Daniel 1:1-2:23, 1 Peter 3:8-4:6, Psalms 119:65-80, Proverbs 28:14
Today is the 25th day of November. Welcome to the Daily Audio Bible. I’m Brian. It’s great to be here with you as we turn the knob and walk through into a fresh, sparkly, shiny, new week. And we’re at the one month mark, one month from today will be Christmas day. And that being the reality, this is the last week of November. Before we end this week we will be in the final month of the year. So, let’s take the next step forward. And the next step forward actually leads us into a brand-new book, we concluded the book of Ezekiel yesterday. And, so, now…well…we’re going to enter into one of the most interesting books in the Old Testament, the book of Daniel.
Introduction to the book of Daniel:
Daniel is a prized book for it’s historical account, but it’s not just the book of history, it’s a book of prophecy and it’s prized for its sweeping prophetic visions. In fact, Daniel’s visions have been consulted over millennia in the studies of the end times. But in his life, Daniel was a contemporary of Ezekiel, right, the book and we spent a lot of time in cause it’s a lengthy book and concluded yesterday. So, Daniel and Ezekiel were contemporaries writing in the same time period. And Daniel was taken into exile when Jerusalem fell to Babylon, which was in 597 BC. So, we have a pretty good understanding of how difficult that season, that time of exile, that time of conquest when Jerusalem fell was from other stories that we’ve heard in the Bible. So, we know that the circumstances weren’t the best for Daniel and all those who had been exiled from Jerusalem. But, kind of like Joseph, through the struggle Daniel was favored by God. He was gifted. And he was a smart young man who rose to become an influential advisor and authority in the Babylonian kingdom of Nebuchadnezzar and then beyond. So, here’s the interesting thing. Even though Daniel was in exile and he was most certainly the Hebrew and he was a prophet, he wasn’t a prophet for or against Israel. Like, the visions that we’ll encounter when we go through the book of Daniel are not particularly Jewish, which gives Daniel unique voice. But before we get to those visions there’s some stories that we’ll have to cover. And, so, during the first half of our time in Daniel we’ll read the story of Daniel’s life. And as we’re doing that we going to encounter some of the richest stories in the Bible. Some of the most popular stories in the Bible, like the story of Shadrach Meshack and Abednego were thrown into a fiery furnace or the story of Daniel himself being thrown into the lion’s den. But then as we move more into the back half of the book the focus will shift to Daniel’s prophetic visions of four great world empires. And like some of the other prophetic utterances in the Bible, the imagery from Daniel is almost cinematic and highly symbolic. And this is the portion of the book that has been and continues to be scrutinized by those who are scholars of the end times, eschatological scholars. So, if that’s your thing or, if that’s your discipline of study, or you’re just curious, then the book of Daniel is certain to be a centerpiece of that study. But whether or not the end times is your passion, Daniel’s portrayal of God’s sovereignty over all the kingdoms of man is powerfully revealed. And, as I said at the beginning, you know, before we’re out of this week. we’re gonna be in the final month of the year. And, so, Daniel’s gonna carry us into the final month of the year. And let’s jst settle in and enjoy the rhythm, one day forward, step-by-step. And we’ll enjoy the rich heritage of God’s faithfulness and this striking prophetic imagery that’s found here in the 27th book of the Old Testament, the book of Daniel. And, so, we begin. We’ll read from the Contemporary English Version this week. Daniel, chapter 1 verse 1 through 2 verse 23 today.
Prayer:
Father, we thank You for Your word. We thank You for a brand-new, shiny, sparkly week. And we thank You that it’s all out in front of us. And although we may have many things and appointments and obligations that are scheduled for this coming week, we haven’t lived into it yet, and we choose at the outset, at this threshold that we will walk with You in all of our ways. And we invite Your Holy Spirit to not only plant the word of God in our lives and hearts so that it provides the guidance that we need for the days ahead but we also invite Your Holy Spirit, we want intimacy with You God. We want to walk with You in fellowship, in friendship, in every meal, in every decision, in every conversation, in every activity. Come, Holy Spirit. Help us this week to end this month well and strong as we seek to move into the final month of the year, strong and focused on all that You have to speak to us in the remaining days. Come Holy Spirit we pray. In the mighty name of Jesus we ask. Amen.
Announcements:
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And it’s Christmas time around here. The Daily Audio Bible family Christmas Box for 2018 is now available and now shipping while supplies last. So, be sure to check that out in the Daily Audio Bible shop. The Daily Audio Bible Christmas cards are all available…in fact all of our resources for the season are available in the Christmas section in the Daily Audio Bible shop. So, be sure to stop by and check that out.
