Jeremiah 14 - 1:05 . Jeremiah 15 - 6:31 . Jeremiah 16 - 12:53 . Proverbs 8:1-21 - 18:10 . In today’s episode, Jeremiah delivers a lament for the drought that has come over Judah, calling on God to deliver his people. 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 these people, saying that even if Moses and Samue...
Oct 03, 2023•22 min•Season 3Ep. 186
Jeremiah 11 - 1:02 . Jeremiah 12 - 6:22 . Jeremiah 13 - 11:38 . Proverbs 7 – 17:32 . 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 even mocked His authority, so the Lord will finally bring them to the ruin He promised would come. Later, at the Lord’s command, Jeremiah performs a prophetic act, one of several over the course of his lif...
Oct 02, 2023•21 min•Season 3Ep. 185
Jeremiah 8 - 1:02 . Jeremiah 9 - 8:06 . Jeremiah 10 - 14:28 . The people of Judah and Jerusalem have developed a false sense of security, for they suppose that fulfilling the rituals of worship will please God. Assuming they have God’s favor because of their sacrifices, they pursue unrighteousness and selfish gain, worshipping idols and even sacrificing their children to false gods. God’s holy wrath burns against their injustice, for He is not satisfied with meaningless sacrifices, but in obedie...
Sep 29, 2023•21 min•Season 3Ep. 184
Jeremiah 6 - 1:03 . Jeremiah 7 - 8:56 . Proverbs 6 - 16:32 . The Lord has announced through Jeremiah that he will send Assyria from the north to conquer Jerusalem and Judah, making it a desolate wasteland. He sends Jeremiah to ensure that everyone in Judah has heard this news, going throughout Israel with this message of God’s impending wrath like a grape gatherer whose hand passes over the branches to make sure he has been thorough. This disaster is coming because the nation has rejected the Lo...
Sep 28, 2023•22 min•Season 3Ep. 183
Jeremiah 4 - 1:01 . Jeremiah 5 - 9:00 . Proverbs 5 - 16:16 . 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. Because Israel served foreign gods in the land God had given them, so the Lord will send them into a foreign land to serve foreigners they had not known. An ancient nation is coming agai...
Sep 27, 2023•20 min•Season 3Ep. 182
Jeremiah 1 - 1:02 . Jeremiah 2 - 4:43 . Jeremiah 3 - 14:03 . Jeremiah was a young man from Anathoth 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 as they both figuratively prostituted themselves with idols and literally prostituted themselves with cult prostitutes. They worshipped false gods on hilltops and ...
Sep 26, 2023•22 min•Season 3Ep. 181
2 Chronicles 35 - 1:04 . Zephaniah 1 - 7:21 . Zephaniah 2 – 12:11 . Zephaniah 3 – 15:48 . While we finished reading about Josiah from 2 Kings, the book of 2 Chronicles has more to say about this king, including a lengthy description concerning the details of the Lord’s Passover being reinstituted. We’ll also read the book of Zephaniah, a prophet of royal lineage who had Hezekiah as his great grandfather. He writes during the reign of Josiah to proclaim that the day of the Lord is coming for the ...
Sep 25, 2023•22 min•Season 3Ep. 180
2 Chronicles 34 - 1:05 . 2 Kings 23 - 9:59 . Proverbs 4:20 - 20:37 . In our last episode we were introduced to King Josiah who began his reign over Judah at the mere age of nine. As we pick up 2 Chronicles, we’ll hear a parallel account to our reading from 2 Kings 22, but then we’ll continue onward and cover more ground. After sending his men to consult a prophetess named Huldah, Josiah learns that the wrath of God is coming upon Judah soon. When Josiah realizes that their days are numbered, he ...
Sep 22, 2023•22 min•Season 3Ep. 179
Nahum 1 - 1:06 . Nahum 2 - 4:29 . Nahum 3 - 8:09 . 2 Kings 22 - 12:30 . Proverbs 4 - 17:05 . Like Jonah before him, the prophet Nahum preaches devastation and ruin for Ninevah, only this time Ninevah doesn’t repent. Ninevah was the capital of Assyria, a nation of unparalleled power and wealth which had recently decimated the nation of Israel. Though they thought themselves to be secure from danger, their downfall came after nearby rivers flooded the city and destroyed part of the city wall, allo...
