[Ohio-Communities-of-Faith] DONNIE DAILY GEMS FOR SUNDAY SEPTEMBER 11

[Donnie Parrett]

DONNIE DAILY GEMS FOR SUNDAY SEPTEMBER 11

SPECIAL NOTE: Starting tomorrow, Monday September 12, I will have a new
email address. My new email address will be preacherdp1961 at gmail.com.
My "Donnie Daily Gems" will come from this new address.
Please make the change in your address book.
I will be closing my old email address tonight which is
deparrett at prtcnet.org.

___

DAILY BIBLE READING

Ezekiel 37-40
The Valley of Dry Bones
37 The hand of the Lord was on me, and he brought me out by the Spirit of
the Lord and set me in the middle of a valley; it was full of bones. 2 He
led me back and forth among them, and I saw a great many bones on the floor
of the valley, bones that were very dry. 3 He asked me, "Son of man, can
these bones live?"

I said, "Sovereign Lord, you alone know."

4 Then he said to me, "Prophesy to these bones and say to them, 'Dry bones,
hear the word of the Lord! 5 This is what the Sovereign Lord says to these
bones: I will make breath[a] enter you, and you will come to life. 6 I will
attach tendons to you and make flesh come upon you and cover you with skin;
I will put breath in you, and you will come to life. Then you will know that
I am the Lord.'"

7 So I prophesied as I was commanded. And as I was prophesying, there was a
noise, a rattling sound, and the bones came together, bone to bone. 8 I
looked, and tendons and flesh appeared on them and skin covered them, but
there was no breath in them.

9 Then he said to me, "Prophesy to the breath; prophesy, son of man, and say
to it, 'This is what the Sovereign Lord says: Come, breath, from the four
winds and breathe into these slain, that they may live.'" 10 So I prophesied
as he commanded me, and breath entered them; they came to life and stood up
on their feet-a vast army.

11 Then he said to me: "Son of man, these bones are the people of Israel.
They say, 'Our bones are dried up and our hope is gone; we are cut off.' 12
Therefore prophesy and say to them: 'This is what the Sovereign Lord says:
My people, I am going to open your graves and bring you up from them; I will
bring you back to the land of Israel. 13 Then you, my people, will know that
I am the Lord, when I open your graves and bring you up from them. 14 I will
put my Spirit in you and you will live, and I will settle you in your own
land. Then you will know that I the Lord have spoken, and I have done it,
declares the Lord.'"

One Nation Under One King
15 The word of the Lord came to me: 16 "Son of man, take a stick of wood and
write on it, 'Belonging to Judah and the Israelites associated with him.'
Then take another stick of wood, and write on it, 'Belonging to Joseph (that
is, to Ephraim) and all the Israelites associated with him.' 17 Join them
together into one stick so that they will become one in your hand.

18 "When your people ask you, 'Won't you tell us what you mean by this?' 19
say to them, 'This is what the Sovereign Lord says: I am going to take the
stick of Joseph-which is in Ephraim's hand-and of the Israelite tribes
associated with him, and join it to Judah's stick. I will make them into a
single stick of wood, and they will become one in my hand.' 20 Hold before
their eyes the sticks you have written on 21 and say to them, 'This is what
the Sovereign Lord says: I will take the Israelites out of the nations where
they have gone. I will gather them from all around and bring them back into
their own land. 22 I will make them one nation in the land, on the mountains
of Israel. There will be one king over all of them and they will never again
be two nations or be divided into two kingdoms. 23 They will no longer
defile themselves with their idols and vile images or with any of their
offenses, for I will save them from all their sinful backsliding,[b] and I
will cleanse them. They will be my people, and I will be their God.

24 "'My servant David will be king over them, and they will all have one
shepherd. They will follow my laws and be careful to keep my decrees. 25
They will live in the land I gave to my servant Jacob, the land where your
ancestors lived. They and their children and their children's children will
live there forever, and David my servant will be their prince forever. 26 I
will make a covenant of peace with them; it will be an everlasting covenant.
I will establish them and increase their numbers, and I will put my
sanctuary among them forever. 27 My dwelling place will be with them; I will
be their God, and they will be my people. 28 Then the nations will know that
I the Lord make Israel holy, when my sanctuary is among them forever.'"

The Lord's Great Victory Over the Nations
38 The word of the Lord came to me: 2 "Son of man, set your face against
Gog, of the land of Magog, the chief prince of[c] Meshek and Tubal; prophesy
against him 3 and say: 'This is what the Sovereign Lord says: I am against
you, Gog, chief prince of[d] Meshek and Tubal. 4 I will turn you around, put
hooks in your jaws and bring you out with your whole army-your horses, your
horsemen fully armed, and a great horde with large and small shields, all of
them brandishing their swords. 5 Persia, Cush[e] and Put will be with them,
all with shields and helmets, 6 also Gomer with all its troops, and Beth
Togarmah from the far north with all its troops-the many nations with you.

7 "'Get ready; be prepared, you and all the hordes gathered about you, and
take command of them. 8 After many days you will be called to arms. In
future years you will invade a land that has recovered from war, whose
people were gathered from many nations to the mountains of Israel, which had
long been desolate. They had been brought out from the nations, and now all
of them live in safety. 9 You and all your troops and the many nations with
you will go up, advancing like a storm; you will be like a cloud covering
the land.

