David Bahn – Reflections

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Today’s readings: Jeremiah 19-21, Psalm 63.

Jeremiah 20:7-14

O LORD, you have deceived me,
    and I was deceived;
you are stronger than I,
    and you have prevailed.
I have become a laughingstock all the day;
    everyone mocks me.
⁸ For whenever I speak, I cry out,
    I shout, “Violence and destruction!”
For the word of the LORD has become for me
    a reproach and derision all day long.
⁹ If I say, “I will not mention him,
    or speak any more in his name,”
there is in my heart as it were a burning fire
    shut up in my bones,
and I am weary with holding it in,
    and I cannot.
¹⁰ For I hear many whispering.
    Terror is on every side!
“Denounce him! Let us denounce him!”
    say all my close friends,
    watching for my fall.
“Perhaps he will be deceived;
    then we can overcome him
    and take our revenge on him.”
¹¹ But the LORD is with me as a dread warrior;
    therefore my persecutors will stumble;
    they will not overcome me.
They will be greatly shamed,
    for they will not succeed.
Their eternal dishonor
    will never be forgotten.
¹² O LORD of hosts, who tests the righteous,
    who sees the heart and the mind,
let me see your vengeance upon them,
    for to you have I committed my cause.

¹³ Sing to the LORD;
    praise the LORD!
For he has delivered the life of the needy
    from the hand of evildoers.

¹⁴ Cursed be the day
    on which I was born!
The day when my mother bore me,
    let it not be blessed!

I want to ask, “When is enough enough, God?” I suspect Jeremiah had the same question. I’m sure he wanted to say, “I surrender!” Yet Jeremiah isn’t even the target of the LORD’s accusations against Judah. He’s only the messenger. But that doesn’t exempt him from trouble and suffering.

You might even wonder whether Jeremiah was bringing some of it on himself. After Pashhur had him beaten and put in the stocks for a day, we read, “The next day, when Pashhur released Jeremiah from the stocks, Jeremiah said to him, ‘The LORD does not call your name Pashhur, but Terror on Every Side.’” (Jeremiah 20:3). It almost sounds like he’s poking the bear, as they say.

But Jeremiah isn’t speaking out of spite. He is carrying out the commission God gave him. He cannot help but proclaim what the LORD has placed within him.

If I say, “I will not mention him, or speak any more in his name,” there is in my heart as it were a burning fire shut up in my bones, and I am weary with holding it in, and I cannot. (Jeremiah 20:9)

Years ago, I had to prepare for a possible deposition. Although I wasn’t a party to the lawsuit, I was likely to be called as a witness. The attorney preparing me fired one question after another: Did you say this? Did you do that? Were you aware that…? What did you do next? Every answer seemed to lead to another question. Before long, I felt less like a witness and more like the defendant. And this was the attorney who was on my side.

That attorney wasn’t interested in what was in my heart. He wanted to know whether there were any ticking time bombs that might be exposed in court.

But God was probing the people of Judah because he was concerned with their hearts. He wasn’t interested merely in cataloging their outward sins. He was exposing the inward disease that produced them. Layer by layer, he peeled away their duplicity, injustice, ungodliness, and faithlessness to reveal the real problem: their hearts were corrupt. They needed new hearts. They needed renewed minds. They needed faith. And the path to that new life would begin with broken hearts.

As Jeremiah carries the burden of exposing the hearts of God’s people, he reaches his own breaking point. He bursts into a poetic lament unlike anything else in the book. One moment he is overwhelmed with despair; the next he is praising the LORD. One moment he wishes he had never been born; the next he declares God’s faithfulness.

That emotional whiplash can be unsettling, but it is also wonderfully honest. God is worthy of our praise even in those moments when life seems unbearable—even when we wish, like Jeremiah, that we had never been born. Thankfully, God did not remain distant from our suffering. Jeremiah wished he had never entered the world. Jesus willingly entered the world knowing exactly what awaited him. He came to bear our sin, carry our grief, and secure for us an eternal future filled with hope—a hope Jeremiah himself will proclaim in chapter 29.

We never have to pretend everything is fine when it isn’t. But neither do we have to surrender to despair when faithfulness is met with opposition and hardship. The God who knows our hearts also knows our need. That is why he sent our Redeemer. He welcomes repentant sinners, binds up the brokenhearted, and gives new hearts to those who trust in him.

