And I will Send Fire on Magog and on those who live in security in the Coastlands.

This chapter is less quoted than the previous one of Ezekiel 38, but the significance of it cannot be underestimated in the way it suggest that the Northern Alliance will be destroyed by a devastating means, likely to be nuclear. This chapter starts where the previous left off, that is with the destruction of God and the enemies of Israel.

Then a detailed description of the aftermath is given. The remains of the armies of God, including weapons, will be collected to make fire. The forests and the land may not be used for another seven years. It will take Israel about seven months to bury the enemy and cleanse the land. Various commentators in End Times prophecies have concluded that these descriptions as the result of a nuclear event.

God reminds them that He has caused His people to be defeated and scattered because of their transgressions. After that He will have mercy on them, defeat their enemies and bring them back together. God will then pour out His Spirit on the House of Israel.





Ezekiel 39
Gog’s Armies Destroyed

1 “And you, son of man, prophesy against Gog, and say, ‘Thus says the Lord God: “Behold, I am against you, O Gog, the prince of Rosh,[a] Meshech, and Tubal; 2 and I will turn you around and lead you on, bringing you up from the far north, and bring you against the mountains of Israel. 3 Then I will knock the bow out of your left hand, and cause the arrows to fall out of your right hand. 4 You shall fall upon the mountains of Israel, you and all your troops and the peoples who are with you; I will give you to birds of prey of every sort and to the beasts of the field to be devoured. 5 You shall fall on the open field; for I have spoken,” says the Lord God. 6 “And I will send fire on Magog and on those who live in security in the coastlands. Then they shall know that I am the Lord. 7 So I will make My holy name known in the midst of My people Israel, and I will not let them profane My holy name anymore. Then the nations shall know that I am the Lord, the Holy One in Israel. 8 Surely it is coming, and it shall be done,” says the Lord God. “This is the day of which I have spoken.

9 “Then those who dwell in the cities of Israel will go out and set on fire and burn the weapons, both the shields and bucklers, the bows and arrows, the javelins and spears; and they will make fires with them for seven years. 10 They will not take wood from the field nor cut down any from the forests, because they will make fires with the weapons; and they will plunder those who plundered them, and pillage those who pillaged them,” says the Lord God.

The Burial of Gog

11 “It will come to pass in that day that I will give Gog a burial place there in Israel, the valley of those who pass by east of the sea; and it will obstruct travelers, because there they will bury Gog and all his multitude. Therefore they will call it the Valley of Hamon Gog.[b] 12 For seven months the house of Israel will be burying them, in order to cleanse the land. 13 Indeed all the people of the land will be burying, and they will gain renown for it on the day that I am glorified,” says the Lord God. 14 “They will set apart men regularly employed, with the help of a search party,[c] to pass through the land and bury those bodies remaining on the ground, in order to cleanse it. At the end of seven months they will make a search. 15 The search party will pass through the land; and when anyone sees a man’s bone, he shall set up a marker by it, till the buriers have buried it in the Valley of Hamon Gog. 16 The name of the city will also be Hamonah. Thus they shall cleanse the land.”’

A Triumphant Festival

17 “And as for you, son of man, thus says the Lord God, ‘Speak to every sort of bird and to every beast of the field:

“Assemble yourselves and come;
Gather together from all sides to My sacrificial meal
Which I am sacrificing for you,
A great sacrificial meal on the mountains of Israel,
That you may eat flesh and drink blood.
18 You shall eat the flesh of the mighty,
Drink the blood of the princes of the earth,
Of rams and lambs,
Of goats and bulls,
All of them fatlings of Bashan.
19 You shall eat fat till you are full,
And drink blood till you are drunk,
At My sacrificial meal
Which I am sacrificing for you.
20 You shall be filled at My table
With horses and riders,
With mighty men
And with all the men of war,” says the Lord God.
Israel Restored to the Land

21 “I will set My glory among the nations; all the nations shall see My judgment which I have executed, and My hand which I have laid on them. 22 So the house of Israel shall know that I am the Lord their God from that day forward. 23 The Gentiles shall know that the house of Israel went into captivity for their iniquity; because they were unfaithful to Me, therefore I hid My face from them. I gave them into the hand of their enemies, and they all fell by the sword. 24 According to their uncleanness and according to their transgressions I have dealt with them, and hidden My face from them.”’

