Daily Bible Devotionals

“In the thirteenth year, in the fourth month, on the fifth day of the month, while I was among the exiles by the Chebar Canal, the heavens opened up and I saw visions of God. On the fifth day of the month – it was the year of king Jehoiachin’s exile – the Word of the Lord came directly to Ezekiel the priest, son of Buzi, in the land of the Chaldeans by the Chebar Canal. And the Lord’s hand was on him there.” Ezekiel 1:1-3 (HCSB)

Christianity is a religion of the Word. That is why I cannot trust any congregation or religious institution that does not esteem God’s Word and vigorously exhort its congregants to read it. That is why these Bible devotionals exist. In the Bible, God has revealed all that He requires of us to know concerning Himself, His plans, and purposes. Hundreds of thousands of words, written over 1,500 years by forty-some authors, underline that words are essential to our faith.  

But in literature, a stubborn truth persists in making itself known: most people remember pictures better than words. Remember the old saying, “A picture paints a thousand words”? It is true. That is why the Bible’s writers, guided by the Holy Spirit, seasoned their words with vivid word pictures to help communicate something of the thoughts of God to the feeble minds of men. Ezekiel is full of word pictures!

G. K. Chesterton once wrote in a children’s picture book:

Stand up, and keep your childishness,

Read all the pedant’s creeds and strictures

But don’t believe in anything

That can’t be told in colored pictures!

The opening verse of Ezekiel’s book relates how, along with the text of Revelation, this prophecy is packed with intricate word sketches: “I saw visions of God.”  Colored pictures abound throughout Ezekiel’s prophecy, but as we will soon see, the images are not Ezekiel’s but God’s. More importantly, these God-given pictures need interpreting. It is a message and not a picture that Ezekiel will be called to deliver to God’s people.  

Most followers of Jesus have never read Ezekiel, figuring experts should explain such Scriptures. I say it’s time to grow up, do some thinking, and ask the Lord what He is trying to communicate to you personally. Understand that God gave His Word to share with individuals, not just scholars. It is you with whom He wants an ongoing personal relationship, not an exclusive club of PhDs.  

A word of caution, though: Pictures, without correct Biblical interpretation, are dangerous vehicles for truth. People are prone to interpret them however they want. We must remember that the book of Ezekiel is essentially Messianic. While Ezekiel begins with words of unremitting judgments, he ends with restoration and blessing, a message America could use today!

“Our fathers sinned and are no more, but we bear their iniquities. Servants rule over us; there is none to deliver us from their hand. We get our bread at the risk of our lives, because of the sword in the wilderness. Our skin is hot as an oven, because of the fever of famine. They ravished the women in Zion, the maidens in the cities of Judah. Princes were hung up by their hands, and elders were not respected. Young men ground at the millstones; boys staggered under loads of wood. The elders have ceased gathering at the gate, and the young men from their music. The joy of our heart has ceased; our dance has turned into mourning. The crown has fallen from our head. Woe to us, for we have sinned! Because of this our heart is faint; because of these things our eyes grow dim; because of Mount Zion which is desolate, with foxes walking about on it.” Lamentations 5:7-18 (NKJV)

The Biblical book we know as “Lamentations” is not titled as such in the Hebrew Bible. In Hebrew, it’s called “Eicha” meaning “How?” This title makes more sense than Lamentations because simply judging Jeremiah’s book as a lamentation sells short God’s intended message of hope to the dispersed Jews, staggering in chains as they are being carried off into captivity. This is not a time to simply be emotional. It is time for God’s “Chosen” to seriously contemplate their circumstances and learn! The Jewish people were to ask themselves (for 70 years – Jeremiah 29), “HOW did this happen?”  “HOW can we keep this from getting worse?” Most importantly, they were to ask, “HOW can we be forgiven by God, possibly be repaired to a right relationship with Him, and return to the Promised Land?”

