The Daily Audio Bible Reading for Saturday November 3, 2018 (NIV)

Ezekiel 7-9

The Coming of the End

Then this message came to me from the Lord: “Son of man, this is what the Sovereign Lord says to Israel:

“The end is here!
Wherever you look—
east, west, north, or south—
your land is finished.
No hope remains,
for I will unleash my anger against you.
I will call you to account
for all your detestable sins.
I will turn my eyes away and show no pity.
I will repay you for all your detestable sins.
Then you will know that I am the Lord.

“This is what the Sovereign Lord says:
Disaster after disaster
is coming your way!
The end has come.
It has finally arrived.
Your final doom is waiting!
O people of Israel, the day of your destruction is dawning.
The time has come; the day of trouble is near.
Shouts of anguish will be heard on the mountains,
not shouts of joy.
Soon I will pour out my fury on you
and unleash my anger against you.
I will call you to account
for all your detestable sins.
I will turn my eyes away and show no pity.
I will repay you for all your detestable sins.
Then you will know that it is I, the Lord,
who is striking the blow.

10 “The day of judgment is here;
your destruction awaits!
The people’s wickedness and pride
have blossomed to full flower.
11 Their violence has grown into a rod
that will beat them for their wickedness.
None of these proud and wicked people will survive.
All their wealth and prestige will be swept away.
12 Yes, the time has come;
the day is here!
Buyers should not rejoice over bargains,
nor sellers grieve over losses,
for all of them will fall
under my terrible anger.
13 Even if the merchants survive,
they will never return to their business.
For what God has said applies to everyone—
it will not be changed!
Not one person whose life is twisted by sin
will ever recover.

The Desolation of Israel

14 “The trumpet calls Israel’s army to mobilize,
but no one listens,
for my fury is against them all.
15 There is war outside the city
and disease and famine within.
Those outside the city walls
will be killed by enemy swords.
Those inside the city
will die of famine and disease.
16 The survivors who escape to the mountains
will moan like doves, weeping for their sins.
17 Their hands will hang limp,
their knees will be weak as water.
18 They will dress themselves in burlap;
horror and shame will cover them.
They will shave their heads
in sorrow and remorse.

19 “They will throw their money in the streets,
tossing it out like worthless trash.
Their silver and gold won’t save them
on that day of the Lord’s anger.
It will neither satisfy nor feed them,
for their greed can only trip them up.
20 They were proud of their beautiful jewelry
and used it to make detestable idols and vile images.
Therefore, I will make all their wealth
disgusting to them.
21 I will give it as plunder to foreigners,
to the most wicked of nations,
and they will defile it.
22 I will turn my eyes from them
as these robbers invade and defile my treasured land.

23 “Prepare chains for my people,
for the land is bloodied by terrible crimes.
Jerusalem is filled with violence.
24 I will bring the most ruthless of nations
to occupy their homes.
I will break down their proud fortresses
and defile their sanctuaries.
25 Terror and trembling will overcome my people.
They will look for peace but not find it.
26 Calamity will follow calamity;
rumor will follow rumor.
They will look in vain
for a vision from the prophets.
They will receive no teaching from the priests
and no counsel from the leaders.
27 The king and the prince will stand helpless,
weeping in despair,
and the people’s hands
will tremble with fear.
I will bring on them
the evil they have done to others,
and they will receive the punishment
they so richly deserve.
Then they will know that I am the Lord.”

Idolatry in the Temple

Then on September 17,[a] during the sixth year of King Jehoiachin’s captivity, while the leaders of Judah were in my home, the Sovereign Lord took hold of me. I saw a figure that appeared to be a man.[b] From what appeared to be his waist down, he looked like a burning flame. From the waist up he looked like gleaming amber.[c] He reached out what seemed to be a hand and took me by the hair. Then the Spirit lifted me up into the sky and transported me to Jerusalem in a vision from God. I was taken to the north gate of the inner courtyard of the Temple, where there is a large idol that has made the Lord very jealous. Suddenly, the glory of the God of Israel was there, just as I had seen it before in the valley.

Then the Lord said to me, “Son of man, look toward the north.” So I looked, and there to the north, beside the entrance to the gate near the altar, stood the idol that had made the Lord so jealous.

“Son of man,” he said, “do you see what they are doing? Do you see the detestable sins the people of Israel are committing to drive me from my Temple? But come, and you will see even more detestable sins than these!” Then he brought me to the door of the Temple courtyard, where I could see a hole in the wall. He said to me, “Now, son of man, dig into the wall.” So I dug into the wall and found a hidden doorway.

