I have no insights to offer for today’s reading, but that doesn’t mean there are no profound passages in these chapters. Please ask God what He wants to show you in them, and expect Him to answer with something that seems particularly meaningful. It probably won’t be obvious, but then that wouldn’t be very deep, would it? Remember that God promises to be found by those who seek Him, which is an action verb. He promises to send water on the thirsty ground. Be thirsty!
Day 220 — Jeremiah 7 – 9
God’s pronouncement of judgment on the sins of His Old Testament people continues from yesterday’s reading, and is specifically addressed to “all you men of Judah who enter these gates (of the Temple) to worship the Lord.” He complained about their trusting in “deceptive words.” Their trusting, their denials, would not save them from judgment. They were trusting in the idea that God would not forsake and destroy His Temple. They were trusting in their assertions that they were saved, even as they continued to sin. They were trusting in God’s promise to give Abraham’s descendants that land forever, which translated to them that they would never lose it. God has not changed; do you suppose that He will accept our deceptive assertions any more than He accepted theirs?
Continue to take a close look and give thoughtful, inquiring consideration to the sins of God’s Old Testament people. In what ways do they sound like what is going on in the church? In your own heart and life? God doesn’t want us going through the motions any more than He wanted it from His Old Testament people.
Day 219 — Jeremiah 4 – 6
Jeremiah wasn’t being overly dramatic when he wrote, “Oh, my anguish, my anguish! I writhe in pain! Oh, the agony of my heart!” in chapter 4. He was genuinely anguished by what he saw would happen. Let’s not forget that the judgment of God on Judah was horrible. Think about what it would be like to have a fearsome army march on your home, topple buildings, set the city on fire, and leave it a flattened ruin. That is what happened to God’s Old Testament people. Jeremiah gets pretty emotional throughout this book. Whenever you are tempted to feel exasperated by his drama, think about how traumatic his visions would be.
A just God would not impose judgment more harsh than the sin deserves. As horrible as the judgment was, it indicated how awful the sin of the people was. Consider as you read, of what were they guilty? They felt no pain when struck by God in correction; how often do you claim, “I’m okay,” when you really are cold spiritually? They made their faces harder than stone and refused to repent; how readily, how frequently, do you repent? They complacently chose to believe that God would not do anything in correction or judgement – they didn’t honor Him as the all-powerful, holy God He is; how big is God in your eyes? They didn’t acknowledge God’s good provision; how thankful are you? They grew fat and sleek yet failed to take care of the needs of the poor and helpless. They didn’t want to hear the truth; do you give the Holy Spirit quiet in which to speak to you? They were greedy for gain. They were not ashamed of their conduct; do you make excuses or shift blame rather than acknowledge shameful conduct? They brought lavish sacrifices to God, of things that He had no interest in, and refused to give Him what He wanted from them; what do you give to God? These are sins that could be prevalent in our churches, even perhaps in our own lives; they aren’t the biggies we think are worthy of the harsh justice God dealt His Old Testament people. So we either have to believe that God is not just, or we have to rethink our estimation of these sins. Today’s reading challenges us to consider how closely our thoughts align with God’s.
Day 218 — Jeremiah 1 – 3
Jeremiah had a rough assignment: he would be preaching an unpopular message and would be unpopular with the people to whom he ministered. They would terrorize him and fight against him, and he would need rescued by God. His life shows that God doesn’t always send His servants into easy places. Are you prepared to be sent into difficult places to be God’s hands and feet and voice in fulfillment of His purpose for you?
Recall the historical context of the prophet: Josiah commanded the people to worship and obey God, and they did during his lifetime. Jeremiah ministered during the last eighteen years of Josiah’s reign, and for 22 years beyond that, through the reigns of kings who did what was evil in the eyes of the Lord. These were the last forty years of Judah’s existence as an independent nation.
The people to whom Jeremiah ministered were not fully devoted to God, loving Him with all of their hearts, all of their souls, all of their minds, and all of their strength. They called God, “My Father, my friend,” and claimed that they were “doing okay,” but their worthless idols were more important to them than God was. Their devotion waned until they didn’t even bother seeking Him; they forsook God in favor of following after what they had constructed. In times of trouble they sought the Lord, and that was enough for them to believe that they were following Him and worshiping Him. They didn’t perceive the truth of their ways’ revealing that they had forgotten God; if they had, they would have wept and been appalled.
