GENESIS 30: In yesterday’s reading , Jacob left home, and God appeared to him and promised to bless him as he blessed Isaac. Jacob worked for Laban, married both Leah and Rachel, and he had four sons through Leah. JOB 17: Yesterday was the first chapter of Job's response to Eliphaz. He complained that his three comforters were not very comforting. 1-2 GNT I have heard words like that before; the comfort you give is only torment. 3 Are you going to keep on talking forever? Do you always have to h...
Jan 13, 2025•17 min•Season 1Ep. 17
GENESIS 28-29: After what Jacob did to Esau, with Esau holding a big grudge, it is time for Jacob to get out of town. JOB 16: Eliphaz said that Job was showing no reverence for God, that his own words condemned him. His rhetorical questions all imply that Job is being proud and guilty of sin. Eliphaz maintained that no mortal can be pure. MARK 10a: In yesterday's reading Jesus predicted his death, spoke about who is greatest in God's kingdom, and talked about the seriousness of sin. NLT Translat...
Jan 13, 2025•21 min•Season 1Ep. 16
GENESIS 27: In yesterday's reading we read the history of Isaac and Rebecca's family before the narrative focuses on their dissimilar twin sons— and especially Jacob. JOB 15: God has revealed so much more to us in our day than what Job could know in his day. One thing was shown yesterday. Job asked, 14:14 If a man dies, can he come back to life? … MARK 9b: After coming down the mountain with three of his disciples, Jesus met his other disciples who were having two difficulties simultaneously wit...
Jan 13, 2025•20 min•Season 1Ep. 15
Do you know an elderly person who can no longer read the Bible? Or, do you know someone who would enjoy listening to audio Scripture but who is not able to use the Internet? An easy way to help such people is by sharing MP3 recordings via inexpensive MP3 players. Many good podcast apps (like AntennaPod for Android) have settings for how many episodes can be downloaded. Set the number at 400 and you should get a year’s worth, with a few extras that can be deleted. The challenge then is to find ou...
Jan 13, 2025•23 min•Season 1Ep. 14
GENESIS 24: In Genesis 22, Isaac asked, “I see that you have the coals and the wood, but where is the lamb for the sacrifice?” 8 Abraham answered, “God himself will provide one.” It is amazing to me that Moses adds the proverb, “even today people say, “On the Lord's mountain he provides.” In our time, we easily see how this points to the provision of the Lamb of God on the mountain called Calvary. JOB 13: As we saw in chapter 12, Job by now is pretty ticked off, starting off with, “Yes, you are ...
Jan 13, 2025•24 min•Season 1Ep. 13
GENESIS 22-23: In yesterday's reading in Genesis, Abraham deceived Abimelech, Isaak was born, and Sarah demanded that Hagar and her son be sent away— which grieved Abraham. (But remember that story, because Paul uses it as a spiritual metaphor in Galatians 4.) Finally Abimelech visited Abraham, and the two made several formally ratified promises. JOB 12: Yesterday, Zophar said to Job, Job 11:1-2 GNT Will no one answer all this nonsense? Does talking so much put you in the right? 3 Job, do you th...
Jan 06, 2025•17 min•Season 1Ep. 12
GENESIS 20-21: In chapter 19 of Genesis we heard what happened to Lot and his daughters after being saved from Sodom. The sons of Lot’s daughters became the ancestors of the Moabite and Ammonite races who were always at war with God’s people. JOB 11: In chapter 10, Job accused God, Job 10:13 GNT But now I know that all that time [since birth] you were secretly planning to harm me. 14 You were watching to see if I would sin, so that you could refuse to forgive me. 15 As soon as I sin, I'm in trou...
Jan 06, 2025•19 min•Season 1Ep. 11
GENESIS 19: In yesterday's reading, Abram and Sarai received new names and God confirmed and expanded his covenant with Abram (now Abraham). Circumcision was added as a sign of following the covenant. Angels visited Abraham and Sarah and Abraham bargained with God about saving the few righteous people in Sodom— among whom I am sure Abraham was thinking of Lot. JOB 10: Job continues his response to Bildad. At the end of chapter 9 Job showed mankind's need of a mediator: 32 “God is not a mortal li...
Jan 06, 2025•19 min•Season 1Ep. 10
GENESIS 17-18: In chapter 15 we heard of God's covenant with Abram and Abram's _fully believing_ God's promises. Then in chapter 16 we read of Abram and Sarai trying to help God fulfill his promises. Chapter 15 verse 6 is a famous verse that is quoted three times in the NT: 6 Abram put his trust in the Lord, and because of this the Lord was pleased with him and accepted him. (GNT) [The NT translates this verse a bit differently because it is quoted from the Septuagint (the LXX, the ancient trans...
Jan 06, 2025•24 min•Season 1Ep. 9
GENESIS 15-16: Yesterday we heard the stories of Abram and Lot separating company, and of Abram rescuing Lot in time of war. Then we heard of the mysterious priest Melchizedek (who we will read about in the NT in Hebrews). JOB 8: In the preceding two chapters, Job said some very despairing and angry words, telling God basically to go take a walk and leave him alone. Job again wished for his own death. He said to God, 19 Won't you look away long enough for me to swallow my spit? 20 Are you harmed...
