READING:
One-year plan: Lamentations 1-2, Hebrews 10
Two-year plan: 2 Kings 23:21-24:20, John 13:1-20
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The story of the fall of the Hebrews into captivity is a tragic one that warns all of us of the possibility of our own fall. The Hebrews were God’s people, but they had been carried away into bondage as divine judgment because of their sin. Within today’s Old Testament reading is a powerful word to help us understand one of the reasons the Hebrews fell: “She did not think of her future” (Lam 1:9, CSB), also understood as “she never considered her end” (HSCB). Other versions of the Scripture interpret the phrase as, “she took no thought of her future” (ESV) and “she did not consider her destiny” (NKJV). The bottom line is this: the people of Jerusalem delighted in their sin and did not consider where their actions would take them. One commentator summarized it this way: “She did not think things would turn out as they did.”*
Such is the nature of a fall. We turn our attention to temporary pleasures and pursuits while ignoring the long-term consequences of our actions. From the Garden of Eden to today, it is one of Satan’s strategies to get us: to direct our attention to the tree without thinking about the tragic cost of disobedience. Seemingly, the future doesn’t matter to us when we focus on the offer of present-tense pleasure. That’s incredibly unwise thinking that leads to paying a heavy price.
PERSONAL REFLECTION: How much do you consider the consequences of your actions?
DAILY PRAYER: “God, help me not to ignore the reality that I will reap what I sow.”
TOMORROW’S READINGS:
One-year plan: Lamentations 3-5, Hebrews 11
Two-year plan: 2 Kings 25, John 13:21-35
*Garrett, D. (2004). Song of Songs, Lamentations (Vol. 23B, p. 354). Word, Incorporated.
