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You Can Read the Bible Guided Podcast
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Read Through the Bible
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Day 4 Guided Podcast
1w agoTap to summarizeThe camera shifts from high overhead to just above the ground, as we zoom in on the story of Abram and his family. The rest of Genesis will follow Abram, his children, and grandchildren. It begins with a set of promises – a covenant that the LORD makes with Abram – and this raises some monumental questions for the reader. Will the LORD be true to His promises? Is the LORD powerful enough to fulfill them? In a world where gods were notoriously fickle and finite, these were no small considerations. Furthermore, remember that the subject of the Bible is God, so these questions are in the always in the background as the story of Abram and his descendants unfolds. In today’s reading you’ll encounter a few additional characters: Abram and his wife Sarai escape the Pharaoh of Egypt – despite Abram’s ill-conceived deception. We get our first battle scene in chapter 14, as Abram comes to Lot’s rescue when Mesopotamian raiders take him captive. And Melchizedek, king of Salem and Priest of El Elyon – God Most High, blesses him upon his return. But in the stillness of one late night, Abram nervously contemplates his lack of an heir. How can the promise ever mean anything if there’s no one to pass it on to? There is powerful emotion in this dialogue, as well as in the vision that follows. All of this reflects back on those first three verses of today’s reading: “Now the LORD said to Abram, ‘Go from your country…to the land that I will show you, and I will make of you are great nation…’” This covenant is the framework for the whole rest of the Old Testament – and in some ways, for the whole rest of the Bible. Let this command and these promises sink into your bones. Our verse for this week is John 1:1: In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. Genesis 12 through 15. Now let’s read it!
Transcribe →Day 206 Guided Podcast
1w agoTap to summarize"The sin of Judah is written with a pen of iron; with a point of diamond it is engraved on the tablet of their heart, and on the horns of their altars, while their children remember their altars and their Asherim, beside every green tree and on the high hills, on the mountains in the open country. Your wealth and all your treasures I will give for spoil as the price of your high places for sin throughout all your territory. You shall loosen your hand from your heritage that I gave to you, and I will make you serve your enemies in a land that you do not know, for in my anger a fire is kindled that shall burn forever." Jeremiah 17:1-4 In chapter 43 you’ll see whether the Judean remnant decides to flee to Egypt, and how both Jeremiah and the LORD respond to their decision. I’m not going to tell you what happens, but you’ll probably be surprised at how unsurprising their decision is. As you read this, remember the Judeans’ promise that they “will obey the voice of the LORD our God…” Also remember the LORD’s warning in Deuteronomy that His people “shall never return that way again.” The above prophecy from an earlier day is intense and perhaps a little disturbing. Judah’s sin is etched on their hearts, their turn to idolatry is total, and the LORD’s anger is a fire that shall burn forever. You’re allowed to ponder this statement and what it says about the LORD. Keep it in mind also when you read chapter 44, in which the LORD condemns Judah’s persistent idolatry, His people resentfully reject Him, and the LORD promises a final judgment on those who escaped His wrath the first time. The intensity of these prophetic conversations is broken by a brief final scene in chapter 45. Coming out of this whirlwind we see Baruch, twenty years younger, after his encounter with Jehoiakim, “weary with groaning and find[ing] no rest.” The LORD makes Baruch a promise: “I will give you your life as a prize of war…” We’ve heard this exact phrase three times before: twice to any Judeans who would abandon Jerusalem, and once to the Ethiopian servant who spoke up for Jeremiah. As the narrative sequence of this books ends, and with it the stories of these characters, consider the final image: prizes go to the victors. Our verse for this week is Psalm 51:10: Create in me a clean heart, O God, and renew a right spirit within me. Jeremiah 43 through 45. Now let’s read it!
