Month: May 2023

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The Daily Audio Bible Reading for Saturday May 13, 2023 (NIV)

1 Samuel 14

14 One day Saul’s son, Jonathan, came up with a plan. He turned to his armor-bearer.

Jonathan: Come on. Let’s go down to the Philistines over there.

But he didn’t tell his father what he had decided.

2 Saul remained outside Gibeah under the pomegranate tree at Migron with about 600 of his soldiers. 3 Ahijah, the son of Ahitub and nephew of Ichabod (who was a son of Phinehas, who was born to Eli, who had been the priest of the Eternal One in Shiloh), was also there with Saul, bearing the priestly vest. None of the people knew that Jonathan had gone.

4-5 The mountain pass that Jonathan took to reach the Philistines was bordered on either end by rocky crags. The one on the north in front of Michmash was called Bozez, and the other on the south near Geba was called Seneh.

Jonathan (to his armor-bearer): 6 Come on! Let’s cross over to this force of Philistines, these uncircumcised, these idol-worshipers. Maybe the Eternal One will fight for us. If He wants to save us, then no force is too big or too small.

Armor-bearer: 7 Do whatever you think is right, and I will follow you. My decision will be your decision.

Jonathan: 8 Now we will approach the Philistines and let them see us. 9 If they say, “Wait there. We are coming to you,” then we will stay where we are, and we will not advance. 10 But if they say, “Come here,” then we will go to them, and that will be the sign that the Eternal has given us power over them.

11 So they let the Philistines see them, and the Philistine soldiers ridiculed them.

Soldiers: Look! There are some Hebrews climbing out of the holes where they’ve been hiding!

12 They signaled to Jonathan and his armor-bearer.

Soldiers: Come here, you two! Come here, and we’ll show you something!

The Philistines believe no one can climb up to them.

Jonathan (to the armor-bearer): Follow me! The Eternal One has assured victory for Israel.

13 Jonathan scrambled up the steep incline on his hands and feet to the Philistine soldiers, his armor-bearer right behind. When he appeared before the Philistines, they fell before him, and he and his armor-bearer killed them right and left. 14 In that first assault, Jonathan and his armor-bearer killed about 20 men within an area of about a half-acre. 15 When the news of this slaughter spread, it caused trembling in the Philistine camp, among the soldiers in the field, even among the whole nation. The garrison of troops was confused and afraid, and the raiding parties who had terrorized Israel trembled. Soon the earth itself quaked, and an awesome trembling abounded.

16 From a distance Saul’s watchmen at Gibeah in Benjamin saw the multitude of Philistines melting away, rushing back and forth.

Saul (to his soldiers): 17 Call the roll. I want to know who is missing from our camp.

After the roll call, they realized Jonathan and his armor-bearer were gone.

Saul (to Ahijah the priest): 18 Bring the covenant chest of the True God here.

The chest of God was traveling with the Israelites in those days. 19 While Saul was talking with Ahijah the priest, the raucous commotion in the Philistine ranks grew. He turned to Ahijah the priest who was consulting the oracle of the Urim and Thummim to determine God’s will.

Saul (to the priest): Withdraw your hand!

20 Then Saul rallied all his troops and led them into battle, and there was so great a confusion that no one knew exactly whom they were fighting. 21 Those Hebrews who had been with the Philistines in their camps changed sides and began fighting alongside the Israelites who were with Saul and Jonathan, 22 and those Israelites who had gone into hiding in the hill country of Ephraim came flooding out of the hills to fight when they heard the Philistines were running away.

23 So the Eternal One gave Israel the victory that day, and the battle passed beyond Beth-aven. 24 But Saul did a foolish thing: he placed all of his troops under an oath that caused added pressure.

Saul: A curse on anyone who stops to eat before evening comes and I have my revenge on my enemies!

So none of the army ate anything, 25 [although they passed through a forest and by a honeycomb][a] with honey on the ground. 26 The people passed and the honey was dripping out, but none of them reached out for a taste because they were afraid of Saul’s curse. 27 But Jonathan had not heard Saul’s words, so when he passed the honeycomb, he reached out with the staff he was carrying, took some honey, put it in his mouth, and immediately felt refreshed.

Soldier: 28 Your father strictly charged us not to eat anything! He said we would be cursed if we did; that is why we are so weak with hunger.

Jonathan: 29 Then my father has troubled our people for no reason. See how much stronger I am after tasting the honey? 30 Wouldn’t it have been better if our soldiers had been free to eat some of the food they had taken from the enemy? Our slaughter of the Philistines is not as great as it could be because we are too weak to pursue it!

31 So after this victory, after the Israelites had crushed the Philistines from Michmash to Aijalon, they were faint. 32 When evening came and they were permitted to eat, they seized the spoils of battle, took sheep and oxen and calves, slaughtered them on the ground, and ate them with their blood, which is strictly forbidden by the law of Moses. 33 This was reported to Saul.

Soldier: Look, our soldiers are sinning against the Eternal One by eating the meat together with the blood of those animals!

Saul: You should not have done this. Roll a large stone before me here so I can prepare an altar. 34 Go among the people and tell them, “Bring your oxen or sheep; kill them here, and eat, but do not sin against the Eternal by eating the meat together with the blood.”

So all the soldiers brought their own animals that night and slaughtered them at the stone altar. 35 This was the first altar Saul built to the Eternal One.

Saul: 36 Let us go down against the Philistine forces tonight and attack them until morning, until not one of them is left alive.

His followers encouraged him to do as he wished, everyone that is, except for the priest.

Priest (protesting): Let us consult the True God.

So Saul and his priest come before the Lord and perform the appropriate rituals so that he can know the will of God.

Saul (to God): 37 Do You want me to go after the Philistines tonight? If we go, will You give Israel victory?

But God did not answer him that day. 38 So he gathered the people together.

Saul: Come now, all you leaders of the land. Let us determine where we have sinned today. 39 For as the Eternal One—the God who delivers Israel—lives, wherever the sin lies, even in my son Jonathan, that person will surely die!

No one among the people answered him. 40 So Saul separated himself and Jonathan from the others, ordering the people to stand on one side and he and Jonathan on the other.

People: Do as you please.

41 Then Saul asked the Eternal One, the God of Israel, to reveal the truth. [The priest consulted the stones of the divine oracle to determine whether the sin was committed by the common people of Israel or by someone in his royal family.][b] The oracle indicated that the family of Saul, not the people of Israel, was at fault.

Saul (to the priest): 42 Cast again to see whether it is me or my son Jonathan.

The results indicated Jonathan.

Saul (to Jonathan): 43 What have you done?

Jonathan: I certainly tasted a little honey with the tip of the staff I carried. I am ready to die.

Saul: 44 May the True God do the same and more to me, my son. Jonathan, you must die.

But the people step in to protect Jonathan.

People (to Saul): 45 Would you execute Jonathan, the one who won Israel’s great victory? Of course not! As the Eternal One lives, not a hair of his head should be harmed because he worked with the True God today to give us victory!

So the people ransomed Jonathan, and he was not killed. 46 Saul, now humiliated, stopped pursuing the Philistines, and the Philistines who were left returned to their own land.

47 When Saul entered into his kingship, he made war with all of Israel’s enemies—Moab, the Ammonites, Edom, the kings of Zobah, and the Philistines. Throughout his life he fought and condemned them. 48 He fought bravely and defeated the Amalekites and rescued Israel from the onslaught of all those who plundered her.

49 Saul’s three sons were Jonathan, Ishvi, and Malchi-shua, and his two daughters were Merab (the firstborn) and Michal (the younger). 50 Saul’s wife was Ahinoam, the daughter of Ahimaaz, and the commander of his forces was his cousin Abner, son of Ner, Saul’s uncle. 51 Kish, the father of Saul, and Ner, the father of Abner, were sons of Abiel.

52 The Israelites fought hard against the Philistines throughout Saul’s reign; and whenever Saul found a strong or brave fighter, he added him to his forces.

Footnotes:

  1. 14:25 Meaning of the manuscripts is uncertain.
  2. 14:41 Hebrew manuscripts omit this portion.
The Voice (VOICE)

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

John 7:31-53

31 In the crowd, there were many in whom faith was taking hold.

Believers in the Crowd: When the Anointed arrives, will He perform any more signs than this man has done?

32 Some Pharisees were hanging back in the crowd, overhearing the gossip about Him. The temple authorities and the Pharisees took action and sent officers to arrest Jesus.

Jesus: 33 I am going to be with you for a little while longer; then I will return to the One who sent Me. 34 You will look for Me, but you will not be able to find Me. Where I am, you are unable to come.

Some Jews in the Crowd (to each other): 35 Where could He possibly go that we could not find Him? You don’t think He’s about to go into the Dispersion[a] and teach our people scattered among the Greeks, do you? 36 What do you think He means, “You will look for Me, but you will not be able to find Me,” and, “Where I am, you are unable to come”?

37 On the last day, the biggest day of the festival, Jesus stood again and spoke aloud.

Jesus: If any of you is thirsty, come to Me and drink. 38 If you believe in Me, the Hebrew Scriptures say that rivers of living water will flow from within you.[b]

39 Jesus was referring to the realities of life in the Spirit made available to everyone who believes in Him. But the Spirit had not yet arrived because Jesus had not been glorified.

The Holy Spirit connects believers to the Father and His Son. So any fear about being disconnected from God may be abandoned; the Creator of the Universe dwells within His people, sustains them, and will accomplish the impossible through them.

Some of the Crowd: 40 This man is definitely the Prophet.

Others: 41 This is God’s Anointed, the Liberating King!

Still Others: Is it possible for the Anointed to come from Galilee? 42 Don’t the Hebrew Scriptures say that He will come from Bethlehem,[c] King David’s village, and be a descendant of King David?

43 Rumors and opinions about the true identity of Jesus divided the crowd. 44 Some wanted to arrest Him, but no one dared to touch Him.

45 The officers who had been sent by the chief priests and Pharisees to take Jesus into custody returned empty-handed, and they faced some hard questions.

Chief Priest and Pharisees: Where is Jesus? Why didn’t you capture Him?

Officers: 46 We listened to Him. Never has a man spoken like this man.

Pharisees: 47 So you have also been led astray? 48 Can you find one leader or educated Pharisee who believes this man? Of course not. 49 This crowd is plagued by ignorance about the teachings of the law; that is why they will listen to Him. That is also why they are under God’s curse.

50 Nicodemus, the Pharisee who approached Jesus under the cloak of darkness, was present when the officers returned empty-handed. He addressed the leaders.

Nicodemus: 51 Does our law condemn someone without first giving him a fair hearing and learning something about him?

Pharisees (ignoring Nicodemus’s legal point): 52 Are you from Galilee too? Look it up for yourself; no real prophet is supposed to come from Galilee.

[53 The time came for everyone to go home.

Footnotes:

  1. 7:35 Literally, the Diaspora (Greek for “scattering”). The Diaspora refers to those Jews who were exiled or settled outside the traditional lands of Israel.
  2. 7:38 Isaiah 44:3; 55:1; 58:11
  3. 7:42 Micah 5:1–2
The Voice (VOICE)

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

Psalm 109

Psalm 109

For the worship leader. A song of David.

1 O True God of my every praise, do not keep silent!
2 My enemies have opened their wicked, deceit-filled mouths and blown their foul breath on me.
They have slandered me with their twisted tongues
3 And unleashed loathsome words that swirl around me.
Though I have done nothing, they attack me.
4 Though I offer them love and keep them in my prayers, they accuse me;
5 Though I treat them well, they answer me with evil;
though I give them love, they reply with a gesture of hatred.

6 Here’s what they say: Find some evil scoundrel to go after him.
Let’s get some accuser to level charges against him.
7 At his trial, let’s make sure he is found guilty
so that even his prayers become evidence that convicts him.
8 Let his days be few, his life cut short;
let another take over his position.
9 Lay waste to his family—
let his children become orphans and his wife a widow.
10 Let his children wander the streets—his legacy, homeless beggars
scavenging for food,
[driven out of][a] the rubble and slums where they live.
11 Let the bankers take what is his;
strangers help themselves to what little is left of all he’s earned.
12 Let there be no one around to offer him compassion,
nor anyone to give his fatherless children warmth or kindness.
13 Let his family line come to an end—
no future generations to carry on his name!
14 Let the sins of his fathers be remembered before the Eternal,
and the sins of his mother never be erased.
15 Let their offenses always be before the Eternal
so that the memory of this family is long forgotten by all the people of the earth,
16 Because it never occurred to him to show compassion;
instead, he oppressed the poor, afflicted,
and brokenhearted and sent them to their death.
17 He loved to invoke a curse—so let his curses come back to him.
He preferred not to speak a blessing—so let all blessings be far from him.
18 He wrapped himself with cursing, draped around him like a cape;
may it flood his body like water
and seep into his bones like oil.
19 Let those curses wrap around him like a cloak on a cold night,
like a belt tightly knotted around him every day.
20 Let the Eternal so reward my accusers,
all those who speak and plot evil against me.
21 But You, my Master, the Eternal,
treat me with kindness for the sake of Your name, the good of Your reputation;
because Your unfailing love is so good, O deliver me!
22 You see, I am poor and needy,
and my heart is broken inside me.
23 My life is fading away like a shadow that vanishes in the evening;
I am like a locust easily brushed off the shoulder.
24 I can barely stand; my knees are weak from not eating;
I am haggard and drawn, just skin and bones.
25 I have become a person of contempt to my accusers;
whenever they see me, they taunt me, shaking their heads in disapproval.

