Ezekiel 24:1-14. I have had this exact reading before - It is God telling Ezekiel that on this very day Babylon is laying siege to Jerusalem. He gives the allegory of a pot put on the fire and all the choicest pieces of meat put in, then the flame is increased until even the pot itself is consumed. For Jerusalem is the bloody city, the rusted pot. He has wearied himself in vain trying to cleanse the people of the city, but they would not be cleansed. So now he is allowing their total destruction - he will not repent, he will not go back.

I almost searched for another reading for today, since I had this exact same one in The Point of No Return. But I decided God gave it to me again today for a reason, and as I think about it I may be coming to what that reason is. Today is oral argument day in Dobbs v. Jackson Women's Health. I am praying so hard that this is the beginning of a turnaround in our country. I really do believe that the sexual revolution, birth control, abortion, and the attendant focus on self and pleasure above all else - all of these things have made us as evil and complacent as Jerusalem was at the time Babylon conquered it.

Also, this week the Ghislaine Maxwell trial began, and I think that could be a slight opportunity to see some of the "choices pieces of meat being put in the pot." Many of the people associated with her and with Jeffrey Epstein were engaged in truly evil things - using children as objects for their own pleasure (a further sign of our dehumanization of the most vulnerable). I don't know if we will ever see them punished, but God knows what they have done. Even if they just think they may be exposed, that could be a catalyst for them to change, to allow God to cleanse them!

All of these things seem to be coming together at this time for a reason. God is giving us opportunities to cleanse ourselves - individually and as a nation. I don't think he has given up on us yet. I think this is another chance - maybe one of our last ones. Let's pray that we start scouring out the thick rust from our own lives and from our nation (and from our world) before he has to do it by fire.