EXODUS 30-31: Yesterday we heard the instructions for consecrating the priests for their special work. PSALM 4: This is an evening hymn expressing our trust in God. LUKE 4: Yesterday we read of Jesus being tested by the devil, and we reread the story of how Jesus was rejected in his home town. When Jesus had finished reading from that special place in Isaiah 61, he sat down. In our culture we are likely to assume that sitting down was without the expectation of teaching. But in Jewish practice o...
Feb 09, 2025•18 min•Season 1Ep. 46
EXODUS 29: Yesterday we read about the design of the altar for burnt offerings and the plans for the courtyard. The dimensions we heard the day before were for the sacred tent that was enclosed by the courtyard that we heard about yesterday. And we read about the fabulous garments for the priests, Aaron and his sons. PSALM 3: As the title says, this is “A psalm of David, regarding the time David fled from his son Absalom.” Found at various strategic points in the Psalms is the word ‘Selah’. This...
Feb 09, 2025•16 min•Season 1Ep. 45
EXODUS 27-28: Yesterday in Exodus, we heard the beginning plans given by God for the Tabernacle (or sacred tent) and the Arc of the Covenant that were to become the focal point for worship of God under the Covenant. The whole Tabernacle— and particularly the atonement cover on top of the Arc of the Covenant (called the Mercy Seat), symbolized that God was living among them. (Ex. 25:8) The whole Tabernacle was to be made exquisitely as appropriate for God's own dwelling. PSALM 2: In Psalm 1, the ...
Feb 09, 2025•22 min•Season 1Ep. 44
EXODUS 25-26: Yesterday we read the commands for the Israelites to be good neighbors and to practice justice. And we heard the requirement for all Israelites to celebrate three festivals, and God gave promises of how He would bring them into the land. Then we read the story of how Moses led the people in accepting the covenant. Note how important the sacrificial blood was in this ceremony. The Israelites promised to obey the covenant. Moses told them to wait for him, then followed God's call to ...
Feb 09, 2025•20 min•Season 1Ep. 43
EXODUS 23-24: Yesterday we heard laws regarding treatment of slaves, cases of personal injury, protection of private property, and social responsibility. Job 42: After three chapters of God confronting Job, Job gives his final response, and we hear of God’s blessings to him. Luke 2a: Yesterday in Luke, Mary visited Elizabeth, and we read Mary's song of praise, and later John's father Zechariah prayed his prophetic prayer. NLT Translation notes: Exo. 23:17 At these three times each year, every ma...
Feb 09, 2025•20 min•Season 1Ep. 42
EXODUS 21-22: Yesterday we read about the awesome and fearful way the Lord revealed himself at Mount Sinai to the Israelites. (Remember that for when we come to Hebrews 13.) And God gave the 10 Commandments. JOB 41: God continues to confront and challenge Job, asking questions revealing God's power compared to human weakness. A note about Leviathan in this chapter. Leviathan can be compared to a sea crocodile. The identification of Leviathan is disputed, ranging from an earthly creature to a myt...
Feb 09, 2025•22 min•Season 1Ep. 41
EXODUS 19-20: Yesterday we heard of God satisfying the thirst of the Israelites by commanding Moses to hit a rock. Israel defeated the Amalekites. And Jethro brought Moses’ wife and sons to him and gave him good advice. Note that in most English translations, God often talks of Himself in what we might term the royal fashion— as ‘The LORD’, and then as ‘He’ (instead of ‘I’, and ‘Me’). (The capital letters L O R D indicate that the Hebrew actually has his name, Yahweh.) In many of the world’s lan...
Feb 02, 2025•24 min•Season 1Ep. 40
EXODUS 17-18: Yesterday we heard the wonderful victory song of Moses. Then we heard how the people of Israel grumbled against Moses, Aaron, and most importantly, the Lord. Even about something as simple as gathering manna, the people of Israel disobey repeatedly. They are not called stubborn for nothing. JOB 39: God continues for a second chapter in challenging Job. 2PETER 3: Yesterday it struck me that even in Peter's day, there were greedy false teachers. Peter's descriptions of the false teac...
