Lamentations 1:1-2:22, Philemon 1:1-25, Psalms 101:1-8, Proverbs 26:20
Today is the 29th day of October welcome to the Daily Audio Bible I am Brian it is wonderful to be here with you today. It’s kind of a day of transition for us because Old and New Testaments both bring us brand-new territory today. And both of those territories that we’re moving into are very different than the other territories we’ve encountered so far in the Scriptures. This…this new territory we’re going into in the New Testament we will move through it in one day, today. It’s a letter and we’ll read the whole letter today. In the Old Testament we’re moving into territory that we…that we honestly don’t usually embrace. We try to avoid it. We’re moving into mournful territory and a book called Lamentations. And lamenting is something that we try to…those of the kinds of things we suppress and try to press down unless they just spill over, just lamenting.
Introduction to the book of Lamentations:
So, this book of Lamentations is…is actually poems. Its five poems and they’re…they’re poems of lament and there poems lamenting the fall and destruction of the holy city of Jerusalem, which is what we witnessed as we concluded the book of Jeremiah yesterday. And we…we can look at this and go, “that happened a very, very, very long time ago, thousands of years back in history. And, so, yeah, we don’t need to lament the destruction of Jerusalem. It got rebuilt. It’s a thriving metropolis in this day and age.” But to kinda be in the right mindset to go into this, we need to understand that these people…everything that gave them an identity, a spiritual identity in the temple of God, a national identity in a capital city of Jerusalem, it’s destroyed. So, you have to think about it in terms of like Mexico City is destroyed or New York City or Los Angeles is destroyed or London is destroyed or Sydney is destroyed or Cape Town is destroyed. And I’m not saying any of those cities are up for destruction. I’m saying that’s the magnitude that these laments come from. Their national capital, their identity, their spiritual heritage, it’s destroyed. And, so, you can only imagine the soul wrenching feeling of just as upside down is life can get. You’re being taken away by force to a new…a new land away from your homeland because the homeland that you had is no more. It’s destroyed. Jerusalem’s walls have fallen. Armies have rushed in. Babylonian soldiers have entered the temple complex, entered the temple, entered the holy of holies, and stole things and destroyed and desecrated. The stench of death is in the air. Blood is in the streets. Thick black smoke from fires all over the city because the fires are burning the city up. The city is being destroyed. The name for this book Lamentations in Hebrew is Ica and that means how, how, how, could this happen to us. Of course, with the benefit of reading Jeremiah just before this we know how it could and how it did happen. Warnings had come for decades. Nobody was listening. And then when it was going down everybody’s trying to figure out how to get out of it instead of embracing what’s happening, which is what the prophet Jeremiah was saying. And, so, we know that Jerusalem was destroyed in 586 B.C. So, approximately 586-ish years before the ministry of Jesus. And it’s likely that these poems of lament were written shortly after the destruction. So, in the Hebrew culture, even until today the ninth day of Av in their calendar Lamentations is read. It’s a day of fasting. It’s a day of remembering. It’s a day that commemorates the fall of Jerusalem. And each of these poems gives a backdrop for that, but it also gives a backdrop because it’s accessing this deep, deep lamentation. That’s the right word, this deep longing and anguish in the soul and it’s being given voice. Again, that lets us know like this…there’s a whole book dedicated to this in the Bible. So, giving voice to the feelings that…that we encounter in our lives. That is not only okay. It’s helpful. It…it let’s it be said. It lets it out. It…it frees us in some sort of way. Like, we've…we’ve hit this bottom place of sadness where it feels like there’s no way to be more sad then we have reached the fullness of the grief or of the sadness and in that place it’s possible to find hope because we’ve reached the bottom of it, the fullness of it. And we acknowledge it and we let it be what it is knowing that the only place to go from here is a step forward and that step forward, even as small as it is and insignificant as it is is a new beginning. And, so, that is the language that we are headed into in the Old Testament, the book of Lamentations. Today chapters 1 and 2.