Transcribe →Day 278 Guided Podcast
1w agoTap to summarizeTherefore my heart is glad, and my whole being rejoices; my flesh also dwells secure. For you will not abandon my soul to Sheol, or let your holy one see corruption. – Psalm 16:9-10 The term “Sheol” occurs 63 times in the Bible, all of which are found in the Old Testament. Of those, over half occur in the books of Job, Psalms, and Proverbs. This makes sense: wisdom literature is where you’d expect to find conversations about death. Nowhere in the Old Testament, however, do we find a direct, worked-out understanding of the afterlife. Listen to David’s lament in Psalm 6: “In death there is no remembrance of You. In Sheol who will give You praise?” and to the celebration in Psalm 9 that “The wicked shall return to Sheol, all the nations that forget God.” Today, Sheol is active in inducing fear: “the cords of Sheol entangled me; the snares of death confronted me…” You can hear that, in the minds of each writer, Sheol is not just the destination of the wicked, but is synonymous with death itself. Look through Job and Proverbs – in fact look through every reference in the Old Testament – and you’ll conclude that Sheol is everyone’s destination, but not a place to be hoped for. One of the principles we hold to at You Can Read the Bible is to allow the characters and writers to think and feel in their own moment. It is unfair to imagine future understandings back into their lives, which would reorient their writings (and even their actions) around concepts that never occurred to them. Even though the concept of the afterlife developed over time, and is more thoroughly discussed in the New Testament, this is how God decided to reveal His word. I encourage you to remember what is in the back of the minds of the writers and characters when they consider death, and the shadow it casts over life. Today the pendulum swings from yesterday’s discussion of wickedness to a celebration of the hope known by the righteous. The theme of refuge is noticeable throughout, as is the LORD’s capacity to rescue and guide. The readings seemingly drive toward a climax in Psalm 19, when the focus expands from the personal to the cosmic, marveling that the heavens declare the glory of God, and the sky above proclaims his handiwork. Our verses for this week are Galatians 5:22-23: But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control; against such things there is no law. Psalms 15 through 19. Now let’s read it!
Transcribe →Day 156 Guided Podcast
1w agoTap to summarizeIn chapter 17, Jesus and His disciples were gathering in Galilee when Jesus told them, "The Son of Man is about to be delivered into the hands of men, and they will kill him, and he will be raised on the third day.” After a brief final stop in Capernaum, they now head southward, inevitably toward Jerusalem. Matthew calls attention both to the crowds and to the Pharisees, who again test Him: “Is it lawful to divorce one’s wife for any cause?” Matthew doesn’t reveal in this passage whether the Pharisees are testing Jesus to trap Him or whether they are seeking wisdom. It’s tempting to read this in the negative, but it’s not necessary to observe Jesus’ deftness both at handling the Pharisees and their question. As He did with the devil in chapter 4, and with the Pharisees and scribes in chapter 15, Jesus quotes Scripture: “Have you not read…” He asks “…A man shall leave his father and his mother and hold fast to his wife, and they shall become one flesh? What God has joined together, let not man separate.” Their response “Why then did Moses command one to give a certificate of divorce and to send her away?" can either be cynical or curious. Odds are it’s the former, because they twist Deuteronomy 24 into an unrecognizable shape. Moses makes no such command; he simply acknowledges the reality of divorce, and the Law provides protections for women who are tossed about by fickle husbands. Jesus pushes beyond their legal question to the heart of the matter: “Because of your hardness of heart Moses allowed you to divorce your wives, but from the beginning it was not so.” This acute interaction sets up the rest of today’s reading, which emphasizes the upended nature of the Kingdom of God. It is where “The last will be first, and the first, last,” a place that the rich can only enter “with great difficulty,” and where God can do what He chooses “with what belongs [to Him].” Now keen readers will pick up on the track of Jesus’ journey today. In today’s first verse, Jesus and His disciples entered the region of Judea beyond the Jordan. This was a typical route for Jews heading to Jerusalem who wished to avoid Samaria, which sat between Galilee and Judea. Then in chapter 20 Jesus reenters Judea by crossing the Jordan near Jericho. This ancient city is where the final leg of Jesus’ journey begins, and it’s where the last leg of Israel’s journey began, fourteen centuries ago. Our verse for this week is Psalm 19:4: Their voice goes out through all the earth, and their words to the end of the world. Matthew 19 and 20. Now let’s read it!