Follow the Word is a daily Bible reading and devotional ministry of St. John Lutheran Church, Cypress, Texas.

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Today’s readings: Jeremiah 16-18, Psalm 62.

Jeremiah 17:5-13

Thus says the LORD:
“Cursed is the man who trusts in man
    and makes flesh his strength,
    whose heart turns away from the LORD.
⁶ He is like a shrub in the desert,
    and shall not see any good come.
He shall dwell in the parched places of the wilderness,
    in an uninhabited salt land.

⁷ “Blessed is the man who trusts in the LORD,
    whose trust is the LORD by water,
    that sends out its roots by the stream,
and does not fear when heat comes,
    for its leaves remain green,
and is not anxious in the year of drought,
    for it does not cease to bear fruit.”

⁹ The heart is deceitful above all things,
    and desperately sick;
    who can understand it?
¹⁰ “I the LORD search the heart
    and test the mind,
to give every man according to his ways,
    according to the fruit of his deeds.”

¹¹ Like the partridge that gathers a brood that she did not hatch,
    so is he who gets riches but not by justice;
in the midst of his days they will leave him,
    and at his end he will be a fool.

¹² A glorious throne set on high from the beginning
    is the place of our sanctuary.
¹³ O LORD, the hope of Israel,
    all who forsake you shall be put to shame;
those who turn away from you shall be written in the earth,
    for they have forsaken the LORD, the fountain of living water.

Years ago, I slogged through much of Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn’s monumental work, The Gulag Archipelago. It isn’t an easy read. Rather than telling one story, it presents one heartbreaking account after another of life under the Soviet prison camp system. Page after page exposes the cruelty, injustice, corruption, and dehumanization of a government that had abandoned morality and truth. By the end, I realized that this wasn’t merely the story of a few bad actors—it was the tragic fruit of an entire system built on lies.

Jeremiah often feels exactly like The Gulag Archipelago.

Judgment.

Another judgment.

Another warning.

Another denunciation.

Another false prophet.

Another king who refuses to listen.

Another plea to repent.

You almost want to ask,

“Jeremiah…is there any good news coming?”

Eventually, yes.

The New Covenant. (Still to come in our readings this month.)

The Righteous Branch. (Also still to come.)

The LORD Our Righteousness. (Also still to come.)

But for now, we have to wait.

Solzhenitsyn does something similar. He makes you sit with evil long enough to realize how deep it runs. Only then does he point to hope—not in politics or revolution, but in repentance, truth, and ultimately God.

And that need for repentance isn’t reserved for Soviet leaders or prison guards, nor only for the evil kings, false prophets, and pagan nations in Jeremiah’s day. Solzhenitsyn famously reminds us:

“The line separating good and evil passes not through states, nor between classes, nor between political parties either—but right through every human heart.”

And there’s the problem.

In the end, evil cannot stand against God’s truth and faithfulness. Nowhere is that more clearly seen than in Jesus’ victory over sin, death, and the devil. His resurrection is God’s declaration that evil, though terribly powerful, does not have the final word. Christ’s faithfulness triumphed where every other human faithfulness falls short.

We will not always stand as tall as Jeremiah or Solzhenitsyn, much less as tall as Jesus. But Jesus is more than our example. He is our Savior. He remained perfectly faithful to his Father where Israel failed, where Jeremiah’s generation failed, and where we so often fail. Through his life, death, and resurrection, he not only forgives our faithlessness but also gives us his Spirit to strengthen our faith.

Jeremiah’s call is still our call. Do not abandon the LORD. Do not be seduced by the false promises of the age. Do not confuse popular opinion with God’s truth. Instead, remain steadfast. Trust the One who is faithful even when we are not. As the LORD says through Jeremiah, “Blessed is the man who trusts in the LORD, whose trust is the LORD.” (Jeremiah 17:7). Such faith is never misplaced, for the God who called Jeremiah to stand firm is the same God who sustained him, and will sustain us until the day faith becomes sight.

Follow the Word is a daily Bible reading and devotional ministry of St. John Lutheran Church, Cypress, Texas.

