September in Jeremiah, Psalms, Lamentations, Habakkuk, 2 Kings, 2 Chronicles, and Ezekiel

1. Jeremiah 48
2. Jeremiah 49
3. Jeremiah 50
4. Jeremiah 51
5. Jeremiah 52
6. Psalms 85 & 102
7. Psalms 120 & 137
8. Lamentations 1 & 2
9. Lamentations 3
10. Lamentations 4 & 5
11. Psalms 116 and 71
12. Habakkuk 1 & 2
13. Habakkuk 3
14. 2 Kings 24 & 25
15. 2 Chronicles 36
16. Psalms 74 & 79
17. Ezekiel 1
18. Ezekiel 2 & 3
19. Ezekiel 4 & 5
20. Ezekiel 6 & 7
21. Ezekiel 8 & 9
22. Ezekiel 10
23. Ezekiel 11
24. Ezekiel 12
25. Ezekiel 13
26. Ezekiel 14-15
27. Ezekiel 16
28. Ezekiel 17
29. Ezekiel 18
30. Ezekiel 19

Put Lamentations Back on the Prophets Shelf

Congratulations! There are 77 more days of reading until Jesus!

Lamentations 4 & 5 - Hope When We Call on Him and Confess

LINK: Lamentations 4 & 5

BACKGROUND

Lamentation 4 is the fourth dirge or lament and parallels the judgment in Lamentations 2. Like the previous three chapters, it has 22 verses that correspond acrostically to the letters in the Hebrew alphabet. After describing the response of the individual (Jeremiah) amid judgment in Lamentations 3, Jeremiah returned to give a "before" and "after" siege snapshot of Jerusalem (4:1-11), explained the cause of the siege (4:12-20), and called for vindication for Zion and a bitter cup of judgment to be passed to Edom, representing all Gentile nations who profited at Jerusalem's expense (4:21-22). Lamentations 4 is the only chapter that does not include a prayer.

Lamentations 5 is the final dirge and is not an acrostic poem but a prayer of lament. It is a call for God to remember their condition (5:1-18) followed by a call for God to restore Judah (5:19-22). It is a call to restore both the land and the blessings of the covenant in Deuteronomy 30:1-10.

REFLECTION

The Book of Lamentations ends on a note of hope. God would not totally abandon His people because He was a covenant-keeping God despite Israel's disobedience. There was hope if His people would call on Him and confess their sins.

That is the character of our compassionate and sovereign God. He has made a covenant with you through the shed blood of Jesus Christ, and there is hope for you if you humbly come to Him, confess, and call on His name.

It really is that simple.

APPLICATION

I sense some of you may be far away from Him today. Come to Him, dear one. Enter in with confidence and cling to Him! He will show you the next step.

Maybe you do not feel far away. Pray for those who do. Lift them up to the throne of grace.

PRAYER

It is only to Your cross that we can cling, Lord. We are weak and disobedient people. We are so prone to wander and leave You! Lord, we come to You today and call upon Your infinite mercy and grace to reveal to us our sin and our need of You. We lay it all down and cling to You. We ask this in Jesus' name. Amen.

Lamentations 3 - God's Loyal Love

LINK: Lamentations 3

BACKGROUND 

Lamentations 3 is 66 verses because it is a triple acrostic with three verses corresponding to each letter.

It is a positive interlude between the sin and suffering of Lamentations 1-2 and 4-5. It is hope amid affliction. Jeremiah assures his listeners that God does not afflict willingly but does it only for our good. In this time of judgment, the people could cling to the assurance that God had been faithful in the past and would be faithful in the future. God is a God of "loyal love" (Hesed in Hebrew). 

REFLECTION 

It is hard in times of darkness to see hope, isn't it?  My husband is facing a 20% cut in pay next month. We had already taken a 40% cut four years ago.

We went for a walk and prayed. I laughed to George that this would not be the first time we have had to live on less. We have been through so many job changes, and God has ALWAYS been faithful to provide each and every time. He will not leave us forsaken. We can recall His faithfulness in the past and know that He will be faithful in the future. 

Praise Him!

APPLICATION

Lamentations 3:22-23 are key verses to memorize:

The Lord’s lovingkindnesses indeed never cease, 

For His compassions never fail. 

