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The Bible Breakdown
Ezekiel 39: Victory in the Valley
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The More We Dig. The More We Find.
Well, hello everybody. Welcome back to the Bible Breakdown podcast with your host, pastor Brandon. Today, ezekiel, chapter 39, and today's title is Victory in the Valley. Victory in the Valley, and for many of us, we don't really think about valleys being good places. We think about those being places where all the bad stuff happens. We think about mountaintops as being symbols of victory, valleys being symbols of defeat. But, however, we have a little bit different idea about what valleys look like in today's text, and so we're gonna get into that together.
Speaker 1:You're gonna get your Bibles open with me to Ezekiel, chapter 39. While you're doing that as always, if you don't mind, you're new around here make sure you go to the Bible Breakdown Discussion on Facebook. Make sure you are engaging with us. We love building this community where the more we dig, the more we find. Also, make sure you like, share and subscribe to the YouTube channel and the podcast. There's amazing stuff coming out all the time and we would love to hear from you and hear some of the different ways that you're interacting with God's Word, and you can do that by leaving us a five-star review and on the YouTube channel, make sure you are replying to some of those different videos with your different intake and different stuff, and so it's really cool, and so we're excited about continuing to read God's Word together, and also real quick, as we're getting ready to get into this.
Speaker 1:We have had some new people recently join us from literally all over the world, and they we have had some new people recently join us from literally all over the world, and they have been saying things like I wanna catch up. I want to get caught up with where you are so that we can do this together. I wanna encourage you. Don't catch up. What I mean by that is is God's word is intended to slowly grow in us and take over our lives over time. So you are not behind. We are taking this journey together, and when we finish reading through God's word all the way we're not done we start over again, and so make sure that you are taking your time letting God's word grow you from the inside out, and you're already with us, okay, so you are already part of the community. Slow down, let God's word have his way in your life, okay, all right.
Speaker 1:Well, once again, the overall goal of Ezekiel is God's promise of renewal, and quite a journey is what we have been on, and for several of the chapters, we've been probably saying things like okay, this is supposed to be God's promise of renewal. Where is it? You know what I mean. Like I don't see any renewal, I just see judgment. Well, if you've noticed, over the past few chapters, that's been slowly transitioning into okay, this is what it looks like. And isn't that true? With all of our lives, we'll have seasons where we go through difficulties, but then God starts to transition things and things start to change, and it's amazing to see how this happens. And so we're going to see this today in chapter 39, as we talk about victory in the valley and about God's ultimate triumph over evil.
Speaker 1:So, if you're ready, ezekiel, chapter 39, verse one, says this son of man, and always remember that's like same thing as him saying hey, buddy, you know, prophesy against Gog. Give him this message from the sovereign Lord I am your enemy, o Gog. This message from the Sovereign Lord. I am your enemy, o Gog, ruler of the nations of Meshach and Tubal, I will turn you around and drive you toward the mountains of Israel, bringing you from the distant north. I will knock the bow from your left hand and the arrows from your right hand and I will leave you helpless. I will knock the bow from your left hand and the arrows from the right hand, and I will leave you helpless. I just read that.
Speaker 1:So let's go to verse 4. You and your army and your allies will all die on the mountains. I will feed you to the vultures and the wild animals. You will fall in the open fields. For I have spoken, says the sovereign Lord. I will rain down fire on Magog and on all your allies who live safely on the coast. Then they will know that I am the Lord. In this way, I will make known my holy name among the people of Israel. I will not let anyone bring shame on it, and the nations too will know that I am the Lord, the Holy One of Israel. That day of judgment will come, says the sovereign Lord, and everything will happen just as I have declared it. In other words, he's saying nothing happens outside of my control. Therefore, god is always in control.
Speaker 1:Verse nine then the people in the towns of Israel will go out, pick up your small and large shields, bows and arrows, javelins and spears, and they will use them for fuel. There will be enough to last them seven years. In other words, they're going to be a lot left over. Verse 10,. They won't need to cut wood when the fields are forest, and these weapons will give them all the fuel they need. They will plunder those who plan to plunder them and they will rob those who plan to rob them, says the sovereign Lord. And I will make a vast graveyard for Gog and his hordes in the Valley of the Travelers east of the Dead Sea. It will block the way of those who travel there, and they will change their name to the Valley of Gog's hordes. It will take seven months for the people of Israel to bury the bodies and cleanse the land. That's pretty bad.
Speaker 1:Verse 13,. Everyone in Israel will help, for it will be a glorious victory for Israel when I demonstrate my glory on that day, says the sovereign Lord, after seven months. Teams of men will be appointed to search the lands for skeletons to bury, so the land will be made clean again. Whenever bones are found, markers will be set up for the burial. Crews will take them to be buried in the Valley of Gog's Hordes. There will be a town there named Hemoth, and this name means horde, and so the land will finally be cleansed.
