July 27 - Evening
"In that day this song will be sung in the land of Judah:
We have a strong city;
God makes salvation its walls and ramparts. Open the gates that the righteous nation may enter, the nation that keeps faith.
You will keep in perfect peace those whose minds are steadfast, because they trust in you. Trust in the Lord forever, for the Lord, the Lord himself, is the Rock eternal."
- Isaiah 26:1-4
We have a strong city;
God makes salvation its walls and ramparts. Open the gates that the righteous nation may enter, the nation that keeps faith.
You will keep in perfect peace those whose minds are steadfast, because they trust in you. Trust in the Lord forever, for the Lord, the Lord himself, is the Rock eternal."
- Isaiah 26:1-4
Peace for Those Whose Minds are Steadfast
26:1 “In that day” is a technical term referring to future days (24:21; 25:9; 27:1)
The word translated “ramparts” is the word khel which likely refers to the sloping fortification of dirt and rock built against the wall (also called a glacis, see Ashkelon's glacis or khel against the city wall.)
26:2 Opening the gates of the city for the righteous is a welcoming believers with faith and righteousness to enter this fortified city. The opposite is true also. Those without trust in the Lord will not be able to access this place of peace and protection.
26:3 “perfect peace” is literally “peace, peace” in the Hebrew. The repeated double word makes the meaning absolute.
It is important to understand the phrase referring to “those whose minds are steadfast.” The word “mind” or “thoughts” is from the Hebrew word yester which communicates the idea of “outlook on life,” “worldview,” “point of reference,” or “frame of mind.” The opposite of this mind would be James’ “double minded man” in James 1:6-8 and Jesus’ man who serves two masters in Matthew 6:24. Without this renewed view of life that includes a comprehensive understanding of the Lord there is no peace.
"But let him ask in faith, with no doubting, for the one who doubts is like a wave of the sea that is driven and tossed by the wind. 7 For that person must not suppose that he will receive anything from the Lord; 8 he is a double-minded man, unstable in all his ways." - James 1:6-8
"No one can serve two masters, for either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and money." - Matthew 6:24
Apoluo (Gr) – divorce (Eng) – the Greek word apoluo is a compound word from apo meaning
“from” and luo meaning “to loose.” Together they mean “to loose from” or apolou. When used in context it is a technical term for divorce as in Matthew 5:32 and Luke 16:18.
I will continue to renew my mind with the Word of God.
I will continue to trust the Lord and his ways in my life.
I will continue to trust the Lord and his ways in my life.
Bible Reading Descriptions Here
Personal
Concern for those that need help
Church
Strength to rebuke sin
Nation
ACLU
World
Japan
Someone to Quote
"Man will believe anything, as long as it's not in the bible."
- Napoleon Bonaparte
Something to Ponder
Angelology
- Angels are mentioned in thirty-four of the sixty-six books in the Bible. These thirty-four books cover the full spectrum of time from Genesis through the Jewish return from Babylon and from the announcement of the birth of Jesus through Acts.
- Angels appear to have been created before the universe.
- Angels have freewill and at some point in the past some choose to rebel against God.
- Angels can interact with the physical world and are used by God for a variety of reasons including communication, judgment, council, assistance for believers, and more.
- Angels, both fallen and holy, are highly organized and have specific job assignments.
- The appearance of the Angel of the Lord in the Old Testament is a theophany or an appearance of the second member of the Trinity.
- Satan is an angel from the class of angels called cherubim who rebelled against God and is called by several names including the prince of the power of the air and the god of this world.
Here’s a Fact
1 Kings 1:50; Amos 3:14; Ezekiel 43:15; Jeremiah 17:1; Exodus 27:2; etc. mention "horns" on an altar or a "horned altar." Several excavations have uncovered altars with horns on the corner. For example, the horned altar at Beer Sheba. This altar had been dismantled around 701 BC by Hezekiah's reformers and the stones had been used in the building of the store rooms in the city of Beersheba. During excavation the stones were separated from the others and eventually pieced back together.
(Details 1, 2, Other horned altars 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6.)
(Details 1, 2, Other horned altars 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6.)
Proverb
"If a man loudly blesses his neighbor early in the morning, it will be taken as a curse."
- Proverbs 27:14
- Proverbs 27:14
Coach’s Corner
The greatest miracle is salvation. The godliest spiritual manifestation is the transformed soul.
