Chapter 47: 

Then he led me back to the bank of the river. ⁷ When I arrived there, I saw a great number of trees on each side of the river. ⁸ He said to me, “This water flows toward the eastern region and goes down into the Arabah, where it enters the Dead Sea. When it empties into the sea, the salty water there becomes fresh.

As I was reading I tried to picture what the River of Life looked like.  If the Lord our Savior is Living Water, which one do you picture? 

or

 

The Bible is not about how God view’s us, it is about how we view Him.  He is Holy.  He is our East gate. When the tabernacle and the temple were arranged God specifically said that the tribe of Judah would sit at the East gate: The entrance.  The Messiah comes from the tribe of Judah.  

John 10:9 

I am the gate;

whoever enters through me will be saved.

They will come in and go out, and find pasture.

 

When I read chapter 48 I remembered the good ole days of us reading in the winter about the 12 tribes of Israel.    Let’s recall: Jacob (later changed to Israel) had 12 sons (and a daughter).  The 12 sons all became a tribe.

Let’s have some fun and see what we can remember:

¹³ This is what the Sovereign Lord says: “These are the boundaries of the land that you will divide among the twelve tribes of Israel as their inheritance, with two portions for Joseph. ¹⁴ You are to divide it equally among them. Because I swore with uplifted hand to give it to your ancestors, this land will become your inheritance.

TRY TO ANWER SOME OF THESE BY MEMORY IN COMMENTS:

1. Why will Joseph get a double portion?
2. Why does Judah receive the Blessing of the Covenant? (Typically it goes to the firstborn).  Judah is #4!
3. Why do the Levites get 4 allotments one North, East, South and West?
4. What is the name of the New City???

“And the name of the city from that time on will be:

We end Ezekiel today: CLICK HERE

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I promise you I am not being lazy!  I have studied.  Listened to podcasts.  Commentaries.  Today is catch up day.  Ger ready for Joel, DANIEL, and Ezra…

If anyone read anything cool in their commentary…please comment.

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So as a teacher we have this week “off” to stop the spread of Covid.  I needed the ‘down time’, and even with the read right now, I am enjoying the slow pace. I did a “listen” rather than a read.  I am not going to lie, we have been drinking out of a fire hydrant for months and I have enjoyed the light read (listen) this week to rest up.  I am sure someone has written a 9-week study on this but I just needed to rest.  I did want to say that until I noticed a few things:

• When we learn about the Tabernacle and the Temple, he described the workers and the construction.  This is just a description of the product.  God is the builder.
• Until chapter 43, it was just a building.  When God enters it becomes a Temple.
• There is no mention of the Ark, lamp stand, incense and show bread…He is it!
• The glory left in the East gate, and it returns in the East gate.  The tribe of Judah stands at the east gate of both the tabernacle and the Temple.  Jesus is the tribe of Judah.

 

 

 

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If you skimmed…(just a guess, ) watch this video.  I love this one.

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So  I posted background on it last night.  Most of what I wrote I will repeat here.

Gog is a king, chief, or leader of a nation (often seen as a god)- That’s RIGHT, they will act as ONE nation.  Scary.

• Meshek and Tubal- Asia Minor area (parts of Iran, Turkey, and parts of Russia or the Soviet Union)
• Persia- parts of Iran and Iraq
• Cush-Sudan and northern Ethiopia
• Put-Libya
• Gomer- parts of Russia
• Sheba and Dedan- Saudi Arabia
• Tarshish-parts of Spain

So as you read this substitute the names in.

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 Meshek and Tubal; prophesy against him ³ and say: ‘This is what the Sovereign Lord says: I am against you, Gog, chief prince of^[b] 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 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.

As you read today you will see there will be a “plan” when the nations will gather to descend on Israel for a battle.  The setting will be The Battle of Armageddon and at Mount of Olives (the very place God will let us peek at His Holiness at the transfiguration and the final place of prayer before He is crucified).  We know this because God tells us in Zechariah:

14 “Look! A day is coming for the Lord, when your plunder will be divided among you. ² I will gather all the nations against Jerusalem, to lay siege against it. The city will be captured, the houses will be ransacked, the women raped, and half of the city will go into exile, but the remaining people will not be cut off from the city. ³ Then the Lord will go out to battle against those nations, waging war as in a day of battle. ⁴ His feet will stand in that day on the Mount of Olives, east of Jerusalem. Then the Mount of Olives will be split in two from east to west, forming^[a] a very large valley, with half of the mountain moving toward the north and half toward the south.

