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NL-Day132 Judges 16-17; Psalm 86; 1 Timothy 2

Daily Bible Reading Phil Fields

Release Date: 04/16/2017

NL-Day159 2 Samuel 3-4; Psalm 108; Romans 12 show art NL-Day159 2 Samuel 3-4; Psalm 108; Romans 12

Daily Bible Reading Phil Fields

2SAMUEL 3-4:In yesterday's story, David was anointed as king over his own tribe of Judah, while all the rest of Israel followed Saul's son, Ishbosheth. Ishbosheth was not a strong leader, but was put in place by Abner, the general. Joab was David's military commander. In the first battle, it is significant that Abner killed Joab's brother Asahel. David's troops decisively won their first battle in the civil war. PSALM 108:This is a psalm of exalted praise, and a song asking God for military victory. ROMANS 12a:Yesterday at the end of Romans 11, we came to the end of the long parenthesis. God...

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NL-Day158 2 Samuel 2; Psalm 107:23-43; Romans 11:17-36 show art NL-Day158 2 Samuel 2; Psalm 107:23-43; Romans 11:17-36

Daily Bible Reading Phil Fields

2SAMUEL 2:David heard of Israel’s terrible defeat and of Saul and Jonathan's deaths, and he exacted the death sentence from the lying messenger. David and his men mourned for the deaths of  Saul and Jonathan, and David composed a funeral song for them. PSALM 107b:Yesterday I commented on how quickly our culture forgets about God. After a natural disaster, it becomes popular in the media to talk about praying for the victims. But God is not even mentioned, and soon any pretense of awe or fear of God is dropped. But Psalm 107 speaks of people who see God’s hand at work and make lasting...

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NL-Day157 2 Samuel 1; Psalm 107:1-22; Romans 11:1-24 show art NL-Day157 2 Samuel 1; Psalm 107:1-22; Romans 11:1-24

Daily Bible Reading Phil Fields

2SAMUEL 1:David returned from being sent home from the battle with Israel only to find that his town had been ransacked by the Amalekites. He found strength in God, asked for God to direct him, and succeeded in retrieving everything, and even much more. However in Israel, Saul and his three sons died, and the Israelite army was completely defeated. PSALM 107a:We come to another of my favorite psalms. In E.C. Olsen’s book on the psalms (which is a transcription of his radio programs) he said that this psalm has a message for America. That message is in the repeated refrain found in this...

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NL-Day156 1 Samuel 30-31; Psalm 106:24-48; Romans 10:1-11:2a show art NL-Day156 1 Samuel 30-31; Psalm 106:24-48; Romans 10:1-11:2a

Daily Bible Reading Phil Fields

1SAMUEL 30-31:The Philistines mustered their armies for full-scale war with Saul and the Israelites. Saul had already done a right thing in expelling all the mediums from Israel. But, since God had turned from him and would not answer him, he resorted to a medium during his darkest hour. It does not bother me too much to say that God spoke through that medium. It seems so by the evidence. But if so, it was an exception. God's word says to never consult a medium. In fact, mediums are to be stoned to death. David was preparing to go to war in support of Achish, or was he really?! PSALM...

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NL-Day155 1 Samuel 28-29; Psalm 106:1-27; Romans 10 show art NL-Day155 1 Samuel 28-29; Psalm 106:1-27; Romans 10

Daily Bible Reading Phil Fields

1SAMUEL 28-29:Saul came after David again with 3,000 men, and David showed his integrity again and his daring. But even though Saul repented again, David made the decision to get out of the country so that he would not continually be in danger. He went to Achish the Philistine king in Gath. The part about the raids upon three enemy people groups is not one of the noble chapters of David's life. PSALM 106a:Psalm 106 is a companion to 105, as it again is a historical psalm. I see a very significant correspondence with the section of Romans we are now reading. Can you see it? ROMANS 10a:In our...

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NL-Day154 1 Samuel 26-27; Psalm 105:23-45; Romans 9:6-33 show art NL-Day154 1 Samuel 26-27; Psalm 105:23-45; Romans 9:6-33

Daily Bible Reading Phil Fields

1SAMUEL 26-27:Yesterday we heard the story of the cur Nabal and his intelligent and beautiful wife, Abigail. After Nabal was struck down by the Lord, Abigail became one of David's wives. PSALM 105b:Today’s psalm is for teaching and reminding each generation of the children of Israel about the great things God has done for the Jewish people. ROMANS 9b:Note that we have entered a difficult section of Romans. Romans 12 starts with, “Therefore, I urge you, brothers and sisters, in view of God’s mercies, …” But if you look back at what goes right before that in chapter 11, that doesn’t...

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NL-Day153 1 Samuel 25; Psalm 105:1-23; Romans 8:28-9:24 show art NL-Day153 1 Samuel 25; Psalm 105:1-23; Romans 8:28-9:24

Daily Bible Reading Phil Fields

1SAMUEL 25:God gave protection and victory to David. In a scene that must have caused Saul's men to roll their eyes several times, Saul was humbled before them as David directly confronted him. But after making peace, they didn't go back to the capital together. PSALM 105a:Today’s psalm is for teaching and reminding each generation of the children of Israel about the great things God has done for the Jewish people. ROMANS 9a:What wonderful promises God has given to us in chapter 8 of Romans! That chapter always reminds me of a time when a Christian leader did wrong to me, and then said that...

