Day 335 – December 1, 2021

Ezekiel 23

Two Immoral Sisters

1 Again the word of the Lord came to me, saying,†

2 “Son of man, there were two women, the daughters of one mother,

3 and they committed fornication in Egypt while still young. Their breasts fell while there, and their virginity was lost.

4 Their names were Oholah the elder and Oholibah her sister; they were Mine, and they bore sons and daughters. As for their names, Samaria is Oholah and Jerusalem is Oholibah.

The Older Sister, Samaria

5 “Oholah departed from Me and committed fornication. She gave herself to her lovers, the Assyrians, who drew near to her,

6 who were dressed in purple, leaders and commanders, all chosen young men, horsemen riding on horses.

7 Thus she committed fornication with them, all of them chosen sons of the Assyrians; and upon whomever she offered herself, with all their inventions, she defiled herself.

8 She did not abandon her fornication with Egyptians, for they slept with her in her youth. These men violated her virginity and poured out their fornication upon her.

9 Therefore I delivered her into the hand of her lovers, into the hands of the sons of the Assyrians to whom she offered herself.

10 They uncovered her shame, took her sons and daughters, and killed her with the sword. She became a byword among women, and they exacted retribution on her through her daughters.

The Younger Sister, Jerusalem

11 “Her sister Oholibah saw this, and she indulged in her lusts more corruptly than she, and her fornication more than the fornication of her sister.

12 She offered herself to the sons of the Assyrians, the leaders and commanders near her, men clothed in purple, horsemen riding on horses, all of them chosen young men.

13 I saw both defiled in the same way,

14 but Oholibah added to her fornication; for she looked at men portrayed on the wall, images of Chaldeans portrayed in color,

15 girded with embroidered belts around their waists and brightly colored turbans on their heads, the appearance of high rank to all of them, the likeness of the sons of the Chaldeans, their native land.

16 As soon as her eyes saw them, she offered herself to them and sent messengers to them in the land of the Chaldeans.

17 Then the sons of Babylon came to her, into the bed of love, and defiled her in her fornication. So she was defiled with them, and her soul fell away because of them.

18 She revealed her fornication and exposed her shame. So My soul withdrew from her, as My soul withdrew from her sister.

19 Yes, you multiplied your fornication, so as to call to remembrance the days of your youth, in which you committed fornication in Egypt.

20 For you offered yourself to the Chaldeans, whose flesh is like the flesh of donkeys, and their members as the members of horses.

21 But you did look upon the lawlessness of your youth, the things you did in Egypt in your lodgings, where were the breasts of your youth.

Judgment of the Younger

22 “Therefore, Oholibah, thus says the Lord: ‘Behold, I shall raise up your lovers against you, because of whom your soul fell away, and I shall bring them against you all around—

23 the sons of Babylon, all the Chaldeans, Pekod, Shoa, Koa, all the sons of the Assyrians with them, chosen young men, all leaders and commanders, men of high rank and famous men riding on horses.

24 All will come against you from the north—chariots and wheels with a multitude of peoples, with shields and spears—and they will set up a guard against you all around. I shall give judgment to them, and they will judge you according to their judgments.

25 I shall put My jealousy on you, and they will deal with you in great wrath. They will take away your nose and ears, and strike down your remnant with the sword. They will take your sons and daughters, and fire will consume your remnant.

26 They will also strip you of your clothes and take the objects of your boasting.

27 Thus I shall turn back your ungodliness and your fornication from the land of Egypt; and you shall not lift your eyes to them, nor remember Egypt any longer.’

28 “For thus says the Lord: ‘Behold, I will deliver you into the hands of those you hate, because of whom you withdrew your souls.

29 They will deal hatefully with you and take all the fruits of your labor and toil. You will be naked and disgraced, and the shame of your fornication and ungodliness will be revealed.

30 Your fornication caused this to happen to you, in that you acted as a prostitute with the nations and defiled yourself with their inventions.

31 You walked in the way of your sister; therefore, I shall put her cup into your hands.’

32 “Thus says the Lord: ‘You shall drink from the deep and large cup of your sister, a cup filled to the brim.

33 You shall be filled with drunkenness and feebleness, and you shall drink from the cup of destruction, the cup of your sister Samaria;

34 and I will take away her feasts and her new moons. For I have spoken,’ says the Lord.

35 Therefore thus says the Lord: ‘Because you forgot Me and cast Me behind your back, therefore, bear the penalty of your ungodliness and prostitution.’ ”

Judgment of Both Sisters

36 Again the Lord said to me, “Son of man, will you judge Oholah and Oholibah? You shall declare their lawlessness to them.

37 For they committed adultery, and blood is on their hands. They committed adultery with their inventions, and passed through the fire the children whom they bore to Me.

38 So long as they did these things to Me, they defiled My sanctuary and desecrated My Sabbaths.

39 For as they were slaughtering their children for their idols, they also entered My sanctuary to desecrate it; for so they did in the midst of My house.

40 They also sent for men from afar by way of messengers; and as they were traveling, you washed yourself for them, made up your eyes, and adorned yourself with jewelry.

41 You sat on a furnished bed, with a decorated table before it, and they rejoiced over My incense and oil.

42 They played harmonious music, and put bracelets on their wrists and a crown of boasting on their heads, to attract the multitude of men coming from the desert.

43 Therefore I asked, ‘Are they not committing adultery and doing the deeds of a prostitute with these? Is she not indulging in prostitution?’

