Month: December 2019

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The Daily Audio Bible Reading for Tuesday December 17, 2019 (NIV)

Nahum 1-3

Nahum’s Vision

1 This is a revelation from the Lord about Nineveh. This book contains the vision of Nahum from Elkosh.

Who Can Withstand the Lord’s Anger?

2 God does not tolerate rivals. The Lord takes revenge.
The Lord takes revenge and is full of anger.
The Lord takes revenge against his enemies
and holds a grudge against his foes.
3 The Lord is patient and has great strength.
The Lord will never let the guilty go unpunished.
Raging winds and storms mark his path,
and clouds are the dust from his feet.
4 He yells at the sea and makes it dry.
He dries up all the rivers.
Bashan and Carmel wither.
The flowers of Lebanon wither.
5 The mountains quake because of him.
The hills melt.
The earth draws back in his presence.
The world and all who live in it draw back as well.
6 Who can stand in the presence of his rage?
Who can oppose his burning anger?
He pours out his rage like fire
and smashes the rocky cliffs.

Why Does Nineveh Oppose the Lord?

7 The Lord is good.
He is a fortress in the day of trouble.
He knows those who seek shelter in him.
8 He will put an end to Nineveh
with a devastating flood.
He will pursue his enemies with darkness.
9 What do you think about the Lord?
He is the one who will bring Nineveh to an end.
This trouble will never happen again.
10 The people of Nineveh will be like tangled thorns
and like people drunk on their own drink.
They will be completely burned up like very dry straw.
11 From you, Nineveh, a person who plans evil against the Lord sets out.
His advice is wicked.

Nineveh Will Fall

12 This is what the Lord says:
Though the people of Nineveh are physically fit and many in number,
they will be cut down and die.
Though I have humbled you, Judah,
I will not humble you again.
13 But now I will break Nineveh’s yoke[a] off of you
and tear its chains from you.

14 The Lord has given this command about you, Nineveh:
You will no longer have descendants to carry on your name.
I will remove the wooden and metal idols from the temple of your gods.
I will prepare your grave because you are worthless.[b]

An Army Will Conquer Nineveh

15 There on the mountains are the feet of a messenger
who announces the good news: “All is well!”
Celebrate your festivals, Judah! Keep your vows!
This wickedness will never pass your way again.
It will be completely removed.
2 [c] The one who will scatter you is coming to attack you.
Guard your fortress!
Keep a lookout on the road!
Prepare for battle!
Be very courageous!

2 The Lord will restore Jacob’s glory like Israel’s glory,
although enemies have looted it
and have destroyed its vines.

3 The shields of his warriors are painted red.
His soldiers have red uniforms.
The metal on his chariots flashes fiery red,
so do the spears when they are waved
on the day he prepares for battle.
4 Chariots are racing madly through the streets,
rushing this way and that in the city squares.
They look like torches, like lightning, as they dart about.
5 He remembers his best fighting men.
They stumble over themselves as they march.
They hurry to Nineveh’s wall.
The shield has been set up for the battering ram.
6 The gates of the rivers are opened, and the palace melts away.

Nineveh’s Treasures Will Be Taken

7 The Lord has determined:
“It will be stripped.
It will be carried away.
Its young women will be mourning like doves
as they beat their breasts.”
8 Nineveh was like a pool of water from its first day on.
But now its people are fleeing.
“Stop! Stop!”
But no one turns around.
9 Steal the silver! Steal the gold!
There is no end to what is stored here—
everything a person could ever want.
10 Nineveh is destroyed, deserted, demolished.
Hearts are melting.
Knees are knocking.
Every stomach becomes upset.
Every face turns pale.

Nineveh Will Be Destroyed

11 Where is the lions’ den,
that feeding place for young lions?
Where are the lion, the lioness, and the lion cub who moved about
with no one to terrify them?
12 The lion tore its prey to pieces to feed its cubs.
It strangled the prey for its mates.
It used to fill its caves with torn carcasses
and its dens with torn flesh.

13 “I am against you, Nineveh,” declares the Lord of Armies.
“I will send your chariots up in smoke,
and a sword will kill your young lions.
I will remove your prey from the earth,
and no one will ever hear the voice of your messengers again.”

Nineveh’s Punishment for Sin

How horrible it will be for that city of bloody violence!
It is completely full of lies and stolen goods—never without victims.
2 The sound of the whip!
The sound of rattling wheels!
Horses gallop!
Chariots bounce along!
3 Horses charge!
Swords flash!
Spears glitter!
Many are killed!
Dead bodies pile up!
There is no end to the corpses!
People trip over corpses
4 because of Nineveh’s constant prostitution,
this very charming mistress of evil magic.
She used to sell
nations her prostitution
and people her evil magic.
5 “I am against you, Nineveh,” declares the Lord of Armies.
“I will lift up your dress over your face.
I will show nations your naked body and kingdoms your disgrace.
6 I will throw filth on you.
I will make you look like a fool.
I will make you a sight to be seen.
7 Everyone who sees you will run from you, saying,
‘Nineveh has been violently destroyed!
Who will feel sorry for her?’
Where can I find anyone to comfort you?”

Nineveh Will Not Escape Punishment

8 Are you better than No-amon,[d] which sits by the streams of the Nile
with water surrounding her?
The sea was her defense.
The water was her wall.
9 Sudan and Egypt were her endless strength.
Put and the Lybians were her help.
10 Even she went into captivity and was exiled.
Even her little children were smashed to death at every street corner.
Soldiers tossed dice for her important men,
and all her best men were bound in chains.
11 Even you, Nineveh, will stagger like a drunk.
You will disappear.
Even you will look for a fortress to escape from the enemy.
12 All your defenses will be like fig trees with the earliest figs.
When shaken, the figs fall into the mouth of the eater.
13 Look at your soldiers; they’re women!
The gates of your country are wide open to your enemies.
Fire has destroyed the bars of your gates.

Nineveh’s Strength Will Not Save Her

14 Store water for the siege!
Strengthen your defenses!
Step into the claypits and trample the clay!
Grab the brick mold!
15 Fire will consume you there.
A sword will cut you down.
It will consume you like locusts.
Multiply like locusts!
Multiply like hungry locusts!
16 You have produced more businessmen than there are stars in the sky.
They are like locusts that attack and then fly away.
17 Your officers are like locusts,
and your scribes are like swarms of locusts
that settle on the fences when it is cold.
The sun rises, and they scatter in every direction.
No one knows where they’ve gone.
18 Your shepherds, king of Assyria, have fallen into a deep sleep.
Your best fighting men are at rest.
Your people are scattered on the mountains,
and there is no one to gather them.
19 There is no relief for your collapse.
Your wound is fatal.
All who hear the news about you will clap their hands.
Who hasn’t suffered from your endless evil?

Footnotes:

  1. Nahum 1:13 A yoke is a wooden bar placed over the necks of work animals so that they can pull plows or carts.
  2. Nahum 1:14 Nahum 1:15 in English Bibles is Nahum 2:1 in the Hebrew Bible.
  3. Nahum 2:1 Nahum 2:1–13 in English Bibles is Nahum 2:2–14 in the Hebrew Bible.
  4. Nahum 3:8 The city No-amon, also called Thebes, was the capital of southern Egypt.
GOD’S WORD Translation (GW)

Copyright © 1995 by God's Word to the Nations. Used by permission of God's Word Mission Society.

Revelation 8

The Lamb Opens the Seventh Seal

8 When he opened the seventh seal, there was silence in heaven for about half an hour.

Seven Angels with Seven Trumpets

2 Then I saw the seven angels who stand in God’s presence, and they were given seven trumpets. 3 Another angel came with a gold incense burner and stood at the altar. He was given a lot of incense to offer on the gold altar in front of the throne. He offered it with the prayers of all of God’s people. 4 The smoke from the incense went up from the angel’s hand to God along with the prayers of God’s people. 5 The angel took the incense burner, filled it with fire from the altar, and threw it on the earth. Then there was thunder, noise, lightning, and an earthquake.

6 The seven angels who had the seven trumpets got ready to blow them.

The First Four Angels Blow Their Trumpets

7 When the first angel blew his trumpet, hail and fire were mixed with blood, and were thrown on the earth. One-third of the earth was burned up, one-third of the trees were burned up, and all the green grass was burned up.

8 When the second angel blew his trumpet, something like a huge mountain burning with fire was thrown into the sea. One-third of the sea turned into blood, 9 one-third of the creatures that were living in the sea died, and one-third of the ships were destroyed.

10 When the third angel blew his trumpet, a huge star flaming like a torch fell from the sky. It fell on one-third of the rivers and on the springs. 11 That star was named Wormwood. One-third of the water turned into wormwood, and many people died from this water because it had turned bitter.

12 When the fourth angel blew his trumpet, one-third of the sun, one-third of the moon, and one-third of the stars were struck so that one-third of them turned dark. There was no light for one-third of the day and one-third of the night.

13 I saw an eagle flying overhead, and I heard it say in a loud voice, “Catastrophe, catastrophe, catastrophe for those living on earth, because of the remaining trumpet blasts which the three angels are about to blow.”

GOD’S WORD Translation (GW)

Copyright © 1995 by God's Word to the Nations. Used by permission of God's Word Mission Society.

Psalm 136

Psalm 136

1 Give thanks to the Lord because he is good,
because his mercy endures forever.
2 Give thanks to the God of gods
because his mercy endures forever.
3 Give thanks to the Lord of lords
because his mercy endures forever.

4 Give thanks to the only one who does miraculous things—
because his mercy endures forever.
5 to the one who made the heavens by his understanding—
because his mercy endures forever.
6 to the one who spread out the earth on the water—
because his mercy endures forever.
7 to the one who made the great lights—
because his mercy endures forever.
8 the sun to rule the day—
because his mercy endures forever.
9 the moon and stars to rule the night—
because his mercy endures forever.

10 Give thanks to the one who killed the firstborn males in Egypt—
because his mercy endures forever.
11 He brought Israel out from among them—
because his mercy endures forever.
12 with a mighty hand and a powerful arm—
because his mercy endures forever.

