It’s not explicitly stated, but the theme of the firstborn first appears in the opening narratives of the Hebrew Bible. In Genesis 1 and 2, Yahweh elevates humans, the latecomers of creation, to rule the land. In Genesis 3, a snake, who is some kind...
When a Jewish synagogue finishes reading through the Torah together, they celebrate Simkhat Torah. What is Simkhat Torah? Find out on today’s episode as Jon and Tim reflect on our year-long journey through the Torah and look ahead to the rest of the...
Who are Yahweh’s children? For most of the Torah, the answer seems to be all of Israel. But in his final moments, Moses tells Israel that Yahweh’s true children are those who remain faithful to his covenant. In the final episode of our journey throug...
In the final movement of Deuteronomy, there’s a pretty lengthy list of curses that will fall upon Israel if they break their covenant with Yahweh. But what exactly is a curse? Why are there so many of them, and what do they have to do with Israel’s c...
The Pharisees frequently tested Jesus on his knowledge of the law, and in Matthew 19, they grill him on a particularly challenging law about divorce. In this episode, join Tim and Jon as they wrap up the second movement of Deuteronomy by exploring Je...
Israel’s laws were meant to form them into people of wisdom who lived differently than the nations around them. But what wisdom can Christians gain from the law? In this episode, listen in as Tim and Jon discuss the wisdom the apostles gleaned from t...
In this episode, we once again encounter the Nephilim, the evil demon-human hybrid beings we first met in Genesis 6. Now they resurface as giants inhabiting Canaan, the land Yahweh promised to Israel. Join Tim and Jon as they tackle the complex issue...
In the first movement of Deuteronomy, two words appear more frequently than any others—listen and love. Why did Moses emphasize these two words in his farewell speech to Israel? In this episode, Tim and Jon explore what it looks like to be loyal to Y...
After years of wandering in the wilderness and what seems like way too many rebellions against Yahweh, Israel has finally arrived on the edge of the promised land. What could possibly go wrong now? And yet even here, two of Israel’s tribes rebel, rep...
As Moses’ death draws near, Yahweh selects Joshua to lead the people of Israel. What made Joshua uniquely qualified to lead? How does his leadership differ from Moses’? In this episode, join Tim and Jon as they discuss how the Hebrew Bible depicts Jo...
In the third movement of Numbers, five sisters approach Moses with a legal case not covered in God’s laws: Without any brothers to inherit their father’s land, their family inheritance will be lost unless women are allowed to receive an inheritance t...
So far in the second movement of Numbers, the leaders of the twelve tribes of Israel have rebelled against Yahweh, the people themselves have rebelled against Yahweh, and even the Levites have rebelled against Yahweh. In fact, Moses, Aaron, Joshua, a...
God chose the Levites to take care of the tabernacle, and within the tribe of Levi, he picked Aaron’s family to have the special duty of offering sacrifices and burning incense. In Numbers 16, a Levite named Korah and 250 Israelite leaders accuse Aar...
We’re looking at a story about God’s chosen ones facing a test with fruit trees in a beautiful garden—sounds like Genesis 3, right? Surprisingly, this is a story from Numbers 13-15, with another tree and another test. In this episode, Tim and Jon div...
How do God’s people follow his will in situations where there are no explicit rules or laws given? At the conclusion of the third movement of Numbers, the Israelites don’t know how God wants them to respond to a situation. Join Tim and Jon as they ex...
