Oh, that I had in the desert a lodging place for travelers, so that I might leave my people and go away from them; for they are all adulterers, a crowd of unfaithful people. – Jeremiah 9:2

Today's Scripture Reading (June 30, 2026): Jeremiah 9

He wanted to meet for coffee. Unfortunately, my week was packed, so I couldn't schedule him in. So, I suggested we could have lunch next week, which looked at least a little more open. He nodded, but there was a sadness in his countenance. Next week would do, but then he added another comment: "If we are still here." I understood what he meant. We have had that conversation a few times before. Politically, the world is in a tight situation. Too many earth-devastating weapons existed, and too many itchy fingers seemed to be on the trigger. Welcome to life in the 21^st century. I am not quite as pessimistic as my friend, but I do understand his angst. We seem to be in a world that has evolved from one that protected the weak nations to one that seeks to exploit them. After all, if you can't act like a bully, what is the use of being strong?

My mind keeps going back to Jesus's words to his disciples late in his ministry on the earth. "Truly I tell you, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers and sisters of mine, you did for me" (Matthew 25:40). And Jesus didn't just state this idea once; he flipped it over and stated the same idea, but this time in the negative. "Truly I tell you, whatever you did not do for one of the least of these, you did not do for me" (Matthew 25:45). I believe this is what we are to do as individuals, and also as nations. There should be no role for the bully in this world, regardless of whether the bully is an angry man, a self-entitled woman, or an out-of-control nation.

My friend has often wished that there were somewhere he could run to with his family, where he would be safe from what he suspects is the coming storm. But if the worst happens, there really is no place to hide. Well, almost no place to hide. We believe that God is still on the throne, and we can still hide in Him.

I am not sure if it helps us today, but apparently Jeremiah felt the same way. He looked at his nation and saw a government that was out of control. And the Prophet realizes that a storm is coming. Jeremiah looked at his world and knew that the stage was being set for the Babylonians to come and destroy Judah. All Jeremiah wants to do is go and find a place in the desert where he would be safe. Jeremiah understands that the nation's leaders' disobedience has made this possible. If the people were trying to follow God, Jeremiah would have wanted to stand with him as Isaiah had during the Assyrian crisis. But these people were in full rebellion in support of the leadership, making Jeremiah wish there was someplace to which he could run.

Tomorrow's Scripture Reading: Jeremiah 10

I have listened attentively, but they do not say what is right. None of them repent of their wickedness, saying, "What have I done?" Each pursues their own course like a horse charging into battle. – Jeremiah 8:6

Today's Scripture Reading (June 29, 2026): Jeremiah 8

In the late 1970s and early 80s, the United Kingdom was experiencing tough economic times. Unemployment nationwide was higher than anyone had thought possible. The pessimists were foretelling the end of civilization. Unemployment for those under the age of twenty-five had reached fifty percent. Half of the young people in the Kingdom could not find a job. There was no way forward, no way to survive as a nation, at least, in the opinion of some.

It was a moment in time that was perfectly suited to a revolutionary movement. And that revolution, as seemed appropriate for the times, came on television. The revolution was unveiled on the Today Show, a regional magazine program that aired on Thames Television, part of the ITV network. Today Show host, Bill Grundy, had prepared for musical guests "Queen" on that December morning of 1976. But disaster struck in the form of a toothache. Freddy Mercury, Queen's frontman, had developed a severe toothache, and it was so bad that the singer decided he had to make his first visit to a dentist in 15 years. (Apparently, Mercury liked dentists about as much as I do, no insult intended for all the great dentists out there.) As a result, "Today" producers had to find a replacement quickly. On that December morning, Queen's replacement came in the form of "The Sex Pistols." The Sex Pistols' only studio album, "Never Mind the Bollocks, Here's the Sex Pistols," wouldn't be released for almost another year, and at the time of the interview, they weren't even recording yet. The band couldn't get a concert. And Sid Vicious, who would become the poster boy for the punk rock movement, wasn't yet a part of the band. But that didn't stop the Grundy interview from blowing up.

First, it didn't really seem that Grundy had any interest in interviewing the band. The interview itself has become famous for the foul language used by "The Sex Pistols" during the broadcast. However, a rewatch of the video shows Grundy egging on the band, which consisted of a bunch of teenagers. At one point, Johnny Rotten swears under his breath, and Grundy asks what he said, to which Rotten replies, "A rude word, next question." But Grundy demands that Rotten say the word. From there, Grundy tells the band to say something worse, and the band, eventually, obliges.

It is a moment where the band shows that they know what is acceptable and what is not. And they try to do the acceptable, even in the face of the inane. But that is not what Bill Grundy wanted. Bill Grundy wanted the uncontrolled rebellion of youth. It was a moment that cemented the reputation of "The Sex Pistols." If we are looking to blame someone for the interview, I would suggest that the blame should not be directed at John Lydon's (Johnny Rotten) teenage band.

God looks at the people of Judah and says that they don't even recognize the wrong that they have done. And so, they pursue their interests like a warhorse charging into battle. It might be tempting to say that was exactly what took place on that December morning in 1976. But much as I would place the blame on Grundy for winding a bunch of teenagers up who at least tried to act appropriately, it was the false prophets who wound up the people of Jerusalem and Judah during Jeremiah's time. The people might have listened if they had been given the chance, but instead, the false prophets told them that nothing was wrong and sent them into exile, their religious deception still tickling their ears.

Tomorrow's Scripture Reading: Jeremiah 9

But look, you are trusting in deceptive words that are worthless. – Jeremiah 7:8

Today's Scripture Reading (June 28, 2026): Jeremiah 7

Who are the politicians who lie the most? It is an interesting question, and one to which I won't pretend I know the answer. One problem is the definition of a lie. Too often in contemporary belief, a lie is simply something that is not true. But a lie is more than just telling an untruth; part of what is essential to the nature of a lie is that you know what you are saying is untrue. Maybe we can take Ronald Reagan as an example. Ronald Reagan is often remembered for his economic beliefs. Part of his belief is what we call "Trickle-Down Economics." The idea is that if you give massive tax breaks to the rich, the effect "trickles down" throughout the rest of society. So, giving a tax break to a billionaire will help the economy more, and it will also help the average person more than giving a tax break directly to the average person. Apparently, not only does a tax break to the rich trickle down through society, but it also multiplies as it trickles, sort of like Jesus feeding the 5000 with a couple of loaves and a few fish.

