The Daily Audio Bible
Today's audio is from the ESV. Switch to the ESV to read along with the audio.
11 Years later, when Moses had grown up, he went out to observe his people—the Hebrews—and he witnessed the heavy burden of labor forced upon them. He also witnessed an Egyptian beating one of his Hebrew brothers. 12 He looked around to see if anyone was watching but there was no one in sight, so he beat the Egyptian just as the Egyptian had beaten the Hebrew. Moses ended up killing the Egyptian and hid the dead body in the sand.
13 He went out again the next day and saw two of his Hebrew brothers fighting with each other. Moses confronted the offender.
Moses: Why are you hitting your friend?
Offender: 14 Who made you our prince and judge? Are you going to kill me as you did the Egyptian yesterday?[a]
Fear immediately gripped Moses.
Moses (to himself): The news of what I did must have spread. I must get out of here quickly.
15 Moses was right. When the news reached Pharaoh, he sought to have Moses killed. But Moses ran away from Pharaoh until he reached the land of Midian. There he sat down beside a well.
16 Now the priest of Midian had seven daughters. While Moses was sitting there, resting from his journey, they came to get water from the well in order to fill the troughs with water for their father’s flock. 17 At that moment, a band of shepherds came and forced the priest’s flocks away from the well; but Moses stood up for the young women, came to their rescue, and even watered their father’s flock for them. 18 The women returned to their father Reuel (he was also known as Jethro).
Many people and places in the Scriptures have more than one name. Jethro is likely his given name, while Reuel is his priestly name.
Jethro: Why are you back so early today?
Women: 19 An Egyptian was at the well and he saved us from the bullying of the shepherds. He even drew water from the well and watered the flock for us.
Jethro: 20 Where is this man? Why did you leave him at the well? Go find him, and invite him over for a meal.
21 After experiencing Jethro’s hospitality, Moses agreed to come and live with him; and eventually Jethro arranged for one of his daughters, Zipporah, to marry Moses.[b] 22 Later Zipporah became pregnant and gave birth to a son; and Moses named the child Gershom because, as he explained, “I have been an outsider in a foreign land.”
What begins as a dinner invitation turns into an adoptive home for this wandering fugitive. Through all the twists and turns in Moses’ life, God is preparing him for a special task. Since he is raised by his Hebrew mother, he hears the stories of his people and learns to love them and identify with their suffering. Since he becomes part of Pharaoh’s extended family, he knows how to gain access to power. Since he spends these years in the land of Midian taking care of Jethro’s flocks, he has an intimate connection with a land through which one day he will lead a vast company of people. In the meantime, Moses must figure out who he is and whose he is, for soon there will be a job to do.
23 Many years later, Egypt’s king died. The Israelites continued to moan because of their bondage, and they cried out to be rescued from their oppression. Their cry for help ascended to God. 24 He heard their pleas and remembered the covenant He made with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. 25 God saw the situation the people of Israel were in, and He was moved to take action.
3 Now one day when Moses was shepherding the flock of his father-in-law, Jethro, the priest of Midian, he guided the flock far away from its usual pastures to the other side of the desert and came to a place known as Horeb, where the mountain of God stood. 2 There, the Special Messenger of the Eternal appeared to Moses in a fiery blaze from within the bush. Moses looked again at the bush as it blazed; but to his amazement, the bush did not burn up in flames.
Burning bushes in the desert are not uncommon. Dry plants make good tinder, and lightning strikes quickly set them ablaze. What is unusual is the fact that this bush continues to burn: a curiosity for this seasoned shepherd. As Moses draws close, he sees more than he expects; he encounters the one True God and His Special Messenger. But the form of the encounter is not completely clear. Moses hears directly from God, but he sees only fire and God’s Special Messenger. The point here is not simply to amaze Moses with miracles but to call him to an important task. God’s people are suffering, and they need someone willing to go and rescue them. God has already decided the right person for the job, but he needs to be persuaded.
Moses (to himself): 3 Why is this bush not burning up? I need to move a little closer to get a better look at this amazing sight.
4 When the Eternal One saw Moses approach the burning bush to observe it more closely, He called out to him from within the bush.
Eternal One: Moses! Moses!
Moses: I’m right here.
Eternal One: 5 Don’t come any closer. Take off your sandals and stand barefoot on the ground in My presence, for this ground is holy ground.[c] 6 I am the True God, the God of your father, the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob.[d]
A feeling of dread and awe rushed over Moses; he hid his face because he was afraid he might catch a glimpse of the True God.
