Read chapter in full: biblegateway.com/passage/?version=ESV&search=Ezekiel+039

 

Ezekiel 39 (ESV)

²⁵ “Therefore thus says the Lord God: Now I will restore the fortunes of Jacob and have mercy on the whole house of Israel, and I will be jealous for my holy name. ²⁶ They shall forget their shame and all the treachery they have practiced against me, when they dwell securely in their land with none to make them afraid, ²⁷ when I have brought them back from the peoples and gathered them from their enemies’ lands, and through them have vindicated my holiness in the sight of many nations. ²⁸ Then they shall know that I am the Lord their God, because I sent them into exile among the nations and then assembled them into their own land. I will leave none of them remaining among the nations anymore. ²⁹ And I will not hide my face anymore from them, when I pour out my Spirit upon the house of Israel, declares the Lord God.”

 

REFLECTION:

The Battle of Gog showed that the rejuvenation of the kingdom of God is not only to let the dry bones have life, but also to “have it abundantly.” Therefore, God not only wants to lead His people out of Egypt for the second time, “I have brought them back from the peoples and gathered them from their enemies’ lands” (v27), but also to let them cross the Red Sea a second time and truly enter the Promised Land, so as to “dwell securely in their land with none to make them afraid” (v26). This is not only the result of the work of the Good Shepherd, but also the promise and blessing of God. Today, God has poured out the Holy Spirit into every believer, and we have lived securely under the care of Christ the Great Shepherd. However, today’s world is also like Gog, often coming to attack us, and we often feel weak under the attack of the world. We are like Israel “without walls, and having no bars or gates” (38:11). We are often frightened by the environment and fail to see God as our refuge. Therefore, God will personally fight for us, “get glory over Pharaoh and all his host” (Exod 14:4), and to manifest glory to the nations. Only after we experience God in the Battle of Gog, can we truly realize that God is our God. Therefore, faith takes a leap. Since then, we will no longer be provoked by the flesh, and will no longer be affected by the environment or frightened by the enemy, but enter the rest in Christ to “dwell securely in our land with none to make us afraid.” May all of us rely on the Lord to win in the battle!

 

PRAYER:

Look back before God what you have experienced so far of being protected by God in practical matters or in your spiritual growth, count God’s blessings, and be grateful to God; ask God to give you a more obedient heart, so that you can establish a closer relationship with God, no matter what happens in the future, you will be able to live securely in the arms of God without any fright.

 

HYMN:

My Heart is Filled with Thankfulness – youtu.be/Qntf2Y_VNok

 

Read chapter in full: biblegateway.com/passage/?version=ESV&search=Ezekiel+038

Ezekiel 38 (ESV)

¹⁷ “Thus says the Lord God: Are you he of whom I spoke in former days by my servants the prophets of Israel, who in those days prophesied for years that I would bring you against them? ¹⁸ But on that day, the day that Gog shall come against the land of Israel, declares the Lord God, my wrath will be roused in my anger. ¹⁹ For in my jealousy and in my blazing wrath I declare, On that day there shall be a great earthquake in the land of Israel. ²⁰ The fish of the sea and the birds of the heavens and the beasts of the field and all creeping things that creep on the ground, and all the people who are on the face of the earth, shall quake at my presence. And the mountains shall be thrown down, and the cliffs shall fall, and every wall shall tumble to the ground. ²¹ I will summon a sword against Gog on all my mountains, declares the Lord God. Every man’s sword will be against his brother. ²² With pestilence and bloodshed I will enter into judgment with him, and I will rain upon him and his hordes and the many peoples who are with him torrential rains and hailstones, fire and sulfur. ²³ So I will show my greatness and my holiness and make myself known in the eyes of many nations. Then they will know that I am the Lord.