25 “Therefore thus says the Lord God: ‘Now I will bring back the captives of Jacob, and have mercy on the whole house of Israel; and I will be jealous for My holy name— 26 after they have borne their shame, and all their unfaithfulness in which they were unfaithful to Me, when they dwelt safely in their own land and no one made them afraid. 27 When I have brought them back from the peoples and gathered them out of their enemies’ lands, and I am hallowed in them in the sight of many nations, 28 then they shall know that I am the Lord their God, who sent them into captivity among the nations, but also brought them back to their land, and left none of them captive any longer. 29 And I will not hide My face from them anymore; for I shall have poured out My Spirit on the house of Israel,’ says the Lord God.”

The Ransom of a Man’s Life is his Riches

As previous chapters this proverbs has sayings which contrasts between the righteous and the wicked. But in addition, the other main contrasts is between those who seek riches versus those who don't. It is said that riches can be a ransom to a man. There are also other contrasts between a prudent man, those who follow after the wise, and the hardworking one. The contrasts are those who are wasteful, who despises wisdom and those who covet but do not labour for it.



Proverbs 13

1 A wise son heeds his father’s instruction,
But a scoffer does not listen to rebuke.

2 A man shall eat well by the fruit of his mouth,
But the soul of the unfaithful feeds on violence.

3 He who guards his mouth preserves his life,
But he who opens wide his lips shall have destruction.

4 The soul of a lazy man desires, and has nothing;
But the soul of the diligent shall be made rich.

5 A righteous man hates lying,
But a wicked man is loathsome and comes to shame.

6 Righteousness guards him whose way is blameless,
But wickedness overthrows the sinner.

7 There is one who makes himself rich, yet has nothing;
And one who makes himself poor, yet has great riches.

8 The ransom of a man’s life is his riches,
But the poor does not hear rebuke.

9 The light of the righteous rejoices,
But the lamp of the wicked will be put out.

10 By pride comes nothing but strife,
But with the well-advised is wisdom.

11 Wealth gained by dishonesty will be diminished,
But he who gathers by labor will increase.

12 Hope deferred makes the heart sick,
But when the desire comes, it is a tree of life.

13 He who despises the word will be destroyed,
But he who fears the commandment will be rewarded.

14 The law of the wise is a fountain of life,
To turn one away from the snares of death.

15 Good understanding gains favor,
But the way of the unfaithful is hard.

16 Every prudent man acts with knowledge,
But a fool lays open his folly.

17 A wicked messenger falls into trouble,
But a faithful ambassador brings health.

18 Poverty and shame will come to him who disdains correction,
But he who regards a rebuke will be honored.

19 A desire accomplished is sweet to the soul,
But it is an abomination to fools to depart from evil.

20 He who walks with wise men will be wise,
But the companion of fools will be destroyed.

21 Evil pursues sinners,
But to the righteous, good shall be repaid.

22 A good man leaves an inheritance to his children’s children,
But the wealth of the sinner is stored up for the righteous.

23 Much food is in the fallow ground of the poor,
And for lack of justice there is waste.[a]

24 He who spares his rod hates his son,
But he who loves him disciplines him promptly.

25 The righteous eats to the satisfying of his soul,
But the stomach of the wicked shall be in want.

When Pride Comes, Then Comes Shame

Here is a collection of many sayings that make up this chapter. There is emphasis on a few virtues and also discouragement in a few other traits. The good virtues that would bring blessings and favour from God are righteousness, uprightness, integrity, merciful, generosity, trusting in God. The traits that bring condemnation, death and destruction to people are perversity, wickedness, pride, dishonesty, unfaithful, talebearer (gossiper) and ungodly.


