Jeremiah 29 - 1:12 . Jeremiah 30 - 9:23 . Jeremiah 31 - 15:10 . Psalm 119:113-128 - 26:42 . 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 people are commanded to pursue the well-being of the city in ...
Oct 10, 2023•30 min•Season 5Ep. 190
Jeremiah 25 - 1:15 . Jeremiah 26 - 10:26 . Jeremiah 27 - 15:51 . Jeremiah 28 - 22:02 . Psalm 119:97-112 - 26:04 . 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 wearing chains and a yoke who looks ...
Oct 06, 2023•29 min•Season 5Ep. 189
Jeremiah 21 - 1:15 . Jeremiah 22 - 4:57 . Jeremiah 23 - 12:43 . Jeremiah 24 - 23:20 . Psalm 119:81-96 - 26:08 . 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 condemn Shallum, Jehoiakim, and Conia...
Oct 05, 2023•29 min•Season 5Ep. 188
Jeremiah 17 - 1:14 . Jeremiah 18 - 8:35 . Jeremiah 19 - 13:46 . Jeremiah 20 - 18:41 . Psalm 119:65-80 - 23:37 . 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 judgment of the Lord, he is beaten, put in...
Oct 04, 2023•27 min•Season 5Ep. 187
Jeremiah 14 - 1:09 . Jeremiah 15 - 6:36 . Jeremiah 16 - 13:10 . Psalm 119:41-64 - 18:40 . 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 these people, saying that even if Moses and Samuel were to s...
Oct 03, 2023•22 min•Season 5Ep. 186
Jeremiah 10 - 1:16 . Jeremiah 11 - 6:07 . Jeremiah 12 - 12:29 . Jeremiah 13 - 17:32 . Psalm 119:25-40 - 23:14 . 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 performs a prophetic act, one of several over...
Oct 02, 2023•26 min•Season 5Ep. 185
Jeremiah 7 - 1:10 . Jeremiah 8 - 9:29 . Jeremiah 9 - 14:55 . Psalm 119:1-24 - 22:20 . 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 s...
Sep 29, 2023•25 min•Season 5Ep. 184
Jeremiah 4 - 1:11 . Jeremiah 5 - 9:34 . Jeremiah 6 - 17:49 . Psalm 118 - 24:47 . 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 wasteland. He sends Jeremiah to ensure that everyone in Judah has heard...
Sep 28, 2023•29 min•Season 5Ep. 183
Jeremiah 1 - 1:10 . Jeremiah 2 - 5:06 . Jeremiah 3 - 14:21 . Psalm 116 - 21:41 . Psalm 117 - 23:49 . 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 prostitutes. They worshipped false gods on hilltop...
Sep 27, 2023•25 min•Season 5Ep. 182
1 John 1 - 1:16 . 1 John 2 - 3:16 . 1 John 3 - 8:57 . 1 John 4 - 14:24 . 1 John 5 - 18:30 . Psalm 114 - 22:23 . Psalm 115 - 23:23 . 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 particular church or m...
Sep 26, 2023•26 min•Season 5Ep. 181
Job 38 - 1:13 . Job 39 - 6:10 . Job 40 - 10:42 . Job 41 - 13:47 . Job 42 - 17:54 . Isaiah 33 - 21:37 . 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 painting a vibrant picture of God’s power and a...
Sep 25, 2023•27 min•Season 5Ep. 180
Job 34 - 1:09 . Job 35 - 5:54 . Job 36 - 8:51 . Job 37 - 13:14 . Isaiah 32 - 16:54 . 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 who made all things also sees all things, knows all things, and w...
Sep 22, 2023•21 min•Season 5Ep. 179
Job 29 - 1:05 . Job 30 - 4:25 . Job 31 - 9:08 . Job 32 - 15:32 . Job 33 - 18:41 . Isaiah 31 - 23:10 . 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 sun and moon. When Job concludes his words, a y...
Sep 21, 2023•26 min•Season 5Ep. 178
Job 23 - 1:11 . Job 24 - 3:20 . Job 25 - 7:54 . Job 26 - 8:47 . Job 27 - 10:25 . Job 28 - 13:15 . Isaiah 30 - 17:10 . 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 as pure, which is also untrue, bu...
Sep 20, 2023•26 min•Season 5Ep. 177
Job 18 - 1:13 . Job 19 - 4:08 . Job 20 - 8:28 . Job 21 - 13:03 . Job 22 - 17:46 . Isaiah 29 - 21:17 . 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, but as he responds to his friend Zophar, we can se...
Sep 19, 2023•28 min•Season 5Ep. 176
Job 12 - 1:14 . Job 13 - 4:31 . Job 14 - 8:07 . Job 15 - 12:29 . Job 16 - 17:23 . Job 17 - 20:54 . Isaiah 28 - 23:24 . The book of Job is a messy book because it deals with messy realities and messy relationships. In one sense, Job’s friends are right in that God is just and that sinful people do not flourish in the long run. They are wrong, however, to say that the reverse is necessarily true, because disheartening circumstances aren’t always caused by sin; sometimes they are simply the designs...
Sep 18, 2023•31 min•Season 5Ep. 175
Job 6 - 1:13 . Job 7 - 5:07 . Job 8 - 8:39 . Job 9 - 12:18 . Job 10 - 16:43 . Job 11 - 20:09 . Isaiah 27 - 22:56 . 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 rebukes Job, pointing to God’s justic...
Sep 15, 2023•27 min•Season 5Ep. 174
Job 1 - 1:12 . Job 2 - 6:00 . Job 3 - 9:47 . Job 4 - 13:06 . Job 5 - 15:35 . Isaiah 26 - 19:09 . 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 Almighty, who reigns so supremely that even His enemies mus...
