Daily Devotions · August 30
Reading for August 30
Read the whole Bible in a year, a few chapters a day.
Ezekiel 8–11 · Revelation 4
Ezekiel 8–11 · Revelation 4, Berean Standard Bible
Ezekiel 8
In the sixth year, on the fifth day of the sixth month, I was sitting in my house, and the elders of Judah were sitting before me; and there the hand of the Lord GOD fell upon me. 2 Then I looked and saw a figure like that of a man. From His waist down His appearance was like fire, and from His waist up He was as bright as the gleam of amber. 3 He stretched out what looked like a hand and took me by the hair of my head. Then the Spirit lifted me up between earth and heaven and carried me in visions of God to Jerusalem, to the entrance of the north gate of the inner court, where the idol that provokes jealousy was seated. 4 And there I saw the glory of the God of Israel, like the vision I had seen in the plain. 5 “Son of man,” He said to me, “now lift up your eyes to the north.” So I lifted up my eyes to the north, and in the entrance north of the Altar Gate I saw this idol of jealousy. 6 “Son of man,” He said to me, “do you see what they are doing—the great abominations that the house of Israel is committing—to drive Me far from My sanctuary? Yet you will see even greater abominations.” 7 Then He brought me to the entrance to the court, and I looked and saw a hole in the wall. 8 “Son of man,” He told me, “dig through the wall.” So I dug through the wall and discovered a doorway. 9 Then He said to me, “Go in and see the wicked abominations they are committing here.” 10 So I went in and looked, and engraved all around the wall was every kind of crawling creature and detestable beast, along with all the idols of the house of Israel. 11 Before them stood seventy elders of the house of Israel, with Jaazaniah son of Shaphan standing among them. Each had a censer in his hand, and a fragrant cloud of incense was rising. 12 “Son of man,” He said to me, “do you see what the elders of the house of Israel are doing in the darkness, each at the shrine of his own idol? For they are saying, ‘The LORD does not see us; the LORD has forsaken the land.’” 13 Again, He told me, “You will see them committing even greater abominations.” 14 Then He brought me to the entrance of the north gate of the house of the LORD, and I saw women sitting there, weeping for Tammuz. 15 “Son of man,” He said to me, “do you see this? Yet you will see even greater abominations than these.” 16 So He brought me to the inner court of the house of the LORD, and there at the entrance to the temple of the LORD, between the portico and the altar, were about twenty-five men with their backs to the temple of the LORD and their faces toward the east; and they were bowing to the east in worship of the sun. 17 “Son of man,” He said to me, “do you see this? Is it not enough for the house of Judah to commit the abominations they are practicing here, that they must also fill the land with violence and continually provoke Me to anger? Look, they are even putting the branch to their nose! 18 Therefore I will respond with wrath. I will not look on them with pity, nor will I spare them. Although they shout loudly in My ears, I will not listen to them.”
Ezekiel 9
Then I heard Him call out in a loud voice, saying, “Draw near, O executioners of the city, each with a weapon of destruction in hand.” 2 And I saw six men coming from the direction of the Upper Gate, which faces north, each with a weapon of slaughter in his hand. With them was another man clothed in linen who had a writing kit at his side. And they came in and stood beside the bronze altar. 3 Then the glory of the God of Israel rose from above the cherubim, where it had been, and moved to the threshold of the temple. And He called to the man clothed in linen who had the writing kit at his side. 4 “Go throughout the city of Jerusalem,” said the LORD, “and put a mark on the foreheads of the men sighing and groaning over all the abominations committed there.” 5 And as I listened, He said to the others, “Follow him through the city and start killing; do not show pity or spare anyone! 6 Slaughter the old men, the young men and maidens, the women and children; but do not go near anyone who has the mark. Now begin at My sanctuary.” So they began with the elders who were before the temple. 7 Then He told them, “Defile the temple and fill the courts with the slain. Go forth!” So they went out and began killing throughout the city. 8 While they were killing, I was left alone. And I fell facedown and cried out, “Oh, Lord GOD, when You pour out Your wrath on Jerusalem, will You destroy the entire remnant of Israel?” 9 He replied, “The iniquity of the house of Israel and Judah is exceedingly great. The land is full of bloodshed, and the city is full of perversity. For they say, ‘The LORD has forsaken the land; the LORD does not see.’ 10 But as for Me, I will not look on them with pity, nor will I spare them. I will bring their deeds down upon their own heads.” 11 Then the man clothed in linen with the writing kit at his side reported back, “I have done as You commanded.”
