Daily Reading Passages

Click below for access to the passages. Biblegateway.com is an excellent site with many versions of the Bible. The link below opens in NIV.  Youversion.com is a new site that allows you to annotate your own Bible, make notes, and comments once you create an account. That link opens in the TNIV version. Other versions are available at both sites.

Coaching Comments

Our Old Testament reading today is Numbers 21:1 - 22:20. Starting from here out we really begin to see some action. Now that Israel is wandering, they are coming across various local tribes, and having various interactions. So expect the reding to get a lot more engaging.

At the beginning of chapter 21 we get a short story about one particular town that Israel came across. This town, Arad, attacked them and took some of them captive. But the people made a vow to the Lord. The NIV translates this vow as "we will totally destroy their city." But this misses a very important element. The vow is a vow of "harem." (The "H" is the hard Hebrew H that sounds like a "ch" in the back of your throat.) This vow was to dedicate something to God, such that only God could have it - thus a sacrifice. The animals that were sacrificed were "harem." In this case, the city of Arad was dedicated to God in this way. That meant that after taking it the city was destroyed in its entirety, burned to the ground. Nothing was taken from it, no one was allowed to loot. Every single thing in the city belonged to God. This vow will come up again in a significant way, so I wanted to point it out for you.

Following the destruction of Arad, the people got grumpy and impatient again, and began saying that God was not taking care of them. Their complaints got more and more severe. As a result God withdrew His protection from them and they found themselves attacked by poisonous snakes. They cried out to Moses asking him to get God to protect them. God had moses set up a bronze snake on a pole, and everyone who looked at the snake was healed. This is a very strange story, especially since we only recently have the prohibition from God against graven images. And yet God instructed Moses to create this image, and that the people could find healing themselves, if they were willing to trust His process, and look to this image on the pole. We find no explanation for this in Numbers, but later in scripture we will find this incident referred to, with very important symbolism - and now when we get there, you'll know what they are talking about.

The remainder of chapter 21 shows Israel moving through the land, receiving victory from God against the people who oppose them. This continued and Israel became infamous for their victories among the people of the land. That leads us to the fascinating story in Chapter 22 & 23. Today we just get the set-up. Balak, the kind of Moab, was afraid and summoned a local magician (who happened to also worship Yahweh God) named Balaam to come and curse Israel for him. Balaam consulted God, who told him not to go because Israel was blessed. Balak repeated the invitation a second time, and this time God allowed Balaam to go on the condition that he only speak what God told him to speak. The outcome? That's for tomorrow.

Luke 1:26-56 is today's New Testament reading. We began yesterday with the prophecy of John the Baptist's birth. Today we see the prophecy of Jesus' birth. Mary gets a divine visitor who tells her what is about to happen. The angel tells her to go and visit her relative Elizabeth, who is in much the same position. Mary took the angel's words to heart and submitted herself to be used by God for this amazing role.

When Mary arrived at Elizabeth's house, Elizabeth had an immediate sense in the spiritual of what was going on, and prophesied over Mary. That leads into a song of praise from Mary. This passage has come to be called "The Magnificat." It's an inspiring prayer of praise and thankfulness for God's salvation through the coming Messiah.

The Psalms reading today is the 57th Psalm (Psalms 57:1-11). Again the writer is feeling attacked by forces outside his control, but in this case that fear elicits a resounding chorus of praise. This crisis is only going to be an opportunity for God to show His glory! What a great model for us. When we feel stressed and at our wits ends, do we praise God? How would our lives be different if we did? (You'll also note a number of lines that are probably familiar to you from current worship songs.)

Today's Proverbs reading, Proverbs 11:9-11 comes in two proverbs. The first highlights the destructive power of words, and the need of knowledge. The second points out the truth that it is good for the culture when righteous people prosper, since they use their prosperity to bless others. I pray that this is true of me!

2007 Cohort Comments