2015DBRP_014 Gen25-26 Job14 Mrk9a

I encourage you to Dig Deeper. In order to help you with that, there are Internet tools for digging deeper at the Shovels page of the dailybiblereading.info web site. And when you find an especially precious insight, please share it with us via the Digging Deeper Forum. Or do you have a spiritual issue that you would like to ask someone about? Our moderators at the forum will answer you privately and confidentially. You can also submit a prayer request for the Prayer Closet part of the forum.

Yesterday in Genesis 24 we heard the charming story of how

Rebecca became Isaac's wife.

https://www.bible.com/bible/116/gen.25

In Job 13, Job challenged is friends,

7 “Are you defending God with lies?

Do you make your dishonest arguments for his

sake?

8 Will you slant your testimony in his favor?

Will you argue God’s case for him?

9 What will happen when he finds out what you

are doing?

Can you fool him as easily as you fool people?

...

14 Yes, I will take my life in my hands

and say what I really think.

15 God might kill me, but I have no other hope.

I am going to argue my case with him.

16 But this is what will save me—I am not godless.

https://www.bible.com/bible/116/job.14

Yesterday at the end of Mark 8, Jesus gave this requirement for

all his followers:

Anyone among you who wants to be my follower must do this: You must leave your selfish ways, take up the cross which is meant for you, and follow me.

PET: Everyone who wants to follow Me must leave his own self interests, and follow Me continually with this resolve, ‘No matter if I die— even if that be by crucifixion, I will keep following the Lord!’

The rest of the chapter has other important verses

including this one:

If you try to hang on to your life, you will lose it. But if you give up your life for my sake and for the sake of the Good News, you will save it.

Translation notes:

1 Jesus went on to

say, “I tell you the truth, some standing here right now will not die before they see [God coming and setting up his Kingdom on earth to reign in great power!//the Kingdom of God arrive in great power!]”

In most languages (and I really think we need to include English) kingdoms don't 'come' or 'arrive'. Similarly, cabbages don't read books. Such things are collocational clashes. The kingdom of North America doesn't move to South America! The Lord's prayer is a famous example. Instead of 'May your kingdom come' it is better in most of the world's languages to say, “May You come and reign here as king.”

9As they went back down the mountain, he told them

not to tell anyone what they had seen until [He,/0] the Son of Man had risen from the dead.

12 Jesus responded, “[That's right.//0] Elijah is [0/indeed] coming to come first to get everything ready. Yet why do the

Scriptures say that [I,/0] the Son of Man, must suffer greatly

and be treated with utter contempt?

25 When Jesus saw that the crowd of onlookers was growing, he rebuked the evil f spirit. “Listen, you [demon/spirit]

[who/that] makes this boy unable to hear and speak,” he

said. “I command you to come out of this child and never

enter him again!”

26 Then the [evil/0] spirit screamed and threw the boy into

another violent convulsion and left him. The boy appeared

to be dead. A murmur ran through the crowd as people said,

“He’s dead.”

29 Jesus replied, “[That/This] kind can be cast out only by

prayer. ”

https://www.bible.com/bible/116/mrk.9

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2015DBRP_013 Gen24 Job13 Mrk8b

In Genesis 22, Abraham answered “God will provide a sheep for

the burnt offering, my son.” It is amazing to me that Moses adds the words, “ To this day, people still use that name as a proverb: ‘On the mountain of the LORD it will be provided.’” Now in our time, we of course can see that this points to the provision of the Lamb of God on the mountain called Calvary.

https://www.bible.com/bible/116/gen.24.nlt

As seen in Job 12, Job by now is pretty ticked off, starting off with

“You people really know everything, don’t you?

And when you die, wisdom will die with you!”

Note the irony Job points out:

I am a just and blameless man,

yet they laugh at me.

5 People who are at ease mock those in trouble.

They give a push to people who are stumbling.

6 But robbers are left in peace,

and those who provoke God live in safety—

though God keeps them in his power.

https://www.bible.com/bible/116/job.13

In yesterday's reading Jesus fed the 4,000, and then the Pharisees demand a miraculous sign “from heaven”. The reading yesterday ended with the disciples not understanding what Jesus meant by “Beware of the yeast of the Pharisees and of Herod.”

Translation notes:

23 Jesus took the blind man by the hand and led him out of the village. Then, [applying his own spit to//spitting on]  the man’s eyes, he laid his hands on him and asked, “Can you see anything now?”

