Daily Bread Pastor Mike Anderson

  Click Here to Listen to the Readings Though there were minor festivals in the life of Israel, but there were three major annual festivals all Jewish males were required to attend.  1. Passover and the Feast of Unleavened Bread. This was in remembrance of when God delivered the Israelites from the slavery of the Egyptians. The angel of death "passed over" the houses of the Jewish families, whereas the angel death took the first born sons of the Egyptians. The Israelites were to take a firstborn animal from the herd or the flock and offer it as a sacrfice to the Lord on the first day of Passover. Though they first celebrated the Passover in Egypt, the Lord would soon pick a place where it would be held.  Passover usually falls in the Springtime. During the time of the early church, the Christian church celebrated Easter on the day of Passover. When Constantine became the first Christian Roman Emperor he ruled that Easter be celebrated on the first Sunday after Passover. Toda

Click Here to Listen to the Daily Readings Click Here to Read Deuteronomy 13:1-15:23 In chapter 13 , Moses gives a stern warning about the false prophets that emerge from within the community. One of the reasons why God wants the Israelites to completely destroy the nations in Canaan is so the Israelites would not be tempted to worship their gods. But in this case it seems like the false prophets have risen within the ranks to tempt their fellow brothers and sisters.  In this case some of what they had said comes to pass, but the their fatal flaw is that instead of attributing the supernatural work to God, they attribute it to other gods. God allowed this to happen in order to test the Israelites and see if their love for him was real. We know that in cults and other religions today, some things do happen that might be categorized as supernatural. But if they don't give the glory to Yahweh, they are also false prophets as well.  The penalty is severe. These false prophets must be p

Click Here to Listen to the Readings Click Here to Read Deuteronomy 11:1-12:32 Map of the Promised Land As the Israelites get ready to enter the Promised Land, once again Moses reiterates the importance of their obedience to the Lord. He recounts the fact that this new generation of children had not seen the deliverance from Egypt the Lord gave their parents. They were given a new opportunity to trust in the Lord and receive the blessings of the Promised Land.  1. Moses reminds them of the judgment of Dathan and Abiram, whose rebellion caused they and their families to be swallowed up by the earth.  2. The blessings of obedience were numerous. A land flowing with milk and honey, hills and valleys with plenty of rain, and most importantly a land the Lord personally cared for and watched over.  3. The importance of teaching these commands to their children. He gives them practical ways to keep God's Word always before them like: tying them on their hands and foreheads and posting the

Click Here to Listen to the Readings Click Here to Read Deuteronomy 9:1-10:22 As the people of Israel are about to enter the Promised Land, Moses recounts their relationship with God and what is most important to Him.  1. They must remember that it is God who goes before them to drive out the nations. It was not because of their righteousness that God did this, but because God was faithful to the covenant He made with Abraham. I.e. God is faithful even when we are not.  2. Moses reminds them of their stubborness and unwillingness to obey God during their wildnerness wanderings. It was only by Moses' 40 days of intercession which caused God to relent from pouring out his anger upon them. I.e. He could have easily started over with a new group of people, but he heard and answered Moses' prayer.  Moses also reasoned in his prayer with God that if God destroyed the Israelites it might reflect badly on him with the nations they came to conquer. They might argue that what kind of God

Click Here to LIsten to the Readings Click Here to Read Deuteronomy 7:1-8:20 As Moses continues his speech to the Israelites, there are several principles worth noting as to how God dealt with the Israelites. Since God never changes, they would apply to us today.  1. God chose the Israelites to be his special, chosen people. He calls them, " His own special treasure ." Note God chose them not because they were necessarily the bigges nation, but simply he loved them and was honoring the covenant he made with their ancestor Abraham.  2. With their special calling came special responsibilities.  Most importantly they would worship Him alone as the one true God. The nations that they were driving out worshipped other gods and their corrupt practices revealed the type of God they served. It was especially important that they would teach their children to worship God.  As the Israelites followed the Lord's commands, they would reveal that He was the one and only true God to the

