Daily Bible Reading Podcast

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NL-Day310 Ezekiel 44-45; Isaiah 19; Hebrews 13 Nov 02, 2025

Show notes

EZEKIEL 44-45:In the vision of the ideal temple yesterday, we heard of the buildings of rooms for the priests and offerings, the altar, the glory of God coming to this temple, and the reason for this vision.

ISAIAH 19:Yesterday in Isaiah we heard the prophecy about the defeat of the Ethiopians, and at the end of that message, there was a note of hope for that nation.

HEBREWS 13:Yesterday (and even the day before) we returned to the place of rest which was the theme of chapters 3-4. Did you notice?! Compare the last verse of chapter 4 with the place where we 'have come' to in 12:22-24.

NLT Translation notes:Heb. 13:7 Remember your leaders who taught you the word of God. Think of all the good that has come from their lives, and follow the example of [the way they lived out their beliefs.//their faith.]8 [Christ Jesus/Jesus Christ] is the same yesterday, today, and forever.9 So do not be attracted by strange, new ideas. Your strength comes from God's grace, not from rules about food, which don't help those who follow them.[The correct order is 'title' then 'name' in English. We always say words like 'president', 'senator', and 'doctor' before a person's name in that role. Greek can do the order either way. This is important because there are people in the world that think that 'Christ' is Jesus' last name.]15 Therefore, let us offer through Jesus a continual sacrifice of praise to God, proclaiming our allegiance to [Him//his name]. 21 may he equip you with all you need for doing his will.May he produce in you,through the power of [Christ Jesus//Jesus Christ],every good thing that is pleasing to him.All glory to him forever and ever! Amen.

Unless otherwise indicated, all Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.

NL-Day309 Ezekiel 42-43; Isaiah 18; Hebrews 12 Nov 02, 2025

Show notes

EZEKIEL 42-43:In yesterday's tour of the ideal temple we viewed the sanctuary and Most Holy Place.

ISAIAH 18:Yesterday we heard of Damascus and Syria and Israel.

HEBREWS 12:After recounting the more victorious heroes of faithful believing, the author spoke about all those unnamed people who victoriously suffered because of fully believing. The Faith Chapter ends with this:

Heb. 11:39 NLT All these people earned a good reputation because of their [fully believing//faith], yet none of them received all that God had promised. 40 For God had something better in mind for us, so that they would not reach perfection without us.

NLT Translation notes:Heb. 12:1 Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a huge crowd of witnesses to the life of [fully believing//faith], let us strip off every weight that slows us down, especially the sin that so easily trips us up. And let us run with endurance the race God has set before us. 2 We do this by keeping our eyes on Jesus, the champion who [initiated/initiates] and perfects our [way of believing//faith]. Because of the joy awaiting him, he endured the cross, disregarding its shame. Now he is seated in the place of honor beside God's throne. 3 Think of all the hostility he endured from sinful people; then you won't become weary and give up. 4 After all, you have not yet given [up] your lives in your struggle against sin.

NL-Day308 Ezekiel 41; Isaiah 17; Hebrews 11:17-40 Nov 02, 2025

Show notes

EZEKIEL 41:Yesterday we started Ezekiel's account of his long vision about the future and ideal temple of God, and this is another vision that is referred to in the book of Revelation. The reason for this vision is given in chapter 43:

Ez. 43:10 NLT "Son of man, describe to the people of Israel the Temple I have shown you, so they will be ashamed of all their sins. Let them study its plan, 11 and they will be ashamed of what they have done.

ISAIAH 17:Yesterday we finished the two chapter oracle concerning Moab. It was really not so much a prophecy of condemnation, but a lament for the people.

HEBREWS 11b:The Faith Chapter of Hebrews is an exposition of the verse quoted from Habbakuk 2:

Heb. 10:38 NLT And my righteous ones will live by [fully believing in Me//faith].But I will take no pleasure in anyone who turns away."

It is unfortunate that the King James Version of the first verse of Hebrews 11 doesn't make good sense but is still so often quoted as the definition of faith. The KJV says, "Now faith is the substance of things hoped for …" But how can I use that idea of 'substance'? This became the definition that is quoted, but no one can figure out what to do with it after quoting it. No one can— so to speak— put their finger on that 'substance'. The Greek word translated as 'substance' can also be translated 'confidence'. And using that word, our definition makes sense.

NLT Translation notes:Heb. 11:32 How much more do I need to say? It would take too long to recount the stories of [how these people fully believed://the faith of] Gideon, Barak, Samson, Jephthah, David, Samuel, and all the prophets. 33 By [fully believing//faith] these people overthrew kingdoms, ruled with justice, and received what God had promised them. They shut the mouths of lions, 34 quenched the flames of fire, and escaped death by the edge of the sword. Their weakness was turned to strength. They became strong in battle and put whole armies to flight. 35 Women received their loved ones back again from death.39 All these people earned a good reputation because of their [fully believing//faith], yet none of them received all that God had promised. 40 For God had something better in mind for us, so that they would not reach perfection without us.

