Three Ways You Can Exercise Faith

Psalm 124

A song of ascents. Of David.

  ¹ If the Lord had not been on our side—
   let Israel say—
  ² if the Lord had not been on our side
   when people attacked us,
  ³ they would have swallowed us alive
   when their anger flared against us;
  ⁴ the flood would have engulfed us,
   the torrent would have swept over us,
  ⁵ the raging waters
   would have swept us away.

  ⁶ Praise be to the Lord,
   who has not let us be torn by their teeth.
  ⁷ We have escaped like a bird
   from the fowler’s snare;
  the snare has been broken,
   and we have escaped.
  ⁸ Our help is in the name of the Lord,
   the Maker of heaven and earth.

¹⁷ By faith Abraham, when God tested him, offered Isaac as a sacrifice. He who had embraced the promises was about to sacrifice his one and only son, ¹⁸ even though God had said to him, “It is through Isaac that your offspring will be reckoned.” ¹⁹ Abraham reasoned that God could even raise the dead, and so in a manner of speaking he did receive Isaac back from death.

²⁰ By faith Isaac blessed Jacob and Esau in regard to their future.

²¹ By faith Jacob, when he was dying, blessed each of Joseph’s sons, and worshiped as he leaned on the top of his staff.

²² By faith Joseph, when his end was near, spoke about the exodus of the Israelites from Egypt and gave instructions concerning the burial of his bones.

²³ By faith Moses’ parents hid him for three months after he was born, because they saw he was no ordinary child, and they were not afraid of the king’s edict.

²⁴ By faith Moses, when he had grown up, refused to be known as the son of Pharaoh’s daughter. ²⁵ He chose to be ill-treated along with the people of God rather than to enjoy the fleeting pleasures of sin. ²⁶ He regarded disgrace for the sake of Christ as of greater value than the treasures of Egypt, because he was looking ahead to his reward. ²⁷ By faith he left Egypt, not fearing the king’s anger; he persevered because he saw him who is invisible. ²⁸ By faith he kept the Passover and the application of blood, so that the destroyer of the firstborn would not touch the firstborn of Israel.

²⁹ By faith the people passed through the Red Sea as on dry land; but when the Egyptians tried to do so, they were drowned.

³⁰ By faith the walls of Jericho fell, after the army had marched around them for seven days.

³¹ By faith the prostitute Rahab, because she welcomed the spies, was not killed with those who were disobedient.

³² And what more shall I say? I do not have time to tell about Gideon, Barak, Samson and Jephthah, about David and Samuel and the prophets, ³³ who through faith conquered kingdoms, administered justice, and gained what was promised; who shut the mouths of lions, ³⁴ quenched the fury of the flames, and escaped the edge of the sword; whose weakness was turned to strength; and who became powerful in battle and routed foreign armies. ³⁵ Women received back their dead, raised to life again. There were others who were tortured, refusing to be released so that they might gain an even better resurrection. ³⁶ Some faced jeers and flogging, and even chains and imprisonment. ³⁷ They were put to death by stoning; they were sawed in two; they were killed by the sword. They went about in sheepskins and goatskins, destitute, persecuted and ill-treated — ³⁸ the world was not worthy of them. They wandered in deserts and mountains, living in caves and in holes in the ground.

³⁹ These were all commended for their faith, yet none of them received what had been promised, ⁴⁰ since God had planned something better for us so that only together with us would they be made perfect.

Jerusalem as a Cooking Pot

24 In the ninth year, in the tenth month on the tenth day, the word of the Lord came to me: ² “Son of man, record this date, this very date, because the king of Babylon has laid siege to Jerusalem this very day. ³ Tell this rebellious people a parable and say to them: ‘This is what the Sovereign Lord says:

  “‘Put on the cooking pot; put it on
   and pour water into it.
  ⁴ Put into it the pieces of meat,
   all the choice pieces—the leg and the shoulder.
  Fill it with the best of these bones;
   ⁵ take the pick of the flock.
  Pile wood beneath it for the bones;
   bring it to a boil
   and cook the bones in it.

⁶ “‘For this is what the Sovereign Lord says:

  “‘Woe to the city of bloodshed,
   to the pot now encrusted,
   whose deposit will not go away!
  Take the meat out piece by piece
   in whatever order it comes.

  ⁷ “‘For the blood she shed is in her midst:
   She poured it on the bare rock;
  she did not pour it on the ground,
   where the dust would cover it.
  ⁸ To stir up wrath and take revenge
   I put her blood on the bare rock,
   so that it would not be covered.

