Lifespring! One Year Bible Rewind

Transcript

Today is Monday so we’ll read from the Law. We’re still in Deuteronomy, the last book we’ll read from the Law, and our chapters tomorrow will be 13-15. I do have an on this date in church history for you. I’m calling today’s episode “What’s In It For You?”  

Have you ever heard someone make a statement like, “You should give, without any expectation of receiving anything in return”? In general, I agree with that statement as it relates to our attitude toward people. We should not give with the expectation of receiving something back from them. If we do, great. But don’t give with the motivation of getting something back from them. 

Do you agree with that? It seems like a good way to avoid being disappointed if they don’t reciprocate, doesn’t it? And if we only give to those who have the ability to give back to us, we probably won’t be giving to people who really *need* the help. So there’s that.

But in Deuteronomy 15, the people were told to be generous to those in need because God would bless them for it. So it seems to me that it is alright for us to be generous with the expectation that there will be a blessing for us from God.

And of course, this is not the only place that this principle is spoken of in the Bible. In Luke 6:38, Jesus says, “Give, and it will be given to you. A good measure, pressed down, shaken together and running over, will be poured into your lap. For with the measure you use, it will be measured to you.” To tell you the truth, I would much rather receive a blessing from God than from man!

One more thing. Because God has made it clear that He will bless us when we give, I don’t think it’s bad that we expect a blessing. But we need to remember that we cannot manipulate God. He will never be beholden to us. We can’t *obligate* Him. This promise of His does not give us license to say, “Okay, God. I gave a thousand dollars to such-and-such, so You have to give it back to me.” I doesn’t work that way, in my opinion. God blesses us in ways we might not see until we see Him in Heaven. Yes, sometimes He does bless us materially, but not always. He might bless us with good health, or the friendship of someone, or keeping something we own from breaking. The possibilities are endless. And sometimes it might just be the satisfaction of knowing we did something good for someone. 

The point I’m trying to make here is this: Don’t be mercenary in your giving. Give cheerfully and generously out of the goodness of your heart. And as a plus, I believe that is when God is most generous in returning a blessing.

Also in Deuteronomy 15, God spoke about slaves. These days the subject of slavery is triggering for some people. I’ve spoken about it a few times here on the show, so I won’t address it today, If you would like to listen to that show, here it is: https://lifespringmedia.com/family-bible/lsfab0077-1-corinthians-7-8/

Bible translation used in today’s episode: Ch. 13 CEB; Ch. 14 CEV; Ch. 15 GNT

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STEVE WEBB – 0:00
We can’t manipulate God.

INTRO S12E320 – 0:10
Coming to you from Riverside, California, this is the Lifespring Family Audio Bible, and podcasting since 2004, I’m your OG Godcaster, Steve Webb. This is the daily show where we are reading through the entire Bible in a year. Today’s Monday, so we’ll read from one of the books of the Law. We’re in Deuteronomy which is the last book we’ll read from the Law. And our chapters today are 13th through 15th. I’m calling today’s episode, “What’s In It For You?”. The show notes page for today’s episode is at lifespringmedia.com/s12e320. My email address is st***@*************ia.com. Let’s begin.

DEUTERONOMY 13 (CEB) – 0:46
Deuteronomy, chapter 13. (1) Now if a prophet or a dream interpreter appears among you and performs a sign or wonder for you, (2) and the sign or wonder that was spoken actually occurs; if he says: “Come on! We should follow other gods”—ones you haven’t experienced—“and we should worship them,” (3) you must not listen to that prophet’s or dream interpreter’s words, because the LORD your God is testing you to see if you love the LORD your God with all your mind and all your being. (4) You must follow the LORD your God alone! Revere him! Follow his commandments! Obey his voice! Worship him! Cling to him—no other! (5) That prophet or dream interpreter must be executed because he encouraged you to turn away from the LORD your God who brought you out of Egypt, who redeemed you from the house of slavery; they tried to lead you away from the path the LORD your God commanded you to take. Remove such evil from your community!

(6) Similarly, if one of your relatives—even one of your own siblings—or your own son or daughter or your dear spouse or best friend entices you secretly, if someone like that says: “Come on! We should follow and worship other gods”—ones that neither you nor your ancestors have experienced, (7) gods from all the neighboring peoples, whether nearby or far away, from one end of the earth to the other— (8) don’t give in to them! Don’t obey them! Don’t have any mercy on them! Don’t have compassion on them and don’t protect them! (9) Instead, you must execute them. Your own hand must be against them from the beginning of the execution; the hand of all the people will be involved at the end. (10) Stone them until they are dead because they desired to lead you away from the LORD your God, the one who brought you out of Egypt, out of the house of slavery. (11) All Israel will hear about this and be afraid. They won’t do that sort of evil thing among you again.

(12) Or if you hear about one of your towns the LORD your God is giving you to inhabit, that (13) certain wicked people have gone out from your community and they’ve led the citizens of their town astray by saying: “Come on! We should follow and worship other gods”—ones you haven’t experienced before; (14) at that point you must look into this situation very carefully to see if it’s true. And if it’s definitely true that this detestable thing was done in your community, (15) you must completely strike down the inhabitants of that city with the sword. Place it and all that is in it under the ban. Put its animals to the sword. (16) Gather all the plunder into the middle of the town’s square. Then burn the city and all of its plunder as an entirely burned offering to the LORD your God. It must remain a heap of rubble forever. It must not be rebuilt. (17) Don’t hold on to any of the banned items—this will ensure that the LORD turns from his great anger and is compassionate to you, showing you mercy and multiplying you just like he swore to your ancestors. (18) You must definitely obey the LORD your God’s voice, keeping all his commandments that I am giving you right now, by doing what is right in the LORD your God’s eyes!

DEUTERONOMY 14 (CEV) – 3:50
Deuteronomy, chapter 14. (1) People of Israel, you are the Lord’s children, so when you mourn for the dead, you must not cut yourselves or shave your forehead. (2) Out of all the nations on this earth, the Lord your God chose you to be his own. You belong to the Lord, so don’t behave like those who worship other gods.

(3) Don’t eat any disgusting animals.

(4-5) You may eat the meat of cattle, sheep, and goats; wild sheep and goats; and gazelles, antelopes, and all kinds of deer. (6) It is all right to eat meat from any animals that have divided hoofs and also chew the cud.

(7) But don’t eat camels, rabbits, and rock badgers. These animals chew the cud but do not have divided hoofs. You must treat them as unclean. (8) And don’t eat pork, since pigs have divided hoofs, but they do not chew their cud. Don’t even touch a dead pig!

(9) You can eat any fish that has fins and scales. But there are other creatures that live in the water, (10) and if they do not have fins and scales, you must not eat them. Treat them as unclean.

(11) You can eat any clean bird. (12-18) But don’t eat the meat of any of the following birds: eagles, vultures, falcons, kites, ravens, ostriches, owls, sea gulls, hawks, pelicans, ospreys, cormorants, storks, herons, and hoopoes. You must not eat bats. (19) Swarming insects are unclean, so don’t eat them. (20) However, you are allowed to eat certain kinds of winged insects.

(21) You belong to the Lord your God, so if you happen to find a dead animal, don’t eat its meat. You may give it to foreigners who live in your town or sell it to foreigners who are visiting your town.

Don’t boil a young goat in its mother’s milk.

(22) People of Israel, every year you must set aside ten percent of your grain harvest. (23) Also set aside ten percent of your wine and olive oil, and the first-born of every cow, sheep, and goat. Take these to the place where the Lord chooses to be worshiped, and eat them there. This will teach you to always respect the Lord your God.

(24) But suppose you can’t carry that ten percent of your harvest to the place where the Lord chooses to be worshiped. If you live too far away, or if the Lord gives you a big harvest, (25) then sell this part and take the money there instead. (26) When you and your family arrive, spend the money on food for a big celebration. Buy cattle, sheep, goats, wine, beer, and if there are any other kinds of food that you want, buy those too. (27) And since people of the Levi tribe won’t own any land for growing crops, remember to ask the Levites to celebrate with you.

(28) Every third year, instead of using the ten percent of your harvest for a big celebration, bring it into town and put it in a community storehouse. (29) The Levites have no land of their own, so you must give them food from the storehouse. You must also give food to the poor who live in your town, including orphans, widows, and foreigners. If they have enough to eat, then the Lord your God will be pleased and make you successful in everything you do.

DEUTERONOMY 15 (GNT) – 6:55
Deuteronomy, chapter 15. (1) “At the end of every seventh year you are to cancel the debts of those who owe you money. (2) This is how it is to be done. Each of you who has lent money to any Israelite is to cancel the debt; you must not try to collect the money; the Lord himself has declared the debt canceled. (3) You may collect what a foreigner owes you, but you must not collect what any of your own people owe you.

(4) “The Lord your God will bless you in the land that he is giving you. Not one of your people will be poor (5) if you obey him and carefully observe everything that I command you today. (6) The Lord will bless you, as he has promised. You will lend money to many nations, but you will not have to borrow from any; you will have control over many nations, but no nation will have control over you.

(7) “If in any of the towns in the land that the Lord your God is giving you there are Israelites in need, then do not be selfish and refuse to help them. (8) Instead, be generous and lend them as much as they need. (9) Do not refuse to lend them something, just because the year when debts are canceled is near. Do not let such an evil thought enter your mind. If you refuse to make the loan, they will cry out to the Lord against you, and you will be held guilty. (10) Give to them freely and unselfishly, and the Lord will bless you in everything you do. (11) There will always be some Israelites who are poor and in need, and so I command you to be generous to them.

(12) “If any Israelites, male or female, sell themselves to you as slaves, you are to release them after they have served you for six years. When the seventh year comes, you must let them go free. (13) When you set them free, do not send them away empty-handed. (14) Give to them generously from what the Lord has blessed you with—sheep, grain, and wine. (15) Remember that you were slaves in Egypt and the Lord your God set you free; that is why I am now giving you this command.

(16) “But your slave may not want to leave; he may love you and your family and be content to stay. (17) Then take him to the door of your house and there pierce his ear; he will then be your slave for life. Treat your female slave in the same way. (18) Do not be resentful when you set slaves free; after all, they have served you for six years at half the cost of hired servants. Do this, and the Lord your God will bless you in all that you do.

(19) “Set aside for the Lord your God all the first-born males of your cattle and sheep; don’t use any of these cattle for work and don’t shear any of these sheep. (20) Each year you and your family are to eat them in the Lord’s presence at the one place of worship. (21) But if there is anything wrong with the animals, if they are crippled or blind or have any other serious defect, you must not sacrifice them to the Lord your God. (22) You may eat such animals at home. All of you, whether ritually clean or unclean, may eat them, just as you eat deer or antelope. (23) But do not use their blood for food; instead, you must pour it out on the ground like water.

COMMENTS – 9:50
Have you ever heard someone make a statement like, “You should give without any expectation of receiving anything in return”? I’m sure you probably have. And, in general, I agree with that statement as it relates to our attitude toward people. We shouldn’t give with the expectation of receiving something back from them. If we do get something back, great, but we don’t give with the motivation of getting something back.

Do you agree with that? It seems like a good way to avoid being disappointed if they don’t reciprocate, doesn’t it? And if we only give to those who have the ability to give something back to us, we probably won’t be giving to people who really need the help. So there’s that.

But in Deuteronomy 15, today, the people were told to be generous to those in need, because God would bless them for it. So doesn’t it seem to you it does to me anyway, that it’s okay for us to be generous with the expectation that there will be a blessing for us from God.

And, of course, this is not the only place that this principle is spoken of in the Bible. In Luke 6:38, for example, Jesus says, “Give, and it will be given to you. A good measure, pressed down, shaken together and running over, will be poured into your lap. For with the measure you use, it will be measured to you.” Well, to tell you the truth, I would much rather receive a blessing from God than from man. How about you?

Then here’s something else. Because God has made it clear that he will bless us when we give. I don’t think it’s bad that we expect a blessing from him, but we need to remember that we can’t manipulate God. He will never be beholden to us. We can’t obligate him. This promise of His that we’ve been talking about does not give us license to say, “Okay, God, I gave $1,000 to such and such. So you have to give $1,000 back to me.” Well, it doesn’t work that way, in my opinion. God blesses us in ways that we might not see until we see Him in heaven. Sure, sometimes he does bless his materially but not always. He might bless us with good health or the friendship of someone or keeping something we own from breaking. The possibilities are endless. And sometimes it might just be the satisfaction of knowing that we did something good for somebody.

The point I’m trying to make here is this. Don’t be mercenary in you’re giving give cheerfully and generously out of the goodness of your heart. And as a plus, I believe that’s when God is most generous in returning a blessing.

Now, one more thing, in Deuteronomy 15, here, God spoke about slaves. Well, these days, the subject of slavery is triggering for some people. And I’ve spoken about it a few times here on the show, so I won’t address it today. But I will have a link to one of the shows I did on the show notes page at lifespringmedia.com/s12e320. If you haven’t heard what I have to say about slavery, if you think that God condones slavery, or if you’re just curious to see what I had to say, go to the show notes page, find that link and listen to that show.

But what do you think about what I said today? Go to the show notes page at lifespringmedia.com/s12e320, and let me know. Tomorrow is History Tuesday, and we’ll read the first five chapters of Ezra.

Boost.

ON THIS DATE IN CHURCH HISTORY – 13:01
On this date in church history, July 18, the year 64. Roman Emperor Nero blamed Christians for an extensive fire that destroyed most of the city of Rome. His accusation brought about the first great wave of persecution on the church.

And on this date in church history, July 18, 1681, Georg Neumark died. He was a German educator, hymnist and composer. Twice during his life he lost everything he owned, once to robbers and once to fire. He wrote the hymn, “If Thou But Suffer God To Guide Thee”.

PRAISE REPORT – 13:57
Well today, I have a praise, but it’s also more. And it came in back on July 1, but my email system put it in the spam folder, so I didn’t see it until just a couple of days ago. If you’ve been a Lifespring Family member for a while, you probably remember that Sean of San Pedro asked for prayer for his father-in-law, Howie. Howie was in the hospital with COVID, and for some time, it looked like he wasn’t going to make it. Well after several months Howie did recover enough to go home but he needed physical therapy and, praise the Lord, he’s doing very well now. Well, Howie’s wife is Ann. She’s written short notes a few times and has also generously donated to the show and since Sean has a jingle, I thought it appropriate that Ann of Phoenix [Phoenix jingle plays] have that jingle. They live in Phoenix.

So here’s what Ann wrote: “Dear Steve, when I was growing up, I didn’t realize the importance of, and the power of, prayer. When people said that they would pray for us I never understood and I thought prayers were just empty words. However, when I grew up and learned more about God’s word, I came to the understanding that prayer is such a wonderful, beautiful gift we give each other. This update is a long time coming. But I wanted to say thank you to you and the Lifespring family for all of your prayers for Howie. We also had prayer warriors from our previous ministry and friends praying for him as well as family. One prayer is all we need. But hundreds of prayers helped fill a large void that we will forever be grateful for. It was by God’s grace, Howie made it through and is still with us. We had nurses and doctors telling us they were so happy to see him alive because others in his condition didn’t make it and it gave them hope. They were all so amazing, like God handpicked them for this time.

We’ve been through a lot in our lives together. One of our daughters was gone for a few years, and it was by the grace of God, she’s still alive. Another one of our daughters was hospitalized with pneumonia and asthma a s a baby. And again, God’s grace got us through. It was tough. But God has blessed us with three amazing daughters and sons-in-law and three grandsons and one on the way.”

And just an aside, that one on the way is coming to Sean of San Pedro and his wife, Brittaney.

Back to Ann here, “When Howie went into the hospital and was there for 71 days, I panicked. I honestly don’t know why, because we have literally seen God perform miracles over and over again. However, as I look back, I see God was all over his time there. I felt his presence, also, but not knowing what his plan was going to be was really hard.”

Stopping again. Ann I can really relate to that. Because when our son Steven was in the hospital, we didn’t know if he was going to make it either. And we put our life in his hands, but at the same time, it was like, what is it going to be Lord, we trust you, if you want to take him, okay, but we’d rather not lose him. So Ann, I understand that.

She continues here. “I think I panicked because I never thought about life without him. His brother passed away from COVID and other health issues just a year prior. And we were all shocked and saddened. But it was by God’s grace that Howie is still with us. And we believe God has a purpose for the rest of his life. I often wonder if Howie’s brother fulfilled his purpose.”

I’ll stop again here. Ann I know I’m probably not telling you anything you don’t know here, but our life is in God’s hands. And I don’t think he’ll allow us to be taken away until his purpose is fulfilled. That could be a really long discussion. But I just don’t think God allows us to check into heaven early or late. God has His timing, we just have to trust that.

Getting back to Ann here. She said, “We don’t deserve his grace any more than our neighbor. But we are forever grateful.” And that’s true. None of us deserves his grace. Ann says, “Prayer to our Father in heaven, in the name of Jesus of Nazareth, is what kept us going. We are not eloquent prayer warriors, but we pray from our hearts, all choppy and messed up. And we know that God hears us all always. We don’t get what we want. But we do get what we need. It is very challenging to go through tough times and remain in peace. But that is our human side.

“Maybe God allowed us to go through this so I could understand residual trauma and what the girls who were trafficked, and our ministry helped, were still living with us. Maybe God helped show my husband more joy in life. Maybe when we’re strong again, we will start a support group for those going through COVID. God will reveal to us one day. But for now, I wanted to say thank you for sharing God’s Word through your podcast. It gave me comfort and peace when I was alone at night crying, or driving in the car to go see him at the hospital in the early mornings, and again, when I headed home at night. Your podcast gives me peace again. And I wait until the end so I can hear the prayers you so eloquently pray.”

Haha. I never thought of myself as being an eloquent pray-er. You’re very kind, Ann, thank you.

She says, “May God bring you and your family even closer to Him. May He put a hedge of protection around you all. May He give you all peace and comfort. And may He provide financially and physically so you can continue to live out his great commission to love God with all of your heart and bring others to do the same. With warmest blessings to you and your family, Signed Ann and Howie.”

Well, Ann, oh my goodness, thank you so much for that email. Thank you for sharing how God has been faithful. And thank you for your very, very kind words. God bless you.

And, Beloved, this is why we pray together here on the show. So I thank you for joining your heart with mine as we pray, which we’ll do right now.

CLOSING PRAYER – 19:35
Our heavenly, Father, how very good you are to us, Lord. How you lavish blessings on your children. You are so good to us and so faithful to your promise. And we are so undeserving, as Ann said. Yet because of Your grace and your love, because of Jesus sacrifice and the faith you gave us to invite him to be our Lord and Savior, you’ve made us heirs with him. That’s something that’s beyond comprehension, Lord, and we thank you now, and throughout all of eternity. Hallelujah. We praise you, Lord. And Lord, help us to have generous hearts show us how to give in a way that is pleasing to you. And Father again, I ask that you bless Howie and Ann and show them what’s next for them as they seek your will. You healed Howie because you have a plan for them. I know that. I believe it. And I pray God that you would reveal the next step to them. I thank You, Lord, for the Lifespring family. And I ask that you bless them in a special way. And I pray this in Jesus’ name, amen.

If you have a prayer request or a praise, let us know go to prayer.lifespringmedia.com.

OUTRO S12E320 – 20:46
If you’ve got a comment on today’s show, go to lifespringmedia.com/s12e320. Email me at st***@*************ia.com, and I will certainly try to respond to you faster than I did today to Ann. I have to check that spam folder multiple times a day, and I hate that but sometimes I’ll find it nugget in there. Anyway, thanks to the team: Kirsty Sean of San Pedro and Denise. I thank God for you every day.

And thanks to the Lifespring family sat streamers. You know who you are, even if I don’t, I just want you to know I appreciate you very much. Beloved, what a privilege it’s been being part of your day today. Thank you. And are you glad the show is here? Are you getting something out of it then please help to support it lifespringmedia.com/support. It’s all about value-for-value. If you get value from the show, send some of that value back.

Now, until tomorrow, may God bless you richly. My name is Steve Webb.

Bye.

Transcribed by https://otter.ai
Corrected by Denise

Transcript

Our reading today Numbers 9-12. After the reading, I’ll have some comments for you.  I’m calling today’s episode “Move Out.”  

I don’t recall ever hearing a message, or a sermon on Numbers 12. So that’s what I’m going to talk about today. It seems like somewhat of an unusual chapter to me. Does it seem that way to you? Let’s dig in.

1Miriam and Aaron began to criticize Moses because he was married to a woman from Sudan.” (GW)

Miriam and Aaron were the brother and sister of Moses. And because of the way the sentence is constructed in Hebrew, and the fact that Miriam is listed first, she is probably the instigator of this confrontation. We’ll talk more about that in a moment.

Out of the 35 translations I checked, this is the only translation that says Moses was married to a woman from Sudan. Most other translations say she was a Cushite woman. Others say she was Ethiopian. The original language says Cushite. The Cushites were descendants of Cush. Cush was the oldest son of Ham. Ham was the son of Noah. So Cush was the grandson of Noah. Interestingly, one of Cush’s sons was Nimrod, who is thought to be the ruler of Babel when the Tower of Babel was built. So the great-grandson of Noah probably built the Tower of Babel. (There’s another reminder that it is imperative to teach faithfully each generation the Word of the Lord. Just because you’re a believer is no guarantee that your children will be, or their children. Be diligent in living in such a way that your children see that God is real.) 

The land of Cush might very well be, and probably is synonymous with Ethiopia. Though the Ethiopia of the Bible is not exactly the same as the Ethiopia of today. However, the Ethiopia of the Bible included an area of what is Sudan today! See how it all comes together?

Given this background, it is probably not going to surprise you when I say that the Cushite people were dark skinned. As a matter of fact, Cush means “black.” 

One last thing about Cush. I found this at gotquestions.org: Significantly, Cush is also a nation that received the gospel and will be involved in the millennial kingdom. The evangelist Philip gave the gospel to an Ethiopian eunuch, who would have been referred to as a Cushite in Hebrew, and the eunuch was one of the first converts of Ethiopia to Christianity (Acts 8:26–39). He undoubtedly took the gospel back to his land, where he had great influence as a royal official to Queen Candace (Acts 8:27). During the millennial reign of Christ, Jesus will receive honor from Cush/Ethiopia: “From beyond the rivers of Cush my worshipers, my scattered people, will bring me offerings” (Zephaniah 3:10).

So the fact that Moses was married to a Cushite woman is the reason Miriam and Aaron gave for their complaint. It was not forbidden for Israelites to marry Cushites, so that is not likely to be the basis for the complaint. It is possible, and maybe even probable that their reason was because of the color of her skin. Something she had no control over. 

But this was not the real problem. As is often the case, there was something deeper. 

Verse 2 says, ” 2They asked, ‘Did the Lord speak only through Moses? Didn’t he also speak through us?’” 

Can’t you just hear Miriam? “Who do you think you are, Moses? You think you’re so special because God speaks through you. He speaks through me! And Aaron, too!”

In a way, she was right. God spoke through Aaron in Exodus 4:30, He spoke to Aaron in Exodus 12:1, and Miriam spoke God-inspired words in Exodus 15:21. But God spoke through Moses in a very unique way, and He selected Moses as *the* leader of Israel. 

Miriam and Aaron were jealous of Moses. They wanted to have some of the authority and attention. And they thought that by bringing Moses down, they would get it.

And verse 2 ends with “The Lord heard their complaint.” Of course He did. And what He heard was them accusing Moses of the sin they themselves were guilty of: pride.

But Moses was not prideful. He didn’t need to be brought down. Verse 3 says, “3(Moses was a very humble man, more humble than anyone else on earth.)” Ok, now I have no reason to doubt the truth of this verse, but at the same time I have to chuckle a little. It makes me think of a joke I heard from my brother-in-law, Steve O’Brien. He’s a pastor, and I love him very much. And he can be a kidder. He talks about about a book he wrote, titled “Humility and How I Achieved It”. Cracks me up. The book of Numbers is one of the first five books of the Bible. These are commonly called the Pentateuch. You know who wrote the Pentateuch, right? Moses! So Moses wrote that he was the most humble person on earth! But maybe not. It’s entirely possible that someone added this comment after Moses died. A very likely possibility is that Joshua wrote it. Joshua was the man appointed by God to lead Israel after Moses died. Joshua knew Moses very well.

Verse 4: 4Suddenly, the Lord said to Moses, Aaron, and Miriam, “All three of you come to the tent of meeting.” 

Notice the order of the names here. Moses, Aaron, and Miriam. We go from the one who is in the right, to the one who is most in the wrong. God is not happy. And He takes quick action. I think of the parent who has had enough of the child’s bad behavior and says, “Go to your room!”

5Then the Lord came down in the column of smoke and stood at the entrance to the tent. He called to Aaron and Miriam, and they both came forward.

Can’t you just see this? By now, they know that they’re in trouble, don’t you think? Heads were probably hung low, shoulders slumping. Timidly they stepped forward. 

And then God speaks to them from the column of smoke: (I’m paraphrasing here) “Listen up. When I have something to say to prophets, I do it through dreams and visions. But with my boy, Moses, I talk directly to him.  I tell him like it is. He even gets to see me as much as his human body can stand. And you have the nerve to criticize him? I can’t even.” So He left.

So the three are left standing there. Talk about an awkward silence!

But when the smoke cleared (literally!), Miriam was covered in an advanced state of leprosy. The skin being white as snow tells us that. 

And Aaron seems a bit weasel-y here. As soon as he sees Miriam, he says to Moses, “Please, sir, don’t punish us for this foolish sin we committed.” Remember, Aaron is the guy who let the people build the golden idol while Moses was on Mt. Sinai receiving the tablets with the ten commandments from God. And he tagged along with his sister today. But as soon as he thinks his goose is cooked, to save himself, he begs his big brother Moses for his help. Maybe he truly saw that the accusations they made against Moses were foolish and sinful. But maybe he just didn’t want to end up covered in leprosy. 

And now, for the first time in the chapter, Moses cried to the Lord, “Please, God, heal her!” He was falsely accused, yet he passionately prayed for her healing. Yes, Moses had a good heart.

The Lord did heal Miriam, but not until she was put out of the camp for seven days, during which the whole nation knew of the shameful thing she had done in bringing petty, and false charges against God’s faithful servant, in the hopes of elevating herself. 

Bible translation used in today’s episode: Ch. 9 NLV; Ch. 10 NET; Ch. 11 NKJV; Ch. 12 GWT

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Steve Webb 0:00
Talk about an awkward silence.

Steve Webb 0:10
This is the Lifespring family Audio Bible coming to you from Riverside, California, podcasting since 2004. I am your OG God castors. Steve Webb, welcome. This is the daily show where we’re reading through the entire Bible in a year. Today we’re going to read Numbers nine through 12. And after the reading, I’ll have some comments for you. I’m calling today’s episode, move out the show notes page for today’s it Lifespring media.com/s 12 e 243. My email address is Steve at Lifespring media.com. Let’s get started.

Steve Webb 0:44
Numbers chapter nine. The Lord spoke to Moses in the Sinai desert in the first month of the second year after they’d come out of the land of Egypt. The Lord said, Let the people of Israel keep the Passover at the time given for it. Keep it at its given time in the evening of the 14th day of this month. Keep it by obeying all its laws. So Moses told the people of Israel to keep the Passover. And they kept the Passover in the evening of the 14th day of the first month in the Sinai desert. The people of Israel did all that the Lord had told Moses, but there were some men who were unclean because they had touched a dead person. So they could not keep the Passover on that day. They came to Moses and Aaron that day and said to Moses, we are unclean because we touched a dead person. But why are we kept from giving the Lord’s gift at its given time among the people of Israel. Moses said to them, wait, and I will listen to what the Lord will tell me to do with you. Then the Lord said to Moses, Say to the People of Israel, if any one of you or your children touch a dead person and become unclean, or if you’re traveling far away, even so, he may still keep the Passover to the Lord. They will keep it in the evening of the 14th day of the second month, they will eat it with bread without yeast and with bitter tasting plants. They must not leave any of it until morning. And they must not break a bone of the Lamb. They must obey all of the law of the Passover. But if a man is clean and is not away, traveling yet does not keep the Passover, he must be cut off from his people. For he did not give the Lord’s gift at the time he was to do so that man will be guilty of his sin. If the stranger staying with you wants to keep the Passover to the Lord and obey the law of the Passover. He may do so you will have one law both for the stranger and for the one who was born in the land. On the day that the meeting tent was set up. The cloud covered the meeting tent the tent of the law. In the evening, it was over the meeting tent. It looked like fire until morning. It was like this always, the cloud would cover it during the day. What looked like fire would cover it during the night. When the cloud was lifted from over the meeting tent, the people of Israel would move on where the cloud rested there the people of Israel would set up their tents. The people of Israel would move on as the Lord told him, and they would set up their tents as the Lord told them, they stayed in one place as long as the cloud rested over the meeting tent. Even when the cloud rested over the meeting tent for many days, the people of Israel would obey the Lord and not leave. Sometimes the clouds stayed a few days over the meeting tent, but they obeyed the Lord and stayed in that place, then they would leave when the Lord told them. Sometimes the clouds stayed from evening until morning. When the cloud lifted in the morning, they would leave. If the clouds stayed during the day and the night when it lifted, they would leave that place. Even when the clouds stayed over the meeting tent for two days or a month or a year, the people of Israel would stay in that place and not leave, they would leave when it was lifted. They set up their tents as the Lord told them and they moved on as the Lord told them. They obeyed what the Lord had told him to do through Moses.

