Ezekiel Chapter 38
Showing all 23 verses for Ezekiel Chapter 38.
The People's Bible is written by people, for the people. Each verse below shows:
"And the word of the LORD came unto me, saying, "
"The LORD's message came to Ezekiel, saying,"
I keep speaking into every season of your life, including the strange and unsettling ones that don't fit neatly with what came before. Stay open to what I'm showing you even when the picture gets stranger.
"Son of man, set thy face against Gog, the land of Magog, the chief prince of Meshech and Tubal, and prophesy against him, "
"Son of man, turn and confront Gog, of the land of Magog, the chief prince of Meshech and Tubal, and prophesy against him."
I want you to know that even after real healing, life can still bring fresh threats you didn't expect - and I'm already speaking against them before they arrive. Don't assume rescue means the story is fully over; stay alert, but not afraid.
"And say, Thus saith the Lord GOD; Behold, I am against thee, O Gog, the chief prince of Meshech and Tubal: "
"Say: This is what God says - I am against you, Gog, chief prince of Meshech and Tubal."
When something threatens the peace you've only just found, know that I'm already standing against it before you even see it coming. You don't have to win this fight alone or from a position of fear.
"And I will turn thee back, and put hooks into thy jaws, and I will bring thee forth, and all thine army, horses and horsemen, all of them clothed with all sorts of armour, even a great company with bucklers and shields, all of them handling swords: "
"I will turn you around, put hooks in your jaws, and drag you out with your whole army - horses, cavalry, all of them dressed in full armour, a huge force armed with shields and swords."
Even the threats that feel like they're bearing down on you under their own power are not beyond what I can direct and limit. Nothing that comes against you moves entirely outside my reach, however unstoppable it looks from where you're standing.
"Persia, Ethiopia, and Libya with them; all of them with shield and helmet: "
"Persia, Cush (Ethiopia), and Put (Libya) are with them, all armed with shield and helmet."
However many forces seem to be lining up against you, the size of the opposition has never been the deciding factor in what I can do. Don't measure your chances by how many voices or pressures are stacked against you.
"Gomer, and all his bands; the house of Togarmah of the north quarters, and all his bands: and many people with thee. "
"Gomer with all its troops, and the house of Togarmah from the far north with all its troops - many peoples are with you."
When pressure seems to come at you from every direction simultaneously, remember that being surrounded isn't the same as being finished. I've handled bigger odds than the ones stacked against you now.
"Be thou prepared, and prepare for thyself, thou, and all thy company that are assembled unto thee, and be thou a guard unto them. "
"Get ready and prepare yourself, you and all the forces gathered with you, and be their commander."
However carefully someone plans to bring you down, careful planning against a good outcome doesn't guarantee it will succeed. Don't be intimidated by how prepared or organised opposition looks on the surface.
"After many days thou shalt be visited: in the latter years thou shalt come into the land that is brought back from the sword, and is gathered out of many people, against the mountains of Israel, which have been always waste: but it is brought forth out of the nations, and they shall dwell safely all of them. "
"After a long time you will be summoned; in future years you will invade a land that has recovered from war, whose people were gathered from many nations onto the mountains of Israel, long lying in ruins - but now its people live there safely, all of them."
Don't assume that once life finally feels settled and safe, nothing can threaten it again. Peace is real and worth living in fully, but staying grounded in me means you're not caught completely off guard if trouble does return.
"Thou shalt ascend and come like a storm, thou shalt be like a cloud to cover the land, thou, and all thy bands, and many people with thee. "
"You will come up like a storm; you will be like a cloud covering the land, you and all your forces and the many peoples with you."
Even when trouble rolls in like a storm you can see coming from a long way off, that doesn't mean it gets the final word. Let the size of the threat sharpen your trust rather than your fear.
"Thus saith the Lord GOD; It shall also come to pass, that at the same time shall things come into thy mind, and thou shalt think an evil thought: "
"This is what God says: At that time, thoughts will come into your mind and you will scheme an evil plan."
I know that harmful plans usually start as a private thought before they ever become an action - a moment of greed or resentment turning over in someone's mind. Watch your own thoughts as carefully as you watch your actions.
"And thou shalt say, I will go up to the land of unwalled villages; I will go to them that are at rest, that dwell safely, all of them dwelling without walls, and having neither bars nor gates, "
"You will think: I will invade the land of undefended villages; I will go against people living quietly and safely, all of them without walls, without bars or gates."
Living openly and without defensiveness, trusting in real security rather than walls you've built up around yourself, can look like weakness to people looking to take advantage. Don't let that possibility talk you back into building walls where none are needed.
"To take a spoil, and to take a prey; to turn thine hand upon the desolate places that are now inhabited, and upon the people that are gathered out of the nations, which have gotten cattle and goods, that dwell in the midst of the land. "
"To seize plunder and take loot; to attack the once-desolate places that are now inhabited, and the people gathered from the nations who have acquired livestock and possessions, living at the centre of the land."
Be wary of the temptation to resent or want to take what someone else has rebuilt after hardship, rather than being glad for their recovery. Envy dressed up as ambition is still envy, and it never ends where it thinks it will.