Sep 21, 2023•20 min•Season 3Ep. 178
2 Chronicles 33 - 1:04 . 2 Kings 21 - 6:15 . Proverbs 3 - 12:13 . We completed the book of Isaiah in our last episode and now we’re back in the narrative histories of 2 Chronicles and 2 Kings. Hezekiah’s son Manasseh takes the throne and turns the good of his father’s kingdom upside down by participating in every kind of spiritual evil imaginable. As such is the case, God says through his prophets that he will clean Jerusalem out like a bowl, turning it upside down. 2 Chronicles records that Man...
Sep 20, 2023•17 min•Season 3Ep. 177
Isaiah 64 - 1:05 . Isaiah 65 - 3:37 . Isaiah 66 - 10:31 . Proverbs 2 - 17:18 . We have reached the final chapters of the book of Isaiah, in which Isaiah continues to prophesy about things yet to come. You’ll recall that in our chronological reading of the Old Testament, so far the nation of Israel has fallen to the Babylonians, but Jerusalem and the nation of Judah have not yet been conquered. Even so, Isaiah prophesies in the past tense as he speaks of the desolation of Jerusalem in the future,...
Sep 19, 2023•21 min•Season 3Ep. 176
Isaiah 59 - 1:02 . Isaiah 60 - 6:11 . Isaiah 61 - 10:50 . Isaiah 62 - 14:17 . Isaiah 63 - 16:59 . The Lord calls his people to fast, but to fast while doing as one pleases, oppressing others, or causing strife and violence, is not true fasting. True fasting involves humility and submission to God, freeing those who are unjustly bound and oppressed, feeding those who are hungry, and caring for those who are in need. The sins of God’s people separate them from a holy God, and He hides His face fro...
Sep 18, 2023•22 min•Season 3Ep. 175
Isaiah 55 - 1:04 . Isaiah 56 - 3:55 . Isaiah 57 - 7:35 . Isaiah 58 - 12:09 . Proverbs 1 - 16:01 . The Lord invites Israel into his presence, and in our opening verses, this is depicted symbolically with a lavish feast, provided free of charge by God Almighty himself. This happens when the wicked one abandons his way and the sinful one his thoughts, returning to the Lord who has compassion. Even foreigners who are not from the nation of Israel will be blessed by the Lord who brings them into his ...
Sep 15, 2023•21 min•Season 3Ep. 174
Isaiah 50 - 1:02 . Isaiah 51 - 3:40 . Isaiah 52 - 10:06 . Isaiah 53 - 13:17 . Isaiah 54 - 16:52 . Throughout the book of Isaiah, we’ll hear references to one called the Servant. Though there is immediate application to be found by naming Israel as this Servant, the New Testament authors, who were filled with God’s Holy Spirit like Isaiah, saw another connection. You’ll probably see it, too. The ultimate Servant, the ultimate son of David, is the promised Messiah, the Lord Jesus Christ. Isaiah 53...
Sep 14, 2023•21 min•Season 3Ep. 173
Isaiah 46 - 1:02 . Isaiah 47 - 3:33 . Isaiah 48 - 7:33 . Isaiah 49 - 12:55 . As Isaiah continues to prophesy about future events, remember that Babylon has not yet come to power and has not yet brought Israel into captivity. You’ll hear statements like, “I will announce new things to you, hidden things that you have not yet known.” Our reading opens with a call to remember that no god or idol can compare with the living God. This is followed by a prediction of assurance that Babylon will one day...
Sep 13, 2023•20 min•Season 3Ep. 172
Isaiah 43 - 1:07 . Isaiah 44 - 7:23 . Isaiah 45 - 14:56 . Psalm 150 - 21:07 . God’s people are precious in his sight, so much so that has given up other nations in order to ransom them from destruction. Though a time of judgment is coming upon them, the Lord assures them that he will protect his faithful ones in their time of distress. Time and again, God’s people have forsaken him for other gods, but there is no Savior besides him, and no other god has proven his power, might, and foreknowledge...