44 Yes, they went in to her as men go in to a prostitute; thus they went in to Oholah and Oholibah, to commit lawlessness.

45 But righteous men will take revenge on them after the manner of an adulteress, and after the manner of women who shed blood; because they are adulteresses, and blood is on their hands.

46 “Thus says the Lord: ‘Bring up a multitude against them and give them up to trouble and plunder.

47 They will stone them with the stones of a crowd and stab them with their swords. They will kill their sons and daughters and set their houses on fire.

48 Thus I shall turn away ungodliness from the land, and all women will be taught not to imitate their ungodliness.

49 Your ungodliness will be recompensed upon you, and you will bear the sins of your inventions. Then you shall know that I am the Lord.’ ”

Psalms 118

129 Wondrous are Your testimonies; For this reason my soul searches them out. 

130 The revelation of Your words gives light, And it causes children to understand. 

131 I opened my mouth and drew in my breath, For I longed for Your commandments. 

132 Look upon me and have mercy on me, According to the judgment of those who love Your name. 

133 Direct my steps according to Your teaching And let no lawlessness rule over me. 

134 Ransom me from the slander of men, And I will keep Your commandments. 

135 Make Your face shine upon Your servant And teach me Your ordinances. 

136 My eyes poured down streams of tears Because they did not keep Your law. 

137 Righteous are You, O Lord, And upright is Your judgment. 

138 You commanded Your testimonies exceedingly In righteousness and truth. 

139 The zeal of Your house caused me to yearn for home, For my enemies forgot Your words. 

140 Your teaching is exceedingly purified in fire, And Your servant loves it. 

141 I am young, and beheld as nothing, But I have not forgotten Your ordinances. 

142 Your righteousness is righteousness forever, And Your law is truth. 

143 Affliction and trouble found me, But Your commandments are my meditation. 

144 Your testimonies are righteousness forever; Give me understanding, and I shall live.

Proverbs of Solomon 26

24 Money given with deceit is like a sharp piece of broken pottery; So smooth lips hide a heart that causes pain. 

25 A weeping enemy promises everything with his lips, But in his heart he devises deceits. 

26 If your enemy entreats you with a loud voice, Do not consent, for there are seven vices in his soul. 

27 He who hides enmity contrives deceit, But being well known in the assemblies, he exposes his own sins. 

28 He who digs a pit for his neighbor shall fall into it, And he who rolls a stone rolls it upon himself. 

29 A lying tongue hates the truth, And an unguarded mouth causes confusion.

2 Peter 2

The Deceptions of False Teachers

1 But there were also false prophets among the people, even as there will be false teachers among you, who will secretly bring in destructive heresies, even denying the Lord who bought them, and bring on themselves swift destruction.†

2 And many will follow their destructive ways, because of whom the way of truth will be blasphemed.

3 By covetousness they will exploit you with deceptive words; for a long time their judgment has not been idle, and their destruction does not slumber.

The Doom of False Teachers

4 For if God did not spare the angels who sinned, but cast them down to hell and delivered them into chains of darkness, to be reserved for judgment;†

5 and did not spare the ancient world, but saved Noah, one of eight people, a preacher of righteousness, bringing in the flood on the world of the ungodly;

6 and turning the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah into ashes, condemned them to destruction, making them an example to those who afterward would live ungodly;

7 and delivered righteous Lot, who was oppressed by the filthy conduct of the wicked

8 (for that righteous man, dwelling among them, tormented his righteous soul from day to day by seeing and hearing their lawless deeds)—

9 then the Lord knows how to deliver the godly out of temptations and to reserve the unjust under punishment for the day of judgment,

The Depravity of False Teachers

10 and especially those who walk according to the flesh in the lust of uncleanness and despise authority. They are presumptuous, self-willed. They are not afraid to speak evil of dignitaries,

11 whereas angels, who are greater in power and might, do not bring a reviling accusation against them before the Lord.

12 But these, like natural brute beasts made to be caught and destroyed, speak evil of the things they do not understand, and will utterly perish in their own corruption,†

13 and will receive the wages of unrighteousness, as those who count it pleasure to carouse in the daytime. They are spots and blemishes, carousing in their own deceptions while they feast with you,

14 having eyes full of adultery and that cannot cease from sin, enticing unstable souls. They have a heart trained in covetous practices, and are accursed children.

15 They have forsaken the right way and gone astray, following the way of Balaam the son of Beor, who loved the wages of unrighteousness;

16 but he was rebuked for his iniquity: a dumb donkey speaking with a man’s voice restrained the madness of the prophet.

17 These are wells without water, clouds carried by a tempest, for whom is reserved the blackness of darkness forever.

The Tragedy of Apostasy

18 For when they speak great swelling words of emptiness, they allure through the lusts of the flesh, through lewdness, the ones who have actually escaped from those who live in error.

19 While they promise them liberty, they themselves are slaves of corruption; for by whom a person is overcome, by him also he is brought into bondage.†

20 For if, after they have escaped the pollutions of the world through the knowledge of the Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, they are again entangled in them and overcome, the latter end is worse for them than the beginning.

21 For it would have been better for them not to have known the way of righteousness, than having known it, to turn from the holy commandment delivered to them.

22 But it has happened to them according to the true proverb: “A dog returns to his own vomit,” and, “a sow, having washed, to her wallowing in the mire.”