A Walk Through The Word

January 10, 2019

The Daily Audio Bible Reading for Thursday January 10, 2019 (NIV)

Genesis 23:1-24:51

The Death of Sarah

23 Sarah lived to be a hundred and twenty-seven years old. ²She died at Kiriath Arba^(A) (that is, Hebron)^(B) in the land of Canaan, and Abraham went to mourn for Sarah and to weep over her.^(C)

³Then Abraham rose from beside his dead wife and spoke to the Hittites.^[a]^(D) He said, ⁴“I am a foreigner and stranger^(E) among you. Sell me some property for a burial site here so I can bury my dead.^(F)”

⁵The Hittites replied to Abraham, ⁶“Sir, listen to us. You are a mighty prince^(G) among us. Bury your dead in the choicest of our tombs. None of us will refuse you his tomb for burying your dead.”

⁷Then Abraham rose and bowed down before the people of the land, the Hittites. ⁸He said to them, “If you are willing to let me bury my dead, then listen to me and intercede with Ephron son of Zohar^(H) on my behalf ⁹so he will sell me the cave of Machpelah,^(I) which belongs to him and is at the end of his field. Ask him to sell it to me for the full price as a burial site among you.”

¹⁰Ephron the Hittite was sitting among his people and he replied to Abraham in the hearing of all the Hittites^(J) who had come to the gate^(K) of his city. ¹¹“No, my lord,” he said. “Listen to me; I give^[b]^(L) you the field, and I give^[c] you the cave that is in it. I give^[d] it to you in the presence of my people. Bury your dead.”

¹²Again Abraham bowed down before the people of the land ¹³and he said to Ephron in their hearing, “Listen to me, if you will. I will pay the price of the field. Accept it from me so I can bury my dead there.”

¹⁴Ephron answered Abraham, ¹⁵“Listen to me, my lord; the land is worth four hundred shekels^[e] of silver,^(M) but what is that between you and me? Bury your dead.”

¹⁶Abraham agreed to Ephron’s terms and weighed out for him the price he had named in the hearing of the Hittites: four hundred shekels of silver,^(N) according to the weight current among the merchants.^(O)

¹⁷So Ephron’s field in Machpelah^(P) near Mamre^(Q)—both the field and the cave in it, and all the trees within the borders of the field—was deeded ¹⁸to Abraham as his property^(R) in the presence of all the Hittites^(S) who had come to the gate^(T) of the city. ¹⁹Afterward Abraham buried his wife Sarah in the cave in the field of Machpelah^(U) near Mamre (which is at Hebron^(V)) in the land of Canaan.^(W) ²⁰So the field and the cave in it were deeded^(X) to Abraham by the Hittites as a burial site.^(Y)

Isaac and Rebekah

24 Abraham was now very old,^(Z) and the Lord had blessed^(AA) him in every way.^(AB) ²He said to the senior servant^(AC) in his household, the one in charge of all that he had,^(AD) “Put your hand under my thigh.^(AE) ³I want you to swear^(AF) by the Lord, the God of heaven^(AG) and the God of earth,^(AH) that you will not get a wife for my son^(AI) from the daughters of the Canaanites,^(AJ) among whom I am living,^(AK) ⁴but will go to my country and my own relatives^(AL) and get a wife for my son Isaac.^(AM)”

⁵The servant asked him, “What if the woman is unwilling to come back with me to this land?^(AN) Shall I then take your son back to the country you came from?^(AO)”

⁶“Make sure that you do not take my son back there,”^(AP) Abraham said. ⁷“The Lord, the God of heaven,^(AQ) who brought me out of my father’s household and my native land^(AR) and who spoke to me and promised me on oath, saying, ‘To your offspring^[f]^(AS) I will give this land’^(AT)—he will send his angel before you^(AU) so that you can get a wife for my son from there. ⁸If the woman is unwilling to come back with you, then you will be released from this oath^(AV) of mine. Only do not take my son back there.”^(AW) ⁹So the servant put his hand under the thigh^(AX) of his master^(AY) Abraham and swore an oath to him concerning this matter.

¹⁰Then the servant left, taking with him ten of his master’s camels^(AZ) loaded with all kinds of good things^(BA) from his master. He set out for Aram Naharaim^[g]^(BB) and made his way to the town of Nahor.^(BC) ¹¹He had the camels kneel down near the well^(BD) outside the town; it was toward evening, the time the women go out to draw water.^(BE)

¹²Then he prayed, “Lord, God of my master Abraham,^(BF) make me successful^(BG) today, and show kindness^(BH) to my master Abraham. ¹³See, I am standing beside this spring, and the daughters of the townspeople are coming out to draw water.^(BI) ¹⁴May it be that when I say to a young woman, ‘Please let down your jar that I may have a drink,’ and she says, ‘Drink,^(BJ) and I’ll water your camels too’^(BK)—let her be the one you have chosen for your servant Isaac.^(BL) By this I will know^(BM) that you have shown kindness to my master.”

¹⁵Before he had finished praying,^(BN) Rebekah^(BO) came out with her jar on her shoulder. She was the daughter of Bethuel^(BP) son of Milkah,^(BQ) who was the wife of Abraham’s brother Nahor.^(BR) ¹⁶The woman was very beautiful,^(BS) a virgin;^(BT) no man had ever slept with her. She went down to the spring, filled her jar and came up again.

¹⁷The servant hurried to meet her and said, “Please give me a little water from your jar.”^(BU)

¹⁸“Drink,^(BV) my lord,” she said, and quickly lowered the jar to her hands and gave him a drink.

¹⁹After she had given him a drink, she said, “I’ll draw water for your camels^(BW) too,^(BX) until they have had enough to drink.” ²⁰So she quickly emptied her jar into the trough, ran back to the well to draw more water, and drew enough for all his camels.^(BY) ²¹Without saying a word, the man watched her closely to learn whether or not the Lord had made his journey successful.^(BZ)

²²When the camels had finished drinking, the man took out a gold nose ring^(CA) weighing a beka^[h] and two gold bracelets^(CB) weighing ten shekels.^[i] ²³Then he asked, “Whose daughter are you?^(CC) Please tell me, is there room in your father’s house for us to spend the night?^(CD)”

²⁴She answered him, “I am the daughter of Bethuel, the son that Milkah bore to Nahor.^(CE)” ²⁵And she added, “We have plenty of straw and fodder,^(CF) as well as room for you to spend the night.”

²⁶Then the man bowed down and worshiped the Lord,^(CG) ²⁷saying, “Praise be to the Lord,^(CH) the God of my master Abraham,^(CI) who has not abandoned his kindness and faithfulness^(CJ) to my master. As for me, the Lord has led me on the journey^(CK) to the house of my master’s relatives.”^(CL)

²⁸The young woman ran and told her mother’s household about these things.^(CM) ²⁹Now Rebekah had a brother named Laban,^(CN) and he hurried out to the man at the spring. ³⁰As soon as he had seen the nose ring, and the bracelets on his sister’s arms,^(CO) and had heard Rebekah tell what the man said to her, he went out to the man and found him standing by the camels near the spring. ³¹“Come, you who are blessed by the Lord,”^(CP) he said. “Why are you standing out here? I have prepared the house and a place for the camels.”

³²So the man went to the house, and the camels were unloaded. Straw and fodder^(CQ) were brought for the camels, and water for him and his men to wash their feet.^(CR) ³³Then food was set before him, but he said, “I will not eat until I have told you what I have to say.”

“Then tell us,” Laban said.

³⁴So he said, “I am Abraham’s servant.^(CS) ³⁵The Lord has blessed^(CT) my master abundantly,^(CU) and he has become wealthy.^(CV) He has given him sheep and cattle, silver and gold, male and female servants, and camels and donkeys.^(CW) ³⁶My master’s wife Sarah has borne him a son in her old age,^(CX) and he has given him everything he owns.^(CY) ³⁷And my master made me swear an oath,^(CZ) and said, ‘You must not get a wife for my son from the daughters of the Canaanites, in whose land I live,^(DA) ³⁸but go to my father’s family and to my own clan, and get a wife for my son.’^(DB)

³⁹“Then I asked my master, ‘What if the woman will not come back with me?’^(DC)

⁴⁰“He replied, ‘The Lord, before whom I have walked faithfully,^(DD) will send his angel with you^(DE) and make your journey a success,^(DF) so that you can get a wife for my son from my own clan and from my father’s family.^(DG) ⁴¹You will be released from my oath if, when you go to my clan, they refuse to give her to you—then you will be released from my oath.’^(DH)

⁴²“When I came to the spring today, I said, ‘Lord, God of my master Abraham, if you will, please grant success^(DI) to the journey on which I have come. ⁴³See, I am standing beside this spring.^(DJ) If a young woman^(DK) comes out to draw water and I say to her, “Please let me drink a little water from your jar,”^(DL) ⁴⁴and if she says to me, “Drink, and I’ll draw water for your camels too,” let her be the one the Lord has chosen for my master’s son.’^(DM)

⁴⁵“Before I finished praying in my heart,^(DN) Rebekah came out, with her jar on her shoulder.^(DO) She went down to the spring and drew water, and I said to her, ‘Please give me a drink.’^(DP)

⁴⁶“She quickly lowered her jar from her shoulder and said, ‘Drink, and I’ll water your camels too.’^(DQ) So I drank, and she watered the camels also.^(DR)

⁴⁷“I asked her, ‘Whose daughter are you?’^(DS)

“She said, ‘The daughter of Bethuel^(DT) son of Nahor, whom Milkah bore to him.’^(DU)

“Then I put the ring in her nose^(DV) and the bracelets on her arms,^(DW) ⁴⁸and I bowed down and worshiped the Lord.^(DX) I praised the Lord, the God of my master Abraham,^(DY) who had led me on the right road to get the granddaughter of my master’s brother for his son.^(DZ) ⁴⁹Now if you will show kindness and faithfulness^(EA) to my master, tell me; and if not, tell me, so I may know which way to turn.”

⁵⁰Laban and Bethuel^(EB) answered, “This is from the Lord;^(EC) we can say nothing to you one way or the other.^(ED) ⁵¹Here is Rebekah; take her and go, and let her become the wife of your master’s son, as the Lord has directed.^(EE)”

Footnotes:

Genesis 23:3 Or the descendants of Heth; also in verses 5, 7, 10, 16, 18 and 20
Genesis 23:11 Or sell
Genesis 23:11 Or sell
Genesis 23:11 Or sell
Genesis 23:15 That is, about 10 pounds or about 4.6 kilograms
Genesis 24:7 Or seed
Genesis 24:10 That is, Northwest Mesopotamia
Genesis 24:22 That is, about 1/5 ounce or about 5.7 grams
Genesis 24:22 That is, about 4 ounces or about 115 grams

Cross references:

New International Version (NIV)

Matthew 8:1-17

Jesus Heals a Man With Leprosy^(A)

8 When Jesus came down from the mountainside, large crowds followed him. ²A man with leprosy^[a]^(B) came and knelt before him^(C) and said, “Lord, if you are willing, you can make me clean.”

³Jesus reached out his hand and touched the man. “I am willing,” he said. “Be clean!” Immediately he was cleansed of his leprosy. ⁴Then Jesus said to him, “See that you don’t tell anyone.^(D) But go, show yourself to the priest^(E) and offer the gift Moses commanded,^(F) as a testimony to them.”

The Faith of the Centurion^(G)

⁵When Jesus had entered Capernaum, a centurion came to him, asking for help. ⁶“Lord,” he said, “my servant lies at home paralyzed,^(H) suffering terribly.”

⁷Jesus said to him, “Shall I come and heal him?”

⁸The centurion replied, “Lord, I do not deserve to have you come under my roof. But just say the word, and my servant will be healed.^(I) ⁹For I myself am a man under authority, with soldiers under me. I tell this one, ‘Go,’ and he goes; and that one, ‘Come,’ and he comes. I say to my servant, ‘Do this,’ and he does it.”

¹⁰When Jesus heard this, he was amazed and said to those following him, “Truly I tell you, I have not found anyone in Israel with such great faith.^(J) ¹¹I say to you that many will come from the east and the west,^(K) and will take their places at the feast with Abraham, Isaac and Jacob in the kingdom of heaven.^(L) ¹²But the subjects of the kingdom^(M) will be thrown outside, into the darkness, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.”^(N)

¹³Then Jesus said to the centurion, “Go! Let it be done just as you believed it would.”^(O) And his servant was healed at that moment.

Jesus Heals Many^(P)

¹⁴When Jesus came into Peter’s house, he saw Peter’s mother-in-law lying in bed with a fever. ¹⁵He touched her hand and the fever left her, and she got up and began to wait on him.

¹⁶When evening came, many who were demon-possessed were brought to him, and he drove out the spirits with a word and healed all the sick.^(Q) ¹⁷This was to fulfill^(R) what was spoken through the prophet Isaiah:

“He took up our infirmities
and bore our diseases.”^[b]^(S)

Footnotes:

Matthew 8:2 The Greek word traditionally translated leprosy was used for various diseases affecting the skin.
Matthew 8:17 Isaiah 53:4 (see Septuagint)

New International Version (NIV)

Psalm 9:13-20

¹³Lord, see how my enemies^(A) persecute me!
Have mercy^(B) and lift me up from the gates of death,^(C)
¹⁴that I may declare your praises^(D)
in the gates of Daughter Zion,^(E)
and there rejoice in your salvation.^(F)

¹⁵The nations have fallen into the pit they have dug;^(G)
their feet are caught in the net they have hidden.^(H)
¹⁶The Lord is known by his acts of justice;
the wicked are ensnared by the work of their hands.^[a]^(I)
¹⁷The wicked go down to the realm of the dead,^(J)
all the nations that forget God.^(K)
¹⁸But God will never forget the needy;
the hope^(L) of the afflicted^(M) will never perish.

¹⁹Arise,^(N) Lord, do not let mortals triumph;^(O)
let the nations be judged^(P) in your presence.
²⁰Strike them with terror,^(Q) Lord;
let the nations know they are only mortal.^(R)

Footnotes:

Psalm 9:16 The Hebrew has Higgaion and Selah (words of uncertain meaning) here; Selah occurs also at the end of verse 20.

New International Version (NIV)

Proverbs 3:1-6

Wisdom Bestows Well-Being

3 My son,^(A) do not forget my teaching,^(B)
but keep my commands in your heart,
²for they will prolong your life many years^(C)
and bring you peace and prosperity.^(D)

³Let love and faithfulness^(E) never leave you;
bind them around your neck,
write them on the tablet of your heart.^(F)
⁴Then you will win favor and a good name
in the sight of God and man.^(G)

⁵Trust in the Lord^(H) with all your heart
and lean not on your own understanding;
⁶in all your ways submit to him,
and he will make your paths^(I) straight.^[a]^(J)

Footnotes:

Proverbs 3:6 Or will direct your paths

New International Version (NIV)

January 9, 2019

01/09/2019 DAB Transcript

Genesis 20:1-22:24, Matthew 7:15-29, Psalms 9:1-12, Proverbs 2:16-22

Today is the 9^th day of January. Welcome to the Daily Audio Bible. I am Brian and it is a joy to be here with you today and taking the next step forward. And I think we’re far enough into our new year to kind of begin to understand that there’s a rhythm and to begin to understand that the Bible isn’t this static old-fashioned book that is irrelevant, that there’s a bunch…a bunch of things that it is willing to speak directly and truthfully into our lives. And if we will and heed it that it will change the way that we live our lives. And, so, welcome back for the next day forward. And that will lead us back into the New International Version, which is what we’re reading from this week and back into the book of Genesis chapter 20, 21, and 22 today.

