The Westminster Shorter Catechism definition of God is “God is Spirit, infinite, eternal, and unchangeable in his being, wisdom, power, holiness, justice, goodness, and truth.” Because of God’s holiness, God hates sin. Because of God’s justice, God punishes sin. Because of God’s goodness, God shows mercy to those who repent and turn to Him. Because of God’s truthfulness, we can trust that He is sending a Savior to redeem His people as He promised. We see all of these characteristics of God in today’s reading.

The Israelites were living in total sin and rebellion against the Lord so “The Lord has swallowed up and has not pitied all the dwelling places of Jacob. He has thrown down in His wrath the strongholds of the daughter of Judah.” However, “Through the Lord’s mercies we are not consumed, because His compassions fail not. They are new every morning; great is Your faithfulness.” “The Lord is good to those who wait for Him, to the souls who seek Him. It is good that one should hope and wait quietly for the salvation of the Lord.”

The Lord is working His plan to provide a way for our salvation through His Son, Jesus Christ. “For the Lord will not cast off forever. Though He causes grief, yet He will show compassion according to the multitude of His mercies.”

Tomorrow someone kills the newly appointed governor of Judah. Keep reading.

(Lamentations 2:1-4:22)

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Nebuchadnezzar releases Jeremiah, the man of God who has been telling the people to surrender to the Babylonians, from prison and gives him a choice of staying in Judah or going with him to Babylon. Jeremiah chooses to stay back with the few people who are left in the land. So we see God’s protection over Jeremiah who has faith in the Lord and obeys His Word (I bet Zedekiah wished he had done the same).

Remember Edeb-Melech, the Ethiopian who pulled Jeremiah out of the dungeon? Well the Lord tells Jeremiah to tell Edeb-Melech, “you shall not be given into the hand of the men of whom you are afraid. For I will surely deliver you, and you shall not fall by the sword, but your life shall be as a prize to you, because you have put your trust in Me”. Again we see that the Lord saves the ones who put their trust in Him!

Nebuchadnezzar makes Gedaliah the governor of Judah. He is the son of Ahikam (who saved Jeremiah’s life in our August 4th reading) and grandson of Shaphan (the scribe who found the book of the law during Josiah’s reign in our July 31 reading). The Babylonians burn the house of the Lord and all the great houses, and break down the walls of Jerusalem. They break into pieces the bronze pillars, the carts, and the bronze Sea that was in the temple and take away the pots, shovels, spoons, bronze utensils; “the things of solid gold and solid silver, the captain of the guard took away.” “And those who escaped from the sword he carried away to Babylon, where they became servants to him and his sons until the rule of the kingdom of Persia, to fulfill the word of the Lord by the mouth of Jeremiah, until the land had enjoyed her Sabbaths. As long as she lay desolate she kept Sabbath, to fulfill seventy years.”

So the land will lay desolate for 70 years, counting from the first wave of captivity when Daniel was taken in 605 BC until King Cyrus of Persia will make a decree sending the people of Judah back to rebuild in 537 BC. (From my research, it appears that the 2 year difference is explained through the Israelites calendar system.)

We end today’s reading by beginning the Book of Lamentations with mourning over the destruction of Jerusalem. More from Lamentations tomorrow so keep reading.

(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)

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Yesterday the Lord told Ezekiel that He was going to destroy the Phoenician port city, Tyre. The Lord is destroying Tyre bc they rejoiced over the fall of Jerusalem, thinking that they would profit from Jerusalem’s destruction. Today Ezekiel talks about the riches of Tyre and all the nations that do business with Tyre. Therefore, when Tyre goes down, many nations will mourn bc it will impact them financially. “You satisfied many people; you enriched the kings of the earth with your many luxury goods and your merchandise. But you are broken by the seas in the depths of the waters; your merchandise and the entire company will fall in your midst. All the inhabitants of the isles will be astonished at you.”

See, wealth and power mean nothing without a relationship with the Lord. The people of Tyre are secure in their stuff and believe they are gods. The Lord says, “Because your heart is lifted up because of your riches…I will bring strangers against you..They shall throw you down into the Pit, and you shall die the death of the slain in the midst of the seas.”

