2 Kings 23:1-20
2 Chronicles
34:29-33
2 Kings 23:21-28
2 Chronicles 35:1-19
Nahum 1:1-3:19
It is a moving
contrast to read of Josiah’s amazing, sweeping reforms and then read of
Every time I read of
how thorough – how totally committed Josiah was to serving the Lord and to use
his authority to insure that others served Him too, I am thrilled and
humbled. Where can we go to find such
complete and total love for God? Can we
go to my house? I don’t think so! Can we go to your house? Doubtful.
J This guy simply did not care about popularity
or what things looked like to others. He
didn’t worry about going over the deep end or what others would think.
And how timely it is
to include Nahum at this point to show the ultimate end of a nation, which
persists in idolatry and debauchery.
Sometimes I wonder how God sees
August 2
Habakkuk 1:1-3:19
Zephaniah 1:1-2:7
Habakkuk questioned God in his vision.
I am struck by his assumption that God “cannot allow sin in any
form.” I suppose it is the sense in
which we take that statement, because God does
allow sin for the time being, but He does not allow sin to go unpunished
forever. Romans 9 tells us He tolerates
it for a time. Some of the extreme
theologians on one end foolishly figure that God is the cause of sin and
extremists on the other end foolishly figure that God is unable to do anything
about sin much less cause it. Both are
heresy. God is holy and will not
tolerate sin indefinitely. All of it will
be dealt with. But God is also love and
He is not willing that any should perish.
And so He personally deals with the penalty for sin by sending His own
Son to suffer, die, and be raised again.
All those who believe can have His righteousness to present to God. Habakkuk 3:17-19 is one of my favorite
passages – wonderful words to live by.
August 3
Zephaniah 2:8-3:20
2 Chronicles 35:20-27
2 Kings 23:29-30
Jeremiah 47:1-48:47
The principle element that strikes me (in today’s reading) is the
scathing judgment pronounced on
And so we see the same with
As before, when I read of Josiah’s death due to his foolish behavior, I
am sad. His reforms were incredible and
His commitment to God and His service are amazing. It seems His only failures may have been poor
parenting and staying out of
August 4
2 Chronicles 36:1-4
2 Kings 23:31-37
2 Chronicles 36:5
Jeremiah 22:1-23
Jeremiah 26:1-24
2 Kings 24:1-4
Jeremiah 25:1-14
Three things strike me this morning as I read: 1) Josiah’s parenting skills, 2) Jeremiah’s
faithfulness to a deadly ministry, and 3) The clarity of prophecy and its
fulfillment.
I can understand how my children might have problems being true to the
Christian faith. It was only in their
later childhood years that I began to be a proper example to them. If anything, they were confused because most
of their childhood they were raised to be materialists. Today, they appear to be growing in their
understanding of Christ and the Bible and it seems to be affecting their lifestyles
in a positive way. But Josiah was
committed to the Lord consistently from childhood – what happened to his
kids? These guys were not nice at
all! Also Jeremiah blows my mind – this
kid enters a ministry in which he is assured of a poor response and yet he is
completely faithful. And the 70-year
prophecy should convince anyone of the validity of Scriptures! There simply is no book in world history that
comes close to the Bible. It is divinely
inspired and it proves it – not with a good track record – with a perfect track record! Wow!
August 5
Jeremiah 25:15-38
Jeremiah 36:1-32
Jeremiah 45:1-46:28
It appears that Jeremiah literally went to all these countries and
cities, speaking all the words of judgment from the Lord. Wow, talk about the bearer of bad news! It seems to me that someone bringing that
kind of news to these many rulers would be killed early but apparently God
protected him. There is no indication
that any recipient of his message paid heed and repented, except maybe some of
the officials in the
The information about the materials that Baruch used to write with and
how he wrote is interesting to me; and has provided valuable data for the
scholars who study the history of writing.
He used ink and a scroll and wrote in columns.
No matter how many times I read about Jehoiakim destroying the scroll
with
August 6
Jeremiah 19:1-20:18
Daniel 1:1-21
Jeremiah is such a powerful symbol of God’s love to His people, but the people
did not want God’s love because His love is true. It does not hide the truth. And people who love their sin do not want to
be told the truth that their sin is destroying them. They will even claim that the person exposing
their sin is hateful – not loving. They
will say, “If you were a loving person you would accept me as I am.” Well, frankly God does accept them as they
are, but He loves them too much to allow them to stay that way. Love does not whitewash sin – it exposes
it. Love is not a lie – it is
truth. And that is why it is not
popular, because the truth can be very painful to one who loves open sin. Pashhur went the way we all go if we reject
the truth – the way of destruction.
