Month: December 2023

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12/24/2023 DAB Transcript

Zechariah 6:1-7:14, Revelations 15:1-8, Psalm 143:1-12, Proverbs 30:24-28

Today is the 24th day of December, welcome to the Daily Audio Bible. I’m Brian. It is great to be here with you today, it’s Christmas Eve. Here we are, last day of the Advent season. And it’s Christmas eve and so Merry Christmas to everybody as we kind of settle in to the festivities and the goings-on of the next couple of days. It’s wonderful to be here with you to spend Christmas Eve for a few moments together around the Global Campfire. And we will simply take the next step forward as we do every day, and our next step forward leads us back into the book of Zechariah, and we’ll continue with Zechariah’s visions and they may sound similar to what we’re reading in the book of Revelation because this is apocalyptic literature, highly symbolic. So, it’s interesting for us to hear this, the symbolism of Zechariah, or in Revelation, just ask ourselves, what am I considering symbolism, and what am I, what do I literally and…and why? And just kind of explore the things that we see and hear. Let’s take that next step forward now. Zechariah chapters 6 and 7 today.

Commentary:

Okay, so, it's…it’s Christmas Eve right, and that’s, that makes it the final day of the Advent season. Tomorrow, we commemorate the arrival of Jesus. So, there’s joy in our hearts. There’s probably a lot on the to do list, still to go for, for tomorrow, maybe tonight is a candlelight celebration at church, maybe even like a midnight service to ring in the arrival of Christmas and the…the arrival of the Savior. And through all of this we’ve established this rhythm, every day, moving through the Scriptures and the Scriptures continue to speak to us. We’re reading in Zechariah today and we heard what the prophet had in a visionary experience and what it reminds us of. Zechariah said this is what the Lord of Heaven’s armies says, judge fairly, show mercy and kindness to one another, don’t oppress widows, orphans, foreigners and the poor and don’t scheme against each other. We can see in the prophecies that Christmas isn’t a blackout date where we can just do all those things during Christmas because it’s a different time of year and everybody, everybody does different things. Like, there’s no blackout. This is what we’re supposed to do all the time. And if there were a season to judge fairly and show mercy and kindness to each other, wouldn’t that be now? May we do that and as we do that, let’s consider what we saw in Revelation. John sees what looks to him to be a sea of glass that’s on fire, very hard to comprehend but this is what he’s seeing and next to that sea were those who had endured and God gave them hearts and they were singing to the lamb in worship and their words were great and marvelous are Your works, O Lord God the Almighty, just and true are Your ways, O King of the nations. Who will not fear You, Lord, and glorify Your name. For You alone are holy. All nations will come and worship before You, for Your righteous deeds have been revealed. That may not be like a well-known Christmas Carol that we might sing today, but it’s a song wholly appropriate for the arrival of the king of all. Right, we’re celebrating this…this first arrival of the Savior, as we celebrate Christmas. But we are also longing for the second Advent for a return, and as we read Revelation, we’re prophetically hearing what that worship will look like in advance from a time that we long for, when all things will be made new again and all things have been made new again. Because of the arrival of Emmanuelle, because God came to be with us. And so, may we rejoice today, may we treat each other with kindness and mercy. May we extend the love of God to everyone that we interact with. May we look in the mirror and extend the love of God to the person there, and may we open our hearts to the joy of Christmas.

Song played: “Silent Night” Sleeping At Last

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12/22/2023 DAB Transcript

Zechariah 2:1-3:10, Revelations 13:1-18, Psalm 141:1-10, Proverb 30:18-20

Today is the 22nd day of December, welcome to the Daily Audio Bible. I’m Brian. It is fantastic. It is a joy; it is an honor and a privilege. It’s crazy that we even have this place that we can come, and call home and just be warm and cozy around a campfire together. That’s a peaceful oasis for us; it’s a joy to be here with you today. So, we began the book of Zechariah yesterday and that is the second to the last book in the Old Testament, and we will continue with Zechariah for the next several days, until the last couple of days of the year. So, we’re not flying through another book today in its entirety, we’re picking up where we left off, which is our normal custom around here. So, things should feel a little bit more normal, even though Christmas is almost upon us. Let’s pick up where we left off and that will be Zechariah chapters two and three today.

Commentary:

Okay, unless we’ve been asleep most of the year, Christmas is upon us. We’re just a couple of days away and those of us with kids, especially with little kids, probably counting down the hours and they can’t sleep and try to figure everything out and some of us are getting ready to travel and make sure we don’t forget anything like kids. Others of us are making the preparations to receive family that’s gonna be traveling to us, maybe they’re coming from just across town but maybe they’re coming from across an ocean, and that’s, that brings a very disruptive but very joyous time right, the coming back together. It should be joyous, it brings us back together and around people who were present in our early years, maybe our siblings, parents, aunts, cousins, uncles, whoever, reunited, we become reunited kinda with our childhood in some ways and even though we’re adults now and maybe we have families of our own and maybe we even live in a different city and we’ve built our own life. It doesn’t take long when we get back in our environment to fall immediately back into the role that we, that we were forced to play, or that we played as youngsters. And when we find ourselves in that place, and we’re like, this isn’t really who I am anymore. I have my own kids. I have my own life. I have my own spouse; I have my own everything. I feel like this younger thing going on, right, the soft places start getting touched and then something gets said, an old word, and old teasing, old scorn. These things start creeping in and then maybe the generational differences and all of the opinions that go on in family and the convictions rubbing up against each other and that’s just a, it’s a beautiful, joyous time that is ripe for something to start a fire, right. Somebody says something that’s volatile; just a little too far. And then everything, everything starts to go sideways and a good day becomes a very difficult day. We read something in Psalms today that maybe should give us some advice on how to handle this. Oh Lord, place a guard on my mouth, protect the opening of my lips. Do not let me have evil desires or participate in sinful activities with people who behave wickedly. I will not eat their delicacies. It’s a pretty ancient prayer, it comes from King David. So, thousands of years ago, but it compels us to make some choices now, right before any gifts are brought from any trunks, any keep of any moments where words may form and happen before they can be unsaid. We’re out in front of all of that. We need to remember that we’re not who we used to be. Like, if you’ve been here all year, and we’ve been just taking this journey this year, then you’re not who you were at the beginning of the year. You’re not who you were before, and you can choose who you are, you can choose to bring light and life into situations where you may have once jumped right into the darkness. But it’s not easy to make these decisions in the moment, they need to be made in advance. So, let’s remember this season, this is Emmanuel, this is God with us. This is God’s unwillingness to abandon His people and leave us in our story. It shows us that He deeply longs to be a part of everything that we do and He wants it intensely, including intimacy with those that we often find ourselves in conflict. So, we have the joy of Christmas to give or to withhold. We have love to give or withhold. May we go into these next days, offering the light of the world flowing through our very lives and out of our mouths. May we be lights that shine the kingdom’s brightness, as we celebrate the arrival, the advent of the Savior. And may wherever we walk, may that be holy ground. Because as we read in the Scriptures in the Psalms yesterday, where can I go, that You are not; where can I flee from Your spirit. The spirit of the living God is in us, let’s let loose love, joy, peace, long-suffering, patience, kindness, gentleness. And let’s choose that in advance.

Prayer:

And so, Father, we come to You choosing that in advance, out in front of things we need Your Holy Spirit. Some of the people we have to deal with can be very, very difficult to deal with. And maybe we can be really difficult to deal with too. May Your spirit hover; may You permeate our words and our actions. May we act in love, as we interact in the disruptive ways of Christmas time. Come, Holy Spirit in the name of Jesus, we ask. Amen.

Announcements:

dailyaudiobible.com, that’s home base, that’s where you find out what’s going on around here. The Daily Audio Bible app does that as well. And that’s right in the palm of your hand, just search for Daily Audio Bible, at whatever app store works with your device. And it’s Christmas time around here and so, we brought out these commemorative, keepsake vinyl projects, five different musical projects from the Daily Audio Bible as collectors editions. And those are still available in the Daily Audio Bible Shop or in the app, just navigate to the Shop and look for the Christmas category and you’ll find them there. Thank you for your partnership as we press forward into the new year and toward brand-new technology coming into all of our lives, as we move forward as the Global Campfire.

And if you want to partner with the Daily Audio Bible as the, as the year ends. Thank you, humbly and profoundly. Thank you. There is a link on the homepage at dailyaudiobible.com. If you’re using the app, you can press the Give button in the upper right-hand corner, or the mailing address is P.O. Box 1996 Springhill, Tennessee 37174.

And as always, if you have a prayer request or encouragement, you can hit the Hotline button in the app, that’s the little red button up at the top or you can dial 877-942-4253.

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

Prayer and Encouragement:

Hey my compassionate DAB fam, this is Kingdom Seeker Daniel. Family, I am coming to you guys to ask for prayer for one of our beloved DAB members. Most of you know her as Susan from Canada, God’s Yellow Flower. I have the distinct pleasure and privilege of knowing her as mom. God has so blessed my life to have this sweet lady take me in as her son, her boy. And so, many of you guys know the journey that she and Keith have been on with the battle with cancer. And so, she just learned a couple of days ago that the cancer has returned in Keiths body. And as you guys know, mom is a trooper, she’s a warrior, she’s always gonna have a good attitude and praying for others and lifting others up. And just caring on others. And so, she mentioned the other day that she’s a little anxious. And so, I’m asking you family, will you join me lifting up our beloved Susan from Canada, God’s Yellow Flower, my mom here at the DAB. So, let’s pray real quick. Father, I thank you for this amazing servant of Yours and for Keith, as the reports have come in that the cancer has returned, God we thank You that You have defied the odds once before in Keiths life, will You do it again. Will You continue to sustain Keith’s body. Comfort moms heart. Strengthen her and let her know, You’ve got her boy. And we give You praise for what You will do, in Jesus name. Amen.

Good morning, DAB family. This is Paula from Albuquerque, New Mexico. Gosh, I love you guys. Merry Christmas and hope that you guys are having a wonderful holiday season and celebrating with your families. Yeah, I’m one of those people that I will Merry Christmas people until their ears hurt. Anyway, I called for Greg, our brother that is struggling in his marriage. Greg, I know your pain. Me and my ex-husband lived as what I had heard at the time, this term called married singles. We lived in the house together with our children, while we were in the midst of our divorce. It was painful. My ex-husband became more and more bitter. It is hard. And I tried just loving him. We’ve been divorced almost 17 years, and he still has so much bitterness inside of him, it’s really sad. Just love her. And I agree with our brother that called and prayed for you today, Monday, December 18th, that love conquers all. Just stay in there, hang in there. Do not give in. I was reminded by friends that separation, legal separation is only one signature away from a divorce. Lord, I lift them up to you, every single married couple that is having problems in their marriage. Give them the strength, the love, the endurance. Help them to recognize that You are there in the midst of it. Amen.

Trajan from Massachusetts, this is Susan from Canada, God’s Yellow Flower. And we heard your prayer request. Sometimes it goes on the Community Prayer. But they’re all played, I believe. So, I just loved your prayer. I just loved it. And I just wanna bless you that, know that we are praying for you. Yeah, that Lord God, that you’re, the anger in this heart, the hurt in his heart. The pain in his heart, Lord God, would be replaced with the joy of the Lord. The joy of knowing eternity, that these brief and momentary troubles we are having on earth, are but just a, like someone said, a spec of memory in light of eternity. And we are waiting, we are waiting Lord, for Your rest in heaven with You. Lord God, and we want to do the best we can while we’re down here. So, I pray You will help this young man and just lift him out of this miery clay and set him on the solid rock of Jesus Christ. Where no storms can dash him away. But that You would hold firmly onto him and replace a broken heart with a full heart for You. Holy Spirit, just touch him gently and draw him out of the pain that he’s in and into freedom with Christ. In Jesus name we pray. Amen.

Salutations my DAB family. It’s His Little Songbird from Alberta, Canada. And I just heard God’s Smile on the Prayer and Encouragement. Oh, sweety you sound so burdened, like your heart is just dragging behind you. I want you to know that I am praying for Tom and I’m praying for you as well. Cause I know what it’s like to hurt for my child. I just, I pray, and I ask the Lord to wrap His hedge of protection around the both of you. To put His blood covering over you and to help you through whatever it is that is happening. Oh, my sweet sister. I love you. God loves you so much more.

