A Walk Through The Word

February 14, 2018

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

Exodus 37-38

The Sacred Chest

37 Bezalel built a chest of acacia wood forty-five inches long, twenty-seven inches wide, and twenty-seven inches high. ²He covered it inside and out with pure gold and put a gold edging around the top. ³He made four gold rings and fastened one of them to each of the four legs of the chest. ⁴Then he made two poles of acacia wood, covered them with gold, ⁵and put them through the rings, so the chest could be carried by the poles.

⁶The entire lid of the chest, which was also covered with pure gold, was the place of mercy.^[a] ^7-9On each of the two ends of the chest he made a winged creature of hammered gold. They faced each other, and their wings covered the place of mercy.

The Table for the Sacred Bread

¹⁰Bezalel built a table of acacia wood thirty-six inches long, eighteen inches wide, and twenty-seven inches high. ^11-12He covered it with pure gold and put a gold edging around it with a border three inches wide.^[b] ¹³He made four gold rings and attached one to each of the legs ¹⁴near the edging. The poles for carrying the table were placed through these rings ¹⁵and were made of acacia wood covered with gold. ¹⁶Everything that was to be set on the table was made of pure gold—the bowls, plates, jars, and cups for wine offerings.

The Lampstand

¹⁷Bezalel made a lampstand of pure gold. The whole lampstand, including its decorative flowers, was made from a single piece of hammered gold, ¹⁸with three branches on each of its two sides. ¹⁹There were three decorative almond blossoms on each branch ²⁰and four on the stem. ²¹There was also a blossom where each pair of branches came out from the stem. ²²The lampstand, including its branches and decorative flowers, was made from a single piece of hammered pure gold. ^23-24The lamp and its equipment, including the tongs and trays, were made of about seventy-five pounds of pure gold.

The Altar for Burning Incense

²⁵For burning incense, Bezalel made an altar of acacia wood. It was eighteen inches square and thirty-six inches high with each of its four corners sticking up like the horn of a bull. ²⁶He covered it with pure gold and put a gold edging around it. ²⁷Then below the edging on opposite sides he attached two gold rings through which he put the poles for carrying the altar. ²⁸These poles were also made of acacia wood and covered with gold.

The Oil for Dedication and the Incense

²⁹Bezalel mixed the oil for dedication and the sweet-smelling spices for the incense.

The Altar for Offering Sacrifices

38 Bezalel built an altar of acacia wood for offering sacrifices. It was seven and a half feet square and four and a half feet high ²with each of its four corners sticking up like the horn of a bull, and it was completely covered with bronze. ³The equipment for the altar was also made of bronze—the pans for the hot ashes, the shovels, the meat forks, and the fire pans. ⁴Midway up the altar he built a ledge around it and covered the bottom half of the altar with a decorative bronze grating. ⁵Then he attached a bronze ring beneath the ledge at the four corners to put the poles through. ⁶He covered two acacia wood poles with bronze and ⁷put them through the rings for carrying the altar, which was shaped like an open box.

The Large Bronze Bowl

⁸Bezalel made a large bowl and a stand out of bronze from the mirrors of the women who helped at the entrance to the sacred tent.

The Courtyard around the Sacred Tent

^9-17Around the sacred tent Bezalel built a courtyard one hundred fifty feet long on the south and north and seventy-five feet wide on the east and west. He used twenty bronze posts on bronze stands for the south and north and ten for the west. Then he hung a curtain of fine linen on the posts along each of these three sides by using silver hooks and rods. He placed three bronze posts on each side of the entrance at the east and hung a curtain seven and a half yards wide on each set of posts.

^18-19For the entrance to the courtyard, Bezalel made a curtain ten yards long, which he hung on four bronze posts that were set on bronze stands. This curtain was the same height as the one for the rest of the courtyard and was made of fine linen embroidered and woven with blue, purple, and red wool. He hung the curtain on the four posts, using silver hooks and rods. ²⁰The pegs for the tent and for the curtain around the tent were made of bronze.

The Sacred Tent

^21-23Bezalel had worked closely with Oholiab,^[c] who was an expert at designing and engraving, and at embroidering blue, purple, and red wool. The two of them completed the work that the Lord had commanded.

Moses made Aaron’s son Ithamar responsible for keeping record of the metals used for the sacred tent. ²⁴According to the official weights, the amount of gold given was two thousand two hundred nine pounds, ²⁵and the silver that was collected when the people were counted^[d] came to seven thousand five hundred fifty pounds. ²⁶Everyone who was counted paid the required amount, and there was a total of 603,550 men who were twenty years old or older.

²⁷Seventy-five pounds of the silver were used to make each of the one hundred stands for the sacred tent and the curtain. ²⁸The remaining fifty pounds of silver were used for the hooks and rods and for covering the tops of the posts.

²⁹Five thousand three hundred pounds of bronze were given. ³⁰And it was used to make the stands for the entrance to the tent, the altar and its grating, the equipment for the altar, ³¹the stands for the posts that surrounded the courtyard, including those at the entrance to the courtyard, and the pegs for the tent and the courtyard.

Footnotes:

37.6 place of mercy: See the note at 26.34.
37.11,12 a gold edging. . . wide: Or “a gold edging around it three inches wide.”
38.21-23 Bezalel. . . Oholiab: Hebrew “Bezalel son of Uri and grandson of Hur of the Judah tribe had worked closely with Oholiab son of Ahisamach from the tribe of Dan.”
38.25 counted: See 30.11-16; Numbers 1.

Contemporary English Version (CEV)

Matthew 28

Jesus Is Alive

28 The Sabbath was over, and it was almost daybreak on Sunday when Mary Magdalene and the other Mary went to see the tomb. ²Suddenly a strong earthquake struck, and the Lord’s angel came down from heaven. He rolled away the stone and sat on it. ³The angel looked as bright as lightning, and his clothes were white as snow. ⁴The guards shook from fear and fell down, as though they were dead.

⁵The angel said to the women, “Don’t be afraid! I know you are looking for Jesus, who was nailed to a cross. ⁶He isn’t here! God has raised him to life, just as Jesus said he would. Come, see the place where his body was lying. ⁷Now hurry! Tell his disciples that he has been raised to life and is on his way to Galilee. Go there, and you will see him. That is what I came to tell you.”

⁸The women were frightened and yet very happy, as they hurried from the tomb and ran to tell his disciples. ⁹Suddenly Jesus met them and greeted them. They went near him, held on to his feet, and worshiped him. ¹⁰Then Jesus said, “Don’t be afraid! Tell my followers to go to Galilee. They will see me there.”

Report of the Guard

¹¹While the women were on their way, some soldiers who had been guarding the tomb went into the city. They told the chief priests everything that had happened. ¹²So the chief priests met with the leaders and decided to bribe the soldiers with a lot of money. ¹³They said to the soldiers, “Tell everyone that Jesus' disciples came during the night and stole his body while you were asleep. ¹⁴If the governor^[a] hears about this, we will talk to him. You won’t have anything to worry about.” ¹⁵The soldiers took the money and did what they were told. The Jewish people still tell each other this story.

What Jesus' Followers Must Do

¹⁶Jesus' eleven disciples went to a mountain in Galilee, where Jesus had told them to meet him. ¹⁷They saw him and worshiped him, but some of them doubted.

¹⁸Jesus came to them and said:

I have been given all authority in heaven and on earth! ¹⁹Go to the people of all nations and make them my disciples. Baptize them in the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit, ²⁰and teach them to do everything I have told you. I will be with you always, even until the end of the world.

Footnotes:

28.14 governor: Pontius Pilate.

Contemporary English Version (CEV)

Psalm 34:11-22

¹¹Come, my children, listen
as I teach you
to respect the Lord.
¹²Do you want to live
and enjoy a long life?
¹³Then don’t say cruel things
and don’t tell lies.
¹⁴Do good instead of evil
and try to live at peace.

¹⁵If you obey the Lord,
he will watch over you
and answer your prayers.
¹⁶But God despises evil people,
and he will wipe them all
from the earth,
till they are forgotten.
¹⁷When his people pray for help,
he listens and rescues them
from their troubles.
¹⁸The Lord is there to rescue
all
who are discouraged
and have given up hope.

¹⁹The Lord’s people
may suffer a lot,
but he will always
bring them safely through.
²⁰Not one of their bones
will ever be broken.

²¹Wicked people are killed
by their own evil deeds,
and if you hate God’s people
you will be punished.
²²The Lord saves the lives
of his servants.
Run to him for protection,
and you won’t be punished.

Contemporary English Version (CEV)

Proverbs 9:9-10

⁹If you have good sense,
instruction will help you
to have even better sense.
And if you live right,
education will help you
to know even more.

¹⁰Respect and obey the Lord!
This is the beginning
of wisdom.^[a]
To have understanding,
you must know the Holy God.

Footnotes:

9.10 the beginning of wisdom: Or “what wisdom is all about.”

Contemporary English Version (CEV)

February 13, 2018

02/13/2018 DAB Transcript

Exodus 35:10-36:38, Matthew 27:35-66, Psalms 34:1-10, Proverbs 9:7-8

Today is the 13^th day of February. Welcome to the Daily Audio Bible. I am Brian and it is great to be here with you. We’re sneaking up on the middle of another month. And that just keeps happening because we keep taking steps forward. So, excited to take the next step forward with you today. And the next step forward today leads us back into the desert and the book of Exodus. We’re reading from the Contemporary English Version this week. Exodus chapter 35 verse 10 through 36, verse 38.

Commentary:

Okay. So, for the first time this year we encounter the story of Jesus death, His crucifixion and death. And when we talk about crucifixion or being nailed to a cross, we might have heard that so many times that what we’re talking about is lost. I mean, to nail a person alive, to nail them to wood, and raise them up in the sky, and humiliate them, to drive spikes. Right? Through hands and feet into wood. I mean, the cries of anguish, the torture, it’s completely barbaric. It’s inhumane. It’s almost impossible to comprehend. And that’s kind of the point. Humanity had become so inhumane that it not only did this to someone innocent, it did this to God in the flesh. So, if you remember back when we started this journey, just the second day of January, we read of the fall of man, the breach that was opened between humanity and God. And human beings took the knowledge of good and evil and tried to re-create their own version of what they shared with God. And, so, today we see just how far it went. Humanity, being so confused, was looking for God while executing God in a barbaric fashion. That’s how far humanity had fallen. And inhumane things, what we’re saying when we say inhumane is inhuman, not human, which is what the Bible has been beginning to tell us and will tell us all along. Life without God, human life without God, is not the kind of humanity God created. It’s one that has degenerated and devolved into an inhumane state, animal like. We see another picture of this in the book of Genesis, just prior to the flood, when God saw that everything in the heart of man had become evil and they were living like animals. We see this in the picture of Jesus passion, his crucifixion today. We see starkly what it was He came to do, to face this, to face humanity in all of its inhumanity, and to love it to death, which includes you and I. So, when we think thoughts or say words to the effect of, I just don’t feel God’s love for me, I just don’t feel it, we should be able to at least consider what we’re talking about here with Jesus death. And then consider exactly what else would God need to do. What other hoop are we setting up for Him to jump through to prove that He actually does love us. And it is our sin, it is our fallenness, our inhumanity that He took along with Him to that cross. He bridged that chasm that was opened up when mankind rejected God and went it’s on way. In a very real sense, the cross not only represents forgiveness for sins, it represents restoration to true humanity because human beings, in their natural created state in the beginning, were intertwined with God. There was no separation. There was no need to sacrifice animals and do all these rituals to keep the heart and mind focused. The connection was always, and always immediate, but when mankind rejected God and fell in the garden, humanity and divinity, so, God and people, were no longer joined in this way, they were separated. And we see how far things fell. Jesus came to restore the breach, to reconnect us so that we can be as we were created to be. This is what the cross brings us. This is the good news of the gospel, that through Christ, now and forevermore, we are reunited with God, humanity and divinity are reunited. We can forever be who we were created to be, as we were created to be. And man, that is not a small thing. So, as we contemplate what we’ve read today, our first encounter with Jesus death, His brutal execution, we should also meditate upon the implications, what it actually means, because it means more than us just being able say, Lord please forgive me for telling this lie, please forgive me for having that bad attitude and getting in a fight with my spouse. This is the reunification of God and mankind. This is the culmination of Emmanuel - God with us. And, so, may our hearts be turned in this direction today.

Prayer:

Holy Spirit, as we consider this, we ask You to make the realities deep truths planted deeply within us. Jesus, we thank You. And as we said yesterday, and as we will continue to say, words like thank you, this is what we have, this is how we communicate, but it falls so short. It’s so impossible for us to comprehend the kind of love on display in what we’ve read today. It’s so hard because we can experience it no other way outside of You. And, so, we thank You, but we ask, Holy Spirit, that You continue to sanctify us, so that our very lives, everything we do and say, everything we dream about, everything about us is actually honoring You and is the thank you, instead of just lip service. Come Holy Spirit. We pray in Jesus’ name. Amen.