Proverbs 11

1 Dishonest scales are an abomination to the Lord,
But a just weight is His delight.

2 When pride comes, then comes shame;
But with the humble is wisdom.

3 The integrity of the upright will guide them,
But the perversity of the unfaithful will destroy them.

4 Riches do not profit in the day of wrath,
But righteousness delivers from death.

5 The righteousness of the blameless will direct[a] his way aright,
But the wicked will fall by his own wickedness.

6 The righteousness of the upright will deliver them,
But the unfaithful will be caught by their lust.

7 When a wicked man dies, his expectation will perish,
And the hope of the unjust perishes.

8 The righteous is delivered from trouble,
And it comes to the wicked instead.

9 The hypocrite with his mouth destroys his neighbor,
But through knowledge the righteous will be delivered.

10 When it goes well with the righteous, the city rejoices;
And when the wicked perish, there is jubilation.

11 By the blessing of the upright the city is exalted,
But it is overthrown by the mouth of the wicked.

12 He who is devoid of wisdom despises his neighbor,
But a man of understanding holds his peace.

13 A talebearer reveals secrets,
But he who is of a faithful spirit conceals a matter.

14 Where there is no counsel, the people fall;
But in the multitude of counselors there is safety.

15 He who is surety for a stranger will suffer,
But one who hates being surety is secure.

16 A gracious woman retains honor,
But ruthless men retain riches.

17 The merciful man does good for his own soul,
But he who is cruel troubles his own flesh.

18 The wicked man does deceptive work,
But he who sows righteousness will have a sure reward.

19 As righteousness leads to life,
So he who pursues evil pursues it to his own death.

20 Those who are of a perverse heart are an abomination to the Lord,
But the blameless in their ways are His delight.

21 Though they join forces,[b] the wicked will not go unpunished;
But the posterity of the righteous will be delivered.

22 As a ring of gold in a swine’s snout,
So is a lovely woman who lacks discretion.

23 The desire of the righteous is only good,
But the expectation of the wicked is wrath.

24 There is one who scatters, yet increases more;
And there is one who withholds more than is right,
But it leads to poverty.

25 The generous soul will be made rich,
And he who waters will also be watered himself.

26 The people will curse him who withholds grain,
But blessing will be on the head of him who sells it.

27 He who earnestly seeks good finds favor,
But trouble will come to him who seeks evil.

28 He who trusts in his riches will fall,
But the righteous will flourish like foliage.

29 He who troubles his own house will inherit the wind,
And the fool will be servant to the wise of heart.

30 The fruit of the righteous is a tree of life,
And he who wins souls is wise.

31 If the righteous will be recompensed on the earth,
How much more the ungodly and the sinner.

Then You Will Understand the Fear of the Lord

The proverbs are given like wisdom given by a father to a son. Here the advice to the son starts by ensuring the son seeks wisdom first. And by gaining knowledge the son will understand the fear of the Lord. God is the one who gives wisdom, so that His children can understand His attributes such as righteousness, justice, and all that is good.

Wisdom can be in our spirit, then our soul will embrace its knowledge. It results in discretion and understanding and keep us from walking in the evil way.

Wisdom in our spirit is able to keep us away from those who pursue evil and may those who try to lead us into their wicked ways. Wisdom in our spirit can keep us away from being tempted - the illustration is that of the immoral woman as the temptress. The stern warning is that those who fall to such temptation, without wisdom in them, are unable to regain their paths.

In summary, wisdom is to keep us walking in goodness and righteousness, to be upright and blameless. The consequence of walking in the wicked and unfaithful ways is to be separated from God.


Proverbs 2
The Value of Wisdom

1 My son, if you receive my words,
And treasure my commands within you,
2 So that you incline your ear to wisdom,
And apply your heart to understanding;
3 Yes, if you cry out for discernment,
And lift up your voice for understanding,
4 If you seek her as silver,
And search for her as for hidden treasures;
5 Then you will understand the fear of the Lord,
And find the knowledge of God.
6 For the Lord gives wisdom;
From His mouth come knowledge and understanding;
7 He stores up sound wisdom for the upright;
He is a shield to those who walk uprightly;
8 He guards the paths of justice,
And preserves the way of His saints.
9 Then you will understand righteousness and justice,
Equity and every good path.
10 When wisdom enters your heart,
And knowledge is pleasant to your soul,
11 Discretion will preserve you;
Understanding will keep you,
12 To deliver you from the way of evil,
From the man who speaks perverse things,
13 From those who leave the paths of uprightness
To walk in the ways of darkness;
14 Who rejoice in doing evil,
And delight in the perversity of the wicked;
15 Whose ways are crooked,
And who are devious in their paths;
16 To deliver you from the immoral woman,
From the seductress who flatters with her words,
17 Who forsakes the companion of her youth,
And forgets the covenant of her God.
18 For her house leads down to death,
And her paths to the dead;
19 None who go to her return,
Nor do they regain the paths of life—
20 So you may walk in the way of goodness,
And keep to the paths of righteousness.
21 For the upright will dwell in the land,
And the blameless will remain in it;
22 But the wicked will be cut off from the earth,
And the unfaithful will be uprooted from it.