As we speak, we are one day closer to End Times 😉.  It may not be in the news but nations are working together to fulfill this prophecy.  For example, Russia is arming Iran as we speak. Alliances with Egypt are occurring…. Our job is to trust that in the End it will be the Lord’s victory for His Glory.

Chapter 39 says: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.

This is a message of Hope.  The audience is the captives in exile.  Chapter 39 continues with reassurance that the Lord will regather His people.  There will be a regathering in 70 years for the captives as they take Jerusalem back.  However, God is still regathering Jerusalem today.  Just like in the Old Testament, He used other nations as instruments for His plan, God is still the same.  He uses events like the Holocaust to bring refugees to Palestine, or the Cold War to release Jews out of Russia.  We don’t have to understand all that, God is a mystery.  But what we do have to understand is that we can trust the Word of God that He will return, there will be 7 years of Tribulation where MANY will be saved and He has a plan for the Jewish nation.  Jesus will come back for 1000 years called the Millenial and we will live in Peace while Satan is handcuffed, and finally, with a WORD he will win the Battle and bring us back to an Eden-like state called Heaven.

The only thing I wonder is when He speaks the final word do you think it is a Loud authoritative voice or just a whisper when it happens.  If you only knew the weird thoughts that keep me up at night.

Enjoy the read…it is amazing!! (feel free to read the extra post from yesterday)

 

While cleaning the house, folding laundry, walking the dog, sitting at practice, or just not on Facebook for a minute 😉 tomorrow’s read will blow your mind if you take a moment to listen to the Tribulation in Revelation.  Before you do,  look at this:

Click here to see a clearer copy…or to print.

You won’t need to know this until tomorrow but here is your cheat sheet in case you read ahead.  Some names are going to be familiar so I will bring you to the origin of them: Genesis 10.  Click here to look at a chapter you skimmed!  Ha!

Gog is a king, chief, or leader of a nation (often seen as a god)- That’s RIGHT, they will act as ONE nation.  Scary.

• Meshek and Tubal- Asia Minor area (parts of Iran, Turkey, and parts of Russia or the Soviet Union)
• Persia- parts if Iran and Iraq
• Cush-Sudan and northern Ethiopia
• Put-Libya
• Gomer- parts of Russia
• Sheba and Dedan- Saudi Arabia
• Tarshish-parts of Spain
  • Commentaries differ on the exactness of this BUT this visual give us the big picture of who will descend on Israel in the End Times.  Can you even find Israel??

So here is Revelation.  Click below.

Revelation 6-19 (If you listen to it, it is 45 minutes…reading is about half the time)

Makes watching the World News relevant huh.

 

• Click here to read
• Click here to listen
• My favorite part is at the bottom (geeky)

Chapter 35

Why are we reading about EDOM again??  I will tell you why!  There is a key verse in this short chapter, did you catch it?

¹⁰ “‘Because you have said, “These two nations and countries will be ours and we will take possession of them,” even though I the Lord was there,

Not only did they hit Jerusalem when they were at their weakest…they had a secret.  They planned on taking the Land for their own.  WHAT?  It’s not theirs…it is the Lord’s.

¹³ You boasted against me and spoke against me without restraint, and I heard it.

Tsk Tsk Tsk!!

 

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Chapter 36- Restoration!  Ok, ready…this is so cool. – Knowing from 35 that foreign nations had a plan to take the land over,  the Lord Speaks to the Land (again)!!  And you know they were listening!  I read verses 1-15 twice, it was beautiful!  The way the Lord gives the land hope!     Flip back to chapter 6…ok, if you won’t, I will put it here 😉

Ez:6 The word of the Lord came to me: ² “Son of man, set your face against the mountains of Israel; prophesy against them ³ and say: ‘You mountains of Israel, hear the word of the Sovereign Lord. This is what the Sovereign Lord says to the mountains and hills, to the ravines and valleys: I am about to bring a sword against you, and I will destroy your high places.

now read

Ez. 36 ⁸ “‘But you, mountains of Israel, will produce branches and fruit for my people Israel, for they will soon come home. ⁹ I am concerned for you and will look on you with favor; you will be plowed and sown, ¹⁰ and I will cause many people to live on you—yes, all of Israel. The towns will be inhabited and the ruins rebuilt. ¹¹ I will increase the number of people and animals living on you, and they will be fruitful and become numerous. I will settle people on you as in the past and will make you prosper more than before. Then you will know that I am the Lord. ¹² I will cause people, my people Israel, to live on you. They will possess you, and you will be their inheritance; you will never again deprive them of their children.

