deliver me from those who hate me,
from the deep waters.
¹⁵ Do not let the floodwaters engulf me
or the depths swallow me up
or the pit close its mouth over me.

¹⁶ Answer me, Lord, out of the goodness of your love;
in your great mercy turn to me.
¹⁷ Do not hide your face from your servant;
answer me quickly, for I am in trouble.
¹⁸ Come near and rescue me;
deliver me because of my foes.

¹⁹ You know how I am scorned, disgraced and shamed;
all my enemies are before you.
²⁰ Scorn has broken my heart
and has left me helpless;
I looked for sympathy, but there was none,
for comforters, but I found none.
²¹ They put gall in my food
and gave me vinegar for my thirst.

²² May the table set before them become a snare;
may it become retribution and^\)^b\) a trap.
²³ May their eyes be darkened so they cannot see,
and their backs be bent forever.
²⁴ Pour out your wrath on them;
let your fierce anger overtake them.
²⁵ May their place be deserted;
let there be no one to dwell in their tents.
²⁶ For they persecute those you wound
and talk about the pain of those you hurt.
²⁷ Charge them with crime upon crime;
do not let them share in your salvation.
²⁸ May they be blotted out of the book of life
and not be listed with the righteous.

²⁹ But as for me, afflicted and in pain—
may your salvation, God, protect me.

³⁰ I will praise God’s name in song
and glorify him with thanksgiving.
³¹ This will please the Lord more than an ox,
more than a bull with its horns and hooves.
³² The poor will see and be glad—
you who seek God, may your hearts live!
³³ The Lord hears the needy
and does not despise his captive people.

³⁴ Let heaven and earth praise him,
the seas and all that move in them,
³⁵ for God will save Zion
and rebuild the cities of Judah.
Then people will settle there and possess it;
³⁶     the children of his servants will inherit it,
and those who love his name will dwell there.

Footnotes

1. Psalm 69:1 In Hebrew texts 69:1-36 is numbered 69:2-37.
2. Psalm 69:22 Or snare / and their fellowship become

Prayer:

Father, when I feel overwhelmed, rejected, or misunderstood, keep me close to You. Search me and forgive what is wrong in me, and don’t let my failures weaken anyone else’s faith. Defend me where I’ve been wronged, give me strength to endure what I cannot change, and teach me to praise You before I see the rescue. I trust that You hear me, You are near, and Your salvation will have the final word. In Jesus’ name, Amen.

Study Questions:

1. How do we tell the difference between suffering because we’re faithful and suffering because we messed up?
2. David worries that his failures could hurt someone else’s faith. How seriously should we take that responsibility?
3. “Zeal for your house consumes me.” When is confronting something godly zeal, and when is it just anger dressed up as righteousness?
4. David praises God before anything in his situation seems to change. Can we genuinely worship God while the prayer is still unanswered?
5. Psalm 69 starts with “Save me” and ends with confidence that God will restore His people. What happens when our prayers grow beyond our own problems?

Note: I may have posted the following prayer before.
The author based it on the Psalms, and wove their own hopes into it.
I do not know the author's name; only their Reddit username, which is u/Motor_Art_8128.
Thank you, Motor Art 8128, for allowing the Spirit to work through you in this prayer. It really speaks to my heart.

Prayer

Heavenly Father,

My heart condemns me, and I feel the weight of my weakness before You. Yet Your Word says that You are greater than my heart and You know all things.

Lord, search me and know me. Reveal any wicked way within me and lead me in the everlasting way. Guard my mind, my eyes, my thoughts, and my desires. Do not let temptation gain mastery over me. When I am weak, be my strength. When I am distracted, draw me back to Your presence. When I am tempted, provide a way of escape and help me to take it.

Lead me not into temptation, but deliver me from evil. Protect me from the schemes of the enemy and from the sins that so easily entangle me. Create in me a clean heart, O God, and renew a steadfast spirit within me. Let my heart be filled with a greater love for You than for the things of this world.

Teach me to walk in obedience, humility, and reverence. Let Your Holy Spirit guide my steps today. May my thoughts be pleasing in Your sight, my words honor You, and my life reflect Your grace.

