1 Kings 20:1-21:29, Acts 12:24-13:15, Psalms 137:1-9, Proverbs 17:16
Today is the 19th day of June welcome to the Daily Audio Bible I’m Brian it is wonderful to be here with you today as we approach the close of another work week and head into the weekend. And we’re continuing to cover ground together. So, let's…let’s continue to cover ground together and take the next step forward. We’ve been working our way through the book of first Kings and we’ve spent some time the last couple of days in the northern kingdom, the kingdom of Israel, the 10 tribes in the north and that’s where we’ll be spending our time today. We’re reading from the New Living Translation this week. First Kings chapters 20 and 21.
Commentary:
Okay. So, in the book of first Kings today we see that Samaria the…the northern capital, the capital of Israel, of the…of the nation of Israel, whereas Jerusalem is the capital city of Judah at this point. Anyway, Samaria is under siege from Ben-hadad and they are able to repel those attacks through the providence of God, but this is gonna kinda keep happening and eventually…eventually Israel is going to get conquered by these people, the Assyrians. But we’re far enough into the story of Israel, the northern kingdom at this point. We can see it’s…it’s a pretty tumultuous time with a lot of transfer of power happening through political maneuvering and assassinations. So, that’s kind of where we find ourselves as we’re moving to the territory of first Kings for now,
In the book of Acts, we see Saul who is also known as Paul also known as the apostle Paul going on a missionary journey, on his first missionary journey, and we notice that someone named John Mark is accompanying him. John Mark is somebody that we’ve met. John Mark is thought to be the author, the writer of the gospel of Mark, which is the first of the Gospels ever written.
Now when we look at the Psalm today, Psalm 137, this is Psalm written from exile and this can get a little confusing because this comes from the Babylonian exile. So, this kind of…as we’re…we’re going into a weekend here and going to be moving into some of the territory next week and in the coming weeks, this is a good time to just keep our bearings because it’s really easy to get to the books of Kings, and we’re moving through so much territory and covering so many decades so quickly that it’s similar to the book of Judges. It’s easy enough to get lost. So, we know there’s a northern kingdom. We’ve been talking about it. We know that there’s a southern kingdom of Judah, that this unified 12 tribes of Israel has become two different nations. And, so, now the northern kingdom of Israel is under attack. They will eventually be conquered by the Assyrian Empire and those 10 tribes will be taken into exile and we’ll talk about exile when we get to these battles and stuff, but they are basically going to disappear after that. Meanwhile, there is the kingdom of Judah in the south where Jerusalem is and their going to last longer. They will outlast the kingdom of Israel, but they too eventually will be conquered by the Babylonians and also taken into exile and being taken into exile means you’re being forcibly removed from your homeland and resettled somewhere else. And, so, that’s where this Psalm comes from today. That’s where these words leap off the page, “beside the rivers of Babylon we sat and wept as we thought of Jerusalem”, right? And the Psalm goes on to say how the people there were saying, “sing us songs of Jerusalem” and they just…they’re not able to do that…like, they’re not able to be entertainment for their captors or…or other people who have been conquered and exiled. They’re broken hearted over the loss of their city and of their temple. And, so, that is the heart cry of Psalm 137. And, so, that kinda gives us the lay of the land. That’s how we’re landing things as we prepare for the weekend and…and this week. This the territory that we’re in. These are the stories that we’re…we’re moving through and are contemplating and considering.
Prayer:
Father, we thank you. We thank you for all of the people that we get to meet in the Bible, all of the stories of all of the lives, of the way that we get the look back at what people were thinking and how they were living and see that the heart remains largely unchanged even though we’re looking back thousands of years. And as we back…look back over these thousands of years we see your faithfulness. Your unwillingness to abandon the human story lets us know that you are unwilling to abandon our story. And…O Lord it is our deepest desire to tell a love story with our lives, one in which we were on an adventure together through these human years, one that we will make memories together and remember them a million years from now. And, so, we thank you for the stories in the Bible and we thank you for the story of our lives and we invite you Holy Spirit to write the story of our lives as we follow you. We ask this in the name of Jesus. Amen,
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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 this is Susie from Colorado I just heard with great sadness the man who called in that he and his wife had lost their child and I just…he was…he was so grateful to God that they got to actually see the baby and hold the baby before the funeral and I…I just I…I love your faith in God and I appreciate it. It just really is amazing, and I am praying for you and your wife. You said that you’d really really appreciate those prayers from all of us and I just want you to know that you are being pray for. God bless you.
Hello this is Lorrie from Ohio it’s been a little while since I have called in and I’ve been feeling stirred to call for those but have been sharing about not having the strength to…to shower and do work at their home and then again when Jill posted about the letter she receives from those who are incarcerated. To each of you, you are loved, you are a child of God. Then today I heard this prayer of St. Francis and wanted to share. Lord make me an instrument of your peace. Where there is hatred let me sow love. Where there is injury, pardon. Where there is discord, union. Where there is doubt, faith. Where there is despair, hope. Where there is darkness, light. And where there is sadness, joy. O Divine Master grant that I may not so much seek to be consoled as to console, to be understood, as to understand, to be loved as to love. For it is giving that we receive, it is in pardoning that we are pardoned, and it is in dying that we are born to eternal life. Amen. Thinking of you all and praying for you. In God’s love and peace. Amen.