Announcements:

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

Tomorrow is Valentine’s Day. Tomorrow is also the beginning of the season of Lent. So, we’ll talk about that then, but I do want to mention the More Gathering for women. That’s an annual women’s event that we do up in the mountains of North Georgia, very, very beautiful place just about an hour outside of Atlanta. And we do it in the springtime, in April, when new life is beginning to come, the long winter is ending. And it’s a place for sisters to come together and explore this unceasing longing, this knowing that there is more, that there is more of God, there is more intimacy available, exploring the implications of what we just talked about, what it was that God did on our behalf, in this sacrifice. What does that actually bring into life as a human being? And how do I walk in that? How do I live in that? How does that become my normal? So, if you’re a lady and you’re asking yourself these kinds of questions, if you’re saying there’s got to be more than this, then the More Gathering for women is a way to begin that exploration. And we’ve been doing this for years, so it’s very, very carefully crafted to not only give you some things to think about, teach some things, but also generous amounts of time to go and be silent, be in nature, talk to God, have the clarity to listen in uninterrupted space and time. I mean, because when do we ever really get that? Right? There’s always something to do, there’s never any shortage, always feeling like we’re behind. But to just give our hearts permission and take a couple of days and just simply allow God to speak things that we need to hear, but the clutter of life is keeping us too busy to even listen. If I’m talking to you, then come. Come this April. Tomorrow is St. Valentine’s Day, give a gift to your own heart. And guys, if that’s how your spouse has been feeling, if that’s how the one that you love has been feeling, then maybe this is a good time to send her. Maybe, rather than some chocolate, and the promise of your heart, maybe giving her her own heart back as she gives herself to God is what you’ve been looking for in your relationship. So, anyway, if that’s ringing any bells then you can check this out. moregathering.com is the place to go to get all of the particulars that you would want to know. All the questions are answered there. So, check that out. It’s coming up here. I know it might not seem like it, but it will be springtime so quickly. Time just has a way of moving and slipping through our fingers. But caring for our hearts is a essential. It’s one of the things we do least and one of the things that we cannot do without. The book of Proverbs, the book of wisdom, tells us that, above everything else, above all else, we need to guard our hearts, because all of the issues of life spring forth from it. So, moregathering.com is the place to check that out.

If you want to partner with the Daily Audio Bible in our common mission to be in community together as we take steps forward each day through the Bible, thank you profoundly, profoundly, and humbly. There’s a link on the homepage of dailyaudibible.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:

Well, hello from beautiful Cincinnati Ohio this is Daniel J. Junior. And I’m driving through our __ city right now and just on my heart to give you all a phone call. I just spent some time of my mom. Some of you may remember back in October/November that she had a bad…got sick…as we were flying down to Texas to visit my brother and wound up having to stay there for several weeks and I flew back to bring her back home and just got to see her and she is doing so well. I mean, not even needing a cane to walk around or a walker. And it’s almost as though things are back to where she was when she first moved back to Cincinnati last June. So, a praise report there. I just wanted to say how grateful I am to God for all of this. And joy is one of my words for this year. And, so, I was just celebrating all that God has been doing, not only in my mom’s life, but in all of our lives. And it’s definitely…I want to share that I am feeling so much conviction from the Scripture reading this year and even the commentary and the things that, Brian, that you’ve been sharing with us. And I guess one of the things on my heart recently is just how much I want for God to be enough for me. Just, I know that there’s moments when I feel like that implication that’s when I’m led into sin. And, so, really that’s my request for all of us. But I’m just so grateful to God for His work at all of our lives and grateful for this community and grateful for what you guys are doing, Brian and Jill, and all the team that’s working behind the scenes. God bless you all from beautiful Cincinnati Ohio. This is Daniel J. Junior. Make it a great day.

Hello Daily Audio Bible. This is Dwayne from Wisconsin. All praise, and glory, to our wonderful Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. I’m calling in for a few the prayer requests. Bonnie from Virginia, you had called in a second time, and you had stated that __ your prayer request and I did. So, I’m sure many of the other DABbers did hear your prayer request about your son being released from jail. Just want to know, I’ve been praying since I heard…you called in a few months ago about it. I’ve been continually praying for you, and we pray that your son, when he is released, that he will turn toward God, that his faith will be strengthened, and that he will get his life turned back around. And I just ask, Bonnie, that you would please pray for my son, who has been jailed as well. He will be in for a couple more years yet. Tara from Maine called in about her mother and stage IV cancer. I just want to lift her up. And we pray that the doctors and medical staff will treat her and that the Lord’s hand will lay upon them, upon her, and give her healing, and give Tara and her family peace and comfort in this time of struggle. And Blind Tony, I want to lift you up in regards to your prostate cancer. We pray that the Lord lays his healing hand upon you, and guide you, and keep you safe, and give the doctors the knowledge they need to treat you. And also want to lift you up for the book that you’ve written, that will produce the dividends and the blessings that you so require to do. So, I want to lift this all up in Jesus’ name. Amen. And God bless.

Hello Daily Audio Bible family this is Shawnee from Phoenix. I haven’t called for a little while. It’s been pretty crazy. Over the last two years my husband has been having an affair, one that he does not admit is going on. I had a bad feeling last night and discovered that he was out at the affair woman’s apartment. So, I went to confront them and I got to her apartment, heard him talking to her, knocked on the door, and they wouldn’t come out. He has always denied this affair. He does not admit that it’s real, that is going on. But now that he knows that I know that I was there, it kind of changes things a little bit, a lot actually. So, I need, I’m in need of major prayer, and wisdom, discernment, about how to proceed, how to move forward. I’ve been promised and…so many…the women’s pastor had a dream that basically his sin will be exposed and that the cycle of sin will be broken and that he’ll come around and be restored. I’ve gotten so many words about this. And it’s been two years. So long. We have two boys, two and four. And I really need your prayers. I am worn and tired and I really know that God will do this, but when, how much longer? Why, why does my husband keep running? Why is he literally the prodigal? And when will he come back to God and back to his family? He likes to play house and be at home most of the time except for when it’s convenient to be with her. I just really need you prayers. Thanks so much.

Hello my name is Monnie. I’m here because I want to pray for sister that is struggling to get by. I don’t quite remember her name but I know she’s feeling really down and she’s called today and she’s been on my heart. So, God I pray for my sister who is struggling. I pray she finds hope, but more importantly, she finds You in the darkness. Sometimes Your hard to see. And, so, please shine Your light so much and hold my sister so tight that she will know that You are here. Your plan for us is more important than what we want. We love You. Amen. Sister, I want you to know that I love you and these tough times are hard to get through but you have a Father that can carry all of your stress and anxiety. Keep pushing my love. You are loved by many.

Good morning family. This is Jaden L. grandma. Today is Thursday, February 8^th and I just wanted to give you a little update on his status. He is doing okay. He’s going to his mom’s tomorrow night, Friday. He gets very edgy and he doesn’t want to leave because he’s abused verbally. It’s terrible. They have…and I’m calling this request for prayer for him…they have an appointment with his therapist and, as I said before, she is trying to make Jaden unstable. I don’t know, maybe the reason is to, you know, maybe get a Social Security check out of it. I don’t know. But she’s going to keep saying things that are damaging to his future and to him. So, I’m asking for prayer that the Lord would just be in that room, because He’s already there. He knows what’s going to be said and done and I pray for the therapist that’s going to be there, that he would be able to see through all of the things that she’s planning and going to say and just protect Jaden. He is so thankful because when I let him…we listen to the Bible study on…in the afternoons when he gets home from school and when I get home from work. He absolutely loves it. And I just covet your prayers for him. Yesterday, also, a little boy died in his class here in New York City. And, the little boy drowned he was playing on a little pond and tried to cross ice and, of course, the ice broke, and it wasn’t solid, and he drowned. So, it was also very distressing for him. So, I’m asking you to just keep uplifting him in prayer to protect him because his mom is, you know, I don’t know, I really have to ask for a lot of prayers…

Hi, this is Sonia calling from Tampa and I just heard the broadcast where Salvation is Mine was asking for prayer. I just want to let you know that I am praying for you. And, Lord I just ask that You look upon those that are brokenhearted, those that are feeling lonely, those that feel like there’s no direction or hope in their lives. Bless them with Your faith, those that would operate in obedience and love and in compassion Lord, and pour into their lives. Reveal yourself to them Lord, so that they may know that you are God Jehovah, Father. Salvation is Mine, there is nothing too hard for God. There are other people that are suffering from cancer like Linda, Maria, and other DABbers that are facing that ugly disease. And I command in the name of Jesus for it to be gone and for your body to be aligned with the word of God. Edwin, who has gone through a horrific divorce and his ex-wife is leaving his children asa pawn, I bind that spirit, and I command him to be the man that God has seen him to be, a mighty man of God. And there’s also the man that only had $100 in his account. There’s nothing too hard for God. I can recall many times that God had taken me through different journeys but in that journey, in that valley, somehow, He let me know how good He is and how great He is. You begin to declare the man that you are in Christ and you begin to declare that finances come your way. And in the name of Jesus, I know that all these things can be done. I love you family and God be with you.

February 13, 2018

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

Exodus 35:10-36:38

¹⁰If you have any skills, you should use them to help make what I have commanded: ¹¹the sacred tent with its covering and hooks, its framework and crossbars, and its post and stands; ¹²the sacred chest with its carrying poles, its place of mercy, and the curtain in front of it; ¹³the table with all that goes on it, including the sacred bread; ¹⁴the lamp with its equipment and oil; ¹⁵the incense altar with its carrying poles and sweet-smelling incense; the ordination oil; the curtain for the entrance to the sacred tent; ¹⁶the altar for sacrifices with its bronze grating, its carrying poles, and its equipment; the large bronze bowl with its stand; ¹⁷the curtains with the posts and stands that go around the courtyard; ¹⁸the pegs and ropes for the tent and the courtyard; ¹⁹and the finely woven priestly clothes for Aaron and his sons.

Gifts for the Lord

²⁰Moses finished speaking, and everyone left. ²¹Then those who wanted to bring gifts to the Lord, brought them to be used for the sacred tent, the worship services, and the priestly clothes. ²²Men and women came willingly and gave all kinds of gold jewelry such as pins, earrings, rings, and necklaces. ²³Everyone brought their blue, purple, and red wool, their fine linen, and their cloth made of goat hair, as well as their ram skins dyed red and their fine leather. ²⁴Anyone who had silver or bronze or acacia wood brought it as a gift to the Lord.

²⁵The women who were good at weaving cloth brought the blue, purple, and red wool and the fine linen they had made. ²⁶And the women who knew how to make cloth from goat hair were glad to do so.

²⁷The leaders brought different kinds of jewels to be sewn on the special clothes and the breastpiece for the high priest. ²⁸They also brought sweet-smelling spices to be mixed with the incense and olive oil that were for the lamps and for ordaining the priests. ²⁹Moses had told the people what the Lord wanted them to do, and many of them decided to bring their gifts.

Bezalel and Oholiab

³⁰Moses said to the people of Israel:

The Lord has chosen Bezalel^[a] of the Judah tribe. ^31-33Not only has the Lord filled him with his Spirit, but he has given him wisdom and made him a skilled craftsman who can create objects of art with gold, silver, bronze, stone, and wood. ³⁴The Lord is urging him and Oholiab^[b] from the tribe of Dan to teach others. ³⁵And he has given them all kinds of artistic skills, including the ability to design and embroider with blue, purple, and red wool and to weave fine linen.

36 The Lord has given to Bezalel, Oholiab, and others the skills needed for building a place of worship, and they will follow the Lord’s instructions.

²Then Moses brought together these workers who were eager to work, ³and he gave them the money that the people of Israel had donated for building the place of worship. In fact, so much money was being given each morning, ⁴that finally everyone stopped working ⁵and said, “Moses, there is already more money than we need for what the Lord has assigned us to do.” ⁶So Moses sent word for the people to stop giving, and they did. ⁷But there was already more than enough to do what needed to be done.

The Curtains and Coverings for the Sacred Tent

^8-9The skilled workers got together to make the sacred tent and its linen curtains woven with blue, purple, and red wool and embroidered with figures of winged creatures. Each of the ten panels was fourteen yards long and two yards wide, ¹⁰and they were sewn together to make two curtains with five panels each. ^11-13Then fifty loops of blue cloth were put along one of the wider sides of each curtain, and the two curtains were fastened together at the loops with fifty gold hooks.

^14-15As the material for the tent, goat hair was used to weave eleven sections fifteen yards by two yards each. ¹⁶These eleven sections were joined to make two panels, one with five and the other with six sections. ¹⁷Fifty loops were put along one of the wider sides of each panel, ¹⁸and the two panels were fastened at the loops with fifty bronze hooks. ¹⁹Two other coverings were made—one with fine leather and the other with ram skins dyed red.

The Framework for the Sacred Tent

²⁰Acacia wood was used to build the framework for the walls of the sacred tent. ²¹Each frame was fifteen feet high and twenty-seven inches wide ^22-26with two wooden pegs near the bottom. Then two silver stands were placed under each frame with sockets for the pegs, so they could be joined together. Twenty of these frames were used along the south side and twenty more along the north. ²⁷Six frames were used for the back wall along the west side ^28-29with two more at the southwest and northwest corners. These corner frames were joined from top to bottom. ³⁰Altogether, along the back wall there were eight frames with two silver stands under each of them.

^31-33Five crossbars were made for each of the wooden frames, with the center crossbar running the full length of the wall. ³⁴The frames and crossbars were covered with gold, and gold rings were attached to the frames to run the crossbars through.

The Inside Curtain for the Sacred Tent

³⁵They made the inside curtain^[c] of fine linen woven with blue, purple, and red wool, and embroidered with figures of winged creatures. ³⁶They also made four acacia wood posts and covered them with gold. Then gold rings were fastened to the posts, which were set on silver stands.

³⁷For the entrance to the tent, they used a curtain of fine linen woven with blue, purple, and red wool and embroidered with fancy needlework. ³⁸They made five posts, covered them completely with gold, and set them each on a gold-covered bronze stand. Finally, they attached hooks for the curtain.