Transcribe →Day 96 Guided Podcast
1w agoTap to summarizeAs you’ve seen throughout the Books of Moses, authors of Biblical narrative often refrain from making value judgments about their characters – sometimes maddeningly so. However, since the covenant foundation was laid in Exodus, authors have been more freely making statements about God’s purposes or perspective. These are often a mixture of observations and prophetic word, and help to frame the stories in which they’re embedded. An example of this is at the beginning of chapter 3. When the author lists the nations that the LORD left, to test Israel by them…It was only in order that the generations of the people of Israel might know war, to teach war to those who had not known it before. This is a curious observation, especially because “In order to” signifies God’s purpose. The tone of Judges is different than anything we’ve read before. The author is clearly writing from the LORD’s perspective, relating stories that either provoke or support the LORD’s action. The author is also clearly not a bystander, but skews his commentary condescendingly against these past Israelites. The disturbing and descending violence of each episode makes the author’s, and the LORD’s, point: something is not right here. Keep this in mind as you wrestle with the question: What does it mean that the LORD wanted this generation “to know war?” Now to today’s reading. The middle section of Judges – through chapter 16 – is driven by a recurring cycle first laid out with the calling of Othniel. Listen to the descriptions: The LORD’s anger was kindled and He sold Israel to a foreign ruler; When the people cried out to the LORD, the LORD raised up a deliverer for the people of Israel…The Spirit of the LORD was upon him, and he judged Israel…So the land had rest for forty years. The cycle resets multiple times through chapters 3 and 4. Chapter 5 is a break in the action: a song, celebrating the victory of Deborah and Barak. As with the song of Moses in Exodus 15, and the verse celebrating the victory over Gibeon in Joshua 10, this song offers a significant contemporary analysis of the event. Take note of their observations: how “when new gods were chosen, then war was in the gates;” and that “from heaven the stars fought, from their courses they fought against Sisera.” Also listen for a new tension, one that will become more prominent in future episodes. Our verse for this week is Psalm 138:8: The LORD will fulfill His purpose for me; your steadfast love, O LORD, endures forever. Do not forsake the work of your hands. Judges chapters 3 through 5. Now let’s read it!
Transcribe →Day 114 Guided Podcast
1w agoTap to summarizeChapter 25 begins with a closing note about the prophet Samuel. Given his stature in Israel’s story, the mention is curiously brief. This opens for two stories that help fill out our sense of David’s character. The second will feel similar to what we saw yesterday in the cave of Engedi. The first is a unique encounter between David, a worthless man, and his wife. We saw yesterday that as David and his men roam the wilderness of Judah, they are providing a measure of security for its residents. While Israel has ostensible control of the region, Philistine raiding parties are still threatening life and property. Today David reaches out to Nabal, whose estate David had been protecting, and asks to share in a feast day with him. Given the size of David’s militia, it’s hard to fathom how much support David was expecting from Nabal, but Nabal – described as harsh and badly behaved, heaps insults upon David. David is hot, and commands his men to strap on their swords. The story turns in two places. First, one of Nabal’s servants has the nerve to go to Nabal’s wife, Abigail, and warn her not only that David has a point, but that all of them are going to be wiped out. Second, Abigail goes to David, and in the longest speech attributed to a woman in the whole Old Testament, sways David by reminding him that “The LORD will certainly make [him] a sure house…” and will appoint him “…prince over Israel.” As soon as this episode ends, we find that Saul is still on David’s tail, despite his confession in chapter 24 that he knows that David will “surely be king.” We’re also reminded that Saul’s army suffers either from disinterest or incompetence, and David is able to sneak into the camp at night and toy with Saul again. Saul is again convicted, repentant, and releases David with a blessing. Take note of the interesting narrative structure of chapters 24 through 26. In the bookends, we have stories of David overriding the advice of his men – even chastising them – and refusing to kill the man he calls, “The LORD’s anointed.” However, in between, it is David who is rash, and who is kept from evil by the advice of another. As in all the Bible, we are dealing with human beings whose triumphs and flaws are on full display. Listen for connections throughout these stories today. Our verse for this week is Isaiah 40:28: Have you not known? Have you not heard? The LORD is the everlasting God, the Creator of the ends of the earth. He does not faint or grow weary; His understanding is unsearchable. 1 Samuel 25 and 26. Now let’s read it!
