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August 25th

The bible reading today is in Lamentations 1-3.

These poems, these songs of sorrow, are attributed to Jeremiah by most. Written during Jerusalem’s fall to the armies of Babylon.

We read descriptive words like pain, darkness, broken bones, desolations, arrows...words used in the psalms and in Job’s testimony describing sorrow, suffering, and the horrors of dying and death in warfare. Israelis in Babylonian captivity would listen to the singers and resonate with the pictures of suffering painted in the song.

Let us listen...“I am the man who has seen affliction under the rod of God’s wrath; and I say, “My endurance has perished...my glory is gone...so has my hope from the Lord.””

‭‭Lamentations‬ ‭3:1, 18‬ ‭

The Judeans had never seen their great walls penetrated. “These are the “walls of God”, they would say, ”we are safe.”

And as soon as they trusted in the thickness of the walls, which they gloried in, instead of God for their salvation from Babylon’s armies, God showed them that their trust was misplaced. And the writer says, “I am the man who has seen and felt affliction. “ Later verses will help us understand that God was at work.

God had a gracious and merciful purpose in the war, to bring His wayward people back to Himself. And further verses prove that to be true.

Some theologians believe that the song in chapter 3 could belong to a portion of the Judean congregation that were under the affliction and conviction of sin. I can see that.

“I am the man...that is afflicted by sin...”...” the only man” that is feeling the weight of my sin upon my soul.

John Bunyon describes Christian as being very much comforted upon hearing someone quoting scripture while he walked through the Valley of the Shadow of Death. For then Christian realized that there were others in the same place of trouble and struggle as he was...”I'm not the only one.”

“he has driven and brought me into darkness without any light;”

‭‭Lamentations‬ ‭3:2‬ ‭ESV‬‬

God has put this sinner in a place of thick darkness, where there is no light. The conviction of sin pressing upon him was bad enough. But now the darkness proves that there is no help here except God and Him alone. Religion doesn't comfort. O but for a little light...so it wouldn't be so scary.

“He has walled me about so that I cannot escape; he has made my chains heavy;”

‭‭Lamentations‬ ‭3:7‬ ‭ESV‬‬

I have felt this often, friends. Pressed down with guilt. Looking for any ray of light to console me in the dark night of my soul. Walled about, no escaping the conviction of my sin, and a heaviness of heart that I cant seem to lift or get out from under.

O Lord is there any help for a man afflicted by sin? “But this I call to mind, and therefore I have hope: The steadfast love of the Lord never ceases; his mercies never come to an end; they are new every morning; great is your faithfulness."

“The Lord is my portion,” says my soul, “ “therefore I will hope in him.”

‭‭Lamentations‬ ‭3:21-24‬ ‭

And where is that hope of forgiveness, a second chance to know His joy and light and hope...?

Jesus, the same one who died on the cross to pay my sin debt, 2000 years ago, ever lives to make intercession for me, including bringing a heavy conviction upon me so I won't stay comfortable in my careless sinning. Praise His Name!

Have a great day

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August 24th

The bible reading is in Jeremiah 51,52, the last two chapters of the book.

“I will repay Babylon and all the inhabitants of Chaldea before your very eyes for all the evil that they have done in Zion, declares the Lord. “

“Behold, I am against you, O destroying mountain, declares the Lord, which destroys the whole earth; I will stretch out my hand against you, and roll you down from the crags, and make you a burnt mountain. No stone shall be taken from you for a corner and no stone for a foundation, but you shall be a perpetual waste, declares the Lord.”

‭‭Jeremiah‬ ‭51:24-26‬ ‭ESV‬‬

God said through Jeremiah that He would one day repay Babylon. God said, “one day I will destroy you, O destroying mountain...even as I will destroy the whole earth...you who shed the blood of my people, I will stretch out my hand against and you will become a perpetual waste.”

God did bring Babylon down by the Medes and Persians. It was so phenomenal a defeat, that other nations would teach their children of the demise of Babylon the Great. But there was something in Jeremiah ‘s prophesy that has yet to be fulfilled...the total destruction of Babylon, which is modern day Iraq. Jeremiah prophesied that God would destroy Babylon like He would destroy the whole world. So apparently a part of this prophesy is yet to come. And we read about it in Revelations chapters 17,18.