Commentary:

Okay. So, you know, we encountered a pretty harrowing story yesterday with the destruction of Sodom and Gomora and we talked about that and the way that we subtly move toward judgment, even judgment of God and how that that can estrange us in our journey that we’re taking through the Scriptures yesterday. And, so, today, we kind of encounter another one of those types of stories where God tells Abraham to take is a promised son Isaac to Mount Moriah and sacrifice him. And we’re not gonna get into all of that because that story will unfold very, very clearly over some time, other than to just point out God and Abraham had entered into a covenant with each other and covenantal language is something that we will, you know, we will encounter quite a bit. So, we understand that the two of them joined together in covenant, which meant that nothing was off-limits from the other. So, when God tells Abraham to go and take his only son, and He’s very specific about this with Isaac, Abraham is in covenant he cannot withhold anything. And, so, he does. Of course, his trust and faith is in God and Isaac is the son of promise, so Abraham can simply say, “I must follow God even though I don’t know how this is gonna work out, but I do know that my son is a son of promise and through my son many generations will come. This is what God told me. In fact, he marched me outside and had me look up the night sky and try to count the stars. So, there’s this promise and I need understand what’s going on, but I do trust the one I’m in covenant with.” We know how that story worked out but what we may not have paid attention to is the thread of redemption that begins to show itself at all kinds of points in the Bible and this is one of them because Abraham did not withhold his son from God and God didn’t take the sacrifice of a human being, instead He sent his own son, His own only son. Now if you’ve been a believer for a long time, then you know, you can connect those dots pretty easy. If this your first trip through the Bible and encountering the stories of the Bible, this one is one that kind of touches a lot of things and will become more and more apparent as we move forward because Isaac is going to have a son of his own, a couple of sons of his own, and they’re gonna change the whole story, but let's…let’s go back into the book of Matthew.

Jesus is saying some very important and very forthright, like, non-ambiguous things that we should pay attention to, “judge not, lest you be judged.” That was yesterday. And again, like if you’ve been a believer for a long time you’ve probably encountered the stories of Jesus before. And, so, it’s really easy to just encapsulate them into their story form and not really listen to the words Jesus is teaching. What Jesus is saying is revolutionary and when he said it in the first century it was fundamentally revolutionary. We’re used to hearing the words of Jesus now, so it’s not quite like…has that kind of impact unless we slow down and listen to what He’s saying. So, let’s just examine what He said today. “Many will say to me on that day”, Jesus says, and He’s talking about Judgment Day, “Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name, and in your name drive out demons, and in your name perform many miracles? Then I will tell them plainly. I never knew you. Away from me, you evil doers.” Okay. So, this is another big deal on our faith journey because we can spend our whole lives trying to get our beliefs correct and our theology airtight and waterproof. We can think that every day that we learn more about God or learn something else about Jesus, then we are drawing closer and closer to Him when Jesus is saying, “there’s going to be people who call on the Lord and prophesied in His name and have even cast out demons in His name, and even performed miracles in His name, and He will still say, I didn’t know you.” So, what have to realize is that all of our flurry of activity that keeps us busy, that keeps us thinking that we’re drawing closer to God, all the stuff that we might do around our faith that’s great, it’s just not the point. What Jesus says He will say to those people is, “I never knew you”, which must mean that the point is that we can know Him and not only know about Him and that is a pretty big distinction because if you zoom out and apply these principles to any relationship in your life you would have to say that knowing about somebody is not the same as knowing them. And that should prick us a little bit because when we think of our spirituality and our faith journey, you know, then it’s centered around acquiring knowledge most of the time, trying to dial it in, know what to believe, know the spells and incantations, know the potions. Like, I know that’s not literal, I’m just saying, like, that’s what we boil it down to. If I can say the right mantras, If I can pray the right prayer in the right order doing the right things with the right attitude then God will do something for me, like, just give me the recipe, show me how the recipe works, what I can add and what I cannot add and how to make this whole thing work, just somebody tell me how to do this. Relationships do not work that way. You can read every marriage book that has ever been published…well…you probably couldn’t because there’s too many that have been published to read in a lifetime, but you could read, I don’t know, the 20 most popular books ever written on marriage and still not know how to be married because it is a relationship and that happens in the spoken and in the unspoken and that does not happen based on the rules. Like, if you’re living a rules-based marriage, then you’re probably not very happy in it. When you are in a life-giving relationship the rules become apparent and you obey them. Like, I’m not going to commit adultery because I will not break the heart of the one that I love. I’m not going there because of what it would do to the person that I have given my heart to. And you obey the rules because you are in love. Jesus speaking in the first century is speaking to a people that have taken the law, and I’m getting a little bit ahead of myself…ahead of ourselves…because we haven’t gotten to the law yet, but these people had taken the law and made their relationship with God all about obeying the rules, which bypasses the idea of a relationship other than just a relationship by proxy because you are behaving a certain way. Jesus is saying to that mindset, you can do all of the right things in it and still not know me. And, so, once again, and I mean, we’re not quite, you know, only just a little over a week into this journey so you can still jump off this boat and swim back to shore probably but it won’t be long before we’re so far in the deep that these things that come along and you have to sit with them and really begin to examine your faith and understand what it’s made of and where it’s headed because my story and the story of thousands and thousands of people that I have spoken to over these last 13 years doing this is one of confusion about faith. Like, how do I know when I’m doing…like how do I know that I’m doing the right thing and believing the right thing? And, so, we’ll redouble our efforts to get the knowledge. And man, that’s my story, that is even how I’m wired, to acquire knowledge to truly understand what it is that I’m talking about, but I have found that even if we could know everything there is to know about God that is still not the same thing as being in a relationship with God because I can know everything there is to know about my wife and not be in a relationship with her. And we human beings are wired to be relational people. So, it’s like already baked into our DNA, we know when we’re in a relationship and we know when that relationship is life-giving and we also are aware when we are in a bad relationship and it is life taking. So, we know this intuitively, we’re made for relationship. It’s just the ways we try to relate to God are by acquiring knowledge about Him and that’s only part of the story. Actually being together in a relationship is what we’re invited into. So, there’s some things to think about and examine. Like, what is the status of your relationship, because maybe the state of your life mimics the state of your relationship with God.

Prayer:

And, so, Holy Spirit come, we invite you into that question and we’re again thankful. I mean, yes, yes, with your word you are pressing into us, you are you are pushing us back. Like, we came into this boldly thinking we may have had much more figured out than we do and you’re using your word to kind of push us back and humble us and we’re now beginning to feel the truth flow into us and ask the right questions of us and of our faith. And this is the beginning place, this is the place where wisdom begins to be planted and flourish and the fruit of the spirit begins to be cultivated within. So, we invite you Holy Spirit to show us. What’s our relationship like? Are we unhealthy with you? What needs to change? What needs to go? What needs to stay? What needs to be moved around? You can answer these questions because you have promise to lead us into all truth, you have promised us that there is a narrow path that leads to life. And, yes, few find it but we want to be one of those people. So, we’re humbling ourselves before you and saying there is no question that is off-limits, you can press in on us in any way that you want to. We are hungering and thirsting for your righteousness, we are hungering and thirsting to live in this world as we were intended, and we don’t want this confusion and this stress and this anxiety that you’re telling us that we don’t have to have. You told us yesterday, we don’t have to worry about anything, we don’t have to worry about tomorrow, it’ll take care of itself. And, so, we want to live in that place, but we won’t be able to live in that place with a bunch of knowledge, we’ll only be able to live in a place walking with you in deep intertwined relationship. So, come Holy Spirit. We pray into these questions and may their answers be honest, and may they be life changing. We pray this in the name of Jesus. Amen.

Announcements:

dailyaudiobible.com is the website, its home base, and of course, its where you find out what’s going on around here.

One thing that I’ll mention today that’s been mentioned in the past is the Daily Audio Bible shop. There are resources in the Daily Audio Bible shop that we’ve assembled specifically for this journey, the journey through the year and through the Bible. And, so, you can check those out and there are also other resources, other writings and stuff. What we were just talking about in terms of a relationship with God, there’s a longer conversation about that contained in a book that I’ve written called “Reframe” and you can get that anywhere, but you can also get it in the Daily Audio Bible Shop and that really is an exploration of what we are talking about when we say we’re in a relationship with God. What does that even mean? One of the things any relationship means is that you know the other person, which is what Jesus is saying. I’ll tell them plainly, I never knew you. Like, you did all this stuff in my name, but I didn’t know you. So, relationships are knowing and being known. And, so, we go into a conversation that’s much more lengthy then we can do just in one sitting here. And, so, if that peeks your interest you can check out that resource, it’s called “Reframe, from the God we’ve made to God with us.” And that’s in the Daily Audio Bible Shop as well as bunch of other resources. So, check that out.

If you want to partner with the Daily Audio Bible, you can do that at dailyaudiobible.com. There is a link on the homepage and I thank you profoundly and deeply, humbly for your partnership. What we’ve done we’ve done together as I’ve said so many times. And so, as long as we do this together we’ll continue marching forward. And, so, thank you for your partnership. There’s a link on the homepage. If you’re using the Daily Audio Bible app, you can press the Give button in the upper right-hand corner or, if you prefer, the mailing address is PO Box 1996 Spring Hill Tennessee 37174.

And, as always, if you have a prayer request or comment, 877-942-4253 is the number to dial.

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

January 9, 2019

The Daily Audio Bible Reading for Wednesday January 9, 2019 (NIV)

Genesis 20-22

Abraham and Abimelek^(A)

20 Now Abraham moved on from there^(B) into the region of the Negev^(C) and lived between Kadesh^(D) and Shur.^(E) For a while^(F) he stayed in Gerar,^(G) ²and there Abraham said of his wife Sarah, “She is my sister.^(H)” Then Abimelek^(I) king of Gerar sent for Sarah and took her.^(J)

³But God came to Abimelek^(K) in a dream^(L) one night and said to him, “You are as good as dead^(M) because of the woman you have taken; she is a married woman.”^(N)

⁴Now Abimelek had not gone near her, so he said, “Lord, will you destroy an innocent nation?^(O) ⁵Did he not say to me, ‘She is my sister,^(P)’ and didn’t she also say, ‘He is my brother’? I have done this with a clear conscience^(Q) and clean hands.^(R)”

⁶Then God said to him in the dream, “Yes, I know you did this with a clear conscience, and so I have kept^(S) you from sinning against me.^(T) That is why I did not let you touch her. ⁷Now return the man’s wife, for he is a prophet,^(U) and he will pray for you^(V) and you will live. But if you do not return her, you may be sure that you and all who belong to you will die.”^(W)

⁸Early the next morning Abimelek summoned all his officials, and when he told them all that had happened, they were very much afraid. ⁹Then Abimelek called Abraham in and said, “What have you done to us? How have I wronged you that you have brought such great guilt upon me and my kingdom? You have done things to me that should never be done.^(X)” ¹⁰And Abimelek asked Abraham, “What was your reason for doing this?”

¹¹Abraham replied, “I said to myself, ‘There is surely no fear of God^(Y) in this place, and they will kill me because of my wife.’^(Z) ¹²Besides, she really is my sister,^(AA) the daughter of my father though not of my mother; and she became my wife. ¹³And when God had me wander^(AB) from my father’s household,^(AC) I said to her, ‘This is how you can show your love to me: Everywhere we go, say of me, “He is my brother.”’”

¹⁴Then Abimelek^(AD) brought sheep and cattle and male and female slaves and gave them to Abraham,^(AE) and he returned Sarah his wife to him. ¹⁵And Abimelek said, “My land is before you; live wherever you like.”^(AF)

¹⁶To Sarah he said, “I am giving your brother a thousand shekels^[a] of silver. This is to cover the offense against you before all who are with you; you are completely vindicated.”

¹⁷Then Abraham prayed to God,^(AG) and God healed Abimelek, his wife and his female slaves so they could have children again, ¹⁸for the Lord had kept all the women in Abimelek’s household from conceiving because of Abraham’s wife Sarah.^(AH)

The Birth of Isaac

21 Now the Lord was gracious to Sarah^(AI) as he had said, and the Lord did for Sarah what he had promised.^(AJ) ²Sarah became pregnant and bore a son^(AK) to Abraham in his old age,^(AL) at the very time God had promised him.^(AM) ³Abraham gave the name Isaac^[b]^(AN) to the son Sarah bore him. ⁴When his son Isaac was eight days old, Abraham circumcised him,^(AO) as God commanded him. ⁵Abraham was a hundred years old^(AP) when his son Isaac was born to him.

⁶Sarah said, “God has brought me laughter,^(AQ) and everyone who hears about this will laugh with me.” ⁷And she added, “Who would have said to Abraham that Sarah would nurse children? Yet I have borne him a son in his old age.”^(AR)

Hagar and Ishmael Sent Away

⁸The child grew and was weaned,^(AS) and on the day Isaac was weaned Abraham held a great feast. ⁹But Sarah saw that the son whom Hagar the Egyptian had borne to Abraham^(AT) was mocking,^(AU) ¹⁰and she said to Abraham, “Get rid of that slave woman^(AV) and her son, for that woman’s son will never share in the inheritance with my son Isaac.”^(AW)

¹¹The matter distressed Abraham greatly because it concerned his son.^(AX) ¹²But God said to him, “Do not be so distressed about the boy and your slave woman. Listen to whatever Sarah tells you, because it is through Isaac that your offspring^[c] will be reckoned.^(AY) ¹³I will make the son of the slave into a nation^(AZ) also, because he is your offspring.”

¹⁴Early the next morning Abraham took some food and a skin of water and gave them to Hagar.^(BA) He set them on her shoulders and then sent her off with the boy. She went on her way and wandered in the Desert of Beersheba.^(BB)

¹⁵When the water in the skin was gone, she put the boy under one of the bushes. ¹⁶Then she went off and sat down about a bowshot away, for she thought, “I cannot watch the boy die.” And as she sat there, she^[d] began to sob.^(BC)

¹⁷God heard the boy crying,^(BD) and the angel of God^(BE) called to Hagar from heaven^(BF) and said to her, “What is the matter, Hagar? Do not be afraid;^(BG) God has heard the boy crying as he lies there. ¹⁸Lift the boy up and take him by the hand, for I will make him into a great nation.^(BH)”

¹⁹Then God opened her eyes^(BI) and she saw a well of water.^(BJ) So she went and filled the skin with water and gave the boy a drink.

²⁰God was with the boy^(BK) as he grew up. He lived in the desert and became an archer. ²¹While he was living in the Desert of Paran,^(BL) his mother got a wife for him^(BM) from Egypt.

The Treaty at Beersheba

²²At that time Abimelek^(BN) and Phicol the commander of his forces^(BO) said to Abraham, “God is with you in everything you do.^(BP) ²³Now swear^(BQ) to me here before God that you will not deal falsely with me or my children or my descendants.^(BR) Show to me and the country where you now reside as a foreigner the same kindness I have shown to you.”^(BS)

²⁴Abraham said, “I swear it.”

²⁵Then Abraham complained to Abimelek about a well of water that Abimelek’s servants had seized.^(BT) ²⁶But Abimelek said, “I don’t know who has done this. You did not tell me, and I heard about it only today.”

²⁷So Abraham brought sheep and cattle and gave them to Abimelek, and the two men made a treaty.^(BU) ²⁸Abraham set apart seven ewe lambs from the flock, ²⁹and Abimelek asked Abraham, “What is the meaning of these seven ewe lambs you have set apart by themselves?”

³⁰He replied, “Accept these seven lambs from my hand as a witness^(BV) that I dug this well.^(BW)”

³¹So that place was called Beersheba,^[e]^(BX) because the two men swore an oath^(BY) there.

³²After the treaty^(BZ) had been made at Beersheba,^(CA) Abimelek and Phicol the commander of his forces^(CB) returned to the land of the Philistines.^(CC) ³³Abraham planted a tamarisk tree^(CD) in Beersheba, and there he called on the name of the Lord,^(CE) the Eternal God.^(CF) ³⁴And Abraham stayed in the land of the Philistines^(CG) for a long time.

