1 Samuel 17 - 1:02 . 1 Samuel 18 - 13:05 . When the subject of a historical account like this one tells you the reason why he will be victorious before he achieves his victory, we should probably pay attention to that right? So often when someone references David & Goliath, they frame it as if it’s about a big guy versus small fry, and the underdog wins the day because of his ingenuity. Let’s just make this clear: you and I are not David and this account is not about being brave and facing y...
May 24, 2023•19 min•Season 3Ep. 96
1 Samuel 15 - 1:02 . 1 Samuel 16 - 8:50 . Psalm 88 - 13:51 . The Lord sends Samuel to tell King Saul that he is to wipe out the Amalekites completely, because they opposed Israel when God brought them out of Egypt. King Saul decides that he will wipe out everyone and everything, except for King Agag of the Amalekites, and, you know, all the good stuff. You can’t destroy the good stuff, right? Because of this disobedience, the Lord tells Samuel that he regrets making Saul king. Samuel rebukes Kin...
May 23, 2023•18 min•Season 3Ep. 95
1 Samuel 14 - 1:01 . Psalm 86 - 13:09 . Psalm 87 - 15:18 . Israel is at war with the Philistines, and when our last reading ended, we were informed that a garrison of Philistines had taken control of the pass at Michmash. Up until this point, the Israelites had no blacksmiths and had been taking their weapons and tools to the Philistines to have them sharpened. This meant that only Saul and his son Jonathan had weapons of war. Jonathan sneaks away from the camp with his armor bearer to find the ...
May 22, 2023•17 min•Season 3Ep. 94
1 Samuel 11 - 1:04 . 1 Samuel 12 - 4:19 . 1 Samuel 13 - 11:03 . Psalm 84 - 16:06 . Psalm 85 - 17:50 . In our last episode, Saul had just been anointed as king by Samuel the prophet and priest of Israel. In today’s episode, he is appointed as king in Gilgal to a fuller degree, complete with sacrifices and rejoicing. Samuel gives Saul instructions to wait for him there, but when the newly minted king feels like he is pressed for time he assumes that it will be best to make the burnt offering himse...
May 19, 2023•20 min•Season 3Ep. 93
1 Samuel 8 - 1:01 . 1 Samuel 9 - 4:54 . 1 Samuel 10 - 12:04 . Psalm 83 - 17:35 . In today’s reading, Israel asks an aging Samuel to appoint a king over them before his death. Samuel warns them about what a king would demand from them, but the people urge him all the more. Ultimately, the concern is not so much that they want a king, but that they are looking to have a human king as a source of strength, protection, and provision. All throughout their history, God has been their strength, their p...
May 18, 2023•21 min•Season 3Ep. 92
1 Samuel 4 - 1:02 . 1 Samuel 5 - 6:07 . 1 Samuel 6 - 10:07 . 1 Samuel 7 - 15:02 . Today, Israel goes to battle against the Philistines. They assume that if they bring out the ark of the covenant to the battlefield, that it’s presence would either oblige God to win the battle for them or that the object itself has some kind of mystical power. They are sorely mistaken, and the Philistines promptly defeat them and capture the ark. Assuming that their victory is a victory over Israel’s God, the Phil...
May 17, 2023•20 min•Season 3Ep. 91
The instructions that the Lord has given to his people concerning justice, holiness, and priesthood have all been shattered in the time of the judges. It seems like all is lost for Israel, but even here we can see foreshadows of the Christ who has yet to come. There is a woman incapable of having children who is faithful to the Lord. In His providence, kindness and mercy, the Lord raises a prophet and priest from the barren womb of this woman, who had promised the Lord that her son would serve G...
May 16, 2023•20 min•Season 3Ep. 90
Ruth 1 - 1:01 . Ruth 2 - 5:19 . Ruth 3 - 10:56 . Ruth 4 - 14:19 . It seems like so much has been lost in the time of the judges, but the author of Ruth gives us a glimmer of hope. In a season of drought, a family leaves Israel and moves to Moab hoping to find relief, but instead they find sorrow. The wife, Naomi, becomes a widow without family to help her. Her daughter-in-law, a foreigner, commits to love her and care for her, returning with her to the people of Israel. There, she meets Boaz, a ...
