The Daily Audio Bible Reading for Thursday April 30, 2020 (NIV)

Judges 11-12

Rise of Jephthah

11 Now Jephthah the Gileadite was a mighty warrior. Gilead was his father, but he was a prostitute’s son. Gilead’s wife gave birth to other sons for him, and when his wife’s sons grew up, they drove Jephthah away. They told him, “You won’t get an inheritance in our father’s household because you’re a different woman’s son.” So Jephthah ran away from his brothers and lived in the land of Tob. Worthless men gathered around Jephthah and became his posse.

Sometime afterward, the Ammonites made war against Israel. And when the Ammonites attacked Israel, Gilead’s elders went to bring Jephthah back from the land of Tob. They said to him, “Come be our commander so we can fight against the Ammonites.”

But Jephthah replied to Gilead’s elders, “Aren’t you the ones who hated me and drove me away from my father’s household? Why are you coming to me now when you’re in trouble?”

Gilead’s elders answered Jephthah, “That may be, but now we’re turning back to you, so come with us and fight the Ammonites. Then you’ll become the leader over us and everyone who lives in Gilead.”

And Jephthah said to Gilead’s elders, “If you bring me back to fight the Ammonites and the Lord gives them over to me, I alone will be your leader.”

10 Gilead’s elders replied to him, “The Lord is our witness; we will surely do what you’ve said.” 11 So Jephthah went with Gilead’s elders, and the people made him leader and commander over them. At Mizpah before the Lord, Jephthah repeated everything he had said.

12 Then Jephthah sent messengers to the Ammonite king, saying, “What is the problem between us that you’ve come against me to make war in my land?”

13 The Ammonite king responded to Jephthah’s messengers, “When the Israelites were coming up from Egypt, they seized my land from the Arnon to the Jabbok and all the way to the Jordan. Now give it back peacefully!”

14 Then Jephthah again sent messengers to the Ammonite king 15 and said to him, “Jephthah states: Israel didn’t seize the land of the Moabites or the land of the Ammonites. 16 When they were coming up from Egypt, the Israelites went through the desert to the Reed Sea[a] and came to Kadesh. 17 Then the Israelites sent messengers to the king of Edom, saying, ‘Please allow us to pass through your land’; but the Edomite king refused. They sent the same request to the king of Moab, and he was unwilling. So the Israelites stayed at Kadesh.

18 “Later they journeyed into the desert but went around the lands of Edom and Moab, arriving on the east side of the land of Moab and setting up camp on the other side of the Arnon. They never entered Moabite territory, because the Arnon was the boundary of Moab. 19 Then the Israelites sent messengers to Sihon king of the Amorites and king of Heshbon and said to him, ‘Please allow us to pass through your land to our own place.’ 20 Yet Sihon didn’t trust the Israelites to pass through his territory. He assembled his entire army, set up camp at Jahaz, and went to war with the Israelites. 21 The Lord, Israel’s God, handed over Sihon and his entire army to the Israelites, and they defeated Sihon. So the Israelites took possession of all the land of the Amorites who were living in that area. 22 They took possession of all the Amorite territory from the Arnon to the Jabbok and from the desert to the Jordan.

23 “So now that the Lord, Israel’s God, has driven out the Amorites before his people Israel, will you take possession of their land? 24 Shouldn’t you possess what Chemosh your god has given you to possess? And shouldn’t we possess everything that the Lord our God has given us to possess? 25 Do you now have a better case than Moab’s King Balak, Zippor’s son? Did he make an accusation against the Israelites or go to war with them? 26 Why didn’t you take back this territory while the Israelites lived in Heshbon and its villages, in Aroer and its villages, and in all the towns along the branches of the Arnon for three hundred years? 27 I haven’t sinned against you, but you’re doing me wrong by making war against me. Let the Lord, who is the judge, decide today between the Israelites and the Ammonites!”

28 But the Ammonite king refused to listen to the message that Jephthah sent to him.

Jephthah’s promise

29 Then the Lord’s spirit came on Jephthah. He passed through Gilead and Manasseh, then through Mizpah in Gilead, and from there he crossed over to the Ammonites. 30 Jephthah made a solemn promise to the Lord: “If you will decisively hand over the Ammonites to me, 31 then whatever comes out the doors of my house to meet me when I return victorious from the Ammonites will be given over to the Lord. I will sacrifice it as an entirely burned offering.” 32 Jephthah crossed over to fight the Ammonites, and the Lord handed them over to him. 33 It was an exceptionally great defeat; he defeated twenty towns from Aroer to the area of Minnith, and on as far as Abel-keramim. So the Ammonites were brought down before the Israelites.

34 But when Jephthah came to his house in Mizpah, it was his daughter who came out to meet him with tambourines and dancing! She was an only child; he had no other son or daughter except her. 35 When he saw her, he tore his clothes and said, “Oh no! My daughter! You have brought me to my knees! You are my agony! For I opened my mouth to the Lord, and I can’t take it back.”

36 But she replied to him, “My father, you’ve opened your mouth to the Lord, so you should do to me just what you’ve promised. After all, the Lord has carried out just punishment for you on your enemies the Ammonites.” 37 Then she said to her father, “Let this one thing be done for me: hold off for two months and let me and my friends wander the hills in sadness, crying over the fact that I never had children.”

38 “Go,” he responded, and he sent her away for two months. She and her friends walked on the hills and cried because she would never have children.

39 When two months had passed, she returned to her father, and he did to her what he had promised. She had not known a man intimately. But she gave rise to a tradition in Israel where 40 for four days every year Israelite daughters would go away to recount the story of the Gileadite Jephthah’s daughter.

Jephthah defeats the Ephraimites

12 The Ephraimites were called up for battle and crossed over to Zaphon. They said to Jephthah, “Why did you cross over to fight the Ammonites and not call us to go with you? We’re going to burn down your house over you!”

Jephthah replied to them, “My people and I were in a great conflict with the Ammonites. But when I cried out to you, you didn’t rescue me from their power. When I saw that you weren’t going to rescue me, I risked my own life and crossed over against the Ammonites, and the Lord handed them over to me. So why have you marched against me today to fight me?”

So Jephthah gathered all the men of Gilead and fought the Ephraimites. The Gileadites defeated the Ephraimites, because they had said, “You are fugitives from Ephraim! Gilead stands within Ephraim and Manasseh.”

The Gileadites took control of the Jordan’s crossing points into Ephraim. Whenever one of the Ephraimite fugitives said, “Let me cross,” the Gileadites would ask him, “Are you an Ephraimite?” If he said, “No,” they would tell him, “Then say shibboleth.” But he would say, “sibboleth,” because he couldn’t pronounce it correctly. So they would seize him and kill him at the Jordan’s crossing points. Forty-two thousand of the Ephraimites fell at that time.

Jephthah led Israel for six years. Then Jephthah the Gileadite died and was buried in one of the towns in Gilead.

Ibzan, Elon, and Abdon

After Jephthah, Ibzan from Bethlehem led Israel. He had thirty sons and thirty daughters. He married his thirty daughters to those outside his clan, and brought in thirty young women from outside for his sons. He led Israel for seven years. 10 Then Ibzan died and was buried in Bethlehem.

11 After Ibzan, Elon from Zebulun led Israel; he did so for ten years. 12 Then Elon the Zebulunite died and was buried in Aijalon in the land of Zebulun.

13 After Elon, Abdon, Hillel’s son from Pirathon, led Israel. 14 He had forty sons and thirty grandsons mounted on seventy donkeys. He led Israel for eight years. 15 Then Abdon, Hillel’s son from Pirathon, died and was buried in Pirathon in the land of Ephraim, in the Amalekite highlands.

Footnotes:

  1. Judges 11:16 Or Red Sea
Common English Bible (CEB)

Copyright © 2011 by Common English Bible

John 1:1-28

Story of the Word

In the beginning was the Word
and the Word was with God
and the Word was God.
The Word was with God in the beginning.
Everything came into being through the Word,
and without the Word
nothing came into being.
What came into being
through the Word was life,[a]
and the life was the light for all people.
The light shines in the darkness,
and the darkness doesn’t extinguish the light.

A man named John was sent from God. He came as a witness to testify concerning the light, so that through him everyone would believe in the light. He himself wasn’t the light, but his mission was to testify concerning the light.

The true light that shines on all people
was coming into the world.
10 The light was in the world,
and the world came into being through the light,
but the world didn’t recognize the light.
11 The light came to his own people,
and his own people didn’t welcome him.
12 But those who did welcome him,
those who believed in his name,
he authorized to become God’s children,
13 born not from blood
nor from human desire or passion,
but born from God.
14 The Word became flesh
and made his home among us.
We have seen his glory,
glory like that of a father’s only son,
full of grace and truth.

15 John testified about him, crying out, “This is the one of whom I said, ‘He who comes after me is greater than me because he existed before me.’”

16 From his fullness we have all received grace upon grace;
17 as the Law was given through Moses,
so grace and truth came into being through Jesus Christ.
18 No one has ever seen God.
God the only Son,
who is at the Father’s side,
has made God known.

John’s witness

19 This is John’s testimony when the Jewish leaders in Jerusalem sent priests and Levites to ask him, “Who are you?”

20 John confessed (he didn’t deny but confessed), “I’m not the Christ.”

21 They asked him, “Then who are you? Are you Elijah?”

John said, “I’m not.”

“Are you the prophet?”

John answered, “No.”

22 They asked, “Who are you? We need to give an answer to those who sent us. What do you say about yourself?”

23 John replied,

I am a voice crying out in the wilderness,
Make the Lord’s path straight,[b]
just as the prophet Isaiah said.”

24 Those sent by the Pharisees 25 asked, “Why do you baptize if you aren’t the Christ, nor Elijah, nor the prophet?”

26 John answered, “I baptize with water. Someone greater stands among you, whom you don’t recognize. 27 He comes after me, but I’m not worthy to untie his sandal straps.” 28 This encounter took place across the Jordan in Bethany where John was baptizing.

Footnotes:

  1. John 1:4 Or Everything came into being through the Word,/and without the Word / nothing came into being that came into being. In the Word was life
  2. John 1:23 Isa 40:3
Common English Bible (CEB)

Copyright © 2011 by Common English Bible

Psalm 101

Psalm 101

Of David. A psalm.

101 Oh, let me sing about faithful love and justice!
I want to sing my praises to you, Lord!
I want to study the way of integrity—
how long before it gets here?
I will walk with a heart of integrity
in my own house.
I won’t set my eyes on anything worthless.
I hate wrongdoing;
none of that will stick to me.
A corrupt heart will be far from me.
I won’t be familiar with evil.
I will destroy anyone
who secretly tells lies about a neighbor.
I can’t stomach anyone
who has proud eyes or an arrogant heart.
My eyes focus on those
who are faithful in the land,
to have them close to me.
The person who walks without blame
will work for me.
But the person who acts deceitfully
won’t stay in my house.
The person who tells lies
won’t last for long before me.
Every morning I will destroy
all those who are wicked in the land
in order to eliminate all evildoers
from the Lord’s city.

Common English Bible (CEB)

Copyright © 2011 by Common English Bible

Proverbs 14:13-14

13 The heart feels pain even in laughter,
and in the end, joy turns to sorrow.
14 Rebellious hearts receive satisfaction from their ways;
the good receive the due reward for their deeds.