26 Help me, Eternal One my God; come to my rescue!
Save me through Your unfailing love.
27 Let everyone know that You are the source of my salvation
that You, Eternal One, have done this mighty work.
28 Let them utter a curse, if they will, but You will speak a blessing;
[when they come to attack,][b] let them know utter shame.
Then Your servant will celebrate and praise You!
29 Let my enemies be clothed with disgrace and humiliation;
let them be dressed in a robe of their own shame.
30 I will continually give thanks to the Eternal
with the praises of my mouth;
I will praise Him in the company of many.
31 For He always stands in support of the afflicted and needy
to rescue their souls from those who judge and condemn them.

Footnotes:

  1. 109:10 Hebrew manuscripts read, “sought among.”
  2. 109:28 Greek manuscripts omit this portion.
The Voice (VOICE)

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

Proverbs 15:5-7

5 Fools refuse their parents’ guidance,
but sensible children accept correction.
6 Great treasure may be found where the right-living make their home,
but trouble awaits the wicked at every turn.
7 When the wise speak, knowledge spreads far and wide,
but fools care nothing about such matters.

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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05/13/2023 DAB Transcript

1 Samuel 14:1-52, John 7:31-53, Psalms 109:1-31, Proverbs 15:5-7

Today is the 13th day of May welcome to the Daily Audio Bible I am Brian it is wonderful to be here with you today as we bring another week that we get to share together to a close and we approach the middle of another month and we continue to watch the seasons change depending on where we are or we get settled into the beginning of the warmer weather, which is what happens here in the rolling hills of Tennessee. And it is an honor that we can come together and gather around the Global Campfire and step forward together. And our next step forward will lead us back into the book of first Samuel and…and the life and times of Israel’s first king, king Saul. Today first Samuel chapter 14.

Prayer:

Father, we thank You for Your word. We thank You for another week. All of the steps that we’ve taken day by day until this point in the year. And, so, You’ve brought us this far and we look back over the steps and we see Your hand guiding and leading us. We see the way that the Scriptures come into our hearts and into our lives and challenge us, inviting us higher, deeper, and we are grateful. And, so, we thank You for this week that we’ve been able to spend together and we look forward to stepping forward into the new week together and doing it again with excitement and anticipation in all of the ways that You will lead and guide us. And, so, come Holy Spirit we ask in the name of Jesus. Amen.

Announcements:

dailyaudiobible.com is home base and that is…that is where you can find out what’s happening around here. The Daily Audio Bible app can be downloaded from the app store that’s connected to your device and that puts all of it and the app all in the palm of your hand. So, check that out.

Check out the different sections like the Community section. This is where to get connected.

Check out the Daily Audio Bible Shop. There are resources that are available for the journey that we are taking together through the Bible in a year.

And, if you want to partner with the Daily Audio Bible, humble gratitude, humble gratitude. We wouldn’t be here if we weren’t in this together and we are. So, thank you for your partnership. There is a link on the home page 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:

Coming soon…

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5/12/2023 DAB Transcript

1 Samuel 12:1-13:23, John 7:1-30, Psalm 108:1-13, Proverbs 15:4

Today is the 12th day of May, welcome to the Daily Audio Bible. I’m Brian, it is fantastic to be here with you around the Global Campfire today, come on in and find a place, it’s cozy here, we’re altogether ready to take the next step forward and excited to do it. Our next step forward will lead us back into the book of First Samuel. And we have just met Saul and we have seen a bit of Saul’s story and we have come to the coronation of Saul, and we found that when he was chosen to be King, he was hiding. He has become king and we’ve seen him lead Israel into a battle and be victorious, freeing a city called Jabesh Gilead, and this really solidifies his leadership. The people sort of coalesce around Saul after this. But we will see that Saul has, has the fear of man. He has a strong sense of inferiority, and it leads him and all kinds of erratic ways, and that will happen over the next few days, but we’re here now. Saul has just become king, let’s dive in, First Samuel 12 and 13 today.

Commentary:

Okay, let’s go back alongside Saul and Samuel and the children of Israel in the book of First Samuel. Saul is Israel’s king at this point, we saw his coronation, we saw him hide from is coronation, we saw the beginning glimpses that Saul was more worried about how he looked and what people were thinking about him than anything else. Now when that’s dominant then that’s going to inform the way that we look at the world and the things that we decide, and those things are going to be colored. And in today’s reading, we you that surface again, only it’s a big deal in today’s reading. So, Israel has the king, that they wanted. And Samuel has gone before the king, clearing his accounts saying, look I’m old and speak to me now, if I’ve done anything wrong to anybody speak to me now. And they all say, you’ve never done anything. And so, Samuel confronts the people saying you wanted this king, this is not the way that it was supposed to go. But if you obey God, if you obey the Lord and His commandments, things will be fine. And so, some time goes by, Saul’s son Jonathan, so, the Prince of Israel stirs up some conflict with the Philistines. The Philistines bring their whole army to come and just crush Israel. Israel has mustered its army and they are waiting for Samuel to come, so that they might obey the Lord’s instructions. And Samuels not coming. And they are outnumbered and they’re waiting a week, and the people who have come to be the Army begin to peel away, go home. People begin to abandon Saul, they’re leaving his army, is leaving him. This looks bad, not only for the situation but upon Saul. And so, he makes a decisive leadership decision in front of his people, so that they can see this, it’s just that he is disobeying the command of the Lord by doing this. And he offers sacrifices to the Lord and then Samuel shows up. So, Saul is watching what it looks like, he’s feeling the inferiority of leadership here, and he’s looking at the circumstances, and rather than trusting and obeying God, he takes matters into his own hands and that is a mirror, that is our stories at different times and seasons of our lives. Where we’re waiting for the Lord, where we’re being obedient to the Lord, but we see the circumstances mounting against us as if there were a horde of an army down below going to come swoop in upon us and we take matters into our own hands, for whatever reason. But so often those reasons look like what it’s gonna make us look like. So, Samuel shows up and says what have you done? And Saul’s like, I saw everybody leaving and they were departing from me and abandoning me, and you didn’t come when you said. And the Philistines are ready for battle and their whole armies there. And so, I thought we should probably ask for the Lord’s help. So, I thought I should just go ahead and do this and it’s just like all of the excuses that, that anybody does in this kind of situation. But Samuels like man what you did, it was a really big, big leadership mistake. You knew to obey the commandments of the Lord, you knew not to do this, and you did it willingly anyway, because your eyes are on the circumstances and your eyes are on how you look at what your image is and watching the people leave. And so, this is the end of of it all. Had you obeyed, your kingdom would’ve lasted and gone on and on and on, but as it is, your kingdom will not endure, God has selected someone else, who will be loyal and faithful to Him. And of course, most of us know that we’re talking about King David here, who will ascend to the throne after Saul. But so often, we just think that happens really rather quickly. Saul is just a weak king, he doesn’t last that long. But as we learned, Saul reigns for 40 years. And so, this doesn’t just happen overnight, and the intertwining of Saul’s life and David’s life is…is coming, but we will see Saul’s behavior get more and more erratic in his decision-making, and his thought processes, as the days go forward.

Prayer:

Father, we thank You for Your word and we thank You for another day, another step to step forward together into and through the Scriptures. And we thank You for…for First Samuel and what we can learn here. We are all guilty of looking at our circumstances and looking at our image, looking at all of the things that are going on, and rather than waiting upon You and obeying You, we’ve taken matters into our own hands, to our own peril, many times. So, we get what’s going on here. And as we move forward through the days ahead and watch, kind of the disintegration in Saul’s leadership and in his reign as king, help us to see that we’re being shown a path. Saul is following a path ruled by certain things in his life. And we get to see where that pathway goes, that we might treat it with caution and not walk the same way. Come, Holy Spirit. Let us learn what we need to learn and see what we need to see and hear what we need to hear, lead us into all truth, we ask in the name of Jesus. Amen.

Announcements:

dailyaudiobible.com, that’s home base, that is the website, that’s where you can find out what’s going on around here. And so, certainly check it out. The Daily Audio Bible app is available as well. That puts everything in the palm of your hand, just search for Daily Audio Bible at the App Store that works with your device. And then while your kind of browsing around, check out the Daily Audio Bible Shop. There are resources there in the Shop that are, that are for us to here as a community around the Global Campfire. Whether that be things to listen to, or things to go deeper into certain topics, or things to write with, or write on or where or just check out the Daily Audio Bible Shop.

If you want to partner with the Daily Audio Bible, if the mission to bring the spoken word of God read fresh, every day and given free, freely to anyone who will listen, anywhere, anytime no matter what’s going on. No matter what continent it is, and to build community around this rhythm of showing up, just showing up, that’s all we have to do. There’s a safe space for us and all we have to do is show up. If that is life-giving to you, then thank you 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, TN 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:

The blessings of the Lord be upon every single one of you my dear Daily Audio Bible family members. This is He Knows My Name. I called over a month ago and I cried out for prayers because I was dealing with anger issues, anger against my husband, against my, our daughters, my daughters’ biological father. And I am really grateful for all the prayers that came in and the advice, the counsel. I probable listened to each one of them twice. And I’m so glad to say that I am no longer in the place, that angry place. Not at my husband, not at my daughter’s father. My daughter’s father, he has still not reached out to her. Her 11th birthday was last weekend. Not even a happy birthday message from him. She watches his status every now and then and see’s that he’s posting so he’s alive and well. But I’m glad that it’s not affecting me and I’m trying to be there for her as much as possible. My husband is an amazing father to her. I thank God for that. But online, I’m not in that place anymore. And I thank you so much and I thank God for getting me out of there. I wish to plead, cause I know that your prayers, prayers work. And this prayer community is very powerful. I wish to bring my friend to you; her name is Eve. Her name is Yvette, but you can call her Eve. She has had 4 miscarriages and she has actually been pregnant to full term once and given birth and the baby died. They have lost two, among these miscarriages have been twins and single pregnancies. She’s in a really dark place, she’s in a really bad place. She’s a believer and she prays for me every single day. I pray for her too. Please, can you join me to pray for Yvette. Please, family.

Thank you, Father, for this day. Thank you for your love, your mercy, your grace, your goodness and your kindness. Lord, so many things happened in this world, in our lives that our little minds can’t begin to fathom. Like, it’s beyond us Father. But it’s not beyond You. And Lord, today I’m grateful that the call aired for, from Junk to Treasure. For prayer for Junk to Treasure and her son and her family. I’m glad it aired today or I’m grateful that it aired today so more of us could hear it. And Father, our hearts ache. But it’s not beyond repair. The pain is not beyond repair. Only because we trust in You. And we know that You are a good, loving, kind, all wise, all-knowing Father. Help Lord. We need Your help. Like only you can help.

This is Laura in Colorado and I just wanted to lift up our sweet sister Lisa, battling cancer. God, I just come before You this morning and I lift up Lisa and I just thank You for her and I thank You for her life and for the shining example that she has been even before this community. As she has walked and trusted You. Even in the hardest of times. And God, we just come around her again and we lift her up. We ask God, that You would be so close. That You would be a comforter in every moment. You know every day that You have marked out and appointed for our dear friend. And God, we ask that each day that it would be lived to the fullest. We ask that each day that Your Holy Spirit, would just breathe new life into her. We ask God, that every encounter that she has would just be a Devine appointment from You. And God, we just ask for wisdom as she’s trying to make decisions about many things. That You would be so close to her and that she would be continue to be this beautiful example of what it means to walk in relationship with You, God. I just ask that You just give her even small delights in her day. That she would know that she’s not missing anything. And that she is just fully seen by You. And that You have granted her this path, but she is not walking it alone. And that You are fully aware …

Hi, this is Donna from California. Father God, I and we lift up your daughter, From Junk to Treasure. Lord, she has already had so many trials and this latest one, which was the first prayer request on her behalf this morning, May 6th. It’s just heart breaking. It’s just things like this, oh, just the question why. But Lord, we know that with You, this wife and this little baby are with You. And we just lift up From Junk to Treasure and her son and all of their family who are grieving. We are grieving right along with them. But the depths of what they’re going through Lord, this season, it’s going to be a hard one. There are just no words, but we do know that You are good. And that You care for the broken hearted. Lord, I have no words, we have no words to express grief like this. Please keep Junk to Treasure’s eyes fixed on You. And just come along and be with her and her son at this most difficult time. We love you Junk to Treasure. And God loves you. God loves you.

