Leviticus 15:1-16:28 ~ Mark 7:1-23 ~ Psalm 40:11-17 ~ Proverbs 10:13-14
Welcome to the Daily Audio Bible. Today is February 24th and I’m Brian. It’s great to be here with you today from the rolling hills of Tennessee, of course, where I am longing for springtime. I don’t want to be ungrateful. Winter is just getting long here. We don’t get the snow that some of you get. I know you’re like you’re so lucky, but we get gray and brown and an occasional day with some sunshine. So, from the rolling hills of Tennessee, I am thrilled to be here with you and looking for springtime which will start to show up in the next month. Thank you, Jesus.
We’re reading from the God’s Word translation. We’re going back out to the desert and we’re hearing of the laws that God is instituting for a culture that he is forming and it is going to be good times today, so buckle in. Leviticus chapter 15, verse 1 through 16:28.
Commentary
In the book of Leviticus today, we learn of the concept of a scapegoat, of a transferring of the sins of the people onto a goat who would then be sent back to Azazel. Now, who is Azazel? What is that about? That is an interesting question because we don’t exactly know for sure. It is a lost Hebrew word. This has been studied by scholars for centuries and basically comes down to this. It is either like an abstract place name, like a state of being, like it means utterly removed into a wasteland, so sent away to never return again into the wilderness. So the scapegoat was sent away where it can never return, gone forever. That is completely plausible, but there is a school of thought among scholars that Azazel was the name of a fallen spiritual being and that school of thought comes because Azazel is named in the noncanonical book of Enoch. There are books that were holy books that have not become canonical as the Bible but still have importance in the faith of both Jews and Christians. Enoch would fall into that category. Azazel is named in Enoch as a leader of fallen angels, a misleader of humankind. So if that were the case, then sending this goat back to Azazel would be to send the sins of the people back to where they came from in the first place. So, fascinating stuff and there is our biblical trivia for the day.
In the book of Mark, Jesus is simply reiterating what he is constantly not only saying but living. Life, your true life, your true self comes from the inside out, not the outside in. This all takes place in a conversation about his disciples being unclean, something that we’re learning quite a bit about in the book of Leviticus. There are clean things and there are unclean things. And we’ve talked about that, because it is no different today. Maybe the things are different, but there is clean and there is unclean and there are things that defile us and make us unclean. I mean, it doesn’t take a degree in theology to figure that out. All we have to do is examine our own lives and our own hearts and we know this. So the religious leaders over 1000 years later are still working through what clean and unclean is and how it has morphed and changed over time. And Jesus is saying you’ve changed this. You’ve changed the meaning of what this was supposed to be in the culture, why this was a law in the first place, and you’ve used it in improper ways to enslave the people. It’s not what goes in that is going to make you unclean. It is what is coming out of your heart. In this we can see clearly that life is from the inside out.
So what is inside of us that is unclean? That is what matters because that cannot coexist with the divine spirit of the living God that is also within us. So even in the book of Leviticus, when God says you can’t bring uncleanness into the holy place, you cannot make my tabernacle unclean, that still applies today. We are the temple of the Lord’s spirit on this earth now. It is the same thing. We cannot make that unclean and be holy at the same time. Jesus gives us instructions for the way to interpret and look at that. It is what is within that is coming out that indicates what is unclean.
Prayer
Father, plenty of things can bubble up by the power of your Holy Spirit right now even as we’re talking to you about this. Plenty of things. We invite your Holy Spirit to show us the places that are unclean. That is not what we want. That is not who we were created to be and that is not who we want to be. So we invite your Holy Spirit to come, consecrate our hearts. Wash us clean. Send away forever the things that are not clean to us and fill us again with the power of your Holy Spirit to lead and guide us on the narrow path that leads to life. We ask this, Jesus, in your name and because of your work to redeem us. Amen.
Announcements
Www.DailyAudioBible.com is home base. It’s the website. It’s where you find out what is going on around here, things like the More Gathering for Women that is coming up April 6 through 9 that we’ve been talking about, the resources that are available there, the shop that is there, the prayer wall that is there. It is kind of like Ground Zero for Daily Audio Bible, so be sure to stay connected.
If you want to partner with the Daily Audio Bible, you can do that at www.DailyAudioBible.com as well. There is a link right on the home page and I thank you profoundly, humbly, truly for your partnership. If you’re using the app, you can press the More button in the lower right-hand corner. Or if you prefer, the mailing address is P.O. Box 1996, Spring Hill, TN 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 will be waiting for you here tomorrow.
