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NL-Day052 Leviticus 1-2; Psalm 10; Luke 8:1-25

Daily Bible Reading Phil Fields

Release Date: 02/16/2025

NL-Day341 Amos 5-6; Isaiah 47; 3 John 1 show art NL-Day341 Amos 5-6; Isaiah 47; 3 John 1

Daily Bible Reading Phil Fields

AMOS 5-6:One device that Amos used in yesterday’s reading was rhetorical questions. He asked a whole series of them like this one: 3:4 GNT Does a lion roar in the forest unless he has found a victim? All of his rhetorical questions expect the unspoken answer, No. And they all led up to this one: Amo. 3:8 NLT The lion has roared— so who isn’t frightened? The Sovereign LORD has spoken— so who can refuse to proclaim his message? And, surprisingly, the message the Lord proclaimed next was an invitation to Israel’s enemies to come and witness Israel’s destruction. After the...

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NL-Day340 Amos 3-4; Isaiah 45:22-46:13; 2 John 1 show art NL-Day340 Amos 3-4; Isaiah 45:22-46:13; 2 John 1

Daily Bible Reading Phil Fields

AMOS 3-4: As I said about Amos yesterday, he was wise in his methods. He condemned Syria, the Philistines, Tyre, Edom, Ammon, and Moab before coming around to Judah and finally the northern kingdom, Israel. We also heard some of the wonderful word pictures Amos used. ISAIAH 45:22-46. Remember that in the last chapter Cyrus’ name was repeatedly mentioned. God’s motivation for making such bold predictions is clear: 19 NLT I publicly proclaim bold promises. I do not whisper obscurities in some dark corner. I would not have told the people of Israel to seek me if I could not be found. I...

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NL-Day339 Amos 1-2; Isaiah 44:24-45:25; 2 Timothy 4 show art NL-Day339 Amos 1-2; Isaiah 44:24-45:25; 2 Timothy 4

Daily Bible Reading Phil Fields

AMOS 1-2: If you are new to reading the Bible, I hope that you will remember the events and expressions that Joel used. One or two ideas were repeated by Jesus in the Gospels, and we will soon see how important Joel’s predictions are in Revelation. We turn now to Amos, whose name means ‘burden bearer’. Amos— like David and Gideon, started out as an ordinary guy going about his business as a shepherd and grower of sycamore figs. He was not a priest or a man with training as a prophet when God called him. Because of the mention of a great earthquake and king Uzziah, it is likely that...

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NL-Day338 Joel 2:28-3:21; Isaiah 44:12-28; 2 Timothy 3 show art NL-Day338 Joel 2:28-3:21; Isaiah 44:12-28; 2 Timothy 3

Daily Bible Reading Phil Fields

JOEL 2:28-3: An attack by an army of locusts must be so frightening! What descriptions! And even worse when God is bringing the attack as an act of judgement. Yet Joel offers hope. He encourages the people to come back to God and beg for the Lord’s help. We will pick up today re-reading the famous part of Joel 2. ISAIAH 44b: In the first part of this chapter God said: Is. 44:3 NLT For I will pour out water to quench your thirst and to irrigate your parched fields. And I will pour out my Spirit on your descendants, and my blessing on your children. 4 They will thrive like watered grass, like...

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NL-Day337 Joel 1-2; Isaiah 44:1-18; 2 Timothy 2 show art NL-Day337 Joel 1-2; Isaiah 44:1-18; 2 Timothy 2

Daily Bible Reading Phil Fields

JOEL 1:I feel the need to comment about chapter 9 of Esther and how the Jews “got rid” of their enemies. Remember that those Jews were not Christians. (I know how silly that sounds, but it is actually a common supposition among naive Christians.) The revelation of God’s will did not come all at once, and the Jews did not have the pleasure of knowing what Jesus said in the Sermon on the Mount or other pertinent NT passages. They most certainly did NOT ‘get rid’ of their enemies, except in the short run. All the relatives of the enemies slain raised up succeeding generations of people...

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NL-Day336 Esther 9-10; Isaiah 43; 2 Timothy 1 show art NL-Day336 Esther 9-10; Isaiah 43; 2 Timothy 1

Daily Bible Reading Phil Fields

ESTHER 9-10:We have heard how Esther’s request was granted, the king and Haman came to the second banquet, where Esther revealed her identity. The eunuch Harbona just happened to have pertinent information about Haman’s plans for Mordecai, and Haman was killed and impaled/hanged on the pole he had planned to use for Mordecai. Mordecai, coming into possession of the king’s signet ring, wrote an edict that allowed for the Jews to organize and defend themselves against their enemies. ISAIAH 43: In Isaiah 42 we heard twice about ‘the servant of the Lord’. The first passage is quoted in...