Sep 12, 2023•23 min•Season 3Ep. 171
Isaiah 40 - 1:07 . Isaiah 41 - 8:04 . Isaiah 42 - 14:54 . Psalm 149 - 20:16 . You’ll recall in our last episode that Hezekiah flaunted his wealth to Babylonian messengers, and although the exile will not take place for another 80-100 years, it is at this point in time that Isaiah begins predicting the future exile of Israel with great clarity. Even so, today’s reading begins with a proclamation of comfort for those who trust in the Lord, He who sits enthroned above the circle of the earth. There...
Sep 11, 2023•22 min•Season 3Ep. 170
Isaiah 38 - 1:10 . Isaiah 39 - 6:29 . 2 Kings 20 - 8:52 . 2 Chronicles 32:20 - 13:59 . Psalm 148 - 17:24 . In our last episode, the Lord God turned away the messengers of King Sennacherib of Assyria and his armies, sending his angel to strike down 185,000 in their camp. Sometime during those days of the Assyrian threat, Hezekiah became terminally ill. After Isaiah prophesies that his illness will end in death, Hezekiah prays to the Lord and the Lord hears, granting him another 15 years of life. ...
Sep 08, 2023•20 min•Season 3Ep. 169
Isaiah 37 - 1:07 . 2 Kings 19 - 10:44 . Psalm 147 - 19:27 . The readings from today’s chapters are near perfect parallels, with only minor differentiations between them. After hearing the report about the royal messenger who insulted the Lord God and the people of Judah, Hezekiah immediately expresses a sense of mourning and loss by covering himself in sackcloth and ashes. He sends directly for Isaiah, who reports that the Lord will soon turn them around. After a second threat spoken from the As...
Sep 07, 2023•23 min•Season 3Ep. 168
2 Chronicles 32:1-19 - 1:09 . 2 Kings 18 - 5:29 . Isaiah 36 - 14:50 . Over the next few days we’ll be reading regularly from three books, 2 Chronicles, 2 Kings, and Isaiah, as we continue pursuing a fairly linear chronological reading of the Old Testament. At the point in the history of God’s people, Hezekiah is on the throne in Jerusalem and Isaiah is simultaneously prophesying in Judah. The kings of Assyria are knocking on the front door, taunting those in power. This not only includes the kin...
Sep 06, 2023•21 min•Season 3Ep. 167
2 Chronicles 29 - 1:06 . 2 Chronicles 30 - 9:49 . 2 Chronicles 31 - 16:08 . Psalm 146 - 21:09 . Recall that in our timeline of Judah’s kings the most recent king was Ahaz, who proved to be the most evil in king in Judah’s history up until that time. He not only worshipped other gods, but sacrificed his children to them as an act of pagan worship. When his son Hezekiah comes to power, he literally cleans house, restoring the temple of the Lord so that all Israel could be called back to worship th...
Sep 05, 2023•23 min•Season 3Ep. 166
Isaiah 31 - 1:07 . Isaiah 32 - 3:31 . Isaiah 33 - 7:06 . Isaiah 34 - 12:55 . Isaiah 35 - 16:39 . Psalm 144 - 18:57 . Psalm 145 - 21:09 . Israel has sought out the men of Egypt for help against their foes, but they have not sought the Lord their God. When God’s people turn back to him, Assyria will fall by the sword of the Lord. A righteous kingdom is announced where rulers will rule justly, the fool will no longer be called a noble, and the Spirit will be poured out on the people. Next, woe is p...
Sep 01, 2023•24 min•Season 3Ep. 165
Isaiah 28 - 1:03 . Isaiah 29 - 8:18 . Isaiah 30 - 13:33 . After a brief excursion in the book of the prophet Hosea, we are back in the book of Isaiah. This episode begins with a proclamation of woe against Samaria, called Ephraim in this prophecy. Specifically, they are chastised for being drunk all the time, having no vision, clarity, or wisdom to give to others on behalf of the Lord. Shifting away from the northern kingdom of Israel, he then chastises Judah for making deals with Assyria, or “D...