Feb 02, 2025•19 min•Season 1Ep. 39
EXODUS 15-16: Yesterday we heard that because of the Passover plague which killed Egypt's firstborn, God claims the firstborn of Israel for all time to come. Then we heard of Pharaoh's final hardening of his heart, and the parting of the red sea. JOB 38: In the 6 chapters before this, Elihu has said that God uses multiple means of communication with humans. He maintained that God is just, and said that Job— in his despair, had gone too far in saying it doesn't make any difference if one tries to...
Feb 02, 2025•24 min•Season 1Ep. 38
EXODUS 13-14: Yesterday we heard of the final plague— including the death of the firstborn and the first Passover. And we heard the rules for the Passover celebrations. Note how Christ is foreshadowed in the Passover lamb, including the detail that not a bone was to be broken. JOB 37: This is the conclusion of Elihu's speech. 2nd PETER 1: Yesterday in James 5, James railed against the rich to encourage the poor. He also told us how to be patient in our suffering. The last section teaches about p...
Feb 02, 2025•23 min•Season 1Ep. 37
EXODUS 11-12: Yesterday we heard of the plague against the livestock, the plague of boils, and the plague of hail. We are not told how much time there was in between each plague. It seems there was enough time for many Egyptians to buy more livestock before they were again decimated by the hail. Then we heard about the plague of locusts followed by the plague of darkness. I hope you noticed Who is doing the hardening of hearts and causing the stubbornness. Paul talks about that in Romans 9. JOB ...
Feb 02, 2025•24 min•Season 1Ep. 36
EXODUS 9-10: The two chapters we read yesterday included the story of Aaron's staff becoming a serpent, and the plagues of blood, frogs, gnats, and flies. Note verse that in our reading today: 9:19 Now give orders for your livestock and everything else you have in the open to be put under shelter. Hail will fall on the people and animals left outside unprotected, and they will all die.’ ” Evidently enough time had passed between the plague against the livestock so that the Egyptians were able to...
Feb 02, 2025•20 min•Season 1Ep. 35
EXODUS 7-8: Yesterday we heard of Moses and Aaron's first disastrous meeting with Pharaoh, and Pharaoh's retaliation against the Israelite people. God spoke with Moses again reaffirming his promises and his covenant with the people of Israel. JOB 34: This is the third chapter of Elihu's six-chapter monologue. JAMES 3: Yesterday James warned that showing favoritism breaks the Law of Love that our King Jesus taught. And he talked about dead religion, which consists of easy believism with no acting...
Feb 02, 2025•21 min•Season 1Ep. 34
EXODUS 5-6: Moses has responded to God's call, returned to Egypt with Aaron, and has had a successful meeting with the leaders of the Israelite people. JOB 33: This is Elihu's second chapter of six in his speech. JAMES 2: Yesterday James told us to consider it a great joy when troubles come our way. Don't miss James’ reasoning for this seeming contradiction. Then he spoke very strongly about not just being people who merely listen to God's Word. We must do it. NLT Translation notes: Jam. 2:1 My ...
Jan 26, 2025•22 min•Season 1Ep. 33
EXODUS 3-4: In yesterday's beginning to Exodus, we heard of Moses' birth and his young adulthood in Egypt. He murdered a man and had to flee for his life, going to Midian. We also read of his helping the seven daughters of Reuel, a scene that I can't read without thinking of the Cecil B. DeMill movie. JOB 32: Job having finished his defense, Elihu takes the stage. HC Mears says, Eliphaz basically said, “God never makes a mistake. What have you done to bring this on yourself?” Bildad essentially ...
