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NL-Day040 Exodus 19-20; Job 40; Luke 1:1-45

Daily Bible Reading Phil Fields

Release Date: 02/02/2025

NL-Day208 Jeremiah 13-14; Psalm 144; 1 Corinthians 1 show art NL-Day208 Jeremiah 13-14; Psalm 144; 1 Corinthians 1

Daily Bible Reading Phil Fields

JEREMIAH 13-14:In yesterday’s reading, Jeremiah complained to the Lord, 12:1 “Lord, if I argued my case with you,you would [be shown//prove] to be right.Yet I must question you about matters of justice.Why are the wicked so prosperous?Why do dishonest people succeed? And the Lord replied in an answer that bears reading in context and needs some thinking about, “Jeremiah, if you get tired racing against people,how can you race against horses?If you can't even stand up in open country,how will you manage in the jungle by the Jordan? PSALM 144:This poem is quite a contrast with what we have...

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NL-Day207 Jeremiah 11-12; Psalm 143; John 21 show art NL-Day207 Jeremiah 11-12; Psalm 143; John 21

Daily Bible Reading Phil Fields

JEREMIAH 11-12:Yesterday we heard important verses in chapter 9:23-24, verses that Paul quotes more than once:  “Don’t let the wise boast in their wisdom,or the powerful boast in their power,or the rich boast in their riches.But those who wish to boastshould boast in this alone:that they truly know me and understand that I am the LORD … PSALM 143:It seems that prayer is very neglected these days. Oh yes, we might hear something vague about praying for victims right after some tragedy strikes. But it seems that every church has trouble keeping a prayer meeting going. I myself have...

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NL-Day206 Jeremiah 9-10; Psalm 142; John 20 show art NL-Day206 Jeremiah 9-10; Psalm 142; John 20

Daily Bible Reading Phil Fields

JEREMIAH 9-10:Being a prophet is not exactly an easy job. In 7:27 God told him, “Tell them all this, but do not expect them to listen. Shout out your warnings, but do not expect them to respond.” We’ll find that God told the same thing to more than one prophet around this same time. PSALM 142:When you are discouraged, here is a psalm to pray! JOHN 20:There are so many fulfillments of Scripture that happen in the crucifixion chapters in the Gospels that many times the authors didn’t take the time to highlight each one of them. The Jewish readers would have picked up on them without the...

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NL-Day205 Jeremiah 7-8; Psalm 141; John 19:14-42 show art NL-Day205 Jeremiah 7-8; Psalm 141; John 19:14-42

Daily Bible Reading Phil Fields

JEREMIAH 7-8:In this and several other prophetic books, it is important to observe where quotes begin and end, and who is speaking. The section headings are also very helpful to our understanding. Modern translators and editors use the heading to help modern readers understand such things as ancient poetic imagery. Yesterday's reading had this ironic statement spoken by the Lord: 5:19 When they ask why I did all these things, tell them, Jeremiah, that just as they turned away from me and served foreign gods in their own land, so they will serve strangers in a land that is not theirs.”...

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NL-Day204 Jeremiah 5-6; Psalm 140; John 18:28-19:27 show art NL-Day204 Jeremiah 5-6; Psalm 140; John 18:28-19:27

Daily Bible Reading Phil Fields

JEREMIAH 5-6:God, speaking through the prophets, frequently says how he feels about idolatry. He considers it just like the faithlessness of a wayward wife. It is moving that Jeremiah could so clearly see what would happen— the anguish of the people when his prophecies are fulfilled and they will be attacked by armies from the north.  PSALM 140:This is a prayer for anyone who fears the imminent attack of wicked enemies.  JOHN 19a:The chapter break here interrupts the story of Jesus’ trial before Pilate. Jesus has already told Pilate that he is a king, but his kingdom is not of...

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NL-Day203 Jeremiah 3-4; Psalm 139; John 18:19-40 show art NL-Day203 Jeremiah 3-4; Psalm 139; John 18:19-40

Daily Bible Reading Phil Fields

JEREMIAH 3-4:In yesterday’s reading there was a play on words in Jer. 1:11-12, where the Hebrew word for ‘almond tree’ sounds like the word for ‘watching’: 11 Then the Lord said to me, “Look, Jeremiah! What do you see?” And I replied, “I see a branch from an almond tree.” 12 And the Lord said, “That’s right, and it means that I am watching,* and I will certainly carry out all my plans.” *footnote: The Hebrew word for “watching” (shoqed) sounds like the word for “almond tree” (shaqed). Yesterday we also read Jeremiah 2:13, which is one of the most frequently...

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NL-Day202 Jeremiah 1-2; Psalm 138; John 18:1-27 show art NL-Day202 Jeremiah 1-2; Psalm 138; John 18:1-27

Daily Bible Reading Phil Fields

JEREMIAH 1-2:The book of Jeremiah was written between 627 and 580 BC. Counting the number of verses, Jeremiah is longer than all other books of the Old Testament except Genesis and Psalms. Jeremiah is often called the weeping prophet, and his other book is Lamentations. It is possible that he is the son of the high priest Hilkiah who brought the book of the Law to the attention of king Josiah. Having just heard in 2 Kings  an overview of what happened during the last days of the kingdom of Judah, we now will hear the poems and sermons of a sensitive man living through it all. Mears says,...

