Deuteronomy 33:1-29, Luke 13:1-21, Psalms 78:65-72, Proverbs 12:25
Today is the ninth day of April welcome to the daily audio Bible I am Brian it is a joy and a privilege to be here with you today around the Global Campfire as we come in out of whatever’s going on and move toward ending another one of our weeks together. So, let’s dive in. This week we’ve been reading from the Christian Standard Bible. And we are in the book of Deuteronomy in the Old Testament. We will conclude the book of Deuteronomy and move into the next book the book of Joshua tomorrow. And, so, like those of you using the Daily Audio Bible app, if you’ve been checking off your days, yeah, since the beginning of the year, checking off the days as we…as we listen to them, as we move through them, then we will have completed the very first section of the Bible, known as the Torah or the Pentateuch. And, so, we’ll all get our badges, we’ll all get our badges that just kinda helps us keep track of the progress that we’re making. And we can look at all of that progress in the achievements section so that we can see, you know, how much of the Bible, how much of the Old Testament we’ve finished, how much of the New Testament, how much of the whole Bible we’ve concluded and what the different sections that we will be concluding are. So, be aware of that and check it out. I’m looking…I always look forward…so…since we’ve gotten them last year. So, I’m looking forward to reaching the first milestone on our journey this year. So, that’s coming up tomorrow, but this is today. And, so, we have a full reading in the book of Deuteronomy. And today we will read Deuteronomy chapter 33.
Commentary:
Okay. So, in the gospel of Luke today Jesus makes commentary on some tragedies that were like local tragedies that had everybody talking, the kinds of stuff that would be on the news, the kinds of stuff that would be posted on social media, the news, the news that had traveled around the countryside and that people were talking about. And they were tragic events and so people were wondering about God’s judgment on the…the people involved. And we do this kind of stuff still. You know, if there’s a tragic whether event then it’s not gonna take too long before people are saying or posting God’s judgment on that land or you know for whatever…or if tragedy strikes it’s really really easy to claim God’s judgment upon those things or those individuals or we can even just look at people who are suffering and think…well…they’re not living right so of course, you know, this is, you know, God smashing them. We…we can either actually think those things or sort of subtly think those things. And Jesus spoke clearly today about whether or not these kinds of things are the judgment of God. And, so, since we have these thoughts once in a while when we see things happening in the world and wonder about them then we should pay attention to Jesus. And, so, there were two situations. And one of them you can totally understand why people everywhere would be talking and the other one, you can understand why people in the region would be talking. So, there were some Jewish people Galileans, so from the region that Jesus spent most of his life and ministry in. And the Galilee region, this was known for zealotry, this was known for like anti-Roman rhetoric and people that would cause mayhem, like zealots, people that would, you know, try to do guerrilla type tactics to disrupt Rome. This had been going on for a while. And, so, the region was on the radar for the zealotry and some Galilean Jews that were thought to be zealots…and we can call them zealots in a really really nice way but the Romans wouldn’t have thought about them as zealots per se. Like if we want to use modern vernacular they would’ve looked at them as terrorists because of what they were doing. And they were on the receiving end of it. And it ended up that they’re chasing these people and they flee to the temple complex and the Roman soldiers then invade the temple complex of God to get these zealots and they get em’ and they take them out and their blood is spilled in the temple complex where sacrifices to the Lord are happening. And, so, that would for sure get people talking. The other thing was a pool in Jerusalem. The tower in Siloam. It fell down. Like it get became unstable and toppled and killed 18 people. So, if we want to take a step back and just in some sort of way contextualize this so with a more modern understanding, we can picture this. We would just say people had become obsessed with these stories, right? People were obsessed with the news and trying to decipher the news and contemplate and discuss the news and interpret the news and even muse about God’s involvement in the news. I think that’s something that we could say that that’s some…like that’s understandable, that’s familiar. And, so, these people are wondering, were the people that died, were they greater sinners? Did they deserve this kind of punishment? And that also kind of sounds familiar. Like these are the kinds of things that can get talked about and even obsessed over. So, I quote from Jesus then in response to the scenario. Jesus said, “do you think that these Galileans were more sinful than all the other Galilean’s because they suffered these things or those 18 that the tower in Siloam fell on and killed? Do you think they were more sinful than all the other people who live in Jerusalem?” His response to both of those situations is this, “no. I tell you, but unless you repent you will all perish as well.” So, Jesus’ commentary on these scenarios is that, no, these people were not more sinful, they were not judged. That’s not why the tragedy happened. We can obsess about the story and try to dissect the story and throw up all kinds of talking heads on the television get all kinds of experts. We can do all this but underneath it all is something far more important. We’re all headed toward death if we don’t repent. That’s permanent. So, in many ways Jesus is pulling people away from all of the fanfare of the very glossy high-profile stories that can steel days and weeks of our lives as we obsess over them. We can miss the greater challenge of keeping our eyes on our own lives and being aware of the terrain of our own hearts, being responsible for our own relationship, owning our relationship with God and not focusing all of our attention on everything and everyone else. We have been given this life to steward. This is the life we should be stewarding.