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The Daily Audio Bible Reading for Sunday December 24, 2023 (NIV)

Zechariah 6-7

When Nebuchadnezzar destroys Jerusalem in 586 b.c., he carries her chief citizens off into exile in Babylon. Thousands don’t survive the brutal journey. Those who do must start their lives over in a hostile land where they are subjects of violence, slavery, and every manner of wickedness. That’s why Babylon becomes synonymous with evil. In this vision, the wickedness of Judah is contained and sent far away to Babylon, where it is not only tolerated but is worshiped. Civilization reaches its nadir when wickedness is worshiped.

6 That night I had an eighth vision. I looked up and saw four chariots emerging from between two mountains made of bronze. 2 The first chariot was pulled by red horses; the second was pulled by black horses. 3 The third was hitched to white horses and the fourth to spotted, strong horses.

A final vision echoes the first vision as four great spirits of heaven unleash judgment upon the whole earth.

Zechariah (to the heavenly messenger): 4 What are these, sir?

Heavenly Messenger: 5 These are the four winds of heaven that disperse His power and enact His will. They have been standing in the presence of the Lord of the whole earth awaiting His command. Now the Lord has dispatched them to patrol the earth. 6 The chariot pulled by black horses will travel to the north land, followed by the white horses and then the spotted horses, which travel to the south land.

7 The strong horses and their chariots went on their patrols of the earth with great speed and excitement at God’s command: “Go now. Patrol the entire surface of the earth.” They did as they were told.

Eternal One: 8 Watch, Zechariah. The horses going to the north land have appeased My restless, vengeful Spirit.

9 The word of the Eternal came to me describing how He would fulfill His promise of restoring Jerusalem and His temple.

Message: 10-11 Find three men who have returned to Jerusalem from exile in Babylon. Their names are Heldai, Tobijah, and Jedaiah. Then collect money, silver and gold, from the Babylonians for rebuilding Jerusalem, and travel to the house of Josiah (Zephaniah’s son) who has also returned from Babylon. You will find Joshua (Jehozadak’s son) there. With the money you took from the Babylonians, fashion a crown for Joshua, the high priest, and place it on his head.

12 Once Joshua accepts the crown, tell him these words from the Eternal, Commander of heavenly armies: “Pay attention to a man who is named ‘Branch.’ He will branch out from where He is and will build the Eternal’s temple. 13 Yes, He is the temple builder of the Eternal One and will carry honor. He will sit on the throne of His kingdom to rule, and He will sit on a throne as a priest. Between those two there will be a peace agreement.”

14 The crown will then be taken from Joshua’s head and placed in the temple of the Eternal One as a reminder to Heldai,[a] Tobijah, Jedaiah, and Josiah[b] (Zephaniah’s son). 15 People will come from great distances to assist with the building of the Eternal One’s temple. Tell the men, “If you do exactly what the Eternal, your True God, says, this will happen as you have seen and heard it. Then you will know for certain the Eternal, Commander of heavenly armies, sent me to you.”

“Branch” is a prophetic title for the Anointed One, that royal descendant of David whom God will send to usher in a new age of justice, peace, and joy. In Zechariah’s day, the people wonder if Zerubbabel is that king. Ac cording to the prophet, God has designs on him as the one to rebuild the temple and occupy the throne, but he is not destined to reign alone as the Anointed One will. Zerubbabel reigns with Joshua, the high priest. Together they are anointed, acclaimed, and crowned leaders to watch over God’s people.

7 Two years after I saw the eight visions, on the fourth day of the ninth month (called Chislev) of the fourth year of the reign of Persian King Darius, the word of the Eternal came to me, Zechariah. 2 The situation was this: the citizens of Bethel had sent a delegation, including Sharezer and Regemmelech and his men, to seek the favor of the Eternal One 3 by questioning the priests working in the temple of the Eternal, Commander of heavenly armies, and by questioning the prophets.

Delegation: During the fifth month of every year, I fast and mourn. Should I continue separating myself from the impure world on these occasions as I have for so many years?

4 The word of the Eternal, Commander of heavenly armies came to me and told me how to address their question.

Message: 5 Ask the citizens of the land and the priests, “When you fasted and mourned during the fifth and seventh months for the last seventy years, were you really fasting for My benefit or just for yourselves? 6 When you were feasting on holy days, weren’t you just eating and drinking for yourselves instead of honoring Me? 7 Aren’t these the same directives the Eternal One gave you through the work of earlier prophets, when Jerusalem was bustling with people and prosperous, when the villages around Jerusalem throughout the south[c] and the western valleys were settled?”

8 The word of the Eternal came to me, Zechariah, again.

Message: 9 Here is what the Eternal, Commander of heavenly armies, has to say: “Dispense true justice, have mercy on others, and show all people compassion. 10 Do not take advantage of those who have lost a spouse or a parent, or those who are outsiders or poor. Don’t purpose to do evil toward your fellow Israelites.”

11 Some refused to listen. They turned their backs on this message and plugged their ears. 12 They made their hearts as hard as flint, refusing to listen to the law or the messages the Eternal, Commander of heavenly armies, sent by His Spirit and enacted through earlier prophets. That’s why His great wrath and calamity fell upon His people.

Eternal One: 13 When I called out, they chose not to hear Me, so when they called out, I returned the favor and decided not to hear them. 14 Like a sweeping tornado, I blew them throughout the nations, scattering them in distant lands where they were aliens, all alone. That’s how the land and its cities were emptied out and left so barren that no one even traveled through it. This is how your pleasant hills and valleys turned into empty lands.

Footnotes:

  1. 6:14 Hebrew manuscripts read, “Helem.”
  2. 6:14 Hebrew manuscripts read, “Hen.”
  3. 7:7 Hebrew, Negev
The Voice (VOICE)

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

Revelation 15

The New Testament God is not a God of fluffy love as some suppose. His judgment, while difficult to comprehend, is real; and fear of it should motivate repentance now.

15 Then I saw another sign in heaven, great and amazing: seven messengers with seven plagues—plagues that marked the end. With these the wrath of God reached its end.

2 And then I saw something like a sea made of glass mixed with fire flashing through it. Those who had been victorious over the beast, its image, and the number of its name were standing on the sea of glass, holding the harps of God in their hands. 3 As they stand and play their harps, they sing the song of Moses, the servant of God, and the song of the Lamb.

Victors: Great and amazing are Your works,
Lord God, the All Powerful.
Right and true are Your ways,
King of all nations.
4 Who will not fear You, Lord?
Who will not glorify Your name?
Because You alone are holy,
all the nations will come
and worship before You,
For Your righteous judgments have been revealed.

5 After I had taken all this in, I looked again; and the inner part of the tabernacle of witness opened in heaven. 6 Out of the temple came seven messengers, clothed in pure linen, bright and shining, their chests clad in a golden sash, carrying seven plagues. 7 Then one of the four living creatures stepped over to give to the seven messengers seven golden bowls brimming with the wrath of God who lives throughout the ages. 8 The temple was full of the smoke billowing from the magnificent glory of God and from His power, and no one could enter the temple until the seven plagues of the seven messengers accomplished their God-ordained end.

The Voice (VOICE)

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

Psalm 143

Psalm 143

A song of David.

1 Eternal One, I come to You in prayer.
Hear me out; I plead with You.
Lend an ear to my requests.
In Your faithfulness and justice, respond to my pleas.
2 Be kind and slow to judge Your faithful servant,
for compared to You, no one is truly just.

3 My adversary has pressed in, drawn closer, threatened my life;
he’s crushed me, driven me underground.
He’s forced me to live in the dark;
it’s as if I joined those who died a long time ago.
4 That’s why my spirit is growing faint inside me; I have nothing left;
my heart is completely empty and desolate.

5 And yet I can’t forget the days of old, the days I’ve heard so much about;
I fix my mind on all You have done;
I ponder the work of Your hands;
6 I reach out my hands to You.
All that I am aches and yearns for You, like a dry land thirsting for rain.

[pause][a]

7 Hurry and answer me, O Eternal One,
for my spirit is weak, my courage is gone.
Do not turn away; let me see Your face;
otherwise, I’ll die and be like all those who have gone to the grave.
8 Make me hear of Your faithful love in the morning,
for I trust in You.
Teach me how I should walk,
for I offer my soul up to You.

9 Rescue me from my enemies, Eternal One,
for You are my shelter from them.
10 Teach me how to do Your will,
for You are my God.
Allow Your good Spirit to guide me
on level ground, to guide me along Your path.

11 For the sake of Your name and the good of Your reputation,
preserve me, O Eternal One.
In Your righteousness, save my life from burden and misery.
12 In Your loyal love, silence my enemies for good;
destroy all those who take pleasure in my suffering,
for I am Your faithful servant!

Footnotes:

  1. 143:6 Literally, selah, likely a musical direction from a Hebrew root meaning “to lift up”
The Voice (VOICE)

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

Proverbs 30:24-28

24 There are four creatures on earth that are small,
but they are very wise and we can learn from them:
25 While ants are hardly a strong species,
they work constantly to store up food during the summer;
26 While badgers are animals without many defenses,
they are wise enough to make their homes in the rocky cliffs;
27 While locusts live without a ruler,
they all know how to move in formation;
28 While a lizard is easy enough to catch in your hand,
it is shrewd enough to enter the palaces of kings.

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 Saturday December 23, 2023 (NIV)

Zechariah 4-5

4 The heavenly messenger who had been talking with me returned and stirred me, as if I had been asleep. It was time for a fifth vision.

Heavenly Messenger: 2 What do you see before you?

A fifth vision shows the lamp of God’s grace completing what has begun.

Zechariah: I see a solid gold lampstand with a bowl on top of it and seven oil lamps on it. Each of the seven lamps has a spout, which the wicks lie in to soak up oil as they’re burned. 3 There are also two olive trees nearby: one on the right and the other on the left of the bowl.

4 But what are these things, lord?

Heavenly Messenger: 5 Do you not know what they are?

Zechariah: No, lord. I don’t.

Heavenly Messenger (changing the subject): 6 The Eternal, Commander of heavenly armies, has said this to Zerubbabel: “Your strength and prowess will not be enough to finish My temple, but My Spirit will be.” And He says this to those thwarting Zerubbabel’s efforts: 7 “Who are you, O mighty mountain of opposition? Before Zerubbabel, you will become nothing more than a smooth plain, and he will quarry the capstone and bring it out to the sound of people shouting, ‘God, grant it Your grace! God bless it!’”

8 The word of the Eternal came to me again to reiterate what was just reported.

Heavenly Messenger: 9 Zerubbabel’s very own hands have laid the foundation of this new temple, and his hands will complete it. When he does, it will be clear to you that the Eternal, Commander of heavenly armies, has sent me to you. 10 Now all who have frowned on the day when only slight progress was made to reconstruct the temple will celebrate when they see the stone that centers the plumb line in the hand of Zerubbabel, who will survey Jerusalem.

(finally answering his earlier question) The seven lamps on top of the lampstand are the eyes of the Eternal One, diligently searching the earth.

Zechariah (to the heavenly messenger): 11 What are the two olive trees, the ones on the right and left of the lampstand? What do these mean?

12 (persisting) And the two fruitful olive branches that extend toward the lampstand, the ones supported by the two gold pipes pouring out their gold oil—what do these mean?

Heavenly Messenger: 13 Do you not know what they are?

Zechariah: No, lord. I don’t.

Heavenly Messenger: 14 The olive trees are the two men who have been anointed with fresh oil, Zerubabbel and Joshua. They will rule Jerusalem jointly, one over politics and one over religion, and serve the Master over all the earth.

5 That night I had a sixth vision. I looked up and saw a large scroll flying.

Heavenly Messenger: 2 What do you see before you?

A sixth vision reveals the righteous ness held in God’s word, the true measure by which all are judged.

Zechariah: I see a large scroll flying. It’s at least 30 feet long and 15 feet wide.