So, does "Trickle-Down Economics" work? Actually, it sounds good, but it doesn't work, at least, it doesn't work for the average person. The tax break is eaten up by corporate profits and investors long before the middle class feels its effects, let alone the lower classes. And money rarely multiplies. Was Ronald Reagan lying? I don't think so. I think he really believed what he was saying. He may be guilty of being naïve enough to believe the lies of others, but that doesn't make the lie his.

In 1983, Ronald Reagan claimed that he was part of a filming crew that recorded the atrocities of the Nazi's and their death camps when he served with the US Army Signal Corps. I am not sure why President Reagan would make such a stupid comment, because it didn't take reporters long to discover that the President had never left American soil during World War II. Did President Reagan forget he hadn't been to Europe during the war, or did he believe he had? That doesn't seem likely, so Reagan's words, in this case, would be a lie.

Lying seems to be a natural part of politics. And while we may think that is the way it has always been, historians actually point to the presidency of Lyndon Baines Johnson as the moment when the truth seemed to suffer a catastrophic rupture. Sure, politicians used deception before LBJ, but as Robert Kennedy argued, "He [LBJ] just lies continually about everything. He lies even when he doesn't have to lie." It is important to remember that they weren't really political opponents; both Kennedy and Johnson were Democrats.

It's okay to be wrong. We are all wrong at some point; actually, if you are never wrong, it is usually because you aren't doing anything. I try to be really careful with what I say, but I know that there are times when I get it wrong. But a lie is deceiving someone about something deliberately. And that is something that none of us has to do.

However, some people want to deceive all of us. And we need to understand that reality. For Jeremiah, it was the religious elite who were preaching that everything would be okay. These people believed that Jeremiah was just an alarmist. When everything was said and done, God would defend his Temple and David's city. But Jeremiah wants his listeners to understand that their empty words are deceiving them.

Tomorrow's Scripture Reading: Jeremiah 8

Flee for safety, people of Benjamin! Flee from Jerusalem! Sound the trumpet in Tekoa! Raise the signal over Beth Hakkerem! For disaster looms out of the north, even terrible destruction. – Jeremiah 6:1

Today's Scripture Reading (June 27, 2026): Jeremiah 6

King Solomon reigned for about 40 years. His reign ended around 931 B.C.E., and as he was being buried, the nation faced many unanswered questions. First, there had been a significant economic strain on the nation throughout Solomon's reign. Solomon had been a builder. He had built the Temple of Jerusalem, of which his father, David, had dreamed. But his building didn't stop there. He built new palaces for himself and his many wives, and he fortified cities, all of which cost money. As a result, taxation during Solomon's reign was high. For a King who has become synonymous with wisdom, in this area, he wasn't very wise. The King's many wives not only contributed to economic stress in the nation but also to religious stress. We know Solomon as the builder of the Temple in Jerusalem, but his many foreign wives brought foreign deities with them, and he used taxpayer money to build worship centers for these false gods as well.

However, the northern tribes also felt marginalized by the King. Judah was the southernmost tribe of the United Monarchy. The northern tribes wanted a promise that their needs would be addressed in the future. Rehoboam, Solomon's son and successor, was also not very wise and essentially told his father's critics that everything they didn't like about his father's reign would be even worse under his. It was all that the northern tribes needed to hear. They decided to separate from Judah, and the nation was about to experience a very public and messy divorce.

With one rather strange exception. The Tribe of Benjamin had a choice to make. They possessed an asset; Jerusalem was built within their territory. If they had left with the other tribes, history might have been very different, because the Temple would have been in Israel's possession instead of Judah's. There would have been no reason for the Northern Kingdom to create the golden calves that they decided were their gods. Of course, we also don't know what Judah's response might have been under those circumstances.

But Benjamin didn't leave. They remained tied to Judah, an act of which the Apostle Paul, a famous Benjamite, was very proud. Another famous Benjamite was the Prophet Jeremiah. And as Jeremiah foresees the demise of the Kingdom of Judah, he issues a warning to his tribe living in Jerusalem. This time, Judah would fall, and Benjamin would fall with it. If there was a time to leave the City of David and run for the hills, that time had arrived.

Tomorrow's Scripture Reading: Jeremiah 7

Personal Note: Happy 67^th Anniversary to my parents, Duane and Shirley.

They do not say to themselves, 'Let us fear the LORD our God, who gives autumn and spring rains in season, who assures us of the regular weeks of harvest.' Your wrongdoings have kept these away; your sins have deprived you of good. – Jeremiah 5:24-25

Today's Scripture Reading (June 26, 2026): Jeremiah 5

A quick look at global temperature charts shows a distinct warming trend. The eleven warmest global average temperatures in the past four thousand years, so basically from a thousand years before the reigns of David and Solomon in Israel, have occurred in the last eleven years. There has been a noticeable increase in temperatures over the past decade. True, there have been temperature spikes in the past. There was a spike that lasted from the tenth to the fourteenth centuries, and another that began around the birth of Jesus and continued until about the sixth century. Still, neither reached temperatures as high as those we are currently experiencing. So, while it is true that the planet does go through cycles of heat and cold, the current warm cycle seems different.

The flipside of this discussion is that we are not talking about big numbers. The coldest global average temperature in the past eleven years was 0.85 degrees Celsius in 2018 and again in 2021. The warmest was 1.28 degrees Celsius in 2024, about half a degree Celsius above the coldest. But we need to remember that all of these temperatures are records and are a couple of degrees above normal.