“Go in,” he said, “and see the wicked and detestable sins they are committing in there!” 10 So I went in and saw the walls covered with engravings of all kinds of crawling animals and detestable creatures. I also saw the various idols[d] worshiped by the people of Israel. 11 Seventy leaders of Israel were standing there with Jaazaniah son of Shaphan in the center. Each of them held an incense burner, from which a cloud of incense rose above their heads.

12 Then the Lord said to me, “Son of man, have you seen what the leaders of Israel are doing with their idols in dark rooms? They are saying, ‘The Lord doesn’t see us; he has deserted our land!’” 13 Then the Lord added, “Come, and I will show you even more detestable sins than these!”

14 He brought me to the north gate of the Lord’s Temple, and some women were sitting there, weeping for the god Tammuz. 15 “Have you seen this?” he asked. “But I will show you even more detestable sins than these!”

16 Then he brought me into the inner courtyard of the Lord’s Temple. At the entrance to the sanctuary, between the entry room and the bronze altar, there were about twenty-five men with their backs to the sanctuary of the Lord. They were facing east, bowing low to the ground, worshiping the sun!

17 “Have you seen this, son of man?” he asked. “Is it nothing to the people of Judah that they commit these detestable sins, leading the whole nation into violence, thumbing their noses at me, and provoking my anger? 18 Therefore, I will respond in fury. I will neither pity nor spare them. And though they cry for mercy, I will not listen.”

The Slaughter of Idolaters

Then the Lord thundered, “Bring on the men appointed to punish the city! Tell them to bring their weapons with them!” Six men soon appeared from the upper gate that faces north, each carrying a deadly weapon in his hand. With them was a man dressed in linen, who carried a writer’s case at his side. They all went into the Temple courtyard and stood beside the bronze altar.

Then the glory of the God of Israel rose up from between the cherubim, where it had rested, and moved to the entrance of the Temple. And the Lord called to the man dressed in linen who was carrying the writer’s case. He said to him, “Walk through the streets of Jerusalem and put a mark on the foreheads of all who weep and sigh because of the detestable sins being committed in their city.”

Then I heard the Lord say to the other men, “Follow him through the city and kill everyone whose forehead is not marked. Show no mercy; have no pity! Kill them all—old and young, girls and women and little children. But do not touch anyone with the mark. Begin right here at the Temple.” So they began by killing the seventy leaders.

“Defile the Temple!” the Lord commanded. “Fill its courtyards with corpses. Go!” So they went and began killing throughout the city.

While they were out killing, I was all alone. I fell face down on the ground and cried out, “O Sovereign Lord! Will your fury against Jerusalem wipe out everyone left in Israel?”

Then he said to me, “The sins of the people of Israel and Judah are very, very great. The entire land is full of murder; the city is filled with injustice. They are saying, ‘The Lord doesn’t see it! The Lord has abandoned the land!’ 10 So I will not spare them or have any pity on them. I will fully repay them for all they have done.”

11 Then the man in linen clothing, who carried the writer’s case, reported back and said, “I have done as you commanded.”

Footnotes:

  1. 8:1 Hebrew on the fifth [day] of the sixth month, of the ancient Hebrew lunar calendar. This event occurred on September 17, 592 B.c.; also see note on 1:1.
  2. 8:2a As in Greek version; Hebrew reads appeared to be fire.
  3. 8:2b Or like burnished metal.
  4. 8:10 The Hebrew term (literally round things) probably alludes to dung.
New Living Translation (NLT)

Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.


Hebrews 5

Every high priest is a man chosen to represent other people in their dealings with God. He presents their gifts to God and offers sacrifices for their sins. And he is able to deal gently with ignorant and wayward people because he himself is subject to the same weaknesses. That is why he must offer sacrifices for his own sins as well as theirs.

And no one can become a high priest simply because he wants such an honor. He must be called by God for this work, just as Aaron was. That is why Christ did not honor himself by assuming he could become High Priest. No, he was chosen by God, who said to him,

“You are my Son.
Today I have become your Father.[a]

And in another passage God said to him,

“You are a priest forever in the order of Melchizedek.”[b]

While Jesus was here on earth, he offered prayers and pleadings, with a loud cry and tears, to the one who could rescue him from death. And God heard his prayers because of his deep reverence for God. Even though Jesus was God’s Son, he learned obedience from the things he suffered. In this way, God qualified him as a perfect High Priest, and he became the source of eternal salvation for all those who obey him. 10 And God designated him to be a High Priest in the order of Melchizedek.

