Month: February 2023

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02/08/2023 DAB Transcript

Exodus 28:1-43, Matthew 25:31-26:13, Psalms 31:9-18, Proverbs 8:12-13

Today is the 8th day of February welcome to the Daily Audio Bible I am Brian and it is wonderful to be coming to you from the land of the Bible as we are here in Israel for our annual pilgrimage. And, so, we were able to have dinner last night and get together and get oriented. And, so, today will be our first day out and about but we’ll talk about that in a little while. We have all gathered around the Global Campfire to take the next step forward in the Scriptures. And, so, let’s dive in. And diving and leads us back into the book of Exodus. We are around Mount Sinai and God is issuing to Moses the laws and statutes that will organize this people who were formerly slaves into a cohesive people of God with a mission and a land of promise out in front of them. Exodus chapter 28.

Commentary:

Alright. So, in the book of Proverbs today wisdom is speaking and she began speaking yesterday with the eighth chapter of Proverbs, and she’ll continue speaking as we continue to navigate forward tomorrow. And I say she because she is identified in the feminine voice, but she is identifying herself as the voice of wisdom. And, so, she began the chapter by saying, “do you hear wisdom calling out?” We could…we could pause there and let that be the question of the day. “Do you hear wisdom calling out? Do you hear understanding raising her voice?” And what she goes on to explain is that she is at the crossroads. She is at the place of decision. And we face these crossroads constantly in our lives. We are constantly making decisions about the trajectory or the direction that we are going to go in. What we discover here is that wisdom is there at that…at that junction, at that crossroads. Wisdom is there crying out, raising the banner. This is the way, listen to me, go this way. And she tells us, all the words from my mouth are righteous. There is nothing twisted or crooked in them. All of them are clear to those who have understanding, and they are upright to those who find knowledge. Accept my discipline accept the discipline of wisdom instead of silver. Accept knowledge rather than gold because wisdom is better than gems, and anything you can desire cannot equal her. And then we turn into today’s couple of verses that we have from Proverbs. “I wisdom dwell with good judgment. I discover knowledge and foresight. The fear of the Lord is to hate evil.” What we discover here…a couple of things that we discover here. Number one. If wisdom is the most valuable thing that we can attain, then we ought to pay attention to it and we ought to do whatever we can to attain if it’s the most valuable thing that is. So, first of all, it has to be a category. It can’t be this like nebulous concept that boils down to our experiences and what we’ve learned and what we know because we don’t know all that we think we know. And life has a way of teaching us that lesson on a regular basis. But walking in wisdom is walking the ancient paths that God has revealed, which leads us to the second point. Wisdom is available. She’s not hiding. In fact, it’s like she’s got a giant sign at the crossroads. She’s shouting out, “listen to me.” Wisdom is available to us. So, wisdom is the most desirable thing that we can attain because wisdom will lead us to everything else that we desire and will also teach us what proper desire is. And I’m not saying desire in like a sexual or attraction kind of term, like what we want, what we’re after, what our hearts pull us toward. Wisdom will warn us we’re being pulled in the wrong direction, this will end in destruction. So, wisdom needs to be a category in our lives, something that we are actively pursuing. But wisdom isn’t hidden. Wisdom is in plain sight for those looking for. And, so, on just a practical plane, just trying to look for something that we can go okay, could we flesh this out a little bit? What does this look like? Because I’m gonna make this the category and I’m going to pursue this. Like where do I begin? The Scriptures tell us that the fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom. And we were told today that those who fear the Lord hate evil. But looking back into the eighth chapter of Proverbs, I quote from wisdom, “listen, because I am speaking noble thoughts.” So, noble thoughts. “I open my lips to speak upright things.” Wisdom speaks upright things. If we are walking in wisdom, we do the same. She says, “for my mouth, declares the truth, but wickedness is disgusting to my lips. All the words from my mouth are righteous. There is nothing twisted or crooked in them.” Just looking at those little handful of things gives us a jumping off point. Do we look like those things? Is this how we are navigating our days? We’re still here pretty close to the beginning of the year. Like, we’re moved in and we’re sailing along in waves. We’ve come all the way to Israel and we’re going through this pilgrimage, but we’re still kind of here in the beginning part of the year and making wisdom a primary category, something that we are really truly seeking to understand and live and walk in will change the way we live this year, which will change the way we live our lives.

Prayer:

Father, we invite You into this. Lead us on the paths of wisdom. Holy Spirit come and show us how to not just blow through every crossroads because life is too busy for us, that we may realize we are reaching a point of decision and seek wisdom in the decision instead of just blowing by through all of the yield signs and danger warnings. Help us to reduce the speed limit of our lives. Help us to slow down and incorporate wisdom as a category, knowing that slowing down so that we can seek wisdom will only be helping us speed up. Come Holy Spirit into all of this we pray. In the name of Jesus, we ask. Amen.

Announcements:

Okay. So, we are off. Today will be our first official day of touring around the land of the Bible. We will be heading southward today, southeast a bit I guess, leaving the Mediterranean coast. And then we will be heading into the wilderness. And we will be touring around and experiencing for ourselves this biblical wilderness and will end our day to day at another body of water. So, we’re leaving the Mediterranean Sea and tonight we will be on the Red Sea. But I can’t tell you about it because it hasn’t happened yet. We did have our welcome dinner last night kind of everybody gathering and getting to get oriented talking through the jetlag, talking to the process of travel and just adding to know each other a little bit and it…man…when the Daily Audio Bible community gets together it’s such an interesting thing. I have seen it over years and years and years. Like, you can walk into a place…you can walk into place a by yourself and you don’t know anybody but your here because everybody’s going to the Bible together or whatever, and but in just a few minutes, within a few minutes, it’s like everybody’s old friends because we’re taking this journey together. And, so, that was what was experienced last night. It’s almost like a little family reunion, kinda…something. It’s just like a reunion. It just feels like it’s so nice to be actually physically in each other’s presence. We’re together every day but it’s so nice to actually be here together. And, so, we’re getting ourselves acclimated. Jetlag has a way of being a difficulty. It's…and it’s definitely a challenge for me. It takes several days for me to really kinda feel like right side right. And but it’s still all on adrenaline and it’s just so exciting. And, so, that pumps us full and keeps us going. But we are off and thank you for your prayers, the prayers of the community over our travel, over our stays, over all of the things that we will see and experience, over all the things we will hear and learn, and to bring us back to our homes with hearts full and overflowing so that it spills out into our communities where we live. Thank you for your prayers over that.

And we will be posting pictures along the way throughout each and every day. And depending on where you are in the world depends on where they will show up. Some of the stuff will be posted…like if you’re back in the United States we’ll be posting stuff in the middle of the night because it be the middle of the day for us. And, so, like going to the…like following Daily Audio Bible on Facebook or following Daily Audio Bible on Instagram or whatever so that these things can just show up in your feed, that might be helpful, but you may just have to go to like the Daily Audio Bible Facebook page. If they’re not showing up in your feed they’ll be there. But we will post as things are happening.

And then this Saturday the 11th of February a few days from now we will gather together as a community and to do a Facebook live and just kinda let everybody who’s on the trip, all the families kinda be able to see everybody and the entire Daily Audio Bible community being able to come together and see everybody, hear the different stories from the experiences that we have had, or that we are having. And that will be taking place at about 7:30 PM and that will be local time. And we’re a global community here so we’re in all the different time zones. So, you might have to like Google the time in Tel Aviv and then figure out the time where you are and figure out the time difference. But we’ll be going live on Facebook. And that is always fun. It is always so fun. We feel connected back to the community. We feel back connected back to home and are able to just share a little bit about what we’re experiencing. And, so, looking forward to that. Put that on your calendar. You’ll be able to participate in the trip whether you’re here or whether your virtual we’re doing everything we can to make this a community experience as we move through the land of the Bible. And, so, thank you for your prayers over us. We certainly do love you.

And that is it for today. I’m Brian I love you I’ll be waiting for you here tomorrow.

Community Prayer and Praise:

Coming soon…

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The Daily Audio Bible Reading for Wednesday February 8, 2023 (NIV)

Exodus 28

The Priestly Garments

28 “Have your brother Aaron, with his sons, come to you from the Israelites to serve me as priest—Aaron, his sons Nadab and Abihu, Eleazar and Ithamar.(A) 2 Make holy garments(B) for your brother Aaron, for glory and beauty. 3 You are to instruct all the skilled artisans,[a](C) whom I have filled with a spirit of wisdom, to make Aaron’s garments for consecrating him to serve me as priest. 4 These are the garments that they must make: a breastpiece, an ephod, a robe, a specially woven tunic,[b] a turban, and a sash. They are to make holy garments for your brother Aaron and his sons so that they may serve me as priests. 5 They should use[c] gold; blue, purple, and scarlet yarn; and fine linen.

The Ephod

6 “They(D) are to make the ephod of finely spun linen embroidered[d] with gold, and with blue, purple, and scarlet yarn. 7 It must have two shoulder pieces attached to its two edges so that it can be joined together. 8 The artistically woven waistband that is on the ephod[e] must be of one piece,[f] according to the same workmanship of gold, of blue, purple, and scarlet yarn, and of finely spun linen.

9 “Take two onyx stones and engrave on them the names of Israel’s sons: 10 six of their names on the first stone and the remaining six names on the second stone, in the order of their birth. 11 Engrave the two stones with the names of Israel’s sons as a gem cutter engraves a seal. Mount them, surrounded with gold filigree settings. 12 Fasten both stones on the shoulder pieces of the ephod as memorial stones for the Israelites. Aaron will carry their names on his two shoulders before the Lord as a reminder.(E) 13 Fashion gold filigree settings 14 and two chains of pure gold; you will make them of braided cord work, and attach the cord chains to the settings.

The Breastpiece

15 “You(F) are to make an embroidered breastpiece for making decisions.[g] Make it with the same workmanship as the ephod; make it of gold, of blue, purple, and scarlet yarn, and of finely spun linen. 16 It must be square and folded double, nine inches long and nine inches wide.[h] 17 Place a setting of gemstones[i] on it, four rows of stones:

The first row should be

a row of carnelian, topaz, and emerald;[j]

18 the second row,

a turquoise,[k] a lapis lazuli, and a diamond;[l]

19 the third row,

a jacinth,[m] an agate, and an amethyst;

20 and the fourth row,

a beryl, an onyx, and a jasper.

They should be adorned with gold filigree in their settings. 21 The twelve stones are to correspond to the names of Israel’s sons. Each stone must be engraved like a seal, with one of the names of the twelve tribes.

22 “You are to make braided chains[n] of pure gold cord work for the breastpiece. 23 Fashion two gold rings for the breastpiece and attach them to its two corners. 24 Then attach the two gold cords to the two gold rings at the corners of the breastpiece. 25 Attach the other ends of the two cords to the two filigree settings, and in this way attach them to the ephod’s shoulder pieces in the front. 26 Make two other gold rings and put them at the two other corners of the breastpiece on the edge that is next to the inner border of the ephod. 27 Make two more gold rings and attach them to the bottom of the ephod’s two shoulder pieces on its front, close to its seam,[o] and above the ephod’s woven waistband. 28 The artisans are to tie the breastpiece from its rings to the rings of the ephod with a cord of blue yarn, so that the breastpiece is above the ephod’s waistband and does not come loose from the ephod.

29 “Whenever he enters the sanctuary, Aaron is to carry the names of Israel’s sons over his heart on the breastpiece for decisions, as a continual reminder before the Lord. 30 Place the Urim and Thummim(G) in the breastpiece for decisions, so that they will also be over Aaron’s heart whenever he comes before the Lord. Aaron will continually carry the means of decisions for the Israelites over his heart before the Lord.

The Robe

31 “You(H) are to make the robe of the ephod entirely of blue yarn. 32 There should be an opening at its top in the center of it. Around the opening, there should be a woven collar with an opening like that of body armor[p] so that it does not tear. 33 Make pomegranates of blue, purple, and scarlet yarn on its lower hem and all around it. Put gold bells between them all the way around, 34 so that gold bells and pomegranates alternate around the lower hem of the robe. 35 The robe will be worn by Aaron whenever he ministers, and its sound will be heard when he enters the sanctuary before the Lord and when he exits, so that he does not die.

The Turban

36 “You are to make a pure gold medallion and engrave it, like the engraving of a seal:(I) Holy to the Lord. 37 Fasten it to a cord of blue yarn so it can be placed on the turban; the medallion is to be on the front of the turban. 38 It will be on Aaron’s forehead so that Aaron may bear the guilt(J) connected with the holy offerings that the Israelites consecrate as all their holy gifts. It is always to be on his forehead, so that they may find acceptance with the Lord.

Other Priestly Garments

39 “You are to weave the tunic from fine linen, make a turban of fine linen, and make an embroidered sash. 40 Make tunics, sashes, and headbands for Aaron’s sons to give them glory and beauty.(K) 41 Put these on your brother Aaron and his sons; then anoint,(L) ordain,[q] and consecrate(M) them, so that they may serve me as priests. 42 Make them linen undergarments(N) to cover their naked bodies; they must extend from the waist to the thighs. 43 These must be worn by Aaron and his sons whenever they enter the tent of meeting or approach the altar to minister in the sanctuary area, so that they do not incur guilt(O) and die. This is to be a permanent statute(P) for Aaron and for his future descendants.

Footnotes:

  1. 28:3 Lit all wise of heart
  2. 28:4 Hb obscure
  3. 28:5 Lit receive
  4. 28:6 Or woven
  5. 28:8 Lit waistband of its ephod, which is on it
  6. 28:8 Lit piece with the ephod
  7. 28:15 Used for determining God’s will; Nm 27:21
  8. 28:16 Lit a span its length and a span its width
  9. 28:17 Many of these stones cannot be identified with certainty.
  10. 28:17 Or beryl
  11. 28:18 Or malachite, or garnet
  12. 28:18 Hb obscure; LXX, Vg read jasper
  13. 28:19 Hb obscure
  14. 28:22 The same chains mentioned in v. 14
  15. 28:27 The place where the shoulder pieces join the front of the ephod
  16. 28:32 Hb obscure
  17. 28:41 Lit anoint them, fill their hand

Cross references:

  1. 28:1 : Nm 18:7; Ps 99:6; Heb 5:1
  2. 28:2 : Ex 29:5,9; 31:10; 39:1–2; Lv 8:7,30; Nm 20:26,28
  3. 28:3 : Ex 31:6; 35:25; 36:1
  4. 28:6–12 : Ex 39:2–7; Lv 8:7
  5. 28:12 : Ex 28:29; Jos 4:7; Zch 6:14
  6. 28:15–28 : Ex 39:8–21
  7. 28:30 : Lv 8:8; Nm 27:21; Dt 33:8; Ezr 2:63; Neh 7:65
  8. 28:31–40 : Ex 39:22–31
  9. 28:36 : Lv 8:9; Zch 14:20
  10. 28:38 : Lv 10:17; 22:16; Nm 18:1; Is 53:11; Ezk 4:4–6; Jn 1:29; Heb 9:28; 1Pt 2:24
  11. 28:40 : Ex 39:41; Ezk 44:17–18
  12. 28:41 : Ex 29:7; 30:30; 40:15; Lv 10:7
  13. 28:41 : Ex 29:9; Heb 7:28
  14. 28:42 : Lv 6:10; 16:4; Ezk 44:18
  15. 28:43 : Ex 20:26; Lv 5:1,17; 20:19
  16. 28:43 : Ex 27:21; Lv 17:7
Christian Standard Bible (CSB)

The Christian Standard Bible. Copyright © 2017 by Holman Bible Publishers. Used by permission. Christian Standard Bible®, and CSB® are federally registered trademarks of Holman Bible Publishers, all rights reserved.

