Our reading begins with a miraculous and undeniable sign: Jesus heals a man who was born blind, and the Pharisees can’t believe it. Later, Jesus raises his friend, Lazarus, from the dead in front of large crowd. This is Jesus’s seventh messianic sign given before the crucifixion, and this one points forward to his own resurrection and his power ove…

In today’s passage, Jesus feeds 5,000 people with five loaves and two fish. Those who received this free meal begin looking for Jesus, not because of the sign itself but because of what they can get out of it. Here, Jesus begins teaching strange things, saying that his disciples must eat his flesh and drink blood, and after hearing this, many aband…

In today’s episode, Jesus passes through Samaria, a town that most Jews considered to be so loathsome that even setting foot inside the city limits would have been frowned upon. Jesus not only does this, but he breaks custom by asking a Samaritan woman for a drink of water, telling her about the living water that leads to eternal life. Along with h…

As many of you may know, there are four gospel accounts in the New Testament, three of which are called “synoptic” gospels, which means “seeing the same thing.” The gospel of John is the outlier, especially because it dives into some of the deeper aspects of Christ’s life and teachings. John opens with a profound reflection on the Christ of eternit…

For modern audiences like us, these concluding chapters may feel more drudgery than delight, but for the original audience, these final depictions would have been the most exciting. Ezekiel once brought a message of condemnation and despair, but now that those prophecies have come true and Israel has spent 25 years in exile, Ezekiel brings a messag…

To put today’s passage in context, it’s important to spend a moment considering when this vision occurred and what had happened up to this point. Remember that God had declared through Ezekiel that his glory had left the temple. Jerusalem would be made a desolation, and the people exiled from the land. The temple had become defiled and desecrated b…

There are different takes on the exact meaning of the temple Ezekiel sees in today’s passage, some say it is symbolic, others heavenly, while others take note of it’s cross-shaped floor plan. Here’s what we know. First, it was never built. Second, this passage is the longest recording of a revelation in Scripture and it gives very specific dimensio…

You may have noticed this turn already, but ever since the mention of Jerusalem’s fall in chapter 33, God’s message to His people has become one of promise and hope for a restoration that will take place in the future. In our last episode, God promised to send a shepherd to his people, one that would be a prince among them from the line of David. T…

In today’s passage, Ezekiel recalls the day when, 12 years into exile, he first hears word that Jerusalem has been overtaken. Those who remain behind want to claim the land as their own property, but the Lord sees their wickedness and vows to make them a desolate waste. The Lord also sees the shepherds of Israel, those leaders and rulers who have b…

As evidenced by the pyramids that remain standing today, the treasures of the pharaohs, along with abundant of historical records, Egypt was once a major world power that ruled mightily for centuries. Bible readers will recall that Joseph helped Egypt thrive early in their history and that Egypt held the nation of Israel in bondage for 400 years. T…

Israel and Judah have incited the Lord’s wrath by their wanton disregard for His statutes, and the Lord intends to pour His wrath out on His people. Even so, He will continue to stand by His promise to save a remnant and bring them back into the land. This is not the case for the surrounding nations, who have shown contempt for Jerusalem and disreg…

The Word of God sometimes shocks us with the imagery it gives to describe the sins of mankind, and today’s passage is no exception. As we begin, the Lord speaks with Ezekiel inviting him to pass judgment on Jerusalem, for the princes of Israel have abused their power in order to shed blood. The Lord goes on to tell a parable of sorts, describing Sa…

Our episode begins with a lament for the princes of Israel, who are compared to lions that grow up to devour people, and are therefore captured and taken away. Some of the elders of Israel gather around Ezekiel to inquire of the Lord, but God denies them and recounts the history of Israel’s rebellion and idolatry. Time and again, the Lord would hav…

Today we get a glimpse of God’s lovingkindness toward Israel as God describes Himself as a Father who adopts an unwanted baby, then as a man who redeems the life of a woman by claiming her as His bride. This woman becomes beautiful through the nurturing love of God, and as she grows in beauty, she begins to trust her beauty more than her husband. T…

We begin today’s passage with prophecies against false teachers who make up things to say from the Lord even though he didn’t actually say them. These prophets are figuratively like those who don’t repair the structure of a weakened wall so that it is strong once again, but who simply whitewash over it to make it look nice. Women who practice sorce…

In our last episode, while meeting with Judah’s elders, Ezekiel was carried off in a vision by the Lord. In one scene after another, the Lord showed Ezekiel the abhorrent practices of idolatry that the people were committing, especially those in the Lord’s temple. Today, the prophet sees an otherworldly visual representation of the Lord’s sovereign…

When we last left Ezekiel, the Lord had given him prophetic acts to perform before the people of Jerusalem. In one he drew the city of Jerusalem on a brick and then laid siege to it. In another, he was commanded to lay on his left side for 390 days, and then 40 days on his right, all while eating bread baked over cow dung. Today, at the Lord’s dire…

