Weird day, and didn't do very much. Not feeling well, which is more often the case these days than was true at one time. We have snow on the ground, which I hate, and the temperatures have been hovering in a narrow band from just above freezing to the upper 20's for the last few days.
Wife is set to "watch" the Great-Nieces tomorrow. Yes, plural: not only the next-door great niece, but also the daughter of wife's nephew. He and his wife will be in court: some drunk ran off the road the other night, ran into their front porch and their vehicle in the drive, damaging both severely, then left the scene. He's in jail, unable to post bond. Problem is, nephew's wife let the insurance policies lapse for non-payment, so they aren't covered that way, and the local constables neglected to ensure that the drunk driver had any coverage either. So this will be pretty ugly. Lot of finger-pointing going on. I'm staying out of it.
And this week will commemorate Thanksgiving. We should have that same attitude all the time, of course, but making a special occasion of it is a good idea. We're supposed to attend a family Thanksgiving dinner (at that residence noted above), and then high-tail it out so they can go 40 minutes away to attend similar at the home of nephew's in-laws. So much wonderfulness will be encountered we hope.
And the "usual" festering family tensions will be evident. Wife's sister and her husband will be there. And, probably, sister's boyfriend and his son, she and husband live with them, an arrangement that I find strange. Interesting, to say the least.
I have two brothers. One is on his second wife, who loathes us and we are forbidden to set foot on their property. I hope they enjoy the day. My other brother, divorced, lives about 90 minutes from here, he sometimes gets together with the kids that his ex-wife had produced with her first husband. Don't know.
My sister lives in northern Virginia. I won't hear from her, probably, though they -- she and her husband -- normally come through the area for a day or two, around Christmas. They have no kids, which is probably just as well.
In both our families, we are both now the "old generation", all those who were before are now gone. Many of my cousins are older than I, some by a good bit. I have one I've not had word from in more than 40 years, another for nearly as long (other side), and a few that I've not encountered for more than a few minutes at funerals in 20-some years. Probably my fault, but it does trouble me somewhat around the holidays.
Our daughters and their husbands live far from us, and neither seems inclined to have the least bit of contact with us. That makes it worse.
We have much to give thanks for, but there are some things we do wish were different. Perhaps next year, Lord willing.
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The Old Testament reading is chapters 24, 25, and 26 of Ezekiel.
Ezekiel 24
1 Again in
the ninth year, in the tenth month, in the tenth day of the month, the
word of the LORD came unto me, saying,
2 Son of man, write thee the name of the day,
even of this same day: the king of Babylon set himself against Jerusalem
this same day. 3
And utter a parable unto the rebellious house, and say unto them, Thus
saith the Lord GOD; Set on a pot, set it on, and also pour water into
it: 4 Gather
the pieces thereof into it, even every good piece, the thigh, and the
shoulder; fill it with the choice bones.
5 Take the choice of the flock, and burn also
the bones under it, and make it boil well, and let them seethe the
bones of it therein. 6
Wherefore thus saith the Lord GOD; Woe to the bloody city, to the pot
whose scum is therein, and whose scum is not gone out of it! bring it
out piece by piece; let no lot fall upon it.
7 For her blood is in the midst of her;
she set it upon the top of a rock; she poured it not upon the ground, to
cover it with dust; 8
That it might cause fury to come up to take vengeance; I have set her
blood upon the top of a rock, that it should not be covered.
9 Therefore thus saith
the Lord GOD; Woe to the bloody city! I will even make the pile for fire
great. 10
Heap on wood, kindle the fire, consume the flesh, and spice it well, and
let the bones be burned.
11 Then set it empty upon the coals thereof, that the brass
of it may be hot, and may burn, and that the filthiness of it may be
molten in it, that the scum of it may be consumed.
12 She hath wearied herself with
lies, and her great scum went not forth out of her: her scum shall be in
the fire. 13
In thy filthiness is lewdness: because I have purged thee, and thou wast
not purged, thou shalt not be purged from thy filthiness any more, till
I have caused my fury to rest upon thee.
14 I the LORD have spoken it: it shall come
to pass, and I will do it; I will not go back, neither will I spare,
neither will I repent; according to thy ways, and according to thy
doings, shall they judge thee, saith the Lord GOD.
15 Also the word of the LORD came unto me, saying, 16
Son of man, behold, I take away from thee the desire of thine eyes with
a stroke: yet neither shalt thou mourn nor weep, neither shall thy
tears run down. 17
Forbear to cry, make no mourning for the dead, bind the tire of thine
head upon thee, and put on thy shoes upon thy feet, and cover not thy
lips, and eat not the bread of men.
18 So I spake unto the people in the morning: and
at even my wife died; and I did in the morning as I was commanded.