Jan 06, 2025•16 min•Season 1Ep. 8
GENESIS 13-14: In yesterday's reading we heard about God scattering people by confusing their languages. It’s important to remember that the city they were building is called Babylon. Then we traced the ancestry of Abram, who descended from Seth's line. Then we read about the call of Abram and what happened when they were staying in Egypt because of a famine. Abram doesn’t sound like a model husband. JOB 7: Today we hear the second chapter of Job’s response to Eliphaz. In chapter 6 Job said, 10 ...
Jan 06, 2025•14 min•Season 1Ep. 7
If you are reading along while listening to the recordings, you will notice that I often exchange the word ‘believe’ (or ‘fully believe’) for ‘faith’. This is because the English word ‘faith’ is used with all kinds of fuzzy meanings these days and can easily be misunderstood. 1) In Greek, ‘faith’ and ‘believe’ are the noun and verb forms of the same root word. 2) When one uses an abstract noun like ‘faith’ in English, the object of the faith is lost— in this case the Person who is being believed...
Jan 06, 2025•18 min•Season 1Ep. 6
Greetings everyone! As I explained previously, I started on a quest because of frustration with 2Peter 1:3-4: By his divine power, God has given us everything we need for living a godly life. We have received all of this by coming to know him, the one who called us to himself by means of his marvelous glory and excellence. And because of his glory and excellence, he has given us great and precious promises. These are the promises that enable you to share his divine nature and escape the world’s ...
Dec 31, 2024•17 min•Season 1Ep. 164
Choose a good Bible version for your reading this year! I recommend that you choose a good meaning-based translation for your Bible reading this year, not one of the literal versions. I recommend that you use a literal version whenever you have time for in-depth study, but not for your daily devotional reading. Here’s the difference: The advantage of a literal translation is that it gives you a word-for-word view into the _form_ of the original. The disadvantage of literal translations is that t...
Dec 29, 2024•18 min•Season 1Ep. 5
Most people find out about the DBRP through the YouVersion Bible reading app on their smart device. If you are one who has found out about these podcasts through some other means (such as via Apple Podcasts), then I want to make you aware that the Bible app created by YouVersion is wonderful. You can subscribe to the Digging Deeper Daily reading plan within the app, then reading along with these daily podcasts is very easy. Just start your episode using your podcast player, then go to your day i...
Dec 29, 2024•20 min•Season 1Ep. 4
How can you get more out of your Bible reading this year? My top advice is to SLOW DOWN! The readings in this plan take around 20 minutes if read aloud. If you read silently, you might finish in only 10 minutes. But if you skim through like that, you won’t retain very much! I suggest these two ways to slow down: 1. Read out loud to yourself. Read expressively. When you find that your first attempt didn’t quite have the right intonation, go back and read the sentence again. Take time to think abo...
Dec 29, 2024•19 min•Season 1Ep. 3
It is possible to listen to these podcasts on YouTube or Facebook, but these ways are not optimal. The How-to pages pages linked in the banner of http://dailybiblereading.info give various ways to conveniently listen to these podcasts using any kind of smart device, including smart speakers. Use the Listen menu item of the How-to pages to find this information. You will note that I read most Bible names phonetically— rather than the using normal English pronunciation. This means that the letter ...
Dec 29, 2024•19 min•Season 1Ep. 2
Hey there! Welcome to this day number 1 in the NLT series for the Digging Deeper Daily reading plan. These podcasts are hosted at dailybiblereading.info . Today in this episode number 1 we read Genesis 1-2, Job 1, and the first half of Mark 1. It’s great that you're starting TODAY on a life-transforming journey through the Bible! The Digging Deeper Daily plan will help you be successful in your commitment to read the whole Bible in a year. The unique order of the readings— together with the brie...
Dec 29, 2024•24 min•Season 1Ep. 1
Hi there! I’m so glad you have clicked to listen to this introduction to the Digging Deeper Daily Bible reading plan and podcasts for 2025. If you want to read the Bible in a great reading plan that will hold your attention and enable you to stay with the program, you are in the right place. If you want to listen , the complete Bibles I have recorded following my reading plan are the New Living Translation and the Good News Bible . If you can, do both : listen to the podcast while reading along....
Dec 29, 2024•9 min
As I finish this podcast series, I am really thankful for this year-long experience. If you are one of the faithful ones who have listened through a year’s worth of daily podcasts— and no matter whether this has taken longer than a year, I say Way to go! I sincerely hope these podcasts have been a blessing for you— as they have been for me. I hope that nothing that I have said has caused you to stumble or decreased your desire to study God’s Word. I started this project in the hope that my four ...
Dec 29, 2024•20 min•Season 1Ep. 365
MALACHI 3: In chapters 1-2 yesterday, we heard how skeptical and sassy the Israelites had become. This came out in the way Malachi has the people of Israel talk back to God. The first is like this: Mal. 1:2 NLT “I have always loved you,” says the LORD. But you retort, “Really? Topics for such exchanges included offering sacrifices that don’t show appropriate honor to God, breaking covenants of marriage through divorce, and not honoring God as the God of justice. Two more sassy exchanges happen i...
