March 2017 – Page 3 – A Walk Through The Word

March 21, 2017

The Daily Audio Bible Reading for Tuesday March 21, 2017 (NIV)

Numbers 32:1-33:39

The Tribes East of the Jordan

32 The tribes of Reuben and Gad owned vast numbers of livestock. So when they saw that the lands of Jazer and Gilead were ideally suited for their flocks and herds, ²they came to Moses, Eleazar the priest, and the other leaders of the community. They said, ³“Notice the towns of Ataroth, Dibon, Jazer, Nimrah, Heshbon, Elealeh, Sibmah,^[a] Nebo, and Beon. ⁴The Lord has conquered this whole area for the community of Israel, and it is ideally suited for all our livestock. ⁵If we have found favor with you, please let us have this land as our property instead of giving us land across the Jordan River.”

⁶“Do you intend to stay here while your brothers go across and do all the fighting?” Moses asked the men of Gad and Reuben. ⁷“Why do you want to discourage the rest of the people of Israel from going across to the land the Lord has given them? ⁸Your ancestors did the same thing when I sent them from Kadesh-barnea to explore the land. ⁹After they went up to the valley of Eshcol and explored the land, they discouraged the people of Israel from entering the land the Lord was giving them. ¹⁰Then the Lord was very angry with them, and he vowed, ¹¹‘Of all those I rescued from Egypt, no one who is twenty years old or older will ever see the land I swore to give to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, for they have not obeyed me wholeheartedly. ¹²The only exceptions are Caleb son of Jephunneh the Kenizzite and Joshua son of Nun, for they have wholeheartedly followed the Lord.’

¹³“The Lord was angry with Israel and made them wander in the wilderness for forty years until the entire generation that sinned in the Lord’s sight had died. ¹⁴But here you are, a brood of sinners, doing exactly the same thing! You are making the Lord even angrier with Israel. ¹⁵If you turn away from him like this and he abandons them again in the wilderness, you will be responsible for destroying this entire nation!”

¹⁶But they approached Moses and said, “We simply want to build pens for our livestock and fortified towns for our wives and children. ¹⁷Then we will arm ourselves and lead our fellow Israelites into battle until we have brought them safely to their land. Meanwhile, our families will stay in the fortified towns we build here, so they will be safe from any attacks by the local people. ¹⁸We will not return to our homes until all the people of Israel have received their portions of land. ¹⁹But we do not claim any of the land on the other side of the Jordan. We would rather live here on the east side and accept this as our grant of land.”

²⁰Then Moses said, “If you keep your word and arm yourselves for the Lord’s battles, ²¹and if your troops cross the Jordan and keep fighting until the Lord has driven out his enemies, ²²then you may return when the Lord has conquered the land. You will have fulfilled your duty to the Lord and to the rest of the people of Israel. And the land on the east side of the Jordan will be your property from the Lord. ²³But if you fail to keep your word, then you will have sinned against the Lord, and you may be sure that your sin will find you out. ²⁴Go ahead and build towns for your families and pens for your flocks, but do everything you have promised.”

²⁵Then the men of Gad and Reuben replied, “We, your servants, will follow your instructions exactly. ²⁶Our children, wives, flocks, and cattle will stay here in the towns of Gilead. ²⁷But all who are able to bear arms will cross over to fight for the Lord, just as you have said.”

²⁸So Moses gave orders to Eleazar the priest, Joshua son of Nun, and the leaders of the clans of Israel. ²⁹He said, “The men of Gad and Reuben who are armed for battle must cross the Jordan with you to fight for the Lord. If they do, give them the land of Gilead as their property when the land is conquered. ³⁰But if they refuse to arm themselves and cross over with you, then they must accept land with the rest of you in the land of Canaan.”

³¹The tribes of Gad and Reuben said again, “We are your servants, and we will do as the Lord has commanded! ³²We will cross the Jordan into Canaan fully armed to fight for the Lord, but our property will be here on this side of the Jordan.”

³³So Moses assigned land to the tribes of Gad, Reuben, and half the tribe of Manasseh son of Joseph. He gave them the territory of King Sihon of the Amorites and the land of King Og of Bashan—the whole land with its cities and surrounding lands.

³⁴The descendants of Gad built the towns of Dibon, Ataroth, Aroer, ³⁵Atroth-shophan, Jazer, Jogbehah, ³⁶Beth-nimrah, and Beth-haran. These were all fortified towns with pens for their flocks.

³⁷The descendants of Reuben built the towns of Heshbon, Elealeh, Kiriathaim, ³⁸Nebo, Baal-meon, and Sibmah. They changed the names of some of the towns they conquered and rebuilt.

³⁹Then the descendants of Makir of the tribe of Manasseh went to Gilead and conquered it, and they drove out the Amorites living there. ⁴⁰So Moses gave Gilead to the Makirites, descendants of Manasseh, and they settled there. ⁴¹The people of Jair, another clan of the tribe of Manasseh, captured many of the towns in Gilead and changed the name of that region to the Towns of Jair.^[b] ⁴²Meanwhile, a man named Nobah captured the town of Kenath and its surrounding villages, and he renamed that area Nobah after himself.

Remembering Israel’s Journey

33 This is the route the Israelites followed as they marched out of Egypt under the leadership of Moses and Aaron. ²At the Lord’s direction, Moses kept a written record of their progress. These are the stages of their march, identified by the different places where they stopped along the way.

³They set out from the city of Rameses in early spring—on the fifteenth day of the first month^[c]—on the morning after the first Passover celebration. The people of Israel left defiantly, in full view of all the Egyptians. ⁴Meanwhile, the Egyptians were burying all their firstborn sons, whom the Lord had killed the night before. The Lord had defeated the gods of Egypt that night with great acts of judgment!

⁵After leaving Rameses, the Israelites set up camp at Succoth.

⁶Then they left Succoth and camped at Etham on the edge of the wilderness.

⁷They left Etham and turned back toward Pi-hahiroth, opposite Baal-zephon, and camped near Migdol.

⁸They left Pi-hahiroth^[d] and crossed the Red Sea^[e] into the wilderness beyond. Then they traveled for three days into the Etham wilderness and camped at Marah.

⁹They left Marah and camped at Elim, where there were twelve springs of water and seventy palm trees.

¹⁰They left Elim and camped beside the Red Sea.^[f]

¹¹They left the Red Sea and camped in the wilderness of Sin.^[g]

¹²They left the wilderness of Sin and camped at Dophkah.

¹³They left Dophkah and camped at Alush.

¹⁴They left Alush and camped at Rephidim, where there was no water for the people to drink.

¹⁵They left Rephidim and camped in the wilderness of Sinai.

¹⁶They left the wilderness of Sinai and camped at Kibroth-hattaavah.

¹⁷They left Kibroth-hattaavah and camped at Hazeroth.

¹⁸They left Hazeroth and camped at Rithmah.

¹⁹They left Rithmah and camped at Rimmon-perez.

²⁰They left Rimmon-perez and camped at Libnah.

²¹They left Libnah and camped at Rissah.

²²They left Rissah and camped at Kehelathah.

²³They left Kehelathah and camped at Mount Shepher.

²⁴They left Mount Shepher and camped at Haradah.

²⁵They left Haradah and camped at Makheloth.

²⁶They left Makheloth and camped at Tahath.

²⁷They left Tahath and camped at Terah.

²⁸They left Terah and camped at Mithcah.

²⁹They left Mithcah and camped at Hashmonah.

³⁰They left Hashmonah and camped at Moseroth.

³¹They left Moseroth and camped at Bene-jaakan.

³²They left Bene-jaakan and camped at Hor-haggidgad.

³³They left Hor-haggidgad and camped at Jotbathah.

³⁴They left Jotbathah and camped at Abronah.

³⁵They left Abronah and camped at Ezion-geber.

³⁶They left Ezion-geber and camped at Kadesh in the wilderness of Zin.

³⁷They left Kadesh and camped at Mount Hor, at the border of Edom. ³⁸While they were at the foot of Mount Hor, Aaron the priest was directed by the Lord to go up the mountain, and there he died. This happened in midsummer, on the first day of the fifth month^[h] of the fortieth year after Israel’s departure from Egypt. ³⁹Aaron was 123 years old when he died there on Mount Hor.

Footnotes:

32:3 As in Samaritan Pentateuch and Greek version (see also 32:38); Hebrew reads Sebam.
32:41 Hebrew Havvoth-jair.
33:3 This day in the ancient Hebrew lunar calendar occurred in late March, April, or early May.
33:8a As in many Hebrew manuscripts, Samaritan Pentateuch, and Latin Vulgate (see also 33:7); most Hebrew manuscripts read left from in front of Hahiroth.
33:8b Hebrew the sea.
33:10 Hebrew sea of reeds; also in 33:11.
33:11 The geographical name Sin is related to Sinai and should not be confused with the English word sin.
33:38 This day in the ancient Hebrew lunar calendar occurred in July or August.

New Living Translation (NLT)

Luke 4:31-5:11

Jesus Casts Out a Demon

³¹Then Jesus went to Capernaum, a town in Galilee, and taught there in the synagogue every Sabbath day. ³²There, too, the people were amazed at his teaching, for he spoke with authority.

³³Once when he was in the synagogue, a man possessed by a demon—an evil^[a] spirit—cried out, shouting, ³⁴“Go away! Why are you interfering with us, Jesus of Nazareth? Have you come to destroy us? I know who you are—the Holy One of God!”

³⁵But Jesus reprimanded him. “Be quiet! Come out of the man,” he ordered. At that, the demon threw the man to the floor as the crowd watched; then it came out of him without hurting him further.

³⁶Amazed, the people exclaimed, “What authority and power this man’s words possess! Even evil spirits obey him, and they flee at his command!” ³⁷The news about Jesus spread through every village in the entire region.

Jesus Heals Many People

³⁸After leaving the synagogue that day, Jesus went to Simon’s home, where he found Simon’s mother-in-law very sick with a high fever. “Please heal her,” everyone begged. ³⁹Standing at her bedside, he rebuked the fever, and it left her. And she got up at once and prepared a meal for them.

⁴⁰As the sun went down that evening, people throughout the village brought sick family members to Jesus. No matter what their diseases were, the touch of his hand healed every one. ⁴¹Many were possessed by demons; and the demons came out at his command, shouting, “You are the Son of God!” But because they knew he was the Messiah, he rebuked them and refused to let them speak.

Jesus Continues to Preach

⁴²Early the next morning Jesus went out to an isolated place. The crowds searched everywhere for him, and when they finally found him, they begged him not to leave them. ⁴³But he replied, “I must preach the Good News of the Kingdom of God in other towns, too, because that is why I was sent.” ⁴⁴So he continued to travel around, preaching in synagogues throughout Judea.^[b]

The First Disciples

5 One day as Jesus was preaching on the shore of the Sea of Galilee,^[c] great crowds pressed in on him to listen to the word of God. ²He noticed two empty boats at the water’s edge, for the fishermen had left them and were washing their nets. ³Stepping into one of the boats, Jesus asked Simon,^[d] its owner, to push it out into the water. So he sat in the boat and taught the crowds from there.

⁴When he had finished speaking, he said to Simon, “Now go out where it is deeper, and let down your nets to catch some fish.”

⁵“Master,” Simon replied, “we worked hard all last night and didn’t catch a thing. But if you say so, I’ll let the nets down again.” ⁶And this time their nets were so full of fish they began to tear! ⁷A shout for help brought their partners in the other boat, and soon both boats were filled with fish and on the verge of sinking.

⁸When Simon Peter realized what had happened, he fell to his knees before Jesus and said, “Oh, Lord, please leave me—I’m such a sinful man.” ⁹For he was awestruck by the number of fish they had caught, as were the others with him. ¹⁰His partners, James and John, the sons of Zebedee, were also amazed.

Jesus replied to Simon, “Don’t be afraid! From now on you’ll be fishing for people!” ¹¹And as soon as they landed, they left everything and followed Jesus.

Footnotes:

4:33 Greek unclean; also in 4:36.
4:44 Some manuscripts read Galilee.
5:1 Greek Lake Gennesaret, another name for the Sea of Galilee.
5:3 Simon is called “Peter” in 6:14 and thereafter.

New Living Translation (NLT)

Psalm 64

For the choir director: A psalm of David.

¹O God, listen to my complaint.
Protect my life from my enemies’ threats.
²Hide me from the plots of this evil mob,
from this gang of wrongdoers.
³They sharpen their tongues like swords
and aim their bitter words like arrows.
⁴They shoot from ambush at the innocent,
attacking suddenly and fearlessly.
⁵They encourage each other to do evil
and plan how to set their traps in secret.
“Who will ever notice?” they ask.
⁶As they plot their crimes, they say,
“We have devised the perfect plan!”
Yes, the human heart and mind are cunning.

⁷But God himself will shoot them with his arrows,
suddenly striking them down.
⁸Their own tongues will ruin them,
and all who see them will shake their heads in scorn.
⁹Then everyone will be afraid;
they will proclaim the mighty acts of God
and realize all the amazing things he does.
¹⁰The godly will rejoice in the Lord
and find shelter in him.
And those who do what is right
will praise him.

New Living Translation (NLT)

Proverbs 11:22

²²A beautiful woman who lacks discretion
is like a gold ring in a pig’s snout.

New Living Translation (NLT)

March 21, 2017

03/20/2017 DAB Transcript

Numbers 30:1-31:54 ~ Luke 4:1-30 ~ Psalm 63:1-11 ~ Proverbs 11:20-21

Today is the 20^th day of March. Welcome to the Daily Audio Bible. I’m Brian. It’s wonderful, as it is every day, to have this time together around the global campfire that is the community that we are, moving our way step by step through the Bible this year. We’ll move into our work week, orienting ourselves to God through his word. We’re reading from the New Living Translation this week, Numbers chapter 30, verse 1 through 31, verse 54.

Commentary

So Jesus is at the Jordan River and he has been baptized and then he goes into the wilderness and is tempted by the devil. Let’s think about temptation for a second. What is the greatest temptation in your life? What is that thing that you turn to in order to find life, pleasure, fulfillment, accomplishment, something that makes you feel alive or powerful or capable in your own strength? The thing that you can turn to at any time to try to find a little taste of life, what does that look like for you? For that matter, what does the wilderness look like for you? What are those seasons that have been harder? Hardships that you’ve suffered or pain that you’ve had to endure or obstacles that you’ve had to try to overcome? What I want us to consider today is a little bit of a reframe of those things and those times.

