Day 255, September 12: Bible reading & prayer
Ezekiel 46-48 (chronological); Proverbs 21-22, 2 Corinthians 4 (OT/NT)
We finish Ezekiel today. Ezekiel the priest actually wrote as an exile in the land of the Chaldeans during the era of the kings of Judah and the kings of Israel. The Lord gave Ezekiel vision of what Jeremiah experienced and spoke about, so Ezekiel fills in a lot of understanding for us. The LORD consistently repeats that He even in His wrath and punishment, He will leave a remnant as witness that His word stands, who will then know that He is the LORD.
Reminder that Jehoiachin (Coniah, Jeconiah), king of Judah, grandson of Josiah, actually surrendered to King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon after only three months of reign after the death of his rebellious father Jehoiakim. He was taken to Babylon with ten thousand other captives. The LORD appeared to Ezekiel and appointed him to speak His word during the fifth year of Jehoiachin’s exile. Nebuchadnezzar had replaced Jehoiachin with his uncle Mattaniah, renaming him Zedekiah. Zedekiah eventually rebelled against Nebuchadnezzar, like his brother Jehoiakim, had done. This led to the siege and fall of Jerusalem, about which Ezekiel prophesied, and which occurred in our reading on Day 249 (Ezekiel 33:21).
After we read about the fall of Jerusalem, there was a transition in the word of the LORD to Ezekiel to future events regarding the hope of the restoration of Israel. Then there was a further transition to events of latter days involving other nations.
Today we’ll complete four days of visions which seem to give hope for those in exile regarding the restoration of Jerusalem and the temple. They occurred in the twenty-fifth year of the exile of Jehoiachin, king of Judah, fourteen years after Jerusalem was taken. The LORD brought Ezekiel in the visions of God to the land of Israel and set him on a very high mountain. A man was there whose appearance was like bronze and who had a measuring rod in his hand. Ezekiel was told to, “Declare to the house of Israel all that you see.” He showed him the plan of the temple. He demonstrated and measured that wall around it that divides “the holy and the profane”; its outer court which is for the people; its inner court which is for those who minister before the LORD; its chambers for the priests, Levites, and singers, and for the changing of the priest’s clothes, and for the priests’ eating of holy sacrifices; the sanctuary surrounded by a three-story structure of galleries, the nave or “most holy place,” and the altar, or “table that is before the LORD.”
Then Ezekiel saw a vision of the glory of the God of Israel coming from the east and filling the house (remember he saw a vision of the glory of God leaving the house and going toward the east on Day 241, “when He came to destroy the city.”) He explained, “this is the place of My throne and the place of the soles of My feet, which I will dwell among the sons of Israel forever. And the house of Israel will not again defile My holy name.” He told Ezekiel, “describe the temple to the house of Israel, that they may be ashamed of their iniquities; and let them measure the plan. If they are ashamed of all they have done, make known to them the design of the house…And write it in their sight, so that they may observe its whole design and all its statutes and do them. This is the law of the house; its entire area on top of the mountain all around shall be most holy.” He told him how to atone for the altar for seven days. “‘On the eighth day and onward, the priests will offer burnt offerings and peace offerings for the people, and I will accept you’ declares the Lord GOD.”