Matthew 25:31-26:13

The Sheep and the Goats

31 “When the Son of Man comes in his glory, and all the angels[a](A) with him, then he will sit on his glorious throne.(B) 32 All the nations[b](C) will be gathered before him, and he will separate them one from another, just as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats.(D) 33 He will put the sheep on his right and the goats on the left. 34 Then the King will say to those on his right, ‘Come, you who are blessed by my Father; inherit the kingdom(E) prepared for you from the foundation of the world.(F)

35 “‘For I was hungry and you gave me something to eat; I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink; I was a stranger and you took me in; 36 I was naked and you clothed me; I was sick and you took care of me; I was in prison and you visited me.’(G)

37 “Then the righteous will answer him, ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you something to drink? 38 When did we see you a stranger and take you in, or without clothes and clothe you? 39 When did we see you sick, or in prison, and visit you?’

40 “And the King will answer them, ‘Truly I tell you, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers and sisters of mine, you did for me.’(H)

41 “Then he will also say to those on the left, ‘Depart from me, you who are cursed, into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels!(I) 42 For I was hungry and you gave me nothing to eat; I was thirsty and you gave me nothing to drink; 43 I was a stranger and you didn’t take me in; I was naked and you didn’t clothe me, sick and in prison and you didn’t take care of me.’

44 “Then they too will answer, ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry, or thirsty, or a stranger, or without clothes, or sick, or in prison, and not help you?’

45 “Then he will answer them, ‘Truly I tell you, whatever you did not do for one of the least of these, you did not do for me.’(J)

46 “And they will go away into eternal punishment, but the righteous into eternal life.”(K)

The Plot to Kill Jesus

26 When Jesus had finished saying all these things,(L) he told his disciples, 2 “You know[c] that the Passover takes place after two days, and the Son of Man will be handed over to be crucified.”(M)

3 Then the chief priests[d] and the elders of the people assembled in the courtyard of the high priest, who was named Caiaphas,(N) 4 and they conspired to arrest Jesus in a treacherous way and kill him.(O) 5 “Not during the festival,” they said, “so there won’t be rioting among the people.”

The Anointing at Bethany

6 While Jesus was in Bethany at the house of Simon(P) the leper,[e] 7 a woman approached him with an alabaster jar of very expensive perfume. She poured it on his head as he was reclining at the table. 8 When the disciples(Q) saw it, they were indignant. “Why this waste?” they asked. 9 “This might have been sold for a great deal and given to the poor.”

10 Aware of this, Jesus said to them, “Why are you bothering this woman? She has done a noble thing for me. 11 You always have the poor with you, but you do not always have me.(R) 12 By pouring this perfume on my body, she has prepared me for burial. 13 Truly I tell you, wherever this gospel(S) is proclaimed in the whole world, what she has done will also be told in memory of her.”

Footnotes:

  1. 25:31 Other mss read holy angels
  2. 25:32 Or the Gentiles
  3. 26:2 Or “Know (as a command)
  4. 26:3 Other mss add and the scribes
  5. 26:6 Gk lepros; a term for various skin diseases; see Lv 13–14

Cross references:

  1. 25:31 : Gn 16:7; Mt 5:34; 13:49; Lk 1:11; Ac 5:19; Rv 14:6
  2. 25:31 : Mt 16:27; 19:28; 2Th 1:7; Jd 14; Rv 1:7
  3. 25:32 : Jl 3:12; Mt 24:14; 28:19; Rm 1:5; Gl 1:16
  4. 25:32 : Ezk 34:17,20; Mt 13:49
  5. 25:34 : Mt 19:29; Lk 12:32; 1Co 15:50; Gl 5:21; Jms 2:5; 1Pt 3:9; Rv 21:7
  6. 25:34 : Mt 13:35; 20:23; 1Co 2:9; Heb 4:3; 9:26; 11:16; Rv 13:8; 17:8
  7. 25:35–36 : Jb 31:32; Is 58:7; Ezk 18:7; 2Tm 1:16; Heb 13:2; Jms 1:27; 2:15–16
  8. 25:40 : Pr 19:17; Mt 10:42; 25:34; Heb 6:10
  9. 25:41 : Mt 7:23; 13:40,42; Mk 9:48; 2Pt 2:4; Jd 6–7
  10. 25:45 : Pr 14:31; 17:5; Ac 9:5
  11. 25:46 : Dn 12:2; Jn 5:21; Ac 24:15; Rm 2:7
  12. 26:1–5 : Mk 14:1–2; Lk 22:1–2; Jn 11:47–53
  13. 26:2 : Jn 11:55; 13:1
  14. 26:3 : Ps 2:2; Mt 26:57; Lk 3:2; Jn 11:47; 18:13,15; Ac 4:6
  15. 26:4 : Mt 21:46; Jn 11:53
  16. 26:6–13 : Mk 14:3–9; Jn 12:1–8
  17. 26:8 : Mt 10:1; 26:56; Mk 3:7; 16:20; Lk 6:13; Jn 12:16
  18. 26:11 : Dt 15:11; Jn 12:8
  19. 26:13 : Mt 24:14; Mk 1:1; 13:10
Christian Standard Bible (CSB)

The Christian Standard Bible. Copyright © 2017 by Holman Bible Publishers. Used by permission. Christian Standard Bible®, and CSB® are federally registered trademarks of Holman Bible Publishers, all rights reserved.

Psalm 31:9-18

9 Be gracious to me, Lord,
because I am in distress;(A)
my eyes are worn out from frustration—
my whole being[a] as well.(B)
10 Indeed, my life is consumed with grief
and my years with groaning;(C)
my strength has failed
because of my iniquity,[b]
and my bones waste away.(D)
11 I am ridiculed by all my adversaries
and even by my neighbors.
I am dreaded by my acquaintances;
those who see me in the street run from me.(E)
12 I am forgotten: gone from memory
like a dead person—like broken pottery.(F)
13 I have heard the gossip of many;
terror is on every side.(G)
When they conspired against me,
they plotted to take my life.(H)

14 But I trust in you, Lord;
I say, “You are my God.”(I)
15 The course of my life is in your power;(J)
rescue me from the power of my enemies
and from my persecutors.(K)
16 Make your face shine on your servant;(L)
save me by your faithful love.(M)
17 Lord, do not let me be disgraced when I call on you.(N)
Let the wicked be disgraced;
let them be quiet[c][d] in Sheol.(O)
18 Let lying lips(P)
that arrogantly speak against the righteous
in proud contempt be silenced.(Q)

Footnotes:

  1. 31:9 Lit my soul and my belly
  2. 31:10 LXX, Syr, Sym read affliction
  3. 31:17 LXX reads brought down
  4. 31:17 Or them wail

Cross references:

  1. 31:9 : Ps 69:17
  2. 31:9 : Ps 6:7; 63:1
  3. 31:10 : Ps 102:3
  4. 31:10 : Ps 32:3; 38:3
  5. 31:11 : Jb 19:13; Ps 38:11; 88:8,18
  6. 31:12 : Ps 88:5; Ec 9:5
  7. 31:13 : Jr 6:25; 20:10; 46:5; 49:29
  8. 31:13 : Ps 41:7; Mt 27:1
  9. 31:14 : Ps 140:6
  10. 31:15 : Jb 14:5; 24:1
  11. 31:15 : Ps 59:1
  12. 31:16 : Nm 6:25
  13. 31:16 : Ps 6:4; 119:135
  14. 31:17 : Ps 25:2–3,20
  15. 31:17 : Ps 94:17; 115:17
  16. 31:18 : Ps 120:2
  17. 31:18 : 1Sm 2:3; Ps 94:4
Christian Standard Bible (CSB)

The Christian Standard Bible. Copyright © 2017 by Holman Bible Publishers. Used by permission. Christian Standard Bible®, and CSB® are federally registered trademarks of Holman Bible Publishers, all rights reserved.

Proverbs 8:12-13

12 I, wisdom, share a home with shrewdness
and have knowledge and discretion.(A)
13 To fear the Lord is to hate evil.(B)
I hate arrogant pride, evil conduct,
and perverse speech.

Cross references:

  1. 8:12 : Pr 1:4
  2. 8:13 : Pr 16:6
Christian Standard Bible (CSB)

The Christian Standard Bible. Copyright © 2017 by Holman Bible Publishers. Used by permission. Christian Standard Bible®, and CSB® are federally registered trademarks of Holman Bible Publishers, all rights reserved.

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2/7/2023 DAB Transcript

Exodus 26:1-27:21, Matthew 25:1-30, Psalm 31:1-8, Proverbs 8:1-11

Today is the seventh day of February, welcome to the Daily Audio Bible. I am Brian. It is fantastic to be here with you and the first time in a long time, being able to say welcome to the land of the Bible. It is great to be here in Israel, where jet lag is an abundance. Fatigue is sort of the way of it, until your body clock kinda gets adjusted and then you go home and do it all over again. Great to be here with you today. Days and nights are mixed up, the whole thing, but we are getting acclimated and so many people are arriving in the land today. This evening will be our sort of inauguration dinner, our welcome dinner, first time we can all get to be together in the same place and can do some orientation and prepare ourselves. And so, looking forward to that tonight. But it is wonderful to be back in the land and I am really excited, whether in person or virtually, that we can…we can journey through the land of the Bible together and just looking forward to posting pictures and just talking about it. It’s such a, it has traditionally been such a beautiful time in the community, especially as we’re just getting going in the beginning of the year and kind of locking into the rhythm of being in the Bible every day around the Global Campfire. Coming to the land of the Bible is always kind of knit us together as a community, as we experience, experience this, jet lag. I don’t know, I don’t know if I’m coming or going. But that’s how my body works and it’s fine. That’s why we’re here, getting acclimated but it’s wonderful to be here with you today from the land of the Bible. And let's…let’s dive in and take the next step forward and our next step forward leads us back to Mount Sinai, leads us back around the mountain of God where the Lord is revealing to Moses how this…this former slave people, will become God’s chosen people and how they will be organized. So, we pick up the story, Exodus chapters 26 and 27 today.

Commentary:

Okay so, in the book of Exodus the dimensions and materials that are to be used in constructing a tabernacle are being given to Moses. This tabernacle will be like a portable, movable place for God to dwell, and we will see that as we go for this tabernacle, that we’re just talking about right now, but it will be built, but its position is to be right in the middle of the Israelite camp. In other words, God is right in the middle of you, wherever you go. And so, that’s what’s happening here and I’m reading this and just going wow. I think it’s…think it’s the day after tomorrow that we will actually be out in this wilderness and out in this wilderness is an actual kind of scale, replica of this tabernacle just kind of out there in the wilderness. And so, very soon we’ll be seeing this with our own eyes. We’ll be sure to post pictures of that but looking forward to that.

In the gospel of Matthew, it’s been a couple of days ago that Jesus and his disciples were in Jerusalem, and the disciples were marveling at the temple complex. Jesus tells them that it’s all gonna fall, like it’s all going to be destroyed. And so, they begin to ask Him about when that might happen because that seems like the end of the world to them. And He begins to tell them different things but what He’s telling them is not the date and the hour that they can expect this to happen. He’s telling them that they can see it coming if they have eyes to see and ears to hear, they can see it coming in the same way that you, that we could see summer coming. And then He begins to do some teachings to describe what this time will be like. And we spent some time discussing that yesterday. Jesus is still using examples in today’s reading to describe this time and to describe this, how the kingdom of heaven will be at this time. And so, he uses a famous parable that we probably all know from Sunday school, the parable of the 10 virgins who were waiting to meet the bridegroom. Basically, there’s like, it’s just a paragraph of the story but as a lot of beautiful tapestry kind of in the heritage. I mean in the culture there is a betrothal and engagement. Sort of, she’s spoken for, he’s spoken for, and they will be married and then the boy, the young man and his father will go and prepare a place for the new family to come and join the household. They would build this, the young man who was betrothed would now be building this space for his beloved and their future family together. So, everything that he’s building he’s got her on his mind and thinking about the future that will happen and what they’re building together, and they would get it done. And then it would be it would be up to the father of the house to decide when the time is right, when it’s time to go and get her. And maybe she’s two doors down or maybe she’s in a different village. Maybe she’s two days journey away. The father would say, it’s time to go get her son, and they would set off on this journey. Meanwhile, she’s been waiting, she doesn’t know when it’s gonna happen. She’s been waiting for his arrival and so, he goes to get her and there’s probably some kind of celebration there. But the idea is that they will come back to the place that he has prepared for them, and there will be people waiting there as well, for this celebration or even the wedding ceremony, so that they can then go into their new dwelling, consummate their marriage and begin their life together. So that’s kind of like a little bit of a backdrop to this story. These virgins are waiting for the bridegroom to arrive, and they don’t know the day or the hour. They don’t know exactly when that’s going to happen. And so, they’re waiting and what we see in this depiction is that five of the…of the virgins are waiting with extra with enough oil, like to wait as long as they need to wait, they know it’s any time, to wait as long as they have to. While the other five did not have enough to wait. And so, when the announcement comes that the bridegroom is coming, they don’t have oil for their lamps and they have to run and go, try to get some and they don’t, they can't…they can’t they weren’t ready, which is the point. Like that was the point of all of what Jesus was saying yesterday that the way you live while you discern the signs of the times is to live prepared and ready and part of the way that we live ready is how we take care of each other, how we are prepared. Jesus goes right into another famous parable. The parable of the talents and we see the same kind of criteria. A master is going away. It is unknown when he will return, the day of the hour, the day and the hour are unknown. And the parable of the talents one servant is given five talents, one servant is given two, one is given one and then we watch what they did with it while the master was away, where it was. So, we can see how this metaphor goes, what are we doing with what we have, while the master is a way because he will return, and we do not know exactly when. And so, if we begin to assume that he won’t or that we’ve got more time and we slack off or backslide, or however you. When we stop being vigilant and ready, when we stop taking care of each other then we’re not using what we have. When we watched the story of the talents, the one with the five turns it into 10, the one with the two turns it into four, like they double their master’s investment. The person with the one talent hides it in the ground because he’s afraid. And so, he gives the talent, he gives back what he was given, whereas the other two servants were able to use what they were given and make more. What are we doing with what we’ve been given? We can’t just keep waiting for more so that we can start doing what we’re supposed to do and is not just about money, it’s about taking care of each other. So, once again we have this theme of being vigilant of being prepared. We have this theme of using what we have and realizing that we are equipped. So, there’s some challenging things for sure, for us to think about as we gaze upon our own lives and our own priorities because that’s what’s supposed to happen. These parables, like that’s what’s supposed to happen, we’re supposed to be challenged into examining ourselves, asking ourselves, are we ready, are we living ready, are we taking care of each other, are we using what we have, are we prepared?