Abraham Tested

22 Some time later God tested^(CH) Abraham. He said to him, “Abraham!”

“Here I am,”^(CI) he replied.

²Then God said, “Take your son^(CJ), your only son, whom you love—Isaac—and go to the region of Moriah.^(CK) Sacrifice him there as a burnt offering^(CL) on a mountain I will show you.^(CM)”

³Early the next morning^(CN) Abraham got up and loaded his donkey. He took with him two of his servants and his son Isaac. When he had cut enough wood for the burnt offering, he set out for the place God had told him about. ⁴On the third day Abraham looked up and saw the place in the distance. ⁵He said to his servants, “Stay here with the donkey while I and the boy go over there. We will worship and then we will come back to you.^(CO)”

⁶Abraham took the wood for the burnt offering and placed it on his son Isaac,^(CP) and he himself carried the fire and the knife.^(CQ) As the two of them went on together, ⁷Isaac spoke up and said to his father Abraham, “Father?”

“Yes, my son?” Abraham replied.

“The fire and wood are here,” Isaac said, “but where is the lamb^(CR) for the burnt offering?”

⁸Abraham answered, “God himself will provide^(CS) the lamb^(CT) for the burnt offering, my son.” And the two of them went on together.

⁹When they reached the place God had told him about,^(CU) Abraham built an altar^(CV) there and arranged the wood^(CW) on it. He bound his son Isaac and laid him on the altar,^(CX) on top of the wood. ¹⁰Then he reached out his hand and took the knife^(CY) to slay his son.^(CZ) ¹¹But the angel of the Lord^(DA) called out to him from heaven,^(DB) “Abraham! Abraham!”^(DC)

“Here I am,”^(DD) he replied.

¹²“Do not lay a hand on the boy,” he said. “Do not do anything to him. Now I know that you fear God,^(DE) because you have not withheld from me your son, your only son.^(DF)”

¹³Abraham looked up and there in a thicket he saw a ram^[f] caught by its horns.^(DG) He went over and took the ram and sacrificed it as a burnt offering instead of his son.^(DH) ¹⁴So Abraham called^(DI) that place The Lord^(DJ) Will Provide. And to this day it is said, “On the mountain of the Lord it will be provided.^(DK)”

¹⁵The angel of the Lord^(DL) called to Abraham from heaven^(DM) a second time ¹⁶and said, “I swear by myself,^(DN) declares the Lord, that because you have done this and have not withheld your son, your only son,^(DO) ¹⁷I will surely bless you^(DP) and make your descendants^(DQ) as numerous as the stars in the sky^(DR) and as the sand on the seashore.^(DS) Your descendants will take possession of the cities of their enemies,^(DT) ¹⁸and through your offspring^[g] all nations on earth will be blessed,^[h]^(DU) because you have obeyed me.”^(DV)

¹⁹Then Abraham returned to his servants, and they set off together for Beersheba.^(DW) And Abraham stayed in Beersheba.

Nahor’s Sons

²⁰Some time later Abraham was told, “Milkah is also a mother; she has borne sons to your brother Nahor:^(DX) ²¹Uz^(DY) the firstborn, Buz^(DZ) his brother, Kemuel (the father of Aram), ²²Kesed, Hazo, Pildash, Jidlaph and Bethuel.^(EA)” ²³Bethuel became the father of Rebekah.^(EB) Milkah bore these eight sons to Abraham’s brother Nahor.^(EC) ²⁴His concubine,^(ED) whose name was Reumah, also had sons: Tebah, Gaham, Tahash and Maakah.

Footnotes:

Genesis 20:16 That is, about 25 pounds or about 12 kilograms
Genesis 21:3 Isaac means he laughs.
Genesis 21:12 Or seed
Genesis 21:16 Hebrew; Septuagint the child
Genesis 21:31 Beersheba can mean well of seven and well of the oath.
Genesis 22:13 Many manuscripts of the Masoretic Text, Samaritan Pentateuch, Septuagint and Syriac; most manuscripts of the Masoretic Text a ram behind him
Genesis 22:18 Or seed
Genesis 22:18 Or and all nations on earth will use the name of your offspring in blessings (see 48:20)

Cross references:

New International Version (NIV)

Matthew 7:15-29

True and False Prophets

¹⁵“Watch out for false prophets.^(A) They come to you in sheep’s clothing, but inwardly they are ferocious wolves.^(B) ¹⁶By their fruit you will recognize them.^(C) Do people pick grapes from thornbushes, or figs from thistles?^(D) ¹⁷Likewise, every good tree bears good fruit, but a bad tree bears bad fruit. ¹⁸A good tree cannot bear bad fruit, and a bad tree cannot bear good fruit.^(E) ¹⁹Every tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire.^(F) ²⁰Thus, by their fruit you will recognize them.

True and False Disciples

²¹“Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’^(G) will enter the kingdom of heaven,^(H) but only the one who does the will of my Father who is in heaven.^(I) ²²Many will say to me on that day,^(J) ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name and in your name drive out demons and in your name perform many miracles?’^(K) ²³Then I will tell them plainly, ‘I never knew you. Away from me, you evildoers!’^(L)

The Wise and Foolish Builders^(M)

²⁴“Therefore everyone who hears these words of mine and puts them into practice^(N) is like a wise man who built his house on the rock. ²⁵The rain came down, the streams rose, and the winds blew and beat against that house; yet it did not fall, because it had its foundation on the rock. ²⁶But everyone who hears these words of mine and does not put them into practice is like a foolish man who built his house on sand. ²⁷The rain came down, the streams rose, and the winds blew and beat against that house, and it fell with a great crash.”

²⁸When Jesus had finished saying these things,^(O) the crowds were amazed at his teaching,^(P) ²⁹because he taught as one who had authority, and not as their teachers of the law.

New International Version (NIV)

Psalm 9:1-12

Psalm 9^[a]^[b]

For the director of music. To the tune of “The Death of the Son.” A psalm of David.

¹I will give thanks to you, Lord, with all my heart;^(A)
I will tell of all your wonderful deeds.^(B)
²I will be glad and rejoice^(C) in you;
I will sing the praises^(D) of your name,^(E) O Most High.

³My enemies turn back;
they stumble and perish before you.
⁴For you have upheld my right^(F) and my cause,^(G)
sitting enthroned^(H) as the righteous judge.^(I)
⁵You have rebuked the nations^(J) and destroyed the wicked;
you have blotted out their name^(K) for ever and ever.
⁶Endless ruin has overtaken my enemies,
you have uprooted their cities;^(L)
even the memory of them^(M) has perished.

⁷The Lord reigns forever;^(N)
he has established his throne^(O) for judgment.
⁸He rules the world in righteousness^(P)
and judges the peoples with equity.^(Q)
⁹The Lord is a refuge^(R) for the oppressed,^(S)
a stronghold in times of trouble.^(T)
¹⁰Those who know your name^(U) trust in you,
for you, Lord, have never forsaken^(V) those who seek you.^(W)

¹¹Sing the praises^(X) of the Lord, enthroned in Zion;^(Y)
proclaim among the nations^(Z) what he has done.^(AA)
¹²For he who avenges blood^(AB) remembers;
he does not ignore the cries of the afflicted.^(AC)

Footnotes:

Psalm 9:1 Psalms 9 and 10 may originally have been a single acrostic poem in which alternating lines began with the successive letters of the Hebrew alphabet. In the Septuagint they constitute one psalm.
Psalm 9:1 In Hebrew texts 9:1-20 is numbered 9:2-21.

Cross references:

New International Version (NIV)

Proverbs 2:16-22

¹⁶Wisdom will save you also from the adulterous woman,^(A)
from the wayward woman with her seductive words,
¹⁷who has left the partner of her youth
and ignored the covenant she made before God.^[a]^(B)
¹⁸Surely her house leads down to death
and her paths to the spirits of the dead.^(C)
¹⁹None who go to her return
or attain the paths of life.^(D)

²⁰Thus you will walk in the ways of the good
and keep to the paths of the righteous.
²¹For the upright will live in the land,^(E)
and the blameless will remain in it;
²²but the wicked^(F) will be cut off from the land,^(G)
and the unfaithful will be torn from it.^(H)

Footnotes:

Proverbs 2:17 Or covenant of her God

Cross references:

New International Version (NIV)

January 8, 2019

01/08/2019 DAB Transcript

Genesis 18:16-19:38, Matthew 6:25-7:14, Psalms 8:1-9, Proverbs 2:6-15

Today is the 8^th day of January. Welcome to the Daily Audio Bible. I am Brian and, of course, it’s a pleasure to be here with you today, we are past the week threshold, of course we’re in the middle of a week, but we’re a full week now into this year and we’re sailing strong and out into the deep and we should be all getting kind of moved in and understanding what’s going on. And about another week and we’ll be like locked in and sailing strong with our daily rhythm in the Bible and in the year. So, let’s go ahead and take that next step. We’re reading from the New International Version this week and we’re working our way through the first book of the Bible, the book of Genesis and today we’ll read chapter 18 verse 16 through 19 verse 38.

Commentary:

Okay. So, there’s so much to talk about in our reading today and that’s the case often where it’s like, wow, that was one days reading, but, wow, there’s a lot going on there for me to contemplate and consider. In the book of Genesis today, the first book of the Bible, we have finally reached a point where we enter into a story and we’re like…wait…wait…what is going on here? We have cities being destroyed, we have daughters having sex with their father, and this is the first book of the Bible, and I’m halfway through it, and what is going on? And this is a good time to point out the fact that we will encounter stories in the Bible this year that will make you scratch your head and say, what is going on here? And what you need to notice, what you need to notice when we encounter those stories is the subtle judgment that comes up in our heart toward God. That might sound odd but it’s what happens, especially if we’re on our first trip through the whole Bible, like this is the first time going, like where we’ve made a commitment and we’re like, okay, I place my faith in this in this book, but I’ve never read it and now I’m gonna read every word and now I’m gonna understand what’s in this book. We begin to realize that if we’ve never been on the trip, on the journey through the Bible, that we have sort of these prejudices. We think that there is an angry God who’s vengeful and wants to smite humanity. And we more we need to meet him and find out how to fear him properly. And then we have a dichotomy, we have Jesus showing another way of actually being in the world altogether and we’re trying to mash those together because father, son and Holy Spirit, these are the same being. And, so, how does this all equate? And we get this angry God thing going on and we fear the Lord because He’s gonna be so angry. And, so, this is the first time today, we come up against one of those notions, we see a story in the Bible that just rings all the wrong bells. So, let’s just go back and look for the story real quick and try to find a place where it is that our hearts have turned toward judgment at God or maybe we’re looking at a story that tells us something completely different. So, let’s begin with the fact that God comes to meet the person that He’s in covenant with, Abraham, and they have this meal and then God is leaving to go see what’s going on in Sodom and Gomorrah down in the valley. And God’s tops, according to the story in Genesis, and thinks to Himself, should I keep this from Abraham, should I keep this from the one that I’m in covenant with. And He decides that he shouldn’t keep it from the one that He’s in covenant with. And, so, He tells Abraham what his intentions are. And then what do we see? A man, a human being, Abraham approaches God, the Creator of all things, the All Powerful One and begins a negotiation, right? Would you go down there and wipe that city, those cities out if there are 50 righteous people? And the Lord reveals His heart. No, I wouldn’t do that. Well, what about 45? No, I wouldn’t do that. What about 40? How about 30? How about 20? How about 10? And we see that God is revealing His heart in the story because this is where God is speaking for Himself in the story. I’m not about the business of destroying people, I’m about the business of eradicating evil and wickedness. And as the story progresses we get a sense of the wickedness that he’s talking about. I think that, like no matter what else we might say, that we would probably all agree that if you’re going into a village and the outcome is that you are going to be gang raped by the men of the city that that’s, you know, like, that’s evil. And, so, we just read the stories, so we know how the story goes. And we have this, you know, Lot trying to protect the Angels who he know are beings sent from God, but the only thing that he thinks he can barter with is to throw his virgin daughters out the door and let them endure the gang rape, which makes you go, “hold on a second…hold…what in the world is something like this doing in the Bible? Like, this isn’t the right way to live. Why would Lot do something like that?” And then the story goes on, right? The girls as it turns out are betrothed, they’re engaged to be married. And, so, Lot’s trying to get everyone that is connected to him out of the city, but the guys, they won’t go, they don’t believe him, they think he’s joking. And, so, it ends up that Lot and his wife and his two daughters are the only ones that escape the city and their running and then, of course, this story is famous, so Lot’s wife looked back, she turned into a pillar of salt and so there’s only Lot and his two daughters fleeing for their lives and everything that they had, all of their possessions, all of their wealth, all of their standing, everything is wiped from the face of the earth along with their home and everyone that they knew. So, they are completely on their own in this valley and they end up in a cave in the mountains, right? We know the story. The two daughters decide that the best course of action is to have sex with dad and see if they get pregnant. So, it’s a pretty disturbing story that we can go, “why is this in the Bible? And, you know, where is God in all of this?” Well, God was in the beginning of the story speaking to Abraham, telling Abraham that he wasn’t going down to Sodom and Gomorrah to destroy righteous people. In fact, had there been 10 righteous people the story would be like that, the destruction wouldn’t have happened. And, so, it was. There weren’t the people who could maybe be considered righteous. Lot and his two daughters and his wife, they got out. Of course, mom isn’t there anymore. And, so, the daughters are thinking, “what are we supposed to do?” And if we kind of get contextual here we can understand the dilemma that they were in. This family that had been reduced to poverty, like everything was destroyed. They were foreigners, these two daughters were foreigners and Lot was the only family member that could protect them, especially in the culture of that time and he’s getting older. So, there’s no one for them and if a Lot were to perish, and they were obviously in a pretty precarious situation, they had lost everything and were hiding in a cave in the mountains. So, things were pretty bad. And, so, they’re thinking to themselves, “this isn’t the desirable choice, this is the only choice. We need another male heir. We need someone that can speak for us and can have property.” And, yeah, we get into patriarchy, we can get into all that stuff, but why don’t we just say, “this is what was going on then, this is how they understood the world to be. This is how it was to live at this time in the book of Genesis, which is a long time ago.” And, so, the outlook for the daughters was to either have a male heir somewhere or what was gonna happen is their Father would be killed or would die and they would be taken and probably live a life of prostitution. So, they did what they did. And, yeah, we can look at what they did and say, “that’s just that’s not how it’s supposed to go. And yes, it’s not, but we need to look at a story like this and say, “why am I judging God about this story? Why am I saying there, I told, you see, this kind of stuff is in the Bible?” I mean, when Lot fled and only had his daughters why didn’t they finish climbing up the mountain that they were hiding in to get to the top where their uncle Abraham was living? Why didn’t they go back to the family that they had? We don’t have the answer to that question. But why would we blame God for the choices that they made? Remember back earlier in the story when Lot and Abraham got together because they had grown too wealthy to stay together and everybody was kind of fighting and so they decided to part ways so that there would be room enough for them both. It was Lot who picked what he thought was the best option for himself. He picked the best of the land and went and lived in it and this is what happened. Why is it God’s fault? Was God anything but a Redeemer in this story. He told Abraham what He was going to do and then He went and did it. And why would Abraham being…why would Abraham ask these questions of the Lord if its not to protect his own family? So, what God did was go down into the midst of this debauchery and rescue Abraham’s family and get them out. What we don’t see in the story is how they fell down and worshiped the Lord and asked for counsel on what to do and were led on the path that they should go, right? They went their own way and what happened happened. Which brings us to a little touchy point where we’re gonna have to realize as we continue to take this journey that it is absolutely going to touch all of the soft spots of our lives. And this is a good time to realize how much blame we place on God for things that He hasn’t done. It’s incredible, the trash heap of things that we throw upon the Lord that He had nothing to do with. And we can say He is Sovereign and He knows all and so He could like preempt things, and yet there was that story back at the very, very beginning, the second day together where Adam and Eve were in the garden staring at the tree of the knowledge of good and evil and they were instructed not to eat from it and then they did and they were allowed to make that choice and that choice was allowed to matter. We are each created in the image of God and God is a Creator and He creates things and because we are created in His image and it is hardwired into who we are, so do we. And every day we are writing that story and creating what our destiny is going to look like. We get to make choices and they get to matter. And this story that we just read in the book of Genesis shows us once again this reality. Not everything’s God’s fault and when we just throw everything that we get ourselves into onto God like it’s his fault, then how is it that we can have a trusting loving relationship with Him? How is it that we will walk through this year with a God that we do not trust and do not know?