A Call to Spiritual Growth

11 There is much more we would like to say about this, but it is difficult to explain, especially since you are spiritually dull and don’t seem to listen. 12 You have been believers so long now that you ought to be teaching others. Instead, you need someone to teach you again the basic things about God’s word.[c] You are like babies who need milk and cannot eat solid food. 13 For someone who lives on milk is still an infant and doesn’t know how to do what is right. 14 Solid food is for those who are mature, who through training have the skill to recognize the difference between right and wrong.

Footnotes:

  1. 5:5 Or Today I reveal you as my Son. Ps 2:7.
  2. 5:6 Ps 110:4.
  3. 5:12 Or about the oracles of God.
New Living Translation (NLT)

Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.


Psalm 105:1-15

Psalm 105

Give thanks to the Lord and proclaim his greatness.
Let the whole world know what he has done.
Sing to him; yes, sing his praises.
Tell everyone about his wonderful deeds.
Exult in his holy name;
rejoice, you who worship the Lord.
Search for the Lord and for his strength;
continually seek him.
Remember the wonders he has performed,
his miracles, and the rulings he has given,
you children of his servant Abraham,
you descendants of Jacob, his chosen ones.

He is the Lord our God.
His justice is seen throughout the land.
He always stands by his covenant—
the commitment he made to a thousand generations.
This is the covenant he made with Abraham
and the oath he swore to Isaac.
10 He confirmed it to Jacob as a decree,
and to the people of Israel as a never-ending covenant:
11 “I will give you the land of Canaan
as your special possession.”

12 He said this when they were few in number,
a tiny group of strangers in Canaan.
13 They wandered from nation to nation,
from one kingdom to another.
14 Yet he did not let anyone oppress them.
He warned kings on their behalf:
15 “Do not touch my chosen people,
and do not hurt my prophets.”

New Living Translation (NLT)

Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.


Proverbs 26:28

28 A lying tongue hates its victims,
and flattering words cause ruin.

New Living Translation (NLT)

Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.


11/02/2018 DAB Transcript

Ezekiel 3:16-6:14, Hebrews 4:1-16, Psalms 104:24-35, Proverbs 26:27

Today is November 2nd. Welcome to the Daily Audio Bible. I’m Brian. It’s great to be here with you as…I guess we’re…I guess we’re…like fully moving into this brand-new month even as we’re kind of winding our way down to the end of another week. And I can’t think of a better place to be right this minute, then right here, right now, with you. And, so, off we go into our reading for today. We began the book of Ezekiel yesterday in the Old Testament and, of course, we will pick up where we left off. We’re reading from the New Living Translation this week. Ezekiel chapter 3 verse 16 through 6 verse 14.

Commentary:

Okay. So, in our reading from Hebrews today we encountered another very well-known passage of Scripture that, like the verse that we read in second Timothy chapter 3, gives us a clear perspective on why we engage with the Scriptures every single day. And, so, the Scripture from Hebrews is, and you’ll probably be able to quote this, it’s very famous, for the word of God is alive and powerful. It is sharper than the sharpest two-edged sword, cutting between soul and spirit, between joint and marrow. It exposes our innermost thoughts and desires. And, of course, this is a memorable and very quotable verse but have you ever like…like just stopped for a second and considered an instrument that is that precise, something that can penetrate to where soul and spirit meet. I mean, where exactly even is that? So, if the soul is our moral and emotional nature and the Spirit is our essence or the animating life force that’s given to us by God that makes us alive then we’re speaking of very deep things. Indeed. This would be the place that contains our consciousness and our instincts and love and our emotions and our convictions. It’s where choices are made. And then our bodies are engaged to carry out those decisions. So, I mean, we might otherwise consider this to be our truest identity. And according Hebrews, this is how deeply the word of God can penetrate. It cuts through all the constructs of our personality, right? All of our coping mechanisms. All of our personal hopes and even all of our wounds, all of the things that have wounded and shaped us in our lives. It goes deeper than all of that and speaks directly to the truest spiritual self. So, you know, what else can do that? And, so, this is why day by day, every single day without fail we’re showing up here. And, so, lesser-known, not as popular, but the verse that immediately follows this popular passage about the word of God being sharper than any two-edged sword, we’re told nothing in all creation is hidden from God. Everything is naked and exposed before His eyes and He is the one to whom we are accountable. So, with that in mind, we can see the irreplaceable value of the Scriptures, right? They don’t expose our thoughts and desires to God. He already knows. He’s already aware of what’s going on inside of us. Instead, the Scriptures reveal what is hidden, even what we’ve hidden from ourselves and they speak the truth to and even about who we really are at the deepest, truest level. And, so, let’s be thankful that God would offer us such a gift and that that He would furnish us with the perspective of thousands of years of his involvement because we’re each a part of this ongoing work of God, this work of redemption and when we allow the Scriptures to speak to us where soul and Spirit meet, truth is being poured into our core identity and this is why the rhythm of the Scriptures in our lives is so vital. It exposes our innermost thoughts and desires to the truth.