Daniel was like Jeremiah in that being true to God was a passion, a fire
that dominated his behavior and he did not count his physical life more
important than obeying God.
August 7
Daniel 2:1-3:30
Jeremiah 7:1-8:3
If it is possible to be excited and sobered at the same time, then that
is the case when I consider the commitment of the 4 Hebrews of Daniel. They did not live for the preservation of
their flesh; they lived for the glorification of their God. There is every indication that they worked
hard to learn everything that Nebuchadnezzar wanted them to learn. They simply performed their assigned duties
as advisors and administrators as if they were doing them for the Lord, which
they were. It has always amazed me how
ungrateful the “wise” men were to Daniel.
If it wasn’t for him, they could have all wound up in the fiery furnace.
Of course, any skeptic would call the account of the 3 Hebrews and the
fiery furnace a nonsensical child’s fable.
But we who have had to walk through our own fires of life, understand
what God can do. It is not a stretch for
the child of God to believe this account is literal. The reply of the 3 Hebrews to Nebuchadnezzar
is classic but would not be popular on some so-called Christian network
shows. Faithfulness to the Lord should
never be based on any physical benefit whatsoever including physical
deliverance from death.
August 8
Jeremiah 8:4-11:23
Several things came to mind this morning as God spoke from the pages of
His Book. I will try to write a little
of it. The one inescapable activity of
the mind when reading this text is to wonder how close
We also see many proofs that God has commands that are not obeyed. Those commands represent something He wants
to happen but they do not happen. While
we know He has foreknowledge of this and while He has an overall plan that He
is working exactly as decreed, it is foolish to think that He does not really
want these commands to be obeyed. And it
is foolish to think that He commands and we are not able. Ah, but we are not able of ourselves.
Only by God’s grace, are we made able.
But the ability to receive is only genuine if there is the ability to
reject. Prior to His enablement, there
is only rejection; after enablement, the option of acceptance is added. Problem is, once enabled, most still choose
to disobey. He sends His Son. He sends His Spirit. He gives His grace. He is unwilling that any should perish. He desires all to come to repentance. His love is not a façade. His love is real.
August 9
Jeremiah 12:1-15:21
Jeremiah and the Lord both seem to have alternating episodes of sorrow
and anger. Jeremiah, who has wept so bitterly
for his people and the land becomes impatient apparently and asks God to “drag
these people away like helpless sheep to be butchered!” So much for weeping. I suppose the harshest punishment is
deserved, but the language is a little startling.
The Lord replies with what seems to be a bit of a rebuke and He expresses
both anger and love for His people. But
throughout this section He speaks strongly about the judgment that will be
completed against the people. It is
terrible, but of course the people were warned repeatedly, and ignored the
warnings while persecuting the messenger.
And yet, right in the midst of the proclamations of harsh calamity, in
August 10
Jeremiah 16:1-18:23
Jeremiah 35:1-19
Jeremiah is thought to have been forbidden to marry (16:2), but I am not
sure this verse says that. It looks to
me like God has given Jeremiah a message to deliver to others. So I do not think that the message is specifically
for Jeremiah, but for all in
God’s message of coming judgment continues to be interspersed with His
message of hope and His call to repent.
I love the testimony of the Recabites.
No matter how pathetic the human race looks, God always has those who
are faithful and good servants. Father,
bring me to such a place, and my children as well.
August 11
Jeremiah 49:1-33
2 Kings 24:5-7
2 Chronicles 36:6-8
2 Kings 24:8-9
2 Chronicles 36:9
Jeremiah 22:24-23:32
We now turn to other nations/cities.
We will return to judgments regarding
Even after all that has happened to
August 12
Jeremiah
Jeremiah 29:1-31:14
If this section teaches anything (and it does), it teaches that we should
not deviate from God’s pure Word. We
should not be guided by feel-good wishful thinking, but only by that which is
pure and holy, no matter how uncomfortable it may be to us. Selfish people are ultimately
self-destructive, but those who live for God and for others are fulfilled with
the joy of the Lord no matter what happens in the world around them.