It still doesn't sound like much, but maybe we need to remember that this is the truth of our whole experience. Is there intelligent life out there somewhere? Maybe. But this planet is built on many "just right" conditions. God has established this planet precisely where it needed to be for us to survive. And it wouldn't have to be moved far for the planet not to be suitable for life. There may have been life on Mars and maybe on Venus millennia ago. But not intelligent life. Earth is in the middle of the Goldilocks zone, where it is just right for what we need. And it won't take much to shift us out of that zone.

I am not saying that Jeremiah is speaking about the current climate crisis, but his words still apply. We are already discovering that it doesn't take much to disrupt the weather systems we depend on and that even a little climate change can hurt us. I often hear people argue that the planet has been here before. And we have; the difference is that at that time, the human race wasn't here. Part of what God did in creating us was cooling the earth. We can argue about how close we are to the tipping point at which the global warming trend cannot be stopped, but at some point, we will cross that line. And the rains we depend on will disappear or intensify. And the harvest we need will disappear. And the only one we will have to blame is the person in the mirror, because we failed to care for the creation that God entrusted to us.

Tomorrow's Scripture Reading: Jeremiah 6

And if in a truthful, just and righteous way you swear, 'As surely as the LORD lives,' then the nations will invoke blessings by him and in him they will boast." – Jeremiah 4:2

Today's Scripture Reading (June 25, 2026): Jeremiah 4

Sorry, not sorry. Some phrases surprise me, and this is one of them. What I find surprising about the phrase is that it is relatively new, even though I think it has been a common experience throughout human history. How many times have you had to do something for which someone later demands an apology, but you don't feel the need to apologize? I am a Canadian, and we apologize for everything. In fact, I recently discovered that one of the many differences between Canadians and Americans is that, in the United States, "I'm sorry" is an admission of guilt. However, in Canada, "I'm sorry" is just considered polite. We apologize all the time, and yet, there are times when even I don't want to say the words, and my friends tell me I apologize more often than anyone else on the planet. (Sorry?) It is where the phrase comes in. Sorry, not sorry.

There are many ways to take the phrase. I am sorry that you misunderstood me. I am sorry that you took my words as a personal attack. I am sorry that you are so sensitive. I am not sorry for what I said or what I did. Sorry, not sorry.

Many years ago, I had a friend who was going through a relationship struggle with another lifelong friend, me. There was a situation for which my friend wanted an apology. Okay, I insulted Donald Trump, and my friend thought that I owed him an apology. My problem was multifaceted. I couldn't figure out why my comment about President Trump mattered so strongly to my friend. I honestly struggle with many of the things the American President does. I am a conservative who feels that conservative politics has turned "weird," for lack of a better word. Conservatives all over the world seem to no longer hold what I consider to be conservative values, like balanced budgets and small government. So, I could honestly tell my friend I was sorry, but the problem was that I wasn't sorry for the things my friend thought I should be sorry for. It was a classic "Sorry, not sorry" moment in our friendship. And it just about ended the relationship.

The next comment is often that we want a genuine apology. But genuine apologies are hard if you don't understand why an apology is being demanded. I am sure that you have been there. For an apology to help, it has to be heartfelt, which usually excludes our "Sorry, not sorry" reactions.

God isn't looking for an apology, but he does want a heartfelt oath stating "As surely as the Lord lives." And maybe that was part of the problem. Israel could state, as part of a ritual of worship, "As surely as the Lord lives." But did they mean it? (Did you mean the words that you sang in church last Sunday?) But God stresses to Jeremiah that he wants to bless the people, but they have to be sincere in their worship. It can't be just a bunch of words that we say or sing. It can't be an oath that we can recite from memory. God demands so much more than that. What God wants are words and worship that originate in the core of our being and flow out with overwhelming honesty. That is the worship our God demands from his people.

Tomorrow's Scripture Reading: Jeremiah 5

I thought that after she had done all this she would return to me but she did not, and her unfaithful sister Judah saw it. – Jeremiah 3:7

Today's Scripture Reading (June 24, 2026): Jeremiah 3

Sir John Whitmore (1937-2017), English Racing Driver and pioneering executive coach, argued that "The carrot and the stick are pervasive and persuasive motivators. But if you treat people like donkeys, they will perform like donkeys (John Whitmore). I like the quote, even if I think it misses the point. There is truth in the idea that if we treat people like animals, they will act like animals. If we treat them like children, they will act like children. There is a married couple in my circle of influence whom I have known since early in my teenage years. They were adults and church leaders during my adolescence, and I was a stereotypical teenage rebel with long hair and a bad attitude. For the first few years of our relationship, that is who I was. But I grew up, got married to a wonderful girl, and became an adult (Yeah, I know, some out there wonder about the adult part). Amazingly, my wife knew this couple as well. I still run into these people once in a while. But every time I do, I feel like that rebellious teenager again. It is like five decades later, they still see me as that sixteen-year-old they once knew. As a result, the temptation to become that kid again is almost overwhelming.

Carrot and stick sum up two modes of motivation. The carrot represents any positive reinforcement that supports desired behavior. The stick is the pain or negative reinforcement we attach to behaviors we should avoid. For a donkey, the carrot and the stick are quite literal. We often envision the donkey chasing after the carrot while being hit from behind with a stick. However, all of us humans are also motivated by both positives and negatives, albeit different ones.

Judah had a front row seat for both the rebellion of Israel and the aftermath that Israel suffered as a direct result of that rebellion. As a motivator, the destruction of Samaria was the stick. The message was that if Judah persisted in its rebellion, this was what could happen to them.

However, Josiah was on the throne of Judah, and Josiah was a good king. "[Josiah] did what was right in the eyes of the Lord and followed completely the ways of his father David, not turning aside to the right or to the left" (2 Kings 22:2). Josiah did what was right, and in doing so, he set a good example for Judah. This example was the carrot. The message was, "You too can be successful if you follow the ways of King Josiah." It is a carrot that we still use. We send messages, especially to our teens, about the benefits of getting outside and spending time with friends or playing sports by having professionals from various local sports clubs share the message, thinking that more importance would be attached to the desired behavior if it is what Connor McDavid (National Hockey League) or George Springer (Major League Baseball) believes is right.