"Sheba, and Dedan, and the merchants of Tarshish, with all the young lions thereof, shall say unto thee, Art thou come to take a spoil? hast thou gathered thy company to take a prey? to carry away silver and gold, to take away cattle and goods, to take a great spoil? "
"Sheba, Dedan, and the merchants of Tarshish with all their young traders will say to you, "Have you come to plunder? Have you gathered your forces to loot silver and gold, to seize livestock and goods, to take a great spoil?""
What you're really after tends to be obvious to onlookers even when you've convinced yourself otherwise. Let that be a check on your own motives too - if bystanders would call it exactly what it is, it probably is.
"Therefore, son of man, prophesy and say unto Gog, Thus saith the Lord GOD; In that day when my people of Israel dwelleth safely, shalt thou not know it? "
"Therefore, son of man, prophesy and say to Gog: This is what God says - On that day when my people Israel are living securely, won't you be aware of it?"
Don't assume that being at peace makes you invisible to those who might want to disturb it. Staying rooted in me means you can hold your peace even when it draws unwanted attention, rather than needing to hide your good fortune to keep it safe.
"And thou shalt come from thy place out of the north parts, thou, and many people with thee, all of them riding upon horses, a great company, and a mighty army: "
"You will come from your place in the far north, you and many peoples with you, all riding horses - a huge company and a mighty army."
The build-up of a threat can feel like it's designed to make you feel small before anything even happens. Resist letting that build-up shape your expectations more than your trust does.
"And thou shalt come up against my people of Israel, as a cloud to cover the land; it shall be in the latter days, and I will bring thee against my land, that the heathen may know me, when I shall be sanctified in thee, O Gog, before their eyes. "
"You will advance against my people Israel like a cloud covering the land. This will happen in the last days; I will bring you against my land so that the nations will come to know me, when I show my holiness through what happens to you, right before their eyes."
Even the things that come against you that you never chose and never wanted can end up being turned towards a purpose you couldn't have planned yourself. That doesn't make the pain less real, but it means nothing that happens to you is wasted.
"Thus saith the Lord GOD; Art thou he of whom I have spoken in old time by my servants the prophets of Israel, which prophesied in those days many years that I would bring thee against them? "
"This is what God says: Are you the one I spoke about long ago, through my servants the prophets of Israel, who prophesied in those days, for years, that I would bring you against them?"
What looks like a sudden crisis in your life is often something I've been preparing you for all along, even if you didn't recognise the warning signs at the time. Look back at what you've already been shown before assuming this moment came from nowhere.
"And it shall come to pass at the same time when Gog shall come against the land of Israel, saith the Lord GOD, that my fury shall come up in my face. "
"On the day Gog comes against the land of Israel, says the Lord God, my fury will rise up within me."
Knowing that real anger and real care are on your side when you're wrongly targeted can be a comfort, not something to fear. Being protected by someone who takes the threat against you personally is very different from being protected out of mere obligation.
"For in my jealousy and in the fire of my wrath have I spoken, Surely in that day there shall be a great shaking in the land of Israel; "
"In my jealousy and burning anger I declare: On that day there will be a massive earthquake in the land of Israel."
Being cared for fiercely, not just tolerated politely, is part of what real love looks like - don't mistake gentleness for the absence of strength standing behind it. When you're truly valued, someone shows up for you with everything they have.
"So that the fishes of the sea, and the fowls of the heaven, and the beasts of the field, and all creeping things that creep upon the earth, and all the men that are upon the face of the earth, shall shake at my presence, and the mountains shall be thrown down, and the steep places shall fall, and every wall shall fall to the ground. "
"The fish of the sea, the birds of the sky, the wild animals, everything that crawls on the ground, and every human being on earth will shake at my presence - the mountains will collapse, the cliffs will crumble, and every wall will fall to the ground."
When real power moves in your life, it doesn't stay contained to the exact problem you were worried about - it can shake loose things you didn't even realise needed shaking. Let that unsettle old defences you no longer need, rather than only fearing what it disturbs.
"And I will call for a sword against him throughout all my mountains, saith the Lord GOD: every man’s sword shall be against his brother. "
"I will summon a sword against Gog throughout all my mountains, says the Lord God - every man's sword will turn against his fellow soldier."
Division and confusion within something opposing you can be as real a form of deliverance as any direct victory. Don't assume every rescue has to look like a fight you personally won - sometimes the trouble simply falls apart on its own.
"And I will plead against him with pestilence and with blood; and I will rain upon him, and upon his bands, and upon the many people that are with him, an overflowing rain, and great hailstones, fire, and brimstone. "
"I will execute judgement against him with plague and bloodshed; I will pour down torrential rain, massive hailstones, fire, and burning sulphur on him, his troops, and the many peoples with him."
When something genuinely needs to be stopped, real, thorough intervention can look dramatic and overwhelming from the outside - that's not cruelty, it's the seriousness with which real harm is taken. Trust that what threatens what matters to me won't simply be waved away.
"Thus will I magnify myself, and sanctify myself; and I will be known in the eyes of many nations, and they shall know that I am the LORD. "
"In this way I will show my greatness and my holiness, and I will make myself known in the sight of many nations - and they will know that I am the LORD."
What happens to you, especially when you're protected against real threat, isn't wasted even on people who have nothing to do with your story - it can become something others learn from too. You don't need to explain yourself to be a witness.