Common English Bible (CEB)

Copyright © 2011 by Common English Bible

04/30/2020 DAB Transcript

Judges 11:1-12:15, John 1:1-28, Psalms 101:1-8, Proverbs 14:13-14

Today is the 30th day of April welcome to the Daily Audio Bible I am Brian and it’s great to be here with you on the final day of the fourth month of the year. Wow, we have completed four months. And what an interesting four months it has been in the world, in the Scriptures, in our lives. And it’s nice to know that we are continuing the journey forward. So, we will certainly be continuing the journey forward in the book of Judges, which is what we’re working through in the Old Testament right now. When we get to the New Testament today, we will be beginning a new book, the Gospel of John and we’ll talk about that when we get there, but first we’re reading from the Common English Bible this week. Judges chapters 11 and 12.

Introduction to the Gospel of John:

Okay. So, as we said at the beginning, we’re beginning a new book today now that we’ve gotten to the New Testament. So, we’re ending the fourth month of the year and we’re starting the fourth gospel in the…in the Scriptures, the gospel of John, which is…is the final narrative that describes the earthly life and ministry of Jesus. And this is a bit different. Like, if we’ll member, Matthew, Mark and Luke, these are known as the synoptic Gospels because even though they are written to different audiences, they share a lot of the same source material, a lot of the same stories, and a lot of times word for word. John’s Gospel…John’s Gospel is a different…different thing, totally different texture than the other Gospels have. It’s like 90% different from the other Gospels, which gives us a whole lot of new and interesting context and perspective for Jesus life and ministry. And John was one of the disciples of Jesus. So, he knew the stories likely that had been written and were being told. He obviously knew the stories. He was there, but he probably also knew the other stories that were being told around by Jesus as the gospel spread. So, rather than telling the same stories it appears that he…that he wrote more of the story or the rest of the story. And this is important because the other Gospels were meant to tell the story of Jesus, leading to a compelling reason to believe and to become a disciple, to follow Jesus. And John wrote this gospel to those who already believed. So, he’s writing it to strengthen and deepen the faith of those who would already come to know the story of Jesus and believed in him, which…which would be most of us. And so, let’s drink deep as we begin the final gospel. I mean let’s really embrace this because after John is finished then we’ll be going into the birth of the church, the beginning of the church era. And I don’t want to say that we’ll be leaving Jesus behind. We certainly won’t, but we will be leaving behind the stories from the Gospels because we will have completed them. So, let's…let’s drink deep from the gospel of John. Today John chapter 1 verses 1 to 28.

Prayer:

Father, we thank You for Your word. We thank You for four months that we’ve spent this year every single day together in Your word. Thank You for all that You have done through it. We thank You that You’ve been with us and instructed and guided us through some pretty weird times. We thank You for never leaving or forsaking us. We thank You that You are with us always because You are within us. And, so, we release this fourth month. There is only one way ahead and that is a forward and so this day will pass and along with it so will this month and we’ll move into a new month and we know You are already there waiting. And, so, we find comfort in that. We thank You for Your kindness. We thank You for Your mercy. We thank You for Your grace and we invite Your Holy Spirit into all that we do and say in this day and in the month ahead. Come Jesus we pray. In Your mighty name, we ask. Amen.

Announcements:

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

I can’t believe it. We’re at the end of the fourth month of the year. Like, can you believe it? What a weird, strange year. At least for us like the last…well for us like the last six weeks we’ve been pretty much, you know, staying away from each other in all this, and tomorrow some…some of that begins to…begins to loosen a little bit in some places and others it’s a couple more weeks and still kind of watching it all happen. But we’re here and we’ve been here every day, and that’s the beauty of the global campfire. Day by day, no matter what is happening in the world we’re just…we’re here and there is a space that we create together, and we come here, and it’s a place of serenity, it’s a place to kind of let it all go and simply let God’s word come into our lives. And, so, it’s been a joy to spend this last month with you, strange, strange as it has been and I’m looking forward to the weeks ahead with you. So, anyway, dailyaudiobible.com, that’s home base and that is…that is where we stay connected.

Check out the Community section, that’s where you’ll find the different social media links to the different social media channels that we participate in. It would be good to follow along with Daily Audio Bible on Facebook and Instagram. It would be good just to be able to get those announcements whenever we have them. It would be good to get involved with the women’s group, the Daily Audio Bible women’s group that my wife Jill leads. If you are a woman that’s a sisterhood of women on the same path. So, yeah, check out those links. Stay connected in any way that you can.

If you want to partner with the Daily Audio Bible, I cannot thank you enough. As we move through these weird times, I cannot thank you enough for your partnership. We wouldn’t be here if we were not in this together. So, thank you. So, there’s a link on the homepage at dailyaudiobible.com. If you are using the 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 encouragement there are a number of ways to reach out. You can hit the red button, the little Hotline button in the app at the top, or if you prefer the phone there are a number of numbers that you can use. In the Americas 877-942-4253 is the number. In the UK or Europe 44-20-3608-8078 is the number to dial. And if you are in Australia or that part of the world 61-3-8820-5459 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 next month, which is tomorrow.

04/29/2020 DAB Transcript

Judges 9:22-10:18, Luke 24:13-53, Psalms 100:1-5, Proverbs 14:11-12

Today is the 29th day of April welcome to the Daily Audio Bible I’m Brian it is a pleasure and an honor to be here with you today as we come around the Global Campfire and take the next step forward in the Scriptures as they lead us through a year of our lives. And the journey in the Old Testament has been taking us through the book of Judges, which is where we will continue our journey today. We learned the story of Gideon and we’re kind of in the story of what came after Gideon, which is Abimelech, one of Gideon’s sons has assassinated all of his brothers except for one has taken control. And, so, we pick up the story. Judges chapter 9 verse 22 through 10 verse 18 today and we’re reading from the Common English Bible this week.

Commentary:

Okay. So, we are almost at the end of this month of April and today we concluded the gospel of Luke, which means tomorrow as we end a month we’ll be beginning the final of the Gospels, but the last thing that we read from the gospel of Luke is kind of like the aftermath of the resurrection. So, it's…it’s resurrection day. This is the day we commemorate on Easter but it’s the day of the resurrection and we’ve kind of already read the story of kinda running to the tomb, the tombs empty, the women, all of this, but it’s still the same day. So, let’s call it Easter. It’s still Easter. Some of the followers of Jesus have departed Jerusalem. They’ve heard what happened, like they’ve heard that the tomb is empty, but they’ve still left Jerusalem to walk to this city of Emmaus when Jesus shows up and walks alongside them and they don’t recognize Him. So, they’re going along and they’re talking to Him and, you know, He’s like, “what’s going on?” And they’re like, “are You the only one in Jerusalem that doesn’t know?” And He’s like, “what…what happened?” And they explain the whole story and then Jesus opens the Scriptures to them, they get to Emmaus, He’s gonna continue walking down the road and they’re like, “no. Come, be with us.” And He’s like, “no. I couldn’t. I’ve gotta keep going.” And they convinced Him to come and He sits down to dinner and breaks the bread and then…then they realize it’s Jesus. So, like obviously He doesn’t look like they were expecting Him to look. They didn’t recognize Him, but then they did and then he disappeared. And, so, then they come back to Jerusalem to tell everybody what they had seen. Now they’re convinced. And then Jesus shows up in the midst of them, including eating some fish, which would’ve been important to them because they thought he was a ghost, so a ghost wouldn’t eat fish. A ghost wouldn’t eat anything. Like we would believe that a ghost couldn’t eat anything. So Jesus eats in front of them, they calm down and He tells them about a comforter that is going to be sent to them and then we’re kind of whisked away back across the Mount of olives as far as Bethany, where He then returns to the Father. And I think there’s something pretty key in that…in that series of stories or scenes that the gospel of Luke ends with that is poignant to us. They stopped being able to completely recognize Him in His physicality. Like we could look at the story and go like, “Jesus appears and disappears, and He does all these supernatural things” or we could go into the story and realize He’s among them, but they don’t recognize Him in his physicality the way that they once did. They may see him that way, like He shows…shows His hands and feet in Jerusalem, but on the road Emmaus they don’t. There’s scenes like this in the other Gospels too. So, what’s up with that? Why the mystery? The key might be in what they said to each other after He disappeared in Emmaus. “Weren’t our hearts on fire when He spoke to us along the road and when he explained the Scriptures for us?” So, before they understood it was Jesus their hearts were on fire. Once they knew it was Jesus, they reflected upon that. And after Jesus ascension didn’t the Holy Spirit come with tongues of fire? Didn’t the Holy Spirit come and ignite their hearts on fire? And isn’t that fire still burning? Like didn’t the gospel then spread out of Jerusalem to the entire world from there without the physical Jesus walking around? It seems like the last lesson that Jesus is trying to teach His disciples, at least as told in the gospel of Luke is that His physicality isn’t the only indicator of His presence. It kind of closes the loop on the kingdom He’s been talking about all along, this is kingdom that is within you, that is among you, that is happening now if you simply have eyes to see it and ears to hear it. It’s happening now. In terms of Jesus the King of this kingdom, it is also beyond physicality. He is within and among us now and always, even to the end of the age. Okay. So, so often we’re like just wanting any kind of…any amount of time that we could have with Jesus with skin on. Like, you know, I hear that all the time. And I…I’ve longed for the same thing. Maybe if we had eyes to see, we would see Jesus everywhere and maybe the place to start is by looking at our brothers and sisters. After all, we are the body of Christ in this world. We are the hands and feet of Jesus. We are Jesus to the world. Like we’ve heard these things all along. What if they’re true? What if my returning to the Father Jesus no longer situated Himself in a place at a time, but is rather now omnipresent in this world through us? Man, that could change everything, which was kind of the point and that could change the way we live today, which is kind of the point. It’s just so often we know our own imperfections and we know the imperfections of those that we love. And, so, we assume the imperfections of everybody else and we look for those imperfections. We like to point them out. And, so, we can deduce that…that this can’t be Jesus with skin on. This is a flawed person. But isn’t that the story of the Bible? I mean isn’t the Bible full of the stories of flawed people that God uses when they open their eyes, when they awaken, when they have eyes to see? We’ve gotten to know the disciples to some degree in the Gospels, we’re they not flawed people? And did not the explosion of the gospel happen after Jesus removed Himself physically from the scene? Maybe if we would have eyes to see, we would realize He has not removed Himself from us. He has become even more present. He is not external to us as something that we can look. He is a part of who we are, He is within us. The interesting thing is, if we want to see Jesus all we have to do is go look in a mirror. And if that seems odd or that seems impossible because we know who we are then maybe we don’t know who we are. Maybe we have to stare at ourselves in the mirror and keep looking and looking and looking until everything that is false crumbles away, and we do see, we do have eyes to seem He is within us, we can see Him and maybe that can change our lives as it is supposed to do, transforming us, working the work of sanctification within us, helping us to understand that we are becoming Christ like in this world. Some things to think about today.

Prayer:

Holy Spirit we invite you into that. We do believe that you are here. We do believe that you are our comforter, that you are our advocate, that you will lead us into all truth. We do believe because we are told in the Scriptures that the same spirit that raised Christ from the dead lives in us, which means that nothing is impossible, and this is the way of your kingdom. The impossible becomes possible with God. You have not abandoned us. You are not distant from us. You are as near as our next breath and may we receive that breath into our bodies and know that it is a gift and may we exhale it in worship and may we repeat that and repeat that and repeat that and repeat that for the rest of our lives understanding that we are your children, you have adopted us, and we have work to do. Come Holy Spirit into this make us aware, awaken us we pray, in the name of Jesus we ask. Amen.