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Today’s readings: Jeremiah 13-15, Psalm 61.

Jeremiah 15:15-21

O LORD, you know;
    remember me and visit me,
    and take vengeance for me on my persecutors.
In your forbearance take me not away;
    know that for your sake I bear reproach.
¹⁶ Your words were found, and I ate them,
    and your words became to me a joy
    and the delight of my heart,
for I am called by your name,
    O LORD, God of hosts.
¹⁷ I did not sit in the company of revelers,
    nor did I rejoice;
I sat alone, because your hand was upon me,
    for you had filled me with indignation.
¹⁸ Why is my pain unceasing,
    my wound incurable,
    refusing to be healed?
Will you be to me like a deceitful brook,
    like waters that fail?

¹⁹ Therefore thus says the LORD:
“If you return, I will restore you,
    and you shall stand before me.
If you utter what is precious, and not what is worthless,
    you shall be as my mouth.
They shall turn to you,
    but you shall not turn to them.
²⁰ And I will make you to this people
    a fortified wall of bronze;
they will fight against you,
    but they shall not prevail over you,
for I am with you
    to save you and deliver you,
declares the LORD.
²¹ I will deliver you out of the hand of the wicked,
    and redeem you from the grasp of the ruthless.”

Mine eyes have seen the glory of the coming of the Lord.
He is trampling out the vintage where the grapes of wrath are stored.
The Battle Hymn of the Republic

I’m reminded of that song as I read today’s chapters from Jeremiah. Jeremiah repeatedly announces that God’s patience has come to an end. While the vivid imagery of the winepress comes from Isaiah 63:1–6, with echoes in Joel 3:13 and Revelation 14:14–20, the same message resounds throughout Jeremiah. It seems to intensify here in chapters 13–15—and we’re still not finished with his prophecy. How much more of this can we take?

Perhaps that is how Jeremiah felt as he was given this heavy burden to carry to the people of Judah. Layer upon layer of confrontation, condemnation, and judgment. Warning upon warning. One heavy message after another.

To make matters worse, the false prophets were saying exactly the opposite. “Everything is fine. Nothing to see here. No need to worry. Peace! Prosperity! Let the good times roll!”

Only there would be no peace. God’s judgment was coming. It was already in motion. Jeremiah faithfully proclaimed the Lord’s message, and all he received in return was criticism, persecution, pain, and rejection.

So the LORD speaks to him. He reminds Jeremiah that he remains in control of all that is happening. The LORD himself would make Jeremiah a fortified wall against his enemies. He promises, “I will deliver you out of the hand of the wicked, and redeem you from the grasp of the ruthless.” (Jeremiah 15:21)

We may never have to suffer as Jeremiah did. We may never have to carry as heavy a burden as he carried. We may not be called to speak truth to power as he did. But we will face our own trials. We may have to cling to God’s truth in the face of the world’s false promises. And there may be a cost to remaining faithful.

In those moments, we too may take hold of God’s promise: “I will deliver you out of the hand of the wicked, and redeem you from the grasp of the ruthless.” Better still, we can follow the example of Jesus, who, “When he was reviled, he did not revile in return; when he suffered, he did not threaten, but continued entrusting himself to him who judges justly.” (1 Peter 2:23)

Jesus entrusted himself completely to the Father who judges justly—and the Father vindicated him by raising him from the dead. Because we are justified by grace through faith in Christ, we need not fear the world’s judgment when we remain faithful to God’s truth. When the burden of truth-telling grows heavy, we return to the One who is the Truth made flesh. There we find not only forgiveness, but also the grace to endure to the end.

Follow the Word is a daily Bible reading and devotional ministry of St. John Lutheran Church, Cypress, Texas.

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Today’s readings: Jeremiah 10-12, Psalm 60.

Jeremiah 10:1-12

Hear the word that the LORD speaks to you, O house of Israel. ² Thus says the LORD:

“Learn not the way of the nations,
    nor be dismayed at the signs of the heavens
    because the nations are dismayed at them,
³ for the customs of the peoples are vanity.
A tree from the forest is cut down
    and worked with an axe by the hands of a craftsman.
⁴ They decorate it with silver and gold;
    they fasten it with hammer and nails
    so that it cannot move.
⁵ Their idols are like scarecrows in a cucumber field,
    and they cannot speak;
they have to be carried,
    for they cannot walk.
Do not be afraid of them,
    for they cannot do evil,
    neither is it in them to do good.”