Does this description of God’s Old Testament people make you wonder whether we have dull perception as well? Are we any different than those people, drifting away from God while claiming we’re okay? What is the remedy for mankind’s tendency toward faithlessness? God said He would cure them of backsliding. That means that we are helpless to cure it ourselves; we need to look to God for our cure! Since the days in which Jeremiah prophesied, God has provided the cure for sin; it is up to us to accept it and put it to use to be cured.
God didn’t want to judge them; He wanted to treat them like sons and enjoy intimacy with them like a father and son. Again He points out that it was not His choice to judge them, but rather, their choice. These are important truths for us to remember so that we are not deceived by the enemy into despising God. Instead we should be drawn to Him in love for His love for us.
Day 217 — Zephaniah
God speaks of sweeping away everything from the face of the earth because He can. Imagine the power – in truth, in reality, He holds that power over us, over me. Again I marvel at the fact that He is both powerful and good, and His goodness is not corrupted by His power. Where in human experience has that been so? What a wonderful being God is.
How do we reconcile His goodness with the fact that He intends to sweep away man and beast from the earth? Let us remember that justice is good, and He is just in destroying all who choose to rebel against Him. In verse 3:7 He expresses His hope that the desolation He imposes in judgment would cause the desolate to accept correction; however, it is their choice that leads to their destruction.
One of the most profound statements in this book is in verse 1:4: “and I will cut off from this place the remnant of Baal.” That name came up a lot in the Old Testament; that figment of man’s imagination and all that man’s mind under the influence of the ruler of darkness made up to go with it, were quite a stumbling block for God’s Old Testament people. Do you know of anyone who is enslaved to Baal worship today? Everyone today thinks that is ridiculous, that people worshipped idols; those bonds have been not only broken, but so demolished that we can’t comprehend how they ever could have held people captive. In fact, most of us know little of Baal worship; people who have not read the Bible have probably never heard of Baal. God has truly cut off from the whole world the remnant of Baal. If God can so effectively cut off not only the bonds, but also the remembrance of what held those people in bondage, He can do the same for us today. Of what do you need to be free today? Ask God to cut off from your place the remnant of that thing as effectively as He did the remnant of Baal, and choose to trust Him to do it.
The details God gives about the offenses for which He’s going to stretch out His hand against the people don’t seem so destruction-worthy to most of us. They
- turned back from following the Lord
- did not seek the Lord or inquire of Him
- followed cultural practices of the godless people around them
- followed superstitious practices
- were complacent about God
If these are deemed worthy of destruction by the One who has the power to destroy, then they need to be corrected, don’t you think?
Sweeping away everyone on earth isn’t the end of the story; this book also ends with restoration. Take note of what restoration looks like as described in chapter three. This is God’s desire for people – for you. How does that make you feel? Why not talk to God about that today?
Day 216 — II Kings 21 – 22 & II Chronicles 34 – 35
One lesson from this life that “did not turn aside to the right or the left” from doing “what was right in the eyes of the Lord” is that action followed Josiah’s seeking the Lord. Action to get rid of what had lured the people away from God, destroying and defiling in such a way that it was not easily coming back. Then replacing it with worship of God, God’s way. That distinguished him from other kings of Judah who had promoted the worship of pagan gods in various ways. Turning to the Lord with all one’s heart and with all one’s soul and with all one’s might takes a visible form. Is it visible in your life?
Can you imagine the Book of the Law being lost in the Temple? That speaks descriptively of what shape the Temple was in and how faithfully it was being used to worship God. Further, that book was lost so long that it was unknown to those who found it; it was “a book.” Think about that: the God-given Law by which this people was supposed to live had been lost so long that they no longer missed it. Further yet, when they wanted to know what God thought, the people holding the offices of spiritual leadership were unable to inquire of Him. Can you imagine how it would be, not to be able to expect an answer from God in your deeply felt need? This is our reminder of how precious gifts to us God’s word and Holy Spirit are.
Day 215 — Nahum
This oracle concerning Nineveh came about 100 years after the city’s repentance in response to Jonah’s warning. Once again God foretells destruction – that’s a theme so common in prophecy that I used to have the impression that all the prophets ran together nattering on about it. Nahum, like Obadiah, is distinctive because it doesn’t speak of the ultimate restoration of its subject.