In other bad news, Jerusalem falls today. The Chaldeans break through the city wall, “Then they killed the sons of Zedekiah before his eyes, put out the eyes of Zedekiah, bound him with bronze fetters, and took him to Babylon.” 😱 The Babylonians burn the city and take the remnant of people off to Babylon. They leave only the poor who have nothing and give them vineyards and fields.

Meanwhile, Jeremiah is still stuck in prison. Keep reading.

(Ezekiel 26:15-28:26, 2 Kings 25:3-7, Jeremiah 52:6-11, Jeremiah 39:2-10)

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Babylon is invading Jerusalem and Jeremiah is still in the court prison. In the midst of all that, the Lord instructs Jeremiah to buy a field from his cousin. After Jeremiah signs the deed, the Lord says, “Houses and fields and vineyards shall be possessed again in the land.”

Jeremiah is confused bc, for the last 40 years, the Lord has been telling him that judgement will be coming to Judah which will result in Judah’s destruction. So why would Jeremiah want to purchase land? 🤔Jeremiah says to God, “And You have said to me, O Lord God, ’Buy the field for money, and take witness’! – yet the city has been given into the hand of the Chaldeans.” God responds, “Is there anything too hard for me?” The answer to that is NO!! 🙌

The Lord tells Jeremiah that the Babylonians will destroy Jerusalem as He has said, “because the children of Israel and the children of Judah have done only evil before Me from their youth.” But the Lord gives them hope for restoration. He says He will bring them back and give them a new heart “and I will make an everlasting covenant with them; that I will not turn away from doing them good; but I will put My fear in their hearts so that they will not depart from Me.” This will be accomplished through the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ. Later in the Story, Jesus will call His followers His sheep. And He will say that He “gives eternal life to them, and they will never perish; and no one will snatch them out of My hand” (John 10:28).

The Lord speaks about Jesus, the Priest King, who is coming through the bloodline of King David, Judah’s kings. “For thus says the Lord: ‘David shall never lack a man to sit on the throne of the house of Israel; nor shall the priests, the Levites, lack a man to offer burnt offerings before Me, to kindle grain offerings, and to sacrifice continually.’“ Paul will tell us later in the Story that “Christ Jesus is the one who died—more than that, who was raised—who is at the right hand of God, who indeed is interceding for us” (Romans 8:34); “Consequently, he is able to save to the uttermost those who draw near to God through him, since he always lives to make intercession for them” (Hebrews 7:25).

And that’s some good news! Keep reading.

(Jeremiah 32:1-33:26, Ezekiel 26:1-14)

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From today’s reading in the One Year Chronological Bible dated 8/23:

The Lord tells Ezekiel that his wife, “the desire of your eyes”, is going to die and He tells Ezekiel not to mourn. This is another effort to get the attention of the people in captivity and it is an illustration of the destruction about to come upon the temple, the desire of their eyes. ”Behold, I will profane My sanctuary, your arrogant boast, the desire of your eyes, the delight of your soul; and your sons and daughters whom you left behind shall fall by the sword. And you shall do as I have done; you shall not cover your lips nor eat man’s bread of sorrow.”

In Jerusalem, the people are still living in rebellion. Jeremiah rebukes them for not releasing their slaves after 7 years as the Lord had commanded them to do back in the wilderness. (Exodus 21:2)

Jeremiah tells King Zedekiah that God is giving Jerusalem into the hands of Nebuchadnezzar but Zedekiah will not die by the sword. ”Behold, I will give this city into the hand of the king of Babylon, and he shall burn it with fire. And you shall not escape from his hand, but shall surely be taken and delivered into his hand; your eyes shall see the eyes of the king of Babylon, he shall speak with you face to face, and you shall go to Babylon…You shall not die by the sword. You shall die in peace; as in the ceremonies of your fathers, the former kings who were before you.” The Lord is going to let Zedekiah, a descendant of David, die in peace. But, his eyes are going to see something more than just Nebuchadnezzar before they are removed from his head. 😳 That is coming.

Like Isaiah and Jeremiah, Ezekiel proclaims future judgment on Ammon, Moab, Edom and Philistia. Then the Lord turns His attention to Egypt and says, like Assyria, they will be destroyed bc of their pride. Egypt “shall be the lowliest of kingdoms; it shall never again exalt itself above the nations, for I will diminish them so that they will not rule over the nations anymore.”

Disaster is quickly approaching Jerusalem but the Lord gives the people a word of hope tomorrow. Keep reading.