 

REFLECTION:

Ezekiel revealed in Chapter 37 how God’s people will return to their homeland from all over the world. This chapter reveals that once Israel becomes strong, the northern alliance will attack it, headed by Gog (see Revelation 20:8). Their purpose is to destroy the people of God. The Gog alliance includes regions from the mountains in the southeast of the Black Sea and the southwest of the Caspian Sea to today’s Iran, Ethiopia, Libya, and perhaps Russia. Gog may be the name of a powerful king in the world at that time, or a symbol of evil in the world. Whether it is symbolic or actual, Gog represents the entire military power against God. No matter what the source of the threat of Gog is, God will step in to protect. No matter when and where this battle takes place, Ezekiel’s message is clear: God wants to save His people, and there is no enemy that can stand before God’s supreme power. God will personally take action to bring severe natural disasters to the invaders from the north. Those pagan countries affected by the disaster will eventually fall into chaos and pain. All those who oppose God are finally destroyed. This is not only an actual war that can be seen on earth, but also a spiritual war in heaven that is invisible. Today’s spiritual warfare does not require us to learn how to fight for the Lord, but to learn how to obey God and see God’s mighty salvation. As Exodus 14:13 says, “Fear not, stand firm, and see the salvation of the Lord, which he will work for you today.”

 

PRAYER:

Pray for God to enlighten you and make you understand that even though you are always far away from Him, He has never forsaken you for a moment. God’s grace and power are with you, and you are protected by Him in everything; pray for God to give you faith in everything that will enable you to rely on Him to prevail in spiritual battles.

 

HYMN:

Hear the Call of the Kingdom – youtu.be/I5e53YiGbLU

 

Read chapter in full: biblegateway.com/passage/?version=ESV&search=Ezekiel+037

Ezekiel 37 (ESV)

¹ The hand of the Lord was upon me, and he brought me out in the Spirit of the Lord and set me down in the middle of the valley; it was full of bones. ² And he led me around among them, and behold, there were very many on the surface of the valley, and behold, they were very dry. ³ And he said to me, “Son of man, can these bones live?” And I answered, “O Lord God, you know.” ⁴ Then he said to me, “Prophesy over these bones, and say to them, O dry bones, hear the word of the Lord. ⁵ Thus says the Lord God to these bones: Behold, I will cause breath to enter you, and you shall live. ⁶ And I will lay sinews upon you, and will cause flesh to come upon you, and cover you with skin, and put breath in you, and you shall live, and you shall know that I am the Lord.”

⁷ So I prophesied as I was commanded. And as I prophesied, there was a sound, and behold, a rattling, and the bones came together, bone to its bone. ⁸ And I looked, and behold, there were sinews on them, and flesh had come upon them, and skin had 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 the breath, Thus says the Lord God: Come from the four winds, O breath, and breathe on these slain, that they may live.” ¹⁰ So I prophesied as he commanded me, and the breath came into them, and they lived and stood on their feet, an exceedingly great army.

 

REFLECTION:

The vision of the resurrection of the dry bones is really shocking. This vision echoes the promise in Chapter 36: a new life and the reconstruction of a nation, including both physical and spiritual aspects. Dry bones is a picture of the dispersal and death of the Israelites in captivity, and it also represents their spiritual death. The Israelite exiles in scattered areas will be released from the “tombs” in the exile. One day they will be reunited in their homeland, and the leader is the Messiah. When Ezekiel preached to these people, he felt that he was speaking to the dead because they hardly responded to his message. However, these skeletons all over the valley have undergone a magical change! Just as God bestows life on these dry bones, God also bestows life on those who have died spiritually. Today, our spiritual life may also look like a pile of dry bones to us, sleeping in a deep sleep with no signs of recovery. But just as God promised, He will definitely revive His church, regardless of the current state of the church’s spiritual life. In fact, God’s work has never stopped. He is just calling His people back to Him and giving them new life as He did in the past. Therefore, we should not be discouraged. Instead, we should continue to pray for the renewal and revival of the church, and ask the work of the Holy Spirit, so that more brothers and sisters in the church will be filled with the Holy Spirit and to be a good witness for the Lord through their mature and abundant lives.

 

PRAYER:

Pray for the spiritual revival of yourself and of the church. Pray for the Holy Spirit to enlighten you and make you more thirsty for God’s word every day; for the Holy Spirit to guide you in all daily matters, so that you can see the hidden motives in your heart when you make any decision, and be more willing to live according to the Lord’s will.

