Glory Returns

TODAY’S SPECIAL: Ezekiel 43:1-5

TO CHEW ON: "Then the Spirit lifted me up and brought me into the inner court, and the glory of the Lord filled the temple." Ezekiel 43:5

It was September of 592 B.C. when Ezekiel had his first vision of the temple. Everything about that vision was horrible. As God took him to Jerusalem he saw an idol of the goddess Asherah set up right in the temple. He saw priests offering animal sacrifices God had never commanded. Women were mourning the death of the Sumerian idol god Tammuz. Men worshiped the sun. Then he saw God’s glory cloud lift and move out of the temple and away from Jerusalem (Ezekiel 8, 9, 10).

Now it was about twenty years later. Ezekiel was getting old. Maybe he wondered if things would ever change for the Israelites in Babylon. Would they ever go home again? Would they ever experience God’s glory again? One day God gave him hope in another vision of the temple.


Like the first time, Ezekiel felt like he was physically there. The temple was rebuilt. As God showed him around it, Ezekiel measured each room and gateway. Finally he came to the east gate. He looked at the sky and noticed a cloud. It got bigger and brighter and he heard a sound coming from it, like a waterfall. He recognized this was God’s glory cloud. It went into the temple. Again the temple was filled with God’s presence!


Is there something in your life that feels as disappointing as Ezekiel’s glory-forsaken temple? Maybe you can no longer play a favorite sport because of an injury. Maybe someone has abused you so your innocence is gone. Maybe your dad or mom walked out on your family. Whatever your disappointment, bring it to God. He can restore old dreams like he restored the temple in Ezekiel’s vision. He can bring back the glory!

PRAYER: Dear God, please bring Your glory back to the places in my life that are filled with disappointment. Amen.


MORE: Glory Sightings
Other Bible characters also saw God’s glory. Match the people who saw God’s glory with how it looked or felt.

1. Israelites (Exodus 24:17)
2. Priests (1 Kings 8:11)
3. Shepherds (Luke 2:9)
4. Stephen (Acts 7:55)


A. God’s glory shone around angels
B. God’s glory looked like fire on top of a mountain.
C. He saw heaven, God’s glory and Jesus just before he died.
D. God’s glory felt so powerful they couldn’t do their jobs.

ANSWERS

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Unless otherwise noted, all Scripture quotations are taken from THE HOLY BIBLE, NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION®, NIV® Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.® Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.


Adult readers - DAILY DEVOTIONS FOR ADULTS  are available too at Other Food: daily devo's. 

Dem Bones

TODAY’S SPECIAL: Ezekiel 37:1-14


TO CHEW ON: "Then he said to me, 'Prophecy to these bones and say to them, "Dry bones, hear the word of the Lord. This is what the Sovereign Lord says to these bones: I will make breath enter you and you will come to life."’” Ezekiel 37:4,5

"Valley of Dry Bones" © Duncan Long (Used with the artist's permission)

One day Ezekiel had another vision from God. A vision is something like a dream. Put the parts of Ezekiel’s vision in the order they happened (Ezekiel 37:1-14)

____ There was a rattling sound and the bones reconnected to become lifeless bodies.
____ Ezekiel saw a valley of dry bones.
____ God’s Spirit breathed life into the bodies.
____ Ezekiel told the bones God would make them live again.


Ezekiel’s vision had a meaning. The bones in Ezekiel’s vision were a picture of the Jewish people. They were discouraged because they could no longer live in their own land. They had been captured and taken to live in Babylon. In that country they felt as hopeless as if they were dead. God gave Ezekiel this vision to give the Jewish people hope.

What things in your life make you feel discouraged and hopeless? Is someone in your family very ill? Do you find school hard? Is your family split up because of separation or divorce? Whatever it is, God can breathe life and hope into the dead “bones” in your life too.

PRAYER: Dear God, please help me to trust You to bring life to the things that seem hopeless to me. Amen.


MORE: Human Bones
Find a photograph or drawing of a human skeleton.

1. How many bones are there in an adult’s skeleton?

2. What is the largest bone?

3. What is the smallest?



ANSWERS

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Unless otherwise noted, all Scripture quotations are taken from THE HOLY BIBLE, NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION®, NIV® Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.® Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.


Adult readers - DAILY DEVOTIONS FOR ADULTS  are available too at Other Food: daily devo's. 

