Ezekiel will be a sign to you; you will do just as he has done. When this happens, you will know that I am the Sovereign LORD. – Ezekiel 24:24

Today's Scripture Reading (September 11, 2026): Ezekiel 24

One of the best ways to lead is by setting the example. Some of the best leaders in my life have been the ones who walked with me. It isn't always easy. And it's part of what disappoints me about some secular leaders, whether they are sports stars, politicians, or even church leaders. Some seem to demand from their followers behavior they are unwilling to follow in their individual lives.

As you read this chapter of Ezekiel's life, the events don't match our sense of fairness. Why should Ezekiel have to pay the price? After all, he was the one who was following God; the one to whom God was speaking. And to top it off, he wasn't even allowed to mourn in a way that was fitting after losing the one that he loved.

One lesson that we need to take from Ezekiel's life is that our Christian lives will not always go smoothly. If Ezekiel went through these trials, why do we seem to believe that, as followers of God, our lives will be perfect? We are needed as leaders of our society. I still believe that the church is the hope of the world; we are perfectly situated to take care of this world's problems. However, we are only the hope of the world if we are willing to lead. And leading may mean paying the same price as the rest of our culture. We don't get a free pass, as much as we may wish we could.

I fear that we aren't leading; we are following. Most of the time, Christians aren't suffering because we are doing the right thing; we suffer because we have become the followers of a culture that isn't working. And there is a big difference.

Our nations need us to have the courage to be the leaders that we were created to be. All of us need to be ready to stand up for what is right instead of what is expedient. Our culture needs us as much as Ezekiel's culture needed Ezekiel. It won't be easy to stand up for what is right, especially when facets of our culture have deceived our friends. So we need to be prepared for what is happening next. Are you ready?

Tomorrow's Scripture Reading: Ezekiel 25

 

 

This is what the LORD says: 'I am going to deliver Pharaoh Hophra king of Egypt into the hands of his enemies who want to kill him, just as I gave Zedekiah king of Judah into the hands of Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon, the enemy who wanted to kill him.' – Jeremiah 44:30

Today's Scripture Reading (September 10, 2026): Jeremiah 44 & 45

The future is unexpected. Even predictions and prophecies that come true are often fulfilled in unexpected ways. The future is a mystery, and that is what makes trying to unwind the prophecies of the Bible, or any other prophecies, such a hard task. Those who think they see prophecies unwinding before their eyes throughout history have, most of the time, been deluding themselves.

When I was growing up, I remember predictions that Henry Kissinger was the Antichrist; that Kissinger fulfilled biblical prophecy. The argument was strong and multifaceted. I know that for many people in the 1970's, it must have seemed so obvious. The prediction has been persistent. Henry Kissinger died in 2023 after living 100 years, and at no point did the evidence of Kissinger's life support the prophetic allegations that some wanted to lay at his feet. Yet, every once in a while, I still run into somebody who has bought into the expectation. It is a hard task to convince these prophetic believers that they might have been wrong; that the way that they saw the future was not how the future turned out. Even now, some want to make excuses for their belief, and they still proclaim that, somehow, Henry Kissinger really was the Antichrist.

Jeremiah speaks of the fall of Judah and the subsequent fall of Egypt. Egypt's fall was predicted because the people of Judah had fled to Egypt, a place that Jeremiah had said they should not go. So, as Jeremiah draws his prophecy to a close, one of his final prophecies concerns the death of Hophra, the Pharaoh of Egypt. It would be really easy to read this prophecy and assume that Hophra died valiantly at the hands of Nebuchadnezzar. But Jeremiah doesn't actually say that. He says Hophra will be delivered into the hands of his enemy, just as Zedekiah of Judah was handed over to Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon.

History records Hophra under a different name: Apries. Apries was Pharaoh of Egypt during this tense moment in world history. Unfortunately, Apries was a man out of his time. While Egypt needed a warrior to survive in a world dominated by the Babylonian Empire and with the dawn of the Greek Empire on the horizon, Apries was more of a builder; his great intellect was geared more toward producing great buildings than fighting great wars. Apries' attempt to help Judah was ill-considered. Apries was not only unable to come to the aid of his northern neighbor, but in the process he lost the confidence of his army, resulting in mass defections. Later, Apries attempted to come to the aid of his Libyan neighbors against the Greeks. But Apries fared no better in Libya than he did in Judah. It was at this moment that Egypt turned to a successful general of the army for help, a man who had led the Egyptian army to success in Nubia during the reign of Apries father; the general's name was Amasis. And in 570 B.C.E., Amasis declared himself Pharaoh in the place of Apries.