Prayer:

Father, we thank you for this. What can we say? There is there is nothing else like it. And as we’ve experienced for all of these months leading us until today, the Scriptures in our lives every day, we can see this. It’s continually pressing in, poking and prodding and directing and reconstructing, it’s continually inviting us to orient our hearts to you. It’s continually reminding us that we are not alone. It is continually forcing us to raise our heads to the horizon and see that there’s a bigger picture instead of whatever it is that the drama or chaos of our lives might bring us today. There’s more going on. And, so, we thank you for your word and we ask, Holy Spirit, that You plant it into our lives today, transforming us as you promise to do. We pray this in the name of Jesus. Amen.

Announcements:

dailyaudiobible.com is the website, its home base, it is certainly where you find out what’s going on around here. So, be sure to check in and find out what’s going on around here.

Stay connected. Pray for your brothers and sisters at the Prayer Wall.

If you want to partner with the Daily Audio Bible, that can be done at dailyaudiobible.com as well. There is a link on the homepage. 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.

11/01/2018 DAB Transcript

Ezekiel 1:1-3:15, Hebrews 3:1-19, Psalms 104:1-23, Proverbs 26:2n.24-26s

Today is the 1st day of November. Welcome to the Daily Audio Bible. I’m Brian. It’s great to be here with you today as we walk into this new month together. Month eleven of the year. And if you can believe it, by the time we get out of this month, we will be fully immersed in the Christmas season, which is pretty hard to believe, but this is where we are in our year and this is how far we’ve come in the Bible. So, we have been reading from the book of Lamentations in our Old Testament reading and we concluded that yesterday, which brings us to a new book of prophecy known as Ezekiel. And this prophet, Ezekiel, appears to have been a well-educated person who was deeply loyal to God and also to the traditions of his people. He came from a priestly family and, like Jeremiah, he was often instructed by God to symbolically act out his prophecies. Jeremiah and Ezekiel were prophesying around the same time. But it’s fairly interesting because, whereas Jeremiah prophesied from Jerusalem, Ezekiel was prophesying at around the same time from exile in Babylon. So, two prophets kind of at either end of the equation. So, during this time, the climate of international struggle and upheaval was prevalent. The Assyrian empire had been conquered by the Babylonian empire. Egypt and Babylon clashed within the land of ancient Israel because possessing that land, that little strip of land, allowed whoever ruled that strip of land to control the major trade routes between lands to the north and east and the continent of Africa. And because of this, at one point or another, the Israelites had all been allies of and then subsequently subdued by all of these ancient empires. But Jerusalem had not been destroyed. Rather, Judah would pay tribute and become like a vassal that changed hands. And this all happened during the generational decline in the kings’ leadership that we totally read about as we were moving through the books of Kings and Chronicles. And then in 597 BC, the Babylonians subdued Jerusalem and began to deport people and take them into exile. And Ezekiel was among the first to go into exile. And several years later, and we read of this when we were reading the book of Jeremiah, this king that had been put in place named Zedekiah rebelled against Babylon, even though Jeremiah was clearly pleading and prophesying not to do that. And then in 588, the Babylonians, they came and they laid siege. And they eventually conquered, and they completely destroyed Jerusalem a few years later. So, Ezekiel had been taken into exile and in those early years, he prophesied of Jerusalem’s destruction, even as Jeremiah was prophesying the same thing from Jerusalem if they didn’t surrender. And as we know, they didn’t. And after the fall of Jerusalem and the temple was completely destroyed, then the prophesies of Ezekiel from exile transform into some of the most hope-filled messages of renewal and restoration that we’ll find in the whole Bible. But Ezekiel also contains these descriptions that are almost, like, cinematic, apocalyptic visions that aren’t unlike the visions of Daniel or the visions found in the book of Revelation. And because of that, the parallels are often cross-examined in the apocalyptic study of the end times known as eschatology. But these weren’t just disembodied visions that Ezekiel had in some kind of weird dream. They had a pretty great impact on him personally. And the same can happen for us as we read them. If we’re able to approach the book and the imagery from the perspective of what it speaks to our hearts, we’ll be able to engage and enjoy the deep and rich textures allowing to speak to us like a sunrise would rather than how the morning newspaper does. The book of Ezekiel holds a lot of promise for us and it’s one of the larger and influential books of prophecy we have in the Bible. And even though we’re reading a book that’s thousands of years old, it tells of an ultimate hope and a blessing that God has for us when we return to him. And so with that, we’re reading from the New Living Translation this week. Ezekiel 1:1-3:15.