God Our Shepherd

TODAY’S SPECIAL: Ezekiel 34:11-16

TO CHEW ON:  I myself will tend my sheep and have them lie down, declares the Sovereign Lord. I will search for the lost and bring back the strays. I will bind up the injured and strengthen the weak, ...” Ezekiel 34:15,16

If you were compared to an animal, you would probably not want someone to say you were like a sheep. Sheep are easily led astray. When they get lost, they are not smart enough to find their way back home. They are not agile and quick but clumsy and slow. Their heavy coats of wool slow them down even more, making them an easy catch for wolves or mountain lions. In order for sheep to survive, they need someone to look after them.


But the Bible often compares people to sheep. That’s what God said the Israelites were like when they were far from home in Babylon. God promised to be a shepherd to them, even though their problems came from their headstrong, sheep-like ways. He would search for the lost ones, rescue the ones that were trapped or caught, bandage the hurt ones and make the weak ones strong.

Someday He would bring them back to their home. Again they would eat on its lush green hillsides. When they felt full they would lie down without fear because He would be watching out for danger.

Illustration by Annie Vallotton from the Good News Bible
© American Bible Society 1976, 1992, used with permission.

This message that God gave Ezekiel for the people shows how much God loved them. Though today’s reading was first a promise that God would someday bring the Israelites back to their land, it is also a picture of the way God is a shepherd to us. We are like sheep just as those Israelites. God will be our shepherd too.

Are we lost? God can find us. Are we hurt? God can make us better. Are we hungry? God can feed us. Are we weak? God can make us strong.

How will God do these things? He may use the people we know or strangers. He may use things that look like ordinary happenings or miracles. However He does it, we can trust Him to be our shepherd.

PRAYER: Dear God, please be a shepherd to me like You were to the Israelites. Amen.


MORE: Shepherds
Through books and the internet find out more about shepherds.
1. What was a shepherd’s life like in Bible times?

2. Are there still people who work as shepherds today? What do they do?

3. How is the life of a shepherd today different from a shepherd in Bible times? How are they alike?

Sheep grazing on a field in Saskatchewan, Canada

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Unless otherwise noted, all Scripture quotations are taken from THE HOLY BIBLE, NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION®, NIV® Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.® Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.
 

Adult readers - DAILY DEVOTIONS FOR ADULTS  are available too at Other Food: daily devo's. 

Heart Idols

TODAY’S SPECIAL: Ezekiel 14:1-6


TO CHEW ON: “Son of man, these men have set up idols in their hearts and put wicked stumbling blocks before their faces. Should I let them inquire of me at all? Ezekiel 14:3

The Israelites in exile soon discovered that Ezekiel heard from God. They came to him often to find out if God had something to say to them. One day when some of Israel’s leaders had come to Ezekiel in this way, God gave him private information about them.


“These men have idols in their hearts,” God told Ezekiel. “Tell them, ‘Don’t think I am going to give you messages from Me knowing all the while you are worshiping something else. You need to get rid of these idols before I will tell you anything.’”

In the past the people of Israel had worshiped actual idol statues. Here God showed that idols don’t have to be physical things at all. They could be anything people admired, or trusted in, or relied on more than God. Even though these people may not have been going to actual shrines and praying to figurines, the idols were there just the same in the attitude of their hearts.

Today we may not worship idol statues either. But is it possible that we have idols in our hearts? What could those idols be? Some are money, luck, the earth, superstitions, sports and movie personalities, our own good looks, talents and abilities. Can you think of more? __________________.

Do you have any of these idols in your heart? If you were one of the people coming to Ezekiel to hear from God, what message might God be giving Ezekiel about you?

PRAYER: Dear God, please show me the idols in my heart. Help me to get rid of them and worship only You. Amen.

MORE: Modern Idols- What is an idol?
- What is a heart idol?
- Choose one of the following and explain how it could become an idol.

money,    luck,    Mother Nature,    superstition,

sports and movie personalities,        yourself

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Unless otherwise noted, all Scripture quotations are taken from THE HOLY BIBLE, NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION®, NIV® Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.® Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.

Adult readers - DAILY DEVOTIONS FOR ADULTS  are available too at Other Food: daily devo's. 

Don't Be Afraid

TODAY’S SPECIAL: Ezekiel 2:1-10

TO CHEW ON: " And you, son of man, do not be afraid of them or their words. Do not be afraid, though briers and thorns are all around you and you live among scorpions. Do not be afraid of what they say or be terrified by them, though they are a rebellious people." Ezekiel 2:6

As Ezekiel lay on the ground, a voice came from the bright vision of God. It was talking to him. “Stand up,” God said.

