02/21/2018 DAB Transcript

Leviticus 11:1-12:8, Mark 5:21-43, Psalms 38:1-22, Proverbs 10:8-9

Today is the 21st day of February. Welcome to the Daily Audio Bible. I am Brian. It’s great to be here with you today from the land of the Bible, and from the city of Ashdod, where we’ll be launching into the pilgrimage and adventure that is out before us today and heading out toward the desert. And we’ll start in Beersheba and make our way all the way to the Red Sea today. But I can’t really talk about it because it hasn’t happened yet. But we’re launching off today and I’ll be talking about what we did today in tomorrow’s Daily Audio Bible. But today it all begins. And we’ll talk about that in a little bit. But let’s dive into the Scriptures for today. We’re reading from the God’s Word translation and we’ll pick up where we left off yesterday in the book of Leviticus. Today we’ll read chapters 11 and 12.

Commentary:

Okay, a couple of things to talk about today. One, from the book of Leviticus, we are talking about the rules relating to childbirth. So, if a mother has a male child, then here is how long she will be unclean, here’s what’s supposed to happen. If she has a female child, then here’s the procedures for that. And we’ll notice that it’s twice as long when a girl is born. And, so, we can go, like, what’s up with that? And the funny thing is, this is the only time in the Bible where childbirth, not like childbearing, but the rules surrounding it, are mentioned. And what we read, that’s all there is. So, there’s no backstory or context. So, the scholarship on it’s pretty varied. Some have made it totally a spiritual thing while others would totally argue, validly, well, why is childbirth an unclean thing? We’re supposed to be fruitful and multiply. This is a beautiful thing, which is true. Others would talk about the patriarchal nature of the world at that time. But, honestly, I think it’s just a little more practical than that. Because the context, what we’re talking about right now in the law, is clean and unclean. And one of the things we’ll find that are considered unclean is menstruation. So, I’ve got to confess that’s probably on the top five list of things that I am not qualified to speak of. But let’s consider that we’re living in the desert and we’re moving around a lot, right? So, no husband can be sent down to the corner drug store to pick up certain items on behalf of their wife and stand in line feeling a little weird about it. Now, I can’t confirm or deny that that’s ever happened to me. But if we were living several thousand years ago in the middle of the wilderness, nobody would be running to any drug store. Those things would be handled somehow, somehow different. And even in today’s medical community, if you come into contact with someone else’s blood, you’re probably going to be coming into contact with it with gloves on. Right? Because it’s a biohazard. And they didn’t have the kind of protection or procedures that we do now. So, coming into contact with each other’s blood, however that happens, can be dangerous to the entire community. They’re in the desert three thousand years ago.  They’re not going to be able to run to the ER. So, we can kind of understand the practicality. Now, the difference between time of uncleanness between a boy and a girl probably also has it’s own practicality. The baby boy at eight days old is going to go through a procedure of his own. Thankfully, he won’t remember. He’s going to be circumcised. So, what’s being embedded into the culture is that the mother needs to be present. She’s a part of that story. And obviously with the female baby she’s not going to be circumcised at eight days old. But the extended time period may have something to do foreshadowing the baby girl’s own fertility in the future. But rather than looking at all this as some sort of penalty, we might also understand it as an exemption. So, the new mother doesn’t have to stay involved in all of the rituals designed to govern and keep the health and welfare and spiritual connection to God inside the community for a period of time. We might, in a modern context, call this something like maternity leave. Because, again, the context that we encounter this in is clean and unclean.