 They are new every morning; 

Great is Your faithfulness.

This is from the Topical Memory System. I recently found a nice little companion to help you in your memorizing of the verses from this great discipleship tool with meditations by Leroy Eims, one of my favorite people of faith: Discipleship Library Topical Memory System.  

Lamentations 3:22-23 is in the "C pack" of the Topical Memory System titled, "Rely on God Resources" and under the category of "His Faithfulness." Here is the particular meditation by Leroy Eims in a PDF and MP3. 

I heartily recommend listening to the MP3, it will encourage you today, and the MP3 is actually Leroy Eim's voice. I had breakfast with him once. He was a spry guy! Loved him!!!! A great hero of the faith!

2023 Update: Oh, my heart, that was so GOOD to listen to. What a memory to have breakfast with him. I was 22 or 23 years old. 

 PRAYER

You are a God of great faithfulness. I praise You today that You will continue to be faithful in our lives. Amen. 

Lamentations 1 & 2 - Jeremiah Weeps

LINK: Lamentations 1 & 2

BACKGROUND 

Book of Lamentations

Jeremiah turns his deeper feelings about the fall of Jerusalem (586 B.C.) into poetic form. Since we have been discussing the book of Jeremiah for many weeks, you can refer back to it to get a more contextual background for this book. 

The Book of Lamentations is written in the style of ancient Jewish funeral songs or chants. It contains five poems (or dirges) that correspond to the five chapters. The first four chapters are acrostic or alphabetical with each verse in each chapter beginning with a successive letter of the 22-letter Hebrew alphabet. Lamentations 3 is 66 verses because it is a triple acrostic with three verses corresponding to each letter. Other examples of acrostics are Psalms 37; 119, and 145, and Proverbs 31:1-31. 

Each year, this book was read aloud to the Jews to remind them that their city fell because of their sinfulness. 

This book teaches us that disobeying God can lead to disaster! It also shows us that even though God is angry at sin, He is also compassionate, loving, and faithful (Lamentations 3:22-23). 

Lamentations 1

Jeremiah grieves deeply over the destruction of Jerusalem. Jerusalem turned from God's protection to foreign alliances and their false gods, but none of that protected them from destruction. 

Lamentations 2

Continuing in the funeral dirge, Jeremiah emphasizes God's anger at sin. The leadership of Zion led very poorly. The prophets were false and ineffective. The priests could no longer practice since the temple was destroyed. What a horrible state of affairs!

Jeremiah grieves over the famine of the children and the scoffing of the enemy. He calls the people to "pour out their hearts like water in the presence of the Lord" (Lamentation 2:19). 

He also reminds them that this was the Lord's doing because of their sins. 

REFLECTION

Jeremiah and Jesus have something in common: they both wept over Jerusalem (Luke 19:41). 

Do you weep over the spiritual condition of your city? We do not have an obvious army, but we do have a real enemy who seeks to steal, kill, and destroy (John 10:10). 

I pray and "walk for the world" daily, but that also includes praying for the welfare of my city just as Jeremiah exhorted the exiles to do:

Seek the welfare of the city 
where I have sent you into exile, 
and pray to the Lord on its behalf; 
for in its welfare 
you will have welfare.
(Jeremiah 29:7)

APPLICATION

I love to go downtown during a busy Farmer's Market day and walk by and pray for the people hurrying here and there. I love to walk through my neighborhood and pray for each house. Take a walk through your city and pray for its welfare. 

For years, I have prayer walked in the weeks leading up to Easter, I walk and pray through a great prayer tool called "Seek God for the City." 

2023 Update: Sadly, 2022 was the last year they wrote it. But the website it is linked to has fabulous resources for prayer walking. 

PRAYER

We invite Your rule and reign in the cities in which we live. We ask this in Jesus' name. Amen. 

Introduction to the Prophetical Books

INTRODUCTION TO THE PROPHETICAL BOOKS

Download the Year Two BBC Overview and Timeline 

The Bible is not written in chronological order but according to the type of book:

Books of Moses (Law or Pentateuch): Genesis - Deuteronomy 
History: Joshua - Esther
Poetry and Wisdom Literature: Job - Song of Solomon
Major Prophets: Isaiah - Daniel
Minor Prophets: Hosea - Malachi

I find it easier to understand prophecy when it is read in the context of the historical period. So, that is why we are interspersing the prophets in the historical context of 2 Kings and 2 Chronicles. 