Nehemiah Prays for His People

This is the account of Nehemiah, who was an Israelite serving in Shushan palace or citadel. He was probably an influential official in the Persian empire, he revealed himself as the king's cupbearer. He received news that the recently returned exiles to Jerusalem were struggling. In particular, the walls of Jerusalem were still broken down.

Nehemiah was also a God fearing man; when he heard the news about Jerusalem, he wept and mourned and fasted and prayed to God. He prayed for the sins of his fellow Israelites. He also prayed and claimed the covenant promise that although God will scatter them if they are unfaithful, so too will God gather them together when they return to God and keep His commandments.

Nehemiah 1

Nehemiah Prays for His People

 1 The words of Nehemiah the son of Hachaliah.
It came to pass in the month of Chislev, in the twentieth year, as I was in Shushan[a] the citadel, 2 that Hanani one of my brethren came with men from Judah; and I asked them concerning the Jews who had escaped, who had survived the captivity, and concerning Jerusalem. 3 And they said to me, “The survivors who are left from the captivity in the province are there in great distress and reproach. The wall of Jerusalem is also broken down, and its gates are burned with fire.”
4 So it was, when I heard these words, that I sat down and wept, and mourned for many days; I was fasting and praying before the God of heaven.
5 And I said: “I pray, LORD God of heaven, O great and awesome God, You who keep Your covenant and mercy with those who love You[b] and observe Your[c] commandments, 6 please let Your ear be attentive and Your eyes open, that You may hear the prayer of Your servant which I pray before You now, day and night, for the children of Israel Your servants, and confess the sins of the children of Israel which we have sinned against You. Both my father’s house and I have sinned. 7 We have acted very corruptly against You, and have not kept the commandments, the statutes, nor the ordinances which You commanded Your servant Moses. 8 Remember, I pray, the word that You commanded Your servant Moses, saying, ‘If you are unfaithful, I will scatter you among the nations;[d] 9 but if you return to Me, and keep My commandments and do them, though some of you were cast out to the farthest part of the heavens, yet I will gather them from there, and bring them to the place which I have chosen as a dwelling for My name.’[e] 10 Now these are Your servants and Your people, whom You have redeemed by Your great power, and by Your strong hand. 11 O Lord, I pray, please let Your ear be attentive to the prayer of Your servant, and to the prayer of Your servants who desire to fear Your name; and let Your servant prosper this day, I pray, and grant him mercy in the sight of this man.”
For I was the king’s cupbearer.

Confession and Restitution

Some of the laws and rituals mentioned previously are restated here.

Unclean people shall be put outside the camp, or the main area where the rest of the Israelites were camping. One is considered unclean if one is a leper or had contact with a leper, one has a discharge of any fluids, or one has contact with a corpse.

If a person has done wrong to another person, the wrongdoer shall confes the sin. The wrongdoer shall also pay the victim restitution and an additional 20%. If the victim cannot receive the payment, then the payment shall go to the priest.

There is also a law to remove suspicion or accusation by a husband that the wife is unfaithful. This law prevents the husband from judging or punishing the wife, instead transfer this to the priest and God. This law occurs when the husband suspects the wife is unfaithful, he will need to bring the wife to the priest. The priest will make some bitter water out of holy water and dust on the floor of the tabernacle. The priest will lead the wife to an oath that if she is innocent, the water will have no adverse effects and she will be free. If the wife is guilty, the water will be bitter and cause her belly to swell and thigh to rot.



