October 6
Ezekiel 44 & Hebrews 11
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Ezekiel 44

Chapter 44

44:1The man then brought me back toward the sanctuary's outer gate that faced east, and it was closed. 2The Lord said to me: "This gate will remain closed. It will not be opened, and no one will enter through it, because the Lord, the God of Israel, has entered through it. Therefore it will remain closed. 3The prince himself will sit in the gateway to eat a meal before the Lord. He must enter by way of the portico of the gate and go out the same way."
4Then the man brought me by way of the north gate to the front of the temple. I looked, and the glory of the Lord filled His temple. And I fell facedown. 5The Lord said to me: "Son of man, pay attention; look with your eyes and listen with your ears to everything I tell you about all the statutes and laws of the Lord's temple. Take careful note of the entrance of the temple along with all the exits of the sanctuary.
6"Say to the rebellious people, the house of Israel: This is what the Lord God says: I have had enough of all your detestable practices, house of Israel. 7When you brought in foreigners, uncircumcised in both heart and flesh, to occupy My sanctuary, you defiled My temple while you offered My food-the fat and the blood. You broke My covenant by all your detestable practices. 8You have not kept charge of My holy things but have appointed others to keep charge of My sanctuary for you.
9"This is what the Lord God says: No foreigner, uncircumcised in heart and flesh, may enter My sanctuary, not even a foreigner who is among the Israelites. 10Surely the Levites who wandered away from Me when Israel went astray, and who strayed from Me after their idols, will bear the consequences of their sin. 11Yet they will occupy My sanctuary, serving as guards at the temple gates and ministering at the temple. They will slaughter the burnt offerings and other sacrifices for the people and will stand before them to serve them. 12Because they ministered to the house of Israel before their idols and became a sinful stumbling block to them, therefore I swore an oath against them"-this is the declaration of the Lord God-"that they would bear the consequences of their sin. 13They must not approach Me to serve Me as priests or come near any of My holy things or the most holy things. They will bear their disgrace and the consequences of the detestable acts they committed. 14Yet I will make them responsible for the duties of the temple-for all its work and everything done in it.
15"But the Levitical priests descended from Zadok, who kept charge of My sanctuary when the Israelites went astray from Me, will approach Me to serve Me. They will stand before Me to offer Me fat and blood." This is the declaration of the Lord God. 16"They are the ones who may enter My sanctuary and draw near to My table to serve Me. They will keep My mandate. 17When they enter the gates of the inner court they must wear linen garments; they must not have on them anything made of wool when they minister at the gates of the inner court and within it. 18They must wear linen turbans on their heads and linen undergarments around their waists. They are not to put on anything that makes them sweat. 19Before they go out to the outer court, to the people, they must take off the clothes they have been ministering in, leave them in the holy chambers, and dress in other clothes so that they do not transmit holiness to the people through their clothes.
20"They may not shave their heads or let their hair grow long, but must carefully trim their hair. 21No priest may drink wine before he enters the inner court. 22He is not to marry a widow or a divorced woman, but must marry a virgin from the offspring of the house of Israel, or a widow who is the widow of a priest. 23They must teach My people the difference between the holy and the common, and explain to them the difference between the clean and the unclean.
24"In a dispute, they will officiate as judges and decide the case according to My ordinances. They must observe My laws and statutes regarding all My appointed festivals, and keep My Sabbaths holy. 25A priest may not come near a dead person so that he becomes defiled. However, he may defile himself for a father, a mother, a son, a daughter, a brother, or an unmarried sister. 26After he is cleansed, he is to count off seven days for himself. 27On the day he goes into the sanctuary, into the inner court to minister in the sanctuary, he must present his sin offering." This is the declaration of the Lord God.
28"This will be their inheritance: I am their inheritance. You are to give them no possession in Israel: I am their possession. 29They will eat the grain offering, the sin offering, and the restitution offering. Everything in Israel that is permanently dedicated to the Lord will belong to them. 30The best of all the firstfruits of every kind and contribution of every kind from all your gifts will belong to the priests. You are to give your first batch of dough to the priest so that a blessing may rest on your homes. 31The priests may not eat any bird or animal that died naturally or was mauled by wild beasts.

