Genesis 28:1-29:35, Matthew 9:18-38, Psalms 11:1-7, Proverbs 3:11-12
Today is January 13th. Welcome to the Daily Audio Bible. I’m Brian. It’s great to be here with you today.
I need to make an announcement. I would normally wait until the end for this kind of thing, but it’s kind of timely. Tomorrow, we were planning to be together in Louisville Kentucky, but that has been canceled. We will be rescheduling because we have a rare ice and snowstorm passing through here in the rolling hills of Tennessee and on up north into Kentucky. And as beautiful as it might be in some places, it’s also pretty dangerous to be out there. So, we were planning to be at New Song Christian Fellowship Louisville, but we’ve communicated with each other and agreed that it is the best thing to reschedule. So, just wanted you to know that. And if you been around here very long, you know I like snow. So, what a surprise.
Alright this is the conclusion of our first full week in this year. Obviously, we’re approaching the center of the month, so we’ve been in this new year for a bit, but this is the end of the first full week of the year. So, well done. We are well on our way. And there is so much drama and intrigue out in front of us and some of the stories that we have found ourselves in.
Today is also a day of remembrance for me. It was one year ago today that my mom passed away. So, the details of that day are pretty vivid still in in my mind, and I can remember not being able to do the Daily Audio Bible first thing in the morning, which is my normal custom. I do it every day. But usually its’ the first thing that I am involved in on any given day, but not one year ago today. We knew the time was near and we were literally getting ready to go to where she was in hospice when the call came. So, I just remember reading the Daily Audio Bible after all of that and just trying to think, how am I going to do this when I’m so emotionally drained? And then just thinking, the Bible has become a comfort for many. And the Bible is a comfort to me. And it certainly was in that moment. And another thing that I remember so vividly about this time last year was that I felt so loved by this community. I mean, I try to tell you I love you every day because I do, but in that time I could see very clearly, this isn’t a one-way street, we love each other. It might not be the kind of love that comes from a lifelong relationship. But we love each other as brothers and sisters and we do it well and I felt it over those coming days. So, I remember that so well. So, yes, yeah, this is the one year anniversary of my mom’s passing and I don’t know that this is an annual thing where I bring attention to it, but it feels vivid and it feels right, right now. And I thank you all for the comfort that you brought to our family by just being there for us. Thank you.
Okay. So, here we are, ready to take the next step forward as we end this week. And we’ll pick up where we left off yesterday, the story of Jacob and Esau and the family blessing, and the conflict that is afoot. We’re reading from the Christian Standard Bible this week. Genesis chapter 28 and 29.
Commentary:
Okay. So, keeping up with Jacob’s story. Jacob fled from his brother Esau. Right? Over the blessing of the father, Isaac. Jacob has to go back to his homeland, his family homeland. And that’s what he does. So, let’s just try to picture this. The land is fairly arid, very desert like where Jacob and Esau begin, down near Beersheba. He has to pass through the Jordan Valley, pretty desert like, past the Dead Sea, and continue forward until he gets into, what would be, modern-day Syria. And he basically has to do this by himself without a huge entourage because he’s on the run. His brother Esau has determined that he will kill his brother Jacob. So, Jacob spends the night in this place called Luz that gets renamed to Bethel. And he has a rock and he lays down and he goes to sleep and he has a vision of a stairway to heaven. And ironically, the ancient ruins of Bethel are very interesting because of the terraced stepped terrain all around that area, very much looking like a stairway on a massive scale. So, Jacob’s on the run. He doesn’t have a lot of protection. He sees this vision. He wakes up in the morning and he says, surely, God was in this place and I was unaware of it. And that has many parallels in our own lives. I mean, there are times we feel like we are absolutely on the run with no protection, nothing, and we’re just trying to get through, to get to where we need to go. But if we would slow down and become aware we might find out that we’re nowhere near as alone as we thought we were. Surely the Lord is with us and we were unaware of it. So, Jacob will come back this way and visit this same spot. And you might be noticing that lots of rocks are getting set up, lots of altars are being built, and this is their way of commemorating an event, a moment, something they don’t want to forget. And we’ll see this tradition emerge throughout many generations over a long period of time in the Bible, which is one of the reasons that we encourage you to journal your way through the Scriptures, because that’s what those words end up becoming. They become a pile of rocks. They become something that is tangible that can allow you to remember what God did. So, anyway, Jacob does get north and spends the next 14 years working for his uncle, Laban, in order to be able marry the one that he loves, Rachel. And we saw how the story went. He got Leah instead and then he got Rachel. So, he got a little bit of a taste of his own medicine. Trickery is definitely part of the family story here. But anyway, Rachel, who Jacob loves, is unable to have children at this point, but her sister, her older sister, Leah, she does have sons. And her first son is named Ruben and then she has a son named Simeon and she has a son named Levi and then she has a fourth son named Judah. These names may be familiar. And if they’re not familiar, they’re names to remember. Each of these four children are going to grow up and from them will come four different tribes of Israel. And you may say, well I thought there were 12 tribes of Israel. Yup. They just haven’t been born yet. And you could also think, well, these are the children of Jacob and Leah, like, where does Israel come in, like, how did they become the children of Israel? We’ll see that unfolding over the next several days. As we’ve seen in the Old Testament, Abram became Abraham, was given a new name. Jacob will eventually be given a new name as well. His name will become Israel. So, today we have met, for the first time, some of the children of Israel.