⁹ “‘Therefore this is what the Sovereign Lord says:

  “‘Woe to the city of bloodshed!
   I, too, will pile the wood high.
  ¹⁰ So heap on the wood
   and kindle the fire.
  Cook the meat well,
   mixing in the spices;
   and let the bones be charred.
  ¹¹ Then set the empty pot on the coals
   till it becomes hot and its copper glows,
  so that its impurities may be melted
   and its deposit burned away.
  ¹² It has frustrated all efforts;
   its heavy deposit has not been removed,
   not even by fire.

¹³ “‘Now your impurity is lewdness. Because I tried to cleanse you but you would not be cleansed from your impurity, you will not be clean again until my wrath against you has subsided.

¹⁴ “‘I the Lord have spoken. The time has come for me to act. I will not hold back; I will not have pity, nor will I relent. You will be judged according to your conduct and your actions, declares the Sovereign Lord.’”

Ezekiel’s Wife Dies

¹⁵ The word of the Lord came to me: ¹⁶ “Son of man, with one blow I am about to take away from you the delight of your eyes. Yet do not lament or weep or shed any tears. ¹⁷ Groan quietly; do not mourn for the dead. Keep your turban fastened and your sandals on your feet; do not cover your mustache and beard or eat the customary food of mourners.”

¹⁸ So I spoke to the people in the morning, and in the evening my wife died. The next morning I did as I had been commanded.

¹⁹ Then the people asked me, “Won’t you tell us what these things have to do with us? Why are you acting like this?”

²⁰ So I said to them, “The word of the Lord came to me: ²¹ Say to the people of Israel, ‘This is what the Sovereign Lord says: I am about to desecrate my sanctuary—the stronghold in which you take pride, the delight of your eyes, the object of your affection. The sons and daughters you left behind will fall by the sword. ²² And you will do as I have done. You will not cover your mustache and beard or eat the customary food of mourners. ²³ You will keep your turbans on your heads and your sandals on your feet. You will not mourn or weep but will waste away because of your sins and groan among yourselves. ²⁴ Ezekiel will be a sign to you; you will do just as he has done. When this happens, you will know that I am the Sovereign Lord.’

²⁵ “And you, son of man, on the day I take away their stronghold, their joy and glory, the delight of their eyes, their heart’s desire, and their sons and daughters as well— ²⁶ on that day a fugitive will come to tell you the news. ²⁷ At that time your mouth will be opened; you will speak with him and will no longer be silent. So you will be a sign to them, and they will know that I am the Lord.”

A Prophecy Against Ammon

25 The word of the Lord came to me: ² “Son of man, set your face against the Ammonites and prophesy against them. ³ Say to them, ‘Hear the word of the Sovereign Lord. This is what the Sovereign Lord says: Because you said “Aha!” over my sanctuary when it was desecrated and over the land of Israel when it was laid waste and over the people of Judah when they went into exile, ⁴ therefore I am going to give you to the people of the East as a possession. They will set up their camps and pitch their tents among you; they will eat your fruit and drink your milk. ⁵ I will turn Rabbah into a pasture for camels and Ammon into a resting place for sheep. Then you will know that I am the Lord. ⁶ For this is what the Sovereign Lord says: Because you have clapped your hands and stamped your feet, rejoicing with all the malice of your heart against the land of Israel, ⁷ therefore I will stretch out my hand against you and give you as plunder to the nations. I will wipe you out from among the nations and exterminate you from the countries. I will destroy you, and you will know that I am the Lord.’”

A Prophecy Against Moab

⁸ “This is what the Sovereign Lord says: ‘Because Moab and Seir said, “Look, Judah has become like all the other nations,” ⁹ therefore I will expose the flank of Moab, beginning at its frontier towns—Beth Jeshimoth, Baal Meon and Kiriathaim—the glory of that land. ¹⁰ I will give Moab along with the Ammonites to the people of the East as a possession, so that the Ammonites will not be remembered among the nations; ¹¹ and I will inflict punishment on Moab. Then they will know that I am the Lord.’”

A Prophecy Against Edom

¹² “This is what the Sovereign Lord says: ‘Because Edom took revenge on Judah and became very guilty by doing so, ¹³ therefore this is what the Sovereign Lord says: I will stretch out my hand against Edom and kill both man and beast. I will lay it waste, and from Teman to Dedan they will fall by the sword. ¹⁴ I will take vengeance on Edom by the hand of my people Israel, and they will deal with Edom in accordance with my anger and my wrath; they will know my vengeance, declares the Sovereign Lord.’”

A Prophecy Against Philistia

¹⁵ “This is what the Sovereign Lord says: ‘Because the Philistines acted in vengeance and took revenge with malice in their hearts, and with ancient hostility sought to destroy Judah, ¹⁶ therefore this is what the Sovereign Lord says: I am about to stretch out my hand against the Philistines, and I will wipe out the Kerethites and destroy those remaining along the coast. ¹⁷ I will carry out great vengeance on them and punish them in my wrath. Then they will know that I am the Lord, when I take vengeance on them.’”