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NL-Day335 Esther 7-8; Isaiah 42; 2 Thessalonians 3 show art NL-Day335 Esther 7-8; Isaiah 42; 2 Thessalonians 3

Daily Bible Reading Phil Fields

ESTHER 7-8: In Esther 5 Haman planned to impale Mordecai on a pole in the NLT, or just hanged in the GNT. (Given the period of time, I think that the impaling method is more likely to be right.) But on the same night that Haman planned for that murder, God caused the king to have a sleepless night and read in the annals of the kingdom about Mordecai. Haman came before the king at just the right time to get assigned the task of honoring Mordecai. ISAIAH 42: In Isaiah 41 we again heard God predict the future, and challenge Israel’s idols to prophesy or do anything at all. 2THESSALONIANS 3: The...

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NL-Day334 Esther 5-6; Isaiah 41:8-29; 2 Thessalonians 2 show art NL-Day334 Esther 5-6; Isaiah 41:8-29; 2 Thessalonians 2

Daily Bible Reading Phil Fields

ESTHER 5-6: In Esther 3-4 Haman cast lots (purim) to find out that March 7 was the lucky date to exterminate the Jews. Mordecai requested that Esther intercede directly to the king. And since she hadn’t been called for, the only way to do that would endanger Esther herself, since no one was allowed to approach the king in the inner court uninvited. ISAIAH 41b: Did you notice in yesterday’s reading, we heard a description of a king that sounded similar to one described in the book of Daniel? Isaiah 41:2-4 NLT: 2 “Who has stirred up this king from the east, rightly calling him to God’s...

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NL-Day333 Esther 3-4; Isaiah 41:1-20; 2 Thessalonians 1 show art NL-Day333 Esther 3-4; Isaiah 41:1-20; 2 Thessalonians 1

Daily Bible Reading Phil Fields

ESTHER 3-4: Yesterday we heard how Esther became the queen, and how she continued to keep her Jewish background a secret. We also heard how Mordecai, her uncle, was promoted to a palace official after uncovering a plot to assassinate king Xerxes. Today we are introduced to the villain of the story— Haman. The Jews always read the book of Esther in the celebration of Purim. Whenever Haman’s name is read they boo and shake rattles or noisemakers to drown out his name. ISAIAH 41a: The shift to such beautiful poetry that occurs in chapter 40 of Isaiah is one of the things that has made people...

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NL-Day332 Esther 1-2; Isaiah 40:15-31; Philemon 1 show art NL-Day332 Esther 1-2; Isaiah 40:15-31; Philemon 1

Daily Bible Reading Phil Fields

ESTHER 1-2:In the final two chapters of Nehemiah, we heard of the culmination of Nehemiah’s work— the ceremony for the dedication of the wall. The people proved that the wall could stand up to more than just a fox walking on it. Then Nehemiah went back to Babylon. When he came back to Jerusalem, he needed to right several wrongs, as the people had allowed a deterioration in the temple worship. We now turn to the book of Esther, which may have been written by Mordecai (a major character in the book), or by Ezra or Nehemiah, who would have known this story. The king Xerxes was defeated in a...

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LEVITICUS 1-2:
Yesterday at the end of Exodus, the worship in the completed and dedicated tabernacle was started.

Leviticus is a continuation of Exodus, in the same way that Exodus is a continuation of Genesis. Leviticus also starts with the word ‘And’.  The title once again comes from Latin Vulgate which was based on the name in the Septuagint. So the name does not come from the Hebrew. Because of the name, many think that this book is a handbook only for the priests. Not so. Wenham (from Constable) states:

“It would be wrong, however, to describe Leviticus simply as a manual for priests. It is equally, if not more, concerned with the part the laity should play in worship. Many of the regulations explain what the layman should sacrifice. They tell him when to go to the sanctuary, what to bring, and what he may expect the priest to do when he arrives. Most of the laws apply to all Israel: only a few sections specifically concern the priests alone, e.g., chs. 21—22. The lay orientation of the legislation is particularly noticeable in ch. 23, where the whole emphasis lies on the days that must be observed as days of sabbath rest.”

