August 18 / Isaiah 40-41

Isaiah 40-41 If you are acquainted with G. F. Handel’s “Messiah”, you are sure to recognize Isaiah 40:1-5,9,11. (Go ahead, have a listen!) But even if you are not a fan of baroque music, I’m betting several verses here sound familiar, because we find them quoted in the New Testament. For example, all four Gospels …

August 17 / Isaiah 13:1-14:23; 21; 33-35; Daniel 5

Isaiah 13:1-14:23; 21; 33-35; Daniel 5 Like Assyria before it, Babylon has been the LORD’s instrument of judgment upon the nations. As we have seen before (e.g., July 4 and July 21), the LORD now turns and holds Babylon responsible for the evil Babylon committed in the process. As part of the LORD’s declaration of …

August 16 / Ezekiel 29:17-30:19; II Kings 25:27-30; Jeremiah 52:31-34

Ezekiel 29:17-30:19; II Kings 25:27-30; Jeremiah 52:31-34 Today we see that King Jehoiachin (aka Coniah or Jeconiah) ends his days in relative peace and comfort. He is still in exile in Babylon, of course, but he is no longer imprisoned and is treated well. It has been a while (a month ago, in fact) since …

August 15 / Ezekiel 43-48

Ezekiel 43-48 Today the glory of the LORD enters the Temple, not the old, defiled and destroyed temple that the LORD previously abandoned, but this new Temple of Ezekiel’s vision. As we noted yesterday, this new Temple has yet to be realized on this earth. Similarly, it is clear that Israel as a whole has …

August 13 / Ezekiel 38-39

Ezekiel 38-39 My life in Christ got a tremendous boost when, as a teen, I developed a keen interest in end-times prophecy, or “eschatology” — more precisely, “apocalyptic eschatology”. I read the book, The Late Great Planet Earth, by Hal Lindsey, then went on to read There’s a New World Coming, also by Hal Lindsey, …

August 12 / Ezekiel 34-37

Ezekiel 34-37 Today’s reading covers a lot of ground, and I cannot possibly do it justice here. (Of course, that is true every single day, but it seems especially true today!) Here we go, nonetheless! In Ezekiel 34, the LORD delivers a searing indictment of Israel’s leadership, the “shepherds”, who instead of caring for the …

August 11 / Psalm 137; Obadiah; Jeremiah 52:28-30; Ezekiel 33:1-20

Psalm 137; Obadiah 1-21; Jeremiah 52:28-30; Ezekiel 33:1-20 Obadiah prophesies against Edom, the descendants of Jacob’s brother, Esau. These are people who should have at least some level of familial affinity for Israel, but who are instead consistently hostile, vengefully gloating over and abetting the destruction of Jerusalem. We have previously read other prophesies against …

August 10 / Ezekiel 26-28, 32

Ezekiel 26-28, 32 Together with Ezekiel 25 from yesterday, today’s reading speaks of God’s judgment upon the nations surrounding Israel. Even the bit that seems to center on Israel (Ezekiel 28:24-26, in which the LORD declares that Israel will dwell securely) is really a promise to squash all Israel’s neighbors. Of all these nations, Tyre …

August 9 / Ezekiel 33:21-33; 19; 22:23-31; 25

Ezekiel 33:21-33; 19; 22:23-31; 25 As for you, son of man, your people who talk together about you by the walls and at the doors of the houses, say to one another, each to his brother, “Come, and hear what the word is that comes from the LORD.” Ezekiel 33:30 I read that verse, and …