2 Kings 23:1-20
2 Chronicles 34:29-33
2 Kings 23:21-28
2 Chronicles 35:1-19
Nahum 1:1-3:19
It is a moving contrast to
read of Josiah’s amazing, sweeping reforms and then read of
Every time I read of how
thorough – how totally committed Josiah was to serving the Lord and to use his
authority to insure that others served Him too, I am thrilled and humbled. Where can we go to find such complete and
total love for God? Can we go to my
house? I don’t think so! Can we go to your house? Doubtful.
J This guy
simply did not care about popularity or what things looked like to others. He didn’t worry about going over the deep end
or what others would think.
And how timely it is to include
Nahum at this point to show the ultimate end of a nation, which persists in
idolatry and debauchery. Sometimes I
wonder how God sees
August 2
Habakkuk
1:1-3:19
Zephaniah
1:1-2:7
Habakkuk
questioned God in his vision. I am
struck by his assumption that God “cannot allow sin in any form.” I suppose it is the sense in which we take
that statement, because God does
allow sin for the time being, but He does not allow sin to go unpunished
forever. Romans 9 tells us He tolerates
it for a time. Some of the extreme
theologians on one end foolishly figure that God is the cause of sin and
extremists on the other end foolishly figure that God is unable to do anything
about sin much less cause it. Both are
heresy. God is holy and will not
tolerate sin indefinitely. All of it will
be dealt with. But God is also love and
He is not willing that any should perish.
And so He personally deals with the penalty for sin by sending His own
Son to suffer, die, and be raised again.
All those who believe can have His righteousness to present to God. Habakkuk 3:17-19 is one of my favorite
passages – wonderful words to live by.
August 3
Zephaniah
2:8-3:20
2
Chronicles 35:20-27
2
Kings 23:29-30
Jeremiah
47:1-48:47
The
principle element that strikes me (in today’s reading) is the scathing judgment
pronounced on
And
so we see the same with
As before,
when I read of Josiah’s death due to his foolish behavior, I am sad. His reforms were incredible and His
commitment to God and His service are amazing.
It seems His only failures may have been poor parenting and staying out
of
August 4
2
Chronicles 36:1-4
2
Kings 23:31-37
2
Chronicles 36:5
Jeremiah
22:1-23
Jeremiah
26:1-24
2
Kings 24:1-4
Jeremiah
25:1-14
Three
things strike me this morning as I read:
1) Josiah’s parenting skills, 2) Jeremiah’s faithfulness to a deadly
ministry, and 3) The clarity of prophecy and its fulfillment.
I
can understand how my children might have problems being true to the Christian
faith. It was only in their later
childhood years that I began to be a proper example to them. If anything, they were confused because most
of their childhood they were raised to be materialists. Today, they appear to be growing in their
understanding of Christ and the Bible and it seems to be affecting their lifestyles
in a positive way. But Josiah was
committed to the Lord consistently from childhood – what happened to his
kids? These guys were not nice at
all! Also Jeremiah blows my mind – this
kid enters a ministry in which he is assured of a poor response and yet he is
completely faithful. And the 70-year
prophecy should convince anyone of the validity of Scriptures! There simply is no book in world history that
comes close to the Bible. It is divinely
inspired and it proves it – not with a good track record – with a perfect track record! Wow!
August 5
Jeremiah
25:15-38
Jeremiah
36:1-32
Jeremiah
45:1-46:28
It
appears that Jeremiah literally went to all these countries and cities,
speaking all the words of judgment from the Lord. Wow, talk about the bearer of bad news! It seems to me that someone bringing that
kind of news to these many rulers would be killed early but apparently God
protected him. There is no indication
that any recipient of his message paid heed and repented, except maybe some of
the officials in the
The
information about the materials that Baruch used to write with and how he wrote
is interesting to me; and has provided valuable data for the scholars who study
the history of writing. He used ink and
a scroll and wrote in columns.
No
matter how many times I read about Jehoiakim destroying the scroll with
August 6
Jeremiah
19:1-20:18
Daniel
1:1-21
Jeremiah
is such a powerful symbol of God’s love to His people, but the people did not
want God’s love because His love is true.
