Marty Solomon and Brent Billings wrap up the Assyrian period of history by looking at one of the most distressing prophets: the voice of 2 Isaiah as he delivers numerous woes to the nations of the world, including God’s people. Yet even this is not void of hope as we see it scattered throughout today’s portion of Text. Discussion Video for BEMA 55 Transcript for BEMA 55 Support The BEMA Podcast...
Marty Solomon and Brent Billings hear the voice of Zephaniah as he warns the kingdom of Judah of impending judgment. Discussion Video for BEMA 54 Transcript for BEMA 54 Support The BEMA Podcast
Marty Solomon and Brent Billings juxtapose the book of Jonah against the other Assyrian prophet to Israel—the book of Nahum—looking at the other side of the equation of how God deals with evil. Discussion Video for BEMA 53 Information on BEMA Trips [Marty doesn’t need more emails] Transcript for BEMA 53 Support The BEMA Podcast...
Marty Solomon and Brent Billings look at the book of Jonah and try to uncover the message buried in this most unusual prophet. Presentation for Jonah — Potential (PDF) Discussion Video for BEMA 52 The Meaning of the Story of Jonah — Aleph Beta Academy Subscribe to Aleph Beta Academy BEMA listeners can use code friendsofbema for one month off of a monthly Premium membership. Transcript for BEMA 52 Support The BEMA Podcast...
Marty Solomon and Brent Billings look at the first of four voices found in Isaiah — the pre-Assyrian voice that condemned the greed and injustice of the people of Judah. NB: Due to a malfunction with our original recording, this episode was recorded in 2021. Our environments and equipment setups have changed, but we did our best to present it as it was in 2017. Presentation for 1 Isaiah — Vineyard (PDF) Discussion Video for BEMA 51 Out of Babylon by Walter Brueggemann The Prophets by Abraham Jos...
Marty Solomon and Brent Billings explore the warning of the prophet Micah as he speaks to the people of Judah about what God truly desires. NB: Due to a malfunction with our original recording, this episode was recorded in 2021. Our environments and equipment setups have changed, but we did our best to present it as it was in 2017. Discussion Video for BEMA 50 Transcript for BEMA 50 Support The BEMA Podcast...
A simplified version of the daily prayer from Hosea 2. This recording is meant to follow Episode 49 . Verastikh le l'olam Verastikh lib'tzedek uve'mishpat, uve'chesed, uve'rachamim Verastikh lib'emuna, v'yadat et Adonai I will betroth you to myself forever. I will betroth you to myself in righteousness, and in justice, and in love, and in compassion. I will betroth you to myself in faithfulness, and you shall know the Lord. Support The BEMA Podcast...
Marty Solomon and Brent Billings examine the message of Hosea as depicted in the prophetic theater of his own life through his marriage to the prostitute Gomer. Verastikh — Learn Hebrew Discussion Video for BEMA 49 Transcript for BEMA 49 Support The BEMA Podcast...
Marty Solomon and Brent Billings explore the book of Amos on a quest to find the heart of God as expressed in the first of His many mouthpieces. Presentation for Amos — Plumb Line (PDF) Discussion Video for BEMA 48 The Prophets by Abraham Joshua Heschel Plumb Line — Wikipedia Transcript for BEMA 48 Support The BEMA Podcast...
Marty Solomon and Brent Billings examine the remaining books in Tanakh, most of which are prophets, attempting to understand prophetic history as a whole and the setting for each period of history. Presentation for The Lord’s Mouthpiece (PDF) Discussion Video for BEMA 47 Out of Babylon by Walter Brueggemann Transcript for BEMA 47 Support The BEMA Podcast...
Marty Solomon and Brent Billings look at the underaddressed book called Song of Songs and explore the ramifications of avoiding the topic of sexuality. Discussion Video for BEMA 46 Sex God by Rob Bell NOOMA 002: Flame by Rob Bell The Zimzum of Love by Rob and Kristen Bell Transcript for BEMA 46 Support The BEMA Podcast...
