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The Daily Audio Bible Reading for Saturday April 3, 2021 (NIV)

Deuteronomy 23-25

Who Cannot Become One of the Lord’s People

Moses said to Israel:

23 If a man’s private parts have been crushed or cut off,[a] he cannot fully belong to the Lord’s people.

2 No one born outside of a legal marriage, or any of their descendants for ten generations, can fully belong to the Lord’s people.

3 No Ammonites or Moabites, or any of their descendants for ten generations, can become part of Israel, the Lord’s people. 4 This is because when you came out of Egypt, they refused to provide you with food and water. And besides, they hired Balaam[b] to put a curse on you. 5 But the Lord your God loves you, so he refused to listen to Balaam and turned Balaam’s curse into a blessing. 6 Don’t even think of signing a peace treaty with Moab or Ammon.

7 But Edomites are your relatives, and you lived as foreigners in the country of Egypt. Now you must be kind to Edomites and Egyptians 8 and let their great-grandchildren become part of Israel, the Lord’s people.

Keep the Army Camp Acceptable

Moses said to Israel:

9 When you men go off to fight your enemies, make sure your camp is acceptable to the Lord.

10 For example, if something happens at night that makes a man unclean and unfit for worship, he[c] must go outside the camp and stay there 11 until late afternoon. Then he must take a bath, and at sunset he can go back into camp.

12 Set up a place outside the camp to be used as a toilet area. 13 And make sure that you have a small shovel in your equipment. When you go out to the toilet area, use the shovel to dig a hole. Then, after you relieve yourself, bury the waste in the hole. 14 You must keep your camp clean of filthy and disgusting things. The Lord is always present in your camp, ready to rescue you and give you victory over your enemies. But if he sees something disgusting in your camp, he may turn around and leave.

Runaway Slaves from Other Countries

Moses said:

15 When runaway slaves from other countries come to Israel and ask for protection, you must not hand them back to their owners. 16 Instead, you must let them choose which one of your towns they want to live in. Don’t be cruel to runaway slaves.

Temple Prostitutes

Moses said:

17 People of Israel, don’t any of you ever be temple prostitutes.[d] 18 The Lord your God is disgusted with men and women who are prostitutes of any kind, and he will not accept a gift from them, even if it had been promised to him.

Interest on Loans

Moses said:

19 When you lend money, food, or anything else to another Israelite, you are not allowed to charge interest. 20 You can charge a foreigner interest. But if you charge other Israelites interest, the Lord your God will not let you be successful in the land you are about to take.

Sacred Promises to the Lord

Moses said:

21 People of Israel, if you make a sacred promise to give a gift to the Lord, then do it as soon as you can. If the Lord has to come looking for the gift you promised, you will be guilty of breaking that promise. 22 On the other hand, if you never make a sacred promise, you can’t be guilty of breaking it. 23 You must keep whatever promises you make to the Lord. After all, you are the one who chose to make the promises.

Eating Someone Else’s Produce

24 If you go into a vineyard that belongs to someone else, you are allowed to eat as many grapes as you want while you are there. But don’t take any with you when you leave. 25 In the same way, if you are in a grain field that belongs to someone else, you can pick heads of grain and eat the kernels. But don’t cut down the stalks of grain and take them with you.

A Law about Divorce

Moses said to Israel:

24 Suppose a woman was divorced by her first husband because he found something disgraceful about her.[e] He wrote out divorce papers, gave them to her, and sent her away. 2 Later she married another man, 3 who then either divorced her in the same way or died. 4 Since she has slept with her second husband, she cannot marry her first husband again. Their marriage would pollute the land that the Lord your God is giving you, and he would be disgusted.

Newlyweds

Moses said to Israel:

5 If a man and a woman have been married less than one year, he must not be sent off to war or sent away to do forced labor. He must be allowed to stay home for a year and be happy with his wife.

Loans

Moses said to Israel:

6 When you lend money to people, you are allowed to keep something of theirs as a guarantee that they will pay back the loan. But don’t take one or both of their millstones, or else they may starve. They need these stones for grinding grain into flour to make bread.

Kidnapping

Moses said to Israel:

7 If you are guilty of kidnapping Israelites and forcing them into slavery, you will be put to death to remove this evil from the community.

Skin Diseases

Moses said to Israel:

8 I have told the priests[f] what to do if any of you have leprosy,[g] so do exactly what they say. 9 And remember what the Lord your God did to Miriam[h] after you left Egypt.

Loans

Moses said to Israel:

10 When you lend money to people, you are allowed to keep something of theirs as a guarantee that the money will be paid back. But you must not go into their house to get it. 11 Wait outside, and they will bring out the item you have agreed on.

12 Suppose someone is so poor that a coat is the only thing that can be offered as a guarantee on a loan. Don’t keep the coat overnight. 13 Instead, give it back before sunset, so the owner can keep warm and sleep and ask the Lord to bless you. Then the Lord your God will notice that you have done the right thing.

Poor People’s Wages

Moses said:

14 If you hire poor people to work for you, don’t hold back their pay,[i] whether they are Israelites or foreigners who live in your town. 15 Pay them their wages at the end of each day, because they live in poverty and need the money to survive. If you don’t pay them on time, they will complain about you to the Lord, and he will punish you.

The Death Penalty

Moses said to Israel:

16 Parents must not be put to death for crimes committed by their children, and children must not be put to death for crimes committed by their parents. Don’t put anyone to death for someone else’s crime.

Don’t Mistreat the Powerless

Moses said to Israel:

17 Make sure that orphans and foreigners are treated fairly. And if you lend money to a widow and want to keep something of hers to guarantee that she will pay you back, don’t take any of her clothes. 18 You were slaves in Egypt until the Lord your God rescued you. That’s why I am giving you these laws.

Leave Some of Your Harvest for the Poor

Moses said to Israel:

19 If you forget to bring in a stack of harvested grain, don’t go back in the field to get it. Leave it for the poor, including foreigners, orphans, and widows, and the Lord will make you successful in everything you do.

20 When you harvest your olives, don’t try to get them all for yourself, but leave some for the poor. 21 And when you pick your grapes, go over the vines only once, then let the poor have what is left. 22 You lived in poverty as slaves in Egypt until the Lord your God rescued you. That’s why I am giving you these laws.

Whipping as Punishment for a Crime

Moses said to Israel:

25 1-2 Suppose you and someone else each accuse the other of doing something wrong, and you go to court, where the judges decide you are guilty. If your punishment is to be beaten with a whip,[j] one of the judges will order you to lie down, and you will receive the number of lashes you deserve. 3 Forty lashes is the most that you can be given, because more than that might make other Israelites think you are worthless.

Don’t Muzzle an Ox

Moses said to Israel:

4 Don’t muzzle an ox while it is threshing grain.[k]

A Son for a Dead Brother

Moses said to Israel:

5-6 Suppose two brothers are living on the same property, when one of them dies without having a son to carry on his name. If this happens, his widow must not marry anyone outside the family. Instead, she must marry her late husband’s brother, and their first son will be the legal son of the dead man.

7 But suppose the brother refuses to marry the widow. She must go to a meeting of the town leaders at the town gate and say, “My husband died without having a son to carry on his name. And my husband’s brother refuses to marry me so I can have a son.”

8 The leaders will call the living brother to the town gate and try to persuade him to marry the widow. But if he doesn’t change his mind and marry her, 9 she must go over to him while the town leaders watch. She will pull off one of his sandals and spit in his face, while saying, “That’s what happens to a man who won’t help provide descendants for his dead brother.” 10 From then on, that man’s family will be known as “the family of the man whose sandal was pulled off.”

When Two Men Fight

Moses said to Israel:

11 If two men are fighting, and the wife of one man tries to rescue her husband by grabbing the other man’s private parts, 12 you must cut off her hand. Don’t have any mercy.

Be Honest in Business

Moses said to Israel:

13-14 Don’t try to cheat people by having two sets of weights or measures, one to get more when you are buying, and the other to give less when you are selling. 15 If you weigh and measure things honestly, the Lord your God will let you enjoy a long life in the land he is giving you. 16 But the Lord is disgusted with anyone who cheats or is dishonest.

Wipe Out Amalek

Moses said:

17 People of Israel, do you remember what the Amalekites did to you after you came out of Egypt? 18 You were tired, and they followed along behind, attacking those who could not keep up with the others. This showed that the Amalekites have no respect for God.

19 The Lord your God will help you capture the land, and he will give you peace. But when that day comes, you must wipe out Amalek so completely that no one will remember they ever lived.

Footnotes:

  1. 23.1 a man’s private parts have been crushed or cut off: This was sometimes done to show devotion to pagan gods.
  2. 23.4 Balaam: Hebrew “Balaam son of Beor from Pethor.”
  3. 23.10 if something. . . worship, he: Or “if a man has a flow of semen at night, he is unclean and unfit for worship, and he.”
  4. 23.17 temple prostitutes: Some Canaanites worshiped by going to their temples and having sex with prostitutes that represented their gods.
  5. 24.1 something disgraceful about her: One possible meaning for the difficult Hebrew text.
  6. 24.8 the priests: See the note at 17.8-12.
  7. 24.8 leprosy: The word “leprosy” was used for many different kinds of skin diseases.
  8. 24.9 what the Lord your God did to Miriam: See Numbers 12.1-16.
  9. 24.14 don’t hold back their pay: The Dead Sea Scrolls; the Standard Hebrew Text “treat them right.”
  10. 25.1,2 whip: Or “rod.”
  11. 25.4 threshing grain: Oxen were used at the threshing place to walk on heads of grain, or pull heavy slabs of wood over it, to separate the kernels from the husks.
Contemporary English Version (CEV)

Copyright © 1995 by American Bible Society

Luke 10:13-37

The Unbelieving Towns

13 You people of Chorazin are in for trouble! You people of Bethsaida are also in for trouble! If the miracles that took place in your towns had happened in Tyre and Sidon, the people there would have turned to God long ago. They would have dressed in sackcloth and put ashes on their heads.[a] 14 On the day of judgment the people of Tyre and Sidon will get off easier than you will. 15 People of Capernaum, do you think you will be honored in heaven? Well, you will go down to hell!

16 My followers, whoever listens to you is listening to me. Anyone who says “No” to you is saying “No” to me. And anyone who says “No” to me is really saying “No” to the one who sent me.

The Return of the Seventy-Two

17 When the seventy-two[b] followers returned, they were excited and said, “Lord, even the demons obeyed when we spoke in your name!”

18 Jesus told them:

I saw Satan fall from heaven like a flash of lightning. 19 I have given you the power to trample on snakes and scorpions and to defeat the power of your enemy Satan. Nothing can harm you. 20 But don’t be happy because evil spirits obey you. Be happy that your names are written in heaven!

Jesus Thanks His Father

21 At that same time, Jesus felt the joy that comes from the Holy Spirit,[c] and he said:

My Father, Lord of heaven and earth, I am grateful that you hid all this from wise and educated people and showed it to ordinary people. Yes, Father, that is what pleased you.

22 My Father has given me everything, and he is the only one who knows the Son. The only one who really knows the Father is the Son. But the Son wants to tell others about the Father, so that they can know him too.

23 Jesus then turned to his disciples and said to them in private, “You are really blessed to see what you see! 24 Many prophets and kings were eager to see what you see and to hear what you hear. But I tell you that they did not see or hear.”

The Good Samaritan

25 An expert in the Law of Moses stood up and asked Jesus a question to see what he would say. “Teacher,” he asked, “what must I do to have eternal life?”

26 Jesus answered, “What is written in the Scriptures? How do you understand them?”

27 The man replied, “The Scriptures say, ‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart, soul, strength, and mind.’ They also say, ‘Love your neighbors as much as you love yourself.’”

28 Jesus said, “You have given the right answer. If you do this, you will have eternal life.”

29 But the man wanted to show that he knew what he was talking about. So he asked Jesus, “Who are my neighbors?”

30 Jesus replied:

As a man was going down from Jerusalem to Jericho, robbers attacked him and grabbed everything he had. They beat him up and ran off, leaving him half dead.

31 A priest happened to be going down the same road. But when he saw the man, he walked by on the other side. 32 Later a temple helper[d] came to the same place. But when he saw the man who had been beaten up, he also went by on the other side.

33 A man from Samaria then came traveling along that road. When he saw the man, he felt sorry for him 34 and went over to him. He treated his wounds with olive oil and wine[e] and bandaged them. Then he put him on his own donkey and took him to an inn, where he took care of him. 35 The next morning he gave the innkeeper two silver coins and said, “Please take care of the man. If you spend more than this on him, I will pay you when I return.”

36 Then Jesus asked, “Which one of these three people was a real neighbor to the man who was beaten up by robbers?”

37 The teacher answered, “The one who showed pity.”

Jesus said, “Go and do the same!”

Footnotes:

  1. 10.13 dressed in sackcloth. . . ashes on their heads: This was one way that people showed how sorry they were for their sins.
  2. 10.17 seventy-two: See the note at 10.1.
  3. 10.21 the Holy Spirit: Some manuscripts have “his spirit.”
  4. 10.32 temple helper: A man from the tribe of Levi, whose job it was to work around the temple.
  5. 10.34 olive oil and wine: In New Testament times these were used as medicine. Sometimes olive oil is a symbol for healing by means of a miracle (see James 5.14).
Contemporary English Version (CEV)

Copyright © 1995 by American Bible Society

Psalm 75

(A psalm and a song by Asaph for the music leader. To the tune “Don’t Destroy.”[a])

Praise God for All He Has Done

75 Our God, we thank you
for being so near to us!
Everyone celebrates
your wonderful deeds.

2 You have set a time
to judge with fairness.
3 The earth trembles,
and its people shake;
you alone keep
its foundations firm.
4 You tell every bragger,
“Stop bragging!”
And to the wicked you say,
“Don’t boast of your power!
5 Stop bragging! Quit telling me
how great you are.”

6 Our Lord and our God,
victory doesn’t come
from the east or the west
or from the desert.
7 You are the one who judges.
You can take away power
and give it to others.
8 You hold in your hand
a cup filled with wine,[b]
strong and foaming.
You will pour out some
for every sinful person
on this earth,
and they will have to drink
until it is gone.
9 But I will always tell about
you, the God of Jacob,
and I will sing your praise.

10 Our Lord, you will destroy
the power of evil people,
but you will give strength
to those who are good.

Footnotes:

  1. Psalm 75 Don’t Destroy: See the note at Psalm 57.
  2. 75.8 a cup. . . wine: In the Old Testament “a cup filled with wine” sometimes stands for God’s anger.
Contemporary English Version (CEV)

Copyright © 1995 by American Bible Society

Proverbs 12:12-14

12 An evil person tries to hide
behind evil;[a]
good people are like trees
with deep roots.
13 We trap ourselves
by telling lies,
but we stay out of trouble
by living right.
14 We are rewarded or punished
for what we say and do.

