Exodus 30:11-31:18, Matthew 26:47-68, Psalms 32:1-11, Proverbs 8:27-32
Today is the 10th day of February welcome to the Daily Audio Bible I am Brian and it is great to be here with you as we continue the journey through another one of our weeks together, hump day here on this, actually this is the first full-blown seven day week of the month of February. So, we’re smack in the middle of it and ready to take the next step, which will lead us back into the book of Exodus, back into the instructions that the Lord is laying out at the mountain of God, otherwise known as Mount Sinai. We’re reading from the Christian Standard Bible this week. Exodus chapter 30 verse 11 through 31 verse 18.
Commentary:
Okay. There’s…there’s stuff we can talk about in every portion, every section of our reading today. So, let’s just touch base on them real quick. So, we are at the mountain of God and God is laying out statutes and ordinances and expectations. He is building a culture. He is weaving a tapestry and that usually begins with a foundation of some type of rule, right, the rule of law, some type of basis so that everybody has an understanding about how this culture conducts itself, because a culture is what, the interaction of people, right, in some sort of way, whether that be commerce or relationship or any other way. Like it’s the interaction of people and expectations that one person can have another inside of a society that sort of glues the expectations together. And then we usually as people proceed to live on the margins and find out we can get away with. And that will be the story of the children of Israel just like it’s our own story. But right now, God is laying this out and He’s being very specific about certain things, very specific. And if certain things aren’t obeyed then the consequences can be dire. And we can read through some of this and go, “why such a dire consequence for mixing up some type of formula of incense that can, you know, like…what’s the big deal? Yes, I can see that the recipe would be specific, but why can nobody else make this? Why wouldn’t they want to have this holy aroma around them all the time?” There’s reasons for everything. Everything that God is laying out for the people to do or to build or to observe for that matter, certain holidays etc. etc., everything is there to…to serve a purpose. It is a reminder of identity, that they are chosen and set apart and that this is their identity. It is a reminder of who God is, who it is that they have entered into a covenant with, and it is a reminder of where they’re going. They’re headed toward a land of promise. So, as we’ve talked about before. We can get into all this and go, “this is so tedious.” But so is our culture friends. It’s tedious, we just happen to know the lay of the land because we grew up in it. There are expectations inside of every culture. We can look at this and go, “this is so tedious” and forget what’s obvious right in front of us. Everything these people do is a reminder of either who they are or who God is or where they’re going. Everything that they do is order around the same outcome. This puts them on the same page moving in the same direction submitted to the same God. So, if there is an aroma for that than that smell means something specific, and that smell only comes from the tabernacle or the temple. That smell is what you smell when you become aware that you are entering a holy place in the presence of God. So, when you understand it in those terms instead of, “I’m just gonna go order some essential oil from my favorite essential oil”…look…I love this stuff. I love essential oils. I have aromas in the studio all the time, most every day. I love the atmosphere. I love these traditional rituals and I’ve been to Israel many times. I fact, had Covid not arrived we’d be gearing up to go in just a couple of weeks, but we’ve had to postpone and cancel that because the borders aren’t even open. So, but I’ve been there many times and I’ve have been places where these holy mixtures are mixed together minus one ingredient. Like, even in the tradition today they won’t make this outside of the holy place. So, you can kind of get an aroma of what this smells like minus one of the ingredients so that it’s not made exactly as specified in the Bible. And we could be these thousands and thousands of years in the future going, “what’s the big deal?” But we have to understand that aroma changes atmosphere, does it not? And we’ll talk about this later when we get into the…deeper into the New Testament. Can you not walk into a room and if the cookies are baking that changes…like you just immediately think of something or you walk into a room and there’s the scent of pine and it’s Christmas time and all of the sudden that brings the spirit of Christmas or any number of things. And…and certain smells can have very very negative triggers for certain people because it reminds them of harm or it reminds them of danger. Aroma around us sets an atmosphere. So, we could understand why this would be an important thing, that this particular aroma doesn’t remind anybody of anything but God. We…we can keep going here, but let’s just leave it at that because that’s the point that we’re observing here, is that everything is intentional for a reason and everything means something.