Recall that Nineveh was the capital of the Assyrian Empire, and Assyria was the instrument of punishment that God had raised up against Israel and other peoples who were eventually absorbed into the Assyrian Empire. So Assyria showed up in other prophecies as the one who would conquer and destroy as God’s judgment on those destroyed. God had in fact fulfilled those prophecies, and Assyria was very powerful and wealthy because of it. In fact, they were so powerful and wealthy that their destruction was absolutely unimaginable. We saw in yesterday’s reading the arrogance of the king of Assyria, bragging that no people, no city, and no god had been able to resist the power of his hand; he was proud because he did indeed seem to be invincible. All nations feared Assyria because of it.
Nahum prophesies the destruction of all of the greatest that man can build and accumulate. History proves that God is able to do as He says. Nineveh was destroyed within about eight years of Nahum’s lifetime, so thoroughly that it was never rebuilt. It was covered with sand so long that its existence had long been forgotten by everyone except Bible readers, and some of them believed that Nineveh never existed. It now shows up on maps as a ruin or archaeological site. God can indeed destroy the greatest accomplishments of man so thoroughly that they are buried and forgotten. Unless He decrees restoration, man has no hope of restoration. Messiah shows up in this book in the form of a want for restoration.
In most of the books of prophecy God speaks of restoration of a remnant as His ultimate purpose for judgment. This book shows that sometimes refining a remnant is not part of His plan. Again, history shows that He is true to His word. Sometimes His mercies do come to an end, but not because He doesn’t love those whom He judges. Recall that these people were not rejected by God; rather, out of love for them He had sent Jonah to warn them to repent to avoid judgment, and they chose to do so and encountered God’s mercy. Thus, Nineveh’s story reminds us that it is not God’s choice to destroy in judgment; rather, destruction is God’s necessary response to man’s choice to continue in rebellion against Him. So rather than despise God for cruelty as the enemy wants to tempt us to do, we need to see the choice to ruin and destroy as whose it is, and accept responsibility for our own choices.
Remember also that the awful, cruel destruction foretold, and doubtless brought to pass, is the end of sin. Its awfulness displays the awfulness of sin. Again, the enemy wants us to see the appalling devastation in a different light so that we don’t hate sin for the horrible thing it is. Otherwise we might abandon it and run humbly to God for a remedy and restoration. Rather than hating sin, the enemy wants us to hate God, and so tries to convince us that God is the bad guy here. Choose well today whom and what you believe!
Day 214 — II Chronicles 32 – 33
Hezekiah “was exalted in the sight of all nations” because of the miraculous rescue from Assyria’s grasp. As a result his heart became proud, incurring God’s wrath not only on himself but also on Judah and Jerusalem. This is another important lesson from Hezekiah’s life: humankind is vulnerable to their own pride. If God blesses us with good things as He enjoys doing, we are subject to being taken down by the pride which often follows. Knowing this tendency of fallen man, we should be prepared to remain on guard against pride’s encroachment all of our lives, taking every reminder as an opportunity to reevaluate ourselves. Today’s reading is such an opportunity.
“God left Hezekiah to himself in order to test him and to know all that was in his heart.” Does that scenario sound familiar to you? That was what God did in the Garden of Eden. Do you suppose He does that to us? If so, how can you prepare yourself for that? The time to think about that is now, before it happens.
Another lesson from Hezekiah’s example is that he humbled himself and so averted God’s wrath. This was important, because it taught Manasseh to do the same. As unsurpassingly wicked as he was, Manasseh repented, and God was moved by his entreaty. He is the same God today.
Day 213 — II Kings 20 – 21
As I wrote earlier, Hezekiah’s example taught me a valued lesson about prayer. In today’s reading his example offers a second valuable lesson about prayer: be careful what you ask for. He asked God for a reprieve from death, and he got it. In those extra years he fathered the son who would follow him to the throne and lead the nation in such fashion that God announced that He would forsake them. There are worse things than death, and it is best to entrust our days, and all other matters, to God. Jesus’ example taught us to pray for God’s will to be done on earth as it is in Heaven. Even facing unspeakable torture, He followed His request that the suffering be averted with, “Nevertheless, not my will, but Thine, be done.” Hezekiah’s life reinforces that God’s ways are higher than our ways, and gives us good reasons to submit to God’s will. Can you pray for God’s will to be done in the matters weighing the heaviest on you today?