Introduction to the letter to Philemon:
Okay. And that brings us to some new territory as we turn the page now and move into the New Testament. And, so, we come to the final letter from the apostle Paul and it is a…another personal letter. We read…well…we read first and second Timothy and then Titus and those are known as the pastoral letters and they are personal letters, but they’re personal letters to sons in the faith who are pastors with counsel as…as pastors. This letter to Philemon is really short. We’ll read it all in one day, today and it’s likely that this letter to Philemon, this kind of personal note was delivered to Philemon along with the letter that is in the Scriptures, the letter to the Colossians because Philemon was a leader in the church at Colossae. But this isn’t one of the pastoral letters and it’s not a letter to a pastor. This is a personal note to Philemon who was probably one of the more influential but church congregants in Colossae, probably a person of wealth. According to the letter there was a congregation that met in his home and Philemon had a servant named Onesimus. Onesimus ran away from Philemon, probably stealing from Philemon. And, so, as a runaway slave there's…well…justice will be served on Onesimus if he gets caught, right? And if he stole from Philemon then we’re talking death penalty. So, Onesimus flees Colossae and flees away from his master Onesimus ends up in Rome, probably to disappear. Like this is a big city where you can disappear. But Paul actually was in Rome as well and he was under house arrest, awaiting his trial. And the twist or the serendipity of it or…or God’s providence in it was that Onesimus ended up in contact with Paul. And as Paul begins to teach and Onesimus begins to listen Onesimus becomes a follower of Jesus and then Onesimus stays in Rome serving Paul’s needs willingly. He’s a runaway slave but he’s choosing to serve Paul. So, a little later in the story then Paul writes the letter that we know as Colossians. And it was his intention to send Tychicus, who’s a person that we’ve heard of who’s been a messenger for Paul before. He was sending Tychicus to hand deliver the letter to the church in Colossae, but he also writes this personal note to Philemon and he sends Onesimus back, back as a brother in Christ, not back as a returned runaway slave although Onesimus may have a penalty. And he’s committed crimes. And, so, he…if Philemon wants to press into it Onesimus could die. And you can almost hear the way that Paul would counsel Onesimus. It’s not in the letter, but if we just kind of look at the back story here, Paul’s in prison, he has been through an awful lot on his missionary journeys. And we…we’ve analyzed all of that. We’ve read all of it and looked at all of it. He struggled a lot. So, for him to say to Onesimus, “you’re gonna have to take this step of faith. Yes, yes, your life could end. It is a possibility. But I’m sending a letter. You’re gonna have to take the step of faith and go back and do what is right.” And, so, Onesimus did obey and…yeah…that would’ve been frightening. But this letter serves to kind of stand in the gap there. Like Paul’s presence is in this story. And, so, this little note does pack a punch, showing us forgiveness and it and it teaches us that no matter how…like we don’t own slaves and we’re very against that now, but we may be in authority over people and our authority over them may hold consequences. For example, if we are the boss at a company and we have employees or people who work for us and we’re the department head or something and we have the power to end their job then that can tremendously affect their lives. So, Paul points out, like if you are over somebody and they are a believer then they are to be treated as family, brothers and sisters in the Lord. But the whole story itself really does show us that God works things together for the good of those who love Him. And with that the letter to Philemon.
Prayer:
Father, we thank you for your word and this new territory that we have entered into in the book of Lamentations and Philemon. And because we’ve gone through Philemon today that means we’re moving into new territory again tomorrow. And, so, we thank you for this. This is how the year goes and this is how the Bible goes as we reach shorter and shorter books. We move complexion and territory. And, so, we invite your Holy Spirit into all of the transitions that…that happen in the Scriptures, but that happen in our lives too. We have determined to be strong and to finish strong. And, so, as we reach almost the end of another month seeing the weeks out in front of us that is our commitment. We have journeyed every day of this year and that is what we will continue to do. So come Holy Spirit. There is so much…so much left for us to learn and glean and plant and harvest in our lives from the Scriptures. And, so, we invite you to lead us into all truth. And we ask this in the name of Jesus. Amen.
Announcements:
dailyaudiobible.com is home base, it’s the website, it’s where you find out what’s going on around here. So, check it out. Stay tuned and stay connected. If you’re using the Daily Audio Bible app you can access most if not all of these things from within the app by pre-pressing the Drawer icon in the upper left-hand corner.
And that will get you to the things like…like the Community section where the…the Prayer Wall lives, where there’s always a resource day or night to reach out toward one another, either asking for help in prayer or asking God to help people that we are reading about and hearing their stories and responding to them. So, certainly check out the Prayer Wall.