13 Give thanks to one who divided the Red Sea—
because his mercy endures forever.
14 He led Israel through the middle of it—
because his mercy endures forever.
15 He swept Pharaoh and his army into the Red Sea—
because his mercy endures forever.

16 Give thanks to the one who led his people through the desert—
because his mercy endures forever.

17 Give thanks to the one who defeated powerful kings—
because his mercy endures forever.
18 He killed mighty kings—
because his mercy endures forever.
19 King Sihon of the Amorites—
because his mercy endures forever.
20 and King Og of Bashan—
because his mercy endures forever.
21 He gave their land as an inheritance—
because his mercy endures forever.
22 as an inheritance for his servant Israel—
because his mercy endures forever.

23 He remembered us when we were humiliated—
because his mercy endures forever.
24 He snatched us from the grasp of our enemies—
because his mercy endures forever.
25 He gives food to every living creature—
because his mercy endures forever.

26 Give thanks to the God of heaven
because his mercy endures forever.

GOD’S WORD Translation (GW)

Copyright © 1995 by God's Word to the Nations. Used by permission of God's Word Mission Society.

Proverbs 30:7-9

A Prayer

[To God]

7 “I’ve asked you for two things.
Don’t keep them from me before I die:
8 Keep vanity and lies far away from me.
Don’t give me either poverty or riches.
Feed me only the food I need,
9 or I may feel satisfied and deny you
and say, ‘Who is the Lord?’
or I may become poor and steal
and give the name of my God a bad reputation.

GOD’S WORD Translation (GW)

Copyright © 1995 by God's Word to the Nations. Used by permission of God's Word Mission Society.

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12/16/2019 DAB Transcript

Micah 5:1-7:20, Revelation 7:1-17, Psalms 135:1-21, Proverbs 30:5-6

Today is the 16th day of the December. Welcome to the Daily Audio Bible. I am Brian and it’s wonderful to be here with you today as we continue our journey through the Scriptures this year. And it seems as if, more often than not at the end of the year, we’re entering a new book almost every day. Today isn’t one of those days. We began the book of Micah yesterday in the Old Testament and we’ll conclude it today. And we are settled into the book of Revelation, which is the last book of the New Testament, and for that matter, the last book of the Bible. So, we’re reading from the God’s Word Translation this week. And today Micah chapters 5 through 7.

Commentary:

Okay. So, we encountered some poignant things, not only for the season, the time of the year that we’re in but…but actually for the entirety of our lives every single day and we found that the book of Micah today because Micha was exploring what God really wants. Like, what does God really want. What are the core expectations here? And, so, we’re in a season where we’re doing what we can to give everybody in our lives what they want. So, considering what God wants, that's…that’s fair. He gave us the gift of eternal life. What does God want that we might be able to give him as a gift for Christmas? But before we can explore what God might want we need to look at what God doesn’t want. And before we can think about what he doesn’t want we have to consider some sad questions that God asked through the prophet Micah. And we can certainly listen to these questions and say, “well, God’s talking to ancient Israel.” And that would be true. But we can also listen to these questions and ask them of ourselves. So, God asks. “My people, what have I done to you? How have I tried your patience? Answer me.” Sit with that for a minute. Maybe even push pause and sit with that for minute. “What have I done to you? What have I done that your tired of me? Answer me”. That gets profoundly disruptive when you’re not just thinking about how unsettled you are. In having this kind of unnamed angst about God changes the whole dynamic when you consider God’s present and it is you and Him and you are alone and He is asking, “what have I done to you? What have I done to make you tired of me?” That changes things, doesn’t it? That’s disruptive. But, you know, if we were to replace my people in this Scripture with our own name then it would be even before disruptive. But we wouldn’t expect God to be asking those kinds of questions - “Are you tired of me? What have I done?” These kinds of things we ask God. We don’t expect Him to be asking them of us. It’s like in Micah God is saying to the people, “what other hoop is there that I would need to jump through to get your attention? What else do I need to do to prove that I love you?” And that is a heartbreaking thought, that the Creator of life and Sustainer of life would ask those kinds of questions and ask for an answer. That’s pretty sad. And God went on and listed a number of ways that He had been caring for and protecting His people all along and they still betrayed him. So then Micah starts talking, “like what would we need to do? Like, what would…what rituals of worship would we enact here? What sacrifice…like what are we gonna do?” God has just asked us this question that is so profoundly revealing and so profoundly sad. “What else do I have to do to show you that I love you” is basically what God is asking. And, so, Micah’s responding, “like, what do we need to do? Like, is more sacrifices gonna fix this? Is that gonna show him that we’re repentant? And is…is that…is that what he wants?” Because we need to give God what He wants. Is this what He wants, for us to just amp up our sacrifices and rituals and worship services? Because the people had been…as rebellious as they were…still kept obeying the law as the centerpiece of their culture. And, so, that’s where they would turn. Let’s just do that better because that will give God what He wants. So, Micha’s pondering this. “What should we bring when we come to the Lord’s presence, when I bow in front of the God of heaven? Should I bring him a year-old calves as burnt offerings? Will the Lord be pleased with thousands of rams or with endless streams of olive oil? Should I give Him my firstborn child because of my rebellious acts? Should I give him my young child from my sin?” Micah’s building it up here. “What does God want from us?” And was that what God wanted? Does He just want them to offer more sacrifices or obey the law better? Was that what he wanted? It’s not what God wants. It’s not what he wanted then, it’s not what he wants now. Micah says, “you mortals, the Lord has told you what is good. This is what the Lord wants from you, that you do what is right, that you will love mercy, and that you live and walk humbly with your God.” There you have it. That’s what God would like for Christmas and for every day that you breathe the life-giving air that He gives you moment by moment, to do what is right, to translate that from Hebrew literally means that we act justly. And he wants us to love mercy, which is not the same as occasionally being merciful. He wants us to love mercy, and he wants us to walk humbly with Him, to move through our lives aware that He is within us and around us and that we are in His presence, and we cannot escape His presence, and in knowing that understanding that we have a role to reveal His love that He has shown us to all our brother and sister human beings throughout our lives. This is what He wants. But if we pause again and just ponder for second and  just think, “okay, you know, I see this is a heart issue and I do want to give my Father what He wants. If we think about it, this is what we want too. Because what we’re talking about is wholeness. And this Christmas season can leave us feeling anything but whole. It can feel like we’re fragmented and pulled in every possible direction. The rhythm of our year, it gets disrupted around this time of the year. And, so, sometimes those stretching and fraying that we feel brings up deeper questions inside. You start asking, “what’s the purpose? What’s the meaning of all this” and it starts to creep in. And it’s important in these times to remember that God may be in that, shaking us, inviting us deeper. So, we’re…were working hard to give those that we love things that they want and it might be important to remember that what God would like is that we act justly and love mercy and walk humbly with Him and we can give Him this, if we simply pay attention.

Song:

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The Daily Audio Bible Reading for Monday December 16, 2019 (NIV)

Micah 5-7

5 [a] Now, gather your troops, you city of troops.
We are under attack.
Enemies will strike the judge of Israel on the cheek with a stick.

The Lord’s Leader for Israel

2 You, Bethlehem Ephrathah,
are too small to be included among Judah’s cities.
Yet, from you Israel’s future ruler will come for me.
His origins go back to the distant past, to days long ago.
3 That is why the Lord will abandon Israel
until the time a mother has a child.
Then the rest of the Lord’s people will return to the people of Israel.
4 The child will become the shepherd of his flock.
He will lead them with the strength of the Lord,
with the majestic name of the Lord his God.
They will live in safety
because his greatness will reach the ends of the earth.
5 This man will be their peace.

When the Assyrians invade our land and trample our palaces,
we will attack them with seven shepherds and eight leaders.
6 They will rule Assyria with their swords
and the country of Nimrod with drawn swords.
They will rescue us from the Assyrians
when they come into our land
and walk within our territory.
7 Then the few people left from Jacob will be among many people
like dew from the Lord, like showers on the grass.
They do not put their hope in humans or wait for mortals.
8 The few people left from Jacob will be among the nations,
among many people.
They will be like a lion among animals in the forest,
like a young lion among flocks of sheep.
When a lion hunts,
it tramples its victims and tears them to pieces,
and there is no one to rescue them.
9 You will use your power against your opponents,
and all your enemies will be destroyed.

10 “When that day comes,” declares the Lord,
“I will destroy your horses
and demolish your chariots.
11 I will destroy the cities in your land
and tear down all your fortresses.
12 I will destroy your sorcerers,
and you will have no more fortunetellers.
13 I will destroy your idols and your sacred monuments.
You will no longer worship what your hands have made.
14 I will pull out your poles dedicated to the goddess Asherah.
I will wipe out your cities.
15 I will take revenge with great anger
on the nations that do not obey me.”

The Lord’s Lawsuit against His People

Now listen to what the Lord is saying,
“Stand up! Plead your case in front of the mountains,
and let the hills listen to your request.
2 Listen to the Lord’s lawsuit, you mountains.
Listen, you strong foundations of the earth.
The Lord has filed a lawsuit against his people.
He is arguing his case against Israel.

3 “My people, what have I done to you?
How have I tried your patience? Answer me!
4 I brought you out of Egypt and freed you from slavery.
I sent Moses, Aaron, and Miriam to lead you.
5 My people, remember what King Balak of Moab planned to do to you
and how Balaam, son of Beor, responded to him.
Remember your journey from Shittim to Gilgal[b]
so that you may know the victories of the Lord.”

6 What should I bring when I come into the Lord’s presence,
when I bow in front of the God of heaven?
Should I bring him year-old calves as burnt offerings?
7 Will the Lord be pleased with thousands of rams
or with endless streams of olive oil?
Should I give him my firstborn child because of my rebellious acts?
Should I give him my young child for my sin?
8 You mortals, the Lord has told you what is good.
This is what the Lord requires from you:
to do what is right,
to love mercy,
and to live humbly with your God.