In yesterday’s reading, He brought Ezekiel back by the way of the outer gate of the sanctuary which faces the east, and it was shut. The LORD said, “This gate shall be shut; it shall not be opened, and no one shall enter by it, for the LORD God of Israel has entered by it; therefore it shall be shut. As for the prince, he shall sit in it as prince to eat bread before the LORD; he shall enter by way of the porch of the gate and shall go out by the same way.” Then He brought him by way of the north gate to the front of the house. The glory of the LORD filled the house and he fell on his face. The LORD told him, “mark well, see with your eyes and hear with your ears all that I say to you concerning all the statutes of the house of the LORD and concerning all its laws; and mark well the entrance of the house, with all exits of the sanctuary….say to the rebellious ones, to the house of Israel, ‘Enough of all your abominations…when you brought in foreigners, uncircumcised in heart and uncircumcised in flesh, to be in my sanctuary to profane it…for they made My covenant void—this in addition to all your abominations. And you have not kept charge of My holy things yourselves….No foreigner uncircumcised in heart and uncircumcised in flesh, of all the foreigners who are among the sons of Israel, shall enter My sanctuary. But the Levites who went far from Me when Israel went astray, who went astray from Me after their idols, shall bear the punishment for their iniquity….they shall not come near to Me to serve as a priest to Me, nor come near to any of My holy things….Yet I will appoint them to keep charge of the house, of all its service and of all that shall be done in it. But the Levitical priests, the sons of Zadok, who kept charge of My sanctuary when the sons of Israel went astray from Me, shall come near to minister to Me; and they shall stand before Me to offer Me the fat and the blood.’” He explains the garments the priests will wear when they are ministering in the inner courts and in the house, that they will put off when they go into the outer court to the people, so “they will not transmit holiness to the people with their garments.” They shall trim the hair of their heads. They shall not drink wine in the inner court. They shall not marry a widow or divorced woman but a virgin or the widow of a priest. They shall teach the people “the difference between the holy and the profane, and cause them to discern between the unclean and the clean. In a dispute they shall take their stand to judge; they shall judge it according to My ordinances. They shall keep My laws and My statutes in all My appointed feasts and sanctify My sabbaths.” They shall not defile themselves for a dead person, except for father, mother, son, daughter, brother, or unwed sister. After they are cleansed, seven days will elapse and then they will offer a sin offering on the day they enter the inner court to minister in the sanctuary. They are to be given no inheritance because the LORD is their possession. They will eat the grain, sin, and guilt offering, and every devoted thing in Israel is theirs: the first fruits, all the contributions, and the first of the dough (“you shall also give to the priest the first of your dough to cause a blessing to rest on your house.”)
He then explained how the land was to be divided by lot for an inheritance. An allotment is to be given to the LORD, “a holy portion of the land.” Half of this shall be for the sanctuary, “the most holy place,” and for the priests and the ministers of the sanctuary and their houses. A quarter portion shall be for the whole house of Israel. The prince shall have land on both the west and east side of the holy allotment and the property of the city, so the princes will no longer oppress the people. The LORD said, “Enough, you princes of Israel; put away violence and destruction, and practice justice and righteousness. Stop your expropriations from My people.” They shall have just balances. An offering shall be a sixth of an ephah from a homer of wheat and from a homer of barley, a tenth of a bath from each homer of oil, one sheep from each flock of two hundred, for grain, burnt, and peace offerings to make atonement. All the people of the land shall give this offering to the prince in Israel. It will be the prince’s responsibility to provide the sin, burnt, grain, and drink offerings at the feasts, new moons, and sabbaths to make atonement for the house of Israel. On the first day of the first of the month, a young bull shall be offered to cleanse the sanctuary, and then another on the seventh day “for everyone who goes astray or is naive.” On the fourteenth day is the Passover, a feast of seven days, where unleavened bread is eaten. The prince shall provide a bull for a sin offering for himself and the people of the land. He shall provide seven bulls and seven rams without blemish, each with an ephah of grain and a hin of oil, for a burnt offering, and a male goat for a sin offering, on each of the seven days. On the fifteenth day of the seventh month, he shall provide just like this for another feast.
An overview of our yearly Bible reading plan, with all summaries so far, can be found here. My appeal for the resolution to read your Bibles is here.
September 12 chronological reading: Ezekiel 46-48
Ezekiel 46
v1-10 “‘Thus says the Lord GOD, ‘The gate of the inner court facing east shall be shut the six working days; but it shall be opened on the sabbath day and opened on the day of the new moon. The prince shall enter by way of the porch of the gate from outside and stand by the post of the gate. Then the priests shall provide his burnt offering and his peace offerings, and he shall worship at the threshold of the gate and then go out; but the gate shall not be shut until the evening. The people of the land shall also worship at the doorway of that gate before the LORD on the sabbaths and on the new moons. The burnt offering which the prince shall offer to the LORD on the sabbath day shall be six lambs without blemish and a ram without blemish; and the grain offering shall be an ephah with the ram, and the grain offering with the lambs as much as he is able to give, and a hin of oil with an ephah. On the day of the new moon he shall offer a young bull without blemish, also six lambs and a ram, which shall be without blemish. And he shall provide a grain offering, an ephah with the bull and an ephah with the ram, and with the lambs as much as he is able, and a hin of oil with an ephah. When the prince enters, he shall go in by way of the porch of the gate and go out by the same way. But when the people of the land come before the LORD at the appointed feasts, he who enters by way of the north gate to worship shall go out by way of the south gate. And he who enters by way of the south gate shall go out by way of the north gate. No one shall return by way of the gate by which he entered but shall go straight out. When they go in, the prince shall go in among them; and when they go out, he shall go out.