God admits that he thought that Judah would return to him if they saw these two things in action, but instead, they decided to act like donkeys.

Tomorrow's Scripture Reading: Jeremiah 4

Israel was holy to the LORD, the firstfruits of his harvest; all who devoured her were held guilty, and disaster overtook them,'" declares the LORD. – Jeremiah 2:3

Today's Scripture Reading (June 23, 2026): Jeremiah 2

Growing up, I loved playing pick-up sports on any field that presented itself; however, I always hated the process of picking teams. It can be embarrassing. The best players, of course, were always picked first. And the worst players got picked last. When it came down to the end of the process, it was the smallest, slowest, and the kids with the least talent that were left. Often, when we came down to the last kids on the list, someone would say, "You take them." I mean, how bad does that make you feel? Your talents are so unwanted that in the process of picking teams, you are given away to the opposing team.

Sometimes, those giveaways came back to haunt the giver. I remember one such game. We were preparing to play a pick-up game of football [American], something that I liked to do as often as possible during the summer. We picked the teams, and the last kid was this scrawny girl. It was my pick, and I refused to give her away. She apparently wanted to play football, but she didn't do anything. The other kids would run routes and try to get open so that I could throw them the ball, but she just stood there watching, never leaving the line of scrimmage. We had played for a while, and the person assigned to guard her ended up helping cover other people, because this girl wasn't doing anything.

I decided that I needed to get her the ball. I called her over and nonchalantly told her I wanted her to stand beside me. When I said "ball", I wanted her to take two steps forward and turn around. I would throw her the ball, and all I wanted her to do was catch the soft toss and run toward the opposing endzone until someone touched her. I remember stressing, "Don't throw the ball" (inexperienced players often get so excited when they are about to be "Tackled" or "Touched" in touch football that they throw the ball away).

The play started. My new friend took two steps in front of me and turned around. I softly tossed the ball underhand to her, and she caught it. Then she ran. And could she run. No one could catch her. She ran, dodged, and left the players who were picked first in her dust. She left me wondering why she had just stood there throughout the first portion of the game.

Jeremiah says that God picked Israel first. Israel wasn't his only choice, and despite being chosen first, they weren't even the best. But God had set the expectations for his nation. "I am the Lord, who brought you up out of Egypt to be your God; therefore be holy, because I am holy" (Leviticus 11:45).

For a while, they had done just that. They had avoided the trap of worshiping Egyptian gods. But they just couldn't seem to keep it up. Like young football players, they often became excited or worried and chose other gods and idols for worship. They threw the ball away. They could follow the God of the Patriarchs for a while, but not for the long run, even though God had promised to honor and defend her.

They were God's first choice, but often struggled to live up to that honor.

Tomorrow's Scripture Reading: Jeremiah 3

Before I formed you in the womb I knew you, before you were born I set you apart; I appointed you as a prophet to the nations. – Jeremiah 1:5

Today's Scripture Reading (June 22, 2026): Jeremiah 1

I remember my grandfather, DeVerne Mullen, singing a song called "He Chose Me." I know Jimmy Swaggart made the song popular, but for me, the voice I remember is my grandfather's. The song was a bit of a theme song for Grandpa; it summed up how he felt about his faith. The song was written by Mosie Lister (1921-2015), who, I have to admit, is one of my favorite composers from this era. Other great songs written by Lister include "' Til the Storm Passes By" and "How Long has it Been." But "He Chose Me" has a special connection for me because of its relationship to my grandfather.

There were so many others

That He might have chosen to follow Him

Others with learning and greater distinction to follow Him

Men with authority and forceful ability

Who knows how to speak and be heard

I don′t know exactly why I'm here at all

But today, I follow my Lord (Mosie Lister).

The song's central concept, which still amazes me, is that God chooses us. I have to admit that I don't read this as "I am chosen, and you are not." He chose all of us. Our paths might be different, and the impact we make may be in different areas, but we have all been chosen. The question is not whether we are chosen, but whether we will choose to respond by following Him.

The passage we have here is translated as "Before I formed you in the womb I knew you," but I think a better translation might be "Before I formed you in the womb I chose you." God knew, before you began this life, that he was going to choose you for this journey, that he would gift you in a way that would help you fulfill the task that he was placing in front of you. You would be given everything you need to accomplish the task, should you choose to accept the mission I have chosen for you. Too often, our failure comes because we are unwilling to follow where God is leading us, and that is on us, not Him.

Grandpa was amazed that God had chosen him, and I am amazed that he chose me. But he also chose you. So, where is He leading you?

Tomorrow's Scripture Reading: Jeremiah 2

Woe to the city of oppressors, rebellious and defiled! – Zephaniah 3:1

Today's Scripture Reading (June 21, 2026): Zephaniah 3

His name was Norman Sheffield (1939-2014), not that I would expect many to remember him. Norman Sheffield had a song written about him in 1975, and even though his name was not mentioned in the song, he sued the band and the label that released it. The band was "Queen," and the labels were "EMI" and "Elektra." If you do recognize Sheffield's name, it is probably more because of the lawsuit than because of the song. The lawsuit actually brought more scrutiny to the song than it would have likely received had Sheffield remained quiet. Queen eventually settled the lawsuit out of court and, in the process, admitted that, yes, the song "Death on Two Legs," the opening track on the band's album "A Night at the Opera," was in fact written about Norman Sheffield.

Queen, especially Freddie Mercury, believed that Sheffield had deliberately mismanaged the band, a situation that came to a head when Sheffield refused to advance Queen bassist John Deacon £40,000 as a down payment on a house. Freddie Mercury was incensed by the refusal and immediately began writing what amounts to a "Diss Track" about Sheffield. Not naming the now former manager, the singer had a few choice words about the manager's work on behalf of Queen over the preceding three years.