NL-Day307 Ezekiel 40; Isaiah 16; Hebrews 10:35-11:23 Nov 02, 2025

Show notes

EZEKIEL 40:In chapter 38-39 we heard of the kingdoms of Gog and Magog, which point to future kingdoms in the north. Like Ezekiel's prophecies against the kings of Tyre and Babylon, Gog and Magog also refer to spiritual entities beyond this world, and we will hear of them again in Revelation chapter 20. And today we begin hearing of something else that appears in Revelation.

ISAIAH 16:Today's chapter is the continuation of the prophecy against Moab.

HEBREWS 10:35—11a:As I have told you again and again this year, because of a quirk in English, the tight connection between the noun 'faith' and the verb 'believe' has been broken. These two words have the same root in Greek. It would have been better had English preserved the connection such as between 'confidence' and 'confident'. The reason I mention that again here is because this is the famous 'faith chapter' of Hebrews. Note that this chapter is actually expounding on a quote from the end of chapter 10, so that's where we begin today.

NLT Translation notes:Heb. 11:1 ['Fully believing' means that we are confident//Faith is the confidence] that what we hope for will actually happen; it gives us assurance about things we cannot see. 2 Through their [fully believing//faith], the people in days of old earned a good reputation.5 It was by [fully believing//faith] that Enoch was taken up to heaven without dying—"he disappeared, because God took him." For before he was taken up, he was known as a person who pleased God. 6 And it is impossible to please God without [ believing//faith]. Anyone who wants to come to him must believe that God exists and that he rewards those who sincerely seek him.

NL-Day306 Ezekiel 38-39; Isaiah 15; Hebrews 10:12-39 Oct 26, 2025

Show notes

EZEKIEL 38-39:Yesterday we heard the famous 'dry bones' chapter of Ezekiel. Again the prophecy is that David will rule over the nation of Israel, which is like a nation of bones brought back to life. The references to David of course point to his heir, Christ.

Starting in this chapter we hear of the kingdoms of Gog and Magog. These names point to future kingdoms in the north (in Turkey or farther north). Like Ezekiel's prophecies against the kings of Tyre and Babylon, Gog and Magog point to spiritual entities beyond this world, and we will hear those names coming up again in Revelation. I doubt that these names pointed to a specific kingdom in Ezekiel's day, but if they did, the knowledge about that is lost.

ISAIAH 15:Yesterday's reading in Isaiah started out like Ezekiel, talking of Israel's return from exile and slavery. Then we heard another portion where the king of Babylon is clearly portraying Satan. That section starts with these words:

Is. 14:12 NLT "How you are fallen from heaven, O shining star, son of the morning!You have been thrown down to the earth,you who destroyed the nations of the world.13 For you said to yourself,'I will ascend to heaven and set my throne above God's stars.…

HEBREWS 10b:In the first part of chapter 10, the writer is still speaking of the advantages and greater glory of the new covenant, proving this with a reference to Psalm 40 and returning to the extended quote from Jeremiah 31.

NLT translation notes:37 "For in just a little while, the Coming One will come and not delay.

38 And my righteous ones will live by [fully believing in Me//faith]. But I will take no pleasure in anyone who turns away."39 But we are not like those who turn away from God to their own destruction. We are the [fully believing//faithful] ones, whose souls will be saved.

NL-Day305 Ezekiel 36-37; Isaiah 14; Hebrews 10:1-22 Oct 26, 2025

Show notes

EZEKIEL 36-37:In chapter 34, we heard the passage that many Jews would have thought of when they heard Jesus say, "I am the good shepherd. I give my life for the sheep." In Ezekiel 34, God promised to take away corrupt shepherds, saying that He would replace them with only one shepherd— namely David's descendant who will shepherd of the flock of God forever.

ISAIAH 14:Like we heard in Ezekiel and in Isaiah, and will hear in Revelation, Babylon will be judged. That kingdom was God's tool to execute judgment, but they themselves will feel God's judgment.

HEBREWS 10a:In chapter 9 of Hebrews, details about rituals under the first covenant were given. The writer was showing by contrast how Jesus entered a greater, permanent, holy, divinely made Most Holy Place with the one-time-only sacrifice of his own blood. In our time, I think the details also show us the impossibility of our ever rebuilding a system like the Mosaic covenant. I take this opportunity to share my opinion— which I recognize will not be shared by all listeners. But here it is: Those who want to add old covenant observances to our Christian faith just add accretions of man-made ritual. It is better to study and understand how much better the new covenant is, rather than to add empty and powerless ritual and symbolism from the old to the new.

NL-Day304 Ezekiel 34-35; Isaiah 13; Hebrews 9 Oct 26, 2025

Show notes

EZEKIEL 34-35:In Ezekiel yesterday, we heard of how Pharaoh was to be mocked in the world of the dead. Then we heard of God's justice, which he showed by the illustration of Ezekiel as a watchman for a city.

