Nov 17th

And the word of Yahweh came to me, saying,

“Son of man, these men have set up their idols in their hearts and have put right before their faces the stumbling block of their iniquity. Should I be inquired by them at all?

Therefore speak to them and tell them, ‘Thus says Lord Yahweh, “Any man of the house of Israel who sets up his idols in his heart, puts right before his face the stumbling block of his iniquity, and then comes to the prophet, I Yahweh will be brought to give him an answer in light of it, in light of the multitude of his idols,

in order to seize the house of Israel by their heart, those who are estranged from Me through all their idols.” ’

“Therefore say to the house of Israel, ‘Thus says Lord Yahweh, “Turn back and turn away from your idols and turn your faces away from all your abominations.

For anyone of the house of Israel or of the sojourners who sojourn in Israel who separates himself from Me, sets up his idols in his heart, puts right before his face the stumbling block of his iniquity, and then comes to the prophet to inquire of Me for himself, I, Yahweh, will be brought to answer him in My own person.

I will set My face against that man and make him a sign and a proverb, and I will cut him off from among My people. So you will know that I am Yahweh.

“But if the prophet is enticed to speak a word, it is I, Yahweh, who have enticed that prophet, and I will stretch out My hand against him and destroy him from among My people Israel.

They will bear the punishment of their iniquity; as the iniquity of the inquirer is, so the iniquity of the prophet will be,

in order that the house of Israel may no longer wander from Me and no longer defile themselves with all their transgressions. Thus they will be My people, and I shall be their God,” ’ declares Lord Yahweh.”

Then the word of Yahweh came to me saying,

“Son of man, if a country sins against Me by committing unfaithfulness, and I stretch out My hand against it, break its staff of bread, send famine against it, and cut off from it both man and beast,

even though these three men, Noah, Daniel, and Job were in its midst, by their own righteousness they could only deliver themselves,” declares Lord Yahweh.

“If I were to cause wild beasts to pass through the land and they bereaved it of children and it became desolate so that no one would pass through it because of the beasts,

though these three men were in its midst, as I live,” declares Lord Yahweh, “they could not deliver either their sons or their daughters. They alone would be delivered, but the country would become desolate.

Or if I should bring a sword on that country and say, ‘Let the sword pass through the country and cut off man and beast from it,’

even though these three men were in its midst, as I live,” declares Lord Yahweh, “they could not deliver either their sons or their daughters, but they alone would be delivered.

Or if I should send a plague against that country and pour out My wrath in blood on it to cut off man and beast from it,

even though Noah, Daniel, and Job were in its midst, as I live,” declares Lord Yahweh, “they could not deliver either their son or their daughter. They would deliver only themselves by their righteousness.”

For thus says Lord Yahweh, “How much more when I send My four calamitous judgments against Jerusalem: sword, famine, wild beasts, and plague to cut off man and beast from it!

Yet, behold, survivors will be left in it who will be brought out, both sons and daughters. Behold, they are going to come forth to you, and you will see their way and actions; then you will be comforted for the calamity which I have brought against Jerusalem for everything which I have brought upon it.

Then they will comfort you when you see their way and actions, so you will know that I have not done in vain all that I did to it,” declares Lord Yahweh.

Then the word of Yahweh came to me, saying,

“Son of man, how is the wood of the vine better than any wood of a branch which is among the trees of the forest?

Can wood be taken from it to make anything, or can men take a peg from it on which to hang any vessel?

If it has been put into the fire for fuel, and the fire has consumed both of its ends, and its middle part has been charred, is it then useful for anything?

Behold, while it is intact, it is not made into anything. How much less, when the fire has consumed it and it is charred, can it still be made into anything!

Therefore, thus says Lord Yahweh, ‘As the wood of the vine among the trees of the forest, which I have given to the fire for fuel, so have I given up the inhabitants of Jerusalem;

and I will give My face to be against them. Though they have come out of the fire, yet the fire will consume them. Then you will know that I am Yahweh, when I set My face against them.

Thus I will give over the land to desolation because they have acted unfaithfully,’ ” declares Lord Yahweh.

Then the word of Yahweh came to me, saying,

“Son of man, make known to Jerusalem her abominations

and say, ‘Thus says Lord Yahweh to Jerusalem, “Your origin and your birth are from the land of the Canaanite; your father was an Amorite and your mother a Hittite.

As for your birth, on the day you were born your navel cord was not cut, nor were you washed with water for cleansing; you were not rubbed with salt or even wrapped in cloths.

No eye had pity on you to do any of these things for you, to have compassion on you. Rather you were thrown out into the open field, for your soul was abhorred on the day you were born.

“Then I passed by you and saw you squirming in your blood. So I said to you while you were in your blood, ‘Live!’ Indeed I said to you while you were in your blood, ‘Live!’

I made you numerous like plants of the field. Then you grew up, became tall, and came into the age for fine ornaments; your breasts were formed, and your hair had grown. Yet you were naked and bare.

