Thursday, September 25, 2025
Scripture Readings
- Primary Reading: 2 Chronicles 36, Ezra 1-5
- Secondary Reading: Psalms 111
Devotional Thought
The book of 2 Chronicles ends not with a triumph but with a ruin. Zedekiah, the last king of Judah, hardened his neck and refused to humble himself before the prophet Jeremiah, who spoke for the LORD. The Babylonians burned the house of God, broke down the walls of Jerusalem, and carried the vessels of the sanctuary away to Babylon, where they remained while the land enjoyed its sabbaths. Yet the final verses strike a note of hope: Cyrus, king of Persia, moved by the LORD, decreed that the exiles should go up and rebuild. Ezra opens with that same decree, and we watch the story turn—Sheshbazzar bringing back the vessels, Zerubbabel and Jeshua raising the altar, the foundation of the temple laid amid shouting and weeping, and the work halted by opposition until the prophets Haggai and Zechariah stirred the people again.
Psalm 111 is the perfect song for such a day. It praises the LORD whose works are great, honourable, and glorious, who remembers His covenant forever and sent redemption to His people. The psalmist does not praise God in the abstract; he praises the God who acted in history—who brought Israel out of Egypt and, in the very season we are reading about, brought Judah back from Babylon. The God who kept covenant with Abraham, Moses, and David is the same God who stirred the heart of a pagan emperor to send His people home.
That is the comfort of this reading for us. Our own lives have their Babylon seasons—years when the walls are down and the holy things seem carried away. We may look at a broken family, a dry church, a long unanswered prayer, and wonder if the story is over. But the God of Cyrus still rules over kings and calendars. He is “gracious and full of compassion,” and His commandments stand fast forever. The rebuilding of the temple began with rubble and weeping, and it began nonetheless.
As September turns toward autumn, the leaves fall and the year seems to die—yet the harvest comes in. So it is with the LORD’s work. He does not despise small beginnings. He remembers His covenant. The fear of the LORD is the beginning of wisdom, and those who do His commandments have good understanding. Praise Him with your whole heart, in the assembly of the upright, for His praise endures forever.
Reflection
- Where in your life has God seemed silent, like the seventy years of exile—and can you trace His covenant faithfulness even in that waiting?
- Like Zerubbabel’s builders, do you tend to despise the day of small beginnings, or do you trust the God who finishes what He starts?
Prayer
O LORD, great and glorious in all Thy works, we praise Thee with our whole hearts. Thou art gracious and full of compassion, and Thou hast remembered Thy covenant forever. When our walls are broken down and the holy things seem carried away, teach us to wait upon Thee as Judah waited through seventy years of exile. Stir our hearts, as Thou didst stir the heart of Cyrus, to go up and build again. Give us wisdom that begins with the fear of Thy name, and let our small beginnings be precious in Thy sight. Send Thy redemption, O God, and let Thy praise endure forever. Amen.
Psalm Verse
Psalms 111:1 — “Praise ye the LORD. I will praise the LORD with my whole heart, in the assembly of the upright, and in the congregation.”