Jehoahaz, an evil king, only reigns for 3 months before the king of Egypt, Necho, takes him off to captivity in Egypt. Necho then puts Jehoahaz’s brother Eliakim on the throne and changes his name to Jehoiakim.

Jehoiakim taxes the people to pay Egypt the silver and gold demanded by Necho. Jehoiakim is also a wicked king so the Lord sends Jeremiah with messages for both Jehoahaz and Jehoiakim, the sons of Josiah. Jeremiah tells them that the palace will be destroyed; Jehoahaz, “Shall die in the place where they have led him captive”; and Jehoiakim shall have a disgraceful burial and be, “Dragged and cast out beyond the gates of Jerusalem.”

Then Jeremiah, standing outside the temple, warns the people to turn from their evil ways and heed the words of the Lord or He, “Will make this city a curse to all the nations of the earth.” Well, this message from the Lord is not what the people want to hear so they tell Jeremiah – “You will surely die!” 😳 But Jeremiah does not back down. He says do what you want but if you kill me just know that you will have innocent blood on your hands bc the Lord sent me with His Words. 💪

Others come to the defense of Jeremiah. They say remember when Micah also spoke against Jerusalem during the reign of Hezekiah and no one killed him. In fact, it led the people to repentance. So Jeremiah escapes death with the intervention of Ahikam, the son of Shaphan who was Josiah’s scribe during the religious reform.

After 3 years of being a vassal nation of Babylon, Jehoiakim rebels against the Babylonians. Therefore the Lord sends raiding bands, “Against Judah to destroy it, according to the word of the Lord which He has spoken by His servants the prophets.” Jeremiah says since the people would never listen to the Lord, He is going to send them off to captivity, “And this whole land shall be a desolation and an astonishment, and these nations shall serve the king of Babylon seventy years.”

After 70 years, the Lord will judge Babylon for their sins and bring His people home.

In a couple of days, the Divided Kingdom Era ends and we begin the Captivity Era so keep reading.

(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)

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Zephaniah announces judgement against His people’s enemies. Yesterday he said the Lord will destroy the Philistines and their coast land will be left for the remnant of Judah that will be brought out of captivity. Today he proclaims judgment against Moab and Amnon, Lot’s descendants, who have continually attacked the Israelites. Zephaniah says the Lord will destroy them like Sodom and Gomorrah and then His people will posses their land.

Highlighting God’s sovereignty over all the nations, Zephaniah says the Lord will also cut down Ethiopia and Assyria bc of their wickedness. Then Zephaniah turns his attention to the city of Jerusalem who has not obeyed the voice of God.

The Lord will pour His anger out on the nations but, “Then I will restore to the people a pure language, that they all may call on the name of the Lord, to serve Him with one accord.” The Lord tells Jerusalem, once He saves and restores them, He will rejoice over them with gladness and singing.

This restoration will ultimately come through the Savior. Later in the Story an angel will explain to Mary, the mother of Jesus – “He will be great and will be called the Son of the Most High. And the Lord God will give to him the throne of his father David, and he will reign over the house of Jacob forever, and of his kingdom there will be no end” (Luke 1:32-33). 🙌

We also learn today that Josiah dies in battle bc he did not heed God’s warning to not interfere with Necho of Egypt who was aligning with the Assyrians to attack the Babylonians. Jehoahaz, Josiah’s son, becomes the next king of Judah.

Lastly we hear from Jeremiah. He too speak of God’s judgement of the nations, Philistia and Moab. Babylon will destroy both these nations but Moab gets a word of hope similar to that of Judah. He says, “And Moab shall be destroyed as a people, because he exalted himself against the Lord.” He goes on to say, “‘Yet I will bring back the captives of Moab in the latter days’, says the Lord.” Most believe the restoration that will occur in the latter days is a prophesy of the coming Messiah when we will see Gentiles convert to Christ followers.

Tomorrow we find out that Jeremiah isn’t too popular with the people in Judah…they want him dead. 😳 Not everyone likes to hear truth from the Lord. Keep reading to see what happens.

(Zephaniah 2:8-3:20, 2 Chronicles 35:20-27, 2 Kings 23:29-30, Jeremiah 47:1-48:47)

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Habakkuk’s ministry was during the last days of Judah before the Babylonian invasion. Habakkuk is struggling with understanding the plans of the Lord so he takes his concerns to God. “Why do You…cause me to see trouble?” “For the wicked surround the righteous; Therefore perverse judgment proceeds.”