Many New Testament concepts are foreshadowed in this book, such as the seriousness of sin in God’s sight, the necessity of atonement of sin, the holiness of God, and the necessity of a mediator between God and Man. H.C. Mears says,

“In Genesis we see humanity ruined, in Exodus, humanity redeemed, and in Leviticus, humanity worshipping.”

One can’t read this book without being thankful to Christ Jesus for His sacrifice which fulfills the incredibly detailed laws about sacrifice for us.

PSALM 10:
E.C. Olsen says this Psalm has “a triple theme: the silence of God, the despair of the humble, and the pride of the wicked.” This Psalm doesn't give us all the answers, but we know God understands how we feel about these things.

LUKE 8:
At the end of Luke 7 we read about how Jesus was anointed by a sinful woman, and how Jesus answered the silent criticism of Simon, the pharisee.

NLT Translation notes:
Lev. 1:12 Then [you/0] cut the animal in pieces, and the priests will arrange the pieces of the offering, including the head and fat, on the wood burning on the altar.
[Modern readers tend to think that the priests did all the messy bloody work. Not so!]
====
Ps. 10:2 The wicked arrogantly hunt down the poor.
[Why not let/Let] them be caught in the evil they plan for others[?!/.]
4 The wicked are too proud to seek [You,  O God!// God.]
They seem to think that [You are dead!//God is dead.]
[Compare with CEV on using 2nd person here.]
8 They lurk in ambush in the villages,
waiting to murder innocent people [(like me)!//.]
10 Their helpless victims [(like me)//0] are crushed;
they fall beneath the strength of the wicked.
12 Arise, O L ORD !
Punish the wicked, O God!
Do not ignore [us helpless people/the helpless people]!
13 Why do the wicked get away with despising [You, O//0] God?
They think, “God will never call us to account.”
14 But you [really do//0] see the trouble and grief they cause.
You take note of it and [will/0] punish them.
The helpless put their trust in you.
You [really do] defend the orphans[!/.]
15 [Oh, break//Break] the arms of these wicked, evil people!
Go after them until the last one is destroyed.
17 LORD , you [really do//0] know the hopes of the helpless!.
Surely you will hear [our/their] cries and comfort [us/them].
====
Luk. 8:7 Other seed fell among thorns that grew up [with the tender young plants and choked them out.//it and choked out the tender plants.] 8 Still other seed fell on fertile soil. This seed grew and produced a crop that was a hundred times as much as had been planted!” When he had said this, he called out, [“You people have ears to hear with, don't you?! Well then, listen and understand!”//Anyone with ears to hear should listen and understand.]
[Seed is a collective noun, therefore plural!]
9 His disciples asked him what this parable meant. 10 He
replied, “You are permitted to understand the secrets a of the Kingdom of God. But I use parables to teach the others so
that the Scriptures might be fulfilled [where God said//0]:
‘When they look, they won’t really see.
When they hear, they won’t understand.’
25 Then he asked them, “[Whatever happened to the idea of your believing in Me?!”//Where is your faith?]
The disciples were terrified and amazed. “[What kind of man is this?!//Who is this man?]” they asked each other.
“When he gives a command, even the wind and waves obey him!”
30 Jesus demanded, “What is your name?”
[Batalion/Legion],” he replied, for he was filled with many demons.
32 There happened to be a large herd of pigs feeding on the hillside nearby, and the demons begged him to let them enter into the pigs.
[0/So] Jesus gave them permission.
[The Greek ‘kai’ (and) is frequently left untranslated on purpose. I definitely don't like the addition of a 'So' logical connector here.]
34 When the herdsmen saw [what happened//it], they fled to the nearby town and the surrounding countryside, spreading the news as they ran.
35 People rushed out to see what had happened. A crowd soon gathered around Jesus, and they saw the man who had been freed from the demons. He was sitting at Jesus’ feet, fully clothed and perfectly sane, and they [all we overcome with fear//all became afraid//were afraid].
48 “[0//Daughter],” he said to her, “[You are now healed because you believe fully in Me.//your faith has made you well.] Go in peace.”
[Jesus does call her 'daughter' in Greek. But people can often get the wrong impression from that. One common wrong implication would be that this woman was younger than Jesus. If the translator changes to something like 'woman', then there are other problems with wrong implications. Other options I have thought of sound unnatural. For naturalness sake, it sounds best and most natural to me to just leave the word out.]
50 But when Jesus heard what had happened, he said to Jairus, “Don’t be afraid. [Just keep believing fully in Me//Just have faith], and she will be healed.”

 

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.