v11-12 ‘At the festivals and the appointed feasts the grain offering shall be an ephah with a bull and an ephah with a ram, and with the lambs as much as one is able to give, and a hin of oil with an ephah. When the prince provides a freewill offering, a burnt offering, or peace offerings as a freewill offering to the LORD, the gate facing east shall be opened for him. And he shall provide his burnt offering and his peace offerings as he does on the sabbath day. Then he shall go out, and the gate shall be shut after he goes out.
v13-15 ‘And you shall provide a lamb a year old without blemish for a burnt offering to the LORD daily; morning by morning you shall provide it. Also you shall provide a grain offering with it morning by morning, a sixth of an ephah and a third of a hin of oil to moisten the fine flour, a grain offering to the LORD continually by a perpetual ordinance. Thus they shall provide the lamb, the grain offering and the oil, morning by morning, for a continual burnt offering.’
v16-18 “Thus says the Lord GOD, ‘If the prince gives a gift out of his inheritance to any of his sons, it shall belong to his sons; it is their possession by inheritance. But if he gives a gift from his inheritance to one of his servants, it shall be his until the year of liberty; then it shall return to the prince. His inheritance shall be only his sons’; it shall belong to them. The prince shall not take from the people’s inheritance, thrusting them out of their possession; he shall give his sons inheritance from his own possession so that My people will not be scattered, anyone from his possession.’”’
v19-20 “Then he brought me through the entrance, which was at the side of the gate, into the holy chambers for the priests, which faced north; and behold, there was a place at the extreme rear toward the west. He said to me, ‘This is the place where the priests shall boil the guilt offering and the sin offering and where they shall bake the grain offering, in order that they may not bring them out into the outer court to transmit holiness to the people.’
v21-24 “Then he brought me out into the outer court and led me across to the four corners of the court; and behold, in every corner of the court there was a small court. In the four corners of the court there were enclosed courts, forty cubits long and thirty wide; these four in the corners were the same size. There was a row of masonry round about in them, around the four of them, and boiling places were made under the rows round about. Then he said to me, ‘These are the boiling places where the ministers of the house shall boil the sacrifices of the people.’”
Ezekiel 47
v1-2 “Then he brought me back to the door of the house; and behold, water was flowing from under the threshold of the house toward the east, for the house faced east. And the water was flowing down from under, from the right side of the house, from south of the altar. He brought me out by way of the north gate and led me around on the outside to the outer gate by way of the gate that faces east. And behold, water was trickling from the south side.
v3-12 “When the man went out toward the east with a line in his hand, he measured a thousand cubits, and he led me through the water, water reaching the ankles. Again he measured a thousand and led me through the water, water reaching the knees. Again he measured a thousand and led me through the water, water reaching the loins. Again he measured a thousand; and it was a river that I could not ford, for the water had risen, enough water to swim in, a river that could not be forded. He said to me, ‘Son of man, have you seen this?’ Then he brought me back to the bank of the river. Now when I had returned, behold, on the bank of the river there were very many trees on the one side and on the other. Then he said to me, ‘These waters go out toward the eastern region and go down into the Arabah; then they go toward the sea, being made to flow into the sea, and the waters of the sea become fresh. It will come about that every living creature which swarms in every place where the river goes, will live. And there will be very many fish, for these waters go there and the others become fresh; so everything will live where the river goes. And it will come about that fishermen will stand beside it; from Engedi to Eneglaim there will be a place for the spreading of nets. Their fish will be according to their kinds, like the fish of the Great Sea, very many. But its swamps and marshes will not become fresh; they will be left for salt. By the river on its bank, on one side and on the other, will grow all kinds of trees for food. Their leaves will not wither and their fruit will not fail. They will bear every month because their water flows from the sanctuary, and their fruit will be for food and their leaves for healing.’
v13-14 “Thus says the Lord GOD, ‘This shall be the boundary by which you shall divide the land for an inheritance among the twelve tribes of Israel; Joseph shall have two portions. You shall divide it for an inheritance, each one equally with the other; for I swore to give it to your forefathers, and this land shall fall to you as an inheritance.