Steve Webb 4:14
Numbers chapter 10. The Lord spoke to Moses, make two trumpets of silver, you’re to make them from a single hammered peace. You will use them for assembling the community and for directing the traveling of the camps. When they blow them both all the community must come to you to the entrance of the Tent of Meeting. But if they blow with one trumpet than the leaders, the heads of the 1000s of Israel must come to you. When you blow an alarm, then the camps that are located on the east side must begin to travel. And when you blow an alarm the second time, then the camps that are located on the south side must begin to travel and alarm must be sounded for their journeys. But when you assemble the community you must blow but you must not sound an alarm. The sons of Aaron the pre You must blow the trumpets, and they will be to you for an eternal ordinance throughout your generations. If you go to war on your land against an adversary who opposes you, then you must sound an alarm with the trumpets, and you will be remembered before the Lord your God, and you will be saved from your enemies. Also, in the time when you rejoice, such as on your appointed festivals are at the beginnings of your months, you must blow with your trumpets, over your bird offerings and over the sacrifices of your peace offerings, so that they may become a memorial for you before your God, I am the Lord your God. On the 20th day of the second month, in the second year, the cloud was taken up from the tabernacle of the testimony. So the Israelites set out on their journeys from the wilderness of Sinai, and the cloud settled in the wilderness of Paran. This was the first time they set out on their journey according to the commandment of the Lord, by the authority of Moses, the standard of the camp of the Judah heights set out first according to their companies, and over his company was Nahshon, son of a min ADAP. Over the company of the tribe of Issachar. Rights was Nathanael, son of Zhu R. And over the company of the tribe of sebelah. Knights was the lion son of Heelan. Then the tabernacle was dismantled and the sons of Gershon and the sons of Moray Rai set out carrying the tabernacle, the standard of the camp of Reuben set out according to their companies. Over his company was the lizer son of shadier over the company of the tribe of Simeon knights was show you mio son observa Shaddai, and over the company of the tribe of Gadites was Elias AF, son of dual and the Kohathites set out carrying the articles for the sanctuary. The tabernacle was to be set up before they arrived, and the standard of the camp of the ephra mites set out according to their companies. Over his company was Elysium, son of a mind over the company of the tribe of the Manasa Heights was Gamaliel Sana Pedraza and over the company of the tribe of Benjamin, it was a Biden son of giddy oni. The standard of the camp of the dam I’d set out which was the rear guard of all the camps by their companies. Over his company was a high easer son of ama Shaddai. Over the company of the tribe of the ASHA rights was Pigalle son of operon. And over the company of the tribe of NAFTA lights was a Hira son of Enon. These were the traveling arrangements of the Israelites, according to their companies when they traveled. Moses said to whole Bab, son of rule, the Midianite, Moses father in law, we are journeying to the place about which the Lord said, I will give it to you, come with us, and we will treat you well, for the Lord has promised good things for Israel. But how bad said to him, I will not go but I will go instead to my own land into my kindred. Moses said, do not leave us because you know places for us to camp in the wilderness, and you could be our guide. And if you come with us, it is certain that whatever good things the Lord will favor us with, we will share with you as well. So they traveled from the mountain of the Lord three days journey, and the Ark of the Covenant of the Lord was traveling before them during the three days journey to find a resting place for them. And the cloud of the Lord was over them by day when they traveled from the camp. And when the Ark traveled, Moses would say, rise up, oh, Lord, may your enemies be scattered, and May those who hate you flee before you. And when it came to rest, he would say, return, oh, Lord, to the many 1000s of Israel.

Steve Webb 8:28
Numbers 11. Now, when the people complained, it displeased the Lord, for the Lord heard it and his anger was aroused. So the fire of the Lord burned among them and consumed some in the outskirts of the camp. When the people cried out to Moses, and when Moses prayed to the Lord, the fire was quenched. So he called the name of the place Tabora because the fire of the Lord had burned among them. Now the mixed multitude who were among them yielded to intense craving. So the children of Israel also wept again and said, Who will give us meat to eat? We remember the fish which we ate freely in Egypt, the cucumbers, the melons, the leeks, the onions and the garlic. But now our whole being is dried up. There is nothing at all except this manner before our eyes. Now the man who was like coriander seed and its color, like the color of Deleon, the people went about and gathered it, grounded on millstones, or beat it in the mortar, cooked it in pans and made cakes of it, and its taste was like the taste of pastry prepared with oil. And when the dew fell on the camp, and the night the manna fell on it, then Moses heard the people weeping throughout their families, every one at the door of his tent, and the anger of the Lord was greatly aroused. Moses also was displeased. So Moses said to the Lord, why have you afflicted your servant? And why have I not found favor in your sight that you have laid the burden of all these people on me? Did I conceive all these people? Did I beget them that you should say to me, carry them in your bosom as A guardian carries a nursing child to the land which use war to their fathers. Where am I to get me to give to all these people, for they weep all over me saying give us meat that we may eat. I am not able to bear all these people alone because the burden is too heavy for me. If you treat me like this, please kill me here. And now if I have found favor in your sight, and do not let me see my wretchedness. So the Lord said to Moses, gathered me 70, men of the elders of Israel, whom you know, to be elders of the people and officers over them, bring them to the tabernacle of meeting, that they may stand there with you, then I will come down and talk with you there. I will take of the spirit that is upon you, and we’ll put the same upon them. And they shall bear the burden of the people with you, that you may not bear it yourself alone. Then you shall say to the people, consecrate yourselves for tomorrow, and you shall eat meat, for you have wept in the hearing of the Lord saying, who will give us meat to eat, for it was well with us in Egypt. Therefore the Lord will give you meat and you shall eat, you shall eat not one day, nor two days, nor five days, nor 10 days, nor 20 days, but for a whole month, until it comes out of your nostrils and becomes loathsome to you, because you have despised the Lord who was among you, and have wept before him saying, why did we ever come up out of Egypt? And Moses said, the people whom I am among our 600,000 men on foot, yet you have said, I will give them meat that they may eat for a whole month, shall flocks and herds be slaughtered for them to provide enough for them? Or shall all the fish of the sea be gathered together for them to provide enough for them? And the Lord said to Moses, has the Lord’s arm been shortened? Now you shall see whether what I say will happen to you or not. So Moses went out and told the people, the words of the Lord, and he gathered the 70, men of the elders of the people and place them around the tabernacle. Then the LORD came down in the cloud, and spoke to him, and took of the Spirit that was upon him, and place the same upon the 70 Elders. And it happened when the Spirit rested upon them that they prophesied, though they never did. So again. But two men had remained in the camp, the name of one was L dad, and the name of the other me, dad, and the spirit rested upon them. Now they were among those listed but who had not gone out to the tabernacle, yet they prophesied in the camp. And a young man ran and told Moses and said, l dad and me dad are prophesying in the camp. So Joshua, the son of Nan Moses, Assistant, one of his choice men, answered and said, Moses, my Lord forbid them. Then Moses said to him, I use Ellis for my sake, oh, that all the Lord’s people were prophets, and that the Lord would put His Spirit upon them. And Moses returned to the camp, he and the elders of Israel.

Steve Webb 12:55
Now well, wind went out from the Lord, and it brought quail from the sea, and left them fluttering near the camp, about a day’s journey on this side, and about a day’s journey on the other side, all around the camp, and about two cubits above the surface of the ground. And the people stayed up all that day, all night, and all the next day and gathered the quail, he who gathered least gathered 10 homers, and they spread them out for themselves all around the camp. But while the meat was still between their teeth before it was chewed, the wrath of the Lord was aroused against the people. And the Lord struck the people with a very great plague. So he called the name of that place kibra tehava, because there they buried the people who had yielded to craving from cube brotha tehava The people moved to has her off and kept it has a Roth

Steve Webb 13:44
Numbers chapter 12, Miriam and Aaron began to criticize Moses because he was married to a woman from Sudan. They asked, Did the Lord speak only through Moses? Didn’t he also speak through us? The Lord heard their complaint. Moses was a very humble man more humble than anyone else on Earth. Suddenly, the Lord said to Moses, Aaron and Merriam, all three of you come to the Tent of Meeting. So all three of them came. Then the LORD came down on the column of smoke and stood at the entrance to the tent. He called to Aaron and barium and they both came forward. He said, Listen to my words. When there are prophets of the Lord among you, I make myself known to them in visions or speak to them and dreams. But this is not the way I treat my servant Moses. He is the most faithful person in my household. I speak with him face to face plainly and not in riddles. He even sees the form of the Lord. Why weren’t you afraid to criticize my servant Moses? The Lord was angry with them so he left when the smoke left the tent. Miriam was covered with an infectious skin disease. She was as white as snow. Erin turned to her and saw she was cut Word with the disease. So he said to Moses, please, sir, don’t punish us for this foolish sin we committed. Don’t let her be like a stillborn baby that’s not completely developed. So Moses cried to the Lord, please God heal her. The Lord replied to Moses, if her own father had spit in her face, wouldn’t she be excluded from the community for seven days, she must be put in isolation outside the camp for seven days, then she can be brought back. So Miriam was put in isolation outside the camp for seven days. The people didn’t break camp until she was brought back. After that, the people moved from hazard Roth and set up camp in the desert of patron.

Steve Webb 15:45
You know, I don’t ever recall hearing a message or a sermon on number 12. So that’s what I’m going to talk about today. It seems like somewhat of an unusual chapter to me. Does it seem that way to you? Well, let’s dig in. Verse one said, Marian, and Aaron began to criticize Moses because he was married to a woman from Sudan. Okay, so as a reminder, Miriam and Aaron, were the brother and sister of Moses. And because of the way this sentence is constructed in Hebrew, and the fact that Miriam is listed first, she’s probably the instigator of this confrontation. We’ll talk more about that in a moment. Out of the 35 translations, I checked this translation the God’s word translation is the only one that says that Moses was married to a woman from Sudan. Most other translation says she was a Cushite woman. Others say she was Ethiopian. The original language says Kushite what’s a coup shyt? Well, the coup Shi’ites were descendants of Cush or Cush, as some people might say. Cush was the oldest son of Ham. Ham was the son of Noah. So Koosh was the grandson of Noah, and get this one of Kushi his sons was Nimrod, who was thought to be the ruler of Babel when the Tower of Babel was built. So the great grandson of Noah probably built the Tower of Babel. There’s just another reminder that it’s imperative to teach faithfully each generation, the word of the Lord. Just because you’re a believer is no guarantee that your children will be or their children, be diligent in living in such a way that your children see that God is real. Now the land of Cush might very well be and probably is synonymous with Ethiopia. Though the Ethiopia of the Bible is not exactly the same as the Ethiopia of today. However, the Ethiopia of the Bible included an area of what is Sudan today. So you see how it all just kind of came together. They’re given this background, it’s probably not going to surprise you when I tell you that the Kushite people were dark skinned. As a matter of fact, the word Koosh means black. One last thing about couche I found this at God questions.org. I’m quoting them here. significantly. couche is also a nation that received the gospel and will be involved in the millennial kingdom. The evangelist Philip gave the gospel to an Ethiopian eunuch, who would have been referred to as a Cushite in Hebrew, and the unit was one of the first converts of Ethiopia to Christianity. We learned that in Acts Eight verses 26 through 39. And continuing got questions.org he undoubtedly took the gospel back to his land where he had great influence as a royal official to Queen Candace. We learned that from x 827. And during the millennial reign of Christ, Jesus will receive honor from Kush or Ethiopia. We know that from Zephaniah 310 from beyond the rivers of Cush, my worshipers, my scattered people will bring me offerings. Pretty interesting, huh? So the fact that Moses was married to a Cushite woman is the reason Miriam and Aaron gave for their complaint. So why the complaint? Well, it was not forbidden for Israelites to marry KU shites. So that’s not likely to be the basis for their complaint. It is possible and maybe even probable that the reason was because of the color of her skin, something she had no control over. So it wasn’t really fair to criticize her for that. But that’s not the real problem. We’ll find out as we read what the real problem was. There was a deeper problem as is often the case. Verse two says, they asked, Did the Lord speak only through Moses? Didn’t he also speak through us? Okay, so they come in, they say, Hey, we’re not happy because Moses married this Kushite woman. And by the way, did the Lord speak only through Moses? Didn’t he also speak through us? Can’t you just hear her? What do you think you are Moses, you think you’re so special because God speaks through you. He speaks through me and Aaron too. Well, in a way she was right. God spoke through Aaron in Exodus 430. And he spoke to Aaron and Exodus 12. One, in Miriam spoke God inspired words in Exodus 1521. But the fact is, God spoke through Moses in a very unique way. And he selected Moses as the leader of Israel. Miriam and Aaron, were just plain jealous of Moses. They wanted to have some of that authority and attention. And they thought that by bringing Moses down, they would be elevated. And then verse two ends with this. The Lord heard their complaint. Of course he did. And what he heard was them accusing Moses of the sin Veva himself were guilty of pride. But Moses wasn’t prideful. He didn’t need to be brought down. Verse three says, Moses was a very humble man, more humble than anyone else on Earth. Okay, now, I have no reason to doubt the truth of this verse. But at the same time, I have to chuckle a little bit. It makes me think of a joke I heard from my brother in law, Steve O’Brien, he’s a pastor, and I love him very much, and he can be a quitter. He talks about a book he wrote, not really, but he talks about this book he wrote called humility and how I achieved it cracks me up. Listen, the book of Numbers is one of the first five books of the Bible right, commonly called the Pentateuch. You know, who wrote the Pentateuch right, Moses. So Moses wrote that he was the most humble person on earth. You bet, really, maybe not. It’s entirely possible that somebody added this comment after Moses died. A very likely possibility is that Joshua wrote it. You see, Joshua was the man appointed by God to lead Israel after Moses died. And Joshua knew Moses very well. So I can very easily see him taking the scrolls that Moses wrote out, and added that in the margin or something, I get that continuing, verse four says, suddenly, the Lord said to Moses, Aaron, and Miriam, all three of you come to the Tent of Meeting. Notice the order of the names here, Moses, Aaron, and Miriam, we go from the one who is in the right, to the one who is most in the wrong. God is not happy that he takes quick action makes me think of the parent who’s had enough of a child’s bad behavior and says, Go to your room. Suddenly, the Lord said to Moses, Aaron, and Miriam, all three of you come to the Tent of Meeting. So they go to the Tent of Meeting and it says, Then the LORD came down in the column of smoke and stood at the entrance to the tent. He called to Aaron and Miriam, and they both came forward. Can’t you just see this? By now I think they know they’re in trouble. heads were probably hung low. Shoulders were probably slumping, and they probably very timidly stepped forward. And then God speaks to them from the column of smoke.

Steve Webb 23:43
I’m paraphrasing here, listen up. When I’ve got something to say to prophets, I do it through dreams and visions. But with my boy here, Moses, I talked directly to him, I tell him like it is, he even gets to see me as much as the human body can stand, and you have the nerve to criticize him. We’re told God was angry, so he left and that left the three of them standing there. Talk about an awkward silence. But when the smoke cleared, literally, Miriam was covered with an advanced state of leprosy. The skin being whitest snow tells us that and then Aaron seems a bit Weasley here. As soon as he sees Miriam, he says to Moses, Please, my lord, don’t punish us for this foolish sin we’ve committed. Now remember, Aaron is the guy who let the people build a golden idol, while Moses was on Mount Sinai receiving the tablets with the 10 commandments from God, and Aaron tagged along with his sister today. But as soon as he thinks that his goose is cooked, to save himself, he begs his big brother Moses for his help. I don’t know maybe he truly saw that the accusations they made against Moses were foolish and sinful, but maybe he just didn’t want to end up covered in leprosy you think? And then now for the very first time in this chapter, Moses cried to the Lord, please God heal her. He was falsely accused, yet he passionately prayed for her healing. Yeah, Moses had a good heart. The Lord did heal Miriam, but not until she was put out of the camp for seven days, during which the nation became aware of the shameful thing she had done, in bringing petty and false charges against God’s faithful servant in the hopes of elevating herself. What do you think you have a comment? Go to Lifespring media.com/s 12 e 243. And let me know. Tomorrow our reading will be first Chronicles 15 through 19.

Steve Webb 26:01
Kirsty left a comment on the show notes page a couple of days ago, she said I’m spending the day on the road today. So I’m hoping to get up to date with my missed episodes. Thanks to this show. I’ve read more of the Bible this year than I ever have. I can’t believe we’re two thirds of the way there. I know. Right. Thanks, Kirsty. I’m glad you’re with me. Did you get caught up? Where are there still some missing episodes. And again, for those of you that have been with me, since the beginning of season, 12 Way to go congratulations to you to the finish line is almost in sight can almost see it.

Steve Webb 26:47
On this date in church history, may 2 the year 373 St. Athanasius, the Great, the bishop of Alexandria passed away. He’s known today as the father of Orthodoxy, and he was the first Christian writer to list the 27 books of the New Testament that we have today. That’s pretty cool, huh?

Steve Webb 27:16
Let’s pray. Our heavenly Father. Today’s reading reminds us that though you are a merciful and loving God, you’re also a just God and that you don’t take it lightly when your people are slandered. We know from your word that you hate gossip and a lying tongue. Help us to keep our hearts pure Lord, may your Holy Spirit let us know when we speak wrongly and may we seek your forgiveness quickly when we do. I thank you so much for the Lifespring family and for bringing us this far in our reading. And I pray that you’d give us the will to complete the year together. Teach us every day and show us what you want us to learn. I pray this in Jesus name. Amen. If you’ve got a prayer request or a praise, you know what to do prayer dot Lifespring media.com.

Steve Webb 28:11
Comment on the show at Lifespring media.com/s 12 e 243. Send me an email at Steve at Lifespring media.com. I always love to hear from you. Support the show it Lifespring media.com/support. You must find some value in the show. If you’re here, convert that value to an amount. Go to Lifespring media.com/support. Take a look at it. Pray about it. Think about it and then follow the Lord’s leading thanks to Kirsty and Shawn of San Pedro for helping me to get the things done that I don’t have the time to do personally. I appreciate you guys. God bless you. Well Until tomorrow, may God bless you richly. My name is Steve Webb. I’ll see you then. Bye

Transcribed by https://otter.ai

Transcript

Timothy LaFontaine

Today is Monday, so we’ll read from one of the books of the Law. We’re in the book of Numbers, and we’ll read chapters 21-24. After the reading I’ll have some comments. And of course I’ll have an “On This Date In Church History” segment for you, too. I’m calling today’s episode “Don’t Be Too Eager.”

If this were Sesame Street, I would say that today’s chapter from Numbers was brought to you by the letter “B”. Balaam, Balak, Bamoth-Baal, Beor. 

So what did you think about the situation with Balaam and God at first denying him permission to go to see Balak, and then telling him it was okay to go, and then being mad that he did go? Were you confused by that? Is God a capricious God?

Of course not. But I was confused, too. So I did some digging, and here is what I found.

Balak sent messengers first to ask Balaam to come and curse the Israelites. God told Balaam not to go since He, God, had blessed them. Then Balak sent even more distinguished messengers, with the additional message that he would confer great honor upon Balaam, in effect Balak was attempting to bribe Balaam. This appears to have been a bit of a temptation to Balaam, even though he said with his lips that even if Balak gave him enough silver and gold to fill a house, he could not do anything against what God had told him…he told the messengers that he would see if God had anything else to say on the matter.

This seems to be the crux of the matter. God told Balaam that the people were blessed. Why would he expect that God would say anything different about cursing people whom He blessed? 

Here is what God said, and the version we’re reading today doesn’t convey the original meaning well. Commentators agree that what God said was, “If the men come to you, then you may go with them.” 

Let’s stop here for a moment. This is an important point. God allows us to do many things that He does not endorse. Right? Sometimes He will allow us to succumb to our own wicked and lustful hearts. He allows us, in effect, to touch the hot stove to see that it will burn us. I can imagine Balaam laying in his bed that night, thinking how cool it was that these important visitors had come to his humble home. He felt important. And I can also imagine him laying there fantasizing about the honors that Balak would bestow on him once he arrived. He got to thinking, perhaps, about the palace full of silver and gold.

So what happened next? In the original Hebrew, God said, “If the men come to call thee, rise up, [and] go with them; but yet the word which I shall say unto thee, that shalt thou do.” But Balaam got up the next morning and saddled his donkey and went with the men. Scripture doesn’t say, “When they came to get him, he went.” It says, “He got up and went.” 

Balaam was too eager. He wanted to get his hands on the treasure Balak promised him. So he did not follow God’s instruction.

Remember, the reason that Balak sent for Balaam was so that Balaam would come and curse the Israelites. God’s chosen people. God does not look with favor upon those who conspire to harm His people, or those who seek to gain favor with those who conspire to harm his people.

So God became angry at Balaam.  

In Numbers 24 Balaam once again disappointed Balak. I guess you have to hand it to Balak. He wasn’t one to give up easily. And it is good to see that, despite the inauspicious beginning of this time with Balak, Balaam was faithful to what God told him to say. 

There is a good lesson to learn from this. How many times do we sin, and then feel as if, because of that sin, we cannot be a useful instrument for God? We might even think that since others saw our sin, our credibility is ruined. Here in these few chapters of Numbers we see that such is not the case. We can make an about face, we can turn in the right direction, and continue walking with God, and can go on to be a voice for Him…and be effective. Do not let the enemy of your soul steal away the blessing of following after God and doing His will just because you stumble.

If you will confess your failure to God, He will forgive you. He can, and He *will* use you again for His glory. Remember, every person we have read about, or will read about in God’s Word, except Jesus, was imperfect. Every one of them failed at one time or another. Some of them multiple times. And God accomplished His will through them despite their failings. He will do the same with you, if you don’t give up and give in. 

Bible translation used in today’s episode: Ch. 21 KJV; Ch. 22 CEV; Ch. 23 GWT; Ch. 24 NASB

This a value for value podcast. There are no advertisers because advertising=censorship. If you enjoy the Lifespring Family Audio Bible, decide how much value it brings to you. Only you can make that determination. Then put a number on the value and send it to me here: SUPPORT.

Download .txt file.

STEVE WEBB – 0:00
We can make an about face.

INTRO S12E263 – 0:09
This is the Lifespring Family Audio Bible coming to you from Riverside, California. Podcasting since 2004, I’m your OG Godcaster, Steve Webb. Welcome. This is the daily show where we are reading through the entire Bible in a year. Today’s Monday. So we’ll read from one of the books of the law. We’re in the book of Numbers, and we’ll read chapters 21 through 24. After the reading, I’ll have some comments, and, of course, I’ll have an On This Date in Church History, and we have a prayer request today. So I’m calling today’s episode, “Don’t Be Too Eager.” The show notes page for today’s episode is at lifespringmedia.com/s12e264 which means there are just 100 remaining days to this season of the Lifespring Family Audio Bible. My email address is st***@*************ia.com. Let’s get started.

NUMBERS 21 (KJV) – 0:59
Numbers, chapter 21. (1) And when king Arad the Canaanite, which dwelt in the south, heard tell that Israel came by the way of the spies; then he fought against Israel, and took some of them prisoners. (2) And Israel vowed a vow unto the LORD, and said, If thou wilt indeed deliver this people into my hand, then I will utterly destroy their cities. (3) And the LORD hearkened to the voice of Israel, and delivered up the Canaanites; and they utterly destroyed them and their cities: and he called the name of the place Hormah.

(4) And they journeyed from mount Hor by the way of the Red sea, to compass the land of Edom: and the soul of the people was much discouraged because of the way. (5) And the people spake against God, and against Moses, Wherefore have ye brought us up out of Egypt to die in the wilderness? for there is no bread, neither is there any water; and our soul loatheth this light bread. (6) And the LORD sent fiery serpents among the people, and they bit the people; and much people of Israel died. (7) Therefore the people came to Moses, and said, We have sinned, for we have spoken against the LORD, and against thee; pray unto the LORD, that he take away the serpents from us. And Moses prayed for the people. (8) And the LORD said unto Moses, Make thee a fiery serpent, and set it upon a pole: and it shall come to pass, that every one that is bitten, when he looketh upon it, shall live. (9) And Moses made a serpent of brass, and put it upon a pole, and it came to pass, that if a serpent had bitten any man, when he beheld the serpent of brass, he lived.

(10) And the children of Israel set forward, and pitched in Oboth. (11) And they journeyed from Oboth, and pitched at Ije-abarim, in the wilderness which is before Moab, toward the sunrising. (12) From thence they removed, and pitched in the valley of Zared. (13) From thence they removed, and pitched on the other side of Arnon, which is in the wilderness that cometh out of the coasts of the Amorites: for Arnon is the border of Moab, between Moab and the Amorites. (14) Wherefore it is said in the book of the wars of the LORD,

What he did in the Red sea,
And in the brooks of Arnon,
(15) And at the stream of the brooks
That goeth down to the dwelling of Ar,
And lieth upon the border of Moab.

(16) And from thence they went to Beer: that is the well whereof the LORD spake unto Moses, Gather the people together, and I will give them water.

(17) Then Israel sang this song,
Spring up, O well; sing ye unto it:
(18) The princes digged the well,
The nobles of the people digged it,
By the direction of the lawgiver, with their staves.

And from the wilderness they went to Mattanah: (19) and from Mattanah to Nahaliel: and from Nahaliel to Bamoth: (20) and from Bamoth in the valley, that is in the country of Moab, to the top of Pisgah, which looketh toward Jeshimon.

(21) And Israel sent messengers unto Sihon king of the Amorites, saying, (22) Let me pass through thy land: we will not turn into the fields, or into the vineyards; we will not drink of the waters of the well: but we will go along by the king’s high way, until we be past thy borders. (23) And Sihon would not suffer Israel to pass through his border: but Sihon gathered all his people together, and went out against Israel into the wilderness: and he came to Jahaz, and fought against Israel. (24) And Israel smote him with the edge of the sword, and possessed his land from Arnon unto Jabbok, even unto the children of Ammon: for the border of the children of Ammon was strong. (25) And Israel took all these cities: and Israel dwelt in all the cities of the Amorites, in Heshbon, and in all the villages thereof. (26) For Heshbon was the city of Sihon the king of the Amorites, who had fought against the former king of Moab, and taken all his land out of his hand, even unto Arnon. (27) Wherefore they that speak in proverbs say,

Come into Heshbon,
Let the city of Sihon be built and prepared:
(28) For there is a fire gone out of Heshbon,
A flame from the city of Sihon:
It hath consumed Ar of Moab,
And the lords of the high places of Arnon.
(29) Woe to thee, Moab!
Thou art undone, O people of Chemosh:
He hath given his sons that escaped,
And his daughters, into captivity
Unto Sihon king of the Amorites.
(30) We have shot at them; Heshbon is perished even unto Dibon,
And we have laid them waste even unto Nophah,
Which reacheth unto Medeba.

(31) Thus Israel dwelt in the land of the Amorites. (32) And Moses sent to spy out Jaazer, and they took the villages thereof, and drove out the Amorites that were there.

