Hello, this is Father Paul, and I'm glad we're
taking this journey together to read the Bible
in a year. Today's reading is from the book of
Ezekiel, chapters 38 and 39. Chapter 38 Now the
word of the Lord came to me, saying, Son of man,
set your face against Gog of the land of Magog,
the prince of Rosh, Meshach, and Tubal, and prophesy
against him, and say, Thus says the Lord God,
Behold, I am against you, O Gog, the prince of
Rosh, Meshach, and Tubal. I will turn you around,
put hooks into your jaws, and lead you out with
all your army, horses, and horsemen, all splendidly
clothed, a great company, with bucklers and shields,
all of them handling swords. Persia, Ethiopia,
and Libya are with them, all of them with shield
and helmet. Gomer and all its troops, the house
of Togarmah, From the far north and all its troops,
many people are with you. Prepare yourself and
be ready, you and all your companies that are
gathered about you, and be a guard for them.
After many days you will be visited. In the latter
years you will come into the land of those brought
back from the sword and gathered from many people
on the mountains of Israel, which had long been
desolate. They were brought out of the nations,
and now all of them dwell safely. You will ascend,
coming like a storm. covering the land like a
cloud, you and all your troops, and many peoples
with you. Thus says the Lord God, On that day
it shall come to pass that thoughts will arise
in your mind, and you will make an evil plan.
You will say, I will go up against the land of
unwalled villages. I will go to a peaceful people
who dwell safely, all of them dwelling without
walls and having neither bars nor gates, to take
plunder and to take booty, to stretch out your
hand against the waste places that are again
inhabited, and against the people gathered from
the nations who have acquired livestock and goods,
who dwell in the midst of the land. Sheba, Dedan.
the merchants of Tarshish, and all their young
lions will say to you, Have you come to take
plunder? Have you gathered your army to take
booty, to carry away silver and gold, to take
away livestock and goods, to take great plunder?
Therefore, son of man, prophesy and say to Gog,
Thus says the Lord God, On that day, when my
people Israel dwell safely, will you not know
it? Then you will come from your place out of
the far north, you and many peoples with you.
all of them riding on horses, a great company
and a mighty army. You will come up against my
people Israel like a cloud to cover the land.
It will be in the latter days that I will bring
you against my land, so that the nations may
know me when I am hallowed in you, O Gog, before
their eyes. Thus says the Lord God, Are you he
of whom I have spoken in former days by my servants
the prophets of Israel, who prophesied for years
in those days that I would bring you against
them? And it will come to pass at the same time
when Gog comes against the land of Israel, says
the Lord God, that my fury will show in my face.
For in my jealousy and in the fire of my wrath
I have spoken. Surely in that day there shall
be a great earthquake in the land of Israel,
so that the fish of the sea, the birds of the
heavens, the beasts of the field, all creeping
things that creep on the earth, and all men who
are on the face of the earth, shall shake at
my presence. The mountains shall be thrown down.
The steep places shall fall, and every wall shall
fall to the ground. I will call for a sword against
Gog throughout all my mountains, says the Lord
God. Every man's sword will be against his brother,
and I will bring him to judgment with pestilence
and bloodshed. I will rain down on him, on his
troops, and on the many peoples who are with
him, flooding rain, great hailstones, fire, and
brimstone. Thus I will magnify myself and sanctify
myself, and I will be known in the eyes of many
nations. Then they shall know that I am the Lord.
Chapter 39 A new son of man prophesy against
Gog and say, Thus says the Lord God, Behold,
I am against you, O Gog, the prince of Rosh,
Meshach, and Tubal, and I will turn you around
and lead you on, bringing you up from the far
north and bring you against the mountains of
Israel. Then I will knock the bow out of your
left hand and cause the arrows to fall out of
your right hand. You shall fall upon the mountains
of Israel, you and all your troops and the peoples
who are with you. I will give you to birds of
prey of every sort and to the beasts of the field
to be devoured. You shall fall on the open field,
for I have spoken, says the Lord God. And I will
send fire on Magog and on those who live in security
in the coastlands. Then they shall know that
I am the Lord. So I will make my holy name known
in the midst of my people Israel, and I will
not let them profane my holy name anymore. Then
the nations shall know that I am the Lord, the
Holy One in Israel. Surely it is coming, and
it shall be done, says the Lord God. This is
the day of which I have spoken. Then those who
dwell in the cities of Israel will go out and
set on fire and burn the weapons, both the shields
and bucklers, the bows and arrows, the javelins
and spears, and they will make fires with them
for seven years. They will not take wood from
the field, nor cut down any from the forests,
because they will make fires with the weapons,
and they will plunder those who plundered them,
and pillage those who pillaged them, says the
Lord God. It will come to pass in that day that
I will give Gog a burial place there in Israel,
the valley of those who pass by east of the sea,
and it will obstruct travelers, because there
they will bury Gog and all his multitude. Therefore
they will call it the valley of Haman -Gog. For
seven months the house of Israel will be burying
them, in order to cleanse the land. Indeed, all
the people of the land will be burying, and they
will gain renown for it on the day that I am
glorified, says the Lord God. They will set apart
men regularly employed with the help of a search
party to pass through the land and bury those
bodies remaining on the ground in order to cleanse
it. At the end of seven months, they will make
a search. The search party will pass through
the land. And when anyone sees a man's bone,
he shall set up a marker by it till the barriers
have buried it in the valley of Hamon -Gog. The
name of the city will also be Hamona. Thus they
shall cleanse the land. And as for you, son of
man, thus says the Lord God, speak to every sort
of bird and to every beast of the field. Assemble
yourselves now and come. Gather together from
all sides to my sacrificial meal, which I am
sacrificing for you. a great sacrificial meal
on the mountains of Israel, that you may eat
flesh and drink blood. You shall eat the flesh
of the mighty, drink the blood of the princes
of the earth, of rams and lambs, of goats and
bulls, all of them fatlings of Bashan. You shall
eat fat till you are full, and drink blood till
you are drunk, at my sacrificial meal which I
am sacrificing for you. You shall be filled at
my table. with horses and riders, with mighty
men, and with all the men of war, says the Lord
God. I will set my glory among the nations. All
the nations shall see my judgment, which I have
executed, and my hand, which I have laid on them.
So the house of Israel shall know that I am the
Lord their God from that day forward. The Gentiles
shall know that the house of Israel went into
captivity for their iniquity, because they were
unfaithful to me. Therefore I hid my face from
them. I gave them into the hand of their enemies,
and they all fell by the sword. According to
their uncleanness and according to their transgressions,
I have dealt with them and hidden my face from
them. Therefore, thus says the Lord God, Now
I will bring back the captives of Jacob and have
mercy on the whole house of Israel, and I will
be jealous for my holy name, after they have
borne their shame and all their unfaithfulness
in which they were unfaithful to me. when they
dwelt safely in their own land and no one made
them afraid. When I have brought them back from
the peoples and gathered them out of their enemies'
lands, and I am hallowed in them in the sight
of many nations, then they shall know that I
am the Lord their God, who sent them into captivity
among the nations, but also brought them back
to their land and left none of them captive any
longer. And I will not hide my face from them
any more, for I shall have poured out my Spirit
on the house of Israel, says the Lord God. I
hope you enjoyed today's reading as much as I
did and I look forward to seeing you again tomorrow
to continue on our journey. God bless you and
have a great day.