04/30/2022 DAB Transcript

Judges 11:1-12:15, John 1:1-28, Psalms 101:1-8, Proverbs 14:13-14

Today is the 30th day of April welcome to the Daily Audio Bible I am Brian it is wonderful to be here as we conclude our fourth month of 12, which means we’re one third of the way through the year. And even as we end this fourth month of the year, we will be beginning the final gospel in the New Testament, the gospel of John when we get there. But first, we are working our way through the book of Judges. We’re reading from the English Standard Version this week. Judges, chapters 11 and 12 today.

Introduction to the Gospel of John:

Okay. So, this brings us to the opening of the final gospel, the gospel of John. So, we have read Matthew, Mark, and Luke. And those are known as the synoptic Gospels because even though they were written to different audiences the stories are very very similar, and in some cases, word for word the same. And, so, basically as far as the timeline goes, we think of the gospel of Mark being the first gospel written with Matthew following about a decade later, and then Luke somewhere in that same general time and then the gospel of John being the final gospel written, maybe 15 years or more after the gospel of Mark. And of course, some of the letters of the apostle Paul even predate the Gospels. They are the earliest Christian writings that we have. And, so, in terms of time, the gospel of John would be the most recent. And the gospel of John is very different than Matthew, Mark, or Luke. It's…it’s like 90% different from the synoptic Gospels, which gives us an entirely new perspective and context and interpretation of Jesus life and ministry. So, for example, in Matthew, Mark, and Luke one of the central questions that we are being led to as we read those Gospels is Jesus’ question, “who do you say that I am?” Whereas John’s gospel is written to people who already have answered that question and already believe. Of course, John was one of the disciples of Jesus and had seen Jesus in person and knew…well…I mean what we have in the Gospels is only a fraction of what Jesus life and ministry would’ve contained day by day, step-by-step, and John was there taking those steps. So, he had an understanding of the back story and some of that is brought forward for us in the gospel of John. And, so, let’s enjoy this. John is writing this later in its life, and it’s beautiful to behold. And, so, with that we begin. John chapter 1 verse 1 through 28.

Commentary:

Okay. So, we have already talked about moving into the book of John and kind of flying over that and just getting a little bit of an overview of where were going and we’ll have plenty to talk about as we move into the gospel of John.

But in the book of Judges, we have a pretty disturbing story about the judge Jephthah who was the son of a prostitute and so was excluded from his family and run away until the people came under distress. Jephthah was a mighty warrior and so they went and brought him back in made him the leader he became the judge of Israel and went to battle. He just made this vow to the Lord, that whatever came out the front door of his house when he got home if he was victorious, he would sacrifice a burnt offering to the Lord whatever came out the door. And of course, as we know what came out the door was his only child, his daughter, which is a terrifying thing to think about, and it’s supposed to be. That’s the thing. Some of these disruptive things in the Bible are supposed to be disruptive. They’ve been disruptive all along because they shouldn’t have happened. God didn’t ask Jephthah to sacrifice anything in exchange for victory. He didn’t ask for a vow that a human being would be sacrificed. God says the contrary, in the Scriptures. He talks about people’s who sacrificed their children to false gods and how that had never even crossed His mind. One of the things that we’re supposed to be kind of understanding as we move forward through the book of Judges is that everybody’s doing what they think is right in their own eyes. Moses had been a mighty leader. Joshua had been a mighty leader. Now there is no mighty leader and we’re going through centuries before the children of Israel finally want to standardize things under the common rule of the singular king uniting the tribes. And, so, one of the things we see in the times of the judges is the back and forth and up and down and erratic behavior and just the way that they are thinking about things. And we are also to note that although they have abandoned God, God continues to rescue them when they come home. And, so, this story of Jephthah is a story of what Jephthah did, not what God told him to do. And there are plenty of people that just can imagine that this actually happened, that Jephthah actually sacrificed his daughter to God. And, so, it’s sort of made into that she was never able to marry, that she was dedicated to God and to God’s service. And, so, she went on the mountains, and she spent some time alone morning her virginity and so she remained a virgin the rest of her life in the service of the Lord. Maybe so. That’d be great. That’d be a way better ending to the story than that she got sacrificed. It’s just the way that the Bible reads it sounds like Jephthah did exactly what he said he was going to do, which is revolting as it should be. And if we take a good glimpse into the times of the judges, where everybody is doing what is right in their own eyes then we get a good picture of just how sideways things can get, just how good and evil can get blended. And that should be a very unsettling thought because it’s a very unsettling thing. And, so, the story becomes similar to like the story of Lot and the daughters who decided they needed to have children with their father. And often we can do is, you know, get this subtle kind of animosity or distrust for God because a story in the Bible is disturbing. And we can think, like well it’s in the Bible so it’s something that God wanted when the truth is there are all kinds of things in the Bible that God warned against and people went ahead and did. He didn’t want those things, but the will of the people did and it brought all kinds…well…it brought everything that he warned them that it would. And, so, when we encounter a disruptive story, our objective is to normalize it, make it, “okay, that’s how they did things back then.” It’s to be disrupted and to look closely at our own path and where it is going.

