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

When King Hezekiah heard this, he tore his clothes and put on sackcloth and went into the temple of the LORD. – 2 Kings 19:1

Today's Scripture Reading (June 11, 2026): 2 Kings 19

Our modern society is built on the idea that no single person should hold all the political power in a nation. Some kings boasted of their all-powerfulness, especially in the ancient world. Still, as societies became more advanced, we began to recognize that strength comes from two or more coequal sources of power being forced to talk and negotiate with each other to get something done. This concept of the division of powers is worked out in several ways. Sometimes it was a Sovereign and the Senate or Parliament. Sometimes it is found in the interplay between the House of Lords, or upper house, and the House of Commons, literally a political house made up of elected common people like you and me. It is often displayed in regional governments, where the Federal and State or Provincial governments are forced to cooperate on specific projects. But whatever the system, the division or separation of powers ensures that no one person is all-powerful and can do whatever they want. It can be frustrating, especially for the Sovereign or the Political leader, but the system works. However, not only does it work, but it makes us strong.

In Judah, this division of power was structured around the distinction between secular and religious authority. The King, with his advisors, ran the earthly portion of the country. But Israel and Judah were designed from the very beginning to be a nation with two Kings: a secular King who sat on the throne of the country, and God, represented by his priests serving in the Tabernacle and later the Temple. Both were essential to the effective running of the nation.   

Some Kings did not like that separation. They felt that they should be able to go it alone; to rule the secular portion of the nation as well as the religious part. Hezekiah probably knew well the story of Uzziah, his great-grandfather. Uzziah was King, but his pride led him to enter the Temple and burn incense before the altar, something only a priest was supposed to do. Uzziah was the King and had come to believe that he was the ultimate authority in Judah. But Uzziah was wrong, and the Bible says that his disobedience caused him to be struck with leprosy, and for the rest of his life, the King lived alone, away from all who mattered to him.

Hezekiah is disturbed by all that is happening around him. And in his distress, he puts on the outward signs of mourning. But Hezekiah does not allow his pain to carry him away from God. He also does not allow his grief to drive him into sin the way that Uzziah's pride had caused him to sin. In his pain, the King goes to the temple, but not into the holy place itself, a space reserved for only the priests of the nation. The King of Judah enters into the court as any worshipper would, and stands before the priests to ask for intercession. And in doing so, Hezekiah honored God and recognized that whenever any of us come and stand before the throne of God, we do so as equals. The most powerful King and the poorest of supplicants share the same status – they are worshippers of the living God.  

Tomorrow's Scripture Reading: Nahum 1

See Also Isaiah 37:1

 

Within your temple, O God, we meditate on your unfailing love. – Psalm 48:9

Today's Scripture Reading (June 10, 2026): Psalm 48

Charles Spurgeon imagines three people that we might meet in church. The first is a lady who is dominated by her aches and pains. Her hurts dominate every waking moment and every conversation that she has with friends. If you dare to visit her at her house, you can be assured that she will tell you about every place that hurts. But it is not just the physical pain. She has been hurt by those around her emotionally. Whether they intended to hurt her makes little difference; the hurt is the same. The problem is that she concentrates the impressive force of her personality on the pain that she is going through. It is at this point that Spurgeon interjects into the situation. What would happen if she took just a little of that personal force to meditate on God's unfailing love? What would happen if she lifted her eyes for a moment to see the love that God has for her and every person that comes within her circle of influence?

The preacher then turns his attention to a businessperson. It is a hard time to be in business. And sometimes it seems that everybody wants to make the task a little harder. The bottom line isn't all that the man wishes that it might be. And so, it is business struggles that predominate everything the man says. He complains about not being able to make ends meet. And yet, he still can put food on the table. He started with nothing, and now he has a little more. While it might not be all that he dreamed, still, he has something. What would happen if he took just a little time out to meditate on God's unfailing love? What would it cost to speak to those around him about how he has benefited from the love of God?

The last story that Charles Spurgeon tells is of the Christian who complains about the church. Are there any who truly believe, or is the Christian Church filled with Sunday-only Christians, or ChiNOs (Christians In Name Only)? There is no doubt that, as Christians, we provide our enemies with a lot of ammunition. But is there anything positive we could discuss? Do we, as Christians, feel the unfailing love of God? Do we dare to share that love and forgiveness with those we come in contact with?