The chapter reads on to describe that the conduct of his people was so defiling,  that he compared it to the uncleanliness of a woman’s menstrual cycle.  WOW.   So why will God restore His people and His land?  For HIS Glory!

22:…It is not for your sake, people of Israel, that I am going to do these things, but for the sake of my holy name,

He is HOLY

THEN…it just keeps getting better!!!

• THEN…He changes their circumstances…
• Then he changes them!  He will regather His people.  First in 70 years, after they are released from captivity.  (Trivia…what was the name of the Persian that will release them…Hint, it was in Isaiah)
• Then the Lord will again regather them when he makes Israel a state again.  Remember they divided at the death of Solomon ….it will take 1900 years, BUT it will happen (1948 and 1967).
• THEN again at the second coming (sorry, I don’t know the year for that 😂)

²⁴ “‘For I will take you out of the nations; I will gather you from all the countries and bring you back into your own land. ²⁵ I will sprinkle clean water on you, and you will be clean; I will cleanse you from all your impurities and from all your idols. ²⁶ I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit in you; I will remove from you your heart of stone and give you a heart of flesh. ²⁷ And I will put my Spirit in you and move you to follow my decrees and be careful to keep my laws. ²⁸ Then you will live in the land I gave your ancestors; you will be my people, and I will be your God.

(at the sake of making this post not a novel…Keep the Millennial times in view on this also…)

³⁵ They will say, “This land that was laid waste has become like the garden of Eden; the cities that were lying in ruins, desolate and destroyed, are now fortified and inhabited.”

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Ezekiel 37- Valley of the Dry Bones

Once again Ezekiel is shown by the Spirit a vision.  As you read this section look for how many times God used the word: Breath.  We spoke about this briefly in Genesis when Abram was changed to Abraham and Sarai to Sarah.  The A and the H were added when their internal and external circumstances changed.  The word is ‘Ruah’-Breath of God or the Spirit!   He doesn’t leave us guessing on this vision:

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.’”

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Hope for those in Captivity

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OK…I am going to consolidate years of research into hopefully a few words for you.  DON’T MISS THIS SECTION. Verse 15-28.

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.

No way!  The divided kingdom was almost 2000 years ago.  During the time of the OT they never even came close to becoming one nation again.  THEN to make matters worse, the world has done everything in it’s power to assure this will never happen!  Even Encyclopedia Britannica said in 1911:

“The possibility that we can ever again recover the correct pronunciation of ancient Hebrew is as remote a possibility that a Jewish Empire will ever again be established in the Middle East”.  (36 years later they may have had to reprint that version!

• 70 AD The Romans destroyed the Temple
• 638 Islamic conquest of Jerusalem
• 1791 Jews were moved to Russia
• 1810 Reform begins in Germany
• 1881 Jews were made a scapegoat for the Czar
• 1933 Hitler in power
• 1961 The Berlin Wall

However, in the details, we see God at work

• 1897 The Zionist movement
• 1917 The Balfour Declaration
• WWII (even though the Nazi Party tried to extinguish the Jewish people) Jews fled to a foreign land to inhabit…You guessed it, Palestine (Israel)
• 1947 The United Nations votes to partition Palestine and give portions to the Jews (yeah, that did not go over well for some Middle Easterners)
• MAY 14, 1948- STATE OF ISRAEL DECLARED- YES, AMERICA was involved in this.  Can we elect Truman for President again!!
• 1967- 6 Day War and Israel was Re-Unified
• 1989 The Berlin Wall comes down and Jews fled to Israel

Now, if that was another language to you…who cares!  I know you understand The Lord through Ezekiel:

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. 

Again, as you finish out the last paragraph view is End Times.

Sorry so long today!

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1. The message of Doom (1-24)
2. The message against foreign nations (25-32)
3. The message of Hope (33-48)

Click here if you want background music

Today we finish section 2 and start section 3.  I am not going to “split screen” Chapter 32 BUT when I read it I pictured The Battle of Armageddon when the 7 bowls of wrath were poured out.  If you have never it read: click here.

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The Funeral speech is dated.  Why?  Look at the date.  It is March 585 BC. Jerusalem was captured and the news of it reached the Exiles.  They must have been devastated!  This lament will bring them Peace regarding their enemy’s demise.

The first half of the book is strong because I noticed how many times it said “I” from the Lord.  The Lord will handle this!

Then starting in verses 17-31 just 2 weeks later the Exiles get the best news ever!  Who will Egypt see?