Prayer:
Father, we thank You for Your word. We thank You for another week, this first full week in Your word and we’re so grateful for all that You have begun to speak to us and all that You are revealing to us from the Scriptures. And as we watch the story begin to unfold of a new people, a people that You chose, a people that you created and called to yourself, a new earthly family from which You would bless the nations, we thank You for this story. And we also realize that this now is our story. You have grafted us into this family. And these are no longer strangers but ancestors. Come, Holy Spirit, as we continue to take this journey, a journey that shows us how we got here and a journey that shows us where were going. Come Jesus. We pray in your mighty name. Amen.
Announcements:
dailyaudiobible.com is the website, its home base, its where you find out what’s going on around here.
Tomorrow, remember, has been canceled. We were looking forward, very much, to being at Newsong Christian Fellowship in Louisville, but we’ve got an ice and snowstorm between us and it’s happening all around us. So, it’s not safe for any of us to be coming in from all over the place. We’re going to reschedule.
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And that’s it for today. I’m Brian I love you and I’ll be waiting for you here next week, which happens to be tomorrow.
Community Prayer and Praise:
Hi, my name is ___. This is a letter from someone I know. Dear God, I want to thank You for what You have already done. I’m not going to wait until I see results or receive rewards. I’m thanking You right now. I’m not going to wait until I feel better or things look better. I’m thanking You right now. I’m not going to wait until people say they are sorry or until they stop talking to me. I’m thanking You right now. I’m not going to wait until the pain in my body disappears. I’m thanking right now. I’m not going to wait until my financial situation is right. I am thanking God right now. I’m not going to wait until the children are asleep and the house is quiet. I am going to thank You right now. I’m not going to wait until I get promoted at work until I get the job. Thank You God, right now. I’m not going to wait until I understand every experience in my life that is because we pain or suffering or grief. I thank You God right now. I am not going to wait until the journey gets easier or the challenges are removed. I thank You God right now. I’m thanking You because I’m alive. I’m thanking You because I made it through the day’s difficulties. I’m thanking You because I had to walk the wildest obstacles. I’m thank You because Jesus closed the gates of death and hell. Thank You. And I’m thanking You because I have the ability and the opportunity to do more and do better. I’m thanking You because Father, You haven’t given up on me. Thank You God. Thank You. God, bless.
Hi everyone. Hi Brian. I’m not sure who Jill is yet, I’m assuming that’s your wife. I’m the first-time caller my name is Kelly up here in Spokane Washington. My friend Mark D. from Switzerland told me about Daily Audio Bible and I’m so excited that he did, so thankful that he did. This program has been amazing and I already feel the effects of it on my life just after eight days of listening. My prayer request for everyone is, I really feel like I’m in a spirit of deliverance, a season of deliverance in my life coming up in 2018. I’m so ready. I’ve had an attack of my body and my mind and just the way that I’ve been living out my faith and I’m just ready to be delivered. I have had digestive issues for 11 years. My hair is getting really thin and falling out and I’m in my later 20s and I’ve just been feeling really worn down but I’m ready. I’m also fighting this battle knowing that Jesus is with me and he’s carrying me through and he’s going to bring me deliverance this year. So, I want people to agree with me that this is going to happen and that this rejection that I have been facing in my life will be no more and I’ll be just thoroughly understood and accepted by the Lord, finally, just feel the value and the love of the Lord in my life. So, that is my prayer and I just want to give another woo woo out to Mark D. in Switzerland for introducing me to the daily audio Bible. This is obviously my first time calling and I hope to call again. So, thank you everyone. Thank you to this community. I’m so thankful to be a part of it. Bye.
Hi. This is Vickie. I’m calling because my family needs prayer. We had a terrible tragedy and it happened December 10th. My son took his life and it’s the hardest thing I’ve ever had to do…the devastation is just insane. I have days when I just don’t want to get up out of bed. And I’m sure there’s people who are…who have gone through…someone they love…it’s just so pointless. And he left behind a 5-year-old daughter. So, I’m praying…I’m asking for prayers for my family for healing and just all of the things that you have to deal with that I never thought I’d have to deal with, that I had could have the strength to do it, and the strength to…just to keep moving forward. I’d also ask for prayer for my dear friend Julie. She’s going through cancer and today, January 9th, she’s having surgery. And she needs healing and hope. She loves God, but this is such a hard thing to walk through. So, I covet all of your prayers for Vicki, that’s me, and my friend Julie. Thank you all. And I’m praying for…I’m praying you all to have a good new year. Thank you.
Happy new year everybody. This is Salvation is Mine in San Angelo California. God bless you all. I hope you had a wonderful, wonderful blessed Christmas celebrating the birth of our Lord Jesus Christ. I wanted to call in and pray today because I was laying in bed last night and feeling angry. And I’m not quite sure why. And I actually think I’ve been feeling it for a while. But I wanted to call in and pray for all of us who are in anger right now and don’t really understand why. So, family, let’s pray. Dear heavenly Father we come before You right now asking for forgiveness for our anger. We don’t know exactly why we’re angry, if were angry at You, we’re angry at family, we’re angry about our job situation, we’re angry about the state of this world. We just feel so much inside and we really can’t place it on one thing, but Lord, God You know our heart and You know what makes us tick and You know what makes us angry, You know what makes us happy, You know what makes us sad. But right now, dear Father, we come before You asking You to wipe the anger from our systems, from our hearts, from our minds, and from our spirits, Lord, God, that me say clearly the love that You have for us Lord, God. And we ask for your forgiveness if we are angry with you Lord, God because of our circumstances. We have to understand and know that we do have a part in that and we have to take responsibility, but that You are always our ever present help and You will always be around us no matter what. All we have to do is ask dear Lord. So, Lord Jesus Christ, in the name of your precious Father God, please cleanse our souls, cleanse our souls, and cleanse our minds. In Jesus’ name I pray. Amen. Thank you, family. Have a great day. This is Salvation is mine in San Angelo California.