Exodus 29:1-30:10, Matthew 26:14-46, Psalms 31:19-24, Proverbs 8:14-26
Today is the 9th day of February. Welcome to the Daily Audio Bible. I’m Brian. It’s great to be here with you. It’s fantastic that we can be on this journey together and we’ve come so far already into this year. And it’s wonderful that we can take the next step today. And that next step will first lead us out to Mount Sinai where the first of the laws are being given to this people that are being transformed from slave to God’s chosen people in preparation for the promised land. We’re reading from the Good News Translation this week. Exodus chapter 29 verse 1 through 30 verse 10 today.
Commentary:
Okay. So, we’re entering into the passion narrative as we mentioned yesterday. And Jesus shares his final meal with his friends, talks about betrayal, and then goes to Gethsemane. So, they would have crossed the Kidron valley and gone up the side of the Mount of Olives into the olive groves that were growing on the side of the Mount of Olives known as Gethsemane so that He can pray. So, obviously, this is a well-known story and we can recite the details of the story. But it’s important when we come to this not to just blow by it at all. This is the story of how it is our salvation came to be. So, if you’ve heard it a thousand times, then, you know, then a thousand more isn’t enough because there’s so much richness in it. Have you ever in your heart, in a trial that you’re going through with anxiety, depression, circumstance, loss of a loved one, loss in general, have you ever said something out loud or inside like, this sorrow in my heart is so great that it almost crushes me. Right? Does that describe that time? Maybe that time is now. I mean, we probably all know, to some degree, what that feels like. And isn’t it in those times we’re crying out? Right? We’re crying out to God. A lot of the Psalms would mimic how our emotions are churning and how we’re feeling. And in those times, we start to wonder where God went. Right? What’s going on here? And we’ll say things like, where are you? Where are you? And then that can turn into anger. Might be feeling abandoned in some way until we’re ultimately holding in our heart this sense that God doesn’t really understand how difficult it is to navigate this life on planet Earth. And then we get this subtle messaging, you are alone. You are on your own. There is no one coming for you. Echoes of the deception of Eden. None of it is true though, because those words, the sorrow in my heart is so great that it almost crushes me, are the words of Jesus as He’s facing what He’s about to endure. Or have we ever said words like, God, is there any way you can get me out of this? Yet, Jesus said that, too. Father, if it’s possible, take this cup of suffering from me, yet not what I want, but what you want. What I want to point out here is that, although we do go through difficult patches, that even feel like they are crushing our soul, and even though we get that sort of message in our mind that God does not understand, it’s not true. Jesus, for sure, knows what that feels like. And if Jesus is God, if Jesus is one with the Father, then God absolutely does know what that feels like. So, rather than getting further and further estranged from God and growing more and more bitter and angry, feeling like He does not get it, like He does not understand, we need to know that that’s a lie. That is a deception. And the intention is to get us estranged from God and isolated. Because when we’re isolated, we’re easy to take out. So, there is much for us in this story. It’s not just the Bible story we’ve heard since we were kids. This was not easy for Jesus, as we hear from his own communication, from his own lips. And, so, he does understand us, He does know exactly what it feels like, what we’re going through. And He will walk through it with us. Of that, there also is no doubt. He promised He would never leave or forsake. And He hasn’t. And He won’t. And we should find a generous outpouring of hope because of that.