The Greek does actually say that Jesus 'spit' in the man's eyes, but to spit in someone's face is so objectionable that more than one translation softens this a bit!

27 Jesus and his disciples left Galilee and went up to the

villages near Caesarea Philippi. As they were walking along,

he asked them, “[What do people say as to the position/role I am assuming?”//Who do people say I am?”]

Normally in our language if Jesus said, “Who do people say I am,” the answer would be “Jesus”. Jesus was not asking about his name, so we need a different question opener than “Who”.

28 “Well,” they replied, “some say [you are taking the

position of] John the Baptist, some say [you are replacing]

Elijah, and others say you are [filling the role of] one of the

other prophets.”

29 Then he asked them, “[But in your opinion, whose position am I taking?”//But who do you say I am?”]

…

31 Then Jesus began to tell them that [he— as] the Son of Man, must suffer many terrible things and be rejected by the elders, the leading priests, and the teachers of religious law. He [said, “I will be] killed, but three days later [I will/he would] rise from the dead.

The changes in this paragraph are made to show that Jesus is not talking about some third person named the Son of Man, but about himself. Even in English, a man seldom talks about himself using the pronoun 'he'.

https://www.bible.com/bible/116/mrk.8

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2015DBRP_012 Gen22-23 Job12 Mrk8a

In yesterday's reading in Genesis, Abraham deceived Abimelech, Isaak was born, and Hagar has problems with Sarah resulting that Hagar took Ishmael away. Finally Abraham made a covenant with Abimelech. My 11 year-old grandson Luke takes the part of Isaac in today's reading.

https://www.bible.com/bible/116/gen.22.nlt

Yesterday, Zophar said to Job,

2 “Shouldn’t someone answer

this torrent of words?

Is a person proved innocent just by a lot of

talking?

3 Should I remain silent while you babble on?

When you mock God, shouldn’t someone

make you ashamed?

4 You claim, ‘My beliefs are pure,’

and ‘I am clean in the sight of God.’

5 If only God would speak;

if only he would tell you what he thinks!

...

13“If only you would prepare your heart

and lift up your hands to him in prayer!

14Get rid of your sins,

and leave all iniquity behind you.

https://www.bible.com/bible/116/job.12

In Mark 7 yesterday, Jesus gave this very significant teaching:

“It’s not what goes into your body that defiles you; you are defiled by what comes from your heart.”

And we heard the way that Jesus gave a difficult test to the Gentile woman. As I implied yesterday, there is treasure there to dig for in that enigmatic test.

 

https://www.bible.com/bible/116/mrk.8

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2015DBRP_011housekeeping

Thanks for opening this extra DBRP announcement podcast. I am planning that I will occasionally send out extra episodes like this one rather than including announcements inside the Bible Reading podcasts. Most of the content of these extra podcasts will be in the episode notes, so you can just glance through the notes to see whether or not you want to listen to me reading them to you. I also will send out extra recordings when I am in Indonesia. My first trip there this year will start around mid-February.

 

The Digging Deeper Forum is off to a rocky start. After a spam attack, I have changed the forum software. The forum is again open for registrations. Here’s why I think the forum is important for whole the Digging Deeper community: The Word of God that we are reading and listening to is living and active, so it always changes us and challenges us spiritually. Therefore it seems to me that we ought to keep a door open for deeper communication than would be possible through the various social media options. I will keep a link to the forum as one of the menu choices at our web site, and you can click here in the episode notes to go to it: dailybiblereading.info/forum. The door is open for you to share treasures you find, ask deeper questions, and share prayer requests.

 

There is also a new Send us a Message page at the website. This menu option is found under the Shovels heading. You can use the form on that page to send a question to the Digging Deeper Forum without having to register there. If you have a spiritual issue and would like confidential advice or counsel, we have some spiritually mature forum members who will answer your note by e-mail. You can also use the message form to register for the forum or send a comment to me.

 

If you are repeatedly visiting the DBRP web site with your smart phone or tablet in order to listen to the Bible readings, you probably would find it more convenient to use the DBRP app for your device. If you are visiting the DBRP site via the links in the Bible.com app,  then I suggest you use the DBRP app in tandem with the Bible.com app. I think it is more convenient to start the audio in the DBRP app and leave that playing while you switch to the Bible.com app for reading. See the Ways to Listen and Read page at our web site.

 

I praise the Lord for you, my brother or sister. May the Lord bless you ‘real good’.

