Our Daily Bread Devotional for Sunday 3 December 2023 ODB Devotional
Read Our Daily Bread Devotional for Sunday 3 December 2023, ODB Devotional Message written by Tim Gustafson and Today’s Insight By Alyson Kieda
TOPIC: Surrendering to Jesus
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Bible in a Year: Ezekiel 45–46; 1 John 2
“They will not hand you over,” Jeremiah replied. “Obey the Lord by doing what I tell you. Then it will go well with you, and your life will be spared. – Jeremiah 38:20
Today’s Scripture
Jeremiah 38:17–23
Insight: Zedekiah (formerly Mattaniah, 2 Kings 24:17), King Josiah’s son, was the last king of Judah. He was placed on the throne by Nebuchadnezzar, king of Babylon, after he sacked the temple and took captive Judah’s fighting men and “skilled workers and artisans” (2 Kings 24:14) along with King Jehoiachin and his family (vv. 13-17). In 586 bc, because Zedekiah failed to listen to Jeremiah’s warning (see Jeremiah 38:17-23) and instead foolishly rebelled against Babylon, his family was killed, he was blinded, the temple and Jerusalem were destroyed, and most of the remaining people were carried into exile (39:6-10).
Our Daily Bread Devotional for Sunday 3 December 2023 MESSAGE:
In 1951, Joseph Stalin’s doctor advised him to reduce his workload in order to preserve his health. The ruler of the Soviet Union accused the physician of spying and had him arrested. The tyrant who had oppressed so many with lies couldn’t abide the truth, and—as he had done so many times—he removed the one who told him the facts. Truth won anyway. Stalin died in 1953.
The prophet Jeremiah, arrested for his dire prophecies and kept in chains (Jeremiah 38:1–6; 40:1), told the king of Judah exactly what would happen to Jerusalem. “Obey the Lord by doing what I tell you,” he said to King Zedekiah (38:20). Failure to surrender to the army surrounding the city would only make matters worse. “All your wives and children will be brought out to the Babylonians,” Jeremiah warned. “You yourself will not escape from their hands” (v. 23).
Zedekiah failed to act on that truth. Eventually the Babylonians caught the king, killed all his sons, and burned the city (ch. 39).
In a sense, every human being faces Zedekiah’s dilemma. We’re trapped inside the walls of our own lives of sin and poor choices. Often, we make things worse by avoiding those who tell us the truth about ourselves. All we need to do is surrender to the will of the One who said, “I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me” (John 14:6).
REFLECT: How do your life choices line up with the claims of Jesus? What’s keeping you from surrendering to Him?
PRAY: Compassionate God, please forgive me of the pride that keeps me from You.
Our Daily Bread Devotional 3rd December 2023, Sunday ODB Message. Our Daily Bread Ministries (ODB) is a Christian organization founded by Dr. Martin De Haan in 1938. It is based in Grand Rapids, Michigan, with over 600 employees. It produces several devotional publications, including Our Daily Bread. our daily bread devotional for today audio our daily bread booklet.
READ MORE TOPICS: OPEN HEAVENS, OUR DAILY BREAD, IN TOUCH, SEEDS OF DESTINY, STREAMS OF JOY, JOEL OSTEEN, MOUNTAIN TOP LIFE, DCLM DAILY MANNA, UCB WORD FOR TODAY