Habakkuk can’t understand why God is allowing all of this wickedness to occur. So the Lord responds – “For indeed I am raising up the Chaldeans, a bitter and nasty nation…” to bring judgement against Judah. But Habakkuk questions how the Lord can use people more wicked than Judah to judge Judah. The Chaldeans lived in the southern part of Babylon and were known for their cruelty. Habakkuk asks, “Shall they therefore…continue to slay nations without pity?”

The Lord says He will judge the wicked in His perfect timing. The proud who walk in their own evil ways will be destroyed, “But the just shall live by faith.” The Lord is reminding Habakkuk not to worry about what he sees but to trust the Lord and walk by faith. So Habakkuk submits to the Lord in prayer. He remembers God’s goodness and sovereignty over the world and His protection over His people. Habakkuk says, “I will rejoice in the Lord; I will take joy in the God of my salvation.”

Next we meet Zephaniah whose ministry is during the reign of Josiah. He pronounces judgment against Judah for turning their backs on the Lord and turning to the worship of false gods. Zephaniah also says He will judge those “who are settled in complacency, who say in their heart, the Lord will not do good, nor will he do evil.” At the end of the Story Jesus will also have a word for complacent or lukewarm people – “‘I know your works, that you are neither cold nor hot. I could wish you were cold or hot. So then, because you are lukewarm, and neither cold nor hot, I will vomit you out of My mouth…Therefore be zealous and

repent’“ (Revelation 3:15-19).

As Charles Spurgeon says, “Religion cannot long be lukewarm; it will either die out or it will kindle and set you

all on fire.“ In order to be on fire for the Lord you have to know the Lord. In order to know the Lord you have to read and understand His Word. So keep reading! 🔥

(Habakkuk 1:1-3:19, Zephaniah 1:1-2:7)

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Josiah reads all the words of the Book of the Covenant to all the people, small and great, and renews the covenant of the Lord with the people. Then Josiah destroys all false gods and bans all false worship.

During the purge, Josiah inquires of a certain tombstone. The men of the city told him, “It is the tomb of the man of God who came from Judah and proclaimed these things which you have done against the altar of Bethel”.

Remember on June 9th when we read about this man of God? The Lord sent him from Judah to give Jeroboam, the first king of Israel, a word from the Lord. The man of God stood before Jeroboam – “Then he cried out against the altar by the word of the Lord, and said, “O altar, altar! Thus says the Lord: ‘Behold, a child, Josiah by name, shall be born to the house of David; and on you he shall sacrifice the priests of the high places who burn incense on you, and men’s bones shall be burned on you’” (1 Kings 13:2). And since God already called it, that’s what happens.

Josiah brings back the Passover and “There had been no Passover kept in Israel like that since the days of Samuel the prophet; and none of the kings of Israel had kept such a Passover as Josiah kept, with the priests and the Levites, all Judah and Israel who were present, and the inhabitants of Jerusalem.” There was no king like Josiah “who turned to the Lord with all of his heart, with all of his soul, and with all his might, according to all the Law of Moses; nor after him did any arise like him”.

Next we meet the prophet Nahum who begins his ministry before the fall of Assyria in 612 B.C. Nahum describes the sovereignty and goodness of the Lord but says He will not tolerate wickedness.

Nahum proclaims judgment against Nineveh, the capital of Assyria, and in contrast he proclaims mercy toward Judah.

Not long ago we read about Jonah unwillingly visiting Nineveh and the people repenting. “This repentance, however, did not last beyond 745 B.C. when Tiglath-pileser made his people the leading military power in the Near East. The vast Assyrian Empire was established by bloodshed and massacre, cruelty and torture, destruction, plundering, and exiling such as has seldom been seen in history.” (ESV Study Bible)

As mentioned before, the Assyrians are the ones that brought an end to Northern Israel. So Nahum tells Nineveh that the Lord is against them and that He is going to send an enemy to shame them before all the nations. And when Nineveh falls, “All who hear news of you will clap their hands over you, for upon whom has not your wickedness passed continually?” The Assyrian empire will soon be destroyed and Babylon will rise to be the dominate nation.

Tomorrow we meet the prophets Habakkuk and Zephaniah so keep reading.