It does not hide the truth. And
people who love their sin do not want to be told the truth that their sin is
destroying them. They will even claim
that the person exposing their sin is hateful – not loving. They will say, “If you were a loving person
you would accept me as I am.” Well,
frankly God does accept them as they are, but He loves them too much to allow
them to stay that way. Love does not
whitewash sin – it exposes it. Love is
not a lie – it is truth. And that is why
it is not popular, because the truth can be very painful to one who loves open
sin. Pashhur went the way we all go if
we reject the truth – the way of destruction.
Daniel
was like Jeremiah in that being true to God was a passion, a fire that
dominated his behavior and he did not count his physical life more important
than obeying God.
August 7
Daniel
2:1-3:30
Jeremiah
7:1-8:3
If
it is possible to be excited and sobered at the same time, then that is the
case when I consider the commitment of the 4 Hebrews of Daniel. They did not live for the preservation of
their flesh; they lived for the glorification of their God. There is every indication that they worked hard
to learn everything that Nebuchadnezzar wanted them to learn. They simply performed their assigned duties
as advisors and administrators as if they were doing them for the Lord, which
they were. It has always amazed me how
ungrateful the “wise” men were to Daniel.
If it wasn’t for him, they could have all wound up in the fiery furnace.
Of
course, any skeptic would call the account of the 3 Hebrews and the fiery
furnace a nonsensical child’s fable. But
we who have had to walk through our own fires of life, understand what God can
do. It is not a stretch for the child of
God to believe this account is literal.
The reply of the 3 Hebrews to Nebuchadnezzar is classic but would not be
popular on some so-called Christian network shows. Faithfulness to the Lord should never be
based on any physical benefit whatsoever including physical deliverance from
death.
August 8
Jeremiah
8:4-11:23
Several
things came to mind this morning as God spoke from the pages of His Book. I will try to write a little of it. The one inescapable activity of the mind when
reading this text is to wonder how close
We
also see many proofs that God has commands that are not obeyed. Those commands represent something He wants
to happen but they do not happen. While
we know He has foreknowledge of this and while He has an overall plan that He
is working exactly as decreed, it is foolish to think that He does not really
want these commands to be obeyed. And it
is foolish to think that He commands and we are not able. Ah, but we are not able of ourselves.
Only by God’s grace, are we made able.
But the ability to receive is only genuine if there is the ability to
reject. Prior to His enablement, there
is only rejection; after enablement, the option of acceptance is added. Problem is, once enabled, most still choose
to disobey. He sends His Son. He sends His Spirit. He gives His grace. He is unwilling that any should perish. He desires all to come to repentance. His love is not a façade. His love is real.
August 9
Jeremiah
12:1-15:21
Jeremiah
and the Lord both seem to have alternating episodes of sorrow and anger. Jeremiah, who has wept so bitterly for his
people and the land becomes impatient apparently and asks God to “drag these
people away like helpless sheep to be butchered!” So much for weeping. I suppose the harshest punishment is
deserved, but the language is a little startling.
The
Lord replies with what seems to be a bit of a rebuke and He expresses both
anger and love for His people. But
throughout this section He speaks strongly about the judgment that will be
completed against the people. It is
terrible, but of course the people were warned repeatedly, and ignored the
warnings while persecuting the messenger.
And yet, right in the midst of the proclamations of harsh calamity, in
August 10
Jeremiah
16:1-18:23
Jeremiah
35:1-19
Jeremiah
is thought to have been forbidden to marry (16:2), but I am not sure this verse
says that. It looks to me like God has
given Jeremiah a message to deliver to others.
So I do not think that the message is specifically for Jeremiah, but for
all in
God’s
message of coming judgment continues to be interspersed with His message of
hope and His call to repent.
I
love the testimony of the Recabites. No
matter how pathetic the human race looks, God always has those who are faithful
and good servants. Father, bring me to
such a place, and my children as well.
August 11
Jeremiah
49:1-33
2
Kings 24:5-7
2
Chronicles 36:6-8
2
Kings 24:8-9
2
Chronicles 36:9
Jeremiah
22:24-23:32
We
now turn to other nations/cities. We
will return to judgments regarding
Even
after all that has happened to
August 12
Jeremiah
Jeremiah
29:1-31:14
If
this section teaches anything (and it does), it teaches that we should not
deviate from God’s pure Word. We should
not be guided by feel-good wishful thinking, but only by that which is pure and
holy, no matter how uncomfortable it may be to us. Selfish people are ultimately
self-destructive, but those who live for God and for others are fulfilled with
the joy of the Lord no matter what happens in the world around them.