Eternal One: 7 I have seen how My people in Egypt are being mistreated. I have heard their groaning when the slave drivers torment and harass them; for I know well their suffering. 8 I have come to rescue them from the oppression of the Egyptians, to lead them from that land where they are slaves and to give them a good land—a wide, open space flowing with milk and honey. The land is currently inhabited by Canaanites, Hittites, Amorites, Perizzites, Hivites, and Jebusites. 9 The plea of Israel’s children has come before Me, and I have observed the cruel treatment they have suffered by Egyptian hands. 10 So go. I’m sending you back to Egypt as My messenger to the Pharaoh. I want you to gather My people—the children of Israel—and bring them out of Egypt.[e]
Moses (to God): 11 Who am I to confront Pharaoh and lead Israel’s children out of Egypt?
Eternal One: 12 Do not fear, Moses. I will be with you every step of the way, and this will be the sign to you that I am the One who has sent you: after you have led them out of Egypt, you will return to this mountain and worship God.
Moses: 13 Let’s say I go to the people of Israel and tell them, “The God of your fathers has sent me to rescue you,” and then they reply, “What is His name?” What should I tell them then?
Eternal One: 14 I AM WHO I AM.[f] This is what you should tell the people of Israel: “I AM has sent me to rescue you.”
15 This is what you are to tell Israel’s people: “The Eternal, the God of your fathers, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob is the One who has sent me to you.” This is My name forevermore, and this is the name by which all future generations shall remember Me.
16 Round up all the elders in Israel and tell them, “The Eternal, the God of your fathers and the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, has revealed Himself to me and said, ‘I have been watching over you, and I am deeply troubled by what has been done to you in Egypt. 17 So I will rescue you from the oppression you have suffered in Egypt, and lead you to the land of the Canaanites, Hittites, Amorites, Perizzites, Hivites, and Jebusites—a rich and productive land flowing with milk and honey.’” 18 They will listen to all that you tell them; you and the elders will then go to visit Egypt’s king and tell the king, “The Eternal, the Hebrews’ God, has appeared to us. We ask that you allow us to travel three days’ distance into the desert to offer sacrifices to the Eternal.”
19 But I already know that Egypt’s king will turn down your request. He will not allow you to go, unless he is compelled by a hand stronger than his own. 20 So I will stretch out My hand, display My power, and crush Egypt with a series of miracles I will perform. After that the king will send you out of Egypt. 21 I will make it so the Egyptians treat My people favorably; and when you leave Egypt, you will not leave empty-handed. 22 Every Hebrew woman will ask her Egyptian neighbor and any foreigner in her home for anything made of silver or gold or even fine clothing. You will give all the items you collect to your children to wear. In this way, you will strip these items from the Egyptians.
Why does Jesus often instruct His disciples to keep secrets? In this case, perhaps He does because He realizes they will not understand the meaning of the transfiguration until they live through that other hilltop event, the death of Jesus on the cross. Believers, like the disciples, will better understand this bath of light and revelation when they, too, come to Golgotha and the cross.
Disciples: 10 Master, why do the scribes teach that the prophet Elijah must come first?
Jesus: 11 Scripture tells us clearly that indeed Elijah will come to restore all things. 12 But see this: Elijah has come already. No one recognized him for who he was, so he was arrested and killed. That is part of the preparation of which our Scripture speaks: for the Son of Man, too, will be arrested and killed at the hands of people who do not see Him for who He is.
13 And then the disciples realized the man they knew as John the Baptist[a] was the one Jesus was speaking of.
14 They had come down from the mountain, and as they headed toward town, they came to a crowd. As they approached the crowd, a man rushed up to Jesus and knelt before Him.
Man from the Crowd: 15 Lord, have mercy on my son. He has seizures. Sometimes when they come on, my son falls into the fire or into a pond. We are very concerned for him. 16 I brought him to Your disciples, but they could not heal him.
Jesus: 17 This generation is no better than the generation who wandered in the desert, who lost faith and bowed down to golden idols as soon as Moses disappeared upon Mount Sinai! How long will I have to shepherd these unbelieving sheep? (turning to the man) Bring the boy to Me.
18 The man did, and Jesus castigated the demon who had taken up residence in the boy. And the demon fled the boy’s body at the sound of Jesus’ voice, and the boy was healed from that moment on. No more shaking. No more falling into fires.