And so, Father, we invite You into that. There is absolute room for…for profound growth in each and every one of us. And the first place of growth that we ask for is that we become aware and vigilant, that we simply are able to see what we’re doing and why we’re doing it. So, that we begin to understand the inside and the outside and how those two differ in our lives, because You are making us true on the inside and the outside. Come, Holy Spirit, lead us into all truth, help us examine our hearts today. In the name of Jesus, we ask. Amen.

Announcements:

dailyaudiobible.com is home base, it is the website, and it is where you can find out what’s going on around here. You can use the Daily Audio Bible app as well, which you can download free from whatever app store works with your device. So, check that out.

And obviously what’s going on around here for the next bit, is that we are traveling through the land of the Bible and that kind of officially begins this evening and I will definitely keep us posted on what’s going on each day and what we’re doing. We will also be posting photographs and videos to the Daily Audio Bible Facebook and Instagram pages as things happen. And then, in a few days from now, this Saturday in the evening we will have a Facebook live from the land of the Bible from the Galilee, from the Sea of Galilee and we’ll just kind of share a little bit about what our experiences have been and just interact with everybody in itself. That’s always a lot of fun. So, make plans for that. And then, just asking everybody, all over the community, all over the world to cover us with your prayers: prayers for fatigue, health, safety, technology, logistics, travel. Everything about what we’re doing and may the Holy Spirit flood us with an awareness of God’s presence all around us and thank you in advance for your prayers.

If you want to partner with the Daily Audio Bible. If you find that coming around the Global Campfire each day is life-giving then thank you humbly for your partnership. There is a link on the homepage at dailyaudiobible.com. If you’re using the app, you can press the Give button in the upper right-hand corner or the mailing address is P.O. Box 1996 Springhill, Tennessee 37174.

And as always, if you have a prayer request or encouragement, you can hit the Hotline button in the app, that’s 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.

Prayer and Encouragements:

Hey, DAB it’s Refined by the Fire in Ohio. Oh, Mr. Brian, between you and your wife this week, God has certainly been honing in on some areas that He wants me to work on. So, whether it is embracing what He’s led you into, embracing the desert times, seeing what it is that God has for us just, really, really convicting this week. Thank you as always for bringing us the word but also your commentary and the spirit that just flows through you and reaches out as if He was speaking just to me and me alone, while I know, obviously there are thousands of us listening. Just several areas, if guys could pray for me this year, we are tackling, my husband and I are tackling our finances as a couple in, like a real adult way, finally, after all these years. Better late than never. And then my dad is, has dementia. He got kicked out of his nursing home and relocated to another one that honestly, I feel like I’ve just been throwing a two-year-old tantrum about not wanting to have to step up and be the person. But, you know, hello Moses, we’ll have a good chat one day. Anyway guys, I love you much and I will talk to you soon. Bye.

Hello everybody, this is God’s Smile here. My goodness, we’re in February already. And I’m just so happy because you know, springtime isn’t far away. February makes me smile; the nights are gaining light. And if you look real closely, you’ll notice it’s two minutes each night. The crocuses are peeping up, Bluebells popping up from the grand. And the perennials deck wood calls, it’s time to prune, I have colors to reveal. Oh, springtime is near, how that makes my heart skip with joy. Isn’t God’s wonderful creation a blessing? It gets richer year by year and we, the DABers, have much to share and sprinkle with each other what we learn. Thank you, Brian, Jill, China and Ezekiel. We love you, so much. God Bless. Love, God’s Smile. Kiss kiss everybody. Muah, muah, muah, muah, muah.

Hey DAB family, this is Josh from Kentucky. I’m asking for prayer for the Lord’s guidance. I’ve been dating my girlfriend for nearly two years. And I’ve just revealed like a bunch of lies, being unfaithful, continuing pornography addiction on my part. And, you know, I’ve been thinking about marriage. I just had to reveal it. She’s willing to work with me. But I just need prayers to keep my mind pure and help me to correct my wrongs. And push further into the man He wants me to be. I definitely need to learn self-worth and understand God’s grace, to do so. I ask you guys to please pray for me. Thank you.

Hi, this is Lee Lee in Missouri. I woke up this morning and I just wanna give God the praise He deserves, and I cannot praise Him enough. I’ve got ten fingers and ten toes and bloods running through them. And God’s given me what I need to get done what I need to get done. I just pray that you are doing fine, and you are doing well. And for those things that are giving you trouble, somebody just told me this morning, don’t let the happenings, stop your happiness. Don’t let, don’t, just don’t let it happen. I’m so grateful today. And for the things that you may be going through, take time to think and look around for the things you absolutely can be grateful for and that you can praise God for. I really appreciate the DAB. I really appreciate how Brian explains things, in a way that I’ve never heard before. I really appreciate it, from the bottom of my heart. Ya’ll, just have a good life right now, just, at this moment, have a good life.

God is awesomely good. Good morning DABers, today is February 2nd, 2023. This is formerly known as Allissa Marie from Dinuba, California. I no longer live in Dinuba, I am now in Fresno, and I would like to be known as Proverbs 31 Woman, as my husband lovingly calls me now. Twelve years ago, we were on our way to being a statistic of divorce. Thank God that He intervened miraculously, got ahold of us and turned us around. I humbled myself and I started interceding for my marriage and my husband and he followed. So, that’s another story for another time. Anyways, I just want to say that I really enjoyed Brian’s narrative, commentary today. Today’s reading in Exodus that the children of Israel as they started traveling in the mountainous desert and other things that they’re starting to do grumbling and complaining. But anyways, it was just so awesome. I am on my way to being 62 this year and right now I feel like I’m going through a little bit of a desert. But I’m holding on. I learned a long time ago not to grumble and complain but just to praise God and to say thank you Lord and just hold onto His word. But anyways, I fully embraced the commentary today, it was so wonderful that I forwarded it, I shared it with my daughters-in-laws and my son’s. And so, I just want to thank God for Brian and Jill and China and everyone that helps in this podcast. It’s a wonderful podcast. I thank God for that. But anyways, DABers be blessed and just always remember that God is on the throne and His word is established forever in the heavens and it shall not be moved. Heaven and earth will pass away, but his word will never pass away. And though those that have been on this journey listening to that to daily audio for the past however many years, every year is wonderful.

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The Daily Audio Bible Reading for Tuesday February 7, 2023 (NIV)

Exodus 26-27

The Tabernacle

26 “You(A) are to construct the tabernacle itself with ten curtains. You must make them of finely spun linen, and blue, purple, and scarlet yarn, with a design of cherubim worked into them. 2 Each curtain should be forty-two feet[a] long and six feet[b] wide; all the curtains are to have the same measurements. 3 Five of the curtains should be joined together, and the other five curtains joined together. 4 Make loops of blue yarn on the edge of the last curtain in the first set, and do the same on the edge of the outermost curtain in the second set. 5 Make fifty loops on the one curtain and make fifty loops on the edge of the curtain in the second set, so that the loops line up together. 6 Also make fifty gold clasps and join the curtains together with the clasps, so that the tabernacle may be a single unit.

7 “You are to make curtains of goat hair for a tent over the tabernacle; make eleven of these curtains. 8 Each curtain should be forty-five feet[c] long and six feet wide. All eleven curtains are to have the same measurements. 9 Join five of the curtains by themselves, and the other six curtains by themselves. Then fold the sixth curtain double at the front of the tent. 10 Make fifty loops on the edge of one curtain, the outermost in the first set, and make fifty loops on the edge of the corresponding curtain of the second set. 11 Make fifty bronze clasps; put the clasps through the loops and join the tent together so that it is a single unit. 12 As for the flap that remains from the tent curtains, the leftover half curtain is to hang over the back of the tabernacle. 13 What remains along the length of the tent curtains—a half yard[d] on one side and a half yard on the other side—should hang over the sides of the tabernacle on either side to cover it. 14 Make a covering for the tent from ram skins dyed red(B) and a covering of fine leather[e] on top of that.

15 “You are to make upright supports[f] of acacia wood(C) for the tabernacle. 16 Each support is to be fifteen feet[g] long and twenty-seven[h] inches wide. 17 Each support will have two tenons for joining. Do the same for all the supports of the tabernacle. 18 Make the supports for the tabernacle as follows: twenty supports for the south side, 19 and make forty silver bases under the twenty supports, two bases under the first support for its two tenons, and two bases under the next support for its two tenons; 20 twenty supports for the second side of the tabernacle, the north side, 21 along with their forty silver bases, two bases under the first support and two bases under each support; 22 and make six supports for the west side of the tabernacle. 23 Make two additional supports for the two back corners of the tabernacle. 24 They are to be paired at the bottom, and joined together[i] at the top in a single ring. So it should be for both of them; they will serve as the two corners. 25 There are to be eight supports with their silver bases: sixteen bases; two bases under the first support and two bases under each support.

26 “You are to make five crossbars of acacia wood for the supports on one side of the tabernacle, 27 five crossbars for the supports on the other side of the tabernacle, and five crossbars for the supports on the back side of the tabernacle on the west. 28 The central crossbar is to run through the middle of the supports from one end to the other. 29 Then overlay the supports with gold, and make their rings of gold as the holders for the crossbars. Also overlay the crossbars with gold. 30 You are to set up the tabernacle according to the plan for it that you have been shown on the mountain.(D)

31 “You are to make a curtain of blue, purple, and scarlet yarn, and finely spun linen with a design of cherubim worked into it.(E) 32 Hang it on four gold-plated pillars of acacia wood that have gold hooks and that stand on four silver bases. 33 Hang the curtain under the clasps[j] and bring the ark of the testimony there behind the curtain, so the curtain will make a separation for you between the holy place(F) and the most holy place. 34 Put the mercy seat on the ark of the testimony in the most holy place.(G) 35 Place the table outside the curtain and the lampstand on the south side of the tabernacle, opposite the table; put the table on the north side.(H)

36 “For the entrance to the tent you are to make a screen embroidered[k] with blue, purple, and scarlet yarn, and finely spun linen. 37 Make five pillars of acacia wood for the screen and overlay them with gold; their hooks are to be gold, and you are to cast five bronze bases for them.

The Altar of Burnt Offering

27 “You(I) are to construct the altar of acacia wood. The altar must be square, 7½ feet long, and 7½ feet wide;[l] it must be 4½ feet high.[m] 2 Make horns for it on its four corners; the horns are to be of one piece.[n] Overlay it with bronze.(J) 3 Make its pots for removing ashes, and its shovels, basins, meat forks, and firepans; make all its utensils of bronze. 4 Construct a grate for it of bronze mesh, and make four bronze rings on the mesh at its four corners. 5 Set it below, under the altar’s ledge,[o] so that the mesh comes halfway up[p] the altar. 6 Then make poles for the altar, poles of acacia wood, and overlay them with bronze. 7 The poles are to be inserted into the rings so that the poles are on two sides of the altar when it is carried. 8 Construct the altar with boards so that it is hollow. They are to make it just as it was shown to you on the mountain.(K)

The Courtyard

9 “You(L) are to make the courtyard for the tabernacle. Make hangings for the south side of the courtyard out of finely spun linen, 150 feet[q] long on that side 10 including twenty posts and twenty bronze bases, with silver hooks and silver bands[r] for the posts. 11 And so make hangings 150 feet long for the north side, including twenty posts and their twenty bronze bases, with silver hooks and silver bands for the posts. 12 For the width of the courtyard, make hangings 75 feet[s] long for the west side, including their ten posts and their ten bases. 13 And for the width of the courtyard on the east side toward the sunrise, 75 feet, 14 make hangings 22½ feet[t] long for one side of the gate, including their three posts and their three bases. 15 And make hangings 22½ feet long for the other side, including their three posts and their three bases. 16 The gate of the courtyard is to have a 30-foot[u] screen(M) embroidered[v] with blue, purple, and scarlet yarn, and finely spun linen. It is to have four posts and their four bases.

17 “All the posts around the courtyard are to be banded with silver and have silver hooks and bronze bases. 18 The courtyard is to be 150 feet long, 75 feet wide at each end, and 7½ feet high,[w] all of it made of finely spun linen. The bases of the posts are to be bronze. 19 All the utensils of the tabernacle for every use and all its tent pegs as well as all the tent pegs of the courtyard are to be made of bronze.

The Lampstand Oil

20 “You are to command the Israelites to bring you pure oil from crushed olives for the light, in order to keep the lamp burning regularly. 21 In the tent of meeting outside the curtain that is in front of the testimony,(N) Aaron and his sons are to tend the lamp(O) from evening until morning before the Lord. This is to be a permanent statute(P) for the Israelites throughout their generations.

Footnotes:

  1. 26:2 Lit 28 cubits
  2. 26:2 Lit four cubits, also in v. 8
  3. 26:8 Lit 30 cubits
  4. 26:13 Lit the cubit
  5. 26:14 Hb obscure
  6. 26:15 Or frames, or beams
  7. 26:16 Lit 10 cubits
  8. 26:16 Lit a cubit and a half
  9. 26:24 Lit and together they are to be complete
  10. 26:33 The clasps that join the ten curtains of the tabernacle; Ex 26:6
  11. 26:36 Or woven
  12. 27:1 Lit five cubits in length and five cubits in width
  13. 27:1 Lit wide; and its height three cubits
  14. 27:2 Lit piece with it
  15. 27:5 Perhaps a ledge around the altar on which the priests could stand; Lv 9:22
  16. 27:5 Or altar’s rim, so that the grid comes halfway down
  17. 27:9 Lit 100 cubits, also in v. 11
  18. 27:10 Or connecting rods, also in v. 11
  19. 27:12 Lit 50 cubits, also in v. 13
  20. 27:14 Lit 15 cubits, also in v. 15
  21. 27:16 Lit 20-cubit
  22. 27:16 Or woven
  23. 27:18 Lit be 100 by the cubit, and the width 50 by 50, and the height five cubits

Cross references:

  1. 26:1–37 : Ex 36:8–38
  2. 26:14 : Ex 25:5; 35:7; 36:19; 39:34; Nm 4:25
  3. 26:15 : Ex 25:28; 26:37; 27:1,6; 30:1,5; 35:33; 36:20; 37:15; 38:6
  4. 26:30 : Ex 25:9,40; Ac 7:44; Heb 8:5
  5. 26:31 : Ex 36:35; 2Ch 3:14; Mt 27:51; Heb 9:3
  6. 26:33 : Ex 25:16; 40:21; Lv 16:2; Heb 9:2
  7. 26:34 : Ex 25:21; 40:20; Heb 9:5
  8. 26:35 : Ex 40:22,24; Heb 9:2
  9. 27:1–8 : Ex 38:1–7; Ezk 43:13
  10. 27:2 : Nm 16:38; Ps 118:27
  11. 27:8 : Ex 25:40; 26:30
  12. 27:9–19 : Ex 38:9–20
  13. 27:16 : Ex 35:17; 38:18; 39:40; 40:8,33; Nm 3:26; 4:26
  14. 27:21 : Ex 30:8; 1Sm 3:3; 2Ch 13:11
  15. 27:21 : Ex 26:31,33; 28:43
  16. 27:21 : Ex 29:9; Lv 3:17; 16:34; Nm 18:23; 19:21
Christian Standard Bible (CSB)

The Christian Standard Bible. Copyright © 2017 by Holman Bible Publishers. Used by permission. Christian Standard Bible®, and CSB® are federally registered trademarks of Holman Bible Publishers, all rights reserved.