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NL-Day152 1 Samuel 23-24; Psalm 104:19-35; Romans 8:12-39 show art NL-Day152 1 Samuel 23-24; Psalm 104:19-35; Romans 8:12-39

Daily Bible Reading Phil Fields

1SAMUEL 23-24:As David fled from Saul, he went for help to Ahimelech the priest. He needed food and wanted to consult with the Lord, and it happened that Ahimelech also gave him Goliath's sword. This resulted later in Ahimilech's death and the deaths of all of Ahimilech's family— except one, Abiathar. PSALM 104b:This psalm starts and ends with the same refrain, and it is the same refrain as in Psalm 103. This psalm expounds on the majesty of God— especially as seen in His creation. ROMANS 8b:The power behind the new lives that God wants us to live is the Holy Spirit. A side observation...

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NL-Day151 1 Samuel 21-22; Psalm 104:1-18; Romans 8:1-30 show art NL-Day151 1 Samuel 21-22; Psalm 104:1-18; Romans 8:1-30

Daily Bible Reading Phil Fields

1SAMUEL 21-22:Yesterday we heard the touching story of David and Jonathan's deep friendship, and how Jonathan realized at last the secret plot that his father, Saul, had against David. Jonathan seems to have been a prophet, for he realized that he would not succeed his father as king. PSALM 104a:This is a companion with Psalm 103. This psalm also starts and ends with the same refrain as the one in Psalm 103. This poem expounds on the majesty of God. ROMANS 8a:Paul said something in 7:5 that he felt needed to be explained from verse 7 to the end of chapter 7. (Of course there were no chapters...

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NL-Day149 1 Samuel 18-19; Psalm 102; Romans 6:19-7:17 show art NL-Day149 1 Samuel 18-19; Psalm 102; Romans 6:19-7:17

Daily Bible Reading Phil Fields

1SAMUEL 18-19:In yesterday's story, David showed that he was more concerned with God's reputation than for his own safety. May we all face our imposing enemies with more belief in the unseen God than in the very present enemies! PSALM 102:This psalm starts out like the prayer of anyone in distress and trouble calling out to God. As we read further, many see parallels with what our Savior would have prayed in his darkest days on earth. ROMANS 6:19—7:The last verse of yesterday’s reading shows why it is better to take what we are given, rather than what we have earned! This is a big problem...

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More Episodes

JUDGES 16-17:
Yesterday we heard of Samson's disastrous marriage, and his first major victory over the Philistines. Ways in which Samson disobeyed God's Laws are that he touched and even ate from a carcass, he murdered people when not at war, and he associated with pagans and even married one of them. In spite of this, God used him as a tool.

PSALM 86:
In this psalm David models effective prayer. Let’s follow his example!

1TIMOTHY 2:
Yesterday we started Paul’s first letter to Timothy. As I said yesterday, this is a personal letter to Timothy, and it is one of the group of letters called the Pastoral Epistles, or sometimes called the 5 T’s. Central to the Pastoral Epistles is Paul’s concern for true teaching in the church, and he especially stressed avoiding the controversies that at that time came from Jewish background believers. These letters often include a listing of various things, and one example is the list of the types of lawlessness in chapter one. Paul frequently mentions how important it is for believers to keep a clear conscience. And chapter one also contained one of several Pastoral ‘trustworthy sayings’. A more unique point for chapter one is that Paul called himself the ‘chief of sinners’.

Additional commentary:
In twenty15, a woman wrote after hearing this chapter complaining about Paul’s attitude toward women. I hope I can help some listeners by saying this: If you do not like what Paul wrote here, consider that Paul knew the audience was writing to. Compare what Paul said in Ephesians 5 with what Peter said in 1 Peter 3, and note how Paul lovingly wrote in this same letter about taking care of widows. It can be shown that Scripture played an important role in history to raise the position of both women and slaves. If you are interested in this general topic, you might also be interested in the translation note for verse 15 in the episode notes for today.

Let me tell the story of a missionary who served with me in Indonesia. Before Ron Kriens was a Christian and was working as a bus driver in a big city, he was impressed by Jesus’ resurrection and reputation as a teacher, so he was willing to accept Jesus’ words, and at first would only read Jesus’ teachings. But then he found that Jesus said that after his death, the Holy Spirit would lead his disciples into all truth. So he read books penned by Jesus’ disciples, John and Peter. Then he discovered that Peter respected Paul’s writings as Scripture. (2Ptr. 3) And finally, at some point, I know that he realized how important understanding the Old Testament is to understanding the New Testament. I tell Ron’s story to say this: God’s Word is a unity. The very coherence of the message is wonderful proof of God’s sovereignly in controlling the writings which have come down to us. We will find the most joy and peace in submitting to our sovereign Creator fully and not rejecting any part of His Word.

NLT Translation notes:
1Tim2:1 [PET: I advise you to teach these things to the church you serve. First of all, every member of the church should give all kinds of prayer requests to God for everyone else— and also give thanks.//I urge you, first of all, to pray for all people. Ask God to help them; intercede on their behalf, and give thanks for them.]
7 And I have been chosen as a preacher and apostle to teach the Gentiles this message about [fully believing//faith] and truth. I’m not exaggerating—just telling the truth.
15 [PET: As a result of that sin, the female descendants of Eve fall under the punishment of God in having pain when giving birth. But even so, God is ready to help and save each woman— if she keeps fully believing in Him, does loving acts, and lives a holy and wise life.//NLT:/But women will be saved through childbearing, assuming they continue to live in faith, love, holiness, and modesty.]
Cross reference and footnote in the PET: See Gen. 3:1-13. This verse can also be translated, “Even so, God will make each woman safe when giving birth to children— as long as she keeps fully believing in Him, does loving acts, and lives a holy and wise life.”

 

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.