A Walk Through The Word

November 15, 2018

The Daily Audio Bible Reading for Thursday November 15, 2018 (NIV)

Ezekiel 31-32

Egypt is the last in this series of oracles against the nations. The imagery is just as profound and poetically graphic as in the other oracles. The terror of Tyre and Sidon’s defeat is fresh on the minds of Jerusalem’s citizens, and they wonder, what else will Nebuchadnezzar do to the Egyptians and their forces? The prophet has the answer. Like a locust hopping from city to city, the Babylonian army will move from the northern capital, Memphis (in lower Egypt), to the southern capital, Thebes (in upper Egypt). God proclaims through His living example, Ezekiel, that He has put His sword in Nebuchadnezzar’s hand to punish Egypt. If Egypt with all its history and splendor will fall to Babylonia, what chance do other nations have?

31 During the eleventh year, on the first day of the third month, the word of the Eternal came to me with a message about the Pharaoh.

Eternal One: ²Son of man, tell Pharaoh, king of Egypt, and all his subjects,

Who is comparable to your greatness, Pharaoh?
³Think about Assyria—a land once broad and handsome.
Like a cedar in Lebanon offering shade and beauty,
it grew high enough to reach the clouds!
⁴Heaven’s waters made it grow, kept it healthy;
the deep waters made it grow tall,
Causing the rivers to flow around where it was planted,
channeling water to all the thirsty trees of the field.
⁵It towered high above all the other trees in that place.
Its boughs increased in number;
Its branches grew stronger, thicker, and longer—
nourished by the generous waters beneath it.
⁶All the birds of the air built their nests in its strong limbs;
all the wild beasts of the earth gave birth beneath its mighty branches;
all the great nations flourished in its long shadow.
⁷It was magnificent in its beauty,
grand in its form, and long in its branches;
For its roots grew deep and tapped the sources of many waters.
⁸No cedar trees in God’s garden could rival it;
no junipers could grow as many boughs;
no oriental plane trees could match its many branches;
No trees in God’s garden could rival its magnificent beauty!
⁹I made it mighty and beautiful;
I molded its limbs, leaves, and branches
To be the envy of every tree in Eden,
of each tree in God’s garden.

¹⁰Therefore, this is what the Eternal Lord has to say:

Eternal One: Because it is a giant tree, towering high above the rest, because its upper branches reach the clouds and it boasts of its unrivaled, stately stature, ¹¹I will hand it over to the ruler of the nations for him to deal with it according to its wickedness. I have cast it aside. ¹²Foreigners who strike terror in the heart of the nations chopped it down and left it to rot. Its mighty branches crashed to the ground upon mountains and valleys. Its limbs shattered in ravines and littered rivers and streams. The tree was no longer a giant and no longer provided cool shade, so all the nations of the earth abandoned it. ¹³Birds of the air perched on the trunk of the fallen tree. Wild beasts made homes within its limbs. ¹⁴Consequently, no trees should ever boast of their stately stature, nor have their branches reach the clouds, nor tower high above the rest. There will be no more giants nourished by the deep waters of the earth, for they’re all destined to die and be for the world below. They will go down to the pit with all the people of the earth.

¹⁵So I, the Eternal Lord, say that on the day when Assyria, the giant cedar, went to the place of the dead, I filled the deep waters with mourning. I halted the flow of its rivers and streams and veiled Lebanon’s hills and mountains with black for mourning. All the trees in the woodland withered away because of its demise! ^16-17I caused the nations to shake at the sound of its fall when I sent the giant tree to the destiny of all mortal things—death. All the trees of Eden, the finest and most well-watered trees in all of Lebanon, were comforted in that place of death. They accompanied it to the pit along with all those slain in battle—those who once kept it strong and rested in the cool of its shade along with the rest of the nations. ¹⁸Which of the trees in Eden could rival your magnificent beauty and stately glory? But even you will perish and be taken to the earth below, along with other trees of Eden. You will lie in the grave beside the uncircumcised who were slain in battle. This is the fate of Pharaoh and all his people.

So said the Eternal Lord.

32 During the twelfth year, on the first day of the twelfth month, the word of the Eternal came to me with a lament over Pharaoh and his people.

Eternal One: ²Son of man, sing a lament over Pharaoh, king of Egypt. Tell him,

You imagine yourself a lion moving mightily through the nations,
but you’re really like the great sea monster
Rampaging through the waterways—muddying up the streams
and fouling the rivers with your feet.

³So I, the Eternal One, say:
I will use a company of many people to cover you with My net
Using the nations to make the trap.
Once you are caught, they will haul you up in My net.
⁴I will leave you on dry land
and cast you in an open field.
I will summon the birds of the sky to land on you and feast on your flesh.
I will bring the wild beasts of the earth to satisfy their hunger with you.
⁵I will scatter bits and pieces of you on the hills
and fill the valleys with your remains.
⁶I will see that the land drinks your flowing blood
as it streams to the mountains and fills the dry riverbeds.
⁷When I blot you out, I will cover the heavens and dim the stars;
I will hide the sun behind a cloud, and the moon will not shine.
⁸I will darken the lights that shine in the heavens
and shroud your land in darkness.

⁹I will disturb the hearts of many people across the world with accounts of your destruction. The news will travel to places you have never heard of or knew existed. ¹⁰I will shock many peoples with your story; kings will be terrified to remember your fate when I wave My sword at them. On the day of your destruction, they will tremble constantly, fearing your tragic destiny might also be theirs.

¹¹I, the Eternal Lord, say that the sword of the Babylonian king will strike against you, Egypt. ¹²I will use the swords of mighty warriors—all from the most ruthless nation on earth—to strike down your vast population.

They will hack the pride of Egypt to pieces
and slaughter her vast population.
¹³I will destroy all her livestock that drink from the abundant rivers and streams
so they will no longer be muddied by the feet of man or beast.
¹⁴Once they are gone, I will settle the waters of Egypt
and let them flow as smoothly as olive oil.
¹⁵After I make the land of Egypt a wasteland,
strip the land bare, and crush all of her inhabitants,
Then they will know that I am the Eternal One.

¹⁶This is the lament they will sing over her. The daughters of the nations will mourn
and sing for Egypt and for all her people.

So says the Eternal Lord.

¹⁷In the twelfth year, on the fifteenth day of the first month, the word of the Eternal came to me regarding Egypt.

Eternal One: ¹⁸Son of man, grieve for the vast population of Egypt. Deliver Egypt and her foreign allies to the lowest regions of the earth, to the pit where they may join the rest of the dead.

In Ezekiel’s day the Israelites believe that after death, all people go down to the pit, often called “Sheol.” The Hebrew word comes from a root that means “to ask a question” because no one knows exactly what happens on the other side. The afterlife remains an open question for Ezekiel’s contemporaries. The Bible describes it as a dark, shadowy place, located perhaps in the lowest regions of the earth. It stands in sharp contrast to the descriptions Jesus’ apostles will give of heaven and hell later in the New Testament. The Scriptures do not reveal everything at once. They invite the reader to keep digging and keep seeking to find answers.

Eternal One: ¹⁹Ask Egypt, “Who compares to your beauty now?

Go down into the pit and rest among the uncircumcised pagans.”

²⁰They will fall and be buried with those who died in battle. The sword is drawn and at her throat! They have dragged her and all her vast population away. ²¹The mighty rulers in the place of the dead will hail them: “Welcome to the world of the dead! Come on down and take your place among the uncircumcised pagans and those killed in battle.”

The Egyptians practice circumcision and are careful in burying their dead. They consider it an insult to be laid to rest with the uncircumcised and those never properly buried.

²²Assyria is in the pit—she and her entire company. She is encircled by the graves of her people—all of them slain, fallen by the sword. ²³Their graves are in the lowest regions of the pit; a vast company encircles her grave; all of them are slain, fallen by the sword. Their reign of terror among the living has ended in an eternity of dishonor.

²⁴Elam is there, too, with all her population around her grave. They all died in battle, slaughtered by the sword. They descended to the lowest regions of the pit uncircumcised. ²⁵Their reign of terror among the living has ended in an eternity among the disgraced in the pit. They have made her a bed among those killed in battle. The graves of her people surround her. They were slaughtered by the sword and descended into death without being circumcised. Their reign of terror among the living has ended in an eternity among the disgraced in the pit. They have taken their place among the slain.

²⁶Meshech and Tubal take residence in the lowest parts of the pit as well. The graves of their people surround them. Although they terrorized the living, they have all died in battle without being circumcised. ²⁷But they won’t share a space with the other uncircumcised pagan warriors (who also reigned down terror on earth) inhabiting the place of death honorably, buried with their weapons. Meshech and Tubal won’t rest on their swords in valor; instead, the punishment for their wickedness will rest on their bones. ²⁸Pharaoh, you, too, will lie with the other residents of the underworld. Your place is set beside the uncircumcised and those who died in battle.

²⁹Edom is there, too, with all her royalty and leadership. Even though they possessed great power while on earth, they dwell with others in the pit. They lie beside the uncircumcised and those who died in battle.

³⁰All the northern princes and all the Sidonians will end up in the pit too. They used their power to terrorize others in the land of the living. But now they dwell in shame with others in the pit. They lie beside the uncircumcised and those who died in battle.

³¹I, the Eternal One, declare that Pharaoh will see and take comfort in the company of all his people—especially his army—slaughtered by the sword. ³²Even though I used him to terrorize the living, I am consigning him and all his people to lie in the deepest parts of the pit beside the uncircumcised and all those who died in battle.

So says the Eternal Lord.

The Voice (VOICE)

Hebrews 12:14-29

¹⁴Pursue peace with everyone, and holiness, since no one will see God without it. ¹⁵Watch carefully that no one falls short of God’s favor, that no well of bitterness springs up to trouble you and throw many others off the path. ¹⁶Watch that no one becomes wicked and vile like Esau, the son of Isaac, who for a single meal sold his invaluable birthright. ¹⁷You know from the stories of the patriarchs that later, when he wished to claim his blessing, he was turned away. He could not reverse his action even though he shed bitter tears over it.

The Bible is a brutally honest book. It contains stories of liars, murderers, and adulterers; and these are the good guys. If we read the Bible looking only for positive role models, we’ll be quickly disappointed. But if we are honest with ourselves and confess our own faults, we will find in Scripture, particularly in the First Testament, that we have much in common with many broken saints of the past. But we must not stay broken. We must follow their path to transformation through repentance and faith. Repentance means a change of heart, a change of mind, and ultimately a change of how we live. God’s grace comes to us and enables us to turn away from sin and to turn back to Him.

¹⁸You have not come to the place that can be touched (as Israel did at Mount Sinai)—to a mountain crowned with blazing fire, darkness, gloom, and a windstorm— ¹⁹or to the blast of a trumpet and the sound of a voice—a voice and message so harsh that the people begged not to hear another word. ²⁰(They could not bear the command that was given: that if even a beast touches the mountain, it must be stoned. ²¹The sight was so terrible that even Moses said, “I am trembling with fear.”)^[a]

²²No, instead you have come to Mount Zion, to the city of the living God, to the heavenly Jerusalem, to heavenly messengers unnumbered, to a joyful feast, ²³to the assembly of the firstborn registered as heaven’s citizens, to God the righteous Judge of all, and to the spirits of all the righteous who have been perfected. ²⁴You have come to Jesus, the mediator of a new covenant between God and humanity, and to His sprinkled blood, which speaks a greater word than the blood of Abel crying out from the earth.

²⁵See that you don’t turn away from the One who is speaking; for if the ones who heard and refused the One who spoke on earth faced punishment, then how much more will we suffer if we turn away from the One speaking from heaven— ²⁶the One whose voice in earlier times shook the earth now makes another promise: “Yet once more I will shake not only the earth, but also the heavens”?^[b] ²⁷The phrase, “Yet once more,” means that those things that can be shaken will be removed and taken away, namely, the first creation. As a result, those things that remain cannot be shaken. ²⁸Therefore, let us all be thankful that we are a part of an unshakable Kingdom and offer to God worship that pleases Him and reflects the awe and reverence we have toward Him, ²⁹for He is like a fierce fire that consumes everything.^[c]

Footnotes:

The Voice (VOICE)

Psalm 113-114

Psalm 113

Psalms 113–118 comprise an important unit called the Hallel, which in Hebrew means “praise.” Composed after the exile, these six psalms are recited together by observant Jews during some of the major holidays on the Jewish calendar. The Gospel writers tell us that Jesus and His disciples sang a song following their last meal together, which was the Passover (Matthew 26:30; Mark 14:26). That may have been the Hallel.