If you want to partner with the Daily Audio Bible you can do that at dailyaudiobible.com also. There is a link on the homepage. And thank you. Thank you. If the journey that we are on is meaningful and life-giving than thank you for your partnership. It…it wouldn’t be a journey at all if we weren’t in this together. And, so, thank God that we are. So, there is a link on the homepage. If you’re using the Daily Audio Bible app, you can press the Give button in the upper right-hand corner or the mailing address is PO Box 1996 Spring Hill, Tennessee 37174.
And, as always, if you have a prayer request or encouragement you can hit the Hotline button in the app, the little red button up at the top or you can dial 877-942-4253.
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:
Hello DABbers this one goes out to a special young lady named Asia from Chicago. I was thinking about you. I’ve been thinking about you. This is Asia from the city of angels. Must be your twin sister somewhere. And I just wanted to reach out to you and just give you a hug, just let you know that you will be OK, That God has you, that whatever you’re going through it will come to pass and to be still and to just hold on and know that you are enough. You are enough in the eyes of Jesus Christ our Lord and Savior, that He will never leave you nor forsake you. That’s a promise that you can hold on to. I’m just thinking about you and I’m praying for you. God bless you.
Hello DAB family this is Anne from Arizona. I am so encouraged to hear Janice calling in and telling us about the miraculous that’s happening to her husband. It is so encouraging when believers call in and talk about the miracles and the answered prayer. I am so encouraged because indeed God is a good God. So, family continue to call in and to tell us about the answered prayer. It definitely encourages the body of Christ for us to continue praying and for us to continue uplifting others and even for our faith to be lifted up and to be built because indeed God is a God who answers prayer and He’s a God who does the miraculous. So, thank you. Also want to thank the lady who called in who is looking for a job because she was…she needed a job to…to stop the boredom being at home. And this was a while back. So, I’m also encouraged that you called in and you told us about God answering your prayer. So, this is Anne from Arizona, and this is October the 25th.
Hello DAB this is Tyra from Texas. This past month…these past few weeks I’ve been burnt out. I went from having high levels of stress and anxiety to just being tired and not wanting to do anything and just feeling very blah. But I kept within Christ. I struggled and I failed, and I got back up and it’s been a rollercoaster of emotions and I don’t wanna say I’m tired, but I am, you know, seeking rest, seeking peace, and seeking the same joy and the same, you know, experiences from God that I did if…the month before. I know things are never perfect, but like today’s sermon said, you know, Bible reading to endure and to keep going and to keep going with God and that we can’t do things ourselves. So, this is just some encouragement from me. Everyone, you know, who’s still in school, still trying to struggle with school and work, keep going, endure, find people, find a family that you love and trust. Bear your heart to Christ and to God and leave it all of the altar. Leave it all in your prayers and prayerfully we can all make it through this, you know, trial…these trials that we’re all in. So, thank…
Hi DAB, this is Shiloh from Missouri. I’m just calling for those going through emotional, spiritual pain. I know what it feels like to have deep emotional pain and hurt. And Lord I just pray that Your Holy Spirit, Your angels and Your people be sent to those who are hurting today. Let Your Holy Spirit just wrap them in a big hug and let them feel that promise that they will get through this, You will be there with them to see them through on the other side. You’ve been with me Lord time and time again and You’ve always got me through. And there is redemption, there is hope, there is happiness, there is joy. Let those things be brought to Your people today who…who are hurting and even those who are not Your people who are alone in the dark hurting by themselves. Let them find Your light in Jesus’ name.
Hey, I just wanted to praise and thank God for our brother, I believe his name was Terry Claims that’s an incarcerated brother and he said he began his walk on January 3rd and found the Daily Audio Bible and has been listening. I thank you brother for calling in, encouraging me and hopefully others that you are out there and you’re finding your way to God and you will be out there wherever you are just praising God and bringing…bringing others…showing others the glory of God. I thank you for showing that to me. And keep the faith and stay strong and stay with us.
I am just responding to the young lady that called in to thank the community for prayer when her local church family had let her down even though she had admitted that she had contemplated suicide. This resonated with me as this has happened to me also. And what I’ve learned is do not put your trust in people because we are human and will disappoint and let people down; however, God will never ever let you down. So, just keep praying to God who knows your situation. And just want you to have a relationship with Him and He will come through for you. Of that I have no doubt. So, God bless you and I am praying for you.