We do everything to avoid wilderness and temptation. That is not necessarily a bad thing, but let’s contextualize it in Jesus’ life by me just simply reading two verses from the scriptures: Then Jesus, full of the Holy Spirit, returned from the Jordan River. He was led by the Spirit in the wilderness where he was tempted by the devil for 40 days. Jesus ate nothing at that time and became very hungry.

So Jesus didn’t just end up in the wilderness in the middle of temptation. The Spirit led him into the wilderness where he was tempted for 40 days before we ever get to these three temptations where there is dialogue between the two. We don’t know all that Jesus faced for those 40 days other than that he got really hungry, but we do know from the scriptures that Jesus was tempted in every way, just like we are. But what we don’t see is Jesus fleeing from either the wilderness or the temptation. What we see is Jesus embracing and facing down these things.

So perhaps the next time that thing that comes up in our minds that we turn to for life in our own strength, that thing that exalts us and cultivates this unhealthy pride in us, maybe we’re not supposed to just try to think about something else. Maybe we have to face these things once and for all, which is a remarkably good invitation into the season that we’re in right now that leads us to Easter – this season of Lent that we talked about when it began on Ash Wednesday a couple weeks ago.

Again, I give this disclaimer: Whether you observe Lent or not really doesn’t make any difference. It is totally up to you if you could find it meaningful. It is something that has been practiced on the Christian calendar for 1500 years, but it is not something that is commanded in the Bible, although rituals and customs and culture is embedded into the Bible, things that continually remind us of the story that we are in, things that continually remind us and orient us to who we are, that is in the Bible. Lent is 40 days long. Ironic that this is the amount of time Jesus spent in his own wilderness, in his own temptation where everything is coming against him to beat him down, where he is experiencing humanity completely. So this is a good season to enter into those things. What are those things that we keep falling down over? Even though we get right back up, we keep falling down over the things that turn us away from God. That is different for everyone. Everyone has their own story. But if we’ll enter into that wilderness, go there with the Holy Spirit’s power, confront these things head-on, we’ll find that they are all motivated by pride, fear, doubt, core things, deep things. And our behaviors, the things that we turn to, those are just behaviors, they are just an outward representation of the deeper things that are going on, the doubts, the fear, the dissatisfaction, the lack of faith, the things that we are in this life to work through by the power of the Holy Spirit so that we end up exactly like Jesus.

If we think that stuff isn’t there, that it is not a battle to be fought, well then let’s do a little exercise. Let’s go with Jesus into Nazareth. Let’s follow him into a synagogue. Let’s watch him unroll the scroll that contains the book of Isaiah and let’s see his eyes look up across to where we are sitting. He looks into our eyes and says, “The Spirit of the Lord is upon you for he has anointed you to bring the good news to the poor. He sent you to proclaim the captives will be released, that the blind will see, that the oppressed will be set free and that the time of the Lord’s favor has come.” Could that be true of you? Because Jesus is inside you, inside of me, intertwined with who we are. Can we believe this? Because this puts all other things in our lives into a context that we must achieve; otherwise, it’s just a drudge through life in a very confusing manner where things just keep happening to us and we just keep reacting to those things rather than flipping the thing around like Jesus did in the wilderness in saying, “I know who I am. I know who my Father is. I know what I have come here to do.”

The thing that keeps us hungry, the things that keeps us starving inside is that fact that we keep turning to plastic for life, we keep following the blinking lights, we keep comparing ourselves to everyone else to find our value and worth. Our identities are wrapped up in what we can do. So as we contemplate these things today, and they are deep things to really give the Holy Spirit some access to as we meditate on them, may we pray along with the psalmist in what is really my favorite psalm today, Psalm 63: God, you are my God. I earnestly search for you. My soul thirsts for you. My whole body longs for you in this parched and weary land where there is no water. I have seen you in your sanctuary and gazed upon your power and glory. Your unfailing love is better than life itself. How I praise you. I will praise you as long as I live, lifting up my hands to you in prayer. You satisfy me more than the richest feast. I will praise you with songs of joy. I lie awake thinking of you, meditating on you through the night because you are my helper. I sing for joy in the shadow of your wings. I cling to you. Your strong right hand holds me securely.

Prayer

We pray these things, Father, with an expectant heart because we open ourselves to you completely. Show us the things that you are inviting us and have been inviting us to face down squarely, to stop cowering in fear and running and hiding from everything that is uncomfortable but rather to face squarely and rise up into who we really are and shut these things down because they are keeping us from this posture of heart that we find in the psalms today, which is our true posture and our true desire and our true longing. So come, Holy Spirit, we pray. In the name of Jesus we ask, amen.

SONG played on today’s DAB “Embracing Accusation” Shane and Shane http://apple.co/2n22sK1

March 20, 2017

The Daily Audio Bible Reading for Monday March 20, 2017 (NIV)

Numbers 30-31

Laws concerning Vows

30 ^[a]Then Moses summoned the leaders of the tribes of Israel and told them, “This is what the Lord has commanded: ²A man who makes a vow to the Lord or makes a pledge under oath must never break it. He must do exactly what he said he would do.

³“If a young woman makes a vow to the Lord or a pledge under oath while she is still living at her father’s home, ⁴and her father hears of the vow or pledge and does not object to it, then all her vows and pledges will stand. ⁵But if her father refuses to let her fulfill the vow or pledge on the day he hears of it, then all her vows and pledges will become invalid. The Lord will forgive her because her father would not let her fulfill them.

⁶“Now suppose a young woman makes a vow or binds herself with an impulsive pledge and later marries. ⁷If her husband learns of her vow or pledge and does not object on the day he hears of it, her vows and pledges will stand. ⁸But if her husband refuses to accept her vow or impulsive pledge on the day he hears of it, he nullifies her commitments, and the Lord will forgive her. ⁹If, however, a woman is a widow or is divorced, she must fulfill all her vows and pledges.

¹⁰“But suppose a woman is married and living in her husband’s home when she makes a vow or binds herself with a pledge. ¹¹If her husband hears of it and does not object to it, her vow or pledge will stand. ¹²But if her husband refuses to accept it on the day he hears of it, her vow or pledge will be nullified, and the Lord will forgive her. ¹³So her husband may either confirm or nullify any vows or pledges she makes to deny herself. ¹⁴But if he does not object on the day he hears of it, then he is agreeing to all her vows and pledges. ¹⁵If he waits more than a day and then tries to nullify a vow or pledge, he will be punished for her guilt.”

¹⁶These are the regulations the Lord gave Moses concerning relationships between a man and his wife, and between a father and a young daughter who still lives at home.

Conquest of the Midianites

31 Then the Lord said to Moses, ²“On behalf of the people of Israel, take revenge on the Midianites for leading them into idolatry. After that, you will die and join your ancestors.”

³So Moses said to the people, “Choose some men, and arm them to fight the Lord’s war of revenge against Midian. ⁴From each tribe of Israel, send 1,000 men into battle.” ⁵So they chose 1,000 men from each tribe of Israel, a total of 12,000 men armed for battle. ⁶Then Moses sent them out, 1,000 men from each tribe, and Phinehas son of Eleazar the priest led them into battle. They carried along the holy objects of the sanctuary and the trumpets for sounding the charge. ⁷They attacked Midian as the Lord had commanded Moses, and they killed all the men. ⁸All five of the Midianite kings—Evi, Rekem, Zur, Hur, and Reba—died in the battle. They also killed Balaam son of Beor with the sword.

⁹Then the Israelite army captured the Midianite women and children and seized their cattle and flocks and all their wealth as plunder. ¹⁰They burned all the towns and villages where the Midianites had lived. ¹¹After they had gathered the plunder and captives, both people and animals, ¹²they brought them all to Moses and Eleazar the priest, and to the whole community of Israel, which was camped on the plains of Moab beside the Jordan River, across from Jericho. ¹³Moses, Eleazar the priest, and all the leaders of the community went to meet them outside the camp. ¹⁴But Moses was furious with all the generals and captains^[b] who had returned from the battle.

¹⁵“Why have you let all the women live?” he demanded. ¹⁶“These are the very ones who followed Balaam’s advice and caused the people of Israel to rebel against the Lord at Mount Peor. They are the ones who caused the plague to strike the Lord’s people. ¹⁷So kill all the boys and all the women who have had intercourse with a man. ¹⁸Only the young girls who are virgins may live; you may keep them for yourselves. ¹⁹And all of you who have killed anyone or touched a dead body must stay outside the camp for seven days. You must purify yourselves and your captives on the third and seventh days. ²⁰Purify all your clothing, too, and everything made of leather, goat hair, or wood.”

²¹Then Eleazar the priest said to the men who were in the battle, “The Lord has given Moses this legal requirement: ²²Anything made of gold, silver, bronze, iron, tin, or lead— ²³that is, all metals that do not burn—must be passed through fire in order to be made ceremonially pure. These metal objects must then be further purified with the water of purification. But everything that burns must be purified by the water alone. ²⁴On the seventh day you must wash your clothes and be purified. Then you may return to the camp.”

Division of the Plunder

²⁵And the Lord said to Moses, ²⁶“You and Eleazar the priest and the family leaders of each tribe are to make a list of all the plunder taken in the battle, including the people and animals. ²⁷Then divide the plunder into two parts, and give half to the men who fought the battle and half to the rest of the people. ²⁸From the army’s portion, first give the Lord his share of the plunder—one of every 500 of the prisoners and of the cattle, donkeys, sheep, and goats. ²⁹Give this share of the army’s half to Eleazar the priest as an offering to the Lord. ³⁰From the half that belongs to the people of Israel, take one of every fifty of the prisoners and of the cattle, donkeys, sheep, goats, and other animals. Give this share to the Levites, who are in charge of maintaining the Lord’s Tabernacle.” ³¹So Moses and Eleazar the priest did as the Lord commanded Moses.

³²The plunder remaining from everything the fighting men had taken totaled 675,000 sheep and goats, ³³72,000 cattle, ³⁴61,000 donkeys, ³⁵and 32,000 virgin girls.

³⁶Half of the plunder was given to the fighting men. It totaled 337,500 sheep and goats, ³⁷of which 675 were the Lord’s share; ³⁸36,000 cattle, of which 72 were the Lord’s share; ³⁹30,500 donkeys, of which 61 were the Lord’s share; ⁴⁰and 16,000 virgin girls, of whom 32 were the Lord’s share. ⁴¹Moses gave all the Lord’s share to Eleazar the priest, just as the Lord had directed him.

⁴²Half of the plunder belonged to the people of Israel, and Moses separated it from the half belonging to the fighting men. ⁴³It totaled 337,500 sheep and goats, ⁴⁴36,000 cattle, ⁴⁵30,500 donkeys, ⁴⁶and 16,000 virgin girls. ⁴⁷From the half-share given to the people, Moses took one of every fifty prisoners and animals and gave them to the Levites, who maintained the Lord’s Tabernacle. All this was done as the Lord had commanded Moses.

⁴⁸Then all the generals and captains came to Moses ⁴⁹and said, “We, your servants, have accounted for all the men who went out to battle under our command; not one of us is missing! ⁵⁰So we are presenting the items of gold we captured as an offering to the Lord from our share of the plunder—armbands, bracelets, rings, earrings, and necklaces. This will purify our lives before the Lord and make us right with him.^[c]”

⁵¹So Moses and Eleazar the priest received the gold from all the military commanders—all kinds of jewelry and crafted objects. ⁵²In all, the gold that the generals and captains presented as a gift to the Lord weighed about 420 pounds.^[d] ⁵³All the fighting men had taken some of the plunder for themselves. ⁵⁴So Moses and Eleazar the priest accepted the gifts from the generals and captains and brought the gold to the Tabernacle^[e] as a reminder to the Lord that the people of Israel belong to him.

Footnotes:

30:1 Verses 30:1-16 are numbered 30:2-17 in Hebrew text.
31:14 Hebrew the commanders of thousands, and the commanders of hundreds; also in 31:48, 52, 54.
31:50 Or will make atonement for our lives before the Lord.
31:52 Hebrew 16,750 shekels [191 kilograms].
31:54 Hebrew the Tent of Meeting.

New Living Translation (NLT)

Luke 4:1-30

The Temptation of Jesus

4 Then Jesus, full of the Holy Spirit, returned from the Jordan River. He was led by the Spirit in the wilderness,^[a] ²where he was tempted by the devil for forty days. Jesus ate nothing all that time and became very hungry.

³Then the devil said to him, “If you are the Son of God, tell this stone to become a loaf of bread.”

⁴But Jesus told him, “No! The Scriptures say, ‘People do not live by bread alone.’^[b]”

⁵Then the devil took him up and revealed to him all the kingdoms of the world in a moment of time. ⁶“I will give you the glory of these kingdoms and authority over them,” the devil said, “because they are mine to give to anyone I please. ⁷I will give it all to you if you will worship me.”

⁸Jesus replied, “The Scriptures say,

‘You must worship the Lord your God
and serve only him.’^[c]”

⁹Then the devil took him to Jerusalem, to the highest point of the Temple, and said, “If you are the Son of God, jump off! ¹⁰For the Scriptures say,

‘He will order his angels to protect and guard you.
¹¹And they will hold you up with their hands
so you won’t even hurt your foot on a stone.’^[d]”

¹²Jesus responded, “The Scriptures also say, ‘You must not test the Lord your God.’^[e]”

¹³When the devil had finished tempting Jesus, he left him until the next opportunity came.

Jesus Rejected at Nazareth

¹⁴Then Jesus returned to Galilee, filled with the Holy Spirit’s power. Reports about him spread quickly through the whole region. ¹⁵He taught regularly in their synagogues and was praised by everyone.

¹⁶When he came to the village of Nazareth, his boyhood home, he went as usual to the synagogue on the Sabbath and stood up to read the Scriptures. ¹⁷The scroll of Isaiah the prophet was handed to him. He unrolled the scroll and found the place where this was written:

¹⁸“The Spirit of the Lord is upon me,
for he has anointed me to bring Good News to the poor.
He has sent me to proclaim that captives will be released,
that the blind will see,
that the oppressed will be set free,
¹⁹and that the time of the Lord’s favor has come.^[f]”

²⁰He rolled up the scroll, handed it back to the attendant, and sat down. All eyes in the synagogue looked at him intently. ²¹Then he began to speak to them. “The Scripture you’ve just heard has been fulfilled this very day!”