(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)

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Jeremiah is exasperated that the people will not listen to his warnings. “Hear this now, O foolish people.” “To whom shall I speak and give warning, that they may hear?” The people are in total rebellion against the Lord and disaster is upon them but their leaders are saying “Peace, peace! When there is no peace.”

The Lord tells the people to walk in the ways of the Lord “Then you will find rest for your souls. But they say, ’We will not walk in it.’” Jeremiah then tells the people that a brutal nation is coming from the north against them. Therefore the people should put on sackcloth and roll in ashes “For the plunderer will suddenly come upon us.”

King Josiah is now in his 18th year as king. He sends Hilkiah, the high priest, to the temple to count the money to be distributed to the overseers of the temple for repairs to the house of the Lord. And guess what Hilkiah finds?!?! The Book of the Law. 🤔 Hmm…this could be the problem. I’m not sure what the priests were doing all this time but they definitely weren’t reading and sharing God’s Word.

Well, Shaphan, the scribe, takes the Book of the Law to Josiah and reads it to him. When Josiah hears the Words of God he tears his clothes and tells Hilkiah, Shaphan, and others to go and inquire of the Lord for him “For great is the wrath of the Lord that is aroused against us, because our fathers have not obeyed the words of this book, to do according to all that is written concerning us.”

There are slim pickings of godly folks at this time but the men go and find a woman named Huldah, the prophetess. Yep, a woman! And she gives the leaders a word from the Lord. She explains that the Lord will bring calamity on Judah bc of their great rebellion. But as for King Josiah “Because your heart was tender, and you humbled yourself before the Lord when you heard what I spoke against this place…you shall be gathered to your grave in peace; and your eyes shall not see all the calamity which I will bring on this place.”

Tomorrow Josiah continues the religious reform in Judah. Keep reading.

(Jeremiah 5:20-6:30, 2 Kings 22:3-20, 2 Chronicles 34:8-28)

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Today the Lord likens Judah to an unfaithful bride and to the sister of Israel who never learns. Therefore, judgement is coming.

Jeremiah calls out Judah for playing the harlot with false gods. “For according to the number of your cities are your gods, O Judah.” “If a man divorces his wife, and she goes from him and becomes another man’s, may he return to her again?” According to the Book of the Law, the answer is no (Deut 24:1-4). However, the Lord in his mercy says, “But you have played the harlot with many lovers; Yet return to Me”. God still desires to take His unfaithful people back. “‘Return, backsliding Israel,’ says the Lord; ‘I will not cause My anger to fall on you. For I am merciful,’ says the Lord; ‘I will not remain angry forever.’” But the people refuse to repent and return to the Lord.

Judah watched the Lord put away and divorce her unfaithful sister Israel, yet Judah still did not fear the Lord and repent making Judah worse off than Israel.

The Lord tells the people to return to Him, “for I am married to you. I will take you, one from a city and two from a family, and I will bring you to Zion. And I will give you shepherds according to My heart, who will feed you with knowledge and understanding.” “At that time Jerusalem shall be called The Throne of the Lord, and all the nations shall be gathered to it, to the name of the Lord, to Jerusalem.”

Jeremiah explains the type of repentance that is required. “Circumcise yourselves to the Lord, and take away the foreskins of your hearts.” The Lord does not want a mere outward change in appearance and behavior. He wants a deep inward change of the heart.

Jeremiah announces the coming judgement on the unrepentant people. “And the destroyer of nations is on his way…To make your land desolate. Your cities will be laid to waste.” Jeremiah weeps over the coming disaster to his people but he knows that the Lord is just in His judgment.

The Lord challenges Jeremiah to find one righteous person. God says there isn’t one, from the poor to the great. Their transgressions are many yet they do not believe the Lord will judge them. As a result, the Lord is sending Babylon from the north up against Judah so they can serve the Babylonians as they served their false gods.

But the Lord tells them, “I will not make a complete end of you.” God always leaves a remnant to fulfill His plan of bringing the Messiah as the cure for the people’s deeply sick heart issue.

Keep reading.

(Jeremiah 2:23-5:19)

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Manasseh is an evil king. He rebuilds all the high places his dad tore down, he practices witchcraft, and he even places a carved image of Asherah in the house of the Lord. “So Manasseh seduced Judah and the inhabitants of Jerusalem to do more evil than the nations whom the Lord had destroyed before the children of Israel.”