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Reminding you of the Daily Audio Bible Shop. There are resources there for this journey. And, I mean, really comprehensive resources including our own coffee. Coffee and the Bible every morning. That’s like my routine. Actually, coffee or tea, I do both. I didn’t always used to. I used to be complete, total, coffee snob, but I’ve fallen in love with some of our teas as well. And, so, yeah we have these. We’ve had them for like a decade. We started this brand a decade ago, started roasting coffee and sourcing it and tea over a decade ago and we call it Windfarm, Windfarm coffee, Windfarm T and this a part of the Daily Audio Bible history. Windfarm. This comes from Ezekiel chapter 37, the valley of the dry bones, and God instructing the prophet to call to the four winds, the breath of life and…and just feeling as if what we’re doing is…is something like that every day, a windfarm calling the breath of life every day. And, so, that’s why we call our coffee and tea Windfarm. And…I…you can check that out at dailyaudiobible.com in the Shop. In fact, you can even have it sent to you as much as you want. Each month a bag a month or couple bags a month, however much you drink. For us it just became like…it’s a…coffee…tea for most of us, this is probably a part of our daily routine in some sort of way. Maybe it’s, you know, driving through a café and getting a cup of coffee and spending several dollars on that cup of coffee every day. And we just thought, “what if we could do this better” at least especially at the time, being like really coffee snobby. And, “what if we could do this? What if we could do this better? What if we could roast fresh coffee and get it fresher? And what if it were something that everybody’s gonna buy anyway? Maybe we could help the cause. Maybe we could use it in some way to help propel the Daily Audio…like throw another log on the Global Campfire. So, check those resources out. Check out the coffees and tea. We have them sourced from all over the world. And maybe you’ll find something that you just love. I have. Many things that I just love. And that’s pretty much all I drink in terms of coffee unless I’m in a pinch. And we even have Windfarm pouches. Like we found…we found this way to keep…well basically to steep coffee, right? I don’t want to get into all this, but if you drip coffee every day, like if you have a coffee drip maker, right, you put your coffee in there and then water drips over that and goes down into your pot or whatever. We found a way that like that filter that you use is smaller and wraps around so you can steep coffee as if you’re steeping tea. And we found these packages and they’re…they’re filled with nitrogen, right, to push the oxygen out, to keep the oxidation of…like the breakdown of the coffee because the coffee is a natural product and it will go bad over time. And if you’ve bee… like you’re drinking coffee that’s been sitting around for a few months well then, yeah, it should…it doesn’t taste that good. So, last year we even found this way of doing coffee portably so you can have some at the office when you get back to the office or, you know, just kinda have around. And I love that. So, anyway check these…check this out at dailyaudiobible.com in the Shop in the Coffee and Tea section.

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And, as always, if you have a prayer request or encouragement, you can hit the Hotline button in the app, which is the little red button at the top or you can dial 877-942-4253.

And that’s it for today. I’m Brian I love you and I’ll be waiting for you here tomorrow.

The Daily Audio Bible Reading for Wednesday April 29, 2020 (NIV)

Judges 9:22-10:18

Abimelech’s monarchy fails

22 Abimelech ruled over Israel for three years. 23 Then God stirred up ill will between Abimelech and the leaders of Shechem, and they acted like traitors toward Abimelech. 24 This occurred because of the violence done to Jerubbaal’s seventy sons. Their blood came back on their brother Abimelech, who killed them, and on the leaders of Shechem, who supported him when he killed his brothers. 25 As an act against him, the leaders of Shechem set ambushes on the hilltops that robbed everyone who passed by them on the road. This was reported to Abimelech.

26 Then Gaal, Ebed’s son, and his relatives came passing through Shechem, and the leaders of Shechem shifted their allegiance to him. 27 They went out into the field, cut off clusters from their vineyards, trampled them out, and had a celebration. They entered their god’s temple and ate, drank, and made fun of Abimelech. 28 Gaal, Ebed’s son, said, “Who is Abimelech, and who are we of Shechem that we ought to serve him? Didn’t this son of Jerubbaal and his deputy Zebul once serve the men of Hamor, Shechem’s father? Why should we of all people serve him? 29 If only this people were under my command! I would push Abimelech aside! I[a] would tell Abimelech, ‘Build up your army and march out for battle.’”

30 When Zebul the city’s ruler heard the words of Gaal, Ebed’s son, he became angry. 31 He sent messengers to Abimelech at Arumah[b] to say, “Watch out! Gaal, Ebed’s son, and his relatives have come to Shechem and are stirring up the city against you. 32 Now, you and the men who are with you: Get up tonight and set an ambush in the fields. 33 Then in the morning, at sunrise, rise early and rush on the city. Just as he and the men with him are marching out to face you, you can do to him whatever you wish.”

34 So Abimelech and all the men who were with him got up that night and set an ambush around Shechem in four companies. 35 When Gaal, Ebed’s son, came out and stood in the entrance of the city’s gate, Abimelech and the men with him sprang up from the ambush. 36 Gaal saw the men and said to Zebul, “Look! People are coming down from the hilltops.”

Zebul replied to him, “The shadows on the hills just look like persons to you.”

37 But Gaal spoke up again, “Look! People are coming down from Tabbur-erez, and one company is coming from the direction of Elon-meonenim.”[c]

38 Then Zebul replied to him, “Where’s all your talk now, you who said, ‘Who is Abimelech that we ought to serve him?’ Aren’t these the men you despised? Now march out and fight them!” 39 So Gaal marched out at the head of the leaders of Shechem and fought with Abimelech. 40 Abimelech routed him, and he ran away. Many fell wounded, all the way up to the entrance of the gate. 41 Afterward, Abimelech stayed in Arumah, and Zebul drove away Gaal and his relatives so they couldn’t stay in Shechem.

42 The next day, the men of Shechem went out into the fields. When it was reported to Abimelech, 43 he took his men, divided them into three companies, and set an ambush in the fields. As soon as he saw the men coming from the city, he sprang upon them and attacked them. 44 Abimelech and his company charged forward and took a position at the entrance of the city’s gate, while the other two companies charged at all those in the fields and attacked them. 45 Abimelech fought against the city that entire day. He captured the city and killed its people. Then he leveled the city and scattered salt over it.

46 When all the leaders in the Tower of Shechem heard about this, they entered the side rooms in the El-berith temple. 47 It was reported to Abimelech that all the leaders from the Tower of Shechem had gathered in one place. 48 So Abimelech and all the men who were with him went up on Mount Zalmon. He grabbed an ax, cut off a bundle of branches, and hoisted them onto his shoulder. Then he ordered the men who were with him, “Hurry up and do what you’ve seen me do!” 49 Each one of the men cut off a bundle as well and followed Abimelech. They piled them up against the side rooms and set fire to the side rooms above them. So all the people in the Tower of Shechem died too, about one thousand men and women.

50 Then Abimelech moved on to Thebez, set up camp against it, and captured it. 51 But there was a strong tower inside the city. All the men and women and all the city’s leaders had fled there, shut themselves inside, and climbed to the tower’s roof. 52 Abimelech came to the tower to storm it. But when he approached the tower’s entrance to set it on fire, 53 a woman dropped an upper millstone on Abimelech’s head and cracked his skull. 54 He quickly cried out to the servant who carried his armor, “Draw your sword and kill me. Don’t let it be said of me, ‘A woman killed him.’” So his servant stabbed him, and he died. 55 When the Israelites saw that Abimelech was dead, they all went home.

56 Thus God paid back Abimelech for the evil he had done to his father by killing his seventy brothers. 57 God also paid back the people of Shechem for their evil. The curse of Jotham, Jerubbaal’s son, had come upon them.

Tola and Jair

10 After Abimelech, Tola son of Puah and grandson of Dodo, a man of Issachar, arose to rescue Israel. He lived in Shamir in the Ephraim highlands. For twenty-three years he led Israel; then he died and was buried in Shamir.

After Tola, Jair from Gilead arose, and he led Israel for twenty-two years. He had thirty sons who were mounted on thirty donkeys and controlled thirty towns in the land of Gilead—these are still known as Havvoth-jair today. When Jair died, he was buried in Kamon.

Israel’s unfaithfulness and oppression by the Ammonites

Then the Israelites again did things that the Lord saw as evil. They served the Baals and the Astartes, as well as the gods of Aram, Sidon, Moab, the Ammonites, and the Philistines. They went away from the Lord and didn’t serve him. The Lord became angry with Israel and handed them over to the Philistines and the Ammonites. Starting that year and for the next eighteen years, they beat and bullied the Israelites, especially all the Israelites who lived on the east side of Jordan in the territory of the Ammonites in Gilead. The Ammonites also crossed the Jordan to make raids into Judah, Benjamin, and the households of Ephraim. So Israel was greatly distressed.

10 Then the Israelites cried out to the Lord, “We’ve sinned against you, for we went away from our God and served the Baals.”

11 The Lord replied to the Israelites, “When the Egyptians, Amorites, Ammonites, Philistines, 12 Sidonians, Amalekites, and Maonites oppressed you and you cried out to me, didn’t I rescue you from their power? 13 But you have gone away from me and served other gods, so I won’t rescue you anymore! 14 Go cry out to the gods you’ve chosen. Let them rescue you in the time of your distress.”

15 The Israelites responded to the Lord, “We’ve sinned. Do to us whatever you see as right, but please save us this time.” 16 They put away the foreign gods from among them and served the Lord. And the Lord could no longer stand to see Israel suffer.

17 The Ammonites called out their army and made camp in Gilead, while the Israelites gathered and set up their camp at Mizpah. 18 Gilead’s rulers said to each other, “Whoever is willing to launch the attack against the Ammonites will become the leader over all those living in Gilead.”

Footnotes:

  1. Judges 9:29 LXX; MT he
  2. Judges 9:31 Cf 9:41; Heb Tormah
  3. Judges 9:37 Or the Diviners’ Oak
Common English Bible (CEB)

Copyright © 2011 by Common English Bible

Luke 24:13-53

Encounter on the Emmaus road

13 On that same day, two disciples were traveling to a village called Emmaus, about seven miles from Jerusalem. 14 They were talking to each other about everything that had happened. 15 While they were discussing these things, Jesus himself arrived and joined them on their journey. 16 They were prevented from recognizing him.

17 He said to them, “What are you talking about as you walk along?” They stopped, their faces downcast.

18 The one named Cleopas replied, “Are you the only visitor to Jerusalem who is unaware of the things that have taken place there over the last few days?”

19 He said to them, “What things?”

They said to him, “The things about Jesus of Nazareth. Because of his powerful deeds and words, he was recognized by God and all the people as a prophet. 20 But our chief priests and our leaders handed him over to be sentenced to death, and they crucified him. 21 We had hoped he was the one who would redeem Israel. All these things happened three days ago. 22 But there’s more: Some women from our group have left us stunned. They went to the tomb early this morning 23 and didn’t find his body. They came to us saying that they had even seen a vision of angels who told them he is alive. 24 Some of those who were with us went to the tomb and found things just as the women said. They didn’t see him.”

25 Then Jesus said to them, “You foolish people! Your dull minds keep you from believing all that the prophets talked about. 26 Wasn’t it necessary for the Christ to suffer these things and then enter into his glory?” 27 Then he interpreted for them the things written about himself in all the scriptures, starting with Moses and going through all the Prophets.

28 When they came to Emmaus, he acted as if he was going on ahead. 29 But they urged him, saying, “Stay with us. It’s nearly evening, and the day is almost over.” So he went in to stay with them. 30 After he took his seat at the table with them, he took the bread, blessed and broke it, and gave it to them. 31 Their eyes were opened and they recognized him, but he disappeared from their sight. 32 They said to each other, “Weren’t our hearts on fire when he spoke to us along the road and when he explained the scriptures for us?”