Footnotes:

35.30 Bezalel: See the note at 31.2.
35.34 Oholiab: Hebrew “Oholiab son of Ahisamach.”
36.35 inside curtain: Separating the holy place from the most holy place.

Contemporary English Version (CEV)

Matthew 27:32-66

³²On the way they met a man from Cyrene named Simon, and they forced him to carry Jesus' cross.

³³They came to a place named Golgotha, which means “Place of a Skull.”^[a] ³⁴There they gave Jesus some wine mixed with a drug to ease the pain. But when Jesus tasted what it was, he refused to drink it.

³⁵The soldiers nailed Jesus to a cross and gambled to see who would get his clothes. ³⁶Then they sat down to guard him. ³⁷Above his head they put a sign that told why he was nailed there. It read, “This is Jesus, the King of the Jews.” ³⁸The soldiers also nailed two criminals on crosses, one to the right of Jesus and the other to his left.

³⁹People who passed by said terrible things about Jesus. They shook their heads and ⁴⁰shouted, “So you’re the one who claimed you could tear down the temple and build it again in three days! If you are God’s Son, save yourself and come down from the cross!”

⁴¹The chief priests, the leaders, and the teachers of the Law of Moses also made fun of Jesus. They said, ⁴²“He saved others, but he can’t save himself. If he is the king of Israel, he should come down from the cross! Then we will believe him. ⁴³He trusted God, so let God save him, if he wants to. He even said he was God’s Son.” ⁴⁴The two criminals also said cruel things to Jesus.

The Death of Jesus

⁴⁵At noon the sky turned dark and stayed that way until three o’clock. ⁴⁶Then about that time Jesus shouted, “Eli, Eli, lema sabachthani?”^[b] which means, “My God, my God, why have you deserted me?”

⁴⁷Some of the people standing there heard Jesus and said, “He’s calling for Elijah.”^[c] ⁴⁸One of them at once ran and grabbed a sponge. He soaked it in wine, then put it on a stick and held it up to Jesus.

⁴⁹Others said, “Wait! Let’s see if Elijah will come^[d] and save him.” ⁵⁰Once again Jesus shouted, and then he died.

⁵¹At once the curtain in the temple^[e] was torn in two from top to bottom. The earth shook, and rocks split apart. ⁵²Graves opened, and many of God’s people were raised to life. ⁵³Then after Jesus had risen to life, they came out of their graves and went into the holy city, where they were seen by many people.

⁵⁴The officer and the soldiers guarding Jesus felt the earthquake and saw everything else that happened. They were frightened and said, “This man really was God’s Son!”

⁵⁵Many women had come with Jesus from Galilee to be of help to him, and they were there, looking on at a distance. ⁵⁶Mary Magdalene, Mary the mother of James and Joseph, and the mother of James and John^[f] were some of these women.

Jesus Is Buried

⁵⁷That evening a rich disciple named Joseph from the town of Arimathea ⁵⁸went and asked for Jesus' body. Pilate gave orders for it to be given to Joseph, ⁵⁹who took the body and wrapped it in a clean linen cloth. ⁶⁰Then Joseph put the body in his own tomb that had been cut into solid rock^[g] and had never been used. He rolled a big stone against the entrance to the tomb and went away.

⁶¹All this time Mary Magdalene and the other Mary were sitting across from the tomb.

⁶²On the next day, which was a Sabbath, the chief priests and the Pharisees went together to Pilate. ⁶³They said, “Sir, we remember what that liar said while he was still alive. He claimed that in three days he would come back from death. ⁶⁴So please order the tomb to be carefully guarded for three days. If you don’t, his disciples may come and steal his body. They will tell the people that he has been raised to life, and this last lie will be worse than the first one.”^[h]

⁶⁵Pilate said to them, “All right, take some of your soldiers and guard the tomb as well as you know how.” ⁶⁶So they sealed it tight and placed soldiers there to guard it.

Footnotes:

27.33 Place of a Skull: The place was probably given this name because it was near a large rock in the shape of a human skull.
27.46 Eli. . . sabachthani: These words are in Hebrew.
27.47 Elijah: In Aramaic the name “Elijah” sounds like “Eli,” which means “my God.”
27.49 Elijah will come: See the note at 16.14.
27.51 curtain in the temple: There were two curtains in the temple. One was at the entrance, and the other separated the holy place from the most holy place that the Jewish people thought of as God’s home on earth. The second curtain is probably the one that is meant.
27.56 of James and John: The Greek text has “of Zebedee’s sons” (see 26.37).
27.60 tomb. . . solid rock: Some of the Jewish people buried their dead in rooms carved into solid rock. A heavy stone was rolled against the entrance.
27.64 the first one: Probably the belief that Jesus is the Messiah.

Contemporary English Version (CEV)

Psalm 34:1-10

(Written by David when he pretended to be crazy in front of Abimelech, so that Abimelech would send him away, and David could leave.)

Honor the Lord

34 I will always praise the Lord.
²With all my heart,
I will praise the Lord.
Let all who are helpless,
listen and be glad.
³Honor the Lord with me!
Celebrate his great name.

⁴I asked the Lord for help,
and he saved me
from all my fears.
⁵Keep your eyes on the Lord!
You will shine like the sun
and never blush with shame.
⁶I was a nobody, but I prayed,
and the Lord saved me
from all my troubles.

⁷If you honor the Lord,
his angel will protect you.
⁸Discover for yourself
that the Lord is kind.
Come to him for protection,
and you will be glad.

⁹Honor the Lord!
You are his special people.
No one who honors the Lord
will ever be in need.
¹⁰Young lions^[a] may go hungry
or even starve,
but if you trust the Lord,
you will never miss out
on anything good.

Footnotes:

34.10 Young lions: In the Psalms wild animals often stand for God’s enemies.

Contemporary English Version (CEV)

Proverbs 9:7-8

True Wisdom

⁷Correct a worthless bragger,
and all you will get
are insults and injuries.
⁸Any bragger you correct
will only hate you.
But if you correct someone
who has common sense,
you will be loved.

Contemporary English Version (CEV)

February 12, 2018

02/12/2018 DAB Transcript

Exodus 34:1-35:9, Matthew 27:15-34, Psalms 33:12-22, Proverbs 9:1-6

Today is the 12^th day of February. Welcome to the Daily Audio Bible. I’m Brian. It is wonderful to be here with you today for the next step forward in the adventure that we are on. And what an adventure it is as we travel all of the pathways of the Scriptures this year - front to back - every word. And we’re well on our way into this journey. We’ll take the next step forward now. Dramatic things happening out in the desert with the children of Israel as they move toward idolatry, move back away from idolatry, as God has given the law and then Moses has broken the tablets that they were written upon when he comes down from Mount Sinai and sees what the people are doing. So, we’ll pick up with that story. We’re reading from the Contemporary English Version this week. Exodus chapter 34 verse 1 through 35 verse 9.

Commentary:

Okay. In the book of Matthew, Jesus has been sentenced to death. I know we know the story. I know that we’ve heard it a thousand times, but can we focus our attention here for a second. Jesus, God in the flesh, God with us has been sentenced by us to die. He brought light and life and good news. He showed humanity a picture of who it really is and what it should look like, which is what we are constantly saying in our faith. Right? To be Christ like. And yet, humanity sentenced him to die. And not just be executed, but to be utterly and completely humiliated. We’re about to move into a season where that is something that is supposed to be contemplated and we should contemplate this because it’s a picture of just how far humanity has fallen just how backward the world is to the way we were created to be. So, it’s important for us to not just blaze through and go, yeah, that’s the story of the crucifixion, I’ve heard it a million times, like Jesus, our Savior, has been condemned to crucifixion. He has been beaten beyond recognition. His flesh is torn. He’s swollen. He’s in agony. This is our Savior and this, frankly, is what He was willing to do in order to rescue the species of which you and I are a part. This is what He was willing to do on our behalf. Do we have anyone else in our lives like that? This is important to consider the next time we’re turning to false things to give us life. Right? Because an idol doesn’t have to be a golden calf. An idol is anything that were going to give our heart in worship to thinking that it will give us life, that will bring us life. And Jesus told us He was the way, and the truth, and the life. And, so, we could talk about Moses, we talk about the proverbs, which is very important. We could rehash the Psalm, but can we stay with this today? Because this is what it cost. And can we imagine the confusion among Jesus friends? And can we imagine the torture in the soul of Jesus mother? Can we imagine the rejection that God felt in this moment? Those who had been created were willing to kill the creator. This is bigger than just a crucifixion story. It’s easy for us to say I am saved by grace, I can’t earn it, it’s a free gift, and then we just live into it without understanding, this cost God something. Our freedom that we take for granted cost something precious. And we so easily forget it,

Prayer:

So, Jesus, it’s hard to know what to say. So, it’s not about filling the room with words. Contemplating Your sacrifice on our behalf, the cost of sin, the price of redemption, when looked at full face leaves us speechless. Thank You would be the right thing to say, and we do. But that falls so short. So, Holy Spirit, come. Help us to contemplate the cost of our sin. Help us to become aware of the way that it’s eating us, that it’s killing us, that it’s estranging us. And as we contemplate Your willing sacrifice, we realize that this is the only way to get rid of it. And You were willing on our behalf. And, so, we choose some silence today to consider this, to contemplate this. And we ask you to help us stay in this, to stay contemplating this, because it changes our perspective. It snaps us back into reality. This was not easy for you. But You loved us. You loved us. Show us how to honor that with our very lives. Come, Holy Spirit. We pray in Jesus’ name. Amen.

Song:

Sweetly Broken - Jeremy Riddle

To the cross, I look, and to the cross, I cling

Of it’s suffering, I do drink, of its work, I do sing

On it, my Savior, both bruised and crushed

Showed that God is love and God is just

At the cross, You beckon me

You draw me gently to my knees

And I am lost for words, so lost in love

I’m sweetly broken, wholly surrendered

Yeah, yeah, oh Lord

What a priceless gift, undeserved life

Have I been given through Christ crucified

You’ve called me out of death

You’ve called me into life

And I was under Your wrath

Now, through the cross, I’m reconciled

Ooh, and at the cross, You beckon me

You draw me gently to my knees

And I am lost for words, so lost in love

I’m sweetly broken, wholly surrendered

At the cross, You beckon me

You draw me gently to my knees

And I am lost for words, so lost in love

I’m sweetly broken, wholly surrendered

And in awe of the cross, I must confess

How wondrous Your redeeming love

And how great is Your faithfulness

At the cross, You beckon me

You draw me gently to my knees

And I am lost for words, so lost in love

I’m sweetly broken, wholly surrendered

At the cross, You, You’ve beckoned me

You draw me gently to my knees

And I am lost for words, so lost in love

I’m sweetly broken, wholly surrendered

Yeah, yeah, I’m broken for you

I’m broken for you, my Lord, yeah

Jesus, Your love is there

I am sweetly broken

February 12, 2018

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

Exodus 34:1-35:9

The Second Set of Commandments

34 One day the Lord said to Moses, “Cut two flat stones like the first ones I made, and I will write on them the same commandments that were on the two you broke. ²Be ready tomorrow morning to come up Mount Sinai and meet me at the top. ³No one is to come with you or to be on the mountain at all. Don’t even let the sheep and cattle graze at the foot of the mountain.” ⁴So Moses cut two flat stones like the first ones, and early the next morning he carried them to the top of Mount Sinai, just as the Lord had commanded.

⁵The Lord God came down in a cloud and stood beside Moses there on the mountain. God spoke his holy name, “the Lord.”^[a] ⁶Then he passed in front of Moses and called out, “I am the Lord God. I am merciful and very patient with my people. I show great love, and I can be trusted. ⁷I keep my promises to my people forever, but I also punish anyone who sins. When people sin, I punish them and their children, and also their grandchildren and great-grandchildren.”

⁸Moses quickly bowed down to the ground and worshiped the Lord. ⁹He prayed, “Lord, if you really are pleased with me, I pray that you will go with us. It is true that these people are sinful and rebellious, but forgive our sin and let us be your people.”

A Promise and Its Demands

¹⁰The Lord said:

I promise to perform miracles for you that have never been seen anywhere on earth. Neighboring nations will stand in fear and know that I was the one who did these marvelous things. ¹¹I will force out the Amorites, the Canaanites, the Hittites, the Perizzites, the Hivites, and the Jebusites, but you must do what I command you today. ¹²Don’t make treaties with any of those people. If you do, it will be like falling into a trap. ¹³Instead, you must destroy their altars and tear down the sacred poles^[b] they use in the worship of the goddess Asherah. ¹⁴I demand your complete loyalty—you must not worship any other god! ¹⁵Don’t make treaties with the people there, or you will soon find yourselves worshiping their gods and taking part in their sacrificial meals. ¹⁶Your men will even marry their women and be influenced to worship their gods.

¹⁷Don’t make metal images of gods.

¹⁸Don’t fail to observe the Festival of Thin Bread in the month of Abib.^[c] Obey me and eat bread without yeast for seven days during Abib, because that is the month you left Egypt.

¹⁹The first-born males of your families and of your flocks and herds belong to me.

²⁰You can save the life of a first-born donkey^[d] by sacrificing a lamb; if you don’t, you must break the donkey’s neck. You must save every first-born son.

Bring an offering every time you come to worship.

²¹Do your work in six days and rest on the seventh day, even during the seasons for plowing and harvesting. ²²Celebrate the Harvest Festival^[e] each spring when you start harvesting your wheat, and celebrate the Festival of Shelters^[f] each autumn when you pick your fruit.

²³Your men must come to worship me three times a year, because I am the Lord God of Israel. ²⁴I will force the nations out of your land and enlarge your borders. Then no one will try to take your property when you come to worship me these three times each year.