May 15, 2023•20 min•Season 3Ep. 89
Judges 19 - 1:02 . Judges 20 - 8:06 . Judges 21 - 17:09 . At this point in the narrative of Judges, the Lord is noticeably absent from the life of Israel. It seems like nobody knows how any of this covenant stuff works, even in the slightest. It becomes so bad that a Levite is involved in a scenario almost identical to that of Sodom & Gomorrah, only this time, those who are intent on sexually assaulting the town’s visitors are successful because the Levite betrays his concubine. Though he is...
May 12, 2023•22 min•Season 3Ep. 88
Judges 16 - 1:01 . Judges 17 - 9:24 . Judges 18 - 11:46 . Psalm 82 - 18:24 . Today, we’ll conclude the account of Samson, one of Israel’s judges. As you may recall from the last episode, Samson was supposed to be dedicated to the Lord as a Nazirite from birth, and yet he did very little to keep that vow. We pick up his story with the account of his interactions with a Philistine woman named Delilah, a woman of the very nation that Israel had been tasked with destroying for their perpetual evil. ...
May 11, 2023•20 min•Season 3Ep. 87
Judges 13 - 1:00 . Judges 14 - 5:43 . Judges 15 - 11:06 . Psalm 81 - 15:47 . Today, we’ll begin to look at the life of Samson, a man who kept the Nazirite vow from his birth, until he didn’t, and violated it several times over. In short, Samson is a picture of Israel in one person. Meant to be set apart and holy, he instead takes his vows and his God lightly, defiling himself over and over. A Nazirite was supposed avoid dead bodies, yet he eats honey from a lion’s carcass and uses a jawbone for ...
May 10, 2023•19 min•Season 3Ep. 86
Judges 10 - 1:02 . Judges 11 - 5:00 . Judges 12 - 13:19 . Psalm 80 - 16:18 . Two judges of Israel follow the death of Abimelech, and we know little about them, except that they each judged Israel for over 20 years with no ruckus to speak of. When Israel turns to idols yet again, they suffer under the Philistines & the Ammonites. They cry out to the Lord, but he rejects their pleas. When they confess sin and burn their idols, God begins to become weary of their misery. Later, God appoints a n...
May 09, 2023•19 min•Season 3Ep. 85
Judges 8 - 1:01 . Judges 9 - 8:23 . Psalm 79 - 19:20 . When we last left Gideon and his army, he had attacked the forces of Midian with 300 hundred men. Though he and his small band had already killed 120,000 men, there are still 15,000 left. We begin with a discussion between Gideon and the men of Ephraim who have just killed the two princes of Midian as Gideon’s men routed them from battle. They’re upset that they weren’t called to fight, but Gideon basically tells them their leftovers are bet...
May 08, 2023•22 min•Season 3Ep. 84
Judges 5 - 1:01 . Judges 6 - 7:28 . Judges 7 - 16:49 . Our reading today begins by wrapping up the account of Deborah and Barak after Sisera’s defeat. It’s not long, however, before Israel turns, once again, to worship idols. The false gods of Baal and Asherah were meant to bring fertile crops and prosperity, but they only bring despair and a fractured relationship with the One True God. During a period of oppression by the Midianites, the Lord speaks to a young man named Gideon and calls upon h...
May 05, 2023•24 min•Season 3Ep. 83
Judges 1 - 1:01 . Judges 2 - 7:19 . Judges 3 - 12:03 . Judges 4 - 18:32 . Under the rule of Joshua, Israel was doing well and was off to a good start in obeying the Lord’s commands. Not long afterward, however, they begin to intermarry with the Canaanites, signaling, not only an apathy toward God’s commands, but an acceptance of the gods that the Canaanites worshiped. God declares that he will no longer drive out the Canaanites before Israel, and he leaves them in the land to test Israel’s faith...