10 "'This is what the Sovereign Lord says: On that day thoughts will come
into your mind and you will devise an evil scheme. 11 You will say, "I will
invade a land of unwalled villages; I will attack a peaceful and
unsuspecting people-all of them living without walls and without gates and
bars. 12 I will plunder and loot and turn my hand against the resettled
ruins and the people gathered from the nations, rich in livestock and goods,
living at the center of the land.[f]" 13 Sheba and Dedan and the merchants
of Tarshish and all her villages[g] will say to you, "Have you come to
plunder? Have you gathered your hordes to loot, to carry off silver and
gold, to take away livestock and goods and to seize much plunder?"'

14 "Therefore, son of man, prophesy and say to Gog: 'This is what the
Sovereign Lord says: In that day, when my people Israel are living in
safety, will you not take notice of it? 15 You will come from your place in
the far north, you and many nations with you, all of them riding on horses,
a great horde, a mighty army. 16 You will advance against my people Israel
like a cloud that covers the land. In days to come, Gog, I will bring you
against my land, so that the nations may know me when I am proved holy
through you before their eyes.

17 "'This is what the Sovereign Lord says: You are the one I spoke of in
former days by my servants the prophets of Israel. At that time they
prophesied for years that I would bring you against them. 18 This is what
will happen in that day: When Gog attacks the land of Israel, my hot anger
will be aroused, declares the Sovereign Lord. 19 In my zeal and fiery wrath
I declare that at that time there shall be a great earthquake in the land of
Israel. 20 The fish in the sea, the birds in the sky, the beasts of the
field, every creature that moves along the ground, and all the people on the
face of the earth will tremble at my presence. The mountains will be
overturned, the cliffs will crumble and every wall will fall to the ground.
21 I will summon a sword against Gog on all my mountains, declares the
Sovereign Lord. Every man's sword will be against his brother. 22 I will
execute judgment on him with plague and bloodshed; I will pour down torrents
of rain, hailstones and burning sulfur on him and on his troops and on the
many nations with him. 23 And so I will show my greatness and my holiness,
and I will make myself known in the sight of many nations. Then they will
know that I am the Lord.'

39 "Son of man, prophesy against Gog and say: 'This is what the Sovereign
Lord says: I am against you, Gog, chief prince of[h] Meshek and Tubal. 2 I
will turn you around and drag you along. I will bring you from the far north
and send you against the mountains of Israel. 3 Then I will strike your bow
from your left hand and make your arrows drop from your right hand. 4 On the
mountains of Israel you will fall, you and all your troops and the nations
with you. I will give you as food to all kinds of carrion birds and to the
wild animals. 5 You will fall in the open field, for I have spoken, declares
the Sovereign Lord. 6 I will send fire on Magog and on those who live in
safety in the coastlands, and they will know that I am the Lord.

7 "'I will make known my holy name among my people Israel. I will no longer
let my holy name be profaned, and the nations will know that I the Lord am
the Holy One in Israel. 8 It is coming! It will surely take place, declares
the Sovereign Lord. This is the day I have spoken of.

9 "'Then those who live in the towns of Israel will go out and use the
weapons for fuel and burn them up-the small and large shields, the bows and
arrows, the war clubs and spears. For seven years they will use them for
fuel. 10 They will not need to gather wood from the fields or cut it from
the forests, because they will use the weapons for fuel. And they will
plunder those who plundered them and loot those who looted them, declares
the Sovereign Lord.

11 "'On that day I will give Gog a burial place in Israel, in the valley of
those who travel east of the Sea. It will block the way of travelers,
because Gog and all his hordes will be buried there. So it will be called
the Valley of Hamon Gog.[i]

12 "'For seven months the Israelites will be burying them in order to
cleanse the land. 13 All the people of the land will bury them, and the day
I display my glory will be a memorable day for them, declares the Sovereign
Lord. 14 People will be continually employed in cleansing the land. They
will spread out across the land and, along with others, they will bury any
bodies that are lying on the ground.

"'After the seven months they will carry out a more detailed search. 15 As
they go through the land, anyone who sees a human bone will leave a marker
beside it until the gravediggers bury it in the Valley of Hamon Gog, 16 near
a town called Hamonah.[j] And so they will cleanse the land.'

17 "Son of man, this is what the Sovereign Lord says: Call out to every kind
of bird and all the wild animals: 'Assemble and come together from all
around to the sacrifice I am preparing for you, the great sacrifice on the
mountains of Israel. There you will eat flesh and drink blood. 18 You will
eat the flesh of mighty men and drink the blood of the princes of the earth
as if they were rams and lambs, goats and bulls-all of them fattened animals
from Bashan. 19 At the sacrifice I am preparing for you, you will eat fat
till you are glutted and drink blood till you are drunk. 20 At my table you
will eat your fill of horses and riders, mighty men and soldiers of every
kind,' declares the Sovereign Lord.