Footnotes:

  1. 12.12 An evil. . . evil: Or “Evil people love what they get from being evil.”
Contemporary English Version (CEV)

Copyright © 1995 by American Bible Society

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04/02/2021 DAB Transcript

Deuteronomy 21:1-22:30, Luke 9:51-10:12, Psalms 74:1-23, Proverbs 12:11

Today is the 2nd day of April welcome to the Daily Audio Bible I’m Brian it is truly a privilege and truly an honor to be here with you as we continue to just…ahhh…get settled into a brand-new month. And today, I mean we’ve been working through this week, holy week, and today is Good Friday, the day that we observe and commemorate the…the crucifixion, the execution, the death of Jesus on a cross in Jerusalem. And, so, indeed we’ve got a lot going on and a lot to consider. And we’ve also got the next step forward in the Scriptures. And, so, let’s take that step. We’re reading from the Contemporary English Version this week and we’re continuing to work our way through the book of Deuteronomy, the last things that Moses wants to impart before he…before he passes away. And I want to guess we’ve got another…we’ve got another week in the book of Deuteronomy and we’ll be facing another transition. We’ll be ending the Torah and moving forward. But for today Deuteronomy chapters 21 and 22.

Prayer:

Father, we thank You for Your word. And Lord, Lord Jesus as we read through the gospel of Luke You have made Your turn toward Jerusalem. And, so, over the coming days we’ll read that narrative again. But today is a day where we observe a culminating point, the day of Your crucifixion, the day of Your death, which makes this one of the darkest days that we can comprehend. And in terms of a Christian calendar this would be the darkest day possible, a day when Your creation turned so utterly against You, that they could not recognize You and were willing to kill You. Obviously, that’s not the end of the story and we know that, but this is the story that today represents. And, so, as we put ourselves in that position thinking of an angry mob crying out for Your execution, thinking of the mayhem of it all, thinking of the mistreatment, the abuse, the beating, the bruising, the crown of thorns, the blood, the cries of agony, the human cries of agony as…as the instruments of execution are driven through flesh and into wood. It’s so difficult for us to embrace the picture. It’s so difficult for us to even slow down enough. It's…it’s not something we…we want to look at. It’s something that we would much rather look away from. And yet since we began a journey so long ago on Ash Wednesday and moved through the season of Lent it was always coming to this because we were considering the pathways of sin, and sin only leads to death. And You had no sin, but You paid the price of sin. And, so, even though we don’t want to look at, this is what it cost, this is what it cost for us to be here in fellowship with You now. And if we continue to look away and not pay attention to this cost…well…then, it’s cheap to us, its grace, it's…it’s drive through forgiveness and it doesn’t actually register that this, our sin caused Your death in our place. And, so, therefore we don’t want any part of sin. Anything that would estrange us from You is leading us down the pathway of destruction but is leading us away from the one who loved us more than is comprehendible to step in on our behalf and take the punishment. And, so, Jesus we are so grateful today. But this is where we focus our attention and our affection and our motivation and our contemplation. And, so, as we go through this day Holy Spirit come and allow us to sit with it. Allow us to move around today somberly. Yes, we will be rejoicing. Easter is coming. We will rejoice. But today is the day to sit with what it cost to bring us a moment to rejoice. Come Holy Spirit we pray and to all of this we ask in the name of Jesus. Amen.

Song:

Jesus Paid it All – Fernando Ortega

I hear the Savior say
Thy strength indeed is small!
Child of weakness, watch and pray
Find in Me thine all in all

Jesus paid it all
All to Him I owe
Sin had left a crimson stain
He washed it white as snow

Lord, now indeed I find
Thy power, and Thine alone
Can change the leper’s spots
And melt the heart of stone

Jesus paid it all
All to Him I owe
Sin had left a crimson stain
He washed it white as snow

For nothing good have I
Where-by Thy grace to claim
I’ll wash my garments white
In the blood of Calvary’s Lamb

Jesus paid it all
All to Him I owe
Sin had left a crimson stain
He washed it white as snow

And when before the throne
I stand in Him complete
Jesus died my soul to save
My lips shall still repeat

Jesus paid it all
All to Him I owe
Sin had left a crimson stain
He washed it white as snow

Jesus paid it all
All to Him I owe
Sin had left a crimson stain
He washed it white as snow

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The Daily Audio Bible Reading for Friday April 2, 2021 (NIV)

Deuteronomy 21-22

Unsolved Murder

Moses said to Israel:

21 Suppose the body of a murder victim is found in a field in the land the Lord your God is giving you, and no one knows who the murderer is. 2 The judges and other leaders from the towns around there must find out what town is the closest to where the body was found. 3 The leaders from that town will go to their cattle herds and choose a young cow that has never been put to work.[a] 4-5 They and some of the priests will take this cow to a nearby valley where there is a stream, but no crops. Once they reach the valley, the leaders will break the cow’s neck.

The priests must be there, because the Lord your God has chosen them to be his special servants at the place of worship. The Lord has chosen them to bless the people in his name and to be judges in all legal cases, whether property or injury is involved.

6 The town leaders will wash their hands over the body of the dead cow 7 and say, “We had no part in this murder, and we don’t know who did it. 8-9 But since an innocent person was murdered, we beg you, our Lord, to accept this sacrifice and forgive Israel. We are your people, and you rescued us. Please don’t hold this crime against us.”

If you obey the Lord and do these things, he will forgive Israel.

Marrying a Woman Taken Prisoner in War

Moses said to Israel:

10 From time to time, you men will serve as soldiers and go off to war. The Lord your God will help you defeat your enemies, and you will take many prisoners. 11-13 One of these prisoners may be a beautiful woman, and you may want to marry her. But first you must bring her into your home, and have her shave her head, cut her nails, get rid of her foreign clothes, and start wearing Israelite clothes. She will mourn a month for her father and mother, then you can marry her.

14 Later on, if you are not happy with the woman, you can divorce her, and she can go free. But you have slept with her as your wife, so you cannot sell her as a slave or make her into your own slave.

Rights of a First-Born Son

Moses said to Israel:

15-17 Suppose a man has two wives and loves one more than the other. The first son of either wife is the man’s first-born son, even if the boy’s mother is the wife the man doesn’t love. Later, when the man is near death and is dividing up his property, he must give a double share to his first-born son, simply because he was the first to be born.

A Son Who Rebels

Moses said to Israel:

18 A father and a mother may have a stubborn and rebellious son who refuses to obey them even after he has been punished. 19 If a son is like that, his parents must drag him to the town gate, where the leaders of the town hold their meetings. 20 The parents will tell the leaders, “This son of ours is stubborn and never obeys. He spends all his time drinking and partying.”

21 The men of the town will stone that son to death, because they must get rid of the evil he brought into the community. Everyone in Israel will be afraid when they hear how he was punished.

The Body of a Criminal

Moses said to Israel:

22 If a criminal is put to death, and you hang the dead body on a tree, 23 you must not let it hang there overnight. Bury it the same day, because the dead body of a criminal will bring God’s curse on the land. The Lord your God is giving this land to you, so don’t make it unclean by leaving the bodies of executed criminals on display.

Helping Others

Moses said to Israel:

22 If you see a cow or sheep wandering around lost, take the animal back to its owner. 2 If the owner lives too far away, or if you don’t know who the owner is, take the animal home with you and take care of it. The owner will come looking for the animal, and then you can give it back. 3 That’s what you should do if you find anything that belongs to someone else. Do whatever you can to help, whether you find a cow or sheep or donkey or some clothing.

4 Oxen and donkeys that carry heavy loads can stumble and fall, and be unable to get up by themselves. So as you walk along the road, help anyone who is trying to get an ox or donkey back on its feet.

Don’t Pretend To Be the Opposite Sex

Moses said to Israel:

5 Women must not pretend to be men, and men must not pretend to be women.[b] The Lord your God is disgusted with people who do that.

Don’t Take a Mother Bird

Moses said to Israel:

6-7 As you walk along the road, you might see a bird’s nest in a tree or on the ground. If the mother bird is in the nest with either her eggs or her baby birds, you are allowed to take the baby birds or the eggs, but not the mother bird. Let her go free, and the Lord will bless you with a long and successful life.

Put a Wall around Your Flat Roof

8 If you build a house, make sure to put a low wall around the edge of the flat roof.[c] Then if someone falls off the roof and is killed, it won’t be your fault.

Laws against Mixing Different Things

Moses said to Israel:

9 If you plant a vineyard, don’t plant any other fruit tree or crop in it. If you do plant something else there, you must bring to the place of worship everything you harvest from the vineyard.

10 Don’t hitch an ox and a donkey to your plow at the same time.

11 When you weave cloth for clothing, you can use thread made of flax[d] or wool, but not both together. 12 And when you make a coat, sew a tassel on each of the four corners.

When a Husband Accuses His Wife

Moses said to Israel:

13 Suppose a man starts hating his wife soon after they are married. 14 He might tell ugly lies about her, and say, “I married this woman, but when we slept together, I found out she wasn’t a virgin.”

15 If this happens, the bride’s father and mother must go to the town gate to show the town leaders the proof that the woman was a virgin. 16 Her father will say, “I let my daughter marry this man, but he started hating her 17 and accusing her of not being a virgin. But he is wrong, because here is proof that she was a virgin!” Then the bride’s parents will show them the bed sheet from the woman’s wedding night.

18 The town leaders will beat the man with a whip 19 because he accused his bride of not being a virgin. He will have to pay her father one hundred pieces of silver and will never be allowed to divorce her.

20 But if the man was right and there is no proof that his bride was a virgin, 21 the men of the town will take the woman to the door of her father’s house and stone her to death.

This woman brought evil into your community by sleeping with someone before she got married, and you must get rid of that evil by killing her.

Laws about Illegal Sex

Moses said:

22 People of Israel, if a man is caught having sex with someone else’s wife, you must put them both to death. That way, you will get rid of the evil they have done in Israel.

23-24 If a man is caught in town having sex with an engaged woman who isn’t screaming for help, they both must be put to death. The man is guilty of having sex with a married woman.[e] And the woman is guilty because she didn’t call for help, even though she was inside a town and people were nearby. Take them both to the town gate and stone them to death. You must get rid of the evil they brought into your community.

25 If an engaged woman is raped out in the country, only the man will be put to death. 26 Do not punish the woman at all; she has done nothing wrong, and certainly nothing deserving death. This crime is like murder, 27 because the woman was alone out in the country when the man attacked her. She screamed, but there was no one to help her.

28 Suppose a woman isn’t engaged to be married, and a man talks her into sleeping with him. If they are caught, 29 they will be forced to get married. He must give her father fifty pieces of silver as a bride-price and[f] can never divorce her.

30 A man must not marry a woman who was married to his father. This would be a disgrace to his father.

Footnotes:

  1. 21.3 young cow. . . work: Cows and oxen pulled plows and wagons.
  2. 22.5 pretend to be men. . . pretend to be women: Or “wear men’s clothing. . . wear women’s clothing.”
  3. 22.8 flat roof: Houses usually had flat roofs. In hot dry weather, it was cooler on the roof than in the house, and so roofs were used for sleeping and living quarters, and for entertaining guests.
  4. 22.11 flax: The stalks of flax plants were harvested, soaked in water, and dried, then their fibers were separated and spun into thread, which was woven into linen cloth.
  5. 22.23,24 engaged woman. . . married woman: An engaged woman was legally married, but had not yet slept with her husband or started living with him.
  6. 22.28,29 talks her into sleeping with him. . . bride-price and: Or “forces her to have sex. 29 Then if they are caught, he will have to marry her. He must give her father fifty pieces of silver as a bride-price and.”
Contemporary English Version (CEV)

Copyright © 1995 by American Bible Society

Luke 9:51-10:12

A Samaritan Village Refuses To Receive Jesus

51 Not long before it was time for Jesus to be taken up to heaven, he made up his mind to go to Jerusalem. 52 He sent some messengers on ahead to a Samaritan village to get things ready for him. 53 But he was on his way to Jerusalem, so the people there refused to welcome him. 54 When the disciples James and John saw what was happening, they asked, “Lord, do you want us to call down fire from heaven to destroy these people?”[a]

55 But Jesus turned and corrected them for what they had said.[b] 56 Then they all went on to another village.

Three People Who Wanted To Be Followers

57 Along the way someone said to Jesus, “I’ll go anywhere with you!”

58 Jesus said, “Foxes have dens, and birds have nests, but the Son of Man doesn’t have a place to call his own.”

59 Jesus told someone else to come with him. But the man said, “Lord, let me wait until I bury my father.”[c]

60 Jesus answered, “Let the dead take care of the dead, while you go and tell about God’s kingdom.”

61 Then someone said to Jesus, “I want to go with you, Lord, but first let me go back and take care of things at home.”

62 Jesus answered, “Anyone who starts plowing and keeps looking back isn’t worth a thing to God’s kingdom!”

The Work of the Seventy-Two Followers

10 Later the Lord chose seventy-two[d] other followers and sent them out two by two to every town and village where he was about to go. 2 He said to them:

A large crop is in the fields, but there are only a few workers. Ask the Lord in charge of the harvest to send out workers to bring it in. 3 Now go, but remember, I am sending you like lambs into a pack of wolves. 4 Don’t take along a moneybag or a traveling bag or sandals. And don’t waste time greeting people on the road.[e] 5 As soon as you enter a home, say, “God bless this home with peace.” 6 If the people living there are peace-loving, your prayer for peace will bless them. But if they are not peace-loving, your prayer will return to you. 7 Stay with the same family, eating and drinking whatever they give you, because workers are worth what they earn. Don’t move around from house to house.

8 If the people of a town welcome you, eat whatever they offer. 9 Heal their sick and say, “God’s kingdom will soon be here!”[f]

10 But if the people of a town refuse to welcome you, go out into the street and say, 11 “We are shaking the dust from our feet[g] as a warning to you. And you can be sure that God’s kingdom will soon be here!”[h] 12 I tell you that on the day of judgment the people of Sodom will get off easier than the people of that town!

Footnotes:

  1. 9.54 to destroy these people: Some manuscripts add “as Elijah did.”
  2. 9.55 what they had said: Some manuscripts add, “and said, ‘Don’t you know what spirit you belong to? The Son of Man did not come to destroy people’s lives, but to save them.’ “
  3. 9.59 bury my father: The Jewish people taught that giving someone a proper burial was even more important than helping the poor.
  4. 10.1 seventy-two: Some manuscripts have “seventy.” According to Jewish tradition, there were seventy nations on earth. But the ancient Greek translation of the Old Testament has “seventy-two” in place of “seventy.” Jesus probably chose this number of followers to show that his message was for everyone in the world.
  5. 10.4 waste time greeting people on the road: In those days a polite greeting could take a long time.
  6. 10.9 will soon be here: Or “is already here.”
  7. 10.11 shaking the dust from our feet: This was a way of showing rejection.
  8. 10.11 will soon be here: Or “is already here.”
Contemporary English Version (CEV)

Copyright © 1995 by American Bible Society

Psalm 74

(A special psalm by Asaph.)

