He brought his people out with joy, his chosen with singing. Psalm 105:43

Ezekiel 12-14

Ezekiel 12

Signs of the Coming Captivity

¹ The word of the LORD also came to me, saying, ² “Son of man, you dwell in the midst of a rebellious house, who have eyes to see and do not see, who have ears to hear, and do not hear, for they are a rebellious house.

³ Therefore, son of man, prepare your belongings for exile and move by day in their sight. You shall move from your place to another place in their sight. Perhaps they will take it into consideration, though they are a rebellious house. ⁴ You shall bring out your belongings, like moving baggage, by day in their sight. You shall go out at evening in their sight, like when people go into exile.

⁵ Dig through the wall in their sight and carry your belongings out that way. ⁶ In their sight you shall bear it on your shoulder and carry it out in the dark. You shall cover your face, so that you do not see the land, for I have set you as a sign to the house of Israel.”

⁷ I did this, as I was commanded. I brought out my belongings by day, like baggage for moving, and in the evening I dug through the wall with my hand. I brought it out in the dark and bore it on my shoulder in their sight.

⁸ In the morning, the word of the LORD came to me, saying, ⁹ “Son of man, has the house of Israel, the rebellious house, not asked you, ‘What are you doing?’ ¹⁰ Say to them, ‘The Lord GOD says: This burden concerns the prince in Jerusalem and the entire house of Israel who live among them.’

¹¹ Say, ‘I am your sign. As I have done, so will it be done to them. They will go into exile, into captivity. ¹² The prince who is among them will go out in the dark, bearing his bags on his shoulder. They will dig through the wall to carry things out that way. He will cover his face, because he will not see the land with his eyes. ¹³ I will also spread my net on him, and he will be taken in my snare. I will bring him to Babylon to the land of the Chaldeans, yet he will not see it, though he will die there.

¹⁴ I will scatter toward every wind, all who are around him to help him, and all his bands. I will draw out the sword after them. ¹⁵ They will know that I am the LORD when I disperse them among the nations and scatter them through the countries. ¹⁶ But I will leave a few of them from the sword, from famine, and from pestilence, that they may declare all their abominations among the nations from where they come. Then they will know that I am the LORD.’ ”

¹⁷ Moreover the word of the LORD came to me, saying, ¹⁸ “Son of man, eat your bread with quaking and drink your water with fear and trembling. ¹⁹ Tell the people of the land, ‘The Lord GOD says concerning the inhabitants of Jerusalem, and the land of Israel: They will eat their bread in fear and drink their water in dismay, that her land may be desolate, and all that is in it, because of the violence of all those who dwell in it. ²⁰ The cities that are inhabited will be laid waste and the land will be desolate. Then you will know that I am the LORD.’ ”

The Presumptuous Proverb

²¹ The word of the LORD came to me, saying, ²² “Son of man, what is this proverb that you have in the land of Israel, saying,

‘Time passes,
and every vision fails?’

²³ Tell them therefore, ‘The Lord GOD says: I will bring an end to this proverb, and they will no longer use it as a proverb in Israel,’ but tell them, ‘The days are at hand and the fulfillment of every vision. ²⁴ For there will no longer be any false visions nor flattering divination within the house of Israel. ²⁵ For I am the LORD. I will speak, and the word that I speak will be fulfilled. It will be deferred no longer, for in your days, rebellious house, I will speak the word and will fulfill it, says the Lord GOD.’ ”

²⁶ Again the word of the LORD came to me, saying, ²⁷ “Son of man, they, of the house of Israel say, ‘The vision that he sees is for many days to come, and he prophesies of times that are far off.’ ²⁸ Therefore tell them, ‘The Lord GOD says: None of my words will be deferred any longer, but the word which I speak will be performed,” says the Lord GOD.’ ”

Ezekiel 13

The Reproof of False Prophets

¹ The word of the LORD came to me, saying, ² “Son of man, prophesy against the prophets of Israel who prophesy, and say to those who prophesy out of their own heart, ‘Hear the word of the LORD.’ ³ The Lord GOD says, ‘Woe to the foolish prophets, who follow their own spirit, and have seen nothing! ⁴ Israel, your prophets have been like foxes in the wastelands. ⁵ You have not gone up to the gaps or built up the wall for the house of Israel, to stand in battle in the day of the Lord.

⁶ They have seen falsehood and lying divination, who say: The LORD says, but the LORD has not sent them. They have made men hope that the word would be confirmed.

