November 2018 – Page 5 – A Walk Through The Word

November 12, 2018

11/12/2018 DAB Transcript

Ezekiel 24:1-26:21, Hebrews 11:1-16, Psalms 110:1-7, Proverbs 27:14

Today is the 12^th day of November. Welcome to the Daily Audio Bible. I’m Brian. It is a pleasure and an honor and a joy to be here in your presence and all of us together in the presence of God to take the next step forward as we hear from His word. This week we’re reading from the Voice Translation. And we’ll go back into the book of Ezekiel, which is what we’re working our way through right now. Ezekiel chapter 24 verse 1 through 26 verse 21 today.

Commentary:

Okay. So, as we continue our journey through the book of Hebrews we came to a very famous passage of Scripture today but also very, very important territory because we began to discuss what is necessary to enter into and continue to be engaged in a personal relationship with God. And that component is faith. So, like, not to be anti-climatic because we’ve been talking about…like this is not the first time that we’ve encountered this concept in the New Testament or in the Bible, right? We’ve examined it from all kinds of directions as we move through the writings of the apostle Paul. But Hebrews gave us this really succinct and, like I said, famous definition of exactly what we’re talking about when we’re talking about faith in the Bible. Faith is the assurance of things you have hoped for, the absolute conviction that there are realities you have never seen. So, in other words, faith is what allows us to see a reality and begin to live into that reality even though it is not reached its fullness or completion. It gives substance to what is still incomplete or unseen. And if this is faith, which it is, then we have to admit that, as human beings, we’re equipped for this. We all have faith in things we cannot see. Like love. We can’t see love but who among us would deny that it exists? Or tomorrow. Like suns gonna come up tomorrow. Like, we can’t see that yet. We wouldn’t be able to say for a fact that’s gonna happen, but we don’t question whether that daylight will come to the earth in the morning. So, we’re a people of faith. Like, we’re constantly practicing faith every single day one way or another. So, but the point the writer of Hebrews was trying to make wasn’t whether or not faith existed. Then or now, few people would argue that there is a thing called faith. The point was that faith had always been part of the Hebrew story. It had always been the essential piece. It was something that preceded any law, rule, or ritual, or behavior. And, so, because of that, it must be a foundational thing to our existence with God. And that was a very important point for the writer of Hebrews. So, we began to be led down a corridor and we’ll continue down that corridor for a bit, like going into tomorrow and beyond. We just started walking down it today and it’s been lovingly named the hall of faith, right? So, it was by faith that Able brought a more acceptable offering to God. It was by faith that Enoch was taken to heaven without dying. It was by faith that Noah built a large boat to save his family from the flood. It was my faith that Abraham obeyed when God called him to leave home and go somewhere that was promised but somewhere that he’d never been before. It was by faith that even Sarah, who was too old to have children, had a child who was Isaac, the son of promise. So, the hall of faith is gonna continue, and that’s what we’ll be reading tomorrow when we get to the New Testament, but we can already see that the writer of Hebrews was starting at the beginning of Genesis, like was starting at the beginning of the story and started working forward through the stories that are found in Hebrew scriptures. And the point was to reveal that faith had always been the activator. Like it was always the essential piece. And, so, why is this point being brought up? Because it will take faith…it would take faith to enter into a new covenantal relationship with God through Jesus. And it would take faith to hold onto that relationship because people were suffering a lot of marginalization and persecution. And, so, it was gonna take faith. And the point was, this isn’t something new. It had always…faith was always required. So, the hall of faith that we’re walking down, this isn’t like the superhero list, right? We’re not just renaming people that did amazing things that we’ve already encountered in the Bible. These are not people who were exceptions. They’re people who are examples for all of us. Faith was the activator in their stories and we’re not going to get anywhere without faith in our story. Or to quote the writer of Hebrews, “without faith no one can please God, because the one coming to God has to believe that He exists and that He rewards those who come seeking.” So, you know, this is like foundational stuff to the Christian faith to the point that we just kind of gloss over or very easily take for granted something that seems bedrock, has always been a part of what we’ve understood our faith to be. But let’s take some time today to think about what exactly we have put our faith in because, like we said at the beginning of just talking today, we are a people of faith. We put our faith in all kinds of stuff, but slowing down enough to really ask ourselves functionally, what am I really putting my faith in? I mean, maybe you feel like your faith is just, you know, like paper thin, like you can see right through. Usually that’s because we put our faith in an outcome, like we’re expecting. Like, we have faith in God but we’re expecting Him to do something on our behalf and it’s something specific. And that’s not wrong. Like, we’re all forever going to be in need of God’s involvement in our lives. But when our faith is in an expectation, right? When it’s in a specific outcome, then it’s not in God, it’s in the outcome and what we expect God to do. And like, real, true, deep, abiding, honest, authentic faith, it will always take the long view that extends beyond what we may ever see in this lifetime. Like it hopes beyond our time that we get to reside on earth, beyond our mortality and it reaches for God alone. So, let’s invite the Holy Spirit as we consider the purpose of our faith, but also what it is we’ve put our faith in, where it is that our hope actually lies.

Prayer:

Father, we invite You into that. It seems trivial even, maybe simple at the outset. We’re here every day. We’re hearing from Your word. You’re speaking to us. So, it’s sort of like, our faith is in You and You alone. And we declare this in our prayers all the time. However, giving us the invitation to really consider all of the different components and compartments of our lives, all of the different places that we’ve put our faith in a person, in an outcome, in a thing, in an eventuality, we need to be able to see and name those things because we want to please You. And without faith in You we will not be able to. And if that is disconnected, then all of the other things that we put our faith in, they are going to vanish and disappear from us. It is only our faith in You and You alone that will give us hope forever. So, come Holy Spirit we pray. Lead us into all truth. We ask in Jesus’ name. Amen.

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November 12, 2018

The Daily Audio Bible Reading for Monday November 12, 2018 (NIV)

Ezekiel 24-26

This memorable allegory traces the fate of two sisters who represent the two capital cities of Israel and Judah: Samaria and Jerusalem. The graphic portrayals of their sexual exploits are some of the most disturbing in Scripture; they highlight the disgust God and His prophet must feel toward God’s wayward people. Anyone who hears Ezekiel speak this message must come to the same conclusion: God must judge His unfaithful wives. It is right. It is just. It is necessary.

24 The word of the Eternal came to me in the ninth year, in the tenth month, on the tenth day.

Eternal One: ²Son of man, remember this date. Write it down. The Babylonian king laid siege to Jerusalem today. ³Tell this rebellious crowd a parable. Here is what the Eternal Lord has to say:

Put the cooking pot on the fire;
put it on and fill it with water.
⁴Put the finest cuts of meat into it—legs and brisket;
fill it with the best bones.
⁵Pick out the best from the flock,
stack wood beneath the pot,
Bring it to a rolling boil,
and cook what’s in the pot.

No one is safe in the cauldron of Jerusalem.

⁶Woe to this city polluted with blood—
that pot thickly corroded, whose filth is impossible to clean!
Empty the pot one piece at a time;
don’t bother choosing one or the other!
⁷The blood she shed is still polluting the city.
She poured it out on bare rock
Instead of into the ground
to be absorbed by the dust where blood belongs.
⁸I have spilled her blood on bare rock
so that it may not be covered,
knowing My anger would be ignited and My revenge accomplished.
⁹That’s why I, the Eternal Lord, speak out:
Woe to this city polluted with blood;
I will stack the wood Myself—
¹⁰Stack it high beneath the pot
to feed the fire.
Mix spices and seasoning into the boiling brew
and cook the meat and then burn the bones.
¹¹Set the empty pot on the coals
until it grows so hot its metal begins to glow,
its filth melts inside, and no trace of corrosion remains.
¹²But she has thwarted My efforts!
Her massive corrosion remains when the fire should have cleansed her.

¹³Jerusalem, I tried to cleanse your lewd impurity, but you would not stay pure. Because of this, you will not be clean again until after you have suffered the full punishment of My wrath. ¹⁴I, the Eternal One, have spoken. Your day of judgment has arrived, and I will act. I will not be easy on you; I will not feel sorry for you; I will not regret My actions. You will be judged by what you have done and get only what you deserve.

So said the Eternal Lord.

¹⁵The word of the Eternal came to me regarding my wife.

Eternal One: ¹⁶Son of man, in the blink of an eye, I am going to take away the delight of your eyes. Do not weep or grieve or shed a tear. ¹⁷Any groaning must be inward and silent, but do not grieve for the dead. Dress as you always dress: with a turban on your head and sandals on your feet. Don’t do any of the things mourners do. Don’t eat the food others bring to comfort you or cover your upper lip.

¹⁸It happened as such: I preached to the people in the morning, and that evening, my wife passed away. The next morning, I did exactly as I had been instructed to do.

People: ¹⁹Tell us what all of this has to do with us. Why are you acting this way?

Ezekiel: ²⁰The word of the Eternal came to me ²¹with a message for the people of Israel: “Look! I will desecrate My sanctuary—the magnificent house in which you take pride, the desire of your eyes, your complete delight—and all of the children you left behind in Jerusalem will be put to the sword and slaughtered.” ²²You will do exactly as I have done in hiding your grief: You will not eat the food others bring to comfort you or cover your upper lips. ²³You will dress as you always dress: with turbans on your heads and sandals on your feet. You will not mourn or grieve. God tells me, “Instead, you will rot away from within because of your wickedness and moan among yourselves. ²⁴In this way, Ezekiel will be a living example for you. You must do exactly as he has done. When this happens, you will know that I am the Eternal Lord.”

Eternal One: ²⁵As for you, son of man, on the day I seize their fortress—the joyous aspect of their pride, the desire of their eyes, their complete delight—and all of their children, ²⁶a fugitive will escape from the destruction and will come to you in Babylon with news of what happened. ²⁷The day you learn of My judgment, your mouth will be opened, and your silence will be broken. Then you will be able to converse with the fugitive. You will be a living example to them, and they will know that I am the Eternal One.

25 The word of the Eternal came to me regarding how He plans to punish Israel’s neighbors.

Eternal One: ²Son of man, face the Ammonites and preach against them. ³Tell them to listen to the word of the Eternal Lord:

(to Ammon) Because you delighted in the desecration of My sanctuary, because you rejoiced when Israel became a wasteland, and because you cheered when the Judeans went into exile, ⁴I will certainly hand you over to the people of the East. They will set up camp all around you, pitching their tents and settling among you. They will feast off of your tables, eating your fruit and drinking your milk. ⁵I will transform Rabbah, your great city, into a pasture for camels, and Ammon will be turned into a resting place for sheep and goats. Then you will know that I am the Eternal One.

⁶This is what the Eternal Lord has to say about Ammon:

Eternal One: Because you have clapped your hands and stomped your feet, delighting with a malevolent heart against the land of Israel, ⁷I will raise My hand against you and divide you among the nations as prisoners and slaves. I will destroy you completely and make sure you are never a nation again. Then you will know that I am the Eternal One.

⁸This is what the Eternal Lord has to say about Moab:

Eternal One: Because Moab and Seir said, “Look! There’s nothing special about Judah; she is just like every other nation,” ⁹I will lay bare the western defenses of Moab by exposing its frontier cities—Beth-jeshimoth, Baal-meon, and Kiriath aim. ¹⁰I will hand Moab and her northern neighbors the Ammonites over to the people of the East. Then the Ammonites will be entirely forgotten by the nations. ¹¹I will exercise My justice against Moab. Then they will know that I am the Eternal One.