¹Praise the Eternal!
All of you who call yourselves the children of the Eternal, come and praise His name.
Lift Him high to the high place in your hearts.

²At this moment, and for all the moments yet to come,
may the Eternal’s name ascend in the hearts of His people.
³At every time and in every place—
from the moment the sun rises to the moment the sun sets—
may the name of the Eternal be high in the hearts of His people.

⁴The Eternal is seated high above every nation.
His glory fills the skies.

⁵To whom should we compare the Eternal, our God?
No one.
From His seat, high above,
⁶He deigns to observe the earth and her thin skies,
stooping even to see her goings on, far beneath His feet.
⁷He gathers up the poor from their dirt floors,
pulls the needy from the trash heaps,
⁸And places them among heads of state,
seated next to the rulers of His people where they cannot be ignored.
⁹Into the home of the childless bride,
He sends children who are, for her, a cause of happiness beyond measure.
Praise the Eternal!

Psalm 114

¹When the time came for Israel to leave Egypt—
for Jacob’s family to be free of those who spoke another language—
²God chose to make Judah His sacred place,
and Israel became His realm.

³And the waters of the sea witnessed God’s actions and ran away;
the Jordan, too, turned around and ran back to where it came from.
⁴All of the mountains leapt with the strength of mighty rams,
and all of the hills danced with the joy of little lambs.

⁵Why do you retreat, O sea?
Why do you roll back your waters, O Jordan?
⁶Why, O mountains, do you leap with the strength of rams?
Why, O hills, do you dance with joy like little lambs?

⁷Shudder and quake, O you earth, at the sight of the Lord.
The God of Jacob comes,
⁸Who turns rock into pools of refreshing water
and flint into fountains of life-giving streams!

The Voice (VOICE)

Proverbs 27:18-20

¹⁸Whoever takes care of a fig tree will eat of its fruit,
and whoever cares for his master will be honored.

¹⁹Just as water reflects a person’s true face,
so the human heart reflects a person’s true character.
²⁰Neither the grave nor destruction is ever satisfied;
the desires of people are never totally fulfilled.

The Voice (VOICE)

November 14, 2018

11/14/2018 DAB Transcript

Ezekiel 29:1-30:26, Hebrews 11:32-12:13, Psalms 112:1-10, Proverbs 27:17

Today is the 14^th day of November. Welcome to the Daily Audio Bible. I am Brian and what a pleasure it is to be here with you today as we move our way through the center of the week. And this week we’ve been reading from the Voice Translation, which is what we we’ll continue to do as we take this, our next step forward through the Scriptures. And that will lead us back into the book of Ezekiel. Today we’ll read chapter 29 verse 1 through 30 verse 26.

Commentary:

Okay. Okay. So, do you need to lose a little weight? Alright. A disruptive enough question. It’s nobody’s business what you do or do not need to lose, right, probably? And seems like an odd question coming out of our time in the Scriptures. But do you? Do you need to lose a little weight? I mean carrying around extra weight as we know stresses…stresses our physical systems that are ultimately gonna lead to problems if we just leave them unchecked. We all know this but have you ever considered this from a spiritual perspective? Are we growing a bit flabby and lethargic within, like from inside of ourselves. Today in the book of Hebrews we’re told how to lose the weight. But before that we continued to finish walking down the hall of faith that we’ve been walking down for the last couple of days. And as we could see, drawing to the conclusion of that little exercise of kind of walking through the Old Testament and seeing that faith has always been the main point of the whole story. As we drew the end we could see that does not…I mean we can immediately switch over and go, so, if I have the right amount of faith I can get just about anything that I want. And as we can see, that wasn’t how it works. Everything didn’t tie off in a nice bow for all of these people. The long list of these examples wasn’t trying to communicate this assurance that we’d have no struggles in life or our victories would be off effortless for the person who has the right amount of faith. It’s Actually completely quite the contrary. The people that we read about, they faced all kinds of opposition. And if we just remember their stories, we walked through a lot of that with them as we read it in the Bible and they suffered a lot along the way, but it was their faith that propelled them forward even if it meant that they were going to arrive at the end of their physical life. Through faith they had seen the promise of God out in front of them, they could see it and they would not and could not be moved and no matter what suffering it may have brought them. So, it was, in summing all of that up, that the writer of Hebrews instructed us in a very famous passage on exactly how it is we can lose the weight. And I’m quoting from Hebrews 12. “So, since we stand surrounded by all those who have gone before, an enormous cloud of witnesses, let us drop every extra weight, every sin that clings to us and slackens our pace and let us run with endurance the long race set before us.” So when our faith gets out of shape, starts getting to be flabby, we have a spiritual issue, we have a problem that needs to be dealt with because if we don’t we’re going to get spiritually sick in the same way that our bodies are going to break down and deteriorate if we don’t care for them. And, I mean, that’s just inevitable. That’s how it works. And as we’ve seen this abundantly in Hebrews, a strong faith can endure anything and can accomplish the impossible. So, without that in mind, we’re to drop every weight that slows us down. In other words, anything that interferes with our faith is excess baggage, it’s the extra pounds. And sin is the junk food we keep feeding ourselves and we have to lose the weight. So, rather than living in some kind of morbid, unhealthy, spiritual situation, we’re going to have to get off our butt, we’re gonna have to get off the couch and train our faith by running with endurance the race that God has set before us. And according to the writer of Hebrews, the way that we do this is to keep our eyes on Jesus, the champion who initiates and perfects our faith. So, if we’re gonna try to live in a more healthy story, whether that’s a physical story or a spiritual one or both, we gonna need a component spoken of in Hebrews. But it’s one that we’ve mentioned and that will continue to show up everywhere as we move through the rest of the year. We keep mentioning it because it keeps showing up - endurance. So, like, to lose the extra weight physically we’re gonna have to endure, right, a lot of things. We’ll have to endure the changing of habits, bad habits. We’ll have to endure our cravings until our pallet is kind of resetting itself. And we’ll have to discipline ourselves, which is gonna require endurance. We’ll have to use resistance to build endurance, right? That’s exactly what happens when you go to the gym. Whether you’re on the treadmill or whether you’re using the weights, it is the resistance that is building your strength because you are enduring so that your body can gain strength and build muscle that ultimately will consume the flabbiness that you are carrying around. That’s, I don’t think I’m saying anything that everybody doesn’t already know. To lose the weight spiritually, we’re gonna have to build up spiritual endurance so that we can run the race that’s set before us. And we’ll actually have to consider the things that are slowing us down. Those very well may be the things that have to change for you to get healthy. Otherwise, if we stay lethargic within ourselves or in our bodies, whatever’s going on is only going to get worse. It’s only going to be more problematic as we go forward. So, we have to endure the changes that are necessary so that our faith is strengthened. And in our bodies, it’s fat that gets consumed, right, as we endure and build up muscle. In our Spirit, it’s sin that gets consumed and overwhelmed and eaten up and gone because of our spiritual endurance and strength. Our weakness is turned to strength through faith. So, all of a sudden maybe the book of Hebrews should start to be revealing itself. Like, ahhh, there’s a big picture here. What a picture this is. And one of things that we’re learning is, we will not get anywhere without faith and we will not get anywhere without endurance. And, so, this is this is why Hebrews took us down this hall of faith. And let’s give it some thought. Let’s invite the Holy Spirit to guide today, the next decisions about today. I mean, becoming healthy starts right now, it starts today, it starts with the next right decision that you make. And, so, while we’re at it, as we’re inviting the Holy Spirit, let’s remember what we read in the book of Hebrews today as a means of encouragement, “lift up your hands that are dangling. Embrace your weakened knees. Make straight paths for your feet so that what is lame in you won’t be put out of joint but will heal.”

Prayer:

Father, thank You for Your word. Thank You for the way that Your word sneaks up on us, grabs us by the heart, shakes us awake, and all of a sudden, we’re seeing things differently. And we can see what needs to happen here on a lot of levels. And, so, we’re inviting You into that because, frankly, for each of us it’s a different story and we need You in that story. What is it Jesus that is slowing us down? What is it Jesus that is convincing us to stay week? What is it Father that we’ve allowed to continue in our lives that’s making us sick, that’s making us flabby. What is the weight that we need to lose? Come Holy Spirit we pray. In Jesus’ name we ask. Amen.

Announcements:

dailyaudiobible.com is the website, home base, its where you find out what’s going on around here. So, be sure to stay connected.

When you’re running the race and it’s a long race and there’s much endurance and there’s seasons that are very, very long, it’s helpful to know that someone’s running alongside of you, right? It’s so much easier when you can see someone else and they’re fighting the fight and you’re fighting the fight and you’re gonna get to the top of the hill because they’re gonna get to the top of the hill and you’re gonna inspire each other. This is why being in community as we go through the Scriptures, as we spend a year together of life why this is a so meaningful, which is why I remind us every day, dailyaudiobible.com is home base. This is where you find all the ways to stay connected. And, so, do. Stay connected.

If you want to partner with the Daily Audio Bible, if the global campfire community that we are, if what we’re doing here brings life to you and encouragement and gets you motivated to continue on your journey with the Lord, then thank you for your partnership. There is a link on the homepage of dailyaudiobible.com. 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:

Good morning daily audio Bible family, this is Erin in Michigan. I hope you’re all well. I have two things. First thing is in urgent prayer request. My friend Michael has cellulitis on his leg and it is not getting any better because he’s not getting off of it. He has to work and just all that stuff. So, please lift up Michael in Michigan and just pray for, not only his leg, his cellulitis, the deep infection to go away, but also for his salvation and a relationship with God. The main reason I’m calling today is I just wanted to praise the Lord for the Daily Audio Bible and how it’s changed my life. And I could go on and on about how it’s changed but I chose this morning one thing because it’s very poignant for today, which is Monday, November 12^th. So, Monday for my whole life has been the first of the week. And, so, then, you know there’s, the all the stereotypes about how terrible Monday is, and how we hate Monday. And I’m a very positive person, so generally Mondays don’t bother me, but when they do, I’m like, oh here’s how my weeks starts and blah blah blah. Well, Brian, you and the Daily Audio Bible have just changed my life, you’ve just revolutionized it because you’ve made Sunday my first day of the week. And, so, the world doesn’t get to choose how my week starts, God does. God gets to choose because I am at church on Sunday worshiping Him among family and friends and I just am able to start my week fresh and in a beautiful place and a happy place as I call it. So, I just thank you Brian. I thank you for helping me through that. The week starts on Sunday. And I know that may seem like a silly thing or a little thing but to me it’s been revolutionary. So, thank you. And just going into my week, this Monday the second day of my week is going to be a great week because it started with God and it started in church. All right, hope you have a wonderful week. See you my friends and I’ll talk to you soon. Bye.

Good morning Daily Audio Bible family, this is Pamela calling, the pastor’s wife from Huntington New York. I hope all is well with everyone. I’ve not called in in a while, however I’m still listening, still taking in the word of God, building up my spiritual man, still praying for all of those who call in daily with your requests. For those who pray can expect a miracle. According to Matthew 7:7, ask and it shall be given, seek and ye shall find, knock and the doors shall be opened unto you for every man that askith receivith, and to him that seekith findith, and to him who knocks the door shall be made open. I’m calling right now for a special prayer request. My heart burns right now. I shouldn’t use that word, but my heart is just turned towards California with the raging fires. Today I woke up to the news, and today is the 12^th, it’s Monday morning, 31 dead, 228 missing, and 7000 structures burned in California as the blaze grows. Please, let’s pray for rain, a torrential downpour in California. __ can stop the rain. Everyone please let’s pray for our brothers and sisters in California and let’s not judge them cause no state can judge any state. All of sin comes short of God’s glory. I thank you for that. Love you all. Blessings to you. Bye.