Heavenly Messenger: 3 This scroll is God’s curse of judgment that blankets all the land. On one side, it is written that all who steal will be banished from the land. On the other side, it says that all who break their solemn vows will be banished. 4 The Eternal, Commander of heavenly armies, says, “I will dispatch this curse of judgment into the home of every thief and every perjurer who invokes My name. The decree will remain through the night in that house until it destroys everything, even its wood and stone.”

5 The heavenly messenger who had been talking with me went out. It was time for a seventh vision.

Heavenly Messenger: Look up. What do you see moving forward?

A seventh vision explains that the wickedness infecting the world will one day be contained by the agents of God.

Zechariah: 6 What is it?

Heavenly Messenger: It is a six-gallon basket[a] moving forward. Like the scroll, it, too, is a mark of judgment carrying the iniquity that they committed in the land.

7 Suddenly, the basket’s lead cover was lifted, and I saw a woman inside. She seemed to want out.

Heavenly Messenger: 8 This is Lady Wickedness.

The messenger pushed the woman back into the basket and replaced the basket’s stone (that is, its lead cover) over the mouth so she’d stay inside it. 9 Then in this vision, I looked up and saw two women moving forward with wings resembling the wings of storks. With the power of the wind in their wings, they lifted the basket up to a place somewhere far away, between heaven and earth.

Zechariah: 10 Where are they taking the basket?

Heavenly Messenger: 11 It is being delivered to the land of Shinar, which you know as Babylon. A temple is being built for it there; and once it is ready, they will put the basket on its own altar cart. Let the Babylonians worship what God has condemned.

Footnotes:

  1. 5:6 Hebrew, ephah
The Voice (VOICE)

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

Revelation 14

The number “666” stands in contrast to the perfection of the Lamb and the Spirit. Because this number is “the number of a person,” readers have tried to pin down the identity of this person throughout history. In John’s day, the name and title “Nero Caesar” was a likely candidate for the beast because Nero persecuted and executed believers, demanding obedience and even worship. Every era seems to have its Neros, those beastly characters who occupy seats of power and yet use their power to oppress God’s people. The speculation continues as to this person’s identity, but what has not changed is the message of hope in the midst of extreme persecution; that is the beauty proclaimed in this vision given to John.

14 The scene changed. I looked and saw the Lamb standing on top of Mount Zion, and with Him were the 144,000 who had His name and His Father’s name inscribed on their foreheads. 2 And I heard a voice from heaven roaring like a waterfall and clapping like thunder. The voice I heard was like a symphony of harpists playing their instruments. 3 As I watched, they began to sing a new song before the throne, the four living creatures, and the twenty-four elders. The only ones with the ability to learn this song were the 144,000 who had been rescued from the earth, 4 virgins who had not given themselves to sexual relations. They follow the Lamb wherever He goes. They have been purchased from among humanity as the firstfruits, set apart for God and the Lamb. 5 In their mouths, no lie was found; no blemish marred them.

6 I saw another messenger flying through midheaven. He carried an eternal gospel, bringing good news to all the citizens of the earth—every ethnicity, nation, language, and people.

Heavenly Messenger (with a loud voice): 7 Fear God. Give Him glory, for the time of judgment has arrived. Worship the One who fashioned heaven and earth and created the seas and the springs.

8 Another messenger, a second, came along.

Second Messenger: Fallen, fallen is Babylon, the great city! She has intoxicated all the nations with the wine of the wrath of her sexual perversion.

9 Another messenger, a third, followed.

Third Messenger (with a loud voice): Those who worship the beast and its image, and all who receive its mark on their foreheads or on their hands, 10 will be forced to drink the wine of God’s wrath, poured out undiluted into the cup of God’s anger. And they will face the torment of fire and the agony of sulfurous flames before the holy messengers and the Lamb. 11 The smoke of their torment will rise throughout the ages for eternity. Day and night will come and go without pause or cessation. There will be no end to the torture experienced by those who worship the beast and its image and by those who receive the mark of its name.

12 Here is the patient endurance of the saints, those who keep the commandments of God and remain faithful to Jesus.

13 Then I heard a voice call out from heaven.

A Voice: Record this: “Blessed are the dead who have died in the Lord from now until the end.”

Spirit: Yes, they will rest from their labors because their deeds remain with them.

14 Then I saw a white cloud, and seated on the cloud was one like the Son of Man, a golden wreath atop His head and a sharp sickle in His hand. 15 Another messenger proceeded from the temple and called with a loud voice to the One who sat on the cloud.

Heavenly Messenger: Take Your sickle and reap the harvest, because the harvest of the earth is full and ripe and because the time to harvest has come.

16 Then the One seated on the cloud swung His sickle over the earth, and the earth gave up its harvest.

17 Just then another messenger proceeded out of the heavenly temple. He also had a sharp sickle. 18 Then another messenger (the one with authority over fire) came out from the altar, and he called with a loud voice to the one who had the sharp sickle.

Messenger of Fire: Take your sharp sickle and gather together the clusters of grapes from the vines of the earth, for the grapes are ripe and ready for harvest.

19 So the heavenly messenger swung his sickle over the earth, gathered the fruit of the vine from the earth, and threw it into the great winepress, which is the wrath of God. 20 And the winepress was trampled outside of the city, and blood flowed from the winepress. The blood ran deep. It reached as high as the bridle on a horse and ran for the distance of about 185 miles.

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

Psalm 142

Psalm 142

A contemplative prayer[a] of David while he hid in a cave.

1 I call out loudly to the Eternal One;
I lift my voice to the Eternal begging for His favor.
2 I let everything that’s going wrong spill out of my mouth;
I spell out all my troubles to Him.
3 When my spirit buckled under the burdens I bear,
You knew my way.
They conspired to trip me up and trap me
on the path where I was walking.
4 Take a look around and see—to the right, to the left—
no one is there who cares for me.
There’s no way out of here;
no one cares about the state of my soul.

5 You are the One I called to, O Eternal One.
I said, “You’re the only safe place I know;
You’re all I’ve got in this world.
6 Oh, let me know that You hear my cry
because I’m languishing and desperate;

Rescue me from those who torment me
because there’s no way I can stand up to them;
they are much too strong for me.
7 Lift my captive soul from this dark prison
so I may render to You my gratitude;
Then Your righteous people will gather around me
because You will treat me with astounding goodness.”

Footnotes:

  1. 142:title Hebrew, maskil
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Proverbs 30:21-23

21 Three situations disturb the earth,
no, make it four that it cannot endure:
22 When a slave is elevated to king,
when a fool is full of fine food,
23 When a hated woman finally marries,
and when a serving girl takes possession of her mistress’s wealth.

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The Daily Audio Bible Reading for Friday December 22, 2023 (NIV)

Zechariah 2-3

2 That night I had a third vision. I looked up and saw a man with a measuring line in his hand.

Zechariah: 2 Where are you going with that?

Surveyor: I am going to measure the city of Jerusalem to find out how wide and how long it is so that a wall may be built around it.

A third vision looks forward to a time of restoration and the coming of God’s Anointed One when things will be set right.

3 Then the heavenly messenger who had been answering my questions since my first vision left my side, and a second messenger came and met him.

Second Messenger: 4 Go quickly, and tell that young surveyor with the measuring line, “Jerusalem will be a city without walls because of the vast number of people and all their domesticated animals living in it.” 5 For the Eternal One says, “Instead of a wall of stone, I will be a wall of fire protecting her all around, and I will be the shining glory within her.”

Eternal One (to Zechariah): 6 Tell all the Israelites to hear My message: “Up! Flee from your oppressors in the north. I have scattered you far across this earth, as if you were the four winds of heaven, and now I call you to return.” 7 Then tell My people in Jerusalem to hear My message: “Escape from subservience to daughter Babylon and go to Zion!”

8 So said the Eternal, Commander of heavenly armies.

After His glory has arrived in the city, He will send me to the nations that stripped you bare, Jerusalem, because any nation who harms you harms the apple of His eye.

Eternal One: 9 Watch what I’m going to do: I am ready to wave My hand over them to command punishment, and their own slaves will turn against them and strip them bare.

When these things happen, you will know the Eternal, Commander of heavenly armies, has sent me as His prophet.

Eternal One: 10 Sing out loud and be happy, daughter Zion, because you will see Me coming and I will live among you. I, the Eternal One, promise this. 11 When that day comes, many other nations will join with Me, and their people will become My people. Still I will live among you, my covenant people.

When these things happen, you will know the Eternal, Commander of heavenly armies, has sent me to you. 12 The Eternal will inherit Judah as His share in the holy land, and He will again choose Jerusalem as His city. 13 Hush, all people! Be silent before the Eternal, for He has awakened and has come in glory to Jerusalem from His holy home in heaven.

3 Then the heavenly messenger showed me a fourth vision: Joshua, the high priest, was standing in front of the Eternal’s Special Messenger who was presiding over a heavenly council meeting. Standing to Joshua’s right was the one called the Accuser.[a] He was ready to argue that Joshua was unworthy to serve as high priest.

In this vision Zechariah sees a heavenly court. Joshua the high priest is on trial, charged with impurity and accused of being unfit to serve as high priest. The Accuser appears in the role of a prosecuting attorney, bringing charges and attempting to undermine the credibility of the one person God wants to lead His people. But the Judge will have none of it.

Eternal One (to the Accuser): 2 I am reprimanding you, Accuser. I, the Eternal One, have chosen Jerusalem as My own, saved her from My fiery wrath as if she were a wooden poker just pulled from destruction in a fire.

3 Joshua stood motionless before the Eternal’s messenger, still dressed in filth-covered clothes, as if recently returned from captivity.

Special Messenger of the Eternal (to the other heavenly council members): 4 Remove the filth-covered clothes from this man.

(to Joshua) Just as I have taken away your dirty clothes, I have taken away your guilt from you. In place of those clothes, I will dress you in pure, expensive garments. Then you will be ready to serve God and lead the festival.

Zechariah (to the Eternal’s Special Messenger): 5 Your fellow council members should put a pure turban befitting of the high priest on his head. It will indicate his dignity.

So they placed a pure turban on his head and finished dressing him in his new clothes while the Eternal’s Special Messenger stood by, supervising the cleansing. Joshua could now safely approach God.

6 The Eternal’s Special Messenger then stood before Joshua and cautioned him.

Special Messenger of the Eternal: 7 Listen to what the Eternal, Commander of heavenly armies, has to say: “If you bind yourself to Me, walk according to My teachings, and perform your priestly duties without fail; then you will be in charge of My house in Jerusalem, you will organize the activities in the courtyards surrounding the most holy place, and I will give you a place among all My heavenly council members gathered here. 8 Listen to Me, Joshua the high priest—you and your colleagues who maintain the temple alongside you. These men are a sign of wonders to come. Watch, because I am going to bring My servant, who is the Branch of David, to lead you.” 9 The Eternal, Commander of heavenly armies, has this to say: “You will see the stone I set before Joshua: on it are seven eyes, on it I will engrave a special word, and in a single day I will purge guilt from the land. 10 And on that day I, the Eternal, Commander of heavenly armies, promise everyone will invite one another to sit under the shade of his own vine and fig tree and be at peace.”

Footnotes:

  1. 3:1 Literally, the satan
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Revelation 13

13 I saw a beast with ten horns and seven heads rising out of the blackness of the sea. On its horns hung ten crowns, and on its heads were inscribed blasphemous names. 2 This beast was like a leopard, its feet were like the claws of a bear, and its mouth was like the jaws of a lion. The dragon bestowed it with his power and his throne and his great authority. 3 One of the beast’s heads appeared to have suffered a fatal blow, but its mortal wound had somehow been healed. Amazed at the miracle and its power, all the earth followed the beast. 4 People worshiped the dragon because he had given his authority to the beast, and they worshiped the beast because of its power.

Earth: Who can match the beast? Who can fight against it?

