Daily GNT Bible Reading Podcast

1KINGS 21-22:What a cruel surprise it must have been for Elijah to bring about such an irrefutable display of God's power before the people, but then to have to flee for his life because of Queen Jezebel! Note that God deigned to speak twice to King Ahab. And the reason was: God wanted it known to Ahab and to us that He is not a territorial God. God also gave amazing, symbolic revelations of Himself in the story of His appearing to Elijah at Mount Sinai. Finally, in yesterday's reading, Elijah's successor, Elisha, was introduced. PSALM 122:Consider how exciting it would have been to make a pilgrimage to Jerusalem. And let's all keep 'marching to Zion'. JOHN 10a:This is a place where our chapter divisions in our Bibles probably do not serve us well. In the original manuscript by John, there would not be any separation between what Jesus said to the Pharisees to answer their question about spiritual blindness, and this chapter. In fact, in John's day they didn't even have spaces between words. So in all likelihood, there was not even a new line to start this teaching. So let's envision Jesus giving this teaching while the previously blind man and the Pharisees were listening.

1KINGS 17-18:We've arrived at the narrative of the different kings of Judah (which now includes the smaller tribe of Benjamin) and the kings of Israel (consisting of the 10 other tribes, sometimes called the Northern Kingdom). The kings on Israel's side changed more rapidly and were 100% bad, while there was a mixed record among the kings of Judah. It will help your understanding to observe the section headings (which I normally do not read), and to try to remember which kingdom is being talked about. Note in yesterday's reading how prophecy was fulfilled again and again. And although Baasha fulfilled the murderous prophecy against the house of Jeroboam, in chapter 16 verse 7, in God's view the murders he committed were still counted against Baasha as sin. God's sovereignty and omniscience do not conflict with our own personal responsibility for sin. PSALM 120:Psalm 120 is the first of the Songs of Ascent. The HCSB Study Bible says this about the Songs of Ascent: These psalms were designed for pilgrimage processions to celebrate seasonal feasts in Jerusalem. The hymns contain numerous references to Jerusalem or Zion, the temple, Israel, peace, and adversity. The 15 songs, adapted from ancient hymns heralding the blessings and salvation of Zion, may have been sung on the 15 steps leading up to the temple. JOHN 9:Ever since I was in high school this has been my favorite chapter of the Bible. This dates from the time that I found a track from the American Bible Society in the rack in the foyer of our church. So in Indonesia also, I have made this chapter into a little book containing our translation. I like giving this chapter out to people I meet. Why? It is not because it answers people's questions. It is because this chapter makes people ask the most important questions. GNT Translation note:1Kings 18:31 He took twelve stones, one for each of the twelve tribes named [after//for] the sons of Jacob, the man to whom the Lord had given the name Israel.====John 9:7 and told him, "Go and wash your face in the Pool of Siloam." ([The name of the pool//This name] means "Sent.") So the man went, washed his face, and came back seeing. 22 His parents said this because they were afraid of the Jewish authorities, who had already agreed that anyone who said he believed that Jesus was the Messiah would be expelled from the synagogue[s].34 They answered, "You were born and brought up in sin—and you are trying to teach us?" And they expelled him from the synagogue[s].

