Ezekiel 38:1-23
We read, Lord, of Your
judgment upon ‘Gog from the land of Magog’: ‘When Gog attacks the land
of Israel, My hot anger will be aroused... I will execute judgment upon
him...’ (Ezekiel 38:1,18,22). The names ‘Gog and Magog’ are also found
in Revelation 20:7-10. There, we read of rebellion against You, Lord -
‘They marched across the breadth of the earth and surrounded the camp of
God’s people...’ We read of Your judgment - ‘Fire came down from heaven
and consumed them’. In this divine judgment upon ‘Gog and Magog’, we
see Your final triumph over ‘Satan’: ‘The devil who had deceived Gog and
Magog was thrown into the lake of fire and sulphur’ to be ‘tormented
day and night for ever and ever’. ‘Hallelujah! Our Lord God Almighty
reigns’ (Revelation 19:6).
Ezekiel 39:1-29
We read, Lord, about
Gog's defeat. Teach us to look beyond this to Satan’s final defeat
(Ezekiel 39:1-6; Revelation 20:10). We look ahead to Your final victory
over Satan. While we’re here on earth, teach us never to forget that
Satan is a very powerful enemy. He will do all that he can to make us
sin against You, Lord. We see this in the life of Your people, Israel.
They allowed Satan to get the upper hand - and You were not pleased with
them: ‘The nations shall know that the people of Israel went into
captivity for their sin, because they were unfaithful to Me’(Ezekiel
39:23). We thank You, Lord, that Your Word assures us that - even when
Satan has gained the upper hand - , we can be ‘brought back’ to the
place of blessing. We thank You, Lord, that You will ‘have mercy’ on us.
You will ‘pour out Your Spirit’ upon us (Ezekiel 39:25,29). ‘Restore
us, O God...’ (Psalm 85:4).
Ezekiel 40:1-49
Lord, You were
revealing Yourself to Ezekiel. ‘The hand of the Lord was upon’ him. He
received ‘visions of God’ (Ezekiel 40:1-2). You told him not to keep
this revelation to himself: ‘Tell the house of Israel everything you
see’ (Ezekiel 40:4). Help us to learn from ‘the prophets who spoke in
the Name of the Lord’. Like them, we are to seek to bring ‘sinners’ back
to the Lord, showing them ‘the error of their ways’ and pointing them
to Your way of salvation. This work is to be done prayerfully. May we
never forget that ‘the prayer of a righteous man is powerful and
effective’ (James 5:10,16,19-20). We thank You, Lord, that You promise
great blessing to those who are faithful in this work of winning others
for You: ‘Those who lead many to righteousness will shine like the stars
for ever and ever’ (Daniel 12:3).
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