The Bible in a Year
There is a scene in Jeremiah 37 that feels remarkably familiar even though it happened more than twenty-five centuries ago. Jerusalem is under pressure from Babylon, King Zedekiah is frightened, and suddenly the prophet he had allowed to be imprisoned becomes very important. Zedekiah secretly brings Jeremiah out and asks him a simple question: “Is there any word from the LORD?” Jeremiah’s answer is equally simple: “There is.” Then comes the part the king did not want to hear—God’s word was not a promise that everything would turn out the way Zedekiah hoped. Jeremiah told him plainly that he would be delivered into the hands of the king of Babylon.
That exchange says something important about the way we sometimes approach God. We may ask, “Lord, do You have anything to say about this?” while quietly hoping His answer will confirm what we have already decided. Zedekiah wanted information from God, but his previous conduct showed little willingness to submit to God. There is a great difference between wanting a word from the Lord and wanting to obey the word the Lord gives.
John G. Butler describes Zedekiah as a man who was spiritually out of touch with God and lacked the wisdom necessary to rule well. Yet when the crisis became unavoidable, the king suddenly wanted divine guidance. That pattern has not disappeared. We can live for months making decisions from instinct, preference, pressure, or convenience, then suddenly seek God when the consequences begin closing in.
Jeremiah reminds us that God has not left us without direction.
There is still a word from the Lord.
That does not mean we receive new revelation every morning about every decision. It means God has already spoken through Scripture with remarkable clarity about the fundamental areas that shape a faithful life. Our problem is often not that God has been silent. Our problem is that His answer may require something from us.
Take our relationships. Scripture does not leave us guessing about how covenant love should behave. Marriage is described in terms of faithfulness, sacrifice, mutual care, holiness, forgiveness, and endurance. Ephesians 5 points husbands toward the self-giving love of Christ, while passages such as Colossians 3 call believers toward compassion, patience, and forgiveness. When relationships become difficult, we may search everywhere for techniques while overlooking the character God has already commanded.
God has spoken.
The same is true of morality. The original study emphasizes that Scripture gives definite moral boundaries. In an age when people sometimes imagine freedom as the absence of restraint, the Bible presents holiness as freedom from the destructive mastery of sin. Paul writes in Romans 12:2, “Do not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind.” God’s moral instruction is not designed to deprive His children of life. It is intended to teach us how life under His lordship was meant to be lived.
That means there are times when Scripture will confront us rather than comfort us.
Jeremiah certainly confronted Zedekiah.
The king probably would have preferred, “Do not worry. Babylon will withdraw. Jerusalem will be safe. Your throne is secure.” Jeremiah could not say that because a prophet’s responsibility was not to make the king feel better. It was to tell him what God had said.
A word from the Lord is valuable precisely because it does not change to suit the listener.
Scripture also speaks to our conduct toward others and our responsibility before God. The study moves into questions of misconduct and justice, reminding us that God cares about wrongdoing and accountability. The Bible consistently holds together justice and mercy. Romans 13 recognizes legitimate civil authority, Micah 6:8 calls God’s people to do justice and love mercy, and Jesus commands His followers to treat others with the same mercy they themselves have received.
For the Christian, this means we cannot divide life into compartments where God speaks in church but remains silent everywhere else. His Word addresses honesty in business, treatment of employees, faithfulness in relationships, speech about neighbors, treatment of enemies, responsibilities within family, and our response when we ourselves have done wrong.
Then there is money.
Perhaps few areas reveal our hearts as quickly.
Jesus said in Matthew 6:21, “For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.” Paul warned that “the love of money is a root of all kinds of evil” (1 Timothy 6:10). Scripture does not condemn money itself. Abraham possessed wealth. Job possessed wealth. Some believers in the New Testament had sufficient resources to support ministry and care for others. The question is never merely, “How much do I possess?” The deeper question is, “What possesses me?”
The study rightly observes that ignoring biblical wisdom about money produces unnecessary misery. Scripture repeatedly teaches contentment, generosity, honest work, stewardship, care for those in need, and caution against making wealth our security. God’s Word does not promise that obedience will make everyone financially prosperous. It does promise something far better: freedom from allowing money to become our master.
That brings us back to Zedekiah.
He wanted God to speak because the walls were closing in.
Perhaps one of the healthiest spiritual disciplines we can develop is to ask Zedekiah’s question before the crisis rather than during it.
“Is there any word from the Lord about this relationship?”
There is.
“Is there any word from the Lord about how I should handle temptation?”
There is.
“Is there any word from the Lord about forgiveness?”
There is.
“Is there any word from the Lord about my money, my speech, my anger, my priorities, my family, my work, my worship?”
There is.
But there is one more question we should add:
Am I prepared to obey if God’s Word tells me something I did not want to hear?
That is where Bible reading becomes discipleship.
We are not reading Scripture merely to collect information about ancient Israel, kings, prophets, battles, journeys, and doctrines. As we travel through the Bible this year, we are listening for the voice of the God who revealed Himself through these events and ultimately through Jesus Christ.
Hebrews 1:1–2 says, “In the past God spoke to our ancestors through the prophets at many times and in various ways, but in these last days he has spoken to us by his Son.”
Jeremiah carried the word of God to Zedekiah.
Jesus is the Word made flesh.
And Scripture continually directs us toward Him.
There will be days when that Word comforts us. Other days it will correct us. Sometimes it will confirm that we are walking faithfully. Sometimes it will stop us in our tracks and tell us that the road we have chosen leads somewhere we do not want to go.
But every time God speaks, He speaks as the One who knows the path better than we do.
So when you open your Bible, do not merely ask, “What can I learn today?”
Ask something more personal:
“Lord, what have You already said—and am I willing to live by it?”
Because even now, when we ask whether there is a word from the Lord, Scripture gives Jeremiah’s answer:
There is.
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