Aug 31, 2023•23 min•Season 3Ep. 164
Hosea 10 - 1:04 . Hosea 11 - 4:37 . Hosea 12 - 8:13 . Hosea 13 - 10:32 . Hosea 14 - 13:42 . Psalm 143 - 15:57 . Israel has taken the lavish blessings of their God and given those gifts to the calf idols of Baal, turning away from the covenant love of the God who redeemed them in order to love other gods. Therefore, in accordance with curses of the covenant he made with them at Sinai and for the sake of His holy name, the Lord will discipline his people for their rebellion. Through Hosea, God rem...
Aug 30, 2023•19 min•Season 3Ep. 163
Hosea 6 - 1:03 . Hosea 7 - 2:58 . Hosea 8 - 7:16 . Hosea 9 - 10:03 . Psalm 142 - 14:04 . Hosea continues to prophesy against the house of Israel which often referred to as “Ephraim” in today’s text. Our passage begins with Hosea calling for repentance, knowing that the Lord forgives. The Lord laments that Israel’s love is fleeting like the morning mist, for they are not faithful to the Lord. Instead, they are promiscuous, going after foreign gods through pagan rituals involving threshing floors ...
Aug 29, 2023•16 min•Season 3Ep. 162
Hosea 1 - 1:08 . Hosea 2 - 3:30 . Hosea 3 - 9:17 . Hosea 4 - 10:13 . Hosea 5 - 13:46 . Psalm 141 - 16:49 . Hosea was a contemporary of Amos whose ministry of prophecy lasted around 40 years, beginning during the reign of King Jeroboam II and ending during Hezekiah’s reign, who Judah’s next king in our chronological reading. Like Amos, Hosea spoke to the nation of Israel, often referenced as “Ephraim” in this book, under a time of lavish wealth and disparate poverty. Israel was being unfaithful t...
Aug 28, 2023•19 min•Season 3Ep. 161
Isaiah 23 - 1:03 . Isaiah 24 - 4:30 . Isaiah 25 - 9:16 . Isaiah 26 - 11:58 . Isaiah 27 - 16:00 . Psalm 140 - 19:08 . We begin with a pronouncement against Tyre, an island city that served as profitable port which traded in luxurious goods. Tyre established a trading colony called Tarshish (thought to be in modern-day Spain) which boasted impressive ships. Assyria attempted to take Tyre a number of times, but it was Nebuchadnezzar who first infiltrated the island city, followed by Alexander the G...
Aug 25, 2023•22 min•Season 3Ep. 160
Isaiah 18 - 1:03 . Isaiah 19 - 2:53 . Isaiah 20 - 7:50 . Isaiah 21 - 10:03 . Isaiah 22 - 13:17 . Psalm 139 - 18:18 . Today’s reading includes pronouncements against the nations of Cush (which we now call Ethiopia) and Egypt. The Cushites will be judged by the Lord and left for dead, but after this judgment they will bring tribute to the Lord of Armies at Mount Zion. Egypt will be judged by God through a civil war, and neither idols, nor spiritists, nor wise men will save them from the Lord’s han...
Aug 24, 2023•22 min•Season 3Ep. 159
Isaiah 13 - 1:03 . Isaiah 14 - 5:34 . Isaiah 15 - 13:15 . Isaiah 16 - 15:13 . Isaiah 17 - 18:21 . Psalm 138 - 21:39 . We are back in the book of Isaiah, and as you’ll hear the prophet himself mention, we are in the time period surrounding the death of Ahaz, that wicked king of Judah who not only created an idolatrous altar and set it up adjacent to the altar of God, but who sacrificed his own children to the gods of foreign nations. We begin with a pronouncement against Babylon, which contains a...
Aug 23, 2023•24 min•Season 3Ep. 158
2 Chronicles 28 - 1:05 . 2 Kings 16 - 7:10 . 2 Kings 17 - 12:44 . We have completed the prophet Micah and we’re moving back into the historical narrative to cover Judah’s King Ahaz, a notably evil and idolatrous king who went so far as to even sacrifice his own children to foreign gods. After seeing an impressive altar in another nation, he has Uriah (one the priests of the Lord) build a replica of it. Rather than doing everything that the Lord has commanded Uriah to do, Scripture notes that “Ur...
Aug 22, 2023•22 min•Season 3Ep. 157