“You, O Lord, remain forever; your throne from generation to generation. Why do You forget us forever, and forsake us for so long a time? Turn us back to You, O Lord, and we will be restored; renew our days as of old, unless You have utterly rejected us, and are very angry with us!” Lamentations 5:19-22 (NKJV)

Jeremiah is speaking on behalf of the people, not necessarily his personal opinion…a national confession, as it were. Chapter 5 begins with some blame-shifting. i.e., “Our fathers sinned, and we are suffering because of their poor choices…” While that may be true to some extent, eventually, they get around to their personal choices, “Woe to us, for we have sinned!” And that confession, the recognition that we have fallen short of God’s articulated standard (His Word), is always the trigger that leads to restoration.  

Every year, religious Jews read the book of Eicha aloud. It is read softly at first. The volume of the reader’s voice builds to the climax, which is sung aloud by the entire congregation: “Turn us to you, O Lord, and we will return. Renew our days as of old.” But God has already turned, not only to the Jewish community but also to any Gentile who seeks a right relationship with Him. His desire to restore comes through Messiah, Jesus our Lord & Savior! The ball is not on God’s side of the tennis court but on OURS! We must choose Jesus because He has already chosen to redeem us!

“Therefore say to them, ‘Thus says the Lord of hosts: “Return to Me,” says the Lord of hosts, “and I will return to you,” says the Lord of hosts.’” Zechariah 1:3 (HCSB9)

“Daughter of Zion, your punishment is complete; He will not lengthen your exile. But He will punish your iniquity, daughter of Edom, and will expose your sins.” Lamentations 4:22 (HCSB)

Mercy. You never know how great Mercy is until you need it. To refresh our memories, Grace is a free gift. Grace is getting something you do not deserve. Mercy is NOT getting what you deserve. Mercy is when we receive punishment (to teach us our transgressions are offensive) but not to the full extent of the law (to teach us the Judge still holds us to a degree of esteem, although we have transgressed).

Before he wrote Lamentations, Jeremiah delivered God’s message of Mercy to the exiles of Jerusalem. As they walked out of town (because of God’s judgment), Jeremiah sent a message of encouragement: You will someday be restored.

“I will restore the fortunes of Judah and of Israel and will rebuild them as in former times. I will purify them from all the wrongs they have committed against Me. This city will bear on My behalf a name of joy, praise, and glory before all the nations of the earth, who will hear of all the good I will do for them. They will tremble because of all the good and all the peace I will bring about for them.” Jeremiah 33:7-9 (HCSB)

While in exile, the remnant of Jerusalem must have tended to focus on the harshness of God’s rebuke. God had Daniel remind them WHY they were in exile and how it was avoidable. Yet, they refused to accept His terms of reparation.

“Just as it is written in the law of Moses, all this disaster has come on us, yet we have not appeased the Lord our God by turning from our iniquities and paying attention to Your truth.”  Daniel 9:13 (HCSB)

It is not difficult for followers of Jesus in our generation to look at the iniquities of our increasingly Godless nation (even Godlessness within the walls of our places of worship) and wonder if the Lord is preparing a reckoning for us soon. And what if He is? Many years before the destruction of Jerusalem, there was a king, Josiah, who was bent on restoring the Temple in Jerusalem. During the Temple renovations, the priest found the Book of the Law. When they read God’s Word to the king, he tore his robe and sought a prophet to seek the Lord on behalf of the people.

“Go. Ask YHWH for me and for those remaining in Israel and Judah, concerning the words of the book that was found. For great is the Lord’s wrath that is poured out on us because our fathers have not kept the word of the Lord in order to do everything written in this book.” 2 Chronicles 34:21 (HCSB)

In response to Josiah’s repentance, which included him ordering the people of his kingdom to repent, the Lord told the prophet to inform Josiah He would turn back his imminent judgment. Lord, let ours be a “Josiah Generation”! We need revival!

“Remember my affliction and my homelessness, the wormwood and the poison. I continually remember them and have become depressed. Yet I call this to mind, and therefore I have hope: Because of the Lord’s faithful love we do not perish, for His mercies are new every morning; great is Your faithfulness! I say: The Lord is my portion, therefore I will put my hope in Him. The Lord is good to those who wait for Him, to the person who seeks Him. It is good to wait quietly for deliverance from the Lord. It is good for a man to bear the yoke while he is still young.” Lamentations 3:19-27 (HCSB)

Lamentations 3 is the most elaborate of the lamenting elegies. It surpasses its “sisters” in spiritual value because it contains this (above) supreme expression of faith. We cannot overlook the fact that Jeremiah is personifying the nation and personifying Messiah, as he uses vivid word pictures to describe the types of sufferings that were fully realized in Jesus.