1KINGS 13-14:Solomon was the wisest of men. So how could he make such stupid choices?! Part of the answer is the corruption caused when one has too much power. And there is something truly sticky about sexual sin. The Lord's judgment is evident in what happened with the division of the country, and what happened in the northern kingdom. Note also how the people Judah followed all the bad parts of Solomon's example, which again will lead to judgment. PSALM 119:145-160:I like the last three verses of yesterday's reading: Ps. 119:142 GNT Your righteousness will last forever,and your law is always true.143 I am filled with trouble and anxiety,but your commandments bring me joy.144 Your instructions are always just;give me understanding, and I shall live. JOHN 8a:The temple guards were ordered to arrest Jesus, but when they came back empty handed they simply said, "We have never heard anyone speak like this." There is a fascinating little detail I just saw in John 7:37-38 as translated by GNT. Jesus said, 7:37 GNT "Whoever is thirsty should come to me, and 38 whoever believes in me should drink. As the scripture says, 'Streams of life-giving water will pour out from the _his_ side.'" First I want you to know that the word translated 'side' can be translated as belly or intestines. But since that word was also used as the seat of emotions, it can also be translated into English as 'heart'— which is the word we used for the seat of emotions. But for now, let's keep the word 'side'. Streams of life-giving water will pour out from 'his side'. Whose side is Jesus meaning?! Here's one of those double meanings I mentioned as a feature of this Gospel. As most often understood and translated, streams of living water will flow from the believer's inner being. But when Jesus was stabbed by the spear in chapter 19, John made a big deal that he saw both water and blood flow out. The 'his side' that Jesus could be meaning in this OT quote could be his own side! Jesus could have meant either, or He could have intentionally given one of the most precious double meanings of all! In either case, the water is a sign for the Holy Spirit. GNT Translation notes: 11 "No one, sir," she answered. "Well, then," Jesus said, "I do not condemn you either. Go, but do not sin again."]

1KINGS 9-10:The temple was completed! And yesterday we heard Solomon's very wise prayer asking God to fulfill his promises and help the people of Israel. In his prayer, he recognized that the people of Israel would not be able to remain faithful to the Lord, but that they would sin and then need to repent. Solomon asked God to forgive and to hear the people in situations of sin and desperation because of the Lord's punishment upon them. PSALM 119:113-128:Yesterday we read one of the frequently memorized verses from this psalm: Ps. 119:105 Your word is a lamp to guide my feetand a light for my path. JOHN 7a:I hope you noticed the deep meaning in John 6:56 and the application which Jesus' listeners could not understand— that is to the Lord's Supper. Jesus says, John 6:56 NLT "Anyone who eats my flesh and drinks my blood remains [joined to//united with//in] me, and I [remain joined to//united with//in] him." This is the same meaning of 'in Him' that we will see in John chapter 15. And Jesus also said, 58 I am the true bread that came down from heaven. Anyone who eats this bread will not die as your ancestors did (even though they ate the manna) but [anyone who eats this bread] will live forever." And Peter made one of his best and most quotable statements when Jesus asked the twelve if they also would leave: 68 … Peter replied, "Lord, to whom would we go? You have the words that give eternal life. 69 We believe, and we know you are the Holy One of God."

1KINGS 6-7:Yesterday we heard of the incredible size and wealth of Solomon's dominion. His wisdom in the organization is evident. During his reign, Israel was prosperous as never before or afterward. Solomon contracted with King Hiram of Sidon to get the materials needed for the construction of the temple. PSALM 119.81-96:God is telling us how important His Word is! Here are two favorite verses from yesterday's reading: Ps. 119:72 GNT The law that you gave means more to me than all the money in the world. 78 May the proud be ashamed for falsely accusing me; as for me, I will meditate on your instructions.JOHN 6a:In John yesterday we heard of Jesus' relationship with God, His Father, and that God has given authority to the Son to judge all mankind. The Son has also been given the authority to give life after death. Jesus talked about the various entities who witness or give testimony about Himself. This is important because, in Jewish Law and culture, assertions needed to be supported by at least two witnesses. The witnesses who support Jesus are John the Baptist, his miracles, his teachings, and in the background, his Father and Moses. GNT Translation notes: John 6:28 Jesus answered, "What God wants you to do is to believe in [Me,] the one He sent."

1KINGS 2-3:Yesterday we heard of Adonijah's almost successful bid to become the next king. The prophet Nathan's intervention saved the day. PSALM 119:49-64:God is telling us how important His Word is! In yesterday's reading I find NLT's rendering of this verse interesting: Ps. 119:45 I will walk in freedom,for I have devoted myself to your commandments. Note that following God's commandments does not violate freedom. JOHN 5a:To me, it was meaningful to read yesterday that, "The fields are already ripe for harvest. The harvesters are paid good wages, and the fruit they harvest is people brought to eternal life." The fields are certainly ripe. And I note, with a wink and a wry smile, that Jesus is talking of _heavenly wages_ because we missionaries don't get top wages here on earth. But we remember that Paul said, "The difficulties we face on earth are nothing to be compared with the glories that await us." About the meeting between Jesus and the official, I want to give this observation: Observe how often it happens that Jesus speaks about or encourages believing in Him before his miracles of healing. The implication is clear: Belief is important in healing. GNT Translation note:John 5:28 Do not be surprised at this; the time is coming when all the dead will hear [the voice of the Son of Man, my voice,//his voice]

