DBRP_068 NUM.2 PSA.26 LUK.18.1-30

Let’s turn to NUMBERS 2.

Yesterday in chapter 1, God ordered a census of the men capable as soldiers in war. And we heard the list of the clan leaders of the 12 listed tribes— excluding Levi. (The number of tribes remains at 12 because the tribe of Joseph is split in two.)

We turn now to PSALM 26.

This poem is a personal lament. It is similar to Psalm 25, but does not contain confession. David asks for God’s vindication because of his personal integrity, and shows his love for God by his devotion to God’s sanctuary.

We turn for the first time to Luke 18.

Yesterday we heard about the suddenness of the coming of Jesus as the Son of Man, and that believers will be suddenly taken out of a context that looks like ‘business as usual’. Jesus again says that first He must suffer and be rejected.

I want to challenge everyone to dig deeper in God’s Word— including myself. The last verse of Luke 17 says,
37 The disciples asked him, “Where, Lord?” Jesus answered, “Wherever there is a dead body, the vultures will gather.”
Greek does not differentiate between ‘vulture’ and ‘eagle’. Because of the presence of the word ‘dead body’, translators chose to translate ‘vulture’, but how would it change your ideas if we read this as ‘eagles’? Also, it is possible that Jesus’ response was a common proverb. If that is so, what did Jesus mean by quoting that proverb? See the Shovels page at dailybiblereading.info for web sites that will help you in researching such things.

Translation notes:
19 [Jesus started his reply by saying,//] “Why do you call me good?” [0//Jesus asked him.] “No one is good except God alone.
29 [Jesus replied,//] “Yes,” [0//Jesus said to them,] “and I assure you that anyone who leaves home or wife or brothers or parents or children for the sake of the Kingdom of God 30will receive much more in this present age and eternal life in the age to come.”

 

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DBRP_067 NUM.1 PSA.25 LUK.17.20-37

We start the book of NUMBERS today!

Numbers is the 4th of Moses' 5 books. And this is the one that I have looked forward to as the hardest book of all to read in the podcast! In this book we will see that unbelief hinders God's blessings for Israel. HC Mears says, “Numbers might be called the Wilderness Wanderings,” because it chronicles the journey. And “Numbers might be called the book of the March and the Roll Call. ... It might, too, be called the Book of Murmurings, because from beginning to end it is filled with the spirit of rebellion against God.”

“Leviticus dealt with the believers' worship— Numbers deals with the believer's walk. In Leviticus we see the believer’s privileges— in Numbers the wilderness is the drill field.”

Important lessons from the Book of Numbers:
*We must trust God, not people.
*God will supply all we need, including food, meat, water, leaders, and land.
*We must worship God according to his instructions.

We turn to PSALM 25.

This is our first acrostic poem. Verse 14 is translated as ‘secret’ by older translations which followed the KJV, but is better translated as ‘friendship/friend’. Here we read of the privilege of an intimate relationship with the Lord. I am reminded of a few years ago when things were not going well for me in relation to the leaders of my organization. Psalms like this were very comforting to me.

Translation notes:
Often it may seem to you that the Psalms shift quickly from praying directly to God to talking about God. But that may not be the case. Hebrew can use the third person (‘the Lord/He’) when talking directly to God. One might do this in rather old-fashioned English to formally address a king as ‘His majesty’ or a president as ‘Mr. President’. This is why in the podcasts I sometimes modify the text to make it clear that the whole Psalm is a prayer, like this:
8 [You Lord are good and do//The LORD is good and does] what is right;
[you show/he shows] the proper path to those who go astray.
9 [You lead//He leads] the humble in doing right,
teaching them [your/his] way.
In today’s reading of Psalm 25 from the GNT, I made modifications as above in verses 8-10,12, and 14-15.

We turn for the second time to LUKE 17.

Yesterday in 17a Jesus taught about the importance of forgiving others, the importance of believing fully and being humble servants. Then we heard of the healing of 10 men who had a contageous/dreaded skin disease.

Translation notes:
21 No one will say, ‘Look, here it is!’ or, ‘There it is!’; because the Kingdom of God is [here in your midst.//within you.]”
22 Then he said to the disciples, “The time will come when you will wish you could see one of the [future] days [when I rule as the Son of Man//of the Son of Man], but you will not see [that//it].
23 There will be those who will say to you, ‘Look, over there!’ or, ‘Look, over here!’ But don't go out looking for [that//it].
24 As the lightning flashes across the sky and lights it up from one side to the other, so [it will be on the day that I, the Son of Man return.//will the Son of Man be in his day. ]
25 But first [I//he] must suffer much and be rejected by the people of this day.
26 As it was in the time of Noah so shall it be [at my return as the Son of Man.//in the days of the Son of Man. ]

 

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DBRP_066 LEV.26 LEV.27 PSA.24 LUK.17.1-21

Let’s turn to LEVITICUS 26-27.