A Prayer for the Nation in Times of Trouble

74 Our God, why have you
completely rejected us?
Why are you so angry
with the ones you care for?
2 Remember the people
you rescued long ago,
the tribe you chose
to be your very own.

Think of Mount Zion,
your home;
3 walk over to the temple
left in ruins forever
by those who hate us.

4 Your enemies roared like lions
in your holy temple,
and they have placed
their banners there.
5 It looks like a forest
chopped to pieces.[a]
6 They used axes and hatchets
to smash the carvings.
7 They burned down your temple
and badly disgraced it.
8 They said to themselves,
“We’ll crush them!”
Then they burned every one
of your meeting places
all over the country.
9 There are no more miracles
and no more prophets.
Who knows how long
it will be like this?

10 Our God, how much longer
will our enemies sneer?
Won’t they ever stop
insulting you?
11 Why don’t you punish them?
Why are you holding back?

12 Our God and King,
you have ruled
since ancient times;
you have won victories
everywhere on this earth.
13 By your power you made a path
through the sea,
and you smashed the heads
of sea monsters.
14 You crushed the heads
of the monster Leviathan,[b]
then fed him to wild creatures
in the desert.
15 You opened the ground
for streams and springs
and dried up mighty rivers.
16 You rule the day and the night,
and you put the moon
and the sun in place.
17 You made summer and winter
and gave them to the earth.[c]

18 Remember your enemies, Lord!
They foolishly sneer
and won’t respect you.
19 You treat us like pet doves,
but they mistreat us.
Don’t keep forgetting us
and letting us be fed
to those wild animals.
20 Remember the agreement
you made with us.
Violent enemies are hiding
in every dark corner
of the earth.
21 Don’t disappoint those in need
or make them turn from you,
but help the poor and homeless
to shout your praises.
22 Do something, God!
Defend yourself.
Remember how those fools
sneer at you all day long.
23 Don’t forget the loud shouts
of your enemies.

Footnotes:

  1. 74.5 pieces: One meaning for the difficult Hebrew text of verse 5.
  2. 74.14 Leviathan: God’s victory over this monster sometimes stands for his power over all creation and sometimes for his defeat of Egypt.
  3. 74.17 gave. . . earth: Or “made boundaries for the earth.”
Contemporary English Version (CEV)

Copyright © 1995 by American Bible Society

Proverbs 12:11

11 Hard working farmers have more
than enough food;
daydreamers are nothing more
than stupid fools.

Contemporary English Version (CEV)

Copyright © 1995 by American Bible Society

Posted on

04/01/2021 DAB Transcript

Deuteronomy 18:1-20:20, Luke 9:28-50, Psalms 73:1-28, Proverbs 12:10

Welcome to the Daily Audio Bible I’m China today is the first day of April welcome. If you are unfamiliar with my voice. I’m China. There’s a start. I am Brian and Jill’s daughter. For the past three years I was the voice of the Daily Audio Bible Chronological and I stepped away this year because any day now I’m havin’ a baby. So, gosh it’s so good to be here to fill in for my dad. And I mean, it’s kind of Daily Audio Bible tradition to do a little something different on April Fools’ Day. And there's…there’s no tricks, it’s just me. But it's…it’s good to be here with you guys and just to give a little check in and say all is well with me, and baby, and with my husband Ben. We are super blessed by the Lord and just waiting in pure anticipation for our little girl to get here any day that she wants to. April is our due month so we will…we will see when that will be to. So, I have the honor of getting to read with you guys today. Today we  are in the book of Deuteronomy with chapters 18 through 20, the book of Luke chapter 19 starting in verse 28 going to 50, Psalm 73, and Proverbs 12:10 and this week we are in the Contemporary English Version.

Commentary:

Wow, I really love Proverbs today. That’s so good. There is a dog rescue in the town that I live in that is based off of this Scripture. I remember looking it up once and reading this Scripture. So, that is…its profound…it’s in God’s word. He…he’s saying be kind to my animals. Don’t be mean. Don’t be cruel. I made them. I love them. It’s so fun reading a different reading plan because really for the past…I mean this the DAB Chronological’s fourth year in existence but…so I read it for three years and the year before that I was doing Daily Audio Bible teens and I had experimented, like that was the year to experiment with a new reading plan and I tested out the chronological and fell in love with it. And, so, reading this way is…is very different going from the Old Testament and then jumping into the New Testament and reading Proverbs and Psalms I…I love that. I’m always drawn into the stories of Jesus with His people because it just makes Him feel so much more close and real and even the things that you believing about Him that may or may not be in the fullness of who He is, when your reading the Scripture your Spirit is coming face-to-face with “this is the truth.” And even if you don’t believe it, guess what, it’s still the truth. And, so, reading about the true glory of Jesus. Like, have you ever been with someone and they’re just like praying and you’re in the room with them and then they turn white? Not only dos their face change but what they were wearing before isn’t what they’re wearing now and their shining white. Like, that’s never happened to me so I’m sure Peter, John, and James were all like, “okay. Something insane is happening right now and we are in the true glory of Jesus.” Like, that’s amazing and I’m not sure if they really fully grasped that until maybe after His death and they were trying to remember all the…the times that they had with Jesus that they were trying to recall and recount. Like, remember that one time we were all with…you know…it was me and the other two people…whoever’s telling the story and like the fullness of Jesus’s glory was upon us? That's…that’s truly like…there isn’t a word for it. It just kinda gives you a little bit of envy, if anything. Like, wow, that’s…that’s what I want to encounter Lord. That’s what I want to be with you in. And here’s the sweet reality is, that’s available to us. that wasn’t just for those three. It’s available for all of us. The good news is that He sent us His son, the Lord sent us His son and then after He ascended back into heaven, He gave us His Spirit. So, not only were we set for life but now we’re like really set. When I really start thinking about all those things the week of holy week, which I know that’s what we’re in right now. And, so, there’s always a lot of emotions that get brought up in my heart just because it’s to be reverence, it’s to be revered and held in…in wonder and awe and also just like, man I just don’t understand like totally everything that went down but I’m in the mystery of it and I’m in the wonder and the awe of it and I’m learning about who Jesus is and I’m reading about people testifying to the true glory of Jesus. And as if that wasn’t like wild enough they…they, you know, like the next day Jesus is healing this little boy and He’s addressing people’s faith and He’s addressing people’s humility and wondering why they want to be the greatest and it all is just pointing back to His character, His heart, who He knows He is and what He believes the Father sent Him to do. And I love these stories. I love reading the Old Testament because it really sets you up for understanding that we needed a savior genuinely and we still actively do. And then when we jump into the New Testament and we read about who Jesus is, man I don’t know how you can’t read these stories and not just completely fall in love with Him because of His kindness because of His is nature because of the authority that He just carried. He didn’t need to prove it by being the loudest in the room or by barking certain things. He just was who He was and that was enough. And, so, while we’re in holy week as we come to kind of an end where…where it’s like the weekend eve, I like to call it, man may we just really posture our hearts well. We don’t have to whip ourselves into some emotions that aren’t real, that we’re not like really feeling, but maybe be present and attentive with what is going on in our hearts, what are these emotions that are coming up. And I encourage you just to really read through the scripture that talks about Jesus, His last week, the holy week and allow yourself to really have that wonder and awe. And it’s okay if you don’t fully understand everything. Jesus constantly says, “let the little children come to me.” And that’s how we’re supposed to come to Him. And guess what, kids, they don’t always super understand everything the first times it’s said to them. And, so, I don’t think that the Lord is expecting that you would just totally grasp everything the first time that you hear it or the third time that you hear it. Like He’s patient with us. He understands the human mind and the human heart. He created it.

Prayer:

Father, I just thank You that You are for us. Your word today told us that there are more for us than there are against us, that someone is for us. And I just thank You that You are for us. I thank You so much that that’s the sweet truth and a suite reality, that You are for us, You love us. I thank You that in our conversation this past week talking about how this is Your week You reminded me that this week is for me, it’s for us. That’s exactly why You did it, is for us. And Lord I just thank You for the beautiful and sweet truth is, that You didn’t just come and live a great story and do great things, but You left a great legacy and then You sent us Your spirit and said that we could do even greater works than You. And, so, we just are attentive of our heats, we’re attentive of our minds and we take every thought captive, and we make it obedient to Christ and we choose to be present with You. And as our minds wander may we softly bring them back to You. Lord, I pray that we wouldn’t miss the things of this week, that we celebrate in reverence and honor what happened 2000 years ago. And may we hold this this week in true holy reverence for who You are because You are more than deserving and we thank You for who You are Lord. And it’s in Your name we pray. Amen.

Announcements:

Well, this was so fun. It was so good to be back and reading and man this is like, when…when do I get to come back? I love this and I’ve so enjoyed getting to step in for the day. Like I said, no jokes, no fooling here. Just wanted to come on and thank you all for praying for me and my family as our lives are totally about to change. And, gosh, I’m waiting in anticipation and wonder and awe and trying to come in childlike faith and not have it all figured out, parenthood or even just trying to know when she’s coming. That’s been the hard part. But we trust the Lord and that’s where our trust and hope is in and just believing for wholeness and health of our family and over our sweet one. And, you know, once she’s born, who knows, maybe I’ll come back on and be able to have her in my arms instead of kicking me the whole time I’m reading. She is very, very active and was kicking the whole time during reading. So, it’ll be fun to come on and just share her birth story and maybe she’ll make like a little coo or cute little noise or something…I don’t know. I won’t put that expectation on her. But yes, this…this was sweet. Thank you for letting me into your homes or your cars or your workplaces and reading with you. This was definitely a treat for me.

That is all for today. I’m China you. You are so so loved. I will not be waiting here for you tomorrow. Your regularly scheduled program will resume tomorrow.

Community Prayer and Praise:

Hi, my name is Crystal I’ve been listening to the Daily Audio Bible app for about two years, and this is the first time that I’ve ever called in. So, I would like to say that I would like to have prayer in my life. Just feel like a little bit of a failure with…with my kids lately. I just feel like a little bit. My son turns 18 tomorrow and he’s no longer living at my house with my husband and myself due to him deciding to keep lying to us and breaking the house rules and smoking weed in the house and vaping in the house. And we have other children in the home to think of. So, it’s been hard to deal with not having him here and then just…I don’t think it really hit me how hard that was going to be on me as his mother. I really don’t. But just something happened yesterday, and I really ended up kind of hurting my daughter’s feelings and been struggling with guilt about it since last night and I think it’s kind of been building what’s been going on with my son and I…well my son and the family, not being here, and just more than I think I realized. And I felt like it’s kind of been dammed up and now that it’s kind of broken with me realizing I hurt my daughter’s feelings last night it just really upset me, and I’ve been just crying on and off today about it. Just feel…

Hey, my glorious precious DAB family this is Kingdom Seeker Daniel. In the words of the great Victoria Soldier, I’d like to pray for some of the DABbers beginning with miss Victoria Soldier. So, family let’s pray. Father I lift up our sister your daughter Victoria Soldier as she has a sister-in-law in Germany that is battling some illness and not feeling well. God, we pray that you will be the balm in Germany for this…this sister-in-law and be with a nephew that is incarcerated and having a tough battle of life. Lord would you show up where this young man is and allow him to hear your voice? And God would you begin to restore on both sides or the sister-in-law with her physical health and then for the nephew with his emotional health. And then for Rob Still Worship Dude in Nashville. Man of God I so appreciate you. The first time I’ve heard you call in you just you blessed my soul, and my wife Lady of Victory is in her doctoral program. And, so, I kind of know how you feel just watching her go through. So, I pray that the Lord will strengthen you he would surround you, he would allow you to catch up on your doctoral assignments and also he would favor you with that contract…that independent contract that you got going on. And I’m believing that God is causing all things to work together for your good because I know you love Him as a worship dude. And then DABber Danny, lifting up Micah. Lord be with Micah, continue to strengthen and reveal Yourself to him, save him, and do a work in his life in Jesus’ name. Love you family.

Hello DABbers, this is Sandy up in Ontario I’ve been listening for about 6 years and just introduced this to my friend, my new friend Jill. Can you say hello Jill? Hello. Anyways, we’d like you to pray for Jill’s family and her daughters. Pray protections over her daughters, especially her older daughter. It’s kind of private what’s occurring but you understand what can happen over the Internet and things do occur. So, we just ask prayer over this entire family and we pray for protection, especially over her older daughter named A. And we ask you also to a blessing over Jill herself that she would be held up by Jesus and that God would simply hold her when the boat rocks. And we thank you so much for Daily Audio Bible Brian and for your family and for the music and everything that you guys do. And we ask you all to have a beautiful, blessed day. Amen.

Good morning DAB this is Mommy’s Little Rock from Arkansas. I’m calling today to ask for prayers. A few months ago, I lost my mom in December and it’s been tough. It’s been hard. God has really been giving me the strength to go through each day, but I’ve had a lot of anxiety, a lot of fear of approaching life without my mom. It’s a weird world without my mom. I’m just asking for prayer to help me to continue on feeling like I can endure this life without her. There are so many things I have to do. I was working on a book and my mom knew about it and I just don’t have the desire to complete it. I don’t have the desire to do any of my goals any of the things that I know I should do. So, I just ask you all to pray for me and to pray that I continue being strong. I have great family and support and friends and people that my mom left behind to pray for us. But it’s not like mom, you know? So, I appreciate and love you all. Thank you. Bye-bye.

OK. I just…this is Beloved in Texas and I just want to share a little bit with you so that you can laugh at my expense but also along with me. And Brian feel free to not post this if you feel like this is inapropes but I just want you all…I just felt the need to share a story to make people laugh. So, I’m sitting at work. I work from home and about to go into a virtual meeting and I’d had a rumbly tummy that day and I thought, well, this is just gas. So, I go to release the gas. Turns out to be much more substantial than gas so I’m sitting there with more than gas and my meeting starts. I had to sit through the meeting in my own mess and pretend everything was OK before I could get up and go take a shower after that meeting was over. That was awful and I laughed so hard at myself because I thought, “what in the world? What is wrong with you? You’re a grown person, you hold the job, you pay bills and here you are messing in your own pants.” But I just wanted to share that stupid funny embarrassing story because just because sometimes I think we all just need to laugh and feel free to laugh at me because I was laughing at myself. You all be blessed. I love you. I love hearing from you every day, and I listened to the community prayer and encouragement every week and I’m praying along with all of you and celebrating along with all of you. You all have a wonderful, good rest of the day.