9 The voice of the Lord calls out to the city.
(The fear of your name is wisdom.)
“Listen, you tribe assembled in the city.[c]
10 I have cursed all the wicked people who use their money for evil
and use inaccurate weights and measures.
11 I cannot tolerate dishonest scales
and bags filled with inaccurate weights.
12 The rich people in the city are violent.
Those who live in the city speak lies,
and their tongues speak deceitfully.
13 I have begun to strike you with heavy blows
and to ruin you because of your sins.
14 You will eat, but you won’t be full.
So you will always be hungry.
You will put things away, but you won’t save them.
Anything you save I will destroy.
15 You will plant, but you won’t harvest.
You will crush olives, but you won’t rub the oil on your skin.
You will make new wine, but you won’t drink it.
16 You have kept Omri’s laws
and all the practices of the descendants of Ahab,
and you have followed their advice.
That is why I will ruin you.
Your people will be ridiculed.
You will bear the disgrace of my people.”

The Lord’s People Confess Their Sin

Poor me!
I am like those gathering summer fruit,
like those picking grapes.
But there aren’t any grapes to eat
or any ripened figs that I crave.
2 Faithful people are gone from the earth,
and no one is decent.
All people lie in ambush to commit murder.
They trap each other with nets.
3 Their hands are skilled in doing evil.
Officials ask for gifts.
Judges accept bribes.
Powerful people dictate what they want.
So they scheme together.[d]
4 The best of them is like a briar.
The most decent person is sharper than thornbushes.
The day you thought you would be punished has come.
Now is the time you will be confused.
5 Don’t trust your neighbors.
Don’t have confidence in your friends.
Keep your mouth shut even when a woman is lying in your arms.
6 A son treats his father with contempt.
A daughter rebels against her mother.
A daughter-in-law rebels against her mother-in-law.
People’s enemies are the members of their own families.

7 I will look to the Lord.
I will wait for God to save me.
I will wait for my God to listen to me.

8 Don’t laugh at me, my enemies.
Although I’ve fallen, I will get up.
Although I sit in the dark, the Lord is my light.
9 I have sinned against the Lord.
So I will endure his fury
until he takes up my cause and wins my case.
He will bring me into the light,
and I will see his victory.
10 Then my enemies will see this, and they will be covered with shame,
because they asked me, “Where is the Lord your God?”
Now I look at them.
They are trampled like mud in the streets.

11 The day for rebuilding your walls
and extending your borders is coming.
12 When that day comes, your people will come to you
from Assyria and the cities of Egypt,
from Egypt to the Euphrates River,
from sea to sea, and from mountain to mountain.
13 The earth will become a wasteland for those who live on it
because of what the people living there have done.

14 With your shepherd’s staff, take care of your people,
the sheep that belong to you.
They live alone in the woods, in fertile pastures.
Let them feed in Bashan and Gilead like before.
15 Let us see miracles
like the time you came out of Egypt.
16 Nations will see this and be ashamed in spite of all their strength.
They will put their hands over their mouths.
Their ears will become deaf.
17 They will lick dust like snakes,
like animals that crawl on the ground.
They will come out of their hiding places trembling.
They will turn away from your presence in fear, O Lord our God.
They will be afraid of you.
18 Who is a God like you?
You forgive sin
and overlook the rebellion of your faithful people.
You will not be angry forever,
because you would rather show mercy.
19 You will again have compassion on us.
You will overcome our wrongdoing.
You will throw all our sins into the deep sea.
20 You will be faithful to Jacob.
You will have mercy on Abraham
as you swore by an oath to our ancestors long ago.

Footnotes:

  1. Micah 5:1 Micah 5:1–15 in English Bibles is Micah 4:14–5:14 in the Hebrew Bible.
  2. Micah 6:5 Hebrew meaning of this line uncertain.
  3. Micah 6:9 Greek; Masoretic Text “Listen to the stick and the one who appointed it.”
  4. Micah 7:3 Hebrew meaning of this line uncertain.
GOD’S WORD Translation (GW)

Copyright © 1995 by God's Word to the Nations. Used by permission of God's Word Mission Society.

Revelation 7

144,000 People Are Sealed

7 After this I saw four angels standing at the four corners of the earth. They were holding back the four winds of the earth to keep them from blowing on the land, the sea, or any tree. 2 I saw another angel coming from the east with the seal of the living God. He cried out in a loud voice to the four angels who had been allowed to harm the land and sea, 3 “Don’t harm the land, the sea, or the trees until we have put the seal on the foreheads of the servants of our God.”

4 I heard how many were sealed: 144,000. Those who were sealed were from every tribe of the people of Israel:

5 12,000 from the tribe of Judah were sealed,
12,000 from the tribe of Reuben,
12,000 from the tribe of Gad,
6 12,000 from the tribe of Asher,
12,000 from the tribe of Naphtali,
12,000 from the tribe of Manasseh,
7 12,000 from the tribe of Simeon,
12,000 from the tribe of Levi,
12,000 from the tribe of Issachar,
8 12,000 from the tribe of Zebulun,
12,000 from the tribe of Joseph,
12,000 from the tribe of Benjamin were sealed.

God’s People around His Throne in Heaven

9 After these things I saw a large crowd from every nation, tribe, people, and language. No one was able to count how many people there were. They were standing in front of the throne and the lamb. They were wearing white robes, holding palm branches in their hands, 10 and crying out in a loud voice, “Salvation belongs to our God, who sits on the throne, and to the lamb!”

11 All the angels stood around the throne with the leaders and the four living creatures. They bowed in front of the throne with their faces touching the ground, worshiped God, 12 and said,

“Amen! Praise, glory, wisdom, thanks, honor, power, and strength
be to our God forever and ever! Amen!”

13 One of the leaders asked me, “Who are these people wearing white robes, and where did they come from?”

14 I answered him, “Sir, you know.”

Then he told me,

“These are the people who are coming out of the terrible suffering.
They have washed their robes
and made them white in the blood of the lamb.
15 That is why they are in front of the throne of God.
They serve him day and night in his temple.
The one who sits on the throne will spread his tent over them.
16 They will never be hungry or thirsty again.
Neither the sun nor any burning heat will ever overcome them.
17 The lamb in the center near the throne will be their shepherd.
He will lead them to springs filled with the water of life,
and God will wipe every tear from their eyes.”

GOD’S WORD Translation (GW)

Copyright © 1995 by God's Word to the Nations. Used by permission of God's Word Mission Society.

Psalm 135

Psalm 135

1 Hallelujah!

Praise the name of the Lord.
Praise him, you servants of the Lord
2 who are standing in the house of the Lord,
in the courtyards of the house of our God.
3 Praise the Lord because he is good.
Make music to praise his name because his name is beautiful.
4 The Lord chose Jacob to be his own
and chose Israel to be his own special treasure.

5 I know that the Lord is great,
that our Lord is greater than all the false gods.
6 The Lord does whatever he wants in heaven or on earth,
on the seas or in all the depths of the oceans.
7 He is the one who makes the clouds rise from the ends of the earth,
who makes lightning for the thunderstorms,
and who brings wind out of his storerooms.

8 He is the one who killed every firstborn male in Egypt.
He killed humans and animals alike.
9 He sent miraculous signs and amazing things into the heart of Egypt
against Pharaoh and all his officials.
10 He is the one who defeated many nations and killed mighty kings:
11 King Sihon of the Amorites,
King Og of Bashan,
and all the kingdoms in Canaan.
12 He gave their land as an inheritance,
an inheritance to his people Israel.
13 O Lord, your name endures forever.
O Lord, you will be remembered throughout every generation.
14 The Lord will provide justice for his people
and have compassion on his servants.

15 The idols of the nations are made of silver and gold.
They were made by human hands.[a]
16 They have mouths, but they cannot speak.
They have eyes, but they cannot see.
17 They have ears, but they cannot hear.
They cannot breathe.
18 Those who make idols end up like them.
So does everyone who trusts them.

19 Descendants of Israel, praise the Lord.
Descendants of Aaron, praise the Lord.
20 Descendants of Levi, praise the Lord.
You people who fear the Lord, praise the Lord.
21 Thank the Lord in Zion.
Thank the one who lives in Jerusalem.

Hallelujah!

Footnotes:

  1. Psalm 135:15 Verses 15–18 are virtually identical in wording to Psalm 115:4–8.
GOD’S WORD Translation (GW)

Copyright © 1995 by God's Word to the Nations. Used by permission of God's Word Mission Society.

Proverbs 30:5-6

5 “All of God’s words has proven to be true.
He is a shield to those who come to him for protection.
6 Do not add to his words,
or he will reprimand you, and you will be found to be a liar.

GOD’S WORD Translation (GW)

Copyright © 1995 by God's Word to the Nations. Used by permission of God's Word Mission Society.

Posted on

12/15/2019 DAB Transcript

Micah 1:1-4:13, Rev 6:1-17, Psalms 134:1-3, Proverbs 30:1-4

Today is the 15th day of December. Welcome to the Daily Audio Bible. I am Brian and it is a joy and an honor to be here with you at the threshold of shiny, sparkly, new week. 10 days from now is Christmas day and we, at least on the Christian calendar, are in the season that we know as Advent and Advent means arrival. So, it’s 40 days before Christmas to put our hearts in the posture of waiting and longing for the arrival of the Savior. And these weeks are kinda marked each Sunday. When you go to church today, maybe your lighting an Advent wreath or maybe that’s something you do at home or maybe that’s not something you do at all and your confused about the whole thing. Advent is like lent or like other seasons on the Christian calendar that are meant to put our hearts and aim our hearts through the rhythm of the year towards important things that…that we need to contemplate. The arrival of the Savior of the world is one of those things. So, this is the third Sunday of four in Advent. And this is the Sunday of joy. And we enter into the joy at contemplating the arrival of the Savior, not only for Christmas, not only just to commemorate Christmas, but also the joy and the longing that we have as we wait the second Advent, the arrival of the Savior back. So, that’s where we are in our…in the season. In our journey through the Scriptures this year, things have been speeding up for a while now as we move through some of the shorter books of the Bible. Today is no different. Yesterday, we read in its entirety the book of Jonah and in the Old Testament today we’ll begin the book of Micah. We won’t begin and end it today, we’re not gonna read the whole thing. It’ll take us a couple of days, but we will begin the book of Micah. So, let’s just kinda consider were going.