Ezekiel 33New International Version (NIV)
Renewal of Ezekiel’s Call as Watchman
33 The word of the Lord came to me: 2 “Son of man, speak to your people and say to them: ‘When I bring the sword against a land, and the people of the land choose one of their men and make him their watchman, 3 and he sees the sword coming against the land and blows the trumpet to warn the people, 4 then if anyone hears the trumpet but does not heed the warning and the sword comes and takes their life, their blood will be on their own head. 5 Since they heard the sound of the trumpet but did not heed the warning, their blood will be on their own head. If they had heeded the warning, they would have saved themselves. 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.’
7 “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. 8 When I say to the wicked, ‘You wicked person, you will surely die,’ and you do not speak out to dissuade them from their ways, that wicked person will die for[a] their sin, and I will hold you accountable for their blood. 9 But if you do warn the wicked person to turn from their ways and they do not do so, they will die for their sin, though you yourself will be saved.
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[b] them. How then can we live?”’ 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?’
12 “Therefore, son of man, say to your people, ‘If someone who is righteous disobeys, that person’s former righteousness will count for nothing. And if someone who is wicked repents, that person’s former wickedness will not bring condemnation. The righteous person who sins will not be allowed to live even though they were formerly righteous.’ 13 If I tell a righteous person that they will surely live, but then they trust in their righteousness and do evil, none of the righteous things that person has done will be remembered; they will die for the evil they have done. 14 And if I say to a wicked person, ‘You will surely die,’ but they then turn away from their sin and do what is just and right— 15 if they give back what they took in pledge for a loan, return what they have stolen, follow the decrees that give life, and do no evil—that person will surely live; they will not die. 16 None of the sins that person has committed will be remembered against them. They have done what is just and right; they will surely live.
17 “Yet your people say, ‘The way of the Lord is not just.’ But it is their way that is not just. 18 If a righteous person turns from their righteousness and does evil, they will die for it. 19 And if a wicked person turns away from their wickedness and does what is just and right, they will live by doing so. 20 Yet you Israelites say, ‘The way of the Lord is not just.’ But I will judge each of you according to your own ways.”
Jerusalem’s Fall Explained
21 In the twelfth year of our exile, in the tenth month on the fifth day, a man who had escaped from Jerusalem came to me and said, “The city has fallen!” 22 Now the evening before the man arrived, the hand of the Lord was on me, and he opened my mouth before the man came to me in the morning. So my mouth was opened and I was no longer silent.
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.’ 25 Therefore say to them, ‘This is what the Sovereign Lord says: Since you eat meat with the blood still in it and look to your idols and shed blood, should you then possess the land? 26 You rely on your sword, you do detestable things, and each of you defiles his neighbor’s wife. Should you then possess the land?’
27 “Say this to them: ‘This is what the Sovereign Lord says: As surely as I live, those who are left in the ruins will fall by the sword, those out in the country I will give to the wild animals to be devoured, and those in strongholds and caves will die of a plague. 28 I will make the land a desolate waste, and her proud strength will come to an end, and the mountains of Israel will become desolate so that no one will cross them. 29 Then they will know that I am the Lord, when I have made the land a desolate waste because of all the detestable things they have done.’
30 “As for you, son of man, your people are talking together about you by the walls and at the doors of the houses, saying to each other, ‘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. Their mouths speak of love, but their hearts are greedy for unjust gain. 32 Indeed, to them you are nothing more than one who sings love songs with a beautiful voice and plays an instrument well, for they hear your words but do not put them into practice.
33 “When all this comes true—and it surely will—then they will know that a prophet has been among them.”
Footnotes:
Holy Bible, New International Version®, NIV® Copyright ©1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.® Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.
Renewal of Ezekiel’s Call as Watchman
33 The word of the Lord came to me: 2 “Son of man, speak to your people and say to them: ‘When I bring the sword against a land, and the people of the land choose one of their men and make him their watchman, 3 and he sees the sword coming against the land and blows the trumpet to warn the people, 4 then if anyone hears the trumpet but does not heed the warning and the sword comes and takes their life, their blood will be on their own head. 5 Since they heard the sound of the trumpet but did not heed the warning, their blood will be on their own head. If they had heeded the warning, they would have saved themselves. 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.’
