Today's Devotion
Friday September 11, 2026
INTERESTING FACTS : Jonathan Trumbull, JUDGE; LEGISLATOR; GOVERNOR OF CONNECTICUT; CONFIDANT OF GEORGE WASHINGTON AND CALLED "BROTHER JONATHAN" BY HIM
"The examples of holy men teach us that we should seek Him with fasting and prayer, with penitent confession of our sins, and hope in His mercy through Jesus Christ the Great Redeemer. Principally and first of all, I bequeath my soul to God the Creator and giver thereof, and my body to the earth to be buried in a decent Christian burial, in firm belief that I shall receive the same again at the general resurrection through the power of Almighty God, and hope of eternal life and happiness through the merits of my dear Redeemer Jesus Christ."
He called on the State of Connecticut to pray that . . . "God would graciously pour out His Spirit upon us and make the blessed Gospel in His hand effectual to a thorough reformation and general revival of the holy and peaceful religion of Jesus Christ."
Daily Reading: Ezekiel 37 - 39
TEXT : Eze 37:1 The hand of the LORD was upon me, and carried me out in the spirit of the LORD, and set me down in the midst of the valley which was full of bones, Eze 37:2 And caused me to pass by them round about: and, behold, there were very many in the open valley; and, lo, they were very dry. Eze 37:3 And he said unto me, Son of man, can these bones live? And I answered, O Lord GOD, thou knowest. Eze 37:4 Again he said unto me, Prophesy upon these bones, and say unto them, O ye dry bones, hear the word of the LORD. Eze 37:5 Thus saith the Lord GOD unto these bones; Behold, I will cause breath to enter into you, and ye shall live: Eze 37:6 And I will lay sinews upon you, and will bring up flesh upon you, and cover you with skin, and put breath in you, and ye shall live; and ye shall know that I am the LORD.
THEME : Israel
Chapter 37 reveals the definitive blessing of the people as a fact, without entering into any details of the events that terminate in this blessing. The dry bones of Israel, of the nation as a whole, are gathered together by the power of God. God accomplishes this work by His Spirit, but by His Spirit acting in power on His people to produce certain effects rather than in giving spiritual life (although it is not to be doubted that those who are blessed among the Jews will be spiritually quickened). The result of this intervention of God is that the dispersed of Israel, hitherto divided into two peoples, are gathered together in the earth, reunited under one Head, as one nation. It is the resurrection of the nation, which was really dead and buried. But God opens their graves, and places them again in their land restored to life as a nation. The fact of their division before this operation of God is recognised. But the result of the operation is Israel in their unity as a people. One king should reign over them. This, under God's hand, is the result of all their iniquity, and of the devices of the enemies who had carried them into captivity. David (that is, Christ) should be their king. They should be thoroughly cleansed by God Himself. They should walk in His statutes and His judgments, and dwell for ever in their land. The sanctuary of God should be in their midst for evermore; His tabernacle, His dwelling-place, should be among them, He their God and they His people. The heathen should know that Jehovah sanctified Israel, when His sanctuary should be there for ever. It is the full national blessing of Israel from the Lord Jehovah. [John Darby][1]
TRUTH FOR TODAY : "IF YOU WANT PROOF GOD WROTE THE BIBLE - LOOK AT ISRAEL"
If you want to know if God wrote the Bible, just look at the Jewish people. Dispersed from their land - Israel, later called Palestine, more than once, God brought them back again. Chiefly, the ten northern tribes were taken by the Assyrians [now extinct], and the two southern tribes - Judah, were taken by the Chaldeans [Iraq] as well. The Babylonians took Judah, from which we get the name "Jew," for precisely 70 years until God restored them again as the prophets Isaiah, Jeremiah and Ezekiel all foretold. Yet, after falling into idolatry and apostasy again, when the Roman Empire rose the Jewish people were displaced from Israel for almost two thousand years. Thus, we find Jews in almost every nation of the world.
However, after about 1,800 years, the Jews began to return to Israel [or Palestine as some called it] little by little, until 1917 under the Balfour Declaration, Israel was restored to the status of a nation. In the course of time, it was declared the State of Israel by the United Nations [1948]. This is the only time in history an entire nation who were conquered and dispersed throughout the world [known as the Diaspora] - for 2,000 years, returned and re-established their nation. If you consider the Mayans, Assyrians, [Ancient] Babylonians, etc. as well as both the actual and legendary lost lands such as Atlantis, [Plato mentions this], and mysterious anomalies such as Stonehenge, the Moai [statues] of Easter Island and so forth, the fact that the Jews survived with their culture and religion - intact, is miraculous. Only the One True God could have kept Israel safe and relatively uncontaminated by the nations of the world. Obviously, only God could have restored them to a land - as a people, they lost through war after two millennia. Just as amazing, is the fact the Jewish people had Hebrew restored as their cultural and ethnic language primarily through the efforts of one man - Eliezer Ben Yehuda, who worked 18 hours a day for 41 years to establish a Hebrew lexicon.
God shows Ezekiel a vision in chapters 37 of a "dead" nation restored to life through the Spirit of the LORD. Moreover, the LORD tells us that "David" will rule [that is - Jesus Christ, the Son of David] and will eventually end in a war with Gog and Magog. Its corollary is found in the Book of Revelation.
Rev 20:6 Blessed and holy is he that hath part in the first resurrection: on such the second death hath no power, but they shall be priests of God and of Christ, and shall reign with him a thousand years. Rev 20:7 And when the thousand years are expired, Satan shall be loosed out of his prison, Rev 20:8 And shall go out to deceive the nations which are in the four quarters of the earth, Gog and Magog, to gather them together to battle: the number of whom is as the sand of the sea.
Fulfilled prophecy is the greatest proof of the Bible's inspiration. Therefore, the next time you meet or see a Jewish person, think of Ezekiel 37 and his vision of dry bones. God has restored Israel bringing them into the land, and will soon fulfil all of His promises, including a New Heaven and a New Earth!
Rev 21:1 And I saw a new heaven and a new earth: for the first heaven and the first earth were passed away; and there was no more sea. Rev 21:2 And I John saw the holy city, new Jerusalem, coming down from God out of heaven, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband. Rev 21:3 And I heard a great voice out of heaven saying, Behold, the tabernacle of God is with men, and he will dwell with them, and they shall be his people, and God himself shall be with them, and be their God. Rev 21:4 And God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes; and there shall be no more death, neither sorrow, nor crying, neither shall there be any more pain: for the former things are passed away. Rev 21:5 And he that sat upon the throne said, Behold, I make all things new. And he said unto me, Write: for these words are true and faithful.
