Yesterday we heard of the rivalry between Rachel and Leah, and about more sons for Jacob— whose names all have meanings appropriate to what Rachel or Leah were feeling at the time.

JOB 18:
Yesterday in chapter 17, Job again complained that he was surrounded by mockers, and once again despairingly said

17:15 GNT Where is there any hope for me?
Who sees any?
16 Hope will not go with me
when I go down to the world of the dead.

MARK 11:
Jesus has by now prepared his disciples for his death by prophesying about it, and by teaching them about what it will be like to be a 'leader' in His kingdom. And he healed Bartimaeus, who called Jesus by his Messianic title: the Son of David.

Listen to this quote from Constable's notes for v.10:49:

The two descriptions of Jesus in these verses reveal the faith of Bartimaeus. The crowds simply described Jesus as "the Nazarene." Bartimaeus had obviously heard about Jesus and had concluded that He was the Messiah. "Son of David" is a messianic title (cf. 11:9-10; 12:35-37; 2 Sam. 7:8-16; Isa. 11:1, 10; Jer. 23:5-6; Ezek. 34:23-24). Even though Bartimaeus lacked physical sight he saw more clearly who Jesus was than the multitudes who could see. His cry for mercy from Jesus expressed the attitude of trust, humility, and dependence that Jesus had been teaching His disciples to maintain.

Thomas Constable was a professor for many years at Dallas Theological Seminary. His notes are available to read using the Bible study site: lumina.bible.org.

GENESIS 30:
In yesterday's reading in Genesis 28-29, Jacob left home, and God appeared to him and promised to bless him as he blessed Isaac. Jacob worked for Laban, married both Leah and Rachel, and he had four sons through Leah.

JOB 17:
Yesterday was the first chapter of Job's response to Eliphaz. He complained that his three comforters were not very comforting, saying

1-2 GNT I have heard words like that before;
the comfort you give is only torment.
3 Are you going to keep on talking forever?
Do you always have to have the last word?

And he said,

6 But nothing I say helps,
and being silent does not calm my pain.

And

9 In anger God tears me limb from limb;
he glares at me with hate.

This last statement shows how easy it is for us humans to misunderstand God's will or intentions concerning us. God did not hate Job!

MARK 10b:
Yesterday in the first half of chapter 10, Jesus gave God's true perspective on divorce, blessed some children, and said that is impossible for the rich to enter the Kingdom of God (in their own strength). By the way, there is a wrong teaching that is still often heard. People have heard that the 'eye of the needle' was a little door next to the big gate in Jerusalem, and that a camel could get through this gate but all the burden would have to be taken off. This is just plain wrong, but it is one of those things that just keeps being passed on. No such gate was made in New Testament days in Jerusalem. Such gates were made in castles in Europe in the middle ages. No, instead of holding out hope for rich people, Jesus' meaning is just what he said: It is just as impossible for the rich to enter heaven as it is for a camel to go through the eye of a real sewing needle. The next statement of Jesus however shows the way the rich may enter heaven.

Jesus gave a wonderful promise for missionaries at the end of the chapter. I bear witness to every part of that. 2,000 Orya people call me 'Aya Bak'— which means 'older brother'. The Lord has blessed me way more than 100 times.

GENESIS 28-29:
After what Jacob did to Esau in Genesis 27— with Esau holding a big grudge, it was time for Jacob to get out of town.

JOB 16:
In Job 15, Eliphaz said that Job was showing no reverence for God, and that his own words condemned him. His rhetorical questions all imply that Job is being proud and guilty of sin. Eliphaz maintained that no mortal can be pure (and that much is true).

MARK 10a:
AND, in yesterday's reading, Jesus predicted his death, spoke about who is greatest in God's kingdom, and talked about the seriousness of sin.

In 9:37 Jesus took a little child in his arms and said to them, "Anyone who welcomes a little child like this on my behalf welcomes me, and anyone who welcomes me welcomes not only me but also my Father who sent me."

And we can be sure that means that our welcoming of a child on Christ's behalf will be rewarded. Jesus goes on to say in verse 41, "If anyone gives you even a cup of water because you belong to the Messiah, I tell you the truth, that person will surely be rewarded."

I can hear someone say, "That's too good to be true!" But this is consistent with other Scripture. I think that in heaven we will be amazed at how closely and lovingly we have been watched, and how amazingly appropriate our rewards will be from our generous Father.

GENESIS 27:
In yesterday's reading we read the history of Isaac and Rebecca's family before the narrative focuses on their dissimilar twin sons— and especially Jacob.