Yesterday we heard about the Sabbath year and the year of Restoration/Jubilee. Before the Year of Restoration, property could be bought back//redeemed. In the Restoration year property was returned to the original owners and poor people who had become enslaved were set free. I suspect these laws were never done in all of Israel's history. If they were, perhaps only once— seventy years after Israel entered the land of Canaan.

Translation notes:
27:28 None of you may sell or buy back what you have unconditionally [given over//dedicated] to the Lord, whether it is a human being, an animal, or land. It belongs permanently to the Lord.
29 [No human being who has//Not even human beings who have] been unconditionally [sentenced/dedicated] [to capital punishment]* may be bought back; [he or she//they] must be put to death.
[The term ‘given over’ when it refers to persons may refer to capital punishment, as we have seen recently in chapters 20 and 24. The term (often translated ‘dedicated for destruction’) is also used for when the Lord condemns a city to be totally destroyed, such as the city of Jericho.]

PSALM 24:

This Psalm is one of the most majestic psalms! This ends with the song for welcoming the triumphant Messiah into Jerusalem.

We turn for the first time to LUKE 17.

Yesterday in chapter 16 we heard two longer parables— both very insightful: The parable of the shrewd manager, and the one about the rich man and Lazarus. Both of them show this lesson:
Use your worldly resources to benefit others and make friends. Then, when your earthly possessions are gone, they (those friends) will welcome you to an eternal home.

Translation notes:
5 The apostles said to the Lord, “Make our [belief//faith] greater.”
6The Lord answered, “If you had [belief//faith] as big as a mustard seed, you could say to this mulberry tree, ‘Pull yourself up by the roots and plant yourself in the sea!’ and it would obey you.
19 And Jesus said to him, “Get up and go[. You have been made well because you believe in me.//; your faith has made you well.]”
21 No one will say, ‘Look, here it is!’ or, ‘There it is!’; because the Kingdom of God is [here in your midst.//within you.]”

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DBRP_065 LEV.25 PSA.23 LUK.16

Today we read LEVITICUS 25.

Yesterday we heard about the seven important yearly celebrations of the Jewish religion. Then we heard about oil and bread for the tabernacle, and then there was the example of a law-breaker who was stoned to death for his crime of blasphemy.

PSALM 23:

Today we read the most famous psalm of all. My wife has often said: Psalm 23 is so often quoted at funerals, but this is a psalm about living, not dying!

Translation notes:
v1-3 I have read this using second person ‘You’ for God, in order to make it clear that David is praying right from the start of this Psalm.
4 [CEV 4 I may walk through valleys
as dark as death,
but I won't be afraid.
You are with me,
and your shepherd's rod d
makes me feel safe.//NLT Even when I walk
through the dark valley of death, 1
I will not be afraid,
for you are close beside me.
Your rod and your staff
protect and comfort me.]
5 You prepare a banquet for me, [right] where all my enemies can see me; you welcome me as an honored guest and fill my cup to the brim.

Opening to LUKE 16:

Yesterday in Luke 15, we heard the three-part parable of the lost sheep, lost coin, and lost son. There is much treasure to dig for there! Consider taking some time to reflect on that wonderful chapter.

Translation notes:
6 ‘One hundred barrels of olive oil,’ he answered. ‘Here is your account,’ the manager told him; ‘sit down and [change it to//write] fifty.’
7 Then he asked another one, ‘And you—how much do you owe?’ ‘A thousand bushels of wheat,’ he answered. ‘Here is your account,’ the manager told him; ‘[change it to//write] eight hundred.’

 

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DBRP_064 LEV.23 LEV.24 PSA.22 LUK.15

Turning to LEVITICUS 23-24:

Yesterday we heard two chapters of regulations for the priests, all for the purpose of preserving their holiness. Again and again the Lord says, “I am the Lord”, emphasizing that, as He is holy, so the priests and the people of Israel must be holy.

Translation note:
24:7 [CEV: Alongside each row put some pure incense that will be sent up by fire in place of the bread as an offering to me.//Put some pure incense on each row, as a token food offering to the Lord to take the place of the bread.]

