NL-Day179 1 Kings 8; Psalm 119:97-112; John 6:25-71

Daily Bible Reading Podcast

1KINGS 8:Yesterday we heard lots and lots of details about the building of the temple. A man from Tyre, Huram, must have been an efficient and artistic technician in working with bronze casting. He corresponds to the two craftsmen who designed and constructed the first tabernacle.

PSALM 119:97-112:Again we are focussing on what God’s Word means to us. A favorite verse from yesterday’s portion is verse 89:

Ps. 119:89 “Your word, O Lord, will last forever; it is eternal in heaven.”

JOHN 6b:There is an important play on words between Jesus and the crowd in Capernaum which does not come out clearly in either the NLT or the GNT. It involves the word ‘work’. Observe verses 27-29:

John 6:27 NLT [Don’t//But don’t] be so concerned about perishable things like food. [Work instead to gain//Spend your energy seeking] the eternal life that the Son of Man can give you. For God the Father has given me the seal of his approval.”

John 6:27 GNT Do not work for food that spoils; instead, work for the food that lasts for eternal life. This is the food which the Son of Man will give you, because God, the Father, has put his mark of approval on him.”28So they asked him, “What [work] can we do in order to do [the work//what] God wants us to do?”29 Jesus answered, “[The work//What] God wants you to do is to believe in [me,] the one [whom] he sent.”

The irony captured in this play on words is that normally the act of believing is not considered a ‘work’. In fact, in later NT writings there is a strong contrast between working for salvation vs. believing for salvation. (As we have said before, this is not really a contradiction.) I bring this up to remind us that ‘believing’ is an act of the will. It is something one can choose to do, and therefore it can be called a ‘work’.

NLT Translation notes:John 6:27 [Don’t//But don’t] be so concerned about perishable things like food. [Work instead to gain//Spend your energy seeking] the eternal life that the Son of Man can give you. For God the Father has given me the seal of his approval.”53 So Jesus said again, “I [, the Son of Man,] tell you the truth, unless you eat [my flesh//the flesh of the Son of Man] and drink [My/his] blood, you cannot have eternal life within you.56 Anyone who eats my flesh and drinks my blood remains [joined to//in] me, and I [remain joined to//in] him.62 Then what will you think if you see [Me, the Son of Man, ascending//the Son of Man ascend] to heaven again?68 Simon [who is also called] Peter replied, “Lord, to whom would we go? You have the words that give eternal life.71 He was speaking of Judas, son of [the] Simon [that was from the village of Cariot//Iscariot], one of the Twelve, who would later betray him.

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.