 

HYMN:

Revive Us Again – youtu.be/YlMIsbrnmjA

 

Read chapter in full: biblegateway.com/passage/?version=ESV&search=Ezekiel+036

Ezekiel 36 (ESV)

²² “Therefore say to the house of Israel, Thus says the Lord God: It is not for your sake, O house of Israel, that I am about to act, but for the sake of my holy name, which you have profaned among the nations to which you came. ²³ And I will vindicate the holiness of my great name, which has been profaned among the nations, and which you have profaned among them. And the nations will know that I am the Lord, declares the Lord God, when through you I vindicate my holiness before their eyes. ²⁴ I will take you from the nations and gather you from all the countries and bring you into your own land. ²⁵ I will sprinkle clean water on you, and you shall be clean from all your uncleannesses, and from all your idols I will cleanse you.

²⁶ And I will give you a new heart, and a new spirit I will put within you. And I will remove the heart of stone from your flesh and give you a heart of flesh. ²⁷ And I will put my Spirit within you, and cause you to walk in my statutes and be careful to obey my rules. ²⁸ You shall dwell in the land that I gave to your fathers, and you shall be my people, and I will be your God.

 

REFLECTION:

God not only cares about the salvation of the people of Israel, but also the salvation of all nations and peoples. If the people of Israel are allowed to stay in their sins and be taken captive forever by the enemy, then the people of those hostile countries will come to the conclusion that their god is more powerful than the God of Israel. God is the only true God, and will never allow false gods to share His glory. Therefore, in order to protect His holy name, God will call the exiled people scattered in the nations to return home and cleanse their lives so that they can manifest the glory of God. God promised not only to restore the nation of Israel physically, but also to restore the people of Israel spiritually. In order to achieve this goal, God will get rid of their heart of stone and give them a new heart and a new spirit, so that they will be able to do God’s will. This is the new covenant promised by God, and this new covenant is finally realized in Christ. No matter how unclean our past lives is, now God wants to give us a fresh start. After our sins are cleansed, we will get a “new heart” given by God, and the Spirit of God will enter us to help and guide us daily. “You shall be my people, and I will be your God.” If we receive this great promise from God, we will get all the abundance that God has given us. We should have this kind of faith, walk with God throughout our lives, look to God in all things, and experience His grace and love.

 

PRAYER:

Ask God to change the hidden stubbornness in your heart. This stubbornness may be hidden by your external humility and piety. It is not known to people but only you know it. Ask God to fix your eyes on His promise and make your heart soft and full of passion, obey the teachings of the Holy Spirit every day, and do not follow your own will to do things that are not pleasing to God.

 

HYMN:

Shepherd of my Soul – youtu.be/cucSmTlJ718

 

Read chapter in full: biblegateway.com/passage/?version=ESV&search=Ezekiel+035

Ezekiel 35 (ESV)

¹ The word of the Lord came to me: ² “Son of man, set your face against Mount Seir, and prophesy against it, ³ and say to it, Thus says the Lord God: Behold, I am against you, Mount Seir, and I will stretch out my hand against you, and I will make you a desolation and a waste. ⁴ I will lay your cities waste, and you shall become a desolation, and you shall know that I am the Lord. ⁵ Because you cherished perpetual enmity and gave over the people of Israel to the power of the sword at the time of their calamity, at the time of their final punishment, ⁶ therefore, as I live, declares the Lord God, I will prepare you for blood, and blood shall pursue you; because you did not hate bloodshed, therefore blood shall pursue you. ⁷ I will make Mount Seir a waste and a desolation, and I will cut off from it all who come and go. ⁸ And I will fill its mountains with the slain. On your hills and in your valleys and in all your ravines those slain with the sword shall fall. ⁹ I will make you a perpetual desolation, and your cities shall not be inhabited. Then you will know that I am the Lord.