Maybe these people and the responses feel a little Pollyanna to you. But here is the reality: we will feel what we focus on. I am not saying everything is good, but if our focus is on everything that is going wrong, we will be living in the worst era we can imagine. But if we are willing to meditate on God's love, it gives that love a window into changing our lives. And not only will we experience God's love, but it is only by meditating on that love that we will be able to share it with the world around us.

Tomorrow's Scripture Reading: 2 Kings 19

 

God reigns over the nations; God is seated on his holy throne. – Psalm 47:8

Today's Scripture Reading (June 9, 2026): Psalm 46 & 47

Abraham began his life in the city of Ur of the Chaldees. The city is in the southern portion of modern-day Iraq. But God called him away from his childhood home and to a place where Abraham had never been, and possibly, the Patriarch never even knew existed. Abraham followed God and went to the place to which he believed God had called him. It was at this new place in the land of Canaan that Abraham came to an understanding with God.

I will make you into a great nation,
    and I will bless you;
I will make your name great,
    and you will be a blessing.
I will bless those who bless you,
    and whoever curses you I will curse;
and all peoples on earth
    will be blessed through you (Genesis 12:2-3).

Abraham, your mission, should you choose to accept it, is to allow me to bless you, and you will share that blessing with the world around you. I am going to start with you, but it is going to multiply through your descendants, which will be greater than even the number of grains of sand that lie by the sea. This "blessed to be a blessing" will be the mission statement of the Jewish people. They will receive the blessing of God and share it with the world around them.

Sometimes, the Jewish people succeeded, but often they failed. As a result, Jesus came and reinforced the same message that had been given to Abraham. It is a hard teaching, but Jesus said he had come for the Jewish people, to reinforce the message that they would become a channel of God's blessing to be shared with the world. Paul probably understood this mission the best. He gathered people around him who would channel blessings to people who were not Jewish. Paul took that message of blessing to the world.

Muhammad was born in Mecca in 570 C.E. He grew up and looked at the world around him. He felt that something was missing. His people were tribal and often consumed by fighting among themselves. He looked at the Jews and Christians, whom he considered to be distant cousins and descendants of Abraham, and mourned that they had a book. Muhammad believed that the unity of the Jews and the Christians was because of the existence of this book. He desired a book for his people, whom he believed were the descendants of Ishmael, the oldest son of Abraham, and of Sarah's maidservant, Hagar. The question we have been asking ever since has been "Was Muhammad right?" I believe he might have been, but if our Muslim brothers and sisters are descendants of Abraham, then the mission remains the same. I will bless you so you can bless the world.

None of the three Abrahamic religions has done this "blessed to be a blessing" well. But our mission hasn't changed.

The Psalmist argues that God rules over the nations. He is not a national God who is bound by the borders of the nations. He is God over all. And he continues to bless us so that we can make this world a better place. The only question is this: Which of the children of Abraham will take up the mission and make it theirs? God is still on the throne and still blessing us. It's time we started being a blessing to the world around us.

Tomorrow's Scripture Reading: Psalm 48

It was Hezekiah who blocked the upper outlet of the Gihon spring and channeled the water down to the west side of the City of David. He succeeded in everything he undertook. – 2 Chronicles 32:30

Today's Scripture Reading (June 8, 2026): 2 Chronicles 32

It is the Deh Cho River, though you probably don't recognize it by that name. That is because in 1828, Sir John Franklin encountered the river and suggested that it be called the Mackenzie River. It was the name "Mackenzie" that was put onto maps and government documents. But that name ignored the river's existing name: the Deh Cho River, given by the Dene people who were native to the area. Deh Cho means "The Big River." The Deh Cho River is a massive waterway that runs from "The Great Slave Lake" to the Arctic Ocean in the Northwest Territory of Northern Canada. And the Deh Cho River brings life wherever it goes.