Click Here to Listen to the Readings Read Deuteronomy 5:1-6:9 There are several things noteworthy in today's Old Testament readings.  1. The Lord made a covenant with the people of Israel at Mount Sinai . This was the second major covenant God made with Israel, the first being the covenant God made with Abraham. While the first covenant was unilateral, " I will bless you and make your name great ", the Mosiac covenant is bilateral.  As the Israelites stay obedient to the commandments God gave them, as summarized by the Ten Commandments, they would lead a prosperous life. But if they disobeyed then would miss out on the abundant life.  2. God's will for our lives is summarized by the Ten Commandments . Though there are other commandments God gave Israel, this was the basis of a moral code that if obeyed would set them apart and keep them safe. The first three commandments deal with how to have a right relationship with God, the fourth commandment how we treat our paren

Click Here to Listen to the Readings Read Deuteronomy 4:1-49 In chapter 4 Moses urges the Israelites to obey the Lord. He gives them many reasons for doing so. The fact that God is God and asks us to do something should be enough for us. After all, if God created us and all that exists it might make sense to listen to him. After, He knows us better than we know ourselves. In addition, Moses gives them the following reasons to obey. 1. So that they might live and enter the Promised Land, which God had promised to them. The generation before had not trusted God and died in the wilderness because of their unbelief.  2. When they went into the new nations they would display God's wisdom and intelligence.  3. The nations will wonder who their God was that He would be so near to them and listen to them.  4. They would wonder what nation has laws which are so righteous and fair.  God doesn't give us laws to obey because he is on a power trip. He gives us these laws because he loves us

Click Here to Listen to the Readings Deuteronomy 2:1-3:29 We always say that God " keeps his promises ". If He didn't, would He be the kind of God we would want to believe in. We see today God instructed Moses to enter the Promised Land, where there were certain lands that were off limit. For instance, the land of the Edomites was off limits. Edom was a nickname for "Esau" (which meant "red" because Esau had red hair). 400 years later God told the Israelites not to touch the land of the Edomites, because he had promised it to them.  The Moabites were also distant relatives of the Israelites through Lot, a friend of Noah's. God also did not allow the Israelites to take the land of the Ammonites.  Israel was not just some conquering army, out to get whatever land it could take. It probably was strong enough to simply take the land of Edom, but Israel only received what God had promised to them. Next we see successive victories over King Sihon of Hes

Click Here to LIsten to the Readings Numbers 36:1-13 As we close the book of Numbers in the Old Testament, David Guzik gives us a great synopsis about what we have seen in the last 36 chapters. From their encampment at Mount Sinai, God gave Israel the opportunity to grow from being a slave people to be a Promised Land people. He taught them how to be ordered, organized, cleansed, separated, blessed, how to give, to be reminded of God’s deliverance, given God’s presence, and received the tools to advance to the Promised Land.  ii. Then, as the nation actually set out from Mount Sinai to the Promised Land, they found themselves struggling with the flesh – they murmured, complained, and rebelled; most of all, they failed to enter into what God had set before them by faith – and a generation of unbelief was condemned to perish in the wilderness. iii. God led the nation for some 38 years in the wilderness, with much motion but no progress – enduring more rebellion and murmuring, but essenti

Click Here to Listen to the Readings Read Numbers 33:40-35:34 As you can see, the land in Canaan is an important part of the Lord's plan for Israel and for the plan of salvation. Two and a half of the tribes settled for land on the East of the Jordan River, while the other divied up the land based on the amount of people in their tribes.  The land was important because: 1. It was the promise God had made to Abraham and then to Moses.  2. It would be the land where Jesus would be born and the church would be born.  3. It needed to be purified of idols. This is why the instructions to purify the land from all idolatry and evil practices was so important. God knew if the Israelites allowed these evil practices to continue that eventually the Israelites would be corrupted by these pagan nations.  This became true of Israel’s history. They did not fully drive out the Canaanites, and though they possessed the land, the corruption of the Canaanites continued among Israel until eventually