On the other hand, we zoom forward into the book of Matthew and we have Jesus, who is God in the flesh here in a relatable way that we can understand speaking the heart of God to us by inviting us to understand specific realities, that all of the worry and the chaos and the stress that we carry around with us is not going to get us anywhere. In fact, Jesus is bold enough to say, I’m telling you not to worry about your life. The choices that you gotta make about eating and drinking, what you’re gonna wear, there’s way more going on, it’s a bigger story and can anyone of you, by worrying, add a single hour to your life? And we can stop right there and say, “okay, okay, enough for today, there’s a lot going on”, but Jesus’s isn’t done, He’s saying, look, the way to do this right is to not estrange yourself from the Father. What you need to do if you want to do this right is to seek the kingdom of God first and seek His righteousness and then everything else that you are trying to arrange for will be given to you. You don’t have to worry about it. You don’t have to worry about tomorrow. Tomorrow will worry about itself. What you should worry about, what you should think about, according to Jesus, is how you are judging things, right? And, so, we just talked about how we can subtly begin to judge God but we are doing this constantly to each other. And Jesus has some very clear, very choice words that we need to get into our minds before we get out of sight of shore, right? We’re one week into this journey and we’re getting absolute, pivotal, foundational instruction about how to navigate this world and our life upon this earth. Jesus says, “do not judge or you too will be judged. For in the same way you judge others, you will be judged, and with the same measure you use, it will be measured to you.” So, get 2 tablespoons of that and stir that into your coffee and drink that one down because that’s a big one, especially if you just love to fight on the Internet about what every leading Christian may or may not be doing or saying or how they may be conducting their walk. How we judge others is how we are going to be judged. So, if we can’t be merciful, we will not experience mercy. If we learn nothing else from the Bible this whole year, which will not be the case, but if we learn nothing else from the Bible this year but this one thing, if we stop living in judgment continually and instead see what is a right about a person and what is right about a situation as opposed to only what is wrong and needs to be judged, that’ll change our whole year right there. That one thing right there will change the way we interact with everybody. So, there’s plenty to think about today. And we could go on. I mean, there’s more, but go back and read it again. I mean there’s plenty to meditate on. Jesus leaves us with some thoughts. “Enter through the narrow gate. Wide is the gate and broad is the road that leads to destruction, and many enter through that. But small is the gate and narrow the road that leads to life and only a few find that.” So, what’s it going to be? I want the narrow path that leads to life and I admit there are times that I feel like I’m walking on that narrow path and there are others that I feel like I’ve run down onto the main highway that leads to destruction and we all probably have those seasons and days, but the path that leads to life is narrow and there aren’t going to be a lot of people on that path. This is from God in the flesh. These are the words of Jesus. And if we’re gonna live judge mental lives then we can pretty much be assured about which path we are on. How much in judgment in your life has ever brought you inner peace and tranquility and an overwhelming sense of the presence of the Lord, right? When you’re tithing those nasty things out on social media and being in a war with somebody over some kind of theological point like some hill to die on or you’re saying things out of your mouth to the people that you love that you shouldn't…that are wounding them because you don’t like how they’ve done something and your judging them, how much…even if you are right and you pound them into mortar on the floor and they are absolutely destroyed because you have a powerful vocabulary and you’ve just…you’ve just torn them down…like what…what do you get out of that? You leave the room feeling overjoyed you were right? You got to judge them appropriately and they got what was coming to them? Jesus is saying this is not the way it’s done. For one to navigate humanity like we were intended we have to become like Christ. Christ-like. And when we watch Jesus in the Gospels we need to watch close because this is the example of not only what humans are supposed to be like, but exactly what it is that Jesus offers to us. This is the good news of the gospel, that we can be fully human like Christ revealing His kingdom on this earth and enter into a relationship with the Father that will never, ever, ever end.

Prayer:

Father, you have given us plenty to think about today. There are…on the number of levels you have you’ve touched some things within us and now we are seeing, now we are seeing just how deep this can all go and we can already feel you shifting things inside of us and in some cases it’s very uncomfortable because we have all the reasons for why we do what we do. And yet we are still confronted with the fact that there is a narrow road that leads to life and only a few find it. May we be one of the few Lord. Come Holy Spirit, we surrender our rights and our wrongs in our judgments and all the things that we are carrying around. We begin to release that, and we begin to become aware that what the Bible is going to do is invite us to release a lot of things. And, so, we start here with judgment. We release our judgments against you, we release our judgments against everyone who has ever wronged us, we begin to move toward a posture of forgiveness. Come Holy Spirit we pray. In Jesus’ name we ask. Amen.

Announcements:

dailyaudiobible.com is the website, its home base, its where you find out what’s going on around here.

And we’ve been talking a little bit each day about different things that are going on around here. And, so, one thing that I’ll mention today is the Daily Audio Bible transcripts. For many years now, there’ve been volunteers that have transcribed, posted what gets said here on the Daily Audio Bible. And, obviously, if you’re using the Daily Audio Bible web player or the app, you can favorite it, an episode, so that you can go back and re-listen to what was said or even write some notes that you want to remember. So, that is certainly a way to go back because a lot…I mean we’re going through the whole Bible. So, we’re trying to unpack a lot of things this year and some of those things we need to remember because they’re life-changing things. So that’s one way to go back. But the transcripts are in written form, what got said. And, so there may be a day where you’re like, “okay, I want to go back and read that. I want to listen to that, I want to read that to consider that a little bit more deeply. So, you can get to the Daily Audio Bible transcripts by going to dailyaudiobible.tumbler.com. That’s just kind of a blogging platform that makes it easy enough for us to offer this. So, dailyaudiobible.tumbler.com. If you can’t remember that, just go to dailyaudiobible.com and click the Community section. It’s like in the navigation at the top and then click the Social Media button, which will show you all of the different places where we’re on social media so that we can, well, so you can stay connected. But one of the links is to the transcripts. So, there’s a valuable resource for you as we continue this journey.

If you want to partner with the Daily Audio Bible, you can do that at dailyaudiobible.com. There is a link on the homepage. If you’re using the Daily Audio Bible app, you can press the Give button in the upper right-hand corner or, if you prefer, the mailing address is PO Box 1996 Spring Hill Tennessee 37174.

And, as always if you have a prayer request or comment, there are a number of numbers that you can use depending on where you are in the world. If you’re in the Americas, 877-942-4253 is the number to dial. If you are in the UK or Europe 44-20-3608-8078 is the number to dial. And if you are in Australia or the lands down under, 61-3-8820-5459 is the number to dial.

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

Community Prayer and Praise:

Hi family, this is His Little Cherrie in Canada. Happy new year. I’m calling with another creative way to pray from the banqueting table of prayer. And this one is one of the most hopeful things that I personally do every day, and that’s to use a prayer binder. And it simply is a normal binder that I put pages in, divided into either five days or seven days depending on how many you’d like to have, and each day I use as a reminder to pray for certain people. So, for instance, I have my binder divided into five days for the five days of the week. And the first day, on Monday, I have pictures of people that I’m praying for their salvation. Tuesday are couples, I’m praying for their marriages. Wednesday is family and friends and Thursday is people in ministry. And it’s just a reminder to me to pray for certain people because I think we’ve all been in the situation where someone has shared a concern or a prayer request with us and we’ve told them, “oh I’ll be praying for you”, with every intention of praying for them but life happens and we forget and then the next time we see them, they say, “oh thank you so much for praying”, and we smile and nod and realize we haven’t prayed for them because we’ve forgotten. Well, a prayer binder makes sure that doesn’t happen. When you tell someone, “I’ll be praying for you”, you put the picture or even just their name in your prayer binder and as you go through it day by day you remember to pray for them. So, that has been really helpful for me and I wanted to let you know about it in case you’d like to try it this year. Prayer binders, a creative way to pray from the banqueting table of prayer. Thank you, family. Bye for now.

Hi everybody this is Tony the Painter, really really happy to be starting this new year with you all. Brian, I just want to thank you for this opportunity and say that we love you too and thank you for doing what you do and China too. I’ve started listening to Chronological and congratulations on your engagement. That’s awesome news. Diane Olive Brown, we love you so much, you have no idea and your message from Christmas Day brought…I actually flapped my hands __ but it’s true. I was like oh, “you sound so happy.” So, yeah just so you know that I’m still praying for you. Also, Prodigal, yeah brother, I’ve recently gone through divorce this year and I’ve been suicidal myself. I love you, I empathize with you, I understand what…some of what you’re going though, and I just want to just let you know that I’m praying for you and that we’re all praying for you in this time. And everybody is bringing over baggage from last year and that’s fine, but I noticed in everybody’s voice who was speaking today on the 2^nd January, everybody it is that little bit hopeful. You know, so, we’re gonna maintain this year. We’re gonna, you know, that’s my job, its maintenance. So, I go and repair stuff. So, yeah, just keeping that…letting you all know that I’m praying for you all. You all have my love and God bless you. Dial back soon.

Hi this is Tito Ramirez calling from Southern California. I want to reach out to Prodigal. You know, I feel your pain so much because my life mirrors so much of what you’re going through. You know, I’ve been through divorce and business has just been terrible, it’s been so tough and I’ve fallen behind on so many important things - taxes and child support and trying to get health insurance for the kids and trying to make sure we have money to eat and just pay rent - and it’s just so, so, stressful and it feels like just a gigantic failure and you just…I’d never thought it could happen to me because I’m an educated individual, I should have a good job, like this shouldn’t be happening but I just keep trusting in the Lord. And prodigal, I’m reaching out to you because I need you, I need somebody that’s gonna be praying that’s in the same space that I’m in. And I can’t afford to lose somebody like that and I’m gonna pray for are you and you pray for me and the Lord’s gonna do wonderful things in our lives for us. I look in Romans, in Romans 7 and in Romans 8, I look about how sin trips us up and I looked about us just trusting in the Holy Spirit and the Holy Spirit changing us. And I look in Proverbs 3 and it gives me so much hope, you know, that these old dry bones, these messed up bones would come back to life, you know? And I look in Psalms 51 when things don’t go bad or a when I feel like I’ve made a mistake again or when I feel like I’ve blown it again and I look at David crying out to the Lord and I think, you know, I did something, but it wasn’t what he did. I mean, what he did was so much worse, but I use that Psalm 51 as a prayer of confession sometimes and I love in that Psalm when David asks for a new clean heart and that’s something that I can’t do for myself and it mirrors so much what is being spoken about in Romans, that we can’t…we can try to change ourselves and do it. God has to do it for us…

Happy new year daily audio Bible, this is Isabel from Australia in Melbourne. Just want to wish is all a happy new year. May God’s blessing be upon you and your family. Just wanted to wish China and Ben a happy engagement and congratulations to the Hardin family. There’s a new addition in the family, soon to be married, so happy for you guys. Let this be a year of blessing to all of you. Thank you, Brian once again for all the amazing, you know, readings of the word and just for your teaching on the word of God and just thank you…I’m growing a lot through it and I know a lot of us are too in the Daily Audio Bible. I just want to say hello to all the families just may this year be a year of blessings to all of you. Please call in and just say hello and I’d love to hear from all of you. Blessings. Love you all. Bye.

January 8, 2019

The Daily Audio Bible Reading for Tuesday January 8, 2019 (NIV)

Genesis 18:16-19:38

Abraham Pleads for Sodom

¹⁶When the men^(A) got up to leave, they looked down toward Sodom, and Abraham walked along with them to see them on their way. ¹⁷Then the Lord said, “Shall I hide from Abraham^(B) what I am about to do?^(C) ¹⁸Abraham will surely become a great and powerful nation,^(D) and all nations on earth will be blessed through him.^[a] ¹⁹For I have chosen him^(E), so that he will direct his children^(F) and his household after him to keep the way of the Lord^(G) by doing what is right and just,^(H) so that the Lord will bring about for Abraham what he has promised him.”^(I)

²⁰Then the Lord said, “The outcry against Sodom^(J) and Gomorrah is so great^(K) and their sin so grievous^(L) ²¹that I will go down^(M) and see if what they have done is as bad as the outcry that has reached me. If not, I will know.”

²²The men^(N) turned away and went toward Sodom,^(O) but Abraham remained standing before the Lord.^[b]^(P) ²³Then Abraham approached him and said: “Will you sweep away the righteous with the wicked?^(Q) ²⁴What if there are fifty righteous people in the city? Will you really sweep it away and not spare^[c] the place for the sake of the fifty righteous people in it?^(R) ²⁵Far be it from you to do such a thing^(S)—to kill the righteous with the wicked, treating the righteous^(T) and the wicked alike.^(U) Far be it from you! Will not the Judge^(V) of all the earth do right?”^(W)

²⁶The Lord said, “If I find fifty righteous people in the city of Sodom, I will spare the whole place for their sake.^(X)”

²⁷Then Abraham spoke up again: “Now that I have been so bold as to speak to the Lord, though I am nothing but dust and ashes,^(Y) ²⁸what if the number of the righteous is five less than fifty? Will you destroy the whole city for lack of five people?”

“If I find forty-five there,” he said, “I will not destroy it.”

²⁹Once again he spoke to him, “What if only forty are found there?”

He said, “For the sake of forty, I will not do it.”

³⁰Then he said, “May the Lord not be angry,^(Z) but let me speak. What if only thirty can be found there?”

He answered, “I will not do it if I find thirty there.”

³¹Abraham said, “Now that I have been so bold as to speak to the Lord, what if only twenty can be found there?”

He said, “For the sake of twenty, I will not destroy it.”

³²Then he said, “May the Lord not be angry, but let me speak just once more.^(AA) What if only ten can be found there?”

He answered, “For the sake of ten,^(AB) I will not destroy it.”

³³When the Lord had finished speaking^(AC) with Abraham, he left,^(AD) and Abraham returned home.^(AE)

Sodom and Gomorrah Destroyed

19 The two angels^(AF) arrived at Sodom^(AG) in the evening, and Lot^(AH) was sitting in the gateway of the city.^(AI) When he saw them, he got up to meet them and bowed down with his face to the ground.^(AJ) ²“My lords,” he said, “please turn aside to your servant’s house. You can wash your feet^(AK) and spend the night and then go on your way early in the morning.”

“No,” they answered, “we will spend the night in the square.”^(AL)

³But he insisted^(AM) so strongly that they did go with him and entered his house.^(AN) He prepared a meal for them, baking bread without yeast,^(AO) and they ate.^(AP) ⁴Before they had gone to bed, all the men from every part of the city of Sodom^(AQ)—both young and old—surrounded the house. ⁵They called to Lot, “Where are the men who came to you tonight? Bring them out to us so that we can have sex with them.”^(AR)

⁶Lot went outside to meet them^(AS) and shut the door behind him ⁷and said, “No, my friends. Don’t do this wicked thing. ⁸Look, I have two daughters who have never slept with a man. Let me bring them out to you, and you can do what you like with them. But don’t do anything to these men, for they have come under the protection of my roof.”^(AT)

⁹“Get out of our way,” they replied. “This fellow came here as a foreigner,^(AU) and now he wants to play the judge!^(AV) We’ll treat you worse than them.” They kept bringing pressure on Lot and moved forward to break down the door.

