Jeremiah 25:15-38, 36:1-32, 45:1-46:28 When starting a puzzle, you typically start with the border and then move into the center. The border helps to provide a framework for understanding where the rest of the pieces go. When we read the Bible, we similarly need a framework from the whole Bible to understand individual pieces. Part of constructing this framework is to utilize clear verses to help ...  Read More

2 Chronicles 36:1-4; 2 Kings 23:31-37; 2 Chronicles 36:5; Jeremiah 22:1-23, 26:1-24; 2 Kings 24:1-4; Jeremiah 25:1-14 In a courtroom, evidence is critical to prove the guilt or innocence of the person on trial. Similarly, God desires that we would have evidence in front of a watching world to show we are his children. Jeremiah 22:15-16 speaks of Josiah and says, "‘He did what was right and just, s...  Read More

Zephaniah 2:8-3:20; 2 Chronicles 35:20-27; 2 Kings 23:29-30; Jeremiah 47:1-48:47 We have a God who cries. We see this most clearly in Jesus who weeps at the grave of Lazarus and over the unrepentant city of Jerusalem. Yet God is seen to cry repeatedly in the Old Testament. In Jeremiah 48 we see God wailing over Moab, moaning over the people of Kir Hareseth, and weeping over others. This crying com...  Read More

Habakkuk 1:1-3:19; Zephaniah 1:1-2:7 All of us probably have a series of questions that we cannot wait to ask God. They may be theological, Biblical, or life situations we find hard to reconcile with God's grace, mercy, and love. This is the situation in which Habakkuk found himself. He asks God a series of questions beginning with: how God could remain silent in the face of injustice. He wants to...  Read More

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 One of the beautiful works of the Reformation was the emphasis on the fact that salvation comes through personal faith in Christ alone (sola fide). This is not something that reformers like Luther, Calvin and others fabricated but is found throughout the pages of Scripture. Israel has modeled for us king...  Read More

Jeremiah 5:20-6:30; 2 Kings 22:3-20; 2 Chronicles 34:8-28 We hear so many different sounds and words every day but many of them simply go in one ear and out the other. Today, we encounter three different ways we might respond to God's words when we hear them. The first possible response is to have “ears but do not hear” (Jeremiah 5:21) This is a common refrain throughout the Bible for those who he...  Read More

Jeremiah 2:23-5:19 When high schoolers apply to colleges, they often have a safety school. This is a college where they feel confident they will be accepted if all other options come to nothing. Judah began to treat God as a safety god. They had turned to a myriad of idols and only when those other options failed, they actually turn to God. Unlike a safety school that may be happy to still have th...  Read More

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 We probably all know someone who seems to be far from Christ. We may have been praying for this person for a long time, and even shared the gospel with them but were rejected. We may categori...  Read More

Isaiah 63:15-66:24; 2 Kings 20:20-21; 2 Chronicles 32:32-33 Who am I? This question of identity is central. If we had a stable family when we were young, we may have found our identity there, then after leaving home we may have tried to find it in a career or romantic relationship, but we were always trying to discover who we were. At the end of Isaiah we see where this issue of identity is addres...  Read More

Isaiah 58:1-63:14 One of the most common answers to how are you doing is, I'm fine. Literally, it is to feel that you are not bad or good, just okay. We, like Judah, may often find ourselves in this condition. If we think that we are fine, then we generally will not make any significant changes in our life. In the book of Isaiah, Judah had found itself unable to see the extent of their sin. They d...  Read More

Isaiah 52:13-57:21 What would you say if you were asked why Jesus is the Messiah? One of the key responses is that Jesus fulfilled prophecies in the Old Testament, many of which we read in Isaiah. Isaiah 52:14 tells us the servant's "appearance was so disfigured beyond that of any human being and his form marred beyond human likeness." Isaiah 53:3-5 "He was despised and rejected by mankind, a man ...  Read More

Isaiah 48:12-52:12 There are several themes that stick out throughout today's reading: the sovereignty of God, the judgment of God, the suffering Servant, and the bounty of the Lord's favor—and not in that order. Israel, even during its captivity, remains God's chosen one—as we are reminded in the very first verse of today's reading. And who would not want to be the chosen one of the One whose "ha...  Read More