Exodus 25 - 1:02 . Exodus 26 – 7:00 . Exodus 27 - 13:08 . Psalm 33 - 16:49 . Some episodes are going to be action-packed and some are going to sound like you’re reading an instruction book, and this episode may tend toward the latter of the two. It’s important to remember, however, that the tabernacle is the place where the God of the universe, perfect in all His ways, matchless in power and authority, would meet with His people in a unique way. If it were up to you to build that, wouldn’t you w...
Feb 26, 2024•20 min•Season 4Ep. 35
Exodus 22 - 1:02 . Exodus 23 - 6:53 . Exodus 24 - 13:14 . Psalm 32 - 16:38 . On today’s episode God begins to give very specific commands to the Israelite people on what it looks like to be fair, kind, and gracious to one another. The Lord’s justice is severe for those who are selfish and outright rebellious, but gracious toward those who have no intention of causing harm. As you listen, it can be tempting to think that these are dry or irrelevant, but put yourself in the shoes/sandals of the or...
Feb 23, 2024•19 min•Season 4Ep. 34
Exodus 19 - 1:01 . Exodus 20 – 5:59 . Exodus 21 - 10:01 . Psalm 31 - 16:06 . In today’s episode, Israel arrives at Sinai and Moses ascends the mountain to speak with God. The Lord sends him back down with a proposition: if Israel will carefully listen to Him and keep His covenant, then they will be his own possession out of all the peoples, even though the whole world belongs to God. After confirming with the people, Moses ascends again and receives a moral code by which they might live; this De...
Feb 22, 2024•21 min•Season 4Ep. 33
Exodus 16 - 1:01 . Exodus 17 - 8:01 . Exodus 18 - 11:25 . Psalm 29 - 16:24 . Psalm 30 - 18:02 . As the nation of Israel begins their journey into the wilderness, they find themselves without food and water, but rather than turn to the Lord, they complain to Moses. After seeing such amazing and tangible deliverance and providence, the nation of Israel still worries that they will not be cared for. God provides quail as well as something that has never been seen before: fine flakes of something ca...
Feb 21, 2024•21 min•Season 4Ep. 32
Exodus 13 - 1:02 . Exodus 14 - 5:41 . Exodus 15 - 12:26 . Psalm 28 - 17:51 . Pharaoh has finally released Israel from captivity after Egypt has been completely ravaged by the plagues that God sent upon the nation. As they begin their journey, Moses instructs the people to present every firstborn male to the Lord. He encourages the people to remember this day and to tell the next generation what the Lord has done. It doesn’t take long before the Egyptians regret releasing Israel from serving them...
Feb 20, 2024•20 min•Season 4Ep. 31
Exodus 10 - 1:02 . Exodus 11 - 7:14 . Exodus 12 - 9:19 . Psalm 27 - 18:53 . The ten plagues on Egypt continue today with plagues of locusts, darkness, and finally, the death of the firstborn. To prepare Israel for the final plague, God gives Moses instructions on what his people must do in order to avert the coming disaster. They must kill an unblemished, male goat or sheep at twilight, spread it’s blood over the doorposts of their homes, roast the meat over a fire, and eat it before morning. Wh...
Feb 16, 2024•22 min•Season 4Ep. 30
Exodus 7 - 1:01 . Exodus 8 - 5:32 . Exodus 9 - 11:26 . Psalm 26 - 18:08 . Today we begin to examine the ten plagues sent upon Egypt that testify to the power of the great I AM. It has been suggested that each plague is designed to show pharaoh, and all of Egypt along with him, that their so-called-gods are no match for the God of Israel, systematically robbing them of any power they claimed to have. When Pharaoh refuses to let Israel go into the wilderness to worship the Lord, God sends plagues ...
Feb 15, 2024•20 min•Season 4Ep. 29
Exodus 4 - 1:01 . Exodus 5 - 7:12 . Exodus 6 - 11:24 . Psalm 25 - 16:30 . After Moses approached a burning bush on Mount Horeb that was not consumed by the fire, the Lord God Almighty spoke to Moses and commanded him to return to Egypt. Today, we pick back up in the middle of that conversation, wherein Moses pushes back against God’s command to go and speak to Pharaoh. He’s concerned that he is ill-equipped for the task that he’s been given, but the Lord assures Moses that He will be with Him an...
