Ezekiel 47:1-48:35, 1 Peter 2:11-3:7, Psalms 119:49-64,
Proverbs 28:12-13
Today is the 24th
day of November. Welcome to the Daily Audio Bible. I am Brian. It’s good to be
here with you at the close of another week and the beginning of a very busy
season. So, it’s Black Friday. So, some of you may have been out and about
doing shopping things since midnight. I know a lot of people do that. I’m not
one of them, but I know a lot of people do that. But no matter what you are
doing, the global campfire is roaring with warmth and light and good news and
here we are for the next step forward in the Scriptures. And today we will
conclude the book of Ezekiel before we take another step forward in Peter’s
first letter, also known as first Peter. So, lets dive in. We’re reading from
the New International Version this week. Ezekiel 47 verse 1 through 48 verse 35.
Commentary:
Okay. So, in our reading from
first Peter today, we have a very, very popular and well quoted passage. And,
so, we need to look at that and get the full context of what’s being said,
because as we’ve noted all the way through this year, we come to these very,
very famous passages and often pull them out of their context, when their context
actually gives the clarity for what’s being said. So, we’ll take a quick peek
at that before we get to a bombshell, disruptive moment. So first, the famous
passage. ‘He himself bore our sins in his body on the cross so that we might
die to sins and live for righteousness. By his wounds’. Right? ‘By his stripes,
you have been healed. For you were like sheep going astray but now you have
returned to the Shepherd, an overseer of your souls’. Okay. So, this is a
summary statement. This is the end statement of a larger point that Peter was
making. And we like it, and quote it, because it concisely describes what we
put our faith in, and what we’re hoping for - healing, wholeness and eternal
life. And the ‘by his stripes, you are healed’. Right? ‘By his wounds you have
been healed’, as the New International Version translates it, we often say this
to people who are sick. So, what was Peter saying? Like what was the point? So,
the context becomes a lot more clear when we understand what was going on. The
good news of Jesus was spreading around the known world and over the previous
centuries Hebrew people had been spread all over the known world, either
through forced exile, right, or fleeing. So, there are people who practice
Judaism and who have synagogues and they’re all over the Roman Empire and down
into Egypt, they’re all over the place. And this is who this letter is written
to, Jews who have been dispersed and are now embedded into any number of
cultures all around them - widely diverse and varied cultures. So, as the good
news about Jesus spreads throughout the world, it reaches, obviously, these
Jewish people who are all over the place, and many come to believe in Jesus as
the next step, as the next chapter in their Hebrew story. But as we’ve seen in
the New Testament, this provides a lot of friction, a lot of tension. Those
practicing the most traditional form of Judaism, obviously, have no use for
this Jesus. And, so, they’re against it. And faith in Jesus’s is causing
disruption in other cultures as well, as we see in the writings of the apostle
Paul. So, overtime these people do get sidelined and marginalized in a lot of
places and that just makes them a target. And, so, persecutions do break out.
Basically, Christians get blamed for a lot of things that they never had
anything to do with. And being called a Christian was not a good thing. It was
slanderous. So, for most of us, our culture has, like, turned away from using
the ‘N’ word as a derogatory thing toward someone else. Right? Being called a
Christian in a lot of these circles that Peter is writing to was like that. So,
kind of understanding this is backdrop allows the words in Peter’s letter to
bloom and blossom, that we understand what he’s trying to say. So, when he
says, ‘dear friends, I urge you, as foreigners and exiles, to abstain from
sinful desires, which wage war against your soul’, we begin to understand who
is talking to. And he goes on. ‘So, live such good lives among the pagans that,
though they accuse you of doing wrong’. Right? ‘So marginalizing you, they may
see your good deeds and glorify God on the day he visits’. So, this whole
passage, that leads us to the payoff point that we know very well, is intended
to encourage these people who are being sidelined and called names and
marginalized and even persecuted, that the only way to combat that is to be
better than that. Right? To make sure that you do not fit that profile at all,
the profile that the cultures that these people are and are trying to heap upon
them. So, in so many ways, Peter is inviting these believers who are being
marginalized and called names and persecuted to not become the stereotype
because they are called to be something far greater, a new creation. And they
need to live into that reality rather than degrading themselves. So, Peter’s
saying the way to resist this isn’t to become the stereotype. The way to resist
this is to be Christ like. So, Peter goes on, ’submit yourselves for the Lord’s
sake to every human authority, whether the Emperor as the supreme authority, or
to governors who are sent by him to punish those who do wrong and to commend
those who do right’. He goes on to say, look, you’ve got to work inside the
system you’re in, but you can rise above all of that as you live into being a
new creation. Or to quote Peter, ‘live as free people but do not use your
freedom as a cover-up for evil. Live as if you were a slave to God. Show proper
respect to everyone. Love the family of believers. Fear God. Honor the emperor’.