7 “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. 8 When I say to the wicked, ‘You wicked person, you will surely die,’ and you do not speak out to dissuade them from their ways, that wicked person will die for[a] their sin, and I will hold you accountable for their blood. 9 But if you do warn the wicked person to turn from their ways and they do not do so, they will die for their sin, though you yourself will be saved.
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[b] them. How then can we live?”’ 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?’
12 “Therefore, son of man, say to your people, ‘If someone who is righteous disobeys, that person’s former righteousness will count for nothing. And if someone who is wicked repents, that person’s former wickedness will not bring condemnation. The righteous person who sins will not be allowed to live even though they were formerly righteous.’ 13 If I tell a righteous person that they will surely live, but then they trust in their righteousness and do evil, none of the righteous things that person has done will be remembered; they will die for the evil they have done. 14 And if I say to a wicked person, ‘You will surely die,’ but they then turn away from their sin and do what is just and right— 15 if they give back what they took in pledge for a loan, return what they have stolen, follow the decrees that give life, and do no evil—that person will surely live; they will not die. 16 None of the sins that person has committed will be remembered against them. They have done what is just and right; they will surely live.
17 “Yet your people say, ‘The way of the Lord is not just.’ But it is their way that is not just. 18 If a righteous person turns from their righteousness and does evil, they will die for it. 19 And if a wicked person turns away from their wickedness and does what is just and right, they will live by doing so. 20 Yet you Israelites say, ‘The way of the Lord is not just.’ But I will judge each of you according to your own ways.”
Jerusalem’s Fall Explained
21 In the twelfth year of our exile, in the tenth month on the fifth day, a man who had escaped from Jerusalem came to me and said, “The city has fallen!” 22 Now the evening before the man arrived, the hand of the Lord was on me, and he opened my mouth before the man came to me in the morning. So my mouth was opened and I was no longer silent.
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.’ 25 Therefore say to them, ‘This is what the Sovereign Lord says: Since you eat meat with the blood still in it and look to your idols and shed blood, should you then possess the land? 26 You rely on your sword, you do detestable things, and each of you defiles his neighbor’s wife. Should you then possess the land?’
27 “Say this to them: ‘This is what the Sovereign Lord says: As surely as I live, those who are left in the ruins will fall by the sword, those out in the country I will give to the wild animals to be devoured, and those in strongholds and caves will die of a plague. 28 I will make the land a desolate waste, and her proud strength will come to an end, and the mountains of Israel will become desolate so that no one will cross them. 29 Then they will know that I am the Lord, when I have made the land a desolate waste because of all the detestable things they have done.’
30 “As for you, son of man, your people are talking together about you by the walls and at the doors of the houses, saying to each other, ‘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. Their mouths speak of love, but their hearts are greedy for unjust gain. 32 Indeed, to them you are nothing more than one who sings love songs with a beautiful voice and plays an instrument well, for they hear your words but do not put them into practice.
33 “When all this comes true—and it surely will—then they will know that a prophet has been among them.”
Footnotes:
- Ezekiel 33:8 Or in; also in verse 9
- Ezekiel 33:10 Or away in
Holy Bible, New International Version®, NIV® Copyright ©1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.® Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.
Isaiah 47-48New International Version (NIV)
The Fall of Babylon
47
“Go down, sit in the dust, Virgin Daughter Babylon; sit on the ground without a throne, queen city of the Babylonians.[a] No more will you be called tender or delicate.
2
Take millstones and grind flour; take off your veil. Lift up your skirts, bare your legs, and wade through the streams.
3
Your nakedness will be exposed and your shame uncovered. I will take vengeance; I will spare no one.”
4
Our Redeemer—the Lord Almighty is his name— is the Holy One of Israel.
5
“Sit in silence, go into darkness, queen city of the Babylonians; no more will you be called queen of kingdoms.
6
I was angry with my people and desecrated my inheritance; I gave them into your hand, and you showed them no mercy. Even on the aged you laid a very heavy yoke.
7
You said, ‘I am forever— the eternal queen!’ But you did not consider these things or reflect on what might happen.
8
“Now then, listen, you lover of pleasure, lounging in your security and saying to yourself, ‘I am, and there is none besides me. I will never be a widow or suffer the loss of children.’
9
Both of these will overtake you in a moment, on a single day: loss of children and widowhood. They will come upon you in full measure, in spite of your many sorceries and all your potent spells.