Introduction to the book of Micah:

This is the sixth of 12 books known as the minor prophets. And the minor prophets conclude the Old Testament. And as I have said just about every time we’ve come to a new book of the minor prophets, they’re not minor because they’re less significant, they’re just…they’re called minor prophets because they’re shorter. And Micah is one of the minor prophets, although very little about Micah as a person and Micah’s life is known outside of this book, but there is some information. Micah’s name means who is like God. And he was from the town of Moresheth, which many scholars associate with Moresheth, Gath. And that would place him in the lowlands among the villages of southern Judah. And this book, Micah, starts by saying the Lord gave this message to Michael of Moresheth during the years when Jotham, Ahaz and Hezekiah were kings of Judah, and the visions he saw concerned both Samaria and Jerusalem, so the northern kingdom and the southern kingdom. So, we understand who he was speaking about. And from the different references to the Kings we can likely date Micah’s ministry to the early decades of the eighth century B.C. Also, Micah gives a brief mention in the book of Jeremiah, which tells us that Micah’s prophecies were still being referenced over 100 years after the fact. Micah follows a pattern three different times in the book. First, there are predictions and utterances of doom and judgment and then those are followed by words of hope and restoration, which is obviously not unlike other prophetic books in the Bible, but scholars have noted that this appears to be very intentional in Micah’s writing. And contained in Micah’s writings are promises of a coming messianic deliverer. Like Micah 5:2 gets quoted in…in the New Testament book of Matthew. Jesus actually quotes from Micah when He’s explaining the disrupting of His coming and what His ministry and message were bringing to the world system. One thing is sure in Micah, God is absolutely disgusted with corruption and idolatry and rebellion and those who use their power to exploit the less fortunate. But what we’ll see is that God is even more passionate about restoration and hope for those who keep his covenant. So, with that, we will begin the book of Micah. We’re in a new week so we will read from a new translation. We’ll read from the God’s Word Translation this week. And today, Micah chapters 1 through 4.

Prayer:

Father, we thank You for Your word and as we move into this new week, we invite Your Holy Spirit into every aspect of our lives, every thought, every word, every deed, all that we are. And we pray Holy Spirit that we would have the opportunity to see where You are leading them to go where You are leading and to be Your hands and feet in this world as we continue in this season of festivity as we celebrate with great joy today and as we contemplate joy all week long at Your arrival, the representation of the change in the world this time of year. And, so, come Holy Spirit into all that we take part in this coming week, all of the conversations that will take place, all of the actions that we must do. We invite You into all of it and we ask this in the name of Jesus. Amen.

Announcements:

dailyaudiobible.com is home base, it is the website, it is where you find out what’s going on around here.

And its certainly Christmas time and we’ve been talking about that and the Daily Audio Bible Christmas Box is still available. So, you can check that out in the Shop.

If you want to partner with the Daily Audio Bible hear in the closing weeks of the year then I thank you with…with profound gratitude and with love from my heart. Thank you. There’s 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 you can dial 877-942-4253 or you can just press the Hotline button in the app, the little red button at the top of the app and begin to share your story.

And that’s it for today. Happy third Sunday of Advent. I am Brian I love you and I’ll be waiting for you here tomorrow.

Posted on

The Daily Audio Bible Reading for Sunday December 15, 2019 (NIV)

Micah 1-4

The Prophet Micah

1 The Lord spoke his word to Micah, who was from Moresheth, when Jotham, Ahaz, and Hezekiah were kings of Judah. This is the vision that Micah saw about Samaria and Jerusalem.

The Capital Cities of Israel and Judah Destroyed

2 Listen, all you people!
Pay attention, earth and all who are on it.
The Almighty Lord will be a witness against you.
The Lord will be a witness from his holy temple.
3 The Lord is going to come from his place.
He is going to come down and step on the worship places of the earth.
4 Mountains will melt under him like wax near a fire.
Valleys will split apart like water pouring down a steep hill.
5 All this is because of Jacob’s crime and Israel’s sin.
What is Jacob’s crime? Isn’t it Samaria?
What is Judah’s worship place? Isn’t it Jerusalem?

6 So I will turn Samaria into a pile of rubble,
a place for planting vineyards.
I will roll its stones down into a valley and expose its foundations.
7 All its idols will be smashed to pieces.
All its wages for being a prostitute will be burned.
All its statues will be turned into a pile of rubble.
Samaria collected its wages for being a prostitute.
That money will again pay for prostitutes.

8 I will mourn and cry because of this.
I will walk around barefoot and naked.
I will cry like a jackal and mourn like an ostrich.
9 Samaria’s wounds are incurable.
The news about Samaria will come to Judah.
It will reach the gates of my people in Jerusalem.
10 Don’t report it in Gath. Don’t cry there.
Roll in the dust of Beth Leaphrah.[a]
11 Pass by, naked and ashamed, inhabitants of Shaphir.
Don’t come out, inhabitants of Zaanan.
Beth Ezel is in mourning.
It will take its support away from you.
12 Wait anxiously for good, inhabitants of Maroth.
From the Lord disaster will come on the gates of Jerusalem.
13 Harness the horses to the chariots, inhabitants of Lachish.
You were the first to lead the people of Zion into sin.
The rebellious acts of Israel are found in you.
14 That is why you will give farewell gifts to Moresheth Gath.
The town of Achzib will betray the kings of Israel.
15 I will again bring a conqueror against the inhabitants of Mareshah.
The glory of Israel will come to Adullam.
16 Shave your head in mourning for the children you love.
Make yourselves as bald as vultures
because your children will be taken from you into exile.

Israel’s Sins Are Condemned

How horrible it will be for those who invent trouble
and work out plans for disaster while in bed.
When the morning dawns, they carry out their plans
because they are able to.
2 They desire other people’s fields, so they seize them.
They desire people’s houses, so they take them.
They cheat a man and his family,
a man and his inheritance.

3 So this is what the Lord says:

I’m planning a disaster to punish your family.
You won’t be able to rescue yourselves.
You will no longer be able to walk proudly.
This will be a time of disaster.
4 When that day comes, people will make fun of you.
They will sing this sad song about you:
“We are completely ruined.
The Lord gives our people’s possessions to others.
He takes them from us.
He divides our fields among our captors.”
5 That is why none of you in the Lord’s assembly will draw lots
to divide your property.

6 Your prophets say, “Don’t prophesy!
Don’t prophesy such things!
Disgrace will never overtake us.”
7 Should the descendants of Jacob be asked:
Has the Spirit of the Lord become impatient with you?
Has he done these things?
Are his words good for those who live honestly?

8 Recently, my people have turned into enemies.
You take coats from those who pass by without a care
as they return from war.
9 You force the women among my people out of their pleasant homes
and take my glory away from their children forever.
10 Get up, and go away!
This is not a place to rest!
It will be destroyed, completely destroyed,
because it offends me.
11 Liars and frauds may go around and say,
“We will preach to you about wine and liquor.”
They would be just the type of preacher you want.

Israel Will Be Gathered Again by the Lord

12 I will surely gather all of you, Jacob.
I will surely bring together the few people left in Israel.
I will gather them together like sheep in a pen,
like a flock in its pasture.
They will make a lot of noise
because there will be so many people.
13 The Lord will open the way and lead them.
They will break out, go through the gate, and leave.
Their king will travel in front of them.
The Lord will lead the people.

Israel’s Sinful Leaders—Rulers, Prophets, and Priests

Then I said:

Listen, you leaders of Jacob, you rulers of the nation of Israel.
You should know justice.

2 You hate good and love evil.
You strip the skin off my people and the flesh off their bones.
3 You eat my people’s flesh.
You strip off their skin.
You break their bones to pieces.
You chop them up like meat for a pot, like stew meat for a kettle.
4 Then you will cry to the Lord,
but he will not answer you.
He will hide his face from you at that time
because you have done evil things.

5 This is what the Lord says about the prophets who mislead my people:

When they have something to eat, they say, “All is well!”
But they declare a holy war against those who don’t feed them.
6 That is why you will have nights without visions.
You will have darkness without revelations.
The sun will set on the prophets,
and the day will turn dark for them.
7 Seers[b] will be put to shame.
Those who practice witchcraft will be disgraced.
All of them will cover their faces, because God won’t answer them.

8 But I am filled with the power of the Lord’s Spirit,
with justice, and with strength.
So I will tell the descendants of Jacob about their crimes
and the nation of Israel about its sins.

9 Listen to this, you leaders of the descendants of Jacob,
you rulers of the nation of Israel.
You despise justice and pervert everything that is right.
10 You build Zion on bloodshed and Jerusalem on wickedness.
11 Your leaders exchange justice for bribes.
Your priests teach for a price.
Your prophets tell the future for money.
But they rely on the Lord when they say,
“After all, the Lord is with us.
Nothing bad will happen to us.”
12 Because of you,
Zion will be plowed like a field,
Jerusalem will become a pile of rubble,
and the temple mountain will become a worship site
covered with trees.

The Lord Will Teach the Nations(A)

In the last days the mountain of the Lord’s house
will be established as the highest of the mountains
and raised above the hills.
People will stream to it.
2 Then many nations will come and say,
“Let’s go to the mountain of the Lord,
to the house of the God of Jacob.
He will teach us his ways so that we may live by them.”
The teachings will go out from Zion.
The Lord’s word will go out from Jerusalem.
3 Then he will judge disputes between many people
and settle arguments between many nations far and wide.
They will hammer their swords into plowblades
and their spears into pruning shears.
Nations will never fight against each other,
and they will never train for war again.
4 They will sit under their grapevines and their fig trees,
and no one will make them afraid.
The Lord of Armies has spoken.
5 All the nations live by the names of their gods,
but we will live by the name of the Lord our God forever.

6 “When that day comes,” declares the Lord,
“I will gather those who are lame.
I will bring together those who are scattered
and those whom I have injured.
7 I will change those who are lame into a faithful people.
I will change those who are forced away into a strong nation.”
The Lord will rule them on Mount Zion now and forever.
8 You, Jerusalem, watchtower of the flock,
stronghold of the people of Zion,
your former government will come back to you.
The kingdom will return to the people of Jerusalem.

9 Now why are you crying so loudly?
Don’t you have a king?
Has your counselor died?
Pain grips you like a woman in labor.
10 Daughter of Zion, writhe in pain and groan like a woman in labor.
Now you will leave the city,
live in the open fields,
and go to Babylon.
There you will be rescued.
There the Lord will reclaim you from your enemies.