2SAMUEL 24:Yesterday we heard David's final words and the listing of the 38 mighty warriors who loyally helped David in his victories. Note that Uriah the Hittite was so poignantly included at the end of the list. And this 24th chapter seems like a postscript. PSALM 119:17-32:Yesterday's reading included two of the most famous verses from this psalm: 11:9 NLT How can a young person stay pure?By obeying your word.11 I have hidden your word in my heart,that I might not sin against you. JOHN 4:Yesterday in John 3 we heard the words of John the Baptist at what I consider his finest hour. That was where he said, "He (Jesus) must grow greater and greater, and I must become less and less." This is a worthy goal for all of us. GNT Translation notes:John 4:10 Jesus answered, "If you only knew what God gives and who [I am who//it is that] is asking you for a drink, you would ask [Me, and I//him, and he] would give you life-giving water."21 NLT Jesus replied, "Believe me, [0//GNT woman//NLT dear woman], the time is coming when it will no longer matter whether you worship the Father on this mountain or in Jerusalem.[I don't think there is any good equivalent in English for the Greek here. GNT runs the risk of sounding terribly rude, while NLT runs the risk of misunderstanding the 'dear'ness of the woman to Jesus.]

2SAMUEL 22:We near the end of David's story. God gave him victory over Sheba and the house of Saul. The killing of seven of the descendants of Saul seems harsh and past the 'statute of limitations' to us. But God arranged that revenge in response to untold injustices that were wrecked by Saul against the Gibeonites. Note: God takes notice of covenants made and wants us to do what we promise in His name. I am thankful for an email that I received today, June 14, 2020, from a listener in Trivandrum, India. I previously said that chapter 22 of 2Samuel was not based on any one Psalm. That was very wrong! David's song of praise in chapter 22 closely follows Psalm 18. Because of this long poetic section today, we skip a day reading from the Psalms. JOHN 3:John's Gospel is unique in having the story of the wedding at Cana, which we heard yesterday in chapter 2. The coming to Galilee and working a miracle there seems to have been significant for John, as he later highlights when this happens a second time. John moved the story of the cleansing of the temple to the beginning of his Gospel. I think that this is because he wanted to highlight the conflicts between Jesus and 'the Jews'. Note that in verse 19, Jesus doesn't say, "I will destroy..." but "Destroy" (imperative), as a challenge to the Jewish leaders. NET's note indicates that this is a form that reminds one of some words of the prophets. GNT Translation notes:John 3:14 As Moses lifted up the bronze snake on a pole in the desert, in the same way [I,] the Son of Man[,] must be lifted up, [Exegetes and commentators disagree on where to stop Jesus' quoted conversation with Nicodemus. Ancient Greek didn't have mark quotes. GNT stops the quote at the end of 13, which is quite early compared with other translations. Note that inserting unmarked parenthetical comments or teachings is a feature of John's style. To me, I feel it makes most sense that John 3:16 is John's explanation of Jesus' very figurative saying in verse 14-15. There is another example of the difficulty of placing quote marks in this chapter. I think that John the Baptist's quote ends at verse 30 not at the end of the chapter. So I differ with NLT's quote marks for the last paragraph.] 32 He tells what he has seen and heard, yet [so few accept//no one accepts (hyperbole)] his message.