Transcribe →Day 145 Guided Podcast
1w agoTap to summarize“And the man cried against the altar by the word of the LORD and said, “O altar, altar, thus says the LORD: ‘Behold, a son shall be born to the house of David, Josiah by name, and he shall sacrifice on you the priests of the high places who make offerings on you, and human bones shall be burned on you.’” - 1 Kings 13:2 Today’s reading will offer a respite from the turmoil of the past few weeks. Josiah’s father Amon had died at the hands of his servants, but this coup was quickly trampled by the citizens of Judah. And eight-year-old Josiah, a child born to Amon at the age of sixteen, is established on the throne. The author spends most of his time on the subject most important to him, to Judah, and the LORD: the rediscovery of the Book of the Law. Josiah’s righteousness is illustrated by his response to the Law’s reading: he tore his clothes. Beyond this initial conviction he calls the priests to inquire of the LORD for me, and for the people, and for all Judah… For great is the wrath of the LORD that is kindled against us, because our fathers have not obeyed the words of this book…” Josiah initiates a systematic reform of life and worship. He commands that all the vessels made for Baal, for Asherah, and for all the host of heaven be brought out of the Temple and burned outside Jerusalem. He tears down the high places throughout Judah, and listen closely as he destroys, once and for all, the sin of Jeroboam. And for the first time since the days of the judges who judged Israel, the Passover was kept in Jerusalem. Almost 400 years have passed David’s line had been established, and Judah had existed independently for 300 years. Josiah’s reforms were possible because of an era of peace: Assyria was crumbling. However, Josiah’s peaceful reign will be the last for Judah. His fateful decision to engage in the great battle between Egypt and Assyria not only ends his own life but ultimately proves fruitless, for lurking silently in the background is a power greater than any before: Babylon. Josiah’s son Jehoiakim takes the throne as a puppet of Egypt in 609 B.C. Jerusalem will fall in 586 – only two decades away. Our verse for this week is Isaiah 40:31: “But they who wait for the LORD shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings like eagles; they shall run and not be weary; they shall walk and not faint.” 2 Kings 22 and 23. Now let’s read it!
Transcribe →Day 270 Guided Podcast
1w agoTap to summarizeHave mercy on me, have mercy on me, O you my friends, for the hand of God has touched me! Why do you, like God, pursue me? Why are you not satisfied with my flesh? "Oh that my words were written! Oh that they were inscribed in a book! Oh that with an iron pen and lead they were engraved in the rock forever! For I know that my Redeemer lives, and at the last he will stand upon the earth. – Job 19:21-25 This lament of Job’s comes at the end of today’s reading, after a second round of “comfort” from Eliphaz and Bildad. At this point, halfway through our story, Job is pleading for mercy from his friends. To prepare for it, listen to the attitude that runs through the speeches of these two men: “…Your iniquity teaches your mouth, and you choose the tongue of the crafty. Your own mouth condemns you, and not I; your own lips testify against you…” Eliphaz charges. Bildad is more direct: “Why are we counted as cattle? Why are we stupid in your sight?” Remember that their initial conversation was cordial but accusation was implied: they believed that Job must have sinned, because, in their eyes, suffering was the result of iniquity. Job rejected this, but, of course, only he knows whether he should repent. And this rejection of his friends’ “wisdom” draws a personal rebuke. I’ve asked you before to place yourself in Job’s position. Today I invite you to sit in the seat of Eliphaz, Bildad, and Zophar. Put the first chapter out of your mind – in other words, allow yourself as much knowledge as they have – and imagine what you would say to Job. With these blinders on, how would you attempt to encourage and exhort him? Does Job’s view of God align with what you’ve seen of Him? Is he speaking righteously, or will you charge him, as Eliphaz does, with “windy knowledge and unprofitable talk”? Our verse for this week is James 4:7: Submit yourselves therefore to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you. Job 15 through 19. Now let’s read it!