JOB 15:
God has revealed so much more to us in our day than what Job could know in his day. One thing was shown yesterday. Job asked,

15:14 GNT If a man dies, can he come back to life? …

MARK 9b:
After coming down the mountain with three of his disciples, Jesus met his other disciples who were having two difficulties simultaneously with people arguing with them and with failing to heal a man's son— who was possessed by an evil spirit or a demon.

Repeating a little of what I said in an earlier podcast: In Greek, 'demon' is daimonia, and the other term, 'evil spirit', is more literally 'unclean spirit'. As someone who has worked in another culture and seen what has happened over my lifetime in the USA, I hope it will be helpful to some readers if I share about this topic. Some of you— particularly those of the older generation in the USA, will say, "What people called demons in Jesus' day were just what we call mental illness." While, paradoxically, it is the younger generation in the USA who more readily believe that demons actually exist. I think the younger generation have it right this time. Demons do exist.

Here's what I have observed: Where demons are not believed in, they are happy to stay in the background— where they are very adept at promoting falsehood and sin. Where demons are feared, worshipped, where people listen to satanic music and take part in occult rituals, demons come out more openly— to increase people's fear of them and to manipulate people.

As believers in Jesus, remember that Jesus has complete power over Satan and all demons. We who belong to Jesus should not fear them. Nor should we seek communication with such beings. Remember two things from yesterday's story: The father wisely cried out, "Help my unbelief!" So the first thing to remember is to fully believe in Christ Jesus. The second is the answer Jesus gave to the disciples question: Prayer is of vital importance in this area of spiritual warfare.

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GNT Translation notes:
Job 15:25 That is the fate of those
who shake their fists at God
and defy the Almighty [— like you].
====
Mrk. 9:42"If anyone should cause one of these little ones [who believe in me to fall away//to lose faith in me], it would be better for that person to have a large millstone tied around the neck and be thrown into the sea.43 So if your hand makes you [fall away from me//lose your faith], cut it off! It is better for you to enter life without a hand than to keep both hands and go off to hell, to the fire that never goes out.45 And if your foot makes you [fall away from me//lose your faith], cut it off! It is better for you to enter life without a foot than to keep both feet and be thrown into hell. 47 And if your eye makes you [fall away from me//lose your faith], take it out! It is better for you to enter the Kingdom of God with only one eye than to keep both eyes and be thrown into hell. 48 There 'the worms that eat them never die, and the fire that burns them is never put out.'
[Jesus also taught using these sayings:]
49 "Everyone will be purified by fire as a sacrifice is purified by salt.

I encourage you to Dig Deeper in your Bible study this year. I have linked several powerful on-line Bible study tools in the Shovels blog post at http://dailybiblereading.info. The same information can be found in the Read This First pages under the menu entry Links and Shovels.

And when you find an especially precious insight or a question, please share it with us via our Facebook group.

Our Facebook group and other ways to stay connected with other Bible readers will change each year. Please see the links in the site header of http://dailybiblereading.info.

GENESIS 25-26:
Yesterday in Genesis 24 we read the charming story of how Rebecca became Isaac's wife.

JOB 14:
In Job chapter 13, Job challenged Zophar and his other two friends with these words,

6 GNT Listen while I state my case.
7 Why are you lying?
Do you think your lies will benefit God?
8 Are you trying to defend him?
Are you going to argue his case in court?
9 If God looks at you closely, will he find anything good?
Do you think you can fool God the way you fool others?

…
14 I am ready to risk my life.
15 I've lost all hope, so what if God kills me?
I am going to state my case to him.
16 It may even be that my boldness will save me,
since no wicked person would dare to face God.

Job said in 13:15 that he would present his case to God, and that is exactly what he does, starting in verse 19 (in the GNT) or 20 (in the NLT). And Job continues to speak to God through all of chapter 14.

MARK 9:
Yesterday at the end of Mark 8, Jesus gave this requirement for all his followers:

"Everyone who wants to follow Me must leave his own self-interests, and follow Me continually with this resolve, 'No matter if I die— even if that be by crucifixion, I will keep following the Lord!'"

[That translation sounds different because it is from what I call the Plain English Translation. That is an English translation of our Plain Indonesian Translation (TSI).]

The rest of Mark chapter 8 has other important verses including this one:

If you try to hang on to your life, you will lose it. But if you give up your life for my sake and for the sake of the Good News, you will save it.

GENESIS 24:
In Genesis 22, Isaac asked,

22:7b GNT "I see that you have the coals and the wood, but where is the lamb for the sacrifice?"

