Ezekiel 20:1-49; Hebrews 9:11-28; Psalms 107:1-43; Proverbs 27:11
Today is the ninth day of November. Welcome to the Daily Audio Bible. I am Brian. It’s great to be here with you today, and for that matter, every day, as we continue to take these steps forward through the Scriptures. And right now we’re working our way through the book of Ezekiel and in the New Testament, the book of Hebrews, and we’ve been talking about that along the way. Today, reading from the New Living translation. Ezekiel 20:1-49.
Commentary:
Okay. Let’s talk about Hebrews for a second. And just by way of reminder, Hebrews was written to Hebrews. So, Jewish people. And Hebrews is building and making the argument for Jesus in the Hebrew context. So, all this talk about tabernacles in heaven and high priests and all this stuff…Melchizedek…all this stuff that we talked about so far is within a Jewish context. We, most of us who are not Hebrews, who are not Jewish, but are rather Gentile believers have a bit of an understanding about this because we read the Old Testament. So, we see how this culture developed, where it came from, how it flourished, how it didn’t flourish. And, so, we can navigate this to a great degree, but not the same as if it had been embedded into our culture and we’ve only ever known this, like, it’s how it is. Kind of like how you could move to another country and learn the language and even live there for a decade only to realize all of the unspoken things that are just woven into the culture. So, Hebrews is speaking in a way that’s very clear that the people who are reading this. It’s all interwoven into their culture. And the argument that Jesus is the final high priest from a Jewish perspective is being made. And that all of the rituals and customs that they have in their culture are good but there copies of what’s actually in heaven, perfectly. And this plays into their thought and culture. This isn’t something that’s completely unexpected for them. And Hebrews is just simply trying to say, here’s how we missed this. Jesus blood is the final sacrifice and He poured it out before God once and for all as our eternal High Priest in the perfect place where it cannot be tarnished or ruined or destroyed. And this once and for all language is a big deal because, in terms of sacrifice, this is an ongoing thing. So, the writer of Hebrews is saying, it’s fulfilled once and for all. Like, Jesus doesn’t have to keep dying over and over, following the pattern that we’ve been following all of these years. It’s accomplished. It’s finished, which is what Jesus said as His last words from the cross. So, Hebrews says, ‘but now, once for all time, He has appeared at the end of the age to remove sin by His own death as a sacrifice’, which is a pretty sizable paradigm shift if you are at this time and a Hebrew. So, far into the future, and is mostly Gentiles, like, we know this stuff theologically, but can’t always access how good of news this is because we’ve never had to jump to those hoops and do those rituals and have those sacrifices. But the writer of Hebrews is saying, once and for all it’s taken care of, we don’t have to do that anymore. So, on the one hand you can see how difficult it would be for them to get their minds around that they don’t have to do this anymore, from a religious tradition perspective. And on the other hand, you can see what a relief, what a relief it would be if that were true. I can’t think of a good example because we’re talking about the blood of Christ. So, like, there’s nothing that’s going to be that big in our lives. But it’s like, you know, for your entire adulthood, you’ve probably had to do your laundry. Right? If you don’t do your laundry and you don’t have enough money to wear something brand-new every time you put on clothes, then your dirty laundry is going to pile up and you going to start wearing dirty clothes. But doing the laundry is something that you hate doing. You just have to do it. And somebody comes along and is able to say, once and for all, you don’t have to do that anymore. Well, that would be a big relief. So, that’s not like a great example, but at least it gets us into the right headspace. And that headspace is, it’s done. Sin is dealt with. It’s not supposed to be a part of our story anymore and it doesn’t have to be a part of our story. The sacrifice has been made once and for all before God and Jesus is now this is eternal high priest advocating for us before God and presiding over this new covenant on our behalf. What a relief the good news of the gospel is. Let’s not forget it.
Prayer:
Father, we remember. And in understanding further context, we see how big this is, how good this is, how unstoppable this is. The only thing that can stop it is we, ourselves, choosing otherwise. And we have the entire story in the Old Testament, especially these books of prophecy that we’re reading now, to see where those other paths lead. We can certainly walk away and we will certainly reap what we sow. But that’s not what we’re going to do and that’s what we’re doing. We’re running toward You with a continual heart of repentance, knowing that You are fathering us, that You are teaching us and being merciful to us so that we can grow up and become mature sons and daughters in Your kingdom. So, we invite You Holy Spirit, as we contemplate today - ‘once and for all’ - and how big that is to our lives. Come Holy Spirit and continue to reveal this to us. We ask in Jesus’ name. Amen.
