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Ezekiel 36

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1 Also thou son of man, prophesy to the mountains of Israel, and say, Ye mountains of Israel, hear the word of the LORD:

2 Thus saith the Lord GOD; Because the enemy had said against you, Aha, even the ancient high places are ours in possession:

3 Therefore prophesy and say, Thus saith the Lord GOD; Because they have made you desolate, and swallowed you up on every side, that ye might be a possession to the residue of the heathen, and ye are taken up in the lips of talkers, and are an infamy of the people:

4 Therefore, ye mountains of Israel, hear the word of the Lord GOD; Thus saith the Lord GOD to the mountains, and to the hills, to the rivers, and to the valleys, to the desolate wastes, and to the cities that are forsaken, which became a prey and derision to the residue of the heathen that are around;

5 Therefore thus saith the Lord GOD; Surely in the fire of my jealousy have I spoken against the residue of the heathen, and against all Edom, who have appointed my land into their possession with the joy of all their heart, with despiteful minds, to cast it out for a prey.

6 Prophesy therefore concerning the land of Israel, and say to the mountains, and to the hills, to the rivers, and to the valleys, Thus saith the Lord GOD; Behold, I have spoken in my jealousy and in my fury, because ye have borne the shame of the heathen:

7 Therefore thus saith the Lord GOD; I have lifted up my hand, Surely the heathen that are about you, they shall bear their shame.

8 But ye, O mountains of Israel, ye shall shoot forth your branches, and yield your fruit to my people of Israel; for they are at hand to come.

9 For behold, I am for you, and I will turn to you, and ye shall be tilled and sown:

10 And I will multiply men upon you, all the house of Israel, even all of it: and the cities shall be inhabited, and the wastes shall be built.

11 And I will multiply upon you man and beast; and they shall increase and bring fruit: and I will settle you after your old states, and will do better to you than at your beginnings: and ye shall know that I am the LORD.

12 Yes, I will cause men to walk upon you, even my people Israel; and they shall possess thee, and thou shalt be their inheritance, and thou shalt no more henceforth bereave them of men.

13 Thus saith the Lord GOD; Because they say to you, Thou land devourest men, and hast bereaved thy nations;

14 Therefore thou shalt devour men no more, neither bereave thy nations any more, saith the Lord GOD.

15 Neither will I cause men to hear in thee the shame of the heathen any more, neither shalt thou bear the reproach of the people any more, neither shalt thou cause thy nations to fall any more, saith the Lord GOD.

16 Moreover the word of the LORD came to me, saying,

17 Son of man, when the house of Israel dwelt in their own land, they defiled it by their own way and by their doings: their way was before me as the uncleanness of a removed woman.

18 Wherefore I poured my fury upon them for the blood that they had shed upon the land, and for their idols with which they had polluted it:

19 And I scattered them among the heathen, and they were dispersed through the countries: according to their way and according to their doings I judged them.

20 And when they entered among the heathen, whither they went, they profaned my holy name, when they said to them, These are the people of the LORD, and are gone forth out of his land.

21 But I had pity for my holy name, which the house of Israel had profaned among the heathen, whither they went.

22 Therefore say to the house of Israel, Thus saith the Lord GOD; I do not this for your sakes, O house of Israel, but for my holy name's sake, which ye have profaned among the heathen, whither ye went.

23 And I will sanctify my great name, which was profaned among the heathen, which ye have profaned in the midst of them; and the heathen shall know that I am the LORD, saith the LORD GOD, when I shall be sanctified in you before their eyes.

24 For I will take you from among the heathen, and gather you out of all countries, and will bring you into your own land.

25 Then will I sprinkle clean water upon you, and ye shall be clean: from all your filthiness, and from all your idols, will I cleanse you.

26 A new heart also will I give you, and a new spirit will I put within you: and I will take away the stony heart out of your flesh, and I will give you a heart of flesh.