Posted on

The Daily Audio Bible Reading for Thursday April 1, 2021 (NIV)

Deuteronomy 18-20

Special Privileges for Priests and Levites

Moses said to Israel:

18 The people of the Levi tribe, including the priests, will not receive any land. Instead, they will receive part of the sacrifices that are offered to the Lord, 2 because he has promised to provide for them in this way.

3 When you sacrifice a bull or sheep, the priests will be given the shoulder, the jaws, and the stomach.[a] 4 In addition, they will receive the first part of your grain harvest and part of your first batches of wine and olive oil.[b] You must also give them the first wool that is cut from your sheep each year. 5 Give these gifts to the priests, because the Lord has chosen them and their descendants out of all the tribes of Israel to be his special servants at the place of worship.

6 Any Levite can leave his hometown, and go to the place where the Lord chooses to be worshiped, 7 and then be a special servant of the Lord[c] there, just like all the other Levites. 8 Some Levites may have money from selling family possessions, and others may not. But all Levites serving at the place of worship will receive the same amount of food from the sacrifices and gifts brought by the people.

Don’t Do Disgusting Things

Moses said to Israel:

9 Soon you will go into the land that the Lord your God is giving you. The nations that live there do things that are disgusting to the Lord, and you must not follow their example. 10-11 Don’t sacrifice your son or daughter. And don’t try to use any kind of magic or witchcraft to tell fortunes[d] or to cast spells or to talk with spirits of the dead.

12 The Lord is disgusted with anyone who does these things, and that’s why he will help you destroy the nations that are in the land. 13 Never be guilty of doing any of these disgusting things!

A Prophet like Moses

Moses said to Israel:

14 You will go in and take the land from nations that practice magic and witchcraft. But the Lord your God won’t allow you to do those things. 15 Instead, he will choose one of your own people to be a prophet just like me, and you must do what that prophet says. 16 You were asking for a prophet the day you were gathered at Mount Sinai[e] and said to the Lord, “Please don’t let us hear your voice or see this terrible fire again—if we do, we will die!”

17 Then the Lord told me:

Moses, they have said the right thing. 18 So when I want to speak to them, I will choose one of them to be a prophet like you. I will give my message to that prophet, who will tell the people exactly what I have said. 19 Since the message comes from me, anyone who doesn’t obey the message will have to answer to me.

20 But if I haven’t spoken, and a prophet claims to have a message from me, you must kill that prophet, and you must also kill any prophet who claims to have a message from another god.

Moses said to Israel:

21 You may be asking yourselves, “How can we tell if a prophet’s message really comes from the Lord?” 22 You will know, because if the Lord says something will happen, it will happen. And if it doesn’t, you will know that the prophet was falsely claiming to speak for the Lord. Don’t be afraid of any prophet whose message doesn’t come from the Lord.

Safe Towns

Moses said to Israel:

19 Soon you will go into the land and attack the nations. The Lord your God will destroy them and give you their lands, towns, and homes. Then after you are settled, 2-4 you must choose three of your towns to be Safe Towns. Divide the land into three regions with one Safe Town near the middle of each, so that a Safe Town can be easily reached from anywhere in your land.

Then, if one of you accidentally kills someone, you can run to a Safe Town and find protection from being put to death. But you must not have been angry with the person you killed.

5 For example, suppose you and a friend go into the forest to cut wood. You are chopping down a tree with an ax, when the ax head slips off the handle, hits your friend, and kills him. You can run to one of the Safe Towns and save your life. 6 You don’t deserve to die, since you did not mean to harm your friend. But he did get killed, and his relatives might be very angry. They might even choose one of the men from their family to track you down and kill you. If it is too far to one of the Safe Towns, the victim’s relative might be able to catch you and kill you. 7 That’s why I said there must be three Safe Towns.

8-9 Israel, the Lord your God has promised that if you obey his laws and teachings I’m giving you, and if you always love him, then he will give you the land he promised your ancestors. When that happens, you must name three more Safe Towns in the new territory. 10 You will need them, so innocent people won’t be killed on your land while they are trying to reach a Safe Town that is too far away. You will be guilty of murder, if innocent people lose their lives because you didn’t name enough Safe Towns in the land the Lord your God will give you.

11 But what if you really do commit murder? Suppose one of you hates a neighbor. So you wait in a deserted place, kill the neighbor, and run to a Safe Town. 12 If that happens, the leaders of your town must send messengers to bring you back from the Safe Town. They will hand you over to one of the victim’s relatives, who will put you to death.

13 Israel, for the good of the whole country, you must kill anyone who murders an innocent person. Never show mercy to a murderer!

Property Lines

Moses said to Israel:

14 In the land the Lord is giving you, there are already stones set up to mark the property lines between fields. So don’t move those stones.

Witnesses Must Tell the Truth

Moses said to Israel:

15 Before you are convicted of a crime, at least two witnesses must be able to testify that you did it.

16 If you accuse someone of a crime, but seem to be lying, 17-18 then both you and the accused must be taken to the court at the place where the Lord is worshiped. There the priests and judges will find out if you are lying or telling the truth.

If you are lying and the accused is innocent, 19-21 then you will be punished without mercy. You will receive the same punishment the accused would have received if found guilty, whether it means losing an eye, a tooth, a hand, a foot, or even your life.

Israel, the crime of telling lies in court must be punished. And when people hear what happens to witnesses that lie, everyone else who testifies in court will tell the truth.

Laws for Going to War

Moses said to Israel:

20 If you have to go to war, you may find yourselves facing an enemy army that is bigger than yours and that has horses and chariots. But don’t be afraid! The Lord your God rescued you from Egypt, and he will help you fight. 2 Before you march into battle, a priest will go to the front of the army 3 and say, “Soldiers of Israel, listen to me! Today when you go into battle, don’t be afraid of the enemy, and when you see them, don’t panic. 4 The Lord your God will fight alongside you and help you win the battle.”

5 Then the tribal officials will say to the troops:

If any of you have built a new house, but haven’t yet moved in, you may go home. It isn’t right for you to die in battle and for somebody else to live in your new house.

6 If any of you have planted a vineyard but haven’t had your first grape harvest, you may go home. It isn’t right for you to die in battle and for somebody else to enjoy your grapes.

7 If any of you are engaged to be married, you may go back home and get married. It isn’t right for you to die in battle and for somebody else to marry the woman you are engaged to.

8 Finally, if any of you are afraid, you may go home. We don’t want you to discourage the other soldiers.

9 When the officials are finished giving these orders, they will appoint officers to be in command of the army.

10-15 Before you attack a town that is far from your land, offer peace to the people who live there. If they surrender and open their town gates, they will become your slaves. But if they reject your offer of peace and try to fight, surround their town and attack. Then, after the Lord helps you capture it, kill all the men. Take the women and children as slaves and keep the livestock and everything else of value.

16 Whenever you capture towns in the land the Lord your God is giving you, be sure to kill all the people and animals. 17 He has commanded you to completely wipe out the Hittites, the Amorites, the Canaanites, the Perizzites, the Hivites, and the Jebusites. 18 If you allow them to live, they will persuade you to worship their disgusting gods, and you will be unfaithful to the Lord.

19 When you are attacking a town, don’t chop down its fruit trees, not even if you have had the town surrounded for a long time. Fruit trees aren’t your enemies, and they produce food that you can eat, so don’t cut them down. 20 You may need wood to make ladders and towers to help you get over the walls and capture the town. But use only trees that you know are not fruit trees.

Footnotes:

  1. 18.3 stomach: Certain portions of the stomach were considered a delicacy.
  2. 18.4 grain. . . olive oil: An Israelite was supposed to offer the first part of the harvest as a gift to the Lord (see Leviticus 23.10,11).
  3. 18.7 a special servant of the Lord: Or “one of the Lord’s priests.”
  4. 18.10,11 tell fortunes: Fortunetellers thought they could learn secrets or learn about the future by watching the flight of birds or looking at the livers of animals or in many other ways.
  5. 18.16 Mount Sinai: See the note at 1.1-5.
Contemporary English Version (CEV)

Copyright © 1995 by American Bible Society

Luke 9:28-50

The True Glory of Jesus

28 About eight days later Jesus took Peter, John, and James with him and went up on a mountain to pray. 29 While he was praying, his face changed, and his clothes became shining white. 30 Suddenly Moses and Elijah were there speaking with him. 31 They appeared in heavenly glory and talked about all that Jesus' death[a] in Jerusalem would mean.

32 Peter and the other two disciples had been sound asleep. All at once they woke up and saw how glorious Jesus was. They also saw the two men who were with him.

33 Moses and Elijah were about to leave, when Peter said to Jesus, “Master, it is good for us to be here! Let us make three shelters, one for you, one for Moses, and one for Elijah.” But Peter did not know what he was talking about.

34 While Peter was still speaking, a shadow from a cloud passed over them, and they were frightened as the cloud covered them. 35 From the cloud a voice spoke, “This is my chosen Son. Listen to what he says!”

36 After the voice had spoken, Peter, John, and James saw only Jesus. For some time they kept quiet and did not say anything about what they had seen.

Jesus Heals a Boy

37 The next day Jesus and his three disciples came down from the mountain and were met by a large crowd. 38 Just then someone in the crowd shouted, “Teacher, please do something for my son! He is my only child! 39 A demon often attacks him and makes him scream. It shakes him until he foams at the mouth, and it won’t leave him until it has completely worn the boy out. 40 I begged your disciples to force out the demon, but they couldn’t do it.”

41 Jesus said to them, “You people are stubborn and don’t have any faith! How much longer must I be with you? Why do I have to put up with you?”

Then Jesus said to the man, “Bring your son to me.” 42 While the boy was being brought, the demon attacked him and made him shake all over. Jesus ordered the demon to stop. Then he healed the boy and gave him back to his father. 43 Everyone was amazed at God’s great power.

Jesus Again Speaks about His Death

While everyone was still amazed at what Jesus was doing, he said to his disciples, 44 “Pay close attention to what I am telling you! The Son of Man will be handed over to his enemies.” 45 But the disciples did not know what he meant. The meaning was hidden from them. They could not understand it, and they were afraid to ask.

Who Is the Greatest?

46 Jesus' disciples were arguing about which one of them was the greatest. 47 Jesus knew what they were thinking, and he had a child stand there beside him. 48 Then he said to his disciples, “When you welcome even a child because of me, you welcome me. And when you welcome me, you welcome the one who sent me. Whichever one of you is the most humble is the greatest.”

For or against Jesus

49 John said, “Master, we saw a man using your name to force demons out of people. But we told him to stop, because he isn’t one of us.”

50 “Don’t stop him!” Jesus said. “Anyone who isn’t against you is for you.”

Footnotes:

  1. 9.31 Jesus' death: In Greek this is “his departure,” which probably includes his rising to life and his return to heaven.
Contemporary English Version (CEV)

Copyright © 1995 by American Bible Society

Psalm 73

BOOK III

(Psalms 73-89)

(A psalm by Asaph.)

God Is Good

73 God is truly good to Israel,[a]
especially to everyone
with a pure heart.
2 But I almost stumbled and fell,
3 because it made me jealous
to see proud and evil people
and to watch them prosper.
4 They never have to suffer,[b]
they stay healthy,
5 and they don’t have troubles
like everyone else.

6 Their pride is like a necklace,
and they commit sin
more often
than they dress themselves.
7 Their eyes poke out with fat,
and their minds are flooded
with foolish thoughts.
8 They sneer and say cruel things,
and because of their pride,
they make violent threats.
9 They dare to speak against God
and to order others around.

10 God will bring his people back,
and they will drink the water
he so freely gives.[c]

11 Only evil people would say,
“God Most High cannot
know everything!”
12 Yet all goes well for them,
and they live in peace.
13 What good did it do me
to keep my thoughts pure
and refuse to do wrong?
14 I am sick all day,
and I am punished
each morning.
15 If I had said evil things,
I would not have been loyal
to your people.

16 It was hard for me
to understand all this!
17 Then I went to your temple,
and there I understood
what will happen
to my enemies.
18 You will make them stumble,
never to get up again.
19 They will be terrified,
suddenly swept away
and no longer there.
20 They will disappear, Lord,
despised like a bad dream
the morning after.

21 Once I was bitter
and brokenhearted.
22 I was stupid and ignorant,
and I treated you
as a wild animal would.
23 But I never really left you,
and you hold my right hand.
24 Your advice has been my guide,
and later you will welcome me
in glory.[d]
25 In heaven I have only you,
and on this earth
you are all I want.
26 My body and mind may fail,
but you are my strength
and my choice forever.

27 Powerful Lord God,
all who stay far from you
will be lost,
and you will destroy those
who are unfaithful.
28 It is good for me
to be near you.
I choose you as my protector,
and I will tell about
your wonderful deeds.

Footnotes:

  1. 73.1 to Israel: Or “to those who do right.”
  2. 73.4 They. . . suffer: Or “They die a painless death.”
  3. 73.10 gives: One possible meaning for the difficult Hebrew text of verse 10.
  4. 73.24 in glory: Or “with honor.”
Contemporary English Version (CEV)

Copyright © 1995 by American Bible Society

Proverbs 12:10

10 Good people are kind
to their animals,
but a mean person is cruel.

Contemporary English Version (CEV)

Copyright © 1995 by American Bible Society

Posted on

03/31/2021 DAB Transcript

Deuteronomy 16:1-17:20, Luke 9:7-27, Psalms 72:1-20, Proverbs 12:8-9

Today is the 31st day of March welcome to the Daily Audio Bible I’m Brian it is great to be here with you. If it’s the 31st day of March then it’s the last day of March and that’s what it is, the last day of the third month of the year. So, the last day of March, the last day of the first quarter of the year. Whew! Can you believe it? It’s just so weird, time. It’s just so elastic. It just…because I’m gonna be we saying the same thing to you in six months or whatever and it’s gonna be October and it will be like wasn’t it just…wasn’t it just March? But here we are. This is how it works. We just keep showing up. This is how it works. Show up, take the next step forward, show up, take the next step forward and we move all the way through the year together in community and through the Bible. And what a year it’s been so far. So, anyway last day of the year. Congratulations for making it this far. If you have made it this far there is…you can do this. Like, it’s not a matter of whether you could or couldn’t anymore. You can. You’ve made it a quarter of the year. We’ve got this. And, so, let’s dive in. We are in the book of Deuteronomy as we reach the conclusion of our first quarter of the year. Moses is speaking. Moses is the speaker in all of Deuteronomy. These are the things that he needs to say before he is no longer the leader of this people before the transition of power or authority is bestowed upon Joshua and Moses becomes a part of history. And, so, Moses has everyone’s attention. He has led them every step of the way and he’s reviewing a lot of things and we’re reviewing a lot of the key aspects of the law at this point. Deuteronomy chapters 16 and 17.