Prayer:

Father, we thank You for Your word. We thank You for this new threshold that we’ve walked into into the book of Ezekiel and we invite Your Holy Spirit to speak to us. Everything that we need to hear, everything that we need to feel. We open our hearts to You. And we also make notice of the fact that we have entered into the eleventh month of this year. And once again we take a moment at this line of demarcation to look back and rejoice in Your faithfulness. You have certainly brought us this far, and we have certainly walked through plenty of drama. And yet here we are, and You have been faithful. And, so, we take note of this, we acknowledge this and along with the psalmist we declare, let all that we are praise the Lord. O Lord our God, how great You are. You are robed with honor and majesty. You are dressed in a robe of light. You stretch out the starry curtain of the heavens. Father, that You are Almighty God and father to us at the same time is overwhelming. And when it sinks in, when we get this glimpse of the reality, we wonder why we would worry and fret about anything. The Lord of heaven’s armies, the creator of all things both seen and unseen, is our father. And, so, we rejoice in You and we worship You, Father. Come, Holy Spirit, we pray. Lead us firmly and rightly and clearly into this next month. We submit ourselves to You. We open ourselves to You completely. Come Holy Spirit, we pray. In Jesus name. Amen.

Announcements:

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

Stay connected as we move into these last couple of months of the year because, from my experience, we’ll be in the thick of it before we can even blink twice. And so finishing strong is a decision and that’s a decision that needs to be made in advance and one of the ways to make that decision is to stay connected. So, do that. Pray for your brothers and sisters at the prayer wall. Visit the Daily Audio Bible shop for resources. And you can stay connected at any of the social media channels that you’re on and we’re on at the same time. And those links can be found in the community section of dailyaudiobible.com.

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. 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 P.O. 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.

The Daily Audio Bible Reading for Friday November 2, 2018 (NIV)

Ezekiel 3:16-6:14

A Watchman for Israel

16 After seven days the Lord gave me a message. He said, 17 “Son of man, I have appointed you as a watchman for Israel. Whenever you receive a message from me, warn people immediately. 18 If I warn the wicked, saying, ‘You are under the penalty of death,’ but you fail to deliver the warning, they will die in their sins. And I will hold you responsible for their deaths. 19 If you warn them and they refuse to repent and keep on sinning, they will die in their sins. But you will have saved yourself because you obeyed me.

20 “If righteous people turn away from their righteous behavior and ignore the obstacles I put in their way, they will die. And if you do not warn them, they will die in their sins. None of their righteous acts will be remembered, and I will hold you responsible for their deaths. 21 But if you warn righteous people not to sin and they listen to you and do not sin, they will live, and you will have saved yourself, too.”

22 Then the Lord took hold of me and said, “Get up and go out into the valley, and I will speak to you there.” 23 So I got up and went, and there I saw the glory of the Lord, just as I had seen in my first vision by the Kebar River. And I fell face down on the ground.

24 Then the Spirit came into me and set me on my feet. He spoke to me and said, “Go to your house and shut yourself in. 25 There, son of man, you will be tied with ropes so you cannot go out among the people. 26 And I will make your tongue stick to the roof of your mouth so that you will be speechless and unable to rebuke them, for they are rebels. 27 But when I give you a message, I will loosen your tongue and let you speak. Then you will say to them, ‘This is what the Sovereign Lord says!’ Those who choose to listen will listen, but those who refuse will refuse, for they are rebels.

A Sign of the Coming Siege

“And now, son of man, take a large clay brick and set it down in front of you. Then draw a map of the city of Jerusalem on it. Show the city under siege. Build a wall around it so no one can escape. Set up the enemy camp, and surround the city with siege ramps and battering rams. Then take an iron griddle and place it between you and the city. Turn toward the city and demonstrate how harsh the siege will be against Jerusalem. This will be a warning to the people of Israel.

“Now lie on your left side and place the sins of Israel on yourself. You are to bear their sins for the number of days you lie there on your side. I am requiring you to bear Israel’s sins for 390 days—one day for each year of their sin. After that, turn over and lie on your right side for 40 days—one day for each year of Judah’s sin.

“Meanwhile, keep staring at the siege of Jerusalem. Lie there with your arm bared and prophesy her destruction. I will tie you up with ropes so you won’t be able to turn from side to side until the days of your siege have been completed.