¹⁰But the men^(AW) inside reached out and pulled Lot back into the house and shut the door. ¹¹Then they struck the men who were at the door of the house, young and old, with blindness^(AX) so that they could not find the door.

¹²The two men said to Lot, “Do you have anyone else here—sons-in-law, sons or daughters, or anyone else in the city who belongs to you?^(AY) Get them out of here, ¹³because we^(AZ) are going to destroy this place. The outcry to the Lord against its people is so great^(BA) that he has sent us to destroy it.”^(BB)

¹⁴So Lot went out and spoke to his sons-in-law, who were pledged to marry^[d] his daughters. He said, “Hurry and get out of this place, because the Lord is about to destroy the city!^(BC)” But his sons-in-law thought he was joking.^(BD)

¹⁵With the coming of dawn, the angels urged Lot, saying, “Hurry! Take your wife and your two daughters who are here, or you will be swept away^(BE) when the city is punished.^(BF)”

¹⁶When he hesitated, the men grasped his hand and the hands of his wife and of his two daughters^(BG) and led them safely out of the city, for the Lord was merciful to them.^(BH) ¹⁷As soon as they had brought them out, one of them said, “Flee for your lives!^(BI) Don’t look back,^(BJ) and don’t stop anywhere in the plain!^(BK) Flee to the mountains^(BL) or you will be swept away!”

¹⁸But Lot said to them, “No, my lords,^[e] please! ¹⁹Your^[f] servant has found favor in your^[g] eyes,^(BM) and you^[h] have shown great kindness^(BN) to me in sparing my life. But I can’t flee to the mountains;^(BO) this disaster will overtake me, and I’ll die. ²⁰Look, here is a town near enough to run to, and it is small. Let me flee to it—it is very small, isn’t it? Then my life will be spared.”

²¹He said to him, “Very well, I will grant this request^(BP) too; I will not overthrow the town you speak of. ²²But flee there quickly, because I cannot do anything until you reach it.” (That is why the town was called Zoar.^[i]^(BQ))

²³By the time Lot reached Zoar,^(BR) the sun had risen over the land. ²⁴Then the Lord rained down burning sulfur^(BS) on Sodom and Gomorrah^(BT)—from the Lord out of the heavens.^(BU) ²⁵Thus he overthrew those cities^(BV) and the entire plain,^(BW) destroying all those living in the cities—and also the vegetation in the land.^(BX) ²⁶But Lot’s wife looked back,^(BY) and she became a pillar of salt.^(BZ)

²⁷Early the next morning Abraham got up and returned to the place where he had stood before the Lord.^(CA) ²⁸He looked down toward Sodom and Gomorrah, toward all the land of the plain, and he saw dense smoke rising from the land, like smoke from a furnace.^(CB)

²⁹So when God destroyed the cities of the plain,^(CC) he remembered^(CD) Abraham, and he brought Lot out of the catastrophe^(CE) that overthrew the cities where Lot had lived.^(CF)

Lot and His Daughters

³⁰Lot and his two daughters left Zoar^(CG) and settled in the mountains,^(CH) for he was afraid to stay in Zoar. He and his two daughters lived in a cave. ³¹One day the older daughter said to the younger, “Our father is old, and there is no man around here to give us children—as is the custom all over the earth. ³²Let’s get our father to drink wine and then sleep with him and preserve our family line^(CI) through our father.”^(CJ)

³³That night they got their father to drink wine, and the older daughter went in and slept with him. He was not aware of it when she lay down or when she got up.^(CK)

³⁴The next day the older daughter said to the younger, “Last night I slept with my father. Let’s get him to drink wine again tonight, and you go in and sleep with him so we can preserve our family line through our father.”^(CL) ³⁵So they got their father to drink wine^(CM) that night also, and the younger daughter went in and slept with him. Again he was not aware of it when she lay down or when she got up.^(CN)

³⁶So both of Lot’s daughters became pregnant by their father.^(CO) ³⁷The older daughter had a son, and she named him Moab^[j];^(CP) he is the father of the Moabites^(CQ) of today. ³⁸The younger daughter also had a son, and she named him Ben-Ammi^[k]; he is the father of the Ammonites^[l]^(CR) of today.

Footnotes:

Genesis 18:18 Or will use his name in blessings (see 48:20)
Genesis 18:22 Masoretic Text; an ancient Hebrew scribal tradition but the Lord remained standing before Abraham
Genesis 18:24 Or forgive; also in verse 26
Genesis 19:14 Or were married to
Genesis 19:18 Or No, Lord; or No, my lord
Genesis 19:19 The Hebrew is singular.
Genesis 19:19 The Hebrew is singular.
Genesis 19:19 The Hebrew is singular.
Genesis 19:22 Zoar means small.
Genesis 19:37 Moab sounds like the Hebrew for from father.
Genesis 19:38 Ben-Ammi means son of my father’s people.
Genesis 19:38 Hebrew Bene-Ammon

Cross references:

New International Version (NIV)

Matthew 6:25-7:14

Do Not Worry^(A)

²⁵“Therefore I tell you, do not worry^(B) about your life, what you will eat or drink; or about your body, what you will wear. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothes? ²⁶Look at the birds of the air; they do not sow or reap or store away in barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them.^(C) Are you not much more valuable than they?^(D) ²⁷Can any one of you by worrying add a single hour to your life^[a]?^(E)

²⁸“And why do you worry about clothes? See how the flowers of the field grow. They do not labor or spin. ²⁹Yet I tell you that not even Solomon in all his splendor^(F) was dressed like one of these. ³⁰If that is how God clothes the grass of the field, which is here today and tomorrow is thrown into the fire, will he not much more clothe you—you of little faith?^(G) ³¹So do not worry, saying, ‘What shall we eat?’ or ‘What shall we drink?’ or ‘What shall we wear?’ ³²For the pagans run after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them.^(H) ³³But seek first his kingdom^(I) and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well.^(J) ³⁴Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own.

Judging Others^(K)

7 “Do not judge, or you too will be judged.^(L) ²For in the same way you judge others, you will be judged, and with the measure you use, it will be measured to you.^(M)

³“Why do you look at the speck of sawdust in your brother’s eye and pay no attention to the plank in your own eye? ⁴How can you say to your brother, ‘Let me take the speck out of your eye,’ when all the time there is a plank in your own eye? ⁵You hypocrite, first take the plank out of your own eye, and then you will see clearly to remove the speck from your brother’s eye.

⁶“Do not give dogs what is sacred; do not throw your pearls to pigs. If you do, they may trample them under their feet, and turn and tear you to pieces.

Ask, Seek, Knock^(N)

⁷“Ask and it will be given to you;^(O) seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you. ⁸For everyone who asks receives; the one who seeks finds;^(P) and to the one who knocks, the door will be opened.

⁹“Which of you, if your son asks for bread, will give him a stone? ¹⁰Or if he asks for a fish, will give him a snake? ¹¹If you, then, though you are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father in heaven give good gifts^(Q) to those who ask him! ¹²So in everything, do to others what you would have them do to you,^(R) for this sums up the Law and the Prophets.^(S)

The Narrow and Wide Gates

¹³“Enter through the narrow gate.^(T) For wide is the gate and broad is the road that leads to destruction, and many enter through it. ¹⁴But small is the gate and narrow the road that leads to life, and only a few find it.

Footnotes:

Matthew 6:27 Or single cubit to your height

Cross references:

New International Version (NIV)

Psalm 8

Psalm 8^[a]

For the director of music. According to gittith.^[b] A psalm of David.

¹Lord, our Lord,
how majestic is your name^(A) in all the earth!

You have set your glory^(B)
in the heavens.^(C)
²Through the praise of children and infants
you have established a stronghold^(D) against your enemies,
to silence the foe^(E) and the avenger.
³When I consider your heavens,^(F)
the work of your fingers,^(G)
the moon and the stars,^(H)
which you have set in place,
⁴what is mankind that you are mindful of them,
human beings that you care for them?^[c]^(I)

⁵You have made them^[d] a little lower than the angels^[e]^(J)
and crowned them^[f] with glory and honor.^(K)
⁶You made them rulers^(L) over the works of your hands;^(M)
you put everything under their^[g] feet:^(N)
⁷all flocks and herds,^(O)
and the animals of the wild,^(P)
⁸the birds in the sky,
and the fish in the sea,^(Q)
all that swim the paths of the seas.

⁹Lord, our Lord,
how majestic is your name in all the earth!^(R)

Footnotes:

Psalm 8:1 In Hebrew texts 8:1-9 is numbered 8:2-10.
Psalm 8:1 Title: Probably a musical term
Psalm 8:4 Or what is a human being that you are mindful of him, / a son of man that you care for him?
Psalm 8:5 Or him
Psalm 8:5 Or than God
Psalm 8:5 Or him
Psalm 8:6 Or made him ruler . . . ; / . . . his

New International Version (NIV)

Proverbs 2:6-15

⁶For the Lord gives wisdom;^(A)
from his mouth come knowledge and understanding.^(B)
⁷He holds success in store for the upright,
he is a shield^(C) to those whose walk is blameless,^(D)
⁸for he guards the course of the just
and protects the way of his faithful ones.^(E)

⁹Then you will understand^(F) what is right and just
and fair—every good path.
¹⁰For wisdom will enter your heart,^(G)
and knowledge will be pleasant to your soul.
¹¹Discretion will protect you,
and understanding will guard you.^(H)

¹²Wisdom will save^(I) you from the ways of wicked men,
from men whose words are perverse,
¹³who have left the straight paths
to walk in dark ways,^(J)
¹⁴who delight in doing wrong
and rejoice in the perverseness of evil,^(K)
¹⁵whose paths are crooked^(L)
and who are devious in their ways.^(M)

New International Version (NIV)

January 8, 2019

The Daily Audio Bible Reading for Tuesday January 8, 2019 (NIV)

Genesis 18:16-19:38

Abraham Pleads for Sodom

²⁶The Lord said, “If I find fifty righteous people in the city of Sodom, I will spare the whole place for their sake.^(X)”

“If I find forty-five there,” he said, “I will not destroy it.”

²⁹Once again he spoke to him, “What if only forty are found there?”

He said, “For the sake of forty, I will not do it.”

³⁰Then he said, “May the Lord not be angry,^(Z) but let me speak. What if only thirty can be found there?”

He answered, “I will not do it if I find thirty there.”

³¹Abraham said, “Now that I have been so bold as to speak to the Lord, what if only twenty can be found there?”

He said, “For the sake of twenty, I will not destroy it.”

³²Then he said, “May the Lord not be angry, but let me speak just once more.^(AA) What if only ten can be found there?”

He answered, “For the sake of ten,^(AB) I will not destroy it.”

³³When the Lord had finished speaking^(AC) with Abraham, he left,^(AD) and Abraham returned home.^(AE)

Sodom and Gomorrah Destroyed

“No,” they answered, “we will spend the night in the square.”^(AL)

¹⁵With the coming of dawn, the angels urged Lot, saying, “Hurry! Take your wife and your two daughters who are here, or you will be swept away^(BE) when the city is punished.^(BF)”

²⁹So when God destroyed the cities of the plain,^(CC) he remembered^(CD) Abraham, and he brought Lot out of the catastrophe^(CE) that overthrew the cities where Lot had lived.^(CF)

Lot and His Daughters

³³That night they got their father to drink wine, and the older daughter went in and slept with him. He was not aware of it when she lay down or when she got up.^(CK)

Footnotes:

Genesis 18:18 Or will use his name in blessings (see 48:20)
Genesis 18:22 Masoretic Text; an ancient Hebrew scribal tradition but the Lord remained standing before Abraham
Genesis 18:24 Or forgive; also in verse 26
Genesis 19:14 Or were married to
Genesis 19:18 Or No, Lord; or No, my lord
Genesis 19:19 The Hebrew is singular.
Genesis 19:19 The Hebrew is singular.
Genesis 19:19 The Hebrew is singular.
Genesis 19:22 Zoar means small.
Genesis 19:37 Moab sounds like the Hebrew for from father.
Genesis 19:38 Ben-Ammi means son of my father’s people.
Genesis 19:38 Hebrew Bene-Ammon

Cross references:

New International Version (NIV)

Matthew 6:25-7:14

Do Not Worry^(A)

Judging Others^(K)

7 “Do not judge, or you too will be judged.^(L) ²For in the same way you judge others, you will be judged, and with the measure you use, it will be measured to you.^(M)

⁶“Do not give dogs what is sacred; do not throw your pearls to pigs. If you do, they may trample them under their feet, and turn and tear you to pieces.

Ask, Seek, Knock^(N)

The Narrow and Wide Gates

Footnotes:

Matthew 6:27 Or single cubit to your height

Cross references:

New International Version (NIV)

Psalm 8

Psalm 8^[a]

For the director of music. According to gittith.^[b] A psalm of David.

¹Lord, our Lord,
how majestic is your name^(A) in all the earth!

⁹Lord, our Lord,
how majestic is your name in all the earth!^(R)

Footnotes:

Psalm 8:1 In Hebrew texts 8:1-9 is numbered 8:2-10.
Psalm 8:1 Title: Probably a musical term
Psalm 8:4 Or what is a human being that you are mindful of him, / a son of man that you care for him?
Psalm 8:5 Or him
Psalm 8:5 Or than God
Psalm 8:5 Or him
Psalm 8:6 Or made him ruler . . . ; / . . . his

New International Version (NIV)

Proverbs 2:6-15

New International Version (NIV)

January 7, 2019

01/07/2019 DAB Transcript

Genesis 16:1-18:15, Matthew 6:1-24, Psalms 7:1-17, Proverbs 2:1-5

Today is the 7^th day of January, almost said December, January. Welcome to the Daily Audio Bible. I am Brian and I’m still moving into this new year and I bet that in some ways you are as well, but we have set sail and we are in this new year and we’re about to take our seventh step of 365 steps that will take us through the entire Bible in a year and in the first week we have covered some significant ground. The Bible kind of launches us into the deep right away. And, so, we have met some key players that are going to affect the rest of the Bible and in fact affect the world until today and we’ll get to know their stories as we continue forward and we are certainly for the first time in the first Gospel of Matthew getting to know this man named Jesus that has certainly affected the world and radically affected our lives until today. So, we’ll take the next step forward. We’re reading from the new International version this week. Genesis chapter 16 verse 1 through 18 verse 15 today.

Commentary:

Okay. So, we’re just beginning our first full work week of the new year and there’s a bunch of stuff we covered in the Scriptures today, stuff that…things that we can think about all day and some of these things we need to be thinking about for the rest of our lives. So, in the book of Genesis Abram has become Abraham and that should snap some things into place because Abraham affects the world all the way until today. And, so, now there’s a promised child to an old couple that are beyond childbearing years, and this is supposed to be a son of promise that will grow to become as many as the sands on the seashore. So, we’ll have to see whether that’s gonna happen or not but that’s the promise. God has found this man Abram and this man Abram has believed God, and that belief has caused him to be seen as a righteous before God. And when we passed by that passage of Scripture you may not even have paid any attention to it or you may have heard that before, but it doesn’t mean anything. It should though. The entire premise of a man named Paul who we’re going to meet later on in the year who is responsible for like two thirds of the New Testament, this is the central thing for the apostle Paul, that Abraham believed God, and God considered him righteous because he believed. So, we’ll get into all that when we get there because today we have new things to unpack and unfold. But I want to point this out because we’re in the book of Genesis and we’re just getting going. But this one thing, that Abraham believed God, and God considered him righteous because of it is a very, very, very important thing to the Christian faith. So, just a bookmark. Remember, because we’ll be visiting this territory again.