These
people in exile were told by God, through Jeremiah, that they could have peace;
but only through the Word of God. If
they live by their own word or the words of a false prophet there will be no
peace – only disaster.
We
must be still… and know that Jesus is Lord – that God is on His throne - and
that He is our only deliverance – our only restoration. Father, we have no worthiness – but You have
drawn us close through Jesus.
August 13
Jeremiah
31:15-40
Jeremiah
49:34-51:14
This
section is rich with mercy to God’s people and thorough with judgment for their
oppressors. We start on a sad note of
weeping in Ramah which of course causes us to think of the incredible anguish
to come to Bethlehem centuries later when Herod has all the male children under
2 years old killed.
But
God sends the message of restoration.
Let all the mother’s who love the Lord and have lost children in infancy
know that they shall be restored to their children. The resurrection changes everything! Where all hope was gone, the assurance of joy
is now a reality. So it is with Israel
and Judah, and so it is with all of the circumcised of heart.
And
the boom is lowered on Babylon. Its fate
is assured and since we have hindsight to confirm what was written in
foresight, we know how thorough that fate was.
August 14
Jeremiah
51:15-58
2
Chronicles 36:10
2
Kings 24:10-17
1
Chronicles 3:10-16
2
Chronicles 36:11-14
Jeremiah
52:1-3a
2
Kings 24:18-20
Jeremiah
37:1-10
Praise
God! Jeremiah has offered a simple but
profound hymn of praise to the Lord. It
is powerfully charged with an acknowledgment of the Lordship of the Almighty,
the logic (or rather illogic) of the foolishness of idolatry, and the
sovereignty of God.
This
section leaves no stone unturned in its proclamation of the judgment of
Babylon. From an earthly standpoint, the
prophecy would seem absolutely impossible to the people of that day; but of
course, we know the outcome and we know that kingdoms come and kingdoms go; but
God remains forever enthroned above all.
And by the power of His own Name, He will establish His Kingdom on this
earth, bringing His righteousness and His saints with Him. Praise the Lord!
While
it amazes me that Zedekiah would follow an evil path, God provides a light in
this account that exposes some of my own actions.
August 15
Jeremiah
37:11-38:28
Ezekiel
1:1-3:15
The
reading today is quite a roller coaster.
First Jeremiah is brought through some overwhelming trials in which he is
falsely accused by some folks (mostly religious) who want to kill him. But God, true to His Word, rescues Jeremiah
every time. Zedekiah seems like such a
foolish person. He seems to know that
Jeremiah has God’s Word, but when Jeremiah instructs him, he is afraid to obey,
even though he is assured by Jeremiah that he will be safe if he obeys. But no dice – it just makes no sense and yet
I know people who are that way. To be
honest, there are things in my life that have been similarly inconsistent.
Regarding
Ezekiel and his opening vision, if this wasn’t the Word of God and he wasn’t a
prophet of God, I would say he needs to get to a rehab center! His vision is a real mindblower! But of course it all comes with a powerful
message that speaks of the grace and glory of God. Ezekiel’s commission was very bitter to him,
but he was compelled to do it.
August 16
Ezekiel
3:16-4:17
Jeremiah
27:1-28:17
Jeremiah
51:59-64
This
account of Ezekiel’s call from God seems more encouraging because God says
“some will listen.” But it is also very
sobering when it pronounces a divine curse on Ezekiel if he does not deliver
the message God gives him. The tenor of
those words from God should cause us all, even today, to be sobered about our
neglect to deliver the warning that God has clearly given us to deliver. The Bible that we have gives us the Word of
God in a more convenient form than we can even imagine. It is available to even the poorest folks in
this country and in every conceivable translation and language style. It has been taught from pulpits for centuries
in every remote area of this land. We
have no excuse for silence. If we choose
not to tell of the goodness of God in salvation through His Son, does it mean
we have not truly discovered that goodness (or have we simply lost our first
love)? Surely we have not yet been
caught up by the breadth and depth and height, if we feel no compulsion to
share the news.
The
assignments of God to Ezekiel and Jeremiah are so radical and present images so
outlandish, that it can only speak of God’s intense love for His people and the
people of the world.