“Now go and get some wheat, barley, beans, lentils, millet, and emmer wheat, and mix them together in a storage jar. Use them to make bread for yourself during the 390 days you will be lying on your side. 10 Ration this out to yourself, eight ounces[a] of food for each day, and eat it at set times. 11 Then measure out a jar[b] of water for each day, and drink it at set times. 12 Prepare and eat this food as you would barley cakes. While all the people are watching, bake it over a fire using dried human dung as fuel and then eat the bread.” 13 Then the Lord said, “This is how Israel will eat defiled bread in the Gentile lands to which I will banish them!”

14 Then I said, “O Sovereign Lord, must I be defiled by using human dung? For I have never been defiled before. From the time I was a child until now I have never eaten any animal that died of sickness or was killed by other animals. I have never eaten any meat forbidden by the law.”

15 “All right,” the Lord said. “You may bake your bread with cow dung instead of human dung.” 16 Then he told me, “Son of man, I will make food very scarce in Jerusalem. It will be weighed out with great care and eaten fearfully. The water will be rationed out drop by drop, and the people will drink it with dismay. 17 Lacking food and water, people will look at one another in terror, and they will waste away under their punishment.

A Sign of the Coming Judgment

“Son of man, take a sharp sword and use it as a razor to shave your head and beard. Use a scale to weigh the hair into three equal parts. Place a third of it at the center of your map of Jerusalem. After acting out the siege, burn it there. Scatter another third across your map and chop it with a sword. Scatter the last third to the wind, for I will scatter my people with the sword. Keep just a bit of the hair and tie it up in your robe. Then take some of these hairs out and throw them into the fire, burning them up. A fire will then spread from this remnant and destroy all of Israel.

“This is what the Sovereign Lord says: This is an illustration of what will happen to Jerusalem. I placed her at the center of the nations, but she has rebelled against my regulations and decrees and has been even more wicked than the surrounding nations. She has refused to obey the regulations and decrees I gave her to follow.

“Therefore, this is what the Sovereign Lord says: You people have behaved worse than your neighbors and have refused to obey my decrees and regulations. You have not even lived up to the standards of the nations around you. Therefore, I myself, the Sovereign Lord, am now your enemy. I will punish you publicly while all the nations watch. Because of your detestable idols, I will punish you like I have never punished anyone before or ever will again. 10 Parents will eat their own children, and children will eat their parents. I will punish you and scatter to the winds the few who survive.

11 “As surely as I live, says the Sovereign Lord, I will cut you off completely. I will show you no pity at all because you have defiled my Temple with your vile images and detestable sins. 12 A third of your people will die in the city from disease and famine. A third of them will be slaughtered by the enemy outside the city walls. And I will scatter a third to the winds, chasing them with my sword. 13 Then at last my anger will be spent, and I will be satisfied. And when my fury against them has subsided, all Israel will know that I, the Lord, have spoken to them in my jealous anger.

14 “So I will turn you into a ruin, a mockery in the eyes of the surrounding nations and to all who pass by. 15 You will become an object of mockery and taunting and horror. You will be a warning to all the nations around you. They will see what happens when the Lord punishes a nation in anger and rebukes it, says the Lord.

16 “I will shower you with the deadly arrows of famine to destroy you. The famine will become more and more severe until every crumb of food is gone. 17 And along with the famine, wild animals will attack you and rob you of your children. Disease and war will stalk your land, and I will bring the sword of the enemy against you. I, the Lord, have spoken!”

Judgment against Israel’s Mountains

Again a message came to me from the Lord: “Son of man, turn and face the mountains of Israel and prophesy against them. Proclaim this message from the Sovereign Lord against the mountains of Israel. This is what the Sovereign Lord says to the mountains and hills and to the ravines and valleys: I am about to bring war upon you, and I will smash your pagan shrines. All your altars will be demolished, and your places of worship will be destroyed. I will kill your people in front of your idols.[c] I will lay your corpses in front of your idols and scatter your bones around your altars. Wherever you live there will be desolation, and I will destroy your pagan shrines. Your altars will be demolished, your idols will be smashed, your places of worship will be torn down, and all the religious objects you have made will be destroyed. The place will be littered with corpses, and you will know that I alone am the Lord.

“But I will let a few of my people escape destruction, and they will be scattered among the nations of the world. Then when they are exiled among the nations, they will remember me. They will recognize how hurt I am by their unfaithful hearts and lustful eyes that long for their idols. Then at last they will hate themselves for all their detestable sins. 10 They will know that I alone am the Lord and that I was serious when I said I would bring this calamity on them.

11 “This is what the Sovereign Lord says: Clap your hands in horror, and stamp your feet. Cry out because of all the detestable sins the people of Israel have committed. Now they are going to die from war and famine and disease. 12 Disease will strike down those who are far away in exile. War will destroy those who are nearby. And anyone who survives will be killed by famine. So at last I will spend my fury on them. 13 They will know that I am the Lord when their dead lie scattered among their idols and altars on every hill and mountain and under every green tree and every great shade tree—the places where they offered sacrifices to their idols. 14 I will crush them and make their cities desolate from the wilderness in the south to Riblah[d] in the north. Then they will know that I am the Lord.”