10
You have trusted in your wickedness and have said, ‘No one sees me.’ Your wisdom and knowledge mislead you when you say to yourself, ‘I am, and there is none besides me.’
11
Disaster will come upon you, and you will not know how to conjure it away. A calamity will fall upon you that you cannot ward off with a ransom; a catastrophe you cannot foresee will suddenly come upon you.
12
“Keep on, then, with your magic spells and with your many sorceries, which you have labored at since childhood. Perhaps you will succeed, perhaps you will cause terror.
13
All the counsel you have received has only worn you out! Let your astrologers come forward, those stargazers who make predictions month by month, let them save you from what is coming upon you.
14
Surely they are like stubble; the fire will burn them up. They cannot even save themselves from the power of the flame. These are not coals for warmth; this is not a fire to sit by.
15
That is all they are to you— these you have dealt with and labored with since childhood. All of them go on in their error; there is not one that can save you.
Stubborn Israel
48
“Listen to this, you descendants of Jacob, you who are called by the name of Israel and come from the line of Judah, you who take oaths in the name of the Lord and invoke the God of Israel— but not in truth or righteousness—
2
you who call yourselves citizens of the holy city and claim to rely on the God of Israel— the Lord Almighty is his name:
3
I foretold the former things long ago, my mouth announced them and I made them known; then suddenly I acted, and they came to pass.
4
For I knew how stubborn you were; your neck muscles were iron, your forehead was bronze.
5
Therefore I told you these things long ago; before they happened I announced them to you so that you could not say, ‘My images brought them about; my wooden image and metal god ordained them.’
6
You have heard these things; look at them all. Will you not admit them?
“From now on I will tell you of new things, of hidden things unknown to you.
7
They are created now, and not long ago; you have not heard of them before today. So you cannot say, ‘Yes, I knew of them.’
8
You have neither heard nor understood; from of old your ears have not been open. Well do I know how treacherous you are; you were called a rebel from birth.
9
For my own name’s sake I delay my wrath; for the sake of my praise I hold it back from you, so as not to destroy you completely.
10
See, I have refined you, though not as silver; I have tested you in the furnace of affliction.
11
For my own sake, for my own sake, I do this. How can I let myself be defamed? I will not yield my glory to another.
Israel Freed
12
“Listen to me, Jacob, Israel, whom I have called: I am he; I am the first and I am the last.
13
My own hand laid the foundations of the earth, and my right hand spread out the heavens; when I summon them, they all stand up together.
14
“Come together, all of you, and listen: Which of the idols has foretold these things? The Lord’s chosen ally will carry out his purpose against Babylon; his arm will be against the Babylonians.[b]
15
I, even I, have spoken; yes, I have called him. I will bring him, and he will succeed in his mission.
16 “Come near me and listen to this:
“From the first announcement I have not spoken in secret; at the time it happens, I am there.”
And now the Sovereign Lord has sent me, endowed with his Spirit.
17
This is what the Lord says— your Redeemer, the Holy One of Israel: “I am the Lord your God, who teaches you what is best for you, who directs you in the way you should go.
18
If only you had paid attention to my commands, your peace would have been like a river, your well-being like the waves of the sea.
19
Your descendants would have been like the sand, your children like its numberless grains; their name would never be blotted out nor destroyed from before me.”
20
Leave Babylon, flee from the Babylonians! Announce this with shouts of joy and proclaim it. Send it out to the ends of the earth; say, “The Lord has redeemed his servant Jacob.”
21
They did not thirst when he led them through the deserts; he made water flow for them from the rock; he split the rock and water gushed out.
22
“There is no peace,” says the Lord, “for the wicked.”
Footnotes:
Holy Bible, New International Version®, NIV® Copyright ©1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.® Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.
The Fall of Babylon
47
“Go down, sit in the dust, Virgin Daughter Babylon; sit on the ground without a throne, queen city of the Babylonians.[a] No more will you be called tender or delicate.
2
Take millstones and grind flour; take off your veil. Lift up your skirts, bare your legs, and wade through the streams.
3
Your nakedness will be exposed and your shame uncovered. I will take vengeance; I will spare no one.”
4
Our Redeemer—the Lord Almighty is his name— is the Holy One of Israel.
5
“Sit in silence, go into darkness, queen city of the Babylonians; no more will you be called queen of kingdoms.
6
I was angry with my people and desecrated my inheritance; I gave them into your hand, and you showed them no mercy. Even on the aged you laid a very heavy yoke.