(33) And they turned and went up by the way of Bashan: and Og the king of Bashan went out against them, he, and all his people, to the battle at Edrei. (34) And the LORD said unto Moses, Fear him not: for I have delivered him into thy hand, and all his people, and his land; and thou shalt do to him as thou didst unto Sihon king of the Amorites, which dwelt at Heshbon. (35) So they smote him, and his sons, and all his people, until there was none left him alive: and they possessed his land.

NUMBERS 22 (CEV) – 5:50
Numbers, chapter 22. (1) Israel moved from there to the hills of Moab, where they camped across the Jordan River from the town of Jericho.

(2-3) When King Balak of Moab and his people heard how many Israelites there were and what they had done to the Amorites, he and the Moabites were terrified and panicked. (4) They said to the Midianite leaders, “That huge mob of Israelites will wipe out everything in sight, like a bull eating grass in a field.”

So King Balak (5) sent a message to Balaam son of Beor who lived among his relatives in the town of Pethor near the Euphrates River. It said:

I need your help. A large group of people has come here from Egypt and settled near my territory. (6) They are too powerful for us to defeat, so would you come and place a curse on them? Maybe then we can run them off. I know that anyone you bless will be successful, but anyone you curse will fail.

(7) The leaders of Moab and Midian left and took along money to pay Balaam. When they got to his house, they gave him Balak’s message.

(8) “Spend the night here,” Balaam replied, “and tomorrow I will tell you the Lord’s answer.” So the officials stayed at his house.

(9) During the night, God asked Balaam, “Who are these people at your house?”

(10) “They are messengers from King Balak of Moab,” Balaam answered. “He sent them (11) to ask me to go to Moab and put a curse on the people who have come there from Egypt. They have settled everywhere around him, and he wants to run them off.”

(12) But God replied, “Don’t go with Balak’s messengers. I have blessed those people who have come from Egypt, so don’t curse them.”

(13) The next morning, Balaam said to Balak’s officials, “Go on back home. The Lord says I cannot go with you.”

(14) The officials left and told Balak that Balaam refused to come.

(15) Then Balak sent a larger group of officials, who were even more important than the first ones. (16) They went to Balaam and told him that Balak had said, “Balaam, if you come to Moab, (17) I’ll pay you very well and do whatever you ask. Just come and place a curse on these people.”

(18) Balaam answered, “Even if Balak offered me a palace full of silver or gold, I wouldn’t do anything to disobey the Lord my God. (19) You are welcome to spend the night here, just as the others did. I will find out if the Lord has something else to say about this.”

(20) That night, God said, “Balaam, I’ll let you go to Moab with Balak’s messengers, but do only what I say.”

(21) So Balaam got up the next morning and saddled his donkey, then left with the Moabite officials.

(22) Balaam was riding his donkey to Moab, and two of his servants were with him. But God was angry that Balaam had gone, so one of the Lord’s angels stood in the road to stop him. (23) When Balaam’s donkey saw the angel standing there with a sword, it walked off the road and into an open field. Balaam had to beat the donkey to get it back on the road.

(24) Then the angel stood between two vineyards, in a narrow path with a stone wall on each side. (25) When the donkey saw the angel, it walked so close to one of the walls that Balaam’s foot scraped against the wall. Balaam beat the donkey again.

(26) The angel moved once more and stood in a spot so narrow that there was no room for the donkey to go around. (27) So it just lay down. Balaam lost his temper, then picked up a stick and whacked the donkey.

(28) When that happened, the Lord told the donkey to speak, and it asked Balaam, “What have I done that made you beat me three times?”

(29) “You made me look stupid!” Balaam answered. “If I had a sword, I’d kill you here and now!”

(30) “But you’re my owner,” answered the donkey, “and you’ve ridden me many times. Have I ever done anything like this before?”
“No,” Balaam admitted.

(31) Just then, the Lord let Balaam see the angel standing in the road, holding a sword, and Balaam bowed down.

(32) The angel said, “You had no right to treat your donkey like that! I was the one who blocked your way, because I don’t think you should go to Moab. (33) If your donkey had not seen me and stopped those three times, I would have killed you and let the donkey live.”

(34) Balaam replied, “I was wrong. I didn’t know you were trying to stop me. If you don’t think I should go, I’ll return home at once.”

(35) “It’s all right for you to go,” the Lord’s angel answered. “But you must say only what I tell you.” So Balaam went on with Balak’s officials.

(36) When Balak heard that Balaam was coming, he went to meet him at the town of Ir on the Arnon River, which is the northern border of Moab. (37) Balak asked, “Why didn’t you come when I invited you the first time? Did you think I wasn’t going to pay you?”

(38) “I’m here now,” Balaam answered. “But I will say only what God tells me to say.”

(39) They left and went to the town of Kiriath-Huzoth, (40) where Balak sacrificed cattle and sheep and gave some of the meat to Balaam and the officials who were with him.

(41) The next morning, Balak took Balaam to the town of Bamoth-Baal. From there, Balaam could see some of the Israelites

NUMBERS 23 (GWT) – 10:51
Numbers, chapter 23. (1) Balaam said to Balak, “Build seven altars here, and prepare seven bulls and seven rams for me.” (2) Balak did what Balaam told him, and the two of them offered a bull and a ram on each altar.

(3) Balaam said to Balak, “Stay here beside your burnt offering while I’m gone. Maybe the Lord will come and meet with me. I will tell you whatever he reveals to me.” Then Balaam went off to a higher place where there were no trees.

(4) God came to him, and Balaam said, “I have set up seven altars, and I offered a bull and a ram on each altar.”

(5) The Lord told Balaam, “Go back to Balak, and give him my message.”

(6) So he went back to Balak and found him standing beside his burnt offering with all the princes of Moab. (7) Then Balaam delivered this message:

“Balak brought me from Aram.
The king of Moab summoned me from the eastern mountains.
‘Come, curse Jacob for me,’ he said.
‘Come, condemn Israel.’
(8) How can I curse those whom God hasn’t cursed?
How can I condemn those whom the Lord hasn’t condemned?
(9) I see them from the top of rocky cliffs,
I look at them from the hills.
I see a nation that lives by itself,
people who do not consider themselves
to be like other nations.
(10) The descendants of Jacob are like specks of dust.
Who can count them
or number even one-fourth of the people of Israel?
Let me die the death of innocent people.
Let my end be like theirs.”

(11) Balak said to Balaam, “What have you done to me? I brought you here to curse my enemies, but all you’ve done is bless them!”

(12) Balaam answered, “I must say what the Lord tells me to say.”

(13) Then Balak said to him, “Please come with me to another place, where you can see the Israelites. You will see only some of them, not all of them. Curse them for me from there.”

(14) So he took him to the Field of Zophim on top of Mount Pisgah, where he built seven altars. He offered a bull and a ram on each altar. (15) Then Balaam said to Balak, “Stay here beside your burnt offering while I meet with God over there.”

(16) The Lord came to Balaam and told him, “Go back to Balak, and give him my message.”

(17) He came to Balak and found him standing beside his burnt offering with the princes of Moab. Balak asked him, “What did the Lord say?” (18) Then Balaam delivered this message:

“Stand up, Balak, and listen!
Hear me, son of Zippor!
(19) God is not like people. He tells no lies.
He is not like humans. He doesn’t change his mind.
When he says something, he does it.
When he makes a promise, he keeps it.
(20) I have received a command to bless.
He has blessed, and I can’t change it.
(21) He doesn’t want any trouble for the descendants of Jacob.
He sees no misfortune for the people of Israel.
The Lord their God is with them,
praised as their king.
(22) The God who brought them out of Egypt
has the strength of a wild bull.
(23) No spell can curse the descendants of Jacob.
No magic can harm the people of Israel.
Now it will be said of Jacob and Israel:
‘See what God has done!’
(24) Here is a nation that attacks like a lioness
and is as ferocious as a lion.
It doesn’t lie down until it eats its prey
and drinks the blood of its victim.”

(25) Balak said to Balaam, “If you won’t curse them, then at least don’t bless them!”

(26) Balaam answered, “Didn’t I tell you that I must do whatever the Lord says?”

(27) Balak said to Balaam, “Come, let me take you to another place. Maybe God wants you to curse them for me from there.” (28) So Balak took Balaam to the top of Mount Peor, which overlooks Jeshimon.

(29) Balaam said to Balak, “Build seven altars here, and prepare seven bulls and seven rams for me.” (30) Balak did what Balaam told him, and he offered a bull and a ram on each altar.

NUMBERS 24 (NASB) – 14:39
Numbers, chapter 24. (1) When Balaam saw that it pleased the Lord to bless Israel, he did not go as at other times to seek omens but he set his face toward the wilderness. (2) And Balaam lifted up his eyes and saw Israel camping tribe by tribe; and the Spirit of God came upon him. (3) He took up his discourse and said,

“The oracle of Balaam the son of Beor,
And the oracle of the man whose eye is opened;
(4) The oracle of him who hears the words of God,
Who sees the vision of the Almighty,
Falling down, yet having his eyes uncovered,
(5) How fair are your tents, O Jacob,
Your dwellings, O Israel!
(6) Like valleys that stretch out,
Like gardens beside the river,
Like aloes planted by the Lord,
Like cedars beside the waters.
(7) Water will flow from his buckets,
And his seed will be by many waters,
And his king shall be higher than Agag,
And his kingdom shall be exalted.
(8) God brings him out of Egypt,
He is for him like the horns of the wild ox.
He will devour the nations who are his adversaries,
And will crush their bones in pieces,
And shatter them with his arrows.
(9) He couches, he lies down as a lion,
And as a lion, who dares rouse him?
Blessed is everyone who blesses you,
And cursed is everyone who curses you.”

(10) Then Balak’s anger burned against Balaam, and he struck his hands together; and Balak said to Balaam, “I called you to curse my enemies, but behold, you have persisted in blessing them these three times! (11) Therefore, flee to your place now. I said I would honor you greatly, but behold, the Lord has held you back from honor.” (12) Balaam said to Balak, “Did I not tell your messengers whom you had sent to me, saying, (13) ‘Though Balak were to give me his house full of silver and gold, I could not do anything contrary to the command of the Lord, either good or bad, of my own accord. What the Lord speaks, that I will speak’? (14) And now, behold, I am going to my people; come, and I will advise you what this people will do to your people in the days to come.”

(15) He took up his discourse and said,

“The oracle of Balaam the son of Beor,
And the oracle of the man whose eye is opened,
(16) The oracle of him who hears the words of God,
And knows the knowledge of the Most High,
Who sees the vision of the Almighty,
Falling down, yet having his eyes uncovered.
(17) I see him, but not now;
I behold him, but not near;
A star shall come forth from Jacob,
A scepter shall rise from Israel,
And shall crush through the forehead of Moab,
And tear down all the sons of Sheth.
(18) Edom shall be a possession,
Seir, its enemies, also will be a possession,
While Israel performs valiantly.
(19) One from Jacob shall have dominion,
And will destroy the remnant from the city.”

(20) And he looked at Amalek and took up his discourse and said,

“Amalek was the first of the nations,
But his end shall be destruction.”

(21) And he looked at the Kenite, and took up his discourse and said,

“Your dwelling place is enduring,
And your nest is set in the cliff.
(22) Nevertheless Kain will be consumed;
How long will Asshur keep you captive?”

(23) Then he took up his discourse and said,

“Alas, who can live except God has ordained it?
(24) But ships shall come from the coast of Kittim,
And they shall afflict Asshur and will afflict Eber;
So they also will come to destruction.”

(25) Then Balaam arose and departed and returned to his place, and Balak also went his way.

COMMENTS ON NUMBERS 22 – 18:21
If this were Sesame Street, I would say that today’s chapter from Numbers was brought to you by–

COOKIE MONSTER – 18:26
Hello there. Me Cookie Monster. And once again, me introduce letter of day. Haha. It “B”. Yeah, like in word “beautiful”…

COMMENTS ON NUMBERS 22 (CONTINUED) – 18:41
And Balaam, Balak, Bamoth-Baal, and Beor.

Now getting serious, what do you think about the situation with Balaam, and God at first denying him permission to go see Balak and then telling him it was okay to go? And after that being mad that he did go? Were you confused by that? Is God a capricious God?

Well, of course not. But I was confused, too, so I did some digging. And this is what I found.

Balak sent messengers first to ask Balaam to come and curse the Israelites. But God told Balaam not to go, since he God had blessed them. So Balak sent even more distinguished messengers with the additional message that he would confer great honor upon Balaam. And in so doing Balak was really trying to bribe Balaam. And it looks like maybe Balaam was tempted somewhat even though he said with his lips, that even if Balak gave him enough silver and gold to fill a house, he could not do anything against what God had told him. But he told the messengers that he would see if God had anything else to say on the matter.

Well, this seems to be the crux. God told Balaam that the people were blessed. Why would Balaam expect that God would say anything different about cursing people whom he had blessed?

Now this is what God said to Balaam. The version we read today and many other versions really don’t convey the original meaning. In the Hebrew what God said was, “If the men come to call you, rise up and go with them, but only say what I tell you to say.”

Well, let’s stop here for a moment. And this is an important point. God allows us to do many things that he does not endorse, right? Sometimes he’ll allow us to succumb to our own wicked and lustful hearts. He allows us, in effect, to touch the hot stove to see that it will burn us. I can imagine Balaam laying in his bed that night thinking how cool it was that these important visitors had come into his humble home. He felt important. And I can also imagine him laying there fantasizing about the honors that Balak, would bestow on him once he arrived. And maybe he got to thinking–no, I think he definitely got to thinking–about the palace full of silver and gold.

So in the morning, what happened was–remember God said, “If they come to call you”–but instead of Balaam, waiting for the guys to come show up to get him. The word tells us that in the morning, he got up and went, he didn’t wait for them to get him.

Balaam was too eager. He wanted to get his hands on the treasure Balak promised him, so he did not follow God’s instruction.

Remember, the reason that Balak sent for Balaam was so that Balaam would come and curse the Israelites God’s chosen people. Well, God doesn’t look with favor upon those who conspire to harm his people, or those who seek to gain favor with those who conspire to harm his people.

So that’s why God became angry at Balaam. Does that help?

COMMENTS ON NUMBERS 24 – 21:34
Now let’s move on to Numbers 24. Balaam once again disappointed Balak. I guess in a way you kind of have to hand it to Balak, he wasn’t one to give up easily. And it is also good to see that despite the inauspicious beginning of his time with Balak, Balaam was faithful to what God told him to say.

There is a good lesson to learn from this. How many times do we sin and then feel as if because of that sin, we can’t be a useful instrument for God? We might even think that since others saw our sin, our credibility is completely ruined. Well here in these few chapters of Numbers, we see that that is not the case. We can make an about face. We can turn in the right direction and continue walking with God. And we can go on to be a voice for him and be effective. Don’t let the enemy of your soul steal away the blessing of following after God and doing His will just because you stumble.

If we’ll confess our failure to God, He will forgive us. He can and he will use us for His glory. Remember, every person we’ve read about or will read about in God’s word, except for Jesus was imperfect. Every one of them failed at one time or another and some of them failed multiple times. And still, God accomplished his will through them, despite their failings, when they seek his forgiveness and follow Him. He will do the same with you. If you don’t give up and give in.

You have a comment? I’d sure like to hear it. Go to lifespringmedia.com/s12e264 and let me know.

Tomorrow we’ll begin the book of II Chronicles with chapters one through five. King David has died and now his son Solomon begins his reign.

Boost!

ASSOCIATE PRODUCER SHOUT-OUT – 23:23
Timothy LaFontaine came in with his monthly $20 Associate Producer donation. Thank you, Tim. God bless you, I appreciate your support.

If you find value in the show, please go to lifespringmedia.com/support. You can sign up for a weekly, monthly, quarterly donation, whatever makes sense to you and whatever God leads you to do. Regardless of the amount Your support helps to make this show possible, lifespringmedia.com/support.

ON THIS DATE IN CHURCH HISTORY – 24:02
On this date in church history, May 23, 1974, Russian Orthodox liturgical scholar Alexander Schememann reflected in his journal, “The most important question is, how does objective faith become subjective? How does it grow in the heart to become a personal faith? When do common words become one’s own? The faith of the church, the faith of the fathers comes alive only when it is my own.” That’s true. Faith doesn’t matter if it’s someone else’s faith, it has to be your faith.

PRAYER REQUEST – 24:43
Prayer requests. Yesterday, a very good friend of mine told me about another of his friends who has a son in his early twenties who has bipolar disorder. This is a terrible disease. I’ve known other people, too, with family members who suffer from this and when someone close to you has it you become aware that it really does affect the whole family. So let’s pray for this family.

CLOSING PRAYER – 25:06
Our Heavenly Father, we thank you once again for your word. You’ve made your will very clear to us as to how to please you and we reaffirm now that we do want to stay within it. We don’t want to push the boundaries as Balaam did. Hold us close to you, Lord, and please forgive us when we fail. I pray for this young man with bipolar disorder and his family and I asked you to heal him. Balance his brain chemistry or whatever is causing this heartbreaking illness and help his family as they do what they can to help him. I thank you for the Lifespring family, Lord, and I ask that you bless them today. I pray this in Jesus name. Amen.

Send in your prayer requests and your praises to prayer.lifespringmedia.com.

OUTRO S12E264 – 25:57
Share the show. Don’t hide it under a bushel. Comment on the show at lifespringmedia.com/s12e264. Email me at st***@*************ia.com. Thanks to the team, Kirsty, Sean of San Pedro and Denise for their hard work. Thanks to Associate Producer Timothy LaFontaine for his support of the show. And you can support the show at lifespringmedia.com/support.

Thank you for sharing your time with me today and until tomorrow may God bless you richly. My name is Steve Webb.

Bye.

Transcribed by https://otter.ai
Corrected by Denise

Transcript

Today we will read John 7-9. I’ll have some comments after the reading, and I’m calling today’s episode “Who Decides?”  

But no one had the courage to speak favorably about him in public, for they were afraid of getting in trouble with the Jewish leaders.

John 7:13 NLT

Many among the crowds at the Temple believed in him. “After all,” they said, “would you expect the Messiah to do more miraculous signs than this man has done?”

When the Pharisees heard that the crowds were whispering such things, they and the leading priests sent Temple guards to arrest Jesus.

John 7:31-32 NLT

 So the crowd was divided about him. Some even wanted him arrested, but no one laid a hand on him.

John 7: 43-44 NLT

They asked his parents, “Is this your son, the one you say was born blind? Why can he see now?”

His parents replied, “We know that he’s our son and that he was born blind. But we don’t know how he got his sight or who gave it to him. You’ll have to ask him. He’s old enough to answer for himself.” (His parents said this because they were afraid of the Jews. The Jews had already agreed to put anyone who acknowledged that Jesus was the Christ out of the synagogue. That’s why his parents said, “You’ll have to ask him. He’s old enough.”)

John 19-23 NLT

So now I have a question for you. Do these passages sound familiar to you? Do they sound similar to anything that is happening today? 

“Cancel culture” is not new, is it? The Pharisees were used to being in control of the public narrative. People were afraid to voice their opinions, if they differed from what the Pharisees taught. The people could see with their own eyes and hear with their own ears what Jesus did and what He taught, and some believed that He was who He said He was, but many were afraid to support Him, lest they be thrown out of the synagogue.

But there was one in our reading today who had courage.

They asked the man who had been born blind another question: “What do you say about the man who gave you sight?”

The man answered, “He’s a prophet.”

John 9:17 GWT

At this point in the narrative, the Pharisees have the interview with his parents, which we have already read. As you know, they said, “He’s old enough, ask him yourselves.”

So once again the Jews called the man who had been blind. They told him, “Give glory to God. We know that this man who gave you sight is a sinner.”

The man responded, “I don’t know if he’s a sinner or not. But I do know one thing. I used to be blind, but now I can see.”

The Jews asked him, “What did he do to you? How did he give you sight?”

The man replied, “I’ve already told you, but you didn’t listen. Why do you want to hear the story again? Do you want to become his disciples too?”

The Jews yelled at him, “You’re his disciple, but we’re Moses’ disciples. We know that God spoke to Moses, but we don’t know where this man came from.”

The man replied to them, “That’s amazing! You don’t know where he’s from. Yet, he gave me sight. 31We know that God doesn’t listen to sinners. Instead, he listens to people who are devout and who do what he wants. 32Since the beginning of time, no one has ever heard of anyone giving sight to a person born blind. 33If this man were not from God, he couldn’t do anything like that.”

John 9: 24-30 GWT

The Jews answered him, “You were born full of sin. Do you think you can teach us?” Then they threw him out ⌞of the synagogue⌟.

John 9:34 GWT

This man refused to alter his answer just to mollify the Pharisees. And he paid a price, didn’t he?

But did he really?

Jesus heard that the Jews had thrown the man out ⌞of the synagogue⌟. So when Jesus found the man, he asked him, “Do you believe in the Son of Man?”

The man replied, “Sir, tell me who he is so that I can believe in him.”

Jesus told him, “You’ve seen him. He is the person who is now talking with you.”

The man bowed in front of Jesus and said, “I believe, Lord.”

John 9:35-37 GWT

I would say that he gained everything.

Beloved, “cancel culture” is happening more every day. You’ve heard me talk about it several times here on the show if you’ve been listening for very long. Here’s a very recent example. While the author does not specifically say that certain content should be de-platformed, they are “this” close to it. This is from the Brookings Institute, and the authors are Valerie Wirtschafter and Chris Meserole. The title of the article is “Policy recommendations for addressing content moderation in podcasts.” It was published just a few days ago…April 18, 2022. Just the title gives you a clue as to their intent. Here it is again: “Policy recommendations for addressing content moderation in podcasts.” James Cridland and Sam Sethi of the Podland News podcast talked about it.

“A great reckoning has arrived for content moderation in podcasts.” Oh really? Content moderation? Who’s going to do the moderating? This was the opening sentence in the article.  One sentence later, they say, “What speech should be permitted? What speech should be shared? And what principles should inform those decisions?”

What speech should be permitted? Are you kidding me? All speech should be permitted. That’s what free speech is all about. If anyone’s speech can be disallowed, then there is no free speech. Free speech is not about, “You can say whatever you want as long as I agree with you.” Free speech guarantees the right to say whatever you want, whether anyone agrees with you or not. 

Because if any speech is forbidden, it’s only a matter of time before YOUR speech is forbidden. 

The article continues: “Debates over content moderation in podcasts hinge primarily on whether and how widely to share so-called “lawful but awful” content. Don’t you love that? Lawful but awful! Major podcasting apps—the applications commonly used on smartphones, tablets, and computers to listen and download to podcast episodes—already have policies and procedures in place to deal with blatantly illegal content. Spotify or Apple Podcasts won’t knowingly distribute an Islamic State recruitment podcast, since doing so would open them to prosecution for supporting a designated terrorist group. How podcasting apps should handle hate speech, misinformation, and related content that is legal but may have harmful societal effects is far less clear.”  Who is to say what “harmful societal effects” are? Who is going to call that? Specifically, a left-leaning proponent of the LGBT+ lifestyle would very probably say that this podcast would fall into under the “harmful societal effects” umbrella because I have read the Bible’s teaching on homosexuality and said that I believe the Bible.

Continuing the article. This will be the last excerpt I share. 

“Below the level of blatantly illegal content, the most popular podcasting apps face a daunting challenge. On the one hand, given the scale and reach of apps like Spotify and Apple Podcasts—each now enjoys more than 25 million monthly podcast listeners in the United States—their content moderation policies need to account for the societal harms that can result from the mass distribution of hate speech and misinformation.” Once again, who decides what is “hate speech and misinformation?” We have seen very recently that what is deemed “misinformation” one day becomes “information” the next, based on the whims of the CDC or Fauci or whomever. 

We must be prepared, beloved. Christians are only a very, very short step away from being the next major target. I can see it very clearly. For example, when we plainly and boldly proclaim the Gospel, which says there is only ONE way to be saved, or when we plainly and boldly proclaim that ALL are sinners in need of the forgiveness that only comes through Jesus, we will be tried and convicted of hate speech. 

Will you bend the knee to these people, or will you boldly stand for Jesus? The time is coming…No, the time is almost here when you will need to make a decision. 

Remember the words of Jesus in Matthew 10:33: But everyone who denies me here on earth, I will also deny before my Father in heaven. (NLT)

We must stand before men, and bow the knee only before Jesus.

Philippians 2:9-11 (NASB)

9For this reason also, God highly exalted Him, and bestowed on Him the name which is above every name, 10so that at the name of Jesus every knee will bow, of those who are in heaven and on earth and under the earth, 11and that every tongue will confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.

If you want to be sure that this show will continue to come to you no matter what Apple or any other podcast app decides should not be allowed, it is important to remember that it will always be available at LifespringMedia.com. That is the home base for the show. Not Apple Podcasts, not Google Podcasts. Not anywhere else. If the show stops updating in your podcast app with no warning from me, then some outside force has pulled the plug. Then what you do is go to LifespringMedia.com to see if there are new episodes of the show. If there are, then you can subscribe from my website. You don’t need Apple or any other silicon valley company. Get an app from newpodcastapps.com. Those apps use the podcastindex.org podcast directory, and the whole idea…the impetus for the entire project was to preserve free speech. I could go on about this for a long time, but I’ll stop here.

Just be aware beloved, that there are forces that want to silence us, and we must do all that we can to keep them from being successful in their efforts. But this is not new. Ephesians 6:12 says, “For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms.” 

But 1 John 4:4 says, “You are of God, little children, and have overcome them, because He who is in you is greater than he who is in the world.”

Bible translation used in today’s episode: Ch. 7-8 NLT; Ch. 9 GWT

This a value for value podcast. There are no advertisers because advertising=censorship. If you enjoy the Lifespring Family Audio Bible, decide how much value it brings to you. Only you can make that determination. Then put a number on the value and send it to me here: SUPPORT.

Download .txt file.

Steve Webb 0:00
If any speech is forbidden, it’s only a matter of time before your speech is forbidden.

Steve Webb 0:13
And here we are, again, this is the Lifespring family Audio Bible coming to you from Riverside, California, podcasting since 2004. I’m your OG God caster Steve Webb. This is the daily show where we’re reading through the entire Bible in a year and I’m really happy you’ve invited me into your day today. We’re going to read John chapter seven through nine today, and I’ll have some comments after the reading. I’m calling this episode, who decides the show notes page for today’s episode is at Lifespring media.com/s 12 e 234. My email address is Steve at Lifespring media.com case you’d like to write, I love to hear from you. Let’s begin.