11 But now many nations gather against you.
They say, “Let’s dishonor Zion and gloat over it.”
12 They don’t know the thoughts of the Lord or understand his plan.
He will bring them together
like cut grain on the threshing floor.[c]
13 Get up and thresh,[d] people of Zion.
I will make your horns as hard as iron
and your hoofs as hard as bronze.
You will smash many nations into small pieces.
You will claim their loot for the Lord,
their wealth for the Lord of the whole earth.

Footnotes:

  1. Micah 1:10 Or “I rolled in the dust of Beth Leaphrah.”
  2. Micah 3:7 A seer is a prophet.
  3. Micah 4:12 A threshing floor is an outdoor area where grain is separated from its husks.
  4. Micah 4:13 Threshing is the process of beating stalks to separate them from the grain.

Cross references:

  1. Micah 4:1 : Isaiah 2:2–4
GOD’S WORD Translation (GW)

Copyright © 1995 by God's Word to the Nations. Used by permission of God's Word Mission Society.

Revelation 6

The Lamb Opens the First Six Seals

6 I watched as the lamb opened the first of the seven seals. I heard one of the four living creatures say with a voice like thunder, “Go!” 2 Then I looked, and there was a white horse, and its rider had a bow. He was given a crown and rode off as a warrior to win battles.

3 When the lamb opened the second seal, I heard the second living creature say, “Go!” 4 A second horse went out. It was fiery red. Its rider was given the power to take peace away from the earth and to make people slaughter one another. So he was given a large sword.

5 When the lamb opened the third seal, I heard the third living creature say, “Go!” I looked, and there was a black horse, and its rider held a scale. 6 I heard what sounded like a voice from among the four living creatures, saying, “A quart of wheat for a day’s pay or three quarts of barley for a day’s pay. But do not damage the olive oil and the wine.”

7 When the lamb opened the fourth seal, I heard the voice of the fourth living creature say, “Go!” 8 I looked, and there was a pale horse, and its rider’s name was Death. Hell followed him. They were given power over one-fourth of the earth to kill people using wars, famines, plagues, and the wild animals on the earth.

9 When the lamb opened the fifth seal, I saw under the altar the souls of those who had been slaughtered because of God’s word and the testimony they had given about him. 10 They cried out in a loud voice, “Holy and true Master, how long before you judge and take revenge on those living on earth who shed our blood?” 11 Each of the souls was given a white robe. They were told to rest a little longer until all their coworkers, the other Christians, would be killed as they had been killed.

12 I watched as the lamb opened the sixth seal. A powerful earthquake struck. The sun turned as black as sackcloth made of hair. The full moon turned as red as blood. 13 The stars fell from the sky to the earth like figs dropping from a fig tree when it is shaken by a strong wind. 14 The sky vanished like a scroll being rolled up. Every mountain and island was moved from its place. 15 Then the kings of the earth, the important people, the generals, the rich, the powerful, and all the slaves and free people hid themselves in caves and among the rocks in the mountains. 16 They said to the mountains and rocks, “Fall on us, and hide us from the face of the one who sits on the throne and from the anger of the lamb, 17 because the frightening day of their anger has come, and who is able to endure it?”

GOD’S WORD Translation (GW)

Copyright © 1995 by God's Word to the Nations. Used by permission of God's Word Mission Society.

Psalm 134

1 Praise the Lord, all you servants of the Lord,
all who stand in the house of the Lord night after night.
2 Lift your hands toward the holy place, and praise the Lord.
3 May the Lord, the maker of heaven and earth, bless you from Zion.

GOD’S WORD Translation (GW)

Copyright © 1995 by God's Word to the Nations. Used by permission of God's Word Mission Society.

Proverbs 30:1-4

The words of Agur, son of Jakeh. Agur’s prophetic revelation.

Agur Speaks about God

[To God]

This man’s declaration:
“I’m weary, O God.
I’m weary and worn out, O God.
2 I’m more like a dumb animal than a human being.
I don’t even have human understanding.
3 I haven’t learned wisdom.
I don’t have knowledge of the Holy One.[a]

[To the audience]

4 “Who has gone up to heaven and come down?
Who has gathered the wind in the palm of his hand?
Who has wrapped water in a garment?
Who has set up the earth from one end to the other?
What is his name or the name of his son?
Certainly, you must know!

Footnotes:

  1. Proverbs 30:3 Or “holy ones.”
GOD’S WORD Translation (GW)

Copyright © 1995 by God's Word to the Nations. Used by permission of God's Word Mission Society.

Posted on

12/14/2019 DAB Transcript

Jonah 1:1-4:11, Revelation 5:1-14, Psalms 133:1-3, Proverbs 29:26-27

Today is the 14th day of December. Welcome to the Daily Audio Bible. I am Brian and here we are at the end of another of our weeks together and we only have about two and a half of these left in this year. So, we are definitely moving forward and as we keep pointing out, we’re moving fast through a lot of territory in the Bible because of the shorter duration of the books as we get to the end. So, we’re working our way to the minor prophets in the Old Testament and we read Obadiah yesterday, which brings us to the book of Jonah today and we’ll read the entire book of Jonah in today’s reading.

Introduction to the book of Jonah:

And Jonah is another one of the minor prophets but it…it…it’s kind of a prophetic book with a twist. Jonah lived in the northern kingdom of Israel pretty much due west from the southern portion of the Sea of Galilee. And he lived, obviously in the divided kingdom era under King Jeroboam the second. Here’s the twist. Most of the prophets in the Bible were called by God to their own people to go and offer a prophetic message that was calling them to repentance to a renewal of the covenant that they had broken. Jonah’s mission was different than that. He was called to go and speak a message to the city of Nineveh, which is one of the largest cities in the world at that time. And it’s its ruins still exist today near the modern city of Mosul in Iraq. Nineveh, actually kinda made the news in the last several years because there was a lot of destruction to those ruins by…by Isis. Anyway, Jonah was not happy about his assignment at all. God wanted him to go to a people who were considered enemies of Israel and for that matter, the enemies of God. So, instead of going to God’s and Israel’s enemies, Jonah went the other direction and went to the Mediterranean coast to the city of Joppa, which is like Jaffa, which is near Tel Aviv now. Incidentally, this is the same place where later on in the New Testament the apostle Peter would go and receive a vision of a sheet coming down from heaven that would radically transform his understanding of what God was doing in the world, especially among Gentiles. But Jonah’s story is obviously very famous. Jonah ends up in the belly of a great fish and then three days of repenting go by and then he’s spewed out on the shore alive. And, so, for those who believe in Jesus there is obvious foreshadowing’s of Christ in that story. But Jonah contains parallels with our own lives in dramatic ways when…when we allow fear or misunderstanding or pride or…or just simple dislike of what we’re being asked to do. When we allow these things to lead us on a path of disobedience and rebellion, then…then we are signing up, like we are starting to take the first step on the run from God. But God is everywhere. Running from God is impossible. So, even though Jonah ended up getting swallowed in the open sea by a great fish, that fish was his salvation. As uncomfortable as that must’ve been, he would have died any other way. And although, I mean when I sit and think about the journey Jonah went on, its terrifying beyond belief, even though he would’ve been terrified, even though he would’ve been a supremely uncomfortable, God used that fish to deliver Jonah alive and gave him another chance to fulfill his mission. And I doubt that anybody here doesn’t know what it feels like to be on the run from God at times and…and we’ve probably all experienced the way that life swallows us alive when we do that. And yet, we’re still here. So, we may find that the things that engulf us are also transporting us back to firm footing again where we can make a choice. This is called grace. This is what God does in our lives and we’ll watch this play out in the life of Jonah. So, we’ve been reading from the Common English Bible this week, which is what we’ll do today. And we will read Jonah in its entirety. And Jonah has four chapters. So, we’ll begin with Jonah chapter 1.

Prayer:

Father, as we and another of our weeks together and realize that there’s just…just a couple more week endings that are left in this year, we are continually reminded of Your faithfulness and we thank You for it. In fact, it’s not just a thanks…thanks, for being faithful. We worship You. We are experiencing a love that is beyond our comprehension and we are grateful, and we are humbled. We reach for You God as we reach into these last weeks of this year. We ask that You speak to us through the power of Your Holy Spirit and through Your word as You continue to lead us on the narrow path. Come Holy Spirit we pray. In Jesus’ name we ask. Amen.

Announcements:

dailyaudiobible.com is the website and it is where you find out what’s going on around here.

And I’ve been saying it all this week, it’s Christmas time pretty much wall to wall around here because we got a couple of things going on. And, so, let’s get to that. We are a virtual community as I’ve said several times this week and we have an annual Christmas party, but we hold it virtually and we release it as a program. And, so, every year we call in our holiday wishes and prayers and stories to each other and we compile those and create one of the most touching things, you’ll see, touching things that we do in a year as a community. So, we’ve been taking those calls all week and they’ve been flooding in and today’s the last day for that. So, if you’ve been procrastinating, today is the day. And it’s pretty simple. We use the same methods that we use to call in our prayer requests to each other. So, press the Hotline button in the app or you can dial 877-942-4253. There is a couple of rules. One rule is, since that is the prayer line and that’s what it’s for you might…you might be carrying some things this season that you don't…like you really have no business carrying these alone. It’s like slumping your shoulders and it feels like something’s tied you your ankles and you’re just slogging through. And there’s tens of thousands of us here and…and we pray for each other and it matters. And, so, the prayer line is for…for prayer…prayer calls but we’re using it for these Christmas greetings too. The…the request is don’t combine a prayer request and a holiday greeting in the same call. Like, this is one time to break the rule and make two calls and keep them separate. And, so, if you have been kind waiting to the last minute, this is the last minute. So, make sure that you get your holiday greeting in today.

The other thing is the family Christmas Box for 2019 is available. The cut off for domestic shipping within the United States is this coming Wednesday. So, yeah, if…if we have supplies until then, that’s when we will cut that off. So, we’re kind of getting down to the last minute there as well. So, please check that out. We have packaged this Christmas box full of resources. Like…like you can’t get much more in the box, it’s full. And that’s full of things that are resources for the journey for the rhythm of life that we share as a community going through God’s word together. So, be sure to check those things out in the Christmas section of the Daily Audio Bible website in the Shop.