Hi this is Galena from Atlanta I wanted to thank Elayna for welcoming me to DABbers community. I really am grateful, and I just want you to know that I’m praying for you too. Going through a divorce is a really hard time and you’re in my prayers. I just wanted to say that there’s a lot of things that happened in my life since I’ve called and left my first message or prayer. I actually found a job and I was without a job for two or three months. And the day when I left a prayer was the day when I had an interview and two days later when my prayer was played the same company gave me a job offer. And I don’t think it’s a coincidence. I think God really truly saw into my heart what I needed and wanted, and He chose to shower me with his blessing. So, I just want to say thank you so much for accepting me into your community and I want to continue praying for Elayna and the young man who is going through a hard time with marriage and his mother who is very bad condition. I just want to pray over all of you who have marital problems right now, that God will deliver you through it and will make you stronger and your relationship with Him will be better than it ever was. Thank you.
Heavenly Father I pray for Alicia from Pennsylvania. I thank You Lord that You moved in the heart of Your child to speak out against racism. Lord that You would move in the heart of all Your people called by Your name to realize that there is something that they can do no matter their station to speak against injustice and offer comfort, compassion and even confrontation where necessary. Lord I pray You bless Alicia with the words that she needs just as You blessed Stephen and he spoke before the Pharisees Lord, for her to keep her eyes on You at all times and to speak in truth and in love. I pray Your protection over her, I pray Your wisdom for her Lord. If there are any others Lord that would be so bold as to hear Your call to their heart to stand up in this time of deep, deep division and to offer comfort. We move away from fear and move towards love Lord. I pray Your blessings on all those Lord that will speak truth and power no matter where they are no matter what the situation Lord. May Your people heavenly Father that are called by Your name bring healing to this land and bring it to the place where it’s supposed to be, that we can live up to the truth that is self-evident and all Your children are created equal. I pray Your blessings in Jesus name.
Hey, everyone it’s Margo in Liberia. I’ve got to be quick. I need prayer for a lady that we’ve been trying to help at the hospital her name is Patience. Her husband died last August leaving her destitute basically with two young children. She moved in with a male friend who promised that he would support her and her children. He got her pregnant. He then demanded in abortion. She attempted the abortion which failed. The man kicked them out. She was staying with friends, but a young man attempted to rape her young daughter. She caught him in the act in they all fled. She ended up on the streets. She was selling cookies that she made over a coal fire so that she could survive. That all ended with the coronavirus lockdowns here. She ended up taking her two children to an orphanage because there was no other way they would survive, and she ended up in our hospital. She is due to give birth any time. We’ve been trying to help her as best we can. She’s so depressed. This week an ultrasound has just shown that the baby she’s carrying has no limbs and we are…we are at a loss. We haven’t even told her this yet. She is already in such a bad way. She will probably refuse to keep the baby. That’s very common here. In a culture like this people will think that she has sinned in some way and this is her punishment. And we don’t know what to do. We don’t know what to do with her or the baby if it even survives once it’s born. There’s no…there’s no infrastructure here to care for babies like this. Can you pray for myself and Annette the social worker, that God will show us how we can help in this situation? Maybe we can help this mother to be able to raise this child and help the mother to be able to live with the guilt of the attempted abortion. Please just pray for the situation, that God would come through and provide a solution. Thank you.
Hi DAB family this is Elizabeth from Detroit I’m a first-time caller I’ve been listening for a few months and I wanted to thank Brian and everyone behind the scenes. This is an amazing podcast and outreach. I was not planning on calling in anytime soon since I’m a new listener, but I heard an urgent prayer request on June 10th from Marla in Albuquerque who suffers from depression. I’ve been praying for you. Then a few days later on June 14th I heard your praise report about the medication being…arriving safely at your doctor’s office. That’s such good news. I wanted to say that you’re not alone in the struggle of having bipolar. I have bipolar too and I know how debilitating it can be. I want to pray over you. Dear heavenly Father You know Marla from the inside out. You created her in her image. She’s precious in Your sight. I praise You Father for the Latuda shipment coming in. I praise You Father because I know You’re with Marla in the waiting. You are beside her, You’re behind her, You are before her. Lord I pray that Marla will sense Your presence and her perspective will shift. I pray that she’s alleviated from all bipolar depression so she can get back to…into the daily rhythms and activities of her life. Father renew her strength, surround her with people who will support and encourage her. I pray all these things in Jesus’ name. Amen.
This is for the man who lost his baby daughter on May 19th. I can’t imagine the pain that you two must be going through and I’m so sorry that you’re having to deal with or endure it. But I just want you to know that I am so lifted up by the way that you…you perceived it in that God is good and that you’re not blaming him and that you had the honor of holding your baby daughter before she died. And, so, Lord just…just bless this family. I just ask that I know they are going to speak to those who have gone through this same thing. But yet Lord I ask for a miraculous blessing on them of children. I think it’s in Isaiah 54 about the tents being enlarged. And I just ask for that for them in Jesus’ name. Amen.