Lamentations 3:1-66, Hebrews 1:1-14, Psalm 102:1-28, Proverbs 26:21-22
Today is the 30th day of October, welcome to the Daily Audio Bible. I am Brian. It is wonderful to be here with you today on the eve of the last day of the 10th month of the year. So, as we begin a new week tomorrow, we’ll be ending a month and yesterday we moved into new territory in old and new Testaments. The book of Lamentations in the Old Testament we talked about that yesterday and the letter to Philemon which we read in its entirety yesterday. Which brings us to new territory in the new Testaments. The book of Hebrews and will talk about that when we get there. We’re reading from the New International Version this week. Lamentations chapter 3.
Introduction to the Book of Hebrews:
Okay, that brings us to new territory, another letter. It’s a pretty lengthy letter. It is known in the Scriptures as Hebrews. And I’m gonna say something right now because it needs to stick for us to really appreciate what the letter to the Hebrews brings to the table for us in our understanding and even our understanding of context centered around the Christian faith. Hebrews was written to Hebrews. Okay, Hebrews was written to Jewish people. The early believers in Jesus who were Jews and not Gentiles. And Romans does a good job of this, but Hebrews probably of all of the New Testament writings really contextualizes the Christian faith within Judaism because the here’s the deal week, we have the Christian faith and most of us are Gentile people and so we weren’t immersed in Mosaic law or Hebrew culture, ever, and the Gentiles, at that time, like the Jewish people stayed away from everybody else. They were separatists, they were set apart and holy, like that’s how they lived. They had their kind of own internal way of doing well, life. Then Jesus came into that culture, into that way of understanding and began to teach as a rabbi teacher of these customs and traditions and laws. He reinterpreted plenty of things but it was with in that context that he did his ministry. And so, the Christian faith arose out of Judaism. So, sometimes some of the intricacies that are involved there can just kinda go over a Gentiles head 2000 years in the future. But if we can remember the Hebrews was written to Hebrews and keep that in front of us, then we can understand that a lot of things are being unpacked that help us see that and give us that context. So, we don’t really know who wrote Hebrews. That’s not a new thing, that’s very, very old thing. There’s been seasons and traditions where Paul is credited as the author of the letter to the Hebrews. Many people believe that until this day, but most, most scholars don’t. Most scholars would believe that is super unlikely. But whoever did write Hebrews was a very good, well thought out, communicator and was clearly educated and was clearly educated and understood the Jewish, what was a Jewish person, understood and was immersed in the culture and could speak with authority about it. So, there are other candidates, lots of other candidates who have bubbled to the top like Barnabas. Or maybe Apollos, and there are other people that believe may be Hebrews was written by a woman and that that has been obscured over time. I don’t know, nobody, like we can argue the persuasive ideas but nobody can speak with absolute authority. There are some things that that help kind of place it. Like Timothy, who was a protégé, like a son in the faith, we read the pastoral letters to Timothy from Paul. Timothy’s mentioned in the letter to the Hebrews. So, this is probably somewhat contemporary with Paul’s writings, it could be that Hebrews was written a little bit later after Paul had died because Timothy was younger and so he would have lived longer after Paul of course Paul was executed. It’s also clear that things were starting to heat up against the Christians. They were being marginalized. They were being kind of isolated and persecution had begun. Maybe not like mass killing of Christians, but definitely the pushing to the outer boundaries of society. At this time, it wasn’t a popular or good thing to be a Christian in the Roman Empire, so they we’re being ridiculed and just thought of as weird, like weird people pushed to the margins. We have this kind of stuff that happens in all societies and has been part of the human story and so it’s still with us today. It’s not unusual in many circles for Christians to be portrayed as weird, right, backward, irrelevant. So, this is going on and what was happening as people were trying to kind of disappear. They just kinda backing…backing away, trying to disappear into the woodwork, in either keeping their faith very under wraps or just going back to the traditions of Judaism, just living as a Jew, which had its challenges already. That behavior, like the pressure coming and what it’s causing, which is people to kind of fade, really is the meat of what’s going on here in the letter to the Hebrews. Hebrew’s kind of steps forward and says don’t go back to what you were. Like, you’ve come so far. Don't…don’t go back, move forward. Hold fast, right don’t waiver, don’t hide, don’t disappear, don’t lose the faith. And it uses the Hebrew or the Jewish backdrop as a way to explain why not to lose the faith, like what’s actually going on here unpacked from the traditions of Judaism. So, with that, let’s dive in and settle in for the letter to the Hebrews, today chapter 1.
Prayer:
Father, we thank You for Your word. We thank You for bringing us right to the doorstep of another month. We thank You for all that we have learned in this month. We are so deeply grateful. And as we move into this letter to the Hebrews, as it brings home so many of the different concepts and things that we have read from the Scriptures, as it brings them into clear focus, we ask Holy Spirit that You give us clarity, that we may understand what You are saying to us, that we may understand where You are leading us and that we may in turn honor You with our lives as we live as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to You, which is not possible in our own strength but is possible because of Your mercy and grace and leadership. So, we humble ourselves and submit to Your leadership. Lead us, we pray, in the name of Jesus we ask. 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.