The beast emerges from the murky waters resembling the dragon; but it has other features, too, that resemble the four beasts as described in Daniel 7. Daniel, in his visions, learns that the beasts represent the empires that terrorized Israel and the rest of the world: the Babylonians, Persians, Medes, and Greeks. Prophetic images are difficult to identify. The beast in John’s vision could be none other than the Roman Empire or another empire to come later. Rome has its own beastly authority, the Caesar, who demands worship. “Caesar is Lord,” they dare to claim. But John knows better. In every generation, powerful people and institutions arise—political predators that demand loyalty, sometimes even worship.

5 And the beast was given a mouth that bellowed arrogant boasts and uttered great blasphemies, and it was permitted to do what it willed for 42 months. 6 Its mouth opened with a stream of insults against God, blaspheming His name, cursing His dwelling and those who live in heaven. 7 Also it received permission to declare war against the saints and conquer them. Not a single nation, people, language, or ethnicity could escape its dominion. 8 The inhabitants of the earth will worship it, that is, all those whose names have not been recorded before the foundation of the world in the book of life of the Lamb who was slaughtered.

9 Let the person who is able to hear, listen carefully.

10 If someone is destined for captivity,
a captive he will be.
If someone is destined [to die][a] by the sword,
by the sword he will die.

The endurance and faithfulness of the saints will be tested here.

11 As I watched, I saw a second beast, this one rising up from the earth. It had two horns like a lamb, but it was speaking with the voice of a dragon.

The second beast, which later becomes “the false prophet,” has horns like the lamb; but its true nature is revealed in its dragon-like voice. Many pretenders and posers exist in the spiritual world. This new beast wants the world to believe it represents the True God, the only King worthy of worship. But it’s a deceiver, a counterfeit of the true King; it steals devotion away from the one true God, producing signs to dazzle the inhabitants of the earth.

12 This earth-beast exercises all of the authority given to it by the first beast, and it forces the earth and all its inhabitants to bow down and worship the first beast, whose mortal wound had been healed. 13 And the earth-beast performs fantastic miracles. Like Elijah on Mount Carmel, it even causes fire to blaze down from heaven to earth for all to see. 14 Since it is allowed to perform these miracles in the presence of the first beast, the earth-beast deceives the inhabitants of the earth, commanding them to make an image of the first beast that had survived the mortal wound inflicted by the sword. 15 And the earth-beast was granted permission to breathe into the image and to animate it so that it could even speak. It decreed that those who refuse to worship the image of the first beast must be killed, 16 and the earth-beast mandates that all humans must carry a mark on their right hands or foreheads: both great and small, both rich and poor, both free and slave.

The beast demands worship and requires all to carry its mark. Those who don’t face severe punishment.

17 Those who do not carry this mark, that is, those who do not have the name of the first beast or the number representing its name inscribed on them, are not allowed to sell their wares or buy in the market.

18 Here is divine wisdom: let anyone who understands these mysteries figure out the number of the beast because it is the number of a person. Its number is 666.[b]

Footnotes:

  1. 13:10 Other manuscripts read “to kill.”
  2. 13:18 Some manuscripts read 616.
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Psalm 141

Psalm 141

A song of David.

1 O Eternal One, I call upon You.
Come quickly!
Listen to my voice as I call upon You!
2 Consider my prayer as an offering of incense that rises before You;
when I stand with my hands outstretched pleading toward the heavens,
consider it as an evening offering.

3 Guard my mouth, O Eternal One;
control what I say.
Keep a careful watch on every word I speak.
4 Don’t allow my deepest desires to steer me toward doing what is wrong
or associating with wicked people
Or joining in their wicked works
or tasting any of their pleasures.

5 Let those who do right strike me down in kindness
and correct me in love.
Their kind correction washes over my head like pure oil;
do not let me be foolish and refuse such compassion.
Still my prayer is against the deeds of the wicked:
6 Their judges will be thrown from the edges of cliffs and crushed upon the rocks below,
and the wicked will hear my words and realize that what I said was pleasing.
7 Just as when a farmer plows and breaks open the earth, leaving clumps of dirt scattered along the rows,
our bones are scattered at the mouth of the grave.

8 My gaze is fixed upon You, Eternal One, my Lord;
in You I find safety and protection.
Do not abandon me and leave me defenseless.
9 Protect me from the jaws of the trap my enemies have set for me
and from the snares of those who work evil.
10 May the wicked be caught in their own nets
while I alone escape unharmed.

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Proverbs 30:18-20

18 There are three mysteries I find absolutely amazing,
no, make it four I cannot comprehend:
19 The way an eagle flies through the sky,
the way a snake moves over a rock,
The way a boat glides through the middle of the sea,
and the way a man becomes one with his virgin wife.

20 An adulterous woman is so cavalier by nature.
When she’s done, it is as if she washed after eating
and then says, “I have done nothing wrong.”

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The Daily Audio Bible Reading for Thursday December 21, 2023 (NIV)

Zechariah 1

1 During the eighth month of the second year of the reign of Persian King Darius, the word of the Eternal One came to the prophet Zechariah (Berechiah’s son and Iddo’s grandson).

Message: 2 The Eternal became very angry with your ancestors. That’s why He turned His back on them. 3 Now, tell your people what the Eternal, the Commander of heavenly armies, has to say: “Return to Me, so I may turn back to you.” This is the message the Eternal, Commander of heavenly armies, burdens you with today, Zechariah.

4 Do not be like your fathers and mothers, whom the prophets of their own time warned, “Here is what the Eternal, Commander of heavenly armies, has to say: Turn away from your evil thoughts and your evil acts.” Even then they did not listen to Me. That was the message the Eternal One burdened His prophets with a generation ago.

Eternal One (to Zechariah): 5 Where are your ancestors now? And what about the prophets I sent to warn them? They did not live forever, did they? 6 Didn’t My words and My rules that I dictated through My servants the prophets outlive your rebellious ancestors? That’s why they repented eventually and realized, “The Eternal, Commander of heavenly armies, has done to us exactly what He decided He would do if we behaved this way. His punishments match our evil thoughts and acts.”

Zechariah has a series of eight visions one night in early 519 b.c. These visions are filled with symbols, numbers, unusual sights, and distinct sounds. In order to understand what he is seeing, God sends a heavenly messenger to serve as Zechariah’s guide and interpreter. All the visions relate to some aspect of the restoration of Jerusalem and her people.

7 On the 24th day of the 11th month (called Shebat by the Babylonians) of the 2nd year of the reign of Persian King Darius, the word of the Eternal came to me, the prophet Zechariah (Berechiah’s son and Iddo’s grandson). This is what happened: 8 During the night, I had eight visions. I opened my eyes, and there was a man riding a red horse and bringing a message. He was in the middle of a stand of ever-blooming myrtle trees down in the lowest part of the Kidron Valley. Behind him stood horses of red, tan, and white.

This is not just any messenger who comes to Zechariah in his vision; he is a heavenly messenger whom Zechariah addresses as “lord.”

Zechariah: 9 What are they, my lord?

Heavenly Messenger: I will show you.

10 The man standing among the myrtle trees explained.

Heavenly Messenger: The horses and their riders have been sent by the Eternal to patrol the whole earth.

11 And they began to give reports to the Special Messenger of the Eternal One, who was standing among the myrtle trees.

Patrols: We have traveled back and forth across the surface of the whole earth and found it resting peacefully.

Special Messenger of the Eternal: 12 O Eternal, Commander of heavenly armies, how long will You keep Your mercy from Jerusalem? How long will You keep Your mercy from the cities of Judah, which have endured Your anger for the last 70 years?

13 The Eternal One answered him, speaking kind and comforting words to the heavenly messenger who had been talking to me. He shared with me the message.

Special Messenger of the Eternal (to Zechariah): 14 Tell everyone these words of the Eternal, Commander of heavenly armies: “I am very jealous for the people of Jerusalem and Zion. 15 Also, I am very angry with those nations that feel at ease. I was only slightly angry with these other nations, but when they attacked more ruthlessly than I commanded them to, they made the situation much worse for themselves. 16 Here’s what I will do: I, the Eternal One, will turn back to Jerusalem with that mercy they’ve missed for 70 years. My temple will be rebuilt in Jerusalem,” says the Eternal, Commander of heavenly armies; “surveyors will stretch out their measuring lines over Jerusalem, and craftsmen will return to rebuild it.” 17 You must reiterate to your people what the Eternal, Commander of heavenly armies, says: “My cities will once again be so prosperous, they will overflow. Once again I will comfort the people of Zion, and once again I will choose Jerusalem as My earthly home.”

18 That night I had a second vision of God’s wrath. I looked up and saw four horns.

In a second vision of the power of God’s judgment, God’s people are oppressed by the nations, who are represented by four horns.

Zechariah (to the heavenly messenger): 19 What are these?

Heavenly Messenger: These are the horns of the nations that have been raised in battles to scatter and oppress Judah, Israel, and Jerusalem.

20 Then the Eternal showed me four craftsmen.

Zechariah: 21 And what are these people coming to do?

Heavenly Messenger: These are the horns of the nations that have scattered the people of Judah, and because of them, no one may lift his head up in dignity. The craftsmen have come to wreak havoc and inflict terror on the nations who own the horns, to strike down those who raised their horns before attacking Judah and sending her people into exile.

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Revelation 12

12 As I looked, a great sign appeared in heaven: a woman came into view clothed in the radiance of the sun, standing with the moon under her feet, and she was crowned with a wreath of twelve stars on her head. 2 She was painfully pregnant and was crying out in the agony of labor. 3 Then a second sign appeared in heaven, ominous, foreboding: a great red dragon, with seven crowned heads and ten horns. 4 The dragon’s tail brushed one-third of the stars from the sky and hurled them down to the earth. The dragon crouched in front of the laboring woman, waiting to devour her child the moment it was born.

5 She gave birth to a male child, who is destined to rule the nations with an iron scepter. Before the dragon could bite and devour her son, the child was whisked away and brought to God and His throne. 6 The woman fled into the wilderness, where God had prepared a place of refuge and safety where she could find sustenance for 1,260 days.

The sign that appears in the vision is of a celestial woman who gives birth to a son. While it’s possible this could refer to Mary, the mother of Jesus, it is also possible this is a symbol of God’s chosen people. The faithful remnant of Israel is the womb that carried the Lord and delivered Him to the world. While the great red dragon does his best to destroy and devour Him, God has another plan. Since then, the dragon and his minions have done their best to harangue and persecute the woman’s children. But again he does not have the final word.

7 A battle broke out in heaven. Michael, along with his heavenly messengers, clashed against the dragon. The dragon and his messengers returned the fight, 8 but they did not prevail and were defeated. As a result, there was no place left for them in heaven. 9 So the great dragon, that ancient serpent who is called the devil and Satan, the deceiver of the whole world, was cast down to the earth along with his messengers. 10 Then I heard a great voice in heaven.

A Voice: Now the salvation and the power
and the kingdom of our God
and the authority of His Anointed One have come.
For the accuser of our brothers and sisters,
who relentlessly accuses them day and night before our God,
has been cast down and silenced.
11 By the blood of the Lamb
and the word of their witnesses,
they have become victorious over him,
For they did not hold on to their lives, even under threat of death.
12 Therefore, rejoice, all you heavens;
celebrate, all you who live in them.
But disaster will befall the earth and the sea,
for the devil has come down to your spheres,
And he is incredibly angry
because he knows his time is nearly over.

13 When the dragon realized he had been cast down to the earth, he pursued the mother of the male infant. 14 In order to escape the serpent, she was given the two wings of the great eagle to fly deeper into the wilderness to her own special place where she would find sustenance for a time, and times, and half a time. 15 Then from his mouth the serpent spewed water like a raging river that chased after the woman, trying to sweep her away in the flood. 16 But the earth came to her rescue. It opened its gaping mouth and swallowed the river that spewed from the dragon’s mouth. 17 As a result, the dragon was enraged at the woman and went away to make war on the rest of her children—those who keep the commandments of God and hold fast to the testimony of Jesus.

18 And [the dragon][a] stood waiting on the sand of the seashore.

Footnotes:

  1. 12:18 Some late manuscripts read “I.”
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Psalm 140

Psalm 140

For the worship leader. A song of David.