And then we’ve also been hearing from the lips of wisdom herself in the book of Proverbs. And what she claims today is that she was the first of all God’s creation. Right? The Lord created me first of all, wisdom says. The first of his works, long ago. I was made in the very beginning, at the first, before the world began. I was born before the oceans, when there were no springs of water. I was born before the mountains, before the hills were set in place, before God made the earth and its fields or even the first handful of soil. So, what we’re finding is that wisdom is something God created and then God used, more ancient than the world itself. And less we think, well, this ancient wisdom can’t be found anymore and I don’t know how to walk in it or even find it, she speaks to that. I love those who love me. Whoever looks for me can find me. I have riches and honor to give. Prosperity and success. What you get from me is better than the finest gold, better than the finest silver. I walk the way of righteousness. I follow the paths of justice. So, if wisdom is something we want to become intimate allies with and use as God does, then it can be found if we’ll look for it. If we’ll love it, it will love us back. And the first thing that we can see right from the Scriptures here is that wisdom walks the way of righteousness and follows the paths of justice. So, we can start there. We can walk the way of righteousness and follow the paths of justice in all of our dealings. We would be walking the same path as wisdom. We’re much more likely to encounter wisdom walking the same road than a different one. We need to be where wisdom is if we want to collaborate with wisdom. If we’re going to be where wisdom is not, we’re never going to encounter it.
Prayer:
Father, You have given us much. You have given us words and counsel for how to obtain and walk in wisdom, which we need desperately to navigate life. And You have shown us that you understand. You get it. You get it more than we get it. You have endured more human suffering than we have. You have seen what humanity is capable of at its worst, and still, still you didn’t abandon us. It’s us. We’ve been abandoning You all along and we can already see how that has taken shape in the Bible. It’s us. You haven’t left, we have. And we have blamed You for everything conceivable, things that You had nothing to do with. And we’ve taken the deception that we’re alone, that You’re not coming, and we ask your forgiveness. It’s hard, Lord, we confess, when things are bleak, when it does feel like our souls are crushed and our sorrow is overwhelming. It’s hard to see clear. And, so, God, we reach for wisdom and we reach for You, confessing, once again, no matter what, You are our only hope. There is no other. So, we put our hope, all of it, all of our trust, all of it, in You and You alone. You are the plan A and there is no plan B. We risk it all, our identity, our heart, our mind, our will, our body, our ambitions, our hopes, our dreams, our goals, everything, everything. We place our hope in You and You alone. And we ask, come Holy Spirit. Come, comforter. Come, comfort us and lead us into all truth. We ask this in the name of Jesus, Amen.
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And that’s it for today. I’m Brian I love you and I’ll be waiting for you here tomorrow.
Community Prayer and Praise:
Hello Daily Audio Bible family. I hope you’re doing well. This is John calling from Bethlehem Pennsylvania. I wanted to call in this morning to let the woman that called in from Virginia, Bonnie, I wanted to let you know that I’m keeping your son in my thoughts and prayers. And also, Tara from Maine, you called in. It was your first time calling asking for prayer for your mom. I want to lift your mom up in prayer who was just diagnosed with stage IV cancer. So, Bonnie, heavenly Father, Bonnie’s son is being released from prison, Father, after being incarcerated. And Bonnie’s prayer, Father, and our prayer is that he is able to turn to You. Bonnie has given him a copy of the book Sneezing Jesus. And we know Father God that if he is able to open the pages of that book, he’s going to find You there waiting for him Father God. So, we just ask that he’s able to get home safe, he’s able to go to church, that he follows that path Father God and he becomes connected with You and finds a relationship with You and is saved Father God by your son, Jesus. And for Tara in Maine for her mother who lives a vibrant life Father God, we ask that she can continue to live as vibrant a life as possible through any suffering that she may have Father God but more importantly that you would be with her to keep her vivacious and vibrant so she continues to live her life in that manner in that way. We pray Father God over the treatment that she’s receiving and that we entrust you with all of her care that you’ll send…
God is good. Isn’t he amazing beyond words? And we have access to him every moment of every day or night. Ahhh…what a blessing. Brian, thank you and Jill for being obedient to God’s will and for making this community available to us DABbers. There was a new caller who spoke about not yet being acquainted with Jill. So, until Jill visits us again, I would encourage you to check out her album called ‘I Still Want More’. Quick thing about that…and I remember His little Shareef, as I recall, my husband and I were working on a puzzle while listening to Jill’s album and we both start belting out the songs and enjoying the moment. I was secretly enjoying the fact that my husband seems to be paying no attention when I’m playing the songs around the house but he actually was enjoying them. Anyway, check out the Daily Audio Bible shop for the album. I’m sure you will enjoy it. Candace, I was thinking of you and remembering how your dear departed husband used to love the 23rd Psalm and how lovely you sing whenever you call in. I can’t do as lovely a job as you do, but I wanted to sing for you a stanza of song I learned as a wee child. So, hopefully this will bless you today. [singing] The Lord’s my Shepherd I’ll not want. He makes me down to lie in pastures green He leadeth me the quiet waters by. He lives. He lives. He lives. I know that my Redeemer lives. He lives. He lives. He lives within my heart. [singing ends] I do not remember how the rest of the lyrics in the tune tie in together but I promise I’ll track it down and when I do I’ll call back and sing it for you again. Okay.