Ezekiel is on his way to Babylon with a group of exiles when suddenly, the heavens are opened and he sees a vision from God. The symbolism here is pretty deep. Coming from the north, like the Chaldean armies, the Lord’s angels are fourfold with four faces and four wings, communicating the Lord’s sovereignty over the fourfold directions of the earth…

The apostle whom Jesus named “Peter,” the rock upon whom Jesus would build his church, is now writing to encourage the churches who are scattered across northern Asia Minor. The churches were suffering under persecution from those who lived around them, and Peter reminds them of the Savior whom they are called to follow, for he suffered for our sin…

The book of the prophet Haggai addresses the people of Judah who returned from exile and who had prioritized making their homes comfortable while neglecting to rebuild the Lord’s temple. The letter known as 2 John is addressed to “the elect lady and her children” which is most likely a reference to the church body to whom he was writing. In it, he …

The book of Lamentations is Jeremiah’s recorded response to the devastation and ruin of Jerusalem. It is presented in a series of five poems, of which the first four are acrostics of the Hebrew alphabet, much like Psalm 119, only shorter. It is a book of suffering, shame, horror, and defeat, but centered in the middle of the work, we read of Jeremi…

The final prophecy against a particular nation is a doozy, proclaiming total annihilation and ruin and spanning two long chapters, one of which is the fifth longest chapter in Scripture. Who could this prophecy be against? What nation’s actions would merit such a rebuke? If you guessed Babylon, you are right! Though the Lord allowed Babylon to atta…

As noted in our last episode, we’re now in the section of Jeremiah that includes prophecies against individual nations. These prophecies were gathered over the course of Jeremiah’s life and have been collected here at the end of his account. The overarching theme of these chapters is that the Lord sees the injustice and disgrace of the surrounding …

In our last episode, the prophecies of Jeremiah came to fruition and the King of Babylon successfully destroyed Jerusalem, slaughtered his opponents, and captured those who surrendered. The Chaldeans held Jeremiah in honor and allowed him to choose to remain with a remnant of people. After an insurrection against Gedaliah, the governor, Johanan res…

In today’s episode, the prophecies of Jeremiah come to pass. The Chaldean army lays siege to Jerusalem and Zedekiah meets Nebuchadnezzar face to face. Those who have surrendered to the Chaldeans have been spared, and those who resisted are put to the sword. Through it all that Lord keeps His promises and protects Jeremiah from harm, and what’s more…

Have you ever been watching a TV show that begins with a jump in the story’s timeline for dramatic interest, then jumps back to show the circumstances that have led up to that point? Similarly, our previous reading opened with Jeremiah in prison, but there was no explanation of how he got there. The accounts in today’s episode pre-date the events i…

This part of the text may be a little confusing, so let me give a little historical context. The Babylonian siege began after King Zedekiah had been in office for nine years. This siege was lifted for a small window of time when the troops caught word that an Egyptian army was approaching. During this break, Zedekiah arrested Jeremiah because he wa…

There are some wonderful, and well-known promises scattered throughout today’s reading as the Lord offers consolation and hope for those in exile. After 70 years in exile, the Lord will judge those nations whom He released upon Israel and Judah, and His people will return to the land of promise. While waiting for the promises of God, His exiled peo…

In an age before billboards, movies, and cat videos, there were few ways to stand out from the crowd and command the attention of people who might otherwise ignore you. At the Lord’s command, Jeremiah frequently acts out some of his prophesies in order to dramatically display the reality of what will soon take place. You wouldn’t soon forget a man …

King Zedekiah sends messengers to Jeremiah asking that he might inquire of the Lord on behalf of Judah. Though he asks for the Lord’s favor, he instead receives a prophecy of the Lord’s wrath, for the king of Judah and his entourage will all be handed over to King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon. After pronouncing judgment against Zedekiah, he goes on to…

Jeremiah continues his pronouncement against the persistent sin of Judah as our text begins today, saying that those who trust in men are cursed and those who trust in the Lord will be blessed. Not long after this, Jeremiah must put this very teaching into practice, for after gathering the priests, prophets, and leaders of Judah to declare the judg…

In today’s episode, Jeremiah delivers a lament for the drought that has come over Judah, calling on God to deliver. Throughout Scripture, the Lord often relents after such prayers, but in this instance the Lord denies Jeremiah’s request, saying that this time he will remember their iniquity and punish their sins. God tells Jeremiah not to pray for …

The false gods that Israel has served are worthless and lifeless, and God warns that those gods will not save them from His wrath. The nation that the Lord loved and cherished has continuously rejected Him and mocked His authority, so the Lord will finally bring them to the ruin He promised would come. Later, at the Lord’s command, Jeremiah perform…