Ezekiel stood and God continued. “I am sending you to be a prophet to the people of Israel. They are rebellious, stubborn and obstinate. They may or may not listen.”

Ezekiel had wanted to be a priest. Now God was giving him a different job – the job of being a prophet. But it sounded hard and dangerous.

Then I looked, and I saw a hand stretched out to me. In it was a scroll... On both sides of it were written words of lament and mourning and woe." Ezekiel 2:9

Before Ezekiel had a chance to argue with God about how hard this job was going to be, God encouraged him. Three times God said to Ezekiel, “Do not be afraid.”

Ezekiel’s Vision – “And then they shall know that I am the Lord” © 1996 by Darlene Slavujac (Used with the artist’s permission).

God would encourage you in the same way. If you are the only Christian in your family, God says to you, “Don't be afraid.” If you are the only person who talks to your friends about Jesus – and they make fun of you for it – God says to you, “Don't be afraid.” If you want to live for God but don’t know how it will all work out, God says to you, “Don't be afraid.”

Why should we not be afraid? Because we are not alone in this. God is with us. And with Him beside us, we don’t need to fear anything!

PRAYER: Dear God, when I am afraid, help me to remember You are here. Amen.

MORE: Fears

God can help us overcome fears of all kinds. What are you afraid of – dogs, spiders, losing, being laughed at, having no friends, ____________________? David wrote in a Psalm:

Whenever I am afraid,
I will trust in You.
In God (I will praise His word),
In God I have put my trust;
I will not fear.What can flesh do to me? - Psalm 56:3,4

This would be a good verse to memorize. It will help you remember, next time you feel afraid, that God is with you.

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Unless otherwise noted, all Scripture quotations are taken from THE HOLY BIBLE, NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION®, NIV® Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.® Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.

Adult readers - DAILY DEVOTIONS FOR ADULTS  are available too at Other Food: daily devo's. 

Too Beautiful for Words

TODAY’S SPECIAL: Ezekiel 1:22-28

TO CHEW ON: " I saw that from what appeared to be his waist up he looked like glowing metal, as if full of fire, and that from there down he looked like fire; and brilliant light surrounded him. Like the appearance of a rainbow in the clouds on a rainy day, so was the radiance around him. This was the appearance of the likeness of the glory of the Lord." Ezekiel 1:27,28

Have you ever seen something so amazing you had trouble describing it? That was probably what Ezekiel felt like when he saw a vision of God.


Like Daniel, Ezekiel was an exile in Babylon. One day, when he was beside the Kebar River in Babylon, he saw a strange sight in the sky. At first he thought the cloud with flashes of lightning coming from it meant a storm was on the way. But as it got closer, he saw creatures. They looked like people but had many faces and wings. Then he saw sparkling wheels that moved.

Finally he heard a voice. Looking up he saw a throne. On it was a man. But what a man! He was glowing and fiery. Around him was brilliant light in the colors of the rainbow. Ezekiel knew that this was God and he fell on his face. Then God told him he was to be a prophet to the people in exile.



Few people have seen a glimpse of God as Ezekiel did. But all the Bible descriptions of God, written by people who have, seem similar. In each one the teller can hardly find words to describe how amazing, bright, awesome and incredible God is. These descriptions of God give us just a small idea of what a beautiful, powerful, and glorious God we serve.


PRAYER: Dear God, You are beautiful and full of power and light. I worship You. Amen.


MORE: God looks like...
People who tried to describe what God and the things in heaven are like often compared them to gem stones and precious metals.

~Ezekiel described the wheels he saw as sparkling like chrysolite. (Ezekiel 1:16). God’s throne looked like sapphire.(Ezekiel 1:26).

~Daniel compared God’s body to chrysolite. His arms and legs were made of bronze. He wore a belt of gold. (Daniel 10:5,6)

~To John, God looked like jasper and carnelian. The rainbow that circled His throne looked like emerald (Revelation 4:3).

Using books and the internet find out what these gems and metals look like -- and get a glimpse of how beautiful God is.

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Unless otherwise noted, all Scripture quotations are taken from THE HOLY BIBLE, NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION®, NIV® Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.® Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.


Adult readers - DAILY DEVOTIONS FOR ADULTS  are available too at Other Food: daily devo's.