1 Save me, O Eternal One, from the evil men who seek my life.
Shield me from this band of violent men.
2 Their hearts devise evil! They conspire against me;
they are constantly causing a storm of war.
3 These snakes have sharpened their tongues;
viper venom hides beneath their lips.[a]

[pause][b]

4 Keep me from the grip of these cruel men, O Eternal One.
Shield me from this band of violent men
whose only intention is to trip me up and undermine all I do.
5 Those arrogant people are trying to catch me;
they’ve laid their trap, hiding a net along my path;
their traps are set, and I am the prey.

[pause]

6 “Eternal One,” I said, “You are my one and only God.
Hear me, O Eternal, hear my humble cry for rescue.
7 O Lord, Eternal One, power of my deliverance,
You are my helmet in the day of battle.
8 So do not fulfill the desires of these evildoers, Eternal One;
do not advance their evil schemes, lest they brag about their successes.

[pause]

9 “As for the gang leader of those who surround me,
let their mischievous words cover them; smother them in trouble.
10 Let hot coals fall from heaven upon them
and cast them into the roaring fires.
May they sink into the muddy marsh from which there is no return.
11 Let no liar find a home anywhere in the land;
let evil hunt down the violent man and do him in quickly.”

12 I am certain the Eternal supports the cause of the distressed;
the poor will receive the justice they deserve.
13 Indeed, the just-living will glorify Your name,
and honorable people will be at home in Your presence.

Footnotes:

  1. 140:3 Romans 3:13
  2. 140:3 Literally, selah, likely a musical direction from a Hebrew root meaning “to lift up”
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Proverbs 30:17

17 One who derides his father
and fails to honor his mother in old age
Will die in contempt: his eyes will be pecked out by the ravens of the valley
and eaten by the young vultures when his unburied body lies on the trash heap.

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12/20/2023 DAB Transcript

Haggai 1:1-2:23, Revelations 11:1-19, Psalm 139:1-24, Proverbs 30:15-16

Today is the 20th day of December, welcome to the Daily Audio Bible. I am Brian. It is wonderful to be here with you today as our journey continues forward step-by-step, day-by-day in the final days of this year. And we’re kind of on a trend right now as we move through the…the minor prophets in the Old Testament where we absorb an entire book in a day. That won’t happen every single day for the rest of the year, but it will happen today.

Introduction to the Book of Haggai:

We have arrived at the 10th of 12 books of prophecy known as the minor prophets. And today we will read the prophet Haggai. And like a lot of the other minor prophets, there’s not a lot to give us like, who Haggai was, what he did. We know that Haggai was…was among those who had returned from the Babylonian exile and were living in Jerusalem. And he was probably one of the first wave of exiles to be…be able to return back to Jerusalem. And we also know that from the writing here, he had access to those in power because he indicates that his message was delivered to Zerubbabel, the governor of Judah. And we might remember that name because we learned of Zerubbabel when we read through the book of, the books of Ezra and Nehemiah. And he also delivered this message to Jeshua, the high priest, so he had access. And the message is largely motivational, but we have to look at a timeline to understand why. Babylon conquered Jerusalem and we read all about that, as we’ve been going through the Scriptures this year. And led people into exile and that happened at 586 BC. Babylon then was conquered by the Persian Empire in 539 BC. And it was the Persian King Cyrus that allowed the first of the exiles to go back to Jerusalem under Zerubbabel’s leadership around 538 BC. Haggai’s message, the one we’re about to read comes 18 years later in 520 BC. If fact, these prophecies in the book of Haggai, are some of the most precisely dated utterances that we know in the Bible because the dates are contained in the book, August 29th through December 18th 520 BC. So, during the 18 years from the time that the exiles were first allowed to return, until the time that Haggai pronounces this prophecy, the temple remained incomplete. The different oppositions political and regional and the intimidation of the surrounding nations had stalled all of the efforts for the temple and the people that built their own fortifications and rebuilt their own homes and rebuilt their own lives, without concern for the temple as the centerpiece of who they were. And the prophet Haggai voices God’s displeasure, why are you living in luxurious houses while my house lies in ruins. And so, God tells the people that since they returned, they’ve been toiling and all their attempts to rebuild have been thwarted and their crops haven’t yielded the bounty that they had planned for because the people had become self-absorbed and left God’s temple neglected. They needed to completely change their priorities and put God first, God had plans. And so, from Haggai, we understand that construction began on September 21st and less than a month later on October 17the God spoke again to the people. God wanted to restore the temple. It was the central part of their covenantal life and the community of the chosen people. But God had specific plans for the work, and he wanted the work done. The temple restored, no more delay. And so, what we’ll see as we read through this is that God’s people had spent their energy trying to make life work on their own. That sounds like God’s people today, right, that sounds like us. But what the people learned was that their efforts yielded far less than they were expecting because they put themselves first, ignoring God. When God’s plan had been to consolidate the prosperity of the other nations and bring it flooding into the temple to supply God’s people. So, in other words, and this is the lesson man, this is the lesson for us, if they had put God first their toil would have yielded what they expected and been more fruitful. That is, that something each of us can take on board as a lesson for life. And so, let’s read the book of Haggai.

Prayer:

Father, we thank You for Your word and this rapid movement of the year and through the Bible and through the book of Haggai today. And we think today of what we read in Psalm 139 that there is no where we can flee from Your presence. Wherever we go, You are there, and so we recognize that, acknowledge that, open our hearts to that. Your presence is here now. Your presence will accompany us wherever we go. We can ignore that, we do it all the time, we wander places that we should never go all the time and wander away from You. But You will not remove Your presence from us. So, we humble ourselves before You and ask for Your leadership. Come, Holy Spirit, lead us into all truth, we ask in the name of Jesus. Amen.

Announcements:

dailyaudiobible.com, that’s home base, it’s the websites. It’s where you find out what’s going on around here. We still have the vinyl albums that we brought out for Christmas this year, all in support of the new infrastructure and new application that’s coming next year. So, those are all available, you can find them at dailyaudiobible.com or in the Daily Audio Bible app, just look for the Shop, look for the Christmas Section and you will find them there. And thank you for all of those of you who have participated, thank you kindly.

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

Prayer and Encouragements:

Trejan, this is God’s Life Speaker. I heard you on the Community Prayers. And you’ve said you’ve called in three times, but you haven’t heard your voice. Oh, how I wish we could communicate that you have got to listen to community prayers. People get so prayed for there. Trejan, you have given your life to Christ, you read a poem for us, you are dealing with hatred. You don’t wanna go back to that lifestyle. You wanna love the Lord. The only thing you want to hate is the devil himself. And your heart came through your words, through that song, that poem that you wrote and read. You read it with such passion. Let’s just pray. Heavenly Father, we thank You for this young man that has changed his mind and changed his course. Lord, but he is crying out for just the peace in his mind. May his mind stay on You and may You give him the peace that surpasses all understanding. And a mind that stays on You, is a mind at peace, Lord. And you tell us to keep our minds on things above and I pray this over Trejan. I pray that he would burst forth with a song, with this rap, that he would speak to people, and he would be inundated with Christian friends, that they would just surround him, be able to lift him up, show him the way that he would have friends that would walk with him, beside him. And Holy Spirit, You are the number one friend, that You would speak to him in his mind. That You would draw him near and say, this way. And that he would follow you. He is eager, he’s hungry. Give him the sweetness, show him the way to go. He wants to follow the truth of life and we know that that’s You, and he has confessed it Lord. I pray that You would give him favor. In the name of Jesus we pray. Amen.

Hello my name is Maggienita. I’m from Australia. This is my first time calling but I have been listening since 2009. But this morning I’m calling because I need everyone to pray for my son Lucas. My son has been in accident at work this morning. And he was hit with high pressure costic in his face and eyes. And right now, all I know is that he is blind and they are flying him to a hospital. So, I’m asking would you please pray for my son Lucas. That his sight would be restored. Thank you.

This call is for Trejan in Massachusetts. I normally do not listen to the weekend community prayers because they’re pretty long but I felt led to listen to this one. And I say, for some reason I felt led, I know that reason, that was the Holy Spirit. And your prayer, your call really resonated with me, Trejan. And I’d like to pray for you. Heavenly Father, I thank You for saving Trejan from the darkness that surrounds him there. From the hatred and Lord, I pray for Your deliverance for him. Surround him with spiritual brothers and sisters that can, that he can lean on. And this community too, Lord. Help him to realize that this community loves him and that there are people praying for him around the world, whether or not he hears that prayer, his prayer request. So Lord, just connect him with those people. Teach him how to connect with You on a daily basis. To spend time with You, to praise Your name and help him to be a light, a strong light in his community. I’m praying for you brother. This is Greg from Pennsylvania. Thanks.

Hi everyone, it’s Kristy in Kentucky. I wanted to call today to pray for some of our brothers and sisters. Lord, we praise You and we love You, Father God. And You have heard the petitions of Your children Lord, laid at Your feet. So, we come beside them, Jesus, and we pray for our brothers and sisters who love you so very much. Father, today, I lift up Chris to You Lord. He had a horrible battle with COVID, which has left him with MS. And Lord, the desires of his heart is to be healed so that he can spend time, quality time with his children doing all the things that he had planned to do with them, Father. And we’re asking that You hear his pleas, Father, for healing. Lord Jesus, Your hand is not too short to do any miracle. And so Father, we are asking for that for Chris today. Father, we are also praying for Jeremy. Lord Jesus, Kelly’s friend has received a horrible diagnosis of cancer, which has spread throughout his body. Lord, we know this man Father, and I know Lord Jesus, we all know Father God, that You love Your children. And we pray, Father God, that Your will for him is to live. And so, Father, we are asking that You place Your hands upon him, Father. Touch his body, Lord Jesus. Remove this cancer, Father. You’re a miracle working God, Lord. And we love You. We’ve seen your work before and so now we’re asking for a miracle for Jeremy. Lord, we love You so very much. We praise You and we honor You and we thank You for this privilege to come before Your throne. In Your heavenly name we pray. Amen. Alright everyone, I pray that each of you have a most blessed and lovely day. Merry Christmas.

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The Daily Audio Bible Reading for Wednesday December 20, 2023 (NIV)

Haggai 1-2

1 On the first day of the sixth month, during the second year King Darius reigned over the Persian Empire, the prophet named Haggai gave a message from the Eternal One to men named Zerubbabel (Shealtiel’s son and the Jewish governor of Judah) and Joshua (Jehozadak’s son and the high priest). 2 This is what the Eternal, the Commander of heavenly armies who is more powerful even than the king, had to say.

Eternal One: These people living in Jerusalem say it’s not yet the right time for them to rebuild the temple, the place where the Eternal One dwells.

3 The prophet Haggai gave a message from the Eternal.

Eternal One: 4 Do you think the time is right for you to live in secure and lavishly covered homes when My house still lies in a heap of rubble? 5 Think very carefully about your choices. 6 You have planted a large crop, but your harvest is small. You have food to eat, but it is never enough to satisfy. You have something to drink, but you are never filled. You have clothes to wear, but they are not enough to keep you warm. You earn a salary, but the money runs out quickly, as if there are holes in your pocket.

7 Think very carefully about your choices. 8 Go up to the mountains, and bring down trees to make lumber and build My house. Do this so I may take pleasure in it and be honored by it.

9 You expected to be well rewarded for all your hard work. But as you see, you are getting back almost nothing. As you have brought in profits, I’ve blown them away. Why? I, the Eternal, Commander of heavenly armies, will tell you why: My house has remained in ruins while each of you has been chasing after your own concerns. 10 This is why heaven above you has held back the dew[a] and the earth has refused to produce crops. 11 I caused a drought in both the fields and the hills. All the crops you tried to produce have been affected, including your grain, your new wine, and your oil. All have been damaged: humanity, cattle, and everything you tried to produce yourself.

12 Then Zerubbabel (Shealtiel’s son), Joshua (Jehozadak’s son and the high priest), and all those who had returned obeyed the voice of the Eternal, their True God. They took seriously the message brought by the prophet Haggai, believing he had been sent by the Eternal One, whom they worshiped and feared.