Revelation has been referred to as the tale of two cities...Babylon and Jerusalem. It has also been referred to as the tale of two worlds...the world of sin and death and Satan and the World of Righteousness and Eternal Life and the Kingdom of God in Heaven.

Believers reading ahead to Revelations will see the contrasts between this world and Heaven, the contrasts between Babylon and the New Jerusalem. Believers reading Revelations will always be confronted with an inescapable question: Which God will you worship and which city will you love and live for?

O friends, that ‘s the whole point of God’s judgments...God ‘s dealings in the world of man...all the way back to the day of Jeremiah and the Babylonian exile of unfaithful Judah and the destruction of Babylonia by the Persians later...which God will you worship and which city will you love and live for?

“And he carried me away in the Spirit into a wilderness, and I saw a woman sitting on a scarlet beast that was full of blasphemous names, and it had seven heads and ten horns. The woman was arrayed in purple and scarlet, and adorned with gold and jewels and pearls, holding in her hand a golden cup full of abominations and the impurities of her sexual immorality. And on her forehead was written a name of mystery: “Babylon the great, mother of prostitutes and of earth’s abominations.””

‭‭Revelation‬ ‭17:3-5‬ ‭ESV‬‬

Babylon would one day be completely destroyed, but not just the physical place in the middle east, but what it represents...the “love the world” perspective.

In Revelations the harlot that entices all of us, (Babylon the Great), is the seductress of “loving the world instead of our Savior God”.

Let us listen to God’s word describe “Babylon living and loving”...“Do not love the world or the things in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him. Who are we going to worship... who are we going to love? The things of this world, or the Father?

For all that is in the world— the desires of the flesh (moral impurity)and the desires of the eyes (greed) and pride of life (bitterness) —is not from the Father but is from the world...Babylon the Great.

‭‭1 John‬ ‭2:15-16

O Lord, the Judeans would be encouraged by Jeremiah’s prophesy of Babylon’s demise. And we as believers today on this side of the cross, we too can be encouraged that one day the seductress that targets our hearts and minds today to the love the world rather than You...she will be destroyed too. Praise your name.

Have a great day

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August 23rd

The bible reading comes from Jeremiah 49,50.

Judah and Israel had been taken captive by the Babylonians. This prophecy of Jeremiah is about God’s judgment upon Babylon for sure. Just like His judgment upon Egypt for their unbelief and their brutality toward His people. Within this prophecy, God would give his exiled people hope for their deliverance from the power of Babylon and their restoration to the promised land.

Now...These Judean exiles lived far away from their homeland, but they cried day and night when they remembered Zion. Listen to the text...“In those days and in that time, declares the Lord, the people of Israel and the people of Judah shall come together, weeping as they come, and they shall seek the Lord their God. They shall ask the way to Zion, with faces turned toward it, saying, “Come, let us join ourselves to the Lord in an everlasting covenant that will never be forgotten.’”

‭‭Jeremiah‬ ‭50:4-5‬ ‭ESV‬‬

Did you catch that hope...brothers and sisters of Israel and Judah “will come together”. They had been divided now in exile, in Babylon they were coming together. They had fought against one another for generations now.

That’s not the way of the original promised land kids. They fought for each other not against each other. They provided for and protected one another in the beginning. But for years and years, they have sided against one another and plotted with each other's enemies to take down one another’s security and economy.

But now, under the disciplining hand of God, once separated and divided, Israelis and Judeans “were coming together”.

How many parents and children “came back together”? Wonder how many estranged brothers and sisters and cousins “came back together” under the pressure of the Babylonian exile. Apparently many came back together.

Jeremiah even prophesied “how” those reunions would happen and how they would look. Words like “weeping” were used, indicating a repentance, a brokenness over personal sin...sin against God...and sin against each other.

I have seen that and been in the midst of it myself, Friends. Ive seen separated husbands and wives come back together weeping and asking each other for forgiveness. I have been broken over my sin against a brother...in the midst of a church service...in my car on the road...in my office counseling others, the Spirit would convict me of my need to make some things right between myself and a brother or sister....and I would go weeping and we came back together...revived with new joy snd strength to serve Christ.

