Ezekiel 20:1-49, Hebrews 9:11-28, Psalms 107:1-43, Proverbs 27:11
Today is the 9th day of November. Welcome to the Daily Audio Bible. I’m Brian. It is a pleasure and always an honor to be here with you and take the next step forward as we continue our journey through the Scriptures this year and through this month, the month of November. So, we’ve been reading from the Names of God Bible this week, which is what we will continue to do all the way through the end of the week. And back out into Ezekiel we go. Chapter 20 verses 1 through 49 today.
Commentary:
Okay. So, as we go through the book of Hebrews and as we’ve come this far in the book of Hebrews we’ve pointed out many times the Jewish context because, well, I mean, the book of Hebrews, its title says it all. It’s Hebrews. So, the Jewish context is irreplaceable in the book of Hebrews. And there are times that we’ll read passages that may seem highly theological, but they were written in a context that was understood and that context would have been the Jewish religion, Judaism. So, it’s within this context that Hebrews presented the good news of the gospel. But we if we don’t understand the context, we don’t really find ourselves finding what’s being said so revolutionary when, in fact, this message was unbelievably revolutionary. So, in Hebrews today we read, with His own blood, not the blood of goats and calves, He entered the most holy place once for all time and secured our redemption forever. And we can all go, you know, Amen to that. But if we were to go back through that again and pretend that we don’t have any knowledge of Jewish worship from the Old Testament then it’s all kind of strange, right? The references to the blood of goats and calves and the most holy place? They wouldn’t make any sense. And, so, even having the knowledge that we do, we still can miss the magnitude of what’s being said here. This sacrificial system had been in place with the Hebrew culture for centuries. This system of worship included a temple, a most holy place, a high priest, and sacrifices, among other things. The writer of Hebrews was announcing that the final sacrifice had been made. So, what had been baked into the culture for century after century after century, the announcement here is that the final sacrifice has been made, a new covenant has begun, and once for all time redemption has been secured through Jesus. So, again, we can go, Amen to that. But this would’ve been incredibly good but very disruptive news, the kind that would’ve been hard to believe because it was a proclamation that the law had been fulfilled. So, another one of these things that had been baked into the culture, it had been fulfilled and it reached its conclusion, it had been accomplished, it was finished, which is exactly what Jesus announced moments before his death. So for a first century Hebrew who was devout, this message invited a fundamental paradigm shift, one that had been foretold, but one that challenged entire understandings of God. So, skepticism and fear would’ve been a part of any person considering this because the entire system of worship had been built to atone for sin. And through that being focused to devotion on being faithful to God. So, it would have been difficult to recalibrate and just accept the idea that the final sacrifice had been made. Sacrifice was no longer necessary because all sin for all time had been removed for those who accepted this new covenant. So, all of the rituals and all of the way that society was ordered could be set aside in favor of an actual relationship, like a first-hand first-person relationship with God through Jesus and the indwelling of the Holy Spirit. On the other hand, something along these lines and was expected. They had been hoping for a Redeemer and it had been foretold. So, to think that the final sacrifice might have been made, and through that sacrifice sin could be eliminated once and for all meant that righteousness before God was possible. And the writer of Hebrews said it like this, Christ was offered once for all time as a sacrifice to take away the sins of many people. He will come again not to deal with our sins but to bring salvation to all who are eagerly waiting for him. So, what a relief this message would’ve been for those who embraced it. What a relief it is to us, I mean, such a relief that we can often take it for granted. And, so, even though we understand, like, that thus is fundamental truth for Christians, looking and the Good News through Hebrew eyes should make us all the more awestruck that God not only grafted us into his family but that God invited us to come close. We’re not required to make sacrifices anymore. We’re to become the living sacrifice. So, looking through these I should rejuvenate our faith. Let’s not forget what a relief the Good News of the gospel is.
Prayer:
Father, we invite you into that. We thank you. We thank you Jesus for coming for us. We thank you for your work on this earth to redeem us. We thank you that we are able to enter into that work and be your hands and feet in this world. We thank you that you have invited us to come close and that you have removed the stain of sin from our lives. Come, Holy Spirit, help us to live into that because we are still focusing quite a bit in our sin and you are saying, it’s not about that anymore, you’re a new person, you can walk out of that, that does not have any control in your life anymore. So come Holy Spirit and show us how to live this out and how to walk into the freedom that you are offering. Come Jesus, we pray. In your name we ask. Amen.
