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NL-Day193 2 Kings 13-14; Psalm 129; John 13:12-38

Daily Bible Reading Phil Fields

Release Date: 07/06/2025

NL-Day208 Jeremiah 13-14; Psalm 144; 1 Corinthians 1 show art NL-Day208 Jeremiah 13-14; Psalm 144; 1 Corinthians 1

Daily Bible Reading Phil Fields

JEREMIAH 13-14:In yesterday’s reading, Jeremiah complained to the Lord, 12:1 “Lord, if I argued my case with you,you would [be shown//prove] to be right.Yet I must question you about matters of justice.Why are the wicked so prosperous?Why do dishonest people succeed? And the Lord replied in an answer that bears reading in context and needs some thinking about, “Jeremiah, if you get tired racing against people,how can you race against horses?If you can't even stand up in open country,how will you manage in the jungle by the Jordan? PSALM 144:This poem is quite a contrast with what we have...

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NL-Day207 Jeremiah 11-12; Psalm 143; John 21 show art NL-Day207 Jeremiah 11-12; Psalm 143; John 21

Daily Bible Reading Phil Fields

JEREMIAH 11-12:Yesterday we heard important verses in chapter 9:23-24, verses that Paul quotes more than once:  “Don’t let the wise boast in their wisdom,or the powerful boast in their power,or the rich boast in their riches.But those who wish to boastshould boast in this alone:that they truly know me and understand that I am the LORD … PSALM 143:It seems that prayer is very neglected these days. Oh yes, we might hear something vague about praying for victims right after some tragedy strikes. But it seems that every church has trouble keeping a prayer meeting going. I myself have...

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NL-Day206 Jeremiah 9-10; Psalm 142; John 20 show art NL-Day206 Jeremiah 9-10; Psalm 142; John 20

Daily Bible Reading Phil Fields

JEREMIAH 9-10:Being a prophet is not exactly an easy job. In 7:27 God told him, “Tell them all this, but do not expect them to listen. Shout out your warnings, but do not expect them to respond.” We’ll find that God told the same thing to more than one prophet around this same time. PSALM 142:When you are discouraged, here is a psalm to pray! JOHN 20:There are so many fulfillments of Scripture that happen in the crucifixion chapters in the Gospels that many times the authors didn’t take the time to highlight each one of them. The Jewish readers would have picked up on them without the...

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NL-Day205 Jeremiah 7-8; Psalm 141; John 19:14-42 show art NL-Day205 Jeremiah 7-8; Psalm 141; John 19:14-42

Daily Bible Reading Phil Fields

JEREMIAH 7-8:In this and several other prophetic books, it is important to observe where quotes begin and end, and who is speaking. The section headings are also very helpful to our understanding. Modern translators and editors use the heading to help modern readers understand such things as ancient poetic imagery. Yesterday's reading had this ironic statement spoken by the Lord: 5:19 When they ask why I did all these things, tell them, Jeremiah, that just as they turned away from me and served foreign gods in their own land, so they will serve strangers in a land that is not theirs.”...

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NL-Day204 Jeremiah 5-6; Psalm 140; John 18:28-19:27 show art NL-Day204 Jeremiah 5-6; Psalm 140; John 18:28-19:27

Daily Bible Reading Phil Fields

JEREMIAH 5-6:God, speaking through the prophets, frequently says how he feels about idolatry. He considers it just like the faithlessness of a wayward wife. It is moving that Jeremiah could so clearly see what would happen— the anguish of the people when his prophecies are fulfilled and they will be attacked by armies from the north.  PSALM 140:This is a prayer for anyone who fears the imminent attack of wicked enemies.  JOHN 19a:The chapter break here interrupts the story of Jesus’ trial before Pilate. Jesus has already told Pilate that he is a king, but his kingdom is not of...

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NL-Day203 Jeremiah 3-4; Psalm 139; John 18:19-40 show art NL-Day203 Jeremiah 3-4; Psalm 139; John 18:19-40

Daily Bible Reading Phil Fields

JEREMIAH 3-4:In yesterday’s reading there was a play on words in Jer. 1:11-12, where the Hebrew word for ‘almond tree’ sounds like the word for ‘watching’: 11 Then the Lord said to me, “Look, Jeremiah! What do you see?” And I replied, “I see a branch from an almond tree.” 12 And the Lord said, “That’s right, and it means that I am watching,* and I will certainly carry out all my plans.” *footnote: The Hebrew word for “watching” (shoqed) sounds like the word for “almond tree” (shaqed). Yesterday we also read Jeremiah 2:13, which is one of the most frequently...

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NL-Day202 Jeremiah 1-2; Psalm 138; John 18:1-27 show art NL-Day202 Jeremiah 1-2; Psalm 138; John 18:1-27

Daily Bible Reading Phil Fields

JEREMIAH 1-2:The book of Jeremiah was written between 627 and 580 BC. Counting the number of verses, Jeremiah is longer than all other books of the Old Testament except Genesis and Psalms. Jeremiah is often called the weeping prophet, and his other book is Lamentations. It is possible that he is the son of the high priest Hilkiah who brought the book of the Law to the attention of king Josiah. Having just heard in 2 Kings  an overview of what happened during the last days of the kingdom of Judah, we now will hear the poems and sermons of a sensitive man living through it all. Mears says,...