Hi Daily Audio Bible. This is Pamela from Northern California. When I woke up on Thursday morning the sky looked so strange and I thought that was just a storm coming. It was kind of dark and purpley. And yes, a storm was coming but the fire storm, they’re calling it the campfire. In just a few days 190,000 acres have been burned, 6700 businesses and homes, mostly homes, 29 lives have been lost and it’s like an avalanche of grief descending upon this area. I facilitate the grief, share recovery, of course with my local church here and I’m just praying that the Lord will give me creativity and strength to help all of the broken hearts and the Lord himself is near to the brokenhearted and I pray that our community will be restored. I attended a little church in Chico yesterday, the whole church was wiped out, but they met to worship here. And I was so encouraged by worshiping in the midst of grief. And, so, when grief happens we all want to run from it but running from grief is never a good idea. And, so, I pray that we will all take the accurate __ steps that lead in the direction of grief recovery. The apostle Paul said…

Hi DABbers, this is Doddy from Indonesia. Today is 12^th November, 2018 and this is my second time calling. My first call was a few months back asking for a prayer regarding my father’s brain tumor. So fast forward to today and my father’s condition is not looking so good. And because of this I sometimes struggle with my faith. And it just so happened that on today’s DAB reading there is a part regarding faith. It made me realize that faith is not about us, that it is about God. And it is so much more than having our prayer to be answered or fulfilled. But it is about to truly believe that God is God and that God truly loves us. And I know that in life this is not easy and sometimes we can be very disappointed on why God is not answering us. But by truly having faith in God we can have relief. So, I pray that you all DABbers to just hang in there as I am too. And I hope that May God guide us in our struggle. Amen.

November 14, 2018

The Daily Audio Bible Reading for Wednesday November 14, 2018 (NIV)

Ezekiel 29-30

29 In the 10th year, on the 12th day of the 10th month, the word of the Eternal came to me with a message about Egypt.

Eternal One: ²Son of man, face Pharaoh, king of Egypt, and preach against him and against all of Egypt! ³Tell him this is what I, the Eternal Lord, have to say:

Look, I am against you,
Pharaoh king of Egypt.
You are like a great river monster,
snaking through the streams in the Nile,
declaring, “I own the Nile. I made it, and it is mine.”
⁴But I will set a hook in your jaws
and make the fish of the Nile cling to your scales.
I will haul you in out of your waterways,
with all the fish clinging to your scales.
⁵Then I will take you and leave you out in the desert,
you and all the fish of your waters.
You’ll collapse in the wide open space,
but no one will bother to collect your remains
Or bury you with your ancestors.
You’ll be food for wild beasts of the earth and birds in the sky.
⁶Then all who live in Egypt will know that I am the Eternal One.
You have been nothing more than a staff made of wobbly reeds to the people of Israel.
⁷When they took hold of you, looking for support,
you splintered and tore their hands.
When they leaned on you, you snapped in two,
and they wrenched their backs because of you.^[a]

⁸So this is what I, the Eternal Lord, have to say: “Look, I will march an army against you! It’s coming to slaughter your people and your animals. ⁹I am going to make the land of Egypt a lonely wasteland; then they will know that I am the Eternal One.”

Because of your arrogant utterance, “I own the Nile. I made it, and it is mine,” ¹⁰I oppose you and your streams. I will turn the land of Egypt into a lonely wasteland from Migdol to Aswan,^[b] all the way to Ethiopia.^[c] ^11-12No people or animals will pass through there. Not a single person will live there for 40 years. I will turn the land of Egypt into a wasteland, a tragedy among tragedies, the most devastating of devastations! Any cities still standing after the war will lie in ruins for 40 years. I will scatter the Egyptians to the wind and divide them among the nations.

¹³After 40 years have passed, I am going to gather the Egyptians from the nations where I scattered them. ¹⁴I will restore their fortunes and lead them back to the land of Pathros, the land of their ancestors. There, Egypt will begin again, but this time as an insignificant kingdom.

According to Egyptian legends, their people originate in southern Egypt near Pathros. Ezekiel is apparently aware of these stories and indicates God will give Egypt a new start.

¹⁵She will be the weakest of any kingdom, never gaining power and never again ruling over other nations. ¹⁶The people of Israel will never again turn to Egypt in a time of crisis because Egypt’s fate will be a reminder of her sins—when Israel chose to trust a pagan nation instead of Me. Then My people will know that I am the Eternal Lord.

The prophet directs his oracle against Pharaoh, but in reality the pharaoh represents all of the people. Pharaoh’s audacious claim that he created the Nile stands in clear contradiction to the fact that Israel’s God created the heavens and the earth. So God becomes his enemy, fishes the great river monster out of the river—the lifeline of Egypt—and leaves his body as food for the animals and birds of the desert. The “monster” could refer either to the Nile crocodile—a symbol of the Pharaoh’s power—or the mythical creature of chaos who opposes God but is ultimately defeated by Him. The other fishes clinging to his scales appear to represent all those who depend on Pharaoh, including the Egyptian people and those foolish enough to align with them.

¹⁷In the 27th year, on the 1st day of the 1st month, the word of the Eternal came to me.

Eternal One: ¹⁸Son of man, Nebuchadnezzar, the king of Babylon, has exhausted his army with the long siege of Tyre. His soldiers’ bodies are spent, their heads bald and shoulders rubbed raw, yet they have made little progress. The king and his army have not been rewarded for all of their hard work against Tyre.

¹⁹Therefore, the Eternal Lord says:

Eternal One: Look, I am going to hand the land of Egypt over to Nebuchadnezzar, the king of Babylon. He will take away her wealth—her goods and her population—by force and pay his army with the treasures he acquires there. ²⁰I have given him Egypt’s land as his reward to compensate him for all the work he has done for Me.

²¹When that day comes, I will make a horn grow for the people of Israel so that they will be confident that My deliverance is near. Then I will open your mouth so that they will realize you have been speaking for Me all along. Then they will know that I am the Eternal One.

30 The word of the Eternal came to me with a lament for Egypt.

Eternal One: ²Son of man, speak! Tell them this is what the Eternal Lord has to say:

Weep and wail,
for today is the day you’ve dreaded;
³The day of God’s judgment is near;
the day of the Eternal is closing in!
It is a day of dark clouds and gloom
that foreshadows the doom of the nations.
⁴A sword will come against Egypt,
agony will invade Ethiopia,
When the dead cover the land of Egypt,
when her wealth is taken away and her foundations are leveled.

⁵Every nation in league with her will be destroyed in the war: Ethiopia,^[d] Put, Lud, all of Arabia, and Libya.

⁶Egypt’s friends will crumble
along with her arrogance, her proud strength.
From Migdol to Aswan,^[e]
they will fall by the sword.

⁷Egypt will be laid waste, a tragedy among tragedies, the most devastating of devastations! Her cities will lie in ruins, surrounded by the empty desolation of other ruined cities. ⁸Then they will all know that I am the Eternal One after I burn down Egypt and demolish her allies. ⁹On that day of destruction, I will dispatch messengers in ships to wake up the sleeping nation of Ethiopia. They will drown in agony when they hear the news of Egypt’s doom! They will know, “We’re next! Judgment is on the horizon!”

^10-11This is what the Eternal Lord has to say:

Eternal One: I will put an end to the wealth and population of Egypt
using the power of Nebuchadnezzar as My weapon.
I will dispatch the king of Babylon and his armies—
the most ruthless in the world—
to ravage the land!
They will unsheathe their swords against Egypt
and fill the land with the slain.
¹²I will dry up the waterways of the Nile
and sell the land to those who have evil designs.
I, the Eternal, promise to recruit foreigners
to destroy the land and plunder away everything of value.

¹³I, the Eternal Lord, have this to say:
I will demolish the breathless idols
and destroy the vulgar images in Memphis.^[f]
There won’t be a prince left in all the land of Egypt anymore;
I will infect the entire nation with a plague of fear!
¹⁴I will crush Pathros in the south, set fire to Zoan in the delta,
and deliver a horrific punishment to Thebes^[g] and all its temples.
¹⁵I will drown Sin^[h]—the great fortress of Egypt—in My wrath
and put an end to the wealth and population of Thebes.
¹⁶I will set fire to all of Egypt!
Sin will writhe in pain.
Thebes will be torn apart;
day after day Memphis will live in fear.
¹⁷The young soldiers of Heliopolis^[i] and Pi-beseth will die in the battle;
the women will go into captivity.

In the ancient world, conquered peoples become the victors’ property. While the men are often killed, the women are taken away and used as slaves for various purposes.

¹⁸An unnatural darkness will cover Tehaphnehes
when I destroy the dominion of Egypt.
I will put an end to her arrogance, her proud strength!
Dark clouds will veil her,
and her daughters will be led away as slaves.
¹⁹This is how I will deliver My punishing judgments against Egypt;
then they will know that I am the Eternal One.

²⁰During the eleventh year, on the seventh day of the first month, the word of the Eternal came to me with a message about Egypt:

Eternal One: ²¹Son of man, I’ve broken the arm of the Pharaoh, king of Egypt. Look! The bone has not yet been set, and his arm has not been splinted in order to promote healing. Therefore, he won’t be able to handle a sword to defend the nation’s power. ²²So this is what I, the Eternal Lord, have to say: Look! I oppose Pharaoh, king of Egypt. I will break both arms—the strong one and the already-broken one. I’ll make sure he’ll not be able to handle a sword! ²³I will scatter the Egyptians to the wind—dividing them among the nations. ^24-25Meanwhile I will strengthen the arms of Babylon’s king, and I will place My sword in his hand. But I will break Pharaoh’s arms, and the king of Egypt will groan with the pain of his injury before Nebuchadnezzar. So I will make the arms of Babylon’s king strong, even as the arms of Pharaoh grow weak and fall limp at his side. Then Egypt will know that I am the Eternal One—when I place My sword in the hands of the Babylonian king and he wields it against the land of Egypt. ²⁶When I scatter the Egyptians to the wind and divide them among the nations, they will know that I am the Eternal One.

Footnotes:

29:7 Hebrew reads, “made their loins shake.”
29:10 Hebrew, Syrene
29:10 Hebrew, Cush
30:5 Hebrew, Cush
30:6 Hebrew, Syrene
30:13 Hebrew, Noph
30:14 Hebrew, No
30:15 Egyptian city of Sais.
30:17 Hebrew, On

The Voice (VOICE)

Hebrews 11:32-12:13

³²I could speak more of faith; I could talk until time itself ran out. If I continued, I could speak of the examples of Gideon, Barak, Samson, and Jephthah, of David and Samuel and all the prophets. ³³I could give accounts of people alive with faith who conquered kingdoms, brought justice, obtained promises, and closed the mouths of hungry lions. ³⁴I could tell you how people of faith doused raging fires, escaped the edge of the sword, made the weak strong, and—stoking great valor among the champions of God—sent opposing armies into panicked flight.

³⁵I could speak of faith bringing women their loved ones back from death and how the faithful accepted torture instead of earthly deliverance because they believed they would obtain a better life in the resurrection. ³⁶Others suffered mockery and whippings; they were placed in chains and in prisons. ³⁷The faithful were stoned, sawn in two,^[a] killed by the sword, clothed only in sheepskins and goatskins; they were penniless, afflicted, and tormented. ³⁸The world was not worthy of these saints. They wandered across deserts, crossed mountains, and lived in the caves, cracks, and crevasses of the earth.

Stories of faith and faithfulness are central to the First Testament. The writer of Hebrews recalls some of the most memorable examples of how people of faith lived their lives. But what is faith? Faith is more than belief; it is trust, assurance, and firm conviction. Ironically most of those who lived by faith never fully realized the promises God had made. Like us they journeyed as strangers and exiles, longing for another country. We should remember their patient faith when we face prolonged hardships and allow the trials we face to strengthen our faith rather than destroy it. If we are comfortable here and don’t face suffering for our faith, perhaps we aren’t fully living by faith and looking forward to a future hope.

³⁹These, though commended by God for their great faith, did not receive what was promised. ⁴⁰That promise has awaited us, who receive the better thing that God has provided in these last days, so that with us, our forebears might finally see the promise completed.