Click Here to Listen to Readings Read Numbers 32:1-33:39 The tribes of Reuben and Gad make an unusual request of Moses. They ask him to have the land they just conquered, which was east of Jordan River before Canaan. They wanted to play it safe. In some ways you could say that they did this as a lack of faith, as God had promised this land to the Israelites.  Moses was concerned that if they were given this land and didn't have to risk fighting the nations, the other tribesmen might be discouraged and ask for the same thing.  So Moses made a deal with them, if they would fight with the other Israelites, they could leave their women and children where they were at, and if they kept their promise they could come back and settle east of the Jordan. The leaders of the tribes made the pledge and said they would do what Moses asked them to do.  Chapter 33 reviews the exodus from Egypt and previews the conquest of Canaan.  God ha d a unique role for the nation of Israel in regard to the p

Click Here to Listen to the Readings Read Numbers 30:1-31:54 Vows are similar to promises, but in the Old Testament a vow was like a contract which one had to fulfill. How much more so if a vow was made to the Lord. Paul says something similar in the New Testament when he says, " Let your yes be yes and you no be no. Anything beyond that is of the devil ." Because God takes our vows seriously, it is sometimes better not to make a vow.  The first verses apply to a man's vows to the Lord, but this chapter also deals with vows woman have made if they are married or unmarried. Because in this day and culture a man had authority over a woman (i.e. patriarchal society), either the young woman's father or husband had to approve of their vow.  Are you careful consider whether you can fulfill a promise before make it? Regarding the Israelites conquest of the Midianites here are some helpful ideas from bible commentator David Guzik. These types of verses can be hard to digest,

Click Here to Listen to the Readings Numbers 28:16-29:40 You can see in these chapters the many offerings that were to be offered by the Israelites to God. Notice the regularity and rhythm of the offerings. Some were weekly, like the Sabbath. Others were at appointed times during the year like the Passover and Festival of Weeks. Some of the offerings were daily.  It reminds us that worshipping God and offering our bodies as a "living sacrifice" is something we do daily in our personal relationship with God, weekly as we worship in a local body of Christ, and then there are other aspects of our faith life we observe on a seasonal basis. I.e. Christmas, Easter, Lent, and special ministry and personal retreats.  All of these are designed to strengthen our relationship with God and keep us in alignment with God in all that we do and say. It centers our life on God, so all of the areas of our lives are in balance.  Luke 3:23-38 Luke's genealogy is slightly different than Matth

Click Here to Listen to the Readings Click Here to Read Numbers 26:52-Numbers 28:15 Moses Commissions Joshua to Be the New Leader The Lord replied, “Take Joshua son of Nun, who has the Spirit in him, and lay your hands on him. 19 Present him to Eleazar the priest before the whole community, and publicly commission him to lead the people. 20 Transfer some of your authority to him so the whole community of Israel will obey him. 21 When direction from the Lord is needed, Joshua will stand before Eleazar the priest, who will use the Urim—one of the sacred lots cast before the Lord—to determine his will. This is how Joshua and the rest of the community of Israel will determine everything they should do.” Joshua had two leadership qualities. One, he was obedient to the Lord when he went to spy on the land. Two, he didn't get intimidated by the size of the people, because he knew that if the Lord was with them they had nothing to fear. The public laying on of hands was important as it let

Click Here to Listen to the Readings Read Numbers 26 This was the second census the Lord commanded Moses to take of the twelve tribes of Israel counting the number of men who were age 20 and older, who were able to fight. They had taken their first census 38 years ago when they were camped near Mount Sinai. The purpose to organize and count the number of men who could go into battle as the Israelites prepared to enter Canaan.  38 years before Israel was organized enough; they just did not have enough faith to take the Promised Land. Organization is good, and the work of God can suffer from a lack of it; but the best organization can never replace bold trust in God. - Guzik The total number of men was 601,730, only down 1,820 from the first census. The number of fighting men had stayed virtually the same.  Read Luke 2:36--52 Anna was another person who was waiting for the consolation of Israel. She was widowed early in her life, and spent night and day in the temple praying. She was als