You suck my blood like a leech

You break the law and you breach

Screw my brain 'til it hurts

You've taken all my money, and you want more

 

Misguided old mule

With your pigheaded rules

With your narrow-minded cronies

Who are fools of the first division

 

Death on two legs

You're tearing me apart

Death on two legs

You never had a heart

Of your own.

The song only gets worse from there. Freddie admits he wanted the lyrics to be as "coarse as possible." The rest of the band was actually shocked by the lyrics. EMI wasn't sure the song should be included on "A Night at the Opera," let alone be the opening track. It was an opinion shared by Queen guitarist Brian May. But in the end, Mercury got his way. "Death on Two Legs" was not released as a single, but it became a fan favorite anyway, marking the moment when many of us graduated from buying singles to purchasing albums.

Zephaniah doesn't identify the city of oppressors, but we don't have to guess. We might hope, from the way Zephaniah 2 ends, that the prophet's ire would be directed at Nineveh, but later references to the prophets and priests, as well as the mention of the sanctuary and the law, reveal the truth. Zephaniah's "Diss Track" in this section of his writing is Jerusalem, and her own disbelief defiled the rebellious city.

Tomorrow's Scripture Reading: Jeremiah 1

Gaza will be abandoned and Ashkelon left in ruins. At midday Ashdod will be emptied and Ekron uprooted. – Zephaniah 2:4

Today's Scripture Reading (June 20, 2026): Zephaniah 2

It is often hard to read what the Bible says about Gaza without thinking about the current situation of this tiny strip of land on the east side of the Mediterranean Sea. From our place in time, we look at the Gaza Strip and see an area in ruins, although it has definitely not been abandoned. But if we go back to the original Hebrew, we discover something important. Few translators have tried to keep the poetic structure of this passage. There is a bit of a rhyme that Zephaniah is working toward, which is not reflected in "Gaza will be abandoned and Ashkelon left in ruins." John Robert Dummelow (1860-1909) attempted to reflect this poetry into English with "Gaza shall be a ghastly ruin; and Ashkelon a deserted ash-heap" (John Robert Dummelow). The poetic connection is between "Gaza and ghastly" and "Ashkelon and ash-heap." (It is the kind of poetry that President Trump likes to use against his enemies, changing a name into an insult.) As a result, the concepts of desolation and damage are at the forefront of Zephaniah's mind.

Experts continue to debate the era to which this prophecy is addressed. Traditionally, it has been thought that Zephaniah was speaking of a Scythian invasion in the 3^rd or 4^th Century B.C.E. We know that, late in the Scythian Empire, they attempted to pass through Palestine on their way to Egypt. But reports from that time suggest that the Egyptians sent their army north into Palestine and convinced the Scythians to turn around and head home.

The second portion of the verse argues that the defeat of the Philistine cities on this tiny strip of land came quickly. The Mesha Stele, dating from the 9^th Century B.C.E., details King Mesha of Moab's victories over Israel and employs similar language to suggest a swift victory. "I fought against it from the break of day till noon, and I took it" (Mesha Stele). All of this leaves us with either a fight of the Philistine cities against Assyria, or maybe Babylon. Both empires swept through the area before laying siege to Jerusalem.

However, especially given the events in that area of the world today, the importance may not lie in when these cities fell in fulfillment of Zephaniah's words, but in what happens next. Zephaniah foretells of the fall of Gaza and her Philistine sisters, but also reminds his readers of a remnant who would rise to care for the area. "The land by the sea will become pastures having wells for shepherds and pens for flocks" (Zephaniah 2:6). It is long past time for there to be peace in the Middle East, and for the Gaza Strip to become the oasis it once was. Maybe who is less important than what. Maybe we can dream of a time when Palestinians and Israeli's combine to care for the land that God has given to them, in memory of the ghosts who still roam the land of Gaza and the cities of the Philistia.

Tomorrow's Scripture Reading: Zephaniah 3

"I will sweep away everything from the face of the earth," declares the LORD. – Zephaniah 1:2

Today's Scripture Reading (June 19, 2026): Zephaniah 1

Space is a crowded place. I recently looked at a list of objects set to make near-Earth approaches over the next few years, and it's extremely long. Almost every day, an asteroid or rogue piece of debris makes a near-earth approach. Although only a few have any real possibility of making contact with our planet, it would only take one to change life as we know it drastically. Most of us are aware that a collision with an asteroid ended the dinosaurs' reign and set the stage for the rise of the human race. What is maybe a little less known is that we know the asteroid that did it. Sixty-six million years ago, the Chicxulub asteroid, a 10-15 km wide piece of space rock from beyond Jupiter, struck an area in the Yucatan Peninsula in the Southern part of the Gulf of Mexico. The collision triggered an "impact winter" and a mass extinction event, which affected every corner of the Earth. Many animal species died, including the non-avian dinosaurs. It is worth noting that most Earth-impacting asteroids originate in the inner Solar System. But the Chicxulub asteroid came from beyond Jupiter.

There are many ways life on our planet might end. Some are totally within our control. Global climate change is one. I know there are doubters out there, so maybe I should just say that whatever is making our planet warmer year after year and increasing the number of severe summer storms felt across the planet might end our planet. Of course, Nuclear war is an ever-present threat to our continued existence on the Earth. But these are things we can change, or at least try to change. Currently, the presence of another Chicxulub asteroid would destroy the planet as we know it, and there's nothing we could do to stop it.

Zephaniah gets right to the point. He introduces himself, and the prophet is unique in that he is a descendant of the good King Hezekiah. Hezekiah was King Josiah's great-grandfather, and Zephaniah's great-great-grandfather. But the message that he has come to share was that a time was coming when God was going to wipe away life on the Earth because of sin. We have no idea how this moment might happen. God may allow another Chicxulub-type asteroid to strike Earth. Maybe our experience with the changing climate and an increase in severe storms is God's way of reminding us that he can wipe away life on the Earth. Or maybe it will be something totally unexpected.