It turns out that Jeremiah was speaking of Amasis as the enemy of Hophra, not Nebuchadnezzar. In fact, Amasis killed Apries (Hophra) in battle when Apries attempted to regain his kingdom. As unexpected as this might have seemed when Jeremiah wrote the prophecy, Apries died with the Babylonian army fighting at his side. Nebuchadnezzar, instead of being the enemy who would kill Apries, was the ally attempting to help him regain his throne at the time of his death.

The future often seems to work that way. Even when it is expected, it is unexpected. Confining our future to our expectations limits the way we allow God to move. God's moves are usually unexpected and always undeserved.

Tomorrow's Scripture Reading: Ezekiel 24

There in the temple of the sun in Egypt he will demolish the sacred pillars and will burn down the temples of the gods of Egypt. – Jeremiah 43:13

Today's Scripture Reading (September 9, 2026): Jeremiah 43

I sometimes wonder about the way, or the sequence of events, that things seem to happen in the Bible. I have to admit that I am not convinced that the future is fixed. I really believe that it is fluid and that we serve a passionate God who is moved by all of our actions, both our obedience and our disobedience, and because of these moments, the future changes. It is not that I do not believe that God knows the future. I actually believe the reverse. God knows all possible futures and outcomes, but what actually happens is a joint decision between our actions and God's movement. I know that's a radical thought, but for me, the proof is in texts like this one.

Jeremiah tells the people that God has spoken, and he does not want them to run to Egypt; the safest place for them to live was right where they were in Judah, the land God had promised to His people. But the people were convinced that safety was found in Egypt. That belief was not without merit. Nebuchadnezzar had already tried to defeat Egypt, and Egypt had won the battle. At this moment of loss, Nebuchadnezzar turned his eyes to securing Asia and the Middle East for his empire, and to the many building projects he hoped would allow him to be remembered, and we do remember him 2500 years later.

But this was one of the moments (admittedly there were many of them) when the people disobeyed. Actually, the people decided they were smarter than God; they thought they knew better than God what the truth was regarding the Babylonian-Egyptian conflict. God, we know Egypt has already won, and we believe we will be safe in the African nation. So, the people ran to Egypt, carrying the reluctant prophet Jeremiah with them, and every step of the way, Jeremiah talked to the people about the folly of the action in which they were engaged.

And as you read history, you get a sense that the people were right. In this moment of Nebuchadnezzar's life, it made sense for Nebuchadnezzar to tidy up conflicts, secure his borders, and concentrate on the peaceful building projects that he already had in his mind to complete. By this time, Nebuchadnezzar was starting to be influenced by the Judean captives, especially leaders like Daniel. Babylon's position in the world made this a good stopping point.

However, the Judean rebellion against God also needed to be handled. I almost get the sense that as the people of God rebelled, plans changed. Instead of actions dedicated to securing the borders, Nebuchadnezzar began planning a second attempt to move into Africa. Part of me wonders if the people of Israel had obeyed God, if just maybe Nebuchadnezzar would have stopped and history would be different. But the history that we know tells the story of Nebuchadnezzar's defeat not only of Egypt, but of Liberia and the north coast of Africa as well. And the people who had run to Egypt hoping to be safe realized that they, much like Jonah, could not run from the presence and the purposes of God.  

Tomorrow's Scripture Reading: Jeremiah 44 & 45

Remnant of Judah, the LORD has told you, 'Do not go to Egypt.' Be sure of this: I warn you today. – Jeremiah 42:19

Today's Scripture Reading (September 8, 2026): Jeremiah 42

Italian author Laurentius Abstemius wrote his most famous work, Hecatomythium, in 1495. The book is a collection of a hundred fables written in Latin. Some of the fables were translated from Greek for the book. The book of fables was passed over by the critics of the day. They considered the stories ridiculous, and many took exception to the negative view some fables took of the clergy.

One of the fables contained within the book was a story about a group of fish. The fish had been caught and were being placed in a pan of boiling oil. In this fable, the fish began to talk. One of the fish suggested they do whatever they could to get out of the pan. So, they made a plan and jumped out of the oil, but that only landed them in worse trouble because they landed in the fire. There, lying on the burning coals, the fish cursed the bad advice that they had followed. The fabulist concludes that "this fable warns us that when we are avoiding present dangers, we should not fall into even worse peril." Aesop paraphrased the fable for his collection of moral tales. He entitled the fable "Worse and Worse" and rephrased the moral as "jumping out of the frying pan and into the fire."

