Commuter Bible

There are some wonderful, and well-known promises scattered throughout today’s reading as the Lord offers consolation and hope for those in exile. After 70 years in exile, the Lord will judge those nations whom He released upon Israel and Judah, and His people will return to the land of promise. While waiting for the promises of God, His exiled people are commanded to pursue the well-being of the...

In an age before billboards, movies, and cat videos, there were few ways to stand out from the crowd and command the attention of people who might otherwise ignore you. At the Lord’s command, Jeremiah frequently acts out some of his prophesies in order to dramatically display the reality of what will soon take place. You wouldn’t soon forget a man wearing chains and a yoke who looks you in the eye...

King Zedekiah sends messengers to Jeremiah asking that he might inquire of the Lord on behalf of Judah. Though he asks for the Lord’s favor, he instead receives a prophecy of the Lord’s wrath, for the king of Judah and his entourage will all be handed over to King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon. After pronouncing judgment against Zedekiah, he goes on to condemn Shallum, Jehoiakim, and Coniah. These lea...

Jeremiah continues his pronouncement against the persistent sin of Judah as our text begins today, saying that those who trust in men are cursed and those who trust in the Lord will be blessed. Not long after this, Jeremiah must put this very teaching into practice, for after gathering the priests, prophets, and leaders of Judah to declare the judgment of the Lord, he is beaten, put in the stocks,...

In today’s episode, Jeremiah delivers a lament for the drought that has come over Judah, calling on God to deliver. Throughout Scripture, the Lord often relents after such prayers, but in this instance the Lord denies Jeremiah’s request, saying that this time he will remember their iniquity and punish their sins. God tells Jeremiah not  to pray for these people, saying that even if Moses and Samue...

The false gods that Israel has served are worthless and lifeless, and God warns that those gods will not save them from His wrath. The nation that the Lord loved and cherished has continuously rejected Him and mocked His authority, so the Lord will finally bring them to the ruin He promised would come. Later, at the Lord’s command, Jeremiah performs a prophetic act, one of several over the course...

The Lord’s love remains on Judah but he cannot allow her rampant evil and adulterous idol worship to continue. Time and again He has called them to repent, but they continue to love their wealth, their sin, and their idols more than the Lord their God. The Lord will send Assyria from the north to conquer Jerusalem and Judah, making it a desolate wasteland. He sends Jeremiah to ensure that everyone...

The Lord’s love remains on Judah but he cannot allow her rampant evil and adulterous idol worship to continue. Time and again He has called them to repent, but they continue to love their wealth, their sin, and their idols more than the Lord their God. The Lord will send Assyria from the north to conquer Jerusalem and Judah, making it a desolate wasteland. He sends Jeremiah to ensure that everyone...

Jeremiah was a young man serving as a priest when the Lord called him and set him aside to be God’s chosen instrument in prophesying against the nation of Judah. Judah had seen the fall of Israel after their centuries of wickedness and idolatry against the Lord, both figuratively and sometimes literally prostituting themselves with idols and cult prostitutes. They worshipped false gods on hilltops...

John, the apostle whom Jesus loved and the author of the fourth gospel writes today’s letter to the church with encouragement to flee from sin, to trust in Jesus, to love one another, and to assure them of the eternal life that Christ has secured for them. This letter doesn’t have a typical structure; unlike other epistles it doesn’t address a particular church or mention individual people. The na...

Job has justified himself in his own sight, repeating again and again that God has been unjust, bemoaning his fate and complaining that a man should be able to take God to court. In today’s episode, God puts Job in his place by asking him a series of questions. This inquisition is designed to help Job see how finite, weak, and limited he is, while painting a vibrant picture of God’s power and auth...

As the young man named Elihu continues to present a case against Job and his friends, he confronts the audacious claim that a man gains nothing from friendship with God. Moreover, the God who created all things is accountable to no one; in other words, He doesn’t owe anything to anyone, therefore nobody can say that He is unfair or unjust. The God who made all things also sees all things, knows al...