¹²This is what the Eternal Lord has to say about Edom:

Eternal One: Edom took revenge on the people of Judah, and her people are undeniably guilty for avenging themselves against My people. ¹³Because of this, I—the Eternal Lord—will raise My hand to strike Edom and slaughter the people and animals who live there. I will make Edom a wasteland—and everyone from Teman to Dedan will be put to the sword and die. ¹⁴I will take My own revenge on Edom and use My own people Israel as the weapon against them. Israel will do to Edom everything My anger and wrath require, and Edom will experience My vengeance. This I, the Eternal Lord, declare.

¹⁵This is what the Eternal Lord has to say about Philistia:

Eternal One: Because the Philistines had an old grudge against Judah and acted out of revenge and total malevolence to try to destroy My people, ¹⁶therefore I, the Eternal Lord, promise this: I will raise My hand and strike the Philistines, cut off the Cherethites, and slaughter anyone left along the coast. ¹⁷I will bring My fierce vengeance against them, rebuking them and punishing them in My wrath! When I bring My vengeance against them, they will know that I am the Eternal One.

Israel and Judah are not the only nations infuriating God with their conduct. The surrounding countries—Ammon in the northeast, Moab in the east, Edom in the southeast, Philistia in the west, and Tyre in the northwest—have often been at odds with Israel and Judah. So when Judah falls, they celebrate in the streets and begin to figure how they might maneuver around these political and economic changes. Judah’s fall might be a windfall for them. As the Judean exiles are forcibly marched out of their land, their neighbors mercilessly mock them for their crushing defeat. But God takes all of this very personally. He will not tolerate their disrespect of His people, which amounts to disrespect of Him too. So God takes His own revenge and punishes those who delight in Israel’s and Judah’s tragedies.

26 During the eleventh year, on the first day of the month, the word of the Eternal came to me regarding Tyre.

Eternal One: ²Son of man, Tyre has delighted in the news of Jerusalem, saying,

Hurray! The gateway to the nations is broken,
And now it is open for me to receive all of her commerce.
My markets will be full now that she is in ruins.

³Therefore I, the Eternal Lord, am telling you that I am your enemy, Tyre, and I will gather many nations and march them against you, just as the sea marches its waves against the unsuspecting shore. ⁴The waves of the nations will demolish the city walls of Tyre and crumble her towers. After the city is pummeled, I will sweep away all of her rubble and leave nothing but a bare rock. ⁵In the loneliness of the ocean, she will become a desolate island, used only for drying out fishnets. She will become prisoner and slave to all the nations, ⁶and her villages on the mainland will be massacred in battle. Then they will know that I am the Eternal One.

⁷I am going to bring the great Babylonian king, the king of kings named Nebuchadnezzar, against Tyre. He will charge down from the north with strapping horses and indestructible chariots, master horsemen, and an enormous army. ⁸He will dispatch his soldiers to destroy your villages on the mainland and then lay siege against you with ramps against your walls and shields raised to deflect your opposition. ⁹He will demolish your walls with his siege machines and dismantle your towers with axes. ¹⁰You will be covered with dust from the galloping of his war horses. Your walls will shake from the tumult of the horses, wagons, and chariots when he breaches your walls and comes storming into the city. ¹¹His rampaging horses will trample all your streets. He will slaughter everyone in the battle and topple every strong pillar to the ground. ¹²They will loot your wealth and claim your goods! They will tear down your walls and fine houses, and they’ll toss the wood and stone and rubble into the sea. ¹³I will use My avenger to silence your lutes and harps and put an end to your songs. ¹⁴I will leave you a bare rock in the lonely ocean, a desolate island used only for drying out fishnets. I promise you will never be rebuilt. Never. I, the Eternal Lord, declare this.

¹⁵(continuing to Tyre) Don’t you think the coastlands will shake at the sound of your fall, at the groans of the injured, at the great massacre that takes place inside your walls? ¹⁶Then the princes from the other coastal cities will step down from their thrones, give up their royal robes, and remove their embroidered garments. They will clothe their nakedness with sheer terror and sit on the ground, constantly shaking with horror at what happened to you. ¹⁷Then they will sing a dirge over you:

How you are destroyed, O famous city!
City of sea people!
You and your kind were a great force on the seas;
you terrorized all who lived around you.
¹⁸Now, the coastlands will quake on the day when you fall,
and the cities along the shore will be terrified by your passing.

¹⁹When I destroy you and empty your streets, when I drown you and bury you within the ocean depths, ²⁰I will sink you down into the pit where those people from long ago sleep in death. I will make you stay there, in the lower parts of the earth among the ancient ruins with those who dwell in the pit of the dead, and you will never be inhabited again. You will never resurface in the land of the living where I rest My glory. ²¹I will terrify you, and you will meet your end. You will be sought, but you will never be found again.

This is what the Eternal Lord declares.

The Voice (VOICE)

Hebrews 11:1-16

11 Faith is the assurance of things you have hoped for, the absolute conviction that there are realities you’ve never seen. ²It was by faith that our forebears were approved. ³Through faith we understand that the universe was created by the word of God; everything we now see was fashioned from that which is invisible.

Faith begins as hope and indeed is unseen; so many doubt that it is real. What follows is the proof that faith is a reality that can be trusted.

⁴By faith Abel presented to God a sacrifice more acceptable than his brother Cain’s. By faith Abel learned he was righteous, as God Himself testified by approving his offering. And by faith he still speaks, although his voice was silenced by death.

⁵By faith Enoch was carried up into heaven so that he did not see death; no one could find him because God had taken him. Before he was taken up, it was said of him that he had pleased God. ⁶Without faith no one can please God because the one coming to God must believe He exists, and He rewards those who come seeking.

⁷By faith Noah respected God’s warning regarding the flood—the likes of which no one had ever seen—and built an ark that saved his family. In this he condemned the world and inherited the righteousness that comes by faith.

⁸By faith Abraham heard God’s call to travel to a place he would one day receive as an inheritance; and he obeyed, not knowing where God’s call would take him. ⁹By faith he journeyed to the land of the promise as a foreigner; he lived in tents, as did Isaac and Jacob, his fellow heirs to the promise ¹⁰because Abraham looked ahead to a city with foundations, a city laid out and built by God.

¹¹By faith Abraham’s wife Sarah became fertile long after menopause because she believed God would be faithful to His promise. ¹²So from this man, who was almost at death’s door, God brought forth descendants, as many as the stars in the sky and as impossible to count as the sands of the shore.

¹³All these I have mentioned died in faith without receiving the full promises, although they saw the fulfillment as though from a distance. These people accepted and confessed that they were strangers and foreigners on this earth ¹⁴because people who speak like this make it plain that they are still seeking a homeland. ¹⁵If this was only a bit of nostalgia for a time and place they left behind, then certainly they might have turned around and returned. ¹⁶But such saints as these look forward to a far better place, a heavenly country. So God is not ashamed to be called their God because He has prepared a heavenly city for them.

The Voice (VOICE)

Psalm 110

A song of David.

Psalm 110 may have been written to celebrate the coronation of one of David’s sons as king. The Eternal invites the royal son of David to take his rightful place at His right hand, the place of power and authority—not just over Jerusalem but over his enemies as well. But the royal son is to be more than a king, he is to be a priest according the order of that mysterious and enigmatic figure, Melchizedek (Genesis 14:17-24). God promises to give this royal priest-king victory over his enemies as he marches out to war.

This psalm is the psalm most quoted by early Christian writers in the New Testament. As they considered the significance of Jesus, they found that this psalm, more than any, expressed their conviction that the risen Jesus now occupies a unique place at God’s right hand and will be victorious over His enemies.

¹The Eternal said to my lord,
“Sit here at My right hand,
in the place of honor and power,
And I will gather your enemies together,
lead them in on hands and knees;
you will rest your feet on their backs.”

²The Eternal will extend your reach as you rule
from your throne on Zion.
You will be out in enemy lands, ruling.
³Your people will come as volunteers that day; they will be a sight to see:
on that day, you will lead your army, noble in their holiness.
As the new day dawns and dew settles on the grass,
your young volunteers will make their way to you.
⁴The Eternal has sworn an oath
and cannot change His mind:
“You are a priest forever—
in the honored order of Melchizedek.”

⁵The lord is at Your right hand;
on the day that his fury comes to its peak, he will crush kings.
⁶You will see the dead in heaps at the roadside,
corpses spread far and wide in valleys and on hillsides.
Rulers and military leaders will lie among them without distinction.
This will be his judgment on the nations.
⁷There is a brook along the way.
He will stop there and drink;
And when he is finished,
he will raise his head.

The Voice (VOICE)

Proverbs 27:14

¹⁴Anyone who blesses his neighbor with a loud voice
early in the morning,
will find his blessing regarded as a curse.

The Voice (VOICE)

November 11, 2018

11/11/2018 DAB Transcript

Ezekiel 23:1-49, Hebrews 10:19-39, Psalms 109:1-31, Proverbs 27:13

Today is the 11^th day of November. Welcome to the Daily Audio Bible. I’m Brian and it is an honor to be here with you at the beginning of another week. We’ll walk through the threshold together and enter step-by-step through this week like we’ve been doing all year. And it’s all fresh. Nothing’s happened yet, and we can make wise decisions, and one of the wise decisions is to continue to immerse ourselves day by day in God’s word. So, brand-new week. We’ll read from the Voice Translation this week. Ezekiel chapter 23 verses 1 through 49 today.

Prayer:

Father, we thank you for your word. And here we are. We bring attention to it a lot because as we move into each new week we realize that we have gone through seven days and that there is a rhythm here, and that your word is a part of that rhythm. And we’ve been acknowledging lately that there are not that many weeks left. And we acknowledge that we’re moving into the busy season. And, so, we invite your Holy Spirit. As we step through this threshold into a new week we don’t have to be sideswiped, we don’t have to be washed away, rather, we can stand firm and allow your word wash over us. So, come Holy Spirit into this week, we pray. We look forward with longing to all that you will speak to us. Lead us into all truth by the power of your Holy Spirit we ask in Jesus’ name. Amen.

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November 11, 2018

The Daily Audio Bible Reading for Sunday November 11, 2018 (NIV)

Ezekiel 23

23 The word of the Eternal came to me with a parable about two sisters.

Eternal One: ²Son of man, there were two women born of the same mother. ³They became promiscuous in Egypt at a young age. Their breasts were fondled, and their virgin bodies were caressed. ⁴The older sister was named Oholah, and her younger sister was named Oholibah. They married Me, and they gave birth to many sons and daughters.

Oholah is Samaria (the mother city of Israel), and Oholibah is Jerusalem (the mother city of Judah).

After King Solomon’s death, Israel splits into two kingdoms, the two sisters described in this parable. Israel is ruled from Samaria; Judah is ruled from Jerusalem. Both kingdoms are ruled autonomously until Assyria dominates Israel, forcing her to pay tribute. Eventually the Assyrians conquer Israel in 722 b.c. and annex her land. Throughout this struggle, the various kings of Israel turn for help to everyone they can—everyone, that is, except God. Israel’s last cry for help is raised to Egypt in the 730s b.c. by her last king, Hoshea (2 Kings 17:4). Unfortunately, surviving historical records are incomplete, and what happens next is unclear. But in the end, Egypt proves to be no help to Israel.