The Lord’s anger is provoked and He delivers His people into the hands of the Assyrians “who took Manasseh with hooks, bound him with bronze fetters, and carried him off to Babylon.” There Manasseh humbles himself, cries out to the Lord, and repents. The Lord hears his cries and brings him back to Jerusalem. “Then Manasseh knew that the Lord was God.” So Manasseh obviously learns the hard way…but he does learn.

Manasseh goes on to clean house of all the foreign gods and he commands Judah to worship the Lord. When Manasseh dies, his evil son, Amon, becomes king but not for long. Amon’s servants kill him and then Amon’s son, Josiah, becomes the next king of Judah.

Josiah is only 8 at the time and he reigns 31 years. Josiah does what it right in the sight of the Lord. When Josiah is 16 he begins seeking the Lord and when he turns 20 he begins purging the land of all the false gods.

Next we meet Jeremiah, a young man called into ministry in the 13th year of Josiah’s reign. The Lord has a very specific calling on the life of Jeremiah. The Lord is going to use him to send a message to Judah. Like Moses in the Exodus Era and Gideon in the Judges Era, Jeremiah questions if he is up to the calling. As with Moses and Gideon, God tells him that He, the Lord God Almighty, will be the One doing the work. Jeremiah, like the others, will simply be an instrument in the Lord’s hand.

So the Lord sends Jeremiah to Jerusalem to bring a case against His people. “For My people have committed two evils: They have forsaken Me, the fountain of living waters, and hewn themselves cisterns – broken cisterns that can hold no water.” The people have left the life giving Lord for useless false gods. As a result the people will experience judgment but one day in this amazing Story Jesus will cry out to the people: “‘If anyone thirsts, let him come to Me and drink. He who believes in Me, as the Scripture has said, out of his heart will flow rivers of living water.’ But this He spoke concerning the Spirit, whom those believing in Him would receive; for the Holy Spirit was not yet given, because Jesus was not yet glorified” (John 7:37-39). After Jesus ascends to the right hand of the Father, He will send the Holy Spirit upon those who believe to seal their salvation (Ephesians 1:3) and to equip them for the work of the ministry; to be a light in a dark world.

More from Jeremiah tomorrow so keep reading.

(2 Kings 21:1-9, 2 Chronicles 33:1-9, 2 Kings 21:10-17, 2 Chronicles 33:10-19, 2 Kings 21:18, 2 Chronicles 33:20, 2 Kings 21:19-26, 2 Chronicles 33:21-25, 2 Kings 22:1-2, 2 Chronicles 34:1-7, Jeremiah 1:1-2:22)

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Today we hear the final words from Isaiah. “But we are all like an unclean thing, and all our righteousnesses are like filthy rags.” Isaiah knows that we are all stained by sin and even our best attempts at being good or righteous are just as gross as filthy rags.

He calls out the rebellious people “…who walk in a way that is not good, according to their own thoughts.” The Lord says, “When I spoke, you did not hear, but did evil before My eyes, and chose that in which I did not delight.” Therefore the Lord will slay the wicked but His servants shall rejoice.

The Lord always leaves a remnant of His people to fulfill His promises and to accomplish His purposes. “So I will do for My servants’ sake, that I may not destroy them all. I will bring forth descendants from Jacob, and from Judah an heir of My mountains; My elect shall inherit it…”

Then the Lord gives them hope for a future day when He will create a new heaven and earth “and the former shall not be remembered or come to mind. But be glad and rejoice forever in what I create.” At the end of this Story, the Lord will give John a vision of His second coming – “Now I saw a new heaven and a new earth, for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away…And God will wipe away every tear from their eyes; there shall be no more death, nor sorrow, nor crying. There shall be no more pain, for the former things have passed away. Then He who sat on the throne said, ‘Behold, I make all things new’” (Revelation 21:1-5).

Isaiah ends by saying the sovereign God of the universe will one day fulfill His plan of bringing restoration and salvation to the world. “It shall be that I will gather all nations and tongues; and they shall come and see My glory…And they shall declare My glory among the Gentiles.” We will see partial fulfillment of this prophesy with the first coming of Jesus and completion after His return.

Tomorrow Manasseh, Hezekiah’s son, takes the throne in Judah and we meet the prophet Jeremiah so keep reading.

