August 19 - 2 Kings 24-25; 2 Chronicles 36: Judah in Exile; Their Land Rests

Today’s Reading: 2 Kings 24-25; 2 Chronicles 36

The Message

English Standard Version

Today we finish two books, 2 Kings and 2 Chronicles! This brings us to 26 books read. Only 13 to go in the Old Testament!

Thought to Guide Your Reading

Jerusalem was taken over by the Babylonians then ransacked later because Judah never learned from their mistakes.

Summary in 100 Words or Less

Egyptians took Jehoahaz into exile after three months.
Jehoiakim unsuccessfully rebelled three years later.
Babylonians took Jehoiachin into exile after three months.
During Zedekiah's reign Nebuzaradan took the Temple's bronze to Babylon. Judeans were murdered indiscriminately—even in the Temple. Then they razed the city. Judah went into exile.
Manasseh's murderous sins doomed Judah. All of Jeremiah's warnings came true. The land at last had its Sabbath rest.
Gedaliah, Babylon's appointed governor, was killed by the royal descendent Ishmael.
Jehoiachin sat at the king's table later in life.
Cyrus, the Persian king, urged God's Chosen People to return.

How Today’s Reading Contributes to the Gospel: God is Setting All Things Right

Judah's fall did not happen all at once.

Judah did not go into exile all at once. They had multiple chances to repent and change but instead ignored Jeremiah's warnings.

Babylon's war crimes would eventually catch up to them.

God would not allow Babylon to go scot free from their crimes. These are the crimes Isaiah (twice) and Jeremiah mentioned when they spoke of Babylon's sin. Babylon was called by God to punish Judah for their sin but instead committed worse acts.

The land enjoyed rest.

God told Israel to give the land a year of rest to test Israel's faith. God also warned that if they did not allow the land to rest He would give it to their enemies and then the land would have all of its Sabbaths at once. Israel and Judah never gave the land its rest. So for 70 years the land rested to make up for lost time.

King Cyrus allowed Israel to return.

We will get into this in the next month. Since the Chronicles were written to a post-exilic community, this section helped to bridge the contents of those books to the post-exilic history. It also showed that God's promises would come true. God's Warnings and His Promises come true.

Do you see how God set things right even when Judah went into exile?

August 18 - Jeremiah 38-40; Psalms 74 and 79: Babylon Destroys the Temple and Takes Judah into Exile

Today’s Reading: Jeremiah 38-40; Psalms 74 and 79

The Message

English Standard Version

Thought to Guide Your Reading

These chapters fill in the blanks from the previous chapters.

Summary in 100 Words or Less

Zedekiah allowed Jeremiah's enemies to throw him into a cistern. The king rescued Jeremiah to ask for advice, promising not to kill him.
Jeremiah replied, "If you surrender to the king of Babylon you will live."
Nebuchadnezzar's troops broke through the walls. Zedekiah and his men ran. Babylonian troops caught them, killed Zedekiah's family, blinded him, and burned Jerusalem to the ground—including the Temple.
Judah went into exile, except the poor and undesirable. Jeremiah was protected and released. The remnant would live in peace if they were loyal to Babylon.
Many people returned to Judah. God blessed the land.

Psalm (P)Synopsis

Psalm 74

The exiles cry out to God because their Temple has been desecrated and burned. They ask God how long before the guilty are punished for their crimes. They ask God if He hears what is going on.

Psalm 79

Asaph cries out to God because the Temple and Jerusalem have been destroyed. They ask how long these atrocities will go on. Why has God allowed pagans to punish His Chosen People? God's Reputation is salvation! Why did He let them get away with this? Judah ask for pardon. Then they will return with thanksgiving and tell others what He has done.

How Today’s Reading Contributes to the Gospel: God is Setting All Things Right

Judah's leaders (other than those from yesterday) never listened to Jeremiah.

We do not know the timing of Jeremiah's conversation with King Zedekiah and Jerusalem's downfall, so it is difficult to connect the two closely; however, Jeremiah told Judah not to run. Yet when the time came Zedekiah ran and paid for it dearly. Some people will never learn. They will always go against God even if it means punishment.