And then Peter talks to those who have found themselves as slaves or in
servitude. And he’s in no way saying, like, this is a good idea, slavery is a
good idea, I condone this, everybody should have a slave. None of that’s going
on here. Peter’s simply speaking into a reality, how things are for some of
these people. And he uses it as a backdrop for the suffering, for the injustice
that they are beginning to encounter. And he’s saying, look, if you’re punished
for something that you did wrong and you have to endure the punishment, but you
actually did the deed, then you can’t credit yourself with something you didn’t
deserve. You deserved it. But, and I’m quoting Peter here, ‘but if you suffer
for doing good and you endure it, this is commendable before God. To this you
were called, because Christ suffered for you, leaving you an example that you
should follow in his steps’. Right? You should be Christ like. You should rise
above all of this. Which brings us to this very famous summary. These people
are feeling like they’re being treated unjustly and marginalized, and Peter is
encouraging them that they are not the only ones, that the son of God was
treated the same way. Which brings this important passage that we were talking
about into context. So, Peter says, ‘when they hurled their insults at Him’,
which is Jesus, ‘He did not retaliate, when He suffered He made no threats. Instead,
He entrusted Himself to Him who judges justly’, which is a very important
recommendation for the people that Peter is speaking to. And he goes on to say,
‘He himself bore our sins in His body on the cross so that we might die to sins
and live for righteousness. By His wounds we have been healed’. And we can see
that this is not just a verse about physical healing. What Peter’s talking
about is regeneration, being made new, being made whole, healed completely. And,
so, we get a hope and an outlook and a context for what we’re going through.
And then Peter shifts gears. He’s still talking in the same context, but he switches
gears to husbands and wives, and ends up with a bombshell. So, for starters, we
have to remember our context. These people are dispersed Jewish people who
have, to some degree, assimilated into new cultures. And those cultures are
wide and varied. And because of this, the marriages are wide and varied. So,
it’s not unusual for a woman to have come to Jesus but her spouse has not. Or a
husband has come to the Lord, but their wives have not. So, Peter says, ‘wives,
in the same way, submit yourselves to your own husbands, so that if any of them
do not believe the word they may be won over without words by the behavior of
their wives when they see the purity and reverence of your lives’. And can we
at least acknowledge that Peter is not talking about domestic abuse. I mean, we
can read passages like this and go, like, alright, than no matter what’s going
on, you’re getting beat up, you’re getting verbally abused, you’re living in
fear of your well-being, and in even your life, and you just need to suck it up.
If that’s what Peter was trying to communicate, then that’s what he would have
communicated. But we’ve just spent a good amount of time trying to provide the
context for what’s going on here. And Peter is simply saying, the posture that
you have to live with as you are being marginalized in this world is to
acknowledge the injustice of what’s going on and look to a higher judge. You
are being remade. This is a whole new thing going on and endurance is a part of
that story as was displayed by the son of God, Jesus Christ Himself. And that
finds its way into our own homes. It’s a posture of love that Peter is
describing. And he’s essentially saying, look, you may not be able to convince
your spouse with your words but your life says a lot more than your words do. And
your beauty radiates from within you, spilling out into the world. It’s not the
other way around, that you have a fancy wardrobe, and walk around, and your all
beautiful and fancy. Your beauty radiates from within. And what can be more
beautiful than the glory of God radiated out into the world through your life.
And then he turns husbands. ‘Husbands, in the same way’, so adopting the same
posture of love, ‘in the same way, be considerate as you live with your wives
and treat them with respect as the weaker partner and as heirs with you of the
gracious gift of life’. And then we get to the bombshell. You do all of this so
that nothing will hinder your prayers. So, in other words, if your life is not
speaking louder than your words, there’s a problem. If you trying to ornament
yourself in a way that draws attention to you but exposes the lack of the glory
of God spilling out of your Spirit and into the world, then you’ve got a
problem here. If you’re not consider it to each other, if you’re not treating
each other with respect, then you’ve got a problem here, and your prayers can
be hindered. And that’s kind of big deal to ponder. But that would explain a
lot, wouldn’t it? It’s kind of an, ah ha. It’s kind of a bombshell, like, whoa,
I didn’t see that in here before. My prayers can be hindered based on the way I
treat my covenant of marriage. Some things to think about today
Prayer:
Father, we invite You into
that. And we say that a lot, because Your word continues to speak things into
our lives that are disruptive. They always bring us to a fork in the road. And,
so, we invite Your Holy Spirit into the ways that we have felt unjustly treated
and in the ways that we relate to our spouses. Come Holy Spirit. We pray in
Jesus’ name. Amen.
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here.