Feb 14, 2024•20 min•Season 4Ep. 28
Genesis 50 - 1:00 . Exodus 1 - 5:59 . Exodus 2 - 9:08 . Exodus 3 - 13:34 . Psalm 24 - 19:08 . After Jacob takes his final breath, Joseph’s brothers fear that he will seek vengeance, but Joseph doesn’t hold a grudge. Instead of seeking vengeance or extracting payment, he brings God’s grace, provision, and sovereign orchestration to mind, and ensures them that he will care for their families. God’s provision for Israel is clear in the beginning chapters of Exodus, but a new king in Egypt sees Isra...
Feb 13, 2024•21 min•Season 4Ep. 27
Genesis 47 - 1:02 . Genesis 48 - 8:11 . Genesis 49 - 12:34 . Psalm 23 - 18:15 . When we last left Joseph and his brothers, they tribe of Israel had just arrived in Egypt with all of their families, servants, and livestock. Joseph brings them before Pharaoh and he grants them access to the best part of the land. The life of Jacob, who is now known as Israel, comes to a close as he takes his last breath in Egypt. This is the same Jacob who deceived his father Isaac in order to receive the blessing...
Feb 12, 2024•20 min•Season 4Ep. 26
Genesis 44 - 1:02 . Genesis 45 - 6:15 . Genesis 46 - 11:17 . Psalm 22 - 16:27 . Joseph’s brothers have returned to Egypt with their youngest brother, Benjamin. He is the only one among Jacob’s sons that is a full brother to Joseph, that is to say that Joseph and Benjamin share Rachel as their mother. In our last episode, he held a feast and invited all of his brothers, but he still hasn’t revealed his true identity. He has one last test to see if they are still as treacherous as they once were. ...
Feb 09, 2024•22 min•Season 4Ep. 25
Genesis 42 - 4:58 . Genesis 43 - 12:02 . Psalm 21 - 18:16 . At the end of our last episode, Joseph had just emerged from prison to interpret Pharaoh’s dream. After predicting years of abundance followed by years of famine, Joseph suggests that Pharaoh appoint someone wise to oversee the collection of crops to sustain the population during years of famine. After losing it all when he was falsely accused of assault by Potiphar’s wife, he now gains more than ever could have dreamed when Pharaoh app...
Feb 08, 2024•21 min•Season 4Ep. 24
Genesis 38 - 1:05 . Genesis 39 - 7:00 . Genesis 40 - 10:40 . Genesis 41 - 14:25 . Psalm 20 - 20:49 . Today’s episode contains some adult themes, parental discretion is advised. Our episode begins with Judah’s sons who are so atrocious that the Lord puts them death, and soon thereafter we learn that their father is not quite a moral giant himself. Then we’ll return to the storyline of Joseph. It’s clear that something about the experience with his brothers’ betrayal has changed Joseph. Having bee...
Feb 07, 2024•23 min•Season 4Ep. 23
Genesis 35 - 1:02 . Genesis 36 - 5:39 . Genesis 37 – 12:25 . Psalm 19 - 19:14 . As we continue to get to know the sons of Jacob, you’ll start to realize that the apple doesn’t fall too far from the tree. Having learned the art of deception from their father, they use it to their own advantage time and again. In our last episode, they tricked a local chieftain into circumcising every man in town, and in vengeance, they struck down the entire population of men. When Joseph, Israel’s favorite son, ...
Feb 06, 2024•22 min•Season 4Ep. 22
Genesis 32 – 8:22 . Genesis 33 – 13:27 . Genesis 34 - 16:32 . Today’s episode contains violence against women, parental discretion is advised. Jacob and his father-in-law get into an argument and go their separate ways. Soon thereafter, Jacob wrestles with a man who is also somehow a representative God, and the Lord renames him “Israel” b/c he has wrestled with both man and God and won. Jacob’s daughter Dinah is violated by a man from another tribe, and when her brothers find out about it, they ...
