NL-Day039 Exodus 17-18; Job 39; 2 Peter 3
Daily Bible Reading Phil Fields
EXODUS 17-18:Yesterday we heard the wonderful victory song of Moses. Then we heard how the people of Israel grumbled against Moses, Aaron, and most importantly, the Lord. Even about something as simple as gathering manna, the people of Israel disobey repeatedly. They are not called stubborn for nothing.JOB 39:God continues for a second chapter in challenging Job. 2PETER 3:Yesterday it struck me that even in Peter's day, there were greedy false teachers. Peter's descriptions of the false teachers are some of the most colorful in the Bible. NLT Translation notes:Job 39:17 For [I/God] haves...
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NL-Day038 Exodus 15-16; Job 38; 2 Peter 1:19-2:22
Daily Bible Reading Phil Fields
EXODUS 15-16:Yesterday we heard that because of the Passover plague which killed Egypt's firstborn, God claims the firstborn of Israel for all time to come. Then we heard of Pharaoh's final hardening of his heart, and the parting of the red sea. JOB 38:In the 6 chapters before this, Elihu has said that God uses multiple means of communication with humans. He maintained that God is just, and said that Job— in his despair, had gone too far in saying it doesn't make any difference if one tries to serve God. He said that God is amazing in His power, and God does notice and punish the wicked....
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NL-Day037 Exodus 13-14; Job 37; 2 Peter 1
Daily Bible Reading Phil Fields
EXODUS 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...
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NL-Day036 Exodus 11-12; Job 36; James 5
Daily Bible Reading Phil Fields
EXODUS 11-12:Yesterday we heard of the plague against the livestock, the plague of boils, and the plague of hail. We are not told how much time there was in between each plague. It seems there was enough time for many Egyptians to buy more livestock before they were again decimated by the hail. Then we heard about the plague of locusts followed by the plague of darkness. I hope you noticed Who is doing the hardening of hearts and causing the stubbornness. Paul talks about that in Romans 9. JOB 36:This is Elihu's 5th chapter. JAMES 5:In chapter 4, James preached against the way the world had...
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NL-Day035 Exodus 9-10; Job 35; James 4
Daily Bible Reading Phil Fields
EXODUS 9-10:The two chapters we read yesterday included the story of Aaron's staff becoming a serpent, and the plagues of blood, frogs, gnats, and flies. Note verse that in our reading today: 9:19 Now give orders for your livestock and everything else you have in the open to be put under shelter. Hail will fall on the people and animals left outside unprotected, and they will all die.’ ” Evidently enough time had passed between the plague against the livestock so that the Egyptians were able to buy livestock, and I am sure the people of Israel profited in that! JOB 35:This is Elihu's 4th...
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NL-Day034 Exodus 7-8; Job 34; James 3
Daily Bible Reading Phil Fields
EXODUS 7-8:Yesterday we heard of Moses and Aaron's first disastrous meeting with Pharaoh, and Pharaoh's retaliation against the Israelite people. God spoke with Moses again reaffirming his promises and his covenant with the people of Israel. JOB 34:This is the third chapter of Elihu's six-chapter monologue. JAMES 3:Yesterday James warned that showing favoritism breaks the Law of Love that our King Jesus taught. And he talked about dead religion, which consists of easy believism with no acting out of what we believe. Here is a famous statement that sums up Biblical teaching nicely on this...
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NL-Day033 Exodus 5-6; Job 33; James 2
Daily Bible Reading Phil Fields
EXODUS 5-6:Moses has responded to God's call, returned to Egypt with Aaron, and has had a successful meeting with the leaders of the Israelite people. JOB 33:This is Elihu's second chapter of six in his speech. JAMES 2:Yesterday James told us to consider it a great joy when troubles come our way. Don't miss James’ reasoning for this seeming contradiction. Then he spoke very strongly about not just being people who merely listen to God's Word. We must do it. NLT Translation notes:Jam. 2:1 My dear brothers and sisters, a how can you claim to [fully believe//have faith] in our glorious...