If you want to partner with the Daily Audio Bible you can do that at dailyaudiobible.com as well. There is a link and it lives on the homepage and I thank you with all of my heart 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 the mail is your preference, the mailing address is PO Box 1996 Spring Hill Tennessee 37174.

And, as always, if you have prayer request or comment or today, holiday greeting, you can dial 877-942-4253 or just press the Hotline button that is at the top of the app and begin to share.

And that’s it for today. I’m Brian I love you and I will be waiting for you here tomorrow.

Posted on

The Daily Audio Bible Reading for Saturday December 14, 2019 (NIV)

Jonah 1-4

Commissioning of a reluctant prophet

1 The Lord’s word came to Jonah, Amittai’s son: 2 “Get up and go to Nineveh, that great city, and cry out against it, for their evil has come to my attention.”

3 So Jonah got up—to flee to Tarshish from the Lord! He went down to Joppa and found a ship headed for Tarshish. He paid the fare and went aboard to go with them to Tarshish, away from the Lord. 4 But the Lord hurled a great wind upon the sea, so that there was a great storm on the sea; the ship looked like it might be broken to pieces. 5 The sailors were terrified, and each one cried out to his god. They hurled the cargo that was in the ship into the sea to make it lighter.

Now Jonah had gone down into the hold of the vessel to lie down and was deep in sleep. 6 The ship’s officer came and said to him, “How can you possibly be sleeping so deeply? Get up! Call on your god! Perhaps the god will give some thought to us so that we won’t perish.”

7 Meanwhile, the sailors said to each other, “Come on, let’s cast lots so that we might learn who is to blame for this evil that’s happening to us.” They cast lots, and the lot fell on Jonah. 8 So they said to him, “Tell us, since you’re the cause of this evil happening to us: What do you do and where are you from? What’s your country and of what people are you?”

9 He said to them, “I’m a Hebrew. I worship the Lord, the God of heaven—who made the sea and the dry land.”

10 Then the men were terrified and said to him, “What have you done?” (The men knew that Jonah was fleeing from the Lord, because he had told them.)

11 They said to him, “What will we do about you so that the sea will become calm around us?” (The sea was continuing to rage.)

12 He said to them, “Pick me up and hurl me into the sea! Then the sea will become calm around you. I know it’s my fault that this great storm has come upon you.”

13 The men rowed to reach dry land, but they couldn’t manage it because the sea continued to rage against them. 14 So they called on the Lord, saying, “Please, Lord, don’t let us perish on account of this man’s life, and don’t blame us for innocent blood! You are the Lord: whatever you want, you can do.” 15 Then they picked up Jonah and hurled him into the sea, and the sea ceased its raging. 16 The men worshipped the Lord with a profound reverence; they offered a sacrifice to the Lord and made solemn promises.

No escape for the prophet

17 [a] Meanwhile, the Lord provided a great fish to swallow Jonah. Jonah was in the belly of the fish for three days and three nights.

2 Jonah prayed to the Lord his God from the belly of the fish:

2 “I called out to the Lord in my distress, and he answered me.
From the belly of the underworld[b] I cried out for help;
you have heard my voice.
3 You had cast me into the depths in the heart of the seas,
and the flood surrounds me.
All your strong waves and rushing water passed over me.
4 So I said, ‘I have been driven away from your sight.
Will I ever again look on your holy temple?
5 Waters have grasped me to the point of death;
the deep surrounds me.
Seaweed is wrapped around my head
6 at the base of the undersea[c] mountains.
I have sunk down to the underworld;
its bars held me with no end in sight.
But you brought me out of the pit.’
7 When my endurance[d] was weakening,
I remembered the Lord,
and my prayer came to you,
to your holy temple.
8 Those deceived by worthless things lose their chance for mercy.[e]
9 But me, I will offer a sacrifice to you with a voice of thanks.
That which I have promised, I will pay.
Deliverance belongs to the Lord!”

10 Then the Lord spoke to the fish, and it vomited Jonah onto the dry land.

Nineveh hears God’s word

3 The Lord’s word came to Jonah a second time: 2 “Get up and go to Nineveh, that great city, and declare against it the proclamation that I am commanding you.” 3 And Jonah got up and went to Nineveh, according to the Lord’s word. (Now Nineveh was indeed an enormous city, a three days’ walk across.)

4 Jonah started into the city, walking one day, and he cried out, “Just forty days more and Nineveh will be overthrown!” 5 And the people of Nineveh believed God. They proclaimed a fast and put on mourning clothes, from the greatest of them to the least significant.

6 When word of it reached the king of Nineveh, he got up from his throne, stripped himself of his robe, covered himself with mourning clothes, and sat in ashes. 7 Then he announced, “In Nineveh, by decree of the king and his officials: Neither human nor animal, cattle nor flock, will taste anything! No grazing and no drinking water! 8 Let humans and animals alike put on mourning clothes, and let them call upon God forcefully! And let all persons stop their evil behavior and the violence that’s under their control!” 9 He thought, Who knows? God may see this and turn from his wrath, so that we might not perish.[f]

10 God saw what they were doing—that they had ceased their evil behavior. So God stopped planning to destroy them, and he didn’t do it.

Jonah balks at God’s mercy

4 But Jonah thought this was utterly wrong, and he became angry. 2 He prayed to the Lord, “Come on, Lord! Wasn’t this precisely my point when I was back in my own land? This is why I fled to Tarshish earlier! I know that you are a merciful and compassionate God, very patient, full of faithful love, and willing not to destroy. 3 At this point, Lord, you may as well take my life from me, because it would be better for me to die than to live.”

4 The Lord responded, “Is your anger a good thing?” 5 But Jonah went out from the city and sat down east of the city. There he made himself a hut and sat under it, in the shade, to see what would happen to the city.

6 Then the Lord God provided a shrub,[g] and it grew up over Jonah, providing shade for his head and saving him from his misery. Jonah was very happy about the shrub. 7 But God provided a worm the next day at dawn, and it attacked the shrub so that it died. 8 Then as the sun rose God provided a dry east wind, and the sun beat down on Jonah’s head so that he became faint. He begged that he might die, saying, “It’s better for me to die than to live.”

9 God said to Jonah, “Is your anger about the shrub a good thing?”

Jonah said, “Yes, my anger is good—even to the point of death!”

10 But the Lord said, “You ‘pitied’ the shrub, for which you didn’t work and which you didn’t raise; it grew in a night and perished in a night. 11 Yet for my part, can’t I pity Nineveh, that great city, in which there are more than one hundred twenty thousand people who can’t tell their right hand from their left, and also many animals?”

Footnotes:

  1. Jonah 1:17 2:1 in Heb
  2. Jonah 2:2 Heb Sheol
  3. Jonah 2:6 Heb lacks undersea.
  4. Jonah 2:7 Endurance here renders the same Heb word as life in 1:14 and death in 2:5.
  5. Jonah 2:8 Heb uncertain
  6. Jonah 3:9 Heb lacks He thought.
  7. Jonah 4:6 Botanists disagree about whether Heb qiqayon refers to a climbing gourd plant, a castor bean plant, or some other shrub.
Common English Bible (CEB)

Copyright © 2011 by Common English Bible

Revelation 5

The Lamb takes the scroll

5 Then I saw a scroll in the right hand of the one seated on the throne. It had writing on the front and the back, and it was sealed with seven seals. 2 I saw a powerful angel, who proclaimed in a loud voice, “Who is worthy to open the scroll and break its seals?” 3 But no one in heaven or on earth or under the earth could open the scroll or look inside it. 4 So I began to weep and weep, because no one was found worthy to open the scroll or to look inside it. 5 Then one of the elders said to me, “Don’t weep. Look! The Lion of the tribe of Judah, the Root of David, has emerged victorious so that he can open the scroll and its seven seals.”

6 Then, in between the throne and the four living creatures and among the elders, I saw a Lamb, standing as if it had been slain. It had seven horns and seven eyes, which are God’s seven spirits, sent out into the whole earth. 7 He came forward and took the scroll from the right hand of the one seated on the throne. 8 When he took the scroll, the four living creatures and the twenty-four elders fell down before the Lamb. Each held a harp and gold bowls full of incense, which are the prayers of the saints. 9 They took up a new song, saying,

“You are worthy to take the scroll and open its seals,
because you were slain,
and by your blood you purchased for God
persons from every tribe, language, people, and nation.
10 You made them a kingdom and priests to our God,
and they will rule on earth.”

11 Then I looked, and I heard the sound of many angels surrounding the throne, the living creatures, and the elders. They numbered in the millions—thousands upon thousands. 12 They said in a loud voice,

“Worthy is the slaughtered Lamb
to receive power, wealth, wisdom, and might,
and honor, glory, and blessing.”

13 And I heard every creature in heaven and on earth and under the earth and in the sea—I heard everything everywhere say,

“Blessing, honor, glory, and power
belong to the one seated on the throne
and to the Lamb
forever and always.”

14 Then the four living creatures said, “Amen,” and the elders fell down and worshipped.

Common English Bible (CEB)

Copyright © 2011 by Common English Bible

Psalm 133

Psalm 133

A pilgrimage song. Of David.

133 Look at how good and pleasing it is
when families[a] live together as one!
2 It is like expensive oil poured over the head,
running down onto the beard—
Aaron’s beard!—
which extended over the collar of his robes.
3 It is like the dew on Mount Hermon
streaming down onto the mountains of Zion,
because it is there that the Lord has commanded the blessing:
everlasting life.

Footnotes:

  1. Psalm 133:1 Or brothers (and sisters); the term often encompasses extended family relationships.
Common English Bible (CEB)

Copyright © 2011 by Common English Bible

Proverbs 29:26-27

26 Many seek access to the ruler,
but justice comes from the Lord.
27 The unjust person is disgusting to the righteous;
the straight path is disgusting to the wicked.