I will not be doing a strictly chronological approach because I do not want to jump back and forth once we start a prophetic book. So, when we get to a book like Isaiah, that covers the reign of four kings of Judah spanning six decades, we will read through all of those kings in 2 Kings and 2 Chronicles before we study the entire book of Isaiah.

The prophetical books are broken up into two sections: 5 Major Prophets (Isaiah - Daniel) and 12 Minor Prophets (Hosea - Malachi). We will read them in chronological order. That way we will get breaks between the longer major prophets of Isaiah, Jeremiah, and Ezekiel with the shorter Minor Prophets. Here is a brief rundown of the order of the historical dates for each prophet with the Major Prophets highlighted in bold. They are all B.C.:

841-824.....Obadiah (this date is hotly debated!)

825-809....Joel

784-772.....Jonah 

767-755.....Amos 

755-714.....Hosea 

-----722 Assyrian Captivity of Northern Kingdom of Israel

739-681.....Isaiah 

733-701.....Micah 

650-620....Nahum 

636-623....Zephaniah 

627-574.....Jeremiah 

574-538.....Lamentations 

621-609.....Habakkuk 

605-586 Babylonian Captivity of Southern Kingdom of Judah

605-536.....Daniel 

593-559.....Ezekiel 

------538 Cyrus of Persian issues edict allowing Jews to RETURN to land

520-505.....Haggai 

520-489.....Zechariah 

435-415.....Malachi 

Theologically, the prophets concentrate on warnings of impending judgment, teachings about righteous living, encouragement to the faithful and oppressed, and predictions of God's future plans.

                                                                                         

I am approaching the prophets with fear and trembling! :)  I hope that you are game and that breaking up the longer books of the Major Prophets with the shorter books of the Minor Prophets will make it easier! I believe God has so much to teach us through the study of these books.

I LOVE what Eugene Peterson says about the prophets:

Over a period of several hundred years the Hebrew people gave birth to an extraordinary number of prophets – men and women distinguished by the power and skill with which they presented the reality of God. They delivered God’s commands and promises and living presence to communities and nations who had been living on god-fantasies and god-lies. 

Everyone more or less believes in God. But most of us do our best to keep God on the margins of our lives or failing that, refashion God to suit our convenience. Prophets insist that God is the sovereign center [emphasis mine] not off in the wings awaiting our beck and call. And prophets insist that we deal with God as God reveals himself, not as we imagine him to be [Isn't that powerful? Ponder that for a moment].  

These men and women woke people up to the sovereign presence of God in their lives. They yelled, they wept, they rebuked, they soothed, they challenged, they comforted. They used words with power and imagination whether blunt or subtle. . .  

Prophets make it impossible to evade God or make detours around God. Prophets insist on receiving God in ever nook and cranny of life. For a prophet, God is more real than the next-door neighbor.  (The Message Remix, p. 1194, 1197)

With fear and trembling, let us start the prophets in the next post!

Lamentations 3 - Great Is Thy Faithfulness!

by Katrina

LINK: Lamentations 3

BACKGROUND
Jeremiah begins this poem with his pain and hopelessness. He feels trapped and desolate, without peace or happiness (vs 1-18). But then he turns his attention to the LORD and remembers the hope that comes from Him. He remembers God's goodness and that He disciplines out of love. He speaks of God's longsuffering, justice, and sovereignty (vs 19-38). Jeremiah says that it's not man's place to complain, rather he should return to the LORD (vs 39-42). Yet God doesn't seem to be accessible, and enemies have brought devastation and destruction. Jeremiah weeps at what he sees and at the treatment he has received from the leaders in Jerusalem. He is overwhelmed (vs 43-54). He closes the poem with a prayer for God to deliver him from his enemies (vs 55-66).

REFLECTION
In the depths of great sorrow, Jeremiah feels completely exhausted. His heart knows no peace, and he can't remember the last time he was happy. He is at the end of his rope and without any hope. Then he brings to mind something that gives him hope -- Now the most familiar verses of Lamentations -- "The LORD's lovingkindnesses indeed never cease, for His compassions never fail. They are new every morning. Great is Thy faithfulness."