33 They got up right then and returned to Jerusalem. They found the eleven and their companions gathered together. 34 They were saying to each other, “The Lord really has risen! He appeared to Simon!” 35 Then the two disciples described what had happened along the road and how Jesus was made known to them as he broke the bread.

Jesus appears to the disciples

36 While they were saying these things, Jesus himself stood among them and said, “Peace be with you!” 37 They were terrified and afraid. They thought they were seeing a ghost.

38 He said to them, “Why are you startled? Why are doubts arising in your hearts? 39 Look at my hands and my feet. It’s really me! Touch me and see, for a ghost doesn’t have flesh and bones like you see I have.” 40 As he said this, he showed them his hands and feet. 41 Because they were wondering and questioning in the midst of their happiness, he said to them, “Do you have anything to eat?” 42 They gave him a piece of baked fish. 43 Taking it, he ate it in front of them.

44 Jesus said to them, “These are my words that I spoke to you while I was still with you—that everything written about me in the Law from Moses, the Prophets, and the Psalms must be fulfilled.” 45 Then he opened their minds to understand the scriptures. 46 He said to them, “This is what is written: the Christ will suffer and rise from the dead on the third day, 47 and a change of heart and life for the forgiveness of sins must be preached in his name to all nations, beginning from Jerusalem. 48 You are witnesses of these things. 49 Look, I’m sending to you what my Father promised, but you are to stay in the city until you have been furnished with heavenly power.”

Ascension of Jesus

50 He led them out as far as Bethany, where he lifted his hands and blessed them. 51 As he blessed them, he left them and was taken up to heaven. 52 They worshipped him and returned to Jerusalem overwhelmed with joy. 53 And they were continuously in the temple praising God.

Common English Bible (CEB)

Copyright © 2011 by Common English Bible

Psalm 100

Psalm 100

A psalm of thanks.

100 Shout triumphantly to the Lord, all the earth!
Serve the Lord with celebration!
Come before him with shouts of joy!
Know that the Lord is God—
he made us; we belong to him.[a]
We are his people,
the sheep of his own pasture.
Enter his gates with thanks;
enter his courtyards with praise!
Thank him! Bless his name!
Because the Lord is good,
his loyal love lasts forever;
his faithfulness lasts generation after generation.

Footnotes:

  1. Psalm 100:3 Qere; Kethib and not we ourselves
Common English Bible (CEB)

Copyright © 2011 by Common English Bible

Proverbs 14:11-12

11 The house of the wicked is destroyed,
but the tent flourishes for those who do right.
12 There is a path that may seem straight to someone,
but in the end it is a path to death.

Common English Bible (CEB)

Copyright © 2011 by Common English Bible

The Daily Audio Bible Reading for Wednesday April 29, 2020 (NIV)

Judges 9:22-10:18

Abimelech’s monarchy fails

22 Abimelech ruled over Israel for three years. 23 Then God stirred up ill will between Abimelech and the leaders of Shechem, and they acted like traitors toward Abimelech. 24 This occurred because of the violence done to Jerubbaal’s seventy sons. Their blood came back on their brother Abimelech, who killed them, and on the leaders of Shechem, who supported him when he killed his brothers. 25 As an act against him, the leaders of Shechem set ambushes on the hilltops that robbed everyone who passed by them on the road. This was reported to Abimelech.

26 Then Gaal, Ebed’s son, and his relatives came passing through Shechem, and the leaders of Shechem shifted their allegiance to him. 27 They went out into the field, cut off clusters from their vineyards, trampled them out, and had a celebration. They entered their god’s temple and ate, drank, and made fun of Abimelech. 28 Gaal, Ebed’s son, said, “Who is Abimelech, and who are we of Shechem that we ought to serve him? Didn’t this son of Jerubbaal and his deputy Zebul once serve the men of Hamor, Shechem’s father? Why should we of all people serve him? 29 If only this people were under my command! I would push Abimelech aside! I[a] would tell Abimelech, ‘Build up your army and march out for battle.’”

30 When Zebul the city’s ruler heard the words of Gaal, Ebed’s son, he became angry. 31 He sent messengers to Abimelech at Arumah[b] to say, “Watch out! Gaal, Ebed’s son, and his relatives have come to Shechem and are stirring up the city against you. 32 Now, you and the men who are with you: Get up tonight and set an ambush in the fields. 33 Then in the morning, at sunrise, rise early and rush on the city. Just as he and the men with him are marching out to face you, you can do to him whatever you wish.”

34 So Abimelech and all the men who were with him got up that night and set an ambush around Shechem in four companies. 35 When Gaal, Ebed’s son, came out and stood in the entrance of the city’s gate, Abimelech and the men with him sprang up from the ambush. 36 Gaal saw the men and said to Zebul, “Look! People are coming down from the hilltops.”

Zebul replied to him, “The shadows on the hills just look like persons to you.”

37 But Gaal spoke up again, “Look! People are coming down from Tabbur-erez, and one company is coming from the direction of Elon-meonenim.”[c]

38 Then Zebul replied to him, “Where’s all your talk now, you who said, ‘Who is Abimelech that we ought to serve him?’ Aren’t these the men you despised? Now march out and fight them!” 39 So Gaal marched out at the head of the leaders of Shechem and fought with Abimelech. 40 Abimelech routed him, and he ran away. Many fell wounded, all the way up to the entrance of the gate. 41 Afterward, Abimelech stayed in Arumah, and Zebul drove away Gaal and his relatives so they couldn’t stay in Shechem.

42 The next day, the men of Shechem went out into the fields. When it was reported to Abimelech, 43 he took his men, divided them into three companies, and set an ambush in the fields. As soon as he saw the men coming from the city, he sprang upon them and attacked them. 44 Abimelech and his company charged forward and took a position at the entrance of the city’s gate, while the other two companies charged at all those in the fields and attacked them. 45 Abimelech fought against the city that entire day. He captured the city and killed its people. Then he leveled the city and scattered salt over it.

46 When all the leaders in the Tower of Shechem heard about this, they entered the side rooms in the El-berith temple. 47 It was reported to Abimelech that all the leaders from the Tower of Shechem had gathered in one place. 48 So Abimelech and all the men who were with him went up on Mount Zalmon. He grabbed an ax, cut off a bundle of branches, and hoisted them onto his shoulder. Then he ordered the men who were with him, “Hurry up and do what you’ve seen me do!” 49 Each one of the men cut off a bundle as well and followed Abimelech. They piled them up against the side rooms and set fire to the side rooms above them. So all the people in the Tower of Shechem died too, about one thousand men and women.

50 Then Abimelech moved on to Thebez, set up camp against it, and captured it. 51 But there was a strong tower inside the city. All the men and women and all the city’s leaders had fled there, shut themselves inside, and climbed to the tower’s roof. 52 Abimelech came to the tower to storm it. But when he approached the tower’s entrance to set it on fire, 53 a woman dropped an upper millstone on Abimelech’s head and cracked his skull. 54 He quickly cried out to the servant who carried his armor, “Draw your sword and kill me. Don’t let it be said of me, ‘A woman killed him.’” So his servant stabbed him, and he died. 55 When the Israelites saw that Abimelech was dead, they all went home.

56 Thus God paid back Abimelech for the evil he had done to his father by killing his seventy brothers. 57 God also paid back the people of Shechem for their evil. The curse of Jotham, Jerubbaal’s son, had come upon them.

Tola and Jair

10 After Abimelech, Tola son of Puah and grandson of Dodo, a man of Issachar, arose to rescue Israel. He lived in Shamir in the Ephraim highlands. For twenty-three years he led Israel; then he died and was buried in Shamir.

After Tola, Jair from Gilead arose, and he led Israel for twenty-two years. He had thirty sons who were mounted on thirty donkeys and controlled thirty towns in the land of Gilead—these are still known as Havvoth-jair today. When Jair died, he was buried in Kamon.

Israel’s unfaithfulness and oppression by the Ammonites

Then the Israelites again did things that the Lord saw as evil. They served the Baals and the Astartes, as well as the gods of Aram, Sidon, Moab, the Ammonites, and the Philistines. They went away from the Lord and didn’t serve him. The Lord became angry with Israel and handed them over to the Philistines and the Ammonites. Starting that year and for the next eighteen years, they beat and bullied the Israelites, especially all the Israelites who lived on the east side of Jordan in the territory of the Ammonites in Gilead. The Ammonites also crossed the Jordan to make raids into Judah, Benjamin, and the households of Ephraim. So Israel was greatly distressed.

10 Then the Israelites cried out to the Lord, “We’ve sinned against you, for we went away from our God and served the Baals.”

11 The Lord replied to the Israelites, “When the Egyptians, Amorites, Ammonites, Philistines, 12 Sidonians, Amalekites, and Maonites oppressed you and you cried out to me, didn’t I rescue you from their power? 13 But you have gone away from me and served other gods, so I won’t rescue you anymore! 14 Go cry out to the gods you’ve chosen. Let them rescue you in the time of your distress.”

15 The Israelites responded to the Lord, “We’ve sinned. Do to us whatever you see as right, but please save us this time.” 16 They put away the foreign gods from among them and served the Lord. And the Lord could no longer stand to see Israel suffer.

17 The Ammonites called out their army and made camp in Gilead, while the Israelites gathered and set up their camp at Mizpah. 18 Gilead’s rulers said to each other, “Whoever is willing to launch the attack against the Ammonites will become the leader over all those living in Gilead.”

Footnotes:

  1. Judges 9:29 LXX; MT he
  2. Judges 9:31 Cf 9:41; Heb Tormah
  3. Judges 9:37 Or the Diviners’ Oak
Common English Bible (CEB)

Copyright © 2011 by Common English Bible

Luke 24:13-53

Encounter on the Emmaus road

13 On that same day, two disciples were traveling to a village called Emmaus, about seven miles from Jerusalem. 14 They were talking to each other about everything that had happened. 15 While they were discussing these things, Jesus himself arrived and joined them on their journey. 16 They were prevented from recognizing him.

17 He said to them, “What are you talking about as you walk along?” They stopped, their faces downcast.

18 The one named Cleopas replied, “Are you the only visitor to Jerusalem who is unaware of the things that have taken place there over the last few days?”

19 He said to them, “What things?”

They said to him, “The things about Jesus of Nazareth. Because of his powerful deeds and words, he was recognized by God and all the people as a prophet. 20 But our chief priests and our leaders handed him over to be sentenced to death, and they crucified him. 21 We had hoped he was the one who would redeem Israel. All these things happened three days ago. 22 But there’s more: Some women from our group have left us stunned. They went to the tomb early this morning 23 and didn’t find his body. They came to us saying that they had even seen a vision of angels who told them he is alive. 24 Some of those who were with us went to the tomb and found things just as the women said. They didn’t see him.”

25 Then Jesus said to them, “You foolish people! Your dull minds keep you from believing all that the prophets talked about. 26 Wasn’t it necessary for the Christ to suffer these things and then enter into his glory?” 27 Then he interpreted for them the things written about himself in all the scriptures, starting with Moses and going through all the Prophets.

28 When they came to Emmaus, he acted as if he was going on ahead. 29 But they urged him, saying, “Stay with us. It’s nearly evening, and the day is almost over.” So he went in to stay with them. 30 After he took his seat at the table with them, he took the bread, blessed and broke it, and gave it to them. 31 Their eyes were opened and they recognized him, but he disappeared from their sight. 32 They said to each other, “Weren’t our hearts on fire when he spoke to us along the road and when he explained the scriptures for us?”