²²Everyone spoke well of him and was amazed by the gracious words that came from his lips. “How can this be?” they asked. “Isn’t this Joseph’s son?”

²³Then he said, “You will undoubtedly quote me this proverb: ‘Physician, heal yourself’—meaning, ‘Do miracles here in your hometown like those you did in Capernaum.’ ²⁴But I tell you the truth, no prophet is accepted in his own hometown.

²⁵“Certainly there were many needy widows in Israel in Elijah’s time, when the heavens were closed for three and a half years, and a severe famine devastated the land. ²⁶Yet Elijah was not sent to any of them. He was sent instead to a foreigner—a widow of Zarephath in the land of Sidon. ²⁷And many in Israel had leprosy in the time of the prophet Elisha, but the only one healed was Naaman, a Syrian.”

²⁸When they heard this, the people in the synagogue were furious. ²⁹Jumping up, they mobbed him and forced him to the edge of the hill on which the town was built. They intended to push him over the cliff, ³⁰but he passed right through the crowd and went on his way.

Footnotes:

4:1 Some manuscripts read into the wilderness.
4:4 Deut 8:3.
4:8 Deut 6:13.
4:10-11 Ps 91:11-12.
4:12 Deut 6:16.
4:18-19 Or and to proclaim the acceptable year of the Lord. Isa 61:1-2 (Greek version); 58:6.

New Living Translation (NLT)

Psalm 63

A psalm of David, regarding a time when David was in the wilderness of Judah.

¹O God, you are my God;
I earnestly search for you.
My soul thirsts for you;
my whole body longs for you
in this parched and weary land
where there is no water.
²I have seen you in your sanctuary
and gazed upon your power and glory.
³Your unfailing love is better than life itself;
how I praise you!
⁴I will praise you as long as I live,
lifting up my hands to you in prayer.
⁵You satisfy me more than the richest feast.
I will praise you with songs of joy.

⁶I lie awake thinking of you,
meditating on you through the night.
⁷Because you are my helper,
I sing for joy in the shadow of your wings.
⁸I cling to you;
your strong right hand holds me securely.

⁹But those plotting to destroy me will come to ruin.
They will go down into the depths of the earth.
¹⁰They will die by the sword
and become the food of jackals.
¹¹But the king will rejoice in God.
All who swear to tell the truth will praise him,
while liars will be silenced.

New Living Translation (NLT)

Proverbs 11:20-21

²⁰The Lord detests people with crooked hearts,
but he delights in those with integrity.

²¹Evil people will surely be punished,
but the children of the godly will go free.

New Living Translation (NLT)

March 20, 2017

03/19/2017 DAB Transcript

Numbers 28:16-29:40 ~ Luke 3:23-38 ~ Psalm 62:1-12 ~ Proverbs 11:18-19

Today is the 19^th day of March. Welcome to the Daily Audio Bible and welcome to a brand new, shiny, sparkly new week just waiting for us to live into it and make it our own as we walk with God. So here we are, brand new week. We’ll read from the New Living Translation this week and we’ll go back out into the desert in the book of Numbers with the children of Israel. Moses, a figure that we’ve gotten to know and we’ve been traveling with for a long time now is reaching the end of his life and all that comes next is before us. Before this week is out, we’ll complete the book of Numbers. So here we go, Numbers chapter 28, verse 16 through 29, verse 40 today.

Prayer

Father, here we are at the threshold of a shiny new week and we offer this week to you and we welcome your word into our hearts. As we read in the book of Luke today, we see, Jesus, where you fit in the human story, in the human ancestry going all the way back to the beginning. And even as we read those names, family trees can be tedious, but we’re seeing the names of people we have met and gotten to know their stories all the way back and you are a part of that story and we are a part of that story. So Father, as you say in the book of Proverbs, godly people find life and that is the part of the story we have always been searching for, to find life. And we’ve defined that in all kinds of ways, but when we boil it down to its essence, it is that we are here and that we are conscious and that we are aware of your presence in our lives. So help us, Father, by the power of your Holy Spirit to keep it simple, to keep it there, to understand that it is a gift that we are breathing oxygen, that it is a gift that we have the essence and awareness and consciousness of you. So we want to collaborate with you in this week in every way we know how and then by the Holy Spirit’s power in every way that we have no idea how. So come. Jesus, come into this week. We offer it to you for your use and for your glory and we thank you for letting us participate in this grand story of mankind intertwined with its creator as it was intended. Come Jesus, we pray. In your mighty name we ask, amen.

Announcements

Www.DailyAudioBible.com is the website. It’s home base. It’s where you find out what is going on around here. This is the week. This is the deadline week for the More Gathering for Women that is coming up in a couple of weeks, almost three weeks, April 6-9 in the mountains just outside of Atlanta in north Georgia. Beautiful, beautiful setting and that is going to be an amazing time. So if you’re thinking of going, if you’ve been thinking of going for a while now, now is the time. This Thursday will be the deadline and then we’ll have to turn our attention toward the conference itself. So every bit of detail that you would need to know to come and all the things that you would be interested in knowing can be found at www.DailyAudioBible.com if you just look for the More Gathering or you can go to www.MoreGathering.com. That will take you there as well and we’ll look forward to seeing you very soon.

If you want to partner with the Daily Audio Bible, you can do that at www.DailyAudioBible.com. There is a link. It’s on the home page of the website. And thank you. If you’re using the app, you can press the More button in the lower right-hand corner or the mailing address is P.O. Box 1996, Spring Hill, TN 37174.

And, as always, if you have a prayer request or comment, (877) 942-4253 is the number to dial.

And that’s it for today. I’m Brian. I love you. I’ll be waiting for you here tomorrow.

Community Prayer Requests and Praise Reports

Heavenly Father, thank you for a beautiful new day. Thank you for life, enabling us to live, move and have our being in you. Thank you, Lord, that you are going before us and you are also beside us. You will not abandon us. You will not leave us to conquer this world alone. You have already conquered it. You are victorious and because of that promise and that awareness of who you are and your sovereignty, we move forward with peace, with confidence in you and with joy. I rebuke the demon of depression and the temptation to stay in a place of self-centeredness and focusing on those challenges and those problems and those issues that plague us as individuals. Instead, I pray that you will break our hearts for a cause, for a group, for something that we can put our attention on and that we can put our love for you into so that we won’t be lost in that cycle of focusing on ourselves and our problems, our challenges and even our disappointments like the children of Israel in that wandering season, focusing on the things that they didn’t realize God had still waiting for them ahead in the future. Instead of maturing and focusing on praising him for bringing them out of slavery, they spent their time complaining and wallowing in their worries of day-to-day life. We know that you are victorious. We know that you have already provided for us. I pray that we are able to see that today as we move forward. Alright, hopefully that was two minutes.

Hi family. It’s Shannon from Texas. Sheila called in from Texas not too long ago and mentioned that we should start giving to the DAB. I’ve been thinking about it for a few days now and I thought, you know, it is really insane that I have not been giving. I’ve been praying for some financial issues for a __________ time and I thought why am I not giving to the greatest blessing of my life? I’ve been listening for three years and I’ve given to church, a church that I don’t even go to regularly, to people __________ social work, I gave clients and an ungodly amount of money to Starbucks and I just wanted to challenge everyone that is especially asking God for maybe a different job or a house, needs a new car, anything, to start giving __________. That’s what I’m going to do is have it drafted monthly and then challenge myself to go up every three months or something like that. Thank you, Sheila, for calling in about that because I was just thinking why __________. No wonder God hasn’t answered some of those prayers about what I’ve been asking for because I haven’t been fulfilling my obligation. And then I’m going to call back when he starts to answer some of the things that I’ve been asking for. I just want to challenge everyone to start doing that as well and then you can call back and talk about it. Love you guys. Bye-bye.

This call is for Candace from Oregon. Sister, I just heard your prayer request there about your husband. I just want you to know, sister, that I love you. I’m praying for you. You’re not alone. Lord, I pray for comfort and healing for this family. Please be with them and help them and show yourself in this situation so you can be glorified, Lord. We praise you and we love you. In Jesus’ name we pray. Amen.

Hi Daily Audio Bible family. This is Stanley from Maryland. This is my second time calling. I am a two-year listener for the DAB. Hey, I am a little depressed and very weary and I feel like I can’t go on. I’m a first-year teacher in Washington, D.C., at a school in southeast Washington, D.C., and I’m here to hopefully teach these students and instill some character and some knowledge into them, but they are constantly challenging me, challenging my authority and constantly pushing buttons, so I’m just doubting my own self and I know God has placed me here for a reason, but I’m asking for prayer to just figure out what it is that God is calling me to do here. I’m always working and doing lesson plans and staying up late trying to figure out what it is that I’m supposed to be doing and if I’m doing a good job or if I need to switch something up so that I can do a better job. I’m doing the best I can, but I need some prayer for confidence and for strength and for assurance that God has me here for a reason. I love you all and I thank God for all of you. I thank God for this opportunity to ask for prayer. Have a blessed rest of your day. Bye.

Good morning family. This is Biola from Maryland. I hope you’re all doing well. Brian and Jill, God bless you. Jill, I’m praying for the More Conference, that the Lord will bring every woman to Atlanta, GA safely, in the name of Jesus, that he will have his way in each person’s life, in the name of Jesus, and that no one who goes to that conference will go back home the same way, in Jesus’ name. I pray that the Lord will provide for everyone that wants to go and doesn’t have the funds to go, that the Lord would put funds in your hands. Sisters, if you haven’t registered for the More Conference, it hasn’t closed yet. Go and register. God bless you. Candace from Oregon, oh, I’m praying for your husband, sister. I pray in the name of Jesus that God would touch his body. There is nothing that he cannot do. I join the thousands of others praying on his behalf and I pray that the Lord of heaven will arise with healing in his wings over him, in the name of Jesus. Father, I pray that you would touch this man, O God, Lord, that you will make your name even be glorified in this situation, in the name of Jesus. And that you will comfort Candace, O God, Lord, and all the loved ones, in Jesus’ name. Al, I heard your prayer request. I’m praying for you, that God would give your wife a new direction over whether she should move back or whether you should move there. Whatever it is, I pray that God would give your hearts direction and it will help you even to do what you’re supposed to do concerning coming back together so that you can be there in your daughter’s life, that God who provided that job will provide a job even in the same location for both of you so that you can be together, in the name of Jesus. Gigi, know that I rejoiced with you when I heard your prayer that God has healed you. Salvation is Mine, know that I’m praying for you. May the Lord comfort you at this time. God bless you.

Good morning DAB family. Continuing my message about calling in when God leads it on your heart. I woke up this morning, March 16^th, with Candace in Oregon on my mind. Candace, I am standing in the gap with you in what you’re going through with the passing of your husband, Brad. I won’t pretend to know what you’re going through, but I just imagine it is a time of confusion. One, I know how faithful you are, how you have been such an encouragement to this community, but I also know that death is something that we just can’t expect how to deal with. So I want to let you know, Candace, that you’re in my prayers, you’re in my thoughts. I thank God for bringing you through this new chapter in your life. I thank you that you called in. I thank you for the contribution that you give to this community. And I’m going to read Psalm 23 in honor of your husband, Brad, this morning. I’m actually calling from work which is something I’ve never done. I always call from the privacy of my home, but I am learning that when God leads me, to do what it is he’s calling and that reiterates the message that Drew from the Bay Area has been calling in. Thank you, my brother Drew. I love you and I’m trying to be obedient to God. Brian and Jill, I thank you so much. Everyone behind the scenes at DAB, you are such a blessing. I don’t know what we would all do without this community. I love you. In Jesus’ name I pray, amen. Cheers! Asia from Munich.

March 19, 2017

03/18/2017 DAB Transcript

Numbers 28:16-29:40 ~ Luke 3:23-38 ~ Psalm 62:1-12 ~ Proverbs 11:18-19

Today is the 18^th day of March. Welcome to the Daily Audio Bible. I’m Brian. It’s great to be here with you at the end of another of the weeks that we get to share together, 52 in all, taking us through the entire Bible in a year. So we’re well on our way. We’ve been reading from the Expanded Bible during this week, and it’s still this week even though it is the end of the week, so that is what we’ll do. Numbers chapter 26, verse 52 through 28, verse 15 today.

Prayer

Father, we thank you for another week that you have been faithful to us, nourishing us through your word, through each other, through the power of your Holy Spirit and we thank you for all that you have done in and among us and we long for and have great anticipation for all that you have yet to do in the coming weeks. So we open our hearts to you, Jesus, even as we close another week. This relationship that we have with you and with your word is an ongoing thing that never ends and we’re very grateful. So we thank you for your presence. Without your presence, we are floundering and completely blind in this world. So come Holy Spirit, lead us on the narrow path that leads to life. Guide our steps forward, we ask. In Jesus’ name, amen.

Announcements

Www.DailyAudioBible.com is the website. It’s home base. It’s where you find out what is going on around here and so mostly it’s the deadline that is looming for the More Gathering for Women that begins on the 6^th of April and runs until the 9^th of April, April 6-9 in the mountains just outside of Atlanta, GA. But registration for this is coming to a close. The 23^rd is that date, so less than a week. Ladies, if you’re thinking of coming, or guys, if you’re thinking of sending your wife or the one that you love, the deadline is just right in front of us. You can get all the information that you would want to know, everything that you need to know at www.DailyAudioBible.com. Just look for the More Gathering. Or you can go to www.MoreGathering.com and it will take you there. We’ll look forward to seeing you in a couple of weeks.

If you want to partner with the Daily Audio Bible, you can do that at www.DailyAudioBible.com. There is a link. It’s on the home page. Thank you. If you use the Daily Audio Bible App, you can press the More button in the lower right-hand corner or, if you prefer, the mailing address is P.O. Box 1996, Spring Hill, TN 37174.

And, as always, if you have a prayer request or comment, (877) 942-4253 is the number to dial.

And that’s it for today. I’m Brian. I love you and I’ll be waiting for you here tomorrow.