For instance, Jeremiah was led around in darkness, and the Lord seemed to have forsaken him. He describes being crushed and broken, surrounded by grief and weariness, bound with heavy chains, and thrown in a dungeon. He is one who was on a journey and blocked by “hewn stones” (an image of the Jewish leaders) and turned aside to perplexing paths. He is hunted, arrows pierce his heart, is derided by his people, and is subject to mocking songs. He feasted on bitterness and was made to drink gall. He is even denied the peace that other sufferers may come to know. These, and several other images, all foreshadow the Messiah’s suffering.

All these accounts build a passionate plea for deliverance. Here, the Lord is presented not as an enemy but a Deliverer and Friend. It is noteworthy, even from a literary point of view, that this beautiful paragraph of confident trust and spiritual instruction is the central section of the central chapter of this lament. It towers above the dark valleys of grief and despair.

In this present generation, one in which we will soon see rebuke for our personal and national sin, we must remember this beautiful promise:

“Be satisfied with what you have, for He Himself has said, ‘I will never leave you or forsake you.’ Therefore, we may boldly say: The Lord is my helper; I will not be afraid. What can man do to me?’ Hebrews 13:5b-6 (HCSB)

Finally, we have an exhortation to seek the Lord while we are young, and to learn to humbly follow Him.  This is so we will not be thrown into anxiety when life’s troubles come upon us later in life. That is why it is essential to read His Word daily. When we fast-track Biblical literacy, we are fast-tracking faith! (Romans 10:17)

This Groundworks Ministries Podcast is coming soon! In the meantime, click the “Read Full Chapter” button above to study Lamentations 2.

“My transgressions have been formed into a yoke, fastened together by His hand; they have been placed upon my neck, and the Lord has broken my strength. He has handed me over to those I cannot withstand.” Lamentations 1:14 (HCSB)

In this opening elegy, two voices are heard; the first is that of the poet (verses 1-11), and the second is that of stricken Jerusalem (verses 12-22). To arouse sympathy, Jerusalem is personified. She is represented as a widow to indicate her loneliness. The city is alone, not because she is isolated among the hills, but because her streets are silent and houses empty; the “widow” has been robbed of her children. The “princess among the provinces” is now a maidservant.

Jerusalem weeps bitter tears in the night. Her “lovers,” her former allies among the nations and their pagan gods, have proven faithless and become her enemies. Jerusalem is a sad metaphor for what happens to all who depart from God’s Word and set out on their own, seeking to establish for themselves that which only God can provide.

So precisely instructive are the lessons of “Lamentations” that every chapter has 22 lines, corresponding with the 22-letter Hebrew alphabet. Chances are, even your own Bible has the Hebrew letters above every stanza. The idea is that when Jewish children were learning to spell, as part of their curriculum, they would memorize the Book of Lamentations. Every Hebrew letter, then, became a reminder of the consequences of sin. We learn: “A” is for “Apple.”  They would learn: “Alef” is for “How she sits alone, the city once crowded with people! She, who was great among the nations, has become like a widow. The princess among the provinces has become a slave.”

In today’s passage, it is with THAT knowledge that EVERY Hebrew learned to read by the primer of Lamentations so that we can better understand the gravity that Jesus’ words would have had upon the hearers of His day. They would have known the book of Lamentations by memory; thus, they were completely aware of what Jesus meant when He said:

“Come to Me, all you who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For My yoke is easy and My burden is light.” Matthew 11:28-30 (NKJV)

As with Israel’s need for restoration, the United States (and the entire world, for that matter) is in disrepair and in dire need to be repaired to God through Messiah Jesus. True to Chapter 5, Messiah came to establish restoration. Are you suffering under the heavy hand of God’s rebuke of your sin? Do not rebel against Him! (Hebrews 3:8-19) It didn’t work the first time, and it will never work out well, in the end, for those who depart from His instruction. Surrender your will to Him and let Him lead you to that place of rest.