33 They got up right then and returned to Jerusalem. They found the eleven and their companions gathered together. 34 They were saying to each other, “The Lord really has risen! He appeared to Simon!” 35 Then the two disciples described what had happened along the road and how Jesus was made known to them as he broke the bread.

Jesus appears to the disciples

36 While they were saying these things, Jesus himself stood among them and said, “Peace be with you!” 37 They were terrified and afraid. They thought they were seeing a ghost.

38 He said to them, “Why are you startled? Why are doubts arising in your hearts? 39 Look at my hands and my feet. It’s really me! Touch me and see, for a ghost doesn’t have flesh and bones like you see I have.” 40 As he said this, he showed them his hands and feet. 41 Because they were wondering and questioning in the midst of their happiness, he said to them, “Do you have anything to eat?” 42 They gave him a piece of baked fish. 43 Taking it, he ate it in front of them.

44 Jesus said to them, “These are my words that I spoke to you while I was still with you—that everything written about me in the Law from Moses, the Prophets, and the Psalms must be fulfilled.” 45 Then he opened their minds to understand the scriptures. 46 He said to them, “This is what is written: the Christ will suffer and rise from the dead on the third day, 47 and a change of heart and life for the forgiveness of sins must be preached in his name to all nations, beginning from Jerusalem. 48 You are witnesses of these things. 49 Look, I’m sending to you what my Father promised, but you are to stay in the city until you have been furnished with heavenly power.”

Ascension of Jesus

50 He led them out as far as Bethany, where he lifted his hands and blessed them. 51 As he blessed them, he left them and was taken up to heaven. 52 They worshipped him and returned to Jerusalem overwhelmed with joy. 53 And they were continuously in the temple praising God.

Common English Bible (CEB)

Copyright © 2011 by Common English Bible

Psalm 100

Psalm 100

A psalm of thanks.

100 Shout triumphantly to the Lord, all the earth!
Serve the Lord with celebration!
Come before him with shouts of joy!
Know that the Lord is God—
he made us; we belong to him.[a]
We are his people,
the sheep of his own pasture.
Enter his gates with thanks;
enter his courtyards with praise!
Thank him! Bless his name!
Because the Lord is good,
his loyal love lasts forever;
his faithfulness lasts generation after generation.

Footnotes:

  1. Psalm 100:3 Qere; Kethib and not we ourselves
Common English Bible (CEB)

Copyright © 2011 by Common English Bible

Proverbs 14:11-12

11 The house of the wicked is destroyed,
but the tent flourishes for those who do right.
12 There is a path that may seem straight to someone,
but in the end it is a path to death.

Common English Bible (CEB)

Copyright © 2011 by Common English Bible

The Daily Audio Bible Reading for Tuesday April 28, 2020 (NIV)

Judges 8:18-9:21

18 Then he asked Zebah and Zalmunna, “What kind of men were those whom you killed at Tabor?”

They replied, “They were just like you; each one looked like a king’s son.”

19 “They were my brothers,” Gideon said, “my own mother’s sons. As surely as the Lord lives, I promise that if you had let them live, I wouldn’t kill you!” 20 So he ordered his oldest son Jether, “Stand up and kill them.” But the young man didn’t draw his sword because he was afraid, since he was still young.

21 So Zebah and Zalmunna said, “You stand up and strike us yourself, because as they say, ‘A man is measured by his strength!’” So Gideon stood up and killed Zebah and Zalmunna, and took the crescents that were on their camels’ necks.

Gideon’s request

22 Then the Israelites said to Gideon, “Rule over us, you and then your son and then your grandson, because you’ve rescued us from Midian’s power.”

23 Gideon replied to them, “I’m not the one who will rule over you, and my son won’t rule over you either. The Lord rules over you.” 24 But Gideon said to them, “May I make one request of you? Everyone give me the earrings from their loot”; the Midianites had worn gold earrings because they were Ishmaelites.

25 “We’ll gladly give them,” they replied. And they spread out a piece of cloth, and everyone pitched in the earrings from their loot. 26 The weight of the gold earrings that he requested was one thousand seven hundred shekels of gold, not counting the crescents, the pendants, and the purple robes worn by the Midianite kings, or the collars that were on their camels’ necks. 27 Gideon fashioned a priestly vest[a] out of it, and put it in his hometown of Ophrah. All Israel became unfaithful there because of it, and it became a trap for Gideon and his household.

28 So Midian was brought down before the Israelites and no longer raised its head. The land was peaceful for forty years during Gideon’s time.

Gideon’s death

29 Jerubbaal, Joash’s son, went home to live with his own household. 30 Gideon had seventy sons of his own because he had many wives. 31 His secondary wife who was in Shechem also bore him a son, and he named him Abimelech. 32 Gideon, Joash’s son, died at a good old age and was buried in the tomb of his father Joash in Ophrah of the Abiezrites.

33 Right after Gideon died, the Israelites once again acted unfaithfully by worshipping the Baals, setting up Baal-berith as their god. 34 The people of Israel didn’t remember the Lord their God, who had delivered them from the power of all their enemies on every side. 35 Nor did they act loyally toward the household of Jerubbaal, that is, Gideon, in return for all the good that he had done on Israel’s behalf.

Abimelech becomes a king

Abimelech, Jerubbaal’s son, went to his mother’s brothers in Shechem. He spoke to them and to the entire clan of the household to which his mother belonged: “Ask all the leaders of Shechem, ‘Which do you think is better to have ruling over you: seventy men—all of Jerubbaal’s sons—or one man?’ And remember that I’m your flesh and blood!”

So his mother’s brothers spoke all these words on his behalf to all the leaders of Shechem. They decided to follow Abimelech because they said, “He’s our relative.” They gave him seventy pieces of silver from the temple of Baal-berith, with which Abimelech hired worthless and reckless men, who became his posse. He went to his household in Ophrah and killed all seventy of his brothers, Jerubbaal’s sons, on a single stone. Only Jotham the youngest of Jerubbaal’s sons survived, because he had hidden himself. Then all the leaders of Shechem and all Beth-millo assembled and proceeded to make Abimelech king by the oak at the stone pillar[b] in Shechem.

Jotham’s fable

When Jotham was told about this, he went and stood on the top of Mount Gerizim. He raised his voice and called out, “Listen to me, you leaders of Shechem, so that God may listen to you!

“Once the trees went out to anoint a king over themselves. So they said to the olive tree, ‘Be our king!’

“But the olive tree replied to them, ‘Should I stop producing my oil, which is how gods and humans are honored, so that I can go to sway over the trees?’

10 “So the trees said to the fig tree, ‘You come and be king over us!’

11 “The fig tree replied to them, ‘Should I stop producing my sweetness and my delicious fruit, so that I can go to sway over the trees?’

12 “Then the trees said to the vine, ‘You come and be king over us!’

13 “But the vine replied to them, ‘Should I stop providing my wine that makes gods and humans happy, so that I can go to sway over the trees?’

14 “Finally, all the trees said to the thornbush, ‘You come and be king over us!’

15 “And the thornbush replied to the trees, ‘If you’re acting faithfully in anointing me king over you, come and take shelter in my shade; but if not, let fire come out of the thornbush and burn up the cedars of Lebanon.’

16 “So now, if you acted faithfully and innocently when you made Abimelech king, and if you’ve done right by Jerubbaal and his household, and have treated him as his actions deserve— 17 my father fought for you and risked his life to rescue you from Midian’s power, 18 but today you’ve risen up against my father’s household, killed his seventy sons on a single stone, and made Abimelech, his female servant’s son, king over the leaders of Shechem, because he’s your relative— 19 so if you’ve acted faithfully and innocently toward Jerubbaal and his household today, then be happy with Abimelech and let him be happy with you. 20 But if not, let fire come out from Abimelech and burn up the leaders of Shechem and Beth-millo; and let fire come out from the leaders of Shechem and Beth-millo and burn up Abimelech.”

21 Then Jotham ran away. He fled to Beer and stayed there for fear of his brother Abimelech.

Footnotes:

  1. Judges 8:27 Heb ephod
  2. Judges 9:6 Heb uncertain
Common English Bible (CEB)

Copyright © 2011 by Common English Bible

Luke 23:44-24:12

Jesus’ death

44 It was now about noon, and darkness covered the whole earth until about three o’clock, 45 while the sun stopped shining. Then the curtain in the sanctuary tore down the middle. 46 Crying out in a loud voice, Jesus said, “Father, into your hands I entrust my life.”[a] After he said this, he breathed for the last time.

47 When the centurion saw what happened, he praised God, saying, “It’s really true: this man was righteous.” 48 All the crowds who had come together to see this event returned to their homes beating their chests after seeing what had happened. 49 And everyone who knew him, including the women who had followed him from Galilee, stood at a distance observing these things.

Jesus’ burial

50 Now there was a man named Joseph who was a member of the council. He was a good and righteous man. 51 He hadn’t agreed with the plan and actions of the council. He was from the Jewish city of Arimathea and eagerly anticipated God’s kingdom. 52 This man went to Pilate and asked for Jesus’ body. 53 Taking it down, he wrapped it in a linen cloth and laid it in a tomb carved out of the rock, in which no one had ever been buried. 54 It was the Preparation Day for the Sabbath, and the Sabbath was quickly approaching. 55 The women who had come with Jesus from Galilee followed Joseph. They saw the tomb and how Jesus’ body was laid in it, 56 then they went away and prepared fragrant spices and perfumed oils. They rested on the Sabbath, in keeping with the commandment.

The empty tomb

24 Very early in the morning on the first day of the week, the women went to the tomb, bringing the fragrant spices they had prepared. They found the stone rolled away from the tomb, but when they went in, they didn’t find the body of the Lord Jesus. They didn’t know what to make of this. Suddenly, two men were standing beside them in gleaming bright clothing. The women were frightened and bowed their faces toward the ground, but the men said to them, “Why do you look for the living among the dead? He isn’t here, but has been raised. Remember what he told you while he was still in Galilee, that the Human One[b] must be handed over to sinners, be crucified, and on the third day rise again.” Then they remembered his words. When they returned from the tomb, they reported all these things to the eleven and all the others. 10 It was Mary Magdalene, Joanna, Mary the mother of James, and the other women with them who told these things to the apostles. 11 Their words struck the apostles as nonsense, and they didn’t believe the women. 12 But Peter ran to the tomb. When he bent over to look inside, he saw only the linen cloth. Then he returned home, wondering what had happened.

Footnotes:

  1. Luke 23:46 Ps 31:5
  2. Luke 24:7 Or Son of Man
Common English Bible (CEB)

Copyright © 2011 by Common English Bible

Psalm 99

Psalm 99

99 The Lord rules—
the nations shake!
He sits enthroned on the winged heavenly creatures—
the earth quakes!
The Lord is great in Zion;
he is exalted over all the nations.
Let them thank your great and awesome name.
He is holy!

Strong king[a] who loves justice,
you are the one who established what is fair.
You worked justice and righteousness in Jacob.
Magnify the Lord, our God!
Bow low at his footstool!
He is holy!
Moses and Aaron were among his priests,
Samuel too among those who called on his name.
They cried out to the Lord, and he himself answered them—
he spoke to them from a pillar of cloud.
They kept the laws and the rules God gave to them.
Lord our God, you answered them.
To them you were a God who forgives
but also the one who avenged their wrong deeds.
Magnify the Lord our God!
Bow low at his holy mountain
because the Lord our God is holy!