Commentary:

Okay. So, we’ve already talked about how this is the last day the month, it’s the last day of the quarter. And, yeah, we’ll flip the page and tomorrow will be a new month and a new quarter and then the day after tomorrow will be good Friday. And, so, we’re in the middle of holy week and we’re coming to the end of the Lenten season for those who have kind of engaged in it to some degree. And we…we’re  moving toward Easter. And we very, very often just move past all of the holy week stuff, the contemplation of…of the sacrifice and just move into Easter and we’ve talked about that before too, about not doing that. And, so, this is kind of one of those times because we’re seeing this story where Jesus goes to Caesarea Philippi. And we talked about this story already but the question that comes out of the story - “who do you say that I am?” - there’s not is not a more important question than that, maybe in life. But right now, as we are moving forward, moving forward into new seasons, and embracing where we are as…as we observe Good Friday and think of Jesus crucifixion and His death. And on Saturday just sitting with the loss, basically, because Jesus died and was laid in a tomb and laid in the tomb dead. Like all is lost and then all things are made new. And yet this question, “Who do you say that I am?” sort of burns its way through all of that and continues to come front and center because the answer to that question really truly dictates the trajectory of our entire life. And, so, it’s fitting that we would cross this territory as we prepare to leave this quarter behind and move into a new month and move directly into Easter, that this question would sit there like the bookend at the end of a quarter, almost like everything that we have read and learned and thought about and contemplated in the Scriptures up to this point, almost like everything has been leading us to this question.

Prayer:

Jesus, we embrace that fully. We could answer like Peter, You are the Messiah, You are the son of the living God, and that is true, that is our declaration. And yet, how would we…where would we even start if we needed to say all that You are because You are more than we can say and You are more than enough. And yet even declaring that to You in a statement of worship it’s also a convicting thing because we can say You are more than enough and then look at the way we live as if that’s anything but true. And, so, this question “who do what You say that I am?” really does dictate where we’re going. We want to embrace that today and over the next several days as we move into and through the Easter celebration. What is our lives saying? Who do we say that You are? Come Holy Spirit into that question. Lead us down the pathways of our own hearts we pray in Jesus’ name. Amen.

Announcements:

dailyaudiobible.com is home base, it’s the website, it’s where you find out what’s going on around here. Of course, as I’ve mentioned many times if you are using the Daily Audio Bible app you can access these things from there as well by using the Drawer icon in the upper left-hand corner.

So, yeah, check out the Community section. This is where the Prayer Wall is. This is where we get connected.

Check out the Daily Audio Bible Shop. This is where there are resources in many different categories that we’ve developed over the years for the journey. This particular one, the one that we’re on, the one that is a voyage through a year and across the entire Bible, so that…well…by the time we’re done we’ve read every word, every sentence, every paragraph, every verse. And it’s a big book. And, so, taking a journey through a year and investing a year of life together in community to take this journey, there are many resources for that journey in the Daily Audio Bible Shop. So, check that out.

If you want to partner with the Daily Audio Bible, if this mission that we share to bring the spoken word of God read fresh every day and given freely to anyone who will listen to it anywhere on this planet any time of day or night and to build community around that rhythm so that we know we’re not alone on this journey, we’re together and we’re going through the same kinds of stuff our brothers and sisters are going through all around the world. And just have that solidarity as we take this journey is so important and so meaningful. And if that’s been true for you, it’s important and meaningful than thank you for your partnership. There is 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 the mailing address, if that’s your preference, 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, which is the little red button up 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.

Community Prayer and Praise:

Hello this is Mountain Girl from New Mexico I just want to thank Brian and Jill and everyone that’s involved in the Daily Audio Bible. I’ve been listening for 12 years and it has become a major part of my life. I would like to pray for Phil. Father I ask that You’d bless his son Andrew who is having open heart surgery. I pray for guidance and wisdom for the doctors, and I pray for healing for Andrew, and I pray that You’d lead and guide Phil. Kingdom Seeker Daniel, I pray for his son Daniel and his mental illness and I just pray for healing for his mind Father. You are a great healer and I ask You to heal his mind. I pray for the lady that called in and sang tis so sweet to trust in Jesus. That was absolutely beautiful. Thank you. Miley from Canada who’s retiring from being a family doctor and persecuted for her faith. I just pray for guidance for you and for wisdom and the Lord would lead you to exactly what He wants you to do. Marla from Kentucky whose friend Steve had a stroke. I pray for healing. I pray Lord that You would help him and help him to recover, and I just pray that everyone involved would become closer to You through this trial. C with postpartum and the kids and her husband, Lord I just pray for emotional healing for emotional support. I pray Lord that You would help them and that You would heal her and guide her. For redeemed Rachel whose pastors leaving in a cross-country move. I pray Lord that so many changes but that you would be her constant through all this and that You would be her rock. Jaws of Life in New Hampshire, I pray for you marriage and I pray that God would heal your marriage. I pray that He would be the steady force in your life that would heal. In Jesus’ name. Amen.

Heidi DAB Family this is Laura in South Florida. Today is the 28th day of March and this morning I heard a prayer request from someone who did not give their name, but it was a girl who is dealing with a sexual sin. And I just want to tell you dear sister whenever you ask God for to forgive you, He forgives. God is always honest and always truthful. Whatever He says is true and He says if you confess your sins, He is faithful and just to forgive your sin and to cleanse you from all unrighteousness. My sweet sister you are forgiven. I love that word, forgiven. Believe me, I have…I have asked God to forgive me many times and I…I am so grateful for his forgiveness. And I just pray sister that you would just…just every time you feel an urge to sin that you would just say God, I can’t do this without You. Please God Holy Spirit give me Your strength to do this and thank You Jesus.

Good morning Daily Audio Bible family my name is Julie I’ve been listening for many years, but this is the first time this introvert has called in and I just wanted to call because as we’re reading through Deuteronomy and listening to Moses his words for the people I can’t help but think, you know, see what a compassionate person he is. Here he is not going into the promised land because of them yet he still loves them dearly and is still trying to teach them so that they can be successful. It’s just…it is so wonderful, and I feel that this community is Moses too. I feel that we’re a compassionate people, the body of God helping each other, praying for each other. And I just wanted to call and say thank you to all of you are there for this community and keep…keep calling in with your praise reports, keep calling in with your prayers and, who knows, I might call in yet again. It only took four months this year before I made the commitment that I was. So maybe…maybe it won’t take another four months for me to call in again but love you all. Thank you.

Hi DAB family this is your sister Julie from North Idaho. I just wanted to call and encourage my little sister that called and didn’t leave her name on the podcast that was on March 28th. Sweetheart, thank you so much for making yourself vulnerable to the rest of us and you are in a safe place. And you called and asked the right people to help you out. We’re your brothers and sisters in Christ and we support you and we absolutely encourage you and want to thank you for asking for forgiveness. Honey, you’re forgiven, first through the eyes of Jesus and then through your brothers and sisters in Christ in this DAB family. And we also want you to know that while you have been forgiven you need to forgive yourself sweetheart. And sometimes that’s so much harder than asking for forgiveness from others. You need to know that you are washed and cleansed by the blood of Jesus, that He no longer counts your sin against you, and that just the fact that you are emotionally and spiritually asking for forgiveness and to be healed and restored, honey, know that it’s already been done as soon as you asked Him. Lord we ask that you heal and restore our little sister. You know who…what her name is Lord and we just pray for deliverance and we pray for emotional healing, spiritual healing, and physical healing. To you be all glory honesty and honor Lord Jesus. We love you and honor you and thank you for hearing our prayer and putting your protection at our you’re covering over our little sister. May she live in freedom praising you and thanking you for being her Lord and savior. We ask this in Jesus’ name. Amen. I love you my brothers and sisters in Christ. Have a wonderful day and happy Easter. He is risen!

This is Candace from Oregon I’m gonna be asking prayers for Karen in Florida but before I do that I just want to say that in my own life, I’m 64 years old now, but I had children starting as a very, very young person first one born when I was 21 and my husband was a really, really great husband a really good provider, did not have as much of a vision as a parent. He didn’t ever, you know, get up in the middle of the night with a baby or change a diaper. He didn't…that just wasn’t his desire or his thing. He didn’t go, you know, throw a ball with his boy or anything like that. So, I raised these three kids alone…also because he was working 70- or 80-hour weeks or off and he was in Asia or traveling somewhere far away. So, I raised them alone although we had materially what we needed. And, so, it was a great relief to me when I turned…we both turned 58 and he retired early. And at the time our oldest child was living here with us with her 3-year-old son and they lived here with us for three years that it was just really wonderful to parent this little boy together rather than me just alone. And, you know, it was really three of us parenting this little boy which was delightful. So, Lord I pray for Karen in Florida, a single grandma raising a 13-year-old in a high…she’s in a highly demanding job. The 13-year-old is homeschooling, she’s raising a 3-bedroom household by herself. So, Lord lift her up, be her husband, make this go incredibly smoothly. Let her feel Your support around her at all times and Your guidance and Your provision and we ask this in Jesus’ name.

Posted on

The Daily Audio Bible Reading for Wednesday March 31, 2021 (NIV)

Deuteronomy 16-17

Passover

Moses said:

16 People of Israel, you must celebrate Passover in the month of Abib,[a] because one night in that month years ago, the Lord your God rescued you from Egypt. 2 The Passover sacrifice must be a cow, a sheep, or a goat, and you must offer it at the place where the Lord chooses to be worshiped. 3-4 Eat all of the meat of the Passover sacrifice that same night. But don’t serve bread made with yeast at the Passover meal. Serve the same kind of thin bread that you ate when you were slaves suffering in Egypt[b] and when you had to leave Egypt quickly. As long as you live, this thin bread will remind you of the day you left Egypt.

For seven days following Passover,[c] don’t make any bread with yeast. In fact, there should be no yeast anywhere in Israel.

5 Don’t offer the Passover sacrifice in just any town where you happen to live. 6 It must be offered at the place where the Lord chooses to be worshiped. Kill the sacrifice at sunset, the time of day when you left Egypt.[d] 7 Then cook it and eat it there at the place of worship, returning to your tents the next morning.

8 Eat thin bread for the next six days. Then on the seventh day, don’t do any work. Instead, come together and worship the Lord.

The Harvest Festival

Moses said to Israel:

9 Seven weeks after you start your grain harvest, 10-11 go to the place where the Lord chooses to be worshiped and celebrate the Harvest Festival[e] in honor of the Lord your God. Bring him an offering as large as you can afford, depending on how big a harvest he has given you. Be sure to take along your sons and daughters and all your servants. Also invite the poor, including Levites, foreigners, orphans, and widows. 12 Remember that you used to be slaves in Egypt, so obey these laws.

The Festival of Shelters

Moses said to Israel:

13-15 After you have finished the grain harvest and the grape harvest,[f] take your sons and daughters and all your servants to the place where the Lord chooses to be worshiped. Celebrate the Festival of Shelters for seven days. Also invite the poor, including Levites, foreigners, orphans, and widows.

The Lord will give you big harvests and make you successful in everything you do. You will be completely happy, so celebrate this festival in honor of the Lord your God.

Three Festivals at the Place of Worship

Moses said:

16 Each year there are three festivals when all Israelite men must go to the place where the Lord chooses to be worshiped. These are the Festival of Thin Bread, the Harvest Festival,[g] and the Festival of Shelters. And don’t forget to take along a gift for the Lord. 17 The bigger the harvest the Lord gives you, the bigger your gift should be.

Treat Everyone with Justice

Moses said to Israel:

18-19 After you are settled in the towns that you will receive from the Lord your God, the people in each town must appoint judges and other officers. Those of you that become judges must be completely fair when you make legal decisions, even if someone important is involved. Don’t take bribes to give unfair decisions. Bribes keep people who are wise from seeing the truth and turn honest people into liars.[h]

20 People of Israel, if you want to enjoy a long and successful life, make sure that everyone is treated with justice in the land the Lord is giving you.

Don’t Set Up Sacred Poles or Stones

Moses said to Israel:

21 When you build the altar for offering sacrifices to the Lord your God, don’t set up a sacred pole[i] for the worship of the goddess Asherah. 22 And don’t set up a sacred stone! The Lord hates these things.

Sacrifices That Have Something Wrong with Them

Moses said to Israel:

17 If an ox or a sheep has something wrong with it, don’t offer it as a sacrifice to the Lord your God—he will be disgusted!

Put To Death People Who Worship Idols

Moses said to Israel:

2-3 The Lord your God is giving you towns to live in. But later, a man or a woman in your town may start worshiping other gods, or even the sun, moon, or stars.[j] I have warned you not to worship other gods, because whoever worships them is disobeying the Lord and breaking the agreement he made with you. 4 So when you hear that someone in your town is committing this disgusting sin, you must carefully find out if that person really is guilty. 5-7 But you will need two or three witnesses—one witness isn’t enough to prove a person guilty.

Get rid of those who are guilty of such evil. Take them outside your town gates and have everyone stone them to death. But the witnesses must be the first to throw stones.

Difficult Cases

Moses said to Israel:

8-12 It may be difficult to find out the truth in some legal cases in your town. You may not be able to decide if someone was killed accidentally or murdered. Or you may not be able to tell whether an injury or some property damage was done by accident or on purpose. If the case is too difficult, take it to the court at the place where the Lord your God chooses to be worshiped.

This court will be made up of one judge and several priests[k] who serve at the Lord’s altar. They will explain the law to you and give you their decision about the case. Do exactly what they tell you, or you will be put to death. 13 When other Israelites hear about it, they will be afraid and obey the decisions of the court.

The King

Moses said:

14 People of Israel, after you capture the land the Lord your God is giving you, and after you settle on it, you will say, “We want a king, just like the nations around us.”

15 Go ahead and appoint a king, but make sure that he is an Israelite and that he is the one the Lord has chosen.

16 The king should not have many horses, especially those from Egypt. The Lord has said never to go back there again. 17 And the king must not have a lot of wives—they might tempt him to be unfaithful to the Lord.[l] Finally, the king must not try to get huge amounts of silver and gold.

18 The official copy of God’s laws[m] will be kept by the priests of the Levi tribe. So, as soon as anyone becomes king, he must go to the priests and write out a copy of these laws while they watch. 19 Each day the king must read and obey these laws, so that he will learn to worship the Lord with fear and trembling 20 and not think that he’s better than everyone else.

If the king completely obeys the Lord’s commands, he and his descendants will rule Israel for many years.