The Temple in Honor of God was destroyed.

We read about this earlier, so I will not belabor that point here. The inclusion of these two psalms in the Bible is interesting. God has already told Judah exactly why He is destroying the Temple—they won't listen to Him. What is ironic about these psalms is that they cry out as though it was God's weakness that caused the Temple's destruction. So it seems wrong for them to ask why God allowed these things to happen.
After meditating on these words I believe something deeper is going on. The remnant cried out to God after the destruction of the Temple as an emotional response to a great injustice. I believe these psalms are included because God wants us to see that even when we are in the wrong the proper response is to cry to Him for justice. God has previously told Judah that Babylon would be punished as well for their crimes, which we read today. Emotional responses do not rely on logic or reason. They are raw. They are untamed. This is why I rarely take the responses by the mother of a known criminal serious. It is also why the responses the first two or three days after an emotional event should be held against the person later. They may regret it anyway. God does not censure emotional responses. Neither should we.

God protected Jeremiah.

God promised to protect him at the beginning of the book. Jeremiah was the only person protected. Jerusalem had the opportunity to go peacefully and live but declined. God protects those who obey Him.

Do you trust God to protect you—even in the face of your enemies?

August 12 - Jeremiah 18-22: The Potter Rejects the Clay

Today’s Reading: Jeremiah 18-22

The Message

English Standard Version

Thought to Guide Your Reading

While God tries to encourage Judah to set things right, Judah wants to do away with Jeremiah.

Summary in 100 Words or Less

God had two outcomes for Israel: if they repented or stayed stubborn.
Judah's valley of idols would become a sewer because they sacrificed children there.
Jeremiah was whipped for bringing bad news. He wishes he had never been born.
King Zedekiah wanted God to defeat Nebuchadnezzar. Instead, God would join Nebuchadnezzar's side. "Only those who surrender will survive My Anger.
"If you set things right the kingdom will survive. If not, rubble. Rich people do not set things right. Jerusalem, your disinterest in Me will be your downfall. Now you will never return. Jehoiachin is the last of the kings."

How Today’s Reading Contributes to the Gospel: God is Setting All Things Right

God treats us like clay—we are made into whatever we work with the potter to create.

We are different from a potter's clay in one aspect: we can decide to work with the potter or against the potter. Israel decided to go against God and instead of repenting when their mistakes were brought to them they became defiant. Judah is doing the same.

Judah loses patience with Jeremiah. Jeremiah loses confidence.

People like prophets who say nice things. Jeremiah has nothing good to say to Judah. They no longer want to hear it. They have gone so far to whip Jeremiah. Let's hope we never get to the point we whip those who call us to set things right.
Jeremiah suffers from depression. He knows God will protect him, but wishes God would remove him and let someone else bring the bad news. It's not easy being a prophet.

God would symbolically turn Judah's worship areas into sewers and trash pits because they offered sacrifices God thought reprehensible.

God's Chosen People have gone so far that they offer their children as sacrifices to a god they do not know. Child sacrifice is something God would never dream of asking His Chosen People to sacrifice. Therefore, God would turn their diabolically-sacred valley into what it is to Him—a place for filth and refuse.

The sin of Jeroboam has come to its final conclusion—the exile of all Israel.

Jeroboam's shrine-worship entered Judah around the time Israel went into exile. Even though Josiah removed the shrines, he could not get the people to stop worshiping these gods. Beware your legacy, either for good or for ill. How ironic that Zedekiah wants God to conjure up a miracle for them—a people who care nothing for God asking for a favor. What a horrible end to such a great house.

Even to the end God's message to Judah is the same—if you set things right you will survive.

You get the feeling God is the spurned lover who never gives up. Right before Judah goes into captivity God makes one last effort to get them to set things right. They would lose their land either way, but the house of David would survive. Unfortunately, they would not listen and were ultimately destroyed. God's call remains until the bitter end—if you set things right you will be protected.

Will you work with the Potter?