Daily GNT Bible Reading Podcast
996 episodes - English - Latest episode: 4 months ago - ★★★★★ - 8 ratingsJoin us in reading through the whole Good News Bible (GNT) in 365 24-minute-long podcasts!
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000: 2024 DDeeper Trailer and How-to's
December 30, 2023 20:27 - 13 minutes - 9.59 MBHi there! I’m so glad you have clicked to listen to this trailer to the Digging Deeper Daily Bible reading plan for 2024. If you want to read the Bible in a great reading plan that will hold your attention and enable you to stay with the program, you are in the right place. My name is Phil Fields. I’m almost 74 years old and happily married to Gale. We have three children, and five grandkids. In 1983, when our kids were still small, our family went as Bible translators to Papua, Indonesi...
GN-Day365 Malachi 4; Isaiah 66; Revelation 22
December 31, 2022 00:30 - 19 minutes - 13.4 MBAs I finish this podcast series, I am really thankful for this year-long experience. If you are one of the faithful ones who have listened through a year’s worth of daily podcasts— and no matter whether this has taken longer than a year, I say Way to go! I sincerely hope these podcasts have been a blessing for you— as they have been for me. I hope that nothing that I have said has caused you to stumble or decreased your desire to study God’s Word. I started this project in the hope that my f...
GN-Day364 Malachi 3; Isaiah 66; Revelation 21
December 30, 2022 00:30 - 21 minutes - 14.6 MBMALACHI 3: In chapters 1-2 yesterday, we heard how skeptical and sassy the Israelites had become. This came out in the way Malachi has the people of Israel talk back to God. The first is like this: Mal. 1:2 NLT “I have always loved you,” says the LORD. But you retort, “Really? How have you loved us?” Topics for such exchanges included offering sacrifices that don’t show appropriate honor to God, breaking covenants of marriage through divorce, and not honoring God as the God of justice. T...
GN-Day363 Malachi 1-2; Isaiah 65; Revelation 20
December 29, 2022 00:30 - 23 minutes - 15.9 MBMALACHI 1-2: We heard a very difficult conclusion to Zechariah yesterday. Chapter 14 started out with horrendous news for Jerusalem. But the Lord himself steps in: Zec. 14:3 NLT Then the LORD will go out to fight against those nations, as he has fought in times past. 4 On that day his feet will stand on the Mount of Olives, east of Jerusalem. And the Mount of Olives will split apart … We will see the following from Zech 14 very soon in Revelation: Zec. 14:5c NLT “Then the LORD my God ...
GN-Day362 Zechariah 14; Isaiah 65; Revelation 19
December 28, 2022 00:30 - 20 minutes - 14 MBZECHARIAH 14: Unfortunately, we have not yet seen the fulfillment of this prophecy from the end of Zechariah 12: Zec. 12:10 NLT “Then I will pour out a spirit of grace and prayer on the family of David and on the people of Jerusalem. They will look on me whom they have pierced and mourn for him as for an only son. They will grieve bitterly for him as for a firstborn son who has died. (The podcast notes for the previous episode contain a translation note on this verse.) However, this pa...
GN-Day361 Zechariah 12-13; Isaiah 64; Revelation 18
December 27, 2022 00:30 - 20 minutes - 13.9 MBZECHARIAH 12-13: Several times I have noted Zechariah and other prophets who use the figure of shepherding a flock— picturing God’s people. In chapter 11, there were puzzling verses where Zechariah evidently performed an outward demonstration involving two staffs. Other prophets did such demonstrations. In this one, evidently Zechariah stood in for the Messiah. The two staffs were named Favor and Union. Our Messiah, Jesus, came to restore us to God’s favor and give us unity as God’s people— ...
GN-Day360 Zechariah 10-11; Isaiah 63; Revelation 17
December 26, 2022 00:30 - 20 minutes - 14.4 MBZECHARIAH 10-11: As we have seen before, the Lord loves names and delights to give new names. In Zec. 8 He said, Zec. 8:3 NLT Then Jerusalem will be called the Faithful City; the mountain of the LORD of Heaven’s Armies will be called the Holy Mountain. In Zec. 9 we read the verse Matthew quotes in chapter 21 about Jesus coming riding on the foal of a donkey. The verse is also alluded to in John 12:15. And we heard this verse about the New Jerusalem: Zec. 9:16 NLT On that day the LORD t...