Hello Daily Audio Bible, this is Duane from Wisconsin. All praise and glory to our wonderful Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. Today is May 6th, and I just heard that Junk to Treasure’s daughter in law and her grandson, her daughter in law’s son, passed away in car accident. I come before You Lord, that You be with Junk To Treasure. She’s been such a blessing to us and has called in so many times to lift us up. We now ask Lord, that You would lift her up, be with her son through this time. Walk them through this valley. Give them comfort during this time. Give them peace. Give them understanding if it is Your will. Let them draw closer to You. We ask that friends and family come around them, to support them to be there and hold them up, to hold their hand, to hug them. To cry with them, to mourn. Lord, we ask, we ask for this for peace Lord, peace, understanding. We always want to ask why. So, give us peace, give them peace, Lord. And let them feel your presence with them through this time. In Jesus name we pray. Amen and God bless.

This message is for Junk to Treasure. Darling one, I come along side you in Shiva, as in Job 2:12-13. With sympathy and comfort. I sit alongside you and I will sit with you quietly. I love you. May the Lord collect every tear in a jar and comfort you in your lament. God bless you and keep you darling one. With love.

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The Daily Audio Bible Reading for Friday May 12, 2023 (NIV)

1 Samuel 12-13

The historical books of the Hebrew Bible often have sections where great religious leaders make a final speech. This is a summing-up of their lives and often a prophetic warning about the future. Call it “foreshadowing,” if you will, because everyone who hears this story knows that everything Samuel predicts comes true. As long as the people and their king serve only the Lord, they prosper; but if they and their king turn away from that faith, they suffer. As those who read the books of Samuel know, the people of Israel turn away from God; and eventually, great empires come and lay waste to the land.

12 Samuel (to the Israelites): I have listened to your voice and all you have said, and I have given you a king to rule over you. 2 He is now your ruler and will walk before you. I have grown old and gray, but my sons still live among you. I have led you since I was a young man, but those days are over.

3 Here I am. Speak up in front of the Eternal One and in front of His anointed king if you have the same grievances against me as you have against my sons. Have I ever taken an ox from you? A donkey? Have I ever cheated any of you? Threatened any of you? Have any of you given me a bribe to make me change my judgment? [If any of this is true, say so,][a] I will make it right.

Samuel asks his listeners to affirm that he has acted with integrity as their leader. Money has not swayed him, nor has personal emotion; he has done what is good in the sight of God. (Maybe, like Eli before him, his sons are a mess, but that’s another matter.) The people take seriously what he has to say next for two reasons: they trust Samuel, and they fear God.

Today some leaders taint religion by acting as Samuel’s sons did. Their personal greed, desire for political power, or unwillingness to put God first make some think that religion itself is a sham. Faithful leaders can still be found, but Samuel’s example suggests that it’s a good idea to question the actions of our leaders before we let them tell us what they think God wants from us.

People: 4 No, you have never cheated us, you have never threatened us, and you have never taken anything from anyone.

Samuel: 5 Then let the Eternal One, who witnesses against you, and His anointed king, who bears witness today, see that you have found me innocent of any wrongdoing against you.

People: He is our witness.

Samuel: 6 The Eternal One is our witness, the One who first raised Moses and Aaron to be leaders of the people, the One who brought your ancestors here out of the oppression of Egypt. 7 Now stand ready as I will present to you, before the Eternal One, a declaration of all the righteous acts the Eternal has done on behalf of you and your ancestors.

8 When Jacob went down into Egypt, your ancestors cried to the Eternal One for help, and the Eternal raised Moses and Aaron to lead your ancestors out of their bondage and bring them to this land. 9 But once they were here, they forgot the Eternal One, their True God, so He allowed Sisera, the general of the armies of Hazor, and later the Philistines and then the king of Moab to subdue them. So the people had to fight for their survival. 10 Under this heavy oppression, the people cried out to the Eternal, confessing, “We have sinned. We have forsaken the Eternal to serve the local gods.[b] But if You will save us now from the heavy hands of our enemies, we will serve You.” 11 Then the Eternal One raised up Jerubbaal, Bedan, Jephthah, and Samuel, who pulled you out of the grasp of your enemies and brought peace from warfare on every side so that you could live in safety. 12 But when you saw that King Nahash of the Ammonites was arrayed for battle against you, you ran to me, saying, “Give us a king to rule over us,” even though the Eternal One, your True God, has always been your king. 13 So now, look: here is the king you chose, the king for whom you asked. The Eternal has indeed set a king to rule over you.

14 If you will revere and serve the Eternal, if you listen to His voice and do not disobey His commands, then you and this king who rules over you will follow the Eternal One, your True God, and all will go well with you.

15 But if you ignore His voice, if you disobey the commands of the Eternal, then His mighty hand of judgment will be raised against you and against your ancestors.

16 Stand ready, for the Eternal One is going to show you a great sight. 17 It is the wheat harvest now, and is this not the time after the early rains? But I will call upon the Eternal to send thunder and rain so you will realize the depths of your sin before God because you demanded a king to rule over you.

18 Samuel prayed to the Eternal. He sent thunder and rain to pelt the fields that day, and the people were afraid of Him and of Samuel.

People (to Samuel): 19 Pray to the Eternal One your God on behalf of your servants so we will not die for adding to all the weight of our sin the evil of demanding our own king.

Samuel: 20 Don’t be frightened. It is true that you have done evil, but never stop following the Eternal One. Serve Him completely, 21 and do not follow empty things that do not have the power to benefit or save you. They are worthless. 22 For the sake of His reputation, He will not cast away His chosen people. Before you ever chose Him, the Eternal One chose you as His own because it pleased Him.

23 As for me, the last thing I would ever do is to stop praying for you. That would be a sin against the Eternal One on my part. I will always try to teach you to live and act in a way that is good and proper in His eyes. 24 Make this your one purpose: to revere Him and serve Him faithfully with complete devotion because He has done great things for you. 25 But if you continue in your evil ways against Him, you and your king will be swept off the face of the earth.

13 Saul was about 30[c] years old when he became king, and after he ruled for at least two years, 2 Saul chose 3,000 men of Israel: 2,000 stayed with him in the hill country of Bethel at a place called Michmash, and the other 1,000 joined Saul’s son Jonathan at Gibeah in Benjamin. He sent all the rest home to their tents.

3 Jonathan crushed the Philistine regiment at Geba, and news of this slaughter reached the Philistines. Saul ordered that a trumpet be blown throughout Israel to announce Jonathan’s victory to the people.

Saul: Let the Hebrew people know about this!

4 When all Israel had heard the news of how Saul had defeated the Philistines, and when they learned that the Philistines were filled with hatred toward them, Saul called the people out to join him at Gilgal.

5 Now the Philistines had gathered their forces: 30,000 chariots, 6,000 horsemen, and so many foot soldiers they were like grains of sand on the beach. They made camp at Michmash, east of Beth-aven. 6 When the people of Israel saw they were in danger, for their troops were seriously outnumbered, they hid in caves and in holes, among the rocks, tombs, and cisterns. 7 Some of the Hebrews crossed over the Jordan River into Gad and Gilead. But Saul remained at Gilgal; the people continued to follow him, but they were terrified.

8 Saul waited for Samuel for seven days, the amount of time he had been told by Samuel to wait. But the prophet did not come to Gilgal, and the people began to slip away. A few more days and Saul would have no army left, so he decided to take matters into his own hands.

Saul: 9 Bring me the animals for burnt offerings and the offerings of peace for the Lord.

10 Although Saul was not a priest, he offered the burnt offering himself without waiting for Samuel. Immediately after Saul finished the offering, when the aroma of the sacrifice lingered over the land, Samuel arrived, and Saul went out to greet him and to pay his respects. But Samuel knew Saul had overstepped his bounds.

Samuel: 11 What have you done?

Saul: The people were deserting me! You didn’t come when you promised, and the Philistines were gathering for war at Michmash. 12 I thought, “The Philistines are going to attack me here in Gilgal, and I haven’t even asked the Eternal One to favor us.” So I took matters into my own hands—I didn’t want to—but I offered the burnt offering myself.

Samuel: 13 That was a foolish thing, Saul. You have not kept the commandment that the Eternal, your True God, gave to you. He was willing to establish your kingdom over Israel for all time, 14 but now your kingdom, your dynasty, will not last. He has found a man who seeks His will and has appointed him king over all the people instead of you because you have not kept to what the Eternal One commanded.

15 Samuel left Gilgal then and went on his way to Gibeah in the land of Benjamin. When Saul counted his forces, they numbered about 600 men. 16 Saul, his son Jonathan, and the people who had remained with him camped at Geba in Benjamin, but the Philistines were camped at Michmash.

17 Philistine raiders left their camp in three divisions: one group went toward Ophrah, in the land of Shual. 18 Another group went toward Beth-horon, and another group went toward the borderland that looks down on the valley of Zeboim in the wilderness.

19 Now at that time there were no blacksmiths in all the land of Israel because the Philistines said, “Then the Hebrews will be capable of making swords or spears.” 20 That meant that the Israelites had to go to Philistine blacksmiths to have their farm implements and their axes sharpened. 21 They charged one-fourth of an ounce to sharpen picks and plow blades, and one-eighth of an ounce for axes and goads. 22 That meant that on the day of the battle, none of the forces of Israel owned swords or spears, except for Saul and his son Jonathan.

23 The garrison of Philistines left the camp and came to the pass of Michmash.

Footnotes:

  1. 12:3 Hebrew manuscripts omit this portion.
  2. 12:10 Hebrew, Baals and Astartes
  3. 13:1 All Hebrew manuscripts and most Greek manuscripts omit Saul’s age. The entire verse is problematic. Many suggestions have been offered, but none are clearly satisfying. Saul was older than 20 and less than 40 when he began his reign. He ruled at least 2 years and less than 42 years. It is difficult to be more specific.
The Voice (VOICE)

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

John 7:1-30

7 After these events, it was time for Jesus to move on. He began a long walk through the Galilean countryside. He was purposefully avoiding Judea because of the violent threats made against Him by the Jews there who wanted to kill Him. 2 It was fall, the time of year when the Jews celebrated the Festival of Booths.

On this holiday, everyone camps in temporary quarters, called booths, to remember that God was with their ancestors when they wandered for 40 years without a home.

Brothers of Jesus (to Jesus): 3 Let’s get out of here and go south to Judea so You can show Your disciples there what You are capable of doing. 4 No one who seeks the public eye is content to work in secret. If You want to perform these signs, then step forward on the world’s stage; don’t hide up here in the hills, Jesus.

5 Jesus’ own brothers were speaking contemptuously; they did not yet believe in Him, just as the people in His hometown did not see Him as anything more than Joseph’s son.

Jesus: 6 My time has not yet arrived; but for you My brothers, by all means, it is always the right time. 7 You have nothing to worry about because the world doesn’t hate you, but it despises Me because I am always exposing the dark evil in its works. 8 Go on to the feast without Me; I am not going right now because My time is not yet at hand.

9 This conversation came to an abrupt end, and Jesus stayed in Galilee 10 until His brothers were gone. Then He, too, went up to Jerusalem. But He traveled in secret to avoid drawing any public attention. 11 Some Jewish leaders were searching for Him at the feast and asking the crowds where they could find Him. 12 The crowds would talk in groups: some favored Jesus and thought He was a good man; others disliked Him and thought He was leading people astray. 13 All of these conversations took place in whispers. No one was willing to speak openly about Jesus for fear of the religious leaders.

14 In the middle of the festival, Jesus marched directly into the temple and started to teach. 15 Some of the Jews who heard Him were amazed at Jesus’ ability, and people questioned repeatedly:

Jews: How can this man be so wise about the Hebrew Scriptures? He has never had a formal education.

Jesus: 16 I do not claim ownership of My words; they are a gift from the One who sent Me. 17 If anyone is willing to act according to His purposes and is open to hearing truth, he will know the source of My teaching. Does it come from God or from Me? 18 If a man speaks his own words, constantly quoting himself, he is after adulation. But I chase only after glory for the One who sent Me. My intention is authentic and true. You’ll find no wrong motives in Me.

19 Moses gave you the law, didn’t he? Then how can you blatantly ignore the law and look for an opportunity to murder Me?

Notice how Jesus changes in tone and subject. This shift seems abrupt because the Pharisees’ plotting is yet to be exposed.

Crowd: 20 You must be possessed with a demon! Who is trying to kill You?

Jesus: 21 Listen, all it took was for Me to do one thing, heal a crippled man, and you all were astonished. 22 Don’t you remember how Moses passed down circumcision as a tradition of our ancestors? When you pick up a knife to circumcise on the Sabbath, isn’t that work? 23 If a male is circumcised on the Sabbath to keep the law of Moses intact, how can making one man whole on the Sabbath be a cause for your violent rage? 24 You should not judge by outward appearance. When you judge, search for what is right and just.

Some People of Jerusalem: 25 There is the man they are seeking to kill; surely He must be the one. 26 But here He is, speaking out in the open to the crowd, while they have not spoken a word to stop or challenge Him. Do these leaders now believe He is the Anointed One? 27 But He can’t be; we know where this man comes from, but the true origin of the Anointed will be a mystery to all of us.