And then as we move into the book of Matthew Jesus is still speaking and he’s speaking and he’s speaking pretty frankly about grandstanding today, about drawing attention to yourself, which is really exposing the deficits within yourself, what’s empty inside yourself. But Jesus is saying, “don’t do that, don’t do that spiritually”, right? So, don’t walk around acting like you’re more spiritual than you are because you’re only exposing yourself as less spiritual than you think you are. Do these things in secret where your Father can see them and where you can commune with Him because otherwise, if you’re doing these things, even if they’re good things, if you’re being generous or whatever, you’re doing these things so that you can be seen doing them, then that’s the end of the story, it’s a good thing that you did and you get the pat on the back that you wanted, somebody observed you doing that and then you can continue to build the false story around yourself that you’re uber spiritual when the reality is, if you were then you would do these things in secret where only you and your Father know. So, something to think about because we definitely live in cultures where we are our own spotlight and we are constantly trying to shine the light on ourselves and we do this all kinds of ways, including kind of curating our life for Facebook or Instagram, like trying to make ourselves look a certain way. It is only partly the truth. What we’re portraying is what we like to be, but we know what’s really going on and so does God. And, so, Jesus is saying, “you don’t have to do this, God knows.” And that relationship is in secret and what you do in secret is something that God will reward you for but if you’re gonna shine a spotlight on yourself that’s all there is, that’s the beginning and the end of the story, you got everything you’re going to get. So, well done, you did good, but you got your word already, you arranged for it yourself, you were looking for that little bit of dopamine or whatever to make yourself feel better about yourself and you got the pat on the back and they’re you go, that’s all there is. Jesus is trying to indicate that there’s a whole lot more if we’re walking with God. There’s a whole lot more available than just a pat on the back or Facebook like.

And then we got into the Psalms today and we’re left with something to think about and we should think about this all day today. Actually, this should probably be a point of meditation, like something to really kind of consider today, “if you conceive trouble you will be pregnant with evil and you will give birth to disillusionment.”

Prayer:

Father, we invite You into that. What does that mean in our story right now? In what ways are we conceiving trouble that will make us pregnant with evil and only give birth to disillusionment? What ways have we done this? What ways are we doing this? We have been taught by Your own words Jesus, to humble ourselves today. And, so we do, and we invite Your Holy Spirit into all that we have read. We heard of a promise today to an older couple that by this time next year the promise will be fulfilled. And, so, we’ve been waiting for things for a long time. And, so, we bring that to You Lord. About this time next year what are our hopes? What should we be hoping in? What are You promising as something that pulls us forward as we walk with You? There’s plenty for us to think about today and we invite Your Holy Spirit into all of it. Come Holy Spirit we pray in Jesus’ name. Amen.

Announcements:

dailyaudiobible.com is home base, its the website, its where you find out what’s going on around here

And we’re kind of moving into the year, it takes a couple weeks to get fully moved into the rhythm of the year and unpack everything that’s going on.

I mentioned the Promised Land films yesterday, that those are available in the Daily Audio Bible shop.

There’s other things in the Daily Audio Bible Shop that are available and one of those things is our Windfarm coffee and our Windfarm boutique tea. And you might think like, coffee, tea, Bible what’s going…like…why do have that stuff in the Shop? It’s because they pair well. Kind of a coffee snob around here. I pretty much like to drink good high quality coffee, have for many, many years and I drink it every day as I’m , you know, reading the Daily Audio Bible, but I’ve found over time…and by the way, I’m a tea drinker too…I drink tea almost every day during the week as well. But what I found over the years is that my routine, that includes coffee in the morning, has also become like a part of my rhythm. It’s like part of an environment that surrounds this rhythm of the Bible in my life. And, so, over time, just being kind of a coffee snob, I found coffee roasters and we’ve had our own windfarm brand of coffee for 8…at least…eight years. And, so, we roast the coffee fresh at altitude in the Rocky Mountains of Colorado and then send it out and we import the tea. It’s boutique level, high quality, excellent tea, like not grocery store stuff here we’re talking about for the tea drinkers. But we realized, this is a part of a morning, afternoon, or evening ritual for most people, not everybody, not a hundred percent of people are like coffee or tea or hot beverage drinkers, but most people are going to buy a cup coffee somewhere or steep some tea at some point every day. And, so, we just began to realize we can source, we can do good and source this in raw and do this ourselves and then make it available to the community and bring the best high quality product that we can to the community that’s going to spend this money anyway and then just harvest the margin to help support the efforts of what’s happening here at the Daily Audio Bible. So, the Daily Audio Bible Windfarm coffee and tea is available in the Daily Audio Bible shop, but also we have a coffee club, like we can send it to you every month. And we do. Hundreds and hundreds of pounds of fresh roasted coffee and tea get shipped every month all over the world. And, so, you know, every time that I am grinding up my fresh coffee and doing a little bit of a pour over in the morning getting and getting ready for the day, I know where this coffee came from and it came as an outgrowth of this community that I love with all of my heart and it reminds me to be prayerful and mindful of you as I’m going into the day. And it can do the same thing for you, not only to remind you to pray for your brothers and sisters that are in community together going through the Scriptures, but also just to center yourself around the fact that this day is not going to work if we don’t walk with God. And, so, as we put these little kinds of reminders in our lives, and they can be anything like…listen…it doesn’t have to be coffee or tea. Like, you can listen to what I’m saying and go, “ya, ya, ya, ya, I’m gonna stick with my Maxwell House or whatever”. That’s fine. But as you put little things, little reminders to maintain what’s going on in your life, to maintain the rhythm, which is our word for the year, to keep things in working order. The more that we can do to help ourselves have reminders, like, that we do not have to go sideways, we don’t have to skip tracks today, like we can actually have a successful day on every level if we’re paying attention. So, this is one of the reasons for it. So, you can get coffee shipped to you, however many bags, however many pounds, whatever kind of tea…like…we have a lot of different varietals that we’ve sourced over the years. So, you know, if that’s something that’s already kind of part of the rhythm of your life, check it out at the Daily Audio Bible Shop, maybe you’d like some sent to you every month and when that box arrives it’s just one of those reminders about what this next week, this next month is gonna look like for you. So, you can check that all out at dailyaudiobible.com in the Shop or if you’re looking for the coffee club, like you want it sent you each month, go to the Initiatives section in the website or in the app and you can read all about it.

If you want to partner with the Daily Audio Bible, you can do that at dailyaudiobible.com. There is a link on the homepage. I thank you. I’m humbled. I‘m humbled and surprised and delighted that we’re in our 14^th year and God has been faithful and that as a community we’ve done things that have never been done before in the history of the world. And there is no community like this. It’s, quite remarkable what God is doing in and among us. So, thank you for your partnership. There’s a link on the homepage. If you’re using the app, you can press the Give button in the upper right-hand corner or, if you prefer, the mailing address is PO Box 1996 Spring Hill Tennessee 37174.

And, as always, if you have a prayer request or comment, 877-942-4253 is the number to dial.

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

Community Prayer and Praise:

Today is January 1^st, 2019. This is Randolph from Toronto Canada. Brian, I wish you a happy new year to you, Jill, China, Max, Tyler, Ezekiel, Mary Jo, Mike and all those who work behind the scenes of Daily Audio Bible. I praise God for your commitment to reading the Bible every day. I’ve been listening every day for about six years now. I also want to let my fellow DABbers know that I listen to every prayer request and pray along with each of you although I don’t call often. A happy new year to all. This is Randolph from Toronto Canada. And Blessings.

Greetings to the Daily Audio Bible family. Just so blessed and so happy to be a part of this beautiful community another year. Brian, I thank you, Jill we thank you and team and to my Daily Audio Bible family. We are embarking upon a whole new year with Brian guiding us through revival. For those of you who are new, you are in for such an amazing journey. If you were looking for a different step, 2019 will make just basically drawing closer to the Lord was truly the best thing that you could have ever done for yourself this year. Within this community you will find so many prayer warriors, individuals that are there to stand in the gap for you no matter what you’re going through we are all here. So, we listen, some of us call in on a consistent basis and pray, but some of us pray on the outside, just listening and may not hear from us all the time but we are listening and truly we are praying. So, I just wanted to welcome you guys to this new step, the next step I should say, in your spiritual journey. It will be one that you will never regret and that you always look back on and say that this is truly one of God’s blessings. So, thank you again. Everyone, have a happy healthy and a very prosperous and blessed 2019. This is Sherlock from New Jersey.

Hi Daily Audio Bible DABbers. To Brian, Jill, happy new year to everyone. This is Tinese calling from Cleveland Ohio and I am just grateful for a new life and today a new year. I am praying for each and every one of you that 2019 will be a prosperous year, that you will find a deeper connection with God and that your goals and dreams that you have, you will be able to achieve those as well as just live the very best life that you can. I’m excited. I’m asking you guys to pray for me as well. I love the word of the year of being “Maintain”, that is awesome. For my personal goals I’m adding a little bit to that, I’m adding “obtain” because sometimes I just leave so much on the table because I’m fearful and I don’t maximize my opportunities. So, I also want to be able to obtain some things that God has for me this year as well as sustain. I want to be sustainable, I want to leave a great footprint for my family, for people that I have an opportunity to mentor. I want to be able to give back. So, I want to be able to have resources and opportunity and information that I have had in my life, I want to be able to pass it on to them. I am so thankful and deeply grateful for the Daily Audio Bible. I am, even more at this point my life, just profoundly…I just have profound gratitude for the blood of Jesus that covers my life. So, many times I can look back and see why I should not be here and where He has kept me. And when I get to heaven I want to get there, and I want to say, “hey God, look, I did the best I could, I went for it all in Jesus name.” And I thank God for everything that He’s doing. So, again, I’m praying for each and every…

Hello DABbers, this EZ in Georgia and for those of you that have been listening for a long time, you’ll know that every year or two I will start out to do this with all of you and then the pressures of life or the length of the program in the day will just make me feel like I can’t finish. And last year I ended up just reading the daily message, but I love this so much and I want to complete it and I want to be part of it and this is the first day of January as I record this. So, I would ask that you all…just…if you would, please lift me up in prayer that I will finish this this year, that peace will come into a lot of personal trials. My family is going through a lot of health issues and that the will of the Lord will be done in my life. I have music ministry and it’s very difficult for an artist in this day in age to get into churches because praise teams have kind of taken that kind of ministry and made it obsolete in a lot of areas. And I just pray that that will change enough that doors will open for me. I love all of you so much and I’m thrilled to be back and I’m gonna stick with it this year, I promise.

January 7, 2019

The Daily Audio Bible Reading for Monday January 7, 2019 (NIV)

Genesis 16:1-18:15

Hagar and Ishmael

16 Now Sarai,^(A) Abram’s wife, had borne him no children.^(B) But she had an Egyptian slave^(C) named Hagar;^(D) ²so she said to Abram, “The Lord has kept me from having children.^(E) Go, sleep with my slave; perhaps I can build a family through her.”^(F)

Abram agreed to what Sarai said. ³So after Abram had been living in Canaan^(G) ten years,^(H) Sarai his wife took her Egyptian slave Hagar and gave her to her husband to be his wife. ⁴He slept with Hagar,^(I) and she conceived.

When she knew she was pregnant, she began to despise her mistress.^(J) ⁵Then Sarai said to Abram, “You are responsible for the wrong I am suffering. I put my slave in your arms, and now that she knows she is pregnant, she despises me. May the Lord judge between you and me.”^(K)

⁶“Your slave is in your hands,^(L)” Abram said. “Do with her whatever you think best.” Then Sarai mistreated^(M) Hagar; so she fled from her.

⁷The angel of the Lord^(N) found Hagar near a spring^(O) in the desert; it was the spring that is beside the road to Shur.^(P) ⁸And he said, “Hagar,^(Q) slave of Sarai, where have you come from, and where are you going?”^(R)

“I’m running away from my mistress Sarai,” she answered.

⁹Then the angel of the Lord told her, “Go back to your mistress and submit to her.” ¹⁰The angel added, “I will increase your descendants so much that they will be too numerous to count.”^(S)

¹¹The angel of the Lord^(T) also said to her:

“You are now pregnant
and you will give birth to a son.^(U)
You shall name him^(V) Ishmael,^[a]^(W)
for the Lord has heard of your misery.^(X)
¹²He will be a wild donkey^(Y) of a man;
his hand will be against everyone
and everyone’s hand against him,
and he will live in hostility
toward^[b] all his brothers.^(Z)”

¹³She gave this name to the Lord who spoke to her: “You are the God who sees me,^(AA)” for she said, “I have now seen^[c] the One who sees me.”^(AB) ¹⁴That is why the well^(AC) was called Beer Lahai Roi^[d];^(AD) it is still there, between Kadesh^(AE) and Bered.

¹⁵So Hagar^(AF) bore Abram a son,^(AG) and Abram gave the name Ishmael^(AH) to the son she had borne. ¹⁶Abram was eighty-six years old^(AI) when Hagar bore him Ishmael.

The Covenant of Circumcision

17 When Abram was ninety-nine years old,^(AJ) the Lord appeared to him^(AK) and said, “I am God Almighty^[e];^(AL) walk before me faithfully and be blameless.^(AM) ²Then I will make my covenant between me and you^(AN) and will greatly increase your numbers.”^(AO)

³Abram fell facedown,^(AP) and God said to him, ⁴“As for me, this is my covenant with you:^(AQ) You will be the father of many nations.^(AR) ⁵No longer will you be called Abram^[f]; your name will be Abraham,^[g]^(AS) for I have made you a father of many nations.^(AT) ⁶I will make you very fruitful;^(AU) I will make nations of you, and kings will come from you.^(AV) ⁷I will establish my covenant^(AW) as an everlasting covenant^(AX) between me and you and your descendants after you for the generations to come, to be your God^(AY) and the God of your descendants after you.^(AZ) ⁸The whole land of Canaan,^(BA) where you now reside as a foreigner,^(BB) I will give as an everlasting possession to you and your descendants after you;^(BC) and I will be their God.^(BD)”

⁹Then God said to Abraham, “As for you, you must keep my covenant,^(BE) you and your descendants after you for the generations to come.^(BF) ¹⁰This is my covenant with you and your descendants after you, the covenant you are to keep: Every male among you shall be circumcised.^(BG) ¹¹You are to undergo circumcision,^(BH) and it will be the sign of the covenant^(BI) between me and you. ¹²For the generations to come^(BJ) every male among you who is eight days old must be circumcised,^(BK) including those born in your household or bought with money from a foreigner—those who are not your offspring. ¹³Whether born in your household or bought with your money, they must be circumcised.^(BL) My covenant in your flesh is to be an everlasting covenant.^(BM) ¹⁴Any uncircumcised male, who has not been circumcised^(BN) in the flesh, will be cut off from his people;^(BO) he has broken my covenant.^(BP)”

¹⁵God also said to Abraham, “As for Sarai^(BQ) your wife, you are no longer to call her Sarai; her name will be Sarah.^(BR) ¹⁶I will bless her and will surely give you a son by her.^(BS) I will bless her so that she will be the mother of nations;^(BT) kings of peoples will come from her.”

¹⁷Abraham fell facedown;^(BU) he laughed^(BV) and said to himself, “Will a son be born to a man a hundred years old?^(BW) Will Sarah bear a child at the age of ninety?”^(BX) ¹⁸And Abraham said to God, “If only Ishmael^(BY) might live under your blessing!”^(BZ)

¹⁹Then God said, “Yes, but your wife Sarah will bear you a son,^(CA) and you will call him Isaac.^[h]^(CB) I will establish my covenant with him^(CC) as an everlasting covenant^(CD) for his descendants after him. ²⁰And as for Ishmael, I have heard you: I will surely bless him; I will make him fruitful and will greatly increase his numbers.^(CE) He will be the father of twelve rulers,^(CF) and I will make him into a great nation.^(CG) ²¹But my covenant^(CH) I will establish with Isaac, whom Sarah will bear to you^(CI) by this time next year.”^(CJ) ²²When he had finished speaking with Abraham, God went up from him.^(CK)

²³On that very day Abraham took his son Ishmael and all those born in his household^(CL) or bought with his money, every male in his household, and circumcised them, as God told him.^(CM) ²⁴Abraham was ninety-nine years old^(CN) when he was circumcised,^(CO) ²⁵and his son Ishmael^(CP) was thirteen; ²⁶Abraham and his son Ishmael were both circumcised on that very day. ²⁷And every male in Abraham’s household^(CQ), including those born in his household or bought from a foreigner, was circumcised with him.