August 17
Ezekiel
5:1-9:11
The
illustration that Ezekiel was commanded to perform seems odd to me. One cannot help but see the anger of the
Lord, but notice also the heartbreak of the Lord.
Throughout
this section after every word of judgment proclaimed, it is finished with the
words, “you (or they) will know that I am the Lord.” It is beyond comprehension that anyone would
desire to embrace Jesus as Savior but reject Him as Lord. The Bible simply does not support such
thinking. The conception of such
thinking is extra-biblical and must remain so.
We
are sinners but unless our attitude changes toward sin – unless we repent, God
will not be a Father to us. This will
not make us sinless, but the process of sanctification will be initiated
because we have a whole new attitude toward sin. And as we draw closer to God and grow in the
Spirit and in His Word, we will recognize and hate and reject sin more (and
more).
August 18
Ezekiel
5:1-9:11
Zedekiah
and the false prophets in Jerusalem continue to mislead the people and this
infuriates the Lord. Judgment has come
to the people. God will save some and
turn their hearts to Him, but most will perish.
Other true prophets have spoken to this situation as directed by God –
as far back as Isaiah. But God wants
Ezekiel to speak specifically to the false prophets, both male and female,
regarding His judgment of their actions.
I am
amazed (even as I look at the first paragraph of chapter 10) how many times
“the Lord” is in the text. Often it is
“the sovereign Lord.” We would do well
to realize that even when it is not so explicit; the Lord is always present in
the text of His Word.
God
says He “will take away their hearts of stone and give them tender
hearts.” The context clearly illustrates
the responsibility of man, but here we see the commitment of God. May we bow and know that this is possible in
God’s economy.
August 19
Ezekiel
14:1-16:63
Grace,
grace, wonderful grace. To truly
appreciate grace, one must see sin as it really is. And we can only do that by seeing God as He
really is – holy, holy, holy!
We
see in chapter 14 the worst kind of idols – idols in the heart. This is the nature of
August 20
Ezekiel
17:1-19:14
Chapters
17 and 19 speak most vividly and directly to Zedekiah and the princes of
Israel. They are busted, plain and
simple. And of course, we have an
advantage they did not have – hindsight.
[On second thought, I suppose they had plenty of hindsight, didn’t
they?] We do not need much faith to
believe confirmed history. But what about
the future? We know of the foolishness
of Zedekiah in not believing what the prophet of God had to say about the
future. What do we believe about our
future? Some prophets of today speak of
judgment while others cry peace. But can
a just and holy God tolerate the sins of our country forever?
Chapter
18 speaks perfectly within the context of the chapter before and after it. But it seems it speaks loudly to every
generation. And most notable is the
repetition. There seems to be a strong
commitment to insure no misunderstanding.
Perhaps this is to clear up the misconception that the concept of
generational curses was ever a valid concept.
Some would say the Scriptures show it certainly was so. But hasn’t it always been true that future
generations tend to naturally suffer the repercussions of their father’s
actions? Indeed it can often take
several generations to weaken the grip of the mistakes of our ancestors. Doesn’t that simple truth reconcile the
apparent paradox in the Scriptures on this subject?
August 21
Ezekiel
20:1-22:16
These
leaders that came to Ezekiel are amazing.
They had to be clueless. And they
are so like contemporary Christian culture in America. Just live like the devil and then bring our
offerings to God. But He says here, He
will not accept such offerings. So this
section is filled with the delineation of God’s judgment on Jerusalem. God does speak of His restoration of His
people but the words given to that are few.
There
are brief breaks to mention judgment against the Negev and the judgment of the
Ammonites. Step-by-step God has
chronicled the sins of Israel and the leaders cannot respond truthfully against
God’s words.
God
frequently uses phrases like “I gave them over to…” or “I allowed them
to…” Such phrases would be meaningless
if we accepted the theology that states a sovereign God cannot employ the will
of the creature into His plan of love.
August 22
Ezekiel
22:17-23:49
2
Kings 24:20b-25:2
Jeremiah
52:3b-5
Jeremiah
39:1
Ezekiel
24:1-14
The
illustration of the Refiner’s furnace should get anyone’s attention, but I
found it interesting that the word “crucible” was used in 22:19. I suppose this would be a product of the
practice of paraphrasing. It’s just that
the word would not have even been used back then. It is considerably more modern and was formed
from a root word that recognizes the cross of Jesus Christ.