Today is Black Friday. And, so,
it is the official launch of the Daily Audio Bible Christmas Box 2017. And we
do one of these every year and pack it full of resources that you can pick and
choose. Some stuff you’re going to want for yourself and other things you may
want to give away. And this year’s box is tailor-made for this season. So, in the
box is the Advent CD that I talked about a couple of days ago. Also included is
the family Christmas CD full of carols and beautiful arrangements for the
holiday season. And I loved making that album. It was the Christmas record I
always wanted to make. And it’s perfect for grabbing a cup of hot coffee or
cocoa or whatever and turning all the lights off and just leaving the Christmas
lights on and taking a few minutes just to reflect. So, some great music for
the season. Also included are two copies of the Sneezing Jesus, a book that was
written to be read, obviously, but also written to be passed forward into many
other lives. So, we’ve included two copies of Sneezing Jesus in the box this year
for that reason. Also included is a book by my friend, Ian. It’s called The
Road Back to You and it’s been one of the most influential reads of the year
for me. You may have heard of the enneagram before, you may have heard that
word, it’s like all the rage right now. It’s definitely a big buzz and a lot to
do with this particular book even though it’s been around for a very, very long
time. So, I’ve got to tell you. I have taken lots and lots of personality
profile tests. Right? Strengths Finder’s, and Gift Mixes and, you know, like,
Myers-Briggs, all of this stuff and I think it’s interesting and I think it’s helpful
to a degree, but this enneagram journey was like a totally different thing. And
I could talk a long time about it but, for me, it kind of came at the right
time. So, early in the year my mom passed away and I talked about that back in
January when it happened. And that’s something…I mean…that…that left me
grieving, obviously, but I’ve lived long enough to know that kind of pain, that
kind of suffering, it…it’s always the precursor of something new. It’s usually
the precursor of something creative in my life. And I spent a lot of time just,
you know, moving through grief, but in it all, trying to intentionally aim my
heart toward God, to invite Him into it all. And I knew this book is being
written a couple years ago. And, so, when it came out I jumped on it because, The
Road Back to You, oh, that was just like, that is what I’m looking for, because
it’s like, if I can find the path to my own heart, if I can find the path to my
true self, I will find the Lord there. Where else would he be? He indwells me.
He’s within me. He is at the core of the truest person that I am, my identity. And,
so, I read it twice. And then I started talking to Jill about it and she wasn’t
over the moon, like, oh my gosh, let’s sit down and read this together or anything
like that. She’s taken all these tests too. And, so, I’m like Jill, this is,
like, different. This is coming from a different place, the assumptions are
different. This isn’t like trying to uncover your personality. This is trying
to tell you that all of the things you’ve developed over the years that have become
your personality and your presentation to the world are actually the ways that
you have created to cope with the world, but behind all of that is the truth.
The vulnerable and true you. And all of these things that you have created
around yourself to present yourself in a certain way, you did that for lots of
reasons, but ultimately you did it to protect that true place. And it was
fascinating to me intellectually, but then, so, like, I’m finding my type - there
are nine of them in this book – and I’m reading it and I’m like, this is scary
accurate. Like, I am exposed. I am exposed here, good and bad. My bell is rung.
My mail has been read. And, so, one night with Jill, I kind of forced the issue.
We were watching something on TV or something like that. We were sitting on the
couch together and I’m like, hey, let’s find you, let’s find you in this. And
she’s like, you know, like, alright, you know, like not all that excited, but
okay. And for the next couple of hours we began to engage in conversation and
then we narrowed this down and then, right there on the couch, I read the
chapter aloud for her type. And by the time I was done, my wife was sitting
next to me on the couch in tears, because it was describing her inner life in words.
It was naming things. And so, like, for her, she was like I thought I was the
only one. Like, I thought I was the only one who felt these things. And it
validated so much for her, while at the same time exposing the shadow side of
it all, as it had done for me. And, so, then I read my chapter and she laughed,
because it was just saying on the page what she had known about me all along. But
it gave us language to understand each other in profoundly new and helpful ways.
So, then I, you know, I sent a copy to everyone who was around me, who works
with me. And it’s profoundly helpful just for understanding of where
everybody’s coming from. So, to make a long story short, we contacted InterVarsity
Press, who published this book, to see if we could get them for the Christmas Box
this year, and we figured that all out, and we have them. And they are in the Box
this year, because this has influenced me, has helped me a lot, and I do
believe that it will help you. And, so, it’s in the Christmas Box this year.
Also in the Christmas Box, the Daily Audio Bible Christmas bulb that we have. Each
year a different one. And this one has the word for the year ‘margin’ on it.
And we’ve been doing this for five years and I have five of these on my tree
and this is the one for 2017. A Black Wing pencil is included in the Box. Your
choice of windfarm coffee or tea, your choice will be included in the Box. As
well as a pack of 20 Daily Audio Bible Christmas cards for 2017. So, it’s an
awesome Christmas Box this year and it is available now at dailyaudiobible.com in the shop.