Steve Webb 0:50
John, chapter seven. After this, Jesus traveled around Galilee. He wanted to stay out of Judea where the Jewish leaders were plotting his death. But soon it was time for the Jewish festival of shelters. And Jesus brothers said to him, leave here and go to Judea where your followers can see your miracles. You can’t become famous if you hide like this. If you can do such wonderful things, show yourself to the world. For even his brothers didn’t believe in Him. Jesus replied, now is not the right time for me to go. But you can go any time. The world can’t hate you. But it does hate me because I accuse it of doing evil. You go on? Well, I’m not going to this festival because my time has not yet come. After saying these things. Jesus remained in Galilee. But after his brother’s left for the festival, Jesus also went though secretly staying out of public view. The Jewish leaders tried to find him at the festival and kept asking if anyone had seen him. There was a lot of grumbling about him among the crowds. Some argued he’s a good man, but others said he’s nothing but a fraud, who deceives the people. But no one had the courage to speak favorably about him in public, for they were afraid of getting in trouble with the Jewish leaders. Then midway through the festival, Jesus went up to the temple and began to teach. The people were surprised when they heard him. How does he know so much when he hasn’t been trained? They asked. So Jesus told them, my message is not my own. It comes from God who sent me. Anyone who wants to do the will of God will know whether my teaching is from God, or is merely my own. Those who speak for themselves want glory only for themselves. But a person who seeks to honor the one who sent him speaks truth, not lies. Moses gave you the law, but none of you obeys it. In fact, you are trying to kill me. The crowd replied, your demon possessed, who’s trying to kill you. Jesus replied, I did one miracle on the Sabbath, and you were amazed. But you work on the Sabbath to when you obey Moses law of circumcision. Actually, this tradition of circumcision began with the patriarchs long before the law of Moses, for if the correct time for circumcising your son falls on the Sabbath, you go ahead and do it so as not to break the law of Moses. So why should you be angry with me for healing a man on the Sabbath? Look beneath the surface so you can judge correctly? Some of the people who lived in Jerusalem started to ask each other? Isn’t this the man they are trying to kill? But here he is speaking in public and they say nothing to him? Could our leaders possibly believe that he is the Messiah? But how could he be for we know where this man comes from? when the Messiah comes, he will simply appear, no one will know where he comes from. While Jesus was teaching in the temple, he called out, yes, you know me, and you know where I come from. But I’m not here on my own. The one who sent me is true, and you don’t know him. But I know him because I come from him, and he sent me to you. Then the leaders tried to arrest him. But no one laid a hand on him, because his time had not yet come. Many among the crowds at the temple believed in him. After all, they said, would you expect the Messiah to do more miraculous signs that this man has done? When the Pharisees heard that the crowds were whispering such things they in the leading priests sent temple guards to arrest Jesus? But Jesus told him, I will only be with you a little longer than I will return to the one who sent me. You will search for me but not find me and you cannot go where I am going. The Jewish leaders were puzzled by this statement. Where is he planning to go? They asked? Is he thinking of leaving the country and going to the Jews in other lands? Maybe he will even teach the Greeks. What does he mean when he says you will search for me but not find me and you cannot go where I am going. On the last day the climax of the festival Jesus stood and shouted to the crowds. Anyone who was thirsty may come to me. Anyone who believe leaves in me may come and drink. For the Scriptures declare rivers of living water will flow from his heart. When he said living water he was speaking of the Spirit, who would be given to everyone believing in him. But the Spirit had not yet been given because Jesus had not yet entered into his glory. When the crowds heard him say this, some of them declared, surely this man is the prophet we’ve been expecting. Others said he is the Messiah. Still, others said, but he can’t be will the Messiah come from Galilee for the scriptures clearly state that the Messiah will be born of the royal line of David in Bethlehem, the village where King David was born. So the crowd was divided about him. Some even wanted him arrested, but no one laid a hand on him. When the temple guards returned without having arrested Jesus, the leading priests and Pharisees demanded, why didn’t you bring him in? We’ve never heard anyone speak like this. The guards responded. Have you been led astray to the Pharisees mocked? Is there a single one of us rulers or Pharisees who believes in Him? This foolish crowd follows him but they’re ignorant of the law. God’s curse is on them. Then Nicodemus, the leader, who had met with Jesus earlier spoke up is illegal to convict a man before he’s given a hearing he asked, they replied, Are you from Galilee to search the Scriptures and see for yourself. No prophet ever comes from Galilee. Then the meeting broke up and everybody went home.

Steve Webb 6:31
John chapter eight, Jesus returned to the Mount of Olives. But early the next morning, he was back again at the temple. A crowd soon gathered at he sat down and taught them as he was speaking, the teachers of religious law and the Pharisees brought a woman who had been caught in the act of adultery. They put her in front of the crowd. Teacher, they said to Jesus, this woman was caught in the act of adultery. The Law of Moses says to stone her, what do you say? They were trying to trap him into saying something they could use against him. But Jesus stooped down and rode in the dust with his finger. They kept demanding an answer. So he stood up again and said, All right, but let the one who has never sinned throw the first stone. Then he stooped down again and wrote in the dust. When the accusers heard this, they slipped away one by one, beginning with the oldest until only Jesus was left in the middle of the crowd with a woman. Then Jesus stood up again and said to the woman, where are your accusers? Didn’t even one of them condemn? You? Know, Lord, she said, And Jesus said, Neither do I go and sin no more. Gee, Jesus spoke to the people once more and said, I am the light of the world. If you follow me, you won’t have to walk in darkness because you will have the light that leads to life. The Pharisees replied, You are making those claims about yourself. Such testimony is not valid. Jesus told him, these claims are valid, even though I make them about myself, for I know where I came from, and where I am going, but you don’t know this about me. You judge me by human standards, but I do not judge anyone. And if I did, my judgment would be correct in every respect, because I am not alone. The Father who sent me is with me. Your own law says that if two people agree about something, their witness is accepted as fact. I am one witness, and my father who sent me is the other. Where is your father? They asked. Jesus answered, since you don’t know who I am. You don’t know who my father is. If you knew me, you would also know my father. Jesus made these statements while he was teaching in the section of the temple known as the Treasury. But he was not arrested because his time had not yet come. Later, Jesus said to them again, I am going away, you will search for me but will die in your sin. You cannot come where I am going. That people asked, Is he planning to commit suicide? What does he mean you cannot come where I am going? Jesus continued, You are from below, I am from above. You belong to this world? I do not. That is why I said that you will die in your sins. For unless you believe that I am who I claimed to be, you will die in your sins. Who are you? They demanded. Jesus replied, the one I have always claimed to be. I have much to say about you and much to condemn, but I won’t, for I say only what I have heard from the one who sent me and he is completely truthful. But they still didn’t understand that he was talking about his father. So Jesus said, When you have lifted up the Son of Man on the cross, then you will understand that I am he. I do nothing on my own, but say only what the father taught me. And the one who sent me is with me. He is not deserted. Me, for I always do what pleases Him. Then many who heard him say these things believed in Him. Jesus said to the people who believed in him, you are truly my disciples if you remain faithful to my teachings, and you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free. But we’re descendants of Abraham, they said, We have never been slaves to anyone. What do you mean, you will be set free? Jesus replied, I tell you the truth. Everyone who sins is a SLAVE of sin. A slave is not a permanent member of the family. But a son is part of the family forever. So if the sun sets you free, you are truly free. Yes, I realize that you are descendants of Abraham. And yet some of you are trying to kill me because there’s no room in your hearts for my message. I’m telling you what I saw when I was with my father, but you are following the advice of your father. Our father is Abraham. They declared? No, Jesus replied, for if you were really the children of Abraham, you would follow his example. Instead, you’re trying to kill me because I told you the truth which I heard from God. Abraham never did such a thing. Know, you are imitating your real father. They replied, we aren’t illegitimate children. God himself is our True Father. Jesus told him, if God were your Father, you would love me because I have come to you from God. I am not here on my own, but he sent me. Why can’t you understand what I’m saying? It’s because you can’t even hear me. For you are the children of your father, the devil, and you love to do the evil things he does. He was a murderer from the beginning. He has always hated the truth because there is no truth in him. When he lies, it is consistent with his character, for he is a liar and the father of lies. So when I tell the truth, you just naturally don’t believe me? Which of you can truthfully accuse me of sin? And since I am telling you the truth, why don’t you believe me? Anyone who belongs to God listens gladly to the words of God. But you don’t listen because you don’t belong to God. The people retorted, you, Samaritan devil? Didn’t we say all along that you were possessed by a demon? No, Jesus said, I have no demon in me, for I honor my father, and you dishonor me. And though I have no wish to glorify myself, God is going to glorify Me. He is the true judge. I tell you the truth, anyone who obeys my teaching will never die. The people said, Now we know you’re possessed by a demon. Even Abraham and the prophets died. But you say, anyone who obeys my teaching will never die. Are you greater than our father Abraham, he died, and so did the prophets. Who do you think you are? Jesus answered? If I want glory for myself, it doesn’t count. But it is my father who will glorify Me. You say He is our God, but you don’t even know him. I know him. If I said otherwise. I would be as great a liar as you. But I do know him and obey him. Your father Abraham rejoiced as he looked forward to my coming. He saw it and was glad that people said, you aren’t even 50 years old. How can you say you’ve seen Abraham? Jesus answered, I tell you the truth. Before Abraham was even born, I am. At that point, they picked up stones to throw at him. But Jesus was hidden from them and left the temple.

Steve Webb 13:40
John chapter nine. As Jesus walked along, he saw a man who had been born blind. His disciples asked Him, Rabbi, why was this man born blind? Did he or his parents sin? Jesus answered, neither this man nor his parents sinned. Instead, he was born blind so that God could show what he can do for him. We must do what the one who sent me wants us to do while it is day, the night when no one can do anything is coming. As long as I’m in the world, I am light for the world. After Jesus said this, he spit on the ground and mixed the spit with dirt. Then He smeared it on the man’s eyes and told him wash it off in the pool of Siloam. Silo means set, the blind man washed it off and returned. He was able to see his neighbors and those who had previously seen him begging asked, isn’t this the man who used to sit and beg? Some of them said, he’s the one other said, No, he isn’t. But he looks like him. But the man himself said, I am the one. So they asked him, How did you receive your site? He replied. The man people called Jesus mixed some spit with dirt, smeared it on my eyes and told me go to Siloam and wash it off. So I went there, washed it off and received my sight. They asked him. Where is that man? The man answered, I don’t know. Some people brought the man who had been blind to the Pharisees. The day when Jesus mixed the spit and dirt and gave the man site was a day of worship. So the Pharisees asked the man again, how he received his sight. The man told the Pharisees, he put a mixture of spit in dirt on my eyes, I washed it off. And now I see. Some of the Pharisees said, the man who did this is not from God, because he doesn’t follow the traditions for the day of worship. Other Pharisees said, How can a man who was a sinner perform miracles like these? So the Pharisees were divided in their opinions? They asked the man who had been born blind. Another question, what do you say about the man who gave you sight? The man answered, he’s a prophet. Until they talked to the man’s parents, the Jews didn’t believe that the man had been born blind and had been given sight. They asked his parents, is this your son? The one you say, was born blind? Why can he see now? His parents replied, We know that He’s our son, and that he was born blind. But we don’t know how he got his sight, or who gave it to him. You’ll have to ask him. He’s old enough to answer for himself. His parents said this, because they were afraid of the Jews. The Jews had already agreed to put anyone who acknowledged that Jesus was the Christ out of the synagogue. That’s why his parents said, You’ll have to ask him, he’s old enough. So once again, the Jews called a man who had been blind, they told him, give glory to God, we know that this man who gave you sight is the center. The man responded, I don’t know if he’s a senator or not. But I do know one thing. I used to be blind. But now I can see. The Jews ask him, What did he do to you? How did he give you cite? The man replied, I’ve already told you but you didn’t listen. Why do you want to hear the story again? Do you want to become His disciples to the Jews yelled at him. You’re his disciple. But we’re Moses disciples. We know that God spoke to Moses, but we don’t know where this man came from. The man replied to them. That’s amazing. You don’t know where he’s from, yet he gave me sight. We know that God does not listen to sinners. Instead, he listens to people who are devout and who do what he wants. Since the beginning of time, no one has ever heard of anyone giving sight to a person born blind. If this man were not from God, he couldn’t do anything like that. The Jews answered him, You were born full of sin. Do you think you can teach us then they threw him out of the synagogue? Jesus heard that the Jews had thrown the man out of the synagogue. So when Jesus found the man, he asked him, Do you believe in the Son of man? The man replied, sir, tell me who he is, so that I can believe in Him. Jesus told him, you’ve seen him. He’s the person who was now talking with you. The man bowed in front of Jesus and said, I believe, Lord. Then Jesus said, I have come into this world to judge blind people will be given sight, and those who can see will become blind. Some Pharisees who are with Jesus heard this. So they asked him, Do you think we’re blind? Jesus told them, If you were blind, you wouldn’t be sinners. But now you say we see. So you continue to be sinners.

Steve Webb 18:23
Before sharing my thoughts with you, I’d like to reread some excerpts from today’s reading. In chapter seven, verse 13, we read, but no one had the courage to speak favorably about him in public, for they were afraid of getting in trouble with the Jewish leaders. dropping down to verse 31. Many among the crowds at the temple believed in him. After all, they said, would you expect them aside to do more miraculous signs than this man has done? When the Pharisees heard that the crowds were whispering such things they in the leading priests sent temple guards to arrest Jesus? Verse 33, so the crowd was divided about him. Some even wanted him arrested, but no one laid a hand on him. And then back up to verses 19 and 20. They asked his parents, is this your son, the one you say was born blind? Why can he see now? His parents replied, We know that He’s our son and that he was born blind, but we don’t know how he got his sight or who gave it to him. You’ll have to ask him. He’s old enough to answer for himself. His parents said this, because they were afraid of the Jews, the Jews that already agreed to put anyone who acknowledged that Jesus was the Christ out of the synagogue. So that’s why his parents said, You’ll have to ask him. He’s old enough. All right, so I have a question for you. Do these passages sound at all familiar to you? Do they sound similar to anything that’s happening? Oh, I don’t know. today. We’ve talked about canceled culture on the show before but it bears repeating today based on today’s reading. The Pharisees were used to being in control of the public narrative. People were afraid to voice their opinions if they differed from what the Pharisees taught. To the people couldn’t see with our own eyes and hear with our own ears what Jesus did and what He taught. And some believed that he was who He said He was. But many were afraid to support him, lest they be thrown out of the synagogue. But there was one in our reading today who had courage. In chapter nine, verse 17, we read, they asked the man who had been born blind. Another question, what do you say about the man who gave you sight? The man answered, he’s a prophet. So at this point in the narrative, the Pharisees have the interview with his parents, which we’ve already read. And as you know, they said, He’s old enough, ask Him yourselves. So picking up at verse 24. So once again, the Jews called the man who had been blind, they told him give glory to God, we know that this man who gave you sight is a sinner. The man responded, I don’t know if he’s a sinner or not. But I do know one thing. I used to be blind, but now I can see the Jews ask him, What did he do to you? How did he give you sight? The man replied, I’ve already told you but you didn’t listen. Why do you want to hear the story again? Do you want to become his disciples too? I love that. So what happened? The Jews yelled at him, you’re his disciple. But where Moses disciples, we know that God spoke to Moses, but we don’t know where this man came from. The man replied to them. That’s amazing. You don’t know where he’s from, yet he gave me sight. We know that God doesn’t listen to sinners. Instead, he listens to people who are devout and who do what he wants. Since the beginning of time, no one has ever heard of anyone giving sight to a person born blind. If this man were not from God, he couldn’t do anything like that. This was the reply from the man who was given sight. So then what happened? The Jews answered him, You were born full of sin. Do you think you can teach us? Then they threw him out of the synagogue? Well, this man refused to alter his answer just to mollify the Pharisees and he paid a price, didn’t they? But did he really? Starting in verse 35, Jesus heard that the Jews had thrown the man out of the synagogue. So when Jesus found the man he asked him, Do you believe in the Son of man, the man replied, sir, tell me who he is so that I can believe in Him. Jesus told him, you’ve seen him. He is the person who is now talking with you. The man bowed in front of Jesus and said, I believe, Lord. So I would say that he gained everything, wouldn’t you? Beloved, canceled culture is happening more every day. And I have a very recent example for you today. While the author of this article I’m going to tell you about does not specifically say that certain content should be de platformed. They are this close to it and I’m holding my fingers almost touching. This is from the Brooking Institute and the authors are Valerie vert Shafter and Chris Massar roll or miss Errol or something like that. The title of the article is policy recommendations for addressing content moderation in podcasts. It was published just a few days ago, April 18 2022. And just the title gives you a clue as to their intent. Here it is, again, policy recommendations for addressing content moderation in podcasts. James Cridland in SAM Sethi of the Portland news podcast, talked about it. Here, Sam

Sam Sethi 23:24
talking about how platforms and their policies should be, I guess, restricting content and their discoverability, which is what it looks like Spotify is quietly doing here. She said, a great reckoning has arrived for content moderation in podcasts, what speech should be permitted and what speech should be shared? She says, and what principles should inform those decisions? I guess it’s time for the platforms to step up.

Steve Webb 23:52
So a great reckoning has arrived for content moderation and podcasts. Oh, really? Content moderation. This was the opening sentence in the article. And then one sentence later they say, What speech should be permitted? What speech should be shared? What principles should inform those decisions? Are you kidding me? What speech should be permitted? All speech should be permitted. That’s what free speech is all about. If any one speech can be disallowed, then there is no free speech. Free speech is not about you can say whatever you want, as long as I agree with you. Free Speech guarantees the right to say whatever you want, whether anyone agrees with you or not. Because if any speech is forbidden, it’s only a matter of time before your speech is forbidden. Then the article continues. debates over content moderation and podcasts hinge primarily on whether and how widely to share so called lawful but awful content. Don’t you love that lawful but awful. The They continue. Major podcasting apps. The applications commonly used on smartphones, tablets and computers to listen and download. The podcast episodes already have policies and procedures in place to deal with blatantly illegal content. Spotify or Apple podcasts won’t knowingly distribute in Islamic State recruitment podcast, since doing so would open them to prosecution for supporting a designated terrorist group. How podcasting apps should handle hate speech, misinformation, and related content that is legal but may have harmful societal effects is far less clear. The wait a minute, who’s to say what harmful society effects are, who’s going to call that specifically a left leaning proponent of the LGBT plus lifestyle would very probably say that this podcast, the Lifespring family Audio Bible would fall under the harmful societal effects umbrella, because I’ve read the Bible’s teaching on homosexuality, and said that I believe the Bible. Let’s continue the article. This will be the last excerpt I share. Below the level of blatantly illegal content, the most popular podcasting apps face a daunting challenge. On the one hand, given the scale and reach of apps like Spotify and Apple podcasts, each now enjoys more than 25 million monthly podcast listeners in the United States. Their content moderation policies need to account for the societal harms that can result from the mass distribution of hate speech and misinformation. Well, once again, I asked who decides what is hate speech and misinformation. We’ve seen very recently that what is deemed misinformation, one day becomes information, the next based on the whims of the CDC or Fauci, or whomever, beloved, we must be prepared. Christians are only a very, very short step away from being the next major target. I can see it very clearly. For example, when we plainly and boldly proclaim the gospel which says there is only one way to be saved, or when we plainly and boldly proclaimed that all are sinners in need of the forgiveness that only comes through Jesus, we will be tried and convicted of hate speech. Well, beloved, I have to ask, Will you bend the knee to these people? Or will you boldly stand for Jesus, the time is coming. Now the time is almost here, when you will need to make a decision. Remember the words of Jesus in Matthew 1033. But everyone who denies me here on Earth, I will also deny before my Father in heaven, beloved, we must stand before men, and bow the knee only before Jesus Philippians two nine through 11 says For this reason, also, God highly exalted Him, and bestowed on him the name which is above every name so that at the name of Jesus, every knee will bow, of those who are in heaven and on earth, and under the sun. And every tongue will confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father. So you heard in that article, how these people want to control what apps like Apple and Spotify and the other ones will allow you to hear? Well, if you want to be sure that this show will continue to come to you, no matter what Apple or any other podcast app decides should not be allowed, it’s important to remember that it will always be available at Lifespring media.com. That is the home base for this show. Not Apple podcasts, not Google podcasts,

Steve Webb 28:35
certainly not Spotify, not Amazon, nowhere else. If the show stops updating in your podcast app with no warning from me, then some outside force has pulled the plug. And then what you do is you go to Lifespring media.com, just to confirm whether there are or are not new episodes of the show. If there are new episodes, then you can subscribe from my website. You don’t need Apple or any other Silicon Valley company. What I suggest you do, I’ve been talking about it. But here’s another reason. Get one of the apps at new podcast apps.com. Those apps use the podcast index.org Podcast Directory, they don’t use the apple directory. And the whole idea. The impetus for the entire project at podcast index was to preserve free speech. I could go on and on about this for a long time. But I’ll stop here. Just be aware that there are forces that want to silence us, and we must do all that we can to keep them from being successful in their efforts. But this is not new. Ephesians 612 says, For our struggle is not against flesh and blood but against the rulers, against the authorities against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms. But first John four four says you are of God little children and have overcome them because he who is in you is is greater than he who was in the world. The canceled culture we’re facing today, beloved is not new. It’s been around for 1000s of years. It just has a different face today. The technology may be different, but the aim is the same. Shut the people up. Well, my answer to that is greater is He that is in us than he who is in the world. Amen? Amen. All right, if you’ve got a comment, please go to Lifespring media.com/s 12 e 234. Scroll all the way to the bottom of the page and you’ll see a box there where you can put your comments in. I read them all and I reply, tomorrow, our reading is First Timothy four through six boost.

Steve Webb 30:45
Well, if you believe in what I’m doing with the Lifespring family, Audio Bible, if you wanted to remain independent of outside forces that would silence the clear teaching of the Bible, then I need your support. There are costs to being independent. And if you think the show is valuable than I’m asking you to decide what that value is for you. And then go to Lifespring media.com/support. and donate that amount. And if you can donate time or talent, those gifts are very welcome as well. I need help with transcript correction and creating chapter art. Send me an email if you’re able to help with either one of those, but whether you support the show with time, talent or treasure, I thank you, and I think God bless you.

Steve Webb 31:35
On this date in church history, April 23 1982, w Cameron Townsend died, he was an American missionary pioneer and founder of Wickliffe Bible translators. Since then, Wickliffe has translated the New Testament into more than 130 native languages, they do great work.

Steve Webb 32:02
Let’s pray. Our Heavenly Father, we thank you for assuring us that the victory is already one. Jesus told us in John 1633 I’ve told you these things so that in me you may have peace. In this world you will have trouble but take heart I have overcome the world. Lord, though we’re still in the midst of skirmishes, you’ve already won the war. So even while we struggle against the enemy, we can have peace and we thank you for that assurance. We’re not alone. And the battle is already won. Help us Lord as we engage with the enemy. Give us wisdom to know when where and how to engage. And Lord, I ask that you bless the Lifespring family. My thank you for each one. I pray this in Jesus name, amen. If you’d like to share a prayer request or a praise, go to prayer dot Lifespring media.com.

Steve Webb 33:00
Well, I’d love to hear your comments on today’s show. Go to Lifespring media.com/s 12 e 234. Email me at Steve at Lifespring media.com. Please help to support the show at Lifespring media.com/support. My thanks to Sean of San Pedro for doing the chapters for every episode and thanks to Kirsty for putting out the newsletter every week. How did you like the picture in this one? Sign up at news dot Lifespring media.com Until tomorrow may God bless you richly. Thanks again for sharing your day with me. My name is Steve Webb, fight the good fight. Bye

Transcribed by https://otter.ai

Transcript

Timothy LaFontaine

Today we will read Hosea 1-7. I’ll have some comments after the reading, and I’m calling today’s episode “The Unfaithful Bride.”

Hosea is the first book in the group of OT books known as the Minor Prophets. They’re not called the Minor Prophets because they are less important than the Major Prophets (which we just completed with the reading of the book of Daniel). The reason they’re called the Minor Prophets is because these books are much shorter. These prophets probably preached just as much as the Major Prophets, they just didn’t write as much. 

Of the twelve books in the Minor Prophets, nine of them were written before the captivity. The last three were written after the Jews returned to their own land. 

The book of Hosea was the longest of the prophetic books written before the captivity. As he wrote, Israel was at its worst. The sinfulness of the nation had brought great judgment from God.

Hosea himself was the first prophet who wrote down the messages God gave him. Tradition says that he was from Bethshemish, and of the tribe of Issachar. He had a long ministry. He prophesied long enough to warn the Jews of God’s coming judgment, and then see it take place and lament it.

Hosea was alive at the same time as the prophets Isaiah, Amos and Micah. 

We read in chapter one that God told Hosea to marry a prostitute. The Lord looked upon the Jews as an unfaithful wife, and He wanted Hosea to experience the heartbreak He felt when his wife betrayed the marriage vows. 

There are few things in life that are as painful as learning that your spouse has been unfaithful. It can be more painful than the death of a loved one. Death from disease, an accident or old age hurts, but the one who dies had no choice in the matter. But an unfaithful spouse made an active decision to break the trust. That’s very hard to live with for the one who has been betrayed. 

We don’t often think of God as being the victim of an unfaithful spouse, do we? But that is how He saw Himself in this period of history. But as we know, God is love. Instead of putting His people, His wife, away permanently, in chapter three we see His promise that He will take her back.

And of course we know that the final chapter, the last great redemption is even now being played out. We know that Jesus came to make a bride for Himself, and that bride is the church. But God is not through with the Jews. They will have yet another chance to turn to God, and many will. In the book of Revelation, we see how that will happen.

I’m not entirely happy with the way the first sentence of chapter 7 was translated in the New Living Translation, which is the version we read today. It read: I want to heal Israel, but its sins are too great. Samaria is filled with liars.

Most other major translations are very similar to this one from the NASB:

When I would heal Israel, The iniquity of Ephraim is uncovered, And the evil deeds of Samaria…

As you can see, the NLT’s rendering of this verse is subtly different, but it does change the meaning.

The NLT adds the phrase “but its sins are too great”. I looked at the original Hebrew for this verse, and that phrase is not there.

There is only one sin that is too great, one sin that is unforgivable, and that is blasphemy of the Holy Spirit, as we are told in Matthew 12:31. 

God is always willing to forgive, if we are willing to ask Him and will turn from our sin. In the Old Testament, over and over God said to the people, “If you turn from your wicked ways, I will heal you.” What God was saying here in Hosea chapter seven was, “I was prepared to heal you, but you keep on sinning.”

God looks at the heart. What He saw in the hearts of the Jews was an unwillingness to repent. They did not want to obey the Lord, they wanted to continue practicing evil. As long as that continued, He could not heal them.

Only a contrite heart will see forgiveness. Only a heart that is willing to turn toward God.

Bible translation used in today’s episode: Ch. 1-7 NLT

This a value for value podcast. There are no advertisers because advertising=censorship. If you enjoy the Lifespring Family Audio Bible, decide how much value it brings to you. Only you can make that determination. Then put a number on the value and send it to me here: SUPPORT.

Download .txt file.

Steve Webb 0:00
God looks at the heart

Steve Webb 0:09
Hello, this is the Lifespring family Audio Bible coming to you from Riverside, California, podcasting since 2004. I’m your OG God caster Steve Webb. I’m really happy we get to spend some time together today. That’s great. This is the daily show where we’re reading through the entire Bible in a year and today we’re going to read Hosea chapters one through seven. Before we start the reading. I’ll give you a short introduction to Hosea. Then after the reading, I’ll give you some comments. The show notes page for today’s episode is at Lifespring media.com/s 12 e 233. My email address is Steven Lifespring media.com. And with that, let’s get started.

Steve Webb 0:48
Hosea is the first book in the group of Old Testament books known as the Minor Prophets. They’re not called the Minor Prophets, because they’re less important than the major prophets, which we just completed with the reading of the book of Daniel. The reason they’re called the Minor Prophets is because these books are much shorter. These prophets probably preached just as much as the major prophets. They just didn’t write as much of the 12 books in the Minor Prophets. None of them were written before the captivity. The last three were written after the Jews returned to their own land. The book of Hosea was the longest of the prophetic books written before the captivity. As Hosea wrote, Israel was at its worst, the sinfulness of the nation had brought great judgment from God. And Hosea was the first prophet who wrote down the messages God gave him. Tradition says that he was from Beth Shemesh, and of the tribe of Issachar. He had a very long ministry and he prophesied long enough to warn the Jews of God’s coming judgment and then to see it take place in lamented. And Hosea was alive at the same time as the prophets Isaiah, Amos and Micah.

Steve Webb 1:58
Hosea chapter one. The Lord gave this message to Hosea son of BNI. During the years when Uzziah Jotham, Ahaz and Hezekiah were kings of Judah and Jeroboam, son of Joash, was king of Israel. When the Lord first began speaking to Israel through Hosea, he said to him, Go and marry a prostitute so that some of her children will be conceived in prostitution. This will illustrate how Israel has acted like a prostitute by turning against the Lord and worshipping other gods. So Hosea married Gomer, the daughter of Dibley, him and she became pregnant and gave Hosea a son. And the Lord said, named the child Jezebel, for I am about to punish King J. Hughes dynasty to avenge of the murders, he committed a jazz real. In fact, I will bring an end to Israel’s independence, I will break its military power in the jazz real Valley. Soon, Gomer became pregnant again and gave birth to a daughter. And the Lord said to Hosea, name your daughter, Lo, Ruhama, not loved, for I will no longer show love to the people of Israel or forgive them. But I will show love to the people of Judah. I will free them from their enemies, not with weapons and armies or horses and jury tears, but by My power is the Lord their God. After Gomer had weaned lo Ruhama, she again became pregnant and gave birth to a second son. And the Lord said, name him Lo, am I, not my people, for Israel is not my people, and I am not their God. Yet the time will come when Israel’s people will be like the sands of the seashore, too many to count. Then at the place where they were told you are not my people, it will be said, You are children of the living God. Then the people of Judah and Israel will unite together, they will choose one leader for themselves, and they will return from exile together. What a day that will be the day of jazz real when God will again plant his people in his land.

