August 17-23, 2025

Heart Preparation:
Every week, we take time to intentionally be in the Word of God. But, week after week, this can become routine. It can potentially become just “something we do”. We can enter this time looking at our clocks or just breezing through the text. Yet, this is God’s Word to you. This is the Creator of all things, who Isaiah says “holds the universe in the span of His hands”. Yet, He desires a personal relationship with you. His Word is true (John 17:3), His Word is active (Hebrews 4:12), and His Word is profitable for all things (2 Timothy 3:16). Fight the urge this week, as you enter into your time with God, to be distracted by the things of this world, and set your heart truly on Him.


Week’s Reading Plan:

• Sunday August 17 - Jeremiah 35-37
• Monday August 18 - Jeremiah 38-40, Psalm 74, 79
• Tuesday August 19 - 2 Kings 24-25, 2 Chronicles 36
• Wednesday August 20 - Habakkuk 1-3
• Thursday August 21 - Jeremiah 41-45
• Friday August 22 - Jeremiah 46-48
• Saturday August 23 - Jeremiah 49-50

What to Expect:
2 KINGS 24-25/2 CHRONICLES 36
This is the historical account that is setting the context for the prophets that we will be reading this week. As you have been following along, Judah has been deteriorating in their morals and faithfulness to God. Josiah issued reforms and had a revival in his heart, but we see that it didn’t stick in the hearts of the people. After Josiah dies, his son becomes king, but does evil. The events that you are going to be reading this week are the fulfillment of what God has been speaking about to the people of Judah through the prophets this whole time. You are about to read the near-term “day of the Lord” as Zephaniah prophesied about, the coming of the Babylonian invasion. Jehoahaz is taken into exile by Egypt, and his brother Eliakim/Jehoiakim becomes a puppet king in his place. Behind the scenes, Babylon has been increasing as a world power. They have defeated the Assyrian empire in 609BC and are now the world power. After defeating Assyria, they turn their eyes towards Judah, and in 605BC they begin attacking Judah and take into exile youths of nobility and royalty. Daniel is one of those youths that is taken into exile in this time.


Jehoiachin, Johoiakim’s son, reigns in his place and experiences the second attack from Babylon. This time Nebuchadnezzar makes it to Jerusalem, taking into captivity the king and all his mighty men of valor. The poorest of the land are left in Jerusalem.


After Jehoiachin is taken to Babylon, Nebuchadnezzar leaves Zedekiah as a vassal king. In 588BC, Nebuchadnezzar again turns towards Jerusalem and attacks it for 2 years, before finally destroying Jerusalem and the temple on August 15, 586BC. He took into captivity all those who were left that escaped the sword, completing the prophecy of God that He would remove Judah from the land. All of this came as a result of the people being unfaithful to God, as He promised would come upon them in Deuteronomy 28.


In this reading, you also see the beginning of the 70 Year Period that God proclaimed through the prophet Jeremiah in Jeremiah 25.


JEREMIAH 35-50
Jeremiah was a prophet who was called to prophecy leading up to the fall of Jerusalem, and then continue to prophecy following their captivity to Babylon. Jeremiah sees the atrocity of Judah, and calls them to repentance, and then sees the fallout of their disobedience. In the passages of Jeremiah that you will read this week, you will continue to see Jeremiah warning the final kings of Judah of their impending judgement. The word that he shares is unpopular, and so his own people respond, not by repenting, but by taking it out on Jeremiah. The final chapters of the prophecy are Jeremiah prophesying to the nations, that their judgement is going to come as well.


HABAKKUK 1-3
Habakkuk is a conversation between the prophet and God, taking place during the first deportation of Judah to Babylon in 605BC. Habakkuk is composed of 2 questions from Habakkuk, followed by the response from God. In the end, Habakkuk prays to God in response to the conversation he just had with God.


What to Look For:
2 KINGS 24-25/2 CHRONICLES 36
As mentioned, as you read these passages, you are seeing the fulfillment of the prophecies that we have been reading for the past couple of weeks, that Judah would go into exile to Babylon (Isaiah 3:1-8, 5:26-30, 39:5-8, Jeremiah 5:14-17, 6:22-26, Jeremiah 25, Micah 4:9-10).


JEREMIAH 35-50
In Jeremiah 35-45, you get sort of a “behind-the-scenes” look at what is going on with the kings of Judah and their attitude towards the prophecies of God. They are warned, yet they fail to listen and suffer the consequences for this as well.


HABAKKUK 1-3
As mentioned, Habakkuk is a conversation between Habakkuk and God. Habakkuk looks around and sees the sin of his nation, and asks God how long will you put up with this wickedness(Habakkuk 1:1-4). God responds by telling Habakkuk that He is going to send the Babylonians to bring judgement upon Judah (Habakkuk 1:5-11). This causes Habakkuk to question God, how can you use a nation that is more wicked than Judah to bring judgement upon Judah (Habakkuk 1:12-2:1). God doesn’t answer this question directly, but rather states that Babylon’s time is going to come, they will suffer for their actions as well (Habakkuk 2:2-20). This leads Habakkuk to pray to God, remembering the faithfulness of God to his forefathers, and therefore trusting in the future faithfulness of God.


Personal Insight:
The closing portion of Habakkuk’s prayer really speaks out to me.


I hear, and my body trembles; my lips quiver at the sound; rottenness enters into my bones; my legs tremble beneath me. Yet, I will quietly wait for the day of trouble to come upon people who invade us.(Habakkuk 3:16).


The news of the coming judgement upon Judah by the Babylonians brings a reaction to Habakkuk that he can feel. It’s that news that doesn’t just hit emotionally, but physically. The coming judgement brings fear. A lot of us (I would venture to say all of us) have had an experience, that though it may not be an invading army, it elicited this kind of response, where can feel it in our body. And Habakkuk continues on in his prayer, the way that we should also respond in these moments:


yet I will rejoice in the Lord; I will take joy in the God of my salvation. God, the Lord, is my strength; he makes my feet like the deer’s; he makes me tread on my high places (Habakkuk 3:18-19).


Habakkuk, in the midst of this fear, turns to faith. Fear is an emotion and a reaction. We can’t necessarily control immediately if we are afraid or not. There are things in this world that are truly scary as well. Having faith doesn’t even necessarily mean that we aren’t afraid, but rather it is the courage to move on and trust God even in the presence of fear. That’s what Habakkuk did. He could feel the fear in his body, yet he turned his focus on God and said even though all this comes upon me, I will rejoice in God, for He is my salvation and my strength. Even if everything terrible happens, I will rejoice in Him!


It took Habakkuk looking back at the past faithfulness of God to trust God in His future faithfulness, and therefore He found joy, strength, and salvation. May we do the same thing.


Prayer:
God, thank you for your salvation! Thank you for being the God who, even in our darkest moments, You are good. You have given us a hope beyond this world. Just as Your word was true about the coming Babylonian invasion, Your word is also true about the coming eternal life that we have in Jesus! Thank You for that! May our eyes always be fixed on You, even in the scary moments. May we have the faith that overcomes our fear, and even in the presence of fear, see that You are good, and You are in control.


This week’s devotion was prepared by Andrew Peterman.