19 And the people
said unto me, Wilt thou not tell us what these things are to us, that
thou doest so? 20 Then I answered them, The word of the LORD came unto me, saying, 21
Speak unto the house of Israel, Thus saith the Lord GOD; Behold, I will
profane my sanctuary, the excellency of your strength, the desire of
your eyes, and that which your soul pitieth; and your sons and your
daughters whom ye have left shall fall by the sword.
22 And ye shall do as I have
done: ye shall not cover your lips, nor eat the bread of men.
23 And your tires shall
be upon your heads, and your shoes upon your feet: ye shall not mourn
nor weep; but ye shall pine away for your iniquities, and mourn one
toward another. 24
Thus Ezekiel is unto you a sign: according to all that he hath done
shall ye do: and when this cometh, ye shall know that I am the Lord GOD.
25 Also, thou
son of man, shall it not be in the day when I take from them their
strength, the joy of their glory, the desire of their eyes, and that
whereupon they set their minds, their sons and their daughters,
26 That he that
escapeth in that day shall come unto thee, to cause thee to hear it with
thine ears? 27
In that day shall thy mouth be opened to him which is escaped, and thou
shalt speak, and be no more dumb: and thou shalt be a sign unto them;
and they shall know that I am the LORD.
Ezekiel 25
1 The word of the LORD came again unto me, saying, 2 Son of man, set thy face against the Ammonites, and prophesy against them; 3
And say unto the Ammonites, Hear the word of the Lord GOD; Thus saith
the Lord GOD; Because thou saidst, Aha, against my sanctuary, when it
was profaned; and against the land of Israel, when it was desolate; and
against the house of Judah, when they went into captivity;
4 Behold, therefore I will
deliver thee to the men of the east for a possession, and they shall set
their palaces in thee, and make their dwellings in thee: they shall eat
thy fruit, and they shall drink thy milk.
5 And I will make Rabbah a stable for
camels, and the Ammonites a couching place for flocks: and ye shall know
that I am the LORD. 6
For thus saith the Lord GOD; Because thou hast clapped thine hands, and
stamped with the feet, and rejoiced in heart with all thy despite
against the land of Israel;
7 Behold, therefore I will stretch out mine hand upon
thee, and will deliver thee for a spoil to the heathen; and I will cut
thee off from the people, and I will cause thee to perish out of the
countries: I will destroy thee; and thou shalt know that I am the LORD.
8 Thus saith
the Lord GOD; Because that Moab and Seir do say, Behold, the house of
Judah is like unto all the heathen;
9 Therefore, behold, I will open the side of Moab
from the cities, from his cities which are on his frontiers, the glory
of the country, Bethjeshimoth, Baalmeon, and Kiriathaim,
10 Unto the men of the east
with the Ammonites, and will give them in possession, that the Ammonites
may not be remembered among the nations.
11 And I will execute judgments upon Moab;
and they shall know that I am the LORD.
12 Thus saith the Lord GOD; Because that Edom
hath dealt against the house of Judah by taking vengeance, and hath
greatly offended, and revenged himself upon them;
13 Therefore thus saith the Lord
GOD; I will also stretch out mine hand upon Edom, and will cut off man
and beast from it; and I will make it desolate from Teman; and they of
Dedan shall fall by the sword.
14 And I will lay my vengeance upon Edom by the hand of
my people Israel: and they shall do in Edom according to mine anger and
according to my fury; and they shall know my vengeance, saith the Lord
GOD. 15 Thus
saith the Lord GOD; Because the Philistines have dealt by revenge, and
have taken vengeance with a despiteful heart, to destroy it for the old
hatred; 16
Therefore thus saith the Lord GOD; Behold, I will stretch out mine hand
upon the Philistines, and I will cut off the Cherethims, and destroy the
remnant of the sea coast.
17 And I will execute great vengeance upon them with
furious rebukes; and they shall know that I am the LORD, when I shall
lay my vengeance upon them.
Ezekiel 26
1 And it came
to pass in the eleventh year, in the first day of the month, that the
word of the LORD came unto me, saying,
2 Son of man, because that Tyrus hath said
against Jerusalem, Aha, she is broken that was the gates of the people:
she is turned unto me: I shall be replenished, now she is laid waste:
3 Therefore thus
saith the Lord GOD; Behold, I am against thee, O Tyrus, and will cause
many nations to come up against thee, as the sea causeth his waves to
come up. 4 And
they shall destroy the walls of Tyrus, and break down her towers: I
will also scrape her dust from her, and make her like the top of a rock.
