5/17/2022 DAB Transcript

1 Samuel 20:1-21:15, John 9:1-41, Psalm 113:1-114:8, Proverbs 15:15-17

Today is the 17th day of May, welcome to the Daily Audio Bible. I’m Brian. It is wonderful to be here with you today, as we dive in and take the next step forward together in the Scriptures. And that next step forward is gonna lead us right back to the place where we left off, which happens to be in the Book of first Samuel, where we are watching the intertwining of lives, between King Saul and this new national hero, who is risen up to prominence because he killed the giant. His name is David. David’s presence and actually even his goodness, which has attracted the attention of the people, is very much unsettling Saul who pretty much wants David just out of the picture, just dead. And so, we’ll pick up that story. We’re reading from the Christian Standard Bible this week, first Samuel 20 and 21.

Commentary:

Okay so, in the gospel of John, Jesus has performed another miraculous sign, this one, the healing of a man who had been born blind. So, not who had become blind but who had always been blind since his birth. And so, this man had sort of been begging, just asking for any kind of contributions people give along the way, as he sat in different locations to well, to beg. Jesus comes along and heals this man by spitting in the dirt and making mud and wiping it out of his eyes and telling him to go to the pool of Siloam and washing it off and wash it off. So, the man goes to the pool of Siloam, washes his eyes off and he can see. And so, there are people that knew him as a beggar, going isn’t this the beggar, like were you faking all along, can you see, all of this stuff is going on, but the man is defending, no it’s me, it’s me, I was blind, I can see. I’m not somebody who looks like that guy, I am that guy and I can see. And so, that ends up being brought to the attention to the Pharisees who starts to dismantle the story because the story is not congruent with their understanding, theologically or traditionally. This Sabbath is a day that work isn’t supposed to be done, miracle working is work or healing is work so, they have determined and so, anyone who attempts to do this is breaking the Sabbath and that is something that Jesus does on a regular basis. And so, they’re talking to this guy and questioning and wanting to…wanting to know the whole story and what are the details and how this and how that and then they tell him, basically this guy is a sinner, this occurred on the Sabbath day, that is breaking the law of God, even though it was the religious leaders that interpreted it this way. So, the person who can see now is a bit perplexed, is even a little bit sarcastic in his dialogue, which eventually gets him thrown out of the synagogue but he asks a simple question. How can a sinner do such a miraculous sign? Like, I was born blind and I can see. How could someone that God does not favor, how could this even happen? It doesn’t make any sense. So, the Pharisees are questionings some more specifically, what did He do to you? What were the steps, exactly what did He do to make you see? Because they’re convinced that Jesus is a trickster. And then, maybe thinking that this man is a plant, is actually a disciple of Jesus, who was faking like he was blind and had been able to see all along. So, they call this person’s parents in for questioning. Now, at this point, the blind man, the former blind man is an adult and so his parents don’t want to speak on behalf of their son because they’re afraid of being outcast and thrown out of the synagogue, thrown out of society. And so, they attest to the fact that yes, this is our child, and yes, indeed he was born blind, that is a fact, that is the truth, how it is that he can see at this point is a question you’ll have to ask him. He’s an adult and we don’t know the answer. And so, then they go back to the formerly blind person with an accusation, we know that Jesus is a sinner, they tell him, and the man answers back really brilliantly actually, that’s like, that’s your territory, like you guys are the religious leaders. Whether He’s a sinner or not, I don’t know that I know the answer to that, or can judge that, what I do know though is that I was blind and now I can see. So, the religious leader’s kind of continue on and reaffirm their allegiance to Moses and the Mosaic law. And how they know where Moses came from, but Jesus, they don’t know where Jesus came from. And the man really answers brilliantly again, basically saying, how can you not know where he comes from, he opened my eyes, I have been blind since I was born and now, I can see and you don’t know where this person is from. Insinuating basically, how could He be from anywhere else but God. Who else deserves the glory for this miracle, who should we worship, because this doesn’t happen every day. Eventually, they dismiss the formerly blind person and eventually Jesus runs into him and they have a conversation. And Jesus tells him, I came into this world for judgment, in order that those who do not see will have their eyes open and be able to see and those who do see will not be able to see. And of course, Jesus is referring to spiritual sight or insight, being able to see what God is doing, what is happening and to be able to see his intentions in this world. Jesus is opening the eyes of the people, in some cases, miraculously, physically, opening their eyes, as is in the case of the miracle that we read about today, but also opening up their spiritual sight to be able to see that there is another way to look at this, that there is another way to live fully, appreciative and humbled in the fact, that we are utterly dependent upon God, instead of that we are our own God and we’ll make our own decisions. Of course, there’s still some Pharisees around hearing all this and so there like, you think we’re blind? You think, are you calling us blind? Jesus is like, if you were blind then, then it wouldn’t be a problem, it wouldn’t be sin, but you are claiming that you can see and you can’t see what God is doing right in front of you because it doesn’t fit into your theological framework and it especially doesn’t fit into the traditions that you have established. You lost the plot of the story; you’re missing the point. It’s funny how we can read this in the Gospels and see it so clearly, but when we look in the mirror, we can’t always see our own blindness. And about the time that we think we are seeing, we begin to realize that we still have blind spots. And like the Pharisees, often times we’re falling back onto our traditions, what we have been told we’re supposed to do and believe, not that those things are bad, but we’re falling back onto those things, to give us sight. When there is only One, who can make us see.