I place my fears, failures, guilt, and struggles at the foot of the cross. Thank You for Your mercy that is new every morning and for the forgiveness found in Jesus Christ.

In Jesus’ name,

Amen

^.

^{u/Motor_Art_8128}

Ephesians 3, New King James Version

(For alternate translations, see here.)

3

¹ For this reason I, Paul, the prisoner of Christ Jesus for you Gentiles— ² if indeed you have heard of the dispensation of the grace of God which was given to me for you, ³ how that by revelation He made known to me the mystery (as I have briefly written already, ⁴ by which, when you read, you may understand my knowledge in the mystery of Christ), ⁵ which in other ages was not made known to the sons of men, as it has now been revealed by the Spirit to His holy apostles and prophets: ⁶ that the Gentiles should be fellow heirs, of the same body, and partakers of His promise in Christ through the gospel, ⁷ of which I became a minister according to the gift of the grace of God given to me by the effective working of His power.

⁸ To me, who am less than the least of all the saints, this grace was given, that I should preach among the Gentiles the unsearchable riches of Christ, ⁹ and to make all see what is the fellowship of the mystery, which from the beginning of the ages has been hidden in God who created all things through Jesus Christ; ¹⁰ to the intent that now the manifold wisdom of God might be made known by the church to the principalities and powers in the heavenly places, ¹¹ according to the eternal purpose which He accomplished in Christ Jesus our Lord, ¹² in whom we have boldness and access with confidence through faith in Him. ¹³ Therefore I ask that you do not lose heart at my tribulations for you, which is your glory.

¹⁴ For this reason I bow my knees to the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, ¹⁵ from whom the whole family in heaven and earth is named, ¹⁶ that He would grant you, according to the riches of His glory, to be strengthened with might through His Spirit in the inner man, ¹⁷ that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith; that you, being rooted and grounded in love, ¹⁸ may be able to comprehend with all the saints what is the width and length and depth and height— ¹⁹ to know the love of Christ which passes knowledge; that you may be filled with all the fullness of God.

²⁰ Now to Him who is able to do exceedingly abundantly above all that we ask or think, according to the power that works in us, ²¹ to Him be glory in the church by Christ Jesus to all generations, forever and ever. Amen.

THOUGHTS and COMMENTS

To Him who does more than we ask... thanks be to God! I will be strengthened with might in my inner self, because Christ lives in my heart! THANKS BE TO GOD!

QUESTIONS

1. ...By which, when you read, you may understand my knowledge in the mystery of Christ...
   To what writing is Paul referring here? Does the New Living Translation/NLT version make it any easier to comprehend?
   (See alternate translations link above)

2. In the Gospel of John, chapter 16, Jesus says, “I still have many things to say to you, but you cannot bear them now. However, when He, the Spirit of truth, has come, He will guide you into all truth; for He will not speak on His own authority, but whatever He hears He will speak; and He will tell you things to come.”

   Is preaching to the Gentiles a new thing at this time? Is this due to the moving of the Spirit?

3. Can you think of relatively new movements of the Spirit to reach out and include others in more and more of God's grace, to Love all of our neighbors as ourselves, that have come to light in the past years, decades, or centuries? If so, what?

Feel free to leave any thoughts, comments, or questions of your own!

For this reason I bow my knees to the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, from whom the whole family in heaven and earth is named, that He would grant you, according to the riches of His glory, to be strengthened with might through His Spirit in the inner man, that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith; that you, being rooted and grounded in love, may be able to comprehend with all the saints what is the width and length and depth and height— to know the love of Christ which passes knowledge; that you may be filled with all the fullness of God.
Ephesians 3:14-19

Made Alive in Christ

2 As for you, you were dead in your transgressions and sins, ² in which you used to live when you followed the ways of this world and of the ruler of the kingdom of the air, the spirit who is now at work in those who are disobedient. ³ All of us also lived among them at one time, gratifying the cravings of our flesh^\)^a\) and following its desires and thoughts. Like the rest, we were by nature deserving of wrath. ⁴ But because of his great love for us, God, who is rich in mercy, ⁵ made us alive with Christ even when we were dead in transgressions—it is by grace you have been saved. ⁶ And God raised us up with Christ and seated us with him in the heavenly realms in Christ Jesus, ⁷ in order that in the coming ages he might show the incomparable riches of his grace, expressed in his kindness to us in Christ Jesus. ⁸ For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God— ⁹ not by works, so that no one can boast. ¹⁰ For we are God’s handiwork, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do.