Matthew 25:1-30

The Parable of the Ten Virgins

25 “At that time the kingdom of heaven will be like ten virgins[a] who took their lamps[b] and went out to meet the groom.(A) 2 Five of them were foolish and five were wise.(B) 3 When the foolish took their lamps, they didn’t take oil with them; 4 but the wise ones took oil in their flasks with their lamps. 5 When the groom was delayed, they all became drowsy and fell asleep.

6 “In the middle of the night there was a shout: ‘Here’s the groom! Come out to meet him.’

7 “Then all the virgins got up and trimmed their lamps. 8 The foolish ones said to the wise ones, ‘Give us some of your oil, because our lamps are going out.’

9 “The wise ones answered, ‘No, there won’t be enough for us and for you. Go instead to those who sell oil, and buy some for yourselves.’

10 “When they had gone to buy some, the groom arrived, and those who were ready went in with him to the wedding banquet, and the door was shut.(C) 11 Later the rest of the virgins also came and said, ‘Master, master, open up for us!’

12 “He replied, ‘Truly I tell you, I don’t know you!’

13 “Therefore be alert, because you don’t know either the day or the hour.[c]

The Parable of the Talents

14 “For it is just like a man about to go on a journey.(D) He called his own servants and entrusted his possessions to them. 15 To one he gave five talents,[d] to another two talents, and to another one talent, depending on each one’s ability. Then he went on a journey.(E) Immediately 16 the man who had received five talents went, put them to work, and earned five more. 17 In the same way the man with two earned two more. 18 But the man who had received one talent went off, dug a hole in the ground, and hid his master’s money.

19 “After a long time the master of those servants came and settled accounts with them. 20 The man who had received five talents approached, presented five more talents, and said, ‘Master, you gave me five talents. See, I’ve earned five more talents.’

21 “His master said to him, ‘Well done, good and faithful servant! You were faithful over a few things; I will put you in charge of many things. Share your master’s joy.’(F)

22 “The man with two talents also approached. He said, ‘Master, you gave me two talents. See, I’ve earned two more talents.’

23 “His master said to him, ‘Well done, good and faithful servant! You were faithful over a few things; I will put you in charge of many things. Share your master’s joy.’

24 “The man who had received one talent also approached and said, ‘Master, I know you. You’re a harsh man, reaping where you haven’t sown and gathering where you haven’t scattered seed.(G) 25 So I was afraid and went off and hid your talent in the ground. See, you have what is yours.’

26 “His master replied to him, ‘You evil, lazy servant!(H) If you knew that I reap where I haven’t sown and gather where I haven’t scattered, 27 then[e] you should have deposited my money with the bankers, and I would have received my money[f] back with interest when I returned.

28 “‘So take the talent from him and give it to the one who has ten talents. 29 For to everyone who has, more will be given, and he will have more than enough. But from the one who does not have, even what he has will be taken away from him.(I) 30 And throw this good-for-nothing servant into the outer darkness,(J) where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.’

Footnotes:

  1. 25:1 Or bridesmaids
  2. 25:1 Or torches, also in vv. 3,4,7,8
  3. 25:13 Other mss add in which the Son of Man is coming.
  4. 25:15 A talent is worth about 6,000 denarii, or twenty years’ wages for a laborer
  5. 25:26–27 Or So you knew... scattered? Then (as a question)
  6. 25:27 Lit received what is mine

Cross references:

  1. 25:1 : Mt 13:24; Ac 20:8; Rv 4:5; 19:7; 21:2,9
  2. 25:2 : Mt 7:24; 10:16; 24:45
  3. 25:10 : Mt 22:2; Lk 13:25
  4. 25:14–30 : Lk 19:12–27
  5. 25:15 : Mt 18:24; Lk 19:13; Rm 12:6; 1Co 12:11; Eph 4:7
  6. 25:21 : Mt 24:45,47; Lk 12:44; 22:28; Heb 12:2
  7. 25:24 : 1Sm 25:3; 2Co 8:12
  8. 25:26 : Pr 20:4; Mt 18:32; Rm 12:11
  9. 25:29 : Mt 13:12; Mk 4:25; Lk 8:18; 19:26; Jn 15:2
  10. 25:30 : Mt 8:12; 22:13; Lk 13:28
Christian Standard Bible (CSB)

The Christian Standard Bible. Copyright © 2017 by Holman Bible Publishers. Used by permission. Christian Standard Bible®, and CSB® are federally registered trademarks of Holman Bible Publishers, all rights reserved.

Psalm 31:1-8

Psalm 31

A Plea for Protection

For the choir director. A psalm of David.

1 Lord, I seek refuge in you;
let me never be disgraced.(A)
Save me by your righteousness.
2 Listen closely to me; rescue me quickly.
Be a rock of refuge for me,
a mountain fortress to save me.(B)
3 For you are my rock and my fortress;(C)
you lead and guide me
for your name’s sake.(D)
4 You will free me from the net
that is secretly set for me,
for you are my refuge.(E)
5 Into your hand I entrust my spirit;(F)
you have redeemed me,[a] Lord, God of truth.(G)

6 I[b] hate those who are devoted to worthless idols,
but I trust in the Lord.(H)
7 I will rejoice and be glad in your faithful love
because you have seen my affliction.
You know the troubles of my soul(I)
8 and have not handed me over to the enemy.(J)
You have set my feet in a spacious place.(K)

Footnotes:

  1. 31:5 Or spirit. Redeem me
  2. 31:6 One Hb ms, LXX, Syr, Vg, Jer read You

Cross references:

  1. 31:1 : Ps 25:2
  2. 31:2 : Ps 71:1–2
  3. 31:3 : Ps 18:2; 71:3
  4. 31:3 : Ps 23:3; 25:11
  5. 31:4 : Ps 25:15; 46:1
  6. 31:5 : Lk 23:46
  7. 31:5 : Ps 25:5
  8. 31:6 : Ps 26:5; Jnh 2:8
  9. 31:7 : Ps 10:14
  10. 31:8 : Dt 32:30
  11. 31:8 : Jb 36:16
Christian Standard Bible (CSB)

The Christian Standard Bible. Copyright © 2017 by Holman Bible Publishers. Used by permission. Christian Standard Bible®, and CSB® are federally registered trademarks of Holman Bible Publishers, all rights reserved.

Proverbs 8:1-11

Wisdom’s Appeal

8 Doesn’t wisdom(A) call out?
Doesn’t understanding make her voice heard?
2 At the heights overlooking the road,
at the crossroads, she takes her stand.
3 Beside the gates(B) leading into the city,
at the main entrance, she cries out:
4 “People, I call out to you;
my cry is to the children of Adam.
5 Learn to be shrewd, you who are inexperienced;
develop common sense, you who are foolish.
6 Listen, for I speak of noble things,
and what my lips say is right.
7 For my mouth tells the truth,(C)
and wickedness is detestable to my lips.
8 All the words from my mouth are righteous;
none of them are deceptive or perverse.(D)
9 All of them are clear to the perceptive,(E)
and right to those who discover knowledge.
10 Accept my instruction instead of silver,
and knowledge rather than pure gold.(F)
11 For wisdom is better than jewels,(G)
and nothing desirable can equal it.(H)

Cross references:

  1. 8:1–3 : Pr 1:20–21; 9:3,13–15
  2. 8:3 : Jb 29:7
  3. 8:7 : Ps 37:30
  4. 8:8 : Dt 32:5; Pr 2:15; Php 2:15
  5. 8:9 : Pr 14:6
  6. 8:10 : Pr 3:14–15; 8:19; 16:16
  7. 8:11 : Jb 28:12–19
  8. 8:11 : Pr 3:15; 20:15
Christian Standard Bible (CSB)

The Christian Standard Bible. Copyright © 2017 by Holman Bible Publishers. Used by permission. Christian Standard Bible®, and CSB® are federally registered trademarks of Holman Bible Publishers, all rights reserved.

Posted on

02/06/2023 DAB Transcript

Exodus 23:14-25:40, Matthew 24:29-51, Psalms 30:1-12, Proverbs 7:24-27

Today is the 6th day of February welcome to the Daily Audio Bible I am Brian and it is great to be here with you. And this is kind of a time where I’m in two places at once. So, I’m coming to you right this moment from the rolling hills of Tennessee when I am actually arriving in Israel. And because of the time changes and all of the jostling around and the international travel and all that’s associated with that sort of stuff coming to you from the rolling hills of Tennessee and I will be with you from Israel tomorrow once we can get a little bit acclimated and a little bit set up for the excursion that we are about to go on together as a community. Tomorrow evening will be our first official gathering, our welcome dinner where we finally all arrive all blurry eyed and excited with adrenaline and exhausted from jet lag and…and we’ll get to see each other for the first time. And, so, excited about that, and very much looking forward to touring the land of the Bible together in person and as a community virtually for the first time since…since we all became familiar with a term called Covid. So, it is good to be back in the land of the Bible and I look forward to all that we will see and experience together. But the reason that we have come together around the Global Campfire today is to do what we do together every day, take the next step forward. And the next step forward leads us back into the book of Exodus. And we are around Mount Sinai. God has come to meet with the people, that has terrified the people, so much so that they’ve told Moses like, look, you you go talk to God. God can’t talk directly to us. We’ll die. You talk to God and tell us what He says and then we’ll obey you. And then God has begun to offer the instructions and statutes that will form this people together cohesively as a people, the terms under which they will live together and how they will behave toward one another. And we will notice that throughout all of this giving of the law that we will see that although there are very practical things going on everything that’s being instituted into this culture is aiming them back to God and its aiming them back to who they are and where they’ve come from and who rescued them, who God is. And, so, we pick up the story there. Exodus chapter 23 verse 14 through 25 verse 40 today.

Commentary:

Alright. So, in the book of Matthew today we’re sort of at the back end of a little discourse that Jesus began in our reading yesterday and it came about because his disciples, they were leaving Jerusalem and just kind of marveling at the construction in Jerusalem at the temple and just all of the magnificence of it all. And Jesus tells them it’s all coming down, it’s all going to be thrown down to the ground. That prophetic word did actually happen. And not too long later in 70 A.D. the Romans had had enough and they did completely destroy Jerusalem. But that’s what started this discourse. The disciples come to Jesus later when they’re on the Mount of olives and they want to know when. When is this is all going down? What will be the sign? Like, what will be the sign? If this is the end of the world, if this is all going down how will we know? And that’s when Jesus begins to talk about the times of the end. And ironically, the way that He talks about the time of the end is not to answer their question and tell them the day that this is all going to go down. He tells them how they can interpret what’s going on around them. And it’s not just how they can interpret what’s going around them so that they can discern what the sign of the times is. It’s because they have a role to play in it. There’s a posture or a way to be in it. And, so, Jesus is giving them warnings, like don’t be deceived. There’s lots of people that are gonna come and claim to be something or claim to be Me. And if somebody tells you, go over there, He’s there or come over here, it’s here, don’t believe it. Many false prophets will appear. Many people will be deceived, but…and I quote Jesus here, “but whoever endures to the end will be saved.” And that’s kind of where we were yesterday. Today He speaks of the sun being darkened, the moon doesn’t give it’s light, the stars fall from the sky, the powers of the heavens are shaken. And He’s saying these are the kinds of things to watch for. This is kind of how you know the climate of things. And He gives us a practical example. “When a fig tree has a branch that becomes tender and produces leaves, you know when that happens that summer is near.” And then He says, “in the same way when you see all these things, you know that He is near.” And then He says something that we should really hold onto because we have a tendency and have had a tendency for the last couple thousand years trying to date this, trying to figure this all out, trying to assume for sure that whatever is going on in our time is the worst it’s ever been. And, so, this must be the signs of the time. Jesus says, “no one”, and I’m quoting, “no one knows when that day and hour will be. Not the angels of heaven, not even the Son, but only the Father.” So, what is Jesus telling us here? That we can see this coming in the same way that we can see summer coming, but we can’t know precisely when, because that’s not the point. The point is that we live our lives ready, that we live our lives that it could happen at any time, that we live our lives that it could happen at any time, and we would be ready, which leads us to a little bit of a…kind of a common misreading of something that Jesus says. Jesus says. “at that time”, so this is the times that we’re talking about, “at that time two men will be in the field. One will be taken, and one will be left. Two women will be grinding at the mill. One will be taken, and one will be left. So, be alert because you do not know on what day your Lord is coming.” So, throughout my life…I mean…there are songs about this…and throughout my life I’ve read this and thought, you don’t want to be the one left behind. Actually, though, with careful reading maybe you do. And that doesn’t really have to change this ongoing meaning that there is a rescue coming. It’s just that the assumption that the one that gets taken in this little parable is what you want to be when maybe what Jesus is saying is you want to be left. So, let’s look at this. I’m quoting. I’m just reading from the Gospel of Matthew. “No one knows when that day and hour will be. Not the angels of heaven, not even the Son, but only the Father. Just as it was in the days of Noah, so it will be when the Son of Man returns. In fact, in the days before the flood, people were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, until the very day that Noah entered the ark, and they did not realize what was coming until the flood came and took them all away. That is how it will be when the Son of Man returns.” So, if that’s the backdrop to the story that Jesus is telling then they did not realize what was coming until the flood came and took them all away. That’s how it will be when the Son of Man returns. And then Jesus says, “at that time two men will be in the field. One will be taken, and one will be left. Two women will be grinding at the mill. One will be taken, and one will be left.” So, it…I mean that’s like one sentence removed from Jesus saying, “they did not realize what was coming until the flood came and took them all away.” So, like I said, the meaning is not being changed here it’s just…it seems like what Jesus is saying is you want to be routed, you don’t want to be swept away, you don’t want to be taken. You want to be left. And believe me, I know this tweaks with sentiment, so much of our modern interpretation and our well-formed understanding of the times of the end. But the point in bringing this out is the point of what Jesus is making, nobody knows, not even the Son, but only the Father which is quoted out of the Bible. The point Jesus is making is how we live while we’re waiting. And I quote again from Matthew. “At that time two men will be in the field. One will be taken, and one will be left. Two women will be grinding at the mill. One will be taken, and one will be left. So, be alert because you do not know on what day your Lord is coming. Understand this. If the master of the house had known what time of the night the thief was coming, he would’ve stayed awake and would not have let his house be broken into”, right? He would have been ready. “You also need to be ready for this reason. The Son of Man is coming at an hour when you do not expect Him.” That is the point of what Jesus is saying. And then He goes on. “Who then is the faithful and wise servant whom his master has put in charge of his household to give them their food at the proper time?” Who did the master put in charge to take care of each other, to take care of the people? “Blessed is that servant, whom his master finds doing this when he returns.” Taking care of people. “Amen I tell you. He will put him in charge of all that He has”, right? The person that is a ready, the person that is taking care of people, the person that is trustworthy, alert and aware. “But”, Jesus says. “if that servant is wicked and says in his heart, my master’s staying away a long time.” Like, is he coming back? He hasn’t come back for 2000 years. Is he really coming back? “And he begins to not take care of others. He begins to beat his fellow servants and eats and drinks with drunkards. The master of that servant will return on a day when he does not expect it and at an hour he does not know. The master will cut him in two and assign him a place with hypocrites, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.” This is about being ready. And part of being ready is how we take care of each other. And if taking care of each other isn’t even a category on our radar then we’re not ready. And, so, let’s give it some thought today. Maybe even crack open the Bible and go back and ponder the 24th chapter of Matthew, for ourselves, and wrestle with it for ourselves and allow the Bible to do what the Scriptures do, challenge us, reprioritize, change things around, set us on a path that leads to wisdom and lead us on the pathways of truth.