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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,...
info_outlineHey there! Welcome to this day number 1 in the NLT series for the Digging Deeper Daily reading plan. These podcasts are hosted at dailybiblereading.info. Today in this episode number 1 we read Genesis 1-2, Job 1, and the first half of Mark 1.
It’s great that you're starting TODAY on a life-transforming journey through the Bible! The Digging Deeper Daily plan will help you be successful in your commitment to read the whole Bible in a year. The unique order of the readings— together with the brief devotional notes, will help you see the various threads that unify the message of the Old and the New Testaments. I hope that my notes will help you remember what you have read the day before, and hint at the deep and incredibly rich treasures in God’s Word. But the most satisfying treasures that you find this year will be the ones you dig to discover for yourself! Please check out the How-to pages that are linked in the banner of dailybiblereading.info. When you are curious about a Bible verse, I recommend the collection of ‘Shovels’ I have collected to aid you in digging deeper in your study. See the Shovels page under ‘About’ menu entry in the How-to pages. The How-to pages also give good suggestions for podcast listening apps and Bible reading apps.
If you hear mistakes, have questions, or would like to comment, please feel free to contact me via the contact link at dailybiblereading.info.
I want to express my heartfelt thanks to Tyndale House Foundation for the permission to record the whole NLT Bible in these podcasts. The full copyright notice is found on the front page of dailybiblereading.info and at the end of each day’s episode notes.
GENESIS 1-2:
The first five books of the Bible are the Jewish Torah, and the Bible refers to them collectively as ‘the Law’. Many other books in the Bible attribute the authorship of these five books to Moses. Genesis is the foundational book of the whole Bible. When we were in our first Bible translation project among the Orya in Papua, Indonesia, I witnessed how getting a little detail of the foundation wrong (such as, how the first sin happened) can wreck the whole building that is being constructed. The result can be misery. This book of Genesis tells us what God wants us to know about the beginning of our world, the beginning of sin, mankind’s rebellion against God, and who God and Satan are.
JOB 1:
The story of Job is set in the period of the patriarch Abraham, and it takes place in the land of the East. What I did not realize until recently is that signs indicate that this book was written at a later time and almost certainly by an Israelite. By the author writing that Job was “the richest man in the East”, it places the author in the West, in the land of Israel. The author frequently uses the name of ‘Yahweh’, which I think would not have been done in Abraham’s time— which was long before God’s name was revealed to Moses at the burning bush. The author was a highly educated man. All of the book— except the first two chapters, are in exquisite poetry. The author displays an in-depth knowledge of mythology, the constellations, and the then current wisdom concerning the world— including the underworld and traits of exotic animals. I might as well say it: The philosophy of this book is worthy of Solomon.
Whoever he is, the author displays incredible wisdom. One would expect an ancient book that is didactic in nature to end with a neat answer that sums up the author’s opinion. Or one would expect an ancient author to create a debate where the hero is totally right and the other speakers are clearly wrong. Instead, all the human speakers in the book of Job mix truth and error. It is a mark of inspired wisdom that in the end, the book of Job leaves us still pondering and searching for some answers.
MARK 1a:
Mark does not specifically identify himself as the author of this Gospel, but the church fathers unanimously say that the John Mark mentioned several times in the New Testament was the one who wrote it. Mark was a companion of Peter, and the eyewitness content in this book is that of Peter. I will give more introductory information about Mark’s Gospel in tomorrow’s podcast.
NLT Translation notes:
Gen. 1:3Then God said, “Let there be light,” and there was light. 4And God saw that the light was good. Then he separated the light from the darkness. 5 God called the light “day” and the darkness “night.” And evening passed and morning came, marking the [end of the] first day. … And evening passed and morning came, marking
the [end of the] second day.
…and so forth.
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Mrk. 1:1 This is the Good News about Jesus the Messiah, the Son of God. It began 2 just as the prophet Isaiah had written, … [quoting what God said to his son:]
6 [John reminded people of the prophet Elijah,] because his clothes were woven from coarse camel hair, and he wore a leather belt around his waist. And he ate food such as locusts and wild honey.
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.