In today’s episode, Job starts his “I don’t get no respect” routine and tells his friends of the dishonor he now endures from fellow citizens and from the riff-raff that live in the desert around him. He remarks that he has been faithful to the Lord, caring for those in need, and keeping himself from the worship of false gods such as the worship of sun and moon. When Job concludes his words, a you...

It won’t be long before Job receives a proper rebuke from Elihu and then from God Himself, but until that time comes, Job continues to vent and express frustration with the situation he finds himself in. His friends keep telling him to repent of his evil, assuming that his sin is the cause of his state. Meanwhile, Job continues to declare himself as pure, which is also untrue, but in his state of...

Job’s friends are insulted that he would reject their wisdom, especially because they are drawing their conclusions from that which was commonly assumed by the culture and by their ancestors. Job wants to find comfort and consolation from his friends, but they continue to make a case against him. In an earlier speech, Job spoke of God’s justice, but as he responds to his friend Zophar, we can see...

The book of Job is thought to be one of the earliest writings of Scripture. Set in the period of the patriarchs perhaps even before the time of Abraham, this book gives us the account of a rich man who loses it all. Here in the first few chapters we are given a rare glimpse into the spiritual realm, describing scenes before the throne of God Almighty, who reigns so supremely that even His enemies...

Job has lost everything but his wife, his life, and a handful of friends who have gathered around him. After sitting together in silence for seven days, Job opens up about the sorrow and agony he feels. His friends, however, greet him with calls to repent, suggesting that God would not punish someone like this if he were indeed righteous. Bildad rebukes Job, pointing to God’s justice and argues th...

The book of Job is thought to be one of the earliest writings of Scripture. Set in the period of the patriarchs perhaps even before the time of Abraham, this book gives us the account of a rich man who loses it all. Here in the first few chapters we are given a rare glimpse into the spiritual realm, describing scenes before the throne of God Almighty, who reigns so supremely that even His enemies...

In this letter to Timothy, Paul encourages the young man whom he calls a son in the faith to preach the gospel boldly, clearly, unabashedly, and without fear. Paul encourages Timothy to know the Scriptures well so that he can preach the Scriptures well. The apostle has entrusted the work of gospel ministry to Timothy and he wants to make sure that Timothy is capable of training other men to do the...

The future looks bleak for the people of God. With the king’s signet ring in hand, Haman has devised a scheme to wipe out God’s people, whom he hates because of his hatred for Mordecai. It seems that the only hope for God’s people rests with Queen Esther, a young woman who has become fully enveloped into Persian culture. Today, Esther continues on her patient quest to woo King Ahaseurus into a hea...

The account of Esther, the Jewish orphan who becomes the queen of Persia, is neither a Cinderella story, nor a how-to guide for righteousness. It does, however, give us a picture of the God who graciously uses broken people to achieve His glorious ends and fulfill His covenant promises. The names that the two Jewish characters operate under, Esther and Mordecai, are names that actually give honor...

Today we’re going to read the entire letter of 1 Timothy together, and as we do I think you’ll see some themes emerge. First, Paul writes to Timothy from a place of humility in order to encourage humility within Timothy and within the church. From that humility comes order within the church, including rightly viewed structures of authority and submission. Paul wants Timothy to be bold in faith and...

The temple is finished. The wall is finished. The people have rededicated themselves to the Lord’s house, and on today’s episode, the remnant of Israel rejoices. With the work completed, Nehemiah returns to Persia to serve under King Artaxerxes once again, just as he promised. All is right with the world, and God’s people serve Him faithfully from then on, right? Wrong! In fact, not long after Neh...

Now that the work of rebuilding the temple and rebuilding the walls surrounding Jerusalem is complete, the exiles from Israel gather together to hear Ezra read from the book of the Law. The Levites explain the law to the people as it is being read, and when the congregation understands the extent to which they have broken the Law, they mourn over their actions. Nehemiah, Ezra, and the Levites enco...

As we began to see our last episode, the governors who oversee region west of the Euphrates, which includes Judah and Jerusalem, are unhappy that Nehemiah has been sent to help rebuild the walls of Jerusalem. Feeling threatened, Sanballat and other officials create false rumors and even bribe others to attempt to deceive Nehemiah. They make every attempt to stop or delay the work, but in just 52 d...