Judah and Israel would “come back together”... “weeping”...because they were “seeking to come back to the Lord”.

That’s how we pray and how we counsel ourselves and others dealing with division and disharmony in the family...” come back” to the Lord”...or “come” to the Lord...”He wants to be the balm of Gilead that heals and repairs and restores marriages, families, and church families. He wants to be the Savior of your relationships. And Jeremiah foretells of “another group” of Judeans in Babylon...“They shall ask the way to Zion”, ““with faces turned toward it,” saying, ‘Come, let us join ourselves to the Lord in an everlasting covenant that will never be forgotten...

‭‭Jeremiah‬ 50:5

In those days prior to Judah’s deliverance from Babylon, prior to Babylon’s ruin at the hands of the Medo-Persian Empire, there will be “Judeans ask the way to Heaven”. With sincerity and faces that say...I want God...I don't just want to know some things about Him...I desperately want to Know Him Personally...please show me the way...

Oh, friends, that’s spiritual awakening on the heels of revival in the hearts of contrite and repentant believers.

Lord do that again in our day...in our lives, families, and churches...do it again...and start with me and mine.

Have a great day

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August 22nd

The bible reading today is in Jeremiah chapters 46,47,48.

The text today is a prophecy about God’s judgment upon the nations. We remember the anguish in Habakkuk’s QandA with God...”How long will it be before you bring justice upon the nations that have terrorized and brutalized Your people?”

Well, the prophet Jeremiah was about to answer Habakkuk’s question. And to begin with, Egypt was going down by the arm of Babylon...at God’s direction.

Right about now, I remember, not only the 400 years of Egyptian cruelty placed upon Jacob’s children, but I remember from our last week of reading in Jeremiah that many in Judah relied upon Egypt’s trade and muscle instead of God’s wisdom and supply. Thus, the prophecy against Egypt was correspondingly going to affect the unfaithful in Judah.

“Draw near to battle Pharoah Necro...get your war machine ready...get all you have and take the highest ground...and be as confident as you can be in your horses and chariots and gleaming spears and swords and armor that is supposed to strike fear into the enemy...but know this...at the end of the day, all of your military fanfare and strategic advantage is in vain. Babylon will win the day. The battle will cost you greatly in death and destruction. And I God will see to it.”

And Jeremiah saw the prophetic vision and further described the coming battle of Egypt and Babylon saying... “Egypt, your confidence will quickly leave you. Your faces will tell of your own fear and panic and consternation. As the battle begins, you realize that the Babylonian armies are not just in front of you, but are circled all around you. There is no way out. You will try to retreat, but only a few will escape the Babylonian sword. You're finished."

“That day is the day of the Lord God of hosts, a day of vengeance, to avenge himself on his foes. The sword shall devour and be sated and drink its fill of their blood. For the Lord God of hosts holds a sacrifice in the north country by the river Euphrates.”

‭‭Jeremiah‬ ‭46:10‬ ‭ESV‬‬

Jeremiah said that what was coming upon Egypt was not the day of Babylon, but the day of the Lord. The day of God’s vengeance upon his foes. Wherein His power and holiness and justice were going to be perfectly displayed.

“Egypt, use your medicines and skills to heal and repair your broken bodies. But know this, your day has come and gone. You will not be utterly destroyed, but you will never recover your former glory. From the days of Moses till now, you Egypt, have had opportunity after opportunity to hear and see the God of your creation. But instead of bowing in worship of Him, you worshipped yourselves. You’re done.

“But fear not, O Jacob my servant, nor be dismayed, O Israel, for behold, I will save you from far away, and your offspring from the land of their captivity.

Jacob shall return and have quiet and ease, and none shall make him afraid. Fear not, O Jacob my servant, declares the Lord, for I am with you. I will make a full end of all the nations to which I have driven you, but of you, I will not make a full end.

“I will discipline you in just measure”, and I will by no means leave you unpunished.”