Speaker 1:And now, son of man, this is what the sovereign Lord says. Call all the birds and wild animals and say to them gather together for the great sacrificial feast. Come from far and near to the mountain of Israel and there eat flesh and drink blood. That's gross. Verse 18, eat the flesh of mighty men and drink the blood of princes as though they were rams, lambs, goats and bulls all fattened animals from Bashan. Gorge yourselves with flesh until you are glutted. Drink blood until you are drunk. This is the sacrificial feast I have prepared for you. That's really disgusting.
Speaker 1:Verse 20, feast at my banquet table, feast on horses and charioteers, on mighty men and all kinds of valiant warriors, says the sovereign Lord. In this way, I will demonstrate my glory to the nations. Everyone will see the punishment I have inflicted on them and the power of my fist when it strikes, and from that time on, people of Israel will know that I am the Lord, their God. The nations will then know why Israel was sent away to exile. It was punishment for sin, for they were unfaithful to their God. Therefore, I turned away from them and let their enemies destroy them. I turned my face away and punished them because of their defilement and their sins. So now this is what the sovereign Lord says for their past shame and unfaithfulness. After they come home and live in the peace in their own land with no one to bother them, when I bring them home from the lands of their enemies, I will display my holiness among them for all the nations to see. Then my people will know that I am the Lord, their God, because I sent them away to exile and brought them home again. I will leave.
Speaker 1:Wow, quite a change has happened since we started the book of Ezekiel. If you remember when we started the book of Ezekiel, if you remember when we started the book of Ezekiel, there was just a lot of grief and anguish of God, as he's just watched his people walk so far away from him. And so now or then he was saying okay, look, justice is going to have to happen. It breaks my heart to do it, but it's what's got to happen. And now he's saying it's time, it's time for victory. And what he's doing is he is now judging the nations that brought such devastation upon the nation of Israel. And he is saying in all of these different things, you're going to see that I really am in control.
Speaker 1:And the lesson for us today is victory in the valley is an interesting idea because, if you think about it, we tend to only see God's goodness or see things that encourage our faith through our victories. You know, when we get the job, when God heals us of a sickness, when our family comes home, when relationships are healed, we go man, look, god truly is alive and God truly is moving and, of course, right. Have you ever thought about? Everything that happens is a way to see that God truly is alive. Notice how he was saying when I dispense justice upon the evil, then you will see that I am the Lord your God. When you see that I pick you up from that devastated place, you will see that I am the Lord your God. When you turn back to me, you will see that I am the Lord your God. So in everything, including in valleys, we can experience victory. We can experience realizing that God is with us, even in difficult times, for instance, right now.
Speaker 1:What if you're going through a valley in your life? What if you're going through a difficulty? Do you know that in that valley you can see that God is real and God is alive? Let me give you a couple of ways, possibly, that you could see that God is real and God is alive. Number one is that you haven't given up. Do you really think that it's your own strength that's causing you to not give up? No, now, I'm not saying that you don't have strength. I'm saying where do you think that strength comes from? It comes from the Lord, who is giving you more than you can imagine. How about this one, the fact that at the very end of your strength is where you begin to see the strength of God. That's a way to see that God really is alive. God really is real. Do you really think that that word of kindness that came to you in that moment, when you needed it the most, was just coincidence? Or was it God's subtle little way of moving through the faithfulness of others to do amazing things in your life? It is. There is a thousand different ways to see that God is real.
Speaker 1:So here's my challenge for you today. Today, I want to encourage you to go looking for God. Don't just look for God in the great things. Look for God in all things. Where do you see God moving in ways you normally wouldn't notice? I don't know what that would be, but can I tell you what's going to happen? You end up finding what you're looking for. And when you go looking for God, you're going to begin to see him moving in so many ways. You can see him through nature, through sunrises and sunsets. You're going to see him in situations like I saw.
Speaker 1:I feel like I saw the Lord not long ago moving in my life when I was in a situation where I was trying to get somewhere and it seemed like I was catching every red light and I was like, oh Lord, lord, help me. And I was catching every red light and just up ahead, when I caught up to where I wanted to be, there was an accident. And I can't help but wonder God, did you slow me down? Because maybe that accident could have been me. I'm not saying that's God, I'm just saying, all of a sudden I go, wow, god could be moving in ways I don't even see and I don't even know. What about your life? I'm telling you, if you start looking for God not just looking at your problems, but looking for him you're gonna find that he's all over the place and then you realize that God truly is good.
Speaker 1:Let's pray together right now. God, thank you so much for today. Thank you, god, that you're with us and you're for us. I pray you'll help us to open our eyes to see you in every way. Today, in Jesus' name, we pray, amen and amen. Well, god's word says in Ezekiel 37, verse 14, I will put my spirit in you and you will live again. I love you. I'll see you tomorrow. For Ezekiel, chapter 40.
