Joel is one of the shortest books of the Old Testament and is divided in two parts. The first half describes a plague of locusts that invade the land and destroy the land’s produce, threatening the survival of animals, people, and even grain offerings before the Lord. That section ends with a plea for God’s people to confess their sins, transitioning to the second half of the book, which contains promises of the Lord to restore and rebuild his people and the land. Interpreters debate about the relationship between the locusts & the army; is the army a swarm of locusts, or is Joel comparing the people of the army to that of a swarm of locusts? Maybe both! Regardless, the promises of God to restore repentant people resound w/ hope & joy.

Joel 1 - 1:05 .

Joel 2 - 5:00 .

Joel 3 - 13:00 .

Proverbs 26:1-12 - 17:12 .

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Christian Standard Bible translation.

All music written and produced by John Burgess Ross.

Co-produced by the Christian Standard Bible.

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For modern audiences like us, these concluding chapters may feel more drudgery than delight, but for the original audience, these final depictions would have been the most exciting. Ezekiel once brought a message of condemnation and despair, but now that those prophecies have come true and Israel has spent 25 years in exile, Ezekiel brings a message of hope and restoration. Some of today’s revelation is other-worldly, as Ezekiel sees a river coming from under the temple, recalling the garden of Eden, the tree depicted in Psalm 1, all while pointing us toward the river seen in the book of Revelation.

Ezekiel 46 - 1:06 .

Ezekiel 47 - 6:16 .

Ezekiel 48 - 12:00 .

Proverbs 25:14 - 19:07 .

:::

Christian Standard Bible translation.

All music written and produced by John Burgess Ross.

Co-produced by the Christian Standard Bible.

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To put today’s passage in context, it’s important to spend a moment considering when this vision occurred and what had happened up to this point. Remember that God had declared through Ezekiel that his glory had left the temple. Over time, the Lord’s temple had become defiled and desecrated by idols, so the Lord sent the Chaldeans to demolish it. Jerusalem was made a desolation, and the people were exiled from the land. Twenty-five years later, Ezekiel sees a vision that would have brought renewed hope and joy: a new temple with revived worship practices, and most important of all, the promise of God’s glory and favor would return.

Ezekiel 43 - 1:02 .

Ezekiel 44 - 8:05 .

Ezekiel 45 - 16:13 .

:::

Christian Standard Bible translation.

All music written and produced by John Burgess Ross.

Co-produced by the Christian Standard Bible.

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