12 So since we stand surrounded by all those who have gone before, an enormous cloud of witnesses, let us drop every extra weight, every sin that clings to us and slackens our pace, and let us run with endurance the long race set before us.

We may feel alone, but we aren’t. We are surrounded by an army of witnesses. They have run the race of faith and finished well. It is now our turn.

²Now stay focused on Jesus, who designed and perfected our faith. He endured the cross and ignored the shame of that death because He focused on the joy that was set before Him; and now He is seated beside God on the throne, a place of honor.

³Consider the life of the One who endured such personal attacks and hostility from sinners so that you will not grow weary or lose heart. ⁴Among you, in your striving against sin, none has resisted the pressure to the point of death, as He did.

God “disciplines” His “disciples.” God is training us not just to live here and now, but to have life in the age to come, to share His life and holiness.

⁵Indeed, you seem to have forgotten the proverb directed to you as children:

My child, do not ignore the instruction that comes from the Lord,
or lose heart when He steps in to correct you;
⁶For the Lord disciplines those He loves,
and He corrects each one He takes as His own.^[b]

⁷Endure hardship as God’s discipline and rejoice that He is treating you as His children, for what child doesn’t experience discipline from a parent? ⁸But if you are not experiencing the correction that all true children receive, then it may be that you are not His children after all. ⁹Remember, when our human parents disciplined us, we respected them. If that was true, shouldn’t we respect and live under the correction of the Father of all spirits even more? ¹⁰Our parents corrected us for a time as seemed good to them, but God only corrects us to our good so that we may share in His holiness.

¹¹When punishment is happening, it never seems pleasant, only painful. Later, though, it yields the peaceful fruit called righteousness to everyone who has been trained by it. ¹²So lift up your hands that are dangling and brace your weakened knees. ¹³Make straight paths for your feet so that what is lame in you won’t be put out of joint, but will heal.

Footnotes:

11:37 Some early manuscripts read “sawn in two.” Other early manuscripts read “tempted.” Later manuscripts have both.
12:5–6 Proverbs 3:11–12

The Voice (VOICE)

Psalm 112

Psalm 112^[a]

¹Praise the Eternal!
How blessed are those who revere the Eternal,
who turn from evil and take great pleasure in His commandments.
²Their children will be a powerful force upon the earth;
this generation that does what is right in God’s eyes will be blessed.
³His house will be stocked with wealth and riches,
and His love for justice will endure for all time.
⁴When life is dark, a light will shine for those who live rightly—
those who are merciful, compassionate, and strive for justice.
⁵Good comes to all who are gracious and share freely;
they conduct their affairs with sound judgment.
⁶Nothing will ever rattle them;
the just will always be remembered.
⁷They will not be afraid when the news is bad
because they have resolved to trust in the Eternal.
⁸Their hearts are confident, and they are fearless,
for they expect to see their enemies defeated.
⁹They give freely to the poor;
their righteousness endures for all time;^[b]
their strength and power is established in honor.
¹⁰The wicked will be infuriated when they see the good man honored!
They will clench their teeth and dissolve to nothing;
and when they go, their wicked desires will follow.

Footnotes:

Psalm 112 A Hebrew acrostic poem
112:9 2 Corinthians 9:9

The Voice (VOICE)

Proverbs 27:17

¹⁷In the same way that iron sharpens iron,
a person sharpens the character of his friend.

The Voice (VOICE)

November 13, 2018

11/13/2018 DAB Transcript

Ezekiel 27:1-28:26, Hebrews 11:17-31, Psalms 111:1-10, Proverbs 27:15-16

Today is the 13^th day of November. Welcome to the Daily Audio Bible. I’m Brian. It is a pleasure and an honor, like always, to be here with you and take these next steps forward in the old and new Testaments, in the Psalms, and Proverbs. Those all equal one step forward in our adventure through the Scriptures this year. So, let’s go ahead and take that next step forward. We’re reading from the Voice Translation this week. Ezekiel chapter 27 verse 1 through 28 verse 26 today.

Commentary:

Okay. So, yesterday in our reading from the book of Hebrews we started walking down what we often refer to as the hall of faith, which, I guess is a little cheesy, but the point and the content are anything but. The writer of Hebrews started in the book of Genesis. So, at the beginning of the story and then began to point out instances in the Hebrew Scriptures where faith was required for the story to be told at all. And, so, in our reading today we spent the whole time walking down the hall of faith and walking through further examples of faith from the Old Testament. And, so, what the writer of Hebrews is trying to do here is to point out what had always been obvious, but hadn’t been seen from this perspective before, especially as it had anything to do in Jesus. So, we walked down this hall of faith, right? It’s by faith that Abraham offered Isaac as a sacrifice when God was testing him or it was by faith that Isaac promised blessings for the future of his sons or it was by faith that Jacob, when he was dying blessed Joseph’s sons. And then we had the example of Joseph and then Moses and his parents and his family and then Moses leaving Egypt and not fearing Pharaoh. And that was through faith. And it was by faith that Moses commanded the people of Israel to keep the Passover and begin these traditions. And it was by faith that the people of Israel went smack through the Red Sea on dry ground. And it was by faith that the Israelites marched around Jericho and the walls crashed down. And it was by faith that Rahab the prostitute wasn’t destroyed in all of that because she put her faith in God and aided the spies as they were spying out Jericho. So, the intention here for the writer of Hebrews in making a list like this and chronicling the faith of their ancestors, this wasn’t just like a random thing, right? And, so, it was by faith is repeated over and over as we walk down the hall of faith for a reason, to lock in the understanding that faith was always the essential component for any of these stories to work. And that’s correct as we can see in the examples from the book of Hebrews. We’ve worked our way through the Hebrew story from Genesis to Joshua and without faith that story couldn’t have been told. So, I mean, imagine what the Bible would look like if all of those people didn’t have faith, right? We would be reading, like, a completely different Bible than the Bible that we have. If faith hadn’t been exercised in each of these people’s lives, they would’ve lead to radically different outcomes and it would be a completely different story, which is the writer’s point. Faith has always been and will always be the essential and necessary component to a life with God. Without faith, we can’t please God. And in each of the examples that we’re working our way through in the hall of faith, God responded to them, but His response didn’t always meet their expectations. It didn’t always mean that hardship was going to be removed. And we’ll see that as we conclude the hall of faith tomorrow. God…God responds to our faith. He responds to our faith in the same way He has always responded to faith. It’s always been this way, which is so deeply ingrained in the writer of Hebrews and in the apostle Paul’s writings. And, as we kind of talked about yesterday, we are a people of faith. Like we believe in all kinds of…like we put our faith in all kinds of things. So, we can get all cross eyed and go like…why can’t I just see God? God why can’t I just see, why can’t I just hear you? Like, why this faith bridge? Why do I gotta access you through faith. It has always been this way. And we can place our faith in whatever we want to. And whatever that is, it’s our God. And as we’ve seen in Hebrews, faith in God alone is what has propelled this story forward. And it is the only thing that can propel our story forward. Anytime this changed…and we’re so far in the Bible we have to be able to see the rhythm of this…anytime this changed disaster was soon to follow. So…so let’s think about it again because this is the intention of the writer of Hebrews. What, exactly, in whom or in what have we put our faith?

Prayer:

Father, we invite Your Holy Spirit once again into this question. Seems like a simple question. Seems easy enough to say, well, my faith is in Christ alone or my faith is in God. And these things would be true but often…often there’s other things going on. And when we feel the anxiety beginning to well up inside of us or the depression beginning to flatten us or any other number of emotions or experiences that we have in life, we can stop when those things start and begin to consider exactly where it is that our faith is at, exactly what it is that we have put our faith in. This isn’t a magic elixir thing. You’re not gonna take all our problems away, but it is the invitation to reconsider the trajectory that we are headed in and where that is going to go and reconnect with You Father and put our hope and our faith in You alone. So, come Holy Spirit. Thank You for these examples that we were given in the book of Hebrews in what we call the hall of faith. All of these examples of people who went through a whole lot of very, very difficult things, but by faith…by faith You showed up, by faith the story was told. And this is exactly what’s happening with us. So, come Holy Spirit increase our faith. We ask in Jesus’ name. Amen.

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

November 13, 2018

The Daily Audio Bible Reading for Tuesday November 13, 2018 (NIV)

Ezekiel 27-28

27 The word of the Eternal came to me with a lament for Tyre.

Eternal One: ²Son of man, sing a lament over Tyre. ³Sing of Tyre, gateway to the sea, merchant to many ports and many people. I, the Eternal Lord, say to you:

Tyre, you have claimed,
“I am perfect in beauty.”
⁴Your territory extends to the heart of the seas;
your builders have perfected your beauty.
⁵Like a great ship they have made you from the finest firs of Senir;
they took a cedar from Lebanon to make you a noble mast.
⁶They brought oaks from Bashan and made your oars.
They planked your deck with pines from the coasts of Cyprus
and inlaid it with ivory!
⁷Your sail was made of fine linen from Egypt, embroidered by hand;
your blue and purple awning was tinted with dyes imported from the coasts of Elishah.
⁸Your oarsmen were strong men from Sidon and Arvad;
your crew was the most skilled and experienced men, O Tyre.
⁹Expert craftsmen from Gebal were on board
to make any repairs needed.
All the ships of the sea and their sailors huddled around you
to trade for your goods.
¹⁰Soldiers from Persia, Lydia, and Libya^[a] were your army.
Their shields and helmets hung from your ship and announced your splendor.
¹¹Men from Arvad and Helech patrolled your walls,
and men from Gammad manned your towers.
Their shields hung on all your walls and announced your splendor.
They have perfected your beauty.

¹²Tarshish traded with you because of your great wealth and plentiful goods; they bartered silver, iron, tin, and lead for your wares. ¹³Greece,^[b] Tubal, and Meshech did business with you as well. They bartered slaves and boatloads of bronze for your wares. ¹⁴The men of Beth-togarmah bartered work horses, war horses, and mules for your goods. ¹⁵The people of Rhodes^[c] traded with you too. You made the people of the coastland your own special market, and they paid you in ivory tusks and ebony. ¹⁶Aram^[d] traded with you because your goods were plentiful. They bartered precious stones,^[e] purple cloth, embroidered work, exquisite linens, coral, and rubies for your wares. ¹⁷Judah and the rest of Israel did business with you. They paid you fine wheat, fresh produce,^[f] sweet honey, fragrant oil, and exotic balm for your merchandise. ¹⁸Damascus—the hub of caravan trading—traded with you because of your great wealth and plentiful goods as well. They brought wine from Helbon, wool from Zahar^[g]; ¹⁹Greeks from Uzal^[h] bartered iron, cassia bark, and other herbs for your goods. ²⁰Deban traded in saddle blankets with you. ²¹Arabia and all of the Kedar princes certainly traded with you. They traded lambs, rams, and goats. ²²The businessmen of Sheba and Raamah exchanged the finest spices, gems, and gold for your plentiful goods. ^23-24Haran, Canneh, Eden, and merchants from Sheba, Asshur, and Chilmad did business with you, exchanging exquisite clothing, indigo fabrics, embroidered cloth, carpets dyed of various colors, and tightly braided ropes. ²⁵Commerce was bustling as Tarshish’s ships transported your goods. In the heart of the sea your docks were full, Tyre, and your business brought you glory and success.

Tarshish was probably located in what is southern Spain today, so Tyre’s commercial reach extended to the other side of the Mediterranean.

²⁶Expert seafarers row you out into the high seas;
there, a squall from the east shatters you in the heart of the sea!
²⁷All is lost: your treasures and goods and products
along with all crew aboard—seafarers, pilots, carpenters, traders, and soldiers.
Everyone and everything will sink into the heart of the sea
when the ship is wrecked.
²⁸The coastal plains shudder
at the shrieks and cries of your pilots.
²⁹All oarsmen, seafarers, and pilots come down from their ships.
They stand on the shore and gaze out to your catastrophe.
³⁰They mourn over you with bitter cries that drown out your screams.
They throw dust on top of their heads and wallow in beds of ashes.
³¹They shave all their hair and wear sackcloth around their waists.
They grieve and weep over you, deeply and bitterly.
³²And they shout their dirge over your demise:
“Who is like Tyre, sunken and silent in the heart of the sea?”
³³Your goods pleased many people when your sailors went to sea.
Your treasures and products made kings rich all over the world.
³⁴But now you are shipwrecked, devoured by the great waves.
Your products and all your crew have been swallowed by the sea.
³⁵All the inhabitants of the coasts
are shocked at what happened to you;
their kings grimace in fear as they look on.
³⁶And the traders of the nations jeer at you;
the end of your story is a horror,
for you are gone, never to return.