Jesus (speaking aloud as He teaches on the temple’s porch): 28 You think you know Me and where I have come from, but I have not come here on My own. I have been sent by the One who embodies truth. You do not know Him. 29 I know Him because I came from Him. He has sent Me.

30 Some were trying to seize Him because of His words, but no one laid as much as a finger on Him—His time had not yet arrived.

The Voice (VOICE)

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

Psalm 108

Psalm 108

A song of David.

1 My heart is committed, O God:
I will sing;
I will sing praises with great affection
and pledge my whole soul to the singing.
2 Wake up the harp and lyre, and strum the strings;
I will stir the sleepy dawn from slumber!
3 I will stand and offer You my thanks, Eternal One, in the presence of others;
I will sing of Your greatness among the nations no matter where I am.
4 For Your amazing love soars overhead far into the heavens;
Your truth rises up to the clouds
where passing light bends.

5 O God, that You would be lifted up above the heavens in the hearts of Your people
until the whole earth knows Your glory.
6 Reach down and rescue those whom You love;
pull us to safety by Your mighty right hand, and answer me.
7 God’s voice has been heard in His holy sanctuary:
“I will celebrate.
I will allocate Shechem and the Succoth Valley to My people.
8 Gilead belongs to Me, and so does Manasseh;
Ephraim is the helmet that protects My head;
Judah is the scepter through which I rule;
9 Moab is the washpot in which I clean Myself;
I will throw My shoe over Edom in conquest;
Philistia will soon hear My victory shout.”

10 But who will take me into the fortified city?
Who will lead me into Edom?
11 Have You not turned Your back on us, O God?
Will You stay away and not accompany our armies, O God?
12 Help us against our enemy; we need Your help!
It’s useless to trust in the hand of man for liberation.
13 Only through God can we be successful.
It is God alone who will defeat our enemies and bring us victory!

The Voice (VOICE)

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

Proverbs 15:4

4 A word of encouragement heals the one who receives it,
but a deceitful word breaks the spirit.

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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The Daily Audio Bible Reading for Thursday May 11, 2023 (NIV)

1 Samuel 10-11

10 Samuel took a vial of olive oil and poured it on Saul’s head, anointing him, and then kissed him.

Samuel: The Eternal One of Israel has anointed you as ruler over His possession, over all Israel. [You will be king over the people of the Eternal One, and you will deliver them from the enemies that surround them now. And this will be the sign to you that I am speaking truth, and God has anointed you king over what is His]:[a] 2 when you leave me today, you will meet two men not far from Rachel’s tomb, in Benjamin’s territory at Zelzah. These men will tell you, “The donkeys you sought have been found. Your father has stopped worrying about them, and now he is worried about you. He asks, ‘But what about my son?’” 3 When you leave them behind and reach the oak of Tabor, you will meet three men going to sacrifice to God at Bethel. One will have three young goats; one will have three loaves of bread; another will have a skin full of wine. 4 They will greet you and offer you two of the loaves of bread. Take them, and go on. 5 When you leave them behind and reach the Philistine garrison at the hill of God (Gibeath-elohim), just as you come into the city, you will meet a group of prophets returning from the high place. Musicians leading them will be playing harps, tambourines, flutes, and lyres; and the prophets will be caught up in prophetic ecstasy. 6 Then the Spirit of the Eternal One will overtake you, you will be caught up in the same prophetic spirit as these prophets, and you will be changed into a different person. 7 When these signs come to pass, do what you think is best. The True God is with you. 8 Go down to Gilgal ahead of me. I will come to present peace sacrifices and burnt offerings. Wait for seven days, and I will show you what to do.

9 As Saul turned to leave Samuel, the True God transformed his heart. As a result, all that Samuel had predicted came to pass that day. 10 When Saul came up to the hill of God, he met a band of prophets; and as Samuel had said, the Spirit of God overtook him, and he was caught up in their prophetic ecstasy.

11 Then the people who knew him saw that he began to prophesy with the prophets.

People (among themselves): What has happened to the son of Kish? Is Saul one of the prophets now?

Local Citizen: 12 And who is their father?

This is one way the saying, “Is Saul one of the prophets?” originated.

13 When Saul finished prophesying, he went to a high place to a local shrine.

14 When Saul returned home, his uncle asked him and his servant where they had been.

Saul: We went to look for the donkeys. When we couldn’t find them, we spoke with the seer, Samuel.

Uncle: 15 What did Samuel tell you?

Saul: 16 He told us that the donkeys had been found.

But Saul did not tell him anything about the kingdom or anything else Samuel had said.

Why is Saul chosen as the first king? He is from the tiny tribe of Benjamin, so he seems to be outside the mainstream of political power. But he is a handsome and tall young man, meaning he is appealing in appearance and able to inspire confidence in warriors. At this first appearance, it even seems as if his inner qualities might match his outer qualities—God transforms him and gives him the power to prophesy—but as the story goes on, his insecurities and his jealousy of David are his undoing.

17 Sometime later Samuel called the people to come and gather in the presence of the Eternal One at Mizpah. 18 He stood before the Israelites with an important message.

Samuel: Listen to what the Eternal One, the God of Israel, has to say to you: “I brought Israel up from Egypt and rescued you from Egyptian bondage, and then I delivered you from all of the nations that sought to burden you.” 19 Today, though, you have rejected the True God who has saved you from every disaster and distress, and you have asked for a king to rule over you. If that is what you want, then line up by tribe and clan in front of the Eternal One.

20 So Samuel brought all of the tribes of Israel in front of him, and he chose the tribe of Benjamin by drawing lots. 21 Then he sorted through the clans of the tribe of Benjamin by the same method, and the clan of the Matrites was chosen. [Within that clan, he brought each man forward one by one,][b] and Saul, son of Kish, was chosen. But when they looked for him, he was nowhere to be found.

22 So they asked the Eternal One if the man had yet arrived.

Eternal One: Look! He has hidden himself among the baggage.

23 Then they hurried to find him and bring him in front of the people; and when he emerged, he stood head and shoulders above everyone else.

Samuel (to the people): 24 Do you see the man whom the Eternal One has chosen for you as king? No one else among the people of Israel can compare to him.

People (cheering and chanting): Long live the king!

25 Samuel informed the people about the rights and responsibilities of the king, and he wrote all these details in a book that he placed in the presence of the Eternal One. Then he sent all the people to their homes. 26 Saul, too, went home to Gibeah, accompanied by a group of warriors who had been moved by the True God to accompany him. 27 Still, some worthless skeptics and unbelievers asked, “How can this no-name from Benjamin protect us?” and they refused to honor him with an appropriate gift. But Saul kept silent.

[At that time, Nahash, the king of the Ammonites, tyrannized the men of the tribes of Dan and Reuben, putting out one of each man’s eyes and denying the possibility of their deliverance. Not one of the Israelites across the Jordan still had both his eyes, but 7,000 men had escaped from this conflict and reached Jabesh-gilead.][c]

11 So after a month had passed, Nahash the Ammonite besieged Jabesh-gilead. 2 The men of Jabesh tried to make a treaty with Nahash, telling him they would serve him.

Nahesh: I will make this treaty with you on one condition: I will put out the right eye of every one of you and so humiliate Israel.

Elders: 3 Give us seven days to send messengers throughout Israel. If no one comes to deliver us, we will surrender to you.

4 When the messengers reached Gibeah, where Saul was ruling, they told the people about Nahash and his cruelty, and it made them weep out loud. 5 Now Saul was just coming in from plowing in the fields when he heard the commotion.

Saul: What has happened? Why is everyone so sad?

So they told the king about the predicament and request from the people of Jabesh. 6 When he heard their story, the Spirit of the True God moved upon Saul, and he was furious. 7 He took a team of oxen, just like the one he had just been plowing the fields with, cut them into pieces, and sent the pieces throughout the land of Israel with his first royal decree: “May those who refuse to answer this call from Saul and Samuel have their oxen torn apart like this!” Because they were afraid of making the Eternal One angry, people from every tribe came forward to fight as one.

8 Saul gathered them at Bezek, and the Israelites numbered 300,000 fighting men, with Judah providing 30,000. 9 The messengers who had come from Jabesh were sent back to tell the people in Jabesh-gilead to look for deliverance before the heat of the next day. They were thrilled by the news.

10 So the citizens of Jabesh sent a message to Nahash.

People of Jabesh: Tomorrow we will surrender to you, and you may do whatever you wish to us.

11 The next morning Saul divided the people into three regiments; they entered the Ammonite camp that night under the cloak of darkness during the morning watch and slaughtered the soldiers until the next afternoon. The survivors were so few and so scattered you could not find two Ammonites together.

People (to Samuel): 12 Who are those people who jeered, “Is Saul going to be our king?” Where are they now? Hand them over so we can kill them!

Saul: 13 No. Not one man will be executed today because the Eternal One has given a great victory to Israel.

Samuel (to the people): 14 Come with me to Gilgal. There we will renew the kingdom and crown Saul as our king.

15 So representatives from all the tribes went to Gilgal. There Saul was installed as king of Israel before the Eternal One; then they joyfully offered peace offerings to the Eternal, and Saul and all the Israelites celebrated.

Footnotes:

  1. 10:1 Hebrew manuscripts omit this portion.
  2. 10:21 Hebrew manuscripts omit this portion.
  3. 10:27 This portion appears in the LXX; most ancient texts omit it.
The Voice (VOICE)

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

John 6:43-71

Jesus: 43 Stop grumbling under your breaths. 44 If the Father who sent Me does not draw you, then there’s no way you can come to Me. But I will resurrect everyone who does come on the last day. 45 Among the prophets, it’s written, “Everyone will be taught of God.”[a] So everyone who has heard and learned from the Father finds Me. 46 No one has seen the Father, except the One sent from God. He has seen the Father. 47 I am telling you the truth: the one who accepts these things has eternal life. 48 I am the bread that gives life. 49 Your fathers ate manna in the wilderness, and they died as you know. 50 But there is another bread that comes from heaven; if you eat this bread, you will not die. 51 I am the living bread that has come down from heaven to rescue those who eat it. Anyone who eats this bread will live forever. The bread that I will give breathes life into the cosmos. This bread is My flesh.

52 The low whispers of some of Jesus’ detractors turned into an out-and-out debate.

Crowd: What is He talking about? How is He able to give us His flesh to eat?

Jesus: 53 I tell you the truth; unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink His blood, you will not know life. 54 If you eat My flesh and drink My blood, then you will have eternal life and I will raise you up at the end of time. 55 My flesh and blood provide true nourishment. 56 If you eat My flesh and drink My blood, you will abide in Me and I will abide in you. 57 The Father of life who sent Me has given life to Me; and as you eat My flesh, I will give life to you. 58 This is bread that came down from heaven; I am not like the manna that your fathers ate and then died! If you eat this bread, your life will never end.

59 He spoke these words in the synagogue as part of His teaching mission in Capernaum. 60 Many disciples heard what He said, and they had questions of their own.

Disciples: How are we supposed to understand all of this? It is a hard teaching.

61 Jesus was aware that even His disciples were murmuring about this.

How is it possible to follow this path and believe these truths? To be honest, it is not easy. In fact, some find this so hard that they leave Jesus for good. The rest readily admit they are still working on what it means to follow Him. So Jesus leaves behind a number of practices to help believers. One of these is known as the Lord’s Supper. Jesus instructs His disciples to break bread and share wine to remember how He will allow His body to be broken for all humankind. In some beautiful, mysterious way, Jesus is present in the simple elements of bread and wine, so the worshiper may touch Him, taste His richness, and remember His most glorious hours on the cross. In that moment, He embraces all darkness and shame and transforms them into light. As believers come to the table together and feast on His light, life seems more hopeful and complete. Taking the bread and the wine means affirming the reality that the One who has come to liberate souls is among and within His people.

Jesus: Has My teaching offended you? 62 What if you were to see the Son of Man ascend to return to where He came from? 63 The Spirit brings life. The flesh has nothing to offer. The words I have been teaching you are spirit and life, 64 but some of you do not believe.

From the first day Jesus began to call disciples, He knew those who did not have genuine faith. He knew, too, who would betray Him.

Jesus: 65 This is why I have been telling you that no one comes to Me without the Father’s blessing and guidance.

66 After hearing these teachings, many of His disciples walked away and no longer followed Jesus.

Jesus (to the twelve): 67 Do you want to walk away too?

Simon Peter: 68 Lord, if we were to go, whom would we follow? You speak the words that give everlasting life. 69 We believe and recognize that You are the Holy One sent by God.[b]

Jesus: 70 I chose each one of you, the twelve, Myself. But one of you is a devil.

71 This cryptic comment referred to Judas, the son of Simon Iscariot, for he was the one of the twelve who was going to betray Him.