Dec 29, 2024•21 min•Season 1Ep. 364
MALACHI 1-2: We heard a very difficult conclusion to Zechariah yesterday. Chapter 14 started out with horrendous news for Jerusalem. But the Lord himself steps in: Zec. 14:3 NLT Then the LORD will go out to fight against those nations, as he has fought in times past. 4 On that day his feet will stand on the Mount of Olives, east of Jerusalem. And the Mount of Olives will split apart … We will see the following from Zech 14 very soon in Revelation: Zec. 14:5c NLT “Then the LORD my God will come, ...
Dec 22, 2024•22 min•Season 1Ep. 363
ZECHARIAH 14: Unfortunately, we have not yet seen the fulfillment of this prophecy from the end of Zechariah 12: Zec. 12:10 NLT “Then I will pour out a spirit of grace and prayer on the family of David and on the people of Jerusalem. They will look on me whom they have pierced and mourn for him as for an only son. They will grieve bitterly for him as for a firstborn son who has died. (The podcast notes for the previous episode contain a translation note on this verse.) However, this part has bee...
Dec 22, 2024•20 min•Season 1Ep. 362
ZECHARIAH 12-13: Several times I have noted Zechariah and other prophets who use the figure of shepherding a flock— picturing God’s people. In chapter 11, there were puzzling verses where Zechariah evidently performed an outward demonstration involving two staffs. Other prophets did such demonstrations. In this one, evidently Zechariah stood in for the Messiah. The two staffs were named Favor and Union. Our Messiah, Jesus, came to restore us to God’s favor and give us unity as God’s people— no m...
Dec 22, 2024•20 min•Season 1Ep. 361
ZECHARIAH 10-11: As we have seen before, the Lord loves names and delights to give new names. In Zec. 8 He said, Zec. 8:3 NLT Then Jerusalem will be called the Faithful City; the mountain of the LORD of Heaven’s Armies will be called the Holy Mountain. In Zec. 9 we read the verse Matthew quotes in chapter 21 about Jesus coming riding on the foal of a donkey. The verse is also alluded to in John 12:15. And we heard this verse about the New Jerusalem: Zec. 9:16 NLT On that day the LORD their God w...
Dec 22, 2024•21 min•Season 1Ep. 360
ZECHARIAH 8-9: I hope that you have noticed [Joshua//Jeshua] the high priest. He was the one that Satan was not allowed to accuse. He was given clean clothes. He is a priest and was given a clean priestly turban. And the gem with seven facets (literally, seven eyes) was set before him. He is a picture of the Messiah, who is called the Lord’s righteous Branch. Then in chapter 6 we read that he was given a crown, and told: Zec. 6:13 NLT Yes, he will build the Temple of the LORD. Then he will recei...
Dec 22, 2024•22 min•Season 1Ep. 359
ZECHARIAH 6-7: There were so many correspondences to Revelation in the three chapters we read yesterday in Zechariah that I cannot even take time to list them. I single out this one from chapter 3 as especially interesting: Zec. 3:8 NLT “Listen to me, O [Joshua//Jeshua] the high priest, and all you other priests. You are symbols of things to come. Soon I am going to bring my servant, the Branch . 9 Now look at the jewel I have set before Jeshua, a single stone with seven facets . I will engrave ...
Dec 22, 2024•17 min•Season 1Ep. 358
ZECHARIAH 3-5: In Zechariah 1-2 we heard how Zechariah’s dreams often included angels talking with him. There were horses and riders, horns and blacksmiths, and the measuring Jerusalem. Jerusalem will not be nearly big enough. God’s people WILL COME out of captivity in Babylon. Note that by Zechariah’s time, this was already happening. His words and those events foreshadow what we read in Revelation about the new Jerusalem. Consider the last verses of Zech. 2: Zech. 2:10-13 NLT The Lord says, “S...
Dec 22, 2024•22 min•Season 1Ep. 357
ZECHARIAH 1-2: Yesterday we read both chapters of the little book of Haggai, and heard how Haggai motivated his discouraged audience to return to the task of rebuilding the temple. Haggai certainly must have known and worked with our next author— Zechariah. While there are at least 27 men named Zechariah in the Old Testament, we do know which one was the writer of this book. The biblestudytools.com site says that Zechariah “was born in Babylonia and was among those who returned to Judah in 538/5...
Dec 15, 2024•23 min•Season 1Ep. 356
HAGGAI 1-2: I hope you saw correlations to Revelation in the 3rd chapter of Zephaniah yesterday— in what God plans for the nations and for those who come to the new Jerusalem. And these verses are interesting because of correlations all over scripture: Zephaniah 3:11b NLT I will remove all proud and arrogant people from among you. There will be no more haughtiness on my holy mountain. 12 Those who are left will be the lowly and humble, for it is they who trust in the name of the Lord. Mears give...
Dec 15, 2024•22 min•Season 1Ep. 355