The Three Visitors

18 The Lord appeared to Abraham^(CR) near the great trees of Mamre^(CS) while he was sitting at the entrance to his tent^(CT) in the heat of the day. ²Abraham looked up^(CU) and saw three men^(CV) standing nearby. When he saw them, he hurried from the entrance of his tent to meet them and bowed low to the ground.^(CW)

³He said, “If I have found favor in your eyes,^(CX) my lord,^[i] do not pass your servant^(CY) by. ⁴Let a little water be brought, and then you may all wash your feet^(CZ) and rest under this tree. ⁵Let me get you something to eat,^(DA) so you can be refreshed and then go on your way—now that you have come to your servant.”

“Very well,” they answered, “do as you say.”

⁶So Abraham hurried into the tent to Sarah. “Quick,” he said, “get three seahs^[j] of the finest flour and knead it and bake some bread.”^(DB)

⁷Then he ran to the herd and selected a choice, tender calf^(DC) and gave it to a servant, who hurried to prepare it. ⁸He then brought some curds^(DD) and milk^(DE) and the calf that had been prepared, and set these before them.^(DF) While they ate, he stood near them under a tree.

⁹“Where is your wife Sarah?”^(DG) they asked him.

“There, in the tent,^(DH)” he said.

¹⁰Then one of them said, “I will surely return to you about this time next year,^(DI) and Sarah your wife will have a son.”^(DJ)

Now Sarah was listening at the entrance to the tent, which was behind him. ¹¹Abraham and Sarah were already very old,^(DK) and Sarah was past the age of childbearing.^(DL) ¹²So Sarah laughed^(DM) to herself as she thought, “After I am worn out and my lord^(DN) is old, will I now have this pleasure?”

¹³Then the Lord said to Abraham, “Why did Sarah laugh and say, ‘Will I really have a child, now that I am old?’^(DO) ¹⁴Is anything too hard for the Lord?^(DP) I will return to you at the appointed time next year,^(DQ) and Sarah will have a son.”^(DR)

¹⁵Sarah was afraid, so she lied and said, “I did not laugh.”

But he said, “Yes, you did laugh.”

Footnotes:

Genesis 16:11 Ishmael means God hears.
Genesis 16:12 Or live to the east / of
Genesis 16:13 Or seen the back of
Genesis 16:14 Beer Lahai Roi means well of the Living One who sees me.
Genesis 17:1 Hebrew El-Shaddai
Genesis 17:5 Abram means exalted father.
Genesis 17:5 Abraham probably means father of many.
Genesis 17:19 Isaac means he laughs.
Genesis 18:3 Or eyes, Lord
Genesis 18:6 That is, probably about 36 pounds or about 16 kilograms

Cross references:

New International Version (NIV)

Matthew 6:1-24

Giving to the Needy

6 “Be careful not to practice your righteousness in front of others to be seen by them.^(A) If you do, you will have no reward from your Father in heaven.

²“So when you give to the needy, do not announce it with trumpets, as the hypocrites do in the synagogues and on the streets, to be honored by others. Truly I tell you, they have received their reward in full. ³But when you give to the needy, do not let your left hand know what your right hand is doing, ⁴so that your giving may be in secret. Then your Father, who sees what is done in secret, will reward you.^(B)

Prayer^(C)

⁵“And when you pray, do not be like the hypocrites, for they love to pray standing^(D) in the synagogues and on the street corners to be seen by others. Truly I tell you, they have received their reward in full. ⁶But when you pray, go into your room, close the door and pray to your Father,^(E) who is unseen. Then your Father, who sees what is done in secret, will reward you. ⁷And when you pray, do not keep on babbling^(F) like pagans, for they think they will be heard because of their many words.^(G) ⁸Do not be like them, for your Father knows what you need^(H) before you ask him.

⁹“This, then, is how you should pray:

“‘Our Father^(I) in heaven,
hallowed be your name,
¹⁰your kingdom^(J) come,
your will be done,^(K)
on earth as it is in heaven.
¹¹Give us today our daily bread.^(L)
¹²And forgive us our debts,
as we also have forgiven our debtors.^(M)
¹³And lead us not into temptation,^[a]^(N)
but deliver us from the evil one.^[b]’^(O)

¹⁴For if you forgive other people when they sin against you, your heavenly Father will also forgive you.^(P) ¹⁵But if you do not forgive others their sins, your Father will not forgive your sins.^(Q)

Fasting

¹⁶“When you fast,^(R) do not look somber^(S) as the hypocrites do, for they disfigure their faces to show others they are fasting. Truly I tell you, they have received their reward in full. ¹⁷But when you fast, put oil on your head and wash your face, ¹⁸so that it will not be obvious to others that you are fasting, but only to your Father, who is unseen; and your Father, who sees what is done in secret, will reward you.^(T)

Treasures in Heaven^(U)

¹⁹“Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth,^(V) where moths and vermin destroy,^(W) and where thieves break in and steal. ²⁰But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven,^(X) where moths and vermin do not destroy, and where thieves do not break in and steal.^(Y) ²¹For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.^(Z)

²²“The eye is the lamp of the body. If your eyes are healthy,^[c] your whole body will be full of light. ²³But if your eyes are unhealthy,^[d] your whole body will be full of darkness. If then the light within you is darkness, how great is that darkness!

²⁴“No one can serve two masters. Either you will hate the one and love the other, or you will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve both God and money.^(AA)

Footnotes:

Matthew 6:13 The Greek for temptation can also mean testing.
Matthew 6:13 Or from evil; some late manuscripts one, / for yours is the kingdom and the power and the glory forever. Amen.
Matthew 6:22 The Greek for healthy here implies generous.
Matthew 6:23 The Greek for unhealthy here implies stingy.

Cross references:

New International Version (NIV)

Psalm 7

Psalm 7^[a]

A shiggaion^[b]^(A) of David, which he sang to the Lord concerning Cush, a Benjamite.

¹Lord my God, I take refuge^(B) in you;
save and deliver me^(C) from all who pursue me,^(D)
²or they will tear me apart like a lion^(E)
and rip me to pieces with no one to rescue^(F) me.

³Lord my God, if I have done this
and there is guilt on my hands^(G)—
⁴if I have repaid my ally with evil
or without cause^(H) have robbed my foe—
⁵then let my enemy pursue and overtake^(I) me;
let him trample my life to the ground^(J)
and make me sleep in the dust.^[c]^(K)

⁶Arise,^(L) Lord, in your anger;
rise up against the rage of my enemies.^(M)
Awake,^(N) my God; decree justice.
⁷Let the assembled peoples gather around you,
while you sit enthroned over them on high.^(O)
⁸Let the Lord judge^(P) the peoples.
Vindicate me, Lord, according to my righteousness,^(Q)
according to my integrity,^(R) O Most High.^(S)
⁹Bring to an end the violence of the wicked
and make the righteous secure—^(T)
you, the righteous God^(U)
who probes minds and hearts.^(V)

¹⁰My shield^[d]^(W) is God Most High,
who saves the upright in heart.^(X)
¹¹God is a righteous judge,^(Y)
a God who displays his wrath^(Z) every day.
¹²If he does not relent,^(AA)
he^[e] will sharpen his sword;^(AB)
he will bend and string his bow.^(AC)
¹³He has prepared his deadly weapons;
he makes ready his flaming arrows.^(AD)

¹⁴Whoever is pregnant with evil
conceives trouble and gives birth^(AE) to disillusionment.
¹⁵Whoever digs a hole and scoops it out
falls into the pit^(AF) they have made.^(AG)
¹⁶The trouble they cause recoils on them;
their violence comes down on their own heads.

¹⁷I will give thanks to the Lord because of his righteousness;^(AH)
I will sing the praises^(AI) of the name of the Lord Most High.^(AJ)

Footnotes:

Psalm 7:1 In Hebrew texts 7:1-17 is numbered 7:2-18.
Psalm 7:1 Title: Probably a literary or musical term
Psalm 7:5 The Hebrew has Selah (a word of uncertain meaning) here.
Psalm 7:10 Or sovereign
Psalm 7:12 Or If anyone does not repent, / God

Cross references:

Psalm 7:1 : Hab 3:1
Psalm 7:1 : Ps 2:12; 11:1; 31:1
Psalm 7:1 : S Ps 3:7
Psalm 7:1 : Ps 31:15; 119:86, 157, 161
Psalm 7:2 : S Ge 49:9; Rev 4:7
Psalm 7:2 : Ps 3:2; 71:11
Psalm 7:3 : Isa 59:3
Psalm 7:4 : Ps 35:7, 19; Pr 24:28
Psalm 7:5 : S Ex 15:9
Psalm 7:5 : S 2Sa 22:43; 2Ki 9:33; Isa 10:6; La 3:16
Psalm 7:5 : S Job 7:21
Psalm 7:6 : S 2Ch 6:41
Psalm 7:6 : Ps 138:7
Psalm 7:6 : Ps 35:23; 44:23
Psalm 7:7 : Ps 68:18
Psalm 7:8 : S 1Ch 16:33
Psalm 7:8 : S 1Sa 26:23; Ps 18:20
Psalm 7:8 : S Ge 20:5
Psalm 7:8 : S Ge 3:5; S Nu 24:16; S Mk 5:7
Psalm 7:9 : Ps 37:23; 40:2
Psalm 7:9 : Jer 11:20
Psalm 7:9 : S 1Ch 28:9; Ps 26:2; Rev 2:23
Psalm 7:10 : Ps 3:3
Psalm 7:10 : S Job 33:3
Psalm 7:11 : S Ge 18:25; Ps 9:8; 67:4; 75:2; 96:13; 98:9; Isa 11:4; Jer 11:20
Psalm 7:11 : S Dt 9:8
Psalm 7:12 : Eze 3:19; 33:9
Psalm 7:12 : S Dt 32:41
Psalm 7:12 : S 2Sa 22:35; Ps 21:12; Isa 5:28; 13:18
Psalm 7:13 : Ps 11:2; 18:14; 64:3
Psalm 7:14 : Isa 59:4; Jas 1:15
Psalm 7:15 : Ps 35:7, 8; 40:2; 94:13; Pr 26:27
Psalm 7:15 : S Job 4:8
Psalm 7:17 : Ps 5:8
Psalm 7:17 : S 2Ch 31:2; Ro 15:11; Heb 2:12
Psalm 7:17 : S Ge 14:18

New International Version (NIV)

Proverbs 2:1-5

Moral Benefits of Wisdom

2 My son,^(A) if you accept my words
and store up my commands within you,
²turning your ear to wisdom
and applying your heart to understanding^(B)—
³indeed, if you call out for insight^(C)
and cry aloud for understanding,
⁴and if you look for it as for silver
and search for it as for hidden treasure,^(D)
⁵then you will understand the fear of the Lord
and find the knowledge of God.^(E)

Cross references:

New International Version (NIV)

January 7, 2019

The Daily Audio Bible Reading for Monday January 7, 2019 (NIV)

Genesis 16:1-18:15

Hagar and Ishmael

⁶“Your slave is in your hands,^(L)” Abram said. “Do with her whatever you think best.” Then Sarai mistreated^(M) Hagar; so she fled from her.

“I’m running away from my mistress Sarai,” she answered.

¹¹The angel of the Lord^(T) also said to her:

¹⁵So Hagar^(AF) bore Abram a son,^(AG) and Abram gave the name Ishmael^(AH) to the son she had borne. ¹⁶Abram was eighty-six years old^(AI) when Hagar bore him Ishmael.

The Covenant of Circumcision

The Three Visitors

“Very well,” they answered, “do as you say.”

⁶So Abraham hurried into the tent to Sarah. “Quick,” he said, “get three seahs^[j] of the finest flour and knead it and bake some bread.”^(DB)

⁹“Where is your wife Sarah?”^(DG) they asked him.

“There, in the tent,^(DH)” he said.

¹⁰Then one of them said, “I will surely return to you about this time next year,^(DI) and Sarah your wife will have a son.”^(DJ)

¹⁵Sarah was afraid, so she lied and said, “I did not laugh.”

But he said, “Yes, you did laugh.”

Footnotes:

Genesis 16:11 Ishmael means God hears.
Genesis 16:12 Or live to the east / of
Genesis 16:13 Or seen the back of
Genesis 16:14 Beer Lahai Roi means well of the Living One who sees me.
Genesis 17:1 Hebrew El-Shaddai
Genesis 17:5 Abram means exalted father.
Genesis 17:5 Abraham probably means father of many.
Genesis 17:19 Isaac means he laughs.
Genesis 18:3 Or eyes, Lord
Genesis 18:6 That is, probably about 36 pounds or about 16 kilograms

Cross references:

New International Version (NIV)

Matthew 6:1-24

Giving to the Needy

6 “Be careful not to practice your righteousness in front of others to be seen by them.^(A) If you do, you will have no reward from your Father in heaven.

Prayer^(C)

⁹“This, then, is how you should pray:

Fasting

Treasures in Heaven^(U)

²⁴“No one can serve two masters. Either you will hate the one and love the other, or you will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve both God and money.^(AA)

Footnotes:

Matthew 6:13 The Greek for temptation can also mean testing.
Matthew 6:13 Or from evil; some late manuscripts one, / for yours is the kingdom and the power and the glory forever. Amen.
Matthew 6:22 The Greek for healthy here implies generous.
Matthew 6:23 The Greek for unhealthy here implies stingy.

Cross references:

New International Version (NIV)

Psalm 7

Psalm 7^[a]

A shiggaion^[b]^(A) of David, which he sang to the Lord concerning Cush, a Benjamite.

¹Lord my God, I take refuge^(B) in you;
save and deliver me^(C) from all who pursue me,^(D)
²or they will tear me apart like a lion^(E)
and rip me to pieces with no one to rescue^(F) me.