The fish fable fits the message God gives to Jeremiah. It would seem that the immediate reaction of those left in Judah, after the close of the Babylonian-Judean war, was to run to the other superpower that ruled in their world. The idea was that maybe they could be safe in Egypt. It is sometimes amazing, as we tell the story of the Bible, how often Israel seems to believe that safety is found in Egypt, that place where they once existed as enslaved people.

But God's message was that the only place where they could be all that they were created to be was with God. What had happened in Judah may have been uncomfortable, but if God had not been with the people of Judah during their conflict with Babylon, it would have been so much worse. God had never left them. In this moment, God was inviting them to stay, not to run to Egypt. God was still with them, and He had no plans to leave them. Jeremiah hoped the people left in Judah would commit to God, leaving behind any plans to leave Him if they wanted to be successful in the future.

According to Jeremiah, to run to Egypt would be like "jumping out of the frying pan and into the fire." Life might have been uncomfortable, but they could trust God to be with them where they were and walk with them into the future. Here is the reality that I know. People will let you down. That was the danger that Egypt represented. Escaping to Egypt meant trusting a group of people who could not save them. Only God was worthy of their trust, and if they were looking for someone to move them through to the end of the story, they would not find that person in Egypt. That someone was the one who had held them every step of the way so far, and the one who was never going to give up on them. That someone was their God, the one who deserved their trust.

Tomorrow's Scripture Reading: Jeremiah 43

Ishmael son of Nethaniah and the ten men who were with him got up and struck down Gedaliah son of Ahikam, the son of Shaphan, with the sword, killing the one whom the king of Babylon had appointed as governor over the land. – Jeremiah 41:2

Today's Scripture Reading (September 7, 2026): Jeremiah 41

After the Second World War, the first war of the Cold War era was fought between the Soviet Union and the United States. The fighting took place in Greece. Nazi Germany and Italy had gained control of Greece throughout the middle portion of the Second World War. As a result, the Greek government became a government in exile. But when the nations allied with the United Kingdom and the United States began to take control of the war in the European theater, a power vacuum was created in Greece. As a result, by the end of the Second World War, no government clearly controlled Greece. So, from 1946 to 1949, the Greek government, which had been ruling in exile and was backed by the United Kingdom and the United States, waged a civil war against the Greek Communist Party, backed by the Soviet Union. However, the events of the Second World War had essentially set up this civil war.

The Babylonian conflict in Judah was over. The Babylonian army had been, for the most part, withdrawn. Jerusalem lay in ruins. The Babylonians had left Gedaliah and his supporters, all of whom had defected to the Babylonian army at some point during the war, in charge of the country. However, much like what happened in Greece after the Second World War during the 20^th Century, during the early years of the 6^th Century B.C.E., a power vacuum in Judah had been created by the Babylonian-Judean war, and that left conditions favorable for the beginning of a new civil war.

Jeremiah writes that in this case, Ishmael, the son of Nethaniah (to differentiate him from Ishmael, the son of Zedekiah, both of whom were part of the Royal family, but Ishmael, the son of Nethaniah, was from a much more remote branch of the family), disagreed with who the Babylonians had left in control of the nation. Ishmael, son of Nethaniah, strongly believed that he was the one who should have been left in control of Judah. So he decided to take matters into his own hands and assassinated Gedaliah.

Gedaliah, on the other hand, seems to have taken no precautions against a possible uprising. Rabbinic writings indicate that Gedaliah was known for eating and drinking well, and our understanding is that Gedaliah invited Ishmael, son of Nethaniah, to share food and drink with him. Ishmael took advantage of the situation, and when Gedaliah and his men were drunk enough, Ishmael and his men killed them.

But Jeremiah also wants to make sure that the reader understands the enormity of Ishmael's crime. Throughout his prophecies, Jeremiah is clear that Nebuchadnezzar (and Babylon) wins the conflict with Judah because God decreed it. And here, Jeremiah says that Ishmael takes his sword and kills "the one whom the king of Babylon had appointed as governor over the land." Ishmael, in killing Gedaliah, was not only guilty of killing his own countryman, but he killed the man that Nebuchadnezzar had placed on the throne. Therefore, he opposed the will of his God, who had placed Nebuchadnezzar in control of the nation. 