I want to remind those of you who are international, who are outside of the United States what I’ve been saying. This Wednesday, this coming Wednesday is the cut off for international shipping. That’s the safe date that we think that we can still get things to arrive for Christmas. Of course, you can certainly order as long as you want, as long as we have them, and we’ll ship them, but if you’re hoping for the Christmas Box arrive in time for Christmas then, if you’re outside the United States, it needs to be ordered by Wednesday. If you’re inside the United States we got a couple weeks, although, I don’t think they’ll be around a couple weeks, but we’ll see. So, you can find all that in the Daily Audio Bible shop at dailyaudiobible.com in Christmas section and you can get all of that from the Daily Audio Bible app as well.
If you want to partner the Daily Audio Bible here as we begin to approach the end of the year then I thank you profoundly. I thank you with all of my heart. There is a link on the homepage at dailyaudiobible.com. 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 everybody, it’s Lisa the Encourager, I mean neighbors. How y’all doing? I’ve really missed you but I really have been right here by your side. I’ve been listening and praying and crying and loving on each and every one of you from the distance. But I wanted to call tonight after getting encouragement from Mary saying that I was missed and just telling me that, you know, she was just really encouraging me tpo call back again. And I definitely wanted too. I love each and every one of you. So, tonight I just wanted to call and encourage those and pray for the DAB family who have lost loved ones this year, especially as we approach the holidays, and especially for Asia. And I just want all of us that have, including myself, I lost my father-in-law this year, my husband’s dad, Jerry Starling, and I just want us to find a greater purpose and loving on the ones who are still with us and just help us to push through and show our loved ones you know what we are still capable of while we’re on this earth and while we hear and just shower them with our love. And let’s just do all we can to please our Savior and remember that we are never alone when God is right by our side. So, I’m going to pray for each and every one of you lost of what one is here. Dear God, I pray for my Daily Audio Bible family and friends and neighbors. And I just pray for each one of them that lost a loved one this year and they have that deep sorrow and pit and emptiness inside of them. God, I just pray that you would help them push through and just try to work on a loved ones that are here and their friends and just do everything in their power Lord God to use what they have, what You have given them…
Hello, this is Anne from Charlotte North Carolina. I just wanted to say how thankful I am up for Daily Audio Bible. I’m winding up my 10th year listening. It’s hard to believe it’s gone by so quickly. And I’m so thankful to Brian and his family that he didn’t decide after one year to quit. And I just pray that God leads Brian and his family to continue this for a long time because I know my life is dependent on the daily listening to the word and the community that helps me not to feel alone every day. And listening for 10 years I am always hearing things I’ve never heard before. And when Brian was introducing the book of James as the half-brother of Jesus, I thought, I wonder if people that knew James would say, boy you look like your brother. I never thought of that before, but these were real people just like us, sinners in need of the Savior and the power of his blood in their lives and in ours. And I’m thankful that we have the blood of Jesus to cleanse us from sin, to give us newness of life every day. That’s our hope in this life and the next. So, thank you Daily Audio Bible, just for being there. I love you all. God, bless.
Hi, this is Diane calling from northern Minnesota. This is my second call in 10 years of listening to the DAB. I’m asking for prayer. Monday the 26th, I’m having surgery. They liken it to a shark bite. They’ll be removing a chunk of my thigh and lymph nodes because the melanoma and I’m scared. I’ve worked in health care for 44 years and only see the bad things, the worst. You never get to see the good because they don’t come back to us. So, please pray that it has not spread to the lymphatic system. I covet your prayers. God bless you family.
Hi Daily Audio Bible family, this is your sister Julie in Southern California. I haven’t called for quite some time but I have been praying for you and praying with you. And I just envision all of us right now sitting, right now, in front of the global campfire with Brian and holding our hands…holding each other’s hands sitting around the campfire…and just being thankful and grateful for each other and I just want you all know how grateful and thankful I am for all of you. This Daily Audio Bible has saved my life. It’s helped save my life. I’ve come out seven years ago…it’s been almost 8 years now…from an affair. And it was my doing. And my husband has since then…we have been restored. It’s just so amazing…there’s no way…I was suicidal and everything just because of my shame and guilt. But you guys helped me get through it just by listening to you. I never contested to all of you but I am now and I just want to thank you. That is a miracle. And this Thanksgiving I am grateful for Daily Audio Bible, each and every one of you and there’s too many of your name that have impacted my life in such a valuable way. Brian, thank you. Thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you, and I love you. And I love your family. And for all of you, may the Lord bless you and keep you, may the Lord lift up His face and shine on you. May He lift up his countenance on all of you and give you all His peace. Happy Thanksgiving family.