²⁵When you sacrifice an animal on the altar, don’t offer bread made with yeast. And don’t save any part of the Passover meal for the next day.

²⁶I am the Lord your God, and you must bring the first part of your harvest to the place of worship.

Don’t boil a young goat in its mother’s milk.

²⁷The Lord told Moses to put these laws in writing, as part of his agreement with Israel. ²⁸Moses stayed on the mountain with the Lord for forty days and nights, without eating or drinking. And he wrote down the Ten Commandments, the most important part of God’s agreement with his people.

Moses Comes Down from Mount Sinai

²⁹Moses came down from Mount Sinai, carrying the Ten Commandments. His face was shining brightly because the Lord had been speaking to him. But Moses did not know at first that his face was shining. ³⁰When Aaron and the others looked at Moses, they saw that his face was shining, and they were afraid to go near him. ³¹Moses called out for Aaron and the leaders to come to him, and he spoke with them. ³²Then the rest of the people of Israel gathered around Moses, and he gave them the laws that the Lord had given him on Mount Sinai.

³³The face of Moses kept shining, and after he had spoken with the people, he covered his face with a veil. ³⁴Moses would always remove the veil when he went into the sacred tent to speak with the Lord. And when he came out, he would tell the people everything the Lord had told him to say. ³⁵They could see that his face was still shining. So after he had spoken with them, he would put the veil back on and leave it on until the next time he went to speak with the Lord.

Laws for the Sabbath

35 Moses called together the people of Israel and told them that the Lord had said:

²You have six days in which to do your work. But the seventh day must be dedicated to me, your Lord, as a day of rest. Whoever works on the Sabbath will be put to death. ³Don’t even build a cooking fire at home on the Sabbath.

Offerings for the Sacred Tent

⁴Moses told the people of Israel that the Lord had said:

⁵I would welcome an offering from anyone who wants to give something. You may bring gold, silver, or bronze; ⁶blue, purple, or red wool; fine linen; goat hair; ⁷tanned ram skin or fine leather; acacia wood; ⁸olive oil for the lamp; sweet-smelling spices for the oil of dedication and for the incense; or ⁹onyx^[g] stones or other gems for the sacred vest and breastpiece.

Footnotes:

34.5 the Lord: See the note at 3.14,15.
34.13 sacred poles: Or “trees,” used as symbols of Asherah, the goddess of fertility.
34.18 Abib: See the note at 12.2.
34.20 donkey: See the note at 13.13.
34.22 Harvest Festival: See the note at 23.16.
34.22 Festival of Shelters: See the note at 23.16.
35.9 onyx: See the note at 25.7.

Contemporary English Version (CEV)

Matthew 27:15-31

The Death Sentence

¹⁵During Passover the governor always freed a prisoner chosen by the people. ¹⁶At that time a well-known terrorist named Jesus Barabbas^[a] was in jail. ¹⁷So when the crowd came together, Pilate asked them, “Which prisoner do you want me to set free? Do you want Jesus Barabbas or Jesus who is called the Messiah?” ¹⁸Pilate knew that the leaders had brought Jesus to him because they were jealous.

¹⁹While Pilate was judging the case, his wife sent him a message. It said, “Don’t have anything to do with that innocent man. I have had nightmares because of him.”

²⁰But the chief priests and the leaders convinced the crowds to ask for Barabbas to be set free and for Jesus to be killed. ²¹Pilate asked the crowd again, “Which of these two men do you want me to set free?”

“Barabbas!” they replied.

²²Pilate asked them, “What am I to do with Jesus, who is called the Messiah?”

They all yelled, “Nail him to a cross!”

²³Pilate answered, “But what crime has he done?”

“Nail him to a cross!” they yelled even louder.

²⁴Pilate saw that there was nothing he could do and that the people were starting to riot. So he took some water and washed his hands^[b] in front of them and said, “I won’t have anything to do with killing this man. You are the ones doing it!”

²⁵Everyone answered, “We and our own families will take the blame for his death!”

²⁶Pilate set Barabbas free. Then he ordered his soldiers to beat Jesus with a whip and nail him to a cross.

Soldiers Make Fun of Jesus

²⁷The governor’s soldiers led Jesus into the fortress^[c] and brought together the rest of the troops. ²⁸They stripped off Jesus' clothes and put a scarlet robe^[d] on him. ²⁹They made a crown out of thorn branches and placed it on his head, and they put a stick in his right hand. The soldiers knelt down and pretended to worship him. They made fun of him and shouted, “Hey, you king of the Jews!” ³⁰Then they spit on him. They took the stick from him and beat him on the head with it.

Jesus Is Nailed to a Cross

³¹When the soldiers had finished making fun of Jesus, they took off the robe. They put his own clothes back on him and led him off to be nailed to a cross.

Footnotes:

27.16 Jesus Barabbas: Here and in verse 17 many manuscripts have “Barabbas.”
27.24 washed his hands: To show that he was innocent.
27.27 fortress: The place where the Roman governor stayed. It was probably at Herod’s palace west of Jerusalem, though it may have been Fortress Antonia north of the temple, where the Roman troops were stationed.
27.28 scarlet robe: This was probably a Roman soldier’s robe.

Contemporary English Version (CEV)

Psalm 33:12-22

¹²The Lord blesses each nation
that worships only him.
He blesses his chosen ones.
¹³The Lord looks at the world
¹⁴from his throne in heaven,
and he watches us all.
¹⁵The Lord gave us each a mind,
and nothing we do
can be hidden from him.

¹⁶Mighty armies alone
cannot win wars for a king;
great strength by itself
cannot keep a soldier safe.
¹⁷In war the strength of a horse
cannot be trusted
to take you to safety.
¹⁸But the Lord watches over
all
who honor him
and trust his kindness.
¹⁹He protects them from death
and starvation.

²⁰We depend on you, Lord,
to help and protect us.
²¹You make our hearts glad
because we trust you,
the only God.
²²Be kind and bless us!
We depend on you.

Contemporary English Version (CEV)

Proverbs 9:1-6

Wisdom Gives a Feast

9 Wisdom has built her house
with its seven columns.
²She has prepared the meat
and set out the wine.
Her feast is ready.

³She has sent her servant women
to announce her invitation
from the highest hills:
⁴“Everyone who is ignorant
or foolish is invited!
⁵All of you are welcome
to my meat and wine.
⁶If you want to live,
give up your foolishness
and let understanding
guide your steps.”

Contemporary English Version (CEV)

February 12, 2018

02/11/2018 DAB Transcript

Exodus 32:1-33:23, Matthew 26:69-27:14, Psalms 33:1-11, Proverbs 8:33-36

Today is the 11^th of February. Welcome to the Daily Audio Bible. I am Brian. It’s great to be here with you at the threshold of a shiny and sparkly, new week out in front of us. And I’m excited to see where the Bible leads us in this new week. And I’m excited for the Holy Spirit to continue to do the work that has been begun through the word of God in our lives this week. So we’ll go back up to Mount Sinai where Moses is receiving the law up on top of the mountain. He’s been gone a while. The people are down below waiting for him. And we’ll pick up that story reading from the Contemporary English Version this week. Exodus chapter 32 and 33.

Commentary:

Alright, in the book of Exodus we have quite a bit of drama. So, Moses is on the summit of Mount Sinai and God is speaking to him, giving the laws to govern the people and shape the culture. The people are down below and they’ve already told Moses, we don’t hear God for ourselves, we want him to talk to you and you tell us because we’re afraid. And, so, he’s up on top of the mountain God, is doing that, shaping the culture, giving the law. And they get tired of waiting. Something, maybe something happened Moses. Maybe he’s not coming back down the mountain. After all it’s been a little over a month. And, so, they pressure Aaron, who gives in and the next thing you know, there’s this wild craziness going on, worshiping this golden calf that was made in the desert, and they’re claiming the thing that they just made is what brought them out of Egypt. It’s heartbreaking. It’s also a bit indicting, because we’re taught to wait upon the Lord. Right? And we know this idea, this concept, but do we wait a month before we start turning to something else to give us life before we start thrashing around trying to navigate things on our own. And when we do that, do we not make things worse? Do we not just invite whole new categories of trouble in our lives? Of course, the people to repent and follow Moses once he comes down the mountain, but not before it’s just a tragic story. And we would do ourselves a pretty big favor if we would remember this story when we find ourselves waiting on the Lord, because we might find that the waiting is, at times, to show us where our hearts truly are. Right? We can give lip service all we want, but we remember the friendship of the Lord is for those who fear Him. And we get a good picture of this kind of friendship in our reading today between Moses and God, because Moses is speaking to the Lord saying I know you have said we are friends. And if we are friends and if you are pleased with me I want to see Your glory. So, Moses is saying I want to go deeper. I need to go further. If I’m going to leave this people, I will never be able to do it without You. Show me Your glory and as we. And in our reading from the book of Exodus today, God has agreed. He’s told Moses He’ll put him in this little cleft of a rock and guard his eyes and move past him and he’ll be able to see His glory and he’ll be able to see Him from the back. And this invites us to consider, are we waiting on the Lord so that he will come through for us and do what we’ve asked. Is God really just a way of fixing our problems and having some sort of order to life or do we want to see His glory. Which begs us to consider why we’re doing any of this in our spiritual lives. What is this about? To find success in life? To grow our congregations? To make the pain go away? Why do we seek a relationship with God? Is it for the benefits that we think we will get or is it because we are on a path to see His glory and to walk with Him and intimacy every step of the way until we not only see his back but we see him face-to-face? I want to see God in His glory, don’t you. And we first have to examine what we’re really after in this relationship, because it exposes the true nature of the relationship. And if the true nature of the relationship is that we can be protected, we can find success, we can walk with the Lord in His will and he will do nice things for us and keep us safe, then this is conditional love. I love you and I’m going to stay close to you because you will shower me with gifts, which obviously sounds a little more like a sugar daddy and a little less like the Almighty God, Creator of all things known and unknown, including the next beat of our heart, which is different. So, let’s take the story that we read today, apply it to our lives, and consider today, why am I in this? Why am I doing this? Because it’s a great opportunity to realign ourselves and invite the Holy Spirit to speak.

Prayer:

Holy Spirit, we invite You to speak to us and show us the areas in our lives that we’re not in alignment, we’re waiting on You to get something. We’re walking with You because of the promised benefit. And Lord, we acknowledge, we need the benefits of the relationship. We can’t do anything that isn’t going to turn into a disaster, eventually without You. So, yes, we need everything that You bring to the relationship, and we simply confess that we don’t have much to bring to the relationship besides our hearts. And somehow to You, that is the very thing that You want. Even as we read of the story of your betrayal and your trial in the book of Matthew, all of that was to reclaim our hearts and restore us into fellowship with You. So, we confess, without you we can do nothing and all we have is our heart to give, but that’s all You wanted. But we also confess that we haven’t loved You with our whole heart and we’ve waited and then made a golden calf gave our hearts in worship to something else. Forgive us Lord. We re-center ourselves in You. We seek You and You alone, not for what we’re going to get, but because you are the Almighty God. We want to grow in intimacy day by day. We want to see your glory. Come, Holy Spirit. We pray in Jesus’ name. Amen.

Announcements:

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

A few things going on around here this week. Wednesday is the beginning of the season of Lent. So, we’ll talk about that we get there.

And then Saturday, the 17^th, is when we will begin departing for the land of the Bible and making our way into the country of Israel. Some of you will be there in person and we will represent the entire community as we go through this pilgrimage. Others of you can certainly tag along. I mean you tag along with me wherever, well, wherever I carry the computer and the microphone, because we’re a community. So, wherever this is happening it’s happening together. So, I have plenty of room for everybody virtually in my suitcase. Just make sure you bring your toothbrush, some deodorant, you know, that kind of stuff. Sorry you have to ride along in the suitcase, but we’ll be going together, we’ll be talking about it every day - what we did, where we are, what its meaning. And we will also be posting all kinds of pictures to social media - videos of the sites and places and regions that we’re visiting. So, make sure to follow us up on the Daily Audio Bible Facebook page facebook.com/dailyaudiobible and we’ll be posting to Instagram as well. So, you can follow along with the journey and kind of look in and see some of these places as we visit them. So, get ready for that. And then, one day, once where there, we’ll discuss when, but we always do a live broadcast about half way through the journey. Usually we’re near the Sea of Galilee at that point. And we just get the group together and kind of just share our experiences so far, but we’ll be on Facebook Living from the Sea of Galilee. So, stay tuned for those details. But like I mentioned yesterday, we need your prayers, we need your intercession. There’s a lot of moving parts to a pilgrimage like this, a lot. And we need everything to work, from technology, to health, to stamina, to transport, everything. So, if you would pray over this and raise a canopy of prayer over it, that the continues all the way through it, we’ll be most grateful indeed. So, those things are coming up. Pretty big. And we’ll discuss them as we get closer

If you want to partner with the Daily Audio Bible in our mission to keep reading the word of God, fresh every day, and doing it in community, so that anyone, and everyone, no matter where they are welcome here. If that’s life-giving, then thank you for your partnership. There’s a link on the homepage at 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:

Hello Daily Audio Bible family. This is Monica in Kentucky and I want to give a shout out to two of our brothers on the prayer line. One is Jordan in Michigan and the other is Byron in Florida. Jordan, every time someone calls and praise for you in your situation at the school, I’m also joining in prayer, but I’m also struck by how the possibility of you just being lonely in your walk in that atmosphere might be a problem. And I don’t know what age group you teach and if it’s even impossible, but I’m thinking of organizations that reach out to schools and try to get into the schools, like Fellowship of Christian Athletes or Child Evangelism Fellowship or even churches who partner with the urban alternative about trying to sponsor schools. And if you could be the faculty point person for some of those Christian organizations you might feel more encouraged and less alone in how your serving in your school. So, I just throw that out there is a possibility. The other situation, Byron in Florida, about your son, your special needs son, and the challenges you face and wanting to push, push, push and your confession that you realize that you are hoping that it would get easier. I just met a man who’s the father of an autistic child who has spent the last seven or eight years being one of his primary caregivers and having to overcome his own family background of work being how your valued. And he had to overcome that because his son cannot be a workaholic like his own father was and how his own father encouraged him to be and how he’s had to just surrender to God’s vision on how we get our values. And his son is valuable to him just because he’s his son. And that’s true for us as followers of Jesus Christ, where valuable as His creation and image bearers. And I just hope that that inspires you to love your son differently and to know that you have to surrender your son to the Lord. Anyway, hope all of that is an encouragement to you two fellas and I’ll be praying for you.