Haggai says the fields are not producing food because the temple has not been rebuilt. This understanding correlates God’s divine presence with the fertility of the land. The notion of divine control of natural events is common to the ancient world, but Haggai understands that acts of sacrifice or external displays of intrinsic beliefs cannot renew the land; transformative change brought on by the Lord’s presence can. God wants His people to experience real spiritual changes that are reflected in the ways they interact with each other and the rest of the world.

13-15 On the 24th day of that 6th month, which was King Darius’ 2nd year, Haggai, the messenger of the Eternal One, received this new message from the Eternal and shared it with the people.

Eternal One: I am with you.

And the Eternal One rallied the spirit of Zerubbabel (Shealtiel’s son and Judah’s governor), the spirit of Joshua (Jehozadak’s son and the high priest), and the spirit of all those who had returned to Jerusalem so that they came together and began work on the house of their God, the Eternal, Commander of heavenly armies.

2 On the 21st day of the 7th month, the prophet Haggai gave another message from the Eternal.

Eternal One: 2 Ask Zerubbabel (Shealtiel’s son and Judah’s governor), Joshua (Jehozadak’s son and the high priest), and all those who returned from exile, 3 “Are any of you still living who saw how glorious My first house was before it was destroyed more than 60 years ago? How does this current one look to you now? In comparison to the first, does this one look like nothing? Of course it does.

4 “But don’t be discouraged. Be strong, Zerubbabel. Be strong, Joshua (Jehozadak’s son and the high priest). Be strong, all you who once again live in the land. Keep working on it. For I, the Eternal, Commander of heavenly armies, am with you! 5 Regarding the covenant[b] I made with you when your ancestors came out of Egypt,[c] My Spirit remains with you, living among you. Do not be afraid.

6 “Yet once more[d] I will shake not only the earth, but also the heavens,[e] the sea, and the land. 7 I will rattle all the nations, and all that is valuable in the eyes of the world will be willingly brought to My house. I will see to it that it is filled to the brim with My glory.

8 “You see, all the silver and all the gold in this world already belong to Me. 9 You will stand by and watch as the magnificence of this new house will eclipse the magnificence of My first house. And in this new house, I will give you peace.”

God proclaims peace will come upon the Jews, a peace not only for Israel but for all believers in the Prince of Peace (Isaiah 9:6–7).

So says the Eternal, Commander of heavenly armies.

10 On the 24th day of the 9th month during the 2nd year of King Darius’ reign, the prophet Haggai received a third message from the Eternal One. 11 The Eternal, Commander of heavenly armies, told Haggai to ask the priests to explain what the law says about this scenario:

Haggai: 12 If a person is carrying sacred meat, the meat of the sacrifices, in the fold of his garment and that garment comes into contact with some ordinary bread, stew, wine, oil, or any other food; then does it transfer its sacredness to the new food?

Priests: No.

Haggai: 13 What about this situation then? If a person who is ritually impure from touching a dead body[f] touches one of these foods, does he transfer the impurity to it?

Priests: Yes, it is now impure.

Haggai: 14 The Eternal One says this is what He sees when He looks over this people and this nation:

“Everything they have done and everything they have brought there as a spiritual offering is impure. 15 Now think carefully about your choices from this point forward. Consider how things were before you even laid the first stone back upon the other to rebuild the house of the Eternal One. 16 How did it turn out for you? Were you able to do it without Me? You came to scoop grain and expected 20 measures, but there were only 10. You came to draw wine from a vat and expected 50 measures, but there were only 20. 17 I crushed you and everything you tried to do under your own power with scorching heat, mildew, and hail; and still you didn’t turn to Me.[g]

18 “From this day forward—from the 24th day of the 9th month, from the foundation of the Eternal One’s house—think carefully and ask yourself, 19 ‘Is there seed left unplanted in the storage barns?’ No. But you must be patient. The grape vine and the fig tree, the pomegranate trees and the olive trees have not borne fruit yet. From this day on, I will bless you.”

20 That same day the prophet Haggai received a second message from the Eternal One.

Eternal One: 21 Tell Zerubbabel, governor of Judah, that I will shake not only the earth, but also the heavens.[h] 22 I will upend royal thrones and shatter the power of foreign kingdoms. I will crash chariots and their drivers; horses and their riders will be killed in confusion and chaos, each by the sword of his countryman. 23 On that day, I will choose you, my servant Zerubbabel (Shealtiel’s son); this I declare. I will make you My choice as a signet ring represents the wishes of its owner because I have chosen you.

So said the Eternal, Commander of heavenly armies.

Footnotes:

  1. 1:10 Hebrew manuscripts read, “from dew.”
  2. 2:5 Hebrew manuscripts read, “word.”
  3. 2:5 Exodus 24:5–8
  4. 2:6 Hebrew manuscripts add, “and it is small.”
  5. 2:6 Hebrews 12:26
  6. 2:13 Hebrew manuscripts read, “soul.”
  7. 2:17 Meaning of the Hebrew is uncertain.
  8. 2:21 Hebrews 12:26
The Voice (VOICE)

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

Revelation 11

The scroll John eats is taken from the hand of the powerful messenger who announces the fulfillment of all the prophecies. Just as it did for the Old Testament prophet Ezekiel (2:8–3:4), the scroll represents the message John is required to proclaim; but first he must take it in and it must become a part of him. Initially it tastes sweet, but as it settles deep within him, it becomes bitter. God’s message is always bittersweet. It is sweet joy for those who turn to God, but bitter sadness for those who do not accept it.

11 Then I received a measuring rod. It resembled a staff, and I was commanded to take measurements.

A Voice: Get up, and measure the temple of God, the altar, and those who worship in it. 2 However, do not measure the court outside of the temple. Separate that area out because it has been handed over to the nations. They will trample over the holy city for 42 months. 3 I will authorize my two witnesses to prophesy for 1,260 days dressed in sackcloth, the clothes that mourners wear.

4 These two witnesses are the two olive trees and two lampstands standing in front of the Lord of the earth. 5 If anyone wishes to harm the witnesses, fire spews out of the witnesses’ mouths and consumes their foe in flames. Anyone who wishes to harm them is destined to die this way. 6 They have the authority to shut up the sky so that no rain may fall during the time of their prophecies. They also have authority to turn the waters into blood and to strike the earth with any plague whenever they desire.

The two witnesses bear a striking resemblance to the faithful prophets of Israel and the faithful martyrs of the churches. Together they stand speaking God’s message as the nations rant and rave and trample the holy city. The lampstands, which signify the churches, are not the light, but they welcome the light and present it to the world. The olive tree, even today, is a symbol of Israel. Olive trees supply the oil for the lamps so that they may burn brightly in the darkness. For a season, the two witnesses enjoy God’s protection, but a time is coming when they will fall victim to the nations and then lie silent.

7 On the day they finish their testimony, the beast from the abyss will declare war on them and win victory by killing them. 8 Their dead bodies will lie in the street of the great city (which, spiritually speaking, is called Sodom and Egypt) where their Lord was crucified. 9 For three and a half days, representatives of the peoples and ethnicities, languages and nations stare down at their lifeless bodies and refuse them a proper burial. 10 Because these two prophets tormented the earth dwellers by speaking God’s message, the people will rejoice over their dead bodies and celebrate their deaths by exchanging gifts with one another.

11 At the end of the three and a half days, the spirit of life that comes from God entered their corpses, raising them, and they stood again on their feet. Those who looked on were terrified by what they saw. 12 Then they heard a great voice from heaven.

A Voice: Come up here!

Their enemies watched the spectacle as the witnesses ascended into heaven in a cloud.

13 In that same hour, a great earthquake shook the earth causing one-tenth of the city to crumble into dust, and 7,000 people were killed in the earthquake. Then the rest who were left alive, quaking in fear, turned and glorified the God of heaven.

14 The second disaster has passed; watch as the third disaster comes quickly.

15 The seventh messenger sounded his trumpet, and great voices in heaven confessed:

Voices from Heaven: The kingdom of the world has given way to the kingdom of our Lord
and of His Anointed One.
He will reign throughout the ages.

When the seventh messenger blows his trumpet, the kingdom of this world comes to an end. The rule and reign of God and His Anointed has arrived in full to eclipse the rogue kings who rebelled against the Creator and mocked His good name. God’s kingdom entered our world in the incarnation, death, and resurrection of Jesus. It slipped in almost unnoticed beneath the noses of the powers that be. It grows silently as a seed in the earth until it fills the cosmos.

Today Christians live between the times: we live as aliens and strangers rescued from this present darkness, but we also live as citizens who long for the Kingdom that is to come. Until then we are to seek His kingdom and help carve out the territories for Him.

16 Then the twenty-four elders, who sit before God on their thrones, fell prostrate and worshiped God.

17 24 Elders: We give You thanks, Lord God, the All Powerful,
who is and who was.
For You have wielded Your great power
and have begun Your reign.
18 The nations have raged against You,
but Your wrath has finally come.
It is now time to judge all of the dead,
To give a just reward to Your servants, the prophets,
and to the saints and all who honor Your name,
both the small and the great,
And to destroy those who cause destruction to the earth.

19 Then God’s temple in heaven was opened up, and His covenant chest could be seen within His temple. Lightning flashed all around. Noises and thunder rumbled. The earth trembled. Heavy hailstones fell from the sky.

The Voice (VOICE)

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

Psalm 139

Psalm 139

For the worship leader. A song of David.

1 O Eternal One, You have explored my heart and know exactly who I am;
2 You even know the small details like when I take a seat and when I stand up again.
Even when I am far away, You know what I’m thinking.
3 You observe my wanderings and my sleeping, my waking and my dreaming,
and You know everything I do in more detail than even I know.
4 You know what I’m going to say long before I say it.
It is true, Eternal One, that You know everything and everyone.
5 You have surrounded me on every side, behind me and before me,
and You have placed Your hand gently on my shoulder.
6 It is the most amazing feeling to know how deeply You know me, inside and out;
the realization of it is so great that I cannot comprehend it.

7 Can I go anywhere apart from Your Spirit?
Is there anywhere I can go to escape Your watchful presence?

8 If I go up into heaven, You are there.
If I make my bed in the realm of the dead, You are there.
9 If I ride on the wings of morning,
if I make my home in the most isolated part of the ocean,
10 Even then You will be there to guide me;
Your right hand will embrace me, for You are always there.
11 Even if I am afraid and think to myself, “There is no doubt that the darkness will swallow me,
the light around me will soon be turned to night,”
12 You can see in the dark, for it is not dark to Your eyes.
For You the night is just as bright as the day.
Darkness and light are the same to Your eyes.

13 For You shaped me, inside and out.
You knitted me together in my mother’s womb long before I took my first breath.
14 I will offer You my grateful heart, for I am Your unique creation, filled with wonder and awe.
You have approached even the smallest details with excellence;
Your works are wonderful;
I carry this knowledge deep within my soul.
15 You see all things; nothing about me was hidden from You
As I took shape in secret,
carefully crafted in the heart of the earth before I was born from its womb.
16 You see all things;
You saw me growing, changing in my mother’s womb;
Every detail of my life was already written in Your book;
You established the length of my life before I ever tasted the sweetness of it.
17 Your thoughts and plans are treasures to me, O God! I cherish each and every one of them!
How grand in scope! How many in number!
18 If I could count each one of them, they would be more than all the grains of sand on earth. Their number is inconceivable!
Even when I wake up, I am still near to You.

19 I wish You would destroy all the wicked, O God.
So keep away from me, those who are thirsty for blood!
20 For they say such horrible things about You,
and those who are against You abuse Your good name.
21 Is it not true that I hate all who hate You, Eternal One?
Is it not true that I despise all who come against You?
22 Deep hatred boils within me toward them;
I am Your friend, and they are my enemies.
23 Explore me, O God, and know the real me. Dig deeply and discover who I am.
Put me to the test and watch how I handle the strain.
24 Examine me to see if there is an evil bone in me,
and guide me down Your path forever.

The Voice (VOICE)

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

Proverbs 30:15-16

15 The leech has twin suckers;
“More blood! More blood,” they demand.
Three other things are just as insatiable,
no, make it four that never say, “Enough”:
16 The grave, the childless woman who cannot bear,
the parched earth that cries for rain,
and the fire, which never says, “Enough!”