Ezekiel 10
And I looked and saw above the expanse, above the heads of the cherubim, the likeness of a throne of sapphire. 2 And the LORD said to the man clothed in linen, “Go inside the wheelwork beneath the cherubim. Fill your hands with burning coals from among the cherubim and scatter them over the city.” And as I watched, he went in. 3 Now when the man went in, the cherubim were standing on the south side of the temple, and a cloud filled the inner court. 4 Then the glory of the LORD rose from above the cherubim and stood over the threshold of the temple. The temple was filled with the cloud, and the court was filled with the brightness of the glory of the LORD. 5 The sound of the wings of the cherubim could be heard as far as the outer court, like the voice of God Almighty when He speaks. 6 When the LORD commanded the man clothed in linen, saying, “Take fire from within the wheelwork, from among the cherubim,” the man went in and stood beside a wheel. 7 Then one of the cherubim reached out his hand and took some of the fire that was among them. And he put it into the hands of the man clothed in linen, who received it and went out. 8 (The cherubim appeared to have the form of human hands under their wings.) 9 Then I looked and saw four wheels beside the cherubim, one wheel beside each cherub. And the wheels gleamed like a beryl stone. 10 As for their appearance, all four had the same form, like a wheel within a wheel. 11 When they moved, they would go in any of the four directions, without turning as they moved. For wherever the head faced, the cherubim would go in that direction, without turning as they moved. 12 Their entire bodies, including their backs, hands, and wings, were full of eyes all around, as were their four wheels. 13 I heard the wheels being called “the whirling wheels.” 14 Each of the cherubim had four faces: the first face was that of a cherub, the second that of a man, the third that of a lion, and the fourth that of an eagle. 15 Then the cherubim rose upward. These were the living creatures I had seen by the River Kebar. 16 When the cherubim moved, the wheels moved beside them, and even when they spread their wings to rise from the ground, the wheels did not veer away from their side. 17 When the cherubim stood still, the wheels also stood still, and when they ascended, the wheels ascended with them, for the spirit of the living creatures was in the wheels. 18 Then the glory of the LORD moved away from the threshold of the temple and stood above the cherubim. 19 As I watched, the cherubim lifted their wings and rose up from the ground, with the wheels beside them as they went. And they stopped at the entrance of the east gate of the house of the LORD, with the glory of the God of Israel above them. 20 These were the living creatures I had seen beneath the God of Israel by the River Kebar, and I knew that they were cherubim. 21 Each had four faces and four wings, with what looked like human hands under their wings. 22 Their faces looked like the faces I had seen by the River Kebar. Each creature went straight ahead.