5 It shall be
a place for the spreading of nets in the midst of the sea: for I have
spoken it, saith the Lord GOD: and it shall become a spoil to the
nations. 6 And
her daughters which are in the field shall be slain by the sword; and
they shall know that I am the LORD.
7 For thus saith the Lord GOD; Behold, I will
bring upon Tyrus Nebuchadrezzar king of Babylon, a king of kings, from
the north, with horses, and with chariots, and with horsemen, and
companies, and much people.
8 He shall slay with the sword thy daughters in the field:
and he shall make a fort against thee, and cast a mount against thee,
and lift up the buckler against thee.
9 And he shall set engines of war against thy
walls, and with his axes he shall break down thy towers.
10 By reason of the abundance
of his horses their dust shall cover thee: thy walls shall shake at the
noise of the horsemen, and of the wheels, and of the chariots, when he
shall enter into thy gates, as men enter into a city wherein is made a
breach. 11
With the hoofs of his horses shall he tread down all thy streets: he
shall slay thy people by the sword, and thy strong garrisons shall go
down to the ground. 12
And they shall make a spoil of thy riches, and make a prey of thy
merchandise: and they shall break down thy walls, and destroy thy
pleasant houses: and they shall lay thy stones and thy timber and thy
dust in the midst of the water.
13 And I will cause the noise of thy songs to cease;
and the sound of thy harps shall be no more heard.
14 And I will make thee like the
top of a rock: thou shalt be a place to spread nets upon; thou shalt be
built no more: for I the LORD have spoken it, saith the Lord GOD.
15 Thus saith the
Lord GOD to Tyrus; Shall not the isles shake at the sound of thy fall,
when the wounded cry, when the slaughter is made in the midst of thee?
16 Then all the
princes of the sea shall come down from their thrones, and lay away
their robes, and put off their broidered garments: they shall clothe
themselves with trembling; they shall sit upon the ground, and shall
tremble at every moment, and be astonished at thee.
17 And they shall take up a
lamentation for thee, and say to thee, How art thou destroyed, that wast
inhabited of seafaring men, the renowned city, which wast strong in the
sea, she and her inhabitants, which cause their terror to be on all
that haunt it! 18
Now shall the isles tremble in the day of thy fall; yea, the isles that
are in the sea shall be troubled at thy departure.
19 For thus saith the Lord GOD;
When I shall make thee a desolate city, like the cities that are not
inhabited; when I shall bring up the deep upon thee, and great waters
shall cover thee; 20
When I shall bring thee down with them that descend into the pit, with
the people of old time, and shall set thee in the low parts of the
earth, in places desolate of old, with them that go down to the pit,
that thou be not inhabited; and I shall set glory in the land of the
living; 21 I
will make thee a terror, and thou shalt be no more: though thou be
sought for, yet shalt thou never be found again, saith the Lord GOD.
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The New Testament passage is chapter 3 of the book of James.
James 3
1 My
brethren, be not many masters, knowing that we shall receive the greater
condemnation. 2
For in many things we offend all. If any man offend not in word, the
same is a perfect man, and able also to bridle the whole body.
3 Behold, we put bits
in the horses' mouths, that they may obey us; and we turn about their
whole body. 4
Behold also the ships, which though they be so great, and are driven of
fierce winds, yet are they turned about with a very small helm,
whithersoever the governor listeth.
5 Even so the tongue is a little member, and
boasteth great things. Behold, how great a matter a little fire
kindleth! 6
And the tongue is a fire, a world of iniquity: so is the tongue among
our members, that it defileth the whole body, and setteth on fire the
course of nature; and it is set on fire of hell.
7 For every kind of beasts, and of
birds, and of serpents, and of things in the sea, is tamed, and hath
been tamed of mankind:
8 But the tongue can no man tame; it is an unruly evil, full of
deadly poison. 9
Therewith bless we God, even the Father; and therewith curse we men,
which are made after the similitude of God.
10 Out of the same mouth proceedeth
blessing and cursing. My brethren, these things ought not so to be.
11 Doth a fountain send forth at the same place sweet water and bitter? 12
Can the fig tree, my brethren, bear olive berries? either a vine, figs?
so can no fountain both yield salt water and fresh.
13 Who is a wise man and endued
with knowledge among you? let him shew out of a good conversation his
works with meekness of wisdom.
14 But if ye have bitter envying and strife in your
hearts, glory not, and lie not against the truth.
15 This wisdom descendeth not from above, but is earthly, sensual, devilish. 16 For where envying and strife is, there is confusion and every evil work. 17
But the wisdom that is from above is first pure, then peaceable,
gentle, and easy to be intreated, full of mercy and good fruits, without
partiality, and without hypocrisy.
18 And the fruit of righteousness is sown in peace of them that make peace.
