NL-Day006 Genesis 11-12; Job 6; Mark 4:21-41
Daily Bible Reading Phil Fields
Release Date: 01/06/2025
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...
info_outlineDaily 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...
info_outlineDaily 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...
info_outlineDaily 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...
info_outlineDaily 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...
info_outlineDaily 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...
info_outlineDaily 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...
info_outlineDaily 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...
info_outlineDaily 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...
info_outlineDaily 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...
info_outlineIf you are reading along while listening to the recordings, you will notice that I often exchange the word ‘believe’ (or ‘fully believe’) for ‘faith’. This is because the English word ‘faith’ is used with all kinds of fuzzy meanings these days and can easily be misunderstood. 1) In Greek, ‘faith’ and ‘believe’ are the noun and verb forms of the same root word. 2) When one uses an abstract noun like ‘faith’ in English, the object of the faith is lost— in this case the Person who is being believed. Note that ‘faith’ does not have a vague meaning like ‘endurance’ or ‘ability to live without fear’— which might be assumed in today's passage. Such fuzzy meanings almost always end up placing ‘faith’ in ourselves, which is a big mistake. The ‘faith’ that Jesus is talking about at the end of this chapter is placing our trust 100% in Him!
GENESIS 11-12:
Yesterday in Genesis 9-10, we heard the story of Noah's drunkenness and his curse on Canaan because of it (which wasn't very fair since it was his father Ham who actually caused the offense to Noah, and because Ham also had other sons). Then we heard about Noah's descendants.
JOB 6:
In chapter 5 Eliphaz continued to imply that Job has sinned:
Job 5:6 NLT Evil does not grow in the soil,
nor does trouble grow out of the ground.
7 No indeed! We bring trouble on ourselves,
as surely as sparks fly up from a fire.
Eliphaz’ main point in that chapter was that Job would be forgiven and blessed if he repented:
17 Happy is the person whom God corrects!
Do not resent it when he rebukes you.
18 God bandages the wounds he makes;
his hand hurts you, and his hand heals.
There is truth in what Eliphaz says, and a similar statement to verse 17 is found in James 1.
MARK 4b:
Chapter 4 is the parable chapter of Mark. The Parable about the Different Kinds of Soil is in all three synoptic Gospels— which are Matthew, Mark, and Luke. That parable holds deep meaning that one never really grows out of. Each time you hear it, new facets come to light, and every believer should meditate on what kind of soil they are most like at the present time.
NLT Translation notes:
Gen. 11:4 Then they said, “Come, let’s build a great city for ourselves with a tower that reaches [into/0] the sky.
====
Mrk. 4:26 Jesus also said, “The Kingdom of God [can be illustrated as being like when//is like] a farmer [0/who] scatters seed on the ground.
[It bothers me grammatically to say that a 'kingdom' is like a 'farmer'. The king might be like a farmer, both being people. Jesus' illustration shows that the whole package is what is like the Kingdom of God, including farmer, seed, time for growing, and harvest.]
30 Jesus said, “How can I describe the Kingdom of God? What story should I use to illustrate it? 31 [God's Kingdom can be compared to//It is like] a mustard seed planted in the ground. It is the smallest of all seeds,
40 Then he [said to/asked] them, “[What a bunch of cowards you are! It is clear that you don't believe fully in me!”//Why are you afraid? Do you still have no faith?”]
[I have treated these rhetorical questions as statements. In English it seems a bit silly to ask “Why are you afraid?” Jesus' question is a rebuke (and we can debate how strong a rebuke was intended). The second RQ is also a rebuke.]
[Note that I will often change 'faith' to 'fully believe'. This might be a good illustration of why the English word 'faith' is often misunderstood. 1) People often have forgotten that the root meaning of 'faith' is 'believe'— having the same Greek root word. 2) When one uses an abstract noun like 'faith' we loose the object— in this case the Person who is being believed. Note that 'faith' does not have the a vague root meaning like 'endurance' or 'ability to live without fear', which might be assumed by some readers. Such words almost always end up placing 'faith' in ourselves. This is very wrong. What faith means here is placing trust 100% in Jesus.]
41 The disciples were absolutely terrified. “[Wow, what kind of man is this Jesus?!//Who is this man?]”3 they [said to//asked] each other. “Even the wind and waves obey him!”
[The disciples had not forgotten Jesus' name! This translation is as suggested by Deibler.]
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.