So, we move into the New Testament, into the book of Mark, keeping up with this theme and we find a woman who has had an issue of blood for twelve years, which is a significant hardship, not only on a practical level, but because she could never be clean, ritually speaking. So, as the story goes, there’s a synagogue leader who comes to Jesus because his daughter is dying and he’s desperate and he reaches out to Jesus in faith, asking him if he would come and heal her. Jesus is on His way to this guy’s house when this woman is in the crowd along with Jesus and she reaches out in faith just to touch His clothes and He knows it.  Well what’s His response? Does He stop the crowd and make a big circle and say, alright, who touched me and shame her for making Him unclean because she was unclean and she touched Him?  Not at all. Quite the opposite. His response, which would be God’s response, is, ‘daughter your faith has made you well. Go in peace. Be cured from your illness.’ So, let’s move away from menstruation and childbirth and into faith. Because what we’re beginning to see as Jesus touches and heals people and sets people free is that He is continually saying, your faith made you whole. In other words, the power of God has been here and you opened yourself to it. You collaborated in faith. Of course, from the New Testament we have this definition of faith that it is the substance of things hoped for and the evidence of what can’t be seen. If we just open the dictionary, faith is a total and complete trust and confidence in someone or something. We’re also told in the Scriptures that without faith it’s impossible to please God. So, not only is faith supremely powerful, it’s also indisputably necessary. And we see that play out. We see what Jesus is doing as He’s going to the synagogue leader’s house.  So, after this scene with the woman with the issue of blood, people come from that synagogue leader’s house to inform him that there’s no need for Jesus to come, that the little girl has already died. I cannot imagine what is immediately going through that father’s mind. On the one hand, it’s like if I’m in that situation, I’m mad at the lady with the issue of blood for slowing the whole thing down and not letting Jesus get to my daughter before she died. Right? And then right on the heels of that, I’m thinking, I left her, I left her to go get help, but I couldn’t be there. I couldn’t get back to her, which would bring terrible regret. So, all that stuff that would be swirling around. It would just be a faith killer. What’s interesting is that Jesus overhears this and steps immediately into the situation and says don’t be afraid. Just believe. And it’s interesting how forcefully He steps into that because He knows that faith is going to be required. It cannot be snuffed out. And, of course, when He gets to the synagogue leader’s house, everybody’s wailing and moaning and crying and every indication that this story is over, this little girl is dead is right before them. Faith killer. And Jesus steps right up into that. Why are you making so much noise? She’s not dead, she’s sleeping. Of course, then they’re mourning turns into laughter and they’re mocking Jesus and so He kicks them all out. Like, this is going to require faith and the faithless have to get out of the room. And, of course, in the end the little girl is brought back to health. We have plenty of opportunity for faith killers in our lives. We would probably otherwise call that circumstance. Notice how Jesus handles this. Notice that He steps right into it and says no, no, no, no. You cannot lose your faith. Don’t be afraid. Just believe. May we take that to heart because I promise you, you’re going to need it. And you’re going to need it a lot. And when we feel like we need God to come through and we’re trying to pray a lot and we’re trying to be strong, we have to ask ourselves, is my complete and utter trust and confidence in God in this matter? Because that gages immediately where our faith is.

Prayer:

Father, we invite You into that because we need faith and it’s not a one-time thing. We need faith and we need it a lot. And, so, we declare our complete trust and devotion and confidence is in You and You alone. We declare You are our only hope and we invite Your Holy Spirit to continually remind us of this because the next set of circumstances that present themselves are going to try to kill our faith. And we ask Jesus that You would step into that and that Your words would come forth out of our hearts, don’t do this, don’t be afraid. Just believe. Come Holy Spirit, we pray. In Jesus’ name. Amen.

Announcements:

dailyaudiobible.com is the website, it’s home base, it’s where You find out what’s going on around here.

Like I said at the beginning, we are in the land of the Bible. And today will be our first day out in the wild. And we will begin at Beersheba, the southernmost part of the Promise Land. Now it’s not the southernmost part of Israel, but from Dan to Beersheba was always the saying to define the northern and southern boundaries. And then we’ll be heading south into the deep, deep desert. The kind of desert we’re talking about as all of the law is being given in the book of Leviticus. So, I’ll talk about all that we do today tomorrow, after we do it. And we’ll be posting pictures on the Daily Audio Bible Facebook page and Instagram. So, you can kind of follow along with the trip that way. And I’ll be talking about what we’re doing each day. Thank you again for your continued prayer over all of this. This canopy of prayer over everything that we do while we’re here is much, much appreciated.

The other thing that’s going on this trip is coming up this Saturday, which is the 24th of February. We’ll be doing a Facebook Live from the Sea of Galilee area. So, we’re headed in the opposite direction at the moment, but by Saturday that’s where we will be. And we get together as a group, start to debrief, and just talk about the experiences, but we share some of that live. So, this is going to take place at 8 pm Israel time, which is going to be 1 pm on Saturday on the east coast of the United States, noon if you’re in central time, 11 am if you’re in the mountain zone and 10 am if you’re on the west coast of the United States. If You’re in London, that will be 6 pm on Saturday and if you’re in Australia, like if You’re in Sydney, that will be 5 am Sunday morning. Just for some reference. You can easily Google the difference in time between Tel Aviv and wherever you are. And this’ll take place on our Daily Audio Bible Facebook page, which is facebook.com/dailyaudiobible. And I encourage You to follow Daily Audio Bible on Facebook so that You can stay connected to this trip. We’ll be posting a lot. So, you can see some of the places that I’ll be sharing about as we go forward.