These people in exile were told by God, through Jeremiah, that they could
have peace; but only through the Word of God.
If they live by their own word or the words of a false prophet there
will be no peace – only disaster.
We must be still… and know that Jesus is Lord – that God is on His throne
- and that He is our only deliverance – our only restoration. Father, we have no worthiness – but You have
drawn us close through Jesus.
August 13
Jeremiah 31:15-40
Jeremiah 49:34-51:14
This section is rich with mercy to God’s people and thorough with
judgment for their oppressors. We start
on a sad note of weeping in Ramah which of course causes us to think of the
incredible anguish to come to Bethlehem centuries later when Herod has all the
male children under 2 years old killed.
But God sends the message of restoration.
Let all the mother’s who love the Lord and have lost children in infancy
know that they shall be restored to their children. The resurrection changes everything! Where all hope was gone, the assurance of joy
is now a reality. So it is with Israel
and Judah, and so it is with all of the circumcised of heart.
And the boom is lowered on Babylon.
Its fate is assured and since we have hindsight to confirm what was
written in foresight, we know how thorough that fate was.
August 14
Jeremiah 51:15-58
2 Chronicles 36:10
2 Kings 24:10-17
1 Chronicles 3:10-16
2 Chronicles 36:11-14
Jeremiah 52:1-3a
2 Kings 24:18-20
Jeremiah 37:1-10
Praise God! Jeremiah has offered a
simple but profound hymn of praise to the Lord.
It is powerfully charged with an acknowledgment of the Lordship of the
Almighty, the logic (or rather illogic) of the foolishness of idolatry, and the
sovereignty of God.
This section leaves no stone unturned in its proclamation of the judgment
of Babylon. From an earthly standpoint,
the prophecy would seem absolutely impossible to the people of that day; but of
course, we know the outcome and we know that kingdoms come and kingdoms go; but
God remains forever enthroned above all.
And by the power of His own Name, He will establish His Kingdom on this
earth, bringing His righteousness and His saints with Him. Praise the Lord!
While it amazes me that Zedekiah would follow an evil path, God provides
a light in this account that exposes some of my own actions.
August 15
Jeremiah 37:11-38:28
Ezekiel 1:1-3:15
The reading today is quite a roller coaster. First Jeremiah is brought through some
overwhelming trials in which he is falsely accused by some folks (mostly
religious) who want to kill him. But
God, true to His Word, rescues Jeremiah every time. Zedekiah seems like such a foolish
person. He seems to know that Jeremiah
has God’s Word, but when Jeremiah instructs him, he is afraid to obey, even
though he is assured by Jeremiah that he will be safe if he obeys. But no dice – it just makes no sense and yet
I know people who are that way. To be
honest, there are things in my life that have been similarly inconsistent.
Regarding Ezekiel and his opening vision, if this wasn’t the Word of God
and he wasn’t a prophet of God, I would say he needs to get to a rehab
center! His vision is a real mindblower!
But of course it all comes with a
powerful message that speaks of the grace and glory of God. Ezekiel’s commission was very bitter to him,
but he was compelled to do it.
August 16
Ezekiel 3:16-4:17
Jeremiah 27:1-28:17
Jeremiah 51:59-64
This account of Ezekiel’s call from God seems more encouraging because
God says “some will listen.” But it is
also very sobering when it pronounces a divine curse on Ezekiel if he does not
deliver the message God gives him. The
tenor of those words from God should cause us all, even today, to be sobered
about our neglect to deliver the warning that God has clearly given us to
deliver. The Bible that we have gives us
the Word of God in a more convenient form than we can even imagine. It is available to even the poorest folks in
this country and in every conceivable translation and language style. It has been taught from pulpits for centuries
in every remote area of this land. We
have no excuse for silence. If we choose
not to tell of the goodness of God in salvation through His Son, does it mean
we have not truly discovered that goodness (or have we simply lost our first
love)? Surely we have not yet been
caught up by the breadth and depth and height, if we feel no compulsion to
share the news.
The assignments of God to Ezekiel and Jeremiah are so radical and present
images so outlandish, that it can only speak of God’s intense love for His
people and the people of the world.