Footnotes:

  1. 6:45 Isaiah 54:13
  2. 6:69 Other ancient manuscripts read, “You are God’s Anointed, the Liberating King, the Son of the Living God.”
The Voice (VOICE)

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

Psalm 107

Book Five

Book Five (Psalms 107–150) succinctly presents many of the major themes of the previous psalms. It tracks along Israel’s history as God’s nation, from the united monarchy, through the exile, to the restoration. Psalm 107 is a song of thanksgiving composed by those who survived exile and made their way home. As in Isaiah, the return from exile is described as a new exodus. Three Davidic psalms toward the beginning of Book Five represent the monarchy and recall Israel’s golden age. The Songs for the Journey to Worship (Psalm 120–134) are composed for use by God’s people as they traveled from their homes up to Zion to worship God at the temple. Representing their time in exile are songs of lament, heartbreaking testimonies to individuals’ pain when they are crushed by their enemies and separated from God’s blessings. Finally, Book Five concludes the collection by offering praise and thanks to God, for the story of Israel does not end with its exile and separation; rather, it ends in restoration and hope. Those who edited and compiled the Book of Psalms were relieved to be back in the land of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob—rebuilding their temple and reestablishing their connection with God.

Psalm 107

1 Erupt with thanks to the Eternal, for He is good
and His loyal love lasts forever.
2 Let all those redeemed by the Eternal—
those rescued from times of deep trouble—join in giving thanks.
3 He has gathered them across the earth,
from east and west,
from [north and south].[a]

4 Some drifted around in the desert
and found no place where they could live.
5 Their bellies growled with hunger; their mouths were dry with thirst;
their souls grew weak and weary.
6 In their distress, they called out to the Eternal,
and He saved them from their misery.
7 He showed them the best path; then He led them down the right road
until they arrived at an inhabited town.
8 May they erupt with praise and give thanks to the Eternal
in honor of His loyal love
And all the wonders He has performed for humankind!
9 He has quenched their thirst,
and He has satisfied their hunger with what is good.

10 Some people were locked up in dark prisons, confined in gloom as bleak as death.
They were captives bound by iron chains and misery,
11 All because they had rebelled against the directives of the True God
and had rejected the wisdom of the Most High.
12 So they suffered the heaviness of slave labor;
when they stumbled and fell, there was no one to help them up.
13 In their distress, they called out to the Eternal;
He saved them from their misery.
14 He rescued them from the darkness, delivered them from the deepest gloom of death;
He shattered their iron chains.
15 May they erupt with praise and give thanks to the Eternal
in honor of His loyal love
And all the wonders He has performed for humankind!
16 He has broken down the bronze gates
and severed the iron bars that imprisoned them.

17 Some people became fools infected by their rebellious ways,
and sickness followed because of their sins.
18 Afflicted and weak, they refused any sort of food
as they approached the gates of death.
19 In their distress, they called out to the Eternal,
and He saved them from their misery.
20 He gave the order and healed them
and rescued them from certain death.
21 May they erupt with praise and give thanks to the Eternal
in honor of His loyal love
And all the wonders He has performed for humankind!
22 Let them present to Him thanksgiving sacrifices
and tell stories of His great deeds through songs of joy.

23 Some set out to sea in ships,
traveling across mighty seas in order to trade in foreign lands.
24 They witnessed the powerful acts of the Eternal,
marveled at the great wonders He revealed over the deep waters.
25 For He spoke and summoned a violent wind
that whipped up the waves of the sea.
26 Relentless waves lifted the ships high in the sky, then drove them down to the depths;
the sailors’ courage dissolved into misery.
27 They staggered and stumbled around like drunkards,
and they had no idea what to do.
28 In their distress, they called out to the Eternal,
and He saved them from their misery.
29 He commanded the storm to calm down, and it became still.
A hush came over the waves of the sea,
30 The sailors were delighted at the quiet,
and He guided them to their port.
31 May they erupt with praise and give thanks to the Eternal
in honor of His loyal love
And all the wonders He has performed for humankind!
32 Let them glorify Him in the assembly of His people
and worship Him in the presence of the elders.

33 God transforms wild, flowing rivers into dry, lonely deserts,
lively springs of water into thirsty ground.
34 He turns lush gardens into lifeless wastelands,
all because of the wickedness of those who reside there.
35 Yet He transforms a dry, lonely desert into pools of living water,
parched ground into lively springs.
36 And He allows those who are hungry to live there
so that they might build a livable city.
37 There they sow fields and plant vineyards
and gather up an abundant harvest.
38 He anoints them with His blessings, and they greatly increase in number.
He does not allow their herds to dwindle.

39 When His people lessen in number and are humbled
through persecution, suffering, and brokenheartedness,
40 He pours out contempt on those responsible leaders
and then makes them drift around in an uncharted wasteland.
41 But He raises the poor away from their suffering
and multiplies their families like a flock.
42 The righteous see God’s actions, and they take delight in what He does,
but the unrighteous don’t dare to speak.
43 Is there anyone wise? If so, may the wise take notice of these things
and reflect upon the loyal love of the Eternal.

Footnotes:

  1. 107:3 Hebrew manuscripts read, “and the sea.”
The Voice (VOICE)

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

Proverbs 15:1-3

15 A tender answer turns away rage,
but a prickly reply spikes anger.
2 The words of the wise extend knowledge,
but foolish people utter nonsense.
3 The Eternal can see all things;
His gaze is fixed on both the evil and the good.

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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05/11/2023 DAB Transcript

1 Samuel 10:1-11:15, John 6:43-71, Psalms 107:1-43, Proverbs 15:1-3

Today is the 11th day of May welcome to the Daily Audio Bible I’m Brian it’s fantastic to be here with you today as we gather and take the next step forward together. I am grateful, grateful that we can take the next step forward together, grateful that we can be together to take the next step. And, so, let’s do that. We’re reading from the New English Translation this week and picking up where we left off yesterday which leads us back into the book of first Samuel. And we are at the precipice of a very different era. We are about to anoint a king over Israel, something they’ve never had before. And, so, let’s dive in. First Samuel 10 and 11.

Commentary:

Okay. So, there are a couple things we need to talk about. First in first Samuel we see Saul ascend to kingship. He is the first monarch over the children of Israel. And we saw the whole way that it happened, right? Samuel’s talking to Sail telling him what he’s going to experience on his way back to home. A prophetic word that comes true. The spirit of the Lord rushes upon Saul. He prophesies and then all the people are called together and the tribe…like, by lot, the tribe of Benjamin is chosen. And we should remember just…just a little bit ago, where back in the book of Judges we see this terrible thing happen in the tribe of Benjamin in the city of Gibea. And I mentioned then that Israel’s first king is going to come out of the ashes of this. So, that’s what’s happening. The people all come together. The tribe of Benjamin is chosen by lot. Then Saul’s family is chosen and then Saul is chosen, and Saul is nowhere to be found. Saul is hiding. He’s literally being called to become the king and he is literally hiding from his calling. And that immediately becomes a mirror. How many times have we hid when we should have stepped forward into what we were being invited into by God? What we’ll see as we get to know Saul a little bit better is that he definitely looks like a king. He looks the part, but he has absolute flaws within him that are debilitating. And we’ll watch that. What we see today is that Saul fears other people. The fear of man is a dominant characteristic in his life as we get to know it here in Samuel. So, his first act, an act of stepping forward into kingship is hiding. He’s dominated by how things look, how he looks over what he is assigned to do and we’re gonna watch this materialize until it turns into a severe amount of paranoia and mental illness, which we will see. So, Saul has plenty to teach us in the days ahead.

Then we turn over into the gospel of John and I just once in a while refer to this as Jesus vampire monologue because what He…what He says today actually clears out the circus atmosphere around Him. He says, “unless you eat my flesh and drink my blood you have no life in yourselves. The one who eats my flesh and drinks my blood has eternal life, and I will raise him up on the last day. For my flesh is true food in my blood is true drink.” And I could continue on, but this is what Jesus is saying, and a lot of people are like, what are we talking about here all of the sudden? Like, how does this work? And as this story plays out many of His followers depart away from Him. From the book of John, “after this many of His disciples quit following Him and did not accompany Him any longer.” And Jesus did clarify that He wasn’t saying like somehow He was going to chop off a hand and everybody was going to share it and eat His hand and all the blood that came out of His arm they were going to drink it. Jesus clarified. And I quote Jesus. “The Spirit is the One who gives life. Human nature is of no help. The words that I have spoken to you are Spirit and are life.” So, from this we are to understand that what Jesus is saying is spiritual. Christ within us will live eternally. Nevertheless, a lot of people split after this, and Jesus was never looking to be any kind of celebrity. He wasn’t trying to build up some sort of platform for Himself. He didn’t like the circus atmosphere that surrounded Him. He withdrew often. But in this case He kinda cleared the deck. A lot of people abandoned Him at this point, which kind of leads us to one of…one of the most touching scenes in the New Testament for this because all of the people leave and there’s these 12 disciples who are following this rabbi who have heard what He said and have watched the crowds disperse. They’re just kind of standing around and then Jesus looks to His friends, His 12 friends and says, “you don’t want to go away too, do you?” Something about that touches me in my heart. God in the flesh, moving around the countryside speaking the truth, unpacking the truth, trying to show people that they’re living under a cloud, and they need to open their eyes and see what’s really happening here, what God is actually doing, where He is leading. And they abandon Him. And here’s God with his 12 friends saying, are you…are you gonna leave too? Are you taking off too? There’s something pretty sad about that. But then Simon Peter sort of speaks for all of them. “Lord, to whom would we go? You have the words of eternal life. We have come to believe and to know that you are the Holy One of God.” And I think that about nails it and I think that’s our point of meditation for today, a place to kind of center ourselves. We have drawn near to the Lord and we have wandered far away and we have walked away at times when we don’t understand what He’s doing and it’s not what we want. We’ve probably shaken our fists at the sky in some sort of way over our circumstances. And if we could just kind of hear the echoes here. You don’t want to go away too, do you? Ahhh…that just hits me in the heart. May we all respond as Peter did. Where would we go? Only You can save us. We believe that You are the Holy One of God. Where else is there to go? So, wherever You’re going we’re going and whatever You say, whether we understand it or not, we believe. May that well up within us today as we navigate the choices, the conversations that will come our way.

Prayer:

Holy Spirit, we invite You into that. Lead us deeper into Jesus. Of course we’re not leaving. You would never leave or forsake us. Where else would we go? May this become true. May it become foundational in our hearts today we pray in the name of Jesus. Amen.

Announcements:

dailyaudiobible.com, that’s home base, that is the website, that’s where you can find out what’s going on around here. And that’s where to get plugged in.

Check out the Community section. There are links to different social media channels to connect. It is also the place where the Prayer Wall lives, which is a resource always available to us. We can always go there and ask for prayer, share what’s going on. Sometimes it’s such a relief to just say it…to just say it, even if we’re typing it. Just get it out. This is…this is what I’m facing and to feel the encouragement of brothers and sisters and their presence around us, encouraging us. That’s the Prayer Wall and that can be found in the Community section. So, check that out.

If you want to partner with the Daily Audio Bible, thank you. Thank you humbly. We wouldn’t be here. We wouldn’t be here if we weren’t in this together. 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, we have a prayer request or encouragement there are a number of ways to reach out. You can hit the Hotline button in the app. That’s the little red button up at the top or there are a number of numbers you can call. In the Americas 877-942-4253 is the number to dial. If you are in the UK or Europe 44-20-3608-8078. And if you are in Australia are that part of the world 61-3-8820-5459 is the number to dial.

And that’s it for today. I am Brian I love you and I’ll be waiting for you here tomorrow.

Community Prayer and Praise:

Coming soon…

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5/10/2023 DAB Transcript

1 Samuel 8:1-9:27, John 6:22-42, Psalm 106:32-48, Proverbs 14:34-35

Today is the 10th day of May, welcome to the Daily Audio Bible. I’m Brian. It is wonderful to be here with you today as we gather around the Global Campfire and find a place, there’s all kinds of room. It’s cozy here. And we leave behind, for a little bit, the cares of this life all the things that are slumping our shoulders, all the things that are making us walk slow. We leave those things, the anxieties, the depression, all that stuff. We can go get it. Like if we’re worried it’s gonna go away and we really need this stuff, we can always go pick it back up. But we come in here, in a safe place, and allow God’s word to speak into our lives and maybe our perspective is changed and maybe we don’t need to carry some of that stuff anymore. Or maybe it looks different. But for now, this is where we are, we’re present here around the Global Campfire, taking the next step forward. And that next step, will certainly lead us to the last step where, where we left off and that brings us back into the book of First Samuel. And Samuels leadership is leading us to Israel’s first king. Today, First Samuel 8 and 9.