Community Prayer Requests and Praise Reports

Hi Daily Audio Bible family. This is Lance in San Diego and God wanted me to call in and just encourage the woman at the end of, I think, March 14^th or 15^th podcast. She didn’t leave her name, but she called to thank Stephanie and she said she was the weird one, she felt, at church and she stepped away from church and she runs to turn her phone off when the prayer requests come up. God just wanted me to call and encourage you and share my experience and times with going to church and connecting to the people there. What I have found works great for me is actually trying to serve as much as I can at the church. You know, parking ministry or help sweep the floors or whatever God leads you to do. I have found that gives openings for God’s Holy Spirit to come in and me being able to bless others, not just with the physical service, but it puts you in contact with people there and helps build that family, that church family on the ground there. If you get a word from the Lord… You know, it’s my job, if God’s to work in my heart, just to be faithful to God and I trust God that if I say something wrong, God has the supernatural ability to transform that in the air and have that land in the person’s ears __________. It’s just trying to be faithful to use the gifts of the Spirit and things like that. It’s not just for me, it’s to share with God’s people to give glory to God. I just wanted to call and encourage you to try to find a church family and approach it just as a time to serve. It’s basically our Christian good teaching and good lordship, but it’s also…

Hi there. Good afternoon DAB family. This is Andre from Nottingham in the UK. It’s the afternoon of the 13^th of March. A prayer request, please, family, for my sister, Louise, mother of three and wife. She was involved in a car accident. What happened was the car where the children were in happened to roll down the hill when the hand brake failed and they, husband and herself, tried to stop the car. Consequently, she was knocked under the car, under the wheels and received injuries to her body, her head and so on. She is in the hospital at the moment and the shock and the trauma of this event. I pray God’s peace and healing in the situation. I believe it was a miracle nothing worse happened. So I would appreciate you guys praying. And if you want to contact me at all and see how she is doing, you can email me on AndreLee37@me.com. I appreciate you, family. God bless you. Speak soon. Bye for now.

Hey Daily Audio Bible. This is Jeff from Virginia Tech calling today. The Holy Spirit has been working. I know I haven’t called in a long time, but someone recently called in and said the Holy Spirit was kind of gnawing him to call in. I was just walking back from class and I was listening to the DAB and Brian mentioned the phone number and the Holy Spirit was telling me I should call in, so here I am. More updates for you guys. Just been kind of low in terms of the spirit recently. My parents are in a tough spot right now. They are looking at divorcing really soon, so prayers for that. This weekend I’m co-leading a retreat with a group of friends in the __________ diocese in Virginia. We got about 33 kids signed up. I’ll be doing the men’s talk so I would just ask that you keep me in your prayers during this time during this weekend that they just have a great experience and that the Holy Spirit just works through us and that I might deliver an awesome talk and inspire these guys to live virtuously, to live virtuous lives for Christ. Just prayer for the Newman Community, the Catholic Campus Ministry of Virginia Tech. Prayer for everyone who has fallen out of the church. So keep me in your prayers, guys. I’ll be praying for you as well. This is Jeff from Virginia Tech signing off. See ya.

Hey DAB family. This is Byron out in Florida, Abiding in Him. Shout-out to my brother Jordan in Michigan. So glad you have chosen to extend the 30-day __________ challenge to a full 60 days. I’m looking forward to every single one of those calls and I’m so excited about this new direction that your life has been taking, man. I’m glad you’re inviting us along with it. When you called you had thanked me for my transparency concerning a previous suicide attempt and then the second transparency I have to clarify is that wasn’t me. That is not my story. But my heart goes out to every single one of you in the community, some of you I’m very close to, who struggle with those dark thoughts and I want to let you guys know that every day that you wake up and decide to live that day is pure worship to God who made you. Pure worship to the God that gave you that day and I thank all of you who choose to do that, despite how you may feel. And my heart goes out to all of you. God loves you so very dearly. Jordan, I love you, man. I want you to reach out to me. My email is ClearSkyBlue@hotmail.com. Hit me up with a preview of your next rhyme. And that goes out to anybody who wants to reach out. That email is available. Just write me and I’ll write you back. I love you all. Talk to you later.

Hello Daily Audio Bible family. This is Valerie calling from Dallas, TX. This is my first time calling in. I need the family to stand in the gap. Satan is destroying my family. There is no fellowship. There is no respect. There is no communication of love between me and my four adult children. Satan took the opportunity through the pain of grief through seeing their father suddenly get sick and die and then within months also my children have endured the pain of seeing me divorce a stepfather whom they also love. Satan has __________ my every word, my every action, my every deed and twisted it that my children receive it as an attack, as judgment, as daggers in their heart. I have to turn this over to God. Satan cannot have the victory. His weapons are the same, to separate in deception and then to steal, kill and destroy. I am asking you to pray that he no longer has the victory in my family. Thank you.

Hi, this is Nicki from North Vancouver and I’ve been listening to Daily Audio Bible for about six years and it’s just awesome. I’m completely addicted. This is my first time calling and I’m calling for prayer for our 8-year-old grandson. His name is Leif. He is a bright little guy, but his behavior at school is terrible and he has been having problems. He is very strong-willed and doesn’t want to do what the teacher wants him to do always. When he cooperates, he is wonderful and she adores him, but oh, when he has a meltdown it’s horrible. Could you please pray that his behavior will improve? He’s already been suspended once and, anyway, we just need the Lord’s intervention so much. His dad, who is our son, is not serving the Lord and I’m not sure that his mother has ever known the Lord, so please pray for the family’s salvation as well. Mostly my call is for our grandson, Leif, and that he will respect authority and behave appropriately. So thank you so much everyone and I pray along with all of your requests also. Thanks. Bye-bye.

March 19, 2017

The Daily Audio Bible Reading for Sunday March 19, 2017 (NIV)

Numbers 28:16-29:40

Offerings for the Passover

¹⁶“On the fourteenth day of the first month,^[a] you must celebrate the Lord’s Passover. ¹⁷On the following day—the fifteenth day of the month—a joyous, seven-day festival will begin, but no bread made with yeast may be eaten. ¹⁸The first day of the festival will be an official day for holy assembly, and no ordinary work may be done on that day. ¹⁹As a special gift you must present a burnt offering to the Lord—two young bulls, one ram, and seven one-year-old male lambs, all with no defects. ²⁰These will be accompanied by grain offerings of choice flour moistened with olive oil—six quarts with each bull, four quarts with the ram, ²¹and two quarts with each of the seven lambs. ²²You must also offer a male goat as a sin offering to purify yourselves and make yourselves right with the Lord.^[b] ²³Present these offerings in addition to your regular morning burnt offering. ²⁴On each of the seven days of the festival, this is how you must prepare the food offering that is presented as a special gift, a pleasing aroma to the Lord. These will be offered in addition to the regular burnt offerings and liquid offerings. ²⁵The seventh day of the festival will be another official day for holy assembly, and no ordinary work may be done on that day.

Offerings for the Festival of Harvest

²⁶“At the Festival of Harvest,^[c] when you present the first of your new grain to the Lord, you must call an official day for holy assembly, and you may do no ordinary work on that day. ²⁷Present a special burnt offering on that day as a pleasing aroma to the Lord. It will consist of two young bulls, one ram, and seven one-year-old male lambs. ²⁸These will be accompanied by grain offerings of choice flour moistened with olive oil—six quarts with each bull, four quarts with the ram, ²⁹and two quarts with each of the seven lambs. ³⁰Also, offer one male goat to purify yourselves and make yourselves right with the Lord. ³¹Prepare these special burnt offerings, along with their liquid offerings, in addition to the regular burnt offering and its accompanying grain offering. Be sure that all the animals you sacrifice have no defects.

Offerings for the Festival of Trumpets

29 “Celebrate the Festival of Trumpets each year on the first day of the appointed month in early autumn.^[d] You must call an official day for holy assembly, and you may do no ordinary work. ²On that day you must present a burnt offering as a pleasing aroma to the Lord. It will consist of one young bull, one ram, and seven one-year-old male lambs, all with no defects. ³These must be accompanied by grain offerings of choice flour moistened with olive oil—six quarts^[e] with the bull, four quarts^[f] with the ram, ⁴and two quarts^[g] with each of the seven lambs. ⁵In addition, you must sacrifice a male goat as a sin offering to purify yourselves and make yourselves right with the Lord.^[h] ⁶These special sacrifices are in addition to your regular monthly and daily burnt offerings, and they must be given with their prescribed grain offerings and liquid offerings. These offerings are given as a special gift to the Lord, a pleasing aroma to him.

Offerings for the Day of Atonement

⁷“Ten days later, on the tenth day of the same month,^[i] you must call another holy assembly. On that day, the Day of Atonement, the people must go without food and must do no ordinary work. ⁸You must present a burnt offering as a pleasing aroma to the Lord. It will consist of one young bull, one ram, and seven one-year-old male lambs, all with no defects. ⁹These offerings must be accompanied by the prescribed grain offerings of choice flour moistened with olive oil—six quarts of choice flour with the bull, four quarts of choice flour with the ram, ¹⁰and two quarts of choice flour with each of the seven lambs. ¹¹You must also sacrifice one male goat for a sin offering. This is in addition to the sin offering of atonement and the regular daily burnt offering with its grain offering, and their accompanying liquid offerings.

Offerings for the Festival of Shelters

¹²“Five days later, on the fifteenth day of the same month,^[j] you must call another holy assembly of all the people, and you may do no ordinary work on that day. It is the beginning of the Festival of Shelters,^[k] a seven-day festival to the Lord. ¹³On the first day of the festival, you must present a burnt offering as a special gift, a pleasing aroma to the Lord. It will consist of thirteen young bulls, two rams, and fourteen one-year-old male lambs, all with no defects. ¹⁴Each of these offerings must be accompanied by a grain offering of choice flour moistened with olive oil—six quarts for each of the thirteen bulls, four quarts for each of the two rams, ¹⁵and two quarts for each of the fourteen lambs. ¹⁶You must also sacrifice a male goat as a sin offering, in addition to the regular burnt offering with its accompanying grain offering and liquid offering.

¹⁷“On the second day of this seven-day festival, sacrifice twelve young bulls, two rams, and fourteen one-year-old male lambs, all with no defects. ¹⁸Each of these offerings of bulls, rams, and lambs must be accompanied by its prescribed grain offering and liquid offering. ¹⁹You must also sacrifice a male goat as a sin offering, in addition to the regular burnt offering with its accompanying grain offering and liquid offering.

²⁰“On the third day of the festival, sacrifice eleven young bulls, two rams, and fourteen one-year-old male lambs, all with no defects. ²¹Each of these offerings of bulls, rams, and lambs must be accompanied by its prescribed grain offering and liquid offering. ²²You must also sacrifice a male goat as a sin offering, in addition to the regular burnt offering with its accompanying grain offering and liquid offering.

²³“On the fourth day of the festival, sacrifice ten young bulls, two rams, and fourteen one-year-old male lambs, all with no defects. ²⁴Each of these offerings of bulls, rams, and lambs must be accompanied by its prescribed grain offering and liquid offering. ²⁵You must also sacrifice a male goat as a sin offering, in addition to the regular burnt offering with its accompanying grain offering and liquid offering.

²⁶“On the fifth day of the festival, sacrifice nine young bulls, two rams, and fourteen one-year-old male lambs, all with no defects. ²⁷Each of these offerings of bulls, rams, and lambs must be accompanied by its prescribed grain offering and liquid offering. ²⁸You must also sacrifice a male goat as a sin offering, in addition to the regular burnt offering with its accompanying grain offering and liquid offering.

²⁹“On the sixth day of the festival, sacrifice eight young bulls, two rams, and fourteen one-year-old male lambs, all with no defects. ³⁰Each of these offerings of bulls, rams, and lambs must be accompanied by its prescribed grain offering and liquid offering. ³¹You must also sacrifice a male goat as a sin offering, in addition to the regular burnt offering with its accompanying grain offering and liquid offering.

³²“On the seventh day of the festival, sacrifice seven young bulls, two rams, and fourteen one-year-old male lambs, all with no defects. ³³Each of these offerings of bulls, rams, and lambs must be accompanied by its prescribed grain offering and liquid offering. ³⁴You must also sacrifice one male goat as a sin offering, in addition to the regular burnt offering with its accompanying grain offering and liquid offering.

³⁵“On the eighth day of the festival, proclaim another holy day. You must do no ordinary work on that day. ³⁶You must present a burnt offering as a special gift, a pleasing aroma to the Lord. It will consist of one young bull, one ram, and seven one-year-old male lambs, all with no defects. ³⁷Each of these offerings must be accompanied by its prescribed grain offering and liquid offering. ³⁸You must also sacrifice one male goat as a sin offering, in addition to the regular burnt offering with its accompanying grain offering and liquid offering.

³⁹“You must present these offerings to the Lord at your annual festivals. These are in addition to the sacrifices and offerings you present in connection with vows, or as voluntary offerings, burnt offerings, grain offerings, liquid offerings, or peace offerings.”

⁴⁰^[l]So Moses gave all of these instructions to the people of Israel as the Lord had commanded him.

Footnotes:

28:16 This day in the ancient Hebrew lunar calendar occurred in late March, April, or early May.
28:22 Or to make atonement for yourselves; also in 28:30.
28:26 Hebrew Festival of Weeks. This was later called the Festival of Pentecost (see Acts 2:1). It is celebrated today as Shavuot (or Shabuoth).
29:1 Hebrew the first day of the seventh month. This day in the ancient Hebrew lunar calendar occurred in September or October. This festival is celebrated today as Rosh Hashanah, the Jewish new year.
29:3a Hebrew 3⁄10 of an ephah [6.6 liters]; also in 29:9, 14.
29:3b Hebrew 2⁄10 of an ephah [4.4 liters]; also in 29:9, 14.
29:4 Hebrew 1⁄10 of an ephah [2.2 liters]; also in 29:10, 15.
29:5 Or to make atonement for yourselves.
29:7 Hebrew On the tenth day of the seventh month; see 29:1 and the note there. This day in the ancient Hebrew lunar calendar occurred in September or October. It is celebrated today as Yom Kippur.
29:12a Hebrew On the fifteenth day of the seventh month; see 29:1, 7 and the notes there. This day in the ancient Hebrew lunar calendar occurred in late September, October, or early November.
29:12b Or Festival of Booths, or Festival of Tabernacles. This was earlier called the Festival of the Final Harvest or Festival of Ingathering (see Exod 23:16b). It is celebrated today as Sukkot (or Succoth).
29:40 Verse 29:40 is numbered 30:1 in Hebrew text.

New Living Translation (NLT)

Luke 3:23-38

The Ancestors of Jesus

²³Jesus was about thirty years old when he began his public ministry.