Footnotes:

  1. 16.1 in the month of Abib: Abib (also called Nisan), the first month of the Hebrew calendar, from about mid-March to mid-April. Passover was celebrated on the evening of the fourteenth of Abib (see Exodus 12.6; Leviticus 23.4,5).
  2. 16.3,4 the same kind. . . in Egypt: One possible meaning for the difficult Hebrew text.
  3. 16.3,4 seven days following Passover: This period was called the Festival of Thin Bread (see also verse 16).
  4. 16.6 sunset, the time of day when you left Egypt: Or “sunset on the same date as when you left Egypt.”
  5. 16.10,11 Harvest Festival: Traditionally called the “Festival of Weeks,” and known in New Testament times as “Pentecost.”
  6. 16.13-15 After you. . . harvest: Leviticus 23.34 gives the exact date as the fifteenth day of the seventh month of the Hebrew calendar, which would be early in October.
  7. 16.16 Harvest Festival: See the note at 16.10,11.
  8. 16.18,19 turn. . . liars: Or “keep innocent people from getting justice.”
  9. 16.21 sacred pole: See the note at 12.3.
  10. 17.2,3 sun, moon, or stars: Some people thought these were gods and worshiped them.
  11. 17.8-12 several priests: The Hebrew text has “the priests, the Levites” ; priests belonged to the Levi tribe.
  12. 17.17 a lot of wives. . . unfaithful to the Lord: A king would often marry the daughter of another king that he was making a treaty with. These foreign women would naturally want to worship their own gods, and would want their husband the king to do so as well.
  13. 17.18 God’s laws: Or “God’s laws for the king.”
Contemporary English Version (CEV)

Copyright © 1995 by American Bible Society

Luke 9:7-27

Herod Is Worried

7 Herod[a] the ruler heard about all that was happening, and he was worried. Some people were saying that John the Baptist had come back to life. 8 Others were saying that Elijah had come[b] or that one of the prophets from long ago had come back to life. 9 But Herod said, “I had John’s head cut off! Who is this I hear so much about?” Herod was eager to meet Jesus.

Jesus Feeds Five Thousand

10 The apostles came back and told Jesus everything they had done. He then took them with him to the village of Bethsaida, where they could be alone. 11 But a lot of people found out about this and followed him. Jesus welcomed them. He spoke to them about God’s kingdom and healed everyone who was sick.

12 Late in the afternoon the twelve apostles came to Jesus and said, “Send the crowd to the villages and farms around here. They need to find a place to stay and something to eat. There is nothing in this place. It is like a desert!”

13 Jesus answered, “You give them something to eat.”

But they replied, “We have only five small loaves of bread[c] and two fish. If we are going to feed all these people, we will have to go and buy food.” 14 There were about five thousand men in the crowd.

Jesus said to his disciples, “Have the people sit in groups of fifty.” 15 They did this, and all the people sat down. 16 Jesus took the five loaves and the two fish. He looked up toward heaven and blessed the food. Then he broke the bread and fish and handed them to his disciples to give to the people.

17 Everyone ate all they wanted. What was left over filled twelve baskets.

Who Is Jesus?

18 When Jesus was alone praying, his disciples came to him, and he asked them, “What do people say about me?”

19 They answered, “Some say that you are John the Baptist or Elijah[d] or a prophet from long ago who has come back to life.”

20 Jesus then asked them, “But who do you say I am?”

Peter answered, “You are the Messiah sent from God.”

21 Jesus strictly warned his disciples not to tell anyone about this.

Jesus Speaks about His Suffering and Death

22 Jesus told his disciples, “The nation’s leaders, the chief priests, and the teachers of the Law of Moses will make the Son of Man suffer terribly. They will reject him and kill him, but three days later he will rise to life.”

23 Then Jesus said to all the people:

If any of you want to be my followers, you must forget about yourself. You must take up your cross each day and follow me. 24 If you want to save your life,[e] you will destroy it. But if you give up your life for me, you will save it. 25 What will you gain, if you own the whole world but destroy yourself or waste your life? 26 If you are ashamed of me and my message, the Son of Man will be ashamed of you when he comes in his glory and in the glory of his Father and the holy angels. 27 You can be sure that some of the people standing here will not die before they see God’s kingdom.

Footnotes:

  1. 9.7 Herod: Herod Antipas, the son of Herod the Great.
  2. 9.8 Elijah had come: Many of the Jewish people expected the prophet Elijah to come and prepare the way for the Messiah.
  3. 9.13 small loaves of bread: These would have been flat and round or in the shape of a bun.
  4. 9.19 Elijah: See the note at 9.8.
  5. 9.24 life: In verses 24,25 a Greek word which often means “soul” is translated “life” and “yourself.”
Contemporary English Version (CEV)

Copyright © 1995 by American Bible Society

Psalm 72

(By Solomon.)

A Prayer for God To Guide and Help the King

72 Please help the king
to be honest and fair
just like you, our God.
2 Let him be honest and fair
with all your people,
especially the poor.
3 Let peace and justice rule
every mountain and hill.
4 Let the king defend the poor,
rescue the homeless,
and crush
everyone who hurts them.
5 Let the king live[a] forever
like the sun and the moon.
6 Let him be as helpful as rain
that refreshes the meadows
and the ground.
7 Let the king be fair
with everyone,
and let there be peace
until the moon
falls from the sky.

8 Let his kingdom reach
from sea to sea,
from the Euphrates River
across all the earth.
9 Force the desert tribes
to accept his rule,
and make his enemies
crawl in the dirt.
10 Force the rulers of Tarshish[b]
and of the islands
to pay taxes to him.
Make the kings of Sheba
and of Seba[c] bring gifts.
11 Make other rulers bow down
and all nations serve him.

12 Do this because the king
rescues the homeless
when they cry out,
and he helps everyone
who is poor and in need.
13 The king has pity
on the weak and the helpless
and protects those in need.
14 He cares when they hurt,
and he saves them from cruel
and violent deaths.

15 Long live the king!
Give him gold from Sheba.
Always pray for the king
and praise him each day.
16 Let cities overflow with food
and hills be covered with grain,
just like Mount Lebanon.
Let the people in the cities
prosper like wild flowers.
17 May the glory of the king
shine brightly forever
like the sun in the sky.
Let him make nations prosper
and learn to praise him.

18 Lord God of Israel,
we praise you.
Only you can work miracles.
19 We will always praise
your glorious name.
Let your glory be seen
everywhere on earth.
Amen and amen.

20 This ends the prayers
of David, the son of Jesse.

Footnotes:

  1. 72.5 Let the king live: One ancient translation; Hebrew “Let them worship you.”
  2. 72.10 Tarshish: Possibly a city in Spain.
  3. 72.10 Sheba. . . Seba: Sheba may have been a place in what is now southwest Arabia, and Seba may have been in southern Arabia.
Contemporary English Version (CEV)

Copyright © 1995 by American Bible Society

Proverbs 12:8-9

8 Good sense is worthy of praise,
but stupidity is a curse.
9 It’s better to be ordinary
and have only one servant[a]
than to think you are somebody
and starve to death.

Footnotes:

  1. 12.9 It’s. . . servant: Or “It is better just to have an ordinary job.”
Contemporary English Version (CEV)

Copyright © 1995 by American Bible Society

Posted on

03/30/2021 DAB Transcript

Deuteronomy 13:1-15:23, Luke 8:40-9:6, Psalms 71:1-24, Proverbs 12:5-7

Today is the 30th day of March welcome to the Daily Audio Bible I am Brian it’s great to be here with you today on the eve of the last day of the quarter. Yeah…and that’s where we’re at. And I would rather be here with you than anybody else. I’d rather be around this Global Campfire together and God’s word than anywhere else. What a privilege that we can be here no matter where we are and allow the Scriptures to speak into our lives. And they are. We’ve taken the journey this first quarter. They are speaking. And, so, let’s dive in. And we’re reading from the Contemporary English Version this week. Deuteronomy chapters 13, 14, and 15 today. And again, Deuteronomy is Moses last words. This is the important things that he has to say. And, so, we’ll pick up with the story in Deuteronomy chapter 13.

Commentary:

Okay. So, we are kind of in the thick of Jesus ministry now moving alongside of Him in the gospel of Luke and again we’re in the third of the Gospels. We’ve already gone through Matthew and Mark and Luke is the third of the synoptic Gospels. So, they all share some of the same source material. So, these are stories that, in one form or another, a lot of them we’ve encountered before. But this is such a riveting story here. So…so Jesus is back from across the lake, right, where the pigs and all that stuff we were talking about, everybody’s waiting for Him and so he begins to minister and then a synagogue leader comes and his name is Jairus and we know this from what we just read but he’s a leader of the Hebrew people and he’s asking Jesus to come because his only daughter…and doesn’t that just pull…like his only child, she’s 12 and just so sick she’s on the verge of death and there’s not a lot of places to turn. Could Jesus come? Would He come? And He’s willing. And He does. He does head in that direction. And that’s where this very famous story of the woman with the issue of blood and that’s how I grew up learning…learning this story - the woman with the issue of blood. This is where the story takes place. So, it’s not like Jesus is teaching in the synagogue, the woman has…you know…she thinks if I could just get close enough to touch Him. There’s a totally different story happening, and the woman inserts herself…self into the story. Jesus is on His way to Jairus house, time is of the essence because the little 12-year-old girl was on the verge of death, this woman is following along in the crowd and its really, really beautiful because we’ve been reading about clean and unclean and we’ve been moving through Mosaic law, and we have moved through bodily discharges, right? We moved through all of that territory and when these things are occurring or have occurred then there is uncleanness and separation for a period of time of purification and all of this. We are dealing with a woman who has been unclean, every moment of her life for a dozen years. She has been ceremonially unclean. And if we remember the things that we were reading as were moving through and into the Mosaic law we…we have to recall that if you are unclean and you touch somebody then they become unclean too. So, we have a crowd here, we have a rabbi. I mean, we know who Jesus is, but we have this rabbi who is healing people and revealing the kingdom and people are following along and…and she’s in the crowd and she’s unclean. And to make a rabbi unclean, this this could get you beaten up. Like this…this could get you punished in pretty significant ways if there was an issue made of it. And we’ve been dealing with…we’ve been dealing with other rabbis and Pharisees, right, and the Scribes. We sort of have the lay of the land of their kind of attitude, especially their attitudes toward Jesus. So, this woman’s taken a pretty big risk. It’s kind of a measured risk because it’s like, you know, if I just brush Him who’s gonna know and what’s the worst that could happen? Like nothing. The worst that could happen is nothing happens. And, so, she reaches out in faith and she’s healed, and Jesus stops and He’s wondering touched Him. And this whole story is so beautiful because the woman, she’s trying to cower back. Like, she's…this could get her in trouble because she just runs forward and confesses, “yeah, I’m perpetually unclean and now you’re unclean because I touched you on purpose” and all of this. This could get her in trouble, but Jesus is like, “no…no…this isn’t…this isn’t just somebody rubbing up against me about or just the crowd. This is…somebody intentionally touched me, and I felt it and I am aware. The power left me.” And, so, the woman, she does confess and Jesus’ reaction to her is very different than the way that we see the other religious leaders of the time behaving because He’s like, “go in peace daughter. Your faith has made you well. Go in peace.” It's…it’s beautiful. Isn’t that what Jesus has done in all of our lives? Like were we not unclean and completely lost and did He not show mercy upon us? The problem in this story, though, is that that slowed things down. Jesus was on His way somewhere and time was of the essence and this slowed Him down. And in the midst of that the messages came to Jairus that, “your daughter’s dead, that she died. You…you don’t need to bother the rabbi. You don’t need to bother the master anymore.” Now put yourself in Jairus position in the story because you had come pleading and begging for mercy from Jesus and He agreed and He was on His way and there was hope, there was hope there for a second and then…and then this whole incident happened, and she died. So, what do you feel like if you’re Jairus? It would be like hope was snatched from you and it was so close, so close. And Jesus speaks to Jairus, because we can put ourselves there in that story too. It doesn’t have to be the child’s about to die. It’s that moment where we have hope against hope and it looks like…and we’re right…and it could possibly…and then it’s snatched away. And the bitterness and the disappointment in those moments. Jesus speaks to Jairus who’s a person in that moment. His words, “don’t worry. Have faith.” And He continues to tell Jairus, “your daughter…your daughters gonna get well.” And they go to Jairus house and everybody’s outside crying. And there are…there are ancient traditions here where…where mourning, it needed to be loud…like you couldn’t just like post on social media like, “yeah…we’ve had a death in our family” and then everybody can know it. The word would need to spend, and this is a synagogue leader. And, so, there would be people mourning to make noise, like professionally mourning, like to show the depth of sadness that has descended upon this household. And, so, there are people out there that are…that are mourning and actually grieving but there are also people there that are…that are making the noises of grieving, like that…that…that are letting the village, letting the people around know, “death is calling, this is a terrible day.” And, so, Jesus kind of enters into all of that throng and He’s only letting people…a few people in and He looks at the crowd and He tells them, “the child isn’t dead, she’s asleep.” And all of that noise of grief turns to noise of laughter. I quote from the gospel of Luke, “the people laughed at Him because they knew she was dead.” So, that kind of laughter is sarcastic laughter. Like when you think you know something and you’re laughing at somebody because they’re telling you different, that’s kind of a mockery. And that’s what we see going on here. And Jesus goes in and…and the girl wakes up and she’s given back to her parents. But again, here we are in the story. We’re the professional mourners. We’ve had our disadvantages in life. We’ve been knocked around. We think we know how life works now and we’ve had enough heartbreak that we have walls around certain areas of our hearts where nobody can get in so we can’t get hurt anymore, so a set of circumstances can’t arise anymore that will bowl us over. We've…we’ve learned some hard lessons through hard knocks, and we know what’s going on and…and we know that life has beaten certain aspects of who we were to death. And We…we know that there are places in us that we’re just trying to let them go, just let them lie, right? Just let them lie in their grave. To have even hoped in those directions was stupid in the first place. And then maybe the Holy Spirit comes along, and we hear the voice of Jesus, “it’s not dead. It’s just asleep.” What happens in that moment? Does hope arise or do we laugh? Are we like Sarah back in Genesis, which seems like forever ago now? Are we in the tent? And she’s hearing the voice of the Lord, “about this time next year you will have a son.” And she laughed. Like who are we in these stories? Because this reveals our hearts to ourselves. This makes us become self-aware, not self-absorbed, self-aware. We become aware of the things that are driving us and we just are continually reminded that it's…it’s the utter surrender, it’s the complete dependence upon God that gives us freedom. It’s not what we think we know or what we’ve experienced or our knowledge or our wisdom or our accomplishments or our achievements or what we think is in our control. It’s our complete dependence upon God that saves the day. And, so, may we see that in stories of Jesus ministry like we are now. But may we begin to connect those dots so that we can see that the story plays out the same in our own lives if we’re aware and looking for it.