Ezekiel 11
Then the Spirit lifted me up and brought me to the gate of the house of the LORD that faces east. And there at the entrance of the gate were twenty-five men. Among them I saw Jaazaniah son of Azzur and Pelatiah son of Benaiah, who were leaders of the people. 2 And the LORD said to me, “Son of man, these are the men who plot evil and give wicked counsel in this city. 3 They are saying, ‘Is not the time near to build houses? The city is the cooking pot, and we are the meat.’ 4 Therefore prophesy against them; prophesy, O son of man!” 5 And the Spirit of the LORD fell upon me and told me to declare that this is what the LORD says: “That is what you are thinking, O house of Israel; and I know the thoughts that arise in your minds. 6 You have multiplied those you killed in this city and filled its streets with the dead. 7 Therefore this is what the Lord GOD says: The slain you have laid within this city are the meat, and the city is the pot; but I will remove you from it. 8 You fear the sword, so I will bring the sword against you, declares the Lord GOD. 9 I will bring you out of the city and deliver you into the hands of foreigners, and I will execute judgments against you. 10 You will fall by the sword, and I will judge you even to the borders of Israel. Then you will know that I am the LORD. 11 The city will not be a pot for you, nor will you be the meat within it. I will judge you even to the borders of Israel. 12 Then you will know that I am the LORD. For you have neither followed My statutes nor practiced My ordinances, but you have conformed to the ordinances of the nations around you.” 13 Now as I was prophesying, Pelatiah son of Benaiah died. Then I fell facedown and cried out in a loud voice, “Oh, Lord GOD, will You bring the remnant of Israel to a complete end?” 14 Then the word of the LORD came to me, saying, 15 “Son of man, your brothers—your relatives, your fellow exiles, and the whole house of Israel—are those of whom the people of Jerusalem have said, ‘They are far away from the LORD; this land has been given to us as a possession.’ 16 Therefore declare that this is what the Lord GOD says: ‘Although I sent them far away among the nations and scattered them among the countries, yet for a little while I have been a sanctuary for them in the countries to which they have gone.’ 17 Therefore declare that this is what the Lord GOD says: ‘I will gather you from the peoples and assemble you from the countries to which you have been scattered, and I will give back to you the land of Israel.’ 18 When they return to it, they will remove all its detestable things and all its abominations. 19 And I will give them singleness of heart and put a new spirit within them; I will remove their heart of stone and give them a heart of flesh, 20 so that they may follow My statutes, keep My ordinances, and practice them. Then they will be My people, and I will be their God. 21 But as for those whose hearts pursue detestable things and abominations, I will bring their conduct down upon their own heads, declares the Lord GOD.” 22 Then the cherubim, with the wheels beside them, spread their wings, and the glory of the God of Israel was above them. 23 And the glory of the LORD rose up from within the city and stood over the mountain east of the city. 24 And the Spirit lifted me up and carried me back to Chaldea, to the exiles in the vision given by the Spirit of God. After the vision had gone up from me, 25 I told the exiles everything the LORD had shown me.
Revelation 4
After this I looked and saw a door standing open in heaven. And the voice I had previously heard speak to me like a trumpet was saying, “Come up here, and I will show you what must happen after these things.” 2 At once I was in the Spirit, and I saw a throne standing in heaven, with someone seated on it. 3 The One seated there looked like jasper and carnelian, and a rainbow that gleamed like an emerald encircled the throne. 4 Surrounding the throne were twenty-four other thrones, and on these thrones sat twenty-four elders dressed in white, with golden crowns on their heads. 5 From the throne came flashes of lightning, rumblings, and peals of thunder. Before the throne burned seven torches of fire. These are the seven spirits of God. 6 And before the throne was something like a sea of glass, as clear as crystal. In the center, around the throne, were four living creatures, covered with eyes in front and back. 7 The first living creature was like a lion, the second like a calf, the third had a face like a man, and the fourth was like an eagle in flight. 8 And each of the four living creatures had six wings and was covered with eyes all around and within. Day and night they never stop saying: “Holy, Holy, Holy, is the Lord God Almighty, who was and is and is to come!” 9 And whenever the living creatures give glory, honor, and thanks to the One seated on the throne, who lives forever and ever, 10 the twenty-four elders fall down before the One seated on the throne, and they worship Him who lives forever and ever. They cast their crowns before the throne, saying: 11 “Worthy are You, our Lord and God, to receive glory and honor and power, for You created all things; by Your will they exist and were created.”
Scripture from the Berean Standard Bible (BSB), dedicated to the public domain.
How to SOAP
Grab a journal and a pen. Read the chapters above and watch for the verse that stops you. Then take it through four steps.
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Scripture
Write out the verse that stood out to you.
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Observation
What is it saying? Who is speaking, and to whom?
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Application
What does it mean for your life today? Be specific.
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Prayer
Talk to God about it. Ask Him to help you live it.
Your SOAP journal
Write your SOAP here. Tap any verse in the reading to add it to Scripture. Your journal saves on this device only, so no one else sees it.
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Why daily devotions?
Devotions are time set aside each day to read God's Word and let Him speak. The point isn't checking off chapters. It's meeting with Him.
Ten or fifteen minutes is enough to start. Pick a time and a place and keep the appointment. Mornings work well for a lot of us, before the phone and the day start talking.
Missed a day? Don't start over. Read today's chapters and keep going.