28 The word of the Eternal came to me with a message about the prince of Tyre.

Tyre’s troubles start not long after Judah is destroyed in 586 b.c. Nebuchadnezzar marches there and begins a siege that lasts for almost 13 years. The part of the city on the mainland is captured by Nebuchadnezzar, but the princes of Tyre continue to rule from their island palace for another two centuries. In 332 b.c. Alexander the Great will use the rubble of the mainland city to construct a bridge to the island. Soon the island of Tyre will be in ruins, as it will remain forever.

Eternal One: ²Son of man, go to the prince of Tyre, and give him this message. This is what I, Eternal Lord, have to say:

Your heart is swollen with pride—
a pride that says, “I am a god.
I sit on a divine throne in the heart of the sea.”
But I assure you, prince, you are nothing more
than a mortal man—a man of mortal destiny.
Even though you have the self-confidence of a god,
you are made entirely of flesh and blood.
³But obviously you must be wiser than Daniel, that ancient judge in Ugarit.
Clearly, you understand every mystery.
⁴You used your wisdom and discernment to amass a great fortune,
to fill your treasuries with gold and silver.
⁵Your knack for trade has built your wealth,
but your success and riches have made your heart swell with pride.

Because of Tyre’s location off the coast, she receives daily supplies and survives a long war; therefore, her ruler, Ethbaal III, has every human reason to be confident. Such confidence and wickedness is bred into him: Ethbaal’s ancestor, Ethbaal I, was a priest of their goddess Astarte and seized the throne for himself. He was a powerful prince, making political connections and spreading the worship of his goddess all over the region. Ethbaal I’s daughter, Jezebel, was famous for entrenching pagan worship in Israel, so Tyre is indirectly the root of Israel’s wickedness.

⁶Here is what the Eternal Lord has to say:

Eternal One: Because you imagine yourself as wise as a god,
⁷I am going to recruit outsiders—merciless nations—to take you down.
They will draw their swords and cut you down to size,
attacking the beautiful things your wisdom procured and destroying your splendor.
⁸They will force you down to the pit,
and you will die the death
of those struck down in the heart of the sea.
⁹At that moment, will you protest to your executioners, “But I’m a god!”?
To those who strike you down you are no god.
To them, you are nothing more than a mortal man.
¹⁰You will die the death of all who are uncircumcised,
at the hand of outsiders.

Like the Israelites, the people of Tyre practice circumcision.

So said the Eternal Lord.

¹¹The word of the Eternal continued giving me His message.

Eternal One: ¹²Son of man, sing a lament for the prince of Tyre. Tell him this is what I, the Eternal Lord, have to say:

You were a paradigm of perfection, human life at its best.
You had everything a leader needs: immense wisdom and perfect beauty.
¹³You lived in Eden, God’s garden.
You were clothed in magnificent splendor, covered in jewels:
Sardius, topaz, diamond, beryl, onyx, jasper,
lapis lazuli, turquoise, and emerald.
All the mountings were made of gold,^[i]
prepared for you on the day you were created.
¹⁴I anointed you the guardian^[j] of the garden and stationed you at your post to protect it.
You were on the divine mountain, the holy mount of God.
There you walked among the fiery stones.
¹⁵You were entirely pure from the day you were created,
until wickedness crept in and was found in you!
¹⁶Too much buying and selling—a greedy obsession!
You became motivated to violence and did wicked things.
Polluted and disgraced, I drove you off the mountain of God!
I expelled you, O guardian protector, from the fiery stones.
¹⁷Your heart swelled with pride because of your beauty and talents.
Your hunger for fame, your thirst for glory corrupted your wisdom.
This is why I drove you to the ground
and made an example out of you before a company of kings.
¹⁸You desecrated your sanctuaries
by pursuing sin after sin and cheating in business.
I set a flame inside of you, and it devoured you completely.
I reduced you to a pile of ashes on the ground,
a sight for all to see.

Ezekiel prophesies that the prince of Tyre will die violently without the benefit of a proper burial and find no peace in the afterlife.

¹⁹All the nations who know you are appalled at what has happened to you.
The end of your story is a horror:
you are gone, never to return.

The prince of Tyre’s biography echoes the creation story. Adam, too, is described as a perfect and honored creation of God, given guardianship of the earth and full access to God. Expelled from paradise, wickedness becomes entrenched and spreads until God is forced to execute His judgment.

²⁰The word of the Eternal came to me with a message against Sidon.

Eternal One: ^21-22Son of man, face Sidon and preach to her. This is what I, the Eternal Lord, have to say:

Look, Sidon! I am against you;
My glory will be revealed when I prevail over you.
They will know that I am the Eternal One
when I have punished her
and revealed My holy self to her.
²³I will rain down disease upon her—an epidemic of death!
Her streets will become rivers of blood!
The wounded will fall within her walls,
and the battle will rage on every side!
Then they will know that I am the Eternal One.

²⁴As for the people of Israel, they will no longer have to deal with the spiteful, thorny neighbors who mocked their destruction. Then they will know that I am the Eternal Lord.

²⁵Here is what the Eternal Lord has to say:

Eternal One: When I gather the people of Israel from the nations where they have been scattered, I will reveal My holiness through them with all the nations watching. They will live in their own land—the land I gave to My servant, Jacob. ²⁶They will live safely there, building houses and planting vineyards. They will live safely there when I punish all of their neighbors who mocked them and treated them shamefully. Then they will know that I am the Eternal their God.

Footnotes:

27:10 Hebrew, Lud and Put
27:13 Hebrew, Javan
27:15 Hebrew manuscripts read, “Dedan.”
27:16 Some manuscripts read, “Edom.”
27:16 Meaning of the Hebrew is uncertain.
27:17 Meaning of the Hebrew is uncertain.
27:18 Or, white
27:19 Or, wine from Isal
28:13 Meaning of the Hebrew is uncertain.
28:14 Hebrew, cherub

The Voice (VOICE)

Hebrews 11:17-31

¹⁷By faith Abraham, when he endured God’s testing, offered his beloved son Isaac as a sacrifice. The one who had received God’s promise was willing to offer his only son; ¹⁸God had told him, “It is through Isaac that your descendants will bear your name,”^[a] ¹⁹and he concluded that God was capable of raising him from the dead, which, figuratively, is indeed what happened.

²⁰By faith Isaac spoke blessings upon his sons, Jacob and Esau, concerning things yet to come.

²¹By faith Jacob, when he was dying, blessed the sons of his son Joseph, bowing in worship as he leaned upon his staff.^[b]

²²By faith Joseph, at his life’s end, predicted that the children of Israel would make an exodus from Egypt; and he gave instructions that his bones be buried in the land they would someday reach.

²³By faith Moses’ parents hid him for three months after he was born because they saw that he was handsome; and they did not fear Pharaoh’s directive that all male Hebrew children were to be slain.

²⁴By faith Moses, when he was grown, refused to be identified solely as the son of Pharaoh’s daughter ²⁵and chose instead to share the sufferings of the people of God, not just living in sin and ease for a time. ²⁶He considered the abuse that he and the people of God had suffered in anticipation of the Anointed One more valuable than all the riches of Egypt because he looked ahead to the coming reward.

²⁷By faith Moses left Egypt, unafraid of Pharaoh’s wrath and moving forward as though he could see the invisible God. ²⁸Through faith, he instituted the Passover and the sprinkling of blood on the doorposts among the Hebrews so that the destroyer of the firstborn would pass over their homes without harming them. ²⁹By faith the people crossed through the Red Sea as if they were walking on dry land, although the pursuing Egyptian soldiers were drowned when they tried to follow.

³⁰By faith the walls of Jericho toppled after the people had circled them for seven days. ³¹By faith the prostitute Rahab welcomed the Hebrew spies into her home so that she did not perish with the unbelievers.

Footnotes:

The Voice (VOICE)

Psalm 111

Psalm 111^[a]

¹Praise the Eternal.
I will thank Him with all my heart
in the presence of the right-standing and with the assembly.
²The works of the Eternal are many and wondrous!
They are examined by all who delight in them.
³His work is marked with beauty and majesty;
His justice has no end.
⁴His wonders are reminders that
the Eternal is gracious and compassionate to all.
⁵He provides food to those who revere Him.
He will always remember His covenant.
⁶He has shown the mighty strength of His works to His people
by giving the land of foreign nations to them.
⁷All His accomplishments are truth and justice;
all His instructions are certain.
⁸His precepts will continue year in and year out,
performed by His people with honesty and truth.
⁹He has redeemed His people,
guaranteeing His covenant forever.
His name is holy and awe-inspiring.
¹⁰Reverence for the Eternal is the first step toward wisdom.
All those who worship Him have a good understanding.
His praise will echo through eternity!

Footnotes:

Psalm 111 A Hebrew acrostic poem

The Voice (VOICE)

Proverbs 27:15-16

¹⁵A constant dripping on a rainy day
and a wife’s bickering are very much alike:
¹⁶Anyone who tries to control her might as well try to control the wind
or pick up oil in his right hand.

The Voice (VOICE)

November 12, 2018

11/12/2018 DAB Transcript

Ezekiel 24:1-26:21, Hebrews 11:1-16, Psalms 110:1-7, Proverbs 27:14

Today is the 12^th day of November. Welcome to the Daily Audio Bible. I’m Brian. It is a pleasure and an honor and a joy to be here in your presence and all of us together in the presence of God to take the next step forward as we hear from His word. This week we’re reading from the Voice Translation. And we’ll go back into the book of Ezekiel, which is what we’re working our way through right now. Ezekiel chapter 24 verse 1 through 26 verse 21 today.

Commentary:

Okay. So, as we continue our journey through the book of Hebrews we came to a very famous passage of Scripture today but also very, very important territory because we began to discuss what is necessary to enter into and continue to be engaged in a personal relationship with God. And that component is faith. So, like, not to be anti-climatic because we’ve been talking about…like this is not the first time that we’ve encountered this concept in the New Testament or in the Bible, right? We’ve examined it from all kinds of directions as we move through the writings of the apostle Paul. But Hebrews gave us this really succinct and, like I said, famous definition of exactly what we’re talking about when we’re talking about faith in the Bible. Faith is the assurance of things you have hoped for, the absolute conviction that there are realities you have never seen. So, in other words, faith is what allows us to see a reality and begin to live into that reality even though it is not reached its fullness or completion. It gives substance to what is still incomplete or unseen. And if this is faith, which it is, then we have to admit that, as human beings, we’re equipped for this. We all have faith in things we cannot see. Like love. We can’t see love but who among us would deny that it exists? Or tomorrow. Like suns gonna come up tomorrow. Like, we can’t see that yet. We wouldn’t be able to say for a fact that’s gonna happen, but we don’t question whether that daylight will come to the earth in the morning. So, we’re a people of faith. Like, we’re constantly practicing faith every single day one way or another. So, but the point the writer of Hebrews was trying to make wasn’t whether or not faith existed. Then or now, few people would argue that there is a thing called faith. The point was that faith had always been part of the Hebrew story. It had always been the essential piece. It was something that preceded any law, rule, or ritual, or behavior. And, so, because of that, it must be a foundational thing to our existence with God. And that was a very important point for the writer of Hebrews. So, we began to be led down a corridor and we’ll continue down that corridor for a bit, like going into tomorrow and beyond. We just started walking down it today and it’s been lovingly named the hall of faith, right? So, it was by faith that Able brought a more acceptable offering to God. It was by faith that Enoch was taken to heaven without dying. It was by faith that Noah built a large boat to save his family from the flood. It was my faith that Abraham obeyed when God called him to leave home and go somewhere that was promised but somewhere that he’d never been before. It was by faith that even Sarah, who was too old to have children, had a child who was Isaac, the son of promise. So, the hall of faith is gonna continue, and that’s what we’ll be reading tomorrow when we get to the New Testament, but we can already see that the writer of Hebrews was starting at the beginning of Genesis, like was starting at the beginning of the story and started working forward through the stories that are found in Hebrew scriptures. And the point was to reveal that faith had always been the activator. Like it was always the essential piece. And, so, why is this point being brought up? Because it will take faith…it would take faith to enter into a new covenantal relationship with God through Jesus. And it would take faith to hold onto that relationship because people were suffering a lot of marginalization and persecution. And, so, it was gonna take faith. And the point was, this isn’t something new. It had always…faith was always required. So, the hall of faith that we’re walking down, this isn’t like the superhero list, right? We’re not just renaming people that did amazing things that we’ve already encountered in the Bible. These are not people who were exceptions. They’re people who are examples for all of us. Faith was the activator in their stories and we’re not going to get anywhere without faith in our story. Or to quote the writer of Hebrews, “without faith no one can please God, because the one coming to God has to believe that He exists and that He rewards those who come seeking.” So, you know, this is like foundational stuff to the Christian faith to the point that we just kind of gloss over or very easily take for granted something that seems bedrock, has always been a part of what we’ve understood our faith to be. But let’s take some time today to think about what exactly we have put our faith in because, like we said at the beginning of just talking today, we are a people of faith. We put our faith in all kinds of stuff, but slowing down enough to really ask ourselves functionally, what am I really putting my faith in? I mean, maybe you feel like your faith is just, you know, like paper thin, like you can see right through. Usually that’s because we put our faith in an outcome, like we’re expecting. Like, we have faith in God but we’re expecting Him to do something on our behalf and it’s something specific. And that’s not wrong. Like, we’re all forever going to be in need of God’s involvement in our lives. But when our faith is in an expectation, right? When it’s in a specific outcome, then it’s not in God, it’s in the outcome and what we expect God to do. And like, real, true, deep, abiding, honest, authentic faith, it will always take the long view that extends beyond what we may ever see in this lifetime. Like it hopes beyond our time that we get to reside on earth, beyond our mortality and it reaches for God alone. So, let’s invite the Holy Spirit as we consider the purpose of our faith, but also what it is we’ve put our faith in, where it is that our hope actually lies.

Prayer:

Father, we invite You into that. It seems trivial even, maybe simple at the outset. We’re here every day. We’re hearing from Your word. You’re speaking to us. So, it’s sort of like, our faith is in You and You alone. And we declare this in our prayers all the time. However, giving us the invitation to really consider all of the different components and compartments of our lives, all of the different places that we’ve put our faith in a person, in an outcome, in a thing, in an eventuality, we need to be able to see and name those things because we want to please You. And without faith in You we will not be able to. And if that is disconnected, then all of the other things that we put our faith in, they are going to vanish and disappear from us. It is only our faith in You and You alone that will give us hope forever. So, come Holy Spirit we pray. Lead us into all truth. We ask in Jesus’ name. Amen.

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November 12, 2018

The Daily Audio Bible Reading for Monday November 12, 2018 (NIV)

Ezekiel 24-26

This memorable allegory traces the fate of two sisters who represent the two capital cities of Israel and Judah: Samaria and Jerusalem. The graphic portrayals of their sexual exploits are some of the most disturbing in Scripture; they highlight the disgust God and His prophet must feel toward God’s wayward people. Anyone who hears Ezekiel speak this message must come to the same conclusion: God must judge His unfaithful wives. It is right. It is just. It is necessary.

24 The word of the Eternal came to me in the ninth year, in the tenth month, on the tenth day.

Eternal One: ²Son of man, remember this date. Write it down. The Babylonian king laid siege to Jerusalem today. ³Tell this rebellious crowd a parable. Here is what the Eternal Lord has to say:

Put the cooking pot on the fire;
put it on and fill it with water.
⁴Put the finest cuts of meat into it—legs and brisket;
fill it with the best bones.
⁵Pick out the best from the flock,
stack wood beneath the pot,
Bring it to a rolling boil,
and cook what’s in the pot.

No one is safe in the cauldron of Jerusalem.

⁶Woe to this city polluted with blood—
that pot thickly corroded, whose filth is impossible to clean!
Empty the pot one piece at a time;
don’t bother choosing one or the other!
⁷The blood she shed is still polluting the city.
She poured it out on bare rock
Instead of into the ground
to be absorbed by the dust where blood belongs.
⁸I have spilled her blood on bare rock
so that it may not be covered,
knowing My anger would be ignited and My revenge accomplished.
⁹That’s why I, the Eternal Lord, speak out:
Woe to this city polluted with blood;
I will stack the wood Myself—
¹⁰Stack it high beneath the pot
to feed the fire.
Mix spices and seasoning into the boiling brew
and cook the meat and then burn the bones.
¹¹Set the empty pot on the coals
until it grows so hot its metal begins to glow,
its filth melts inside, and no trace of corrosion remains.
¹²But she has thwarted My efforts!
Her massive corrosion remains when the fire should have cleansed her.

¹³Jerusalem, I tried to cleanse your lewd impurity, but you would not stay pure. Because of this, you will not be clean again until after you have suffered the full punishment of My wrath. ¹⁴I, the Eternal One, have spoken. Your day of judgment has arrived, and I will act. I will not be easy on you; I will not feel sorry for you; I will not regret My actions. You will be judged by what you have done and get only what you deserve.

So said the Eternal Lord.

¹⁵The word of the Eternal came to me regarding my wife.

Eternal One: ¹⁶Son of man, in the blink of an eye, I am going to take away the delight of your eyes. Do not weep or grieve or shed a tear. ¹⁷Any groaning must be inward and silent, but do not grieve for the dead. Dress as you always dress: with a turban on your head and sandals on your feet. Don’t do any of the things mourners do. Don’t eat the food others bring to comfort you or cover your upper lip.

¹⁸It happened as such: I preached to the people in the morning, and that evening, my wife passed away. The next morning, I did exactly as I had been instructed to do.

People: ¹⁹Tell us what all of this has to do with us. Why are you acting this way?

Ezekiel: ²⁰The word of the Eternal came to me ²¹with a message for the people of Israel: “Look! I will desecrate My sanctuary—the magnificent house in which you take pride, the desire of your eyes, your complete delight—and all of the children you left behind in Jerusalem will be put to the sword and slaughtered.” ²²You will do exactly as I have done in hiding your grief: You will not eat the food others bring to comfort you or cover your upper lips. ²³You will dress as you always dress: with turbans on your heads and sandals on your feet. You will not mourn or grieve. God tells me, “Instead, you will rot away from within because of your wickedness and moan among yourselves. ²⁴In this way, Ezekiel will be a living example for you. You must do exactly as he has done. When this happens, you will know that I am the Eternal Lord.”

Eternal One: ²⁵As for you, son of man, on the day I seize their fortress—the joyous aspect of their pride, the desire of their eyes, their complete delight—and all of their children, ²⁶a fugitive will escape from the destruction and will come to you in Babylon with news of what happened. ²⁷The day you learn of My judgment, your mouth will be opened, and your silence will be broken. Then you will be able to converse with the fugitive. You will be a living example to them, and they will know that I am the Eternal One.

25 The word of the Eternal came to me regarding how He plans to punish Israel’s neighbors.

Eternal One: ²Son of man, face the Ammonites and preach against them. ³Tell them to listen to the word of the Eternal Lord:

(to Ammon) Because you delighted in the desecration of My sanctuary, because you rejoiced when Israel became a wasteland, and because you cheered when the Judeans went into exile, ⁴I will certainly hand you over to the people of the East. They will set up camp all around you, pitching their tents and settling among you. They will feast off of your tables, eating your fruit and drinking your milk. ⁵I will transform Rabbah, your great city, into a pasture for camels, and Ammon will be turned into a resting place for sheep and goats. Then you will know that I am the Eternal One.

⁶This is what the Eternal Lord has to say about Ammon:

Eternal One: Because you have clapped your hands and stomped your feet, delighting with a malevolent heart against the land of Israel, ⁷I will raise My hand against you and divide you among the nations as prisoners and slaves. I will destroy you completely and make sure you are never a nation again. Then you will know that I am the Eternal One.

⁸This is what the Eternal Lord has to say about Moab:

Eternal One: Because Moab and Seir said, “Look! There’s nothing special about Judah; she is just like every other nation,” ⁹I will lay bare the western defenses of Moab by exposing its frontier cities—Beth-jeshimoth, Baal-meon, and Kiriath aim. ¹⁰I will hand Moab and her northern neighbors the Ammonites over to the people of the East. Then the Ammonites will be entirely forgotten by the nations. ¹¹I will exercise My justice against Moab. Then they will know that I am the Eternal One.

¹²This is what the Eternal Lord has to say about Edom:

Eternal One: Edom took revenge on the people of Judah, and her people are undeniably guilty for avenging themselves against My people. ¹³Because of this, I—the Eternal Lord—will raise My hand to strike Edom and slaughter the people and animals who live there. I will make Edom a wasteland—and everyone from Teman to Dedan will be put to the sword and die. ¹⁴I will take My own revenge on Edom and use My own people Israel as the weapon against them. Israel will do to Edom everything My anger and wrath require, and Edom will experience My vengeance. This I, the Eternal Lord, declare.

¹⁵This is what the Eternal Lord has to say about Philistia:

Eternal One: Because the Philistines had an old grudge against Judah and acted out of revenge and total malevolence to try to destroy My people, ¹⁶therefore I, the Eternal Lord, promise this: I will raise My hand and strike the Philistines, cut off the Cherethites, and slaughter anyone left along the coast. ¹⁷I will bring My fierce vengeance against them, rebuking them and punishing them in My wrath! When I bring My vengeance against them, they will know that I am the Eternal One.

Israel and Judah are not the only nations infuriating God with their conduct. The surrounding countries—Ammon in the northeast, Moab in the east, Edom in the southeast, Philistia in the west, and Tyre in the northwest—have often been at odds with Israel and Judah. So when Judah falls, they celebrate in the streets and begin to figure how they might maneuver around these political and economic changes. Judah’s fall might be a windfall for them. As the Judean exiles are forcibly marched out of their land, their neighbors mercilessly mock them for their crushing defeat. But God takes all of this very personally. He will not tolerate their disrespect of His people, which amounts to disrespect of Him too. So God takes His own revenge and punishes those who delight in Israel’s and Judah’s tragedies.

26 During the eleventh year, on the first day of the month, the word of the Eternal came to me regarding Tyre.

Eternal One: ²Son of man, Tyre has delighted in the news of Jerusalem, saying,

Hurray! The gateway to the nations is broken,
And now it is open for me to receive all of her commerce.
My markets will be full now that she is in ruins.

³Therefore I, the Eternal Lord, am telling you that I am your enemy, Tyre, and I will gather many nations and march them against you, just as the sea marches its waves against the unsuspecting shore. ⁴The waves of the nations will demolish the city walls of Tyre and crumble her towers. After the city is pummeled, I will sweep away all of her rubble and leave nothing but a bare rock. ⁵In the loneliness of the ocean, she will become a desolate island, used only for drying out fishnets. She will become prisoner and slave to all the nations, ⁶and her villages on the mainland will be massacred in battle. Then they will know that I am the Eternal One.

⁷I am going to bring the great Babylonian king, the king of kings named Nebuchadnezzar, against Tyre. He will charge down from the north with strapping horses and indestructible chariots, master horsemen, and an enormous army. ⁸He will dispatch his soldiers to destroy your villages on the mainland and then lay siege against you with ramps against your walls and shields raised to deflect your opposition. ⁹He will demolish your walls with his siege machines and dismantle your towers with axes. ¹⁰You will be covered with dust from the galloping of his war horses. Your walls will shake from the tumult of the horses, wagons, and chariots when he breaches your walls and comes storming into the city. ¹¹His rampaging horses will trample all your streets. He will slaughter everyone in the battle and topple every strong pillar to the ground. ¹²They will loot your wealth and claim your goods! They will tear down your walls and fine houses, and they’ll toss the wood and stone and rubble into the sea. ¹³I will use My avenger to silence your lutes and harps and put an end to your songs. ¹⁴I will leave you a bare rock in the lonely ocean, a desolate island used only for drying out fishnets. I promise you will never be rebuilt. Never. I, the Eternal Lord, declare this.