Prayer:

Father, that is what we are asking for, that is what we continually ask for, that Your Holy Spirit would come and lead us into all truth and plant in us what needs to grow and take from us what needs to not be there. Show us and lead us into what it looks like for us to be aware and awake and alert and ready in the name of Jesus, we ask. Amen.

Announcements:

dailyaudiobible.com is a home base. That is where you can find out what’s going on around here. You can also use the Daily Audio Bible app, which you can download free from whatever app store works with your device. And, so, check that out.

Obviously, what is going on around here is we are preparing to go on pilgrimage in the land of the Bible. And, so, obviously we’ll be talking about that as we go through the process. We’ll be talking about that, each day what we’re doing and what we’re gonna do, what we’re seeing or experiencing. We’ll also be posting photographs, maybe videos of some of the different goings on as we do the journey together. And we’ll be posting those on the Daily Audio Bible Facebook page. And, so, knowing about the Community section in the website or on the app, that’s where to find those links to things like Facebook and Instagram etc. etc. And, so, we’ll be posting to these places as things happen. And you can kinda just follow along and interact with each other there and then we’ll talk about it each day. And then on Saturday when we get ourselves arrived…well…in the Galilee area, that evening we’ll do a Facebook live from the land of the Bible. And, so, watch for that. I think that’s planned for 7:30 PM local time. And since we’re all over the world that’s like all different times all over the place, but you could easily Google like the difference between Tel Aviv and your location and find the difference and then you can join with us and will look forward to that. So, just asking for your prayers. We are arriving. There is a wall of jet lag that has to be overcome by everybody when you move so many hours different than what your body clock is used to and then there’s a lot of logistics a lot of technology a lot that…that we’re ready for and asking God’s blessing over but definitely asking for the community to cover us all in prayer as we move through the land of the Bible together. And thank you deeply for your prayers.

If you want partner with the Daily Audio Bible, if what we do as we gather each day and take a step forward in the Scriptures and process it together and consider it together, if that is life-giving to you than thank you for your partnership. We wouldn’t be here if we weren’t…if we weren’t taking the journey together. And, so, thank you profoundly and with all humility. There is a link on the homepage dailyaudiobible.com. If you’re using the 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, 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:

Coming soon…

Posted on

02/06/2023 DAB Transcript

Exodus 23:14-25:40, Matthew 24:29-51, Psalms 30:1-12, Proverbs 7:24-27

Today is the 6th day of February welcome to the Daily Audio Bible I am Brian and it is great to be here with you. And this is kind of a time where I’m in two places at once. So, I’m coming to you right this moment from the rolling hills of Tennessee when I am actually arriving in Israel. And because of the time changes and all of the jostling around and the international travel and all that’s associated with that sort of stuff coming to you from the rolling hills of Tennessee and I will be with you from Israel tomorrow once we can get a little bit acclimated and a little bit set up for the excursion that we are about to go on together as a community. Tomorrow evening will be our first official gathering, our welcome dinner where we finally all arrive all blurry eyed and excited with adrenaline and exhausted from jet lag and…and we’ll get to see each other for the first time. And, so, excited about that, and very much looking forward to touring the land of the Bible together in person and as a community virtually for the first time since…since we all became familiar with a term called Covid. So, it is good to be back in the land of the Bible and I look forward to all that we will see and experience together. But the reason that we have come together around the Global Campfire today is to do what we do together every day, take the next step forward. And the next step forward leads us back into the book of Exodus. And we are around Mount Sinai. God has come to meet with the people, that has terrified the people, so much so that they’ve told Moses like, look, you you go talk to God. God can’t talk directly to us. We’ll die. You talk to God and tell us what He says and then we’ll obey you. And then God has begun to offer the instructions and statutes that will form this people together cohesively as a people, the terms under which they will live together and how they will behave toward one another. And we will notice that throughout all of this giving of the law that we will see that although there are very practical things going on everything that’s being instituted into this culture is aiming them back to God and its aiming them back to who they are and where they’ve come from and who rescued them, who God is. And, so, we pick up the story there. Exodus chapter 23 verse 14 through 25 verse 40 today.

Commentary:

Alright. So, in the book of Matthew today we’re sort of at the back end of a little discourse that Jesus began in our reading yesterday and it came about because his disciples, they were leaving Jerusalem and just kind of marveling at the construction in Jerusalem at the temple and just all of the magnificence of it all. And Jesus tells them it’s all coming down, it’s all going to be thrown down to the ground. That prophetic word did actually happen. And not too long later in 70 A.D. the Romans had had enough and they did completely destroy Jerusalem. But that’s what started this discourse. The disciples come to Jesus later when they’re on the Mount of olives and they want to know when. When is this is all going down? What will be the sign? Like, what will be the sign? If this is the end of the world, if this is all going down how will we know? And that’s when Jesus begins to talk about the times of the end. And ironically, the way that He talks about the time of the end is not to answer their question and tell them the day that this is all going to go down. He tells them how they can interpret what’s going on around them. And it’s not just how they can interpret what’s going around them so that they can discern what the sign of the times is. It’s because they have a role to play in it. There’s a posture or a way to be in it. And, so, Jesus is giving them warnings, like don’t be deceived. There’s lots of people that are gonna come and claim to be something or claim to be Me. And if somebody tells you, go over there, He’s there or come over here, it’s here, don’t believe it. Many false prophets will appear. Many people will be deceived, but…and I quote Jesus here, “but whoever endures to the end will be saved.” And that’s kind of where we were yesterday. Today He speaks of the sun being darkened, the moon doesn’t give it’s light, the stars fall from the sky, the powers of the heavens are shaken. And He’s saying these are the kinds of things to watch for. This is kind of how you know the climate of things. And He gives us a practical example. “When a fig tree has a branch that becomes tender and produces leaves, you know when that happens that summer is near.” And then He says, “in the same way when you see all these things, you know that He is near.” And then He says something that we should really hold onto because we have a tendency and have had a tendency for the last couple thousand years trying to date this, trying to figure this all out, trying to assume for sure that whatever is going on in our time is the worst it’s ever been. And, so, this must be the signs of the time. Jesus says, “no one”, and I’m quoting, “no one knows when that day and hour will be. Not the angels of heaven, not even the Son, but only the Father.” So, what is Jesus telling us here? That we can see this coming in the same way that we can see summer coming, but we can’t know precisely when, because that’s not the point. The point is that we live our lives ready, that we live our lives that it could happen at any time, that we live our lives that it could happen at any time, and we would be ready, which leads us to a little bit of a…kind of a common misreading of something that Jesus says. Jesus says. “at that time”, so this is the times that we’re talking about, “at that time two men will be in the field. One will be taken, and one will be left. Two women will be grinding at the mill. One will be taken, and one will be left. So, be alert because you do not know on what day your Lord is coming.” So, throughout my life…I mean…there are songs about this…and throughout my life I’ve read this and thought, you don’t want to be the one left behind. Actually, though, with careful reading maybe you do. And that doesn’t really have to change this ongoing meaning that there is a rescue coming. It’s just that the assumption that the one that gets taken in this little parable is what you want to be when maybe what Jesus is saying is you want to be left. So, let’s look at this. I’m quoting. I’m just reading from the Gospel of Matthew. “No one knows when that day and hour will be. Not the angels of heaven, not even the Son, but only the Father. Just as it was in the days of Noah, so it will be when the Son of Man returns. In fact, in the days before the flood, people were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, until the very day that Noah entered the ark, and they did not realize what was coming until the flood came and took them all away. That is how it will be when the Son of Man returns.” So, if that’s the backdrop to the story that Jesus is telling then they did not realize what was coming until the flood came and took them all away. That’s how it will be when the Son of Man returns. And then Jesus says, “at that time two men will be in the field. One will be taken, and one will be left. Two women will be grinding at the mill. One will be taken, and one will be left.” So, it…I mean that’s like one sentence removed from Jesus saying, “they did not realize what was coming until the flood came and took them all away.” So, like I said, the meaning is not being changed here it’s just…it seems like what Jesus is saying is you want to be routed, you don’t want to be swept away, you don’t want to be taken. You want to be left. And believe me, I know this tweaks with sentiment, so much of our modern interpretation and our well-formed understanding of the times of the end. But the point in bringing this out is the point of what Jesus is making, nobody knows, not even the Son, but only the Father which is quoted out of the Bible. The point Jesus is making is how we live while we’re waiting. And I quote again from Matthew. “At that time two men will be in the field. One will be taken, and one will be left. Two women will be grinding at the mill. One will be taken, and one will be left. So, be alert because you do not know on what day your Lord is coming. Understand this. If the master of the house had known what time of the night the thief was coming, he would’ve stayed awake and would not have let his house be broken into”, right? He would have been ready. “You also need to be ready for this reason. The Son of Man is coming at an hour when you do not expect Him.” That is the point of what Jesus is saying. And then He goes on. “Who then is the faithful and wise servant whom his master has put in charge of his household to give them their food at the proper time?” Who did the master put in charge to take care of each other, to take care of the people? “Blessed is that servant, whom his master finds doing this when he returns.” Taking care of people. “Amen I tell you. He will put him in charge of all that He has”, right? The person that is a ready, the person that is taking care of people, the person that is trustworthy, alert and aware. “But”, Jesus says. “if that servant is wicked and says in his heart, my master’s staying away a long time.” Like, is he coming back? He hasn’t come back for 2000 years. Is he really coming back? “And he begins to not take care of others. He begins to beat his fellow servants and eats and drinks with drunkards. The master of that servant will return on a day when he does not expect it and at an hour he does not know. The master will cut him in two and assign him a place with hypocrites, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.” This is about being ready. And part of being ready is how we take care of each other. And if taking care of each other isn’t even a category on our radar then we’re not ready. And, so, let’s give it some thought today. Maybe even crack open the Bible and go back and ponder the 24th chapter of Matthew, for ourselves, and wrestle with it for ourselves and allow the Bible to do what the Scriptures do, challenge us, reprioritize, change things around, set us on a path that leads to wisdom and lead us on the pathways of truth.

Prayer:

Father, that is what we are asking for, that is what we continually ask for, that Your Holy Spirit would come and lead us into all truth and plant in us what needs to grow and take from us what needs to not be there. Show us and lead us into what it looks like for us to be aware and awake and alert and ready in the name of Jesus, we ask. Amen.

Announcements:

dailyaudiobible.com is a home base. That is where you can find out what’s going on around here. You can also use the Daily Audio Bible app, which you can download free from whatever app store works with your device. And, so, check that out.

Obviously, what is going on around here is we are preparing to go on pilgrimage in the land of the Bible. And, so, obviously we’ll be talking about that as we go through the process. We’ll be talking about that, each day what we’re doing and what we’re gonna do, what we’re seeing or experiencing. We’ll also be posting photographs, maybe videos of some of the different goings on as we do the journey together. And we’ll be posting those on the Daily Audio Bible Facebook page. And, so, knowing about the Community section in the website or on the app, that’s where to find those links to things like Facebook and Instagram etc. etc. And, so, we’ll be posting to these places as things happen. And you can kinda just follow along and interact with each other there and then we’ll talk about it each day. And then on Saturday when we get ourselves arrived…well…in the Galilee area, that evening we’ll do a Facebook live from the land of the Bible. And, so, watch for that. I think that’s planned for 7:30 PM local time. And since we’re all over the world that’s like all different times all over the place, but you could easily Google like the difference between Tel Aviv and your location and find the difference and then you can join with us and will look forward to that. So, just asking for your prayers. We are arriving. There is a wall of jet lag that has to be overcome by everybody when you move so many hours different than what your body clock is used to and then there’s a lot of logistics a lot of technology a lot that…that we’re ready for and asking God’s blessing over but definitely asking for the community to cover us all in prayer as we move through the land of the Bible together. And thank you deeply for your prayers.

If you want partner with the Daily Audio Bible, if what we do as we gather each day and take a step forward in the Scriptures and process it together and consider it together, if that is life-giving to you than thank you for your partnership. We wouldn’t be here if we weren’t…if we weren’t taking the journey together. And, so, thank you profoundly and with all humility. There is a link on the homepage dailyaudiobible.com. If you’re using the 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, 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:

Coming soon…

Posted on

The Daily Audio Bible Reading for Monday February 6, 2023 (NIV)

Exodus 23:14-25:40

14 I want you to celebrate a feast in My honor three times a year. 15 First, celebrate the Feast of Unleavened Bread. As I instructed you before, you are to eat only bread made without yeast for the seven feast days beginning at the appointed time in the month of Abib, for that is when you fled out of Egypt. During this time, no one is to come before Me without some offering. 16 Second, celebrate the Feast of Harvest in the spring when you bring to Me the first and best of the wheat crop you planted in the field. Third, celebrate the Feast of Ingathering at the end of the harvest season when you gather your crops from the fields, orchards, and groves. 17 All of your men must come before the Eternal your Lord, these three times a year.