Sep 14, 2023•24 min•Season 5Ep. 173
2 Timothy 1 - 1:07 . 2 Timothy 2 - 4:21 . 2 Timothy 3 - 9:54 . 2 Timothy 4 - 12:46 . Isaiah 25 - 16:30 . 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 Timothy is capable of training other men to d...
Sep 13, 2023•20 min•Season 5Ep. 172
Esther 6 - 1:12 . Esther 7 - 4:35 . Esther 8 - 7:51 . Esther 9 - 12:23 . Esther 10 - 19:47 . Isaiah 24 - 20:42 . 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 her patient quest to woo King Ahaseur...
Sep 12, 2023•26 min•Season 5Ep. 171
Esther 1 - 1:13 . Esther 2 - 6:27 . Esther 3 - 12:45 . Esther 4 - 16:49 . Esther 5 - 21:12 . saiah 23 - 25:01 . 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 and Mordecai, are names that actually...
Sep 11, 2023•29 min•Season 5Ep. 170
1 Timothy 1 - 1:09 . 1 Timothy 2 - 4:57 . 1 Timothy 3 - 6:56 . 1 Timothy 4 - 10:56 . 1 Timothy 5 - 13:36 . 1 Timothy 6 - 17:41 . Isaiah 22 - 22:22 . 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 submi...
Sep 08, 2023•29 min•Season 5Ep. 169
Nehemiah 11 - 1:12 . Nehemiah 12 - 6:19 . Nehemiah 13 - 14:09 . Isaiah 21 - 21:07 . 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 then on, right? Wrong! In fact, not long after Nehemiah leaves, th...
Sep 07, 2023•25 min•Season 5Ep. 168
Nehemiah 8 - 1:16 . Nehemiah 9 - 6:33 . Nehemiah 10 - 17:13 . Isaiah 20 - 22:41 Now that the work of rebuilding the temple and rebuilding the walls surrounding Jerusalem is complete, the exiles from Israel gather together to hear Ezra read from the book of the Law. The Levites explain the law to the people as it is being read, and when the congregation understands the extent to which they have broken the Law, they mourn over their actions. Nehemiah, Ezra, and the Levites encourage them to rejoic...
Sep 06, 2023•25 min•Season 5Ep. 167
Nehemiah 5 - 1:08 . Nehemiah 6 - 5:34 . Nehemiah 7 - 10:29 . Isaiah 19 - 18:46 . As we began to see our last episode, the governors who oversee region west of the Euphrates, which includes Judah and Jerusalem, are unhappy that Nehemiah has been sent to help rebuild the walls of Jerusalem. Feeling threatened, Sanballat and other officials create false rumors and even bribe others to attempt to deceive Nehemiah. They make every attempt to stop or delay the work, but in just 52 days’ time, Nehemiah...
Sep 05, 2023•25 min•Season 5Ep. 166
Nehemiah 1 - 1:10 . Nehemiah 2 - 3:43 . Nehemiah 3 - 9:41 . Nehemiah 4 - 15:45 . Isaiah 18 - 20:58 . Nehemiah, an exile who lived in Persia’s capital and served King Artaxerxes as his royal cupbearer, hears news that Jerusalem has been laid waste. The wall surrounding the city had been greatly compromised and the gates that would have maintained a secure entrance had been burned down. In great dismay, Nehemiah asks the king if he can return to help restore the city. With the king’s approval and ...
Sep 01, 2023•24 min•Season 5Ep. 165
Ezra 8 - 1:07 . Ezra 9 - 7:46 . Ezra 10 - 13:13 . Isaiah 17 - 20:35 . In our last episode, we were introduced to Ezra, a scribe in exile who had been trained in the law of Moses and who had “determined in his heart to study the law of the Lord, obey it, and teach it’s statutes and ordinances in Israel.” King Artaxerxes has expressly commanded Ezra to do just that. After we review some of the family heads who accompanied Ezra for the journey back to Jerusalem, we discover that even the leaders of...
Aug 31, 2023•24 min•Season 5Ep. 164
Ezra 5 - 1:09 . Ezra 6 - 4:52 . Ezra 7 - 11:05 . Isaiah 16 - 16:54 . If you have siblings, then there was likely a time when you tried to get them in trouble for doing something you didn’t like only to find out they were told to do it by your parents. In similar fashion, the governor and rulers that oversee the region west of the Euphrates alert King Darius that the Jews are rebuilding the temple. The king’s reply? Leave them alone! If anyone tries to stop them, they will be impaled on a beam fr...
Aug 30, 2023•21 min•Season 5Ep. 163
Ezra 1 - 1:09 . Ezra 2 - 3:31 . Ezra 3 - 11:40 . Ezra 4 - 15:14 . Isaiah 15 - 20:40 . The books of Ezra and Nehemiah were originally part of one book but they got separated along the way as the book was translated. The author of this book and the author of 1 & 2 Chronicles are one and the same. This means Ezra continues where 2 Chronicles left off: recall that the temple had been destroyed, Jerusalem had been ravaged, and the people of God were sent into exile. Finally, King Cyrus of Persia ...
Aug 29, 2023•23 min•Season 5Ep. 162
2 Corinthians 10 - 1:13 . 2 Corinthians 11 - 4:29 . 2 Corinthians 12 - 11:06 . 2 Corinthians 13 - 15:49 . Isaiah 14 - 18:41 . In Paul’s absence, the Corinthian church had begun to follow new teachers who had positioned themselves as superior in numerous ways, all of which were worldly and pompous. They wanted Paul to be like them, bold, arrogant, provocative, and brash. Paul defends the authority he has over the Corinthian church as a true apostle and sarcastically boasts to compare himself to t...
Aug 28, 2023•27 min•Season 5Ep. 161