27 And I will put my spirit within you, and cause you to walk in my statutes, and ye shall keep my judgments, and do them.

28 And ye shall dwell in the land that I gave to your fathers; and ye shall be my people, and I will be your God.

29 I will also save you from all your uncleannesses: and I will call for the corn, and will increase it, and lay no famine upon you.

30 And I will multiply the fruit of the tree, and the increase of the field, that ye shall receive no more reproach of famine among the heathen.

31 Then shall ye remember your own evil ways, and your doings that were not good, and shall lothe yourselves in your own sight for your iniquities, and for your abominations.

32 Not for your sakes do I this, saith the Lord GOD, be it known to you: be ashamed and confounded for your own ways, O house of Israel.

33 Thus saith the Lord GOD; In the day that I shall have cleansed you from all your iniquities I will also cause you to dwell in the cities, and the wastes shall be built.

34 And the desolate land shall be tilled, whereas it lay desolate in the sight of all that passed by.

35 And they shall say, This land that was desolate is become like the garden of Eden; and the waste and desolate and ruined cities are become fortified, and are inhabited.

36 Then the heathen that are left around you shall know that I the LORD build the ruined places, and plant that which was desolate: I the LORD have spoken it, and I will do it.

37 Thus saith the Lord GOD; I will yet for this be inquired of by the house of Israel, to do it for them; I will increase them with men like a flock.

38 As the holy flock, as the flock of Jerusalem in her solemn feasts; so shall the waste cities be filled with flocks of men: and they shall know that I am the LORD.

   

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Voice and hand

  

In Genesis 27:22, 'voice' relates to truth, and 'hand,' to good.

(Odkazy: Arcana Coelestia 3563, Genesis 22, 27)

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What the Bible says about... Forgiveness

Napsal(a) John Odhner

Photo by Gretchen Keith

- Someone recklessly cuts in front of you on the highway, almost forcing you off the road.

- Your friend still has not paid back the fifty dollars he "borrowed" a year ago.

- Your family has been criticizing your lifestyle.

- You find out that your spouse has been unfaithful.

What do you do in situations like these? Can you forgive them? Should you forgive? Or should you "give them what's coming to them"?

We all know that the Bible teaches us to forgive others. But sometimes it seems like it is impossible to forgive, because the wrong that has been done is so great. Sometimes it seems like it just wouldn't be fair to be merciful.

When there seems to be a conflict between mercy and justice, it may be that we do not clearly understand the nature of genuine forgiveness and mercy. The Bible teaches us to show mercy in a way that lets us be both fair and genuinely useful to all involved.

One reason we sometimes get confused about mercy, is that we tend to replace mercy with artificial substitutes. Essentially, mercy is a Divine quality.

"To You, O Lord, belongs mercy." (Psalm 62:12)

Divine Mercy has nothing in common with the petty revenge and "get-even" kind of "fairness" that tends to occupy our thoughts. And it has little in common with the superficial pardon or even condoning of evil that is sometimes passed off as mercy. The Lord's thoughts are far more merciful than ours. It is in speaking of His mercy that the Lord says, "My thoughts are not your thoughts, nor are My ways your ways." (Isaiah 55:7-9)

One of the things that distinguishes true mercy from its substitutes is its constancy. Peter came to the Lord asking, "Lord, how often shall my brother sin against me, and I forgive him? Up to seven times?" Jesus said to him, "I do not say to you, up to seven times, but up to seventy times seven." (Matthew 18:21-22)

A truly forgiving person will not show mercy one moment and malice the next, because the two cannot mix together. For example, to forgive your friends but not your enemies is not true mercy, because it would be done for the sake of some favor you might get in return.

"Love your enemies.... For if you love those who love you, what reward have you?" (Matthew 5:44-46)

We can only be truly merciful by completely rejecting any desire for malice or revenge.