So, it is not surprising that, as the Deh Cho River began to look cloudy and water tests showed an increase in toxicity, a group of Elders met on the banks of the river on September 7, 2006. They wanted to know what was happening to the great river. Their message was that life depended on the river's water. But the message went beyond just what was happening to the Deh Cho River. Water is essential to life – all water and all life. We don't exist without it. This group of Elders developed what they called "The Keepers of the Water Declaration."

Water is a Sacred gift, an essential element that sustains and connects all life. It is not a commodity to be bought or sold. All people share an obligation to cooperate in ensuring that water, in all its forms, is protected and conserved with regard to the needs of all living things today and for the generations yet to come (Keepers of the Water Declaration).

Water is essential to everything that we hold dear.

In ancient times, the people understood this need for water. Towns were built beside rivers and lakes. I suspect that most people can point to the river on which their community is built. Maybe the water is not as majestic as the Deh Cho River, but there is water running close by most human settlements. One of the purposes of an enemy siege was to separate the city from its source of food, but, even more importantly, to isolate the urban environment from its source of water. A city could not survive if its people had no water to drink.

One of the great achievements of Hezekiah was that he took water from the Gihon Spring and allowed it to flow into the west side of Jerusalem, bringing the water of the spring into the City of David. But words don't quite sum up the task that Hezekiah had decided to undertake. Bringing the water from the spring meant cutting through 643 meters of rock, an intimidating task for people in the ancient world. Hezekiah decided to plot the intended passageway and then had workers start at each end and work toward the middle. It had to follow precise measurements or the two tunnels would completely miss each other. It was a significant achievement for an Eighth Century B.C.E. king, and maybe evidence that he really could achieve whatever he put his mind toward. Because we are all Keepers of the Water, and we still need water to survive. 

Tomorrow's Scripture Reading: Psalm 46 & 47

The king of Assyria sent his supreme commander, his chief officer, and his field commander, along with a large army, from Lachish to King Hezekiah at Jerusalem. – 2 Kings 18:17a

Today's Scripture Reading (June 7, 2026): 2 Kings 18

There was a day when Kings went out to war with their troops. They were armed, and while the King was often positioned at the back of the battle formation, the King's purpose on the battlefield was to send out commands to the soldiers under their control in real time. King David is criticized at the beginning of the Bathsheba saga for not being with his troops when they went to war. The warrior King stayed home and sent his commander, Joab, to fight against the Ammonites. Because he was home, he was tempted by the beauty of Bathsheba, something that wouldn't have happened if he had been out in the field, fighting with his men.

The Book of Kings clarifies that King Sennacherib accompanied his men onto the battlefield in Judah. "In the fourteenth year of King Hezekiah's reign, Sennacherib king of Assyria attacked all the fortified cities of Judah and captured them" (2 Kings 18:13). What is less clear is whether Sennacherib went to Jerusalem for the siege of Judah's capital city. In fact, it appears he didn't, at least not at the beginning of the blockade against the Judean Capital. Isaiah argues that, as the siege begins, Sennacherib decides to send a field commander with a large army rather than go himself. Maybe Sennacherib understood that the blockade would be long and boring, and he didn't need to be there for all of it. Or maybe Sennacherib had more pressing duties elsewhere.

Whatever the reason, Sennacherib stayed behind, maybe in Lachish. Lachish was an important city thirty miles southwest of Jerusalem. During the First-Temple period, Lachish was Judah's second most important city, second only to Jerusalem. Because of its importance, it appears that Sennacherib led the effort to defeat Lachish and end the conquest in the area, defeating Lachish just before he turned the full force of his military on the Judean Capital.

Archaeologists have discovered a pit dating back to the attack on Lachish by Sennacherib. The pit contained 1,500 casualties from the attack. They also found a carving detailing how the Assyrians had laid siege to the city.

The Siege of Lachish became the launching ground for the attack on Jerusalem. Sennacherib may not have been at Jerusalem at the beginning of the siege of the Capital, either because he was busy cleaning up in Lachish, or because he was called back to Nineveh to deal with problems in the Empire. Wherever Sennacherib was, Lachish was the last victory that Assyria would experience in Judah. Jerusalem would be put under siege, but it would not fall, at least not at the hands of Sennacherib and the Assyrian army. The eventual fall of Jerusalem was still over a century away.