Feb 05, 2024•22 min•Season 4Ep. 21
Genesis 29 - 1:01 . Genesis 30 - 7:29 . Genesis 31 - 13:54 . Psalm 18 - 17:03 . Today, Jacob completes his journey and meets Rachel. Jacob and his father-in-law Laban simply don’t get along, and let’s be honest, it’s not because they are morally upstanding people with a difference of opinions, it’s because they both practice deception to their own advantage. The daughters of Laban aren’t too dissimilar, and their pettiness is made apparent in today’s text. As a means of trying to gain flocks for...
Feb 02, 2024•25 min•Season 4Ep. 20
Genesis 26 - 1:00 . Genesis 27 - 6:33 . Genesis 28 - 16:16 . Today, Jacob the deceiver lives up to his name. With the help of his mother Rebekah, he goes to great lengths to disguise himself from his blind and aging father, tricking him into thinking that he is older brother Esau so that he might receive his father’s blessing. Jacob and Rebekah come up with a way to trick Isaac yet again, and Isaac sends Jacob to another country to get a wife for himself, thereby escaping the wrath of Esau. Late...
Feb 01, 2024•21 min•Season 4Ep. 19
Genesis 24:29-67 - 1:06 . Genesis 25 - 8:39 . Psalm 17 - 14:11 . When concluded our last reading, we found ourselves in the middle of an account concerning Abraham’s servant and Isaac’s future wife Rebekah. Abraham didn’t want Isaac marrying a Canaanite woman, so he sent a messenger to find a wife for his son from among his own people. The servant recounts what happened in the last episode almost verbatim, so if you get a bit of déjà vu, don’t worry. We’ll see that the apple doesn’t fall too far...
Jan 31, 2024•18 min•Season 4Ep. 18
Genesis 22 - 1:01 . Genesis 23 - 5:36 . Genesis 24 - 8:52 . God calls Abraham to do something that most of us would consider unthinkable, especially because we have the privilege of knowing God’s character through the whole counsel of Scripture: He asks Abraham to sacrifice his son Isaac as an offering to the Lord. Abraham trusts the Lord, and as the author of Hebrews later notes, “He considered that God was able even to raise him from the dead, from which, figuratively speaking, he did receive ...
Jan 30, 2024•15 min•Season 4Ep. 17
Genesis 19 - 1:01 . Genesis 20 - 8:09 . Genesis 21 - 12:16 . Psalm 16 - 17:37 . Today’s episode contains adult themes, parental discretion advised. In our last episode, the Lord visited Abraham by sending three messengers to his home. In today’s episode, those angels are sent to Sodom and Gomorrah, because the wickedness of the people has grown so severe that it calls for complete annihilation. Lot shows the angels hospitality, but when the crowd presses against the door to assault his guests, h...
Jan 29, 2024•20 min•Season 4Ep. 16
Genesis 16 - 1:02 . Genesis 17 - 4:44 . Genesis 18 - 10:56 . Psalm 15 - 17:42 . In our last episode, Abram told the Egyptians that Sarai was his sister in order save his own skin, and today things get even messier. Sarai suggests they try to help God’s plan along by pulling a slave girl into Abram’s bed. And Abram says, SURE. Yikes. It would be hard to argue that the Lord chose Abram because of his upstanding moral qualities, because the Bible highlights his flaws rather than covering them up. A...
Jan 26, 2024•19 min•Season 4Ep. 15
Genesis 12 - 1:02 . Genesis 13 - 4:34 . Genesis 14 - 8:26 . Genesis 15 - 13:07 . Psalm 14 - 17:23 . Today, we’re introduced to Abram, a man who is called by God to leave his family and his country and venture to a land that God will show him. While we know Abram lineage, what we know of Abram’s character only begins after the Lord calls him to go. We learn that Abram is a man capable of great faith and great cowardice, as puts his wife in a compromising situation in order to save his own skin. L...