Prayer:

And Jesus, we declare that that is You and only You and without You, we are blind, we are wandering around in the dark, feeling among the shadows, trying to find where we’re going. But with You, we can see and we want to see. And so come, Holy Spirit into the places where we have blind spots or blindness in our lives, especially in our relationships and in our interactions with our fellow brothers and sisters and in our hearts and our lives, our spiritual lives, open our eyes so that we can see what’s going on around us and live from that place. We pray this in Your precious name Jesus, in Your name 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.

Prayer and Encouragements:

Hello DAB, my heart is breaking. Oh my, it’s Friday the 13th, out of all days. Friday the 13th and as I was listening to a lady who called in, she was so over joyed about Owen calling in, cause she was expressing her heart to him. As she was speaking, God finally gave me my DAB name. I’ve been listening for a good while and this year, I promised myself that I would listen every day, all year. And I called in before but I always say, God, it doesn’t feel right, it doesn’t feel right, what’s my name, I used to say, I don’t have a name like everybody else. And as she was talking, God put in my heart. I’m God’s Butterfly. I just wanted to share that cause my heart is overjoyed. And I know exactly what He means when He says that I’m His butterfly. He knows my name. Well hello DAB, I’m God’s Butterfly and I don’t know if I’ll ever call in again. I’ve used other names before, I’ve used my real name, I’ve used other names but I know this is who I am. God’s Butterfly and I love my Father. And I love each and every one of you.

Hello DAB family, this is John from the UK. Just an update about my daughter Hannah, who I’ve asked you to pray for and thank you for those that have. She was admitted to hospital with an eating disorder. She was discharged and then got to the point of being dangerously ill, readmitted and had a feeding tube, that basically saved her life. So, she had 7 weeks, no, that was about 10 weeks on the tube and basically, she…she has just been discharged and now back home. But unfortunately, her anorexia is as strong as ever. So, just asking for your prayers about the next step. It would be lovely to be able to make it work at home. I just pray about this, _ she, doesn’t want to be around she’s in a __ and so we’re able to, she’s joined into that prayer, my wife and I. So that’s a plus. Like I said, she did give her heart to Jesus last summer. So, if you could pray for my daughter Hannah, for the next step, for help recovering from anorexia. Thank you all for your prayers and bless you all. And I love listening to all your prayers and I love listening to the Daily Audio Bible so thank you, Brian and the whole Hardin Family. Bye bye, from John from the UK.

Hi DAB family, this is Lily or God’s Girl from Bakersfield, CA. So, I’ve been asking for prayer for my daughter Logan who has been in labor since Wednesday and so today is Friday night and they’re taking the baby c-section. So, I’m asking for prayer for strength. I’ve had to do life pretty much on my own with my babies because my husband has bi-polar and unfortunately couldn’t handle the stress of life or challenges. And so, although I love him dearly, I’ve had to do life, pretty much on my own in raising of our children. And so, I know through it all I’ve always had God to strengthen me but at this moment I’m just worried and I shouldn’t

Hi, my name is Amy and I’ve been listening for about two years but this my first time calling. I just wanted to share my story. About two years ago in the beginning of 2020, I was learning how to make sour dough bread and just like everyone else, with the pandemic, but then I was listening to Exodus one night and it said that the people took their dough before it was leavened, their kneading bowls being bound up on their cloaks. And I thought, oh my goodness they’re making sour dough back then and for those of you who don’t know, there’s this rhythm to making bread, this old biblical way. You mix, you stretch and fold, there’s a lot of rhythm to it. You save a little bit of dough from the time before you bake and then you start the process over. So, there’s this, it’s very rhythmic. And I hear Brian use that word a lot in our listening to the Bible every day. So, when Jesus says, I’m the bread of life, which we just heard in John, I think He’s also saying, that He wants to be in the rhythm of our daily lives, not just that He’s spiritual food, He wants to be in our everyday. And I think when he had the, we also see this in the Old Testament. God had the Israelites gather manna daily and that was teaching them to look to Him daily because we have this personal, hands-on God. So anyway, Brian and Hardin Family, thank you so much for this rhythm for us getting to listen to your word every day.  

Good morning DAB family, this is Thankful and Still and I’m lifting up God’s Yellow Flower. Today, Lord, I just bring God’s Yellow Flower before you and I pray that You bless her with healing post-surgery. And I pray also that You would help to provide the care that she needs during her healing process as well as her son, while he needs care as well. And I pray that You give them peace and comfort and that they would rely on You during this time and that You would surround them with Your Holy Spirit and Your angels, Lord, in Jesus’ name. And I want to give thanks and praise to the Lord for a very successful court hearing with my ex-husband. And so, I just praise God. Like, the best outcome that could have been, came and issues of the past were, like, I guess you could say that we buried the hatchet and things just went so ideal. And I think both of us had a real sense of peace and I pray that this bringing healing in our family. Especially with our…our children. And even extended family, that there would just be peace after many years of strife and contention. Not always outward but just a mistrust and not knowing people’s intentions. So, I’m just really excited and happy. I’m kind of, it hasn’t sunken in yet because it’s been such a long journey, you know, almost nine years of in-and-out of court and stuff. So, those of you that have court hearings and litigation, just know that God is in the middle of it all. And as hard and as desperate a situation may seem; God knows and He has a bigger plan than we can imagine. So, just go forward step-by-step allow God to hold you and guide you. Have a great day.