Prayer:
Jesus as we approach the end of another week we confess it’s very easy for us to deflect, to deflect blame, to get distracted by all kinds of other things so that we don’t have to face ourselves in the mirror, so that we don’t have to actually open our hearts and see what’s there, so that we don’t actually have to do the work of opening ourselves to You and spending time with You and allowing You in, into the basement, into the attic, into all the places of our hearts that motivate all of the actions of our lives. And, so, we’re taking this on board. We invite Your Holy Spirit to help us to continually consider this every time that we’re pulled to an assumption or an opinion about something that’s going on that’s juicy or that we just want to waste hours on. Help us to return, to return to our own hearts, to invite You to speak to us about our own lives, to allow the voice of wisdom to give us the counsel about the way we should go as opposed to trying to figure out the way everybody else should go and interpret everybody else’s action. Come Holy Spirit we pray. In the name of Jesus, we ask. Amen.
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And that’s it for today. I’m Brian I love you and I’ll be waiting for you here tomorrow.
Community Prayer and Praise:
James the schoolteacher from LA you were the first DABber I ever met in person. I had been praying for you and your wife to be blessed with a child. God answered your prayers. I got to meet your wife and your first child. My heart is broken for you right now. I just want you to remember that you’re loved and cared for. My stepson is going through the exact same issues that you are right now. I want to give you Isaiah 43:2. When you pass through these waters of threatening divorce remember I will be with you and through the rivers they shall not overflow you. When you walk through the fire you shall not be burned nor shall the flames scorch you. Isaiah 43:2. James hang on. Hang on and welcome back to the DABbers. We missed you. Don’t be far. Keep in touch. This is Karen from Hemet. I don’t know if you remember me reaching out to you at one of the meetings that Brian and Jill did in…in the LA area. God bless you. I’ll be keeping you in my prayers.
Hey DAB family this is T from Florida. This is my first time calling but I am definitely a longtime listener. I’ve been listening…I think I’ve been tuned in since like 2006 maybe 07. It’s been a long time but to be honest I fall on and then I fall off and then back and forth. So…but I did feel compelled to call today because of James from LA. I think he goes by the name James the teacher or something like that. I can’t remember but he needs prayer and I’ve been praying for you James. You were saying that you’ve been having suicidal thoughts and that you’ve befoer…you’ve had them before but they are really bad now because of what you’re going through in your marriage and you know, I’m just…I wanna send love your way and…and to tell you, you know, you’re needed, you’re so important. God created you for a reason. He put you here on this earth because you are a part of his family. You’re His child and He adores you. He took the time to create you and put you together and knit you so perfectly and intricately and He blessed you with children who need you. So, we’re praying for you. We love you and we know I’m looking forward to hearing your praise report from you. I’ll continue to pray for you and for everybody who…who comes on here asking for prayer requests. Love you guys. Talk to you soon. Bye.
Daily Audio Bible family this is Troy in Amarillo TX. Please, please pray for my mom. She was in a really bad car accident yesterday, Easter Sunday and is not doing very good at all. I need prayers that she can recover from this. Thank you so much.
Hi family this is Happy to be in Colorado. I’ve called it just two other times. I’m a long-time listener but I have just started calling recently because my marriage is in crisis. If you followed the DAB friends on Facebook, you might have seen my post. I’m just so desperate for your prayers. I’m so desperate for hundreds of people to be shouting out to the heavens on behalf of me and my husband. My husband Chris has said that he is done with God, he’s walking away. A lot of that is just, you know, he’s not happy with where our life is, and he blames God and feels like God has cursed him. And with that he is ready to end our marriage. And I’m just so broken. Like I’ve never felt the depth of pain like this before. It’s excruciating and I just would really covet your prayers for Chris.
Hi this is Victoria Soldier just calling to pray for some of the DABbers. I wanted to pray for Jermaine the brother whose incarcerated in New York. I just want to pray for him for strength. I want to pray for him for guidance. I want to pray for him for the victory in whatever the challenge is that got him there so that when…when he’s free and while…while he is free in a month that God can bless him tremendously. I want to pray for Susie. I want to pray for her and her and her husband who…who…who have the orphans in Haiti. I want to pray for the little baby Elijah, that like a miracle for his little brain in his little life. I wanna pray for also for James, our teacher and her wife. His wife is asking for a divorce. Don't…don’t just take it as…as…as cash James. I want you to continue to pray that God will help her to see what she has in you and that the two of you can fix it. We want to pray for a miracle. God can still work miracles and no matter what hold on because the babies need you. And you have a plan, God has a plan for your life and…and He can’t fulfill it if…if the enemy uses you to do anything that is rash. Just continue to trust Him. I’ve been through a divorce myself and I know how challenging it can be but…but I know one thing, that God can bring us through. I just wanted to say that to you my brother and encourage you. And I want to pray for…for…for those who are going through depression. I want to pray for those who are looking for jobs and I want to pray for those who are looking for spouses and…and want God to bless them with a spouse that is…that is right for them. Father we just lift you up we praise your name we magnify your name. Lord you have your way Lord in the name of Jesus you have your way in the…in the…