⁶ There is none like you, O LORD;
    you are great, and your name is great in might.
⁷ Who would not fear you, O King of the nations?
    For this is your due;
for among all the wise ones of the nations
    and in all their kingdoms
    there is none like you.
⁸ They are both stupid and foolish;
    the instruction of idols is but wood!
⁹ Beaten silver is brought from Tarshish,
    and gold from Uphaz.
They are the work of the craftsman and of the hands of the goldsmith;
    their clothing is violet and purple;
    they are all the work of skilled men.
¹⁰ But the LORD is the true God;
    he is the living God and the everlasting King.
At his wrath the earth quakes,
    and the nations cannot endure his indignation.

¹¹ Thus shall you say to them: “The gods who did not make the heavens and the earth shall perish from the earth and from under the heavens.”

¹² It is he who made the earth by his power,
    who established the world by his wisdom,
    and by his understanding stretched out the heavens.

Maybe you’ve seen the elementary school science experiment. A stalk of celery is placed in a glass of water tinted with red food coloring. Overnight, thin red lines begin to climb the stalk. Before long, even the leaves take on a reddish hue. The process is called capillary action. The celery gradually draws into itself whatever it is immersed in.

Jeremiah describes a similar spiritual phenomenon. God’s people had lived among the pagan nations for so long that they had begun to absorb their values, fears, and worship. Idolatry didn’t arrive all at once. It slowly seeped into their hearts until they began thinking and living like the nations around them.

This was even more evident in yesterday’s reading, but today’s description—belittling as it is—warns us against thinking of the LORD as merely another deity like the idols of the surrounding nations. Jeremiah mocks those who carve, chisel, and overlay wood and precious metals to create objects of worship. How foolish!

Idols and false gods have no power. They cannot even defend themselves. Remember Dagon? Twice he fell on his face before the ark of the LORD—and in his own temple at that (1 Samuel 5:1–5)! Yet people continued to worship him. I also think of the riot in Ephesus, where the crowd shouted for hours, “Great is Artemis of the Ephesians!” (Acts 19:23–41). Much of their fervor was stirred up by craftsmen who made a handsome profit selling silver shrines of the goddess.

But before we become too judgmental, we should take a careful look at ourselves. Idolatry is hardly confined to the ancient world. We have our idols, too. Some people set their hearts on a particular car. Others long for the right shoes, handbag, golf clubs, camera equipment, or prestigious address. We often ascribe lasting value to things that cannot ultimately deliver what they promise. I’ve accumulated some fine camera equipment over the years, but you can’t buy a great photograph. You still have to see it—and make the image.

If we continually surround ourselves with people who idolize wealth, sex, celebrities, possessions, or success, we will gradually begin to value those things ourselves. Left unchecked, that desire can grow until it displaces God as our highest good.

Good news! The spiritual capillary effect works in more than one direction. If we continually immerse ourselves in God’s Word, receive his gifts, gather with his people, and live in the promises of Christ, those realities also begin to permeate our hearts and shape our lives. We increasingly become like that in which we are immersed.

So Paul urges us, “Whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is commendable… think about these things” (Philippians 4:8). Ultimately, all those qualities find their fullest expression in Jesus Christ. He is the true God, the Creator of all things, our Savior, Redeemer, and Lord. Worship him—and him alone.

Follow the Word is a daily Bible reading and devotional ministry of St. John Lutheran Church, Cypress, Texas.

Click here or on the graphic below to watch the Bible Project video overview of the book of Jeremiah.

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Today’s readings: Jeremiah 7-9, Psalm 59.

Jeremiah 9:23-24

Thus says the   LORD:   “Let not the wise man boast in his wisdom, let not the mighty man boast in his might, let not the rich man boast in his riches,   ²⁴   but   let him who boasts boast in this, that he understands and knows me, that I am the   LORD   who practices steadfast love, justice, and righteousness in the earth.   For in these things I delight, declares the   Lord.”
   .