Zephaniah's message is that God has the power to wipe away life on the Earth. And he wants to warn his readers that their behavior does matter. They can change the future of the planet by following God's will and caring for everything God has created.

Tomorrow's Scripture Reading: Zephaniah 2

Hilkiah and those the king had sent with him went to speak to the prophet Huldah, who was the wife of Shallum son of Tokhath, the son of Hasrah, keeper of the wardrobe. She lived in Jerusalem, in the New Quarter. – 2 Chronicles 34:22

Today's Scripture Reading (June 18, 2026): 2 Chronicles 34

English Theologian, N.T. Wright argues that everything in the Bible is expressed in terms of cooperative opposites. The idea is that from the very creation of the universe, we see essential pairings of opposites. Day makes necessary night. Water and dry land are mutually defining. In the mind of Wright, this is one principle that argues against the idea of gay marriage. God's design from the very beginning is that cooperative opposites are what is critical in any endeavor. In the concept of marriage, those cooperative opposites must be "one man and one woman," or what we have come to call traditional marriage.

I am not convinced that Wright is correct in his argument about marriage. Even in same-sex marriages, the participants are usually quite different. However, that does not mean he is wrong about the importance of both men and women in the world in which we live. Maybe one problem within contemporary feminism lies in the concept of gender equality, which often argues that we can do the same things. I believe strongly in a radical equality between the sexes, but that does not mean that men and women are the same. We aren't. Men and women, even outside the concept of marriage, present a necessary, complementary opposite in life. Both men and women are required to accomplish societal goals that extend beyond marriage and reproduction. Men and women approach problems differently. One is not better than the other; they are just different. And the best solution usually results when both are involved in the process.

The Book of Kings offers us another example of cooperative opposites in the story of the prophetess Huldah. Huldah is remembered as one of the seven prophetesses of Judaism, alongside Sarah, Miriam, Deborah, Hannah, Abigail, and Esther. But Huldah had a more famous male relative. His name was Jeremiah. According to tradition, Huldah and Jeremiah were two sides of the same coin, or, as Wright might put it, cooperative opposites. Jeremiah and Huldah performed very similar functions in the religious life of the day. We know that Jeremiah, often nicknamed "The Weeping Prophet," taught a message of repentance to Judah during the last days of the nation. Jeremiah begged Judah to return to God. But it seems that his ministry was mostly to the men of the city. Huldah set herself to the same task with the women of the city, pleading that they would return to God before it was too late.

Huldah is also thought to have been an important public educator of her day. It might be that the King's delegation went to Huldah, rather than to Jeremiah, because they believed she might be more inclined to respond with compassion and intercede before God for them, rather than with the condemnation they expected from Jeremiah. And their decision to take this new document, likely the Book of Deuteronomy, to Huldah made her the first person to declare a document scripture, as she treated the newly found text as the authoritative word of God.  

Tomorrow's Scripture Reading: Zephaniah 1

See Also 2 Kings 22:14

She said to them, "This is what the LORD, the God of Israel, says: Tell the man who sent you to me … - 2 Kings 22:15

Today's Scripture Reading (June 17, 2026): 2 Kings 22

Queen Elizabeth was not referred to as "Your Majesty" by everyone. In public, royal rules will always prevail, and what you need to remember is that the first time you address King Charles, the only phrase that should come out of your mouth is "Your Majesty." If the conversation continues, then it might be acceptable to refer to him as "Sir," but no other name should be used. In private, though, you might hear him referred to by some other names, although definitely never to be echoed by you. For Elizabeth, Charles's mother, there were a few nicknames you might have heard her called in private. The occasional "Lillibet" might have been heard from some very close friends of the former Queen. Of all of the nicknames possessed by the former sovereign, "Lillibet" is probably the best known. According to tradition, it was the way that she pronounced "Elizabeth" when she was young. Prince William, when he was young and before he got the hang of saying "Granny," apparently called her "Garry." And I am quite okay with that (and I gave the nickname my spelling rather than the traditional "Gary").

However, there was another, even more private name, for Queen Elizabeth. Prince Philip had a name for her that only he was allowed to use in her presence or anywhere else when referring to her; that name was "Cabbage." The nickname was adapted from the French expression "mon petit chou' which translates to "my little cabbage." But only Prince Philip had the right to call Elizabeth by that name. There was not, nor will there ever be, another person in the world who would be allowed to refer to the late Queen as their "Cabbage."

So, what if I decided to risk it? Right here on this public forum, what if I decided that I wanted to refer to the former Queen of the United Kingdom and the other Commonwealth realms as "my Cabbage?" I am a Canadian by birth, which means that Elizabeth was my Queen. So, what if I decided to address the mother of my reigning King as "My Cabbage" instead of "Your Majesty?" The reality is that, regardless of the message's content, using that nickname to refer to the late Queen would be wildly inappropriate. Royalists would have the right to condemn me; after all, I was not being considerate of her former position as a world leader and the most prominent member of the British Royal Family for over half a century. I am not Prince Philip. I do not have the right to call Queen Elizabeth "My Cabbage," or even attempt to greet her with the full French expression, "mon petit chou."

With this understanding in mind, we need to read Huldah's greeting to the delegation sent to her by King Josiah. Huldah's address to the men is direct. "Tell the man who sent you …" Later, Huldah will refer to "the man" as the King of Judah, but in this initial greeting, he is not the King; he is simply a man.

Josiah's delegation would probably have been as offended by Huldah's greeting as someone close to Queen Elizabeth would have been by my use of the nickname "the Cabbage" to address "Her Majesty." But there is a purpose in Huldah's greeting. Her use of "the man" to refer to King Josiah emphasizes that, in God's eyes, the King holds no special place. He is just like any other man who came to talk to this prophetess.  

We see differences between people. But in the eyes of God, we are all just the same as King Josiah; we are all sinners, and we are all only men and women requiring His grace and mercy.