“Then I passed by you and saw you, and behold, you were at the time for love; so I spread My skirt over you and covered your nakedness. I also swore to you and entered into a covenant with you so that you became Mine,” declares Lord Yahweh.

“Then I washed you with water, rinsed your blood off from you, and anointed you with oil.

I also clothed you with embroidered cloth and put sandals of porpoise skin on your feet; and I wrapped you with fine linen and covered you with silk.

I also adorned you with ornaments and put bracelets on your hands and a necklace around your neck.

I also put a ring in your nose, earrings in your ears, and a splendid crown on your head.

Thus you were adorned with gold and silver, and your clothing was of fine linen, silk, and embroidered cloth. You ate fine flour, honey, and oil; so you were exceedingly beautiful and advanced to royalty.

Then your name went forth among the nations on account of your beauty, for it was perfect because of My majesty which I set on you,” declares Lord Yahweh.

“But you trusted in your beauty and played the harlot because of your name, and you poured out your harlotries on every passer-by who might be willing.

You took some of your clothes, made for yourself high places of various colors, and played the harlot on them, which should never come about nor happen.

You also took your splendid jewelry made of My gold and of My silver, which I had given you, and made for yourself male images that you might play the harlot with them.

Then you took your embroidered cloth and covered them and gave My oil and My incense before them.

Also My bread which I gave you, fine flour, oil, and honey with which I had you eat, you gave before them for a soothing aroma; so it happened,” declares Lord Yahweh.

“Moreover, you took your sons and daughters, whom you had borne to Me, and sacrificed them to idols to be devoured. Were your harlotries so small a matter?

You slaughtered My children and gave them up to idols by causing them to pass through the fire.

Besides all your abominations and harlotries you did not remember the days of your youth, when you were naked and bare—you were squirming in your blood!

“Now it happened after all your evil—‘Woe, woe to you!’ declares Lord Yahweh—

that you built yourself a shrine and made yourself a high place in every square.

You built yourself a high place at the head of every street and made your beauty abominable, and you spread your legs to every passer-by to multiply your harlotry.

You also played the harlot with the Egyptians, your lustful neighbors, and you multiplied your harlotry to provoke Me to anger.

Behold now, I have stretched out My hand against you and cut off your rations. And I gave you up to the desire of those who hate you, the daughters of the Philistines, who are ashamed of your lewd way.

Moreover, you played the harlot with the Assyrians because you were not satisfied; you played the harlot with them and still were not satisfied.

You also multiplied your harlotry with the land of merchants, Chaldea, yet even with this you were not satisfied.” ’ ”

Now when these things have been so prepared, the priests are continually entering the first part of the tabernacle performing the divine worship,

but into the second, only the high priest enters once a year, not without taking blood, which he offers for himself and for the sins of the people committed in ignorance.

The Holy Spirit is indicating this, that the way into the holy places has not yet been manifested while that first part of the tabernacle is still standing,

which is a symbol for the present time. Accordingly both gifts and sacrifices are offered which cannot make the worshiper perfect in conscience,

since they relate only to food and drink and various washings, requirements for the body imposed until a time of reformation.

But when Christ appeared as a high priest of the good things to come, He entered through the greater and more perfect tabernacle, not made with hands, that is to say, not of this creation,

and not through the blood of goats and calves, but through His own blood, He entered the holy places once for all, having obtained eternal redemption.

For if the blood of goats and bulls and the ashes of a heifer sprinkling those who have been defiled sanctify for the cleansing of the flesh,

how much more will the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered Himself without blemish to God, cleanse your conscience from dead works to serve the living God?

And for this reason He is the mediator of a new covenant, so that, since a death has taken place for the redemption of the trespasses that were committed under the first covenant, those who have been called may receive the promise of the eternal inheritance.

For where a covenant is, there must of necessity be the death of the one who made it.

For a covenant is valid only when men are dead, for it is never in force while the one who made it lives.

Therefore not even the first covenant was inaugurated without blood.

For when every commandment had been spoken by Moses to all the people according to the Law, he took the blood of the calves and the goats, with water and scarlet wool and hyssop, and sprinkled both the book itself and all the people,

saying, “This is the blood of the covenant which God commanded you.”

And in the same way, both the tabernacle and all the vessels of the ministry he sprinkled with the blood.

And according to the Law, one may almost say, all things are cleansed with blood, and without shedding of blood there is no forgiveness.

Therefore it was necessary for the copies of the things in the heavens to be cleansed with these, but the heavenly things themselves with better sacrifices than these.

For Christ did not enter holy places made with hands, mere copies of the true ones, but into heaven itself, now to appear in the presence of God for us;

nor was it that He would offer Himself often, as the high priest enters the holy places year by year with blood that is not his own.

Otherwise, He would have needed to suffer often since the foundation of the world; but now once at the consummation of the ages He has been manifested to put away sin by the sacrifice of Himself.

And inasmuch as it is appointed for men to die once and after this comes judgment,

so Christ also, having been offered once to bear the sins of many, will appear a second time for salvation without reference to sin, to those who eagerly await Him.