Jeremiah is called the Weeping Prophet because his ministry was marked by sorrow. For thirty-five chapters he faithfully proclaimed God’s warnings, judgments, and calls to repentance as Babylon stood ready to conquer Jerusalem. Though he himself endured rejection, imprisonment, and loneliness, his tears reflected both his love for God’s people and God’s own desire that they turn from their sin and live.

At the end of chapter 8, the LORD asks,

“Is there no balm in Gilead? Is there no physician there? Why then has the health of the daughter of my people not been restored?” (Jeremiah 8:22)

Gilead was famous for its healing balm and skilled physicians. The question is rhetorical. The problem was not that there was no remedy, but that the people refused the healing God offered.

Over the years, Judah had so absorbed the thinking of the surrounding pagan religions that they no longer related to the LORD as the gracious God of the covenant. Instead, they treated him as though he were another pagan deity whose favor could be earned, manipulated, or appeased through religious performance. They still came to the Temple. They still offered sacrifices. But their worship had become largely external, as though God could be satisfied with rituals while their hearts remained far from him. They had forgotten that God’s favor is never purchased; it is received by faith from the God who delights to show mercy.

That is why Jeremiah immediately redirects their attention:

“Let not the wise man boast in his wisdom, let not the mighty man boast in his might, let not the rich man boast in his riches, but let him who boasts boast in this, that he understands and knows me…” (Jeremiah 9:23–24)

The LORD delights in showing steadfast love, justice, and righteousness. Healing is found not in our achievements, our resources, or even our religious activity, but in knowing the God whose mercy is greater than our sin.

The old spiritual proclaims,

“There is a balm in Gilead to make the wounded whole.”

Many years ago, Pastor David Schultz shared a picture I’ve never forgotten: “When Jesus walked the dusty roads of Galilee, he met people where they were. Then he would feel around the edges of their hearts until he found the cracks—and there he would rub in the balm of Gilead.”

What a beautiful image. Jesus himself is the Balm of Gilead. He heals our sin-sick souls, not because we have earned his favor or performed the right rituals, but because in his steadfast love he has borne our sin and opened the way to forgiveness, healing, and life.

Follow the Word is a daily Bible reading and devotional ministry of St. John Lutheran Church, Cypress, Texas.

Click here or on the graphic below to watch the Bible Project video overview of the book of Jeremiah.

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Today’s readings: Zephaniah 1-3, Psalm 56.

Zephaniah 3:14-20

Sing aloud, O daughter of Zion;
    shout, O Israel!
Rejoice and exult with all your heart,
    O daughter of Jerusalem!
¹⁵ The LORD has taken away the judgments against you;
    he has cleared away your enemies.
The King of Israel, the LORD, is in your midst;
    you shall never again fear evil.
¹⁶ On that day it shall be said to Jerusalem:
“Fear not, O Zion;
    let not your hands grow weak.
¹⁷ The LORD your God is in your midst,
    a mighty one who will save;
he will rejoice over you with gladness;
    he will quiet you by his love;
he will exult over you with loud singing.
¹⁸ I will gather those of you who mourn for the festival,
    so that you will no longer suffer reproach.
¹⁹ Behold, at that time I will deal
    with all your oppressors.
And I will save the lame
    and gather the outcast,
and I will change their shame into praise
    and renown in all the earth.
²⁰ At that time I will bring you in,
    at the time when I gather you together;
for I will make you renowned and praised
    among all the peoples of the earth,
when I restore your fortunes
    before your eyes,” says the LORD.

There is a remarkable verse here in Zephaniah 3:17. God says, “He will rejoice over you with singing.” (NIV) The ESV is a bit jarring to me, saying that God “will exult over you with loud singing.” I like the word exult. I’m not sure I like the “loud singing” part. But tell that to a soccer fan. They fill up the stadium with singing!

This is a remarkable verse because the Bible tells us many times that we should sing to God. But only here does it tell us that God sings over us. Set that beside the opening words of Zephaniah’s prophecy, and you have quite a contrast:

“I will utterly sweep away everything
from the face of the earth,” declares the LORD.
“I will sweep away man and beast;
I will sweep away the birds of the heavens
and the fish of the sea,
and the rubble with the wicked.
I will cut off mankind
from the face of the earth,” declares the LORD.
(Zephaniah 1:2–3)

Yet the book ends in a completely different key. Zephaniah closes on this beautiful note (pun intended!). It is a dramatic conclusion. God promises not only to sing over his people, but to save them, quiet them with his love, gather them, restore them, and dwell in their midst.

