NL-Day032 Exodus 3-4; Job 32; James 1
Daily Bible Reading Phil Fields
EXODUS 3-4:In yesterday's beginning to Exodus, we heard of Moses' birth and his young adulthood in Egypt. He murdered a man and had to flee for his life, going to Midian. We also read of his helping the seven daughters of Reuel, a scene that I can't read without thinking of the Cecil B. DeMill movie. JOB 32:Job having finished his defense, Elihu takes the stage. HC Mears says, Eliphaz basically said, “God never makes a mistake. What have you done to bring this on yourself?” Bildad essentially said, “God is just. Confess your sin.” Zophar suggested, “God is all-wise. He knows...
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NL-Day031 Exodus 1-2; Job 31; 1 Peter 5
Daily Bible Reading Phil Fields
EXODUS 1:Yesterday we wrapped up Genesis with Jacob's very prophetic blessings for each of his sons. Then we heard of the conclusion after Jacob was buried and finally Joseph died. Exodus is clearly a continuation of the story of Genesis, since the first word in the Hebrew text is ‘And’. Tradition holds that Moses is the author. The name Exodus derives from the name that was given by the Septuagint translators— which is the translation of the OT into classical Greek made three hundred years before Christ. Here are two perceptive summary statements about Exodus— quotes by Durham (from...
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NL-Day030 Genesis 49-50; Job 30; 1 Peter 3:17-4:19
Daily Bible Reading Phil Fields
GENESIS 49-50: In yesterday's reading, Jacob blessed Pharaoh, Joseph lead powerfully during the worst of the famine, and Jacob blessed Ephraim and Manasseh— putting the younger Ephraim above his older brother. (And if you remember Jacob's story, you'll know where he got that idea.) JOB 30: In the GNT, this is the 2nd of Job’s three chapters stating his complaints. In the NLT, this is the 5th chapter of his monologue. Yesterday Job spoke of his previous blessed life and high position. In this chapter he tells of his anguish. 1PETER 4: Yesterday in chapter 3 he gave instructions to wives,...
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NL-Day029 Genesis 47-48; Job 29; 1 Peter 3
Daily Bible Reading Phil Fields
GENESIS 47-48: In yesterday's reading, Jacob arrived in Egypt with his family. Excluding more extended family, the whole group numbered 70 people at that time. JOB 29: Yesterday we heard the chapter in praise of God’s wisdom, which GNT attributes to Zophar. Today Job speaks of his former blessings, in the first of three chapters which are the final statement of his case. 1PETER 3: Peter packed each sentence with meaning. I encourage you to take time to read the first two chapters slowly and think about Peter’s descriptive words. Yesterday, for instance, we read the wonderful “Living...
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NL-Day028 Genesis 46; Job 28; 1 Peter 1:22-2:25
Daily Bible Reading Phil Fields
GENESIS 46: In yesterday’s two chapters, Joseph's brothers went back to Egypt with Benjamin, Joseph's younger brother. Joseph contrived a creative way to reveal his identity. When Pharaoh heard about Joseph's brothers, he helped provide for Jacob's family to come to Egypt. JOB 28:Did you notice in yesterday’s reading of Job 27 that my voice suddenly turned sarcastic sounding? In some translations, one of them being GNT, the second part of chapter 27 (beginning at verse 13) is assigned to Zophar. Actually, that idea, proposed by several commentators, has gone out of fashion. NLT goes...
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NL-Day027 Genesis 44-45; Job 27; 1 Peter 1
Daily Bible Reading Phil Fields
GENESIS 44-45: Yesterday we heard of Joseph's brothers on their first and second trips to Egypt. [GNT only: Regarding my comment in yesterday’s podcast about Joseph giving wine without limit, it is likely that He was showing the normal generosity of a wealthy host. I very much doubt that under these circumstances his brothers would have allowed themselves to become drunk.] We pick up the story, still in Joseph's palace on the second trip. JOB 27: In the NLT, this chapter is the 2nd chapter of Job’s six-chapter-long speech. But in the GNT Zophar interrupts and carries on through chapter 28....
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NL-Day026 Genesis 42-43; Job 26; Mark 16
Daily Bible Reading Phil Fields
GENESIS 42-43: Yesterday in chapter 41, we heard of Pharaoh's dream, and what happened to Joseph as a result of his correctly telling the interpretation. Note also that Joseph was careful to give the glory to God for that interpretation. JOB 26: Yesterday in chapter 25, Bildad only had a six verse response, because Job interrupted him with the speech we will read today. Bildad implied Job’s guilt in more than one way, including this most obvious rhetorical question: 4 Can anyone be righteous or pure in God's sight? MARK 16: Yesterday we heard of the death and burial of Jesus. That chapter...