(Ezekiel 24:15-25:17, Jeremiah 34:1-22, Jeremiah 21:1-14, Ezekiel 29:1-16, Ezekiel 30:20-31:18)

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Today Ezekiel compares Samaria, the capital of Northern Israel, and Jerusalem, the capital of Southern Judah, to 2 sisters; Oholah for Samaria and Oholibah for Jerusalem. Both of these sisters were the Lord’s but both played the harlot with others.

The Lord says, “They committed harlotry in Egypt, they committed harlotry in their youth.” Remember before Joshua died he told the people, “Now therefore, fear the Lord, serve Him in sincerity and in truth, and put away the gods which your fathers served on the other side of the River and in Egypt. Serve the Lord!” And all the people said they were going to do that. But they didn’t bc when the generation after Joshua died, the people stopped following the Lord. Well, God has been on a constant pursuit to get them to turn back to Him and He is still working His plan to redeem His people.

Ezekiel says that Samaria played the harlot with the Assyrians. “Therefore I have delivered her into the hand of her lovers, into the hand of the Assyrians, for whom she lusted.”

Her sister, Jerusalem, saw this go down but still didn’t repent and turn to the Lord. “Now although her sister Oholibah saw this, she became more corrupt in her lust than she, and in her harlotry more corrupt than her sister’s harlotry.” So the Lord removed His protection from Jerusalem and is turning them over to their lover, the Babylonians. “Because you have forgotten Me and cast Me behind your back, therefore you shall bear the penalty of your lewdness and your harlotry.”

“Now it came to pass in the ninth year of his reign…that Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon and all his army came against Jerusalem and encamped against it; and they built a siege wall against it all around. So the city was besieged until the eleventh year of King Zedekiah.”

Tomorrow Ezekiel’s wife dies. 😢 Keep reading to find out why the Lord tells him not to mourn her death.

(Ezekiel 22:17-23:49, 2 Kings 25:1-2, Jeremiah 52:4-5, Jeremiah 39:1, Ezekiel 24:1-14)

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The elders of Israel come to Ezekiel to inquire of the Lord. Instead of answering them, Ezekiel retells their story and points out Israel’s rebellion in contrast to God’s mercy.

– When He brought them out of Egypt, “they rebelled against Me and would not obey Me…nor did they forsake the idols of Egypt.”

– In the wilderness the Lord gave them the law and the Sabbath yet “they did not walk in My statues; they despised My judgements…they greatly defiled My Sabbath.”

As a result, the Lord turned them over to themselves and “to statues that were not good, and judgments by which they could not live” with their pagan worship and practices.

God tells the elders that they have been unfaithful, just like their fathers, but the Lord will restore them one day and it won’t be because of anything they have done. He will restore them bc of His mercy and grace and His name’s sake. “Then you shall know that I am the Lord, when I have dealt with you for My name’s sake, not according to your wicked ways nor according to your corrupt doings, O house of Israel.”

Ezekiel once again warns Israel that judgment from Babylon is coming and will impact everyone, both the righteous and the wicked. We live in a broken, fallen world where the righteous are impacted by the actions of the wicked but the difference is that the righteous will only have temporary suffering in the hope of eternity with the Lord.

Tomorrow, Babylon invades Jerusalem so keep reading.

(Ezekiel 20:1-22:16)

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The Lord instructs Ezekiel to speak a riddle about 2 eagles. The eagles represent Babylon and Egypt. The riddle reveals that King Zedekiah rebelled against Babylon by, “Sending his ambassadors to Egypt, that they might give him horses and many people.”

Nebuchadnezzar made Zedekiah king over Jerusalem but Zedekiah despised the oath by breaking the covenant that he had with Babylon. Therefore, he would not receive any help from Egypt and he would die in the midst of Babylon.

Ezekiel confronts the complaining captives who blame their captivity on the sins of the previous generations. Ezekiel says each person is responsible for his own actions. 🤔 I know…this is a hard concept for people to accept, even today, but it is true with the Lord. “The soul who sins shall die. The son shall not bear the guilt of the father, nor the father bear the guilt of the son. The righteousness of the righteous shall be upon himself, and the wickedness of the wicked shall be upon himself.”