And so he sings. I’m guessing that God does not sing off-key! But seriously, the fact that God sings over us says something about his heart. Think of when you sing. Maybe it’s while rocking a child who is fighting sleep. Perhaps it’s when your favorite song comes on the radio. Maybe you’re someone who sings in church with gusto. Or perhaps you sing quietly. Or only in the shower?!

God’s song rises out of his mercy, redemption, and the restoration of his people. He delights so much in us that he woos and draws us closer and closer. Then he promises to be with us. With us—at our side. With us—in solidarity. With us—as his protecting presence. With us because he delights in us and desires us near.

The contrast between the opening words of Zephaniah and the closing words of his book points to something else. God promises to restore the honor of his people. He will restore their fortunes. Why? So that the nations might see what it looks like to live under God’s gracious favor.

The beauty of this passage is found in its verbs. After calling us to sing, every decisive action belongs to God. He saves. He rejoices. He quiets. He sings. He gathers. He restores. We simply receive what only he can give. Jesus has made that possible through his death and resurrection. On the Last Day we will experience these promises in all their fullness. Until then, live in the assurance of God’s song of love, knowing that he delights in us so deeply that he sings over us with favor, grace, and love.

Follow the Word is a daily Bible reading and devotional ministry of St. John Lutheran Church, Cypress, Texas.

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Today’s readings: 2 Kings 23, 2 Chronicles 34-35, Psalm 55.

2 Chronicles 34:1-7

Josiah was eight years old when he began to reign, and he reigned thirty-one years in Jerusalem. ² And he did what was right in the eyes of the Lord, and walked in the ways of David his father; and he did not turn aside to the right hand or to the left. ³ For in the eighth year of his reign, while he was yet a boy, he began to seek the God of David his father, and in the twelfth year he began to purge Judah and Jerusalem of the high places, the Asherim, and the carved and the metal images. ⁴ And they chopped down the altars of the Baals in his presence, and he cut down the incense altars that stood above them. And he broke in pieces the Asherim and the carved and the metal images, and he made dust of them and scattered it over the graves of those who had sacrificed to them. ⁵ He also burned the bones of the priests on their altars and cleansed Judah and Jerusalem. ⁶ And in the cities of Manasseh, Ephraim, and Simeon, and as far as Naphtali, in their ruins all around, ⁷ he broke down the altars and beat the Asherim and the images into powder and cut down all the incense altars throughout all the land of Israel. Then he returned to Jerusalem.

[During repairs to the Temple, Hilkiah the priest discovers the long-neglected Book of the Law. Deeply convicted by its words, Josiah renews the covenant, intensifies his reforms, and calls the nation to celebrate the Passover.]

2 Chronicles 35:16-19

So all the service of the Lord was prepared that day, to keep the Passover and to offer burnt offerings on the altar of the Lord, according to the command of King Josiah. ¹⁷ And the people of Israel who were present kept the Passover at that time, and the Feast of Unleavened Bread seven days. ¹⁸ No Passover like it had been kept in Israel since the days of Samuel the prophet. None of the kings of Israel had kept such a Passover as was kept by Josiah, and the priests and the Levites, and all Judah and Israel who were present, and the inhabitants of Jerusalem. ¹⁹ In the eighteenth year of the reign of Josiah this Passover was kept.

Josiah first begins to restore God’s rightful place in the life and worship of Judah. He is determined to remove every vestige of pagan worship. In 2 Kings 23, we read that “he deposed the priests whom the kings of Judah had ordained to make offerings in the high places… those also who burned incense to Baal, to the sun and the moon and the constellations and all the host of the heavens.” He also “brought out the Asherah from the house of the LORD… and burned it.” We even learn that he “broke down the houses of the male cult prostitutes who were in the house of the LORD, where the women wove hangings for the Asherah.”

In the house of the LORD! How far Judah had fallen. The nation was desperately in need of reform.