v15-17 ‘This shall be the boundary of the land: on the north side, from the Great Sea by the way of Hethlon, to the entrance of Zedad; Hamath, Berothah, Sibraim, which is between the border of Damascus and the border of Hamath; Hazer-hatticon, which is by the border of Hauran. The boundary shall extend from the sea to Hazar-enan at the border of Damascus, and on the north toward the north is the border of Hamath. This is the north side.
v18 ‘The east side, from between Hauran, Damascus, Gilead and the land of Israel, shall be the Jordan; from the north border to the eastern sea you shall measure. This is the east side.
v19 ‘The south side toward the south shall extend from Tamar as far as the waters of Meribath-kadesh, to the brook of Egypt and to the Great Sea. This is the south side toward the south.
v20 ‘The west side shall be the Great Sea, from the south border to a point opposite Lebo-hamath. This is the west side.
v21-23 ‘So you shall divide this land among yourselves according to the tribes of Israel. You shall divide it by lot for an inheritance among yourselves and among the aliens who stay in your midst, who bring forth sons in your midst. And they shall be to you as the native-born among the sons of Israel; they shall be allotted an inheritance with you among the tribes of Israel. And in the tribe with which the alien stays, there you shall give him his inheritance,’ declares the Lord GOD.”
Ezekiel 48
v1-7 “Now these are the names of the tribes: from the northern extremity, beside the way of Hethlon to Lebo-hamath, as far as Hazar-enan at the border of Damascus, toward the north beside Hamath, running from east to west, Dan, one portion. Beside the border of Dan, from the east side to the west side, Asher, one portion. Beside the border of Asher, from the east side to the west side, Naphtali, one portion. Beside the border of Naphtali, from the east side to the west side, Manasseh, one portion. Beside the border of Manasseh, from the east side to the west side, Ephraim, one portion. Beside the border of Ephraim, from the east side to the west side, Reuben, one portion. Beside the border of Reuben, from the east side to the west side, Judah, one portion.
v8-9 ‘And beside the border of Judah, from the east side to the west side, shall be the allotment which you shall set apart, 25,000 cubits in width, and in length like one of the portions, from the east side to the west side; and the sanctuary shall be in the middle of it. The allotment that you shall set apart to the LORD shall be 25,000 cubits in length and 10,000 in width.
v10-14 “The holy allotment shall be for these, namely for the priests, toward the north 25,000 cubits in length, toward the west 10,000 in width, toward the east 10,000 in width, and toward the south 25,000 in length; and the sanctuary of the LORD shall be in its midst. It shall be for the priests who are sanctified of the sons of Zadok, who have kept My charge, who did not go astray when the sons of Israel went astray as the Levites went astray. It shall be an allotment to them from the allotment of the land, a most holy place, by the border of the Levites. Alongside the border of the priests the Levites shall have 25,000 cubits in length and 10,000 in width. The whole length shall be 25,000 cubits and the width 10,000. Moreover, they shall not sell or exchange any of it, or alienate this choice portion of land; for it is holy to the LORD.
v15-20 ‘The remainder, 5,000 cubits in width and 25,000 in length, shall be for common use for the city, for dwellings and for open spaces; and the city shall be in its midst. These shall be its measurements: the north side 4,500 cubits, the south side 4,500 cubits, the east side 4,500 cubits, and the west side 4,500 cubits. The city shall have open spaces: on the north 250 cubits, on the south 250 cubits, on the east 250 cubits, and on the west 250 cubits. The remainder of the length alongside the holy allotment shall be 10,000 cubits toward the east and 10,000 toward the west; and it shall be alongside the holy allotment. And its produce shall be food for the workers of the city. The workers of the city, out of all the tribes of Israel, shall cultivate it. The whole allotment shall be 25,000 by 25,000 cubits; you shall set apart the holy allotment, a square, with the property of the city.
v21-22 ‘The remainder shall be for the prince, on the one side and on the other of the holy allotment and of the property of the city; in front of the 25,000 cubits of the allotment toward the east border and westward in front of the 25,000 toward the west border, alongside the portions, it shall be for the prince. And the holy allotment and the sanctuary of the house shall be in the middle of it. Exclusive of the property of the Levites and the property of the city, which are in the middle of that which belongs to the prince, everything between the border of Judah and the border of Benjamin shall be for the prince.