Community Prayer Requests and Praise Reports
Hi there. My name is Daisy from Florida. I’m a first-time listener. I started the beginning of this year. A first-time caller too. I’m feeling really encouraged listening to you guys pray for each other at the end of the message here, so I wanted to call in and give my prayer request and join in prayer also. My husband just lost his job, so definitely we need to find another job. He needs health insurance. He __________. He has kidney disease and we need health insurance back for him for sure. I also want to let you guys know that I’m praying for you too, specifically Drew from the Bay Area. I just pray that God gives you wisdom and knowledge and favor at work. I’m new to the DAB family, but I definitely feel like we’re friends and family here. Darrin from Texas, I know you said you’re feeling depressed. I appreciate your honesty and your transparency here sharing with us and I pray that God reveals himself to you. Patrick from California with the spinal cord injury, I know you’ve been talking about you having a lot of pain, so I pray that God heals you from that and just gives you a big tender hug. I pray for your wife and your son. It must be real hard to be a caretaker, but I just ask that God gives you guys guidance and direction and he just reveals himself to you. There was another brother that called in praying for the men. I didn’t catch your name, but thank you for that. I definitely appreciated hearing somebody praying such wonderful things for the men, so I join you in that prayer. Thank you. Joe from Connecticut, talking about spiritual warfare, I pray for you and I pray that you and your kids overcome the attacks of the enemy. God has won the battle on the cross. Just be encouraged. I know you have a men’s conference coming up. I’m praying for that too. Billy from Montgomery,…
Hello fellow Dabbers. It’s the 20th of February. This is Studious Workman up in Beaverton, OR and I just listened and heard the prayer request from Larry in California. I just want you to know, brother, you are loved. You are loved by the Dabber family. You are loved by God. And when you start hearing that you’re condemned, that, you know, ‘well, I haven’t been going to church, I haven’t been faithful,’ God doesn’t worry about that. That is from Satan and if you will resist, he will leave. Brother, you’re not alone. You are receiving prayer. There are thousands of people around the world who have heard your request and will pray for you and are praying for you. My wife and I will be praying for you with great regularity. You will notice an uplifting of the spirit and he will come to you and you will just suddenly find yourself more joyful, more confident. Be encouraged, brother, and carry on. We love you. Bye-bye.
Hi everybody. This is Lisa, the Encourager. I hope you guys are doing great tonight. I am wanting to pray tonight for Kevin in Cali because it has really touched my heart. He has three boys, Levi, Moses, and Tekoa. What beautiful, strong names those are, Kevin. I know when you named each one of them, it meant a lot to you and I know that you’re missing your boys and they are away from you right now and I am praying for reconciliation through all of that. So I’m definitely going to be praying for you tonight. I’m also going to be praying for Irma in Canada. She needs healing in the hospital and they can’t find the source of the pain or what’s wrong. My grandmother’s name is Irma, so I am so happy to pray for Irma in Canada. And one more prayer. I’m going to pray for Dwayne’s nephew tonight that has brain cancer. So let’s pray. Dear Lord, I pray for Levi, Moses, and Tekoa tonight wherever they lay their heads down, that you will just bless them individually, Lord. And I pray, God, that you will just mark their path to be a good and positive path so that they can find you, Lord, in each part of their lives. And I pray, Lord Jesus, for Kevin to just give all of that over to you, just help him to release it and give it all over to you and just put you in control, put you in the driver’s seat, Lord, so that you can direct that in the right direction because we cannot fix it. We can’t make it better. We can’t do it without you, God. So just please, please, Lord, just take the steering wheel for him in this and just let him hand it over to you and just…
Hello family. This is Justin from Sacramento. And I just wanted to call to try to get everybody to do a reframe. When you feel like you’re being oppressed by somebody or mistreated by somebody, reframe your opinion or your viewpoint and try to take the God side of you and see that that person most likely needs what you have. They were probably not put in your life to torment you, but you were put in their life to show them what we have. We have the love of God and it is a beautiful thing that should be shared. We may be missing opportunities to share with others what we have because we’re not able to step out of our own situation and see that they are the ones that need the help. I know I’m not very good at this myself, but I’m hoping to get better and I hope that I’ve said something that somebody can use. I love you all. Go out, make it a great day and show your love to the world. That is how they will know you. They will know that you are his by your love. Love you all.
Good morning DAB family. I’m Carol again from the UK. A few weeks ago I mentioned my husband who will be 87 next month. He believes in God and that Jesus was his Son who died and rose again, but has not made that commitment. I fear he may be in the early stages of dementia, although he is in complete denial. He does get very confused and forgetful. My children say it is just his age. Well, I’m hoping the latter is right, but I ask you to pray for him to accept Jesus in his heart, in his life before it is too late. He is a good and honest man, doing everything to help anyone, and I know people think that this is good enough to enter God’s kingdom, but not to allow Jesus in their lives is not a guarantee. Please pray for him to just open up his heart. I’ve tried and prayed for him for many years, but in vain, so he desperately needs prayer to help him realize that being a good person is just not sufficient enough. As Jesus told Nicodemus, unless one is born again, he cannot enter the kingdom of God. Thank you so much and God bless you all.
Hi Daily Audio Bible family. This is Janine calling from Virginia. I’m calling today to ask for prayers. As a child I was frequently sexually abused, physically abused, and emotionally abused. My father was an alcoholic who held my mother and my brother and I captive with the promise that he would kill my brother and I in front of her and then kill her. Needless to say, every part of me, my life was blown to bits. I’ve battled and still battle PTSD, depression, anxiety, low self-worth, difficulty with relationships, and the list goes on and on. My father died from cancer and my family and I are safe now, but we still suffer the effects of that living nightmare. DAB family, I’m asking for your prayers, that the Lord will put all the broken pieces together, that we can experience total healing, and live a life filled with joy, peace, and love. I listen to Daily Audio Bible every day and I listen to your prayers and I pray for you too, Daily Audio Bible family. I love you all. I thank you.