DAILY BIBLE READING June 28th, 2020 EZEKIEL 37:15-28 (GNT)

God’s Life-Giving Word of Spiritual Renewal

INTRODUCTION

Ezekiel 37:15-28: Using two sticks and joining them end to end, Ezekiel is instructed to tell the people that God will unite the two kingdoms of Israel and Judah and that they will be united under one ruler.

TODAY'S SCRIPTURE: EZEKIEL 37:21

[The LORD said:] “Tell them that I, the Sovereign LORD, am going to take all of my people out of the nations where they have gone, gather them together, and bring them back to their own land.”

TODAY'S READING

Judah and Israel in One Kingdom

15The Lord spoke to me again. 16“Mortal man,” he said, “take a wooden stick and write on it the words, ‘The kingdom of Judah.’ Then take another stick and write on it the words, ‘The kingdom of Israel.’ 17Then hold the two sticks end to end in your hand so that they look like one stick. 18When your people ask you to tell them what this means, 19tell them that I, the Sovereign Lord, am going to take the stick representing Israel and put it with the one that represents Judah. Out of the two I will make one stick and hold it in my hand.

20“Hold in your hand the two sticks and let the people see them. 21Then tell them that I, the Sovereign Lord, am going to take all my people out of the nations where they have gone, gather them together, and bring them back to their own land. 22I will unite them into one nation in the land, on the mountains of Israel. They will have one king to rule over them, and they will no longer be divided into two nations or split into two kingdoms. 23They will not defile themselves with disgusting idols any more or corrupt themselves with sin. I will free them from all the ways in which they sin and betray me. I will purify them; they will be my people, and I will be their God. 24 A king like my servant David will be their king. They will all be united under one ruler and will obey my laws faithfully. 25They will live on the land I gave to my servant Jacob, the land where their ancestors lived. They will live there forever, and so will their children and all their descendants. A king like my servant David will rule them forever. 26I will make a covenant with them that guarantees their security forever. I will establish them and increase their population, and will see to it that my Temple stands forever in their land. 27 I will live there with them; I will be their God, and they will be my people. 28When I place my Temple there to be among them forever, then the nations will know that I, the Lord, have chosen Israel to be my own people.”

REFLECT

About three centuries before the time of Ezekiel, the tribes of Israel divided into two kingdoms; the northern kingdom (Israel) was defeated by Assyria, and the southern kingdom (Judah) was defeated by the Babylonians. What does God promise once the two kingdoms are united (verses 20-28)?

PRAY

Sovereign God, unite the hearts, minds, and will of all your people in loving service to you. You alone are God, and you live among us. I thank you for the security of your ever-present love and care. Amen.

PRAYER CONCERN

Nations experiencing civil strife