Steve Webb 3:58
Hosea chapter two. In that day, you will call your brothers Am I my people, and you will call your sisters Ruhama the ones I love. But now bring charges against Israel your mother for she is no longer my wife and I am no longer her husband. Tell her to remove the prostitutes makeup from her face and the clothing that exposes her breasts. Otherwise, I will strip her as naked as she was on the day she was born. I will leave her to die of thirst as in a dry and barren wilderness. And I will not love her children for they were conceived in prostitution. Their mother is a shameless prostitute and became pregnant in a shameful way. She said I will run after other lovers and sell myself to them for food and water for clothing of wool and linen and for olive oil and drinks. For this reason, I will fence her in with thorn bushes. I will block her path with a wall to make her lose her way. When she runs after her lovers, she won’t be able to catch them. She will search for them but not find them. Then she will think I might as well returned to my husband for I was better off with him than I am now. She doesn’t realize it was I who gave her everything she has the grain, the new wine, the olive oil. I even gave her silver and gold, but she gave all my gifts to bail. But now I will take back the ripened grain and new wine I generously provided each harvest season. I will take away the wool and linen clothing I gave to cover her nakedness. I will strip her naked in public while all her lovers look on, no one will be able to rescue her from my hands. I will put an end to her annual festivals, her new moon celebrations and her Sabbath days all her appointed festivals. I will destroy her grape vines and fig trees. things she claims her lovers gave her I will let them grow into tangled thickets where only wild animals will eat the fruit. I will punish her for all those times when she burned incense to her images of bail when she put on her earrings and jewels and went out to look for her lovers but forgot all about me says the Lord. But then I will win her back once again. I will lead her into the desert and Speak tenderly to her there. I will return her vineyards to her and transform the valley of trouble into a gateway of hope. She will give herself to me there as she did long ago when she was young when I freed her from her captivity in Egypt. When that day comes, says the Lord you will call me my husband instead of my master. oh Israel, I will wipe the many names of bale from your lips and you will never mention them again. On that day I will make a covenant with all the wild animals and the birds of the sky and the animals that scurry along the ground so that they will not harm you. I will remove all weapons of war from the land all swords and bows so you can live unafraid in peace and safety. I will make you my wife forever showing you righteousness and justice, unfailing love and compassion. I will be faithful to you and make you mine and you will finally know me as the Lord. In that day I will answer says the Lord. I will answer the sky as it pleads for clouds and the sky will enter the earth with rain. Then the earth will answer the thirsty cries of the grain the grape vines and the olive trees and they in turn will answer jazz real God plants. At that time I will plant a crop of Israelites and raise them for myself. I will show love to those I called not loved and to those I called not my people, I will say now you are my people, and they will reply you are our God.

Steve Webb 7:37
Hosea chapter three. Then the Lord said to me, go and love your wife again, even though she commits adultery with another lover. This will illustrate that the Lord’s still loves Israel, even though the people have turned to other gods and love to worship them. So I bought her back for 15 pieces of silver and five bushels of barley and a measure of wine. Then I said to her, you must live in my house for many days and stop your prostitution. During this time, you will not have sexual relations with anyone, not even with me. This shows that Israel will go a long time without a king or Prince and without sacrifices, sacred pillars, priests or even idols. But afterward the people will return and devote themselves to the Lord their God and to David’s descendent their king. In the last days they will tremble in awe of the Lord and of His goodness.

Steve Webb 8:29
Hosea chapter four. Hear the Word of the Lord, oh people of Israel. The Lord has brought charges against you saying there is no faithfulness, no kindness, no knowledge of God and your land. You make vows and break them. You kill and steal and commit adultery. There is violence everywhere, one murder after another. That is why your land is in mourning and every one is wasting away. Even the wild animals, the birds of the sky, the fish of the sea are disappearing. Don’t point your finger at someone else and try to pass the blame. My complaint you priests is with you. So you will stumble in broad daylight and your false prophets will fall with you in the night. And I will destroy Israel, your mother. My people are being destroyed because they don’t know me. Since you priests refuse to know me. I refuse to recognize you as my priests. Since you have forgotten the laws of your God, I will forget to bless your children. The more priests there are, the more they sinned against me. They have exchanged the glory of God for the shame of idols. When the people bring their sin offerings, the priests get fed. So the priests are glad when the people sin and what the priests do the people also do. So now I will punish both priests and people for their wicked deeds. They will eat and still be hungry. They will play the prostitute and gain nothing from it for they have deserted the Lord to worship other gods. Wine has robbed my people of their understanding. They ask if piece of wood for advice. They think a stick can tell them the future. Longing after idols has made them foolish. They have played the prostitute serving other gods and deserting their God. They offer sacrifices to idols on the mountaintops, they go up into the hills to burn incense in the pleasant shade of oaks, poplars and terabit trees. That is why your daughter’s turned to prostitution and your daughters in law committed adultery. But why should I punish them for their prostitution and adultery? For your man are doing the same thing sinning with horrors in shrine prostitutes, or foolish people you refuse to understand? So you will be destroyed? Though you Israel are a prostitute. May Judah not be guilty of such things. Do not join the false worship at Gill gal or Beth Haven, and do not take oaths there in the Lord’s name. Israel is stubborn like a stubborn heifer. So should the Lord feed her like a lamb and a lush pasture? Leave Israel alone because she is married to idolatry. When the rulers of Israel finish their drinking Off they go to find some prostitutes. They love shame more than honor so a mighty wind will sweep them away. Their sacrifices to idols will bring them shame.

Steve Webb 11:16
Hosea chapter five. Hear this you priests pay attention you leaders of Israel. Listen you members of the royal family judgment has been handed down against you for you have led the people into a snare by worshipping the idols at Misbah and Tabor you have dug a deep pit to trap them and Acacia Grove, but I will settle with you for what you have done. I know what you were like oh Ephram, you cannot hide yourself from me, oh Israel, you have left me as a prostitute leaves her husband. You are utterly defiled. Your deeds won’t let you return to your God. You are a prostitute through and through and you do not know the Lord. The arrogance of Israel testifies against her. Israel and Ephram will stumble into the load of guilt. Judah to will fall with them. When they come with their flocks and herds to offer sacrifices to the Lord. They will not find him because he has withdrawn from them. They have betrayed the honor of the Lord bearing children that are not his. Now their false religion will devour them along with their wealth. Sound the alarm and Guebuza blow the trumpet in Ramah raised the battle cry and Beth Haven lead on into battle warriors of Benjamin. One thing is certain Israel on your day of punishment, you will become a heap of rubble. The leaders of Judah have become like thieves so I will pour my anger on them like a waterfall. The people of Israel will be crushed and broken by my judgment because they are determined to worship idols. I will destroy Israel as a moth consumes wool. I will make Judah as weak as rotten wood. When Israel and Judah saw how sick they were, Israel turned to Syria to the great king there, but he could neither help them nor cure them. I will be like a lion to Israel, like a strong young lion to Judah. I will tear them to pieces. I will carry them off and no one will be left to rescue them. Then I will return to my place until they admit their guilt and turn to Me. For as soon as trouble comes. They will earnestly search for me.

Steve Webb 13:21
Hosea chapter six. Come let us return to the Lord. He has torn us to pieces. Now he will heal us. He has injured us now he will bandage our wounds. In just a short time he will restore us so that we may live in His presence. Oh that we might know the Lord. Let us press on to know Him. He will respond to us as surely as the arrival of Dawn Are they coming of rains in early spring? oh Israel and Judah What should I do with you asks the Lord, for Your love vanishes like the morning mist and disappears like do in the sunlight. I set my prophets to cut you to pieces to slaughter you with my words with judgments as inescapable as light. I want you to show love not offer sacrifices. I want you to know me more than I want bird offerings. But like Adam, you broke my covenant and betrayed my trust. Gilead is a city of sinners tracked with footprints of blood. Priests form bands of robbers waiting in ambush for their victims. They murder travelers along the road to check them and practice every kind of sin. Yes, I’ve seen something horrible and Ephram it Israel. My people are defiled by prostituting themselves with other gods. Oh Judah, a harvest of punishment is also waiting for you though I wanted to restore the fortunes of my people.

Steve Webb 14:45
Hosea chapter seven. I want to heal Israel but its sins are too great. Samaria is filled with liars. Thieves are on the inside and bandits on the outside. It’s people don’t realize that I’m watching them their sin infill deeds are all around them and I see them all. The people entertain the king with their wickedness and the princes laugh at their lies. They are all adulterers always aflame with lust. They are like an oven that is kept hot while the baker is kneading the dough. On royal holidays, the princes get drunk with wine, carousing with those who mock them. Their hearts are like an oven blazing with intrigue. Their plot smolders through the night, and in the morning, it breaks out like a raging fire, burning like an oven they consume their leaders. They kill their kings one after another and no one cries to me for help. The people of Israel mingle with godless foreigners making themselves as worthless as a half baked cake. Worshipping foreign gods is sapped their strength, but they don’t even know it. Their hair is gray, but they don’t realize they’re old and weak. Their arrogance testifies against them, yet they don’t return to the Lord their God or even try to find him. The people of Israel have become like silly witless doves first calling to Egypt, then flying to his Syria for help. But as they fly about, I will throw my net over them and bring them down like a bird from the sky. I will punish them for all evil they do. What sorrow awaits those who have deserted me. Let them die for they have rebelled against me. I wanted to redeem them but they have told lies about me. They do not cry out to Me with sincere hearts. Instead they sit on their couches and wail. They cut themselves begging foreign gods for grain and new wine, and they turn away from me. I trained them and made them strong yet now they plot evil against me. They look everywhere except to the Most High, they are as useless as a crooked bow. Their leaders will be killed by their enemies because of their insolence toward me, then the people of Egypt will laugh at them.

Steve Webb 16:54
In chapter one, we read that God told Hosea to marry a prostitute. He looked upon the Jews as an unfaithful wife and he wanted Hosea to experience the heartbreak he felt when his wife betrayed the marriage vows. There really are a few things in life that are as painful as learning that your spouse has been unfaithful, it can be more painful than the death of a loved one. Death from disease and accident or old age hurts. But the one who dies had no choice in the matter. But an unfaithful spouse made an active decision to break the trust. That’s very hard to live with, for one who’s been betrayed. We don’t often think of God as being the victim of an unfaithful spouse, Dewey. But that’s how he saw himself in this period of history. But as we know God is love. Instead of putting his people his wife away permanently. In chapter three, we see His promise that He will take her back. And of course, we know that the final chapter, the last great redemption is even now being played out. We know that Jesus came to make a bride for himself and that bride is the church. But God is not through with the Jews, they will have yet another chance to turn to God in many will. In the book of Revelation, we see how that will happen. Now in Hosea seven, I’m not entirely happy with the way the first sentence was translated in the New Living Translation, which is the version we read today. It read, I want to heal Israel, but its sins are too great. Samaria is filled with liars. Well, most other major translations are very similar to this one from the New American Standard. Listen, when I would heal Israel, the iniquity of FGM is uncovered in the evil deeds of Samaria. Well, as you can see, the New Living Translation is rendering of this is subtly different, but it does change the meaning. The New Living Translation adds the phrase, but its sins are too great. Well, I looked up the original Hebrew for this verse And that phrase is not there. There is only one sin that is too great, the one that is unforgivable, and that is blasphemy of the Holy Spirit, as we’re told in Matthew 1231. God is always willing to forgive if we’re willing to ask him and we’ll turn from our sin. In the Old Testament, over and over, God said to the people, if you turn from your wicked ways, I will heal you. What God was saying here in Hosea chapter seven was, I was prepared to heal you but you keep on sinning. See, God looks at the heart. What he saw in the hearts of the Jews was an unwillingness to repent. They did not want to obey the Lord. They wanted to continue practicing evil. And as long as that continued, God could not heal them. Only a contrite heart will see forgiveness. Only a heart that is willing to turn toward God. I’d love to hear your thoughts go to Lifespring media.com/s 12 e 233 Min let me know our reading. Tomorrow will be John chapters seven through nine.

Steve Webb 20:08
We have an associate producer today. His name is Timothy LaFontaine. And he came in yesterday with his monthly $20 donation. Timothy. Thank you, brother. God bless you. Thank you for helping to make this episode possible.

Steve Webb 20:21
You too can help support the show with time, talent or treasure. If you’d like to donate time or talent, email me at Steve at Lifespring media.com and let me know what you’d like to do. And also correcting the transcriptions let me know. And monetary donations are always welcome. You can do that at Lifespring media.com/support. Again, Timothy, thank you, my brother, God bless you.

Steve Webb 20:54
On this date in church history, April 22 1864. Bronze two cent pieces were imprinted with the words In God We Trust, making them the first American coins to carry that motto. The motto was designed to remind the union that the resolution of the American Civil War was in God’s hands.

Steve Webb 21:23
Let’s pray. Our heavenly Father Lord, we do love you. We ask that you forgive us when we fail you. We want to be sensitive to the Holy Spirit when he corrects us. And we want to hear you say well done good and faithful servant when we see you face to face. Lord, I ask that you bless the Lifespring family today. I thank you for each one listening right now. And I pray Lord, that they would feel your presence in their life today. I pray this in Jesus name. Amen. Send your prayer requests and your praises in at prayer dot Lifespring media.com. I will pray for you in my private prayer time. And we’ll pray together on the show. Agreeing together as we lift up prayer requests is something that God asks us to do. So I look forward to hearing from you prayer dot Lifespring media.com.

Steve Webb 22:17
Your comments on the show are always welcome. Go to Lifespring media.com/s 12 e 233. That’s the show notes page for today. Scroll to the very bottom of the show where you’ll find a box where you can put your comments. I’m always happy to get your emails to Steve at Lifespring media.com. My thanks to Sean of San Pedro for doing the chapters for every episode. And thanks to Kirsty for putting the newsletter together each week. You can sign up for that it news dot Lifespring media.com And thanks again to associate producer Timothy LaFontaine for helping to make this episode possible. You can help support the show to go to Lifespring media.com/support. Check it out. Think about it, pray about it, and then do his God leads until tomorrow. May God bless you richly. Thanks again for sharing your day with me. My name is Steve Webb. See you tomorrow. Bye

Transcribed by https://otter.ai

Transcript

Lifespring Family Berean, Brother Paul of Seattle.

Today is  Epistles Sunday James 4-5. I’m calling today’s episode “Golden Nuggets.” 

Some have said that James is a bit like the book of Proverbs because of the way nuggets of truth are presented. Let’s look at a few of them.

James 4:2b – You do not have, because you do not ask.

Prayer is a necessary part of the Christian’s life. If we want God to bless us, we must ask. Listen to Charles Spurgeon: “Remember this text: Jehovah says to his own Son, ‘Ask of me and I will give thee the heathen for thine inheritance, and the uttermost parts of the earth for thy possession.’ If the royal and divine Son of God cannot be exempted from the rule of asking that he may have, you and I cannot expect the rule to be relaxed in our favor. Why should it be?” Also from Spurgeon: “If you may have everything by asking, and nothing without asking, I beg you to see how absolutely vital prayer is, and I beseech you to abound in it… Do you know, brothers, what great things are to be had for the asking? Have you ever thought of it? Does it not stimulate you to pray fervently? All heaven lies before the grasp of the asking man; all the promises of God are rich and inexhaustible, and their fulfillment is to be had by prayer.”

James 4:3 – You ask and do not receive, because you ask wrongly, to spend it on your passions. 

Contrast this with 1 John 5:14 – And this is the confidence that we have toward him, that if we ask anything according to his will he hears us.

James 4:4b – Do you not know that friendship with the world is enmity with God? Therefore whoever wishes to be a friend of the world makes himself an enemy of God. 

Beloved, we cannot have one foot in the world and one foot in God’s kingdom. Jesus said in Matthew 6:24, ““No one can serve two masters, for either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to the one and despise the other.”

James 4:6b-7a – “God opposes the proud but gives grace to the humble. Submit yourselves therefore to God.”

Pride is at the center of sin. Pride caused the fall of Lucifer. Pride caused the fall of Adam and Eve, and thus our sinful nature. Is it any wonder that God opposes the proud? But when we humble ourselves before God, when we confess our sin, God pours out His grace. It isn’t as though our humility *earns* God’s grace, but when we are humble, we are acknowledging that we are in need of the grace that He so freely gives. Spurgeon: “Do you suffer from spiritual poverty? It is your own fault, for he giveth more grace. If you have not got it, it is not because it is not to be had, but because you have not gone for it.” 

James 4:7b – Resist the devil, and he will flee from you.

Notice the text does not say, “…and he may flee from you.” or “…sometimes he will flee from you.” When we actively resist the enemy’s lies and temptations, we are *promised* that he will flee, though he will return to test our resolve. We can and we must resist him, in the name of Jesus,  as the already defeated foe he is. The Greek word translated as “resist” is a combination of two words: stand against. We are never conquered as long as we do not consent. 

James 4:8 – Draw near to God, and he will draw near to you.

This is both an invitation and a promise. And it comes directly after the “resist and he will flee” promise. When we resist the devil, we can and we *should* draw near to God. It is not a sin to be tempted. Jesus was tempted in the desert, but He did not sin. When we have had an encounter with temptation, the best thing we can do is draw near to God for shelter and for strength. How do we draw near to God? In prayer, in worship and in praise. We learn to walk with God in our daily lives. We respond to His invitation to have an ongoing, daily, hour by our and minute by minute relationship with Him. We ask Him to guide our decisions and help us with our struggles. We thank Him for His blessings. In short, we live our lives with the awareness that He is always with us, and He delights in us. And we delight in Him.

Bible translation used in today’s episode: Ch. 4-5 ESV

This a value for value podcast. There are no advertisers because advertising=censorship. If you enjoy the Lifespring Family Audio Bible, decide how much value it brings to you. Only you can make that determination. Then put a number on the value and send it to me here: SUPPORT.

Download .txt file.

STEVE WEBB – 0:00
We can’t have one foot in the world and one foot in God’s kingdom.

INTRO S12E305 – 0:11
Coming to you from Riverside, California, this is the Lifespring Family Audio Bible. Podcasting since 2004, I’m your OG Godcaster, Steve Webb. This is the daily show where we’re reading through the entire Bible in a year. I’m so glad you’re here today. Thanks for joining me. Today is Epistle Sunday. We’re going to read James 4 and 5. I’m calling today’s episode, “Golden Nuggets”. The show notes page for today’s episode is at lifespringmedia.com/s12e305. I’d love it if you go by and leave a comment. My email address is st***@*************ia.com. Let’s begin.

JAMES 4 (ESV) – 0:45
James, chapter 4. (1) What causes quarrels and fights among you? Is it not this, that your passions are at war within you? (2) You desire and do not have, so you murder. You covet and cannot obtain, so you fight and quarrel. You do not have, because you do not ask. (3) You ask and do not receive, because you ask wrongly, to spend it on your passions. (4) You adulterous people! Do you not know that friendship with the world is enmity with God? Therefore whoever wishes to be a friend of the world makes himself an enemy of God. (5) Or do you suppose it is to no purpose that the Scripture says, “He yearns jealously over the spirit that he has made to dwell in us”? (6) But he gives more grace. Therefore it says, “God opposes the proud but gives grace to the humble.” (7) Submit yourselves therefore to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you. (8) Draw near to God, and he will draw near to you. Cleanse your hands, you sinners, and purify your hearts, you double-minded. (9) Be wretched and mourn and weep. Let your laughter be turned to mourning and your joy to gloom. (10) Humble yourselves before the Lord, and he will exalt you.

(11) Do not speak evil against one another, brothers. The one who speaks against a brother or judges his brother, speaks evil against the law and judges the law. But if you judge the law, you are not a doer of the law but a judge. (12) There is only one lawgiver and judge, he who is able to save and to destroy. But who are you to judge your neighbor?

(13) Come now, you who say, “Today or tomorrow we will go into such and such a town and spend a year there and trade and make a profit”— (14) yet you do not know what tomorrow will bring. What is your life? For you are a mist that appears for a little time and then vanishes. (15) Instead you ought to say, “If the Lord wills, we will live and do this or that.” (16) As it is, you boast in your arrogance. All such boasting is evil. (17) So whoever knows the right thing to do and fails to do it, for him it is sin.

JAMES 5 (ESV) – 2:52
James, chapter 5. (1) Come now, you rich, weep and howl for the miseries that are coming upon you. (2) Your riches have rotted and your garments are moth-eaten. (3) Your gold and silver have corroded, and their corrosion will be evidence against you and will eat your flesh like fire. You have laid up treasure in the last days. (4) Behold, the wages of the laborers who mowed your fields, which you kept back by fraud, are crying out against you, and the cries of the harvesters have reached the ears of the Lord of hosts. (5) You have lived on the earth in luxury and in self-indulgence. You have fattened your hearts in a day of slaughter. (6) You have condemned and murdered the righteous person. He does not resist you.

(7) Be patient, therefore, brothers, until the coming of the Lord. See how the farmer waits for the precious fruit of the earth, being patient about it, until it receives the early and the late rains. (8) You also, be patient. Establish your hearts, for the coming of the Lord is at hand. (9) Do not grumble against one another, brothers, so that you may not be judged; behold, the Judge is standing at the door. (10) As an example of suffering and patience, brothers, take the prophets who spoke in the name of the Lord. (11) Behold, we consider those blessed who remained steadfast. You have heard of the steadfastness of Job, and you have seen the purpose of the Lord, how the Lord is compassionate and merciful.

(12) But above all, my brothers, do not swear, either by heaven or by earth or by any other oath, but let your “yes” be yes and your “no” be no, so that you may not fall under condemnation.

(13) Is anyone among you suffering? Let him pray. Is anyone cheerful? Let him sing praise. (14) Is anyone among you sick? Let him call for the elders of the church, and let them pray over him, anointing him with oil in the name of the Lord. (15) And the prayer of faith will save the one who is sick, and the Lord will raise him up. And if he has committed sins, he will be forgiven. (16) Therefore, confess your sins to one another and pray for one another, so that you may be healed. The prayer of a righteous person has great power as it is working. (17) Elijah was a man with a nature like ours, and he prayed fervently that it might not rain, and for three years and six months it did not rain on the earth. (18) Then he prayed again, and heaven gave rain, and the earth bore its fruit.

(19) My brothers, if anyone among you wanders from the truth and someone brings him back, (20) let him know that whoever brings back a sinner from his wandering will save his soul from death and will cover a multitude of sins.

COMMENTS – 5:31
Let’s talk a bit about James 4. Some have said that James is a bit like the book of Proverbs because of the way nuggets of truth are presented. Let’s take a look at just a few of them.

In verse 2b it says, “You do not have because you do not ask.”

Beloved, prayer is a necessary part of the Christian life. If we want God to bless us, we have to ask. Listen to what Charles Spurgeon said, “Remember this text: Jehovah says to his own Son, ‘Ask of me and I will give thee the heathen for thine inheritance, and the uttermost parts of the earth for thy possession.’” Spurgeon continues, “If the royal and divine Son of God cannot be exempted from the rule of asking that he may have, you and I cannot expect the rule to be relaxed in our favor. Why should it be?” Good question. He also said, “If you may have everything by asking, and nothing without asking, I beg you to see how absolutely vital prayer is, and I beseech you to abound in it… Do you know, brothers, what great things are to be had for the asking? Have you ever thought of it? Does it not stimulate you to pray fervently? All heaven lies before the grasp of the asking man; all the promises of God are rich and inexhaustible, and their fulfillment is to be had by prayer.”

Is prayer important? I’d say it is. And then in verse 3, we read, “You ask and do not receive, because you ask wrongly.” To spend it on your passions.

Well, let’s contrast this with 1 John 5:14, which says, “And this is the confidence that we have toward him, that if we ask anything according to his will he hears us.” So if we ask for the wrong motivation, our prayers are not answered. But if we ask according to his will, he does hear us.

And verse 4b, “Do you not know that friendship with the world is enmity with God? Therefore whoever wishes to be a friend of the world makes himself an enemy of God.”

Beloved, we can’t have one foot in the world and one foot in God’s kingdom. Jesus said in Matthew 6:24, “No one can serve two masters for either he will hate the one and love the other or he will be devoted to the one and despise the other.”

Beloved, we have to ask ourselves, Where is my focus? Is my focus on the things of God or on the things of the world? And verses 6b and 7a, “God opposes the proud but gives grace to the humble. Submit yourselves therefore to God.” God opposes the proud.

Pride is the center of sin. Pride caused the fall of Lucifer. Pride caused the fall of Adam and Eve, and thus our sinful nature. Is it any wonder that God opposes the proud? But when we humble ourselves before God, when we confess our sin, God pours out His grace. It isn’t as though our humility earns God’s grace. But when we are humble, we’re acknowledging that we’re in need of the grace that he so freely gives. Charles Spurgeon said this, “Do you suffer from spiritual poverty? It is your own fault, for he giveth more grace, if you have not got it, it is not because it is not to be had but because you have not gone for it.”

Verse 7b, “Resist the devil and he will flee from you.”

Beloved, notice that the text does not say “and he may flee from you” or “sometimes he will flee from you.” When we actively resist the enemy’s lies and temptations we are promised that he will flee, though he will return to test our resolve. We can and we must resist him in the name of Jesus as the already defeated foe that he is. The Greek word translated as “resist” is a combination of two words, “stand against”. Beloved, we are never conquered, as long as we do not consent.

Then verse 8 says, “Draw nearer to God and he will draw near to you.”

This is both an invitation and a promise, “Draw near to God” is the invitation and “He will draw near to you” is the promise. And this promise comes directly after the “resist and he will flee” promise. When we resist the devil we can and we should draw near to God. We have to understand it is not a sin to be tempted. Jesus was tempted after all in the desert, but he did not sin. When we have had an encounter with temptation, the best thing that we can do is draw near to God for shelter and for strength. Well, how do we draw near to God? We do it in prayer, in worship, and in praise. We learn to walk with God in our daily lives, we respond to His invitation to have an ongoing daily, hour-by-hour and minute-by-minute relationship with him. We ask him to guide our decisions and help us with our struggles. We thank him for his blessings. In short, we live our lives with the awareness that he is always with us, and he delights in us, and we should delight in him.

What do you think? Let me know. Go to lifespringmedia.com/s12e305 and let me know. Tomorrow’s Monday, so we’ll read from the Law. We’ll read Deuteronomy 7 through 9.

Boost.

DISTINGUISHED PRODUCER SHOUT-OUT – 11:05
I want to thank Lifespring Family Berean Brother Paul of Seattle who came in with his weekly $22.22 donation. He’s our Distinguished Producer today. And thank you, Brother Paul of Seattle for helping to produce episode s12e305.

Beloved, if you believe in what the Lifespring Family Audio Bible is all about, if the show has helped you in any way, whether in helping you to read the Bible on a more consistent basis, or helping you to understand Scripture a little better or in challenging you to walk closer to God, then please consider supporting the show with your time, talent or treasure. Go to lifespringmedia.com/support and see if what you find there makes sense to you, lifespringmedia.com/support. And whether you support the show with time, talent or treasure, I thank you and I think God will bless you.

ON THIS DATE IN CHURCH HISTORY – 12:01
On this date in church history, July 3, 1756, John Wesley, the founder of English Methodism, wrote in a letter, “One who lives and dies in error or is in dissent from our church may yet be saved, but one who lives and dies in their sin must perish.”

And on this date in church history, July 3, 1878, Lutheran Church Missouri Synod missionaries J. Friedrich Doescher and Frederick Berg established the Negro Lutheran Church in Little Rock, Arkansas, the first formal outreach to African-Americans made by Lutherans in the United States.

CLOSING PRAYER – 12:44
Let’s pray. Our heavenly Father, you have given us everything we need. You have given us our life, you have given us your word, and you have given us the way to spend eternity with you. Thank you for those and countless other blessings. Your love for us is just immeasurable, and we praise you. We ask the Lord that you work closely with us today and we ask for your blessing. I pray this in Jesus name. Amen.

Do you have a prayer request? Do you have a praise? Would you like to share it with the Lifespring family? Go to prayer.lifespringmedia.com?