 

REFLECTION:

“Seir” means “hairy, covered with shag”, just like Esau, the twin brother of Jacob, the ancestor of the Israelites, was covered with hairs. “Mount Seir” is a mountainous land from the southeast of the Dead Sea to the north of the Gulf of Aqaba in the Red Sea. The Edomites, descendants of Esau, live here. The Edomites were originally the brothers of the Israelites, but they didn’t care about brotherhood and took the initiative to attack David, only to be conquered by David. Edom rebelled again under King Solomon, became independent during King Joram of Judah, and clashed with Judah for a long time thereafter. When Babylon destroyed Jerusalem, Edom cherished hatred against the Israelites and offered help to Babylon. They also gloated after the destruction of Jerusalem. Edom has been hostile to God’s people for a long time, which eventually led to God’s judgment on Edom. Ezekiel’s prophecy was not only aimed at the Edomites, but also at their mountains and land. The mountain symbolizes strength and power, and represents the arrogance of these people. They wanted revenge against Israel, but their vengeance turned against themselves. “Blood shall pursue you”, which means that the punishment they get is just the punishment they are eager to impose on others. God has a way to make people eat their own fruit, so we should learn from Edom’s lesson and be compassionate to the brothers and sisters. Whether others are right or wrong, we must not judge others with malicious intent, lest we are judged by others, will not please God and be disciplined by God.

 

PRAYER:

Pray that God will give you a compassionate heart and be able to tolerate the weakness and mistakes of your relatives, and brothers and sisters in the church; pray that God will comfort you for the difficulties and harm caused by their mistakes, so that you can imitate Christ and embrace everything with love; Pray for their weaknesses and mistakes, not for them to change quickly, but for them to be enlightened and led by God.

 

HYMN:

Jesus, Friend of Sinners – youtu.be/Jv0C1gCuayI

 

Read chapter in full: biblegateway.com/passage/?version=ESV&search=Ezekiel+034

 

Ezekiel 34 (ESV)

¹¹ “For thus says the Lord God: Behold, I, I myself will search for my sheep and will seek them out. ¹² As a shepherd seeks out his flock when he is among his sheep that have been scattered, so will I seek out my sheep, and I will rescue them from all places where they have been scattered on a day of clouds and thick darkness. ¹³ And I will bring them out from the peoples and gather them from the countries, and will bring them into their own land. And I will feed them on the mountains of Israel, by the ravines, and in all the inhabited places of the country. ¹⁴ I will feed them with good pasture, and on the mountain heights of Israel shall be their grazing land. There they shall lie down in good grazing land, and on rich pasture they shall feed on the mountains of Israel. ¹⁵ I myself will be the shepherd of my sheep, and I myself will make them lie down, declares the Lord God. ¹⁶ I will seek the lost, and I will bring back the strayed, and I will bind up the injured, and I will strengthen the weak, and the fat and the strong I will destroy. I will feed them in justice.

¹⁷ “As for you, my flock, thus says the Lord God: Behold, I judge between sheep and sheep, between rams and male goats. ¹⁸ Is it not enough for you to feed on the good pasture, that you must tread down with your feet the rest of your pasture; and to drink of clear water, that you must muddy the rest of the water with your feet? ¹⁹ And must my sheep eat what you have trodden with your feet, and drink what you have muddied with your feet?

 

REFLECTION:

The good shepherd takes good care of the flock in need, in stark contrast to the bad shepherd who ignores the flock. Ezekiel used parables to show that the leaders of the Israelites did not fulfill their responsibilities in the past, and declared that in the future God would personally be the shepherd of the flock. It’s just “the fat and the strong I will destroy. I will feed them in justice.” It is a metaphor that God wants to discipline the fat and bullying ones in the flock. Although God also loves these fat sheep, His love and righteousness is indivisible, justice without love is cruel, and love without justice is blind. “Fatty sheep” only cares about enjoying God’s grace, but refuse to share grace with brothers and sisters. Instead, they oppress the weak and create disputes. Therefore, when the flock of Israel was taken into captivity, it was not only the responsibility of the shepherd, but also the responsibility of the flock itself. The king neglected his duty, and the people did not stand firm. Therefore, God will not only judge the shepherd, but also the flock; He will not only pursue the bad shepherd, but also deal with the evil sheep. Today, if we feel that the leaders of the church have not been able to shepherd us comprehensively, or have tripped by unspiritual companions, we should not be disappointed. We must remember that God is in charge of everything. We have the Lord Jesus, the Great Shepherd, personally shepherd us, and we only need to listen to His voice. What we have to do is just to imitate the life of the Lord Jesus, to have compassion for the weak, and to put an end to all disputes with our peace.