Footnotes:

  1. Psalm 99:4 Correction; MT A king’s strength
Common English Bible (CEB)

Copyright © 2011 by Common English Bible

Proverbs 14:9-10

Fools mock a compensation offering,
but favor is with those who do right.
10 The heart knows its own distress;
another person can’t share its joy.

Common English Bible (CEB)

Copyright © 2011 by Common English Bible

04/28/2020 DAB Transcript

Today is the 28th day of April welcome to the Daily Audio Bible I’m Brian it’s great to be here with you today. Wow…just a couple more days left in this month. What an interesting month it has been. So, let’s take the next step forward in the Scriptures. And today we will…well…we will continue the story of Gideon one of the judges of Israel and we’re reading from the book of Judges. So, this week we’re reading from the Common English Bible. Today Judges chapter 8 verse 18 through 9 verse 21.

Commentary:

Okay. So, I guess…I guess if there was like some sort of theme that would emerge from today’s reading, it’s gotta be injustice. So, we concluded the story of Gideon the judge today and the way the story ends gives us significant clues into the times of the judges, like how things had become in Israel, how tribal it had become and disunified things had become. So, after this triumph over the Midianites they want Gideon to be their king, their supreme leader. He doesn’t want it, doesn’t want it for his family. He basically knows how it goes with Kings and trying to hold onto power at this time in the world. And, so, while Gideon is the judge for 40 more years than there’s peace around the land and soon as He dies then everyone begins to go back to worshiping Baal again. I mean Gideon had a big family, 70 sons. And one of his sons was a son from a concubine in Shechem. His name was Abimelech who was like basically, “you know, if my dad didn’t want to be king, I do.” Like, “and do you want 70 judges now. Gideon’s dead. You want 70 judges, or do you want one king?” And the result is that all of Abimelech’s brothers are murdered so that Abimelech has this claim. Like, you see how barbaric of a time this is.

But we can move forward a thousand years as we flip to the book of Luke and see that barbarity still exists because we’re seeing Jesus hanging from a cross, which is a very barbaric way to be executed, giving His life in so many ways to put an end that. And, you know, barbaric things still exist in our world today as we well know. So, just in today’s reading along, we can look back thousands of years and see the state of mankind and zoom all the way through the New Testament and then get all the way to where we are today and see that the struggles just look different. They’re still heart issues. They’re still the problems that have always existed when we try to do life separate from God. So, whether it be from the Old Testament or the New Testament or from yesterday, when we drift, when we walk away and we turn to false comforters and walk the path that leads us away from the narrow path, then destruction does come, which is what Bible says. But…but Jesus removed the separation allowing us to unite with God. If there was ever a time for us to…like…for that to finally catch flame within us it’s now.

Prayer:

Father, we invite you into that. We keep trying to trust you until what we see seems as if it’s going in a different direction and so we take the reins back and trust ourselves when you are often counterintuitive. You often force us into a place of faith because it is perhaps like the most important…I don’t know…muscle that we need to be able to live in this world. And yet it’s the one we’re not continually exercising. It gets use when there’s no other choice. You’re inviting us to flip that around and understand that faith is what leads us forward, our complete and utter trust in you for all things knowing that you are the author and finisher of our faith, that you are the author and finisher of our lives, and our lives with you never end. And, so, we get so obsessed about momentary things when there is forever together with you. Help us to have the eyes of faith today we ask in the name of Jesus our Savior. Amen.

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If you want to partner with the Daily Audio Bible, thank you. That’s how any of this is even happening. It’s how there even is an app to update, that’s how there even is a website to go to, that’s how there is…even is a Prayer Wall like, that we have been in this together for these years, day by day, step-by-step, just being faithful. And, so, thank you…thank you for your partnership. We wouldn’t be here if we weren’t in this together. So, there’s a link on the homepage at dailyaudiobible.com. If you’re using the 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 encouragement you can hit the Hotline button in the app, the little red button at the top or you can dial 877-942-4253.

And that is it for today. I’m Brian I love you and I’ll be waiting for you here tomorrow.

Community Prayer and Praise:

My DAB Family this is __ in __ Africa and I’m just phoning in to thank everyone who prayed today and just shared. It’s Friday the 24th of April. It touched my heart so, so much. This community is so authentic and so special because I personally don’t find this authenticity in churches. We are all so busy almost just walking around with a mask on and not…not being our true selves and not showing our brokenness and this community allows us to…to feel vulnerable and to phone in to…to share our hearts and that is that is real and that’s authentic, that is…it’s beautiful and I want to thank each and every one of you. I want to thank especially Saria. Thank you so much for phoning in. I’m so proud of you. You said you were proud of Brian and China. I’m proud of you that you’re listening to DAB at such a young age. You said your 10 ½. I think it’s so amazing and God loves you and I just want to encourage you to continue listening. It was so wonderful to hear your voice and just, yeah, I love you and just take care of yourself and…and stay in God’s word. And just thank you again Brian and the whole Hardin family. Thank you for your love. Thank you for your faithfulness and doing this every day. You’re helping people in ways you can even begin to imagine. I just thank you so much and God bless all of you.

Good afternoon family it is Friday the 24th of April and it is the first day of Ramadan. So, yeah, let’s pray. Father God thank You so much that we can come together and pray for…and pray for all things but to pray for Muslims, that we can be united to this, that we are the body of Christ and that we be brought together in unity so that the world will know the love of Christ because of how it’s displayed in us. Father God, thank You for all of the Muslims who have relationships with Christians whether they be neighbors, friends, work colleagues. Thank You, Lord that those links exist, and I pray You’ll be helping us to be shining examples of You. Help us to be good ambassadors, help us to display Your love and so that Muslims would be able to see Jesus in us and be curious and want to know more. And Father God thank You that Jesus Esa is an important figure to Muslims. And we pray Lord that they know to experience a revelation of Jesus during this time of prayer and fasting, that they would come to know who Esa really is and that they can have a relationship with Him. Father God we pray Your protection over Muslims who are celebrating Ramadan at this time. I pray Lord You’d be giving them wisdom as they might have to celebrate it a bit differently than normal in the current crisis. In Jesus’ holy and precious name…

Good afternoon Daily Audio Bible this is Tracy Baker calling out of Arlington Texas. Blessed be, Blessed be. I know we’re in strange times right now with this COVID virus but fear not, fear not. God has just given us a little time out. I know a lot of us don’t understand what…what or why this is going on but it’s not for us to understand. Trust him. He’s got this. You know, like I said, a little time out. Give us time to take a breath, get back to the basics. So, it’s…it’s…it’s rough, don’t get me wrong. It’s rough. I can’t get out to play tennis like I want to but I’m fine, I’m happy, I’m…I’m…I’m blessed to be here, you know, as it is. But I called in. I haven’t called in a while and my bad, but I am listening every day. I don’t know if I could live without this thing. Brian, where was this 20, 40, 50 years ago? Do you know how much a difference this could be made…have made in people’s lives, if I could have had this 20 years ago? For those of you young people, you guys are blessed to be a part of this. This will make a life changing difference in your life. Real quick the sister who called on the 20th, oh, oh, oh, oh I love you for that. You’re in…you’re in pain but what you’re doing helps others and God’s got you. So, fear not. Love you all.

Hello Daily Audio Bible family this is Rebecca Joy from Illinois calling for the first time ever due to God’s prompting in my heart, which I cannot ignore any longer. I have been a listener of Daily Audio Bible ever since I was a kid, but this is the first year that I decided to go to the whole Bible on my own accord. And so far, I’ve been keeping it up. I decided to call and because of the prompting of three different women. The first one was a woman from the 20th of April who called in suffering from extreme emotional distress. The second is from today’s reading, Mother Lioness with her two daughters that she is struggling with, and finally another woman who called in from Florida just breathlessly asking for prayer. And…oh man I…I need a…I just needed to call in. So, dear God, I am no stranger to emotional distress whether it be anxiety, depression, anything…just fear in general and I can tell that all of these women are in such fear right now and it can be such a lonely thing to be in. But I pray that You would just lay Your hands on them and that they would know…they would know that they don’t have to be strong enough. Everything that You offer to them is right there and You are strong enough. I pray for the woman in emotional turmoil, that she would find peace, that she would hold on. I pray for Mother Lioness, that she would know that You have her daughters in Your hands. You have a good plan even though she can see it right now. And I pray for that woman in Florida. I pray whatever she needs let her be with You. Be blessed.

Hey Daily Audio Bible family, To Be A Blessing in California. Hope this finds everyone doing well. I am in the process of waiting to see what a new work organizational chart is going to look like and am trying not to project my fears on my position being demoted or eliminated. The whole organization is going through a process of looking at what it’s going to be like in the future. So, it brings up all kinds of old stuff. But I don’t want old stuff to get in the way. I wanted to throw myself on the floor and have a temper tantrum. And God is sweetly singing, God will take care of you in my mind. And, so, I know that that will take place, and He is. He always has. So, I need prayer to just be more than being an adult about this because the temper tantrum to being an adult, that just masks pouting and upset inside. I’d like to have Jesus show up in the meeting and in the midst of coronavirus and all that everyone is going through, you know, I’m just…my heart breaks for people. It might be you who’s listening who has lost a job or a family member or you’re sick yourself. So, know I’m praying for you and know that I thank you for your prayers.

This is Caribbean Joy saying hi to you from the dark side of the tiny, tiny island of St. Martin in the Caribbean. I have been a listener for many years and have encouraged many others to listen as well. One of my greatest joys is to learn that family and friends have become listeners as well and that they are enjoying it. I have also encouraged people in different languages, for example I have a chat group that is called friends of DAB and that is…those are my English friends, and I’ve also encouraged friends to listen in the Spanish language and also in French. __ [speaking Spanish] I’d also like to give a shout out to one of my special, special encouragers here on DAB which is Victoria Soldier. I love to listen to you, and you are really an encourager. May God continue to bless you. Thank you Brian and I guess I have to say goodbye now. Bye-bye until the next time.

04/27/2020 DAB Transcript

Judges 7:1-8:17, Luke 23:13-43, Psalms 97:1-98:9, Proverbs 14:7-8

Today is the 27th day of April, welcome to the Daily Audio Bible I’m Brian it’s wonderful to be here with you today as we gather together. No matter where we are in the world we gather together around this Global Campfire and be together, allow God to speak to us through His word, let everything else go. It’s wonderful to be in this place together with you today. So, I mean in the next step forward is the one that comes after the last step. And, so, we’re working our way through the book of Judges right now and we’re in one of the longer stories of the judges, the story of Gideon. We’re reading from the Common English Bible this week. Judges chapter 7 verse 1 through 8 verse 17.