OUTRO S12E305 – 13:27
Comment on the show at lifespringmedia.com/s12e305. Email me at st***@*************ia.com. Thanks to Kirsty, Sean of San Pedro and Denise for everything you guys do for us. Thanks to Lifespring Family Berean Brother Paul of Seattle for his support of this show today. Thanks to those of you who faithfully stream sats and send boosts every single day. And thank you, Beloved, for inviting me into your day today support the show at lifespringmedia.com/support.

And until tomorrow, may God bless you richly. My name is Steve Webb.

Bye.

Transcribed by https://otter.ai
Corrected by Denise

Transcript

Today we will read Psalms 99-101.  

I’ll give a brief introduction to each chapter, and I’ll have some comments after the reading. I’m calling today’s episode “Inside Outside.”

In chapter 101, verse 2, David wrote, “2I will be careful to lead a life that is without blame. When will you come and help me? In my own home I will lead a life that is without blame.”

As I’ve already said before we read this chapter, wouldn’t it be great if leaders today made this their goal? Beloved, I believe that we need to pray that God would move in the hearts of our local leaders, our state or province leaders and our national leaders. No matter where you’re hearing this, pray for your leaders. When God gets hold of them, or moves new, godly people into their spots, we will begin to see changes for the good around the world. 

Yes, I believe we are in the end times, but I would be delighted to be proven wrong. If God chooses to move on the hearts of people around the world, if we were to see a new and fresh awakening, a monumental revival, I would be thrilled beyond words. Grant it Lord, grant it. I Jesus’ name.

But even if that doesn’t happen, we can still make that our goal. David said, “In my own home I will lead a life that is without blame.” Sometimes people live much different lives inside their homes than they do outside. They show a smiling, “everything is right with the world”, “Christian” facade to the world, but at home they’re the exact opposite. Don’t be that way, beloved. Don’t be a hypocrite. If you truly love the Lord, and but don’t act like it at home, then I would encourage you to take a hard look at why you act this way. Are you stressed because of work, or bills, or family problems? Have you taken your problems to the Lord and laid them at His feet, only to pick them up again? Maybe you need help from your pastor, or a trusted friend or a counselor. Listen, there’s nothing to be ashamed of. Everybody needs help from time to time. 

Galatians 5:22-26 has a lot to say about how we should behave:  22But the fruit the Holy Spirit produces is love, joy and peace. It is being patient, kind and good. It is being faithful 23and gentle and having control of oneself. There is no law against things of that kind. 24Those who belong to Christ Jesus have nailed their sinful desires to his cross. They don’t want these things anymore. 25Since we live by the Spirit, let us keep in step with the Spirit. 26Let us not become proud. Let us not make each other angry. Let us not want what belongs to others.”

Beloved, as we go about our days the Fruit of the Spirit should flow from us whether we are inside or outside of our homes. Jesus said that they will know we are Christians by our love for one another. Let’s pray that we will mature as believers to the point that people truly see Jesus in us.

Bible translation used in today’s episode: Ch. 99 NASB; Ch. 100-101 NIRV

This a value for value podcast. There are no advertisers because advertising=censorship. If you enjoy the Lifespring Family Audio Bible, decide how much value it brings to you. Only you can make that determination. Then put a number on the value and send it to me here: SUPPORT.

Download .txt file.

Steve Webb 0:00
I would be delighted to be proven wrong.

Steve Webb 0:10
It’s Wednesday and this is the Lifespring family Audio Bible coming to you from Riverside, California podcasting since 2004. I’m your OG God cast your Steve Webb, welcome. This is the daily show where we’re reading through the entire Bible in a year and today we’re reading the Psalms. We’ll be in chapters 99 through 101. As has become our custom, I’ll give you a brief introduction before each Psalm and I’ll have some comments after the reading. Today’s title is Inside Outside. The show notes page for today’s episode is at Lifespring media.com/s 12 e 231. My email address is Steve at Lifespring media.com. I’d love to hear from you. Let’s get started.

Steve Webb 0:52
Psalm 99 is another song that has no title or author attribution about Psalm 99 Commentator Derek Kidner wrote here after the carefree delight of Psalm 98 we recollect how exalted in holy he is, and how profound is the reverence we owe him.

Steve Webb 1:11
Psalms chapter 99. The Lord reigns let the peoples tremble. He is enthroned above the cherub him, Let the earth shake. The Lord is great in Zion, and He is exalted above all the peoples. Let them praise your great and awesome name. holy is he? The strength of the King loves justice. You have established equity, you have executed justice and righteousness and Jacob, exalt the Lord our God and worship at his footstool. holy is he, Moses and Aaron were among his priests. And Samuel was among those who called on his name. They called upon the Lord and he answered them, he spoke to them in the pillar of cloud. They kept his testimonies and the statute that he gave them, oh Lord, our God, you answered them. You are a forgiving God to them and yet an avenger of their evil deeds. exalt the Lord our God and worship at His holy hill, for Holy is the Lord our God.

Steve Webb 2:17
The title of Psalm 100 is a Psalm of Thanksgiving. And perhaps surprisingly, it’s the only Psalm with this title. I especially like what G Campbell Morgan said about Psalm 100. “It is jubilant with confidence for the whole earth as it contemplates the glory of that earth, when all its people are submitted to the reign of Jehovah.” Oh, beloved, won’t that be glorious?

Steve Webb 2:44
Psalms chapter 100. Shout to the Lord with joy, every one on Earth. Worship the Lord with gladness, come to him with songs of joy. I want you to realize that the Lord is good. He made us and we belong to Him. We are His people. We are the sheep belonging to his flock. Give thanks as you enter the gates of his temple, give praise as you enter its courtyards. Give thanks to Him and praise his name. The Lord is good. His faithful love continues forever. It will last for all time to come.

Steve Webb 3:20
The title of Psalm 101 is a Psalm of David. This all may have been written just after David became king. Listen to what Alexander McClaren wrote, “He had but recently ascended to the throne. The abuses and confusions of Saul’s last troubled years had to be reformed. The new king felt that he was God’s viceroy, and here he declares what he will strive to make his monarchy, a copy of Gods.” And James Montgomery Boice wrote this, “I was startled to find that Martin Luther had done an exposition of the psalm that ran to 80 pages. The reason I discovered is that he was deeply concerned about civil government, and wanted to expound the Psalm as a listing of qualities toward which every Christian Prince or magistrate should strive.” Beloved would that leaders today at all levels should aspire to this kind of administration.

Steve Webb 4:17
Psalms chapter 101. I will sing about your love and fairness. Lord, I will sing praise to You. I will be careful to lead a life that is without blame. When will you come and help me? I will lead a life that is without blame in my house. I won’t look at anything that is evil. I hate the acts of people who aren’t faithful to you. I don’t even want people like that around me. I will stay away from those whose hearts are twisted. I don’t want to have anything to do with evil. I will get rid of anyone who tells lies about his neighbor in secret. I won’t put up with anyone whose eyes and heart are proud. I will look with favor on the faithful people in the land. They will live with me those whose lives are without blame will serve me. No one who lies and cheats will live in my house. No one who tells lies will serve me. Every morning I will get rid of all the sinful people in the land. I will remove from the city of the Lord, everyone who does what is evil.

Steve Webb 5:19
In chapter 101 Verse two, David wrote, I will be careful to lead a life that is without blame. When will you come and help me? In my own home, I will lead a life that is without blame. As I’ve already said, before we read this chapter, wouldn’t it be great if leaders today made this their goal? Beloved, I believe that we need to pray that God would move in the hearts of our local leaders, or a state or province leaders and our national leaders. Beloved, no matter where you’re hearing this, pray for your leaders. When God gets a hold of them or moves new, godly people into their spots will begin to see changes for the good around the world. Yes, you’ve heard me say many times, I believe that we’re in the in times, but I would be delighted to be proven wrong. If God chooses to move on the hearts of people around the world. If we were to see a new and fresh awakening, a monumental revival, I would be thrilled beyond words, granted, Lord, grant it in Jesus name. But even if that doesn’t happen, we can still make that our Go. David said in my own home, I will lead a life that is without blame. You know, sometimes people live much different lives inside their homes than they do outside. They show a smiling everything is right with a World Christian facade to the world. But at home, they’re the exact opposite. Don’t be that way. Beloved, don’t be a hypocrite. If you truly love the Lord, but don’t act like it at home that I would encourage you to take a hard look at why you act this way. Are you stressed because of work or bills or family problems? Well, let me ask you this if you taken your problems to the Lord and laid them at his feet, only to pick them up again. Maybe you need help from your pastor or a trusted friend or a counselor. Listen, there’s nothing to be ashamed of. Everybody needs help from time to time. It’s okay. If you need help get it Galatians 522 through 26 has a lot to say about how we should behave. It says but the fruit the Holy Spirit produces his love, joy and peace. That is being patient kind and good. It is being faithful and gentle and having control of oneself. There is no law against things of that kind. Those who belong to Christ Jesus have nailed their sinful desires to His cross. They don’t want these things anymore. Since we live by the Spirit, let us keep in step with the Spirit. Let us not become proud. Let us not make each other angry. Let us not want what belongs to others. Beloved, as we go about our days, the fruit of the Spirit should flow from us whether we are inside or outside of our homes. Jesus said that they will know we are Christians by our love for one another. Well, let’s pray that we will mature as believers to the point that people truly see Jesus in us. I would sure like to hear what you think. Go on over to Lifespring media.com/s 12 e 231. Scroll to the bottom of that page. And then let me know what you’re thinking there’s a box there that you can put your comments into. Proverbs 19 will be our reading tomorrow boost.

Steve Webb 8:35
We have an executive producer today. John came in with his monthly $50 executive producer donation. Thank you, John so much and God bless you. You know you can help support the show and ensure that it keeps coming to you every day by going to Lifespring media.com/support. And making a donation. You can sign up for a weekly, monthly or quarterly donation or just make a one time donation. It’s all about value for value supporting the show with time talent or treasure. If you get something from it in the measure that you receive it in an amount that means something to you. I can’t say what that is only you can for some people $5 might be a lot others can do more. Do what makes sense to you pray about it. Ask the Lord what he would have you do, then go to Lifespring media.com/support And do it all thank you and I think God will bless you for it. And John, thanks again brother for your support. God bless you.

Steve Webb 9:42
On this date in church history, April 20 1759 George Frederick Handel passed away. He of course was the German born English composer of his religious compositions. The most famous are his Messiah oratory. Oh and several him Antunes including while shepherds watched their flocks by night, Joy to the world, and Thine be the glory risen, conquering sun. And on this date in church history April 20 1952, three years after the 1949 revolution that established the People’s Republic of China, evangelical leader, Watchman Nee was arrested by the Chinese government and imprisoned for trumped up charges of corrupt business practices. He spent nearly all of his last 20 years in prison. If you’ve never read Watchmen, the I highly recommend you pick up one of his books and do so. And Nee is spelled n-e-e. Watchman Nee.

Steve Webb 10:49
Let’s pray. Our Heavenly Father, we thank you for psalms of praise like we read today. They teach us how to praise you and they remind us of all the things that you are and that you have done in the things that you do and will do. They remind us that you indeed are worthy of praise. We do have reason to shout joyfully and serve you with gladness. Hallelujah. Lord, we pray that you would raise up leaders around the world that would turn to you for guidance and for godly principles to rule by like David did. We pray for a revival the likes of which have never been seen, Lord, forgive us, Lord, for our failure to stand up for you and to be salt in light. Give us opportunities to share the gospel. Use us to bring glory to your name, and may the fruit of the spirit be shown in our lives. Lord, I thank you for each one who’s listening right now who you’ve brought into the Lifespring family. No one is here by accident. You’ve called them here. And I thank you for that. I pray that you would take what they hear on the show and use it for your kingdom. I pray God that you would bless each one in the Lifespring family today. And I pray this in Jesus name, amen. If you’ve got prayer requests or praises, go to prayer dot Lifespring media.com and fill out that form there. I’ll pray for you in my private prayer time, and we’ll pray together on the show.

Steve Webb 12:17
Beloved, if you enjoy the show that I’ll bet you know somebody else who would also enjoy it, share the show, comment on the show at Lifespring media.com/s 12 e 231. Or email me at Steve at Lifespring media.com. Support the show if you would please it Lifespring media.com/support. Thanks to Kirsty for putting the newsletter together each week. You can sign up for that at news dot Lifespring media.com. And thank you to Sean of San Pedro for doing the chapters for every episode, they are donating time and talent and I’m so thankful for their help. And thanks again to executive producer John for his donation of treasure to bring this episode to you. Until tomorrow. May God bless you richly. It was great to see you today. My name is Steve Webb. See you tomorrow. Bye

Transcribed by https://otter.ai

Transcript

Our reading today 1 Chronicles 10-14, after which I’ll have some comments, and I have a very important clarification of my comments on Numbers chapter 5 from yesterday’s reading.

I’m calling today’s episode “What’s In Your Heart?”

Because of what God does to Uzzah in chapter 13, I’m going to rerun my comments from s12e127, which was titled “Follow the Directions”, where we read about this same event in 2 Samuel chapter 6. If you were with me then, please bear with me. It doesn’t hurt to review sometimes, and new Lifespring Family members might not have heard it. It’s important, I think, to have a better understanding of why God reacted as He did.

This can be a difficult story for some people. Why would God kill Uzzah for merely reaching out to steady the Ark of the Covenant (or Covenant Box in the Good News Translation that we read today), to keep it from falling off the cart? Let’s dig into this a bit.

To some, God’s reaction to Uzzah’s actions here seems to be extreme, to say the least. David thought so, since we’re told that he became angry at God.

So what happened? Why did God do this?

Here are the thoughts of scholars.

First off, when God gave His instructions to the Israelites on how they were to build the Ark, he was very clear about the most minute detail, including how it was to be transported, who was allowed to move it and who was allowed to touch it. It was never to be put onto a cart, but it was to be carried by Kohathites only. There were two poles that went through two loops on each side of the Ark, and these poles were to be placed on the Kohathite’s shoulders, bearing the Ark between them.

No one but a priest was to touch the Ark, because the Ark had the very presence of God upon it. Remember, this all happened before the Messiah had come, and only the priests had direct access to God and only priests could perform the sacrifices that could cover the sins of the people. The Ark represented a holy and awesome (in the very real sense of that word) God, and God had made it very clear how it was to be honored, because it was a reflection on how they were to honor God Himself.

So by putting the Ark on the ox drawn cart, they were guilty of transgressing God’s direct instructions. But why was Uzzah killed?

Touching the Ark was a direct violation of God’s clear instruction. It could be that God saw the condition of Uzzah’s heart, that he didn’t have the proper attitude toward it. It had been in Uzzah’s house, after all for some time, and he might have become indifferent to it. We must not become indifferent to God. He. Is. God. The creator of all that is. The One who gives us life and sustains us.

It could be that Uzzah had a cavalier attitude regarding God’s Word. He didn’t think it was important to sweat the details.

Maybe his reaching out to steady the Ark reflected a lack of faith on Uzzah’s part, that God somehow needed his help.

What we might want to draw from this is that we need to pay attention to what God says, and we should do all we can to be obedient to Him. Yes, He is loving and He is merciful. But He is also Holy, and it is important that we never forget that. It is His holiness and justice that requires payment for sin. It is His love that made a way for me and you to not have to make the payment for our sins. It is His holiness and justice and love that required the sacrifice of His Son in my place and yours. Because of His holy and just nature, he couldn’t just overlook the sin. It had to be dealt with.

I’m thankful that God made a way for me to escape His wrath, and that He has offered that way, that gift, to anyone who will receive it. Jesus said, “…I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.” 

Sean of San Pedro sent a 1000 sat boostagram and said, “Thanks as always! Your commentary is always helpful. I’m still a bit conflicted by the jealousy ceremony. It sounds like the special clay is very similar to a Plan B pill, but with the added effect of sterilization. Quite shocking.”

Thanks for your boostagram, Sean. I’m really glad you sent it, because I should have addressed this in my commentary. You’re referring to Numbers 5:27, which in the Easy To Read Version that I read from said, “If the woman has sinned against her husband, the water will bring her trouble. The water will go into her body and cause her much suffering. Any baby that is in her will die before it is born, and she will never be able to have children.”

However, in the original Hebrew, the phrase about the baby dieing is not there. Nowhere in the entire passage dealing with how they were to address whether or not a woman had been unfaithful or not is there any language having to do with the woman’s pregnancy or lack of pregnancy. Nothing. The only thing in the original Hebrew that sounds remotely like pregnancy is where it says that the “water that causeth the curse shall enter into her, and become bitter, and her belly shall swell…”, but this is not referring to pregnancy. It is a visible sign that she is guilty of unfaithfulness. The other sign is that she will be unable to conceive again. Remember that the ability to bear children was considered to be a sign of God’s blessing. And remember, too, that God was teaching the entire nation how important faithfulness to the marriage vows, and faithfulness to Him was. 

If she conceived at some time in the future, then all would know that she was innocent. But if she did not, they would know that she had been unfaithful, and she was under God’s curse.

This mistranslation by the ERV translators, as well as a few other Bible translators, is a very unfortunate mistake. It is not in the original language at all. That’s another reason that having multiple translations to compare is so important. And when there are questions, consulting an interlinear Bible is imperative. 

I’m sorry I didn’t address this in my commentary yesterday, Sean. Thanks again for bringing it up. 

Bible translation used in today’s episode: Ch. 10-11 NCV; Ch. 12-13 GNT; Ch. 14 NIRV

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Steve Webb 0:00
He is God after all.

Well, hi there. This is the Lifespring family Audio Bible coming to you from Riverside, California, podcasting since 2004. I’m your OG God caster Steve Webb. This is the daily show where we’re reading through the entire Bible in a year and it’s so good to see you today. Are you doing are reading today’s first Chronicles 10 through 14 After which I’ll have some comments. And I have a very important clarification of my comments on Numbers chapter five from yesterday’s show, be sure to listen to that after my comments on today’s reading. I’m calling today’s episode. What’s in your heart? You’d like to leave a comment on today’s show, please go to Lifespring media.com/s 12 e 237. You can also email me at Steve at Lifespring media.com. Are you ready? Let’s go.

First Chronicles chapter 10. The Philistines fought against Israel and the Israelites ran away from them. Many Israelites were killed on Mount Gilboa. The Philistines fought hard against Saul and his sons killing his sons, Jonathan Abinadab and Malka shuaa The fighting was heavy around Saul and the archers shot him with their arrows and wounded him. Then Saul said to the officer who carried his armor, pull out your sword and stab me. If you don’t these Philistines who are not circumcised will come and hurt me. But Saul’s officer refused because he was afraid. So Saul took his own sword and threw himself on it. When the officer saw that Saul was dead, he threw himself on his own sword and died. Sol Sol and three of his sons died, all his family died together. When the Israelites living in the valley saw that their army had run away, and that Saul and his sons were dead. They left their towns and ran away. Then the Philistines came and settled in them. The next day when the Philistines came to strip the dead soldiers, they found Saul and his sons dead on Mount Gilboa. The Philistines stripped Saul’s body and took his head and his armor. Then they sent messengers through all their country to tell the news to their idols and to their people. The Philistines put Saul’s armor in the temple of their idols and hung his head in the temple of Dagon. All the people in J. Besh Gilead heard what the Philistines had done to Saul. So the brave men of J. Bash went and got the bodies of Saul and his sons and brought them to J bash. They buried their bones under the large tree and J bash. Then the people of J. Bash fasted for seven days. Saul died because he was not faithful to the Lord and did not obey the Lord. He even went to a medium and asked for her advice instead of asking the Lord, this is why the Lord puts us all to death, and gave the kingdom to Jesse son, David.

First Chronicles chapter 11. Then the people of Israel came to David at the town of Hebron and said, Look, we are your own family. Even when Saul was King, you were the one who led Israel and battle. The Lord your God said to you, you will be the shepherd for my people Israel, you will be their leader. So all the elders of Israel came to King David at Hebron, he made an agreement with them in Hebron in the presence of the Lord. Then they poured oil on David to make him king over Israel. The Lord had promised through Samuel that this would happen. David and all the Israelites went to the city of Jerusalem. At that time, Jerusalem was called jeebus. And the people living there were named Jebusites. They said to David, you can’t get inside our city. But David did take the city of Jerusalem with its strong walls and it became the city of David. David had said, the person who leads the attack against the Jebusites will become the commander over all my army Joab, son of the ruya led the attack, so he became the commander of the army. Then David made his home in the strong walled city, which is why it was named the city of David. David rebuilt the city beginning where the land was filled in and going to the wall that was around the city. Joab repaired the other parts of the city, David became stronger and stronger, and the Lord all powerful was with him. This is a list of the leaders over David’s warriors who helped make David’s Kingdom strong. All the people of Israel also supported David’s kingdom. These heroes and all the people of Israel made David King just as the Lord had promised. This is a list of David’s warriors. Just show BM was from the Hackman, ICT people. He was the head of the three David’s most powerful soldiers. He used his spear to fight 300 men at one time and he killed them all. Next was Lea aser one of the three Eliezer was dough dies son from the whole height people Eliezer was with David it passed Dammam when the Philistines came there to fight. There was a field of barley at that place

The Israelites ran away from the Philistines. But they stopped in the middle of that field and fought for it and killed the Philistines. The Lord gave them a great victory. Once three of the 30 David’s chief soldiers came down to him at the Rock by the cave near a Dahlem. At the time the Philistine army had camped in the valley of her fame. At that time, David was in a stronghold. And some of the Philistines were in Bethlehem. David had a strong desire for some water. He said, Oh, I wish someone would get me water from the well near the city gate of Bethlehem. So the three broke through the Philistine army and took water from the well near the city gate in Bethlehem. Then they brought it to David, but he refused to drink it. He poured it out before the Lord saying, May God keep me from drinking this water. It would be like drinking the blood of the men who risked their lives to bring it to me. So David refused to drink it. These were the brave things that the three warriors did. A by Shai brother of Joab was the captain of the three by Shai fought 300 soldiers with his spear and killed them. He became as famous as the three and was more honored than the three. He became their commander, even though he was not one of them. But Neha son of Jehoiada was a brave fighter from cab zo who did mighty things. He killed two of the best warriors for Moab. He also went down into a pit and killed a lion on a snowy day. Binay a killed an Egyptian, who was about seven and one half feet tall, and had a spear as large as a weaver’s rod. But Neha had a club, but he grabbed the spear from the Egyptians hand and killed him with his own spear. These were the things Binay a son of Jehovah did did. He was as famous as the three. He received more honor than the 30 but he did not become a member of the three. David made him leader of his bodyguards. These were also mighty warriors, as they held brother of Joab l Hainan son of dodo from Bethlehem, Sham off the hero, right? He Lez the pillow night, Ira son of IK ash from Tekoa. A by ease or the Anima fight syba Chi that you should fight. I lie the whole height may arrive in a tougher fight. He led son of bayyinah than a tougher fight. If I send a ribeye from Libya in Benjamin banana the paratha night he arrived from the ravines of gay Ash ablv, Arbor, thight. Asma veth. The Behera might Elia the CHE Alba night, the sons of Heysham, the guest tonight, Jonathan, son of Shaggy, the heritage site, a Hiam, son of say, car, the heritage site, a lightful, son of earth, He further McCarthyite, a hija the peeler Knight has row the Carmelite nearby Son of ezbuy Joel, brother of Nathan midbar, son of hag Ray Zelich, the Ammonite Neha re the Bira thight, the officer who carried the armor for Joab, son of Zeruiah. Ira the birthright Ghareeb the birthright Uriah the Hittite is a bad son of ally, Adena son of shizer, the Reubenites who was the leader of the Reubenites and it’s 30 soldiers, Hainan son of may occur. Joshua fat the midnight Uzziah the Astra fight Shaimaa and Gentile sons of Hawthorn, the Aurora right, Judah al son of Shivraj Jolla, Judah ales brother the TOS ight, a Lyle the May of eight, Jeremiah and Joshua via l names sons IFMA, the Moabite, a Lyle Obed, and j as to the mosquito bites.

First Chronicles chapter 12. David was living in Ziklag, where he had gone to escape from King Saul. There he was joined by many experienced reliable soldiers members of the tribe of Benjamin to which Saul belonged. They can shoot arrows and sling stones either right handed or left handed. They run to the command of AI easer in Joash, sons of Shemaiah from Libya. These were the soldiers GZ L and Pilet, sons of Asma. veth Barraca and GU from Anna, Thoth, Ishmael from Gibson, a famous soldier and one of the leaders of the 30 Jeremiah J. Hazel, Johanna and jhaza bed from Madeira l us I, Jeremiah, B Elia Shem, Araya and shefa Taya from Harith al Cana is Shi’a as a rel joeytsa and just Showbie him of the clan of Cora, Joe Isla and Zebedee, Jaya sons of Jerome from Vidor. These are the names of the famous experienced soldiers from the tribe of Gad who joined David’s troops when he was at the Desert fort. They were experts with shields and spears is fierce looking as lions and as quick as mountain deer. They were ranked in the

following order easer Obadiah Eliab mish mana Jeremiah at high a Lyle, Joe Hainan, el ze bad Jeremiah and Mack ban I. Some of these men from the tribe of Gad were seeing your officers in command of 1000 men and others were junior officers in command of 100. In the first month of one year, the time when the Jordan River overflowed its banks, they crossed the river scattering the people who lived in the valleys both east and west of the river. Once a group of men from the tribes of Benjamin and Judah went out to the fort where David was, David went to meet them and said, If you are coming as friends to help me, you’re welcome here, join us. But if you intend to betray me to my enemies, even though I have not tried to hurt you, the God of our ancestors will know it and punish you. God’s Spirit took control of one of them. I’m a sigh, who later became the commander of the 30 and he called out David son of Jesse, we are yours, success to you and those who help you. God is on your side. David welcomed them and made them officers in his army.

Some soldiers from the tribe of Manasseh went over to David’s side when he was marching out with the Philistines to fight King Saul. Actually, he did not help the Philistines for their kings were afraid that he would betray them to his former master Saul, so they sent him back to Ziklag. These are the soldiers for Manasa, who went over to David’s side when he was returning adna jhaza Bad Jedi al Michael jhaza Bad ally Hugh and Zillah phi in Manasa. They had all commanded units of 1000 men. They served David as officers over his troops because they were all outstanding soldiers. Later they were officers in the Israelite army. Almost every day new men join David’s forces so that his army was soon enormous.

When David was at Hebron, many trained soldiers joined his army to help make him king in place of Saul as the Lord had promised. Their numbers were as follows Judah 6800 well equipped men armed with shields and spears, Simeon 7100, well trained men, Levi 4600 Men, followers of Jehoiada descendant of Aaron 3700 Men, relatives a doc enable young fighter 22 leading men, Benjamin Saul’s own tribe 3000 Men, most of the people of Benjamin had remained loyal to Saul II frame 20,800 Men famous in their own clans, West Manasa 18,000 men chosen to go and make David King is a car 200 leaders together with a man under their command, these leaders knew what Israel should do in the best time to do it. Zamberlan 50,000 loyal and reliable men ready to fight train to use all kinds of weapons nafed Ally 1000 leaders together with 37,000 men armed with shields and spears, Dan 28,600 Men, Asher 40,000 men ready for battle tribes east of the Jordan, Reuben Gad and East Manasa 120,000 Men trained to use all kinds of weapons. All these soldiers ready for battle went to Hebron determined to make David King over all Israel. All the rest of the people of Israel were united in the same purpose. They spent three days there with David feasting on the food and drink which their relatives had prepared for them. From as far away as the northern tribes of Issachar, Zebulun and Naphtali people came bringing donkeys camels, mules and oxen loaded with food, flour, figs, raisins, wine and olive oil. They also brought cattle and sheep to kill and eat. All this was an expression of the joy that was felt throughout the whole country.

