The Daily Audio Bible
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God’s Shining-Greatness Leaves the House of God
10 Then I looked and saw something like a sapphire stone in the open space that was over the cherubim’s heads. It looked like a throne above them. 2 And the Lord said to the man dressed in linen, “Go in between the wheels under the cherubim. Fill your hands with coals of fire from between the cherubim and throw them over the city.” And as I watched, he went in.
3 Now the cherubim were standing on the right side of the house of the Lord when the man went in. And the cloud filled the open space inside. 4 Then the shining-greatness of the Lord went up from above the cherubim to the door of the Lord’s house. The house of the Lord was filled with the cloud. And the open space was filled with the bright and shining-greatness of the Lord. 5 The sound of the wings of the cherubim was heard as far as the outside open space. It was like the voice of God All-powerful when He speaks.
6 When He told the man dressed in linen, “Take fire from between the wheels, from between the cherubim,” the man went in and stood beside a wheel. 7 Then one of the cherubim put out his hand to the fire which was among them. He took some and put it into the hands of the one dressed in linen, who took it and went out. 8 (The cherubim had what looked like a man’s hands under their wings.)
9 Then I looked and saw four wheels beside the cherubim, one wheel beside each cherub. The wheels looked like they were made of shining chrysolite stone. 10 All four of them looked the same. Each looked like they had one wheel inside another wheel. 11 When they moved, they went in any of their four ways without turning as they went, but followed the way the head was facing without turning as they went. 12 And their whole body, their backs, their hands, their wings, and the wheels were full of eyes all around, the wheels belonging to all four of them. 13 The wheels were called in my hearing, “the turning wheels.” 14 Each one of the cherubim had four faces. The first face was the face of a cherub. The second face was the face of a man. The third was the face of a lion. And the fourth was the face of an eagle.
15 Then the cherubim rose up. They were the living beings that I saw by the Chebar River. 16 Now when the cherubim moved, the wheels went beside them. And when the cherubim lifted up their wings to rise from the ground, the wheels did not leave their side. 17 When the cherubim stood still, the wheels stood still. When they rose up, the wheels rose with them. For the spirit of the living beings was in them.
18 Then the shining-greatness of the Lord left the door of the Lord’s house and stood over the cherubim. 19 When the cherubim left, they lifted their wings and rose up from the earth in front of my eyes, with the wheels beside them. And they stood still at the door of the east gate of the Lord’s house. The shining-greatness of the God of Israel was over them.
20 These are the living beings that I saw under the God of Israel by the Chebar River, so I knew that they were cherubim. 21 Each one had four faces and four wings, and under their wings were what looked like human hands. 22 Their faces looked the same as those I had seen by the Chebar River. Each one went straight ahead.
Israel’s Leaders Are Judged
11 The Spirit lifted me up and brought me to the east gate of the Lord’s house which faces eastward. There I saw twenty-five men at the door of the gate. Among them I saw Jaazaniah the son of Azzur, and Pelatiah the son of Benaiah, leaders of the people. 2 Then He said to me, “Son of man, these are the men who make sinful plans and tell others in this city to do what is wrong. 3 They say, ‘Will it not soon be time to build houses? This city is the pot and we are the meat.’ 4 So tell what will happen against them, son of man. Speak the Word of God!”
5 Then the Spirit of the Lord came upon me, and He said to me, “Tell them, ‘This is what the Lord says: “This is what you thought, O people of Israel. For I know the things that come into your mind. 6 You have made many more of your people die in this city. You have filled its streets with them.” 7 So the Lord God says, “Your dead whom you have laid in the city are the meat, and this city is the pot. But I will bring you out of it. 8 You have been afraid of the sword, so I will bring a sword upon you,” the Lord God says. 9 “And I will bring you out of the city, and give you over to strangers and punish you. 10 You will be killed by the sword all the way to the land of Israel, so you will know that I am the Lord. 11 This city will not be a pot for you, and you will not be the meat inside it. But I will punish you all the way to the land of Israel. 12 And you will know that I am the Lord. For you have not walked in my Laws or obeyed them, but have followed the ways of the nations around you.”’”
13 While I was saying what was going to happen, Pelatiah the son of Benaiah died. Then I fell on my face and cried out with a loud voice, “It is bad, Lord God! Will You bring a complete end to those of Israel who are left?”