Announcements:
dailyaudiobible.com is the website, its home base, its where you find out what’s going on around here. So, be sure to stay connected.
If you want to partner with the Daily Audio Bible, you can do that at dailyaudiobible.com as well. There’s a link on the homepage. Thank you profoundly and with all humility for those of you who have pressed that link. 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 PO 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’m Brian I love you and I’ll be waiting for you here tomorrow.
Community Prayer and Praise:
Hi, this is Saved in Albuquerque. I am calling on behalf of Christine with the bumpy dog and you are trapped in the hospital right through Thanksgiving I believe. I’ve heard your calls a few times and you’re just always just have a such beautiful voice and beautiful thoughts for everyone and I’m just lifting you up along with our entire community and we are praying for your healing, for your complete healing actually and we are with you. I can’t even imagine being trapped in a hotel for this long, but you seem to have such a beautiful attitude and we know it’s because of Christ. And I just wanted you to know that we’re all living you and I wanted to pray for you right now. Heavenly Father, please lift up Christine with with a bumpy dog. I’d love to hear where that name came from, but we want to give her hope. We’re asking for her hope for her complete healing and restoration so that she can be with her family and join them for the holidays and be relieved from the hospital very, very soon. We know that she would be more comfortable at home and we’re just all lifting you up Christine and we’re there for you. God bless you. Amen.
Hi Brian, __ here. DAB family. Thank you for your kind prayers and thoughts regarding __ my wife and myself through Jesus. My testimony, I thank the Jesus for an employer giving his life to Christ this morning on the phone. Please pray for him to walk true in our Savior. His name’s Jason. My wife and I we __ would continue to __ grace. I’ve just been offered a job to fill an urgent need at a special needs school for a year/six based for 10 to 11-year old boys, which I haven’t had extensive training in. __ issues as well as me not being able to concentrate on doing a music job earning at least 1000 pounds in order to start paying back my university fees. Please pray that God’s will is done and that I’m in the right spirit, __, and character, that I get on well with my next employer’s, whoever they are, and that everything dovetails with my involvement with my own church __ temple as the job, special needs or come whatever __ God. I’ve been asked to do a trial tomorrow at school and I’m willing to help out but that may mean working after school from Thursday until Monday, the son of a friend of my wife and I staying in our home. At times I have to be with him constantly while our friends are abroad. So, that will limit how I can work on those days. But Brian, your comments on Hebrews 5 about Melchizedek. Wonderful. I __ … we’re grateful for every answered prayer. Thank you for all you do and for your prayers and for your __. Bless. Greg from the UK.
Hi, this is Victoria from Arizona. I am calling in for my daughter-in-law who just had a baby yesterday. And I’m just praying for her to be completely and totally healed from the top of her head to the soles of her feet, that God would just so minister to her. Her blood pressure bottomed out and she really had a rough go of it. And I’m just praying for physical, naturally, spiritually, and emotionally that she would just rebound and really quickly. And if you get just read agree with me. Her name is Danielle, that God would just wrap His loving arms around her and just encourage her today, and that the baby would be doing okay. I’m so excited to have another little grandson. It’s been a rough year. I don’t know if you remember me, but I lost my son a December and I lost my husband in May. So, this little grand-baby is just gonna bring so much joy, I know, to our family. And I’m praying for healing and restoration for our family as we…as we’re going to the holidays it’s gonna be a little tough. And I’m praying for God’s grace for my family and God’s mercy and __ encouragement. And I just covered all your prayers. My name is Vicki. And I just thank you and I thank you Brian and Jill. And I thank you for this ministry. I thank you for all the prayer warriors. I thank you that God is…God is so connected. It’s just amazing to me that I can call in, people from around the world are praying for my little sweet daughter-in-law that I just love so much. I appreciate all and have a great day.
Hello, my name’s Bill, I’m a first-time caller. I’m calling to request that my Daily Audio Bible colleagues pray for my father’s recovery tomorrow from cancer surgery. He served his country and his family for many years. I’m hoping that through your intervention, through your intercession and God’s intervention he’ll have a complete recovery. Thank you and God bless you, goodbye.