Jew and Gentile Reconciled Through Christ

¹¹ Therefore, remember that formerly you who are Gentiles by birth and called “uncircumcised” by those who call themselves “the circumcision” (which is done in the body by human hands)— ¹² remember that at that time you were separate from Christ, excluded from citizenship in Israel and foreigners to the covenants of the promise, without hope and without God in the world. ¹³ But now in Christ Jesus you who once were far away have been brought near by the blood of Christ.

¹⁴ For he himself is our peace, who has made the two groups one and has destroyed the barrier, the dividing wall of hostility, ¹⁵ by setting aside in his flesh the law with its commands and regulations. His purpose was to create in himself one new humanity out of the two, thus making peace, ¹⁶ and in one body to reconcile both of them to God through the cross, by which he put to death their hostility. ¹⁷ He came and preached peace to you who were far away and peace to those who were near. ¹⁸ For through him we both have access to the Father by one Spirit.

¹⁹ Consequently, you are no longer foreigners and strangers, but fellow citizens with God’s people and also members of his household, ²⁰ built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, with Christ Jesus himself as the chief cornerstone. ²¹ In him the whole building is joined together and rises to become a holy temple in the Lord. ²² And in him you too are being built together to become a dwelling in which God lives by his Spirit.

Questions/Discussion

1. Who is the “you” Paul is referring to in verse 1?

2. Who is the ruler of the kingdom of air and why would they be referred to in this way?

3. Through verse 10 is really the heart of the gospel. We all begin spiritually dead and are given the gift of salvation by grace and through faith, as God’s gift to us. It seems Paul is describing the process by which God makes us alive in him, but does not address the begging question of how people are chosen and why God only reveals these truths to certain people. Any thoughts on why this mystery is not addressed and how it may be addressed elsewhere in the bible?

4. Verses 9 and 10 clearly describe someone who is alive in Christ as created to do good works, but also calling out that those good works are not what made them alive in Christ. How have you experienced this truth on a personal level? How can we explain this truth to others who may do good works in the earthly sense but miss King Jesus through it all?

5. Verse 13 is clearly telling Epheus that Jew vs. Gentile does not matter, circumcised vs. uncircumcised does not matter, that Jesus unites them all. Jesus has brought us closer to him. Specifically in this verse it is “by the blood of Christ”. What is the significance of the blood in bringing us to Christ. Is this simply symbolism or is there something truly powerful about the blood of Christ?  

6. As we saw a few days ago in the Ephesians Introduction post, there is a clear vision of hostility and division being overcome. This certainly relates to what we have been reading in Ezekiel. Where else in the bible do we see this theme?

7. We also saw verse 19-22 in the Ephesians Introduction post a few days ago. How does the apostles/prophets as the foundation and Jesus as the cornerstone of the temple show us how God dwells in His people now as opposed to a physical temple?

Greeting

1 Paul, an apostle of Christ Jesus by the will of God,

To the saints who are in Ephesus, and are faithful^\)^a\) in Christ Jesus:

² Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.

Spiritual Blessings in Christ

³ Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us in Christ with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places, ⁴ even as he chose us in him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and blameless before him. In love ⁵ he predestined us^\)^b\) for adoption to himself as sons through Jesus Christ, according to the purpose of his will,⁶ to the praise of his glorious grace, with which he has blessed us in the Beloved. ⁷ In him we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of our trespasses, according to the riches of his grace, ⁸ which he lavished upon us, in all wisdom and insight ⁹ making known^\)^c\) to us the mystery of his will, according to his purpose, which he set forth in Christ^\)^d\) ¹⁰ as a plan for the fullness of time, to unite all things in Christ, things in heaven and things on earth in him.