August 17
Ezekiel 5:1-9:11
The illustration that Ezekiel was commanded to perform seems odd to
me. One cannot help but see the anger of
the Lord, but notice also the heartbreak of the Lord.
Throughout this section after every word of judgment proclaimed, it is
finished with the words, “you (or they) will know that I am the Lord.” It is beyond comprehension that anyone would
desire to embrace Jesus as Savior but reject Him as Lord. The Bible simply does not support such
thinking. The conception of such
thinking is extra-biblical (indeed, anti-biblical) and must remain so.
We are sinners but unless our attitude changes toward sin – unless we
repent, God will not be a Father to us.
This will not make us sinless, but the process of sanctification will be
initiated because we have a whole new attitude toward sin. And as we draw closer to God and grow in the
Spirit and in His Word, we will recognize and hate and reject sin more (and
more).
August 18
Ezekiel 5:1-9:11
Zedekiah and the false prophets in Jerusalem continue to mislead the
people and this infuriates the Lord.
Judgment has come to the people.
God will save some and turn their hearts to Him, but most will
perish. Other true prophets have spoken
to this situation as directed by God – as far back as Isaiah. But God wants Ezekiel to speak specifically
to the false prophets, both male and female, regarding His judgment of their
actions.
I am amazed (even as I look at the first paragraph of chapter 10) how
many times “the Lord” is in the text.
Often it is “the sovereign Lord.”
We would do well to realize that even when it is not so explicit; the Lord
is always present in the text of His Word.
God says He “will take away their hearts of stone and give them tender
hearts.” The context clearly illustrates
the responsibility of man, but here we see the commitment of God. May we bow and know that this is possible in
God’s economy.
August 19
Ezekiel 14:1-16:63
Grace, grace, wonderful grace. To
truly appreciate grace, one must see sin as it really is. And we can only do that by seeing God as He
really is – holy, holy, holy!
We see in chapter 14 the worst kind of idols – idols in the heart. This is the nature of
August 20
Ezekiel 17:1-19:14
Chapters 17 and 19 speak most vividly and directly to Zedekiah and the
princes of Israel. They are busted,
plain and simple. And of course, we have
an advantage they did not have – hindsight.
[On second thought, I suppose they had plenty of hindsight, didn’t
they?] We do not need much faith to
believe confirmed history. But what
about the future? We know of the
foolishness of Zedekiah in not believing what the prophet of God had to say
about the future. What do we believe
about our future? Some prophets of today
speak of judgment while others cry peace.
But can a just and holy God tolerate the sins of our country forever?
Chapter 18 speaks perfectly within the context of the chapter before and
after it. But it seems it speaks loudly
to every generation. And most notable is
the repetition. There seems to be a
strong commitment to insure no misunderstanding. Perhaps this is to clear up the misconception
that the concept of generational curses was ever a valid concept. Some would say the Scriptures show it
certainly was so. But hasn’t it always
been true that future generations tend to naturally suffer the repercussions of
their father’s actions? Indeed it can
often take several generations to weaken the grip of the mistakes of our
ancestors. Doesn’t that simple truth
reconcile the apparent paradox in the Scriptures on this subject?
August 21
Ezekiel 20:1-22:16
These leaders that came to Ezekiel are amazing. They had to be clueless. And they are so like contemporary Christian
culture in America. Just live like the
devil and then bring our offerings to God.
But He says here, He will not accept such offerings. So this section is filled with the
delineation of God’s judgment on Jerusalem.
God does speak of His restoration of His people but the words given to
that are few.
There are brief breaks to mention judgment against the Negev and the
judgment of the Ammonites. Step-by-step
God has chronicled the sins of Israel and the leaders cannot respond truthfully
against God’s words.
God frequently uses phrases like “I gave them over to…” or “I allowed
them to…” Such phrases would be
meaningless if we accepted the theology that states a sovereign God cannot
employ the will of the creature into His plan of love.
August 22
Ezekiel 22:17-23:49
2 Kings 24:20b-25:2
Jeremiah 52:3b-5
Jeremiah 39:1
Ezekiel 24:1-14
The illustration of the Refiner’s furnace should get anyone’s attention,
but I found it interesting that the word “crucible” was used in 22:19. I suppose this would be a product of the
practice of paraphrasing. It’s just that
the word would not have even been used back then. It is considerably more modern and was formed
from a root word that recognizes the cross of Jesus Christ.