Also, if you want to come, we’ll be coming back next year about this time and you can get the details and information at dailyaudiobible.com. Just scroll down and find Israel 2019 or look in the Initiatives section. You’ll find Israel 2019. Like I mentioned yesterday, these always sell out way in advance. So, check into it if it’s something you feel compelled to do. We’d love, love to see you next year.

And I’ve also been mentioning what’s coming up in April back across the ocean. In the mountains in Northern Georgia, about an hour outside of Atlanta, is the location for our women’s conference that we do each year called the More Gathering for Women. So, ladies, if the winter’s getting long and you’re longing for more and you’re longing for new life, then that is the place to be as the springtime arrives in the south, new life begins to emerge, a sisterhood of women come together to explore more. And You can get all the details for that at dailyaudiobible.com as well, same place you would go to look for the Israel trip, and just scroll down to the Initiatives or look in the Initiatives section and you can get all of the details there. Hope to see you in April.

If you want to partner with the Daily Audio Bible, you can do that at dailyaudiobible.com. There is a link that lives on the homepage. Thank you humbly and profoundly for your partnership. If you’re using the Daily Audio Bible app, You can press the Give button in the upper right-hand corner or, if you prefer, the mailing address is P.O. Box 1996, Spring Hill, Tennessee, 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 love You and I’ll be waiting for You here tomorrow.

Community Prayer and Praise:

[singing] Jesus, You have one me. You have broken every chain with love and Mercy. You have triumphed over death and You are worthy of glory and praise. [singing stops] Good day Daily Audio Bible family this is Sherry calling from British Columbia Canada. Today is Wednesday, February the 14th which is Ash Wednesday or the beginning of Lent. And I wanted to call  in because, Brian, when I heard you talk about Lent I was surprised. I usually participate but it came up and caught me off guard and usually takes me a really long time to figure out what I’m going to do differently or give up for lent. And as soon as you mentioned Lent, God instantly said socks. I need to give up socks for six weeks. And I knew it was God saying it because it’s nothing I would’ve ever thought of myself. So, anyways, I’ve decided to give up socks for Lent and it’s great because I wear socks all the time. I even wear socks to bed. Pretty much the only time I don’t wear socks is what I’m in the shower. So, yeah, it’s going to be a constant reminder every time I think of putting on socks or feel my feet swishing around my shoes without socks. So yeah. So, thank you Brian for reminding us about Lent. And I’ve already had a chance to talk to two people, one who already knows God and one  who doesn’t. When I wanted into Payless to get some shoe deodorizer spray because my feet are going to stink after six weeks of not wearing socks, the lady at the counter, she offered me a pair of socks because they’re on sale. And I’m like, well, I’m actually giving up socks for the next six weeks for Lent. And she’s like, Lent, what’s that? And, so, I got a chance to share about Jesus and how when we get closer to the crucifixion we’re reminded of Jesus’ sacrifice for us. And, so, for the next six weeks I am sacrificing sauce. Anyway, I hope that blesses someone. Have a good evening DAB.

Hi everyone at the DAB. My name is Mel. M E L from Central Florida. And I am a first-time caller. I’ve been listening for just over a year now and I love it. I love you guys. I love everything about the DAB. And a couple of months ago somebody called in and they were talking about the phrase, you are mine. And this really spoke to me because my favorite song in my church is called You are Mine. And I was thinking I’m not sure if everyone’s heard of the song or knows the song. So, I figured I would sing the refrain for you guys and then maybe you can look it up on your own. It’s a really beautiful song. So, yeah. Here is goes. [singing] Do not be afraid I am with you. I have called you each by name. Come and follow me. I will bring you home. I love you and you are mine. [singing stops] So, yep, that’s just the refrain part, but the rest of it is a really incredible. So, if you get a chance, like I said, look it up. And I hope it speaks to somebody how it speaks to me. I want to tell you guys I’m praying for you. I pray for you every day. I listen every day. And I hope you all have a great day. Thank you and God bless.