Prayer:

Jesus we…we love You. Could we just start there and maybe just end there? We love You. Where else is there to go? What else matters if we’re not walking with You? But as we get to see Your personality, as we get to see Your character as You minister among the people that’s coming off the pages of the gospel of Luke, we fall even more in love with You. To be like You, this is…this is what we desire. And yet, so often we want to be remade and transformed and be Christlike, but we think that that’s just gonna make us have more power and make our life better but we’re looking at how You bring light into the darkness and how the darkness squirms. And we have to understand that that would be the same story. So, as we are being remade, we are also being strengthened in our faith, because to be remade into Your image is to bring light into the darkness and the darkness will squirm. And we need to know what that looks like and be discerning and aware. And, so, come Holy Spirit we pray. In the name of Jesus, we ask. Amen.

Announcements:

dailyaudiobible.com is home base, it is…it…well…it’s a website, if you’ve ever heard one of those. It’s a website out on this…there’s this new technology called Internet and it’s out there and it’s where the Global Campfire is a burning. And it’s what powers all of the technology that works the Daily Audio Bible app. And, so, check it out.

Stay connected, stay tuned, be aware of the Community section. I mention that often because it’s that important. And that’s where the Prayer Wall is and it’s how to get connected on social media on the different channels that we’re on. So, check that out.

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

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:

[singing starts] I love you Lord and I lift my voice to worship you. O my soul rejoice. Take joy my King in what you hear. Let it be a sweet, sweet sound in your ear. I love you Lord and I lift my voice to worship you. O my soul rejoice. Take joy my King in what you hear. Let it be a sweet, sweet sound in your ears. [singing stops]. Thank you, Jesus. Jesus be with us.

This is Kathy from Kentucky calling to ask for prayer for my neighbor Sharon who’s still grieving the loss of her daughter, my friend Sarah a retired missionary who had a stroke and pray for myself. God is revealing to me some deep issues if I overeat, and I ask for prayers so that I can stop overeating and lose weight. Thank you for praying for me over the years. I’m doing well and I had both my covid shots and I survived covid. And, so, I didn’t get it. So, thank you Jesus for that. Thank you. Kathy from Kentucky.

Hi this is Sandra in Denver calling for Tammy in the Adirondacks. Tammy, I heard your message today that you left on March 9th and I wanted to let you know even though I’m behind in my reading for the year that this could have been a special appointment for the Lord just to pray for you. And I know the tears are coming as you’re grieving so many changes with the ovarian cancer and a hysterectomy and caring for your husband and the kids not coming by as often, but I want to encourage you that the Lord is capturing your tears in His bottles and He loves you so much. And as the tears come, it’s alright, they will. They won’t always but in the meantime it’s alright. Just snuggle in, press into Him, let them flow and He will rejoice over you with singing as you heal. Give yourself lots of time dear one.

Hello Daily Audio Bible family this is His Dearly beloved in Minnesota. I have called in several times within the last couple of months, had a hysterectomy and then they found cancer. And…and so, I just had 50 tumors removed from my liver and as well as 6 inches of my small intestine and I’m recovering but the last few days, you know, I’m about ready to go home and then it seems like my white count is coming up a little bit. And…and now I have to make a decision about whether to go home or stay or what to do. So, I would just really appreciate prayer, that the doctors who will be in here any minute can help me make a decision. And I just so appreciate all of the prayers. The Daily Audio Bible has totally taken me through this hospitalization. I’ve been here, I think this is 8 days now, and…and I just really thank you. And I’m praying for each of you and how what a…what a gift this podcast is. So, take care, love you. Bye-bye.

Hi this is Donna from California and I just listened to today’s podcast for March 27th and there was a caller who called in, Mr. somebody concerning your cousin, your 15-year-old cousin who has fathered a baby on…on the way. And I just want to…I am praying for your family. I’m praying for this young couple and I’m praying for this baby. I wanted to offer my perspective on it from my experience if it…if it is at all helpful to you. On July 6th of 1976 when I was 15 years old, I was taken to Planned Parenthood and I had an abortion. And I would now have a child who is over 40. There’s many things that I regret in my life but nothing…if I had to choose one thing that if I could go back and undo or redo it would be that. I pray for the life of this child. I…if you want to share this with the family, I pray that if they know Jesus that to remember that Jesus’ birth was certainly kind of a messy ordeal for the family at the time too. There is no such thing as an unwanted child. There might be an unplanned pregnancy, but every baby can be wanted and loved and there are many of us out there including myself who would take a baby and love that baby. I…I pray for…for you. Thank you for calling in. Sending my love.

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The Daily Audio Bible Reading for Tuesday March 30, 2021 (NIV)

Deuteronomy 13-15

Don’t Worship Other Gods

Moses said to Israel:

13 1-2 Someday a prophet[a] may come along who is able to perform miracles or tell what will happen in the future. Then the prophet may say, “Let’s start worshiping some new gods—some gods that we know nothing about.” 3 If the prophet says this, don’t listen! The Lord your God will be watching to find out whether or not you love him with all your heart and soul. 4 You must be completely faithful to the Lord. Worship and obey only the Lord and do this with fear and trembling, 5 because he rescued you from slavery in Egypt.

If a prophet tells you to disobey the Lord your God and to stop worshiping him, then that prophet is evil and must be put to death.

6-10 Someone else may say to you, “Let’s worship other gods.” That person may be your best friend, your brother or sister, your son or daughter, or your own dear wife or husband. But you must not listen to people who say such things. Instead, you must stone them to death. You must be the first to throw the stones, then others from the community will finish the job. Don’t show any pity.

The gods worshiped by other nations have never done anything for you or your ancestors. People who ask you to worship other gods are trying to get you to stop worshiping the Lord, who rescued you from slavery in Egypt. So put to death anyone who asks you to worship another god. 11 And when the rest of Israel hears about it, they will be afraid, and no one else will ever do such an evil thing again.

12 After the Lord your God gives you towns to live in, you may hear a rumor about one of the towns. 13 You may hear that some worthless people have talked everyone there into worshiping other gods, even though these gods had never done anything for them. 14 You must carefully find out if the rumor is true. Then if the people of that town have actually done such a disgusting thing in your own country, 15 you must take your swords and kill every one of them, and their livestock too. 16-17 Gather all the possessions of the people who lived there, and pile them up in the marketplace, without keeping anything for yourself. Set the pile and the whole town on fire, and don’t ever rebuild the town. The whole town will be a sacrifice to the Lord your God. Then he won’t be angry anymore, and he will have mercy on you and make you successful, just as he promised your ancestors. 18 That’s why you must do what the Lord your God says is right. I am giving you his laws and teachings today, and you must obey them.

Don’t Mourn like Other Nations

Moses said:

14 People of Israel, you are the Lord’s children, so when you mourn for the dead, you must not cut yourselves or shave your forehead.[b] 2 Out of all the nations on this earth, the Lord your God chose you to be his own. You belong to the Lord, so don’t behave like those who worship other gods.

Animals That Can Be Eaten

3 Don’t eat any disgusting animals.

4-5 You may eat the meat of cattle, sheep, and goats; wild sheep and goats; and gazelles, antelopes, and all kinds of deer. 6 It is all right to eat meat from any animals that have divided hoofs and also chew the cud.[c]

7 But don’t eat camels, rabbits, and rock badgers. These animals chew the cud but do not have divided hoofs. You must treat them as unclean. 8 And don’t eat pork, since pigs have divided hoofs, but they do not chew their cud. Don’t even touch a dead pig!

9 You can eat any fish that has fins and scales. But there are other creatures that live in the water, 10 and if they do not have fins and scales, you must not eat them. Treat them as unclean.

11 You can eat any clean bird. 12-18 But don’t eat the meat of any of the following birds: eagles, vultures, falcons, kites, ravens, ostriches, owls, sea gulls, hawks, pelicans, ospreys, cormorants, storks, herons, and hoopoes.[d] You must not eat bats. 19 Swarming insects are unclean, so don’t eat them. 20 However, you are allowed to eat certain kinds of winged insects.[e]

21 You belong to the Lord your God, so if you happen to find a dead animal, don’t eat its meat. You may give it to foreigners who live in your town or sell it to foreigners who are visiting your town.

Don’t boil a young goat in its mother’s milk.

Give the Lord Ten Percent of Your Harvest

Moses said:

22 People of Israel, every year you must set aside ten percent of your grain harvest. 23 Also set aside ten percent of your wine and olive oil, and the first-born of every cow, sheep, and goat. Take these to the place where the Lord chooses to be worshiped, and eat them there. This will teach you to always respect the Lord your God.

24 But suppose you can’t carry that ten percent of your harvest to the place where the Lord chooses to be worshiped. If you live too far away, or if the Lord gives you a big harvest, 25 then sell this part and take the money there instead. 26 When you and your family arrive, spend the money on food for a big celebration. Buy cattle, sheep, goats, wine, beer, and if there are any other kinds of food that you want, buy those too. 27 And since people of the Levi tribe won’t own any land for growing crops, remember to ask the Levites to celebrate with you.

28 Every third year, instead of using the ten percent of your harvest for a big celebration, bring it into town and put it in a community storehouse. 29 The Levites have no land of their own, so you must give them food from the storehouse. You must also give food to the poor who live in your town, including orphans, widows, and foreigners. If they have enough to eat, then the Lord your God will be pleased and make you successful in everything you do.

Loans

Moses said:

15 1-2 Every seven years you must announce, “The Lord says loans do not need to be paid back.” Then if you have loaned money to another Israelite, you can no longer ask for payment.[f] 3 This law applies only to loans you have made to other Israelites. Foreigners will still have to pay back what you have loaned them.

4-6 No one in Israel should ever be poor. The Lord your God is giving you this land, and he has promised to make you very successful, if you obey his laws and teachings that I’m giving you today. You will lend money to many nations, but you won’t have to borrow. You will rule many nations, but they won’t rule you.

7 After the Lord your God gives land to each of you, there may be poor Israelites in the town where you live. If there are, then don’t be mean and selfish with your money. 8 Instead, be kind and lend them what they need. 9 Be careful! Don’t say to yourself, “Soon it will be the seventh year, and then I won’t be able to get my money back.” It would be horrible for you to think that way and to be so selfish that you refuse to help the poor. They are your relatives, and if you don’t help them, they may ask the Lord to decide whether you have done wrong. And he will say that you are guilty. 10 You should be happy to give the poor what they need, because then the Lord will make you successful in everything you do.

11 There will always be some Israelites who are poor and needy. That’s why I am commanding you to be generous with them.

Setting Slaves Free

Moses said to Israel:

12 If any of you buy Israelites as slaves, you must set them free after six years. 13 And don’t just tell them they are free to leave— 14 give them sheep and goats and a good supply of grain and wine. The more the Lord has given you, the more you should give them. 15 I am commanding you to obey the Lord as a reminder that you were slaves in Egypt before he set you free. 16 But one of your slaves may say, “I love you and your family, and I would be better off staying with you, so please don’t make me leave.” 17 Take the slave to the door of your house and push a sharp metal rod through one earlobe and into the door. Such slaves will belong to you for life, whether they are men or women.

18 Don’t complain when you have to set a slave free. After all, you got six years of service at half the cost of hiring someone to do the work.[g]

First-Born Animals

Moses said to Israel:

19 If the first-born animal of a cow or sheep or goat is a male, it must be given to the Lord. Don’t put first-born cattle to work or cut wool from first-born sheep. 20 Instead, each year you must take the first-born of these animals to the place where the Lord your God chooses to be worshiped. You and your family will sacrifice them to the Lord and then eat them as part of a sacred meal.

21 But if the animal is lame or blind or has something else wrong with it, you must not sacrifice it to the Lord your God. 22 You can butcher it where you live, and eat it just like the meat of a deer or gazelle that you kill while hunting. Even those people who are unclean and unfit for worship can have some. 23 But you must never eat the blood of an animal—let it drain out on the ground.

Footnotes:

  1. 13.1,2 a prophet: Hebrew adds “or a dreamer of dreams,” another name for a prophet.
  2. 14.1 when you mourn. . . forehead: Or “you must not worship Baal, cutting yourselves and shaving your forehead.”
  3. 14.6 chew the cud: Some animals that eat grass and leaves have more than one stomach, and they chew their food a second time, after it has been partly digested in the first stomach. This partly digested food is called “cud.”
  4. 14.12-18 eagles. . . hoopoes: Some of the birds in this list are difficult to identify.
  5. 14.20 certain kinds of winged insects: These were locusts, crickets, and grasshoppers; see Leviticus 11.21,22.
  6. 15.1,2 The Lord says. . . no longer ask for payment: Or “<The Lord says loans do not need to be paid back this year.’ Then if you have loaned money to another Israelite, you cannot ask for payment until the next year.”
  7. 15.18 six years. . . work: Or “six years of service, and it cost you no more than if you had hired someone to do the work” ; or “six years of service, for what you would have had to pay a worker for two years.”
Contemporary English Version (CEV)

Copyright © 1995 by American Bible Society

Luke 8:40-9:6

A Dying Girl and a Sick Woman

40 Everyone had been waiting for Jesus, and when he came back, a crowd was there to welcome him. 41 Just then the man in charge of the Jewish meeting place came and knelt down in front of Jesus. His name was Jairus, and he begged Jesus to come to his home 42 because his twelve-year-old child was dying. She was his only daughter.

While Jesus was on his way, people were crowding all around him. 43 In the crowd was a woman who had been bleeding for twelve years. She had spent everything she had on doctors,[a] but none of them could make her well.

44 As soon as she came up behind Jesus and barely touched his clothes, her bleeding stopped.

45 “Who touched me?” Jesus asked.

While everyone was denying it, Peter said, “Master, people are crowding all around and pushing you from every side.”[b]

46 But Jesus answered, “Someone touched me, because I felt power going out from me.” 47 The woman knew that she could not hide, so she came trembling and knelt down in front of Jesus. She told everyone why she had touched him and that she had been healed right away.

48 Jesus said to the woman, “You are now well because of your faith. May God give you peace!”

49 While Jesus was speaking, someone came from Jairus' home and said, “Your daughter has died! Why bother the teacher anymore?”

50 When Jesus heard this, he told Jairus, “Don’t worry! Have faith, and your daughter will get well.”

51 Jesus went into the house, but he did not let anyone else go with him, except Peter, John, James, and the girl’s father and mother. 52 Everyone was crying and weeping for the girl. But Jesus said, “The child isn’t dead. She is just asleep.” 53 The people laughed at him because they knew she was dead.

54 Jesus took hold of the girl’s hand and said, “Child, get up!” 55 She came back to life and got right up. Jesus told them to give her something to eat. 56 Her parents were surprised, but Jesus ordered them not to tell anyone what had happened.