Jan 25, 2024•19 min•Season 4Ep. 14
Job 39 - 1:10 . Job 40 - 4:45 . Job 41 - 7:50 . Job 42 - 12:35 . Psalm 13 - 16:17 . Job has justified himself in his own sight, repeating again and again that God has been unjust, bemoaning his fate and complaining that a man should be able to take God to court. In today’s episode, God puts Job in his place by asking him a series of questions. This inquisition is designed to help Job see how finite, weak, and limited he is, while painting a vibrant picture of God’s power and authority. Job can’t...
Jan 24, 2024•18 min•Season 4Ep. 13
Job 35 - 1:01 . Job 36 - 2:56 . Job 37 - 6:56 . Job 38 - 11:05 . Psalm 11 - 15:56 . Psalm 12 - 17:02 . The young man named Elihu continues to present a case against Job and his friends, saying that the Lord doesn’t listen to empty cries or baseless claims to injustice. Moreover, the God who created all things is accountable to no one; in other words, He doesn’t owe anything to anyone– therefore nobody can say that He is unfair or unjust. The God who made all things also sees all things, knows a...
Jan 23, 2024•19 min•Season 4Ep. 12
Job 31 - 1:01 . Job 32 - 6:50 . Job 33 - 9:43 . Job 34 - 13:36 . Psalm 10 - 18:22 . As Job concludes his remarks on sin and suffering, he maintains that he has been faithful to the Lord, abstaining from lust and from adultery, that he has cared for those in need, and has kept himself from the worship of false gods such as the worship of sun and moon. When Job concludes his words, a young man named Elihu, who has yet to speak, begins to voice his anger. He has respectfully waited until those olde...
Jan 22, 2024•22 min•Season 4Ep. 11
Job 27 - 1:01 . Job 28 - 3:47 . Job 29 – 8:04 . Job 30 – 11:04 . Psalm 9 - 15:34 . It won’t be long before Job receives a proper rebuke from Elihu and then from God Himself, but until that time comes, Job continues to vent and express frustration with the situation he finds himself in. His friends have told him to repent of his evil, assuming that his sin is the cause of his current state. Meanwhile, Job continues to declare himself as pure, which is also untrue, but in his state of despair he d...
Jan 19, 2024•19 min•Season 4Ep. 10
Job 21 - 1:01 . Job 22 - 5:39 . Job 23 - 9:55 . Job 24 - 12:01 . Job 25 - 15:51 . Job 26 - 16:32 . Psalm 8 - 18:24 . Job’s friends are insulted that he would reject their wisdom, especially because they are drawing their conclusions from that which was commonly assumed by the culture and by their ancestors. Job wants to find comfort and consolation from his friends, but they continue to make a case against him. In an earlier speech, Job spoke of God’s justice, but as he responds to his friend Zo...
Jan 18, 2024•20 min•Season 4Ep. 9
Job 16 - 1:01 . Job 17 - 4:32 . Job 18 - 6:52 . Job 19 - 10:30 . Job 20 - 14:46 . Psalm 7 - 18:14 . The book of Job is a messy book because it deals with messy realities and messy relationships. In one sense, Job’s friends are right in that God is just and that sinful people do not flourish in the long run. They are wrong, however, to say that the reverse is necessarily true, because disheartening circumstances aren’t always caused by sin; sometimes they are simply the designs of God. He is our ...
Jan 17, 2024•22 min•Season 4Ep. 8
Job 11 - 1:02 . Job 12 - 3:35 . Job 13 - 6:51 . Job 14 - 10:27 . Job 15 - 14:40 . Psalm 6 - 19:13 . When we last left Job, he complained that there was no mediator between God and man, and bemoaned the Almighty’s ever-watching eye. Zophar chimes in with similar heartless rebukes as those spoken by the rest of his crew, emphasizing that Job shouldn’t challenge God. Job, in reply, tells his friends that he is well-aware of all the things that his friends are telling him. Job tells God that he wish...
Jan 16, 2024•21 min•Season 4Ep. 7
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Jan 15, 2024•53 sec•Season 4Ep. 6