Footnotes:

  1. 4:10 Hebrew 20 shekels [228 grams].
  2. 4:11 Hebrew 1⁄6 of a hin [about 1 pint or 0.6 liters].
  3. 6:4 The Hebrew term (literally round things) probably alludes to dung; also in 6:5, 6, 9, 13.
  4. 6:14 As in some Hebrew manuscripts; most Hebrew manuscripts read Diblah.
New Living Translation (NLT)

Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.


Hebrews 4

Promised Rest for God’s People

God’s promise of entering his rest still stands, so we ought to tremble with fear that some of you might fail to experience it. For this good news—that God has prepared this rest—has been announced to us just as it was to them. But it did them no good because they didn’t share the faith of those who listened to God.[a] For only we who believe can enter his rest. As for the others, God said,

“In my anger I took an oath:
‘They will never enter my place of rest,’”[b]

even though this rest has been ready since he made the world. We know it is ready because of the place in the Scriptures where it mentions the seventh day: “On the seventh day God rested from all his work.”[c] But in the other passage God said, “They will never enter my place of rest.”[d]

So God’s rest is there for people to enter, but those who first heard this good news failed to enter because they disobeyed God. So God set another time for entering his rest, and that time is today. God announced this through David much later in the words already quoted:

“Today when you hear his voice,
don’t harden your hearts.”[e]

Now if Joshua had succeeded in giving them this rest, God would not have spoken about another day of rest still to come. So there is a special rest[f] still waiting for the people of God. 10 For all who have entered into God’s rest have rested from their labors, just as God did after creating the world. 11 So let us do our best to enter that rest. But if we disobey God, as the people of Israel did, we will fall.

12 For the word of God is alive and powerful. It is sharper than the sharpest two-edged sword, cutting between soul and spirit, between joint and marrow. It exposes our innermost thoughts and desires. 13 Nothing in all creation is hidden from God. Everything is naked and exposed before his eyes, and he is the one to whom we are accountable.

Christ Is Our High Priest

14 So then, since we have a great High Priest who has entered heaven, Jesus the Son of God, let us hold firmly to what we believe. 15 This High Priest of ours understands our weaknesses, for he faced all of the same testings we do, yet he did not sin. 16 So let us come boldly to the throne of our gracious God. There we will receive his mercy, and we will find grace to help us when we need it most.

Footnotes:

  1. 4:2 Some manuscripts read they didn’t combine what they heard with faith.
  2. 4:3 Ps 95:11.
  3. 4:4 Gen 2:2.
  4. 4:5 Ps 95:11.
  5. 4:7 Ps 95:7-8.
  6. 4:9 Or a Sabbath rest.
New Living Translation (NLT)

Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.


Psalm 104:24-35

24 O Lord, what a variety of things you have made!
In wisdom you have made them all.
The earth is full of your creatures.
25 Here is the ocean, vast and wide,
teeming with life of every kind,
both large and small.
26 See the ships sailing along,
and Leviathan,[a] which you made to play in the sea.

27 They all depend on you
to give them food as they need it.
28 When you supply it, they gather it.
You open your hand to feed them,
and they are richly satisfied.
29 But if you turn away from them, they panic.
When you take away their breath,
they die and turn again to dust.
30 When you give them your breath,[b] life is created,
and you renew the face of the earth.

31 May the glory of the Lord continue forever!
The Lord takes pleasure in all he has made!
32 The earth trembles at his glance;
the mountains smoke at his touch.

33 I will sing to the Lord as long as I live.
I will praise my God to my last breath!
34 May all my thoughts be pleasing to him,
for I rejoice in the Lord.
35 Let all sinners vanish from the face of the earth;
let the wicked disappear forever.

Let all that I am praise the Lord.

Praise the Lord!

Footnotes:

  1. 104:26 The identification of Leviathan is disputed, ranging from an earthly creature to a mythical sea monster in ancient literature.
  2. 104:30 Or When you send your Spirit.
New Living Translation (NLT)

Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.


Proverbs 26:27

27 If you set a trap for others,
you will get caught in it yourself.
If you roll a boulder down on others,
it will crush you instead.

New Living Translation (NLT)

Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.


The Daily Audio Bible Reading for Thursday November 1, 2018 (NIV)

Hebrews 3

Jesus Is Greater Than Moses

And so, dear brothers and sisters who belong to God and[a] are partners with those called to heaven, think carefully about this Jesus whom we declare to be God’s messenger[b] and High Priest. For he was faithful to God, who appointed him, just as Moses served faithfully when he was entrusted with God’s entire[c] house.

