It is a difficult thing to be held accountable for your actions, but that is exactly what God tells us through His Word: We are accountable to Him. We have a choice when it comes to what God has commanded. We are sinners, that is true. Yet, God has given us the opportunity to come to Christ and k...

The last city of Judah was under the leadership of King Zedekiah when it fell to Babylon. Through Jeremiah, God had spoken to His people and their leaders about how to surrender but they refused. Jeremiah was in prison during the besiegement and fall of Jerusalem, but he was eventually released t...

The Hebrew word for justify means to cleanse or clear us. God explains to His people that He is justifying them, that they are being cleared to do what He has commanded them to do as they move ahead. In the process, the LORD is finalizing His judgment on the ancient city of Babylon. Jeremiah, cha...

When a king reigned over his nation, he was responsible for the direction of the kingdom and ultimately for the decisions and practices of his people. The king appointed officials to make daily decisions over domestic and external affairs, and any issues would make their way back to him. When Zed...

There have been times in my life when I have felt as if God was against me. It didn’t seem to matter in those times what I did or where I went, everything seemed insurmountable! Have you ever felt that way? We often face difficulty because we have headed in the wrong direction. Other times we fac...

God does not stop working because the times are evil. Through the fall and captivity of Judah, we get to see this. The fall of Judah prompted Jeremiah to write the painful and emotional book of Lamentations. It speaks about the difficulties that the nation would face through serving their enemies...

In the Bible, God has made statements about what He has done and what He will do in our world full of sin. The book of Ezekiel is one place where we can see the truths of God’s work. Ezekiel was born a Jewish priest and called as a prophet of God, but he was in exile. He did not have the Temple t...

God told Ezekiel to prophesy to those in Judah who falsely called themselves God’s prophets. God had made it very clear that He was bringing punishment on Judah and Jerusalem because there had been no widespread or lasting repentance. Judgment was coming. Any message
other than that was wishful t...

Ezekiel 17 records a riddle or parable given to Judah by God through the prophet Ezekiel. The story is of two great eagles and a vine. The first eagle represents the king of Babylon, the second eagle the king of Egypt, and the vine represents the people of Judah. We’re able to see how the people ...

In our reading today, God crafts a lament about the people of Judah. Would they listen and learn or pass over the meaning? It’s interesting to me how many ways God uses in His Word to communicate truth to us. In today’s example, He uses pictures, imagery, and metaphors that speak on Judah’s past ...

Human behavior is fascinating, isn’t it? So often we try to do what we think others want us to do, what they would approve of, because we want to look good in their eyes. Does human approval really matter though? What does it really get us in the long run? We can end up hurting ourselves by worki...

It is not enough to believe that God exists as a higher power, or as a spiritual force. The Bible clearly portrays God as the God of all things, the Creator of the very universe. From Him comes all goodness and true morality. Even when it doesn’t seem like it, God is active in the world. Even whe...

The LORD always delivers His Word with precision and intent. Ezekiel 32 is no exception. At one time, Egypt was a nation of power that no one could stop. Yet, God was punishing Egypt for her pride and she was destroyed by Babylon. God speaks to Pharaoh and Egypt and condemns their way of thinking...

The name Mount Seir was synonymous with the country of Edom itself. The area that used to be Edom is famously known today for the tourist attraction of Petra; the city carved into the mountains. Edom was a mountainous region south of the Dead Sea and existing on both sides of the Rift Valley, Mou...

Nearly one-third of the Bible is prophecy. The reason we study it is to get to know God and His character better, and to learn about how God will return. I believe there are two times Christ comes to earth. He has already come the first time as a baby, and now we are waiting for His second return...

I believe that Ezekiel 41 describes the millennial Temple, the Temple to be built in the future. So, it is hard to understand unless you draw out the instructions carefully. Of course, these instructions were written by Ezekiel, living around the sixth century BC. We believe him to have been take...

One of the things we learn in the Scriptures containing prophecy is that whatever authority is not given to God, will be taken by Him in the end. He is the Creator of heaven and earth, whether we like it or not. In Ezekiel 44, we read about a defilement of the Jerusalem Temple and about the Levit...

I remember first hearing the story of Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego in Sunday school, when I was a boy. Their Hebrew names were Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah. These young men were taken captive along with their friend Daniel, in the third year of Jehoiakim (2 CHRONICLES 36:5-7).
They were taken...

Satan is never fair. If you cut a deal with him, you will be on the losing end, every time. In the time of Daniel, the enemy used Darius, the king of the Medes and Persians, to challenge Daniel. With Persia’s new law, Daniel was forced into disobedience against the king or else disobedience to Go...

The prophecies of Daniel are so grand and interesting that it is easy to overlook the posture of Daniel’s heart. To me, we have a lot to learn from this man’s attitude. Instead of assuming his own importance, Daniel came to God in repentance: Repentance for himself, for his fathers, for his natio...

Today, I find it easy to say that we are in the last days, but I what I mean is that we are in the general time of the end when we are awaiting Christ’s return. I don’t mean that we have already or are currently experiencing the tribulation, or Christ’s second coming. Since Christ’s ascension to ...

Hosea was a prophet to the northern kingdom of Israel. His name means salvation, and he was told by God to marry an unfaithful woman, likely a cult prostitute, named Gomer. This was a violation of God’s laws and was meant to be unusual and even shocking. Hosea’s time was very evil, and his marria...