¹¹ In him we have obtained an inheritance, having been predestined according to the purpose of him who works all things according to the counsel of his will, ¹² so that we who were the first to hope in Christ might be to the praise of his glory. ¹³ In him you also, when you heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation, and believed in him, were sealed with the promised Holy Spirit, ¹⁴ who is the guarantee^\)^e\) of our inheritance until we acquire possession of it,^\)^f\) to the praise of his glory.

Thanksgiving and Prayer

¹⁵ For this reason, because I have heard of your faith in the Lord Jesus and your love^\)^g\) toward all the saints, ¹⁶ I do not cease to give thanks for you, remembering you in my prayers, ¹⁷ that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, may give you the Spirit of wisdom and of revelation in the knowledge of him, ¹⁸ having the eyes of your hearts enlightened, that you may know what is the hope to which he has called you, what are the riches of his glorious inheritance in the saints, ¹⁹ and what is the immeasurable greatness of his power toward us who believe, according to the working of his great might ²⁰ that he worked in Christ when he raised him from the dead and seated him at his right hand in the heavenly places, ²¹ far above all rule and authority and power and dominion, and above every name that is named, not only in this age but also in the one to come. ²² And he put all things under his feet and gave him as head over all things to the church,²³ which is his body, the fullness of him who fills all in all.

Footnotes

1. Ephesians 1:1 Some manuscripts saints who are also faithful (omitting in Ephesus)
2. Ephesians 1:5 Or before him in love, ⁵ having predestined us
3. Ephesians 1:9 Or he lavished upon us in all wisdom and insight, making known
4. Ephesians 1:9 Greek him
5. Ephesians 1:14 Or down payment
6. Ephesians 1:14 Or until God redeems his possession
7. Ephesians 1:15 Some manuscripts omit your love

Questions

1) Verses 3, 6 uses the past tense ("has blessed") and I think verse 11 does as well (there are also probably other verses that I overlooked where the past tense is used). For verses 3 and 6 in particular, what's the significance of this usage of past tense? And is this something that we can forget about/overlook in our lives?

2) Verses 5 and 11 use the word "predestined" in this passage. Might be wrong about this, but isn't this term somewhat controversial? More importantly, how does it fit in the context of this passage?

3) Based on u/ExiledSanity's introduction yesterday, what do you make of verse 10?

4) For verses 11 and 14, what is this inheritance Paul is referring to? Also, why does he say that we have obtained this inheritance in Jesus in verse 11, but verse 14 seems to be looking towards the future? Are the inheritances in verses 11 and 14 the same thing or different (and if they are different, how so?)?

5) Who is the "we" referring to in verse 12?

6) Again from the introduction yesterday, what stands out to you about this prayer in Ephesians 1:15-23?

7) What stands out to you about verses 17-18? And why is the "knowledge of him" brought up in verse 17? What about these "eyes of your heart" in verse 18?

8) This was in the introduction yesterday, but why does Paul feel the need to mention Christ being above everything in verses 20-21? Why was this important for the Ephesians and what can we take away from this?

9) Anything else you want to ask about/bring up about this passage?

Paul wrote Ephesians from prison in Rome, around AD 60–62, to a church he knew well. He'd spent three years there, longer than anywhere else in his ministry. Unlike Galatians or Corinthians, there's no fire to put out. No false teacher named, no scandal to correct, no factions to unite. Paul writes instead out of: time to think while imprisoned, a congregation in good standing, and a desire to lay out the full sweep of what God has done in Christ and what that means for how his people live together. That absence of crisis is part of why the letter feels different from Paul's other epistles. Less firefighting, more architecture.