⁷ Have you not seen a false vision, and have you not spoken a lying divination, in that you say: The LORD says, but I have not spoken?

⁸ Therefore the Lord GOD says: Because you have spoken falsehood and seen lies, therefore, I am against you, says the Lord GOD. ⁹ My hand will be against the prophets who see false visions and who utter lying divination. They will not be in the council of my people, nor will they be written in the writing of the house of Israel, nor will they enter into the land of Israel. Then you will know that I am the Lord GOD.

¹⁰ They have seduced my people, saying, ‘Peace,’ when there is no peace. When one builds up a wall, they plaster it with whitewash. ¹¹ Tell those who plaster it with whitewash that it will fall. There will be an overflowing rainstorm, and great hailstones will fall. A wind storm will tear it down. ¹² When the wall has fallen, will you not be asked: Where is the whitewash with which you plastered it?

¹³ Therefore the Lord GOD says: In my wrath I will tear it down with a wind storm. There will be an overflowing rainstorm in my anger and great hailstones in wrath to consume it. ¹⁴ So I will break down the wall that you have plastered with whitewash and bring it down to the ground, so that its foundation will be uncovered. It will fall, and you will be consumed in the midst of it. Then you will know that I am the LORD.

¹⁵ Thus when I have fulfilled my wrath on the wall, and on those who have plastered it with whitewash, I will tell you: The wall is no more, nor are those who plastered it, ¹⁶ that is, the prophets of Israel who prophesy concerning Jerusalem and who see visions of peace for her when there is no peace, declares the Lord GOD.’ ”

False Female Prophets

¹⁷ “You, son of man, set your face against the daughters of your people, who prophesy out of their own heart, and prophesy against them, ¹⁸ and tell them that this is what the Lord GOD says, ‘Woe to the women who sew magic charms on their sleeves and make veils for the heads of people of every stature to ensnare them! Will you hunt my people and save them for yourselves? ¹⁹ You have profaned me among my people for handfuls of barley and for pieces of bread, to kill those who should not die, and to save people who should not live, by your lying to my people who listen to lies.

²⁰ Therefore the Lord GOD says: I am against your magic charms, with which you ensnare people like birds, and I will tear them from your arms. I will let them go, those whom you hunt and ensnare. ²¹ I will also tear your veils and deliver my people from your hand, and they will no longer be in your hand to be hunted. Then you will know that I am the LORD. ²² Because with lies you have grieved the heart of the righteous, whom I have not made sad, and strengthened the hands of the wicked, that he should not return from his wicked ways and be saved. ²³ Therefore you shall no longer see false visions, nor practice divination. I will deliver my people from your hand. Then you will know that I am the LORD.’ ”

Ezekiel 14

Idolatrous Elders Condemned

¹ Then some of the elders of Israel came to me and sat before me. ² The word of the LORD came to me, saying, ³ “Son of man, these men have taken their idols into their hearts and put stumbling blocks of sin before their faces. Should I be inquired of at all by these elders?

⁴ Therefore speak to them and tell them that this is what the Lord GOD says, ‘Every man of the house of Israel who takes idols into his heart and puts sinful stumbling blocks before his face and comes to the prophet, I the LORD will answer him there, according to the multitude of his idols, ⁵ that I may take hold of the house of Israel by their own heart, because they are all estranged from me through their idols.’

⁶ Therefore tell the house of Israel that this is what the Lord GOD says, ‘Repent and turn from your idols! Turn your face away from all your abominations. ⁷ For everyone of the house of Israel or among the foreigners who live in Israel who separates himself from me, who takes idols into his heart and puts a sinful stumbling block before his face and comes to the prophet to inquire for himself of me, I the LORD will answer him myself. ⁸ I will set my face against that man and will make him appalling–a sign and a proverb, and I will cut him off from among my people. Then you will know that I am the LORD.

⁹ If the prophet is deceived and speaks a word, I, the LORD, have deceived that prophet, and I will stretch out my hand on him and will destroy him from among my people Israel. ¹⁰ They will bear their iniquity. The iniquity of the prophet will be like the iniquity of the one who seeks him, ¹¹ that the house of Israel may no longer go astray from me nor defile themselves any more with all their transgressions. Then they will be my people, and I will be their God, declares the Lord GOD.’ ”

God’s Irrevocable Sentence

¹² The word of the LORD came to me, saying, ¹³ ‘Son of man, when a land sins against me by committing a trespass, and I stretch out my hand on it and break the staff of its bread and send famine on it and cut off from it man and animal, ¹⁴ though these three men, Noah, Daniel, and Job, were in it, they would deliver only themselves by their righteousness, declares the Lord GOD.