v23-29 ‘As for the rest of the tribes: from the east side to the west side, Benjamin, one portion. Beside the border of Benjamin, from the east side to the west side, Simeon, one portion. Beside the border of Simeon, from the east side to the west side, Issachar, one portion. Beside the border of Issachar, from the east side to the west side, Zebulun, one portion. Beside the border of Zebulun, from the east side to the west side, Gad, one portion. And beside the border of Gad, at the south side toward the south, the border shall be from Tamar to the waters of Meribath-kadesh, to the brook of Egypt, to the Great Sea. This is the land which you shall divide by lot to the tribes of Israel for an inheritance, and these are their several portions,’ declares the Lord GOD.
v30-35 ‘These are the exits of the city: on the north side, 4,500 cubits by measurement, shall be the gates of the city, named for the tribes of Israel, three gates toward the north: the gate of Reuben, one; the gate of Judah, one; the gate of Levi, one. On the east side, 4,500 cubits, shall be three gates: the gate of Joseph, one; the gate of Benjamin, one; the gate of Dan, one. On the south side, 4,500 cubits by measurement, shall be three gates: the gate of Simeon, one; the gate of Issachar, one; the gate of Zebulun, one. On the west side, 4,500 cubits, shall be three gates: the gate of Gad, one; the gate of Asher, one; the gate of Naphtali, one. The city shall be 18,000 cubits round about; and the name of the city from that day shall be, “The LORD is there.”’”
September 12 OT/NT readings: Proverbs 21-22, 2 Corinthians 4
We are reading Proverbs in the Old Testament reading plan. We first read Proverbs 21 in the chronological reading plan on Day 160, and Proverbs 22 on Day 161.
We are reading the apostle Paul’s second letter to the Corinthians in the New Testament reading plan. Paul went to Corinth during his second missionary journey (see timeline of the book of Acts). It was the first place he remained for any length of time (18 months) until a disturbance was formed against him and he moved on. He had met Romans Priscilla and Aquila in Corinth, and he took them with him to Ephesus and left them there while he returned to Antioch. He returned to Ephesus at the beginning of his third missionary journey, staying over 2 years. He wrote what we know as the first letter to the Corinthians from Ephesus. 1 Corinthians 5:9 refers to a previous letter that Paul wrote to the Corinthians and 1 Corinthians 7:1 refers to their writing a letter in return, containing questions he addresses in this letter.
During his time in Ephesus, when he wrote what we know as his first letter to the Corinthians, Paul resolved to travel through Macedonia and Greece to take a contribution to the saints in Jerusalem. He spoke about this collection in the last chapter of 1 Corinthians. 2 Corinthians was written during these travels at the end of his third missionary journey. Paul says in 2 Corinthians 13:1, “This is the third time I am coming to you,” so there was another visit by Paul to Corinth about which we don’t have details.
Paul wrote 1 Corinthians reprimanding them for divisions in the church, immorality, and incorrect handling of communion. He knows the reprimand of his letter caused sorrow. As I mentioned above, we get clues from his letter that he visited Corinth after he wrote it, with more reprimand causing further sorrow. He refers to the persecution he and those with him in Asia (Ephesus) endured, such that they despaired “even of life” (2 Corinthians 1:18), sealing his plan to leave Ephesus to travel through Macedonia and Greece. He had planned to go to Corinth (Greece) first, but decided not to return again and cause the Corinthians further sorrow. He is able to see a purpose in both his sorrow and theirs, declaring that the comfort we receive from God in our afflictions helps us comfort others in their afflictions. He explains the Corinthians should forgive the now repentant person who inspired his rebuke. He testifies of victory even in trying circumstances during his travels.