GN-Day359 Zechariah 8-9; Isaiah 62; Revelation 16
December 25, 2022 00:30 - 22 minutes - 15.2 MBZECHARIAH 8-9: I hope that you have noticed [Joshua//Jeshua] the high priest. He was the one that Satan was not allowed to accuse. He was given clean clothes. He is a priest and was given a clean priestly turban. And the gem with seven facets (literally, seven eyes) was set before him. He is a picture of the Messiah, who is called the Lord’s righteous Branch. Then in chapter 6 we read that he was given a crown, and told: Zec. 6:13 NLT Yes, he will build the Temple of the LORD. Then he will...
GN-Day358 Zechariah 6-7; Isaiah 61; Revelation 15
December 24, 2022 00:30 - 16 minutes - 11.1 MBZECHARIAH 6-7: There were so many correspondences to Revelation in the three chapters we read yesterday in Zechariah that I cannot even take time to list them. I single out this one from chapter 3 as especially interesting: Zec. 3:8 NLT “Listen to me, O [Joshua//Jeshua] the high priest, and all you other priests. You are symbols of things to come. Soon I am going to bring my servant, the Branch. 9 Now look at the jewel I have set before Jeshua, a single stone with seven facets. I will eng...
GN-Day357 Zechariah 3-5; Isaiah 60; Revelation 14
December 23, 2022 00:30 - 22 minutes - 15.8 MBZECHARIAH 3-5: In Zechariah 1-2 we heard how Zechariah’s dreams often included angels talking with him. There were horses and riders, horns and blacksmiths, and the measuring Jerusalem. Jerusalem will not be nearly big enough. God’s people WILL COME out of captivity in Babylon. Note that by Zechariah’s time, this was already happening. His words and those events foreshadow what we read in Revelation about the new Jerusalem. ISAIAH 60: In Isaiah 59 we again read beautiful messages that harm...
GN-Day356 Zechariah 1-2; Isaiah 59; Revelation 13
December 22, 2022 00:30 - 20 minutes - 14.4 MBZECHARIAH 1-2: Yesterday we read both chapters of the little book of Haggai, and heard how Haggai motivated his discouraged audience to return to the task of rebuilding the temple. Haggai certainly must have known and worked with our next author— Zechariah. There are at least 27 men named Zechariah in the Old Testament. The name means ‘Yahweh remembers’. This book— remarkable for its surrealistic visions and vivid poetic images, is sometimes called the ‘Apocalypse of the Old Testament’. Si...
GN-Day355 Haggai 1-2; Isaiah 58; Revelation 12
December 21, 2022 00:30 - 20 minutes - 14.4 MBHAGGAI 1-2: I hope you saw correlations to Revelation in the 3rd chapter of Zephaniah yesterday— in what God plans for the nations and for those who come to the new Jerusalem. Mears gives a helpful summary about the prophets: Of the 16 prophets, most of them— eleven, prophesied before the exile, just two prophesied during the exile (Ezekiel and Daniel), while three prophesied after the exile. We turn to the first of these now— Haggai. This book (with only two chapters) consists of fo...
GN-Day354 Zephaniah 3; Isaiah 57; Revelation 11
December 20, 2022 00:30 - 19 minutes - 13.4 MBZEPHANIAH 3: Today we read the last chapter of Zephaniah. In chapter 2, we heard words that were much like what we heard recently in Isaiah 49 and 55: Zep. 2:2 NLT Gather [together] before judgment begins, before your time to repent is blown away like chaff. Act now, before the fierce fury of the LORD falls and the terrible day of the LORD’s anger begins. 3 Seek the LORD, all who are humble, and follow his commands. Seek to do what is right and to live humbly. Perhaps even yet the LORD wil...
GN-Day353 Zephaniah 1-2; Isaiah 56; Revelation 10
December 19, 2022 00:30 - 19 minutes - 13.3 MBZEPHANIAH 1-2: The concluding words of Habakkuk are the most often quoted and memorized, because they are so encouraging. That quote begins like this: Hab. 3:17 NLT “Even though the fig trees have no blossoms, and there are no grapes on the vines;” … yet I will rejoice in the LORD! Constable tells us that “Zephaniah” means “Yahweh hides [or has hidden],” “Yahweh’s watchman,” or “Yahweh treasured.” The uncertainty arises over the etymology of the prophet’s name, which scholars dispute. I ...