¹⁵ If I cause dangerous animals to pass through the land, ravaging it and making it desolate so that no man can pass through it because of the animals, ¹⁶ though these three men were in it, as I live, says the Lord GOD, they would deliver neither sons nor daughters. They alone would be delivered, but the land would be desolate.

¹⁷ Or if I bring a sword on that land and say, ‘Sword, go through the land so that I cut off from it man and animal, ¹⁸ though these three men were in it, as surely as I live, declares the Lord GOD, they would deliver neither sons nor daughters, but only they themselves would be delivered.

¹⁹ Or if I send a plague into that land and pour out my wrath on it in blood, to cut off from it man and animal, ²⁰ even if Noah, Daniel, and Job, were in it, as I live, declares the Lord GOD, they would deliver neither son nor daughter. They would deliver only themselves by their righteousness.

²¹ For the Lord GOD says: How much more when I send my four severe judgments on Jerusalem, the sword, the famine, the dangerous animals, and the plague, to cut off from it man and animal! ²² Yet there will be left a remnant in it that will be carried out, both sons and daughters. They will come out to you, and you will see their ways and their deeds. Then you will be comforted concerning the disaster that I have brought on Jerusalem and concerning all that I have brought on it. ²³ They will comfort you when you see their character and their deeds. Then you will know that I have not done all that I have done in it without good reason, declares the Lord GOD.’ ”

Hebrews 7:1-17

Melchizedek and Abraham

¹ For this Melchizedek, king of Salem, priest of God Most High, met Abraham while returning from the slaughter of the kings and blessed him, ² and Abraham gave him one-tenth of everything. First, his name, by interpretation, means “king of righteousness.” Then he is also “king of Salem” which means “king of peace.” ³ He is without father, without mother, and without genealogy, having neither beginning of days nor end of life, but made like the Son of God, and remains a priest continually.

⁴ Now consider how great this man was, to whom even Abraham, the patriarch, gave one-tenth out of the best plunder. ⁵ And those of the sons of Levi who receive the priest’s office have a commandment to collect tithes from the people according to the law, that is, from their brothers, though they too have come from the body of Abraham, ⁶ but Melchizedek, whose genealogy is not counted with them, accepted tithes from Abraham and blessed him who had the promises. ⁷ Without dispute, the lesser is blessed by the greater. ⁸ In the one case, tithes are received by mortal men, but in the other case, by one of whom it is witnessed that he lives on. ⁹ It could be said that the Levites, the ones who collect the tithes, paid a tithe to Melchizedek when Abraham, their ancestor paid a tithe to him,¹⁰ for he was yet seed in the body of his father when Melchizedek met him.

Jesus a Priest Like Melchizedek

¹¹ Now if perfection was through the Levitical priesthood (for under it the people have received the law), what further need was there for another priest to arise after the order of Melchizedek, and not be called after the order of Aaron? ¹² For when the priesthood is changed, it is necessary to also change the law.

¹³ For he of whom these things are said belongs to another tribe, from which no one has officiated at the altar. ¹⁴ For it is evident that our Lord has sprung from Judah, about which tribe Moses spoke nothing concerning priesthood.

¹⁵ This is yet more abundantly evident, if after the likeness of Melchizedek, there arises another priest, ¹⁶ who has become a priest, not on the basis of a legal requirement concerning physical descent, but by the power of an indestructible life. ¹⁷ For it is testified,

You are a priest forever,
according to the order of Melchizedek. ^a

^{a Psalm 110:4}

Psalm 105:37-45

³⁷ He brought them out with silver and gold.
There was not one feeble person among his tribes.
³⁸ Egypt was glad when they departed,
for the fear of them had fallen on the Egyptians.
³⁹ He spread a cloud for a covering,
fire to give light in the night.
⁴⁰ They asked, and he brought quails,
and satisfied them with the bread of the sky.
⁴¹ He opened the rock, and waters gushed out.
It ran like a river in the dry places.
⁴² For he remembered his holy word,
and Abraham, his servant.
⁴³ He brought his people out with joy,
his chosen with singing.
⁴⁴ He gave them the lands of the nations.
They took the labor of the peoples in possession,
⁴⁵ that they might keep his statutes,
and observe his laws.
Hallelujah!

Proverbs 27:3

³ A stone is heavy,
and sand is a burden,
but a fool’s provocation is heavier than both.

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