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 Tuesday December 19, 2023 (NIV)

Zephaniah 1-3

1 The Eternal One had a message for the whole world, and He gave it to a man named Zephaniah when Josiah (Amon’s son) was the king of Judah. Zephaniah’s father was Cushi, the son of Gedaliah (Amariah’s son and a descendant of a commoner named Hezekiah).

2-3 Eternal One: I am going to wipe the face of the earth clean of every living thing.
I will wipe away both people and animals;
Even the birds in the sky and the fish in the sea will be swept away.
Rubble and ruin will be all that is left with the wicked[a]
When I cut off humanity from the face of the earth.
4 I will use My powerful hand to crush the people of Judah
and those who make Jerusalem their home.
I will remove from this place every reminder and remainder of false divine masters;[b]
the names of those pagan priests will be forgotten along with My priests.
5 I will use My power against those who worship creation—
those who bow down on their roofs before the multitude of stars in heaven—
And against those who bow down and pledge allegiance
to both the Eternal One and false gods such as Milcom, god of the Ammonites.
6 I will use My power against those who used to worship the Eternal One
but turned their backs and no longer follow Me.
They don’t look to Me anymore for help and guidance.

7 Keep quiet now! You are standing before the Eternal Lord
because the day of the Eternal One is near;
His judgment is coming. He has prepared the sacrifice,
and He has chosen His guests with care.
8 On the day of the Eternal’s sacrifice,
this will happen just as He describes:

Eternal One: I will punish the rulers of Judah
and those born to royalty
And those so enamored with foreign ways
that they don’t act or dress like My people anymore.
9 On that day, I will punish those who jump temple thresholds fearing pagan demons,
those who exchange true religion for silly superstition,
And those who use violence and betrayal to steal from others
in order to make themselves and their king rich.

10 On that day, you will hear cries from all over the city of Jerusalem—
first a cry for help from the fish gate on the north side of the city,
Then a wailing cry from the newly-built Second Quarter.
Then crash! Stones are falling, breaking;
Sounds of destruction are coming from the suburban hills.
11 Cry out, those of you living in the bottom of Jerusalem’s southern hollow,
because I will stop all the traveling merchants.
Everyone with pockets full of money will be cut off.
12 On that day, I will personally search and illumine every dark corner of Jerusalem.
I will wipe out everyone who has numbed his senses with the dregs of his own wine
And says, “The Eternal will do nothing in our lives,
neither helping us nor hurting us.”
13 But they are wrong. Everything they value will be taken away.
Their houses will be destroyed.
They will build new houses and never have a chance to move in.
They will plant vineyards and never enjoy a sip of their own wine.

14 I’m warning you, this day of judgment is right around the corner.
The great and terrible day of the Eternal One is coming on you very quickly.
Listen, here it comes, the day of the Eternal One, and it will be very bitter!
Even your strongest and bravest will break down and cry out.[c]

15 On that day, you will see what happens when God is furious.
You will be overwhelmed with all the trouble and pain—total destruction.
You will watch the sky fill with the thick clouds and gloomy darkness.
16 You will hear the trumpet blast and battle cry
as He moves against the city that day.
You were so sure it was fortified against attack with its thick walls and high towers,
yet they will surely fall.

17 Eternal One: I will bring distress on all humanity,
and they will stumble around like the blind.

Why? Because they have sinned time and again against the Eternal.
Their lifeblood will be poured out like ash of a burnt offering.
Their bodies will be discarded like excrement.

18 Don’t think any amount of money can save them
from the terrible anger of the Eternal when that day arrives.
He will consume the whole earth in His fiery jealousy,
for He is going to expedite the annihilation of every living thing on the earth.

2 You shameless bunch of people,
gather together now and pray.
2 Do it while there is still time, before all these terrible things happen.
I’m warning you they are beginning to happen;
The day is blown away like chaff. God will not stand by.
Do it before the terrible Eternal’s anger comes down on your head.
Do it soon before the appointed time when His anger rains down over you.
3 Seek the Eternal. Only He can save you, Judah.
Call out to Him, all who realize their lowly places on the earth,
All who are trying to live by His teaching.
Pursue what is just and chase after true humility.
Maybe, just maybe, the Eternal will hide and protect you
from what will happen on that terrible day when His anger is unleashed.

During the early seventh century b.c., Judah is a tiny nation controlled by the Assyrian Empire and bullied by her neighbors. Under former Kings Manasseh and Amon, Judah lost all international power and fell into such hedonism that prophets such as Zephaniah are forced to hide themselves. No one in Judah is safe as Philistia, Moab, Ammon, Egypt (ruled by an Ethiopian dynasty), and Assyria continue seizing land God promised to the Israelites centuries earlier (Genesis 15:18–21). God has frequently used those foreign nations to discipline His children; but they, too, worship other gods and have overstepped the boundaries He set for them. The destruction of these foreign oppressors promises Judah not only revenge but the restoration of the inheritance promised to her people so long ago.

4 As for the Philistine cities off to the west—Gaza will be deserted,
Ashkelon will be left in ashes and ruins,
Ashdod will be scattered to the winds at noon,
and Ekron will be pulled up by its roots.
5 Too bad for their citizens who live along the seacoast,
those people who migrated from Crete;[d]
This message from the Eternal One is for you too.

Eternal One: O Canaan, land of the Philistines,
I will destroy you and wipe you from the face of the earth.

6 Their valuable coastlands will become pastures for our sheep,
meadows[e] for our shepherds, and pens for our flocks.
7 Their land will be given to
whomever remain from the people of Judah.
During the day, they will eat the fruit of the land.
In the evening, they will go into the houses left in Ashkelon to sleep.
You see, the Eternal their God will always care for the faithful
and will return their prosperity to them.

For hundreds of years the Philistines have lived along the coast and taken great joy in attacking settlements occupied by God’s people in the eastern hills. The archenemies of Israel, they are an advanced seafaring culture that devastates cities, uproots crops, and drives the Lord’s servants far from their homes. But God has seen their actions, and fortunes will soon be reversed.

8 Eternal One: As for Moab and Ammon off to the east,
I have heard them taunting and mocking My people.
I know they have expanded their borders into Judah’s land.
9 As I, the Eternal, Commander of heavenly armies and God of Israel, live
I will make Moab like Sodom and the Ammonites like the people of Gomorrah.[f]
Nothing will be left there but thorny plants and barren ground.
They will become totally desolate salt pits; not a thing will ever thrive there again.
The remnant of My people will take whatever they want from them;
the survivors of My nation will inherit what I once designated to Moab and Ammon.

10 Shame will be payback for their arrogance and pride, because they taunted and belittled those who are faithful to the Eternal, Commander of heavenly armies. 11 And the Eternal will strike terror in their hearts because He will starve out all their so-called gods from the face of the earth. And so all the different people who live along the coasts will bow low before Him; everyone will worship Him from where he lives.

Eternal One: 12 As for you, Ethiopia to the south, you will die by My sword.

Even the great Assyria, once God’s chosen instrument to punish His people, will not escape the Lord’s judgment.

13 God will stretch His hand over Assyria in the north and wage war against her.
Their prized city Nineveh will be left in ruins.
Fertile land will give way to thirsty desert. Nothing will thrive there.
14 Cattle and sheep will sleep in her streets;
wild beasts will roam through the rubble.
Birds that fly and animals that burrow, such as the scavenger pelican and hedgehog, will live atop each column.
Birds will roost and sing in the broken window sills.
Wrecked and ruined are the thresholds to the pagan temples,
for God has exposed their beautiful cedar woodwork to the elements.
15 Nineveh is the boastful city
that bragged of her greatness and security.
She said in her heart,
“I am so amazing that no other can compare.”
Now she is totally deserted
and animals live in her streets!
Everyone who passes her now will hiss and taunt
and make vulgar gestures.

3 Disaster is coming to the city of rebels,
to Jerusalem, the now defiled city of oppression.
2 That city refused to listen to anyone.
She would not take advice.
She didn’t believe in the Eternal One anymore.
She didn’t want a close relationship with her God.
3 Her rulers remind me of roaring lions,
out for the kill instead of protecting her people.
Her judges are a pack of wolves on the prowl at night,
Consuming what they are after
until not one bone is left to chew on the next morning.
4 Her prophets, whom the people should look to for the truth,
are irresponsible and double-crossing, deceitful men.
Her priests make vile holy places and do violence to God’s teaching.

God entrusts prophets and priests to care for His people. Instead of teaching the people God’s truth, they ignore the law and prey on the ignorant and the defenseless.

5 Despite all this, the Eternal One is right there in her midst;
nothing He does is wrong.
Every morning He delivers His judgment;
He illuminates the right way to live.
Though, like the sun, He never fails to appear,
it’s amazing that the lawbreakers aren’t ashamed of their actions.

6 Eternal One: I have totally destroyed the other nations.
I crumbled their high towers to the ground.
I emptied their streets, leaving no one to travel them.
There is not one person, not one animal, no one in their decimated cities.
7 I said to Myself, “Surely My people will honor Me.
Surely they will listen to Me
So they can save themselves and their city
from all I warned them about and appointed for their benefit.”
But no, they were even more eager to keep doing all the wrong things.

8 To My remaining faithful, I say wait and watch for Me
because on that day, the nations will be called into court.
I will rise up against them as My plunder and declare My decision:
I will call the nations and their rulers together
And pour out My hot anger and frustration on them.
All of it will be spent, for the whole earth will be burned up in My fiery jealousy.
9 And then I will transform the words spoken by the nations to pure words,
and the people will finally hear My truth.
Then all the people will be able to pray to and serve the Eternal One,
standing together as part of the same people.
10 My followers, who had been scattered to faraway places as distant as Ethiopia’s rivers,
will come back to worship Me with pure offerings.

11 When that day comes, you won’t feel embarrassed and ashamed anymore
over all the rebellious things you did in the past.
As I said I would, I will remove the proud and arrogant among you.
Arrogance and pride will never again be tolerated in My holy mountain.
12 But I will leave afflicted and poor people among you
who will trust the reputation of the Eternal One for strength and protection.
13 The faithful of Israel who remain will not continue to sin.
They won’t tell lies or try to trick each other ever again.
They’ll eat well each day and sleep peacefully each night like protected sheep,
because nothing will make them afraid.

14 Hurray! It’s time to sing, faithful daughter of Zion!
It’s time to shout out loud, Israel!
Be happy and celebrate with all your being,
faithful children of Jerusalem!
15 The Eternal has cancelled His judgments against you.
He changed the course of your enemies.
The True King of Israel, the Eternal One, is standing right here among you;
you have no reason to be afraid ever again.
16 On that day people will say to the faithful in Jerusalem,
“Do not be afraid, Zion;
Hold your head and hands high,
and take courage.”
17 The Eternal your God is standing right here among you,
and He is the champion who will rescue you.
He will joyfully celebrate over you;
He will rest in His love for you; He will joyfully sing because of you like a new husband.

This celebrated passage reflects the reconciliation between God and His wife, Jerusalem. The daughter Zion is reunited with her King and Husband, the Eternal!

18 Eternal One: Don’t be sad anymore
about all the time you were away in exile,
Unable to keep the appointed feasts or worship Me in the appointed place.
I will gather those who’ve shamed you, Zion.
19 Keep watching! At the right time,
I will deal with those who assaulted you.
I will steady those who are lame and about to fall;
I will gather those who are outcasts and oppressed.
Instead of being filled with shame as they always have been,
I will fill them with praise and make them famous over all the world.
20 On that day, I will gather all of you together for one big homecoming.
I will make you famous, and all the world will sing your praises.
Right before your eyes, I will restore to you all that you have lost,
and your lives will be full again.

So says the Eternal One.

Footnotes:

  1. 1:2-3 Meaning of the Hebrew is uncertain.
  2. 1:4 Hebrew, baal
  3. 1:14 Meaning of the Hebrew is uncertain.
  4. 2:5 Hebrew, Cherethites
  5. 2:6 Meaning of the Hebrew is uncertain.
  6. 2:9 Genesis 19:1–28
The Voice (VOICE)

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

Revelation 10

God’s judgment is not only to punish. He wants people to turn to Him for all their needs, but they often look anywhere else for aid and remain in rebellion.