This perfectly reflects the way the Lord shows mercy to us. We tend to think that the Lord is changing His mind when He forgives us, as if He decided not to punish us after all. Of course He does not really change His mind at all. He knows and foresees all things. He does not desire to hurt one day and heal the next.

"Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, and comes down from the Father of lights, with whom is no variableness, neither shadow of turning." (James 1:17)

He is always a loving and gentle Father.

"The mercy of the Lord is from everlasting to everlasting upon those who fear Him." (Psalm 103:17)

"For the mountains shall depart and the hills be removed, but My kindness shall not depart from you, nor shall My covenant of peace be removed,' says the Lord, who has mercy on you." (Isaiah 54:10)

Thus forgiveness is not the Lord changing His mind about us. Rather, it is the Lord changing our minds about Him.

Another quality that marks genuine mercy is that it involves helping the person who has wronged us. Sometimes we think that a person should earn our forgiveness. We refuse to give up our bitter feelings unless the other person makes an effort to earn our good will. This gives us an excuse to feel sorry for ourselves and to neglect helping the other person do better. However, the time to help a person is when he needs it. Mercy and forgiveness involve helping a person who has done wrong do better, not waiting until he does better and then helping him. That's why the Lord said,

"Love your enemies, bless those who curse you, do good to those who hate you, and pray for those who spitefully use you and persecute you, that you may be sons of your Father in heaven; for He makes His sun rise on the evil and on the good, and sends rain on the just and on the unjust." (Matthew 5:44-45)

Another way we sometimes avoid helping those who have hurt us is by misapplying the phrase "forgive and forget." It is good to forget your own malice. Is is something else to forget that the other person may need our strength or discipline. We might think that forgiving implies forgetting that evil was ever committed. However, the Bible does not tell us simply to forget about the evil in other people. Rather, we are to actively help others face their faults and overcome them.

"If your brother sins against you, rebuke him: and if he repents, forgive him." (Luke 17:3)

"If your brother sins against you, go and tell him his fault between you and him alone. If he hears you, your have gained your brother." (Matthew 18:15)

"Brethren, if a person is overtaken in any trespass, you who are spiritual restore such a one in a spirit of gentleness." (Galatians 6:1)

Helping others over their faults is not inconsistent with mercy. It is part of mercy. In fact that is exactly how the Lord forgives us. He is always willing to help us do better.

"I will cleanse you from all your filthiness.... I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit within you." (Ezekiel 36:25-26)

Notice how the Lord showed mercy to the woman taken in adultery: He said, "Go and sin no more." (John 8:10-11)

He didn't forget her sin - He encouraged her to overcome it. In fact, we would never be able to overcome our faults without the Lord's power. If we had to earn His mercy we would be lost.

The Lord says, "Wash yourselves, make yourselves clean; put away the evil of your doings from before My eyes." (Isaiah 1:16).

And yet this is something that is accomplished only by His mercy and forgiveness, because He is the one who can put away our sin and remove our transgressions from us. (Psalm 65:3; Psalm 103:12)

The Lord asks for us simply to do for others what He does for us. "Be merciful, just as your Father also is merciful." (Luke 6:36)

Our forgiveness should be constant and unconditional because He forgives us that way. Yet in our mercy we may confront others with their evil in order to help them become better people, just as the Lord in His mercy confronts us with our evil so that we may overcome it and accept the love and mercy He offers.

To sum up:

Some Christian churches teach this: If you just believe, God will overlook all your sins. God punishes unbelievers, even if they are caring, good people.

What the Bible actually says (and what the New Christian Church teaches): God's mercy involves helping us become better people. God is willing to forgive everyone, and is more concerned how we live than with what we believe.

Some references from teachings for the New Christian Church: Heavenly Secrets 8393, 9443-9454, True Christian Religion 611-614

Used with the permission of John Odhner, the author of this very useful site: whatthebiblesays.info.

(Odkazy: Arcana Coelestia 1079; True Christian Religion 409)