‭‭Jeremiah‬ ‭46:27-28‬ ‭

So what about the remnant of Judah that followed Johannon down to Egypt rather than obey God’s command to stay in Judah after their defeat by Babylon? Were they killed in the slaughter of Egypt by the invading armies of Babylon? Not according to Jeremiah’s prophesy. God was going to get them back to Judah, but God would also discipline them in just measure and not leave them unpunished for their unbelief.

Oh, friends, some will say that it was God’s mercy and grace that saved the Johannon faction from death in Egypt. I agree. But the same people will say that the discipline/punishment that God would mete out upon his rebellious kids was law and not grace. I disagree. God’s discipline always has a gracious redemptive purpose, especially for His children of faith.

By the way, Jesus’ death on the cross for us was “God’s grace” to save us from the penalty of our sin. He took our place, saved us from hell and eternal separation from God. His gracious death on the cross reconciled us to God and made us apart of His forever family.

But God‘s grace also includes loving discipline to save us from that which would lead us away from fellowship with Him.

Have a great day

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August 21st

Our Bible reading today is in Jeremiah chapters 41-45.

Most of the citizens of Judah were taken captive by the victorious Babylonians. Only a handful of the defeated Judean military were left in hiding in Judah. Most of the older adults, along with the physically infirmed were left in the countrysides and burning villages and cities.

How long was it going to take for Judah to get back to normal? Or better still, get back to God? Well, it wasn't going to be any time soon.

A Judean named Ishmael convinced 10 other Jews to join him in assassinating the new Governor of Judah. His name was Gedaliah. He was somewhat famous among the faithful. He stood up to Zedekiah and his crooked city councilmen and saved Jeremiah’s life. Gedaliah was leading the survivors to obey Jeremiah’s message of submitting to Babylon’s demands. Ishmael had a different plan...and it included murder.

Self-centered evil was still resident in Judah. After the murderous massacre of the governor and his men in Mizpah, fear and outrage led a man to gather the scattered soldiers of Judah to hunt down Ishmael and his raiders. That leader was Johannon.

He and his men found Ishmael at the waters of Gibeon, just north of Jerusalem. Ishmael and eight of his conspirators escaped with their lives and went down to Amnon. Then a couple of “firsts” happened.

“Then all the commanders of the forces, and Johanan the son of Kareah and Jezaniah the son of Hoshaiah, and “all” the people (in Judah) from the least to the greatest, came near and said to Jeremiah the prophet, “Let our plea for mercy come before you, and pray to the Lord “your God” for us, “for all this remnant”— because we are left with but a few, as your eyes see us— that the Lord your God may show us the way we should go, and the thing that we should do.”

‭‭Jeremiah‬ ‭42:1-3‬ ‭ESV‬‬

The remnant of the populace of Judah gathered before the prophet and sought his help to get God into the matter of their tenuous future. “They wanted a word from God”...”the first time”...in the 40 year ministry of Jeremiah before the fall of Jerusalem.

Was this a good thing for God’s people? In principle, yes. But our reading shows us great hypocrisy by the mob at Jeremiah’s door. They came with respect it seemed. This audience with the old prophet would have been right. Except for one thing, their hearts were still far from broken over their long time sinning. They weren't looking for a word from God concerning His will for them. They wanted a pass from God’s messenger to do their own will, not God’s.

Outwardly, they put on a good show. But inwardly, in their hearts, there was no humble submission to the will and ways of God.

O Lord, how much of my life looks good on the outside in front of others, while all along You see my heart wanting my own way and not yours. I'm sorry Lord. Forgive me. I don't want to be a pretender any more. Help me, Lord!

O the other first...? Jeremiah, The first since Moses to prophesy to Jacob’s children in Egypt....?

You see, Jeremiah was kidnapped by Johannon and his remnant of Judah and taken to Egypt against the prophet’s oracle to remain in the promised land for God’s blessing. Jeremiah prophesied to that rebel remnant using a visual aid like he did 40 years before. But instead of a ruined waste band to make his point, he used two large stones placed outside the Pharoah’s palace. Here is where Babylon will place their throne over Egypt and the world. It’s coming. And most of you won't make it back to your homeland.

The will of man...to save himself...only to do just the opposite.

Jesus says I Am The Way! We believe...help our unbelief, Lord.

