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I am using readings from the 49 Week Bible Challenge as the basis for these devotions. I encourage you to join me in this discipline. Today’s readings are 1 Corinthians 8; 2 Chronicles 28; Jeremiah 44; Ezekiel 30.
Jeremiah 44:1-10
The word that came to Jeremiah concerning all the Judeans who lived in the land of Egypt, at Migdol, at Tahpanhes, at Memphis, and in the land of Pathros, 2 “Thus says the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel: You have seen all the disaster that I brought upon Jerusalem and upon all the cities of Judah. Behold, this day they are a desolation, and no one dwells in them, 3 because of the evil that they committed, provoking me to anger, in that they went to make offerings and serve other gods that they knew not, neither they, nor you, nor your fathers. 4 Yet I persistently sent to you all my servants the prophets, saying, ‘Oh, do not do this abomination that I hate!’ 5 But they did not listen or incline their ear, to turn from their evil and make no offerings to other gods. 6 Therefore my wrath and my anger were poured out and kindled in the cities of Judah and in the streets of Jerusalem, and they became a waste and a desolation, as at this day. 7 And now thus says the Lord God of hosts, the God of Israel: Why do you commit this great evil against yourselves, to cut off from you man and woman, infant and child, from the midst of Judah, leaving you no remnant? 8 Why do you provoke me to anger with the works of your hands, making offerings to other gods in the land of Egypt where you have come to live, so that you may be cut off and become a curse and a taunt among all the nations of the earth? 9 Have you forgotten the evil of your fathers, the evil of the kings of Judah, the evil of their wives, your own evil, and the evil of your wives, which they committed in the land of Judah and in the streets of Jerusalem? 10 They have not humbled themselves even to this day, nor have they feared, nor walked in my law and my statutes that I set before you and before your fathers.
You don’t have to make all your own mistakes! What wisdom is in those words. It applies to teenage boys who watch their older brother and determine they won’t do some of the things he did. It applies to the bank teller who watches the bank manager get hauled off to prison for embezzlement. It applies to the woman who learns that her neighbor is being audited by the IRS. It applies to anyone who will learn from the mistakes of others.
Oh how things would have been different if Israel had listened to the Lord God! But, as Jeremiah records,
“But they did not listen or incline their ear, to turn from their evil and make no offerings to other gods. Therefore my wrath and my anger were poured out and kindled in the cities of Judah and in the streets of Jerusalem, and they became a waste and a desolation, as at this day” (44:5-6).
The other readings today reflect that same theme. But it is not only God’s people who failed to learn from others’ mistakes. Egypt is mentioned as well. Their cities and land will suffer greatly because of their abominable behavior.
Saddest of all, Ahaz, king of Judah did evil in the sight of the Lord. He was one of the worst kings. He burned his sons as a sacrifice to the gods. He closed up the doors of the temple, and sold its treasures to pay off Assyria for protection. He did not trust in God and he died in ignomy.
Hezekiah must have learned from his father’s mistakes. He trusted in the Lord more than any king of Judah before or after him (2 Kings 18:5). He reopened and cleansed the temple, restored worship, and destroyed pagan idols and high places his father Ahaz had set up (2 Chronicles 29–31).
Yet even Hezekiah will stumble and fall. Near the end of his life, pride crept in. He showed Babylon’s envoys his wealth, prompting Isaiah’s warning that Babylon would one day take it all (2 Kings 20).
We know there is only one who is perfectly faithful – Jesus, son of Mary and Son of God. We cannot learn from his mistakes for he made none. But we can learn faith, trust, grace, and truth from him. He perfectly humbled himself, feared God and walked in his law and statutes. He is our righteousness and our great example – however much we fail to follow it perfectly.
The lesson of Ahaz, Hezekiah, and the people of Judah is that human faithfulness wavers, but God’s mercy remains. Each generation has the chance to listen, to turn, and to trust. Christ gives us that chance daily. He not only shows the way of obedience but also redeems our wandering hearts when we miss it. May we learn quickly, repent humbly, and walk closely with the One who never forgets, never fails, and never stops calling us back to Himself – Jesus Christ our Lord.
David Bahn - Reflections 
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