Prayer:

Father, we thank You for Your word and another week. We thank You Father for Your word and another month. We thank You that You have brought us to this point, and we are grateful. And we are learning, and we are growing, and we are becoming rooted and anchored in You and You alone. Come Holy Spirit as we close this month and prepare for next month and what comes next in our story and our adventure of life with You. We pray this in the name of Jesus. 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:

Good morning DAB this is Learning to Let Go from North Carolina. I was calling today just to send some love to all the parents who have called in for prayers for their children, underage children dealing with suicidal ideations and cutting, friendship issues, adult children who have strayed from the ways that they were taught, struggling with substance abuse or marital issues or pretty much the gamut. So, parenting is hard. I have one child who’s young and I just feel for all those whose children that we have the best intentions for just have not been able to right themselves yet. So, I want to pray for you and your strength and being there for your children and continuing to uplift them, support them, and love them whether it be from afar or nearby. And I just pray that you remain steadfast in that. I’m also calling for prayer for myself. I am again going through a legal situation that started last year and I’m just believing that it will end soon so that I can move on with my life and that of my child so that we are safe and free of this person that we’ve been dealing with for some time now. So, if you all could just say a prayer for me for that freedom believing that this court situation would remove that person from my life totally. I wish them the best, but I don’t want them tied to me any longer period thank you. Love you. Amen.

Hello, my Daily Audio Bible family. This is God’s tree. I have many branches, but I’m rooted by the word of God. You know sometimes as Saints we try to be perfect and have a perfect faith and we don’t want to show our weaknesses, but we fall short sometimes. I’ve been struggling in my marriage and my relationship, and I’ve been praying and praying and praying and ask God to restore the love in the relationship, but this seems like it never happens. And I think my spirit is showing me that God wants me to be more in love with him. And be truthful it’s hard to really really be in love with God in the level that you want to be in love with somebody and it feels good on a personal level. And, so, I’m asking that you pray that I would develop a stronger loving relationship with God so He’s more important to me than having a physical and intimate relationship here on earth. And I think that’s what God wants to have for me and hopefully He’ll restore my marriage and my relationship, and I ask that you pray for those same things for those who are struggling in their relationship as well, that we have a closer walk with God and he will add to it if we learn to fall in love with Him. It’s just hard when you just don’t have that physical contact. So, continue to pray for my strength as I pray for you and as we walk by faith and not by sight that God would restore all that the enemy has taken away from us. God bless. Love you. This is God’s Tree.

Hey Daily Audio Bible this is Missy from the Midwest. I’m calling with a prayer request. We had a horrific event yesterday in our community. A 10-year-old little girl was murdered on her way home from a relative’s house. The murderer is still at large. The police are searching. I’m just praying specifically that whoever did this would turn themselves in, that it would become unbearable and that they would have to turn themselves in. Would you join me in that? We are praying for peace for this little girl’s family. Her name was Lily, and she was beautiful. And our hearts are broken. Our hearts are broken for our children, her friends, her family. So, please just pray for the healing of our community for the safety of the rest of our children and our citizens and for this person to have to turn themselves in. Thank you, Daily Audio…

Good morning Daily Bible Audio my name is Francoise I am a second time caller and it’s my first year on this platform and I just wanted to pray for…I know yesterday there was a lady who called on the 24th and she’s praying…asking prayer for her marriage. And I’d like to pray for all the marriages. I’d like to pray for those marriages who are one with God and one with each other and I’d also like to pray for those marriages who are in rough times. I pray for the wisdom of the Lord for patience and for the fire of the Holy Spirit to restore marriages, to change the lives, the hearts of the husbands or wives. I myself sit in a marriage that is in the rough waters yet that is not a fight for me to fight. That battle is for the Lord to take care. I will just have faith. I will love my wife and I will do whatever it takes to glorify the Lord our father God through our Holy Spirit who __ the Lord Jesus Christ. I pray for children of marriages that are going through __ be witnesses of hard trials and tribulations. May we have the heart of the Lord. May our hearts be turned to hearts of flesh. I am very thankful for this platform. I am a first-time member of this platform and I thank you so much for your prayers. And I say that we pray for each other, especially in this times that we’re going through. May God strengthen us as we await for the coming of the Lord Jesus Christ and as we carry his Holy Spirit that we will do it will be the best portion of ourselves as we carry the Holy Spirit. I pray for unity for restoration for understanding for love…