Commentary:

Okay, so there’s a couple things we need to talk about today. Let’s first go into first Samuel. I mean, we had a lot of details about Samuel’s early life and his childhood. And then, as he becomes an adult, like years go by in a sentence, but he is the final judge and now we have, we have drawn near to the end of Samuel’s life. And as I said, Samuel’s the final judge of Israel. We are transitioning out of the times of the judges and into the time of the monarchy. But Samuel’s plan was to just keep the judges going and he put his two sons in charge as co-judges, but they as the leaders of Israel came to Samuel, they told Samuel they don’t, they don’t act or walk in the ways that you walk. Like, basically we’re not taking them as, we don’t want them appointed as judges, we want a king. And that displeased Samuel, it was a rejection of God. God spoke to Samuel and said they’re not rejecting you. It’s me, they’re rejecting me as their king, but do as they say, give them a king. And so, we met this man named Saul today and we know very little about him, other than he was on a donkey chase when he came in contact with this seer. Samuel, who has an important message to give him from God. This is the set up and Saul will become this first king. And Saul, now as we move into this era of the monarchy, Israel’s first King Saul we’ll watch his story, but his story is a mirror into our own lives on so many levels. There’s a number of things for us to observe and learn from in the life of King Saul in the days ahead.

Now let’s flip over into John. Jesus has asked a question today and it, it’s a question that whether we speak it aloud or just think of it, it’s a question that is probably relatively familiar to us. The question is, what must we do to accomplish the deeds God requires? And since Jesus answers the question, it’s like so easy to go, oh great let me grab a pen. Like, I want to write this list down so that I’m making sure that I’m jumping through these hoops. But Jesus answers interestingly, and we must believe that Jesus answers truthfully. And so, the answer to the question is this: and I quote Jesus, “This is the deed God requires, to believe in the one whom he sent.” Like that’s it. That’s what He said. They interrupted him, like that’s what He said. And so, they countered then basically then show us some magic so that we might believe. What can You do? What can You show us to prove it? The backdrop for this is that Jesus had just fed thousands of people miraculously and then went back to Capernaum and the crowds have come from Capernaum and are asking Him this question and they’re saying show us what you can do because our ancestors ate the manna in the wilderness. He gave them bread from heaven to eat, what can You do? And Jesus is like, are you kidding me? Like, what did I just do yesterday, besides give you bread to eat. But you guys are here after the wrong bread. I am the bread of life. The one who comes to me will never go hungry, and the one who believes in me will never be thirsty. But I told you that you have seen me, and you still don’t believe. And we can read the story in the Gospel of John and look at the people and go, guys, how could you miss this, how could you miss it. It’s right in front of your faces. How can you be so thick? Until we realize that part of this story is to let us look into our own reflection and realize that we have the same tendencies to do the same thing. I do believe, I will believe. Show me the magic, show me the signs, I need the signs. And we want to follow after those things, instead of simply believing, understanding that what we want is to see and then believe. But that’s not faith. Believing and it opening your eyes so that you can see that his faith. We also have to think about how we could love someone we don’t believe in. How do you have a relationship with someone you don’t believe in, which leads us to ask ourselves the question that we should be asking. Do we believe or are we setting our lives up in such a way that we are inviting God to continually prove Himself. Are we believing because we think that we can exchange our belief in trade for some sort of benefit, or some sort of sign? Basically, do we find ourselves in the position of the people who are questioning Jesus? These people aren’t being antagonistic, there just saying, show us what you can do and then we’ll believe. How often do we find ourselves in that position? It’s food for thought today.

Prayer:

And so, Holy Spirit, we invite You into that. Do we love You and follow You for what we think You’re going to provide for us? Or do we love you because even while we were your enemies You came to rescue us, displaying that You loved us first, and our love is a response. Come, Holy Spirit, and lead us into all truth, and lead us into the truth about our honest motivations here. And as we turn away from directions that are going nowhere, lead us on the narrow path that leads to life, lead us deeper into Jesus, we ask in his name. Amen.

Announcements:

dailyaudiobible.com that is home base, that is where you can find out what is going on around here. The Daily Audio Bible app is also available and that puts everything in nice compact little app right in the palm of your hand. So, download that from the App Store that, well, whichever one is associated with your phone or tablet, search for Daily Audio Bible and you can get it from there. Check out the different sections like the Community Section, get plugged in there and that’s where the Prayer Wall lives. Check out the Daily Audio Bible Shop. There are resources there in a number of categories for the journey that we are on.

And if you want to partner with the Daily Audio Bible. If you find that being here and having this place, be here every day, a place that we can go and center ourselves in God’s word and move through it together as a family. The family of God in community, if that is life-giving than 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 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.

Prayer and Encouragements:

Hello DAB community. This is Mark, the baby doctor from Dayton Ohio. My wife and I have been listeners to the DAB since 2012. And it has been a really long time since I’ve called in. I’m recently retired, and I was just listening to the DAB, and I heard Lisa from the East Coast, also known as Philippians 4:6, call in about her cancer at the age of 36 with a really difficult prognosis. And also, God’s Chosen on that same episode also called in and prayed for her. I was deeply moved Lisa by what you said and your cancer. And as a physician and believer since 1978 I have come to strongly believe that healing still does occur today. And I was compelled in my heart to call and pray for your healing. I wanted to give you Lamentations 3:21 through 24. This I recall to my mind. Therefore, I have hope. The Lord’s lovingkindness indeed never ceases for his compassions never fail. They are new every morning, great is your faithfulness. The Lord is my portion, says my soul. Therefore, I have hope in Him. And Psalms 27:13 and 14, and yet I totally trust you to rescue me one more time so I can see once again how good you are while I’m still alive. Lisa, I command this cancer to be gone from your body. That you would receive healing. In Jesus name. Love you.

Hi, I’m gonna call myself Jenny the Quilter. I’ve been listening to the DAB for about 3 years now. And I put on my headphones and work away at a long arm machine every day. And I’ve been so grateful for Brian Hardin and everything that he does. And I wish that my first call was just me calling to say how thankful I am for this program. But like many people, I have something that I really desperately want you to pray for. A lady called in today, wanting us to pray for her son Shawn, who had a mass behind his eye and my daughter right now, is fighting what they are calling an ocular melanoma behind her eye. We’re trying to get appointments and dealing with the medical system. And I just want your prayers for everything to work out for the best. Like I said, I love this program. I love all of you. I pray for you every day.

Hello my DAB family. As I continue to pray for our incarcerated brothers and sisters, such as Tickny Bird, Robert Novaro, Samson Elvis, Kyarn Stanyels, Bruce Devise, Ricky White, Eugene Thomas and my son, Joel Polk. Just also keep me and my family in prayer as we were praying for charges to be dropped, lessened or reduced or my son to be exonerated. He received a stiff penalty. Unless there’s some type of redemption through retrial, appeals, he may spend decades incarcerated. But I do know that God has it in control. And I thank you DAB, Brian, Jill and staff, for all your support for this ministry. Gods got it all in control. I love you family, although I feel and the family feels as if we’re in suspended animation, we know that God’s got it. Love you, God Bless and have a great day.

This is Maximum Health Warrior it’s Wednesday, May 3rd. Please keep me in your prayers. I suffer from sever anxiety and depression all my life and I know I cast my cares to the Lord, for He cares for me. I know that brothers and sisters are suffering the same way and I know that Jesus says that He will restore me but somedays I doubt that. I feel like I’m two people. On some days I praise the heavens, I feel like I’m doing what God wants me to do. I’m on the path that God wants me to be. And on other days I’m paralyzed with fear. I overthink everything, every little thing. Like, would God want me to do this, would God want me to do that and if I don’t do this what will happen. And then I feel guilty for that. And it just compounds it. I know God doesn’t want me to feel this way. But sometimes I can’t help it. I, I could use your prayers. And also, I want to say to Blind Tony, thank you so much. Your poems, when I’m feeling down, I can listen to your poems, and I feel edified and restored. You don’t know how many people you’re touching with them, keep them up. Thank you, God Bless.

Hello, my DAB family, this is Unwavering from North Carolina, calling in to respond to Liza, Philippians 4:6. It was so good to hear your voice and I want you to know that I have continue to keep you on the alter. I thank God for just your encouraging words despite all that you are going through. And I am in agreement with you on your clarity and your courage as a fellow DABer called in. I just want to lift you up. Father God, we thank You for Liza. We thank You that she continues or to give You all praise, all honor for who You are in her life. And right now, I just bind the assignment of cancer to her. Lord, I thank You that she will continue to have a healthy immune system and that it is perfectly aligned with your will. Father God, I just decree and declare right now, that Liza will prosper that she will continue, Father God, to have full days ahead. We thank You for her 36 birthday. And Father God, we just believe that Lord, there is nothing to hard for You. You hung the twinkling stars, You set the radiant moon, You tell the ocean where to stop and start. There is nothing to hard for You. So, I just believe You God for Liza’s complete and total healing and restoration. In Your son’s mighty and matchless powerful name. We pray. Amen. Love you DAB family. And Liza, stay encouraged. We believe God.

Hello Daily Audio Bible. This is Candace from Oregon asking you to pray with me for my son, Micah. The very first time I ever called the DAB was March 22 of 2014. I had just began listening on January 1st of 2014. At that time, it looked like God had delivered my son from alcohol. But here we are in 2023 and yes, he has been sober now for two months but it’s because he put himself into a treatment program and has not been out in the world, real world yet. This is the second time in a year, he was also at the same treatment program last June. Please pray with me. Lord, thank You that I am with Your people. And we are holding hands together in prayer for Micah knowing that You can do anything. And we’ve seen You work in his life, time and again. I know Lord, that the day he passes away, he’ll go straight into your arms and that he believes in You. But meanwhile, You have a hope and a future for him on this earth as well. I pray that when he is released here in just a few days, that You give him strength like he’s never had before. That he has the courage to attend the meetings, AA. And hold on to his dreams. I pray that he treats You, relies on You. And has friends who encourage him to do this. We ask these things in Jesus name and for his sake.

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The Daily Audio Bible Reading for Wednesday May 10, 2023 (NIV)

1 Samuel 8-9

8 When Samuel was old, he named his sons judges of Israel to rule over the people and be their deliverers. 2 His first son, Joel, and his second son, Abijah, were judges in Beersheba, 3 but they were not like Samuel. They profited from dishonesty, took bribes, and fostered injustice. 4 So the elders of Israel gathered and came to Ramah to tell Samuel.

Elders: 5 You have grown old, Samuel, and your sons do not administer justice the way that you did. Before things worsen, appoint a king to rule us, as other nations have.

6 This request—“appoint a king to rule us”—bothered Samuel, so he prayed to the Eternal One 7 and received an answer.

Eternal One (to Samuel): Listen to what the people are asking you to do. It is not a rejection of you—it is a rejection of My rule over them. 8 It is what they have always done, from the day I brought them out of Egypt until today, rejecting Me and serving other gods. Now they are just doing it to you. 9 So listen to what they are asking you to do, but make it plain to them what they are asking. Warn them about what will happen if a king is appointed to rule them.

10 So Samuel told the people who were asking for a king what the Eternal One had said.

Samuel: 11 If a king rules over you, things will be different from now on. He will make your sons drive his chariots, be his horsemen, and go into battle ahead of his chariots. 12 Your king will select commanders over 1,000 and commanders over 50. He will make some of you to plow his fields and collect his harvest; some of you will be the blacksmiths forging his shields and swords for battle and outfitting his chariots. 13 He will force your daughters to make perfumes, to cook his meals, and to bake his bread. 14 He will seize the choicest of your fields, vineyards, and olive orchards to give to his courtiers, 15 and a tenth of your grain and your vineyards to give to his court eunuchs and servants. 16 This king you ask for will take your slaves, male and female, as his own and put the choicest of your donkeys and your young men to do his work. 17 He will take a tenth of your flocks. You will essentially become his slaves. 18 One day you will cry for mercy from the Eternal One to save you from this king you have chosen for yourselves, but be assured, He will not hear you on that day.

People of Israel (ignoring Samuel): 19 We have decided that we will have a king who will rule over us 20 so that we will be like all other nations and will have someone to judge us and to lead us into battle.

21 After Samuel had heard their demands, he told the Eternal One what they had said.

Eternal One (to Samuel): 22 Do as they have asked. Give them a king.

So Samuel told the people of Israel to go back to their cities until he would call them together to anoint them a king.

9 A powerful man named Kish, who descended from Abiel, Zeror, Becorath, and Aphiah (the son of a Benjaminite), lived among the people of Benjamin. 2 Kish had a handsome young son named Saul. Now Saul was not only the most handsome man in Israel, but he was also the most imposing, standing taller than all others.

3 One day Saul’s father Kish had lost his donkeys, having wandered away, so he told his son Saul to take one of the servants and look for them. 4 They traveled through the hill country of Ephraim, through the land of Shalishah, and through the land of Shaalim, but they did not find them. Then they passed through the land of Benjamin, and still they did not see the donkeys.

5 At last, when they came to Zuph, Saul told the servant who accompanied him,

Saul: We had better turn around. If we keep going, my father will stop worrying about his donkeys and start worrying about us.

Servant: 6 I hear there is a man of God in this village, a man who is respected because what he predicts is always true. Before we go home, let’s go and talk to him; maybe he will have some guidance about this journey we have begun.

Saul: 7 But if we go, what will we bring to this man? We can’t show up empty-handed, but even the bread in our sacks is gone. I have nothing to give the man of God. Do you have anything?

Servant: 8 I have a tenth of an ounce of silver. I will give it to the man of God, and maybe he can tell us where to go.

