Tuesday, November 18, 2025
Scripture Readings
- Primary Reading: Ezekiel 34-42
- Secondary Reading: Psalms 133
Key Verse
Ezekiel 38:18 — “And it shall come to pass at the same time when Gog shall come against the land of Israel, saith the Lord GOD, that my fury shall come up in my face.”
Devotional Thought
The word of the LORD comes to Ezekiel in Babylon, and it comes first as an indictment. The shepherds of Israel—her kings, priests, and prophets—have fed themselves while the flock starved. They have eaten the fat and worn the wool, but the diseased they have not strengthened, the broken they have not bound, the lost they have not sought. So the sheep scattered across the mountains, prey for every beast, and no one searched for them. God declares Himself against those shepherds, and then He says something astonishing: “Behold, I, even I, will both search my sheep, and seek them out.” The Lord Himself becomes the Shepherd. He promises good pasture on the mountains of Israel, rest in a good fold, and a covenant of peace. He promises one Shepherd, His servant David, and showers of blessing, and a land that yields its fruit.
Then the vision widens. Mount Seir, the ancient enemy Edom, gloats over Israel’s ruin and is judged for its perpetual hatred. But to the mountains of Israel, God speaks tenderness: “Behold, I am for you.” He promises cleansing—clean water sprinkled, a new heart, a new spirit, the stony heart removed and a heart of flesh given. Not for Israel’s sake, He says plainly, but for His holy name’s sake. And then He sets Ezekiel down in a valley of dry bones, very many and very dry, and asks, “Son of man, can these bones live?”
This is November reading for November people. The leaves are down, the year is dying, and we know what it is to feel scattered and dry—worn thin by shepherds who fed themselves, or simply by our own wandering. But the God of Ezekiel is not distant from dry bones. He breathes on them. He opens graves. He puts His Spirit within His people and causes them to walk. And Psalm 133 sings the counter-song: how good and pleasant it is when brethren dwell together in unity, like precious ointment, like the dew of Hermon. That unity is not our achievement; it is the Shepherd’s gift, the blessing He commands where His people gather—even life for evermore.
Reflection
- Where in your life have you been scattered, dry, or overlooked—and do you truly believe the Lord Himself is searching for you, not waiting for you to find your own way back?
- God says He acts “not for your sakes… but for mine holy name’s sake.” How would it change your prayers and your hope today to rest not on your own worthiness but on His faithfulness to His own name?
Prayer
Lord God, Shepherd of Israel, we confess that we have too often fed ourselves and left Your flock untended, and we have known what it is to wander in the cloudy and dark day. Search us out. Bind up what is broken in us, strengthen what is sick, and bring us back to good pasture. Sprinkle clean water upon us; take away the stony heart and give us a heart of flesh. Breathe Your Spirit into our dry bones and set us on our feet. Gather Your people into unity like the dew of Hermon, and let the blessing You command—even life for evermore—rest upon us, for the sake of Your holy name. Amen.
Psalm Verse
Psalms 133:1 — “Behold, how good and how pleasant it is for brethren to dwell together in unity!”