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Dear Heavenly Father, Praise Everything you do is worthy of praise, and so I praise you today for the wrath and judgment you poured out on Jerusalem. Your holiness cannot abide sin forever, and the only just punishment for unrepentant wickedness is death. You are a God who should be feared as well as loved, for you are “a consuming fire.” I worship and serve you with reverence and godly fear! (Heb 12:28b–29). Praise the Lord! Today in Your Word Today you told me about the fall of Jerusalem in 587 bc. Everything you predicted through the prophets was fulfilled. You said that there would be a famine: the people would eat their bread with care (Ezek 4:16), and finally, they would eat their own children (Ezek 5:10). Just as you said, it happened (2 Kgs 25:3). Babies cried out for thirst, children begged for food, and women boiled and ate their own children (Lam 4:4, 10). You said that your holy temple would be destroyed and burned with fire (Isa 64:11; Jer 7:14). Just as you said, it happened (Jer 52:13). Nebuzaradan, the captain of the king’s bodyguard, came to Jerusalem and burned the temple with fire (2 Kgs 25:9). You said that Zedekiah would not escape. He would see and talk with Nebuchadnezzar face-to-face (Jer 34:3). Just as you said, it happened (Jer 39:3–5). Zedekiah tried to escape by night, but he was captured on the plains of Jericho and brought before the king of Babylon. You said that Zedekiah would be brought to Babylon, yet he would not see it (Jer 32:5; Ezek 12:13). Just as you said, it happened (Jer 39:6–7). Nebuchadnezzar killed Zedekiah’s sons “before his eyes,” then had him blinded so it would be the last thing he ever saw (2 Kgs 25:7). If there’s anything today’s reading teaches me, it’s that what you say will come to pass. If it seems slow, wait for it—“it will surely come; it will not delay” (Hab 2:3). What a tragic and terrible story! I can still hear the echo of the Chronicler’s words in my ears: “The Lord, the God of their fathers, sent persistently to them by his messengers, because he had compassion on his people and on his dwelling place. But they kept mocking the messengers of God, despising his words and scoffing at his prophets, until the wrath of the Lord rose against his people, until there was no remedy” (2 Chr 36:15–16). “No remedy”—what dreadful words! They warn the sinner to return to you before it’s too late, to repent with “all their heart, with fasting, with weeping, and with mourning” (Joel 2:12–14). Reflection Your holy presence dwelt within Jerusalem, but the sin and wickedness of the people finally drove you from the city (Ezek 10). In the same way, the Holy Spirit lives in my heart, but unrepentant sin will drive Him away. Am I living in careful obedience to your commands, or am I grieving your precious Spirit? (Eph 4:30; Isa 63:10). Request Father, help me to walk worthy of the calling to which I have been called, with all humility and gentleness, with patience, bearing with one another in love, eagerly maintaining the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace (Eph 4:1–3). Thanksgiving Thank you for saving me from sin and adopting me as your child! I want to be an imitator of Jesus and to walk in love, as Christ loved me and gave Himself up for me! (Eph 5:1–2). Hallelujah! In Jesus’ name, Amen. Suggested Hymn: “The Day of His Grace is Past” — Barney E. Warren. Meditation Verse: Ezekiel 30:26. |