Jan 26, 2025•23 min•Season 1Ep. 32
EXODUS 1: Yesterday we wrapped up Genesis with Jacob's very prophetic blessings for each of his sons. Then we heard of the conclusion after Jacob was buried and finally Joseph died. Exodus is clearly a continuation of the story of Genesis, since the first word in the Hebrew text is ‘And’. Tradition holds that Moses is the author. The name Exodus derives from the name that was given by the Septuagint translators— which is the translation of the OT into classical Greek made three hundred years bef...
Jan 26, 2025•21 min•Season 1Ep. 31
GENESIS 49-50: In yesterday's reading, Jacob blessed Pharaoh, Joseph lead powerfully during the worst of the famine, and Jacob blessed Ephraim and Manasseh— putting the younger Ephraim above his older brother. (And if you remember Jacob's story, you'll know where he got that idea.) JOB 30: In the GNT, this is the 2nd of Job’s three chapters stating his complaints. In the NLT, this is the 5th chapter of his monologue. Yesterday Job spoke of his previous blessed life and high position. In this cha...
Jan 26, 2025•24 min•Season 1Ep. 30
GENESIS 47-48: In yesterday's reading, Jacob arrived in Egypt with his family. Excluding more extended family, the whole group numbered 70 people at that time. JOB 29: Yesterday we heard the chapter in praise of God’s wisdom, which GNT attributes to Zophar. Today Job speaks of his former blessings, in the first of three chapters which are the final statement of his case. 1PETER 3: Peter packed each sentence with meaning. I encourage you to take time to read the first two chapters slowly and thin...
Jan 26, 2025•20 min•Season 1Ep. 29
GENESIS 46: In yesterday’s two chapters, Joseph's brothers went back to Egypt with Benjamin, Joseph's younger brother. Joseph contrived a creative way to reveal his identity. When Pharaoh heard about Joseph's brothers, he helped provide for Jacob's family to come to Egypt. JOB 28: Did you notice in yesterday’s reading of Job 27 that my voice suddenly turned sarcastic sounding? In some translations, one of them being GNT, the second part of chapter 27 (beginning at verse 13) is assigned to Zophar...
Jan 26, 2025•20 min•Season 1Ep. 28
GENESIS 44-45: Yesterday we heard of Joseph's brothers on their first and second trips to Egypt. [GNT only: Regarding my comment in yesterday’s podcast about Joseph giving wine without limit, it is likely that He was showing the normal generosity of a wealthy host. I very much doubt that under these circumstances his brothers would have allowed themselves to become drunk.] We pick up the story, still in Joseph's palace on the second trip. JOB 27: In the NLT, this chapter is the 2nd chapter of Jo...
Jan 26, 2025•26 min•Season 1Ep. 27
Today I will do my best to convince you that the last 12 verses of Mark 16 shouldn’t have brackets around them or footnotes that cast doubt on their authenticity. I believe that they are authentic Scripture inspired by God. Now, I try to stay away from saying anything controversial in the Daily Bible Reading Podcast series, and it kind of bothers me that here in this first extra podcast of the year, I will say things that quite a few people with seminary training will consider leaning too much t...
Jan 25, 2025•20 min•Season 1Ep. 14
GENESIS 42-43: Yesterday in chapter 41, we heard of Pharaoh's dream, and what happened to Joseph as a result of his correctly telling the interpretation. Note also that Joseph was careful to give the glory to God for that interpretation. JOB 26: Yesterday in chapter 25, Bildad only had a six verse response, because Job interrupted him with the speech we will read today. Bildad implied Job’s guilt in more than one way, including this most obvious rhetorical question: 4 Can anyone be righteous or ...
Jan 19, 2025•22 min•Season 1Ep. 26
GENESIS 41: In yesterday's reading, Joseph interpreted two dreams. He said something significant: Interpreting dreams is God’s business. JOB 25: Yesterday Job said, Why doesn't God set a time for judging, a day of justice for those who serve him? (Job 24:1) And speaking of the helpless and downtrodden he said, “In the cities the wounded and dying cry out, but God ignores their prayers. (v12) Starting in v18 GNT follows a number of other translations in saying that Zophar chimed in, disagreeing t...