(Isaiah 63:15-66:24, 2 Kings 20:20-21, 2 Chronicles 32:32-33)

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Today the people have a question for the Lord. “’Why have we fasted,’ they say, ‘and You have not seen? Why have we afflicted our souls, and You take no notice?’” God does see and does take notice but what He sees and notices is just a bunch of people not eating while oppressing their workers. 😏 Once again the Lord makes clear that He is not interested in religious acts if a person’s heart is not surrendered to Him. His desire for them is to not be wicked, lift heavy burdens, feed the hungry, and clothe the poor. “Then you shall call, and the Lord will answer.” He also tells them to honor the Sabbath by turning from doing their ways to delighting in the Lord.

Isaiah says that the Lord is capable of saving the people “But your iniquities have separated you from your God”. Therefore, the Lord is sending His Son to redeem them. “‘The Redeemer will come to Zion, and to those who turn from transgression in Jacob…this is My covenant with them: My Spirit who is upon you, and My words which I have put in your mouth shall not depart from your mouth, nor…your descendants… forevermore.” Later in the Story, Paul will quote these words from Isaiah when explaining the future restoration of Israel (Romans 11:26-27).

Jesus will also quote Isaiah during his first sermon in the synagogue in his hometown Nazareth. “The Spirit of the Lord God is upon Me, because the Lord has anointed Me to preach good tidings to the poor; He has sent Me to heal the brokenhearted, to proclaim liberty to the captives, and the opening of the prison to those who are bound; to proclaim the acceptable year of the Lord” (Luke 4:16-19, Isaiah 61:1,2). After reading from the scroll of Isaiah, Jesus will say, “Today this Scripture has been fulfilled in your hearing” (Luke 4:21); which will cause quite an uproar as we will read about later.

Isaiah says the Lord will restore Zion as His bride “and as the bridegroom rejoices over the bride, so shall your God rejoice over you”. We are going to find out that Jesus, the Lamb sent to be slaughtered, will love the church as His bride and one day He is coming back for her. ”Let us be glad and rejoice and give Him glory, for the marriage of the Lamb has come, and His wife has made herself ready.” … ‘Blessed are those who are called to the marriage supper of the Lamb!’” (Revelation 19:7-9).

Keep reading.

(Isaiah 58:1-63:14)

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Today Isaiah speaks of Jesus, the spotless lamb, who is willingly coming to die for our sins. “Surely He has borne our griefs and carried our sorrows; Yet we esteemed Him stricken, smitten by God, and afflicted. But He was wounded for our transgressions, He was bruised for our iniquities; The chastisement for our peace was upon Him, and by His stripes we are healed. All we like sheep have gone astray; We have turned, every one, to his own way; and the Lord has laid on Him the iniquity of us all.“

Isaiah says we have ALL gone astray. There is not one person who ever lived or who will live that doesn’t need a Savior! And since we are all in need of a Savior, Isaiah says it will please the Lord to send His son to die for us. “Yet it pleased the Lord to bruise Him..” bc “By His knowledge My righteous Servant shall justify many…Because He poured out His soul unto death…” This is how much God loves us!

Isaiah says the Lord will redeem Jerusalem and gives them hope for the future. The people will return to fertile land and they will become numerous. Isaiah urges them to seek the Lord and to trust Him and His Word. “‘For My thoughts are not your thoughts, nor are your ways My ways,’ says the Lord. ‘For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are My ways higher than your ways, and My thoughts than your thoughts.’”

The Lord promises salvation to anyone who puts their faith in Him including the eunuchs and foreigners. He says that everyone who “…holds fast My covenant– even them I will bring to My holy mountain, and make them joyful in My house of prayer…For My house shall be called a house of prayer for all nations.’”

Later Paul will tell us that we are ALL the same in Christ. “There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither slave nor free, there is neither male nor female; for you are all one in Christ Jesus” (Galatians 3:28).

We end the reading with Isaiah calling out Israel’s sin. He condemns the blind, arrogant, and wicked leaders and the idol worshipers. But there is no sin so great that the Lord won’t forgive if one repents. The Lord will revive the spirit of the humble and revive the heart of the contrite ones but there will be no peace for the unrepentant wicked.

So we are ALL sinners in need of a Savior who makes the repentant ones ALL equal under the blood of Christ. Keep reading.

(Isaiah 52:13-57:12)

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