GN-Day352 Habakkuk 3; Isaiah 55; Revelation 9
December 18, 2022 00:30 - 16 minutes - 11.5 MBHABAKKUK 3: Yesterday in this book we heard Habakkuk bring his complaints to God about God’s justice, and God answered, in effect, that after he uses the Babylonians, their time of judgment will come. In chapter 2 verse 3, God gives this assurance: Hab. 2:3b GNT It may seem slow in coming, but wait for it; it will certainly take place, and it will not be delayed. Then the next verse ends with a famous promise: Hab. 2:4 GNT And this is the message: ‘Those who are evil will not survive, ...
GN-Day351 Habakkuk 1-2; Isaiah 55; Revelation 8
December 17, 2022 00:30 - 20 minutes - 13.9 MBHABAKKUK 1-2: The book of Nahum ended with these words about Nineveh: Nam. 3:19 NLT There is no healing for your wound; your injury is fatal. All who hear of your destruction will clap their hands for joy. Where can anyone be found who has not suffered from your continual cruelty? And now we turn to the book of Habakkuk. Habakkuk preached at the time when it was already clear— through the means of prophecy and conquest, that Babylon would defeat Judah. This was between 627 and 605 BC, w...
GN-Day350 Nahum 3; Isaiah 54; Revelation 7
December 16, 2022 00:30 - 16 minutes - 11.2 MBNAHUM 3: Yesterday we heard just how Nineveh’s defenses would be breached. The description was detailed and vivid, including the scarlet color of the enemy uniforms and the way chariots would rumble recklessly in the city streets after the river gate was torn open. God justly judged this city for its cruelty to others. ISAIAH 54: In Isaiah 53:10 it says, Is. 53:10 NLT But it was the LORD’s good plan to crush him and cause him grief. Often literal translations give a meaning that can ha...
GN-Day349 Nahum 1-2; Isaiah 52:13-53:12; Revelation 6
December 15, 2022 00:30 - 19 minutes - 13.7 MBNAHUM 1-2: Micah certainly poured out his heart in chapter 7. Micah 7:7-9 matches the verse I highlighted in Isaiah 50:10. Those are verses that give comfort to people dealing with long-term suffering. Now turning to Nahum: Nahum’s name means ‘compassion’, ‘consolation’, or ‘comfort’. Nothing is known about Nahum except for what we can glean from his book. He must have written between the fall of the Egyptian city of Thebes in 663 B.C. and the fall of the Assyrian city of Nineveh in 612. N...
GN-Day348 Micah 7; Isaiah 52:13-53:12; Revelation 5
December 14, 2022 00:30 - 18 minutes - 12.7 MBMICAH 7: The complete quote about the Messiah’s birthplace (Micah 5:2-5) quoted to Herod in Matthew 2:6 mentions Bethlehem, a woman in labor giving birth, and the Lord is pictured as our shepherd who will be ‘highly honored around the world’. Note that Herod would have had cause for concern about his reign if such a leader appeared. If Micah 6:8 sounded familiar, it is because Micah quoted from Deut. 10:12. ISAIAH 52:13—53: In our reading yesterday, Isaiah 52, we heard the passage that P...
GN-Day347 Micah 5-6; Isaiah 52; Revelation 4
December 13, 2022 00:30 - 19 minutes - 13.2 MBMICAH 5-6: Remember that Isaiah and Micah were contemporaries. Yesterday we read very familiar sounding verses at the beginning of Micah 4 which start like this: Mic. 4:1 NLT In the last days, the mountain of the LORD’s house will be the highest of all— the most important place on earth. … That was so familiar sounding that I thought the passage must be quoted in the New Testament— but no! There are three verses there in Micah 4 that are almost exactly the same as verses found in Isaiah ...
GN-Day346 Micah 3-4; Isaiah 51; Revelation 3:7-22
December 12, 2022 00:30 - 21 minutes - 15 MBMICAH 3-4: In Micah 1 yesterday we heard one of the sections of Hebrew poetry which is virtually impossible to translate and capture the same impact as the original. Micah— expressing his deep sorrow at God’s coming judgment, concatenated many place names— using them in a compound figure of speech based on the meanings of the names. For instance, Mic. 1:10b NLT You people in Beth-leaphrah, roll in the dust to show your despair. The name Beth-leaphrah means ‘house of dust’. For those fo...