2SAMUEL 20:Yesterday we heard the story of how David sent out his army under three commanders, Joab, Abishai, and Ittai. He gave them orders to deal gently with Absalom. Joab— who was always pragmatic, didn't do this. Along with Absalom, 20,000 men died in the civil war. Joab stopped David's mourning for his son and ordered him to go out to encourage his troops. And finally the people decided to bring David back as their king. PSALM 118a:This is one of the antiphonal psalms. Imagine a leader and all the congregation saying the refrain. One of the most often quoted verses about the Messiah is found in verse 22. And I have quoted verse 24 at the beginning of a number of podcasts. JOHN 2:John uses simple words, such as light, word, lamb, and door. But the concepts he deals with are anything but simple. The meaning goes deep— so deep that you could spend a lifetime studying the prologue in chapter one alone and never get to the bottom of it. Note also that John very artistically makes use of double meaning— using a word with two meanings simultaneously. Note how Jesus (and the writer, John) artfully hint at the story of Jacob. Jesus calls Nathanael a true son of Israel. Israel is one of Jacob's name, and Jacob's name means 'cheater'. And then Jesus paradoxically calls Nathanael a man of complete integrity. Finally Jesus didn't need to make it obvious to his hearers and John didn't need to explain to his readers that Jesus was quoting from the Jacob's Ladder story. Just a few words and the previous hint were plenty to imply this: Jesus is claiming to be the Way/Ladder to the Father. The way, the truth, and the life.

SAMUEL 17:Yesterday we heard how Saul's servant, Ziba, showed his loyalty and helped David on his way. And how Shimei from Saul's family cursed and persecuted David all along the way. No wonder David was exhausted after that hike. David refused to put him to death or to punish him. (But we find out later that he didn't forget about Shimei.) David's friend, Hushai, joined himself to Absalom, as David asked him to do. And Nathan's prophecy to David was unknowingly fulfilled through Ahithophel's advice to Absolom. PSALM 116:This is a poem sharing a personal experience. Though this poem is not attributed to David, what we read here could be his prayer during and following what we are reading about in 2nd Samuel 17-18. John 1a:I always look forward each year to reading the Gospel of John. John's Gospel is different from all the other gospels. John was probably very young when he became Jesus' follower, perhaps 25 years old. But he seems to have waited until very late in life to begin writing, perhaps when he was 85 years old. This was long after the other Gospels and even the epistles were written. The title he gives himself in this book is 'the disciple whom Jesus loved'. This doesn't mean that Jesus didn't love the other 11! GNT Translation notes: 6 [CEV] [How kind You are, Lord!— //You are kind, Lord,] so good and merciful.====John 1:2 From the very beginning [the Person who is called] the Word was with God. 19 The Jewish authorities in Jerusalem sent some priests and Levites to John to ask him, "[Whose position are you assuming?//Who are you?"]21 "[Whose role are taking//Who are you], then?" they asked. "Are you Elijah?" "No, I am not," John answered. "Are you the Prophet?" they asked. "No," he replied. 27 He is coming after me, but I am not good enough [to be the servant who unties//even to untie] his sandals."

2SAMUEL 15:In our last reading, we heard how Joab creatively arranged to persuade David to bring Absalom back from exile. And how eventually David agreed to let Absolom meet him directly. PSALM 114:This poem praises God for the miraculous deliverance from Egypt. Re-reading ROMANS 15:Chapter 15 of Romans comes to this summary sentence in verse 13: "May God, the source of hope, fill you with all joy and peace by means of your [believing//faith] in him, so that your hope will continue to grow by the power of the Holy Spirit." GNT Translation notes: Rom. 15:1 We who are strong in [our belief in Christ//our belief in the freedom we have because of our union with Christ//the faith] ought to help the weak to carry their burdens. We should not please ourselves. 2 Instead, we should all please other believers for their own good, in order to build them up in [believing//the faith]. 3 For Christ did not please himself. Instead, as the scripture [quotes the Messiah's words to God//says], "The insults which are hurled at you have fallen on me."13 May God, the source of hope, fill you with all joy and peace by means of your [believing//faith] in him, so that your hope will continue to grow by the power of the Holy Spirit.