7
You said, ‘I am forever— the eternal queen!’ But you did not consider these things or reflect on what might happen.
8
“Now then, listen, you lover of pleasure, lounging in your security and saying to yourself, ‘I am, and there is none besides me. I will never be a widow or suffer the loss of children.’
9
Both of these will overtake you in a moment, on a single day: loss of children and widowhood. They will come upon you in full measure, in spite of your many sorceries and all your potent spells.
10
You have trusted in your wickedness and have said, ‘No one sees me.’ Your wisdom and knowledge mislead you when you say to yourself, ‘I am, and there is none besides me.’
11
Disaster will come upon you, and you will not know how to conjure it away. A calamity will fall upon you that you cannot ward off with a ransom; a catastrophe you cannot foresee will suddenly come upon you.
12
“Keep on, then, with your magic spells and with your many sorceries, which you have labored at since childhood. Perhaps you will succeed, perhaps you will cause terror.
13
All the counsel you have received has only worn you out! Let your astrologers come forward, those stargazers who make predictions month by month, let them save you from what is coming upon you.
14
Surely they are like stubble; the fire will burn them up. They cannot even save themselves from the power of the flame. These are not coals for warmth; this is not a fire to sit by.
15
That is all they are to you— these you have dealt with and labored with since childhood. All of them go on in their error; there is not one that can save you.
Stubborn Israel
48
“Listen to this, you descendants of Jacob, you who are called by the name of Israel and come from the line of Judah, you who take oaths in the name of the Lord and invoke the God of Israel— but not in truth or righteousness—
2
you who call yourselves citizens of the holy city and claim to rely on the God of Israel— the Lord Almighty is his name:
3
I foretold the former things long ago, my mouth announced them and I made them known; then suddenly I acted, and they came to pass.
4
For I knew how stubborn you were; your neck muscles were iron, your forehead was bronze.
5
Therefore I told you these things long ago; before they happened I announced them to you so that you could not say, ‘My images brought them about; my wooden image and metal god ordained them.’
6
You have heard these things; look at them all. Will you not admit them?
“From now on I will tell you of new things, of hidden things unknown to you.
7
They are created now, and not long ago; you have not heard of them before today. So you cannot say, ‘Yes, I knew of them.’
8
You have neither heard nor understood; from of old your ears have not been open. Well do I know how treacherous you are; you were called a rebel from birth.
9
For my own name’s sake I delay my wrath; for the sake of my praise I hold it back from you, so as not to destroy you completely.
10
See, I have refined you, though not as silver; I have tested you in the furnace of affliction.
11
For my own sake, for my own sake, I do this. How can I let myself be defamed? I will not yield my glory to another.
Israel Freed
12
“Listen to me, Jacob, Israel, whom I have called: I am he; I am the first and I am the last.
13
My own hand laid the foundations of the earth, and my right hand spread out the heavens; when I summon them, they all stand up together.
14
“Come together, all of you, and listen: Which of the idols has foretold these things? The Lord’s chosen ally will carry out his purpose against Babylon; his arm will be against the Babylonians.[b]
15
I, even I, have spoken; yes, I have called him. I will bring him, and he will succeed in his mission.
16 “Come near me and listen to this:
“From the first announcement I have not spoken in secret; at the time it happens, I am there.”
And now the Sovereign Lord has sent me, endowed with his Spirit.
17
This is what the Lord says— your Redeemer, the Holy One of Israel: “I am the Lord your God, who teaches you what is best for you, who directs you in the way you should go.
18
If only you had paid attention to my commands, your peace would have been like a river, your well-being like the waves of the sea.
19
Your descendants would have been like the sand, your children like its numberless grains; their name would never be blotted out nor destroyed from before me.”
20
Leave Babylon, flee from the Babylonians! Announce this with shouts of joy and proclaim it. Send it out to the ends of the earth; say, “The Lord has redeemed his servant Jacob.”
21
They did not thirst when he led them through the deserts; he made water flow for them from the rock; he split the rock and water gushed out.
22
“There is no peace,” says the Lord, “for the wicked.”
Footnotes:
- Isaiah 47:1 Or Chaldeans; also in verse 5
- Isaiah 48:14 Or Chaldeans; also in verse 20
Holy Bible, New International Version®, NIV® Copyright ©1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.® Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.