The Lord’s love remains on Judah but he cannot allow her rampant evil and adulterous idol worship to continue. Time and again He has called them to repent, but they continue to love their wealth, their sin, and their idols more than the Lord their God. The Lord will send Assyria from the north to conquer Jerusalem and Judah, making it a desolate wa…

The Lord’s love remains on Judah but he cannot allow her rampant evil and adulterous idol worship to continue. Time and again He has called them to repent, but they continue to love their wealth, their sin, and their idols more than the Lord their God. The Lord will send Assyria from the north to conquer Jerusalem and Judah, making it a desolate wa…

Jeremiah was a young man serving as a priest when the Lord called him and set him aside to be God’s chosen instrument in prophesying against the nation of Judah. Judah had seen the fall of Israel after their centuries of wickedness and idolatry against the Lord, both figuratively and sometimes literally prostituting themselves with idols and cult p…

John, the apostle whom Jesus loved and the author of the fourth gospel writes today’s letter to the church with encouragement to flee from sin, to trust in Jesus, to love one another, and to assure them of the eternal life that Christ has secured for them. This letter doesn’t have a typical structure; unlike other epistles it doesn’t address a part…

Job has justified himself in his own sight, repeating again and again that God has been unjust, bemoaning his fate and complaining that a man should be able to take God to court. In today’s episode, God puts Job in his place by asking him a series of questions. This inquisition is designed to help Job see how finite, weak, and limited he is, while …

As the young man named Elihu continues to present a case against Job and his friends, he confronts the audacious claim that a man gains nothing from friendship with God. Moreover, the God who created all things is accountable to no one; in other words, He doesn’t owe anything to anyone, therefore nobody can say that He is unfair or unjust. The God …

In today’s episode, Job starts his “I don’t get no respect” routine and tells his friends of the dishonor he now endures from fellow citizens and from the riff-raff that live in the desert around him. He remarks that he has been faithful to the Lord, caring for those in need, and keeping himself from the worship of false gods such as the worship of…

It won’t be long before Job receives a proper rebuke from Elihu and then from God Himself, but until that time comes, Job continues to vent and express frustration with the situation he finds himself in. His friends keep telling him to repent of his evil, assuming that his sin is the cause of his state. Meanwhile, Job continues to declare himself a…

Job’s friends are insulted that he would reject their wisdom, especially because they are drawing their conclusions from that which was commonly assumed by the culture and by their ancestors. Job wants to find comfort and consolation from his friends, but they continue to make a case against him. In an earlier speech, Job spoke of God’s justice, bu…

The book of Job is thought to be one of the earliest writings of Scripture. Set in the period of the patriarchs perhaps even before the time of Abraham, this book gives us the account of a rich man who loses it all. Here in the first few chapters we are given a rare glimpse into the spiritual realm, describing scenes before the throne of God Almigh…

Job has lost everything but his wife, his life, and a handful of friends who have gathered around him. After sitting together in silence for seven days, Job opens up about the sorrow and agony he feels. His friends, however, greet him with calls to repent, suggesting that God would not punish someone like this if he were indeed righteous. Bildad re…

The book of Job is thought to be one of the earliest writings of Scripture. Set in the period of the patriarchs perhaps even before the time of Abraham, this book gives us the account of a rich man who loses it all. Here in the first few chapters we are given a rare glimpse into the spiritual realm, describing scenes before the throne of God Almigh…

In this letter to Timothy, Paul encourages the young man whom he calls a son in the faith to preach the gospel boldly, clearly, unabashedly, and without fear. Paul encourages Timothy to know the Scriptures well so that he can preach the Scriptures well. The apostle has entrusted the work of gospel ministry to Timothy and he wants to make sure that …

The future looks bleak for the people of God. With the king’s signet ring in hand, Haman has devised a scheme to wipe out God’s people, whom he hates because of his hatred for Mordecai. It seems that the only hope for God’s people rests with Queen Esther, a young woman who has become fully enveloped into Persian culture. Today, Esther continues on …

The account of Esther, the Jewish orphan who becomes the queen of Persia, is neither a Cinderella story, nor a how-to guide for righteousness. It does, however, give us a picture of the God who graciously uses broken people to achieve His glorious ends and fulfill His covenant promises. The names that the two Jewish characters operate under, Esther…

Today we’re going to read the entire letter of 1 Timothy together, and as we do I think you’ll see some themes emerge. First, Paul writes to Timothy from a place of humility in order to encourage humility within Timothy and within the church. From that humility comes order within the church, including rightly viewed structures of authority and subm…

The temple is finished. The wall is finished. The people have rededicated themselves to the Lord’s house, and on today’s episode, the remnant of Israel rejoices. With the work completed, Nehemiah returns to Persia to serve under King Artaxerxes once again, just as he promised. All is right with the world, and God’s people serve Him faithfully from …