Hi this is Melody from Canada. My voice is a bit croaky today. So, hopefully it’s clear enough. I just heard the call from Liz, I believe in Oregon, from February 5^th, praying for your future husband. That filled my heart with so much joy because I prayed for my future husband. And, actually, a lot of other people did too and that’s what we need…faith…that other people are praying for him and saying that he must exist. And I remember saying to God I want to know and God’s just like you haven’t met him yet and he ended up being the first guy that I dated at the age of 30. And now we’ve been married for almost a year and ½ and it’s amazing. He’s the man that God had for me. And, so, Liz, I pray that for you. I pray for your future husband. And I pray for healing in your heart from all past wounds. My husband has __ so many of my wounds. And now I’m praying for my future children. There’s always something new to look forward to. But, bless you sister, thank you for calling. And, yeah, as far as the rest of you, it’s been really cool this year, I’ve felt that we weren’t connected to the DAB community before, I’ve been listening every day. Myself and my husband __ and my mom and sister-in-law. And so yeah, praise God for that. Thank you. Bye.

Our dear sister Pastor Gene from Bradenton Florida, this prayer is for you. This is Candace from Oregon. Oh, how I wish I was better at being able to connect. Meanwhile, we are going to pray together right now for the full and complete healing and restoration of your health that is yours in Christ Jesus our Lord. So, family let’s pray. Thank You, Lord, thank You that you have knit us together, we are Your body, we are Your bride, and You are the bridegroom, and You are preparing us to be presented to You, spotless and beautiful, day by day by day, as the work of the Holy Spirit continues among us. Lord we bring to You our sister, Pastor Gene. We know that You love her, You love her more dearly than we can imagine, and her precious family. Come around them right now Lord, assure them of who You are and that what You are doing, even though they can’t know what that is, that it is good, it is good beyond their wildest imaginings. So, comfort them and care for them, give them strength, and let pastor Gene look to You every minute of every day and find the light that’s truly life that you continually offer. Thank You Lord for Your healing power. And we claim that as well in an immediate way. In Jesus name and by the authoritative His life, death, and resurrection for us and for Gene we pray. Amen.

Hi everybody it’s Lisa the encourager. I wanted to pray for Chris from South Carolina who has been married for 29 years and possibly going forward with a divorce and she’s just praying for restoration and she just loves her husband. So, I didn’t know exactly what to say __ so I just asked the Lord, give me the words and I just started writing and this is the words He gave me. He sees us all from the shoreline of South Carolina to the outback of Australia, from the Statue of Liberty to the redwoods in California. He sees us. He is aware of your pain and emptiness and all your tears. Run to him, reach out to him, cry out to him, forever seek him with every bit of faith in your bones. Dear heavenly Father, I pray for Chris, Lord, as she is going through a very difficult time as she been married for 29 nearing years to her husband and she’s believing and asking for prayers God. And am praying for her Lord, that you will comfort her and show her Your love in so many ways that she will not seek anything but You God, and she will know that You love her. I pray for all of those in the Daily Audio Bible that are suffering with pain and emptiness and sorrow and anxiety. God, I just pray that they will find hope in You God, this year, and love in You, and comfort in You, and not look anywhere else but in you for all things God. I pray that we would all be restored in You and trust in You and have faith in You God and know that You’re there and have confidence in you God that you are there for each and every one of us and that you love us. And I pray all these things in your name. Amen.

Good morning Daily Audio Bible family. Praise the Lord for this podcast. Praise the Lord for Brian and Jill and the family and China. Praise the Lord for His word. Oh, my goodness, thank you, thank you, thank you Lord Jesus for your word. Thank you for making it relevant to my life. Thank you, Lord for Brian’s commentary and for the fact that his context, your speaking from then to now, and it makes sense and it helps. So, today what got me off my backside to call was it’s Tuesday, February 5, 2018. I’m calling today to just really, just bask in the glory of God and how He is so countercultural and how our cultures across the world have got it so wrong and as Brian has said in Sneezing Jesus over and over again - backwards backwards. Little by little, that will be ringing in my head all day today and hopefully throughout my week. Just little by little. I have all these big plans. I have these dreams. I teach high school English. And, so, I’ve got a goal and I’ve got outcomes and little by little. And in my life I’ve got goals and I’ve got dreams and I’ve got aspirations and I want to be used of God and I need to remember little by little. And as I wake up and I see the mountain ahead of me that I have to climb, little by little. So, praise the Lord. Praise the Lord for today. Praise the Lord for the stuff in front of me and then the stuff in front of that. Praise You Jesus that You will walk beside me and always hold my hand. Thank you, family, for who you are. Thank you for lifting up the prayers. We’ll never know how much __ go out and look to sanctify this world we’re in. So, praise the Lord, happy Tuesday, __ day. And each of you are loved.

Heavenly Father, thank You for another beautiful day to exist and abide. Thank You for showing Your power, for showing Your presence, and Your sovereignty. I pray that Your Holy Spirit will rest upon each and every member of the DAB family, that it will come and bring peace, that it will come and bring joy, and that You will flow through us so that we not only feel the love of God and know that love, but we also are able to express it and show it to others in Jesus’ name. Good morning everybody, hi, good afternoon, good evening, and good night. This is Jubilant Perseverance in Indonesia. Just calling to check in and give you all an update on my career trajectory. ___ . As I leave my current school assignment in Indonesia, I just started a new assignment with an amazing school in central America, the Caribbean region. And it’s crazy how similar the assignments are. I’ll have the opportunity to use all of the technology teaching skills I developed here and to continue working with students from preschool to high school, but this school has a heart for social justice and not only social justice, __ justice. And that really, really, excites me. I am beating back fear over how similar the job assignments are, even down to the person who is there currently, being more an engineer and not having an education background. So, that kind of feels strange, like déjà vu….

February 11, 2018

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

Exodus 32-33

The People Make an Idol To Worship

32 After the people saw that Moses had been on the mountain for a long time, they went to Aaron and said, “Make us an image of a god who will lead and protect us. Moses brought us out of Egypt, but nobody knows what has happened to him.”

²Aaron told them, “Bring me the gold earrings that your wives and sons and daughters are wearing.” ³Everybody took off their earrings and brought them to Aaron, ⁴then he melted them and made an idol in the shape of a young bull.

All the people said to one another, “This is the god who brought us out of Egypt!”

⁵When Aaron saw what was happening, he built an altar in front of the idol and said, “Tomorrow we will celebrate in honor of the Lord.” ⁶The people got up early the next morning and killed some animals to be used for sacrifices and others to be eaten. Then everyone ate and drank so much that they began to carry on like wild people.

⁷The Lord said to Moses:

Hurry back down! Those people you led out of Egypt are acting like fools. ⁸They have already stopped obeying me and have made themselves an idol in the shape of a young bull. They have bowed down to it, offered sacrifices, and said that it is the god who brought them out of Egypt. ⁹Moses, I have seen how stubborn these people are, ¹⁰and I’m angry enough to destroy them, so don’t try to stop me. But I will make your descendants into a great nation.

¹¹Moses tried to get the Lord God to change his mind:

Our Lord, you used your mighty power to bring these people out of Egypt. Now don’t become angry and destroy them. ¹²If you do, the Egyptians will say that you brought your people out here into the mountains just to get rid of them. Please don’t be angry with your people. Don’t destroy them!

¹³Remember the solemn promise you made to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. You promised that someday they would have as many descendants as there are stars in the sky and that you would give them land.

¹⁴So even though the Lord had threatened to destroy the people, he changed his mind and let them live.

^15-16Moses went back down the mountain with the two flat stones on which God had written all of his laws with his own hand, and he had used both sides of the stones.

¹⁷When Joshua heard the noisy shouts of the people, he said to Moses, “A battle must be going on down in the camp.”

¹⁸But Moses replied, “It doesn’t sound like they are shouting because they have won or lost a battle. They are singing wildly!”

¹⁹As Moses got closer to the camp, he saw the idol, and he also saw the people dancing around. This made him so angry that he threw down the stones and broke them to pieces at the foot of the mountain. ²⁰He melted the idol the people had made, and he ground it into powder. He scattered it in their water and made them drink it. ²¹Moses asked Aaron, “What did these people do to harm you? Why did you make them sin in this terrible way?”

²²Aaron answered:

Don’t be angry with me. You know as well as I do that they are determined to do evil. ²³They even told me, “That man Moses led us out of Egypt, but now we don’t know what has happened to him. Make us a god to lead us.” ²⁴Then I asked them to bring me their gold earrings. They took them off and gave them to me. I threw the gold into a fire, and out came this bull.

²⁵Moses knew that the people were out of control and that it was Aaron’s fault. And now they had made fools of themselves in front of their enemies. ²⁶So Moses stood at the gate of the camp and shouted, “Everyone who is on the Lord’s side come over here!”

Then the men of the Levi tribe gathered around Moses, ²⁷and he said to them, “The Lord God of Israel commands you to strap on your swords and go through the camp, killing your relatives, your friends, and your neighbors.”

²⁸The men of the Levi tribe followed his orders, and that day they killed about three thousand men. ²⁹Moses said to them, “You obeyed the Lord and did what was right, and so you will serve as his priests for the people of Israel. It was hard for you to kill your own sons and brothers, but the Lord has blessed you and made you his priests today.”

³⁰The next day Moses told the people, “This is a terrible thing you have done. But I will go back to the Lord to see if I can do something to keep this sin from being held against you.”

³¹Moses returned to the Lord and said, “The people have committed a terrible sin. They have made a gold idol to be their god. ³²But I beg you to forgive them. If you don’t, please wipe my name out of your book.”^[a]

³³The Lord replied, “I will wipe out of my book the name of everyone who has sinned against me. ³⁴Now take my people to the place I told you about, and my angel will lead you. But when the time comes, I will punish them for this sin.”

³⁵So the Lord punished the people of Israel with a terrible disease for talking Aaron into making the gold idol.

The Lord Tells Israel To Leave Mount Sinai

33 The Lord said to Moses:

You led the people of Israel out of Egypt. Now get ready to lead them to the land I promised their ancestors Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. ^2-3It is a land rich with milk and honey, and I will send an angel to force out those people who live there—the Canaanites, the Amorites, the Hittites, the Perizzites, the Hivites, and the Jebusites. I would go with my people, but they are so rebellious that I would destroy them before they get there.

^4-5Even before the Lord said these harsh things, he had told Moses, “These people really are rebellious, and I would kill them at once, if I went with them. But tell them to take off their fancy jewelry, then I’ll decide what to do with them.” So the people started mourning, ⁶and after leaving Mount Sinai,^[b] they stopped wearing fancy jewelry.

The Lord Is with His People

⁷Moses used to set up a tent far from camp. He called it the “meeting tent,” and whoever needed some message from the Lord would go there. ⁸Each time Moses went out to the tent, everyone would stand at the entrance to their own tents and watch him enter. ^9-11Then they would bow down because a thick cloud would come down in front of the tent, and the Lord would speak to Moses face to face, just like a friend. Afterwards, Moses would return to camp, but his young assistant Joshua^[c] would stay at the tent.

The Lord Promises To Be with His People

¹²Moses said to the Lord, “I know that you have told me to lead these people to the land you promised them. But you have not told me who my assistant will be. You have said that you are my friend and that you are pleased with me. ¹³If this is true, let me know what your plans are, then I can obey and continue to please you. And don’t forget that you have chosen this nation to be your own.”

¹⁴The Lord said, “I will go with you and give you peace.”

¹⁵Then Moses replied, “If you aren’t going with us, please don’t make us leave this place. ¹⁶But if you do go with us, everyone will know that you are pleased with your people and with me. That way, we will be different from the rest of the people on earth.”

¹⁷So the Lord told him, “I will do what you have asked, because I am your friend and I am pleased with you.”

¹⁸Then Moses said, “I pray that you will let me see you in all of your glory.”

¹⁹The Lord answered:

All right. I am the Lord, and I show mercy and kindness to anyone I choose. I will let you see my glory and hear my holy name, ²⁰but I won’t let you see my face, because anyone who sees my face will die. ²¹There is a rock not far from me. Stand beside it, ²²and before I pass by in all of my shining glory, I will put you in a large crack in the rock. I will cover your eyes with my hand until I have passed by. ²³Then I will take my hand away, and you will see my back. You will not see my face.

Footnotes:

32.32 your book: The people of Israel believed that the Lord kept a record of the names of his people, and anyone whose name was removed from that book no longer belonged to the Lord.
33.6 Mount Sinai: The Hebrew text has “Mount Horeb,” another name for Sinai.
33.9-11 Joshua: Hebrew “Joshua son of Nun.”