I
have to write here that I hope that some people heard these things and
repented. It is obvious that most did
not. It seems to me that to incur the
enmity of God is something to fear and to desperately desire reconciliation
with the Father is of incalculable value.
The
story of Oholah and Oholibah is a very sad and pathetic illustration, but even
worse is the real thing. Jerusalem is
finally under siege in this section.
August 23
Ezekiel
24:15-25:17
Jeremiah
34:1-22
Jeremiah
21:1-14
Ezekiel
29:1-16
Ezekiel
30:20-31:18
How
can we, with our feeble human minds, comprehend the commitment of Ezekiel and
the goodness of God? Do we have the
faith that looks for a city whose builder and maker is God? Or do we look to build our own empire on
earth? Our time here on earth is not to
be belittled as unimportant. It is of
the greatest importance what decision is made here. And the decision regards – where will you
grow roots? How valuable do you hold
your earthly existence? Heaven’s bliss
and God’s presence is my inheritance. By
God’s grace I shall not settle for less.
Ezekiel demonstrated this perspective when he obeyed God even as he lost
the companionship of his wife.
I
find the narrative in Ezekiel 31:1-18 regarding Eden, the Garden of God,
fascinating. We find amazing commentary
on the nature of the trees in the Garden.
They are national structures – empires of great civilizations.
August 24
Jeremiah
32:1-33:26
Ezekiel
26:1-14
Ezekiel
and Jeremiah continue to speak to Israel with words from the Lord. Jeremiah is imprisoned because of it. Apparently they do not want him damaging the
morale of the doomed people. But even
from prison he continues. However, this
time his message is one of restoration.
Considerable verses are used in which God tells the people that the city
will be both destroyed and restored.
The
big debate nowadays is whether or not the promise to always have a descendant
of David on the throne of David, should be considered literal or
spiritual. Will the people of Israel be
a nation forever? Does Israel really no
longer exist after 70 A.D.? Is Israel
replaced by the Church of the New Testament?
All of these questions are provocative in debates today. But of course, the Bible is so clear on this
that to try to spiritualize it away would be grossly subjective with God’s
Word. And then add to that, the events
of the last 60 years. The evidence
begins to be overwhelming. Those that
refute all this begin to appear as desperately flailing around with foolish
theories.
God
certainly grafts in the Gentiles, but as of 1948 (reinforced by 1967 and current
events), we begin to see the Bible (as always) means what it says. God is not through with Israel.
August 25
Ezekiel
26:15-28:26
2
Kings 25:3-7
Jeremiah
52:6-11
Jeremiah
39:2-10
The
extent of the attention given to Tyre is amazing for two reasons. The first: Tyre was inarguably one of the
most amazing cities in world history.
And the second: God wants us to know this. We even find the parallel here between the
physical ruler of Tyre and the spiritual ruler of Tyre. This parallel is demonstrated in the pride
and fall of both. The scope of this
city’s glory may have even exceeded the glory of Jerusalem in Solomon’s
day. I don’t think an earthly kingdom
(other than perhaps Israel) has ever been quite so carefully described to us by
God as this one was. The fall of Tyre is
indeed great, but the text is careful to let us know how thorough the fall
is. Everything, down to the very dust is
to be scraped clean and cast into the sea.
This was so impossible sounding and so detailed that when it came true,
the world was given one of the most powerful evidences of the divine origin of
the Bible.
The
final destruction of Jerusalem is also in this section. It is brief, complete, and sad.
August 26
Jeremiah
39:11-18
Jeremiah
40:1-6
2
Kings 25:8-21
Jeremiah
52:12-27
2
Chronicles 36:15-21
Lamentations
1:1-22
It
is hard but interesting to imagine what it must have been like for
Jeremiah. From a personal standpoint we
have to believe that he did not fret much but trusted God. But we know from a national standpoint he
mourned greatly for the city of Jerusalem.
It
kind of surprises me how informed Nebuchadnezzar seemed to be about
Jeremiah. But it makes sense. How did he receive his info? I suppose from people like Daniel. From the words of Nebuzaradan to Jeremiah
(right before he removed his chains), we can see that Nebuchadnezzar and his
leaders believed that they were (in some ways) instruments of the God of the
Jews, sent to punish them for their sins.