2SAMUEL 13:Yesterday we heard of David's moral failure with Bathsheba. That sin led to the death of the noble husband of Bathsheba, Uriah. Nathan gave one of his most stunning prophecies. David immediately and utterly repented. Even so, the baby son of Bathsheba and David son died. I mentioned yesterday that sin always has consequences, even when there has been forgiveness. Another lesson from this story is that one sin leads to more sin. PSALM 112:Like Psalm 111, Psalm 112 carries similar themes with the book of Proverbs. Verse 9 is quoted in the New Testament. Re-reading ROMANS 14:I am very happy that Paul didn't just give the churches a list of the celebrations and days that Christians were to consider as sacred. He did not give us a list of foods to not eat. That would have been the easy thing to do. To me it is a proof of God's inspiration that Paul does the counterintuitive thing: He tells us each to decide as our conscience dictates before God. Paul was not interested in establishing a man-made religion. The things that matter are "living a life of righteousness, peace, and joy in the Holy Spirit." And when choosing our actions, let our conscience be our guide. GNT Translation notes:Ps. 112:7 He is not afraid of receiving bad news; his [belief in God//faith] is strong, and he trusts in the Lord.====Rom. 14:1 Welcome those who are weak in [their belief//faith], but do not argue with them about their personal opinions. 2 Some people's [beliefs allow//faith allows] them to eat anything, but the person who is weak in [their belief//the faith] eats only vegetables. 8 If we live, it is for the Lord that we live, and if we die, it is for the Lord that we die. So whether we live or die, [(or do anything else,)] we belong to the Lord.15 If you hurt others because of something you eat [— by eating it right in front of them], then you are no longer acting from love. Do not let the food that you eat ruin [a//the] person for whom Christ died!23 But if [you//they] have doubts about what [you//they] eat, God condemns [you//them] when [you//they] eat it, because [your//their] action is not based on [your beliefs//faith]. And anything that is not based on [belief//faith] is sin.

2SAMUEL 9-10:David realized the incongruity that he was living in a beautiful cedar palace while God's dwelling place was in a tent. Then God gave Nathan the prophet a long message for David. He told him that his dynasty would last forever and that his son would build God's temple. David's beautiful prayer of response is recorded for us. Then God gave a string of stunning military victories to David. PSALM 110:The first verse of this short psalm is one of the most repeated verses of the New Testament. It certainly was very important for the early Christians. And the 4th verse becomes an important theme of the book of Hebrews. Re-reading ROMANS 13:We are now solidly in the middle of the practical part of this letter. Today we hear the part about obeying government authorities and our obligation to love everyone. I especially like the section at the end contrasting light and dark, and taking up our spiritual weapons. GNT Translation notes:2Sam. 9:8 NLT Mephibosheth bowed respectfully and exclaimed, "Who [am I,//is] your servant, that you should show such kindness to a dead dog like me?" ====Rom. 13:14 PET Instead, [let us become more and more like the Lord Christ Jesus, so that when people see us, it is like seeing Him.//NLT clothe yourself with the presence of the Lord Jesus Christ.] And don't let yourself think about ways to indulge your evil desires.[The literal is 'put on the Lord Jesus Christ'. And I'm not 'putting you on'! This is one case where that English idiom could almost get in the way. I don't feel that NLT is accurate in adding 'presence'. It does allow them to keep the clothing figure— but at the expense of significantly changed meaning! Our PET translation drops the clothing figure entirely, but probably is closer to the meaning received by the original readers. The GNT has done a good job also in representing a different interpretation of the meaning.] NLT Translation note:2Sam. 9:8 Mephibosheth bowed respectfully and exclaimed, "Who [am I,//is] your servant, that you should show such kindness to a dead dog like me?" ====Rom. 13:14 Instead, [let us become more and more like the Lord Christ Jesus, so that when people see us, it is like seeing Him.//clothe yourself with the presence of the Lord Jesus Christ.] And don't let yourself think about ways to indulge your evil desires.[The literal is 'put on the Lord Jesus Christ'. And I'm not 'putting you on'! This is one case where that English idiom could almost get in the way. I don't feel that NLT is accurate in adding 'presence'. It does allow them to keep the clothing figure, but at the expense of significantly changed meaning. Our PET translation drops the clothing figure entirely, but probably is closer to the meaning received by the original readers.]