May 04, 2023•25 min•Season 3Ep. 82
Joshua 24 - 1:00 . Psalm 78 - 8:40 . The book of Joshua ends with the burial of three leaders. First ,we’ll consider the life and death of Joshua. Remember that Joshua experienced the exodus, was one of the first to see the Promised Land as a spy, was one of only two men who trusted the Lord to defeat the inhabitants therein, and was the right-hand man of Moses. Furthermore, Joshua lived to lead Israel in conquering that land after Moses had died. Today, Joshua leads Israel in a covenant renewal...
May 03, 2023•18 min•Season 3Ep. 81
Joshua 22 - 1:03 . Joshua 23 - 9:53 . Psalm 76 - 13:37 . Psalm 77 - 15:02 . The clans and families of Israel are settling into their apportioned lands and beginning to find rest when a report spreads across the lands that the tribes on the other side of the Jordan are rebelling against God. It has been told that a replica of the Lord’s altar has been made across the river where the Reubenites, Gadites, and half the tribe of Manasseh reside. The other tribes ready themselves for war, knowing that...
May 02, 2023•18 min•Season 3Ep. 80
Joshua 19 - 1:01 . Joshua 20 - 7:16 . Joshua 21 - 10:03 . Psalm 75 - 16:50 . Now that the majority of the Promised Land has been conquered, the land is being divided by lot and by size according to the number of people in each tribe. Today’s reading is the last section of text detailing the division of the land, and as a reminder from the last episode, consider the excitement and the joy that Israel experienced as each family learned where they would live and work and thrive for generations to c...
May 01, 2023•19 min•Season 3Ep. 79
Joshua 15 - 1:00 . Joshua 16 - 9:23 . Joshua 17 - 11:00 . Joshua 18 - 14:58 . Psalm 74 - 19:48 . The work of conquering the Promised Land, in large part, has come to a close. Now it’s time to divide the land between the clans of Israel as Moses had instructed. To our modern ears, much of what we’ll hear today may not seem important or relevant, but to Israel, it sounded like real estate. If you and your family had been given large sums of land and houses by the work of God’s mighty hand, wouldn’...
Apr 28, 2023•24 min•Season 3Ep. 78
Joshua 11 - 4:02 . Joshua 12 - 8:28 . Joshua 13 - 12:24 . Joshua 14 - 17:42 . Psalm 73 - 20:48 . In our last episode, a coalition of nations conspired to fight against Israel, but they are no match for those with whom the Lord has covenanted, and God sends a natural disaster that lays waste to more men than the Israelites slay by the sword. Today, another set of kings sets their sites on extinguishing Israel. The northern cities and their kings will soon be defeated, included those men called An...
Apr 27, 2023•25 min•Season 3Ep. 77
Joshua 8 - 1:06 . Joshua 9 - 9:08 . Joshua 10 - 14:28 . Psalm 72 - 20:12 . In our last episode, Joshua and his troops defeated Jericho, but one man chose to reject God’s command to set apart everything for destruction, which led to a heartbreaking defeat at Ai and a difficult task for Joshua. After the guilty party is stoned, the Lord turns from his burning anger and Joshua leads the people to victory. The nations hear of Israel’s conquests and plan to form a coalition and fight against Israel, ...
Apr 26, 2023•24 min•Season 3Ep. 76
Joshua 5 - 1:01 . Joshua 6 - 4:11 . Joshua 7 - 10:53 . Psalm 71 - 17:38 . Joshua and the nation of Israel have crossed the Jordan and are now in the land that the Lord swore to give to his people. As you may recall, this is a new generation of Israelites; the former generation has passed away except for Joshua and Caleb. This generation has yet to be circumcised, and so the Lord instructs Joshua to have them circumcised. Outside of Jericho, they observe the Passover, after which the manna from h...
Apr 25, 2023•22 min•Season 3Ep. 75
Joshua 1 - 1:01 . Joshua 2 - 4:38 . Joshua 3 - 9:59 . Joshua 4 - 13:21 . Psalm 70 - 17:39 . Moses has died, leaving Israel with a new legacy, a new Law, and a new leader. Before Moses’ death, the Lord appointed Joshua to lead and blessed Him. Today, Joshua takes charge over Israel and leads them over the Jordan and into the land of promise. You may recall that Joshua has seen the land already, as Moses sent him with other men to spy out the land, and that he and Caleb were the only two spies who...