After contrition and repentance comes a new sense of devotion. The people lean into God’s commands and celebrate the greatest Passover since the days of Samuel the prophet. The numbers are numbing. The logistics are daunting. The fervor is palpable.

Something similar can happen in our own lives. We gain a fresh appreciation for God’s grace and a renewed desire to honor and obey him. It isn’t conversion, necessarily, but it is renewal. Maybe you’ve been there. Perhaps you’ve rediscovered God’s Word and its rightful place in your heart and life. If so, begin with repentance. Renewal always begins there. So does revival. But it doesn’t end there.

God doesn’t desire that we merely feel sorry for our sins. He desires faithful hearts. And he provides the means to create and sustain that faith. Through his Word and Sacraments, the Holy Spirit points us to Jesus—his life and teaching, his suffering and death, his resurrection, and his promise to return. Through these means, the Spirit kindles and strengthens faith in our hearts.

Sometimes we need a wake-up call—a sudden and painful awareness of our sin and our need for God’s grace. There may need to be some housecleaning in our hearts to restore God to his rightful place. But he is as close as a prayer of confession and the remembrance of your Baptism. He delights to reclaim his rightful place in our hearts, and lives there by faith.

Follow the Word is a daily Bible reading and devotional ministry of St. John Lutheran Church, Cypress, Texas.

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Today’s readings: Nahum 2-3, 2 Kings 22, Psalm 54.

2 Kings 22:11-13, 15-20

When the king heard the words of the Book of the Law, he tore his clothes. ¹² And the king commanded [his men], saying, ¹³ “Go, inquire of the Lord for me, and for the people, and for all Judah, concerning the words of this book that has been found. For great is the wrath of the Lord that is kindled against us, because our fathers have not obeyed the words of this book, to do according to all that is written concerning us.”

¹⁵ And [Huldah the prophetess] said to them, “Thus says the Lord, the God of Israel: ‘Tell the man who sent you to me, ¹⁶ Thus says the Lord, Behold, I will bring disaster upon this place and upon its inhabitants, all the words of the book that the king of Judah has read. ¹⁷ Because they have forsaken me and have made offerings to other gods, that they might provoke me to anger with all the work of their hands, therefore my wrath will be kindled against this place, and it will not be quenched. ¹⁸ But to the king of Judah, who sent you to inquire of the Lord, thus shall you say to him, Thus says the Lord, the God of Israel: Regarding the words that you have heard, ¹⁹ because your heart was penitent, and you humbled yourself before the Lord, when you heard how I spoke against this place and against its inhabitants, that they should become a desolation and a curse, and you have torn your clothes and wept before me, I also have heard you, declares the Lord. ²⁰ Therefore, behold, I will gather you to your fathers, and you shall be gathered to your grave in peace, and your eyes shall not see all the disaster that I will bring upon this place.’” And they brought back word to the king.

At first glance, today’s readings seem to pull us in two different directions. Nahum 2–3 pronounces God’s judgment on Nineveh, the proud capital of Assyria. Then, we turn to 2 Kings 22 and the account of young King Josiah discovering the long-neglected Book of the Law during repairs to the Temple. It almost feels like an interruption. In reality, these events unfold during the same period of history. As Assyria’s power begins to crumble, God is at work not only among the nations but also among his own people. The two accounts belong together, revealing the Lord’s absolute rule over history and preparing us for an important lesson about justice, repentance, and grace.

The message of Nahum (which means comfort) brings comfort to Judah because they live in fear of the cruelty of the Assyrians. He foretells the destruction of Nineveh – the very city to which Jonah did not want to go. When he went there the people repented and God relented and did not destroy the city. Assyria is represented by Nineveh, and the Assyrians were brutally cruel. So we can understand why Jonah didn’t want to go there earlier, and why it was so comforting to know that God was going to destroy them.

Nahum shows that God judges a proud, unrepentant nation—Nineveh. Huldah announces that Judah also stands under God’s judgment. Yet in the midst of that announcement, Josiah discovers that the LORD sees the humble heart. God’s justice is certain, but so is his mercy toward those who repent.