¹⁵(continuing to Tyre) Don’t you think the coastlands will shake at the sound of your fall, at the groans of the injured, at the great massacre that takes place inside your walls? ¹⁶Then the princes from the other coastal cities will step down from their thrones, give up their royal robes, and remove their embroidered garments. They will clothe their nakedness with sheer terror and sit on the ground, constantly shaking with horror at what happened to you. ¹⁷Then they will sing a dirge over you:

How you are destroyed, O famous city!
City of sea people!
You and your kind were a great force on the seas;
you terrorized all who lived around you.
¹⁸Now, the coastlands will quake on the day when you fall,
and the cities along the shore will be terrified by your passing.

¹⁹When I destroy you and empty your streets, when I drown you and bury you within the ocean depths, ²⁰I will sink you down into the pit where those people from long ago sleep in death. I will make you stay there, in the lower parts of the earth among the ancient ruins with those who dwell in the pit of the dead, and you will never be inhabited again. You will never resurface in the land of the living where I rest My glory. ²¹I will terrify you, and you will meet your end. You will be sought, but you will never be found again.

This is what the Eternal Lord declares.

The Voice (VOICE)

Hebrews 11:1-16

11 Faith is the assurance of things you have hoped for, the absolute conviction that there are realities you’ve never seen. ²It was by faith that our forebears were approved. ³Through faith we understand that the universe was created by the word of God; everything we now see was fashioned from that which is invisible.

Faith begins as hope and indeed is unseen; so many doubt that it is real. What follows is the proof that faith is a reality that can be trusted.

⁴By faith Abel presented to God a sacrifice more acceptable than his brother Cain’s. By faith Abel learned he was righteous, as God Himself testified by approving his offering. And by faith he still speaks, although his voice was silenced by death.

⁵By faith Enoch was carried up into heaven so that he did not see death; no one could find him because God had taken him. Before he was taken up, it was said of him that he had pleased God. ⁶Without faith no one can please God because the one coming to God must believe He exists, and He rewards those who come seeking.

⁷By faith Noah respected God’s warning regarding the flood—the likes of which no one had ever seen—and built an ark that saved his family. In this he condemned the world and inherited the righteousness that comes by faith.

⁸By faith Abraham heard God’s call to travel to a place he would one day receive as an inheritance; and he obeyed, not knowing where God’s call would take him. ⁹By faith he journeyed to the land of the promise as a foreigner; he lived in tents, as did Isaac and Jacob, his fellow heirs to the promise ¹⁰because Abraham looked ahead to a city with foundations, a city laid out and built by God.

¹¹By faith Abraham’s wife Sarah became fertile long after menopause because she believed God would be faithful to His promise. ¹²So from this man, who was almost at death’s door, God brought forth descendants, as many as the stars in the sky and as impossible to count as the sands of the shore.

¹³All these I have mentioned died in faith without receiving the full promises, although they saw the fulfillment as though from a distance. These people accepted and confessed that they were strangers and foreigners on this earth ¹⁴because people who speak like this make it plain that they are still seeking a homeland. ¹⁵If this was only a bit of nostalgia for a time and place they left behind, then certainly they might have turned around and returned. ¹⁶But such saints as these look forward to a far better place, a heavenly country. So God is not ashamed to be called their God because He has prepared a heavenly city for them.

The Voice (VOICE)

Psalm 110

A song of David.

Psalm 110 may have been written to celebrate the coronation of one of David’s sons as king. The Eternal invites the royal son of David to take his rightful place at His right hand, the place of power and authority—not just over Jerusalem but over his enemies as well. But the royal son is to be more than a king, he is to be a priest according the order of that mysterious and enigmatic figure, Melchizedek (Genesis 14:17-24). God promises to give this royal priest-king victory over his enemies as he marches out to war.

This psalm is the psalm most quoted by early Christian writers in the New Testament. As they considered the significance of Jesus, they found that this psalm, more than any, expressed their conviction that the risen Jesus now occupies a unique place at God’s right hand and will be victorious over His enemies.

¹The Eternal said to my lord,
“Sit here at My right hand,
in the place of honor and power,
And I will gather your enemies together,
lead them in on hands and knees;
you will rest your feet on their backs.”

²The Eternal will extend your reach as you rule
from your throne on Zion.
You will be out in enemy lands, ruling.
³Your people will come as volunteers that day; they will be a sight to see:
on that day, you will lead your army, noble in their holiness.
As the new day dawns and dew settles on the grass,
your young volunteers will make their way to you.
⁴The Eternal has sworn an oath
and cannot change His mind:
“You are a priest forever—
in the honored order of Melchizedek.”

⁵The lord is at Your right hand;
on the day that his fury comes to its peak, he will crush kings.
⁶You will see the dead in heaps at the roadside,
corpses spread far and wide in valleys and on hillsides.
Rulers and military leaders will lie among them without distinction.
This will be his judgment on the nations.
⁷There is a brook along the way.
He will stop there and drink;
And when he is finished,
he will raise his head.

The Voice (VOICE)

Proverbs 27:14

¹⁴Anyone who blesses his neighbor with a loud voice
early in the morning,
will find his blessing regarded as a curse.

The Voice (VOICE)

November 11, 2018

11/11/2018 DAB Transcript

Ezekiel 23:1-49, Hebrews 10:19-39, Psalms 109:1-31, Proverbs 27:13

Today is the 11^th day of November. Welcome to the Daily Audio Bible. I’m Brian and it is an honor to be here with you at the beginning of another week. We’ll walk through the threshold together and enter step-by-step through this week like we’ve been doing all year. And it’s all fresh. Nothing’s happened yet, and we can make wise decisions, and one of the wise decisions is to continue to immerse ourselves day by day in God’s word. So, brand-new week. We’ll read from the Voice Translation this week. Ezekiel chapter 23 verses 1 through 49 today.

Prayer:

Father, we thank you for your word. And here we are. We bring attention to it a lot because as we move into each new week we realize that we have gone through seven days and that there is a rhythm here, and that your word is a part of that rhythm. And we’ve been acknowledging lately that there are not that many weeks left. And we acknowledge that we’re moving into the busy season. And, so, we invite your Holy Spirit. As we step through this threshold into a new week we don’t have to be sideswiped, we don’t have to be washed away, rather, we can stand firm and allow your word wash over us. So, come Holy Spirit into this week, we pray. We look forward with longing to all that you will speak to us. Lead us into all truth by the power of your Holy Spirit we ask in Jesus’ name. Amen.

Announcements:

dailyaudiobible.com is home, its home base, its where you find out what’s going on around here. So, always be sure to check in and check it out.

The Prayer Wall is at dailyaudiobible.com as well. Of course, you can access all of this using the Daily Audio Bible app. Pray for your brothers and sisters. It’s one of the beautiful distinctives of this community, is that we love one another, we accept each other where we are in the journey, and we pray for each other, and it’s a beautiful thing because, you know, we’re not alone. And, so, the Prayer Wall is a great place to do that at.

You can also visit the Daily Audio Bible Shop at dailyaudiobible.com as well, resources that are available there.

If you want to partner with the Daily Audio Bible, you can do that at dailyaudiobible.com as well. 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.

November 11, 2018

The Daily Audio Bible Reading for Sunday November 11, 2018 (NIV)

Ezekiel 23

23 The word of the Eternal came to me with a parable about two sisters.

Eternal One: ²Son of man, there were two women born of the same mother. ³They became promiscuous in Egypt at a young age. Their breasts were fondled, and their virgin bodies were caressed. ⁴The older sister was named Oholah, and her younger sister was named Oholibah. They married Me, and they gave birth to many sons and daughters.

Oholah is Samaria (the mother city of Israel), and Oholibah is Jerusalem (the mother city of Judah).

After King Solomon’s death, Israel splits into two kingdoms, the two sisters described in this parable. Israel is ruled from Samaria; Judah is ruled from Jerusalem. Both kingdoms are ruled autonomously until Assyria dominates Israel, forcing her to pay tribute. Eventually the Assyrians conquer Israel in 722 b.c. and annex her land. Throughout this struggle, the various kings of Israel turn for help to everyone they can—everyone, that is, except God. Israel’s last cry for help is raised to Egypt in the 730s b.c. by her last king, Hoshea (2 Kings 17:4). Unfortunately, surviving historical records are incomplete, and what happens next is unclear. But in the end, Egypt proves to be no help to Israel.

Eternal One: ⁵Oholah played the whore while she was still Mine. She coveted many lovers, lusting after her neighbors, the Assyrians— ⁶sharply dressed in handsome blue, governors and commanders—all attractive young men mounted on great horses. ⁷She offered herself as a prostitute to all of the fine Assyrian men and anyone who desired her. She degraded herself with the idols of her lovers. ⁸She didn’t stop the promiscuity she began in Egypt, for when she was young she slept with men who caressed her virgin breasts and poured out their lust on her. ⁹So I handed her over to those she loved, the Assyrians whom she desired. ¹⁰They stripped her naked, stole her children, and slaughtered her during the war. So among women, her name became synonymous with disgrace, when they saw the punishment she received.

Unfortunately Judah, the younger sister, repeats Israel’s mistakes. She turns to Egypt against a conquering Babylonian Empire; but this is a grave mistake, for soon she will be completely destroyed.

¹¹Her younger sister, Oholibah, witnessed all that happened; yet Oholibah became more corrupt than her sister. Her wanton lust and prostitution were even worse than her sister’s. ¹²She was obsessed with the Assyrians, too, lusting after the elite—governors and commanders, sharply-dressed warriors—all attractive young men mounted atop great horses. ¹³I saw how she degraded herself. Both she and her sister followed the same path, ¹⁴but Oholibah’s path went further and she traveled longer. She added the Babylonians to her list of paramours. She was captivated by images of men painted on a wall: figures of Chaldeans dressed in red, ¹⁵with expensive belts wrapped around their waists and flowing turbans adorning their heads. All of them looked highly distinguished, like Babylonian officers from the land of Chaldea. ¹⁶As soon as her eyes met these portraits, she lusted after them. And so she sent messengers to them in Chaldea. ¹⁷And the Babylonians accepted her invitation and came into her bed of love, degrading her with their lust. When they had completely defiled her, she turned away from them in disgust. ¹⁸Because she carried on her whoring so publicly and exposed herself to so many, I was repulsed by her just as I was her sister. ¹⁹Yet she went deeper into prostitution when she remembered how she played the whore when she was young in the land of Egypt. ²⁰She lusted for lovers whose genitals were as large as a donkey’s and whose emissions were like a horse’s.

²¹You, Judah, longed for the lewd promiscuity of your youth in Egypt,
when men fondled your breasts and caressed your virgin body.”^[a]
²²Pay attention, Oholibah! I will turn your forgotten lovers against you,
the ones whom you turned away from in disgust.
I will bring them against you from every direction.
²³Babylonians and all the Chaldeans,
the people of Pekod, Shoa, and Koa, and all the Assyrians,
All attractive young men, governors and commanders,
sharply-dressed officers and high-ranking officials mounted atop great horses.
²⁴They will come after you with lethal weapons^[b] in hand,
shields in place, dressed in armor;
And troops will storm you from every side
in war chariots and wagons.
I will hand you over to their judgment,
and they will punish you according to their customs.
²⁵I will unleash My jealous fury against you.
They will slice off your nose and ears and kill the rest of your people in battle.
They will steal your children,
and they will burn any who survive in a fire.
²⁶They will strip you and take away your clothes;
they will rob you of your expensive jewelry.
²⁷This is how I will put a stop to the promiscuities
and prostitution you brought from the land of Egypt.
You will not admire or remember Egypt with yearning anymore.

²⁸Here is what the Eternal Lord has to say:

Eternal One: Pay attention! I am a moment away from handing you over to those whom you loathe, the ones whom you turned away from in disgust. ²⁹They will treat you with hatred and rob you of your lot. They will rip off your clothes in public and leave you naked. The marks of your prostitution—your lewd, promiscuous life—will be apparent. ³⁰You have brought this upon yourself because you played the whore with your neighboring nations, degraded yourself with profane images and breathless idols. ³¹You have followed the same path as your sister; therefore, I will let you drink from her very own cup.