That is fascinating. Of course,
we know from Daniel that Nebuchadnezzar had a vacillating, but growing faith in
the God of Israel. We can look more
tomorrow at the inspiration of the Lamentations of Jeremiah.
August 27
Lamentations
2:1-4:22
God
does not wink at sin. You can be as the skeptic
when he reads these things and say that this God is vindictive and childish,
but you measure foolishly from earth and from sinful flesh. When you are God and perfectly holy and when
you create the world and the universe with all its galaxies from nothing but
your own word – then you will have the ability to understand. God does not wink at sin. He hates it.
But He loves the sinner so much – He is so merciful that He always makes
a way to escape.
All
of this terrible anger should take us to the cross, because it is there that
God poured out all His wrath on sin.
Without that sacrifice we are without protection in the day of God’s
wrath. We must put on the righteousness
of Jesus Christ through faith. Believe
Him – repent – confess – call for mercy, and you will find a Father Who is rich
in mercy.
August 28
Lamentations
5:1-22
Obadiah
1:1-21
2
Kings 25:22-26
Jeremiah
40:7-41:18
I
do not know the availability of Jeremiah’s laments, but I just wonder, if
Ishmael had access to them would it have made any difference. It seems his heart was just given to
viciousness and ugliness.
This
section could easily be entitled, BSYSWFYO
- Be Sure You Sins Will Find You Out.
We begin with the Lamentation of Jeremiah over the plight of the
remaining Israelites (BSYSWFYO). Then we
have the cruel, arrogant, and foolish Edomites, upon whom God pronounces the
judgment of total destruction because they participated with the Babylonians in
the destruction of their brother Israelites.
(BSYSWFYO). Then we have the foolish
naivety of Gedaliah and the senseless cruelty of Ishmael, not to mention the
king of Ammon. (BSYSWFYO).
One
of the biggest weaknesses of some is shortsightedness – missing the big
picture. (BSYSWFYO). May God have mercy on us.
August 29
Jeremiah
42:1-44:30
Ezekiel
33:21-33
What
an amazing section and how much the people are like the people of America. In fact, even though I honestly believe I
would do differently than these stubborn people, the truth is I would likely do
exactly the same. It is only the Spirit
of God and the meekness and teachability He brings into a heart that would keep
me (or anyone else) from such foolishness.
But God promised them (so clearly) protection and care, and these people
seem to have some sense of the truth; but they were so attached to their
idolatrous way of life. Their survival
had made them arrogant and foolish instead of broken and humble. God had already decided to bring judgment on
Egypt and He did not want the people of Israel to walk into the path of that
terrible judgment. There are two
powerful statements in this section that should always be remembered. Both are from God.
1)
Jeremiah 44:7, “Why are you destroying yourselves?”
2)
Ezekiel 33:31, “They express love with their mouths, but their hearts seek
only after money.”
Truly,
there is nothing new under the sun.
August 30
Ezekiel
34:1-36:38
I
am a little unsure what is meant by “shepherd.”
The verses say it means “lender of the people.” I just am not sure if it refers to political or
religious leaders or both. But
regardless, I think all modern-day pastors should be greatly sobered by these
verses. They have a tremendous
responsibility of benevolence to their flock which must be placed before their
own pursuits. They do not have to fret
about personal perfection in their performance.
It is rather a heart thing. They
must rather love their people with Christ-like love.
The
Lord has left no stone unturned in exposing Edom for the evil toward his
brother Israel. Judgment is detailed and
the coming terror is assured. Whether
God is pronouncing judgment or restoration (as in the case of Israel), the end
result is always, “Then you will know that I am the Lord!” May we see and surrender fully to His
sovereignty today.
August 31
Ezekiel
37:1-39:29
Ezekiel
32:1-16
The
verses in this section have to be uncomfortable for certain eschatologies. There was a time when arbitrarily
allegorizing all this could have brought comfort to their belief system, but
way too much has happened in world history regarding Israel. And it has all taken place (literally not
allegorically) according to Scriptures.
Of course, it will continue to do so.
This
section is one of restoration of Israel and even though her future includes a
vast army coming against her, the army will be completely destroyed.
Many
teach that the Church is the New Israel and that we became Jews by faith
through the circumcision of the heart.
But the tenor of these verses is clearly literal. They should be taken that way. God will always remember His covenant and
Israel will be grafted in again.
Ó 2004 C. E. Briggs