Jesus was known as the son of Joseph.
Joseph was the son of Heli.
²⁴Heli was the son of Matthat.
Matthat was the son of Levi.
Levi was the son of Melki.
Melki was the son of Jannai.
Jannai was the son of Joseph.
²⁵Joseph was the son of Mattathias.
Mattathias was the son of Amos.
Amos was the son of Nahum.
Nahum was the son of Esli.
Esli was the son of Naggai.
²⁶Naggai was the son of Maath.
Maath was the son of Mattathias.
Mattathias was the son of Semein.
Semein was the son of Josech.
Josech was the son of Joda.
²⁷Joda was the son of Joanan.
Joanan was the son of Rhesa.
Rhesa was the son of Zerubbabel.
Zerubbabel was the son of Shealtiel.
Shealtiel was the son of Neri.
²⁸Neri was the son of Melki.
Melki was the son of Addi.
Addi was the son of Cosam.
Cosam was the son of Elmadam.
Elmadam was the son of Er.
²⁹Er was the son of Joshua.
Joshua was the son of Eliezer.
Eliezer was the son of Jorim.
Jorim was the son of Matthat.
Matthat was the son of Levi.
³⁰Levi was the son of Simeon.
Simeon was the son of Judah.
Judah was the son of Joseph.
Joseph was the son of Jonam.
Jonam was the son of Eliakim.
³¹Eliakim was the son of Melea.
Melea was the son of Menna.
Menna was the son of Mattatha.
Mattatha was the son of Nathan.
Nathan was the son of David.
³²David was the son of Jesse.
Jesse was the son of Obed.
Obed was the son of Boaz.
Boaz was the son of Salmon.^[a]
Salmon was the son of Nahshon.
³³Nahshon was the son of Amminadab.
Amminadab was the son of Admin.
Admin was the son of Arni.^[b]
Arni was the son of Hezron.
Hezron was the son of Perez.
Perez was the son of Judah.
³⁴Judah was the son of Jacob.
Jacob was the son of Isaac.
Isaac was the son of Abraham.
Abraham was the son of Terah.
Terah was the son of Nahor.
³⁵Nahor was the son of Serug.
Serug was the son of Reu.
Reu was the son of Peleg.
Peleg was the son of Eber.
Eber was the son of Shelah.
³⁶Shelah was the son of Cainan.
Cainan was the son of Arphaxad.
Arphaxad was the son of Shem.
Shem was the son of Noah.
Noah was the son of Lamech.
³⁷Lamech was the son of Methuselah.
Methuselah was the son of Enoch.
Enoch was the son of Jared.
Jared was the son of Mahalalel.
Mahalalel was the son of Kenan.
³⁸Kenan was the son of Enosh.^[c]
Enosh was the son of Seth.
Seth was the son of Adam.
Adam was the son of God.

Footnotes:

3:32 Greek Sala, a variant spelling of Salmon; also in 3:32b. See Ruth 4:20-21.
3:33 Some manuscripts read Amminadab was the son of Aram. Arni and Aram are alternate spellings of Ram. See 1 Chr 2:9-10.
3:38 Greek Enos, a variant spelling of Enosh; also in 3:38b. See Gen 5:6.

New Living Translation (NLT)

Psalm 62

For Jeduthun, the choir director: A psalm of David.

¹I wait quietly before God,
for my victory comes from him.
²He alone is my rock and my salvation,
my fortress where I will never be shaken.

³So many enemies against one man—
all of them trying to kill me.
To them I’m just a broken-down wall
or a tottering fence.
⁴They plan to topple me from my high position.
They delight in telling lies about me.
They praise me to my face
but curse me in their hearts. Interlude

⁵Let all that I am wait quietly before God,
for my hope is in him.
⁶He alone is my rock and my salvation,
my fortress where I will not be shaken.
⁷My victory and honor come from God alone.
He is my refuge, a rock where no enemy can reach me.
⁸O my people, trust in him at all times.
Pour out your heart to him,
for God is our refuge. Interlude

⁹Common people are as worthless as a puff of wind,
and the powerful are not what they appear to be.
If you weigh them on the scales,
together they are lighter than a breath of air.

¹⁰Don’t make your living by extortion
or put your hope in stealing.
And if your wealth increases,
don’t make it the center of your life.

¹¹God has spoken plainly,
and I have heard it many times:
Power, O God, belongs to you;
¹²unfailing love, O Lord, is yours.
Surely you repay all people
according to what they have done.

New Living Translation (NLT)

Proverbs 11:18-19

¹⁸Evil people get rich for the moment,
but the reward of the godly will last.

¹⁹Godly people find life;
evil people find death.

New Living Translation (NLT)

March 17, 2017

03/17/2017 DAB Transcript

Numbers 26:1-51 ~ Luke 2:36-52 ~ Psalm 60:1-12 ~ Proverbs 11:15

Today is the 17^th day of March (I had to think for a second). March! It’s been looking so much like April outside that I was confused, or maybe I was just getting ahead of myself or maybe I was just confused period. It doesn’t matter. All that matters is hopefully I can read words today and I believe that I can. So welcome to the Daily Audio Bible here as we approach the ending of another week. We’ve been reading from the Expanded Bible this week, so back into the book of Numbers we go, chapter 26, verses 1 through 51 today.

Commentary

In the book of Luke we’re getting a glimpse into Jesus’ childhood and it is fascinating what we can glean there because it gives us insight into how Jesus became who he was and who he was known to be. Jesus has made the Passover pilgrimage to Jerusalem from Nazareth, which is about 90 miles and no real good easy way to do it. It is uphill. This is an annual thing and this would be the same journey Jesus would take much later in his life toward the cross. So this was something that Jesus was accustomed to, being in Jerusalem at Passover, at festival. He grew up doing this.

So we can see his parents’ posture because a group had come from Nazareth to Jerusalem for the festival and this happened every year and so when they all left, Jesus was just assumed to be in the group with them because there would be family and kids and they would talk and kind of go on their own journey. So it is like a day out of Jerusalem, a long day’s walk back toward Nazareth and nighttime comes and Jesus is nowhere to be found. So Mary and Joseph are freaking out, as any parent would be. They are searching and searching and searching and finally they have to go back, they have to go a day’s journey back to Jerusalem alone, outside of the group, which means they are going to have to take this journey back to Nazareth alone, which puts them in a bit of danger. They will be traveling without people that they know.

So they are searching all over the place to find Jesus and they find him in the Temple. You can only imagine what was going through their minds as they were coming to the Temple, asking God, “Please help us find Jesus.” I can only imagine for Mary, “Lord, I have lost your son. I don’t know what to say.” I mean, what do you say? “Jesus, help me find you?” Or maybe that is exactly what you say.

Jesus is found in the Temple and Mary is exasperated, as a mother would be, and relieved and angry, and all of the things that moms do in situations like this, she is that. So the humanity is just dripping from the scene. And Jesus is just a boy. He’s like, “Mom, I’ve got to be about my Father’s business. Of course, you would find me here in my Father’s house.”

What is interesting is what Jesus is doing in his Father’s house. He is sitting with the rabbis and the teachers of the Mosaic Law and they are amazed at his questions and insights as a boy. Jesus isn’t just talking to local rabbis. He’s like talking to the big shots in Jerusalem in the Temple of the Most High God. This is important as the story goes forward.

As Jesus grows up and moves into his own ministry, he is very compelling as a communicator and miraculous as a healer, but he is a long way from Jerusalem. He’s way, way in a different region up in the Galilee to the north. So yeah, as things begin to heat up around Jesus and he begins to draw crowds in the Galilee, it’s not too long that the Bible shows us the people, leaders, rabbis, experts in the Mosaic Law begin to travel from Jerusalem to see Jesus, to check out what is going on around this guy. Usually it would be the other way around, right? The most educated, most gifted, most talented, most elite would be in Jerusalem in the Temple and people would travel to Jerusalem to have meetings with them. But Jesus was that little kid. He was that one that was so insightful at such a young age and so inquisitive. He was the one that said he is just here to be about his Father’s business in his Father’s house when his parents showed up to find him. And it was all cute then, but maybe he wasn’t joking around. Maybe he really meant what he said and wouldn’t that be blasphemy? What is going on here?

So we see how Jesus begins to show up on the radar way before he was ever in ministry as we go forward in the book of Luke, but as we read the gospels, we see this. The religious leaders aren’t initially antagonistic toward Jesus per se. They are investigating and trying to check out what he is actually saying. It does get confrontational because Jesus is willing to sidestep the tradition and ritual of the Mosaic Law. He is able to see clearly what became of it and he is trying to unpack the proper posture to look at toward it. Of course, in the end the religious leaders won’t tolerate it, can’t tolerate it. It is going to upend the entire power structure of the people, but they remain divided. Not everyone is out to get Jesus. Some secretly believe. Some come and have private meetings. In the end they decide it is better for one man to die than for everybody to get destroyed by this man’s message, a colossal miscalculation of what God was up to as we watch Jesus’ life.

Prayer

Jesus, we thank you for your life, for your humanity, that you came here and lived a life showing us what ours is supposed to look like and all of the tension that brings when good and heaven come to earth. Then all of a sudden we’re trying to filter it back through what we think that we know and we continue to just repeat the vicious cycle that has been the human story since we breached your trust and allowed evil and sin into this world. So as we read the gospels and as we learn your story and how you participated in a human life, we get a very clear picture of how far it has gone and how far we have fallen. Even just in the gospel reading today, just understanding how it was that you got on the radar in the first place, it shows us the wrestling of humanity when it comes in contact with divinity. When man and God come face to face, all kinds of things happen, but what is supposed to happen is this integration, this restoration of how things were always supposed to be for us and it is disruptive, as it should be, because it exposes how far we’ve gone. So come, Holy Spirit, into this as we contemplate and meditate upon it and as we continue forward in the gospel of Luke in the coming days. Help us to see Jesus as what we are really supposed to look like, as what our human life is supposed to be. Come Jesus, we pray. In your mighty name, amen.

Announcements

Www.DailyAudioBible.com is the website. It’s home base. It’s where you find out what is going on around here and there is stuff going on, but the More Gathering for Women, that is probably the next thing that is beeping the loudest, the brightest on the radar, if there was a radar for such things like that. It’s coming up. Registration is actually going to be closing in one week. Here we are, the last week to register for More. That will cut off on the 23^rd, which is a week from yesterday, so a little less than a week. So if you’ve been kind of on the fence, then this is the time to really discern and ask Jesus if this is your time to come to the mountains of Georgia and just be in a sisterhood of women from all over the world who are looking for Jesus, who are looking for that intimacy, who are looking for the next steps, the reset, what the future trajectory is supposed to look like. That is the More Gathering for Women. So a few more days and you can check it out. Check it out at www.DailyAudioBible.com or www.MoreGathering.com and you’ll find out all of the details, everything that you would want to know as you consider coming. We’ll look forward with great anticipation. The intercessory team has been praying already for months for you. So it will be nice to see you in person, people that we’ve been praying for all long. So yeah, check it out. We look forward to seeing you very soon in the mountains of Georgia just outside of Atlanta.

If you want to partner with the Daily Audio Bible, you can do that at www.DailyAudioBible.com. There is a link on the home page. Thank you humbly, deeply for this community and what we do together. It is the fact that we do this together that allows us to be in existence at all. So thank you for your partnership. If you’re using the Daily Audio Bible App, you can press the More button in the lower right-hand corner or, if you prefer, the mailing address is P.O. Box 1996, Spring Hill, TN 37174.

And, as always, if you have a prayer request or comment, (877) 942-4253 is the number to dial.

And that’s it for today. I’m Brian. I love you and I’ll be waiting for you here tomorrow.

Community Prayer Requests and Praise Reports

Hello family. This is Teri B. from Delaware and I am calling with a praise report. From August 2000 through February 2016 my family was just plagued with medical problems. Between my husband and my son, there were just nonstop issues, two kidney transplants, traumatic brain injury, seizures, super bacterial infections, flesh-eating bacteria, burst bladder, brain stem puncture, lymphoma. That’s just to name a few. We barely made it through a month without something going wrong and from July 2016 through February 2016 we had 911 ambulance calls twice per week. We received more __________ notices than anyone should, but they always pulled through. Beginning in 2015 and 2016 God transformed both of them and neither have been admitted to the hospital for over a year. It’s amazing to be able to breathe deeply and not always be on the edge waiting for the next medical disaster. So I thank you to all my DAB family who has prayed for my family through the years and thank God for this time of healing. We praise God.

Hi everyone. This is Chris from Connecticut. I’m calling to encourage Jonathon in Kentucky who has his father going in for prostate cancer. I just want to encourage him in that my own pastor recently was diagnosed with that. I’m not sure it was at the same severity as what you had of what your father is going through, but God ended up turning that very scary thing into a huge blessing and God’s favor was all around that situation when he went in to see the doctors. So I will be praying for you and your family as you move in to put those gold markers in. I am believing with you that God will do a mighty work. God bless you guys. Thank you.

Hi. My name is Rosa. This is my first time calling. I just really wanted to reach out to Deneen from Virginia. I’m a little behind on the Daily Audio Bible, but I’m trying to follow all the days and I just heard your message, Deneen, and I was so moved by it because I can relate in some level with your experience. I just wanted to tell you, Deneen, that you are not your past. The Lord has such a beautiful life for you and I want you and He wants you to trust him, which I think is usually like one of the hardest things to do when we suffer with PTSD and anxiety problems, but God wants you to trust in him. He made you and he loves you and you are not defined by your past. The Lord brought to my mind this word where it says that him whom Christ set free is free indeed and you are free from all that. So I just want you to hang onto the word of God and to the hand of Jesus and through Jesus you will have an amazing, amazing, amazing life. God will surprise you if you just fix your eyes on him and trust him and continue seeking him. He really makes a difference in your life. He certainly made a difference in mine. I just really want you to know that. I want you to look forward to all the things that God will do with you, for you, and through you. So I just want you to be encouraged. I will pray for you. I love you and I want you to know you are not alone. I’m excited for where God is going to take you and he is going to use you to save so many other lives. So God bless you. God bless you all, my Daily Audio Bible family. Thank you so much for always calling and praying for each other. Thank you so much, Brian. You’re amazing.

Hi, my name is anonymous and… My name is Kayla and I want to pray over my mind, please. And for America and the President just to, I don’t know, make the right decisions and everything, even myself and my mind, make the right decisions. Yeah, and I want to pray for love and my daughter McKenzie and that’s about it. Thank you. Bye-bye.