“On the twenty-fifth day of the twelfth month of the thirty-seventh year of the exile of Judah’s King Jehoiachin, Evil-Merodach king of Babylon in the first year of his reign, pardoned King Jehoiachin of Judah and released him from the prison. He spoke kindly to him and set his throne above the thrones of the kings who were with him in Babylon. So Jehoiachin changed his prison clothes, and he dined regularly in the presence of the king of Babylon for the rest of his life. As for his allowance, a regular allowance was given to him by the king of Babylon, a portion for each day until the day of his death, for the rest of his life.” Jeremiah 52:31-34 (HCSB)

They say a story’s not a legend ‘till it ends. The last chapter of Jeremiah’s prophecy is in the form of a historical re-telling. It is a short story because its substance has already been relayed. (Jeremiah 39, 2 Kings 24:18 – 25:30)  It is a sad story because it concerns the fall of Jerusalem and the tragic suffering of its rulers and people. It is an important story, as it is used here (to close the prophecies), for the very center of the predictions has been the destruction of the sacred city. Now, the fulfillment of prophecy justifies and vindicates the prophet whose stern words have been spoken. It is also significant that it ends with a gleam of comfort and hope.

In recording the capture of the city, special mention is made of the savage treatment given to the king. It’s true that Zedekiah was wicked and proved a treacherous servant of Nebuchadnezzar. However, it is difficult not to feel sorry for his suffering soul as he watches his sons slaughtered and then is blinded & carried in chains to Babylon to spend the rest of his years in torture and darkness. The destruction of the city, the burning of its famous Temple, the ruin of its palaces, and the dismantling of its wall form a sense of horror, while the deportation of the people leaves the impression of a desolated and ravished land.

The spoils carried away by the Chaldean commander included as its chief feature the precious furnishings of brass and gold and silver, which had been the very glory of the Temple. The final notes of cruelty depict the merciless execution by Nebuchadnezzar of the priests, nobles, and surviving defenders of the fallen city. Such atrocities were well within the characters of the Assyrian and Chaldean rulers. The small number of remaining captives carried away to Babylon indicates what havoc must have been wrought among the Jews by slaughter, famine, and pestilence during the long, hopeless months of the Babylonian siege. As Jeremiah predicted, only a “remnant” of the nation remained.

Yet through the remnant, the nation was to be preserved, renewed, and restored. Of this restoration, at least a dim hope can be found in the fate of Israel’s King, Jehoiachin.

After 37 years of captivity, he was brought out of prison, given royal honors, and seated at the table with the ruler of Babylon. Likewise, after years of discipline and suffering, the people of God were to be delivered, restored, and given the high privilege of becoming the nation in which the Savior of the World, Jesus, was to appear.

“Thus the slain shall fall in the land of the Chaldeans, and those thrust through in her streets. For Israel is not forsaken, nor Judah, by his God, the Lord of hosts, though their land was filled with sin against the Holy One of Israel.”  Jeremiah 51:4-5 (NKJV)

In the Divided Kingdom era of the Hebrew people, both the Northern Kingdom (aka Israel) and The Southern Kingdom (aka Judah) were conquered and sent into exile. So, had God un-chosen His “Chosen People”? By no means! The rebuke of God does not mean the rejection of God for believers, although it may seem like it at times!

Today’s chapter focuses on the judgment of the mother of all idolaters: Babylon. God is telling His people to leave Babylon because He is about to destroy her and her idolatrous, spiritually fornicating ways. He likens Babylon to a whore who entices men by getting them drunk.