8 Abraham answered, "God himself will provide one."
It is amazing to me that Moses adds the proverb,
14 "even today people say, "On the Lord's mountain he provides."

In our time, we easily see how this points to the provision of the Lamb of God on the mountain called Calvary.

JOB 13:
As we saw in Job chapter 12, by now he is pretty ticked off, starting off with,

Job 12:1-2 GNT "Yes, you are the voice of the people.
When you die, wisdom will die with you.

Note the irony Job points out:

4 Even my friends laugh at me now;
they laugh, although I am righteous and blameless;
but there was a time when God answered my prayers.
5 You have no troubles, and yet you make fun of me;
you hit someone who is about to fall.
6 But thieves and godless people live in peace,
though their only god is their own strength.

MARK 8b:
In yesterday's reading in the first half of Mark chapter 8, Jesus fed the 4,000, and then the Pharisees demanded a miraculous sign 'showing God's approval'— literally a sign 'from heaven'. The reading yesterday ended with the disciples not understanding what Jesus meant by

Mark. 8:15 GNT "Take care and be on your guard against the yeast of the Pharisees and the yeast of Herod."

In many passages of Mark and the other Gospels, there are places where Jesus talks of 'the Son Man'. And He is talking about himself, but using the pronoun 'he' for the Son of Man. Here is an example from verse 31:

8:31 GNT Then Jesus began to teach his disciples: "The Son of Man must suffer much and be rejected by the elders, the chief priests, and the teachers of the Law. He will be put to death, but three days later he will rise to life."

This form of speech— speaking of oneself in the third person, is quite unusual in any language. For modern readers, the term 'son of man' is also very strange sounding. The standard meaning for the Hebrew idiom 'son of man' was 'ordinary flesh and blood human being'. Jesus was both concealing his identity to some, and revealing it to those who were able to remember the prophecy about a special Son of Man in Daniel 7.

May God richly bless you as we read God's Word together!

GENESIS 22-23:
In yesterday's reading in Genesis, Abraham deceived Abimelech, Isaak was born, and Sarah demanded that Hagar and her son be sent away— which grieved Abraham. (But remember that story, because Paul uses it as a spiritual metaphor in Galatians 4.) Finally, Abimelech visited Abraham, and the two made several formally ratified promises.

JOB 12:
Yesterday in Job chapter 11, Zophar said to Job,

Job 11:1-2 GNT Will no one answer all this nonsense?
Does talking so much put you in the right?
3 Job, do you think we can't answer you?
That your mocking words will leave us speechless?
4 You claim that what you say is true;
you claim you are pure in the sight of God.
5 How I wish God would answer you!
6 He would tell you there are many sides to wisdom;
there are things too deep for human knowledge.
God is punishing you less than you deserve.

Having accused Job of sin in that way, Zophar then goes on to give this lovely advice:

13 Put your heart right, Job. Reach out to God.
14 Put away evil and wrong from your home.
15 Then face the world again, firm and courageous.
16 Then all your troubles will fade from your memory,

MARK 8a:
Yesterday in Mark chapter 7, Jesus gave this very significant teaching in verse 15:

15 GNT There is nothing that goes into you from the outside which can make you ritually unclean. Rather, it is what comes out of you that makes you unclean."

And we heard the way that Jesus gave a difficult test to the Gentile woman. And again I say, please don't just assume that Jesus was unfeeling to that woman. There is treasure to find hidden there under the surface in that enigmatic test!

Greetings as a fellow recipient of God's Kindness!

GENESIS 20-21:
In chapter 19 of Genesis we heard what happened to Lot and his daughters after being saved from Sodom. The sons of Lot's daughters became the ancestors of the Moabite and Ammonite races who were always at war with God's people.

JOB 11:
In Job chapter 10, Job accused God like this:

Job 10:13 GNT But now I know that all that time [since birth]
you were secretly planning to harm me.
14 You were watching to see if I would sin,
so that you could refuse to forgive me.
15 As soon as I sin, I'm in trouble with you,
but when I do right, I get no credit.
I am miserable and covered with shame.

MARK 7:
Yesterday's reading in Mark 6 was of Jesus feeding 5,000+ and walking on water.

I would like to challenge each of my listeners to dig deeper to find a spiritual gem behind Jesus' seemingly harsh and impolite first answer to the Syro-Phoenician woman. I encourage you to ask what right anyone (and especially any Gentile) would have to come to Jesus and ask for a miracle. With that question in mind, I encourage you to read all of Ephesians chapter 2.