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NL-Day201 Jonah 3-4; Psalm 137; John 17 show art NL-Day201 Jonah 3-4; Psalm 137; John 17

Daily Bible Reading Phil Fields

JONAH 3-4:Running from God didn’t work for Jonah. When saved from the ocean, Jonah grudgingly obeys God. For most of my life I have been fooled by Jonah's prayer in chapter 2, and I am not alone, because others have called it, “One of the great prayers in the Bible.” For most of the prayer, Jonah simply borrowed verses from the Psalms. And there is nothing wrong with that! However, if you look closer, Jonah prayed a me-centered and self-righteous prayer. The worst thing about it is there is no hint of repentance or asking forgiveness. PSALM 137:As a musician, I can imagine what the...

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NL-Day200 Jonah 1-2; Psalm 136; John 17 show art NL-Day200 Jonah 1-2; Psalm 136; John 17

Daily Bible Reading Phil Fields

JONAH 1-2:For quite a few years when I was just reading the Bible without a set reading plan, I enjoyed a break from reading the books of history after Second Kings, moving to the prophets. And our first is Jonah, who was mentioned back in 2 Kings 14.  Note that the little story of Jonah is masterfully written. Little details poke out everywhere. Jonah has a downward journey. He goes down from Jerusalem to Joppa, then down again into the hold of the boat, and then down into the underworld of the ocean. He wasn't just being disobedient. He was saying, “I'm turning in my prophet's...

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NL-Day199 2 Kings 24-25; Psalm 135; John 16 show art NL-Day199 2 Kings 24-25; Psalm 135; John 16

Daily Bible Reading Phil Fields

2KINGS 24-25:In yesterday’s reading, we heard of Josiah’s reforms, leading the people to renew the covenant with God. That chapter had this telling comment about the Passover: 2Kings 23:22 There had not been a Passover celebration like that since the time when the judges ruled in Israel, nor throughout all the years of the kings of Israel and Judah. Many times I think people make the naive assumption that the people of Israel customarily performed all sorts of difficult commands in the Law— like the one about the Year of Jubilee. In my opinion, no way! PSALM 135:Olsen’s book gives the...

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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 languages, it is ungrammatical to speak of oneself in the third person, so translations into those languages must use ‘I, the Lord’ and ‘Me’. Even in English it is highly unusual for anyone to use the royal form. So if you are following along in the NLT, you will notice that I regularly alter the text so that God speaks of himself in the first person. I do this for the sake of naturalness and clarity for those who are listening.

JOB 40:
Yesterday God continued to challenge Job with questions too hard for humans to answer. In today’s chapter, starting at verse 15, we read about the Behemoth. The GNT footnote tells that some identify this as a hippopotamus. But the description of Behemoth's tail in verse 17 doesn't fit with a hippopotamus. Maybe a sea crocodile would be a better choice? But they don’t eat grass. It is perhaps better to simply say that the Behemoth and Leviathan are legendary or mythical sea creatures.

LUKE 1:
Yesterday we finished 2nd Peter with his advising us to get ready for the Lord's return.

Luke— as we will find out in other NT books, was the physician who was a traveling companion of Paul. His goal was to write a well-researched and ordered account of Jesus' life— as he says in his formal prologue.  

Robert Maddox states:
“[Luke] writes to reassure the Christians of his day that their faith in Jesus is no aberration, but the authentic goal towards which God’s ancient dealings with Israel were driving.” More Muslims have become followers of Christ through reading Luke’s Gospel than from reading other three, because of its emphases.

Luke is the longest book of the NT, and if we put Luke’s two books together, they form 27% of the NT.

Luke wrote to Theophilus, who may have been a Roman dignitary, but since the name means “Lover of God” Luke may have intended his book for all of us who love God. Luke's explanations show that he was writing to the Greeks, and so he appropriately brings out that Christ came for all mankind— Jews and Gentiles. Luke also highlights the roles played by women. A major example is the material from his interviews with Mary, the mother of Jesus. Luke includes more poetry than the other Gospels, tells more about Jesus praying, and chronicles Jesus' parables and teaching.

NLT Translation notes:
Exo. 19:7 “You must not misuse the name of the LORD your God. [I, the LORD//The LORD] will not let you go unpunished if you misuse [my/his] name.
11 For in six days [I//the LORD] made the heavens, the earth, the sea, and everything in them; but on the seventh day [I/he] rested. That is why [I, the LORD,//the LORD] blessed the Sabbath day and set it apart as holy.
12 “Honor your father and mother. Then you will live a long, full life in the land [that I,//0] the L ORD your God [am/is] giving you.
[It is a feature of Hebrew that God frequently uses the honorific form where He refers to Himself in the third person. This is ungrammatical in many of the world’s languages, and is rather borderline ungrammatical even in English. Note the example in Job below.]
====
Job 4:9 Are you as strong as [Me//God]? Can you thunder with a voice like [mine/his]?
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Luk. 1:2 They used the eyewitness reports circulating among [0//us from] the early disciples.
Luk. 1:38 “ I am the Lord’s servant. May your word to me be fulfilled.”

61 They said to her, “[But//There is] no one among your relatives who has that name.”
[See the note in NET about the use of ‘But’ here.]
67 His father Zechariah was filled with the Holy Spirit and [{spoke/gave} this prophecy//prophesied]:
80 [John grew up//And the child grew] and became strong in spirit; and he lived in the wilderness until he appeared publicly to Israel.

 

Unless otherwise indicated, all Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.