We turn into the book of Matthew and we witness the betrayal of Jesus. And I’ve said we’re going into this territory for the first time and we could, “yeah, I know the story of Jesus on the cross and He rises from the dead three days later and it’s a big big deal. And that’s the story of Easter and we just move on. Like I’ve heard this a thousand times.” That’s really not the way to approach this though. Let’s observe what we’ve seen just today. Judas, Judas is one of the 12 disciples, Je’s one of the inner circle of God on earth. When you put into…some of these terms where you understand…like when you say it most directly it’s pretty riveting. Jesus is God made flesh, right, God incarnate, and these 12 people are His inner circle, they’re His disciples on earth. Judas is one of the inner circle of God on earth and he decides to betray Him. And Jesus is fully God and fully human, so He experiences humanity in the same way that we experience humanity. And, so, when one of His closest friends brings a mob of people with clubs and swords and they’re there to arrest Jesus and this friend walks up and puts a soft kiss upon His cheek, that is the kiss of betrayal. Anybody out there ever been betrayed by somebody you loved, right? Or anybody betrayed somebody that loved you? We are right at…at some of the most painful experiences that a human being can experience emotionally. There’s nothing more tearing and cutting and painful and disruptive. There’s nothing that tips you upside down and question reality more than betrayal does. The kiss of betrayal by somebody Jesus loved is how He was captured. And then he was led away. Like what we witnessed today was the loss of freedom. God submitted himself to be bound by humanity and taken away captive. And it wasn’t just random humanity it was the church leaders it was the Pharisees and the Sadducees. They’re bringing Jesus to the high priest Caiaphas. They’re going to hold counsel and make a judgment about the life of Jesus, which is what we see play out today. They’re trying to get two witnesses, but they can’t really cobble that together. And, so, they just…they just ask Him outright, “are you the son of God, are you the Messiah?” And then Jesus says you have said it, which is basically like saying, “if…if that’s what you say. You said it.” And then He goes on to say, “in the future you’ll see the Son of Man seated at the right hand of power and coming on the clouds of heaven.” They don’t fall to their knees and worship at that point. They don’t go like, “hang on a second, we need to explore this further” and fall to their knees and…and say, “tell us more” so that they can begin to get an understanding. They tear their robes and cry blasphemy and then declare that He deserves death and then they blindfold Him. And I know we know this, but this is Jesus. Like we’re here for this. We’re here to find out what the big deal was about Jesus. I mean some of us have been following Jesus and following His paths and being in a relationship with Christ for many many years. But then there are others of us who are here, really, truly saying, “I’m not like trying to deny or affirm anything. I just want to know the big fuss is. And, so, we have to enter into this. If we’ve heard the story a thousand times, fine. This is Jesus. This is God made flesh. They are spitting in His face. They’re spitting in His face and smacking Him and asking Him to prophesy who smacked Him. I don’t know. Can that sink in? That’s where we left…where we left the reading of Matthew today, is that Jesus is being spit upon and smacked around. He’s being ridiculed and made fun of. These people that have been plotting to kill Him are the religious people. And now they believe He’s committing blasphemy and they plan to execute Him. That’s where this story is going. The son of God, God made flesh. That’s what humanity is doing to God. And it’s not just humanity. That’s what religious humanity is doing to God as portrayed in the gospel of Matthew. Let’s sit with that today and invite the Holy Spirit to bring up the ways in which we do the same thing usually when we don’t get our way.
And we turn into the book of Psalms today and can…let…I mean…lets just listen to these words. “I will instruct you.” Let’s take this from God. “I will instruct you and show you the way to go. With my eye on you I will give counsel. Do not be like a horse or mule without understanding that must be controlled with bit and bridle or else it won’t come near you. Many pains come to the wicked, but the one who trusts in the Lord will have faithful love surrounding him.” Let’s take that as the truth. Let’s live into that and understand that we are seen, and that the guidance of the Holy Spirit is available. The trick really honestly, like the biggest trick we could learn this year is to insert a beat before we react to anything, like one second. If we take one second before we react to anything and in that second become aware of wisdom and become aware that God is present and watching and will show us we could save so much mayhem from like…we could take out…where we would be giving life back to ourselves. Some of the days out in the future of this year won’t get ruined if we will listen. We won’t go through days of silence with our spouse trying to show who’s more dominant. We won’t be doing this stuff anymore because it doesn’t do anything that leads to life.
And, so, then we turn into the Proverbs today and we’re listening to the voice of wisdom. And it is here that She tells us She has been with God from the very get-go. She was with God when humanity was made. We should seek wisdom. She is older than human beings are. She has seen it all. And we should seek her as the Bible tells us as a more valuable thing than any kind of treasure we would go after, that everything flows from her and everything flows to us because of wisdom. And, so, we hear the voice of wisdom as we end our reading today and she’s like, “listen to me, those who keep my ways are happy.”
Prayer:
Father, there's…there’s always rich depths in Your word. And they're…they’re rich in that they inform our minds, but they’re rich in that they touch our hearts. They begin to transform things in us. They question…they ask the right questions of our lives and they begin to shape us. And, so, we are thankful for all that we have read in the Scriptures today and we ask Holy Spirit that You would come and plant these words, plant these thoughts deep into us as we move and navigate the rest of this week. May we be continually considering the path that we are walking. Come Holy Spirit we pray in the name of Jesus. Amen.
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Community Prayer and Praise:
Good evening DABbers this is Blessings Flow in Pennsylvania. Tonight, is February 6th and there were a number of heavy prayer requests tonight and I just want you to know that I’m praying for you. Kingdom secret Daniel with your kids, the sister her and her husband lost their daughter seven years ago this month, the woman whose son took his life in college and for the rest of your family. I just want you to know that we’re praying for you. I’m praying that you’ll be strengthened with power in your inner person, that Christ may dwell in your heart that through faith, that you would be rooted and grounded during this time in love. And I just wanted to pray over you. [singing starts] The blood that Jesus shed for me way back on Calvary the blood that gives me strength from day to day it will never lose its power. It soothes my doubts and calms my fears, and it drives all my tears the blood that gives me strength from day to day it will never lose its power [singing stops].