Instructions for the Twelve Apostles

9 Jesus called together his twelve apostles and gave them complete power over all demons and diseases. 2 Then he sent them to tell about God’s kingdom and to heal the sick. 3 He told them, “Don’t take anything with you! Don’t take a walking stick or a traveling bag or food or money or even a change of clothes. 4 When you are welcomed into a home, stay there until you leave that town. 5 If people won’t welcome you, leave the town and shake the dust from your feet[c] as a warning to them.”

6 The apostles left and went from village to village, telling the good news and healing people everywhere.

Footnotes:

  1. 8.43 She had spent everything she had on doctors: Some manuscripts do not have these words.
  2. 8.45 from every side: Some manuscripts add “and you ask, ‘Who touched me?’ “
  3. 9.5 shake the dust from your feet: This was a way of showing rejection.
Contemporary English Version (CEV)

Copyright © 1995 by American Bible Society

Psalm 71

A Prayer for God’s Protection

71 I run to you, Lord,
for protection.
Don’t disappoint me.
2 You do what is right,
so come to my rescue.
Listen to my prayer
and keep me safe.
3 Be my mighty rock,[a]
the place
where I can always run
for protection.
Save me by your command!
You are my mighty rock
and my fortress.

4 Come and save me, Lord God,
from vicious and cruel
and brutal enemies!
5 I depend on you,
and I have trusted you
since I was young.
6 I have relied on you[b]
from the day I was born.
You brought me safely
through birth,
and I always praise you.

7 Many people think of me
as something evil.
But you are my mighty protector,
8 and I praise and honor you
all day long.
9 Don’t throw me aside
when I am old;
don’t desert me
when my strength is gone.
10 My enemies are plotting
because they want me dead.
11 They say, “Now we’ll catch you!
God has deserted you,
and no one can save you.”
12 Come closer, God!
Please hurry and help.
13 Embarrass and destroy
all who want me dead;
disgrace and confuse
all who want to hurt me.
14 I will never give up hope
or stop praising you.
15 All day long I will tell
the wonderful things you do
to save your people.
But you have done much more
than I could possibly know.
16 I will praise you, Lord God,
for your mighty deeds
and your power to save.

17 You have taught me
since I was a child,
and I never stop telling about
your marvelous deeds.
18 Don’t leave me when I am old
and my hair turns gray.
Let me tell future generations
about your mighty power.
19 Your deeds of kindness
are known in the heavens.
No one is like you!

20 You made me suffer a lot,
but you will bring me
back from this deep pit
and give me new life.
21 You will make me truly great
and take my sorrow away.

22 I will praise you, God,
the Holy One of Israel.
You are faithful.
I will play the harp
and sing your praises.
23 You have rescued me!
I will celebrate and shout,
singing praises to you
with all my heart.
24 All day long I will announce
your power to save.
I will tell how you disgraced
and disappointed
those who wanted to hurt me.

Footnotes:

  1. 71.3 mighty rock: See the note at 18.2.
  2. 71.6 I. . . you: One possible meaning for the difficult Hebrew text.
Contemporary English Version (CEV)

Copyright © 1995 by American Bible Society

Proverbs 12:5-7

5 Good people have kind thoughts,
but you should never trust
the advice of someone evil.
6 Bad advice is a deadly trap,
but good advice
is like a shield.
7 Once the wicked are defeated,
they are gone forever,
but no one who obeys God
will ever be thrown down.

Contemporary English Version (CEV)

Copyright © 1995 by American Bible Society

Posted on

03/29/2021 DAB Transcript

Deuteronomy 11:1-12:32, Luke 8:22-39, Psalms 70:1-5, Proverbs 12:4

Today is the 29th day of March welcome to the Daily Audio Bible I’m Brian it’s great to be here with you today. It’s great to be here with you every day including today. It’s great to be here around the Global Campfire as we continue moving forward and that moving forward will take us back into the book of Deuteronomy. We’re reading from the Contemporary English Version this week. Deuteronomy chapters 11 and 12 today.

Commentary:

Okay. We are in the book of Luke, obviously in the New Testament and we’ve come to this…this story. And we…we’ve seen this story before but I just…when I come to it in the Gospel of Luke it’s like every year this is one of the places where we kinda talk about something very specific. Even though every year at the Daily Audio Bible we’re talking about all kinds of stuff we’ve never talked about before, this story, I don’t what it is because it's…it’s always been a riveting story to me for some reason. But then after having been on the site of this story walking around it’s just…it’s like imprinted on my mind, mostly because the story…every time I come to it, I’m like this is…this is…this is how I have reacted more often than not. And, so, what happens here is that Jesus is on the other side of the Sea of Galilee. And it's…it’s if you’ve never been there and like you don’t have a map or whatever, most of Jesus ministry would be situated on the northwest corner or the northwest shoreline of the Sea of Galilee. This is where the cities of Capernaum and Bethsaida, Chorazim, Magdala are, the cities that Jesus would’ve frequented. And it’s also near a main road that would’ve climbed up from the Sea of Galilee and headed west toward places like Nazareth and Cana. So, this is where Jesus spent most of His time. But when He got into the boat to sail with the disciples they were heading to the sort of North East side of things to another people and they were moving into a region that was controlled by one of the Decapolis cities and that city was known as Hippos or Sussita. So, a Gentile area, a Roman area, cosmopolitan area, a very non-Jewish area, but I mean, we should notice that by the fact that there were a herd of pigs being shepherded. That’s not something that you would find a Hebrew Shepherd typically doing. So, Jesus is exhausted enough that He gets the back of the boat and goes to sleep and when this storm comes up and it’s violent…and let’s remember like these aren’t like little kids rowing the boat for Jesus, these are experienced fishermen on the water. So, if they’re freaking out it’s a legitimate problem. And they were freaking out, enough to go wake Jesus up and I guess, you know, you’re terrified…so like, “we’re gonna drown”, you know, “wake up” and…and he does, and He instructs the storm to calm down and it does, which is an amazing thing to even imagine but definitely something that struck the disciples silent, “like who is this? Even the wind and the water obey Him.” That’s all going on before we ever get to that northeast side of things. And then we land on the shore and there’s this naked man running toward you. And I can…I mean…you visualize that whether you want to or not and there’s a naked man running down the shore and he’s yelling and he’s screaming, and he addresses Jesus, “what do You have to do with me? What do You want with me?” Or in another translations, “why are you interfering with me?” Like, I mean for me, I can stop right there and find myself in the story in that man’s response to the presence of God. The presence of Christ comes and then there’s this reaction immediately – “what…why are you interfering with me? What do you have to do with me?” We might not agree that we’d say that out loud to Jesus in that context, but our lives, that’s all you have to do is just look at our lives. What happens when we’re disrupted? When we’re disrupted, we immediately think it’s bad, we immediately start cursing the devil. But what we see in the Gospels is that wherever Jesus goes things are disrupted and He’s not bringing evil and He’s not trying to challenge the people by attacking them in some sort of way. He’s trying to bring light into the darkness, which disrupts what’s hiding and lurking in the darkness. And as soon as it comes on and is exposed then it starts squirming to find more darkness so that it’s not exposed. And when that light comes, and we’re exposed and we’re looking for a place to hide so we can feel safe, and we feel like “why are you interfering with me? What you have to do with me?” We may be speaking to the circumstance and rebuking the circumstance when God may be after something in us. So, I can, at least myself, I can see myself in that story but, you know, as the story goes on the evil spirits are thrown into the pigs who run into the water and drown and then the man gets dressed and is in his right mind speaking with Jesus and the people come around and they see this. And certainly, just seeing pigs floating in the water and the insane man, the demoniac well and in his right mind, that would be startling and disruptive for sure, but you would think on the one hand it would be a mighty power that would set that man free since according to the Scriptures he already been bound and put in leg irons and chained and under guard, and he’d always broken free of all that. So, to come around this man and find him with clothes on in his right mind having a conversation you would at least have to say a mighty power, like something extraordinary has happened. And in this case since everybody knew this demoniac and what he was capable of you’d have to think that this is a move in the right direction, like a positive move but it scared them so bad they were in terror to the point that they asked Jesus to leave. And that’s the part. That’s the part that just like…it’s like an arrow to the heart to come by this territory in Luke because that’s just it. We get…we get all whipped up in worship. We might have our hands raised and we’re like, “do with me what you will. Send your consuming fire upon me” and, you know, “take me and use me as a vessel” or whatever kind of sentiment that we would offer. We would say these things in our prayers and “I just want to be used by you, I just want to be available, I just want to be aware, I just want to know what’s going on so I can make some sense of this” and then God comes and it’s disruptive and perhaps makes us uncomfortable or brings us to a place of fear. And even though we can see the good, the power, the strength, even though we can see God at work, we…we can’t put ourselves in that story. We’re too afraid, it’s too risky, it’s too much out of our control, it’s too much out of our wheelhouse, it’s too much out of our comfort zone. And, so, in so many functional ways we…we ask Him to leave when He was coming to answer our prayer and invite us deeper. And that’s the thing about faith. For some reason we have it in our mind that it…it’s like…it’s gonna be easy and we’ll walk into it no problem and we’ll just keep growing in our faith but how in the world will we ever grow in our faith if it isn’t tested? Like, how does a muscle growth if it isn’t strained? How does anything grow if it’s not challenged? If all we are is operating in operating in our wheelhouse, everything is good, everything is under control, everything is in our control…well…if we’re gonna ask for more faith then that’s going to be answered and it’s going to be answered by us having to exercise our faith so that it can grow, which is the opposite of what we see happening with these people in this story, which is why it’s like an arrow to the heart sometimes to think I missed so many opportunities along the way because I wasn’t willing to step into faith. I wasn’t actually willing to live by faith. I can say over the years I’ve grown. I can say like if I look back 15 years or whatever when we were starting all of this, the things that were scary then are not scary now. I have grown in my faith, but any time we are ever going to grow in our faith it’s gonna be faith, which means we’re gonna be reaching for what we cannot know or what we cannot prove but we still know anyway. And that’s gonna bring tension. That’s always gonna stretch us. That’s what growing in faith looks like. And, so, let’s think about that today as we move into this week.

Prayer:

Holy Spirit come into that. So often we put labels on things and anything that’s hard is bad, but actually the hard things are the things that make us grow and they’re things that expand us, they’re the things that make us strong. And, so, help us to have a discerning heart and an acute awareness of Your Holy Spirit’s leading, the voice of the Spirit in our lives 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.

Community Prayer and Praise:

This is Doctor John in Illinois. I was listening to the DAB the other day and just reminded of faithfulness. I listened to Victoria Soldier and Blind Tony and Jill and Brian and their family – faithfulness, faithfulness. And I listened to Victoria Soldier now and she’s crying out for help. And I think of all the times that she’s prayed, you listen to her so frequently and all these others - Blind Tony - and again I can’t even name all those I’ve listened to the last six years and they’re faithful. And, so, Lord I want to lift up them right now. Heavenly father would You…would You from heaven today and for all those Lord that are faithful that lift their voice to You that cry out and petition You Lord for all these others when they’re hurting and we all have needs Lord we’re all broken we’re all in desperate need of a savior. Today Lord would You be that Redeemer? Would You be that way maker that promise keeper? And father I’m thankful for this ministry, thankful God for this…these that cry out Lord in desperation for their brothers and sisters Lord even when they’re in need themselves. Lord would You meet that need today? And father, again would You bless the Hardin family Lord for their dedication. And Lord bless them because of all the suffering they’ve injured and all the hardships they’ve endured, but they do it with joy because of a hope in You and hope in Christ in His perfect service. Lord would You bless them today. Lord thank You for the DAB Lord bless this family and all those…

Hey this is DABber Danny from Southern Oregon. Micah in Awe you’re one of my favorite callers. You’re so compassionate and your voice comes through so powerfully and I just love it when you call in. So, when you called in and you prayed for me, I just really appreciated that, especially because I have a son named Micah and I long for him to be in awe of God’s glory. And he’s not walking with the Lord. He’s 18 and I wonder if you all could just pray for him. He is living on his own and he just found out he’s gonna be a daddy and the mom is only 16. And, so, if you could…if you could pray for them. I had the privilege of hearing from the Lord a couple of days before I found out and the Lord told me that this is going to be happening and so I was completely prepared when he actually told me. And, so, I’m OK with it. I think that this baby might, you know, turn him around and bring him into a closer relationship with us and also with the Lord, I hope. And, so, if you could all pray for my son Micah, I would really appreciate that, that he would just be a godly father. And he’s never wanted anything to do with God. So, anyway if you could pray for his heart, I would appreciate that. Love you all.

Hello DABbers, my name is Jay from the East Coast I’ve called before. I have a praise report. I had gotten a job after…since November 2019. It was very hard, a lot of applications, but I wanted to thank you guys and I know that you guys always pray and…but I’m also asking for prayer for my nephew who’s in the military. And he, in 2018, he suffered a loss of my brother, his father, and he took up to alcohol to…to…to deal with it and both his mother and father suffered from that and his father, my brother, it was part of the reason why he died. He is a young man. He’s afraid to go for help because he’s afraid of what it might mean for his military career. Please pray that he would do the right thing and that he would…that God would heal him from this addiction and also if he needs to get that help and it’s being offered that he will take it before anything else goes wrong. He’s very bright young man and dealing with a lot of…of emotional issues now because of the…the bad grieving, not grieving well and not having support to grieve because they’re pretty much locked…locked down where they are and all he has is on the base and just friends who would just not talk about things. He feels isolated. I need your help guys and especially those who were in the military who knows how that is. Thank you.

Hi this is Joseph from Dublin New South Wales Australia. My wife’s an Australian. I’m an American obviously. Just like to give a praise report and thank you all the Daily Audio Bible family for keeping us up in prayer. My wife gave a safe delivery to our son Gia on the 30th of April. And please pray for my wife for complete healing. She tore while giving delivery. And I’d also like to ask for prayer for me and my wife for reconnection in our marriage because lately we’ve been feeling incredibly distant from each other and I just I thank the Daily Audio Bible family out there. Thanks for keeping us up in prayer. Thanks bye.

Good morning Brian and Daily Audio Bible family my name is Glenn, and we have a son that has had a really bad alcohol problem that came to a head with his family in a pretty tragic way. He ended up being shot but God miraculously saved him, and he’s had an awakening that is very real but he’s in a place right now of trying to sort his life out and he wants…he wants the help that he needs, and he has a real firm faith in God. It’s been difficult but we’re just asking that you might pray along with us, that the things that need to occur will and that God will be gracious to him and his family and that he will touch his wife and children and comfort them and just that His will be done. Appreciate you guys. Love you very much. Glenn and Sharon.