Marty Solomon, Brent Billings, and special guest Kevin Luo continue our study of wisdom literature, examining the collection of Proverbs and the teaching of Ecclesiastes. Discussion Video for BEMA 45 Kevin Luo on Twitter A Year of Biblical Womanhood by Rachel Held Evans Less Is More Than Enough by Chris McNaught “How Great Leaders Inspire Action” by Simon Senek — TED NOOMA 012: Matthew by Rob Bell Transcript for BEMA 45 Support The BEMA Podcast...
Marty Solomon, Brent Billings, and special guest Kevin Luo discuss the collection of ancient songs known as the Psalms. Discussion Video for BEMA 44 Classifying the Psalms by Genre Kevin Luo on Twitter Transcript for BEMA 44 Support The BEMA Podcast...
Marty Solomon and Brent Billings wrap up a look at the kings of Israel, exploring the story of Naaman and its implications for us today. Discussion Video for BEMA 43 Transcript for BEMA 43 Support The BEMA Podcast
Marty Solomon and Brent Billings look at the story of Elijah and the lessons learned by one of Israel’s greatest prophets. Discussion Video for BEMA 42 Where God Was Born by Bruce Feiler Map of Phoenicia, Late Bronze Age — Wikipedia Transcript for BEMA 42 Support The BEMA Podcast...
Marty Solomon and Brent Billings revisit the two sources comprising this portion of the biblical narrative, analyzing the agendas found in each. They attempt to look at the differences between the sources to understand the reigns of David and Solomon and the split of the nation of God’s people, ultimately helping us figure out what went wrong. Presentation for The Story Behind the Story (PDF) Discussion Video for BEMA 41 Jesus Wants to Save Christians by Rob Bell and Don Golden Transcript for BE...
Marty Solomon and Brent Billings begin the journey to understanding the historical record of the united kingdom of Israel by taking a look at the two sources comprising this biblical narrative. Presentation for One Story, Two Sources (PDF) Discussion Video for BEMA 40 Transcript for BEMA 40 Support The BEMA Podcast...
Marty Solomon and Brent Billings continue to examine the life of David, looking at the defeat of Goliath and making some general observations about the character of David. Discussion Video for BEMA 39 Promised Land — Ray Vander Laan (Amazon) TTWMK Faith Lessons on DVD and Digital (Focus on the Family) “The Unheard Story of David and Goliath” by Malcolm Gladwell — TED Valley of Elah — Wikipedia Jesus Wants to Save Christians by Rob Bell and Don Golden Where God Was Born by Bruce Feiler The Practi...
Marty Solomon and Brent Billings take a look at Israel’s first two kings and try to see what the Text is showing us in these two characters. Discussion Video for BEMA 38 A Tale of Three Kings by Gene Edwards Transcript for BEMA 38 Support The BEMA Podcast...
Marty Solomon and Brent Billings zoom in on the mini-narrative of Ruth — one story where the mission of God is realized in the way Israel treats the alien, the orphan, and the widow. Discussion Video for BEMA 37 Map of Moab and the Surrounding Region Transcript for BEMA 37 Support The BEMA Podcast...
Marty Solomon and Brent Billings look at the book of Judges and the cycle found therein. “Judges Cycle” on Google “Judges Cycle” on DuckDuckGo “Judges Cycle” on Bing “Judges Cycle” on Kagi BEMA 232: Introducing the Team — Jephthah’s Daughter w/ Elle Grover Fricks The Forgiving Flow, Part 2: Drop the Jawbone — The RobCast, Episode 39 Make Your Mark by Brad Gray Study Tools Discussion Video for BEMA 36 The Companion for BEMA 36 Take Your Own Notes Transcript for BEMA 36 Legacy Episode Content Epis...
Marty Solomon and Brent Billings wrap up the discussion of Joshua and bridge the gap toward the book of Judges, pondering the mission of God and His choice of real estate for His people. Presentation for Crossroads of the Earth (PDF) The Source by James A. Michener Study Tools Discussion Video for BEMA 35 The Companion for BEMA 35 Take Your Own Notes Transcript for BEMA 35 Legacy Episode Content Episode updated 18 May 2026 Original audio from 15 June 2017 Transcript for BEMA 35 of 15 June 2017 S...