Eternal One: ⁵Oholah played the whore while she was still Mine. She coveted many lovers, lusting after her neighbors, the Assyrians— ⁶sharply dressed in handsome blue, governors and commanders—all attractive young men mounted on great horses. ⁷She offered herself as a prostitute to all of the fine Assyrian men and anyone who desired her. She degraded herself with the idols of her lovers. ⁸She didn’t stop the promiscuity she began in Egypt, for when she was young she slept with men who caressed her virgin breasts and poured out their lust on her. ⁹So I handed her over to those she loved, the Assyrians whom she desired. ¹⁰They stripped her naked, stole her children, and slaughtered her during the war. So among women, her name became synonymous with disgrace, when they saw the punishment she received.

Unfortunately Judah, the younger sister, repeats Israel’s mistakes. She turns to Egypt against a conquering Babylonian Empire; but this is a grave mistake, for soon she will be completely destroyed.

¹¹Her younger sister, Oholibah, witnessed all that happened; yet Oholibah became more corrupt than her sister. Her wanton lust and prostitution were even worse than her sister’s. ¹²She was obsessed with the Assyrians, too, lusting after the elite—governors and commanders, sharply-dressed warriors—all attractive young men mounted atop great horses. ¹³I saw how she degraded herself. Both she and her sister followed the same path, ¹⁴but Oholibah’s path went further and she traveled longer. She added the Babylonians to her list of paramours. She was captivated by images of men painted on a wall: figures of Chaldeans dressed in red, ¹⁵with expensive belts wrapped around their waists and flowing turbans adorning their heads. All of them looked highly distinguished, like Babylonian officers from the land of Chaldea. ¹⁶As soon as her eyes met these portraits, she lusted after them. And so she sent messengers to them in Chaldea. ¹⁷And the Babylonians accepted her invitation and came into her bed of love, degrading her with their lust. When they had completely defiled her, she turned away from them in disgust. ¹⁸Because she carried on her whoring so publicly and exposed herself to so many, I was repulsed by her just as I was her sister. ¹⁹Yet she went deeper into prostitution when she remembered how she played the whore when she was young in the land of Egypt. ²⁰She lusted for lovers whose genitals were as large as a donkey’s and whose emissions were like a horse’s.

²¹You, Judah, longed for the lewd promiscuity of your youth in Egypt,
when men fondled your breasts and caressed your virgin body.”^[a]
²²Pay attention, Oholibah! I will turn your forgotten lovers against you,
the ones whom you turned away from in disgust.
I will bring them against you from every direction.
²³Babylonians and all the Chaldeans,
the people of Pekod, Shoa, and Koa, and all the Assyrians,
All attractive young men, governors and commanders,
sharply-dressed officers and high-ranking officials mounted atop great horses.
²⁴They will come after you with lethal weapons^[b] in hand,
shields in place, dressed in armor;
And troops will storm you from every side
in war chariots and wagons.
I will hand you over to their judgment,
and they will punish you according to their customs.
²⁵I will unleash My jealous fury against you.
They will slice off your nose and ears and kill the rest of your people in battle.
They will steal your children,
and they will burn any who survive in a fire.
²⁶They will strip you and take away your clothes;
they will rob you of your expensive jewelry.
²⁷This is how I will put a stop to the promiscuities
and prostitution you brought from the land of Egypt.
You will not admire or remember Egypt with yearning anymore.

²⁸Here is what the Eternal Lord has to say:

Eternal One: Pay attention! I am a moment away from handing you over to those whom you loathe, the ones whom you turned away from in disgust. ²⁹They will treat you with hatred and rob you of your lot. They will rip off your clothes in public and leave you naked. The marks of your prostitution—your lewd, promiscuous life—will be apparent. ³⁰You have brought this upon yourself because you played the whore with your neighboring nations, degraded yourself with profane images and breathless idols. ³¹You have followed the same path as your sister; therefore, I will let you drink from her very own cup.

³²You will drink from your sister’s cup,
a cup deep and wide.
It will bring you shame and scorn
and a lot of it.
³³You will drink your fill of drunkenness and agony,
with tears of sorrow running down your cheeks.
This is the cup of ruination, of destruction—
the cup of your sister Samaria!
³⁴You will drink it down and drain it dry;
then you will smash the cup to pieces
And gnaw on its shattered remains;
you will tear at the breasts your enemies once fondled.

For I, the Eternal Lord, have spoken.

³⁵Because you have forgotten Me and tossed Me over your shoulder like a piece of trash, you must reap the consequences of your promiscuities and prostitution.

³⁶(to Ezekiel) Son of man, will you judge Oholah and Oholibah? You must! Confront them about their shocking actions— ³⁷the adulterous liaisons they commit with bloody hands, even sacrificing their sons and daughters, My children, as burnt offerings to breathless idols. ^38-39Not only that, but they have also polluted My sanctuary and profaned My Sabbaths by sacrificing their children to the breathless idols on the same day they came into My house. This is what they did to Me and My house. This is how they profaned it. ⁴⁰They even sent a special invitation to men who lived far away. When they arrived, you had bathed in fragrant waters, painted around your eyes, dressed in seductive garments, and adorned your body with shiny jewelry for your honored guests. ⁴¹You reclined on a silky couch in front of a table set for your visitors with the incense and oils that belonged to Me. ⁴²As for Oholibah, the mellowed crowd gathered around her—drunkards from the desert and noisy commoners. They adorned the arms of the sisters with bracelets I’d given them and placed ostentatious crowns on the heads of My queens. ⁴³Then I wondered about this woman who was exhausted from adulterous sex: “Will they still want to sleep with her, here and now?”^[c] ⁴⁴Yes, they all went into her bed, one after another, and used her as a prostitute. This is what they did to both these wanton women: Oholah and Oholibah. ⁴⁵But righteous people will condemn these sisters to punishment befitting adulterous and murderous women! For they are indeed adulteresses and their hands are covered with innocent blood.

⁴⁶This is what the Eternal Lord has to say:

Eternal One: Bring a vast army against them! Overtake them with terror and plunder their goods! ⁴⁷Their enemies will crush them with large rocks and hack them down in battle. They will massacre their children—My children—and burn down their houses!

(to the sisters) ⁴⁸This is how I will put an end to the lewdness practiced in the land and make you an example to all women, that they may learn from your mistakes and never commit the wicked acts you did. ⁴⁹You will suffer the consequences of your promiscuity; you will bear the penalty for worshiping your idols. Then you will know that I am the Eternal Lord.

Footnotes:

23:21 Hebrew manuscripts read, “because of your young breasts.”
23:24 Meaning of the Hebrew is uncertain.
23:43 Meaning of the Hebrew is uncertain.

The Voice (VOICE)

Hebrews 10:18-39

¹⁸When there is forgiveness such as this, there is no longer any need to make an offering for sin.

¹⁹So, my friends, Jesus by His blood gives us courage to enter the most holy place. ²⁰He has created for us a new and living way through the curtain, that is, through His flesh. ²¹Since we have a great High Priest who presides over the house of God, ²²let us draw near with true hearts full of faith, with hearts rinsed clean of any evil conscience, and with bodies cleansed with pure water. ²³Let us hold strong to the confession of our hope, never wavering, since the One who promised it to us is faithful. ²⁴Let us consider how to inspire each other to greater love and to righteous deeds, ²⁵not forgetting to gather as a community, as some have forgotten, but encouraging each other, especially as the day of His return approaches.

The word translated “church” in English Bibles means literally “assembly of the called”; it implies that members have said “yes” to God’s call in their lives. We assemble because we are called into being by God Himself. Some people, for reasons only they know, choose to live their Christian faiths in isolation. When they do, they cut themselves off from the gifts, encouragement, and vitality of others. And perhaps, just as tragically, they deprive the church of the grace and life God has invested in them.

²⁶Now if we willfully persist in sin after receiving such knowledge of the truth, then there is no sacrifice left for those sins— ²⁷only the fearful prospect of judgment and a fierce fire that will consume God’s adversaries. ²⁸Remember that those who depart from the law of Moses are put to death without mercy based on the testimony of two or three witnesses.^[a] ²⁹Just think how much more severe the punishment will be for those who have turned their backs on the Son of God, trampled on the blood of the covenant by which He made them holy, and outraged the Spirit of grace with their contempt. ³⁰For we know the God who said, “Vengeance belongs to Me—I will repay,”^[b] also said, “The Eternal One will judge His people.”^[c] ³¹It is truly a frightening thing to be on the wrong side of the living God.

³²Instead, think back to the days after you were first enlightened and understood who Jesus was: when you endured all sorts of suffering in the name of the Lord, ³³when people held you up for public scorn and ridicule, or when they abused your partners and companions in the faith. ³⁴Remember how you had compassion for those in prison and how you cheerfully accepted the seizure of your possessions, knowing that you have a far greater and more enduring possession. ³⁵Remember this, and do not abandon your confidence, which will lead to rich rewards. ³⁶Simply endure, for when you have done as God requires of you, you will receive the promise. ³⁷As the prophet Habakkuk said,

In a little while, only a little longer,
the One who is coming will come without delay.
³⁸But My righteous one must live by faith,
for if he gives up his commitment,
My soul will have no pleasure in him.^[d]

³⁹My friends, we are not those who give up hope and so are lost; but we are of the company who live by faith and so are saved.

Footnotes:

The Voice (VOICE)

Psalm 109

For the worship leader. A song of David.

¹O True God of my every praise, do not keep silent!
²My enemies have opened their wicked, deceit-filled mouths and blown their foul breath on me.
They have slandered me with their twisted tongues
³And unleashed loathsome words that swirl around me.
Though I have done nothing, they attack me.
⁴Though I offer them love and keep them in my prayers, they accuse me;
⁵Though I treat them well, they answer me with evil;
though I give them love, they reply with a gesture of hatred.

⁶Here’s what they say: Find some evil scoundrel to go after him.
Let’s get some accuser to level charges against him.
⁷At his trial, let’s make sure he is found guilty
so that even his prayers become evidence that convicts him.
⁸Let his days be few, his life cut short;
let another take over his position.
⁹Lay waste to his family—
let his children become orphans and his wife a widow.
¹⁰Let his children wander the streets—his legacy, homeless beggars
scavenging for food,
[driven out of]^[a] the rubble and slums where they live.
¹¹Let the bankers take what is his;
strangers help themselves to what little is left of all he’s earned.
¹²Let there be no one around to offer him compassion,
nor anyone to give his fatherless children warmth or kindness.
¹³Let his family line come to an end—
no future generations to carry on his name!
¹⁴Let the sins of his fathers be remembered before the Eternal,
and the sins of his mother never be erased.
¹⁵Let their offenses always be before the Eternal
so that the memory of this family is long forgotten by all the people of the earth,
¹⁶Because it never occurred to him to show compassion;
instead, he oppressed the poor, afflicted,
and brokenhearted and sent them to their death.
¹⁷He loved to invoke a curse—so let his curses come back to him.
He preferred not to speak a blessing—so let all blessings be far from him.
¹⁸He wrapped himself with cursing, draped around him like a cape;
may it flood his body like water
and seep into his bones like oil.
¹⁹Let those curses wrap around him like a cloak on a cold night,
like a belt tightly knotted around him every day.
²⁰Let the Eternal so reward my accusers,
all those who speak and plot evil against me.
²¹But You, my Master, the Eternal,
treat me with kindness for the sake of Your name, the good of Your reputation;
because Your unfailing love is so good, O deliver me!
²²You see, I am poor and needy,
and my heart is broken inside me.
²³My life is fading away like a shadow that vanishes in the evening;
I am like a locust easily brushed off the shoulder.
²⁴I can barely stand; my knees are weak from not eating;
I am haggard and drawn, just skin and bones.
²⁵I have become a person of contempt to my accusers;
whenever they see me, they taunt me, shaking their heads in disapproval.