Prayers and Encouragements:
Good morning DAB family. Finally, I figured I’d call in and oh, my name is James, just James. I’ve been listening since December 2020. Which was the time when the COVID was sweeping through the prison and it was quite a still moment in the prison. I’ve been locked up since I was 21, I just got out after 30 years. And, man DAB and listening to the family and everything is such a blessing. And … hearing the way that Brian reads the word of God and the prayers and just being able to be connected to the family of Christ throughout the whole world is a tremendous blessing, especially when you’re in there and you don’t have any family, so many people in there. And I pray for Blind Tony and Kingdom Seeker Daniel and it just, not just the pillars in the DAB family but also everyone that calls in and all the prayers and just each and everyone. And I’ll call back more when I can but I just wanted to let everyone know that it’s so wonderful to be a part of the family. Alright, God Bless.
Good morning, everybody its Annette Alison from Oklahoma City. Hello, my friends. I want to thank all you people out there in Daily Audio Bible land. I had the dreaded COVID. I did survive obviously so I’m calling you now. My lungs hurt and it’s kind of hard to breath still and I have some ikky in my just sinus stuff I can’t get rid of it and nothing seems to work. I’ve done the sprays the medicines, everything, you name it. Man, I just thank you all for keeping me in your prayers and thoughts. And many of you called and text and messaged and I can’t thank you all enough. I’m praying for all those out there who are still are getting down in it. So, anyway, hey, I love you all, have a wonderful, wonderful day. Take care, bye bye.
Hi, Daily Audio Bible friends this is Kimberly. I’m calling in to request prayer. It’s been a long two months and I don’t know if anybody heard my prayer request. I believe it probably played on the weekend but I was needing to take care of my parents who contracted COVID and I was able to get over to their house and see the state of how they were doing. And they told me that they were doing better than I found them to be. Anyway, we had to take them, my brother and I needed to take them to the hospital because their O2 stats were not good. And I was able to spend the last four days with my mom in the hospital helping her pass into Jesus’ arms. Two weeks later my father also passed. They were very difficult times but very precious and very traumatic and God was so near. But I’m broken. And I cherish your prayers. I love them so much and I miss them so much. And, while I’m comforted that they are with Jesus right now it doesn’t fill the gap in my heart and the gap between now and when I get to see them again. Seems very long. And I just ask for protection over my thought life. That I can continue to endure it. And lean on Jesus and praise His name. I love you guys. Thank you so much for praying.
Hello family it’s Sharon from Salem, Oregon. I’m calling to share what God did in our church this weekend as an encouragement and also as a request for prayer. We had a guest speaker over the weekend from Amsterdam who shared about his ministry and toward the end of his message, he just honestly, transparently led us in this prayer of repentance and really called us to even come down to the front of the church and get on our knees before God and many of us did that. And it was powerful to see God’s spirit moving in our church which is a very traditional church that’s been around in our city for a long, long time. But God is moving, He’s awakening in us something that’s been slumbering for a long time. He’s awakening in us the heart of the good shepherd who leaves the 99 to seek the one who’s lost. And I just confess that my heart has been cold, my heart has been apathetic and God is awakening that compassion, that hunger for the lost to know the shepherd. So, I just want to praise God because I’ve been praying for many years for revival in my city and I know many others have too and God is, He’s stirring us up, He is preparing us. So, come Lord Jesus, help us to be your hands and feet and light and I pray that amongst all of our churches Lord, awaken us, help us to be ready. In Jesus name. Amen.
Hello, it’s Nobody Gets Left Behind from Colorado. Just checking in with the Global Community, here, just love you guys. I’m just wanting to call in for the lady that didn’t leave a name or an area that she’s from. I just want you to know that you’re not alone and I heard you, I heard your voice, I heard your pain and mentally, emotionally, spiritually. I bind the struggle sister. I bind the spirit of depression in the name Jesus. I’m very proud of you for calling, this is the place to do that, is to ask for prayers. Because you’re gonna be lifted up so many prayers. And I just want you to know that I love you and many, many of us love you and you’re not alone and we hear you. I also just wanted to give a shout out to Blind Tony, just very thankful for your last poem. I did post that on our Colorado DAB Bible study group. We just, we love you guys, you have a big team out here in Colorado. And shout out to all of you that are listening. We love this platform. We love you, Brian, we love you, Jill. We don’t know what we would do without you guys, without this family, without this community. And that’s my log that I’m throwing in. I just wish you all beautiful week, week 43, let’s get it. I love you guys.
Hello, this is Dave from Texas. I want to say a quick prayer this is what August; no October 26 and I’m hearing the message from the anonymous brother that called and talking about how he was backsliding a little bit and struggling with certain sins and he just wanted his voice to be heard and I can definitely relate with that. And I just wanted to tell him that it does get better with time, and the great thing about our relationship with Christ is that He doesn’t have an expectation on, you know, what you can do for Him. It’s a good sign that you are putting your efforts into watering that plant that is your relationship with Christ and it’ll happen, it just takes time. And I’m probably, you’re not ashamed, it’s a good thing because a lot of people get caught up in that trap that is shame and seclude themselves, which is the exact opposite of what you want to do. So, I wanted to let him know that his voice was heard and you know, I wanted to give just a mini praise report and encouragement because I went to school and I was trying to find a good climate to grow my faith, you know, the Daily Audio Bible is great and I look this as my primary church. You know, I pray for you guys every day. But I was able to find brothers, you know, people on campus that I can, you know, relate to and to talk to and share my stories with and what not which is important. So, I pray for all the college students who may not be able go to Sunday service like they used to, you know, back home before COVID. And that they can find, you know, good relationships and a good climate to grow in their faith. Which is very, very important. Thank you, guys, love you guys, praying for all of you guys, Brian, the family and yup, thank you.