¹⁷I will give thanks to the Lord because of his righteousness;^(AH)
I will sing the praises^(AI) of the name of the Lord Most High.^(AJ)

Footnotes:

Psalm 7:1 In Hebrew texts 7:1-17 is numbered 7:2-18.
Psalm 7:1 Title: Probably a literary or musical term
Psalm 7:5 The Hebrew has Selah (a word of uncertain meaning) here.
Psalm 7:10 Or sovereign
Psalm 7:12 Or If anyone does not repent, / God

Cross references:

Psalm 7:1 : Hab 3:1
Psalm 7:1 : Ps 2:12; 11:1; 31:1
Psalm 7:1 : S Ps 3:7
Psalm 7:1 : Ps 31:15; 119:86, 157, 161
Psalm 7:2 : S Ge 49:9; Rev 4:7
Psalm 7:2 : Ps 3:2; 71:11
Psalm 7:3 : Isa 59:3
Psalm 7:4 : Ps 35:7, 19; Pr 24:28
Psalm 7:5 : S Ex 15:9
Psalm 7:5 : S 2Sa 22:43; 2Ki 9:33; Isa 10:6; La 3:16
Psalm 7:5 : S Job 7:21
Psalm 7:6 : S 2Ch 6:41
Psalm 7:6 : Ps 138:7
Psalm 7:6 : Ps 35:23; 44:23
Psalm 7:7 : Ps 68:18
Psalm 7:8 : S 1Ch 16:33
Psalm 7:8 : S 1Sa 26:23; Ps 18:20
Psalm 7:8 : S Ge 20:5
Psalm 7:8 : S Ge 3:5; S Nu 24:16; S Mk 5:7
Psalm 7:9 : Ps 37:23; 40:2
Psalm 7:9 : Jer 11:20
Psalm 7:9 : S 1Ch 28:9; Ps 26:2; Rev 2:23
Psalm 7:10 : Ps 3:3
Psalm 7:10 : S Job 33:3
Psalm 7:11 : S Ge 18:25; Ps 9:8; 67:4; 75:2; 96:13; 98:9; Isa 11:4; Jer 11:20
Psalm 7:11 : S Dt 9:8
Psalm 7:12 : Eze 3:19; 33:9
Psalm 7:12 : S Dt 32:41
Psalm 7:12 : S 2Sa 22:35; Ps 21:12; Isa 5:28; 13:18
Psalm 7:13 : Ps 11:2; 18:14; 64:3
Psalm 7:14 : Isa 59:4; Jas 1:15
Psalm 7:15 : Ps 35:7, 8; 40:2; 94:13; Pr 26:27
Psalm 7:15 : S Job 4:8
Psalm 7:17 : Ps 5:8
Psalm 7:17 : S 2Ch 31:2; Ro 15:11; Heb 2:12
Psalm 7:17 : S Ge 14:18

New International Version (NIV)

Proverbs 2:1-5

Moral Benefits of Wisdom

Cross references:

New International Version (NIV)

January 6, 2019

01/06/2019 DAB Transcript

Genesis 13:5-15:21, Matthew 5:27-48, Psalms 6:1-10, Proverbs 1:29-33

Today is the 6^th day of January. Welcome to the Daily Audio Bible. I am Brian and it is a pleasure and it is a joy to be here with you as we do this for the first time, we reach out our hand, we grab the knob, we turn it, we push forward, and we walk through the threshold of a brand-new shiny, sparkly, new week and I will remind us of this probably more weeks than not because it is a line of demarcation, like it is a new week, which gives us the opportunity to release the previous week because it has become a part of our history and we can look forward to the new week because it has not yet been lived and it is shiny and sparkly and new. And we stand here at the threshold of this new week and we get to decide how were going to live into what comes next. And when we systematically remind ourselves that His mercies are new every morning, and that we remind ourselves of these new weeks then we get a chance to reflect not only on the past week and how we managed it, but what we’re going to do to properly align ourselves with the Scriptures and with the Holy Spirit’s guidance in our lives in the new week. We have a much better chance of succeeding if we pre-decide how we are going to do this, right? A plan is always a better thing than winging it. And, so, we make the plan to step into this new shiny, sparkly, new week and walk with God in every moment and in every conceivable way and watch what that does to this week. And one of the ways we do that is to immerse ourselves in the daily rhythm of the Scripture. So, I guess the lesson as we’re moving into this new year for a Daily Audio Bible right now is that we should pay attention to the brand-new weeks that come our way as opportunities for reset and restarting and one of the things we do as each beginning of each new week, we switch translations and read from another translation, which then gives us a comprehensive view over the course of a year of all that biblical scholarship and translation has to offer us. So, we pick up where we left off, but we just switch translations each week and allow those translations and those translation teams to allow God’s word speak to us. So, this week we’ll read from the New International Version and we’ll pick up where we left off yesterday. Genesis chapter 13 verse 5 through 15 verse 21 today.

Commentary:

Okay. So, in the book of Genesis, just to kind of keep us attached to the story that’s being told, this man named Abram is going to become a very, very, very important figure and it’s probably not too much of a spoiler alert that he will have a name change. And, once he does a bunch of stuff will click into place. This man who has followed this God that he did not know into a land that he had never been influences the world until today and deeply affects three of the world’s religions, two of the greatest number and that would be Christianity, Islam and Judaism and they all trace their roots back to this guy. And, so, we’ll watch this unfold as the story goes forward but even as we consider Abram going after his nephew Lot who had been taken captive and that he chased him all the way as far as the city of Dan and beyond, these geographical landmarks that we just kind of go by them, there just places in our imagination, they’re not. No, they’re actual places. And, so, the ancient Canaanite city gates of the city of Dan, which had other names before Dan, but these ancient city gates that probably Abram would’ve had to pass through, they’re still standing, some of the oldest gates in the world. And in February, late February, we’ll be going on an adventure to the land of the Bible. Of course, that’s all full. It’s been full for over a year, but we go into the land of the Bible and we do this virtually every year. And, so, like, even the gates that I just told you about, as we travel through the land of the Bible visiting these geographical locations where the Bible happened, yeah, we’ll be posting that all up, so you’ll be able to see all of this and the trip becomes virtual. So, so many of the places that we’ll visit in the Bible are actual places and you’ll be able to see what they look like. If you want to kind of jumpstart on that there is a resource in the Daily Audio Bible shop, it’s called Promised Land, the Essential Pilgrim’s edition and it is a double DV set that also comes with an instant digital download and there’s over four hours a content. I’ve been shooting in the land of the Bible for…gosh…I think six years in a row to amass one of the greatest collections of the landscape of the Bible that exists. And, so, a lot of this is incorporated into the promised land films and what they are is just like two to three-minute short films and each of them is a location and they’re kind of organized by where they are: North, South, East or West in the land of the Bible. And, so you can see these things for yourself as we move through the Bible, you’ll be able to zoom in, watch a quick short film, if that’s what you want to do, and immerse yourself even deeper in the geography of the Bible so that you sort of have a lay of the land as we’re reading these the stories. My whole life I was raised around the Scriptures, I was raised as a pastor son, so these stories, you know, the more famous stories in the Bible were stories I grew up knowing and I always just imagined them and then even as an adult when I kind of returned to the Bible and it became part of my life I still just kind of imagined them. And then finally after many years of being invited I went and I this is like alonmst a decade ago now, but, you know, I didn't….I just thought it was gonna be kind of gimmicky and I just didn’t want to go. I thought that it would maybe even mess with my faith in a bad way. I don’t know…I just imagined, you know, a place where Jesus did something important in the Scriptures across the street from a McDonald’s or something. I just didn’t want to see that. That’s not how it is though. And, so, you can see. You can see the land of the Bible with the Promised Land films. That’s over four hours of content and will definitely set you up as we move through the Bible. So, you can check that out, but we will be going to the land of the Bible virtually next month, late next month. So, we’ve got some time and that’s always a fun community experience.

Prayer:

Father, we thank You for Your word, we thank You for the story that is beginning to blossom and unfold before us as we begin to know some of these main characters that are our spiritual ancestors and begin to know their story and begin to understand that their story connects to our story and even as Jesus, we are listening to Your words that we now call the sermon on the Mount. I’m pretty sure that’s not what You wrote at the top of Your notes when You decided to give this message, but this is what we call it and we’re listening to it and it’s a deeply challenging thing. We’re right here at the beginning of the year. You begin to press in on us with the truth, You begin to come…we always are inviting You near not understanding that that’s not just a sense of comfort, like draw near to me Lord so that I can feel better about whatever’s going on in my life and I can feel comforted and I can feel like You’re gonna be here to beat up the bad guys in my life. Sometimes when we pray that You will draw near You do draw near and it confronts us with things that cannot stand in Your presence that are in our lives and this is what we begin to find as we read that what You’re telling us in the sermon on the Mount. So, come Holy Spirit, plant the word of God in our lives, interpret it for us into our own contexts and stories as we walk with You and humble ourselves and surrender our agendas, we invite You through Your word to speak on Your own behalf. Come Holy Spirit we pray. In Jesus’ name we ask. Amen.

Announcements:

dailyaudiobible.com is the website, its home base, its where you find out what’s going on around here

And I mentioned the Promised Land films just a minute ago. I mean, you can check out all of the resources that are in the Daily Audio Bible shop at dailyaudiobible.com. We have collected and continue to do that, to collect resources that are tailor-made for the journey ahead, the journey through the Bible in a year, companions to take you on that journey and accompany you through that journey as you move through the Bible. So, the Promised Land films are certainly that but check it out. Check out the resources that are in the Daily Audio Bible shop as we move forward through the Scriptures.

If you want to partner with the Daily Audio Bible, you can do that at dailyaudiobible.com. There’s a link on the homepage. I thank you profoundly and humbly that if this has been life-giving to you over the years are over the last week, if life is coming into your life because of the word of God, then thank you for your partnership. What we’ve done as the Daily Audio Bible and this won’t be the last time that I say this…I mean we’re entering our 14th year and this was never launched out of some big ministry somewhere. This this grew up out of a prompting and some obedience and out of the dust of the Internet and we’ve been a community ever since. And, so, what we’ve done over these years has been done together and everything that will be done as we go through this year will be done because we did it together. So, if you want to partner with the Daily Audio Bible, thank you profoundly and humbly, thank you. There’s a link on the homepage. If you’re using the Daily Audio Bible app, you can press the Give button in the upper right-hand corner or, if you prefer, the mailing address is PO Box 1996 Spring Hill Tennessee 37174.

And, as always, if you have a prayer request or comment, 877-942-4253 is the number to dial.

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

Community Prayer and Praise:

This is Michelle from Gettysburg. I am listening to Brian’s reading from the 31^st and just praying in Thanksgiving and I think to myself, how many days this year did I just think that something wouldn’t go or God wouldn’t pull through or how is it going to turn out and here we are on the 365^th day of our reading and God is faithful. God is just always faithful. So, maybe you didn’t go the way we thought or maybe things didn’t work the way we wanted them to, but God had a plan. And, good or bad in our minds or our ideas, God was good, He was good all the time. And that is a praise. Even if my mom’s health isn’t exactly what I want it to be or there was a loss this year and all the prayer requests that came over, they weren’t always happy ones and there were many losses but we forged forward and we just took the next step and we just showed up, and we showed up for the readings and we showed up for God’s word and we came because we knew He was faithful. Somehow all of our stories line us back up showing thanksgiving, showing praise, and showing up. So, by the time this gets played it’ll probably be day three of the new year and we just started and took the next step, right? I thank you Daily Audio Bible people showing up, for knowing God is faithful, for knowing that in another 367 days we will be back here praising and thanking Him again as we should each day. I love you.

Dear Holy Spirit thank you for being with me, thank you for being with us and giving us this precious community of believers. On this last day of 2018 I am contemplative as Brian said so eloquently today in his reading, contemplative especially of this new word of the year, “Maintain”. And Lord, I ask that you help us as you always do Lord as we lift ourselves up to You every day and help us to maintain the hope, the hopefulness that You are. Help us to maintain the love that You give and that You have placed in our hearts as believers in Your son Jesus Christ. Help us to maintain the trust in You in knowing that You are everything, everything in our life, and if we maintain that trust and keep You first and foremost, in all things, in all thoughts, in all words and in every day, that You will keep us in the palm of Your hand and bless us exceedingly. Help us to maintain the faith in You always. And I am so grateful for Brian, Jill, Asia…China…I’m sorry…China and I just love all of you and thank you so much for this blessed community. God bless you. Happy new year.

Good morning daily Audio Bible family, this is Dmmy from Dallas Texas. This is my second time calling this year and this year is my first year completing the entire Bible. Of course, I missed some days but I’m going to do it over again for 2019. Have a happy new year everybody.

Good afternoon Daily Audio Bible community. This is Diane Olive Brown from Newburgh Indiana calling on December 31^st at 4:12 PM and I have something I found that I think will really encourage your faith. It’s called Authority and it’s an anonymous…I don’t know who did this but it’s really great. When mountains will confront the way like it and leap, arise and say be thou removed and they shall be by the power of God capped in the Sea. All the power on earth, all the power in heaven to Christ, the son of God is given and from the throne He will endue and hindrances will flee from you for all the power of being that man faith through the Lord I surely can. Faith from his power on earth to tread on serpants __ on dragon’s heaf. Where though are oh mountain high, where there though art in earth and sky, when there though art truth is the same be thou removed in Jesus’ name. Be though removed faith will restart for yonder sea arise depart. I may, I can, I must, I will, the purpose of my God fulfilled. Isn’t that wonderful? We have a purpose and we shall fulfill it. Shalom shalom.

Good morning Daily Audio Bible family it’s January 1^st. Happy new year. Let’s pray. God please give us the confidence to trust You to charge how things are to how You want them to be in our lives. Only You God can do that, and nothing is impossible with You God. We ask for the commitment that we need to take action. Lord, we pray that we may count our days with wisdom and realize how every day counts in the light of eternity in the saddles of our hearts. Watch over our hearts Father God. Let us ask ourselves in every situation what will this do to my heart. Help us measure our days and let us always ask ourselves, what is this going to do for my life and what is this going to do for my heart in my daily decisions. Please give us a discipline and joyful life Father God did help us to remember that our joy is in You. Help us to have a meaningful life and let us abound in pleasing You God. In Jesus mighty and precious name we pray. And we pray this prayer for all of us, especially for our children and those that are struggling. In Jesus mighty and precious name we pray. This is Nydia from New Jersey. I love you.

Genesis 23:1-24:51

The Death of Sarah

Isaac and Rebekah

Footnotes:

Cross references:

Matthew 8:1-17

Jesus Heals a Man With Leprosy(A)

The Faith of the Centurion(G)

Jesus Heals Many(P)

Footnotes:

Cross references:

Psalm 9:13-20

Footnotes:

Cross references:

Proverbs 3:1-6

Wisdom Bestows Well-Being

Footnotes:

Cross references:

Genesis 20-22

Abraham and Abimelek(A)

The Birth of Isaac

Hagar and Ishmael Sent Away

The Treaty at Beersheba

Abraham Tested

Nahor’s Sons

Footnotes:

Cross references:

Matthew 7:15-29

True and False Prophets

True and False Disciples

The Wise and Foolish Builders(M)

Cross references:

Psalm 9:1-12

Psalm 9[a][b]

For the director of music. To the tune of “The Death of the Son.” A psalm of David.

Footnotes:

Cross references:

Proverbs 2:16-22

Footnotes:

Cross references:

Genesis 18:16-19:38

Abraham Pleads for Sodom

Sodom and Gomorrah Destroyed

Lot and His Daughters

Footnotes:

Cross references:

Matthew 6:25-7:14

Do Not Worry(A)

Judging Others(K)

Ask, Seek, Knock(N)

The Narrow and Wide Gates

Footnotes:

Cross references:

Psalm 8

Psalm 8[a]

For the director of music. According to gittith.[b] A psalm of David.

Footnotes:

Cross references:

Proverbs 2:6-15

Cross references:

Genesis 18:16-19:38

Abraham Pleads for Sodom

Sodom and Gomorrah Destroyed

Lot and His Daughters

Footnotes:

Cross references:

Matthew 6:25-7:14

Do Not Worry(A)

Judging Others(K)

Ask, Seek, Knock(N)

The Narrow and Wide Gates

Footnotes:

Cross references:

Psalm 8

Psalm 8[a]

For the director of music. According to gittith.[b] A psalm of David.

Footnotes:

Cross references:

Proverbs 2:6-15

Cross references:

Jesus Heals a Man With Leprosy^(A)

The Faith of the Centurion^(G)

Jesus Heals Many^(P)

Abraham and Abimelek^(A)

The Wise and Foolish Builders^(M)

Psalm 9^[a]^[b]

Do Not Worry^(A)

Judging Others^(K)

Ask, Seek, Knock^(N)

Psalm 8^[a]

For the director of music. According to gittith.^[b] A psalm of David.

Do Not Worry^(A)

Judging Others^(K)

Ask, Seek, Knock^(N)

Psalm 8^[a]

For the director of music. According to gittith.^[b] A psalm of David.

Prayer^(C)

Treasures in Heaven^(U)

Psalm 7^[a]

A shiggaion^[b]^(A) of David, which he sang to the Lord concerning Cush, a Benjamite.

Prayer^(C)

Treasures in Heaven^(U)

Psalm 7^[a]

A shiggaion^[b]^(A) of David, which he sang to the Lord concerning Cush, a Benjamite.