GN-Day345 Micah 1-2; Isaiah 50; Revelation 3:1-13
December 11, 2022 00:30 - 20 minutes - 14.3 MBMICAH 1-2: The name “Micah” is a shortened form of “Micaiah,” which means, “Who is like Yahweh?” A different Micaiah, the son of Imlah, served as a prophet in the Northern Kingdom during the reign of King Ahab of Israel (874-853 B.C., 1Kings 22:8-28; 2Chron. 18:3-27). Micah prophesied during the reigns of the Judean kings Jotham (750-732 B.C.), Ahaz (732-715 B.C.), and Hezekiah (715-686 B.C.). This makes him a late eighth-century contemporary of Isaiah. While Isaiah was ministering in Jeru...
GN-Day344 Obadiah 1; Isaiah 49:12-26; Revelation 2:12-29
December 10, 2022 00:30 - 19 minutes - 13.2 MBOBADIAH: At the end of Amos, the clouds of judgment broke and there were wonderful promises about the restoration of Israel. God would shake the nations like a sieve and not a single kernel (child of Israel) would drop through the cracks and be lost. And Israel’s crops would be so rich and fruitful. Then, did you notice?— Isaiah said the same thing in chapter 49. Obadiah’s name means “servant of Yahweh” or “worshipper of Yahweh.” There are 13 men who have this name in the Old Testament, ...
GN-Day343 Amos 9; Isaiah 49:1-13; Revelation 2:1-11
December 09, 2022 00:30 - 16 minutes - 11.5 MBAMOS 9: In Amos 7 we heard of how the priest of Israel’s pagan shrine, Amaziah, told Amos to go away, and Amaziah even tried to get king Jeroboam the 2nd to move against Amos. There were sad words at the end of chapter 8, which indeed happened during the 400 year inter-testamental period: Amo. 8:11 NLT “The time is surely coming,” says the Sovereign LORD, “when I will send a famine on the land— not a famine of bread or water but of hearing the words of the LORD. 12 People will stagger f...
GN-Day342 Amos 7-8; Isaiah 48; Revelation 1
December 08, 2022 00:30 - 22 minutes - 15.8 MBAMOS 7-8: Our reading in chapter 5 of Amos included these words quoted in Stephen’s speech in Acts 7 in the New Testament: 25 NLT “Was it to me you were bringing sacrifices and offerings during the forty years in the wilderness, Israel? 26 No, you served your pagan gods—Sakkuth your king god and Kaiwan your star god—… This makes it sound like the Israelites never gave sacrifices and offerings in the wilderness, which we know is false. So we should understand Amos’ and Stephen’s words an e...
GN-Day341 Amos 5-6; Isaiah 47; 3 John 1
December 07, 2022 00:30 - 20 minutes - 14.3 MBAMOS 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 ...
GN-Day340 Amos 3-4; Isaiah 45:22-46:13; 2 John 1
December 06, 2022 00:30 - 18 minutes - 12.4 MBAMOS 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: Is. 45:19 NLT I publicly proclaim bold promises. I do not whisper obscuriti...
GN-Day339 Amos 1-2; Isaiah 44:24-45:25; 2 Timothy 4
December 05, 2022 00:30 - 25 minutes - 17.4 MBAMOS 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 G...
GN-Day338 Joel 2:28-3:21; Isaiah 44:12-28; 2 Timothy 3
December 04, 2022 00:30 - 17 minutes - 12 MBJOEL 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 S...
GN-Day337 Joel 1-2; Isaiah 44:1-18; 2 Timothy 2
December 03, 2022 00:30 - 26 minutes - 18.5 MBJOEL 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 th...
GN-Day336 Esther 9-10; Isaiah 43; 2 Timothy 1
December 02, 2022 00:30 - 21 minutes - 14.7 MBESTHER 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 ...
GN-Day335 Esther 7-8; Isaiah 42; 2 Thessalonians 3
December 01, 2022 00:30 - 18 minutes - 13.1 MBESTHER 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 p...
GN-Day_334 Esther 5-6; Isaiah 41:8-29; 2 Thessalonians 2
November 30, 2022 00:30 - 19 minutes - 13.5 MBESTHER 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...
GN-Day333 Esther 3-4; Isaiah 41:1-20; 2 Thessalonians 1
November 29, 2022 00:30 - 19 minutes - 13.7 MBESTHER 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...
GN-Day332 Esther 1-2; Isaiah 40:15-31; Philemon 1
November 28, 2022 00:30 - 22 minutes - 15.5 MBESTHER 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...