“Flee from the midst of Babylon, and every one save his life! Do not be cut off in her iniquity, for this is the time for the Lord’s vengeance; He shall recompense her. Babylon was a golden cup in the Lord’s hand, that made all the earth drunk. The nations drank her wine; therefore the nations are deranged. Babylon has suddenly fallen and been destroyed. Wail for her!”  Jeremiah 51:6-8a (NKJV)

Babylon is mentioned as a “golden cup in the Lord’s hand,” but that does not mean God endorsed her ways. He simply allowed those who refused to turn to Him to turn to Babylon’s idolatry. Even in this, we see God’s grace in that He allows us to pursue our sins so that we can come to the end of ourselves. Consider our nation’s present moral compromise. Perhaps, when we reach rock bottom, we will turn from our sin and receive His forgiveness through Messiah Jesus. In the light of Jeremiah’s prophecy, consider John’s words about Babylon in the Revelation:

“After this I saw another angel with great authority coming down from heaven, and the earth was illuminated by his splendor. He cried in a mighty voice: It has fallen, Babylon the Great has fallen! She has become a dwelling for demons, a haunt for every unclean spirit, a haunt for every unclean bird, and a haunt for every unclean and despicable beast. For all the nations have drunk the wine of her sexual immorality, which brings wrath. The kings of the earth have committed sexual immorality with her, and the merchants of the earth have grown wealthy from her excessive luxury. Then I heard another voice from heaven: Come out of her, My people, so that you will not share in her sins or receive any of her plagues. For her sins are piled up to heaven, and God has remembered her crimes. Pay her back the way she also paid, and double it according to her works. In the cup in which she mixed, mix a double portion for her. As much as she glorified herself and lived luxuriously, give her that much torment and grief, for she says in her heart, ‘I sit as a queen; I am not a widow, and I will never see grief.’ For this reason her plagues will come in one day—death and grief and famine. She will be burned up with fire, because the Lord God who judges her is mighty.” Revelation 18:1-8 (HCSB)

“Call together the archers against Babylon. All you who bend the bow, encamp against it all around; let none of them escape. Repay her according to her work; according to all she has done, do to her; for she has been proud against the Lord, against the Holy One of Israel. Therefore her young men shall fall in the streets, and all her men of war shall be cut off in that day,” says the Lord. “Behold, I am against you, O most haughty one!” says the Lord God of hosts; “For your day has come, the time that I will punish you. The most proud shall stumble and fall, and no one will raise him up; I will kindle a fire in his cities, and it will devour all around him.” Jeremiah 50:29-32 (NKJV)

The Lord allowed the damage that the culture of Babylon had inflicted on the people of Israel (through seductive idolatry – aka spiritual adultery) to physically manifest itself on the Jewish people by their being conquered by the kingdom of Babylon. If Judah were to forsake God for Babylonian idols, then the Lord would withdraw His protection and allow them to live under Babylonian pagan taskmasters! While the kingdom of Babylon was destroyed thousands of years ago, its idolatrous enticements are still seducing God’s people today. Just as Babylon was judged in the Bible, so the lingering “whore” who entices mankind away from following the Lord (Mystery of Babylon) awaits judgment in the last days.

“Then one of the seven angels who had the seven bowls came and talked with me, saying to me, ‘Come, I will show you the judgment of the great harlot who sits on many waters, with whom the kings of the earth committed fornication, and the inhabitants of the earth were made drunk with the wine of her fornication.’ So he carried me away in the Spirit into the wilderness. And I saw a woman sitting on a scarlet beast which was full of names of blasphemy, having seven heads and ten horns.  The woman was arrayed in purple and scarlet, and adorned with gold and precious stones and pearls, having in her hand a golden cup full of abominations and the filthiness of her fornication. And on her forehead a name was written: MYSTERY, BABYLON THE GREAT, THE MOTHER OF HARLOTS AND OF THE ABOMINATIONS OF THE EARTH. I saw the woman, drunk with the blood of the saints and with the blood of the martyrs of Jesus. And when I saw her, I marveled with great amazement.” Revelation 17:1-6 (NKJV)

But a remnant of the “Chosen” people will again choose God! (Jerimiah 50:4-5; Rev 7:4)

“Thus says the Lord of hosts: ‘The children of Israel were oppressed, along with the children of Judah; all who took them captive have held them fast; they have refused to let them go. Their Redeemer is strong; the Lord of hosts is His name. He will thoroughly plead their case, that He may give rest to the land, and disquiet the inhabitants of Babylon.’” Jeremiah 50:33-34 (NKJV)

“My little children, these things I write to you, so that you may not sin. And if anyone sins, we have an Advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous.” 1 John 2:1 (NKJV)