Hi, this is Victorious Soldier, just calling tonight to pray for some of the Dabbers. And I just wanted to give a little bit of my celebration. This week my husband and I celebrated 24 years of marriage and I’m just thanking God for just bringing us through the challenges. We are still here and we are still letting God have his way. I just want to pray for my sister from Birmingham, Pauline M. I want to pray for the truck driver. I want to pray for Janine from VA. I want to pray for __________, for Debbie, the things that she has gone through and how God has been with her. I’m just so glad, Debbie, that God is faithful and that he showed you so many great and wonderful things. Even in the bad times God is good in your life. Continue, Lord, to bless Debbie and continue to bless Stephanie in North Carolina. Continue to call, Debbie. There are a lot of people that are like you, but the enemy wants to make you feel like there is something wrong. There is nothing wrong with us. Everything is right because God has ordered it. I just want to pray for those, Lord, in the name of Jesus. You know the challenges. You know the difficulties. You know even the pressure, Lord. You know that you are able to do exceedingly, abundantly above all that you ask or think. Lord, I just want to convey to the Dabbers, continue to pray until something happens. Faith is believing that God is telling the truth. That when he says it, it is what he says it is. Father, you show them. You show them yourself as a mighty God. You show them as a God that can do anything.

Good morning my beautiful sisters and brothers. This is Dawn calling from New York and Candace, honey, from Oregon, oh sweetie, I just heard your prayer request on the podcast this morning just a few minutes ago and we are standing with you in prayer. I’m so, so sorry for this shocking and scary report about your husband. We just want to pray with you right now. We’re surrounding you with our prayers. This is a time we certainly wish we could be near you. We just pray that God will bring friends around you who really stand with you and comfort you. O Lord, we just pray for Candace right now, for her husband, for her family. O Jesus, please have mercy on this family during this scary time. We just ask you, God, for your comfort, for your healing, for your strength. We lift up our precious sister to you, Lord. We ask you to just comfort her, Father, and strengthen her at this time. Help her to know that she has sisters and brothers around the world who are praying with her and we ask you, God, to please, please give your supernatural comfort and peace to her now. We do love you, Candace, honey, and I’m just so sorry to hear that you have this scary situation to deal with right now. God bless you. We’re praying with you.

March 17, 2017

The Daily Audio Bible Reading for Friday March 17, 2017 (NIV)

Numbers 26:1-51

The People Are Counted

26 After the ·great sickness [plague], the Lord said to Moses and Eleazar son of Aaron, the priest, ²“·Count [Take a census of; ^LLift the head of] all the ·people of Israel [^Lcommunity/congregation of the sons/^Tchildren of Israel] by ·families [clans], all the men who are twenty years old or older who will serve in the army of Israel [^Clike a military registration; chapter 1 counts the generation that came out of Egypt; this counts the one that would enter the land].” ³Moses and Eleazar the priest spoke to the people on the plains of Moab near the Jordan River, across from Jericho. They said, ⁴“Count the men [^Csupplied from v. 2] twenty years old or older, as the Lord commanded Moses.”

Here are the ·Israelites [^Lsons/^Tchildren of Israel] who came out of Egypt:

⁵The ·tribe [^Lsons; descendants] of Reuben, the first son born to Israel, was counted. From Hanoch came the Hanochite ·family group [clan]; from Pallu came the Palluite ·family group [clan]; ⁶from Hezron came the Hezronite ·family group [clan]; from Carmi came the Carmite ·family group [clan]. ⁷These were the ·family groups [clans] of Reuben, and the total number of men was 43,730.

⁸The son of Pallu was Eliab, ⁹and Eliab’s sons were Nemuel, Dathan, and Abiram. Dathan and Abiram were the ·leaders [conveners of the community/congregation/assembly] who turned against Moses and Aaron and ·followed [^Lwere in the assembly of] Korah when he ·turned [rebelled] against the Lord. ¹⁰The earth opened up and swallowed them and Korah; they died at the same time the fire burned up the 250 men [16:1–40]. This was a warning, ¹¹but the children of Korah did not die.

¹²These were the ·family groups [clans] in the ·tribe [^Lsons; descendants] of Simeon: From Nemuel came the Nemuelite ·family group [clan]; from Jamin came the Jaminite ·family group [clan]; from Jakin came the Jakinite ·family group [clan]; ¹³from Zerah came the Zerahite ·family group [clan]; from Shaul came the Shaulite ·family group [clan]. ¹⁴These were the ·family groups [clans] of Simeon, and the total number of men was 22,200.

¹⁵These were the ·family groups [clans] in the ·tribe [^Lsons; descendants] of Gad: From Zephon came the Zephonite ·family group [clan]; from Haggi came the Haggite ·family group [clan]; from Shuni came the Shunite ·family group [clan]; ¹⁶from Ozni came the Oznite ·family group [clan]; from Eri came the Erite ·family group [clan]; ¹⁷from Arodi came the Arodite ·family group [clan]; from Areli came the Arelite ·family group [clan]. ¹⁸These were the ·family groups [clans] of Gad, and the total number of men was 40,500.

¹⁹Two of Judah’s sons, Er and Onan, died in Canaan [Gen. 38:6–11].

²⁰These were the ·family groups [clans] in the ·tribe [^Lsons; descendants] of Judah: From Shelah came the Shelanite ·family group [clan]; from Perez came the Perezite ·family group [clan]; from Zerah came the Zerahite ·family group [clan]. ²¹These were the ·family groups [clans] from Perez: From Hezron came the Hezronite ·family group [clan]; from Hamul came the Hamulite ·family group [clan]. ²²These were the ·family groups [clans] of Judah, and the total number of men was 76,500.

²³These were the ·family groups [clans] in the ·tribe [^Lsons; descendants] of Issachar: From Tola came the Tolaite ·family group [clan]; from Puah came the Puite ·family group [clan]; ²⁴from Jashub came the Jashubite ·family group [clan]; from Shimron came the Shimronite ·family group [clan]. ²⁵These were the ·family groups [clan] of Issachar, and the total number of men was 64,300.

²⁶These were the ·family groups [clans] in the ·tribe [^Lsons; descendants] of Zebulun: From Sered came the Seredite ·family group [clan]; from Elon came the Elonite ·family group [clan]; from Jahleel came the Jahleelite ·family group [clan]. ²⁷These were the ·family groups [clans] of Zebulun, and the total number of men was 60,500.

²⁸These were the ·family groups [clans] of Joseph through Manasseh and Ephraim.

²⁹These were the ·family groups [clans] of [^Lthe sons/descendants of] Manasseh: From Makir came the Makirite ·family group [clan] (Makir was the father of Gilead); from Gilead came the Gileadite ·family group [clan]. ³⁰These were the ·family groups [clans] that came from Gilead: From Iezer came the Iezerite ·family group [clan]; from Helek came the Helekite ·family group [clan]; ³¹from Asriel came the Asrielite ·family group [clan]; from Shechem came the Shechemite ·family group [clan]; ³²from Shemida came the Shemidaite ·family group [clan]; from Hepher came the Hepherite ·family group [clan]. ³³(Zelophehad son of Hepher had no sons; he had only daughters, and their names were Mahlah, Noah, Hoglah, Milcah, and Tirzah [27:1–11; 36:1–13; Josh. 17:3–6].) ³⁴These were the ·family groups [clans] of Manasseh, and the total number of men was 52,700.

³⁵These were the ·family groups [clans] in the ·tribe [^Lsons; descendants] of Ephraim: From Shuthelah came the Shuthelahite ·family group [clan]; from Beker came the Bekerite ·family group [clan]; from Tahan came the Tahanite ·family group [clan]. ³⁶This was the ·family group [clan] from Shuthelah: From Eran came the Eranite ·family group [clan]. ³⁷These were the ·family groups [clans] of [^Lthe sons/descendants of] Ephraim, and the total number of men was 32,500. These are the ·family groups [clans] that came from Joseph.

³⁸These were the ·family groups [clans] in the ·tribe [^Lsons; descendants] of Benjamin: From Bela came the Belaite ·family group [clan]; from Ashbel came the Ashbelite ·family group [clan]; from Ahiram came the Ahiramite ·family group [clan]; ³⁹from Shupham came the Shuphamite ·family group [clan]; from Hupham came the Huphamite ·family group [clan]. ⁴⁰These were the ·family groups [clans] from Bela through Ard and Naaman: From Ard came the Ardite ·family group [clan]; from Naaman came the Naamite ·family group [clan]. ⁴¹These were the ·family groups [clans] of Benjamin, and the total number of men was 45,600.

⁴²This was the ·family group [clan] in the ·tribe [^Lsons; descendants] of Dan: From Shuham came the Shuhamite ·family group [clan]. That was the ·family group [clan] of Dan, ⁴³and the total number of men in the Shuhamite ·family group [clan] of Dan was 64,400.

⁴⁴These were the ·family groups [clans] in the ·tribe [^Lsons; descendants] of Asher: From Imnah came the Imnite ·family group [clan]; from Ishvi came the Ishvite ·family group [clan]; from Beriah came the Beriite ·family group [clan]. ⁴⁵These were the ·family groups [clans] that came from Beriah: From Heber came the Heberite ·family group [clan]; from Malkiel came the Malkielite ·family group [clan]. ⁴⁶(Asher also had a daughter named Serah.) ⁴⁷These were the ·family groups [clans] of Asher, and the total number of men was 53,400.

⁴⁸These were the ·family groups [clans] in the ·tribe [^Lsons; descendants] of Naphtali: From Jahzeel came the Jahzeelite ·family group [clan]; from Guni came the Gunite ·family group [clan]; ⁴⁹from Jezer came the Jezerite ·family group [clan]; from Shillem came the Shillemite ·family group [clan]. ⁵⁰These were the ·family groups [clans] of Naphtali, and the total number of men was 45,400.

⁵¹So the total number of the ·men [^Lsons; ^Tchildren] of Israel was 601,730.

Expanded Bible (EXB)

Luke 2:36-52

Anna Sees Jesus

³⁶There was a prophetess, ·Anna, [^LHannah] ·from the family [^Lthe daughter] of Phanuel ·in [who was from] the tribe of Asher. She was very old and had once been married for seven years. ³⁷Then her husband died, and she was a widow ·for [or to the age of] eighty-four years. She never left the Temple but worshiped God, ·going without food [fasting] and praying day and night. ³⁸·Standing there [or Coming up to them] at that time, she ·thanked [praised; blessed] God and spoke about ·Jesus [^Lhim] to all who were waiting for ·God to free [^Lthe redemption/deliverance of] Jerusalem.

Joseph and Mary Return Home

³⁹When Joseph and Mary had done everything the law of the Lord commanded, they went home to Nazareth, their own town in Galilee [Matt. 2:22–23]. ⁴⁰The little child grew and became strong. He was filled with wisdom, and God’s ·goodness [favor; grace] was upon him.

Jesus as a Boy

⁴¹Every year Jesus’ parents went to Jerusalem for the Passover ·Feast [festival; ^Cannual festival that celebrates God’s rescue of Israel from Egypt; Ex. 12]. ⁴²When he was twelve years old, they went to the ·feast [festival] ·as they always did [or according to Jewish custom]. ⁴³After the feast days were over, they started home. The boy Jesus stayed behind in Jerusalem, but his parents did not know it. ⁴⁴Thinking that Jesus was with them in the group, they traveled for a whole day. Then they began to look for him among their family and friends. ⁴⁵When they did not find him, they went back to Jerusalem to look for him there. ⁴⁶After three days [^Cprobably three days since they left Jerusalem—one out, one back, and one searching] they found Jesus sitting in the Temple ·with [among; in the middle of] the teachers, listening to them and asking them questions. ⁴⁷All who heard him were amazed at his understanding and answers. ⁴⁸When Jesus’ parents saw him, they were astonished. His mother said to him, “·Son [Child], why ·did you do this to us [have you treated us this way]? [^LLook; ^TBehold] Your father and I were ·very worried [distressed; in pain] about you and have been looking for you.”

⁴⁹Jesus said to them, “Why were you looking for me? Didn’t you know that I must be ·in my Father’s house [or about my Father’s business]?” ⁵⁰But they did not understand the meaning of what he said.

⁵¹Jesus went with them to Nazareth and ·was obedient to them [lived under their authority]. But his mother ·kept in her mind all that had happened [^Lkept/treasured all these things/words in her heart]. ⁵²Jesus ·became wiser and grew physically [grew in wisdom and stature/height]. ·People liked him, and he pleased God […and in favor with God and people; 1 Sam. 2:26].

Expanded Bible (EXB)

Psalm 60

A Prayer After a Defeat

For the director of music. To the tune of “Lily of the ·Agreement [Testimony].” A miktam [^Cperhaps “inscription”] of David. For teaching. When David fought the Arameans of ·northwest Mesopotamia [Naharaim; ^Lthe Two Rivers] and Zobah, and when Joab returned and ·defeated [^Lstruck] twelve thousand ·Edomites at the Valley of Salt [2 Sam. 8; 1 Chr. 18].

60 God, you have rejected us and ·scattered us [broken us down; burst forth on us].
You have been angry, but please ·come back to [restore] us.
²You made the earth shake and ·crack [split open].
Heal its ·breaks [cracks; fractures] because it ·is shaking [totters].
³You have ·given your people [^Lmade your people see] ·trouble [hardship].
You made us ·unable to walk straight, like people drunk with wine [^Ldrink wine that makes us reel; ^Cthe cup of God’s wrath; Jer. 25:15–29; Nah. 3:11; Matt. 26:39].
⁴You have raised a banner to gather those who fear you.
Now they can ·stand up against the enemy [^Lescape/flee from the bow]. ·Selah [Interlude]

⁵Answer us and ·save us [give us victory] by your ·power [^Lhand]
so ·the people you love [your beloved] will be rescued.

⁶God has said ·from his Temple [from his Holy Place; or in his holiness],
“·When I win [or With joy], I will ·divide [parcel up] Shechem
and measure off the Valley of Succoth [Gen. 33:17–20].
⁷Gilead and Manasseh are mine.
Ephraim is like my helmet.
Judah holds my royal scepter [Gen. 49:10; ^Cthey are agents of God’s power].
⁸Moab is like my washbowl.
I throw my sandals at Edom [^Cshowing contempt].
I shout [^Cin triumph] at Philistia [^Cenemies of Israel].”

⁹Who will bring me to the ·strong, walled [fortified] city?
Who will lead me to Edom?
¹⁰God, ·surely you have rejected [^Lhave you not rejected…?] us;
you do not go out with our armies.
¹¹·Help us fight the enemy [^LGive us help against the foe].
Human ·help [deliverance] is useless,
¹²but we can ·win [fight bravely] with God’s help.
He will ·defeat [tread on] our ·enemies [foes].