Jan 19, 2025•17 min•Season 1Ep. 25
GENESIS 40: In Genesis yesterday, some listeners to these podcasts were probably shocked. We heard the less than auspicious beginnings of Judah's line— particularly involving Tamar, who was more righteous than Judah. Then we heard of Joseph working for Potiphar and then being thrown in jail. Even in jail, he rose to the top. JOB 24: Job continues his response to Eliphaz. MARK 15a: At the end of chapter 14, Jesus was arrested, was tried before the council, and Peter denied knowing Jesus. NLT Tran...
Jan 19, 2025•13 min•Season 1Ep. 24
GENESIS 38-39: In yesterday's reading, we heard of Joseph's dreams, his brothers' jealousy, and Joseph being sold into slavery in Egypt. JOB 23: Yesterday Eliphaz said: GNT 4 It is not because you stand in awe of God that he reprimands you and brings you to trial. 5 No, it's because you have sinned so much; it's because of all the evil you do. And he also said, 21 Now, Job, make peace with God and stop treating him like an enemy; if you do, then he will bless you. 22 Accept the teaching he gives...
Jan 19, 2025•19 min•Season 1Ep. 23
GENESIS 37: The focus of Genesis 36 was on the descendants of Esau, and the ethnic groups they spawned. JOB 22: In chapter 21, Job gave a very convincing argument that God does not always punish wicked people— refuting what Zophar said. Today Eliphaz begins the third set of exchanges between Job and his ‘friends’. Eliphaz’ promises at the end of his speech sound rather hollow to me. MARK 14a: Yesterday we read the prophecy chapter of Mark, chapter 13. The theme of that chapter is “Be ready” and ...
Jan 19, 2025•18 min•Season 1Ep. 22
GENESIS 36: Jacob's daughter Dinah was raped, and the perpetrator Shechem was killed and all the males in his town. God then told Jacob to return to Bethel. At the end of yesterday’s reading, Rachel and Grampa Isaak died. JOB 21: In Zophar's angry speech yesterday in chapter 20, he did not directly say that Job was wicked, but he clearly implied it. MARK 13: Chapter 12— which gives an overview of the interactions with the enemies and critics of Jesus, basically marks the end of Jesus' public min...
Jan 19, 2025•22 min•Season 1Ep. 21
GENESIS 34-35: Yesterday we heard about Jacob wrestling all night with a mysterious heavenly figure, and about Jacob's reunion with Esau. JOB 20: This chapter is Zophar’s second response to Job. In chapter 19, Job responded to Bildad's second speech. Job expressed amazing belief that he would see his defender (often translated ‘redeemer’). He says, 25 But I know there is someone in heaven who will come at last to my defense. 26 Even after my skin is eaten by disease, while still in this body I w...
Jan 19, 2025•19 min•Season 1Ep. 20
GENESIS 32-33: Yesterday we heard how Jacob and his big family got away from Laban and started the journey home. When Laban caught up with him, he and Jacob got into a quarrel and ended up making a covenant. JOB 19: In chapter 18, Bildad once again gave a speech about what happens to wicked people, and by implication, he said, “You're just getting what you deserve.” Job’s response in today’s chapter includes amazing revelations. Verses 23-27 can be compared with the second half of 1Corinthians 1...
Jan 13, 2025•19 min•Season 1Ep. 19
GENESIS 31: Yesterday we heard of the rivalry between Rachel and Leah, and about more sons for Jacob— whose names all have meanings appropriate to what Rachel or Leah were feeling at the time. JOB 18: Yesterday Job again complained that he was surrounded by mockers, and despairingly again said 15 Where is there any hope for me? Who sees any? 16 Hope will not go with me when I go down to the world of the dead. MARK 11: Jesus has by now prepared his disciples for his death by prophesying about it,...
Jan 13, 2025•20 min•Season 1Ep. 18