So, a couple things. 1) I
would say get them while you can. We always sell out of them, and 2) This is
for those of you will be internationally ordering. Obviously, you can order
whenever you want, but if you want your Christmas box to arrive for Christmas,
then we have calculated that the 29th, so just a week, this coming
Wednesday, the 29th is the cut off day that we feel like things will
arrive for Christmas. We have this arrangement with FedEx and it takes longer
because FedEx ships into your country and then it moves into your mail system,
but it allows us to ship as inexpensively as is possible. The downside is it
takes a little bit longer. So, we’re telling you the 29th if you’re
ordering internationally. And, yes, my Canadian brothers and sisters, and my
Mexican brothers and sisters, that includes you. As close as we are together
geographically, we still find ourselves in different nations. So, just a little
heads up there. Those of you in the United States, the cutoff date for getting
there by Christmas we have calculated to be December 18th, although
they may be sold out by then. So, there’s your Daily Audio Bible Christmas Box
2017. They are available now.
If you want to partner with
the Daily Audio Bible, you can do that at dailyaudiobible.com. There is a link.
It’s on the homepage. Thank you for your partnership here as we move into the
busy season, the last season of the year. Thank you for your partnership. If
you prefer the mail, the mailing address is PO Box 1996 Spring Hill Tennessee
37174.
And as always, if you have a
prayer request or comment 877-942-4253 is the number to dial.
And
that’s it for today. I’m Brian I love you and I’ll be waiting for you here
tomorrow.
Community Prayers and
Praise Reports
Hi DAB family. My
names Terry. I’m from the Chicago area. I had an affair for a couple of…a ten
month affair…and as a result of this affair…I hurt and striped my family, hurt
my wife. I want to make things better. I’ve lost my job. I’ve lost my livelihood.
I’ve lost the respect of my children. I’ve lost everything. She was my Bathsheba.
And I don’t know how I’m going to go on. I’ve been praying a lot. And especially
for trying to find another job but…it’s so hopeless…just please pray for me in
my situation. Thank you DAB family for being there. I pray for you. I’m sorry I’ve
wandered so far from the Lord. I know I wasn’t listening. I know those traps
were out there and I built them. Now I seek forgiveness. I seek to heal this
relationship. Thank you all. I know your names. Again, Terry from Chicago. Thank
you.
Well, hello my
DAB family. This is Mark S. from Sydney Australia. Today is Monday the 20th.
And I’m really ___. It’s very hard as well because…it’s a hard call to make because…well…of
the fear of human judgement…the fear of…admitting my sin to you. It is a hard
one but I do want to just because, family, I love you, and I want you to pray
for me. I’ve fallen into sexual sin again and I know all of you prayed for me
back around about March and I feel ashamed that…that I’ve done it again…but I
want to move on quickly because I don’t want to go into depression because I
know that’s going to take me away further from the Lord and I want to get back
straight at it again…but I’m fully aware of the seriousness of my sin and I’m
asking God to give me His grace to get up and get back on the narrow path and
keep trusting Him and moving forward again. Thank you, family. Bye.
Hi. This is John
from Bethlehem Pennsylvania. Good morning Daily Audio Bible family. It’s the 20th
of November and Thanksgiving week. I hope you guys are all doing well. I love
you. I love this community. I love everything that you all stand for. I wanted
to call in prayer for Linda from Spokane Washington. I listened to the podcast
for the 20th and you are asking for prayer over your daughter Maddison and, I
believe, your son, James. I just very quickly, wanted to make sure, Linda, that
you’re encouraged. My son, John, who is 25 years old now, if I could combine
both of the stories that you told about Madison in her rebellion and James with
his addiction, this is my son. And things that he had gone through when he was
about Madison’s age all the way up until just about 8 months ago. I can tell
you Linda that John came back to God, he came back to the Lord, and he’s there now.
And I know that Madison will as well and I know that James, through the power
of the Holy Spirit and with Jesus as his Savior, will overcome his addiction
habits, just like my son John. So, my prayer for you and my prayer for
everybody in the community is, that through God and through the Holy Spirit
that indwells within us that we can stay encouraged and stay strong in our
faith. And that we continue to pray over and ask God for forgiveness and to
humble us and everything we do so that so that we can do everything we can to
serve those around us, especially our sons and daughters. I love you community.
Thank you Brian. Thank you Jill. God bless you.
Daily Audio Bible
family, this is Curtis from Northern California. It’s November the 20th.
I’m asking for prayer for my wife. She has fibromyalgia, shingles, and has a
number of other ailments. My wife and I are struggling with my marriage. We are
still foster caring for drug babies. I ask that you pray for her and pray for
me as this week is Thanksgiving. Please pray for me that I may serve my wife as
Christ has served the church. Please pray for me. I love you all. I’m praying
for you. Love you.