Tomorrow's Scripture Reading: 2 Chronicles 32

See also Isaiah 36:2

 

Then Isaiah said, "Prepare a poultice of figs." They did so and applied it to the boil, and he recovered. – 2 Kings 20:7

Today's Scripture Reading (June 6, 2026): 2 Kings 20

I recently read an article on the benefits of quitting smoking. Our bodies are made in such a way that we actually start the healing process about twenty minutes after our last puff. So, the idea is that it is never really too late to reap some of the benefits of quitting. And the benefits are amazing. Among others, the article listed better sex, a healthier digestive system, a lower risk of developing arthritis, better, more restful sleep, a stronger heart, and even better-tasting food, all as a result of quitting smoking. And beyond that, we get a chance to be one of those annoying ex-smokers who are telling everyone else to quit smoking (Okay, that might not be a benefit.) And yet, with all of the positives, many of us still don't quit. And that speaks volumes about the addictive qualities of cigarettes. We are hooked, and quitting is hard.

As a result, we often need to ask for help. And there are many aids out there to help us on our new journey. Some have a better track record than others, and yet some of us do not even try these avenues. The excuse that I hear the most is that "right now I am experiencing too much stress to even think about quitting." But that excuse assumes that there are times when we are not experiencing stress, and I just haven't noticed very many of those moments around recently. The bottom line is that to quit smoking, first we have to do something. Stopping the practice of buying cigarettes is one of the first recommended actions. But beyond that step, often we need to change our lifestyle; we have to avoid certain triggers if our new non-smoking behavior is going to take root. We need to avoid the things and the places where we once enjoyed a cigarette. But something has to happen. The change in behavior needs to be paired with a specific action. We need it; it is the way that we are designed.

Hezekiah moves from an illness that will end in death to one that can be cured with traditional medicine very quickly (a poultice made of figs was the approved treatment for a boil in the ancient world). But the reality was that Hezekiah needed to do something if he was going to recover. Sitting back and letting God heal him probably wasn't going to work. However, too often we seem to read instructions like those in this passage and think we have discovered an ancient super cure. I can see the book now instructing us that a poultice of figs will cure everything from acne to cancer. But to make that suggestion misses the point. The focus of this instruction is that God would cure Hezekiah, but God, who created us, knows that, for lasting change to take root in our lives, we need to be involved in the process. And so, a poultice was developed as part of Hezekiah's buy-in into the process. Did God need the poultice to heal Hezekiah? Of course not. However, God knew that Hezekiah needed the poultice to ease his mind, and so he had Isaiah tell him to get one.

The instructions for Hezekiah were to follow the standard medical process of the day. He would use conventional medical wisdom to cure the illness, allowing God the space to move through it. Healing often seems to work this way. We do what we can, we act in support of healing, and allow God to do the rest. Cults that believe that healing is an "only God" enterprise have missed some important biblical instructions. Psychologically, we need to do what we can, feeling like we are part of the process, so that God can move through the rest. 

Tomorrow's Scripture Reading: 2 Kings 18

See also Isaiah 38:21

 

In addition, they distributed to the males three years old or more whose names were in the genealogical records—all who would enter the temple of the LORD to perform the daily duties of their various tasks, according to their responsibilities and their divisions. – 2 Chronicles 31:16

Today's Scripture Reading (June 5, 2026): 2 Chronicles 31

My eldest granddaughter is working on getting her Learner's Driver's License. Which means she has reached the age appropriate for those licenses, which in the area where I live is fourteen. Thinking about her journey as she begins to drive, I realize she is almost exactly the same age I was when I got my Learner's License. Life is repeating itself.

Back when I got my Learner's License, there was a conversation among the Federal Government Agencies about raising the age to get a Driver's License. I don't know how serious the argument was, but I took it seriously enough to put a little more effort into preparing for the test. Obviously, over the last half-century since I took my first driving test, the age hasn't changed, though some other details of the licensing process have.

Driver's Licenses are part of the "How old do you have to be?" conversation we have in so many different places in our society. The "How old do you have to be to consume alcoholic beverages?" conversation has always been of interest to me. Again, where I live, the age is eighteen. For many other locales, you need to be twenty-one to consume adult beverages. I have had conversations with young adults who have been surprised that they can't go to a liquor store or bar when they are traveling because they were underage there, but not here. It is an extension of the "how old" conversation.