God makes clear that He takes no pleasure in punishing the wicked but His nature can not let sin go unpunished. His desire is for the people to repent of their sin and turn to Him. “Repent and turn from all of your transgressions, so that iniquity will not be your ruin…For I have no pleasure in the death of one who dies…Therefore turn and live!”

Ezekiel then laments over the kings. He says there is a lioness, Judah, and her 2 cubs: 1) King Jehoahaz who reigned 3 months and was taken to Egypt where he died and 2) King Jehoiachin who was taken into captivity with Ezekiel. Both of these kings ignored God’s Word. Now the cowardly King Zedekiah is sitting on the throne as the last king of Judah.

Keep reading.

(Ezekiel 17:1-19:14)

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From today’s reading in the One Year Chronological Bible dated 8/19:

Today the Lord says that the people are so persistent in their

unfaithfulness that “Even if these men, Noah, Daniel, and Job, were in it, they would deliver only themselves by their righteousness.” Basically, even these 3 great men of faith couldn’t intercede for the people at this point.

The Lord is sending “four judgments on Jerusalem – the sword and famine and wild beast and pestilence…Yet behold, there shall be left in it a remnant who will be brought out, both sons and daughters.”

The Lord compares Jerusalem to an unfaithful wife. God says He cared for her from her birth through His covenant with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, and He raised her, clothing her in fine linens and jewels. However, Jerusalem is guilty of several things:

– “you trusted in your own beauty, played the harlot because of your fame”

– “you have slain My children and offered them up to [Molech] by causing them to pass through the fire”

– “you built for yourself a shrine, and made a high place for yourself on every street”

– “you multiplied your acts of harlotry as far as the land of the trader, Chaldea; and even then you were not satisfied”

God tells Jerusalem that she is worse than her older and younger sisters, Sodom and Samaria. But after her punishment, the Lord will restore Jerusalem as well as her sisters. The Lord is pointing to a future time when the Gospel will go out from Jerusalem to the Gentiles. “Nevertheless I will remember My covenant with you in the days of your youth, and I will establish an everlasting covenant with you. Then you will remember your ways and be ashamed, when you receive your older and your younger sisters; for I will give them to you for daughters, but not because of My covenant with you. And I will establish My covenant with you. Then you shall know that I am the Lord, that you may remember and be ashamed, and never open your mouth anymore because of your shame, when I provide you an atonement for all you have done.”

This new covenant and atonement is coming through the arrival of Jesus Christ so keep reading .

(Ezekiel 14:1-16:63)

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Today Ezekiel sees another vision with the temple of the Lord and the 4 creatures and the 4 wheels that he saw in the first vision. “Then the glory of the Lord went up from the cherub, and paused over the threshold of the temple…” “Then the glory of the Lord departed from the threshold of the temple and stood over the cherubim.”

The Lord has Ezekiel pronounce judgment over the leaders, “For you have not walked in My statues nor executed My judgments, but have done according to the customs of the Gentiles which are all around you.” The Lord is going to do what He says and destroy Jerusalem for the wickedness and lack of repentance from the people.

However, one day the Lord will gather the remnant, “Then I will give them one heart, and I will put a new spirit within them, and take the stony heart out of their flesh, and give them a heart of flesh, that they may walk in My statutes and keep My judgments and do them, and they shall be My people and I will be their God.”

The presence of the Lord then departs the temple. “And the glory of the Lord went up from the midst of the city and stood on the mountain, which is on the east side of the city.” This is the Mount of Olives where Jesus will one day sit and explain to his disciples the second coming and end times when Jesus will return. Jesus will tell them that after the tribulation, “He will send out His angels with a loud trumpet call, and they will gather His elect from the four winds, from one end of heaven to the other” (Matthew 24:31). The Lord is patient with His judgment bc His desire is for all to reach repentance. As Peter will later tell us, “The Lord is not slow to fulfill His promise as some count slowness, but is patient toward you, not wishing that any should perish, but that all should reach repentance” (2 Peter 3:9).

The Lord has been patient with the Israelites. He has sent prophet after prophet to warn them but there is an expiration date and His judgment will occur just like it will upon Jesus’s second coming. So God has Ezekiel tell the Israelites, “The days are at hand, and the fulfillment of every vision. For no more shall there be any false vision or flattering divination within the house of Israel. For I am the Lord, I speak, and the word which I speak will come to pass.”

Keep reading.

(Ezekiel 10:1-13:23)

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