Jeremiah’s First “Confession”
Jeremiah 11:18-23
I) Usual characteristics of _________________
A) ___________
B) ___________
C) ___________
D) ___________
II) Normally communal, these are more ______________
III) Jeremiah’s ________________
A) The persecution is coming from his ______________
B) God is the one who revealed their ______________
C) Jeremiah protests his __________________
D) Jeremiah is shocked by their ________________
E) Jeremiah calls out for God’s _________________
IV) God’s ________________
V) What do we _______________?
A) Those closest to us can be the most ______________
B) Nothing is ______________ from God’s sight
C) There is a cost to ________________
D) We should be most worried about God’s _______________
E) We need to trust God for ________________
F) Don’t harden your heart to God’s ___________!
Devotional Reading for January 4, 2026
Why was Abel’s offering accepted and Cain’s wasn’t? Many have speculated, but the indication in the text is that Able gave his best (“the firstborn”) while Cain simply gave “an offering.” We also have an explanation in the New Testament:
Hebrews 11:4 “By faith Abel offered to God a more excellent sacrifice than Cain, through which he had testimony given to him that he was righteous, God testifying with respect to his gifts; and through it he, being dead, still speaks” (WEB).
Without faith and a desire to follow God it’s very easy to let ourselves be driven by emotions. Pride, hatred, and deception can even lead to murder. Once we let sin rule us, we end up being guided by it rather than God. And the escalation in sin brings a more severe punishment. Murder brings expulsion from the community, but with grace. Cain has a mark of identification and protection, even though he is still unrepentant.
Cain marries (apparently a sister), and the text lists his descendants and their accomplishments. Although we are not destined to follow in the steps of our ancestors, genetics and examples still have profound effects on us. Generations later we find Lamech engaging in bigamy, vengeance, and murder. He is the one who reminds us of his ancestry, and his arrogance claims an even greater divine protection than Cain had!
Adam and Eve have another son, Seth, who is a forefather of the Messiah (Luke 3:38). In fact, it’s from his birth onward that worship seems to take on a more public and corporate expression.
Genesis 4:26 “A son was also born to Seth, and he named him Enosh. At that time men began to call on the LORD’s name” (WEB).
Thought for the day: How can we subdue sin in our lives?
2 Timothy 2:22 “Flee from youthful lusts; but pursue righteousness, faith, love, and peace with those who call on the Lord out of a pure heart.”
Devotional Reading for January 3, 2026
In chapter 3 we see the beginning of sin: God gave a command that was disobeyed by both Eve and Adam, with the serpent egging them on. The serpent is being influenced by Satan, which gives us insight into how Satan works: he is a deceiver.
Revelation 12:9 “The great dragon was thrown down, the old serpent, he who is called the devil and Satan, the deceiver of the whole world. He was thrown down to the earth, and his angels were thrown down with him.”
As a result, the entire creation is cursed. Since Adam is our representative, we are cursed too: “For since death came by man, the resurrection of the dead also came by man. For as in Adam all die, so also in Christ all will be made alive.” (1 Corinthians 15:21-22).
Thankfully though, we also see the beginning of salvation: “I will put hostility between you and the woman, and between your offspring and her offspring. He will bruise your head, and you will bruise his heel.” This is thought by many to be the first reference to the gospel in the Bible.
Thought for the day: Satan used doubt and desire to tempt mankind. There is a difference between godly desire and earthly desire. Is there always a false promise associated with our earthly desire?
Colossians 3:1-2 “If then you were raised together with Christ, seek the things that are above, where Christ is, seated on the right hand of God. Set your mind on the things that are above, not on the things that are on the earth.”
Devotional Reading for January 2, 2026
Here we see the beginning of marriage: a man and a woman are given to one another as helpers, with monogamy made explicit (one flesh). They existed in a state of innocence and shamelessness (they were naked and not afraid). We later see marriage described as foreshadowing the relationship between Christ and the church.
Ephesians 5:31-32 ” ‘For this cause a man will leave his father and mother and will be joined to his wife. Then the two will become one flesh.’ This mystery is great, but I speak concerning Christ and the assembly.” (WEB)
Since most conservative scholars believe that Moses wrote the Torah (the first 5 books of the Bible), how did that come to pass? Was it all supernaturally revealed to Him, or did He have something already written down that was approved by God? We may have some hints throughout Genesis. For example:
Genesis 2:4 “This is the history of the generations of the heavens and of the earth when they were created, in the day that the LORD God made the earth and the heavens.” (WEB)
That phrase is used 10 times in Genesis, and many believe that these indications reveal that the different sections of Genesis were preserved and Moses was used by God to compile the full account.
Thought for the day: If the relationship between Christ and the church reveals something about how marriage was supposed to be at the very beginning, what does that teach us about marriage today?
Ephesians 5:33 “Nevertheless each of you must also love his own wife even as himself; and let the wife see that she respects her husband.” (WEB)
Devotional Reading for January 1, 2026
We get the name of this book from the Greek title, “Genesis,” which means “origin.“ The Hebrew title comes from the first word, “in the beginning.” Genesis is a book about origins or beginnings. In the first three chapter we see the beginning of the heavens and the earth, the beginning of humanity, the beginning of marriage, the beginning of sin, and the beginning of salvation.
The beginning of the heavens and the earth: we see the realms (light, sky/water, land/sea), and the inhabitants of those realms (sun/moon/stars, fish/birds, animals/humanity). Notice that the text says that God made a larger light to rule the day, and a smaller light to rule the night. Why not name the sun and moon? Perhaps because they were frequently worshiped by other cultures. Here God is superior to any lights in the sky because He made them!
The beginning of humanity: mankind is the pinnacle of God’s creation (we are to reign over the rest of it). We are distinct from the rest of creation, since we are made in God’s image. Although male and female are created in chapter one, a fuller account is given in chapter two.
Thought for the day: Since God is our creator, what do we owe Him?
Matthew 22:37 “Jesus said to him, ‘You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind.’ “ (WEB, International)
Next Year’s Devotions
Starting in January we’ll begin a Bible reading plan that will go through the entire Bible in 3 years. Each day I’ll post the passage and my commentary, but if you’d like to have an overview of the entire plan you can find it here.
