Corona Devo 1970

When you drive a distance, do you ever take note of the mile-markers along the way?  


They count down the miles to a state line and they can be an excellent guide to where we are going.  If we know where we are headed, then the mile-markers are critical in charting and confirming our trip along the way.  

~~~

Interestingly enough, in the Bible (Ezekiel Chapter 39), God provides some mile-markers in Israel’s timeline.

Are some of those mile-markers happening today? 

I’m not sure: but, we should know what they are so that we can recognize them if and when they occur.  And to understand God's (Israel) mile-markers, we need to read the Bible.  The timing is (of course) up to God, but at least we can be aware of what to watch for.

Many Believers-in-God who have come before us may have wondered if Ezekiel 39 would occur in their lifetime, and we can also question if some of the mile-markers on God’s (Israel) timeline could be occurring soon, but first--we have to know the mile-markers.

In reading Ezekiel 39, God gives us specific mile-markers so that we will know what’s happening when it’s happening. (But only God knows when it will.)

~~~

CHEAT SHEET: God told Ezekiel that enemies from “Gog” (a land to Israel’s north) will attack (seek to attack) Israel, but God (in His mighty power) will intercept them before Israel (His people) are harmed. 

MILE-MARKER: God will step in to save His people in Israel.

“Son of man, prophesy against Gog. Give him this message from the Sovereign Lord: I am your enemy, O Gog, ruler of the nations of Meshech and Tubal. 

(2) I will turn you around and drive you toward the mountains of Israel, bringing you from the distant north. (3) I will knock the bow from your left hand and the arrows from your right hand, and I will leave you helpless. 

(4) You and your army and your allies will all die on the mountains. I will feed you to the vultures and wild animals. (5) You will fall in the open fields, for I have spoken, says the Sovereign Lord. (6) And I will rain down fire on Magog and on all your allies who live safely on the coasts.  ~Ezekiel 39:1-6a

~~

CHEAT SHEET: Why will God stop Israel’s attackers?  For His glory.  

Then they will know that I am the Lord.  

(7) “In this way, I will make known my holy name among my 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. (8) That day of judgment will come, says the Sovereign Lord. Everything will happen just as I have declared it.  ~Ezekiel 39:6b-8

~~~ 

And then what?  And what should we look for?

MILE-MARKER: (In a word): plunder.

CHEAT SHEET: God tells us (in His Word), in eerily specific detail (down to the length-of-months) about how His people will plunder the people that sought to plunder them.  God even tells His people how long the (plundered) supplies will fuel them (seven years).

(9) “Then the people in the towns of Israel will go out and 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! (10) They won’t need to cut wood from the fields or forests, for these weapons will give them all the fuel they need. They will plunder those who planned to plunder them, and they will rob those who planned to rob them, says the Sovereign Lord.  ~Ezekiel 39:9-10

~~~ 

And what’s the next mile-marker that God gives so that (when these things occur) we will know it is His will occurring? 

MILE-MARKER: Dead bodies east of the Dead Sea.

CHEAT SHEET: The attack will be attempted…God will thwart it, and protect His people, and then…there will be bodies.  Many corpses of those who didn’t choose to know or honor the Lord.  And God even tells us where they will be stacked: (east of the Dead Sea).  So many enemy-of-God’s-people bodies will be gathered there that “it will block the way of those who travel there”. 

BIBLICAL MILE-MARKER BONUS!!  God even tells how long it will take the Israelites to clean up the mess: seven months.

(11) “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 the name of the place to the Valley of Gog’s Hordes. 

(12) It will take seven months for the people of Israel to bury the bodies and cleanse the land. (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.  

(14) “After seven months, teams of men will be appointed to search the land for skeletons to bury, so the land will be made clean again. (15) Whenever bones are found, a marker will be set up so the burial crews will take them to be buried in the Valley of Gog’s Hordes. 

(16) (There will be a town there named Hamonah, which means ‘horde.’) And so the land will finally be cleansed.  ~Ezekiel 39:11-16

~~~

MILE-MARKER: Homecoming (to Israel) for the Israelite/Jewish people (God's original chosen people), and peace for them there in Israel.

CHEAT SHEET: When these other mile-markers are met and accomplished, it will signify the full circle of the Israelite people.  God (figuratively) birthed them as His chosen ones.  They (like we) fell to sin and fell away from the Lord.  But the people of Israel will repent and return (in heart and geography) to the Lord.  God will bring them back to Israel, and they will enjoy peace, safety, and communion with God in Israel.  

And why?  For God's glory.

(26) They will accept responsibility for their past shame and unfaithfulness after they come home to live in peace in their own land, with no one to bother them. (27) When I bring them home from the lands of their enemies, I will display my holiness among them for all the nations to see. 

(28) 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 none of my people behind. (29) And I will never again turn my face from them, for I will pour out my Spirit upon the people of Israel. I, the Sovereign Lord, have spoken!”  ~Ezekiel 39:26-29

~~~

The thwarted attack on God’s people in Israel…the large loss of life for those against God…the plunder process, and the clean-up and purification effort: God gives us these mile-markers to watch for in Ezekiel 39.

Will they happen in our lifetime?  Who knows?  Myriads of other Believers before us may have each wondered the same thing.

But...we should at least be aware of the Biblical mile-markers to look for, and then we can watch for them too!


Blessings, 
 
Sarah 

https://sarahsundy04.blogspot.com

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