Click Here to Listen to Today's Readings Read Numbers 24-25 We continue the saga of Balaam, the covetous prophet, and Balak, the angry king. By now Balaam realizes he is not going to profit off the Lord, and today he gives a vision given to him by the Lord. The vision which he describes as, " His eyes being wide open ", and " The message of the one who hears the Lord " is one of great prosperity for the people of Israel. The people are so powerful that everyone who they bless will be blessed and everyone they cursed will be cursed. This is reminiscient of the covenants God made with Abraham and Moses. King Balak of course flew into a rage, but Balaam reminded him that no amount of money could persuade him to say anything but what the Lord had told him to say. Balaam's last message had more to do with a future prophecy. It also has Messianic implications, "This passage is a beautiful prophecy of the coming Messiah. Balaam could see Him, but not now.  Jes

Click Here To Listen to the Readings Read Numbers 22:21-23:30 Balaam and His Donkey Balaam defied the Lord by going to the Moabite officials. The Lord used an unusual way to communicate to Balaam through his donkey. The Lord sent an angel and had it stand in Balaam's path with a sword. Only the donkey could see the danger it posed his master, so he tried three times to stop Balaam unsuccessfully. With each time Balaam got angrier at his donkey. The Lord even had the donkey talk to get Balaam's attention, but Balaam still resisted. Finally, the Lord allowed Balaam to see the angel with his sword. and Balaam feel facedown confessing his sin. When Balaam came back to Balak, Balak was angry he hadn't come sooner. But Balaam stayed true to his word and told Balak he could only say what the Lord told him to say. Balak built seven altars and sacrificed a bull and a ram on each altar.  But instead of cursing the Israelites, Balaam blessed them as the Lord had told him. Balak was fu

Click Here to Listen to the Readings   Read Numbers 21:1-22:20 Victory over the Canaanites The Israelites came into their first battle with the Canaanites, as the King of Arad in the South attacked them. The Israelites told God if he would hand them over to them, they would completely destroy them. This was Israel’s way of saying, “ We’re not fighting this battle for our own profit, but for the glory of God." Guzik The Bronze Snake As the people took the long away around Edom, they began to complain once again about what they had to eat and drink saying, " We hate this manna" . They not only spoke out against God but also against Moses. They had obviously not learned this lesson from their fathers. This provoked the Lord and made him angry. So he sent snakes, which bit the people and some died.  But in this case the Israelites repented of their sin, specifically by saying they had sinned against BOTH God and Moses. Though they committed a similar sin, their hearts were s

Click Here to Listen to the Audio Readings Read Numbers 19:1-20:29 The Water of Purification The process for the purification of the water involved the sacrifice of a "red heifer". A heifer was a cow which had never been pregnant and therefore could not give milk. They had to find one of red color which would be rare and hard to find. The heifer was slaughtered, and some of its blood was sprinkled on the front of the altar, and the rest of the animal was burned.   The ashes that resulted were added to the water to purify it, and was used to purify them from sin. So the ashes in a sense were looking forward to the blood of Christ, which purified them from sin. The water is used as a symbol of cleansing and also rebirth through the Holy Spirit. There are numerous examples in this chapter of what made a person unclean, and this especially applied to the priests who went into the temple with God.  The bottom line is uncleanness represented sin, which needed to be paid for.  The i

Click Here to Listen to the Readings Numbers 16:41-18:32 Israel Complains Again Something quite amazing happens today. The people complain and blame Moses and Aaron again for the deaths of the disobedient Levites and their families. This was the same mistake these families made before. So the Lord told Moses he was going to destroy all of the community. Moses and Aaron fell face down before the Lord, and Moses instructed Aaron to get fire in the incense burner and go out and purify the people. Some people were saved, but another 14,700 people died. Another reminder that the Lord took sin seriously, especially against the leaders he had appointed. But it also shows us that when Moses and Aaron interceded for the people before the Lord and provided the correct atonement for their sins, they were saved. Fortunately, we don't have to be purified with a censer every time we sin against the Lord. The Budding of Aaron’s Staff You might ask where is God's mercy in all of this. God inst