Common English Bible (CEB)

Copyright © 2011 by Common English Bible

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The Daily Audio Bible Reading for Friday December 13, 2019 (NIV)

Obadiah

Edom falls

1 The vision of Obadiah.
The Lord God proclaims concerning Edom:
We have heard a message from the Lord—
a messenger has been sent among the nations:
“Rise up! Let us rise against her for battle!”
2 Look now, I will make you of little importance among the nations;
you will be totally despised.
3 Your proud heart has tricked you—
you who live in the cracks of the rock,
whose dwelling is high above.
You who say in your heart,
“Who will bring me down to the ground?”
4 Though you soar like the eagle,
though your nest is set among the stars,
I will bring you down from there,
says the Lord.

Edom is robbed

5 If thieves approach you,
if robbers by night—how you’ve been devastated!—
wouldn’t they steal only what they wanted?
If those who gather grapes came to you,
wouldn’t they leave some grapes?
6 How Esau has been looted,
his treasures taken away!
7 All those who were your allies
have driven you to the border.
Those who were on your side tricked you
and triumphed over you.
They are setting your own bread as a trap under you,[a]
but you don’t see it coming.
8 Won’t I on that day, says the Lord,
destroy the wise from Edom
and understanding from Mount Esau?
9 Your warriors will be shattered, Teman,
and everyone from Mount Esau will be eliminated.

Edom’s misdeeds

10 Because of the slaughter and violence done to your brother Jacob,
shame will cover you,
and you will be destroyed forever.
11 You stood nearby,
strangers carried off his wealth,
and foreigners entered his gates
and cast lots for Jerusalem;
you too were like one of them.
12 But you should have taken no pleasure over your brother
on the day of his misery;
you shouldn’t have rejoiced over the people of Judah
on the day of their devastation;
you shouldn’t have bragged
on their day of hardship.
13 You shouldn’t have entered the gate of my people
on the day of their defeat;
you shouldn’t have even looked on his suffering
on the day of his disaster;
you shouldn’t have stolen his possessions
on the day of his distress.
14 You shouldn’t have waited on the roads
to destroy his escapees;
you shouldn’t have handed over his survivors
on the day of defeat.
15 The day of the Lord is near
against all the nations.
As you have done, so it will be done to you;
your actions will make you suffer!
16 Just as you have drunk on my holy mountain,
so will all the nations around you drink;
they will drink and swallow quickly,
and they will be like they’ve never been before.

Edom’s punishers

17 But on Mount Zion there will be those who escape,
and it will be holy;
and the house of Jacob will drive out those who drove them out.
18 The house of Jacob will be a fire,
the house of Joseph a flame,
and the house of Esau straw;
they will burn them up completely,
and there will be no one left of the house of Esau,
for the Lord has spoken.
19 Those of the arid southern plain will possess Mount Esau,
and those of the western foothills, the land of the Philistines;
they will possess the land of Ephraim and the land of Samaria,
and Benjamin will possess Gilead.
20 Those who remain of the Israelites
will possess the land of the Canaanites as far as Zarephath;
and those left from Jerusalem and who are now living in Sepharad
will possess the cities of the arid southern plain.
21 The deliverers will go up to Mount Zion
to rule Mount Esau,
and the kingdom will be the Lord’s.

Footnotes:

  1. Obadiah 1:7 Heb uncertain
Common English Bible (CEB)

Copyright © 2011 by Common English Bible

Revelation 4

John sees God’s heavenly throne

4 After this I looked and there was a door that had been opened in heaven. The first voice that I had heard, which sounded like a trumpet, said to me, “Come up here, and I will show you what must take place after this.” 2 At once I was in a Spirit-inspired trance and I saw a throne in heaven, and someone was seated on the throne. 3 The one seated there looked like jasper and carnelian, and surrounding the throne was a rainbow that looked like an emerald. 4 Twenty-four thrones, with twenty-four elders seated upon them, surrounded the throne. The elders were dressed in white clothing and had gold crowns on their heads. 5 From the throne came lightning, voices, and thunder. In front of the throne were seven flaming torches, which are the seven spirits of God. 6 Something like a glass sea, like crystal, was in front of the throne.

In the center, by the throne, were four living creatures encircling the throne. These creatures were covered with eyes on the front and on the back. 7 The first living creature was like a lion. The second living creature was like an ox. The third living creature had a face like a human being. And the fourth living creature was like an eagle in flight. 8 Each of the four living creatures had six wings, and each was covered all around and on the inside with eyes. They never rest day or night, but keep on saying,

“Holy, holy, holy is the Lord God Almighty,
who was and is and is coming.”

9 Whenever the living creatures give glory, honor, and thanks to the one seated on the throne, who lives forever and always, 10 the twenty-four elders fall before the one seated on the throne. They worship the one who lives forever and always. They throw down their crowns before the throne and say,

11 “You are worthy, our Lord and God,
to receive glory and honor and power,
because you created all things.
It is by your will that they existed and were created.”

Common English Bible (CEB)

Copyright © 2011 by Common English Bible

Psalm 132

Psalm 132

A pilgrimage song.

132 Lord, remember David—
all the ways he suffered
2 and how he swore to the Lord,
how he promised the strong one of Jacob:
3 “I won’t enter my house,
won’t get into my bed.
4 I won’t let my eyes close,
won’t let my eyelids sleep,
5 until I find a place for the Lord,
a dwelling place for the strong one of Jacob.”

6 Yes, we heard about it in Ephrathah;
we found it[a] in the fields of Jaar.
7 Let’s enter God’s dwelling place;
let’s worship at the place God rests his feet!
8 Get up, Lord, go to your residence—
you and your powerful covenant chest!
9 Let your priests be dressed in righteousness;
let your faithful shout out with joy!
10 And for the sake of your servant David,
do not reject your anointed one.

11 The Lord swore to David
a true promise that God won’t take back:
“I will put one of your own children on your throne.
12 And if your children keep my covenant
and the laws that I will teach them,
then their children too will rule on your throne forever.”
13 Because the Lord chose Zion;
he wanted it for his home.
14 “This is my residence forever.
I will live here because I wanted it for myself.[b]
15 I will most certainly bless its food supply;
I will fill its needy full of food!
16 I will dress its priests in salvation,
and its faithful will shout out loud with joy!
17 It is there that I will make David’s strength thrive.[c]
I will prepare a lamp for my anointed one there.
18 I will dress his enemies in shame,
but the crown he wears will shine.”

Footnotes:

  1. Psalm 132:6 It may refer to the covenant chest (132:8b).
  2. Psalm 132:14 Heb lacks for myself.
  3. Psalm 132:17 Or make a horn sprout
Common English Bible (CEB)

Copyright © 2011 by Common English Bible

Proverbs 29:24-25

24 Those who share plunder with thieves hate themselves;
even under oath, they don’t testify.
25 People are trapped by their fear of others;
those who trust the Lord are secure.

Common English Bible (CEB)

Copyright © 2011 by Common English Bible

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12/12/2019 DAB Transcript

Amos 7:1-9:15, Revelation 3:7-22, Psalms 131:1-3, Proverbs 29:23

Today is the 12th day of December. Welcome to the Daily Audio Bible. I am Brian. It is wonderful to be here with you around the crackling global campfire and I we have come in out of the out of the swirl of activity that is constant in our lives and just allow God’s word to speak into our experiences and into our relationships and into everything that we do and say. So, let’s take that next step forward and allow that to happen. We’re reading from the Common English Bible this week. And today, Amos chapters 7 through 9.

Commentary:

Okay. So, we have been moving, not only moving through the…the rapid pace that…that happens in December around the world, but also, we’ve been moving through a lot of territory. So, let’s just catch up with…with where we are on our journey.

And Amos, God gave the prophet visions of His plans to send locusts and fire to destroy the land. And Amos is like, “God, if this happens, nobody’s going to survive. We’re…we’re too small to handle this.” And God heard Amos’ prayer. God was giving Amos prophetic visions, things that were planned but had not happened. And Amos pleaded before the Lord and God said these things will not happen. But he gave him a third vision, a plumb line and he revealed to Amos what’s happening here is that I’m going to measure, I’m gonna test the people with this plumb line and I’m not gonna ignore what they’re doing anymore.

So, then we moved into Revelation and since we began the book of Revelation, we’ve been reading little small notes, like very brief letters from Jesus to seven different churches – the church in Ephesus, in Smyrna, in Pergamum, in Thyatira, in, Sardis, in Philadelphia, and in Laodicea, which…which is the little letter that we just finished a few minutes ago. So, we’ve concluded these introductory letters to these seven churches. And these churches were all in the province of Asia and they were all a little different, very specific to the churches, but they all contained words of encouragement, words of warning, and the message that we have been rubbing up against for quite a while now, the message of endurance.

And then we got into the Psalms today and David’s giving language to what it looks like to have a content and humble heart. And we got to know David as we took our journey this year through…through the books of Samuel and Kings. And…and so obviously we’ve been traveling with David through the Psalms. This entire year. So, we know he was a king, we know he was powerful. So, we can imagine the arrogance and pride that could build up inside a person’s who’s sort of in control of everything around him. And, you know, what so David is writing about is that he finds contentment in his life through humility, contentment like a child who’s just been weaned from his mother and is just with his mother - calm, protected, secure, content, safe. This is what David’s saying it feels like to be humble and content in God, a supreme reminder for today as we go into the day, a supreme reminder for the season of busyness that we’re in. So, David’s basically saying look, I’ve learned that pride and arrogance aren’t going anywhere, frantic anxiety isn’t going anywhere. I found that at the end of all things God is powerful and in control and when one stays humble before God there is contentment to be found.

Proverbs talks about this too in our reading today but just very directly, “Pride ends in humiliation”, right? “Humility brings honor.” Again, supreme reminders for the season that we’re in right now. A season where we’re rubbing up against all kinds of people in all kinds of contexts that we’re not used to seeing them in, we’re rubbing up against people that are gonna be coming in from out of town, you know, that are family and we just assume the place in the family that we used to be. And all the sudden arrogance, pride, competition, all of these dark things come flooding into a very bright season. And, so, again, the Scriptures have come to us out in front of things and just said, “hey, here’s some things to remember for your day, here’s some things to remember for your life. And, so, let’s take them to heart.