²⁶Help me, Eternal One my God; come to my rescue!
Save me through Your unfailing love.
²⁷Let everyone know that You are the source of my salvation
that You, Eternal One, have done this mighty work.
²⁸Let them utter a curse, if they will, but You will speak a blessing;
[when they come to attack,]^[b] let them know utter shame.
Then Your servant will celebrate and praise You!
²⁹Let my enemies be clothed with disgrace and humiliation;
let them be dressed in a robe of their own shame.
³⁰I will continually give thanks to the Eternal
with the praises of my mouth;
I will praise Him in the company of many.
³¹For He always stands in support of the afflicted and needy
to rescue their souls from those who judge and condemn them.

Footnotes:

109:10 Hebrew manuscripts read, “sought among.”
109:28 Greek manuscripts omit this portion.

The Voice (VOICE)

Proverbs 27:13

¹³If someone guarantees a stranger’s debt, hold his garment as collateral;
if that guarantee is for the debt of a foreigner, make sure you get a deposit.

The Voice (VOICE)

November 10, 2018

11/10/2018 DAB Transcript

Ezekiel 21:1-22:31, Hebrews 10:1-18, Psalms 108:1-13, Proverbs 27:12

Today is the 10^th day of November. Welcome to the Daily Audio Bible. I am Brian and it’s a pleasure to be here with you at the close of another week. And, yup, this happens every seven days but they start adding up after a while and pretty soon you’re closer to the end of the year than you were at the beginning and that’s certainly where we find ourselves. So, we’ve been reading from the names of God Bible this week and we’ll close our week out together reading from this translation. Ezekiel chapter 21 verse 1 through 22 verse 31 today.

Prayer:

Father, we thank You for another week in Your word. And we kind of make a joke out of it but the truth is there aren’t too many more of these weeks left in this year. And we acknowledge, it’s about to get busy for us. We are turning into the busiest time of the year - a lot of hustle and bustle, a lot of joy - and it’s all centered around…it’s all centered around Your arrival, Jesus. But its disruptive and before we go into all of that, here we are, understanding and making acknowledgment that there aren’t too many weeks left and we want to finish strong because You have spoken powerfully into our lives this year. And, so, come Holy Spirit. As we continue to take the steps forward, plant the Scriptures, the word of God in our hearts and may it be planted in good soil and may yield the fruit of the Spirit in our lives. We ask in Jesus’ name. Amen.

Announcements:

dailyaudiobible.com is the website, its home base, its where you find out what’s going on around here. So, be sure to stay connected.

Visit the Prayer Wall. Pray for your brothers and sisters there. Visited the Daily Audio Bible shop. There are resources there for this journey.

If you want to partner with the Daily Audio Bible, you can do that at dailyaudiobible.com as well. There is a link on the homepage. And I humbly and gratefully thank you for your partnership. If you’re using the Daily Audio Bible app, you can press the Give button in the upper right-hand corner or, if you prefer, 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 Prayer and Praise:

Good evening everyone at DAB. Asia, really, really sorry to hear about your loss and praying for your family and I really hope everyone is mourning and grieving well with you. And so, be blessed and be strong in God. And please family, can you pray for me and my family? This is Charlotte in England and my family has been through a lot in this year, a lot of trouble, and there’s been really good friends trying to help me through it. And, so, please can you pray for my parents and their strength, their peace, rest, and sanity because they’ve been helping me a really great deal. And my mental health as well, because it can get a little bit overwhelming in my own head sometimes. And not being able to verbalize it properly kind of gives it a bit of an outburst. And also, for me to be a little bit less selfish, but more to reach out to others in a way that’s actually tangible. And, so, could you place for those things? I hope GG, you’re okay. Haven’t heard from you in a while. God bless everyone. Bye.

Hello everybody. Hey, this is Annette Allison. Man, I just had a great talk with one of our sisters today. Today is November 5^th and I’m just out riding the motorcycle and enjoying the evening here and I’m sitting down by a lake and it’s really pretty and nice and almost warm and the sun is going down and it’s just a great big beautiful clear sky and the sun is going down and its orange and it’s so bright. I almost can’t even see to drive ahead. It’s just blinding and it’s almost devastating and painful. And I’m thinking to myself that‘s probably how a lot of people are feeling right now. But, I understand pain. Pain is…it’s blinding and it’s just devastating and we can’t look out in front of us, but the one thing about the sun going down is that we get time to rest and to think and to dream and to gather our thoughts that hope is coming, hope is coming. And, just like it says, you know, there might be pain in the night, but joy comes in the morning. Joy, just the same way that the sun goes down in the evening and it rises in the morning with a great big beautiful sky. And we can take hope that when the sun comes up God is telling us, try again, this is another day don’t worry about yesterday, drive on, I’m making all things new, right? I love you guys.

Hi DABbers, it’s Dependent on You calling. Just wanted to call in for two reasons, to say I just love this community. I just feel so blessed to be a part of it and that I love that we are all praying for each other and I’m praying for you. And reaching out today for continued prayer for my marriage please. I am still standing for this marriage and still fighting for it, but the road continues to be very painful. And although I see the Lord at work, I see Him at work, it doesn’t always…you know…in the natural it doesn’t always…you know…seem every day like it’s going in the right direction. But I know the Lord is working and He just keeps impressing it upon my heart to stay the course, to stay this course, to persevere and __ after prayer for me to be able to persevere in this. I ask for prayer that my husband returns to his relationship with the Lord as he is still running the opposite direction. I ask for a reconciliation in his relationship with Christ. I pray for restoration of my marriage and the healing of my family, strength for me, and just healing on everybody’s heart. It’s just that…I hope that the Lord get all the glory for all of this, through every step of this journey, through every pain, and through the final outcome that the Lord just gets the glory and that this marriage can be used as a testimony. And thank you, I love…

Hi Daily Audio Bible family. This is Christine from Washington state. I need prayer and I feel like my prayers are trivial compared to the ones that are for help or children that are having issues, but I don’t know where to turn and my husband has just been terrible for years. I’ve called to pray for his salvation for __. But today I went out to work and this employee that has caused trouble in our marriage snapped at me, brought him into it, and I feel so humiliated and __. He literally threw me out of our office in front of everyone. And I just don’t know what to do. I don’t know, I just hate __ who she is. She is so, so evil and so bad. And I just pray for protection from her over me and over my husband and my children. I don’t know what to do. I am completely and totally staying in my car and I am __ and humiliated and I just need your prayers. Thank you.

November 10, 2018

The Daily Audio Bible Reading for Saturday November 10, 2018 (NIV)

Ezekiel 21-22

The Sword of the Lord

21 ^[a]Yahweh spoke his word to me. He said, ²“Son of man, turn to Jerusalem, preach against the holy places. Prophesy against the land of Israel. ³Tell the land of Israel, ‘This is what Yahweh says: I am against you. I will take my sword out of its scabbard and kill the righteous people and the wicked people among you. ⁴I’m going to kill the righteous people and the wicked people among you. That is why my sword will come out of its scabbard to be used against everyone from the south to the north. ⁵Then everyone will know that I, Yahweh, have taken my sword from its scabbard, and I will not put it back again.’

⁶“So, son of man, groan with a breaking heart and with bitter crying while the people watch you. ⁷When they ask you why you are groaning, say, ‘News has come that will discourage everyone. People’s hands will hang limp, their hearts will lose courage, and their knees will become as weak as water. It’s coming! It will surely take place!’ declares Adonay Yahweh.”

⁸Yahweh spoke his word to me. He said, ⁹“Son of man, prophesy. Tell them, ‘This is what Adonay says:

A sword, a sword is sharpened and polished,
¹⁰It’s sharpened to kill
and polished to flash like lightning.
How can we rejoice?
My son has refused to be disciplined or punished.^[b]
¹¹The sword has been handed over to be polished,
to be placed in the hand.
The sword is being sharpened and polished
to be placed in the hands of killers.

¹²“‘Cry and mourn, son of man,
because the sword will be used against my people
and against all the princes of Israel.
I will throw the princes and my people on the sword.
So beat your breast, and grieve.
¹³Testing will surely come.
What if you refuse to be disciplined again?
Won’t you be tested? declares Adonay Yahweh.
¹⁴So prophesy, son of man.
Clap your hands!
Let the sword strike again and again.
It’s the sword for killing.
It’s the sword for killing many people.
It’s the sword that surrounds them.
¹⁵I have appointed my sword to slaughter people at all their gates
so that their hearts will sink and many will die.
Yes! It’s ready to flash like lightning.
It’s polished to kill.
¹⁶Sword, cut to the right.
Cut to the left
or wherever your blade is turned.
¹⁷I will also clap my hands and rest from my fury.
I, Yahweh, have spoken.’”

The Sword of the King of Babylon

¹⁸Yahweh spoke his word to me. He said, ¹⁹“Son of man, mark two roads that the king of Babylon and his sword can take. Both of these roads should start from the same country. Make a sign, and put it where the roads start to fork toward the cities. ²⁰Mark the road that the king and his sword can take to the Ammonite city of Rabbah, and mark the road that leads to Judah and the fortified city of Jerusalem. ²¹The king of Babylon will stop where the roads branch off, where there is a fork in the road. Then he will look for omens. He will shake some arrows, ask his household gods for help, and examine animal livers. ²²The omens will indicate that he should go to the right, to Jerusalem. So he will set up his battering rams there, give the order to kill, raise a battle cry, aim the battering rams against the city gates, put up ramps, and set up blockades. ²³The people won’t believe this because they have made treaties with other nations. But the king of Babylon will remind them of their sins, and they will be captured.

²⁴“This is what Adonay Yahweh says: You make people remember how sinful you are because you openly do wrong. You show your sins in everything you do. So you will be taken captive.

²⁵“You dishonest and wicked prince of Israel, the time for your final punishment has come. ²⁶This is what Adonay Yahweh says: Take off your turban, and get rid of your crown. Things are going to change. Those who are unimportant will become important, and those who are important will become unimportant. ²⁷Ruins! Ruins! I will turn this place into ruins! It will not be restored until its rightful owner comes. Then I will give it to him.

²⁸“Son of man, prophesy. Tell them, ‘This is what Adonay Yahweh says about the Ammonites and their insults:

A sword, a sword is drawn ready to kill.
It’s polished to destroy and flash like lightning.
²⁹People see false visions about you
and prophesy lies about you.
The sword will be placed on the necks of dishonest, wicked people,
for whom the time of final punishment has come.

³⁰“‘Return your sword to its scabbard.
In the place where you were created,
in the land where you were born,
there I will judge you.
³¹I will pour out my fury on you
and breathe on you with my fiery anger.
I will hand you over to cruel people who are skilled in destruction.
³²You will be fuel for the fire.
You will die in the land.
You will no longer be remembered.
I, Yahweh, have spoken.’”

