Ezekiel 22:17-23:49; 2 Kings 24:20-25:2; Jeremiah 52:3-5, 39:1; Ezekiel 24:1-14 In America the most common view of God is described as moral therapeutic deism. This is a view that there is a god, but he is primarily concerned about me being a good person more than me having a relationship with him. In this view, he exists for my personal happiness and not for his glory; and he created the world, b...  Read More

Ezekiel 20:1-22:16 Have you ever missed an ingredient in a recipe, and it just did not taste right? Similarly, when we miss aspects of God’s character, it should not feel right. We need to understand fully who God is to be able to respond to him rightly. Ezekiel wanted the “elders of Israel” to know God’s character, so he recounted the Exodus. The phrase “for the sake of my name” is repeated three...  Read More

Ezekiel 17:1-19:14 Ezekiel 17 ends with the Sovereign Lord taking a “tender sprig” from the top of the “cedar,” the messianic line, and planting the Messiah as King over Israel. The birds nesting in the tree symbolize all nations submitting to Messiah’s rule. The chapter ends with a promise, “I the Lord have spoken, and I will do it.” The Messiah will ultimately reign over the world.This Messianic...  Read More

Ezekiel 14:1-16:63 I forgot. This is something I say almost daily as things go in one ear and out the other. How easily we forget things. God, in understanding the forgetfulness of his people, reminds them in Ezekiel 16 of all he has done for them. He brought life to them, raised them, married them, and provided for all their needs. Despite God's extravagant grace and provision, they ran from him ...  Read More

Ezekiel 10:1-13:23 God is gone! This may sound like some click bait article on the internet, but it actually happened to the people of Judah. Ezekiel was given a vision of God's glory leaving the temple in Jerusalem. God was enthroned over the ark of the covenant (in some sense) within the temple, but on one fateful day before the destruction of Jerusalem, he is seen to move from the temple to the...  Read More

Ezekiel 5:1-9:11 Reading the prophets may feel like you are on a hamster wheel. You are reading a lot but going nowhere. For over a month we have been reading about the imminent judgment coming upon Judah, but it still has not come. Ezekiel is speaking the same judgment as other prophets but speaking in Babylon. What would be the purpose of his prophecies since he is speaking to those who have alr...  Read More

Ezekiel 3:16-4:17; Jeremiah 27:1-28:17, 51:59-64 Ezekiel and Jeremiah prophesied at the same time but in different locations. Jeremiah was with the remnant in Judah, while Ezekiel was among the exiles in Babylon. Despite their different locations they both played a key role in communicating God's truth. This calling was so critical that God told Ezekiel, if he failed to communicate God's message, ...  Read More

Jeremiah 37:11-38:28; Ezekiel 1:1-3:15 God makes amazing things like porcupines, giraffes, hippos, and humans. Today we are introduced to “four living creatures” that reside in heaven. Their description is bizarre and hard to fully comprehend. They are like humans but with four faces and four wings, with human hands under the wings. They have legs but their feet are like that of a calf. Their four...  Read More

Jeremiah 51:15-58; 2 Chronicles 36:10; 2 Kings 24:10-17; 1 Chronicles 3:10-16; 2 Chronicles 36:11-14; Jeremiah 52:1-3; 2 Kings 24:18-20; Jeremiah 37:1-10 Who is the winner? Typically, we decide a winner based on a single game or an individual season. We crown the winning teams as champions and move on. God’s view of a winner is based on a much longer perspective. Babylon is about to destroy Jerusa...  Read More

Jeremiah 31:15-40, 49:34-51:14 How easy it is to feel like God has abandoned us when difficulty comes. We so often expect that God is going to deliver personal happiness and comfort to us, when that has never been promised. Judah would have wondered these same questions about where God was having watched many of their friends dragged away while a remnant remained in the land. Yet in the face of di...  Read More

Jeremiah 23:33-24:10, 29:1-31:14 Exile. This word is defined as, "prolonged separation from one's country or home, as by force of circumstances." This word is true of the identity of everyone born after the fall of Adam and Eve. Jeremiah is writing to those who have already been exiled, while a large contingent remains in the land. The questions that Jeremiah answers revolve around how to live in ...  Read More

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 Judah was led politically by Jehoiachin, who "did evil in the eyes of the Lord" (2 Kings 24:9) and was led spiritually by prophets who spewed lies and deception. Yet amid this leadership vacuum comes a promise from God. Jeremiah 23 tells us God is going to raise up a righteous Branch, a w...  Read More