Expanded Bible (EXB)

Proverbs 11:15

¹⁵Whoever guarantees to pay somebody else’s loan will suffer.
It is safer to avoid such promises.

Expanded Bible (EXB)

March 16, 2017

03/16/2017 DAB Transcript

Numbers 24:1-25:18 ~ Luke 2:1-35 ~ Psalm 59:1-17 ~ Proverbs 11:14

Today is the 16^th day of March. Welcome to the Daily Audio Bible. I’m Brian. It is great to be here with you today for another step forward in the scriptures this year. Man, we started this story of Balak and Balaam and so let’s move back out into the desert in the book of Numbers and see what happens. Numbers chapter 24, verse 1 through 25, verse 18 today. And we’re reading from the Expanded Bible this week.

Commentary

In the book of Numbers, Balaam blesses Israel and he gives prophetic utterances about the surrounding nations and how Israel will prevail eventually over them. And then he gives a prophetic long view, referring to the Messiah who was born in the book of Luke in our reading today, an utterance out in the wilderness before there was a land of Israel at all and then the fulfillment of the promise. Meanwhile, Israel started worshipping the Baals.

I think it is like what else is there to say? The juxtaposition is so stark that it is like what else is there to say except when I look at the children of Israel coming out of Egypt grumbling, wandering, complaining, chasing after everything that just comes across their path, that the promise is some sort of pleasure or life, then I have to look at my own history and acknowledge I’m that. The Bible is absolutely reading my history, my life, and I feel fairly confident that it is doing the same for you in one way or another. I mean, this Balaam and Balak story is a powerful one. Here is God speaking through a foreign prophet to a foreign king who has the idea of destroying these people. Meanwhile, these people have begun to worship the Moabite gods. It’s almost like God could be like, “Look Balak, you’re the king of Moab. You don’t really need me to curse these people. They are cursing themselves. You don’t need me to destroy them. They are destroying themselves and they are my chosen ones.” It is so stark.

We have to look at our own lives and invite the Holy Spirit to reveal the ways that we have colluded with our enemy to destroy ourselves. I mean, we’re constantly looking for somebody to blame, so we’ll blame the devil. We’ll blame the Lord. We’ll blame our fellow human beings when sometimes we just have to look in the mirror and own it. Getting mad at God is not the answer. Getting right with God is the only solution.

Overall, as we continue forward in this story of the children of Israel, we’ll get to see what both of those look like and where those paths lead. And then we get to ask ourselves which path am I actually on? Not the path I say I’m on, which path am I really actually walking? Is it the narrow path that leads to life or not? And the Bible will show us where both of those roads lead and then we’ll get to choose. And it’s not something that we choose once. It’s something that we choose in every decision we make. So may we use this story of Balak and Balaam and the children of Israel and the way that they are so easily seduced into other distractions and invite God into all of that as we use it as a mirror for our own souls.

Prayer

Father, that is our prayer. That is what we do. We invite you into that because it’s true. We’ve been all over the map. If we’re going to be honest about our life story, we’ve been all over the map and not all of the places have been promised and not all of the places have been good. A lot of it has been spent in the wilderness wandering around trying to figure it out, but we’re not going to figure it out. We weren’t made to figure it out without you. We weren’t made to do anything without being intertwined with you and collaborating with you in life. So help us, Holy Spirit, to stop seeing you as something other and to fully realize we are a temple for the Holy Spirit within us, actually a part of who we are, within our hearts, always available, never distant. When we feel like we’re a distance from you, we’re just acknowledging we’ve lost our mooring and we’re distant from our identity because where you are is within us. We want that to rise up and become the central truth of our lives, in every thought, word, and deed. Come Holy Spirit, we pray. In the name of Jesus, the Mighty One, we ask, amen.

Announcements

Www.DailyAudioBible.com is the website. It’s home base. It’s where you find out what is going on around here and there is always something going on. The More Gathering for Women is coming up, and that is really what is going on because registration for More will end in about a week. So we’re kind of getting down to it and once it’s done, it’s done. You are invited, ladies, to come explore all of these things, the deeper recesses of your heart, the places inside of you that you don’t have time…it’s all of us, we’re busy, very busy people, so there is not a lot of downtime to just open up and have just a couple of days to just really, really sit with ourselves and Jesus and have those conversations that we just don’t take the time or have the time for. It’s a beautiful thing. I invite you and hope you can come. All the details about the More Gathering for Women are at www.DailyAudioBible.com. Everything that you would want to know. We’ll look forward to seeing you in a couple of weeks.

If you want to partner with the Daily Audio Bible, you can do that at www.DailyAudioBible.com. There is a link. It is on the home page of www.DailyAudioBible.com. Thank you for those of you who have been willing to click that link. If you’re using the Daily Audio Bible App, you can press the More button in the lower right-hand corner or, if you prefer, the mailing address is P.O. Box 1996, Spring Hill, TN 37174.

And, as always, if you have a prayer request or comment, (877) 942-4253 is the number to dial.

And that’s it for today. I’m Brian. I love you and I’ll be waiting for you here tomorrow.

Community Prayer Requests and Praise Reports

Hi DAB. Violet from the UK. I just wanted to share with you a little testimony that I had from just now. I was writing my dissertation for university and I could feel myself getting so frustrated, saying to myself __________, I can’t do this. I can’t even remember the points long enough to type them down. __________ for me, but then there was a thought that gently broke through and stopped everything, saying that __________ stopped everything in that when you succeed, my power will be perfect in your weakness. Coming from Book II in Corinthians 12, verse 9. I just __________ encourage someone today. So __________ day. Bye-bye.

Good morning Daily Audio Bible. My name is Kathryn from New Jersey and I’ve been listening to Daily Audio Bible for about two years, my first time calling in. I was listening to the recording from February 27 and I just wanted to say thank you, Jane, for sharing Isaiah 43:2. I want to read it again to encourage those who are listening today. It says fear not, for I have redeemed you. I have called you by your name. You are mine. When you pass through the waters I will be with you and through the rivers, they shall not overflow you. When you walk through the fire, you shall not be burned. When I heard this, it was very encouraging and I would like to ask for a prayer request today for my family, for deliverance. I have two sisters struggling with depression and just a time of heartbreak. One of them is going through a separation, so I just want to pray for both of them and for provision for one of my sisters who also has our nephew. So thank you for your prayers. Okay, God bless.

Hi. This is Joyful in Tennessee. I was just calling. I am calling for someone that is struggling right now with a lot of fear and depression. I’m not sure of your name and you haven’t really called in, but the Lord has just laid you on my heart specifically to tell you that he hears you and that you’re supposed to press in. I know I’ve come up on a year mark where I struggled with depression and God is so good. He brought me through that. But I had to press into him. It hurt. It hurt and it was lonely, but when I pressed in I realized that there was a big, great God there. So whomever you are, that you hear me and you know in your spirit that this is for you. God has named you Brave. You are brave and you are loved, so go past the dead feeling that you are feeling. Go past that hurt and press into it and you press into your Lord Jesus. I love you. I’m praying for you.

My precious Daily Audio Bible family. This is Candace from Oregon. My husband, Brad, had a heart attack Friday morning, about 4:30. The next morning by, I’m thinking, 3:30, he had gone on to be with Jesus after open heart surgery earlier that day. He is the one whom __________ me to be part of all of you and I’m thanking him and Jesus. Please read Psalm 23 in his honor and remember that we have nothing to fear. I love you and thank you. God bless you.

Sometimes I stop and reflect on the insanity of my past and how far you have brought me over a chasm so vast. My soul cries out hallelujah for the die has been cast. And just like Martin Luther King Jr. used to say, thank God Almighty, I’m free at last. But to whom much is given, much will be asked. So I know there is a great responsibility that comes with my past. Many who were first now find themselves last, so strengthen me, Father, to be up to the task. I know I have a story that is supposed to get told about how you’ve given me so many victories over so many dangers untold, how you’ve shielded me from a young age and allowed now to grow old. Strengthen me, Father. Make my speech bold because all that I have is due only to thee, the air that I now breathe and everything around me that I see. Life and a future, eternally with thee, and life right now, life more abundantly. Thank you, my Father, for all that you do. For giving me this chance to live life anew. Please keep my thoughts faithful, humble and true and may all of my thoughts be acceptable unto you. BlindTony1016@gmail.com. Tito, it was nice hearing your voice. I didn’t know you were still there, brother. And Delta Alpha Foxtrot, where are you, man? Time to check in. Past time to check in. Tony, truck driver, AJ, yeah, time to check in, y’all. And Steve of the Redwoods, are you still there? Alright, okay…oh, wanted to give a little update on my daughter Neeci that had the stroke. She is progressing nicely. She is able to say certain words now. She can’t string together sentences yet, but I believe that is coming and they have given her a…

Hi DAB family. I’ve got two things that I want to talk about. One, when people don’t call in, let’s just not assume that it is because they are no longer a part of the community or they don’t want to call in. Let’s remember that God is the one who should be leading us to call in and pray for other people and give praise reports. So I just want to reiterate that. It can be that everything is fine, but that if God is not leading you to call in, then we need to be respectful of that and only have something to say when God has given us peace about it. I know that I used to call in the beginning every day, but I was doing it because I wanted to do it. And God brought to my attention I need to be calling in when he has led me. So I just want to put that out there. The other thing is we need to start thanking God for the prayers that we have asked. Once we have asked them, we need to put them down and start standing in faith so that God can see that we are trusting in him and giving him the glory. Start thanking him for that baby that you want to have. Start thinking him for that relationship you want repaired. Start thanking him for that job that you want or thanking him for your finances, thanking him for your health being restored even though none of these things have happened yet. If we stand out in faith and start thanking God for what he is doing, I promise you, you will feel God’s working in your situation versus us continually asking him. God doesn’t need a reminder like we do. We don’t need to ask God 5 and 10 times to send us something. God knows. Remember, he knows our beginning and our ending. So I just want to put that out there, too. I love you all. I thank you all for your prayers, for covering me. Brian, Jill and everyone behind the scenes at DAB, I love you. And I’m having my vitamin DAB. Cheers! Asia from Munich.

March 16, 2017

The Daily Audio Bible Reading for Thursday March 16, 2017 (NIV)

Numbers 24-25

24 Balaam saw that ·the Lord wanted [^Lit was good in the eyes/sight of the Lord] to bless Israel, so he did not try to use any ·magic [divination] but looked toward the ·desert [wilderness]. ²When Balaam ·saw [^Llifted his eyes and saw] the Israelites camped in their tribes, the Spirit of God ·took control of [^Lwas on] him, ³and he gave this ·message [or oracle; or poem]:

“This is the ·message [utterance] of Balaam son of Beor,
the ·message [utterance] of a man ·who sees clearly [^Lwhose eye is open];
⁴this is the ·message [utterance] of a man who hears the words of God.
I see a vision from the Almighty,
and my eyes are open as I fall before him.
⁵·Your tents are beautiful [^LHow beautiful/fair are your tents], people of Jacob!
·So are your homes [^LYour dwellings], Israel!
⁶Your tents spread out like ·valleys [wadis],
like gardens beside a river.
They are like ·spices [^Laloes] planted by the Lord,
like cedar trees growing by the water.
⁷Israel’s water buckets will always ·be full [or flow],
and their ·crops [^Lseed] will have plenty of water.
Their king will be greater than Agag [^Cperhaps a dynastic name of the Amalekites (Ex. 17:8–13); 1 Sam. 15:7–9, 32–33];
their kingdom will be very great.
⁸God brought them out of Egypt;
they are ·as strong as [^Llike the horns of] a wild ox.
They will defeat their enemies
and break their enemies’ bones;
they will ·shoot [^Lstrike] them with arrows.
⁹Like a lion, they lie waiting to attack;
like a lioness, ·no one would be brave enough to wake [^Lwho will rouse…?] them.
Anyone who blesses you will be blessed,
and anyone who curses you will be cursed [Gen. 12:3].”

¹⁰Then Balak was angry with Balaam, and he ·pounded his fist [or struck his hands together]. He said to Balaam, “I called you here to curse my enemies, but you have continued to bless them three times. ¹¹Now go home! I said I would ·pay you well [make you wealthy], but the Lord has ·made you lose [denied you] your reward.”

¹²Balaam said to Balak, “When you sent messengers to me, ·I told [^Ldid I not tell…?] them, ¹³‘Balak could give me his ·palace [^Lhouse] filled with silver and gold, but I still cannot ·go against [transgress] the Lord’s commands. I could not do anything, good or bad, on my own, but I must say what the Lord says.’ ¹⁴Now I am going back to my own people, but I will ·tell [^Ladvise] you what these people will do to your people in the ·future [^Llater days].”

Balaam’s Final Message

¹⁵Then Balaam gave this ·message [or oracle; or poem]:

“This is the ·message [utterance] of Balaam son of Beor,
the ·message [utterance] of a man ·who sees clearly [^Lwhose eye is open];
¹⁶this is the ·message [utterance] of a man who hears the words of God.
I know well the Most High God.
I see a vision from the Almighty,
and my eyes are open as I fall before him.
¹⁷I see someone ·who will come someday [^Lbut not now],
·someone who will come, but not soon [^LI see him, but not near].
A star will come from Jacob;
a ·ruler [^Lscepter] will rise from Israel [^CSaul, then David and his descendants, including the Messiah].
He will crush the heads of the Moabites
and smash the skulls of the sons of Sheth [^Cidentity uncertain].
¹⁸Edom will be conquered;
his enemy Edom will be conquered,
but Israel will grow ·wealthy [or valiant].
¹⁹A ruler will come from the descendants of Jacob
and will destroy those left in the city.”

²⁰Then Balaam saw Amalek and gave this message:

“Amalek was the most important nation,
but Amalek will be destroyed at last [^Cthe book of Esther tells the story of the final destruction of Amalek; Haman is a descendant of Agag; 24:7].”

²¹Then Balaam saw the Kenites and gave this ·message [or oracle; or poem]:

“Your home is ·safe [enduring],
like a nest on a ·cliff [rock].
²²But you Kenites will be burned up;
·Assyria will [^LHow long will Assyria…?] keep you captive.”

²³Then Balaam gave this ·message [or oracle; or poem]:

“·No one [^LWho…?] can live when God does this.
²⁴Ships will sail from the shores of ·Cyprus [Kittim]
and ·defeat [afflict] Assyria and Eber,
but they will also be destroyed.”