I have to write here that I hope that some people heard these things and
repented. It is obvious that most did
not. It seems to me that to incur the
enmity of God is something to fear and to desperately desire reconciliation
with the Father is of incalculable value.
The story of Oholah and Oholibah is a very sad and pathetic illustration,
but even worse is the real thing.
Jerusalem is finally under siege in this section.
August 23
Ezekiel 24:15-25:17
Jeremiah 34:1-22
Jeremiah 21:1-14
Ezekiel 29:1-16
Ezekiel 30:20-31:18
How can we, with our feeble human minds, comprehend the commitment of
Ezekiel and the goodness of God? Do we
have the faith that looks for a city whose builder and maker is God? Or do we look to build our own empire on
earth? Our time here on earth is not to
be belittled as unimportant. It is of
the greatest importance what decision is made here. And the decision regards – where will you
grow roots? How valuable do you hold
your earthly existence? Heaven’s bliss
and God’s presence is my inheritance. By
God’s grace I shall not settle for less.
Ezekiel demonstrated this perspective when he obeyed God even as he lost
the companionship of his wife.
I find the narrative in Ezekiel 31:1-18 regarding Eden, the Garden of
God, fascinating. We find amazing
commentary on the nature of the trees in the Garden. They are national structures – empires of
great civilizations.
August 24
Jeremiah 32:1-33:26
Ezekiel 26:1-14
Ezekiel and Jeremiah continue to speak to Israel with words from the
Lord. Jeremiah is imprisoned because of
it. Apparently they do not want him
damaging the morale of the doomed people.
But even from prison he continues.
However, this time his message is one of restoration. Considerable verses are used in which God
tells the people that the city will be both destroyed and restored.
The big debate nowadays is whether or not the promise to always have a
descendant of David on the throne of David, should be considered literal or
spiritual. Will the people of Israel be
a nation forever? Does Israel really no
longer exist after 70 A.D.? Is Israel
replaced by the Church of the New Testament?
All of these questions are provocative in debates today. But of course, the Bible is so clear on this
that to try to spiritualize it away would be grossly subjective with God’s
Word. And then add to that, the events
of the last 60 years. The evidence
begins to be overwhelming. Those that
refute all this begin to appear as desperately flailing around with foolish
theories.
God certainly grafts in the Gentiles, but as of 1948 (reinforced by 1967
and current events), we begin to see the Bible (as always) means what it
says. God is not through with Israel.
August 25
Ezekiel 26:15-28:26
2 Kings 25:3-7
Jeremiah 52:6-11
Jeremiah 39:2-10
The extent of the attention given to Tyre is amazing for two reasons. The first: Tyre was inarguably one of the
most amazing cities in world history.
And the second: God wants us to know this. We even find the parallel here between the
physical ruler of Tyre and the spiritual ruler of Tyre. This parallel is demonstrated in the pride
and fall of both. The scope of this
city’s glory may have even exceeded the glory of Jerusalem in Solomon’s
day. I don’t think an earthly kingdom
(other than perhaps Israel) has ever been quite so carefully described to us by
God as this one was. The fall of Tyre is
indeed great, but the text is careful to let us know how thorough the fall
is. Everything, down to the very dust is
to be scraped clean and cast into the sea.
This was so impossible sounding and so detailed that when it came true,
the world was given one of the most powerful evidences of the divine origin of
the Bible.
The final destruction of Jerusalem is also in this section. It is brief, complete, and sad.
August 26
Jeremiah 39:11-18
Jeremiah 40:1-6
2 Kings 25:8-21
Jeremiah 52:12-27
2 Chronicles 36:15-21
Lamentations 1:1-22
It is hard but interesting to imagine what it must have been like for
Jeremiah. From a personal standpoint we
have to believe that he did not fret much but trusted God. But we know from a national standpoint he
mourned greatly for the city of Jerusalem.
It kind of surprises me how informed Nebuchadnezzar seemed to be about
Jeremiah. But it makes sense. How did he receive his info? I suppose from people like Daniel. From the words of Nebuzaradan to Jeremiah
(right before he removed his chains), we can see that Nebuchadnezzar and his
leaders believed that they were (in some ways) instruments of the God of the
Jews, sent to punish them for their sins.