Tomorrow's Scripture Reading: 2 Chronicles 34

He sacrificed his children in the fire in the Valley of Ben Hinnom, practiced divination and witchcraft, sought omens, and consulted mediums and spiritists. He did much evil in the eyes of the LORD, arousing his anger. – 2 Chronicles 33:6

Today's Scripture Reading (June 16, 2026): 2 Chronicles 33

Life isn't just about your actions. We need to put our beliefs into practice, but actions also need to arise from the core of who we are. We are not designed to be simply actors on the stage, going through the motions and reading the lines provided for us. There is supposed to be a belief system in our lives that underpins everything we do. And when that belief system is missing, it is noticeable by almost everyone around us.

So it shouldn't surprise us that Hezekiah seems to be concerned about the details of his own reign, not so much about those who followed him. After all, Hezekiah waited until it was almost too late to marry and produce an heir to follow him. His son took it a step further, doing what Hezekiah would have thought unthinkable: he actively sacrificed his own children, sacrificing the nation's future, to the gods to ensure his own reign would succeed. While the actions of these two kings may have been very different, they stemmed from a very similar core belief. The only difference was that Manasseh put that core belief into action.

Too many people seem to hold the belief that Christianity is about following the rules. It is about training ourselves to do the right things. Christianity is about denying our passions and living disciplined lives. Except, I am not sure if that is true. I mean, I am not a disciplined person; I hate rules, and when I do the right thing, it often seems incidental.

What if Jesus died on a cross, not so we could play a game and follow the rules, but so we could be successful as we live our lives? What if his purpose was not that we would spend our lives denying our passions (and not having fun), but giving us passion for things that would strengthen our communities and us?  What if what he really wanted to do was to change what existed at the core of our lives? What if his plan was for us to spend our lives not denying our passions but letting them loose? What if …?

I believe that the what-ifs are the truth. God's purpose is to change us on the inside so that what flows from us glorifies God and encourages the people in our circles of influence. We can actually be all that we were meant to be because God has done a work in our deepest places. That is what I believe God wants from us. But following the rules will never get us there, and neither will sacrificing our children on an altar dedicated to our needs. Because the future needs them to follow our example, and be all that God needs them to be as well.

Tomorrow's Scripture Reading: 2 Kings

See Also 2 Kings 21:6

He rebuilt the high places his father Hezekiah had destroyed; he also erected altars to Baal and made an Asherah pole, as Ahab king of Israel had done. He bowed down to all the starry hosts and worshiped them. – 2 Kings 21:3

Today's Scripture Reading (June 15, 2026): 2 Kings 21

"It was the best of times; it was the worst of times." With these words, Charles Dickens launches his story about the French Revolution, "A Tale of Two Cities." The words highlight the paradoxical nature of the human experience. And sometimes it seems that the best of times and the worst of times are separated by the thinnest of margins. Consider the men who historians often argue are the best and the worst American Presidents. On the best side, Abraham Lincoln consistently ranks as the best of American Presidents. Lincoln is praised for his leadership throughout the American Civil War and his abolition of slavery. Abraham Lincoln is a man who was made, as maybe we all are, by the circumstances of his life. Would Abraham have presided over the abolition of slavery had he been President twenty years earlier? I don't think so. And while one of the great tragedies of American history was Lincoln's assassination, the assassination stopped the Lincoln story before Reconstruction. And no one knows how Reconstruction might have changed his legacy.

So maybe it's no surprise that the two worst Presidents are the two men who served before and after Abraham Lincoln. The worst President of the United States is consistently James Buchanan. I think there might be a few other candidates for this position, but Buchanan keeps rising to the top because of the way he handled American Society in the years leading up to the Civil War. Buchanan believed that history would vindicate him, but that vindication has never really materialized. He has been consistently criticized for his unwillingness or inability to react to the Southern States, which were threatening to secede from the Union, setting the stage for the Civil War. It is as if someone else were President; maybe the Civil War wouldn't have happened. And I am not sure that is true either.

But Buchanan's competition for the title of worst American President is often Andrew Johnson, who succeeded Abraham Lincoln. In all fairness, Johnson had been Lincoln's Vice-President for less than two months before Lincoln's assassination. Still, Johnson had the privilege of serving as President for most of Abraham Lincoln's second term (April 15, 1865 - March 4, 1869), and his legacy remains that he failed Reconstruction by blocking civil rights for the newly freed slaves. Together, Buchanan, Lincoln, and Johnson served as Presidents of the United States from March 4, 1857, to March 4, 1869, some of the most volatile years in the history of the Union. They were the best and the worst of times and of Presidents.

I sometimes wonder why the author of Kings chose not to compare the reign of King Manasseh with that of his father, Hezekiah, and his grandfather, Ahaz. Here, we once again seem to have a story of the worst and the best of the Kings of Judah in two consecutive generations. But instead, the author of Kings, possibly Jeremiah, chooses to compare Manasseh to the best of the Judean Kings, Hezekiah, with the worst of the Israelite or Samaritan Kings, Ahab. And while 2 Kings omits part of the story, it seems that Manasseh competed with both of these kings. For part of his reign, he was as bad as Ahaz and his wife, Jezebel, of Israel. And while he was never as good as his father, Hezekiah, he did try to follow his father's example later in his reign.

Tomorrow's Scripture Reading: 2 Chronicles 33

All because of the wanton lust of a prostitute, alluring, the mistress of sorceries, who enslaved nations by her prostitution and peoples by her witchcraft. – Nahum 3:4

Today's Scripture Reading (June 14, 2026): Nahum 3

If we take the Bible seriously, then every part of creation grew out of a common point in human history. Maybe you don't accept the story of Adam and Eve as a historical account. Still, even if the story of Adam and Eve is only a legend, the human race still likely developed from a single point, likely in southern Iraq, and spread to the rest of the world from there, which means that at some point in the past, we all shared a belief in some common deity. Some argue that the monotheism of the Abrahamic religions grew out of various polytheistic faiths, but I believe the reverse is true. In the beginning, we had an understanding of God, even if it was very vague. I had a conversation with a Hindu believer a few years ago, and she asked me if I believed in one God. I said I did, and her reply has stuck with me. "My faith teaches me that there are many gods, but deep down, I think you are right. There is only one."