²⁵Then Balaam got up and returned home, and Balak also went on his way.

Israel Worships Baal at Peor

25 While the people of Israel were still camped at ·Acacia [^LShittim], the men began ·sinning sexually [to prostitute themselves] with Moabite women [^Con the advice of Balaam who found another way to get his money; 31:16]. ²The women invited them to their sacrifices to their gods, and the ·Israelites [^Lpeople] ate food there and worshiped these gods. ³So the Israelites ·began to worship [^Lyoked themselves to] Baal of Peor, and the Lord was very angry with them.

⁴The Lord said to Moses, “Get all the leaders of the people and ·kill [impale] them in open daylight in the presence of the Lord. Then the Lord will not be angry with the people of Israel.”

⁵So Moses said to Israel’s judges, “Each of you must ·put to death [kill] your people who have become ·worshipers of [^Lyoked to] Baal of Peor.”

⁶Moses and the Israelites were gathered at the entrance to the Meeting Tent, crying there. Then an ·Israelite man [^Lman of the sons/^Tchildren of Israel] brought a Midianite woman to his ·brothers [family] in plain sight of Moses and all the ·people [community; congregation; assembly]. ⁷Phinehas son of Eleazar, the son of Aaron, the priest, saw this, so he ·left the meeting [^Lrose up from the community/congregation/assembly] and ·got [^Ltook in his hand] his spear. ⁸He followed the Israelite into his ·tent [vaulted/newlywed tent] and drove his spear through the belly of both the Israelite man and the Midianite woman [^Cwhile they were embracing]. Then the ·terrible sickness [plague] among the ·Israelites [^Lsons/^Tchildren of Israel] stopped.

⁹This ·sickness [plague] had killed twenty-four thousand people.

¹⁰The Lord said to Moses, ¹¹“Phinehas son of Eleazar, the son of Aaron, the priest, has saved the ·Israelites [^Lsons/^Tchildren of Israel] from my anger. He hates sin as much as I do. ·Since he tried to save my honor among them [^LBecause of his zeal in their midst], I will not kill them in my zeal. ¹²So tell Phinehas that I am making my ·peace agreement [covenant/treaty of peace] with him. ¹³He and his ·descendants [^Lseed] will ·always be priests [^Lhave a covenant/treaty of eternal/perpetual priesthood], because he had ·great concern for the honor of [^Lpassion/zeal for] his God. He ·removed the sins of the Israelites so they would belong to God [^Lprovided atonement for the sons/^Tchildren of Israel].”

¹⁴The Israelite man who was ·killed [^Lstruck] with the Midianite woman was named Zimri son of Salu. He was the leader of a ·family [ancestral clan] in the tribe of Simeon. ¹⁵And the name of the Midianite woman who was ·put to death [^Lstruck] was Cozbi daughter of Zur, who was the chief of a Midianite ·family [ancestral clan].

¹⁶The Lord said to Moses, ¹⁷“·The Midianites are your enemies [Harrass the Midianites], and you should ·kill [^Lstrike] them. ¹⁸They have already ·made you their enemies [harrassed you], because they tricked you at Peor and because of their sister Cozbi, the daughter of a Midianite leader. She was the woman who was killed when the ·sickness [plague] came because the people sinned at Peor.”

Expanded Bible (EXB)

Luke 2:1-35

The Birth of Jesus

2 At that time, Augustus Caesar sent an ·order [decree] that all people in the ·countries under Roman rule [empire; Roman world] must ·list their names in a register [register for taxation]. ²·This was the first registration; it was taken while Quirinius was governor of Syria [or This was the first census while Quirinius was governor of Syria; or This census occurred before Quirinius was governor of Syria]. ³And all went to their own towns to be registered.

⁴So Joseph left Nazareth, a town in Galilee, and went to the town of Bethlehem in Judea, known as the town of David [^CBethlehem was David’s hometown]. Joseph went there because he was from the ·family [^Lhouse and family line] of David. ⁵Joseph registered with Mary, to whom he was ·engaged [pledged to be married; see 1:27] and who was now pregnant. ⁶While they were in Bethlehem, the time came for Mary to have the baby, ⁷and she gave birth to her first son. She wrapped the baby ·with pieces of cloth [in cloths; ^Tin swaddling clothes] and laid him in a ·feeding trough [^Tmanger], because there ·were no rooms [was no space/room] left in the ·inn [or guest room (of a private residence); or caravan shelter].

Shepherds Hear About Jesus

⁸·That night [^LAt night], some shepherds were [living out] in the fields ·nearby [^Lin that region/place] watching their ·sheep [^Lflock]. ⁹Then an angel of the Lord stood before them. The glory of the Lord ·was shining around [surrounded] them, and they became very frightened. ¹⁰The angel said to them, “Do not be afraid. [^L…for/because] I am bringing you good news that will ·be a [or bring] great joy to all the people. ¹¹Today your Savior was born in the town of David. He is ·Christ [the Messiah], the Lord. ¹²This ·is how you will know him [will be the sign for you]: You will find a baby wrapped in ·pieces of cloth [cloths; ^Tswaddling clothes] and lying in a ·feeding trough [^Tmanger].”

¹³·Then [^LAnd suddenly] a ·very large group [or great army] of angels from heaven ·joined [appeared with] the first angel, praising God and saying:

¹⁴“Give glory to God in ·heaven [the highest place/heaven],
and on earth let there be peace among the people ·who please God [or he favors; ^Lof his pleasure/approval].”^[a]

¹⁵When the angels left them and went back to heaven, the shepherds said to each other, “Let’s go to Bethlehem. Let’s see this thing that has happened which the Lord has told us about.”

¹⁶So the shepherds went quickly and found Mary and Joseph and the baby, who was lying in a ·feeding trough [^Tmanger]. ¹⁷When they had seen him, they ·told [spread the word about; let people know] what the angels had said about this child. ¹⁸Everyone [^Lwho heard] ·was amazed [wondered; marveled] at what the shepherds said to them. ¹⁹But Mary ·treasured [kept; preserved] these things and ·continued to think about them [^Lpondered/considered them in her heart]. ²⁰Then the shepherds went back to their sheep, ·praising [glorifying] God and ·thanking [praising] him for everything they had seen and heard. It had been just as the angel had told them.

²¹When ·the baby was eight days old [^Leight days were fulfilled; Gen. 17:12; Lev. 12:3], he was circumcised [1:59] and was named Jesus, the name given by the angel before ·the baby began to grow inside Mary [^Lhe was conceived in the womb].

Jesus Is Presented in the Temple

²²When the ·time came [^Ldays were fulfilled] for ·Mary and Joseph to do what the law of Moses taught about being made pure [^Ltheir purification according the law of Moses; ^Can animal sacrifice and ritual cleansing forty days after the birth of a son; see Lev. 12:2–8], they took Jesus [^Lup] to Jerusalem to present him to the Lord. ²³([^LJust as] It is written in the law of the Lord: “Every ·firstborn male [^Lmale who opens the womb; ^Can idiom for a firstborn] shall be ·given [set apart; consecrated; ^Lcalled holy] to the Lord” [Ex. 13:2].) ²⁴Mary and Joseph also went to offer a sacrifice, as the law of the Lord says: “You must sacrifice two ·doves [or turtledoves] or two young pigeons [Lev. 5:11; 12:8].”

Simeon Sees Jesus

²⁵[Now; ^LAnd behold] In Jerusalem ·lived [^Lwas] a man named Simeon who was ·a good man [righteous; just] and ·godly [devout; reverent]. He was waiting for the ·time when God would take away Israel’s sorrow [restoration/consolation of Israel; Is. 40:1] and the Holy Spirit was ·in [or upon] him. ²⁶·Simeon had been told [^LIt had been revealed to him] by the Holy Spirit that he would not die before he saw ·the Christ promised by the Lord [^Lthe Lord’s Messiah/Anointed One]. ²⁷The Spirit led Simeon to the Temple. When ·Mary and Joseph [^Lthe parents] brought the ·baby [child] Jesus to the Temple to do [^Lfor him] what ·the law said they must do [the custom of the law required], ²⁸Simeon took the baby in his arms and ·thanked [praised; blessed] God:

²⁹“Now, Lord, you can let me, your servant,
·die [^Ldepart; be dismissed] in peace ·as you said [^Laccording to your word].
³⁰With my own eyes I have seen your salvation [Is. 52:10],
³¹which you prepared ·before [in the presence of] all ·people [nations; people groups].
³²It is a light ·for the Gentiles to see [^Lof revelation for the Gentiles/nations; Is. 42:6; 49:6]
and ·an honor [the glory] for your people, ·the Israelites [^LIsrael].”

³³Jesus’ father and mother were amazed at what Simeon had said about him. ³⁴Then Simeon blessed them and said to ·Mary [^Lhis mother], “·God has chosen this child [^LLook/^TBehold, this one is destined/appointed] to cause the fall and rise of many in Israel. ·He will be a sign from God that many people will not accept [^L…and to be a sign that is spoken against] ³⁵so that the thoughts of many [^Lhearts] will be made known. And ·the things that will happen will make your heart sad, too [^La sword will pierce your own soul; ^CMary will experience deep sorrow over the death of Jesus].”

Footnotes:

Luke 2:14 and … God Some Greek copies read “and on earth let there be peace and goodwill among people.”

Expanded Bible (EXB)

Psalm 59

A Prayer for Protection

For the director of music. To the tune of “Do Not Destroy.” A miktam [^Cperhaps “inscription”] of David when Saul sent men to ·watch David’s house [^Lthe house] to kill him [1 Sam. 19:11–17].

59 God, ·save [protect] me from my enemies.
·Protect me [Give me refuge] from those who ·come [rise] against me.
²·Save [Protect] me from those who do evil
and ·save me from [give me victory over] ·murderers [the bloodthirsty].

³Look, they are waiting to ambush ·me [my life; Prov. 1:11].
·Cruel [Defiant; Strong] people attack me,
but I have not sinned or ·done wrong [transgressed], Lord.
⁴I have done nothing wrong, but they ·are ready to attack me [^Lrun and get ready].
Wake up to ·help [meet] me, and look.
⁵You are the Lord God ·All-Powerful [Almighty; of Heaven’s Armies; ^Tof hosts], the God of Israel.
·Arise [^LAwake] and ·punish [visit] ·those people [^Lall the nations].
Do not give those traitors any ·mercy [grace]. ·Selah [Interlude]

⁶They come back at ·night [evening].
Like dogs they ·growl [make a commotion] and ·roam around [surround] the city.
⁷Notice what ·comes [bubbles up] from their mouths.
·Insults [^LSwords] come from their lips,
because they say, “Who’s listening?”
⁸But, Lord, you laugh at them [2:4];
you ·make fun of [ridicule] all ·of them [^Lthe nations].

⁹God, my strength, I ·am looking to [keep watch for] you,
because God is my ·defender [refuge].
¹⁰My God ·loves [is loyal to] me, and he goes in front of me.
He will help me ·defeat [^Llook on] my enemies.
¹¹Lord, our ·protector [^Lshield], do not kill them, or my people will forget.
With your power ·scatter them [make them wander] and ·defeat them [^Lbring them down].
¹²They sin by what they say;
they sin with their ·words [^Llips].
They curse and tell lies,
so let their pride ·trap [capture] them.
¹³·Destroy [Annihilate] them in your anger;
·destroy [annihilate] them ·completely [^Lso they will be no more]!
Then they will know
that God rules over ·Israel [^LJacob]
and to the ends of the earth. ·Selah [Interlude]

¹⁴They come back at ·night [evening].
Like dogs they ·growl [make a commotion]
and ·roam around [surround] the city.
¹⁵They wander about looking for food,
and they ·howl [grumble] if they ·do not find enough [are not satisfied].
¹⁶But I will sing about your strength.
In the morning I will sing about your ·love [loyalty].
You are my ·defender [refuge],
my place of safety in ·times of trouble [^Lthe day of distress].
¹⁷God, my strength, I will sing ·praises [a psalm] to you.
God, my ·defender [refuge], you are the God who ·loves [is loyal to] me.

Expanded Bible (EXB)

Proverbs 11:14

¹⁴Without ·leadership [guidance] a ·nation [people] falls,
but ·lots of good advice [^Lan abundance of counselors] will ·save it [bring victory; Eccl. 9:13–15].

Expanded Bible (EXB)

Numbers 32:1-33:39

The Tribes East of the Jordan

Remembering Israel’s Journey

Footnotes:

Luke 4:31-5:11

Jesus Casts Out a Demon

Jesus Heals Many People

Jesus Continues to Preach

The First Disciples

Footnotes:

Psalm 64

Psalm 64

For the choir director: A psalm of David.

Proverbs 11:22

Numbers 30-31

Laws concerning Vows

Conquest of the Midianites

Division of the Plunder

Footnotes:

Luke 4:1-30

The Temptation of Jesus

Jesus Rejected at Nazareth

Footnotes:

Psalm 63

Psalm 63

A psalm of David, regarding a time when David was in the wilderness of Judah.

Proverbs 11:20-21

Numbers 28:16-29:40

Offerings for the Passover

Offerings for the Festival of Harvest

Offerings for the Festival of Trumpets

Offerings for the Day of Atonement

Offerings for the Festival of Shelters

Footnotes:

Luke 3:23-38

The Ancestors of Jesus

Footnotes:

Psalm 62

Psalm 62

For Jeduthun, the choir director: A psalm of David.

Proverbs 11:18-19

Numbers 26:1-51

The People Are Counted

Luke 2:36-52

Anna Sees Jesus

Joseph and Mary Return Home

Jesus as a Boy

Psalm 60

A Prayer After a Defeat

Proverbs 11:15

Numbers 24-25

Balaam’s Final Message

Israel Worships Baal at Peor

Luke 2:1-35

The Birth of Jesus

Shepherds Hear About Jesus

Jesus Is Presented in the Temple

Simeon Sees Jesus

Footnotes:

Psalm 59

A Prayer for Protection

For the director of music. To the tune of “Do Not Destroy.” A miktam [C perhaps “inscription”] of David when Saul sent men to ·watch David’s house [L the house] to kill him [1 Sam. 19:11–17].

Proverbs 11:14

For the director of music. To the tune of “Do Not Destroy.” A miktam [^Cperhaps “inscription”] of David when Saul sent men to ·watch David’s house [^Lthe house] to kill him [1 Sam. 19:11–17].