Commentary:

Okay. So, in the book of Judges we’re reading through though the story of Gideon and it’s a pretty famous story but it’s, you know, it’s one of the longer stories of the judges in Israel. And, so, we’ve already gone through who is Gideon and how God came to him and said you…you know, he’s gonna use him to set the people free from the Midianites and the testing and the assembling of the Army and all of this. So, Gideon has 32,000 people. And, so…like…that’s a lot of people. It may not have been anywhere near as big as the Midianite army that was coming but that’s enough people to do some damage with and to put up a good fight with. And, so, we see the counterintuitive ways of the Lord in like, “there’s too many people. If I had the Midianites over into your hand then…then you’ll say you did it by your own strength. And that’s not what’s going on here. I am setting you free from the Midianites.” And we can see that this is true from our reading alone. Like, after the battle has happened and people are chasing the Midianites and everything then some of the tribes come to Gideon and they’re like, “why didn’t you take us into battle”, right? So, it was all about this glory. And, of course, Gideon’s like, “what have I done? Like, you’re doing more than I ever did.” So, he’s calming them all down. But we can see that when God stripped the Army down and whittled it down further that he was right, they would’ve tried to take the glory for themselves. So, he invites anybody who was afraid basically to leave the mountain and 22,000 of the 32,000 leave which leaves Gideon 10,000. And, so, like that whittles things down considerably but that’s still too many for God. So, in the end the fighting force is 300 people against a vast horde and according to what we read today that vast horde was over 100,000 people. So, 300 against that much of a horde of armed people, like that is not…like you wouldn’t say like, “yeah…that…those are good odds. That's…you should…you should go to battle”, right? It’s more like, “this is a suicide mission.” And we see these counterintuitive ways of God in so many of the stories of the Bible. So, the 300 people, like when it all starts, they are able to, you know, kind of raise torches and blow trumpets and smash vases and make a lot of noise and scream and yell. And because these 300 people have surrounded the camp the people inside the camp have no idea that…all they know is that they’re being attacked. And it…and no one would attack an army like that with three hundred people. Like this is a big attack. And, so they get up and just start fighting…fighting each other. Everything is thrown into disarray. They start fleeing and we’ve seen these kinds of things in many different battles on our journey through the Scriptures so far this year. So, why not the battles that we face? Why wouldn’t God be counterintuitive so that we couldn’t raise our own flag and say look at what I did?

And if we want to talk like counterintuitive ways of getting things done, then let’s just flip over into what we read in the gospel of Luke today because again we read the story of the crucifixion, like the final judgment and the crucifixion of our Savior. And again, it’s so easy, but really…I mean…because it’s so well-known, we’ve heard in a million times, maybe read it 100,000 times…like whatever…we…we’ve been through this story so many times that it’s very easy to just move beyond it, kind of know the end of the story, kinda know what’s gonna happen. And we don’t necessarily have to focus on the fact that, yeah, Jesus was crucified…crucified. That’s just an unthinkable form of execution. It’s just so completely counterintuitive. The most-high God could to anything, could destroy the world in a second, could create things into being out of nothing. The all-powerful most-high God, this is how He chose to humble Himself. Like this…this is such a profound outpouring of love that it is like impossible for our minds to even comprehend it. This is the lengths God is willing to go to to get to us and it’s very counterintuitive because in the end He left us reaching for Him in faith in what looked like defeat. He could’ve done this differently. He could’ve just road in and took over the world. This is the most-high God, who created the world and everything else, both known and unknown, like can whatever He wants to do and this is what He chose. And, so, let’s not expect anything different but a counterintuitive creative God working in among His people, including us individually to do victorious things in counterintuitive ways.

Prayer:

Father, we invite You into that because we like linear. We like predictable. I raise my hand. I raise my other hand. I like things to make sense. I like to know a predictable outcome. We generally do like this and try to arrange for that. And yet, through the stories of the Scriptures we see You continually working in very very interesting unconventional ways. So, why would we expect that would stop even in times like this? So come Holy Spirit, may we hear and see Your movements, may we attain what we’ve been asking for all along, eyes to see and ears to hear, that we might see what You are doing in the world, that we might see what You are doing in our lives. We open ourselves to Your transformation. Come Holy Spirit we pray in the powerful and mighty name of Jesus we ask. Amen.

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If you want to partner with the Daily Audio Bible, you can do that at dailyaudiobible.com as well and I thank you profoundly because the reality is we are…we are here…this happens every day because we are in this together as a community. And, so, thank you for your partnership. If you are 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 encouragement, you can hit the Hotline button that’s in the app, it’s the little red Hotline button at the top of the screen. Just touch that and begin to share right from there, no matter where you are in the world, or if you want to use the telephone you can dial several numbers depending on where you are in the world. In the Americas 877-942-4253. If you are in the UK or Europe 44-20-3608-8078. If you are in Australia or that part of the world 61-3-8820-5459 is the number.

And that’s it for today. I’m Brian I love you and I’ll be waiting for you here tomorrow.

The Daily Audio Bible Reading for Monday April 27, 2020 (NIV)

Judges 7:1-8:17

Battle with Midian

Then Jerubbaal, that is, Gideon, and all of the people with him rose early and set up camp beside the Harod spring; Midian’s camp was north of theirs, in the valley by the Moreh hill. The Lord said to Gideon: “You have too many people on your side. If I were to hand Midian over to them, the Israelites might claim credit for themselves rather than for me, thinking, We saved ourselves. So now, announce in the people’s hearing, ‘Anyone who is afraid or unsteady may return home from Gideon’s mountain.’”[a] At this, twenty-two thousand people went home, and ten thousand were left.

The Lord said to Gideon, “There are still too many people. Take them down to the water, and I will weed them out for you there. Whenever I tell you, ‘This one will go with you,’ he should go with you; but whenever I tell you, ‘This one won’t go with you,’ he should not go.” So he took the people down to the water. And the Lord said to Gideon, “Set aside those who lap the water with their tongues, as a dog laps, from those who bend down on their knees to drink.” The number of men who lapped was three hundred, and all the rest of the people bent down on their knees to drink water, with their hands to their mouths.[b] Then the Lord said to Gideon, “With the three hundred men who lapped I will rescue you and hand over the Midianites to you. Let everyone else go home.” So the people gathered their supplies and trumpets,[c] and Gideon sent all the Israelites home, but kept the three hundred.

Now Midian’s camp was below Gideon in the valley. That night the Lord said to him, “Get up and attack the camp, because I’ve handed it over to you. 10 But if you’re afraid to attack, go down to the camp with your servant Purah, 11 and you’ll hear what they are saying. May you then get the courage to attack the camp.” So he went down with his servant Purah to the outpost of the armies that were in the camp. 12 The Midianites, Amalekites, and other easterners were spread across the valley like a swarm of locusts; their camels were too many to count, like the grains of sand on the seashore.

13 Just when Gideon arrived, there was a man telling his friend about a dream. He said, “Get this! I had a dream that a loaf of barley bread was rolling into the Midianite camp. It came to a tent and hit it, and the tent collapsed. In fact, it rolled the tent over upside down, so it fell flat.”

14 His friend replied, “Can this be anything other than the sword of the Israelite Gideon, Joash’s son? God has handed over Midian and its entire camp to him!”

15 When Gideon heard the telling of the dream and its meaning, he worshipped. Then he returned to the Israelite camp and said, “Get up! The Lord has handed over the Midianite camp to you.” 16 He divided the three hundred men into three units and equipped every man with a trumpet and an empty jar, with a torch inside each jar. 17 “Now watch me,” he ordered them, “and do what I do. When I get to the outpost of the camp, do just what I do. 18 When I blow the trumpet, along with all who are with me, then you blow the trumpets, all of you surrounding the whole camp. And then shout, ‘For the Lord and for Gideon!’”

19 Gideon and one hundred of his men moved to the outpost of the camp at the middle watch of the night, when they had just changed the guards. Then they blew the trumpets and smashed the jars that were in their hands. 20 So the three units blew their trumpets and broke their jars, holding the torches with their left hands and blowing the trumpets in their right hands. And they called out, “A sword for the Lord and for Gideon!” 21 Each man stood fast in his position around the camp, and the entire camp took off running, shouting, and fleeing. 22 When the three hundred trumpets sounded, the Lord turned the swords of fellow soldiers against each other throughout the whole camp. The camp fled as far as Beth-shittah toward Zererah, to the border of Abel-meholah, beside Tabbath.

23 The Israelites from Naphtali, Asher, and all of Manasseh were called out, and they chased after the Midianites. 24 Then Gideon sent messengers into all of the Ephraim highlands, saying, “Go down to meet the Midianites and take control of the Jordan’s waters as far as Beth-barah.” So all the Ephraimite men were called out, and they took control of the Jordan’s waters as far as Beth-barah. 25 They also captured two Midianite officers, Oreb and Zeeb. They killed Oreb at Oreb’s Rock, and killed Zeeb at Zeeb’s Winepress. Then they went on chasing the Midianites, and they brought the heads of Oreb and Zeeb to Gideon on the other side of the Jordan.

Gideon’s acts of vengeance

Then the Ephraimites said to him, “Why did you offend us this way by not calling us when you went to fight the Midianites?” And they argued with him fiercely.

But he said to them, “What have I done now, compared to you? Aren’t Ephraim’s leftovers better than Abiezer’s main harvest? God handed you the Midianite officers Oreb and Zeeb. What have I been able to do compared to you?” When he said this, their anger against him passed.

Then Gideon came to the Jordan. As he and the three hundred men with him crossed over, they were exhausted but still giving chase. So he said to the people of Succoth, “Please give some loaves of bread to those who are on foot, because they’re exhausted, but I’m chasing Zebah and Zalmunna, the kings of Midian.”

But the officials of Succoth replied, “Haven’t you already almost gotten your hands on Zebah and Zalmunna? Why should we give food to your army now?”

“Just for that,” Gideon said, “when the Lord has handed over Zebah and Zalmunna to me, I’m going to beat your skin with desert thorns and briars!” From there he went up to Penuel and made the same request. And the people of Penuel responded in the same way the people of Succoth had. So he also told the people of Penuel, “When I return in victory,[d] I’ll break down this tower!”

10 Now Zebah and Zalmunna were in Karkor with their camp, about fifteen thousand men, all the ones who were left from the easterners’ entire camp. One hundred twenty thousand armed men had fallen. 11 Gideon marched up the caravan road[e] east of Nobah and Jogbehah, and attacked the camp while it was off-guard. 12 Zebah and Zalmunna fled, and he chased after them. He captured the two Midianite kings Zebah and Zalmunna and threw the entire army into panic.

13 Then Gideon, Joash’s son, returned from the battle by the Heres Pass. 14 He captured a young man from the people of Succoth and interrogated him. He listed for Gideon the seventy-seven officials and elders of Succoth. 15 So Gideon went to the people of Succoth and said, “Here are Zebah and Zalmunna! You made fun of me because of them by saying, ‘Haven’t you already almost gotten your hands on Zebah and Zalmunna? Why should we give food to your exhausted men now?’” 16 Then he seized the city’s elders, and he beat[f] the people of Succoth with desert thorns and briars. 17 He also broke down Penuel’s tower, and killed the city’s people.

Footnotes:

  1. Judges 7:3 Or Mount Gilead
  2. Judges 7:6 MT places the words with their hands to their mouths after the word lapped.
  3. Judges 7:8 Or the ones who lapped took the people’s supplies and trumpets for themselves.
  4. Judges 8:9 Or in peace
  5. Judges 8:11 Or the road of the tent dwellers
  6. Judges 8:16 Cf 8:7, cf LXX; MT he taught a lesson to
Common English Bible (CEB)

Copyright © 2011 by Common English Bible

Luke 23:13-43

Jesus and Barabbas

13 Then Pilate called together the chief priests, the rulers, and the people. 14 He said to them, “You brought this man before me as one who was misleading the people. I have questioned him in your presence and found nothing in this man’s conduct that provides a legal basis for the charges you have brought against him. 15 Neither did Herod, because Herod returned him to us. He’s done nothing that deserves death. 16 Therefore, I’ll have him whipped, then let him go.”[a]

18 But with one voice they shouted, “Away with this man! Release Barabbas to us.” (19 Barabbas had been thrown into prison because of a riot that had occurred in the city, and for murder.)

20 Pilate addressed them again because he wanted to release Jesus.

21 They kept shouting out, “Crucify him! Crucify him!”

22 For the third time, Pilate said to them, “Why? What wrong has he done? I’ve found no legal basis for the death penalty in his case. Therefore, I will have him whipped, then let him go.”