19 Later, when they were away from the crowds, the disciples asked Jesus why they hadn’t been able to drive out the demon themselves.
Jesus: 20 Because you have so little faith. I tell you this: if you had even a faint spark of faith, even faith as tiny as a mustard seed, you could say to this mountain, “Move from here to there,” and because of your faith, the mountain would move. If you had just a sliver of faith, you would find nothing impossible. [21 But this kind is not realized except through much prayer and fasting.][b]
22 Jesus and the disciples came to Galilee.
Jesus: The Son of Man is going to be betrayed into the hands of men. 23 They will kill Him, and on the third day, He will be resurrected, vindicated, newly alive.
The disciples were filled with grief.
24 Then Jesus and His disciples went toward Capernaum, and when they arrived there, some people who had collected the two-drachma tax that went for the upkeep of the temple came up to Peter.
Temple Tax Collectors: Does your Teacher not pay the temple tax?
Peter: 25 He does pay the tax.
Jesus knows that He and His followers are the true temple, and yet Jesus is canny. It is not quite time to shake the foundations of the temple or of the old way of doing things. And so He pays the tax and bides His time.
So when Peter came into the house where they were staying, Jesus explored the subject.
Jesus: Simon, what do you think? When kings collect taxes and duties and tolls, from whom do they collect? Do they levy taxes on their own people or on strangers and foreigners?
Peter: 26 The foreigners, my Lord.
Jesus: Well, then, we children of the King should be exempt from this two-drachma tax. 27 But all in all, it’s better not to make any waves; we’d better go on and pay the tax. So do this: go out to the lake and throw out your line. And when you catch a fish, open its jaws and you will find a four-drachma coin. Take this to the tax collectors, and pay your taxes and Mine.
Psalm 22
For the worship leader. A song of David to the tune “Deer of the Dawn.”[a]
Jesus prayed this individual lament from the cross (Matthew 27:46; Mark 15:34). Though it begins with a sense of abandonment, it ends on a triumphant note.
1 My God, my God, why have You turned Your back on me?
Your ears are deaf to my groans.
2 O my God, I cry all day and You are silent;
my tears in the night bring no relief.
3 Still, You are holy;
You make Your home on the praises of Israel.
4 Our mothers and fathers trusted in You;
they trusted, and You rescued them.
5 They cried out to You for help and were spared;
they trusted in You and were vindicated.
6 But I am a worm and not a human being,
a disgrace and an object of scorn.
7 Everyone who sees me laughs at me;
they whisper to one another I’m a loser; they sneer and mock me, saying,
8 “He relies on the Eternal; let the Eternal rescue him
and keep him safe because He is happy with him.”
9 But You are the One who granted me life;
You endowed me with trust as I nursed at my mother’s breast.
10 I was dedicated to You at birth;
You’ve been my God from my mother’s womb.
11 Stay close to me—
trouble is at my door;
no one else can help me.
12 I’m surrounded by many tormenters;
like strong bulls of Bashan,[b] they circle around me with their taunts.
13 They open their mouths wide at me
like ravenous, roaring lions.
14 My life is poured out like water,
and all my bones have slipped out of joint.
My heart melts like wax inside me.
15 My strength is gone, dried up like shards of pottery;
my dry tongue sticks to the roof of my mouth;
You lay me in the dust of death.
16 A throng of evil ones has surrounded me
like a pack of wild dogs;
They[c] pierced my hands and ripped a hole in my feet.
17 I count all my bones;
people gawk and stare at me.
18 They make a game out of dividing my clothes among themselves;
they cast lots for the clothes on my back.
7 So, my children, listen to me.
Do not stray from my advice.
8 Stay away from her, far away from her path;
don’t even go near her door
9 Unless you are ready to hand over your reputation to someone else,
unless you want to spend the rest of your years at the mercy of some cruel person.
10 If you do, strangers will help themselves to your wealth,
and everything you have worked hard to acquire will end up in someone else’s hands.
11 Your life will end with groanings of remorse, of opportunities missed,
and your flesh and bones will be eaten up with sorrow, regret for worthless efforts.
12 Then you’ll say, “Why did I hate being taught?
Why did I turn my back on correction?
13 I disregarded all that my teachers said to me;
I turned my ear away from my instructors!
14 Now I am on the edge of complete and utter ruin
in the midst of the community.”
The Voice Bible Copyright © 2012 Thomas Nelson, Inc. The Voice™ translation © 2012 Ecclesia Bible Society All rights reserved.