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2015DBRP_011 Gen20-21 Job11 Mrk7

Thanks to two special readers in today’s episode. The first is our daughter Rachel, who at the time last year when this was recorded was preparing to go to East Africa with Pioneer Bible Translators. She is there now, doing great, and we are so proud of her. The second is Chad Mann, who is the minister of youth at our church. Chad reads the part of Zophar in Job 11.

In chapter 19 of Genesis we heard what happened to Lot and his

daughters after being saved from Sodom. That is the start of

the hated Moabite and Ammonite races.

Translation notes:

17 But God heard the boy crying, and [an//the] angel of God

called to Hagar from heaven, “Hagar, what’s wrong? Do not

be afraid! God has heard the boy crying as he lies there.

26 “This is the first I’ve heard of it,” Abimelech answered.

“I have no idea who is responsible. You [0/have] never

complained about this before.”

https://www.bible.com/bible/116/gen.20.nlt

We turn to Job 11. In chapter 10, Job accused God,

“‘Yet your real motive—

your true intent—

14 was to watch me, and if I sinned,

you would not forgive my guilt.

15 If I am guilty, too bad for me;

and even if I’m innocent, I can’t hold my head high,

because I am filled with shame and misery.

...

18 “‘Why, then, did you deliver me from my mother’s

womb?

https://www.bible.com/bible/116/job.11

Yesterday's reading in Mark 6 was of Jesus feeding 5,000+ and walking on water.

 

https://www.bible.com/bible/116/mrk.7

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2015DBRP_010 Gen19 Job10 Mrk6b

Thanks to Ashlee Smith who has read a lot of the women’s parts, such as for Sarah in yesterday’s reading and Lot’s daughters today. Ashlee is the Director of Children’s Ministries at our church.

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.

https://www.bible.com/bible/116/gen.19.nlt

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 like me,

so I cannot argue with him or take him to trial.

33 If only there were a mediator between us,

someone who could bring us together.

34 The mediator could make God stop beating me,

and I would no longer live in terror of his

punishment.

35 Then I could speak to him without fear,

but I cannot do that in my own strength.

And mankind has now received that mediator in the person of

Jesus.

https://www.bible.com/bible/116/job.10

In the first part of chapter 6, Jesus sent out the twelve disciples after giving them authority to cast out evil spirits. He also sent them to teach, and to heal. Then we learned about the death of John the Baptist.

Translation notes:

44 A total of 5,000 men [plus some their uncounted families members//and their families] were fed from those loaves!

48 He saw that they were in serious trouble, rowing hard and struggling against the wind and waves. About three o’clock in the morning Jesus came toward them, walking on the water. He [acted as if he//0] intended to go past them,

https://www.bible.com/bible/116/mrk.6

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2015DBRP_009 Gen17-18 Job9 Mrk6a

In Genesis 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 Sarah trying to help God fulfill his promises.

https://www.bible.com/bible/116/gen.17.nlt

We turn to Job 9. In chapter 8, Bildad defended God as always acting

with justice and insisted that this meant that there had to be

some sin on Job's part or his children's.

https://www.bible.com/bible/116/job.9

We turn to Mark 6. In the second half of Mark5, Jesus did two amazing miracles, the second one causing a dead girl to live again.

Translation notes:

17 For Herod had sent soldiers to arrest and imprison

John as a favor to [Herodiana/Herodias]. She had been his

brother Philip’s wife, but Herod had married her. 18John had

been telling Herod, “It is against God’s law for you to marry

your brother’s wife.” 19 So [Herodiana/Herodias] bore a grudge against John and wanted to kill him. But without Herod’s approval she was powerless,

In our translations in Indonesia, it was found to help

understanding to give Herodias a more feminine sounding name. In Indonesian Herod is Herodes, and Herodias was too close in sound and becomes  confusing. Even though English does not have that problem, I think it will help some to give her name

that people will recognize as a girl-name.

21 [Herodianas’s] chance finally came on Herod’s birthday.

He gave a party for his high government officials, army

officers, and the leading citizens of Galilee. 22 Then

[Herodiana's/his] daughter, also named Herodia came in

and performed a dance that greatly pleased Herod and his

guests. “Ask me for anything you like,” the king said to the

girl, “and I will give it to you.”

As NLT's footnote shows, there is a textual problem in this verse. I have changed this to be like NIV, CEV, ESV and many others.

 

https://www.bible.com/bible/116/mrk.6

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