Transcribe →Day 192 Guided Podcast
1w agoTap to summarizeThe words of Jeremiah, the son of Hilkiah, one of the priests who were in Anathoth in the land of Benjamin, to whom the word of the LORD came in the days of Josiah the son of Amon, king of Judah, in the thirteenth year of his reign. Jeremiah 1:1-2 You might recall from 2 Kings that Josiah reigned near the end of Judah’s term. Jeremiah’s parents would have remembered the treacherous days of Manasseh, when the LORD had promised by His servants the prophets, “Because Manasseh…has done more evil than all the Amorites did… Behold, I am bringing upon Jerusalem and Judah such disaster that the ears of everyone who hears of it will tingle… And I will forsake the remnant of my heritage and give them into the hand of their enemies.” Jeremiah would see this promise fulfilled, as evidenced by the first paragraph of this book. In fact, it appears that Jeremiah’s calling coincides with the start of a countdown, around 40 years before the ultimate fall of Jerusalem. In Jeremiah’s first vision Jeremiah is let in on this secret: “Out of the north disaster shall be let loose on all the inhabitants of the land. For behold, I am calling all the tribes of the kingdoms of the north… and they shall come, and every one shall set his throne at the entrance of the gates of Jerusalem… and I will declare my judgments against them, for all their evil in forsaking me.” The remainder of this oracle is encouragement for Jeremiah. In fact, listen as the LORD promises to build defenses, but not for Judah! “To all to whom I send you,” declares the LORD, …whatever I command you, you shall speak. Do not be afraid of them, for I am with you.” Pay attention throughout this book to Jeremiah’s emotions and the LORD’s encouragement – and consider the times in which Jeremiah lived. In the final two-thirds of today’s reading Jeremiah presents the LORD’s case against His people. The LORD laments over Israel’s covenantal failure: “I remember the devotion of your youth, your love as a bride, how you followed me in the wilderness, in a land not sown. Israel was holy to the LORD, the firstfruits of His harvest.” One metaphor of note is that of infidelity – especially marital infidelity. This surfaced sparingly in Isaiah, but becomes a strong image in these opening chapters of Jeremiah. This is how seriously the LORD takes His covenant with them, and He wants them to know why they are being judged. Our verse for this week is Acts 1:8: But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you, and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth. Jeremiah 1 through 3. Now let’s read it!
Transcribe →Day 111 Guided Podcast
1w agoTap to summarizeToday’s reading dives into one of the deep friendships of the Bible, that of Jonathan and David. Jonathan, as you know, is the king’s son. He has shown trust in the LORD and courage in battle, and faithfulness to both Saul and David, and provides balance between these aggressive characters. His attributes come into bloom today. Remember that Saul has tried to kill David before, and that when Saul saw and knew that the Lord was with David, and that Michal, Saul's daughter, loved him, Saul was even more afraid of David. So Saul was David's enemy continually. So when chapter 19 opens, it’s no surprise that Saul wants him dead. What is surprising is that he would plot so openly about it with his son and servants. His intense hatred and fear of David was compounded by his awareness of something else, which doesn’t get revealed until chapter 20, when he tells Jonathan that: “…as long as the son of Jesse lives on the earth, neither you nor your kingdom shall be established.” Apparently word has gotten back to Saul that the LORD, and Samuel, have already moved on. But he doesn’t intend to go quietly. Consider Saul’s situation. He made an awkward entrance into the kingship to begin with. Samuel, who could have been his greatest human asset, was bitter about Israel wanting a king to begin with, but became even more disillusioned when Saul proved himself so unworthy. Other kings, whom Saul could cite as examples, would have seen eliminating a rival just part of the territory. But Israel, and her king, was to be different. Consider his loneliness. He has alienated his soldiers, as proven by their disobedience toward him in chapter 14. His popularity among his subjects is second to that of his greatest solider. Three chapters ago the LORD turned His back on him. Today, his daughter and son do the same. Our verse for this week is Isaiah 40:28: Have you not known? Have you not heard? The LORD is the everlasting God, the Creator of the ends of the earth. He does not faint or grow weary; His understanding is unsearchable. 1 Samuel 19 and 20. Now let’s read it!
Transcribe →