After talking about victory in trying circumstances, Paul made sure, in our reading yesterday in Chapter 3, that credit did not go to himself, but to the triune God. The transformed lives of the Corinthians “are a letter of Christ, cared for by us, written not with ink but with the Spirit of the living God, not on tablets of stone but on tablets of human hearts…[O]ur adequacy is from God, who also made us adequate as servants of a new covenant, not of the letter but of the Spirit; for the letter kills, but the Spirit gives life.” He explained that the ministry of the New Covenant, enabled by the Holy Spirit, is more glorious than the Old, and gives hope and boldness: “For if the ministry of condemnation has glory, much more does the ministry of righteousness abound in glory….Therefore having such a hope, we use great boldness in our speech, and are not like Moses, who used to put a veil over his face so that the sons of Israel would not look intently at the end of what was fading away. But their minds were hardened; for until this very day at the reading of the old covenant the same veil remains unlifted, because it is removed in Christ. But to this day whenever Moses is read, a veil lies over their heart; but whenever a person turns to the Lord, the veil is taken away. Now the Lord is the Spirit, and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is liberty. But we all, with unveiled face, beholding as in a mirror the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into the same image from glory to glory, just as from the Lord, the Spirit.”
2 Corinthians 4
v1-6 “Therefore, since we have this ministry, as we received mercy, we do not lose heart, but we have renounced the things hidden because of shame, not walking in craftiness or adulterating the word of God, but by the manifestation of truth commending ourselves to every man’s conscience in the sight of God. And even if our gospel is veiled, it is veiled to those who are perishing, in whose case the god of this world has blinded the minds of the unbelieving so that they might not see the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God. For we do not preach ourselves but Christ Jesus as Lord, and ourselves as your bond-servants for Jesus’ sake. For God, who said, ‘Light shall shine out of darkness,’ is the One who has shone in our hearts to give the Light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Christ.
v7-12 “But we have this treasure in earthen vessels, so that the surpassing greatness of the power will be of God and not from ourselves; we are afflicted in every way, but not crushed; perplexed, but not despairing; persecuted, but not forsaken; struck down, but not destroyed; always carrying about in the body the dying of Jesus, so that the life of Jesus also may be manifested in our body. For we who live are constantly being delivered over to death for Jesus’ sake, so that the life of Jesus also may be manifested in our mortal flesh. So death works in us, but life in you.
v13-15 “But having the same spirit of faith, according to what is written, ‘I BELIEVED, THEREFORE I SPOKE,’ we also believe, therefore we also speak, knowing that He who raised the Lord Jesus will raise us also with Jesus and will present us with you. For all things are for your sakes, so that the grace which is spreading to more and more people may cause the giving of thanks to abound to the glory of God.
v16-17 “Therefore we do not lose heart, but though our outer man is decaying, yet our inner man is being renewed day by day. For momentary, light affliction is producing for us an eternal weight of glory far beyond all comparison, while we look not at the things which are seen, but at the things which are not seen; for the things which are seen are temporal, but the things which are not seen are eternal.”
Dear Lord,
Then he brought me back to the door of the house; and behold, water was flowing from under the threshold of the house toward the east, for the house faced east. And the water was flowing down from under, from the right side of the house, from south of the altar. He brought me out by way of the north gate and led me around on the outside to the outer gate by way of the gate that faces east. And behold, water was trickling from the south side….and it was a river that I could not ford, for the water had risen, enough water to swim in, a river that could not be forded….Then he said to me, “These waters go out toward the eastern region and go down into the Arabah; then they go toward the sea, being made to flow into the sea, and the waters of the sea become fresh. It will come about that every living creature which swarms in every place where the river goes, will live….But its swamps and marshes will not become fresh; they will be left for salt. By the river on its bank, on one side and on the other, will grow all kinds of trees for food. Their leaves will not wither and their fruit will not fail. They will bear every month because their water flows from the sanctuary, and their fruit will be for food and their leaves for healing.”
“the name of the city from that day shall be, ‘The LORD is there.’”
We stand amazed at Your plan. You have spoken. It will be done.
we also believe, therefore we also speak
This incredible hope that we have because of our faith in the Lord Jesus should inspire us to share it with those without hope.
momentary, light affliction is producing for us an eternal weight of glory far beyond all comparison, while we look not at the things which are seen, but at the things which are not seen; for the things which are seen are temporal, but the things which are not seen are eternal.
Help us not to be discouraged by temporal affliction, knowing eternal glory awaits.
In Jesus’ name, Amen.
"This incredible hope that we have because of our faith in the Lord Jesus should inspire us to share it with those without hope." & "Help us not to be discouraged by temporal affliction, knowing eternal glory awaits." Amen! Amen! Thank you Dr. Milhoan. Peace.