Contemporary English Version (CEV)

Matthew 26:69-27:14

Peter Says He Doesn’t Know Jesus

⁶⁹While Peter was sitting out in the courtyard, a servant girl came up to him and said, “You were with Jesus from Galilee.”

⁷⁰But in front of everyone Peter said, “That isn’t so! I don’t know what you are talking about!”

⁷¹When Peter had gone out to the gate, another servant girl saw him and said to some people there, “This man was with Jesus from Nazareth.”

⁷²Again Peter denied it, and this time he swore, “I don’t even know that man!”

⁷³A little while later some people standing there walked over to Peter and said, “We know that you are one of them. We can tell it because you talk like someone from Galilee.”

⁷⁴Peter began to curse and swear, “I don’t know that man!”

Right then a rooster crowed, ⁷⁵and Peter remembered that Jesus had said, “Before a rooster crows, you will say three times that you don’t know me.” Then Peter went out and cried hard.

Jesus Is Taken to Pilate

27 Early the next morning all the chief priests and the nation’s leaders met and decided that Jesus should be put to death. ²They tied him up and led him away to Pilate the governor.

The Death of Judas

³Judas had betrayed Jesus, but when he learned that Jesus had been sentenced to death, he was sorry for what he had done. He returned the thirty silver coins to the chief priests and leaders ⁴and said, “I have sinned by betraying a man who has never done anything wrong.”

“So what? That’s your problem,” they replied. ⁵Judas threw the money into the temple and then went out and hanged himself.

⁶The chief priests picked up the money and said, “This money was paid to have a man killed. We can’t put it in the temple treasury.” ⁷Then they had a meeting and decided to buy a field that belonged to someone who made clay pots. They wanted to use it as a graveyard for foreigners. ⁸That’s why people still call that place “Field of Blood.” ⁹So the words of the prophet Jeremiah came true,

“They took
the thirty silver coins,
the price of a person
among the people of Israel.
¹⁰They paid it
for a potter’s field,^[a]
as the Lord
had commanded me.”

Pilate Questions Jesus

¹¹Jesus was brought before Pilate the governor, who asked him, “Are you the king of the Jews?”

“Those are your words!” Jesus answered. ¹²And when the chief priests and leaders brought their charges against him, he did not say a thing.

¹³Pilate asked him, “Don’t you hear what crimes they say you have done?” ¹⁴But Jesus did not say anything, and the governor was greatly amazed.

Footnotes:

27.10 a potter’s field: Perhaps a field owned by someone who made clay pots. But it may have been a field where potters came to get clay or to make pots or to throw away their broken pieces of pottery.

Contemporary English Version (CEV)

Psalm 33:1-11

Sing Praises to the Lord

33 You are the Lord’s people.
Obey him and celebrate!
He deserves your praise.
²Praise the Lord with harps!
Use harps with ten strings
to make music for him.
³Sing a new song. Shout!
Play beautiful music.

⁴The Lord is truthful;
he can be trusted.
⁵He loves justice and fairness,
and he is kind to everyone
everywhere on earth.

⁶The Lord made the heavens
and everything in them
by his word.
⁷He scooped up the ocean
and stored the water.
⁸Everyone in this world
should worship
and honor
the Lord!
⁹As soon as he spoke
the world was created;
at his command,
the earth was formed.

¹⁰The Lord destroys the plans
and spoils the schemes
of the nations.
¹¹But what the Lord has planned
will stand forever.
His thoughts never change.

Contemporary English Version (CEV)

Proverbs 8:33-36

³³Listen carefully
to my instructions,
and you will be wise.

³⁴Come to my home each day
and listen to me.
You will find happiness.
³⁵By finding me, you find life,
and the Lord will be pleased
with you.
³⁶But if you don’t find me,
you hurt only yourself,
and if you hate me,
you are in love with death.

Contemporary English Version (CEV)

February 10, 2018

02/10/2018 DAB Transcript

Exodus 30:11-31:18, Matthew 26:47-68, Psalms 32:1-11, Proverbs 8:27-32

Today is the 10^th day of February. Welcome to the Daily Audio Bible. I am Brian. It’s great to be here with you today at the close of another week. And we just keep taking these steps forward and the weeks go by and we move our way through the Bible. It’s incredible, the rhythm that is established and the change that is available inside of ourselves as the Scriptures speak to us. So, we’re at the close of another week. And we’ve been reading from the Good News Translation this week, which is what we’ll do today. We’ll go back out to Mount Sinai where the first of the law is being given and we’ve seen ordinances put in place toward the priesthood, a group of people that are being set apart out from this people to continually tell the story so that they don’t forget and to minister before God. And also of a tabernacle, a portable temple, essentially. A place that will sit in the middle of the camp with all the tribes encamped around it so that God will meet with them and move around with them, will be with them wherever they go, wherever he leads them, right in the middle of it all. So, today Exodus chapter 30 verse 11 through 31:18.

Commentary:

Okay. So, in the New Testament, in the book of Matthew, we are moving through the story of Jesus’ last days. And we’re seeing how alone Jesus was in this. We’re seeing that He was abandoned by His friends, those who had walked with Him, those who had heard Him minister and saw Him heal. And they left. They ran away. And Jesus was taken from the garden of Gethsemane, so this olive grove on the side of the Mount of Olives and back across the Kidron Valley and into Jerusalem, where the high priest’s quarters were. Ruins still exist today. And it’s one of the places that we will visit when we’re in the land of the Bible. And we’ll be heading off on that trip, whether virtually or in person, we’ll all be going together and we’ll be departing a week from today. But as we read through this story in Matthew, if it doesn’t make our hearts drop, like, if we can’t see this Jesus that we have come to know and love and have sought to be like. Right? To be Christ-like. We’re seeing what He’s going through and it’s so, so heartbreaking. That God, the Creator, would come to earth to rescue people and people reject Him outright.

In a few days, this coming Wednesday, the season of Lent begins. And we’ll talk about that when we get there. You may know all about it, you may know nothing about it. That’s all fine. We’ll talk about it when we get there. But one of the purposes of the season of Lent, this forty days leading up to Easter, is contemplation. Just to understand and try to allow it to sink in, what it cost. What the price of sin is. Right? So, in the Old Testament, the book of Exodus, we’re seeing rituals being laid out that include sacrifice. This is intended to show them what the price of sin is. But in Jesus, we see the awful, awful price that it cost to give us salvation, that is a gift that we cannot earn. So profoundly humbling to contemplate. So, yeah, the season of Lent is about that and it begins on Wednesday, but we’re right here right now in this story. And so just understanding what it was Jesus had to endure is humbling and we should be humbled by it.

Prayer:

Jesus, we are humbled. We are. Because we have run away and abandoned You, too. We have run and run and run in so many directions and You have still kept leaving to find us. And why You would value us individually so much is beyond comprehension. But it’s plain to see. Your word reveals to us Your heart toward us. And, so, what else can we say? Thank you isn’t enough. Like, words begin to fail completely in the face of what You endured on our behalf. You didn’t have to do this. It was love, and it’s reaching across time, beyond comprehension, and spilling into our lives and it should create in us a response of humble adoration and worship. And, so, that’s where we are. We worship You. It’s beyond our ability to grasp, what You endured. And when we look at our lives, it’s all because of Your sacrifice. And, so, we thank You, Jesus. Today, we just take these moments to thank You. And, Holy Spirit, we invite You because we want to spend this time in contemplation, to really appreciate what we take for granted so often. Come, Holy Spirit. We ask in Jesus’ name. Amen.

Announcements:

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

So, as I just mentioned, a week from today we’ll be leaving for the land of the Bible and be doing a tour there for the next couple of weeks. And I would ask in advance of the community that we all begin to pray over that. It’s a lot of work. It’s a grueling thing to be touring all day, maintaining Daily Audio Bible, everything from across the ocean. So, there’s a lot of component parts and just a lot involved. Absolutely breathtaking, beautiful to do and we’ll be working every day to make this as virtual as possible for those that are not actually there. So, you definitely want to follow the Daily Audio Bible Facebook page or Daily Audio Bible Instagram page. We will be posting from Israel a lot, but we’re going to need your intercession. And, yeah, it needs to start now and cover us all the way through - health, transportation, jet lag, fatigue - all of it. So, if it comes to mind, if the Holy Spirit begins to bring that up, thank you for your prayers over that as we pilgrimage to the land of the Bible with the intention of opening up the Bible and making it a real alive place that it is. So, thank you for your prayers.

If you want to partner with the Daily Audio Bible, if this is bringing life into your life, then thank you for your partnership in keeping it alive. There is a link that’s sitting 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 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:

Hi there. I am Peggy and I so appreciate DAB and appreciate the opportunity to hear Brian read the word so clearly because I have a hard time reading. It’s just difficult for me now. And I can’t carry a burden by myself. And, so, I am sharing it with you all. I’ve called several times through the years with a heart concern asking for prayer. I just want you to know that always grateful for those of you who will join the praying of the concerns of my heart. And know that I take the prayer time seriously and lift so many of you before the Lord. I thank you for joining me. And, I will say that I’m in my early 80s, and my husband was a minister, and died suddenly just a few months after he retired. We raised four children and now have 13 grandchildren. Last spring during a routine visit with my ophthalmologist for macular degeneration, I was given a shot. And I found, 12 hours later, through hard pain and in the middle of the night that my eyesight was gone in one eye and it will not be recovered. And it was such a shock and so sudden and so much pain with all that. And, anyway, good medical report one day and the next no sight in one eye and lots of adjustment. I was hospitalized in rehab and that had been home and on my own over the last eight months. And today by Dr. at the medical school said he thought the I should be removed. It’s been hurting him there’s no pressure in the eye which is not a good sign. The thought of going through that kind of surgery is horrid to me. Friends I don’t think I can do it. I am asking that God will keep my eye from deteriorating more, to keep my body from rejecting the eye. I’m frightened of surgery and I don’t want more pain. I’m sad. I just feel like I’m too old to go through that. Anyway, though I’m vital in many ways. Please join me in…

Hello DAB family it’s Akhim from Alberta Canada. I’m calling from my brother Blind Tony. I just heard you calling and asking for prayers with regard to your cancer on the podcast on January 30^th. Tony, your poetry has been a real, real an inspiration to me for the past few years. And I just pray for you my brother, that God’s will be done in your life. I know He’s the God our healer and He can do amazing things in our life. My brother, you’ve been so great to so many people through poetry. So, we just take heart and know that God is with you. Let’s pray. Father God, in Jesus name I thank you for my brother Blind Tony. You know his heart, You know his mind, and You know his spirit Lord. So, let Your will be done in His life. May You be with him and his family. Give him a living touch Lord. You know You are better than any doctor we can have Lord. And You can do exceedingly and amazingly more than we can think or even imagine. You can do quickly ___. So, I just pray for Tony, that You touch him and You heal them Lord with Your great hand. In Jesus’ name I pray. Amen. Hey brother. God with you. Thanks.

Hear me dear Lord as I go through this day
To glorify You in every single way
And not bring reproach by the things that I say
To believe in your word and just trust and obey
There’s darkness around me please give me more light
Let me know Father that everything is all right
Dispel all the shadows make everything clear
And when I get lonely God please linger near
Strengthen my faith God and let me shine bright
Knowing in all things that I’m truly alright
And when there is sadness Lord help me to smile
To believe and hope with the faith of a child
Dependent in all ways just like life is to the sun
Not my will Father but thy will be done

blindtony1016@gmail.com I’d like to thank everybody for their many, many prayers. And also, does anyone know anything about Bill B? I haven’t heard about brother Bill in a long time. And thank you once again, Brian, for this wonderful podcast for God’s Holy Spirit to flow. Keep it flown’ y’all. All right. Bye-bye.

Billy in Montgomery, Show Me God’s Love, Melissa in Alabama, Walta, Shantee in Detroit, Terri, Drew in the bay area. Salvation is Mine, Blind Tony, Pastor Gene. I am calling these names out because you guys have been on my heart, deeply, for all that you are going through. And when I am praying for you I am praying for myself, that God is going to claim the victory, that whatever it is we are all battling in this moment, God is in it, God will bring us through it. He is going to heal us from the top of our head to the soles of our feet. I want all of these prayer warriors that are a part of this DAB family to all come together and lift up all of those that have called in, all of those who have not called in. All of the names that have gone unspoken, know that your names are not unspoken. To all the new callers, you think you know what this is about. You have no idea. I have been listening to the DAB for 13 years, 13 years. And when I tell you I thought I was just joining something to listen to a podcast about God, I had no idea the connections that I would make. Living so far away in Munich Germany, I have found a family. I have found a deeper relationship with the Lord. Brian Hardin, you and your family, China with the chronological Bible, is just blowing it out the park. You guys have just no idea how wonderful this is. And to all the people behind the scenes, Sarah Jane in her entire staff, everyone that makes this happen. I pray prayers a blessing over you, prayers of your household. Victoria soldier I love you, Melissa and I Alabama, I…

Hi family. It’s Shannon from Texas. And I have a message for Jordan from Michigan. Is it Michigan? Jordan the teacher, I want to say LA. I don’t know which one. But Jordan, I love you so much. I’ve always listen to you and when you called in and prayed for my son to Jadrian, we just him Jay, I know Jadrian’s hard to say, it was so on point and so led by the spirit, everything that you said. And I was thinking about how you’re a teacher and how God has to be using you so mightily. I know He is. I’ve known from every time that you’ve called. And how it would’ve been so nice when my son was in school if he would have had someone like you. He really didn’t, not here we live now. The Lord told me just to take him out of high school and it’s kind of a long story but it was awful. We didn’t have anyone. And I know that the Lord can use you mightily. He is using you mightily. If you look at it every day like you were going in, and I know that you do this, you’re going into a ministry, and it is a ministry, and know that the enemy has come against you, come against your mind, tried to come against you in every way. But know that God has put you and ordained you and purposed you for this life, that you are being used mightily, and you can overcome this this feeling of it always being a battle. I know it feels like this right now, but if you just stay in him and keep pressing in, you will get past this and this will be a glorious life for you at the service for the Lord. This is your purpose, this is your passion, and this is God’s plan for you. So, just press in, don’t give up, we love you and we are praying for you.