Have a great day

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August 20th

The bible reading today is in the three chapters of Habakkuk.

“O Lord, how long shall I cry for help, and you will not hear? Or cry to you “Violence!” and you will not save?”

‭‭Habakkuk‬ ‭1:2‬ ‭ESV‬‬

Habakkuk was a contemporary of Jeremiah during the Babylonian conflict with Judah. He was one of the unnamed prophets ministering in Judah and Benjamin. Habakkuk was calling upon Judah to repent and believe God for their salvation.

This prophecy not only addresses the Judeans and the Babylonians but also includes a Q and A with God. Habakkuk was having his own “struggle of faith” in those very stressful days before Babylon showed up.

Like Jeremiah, Habakkuk apparently got his prophetic start during Josiah’s Godly reign in Judah. Spiritual revival was taking place in Judah. It wouldn't last forever, but while it did, the prophets’ ministry was more of a support role alongside young Josiah.

The spiritual reformation in Judah did not last a full generation. Idolatry began seeping back into the life of the people. The Judeans began to adopt the ways of their foreign neighbors.

Habakkuk cried out to God. “I've been trying to help the true God followers stand with the Laws of God...for the reforms in spiritual life and worship that You led Moses and Aaron and David and now Josiah to champion. But the evil kings and wicked elders in Judah that came after Josiah have desecrated the Temple, put ungodly men into the priesthood, and set up foreign idols on the Temple Mount to open the way to the wrongful worship of foreign gods.

I have cried out to You O Lord for help to restore spiritual integrity upon the throne. How long will It be before you step in and do that? I have cried, “God, See the violence taking place against the just. How long will it be before You step in and save your promised land people?”

“Why do you make me see iniquity, and why do you idly look at wrong? Destruction and violence are before me; strife and contention arise.”

‭‭Habakkuk‬ ‭1:3‬ ‭ESV‬‬

How long will You wait to answer my heart’s prayer? Wow, sounds a lot like some of my desperate prayers to my God Savior.

Now let’s listen to God’s answer to Habakkuk, and to all the justified who walk by faith...“LOOK among the nations, and see; wonder and be astounded! For I am doing a work in your days that you would not believe if told.”

‭‭Habakkuk‬ ‭1:5‬ ‭ESV‬‬

“Look around” and see me at work...” be astounded”...” ponder the wonder and the mystery” of Me and My Working in and among my faithful...even among those who have been oppressed and bitterly treated... Believe Me...I am hearing you...your heart-rending prayers...My people will be saved...My way!

Wow sounds like Jesus speaking to Peter who rebuked the Christ when He said that He had come to suffer and die. Jesus was saying, My people will be saved...My way...my suffering... my death ...my resurrection...and my coming again...O in fewer words...I AM the WAY!

Habakkuk, in a Question and Answer time with the God Savior...prophesied the Gospel to all who would read the plain truth he was writing down...his generation of the faith all the way to ours and beyond. Awesome!

Have a great day

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August 19th

The bible reading today is in 2 Kings 24,25 and 2 Chronicles 36.

Before we move on from the Babylonian captivity of Judah, we read some more content for application.

150 years before now, Judah watched Assyria totally defeat and destroy the 10 tribes of Israel’s northern kingdom. The land and the cities were laid waste and plundered of anything of value. Thousands upon thousands of Israelites lost their lives in that war. And twice that many were led to Ninevah as slaves.

The prophets reminded Judah of God’s judgment upon their northern kinsmen. Judah was given years to repent of their own sins against God. Judah was warned time and time again to turn from their willful, wicked ways and back to their God Savior.

But backslidden Judah would not repent. And God’s promised judgment came upon them. Death and destruction touched every part of Judah...from the countryside to the fortified cities.

The king of Babylon struck Judeans down and put them to death in brutal ways. For instance, Judah’s King Zedekiah tried to run from Nebuchadnezzar's army. But they caught up with and his family in the plains of Jericho. The Babylonians murdered each member of his family while making Zedekiah watch the butchering. Then the king’s captors put his eyes out and bound him in shackles and took him to Ninevah to suffer and die in the darkness.