First Chronicles chapter 13. King David consulted with all the officers in command of units of 1000 men in units of 100 men. Then he announced to all the people of Israel, if you give your approval and if it is the will of the Lord our God. Let us send messengers to the rest of our people and to the priests and Levites in their towns and tell them to assemble here with us. Then we will go and get God’s covenant box which was ignored while Saul was king. The people were pleased with the suggestion and agreed to it. So David assembled the people of Israel from all over the country from the Egyptian border in the south to Heyworth paths and the North in order to bring the covenant box from Curiosity grm to Jerusalem. David and the people went to the city of baila that is to carry F grm in the territory of Judah to get the covenant box of God which bears the name of the Lord enthroned above the winged creatures at Hubin. adapts house they brought out the covenant box and put it on a new cart Uzza and Ohio guided the cart while David and all the people danced with all their might

To honor God. They sang and played musical instruments, harps, drums, cymbals and trumpets. As they came to the threshing place of Caiden, the oxen stumbled, and does or reached out and took hold of the Covenant box. At once the Lord became angry with us and killed him for touching the box. He died there in God’s presence. And so that place has been called P res. Uzza. Ever since David was furious because the Lord had punished us in anger. Then David was afraid of God and said, How can I take the covenant box with me now? So David did not take it with him to Jerusalem. Instead, he left it at the house of a man named Obed Edom, a native of the city of Gath. It stayed there three months and the Lord blessed Obed Edom, his family, and everything that belonged to him.

First Chronicles chapter 14, Hiram was king of Tyre, he sent messengers to David, he sent cedar logs along with them. He also sent skilled workers to build a palace for David. They worked with stone and wood. David knew that the Lord had made his position his king secure. He knew that he had made him king over the whole nation of Israel. He knew that the Lord had greatly honored his kingdom. The Lord had done it because the Israelites were his people. In Jerusalem, David got married to more women. He also became the father of more sons and daughters. Here is the list of the children who were born to him in Jerusalem. Their names were SHA MEWA show Babb. Nathan, Solomon iPAR, lsua, LP let Noga nee fig. Jaffa, Alicia Ma. B Eliana and Alisa let the Philistines heard that David had been anointed king over the entire nation of Israel. So their whole army went to look for him. But David heard about it. He went out to where they were, the Philistines had come and attack the people in the valley of Irfan. So David asked God for advice. He said, Should I go and attack the Philistines? Will you hand them over to me? The Lord answered him go, I will hand them over to you. So David and his men went up to Baal Paradism. There, David won the battle over the Philistines. He said, God has broken through against my enemies, just as water breaks through a dam. That is why the place is called bale Paradism. The Philistines had left the statues of their gods there, so David gave orders to burn them up. Once more, the Philistines attack the people in the valley. So David asked God for advice again, God answered him, do not go straight up. Instead, circle around them, attack them in front of the Balsam trees. Listen for the sound of marching in the tops of the trees, then move out to fight. The sound will mean that I’ve gone out in front of you, I will strike down the Philistine army. So David did just as God had commanded him, he and his men struck down the Philistine army. They struck them down from Gibson all the way to geezer. So David became famous and every land, the Lord made all of the nations afraid of him.

What was your thought when God killed Uzza in chapter 13, this can be a difficult story for some people. So what I’m going to do is go over my comments from Episode s 12, e 127, which was titled follow the directions where we read about this same event in Second Samuel chapter six. If you are with me, then please bear with me. It doesn’t hurt to review sometimes and new Lifespring family members might not have heard it. It’s important, I think, to have a better understanding of why God reacted as he did. So why would God kill us for merely reaching out to study the Ark of the Covenant or the covenant box in the Good News Translation that we read today? As it did it to keep the Ark from falling off the cart? Right? So why did God react that way? Well, let’s dig into it. To some God’s reaction to us his actions seem extreme to say the least, David thought so since we’re told that he became angry at God. So what happened? First off, when God gave His instructions to the Israelites on how they were to build the ark, he was very clear about the most minut detail, including how it was to be transported, who was allowed to move it, and who was allowed to touch it. It was never to be put onto a cart, but it was to be carried by Kohathites only. There were two poles that went through two loops on each side of the arc. And these poles were to be placed on the coat with heights shoulders bearing the arc between them. Now, no one but a priest was to touch the arc because the arc had the very presence of God upon it. Remember, this all happened before the Messiah had come in only the priests had direct access to God, and only priests could perform the sacrifices that could cover the sins of the people. The Ark represented a holy and an awesome God, and I mean awesome in the very real sense of that word, something that inspires or, or commands ah, and God had made it very clear how it was to be honored because it was a reflection on how they were to honor God himself. So by putting the ark on the ox drawn cart, they were guilty of transgressing God’s direct instructions. But why was as a killed? Well, touching the ark was a direct violation of God’s clear instruction. It could be that God saw the condition of us as heart, and that as it didn’t have the proper attitude toward the Ark or toward God, it had been in us His house after all, for some time, and he might have become indifferent to it. You know how that is, the more you are around something or around someone, the less impressed you are with him sometimes, well, we can’t become indifferent to God, He is God, after all, the creator of all that is the one who gives life and sustains it. And it could be that as I had a cavalier attitude regarding God’s word, he didn’t think it was important to sweat the details, maybe is reaching out to study the Ark reflected a lack of faith on us as part were that God somehow needed his help. So what we might want to draw from this is that we need to pay attention to what God says, and we should do all that we can to be obedient to him. Yes, he’s loving, and he’s merciful, but he’s also holy. And it’s important that we never forget that it is His Holiness and justice that requires payment for sin. And it is his love that made a way for me and you to not have to make the payment for our sins. It’s his holiness and His justice in his love, that required the sacrifice of His Son, in my place, and in yours. Because of His holy and just nature. He couldn’t just overlook the sin. It had to be dealt with. I’m just so thankful that God made a way for me to escape his wrath, and that he’s offered that way that gift to anyone who will receive it. Jesus said, I am the way in the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me. If you haven’t accepted that gift yet, I’d like to hear from you. Write me an email at Steve at Lifespring media.com. If you got any questions about that, you have a comment? Let me know Lifespring media.com/s 12 e 237. Scroll to the bottom of the page and leave your comment there. Here’s your cue to boost.

Well, I got a boostagram this morning from Sean of San Pedro. He said thanks. As always, your commentary is always helpful. I’m still a bit conflicted by the jealousy ceremony. It sounds like the special clay is very similar to a plan B pill, but with the added effect of sterilization. Quite shocking. Well, Sean, thank you for your booster. Gram. Brother, I’m really glad you said it. Because I should have addressed this in my commentary yesterday, you’re referring to numbers 527, which in the easy to read version that I read from yesterday said, if the woman has sinned against her husband, the water will bring her trouble, the water will go into her body and cost her much suffering. Any baby that is in her will die before it is born. And she will never be able to have children. All right. So that’s what it said in the easy to read version. But in the original Hebrew, the phrase about the baby dying, isn’t there. Nowhere in that entire passage that deals with how they were to address whether or not a woman had been unfaithful. Nowhere does it say anything about a woman’s pregnancy or lack of pregnancy. There’s nothing in the original language at all about that. The only thing in the original Hebrew that sounds remotely like pregnancy is where it says that the quote, water that causes the curse shall enter her and become bitter, and her belly shall swell. But this is not referring to pregnancy. It’s a visible sign that she’s guilty of unfaithfulness. And the other sign is that she’ll be unable to conceive again. Remember that the ability to bear children was considered to be a sign of God’s blessing. And remember, too, that God was teaching the entire nation how important faithfulness to the marriage vows and faithfulness to him was in drinking this water and looking for the sign of either guilt or innocence. God had to personally be involved in the outcome. There was nothing magic about the water or the things that they put into it. God Himself was going to intervene and either show her innocence by there being no ill effects or her guilt by making it so that she would blow it up in her stomach and have her womb be unable to conceive. So this is not something that would happen immediately. This is something that the people, the nation would be able to watch the effects on the woman. If she conceived at some time in the future, then all would know that she was innocent. But if she did not, they would know that she had been unfaithful, and she was under God’s curse. But again, I just want to make it clear. There is not one word in that section in the original Hebrew that had anything to do with a baby dying or with a spontaneous abortion or anything like that. This mistranslation by the easy to read version translators, as well as a few other Bible translators is a very unfortunate mistake. And that’s another reason that having multiple translations to compare is so very important. And when there are questions, consulting an interlinear Bible is imperative. You can find interlinear Bibles for free online. I’m really sorry, I didn’t address this in my commentary yesterday. So Sean, thank you for bringing it up.

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On this date in church history, April 26 1518, German reformer Martin Luther stated in his disputation of Heidelberg, Grace has given to heal the spiritually sick not to decorate spiritual heroes. And on this date in church history, April 26 1992 worshipers celebrated Russian Orthodox Easter in Moscow for the first time in 74 years.

Every so often, I like to ask this question and new Lifespring family members might not have heard it. So here it goes. I’d like to know how you found the show. Did a friend tell you? Did you hear about the show on another podcast? Did you hear about it from a social media post somebody at church smoke signals? Let me know. Send me an email at Steve at Lifespring media.com and use the subject line. Here’s where I found you. Don’t be shy. send me that email.

Let’s pray together. Our Father in heaven Lord, we thank you for mercy and grace. We do not we cannot earn it but you give it because Jesus paid the terrible price for our sins. Lord, let us never take that sacrifice lightly. May we ever remember that you are a holy and awesome God. We must always remember that you are God not to be taken lightly. And yet you’ve made us heirs with Christ if we’ve placed our faith in Him as our Savior. He even told us when we pray to say Our Father, so we can come to you with humble confidence and even call you ABA. We are to fear you, but not be afraid to come into Your presence. You delight in our offerings of praise and worship. And we do that now. We do worship you. And we do praise your name. And we do come to you together now praying in Jesus name. Amen. If you’ve got a prayer request or a praise, please let me know at prayer dot Lifespring media.com. I pray for you in my private prayer time and we’ll pray together on the show.

It always brightens my day when I get a comment on the show. So please go to Lifespring media.com/s 12 e 237. And let me know what you thought about today’s show. You can email me at Steve at Lifespring media.com. And I’d like to thank Sean of San Pedro who’s doing a great job on the chapters you see on your podcasting 2.0 app. You do have one of those right? Don’t tell me you’re still using one of those old fashioned legacy apps are you come on, it’s time for an upgrade, go to new podcast apps.com and find one that looks interesting to you. And of course Kirsty is the official Lifespring family Audio Bible newsletter publisher. She makes sure that you get a new edition every week so you’ll know what the upcoming week’s readings will be. And if you want to read ahead and send questions to me ahead of time, I might answer your question on the show. Thank you Kirsty you for being our publisher. Both Kirstie and Sean truly help to make the show better. God bless both of you. Please remember to go to Lifespring media.com/support to help keep the Show coming to you every day. And until tomorrow, may God bless you richly. I have enjoyed our time together today. Thank you for that gift. My name is Steve Webb. See you tomorrow. Bye

Transcribed by https://otter.ai

Transcript

Today we will read Numbers 5-8. I’ll have some comments after the reading, and I’m calling today’s episode “God’s Benediction.”

In chapter 5, the Lord began preparing His people for the journey to Canaan, the Promised Land. Part of that process was to deal with the effects of sin among the people. He told Moses to send people who were unclean, the lepers, those who had a discharge, and those who had touched a dead body, out of the camp. Each of these conditions is a reminder of what sin does.

Why did this have to be done? Remember what God is doing with His people. He is preparing them to go into the Promised Land. He wanted to remind them that they must separate themselves from sin in order to accomplish this task. 

Notice also that in giving this command, He said, “send them away so that the camp where I am living among you will not be made unclean.” God would not dwell where there were any of sin’s effects. 

The Lord gave Moses instructions on confessing sin and making restitution, and He had a lot to say about how to deal with jealous husbands and their wives. 

Why did He spend so much time on this? 

One reason, I believe, is that the marriage between a husband and wife is representative of the relationship between God and His people. We learned last week when we read Numbers that God looked at His chosen people as an unfaithful wife. 

Another reason for God spending time on this is that jealousy, whether founded or not, can destroy a marriage, and God’s plan for marriage is that it should be a lifetime commitment.  God’s instructions here in chapter 5 when carried out, would reveal the guilt or innocence of the wife. The truth, once revealed, would then allow the husband and wife to take appropriate actions. It is clear that God does not want husbands and wives to endure the turmoil that jealousy brings. 

And since it appears that the ceremony seems to be a public, this was another way for the Lord to teach the people about staying faithful. To each other and to God.

Please note that there are different kinds of jealousy. Remember, God says, “I am a jealous God.”

If my neighbor gets a shiny new sports car, and I’m jealous because he got it instead of me, that’s sin. I am coveting. 

If my neighbor is flirting with my wife, the jealousy I might feel is because he has no right to flirt with her. She is my wife. Only I have the right to flirt with her. 

If I give my worship to someone or something other than God, He is jealous, because only God is worthy of worship.

So being jealous for something that rightly belongs to you is right, but being jealous for something that does not belong to you is wrong. 

So this passage in Numbers dealing with a husband’s jealousy shows how they were to determine whether the jealousy was right or wrong, and as I said, they could deal with the consequences from there. 

One last thing. The fact that jealous wives’ jealousy about suspected infidelities of husbands was not addressed does not necessarily mean that it never happened or that husbands got a free pass. It is entirely possible that this sort of ceremony could be employed in this case.

Beloved, I want to go back to chapter 6 and the blessing with which God told Moses to have Aaron and his sons bless the children of Israel. God said, “…this is what they should say.” Notice that God gave them the words to say. He didn’t leave it up to their discretion. This blessing is directly from God. 

24“ ‘ “The Lord bless you and keep you; 25the Lord make his face shine on you and be gracious to you; 26the Lord turn his face toward you and give you peace.” ’

Shall we break this down?

God wants to bless His people. He wants the best, at all times, for His people, and he wants them to be happy.

Can you think of a better place to be than to be kept by God? The giver and sustainer of life? Remember, these words are from God Himself. This is not just a nice wish, beloved. 

Some translations say “smile on you”. But for God’s face to shine on us, I think, goes beyond a smile. I think it denotes a warmth, a well-pleased and satisfied glow of approval for His people. Beloved, when we are in Christ, God sees not just us, but us as the redeemed children we are because of what Jesus has done for us.

God bestows His loving mercy on us

I like the KJV version of this: the Lord lift up His countenance upon you

In other words, the Lord pay attention to you. I think of the time when my boys were toddlers. I would often be busy, concentrating on a task. And one of my boys would come over to me and say, “Daddy.” And I would be steeped in the work I was doing, and not really hear them. “Daddy!” And my focus would be on the job. “Daddy!” And then I would turn my attention to them, and that was enough to satisfy them. Just by turning my face toward them, they knew that I loved them. Oh, to have the Lord of the universe lift up His countenance upon us. That is enough.

This is the peace that passes all understanding. A peace down to the center of your being. Of knowing that as long as God is there, all is well and nothing can happen that He does not allow. And knowing that He is a good and loving God, He would never allow anything that is not ultimately good for us, that is enough. 

I truly love this benediction, this blessing. The first time I heard it, I was at Calvary Chapel Costa Mesa, and Pastor Chuck Smith spoke it. That was the way he closed every Sunday morning message. And I remember what a warm blessing it was. But no wonder, these are the words of God Himself, given to Moses, who gave them to Aaron and his sons to bless God’s people. Hallelujah and Amen.

Bible translation used in today’s episode: Ch. 5-6 ERV; Ch. 7 NASB; Ch. 8 NLT

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Steve Webb 0:00
Oh to have the Lord of the universe lift up his countenance upon us!

Steve Webb 0:12
This is the Lifespring family Audio Bible coming to you from Riverside, California, podcasting since 2004. I am your OG God caster Steve Webb. This is the daily show where we’re reading through the entire Bible in a year. And I’m so very glad you’re with me today. It truly is a privilege to have you share your time with me. I am honored that you do truly. Today we’re going to read numbers five through eight. I’ll have some comments after the reading and I’m calling today’s episode, God’s benediction. The show notes page for today’s episode, in case you’d like to make a comment, and I always look forward to that is it Lifespring media.com/s 12 e 236. If you’d like to email me, I’m at Steve at Lifespring media.com. Let’s get started.

Steve Webb 0:58
Numbers chapter five. The Lord said to Moses, tell the people to send away from the camp, anyone who is unclean, that is, anyone who has a serious skin disease or discharge. And anyone who has touched a dead body, whether they are a man or a woman, send them away so that the camp where I am living among you will not be made unclean. So the Israelites obeyed God’s command, they sent those people outside the camp. They did what the Lord had told Moses, the Lord said to Moses, tell this to the Israelites, you might do something wrong to another person. When you do that you are really sinning against God. So you’re guilty of doing wrong, you must confess that sin, then you must fully pay for that wrong thing you did, you must add 1/5 to the payment and give it all to the person you had done wrong to. But maybe the person is dead and does not have any close relatives to accept the payment. In that case, you will give the payment to the Lord. That is you will give the full payment to the priest. The priest must sacrifice the RAM that makes the people pure. This RAM will be sacrificed to cover your sins, but the priests will keep the rest of the payment. If any of you Israelites gives a special gift to God. The priest who accepts that gift can keep it it is is you don’t have to give these special gifts. But if you do, the gifts belong to the priest. Then the Lord said to Moses, tell the Israelites this. A man’s wife might be unfaithful to him. She might have sexual relations with another man and hide this from her husband. And there might not be anyone to tell him that his wife committed this sin. Her husband might never know about the wrong thing she did. And she might not tell her husband about her sin. But the husband might begin to think that his wife sinned against him. Whether she has or not, he might become jealous, he might begin to believe that she is not pure and true to him. If that happens, he must take his wife to the priest. The husband must also take an offering of eight cups of barley flour, he must not pour oil or incense on the barley flour. This barley flour is a grain offering to the Lord that is given because the husband is jealous. This offering will show that he thinks his wife has been unfaithful to him. The priest will take the woman before the Lord and make her stand there. Then he will take some special water and put it in a clay jar, he will put some dirt from the floor of the holy tent into the water, he will force the woman to stand before the Lord. Then he will loosen her hair and put the grain offering in her hand. This is the barley flour that her husband gave because he was jealous. At the same time he will hold the clay jar of special water. This is the special water that can bring trouble to the woman. Then the priest will make the woman promise to tell the truth and say to her if you have not slept with another man. And if you have not sinned against your husband while you were married to him, then this water that causes trouble will not hurt you. But if you have sinned against your husband, if you had sexual relations with a man who is not your husband, then you are not pure. If that is true, you will have much trouble when you drink this special water. You will not be able to have any children. And if you’re pregnant now your baby will die. And the Lord will cause your people to speak evil of you and curse you. Then the priest must tell the woman to make an oath. She must agree for the Lord to cause these things to happen to her if she lies. The priest must say you must drink this water that causes trouble. If you have sinned, you will not be able to have children. Any baby you have will die before it is born. And the woman should say I agree to do as you say, the priest should write these warnings on a scroll. Then he should wash the words is off into the water, then the woman must drink the water that brings trouble, this water will enter her and if she is guilty, it will cause her much suffering. Then the priest will take the grain offering from her the offering for jealousy and raise it before the Lord. Then he will carry it to the altar. The priests will fill his hands with some of the grain and put it on the altar and let it burn there. After that he will tell the woman to drink the water. If the woman has sinned against her husband, the water will bring her trouble, the water will go into her body and cause her much suffering. Any baby that is in her will die before it is born. And she will never be able to have children. All the people will turn against her. But if the woman has not sinned against her husband, and she is pure, the priests will say that she is not guilty, then she will be normal, unable to have children. So this is the law about jealousy. This is what you should do when a woman sins against her husband while she is married to him. Or if the man becomes jealous and thinks his wife has sinned against him. This is what the man should do. The priest must tell her to stand before the Lord. Then the priest will do all these things. This is the law. The husband will not be guilty of doing anything wrong, but the woman will suffer if she has sinned.

Steve Webb 6:22
Numbers chapter six. The Lord said to Moses, tell the Israelites this. If there are people, men or women who want to make a vow dedicating themselves to the Lord is Naza writes for a time. This is what they must do. They must stay away from wine or other strong drink. They must not drink vinegar that is made from wine or from other strong drink. They must not drink grape juice or eat grapes or raisins. During that special time of dedication. They must not eat anything that comes from grapes. They must not even eat the seeds or the skins from grapes. The whole time of their Nazirite vow, they must not cut their hair. They must be holy until this time of special dedication to the Lord has ended. They must let their hair grow long. If you have taken the Nazirite vow, you must not go near someone who was dying during that special time of dedication. You have given yourself fully to the Lord. So you must not let yourself become unclean like this, even for your own father or mother, brother or sister when they die. This is because you have the hair that you dedicated to God on your head. It is holy because you have given yourself fully to the Lord for the full time of that dedication. So if you are with someone when they suddenly die, you will be unclean and you will have to shave the hair from your head. You must do that on the seventh day of your purification ceremony when you are made clean. Then on the eighth day, you must bring two doves or two young pigeons and give them to the priest at the entrance of the meeting tent. Then the priest will offer one bird as a sin offering and the other one as a burnt offering. The burnt offering will be a payment for the sin of touching a dead body during your special time of dedication. Then you must again promised to give the hair on your head as a gift to God. This means you must again give yourself to the Lord for another time of dedication. You must bring a one year old male lamb to offer as a guilt offering. You must start over from the beginning with a new time of dedication because you touched a dead body during your first time of dedication. After their time of dedication is ended Naza rights must go to the entrance of the meeting tent and give their offering to the Lord. Their offering must be a one year old male lamb that has nothing wrong with it for a burnt offering a one year old female land that has nothing wrong with it for a sin offering one ram that has nothing wrong with it for a fellowship offering a basket of bread made without yeast bread made with fine flour mixed with oil and wafers with oil spread on top and the grain offerings and drink offerings that are part of these gifts. The priests will give these things to the Lord and then the priest will make the sin offering and the burnt offering. He will give the basket of bread without yeast to the Lord. Then he will kill the RAM as a fellowship offering to the Lord. He will give it to the Lord with the grain offering and the drink offering. The Naza writes must go to the entrance of the meeting tent. There they must shave off the hair that they grew as a dedication to the Lord. That hair will be put in the fire that is burning under the sacrifice of the fellowship offering. After the NAZA rites of cut off their hair. The priests will give them a boiled shoulder from the RAM and a large and a small cake from the basket. Both of these cakes are made without yeast. Then the priest will lift these things up to show that they were presented before the Lord. These things are holy and belong to the priest. Also the Rams breast and thigh that were lifted up and presented belong to the priest. After that the NAZA rites can drink wine. These are the rules for those who decide to make the Nazirite vow. They must give all these gifts to the Lord, but they might be able to give much more. If they promised to do more, they must keep their promise. But they must give at least all the things listed in these rules for the Nazirite vow. The Lord said to Moses, tell Aaron and his sons that when they bless the Israelites, this is what they should say, May the Lord bless you and keep you. May the Lord smile down on you and show you his kindness. May the Lord answer your prayers and give you peace. In this way, Aaron and his sons will use my name to give a blessing to the Israelites, and I will bless them.

Steve Webb 10:58
Numbers chapter seven. Now, on the day that Moses had finished setting up the tabernacle, he anointed and consecrated it with all its furnishings, and the altar and all its utensils, he anointed them and consecrated them also. Then the leaders of Israel, the heads of their fathers households made an offering. They were the leaders of the tribes, they were the ones who were over the numbered men, when they brought their offering before the Lord, six covered carts in 12 oxen, a card for every two of the leaders and an ox for each one, then they presented them before the tabernacle. Then the Lord spoke to Moses saying, except these things from them, that they may be used in the service of the tent of meeting, and you shall give them to the Levites to each man according to his service. So Moses took the carts and the oxen and gave them to the Levites, two carts and four oxen he gave to the sons of Gershon, according to their service, and four carts and eight oxen he gave to the sons of Moray, according to their service, under the direction of Ithamar, the son of Aaron the priest, but he did not give any to the sons of Kohath because theirs was the service of the holy objects, which they carried on the shoulder. The leaders offered the dedication offering for the altar when it was anointed. So the leaders offered their offering before the altar. Then the Lord said to Moses, let them present they’re offering one leader each day for the dedication of the altar. Now, the one who presented his offering on the first day was Nahshon, the son of a min adab of the tribe of Judah, and his offering was one silver dish whose weight was 130 shekels, one silver bowl of 70 shackles according to the shekel of the sanctuary, both of them full of fine flour mixed with oil for a grain offering, one gold pan of 10 shekels full of incense, one bull, one ram, one male lamb, one year old for a burnt offering one male goat for a sin offering, and for the sacrifice of peace offerings, two oxen, five rams, five male goats, five male lambs one year old. This was the offering of Nahshon, the son of a man ADAP. On the second day, Nathanael, the son of zoo our leader of this car presented an offering, he presented his his offering one silver dish whose weight was 130 shekels, one silver bowl of 70 shekels according to the shekel of the sanctuary, both of them full of fine flour mixed with oil for a grain offering, one gold pan of 10 shekels full of incense, one bull, one ram, one male lamb, one year old for a burnt offering one male goat for a sin offering, and for the sacrifice of peace offerings, two oxen, five rams, five male goats, five male lambs one year old. This was the offering of Nathanael, the son of zoo are on the third day it was a lie at the center of healing leader of the sons of Zebedee when his offering was one silver dish whose weight was 130 shekels. One silver bowl of 70 shackles according to the shekel of the sanctuary, both of them full of fine flour mixed with oil for a grain offering, one gold pan of 10 shekels full of incense, one young bull, one ram, one male lamb, one year old for a burnt offering one male goat for a sin offering and for the sacrifice of peace offerings, two oxen, five rams, five male goats, five male lambs one year old. This was the offering of Eliab, the son of Heelan. On the fourth day, it was the lizer, the son of shittier, leader of the sons of Reuben, his offering was one silver dish whose weight was 130 shekels, one silver bowl of 70 shekels according to the shekel of the sanctuary, both of them full of fine flour mixed with oil for a grain offering, one gold pan of 10 shekels full of incense, one bull, one ram, one male lamb, one year old for a burnt Offering one male goat for a sin offering and for the sacrifice of peace offerings two oxen, five rams, five male goats, five male lambs one year old. This was the offering of Eliza, the son of shittier. On the fifth day it was shall Loomio the son of Zahra Shaddai, leader of the children of Simeon his offering was one silver dish whose weight was 130 shekels one silver bowl of 70 shackles according to the shekel of the sanctuary, both of them full of fine flour mixed with oil for a grain offering. One gold pan of 10 shekels full of incense, one bull, one ram, one male lamb, one year old for a burnt offering one male goat for a sin offering and for the sacrifice of peace offerings, two oxen, five rams, five male goats, five male lambs one year old. This was the offering of Shelumiel, the son of Jura Shaddai. On the sixth day, it was Elias AF the son of dual leader of the sons of Gad. His offering was one silver dish whose weight was 130 shackles, one silver bowl of 70 shackles, according to the shekel of the sanctuary, both of them full of fine flour mixed with oil for a grain offering. One gold pan of 10 shekels full of incense, one bull, one ram, one male lamb, one year old for a burnt offering one male goat for a sin offering and for the sacrifice of peace offerings, two oxen, five rams, five male goats, five male lambs, one year old. This was the offering of Elias AF, the son of duel. On the seventh day, it was Alicia, the son of a Myatt leader of the sons of refereum. His offering was one silver dish whose weight was 130 shackles, one silver bowl of 70 shackles according to the shekel of the sanctuary, both of them full of fine flour mixed with oil for a grain offering, one gold pan of 10 shekels full of incense, one bull, one ram, one male lamb, one year old for a burnt offering one male goat for a sin offering and for the sacrifice of peace offerings, two oxen, five rams, five male goats, five male lambs, one year old. This was the offering of Alicia the son of a mayat. On the eighth day, it was Gamaliel, the son of Pedraza, leader of the sons of Manasa. His offering was one silver dish whose weight was 130 shekels, one silver bowl of 70 shekels, according to the shekel of the sanctuary, both of them full of fine flour mixed with oil for a grain offering, one gold pan of 10 shekels full of incense, one bull, one ram, one male lamb, one year old for a burnt offering one male goat for a sin offering, and for the sacrifice of peace offerings, two oxen, five rams, five male goats, five male lambs, one year old. This was the offering of Gamaliel, the son of producer. On the ninth day, it was a Biden the son of Gideon, I, leader of the sons of Benjamin, his offering was one silver dish whose weight was 130 shekels, one silver bowl of 70 shackles according to the shekel of the sanctuary, both of them full of fine flour mixed with oil for a grain offering, one gold pan of 10 shekels full of incense, one bull, one ram, one male lamb, one year old for a burnt offering one male goat for a sin offering and for the sacrifice of peace offerings. Two oxen, five rams, five male goats, five male lambs, one year old. This was the offering of a Biden the son of giddy oni.