A few major themes are worth watching for as you read. First, the supremacy of Christ over every spiritual power: thrones, rulers, authorities, whatever unseen forces a first-century Ephesian might have feared (and Ephesus, home to the cult of Artemis and a thriving trade in magic and amulets, gave people plenty to fear). Paul answers that fear not by minimizing the powers but by insisting Christ is already enthroned above them, and that believers share in that authority. Second, the reconciliation of Jew and Gentile into one new humanity, not a footnote but one of the letter's central concerns, given the real ethnic tension present in the diaspora synagogues and churches of Roman Asia. Third, identity "in Christ," a phrase Paul repeats roughly thirty times in six chapters. Everything he asks of believers in the second half of the letter, honesty, generosity, sexual purity, patient marriages, submission and love within households, is grounded in who they already are, not a checklist for becoming acceptable to God.

That points to the letter's basic shape: chapters 1–3 are almost entirely about what God has done and who you now are because of it; chapters 4–6 are about living out that identity in the church, the home, and the world. Paul never asks for anything in the second half he hasn't first grounded theologically in the first. Watch also for the prayers (1:15–23 and 3:14–21). Paul doesn't just teach the Ephesians truth, he shows them what to pray in light of it, which is worth noticing as a model for your own praying through the letter.

Finally, keep an eye on the language of mystery and unity, Paul's repeated claim that God's hidden plan, now revealed, is to "bring unity to all things in heaven and on earth under Christ" (1:10). That cosmic vision is what everything else in the letter, church unity, household order, spiritual warfare, ultimately serves.

Questions for Contemplation and Discussion

Note: I'm assume we all have some idea of what's following in Ezekiel and have read through Ephesians before.

1. Ephesians 2:19–22 describes believers as being "built together into a dwelling in which God lives by his Spirit." How does this picture compare to Ezekiel's vision of God's glory departing the temple (Ezek 10–11) and then returning to a new one (Ezek 43:1–5)? What does it mean that the temple Paul describes isn't a building but a people?

2. Ezekiel 37 pictures two sticks, representing a divided nation, becoming one in God's hand, under one shepherd. Ephesians 2:14–16 describes Christ making Jew and Gentile "one new man" by breaking down "the dividing wall of hostility." Where do you see these two unity visions overlapping, and where do they differ?

3. Ezekiel ties the Spirit's presence to a new heart and the ability to walk in God's statutes (Ezek 36:26–27). Paul says believers are "sealed with the promised Holy Spirit" (Eph 1:13–14) and later urges them to "be filled with the Spirit" (5:18). How does Ephesians develop what Ezekiel promises but doesn't fully unpack? (i.e. what the Spirit's indwelling presence actually produces in a person's life.)

4. Both books are deeply concerned with holiness, Ezekiel through the priestly regulations and the temple's graded zones of access (Ezek 40–46), Ephesians through calls to "put off" the old self and "put on" the new (4:22–24). How does access to God's presence change between the two books, and what does that change cost or require?

Ezekiel Chapters 38-39 King James Version

Chapter 38

Prophecy against Gog

1And the word of the LORD came unto me, saying, 2Son of man, set thy face against Gog, the land of Magog, the chief prince of Meshech and Tubal, and prophesy against him, 3And say, Thus saith the Lord GOD; Behold, I am against thee, O Gog, the chief prince of Meshech and Tubal: 4And I will turn thee back, and put hooks into thy jaws, and I will bring thee forth, and all thine army, horses and horsemen, all of them clothed with all sorts of armour, even a great company with bucklers and shields, all of them handling swords: 5Persia, Ethiopia, and Libya with them; all of them with shield and helmet: 6Gomer, and all his bands; the house of Togarmah of the north quarters, and all his bands: and many people with thee.

7Be thou prepared, and prepare for thyself, thou, and all thy company that are assembled unto thee, and be thou a guard unto them. 8After many days thou shalt be visited: in the latter years thou shalt come into the land that is brought back from the sword, and is gathered out of many people, against the mountains of Israel, which have been always waste: but it is brought forth out of the nations, and they shall dwell safely all of them. 9Thou shalt ascend and come like a storm, thou shalt be like a cloud to cover the land, thou, and all thy bands, and many people with thee.