Hebrews 11

Chapter 11

11:1Now faith is the reality of what is hoped for, the proof of what is not seen. 2For our ancestors won God's approval by it.
3By faith we understand that the universe was created by God's command, so that what is seen has been made from things that are not visible.
4By faith Abel offered to God a better sacrifice than Cain did. By faith he was approved as a righteous man, because God approved his gifts, and even though he is dead, he still speaks through his faith.
5By faith Enoch was taken away so he did not experience death, and he was not to be found because God took him away. For prior to his removal he was approved, since he had pleased God. 6Now without faith it is impossible to please God, for the one who draws near to Him must believe that He exists and rewards those who seek Him.
7By faith Noah, after he was warned about what was not yet seen and motivated by godly fear, built an ark to deliver his family. By faith he condemned the world and became an heir of the righteousness that comes by faith.
8By faith Abraham, when he was called, obeyed and went out to a place he was going to receive as an inheritance. He went out, not knowing where he was going. 9By faith he stayed as a foreigner in the land of promise, living in tents with Isaac and Jacob, co-heirs of the same promise. 10For he was looking forward to the city that has foundations, whose architect and builder is God.
11By faith even Sarah herself, when she was unable to have children, received power to conceive offspring, even though she was past the age, since she considered that the One who had promised was faithful. 12Therefore from one man-in fact, from one as good as dead-came offspring as numerous as the stars of heaven and as innumerable as the grains of sand by the seashore.
13These all died in faith without having received the promises, but they saw them from a distance, greeted them, and confessed that they were foreigners and temporary residents on the earth. 14Now those who say such things make it clear that they are seeking a homeland. 15If they were thinking about where they came from, they would have had an opportunity to return. 16But they now desire a better place-a heavenly one. Therefore God is not ashamed to be called their God, for He has prepared a city for them.
17By faith Abraham, when he was tested, offered up Isaac. He received the promises and he was offering his unique son, 18the one it had been said about, Your seed will be traced through Isaac. 19He considered God to be able even to raise someone from the dead, and as an illustration, he received him back.
20By faith Isaac blessed Jacob and Esau concerning things to come. 21By faith Jacob, when he was dying, blessed each of the sons of Joseph, and he worshiped, leaning on the top of his staff. 22By faith Joseph, as he was nearing the end of his life, mentioned the exodus of the Israelites and gave instructions concerning his bones.
23By faith, after Moses was born, he was hidden by his parents for three months, because they saw that the child was beautiful, and they didn't fear the king's edict. 24By faith Moses, when he had grown up, refused to be called the son of Pharaoh's daughter 25and chose to suffer with the people of God rather than to enjoy the short-lived pleasure of sin. 26For he considered the reproach because of the Messiah to be greater wealth than the treasures of Egypt, since his attention was on the reward.
27By faith he left Egypt behind, not being afraid of the king's anger, for Moses persevered as one who sees Him who is invisible. 28By faith he instituted the Passover and the sprinkling of the blood, so that the destroyer of the firstborn might not touch the Israelites. 29By faith they crossed the Red Sea as though they were on dry land. When the Egyptians attempted to do this, they were drowned.
30By faith the walls of Jericho fell down after being encircled by the Israelites for seven days. 31By faith Rahab the prostitute received the spies in peace and didn't perish with those who disobeyed.
32And what more can I say? Time is too short for me to tell about Gideon, Barak, Samson, Jephthah, David, Samuel, and the prophets, 33who by faith conquered kingdoms, administered justice, obtained promises, shut the mouths of lions, 34quenched the raging of fire, escaped the edge of the sword, gained strength after being weak, became mighty in battle, and put foreign armies to flight. 35Women received their dead-they were raised to life again. Some men were tortured, not accepting release, so that they might gain a better resurrection, 36and others experienced mockings and scourgings, as well as bonds and imprisonment. 37They were stoned, they were sawed in two, they died by the sword, they wandered about in sheepskins, in goatskins, destitute, afflicted, and mistreated. 38The world was not worthy of them. They wandered in deserts and on mountains, hiding in caves and holes in the ground.
39All these were approved through their faith, but they did not receive what was promised, 40since God had provided something better for us, so that they would not be made perfect without us.

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