18 When you make offerings before Me, do not present any bread made with yeast along with an animal sacrifice. Do not let the fat of the sacrifice remain until the next morning. 19 Bring only the best crops from your first harvest into the house of the Eternal your God. You must not boil a baby goat in its mother’s milk.

20 Look! I am going to send a heavenly messenger before you to protect you during your journey and lead you safely to the place I have prepared for you. 21 Pay attention to all he shows you and obey whatever he tells you. Do not cause him any trouble. He will not forgive you if you rebel against him for he carries My name in him.

The Hebrews follow a lunar calendar that has 11 fewer days than the solar calendar. Since it has only 354 days in the year, an extra month (a “leap” month) is added periodically to bring the dates into alignment with the seasons. Within this annual cycle, God sets aside several great feasts for the people to celebrate. The people are to honor their God by having days of pure rejoicing as they recall their rescue from Egypt and God’s ongoing provision. In keeping with the needs of an agricultural people, these feasts are situated around the harvests: first, the collection of the winter grains; second, the harvest of the other grains 50 days later; third, the gathering of the main crops of the field.

MonthLengthDate of CelebrationModern Months
Nisan3014 PassoverMarch/April
15-21 Unleavened Bread
16 Firstfruits
Iyyar29April/May
Sivan306 Pentecost (Weeks)May/June
Tammuz29June/July
Ab30July/August
Elul29August/September
Tishri301-2 Rosh Hashanah (New Year)September/October
10 Day of Atonement
15 Ingathering (7 days)
Heshvan29 or 30October/November
Chislev29 or 3025 (8 days) HanukkahNovember/December
Tebeth29December/January
Shebat30January/February
Adar29 or 3014-15 PurimFebruary/March
Veadar*29February/March

* (added 7 of every 19 years)

22 If you are obedient to his voice and follow all of My instructions, then I will be an enemy to all of those who are against you, and I will oppose all those who oppose you. 23 When My messenger moves ahead of you and leads you to the land of the Amorites, Hittites, Perizzites, Canaanites, Hivites, and Jebusites—I will annihilate them. 24 Do not bow down to their gods, worship, or serve them in any way. Do not engage in any of their wicked practices. Instead, you must destroy every idol you find and shatter their sacred pillars into tiny pieces.

25 Worship and serve only the Eternal your God, and I will bless you with an ample supply of wholesome food and clean water. I will take away all sickness from you, 26 prevent miscarriages and barrenness, and give you long, productive lives. 27 My fear and My dread will move ahead of you, and wherever you go people will greet you with panic and confusion. I will see to it that all of your enemies turn and run from you. 28 I will unleash hornets ahead of you; and they will drive out the Hivites, Canaanites, and Hittites from the land before you. 29 Now I will not do all this in a single year, because the land would become a wasteland, overpopulated with wild animals that would roam unchecked. 30 Rather, I will drive them out a little at a time—a few here, a few there—until your numbers grow and you are strong enough to take over the land and its care. 31 I will set your borders from the Red Sea to the Mediterranean Sea west of where the Philistines live and from the desert to the Euphrates River. I will give to you all those who inhabit the land, and you will drive them all out. 32 But do not make a covenant-treaty with them or agree to serve their gods. 33 They must not be allowed to live in your land; otherwise they will cause you to sin against Me, the only True God. If you serve their gods, you will be trapped and be drawn into sin.

24 Eternal One (to Moses): Come up the mountain to Me, Moses, and this time bring with you Aaron, Nadab, Abihu, and 70 elders of Israel. These may come, but you must worship from a distance. 2 Only Moses is permitted to approach Me; but be careful, for the others must stay at a distance. The rest of the people of Israel must stay below; they are not to come up the mountain with you.

3 Moses then went and told the people exactly what the Eternal had said, and he carefully laid out God’s instructions. All the people answered as if they had one, single voice.

People (answering together): We will do all that the Eternal has asked us to do!

4 Moses wrote down in great detail everything that the Eternal had said. Then early the next morning he woke up and constructed an altar at the foot of the mountain and erected twelve stone pillars.[a] Each pillar represented one of the twelve tribes of Israel.

5 Moses directed some of the young men of Israel to offer burnt offerings and sacrifice young bulls as peace offerings to the Eternal. 6 He gathered half of the blood from the animals and filled the basins with it. He sprinkled the other half of the blood against the altar. 7 Then Moses took the book of the covenant—the very instructions spoken to him by God—and read it aloud so all the people could hear.

People (responding): We will do all that the Eternal has said! We will obey every word of His command!

8 Moses took the blood of the sacrifices and sprinkled it on the gathered people.

Moses (to the people): Look! Here is the blood signifying the covenant that God has established with you according to all He has said and all we have promised.

9 Then Moses took Aaron, Nadab, Abihu, and 70 of Israel’s elders and went up the mountain. 10 There they saw Israel’s God. Beneath His feet, there appeared to be paving stones of sapphire, as pure and clear as the sky above. 11 But God did not raise His hand against the leaders of Israel to strike them down. They beheld the True God, and they feasted and drank in His presence.

Eternal One (to Moses): 12 Come up the mountain to Me and stay here with Me for a while. I will give you stone tablets inscribed with My law and commandments in order to provide instruction and guidance for the people.

13 So Moses and his assistant, Joshua, got up and began the long climb up toward the summit of the mountain of God.

Moses (to the elders): 14 Wait here for our return. Aaron and Hur will stay with you. If anyone has a complaint, then they can speak to them.

15-16 Moses[b] made his way up the mountain. A thick cloud blanketed the mountain because the Eternal’s glory had settled upon it. The cloud stayed there for six days; and when the seventh day arrived, the Eternal spoke to Moses from the cloud.

17 For the Israelites below, the Eternal’s glory appeared to be a consuming fire on the top of the mountain. 18 As Moses walked further toward the top, he was swallowed by the cloud of God’s glory, and he remained there for a total of 40 days and 40 nights.

From above God’s glory appears as a cloud. From below it appears as a fire. As with the burning bush earlier on Mount Sinai, the mountain seems to burn but is not consumed.

25 Then the Eternal spoke to Moses.

Eternal One (to Moses): 2-3 Instruct the Israelites to bring Me a sacred offering. All those whose hearts move them are to make an offering to the One who delivered them from bondage. You should accept only the finest things: gold, silver, and bronze metals; 4 blue, purple, and scarlet thread and fabric; fine linen and goat-hair garments; 5 ram skins (dyed red) and sea-cow[c] leathers; acacia wood; 6 olive oil for the lamps; spices for anointing oil and incense; and 7 onyx and other gems for the ceremonial vestment and the breast piece worn by the high priest.

8 Direct them to build a holy sanctuary in My honor so that I can dwell among them. 9 Instruct the people to follow the pattern I am about to show you for the congregation tent and its furnishings.

10 I want them to build a covenant chest made from acacia wood. It should be 45 inches long, 27 inches wide, and 27 inches high. 11 Overlay it inside and out with pure gold, and decorate it with gold trim around the outside. 12 Cast four gold rings and attach them to the four corners—two rings on each side. 13 Also, make poles out of acacia wood and overlay them with pure gold. 14 Slide the poles through the rings on the chest in order to carry it. 15 The poles must remain in the rings of the chest at all times; they are not to be removed. 16 Inside the chest you are to store the stone tablets that I will give you as a witness to our agreement. 17 Build a cover for the chest out of pure gold. It will be known as the seat of mercy—where sins are atoned—and it should be 45 inches long and 27 inches wide. 18-19 Fashion two winged guardians[d] out of hammered gold, and place them at both ends of the seat of mercy. Put one winged guardian at each end, but have your artisans make them appear as one solid piece with the cover. 20 The guardians must face one another with bowed heads, their wings spread so that they reach up and cover the seat of mercy. 21 After you put the stone tablets that I will give you as a witness to our agreement in the chest, place the seat of mercy—where sins are atoned—as a lid to cover the chest. 22 I will meet with you there. I will speak to you from above the seat of mercy between the two winged creatures that sit atop the covenant chest. From there, I will speak to you about all the commands and instructions I have for the people of Israel.

23 I want you to build a table made of acacia wood. It should be 36 inches long, 18 inches wide, and 27 inches high. 24 Overlay it with pure gold, and decorate it with gold trim around the edge. 25 Put a three-inch-wide[e] rim around it, and place gold trim around the rim. 26 Then make four gold rings, and attach them to each of the table’s four corners at its four legs. 27 The rings need to be near the rim, so that they can hold the poles that carry the table. 28 Make the poles out of acacia wood and overlay them with gold. You will use them to carry the table.

29 Have your artisans make different kinds of dishes for the table—platters, pans, pitchers, and bowls—out of pure gold. 30 Place the bread of the Presence on the table and keep it before Me at all times.

This table is to be placed in a special room of the congregation tent with the elements symbolic of God’s place among His people. One of the major elements is the bread of the Presence; it is arranged in two rows of six flat loaves representing the twelve sons of Israel. There is also a pan for holding incense and pitchers for fine wine; all these elements remind God’s people of His loving grace. The golden lampstand stands nearby, bathing the room and its contents in warm light. This special room and all it contains stimulate the senses—sight, smell, touch, and taste—and serve to remind those who enter of God’s tangible blessings.

Eternal One: 31 Fashion a lampstand out of pure, hammered gold. Make it and all its parts—its base, trunk, branches, decorative buds and blossoms, and lamp cups—out of one solid piece. 32 Six branches will extend from the trunk’s sides—three on one side and three on the other. 33 Each of the six branches will have three decorative cups shaped like almond blossoms whose buds have just flowered. 34 On the trunk of the lampstand, there are to be four cups shaped like almond blossoms whose buds have just flowered. 35 A single almond bud will sit beneath each pair of branches extending out from the trunk of the lampstand. 36 All the buds and branches are to be crafted out of pure, hammered gold and made to look as one solid piece. 37 Make seven lamps for the lampstand, and position them so that they illuminate the area in front of it. 38 The tools and accessories for trimming the wicks and caring for the lamps are to be made of pure gold as well. 39 The lampstand and all its accessories will require 75 pounds[f] of your finest gold. 40 Be sure that you make the covenant chest, table, lampstand and all their accessories according to the pattern I have shown you on the mountain.[g]

Footnotes:

  1. 24:4 Other manuscripts read, “stones.”
  2. 24:15-16 Greek manuscripts add, “and Joshua.”
  3. 25:5 The exact type of animal skin is uncertain.
  4. 25:18–19 Hebrew, cherubim
  5. 25:25 Hebrew handbreadth is about 3 inches.
  6. 25:39 Or one talent of gold
  7. 25:40 Hebrews 8:5
The Voice (VOICE)

The Voice Bible Copyright © 2012 Thomas Nelson, Inc. The Voice™ translation © 2012 Ecclesia Bible Society All rights reserved.

Matthew 24:29-51

29 And as the prophets have foretold it: after the distress of those days,

The sun will grow dark,
and the moon will be hidden.
The stars will fall from the sky,
and all the powers in the heavens will be dislodged and shaken from their places.[a]

30 That is when the sign of the Son of Man will appear in the sky. All the nations of the earth will mourn. They will see the Son of Man coming; they will see Him powerful and glorious, riding on chariots of clouds in the sky. 31 With a loud trumpet call, He will send out battalions of heavenly messengers; and they will gather His beloved faithful elect from the four corners of creation, from one end of heaven to the other.

32 Now think of the fig tree. As soon as its twigs get tender and greenish, as soon as it begins to sprout leaves, you know to expect summer. 33 In the same way, when you see the wars and the suffering and the false liberators and the desolations, you will know the Son of Man is near—right at the door. 34 I tell you this: this generation will see all these things take place before it passes away. 35 My words are always true and always here with you. Heaven and earth will pass away, but My words will never pass away.

36 No one knows the hour or the day, not even the messengers in heaven, not even the Son. Only the Father knows. 37 As it was at the time of Noah, so it will be with the coming of the Son of Man. 38 In the days before the flood, people were busy making lives for themselves: they were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, making plans and having children and growing old, until the day Noah entered the ark. 39 Those people had no idea what was coming; they knew nothing about the floods until the floods were upon them, sweeping them all away. That is how it will be with the coming of the Son of Man. 40 Two men will be plowing a field: one will be taken, and the other will be left in the field. 41 Two women will be somewhere grinding at a mill: one will be taken, and the other will be left at the mill.

42 So keep watch. You don’t know when your Lord will come. 43 But you should know this: If the owner of a house had known his house was about to be broken into, he would have stayed up all night, vigilantly. He would have kept watch, and he would have thwarted the thief. 44 So you must be ready because you know the Son of Man will come, but you can’t know precisely when.

45 The trustworthy servant is the one whom the master puts in charge of all the servants of his household; it is the trustworthy servant who not only oversees all the work, but also ensures the servants are properly fed and cared for. 46 And it is, of course, crucial that a servant who is given such responsibility performs his responsibility to his master’s standards—so when the master returns he finds his trust has been rewarded. 47 For then the master will put that good servant in charge of all his possessions. 48 But imagine that the master’s trust was misplaced, that the supposedly responsible servant is actually a thief who says to himself, “My master has been gone so long, he is not possibly coming back.” 49 Then he beats his fellow servants and dines and drinks with drunkards. 50 Well, when the master returns—as certainly he will—the servant will be caught unawares. The master will return on a day and at an hour when he isn’t expected. 51 And he will cut his worthless servant into pieces and throw him out into darkness with the hypocrites, where there is weeping and grinding of teeth.

Footnotes:

  1. 24:29 Isaiah 13:10; 34:4
The Voice (VOICE)

The Voice Bible Copyright © 2012 Thomas Nelson, Inc. The Voice™ translation © 2012 Ecclesia Bible Society All rights reserved.

Psalm 30

Psalm 30

A song of David. For the dedication of the temple.

1 I praise You, Eternal One. You lifted me out of that deep, dark pit
and denied my opponents the pleasure of rubbing in their success.
2 Eternal One, my True God, I cried out to You for help;
You mended the shattered pieces of my life.
3 You lifted me from the grave with a mighty hand,
gave me another chance,
and saved me from joining those in that dreadful pit.

4 Sing, all you who remain faithful!
Pour out your hearts to the Eternal with praise and melodies;
let grateful music fill the air and bless His name.
5 His wrath, you see, is fleeting,
but His grace lasts a lifetime.
The deepest pains may linger through the night,
but joy greets the soul with the smile of morning.

6 When things were quiet and life was easy, I said in arrogance,
“Nothing can shake me.”
7 By Your grace, Eternal,
I thought I was as strong as a mountain;
But when You left my side and hid away,
I crumbled in fear.