 

PRAYER:

Talk to God about the setbacks you have encountered in your spiritual growth and church ministries, and ask God to give you faith and strength so that you can focus on God’s perfection instead of man’s flaws; pray for the spiritual growth of your pastors, brothers and sisters, and yourself, asking God to give you a united heart, love one another, and build God’s house together.

 

HYMN:

One Voice – youtu.be/Ecr1NTfN_wk

 

Read chapter in full: biblegateway.com/passage/?version=ESV&search=Ezekiel+033

 

Ezekiel 33 (ESV)

⁷ “So you, son of man, I have made a watchman for the house of Israel. Whenever you hear a word from my mouth, you shall give them warning from me. ⁸ If I say to the wicked, O wicked one, you shall surely die, and you do not speak to warn the wicked to turn from his way, that wicked person shall die in his iniquity, but his blood I will require at your hand. ⁹ But if you warn the wicked to turn from his way, and he does not turn from his way, that person shall die in his iniquity, but you will have delivered your soul.

¹⁰ “And you, son of man, say to the house of Israel, Thus have you said: ‘Surely our transgressions and our sins are upon us, and we rot away because of them. How then can we live?’ ¹¹ Say to them, As I live, declares the Lord God, I have no pleasure in the death of the wicked, but that the wicked turn from his way and live; turn back, turn back from your evil ways, for why will you die, O house of Israel?

 
REFLECTION:

After the destruction of Jerusalem, from the beginning of this chapter, Ezekiel’s message has shifted from condemnation and judgment to comfort, hope, and the return of God’s people in the future. God had appointed Ezekiel as the watchman before and asked him to warn the Israelites that the judgment would come. God here once again appointed Ezekiel as the watchman, only this time He ordered Ezekiel to convey the message of hope and forgiveness of sins, but the message still contains a warning element. This is an important turning point in the Book of Ezekiel. The sins committed in the past discouraged the Israelites in exile. They had refused to face their disobedience, and here they finally realized the sin of rebelling against God for many years. So God assured them: If they repent, God will forgive them. God not only wants to save the Israelites, but also wants everyone to return to Him. God cares about the present and future of each of us, not our past. The opportunity to return to God depends on whether we are willing to accept it. We should follow God sincerely, especially when we fail and fall, we should confess our sins and repent, and ask God to forgive us. The God of grace and compassion “have no pleasure in the death of the wicked.” If we turn back in our sins, we will be forgiven and accepted by God. “You turn back, turn back!” Is this also God calling us today?

 

PRAYER:

Come to God humbly, ask God to enlighten the darkness and filth in your heart, and confess your hidden sins to Him; ask God to give you strength so that you can escape from the bondages that you are currently powerless or unwilling to escape from, so that you no longer enjoy this “joy in sin”, but “turn back” to the path of seeking God wholeheartedly.

 

HYMN:

Refiner’s Fire – youtu.be/7qCdr5FEXic

 

Read chapter in full: biblegateway.com/passage/?version=ESV&search=Ezekiel+032
 

Ezekiel 32 (ESV)

¹⁷ In the twelfth year, in the twelfth month, on the fifteenth day of the month, the word of the Lord came to me: ¹⁸ “Son of man, wail over the multitude of Egypt, and send them down, her and the daughters of majestic nations, to the world below, to those who have gone down to the pit:

¹⁹ ‘Whom do you surpass in beauty?
Go down and be laid to rest with the uncircumcised.’