Apr 24, 2023•19 min•Season 3Ep. 74
Deuteronomy 33 - 1:02 . Deuteronomy 34 - 7:39 . Psalm 68 – 10:10 . Psalm 69 – 15:04 . Moses has just given a song to Israel which predicts that they will abandon God’s ways. After this warning, the Lord told Moses that it was time to ascend Mount Nebo, where he will see the Promised Land before he dies. It’s at this point we enter into today’s reading where Moses has a final word for the people of Israel before he departs: a pronouncement of blessings on each tribe of Israel. Tradition and histo...
Apr 21, 2023•20 min•Season 3Ep. 73
Deuteronomy 31 - 1:01 . Deuteronomy 32 - 9:10 . Now that Moses has given the statutes and ordinances to Israel a second time, he faces the end of his days at the direction of Almighty God. It is time to appoint and commission Joshua to lead the people in the stead of Moses, and God does so by appearing at the tent of meeting in a cloud. Sadly, the Lord tells Moses that the people he shepherded for so long will soon abandon God and His ways. Moses gives Israel a song to pass down which prophesies...
Apr 20, 2023•20 min•Season 3Ep. 72
Deuteronomy 28:36 - 1:03 . Deuteronomy 29 - 8:45 . Deuteronomy 30 - 15:12 . Moses continues to explain to Israel that they will be blessed if follow the Lord and cursed if they follow other gods. He calls out that thought which is so common to mankind: I am the exception to the rules, and as Moses puts it, “I will have peace even though I follow my own stubborn heart.” Contrary to what much of western society teaches, we are not called to pursue out heart’s desires; we are instead called to posi...
Apr 19, 2023•20 min•Season 3Ep. 71
Deuteronomy 26 - 1:04 . Deuteronomy 27 - 5:09 . Deuteronomy 28 - 10:41 . Psalm 67 - 17:43 . In our reading today, Moses outlines the blessings and the curses that will fall upon Israel: blessings if they keep the covenant of the Lord, and curses if they abandon the Lord’s covenant. Keep in mind that these statutes include prescribed ways in which Israel can repent of sin and execute justice. To reject the statutes and ordinances is to reject a good God who loves His people, denying that His ways...
Apr 18, 2023•19 min•Season 3Ep. 70
Deuteronomy 26 - 1:04 . Deuteronomy 27 - 5:09 . Deuteronomy 28 - 10:41 . Psalm 67 - 17:43 . In our reading today, Moses outlines the blessings and the curses that will fall upon Israel: blessings if they keep the covenant of the Lord, and curses if they abandon the Lord’s covenant. Keep in mind that these statutes include prescribed ways in which Israel can repent of sin and execute justice. To reject the statutes and ordinances is to reject a good God who loves His people, denying that His ways...
Apr 17, 2023•21 min•Season 3Ep. 69
Deuteronomy 18 - 1:02 . Deuteronomy 19 - 4:41 . Deuteronomy 20 - 9:57 . Deuteronomy 21 - 13:54 . Psalm 65 - 18:16 . Moses continues to speak to the Israelites before his impending death, reminding this new generation about the laws and statutes that have been put in place. Many of the structures given here for a system of justice continue to provide a template for our judicial systems in the west today, including concepts such as the testimony of multiple witnesses, a hierarchy of courts, and va...
Apr 14, 2023•21 min•Season 3Ep. 68
Deuteronomy 14 - 1:01 . Deuteronomy 15 - 5:18 . Deuteronomy 16 - 10:14 . Deuteronomy 17 - 14:17 . Psalm 64 - 18:18 . There is a beautiful picture on display in the act of bringing a tenth of your produce to the Lord as an offering. The instructions given to Israel are that they should bring the tenth to where the Lord resides and have a feast in the presence of God. So get this: God provides all the food as a gift, the Israelite brings some of it back to supply the party, and then in a way the I...
Apr 13, 2023•20 min•Season 3Ep. 67