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NL-Day201 Jonah 3-4; Psalm 137; John 17 show art NL-Day201 Jonah 3-4; Psalm 137; John 17

Daily Bible Reading Phil Fields

JONAH 3-4:Running from God didn’t work for Jonah. When saved from the ocean, Jonah grudgingly obeys God. For most of my life I have been fooled by Jonah's prayer in chapter 2, and I am not alone, because others have called it, “One of the great prayers in the Bible.” For most of the prayer, Jonah simply borrowed verses from the Psalms. And there is nothing wrong with that! However, if you look closer, Jonah prayed a me-centered and self-righteous prayer. The worst thing about it is there is no hint of repentance or asking forgiveness. PSALM 137:As a musician, I can imagine what the...

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NL-Day200 Jonah 1-2; Psalm 136; John 17 show art NL-Day200 Jonah 1-2; Psalm 136; John 17

Daily Bible Reading Phil Fields

JONAH 1-2:For quite a few years when I was just reading the Bible without a set reading plan, I enjoyed a break from reading the books of history after Second Kings, moving to the prophets. And our first is Jonah, who was mentioned back in 2 Kings 14.  Note that the little story of Jonah is masterfully written. Little details poke out everywhere. Jonah has a downward journey. He goes down from Jerusalem to Joppa, then down again into the hold of the boat, and then down into the underworld of the ocean. He wasn't just being disobedient. He was saying, “I'm turning in my prophet's...

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NL-Day199 2 Kings 24-25; Psalm 135; John 16 show art NL-Day199 2 Kings 24-25; Psalm 135; John 16

Daily Bible Reading Phil Fields

2KINGS 24-25:In yesterday’s reading, we heard of Josiah’s reforms, leading the people to renew the covenant with God. That chapter had this telling comment about the Passover: 2Kings 23:22 There had not been a Passover celebration like that since the time when the judges ruled in Israel, nor throughout all the years of the kings of Israel and Judah. Many times I think people make the naive assumption that the people of Israel customarily performed all sorts of difficult commands in the Law— like the one about the Year of Jubilee. In my opinion, no way! PSALM 135:Olsen’s book gives the...

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More Episodes

2KINGS 13-14:
Yesterday we heard of Athaliah's seven year reign over Judah, of how Joash was saved from being killed, and of Jehoida's successful plot to end Athaliah's reign. Joash turned out to be sorta good, but disappointing at the end of his reign. And it is interesting to note that the people who worked on restoring the temple evidently had more integrity than the priests.

PSALM 129:
This is another Psalm of Ascent and another nationalistic psalm. In this year’s readings, in just a few days we will begin hearing the parts of Israel’s history where this psalm writer could have received the scars on his back. (I like how the GNT shows that the scars on the back might be taken figuratively for the whole race, instead of personally for just the writer. But one just listening to a reading of this chapter will probably not pick up on that detail.) In our time, this psalm gives us permission to pray that the Lord’s enemies do not prosper.

JOHN 13b:
John spends several chapters in the upper room, and this is the first. We hear the most complete account here about Judas, and only here do we find the story of Jesus washing the disciple's feet. This is another time where we see Jesus consciously acting out a parable for us. And because of that event, the interchange with Peter is more poignant, although John takes pity on Peter and does not include details of that conversation that are found elsewhere.

NLT Translation notes:
John 13:2 It was time for supper, and the devil had already prompted Judas[, 0>>//son of Simon Iscariot,] to betray Jesus. [Judas was the son of (a man named) Simon from the village Carioth.]
|8 “No,” Peter protested, “you will never ever wash my feet!”
Jesus replied, “[PET: If I don't wash your feet, you're no longer My follower.///Unless I wash you, you won’t belong to me.]”
12 After washing their feet, he put on his robe again and sat down and asked, “Do you understand what I was [showing you//doing]?
17 [You ought to wash each other’s feet.] Now that you know these things, God will bless you for doing them.
[Repeating the thing Jesus wants them to do makes the last sentence more understandable. “Doing them” does not mean taking slaves or sending messages.]
26 Jesus responded, “It is the one to whom I give the bread I dip in the bowl.” And when he had dipped it, he gave it to Judas, son of Simon[, the man from Carioth// Iscariot].
31 As soon as Judas left the room, Jesus said, “The time has come for [Me] the Son of Man to enter into [my/his] glory, and God will be glorified because of [Me/him].
32 And since [my Father, God,/God] receives glory because of [Me, his/the] Son,i he will soon [also] give glory to [Me/the Son].
36 [0/Simon] Peter asked, “Lord, where are you going?”
And Jesus replied, “You can’t go with me now, but you will follow me later.”

 

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.