GN-Day331 Nehemiah 12-13; Isaiah 40:1-17; Colossians 4
November 27, 2022 00:30 - 27 minutes - 18.8 MBNEHEMIAH 12-13 In yesterday’s chapters in Nehemiah, we heard the names of the various religious and civil leaders who signed the statement of commitment to follow Moses’ Law, which was almost certainly penned by Ezra. Then there was a listing of the various leaders and clans that volunteered or were chosen by lot to live in Jerusalem. ISAIAH 40a: I am always very disappointed with Hezekiah when he does not pray and ask the Lord to not allow Jerusalem to be conquered by Babylon and not to a...
GN-Day330 Nehemiah 10-11; Isaiah 39; Colossians 2:13-3:25
November 26, 2022 00:30 - 27 minutes - 19 MBNEHEMIAH 10-11: The returned exiles showed how sincere they were in following the Lord! They gathered together for the express purpose of hearing the Law. By this time their language had changed so much that they needed 13 Levites to explain what was said in the readings. The people wept because they realized how far they were from obeying the Law of Moses, and also for joy in hearing it. One month later, the leaders gathered to explore the Law in more detail, and they found that Israel had ...
GN-Day329 Nehemiah 8-9; Isaiah 38; Colossians 2
November 25, 2022 00:30 - 27 minutes - 22.4 MBNEHEMIAH 8-9: Nehemiah 7 dealt with listing the various families and temple workers who came back after exile. The last verse in that chapter is the transition to the next events. It is so much of a transition that NLT has verse 73 end with an incomplete sentence. (NLT: In October when the Israelites had settled in their towns,) Here is that transition verse in the GNT: 7:73 GNT The priests, the Levites, the Temple guards, the musicians, many of the ordinary people, the Temple workers—all ...
GN-Day328 Nehemiah 7; Isaiah 37; Colossians 1
November 24, 2022 00:30 - 29 minutes - 20 MBNEHEMIAH 7: Yesterday we read how Nehemiah stood up for all the common people in their financial difficulty. The nobles were rich, but everyone else was suffering— some even having no option but to sell their own children into slavery. Amazingly, he succeeded in convincing the nobles to forgive debts, and forced them take a solemn oath about that. The wall was finished in just 52 days, but Nehemiah was getting more and more threats from Sanballat and his cronies. ISAIAH 37: We heard the ch...
GN-Day327 Nehemiah 5-6; Isaiah 36; Philippians 4
November 23, 2022 00:30 - 24 minutes - 16.6 MBNEHEMIAH 5-6: Yesterday Nehemiah gave a listing of the people who rebuilt the wall. This included Shallum and his daughters, and two named goldsmiths, merchants, priests and Levites. The residents of the land opposed to the construction were threatening violence, so the people armed themselves and had men on guard at all times. Nehemiah and his men stayed fully armed at all times, and in the last verse of chapter 4 NLT says ‘even when they went for water’— which I take as a euphemism for goi...
GN-Day326 Nehemiah 3-4; Isaiah 35; Philippians 3
November 22, 2022 00:30 - 23 minutes - 15.9 MBNEHEMIAH 3-4: After Nehemiah’s wonderful prayer for Jerusalem, more than three months went by before the king noticed him looking sad. He says he had never before looked sad, so he must have waited. God must have been in the timing, because the king wonderfully agreed to help Nehemiah in every way. And the leaders in Jerusalem also were enthusiastic in their acceptance of his proposal to rebuild the walls. ISAIAH 35: Yesterday we heard that the land of Edom would become an eternal wastelan...
GN-Day325 Nehemiah 1-2; Isaiah 34; Philippians 2
November 21, 2022 00:30 - 21 minutes - 14.5 MBNEHEMIAH 1: Yesterday we heard how the returned exiles responded to Ezra’s shock and demonstration of his sorrow, and his prayer of repentance. The book ended with the names of those who were found guilty of forbidden marriages. Note that these are not just names of the guilty, but names of those who repented and sacrificed to God. They are the names of the forgiven. In some ways— and not all, this shows the kind of seriousness with which church discipline spoken of in the New Testament shou...
GN-Day324 Ezra 9-10; Isaiah 33; Philippians 1
November 20, 2022 00:30 - 27 minutes - 19 MBEZRA 9-10: Yesterday we heard how Ezra introduced himself. Note that he spoke of himself in the 3rd person, but finally resorted to ‘I’. King Artaxerxes was certainly impressed by Ezra! Ezra was given everything he could have wanted, guaranteeing full government support of the temple worship in every way. Note how methodical Ezra was, making sure that he took Levites and temple servants along. His total party must have been at least 1,000 men. So with women and children, it would have been ...