23 But they were adamant, shouting their demand that Jesus be crucified. Their voices won out. 24 Pilate issued his decision to grant their request. 25 He released the one they asked for, who had been thrown into prison because of a riot and murder. But he handed Jesus over to their will.

On the way to the cross

26 As they led Jesus away, they grabbed Simon, a man from Cyrene, who was coming in from the countryside. They put the cross on his back and made him carry it behind Jesus. 27 A huge crowd of people followed Jesus, including women, who were mourning and wailing for him. 28 Jesus turned to the women and said, “Daughters of Jerusalem, don’t cry for me. Rather, cry for yourselves and your children. 29 The time will come when they will say, ‘Happy are those who are unable to become pregnant, the wombs that never gave birth, and the breasts that never nursed a child.’ 30 Then they will say to the mountains, ‘Fall on us,’ and to the hills, ‘Cover us.’[b] 31 If they do these things when the tree is green, what will happen when it is dry?”

Jesus on the cross

32 They also led two other criminals to be executed with Jesus. 33 When they arrived at the place called The Skull, they crucified him, along with the criminals, one on his right and the other on his left. 34 Jesus said, “Father, forgive them, for they don’t know what they’re doing.” They drew lots as a way of dividing up his clothing.

35 The people were standing around watching, but the leaders sneered at him, saying, “He saved others. Let him save himself if he really is the Christ sent from God, the chosen one.”

36 The soldiers also mocked him. They came up to him, offering him sour wine 37 and saying, “If you really are the king of the Jews, save yourself.” 38 Above his head was a notice of the formal charge against him. It read “This is the king of the Jews.”

39 One of the criminals hanging next to Jesus insulted him: “Aren’t you the Christ? Save yourself and us!”

40 Responding, the other criminal spoke harshly to him, “Don’t you fear God, seeing that you’ve also been sentenced to die? 41 We are rightly condemned, for we are receiving the appropriate sentence for what we did. But this man has done nothing wrong.” 42 Then he said, “Jesus, remember me when you come into your kingdom.”

43 Jesus replied, “I assure you that today you will be with me in paradise.”

Footnotes:

  1. Luke 23:16 Critical editions of the Gk New Testament do not include 23:17 He had to release one prisoner for them because of the festival.
  2. Luke 23:30 Hos 10:8
Common English Bible (CEB)

Copyright © 2011 by Common English Bible

Psalm 97-98

Psalm 97

97 The Lord rules! Let the earth rejoice!
Let all the islands celebrate!
Clouds and thick darkness surround God.
His throne is built on righteousness and justice.
Fire proceeds before him,
burning up his enemies on every side.
His lightning lights up the world;
the earth sees it and trembles!
The mountains melt like wax before the Lord,
before the Lord of the whole world!

Heaven has proclaimed God’s righteousness,
and all nations have seen his glory.
All those who worship images,
those who are proud of idols,
are put to shame.
All gods bow down to the Lord!
Zion has heard and celebrates,
the towns[a] of Judah rejoice,
because of your acts of justice, Lord,
because you, Lord, are the Most High
over all the earth,
because you are so superior to all other gods.

10 Those of you who love the Lord, hate evil!
God guards the lives of his faithful ones,
delivering them from the power of the wicked.
11 Light is planted like seed for the righteous person;
joy too for those whose heart is right.
12 Rejoice in the Lord, righteous ones!
Give thanks to his holy name!

Psalm 98

A psalm.

98 Sing to the Lord a new song
because he has done wonderful things!
His own strong hand and his own holy arm
have won the victory!
The Lord has made his salvation widely known;
he has revealed his righteousness
in the eyes of all the nations.
God has remembered his loyal love
and faithfulness to the house of Israel;
every corner of the earth has seen our God’s salvation.

Shout triumphantly to the Lord, all the earth!
Be happy!
Rejoice out loud!
Sing your praises!
Sing your praises to the Lord with the lyre—
with the lyre and the sound of music.
With trumpets and a horn blast,
shout triumphantly before the Lord, the king!
Let the sea and everything in it roar;
the world and all its inhabitants too.
Let all the rivers clap their hands;
let the mountains rejoice out loud altogether before the Lord
because he is coming to establish justice on the earth!
He will establish justice in the world rightly;
he will establish justice among all people fairly.

Footnotes:

  1. Psalm 97:8 Or daughters
Common English Bible (CEB)

Copyright © 2011 by Common English Bible

Proverbs 14:7-8

Stay away from fools,
for you won’t learn wise speech there.
By their wisdom the prudent understand their way,
but the stupidity of fools deceives them.

Common English Bible (CEB)

Copyright © 2011 by Common English Bible

04/26/2020 DAB Transcript

Judges 6:1-40, Luke 22:54-23:12, Psalms 95:1-96:13, Proverbs 14:5-6

Today is the 26th day of April welcome to the Daily Audio Bible I am Brian it is great to be here with you today as we open the knob or twist the knob and throw open the door and walk into a shiny, sparkly new week together and what a joy it is. It’s exciting to…to turn the page, walk into a new week, allow God’s word to begin speaking into our lives and see what the week brings us. So, we’ll be reading from the Common English Bible this week and we’re moving our way through the book of Judges, which is kind of recounting the…the next centuries after Joshua. And, so, we’ve met several of the judges and some of their stories are our full narratives that tell us kind of the whole thing that’s going on and some of them are just very very short mentions of who they were. We met the judge Deborah, the only female judge of Israel in yesterday’s reading and today we’re gonna settle in for a story, a story of Gideon. Judges chapter 6.

Prayer:

Father, we thank you for your word. We thank you for bringing us safely into this new week and before this week is out, we will be heading into a new month. And, so, we are thankful and grateful for that. God you are so faithful. You are so loyal to us. You have brought us this far. We are so grateful, even as we read in the book of Judges just the kind of back and forth and back and forth, that’s been our story and we are humbled to read this story in other people’s lives at other times and we ask for wisdom because the book of Judges gives us an opportunity to see where those roads, this back-and-forth, where…where that leads. And we already know this, we’ve been through it in our lives and its…we’re sorry. We’re are humbled. We love you. We surrender. We trust You. And we ask your Holy Spirit to lead us into this new week and every thought and word and deed. And we ask in the name of Jesus. Amen.

Announcements:

dailyaudiobible.com is the website and that is home base, that’s where the Global Campfire…well…I mean the Global Campfires in our hearts, it’s like everywhere. but this is home base, and this is where you find what’s going on, and this is where the Prayer Wall lives, which is in the Community section. People are always praying for each other there, asking for prayer. People are always getting connected through the Community section because it gives all the different links to where to be connected. So, yeah, be sure to stay connected, especially in these kind of interesting transitional and, yeah, just weird…weird beginning to this new…new year for sure. So, staying connected is all it’s always important to us, but specifically important to us in times like these. So, 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 that just kinda lives on the homepage. Thank you, thank you, thank you, for your partnership. If you’re using the app, you can press the Give button in the upper right-hand corner or the mailing address, if you prefer, is PO Box 1996 Spring Hill Tennessee 37174.

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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:

Hi family this is Biola from Maryland I hope you’re all doing well. Brian and Jill God bless you, God bless your ministry, your family, your children, and grandchildren. I’m calling to pray for the lady who called in, she was in so much emotional pain, she was crying. Sister I’m praying that God will comfort you and give you rest and peace in the name of Jesus. I’m praying that God will wrap His arms around you and __ 3:17 says that God will quiet your heart with His love and He rejoices over you with __ sister and I pray that you will receive relief from that emotional pain in the name of Jesus. Well sister I want to encourage you. If you need help, please reach out for support. Don’t stay there by yourself trying to work through this by yourself. Craig and Vikita I was so happy when I heard your testimony. That was a beautiful testimony. You see how God works, it’s so powerful. Grateful to God that you’re now in Sweden and praying for you Craig that you will learn the language quickly and that you will get a good job in the name of Jesus. Mark Street from Australia, I’m praying for your son that that hunger that the Holy Spirit has created in his heart, he will find him to light flames and that your son will be on fire for God. Brother before you know it you will have a pastor on your hands in the name of Jesus. Now, Demetri I’m praying for a consultation between you and your wife. Brother on praying Ephesians 4:32 over both of you. Read it, memorize it. I pray that God will soften your wife’s heart and that He will help both of you to be tenderhearted to each other, to forgive one another, be quick to forgive, make allowance for each other’s faults in Jesus’ name. Bruiser from Oklahoma I am grateful for God and awesome testimony of reconciliation between you and your son Charles. I pray that God who has started a good work will complete it in Jesus name. Shout out to Deb from Washington and Sheila Rivera who reached out to me because I was ill…

Hello DAB family this is Scott in Texas. This is my first time calling. I do pray for all of your requests silently and never you call in, but I have a prayer request about my marriage that is just falling apart. It’s pretty much over with. I’m in the process of getting a place of my own. There’ll be a separation of kids and I don’t know where else to turn. Just I need help real bad and I hurt real bad. And I just ask for a miracle. That’s what I’m asking for prayer for that…that the Lord will provide a miracle, that hearts can be changed and marriage can be saved. Thank you.

Hey Daily Audio Bible family my name is Carrie and I’m calling from Franklin Tennessee which is just up the road from Spring Hill Tennessee where the Hardin family broadcasts to us the Daily Audio Bible. I heard a gal yesterday on April 22nd by the name of Samantha from Seattle and she had her daughter Evelyn in the background, and you had stated, Samantha, that you came out of a narcissistic abusive relationship. And I came out of 14 years ago and was granted a move away to Tennessee from our precious community in California. And even though some things have changed, some things haven’t changed as far as the attempts at power and control. I know that I am in a better place and my daughter is definitely in a better place as far as the community that God has provided for us. And, so, I just wanted to encourage you and anyone who is ever gone through narcissistic abuse, that first of all, I’m sorry and it is not your fault, you did not deserve this, but God is with you every step of the way and He has His hand on you and your daughter and He’s gonna lead you through. And please continue in the Word, worship the Lord and trust that he has a plan for you and He has a specific plan for Evelyn and His ways are higher than our ways. And, so, just one day at a time He will get you through.

Hi DAB family Toni from Germany, a little bit of tears. Missing my mom. Time is near. And, so, I’m calling to ask you to pray for a peaceful death for my mom. So, it may be that you get this after she has passed but I know that God works, God’s time is not our time. And, so, I ask with confidence that your prayers will be heard. Thank you.

Hello Daily Audio Bible family this is Will Beverland from Strasburg Virginia. My wife Ann Marie and I have been married now for just over three years almost 4. In that time, I’ve…God’s blessed me with the ability to mentor her children. Unfortunately, this past Monday in the early afternoon her son suffered a tragic accident and lost his life. We are all extremely torn out and the boy was 15 years old and we’re trying to cling to good theology and good doctrine and trying to understand what God is gonna do through this. But the tremendous response and outpouring of love from the people he has touched in the short 15 years is spanning across three different states. Tomorrow is going to be his funeral service and because of COVID-19 no one can get out of their vehicles but we are setting up an FM transmitter so that the cars can gather around across the street and all around the cemetery parked at an angle to be able to listen to the service. The gospel will be preached, and I pray that through this some people will come to know the Lord as their Savior. My stepson professed his faith the morning before his passing. So, we take comfort in knowing that we’ll see him again but please now just pray for the family and give us the strength to endure. Thanks very much for your love guys. A good day. Bye.