Marty Solomon shares the news about the live event for our 10-year anniversary celebration. Buy Tickets for the Anniversary Celebration BEMA 500: [10-Year Anniversary Announcement] Support The BEMA Podcast
Marty Solomon, Brent Billings, and Elle Grover Fricks address the nagging questions about the book of Joshua and its stories of mass slaughter and genocide. Presentation for The Hardest Story in the Bible (for me) (PDF) The Gospel of Being Human by Marty Solomon and Reed Dent BEMA 240: Sin and the Archaeology of Joshua w/ Elle Grover Fricks Stele — Wikipedia Stele of King Sennacherib — World History Encyclopedia The Forest in the Trees: Jesus — Woodland Hills (Greg Boyd) What Is the Bible? by Ro...
Marty Solomon and Brent Billings set the stage for Session 2 of the podcast, reviewing our journey through Torah to bring everyone up to speed for what we will study next. Presentation for Session 2 Intro (PDF) BEMA 487: Sitting Shiva for Josh Bossé BEMA 488: [Brent and Reed discuss Josh’s passing] BEMA 489: [Marty and Elle discuss Josh’s passing] Study Tools No Discussion Video for BEMA 33 The Companion for BEMA 33 Take Your Own Notes Transcript for BEMA 33 Legacy Episode Content Episode update...
Marty Solomon and Brent Billings give a summary of the Books of Moses at the conclusion of Session 1 of the podcast. Presentation for Session 1 Capstone (PDF) Study Tools No Discussion Video for BEMA 32 The Companion for BEMA 32 Take Your Own Notes Transcript for BEMA 32 Legacy Episode Content Episode updated 11 August 2025 Original audio from 18 May 2017 Transcript for BEMA 32 of 18 May 2017 Support The BEMA Podcast...
Marty Solomon, Brent Billings, and Reed Dent bring our study of Torah to a close by exploring the book of Deuteronomy, examining its call to remember our stories. Presentation for Remember Where You Came From (PDF) The Epic of Eden by Sandra L. Richter Topic: Deuteronomy 32 — Aleph Beta Academy Subscribe to Aleph Beta Academy BEMA listeners can use code friendsofbema for one month off of a monthly Premium membership. “A Covenant Guarantee” by Ray Vander Laan — That the World May Know Study Tools...
Marty Solomon and Brent Billings wrap up the discussion of the desert and the book of Numbers with the story of Moses striking the rock and subsequently having his entrance to the Promised Land denied. Why Was Moses Not Allowed into the Promised Land? — Aleph Beta Why Couldn't Moses Enter The Land? — Aleph Beta Study Tools Discussion Video for BEMA 30 The Companion for BEMA 30 Take Your Own Notes Transcript for BEMA 30 Legacy Episode Content Episode updated 28 July 2025 Original audio from 4 May...
Marty Solomon, Brent Billings, and Elle Grover Fricks continue the series on images found in the desert, seeing God’s continual use of the desert to minister to us and to teach us how to minister to others. Presentation for Images of the Desert — Wadi and En Gedi (PDF) Lulav — Chabad.org Flash Floods in Wadi Peres — YouTube Flash Flood in Israel — YouTube Israel: Flash Floods Hit Negev Desert — AP Archive, YouTube Onlookers caught in flash flood north of Oman — AFP, YouTube Pickup vs. Flash Floo...
Marty Solomon, Brent Billings, and Elle Grover Fricks continue the series on images we find in the desert, learning about the ar'ar and tamarisk trees and what they teach us about living in our own deserts. Presentation for Images of the Desert — Ar'ar and Tamarisk (PDF) Noga Hareuveni — Wikipedia Written Works of Noga Hareuveni Hebrew University — Wikipedia National Botanic Garden of Israel — Wikipedia Tamarisk and Palm (Akkadian poem) — Wikipedia Tamarix (genus) — Wikipedia Study Tools Discuss...