²⁰ They shall fall amid those who are slain by the sword. Egypt is delivered to the sword; drag her away, and all her multitudes. ²¹ The mighty chiefs shall speak of them, with their helpers, out of the midst of Sheol: ‘They have come down, they lie still, the uncircumcised, slain by the sword.’

 

REFLECTION:

This passage is still a prophecy against Egypt. This prophecy was issued by Ezekiel in 586 BC two months after the news of the destruction of Jerusalem reached Babylon. Ezekiel emphasized that only God has sovereignty, and that even a powerful ruler like Pharaoh will fall before God. Idol-worshipping Egyptians believe that people continue to live in the “world below” after death, and Egypt’s most magnificent building turned out to be a pyramid tomb. The Egyptian pharaoh had no fear in the face of death, instead he made himself a mummy, ignorantly and arrogantly thinking that he could enjoy his time in the tomb through various superstitious methods. Therefore, God’s judgment will surprise the Egyptians to discover that the “glorious power” they flaunt and rely on is useless in the world above and below. Ezekiel’s message reminds us that anyone who wants to control his future or even his life after death, but ignores God, is extremely stupid. Therefore, we should be vigilant, we should get rid of our secret greed for power and wealth, not to be influenced by all kinds of idols in traditional culture and customs, but to give all our hearts and thoughts to God, and ask for God’s guidance in this life, and keep the beautiful hope of eternal life in our heart.

 

PRAYER:

Before God, reflect on the negative impact of various idol worship practices in the Chinese tradition (such as worshiping ancestors, the god of wealth, etc.) in your life before you became a Christian, and how God helped you get rid of the bondage of these idols after you became a Christian so that you can enjoy peace; thank God, and ask Him to remove the reliance on all kinds of idols in your heart so that you can live a holy life.

 

HYMN:

No Other Name – youtu.be/Wku9OphQ7JE

 

Read chapter in full: biblegateway.com/passage/?version=ESV&search=Ezekiel+031

Ezekiel 31 (ESV)

¹ In the eleventh year, in the third month, on the first day of the month, the word of the Lord came to me: ² “Son of man, say to Pharaoh king of Egypt and to his multitude:

“Whom are you like in your greatness?
³  Behold, Assyria was a cedar in Lebanon,
with beautiful branches and forest shade,
and of towering height,
its top among the clouds.
⁴ The waters nourished it;
the deep made it grow tall,
making its rivers flow
around the place of its planting,
sending forth its streams
to all the trees of the field…

¹⁰ “Therefore thus says the Lord God: Because it towered high and set its top among the clouds, and its heart was proud of its height, ¹¹ I will give it into the hand of a mighty one of the nations. He shall surely deal with it as its wickedness deserves. I have cast it out. ¹² Foreigners, the most ruthless of nations, have cut it down and left it. On the mountains and in all the valleys its branches have fallen, and its boughs have been broken in all the ravines of the land, and all the peoples of the earth have gone away from its shadow and left it. ¹³ On its fallen trunk dwell all the birds of the heavens, and on its branches are all the beasts of the field. ¹⁴ All this is in order that no trees by the waters may grow to towering height or set their tops among the clouds, and that no trees that drink water may reach up to them in height. For they are all given over to death, to the world below, among the children of man, with those who go down to the pit.

 

REFLECTION:

Ezekiel compared Egypt to Assyria and called Assyria a huge cedar tree. God wants the Egyptians to see that the destruction of the powerful Assyrian state is their “lesson from the past.” Like Assyria, Egypt is proud of its strength and beauty, which will eventually lead to its destruction. Egypt will fall down like a big tree and be sent to death. No people or country in the world can last long without God, even countries with rich cultural traditions and powerful military forces. The tall cedar tree is not a sin, but “because it towered high and set its top among the clouds, and its heart was proud of its height,” and even forgot that “the waters nourished it; the deep made it grow tall”, so it becomes a sin. As stated in Proverbs 18:12, “before destruction a man’s heart is haughty.” This is also the model of corruption in Tyre, Sidon and other countries. The result is that they are being driven out by God, just like Adam and Eve being driven out of the Garden of Eden by God. Throughout the ages, death has been the most effective way to heal pride. No matter how Assyria and Egypt despise God, they will eventually become an obedient student in front of the teacher of death – “given over to death, to the world below.” It is the same with the world today, no matter how you exalt yourself, you will eventually die, and there will be God’s judgment after death. As God’s people, we should reflect on our hearts and ask God to remove our pride. Only by humbly trusting God throughout our lives is our way out.