Steve Webb 18:38
On the 10th day, it was a high easer, the son of Amma Shaddai, leader of the sons of Dan. His offering was one silver dish whose weight was 130 shekels, one silver bowl of 70 shekels according to the shekel of the sanctuary, both of them full of fine flour mixed with oil for a grain offering one gold pan of 10 shekels full of incense, one bull, one ram, one male lamb, one year old for a burnt offering one male goat for a sin offering and for the sacrifice of peace offerings. Two oxen, five rams, five male goats, five male lambs one year old. This was the offering of a high easer, the son of Emma Shaddai. On the 11th day, it was Peggy Hill, the son of operon, leader of the sons of Asher. His offering was one silver dish whose weight was 130 shekels, one silver bowl of 70 shekels according to the shekel of the sanctuary, both of them full of fine flour mixed with oil for a grain offering, one gold pan of 10 shekels full of incense, one bull, one ram, one male lamb, one year old for a burnt offering one male goat for a sin offering and for the sacrifice of peace offerings, two oxen, five rams, five male goats, five male lambs, one year old. This was the offering of pay Gil, the son of Cochran on the 12th day, it was a Hira, the son of Benin leader of the sons of NAFTA ally. His offering was one silver dish whose weight was 130 shekels. One silver bowl of 70 shekels, according to the shekel of the sanctuary, both of them full of fine flour mixed with oil for a grain offering, one gold pan of 10 shekels full of incense, one bull, one ram, one male lamb, one year old for a burnt offering one male goat for a sin offering, and for the sacrifice of peace offerings, two oxen, five rams, five male goats, five male lambs one year old. This was the offering of a Jairo the son of Enon this was the dedication offering for the altar from the leaders of Israel when it was anointed 12 Silver dishes 12 Silver bowls 12 Gold pans, each silver dish weighing 130 shekels at each bowl 70 All the silver of the utensils was 2400 shekels according to the shekel of the sanctuary, the 12 gold pans full of incense weighing 10 shekels apiece, according to the shekel of the sanctuary, all the gold of the pans 120 shekels, all the oxen for the bird offering 12 bulls, all the Rams 12 The male lambs one year old with their grain offering 12 And the male goats for a sin offering 12 and all the oxen for the sacrifice of peace offerings, 24 bowls, all the Rams 60. The male goats 60 The male lambs one year old 60 This was the dedication offering for the altar after it was anointed. Now, when Moses went into the tent of meeting to speak with him, he heard the voice speaking to him from above the mercy seat that was on the Ark of the testimony from between the two Chair of him, so he spoke to him.

Steve Webb 21:54
Numbers chapter eight, the Lord said to Moses, give Aaron the following instructions. When you set up the seven lamps in the lampstand, place them so their light shines forward in front of the lamp stand. So Aaron did this. He set up the seven lamps, so they reflected their light forward just as the Lord had commanded Moses, the entire lampstand from its base to its decorative blossoms was made of beaten gold. It was built according to the exact design the Lord had shown Moses, then the Lord said to Moses, now set the Levites apart from the rest of the people of Israel, and make them ceremonially clean. Do this by sprinkling them with the water of purification, and have them shave their entire body and wash their clothing, then they will be ceremonially clean. Have them bring a young bull and a grain offering of choice flour moistened with olive oil, along with a second young bull for a sin offering. Then assemble the whole community of Israel and present the Levites at the entrance of the tabernacle. When you present the Levites, before the Lord, the people of Israel must lay their hands on them, raising his hands, Aaron must then present the Levites to the Lord as a special offering from the people of Israel, thus dedicating them to the Lord service. Next, the Levites will lay their hands on the heads of the young bulls present one is the sin offering, and the other is a burnt offering to the Lord, to purify the Levites and make them right with the Lord. Then have the Levites stand in front of Aaron and his sons and raise your hands and present them as a special offering to the Lord. In this way, you will set the Levites apart from the rest of the people of Israel, and the Levites will belong to me. After this, they may go into the tabernacle to do their work, because you have purified them and presented them as a special offering. Of all the people of Israel, the Levites are reserved for me. I have claimed them for myself in place of all the firstborn sons of the Israelites. I have taken the Levites as their substitutes for all the firstborn males among the people of Israel or mine, both of people and of animals. I set them apart for myself on the day I struck down all the firstborn sons of the Egyptians. Yes, I have claimed the Levites in place of all the firstborn sons of Israel, and of all the Israelites, I have assigned the Levites to Aaron and his sons, they will serve in the tabernacle on behalf of the Israelites and make sacrifices to purify the people. So no plague will strike them when they approach the sanctuary. So Moses, Aaron, and the whole community of Israel dedicated the Levites, carefully following all the Lord’s instructions to Moses, the Levites purified themselves from sin and washed their clothes and Aaron lifted them up and presented them to the Lord as the special offering. He then offered a sacrifice to purify them and make them right with the Lord. After that, the Levites went into the tabernacle to perform their duties, assisting Aaron and his sons. So they carried out all the commands that the Lord gave them. Moses concerning the Levites The Lord also instructed Moses, this is the rule the Levites must follow. They must begin serving in the tabernacle at the age of 25. And they must retire at the age of 50. After retirement, they may assist their fellow Levites by serving his guards at the tabernacle, but they may not officiate in the service. This is how you must assign duties to the Levites.

Steve Webb 25:27
Well, today in chapter five, the Lord began preparing his people for the journey to Canaan, the Promised Land. Part of that process was to deal with the effects of sin among the people. He told Moses to send people who were unclean, the lepers, those who had a discharge, and those who had touched a dead body to get out of the camp. Why? Well, because each of these conditions is a reminder of what sin does. Remember what God is doing with his people, he’s preparing them to go into the Promised Land, he wanted to remind them that they must separate themselves from sin in order to accomplish this task. Notice also that in giving this command, he said, send them away so that the camp where I am living among you will not be made unclean. You see, God would not dwell where there were any of sins effects. The Lord gave Moses instructions on confessing sin and making restitution. And he had a lot to say about how to deal with jealous husbands and their wives. Well, why did he spend so much time on this? One reason, I believe is that the marriage between a husband and wife is representative of the relationship between God and His people. We learned last week when we read numbers that God looked at his chosen people as an unfaithful wife. Another reason for God’s spending time on this is that jealousy, whether founded or not, can destroy a marriage. And God’s plan for marriage is that it should be a lifetime commitment. God’s instructions here in chapter five, when carried out would reveal the guilt or innocence of the wife. The truth, once revealed, would then allow the husband and wife to take appropriate actions. It’s clear from this that God doesn’t want husbands and wives to endure the turmoil that jealousy brings. And since it appears that the ceremony is a public one, this was another way for the Lord to teach the people about staying faithful to each other and to God. Men note that there are different kinds of jealousy. Remember, God says, I am a jealous God. All right, so let’s talk about the different kinds of jealousy. If my neighbor gets a shiny new sports car, and I’m jealous, because he got it instead of me that sin because I’m coveting, and if my neighbor is flirting with my wife, the jealousy I might feel is because he has no right to flirt with her. She’s my wife, only I have the right to flirt with her. If I give my worship to someone or something other than God, He is jealous because only God is worthy of worship. So being jealous for something that rightly belongs to you, is right. But being jealous for something that does not belong to you, is wrong. So this passage in numbers dealing with a husband’s jealousy shows how they were to determine whether the jealousy was right or wrong. And as I said, then they could deal with the consequences from there. One more thing, the fact that wives jealousy about suspected infidelities of husbands was not addressed, does not necessarily mean that it never happened, or that husband’s got a free pass. It’s entirely possible that this sort of ceremony could be employed in this case as well. Now let’s talk a little bit about number six. There was a blessing with which God told Moses to have Aaron and his sons blessed the children of Israel with God said, This is what they should say. So here, God gave them the exact words to say, he didn’t leave it up to their discretion. This blessing is directly from God. Here it is. The Lord bless you and keep you. The Lord, make his face shine on you and be gracious to you. The Lord turn his face toward you and give you peace. How about we break this down? The Lord bless you. God wants to bless His people. He wants the best at all times for his people, and he wants them to be happy. The next phrase is and keep you can you think of a better place to be than to be kept by God, the Giver and Sustainer of life. Remember, these words are from God Himself. This is not just a nice wish, beloved, The Lord bless you and keep you. The Lord make his face shine on you. Some translations say smile on you. But for God’s face to shine on us, I think goes beyond a smile. I think it denotes a warmth, a well pleased and satisfied glow of approval for his people. Beloved, when we are in Christ, God sees not This does, but us as the redeemed children we are because of what Jesus has done for us. The Lord make his face shine on you and then the next part and be gracious to you. God bestows His loving mercy on us. Hallelujah. And then the Lord turn his face toward you. I like the King James version of this, The Lord lift up His countenance upon you. In other words, the Lord pay attention to you. I think at the time when my boys were toddlers, I would often be busy concentrating on a task, I kind of get that way, when I’m really zoned in on something, I am full focused on whatever it is I’m doing. And then one of my boys would come over to me and say, Daddy, and I’d be steeped in the work and I wouldn’t really hear him, Daddy, and my focus would be on the job, daddy, and then I would turn my attention to them. And that was enough to satisfy them, just by turning my face toward them. They knew that I loved them. Oh, to have the Lord of the universe, lift up his countenance upon us. That is enough. I get choked up thinking about that. The Lord turn his face toward you, and then and give you peace. This, beloved is the peace that passes all understanding, a peace down to the center of your being, of knowing that as long as God is there all as well, and nothing can happen that he does not allow. And knowing that he is a good and loving God. He would never allow anything that is not ultimately good for us. That is enough. I truly love this benediction, this blessing. The first time I heard it, I was at Calvary Chapel, Costa Mesa and Pastor Chuck Smith spoke it. That was the way he closed every Sunday morning message. And I remember what a warm blessing it was. But no wonder because these are the words of God Himself given to Moses, who gave them to Aaron and his sons to bless God’s people. Hallelujah. Amen. Thank you, Lord. I’d love to hear your thoughts. Go to Lifespring media.com/s 12 e 236. Scroll to the bottom of that page. And let me know what you think. Our reading tomorrow is First Chronicles chapters 10 through 14.

Steve Webb 32:38
On this date in church history, April 25 1792. John cable was born. He was an Anglican clergyman, poet and leader in the Oxford movement from 1833 to 1845. The Oxford movement sought to purify Anglicanism. John cable is the author of the hymn, Sun Of My Soul, Thou Savior Dear.

Steve Webb 33:09
Join me in prayer, our loving Heavenly Father how good it is to be yours to know that you cared deeply for us to know that you pay attention to us to know that you love us. And that even though you cannot countenance any sin and your presence, you made a way through the death and resurrection of your only begotten Son, for us to actually be in your presence throughout all of eternity. Oh, Lord, You are a merciful God, we worship you. We praise you. And we will continue to do so forever and ever because you deserve it. Amen. And Amen. If you’ve got a prayer request or a praise that you’d like to share with us, please go to prayer dot Lifespring media.com. And let me know about it. I’ll pray for you my private prayer time and we’ll rejoice together and pray together on the show.

Steve Webb 34:05
If you’ve got a comment on the show, please go to Lifespring media.com/s 12 e 236. Or email me at Steve at Lifespring media.com. John of San Pedro is doing a great job doing the chapters for the show. And thirsty has been doing the newsletter every week for months now and I’m so thankful for both of their help you guys rock. If you enjoy the show, if you’re getting something out of it if you’re glad that it’s here supported with time, talent or treasure. If you’d like to donate time or talent, I’d be so thankful. Are you an artist? Do you love editing text? Those are two very different skills and I have a need for help in both of those areas. If you’d like to help the show and me email me at Steve at Lifespring media.com And I’ll get you set up. Donations of treasure are always needed because the bills just keep on coming. You can help out in that area. If you go to Lifespring media.com/support Until tomorrow, may God bless you richly. Thanks again for joining me today. Let’s do it again tomorrow my name is Steve Webb The Lord bless you and keep you the Lord make his face shine upon you and be gracious to you The Lord lift up His countenance upon you and give you peace

Transcribed by https://otter.ai

Transcript

Today we will read 1 Timothy 4-6. I’ll have some comments after the reading, and I’m calling today’s episode “Fitness.”  

Training the body helps a little, but godly living helps in every way. Godly living has the promise of life now and in the world to come. This is a statement that can be trusted and deserves complete acceptance. Certainly, we work hard and struggle to live a godly life, because we place our confidence in the living God. He is the Savior of all people, especially of those who believe.

1 Timothy 4:8-10 God’s Word Translation

Paul was, as you remember, advising the younger Timothy, who was pastoring the church at Ephesus, which had  become infiltrated with many false teachings.

In verse 8 Paul is addressing the idea that was held by many in the Greek and Roman culture that put a great deal of value in physical training. We know that taking care of our body is good, but let’s face it, the benefits are strictly temporary. They don’t last. Eventually, given enough time, we all grow old and our bodies deteriorate. 

I started swimming competitively when I was about eight years old. By the time I graduated high school, I had swum the equivalent of nearly the distance from Los Angeles to New York. I was in great shape! A couple of years after graduating, I was a professional ski patrolman. After that I was an apprentice carpenter. All through these years, I maintained a very high level of fitness. But here in my late 60s, my body is definitely showing signs of age. Even if I had continued to exercise at the level I did in my youth, my body would not have been able to stop the aging process. Physical discipline can’t stop the march of time. And one day, my body will die. No one gets outta here alive.

But on the spiritual level, I am in the best shape of my life. My walk with God has made me better able to deal with the challenges of life here and now, and the spiritual discipline I have practiced over the years also produces eternal benefits. When my body stops, I will enjoy the eternal benefit of my faith in Christ. 

I assure you, and there are thousands of my brethren who can affirm the same, that after having tried the ways of sin, we infinitely prefer the ways of righteousness for their own pleasure’s sake even here, and we would not change with ungodly men even if we had to die like dogs. With all the sorrow and care which Christian life is supposed to bring, we would prefer it to any other form of life beneath the stars.

Charles Spurgeon

Verse 10: “Certainly, we work hard and struggle to live a godly life, because we place our confidence in the living God. He is the Savior of all people, especially of those who believe.”

“He is the Savior of all people…” There is a belief among some people that everyone will ultimately be saved. But that is not what Paul was saying here. The second half of Paul’s sentence is “…especially of those who believe.” 

What God intends for ALL, he actually gives to them that believe in Christ, who died for the sins of the world, and tasted death for every man. As all have been purchased by his blood so all may believe; and consequently all may be saved. Those that perish, perish through their own fault.

Adam Clarke

ALL are offered forgiveness if they place their faith in Jesus. No one who comes to Jesus will be rejected.

God loved the world this way: He gave his only Son so that everyone who believes in him will not die but will have eternal life. God sent his Son into the world, not to condemn the world, but to save the world. Those who believe in him won’t be condemned. But those who don’t believe are already condemned because they don’t believe in God’s only Son.

John 3:16-18 God’s Word Translation

Paul was instructing Timothy to live a godly life and be an example to the Ephesian church, so that no one could fault him for his youth.

Command and teach these things. Don’t let anyone look down on you because you are young. Set an example for the believers in what you say and in how you live. Also set an example in how you love and in what you believe. Show the believers how to be pure.

1 Timothy 4:11-12 God’s Word Translation

Many Bible scholars believe that a better translation here is, “Be an example of the believers” as opposed to to or for the believers. I agree. Each of us should be an example of what it is to be a follower of Christ. 

Bible translation used in today’s episode: Ch. 4 GW, Ch. 5-6 HCSB

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Steve Webb 0:00
Physical discipline can’t stop the march of time.

Steve Webb 0:11
And here we are again. This is the Lifespring family Audio Bible coming to you from Riverside, California, podcasting since 2004. I’m your OG God caster Steve Webb. This is the daily show where we’re reading through the entire Bible in a year and I’m really happy you’ve invited me into your day to day. Our reading today is First Timothy four through six. I will have some comments after the reading and I’m calling today’s episode fitness. If you’d like to comment on today’s show, you can do that at Lifespring media.com/s 12 e 235. You can also email me at Steve at Lifespring media.com If you’d like I’d love to hear from you. And with all the preliminaries out of the way, let’s get started.

Steve Webb 0:52
First Timothy chapter four. The Spirit says clearly that in later times, some believers will desert the Christian faith. They will follow spirits that deceive and they will believe the teachings of demons. These people will speak lies disguised as truth. their consciences have been scarred as if branded by a red hot iron. They will try to stop others from getting married and from eating certain foods. God created food to be received with prayers of thanks by those who believe and know the truth. Everything God created is good. Nothing should be rejected if it is received with prayers of thanks, God’s word and prayer, set it apart as holy. You are a good servant of Christ Jesus. When you point these things out to our brothers and sisters, then you will be nourished by the words of the Christian faith and the excellent teachings which you have followed closely. Don’t have anything to do with godless myths that old women like to tell. rather train yourself to live a godly life. Training the body helps a little but godly living helps in every way. godly living has the promise of life now and in the world to come. This is a statement that can be trusted and deserves complete acceptance. Certainly we work hard and struggle to live a godly life because we place our confidence in the living God is the Savior of all people, especially of those who believe. Insist on these things and teach them. Don’t let anyone look down on you for being young. Instead, make your speech behavior love, faith and purity and example for other believers. Until I get there. Concentrate on reading scripture in worship, giving encouraging messages and teaching people don’t neglect the gift which he received through prophecy, when the spiritual leaders placed their hands on you to ordain you. Practice these things. devote your life to them so that everyone can see your progress. Focus on your life and your teaching. Continue to do what I’ve told you. If you do this, you will save yourself and those who hear you.

Steve Webb 3:05
First Timothy chapter five. Do not rebuke an older man but exhort him as a father, younger men as brothers, older women as mothers, and with all propriety the younger women as sisters, support widows who are genuinely widows. But if any widow has children or grandchildren, they must learn to practice godliness toward their own family first and to repay their parents for this pleases God. The real widow left all alone has put her hope in God and continues night and day in her petitions and prayers. However, she who is self indulgent is dead even while she lives. Command this also so they won’t be blamed. But if anyone does not provide for his own that is in his own household. He has denied the faith and is worse than an unbeliever. No widow should be placed on the official support list unless she is at least 60 years old, has been the wife of one husband, and is well known for good works. That is if she has brought up children shown hospitality, washed the saints feet, helped the afflicted and devoted herself to every good work, but refuse to enroll younger widows for when they are drawn away from Christ by desire they want to marry and will therefore receive condemnation because they have renounced their original pledge. At the same time. They also learned to be idle going from house to house. They are not only idle, but are also gossips and busybodies, saying things they shouldn’t say. Therefore, I want younger women to marry, have children manage their households and give the adversary no opportunity to accuse us. For some have already turned away to follow satan. If any believing woman has widows in her family, she should help them and the church should not be burdened so that it can help those who are genuinely widows. The elders who are good leaders should be considered worthy of an ample honorarium, especially those who work hard at preaching and teaching. For the scripture says, Do not muzzle an ox while it is treading out the grain and the worker is worthy of his wages. Don’t accept an accusation against an elder unless it is supported by two or three witnesses, publicly rebuke those who sin so that the rest will also be afraid. I solemnly charge you before God in Christ Jesus and the elect angels to observe these things without prejudice, doing nothing out of favoritism. Don’t be too quick to appoint anyone as an elder, and don’t share in the sins of others. keep yourself pure. Don’t continue drinking only water, but use a little wine because of your stomach and your frequent illnesses. Some people’s sins are obvious going before them to judgment, but the sins of others surface later. Likewise, good works are obvious, and those that are not obvious cannot remain hidden.

Steve Webb 6:00
First Timothy chapter six. All who are under the yoke as slaves must regard their own masters to be worthy of all respect, so that God’s name and his teaching will not be blasphemed. Those who have believing masters should not be disrespectful to them because they are brothers, but should serve them better, since those who benefit from their service are believers and dearly loved, teach and encourage these things. If any one teaches other doctrine and does not agree with the sound teaching of our Lord Jesus Christ, and with a teaching that promotes godliness, he has conceded understanding nothing but has a sick interest in disputes and arguments over words. From these come envy, quarreling, slander, evil suspicions, and constant disagreement among people whose minds are depraved and deprived of the truth, who imagine that godliness is a way to material gain, but godliness with contentment is great gain. For we brought nothing into the world, and we can take nothing out. But if we have food and clothing, we will be content with these. But those who want to be rich fall into temptation, a trap, and many foolish and harmful desires which plunge people into ruin and destruction. For the love of money is a root of all kinds of evil and by craving it some have wandered away from the faith and pierced themselves with many pains. But you man of God, run from these things and pursue righteousness, godliness, faith, love, endurance, and gentleness. Fight the good fight for the faith, take hold of eternal life that you were called to, and have made a good confession about in the presence of many witnesses. In the presence of God who gives life to all and of Christ Jesus, who gave a good confession before Pontius Pilate, I charge you to keep the command without fault or failure until the appearing of our Lord Jesus Christ. God will bring this about in his own time. He is the blessed and only sovereign, the King of kings and the Lord of lords, the only one who has a mortality dwelling in unapproachable light, no one has seen or can see him, to Him be honored and eternal might, amen. Instruct those who are rich in the present age not to be arrogant or to set their hope on the uncertainty of wealth, but on God who richly provides us with all things to enjoy. instruct them to do what is good, to be rich and good works to be generous, willing to share, storing up for themselves a good reserve for the age to come, so that they may take hold of life that is real. Timothy, guard what has been entrusted to you avoiding irreverent empty speech and contradictions from the knowledge that falsely bears that name. By professing it, some people have deviated from the faith, Grace be with all of you. Let’s talk a little bit about chapter four. verses eight through 10 said training the body helps a little but godly living helps in every way. godly living has the promise of life now and in the world to come. This is a statement that can be trusted and deserves complete acceptance. Certainly, we work hard and struggle to live a godly life because we place our confidence in the living God. He is the Savior of all people, especially of those who believe. Beloved, you’ll probably remember that Paul was advising the younger Timothy who was pastoring, the church at Ephesus which had become infiltrated with many false teachings. In verse eight, Paul is addressing the idea that was held by many in the Greek and Roman culture that put a great deal of value in physical training. We know that taking care of our bodies a good thing to do, right, but let’s face it, the benefits are strictly temporary, they don’t last. Eventually, given enough time we all grow old and our bodies deteriorate.

Steve Webb 10:00
I started swimming competitively when I was about eight years old. By the time I graduated high school, I had swarmed the equivalent of nearly the distance from Los Angeles to New York, I was in great shape. And then a couple of years after graduating, I was a professional ski patrolman. After that I was an apprentice carpenter. And all through these years, I maintained a very high level of fitness. But here I am in my late 60s, and my body is definitely showing signs of age. But even if I had continued to exercise at the level I did in my youth, my body would not have been able to stop the aging process. physical discipline can’t stop the march of time, in one day, my body will just give up, I’ll die. No one gets out of here alive, right. But on the spiritual level, I’m in the best shape of my life. My walk with God has made me better able to deal with the challenges of life here and now. And the spiritual discipline I’ve practiced over the years also produces eternal benefits. When my body stops, I will enjoy the eternal benefit of my faith in Christ. I like what Charles Spurgeon said, I assure you, and there are 1000s of my brethren who can affirm the same, that after having tried the ways of sin, we infinitely prefer the ways of righteousness for their own pleasure sake, even here, and we would not change with ungodly men, even if we had to die like dogs with the sorrow and care which Christian life is supposed to bring. We would prefer it to any other form of life beneath the stars. Amen. Brother Spurgeon. And then here in chapter four, verse 10, Paul said, certainly we work hard and struggle to live a godly life because we place our confidence in the living God, He is the Savior of all people, especially those who believe. Well, let’s go back here. What did Paul mean when he said, He’s the savior of all people, there is a belief among some people that everyone will ultimately be saved. But that isn’t what Paul was saying here. The second half of Paul’s sentence is especially of those who believe, Bible commentator Adam Clarke said this, what God intends for all he actually gives to them that believe in Christ, who died for the sins of the world, and tasted death for every man, as all have been purchased by His blood. So all may believe in Consequently all may be saved. Those that perish, perish through their own fault. Yes, beloved, all are offered forgiveness if they place their faith in Jesus, because no one who comes to Jesus will be rejected. John 316, through 18 says, God loved the world this way, he gave his only Son so that everyone who believes in him will not die, but will have eternal life. God sent His Son into the world, not to condemn the world, but to save the world. Those who believe in Him won’t be condemned. But those who don’t believe are already condemned, because they don’t believe in God’s only son. So yes, he is the savior of all people. But then, as Paul said, especially of those who believe Jesus is the Savior of the world, but we have to accept his gift.

Steve Webb 13:27
So Paul was instructing Timothy to live a godly life and to be an example to the Ephesian church, so that no one could fault him for his youth. He said in verses 11, and 12, command and teach these things. Don’t let anyone look down on you because you’re young. Set an example for the believers in what you say, and in how you live. Also set an example in how you love and in what you believe, show the believers how to be pure. That is an important thing for every pastor to do, but especially a young pastor. But let’s go back to the sentence that said, set an example for the believers. Many Bible scholars believe that a better translation here is be an example of the believers, as opposed to to or for the believers. I agree with that. Each of us not just pastors, but each of us should be an example of what it is to be a follower of Christ. That’s how we become salt and light to the world. We are to be an example of what a believer is supposed to be. So the sentence still holds up. Set an example of the believers in what you say and how you live. Also send an example of how you love and in what you believe. What do you think? I’d love to hear from you go to Lifespring media.com/s 12 e 235. Scroll all the way to the bottom of the page and tell me what you think. Our reading tomorrow We’ll be numbers five through eight boost

Steve Webb 15:10
I want to take a moment to encourage you, especially if you’ve been with me since the beginning of season 12. You’re at the Lifespring family Audio Bible. I know it takes a great deal of commitment to listen to the show every day or if you get behind to catch up. Reading through the Bible does take a lot of time. And life is busy. For most of us. We have responsibilities. We have jobs, school, families, church, what have you. But you are here, and I commend you for your persistence. This is episode 235. Keep going. Keep listening. We have just 128 more episodes to go before we achieve our goal. Next Sunday will be two thirds of the way through. Keep your eye on the prize. Beloved, we’ve made it this far. We can make it to the finish line. Are you with me? Come on, let’s go.

Steve Webb 16:07
Let’s pray. Our heavenly Father Lord, we love you. And we thank you for your word. Thank you, Lord for encouraging us to live godly lives. Life is so much better when we’re living for you. You give us peace and joy when we follow you and we know that we will live with you for all of eternity which is the greatest benefit. Help us Lord to be good examples. Good representatives of Jesus to those around us. Give us Lord the spiritual discipline we need to finish our race well. We do want to hear you say well done good and faithful servant when we see you face to face. Bless the Lifespring family Lord, encourage them, strengthen them, hold them up when they grow weary as we all do from time to time. Forgive us, Lord, when we fail you. I pray this in Jesus name. Amen. If God is doing something great in your life, or if you’ve got a prayer request, please go to prayer dot Lifespring media.com. And let me know i’ll rejoice with you and I’ll pray for you in my private prayer time. And we’ll share here on the show prayer dot Lifespring media.com.

Steve Webb 17:20
I’d love to hear your comments. Go to Lifespring media.com/s 12 e 235 and comment there or send me an email at Steve at Lifespring media.com. Support the show with time talent or treasure. If you’d like to donate time or talent email me at Steve at Lifespring media.com. I can get you set up or you can donate treasure at Lifespring media.com/support. John of San Pedro is doing a great job doing the chapters for every episode. And first he is putting the newsletter together each week of course and we thank her for that. God bless you guys. Well until tomorrow. May God bless you richly. Thank you for sharing your time with me today. I look forward to seeing you tomorrow. My name is Steve Webb. Bye

Transcribed by https://otter.ai