All of this happened to the nation of God’s promise because kings in Judah, including Zedekiah, refused to listen to God, and instead chose to shed the innocent blood of God’s faithful. Oh, how all of Israel needed a spiritual awakening.

Oh, friends, I cannot help but think of our own nation and the innocent blood that is shed in our streets through cold, self-centered lawlessness. I think of the 1 million unborn children that were legally aborted on demand in America in 2018. And that’s only the ones reported.

Judah had blood on her hands. And so does our nation.

I'm sure that there were believers in Judah that went to Temple to pray and worship and beg God to revive their nation...to save their nation before it was too late. Let us be those believers in America that worship and pray and beseech the Lord for His holy fire from above that will revive the church to a life of repentance and a first love for Jesus and people again. A revival of the fresh oil of the Holy Spirit upon the churches so we can be salt and light once again. Living in our towns and cities and neighborhoods to preserve life and expose the darkness and the destruction that comes from there upon our land.

Jeremiah the prophet wept over the sin of Israel...Jesus shed tears for Jerusalem...Lord give us broken hearts for the salvation of our nation too.

Have a great day.

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August 18th

The bible reading today is in Jeremiah 38-40 and Ps 74 & 79.

“Then the officials said to the king, “Let this man be put to death, for he is weakening the hands of the soldiers who are left in this city, and the hands of all the people, by speaking such words to them. For this man is not seeking the welfare of this people, but their harm.”

King Zedekiah said, “Behold, he is in your hands, for the king can do nothing against you.”

So they took Jeremiah and cast him into the cistern of Malchiah, the king’s son, which was in the court of the guard, letting Jeremiah down by ropes. And there was no water in the cistern, but only mud and Jeremiah sank in the mud.”

‭‭Jeremiah‬ ‭38:4-6‬ ‭ESV‬‬

The Babylonians were at the gates of Jerusalem, within days of taking the city, after an 18-month siege. Things were going down just as planned. Jeremiah had prophesied for years that because of Judah’s unfaithfulness to God, they and their great city would go down to their enemies. The enemy was Babylon.

God gave a last message to Judah through the prophet. “Surrender to Babylon. Submit to her king. And God would watch over them and restore them to their land one day.”

That one day would turn out to be 70 years. God would raise up spiritual leaders for the exiles in Babylon and, for the most part, would give them favor with their captors.

According to the text, the prophecy did not sit well with the princes of Judah. Instead of listening to God and going along with His plan, they listened to their financial advisors apparently. These powerful princes probably had great wealth tied up in the city. They probably superintended government deals with surrounding countries that were primed and ready to make them even wealthier. So giving up to the Babylonians would cost them greatly. And apparently they would have sacrificed military lives to keep their wealth and power intact.

So to what lengths did these “kingmakers” go? They told lies about Jeremiah and convinced a weak character king Zedekiah to put him away for good.

This reminds me of some similar actions against God’s servants recorded in the bible. Moses was a very humble man...He was accused of pride by the rebellious Korah. Job was a righteous man...He was accused of great sin by his friends. Jesus was the spotless one...He was accused of being demon-possessed by religious leaders in Jerusalem.

Yes, God’s servants can be attacked and railroaded into muddy dungeons without water and food to die, so self-serving men can prosper. Jeremiah, Paul, and Jesus...now that would be good company for obeying God.

Another thing about God’s servant/leaders, they all have to deal with hypocrites. Earlier in the siege, King Zedekiah came to Jeremiah. He begged the prophet to pray for him and Jerusalem...saying, “Pray to “our” God that He might help us.”

Zedekiah was playing Jeremiah...playing the hypocrite...pretending.....acting. He wanted the prophet’s prayers, but he didn't want the prophet’s preaching nor his counseling. Zedekiah was putting on a religious show for God’s prophet, looking to score some favorable points perhaps with Jeremiah and maybe God.

But in today’s reading, we learn that the friendship of Zedekiah to the prophet, was a self-serving fake at best, and outright betrayal at worst.

Wow, but what you and I don't hear...Jeremiah blaming God for his terrible life-threatening circumstances. Like Jesus and Paul, he gloried in being a part of God’s work. No matter what.

Have a great day