PSALM 22:

We turn to a famous psalm today, Psalm 22. This is one of the chief Messianic psalms, containing moving prophetic words about how Jesus would die on the cross. And then words about what Jesus has done and is doing even now.

Translation note:
I added a ‘But’ at v.22.

Turning to LUKE 15:

Today we read the three-in-one parable chapter. Yesterday in Luke 14, Jesus healed on the Sabbath, taught about humility and the cost of being his disciple, and gave the parable of the great feast.

 

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DBRP_063 LEV.21 LEV.22 PSA.21 LUK.14

Let’s turn to LEVITICUS 21-22.

Yesterday we heard various laws that are for preserving the holiness of God's people, and various kinds of punishment for disobedience.

Today's psalm is PSALM 21.

This poem is a companion to yesterday's, which was for the nation and the king in time of war. Today’s poem is the corresponding victory song.

Translation notes:
[In this Psalm, not only does David talk to God using the 3rd person (a custom which showed reverence), but he speaks of himself also in the 3rd person. The use of the 3rd person like this can be considered ungrammatical in today’s English, and translating literally here prevents most readers from seeing this Psalm as a very personal prayer. CEV picked up on the references to God, and the special translation for translators (T4T) picked up on both the reference to God and to ‘the King’.]
1 [O LORD, I— the king you have chosen, am so glad
because of the strength you have given me.//The king is glad, O Lord, because you gave him strength; he rejoices because you made him victorious.]
2 You have given [me my//him his] heart's desire;
you have answered [my//his] request.
3 You came to [me//him] with great blessings
and set a crown of gold on [my//his] head.
4 [I//He] asked for life, and you gave it,
a long and lasting life.
5 [My kingly glory//His glory] is great because of your help;
you have given [me//him] fame and majesty.
6 Your blessings are with [me//him] forever,
and your presence fills [me//him] with joy.
7 [I trust//The king] trusts in [You, O Lord Almighty//the Lord Almighty];
and because of [your//the Lord's] constant love
[I//he] will always be secure.
8 [CEV: With your mighty arm, Lord,
you will strike down all of your hateful enemies.//The king will capture all his enemies; he will capture everyone who hates him.]
9 [CEV: They will be destroyed by fire once you are here,
and because of your anger, flames will swallow them.//He will destroy them like a blazing fire when he appears. The Lord will devour them in his anger, and fire will consume them.]
10 [CEV: You will wipe their families from the earth,
and they will disappear.//None of their descendants will survive;
the king will kill them all.]
11 [CEV:  All their [evil] plans to harm you
will come to nothing.//They make their plans, and plot against him,
but they will not succeed.]
12 [CEV: You will make them run away
by shooting your arrows at their faces.//He will shoot his arrows at them and make them turn and run.]
13 We praise you, Lord, for your great strength!
We will sing and praise your power.

Let’s turn to Luke 14.

As we heard yesterday, Luke chapter 13 containes 4 parables. Jesus warned the people sternly to repent, and he grieved for the persistent stubbornness and hardness of heart of the people of Jerusalem. In both that chapter and today’s chapter, Jesus healed people on the Sabbath, using those occasions as opportunities to teach and rebuke his enemies.

Translation notes:
12 Then Jesus said to his host, “When you give a lunch or a dinner, do not invite your friends or your brothers or your relatives or your rich neighbors—for they will invite you back, and in this way you will be [re]paid for what you did.
24 I tell you all that none of those who were [first] invited will taste my dinner!’”
35 [It has of no value at all even to mix with soil or manure compost.//It is no good for the soil or for the manure pile;] it is [just] thrown away. Listen, then, if you have ears!”

 

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DBRP_062 LEV.19 LEV.20 PSA.20 LUK.13

Turning to LEVITICUS 19-20:

Yesterday we learned about the rule that all sacrifices be done at the tabernacle, the prohibitions of eating anything containing animal blood, and forbidden sexual practices.

Translation note:
20:23 Do not adopt the customs of the people who live there; I am driving out those [ungodly people groups//pagans] so that you can enter the land. They have disgusted me with all their evil practices.

We turn to PSALM 20.

This is a prayer for the nation of Israel and their king, asking for national security in time of war.

Translation note:
8 [Those others//Such people] will stumble and fall, but we will rise and stand firm.

Let’s turn to LUKE 13.

In the second half of Luke 12, Jesus taught about being ready for his return, and to be ready for division that would come about because of Jesus himself.

Translation note:
33 Yet I must be on my way today, tomorrow, and the next day; it is not right for a prophet to be killed anywhere [else] except in Jerusalem.

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