Numbers 14:1-15:16, Mark 14:53-72, Psalms 53:1-6, Proverbs 11:4
Today is March 10th. Welcome to the Daily Audio Bible. I am Brian and it is a pleasure to be here with you as we turn the knob and step into a brand-new week together, one that is bright and shiny, it’s all out in front of us. Nothing’s gone right or wrong and we get to choose how we’re gonna live into it, and one of the ways we’re choosing is to take the next steps forward through this week as we continue on the journey that will take us through the entire Bible this year. Since we have a brand-new week we’ve got a new translation. We’ll read from the English Standard Version this week and we’ll pick up where we left off yesterday, Numbers chapter 14 verse 1 through 15 verse 16 today.
Commentary:
Okay. So, in the book of Numbers, spies have been sent out from the wilderness of Zinn to spy out the land and it’s go time. Like, literally this is where we find ourselves. It’s go time. They are to move into the promised land and their families, these little children who have come out of Egypt, these little children who have been born in the wilderness, they’re gonna grow up free, first generation of free people in the land of promise that took centuries to bring about. And the spies go into the land out of the wilderness of Zinn and its…well the irony is that we were just standing looking out over the wilderness of Zinn’s just a couple of weeks ago. So, this all becomes immediate and alive. And the spies go in, this is a famous story, and they come back and they say there are giants in the land, right? We’re grasshoppers next to them. There’s no way we can do this, all except for the two spies Joshua and Caleb. And then though the news spreads throughout the camp like a wildfire. And, so, the entire culture that has come out of slavery, has met with God at Mount Sinai, has received the customs and rituals for their governance, and are standing at the precipice, at the literal threshold of going into the promised land decide once again that what would be best for them is to go back and ask if they can be slaves again. The parallels for our own lives are so stark in front of us right now. This may be what we are doing right now. We may have gone through the wilderness, we may have held onto God for dear life and allowed him to shift and shape whatever needed to be shaped in us and we have walked right through the threshold of what we believe we are being invited or swept or called into only to say, “this cannot be done, this cannot be done, there are giants in the land. I cannot do this.” What has happened here in our reading from today is that these little children who are coming up in the wilderness who were supposed to grow up free in the promised land were doomed. I mean we can say that an entire generation of slaves, former slaves, disqualified themselves from the promised land. And, so, they were sent back out into the wilderness to wander around for 40 years so that everyone could die off, but who does this really effect? A whole generation. The first generation intended to grow up free in the promised land didn’t. They grew up nomadic in the wilderness with all kinds of problems and all kinds of struggles as we will soon see as we continue to read the story. They were supposed grow up free and instead they had to go into the promised land and do what their parents would not. Again, we got some stark realities here to look at. So, these 10 spies, they spread a bad report and it spreads like wildfire and a herd mentality begins to form and they decide the best thing that they should do is stone Moses and Aaron who are falling to their faces on the ground before the Lord saying, “God don’t destroy these people, forgive them”.
And we turn the page and we go into the book of Mark and we see the same thing starting to form before our eyes. The religious leaders have decided that this Jesus cannot be the son of God and He is too disruptive. He’s going to upset the apple cart of power that they’ve got. And, so, they’ve got to kill Him. And what are they going to do? They’re going to stir up a herd mentality that is then going to kill the son of God. So, when we here language in the Psalms about sheep without a shepherd or we read in the Scriptures “all we like sheep have gone astray”, we see just how this happens and how little we know and how God can be standing right in front of our faces and we can still miss it. And how is it that that could have happened and can still and does still happen? What is it that is set against us that can make us lose the plot of the story at just about any moment? Deception. It can come in many flavors and stripes and forms and we can call it a lot of things but if we’re gonna boil things down to essential core elements here, the thing set against you and I to destroy us is deception. It was deception that ruined the whole thing for us to begin with in the garden of Eden.
So, in the book of Numbers the promise was available. Like, they were literally supposed to pack up when the spies got back and make a plan and go into the promised land and live in the promised land, the land of milk and honey. This bad report opened the door for a deception that spread like wildfire among the camp and created a herd mentality.
In the book of Mark, God incarnate, the Creator of all things is standing before these people who are standing in judgment of God. And what does God got to say in His own defense? Nothing, except “I am”. And when God identifies Himself they all tear their clothes and cry blasphemy and turn Him over to be killed. What is deception causing you to do that isn’t you at all and never was? What is deception telling you about who you are that was never true but you’ve lived as if it were true and so it doesn’t matter that it’s a lie? Deception can make people do things that they wouldn’t do and become things that they never were and behave in ways that, upon reflection wouldn’t make any sense and we’re seeing this play out in the Bible because this plays out in our lives.