In the church, the conversation continues. How old do you need to be to take communion or to be an active member of the church? How old should you be to play on the Worship Team or sing in the choir? Currently, our worship team features a pair of twelve-year-olds: one on guitar and the other on drums. I am amazed at how talented they are every time they play. What do you think? Where would you draw the line?

As Hezekiah prepares the workers for the Temple, he apparently has to answer the question, "How old?" I find it very interesting where he draws the line. First, working in the Temple is hereditary, so workers must have the right genealogy. Second, workers in the Temple must be male. Neither of these regulations is a surprise or an expectation that we carry into the contemporary church. They are artifacts of a different time, where people lived with a different understanding of what was right. I believe Paul released us from these understandings when he wrote to the Galatian Church, "There is neither Jew nor Gentile, neither slave nor free, nor is there male and female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus" (Galatians 3:28). But maybe the most surprising requirement is the one on age; every qualified (genealogy) male over the age of three. (Some argue that maybe this is an error and the age should be thirty, but for our purpose, let's accept the age of three.) In God's community, if you are older than three, there should be a task for you in the church.

Can I ask how you are doing? I admit that my church isn't doing as well as it could. But the church is a community where everyone is important, and where even a three-year-old should have an age-appropriate task to undertake for the faith community. It might be challenging to get a three-year-old involved in a meaningful way, but we need to put some effort into the project.

Of course, this passage also puts a twist on Jesus's words;

Then people brought little children to Jesus for him to place his hands on them and pray for them. But the disciples rebuked them.

Jesus said, "Let the little children come to me, and do not hinder them, for the kingdom of heaven belongs to such as these." When he had placed his hands on them, he went on from there (Matthew 13-15).

Tomorrow's Scripture Reading: 2 Kings 20

The king and his officials and the whole assembly in Jerusalem decided to celebrate the Passover in the second month. – 2 Chronicles 30:2

Today's Scripture Reading (June 4, 2026): 2 Chronicles 30

Christmas always falls on December 25. You can argue that Jesus was not born on December 25, but we know that. You can argue that Christmas is just an extension of pagan rituals in the Northern Hemisphere that celebrate the Winter Solstice, or the longest night of the year, and again, you would be partly right. Christmas, as originally constructed, was about competing with pagan celebrations held in late December. And, by the way, Christmas won the competition throughout most of the world, even though pagan beliefs have infiltrated it, rather than Christian beliefs infiltrating a pagan festival. I am not sure which is better. The truth is that we don’t know when Jesus was born. Arguments could be made that Jesus’s actual birthday was sometime in late April, June, or even September. However, the actual date is unknown. Birth dates weren’t something to remember in ancient times. No one knew the date of their birth, so they couldn't celebrate it. And in a few places in our world, it is still that way. 

Pope Julius I, a fourth-century pope (337-352), decided that we should celebrate Christmas on December 25, even though he knew that Jesus was not born on that day. The Pope felt that the day and the celebration of the birth stories of Jesus found in Matthew and Luke deserved celebration. He also decided that in the grand scheme of things, the date didn’t matter; the celebration did.

King Hezekiah, his advisors and officers, and the leaders in Jerusalem decided to celebrate the Passover during the second month of the Jewish year. Passover celebrates a specific date, and unlike Christmas, where we don’t know the true date, the actual date of the first Passover, the moment when the angel of death “passed over” the houses of the believing Jews during the deaths of the firstborn in Egypt, took place during the first month of the Jewish year. The Mosaic Law specified that the Passover should be celebrated during the first month, not the second.

However, in Judah, fewer and fewer people were actually celebrating the Passover. The nation needed a revival, and the leadership in Jerusalem agreed that this could not wait. They decided that celebrating the Passover was more important than the date. There wasn’t time to make the celebration what it should be in the first month of the year, so, for this year only, they decided to hold it in the second month. After all, didn’t the celebration mean more than the date?

Tomorrow's Scripture Reading: 2 Chronicles 31