Hello DAB family this is God’s Grace for Japan I just listened to the February 6th broadcast where a brother and his sister called out for prayer for families in crisis. I want to speak as a daughter of two faithful believing parents who were raised in abusive alcoholic households who chose to turn away from the path of the family curse and to believe in Jesus and His design for family. It was not easy for them. I’ve watched them for decades prayerfully go through crisis after crisis both from the previous generations and sickness disease cancer hatred of God all sorts of things as well as in between me and my siblings I’m afraid the abuse got through my sister abused me for 20 years and I don’t think my family even knew how to process that and I’m sure my parents felt like failures that that had gotten in however I can’t go into all the details for the past five years God has been redeeming that situation. My sister and I are now reconciled because I rebuked her according to Matthew 18. She fully repented and all of this is because my parents were faithful. They kept praying. I know that our families are in crisis, but God loves family. He redeems family. It takes time. Sometimes it takes decades. Sometimes it takes generations. But as a daughter of faithful parents who did not give up did not stop caring who saw who grandfather who hated God his entire life come to faith on his deathbed because of my parents belief in God’s design for family, He said this a good family and because of that he believed in Yeshua before He died. I just want to encourage you parents you brothers’ you sisters keep praying keep being faithful because God will be faithful and will redeem. I love you all. I’m praying for you. God bless.
Hey this is Pike hey this is Ben and we just wanted you guys to pray about our grandma who has COPD. She really needs some prayers. She walks to the spare room and then she walks back and then she’s out of breath. She has COPD because she…because she…what was it again? She started smoking when she was six. And we just ask you guys to pray about that and then that you guys will make sure God will heal her. And yeah, she is doing really bad. And yeah, that’s all. We just ask you to pray about my grandma and then bye. Bye.
Hey DAB this is beautiful soul in North Carolina. I’m calling after listening to the February 8th episode. I heard a call in from a young man. He didn’t give his name or anything, but he spoke about how he just come to faith within the last month and how God has changed him and pulled him from where he used to be to where he is now and how God is giving him a desire to chase after him and find out who he is in his life. He encouraged everyone to just talk to God like He’s a person because He is a person and that’s all he wants. And I really needed to hear that. And it’s amazing how God can use the babes in Christ to…to…to speak to those who have been in it for a while. I’m literally driving around in my car this morning just taking a drive and trying to get my head focused on God and hearing from Him and listening to Daily Audio Bible. When this young man sent his word of encouragement out, I know it was God that spoke because I needed to hear that this morning because I’m trying desperately to hear from God. So, I just appreciate God using you, young man. Continue to let God use you, continue to chase after Him and…and I’m gonna keep chasing after Him too and having these conversations so I can hear from Him. So, I appreciate that encouragement. God bless you all. God bless you, young man.
Hello this is Alice from Idaho I’m calling in to ask for prayer for my mom and her family right now. She…a few weeks ago she found out that her brother had passed away and a few days ago she found out that her sister had also recently passed away. We haven’t been able to visit them 10 years now because we live in China and it’s been really tough on all of us not being able to see them and for this sudden news to come as a shock for all of us. I’m asking for prayer also for my grandma my mom’s mom. Obviously, this has been really hard on her and I’m praying that her heart will be softened towards the Lord and she will find comfort and peace in Jesus as well as joy and happiness. I’m praying for the same thing for all of my relatives in China. This is definitely one of the most unexpected things and I’m just hoping that they will find God and peace and joy surrounding that. Thank you so much. Bye.
Greetings fellow believers and prayers. This is Paul from Manchester calling. I have…I’ve just listened to the 2nd of February and I heard Jody from Arizona praying, asking for prayer for her family and particularly her granddaughter…her granddaughters. I just wanted to share it really touched my heart and as I started to pray, I heard the words of Psalm 23 came to mind. And I just want to pray that over them with anyone who will pray, that thank you Jesus, that you the Lord are there Shepherd, that in you they have everything that they need, that you let them rest in green meadows and that you lead them by peaceful streams, that you renew their strength and that you guide them along right paths bringing honor to your name, that even when they walk through the dark valley of death they will not be afraid for you are close beside them, your rod and your staff protect and comfort them. You prepare a feast for them in the presence of their enemies. You welcome…you welcome them as a guest anointing their head with oil and their cup overflows with blessings. Surely your goodness and your unfailing love will pursue them all the days of their life and they will live in the house of the Lord forever. Thank you, Jesus for this wonderful way that we can connect in prayer together and for your power at work in their lives. And I pray for wisdom and courage and boldness for all parents and grandparents and carers including myself, that we would make excellent decisions for and on behalf of the people that we care for. Yeah, Lord I pray that you would be present in their…in their situation, that they would know your…