Hi this is Patricia from Tucson. This is my first time calling. I am calling today requesting prayers for baby John. He was born with a heart condition. He’s already had multiple surgeries. Nothing seems to be working. His times are desperate. I’m sorry that’s my kids in the background. But if you could please pray for baby John. My note today was it’s going to be a defining day because they don’t know what else can be done for him because his little body is week. And, so, I ask for your prayers. And may God bless him and hopefully he’s able to stay here with us longer.
Hi this is Jazzy from New York. Firstly just, Brian, thank you for having Daily Audio Bible. It’s certainly been a lifeline for me for the past eight years or so and I’m so thankful. I started to listen at a young age. I’m still young but not as young as I used to be. And I’m just thankful that I really connected to this program. And I just wanted to…I just ask for prayer for a board exam that I’m going to take, probably within the next 30 days or so. I’m a medical student and I am in my fourth year. So, I am graduating next year. It’s been, you know, a bit of a journey for me, but thank God He has kept me and He has been faithful to me throughout every situation and circumstance. And He has truly turned my life around, always showing me His faithfulness and His grace upon my life and the life of those around me. So, I’m praying for favor and for divine breakthrough and overcoming spirit to tackle, completely tackle my step 2 board exam and my step 2 CS bboard exam. I also filed for an appeal for accommodations, special accommodations, double time for some learning challenges that I have. So, they, basically the organization that heads up all of the board exams ___ they are overseeing my case right now. So, I’m praying for a positive deliberation…
Hi Daily Audio Bible. This is Sharon of California. I said that I wanted to call myself the Rose of Sharon but I want to rethink that, take that back, because there’s only one Rose of Sharon and that’s Jesus. So, I’m just Sharon in California. But the reason for my call, I just heard Blind Tony’s request for prayer because of his cancers possible return. And Blind Tony I’ve been listening to the Daily Audio Bible for about three years. Last year was my first time listening all the way through the year and your calls, your poems, touch me. And I just want to say that your, of course everyone in this family is in my prayers all the time, but right now you are especially in my heart because I too had cancer, 20 years ago, thank God and I’ve been healed and I believe in all my heart that God is a healer. And I heard in your voice your resolve, your faith, and encouraged me. And I want you to know this. God is with you. And I will continue to pray for you and everyone on the Daily Audio Bible. Thank you, Blind Tony for your poems. You are a divine blessing. Bye for now.
Hi this is Melody from Canada. It’s February 2nd and the woman who is a first-time caller about her mom’s cancer, I can’t remember your name, but I was really touched by your love for your mom. And I used to do home support for seniors and I saw some miracles. I saw some people live way longer than was expected and with more vibrancy than expected. So, I pray that for your mom. And I was also…for Madison, Joe’s daughter, I was in the hospital with depression and I caused so much heartbreak for my family, but God healed me. And, so, there’s hope for your daughter, there’s hope for your family. And keep walking in the light and a holding onto him. And Brian, thank you for your word on the wilderness. And I can really relate to that. And, yes, it is time to stop looking back and keep pointing forward. Thank you. Bye.