 

PRAYER:

Come to God humbly, thank God for all the worldly achievements and abundance He has given you; ask God to remove the pride that secretly arises in your heart because of these achievements, so that you can understand that all this is not your own merit but the grace of God; ask God to give you a more godly heart, so that you can live a life that is more obedient to God and get more spiritual abundance every day.

 

HYMN:

God You’re So Good – youtu.be/7Kxah1QroUg

 

Read chapter in full: biblegateway.com/passage/?version=ESV&search=Ezekiel+030
 

Ezekiel 30 (ESV)

²⁰ In the eleventh year, in the first month, on the seventh day of the month, the word of the Lord came to me: ²¹ “Son of man, I have broken the arm of Pharaoh king of Egypt, and behold, it has not been bound up, to heal it by binding it with a bandage, so that it may become strong to wield the sword. ²² Therefore thus says the Lord God: Behold, I am against Pharaoh king of Egypt and will break his arms, both the strong arm and the one that was broken, and I will make the sword fall from his hand. ²³ I will scatter the Egyptians among the nations and disperse them through the countries. ²⁴ And I will strengthen the arms of the king of Babylon and put my sword in his hand, but I will break the arms of Pharaoh, and he will groan before him like a man mortally wounded. ²⁵ I will strengthen the arms of the king of Babylon, but the arms of Pharaoh shall fall. Then they shall know that I am the Lord, when I put my sword into the hand of the king of Babylon and he stretches it out against the land of Egypt. ²⁶ And I will scatter the Egyptians among the nations and disperse them throughout the countries. Then they will know that I am the Lord.”

 

REFLECTION:

God declared twice “put my sword in his hand” (v24) and “put my sword into the hand of the king of Babylon” (v25). This is to remind the people: Babylon’s sword is a tool of God’s discipline, Egypt is the object of God’s punishment. God used Babylon to discipline Judah and punish the nations. Egypt not only could not stay out of the matter, but also had to be severely punished. Because Egypt tempted Judah to rebel against Babylon, not only did it fail to provide help, but it aggravated the suffering of the people, tempted the people to take refuge in the world and refuse to trust their own God. God declared twice that he would strengthen the “arms of the king of Babylon” (v. 24, 25) and four times that he would break the “arms of Pharaoh” (v. 21, 22, 24, 25). This is also a reminder to the people: In the past, Israel was a nation chosen by God because they were led by God with power and outstretched arms. But now, they have forgotten the “arms of the Lord”, and instead sought salvation from Egypt, relying on the “arms of Pharaoh” to fight against the “arms of the king of Babylon.” Therefore, God wanted to strengthen the arms of the king of Babylon, and break the arms of Pharaoh, and use the arms of the enemy to discipline the people’s disobedience. Today, many believers also want to rely on political methods to solve spiritual problems, hoping to use the arms of Pharaoh to break the arms of the King of Babylon. The result is futile because they cannot understand God’s will and cannot see the purpose of the judgment. If we forget the source of our strength, we will lose strength without knowing it, and become weak and incompetent in spiritual warfare. History tells us that only “the arm of the Lord” is powerful and reliable. Therefore, no matter what the trouble is, we should look to God, “for he has done marvelous things! His right hand and his holy arm have worked salvation for him.” (Psalm 98:1).

 

PRAYER:

Pray for God to give you the faith and courage to let go of the “arms” of the world you are grasping and dare not let go. Instead, seek God’s help, so that you will be able to face all difficulties, especially in spiritual warfare, that you can rely on the power of God to overcome the flesh and the world, so as to experience more deeply that He is the omnipotent God and the God of salvation.

 

HYMN:

God of Salvation (I Still Believe) – youtu.be/-hICOMgm-gA