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Day025: 2023 EveryWord --- Mark 16
Daily Bible Reading Phil Fields
Today I will do my best to convince you that the last 12 verses of Mark 16 shouldn’t have brackets around them or footnotes that cast doubt on their authenticity. I believe that they are authentic Scripture inspired by God. Now, I try to stay away from saying anything controversial in the Daily Bible Reading Podcast series, and it kind of bothers me that here in this first extra podcast of the year, I will say things that quite a few people with seminary training will consider leaning too much to the conservative side of the scale. But I feel constrained to be controversial now so I will...
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NL-Day025 Genesis 41; Job 25; Mark 15:33-47
Daily Bible Reading Phil Fields
GENESIS 41: In yesterday's reading, Joseph interpreted two dreams. He said something significant: Interpreting dreams is God’s business. JOB 25: Yesterday Job said, Why doesn't God set a time for judging, a day of justice for those who serve him? (Job 24:1) And speaking of the helpless and downtrodden he said, “In the cities the wounded and dying cry out, but God ignores their prayers. (v12) Starting in v18 GNT follows a number of other translations in saying that Zophar chimed in, disagreeing that the wicked are indeed punished, contradicting what Job was saying. NLT doesn’t do that....
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NL-Day024 Genesis 40; Job 24; Mark 15:1-32
Daily Bible Reading Phil Fields
GENESIS 40: In Genesis yesterday, some listeners to these podcasts were probably shocked. We heard the less than auspicious beginnings of Judah's line— particularly involving Tamar, who was more righteous than Judah. Then we heard of Joseph working for Potiphar and then being thrown in jail. Even in jail, he rose to the top. JOB 24: Job continues his response to Eliphaz. MARK 15a: At the end of chapter 14, Jesus was arrested, was tried before the council, and Peter denied knowing Jesus. NLT Translation notes: 2 Pilate asked Jesus, “Are you the king of the Jews?” Jesus replied, “[Yes,...
info_outlineEXODUS 13-14:
Yesterday we heard of the final plague— including the death of the firstborn and the first Passover. And we heard the rules for the Passover celebrations. Note how Christ is foreshadowed in the Passover lamb, including the detail that not a bone was to be broken.
JOB 37:
This is the conclusion of Elihu's speech.
2nd PETER 1:
Yesterday in James 5, James railed against the rich to encourage the poor. He also told us how to be patient in our suffering. The last section teaches about prayer for the sick and finally about repentance. I add a little footnote here. So often I hear the part about praying for the sick quoted by people who do not bother to fulfill all the instructions that James gives. If we are going to claim promises in Scriptures, we need to fulfill the conditions given!
This 2nd letter of Peter's was probably written not long before he was martyred in AD 68. Or it could have been written as early as AD 65. A different person with a very different vocabulary served as Peter’s secretary to write this. One of the things that tells me that Peter really was the author is his consistent humility. In 1Peter 5, he spoke of himself as a fellow elder and a fellow in looking forward to the glory that will be revealed to us. And he starts this letter in a similar vein, calling his listeners those ‘who share the same precious [faith/way of believing] we [apostles] have.’
Constable quotes Vernon McGee:
“Second Peter is the swan song of Peter, just as 2 Timothy is the swan song of Paul. There are striking similarities between the two books. Both epistles put up a warning sign along the pilgrim pathway the church is traveling to identify the awful apostasy that was on the way at the time and which in our time has now arrived. What was then like a cloud the size of a man’s hand today envelops the sky and produces a storm of hurricane proportions. Peter warns of heresy among teachers; Paul warns of heresy among the laity.”
NLT Translation notes:
Exo. 13:31 When the people of Israel saw the mighty power that the L ORD had unleashed against the Egyptians, they were filled with awe before him. [At last/0] they [fully believed//put their faith] in the L ORD and in his servant Moses.
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1 This letter is from Simon a Peter, a slave and apostle of Christ Jesus.
I am writing to you who share the same precious [beliefs/faith] we have. The things we fully believe were given to us//faith we have. This faith was given to you] because of the justice and fairness of [Christ Jesus//Jesus Christ], our God and Savior.
5 In view of all this, make every effort to respond to God’s promises. Supplement your [believing/faith] with a generous provision of moral excellence, and moral excellence with knowledge,
14 For our Lord [and Christ Jesus//Lord Jesus Christ] has shown me that I must soon leave this earthly 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.