The Family Bible Journey Podcast

Delilah seduced Samson. In her unholy embrace, he trusted her with the secret of his great strength. She betrayed him. God's blessing left him. But in his lowest moment, Samson turned to the Lord who allowed him, in death, to slay more Philistines than he did during his life.

Samson grows in strength and passion. His weakness for Philistine women puts him at conflict with the oppressors of Israel. God used his weakness for women to spark a rage that led to a mighty victory over the Philistines.

Luke frames the beatitudes differently than Matthew. Mathew spoke only of blessings. Luke speaks of blessings and woes. Here we get to consider how God works on behalf of those who seek to do His will, in the midst of a crooked and evil generation.

Tragically flawed as he was, Samson has much in common with Jesus. Their parents were visited by angels. Both were called to save, albeit in different ways. In this episode, we begin our exploration of one of the central figures in the book of Judges.

God raises another flawed judge to give His people victory over their nemesis. But an innocent girl will pay the ultimate price for her father's rash words. Today we consider how we use our words, because when we speak without thinking, it is often those closest to us who suffer the most.

Jesus didn't come to heal just a few people, but all people. In order to do this, He took all sin upon Himself, and freely forgave all who came to Him in faith. May we not reject Him becuase we think we are good enough, but rather embrace Him and His redeeming love, which forgives all our iniquities and heals all our diseases.

We hear how God gave Gideon a great victory, even though his army was outnumbered 450 to 1. Sadly, despite his courageous leadership, Gideon's family is consumed by conflict. Here we learn how even the best of Israel's leaders are still human and make mistakes. But scripture records these stories so that we can learn from the mistakes of others, rather than suffer the consequences of our own.

Gideon was brought from cowardice to courage, from fear to faith. We consider God's great patience with His people and learn how He uses a small victory to prepare Gideon for greater leadership.

It wasn't miracle or preaching that brought Jesus' first disciples to their knees in faith. It was a miraculous catch of fish. How silly. How fitting. Jesus, the carpenter, caught the attention of three fisherman named Peter, James and John, with an impossibly large catch of fish.

Deborah teaches us how to lead and how to praise in this episode. We learn the blessings of lifting others up in our leadership, sharing and giving credit to others for the successes we see. We also learn of the importance of praise and thanksgiving that gives God credit for who He is and all He does for us.

Deborah is a wonder woman from the Old Testament. We learn of her courage, and the courage of another woman namedd Jael. These two women stepped up in faith, to lead God's people to a mighty victory when the men failed to lead.

Jesus finally finds acceptance in Capernaum. The people hear His gracious words and witness His mighty power. They receive Him and His blessing, even though they don't understand why He can't stay with them.

The story of Judges is the story of "saviors" who rescued God's people from their enemies. We will learn the cycle of Judges and how each judge will show us, in different ways, a lesson of God's faithfulness to His unfaithful people.

Joshua dies in faith as a mighty warrior for God's people. Joseph also speaks of God's faithfulness from beyond the grave as his bones are buried near his childhood home. So the book of Joshua ends. Two faithful witnesses being laid to rest in the land of promise.

One would think that Jesus would be welcomed and hailed by his townspeople when He returned to Nazareth as a teacher. But all they saw was a failed carpenter. Here we learn that the first to conspire against Jesus to take His life were not the religious establishment in Jerusalem, but rather, the people who knew him best, and should've loved him the most!

Joshua charges Israel to be faithful to the Lord, as He has been faithful to them. They promise to follow the Lord. Joshua sets a memorial stone to remind them of the day they promised faithfulness to the Lord, so that if and when they find themselves struggling, they may be brought to remembrance and repentance and come back to the Lord in faith.

We see God working in unseen ways as He scatters the priests and Levites amongst His people. In some ways, their dispersion is counterintuitive. In other ways, it makes perfect sense. God keeps His people close by keeping them close to their spiritual leaders.

Where Adam failed, Jesus succeeded, by thwarting the temptations of the evil one. We learn some similarities between the temptation of Adam and Jesus. Both were the, "son of God." One brought death into the world. The other brought life. We rejoice that not only did Jesus atone for Adam's fall, but for every temptation to which we fall prey.

Joshua teaches important lessons about how to conduct business as the inheritance for the remaining seven tribes is allocated. He is open and fair. He invites the participation of those who are affected by these decisions. Here we learn deft ways to handle sensitive matters.

In a previous episode we learned where you're from matters. Today we consider how what we do matters. Living in a day and age when people are slow to act, yet quick to judge, we consider our own actions and responsibility.

Jesus, even though He is God, submitted Himself to the Law of the Father. This is why He was baptized. As He told John, "to fulfill ALL righteousness." Because He has taken our sin upon Himself, and fulfilled God's law, we are forgiven. Now, what the Father says of His Son in His baptism is true of us in ours, "You are my beloved! With you I am well-pleased."

Judah would become, in many ways, the preeminent tribe of Israel. Her land was a hard land, and they would be mighty warriors and leaders. We also see, in the story of a wise young woman named Achsah, a measure of their wisdom and boldness.