Prayer:

Father, we do. We do take these things to heart. We invite Your Holy Spirit to…to be involved in all aspects of our lives. And that’s an easy enough thing to say but as we’ve learned from the Scripture, we can say lots of things about lots of things including our faith, but if our lives do not correspond to what we’re saying then our faith is dead. And, so, in order to engage in this contentment that is described in the Scriptures today, we have to collaborate, we have to be still like a child with its mother, safe in its mother’s arms nourished and full. We have to rest in the fact that You are caring for us. We have to trust in the fact that You are nearer than our next breath. In fact, our next breath is the evidence that You are continually giving us the gift of life. And, so, may we collaborate by resting in You today. Come Holy Spirit we pray. In the name of Jesus, we ask. Amen.

Announcements:

dailyaudiobible.com is the home base, it is the home page, it is the website, it is where you go to find out what’s going on around here in a virtual community like ours. And its certainly Christmas time and so that is what’s going on around here.

A couple of things going on around here this week. One, our annual Christmas party is coming up and in preparation for that we take one week out of the year and open up the floodgates and we call in our…our holiday greetings, our Christmas prayers, the things that we would say to each other around this time of year to those that we love and care about and have followed their stories all year and prayed for each other and journeyed through the Bible together. It’s time to…to call in and wish each other a Merry Christmas and happy holidays. So, that’s happening this week so that we can begin assembling that next week and it’s very easy because we use the same tools that we use to call in prayer requests. So, if you’re using the Daily Audio Bible app, you can just press the little Hotline button at the top or if you prefer using the phone you can call 877-942-4253. And there is a rule. Because it’s the prayer line and because we’re using the prayer line for our holiday greetings during this week, if you have a prayer request but you also want to call in a holiday greeting, don’t make them happen in the same call. Call in your prayer request and then call in your holiday greeting in a separate call, if that’s what you want to do. But you can call in your holiday greetings now and we’ll be taking them until the end of the week, a couple more days and then we’ll get to work on putting it together.

And the other thing is the Daily Audio Bible Family Christmas Box for 2019. We have packed this box…I mean it’s got the God of Your Story in it, a signed hardback first edition copy of the God of Your Story. It’s the only place you can get this. The Journal 2.0 for the Daily Audio Bible is in there and the Christmas ornaments for this year, and the coffee and tea, and the Christmas card…you just…you can see it all at dailyaudiobible.com in the Christmas section of the Shop. So, just click Shop and go into the Christmas section and you’ll see all of this. And we have packed this box full of resources that pretty much have never been in the box before. And…ahhh…it’s one of my favorites that we’ve ever done. So, while supplies last they are available. The shipping cutoff for Christmas arrival will be this coming Wednesday. So, be aware of that. And if supplies last until then, we will continue to ship them until then. But you can find them in the Daily Audio Bible Shop.

Okay. If you want to partner with the Daily Audio Bible, as we…as we reach the conclusion for another year. I cannot thank you enough. If we didn’t do this together, we wouldn’t be doing this. And, so, I am grateful that we get to do this and that we get to do it together. So, there’s a link on the homepage at dailyaudiobible.com. If you’re using the app you can press the Give button in the upper right-hand corner of the mailing address, if that is your preference, is PO Box 1996 Spring Hill Tennessee 37174.

And, as always, if you have a prayer request or comment or right now for this week a holiday greeting, you can press the Hotline button in the app and I just start sharing or you can dial 877-942-4253.

And that’s it for today. I’m Brian I love you and I will be waiting for you here tomorrow.

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12/13/2019

Obadiah 1:1-21, Rev 4:1-11, Psalms 132:1-18, Proverbs 29:24-25

Today is the 13th day of December. Welcome to the Daily Audio Bible. I am Brian. It is wonderful to be here with you as we move ourselves into the…the close of another week and come in out of…out of what’s going on all around us and just warm ourselves by the Global Campfire here as we continue our journey through the Scriptures this year. We concluded the book of Amos in the Old Testament yesterday. We’re kind of rapidly moving through what is known as the minor prophets. And as we mentioned earlier, when we began this kind of grouping of books, they’re not minor because they’re less relevant, they’re minor because they’re shorter in duration, which we will experience today. We will read another of the minor prophets the book of Obadiah, but we’ll read the whole thing in one sitting today.

Introduction to the book of Obadiah:

And that is in part because Obadiah is the shortest book in the Old Testament. And even though Obadiah identifies himself as the author, we know very little about him other than his…his name…means servant of Yahweh, but Obadiah wasn’t an uncommon name. So, that makes dating this prophecy difficult. If we’re trying to find consensus among biblical scholars it would be that Obadiah was probably contemporary with Jeremiah the prophet and that his prophetic work used the conquest of Jerusalem, when Babylon conquered Jerusalem as its backdrop, as the context. And if that’s a correct theory then that Obadiah could be dated somewhere to the late 500s B.C. It’s a short book as we just mentioned. It contains only 21 verses, but it deals with a very big long-running family issue and ultimately the book of Obadiah heralds the doom and destruction of the Edomites. So, we kinda need to just reflect back on the earlier days of our journey back at the earlier times of this year and remember…remember Abraham and remember he had a son of promise named Isaac. And we remember Isaac had sons, Jacob and Esau. Jacob’s name when he grew up would later be changed to Israel. And, so, therefore his children were most literally the children of Israel. Now, Esau was also Jacob’s son and he also had children and they also flourished, and they became known as the Edomites. The offspring of the two brothers born to Isaac, Jacob and Esau, the grandsons of Abraham. So, we follow Isaac’s story, we follow Jacob’s story, we follow his offspring, the children of Israel’s story, and we follow them into Egypt in the Scriptures. And then we follow them out of Egypt when God delivers them from slavery. The Edomites, their brothers, would not allow their relatives to pass through their land when they were traveling toward their own promised land. And at other points in history when Israel’s being attacked, the Edomites just watched their brothers be attacked basically. And Obadiah is speaking directly to this issue in his book. But it wasn’t just that they were passive at times. At times they were also active. They were like willing to pillage Israel, their brothers, while they were suffering, and God was not pleased as we will see. Obadiah ultimately announces complete destruction for Edom. But we have good application for this message in our own time because each one of us, no matter where we are on this planet, have been redeemed by Jesus and have become children of God. So, we are also family, brothers, and sisters, the body of Christ and we are often the witnesses of brothers and sisters at war with one another for one reason or another. And we can very easily stand by and watch our brothers and sisters suffer in all sorts of ways. And, remember that pride and arrogance that we were talking about from our reading yesterday, we can very, very easily slide into this arrogant posture toward our brothers and sisters just thinking, “well, they’re just getting what they deserve.” And as we’ll see from the book of Obadiah, this is not the posture. In fact, this is a bad posture and God is greatly displeased with such arrogance. And, so, we begin and read in its entirety the book of Obadiah.

Payer:

Father, we thank You for another day in Your word and…and we…we can count down the days we’ll been saying that because we’re so near to the end of the year and it’s so easy to begin checking out, really begin checking into this season, really begin checking into all the festivities, but begin checking out in other areas of our lives, thinking maybe we’ve gotten all that we’re going to get from Your word for this year. And yet, right here, right now, You are speaking directly to us from the Proverbs, just now. People are trapped by their fear of others, but those who trust the Lord are secure.” We needed to hear that. All of us needed to hear that. Once again, You’ve reminded us where our strength lies, where our future hopes are. And they are in You and You alone. And, so, come Holy Spirit, plant the words that we’ve read today from Your word into our lives and may our hearts be fertile soil for them we pray in the mighty name of Jesus. Amen.

Announcements:

dailyaudiobible.com is the website and home base and where you find out what’s going on around here.

And it’s all Christmas right now and there are two, specific…well…there’s more than two…but there’s two specific things going on we need to talk about.

One of them is our upcoming family Christmas party where we get together virtually and hear from each other, our Christmas wishes, our Christmas prayers, memories of specific things in the Bible that really spoke to us…just what we do as we come around the Global Campfire and celebrate Christmas together. So, we’re taking all those calls this week. And, so, here we are at the end of the week. So, we’re almost done. If you are procrastinating, if you’ve procrastinated you might get left out. Make sure you call in your Christmas greeting by tomorrow. And you can do that by the same method that we…that we call in our prayer requests to each other every day. You can use the Hotline button in the app, or you can dial 877-942-4253. Since that is the prayer request line, here's…here’s the rule. Don’t call in a prayer request and a holiday greeting in the same call. This is the one time you can make multiple calls and call them in separate and we will be taking those calls today and tomorrow and then we’ll start putting things together for our Global Campfire Christmas this year.

The other thing that’s going on is the Daily Audio Bible Christmas Box for 2019. And it is packed full of resources that have been the most popular this year. And it is a wonderful box, a powerhouse box, I think. And, yeah, so those are available now. I’m reminding you that the Christmas shipping cutoff date is this coming Wednesday for those living here domestically in the United States. The international date has passed. We’ll still ship them until we run out of them but those are kind of the dates that we’re looking at. This coming Wednesday we’re gonna be shipping and that’s where we think we’re safe for Christmas arrival. So, check them out. It’s got the God of Your Story, a signed hardback first edition copy of the God of Your Story in the Christmas box this year, the only place you can get it. It’s got the Daily Audio Bible Christmas ornament with our word maintain on it for this year, is in the Christmas Box. It’s exclusive to the Christmas Box. And just a lot of other resources that you can find in the Daily Audio Bible Shop. Just go to the Christmas section and you’ll see all of this. And, yeah, we always make these with the idea that there’s gonna be things that you’ll want to keep, and there’s gonna be things that you might want to give away. And you get to pick and choose all of that and pray over it and we love that because we pray over these boxes as they go out and make their way around the world. So, those are available at dailyaudiobible.com in the Shop in the Christmas section. Check it out.

If you want to partner with the Daily Audio Bible here as we…as we end the year, I think you with all of my heart for your partnership. There’s a link on the homepage, it just lives there. If you’re using the Daily Audio Bible app, you can press the Give button in the upper right-hand corner. If you prefer the mail, the mailing address is PO Box 1996 Spring Hill Tennessee 37174.

And as always if you have a prayer request or comment 877-942-4253 is the number to dial.

And that’s it for today. I’m Brian I love you and I will be waiting for you here tomorrow.