Jerusalem Is Judged because of Its Murderous History

22 Yahweh spoke his word to me. He said, ²“Will you judge, son of man? Will you judge the city of murderers? Then tell it about all the disgusting things that it has done. ³Tell it, ‘This is what Adonay Yahweh says: Jerusalem, you are the city that murders people who live in you. Your time has come. You dishonor yourself with disgusting idols. ⁴You are guilty because of the people you have killed. You are dishonored because of the disgusting idols you have made. You have brought an end to your days, and you have come to the end of your years. That is why I will make you a disgrace to the nations and a joke in every land. ⁵Those near and those far away will mock you. Your name will be dishonored, and you will be filled with confusion.

⁶“‘See how all the princes of Israel who live in you have used their power to murder people. ⁷People in you hate their fathers and mothers. They oppress foreigners in you. They oppress orphans and widows in you. ⁸You have despised my holy things and dishonored the day to worship me. ⁹Some of your people slander. They want to kill people. People who live in you eat food sacrificed to idols at the worship sites on the hills, and they sin sexually. ¹⁰Men have sex with their father’s wives. They have sex with women when the women are having their periods and are unclean.^[c] ¹¹Men do disgusting things with their neighbors’ wives. Some men sexually dishonor their daughters-in-law. Other men who live in you have sex with their sisters, their father’s daughters. ¹²Other people take bribes to murder people. You collect interest and make excessive profits. You make profits by mistreating your neighbors. You have forgotten me, declares Adonay Yahweh.

¹³“‘I will use my power against you because of the excessive profits you have made and the murders you have committed. ¹⁴Will you still be brave? Will you remain strong when I deal with you? I, Yahweh, have spoken, and I will do it. ¹⁵I will scatter you among the nations and force you into other countries. I will put an end to your uncleanness. ¹⁶You will be dishonored in the sight of the nations. Then you will know that I am Yahweh.’”

¹⁷Then Yahweh spoke his word to me. He said, ¹⁸“Son of man, the people of Israel have become worthless to me. All of them are like copper, tin, iron, and lead in a smelting furnace. They are like the impurities left from silver. ¹⁹This is what Adonay Yahweh says: All of you have become worthless. That is why I’m going to gather you in Jerusalem. ²⁰People gather silver, copper, iron, lead, and tin together in a smelting furnace to melt them with a fiery blast. In the same way, in my anger and fury I will gather you and put you in the city. I will melt you there. ²¹Yes, I will gather you, breathe on you with my fiery anger, and melt you in the city. ²²You will be melted in the city like silver that is melted in a furnace. Then you will know that I, Yahweh, have poured out my fury on you.”

²³Yahweh spoke his word to me. He said, ²⁴“Son of man, tell the city, ‘You are an unclean land that has not had rain during the day of my anger. You have not been made clean.^[d] ²⁵Your princes are like roaring lions who tear their prey into pieces. They eat people and take their treasures and precious belongings. They turn many women into widows. ²⁶Your priests violate my teachings and dishonor my holy things. They don’t distinguish between what is holy and what is unholy. They don’t teach the difference between what is clean and what is unclean. They ignore the days to worship me. So I am dishonored among the people. ²⁷Your leaders are like wolves that tear their prey into pieces. They murder and destroy people to make excessive profits. ²⁸Your prophets cover up these things by seeing false visions and by prophesying lies. They say, “This is what Adonay Yahweh says.” Yet, Yahweh hasn’t spoken. ²⁹The common people oppress and rob others. They do wrong to humble people and to poor people. They oppress foreigners for no reason.

³⁰“‘I looked for someone among you who could build walls or stand in front of me by the gaps in the walls to defend the land and keep it from being destroyed. But I couldn’t find anyone. ³¹So I will pour out my anger on you, and with my fiery anger I will consume you. This is because of all the things you have done,’ declares Adonay Yahweh.”

Footnotes:

Ezekiel 21:1 Ezekiel 21:1–32 in English Bibles is Ezekiel 21:6–37 in the Hebrew Bible.
Ezekiel 21:10 Hebrew meaning of this sentence uncertain.
Ezekiel 22:10 “Unclean” refers to anything that Moses’ Teachings say is not presentable to God.
Ezekiel 22:24 “Clean” refers to anything that Moses’ Teachings say is presentable to God.

Names of God Bible (NOG)

Hebrews 10:1-17

We Can Enter the Most Holy Place because of Christ’s Superior Work

10 Moses’ Teachings with their yearly cycle of sacrifices are only a shadow of the good things in the future. They aren’t an exact likeness of those things. They can never make those who worship perfect. ²If these sacrifices could have made the worshipers perfect, the sacrifices would have stopped long ago. Those who worship would have been cleansed once and for all. Their consciences would have been free from sin. ³Instead, this yearly cycle of sacrifices reminded people of their sins. ⁴(The blood of bulls and goats cannot take away sins.)

⁵For this reason, when Christ came into the world, he said,

“‘You did not want sacrifices and offerings,
but you prepared a body for me.
⁶You did not approve of burnt offerings and sacrifices for sin.’
⁷Then I said, ‘I have come!
(It is written about me in the scroll of the book.)
I have come to do what you want, my God.’”

⁸In this passage Christ first said, “You did not want sacrifices, offerings, burnt offerings, and sacrifices for sin. You did not approve of them.” (These are the sacrifices that Moses’ Teachings require people to offer.) ⁹Then Christ says, “I have come to do what you want.” He did away with sacrifices in order to establish the obedience that God wants. ¹⁰We have been set apart as holy because Yeshua Christ did what God wanted him to do by sacrificing his body once and for all.

¹¹Every day each priest performed his religious duty. He offered the same type of sacrifice again and again. Yet, these sacrifices could never take away sins. ¹²However, this chief priest made one sacrifice for sins, and this sacrifice lasts forever. Then he received the highest position in heaven. ¹³Since that time, he has been waiting for his enemies to be made his footstool. ¹⁴With one sacrifice he accomplished the work of setting them apart for God forever.

¹⁵The Holy Spirit tells us the same thing: ¹⁶“This is the promise^[a] that I will make to them after those days, says the Lord: ‘I will put my teachings in their hearts and write them in their minds.’”

¹⁷Then he adds, “I will no longer hold their sins and their disobedience against them.”

Footnotes:

Hebrews 10:16 Or “covenant.”

Names of God Bible (NOG)

Psalm 108

Psalm 108^[a]

A song; a psalm by David.

¹My heart is confident, O Elohim.
I want to sing and make music even with my soul.^[b]
²Wake up, harp and lyre!
I want to wake up at dawn.
³I want to give thanks to you among the people, O Yahweh.
I want to make music to praise you among the nations
⁴because your mercy is higher than the heavens.
Your truth reaches the skies.

⁵May you be honored above the heavens, O Elohim.
Let your glory extend over the whole earth.

⁶Save us with your powerful hand, and answer us
so that those who are dear to you may be rescued.

⁷Elohim has promised the following through his holiness:
“I will triumph!
I will divide Shechem.
I will measure the valley of Succoth.
⁸Gilead is mine.
Manasseh is mine.
Ephraim is the helmet on my head.
Judah is my scepter.
⁹Moab is my washtub.
I will throw my shoe over Edom.
I will shout in triumph over Philistia.”

¹⁰Who will bring me into the fortified city?
Who will lead me to Edom?
¹¹Isn’t it you, O Elohim, who rejected us?
Isn’t it you, O Elohim, who refused to accompany our armies?

¹²Give us help against the enemy
because human assistance is worthless.
¹³With Elohim we will display great strength.
He will trample our enemies.

Footnotes:

Psalm 108:1 Verses 1–5 are virtually identical in wording to Psalm 57:7–11; verses 6–13 are virtually identical in wording to Psalm 60:5–12.
Psalm 108:1 Or “my glory.”

Names of God Bible (NOG)

Proverbs 27:12

¹²Sensible people foresee trouble and hide.
Gullible people go ahead and suffer.

Names of God Bible (NOG)

November 10, 2018

11/09/2018 DAB Transcript

Ezekiel 20:1-49, Hebrews 9:11-28, Psalms 107:1-43, Proverbs 27:11

Today is the 9^th day of November. Welcome to the Daily Audio Bible. I’m Brian. It is a pleasure and always an honor to be here with you and take the next step forward as we continue our journey through the Scriptures this year and through this month, the month of November. So, we’ve been reading from the Names of God Bible this week, which is what we will continue to do all the way through the end of the week. And back out into Ezekiel we go. Chapter 20 verses 1 through 49 today.

Commentary:

Okay. So, as we go through the book of Hebrews and as we’ve come this far in the book of Hebrews we’ve pointed out many times the Jewish context because, well, I mean, the book of Hebrews, its title says it all. It’s Hebrews. So, the Jewish context is irreplaceable in the book of Hebrews. And there are times that we’ll read passages that may seem highly theological, but they were written in a context that was understood and that context would have been the Jewish religion, Judaism. So, it’s within this context that Hebrews presented the good news of the gospel. But we if we don’t understand the context, we don’t really find ourselves finding what’s being said so revolutionary when, in fact, this message was unbelievably revolutionary. So, in Hebrews today we read, with His own blood, not the blood of goats and calves, He entered the most holy place once for all time and secured our redemption forever. And we can all go, you know, Amen to that. But if we were to go back through that again and pretend that we don’t have any knowledge of Jewish worship from the Old Testament then it’s all kind of strange, right? The references to the blood of goats and calves and the most holy place? They wouldn’t make any sense. And, so, even having the knowledge that we do, we still can miss the magnitude of what’s being said here. This sacrificial system had been in place with the Hebrew culture for centuries. This system of worship included a temple, a most holy place, a high priest, and sacrifices, among other things. The writer of Hebrews was announcing that the final sacrifice had been made. So, what had been baked into the culture for century after century after century, the announcement here is that the final sacrifice has been made, a new covenant has begun, and once for all time redemption has been secured through Jesus. So, again, we can go, Amen to that. But this would’ve been incredibly good but very disruptive news, the kind that would’ve been hard to believe because it was a proclamation that the law had been fulfilled. So, another one of these things that had been baked into the culture, it had been fulfilled and it reached its conclusion, it had been accomplished, it was finished, which is exactly what Jesus announced moments before his death. So for a first century Hebrew who was devout, this message invited a fundamental paradigm shift, one that had been foretold, but one that challenged entire understandings of God. So, skepticism and fear would’ve been a part of any person considering this because the entire system of worship had been built to atone for sin. And through that being focused to devotion on being faithful to God. So, it would have been difficult to recalibrate and just accept the idea that the final sacrifice had been made. Sacrifice was no longer necessary because all sin for all time had been removed for those who accepted this new covenant. So, all of the rituals and all of the way that society was ordered could be set aside in favor of an actual relationship, like a first-hand first-person relationship with God through Jesus and the indwelling of the Holy Spirit. On the other hand, something along these lines and was expected. They had been hoping for a Redeemer and it had been foretold. So, to think that the final sacrifice might have been made, and through that sacrifice sin could be eliminated once and for all meant that righteousness before God was possible. And the writer of Hebrews said it like this, Christ was offered once for all time as a sacrifice to take away the sins of many people. He will come again not to deal with our sins but to bring salvation to all who are eagerly waiting for him. So, what a relief this message would’ve been for those who embraced it. What a relief it is to us, I mean, such a relief that we can often take it for granted. And, so, even though we understand, like, that thus is fundamental truth for Christians, looking and the Good News through Hebrew eyes should make us all the more awestruck that God not only grafted us into his family but that God invited us to come close. We’re not required to make sacrifices anymore. We’re to become the living sacrifice. So, looking through these I should rejuvenate our faith. Let’s not forget what a relief the Good News of the gospel is.