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Community Prayers and Praise Reports:
Hello, this is Rachel from Pennsylvania. I am calling for Jordan from Detroit ___. I called, probably around last year, just about, me and my last teaching job. I’m in another one now. I teach emotional support for 4th through 6th graders. So, those are kids who are…like…mentally ill. And I feel you Jordan. I have had …like…two major mental breaks in the past two weeks and…just…I’m really, really struggling to do this job well and to do it to the best of my ability and up to the standards that it needs to be held and really just doing anything right and what is right and how do you maintain that and how to be professional with everyone else around you while you’re just dying and in this hole and on this island in your workplace. So, I get it. I had a job last year which was just so hard on me and then I left it and now I’m at this job and its worse. It’s even worse than my last job. So, I really do get it Jordan. So, I pray for both us just to get the support we need and to have the lives that we deserve so that we truly can get rest from the Lord because I’m not getting any rest. I’m sure you’re not either. I’m running out of time. I’m praying for you. Bye.
Hi DABbers this is his little Sheri from Canada and I’m calling tonight to pray for anyone who has a sleeping problems – Insomnia, sleep apnea, nightmares - anything that prevents you from getting the rest you need at night. And I want to pray for this this morning because I was reading these verses this morning from Song of Psalms in chapter 3. ‘Who is this coming up from the desert like a column of smoke, perfumed with mur and incense. Look, it is Solomon’s carriage escorted by 60 warriors, all of them wearing the sword, all experienced in battle, prepared for the terrors of the night’. And suddenly, when I read that I pictured our bridegroom king, Jesus, riding to our rescue with 60 warrior angels, the really big ones, the elite fighting force of heaven, who are experienced fighting the enemy and prepared for the terrors of the night, prepared for our terrors of the night. So, Lord Jesus, I thank You that You fight for us, that all the forces of darkness are no match for Your power. Dispatch Your angels, I pray, to minister to us tonight, to defeat every fear, ever pain, every messenger of evil that would rob us of rest. And, Lord, please give Your beloved sleep as You promised. I thank You for all that You’re doing to write what is wrong, to give us peace. As we lay our heads on our pillows tonight we sink down into trust. And we pray all these things in Your name. Amen.
Hello Daily Audio Bible community. I should have called in before now. Today is November 6th. My wife has been having really awful back pain for like 6 weeks and the doctors think she has some bulging discs, which doesn’t sound that bad, but in the grand scheme of things it’s really killing her and she can’t go to work and she can’t walk around. She can’t really do anything. Today we’re taking her for a procedure and I just got through praying to the Lord that that procedure would go well and that she would be able to heal and get back on her feet. So, now I am calling to you all and asking you to join me in prayer for her healing for my wife and that the procedure goes well. So, please, join me in prayer. Thank you. Bye.
Good morning Daily Audio Bible DABbers. This is Diane B. from Newburg, Indiana and I say shalom, shalom. It is Monday, November the 6th 2017. I have Rayna in my heart every day. How ya doing in LA? And I’m praying and believing for you that God will show you the way and He will direct your steps and He will not let you stumble and He will not let you fall. I know you’re getting better. I know it. I know it. And it’s going to be glorious. And then also Rebecca, Rebecca, sewer of the Gospel, even at bars. I love you. You’re from Michigan. And Michigan is my home town too. So, Rebecca, I am praying for you, sewing your seeds of the Gospel. There’s power, resurrection power, in the gospel Rebecca, and you keep sewing your seeds, your gospel seeds. And I’m praying for the most glorious job that you can’t even think of, it’s so great. And I had to do that. I worked a third shift at a gas station and stayed at that job for 6 months and then I got my dream job. So, if it can happen to me it can happen to anybody. So, here you go Rebecca. Take your job. Just keep sewing your seeds, loving people. Here is shalom, shalom to all my beloved DABbers. Glory, glory, glory, glory, to God the glory, and we give all the glory to Jesus and tell…