ISAIAH 13:Yesterday's reading in Isaiah was a psalm of praise including these poetic lines:

Is. 12:2b-4b NLT The LORD GOD is my strength and my song;he has given me victory.3 With joy you will drink deeplyfrom the fountain of salvation!…4b Tell the nations what he has done.Let them know how mighty he is!

HEBREWS 9:Important conclusions from yesterday's reading include:

Heb. 8:6 NLT But now Jesus, our High Priest, has been given a ministry that is far superior to the old priesthood, for he is the one who mediates for us a far better covenant with God, based on better promises.13 When God speaks of a "new" covenant, it means he has made the first one obsolete. It is now out of date and will soon disappear.

NL-Day303 Ezekiel 32-33; Isaiah 12; Hebrews 8 Oct 26, 2025

Show notes

EZEKIEL 32-33:Again, as seen in the messages to Tyre and to Egypt, God was not just speaking to one king or about one kingdom, but was also speaking against the kingdom/city of Man or the world system under the rulership of Satan.

ISAIAH 12:In yesterday's reading we again heard of the righteous Branch, a shoot growing from David's root. And we heard these famous words:

Is. 11:2 NLT And the Spirit of the LORD will rest on him—the Spirit of wisdom and understanding,the Spirit of counsel and might,the Spirit of knowledge and the fear of the LORD.3 He will delight in obeying the LORD.He will not judge by appearancenor make a decision based on hearsay.4 He will give justice to the poorand make fair decisions for the exploited.The earth will shake at the force of his word,and one breath from his mouth will destroy the wicked.5 He will wear righteousness like a beltand truth like an undergarment.

HEBREWS 8:In yesterday's reading, the writer of Hebrews showed many similarities between Melchizedek and Christ, including that they are kings of righteousness and peace, they live forever, and are higher in position and better than Abraham and Moses. Christ is also better than the Levitical priests because he received his priesthood by an oath from God and because he holds his office as priest forever. These things are amazingly confirmed by that prophetic verse in Psalm 110. And very significantly, Jesus thus being our High Priest signifies a change in the Law— something that the original Jewish audience would have found surprising and controversial. Note how skillfully the writer wove in that controversial topic— which he brings to a conclusion in today's chapter.

NL-Day302 Ezekiel 30-31; Isaiah 11; Hebrews 7 Oct 26, 2025

Show notes

EZEKIEL 30-31:As the Lord was pronouncing doom upon the Prince of Tyre in Ezekiel 28, did you notice how the language shifted to talking about things that the human prince could not have done. The spirit-world ruler behind the prince of Tyre is really in mind— that is, Satan. The tirade against the King of Egypt could also be similarly interpreted.

ISAIAH 11:Isaiah recorded in yesterday's portion that Assyria's army would come to Judah, but that Judah would be different from the other nations that Assyria conquered. And it did indeed happen like that!

HEBREWS 7:Yesterday the author of Hebrews reminded us of Abraham and Melchizedek. We ought to have great confidence in our hope, because the God— who cannot lie, has given us both a promise and an oath. The last verse of Hebrews 6 introduces again the topic of Melchizedek:

Heb. 6:20 On our behalf Jesus has gone in there before us (that is, into the heavenly sanctuary) and has become a high priest forever, in the priestly order of Melchizedek.

NLT Translation note:Heb. 7:3 There is no record of his father or mother or any of his ancestors—no beginning or end to his life. [It appears that] He remains a priest forever, resembling the Son of God.

NL-Day301 Ezekiel 28-29; Isaiah 10; Hebrews 6 Oct 26, 2025

Show notes

EZEKIEL 28-29:So why were there two whole chapters against the city-state of Tyre in yesterday's reading, plus one more today?! I think we see the answer in Revelation. Tyre is very like the picture of Babylon (which in that book is a picture of Rome). All the way through the Bible— starting with the Tower of Babel, we see a contrast between the 'city of man' and the 'city of God'. The world powers will be utterly defeated, along with all the wealth of commerce that supports them now.

ISAIAH 10:Yesterday's reading included wonderful prophecies concerning Jesus that are quoted in the Gospels and in Handel's Messiah:

Is. 9:2 NLT The people who walk in darknesswill see a great light.For those who live in a land of deep darkness,a light will shine.and6 For a child is born to us,a son is given to us.The government will rest on his shoulders.And he will be called:Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God,Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.

HEBREWS 6:Jesus is our High Priest, not in the order of Aaron, but Melchizedek. This chapter picks up where the last left off. Yesterday's chapter ended with the call for spiritual maturity:

12b NLT "You are like babies who need milk and cannot [yet] eat solid food."

NLT Translation note:Heb. 6:12 Then you will not become spiritually dull and indifferent. Instead, you will follow the example of those who are going to inherit God's promises because of their faith [— that is their full belief,] and endurance.

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