Numbers 5

Ceremonially Unclean Persons Isolated

 1 And the LORD spoke to Moses, saying: 2 “Command the children of Israel that they put out of the camp every leper, everyone who has a discharge, and whoever becomes defiled by a corpse. 3 You shall put out both male and female; you shall put them outside the camp, that they may not defile their camps in the midst of which I dwell.” 4 And the children of Israel did so, and put them outside the camp; as the LORD spoke to Moses, so the children of Israel did.

Confession and Restitution
 
5 Then the LORD spoke to Moses, saying, 6 “Speak to the children of Israel: ‘When a man or woman commits any sin that men commit in unfaithfulness against the LORD, and that person is guilty, 7 then he shall confess the sin which he has committed. He shall make restitution for his trespass in full, plus one-fifth of it, and give it to the one he has wronged. 8 But if the man has no relative to whom restitution may be made for the wrong, the restitution for the wrong must go to the LORD for the priest, in addition to the ram of the atonement with which atonement is made for him. 9 Every offering of all the holy things of the children of Israel, which they bring to the priest, shall be his. 10 And every man’s holy things shall be his; whatever any man gives the priest shall be his.’”

Concerning Unfaithful Wives
 
11 And the LORD spoke to Moses, saying, 12 “Speak to the children of Israel, and say to them: ‘If any man’s wife goes astray and behaves unfaithfully toward him, 13 and a man lies with her carnally, and it is hidden from the eyes of her husband, and it is concealed that she has defiled herself, and there was no witness against her, nor was she caught— 14 if the spirit of jealousy comes upon him and he becomes jealous of his wife, who has defiled herself; or if the spirit of jealousy comes upon him and he becomes jealous of his wife, although she has not defiled herself— 15 then the man shall bring his wife to the priest. He shall bring the offering required for her, one-tenth of an ephah of barley meal; he shall pour no oil on it and put no frankincense on it, because it is a grain offering of jealousy, an offering for remembering, for bringing iniquity to remembrance.
16 ‘And the priest shall bring her near, and set her before the LORD. 17 The priest shall take holy water in an earthen vessel, and take some of the dust that is on the floor of the tabernacle and put it into the water. 18 Then the priest shall stand the woman before the LORD, uncover the woman’s head, and put the offering for remembering in her hands, which is the grain offering of jealousy. And the priest shall have in his hand the bitter water that brings a curse. 19 And the priest shall put her under oath, and say to the woman, “If no man has lain with you, and if you have not gone astray to uncleanness while under your husband’s authority, be free from this bitter water that brings a curse. 20 But if you have gone astray while under your husband’s authority, and if you have defiled yourself and some man other than your husband has lain with you”— 21 then the priest shall put the woman under the oath of the curse, and he shall say to the woman—“the LORD make you a curse and an oath among your people, when the LORD makes your thigh rot and your belly swell; 22 and may this water that causes the curse go into your stomach, and make your belly swell and your thigh rot.”
Then the woman shall say, “Amen, so be it.”
23 ‘Then the priest shall write these curses in a book, and he shall scrape them off into the bitter water. 24 And he shall make the woman drink the bitter water that brings a curse, and the water that brings the curse shall enter her to become bitter. 25 Then the priest shall take the grain offering of jealousy from the woman’s hand, shall wave the offering before the LORD, and bring it to the altar; 26 and the priest shall take a handful of the offering, as its memorial portion, burn it on the altar, and afterward make the woman drink the water. 27 When he has made her drink the water, then it shall be, if she has defiled herself and behaved unfaithfully toward her husband, that the water that brings a curse will enter her and become bitter, and her belly will swell, her thigh will rot, and the woman will become a curse among her people. 28 But if the woman has not defiled herself, and is clean, then she shall be free and may conceive children.
29 ‘This is the law of jealousy, when a wife, while under her husband’s authority, goes astray and defiles herself, 30 or when the spirit of jealousy comes upon a man, and he becomes jealous of his wife; then he shall stand the woman before the LORD, and the priest shall execute all this law upon her. 31 Then the man shall be free from iniquity, but that woman shall bear her guilt.’”