³²You will drink from your sister’s cup,
a cup deep and wide.
It will bring you shame and scorn
and a lot of it.
³³You will drink your fill of drunkenness and agony,
with tears of sorrow running down your cheeks.
This is the cup of ruination, of destruction—
the cup of your sister Samaria!
³⁴You will drink it down and drain it dry;
then you will smash the cup to pieces
And gnaw on its shattered remains;
you will tear at the breasts your enemies once fondled.

For I, the Eternal Lord, have spoken.

³⁵Because you have forgotten Me and tossed Me over your shoulder like a piece of trash, you must reap the consequences of your promiscuities and prostitution.

³⁶(to Ezekiel) Son of man, will you judge Oholah and Oholibah? You must! Confront them about their shocking actions— ³⁷the adulterous liaisons they commit with bloody hands, even sacrificing their sons and daughters, My children, as burnt offerings to breathless idols. ^38-39Not only that, but they have also polluted My sanctuary and profaned My Sabbaths by sacrificing their children to the breathless idols on the same day they came into My house. This is what they did to Me and My house. This is how they profaned it. ⁴⁰They even sent a special invitation to men who lived far away. When they arrived, you had bathed in fragrant waters, painted around your eyes, dressed in seductive garments, and adorned your body with shiny jewelry for your honored guests. ⁴¹You reclined on a silky couch in front of a table set for your visitors with the incense and oils that belonged to Me. ⁴²As for Oholibah, the mellowed crowd gathered around her—drunkards from the desert and noisy commoners. They adorned the arms of the sisters with bracelets I’d given them and placed ostentatious crowns on the heads of My queens. ⁴³Then I wondered about this woman who was exhausted from adulterous sex: “Will they still want to sleep with her, here and now?”^[c] ⁴⁴Yes, they all went into her bed, one after another, and used her as a prostitute. This is what they did to both these wanton women: Oholah and Oholibah. ⁴⁵But righteous people will condemn these sisters to punishment befitting adulterous and murderous women! For they are indeed adulteresses and their hands are covered with innocent blood.

⁴⁶This is what the Eternal Lord has to say:

Eternal One: Bring a vast army against them! Overtake them with terror and plunder their goods! ⁴⁷Their enemies will crush them with large rocks and hack them down in battle. They will massacre their children—My children—and burn down their houses!

(to the sisters) ⁴⁸This is how I will put an end to the lewdness practiced in the land and make you an example to all women, that they may learn from your mistakes and never commit the wicked acts you did. ⁴⁹You will suffer the consequences of your promiscuity; you will bear the penalty for worshiping your idols. Then you will know that I am the Eternal Lord.

Footnotes:

23:21 Hebrew manuscripts read, “because of your young breasts.”
23:24 Meaning of the Hebrew is uncertain.
23:43 Meaning of the Hebrew is uncertain.

The Voice (VOICE)

Hebrews 10:18-39

¹⁸When there is forgiveness such as this, there is no longer any need to make an offering for sin.

¹⁹So, my friends, Jesus by His blood gives us courage to enter the most holy place. ²⁰He has created for us a new and living way through the curtain, that is, through His flesh. ²¹Since we have a great High Priest who presides over the house of God, ²²let us draw near with true hearts full of faith, with hearts rinsed clean of any evil conscience, and with bodies cleansed with pure water. ²³Let us hold strong to the confession of our hope, never wavering, since the One who promised it to us is faithful. ²⁴Let us consider how to inspire each other to greater love and to righteous deeds, ²⁵not forgetting to gather as a community, as some have forgotten, but encouraging each other, especially as the day of His return approaches.

The word translated “church” in English Bibles means literally “assembly of the called”; it implies that members have said “yes” to God’s call in their lives. We assemble because we are called into being by God Himself. Some people, for reasons only they know, choose to live their Christian faiths in isolation. When they do, they cut themselves off from the gifts, encouragement, and vitality of others. And perhaps, just as tragically, they deprive the church of the grace and life God has invested in them.

²⁶Now if we willfully persist in sin after receiving such knowledge of the truth, then there is no sacrifice left for those sins— ²⁷only the fearful prospect of judgment and a fierce fire that will consume God’s adversaries. ²⁸Remember that those who depart from the law of Moses are put to death without mercy based on the testimony of two or three witnesses.^[a] ²⁹Just think how much more severe the punishment will be for those who have turned their backs on the Son of God, trampled on the blood of the covenant by which He made them holy, and outraged the Spirit of grace with their contempt. ³⁰For we know the God who said, “Vengeance belongs to Me—I will repay,”^[b] also said, “The Eternal One will judge His people.”^[c] ³¹It is truly a frightening thing to be on the wrong side of the living God.

³²Instead, think back to the days after you were first enlightened and understood who Jesus was: when you endured all sorts of suffering in the name of the Lord, ³³when people held you up for public scorn and ridicule, or when they abused your partners and companions in the faith. ³⁴Remember how you had compassion for those in prison and how you cheerfully accepted the seizure of your possessions, knowing that you have a far greater and more enduring possession. ³⁵Remember this, and do not abandon your confidence, which will lead to rich rewards. ³⁶Simply endure, for when you have done as God requires of you, you will receive the promise. ³⁷As the prophet Habakkuk said,

In a little while, only a little longer,
the One who is coming will come without delay.
³⁸But My righteous one must live by faith,
for if he gives up his commitment,
My soul will have no pleasure in him.^[d]

³⁹My friends, we are not those who give up hope and so are lost; but we are of the company who live by faith and so are saved.

Footnotes:

The Voice (VOICE)

Psalm 109

For the worship leader. A song of David.

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

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

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

Footnotes:

109:10 Hebrew manuscripts read, “sought among.”
109:28 Greek manuscripts omit this portion.

The Voice (VOICE)

Proverbs 27:13

¹³If someone guarantees a stranger’s debt, hold his garment as collateral;
if that guarantee is for the debt of a foreigner, make sure you get a deposit.

The Voice (VOICE)

November 10, 2018

11/10/2018 DAB Transcript

Ezekiel 21:1-22:31, Hebrews 10:1-18, Psalms 108:1-13, Proverbs 27:12

Today is the 10^th day of November. Welcome to the Daily Audio Bible. I am Brian and it’s a pleasure to be here with you at the close of another week. And, yup, this happens every seven days but they start adding up after a while and pretty soon you’re closer to the end of the year than you were at the beginning and that’s certainly where we find ourselves. So, we’ve been reading from the names of God Bible this week and we’ll close our week out together reading from this translation. Ezekiel chapter 21 verse 1 through 22 verse 31 today.

Prayer:

Father, we thank You for another week in Your word. And we kind of make a joke out of it but the truth is there aren’t too many more of these weeks left in this year. And we acknowledge, it’s about to get busy for us. We are turning into the busiest time of the year - a lot of hustle and bustle, a lot of joy - and it’s all centered around…it’s all centered around Your arrival, Jesus. But its disruptive and before we go into all of that, here we are, understanding and making acknowledgment that there aren’t too many weeks left and we want to finish strong because You have spoken powerfully into our lives this year. And, so, come Holy Spirit. As we continue to take the steps forward, plant the Scriptures, the word of God in our hearts and may it be planted in good soil and may yield the fruit of the Spirit in our lives. We ask in Jesus’ name. Amen.

Announcements:

dailyaudiobible.com is the website, its home base, its where you find out what’s going on around here. So, be sure to stay connected.

Visit the Prayer Wall. Pray for your brothers and sisters there. Visited the Daily Audio Bible shop. There are resources there for this journey.

If you want to partner with the Daily Audio Bible, you can do that at dailyaudiobible.com as well. There is a link on the homepage. And I humbly and gratefully thank you for your partnership. 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:

Good evening everyone at DAB. Asia, really, really sorry to hear about your loss and praying for your family and I really hope everyone is mourning and grieving well with you. And so, be blessed and be strong in God. And please family, can you pray for me and my family? This is Charlotte in England and my family has been through a lot in this year, a lot of trouble, and there’s been really good friends trying to help me through it. And, so, please can you pray for my parents and their strength, their peace, rest, and sanity because they’ve been helping me a really great deal. And my mental health as well, because it can get a little bit overwhelming in my own head sometimes. And not being able to verbalize it properly kind of gives it a bit of an outburst. And also, for me to be a little bit less selfish, but more to reach out to others in a way that’s actually tangible. And, so, could you place for those things? I hope GG, you’re okay. Haven’t heard from you in a while. God bless everyone. Bye.

Hello everybody. Hey, this is Annette Allison. Man, I just had a great talk with one of our sisters today. Today is November 5^th and I’m just out riding the motorcycle and enjoying the evening here and I’m sitting down by a lake and it’s really pretty and nice and almost warm and the sun is going down and it’s just a great big beautiful clear sky and the sun is going down and its orange and it’s so bright. I almost can’t even see to drive ahead. It’s just blinding and it’s almost devastating and painful. And I’m thinking to myself that‘s probably how a lot of people are feeling right now. But, I understand pain. Pain is…it’s blinding and it’s just devastating and we can’t look out in front of us, but the one thing about the sun going down is that we get time to rest and to think and to dream and to gather our thoughts that hope is coming, hope is coming. And, just like it says, you know, there might be pain in the night, but joy comes in the morning. Joy, just the same way that the sun goes down in the evening and it rises in the morning with a great big beautiful sky. And we can take hope that when the sun comes up God is telling us, try again, this is another day don’t worry about yesterday, drive on, I’m making all things new, right? I love you guys.

Hi DABbers, it’s Dependent on You calling. Just wanted to call in for two reasons, to say I just love this community. I just feel so blessed to be a part of it and that I love that we are all praying for each other and I’m praying for you. And reaching out today for continued prayer for my marriage please. I am still standing for this marriage and still fighting for it, but the road continues to be very painful. And although I see the Lord at work, I see Him at work, it doesn’t always…you know…in the natural it doesn’t always…you know…seem every day like it’s going in the right direction. But I know the Lord is working and He just keeps impressing it upon my heart to stay the course, to stay this course, to persevere and __ after prayer for me to be able to persevere in this. I ask for prayer that my husband returns to his relationship with the Lord as he is still running the opposite direction. I ask for a reconciliation in his relationship with Christ. I pray for restoration of my marriage and the healing of my family, strength for me, and just healing on everybody’s heart. It’s just that…I hope that the Lord get all the glory for all of this, through every step of this journey, through every pain, and through the final outcome that the Lord just gets the glory and that this marriage can be used as a testimony. And thank you, I love…

Hi Daily Audio Bible family. This is Christine from Washington state. I need prayer and I feel like my prayers are trivial compared to the ones that are for help or children that are having issues, but I don’t know where to turn and my husband has just been terrible for years. I’ve called to pray for his salvation for __. But today I went out to work and this employee that has caused trouble in our marriage snapped at me, brought him into it, and I feel so humiliated and __. He literally threw me out of our office in front of everyone. And I just don’t know what to do. I don’t know, I just hate __ who she is. She is so, so evil and so bad. And I just pray for protection from her over me and over my husband and my children. I don’t know what to do. I am completely and totally staying in my car and I am __ and humiliated and I just need your prayers. Thank you.

Ezekiel 31-32

Hebrews 12:14-29

Footnotes:

Psalm 113-114

Psalm 113

Psalm 114

Proverbs 27:18-20

Ezekiel 29-30

Footnotes:

Hebrews 11:32-12:13

Footnotes:

Psalm 112

Psalm 112[a]

Footnotes:

Proverbs 27:17

Ezekiel 27-28

Footnotes:

Hebrews 11:17-31

Footnotes:

Psalm 111

Psalm 111[a]

Footnotes:

Proverbs 27:15-16

Ezekiel 24-26

Hebrews 11:1-16

Psalm 110

Psalm 110

A song of David.

Proverbs 27:14

Ezekiel 23

Footnotes:

Hebrews 10:18-39

Footnotes:

Psalm 109

Psalm 109

For the worship leader. A song of David.

Footnotes:

Proverbs 27:13

Psalm 112^[a]

Psalm 111^[a]