Tomorrow's Scripture Reading: Jeremiah 42

They all came back to the land of Judah, to Gedaliah at Mizpah, from all the countries where they had been scattered. And they harvested an abundance of wine and summer fruit. – Jeremiah 40:12

Today's Scripture Reading (September 6, 2026): Jeremiah 40

One limiting factor of growth is leadership. Leadership is required in both our organizations and our individual lives if we are to keep growing. I can't grow those around me past the point where I have the leadership ability to lead. And I will not grow myself beyond the leaders I choose to invite into my life. However, we often don't think about the reverse. If there is a lack of leadership in the organization, we will often fill the void with whoever comes along, rather than wait for the appropriate leader the circumstances require. I believe health might be found somewhere between having all the right leaders in place and continually searching for needed leadership. If we have all the leaders we need, then leadership will be closed, and we will miss out on any benefits from new leaders who may come along. However, if we lack some of the leaders required to keep the organization growing, that lack can result in chaos. Still, the organization can find a healthy position amid the limited chaos.

Judah had leaders, but the leadership was closed. To be a leader in Judah, you had to be born into the position. As a result, under good leadership, the country grew, but under bad leadership, it shrank. Too often, Judah suffered under bad leadership and shrank. As a result, some key Judean leaders lived outside the nation of Judah. However, when Judah's leadership was taken into exile in Babylon, these leaders on the fringes of the nation needed to return to fill the leadership void. And Jeremiah says that is precisely what happened.

The principle is also true for our own personal lives. We are 'led' by key ideas. They shape and guide our lives and help us to grow. But learning also takes a willingness to consider new ideas, incorporate them into our lives, and allow them to lead us. So, without these new concepts to lead us, our lives lose purpose. We become so rigid and closed that we can't accept new ideas, and at that point, we stop growing. Life requires a healthy balance between established concepts and new ideas to keep us fresh and growing throughout our life journeys.

We need to be led by something, but don't be afraid to open yourself up to new ideas. And maybe, even in the chaos, you might have some unexpected fun. Have a great day!

Tomorrow's Scripture Reading: Jeremiah 41

I will save you; you will not fall by the sword but will escape with your life, because you trust in me, declares the LORD. – Jeremiah 39:18

 Today's Scripture Reading (September 5, 2026): Jeremiah 39

On August 22, 1572, Gaspard II de Coligny was shot by a man called Maurevert. The shot missed taking Coligny's life, but it did cost the French Nobleman and admiral one of his fingers. No one is sure who ordered Coligny to be shot, but the assassination attempt caused French Catholics a problem. Coligny was a prominent Huguenot (Protestant), and the fear was that the attempted assassination would be seen as being religiously motivated. So the French Catholics made a fateful decision. They decided to make a pre-emptive strike against the Huguenots. Many of the Protestant leaders, including Gaspard II de Coligny, were executed on August 24, 1572. After the execution, mob violence would claim as many as another 70,000 Huguenots in what has become known as the St. Bartholomew's Day Massacre.

Part of what we know about the Massacre comes from a Huguenot who narrowly escaped the violence with his life. His name was Maximilien de Bethune, the Duke of Sully. The Duke escaped death by walking out of Paris with a Catholic book of prayer under his arm. At the height of the violence, Maximilien de Bethune's possession of the book of prayer allowed the attacking Catholics to overlook the Huguenot Duke.

As Jerusalem prepares to fall, the city's inhabitants face a very uncertain future. However, for the leaders in the city, what happens next is relatively certain: death at the hands of the Babylonians. One of these leaders was a man named Ebed-Melek. Ebed-Melek was a Cushite who served in the court of King Zedekiah. One reason we believe Ebed-Melek was a leader in Jerusalem is that Jeremiah says Ebed-Melek went to the king to ask for Jeremiah's release from the cistern where the prophet had been imprisoned and, rather than brushing away the request, the king responded positively to Ebed-Melek's request.

Another reason we believe Ebed-Melek was a leader in the court of Zedekiah is that Jeremiah also tells us the Cushite was worried about his future when the city fell. So Jeremiah assures this leader that because he honored God by getting his prophet out of the cistern, when the city fell, God would find a way to get him out to a place of safety. All because he dared to trust in God.

Amazing things still happen when we dare to trust God. Even when things look bleak, we can trust that God has a plan, and we honor God when we are willing to follow the example of Ebed- Melek and place ourselves in the middle of that plan.

Tomorrow's Scripture Reading: Jeremiah 40