Hi this is Lara calling from Lionel Lake Minnesota. I just wanted to say thank you everybody for this program. I am so, so, very, very happy I found this program. I do listen carefully to everything that everyone says and it just means so much to me. So, please keep sharing everything because you have no idea how much you impact others. So, bless you all and just know that God not only is listening, but other people are too. I wanted to say the purpose of my call is to encourage you all and also to let you know that I am struggling with my spiritual walk with God. And, so, that’s why I found this program, to help me finally just grow spiritually. And I have a son that I raised in the word of God when he was little and now he’s a 17-year-old child who’s really struggling to find his way in the world. And he’s kind of strayed from God’s word. He started doing that since he was 12 and he’s been living in a situation with custody shared. He lives with his dad and his dad is…let’s just say it’s not a very good environment for him. So, I pray…

February 10, 2018

The Daily Audio Bible Reading for Saturday February 10, 2018 (NIV)

Exodus 30:11-31:18

The Tax for the Tent of the Lord's Presence

¹¹The Lord said to Moses, ¹²“When you take a census of the people of Israel, each man is to pay me a price for his life, so that no disaster will come on him while the census is being taken. ¹³^(A)Everyone included in the census must pay the required amount of money, weighed according to the official standard. Everyone must pay this as an offering to me. ¹⁴Everyone being counted in the census, that is, every man twenty years old or older, is to pay me this amount. ¹⁵The rich man is not to pay more, nor the poor man less, when they pay this amount for their lives. ¹⁶Collect this money from the people of Israel and spend it for the upkeep of the Tent of my presence. This tax will be the payment for their lives, and I will remember to protect them.”

The Bronze Basin

¹⁷The Lord said to Moses, ¹⁸^(B)“Make a bronze basin with a bronze base. Place it between the Tent and the altar, and put water in it. ¹⁹Aaron and his sons are to use the water to wash their hands and feet ²⁰before they go into the Tent or approach the altar to offer the food offering. Then they will not be killed. ²¹They must wash their hands and feet, so that they will not die. This is a rule which they and their descendants are to observe forever.”

The Anointing Oil

²²^(C)The Lord said to Moses, ²³“Take the finest spices—12 pounds of liquid myrrh, 6 pounds of sweet-smelling cinnamon, 6 pounds of sweet-smelling cane, ²⁴and 12 pounds of cassia (all weighed according to the official standard). Add one gallon of olive oil, ²⁵and make a sacred anointing oil, mixed like perfume. ²⁶Use it to anoint the Tent of my presence, the Covenant Box, ²⁷the table and all its equipment, the lampstand and its equipment, the altar for burning incense, ²⁸the altar for burning offerings, together with all its equipment, and the washbasin with its base. ²⁹Dedicate these things in this way, and they will be completely holy, and anyone or anything that touches them will be harmed by the power of its holiness.^[a] ³⁰Then anoint Aaron and his sons, and ordain them as priests in my service. ³¹Say to the people of Israel, ‘This holy anointing oil is to be used in my service for all time to come. ³²It must not be poured on ordinary men, and you must not use the same formula to make any mixture like it. It is holy, and you must treat it as holy. ³³Whoever makes any like it or uses any of it on anyone who is not a priest will no longer be considered one of my people.’”

The Incense

³⁴The Lord said to Moses, “Take an equal part of each of the following sweet spices—stacte, onycha, galbanum, and pure frankincense. ³⁵Use them to make incense, mixed like perfume. Add salt to keep it pure and holy. ³⁶Beat part of it into a fine powder, take it into the Tent of my presence, and sprinkle it in front of the Covenant Box. Treat this incense as completely holy. ³⁷Do not use the same formula to make any incense like it for yourselves. Treat it as a holy thing dedicated to me. ³⁸If anyone makes any like it for use as perfume, he will no longer be considered one of my people.”

Craftsmen for the Tent of the Lord's Presence^(D)

31 The Lord said to Moses, ²“I have chosen Bezalel, the son of Uri and grandson of Hur, from the tribe of Judah, ³and I have filled him with my power.^[b] I have given him understanding, skill, and ability for every kind of artistic work— ⁴for planning skillful designs and working them in gold, silver, and bronze; ⁵for cutting jewels to be set; for carving wood; and for every other kind of artistic work. ⁶I have also selected Oholiab son of Ahisamach, from the tribe of Dan, to work with him. I have also given great ability to all the other skilled workers, so that they can make everything I have commanded to be made: ⁷the Tent of my presence, the Covenant Box and its lid, all the furnishings of the Tent, ⁸the table and its equipment, the lampstand of pure gold and all its equipment, the altar for burning incense, ⁹the altar for burnt offerings and all its equipment, the washbasin and its base, ¹⁰the magnificent priestly garments for Aaron and his sons to use when they serve as priests, ¹¹the anointing oil, and the sweet-smelling incense for the Holy Place. In making all these things, they are to do exactly as I have commanded you.”

Sabbath, the Day of Rest

¹²The Lord commanded Moses ¹³to tell the people of Israel, “Keep the Sabbath, my day of rest, because it is a sign between you and me for all time to come, to show that I, the Lord, have made you my own people. ¹⁴You must keep the day of rest, because it is sacred. Whoever does not keep it, but works on that day, is to be put to death. ¹⁵^(E)You have six days in which to do your work, but the seventh day is a solemn day of rest dedicated to me. Whoever does any work on that day is to be put to death. ¹⁶The people of Israel are to keep this day as a sign of the covenant. ¹⁷^(F)It is a permanent sign between the people of Israel and me, because I, the Lord, made heaven and earth in six days, and on the seventh day I stopped working and rested.”

¹⁸When God had finished speaking to Moses on Mount Sinai, he gave him the two stone tablets on which God himself had written the commandments.

Footnotes:

Exodus 30:29 See 29.37.
Exodus 31:3 power; or spirit.

Cross references:

Good News Translation (GNT)

Matthew 26:47-68

The Arrest of Jesus^(A)

⁴⁷Jesus was still speaking when Judas, one of the twelve disciples, arrived. With him was a large crowd armed with swords and clubs and sent by the chief priests and the elders. ⁴⁸The traitor had given the crowd a signal: “The man I kiss is the one you want. Arrest him!”

⁴⁹Judas went straight to Jesus and said, “Peace be with you, Teacher,” and kissed him.

⁵⁰Jesus answered, “Be quick about it, friend!”^[a]

Then they came up, arrested Jesus, and held him tight. ⁵¹One of those who were with Jesus drew his sword and struck at the High Priest's slave, cutting off his ear. ⁵²“Put your sword back in its place,” Jesus said to him. “All who take the sword will die by the sword. ⁵³Don't you know that I could call on my Father for help, and at once he would send me more than twelve armies of angels? ⁵⁴But in that case, how could the Scriptures come true which say that this is what must happen?”

⁵⁵^(B)Then Jesus spoke to the crowd, “Did you have to come with swords and clubs to capture me, as though I were an outlaw? Every day I sat down and taught in the Temple, and you did not arrest me. ⁵⁶But all this has happened in order to make come true what the prophets wrote in the Scriptures.”

Then all the disciples left him and ran away.

Jesus before the Council^(C)

⁵⁷Those who had arrested Jesus took him to the house of Caiaphas, the High Priest, where the teachers of the Law and the elders had gathered together. ⁵⁸Peter followed from a distance, as far as the courtyard of the High Priest's house. He went into the courtyard and sat down with the guards to see how it would all come out. ⁵⁹The chief priests and the whole Council tried to find some false evidence against Jesus to put him to death; ⁶⁰but they could not find any, even though many people came forward and told lies about him. Finally two men stepped up ⁶¹^(D)and said, “This man said, ‘I am able to tear down God's Temple and three days later build it back up.’”

⁶²The High Priest stood up and said to Jesus, “Have you no answer to give to this accusation against you?” ⁶³But Jesus kept quiet. Again the High Priest spoke to him, “In the name of the living God I now put you under oath: tell us if you are the Messiah, the Son of God.”

⁶⁴^(E)Jesus answered him, “So you say. But I tell all of you: from this time on you will see the Son of Man sitting at the right side of the Almighty and coming on the clouds of heaven!”

⁶⁵^(F)At this the High Priest tore his clothes and said, “Blasphemy! We don't need any more witnesses! You have just heard his blasphemy! ⁶⁶What do you think?”

They answered, “He is guilty and must die.”

⁶⁷^(G)Then they spat in his face and beat him; and those who slapped him ⁶⁸said, “Prophesy for us, Messiah! Guess who hit you!”

Footnotes:

Matthew 26:50 Be quick about it, friend!; or Why are you here, friend?

Cross references:

Good News Translation (GNT)

Psalm 32

Confession and Forgiveness^[a]

32 ^(A)Happy are those whose sins are forgiven,
whose wrongs are pardoned.
²Happy is the one whom the Lord does not accuse of doing wrong
and who is free from all deceit.

³When I did not confess my sins,
I was worn out from crying all day long.
⁴Day and night you punished me, Lord;
my strength was completely drained,
as moisture is dried up by the summer heat.

⁵Then I confessed my sins to you;
I did not conceal my wrongdoings.
I decided to confess them to you,
and you forgave all my sins.

⁶So all your loyal people should pray to you in times of need;^[b]
when a great flood of trouble comes rushing in,
it will not reach them.
⁷You are my hiding place;
you will save me from trouble.
I sing aloud of your salvation,
because you protect me.

⁸The Lord says, “I will teach you the way you should go;
I will instruct you and advise you.
⁹Don't be stupid like a horse or a mule,
which must be controlled with a bit and bridle
to make it submit.”

¹⁰The wicked will have to suffer,
but those who trust in the Lord
are protected by his constant love.
¹¹You that are righteous, be glad and rejoice
because of what the Lord has done.
You that obey him, shout for joy!

Footnotes:

Psalm 32:1 HEBREW TITLE: A poem by David.
Psalm 32:6 Some ancient translations need; Hebrew finding only.

Cross references:

Psalm 32:1 : Rom 4:7; Rom 4:8

Good News Translation (GNT)

Proverbs 8:27-32

²⁷^(A)I was there when he set the sky in place,
when he stretched the horizon across the ocean,
²⁸when he placed the clouds in the sky,
when he opened the springs of the ocean
²⁹and ordered the waters of the sea
to rise no further than he said.
I was there when he laid the earth's foundations.
³⁰I was beside him like an architect,^[a]
I was his daily source of joy,
always happy in his presence—
³¹happy with the world
and pleased with the human race.

³²^(B)“Now, young people, listen to me.
Do as I say, and you will be happy.

Footnotes:

Proverbs 8:30 an architect; or a little child.

Cross references:

Good News Translation (GNT)

February 10, 2018

02/09/2018 DAB Transcript

Exodus 29:1-30:10, Matthew 26:14-46, Psalms 31:19-24, Proverbs 8:14-26

Today is the 9^th day of February. Welcome to the Daily Audio Bible. I’m Brian. It’s great to be here with you. It’s fantastic that we can be on this journey together and we’ve come so far already into this year. And it’s wonderful that we can take the next step today. And that next step will first lead us out to Mount Sinai where the first of the laws are being given to this people that are being transformed from slave to God’s chosen people in preparation for the promised land. We’re reading from the Good News Translation this week. Exodus chapter 29 verse 1 through 30 verse 10 today.

Commentary:

Okay. So, we’re entering into the passion narrative as we mentioned yesterday. And Jesus shares his final meal with his friends, talks about betrayal, and then goes to Gethsemane. So, they would have crossed the Kidron valley and gone up the side of the Mount of Olives into the olive groves that were growing on the side of the Mount of Olives known as Gethsemane so that He can pray. So, obviously, this is a well-known story and we can recite the details of the story. But it’s important when we come to this not to just blow by it at all. This is the story of how it is our salvation came to be. So, if you’ve heard it a thousand times, then, you know, then a thousand more isn’t enough because there’s so much richness in it. Have you ever in your heart, in a trial that you’re going through with anxiety, depression, circumstance, loss of a loved one, loss in general, have you ever said something out loud or inside like, this sorrow in my heart is so great that it almost crushes me. Right? Does that describe that time? Maybe that time is now. I mean, we probably all know, to some degree, what that feels like. And isn’t it in those times we’re crying out? Right? We’re crying out to God. A lot of the Psalms would mimic how our emotions are churning and how we’re feeling. And in those times, we start to wonder where God went. Right? What’s going on here? And we’ll say things like, where are you? Where are you? And then that can turn into anger. Might be feeling abandoned in some way until we’re ultimately holding in our heart this sense that God doesn’t really understand how difficult it is to navigate this life on planet Earth. And then we get this subtle messaging, you are alone. You are on your own. There is no one coming for you. Echoes of the deception of Eden. None of it is true though, because those words, the sorrow in my heart is so great that it almost crushes me, are the words of Jesus as He’s facing what He’s about to endure. Or have we ever said words like, God, is there any way you can get me out of this? Yet, Jesus said that, too. Father, if it’s possible, take this cup of suffering from me, yet not what I want, but what you want. What I want to point out here is that, although we do go through difficult patches, that even feel like they are crushing our soul, and even though we get that sort of message in our mind that God does not understand, it’s not true. Jesus, for sure, knows what that feels like. And if Jesus is God, if Jesus is one with the Father, then God absolutely does know what that feels like. So, rather than getting further and further estranged from God and growing more and more bitter and angry, feeling like He does not get it, like He does not understand, we need to know that that’s a lie. That is a deception. And the intention is to get us estranged from God and isolated. Because when we’re isolated, we’re easy to take out. So, there is much for us in this story. It’s not just the Bible story we’ve heard since we were kids. This was not easy for Jesus, as we hear from his own communication, from his own lips. And, so, he does understand us, He does know exactly what it feels like, what we’re going through. And He will walk through it with us. Of that, there also is no doubt. He promised He would never leave or forsake. And He hasn’t. And He won’t. And we should find a generous outpouring of hope because of that.

