Daily Devotional
Bones, Bondage, and Repentance
Today's readings set before us three kinds of bondage: the bondage of lust, the bondage of despair, and the bondage of childish religion. David was not ruined in a day, but by neglect first, then wandering eyes, then a heart that would not stop. As Irenaeus says of him, “But when his lust prompted him to take Bathsheba, the wife of Uriah, the Scripture said concerning him, ‘Now, the thing (sermo) which David had done appeared wicked in the eyes of the ;’” No past obedience gives a man leave to grow slack. If a king may fall from idleness into adultery and bloodguilt, let every Christian keep watch over his hours, his appetites, and his tongue.
Yet Job teaches that the crafty are taken in their own devices, while God wounds in order to heal, humbles in order to raise up, and delivers the poor from the mouth of violence. This hope is not shallow optimism. Ezekiel looked on a field beyond human remedy: “behold, there were many on the face of the plain; and, lo, they were very dry.” The house of Israel was not sick only, but as good as dead; still the Lord spoke, and breath came. So also with those who have defiled themselves by sin or grown barren under long chastening: repentance is possible because resurrection is the work of God.
Therefore Paul rebukes any return to lesser masters. Having been made sons, why go back to bondage? Why serve passions, omens, seasons, or outward forms without obedience? The same God who raises dry bones also requires that His children live as children: turning from secret sin, refusing vain observances, and walking in the freedom that serves Him in holiness.
“But when his lust prompted him to take Bathsheba, the wife of Uriah, the Scripture said concerning him, “Now, the thing (sermo) which David had done appeared wicked in the eyes of the ;””
— Irenaeus, Against Heresies: Book IV
“behold, there were many on the face of the plain; and, lo, they were very dry. And He said to me, Son of man, will these bones live? And I said, O Lord God, You know.”
— Tertullian, On the Resurrection of the Flesh
For Reflection & Discussion
What idle habit or unchecked appetite has been making room for sin, and what concrete guard will you put in place today—fasting, leaving a place, confessing to a priest or trusted elder, or cutting off an occasion of temptation?
Where have you returned to a lesser bondage—superstition, empty religious routine, or an old vice—and what act of repentance will you do this week to break with it plainly?
Who around you seems as hopeless as dry bones, and how will you serve that person in resurrection hope today through prayer at the appointed hours, a visit, almsgiving, or a word of truth?
Start the One-Year Plan Today — Completely Free
Read or listen through the whole Bible in 365 days with audio that highlights every word, a progress calendar, streaks, friends — and a devotional like this one at the end of every day.