That is fascinating. Of course,
we know from Daniel that Nebuchadnezzar had a vacillating, but growing faith in
the God of Israel. We can look more
tomorrow at the inspiration of the Lamentations of Jeremiah.
August 27
Lamentations 2:1-4:22
God does not wink at sin. You can be
as the skeptic when he reads these things and say that this God is vindictive
and childish, but you measure foolishly from earth and from sinful flesh. When you are God and perfectly holy and when
you create the world and the universe with all its galaxies from nothing but
your own word – then you will have the ability to understand. God does not wink at sin. He hates it.
But He loves the sinner so much – He is so merciful that He always makes
a way to escape.
All of this terrible anger should take us to the cross, because it is
there that God poured out all His wrath on sin.
Without that sacrifice we are without protection in the day of God’s
wrath. We must put on the righteousness
of Jesus Christ through faith. Believe
Him – repent – confess – call for mercy, and you will find a Father Who is rich
in mercy.
August 28
Lamentations 5:1-22
Obadiah 1:1-21
2 Kings 25:22-26
Jeremiah 40:7-41:18
I do not know the availability of Jeremiah’s laments, but I just wonder,
if Ishmael had access to them would it have made any difference. It seems his heart was just given to
viciousness and ugliness.
This section could easily be entitled, BSYSWFYO - Be Sure You Sins Will Find You Out. We begin with the Lamentation of Jeremiah
over the plight of the remaining Israelites (BSYSWFYO). Then we have the cruel, arrogant, and foolish
Edomites, upon whom God pronounces the judgment of total destruction because
they participated with the Babylonians in the destruction of their brother
Israelites. (BSYSWFYO). Then we have the foolish naivety of Gedaliah
and the senseless cruelty of Ishmael, not to mention the king of Ammon. (BSYSWFYO).
One of the biggest weaknesses of some is shortsightedness – missing the
big picture. (BSYSWFYO). May God have mercy on us.
August 29
Jeremiah 42:1-44:30
Ezekiel 33:21-33
What an amazing section and how much the people are like the people of
America. In fact, even though I honestly
believe I would do differently than these stubborn people, the truth is I would
likely do exactly the same. It is only
the Spirit of God and the meekness and teachability He brings into a heart that
would keep me (or anyone else) from such foolishness. But God promised them (so clearly) protection
and care, and these people seem to have some sense of the truth; but they were
so attached to their idolatrous way of life.
Their survival had made them arrogant and foolish instead of broken and
humble. God had already decided to bring
judgment on Egypt and He did not want the people of Israel to walk into the
path of that terrible judgment. There
are two powerful statements in this section that should always be
remembered. Both are from God.
1)
Jeremiah 44:7, “Why are you destroying yourselves?”
2)
Ezekiel 33:31, “They express love with their mouths,
but their hearts seek only after money.”
Truly, there is nothing new under the sun.
August 30
Ezekiel 34:1-36:38
I am a little unsure what is meant by “shepherd.” The verses say it means “lender of the
people.” I just am not sure if it refers
to political or religious leaders or both.
But regardless, I think all modern-day pastors should be greatly sobered
by these verses. They have a tremendous
responsibility of benevolence to their flock which must be placed before their
own pursuits. They do not have to fret
about personal perfection in their performance.
It is rather a heart thing. They
must rather love their people with Christ-like love.
The Lord has left no stone unturned in exposing Edom for the evil toward
his brother Israel. Judgment is detailed
and the coming terror is assured.
Whether God is pronouncing judgment or restoration (as in the case of
Israel), the end result is always, “Then you will know that I am the Lord!” May we see and surrender fully to His
sovereignty today.
August 31
Ezekiel 37:1-39:29
Ezekiel 32:1-16
The verses in this section have to be uncomfortable for certain
eschatologies. There was a time when
arbitrarily allegorizing all this could have brought comfort to their belief
system, but way too much has happened in world history regarding Israel. And it has all taken place (literally not
allegorically) according to Scriptures.
Of course, it will continue to do so.
This section is one of restoration of Israel and even though her future
includes a vast army coming against her, the army will be completely destroyed.
Many teach that the Church is the New Israel and that we became Jews by
faith through the circumcision of the heart.
But the tenor of these verses is clearly literal. They should be taken that way. God will always remember His covenant and
Israel will be grafted in again.
Ó
2004 C. E. Briggs