God Will Bring Israel Back
14 Then the Word of the Lord came to me, saying, 15 “Son of man, your brothers, your family, those who were driven out of the land, and all the people of Israel are those of whom the people of Jerusalem have said, ‘They have gone far away from the Lord. This land has been given to us for our own.’ 16 So tell them, ‘This is what the Lord God says: “I sent them far away among the nations. I divided them among the countries. But still I was a holy place for them a little while in the countries where they had gone.”’ 17 So tell them, ‘This is what the Lord God says: “I will gather you from the nations. I will gather you together out of the countries where you have been divided. And I will give you the land of Israel.”’ 18 When they return to it, they will take away all its hated and sinful things. 19 I will give them one heart, and put a new spirit within them. I will take the heart of stone out of their flesh and give them a heart of flesh. 20 Then they will walk in My Laws and keep them, and obey them. They will be My people, and I will be their God. 21 But as for those whose hearts go after their hated and sinful things, I will bring their actions upon their own heads,” says the Lord God.
22 Then the cherubim lifted up their wings with the wheels beside them. And the shining-greatness of the God of Israel was over them. 23 The shining-greatness of the Lord went up from the city and stood over the mountain east of it. 24 The Spirit lifted me up and brought me in a special dream by the Spirit of God to the Jews who had been taken to Babylon. Then the special dream that I had seen left me. 25 And I told the Jews in Babylon all the things that the Lord had shown me.
Going Ahead
6 So let us leave the first things you need to know about Christ. Let us go on to the teaching that full-grown Christians should understand. We do not need to teach these first truths again. You already know that you must be sorry for your sins and turn from them. You know that you must have faith in God. 2 You know about being baptized and about putting hands on people. You know about being raised from the dead and about being punished forever. 3 We will go on, if God lets us.
4 There are those who have known the truth. They have received the gift from heaven. They have shared the Holy Spirit. 5 They know how good the Word of God is. They know of the powers of the world to come. 6 But if they turn away, they cannot be sorry for their sins and turn from them again. It is because they are nailing the Son of God on a cross again. They are holding Him up in shame in front of all people. 7 It is the same with a piece of ground that has had many rains fall on it. God makes it possible for that ground to give good fruits and vegetables. 8 But if it gives nothing but weeds, it is worth nothing. It will be hated and destroyed by fire.
9 Dear friends, even as we tell you this, we are sure of better things for you. These things go along with being saved from the punishment of sin. 10 God always does what is right. He will not forget the work you did to help the Christians and the work you are still doing to help them. This shows your love for Christ. 11 We want each one of you to keep on working to the end. Then what you hope for, will happen. 12 Do not be lazy. Be like those who have faith and have not given up. They will receive what God has promised them.
God’s Promise
13 When God made a promise to Abraham, He made that promise in His own name because no one was greater. 14 He said, “I will make you happy in so many ways. For sure, I will give you many children.” (A) 15 Abraham was willing to wait and God gave to him what He had promised.
16 When men make a promise, they use a name greater than themselves. They do this to make sure they will do what they promise. In this way, no one argues about it. 17 And so God made a promise. He wanted to show Abraham that He would never change His mind. So He made the promise in His own name. 18 God gave these two things that cannot be changed and God cannot lie. We who have turned to Him can have great comfort knowing that He will do what He has promised. 19 This hope is a safe anchor for our souls. It will never move. This hope goes into the Holiest Place of All behind the curtain of heaven. 20 Jesus has already gone there. He has become our Religious Leader forever and has made the way for man to go to God. He is like Melchizedek.
16 Then He called for a time of no food on the land. He cut off all their bread. 17 He sent a man, Joseph, before them who was sold as a servant. 18 They hurt his feet with chains. He was put in irons, 19 until what he had said would happen came to pass. The Word of the Lord tested him. 20 The king sent and had him taken out of prison. The ruler of many people set him free. 21 He made him the lord of his house and ruler over all he had. 22 He could punish the rulers as he pleased. And he taught wisdom to the wise. 23 Then Israel also came into Egypt. So Jacob stayed in the land of Ham. 24 And He made the number of His people grow until they were stronger than those who held power over them.
25 He turned their hearts to hate His people and to make plans against His servants. 26 He sent Moses, His servant, and Aaron whom He had chosen. 27 They did His great works for them to see, powerful works in the land of Ham. 28 He sent darkness and made the land dark. They did not fight against what He told them to do. 29 He changed their water into blood, so their fish died. 30 Their land became covered with frogs, even in the rooms of their kings. 31 He spoke and there came many flies all over their land. 32 He gave them hail instead of rain, and lightning like fire in their land. 33 He destroyed their vines and fig trees and the trees of their country. 34 He spoke and the locusts came. There were too many to number. 35 They ate up all the plants in their country. They ate all the fruit of their land. 36 He killed all the first-born in their land, the first fruits of all their strength.
27 Do not talk much about tomorrow, for you do not know what a day will bring.
2 Let another man praise you, and not your own mouth. Let a stranger, and not your own lips.
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