Paul, in his letter to the Romans, would seem to agree with this shift from monotheism to polytheism.

For since the creation of the world God's invisible qualities—his eternal power and divine nature—have been clearly seen, being understood from what has been made, so that people are without excuse.

For although they knew God, they neither glorified him as God nor gave thanks to him, but their thinking became futile and their foolish hearts were darkened. Although they claimed to be wise, they became fools and exchanged the glory of the immortal God for images made to look like a mortal human being and birds and animals and reptiles (Romans 1:20-23).

Prostitution and harlotry in the prophetic writings are often code words for turning away from faith. Maybe we wouldn't expect that a foreign nation could turn away from God, but we need to be reminded that the story of Jonah tells of a revival in the Assyrian Capital as the people turned away from their national gods. But the revival was short-lived. The people turned to God in Jonah's presence, but fell away since the prophet had left the city. Their sin was not just that they turned away from the monotheistic God to whom Jonah had pointed them, but that they had spread their false religion to the nations, spreading lies against the truth Jonah had shared with them.

Tomorrow's Scripture Reading: 2 Kings 21

The chariots storm through the streets, rushing back and forth through the squares. They look like flaming torches; they dart about like lightning. – Nahum 2:4

Today's Scripture Reading (June 13, 2026): Nahum 2

Over the years, I have spent a lot of time in traffic. I don't think I am predisposed to road rage, though I have seen a lot of it over the years on the road. Where I am vulnerable is when people get mad at me, especially if I have no idea why they are angry. I remember one trip home a few years ago when a guy in a big truck decided to pull a U-turn on a residential street. I came around the corner to find the road blocked by this guy and his truck. My response was to pull over to one side of the road; I admit that when I made the turn, I was closer to the middle of the road than I should have been. In my defense, I didn't know a truck was going to be blocking my way. So I pulled over to let the truck do its thing.

I thought everything was okay until the driver pulled up beside me and gave me the universal one-finger greeting for hello. Then he pulled over and parked. So, I parked (Do not try this at home). I got out and went over to him. I am a fairly big guy, and he was relatively small, so when I walked up to him, it was obvious that he was looking for something he could use as a weapon if things turned bad. Knowing that, I kept everything as calm as I could. I asked my new acquaintance what was wrong, and he responded that he believed I was trying to block him. I assured him that I wasn't, apologized, and then turned and went back to my vehicle. Maybe the most unnerving part of the whole confrontation was that I noticed he watched me intently until I disappeared out of sight.

Some people read this passage in Nahum and wonder if Nahum was seeing a contemporary traffic jam on the ancient streets of Nineveh. Chariots that storm through the streets looking like torches that run back and forth might be a description of a scene that any traffic camera of an urban center during rush hour might reveal. However, it is not a contemporary rush-hour scene that is being described, but rather the bedlam of Nineveh overrun by its enemies. The end of Nineveh would see armies flowing into the city from several different directions. The city and its defenses would be overwhelmed in a way that couldn't have been imagined fifty years before the fall of the city. History records that the city's end occurred in 612 B.C.E. In that year, the city was overrun, and bitter fighting raged from house to house. No place was safe. And when the fighting ended, the city was razed. The former mighty city of the Assyrians was gone, never to attain any importance ever again. 

Tomorrow's Scripture Reading: Nahum 3

But with an overwhelming flood he will make an end of Nineveh; he will pursue his foes into the realm of darkness. – Nahum 1:8

Today's Scripture Reading (June 12, 2026): Nahum 1

It had been about a hundred years since Jonah tried to escape going to Nineveh by making a detour to the south coast of Spain and the city of Tarshish. A century has passed since a whale swallowed Jonah and then spewed the prophet up onto the coast. It has been a hundred years since Jonah presided over a revival in Nineveh. Unfortunately, over those hundred years, the revival in Nineveh has died, and the people have returned to their evil ways. So, Nahum gets to proclaim the judgment of which Jonah could only dream.

Nahum says that "an overwhelming flood he will make an end of Nineveh" (Nahum 1:8). For the people who first heard these words, the prophecy of Nahum had to bring the minds of the people in his audience back to the time of Noah and the days of the flood that covered the earth. There is no doubt about the power of the Assyrian Empire. The Empire had itself been a metaphorical "overwhelming flood" that had dominated the known world. The Empire stretched from parts of Iran through modern-day Iraq and into Syria and Turkiye, and down through Jordan and Israel into Egypt, and even into the eastern part of Libya. And as Nahum makes this prophecy, Assyria is still strong.

But within fifty years, the nations would come together to defeat the Assyrians. It will be a "tidal wave" of opposition as the Babylonians and Persians join with other smaller powers to overcome the Empire. Not far down the road, both the Babylonians and the Persians would also have their time on the world stage before giving way to a Greek flood.

But James Boice (1938-2000) reminds us that this wasn't just a figurative flood. While it wasn't the overwhelming flood that Noah knew, there was a flood that helped to take down the Assyrian Capital.

"According to secular accounts, during the final siege of Nineveh by a rebel army of Persians, Medes, Arabians, and Babylonians, unusually heavy rains caused the rivers to flood and to undermine the city's walls, which then collapsed…the invading armies entered the city through this breach in its defenses" (James Montgomery Boice).

Jonah tried to escape his mission by taking a boat to Tarshish, but he was stopped by a storm and high waves that threatened to sink the boat he was on. It was a whale, or a big fish, that saved the prophet and threw him up onto dry ground. But the water that sank Nineveh, both figurative and literal, didn't carry a message of salvation for the people. This time, the water would carry the final vote.

Tomorrow's Scripture Reading: Nahum 2