10 Then I saw another extremely powerful messenger descending out of heaven. He wore a cloud wrapped around him, and a rainbow was covering his head. His face shone like the sun, and his legs blazed like columns of fire. 2 In his hand, he held a little scroll that had been unrolled. He placed his right foot on the sea and his left foot on dry land; 3 then he shouted with a voice that sounded like a roaring lion. When he cried out, the seven thunders answered with their own rumbling voices. 4 As I was about to record the thunders’ answer, a voice from heaven stopped me.

A Voice: Seal up all the seven thunders have spoken; do not write it down!

5 Then the messenger, whom I saw standing on the sea and on the dry land, raised his right hand into heaven 6 and swore an oath to the Eternal One—who always lives, who created heaven, earth, the sea, and all that is in them.

Heavenly Messenger: Time has run out. 7 Whenever the days arrive and the seventh messenger sounds his trumpet, the mystery of God will be accomplished just as He announced to His servants, the prophets.

8 Again, the voice I heard from heaven addressed me.

A Voice: Go. Take the little scroll that is unrolled in the hand of the messenger standing both on the sea and on the dry land.

9 I then went to the messenger and asked him to give me the little scroll.

Heavenly Messenger: Take it, and eat it. Although in your mouth it will be sweet to taste, sweet as honey, it will become bitter when it reaches your stomach.

10 I took the little scroll from the hand of the messenger and ate it. In my mouth, it was sweet like honey, but my stomach became bitter after I swallowed it.

Heavenly Messengers (repeating): 11 Once again, you are to prophesy about many peoples, nations, languages, and kings.

The Voice (VOICE)

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

Psalm 138

Psalm 138

A song of David.

1 To You, Lord, I give my whole heart, a heart filled with praise, for I am grateful;
before the gods, my heart sings praises to You and You alone.
2 I bow before You, looking to Your holy temple,
and praise Your name, for Your unfailing love and Your truth;
for You have placed Your name and Your word over all things and all times.
3 On the day I needed You, I called, and You responded
and infused my soul with strength.

4 May all the kings of the earth praise You, O Eternal One,
because they have heard the words You have spoken.
5 They will marvel at the Eternal’s ways, and they will sing,
for great is the glory of the Eternal.
6 Although He is greatest of all, He is attentive to the needy
and keeps His distance from the proud and pompous.

7 Whenever I walk into trouble,
You are there to bring me out.
You hold out Your hand
to protect me against the wrath of my enemies,
and hold me safely in Your right hand.
8 The Eternal will finish what He started in me.
Your faithful love, O Eternal One, lasts forever;
do not give up on what Your hands have made.

The Voice (VOICE)

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

Proverbs 30:11-14

11 There is a kind of person who curses his father
and pronounces no blessing upon his mother;
12 A kind of person who is without fault in his own estimation
but has not been scrubbed clean of his own sordidness;
13 A kind whose look is too haughty,
whose eyebrows arch as he looks down on others;
14 A kind whose very teeth cut like swords
and whose jaws sever like knives,
All the better to consume the poor of the earth
and the oppressed among men.

The Voice (VOICE)

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

Posted on

12/18/2023 DAB Transcript

Habakkuk 1:1-3:19, Revelations 9:1-21, Psalm 137:1-9, Proverbs 30:10

Today is the 18th day of December, welcome to the Daily Audio Bible. I am Brian, it’s great to be here with you as we continue forward. A week from today is Christmas day and two weeks from today is the 1st of January, when we will start on a brand-new journey. So, we have 14 more steps to go, right, before we reach the conclusion of our journey for this year. And our journey has led us to another one of the minor prophets as we reach the conclusion of the Old Testament.

Introduction to the Book of Habakkuk:

Today, we will read in its entirety the eighth of the minor prophets known as Habakkuk. And we know just about nothing about Habakkuk and his life, maybe less than any other biblical writer, we have fewer clues. There is a Hebrew tradition that speaks of Habakkuk as being the son of the Shunammite woman who was resurrected through Elisha. And we read about that in Second Kings. There is another tradition that’s in the Apocrypha that depicts a Habakkuk ministering to David while he’s in the lions den. These are traditions and that last one especially, scholars find to be maybe legendary. But many verses in Habakkuk are very well known, may be the most, the most well-known is “but the righteous will live by their faithfulness to God” and that’s often repeated in the writings of the Apostle Paul and in the book of Hebrews it’s a core doctrine of the Christian faith. The righteous will live by faith. Maybe some clues that we have about Habakkuk is in the poetic or lyrical writing, especially there’s, the book closes with hymn, and some have imagined Habakkuk may have been a temple musician. But what may make this poignant for us is that it’s unique. It’s a conversation between the prophet and God that moves from his doubt, and we share these things and moves toward worship. He’s just saying out loud what he’s seeing, and he wants to understand why God would allow pretty much every evil that there could be imagined in the mind of mankind, almost like he wasn’t paying attention. God responds that He’s paying attention. He’s going to use Babylon to punish His people for their sins, which left Habakkuk confused and then God tells Habakkuk that even though this is gonna happen, the Babylonians would be a punishment to His people, that they would also be punished. They would be completely destroyed in the end. And that reveals God is not indifferent. God is not unaware. He is true and just, which led Habakkuk to a Psalm of worship. And so, we begin and read completely the book of Habakkuk.

Prayer:

Father, we thank You for Your word, we appreciate the swiftness that we are moving now, as we are moving through these minor prophets in the book of Habakkuk today. You are sovereign over all the earth, there is no power but You. There is no hope outside of You and we are Your children. We put our hope in You, our trust in You, our loyalty and faithfulness to You. We give our hearts to You, we love You, we give our hearts in worship to You, we adore You. Come, Holy Spirit as we continue this journey, lead us to what we need to hear, show us what we need to see for the journey ahead, as You illuminate our path through the power of Your word. We pray this in the name of Jesus. Amen.

Announcements:

dailyaudiobible.com, that’s home base, that’s the website. That’s where you find out what’s going on. It’s Christmas, that’s what’s going on, like right, it’s a week from today. So, we’re in the final countdown for Christmas this year. We brought out the annual Christmas ornament with the word “expand” on it. And we brought out the music from the Daily Audio Bible and pressed them onto vinyl packages, just beautiful commemorative editions. And you can find those at dailyaudiobible.com or using the app, just navigate to the Shop and look in the Christmas Section and you can find them there. Everyone who orders one or more of these, we’ll send you the ornament but you’re sewing into what comes next around here in the new year. So, thank you for your partnership.

And if you just want to partner with the Daily Audio Bible in the final days of this year, than thank you, humbly, profoundly and with all gratitude. There is a link on the homepage at dailyaudiobible.com. If you’re using the app, you can press the Give button in the upper right-hand corner or the mailing address is P.O. Box 1996 Springhill, Tennessee 37174.

And as always, if you have a prayer request or encouragement, you can hit the Hotline button in the app, that’s the little red button up at the top or you can dial 877-942-4253.

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

Prayer and Encouragements:

Hi, this is Tammy calling from the Central Coast of California. I’m on my way to work and I am crying tears of joy for Eyes of a Dove. I’m just, was so excited to hear about your field trip with Jesus and just the good result of your healing. And because of that, I’m calling to ask for healing for myself. I have some ribs that have been out for a little over a week now. I’ve been to the chiropractor but it’s a little bit painful and I’m a massage therapist so, I’m headed back to work today, like I said. And I’m just hoping to be able to minister to the people that come in and see me today, that I could just do God’s work, being Jesus’ hands and feet and loving on His people. So, if you could just join me in praying for healing, I would greatly appreciate it. Blind Tony, I’m praying for you and your family and your loss and that God would just be with you and look after you in this time of distress. And that, that He will show Himself faithful, because He is. I love you community and they’re so many people that I have written down that I’m praying for. Know you are in my thoughts and in my prayers daily. God bless you.

Good morning, DAB family. I just wanna pray for Delta Alpha Foxtrot and Blind Tony with regard to their prayer request. Dear Lord, I lift up my brothers Delta Alpha Foxtrot, upon the loss of his dad. I pray Father, that You would keep them in the hollow of Your hands, that You would comfort those who are mourning, oh God. I thank You that they were able to surround their dad and to sing Your praises as he went on home. I pray Father, that You would provide for every need that they have during this time and that You would just hold them close to Your heart and comfort them in this time. In Jesus name, I lift up Blind Tony and his family, Lord. I pray Father, and thank You that they weren’t harmed in the fire. I thank You that You were able to, they were able to keep the flames at bay until the fire fighters came. But I just pray Father, that You would restore to them, everything that was lost. I thank You for saving their lives. And I pray Father God, that You would just again, provide everything that they would need. Keep them safe as they rebuild or find new housing. I just again, thank You for who they are and their love for You and their encouragement to this community. Be with them now in this time of need. And bless our family, our DAB family. I thank You so much for this family of believers that gather around the campfire each and every day and for, and for Brian who is able to feed us the word from on high. I pray Your blessing on all of us. In Jesus name. Amen.

Hi this message is for Greg, Greg in Illinois. Listening to Daily Audio Bible the other day and I like listening to the prayer requests and I heard you and your call touched my heart because I can relate to what you’re going through Greg. The hardships of a hard marriage, the anger in your heart, the feeling of just two strangers being in the same room, it’s a lonely, it’s a hard heavy feeling, Greg. But I do want to say that love conquers all. And I was in your boat as well, struggling with anger and about to lose a marriage and I knew I was ruining it. It was, it was, it was something that I was harboring that I needed to let go. And it wasn’t until I surrendered to Christ and to love that I totally changed. And Greg, I do hope and pray for you and your wife that you would find reconciliation. That both of you would surrender to each other. And maybe not if it’s to each other at first, but to Christ and to love. And I pray that you guys would find it in your heart to be sensitive and to be patient and to be bearing with one another. To be enduring with one another. And just remember the joy that you had 10 years ago when you to looked into your wife’s eyes and asked her to marry her. You know, Greg, I think of Proverbs, Proverbs 18:22. A fool should find a wife, findeth a good thing and stay’s in favor with the Lord. So, Greg, I just pray for you, that you would continue to have favor with the Lord, with the Father. That you and your wife would be loving and kind to one another. Alright Greg, I wish you the best of luck. I’ll be praying for you my friend. Bye Bye.

Hi beautiful family, this is Prisoner of Hope. Joanne from Texas, praying for your friend Aaron from China. Just you said that whatever he puts his hand on, that God would bless him and his family and his career. So, we are praying for him. Also, Dare Dreamer in Indianapolis, you’re blind, you’ve told us that before but you just found your first full time job in a warehouse. And you’re just so grateful. I just wanna pray a prayer of blessing over you, I don’t think you asked for prayer but I’m gonna do it all the same. And then Susan in Indiana, you want us to continue to pray for Liza’s family. Lord, we are asking for Your hand to be upon, that You would bless them and keep them. And make Your face shine upon them and be gracious to them and give them your peace. And we just ask all this in Jesus name. Also, In the Vine in Indiana, you said you lost your battle with sin yesterday, we do that all that time. Don’t be discouraged In the Vine. We’re gonna pray for you. Also, Lauri from Central Ohio, your friend Lonni’s husband, he had surgery for a new heart, and you’re still praying for that to be successful and that his body won’t reject it again. Drew from the Bay area, your dog Elssie, you think it’s the end of life, for poor little Elssie. And just that she won’t be in pain. And then you said you took a bad hit on your head, so we’re praying for you. Early Riser, your sister and husband have COVID and this has made them more isolated and fearful and you just want somebody to come alongside, some friends. And you said they’re very desperate for this. Dear Lord, we step into your presence today. We ask for healing and strength. We know that ___ so we humbly ask that You would work in their lives to bring about good health and body and in spirit. Please help them find hope, even during this difficult time, Lord. And may they also___ knowing it’s to you. We ask in Jesus powerful name. Amen.