Today’s Reading:
Read Ezekiel 17; 18:30-32; 20:5-25, 40-44
How are you with math? When you see an equation like “8 + 2= ?,” is it easy for you to just know the answer? What if we used words to help describe that equation. Consider this example: I had eight cookies and my friend gave me two more, how many do I have now? Sometimes the words create a picture that makes the equation easier to understand. Often, God’s message to the prophets came as a word picture.
Ezekiel had a vision about an eagle that God told him to relay to the Israelites. Ezekiel wrote about two eagles and what happened when they took off the top branch of a tree. Ezekiel’s story was a representation of what happened when Babylon conquered Israel. God was clear that even though Israel had been taken captive, they would be restored in the end.
Ezekiel’s message included a reminder from God of where the Israelites had come from- starting with their time in Egypt up until the time they were captured. Ezekiel was clear that the captivity they faced was a result of their actions and their disobedience. However, he was also clear that God would restore Israel in the end. God had a plan for restoration.
Application/Prayer:
Read Ezekiel 20:39-44. Draw a picture of what God said would happen with the Israelites. God’s plan was to restore them. He promised grace even though they had been disobedient. Israel faced the consequences of their choices, but they also rested in the promise that God was planning to redeem them. Thank God for His grace in your life today. Remember grace is getting something that we don’t deserve, like God’s forgiveness!
September Memory Verse:
“Trust in the LORD with all your heart, and do not rely on your own understanding; in all your ways know him,and he will make your paths straight.”
Using the daily reading prompts from George H. Guthrie’s Read the Bible for Life, here’s how to use this devotional:
- Bring your Bible! Your kids need to see that everything you are reading to them or learning about comes from an actual Bible!
- Each day starts with a reading prompt. Read the selection as a family. If your kids are readers, encourage them to read along with you.
- After you’ve read the passage, read the short devotional thought that goes along with each passage.
- Prayer and application are important any time we read God’s word! After each devotional, there is a challenge to help apply what your family has read that day.
- There is a reading for six days of the week. The last reading of the week is a Gospel Conversation Prompt to help you connect the reading from the week with God’s plan for salvation.
Other Resources:
September memory verse coloring sheet