9 It used to be in Israel that when people wanted to ask God a question, they would say, “Let’s go talk to the seer.” Now they are most commonly referred to as prophets, but they were called seers.

Saul: 10-11 Very good. Let’s go, then.

As they traveled up to the city to visit the man of God, they saw some girls on their way to draw water at the well.

Saul: Can we find the seer here?

Girls: 12 Yes, he’s just ahead of you. He has come here because there is a sacrifice today at the altar on the high place. You can catch him if you hurry. 13 Look for him just as you come into the city, and you should catch him before he goes up to the high place to eat. No one will eat until he gets there, since he is the one who will bless the sacrifice. After he does that, those who have been invited can eat. Now go on. You should encounter him right away.

14 They went immediately, and as they entered the city, Samuel was walking in their direction on his way up to the high place.

15 Now the Eternal One had told Samuel on the previous day,

Eternal One: 16 Tomorrow at about this same time I will send you a young man from Benjamin. You will anoint him to be a ruler over all Israel. I will give him strength to save My people from the Philistines because I hear their cries in their misery.

17 When Samuel saw Saul walking toward him, the Eternal spoke to him.

Eternal One: Look! This is the young man I told you about. I’ve chosen him to rule over My people.

18 There inside the gate, Saul walked up to Samuel.

Saul: Can you tell me, please, where I might find the seer’s house?

Samuel: 19 You have found him. Come with me to the high place, and eat with me today. Tomorrow morning I will tell you what you need to know and then send you on your way. 20 As for those donkeys that wandered off three days ago? Don’t give them any further thought. Someone has found them. Israel is more concerned today with you and your family.

Saul: 21 I come from the tribe of Benjamin, the smallest of the tribes of Israel, and I belong to the poorest family in Benjamin. Why are you saying these things to me?

22 Samuel took Saul and his servant up to the hall where around 30 people waited, and he made them sit in the places of honor.

Samuel (to the cook): 23 Bring the portion I gave you and asked you to set aside.

24 The cook brought the thigh along with other select parts and set them in front of Saul.

Samuel (pointing to the meat): Take a look. This was set aside for you. Eat and enjoy it all because this has been reserved for you until the appointed time. I have invited these people to be our guests.

So Saul feasted with Samuel the rest of the day. 25 When they returned to the city from eating at the high place, Samuel spoke with Saul on the roof.

26 The next morning, at the break of dawn, Samuel shouted up to Saul on the roof.

Samuel (to Saul): Wake up! It is time for me to send you on your way.

Saul rose, and he and Samuel walked out into the street. 27 When they reached the edge of the city, Samuel told him,

Samuel: Send your servant on ahead. When he’s far enough away, stop and let’s talk. I need to give you a message from the True God.

The Voice (VOICE)

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

John 6:22-42

22 The following day some people gathered on the other side of the sea and saw that only one boat had been there; they were perplexed. They remembered seeing the disciples getting into the boat without Jesus.

23 Other boats were arriving from Tiberias near the grassy area where the Lord offered thanks and passed out bread. 24 When this crowd could not find Him or His disciples, they boarded their small boats and crossed the sea to Capernaum looking for Him. 25 When they found Jesus across the sea, they questioned Him.

Crowd: Teacher, when did You arrive at Capernaum?

Jesus: 26 I tell you the truth—you are tracking Me down because I fed you, not because you saw signs from God. 27 Don’t spend your life chasing food that spoils and rots. Instead, seek the food that lasts into all the ages and comes from the Son of Man, the One on whom God the Father has placed His seal.

Crowd: 28 What do we have to do to accomplish the Father’s works?

Jesus: 29 If you want to do God’s work, then believe in the One He sent.

Crowd: 30 Can You show us a miraculous sign? Something spectacular? If we see something like that, it will help us to believe. 31 Our fathers ate manna when they wandered in the desert. The Hebrew Scriptures say, “He gave them bread from heaven to eat.”[a]

Jesus: 32 I tell you the truth: Moses did not give you bread from heaven; it is My Father who offers you true bread from heaven. 33 The bread of God comes down out of heaven and breathes life into the cosmos.

Crowd: 34 Master, we want a boundless supply of this bread.

Jesus: 35 I am the bread that gives life. If you come to My table and eat, you will never go hungry. Believe in Me, and you will never go thirsty. 36 Here I am standing in front of you, and still you don’t believe. 37 All that My Father gives to Me comes to Me. I will receive everyone; I will not send away anyone who comes to Me. 38 And here’s the reason: I have come down from heaven not to pursue My own agenda but to do what He desires. I am here on behalf of the Father who sent Me. 39 He sent Me to care for all He has given Me so that nothing and no one will perish. In the end, on the last day, He wants everything to be resurrected into new life. 40 So if you want to know the will of the Father, know this: everyone who sees the Son and believes in Him will live eternally; and on the last day, I am the One who will resurrect him.

41 Some of the Jews began to grumble quietly against Him because He said, “I am the bread that came down from heaven.”

Crowd: 42 Isn’t Jesus the son of Joseph? We know His parents! We know where He came from, so how can He claim to have “come down from heaven”?

Footnotes:

  1. 6:31 Exodus 16:4
The Voice (VOICE)

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

Psalm 106:32-48

32 Again they stirred up His anger at the waters of Meribah,
and serious trouble came to Moses because of them;
33 Because they stood against the Spirit,
Moses spoke rashly with them.

34 Later, after they entered the promised land, they did not eradicate the peoples,
as the Eternal had ordered them to do,
35 But they mixed and married with the outsider nations,
adopted their practices,
36 And worshiped their idols,
which entrapped them.
37 They even offered their sons
and daughters as sacrifices to the demons.
38 The promised land was corrupted by the innocent blood
they offered to the idols of Canaan,
The blood of their very own sons and daughters.
39 They became impure because of their unfaithful works;
by their actions, they prostituted themselves to other gods.

40 Therefore the Eternal’s anger was ignited against His people;
He came to despise the people of His inheritance.
41 So He handed them over to the control of foreign nations,
to be ruled by people who hated them.
42 Their enemies exploited them, victimized them,
and restrained them by abusive power.
43 He delivered them over and over again;
however, they were slow to learn and deliberately rebelled.
Their sins humbled them and nearly destroyed them.
44 Nevertheless, He saw their great struggle, took pity on them,
and heard their prayers;
45 He did not forget His covenant promises to them
but reversed their fortune and released them from their punishment
because of His loyal love.
46 He changed the hearts of all who held them captive
so that they would show compassion on them.

47 Save us, O Eternal One our God,
and gather us who are scattered among all the nations,
That we may give thanks to Your holy name
and celebrate Your amazing greatness with praise.

48 Blessed be the Eternal, the God of Israel,
from everlasting to everlasting.
And let everyone say, “Amen!”
Praise the Eternal!

The Voice (VOICE)

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

Proverbs 14:34-35

34 Living according to God’s instructions makes a nation great,
but sin colors those who commit it with disgrace.
35 The king shows kindness to a servant who acts wisely,
but his anger burns toward one who brings shame.

The Voice (VOICE)

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

Posted on

05/09/2023 DAB Transcript

1 Samuel 5:1-7:17, John 6:1-21, Psalms 106:13-31, Proverbs 14:32-33

Today is the 9th day of May welcome to the Daily Audio Bible I am Brian it is great to be here with you today. It is wonderful to have a place to gather here around the Global Campfire and it is beautiful, the reason that we have gathered today, which is to take the next step forward in our lives together and to take the next step forward in the Scriptures as we continue to navigate through our journey this year. And, so, obviously we will be picking up where we left off, which is what we do every day. That will lead us back into the book of first Samuel. Today first Samuel 5, 6, and 7.

Commentary:

Okay. So, we are well moved into the book of first Samuel at this point. In the story that…that we’ve been reading about the loss of the Ark of the covenant and return of the Ark of the covenant, this actually seals the deal for Samuel. He becomes the singular leader, the last and final judge of Israel. And, so, let’s first of all remember, we’re still in the time of the judges. Yes, we’ve read the book of Judges. Yes, we read the book of Ruth, which is also from the times of the judges. Now we’re in first Samuel and we’ve come to the last judge of Israel. We got to know him and how he…how he came to grow up in…in the tabernacle, how we was raised up under Eli the high priest. But then there was a war between Israel and the Philistines, and they took the Ark of the covenant into battle and the Ark of the covenant was lost in battle and Hophni and Phineas, Eli’s sons were killed and then Eli the high priest fell over and died kind of leaving Samuel standing there going, what am I supposed to do now. Meanwhile the Philistines are rejoicing about conquering Israel’s God and having the Ark of Israel’s God. And, so, they of course take it to the temple of Dagon and set it before him. And Dagon falls over a couple of times and gets smashed and then plague breaks out among the Philistines who determine that it’s because of the Ark. It’s the God of Israel, the God of Israel is fighting against them. And, so, they moved it around to the different strongholds, the different Philistine strongholds, but plague keeps breaking out everywhere until all of the leaders get together and go, what are we gonna do. And they determine that they need to send a guilt offering and send the Ark back to Israel. And, so, they put the Ark on an oxcart with…with some oxen and determine basically if…if these…if these cows go back to Israel, they just go back then we know this was the God of Israel who did this to us. And that’s what happens. The cows go back to Israel. They go back to a place called Beth Shemesh, a place that exists until this day, both in modern and archaeological perspectives. There’s some amazing archaeology happening in Beth Shemesh. This is down in the low lands called the shephelah, the low lands of fertile low lands. And you can stand there until this very day and can look out over those fields and just imagine the oxcart with the oxen pulling the Ark of the covenant back to Beth Shemesh. But it doesn’t go so well there either. People decide to get a look inside the Ark, and a lot of people died and so it gets moved again. And we can look at it and go, this is kind of an erratic thing, an erratic story and that’s when we remember we’re in the times of the judges, where there is no king in Israel, and everyone is doing what is right in their own eyes. So, the Ark gets moved to Kiriath Jearim and then 20 years goes by. And that's…that’s the thing. We can…I mean that…that time goes by in like a sentence. In fact, I quote, “it was quite a long time, some 20 years in all that the Ark stayed at Kiriath Jearim. All the people of Israel longed for the Lord. Samuel said to all the people of Israel…” This is where he steps into this and leads the people back to God. “…if you are really turning to the Lord with all your hearts, remove from among you the foreign gods and the images of Ashtoreth. Give your hearts to the Lord and serve only Him, then He will deliver you from the hand of the Philistines.” And that is what happens. The people return to God under a prophetic voice who is now leading them forward. And we will watch as he continues to lead the children of Israel forward as we continue to move forward in the coming days.

Prayer:

Father, we thank You for Your word. We thank You for all of the stories of our spiritual ancestors, all of these people who played a role in Your story. And this was preserved and it is here for us to teach, instruct, guide, correct, to rebuke, comfort. It does all of these things, and we ask Your Holy Spirit to plant we’ve read today and each day in the soil of our hearts, that it may bring about a harvest of the fruit of the Spirit in our lives, that we may display the fruit of the Spirit to the world revealing who You are. Come Holy Spirit in the name of Jesus, we ask. Amen.

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

Community Prayer and Praise:

Coming soon…

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The Daily Audio Bible Reading for Tuesday May 9, 2023 (NIV)

1 Samuel 5-7

5 The Philistines brought the captured covenant chest of the True God from Ebenezer to one of their capital cities called Ashdod. 2 There the Philistines took the chest of the True God into the house of their god, Dagon, and placed it in a place of honor beside the idol of Dagon. 3 When the people of the city anxiously awoke early the next morning, there was Dagon, lying on his face on the ground, as if bowing before the covenant chest of the Eternal. So they grabbed the idol and put it back in its proper place. 4 But when they awoke the next morning, only the trunk of the idol was untouched. Dagon had fallen to the ground on his face before the covenant chest of the Eternal One again, and this time his head and hands had been cut off and were lying across the threshold. 5 That is why the priests and worshipers of Dagon in the house of Dagon in Ashdod refused to step on the threshold even till this day.

6 The hand of the Eternal One came down hard with punishment on the people of Ashdod while the covenant chest rested there. He ravaged the people of Ashdod and the surrounding territory and struck them with swollen, painful growths like tumors. 7 When the people of Ashdod saw how they were cursed, they said,

People of Ashdod: We can’t let the chest of the True God of Israel remain here because their God continues to punish us and our god Dagon.

8-9 So they gathered together all the rulers of the Philistines to ask what should be done with the covenant chest of Israel’s God.

People of Gath: Send this chest of Israel’s God to us.

They did so. But after they had moved the chest of the True God of Israel to Gath, another of the capital cities, the hand of the Eternal One began to punish the people of Gath and sent them into a panic. He also struck them with swollen, painful, tumor-like growths—the young and old alike. 10 So then they sent the covenant chest of the True God of Israel on to a third capital city, Ekron; but when the people of Ekron saw that the covenant chest was coming, they protested.

People of Ekron: Have you brought this chest of the Israelite God here to kill us now?