And then we’ve also been hearing from the lips of wisdom herself in the book of Proverbs. And what she claims today is that she was the first of all God’s creation. Right? The Lord created me first of all, wisdom says. The first of his works, long ago. I was made in the very beginning, at the first, before the world began. I was born before the oceans, when there were no springs of water. I was born before the mountains, before the hills were set in place, before God made the earth and its fields or even the first handful of soil. So, what we’re finding is that wisdom is something God created and then God used, more ancient than the world itself. And less we think, well, this ancient wisdom can’t be found anymore and I don’t know how to walk in it or even find it, she speaks to that. I love those who love me. Whoever looks for me can find me. I have riches and honor to give. Prosperity and success. What you get from me is better than the finest gold, better than the finest silver. I walk the way of righteousness. I follow the paths of justice. So, if wisdom is something we want to become intimate allies with and use as God does, then it can be found if we’ll look for it. If we’ll love it, it will love us back. And the first thing that we can see right from the Scriptures here is that wisdom walks the way of righteousness and follows the paths of justice. So, we can start there. We can walk the way of righteousness and follow the paths of justice in all of our dealings. We would be walking the same path as wisdom. We’re much more likely to encounter wisdom walking the same road than a different one. We need to be where wisdom is if we want to collaborate with wisdom. If we’re going to be where wisdom is not, we’re never going to encounter it.

Prayer:

Father, You have given us much. You have given us words and counsel for how to obtain and walk in wisdom, which we need desperately to navigate life. And You have shown us that you understand. You get it. You get it more than we get it. You have endured more human suffering than we have. You have seen what humanity is capable of at its worst, and still, still you didn’t abandon us. It’s us. We’ve been abandoning You all along and we can already see how that has taken shape in the Bible. It’s us. You haven’t left, we have. And we have blamed You for everything conceivable, things that You had nothing to do with. And we’ve taken the deception that we’re alone, that You’re not coming, and we ask your forgiveness. It’s hard, Lord, we confess, when things are bleak, when it does feel like our souls are crushed and our sorrow is overwhelming. It’s hard to see clear. And, so, God, we reach for wisdom and we reach for You, confessing, once again, no matter what, You are our only hope. There is no other. So, we put our hope, all of it, all of our trust, all of it, in You and You alone. You are the plan A and there is no plan B. We risk it all, our identity, our heart, our mind, our will, our body, our ambitions, our hopes, our dreams, our goals, everything, everything. We place our hope in You and You alone. And we ask, come Holy Spirit. Come, comforter. Come, comfort us and lead us into all truth. We ask this in the name of Jesus, Amen.

Announcements:

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

Check out the Prayer Wall while you’re there. Maybe you have some things that you want to be prayed over or maybe you just kind of want to read through, be lead, and pray for people, and let them know that you’re praying for them. That brings comfort. That brings life. That brings us out of isolation. So, check that out. You can get to the Prayer Wall also using the Daily Audio Bible app by just pressing that Drawer menu in the upper left-hand corner. You’ll find the Prayer Wall in there. So, pray. That’s one of the things that fuels this community is that we pray for each other. We love one another well in that way. So, check that out.

Daily Audio Bible shop is also at dailyaudiobible.com. Of course, it’s also in the app. But there are resources in there like the Promise Land films, the Daily Audio Bible journal and writing utensils to just…I mean, you can see…this is how far we are in the year and we have quite a ways to go but we can see how much ground we’ve covered. And we cover enough ground that we begin to forget the ground that we’ve covered and what God was speaking to us in our hearts, into our situation. Write it down. Maybe you’re not a big journaler. I get it. But write it down somehow. Write it down in the Daily Audio Bible app. There’s a journal right in there. Or write it down with your own hand, which is beautiful, because it lasts for future generations to see God’s faithfulness in your family. But write it down. We’ve come this far in the Bible and how many times have we seen memorials being set up or things being written down so that it’s not forgotten? It’s one of the great traditions found in the Bible. So, there are resources available for that in the Daily Audio Bible shop as well. So, check it out.

If you want to partner with the Daily Audio Bible in keeping the global campfire that we share as a community burning strong, so that there’s always a light and warmth burning, no matter what time of day it is, no matter where you are in the world, no matter what is going on in your life, you can come here. No matter what, you can come here. It’s always happening. You come here and God’s word can be spoken over you. If that is meaningful to you, then thank you for your partnership. Because it can’t happen if we don’t do it together, so thank you, thank you. There is a link, it’s on the homepage of dailyaudiobible.com. If you’re using the Daily Audio Bible app, you can get there by clicking 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:

Hello Daily Audio Bible family. I hope you’re doing well. This is John calling from Bethlehem Pennsylvania. I wanted to call in this morning to let the woman that called in from Virginia, Bonnie, I wanted to let you know that I’m keeping your son in my thoughts and prayers. And also, Tara from Maine, you called in. It was your first time calling asking for prayer for your mom. I want to lift your mom up in prayer who was just diagnosed with stage IV cancer. So, Bonnie, heavenly Father, Bonnie’s son is being released from prison, Father, after being incarcerated. And Bonnie’s prayer, Father, and our prayer is that he is able to turn to You. Bonnie has given him a copy of the book Sneezing Jesus. And we know Father God that if he is able to open the pages of that book, he’s going to find You there waiting for him Father God. So, we just ask that he’s able to get home safe, he’s able to go to church, that he follows that path Father God and he becomes connected with You and finds a relationship with You and is saved Father God by your son, Jesus. And for Tara in Maine for her mother who lives a vibrant life Father God, we ask that she can continue to live as vibrant a life as possible through any suffering that she may have Father God but more importantly that you would be with her to keep her vivacious and vibrant so she continues to live her life in that manner in that way. We pray Father God over the treatment that she’s receiving and that we entrust you with all of her care that you’ll send…

God is good. Isn’t he amazing beyond words? And we have access to him every moment of every day or night. Ahhh…what a blessing. Brian, thank you and Jill for being obedient to God’s will and for making this community available to us DABbers. There was a new caller who spoke about not yet being acquainted with Jill. So, until Jill visits us again, I would encourage you to check out her album called ‘I Still Want More’. Quick thing about that…and I remember His little Shareef, as I recall, my husband and I were working on a puzzle while listening to Jill’s album and we both start belting out the songs and enjoying the moment. I was secretly enjoying the fact that my husband seems to be paying no attention when I’m playing the songs around the house but he actually was enjoying them. Anyway, check out the Daily Audio Bible shop for the album. I’m sure you will enjoy it. Candace, I was thinking of you and remembering how your dear departed husband used to love the 23^rd Psalm and how lovely you sing whenever you call in. I can’t do as lovely a job as you do, but I wanted to sing for you a stanza of song I learned as a wee child. So, hopefully this will bless you today. [singing] The Lord’s my Shepherd I’ll not want. He makes me down to lie in pastures green He leadeth me the quiet waters by. He lives. He lives. He lives. I know that my Redeemer lives. He lives. He lives. He lives within my heart. [singing ends] I do not remember how the rest of the lyrics in the tune tie in together but I promise I’ll track it down and when I do I’ll call back and sing it for you again. Okay.

Hi this is Patricia from Tucson. This is my first time calling. I am calling today requesting prayers for baby John. He was born with a heart condition. He’s already had multiple surgeries. Nothing seems to be working. His times are desperate. I’m sorry that’s my kids in the background. But if you could please pray for baby John. My note today was it’s going to be a defining day because they don’t know what else can be done for him because his little body is week. And, so, I ask for your prayers. And may God bless him and hopefully he’s able to stay here with us longer.

Hi this is Jazzy from New York. Firstly just, Brian, thank you for having Daily Audio Bible. It’s certainly been a lifeline for me for the past eight years or so and I’m so thankful. I started to listen at a young age. I’m still young but not as young as I used to be. And I’m just thankful that I really connected to this program. And I just wanted to…I just ask for prayer for a board exam that I’m going to take, probably within the next 30 days or so. I’m a medical student and I am in my fourth year. So, I am graduating next year. It’s been, you know, a bit of a journey for me, but thank God He has kept me and He has been faithful to me throughout every situation and circumstance. And He has truly turned my life around, always showing me His faithfulness and His grace upon my life and the life of those around me. So, I’m praying for favor and for divine breakthrough and overcoming spirit to tackle, completely tackle my step 2 board exam and my step 2 CS bboard exam. I also filed for an appeal for accommodations, special accommodations, double time for some learning challenges that I have. So, they, basically the organization that heads up all of the board exams ___ they are overseeing my case right now. So, I’m praying for a positive deliberation…

Hi Daily Audio Bible. This is Sharon of California. I said that I wanted to call myself the Rose of Sharon but I want to rethink that, take that back, because there’s only one Rose of Sharon and that’s Jesus. So, I’m just Sharon in California. But the reason for my call, I just heard Blind Tony’s request for prayer because of his cancers possible return. And Blind Tony I’ve been listening to the Daily Audio Bible for about three years. Last year was my first time listening all the way through the year and your calls, your poems, touch me. And I just want to say that your, of course everyone in this family is in my prayers all the time, but right now you are especially in my heart because I too had cancer, 20 years ago, thank God and I’ve been healed and I believe in all my heart that God is a healer. And I heard in your voice your resolve, your faith, and encouraged me. And I want you to know this. God is with you. And I will continue to pray for you and everyone on the Daily Audio Bible. Thank you, Blind Tony for your poems. You are a divine blessing. Bye for now.

Hi this is Melody from Canada. It’s February 2^nd and the woman who is a first-time caller about her mom’s cancer, I can’t remember your name, but I was really touched by your love for your mom. And I used to do home support for seniors and I saw some miracles. I saw some people live way longer than was expected and with more vibrancy than expected. So, I pray that for your mom. And I was also…for Madison, Joe’s daughter, I was in the hospital with depression and I caused so much heartbreak for my family, but God healed me. And, so, there’s hope for your daughter, there’s hope for your family. And keep walking in the light and a holding onto him. And Brian, thank you for your word on the wilderness. And I can really relate to that. And, yes, it is time to stop looking back and keep pointing forward. Thank you. Bye.

Exodus 37-38

The Sacred Chest

The Table for the Sacred Bread

The Lampstand

The Altar for Burning Incense

The Oil for Dedication and the Incense

The Altar for Offering Sacrifices

The Large Bronze Bowl

The Courtyard around the Sacred Tent

The Sacred Tent

Footnotes:

Matthew 28

Jesus Is Alive

Report of the Guard

What Jesus' Followers Must Do

Footnotes:

Psalm 34:11-22

Proverbs 9:9-10

Footnotes:

Exodus 35:10-36:38

Gifts for the Lord

Bezalel and Oholiab

The Curtains and Coverings for the Sacred Tent

The Framework for the Sacred Tent

The Inside Curtain for the Sacred Tent

Footnotes:

Matthew 27:32-66

The Death of Jesus

Jesus Is Buried

Footnotes:

Psalm 34:1-10

(Written by David when he pretended to be crazy in front of Abimelech, so that Abimelech would send him away, and David could leave.)

Honor the Lord

Footnotes:

Proverbs 9:7-8

True Wisdom

Exodus 34:1-35:9

The Second Set of Commandments

A Promise and Its Demands

Moses Comes Down from Mount Sinai

Laws for the Sabbath

Offerings for the Sacred Tent

Footnotes:

Matthew 27:15-31

The Death Sentence

Soldiers Make Fun of Jesus

Jesus Is Nailed to a Cross

Footnotes:

Psalm 33:12-22

Proverbs 9:1-6

Wisdom Gives a Feast

Exodus 32-33

The People Make an Idol To Worship

The Lord Tells Israel To Leave Mount Sinai

The Lord Is with His People

The Lord Promises To Be with His People

Footnotes:

Matthew 26:69-27:14

Peter Says He Doesn’t Know Jesus

Jesus Is Taken to Pilate

The Death of Judas

Pilate Questions Jesus

Footnotes:

Psalm 33:1-11

Sing Praises to the Lord

Proverbs 8:33-36

Exodus 30:11-31:18

The Tax for the Tent of the Lord's Presence

The Bronze Basin

The Anointing Oil

The Incense

Craftsmen for the Tent of the Lord's Presence(D)

Sabbath, the Day of Rest

Footnotes:

Cross references:

Matthew 26:47-68

The Arrest of Jesus(A)

Jesus before the Council(C)

Footnotes:

Cross references:

Craftsmen for the Tent of the Lord's Presence^(D)

The Arrest of Jesus^(A)

Jesus before the Council^(C)

Confession and Forgiveness^[a]