10Thus saith the Lord GOD; It shall also come to pass, that at the same time shall things come into thy mind, and thou shalt think an evil thought: 11And thou shalt say, I will go up to the land of unwalled villages; I will go to them that are at rest, that dwell safely, all of them dwelling without walls, and having neither bars nor gates, 12To take a spoil, and to take a prey; to turn thine hand upon the desolate places that are now inhabited, and upon the people that are gathered out of the nations, which have gotten cattle and goods, that dwell in the midst of the land. 13Sheba, and Dedan, and the merchants of Tarshish, with all the young lions thereof, shall say unto thee, Art thou come to take a spoil? hast thou gathered thy company to take a prey? to carry away silver and gold, to take away cattle and goods, to take a great spoil?

14Therefore, son of man, prophesy and say unto Gog, Thus saith the Lord GOD; In that day when my people of Israel dwelleth safely, shalt thou not know it? 15And thou shalt come from thy place out of the north parts, thou, and many people with thee, all of them riding upon horses, a great company, and a mighty army: 16And thou shalt come up against my people of Israel, as a cloud to cover the land; it shall be in the latter days, and I will bring thee against my land, that the heathen may know me, when I shall be sanctified in thee, O Gog, before their eyes.

17Thus saith the Lord GOD; Art thou he of whom I have spoken in old time by my servants the prophets of Israel, which prophesied in those days many years that I would bring thee against them? 18And 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. 19For 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; 20So 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. 21And 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. 22And 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. 23Thus 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.

Chapter 39

The Slaughter of Gog's Armies

1Therefore, thou son of man, prophesy against Gog, and say, Thus saith the Lord GOD; Behold, I am against thee, O Gog, the chief prince of Meshech and Tubal: 2And I will turn thee back, and leave but the sixth part of thee, and will cause thee to come up from the north parts, and will bring thee upon the mountains of Israel: 3And I will smite thy bow out of thy left hand, and will cause thine arrows to fall out of thy right hand. 4Thou shalt fall upon the mountains of Israel, thou, and all thy bands, and the people that is with thee: I will give thee unto the ravenous birds of every sort, and to the beasts of the field to be devoured. 5Thou shalt fall upon the open field: for I have spoken it, saith the Lord GOD. 6And I will send a fire on Magog, and among them that dwell carelessly in the isles: and they shall know that I am the LORD.

7So will I make my holy name known in the midst of my people Israel; and I will not let them pollute my holy name any more: and the heathen shall know that I am the LORD, the Holy One in Israel. 8Behold, it is come, and it is done, saith the Lord GOD; this is the day whereof I have spoken.

9And they that dwell in the cities of Israel shall go forth, and shall set on fire and burn the weapons, both the shields and the bucklers, the bows and the arrows, and the handstaves, and the spears, and they shall burn them with fire seven years: 10So that they shall take no wood out of the field, neither cut down any out of the forests; for they shall burn the weapons with fire: and they shall spoil those that spoiled them, and rob those that robbed them, saith the Lord GOD.

11And it shall come to pass in that day, that I will give unto Gog a place there of graves in Israel, the valley of the passengers on the east of the sea: and it shall stop the noses of the passengers: and there shall they bury Gog and all his multitude: and they shall call it The valley of Hamongog. 12And seven months shall the house of Israel be burying of them, that they may cleanse the land. 13Yea, all the people of the land shall bury them; and it shall be to them a renown the day that I shall be glorified, saith the Lord GOD. 14And they shall sever out men of continual employment, passing through the land to bury with the passengers those that remain upon the face of the earth, to cleanse it: after the end of seven months shall they search. 15And the passengers that pass through the land, when any seeth a man's bone, then shall he set up a sign by it, till the buriers have buried it in the valley of Hamongog. 16And also the name of the city shall be Hamonah. Thus shall they cleanse the land.

17And, thou son of man, thus saith the Lord GOD; Speak unto every feathered fowl, and to every beast of the field, Assemble yourselves, and come; gather yourselves on every side to my sacrifice that I do sacrifice for you, even a great sacrifice upon the mountains of Israel, that ye may eat flesh, and drink blood. 18Ye shall eat the flesh of the mighty, and drink the blood of the princes of the earth, of rams, of lambs, and of goats, of bullocks, all of them fatlings of Bashan. 19And ye shall eat fat till ye be full, and drink blood till ye be drunken, of my sacrifice which I have sacrificed for you. 20Thus ye shall be filled at my table with horses and chariots, with mighty men, and with all men of war, saith the Lord GOD.

