Daily Devotional For Sunday, August 16, 2026
Good morning Southside! Our daily devotional for today comes from Jeremiah 37:2-8:
“This is what the LORD said to me: “Make a yoke, and fasten it on your neck with leather straps. (3) Then send messages to the kings of Edom, Moab, Ammon, Tyre, and Sidon through their ambassadors who have come to see King Zedekiah in Jerusalem. (4) Give them this message for their masters: ‘This is what the LORD of Heaven’s Armies, the God of Israel, says: (5) With my great strength and powerful arm I made the earth and all its people and every animal. I can give these things of mine to anyone I choose. (6) Now I will give your countries to King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon, who is my servant. I have put everything, even the wild animals, under his control. (7) All the nations will serve him, his son, and his grandson until his time is up. Then many nations and great kings will conquer and rule over Babylon. (8) So you must submit to Babylon’s king and serve him; put your neck under Babylon’s yoke! I will punish any nation that refuses to be his slave, says the LORD. I will send war, famine, and disease upon that nation until Babylon has conquered it” (NLT).
Jeremiah was accused of treason. He had prophesied that Babylon would conquer Judah and after it started happening in 606 BC, and then in 598 BC, during a temporary ceasefire between Babylon and Judah, Jeremiah attempted to slip out of Jerusalem. He was captured, beaten and imprisoned. The real traitor was Judah’s king, King Zedekiah, who was appointed king by King Nebuchadnezzar. He was willing to dance to their music and this is why Babylon made him king. Eventually, he turned on Babylon and this resulted in a massacre in Jerusalem (see Ezek. 17:11-15). It appeared Jeremiah was trying to escape what Babylon was doing so that he would not be impacted by it.
Yokes were put on beasts of burden in order to pull or carry heavy loads. Typically, they were put on 2 beasts such as oxen or cows so they would work in tandem with each other. This would make their joint tasks easier to do. Here, God told His people they would have to wear the yoke of Babylon’s captivity and enslavement alone. The only one in Judah speaking the truth was Jeremiah and their king, Zedekiah, was a liar and betrayer to the nation and to God.
This puppet king only said and did what he was told to do by Babylon. He was only interested in saving his own life at the expense of God’s truth. Now in 598 BC, King Nebuchadnezzar the Babylon king would totally destroy whatever is left of Judah and Jerusalem. Those left behind would face famine and disease. This is a sad commentary on how we “reap what we sow.” This had to break the heart of God to do this to His own people, the descendants of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. They were the ones who broke the covenant and now God is holding up His end of it. This was a yoke no one could bear or carry. Everyone collapsed or died under it.
Reflection Assignment: We often think of God as loving and patient, even with our sin, disobedience and rebellion. Though God forgives, He does not remove the consequences of our sin. He forces us to face our sins and live through them. When has the Lord done this to you and what did you learn? How did you repent? Are you different today as a result?
Scripture To Meditate On: Romans 6:1-4, “Well then, should we keep on sinning so that God can show us more and more of His wonderful grace? (2) Of course not! Since we have died to sin, how can we continue to live in it? (3) Or have you forgotten that when we were joined with Christ Jesus in baptism, we joined Him in His death? (4) For we died and were buried with Christ by baptism. And just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glorious power of the Father, now we also may live new lives” (NLT).
Prayer To Pray: “Dear Lord, I never want to have a hardened heart. I never want to be so stubborn that You have to put me in a “yoke” that breaks me. I want to always be like wet cement spiritually so You can always mold me and shape me. I thank You that You love me enough to discipline me. I thank You that Your sole desire is to make me more like Your Son, Jesus Christ. I love You Lord. In Jesus’ name, Amen!”
I love you Southside! – Pastor Kelly