Hey, Peggy the victorious. This is Dr. John from Jordan New York. I just want to give you some encouragement about your eyes. I had glaucoma __ this before but I was diagnosed with glaucoma when I was 23 and it runs strongly my family. By the time my dad was into his mid-40s his vision, he had lost so much from glaucoma, that we could never play catch. Now he was legally blind at the age of 65. Things have improved immensely in terms of the treatments of glaucoma. I have not lost any vision at all. I had the evidence of damage to my nerves when I was diagnosed at 23, but there has been absolutely zero progression. Now, I calculated I am somewhere in the north of 60,000 eyedrops that I’ve put into my eyes over the course of my life, but to me that’s been totally worth it to preserve my vision. Regarding the cataracts. I had cataracts at age 46 and 47. So, I have had both lenses replaced. Very routine surgery. The laser surgery for cataracts…sorry…for glaucoma is…I like to say…a minor procedure…but the definition of a minor procedure is a procedure on somebody else. But as much as it can be a minor procedure it’s not a dangerous thing. You will keep your vision. Have faith. Trust in the Lord. We love you. Have a great day. Dr. John signing off. Bye-bye.

Hello DABbers I am a grandmother with the 11-year-old granddaughter that was in a psychiatric hospital. I had called in one time to update you all but my call was cut off before I got to that part. So, I wanted to thank to be a blessing for continuing to pray for us. We still need your prayers. She’s out of a psychiatric hospital and she’s doing some better, but our family is in turmoil. And I thank all of you for praying for us. I have been wondering about some DABbers like Lenora in Florida that had her son and grandson move in with them. Wondering how you’re doing and wanted you to know that I’m still praying for you. And Jackie in Hawaii who had the son that was living in Colorado. Still praying for you. Michael, traveling from Colorado to New York. You are heavy on my heart. I pray that the Lord will speak clearly to you and that you will know what He has in store for you and that you’ll feel a piece that comes only from Him. I’m continuing to pray for Bonnie son __ and I pray that the union is going well. I’m praying for Darrell’s son Jeremy, for Jadrian, for Jaden, for Michaela, for Emmanuel. I ask you all to pray for my son Charles who is in rehab for substance abuse. Thanks to all of you. Pray for you regularly. And I’m asking God touch our families because Satan is after us. In Jesus’ name I pray.

Hello my DAB family this is Mark S from Sydney Australia. Today is Friday, the 15th  February and I wanted to pray today for the Israel trip for the DAB community. Heavenly father, we come to you as a community Father. Our dear brother Brian is organizing a trip to Your holy land Father. Abba, I ask you that You keep Brian, his family, and his whole crew Lord under Your protection Father from physical health, spiritual health, and mental health Lord. Lord, little weather conditions be perfect Lord for this trip too Lord. Lord I ask you also Father for all the participants Father that are going to this trip to the holy land who are Lord that they’ll get a closer relationship with you, seeing the footsteps that You walked on this earth and may they connect with you greater than they ever have before Father. And I ask this in Jesus’ name. Amen. I love you family. Talk to you again soon. Bye-bye.

Hi this is Natalie from Arizona. Greetings to all my brothers and sisters in Christ out there. I was in the middle of listening to the audio podcast for February 15th and the word of God is just so alive. I just had to share what came to my heart as I was listening. And Brian was reading the part where God ordained Aaron to be his priest forever and he dressed him in the all of the regalia and lined it with gold and some really interesting things. But it’s so funny how this is the same Aaron who, just prior to this, was behaving in such an ungodly way and just a few Scriptures prior to the Scripture today. So, it’s so interesting how God reveals himself to us, that He just spoke to me as I was listening to that Scripture how He loves us, he will…we just come as we are. That’s what He means by come as we are because we know that His messenger that Aaron had a lot of issues, which, we know. When we look at the mirror, we individually have more it seems like. But praise God, He loves us, He accepts is how we are. And look at what He’s done with Aaron and how he’s continuing to use Aaron even though Aaron needed Him so much. And, so, you know, we all are in the same boat. We all need Jesus as our Savior. And that just really spoke to me. I hope it speaks to you too. I love you all. Have a wonderful day.