Prayer:
And, so, Holy Spirit, we invite You to reveal to us the places of deception in our lives, not only the places that we’re deceiving others but the places that we have been deceived and are walking on a path that isn’t going anywhere. And if it is going anywhere it’s just circling us back into the wilderness when it was time to move forward into the promised land. Come, Holy Spirit and show us these areas of deception in our lives we ask in Jesus’ name. Amen.
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Community Prayer and Praise:
Hey family this is Melissa from Albertville Alabama. I need the community, the whole family to pray for South Alabama __ Alabama to be specific. I know you’ve seen how the tornadoes devastated those little towns in Lake County. So, we need you all to pray for these families, pray for the ones who lost loved ones and lift them because some of them lost everything and they don’t have any insurance. So, I’m sure our church will do __ but you all please, please, please keep Alabama in your prayers. And also, they found a little 11-year-old girl dead, somebody murdered her in the county that’s right next door to __ county where I live. And her name was Amberlynne. I can’t recall the last name. But please lift up __. It’s just so sad, it’s so much evil but I know God is still good. We love y’all. Y’all have a great day. Bye-bye.
Hi Daily Audio Bible friends, family this is Teresa from Indianapolis - was from Indianapolis now from Savannah Georgia. I am calling in today…first I’d like to greet everybody…just say hello. I love you guys. I’ve been listening for such a long time and I’m just very blessed to have this program in my life. I heard a call today from Angela from California and I was just prompted to call right away before the broadcast even ended. Angela, I just want to commend you for calling in. I thank God for you. I thank God for your life. I thank God that you picked up the phone. I thank God for your grandbaby that’s about to be born and she deserves to know you. You are more blessed than you know. Emotions are just…time…a time period. It might be a long time that you’ve felt sad or that you felt the way you felt, and I do understand that because I’ve been there. I’ve felt nothingness in my life, but God said in my Spirit, I just knew He was saying, “this is not to the death.” I didn’t have any desire to eat anything, to do anything, to…nothing. But I was just here. So, I’m encouraging you today to just stay here, to be encouraged. I’m lifting you up in the name of Jesus. Lord you touch Angela’s mind in Jesus’ name. Give her peace right now in the name of Jesus that passes all understanding, not peace of the world __ but peace only you can give God. Touch her, love on her Father God. Build her up in Jesus name. If you want to call me, you can reach out to me at beyondbarriers88@gmail.com. My name is Teresa at beyondbarriers88@gmail.com.
Hi this is Greg from central Illinois and I just want to call in and say how refreshing it was to hear the 18-year-old girl call in the other day. She is the future and she sounds very bright and it’s just refreshing to hear a young voice on here calling in and just reaching out the community for prayer. I just want to lift up all these nations that are going through turmoil right now. If you look around there’s just…you could basically take any country and there’s some type of crisis going on. I think of Venezuela and all the food and medical treatment that they need over there. I just lift them up and just pray that God will guide many to see Him and find Him and know that they all…they all need Him and to lean on Him. And I just pray that the leaders over there will except the relief that’s coming over. I think of Cameroon, who is in a civil war and there’s bloodshed every day and just pray for peace over there, that you will protect the people that just need peace and comfort and strength to move on each and every day. I think of the crisis going on in Conga with the rape. I just pray God that you will comfort those girls and women. Let them lean on you each and every day and know that you are there to protect them. And we’ve got it easy here in United States. I mean most of us would be considered rich compared to the rest of world. We’ve got so much to give to those other countries. I just pray that we’ll all look around us and see that they need help and just pray to God for comfort and peace and understanding for them. Thank you for what you’re doing Brian and thank you for the community for all the prayers. God bless you all.
Hello family, my name is Natalie. I’m from Houston and I’ve called in just a very few times before. And my heart in the last years as a listener has been on this family and the platform that I hold very dear my heart. I just want for prayers for my son Bill. I thank everyone who pray for him and continues to pray for him. He’s my prodigal son. Today is his birthday and he is 30 years old. I have three grandbabies. The short story is he’s eliminated our relationship for the past three years. The good news is our heavenly Father has given me strength and hope and has affluently placed a peace about it although I do have tears and long for that relationship be rekindled. And as I listen to all the prayers on the Daily Audio Bible and my family I know there are many of us out there who are struggling with prodigal sons and daughters and other hardships as well. So, I wanted to state that I do pray as I listen to your requested prayers and praises, there’s a lot of them as well. And I just thank you again for being with me in prayer for my son Bill and that God touches his heart and directs him back to Him and helps him realize the importance of family and forgiveness and that he has a change of heart and that it aligns with God. Thank you.