8 O Eternal One, I called out to You;
I pleaded for Your compassion and forgiveness:
9 “I’m no good to You dead! What benefits come from my rotting corpse?
My body in the grave will not praise You.
No songs will rise up from the dust of my bones.
From dust comes no proclamation of Your faithfulness.
10 Hear me, Eternal Lord—please help me,
Eternal One—be merciful!”

11 You did it: You turned my deepest pains into joyful dancing;
You stripped off my dark clothing
and covered me with joyful light.
12 You have restored my honor. My heart is ready to explode, erupt in new songs!
It’s impossible to keep quiet!
Eternal One, my God, my Life-Giver, I will thank You forever.

The Voice (VOICE)

The Voice Bible Copyright © 2012 Thomas Nelson, Inc. The Voice™ translation © 2012 Ecclesia Bible Society All rights reserved.

Proverbs 7:24-27

24 This is why it is so important that you listen to me, my sons,
and pay attention to all I am telling you.
25 Do not let your mind wonder about her ways;
do not lose yourself and drift down her path,
26 For she’s claimed one life after another,
victim after victim, too many to count.
27 Her house is the gateway to the grave;
every step toward her is a step toward death’s dark chamber.

The Voice (VOICE)

The Voice Bible Copyright © 2012 Thomas Nelson, Inc. The Voice™ translation © 2012 Ecclesia Bible Society All rights reserved.

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2/5/2023 DAB Transcript

Exodus 21:22-23:13, Matthew 24:1-28, Psalm 29:1-11, Proverbs 7:6-23

Today is the fifth day of February, welcome to the Daily Audio Bible. I am Brian, it is great to be here with you today as we greet a…a shiny, sparkly week out in front of us. A busy week it will be indeed, for us, later this afternoon, and all through this evening and all night, we will be journeying to the land of the Bible, from the rolling hills of Tennessee, all the way over to Tel Aviv, where we will be preparing to begin our 2023 tour of the land of the Bible. And that will indeed, be a community experience. There will certainly be a couple of buses of us there, but we will be talking about what we’re doing and where we’re going and how we’re getting along and what’s up and posting pictures on social media, of what we’re doing and where we are. And then, later, about a week from now, we’ll have a live broadcast. Once we…once we make it to the Galilee, we’ll be doing that. So, we’ll be talking about all this stuff as we go. I’m just, I’ve got all these like jitters, you know, like am I forgetting something, do I have everything packed, am I ready because it’s not like you can just run down the street to the local whatever store to get what you need. So, thank you for your prayers. And we’re looking forward to that. But that’s not until later, and so, this is now, and let us take the next step forward in the Scriptures. We’ve got ourselves a brand-new week here, we’ll read from the EHV, the Evangelical Heritage Version this week. And of course, picking up right where we left off yesterday, Exodus chapter 21 verse 22, through 23 verse 13.

Prayer:

Father, we thank You for Your word. We thank You for this brand-new, shiny week. We thank You for resets, we thank You that Your and mercies are new every morning, and that every day is a reset. We thank You for Your kindness and Your patience with us, as we continue to grow and mature. And Father, as this week is a week of traveling, and…and…and immersing ourselves in the land of the Bible, we pray for all of those who will be boarding planes and traveling far, and we pray for ourselves. We have to do the same thing, tonight. So, Holy Spirit, come cover in and among us, over all of the details, over all of the logistics, over all of the moving parts, as we navigate to another part of the world and immerse ourselves in the places that the Bible happened. We ask that You would change us, that this would mark us, that this would change us, irreversibly that we would never see the Bible the same again. Come, Holy Spirit, we pray into all of these coming days. Whether we are in the land or whether we are there, virtually as a community together, make this an important part of our journey, an important part of our year, an important part of our understanding of the Scriptures. We pray in the name of Jesus, we ask. Amen.

Prayer and Encouragements:

Good day, Daily Audio Bible community, my brothers and sisters. This is Kacey, the Single-Minded Plumber. I’m feeling inadequate, as a father. A lot of you guys know, when I first started listening and calling in, I was an alcoholic, my wife was an alcoholic. We were alcoholics for almost a decade raising children. And I was just hoping that some of you guys might help me pray to be a better father. Feeling lacking as a parent. And there is so much that I can’t do, that I can’t defend for the kids. I am just not good enough. But I know someone who is and I’m hoping you’ll ask the Lord if He could help me be a better parent. But I help, my brave boy Bradley, feel included in my family. And that my son Derek isn’t so mad a lot of the time, cause he sees me mad, lot of the time. And my daughters, Hannah and Heaven, don’t pursue gender dysphoria, cutting. Thank you, guys, I love you.

Good evening, this is Pray without Ceasing in Atlanta. Today is January 31st. I am finishing up the January 21st prayer and encouragement. I just wanted to reiterate for the others, who like me, missing and pray with and for the callers who cry and rejoice with the callers. And sometimes we just shake our heads because we have no words. We don’t’ always call in to let our family know that we are praying but we do call to God, the God of all possibility, on your behalf. And often we get to pray more than once when we hear someone else praying for you. So, I just wanted to let it be known that though you may not hear us, we are on the other side praying for you and thinking of you and caring about you and loving you from a distance. But we are here, we stand with Rosie, Great to be Free in Jesus, as she prays for the children. We stand with Sparky and Beloved as they pray for the parents. We pray for Duane, I mean, Duane from Wisconsin. And Valiant Val as she encourages us. We pray with Jonathan from Denver, as he prays for the students. So, we’re here, we’re not calling, we’re not, you know, recording, but we’re with you. Anonymous on Purpose, I’m with you. I’m praying for you. Amen. Love you guys.

I’m calling from Melbourne, Australia and I’d like to say, God bless you to all the DABers. Love listening to the word of God and hearing your testimonies and praying for the people who call. I’d like you to share with me please and pray for a Christian friend of mine who’s desperate at the moment. She’s a solo mum and the other day she walked into her garage and found her 28-year-old son ready to hang himself. He had a prepared noose. And she got there just in time. We really need prayer for her. Things are really quite desperate. I told her I was gonna ring you. She is a DABer herself. And so, I just know that with combined prayer it makes a difference. And God bless you all, thank you so much. The boy’s name is …

Hi, I’m calling to ask for prayer for my grandson Willem. He has autism, he’s non-verbal. He’s in the psychiatric hospital right now. But he’s going to start a new living situation on Friday, the 3rd of February. And I’m asking for prayer for God’s protection for his safety. For God to manifest His presence and His love to Willem. He’s not able to communicate well. And in this living situation isn’t successful, the next step is a facility two hours away. I love my grandson very much. I actually would like to have him here with me but that’s not a choice that’s available to me right now. So, please pray for Willem. I do pray for all of you every day. And I’m very thankful for the DAB. Thank you.

This is Road Toad. I was raised in a home where appearances were valued, where we never admitted to any wrongdoing, where we judged people of standards other than that of the Bible. Even though it is a Christian home. I struggle to overcome this, yet today. However, this weekend, my wife and I were in a public place. And I probably was not even consciously aware of what I was doing but looking at beautiful women. One of those women, saw me looking at her and looked at my wife and laughed. My wife is overweight. She’s a wonderful woman. She’s a Godly woman. I am the one who pails in her light. I regret this. I feel shamed this morning as I think about this and tell you. I struggle to not to even do this because, as I said, in our family, we didn’t want to admit, we ever done wrong. Don’t want to be looked at in that light. But I need prayer folks. And I listen to your prayers, and I listen to your words, and I know our nickname’s give us anonymity. So, would you pray for us please?

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The Daily Audio Bible Reading for Sunday February 5, 2023 (NIV)

Exodus 21:22-23:13

22 If two men are fighting with each other and happen to hit a pregnant woman during the quarrel causing her to give birth prematurely (but no other harm is done), then the one who hit her must pay whatever fine the judges determine based upon the amount demanded by the woman’s husband.

23 But if any further harm comes, then the standard for the punishment is reciprocal justice: a life for a life, 24 an eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth,[a] a hand for a hand, a foot for a foot, 25 a burn for a burn, a wound for a wound, a bruise for a bruise.

26 If anyone hits one of his slaves (male or female) in the eye and blinds him in that eye, then the master is to free the slave to compensate for the loss of the eye. 27 If anyone hits one of his slaves (male or female) and knocks out a tooth, then the master is to free the slave to compensate for the loss of the tooth.

28 If a bull gores a man or woman and the injury leads to the victim’s death, then the bull must be put to death by stoning. No one is allowed to eat the bull meat, and the owner of the bull has no further liability. 29 But if a bull has gored people before and its owner is aware of the problem but has not confined it, and if that bull kills a man or woman, then the bull must be stoned and the owner must also be put to death.

30 There is an exception. If the relatives of the dead demand money instead of his life, then the owner of the bull may redeem his life in exchange for whatever is required of him. 31 The same rule applies whether the bull gores someone’s son or daughter. 32 If the bull gores a slave (male or female), then the owner of the bull is to give the dead slave’s master 12 ounces of silver, and the bull must be stoned.

33 If someone uncovers an old pit or digs a new pit and leaves it uncovered, and an ox or a donkey falls into it, 34 then the person who owns the pit will be held responsible and must compensate the owner for the full cost of the animal; but the dead animal at the bottom of the pit belongs to the man who owns it.

35 If a person’s bull injures another’s bull and it dies, then together they must sell the living bull and split the money equally; they must also divide the dead bull equally. 36 Now if the bull already has a reputation for goring and the owner has not confined it, then the owner of the living bull must pay a healthy bull for the dead one, but he may keep the dead bull for himself.

22 Eternal One: If someone steals an ox or a sheep and either kills or sells it for profit, then he must pay five oxen for the one ox he stole or four sheep for the one sheep he stole. 4 But if the stolen animal—the ox or donkey or sheep—is still alive and in his possession when he is caught, then the thief must pay the owner double. 3b A thief must make restitution for what he has taken. If he has no means of doing so, he must be sold to pay for his theft.

2 If a person attacks a thief in the act of breaking into his house and the thief is killed during the attack, then the homeowner is innocent of blood guilt. 3a It is different if the sun has already risen; so any homeowner who kills a thief during the day must be considered guilty of bloodshed.[b]

The difference between these two situations is the difference between daylight and dark. If a homeowner is protecting his property at night and injures a thief, it is to be treated as a case of self-defense. But if the crime takes place during the light of day, it is not necessary to incapacitate or capture the thief; it is necessary only to recognize the thief and bear truthful witness against him in court. The right to personal property does not eclipse the right to life.

Eternal One: 5 If someone allows his animals to graze a field or vineyard until it is bare and then lets his animals wander over onto a neighbor’s field, then he must compensate his neighbor from the very best of his field and vineyard.

6 If someone starts a fire and the fire spreads and sets the thorn bushes ablaze, and eventually that fire burns up stacks of harvested grain and everything growing in the fields, then the person who started the fire is responsible and must pay reparations for what was lost.

7 If someone gives his neighbor money or items to keep for him and it is stolen from his neighbor’s house, then if the thief is captured, he must pay double for what he stole. 8 If the thief is not found, then the person who owned the house that was burglarized must go stand before God’s presence so that He can decide whether he is the one who stole the property.

9 Whenever there is a breach of trust—regarding an ox, a donkey, a lamb, a piece of clothing, or any lost item—and the contested item is discovered in the possession of a neighbor and claimed by two different parties, then both sides must appear before God. If God finds the neighbor guilty, he must pay double for what he stole.

10 If someone leaves a donkey, an ox, a sheep, or any other kind of livestock in his friend’s keeping, and the animal dies or is injured or disappears while no one is watching, 11 then the two are to make an oath in the presence of the Eternal. The neighbor must swear he had nothing to do with the loss of the animal, and the owner of the animal must accept his statement and not demand any compensation for the loss.

12 But if the animal was stolen while in his neighbor’s care, then the neighbor must compensate the owner. 13 If it was torn to pieces by another animal, then the neighbor may use the remains as evidence, and not have to pay any compensation for the torn animal.

14 If someone borrows an animal from a neighbor and it is harmed or dies while not in the possession of the owner, then the borrower must compensate the owner in full. 15 But if the owner was there when the animal dies or is harmed, then no compensation is required. If the animal has been rented and not borrowed, then the rental fee paid shall cover the loss of the animal.

The owner who rents the animal must calculate the risk of losing the animal when he assesses the rental fee.

16 If a man entices a virgin who is not promised to another man to have sex with him, then he must pay her father the bride-price and marry her. 17 If the young woman’s father refuses the marriage offer because he disapproves of the man, then the man still must pay the amount of money that is customary for the bride-price for virgins.

18 You are not to allow a sorceress to live.

19 Anyone who has sex with an animal must be put to death.

20 Anyone who dares to sacrifice to any god other than the Eternal must be declared under the ban and destroyed.

21 Do not wrong or oppress any outsiders living among you, for there was a time when you lived as outsiders in the land of Egypt.

22 You must not take advantage of any widow or orphan. 23 If you do oppress them and they cry out to Me, I will certainly hear them, 24 and My wrath will be kindled. I will make sure you are slaughtered by your enemy’s sword, and your own wives and children will become widows and orphans.

25 If you loan money to any of the poor among My people, do not treat them as borrowers and act as their creditors by charging interest. 26 If your neighbor gives his coat to you as collateral, then be sure to give it back before night falls—even if he has not repaid you in full. 27 You see that coat covers his body and may be his only protection against the cold. What do you think he would sleep in? When he calls out for Me, I will hear his cry. I am kind and compassionate as you should be when a fellow Israelite is in need.

28 Do not curse the one True God or any rulers of your people.[c]

God demands respect from His people and expects His people to honor those He puts in charge.

29 You must not hold back or delay your offering from the bounty of your harvest or the juice of your vineyard.[d] Dedicate every one of your firstborn sons to Me. 30 But dedicate your livestock—your ox and sheep—to Me in sacrifice. The firstborn of your livestock may stay with its mother for the first seven days. When the eighth day arrives, give the firstborn to Me. 31 You must be holy before Me. Do not eat any animal that has been torn to pieces by wild beasts in the field. Toss its remains to the dogs.

23 Eternal One: Do not pass along a false report. Do not plot with evil people to give a false witness.

2 Even if the majority of people are doing evil, do not follow them. Also when you are called to give testimony in a dispute, do not let the crowd pressure you into perverting justice. 3 In the same way, do not side with the poor in a complaint just because he is poor.

4 If you are walking along and come across your enemy’s ox or donkey that has wandered away, then you must return it to its owner. 5 If you see the donkey of someone you know who hates you and it has fallen beneath its load, you must not leave it there. You must stop and help the donkey recover the load.

6 Do not deny justice to the poor among you in their disputes. 7 Stay far away from false accusations, and do not condemn the innocent or righteous to death. Understand this: I will not acquit those who commit such miscarriages of justice.