Prayer:

Father, we invite you into that. We thank you. We thank you Jesus for coming for us. We thank you for your work on this earth to redeem us. We thank you that we are able to enter into that work and be your hands and feet in this world. We thank you that you have invited us to come close and that you have removed the stain of sin from our lives. Come, Holy Spirit, help us to live into that because we are still focusing quite a bit in our sin and you are saying, it’s not about that anymore, you’re a new person, you can walk out of that, that does not have any control in your life anymore. So come Holy Spirit and show us how to live this out and how to walk into the freedom that you are offering. Come Jesus, we pray. In your name we ask. Amen.

Announcements:

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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 Prayer and Praise:

Hi, this is Saved in Albuquerque. I am calling on behalf of Christine with the bumpy dog and you are trapped in the hospital right through Thanksgiving I believe. I’ve heard your calls a few times and you’re just always just have a such beautiful voice and beautiful thoughts for everyone and I’m just lifting you up along with our entire community and we are praying for your healing, for your complete healing actually and we are with you. I can’t even imagine being trapped in a hotel for this long, but you seem to have such a beautiful attitude and we know it’s because of Christ. And I just wanted you to know that we’re all living you and I wanted to pray for you right now. Heavenly Father, please lift up Christine with with a bumpy dog. I’d love to hear where that name came from, but we want to give her hope. We’re asking for her hope for her complete healing and restoration so that she can be with her family and join them for the holidays and be relieved from the hospital very, very soon. We know that she would be more comfortable at home and we’re just all lifting you up Christine and we’re there for you. God bless you. Amen.

Hi Brian, __ here. DAB family. Thank you for your kind prayers and thoughts regarding __ my wife and myself through Jesus. My testimony, I thank the Jesus for an employer giving his life to Christ this morning on the phone. Please pray for him to walk true in our Savior. His name’s Jason. My wife and I we __ would continue to __ grace. I’ve just been offered a job to fill an urgent need at a special needs school for a year/six based for 10 to 11-year old boys, which I haven’t had extensive training in. __ issues as well as me not being able to concentrate on doing a music job earning at least 1000 pounds in order to start paying back my university fees. Please pray that God’s will is done and that I’m in the right spirit, __, and character, that I get on well with my next employer’s, whoever they are, and that everything dovetails with my involvement with my own church __ temple as the job, special needs or come whatever __ God. I’ve been asked to do a trial tomorrow at school and I’m willing to help out but that may mean working after school from Thursday until Monday, the son of a friend of my wife and I staying in our home. At times I have to be with him constantly while our friends are abroad. So, that will limit how I can work on those days. But Brian, your comments on Hebrews 5 about Melchizedek. Wonderful. I __ … we’re grateful for every answered prayer. Thank you for all you do and for your prayers and for your __. Bless. Greg from the UK.

Hi, this is Victoria from Arizona. I am calling in for my daughter-in-law who just had a baby yesterday. And I’m just praying for her to be completely and totally healed from the top of her head to the soles of her feet, that God would just so minister to her. Her blood pressure bottomed out and she really had a rough go of it. And I’m just praying for physical, naturally, spiritually, and emotionally that she would just rebound and really quickly. And if you get just read agree with me. Her name is Danielle, that God would just wrap His loving arms around her and just encourage her today, and that the baby would be doing okay. I’m so excited to have another little grandson. It’s been a rough year. I don’t know if you remember me, but I lost my son a December and I lost my husband in May. So, this little grand-baby is just gonna bring so much joy, I know, to our family. And I’m praying for healing and restoration for our family as we…as we’re going to the holidays it’s gonna be a little tough. And I’m praying for God’s grace for my family and God’s mercy and __ encouragement. And I just covered all your prayers. My name is Vicki. And I just thank you and I thank you Brian and Jill. And I thank you for this ministry. I thank you for all the prayer warriors. I thank you that God is…God is so connected. It’s just amazing to me that I can call in, people from around the world are praying for my little sweet daughter-in-law that I just love so much. I appreciate all and have a great day.

Hello, my name’s Bill, I’m a first-time caller. I’m calling to request that my Daily Audio Bible colleagues pray for my father’s recovery tomorrow from cancer surgery. He served his country and his family for many years. I’m hoping that through your intervention, through your intercession and God’s intervention he’ll have a complete recovery. Thank you and God bless you, goodbye.

November 9, 2018

The Daily Audio Bible Reading for Friday November 9, 2018 (NIV)

Ezekiel 20

Israel’s Past and Present Sins

20 On the tenth day of the fifth month in the seventh year, some of the leaders of Israel came to ask for Yahweh’s help. They sat in front of me.

²Then Yahweh spoke his word to me. He said, ³“Son of man, speak to the leaders of Israel. Tell them, ‘This is what Adonay Yahweh says: Are you coming to ask me for help? As I live, declares Adonay Yahweh, you will not be allowed to ask me for help.’

⁴“Will you judge them? Will you judge them, son of man? Tell them about the disgusting things their ancestors did. ⁵Tell them, ‘This is what Adonay Yahweh says: When I chose Israel, I raised my hand and swore an oath to the descendants of Jacob’s family. I made myself known to them in Egypt. I made a promise to them and said, “I am Yahweh your Elohim.” ⁶At that time I promised to bring them out of Egypt to a land that I had chosen for them. This land is the most beautiful land, a land flowing with milk and honey. ⁷I said to them, “Get rid of the detestable idols that you look to for help. Don’t dishonor yourselves with the disgusting idols of Egypt. I am Yahweh your Elohim.”

⁸“‘But they rebelled against me and refused to listen to me. Not one of them got rid of the detestable idols that they looked to for help. They didn’t abandon the disgusting idols of Egypt. So I was going to pour out my fury on them and unleash my anger on them in Egypt. ⁹But I acted so that my name would not be dishonored among the nations where they were living. While other nations were watching, I made myself known to them by bringing the Israelites out of Egypt.

¹⁰“‘So I brought the Israelites out of Egypt and led them into the desert. ¹¹I gave them my laws and made my rules known to them. If people obey them they will live. ¹²I also gave them certain days to worship me as a sign between us so that they would know that I, Yahweh, made them holy.

¹³“‘But the people of Israel rebelled against me in the desert. They didn’t live by my laws, and they rejected my rules. If people obey them, they will live. They dishonored the days to worship me. So I was going to pour out my fury on them in the desert and completely wipe them out. ¹⁴But I acted so that my name would not be dishonored among the nations who had watched me bring the Israelites out of Egypt. ¹⁵I also swore an oath to them in the desert. I swore that I would not bring them into the land that I had promised to give them. This land is the most beautiful land, a land flowing with milk and honey. ¹⁶They rejected my rules, and they didn’t live by my laws. They dishonored the days to worship me, because their hearts chased disgusting idols. ¹⁷But I had compassion on them. I didn’t destroy them or completely wipe them out in the desert. ¹⁸I said to their children in the desert, “Don’t live by the laws of your ancestors. Don’t obey their rules or dishonor yourselves with their disgusting idols. ¹⁹I am Yahweh your Elohim. Live by my laws. Obey my rules and follow them. ²⁰Set apart certain holy days to worship me. This will be a sign between me and you so that you will know that I am Yahweh your Elohim.”

²¹“‘But they rebelled against me. They didn’t live by my laws, and they didn’t obey my rules and follow them. If people obey them, they will live. They dishonored the days to worship me. So I was going to pour out my fury on them and unleash my anger on them in the desert. ²²But I didn’t use my power so that my name would not be dishonored among the nations who had watched me bring the Israelites out of Egypt. ²³I raised my hand and swore an oath to them in the desert. I promised to scatter them among the nations and force them into other countries. ²⁴They didn’t follow my rules, and they rejected my laws. They dishonored the days to worship me, and they looked to their ancestors’ disgusting idols for help. ²⁵I also allowed them to follow laws that were no good and rules by which they could not live. ²⁶I let them dishonor themselves when they sacrificed all their firstborn sons as gifts to their false gods. I terrified them so that they would know that I am Yahweh.’

²⁷“Speak to the nation of Israel, son of man. Tell them, ‘This is what Adonay Yahweh says: Your ancestors insulted me again because they were unfaithful to me. ²⁸I brought them to the land that I promised to give them. When they saw any high hill or any leafy tree, they made sacrifices and brought offerings there to make me angry. There they offered their sacrifices and poured out their wine offerings. ²⁹Then I asked them, “What is this worship site you’re going to?” ’ (So it is still called ‘worship site’ today.)

³⁰“Tell the nation of Israel, ‘This is what Adonay Yahweh says: Will you dishonor yourselves the way your ancestors did? Will you chase their detestable idols like a prostitute? ³¹You offer your children as sacrifices by burning them alive. You dishonor yourselves with all your disgusting idols to this day. Should you be allowed to ask me for help, nation of Israel?

“‘As I live, declares Adonay Yahweh, you won’t be allowed to ask me for help. ³²What you have in mind will never happen. You think that you want to be like other nations, like the different people in other countries. You want to serve wood and stone.

³³“‘As I live, declares Adonay Yahweh, I will rule you with a mighty hand and a powerful arm, and I will pour out my fury. ³⁴I will bring you out from the nations and gather you from the countries where I have scattered you with my mighty hand and powerful arm. I will pour out my fury. ³⁵I will bring you into the desert of the nations. There I will put you on trial face to face. ³⁶I will put you on trial as I put your ancestors on trial in the desert of Egypt, declares Adonay Yahweh. ³⁷Then I will make you suffer punishment and make you keep the terms of the promise.^[a] ³⁸I will get rid of rebels and those who do wrong against me. I will bring you out of the land where you are living. You will never enter Israel. Then you will know that I am Yahweh.

Israel’s Future

³⁹“‘Nation of Israel, this is what Adonay Yahweh says: Serve your disgusting idols. But afterwards, you will listen to me. You will no longer dishonor my holy name with your gifts and your disgusting idols.

⁴⁰“‘The entire nation of Israel, everyone in the land, will worship me on my holy mountain, the high mountain of Israel, declares Adonay Yahweh. There I will accept you. There I will look for your offerings, your best gifts, and all your holy gifts. ⁴¹When I bring you out from the nations and gather you from the countries where you have been scattered, I will accept you as if you were a pleasing sacrifice. Through you I will reveal myself as holy to the nations that are watching. ⁴²Then you will know that I am Yahweh, because I will bring you to the land of Israel, the land that I promised to give your ancestors. ⁴³There you will remember the way you lived and everything you did to dishonor yourselves. You will be disgusted by every wrong thing that you did. ⁴⁴Then you will know that I am Yahweh, because I will deal with you for the sake of my name. I will not deal with you based on the evil and corrupt things that you have done, nation of Israel, declares Adonay Yahweh.’”^[b]

The Burning Forest

⁴⁵Yahweh spoke his word to me. He said, ⁴⁶“Son of man, turn to the south, preach against the south, and prophesy against the forest in the Negev. ⁴⁷Tell the forest in the Negev, ‘Listen to the word of Yahweh. This is what Adonay Yahweh says: I am about to set fire to you to destroy all your green trees and all your dry trees. The blazing fire will not be put out. It will burn the whole land from the south to the north. ⁴⁸Then everyone will know that I, Yahweh, started the fire. It will never be put out.’”