GN-Day323 Ezra 7-8; Isaiah 32; 2 Corinthians 12:19-13:14
November 19, 2022 00:30 - 24 minutes - 17 MBEZRA 7-8: Yesterday we read of how King Darius completely sided with the Israelites seeking to reestablish the temple worship. Note that the letter to Darius from the government officials was rather complementary and not threatening loss to the king’s interests as the letter from the earlier officials. Remember also that this King Darius is the one who was duped into putting Daniel into the lions’ den, and who then issued a decree that everyone must respect Daniel’s God. ISAIAH 32: Isaiah’...
GN-Day322 Ezra 5-6; Isaiah 31; 2 Corinthians 11:30-12:21
November 18, 2022 00:30 - 21 minutes - 14.9 MBEZRA 5-6: When the Israelites returned from exile, they were determined to get worship started again, and they made great progress, not waiting for the temple to be repaired in order to start sacrifices on an altar built upon the old location. They made a fast start to building too. But then opposition developed, and several Persian kings later the progress was halted. ISAIAH 31: One of the great verses from yesterday’s reading was this: 15 GNT The Sovereign Lord, the Holy One of Israel,...
GN-Day321 Ezra 3-4; Isaiah 30; 2 Corinthians 11
November 17, 2022 00:30 - 28 minutes - 19.3 MBEZRA 3-4: Ezra, a scribe and priest, doesn’t start speaking about himself until chapter 7. Ancient copies of the books of Ezra and Nehemiah were written on the same scroll, and Jewish tradition holds that Ezra wrote both of them. The dates of writing are somewhere between 458 and 420 BC. I kind of doubt that Ezra was the author for both books, because the writer of Nehemiah starts out right away using the first person pronoun ‘I’. The two book deal with two periods of time: Ezra deals with t...
GN-Day320 Ezra 1-2; Isaiah 29; 2 Corinthians 10
November 16, 2022 00:30 - 25 minutes - 17.8 MBEZRA 1: Before going to Ezra, I want to say that one can do a whole lot of digging deeper in the last two chapters of Daniel. History tells about those kings, and we know from what Jesus said and what is written in Revelation, that God plans for history to repeat itself. The main ‘take-away’ points are clear, just as they are in Revelation: Blessed are those who endure and live wise and holy lives. It is a great time now to return to those three small remaining books of history remaining f...
GN-Day319 Daniel 10:20-12:13; Isaiah 28; 2 Corinthians 9
November 15, 2022 00:30 - 27 minutes - 19.1 MBDANIEL 10:20—12: In yesterday’s reading, we heard Daniel’s sincere prayer. Note that he had been seeking the Lord with limited fasting for 3 weeks. Then the angel Gabriel is again sent with a message for Daniel. Note that the phrase ‘anoint the Most Holy Place’ is probably referring to what we read about in Hebrews recently— that which our High Priest Jesus did in heaven. Gabriel’s message about seventy sets of seven, or seventy weeks and 62 weeks, are both a difficult translational problem ...
GN-Day318 Daniel 9-10; Isaiah 26:20-27:13; 2 Corinthians 8
November 14, 2022 00:30 - 25 minutes - 17.4 MBDANIEL 9-10: Yesterday in Daniel, we heard of the vision of four beasts representing four kingdoms. After the fourth would be the start of the rule of One whose kingdom would last forever. This vision was explained, then Daniel had a second and more detailed vision. It is a major amazing sign of God’s sovereignty over human governments that Alexander the Great is so clearly portrayed, and then the iron kingdom of Rome. Just as certain as these things happened, our Savior’s reign will one day...
GN-Day317 Daniel 7-8; Isaiah 26; 2 Corinthians 6:11-7:16
November 13, 2022 00:30 - 28 minutes - 19.6 MBDANIEL 7-8: In Daniel yesterday, we heard the famous ‘writing on the wall’ chapter. That is where that idiom in English comes from! While that was happening with King Belshazzar, the Medes and Persians were outside the wall and the prophecies of Ezekiel, Isaiah and Jeremiah all happened. Daniel was to be proclaimed the third ruler because Belshazzar was in fact the second ruler under his absentee father, Nabonidus. Then under King Darius, Daniel was thrown to the lions. I am estimating that ...