Israel to Be Restored

21And I will set my glory among the heathen, and all the heathen shall see my judgment that I have executed, and my hand that I have laid upon them. 22So the house of Israel shall know that I am the LORD their God from that day and forward. 23And the heathen shall know that the house of Israel went into captivity for their iniquity: because they trespassed against me, therefore hid I my face from them, and gave them into the hand of their enemies: so fell they all by the sword. 24According to their uncleanness and according to their transgressions have I done unto them, and hid my face from them.

25Therefore thus saith the Lord GOD; Now will I bring again the captivity of Jacob, and have mercy upon the whole house of Israel, and will be jealous for my holy name; 26After that they have borne their shame, and all their trespasses whereby they have trespassed against me, when they dwelt safely in their land, and none made them afraid. 27When I have brought them again from the people, and gathered them out of their enemies' lands, and am sanctified in them in the sight of many nations; 28Then shall they know that I am the LORD their God, which caused them to be led into captivity among the heathen: but I have gathered them unto their own land, and have left none of them any more there. 29Neither will I hide my face any more from them: for I have poured out my spirit upon the house of Israel, saith the Lord GOD.

NOTES

‘The chief prince of Meshech and Tubal’ is famously used to identify Gog. The word ‘chief’ is – ro’sh (Strongs H - 7218) Some take this to refer to Russia and make Meshech to be Moscow and Tubal to be Tobolsk. This is a possibility, but ro’sh is very clearly established to mean ‘head.’

The Septuagint (LXX) and other textual traditions have an alternate verse than the Masoretic tradition which most western Christians follow. Compare Amos 7:1 of the LXX to your Bible, “Thus has the Lord God showed me; and behold, a swarm of locusts coming from the east; and behold, one caterpillar, king Gog. And it came to pass when he had finished devouring the grass of the land, that I said, Lord God, be merciful; who shall raise up Jacob? For he is small in number. Repent, O Lord, for this. And this not be saith the Lord.”

Also, in Numbers 24:7 ‘Agag’ is translated as ‘Gog.’

Meredith G. Kline writes about the end times in a noteworthy article in a theology journal. You can read it here for free. In This article he connects, linguistically, har maged (armagedon) to the Mountain of Assembly which is not the famous plain of Megiddo (which has no mountain), but Mount Zion, where God assembles His people. Satan, in typological fashion, makes an attempt on Mount Zion from his imposter, fake and pseudo mountain to the North. It’s a fantastic read. I’m curious what your thoughts are on this article.

har = mountain

Ma = place of

Gog = personal name of the belligerent king

on = an appendage connecting Gog to Abbad-on

Thus, harmagedon = mountain of the place of Gog.

QUESTIONS/DISCUSSION

1. Earlier we saw a hook used as a tool to pull pharaoh out of the safety of the river for judgement (29:4) and again in chapter 19 when Israel is compared figuratively to a lion who is captured. The same word for hook is used in the same context in 2 Kings 19:28 and Isaiah 37:29. Gog and company are about to attempt an invasion of Israel. Knowing that God’s hooks are involved does this seem less like an invasion and more like a time of judgement?

2. The roster of belligerents is listed in 38:3-6. We have Gog leader of Meshech, Tubal (v3), Persia, Ethiopia, Libya (v5), Gomer, Togarmah (v6). None of these nations are next to Israel. What happened to them (Egypt, Edom, Moab, Ammon, Amorites, Tyre, Sidon, Assur, Hagarenes, Gebal, Amalek, Philistines)? Remember, we just finished a unit of prophetic judgements, but chapter 38 seems to begin looking far forward into the future.