¹⁷ In the twelfth year, on the fifteenth day of the month, the word of the Lord came to me: ¹⁸ “Son of man, wail for the hordes of Egypt and consign to the earth below both her and the daughters of mighty nations, along with those who go down to the pit.

Assyria! Elam! Meshak and Tubal (Asia Minor, or what we know as modern-day Turkey).  By the way, who named it Turkey, weird name?? and the Sidonians (the Phoenicians).  I am sure the exiled people rejoiced when they heard this!

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Now let’s get to the good stuff!!  Chapter 33.

(Trish, don’t cut and paste the whole chapter!)

⁶ But if the watchman sees the sword coming and does not blow the trumpet to warn the people and the sword comes and takes someone’s life, that person’s life will be taken because of their sin, but I will hold the watchman accountable for their blood.’

Not that you will have their blood on your hands BUT if you know the Gospel, and you know the consequences of people not knowing the Gospel AND you have not shared it….just saying.  Don’t assume the lost have HEARD it.  I heard it when I was 33 yrs, people assume I “rejected” it.  I was never told!

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¹⁰ “Son of man, say to the Israelites, ‘This is what you are saying: “Our offenses and sins weigh us down, and we are wasting away because of them. How then can we live?”’  Wait??? Was that a confession??

¹¹ Say to them, ‘As surely as I live, declares the Sovereign Lord, I take no pleasure in the death of the wicked, but rather that they turn from their ways and live. Turn! Turn from your evil ways! Why will you die, people of Israel?’

The word “turn” in Hebrew is Repent.   The Lord desires to save every person. I need you to think about that.  He desired repentance from EVERY person.  That is very difficult for our hearts to wrap around because you may have been hurt in ways no one even knows about.  It might totally suck to hear this, but what glorifies God more? Saving an obedient person or a wretch like me.   You have to know MANY people (mostly family in NJ) roll their eyes at the thought of me even owning a Bible.

He LOVES repentance!  The word ‘Turn” is used 23 times in Jeremiah and 23 times in Ezekiel.

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Verse 21-33  It is now January 585 (back 2 months).   This time the message is NOT to the exiles BUT to the ones that were still in the land that did not get swept up in the captivity.

²³ Then the word of the Lord came to me: ²⁴ “Son of man, the people living in those ruins in the land of Israel are saying, ‘Abraham was only one man, yet he possessed the land. But we are many; surely the land has been given to us as our possession.’

They grew up in a Christian home, They grew up in a Hebrew nation.  Surely if the Promised Land could be given to one person (Abraham),  look how many we are?? Obviously, the Lord wants us to have the land!  NO, we just learned what the Lord wants. After 100’s of years of telling them (do you realize Israel was taken in 722 and Judah was 586.  He even waited 136 years to see if they would turn from literally SEEING what would happen, not just hearing a prophesy).  He wants them to  “turn”.

Unfortunately, many people will hear the message and reject it.  Maybe not outwardly but in their hearts.  They do not repent, it is lip service.

‘Come and hear the message that has come from the Lord.’ ³¹ My people come to you, as they usually do, and sit before you to hear your words, but they do not put them into practice.

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Chapter 34- The Good Shepherd.   This will be an amazing chapter as we have to get to the New Testament soon.  This is a chapter of Hope.  Go back and highlight the “I wills” in this chapter.  Since the shepherds before them have failed, The Lord will be our Sheppard.  Read chapter 34 and then read this:

Psalm 23 and now Ezekiel verse 23 ❤

Ezekiel ²³ I will place over them one shepherd, my servant David, and he will tend them; he will tend them and be their shepherd. ²⁴ I the Lord will be their God, and my servant David will be prince among them. I the Lord have spoken.

Who is David?  Let me rephrase: Who will God bring from the House of David?  JESUS!  If you have time later in the day, I would love for you to reread Chapters 33 and 34.  I feel like there is a parable that will sum up our reading today:  Luke 15:

15 Now the tax collectors and sinners were all gathering around to hear Jesus. ² But the Pharisees and the teachers of the law muttered, “This man welcomes sinners and eats with them.”

³ Then Jesus told them this parable: ⁴ “Suppose one of you has a hundred sheep and loses one of them. Doesn’t he leave the ninety-nine in the open country and go after the lost sheep until he finds it? ⁵ And when he finds it, he joyfully puts it on his shoulders ⁶ and goes home. Then he calls his friends and neighbors together and says, ‘Rejoice with me; I have found my lost sheep.’ ⁷ I tell you that in the same way there will be more rejoicing in heaven over one sinner who repents than over ninety-nine righteous persons who do not need to repent.