8 Do not accept a bribe, for a bribe can blind those who see and twist the words of those who are in the right. 9 Do not oppress an outsider. You know well what it is like to be an outsider living in a foreign land, for you were strangers once in the land of Egypt.

10 You have six years to plant your fields and harvest your crops. 11 When the seventh year arrives, let your land rest and lie fallow. Let the poor and hungry among you come and harvest the volunteer crops that spring up in your fields. Whatever is left over, the beasts may eat. Do the same thing with your vineyards and your olive groves. 12 You have six days to work. When the seventh day arrives, stop all work so that your ox and donkey can rest. When you observe the Sabbath Day, your female slave’s son and any outsider serving you have a chance to catch their breath and relax.

13 Be careful to do all that I have instructed you. Do not even acknowledge the names of other gods or let their names spill from your lips.

Footnotes:

  1. 21:24 Matthew 5:38
  2. 22:2–4 Verses 2–4 have been rearranged to assist in the comprehension of the passage.
  3. 22:28 Acts 23:5
  4. 22:29 Meaning of the Hebrew is uncertain.
The Voice (VOICE)

The Voice Bible Copyright © 2012 Thomas Nelson, Inc. The Voice™ translation © 2012 Ecclesia Bible Society All rights reserved.

Matthew 24:1-28

24 Jesus left the temple. As He was walking away, His disciples came up to Him and asked what He thought about the temple buildings.

Jesus: 2 Look around you. All of it will become rubble. I tell you this: not one stone will be left standing.

3 Later, as Jesus was sitting on the Mount of Olives, the disciples came to Him privately.

Disciples: We don’t understand Your predictions. Tell us, when will these things happen: When will the temple be destroyed? What will be the sign that You are returning? How will we know that the end of the age is upon us?

In this, the last of the five major sermons, Jesus focuses on prophetic and apocalyptic themes of judgment and the end times. The disciples have been listening to the prophetic judgment Jesus has issued on the religious leaders. They have images of collapsing temple buildings, of prophets pursued from town to town, of floggings, and of blood-soaked garments. They can imagine themselves blood-soaked. When will this all happen, and what does it mean?

Jesus: 4 Take care that you are not deceived. 5 For many will come in My name claiming they are the Anointed One, and many poor souls will be taken in. 6 You will hear of wars, and you will hear rumors of wars, but you should not panic. It is inevitable, this violent breaking apart of the sinful world, but remember, the wars are not the end. The end is still unfolding. 7 Nations will do battle with nations, and kingdoms will fight neighboring kingdoms, and there will be famines and earthquakes. 8 But these are not the end. These are the birth pangs, the beginning. The end is still unfolding.

9 They will hand you over to your enemies, who will torture you and then kill you, and you will be hated by all nations because of Me. 10 And many who have followed Me and claimed to love Me and sought God’s kingdom will turn away—they will abandon the faith and betray and hate one another. 11-12 The love that they had for one another will grow cold because few will obey the law. False prophets will appear, many will be taken in by them, and the only thing that will grow is wickedness. There will be no end to the increase of wickedness. 13 But those who do not waver from our path and do not follow those false prophets—those among you will be saved. 14 And this good news of God’s kingdom will be preached throughout the whole world, a testimony to all people and all nations. Then, beloved, the end, the consummation of all things, will come.

15 You will remember that the prophet Daniel predicted this—predicted the abomination that causes desolation[a]—when you see the prophesied desolation of the holy place. (Reader, take notice; it is important that you understand this.) 16 When you see this, let those in Judea flee to the mountains. 17 If you are relaxing on your rooftop one evening and the signs of the temple’s destructions come, don’t return to your house to rescue a book or a pet or a scrap of clothing. 18 If you are in the field when the great destruction begins, don’t return home for a cloak. 19 Pregnant women and nursing mothers will have the worst of it. 20 And as for you, pray that your flight to the hills will not come on the Sabbath or in the cold of winter. 21 For the tribulation will be unparalleled—hardships of a magnitude that has not been seen since creation and that will not be seen again. 22 Indeed the Lord God your merciful judge will cut this time of trial short, and this will be done for the benefit of the elect that some might indeed be saved—for no one could survive the depravity for very long.

23 I cannot say this clearly enough: during this time, someone will say to you, “Look, here is the Anointed One!” or “Aren’t you relieved? Haven’t you seen the Savior down there, around the bend, over the hill and dale?” Do not believe them. 24 False liberators and false prophets will appear, and they will know a few tricks—they will perform great miracles, and they will make great promises. If it were possible, they would even deceive God’s elect. 25 But I am warning you ahead of time: remember—do not fall for their lies or lines or promises. 26 If someone says, “He’s out there in the desert”—do not go. And if someone says, “He’s here at our house, at our table”—do not believe him. 27 When the Son of Man comes, He will be as visible as lightning in the East is visible even in the West. 28 And where the carcass is, there will always be vultures.

Footnotes:

  1. 24:15 Daniel 9:27; 11:31; 12:11
The Voice (VOICE)

The Voice Bible Copyright © 2012 Thomas Nelson, Inc. The Voice™ translation © 2012 Ecclesia Bible Society All rights reserved.

Psalm 29

Psalm 29

A song of David.

1 Give all credit to the Eternal, O heavenly creatures;
give praise to Him for His glory and power.
2 Give to the Eternal the glory due His name;
worship Him with lavish displays of sacred splendor.

3 The voice of the Eternal echoes over the great waters;
God’s magnificence roars like thunder.
The Eternal’s presence hovers over all the waters.
4 His voice explodes in great power over the earth.
His voice is both regal and grand.

5 The Eternal’s voice shatters the cedars;
His power splinters the great cedars of Lebanon.
6 He speaks, and Lebanon leaps like a young calf;
Sirion jumps like a wild, youthful ox.

7 The voice of the Eternal cuts through with flames of fire.
8 The voice of the Eternal rumbles through the wilderness
with great quakes;
He causes Kadesh to tremble.

9 The Eternal’s voice brings life from the doe’s womb;
His voice strips the forest bare,
and all the people in the temple declare, “Glory!”

10 The Eternal is enthroned over the great flood;
His reign is unending.
11 We ask You, Eternal One, to give strength to Your people;
Eternal One, bless them with the gift of peace.

The Voice (VOICE)

The Voice Bible Copyright © 2012 Thomas Nelson, Inc. The Voice™ translation © 2012 Ecclesia Bible Society All rights reserved.

Proverbs 7:6-23

People are forgetful, so we must be reminded constantly of Wisdom and her ways. We don’t always need to hear something new; often we just need to be reminded of what is true. In these proverbs wisdom is found when one not only knows what is right, but acts on that knowledge. Foolishness, on the other hand, means a lack of understanding and wrongdoing.

6 One day I was at the window of my house,
looking out through my lattice shutters,
7 And there among the usual crowd of the gullible people
I spotted a naive young man.
8 He was going down the street near the corner where she lived—that mysterious and evil woman—
taking the road that led directly to her house.
9 At the end of the day, as night approached
and darkness crept in,

10 I saw her! A woman came out to meet him.
She was dressed for temptation and devious with her affections.
11 Here’s what I know about her: she is loud and obnoxious, a rebel against what is proper and decent.
She’s always on the move—anxious to get out of the house and
12 Down the street; at times in the open,
at others lurking around every corner.
13 As I am watching them, she grabs him and kisses him,
then shamelessly tells him:

14 The Immoral Woman: It was my turn to offer a peace offering,
and today I paid my vows,
15 So now I come to see you.
I really want to be with you, and what luck! I have found you!
16 You’ll be impressed. I have decorated my couch,
laid colorful Egyptian linens over where we will be together,
17 And perfumed the bed with exotic oils and herbs:
myrrh, aloes, and cinnamon.
18 Come in, and we will feast on love until sunrise;
we will delight ourselves in our affections.
19 You don’t need to worry; my husband is long gone by now,
away from home on a distant journey.
20 He took a bag of money with him,
so I don’t expect him home until next month.

21 It worked! She enticed him with seductive words,
seduced him with her smooth talk.
22 Right away he followed her home.
He followed her like a bull being led to the slaughter,
Like a fool[a] caught in a trap
23 (that is, until an arrow punctures his liver),
Like a bird flying straight into a net.
He had no clue his life was at stake; everything was about to change.

Footnotes:

  1. 7:22 Some manuscripts read “deer.”
The Voice (VOICE)

The Voice Bible Copyright © 2012 Thomas Nelson, Inc. The Voice™ translation © 2012 Ecclesia Bible Society All rights reserved.

Posted on

02/04/2023 DAB Transcript

Exodus 19:16-21:21, Matthew 23:13-39, Psalms 28:1-9, Proverbs 7:1-5

Today is the 4th day of February welcome to the Daily Audio Bible I am Brian it is wonderful to be here with you today as we gather around the Global Campfire and take the next step forward together. And our next step leads us back into the book of Exodus, where we are in the wilderness with the children of Israel. We’ve been reading from the New English Translation this week, which is what we’ll continue to do today. Exodus chapter 19 verse 16 through 21 verse 21.

Prayer:

Father, we thank You for Your word. We thank You for the gifts of Your word. We thank You for bringing us to the conclusion of another week. And father even as we prepare to begin this new week and make a journey into the land of promise, into the land of the Bible and begin that journey tomorrow we ask heavenly Father that You bless us with safety and that You knit us together as a community as we…whether…whether being there in person, or whether experiencing this day by day around the Global Campfire that You would knit us together as a community and bring the land of the Bible immediate to us that we may learn, that we may experience these places where these things that are so monumental in our lives occurred. Come Holy Spirit, we pray. Lead us into all truth, we ask in Jesus’ name. Amen.

Announcements:

dailyaudiobible.com is home base, and that is where you can find out what’s going on around here. You can also do that using the Daily Audio Bible app which you can download free from whatever app store works with your smart device. So, check that out. Just search for Daily Audio Bible and you’ll be able to find it and go from there.

Check out the different sections like the Community section. There are links to get connected on social media there. That is also where the Prayer Wall lives and that is a resource that is always available to us, no matter what’s going on. No matter what time of day or night it is we can always ask for prayer and we can always offer prayer and encouragement to our brothers and sisters. So, that is in the Community section. Check it out.

If you want to partner with the Daily Audio Bible, thank you humbly. We wouldn’t be here if we weren’t in this together. And, so, thank you humbly. There is a link on the homepage at dailyaudiobible.com. If you’re using the 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, of course, if you have a prayer request or encouragement you can hit the Hotline button in the app. That’s 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:

Hey DAB family this is Burdened Brother in Christ in Virginia and this is my first time calling in. I just joined the DAB family recently and I’ve loved everyday listening to Brian read the word of God and it’s been very encouraging. It’s been very powerful in my life. Getting back on track reading the Bible again. Today I just wanted to lift up anyone who’s struggling with depression or anxiety or thoughts of suicide or anything like that. Lord I just…I ask that You be with those people Lord, that You mind them of their worth Lord. I pray that they recognize that they have a purpose in You, that You have a plan for their life Lord and that whatever they’re going through, whatever they feel about themselves, that You can change them, You can make them new every day. Whatever happened in their past can be changed. They are not defined by their past Lord, but they are defined by You, what Your will is for their life. I pray that they recognize that Jesus died on the cross for them so that don’t have to tear themselves down anymore. They don’t have to…they don’t have to die on the cross because God took their sins. Remind them that they can put the yoke of sin on Jesus. I just pray that there can be some light of hope to their lives Lord. In Jesus’ name. Amen. God bless.

This is Janet from the UK. I found my new name. It’s Learning to Completely Trust God. I was lying in bed listening to the community prayer on January 28th and I’m just so uncomfortably in bed. I can’t lie properly. My hips hurt. My leg hurt. And I was listening to one of our DABbers talk about her listening to the community prayer I think on January 8th and somebody was encouraging us to just listen to it and, you know, praying that, you know, if we’re sick in our bodies and stuff to claim victory. And I got up to go do that. I also listened to the lady asking for prayer for her student Elijah and I was gonna go put that in…in my journal because I’ve always wanted to journal, but I really don’t know how. So, I’ve taken up my Daily Audio Bible journal and I realized that I started to write things down and the last thing I wrote was “today I’m going to see my mom” and that’s the day my mom passed which was last year. And I…I’m just having a difficult time. And then this song just came to me, you know, why do I feel that discouraged? Why should the shadows come? Why should my heart be broken, that I long for heaven and home when Jesus is my portion, a constant friend is He, His eyes on the Sparrow and I know He watches me. Pray for me please. Thank you. God bless you.

Good morning, DABber family this is the Burning Bush that will not be Devoured for the Glory of our God and King. I just heard a sister call in. Her mom battles with I think manic depressive and schizophrenia disorders. And sister I am praying for Shalom in your life. God is your peace. I pray for peace in your heart right now in the name of Jesus. I pray that God will still the storms around you in the name of Jesus. I pray that God will allow you to see yourself seated up in high and heavenly places with him where the enemy can do you no harm in the name of Jesus. And I pray for healing for your mom right now in Jesus’ name, that she will accept whatever medication has been assigned to her by her medic…medical professionals and I pray as you wait for that to happen that God will give you a peace beyond your understanding even at work even as I speak right now sister. God loves you beyond comprehension and I pray for healing in your heart for all that you’ve been through in the name of Jesus I pray. There was also a brother who called. He’s moved out of his family home because his family’s stealing from him. Brother, I hear your voice. I heard a sister call after you with a testimony of how God has healed her from addictions and from all other sorts of things. I don’t know what you and your family have been through, but it sounds like you’ve been through a lot and God hears you and he sees your efforts that you’re making, and I just want to encourage you to keep moving forward. The birds of the air, they don’t sow a seed, but God tends to them. Gods got you. I pray that God will open your eyes, that you will see that those that are with you that are greater than those that are in the world. I pray that God would light your path and give you discernment as you move, that God will provide a place for you, a permanent place for you in Jesus’ name. I love you all. Bye.

Hi DAB family out there this is Christine in North Carolina. I wanted to say a prayer of encouragement but first I was just realizing as I was listening to the final day of January, I wanted to give thanks to God for placing upon my heart the desire for…for more, more of His word and more of what’s a part of His kingdom because I'm…I’m very new to all of this. Probably…probably just about a year a year ago I was baptized in the faith and not too much before then met Jesus and was saved for the first time or saved by Jesus and I’m 41 years old. So, I…I just started listening to the Daily Audio Bible I guess about a year ago, but it was very inconsistent, and I barely could get through the whole reading. Had a hard time hearing the…the prayers and the request for prayer because I just felt very overwhelmed like, how…I don’t know how to hold all of this, how to pray, and how to hear all of these things going on in people’s lives. It’s hard. But now it feels like it’s too short. I’ve been listening every day since the beginning of January. That was my commitment to myself and to the Lord and now it’s just like oh it’s over already. So, I’m just I’m thankful for that. I have to send…