21 "I will display my glory among the nations, and all the nations will see
the punishment I inflict and the hand I lay on them. 22 From that day
forward the people of Israel will know that I am the Lord their God. 23 And
the nations will know that the people of Israel went into exile for their
sin, because they were unfaithful to me. So I hid my face from them and
handed them over to their enemies, and they all fell by the sword. 24 I
dealt with them according to their uncleanness and their offenses, and I hid
my face from them.

25 "Therefore this is what the Sovereign Lord says: I will now restore the
fortunes of Jacob[k] and will have compassion on all the people of Israel,
and I will be zealous for my holy name. 26 They will forget their shame and
all the unfaithfulness they showed toward me when they lived in safety in
their land with no one to make them afraid. 27 When I have brought them back
from the nations and have gathered them from the countries of their enemies,
I will be proved holy through them in the sight of many nations. 28 Then
they will know that I am the Lord their God, for though I sent them into
exile among the nations, I will gather them to their own land, not leaving
any behind. 29 I will no longer hide my face from them, for I will pour out
my Spirit on the people of Israel, declares the Sovereign Lord."

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,[l] 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[m] 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[n] was eight cubits[o]
deep and its jambs were two cubits[p] 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.[q] 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[r] 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.[s] The measurement was up to the portico[t] facing the courtyard.[u]
15 The distance from the entrance of the gateway to the far end of its
portico was fifty cubits.[v] 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[w] 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[x] 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[y] 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.[z] On them were placed the utensils
for slaughtering the burnt offerings and the other sacrifices. 43 And
double-pronged hooks, each a handbreadth[aa] 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[ab]
at the side of the north gate and facing south, and another at the side of
the south[ac] 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[ad] and its projecting walls were[ae] three
cubits[af] wide on either side. 49 The portico was twenty cubits[ag] wide,
and twelve[ah] cubits[ai] from front to back. It was reached by a flight of
stairs,[aj] and there were pillars on each side of the jambs.

Footnotes
Ezekiel 37:5 The Hebrew for this word can also mean wind or spirit (see
verses 6-14).
Ezekiel 37:23 Many Hebrew manuscripts (see also Septuagint); most Hebrew
manuscripts all their dwelling places where they sinned
Ezekiel 38:2 Or the prince of Rosh,
Ezekiel 38:3 Or Gog, prince of Rosh,
Ezekiel 38:5 That is, the upper Nile region
Ezekiel 38:12 The Hebrew for this phrase means the navel of the earth.
Ezekiel 38:13 Or her strong lions
Ezekiel 39:1 Or Gog, prince of Rosh,
Ezekiel 39:11 Hamon Gog means hordes of Gog.
Ezekiel 39:16 Hamonah means horde.
Ezekiel 39:25 Or now bring Jacob back from captivity
Ezekiel 40:5 That is, about 11 feet or about 3.2 meters; also in verse 12.
The long cubit of about 21 inches or about 53 centimeters is the basic unit
of measurement of length throughout chapters 40-48.
Ezekiel 40:7 That is, about 8 3/4 feet or about 2.7 meters; also in verse 48
Ezekiel 40:9 Many Hebrew manuscripts, Septuagint, Vulgate and Syriac; most
Hebrew manuscripts gateway facing the temple; it was one rod deep. 9 Then he
measured the portico of the gateway; it
Ezekiel 40:9 That is, about 14 feet or about 4.2 meters
Ezekiel 40:9 That is, about 3 1/2 feet or about 1 meter
Ezekiel 40:11 That is, about 18 feet wide and 23 feet long or about 5.3
meters wide and 6.9 meters long
Ezekiel 40:13 That is, about 44 feet or about 13 meters; also in verses 21,
25, 29, 30, 33 and 36
Ezekiel 40:14 That is, about 105 feet or about 32 meters
Ezekiel 40:14 Septuagint; Hebrew projecting wall
Ezekiel 40:14 The meaning of the Hebrew for this verse is uncertain.
Ezekiel 40:15 That is, about 88 feet or about 27 meters; also in verses 21,
25, 29, 33 and 36
Ezekiel 40:19 That is, about 175 feet or about 53 meters; also in verses 23,
27 and 47
Ezekiel 40:37 Septuagint (see also verses 31 and 34); Hebrew jambs
Ezekiel 40:39 Or purification offerings
Ezekiel 40:42 That is, about 2 2/3 feet long and wide and 21 inches high or
about 80 centimeters long and wide and 53 centimeters high
Ezekiel 40:43 That is, about 3 1/2 inches or about 9 centimeters
Ezekiel 40:44 Septuagint; Hebrew were rooms for singers, which were
Ezekiel 40:44 Septuagint; Hebrew east
Ezekiel 40:48 That is, about 25 feet or about 7.4 meters
Ezekiel 40:48 Septuagint; Hebrew entrance was
Ezekiel 40:48 That is, about 5 1/4 feet or about 1.6 meters
Ezekiel 40:49 That is, about 35 feet or about 11 meters
Ezekiel 40:49 Septuagint; Hebrew eleven
Ezekiel 40:49 That is, about 21 feet or about 6.4 meters
Ezekiel 40:49 Hebrew; Septuagint Ten steps led up to it