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Today we start a new section in Ezekiel.  You are going to love it.  However, I want to go back and reread Chapter 3.  Click here for it.

At the beginning of chapter 3 Ezekiel is told to eat the scroll.  Everything that comes out of his mouth is straight from the Word of God.  He is going to warn the people about judgement coming to Jerusalem and to the surrounding nations.  He is a messenger and is told…”they may not listen to you…but that is not your job”.  Your job is to speak truth.  He also commissions him to go to the already exiled people and give them a message.  That is where we will begin for this last part of Ezekiel.

Chapter 3:

¹⁰ And he said to me, “Son of man, listen carefully and take to heart all the words I speak to you. ¹¹ Go now to your people in exile and speak to them. Say to them, ‘This is what the Sovereign Lord says,’ whether they listen or fail to listen.”

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He was then lifted up and saw the visions for 7 days of God on His Sapphire Throne!

The watchtower:

¹⁶ At the end of seven days the word of the Lord came to me: ¹⁷ “Son of man, I have made you a watchman for the people of Israel; so hear the word I speak and give them warning from me.

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From this day forward everything that came out of his mouth was from the Lord.

²⁷ But when I speak to you, I will open your mouth and you shall say to them, ‘This is what the Sovereign Lord says.’ Whoever will listen let them listen, and whoever will refuse let them refuse; for they are a rebellious people.

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You may have picked up on this – every time Ezekiel spoke it said: “the word of the Lord came to me”.  

Warning:  I will be unleashed for the rest of the Old Testament.  Some of my favorite chapters are coming up.  If reading the Bible and the posts are too much….Just read the Bible.  You don’t need the posts.  The rest of the month looks like this:

• We have 7 days left in Ezekiel.  We are changing the channel to End Times News Cast.
• Sept. 13th: Joel
• Sept. 14th: Daniel (not sure I am ready to study that!)
• Sept. 18th: Ezra (wait, what? we only get 4 days for Daniel!)
• Sept. 20th Haggai
• Sept. 21st Zechariah
• Sept. 23rd Esther
• Sept. 26th Nehemiah
• Sept. 30th Malachi
• Oct. 1 NEW TESTAMENT

September 30th at night I will have to cram in the 400 years of what happens in “Silence” between Malachi and Jesus’ birth.  Lord have Mercy!

• Click here to read
• Click here to listen

The reading goes from talking about the city of Tyre directly to who was running Tyre?? 👿👺👹 This is like a riddle (I don’t like talking about Satan).

¹¹ The word of the Lord came to me: ¹² “Son of man, take up a lament concerning the king of Tyre and say to him: ‘This is what the Sovereign Lord says:

Sidon- *the sister city of Tyre (map yesterday)

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Chapter 29-Prophecy Against Egypt.  Actually, 29-32 will be 7 prophecies dealing with Egypt.

• Egypt was the ancient enemy of the Jew (Genesis/Exodus)
• Egypt, even after the plagues occured to prove their gods were false, they continued to worship them.
  • Wow!  Think about that.  God used Moses by bringing 10 plagues (one for the head of each deity) to PROVE that there was only ONE God.  Imagine if they had only taken that to heart…what we are about to read would not be happening.
• Egypt allied with Judah only when they can benefit from it.

OK, let’s dig in on this Sunday and let the Lord help refine us through the scriptures.  Let’s get rid of some dross. (see…if I had said that 9 months ago you would have thought it was one of my typos)

1. Verse 1-16

You say, “The Nile belongs to me;
    I made it for myself.”

(Duet. 8:18 But remember the Lord your God, for it is he who gives you the ability to produce wealth)

2.  Verse 17-21  Nebuchadnezzar attacked Egypt after conquering Tyre (it took 15 years to conquer Tyre).  Basically, as a reward for being God’s instrument for conquering Tyre, Babylon is going to be rewarded “for a while” with the riches of Egypt’s plunder.  That is hard for us “Americans” to swallow in a modern-day thought! Gulp!!

3.  Lament (funeral dirge) Chapter 30-  The Pride of a person or nation will cause it’s fall.

4.  (Verse 20-26)- ²⁴ 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 mortally wounded man.

We don’t know God’s plan, but we have to trust that He uses wicked nations to judge other wicked nations.  We just need to trust that God knows what He is doing. (Thank heavens as I watch the news about Afghanistan) I just talked about this with my friend Robin Nielson!

^{Matthew 6: 9} “This, then, is how you should pray: