Study Desk

The moment you began praying, a command was given. And now I am here to tell you what it was, for you are very precious to God. Listen carefully so that you can understand the meaning of your vision.

And the man said to me, "Daniel, you are very precious to God, so listen carefully to what I have to say to you. Stand up, for I have been sent to you." When he said this to me, I stood up, still trembling.

Then he said, "Don't be afraid, Daniel. Since the first day you began to pray for understanding and to humble yourself before your God, your request has been heard in heaven. I have come in answer to your prayer.

"Don't be afraid," he said, "for you are very precious to God. Peace! Be encouraged! Be strong!" As he spoke these words to me, I suddenly felt stronger and said to him, "Please speak to me, my lord, for you have strengthened me."

He will flatter and win over those who have violated the covenant. But the people who know their God will be strong and will resist him.

"The king will do as he pleases, exalting himself and claiming to be greater than every god, even blaspheming the God of gods. He will succeed, but only until the time of wrath is completed. For what has been determined will surely take place.

He will have no respect for the gods of his ancestors, or for the god loved by women, or for any other god, for he will boast that he is greater than them all.

Instead of these, he will worship the god of fortresses—a god his ancestors never knew—and lavish on him gold, silver, precious stones, and expensive gifts.

But I will show love to the people of Judah. I will free them from their enemies—not with weapons and armies or horses and charioteers, but by my power as the Lord their God."

And the Lord said, "Name him Lo-ammi—‘Not my people'—for Israel is not my people, and I am not their God.

"Yet the time will come when Israel's people will be like the sands of the seashore—too many to count! Then, at the place where they were told, ‘You are not my people,' it will be said, ‘You are children of the living God.'

Then the people of Judah and Israel will unite together. They will choose one leader for themselves, and they will return from exile together. What a day that will be—the day of Jezreel—when God will again plant his people in his land.

Then the earth will answer the thirsty cries of the grain, the grapevines, and the olive trees. And they in turn will answer, ‘Jezreel'—‘God plants!'

At that time I will plant a crop of Israelites and raise them for myself. I will show love to those I called ‘Not loved.' And to those I called ‘Not my people,' I will say, ‘Now you are my people.' And they will reply, ‘You are our God!'"

But afterward the people will return and devote themselves to the Lord their God and to David's descendant, their king. In the last days, they will tremble in awe of the Lord and of his goodness.

Hear the word of the Lord , O people of Israel! The Lord has brought charges against you, saying: "There is no faithfulness, no kindness, no knowledge of God in your land.

My people are being destroyed because they don't know me. Since you priests refuse to know me, I refuse to recognize you as my priests. Since you have forgotten the laws of your God, I will forget to bless your children.

The more priests there are, the more they sin against me. They have exchanged the glory of God for the shame of idols.

They ask a piece of wood for advice! They think a stick can tell them the future! Longing after idols has made them foolish. They have played the prostitute, serving other gods and deserting their God.

Your deeds won't let you return to your God. You are a prostitute through and through, and you do not know the Lord .