APPLICATION
Are you struggling today? Does your situation seem hopeless?Let's meditate on this passage. Even if today isn't a struggle, this is a wonderful passage to have stored in your heart for those difficult times when they come.

²²The LORD'S lovingkindnesses indeed never cease,
For His compassions never fail.
²³They are new every morning;
Great is Your faithfulness.
²⁴"The LORD is my portion," says my soul,
"Therefore I have hope in Him."
²⁵The LORD is good to those who wait for Him,
To the person who seeks Him.
²⁶It is good that he waits silently
For the salvation of the LORD.
²⁷It is good for a man that he should bear
The yoke in his youth.
²⁸Let him sit alone and be silent
Since He has laid it on him.
²⁹Let him put his mouth in the dust,
Perhaps there is hope.
³⁰Let him give his cheek to the smiter,
Let him be filled with reproach.
³¹For the Lord will not reject forever,
³²For if He causes grief,
Then He will have compassion
According to His abundant lovingkindness.
³³For He does not afflict willingly
Or grieve the sons of men.

PRAYER
Thank you, LORD, for being the faithful One who has compassion on us. Teach us to trust in You and wait for You. Amen.

Lamentations 1 & 2 - Desolation & Devastation

by Katrina

LINK: Lamentations 1 & Lamentations 2

BACKGROUND
Author - The book of Lamentations is assumed to have been written by Jeremiah when Jerusalem fell to Nebuchadnezzar's army. Imagine how Jeremiah must have felt after 40 years of warning the people of the coming judgment from God. They never listened, and God followed through on His promise to destroy Jerusalem and the temple. What sorrow Jeremiah must have felt to see the destruction of what was so dear to him! The city and temple he loved were reduced to ashes and rubble. And he must have felt frustrated that 40 years of his preaching had had no effect on the people. He struggled with the emotions and the theology of seeing God bring destruction to His people. This book is borne of gut-wrenching experience and emotion.

Literary Style - The book consists of five chapters, each one a lament, or dirge. The first four laments are written in the form of acrostic poems. Each verse begins with a letter of the Hebrew alphabet, in alphabetical order (22 letters). In chapter 3, each letter has three lines assigned to it, making it three times as long. Although chapter 5 has 22 verses, it is not an acrostic. Chapters 1, 2, and 3 all end with prayers, and all of chapter 5 is a prayer.

Historical Context - Nebuchadnezzar first invaded Judah in 605 B.C. to put down King Jehoiakim's revolt against Babylonian rule. At that time Daniel along with many other Jews were deported to Babylon. The army returned in 597, looted Jerusalem, and deported more people. The siege of Jerusalem began on January 15, 588, and on July 18, 586, the walls were breached. On August 14, the city was set on fire. Each year on this date, the Jews remember the event and read the book of Lamentations aloud in their synagogues. (Wiersbe)

Chapter 1 - Jeremiah surveys the city of Jerusalem and weeps over it. It was once a beautiful princess, but is now desolate as a widow. There is no one to help in the affliction. They had sought help from neighboring nations only to have those nations turn against them.

Chapter 2 - Jeremiah sees the devastation and cries out to God. God has destroyed all the strength and beauty of the nation and delivered it into the hands of its enemies. The devastation is overwhelming.

REFLECTION
Once again, why was God destroying His chosen nation? They did not keep the covenant, they were disobedient, they refused to trust in God. These are the more obvious reasons, but I think there is also a broader reason. God's ultimate purpose for everything is His glory. The nation of Israel had been entrusted with His glory, as God Himself dwelt in the temple. But the people defamed that glory. They treated God with contempt and drug His name through the mud. They were also entrusted with the word of God, His message to the nations. But they corrupted that as well. God could not leave them in that state. So, instead, He destroyed them and kept a remnant that would later return and start over. Since then, the nation of Israel has never turned to idolatry again.

APPLICATION
As believers, we have the riches of His glory and His word. What are you doing with them?

PRAYER
Lord, let us not waste the precious gifts You have given to us. Teach us to live obediently to You in order to bring You glory and honor in all that we think, say, and do. Thank You for the precious gift of Your word. Help us to continue to "soak" in it and let it transform us into Your image. Through the power of Your Holy Spirit, in the name of Jesus, amen.