But Jesus deserves far more glory than Moses, just as a person who builds a house deserves more praise than the house itself. For every house has a builder, but the one who built everything is God.

Moses was certainly faithful in God’s house as a servant. His work was an illustration of the truths God would reveal later. But Christ, as the Son, is in charge of God’s entire house. And we are God’s house, if we keep our courage and remain confident in our hope in Christ.[d]

That is why the Holy Spirit says,

“Today when you hear his voice,
don’t harden your hearts
as Israel did when they rebelled,
when they tested me in the wilderness.
There your ancestors tested and tried my patience,
even though they saw my miracles for forty years.
10 So I was angry with them, and I said,
‘Their hearts always turn away from me.
They refuse to do what I tell them.’
11 So in my anger I took an oath:
‘They will never enter my place of rest.’”[e]

12 Be careful then, dear brothers and sisters.[f] Make sure that your own hearts are not evil and unbelieving, turning you away from the living God. 13 You must warn each other every day, while it is still “today,” so that none of you will be deceived by sin and hardened against God. 14 For if we are faithful to the end, trusting God just as firmly as when we first believed, we will share in all that belongs to Christ. 15 Remember what it says:

“Today when you hear his voice,
don’t harden your hearts
as Israel did when they rebelled.”[g]

16 And who was it who rebelled against God, even though they heard his voice? Wasn’t it the people Moses led out of Egypt? 17 And who made God angry for forty years? Wasn’t it the people who sinned, whose corpses lay in the wilderness? 18 And to whom was God speaking when he took an oath that they would never enter his rest? Wasn’t it the people who disobeyed him? 19 So we see that because of their unbelief they were not able to enter his rest.

Footnotes:

  1. 3:1a Greek And so, holy brothers who.
  2. 3:1b Greek God’s apostle.
  3. 3:2 Some manuscripts do not include entire.
  4. 3:6 Some manuscripts add faithful to the end.
  5. 3:7-11 Ps 95:7-11.
  6. 3:12 Greek brothers.
  7. 3:15 Ps 95:7-8.
New Living Translation (NLT)

Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.


Psalm 104:1-23

Psalm 104

Let all that I am praise the Lord.

O Lord my God, how great you are!
You are robed with honor and majesty.
You are dressed in a robe of light.
You stretch out the starry curtain of the heavens;
you lay out the rafters of your home in the rain clouds.
You make the clouds your chariot;
you ride upon the wings of the wind.
The winds are your messengers;
flames of fire are your servants.[a]

You placed the world on its foundation
so it would never be moved.
You clothed the earth with floods of water,
water that covered even the mountains.
At your command, the water fled;
at the sound of your thunder, it hurried away.
Mountains rose and valleys sank
to the levels you decreed.
Then you set a firm boundary for the seas,
so they would never again cover the earth.

10 You make springs pour water into the ravines,
so streams gush down from the mountains.
11 They provide water for all the animals,
and the wild donkeys quench their thirst.
12 The birds nest beside the streams
and sing among the branches of the trees.
13 You send rain on the mountains from your heavenly home,
and you fill the earth with the fruit of your labor.
14 You cause grass to grow for the livestock
and plants for people to use.
You allow them to produce food from the earth—
15 wine to make them glad,
olive oil to soothe their skin,
and bread to give them strength.
16 The trees of the Lord are well cared for—
the cedars of Lebanon that he planted.
17 There the birds make their nests,
and the storks make their homes in the cypresses.
18 High in the mountains live the wild goats,
and the rocks form a refuge for the hyraxes.[b]

19 You made the moon to mark the seasons,
and the sun knows when to set.
20 You send the darkness, and it becomes night,
when all the forest animals prowl about.
21 Then the young lions roar for their prey,
stalking the food provided by God.
22 At dawn they slink back
into their dens to rest.
23 Then people go off to their work,
where they labor until evening.

Footnotes:

  1. 104:4 Greek version reads He sends his angels like the winds, / his servants like flames of fire. Compare Heb 1:7.
  2. 104:18 Or coneys, or rock badgers.
New Living Translation (NLT)

Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.


Proverbs 26:24-26

24 People may cover their hatred with pleasant words,
but they’re deceiving you.
25 They pretend to be kind, but don’t believe them.
Their hearts are full of many evils.[a]
26 While their hatred may be concealed by trickery,
their wrongdoing will be exposed in public.

Footnotes:

  1. 26:25 Hebrew seven evils.
New Living Translation (NLT)

Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.