⁴⁹Then I said, “Oh no! Adonay Yahweh, no! The people already say that I’m only telling stories.”

Footnotes:

Ezekiel 20:37 Or “covenant.”
Ezekiel 20:44 Ezekiel 20:45–49 in English Bibles is Ezekiel 21:1–5 in the Hebrew Bible.

Names of God Bible (NOG)

Hebrews 9:11-28

¹¹But Christ came as a chief priest of the good things that are now here. Christ went through a better, more perfect tent that was not made by human hands and that is not part of this created world. ¹²He used his own blood, not the blood of goats and bulls, for the sacrifice. He went into the most holy place and offered this sacrifice once and for all to free us forever.

¹³The blood of goats and bulls and the ashes of cows sprinkled on unclean^[a] people made their bodies holy and clean. ¹⁴The blood of Christ, who had no defect, does even more. Through the eternal Spirit he offered himself to God and cleansed our consciences from the useless things we had done. Now we can serve the living God.

¹⁵Because Christ offered himself to God, he is able to bring a new promise from God. Through his death he paid the price to set people free from the sins they committed under the first promise. He did this so that those who are called can be guaranteed an inheritance that will last forever.

¹⁶In order for a will to take effect, it must be shown that the one who made it has died. ¹⁷A will is used only after a person is dead because it goes into effect only when a person dies.

¹⁸That is why even the first promise was made with blood. ¹⁹As Scripture tells us, Moses told all the people every commandment. Then he took the blood of calves and goats together with some water, red yarn, and hyssop and sprinkled the scroll and all the people. ²⁰He said, “Here is the blood that seals the promise God has made to you.” ²¹In the same way, Moses sprinkled blood on the tent and on everything used in worship. ²²As Moses’ Teachings tell us, blood was used to cleanse almost everything, because if no blood is shed, no sins can be forgiven.

²³The copies of the things in heaven had to be cleansed by these sacrifices. But the heavenly things themselves had to be cleansed by better sacrifices. ²⁴Christ didn’t go into a holy place made by human hands. He didn’t go into a model of the real thing. Instead, he went into heaven to appear in God’s presence on our behalf. ²⁵Every year the chief priest went into the holy place to make a sacrifice with blood that isn’t his own. However, Christ didn’t go into heaven to sacrifice himself again and again. ²⁶Otherwise, he would have had to suffer many times since the world was created. But now, at the end of the ages, he has appeared once to remove sin by his sacrifice. ²⁷People die once, and after that they are judged. ²⁸Likewise, Christ was sacrificed once to take away the sins of humanity, and after that he will appear a second time. This time he will not deal with sin, but he will save those who eagerly wait for him.

Footnotes:

Hebrews 9:13 “Unclean” refers to anything that Moses’ Teachings say is not presentable to God.

Names of God Bible (NOG)

Psalm 107

BOOK FIVE

(Psalms 107–150)

Psalm 107

¹Give thanks to Yahweh because he is good,
because his mercy endures forever.

²Let the people Yahweh defended repeat these words.
They are the people he defended from the power of their enemies
³and gathered from other countries,
from the east and from the west,
from the north and from the south.
⁴They wandered around the desert on a deserted road
without finding an inhabited city.
⁵They were hungry and thirsty.
They began to lose hope.
⁶In their distress they cried out to Yahweh.
He rescued them from their troubles.
⁷He led them on a road that went straight to an inhabited city.

⁸Let them give thanks to Yahweh because of his mercy.
He performed his miracles for Adam’s descendants.
⁹He gave plenty to drink to those who were thirsty.
He filled those who were hungry with good food.
¹⁰Those who lived in the dark, in death’s shadow
were prisoners in misery.
They were held in iron chains
¹¹because they had rebelled against El’s words
and had despised the advice given by Elyon.
¹²So he humbled them with hard work.
They fell down, but no one was there to help them.
¹³In their distress they cried out to Yahweh.
He saved them from their troubles.
¹⁴He brought them out of the dark, out of death’s shadow.
He broke apart their chains.

¹⁵Let them give thanks to Yahweh because of his mercy.
He performed his miracles for Adam’s descendants.
¹⁶He shattered bronze gates
and cut iron bars in two.
¹⁷Fools suffered because of their disobedience
and because of their crimes.
¹⁸All food was disgusting to them,
and they came near death’s gates.
¹⁹In their distress they cried out to Yahweh.
He saved them from their troubles.
²⁰He sent his message and healed them.
He rescued them from the grave.

²¹Let them give thanks to Yahweh because of his mercy.
He performed his miracles for Adam’s descendants.
²²Let them bring songs of thanksgiving as their sacrifice.
Let them tell in joyful songs what he has done.
²³Those who sail on the sea in ships,
who do business on the high seas,
²⁴have seen what Yahweh can do,
the miracles he performed in the depths of the sea.
²⁵He spoke, and a storm began to blow,
and it made the waves rise high.
²⁶The sailors aboard ship rose toward the sky.
They plunged into the depths.
Their courage melted in the face of disaster.
²⁷They reeled and staggered like drunks,
and all their skills as sailors became useless.
²⁸In their distress they cried out to Yahweh.
He led them from their troubles.
²⁹He made the storm calm down,
and the waves became still.
³⁰The sailors were glad that the storm was quiet.
He guided them to the harbor they had longed for.

³¹Let them give thanks to Yahweh because of his mercy.
He performed his miracles for Adam’s descendants.
³²Let them glorify him when the people are gathered for worship.
Let them praise him in the company of respected leaders.
³³He changes rivers into a desert,
springs into thirsty ground,
³⁴and fertile ground into a layer of salt
because of the wickedness of the people living there.
³⁵He changes deserts into lakes
and dry ground into springs.
³⁶There he settles those who are hungry,
and they build cities to live in.
³⁷They plant in fields and vineyards
that produce crops.
³⁸He blesses them, and their numbers multiply,
and he does not allow a shortage of cattle.

³⁹They became few in number and were humiliated
because of oppression, disaster, and sorrow.
⁴⁰He poured contempt on their influential people
and made them stumble around in a pathless desert.
⁴¹But now he lifts needy people high above suffering
and makes their families like flocks.
⁴²Decent people will see this and rejoice,
but all the wicked people will shut their mouths.

⁴³Let those who think they are wise
pay attention to these things
so that they may understand Yahweh’s blessings.

Names of God Bible (NOG)

Proverbs 27:11

¹¹Be wise, my son, and make my heart glad
so that I can answer anyone who criticizes me.

Names of God Bible (NOG)

November 8, 2018

11/08/2018 DAB Transcript

Ezekiel 18:1-19:14, Hebrews 9:1-10, Psalms 106:32-48, Proverbs 27:10

Today is November 8^th. Welcome to the Daily Audio Bible. I’m Brian. It is a pleasure and an honor, as always, to be in your presence. And it’s quite an honor that together no matter where we are in the world, as separated by geography as we might be, we are all in the presence of the Lord. So, what’s not to look forward to about that. It is a great to be here with you today as we take the next step forward in our journey through the Scriptures. And we’re reading from the Names of God Bible this week. Ezekiel chapter 18 verse 1 through 19, verse 14 today.

Commentary:

Okay. As we continue to move through books of prophecy like Jeremiah, like Ezekiel that we’re reading right now, we can find ourselves…we can find ourselves like bogged down in page after page of like impending destruction. And after a while we might notice that this is subtly shifting our focus toward the heart of God. We might begin to unfairly consider Him furious, like and vengeful toward people, which is where this idea of an angry God comes from. But we need to remember something. The prophets were foretelling an outcome that hadn’t happened. And although very difficult times were experienced, they could’ve been avoided. And God spoke about this in Ezekiel today. God said, I don’t want we could people to die. I want them to turn from their evil ways and live. That’s different than a God who will smite the earth and everyone upon it. So, the prophets weren’t sent by God and their writings weren’t preserved simply to reveal that God woke up on the wrong side of the bed and decided to destroy people. Instead God explained carefully why things were going sideways, why things were spinning out of control, why things were headed in a spiral downward. And this usually boiled down to covenant breaking. And, so, we were talking about a covenant yesterday when we talked about the book of Hebrews. So, the idea of covenant is in no way a foreign concept in the Bible. In fact, it’s like ubiquitous, but it’s not so different for us now. Well you think…that's…that’s way back then…but we still enter into covenants today. We may call them agreements. We might call them a contract, but when we sign them we warrant and covenant about what we’re agreeing to, right? And when we sign it, it’s binding. But an actual true covenant goes deeper than the paper that was printed on. Like, if we were to break the covenant of marriage by committing adultery the onslaught of pain and destruction and scorched-earth that would follow would not be God’s fault. Like, no matter how we try to frame Him for it, it would not be God’s fault. We will reap what we sow. And the prophets spoke to people who had some wickedness, like wickedness that God says they were doing things that never even entered His mind. So, they had sown wickedness for generations. And, so, they were about to reap the results. So, I mean, as we’ve seen so many times as we move through the Bible this year, the people of God continually broke the covenant and the prophets served as an advanced warning. Like instead of like announcers of doom. Like these dark, mysterious, weird, long-haired, dirty robed figures who come in out of the desert saying bad things are going to happen. Instead of that, they were actually God being long-suffering. Like, He didn’t have to warn anybody about anything. The covenant was entered into. And if the covenant was broken then the curses of the covenant were to come upon the person who broke the covenant. That’s how covenants work. Just like the example we used about adultery, like, that’s how it works. I didn’t have to send any prophets to say, hey, this isn’t gonna work out, you’re going in the wrong direction. So, fundamentally, the messages that the prophets came with has an arc to it. It’s basically God saying, listen we had an agreement and we entered into a covenant and you’re breaking the covenant. And, so, the curses of the covenant are coming upon you and because you’re breaking the covenant your separating yourself from me. And that’s going to lead you into all kinds of trouble if you keep going in that direction. But even if that’s what you choose to do, even if that’s what happens, and we are estranged, I will not forget you. There will be another side to this and on the other side of this I’ll still be waiting for you to come back to me and there will come a day and all will be restored again. But, I mean, rather than me putting this into my own words, we can hear the words from God Himself. And I quote from Ezekiel 18. Change the way you think and act. Turn away from all the rebellious things that you have done so that you will not fall into sin. Stop all the rebellious things that you are doing. Get yourselves new hearts and new spirits. Why do you want to die? I don’t want anyone to die declares Adonai Yahweh. Change the way you think and act. So, it should be crystal clear. It wasn’t people God wanted to destroy, it was wickedness that he wanted to eradicate. And anything that would seduce God’s people into wickedness and deception was also going to be something that was going to entice them to break the covenant. And, so, the passage that we’re reading clearly gives us language for God’s heart in the prophetic books as well as his posture toward humanity. So, we talked about this lots of times as we’ve made this journey this year. The choices we make are going to eventually add up to our destiny. That’s how it works friends. And we’re gonna either remain in a covenantal relationship with God or we’re not. God’s heart toward us is that we will live, and He has certainly remained faithful to us. And if we want the benefits of the covenant, which pretty much encompasses everything we believe as Christians, then we’re also going to have to be faithful. It just doesn’t work any other way, right? I mean you can’t just step out on your spouse anytime you want and it’s all good. Even if you were to make that kind of agreement with your spouse, even if you were to agree that this was okay it will deteriorate, it is going to fall apart, the bonds of the covenant are broken. And, so, whatever it is that you end up having, it will be something substandard something sub what God intended for marriage, right? We know this, and yet we seem to ignore this with God. If we’re not going to be faithful, then it’s not going to work. There are terms and we have to respond. We can navigate our lives into a full-blown mess. We can certainly walk directly into destruction, but we cannot blame God for it. But as God invited us from the book of Ezekiel, we certainly can repent. We certainly can change our minds. We certainly can get new hearts and new spirits in us, we can come running home. The choice is ours.