3. Where or what are the mountains of Israel (38:8; 39:4)?

4. Another list of nations is in verse 13 (Sheba, Dedan, merchants of Tarshish, young lions).

5. Gog is repeatedly said to come from the northern parts (38:2-3, 15; 39:2) after many days-latter years (38:8, 16). A modern idea places Gog in Russia. Meshech and Tubal whom he is the chief leader are located in Asia Minor. Some also think this is figurative language. Where do you think Gog comes from?

6. God destroys the invading army with His favorite weapon – nature. We see a great earthquake (38:19), infighting (38:21), pestilence and meteors (38:22). Fire comes to Magog and the coastlands (39:6). Why does God refrain from using conventional warfare? How does this impact Israel today?

7. The aftermath of Gog’s destruction is peculiar. Israel burns their weapons for 7 years allowing forests to grow (39:9-10), takes 7 months to bury Gog’s dead (39:12), men will be employed to mark bones to be gathered and buried (39:14-15). Has this war happened already? If yes, when? If no, when will it happen? Some see this war as the synonymous with the one at the end of Revelation. Others think it must happen before the events of Revelation. What do you think?

8. Does God elsewhere in Scripture call for birds and beasts to a feast of dead men (39:17-20)? Why does God call this His sacrifice (39:17)?

9. Does Israel now know God or do they still not believe?

10. There is a lot going on in these 2 chapters. Is there anything you want to share?

TLDR:

Ingathery - Your Bible notes, gathered

Not a Bible app. Not a general notes app. Ingathery is the place where every note you take about the Bible - typed or handwritten anywhere (paper & digital) - gets gathered, linked to Scripture, and kept somewhere you'll actually find it again.

Why I developed this app

When reading, listening to sermons or studying, I take notes on the Bible in different places. I have some in note apps on my iPad, in physical notebooks, in my E ink tablet, typed in other places. Being all over the place I found it difficult to find again, so I rarely went back to them.

I couldn't find a way to bring all of these together without having to manage lots of organisation. General note taking apps or physical/virtual notebooks are great, but make it hard to connect my notes to the Bible. The Bible notes apps I found are good for linking to scripture, but only allowed for typed notes.

I built Ingathery.com to solve this for myself, and I hope it is useful for others. It's a web app that works in any web browser on desktop, laptop, tablet and is also designed to be used on mobile and installed as a PWA¹.

How it works

• Read your Bible in whatever way you want to, physical, Bible app.
• Capture notes the way you want:
  • Type into Ingathery directly
  • Photograph handwritten notes from paper or a notebook
  • Import images or pdfs from a tablet
• Mix all the above types in a single note.
• Coming soon - Add images inline in typed notes, like sermon slides. Snap quickly and be back into the note.
• Bible references in typed text are automatically recognised and turned into links that open the passage(s) next to your notes.
• Tag notes with details like the preacher, sermon/study series, topics and extra Bible references.
• Create manual threads of notes and connect notes to each other with links.
• Search for notes or browse by series, topic, or scripture (book, chapter, verses).
• Built in concordance and cross references. Suggests topics based on passages.
• Share notes to others via link or code. They get their own copy.
• Notes are resurfaced to help you be reminded of what you have learned.
• All your data is easily exported at any point as structured markdown files or a CSV (spreadsheet) file.

If this is something you might find useful...

There are more details and a full demo (no sign up needed) on Ingathery.com and a 16 day free trial (no credit card required). I would love to offer a permanent free version, but there are costs involved in providing storage etc, so I have kept the price as low as I can.

My hope is that it helps people learn more about and from the Bible, understand what God is saying through His word a little more clearly, and ultimately, know Him better.

Future plans

I am testing a feature that makes an accurate transcription of handwritten notes to be added to notes as text. I use this alongside the image/pdf of my handwritten notes. This uses an LLM (AI) and will always be optional. There is no other use of AI in the app.

¹A Progressive Web App (PWA) is a website/web app that acts like a real app on your phone or computer. You can put it on your home screen, open it in its own window, and use it when you have no internet, all without downloading it from an app store.

Thank you to the moderators for allowing me to post this today.

Please use this thread for any discussions outside of the scheduled readings:

• Questions/comments
• Prayer Requests
• Praises