11 So they gathered together all the rulers of the Philistines.

People of Ekron: Send away this covenant chest of the God of Israel. Send it back where it came from so that it doesn’t kill us all!

For there was great panic throughout the city. The True God’s hand rested heavily on them; 12 and those He did not kill, He struck with swollen, painful tumors. Their suffering was so intense their cries could be heard in the heavens.

6 The covenant chest of the Eternal One had been in the land of the Philistines for seven months. 2 Then the rulers of the Philistines sent for their priests and fortune-tellers.

Rulers: What should we do with this chest of the Eternal One? We need to get rid of it. What should we send with it when we return it?

Priests and Fortune-tellers: 3 Whatever you do, don’t send this covenant chest of the True God of Israel back by itself. You should certainly offer Him compensation for your guilt. If you do, you will all be healed. That’s the only way you can be certain that His hand will be lifted.

Rulers: 4 What should we send as this guilt offering to Him when we return the covenant chest?

Ancient people understand diseases and various infestations as omens of divine wrath. In order to appease the God of the Israelites, the Philistines cast metal tumors and mice to give back to the Eternal One what He gave to them.

Priests and Fortune-Tellers: Have your artisans make five gold tumors and five gold mice, one for each of the rulers of the Philistines’ capital cities, because the same plague came upon all of the Philistines and all of our rulers. 5 So you must make images of the tumors and of the mice that devastate our land and honor this God of Israel. Maybe then He will release His grip on this land, its people, and its gods. 6 Why would you be as stubborn as the Egyptians and their Pharaoh were? You’ve heard the stories, haven’t you? When this God had taught them a lesson, didn’t they release the people of Israel? Didn’t they go?

7 So do this now: have your carpenters make a new wagon, find two milk cows that have never been yoked, and yoke them to the cart. But take away their calves and pen them up. 8 Take this chest of the Eternal One and set it upon the wagon. In a box beside it, put the gold images you are presenting to this God as a guilt offering. Then turn the cows loose, and let them go on their way. 9 Watch closely. If the team pulls the wagon up to this God’s country, to Beth-shemesh, then you know that He has been the One punishing us. If they don’t, then at least we’ll know that it was not His hand that struck us, that it has just been bad luck.

10 And that is what the leaders did. They separated two milk cows from their calves. They yoked the cows to the wagon and took the calves home. 11 They set the covenant chest of the Eternal upon the wagon, and next to it, they placed the box with the gold tumors and gold mice. 12 The cows went straight along the road toward Beth-shemesh, mooing after their lost calves as they went. They went straight ahead without any hesitation, and the rulers of the Philistines followed as far as the border of Beth-shemesh.

13 The people of Beth-shemesh were in the valley harvesting their wheat at that time. When they looked up and saw the covenant chest, they ran to greet it with joy. 14 The wagon came to a halt at a large stone in the field of Joshua of Beth-shemesh. The people split up the cart for firewood and sacrificed the cattle as a burnt offering to the Eternal One on the large stone. 15 The Levites took the chest of the Eternal and the box next to it down from the wagon. They took the gold images from the box and set them upon the stone altar. Then the people of Beth-shemesh offered sacrifices and made other burnt offerings to the Eternal One.

16 When the five rulers of the Philistines saw how their offering had been received that day, they returned to Ekron.

17 The five gold images of swollen tumors presented to the Eternal One by the Philistines as a guilt offering represented Ashdod, Gaza, Ashkelon, Gath, and Ekron—one for each. 18 Likewise the golden mice represented all the cities of the Philistines governed by their rulers, both the walled cities and the villages surrounding them. The large stone in the field of Joshua of Beth-shemesh where they set the chest of the Eternal remains there as a witness to these events.

19 The Eternal struck the people of Beth-shemesh because some looked into the covenant chest. God struck down 75[a] men, and the people were saddened because of the slaughter the Eternal One had brought among their people.

People of Beth-shemesh: 20 Who can stand in the presence of the Eternal One, this holy God? Who will take the covenant chest so we can be safe from Him?

21 So the people of Beth-shemesh sent messengers to the people of Kiriath-jearim to tell them that the Philistines had returned the chest of the Eternal One to Beth-shemesh and that they should come down and take it with them.

7 The people of Kiriath-jearim did as they were asked. They collected the chest of the Eternal One and brought it up the hill to the house of Abinadab. They performed sacred rituals to set apart his son Eleazar to be in charge of caring for the chest of the Eternal.

This section about the chest of the covenant shows God’s power in the world when all the nations around Israel believe in their own gods. Hebrew literature often talks about the Lord as the greatest of all gods, and this passage shows Him using the covenant chest to declare His preeminence. He embarrasses another god in his own temple, brings death and destruction on those around Him (as He did with the plagues of Egypt), and inflicts something like the bubonic plague, which would devastate Europe in the Middle Ages, on the Philistines. God is powerful and must be treated with the greatest of reverence. Even the people of God are happy to see the chest of the covenant move on, because it is too powerful for sinful human beings to live close to with comfort.

2 Time passed, 20 years or so, from the time that the covenant chest was taken to Kiriath-jearim, and all the people of Israel began to grieve over their separation from the Eternal One.

Samuel (to the Israelites): 3 If you really want to totally devote yourselves and return to the Eternal One, then get rid of all the foreign gods and goddesses you have gathered. Devote yourselves to the Eternal, serve Him and Him alone, and He will save you from the oppression of the Philistines.

The Canaanites have a long history of worshiping idols or local gods. In this case, the god being worshiped is Astarte (Ashtoreth), a fertility goddess similar to the Mesopotamian goddess Ishtar. In Canaanite mythology, she is the sister and wife of the high god Baal. She and similar goddesses are worshiped throughout the ancient Near East; and the children of Israel are constantly falling away from serving the Lord by worshiping Astarte, Baal, and other pagan gods. God commands His people not to raise up idols or bow down to any gods except Him. Along with the worship of these gods come many strange practices that pollute the people of the Lord.

4 So the people of Israel got rid of their gods and goddesses,[b] and they began to serve only the Eternal One.

Samuel: 5 Assemble all of Israel at Mizpah, and I will pray to the Eternal on your behalf.

6 That day they gathered at Mizpah, drew water, poured it out ritually in front of the Eternal One, and fasted.

People: We have sinned. We have rebelled against the Eternal.

Samuel judged the Israelites at Mizpah, delivering the people from danger and establishing justice in the land.

7 When the Philistines heard that the people of Israel had assembled at Mizpah, the rulers of the Philistines gathered an armed force and went to attack them. When the people of Israel heard that the Philistines were coming, they were filled with fear. They turned to God’s prophet.

People of Israel (to Samuel): 8 Don’t stop calling out to the Eternal our God for us. Ask Him to save us from the Philistine army that is coming.

9 Samuel took a young lamb and sacrificed it as a whole burnt offering to the Eternal One. He called out to the Eternal on behalf of Israel, and the Eternal responded. Here is what happened: 10 As Samuel was performing the sacrifice, the voice of the Eternal rolled like thunder and confused the advancing Philistine army so that Israel easily struck them down. 11 From Mizpah, the Israelites chased them beyond Beth-car, striking them along the way.

12 That’s why Samuel set up a stone between Mizpah and Shen; and he called that stone Ebenezer, which means “rock of help,” for he said,

Samuel: The Eternal One has helped us so far.

13 So the Philistines were humbled and did not invade the lands of Israel again. The Eternal One held off the Philistines for as long as Samuel judged Israel. 14 The Israelite cities the Philistines had seized between Ekron and Gath were returned, and Israel took its territory back from Philistine rule. There was also peace with the Amorites.

15 Now Samuel was a prophet and judge over Israel for the rest of his life. 16 He traveled a 40-mile circuit just north of Jerusalem every year between Bethel, Gilgal, and Mizpah, solving Israel’s problems in each of these places. 17 But he would always return to his home in Ramah, the base from which he judged Israel and where he built an altar to the Eternal.

Footnotes:

  1. 6:19 Hebrew, “50,000 and 70 men”
  2. 7:4 Hebrew, Baals and Astartes
The Voice (VOICE)

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

John 6:1-21

6 Once this had transpired, Jesus made His way to the other side of the Sea of Galilee (which some these days call the Sea of Tiberias). 2 As Jesus walked, a large crowd pursued Him hoping to see new signs and miracles; His healings of the sick and lame were garnering great attention. 3 Jesus went up a mountain and found a place to sit down and teach. His disciples gathered around. 4 The celebration of the Passover, one of the principal Jewish feasts, would take place soon. 5 But when Jesus looked up, He could see an immense crowd coming toward Him. Jesus approached Philip.

Jesus (to Philip): Where is a place to buy bread so these people may eat?

6 Jesus knew what He was planning to do, but He asked Philip nonetheless. He had something to teach, and it started with a test.

Philip: 7 I could work for more than half of a year[a] and still not have the money to buy enough bread to give each person a very small piece.

8 Andrew, the disciple who was Simon Peter’s brother, spoke up.

Andrew: 9 I met a young boy in the crowd carrying five barley loaves and two fish, but that is practically useless in feeding a crowd this large.

Jesus: 10 Tell the people to sit down.

They all sat together on a large grassy area. Those counting the people reported approximately 5,000 men—not including the women and children—sitting in the crowd. 11 Jesus picked up the bread, gave thanks to God, and passed it to everyone. He repeated this ritual with the fish. Men, women, and children all ate until their hearts were content. 12 When the people had all they could eat, He told the disciples to gather the leftovers.

Jesus: Go and collect the leftovers, so we are not wasteful.

13 They filled 12 baskets with fragments of the five barley loaves. 14 After witnessing this sign that Jesus did, the people stirred in conversation.

Crowd: This man must be the Prophet God said was coming into the world.

15 Jesus sensed the people were planning to mount a revolution against Israel’s Roman occupiers and make Him king, so He withdrew farther up the mountain by Himself.

Since the Babylonians seized Judah in 586 b.c., the Jews have endured one foreign occupier after another in their land. As conquerors go, the Romans aren’t all that bad. They allow the Jews to worship God in His temple, and they appoint some of them to government positions. Of course, the Judeans still long to rule themselves and throw the Roman rulers out. Some think Jesus is just the man to lead that revolution. But political upheaval isn’t what He is teaching, and it isn’t why He has come to earth.

16 Later that evening the disciples walked down to the sea, 17 boarded a boat, and set sail toward Capernaum. Twilight gave way to darkness. Jesus had not yet joined them. 18 Suddenly, the waves rose and a fierce wind began to rock the boat. 19 After rowing three or four miles[b] through the stormy seas, they spotted Jesus approaching the boat walking mysteriously upon the deep waters that surrounded them. They panicked.

Jesus (to the disciples): 20 I am the One. Don’t be afraid.

21 They welcomed Jesus aboard their small vessel; and when He stepped into the boat, the next thing they knew, they were ashore at their destination.

Footnotes:

  1. 6:7 Literally, 200 denarii
  2. 6:19 Literally, 25 or 30 stadia
The Voice (VOICE)

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

Psalm 106:13-31

13 But it didn’t take long for them to forget what He had done.
They moved on without waiting for His instructions,
14 So our ancestors became very hungry in the wilderness
and the rabble grumbled and complained, testing God’s patience in the desert.
15 Although He granted their request,
He also sent a disease that caused them to waste away.

16 While they were camped in the desert, some began to be jealous of Moses
and Aaron, the holy priest of the Eternal.
17 The earth opened up, and a deep fissure swallowed Dathan
and buried Abiram’s group.
18 A blaze ignited where they were gathered;
the fire consumed the wicked mob.

19 The people made a golden calf in Horeb
and bowed to worship an image they had made.
20 They traded the glory of God
for the likeness of an ox that eats grass.
21 They forgot about God, their True Savior,
who had done great things for them in Egypt—
22 Miracles in the land of Ham
and amazing deeds at the Red Sea.
23 Therefore, He declared in His anger that He would wipe them away.
If Moses, His chosen one,
Had not pleaded for the people,
His anger would have destroyed them.

24 At the edge of the beautiful land God had promised them,
they didn’t trust His words, so they refused to enter.
25 They complained when they were gathered in their tents;
they ignored the voice of the Eternal.
26 Because of their attitude, He swore,
“I’ll leave you where you fall in the desert.
27 I’ll scatter your children—whoever is left—
throughout the nations all over the earth.”

28 Then they aligned themselves with the god of Peor,
and they ate sacrifices that had been made to lifeless gods.
29 Through their actions, they stirred up His anger,
and a plague broke out in their midst.
30 Then Phinehas took a stand and intervened,
so the plague was stopped.
31 And God saw what he did and considered him righteous,
a man to be honored by all generations forever.

The Voice (VOICE)

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

Proverbs 14:32-33

32 The wicked are waylaid by their evil actions,
but the right-living find hope’s sanctuary even in their death.[a]
33 Wisdom rests in the heart of one with insight
and can even be experienced by fools.

Footnotes:

  1. 14:32 Greek manuscripts read “integrity.”
The Voice (VOICE)

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