Paul makes much the same point in Romans 1 and 2. He begins by describing the unmistakable evidence of humanity’s rebellion against God. It is easy to nod our heads in agreement—until he turns the spotlight on us. “Therefore you have no excuse, O man, every one of you who judges” (Romans 2:1). The problem is not simply their sin. It is ours. No one stands righteous before God on his own. His justice is impartial; he does not overlook sin simply because it is found in “our” camp rather than “theirs.”

But neither is God’s final word condemnation. Josiah humbled himself before the Lord, confessed the truth, and found mercy. So do we. When God’s Word exposes our sin, it also points us to the Savior. Jesus Christ came into the world to save sinners. Paul adds, “of whom I am the foremost” (1 Timothy 1:15). That is not merely Paul’s confession. It is ours as well. And because Christ has borne our sin, all who repent and trust in him receive mercy, forgiveness, and life. That is the source of true and eternal comfort.

Follow the Word is a daily Bible reading and devotional ministry of St. John Lutheran Church, Cypress, Texas.

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Today’s readings: Isaiah 66, 2 Kings 20-21, Psalm 52.

Isaiah 66:19-24

I will send survivors to the nations, to Tarshish, Pul, and Lud, who draw the bow, to Tubal and Javan, to the coastlands far away, that have not heard my fame or seen my glory. And they shall declare my glory among the nations. ²⁰ And they shall bring all your brothers from all the nations as an offering to the Lord, on horses and in chariots and in litters and on mules and on dromedaries, to my holy mountain Jerusalem, says the Lord, just as the Israelites bring their grain offering in a clean vessel to the house of the Lord. ²¹ And some of them also I will take for priests and for Levites, says the Lord.

²² “For as the new heavens and the new earth
    that I make
shall remain before me, says the Lord,
    so shall your offspring and your name remain.
²³ From new moon to new moon,
    and from Sabbath to Sabbath,
all flesh shall come to worship before me,
declares the Lord.

It’s clear that God does not want anyone to perish, but that all would come to repentance and be saved. This is testified to throughout Scripture (2 Peter 3:9; 1 Timothy 2:3–4; Ezekiel 18:23; Ezekiel 33:11; John 3:16–17), which consistently reveals God’s gracious desire to save all people through Christ.

That’s because God loves the world. It’s because God’s very nature is love. It’s because God has created us in his own image and desires that we be returned to him, and restored to a relationship of love and truth.

But sometimes I wonder about the motive behind God’s sending people to the nations and bringing the nations into his kingdom. Israel had failed so often to be the people God had called them to be. Their kings were corrupt, their worship was compromised, and their hearts wandered far from him. Jesus would later tell the religious leaders, “The kingdom of God will be taken away from you and given to a people producing its fruits” (Matthew 21:43). It is tempting to read Isaiah’s closing vision as though God had simply given up on his people and gone looking for someone better.

But that is not Isaiah’s message. Isaiah concludes his prophecy with a beautiful picture of God’s saving work moving outward to embrace the whole world. God first reveals his glory, then graciously preserves a remnant through judgment. Those survivors are not spared merely for their own sake—they are sent to proclaim God’s glory among the nations. As the nations hear the good news, they are gathered into God’s family and brought to him as a holy offering. Finally, some from those very nations are appointed to serve as priests and Levites, illustrating the astonishing reach of God’s grace. The movement is unmistakable: God saves, God sends, God gathers, and God commissions. That pattern finds its fulfillment in Christ, who sends his Church into all the world with the good news of salvation.

The story doesn’t end with people hearing the Gospel. Those who hear become those who invite. The remnant becomes the missionary. The rescued become the rescuers.

Perhaps that’s the most beautiful part of Isaiah’s vision. God doesn’t simply save people; he sends them. He doesn’t simply gather worshipers; he gives them words to speak. Those who have heard his invitation become his invitation to the world. So it should not surprise us that the Bible closes, not with a command, but with an invitation—one first spoken by the Spirit, then by the Church, and finally by every believer who has heard the Good News for himself.

“The Spirit and the Bride say, ‘Come.’ And let the one who hears say, ‘Come.’ And let the one who is thirsty come; let the one who desires take the water of life without price.” (Revelation 22:17)

Grace received becomes grace shared.

Follow the Word is a daily Bible reading and devotional ministry of St. John Lutheran Church, Cypress, Texas.