November 8, 2018

The Daily Audio Bible Reading for Thursday November 8, 2018 (NIV)

Ezekiel 18-19

Everyone Will Suffer for His Own Sins

18 Yahweh spoke his word to me. He said, ²“What do you mean when you use this proverb about the land of Israel: ‘Fathers have eaten sour grapes, and their children’s teeth are set on edge’? ³As I live, declares Adonay Yahweh, you will no longer use this proverb in Israel. ⁴The life of every person belongs to me. Fathers and their children belong to me. The person who sins will die.

⁵“Suppose a righteous person does what is fair and right. ⁶He doesn’t eat at the illegal mountain worship sites or look for help from the idols of the nation of Israel. He doesn’t dishonor his neighbor’s wife or have sexual intercourse with a woman while she is having her period. ⁷He doesn’t oppress anyone. He returns what a borrower gives him as security for a loan. He doesn’t rob anyone. He gives food to people who are hungry, and he gives clothes to those who are naked. ⁸He doesn’t lend money for interest or make an excessive profit. He refuses to do evil things, and he judges everyone fairly. ⁹He lives by my rules and obeys my laws faithfully. This person is righteous. He will certainly live,” declares Adonay Yahweh.

¹⁰“But suppose this person has a son who robs and murders. The son does all the things ¹¹that his father never did. He eats at the illegal mountain worship sites. He dishonors his neighbor’s wife. ¹²He oppresses the poor and needy. He robs. He doesn’t return the security for a loan. He looks to idols for help. He does disgusting things. ¹³He lends money for interest and makes excessive profits. Will this person live? He will not live. He has done all these disgusting things. So he must die, and he will be responsible for his own death.

¹⁴“But suppose this person has a son. The son sees all the sins that his father does. He is afraid, so he doesn’t do such things.^[a] ¹⁵He doesn’t eat at the illegal mountain worship sites or look for help from the idols of the nation of Israel. He doesn’t dishonor his neighbor’s wife. ¹⁶He doesn’t oppress anyone. He doesn’t keep the security for a loan. He doesn’t rob anyone. He gives food to people who are hungry, and he gives clothes to those who are naked. ¹⁷He refuses to hurt the poor. He doesn’t charge interest or make excessive profits. He obeys my rules and lives by my laws. He won’t die for his father’s sins. He will certainly live. ¹⁸But his father has oppressed others, robbed his relative, and done what is wrong among his people. So the father will die because of his sin.

¹⁹“But you ask, ‘Why isn’t the son punished for his father’s sin?’ It is because the son has done what is fair and right. He obeyed my rules and followed them. He will certainly live. ²⁰The person who sins will die. A son will not be punished for his father’s sins, and a father will not be punished for his son’s sins. The righteousness of the righteous person will be his own, and the wickedness of the wicked person will be his own.

²¹“But suppose a wicked person turns away from all the sins that he has done. He obeys all my laws and does what is fair and right. He will certainly live. He will not die. ²²All the rebellious things that he did will not be remembered. He will live because of the right things that he did. ²³I don’t want wicked people to die.” declares Adonay Yahweh. “I want them to turn from their evil ways and live.

²⁴“But suppose a righteous person turns away from doing right and he does evil things. He does all the disgusting things that the wicked person did. Will he live? All the right things that he has done will not be remembered because of his unfaithfulness and because of his sin. He will die because of them.

²⁵“But you say, ‘Adonay’s way is unfair.’ Listen, nation of Israel, isn’t my way fair? Isn’t it your ways that are unfair? ²⁶When a righteous person turns away from doing right and does evil things, he will die. He will die because of the evil things he has done. ²⁷When a wicked person turns away from the wicked things that he has done and does what is fair and right, he will live. ²⁸He realized what he was doing and turned away from all the rebellious things that he had done. He will certainly live. He will not die.

²⁹“But the nation of Israel says, ‘Adonay’s way is unfair.’ Isn’t my way fair, nation of Israel? Isn’t it your ways that are unfair?

³⁰“That is why I will judge each of you by what you have done, people of Israel,” declares Adonay Yahweh. “Change the way you think and act. Turn away from all the rebellious things that you have done so that you will not fall into sin. ³¹Stop all the rebellious things that you are doing. Get yourselves new hearts and new spirits. Why do you want to die, nation of Israel? ³²I don’t want anyone to die,” declares Adonay Yahweh. “Change the way you think and act!”

Funeral Songs for Israel’s Princes

19 Sing a funeral song for the princes of Israel. ²Say:

Your mother was like a lioness.
She lay down among the lions.
She fed many cubs.
³One of the cubs she raised became a young lion.
He learned to tear apart the animals he hunted.
He ate people.
⁴The nations heard about him,
caught him in their pit,
and brought him with hooks to Egypt.
⁵The lioness waited until she saw that there was no more hope.
Then she took another one of her cubs
and raised him into a young lion.

⁶He became a young lion, and he prowled among the lions.
He learned to tear apart the animals he hunted.
He ate people.
⁷He destroyed fortresses
and turned cities into wastelands.
The land and everyone living in it
were terrified by the sound of his roar.
⁸The nations from every region came together against him.
They spread their net over him
and caught him in their pit.
⁹With hooks they put him in a cage
and brought him to the king of Babylon.
They put him in prison
so that his roar wouldn’t be heard anymore
on the mountains of Israel.

¹⁰Your mother was like a grapevine
that was planted near water.
It had a lot of fruit and many branches
because there was plenty of water.
¹¹Its branches were strong.
They were used to make scepters for kings.
It grew to be tall with many branches around it,
and everyone saw it because of its many branches.
¹²But in anger it was uprooted and thrown to the ground.
The east wind dried up its fruit.
Its strong branches broke off.
They withered and were burned.
¹³Now it is planted in the desert,
in a dry and waterless land.
¹⁴Fire has spread from the vine’s main branch.
Fire has destroyed its fruit.
It no longer has any strong branches
that could be used as a king’s scepter.

This is a funeral song. It is to be used as a funeral song.

Footnotes:

Ezekiel 18:14 Many Hebrew manuscripts, Greek, Latin; other Hebrew manuscripts “Although he sees them, he doesn’t do such things.”

Names of God Bible (NOG)

Hebrews 9:1-10

Christ Offered a Superior Sacrifice

9 The first promise had rules for the priests’ service. It also had a holy place on earth. ²A tent was set up. The first part of this tent was called the holy place. The lamp stand, the table, and the bread of the presence were in this part of the tent. ³Behind the second curtain was the part of the tent called the most holy place. ⁴It contained the gold incense burner and the ark of the Lord’s promise. The ark was completely covered with gold. In the ark were the gold jar filled with manna, Aaron’s staff that had blossomed, and the tablets on which the promise^[a] was written. ⁵Above the ark were the angels^[b] of glory with their wings overshadowing the throne of mercy. (Discussing these things in detail isn’t possible now.)

⁶That is how these two parts of the tent were set up. The priests always went into the first part of the tent to perform their duties. ⁷But only the chief priest went into the second part of the tent. Once a year he entered and brought blood that he offered for himself and for the things that the people did wrong unintentionally. ⁸The Holy Spirit used this to show that the way into the most holy place was not open while the tent was still in use.

⁹The first part of the tent is an example for the present time. The gifts and sacrifices that were brought there could not give the worshiper a clear conscience. ¹⁰These gifts and sacrifices were meant to be food, drink, and items used in various purification ceremonies. These ceremonies were required for the body until God would establish a new way of doing things.

Footnotes:

Hebrews 9:4 Or “covenant.”
Hebrews 9:5 Or “cherubim.”

Names of God Bible (NOG)

Psalm 106:32-48

³²They made Yahweh angry by the water at Meribah.
Things turned out badly for Moses because of what they did,
³³since they made him bitter so that he spoke recklessly.

³⁴They did not destroy the people as Yahweh had told them.
³⁵Instead, they intermarried with other nations.
They learned to do what other nations did,
³⁶and they worshiped their idols,
which became a trap for them.
³⁷They sacrificed their sons and daughters to demons.
³⁸They shed innocent blood,
the blood of their own sons and daughters
whom they sacrificed to the idols of Canaan.
The land became polluted with blood.
³⁹They became filthy because of what they did.
They behaved like prostitutes.
⁴⁰Yahweh burned with anger against his own people.
He was disgusted with those who belonged to him.
⁴¹He handed them over to other nations,
and those who hated them ruled them.
⁴²Their enemies oppressed them
and made them subject to their power.
⁴³He rescued them many times,
but they continued to plot rebellion against him
and to sink deeper because of their sin.
⁴⁴He saw that they were suffering
when he heard their cry for help.
⁴⁵He remembered his promise^[a] to them.
In keeping with his rich mercy, he changed his plans.
⁴⁶He let them find compassion
from all those who held them captive.

⁴⁷Rescue us, O Yahweh our Elohim, and gather us from the nations
so that we may give thanks to your holy name
and make your praise our glory.

⁴⁸Thanks be to Yahweh Elohim of Israel
from everlasting to everlasting.
Let all the people say amen.

Hallelujah!

Footnotes:

Psalm 106:45 Or “covenant.”

Names of God Bible (NOG)

Proverbs 27:10

¹⁰Do not abandon your friend or your father’s friend.
Do not go to a relative’s home when you are in trouble.
A neighbor living nearby is better than a relative far away.

Names of God Bible (NOG)

Ezekiel 24-26

Hebrews 11:1-16

Psalm 110

Psalm 110

A song of David.

Proverbs 27:14

Ezekiel 23

Footnotes:

Hebrews 10:18-39

Footnotes:

Psalm 109

Psalm 109

For the worship leader. A song of David.

Footnotes:

Proverbs 27:13

Ezekiel 21-22

The Sword of the Lord

The Sword of the King of Babylon

Jerusalem Is Judged because of Its Murderous History

Footnotes:

Hebrews 10:1-17

We Can Enter the Most Holy Place because of Christ’s Superior Work

Footnotes:

Psalm 108

Psalm 108[a]

A song; a psalm by David.

Footnotes:

Proverbs 27:12

Ezekiel 20

Israel’s Past and Present Sins

Israel’s Future

The Burning Forest

Footnotes:

Hebrews 9:11-28

Footnotes:

Psalm 107

BOOK FIVE

(Psalms 107–150)

Psalm 107

Proverbs 27:11

Ezekiel 18-19

Everyone Will Suffer for His Own Sins

Funeral Songs for Israel’s Princes

Footnotes:

Hebrews 9:1-10

Christ Offered a Superior Sacrifice

Footnotes:

Psalm 106:32-48

Footnotes:

Proverbs 27:10

Psalm 108^[a]