We consider how each of the tribal allotments affected the character of each of the tribes of Israel. They were entering a diverse land with diverse climate, geography and agriculture. This would make them a diverse people, whose character was shaped by the land they received.

Even when Mary doesn't understand how everything is working out, she knows her Son is the very Son of God. Instead of trying to comprehend these things, she contemplates them. As a parade of angels, shepherds, a prophet and a prophetess affirm her Son, and Jesus grows in grace, we join Mary in pondering these things in our hearts.

Living in a world full of sin and evil, sometimes the only way to peace and the only way to preserve peace is through conflict. This is a hard lesson to learn, but one that is essential as we wrestle with the conflict that was necessary to bring peace to God's people then. Still today conflict is necessary to protect peace today.

In today's episode, Israel is defeated by deceit and victorious in battle. We learn the folly of making decisions without the Lord's guidance. Yet God still loved and blessed His people by using their mistake to lure their enemies into one great battle that accelerated their conquest of the land.

All those who had waited to see the Day of Salvation, begin to see it's dawn in John and Jesus. John's father Zechariah lead a chorus of praises, inspired by the Holy Spirit. Many rejoiced in knowing God's promises were coming to fruition in two infant boys.

"When one fails, the whole team suffers." We will learn how the greed of one caused the defeat of Israel. Following this setback, Joshua and Israel redouble their efforts and win a mighty victory.

Jericho stood as an imposing fortress. Well-supplied, with unlimited fresh water, it was designed to withstand any seige. But God intervened and provided Israel with a miraculous victory, delivering the city into Israel's hands.

The angel Gabriel gives the virgin Mary impossibly good news that she will conceive and give birth to the Savior. Her son Jesus, she is told, will save her people from their sins. The miracle of the incarnation shows nothing is impossible for God.

Israel crosses the Jordan at the absolute wrong time of year, when the river is at flood stage. God doesn't care. He parts the waters before Joshua, just as He had parted the Red Sea before Moses. Joshua wants to make sure Israel remembers this great day and erects a monument to remind future generations of where they'd come from and how they got into the Promised Land.

Joshua assumes the leadership of God's people as a mighty type of Christ who leads Israel into the promised land. As they enter the land, we are introduced to Rahab, a Canaanite prostitute who was brought to faith in Israel's God. Not only is she a hero in this story, she will also be honored to become one of the ancestors of Jesus, who shares Joshua's name.

Luke's gospel begins not with the miraculous conception of Jesus, but the conception of John the Baptist. John's righteous parents were blessed with a miraculous conception, as they were well past the age of child birth. Luke makes poignant connections between the Old and New Testaments, seeing God's promises being fulfilled by John's miraculous conception.

We celebrate the life and work of Moses, who in many ways was the greatest prophet. He wrote God's law. He smote the Egyptians and redeemed Israel. Imperfect as he was, he was a faithful leader and remains a blessing to all God's people today.

Even as Joshua is commissioned to lead God's people, Moses sings a song of Israel's future disobedience. God is going to have to discipline His people when they go astray. He will redeem them, but not until they've learned their lesson in a foreign land.

The dawn of salvation was dark for the women. Even when an angel told them the good news of the resurrection, they didn't understand. We too are slow to believe God's promises. Yet we are redeemed, so that God's love may dawn even in our deepest darkness.

Grandpa Moses frames the law of God as the life of His people. His ways are good and just. To walk in any other way is foolishness and evil. Even today, we do well to listen to the Lord and will be blessed by the faithfulness we can muster by God's grace.

Grandpa Moses puts the responsibility fully on Israel's shoulders for their success or failure. God has given them a good foundation for their society in His laws. Whether or not they receive His blessing now depends on their faithfulness.

We hear God's pain when Jesus cries from the cross. He suffered as One of us and for us because we grieve God's heart when we sin. Yet, even as we hear His cry of pain, He suffers and dies so that we may be forgiven and accepted by the Father.

The end of Grandpa Moses's "random" rules safeguard and protect community by fair and equal treatment. Even practices that are foreign to us made sense when we understand how they protect the vulnerable. Caring for the needy is so important to God that the first fruits offerings of His people, when they crossed into the Promised Land, were reserved for those in need.

A seemingly random list of rules gives the impression of a rambling grandpa Moses struggling to finish his speech. But there are important themes in these "random" rules, as Moses tells God's people how they will witness to His character in this section.

Jesus was surrounded by strangers in His dying hours because all His friends had abandoned Him. We thank God that Jesus was undeterred by His friends' absence, because we often turn our back on Him. None the less, He continued and finished His work so that we can be forgiven when we flee from Him.

In the middle of Moses' last discourse we stumble across mighty types fulfilled by Jesus. Disobedient sons were liable for death. Those hung on a tree were cursed by God. Put the two together, and you see a prophetic picture of God the Father's view of His Son on calvary. He was killed and cursed, so that in Him, we may be blessed and live.

Like an eclipse, that darkens and alters our perception of the sun without changing the sun, lies have the power to completely alter perceptions of the truth. Grandpa Moses warned about the dangers of lies and proposed harsh penalties for those who falsely accused others. Learn how God expects His people to live as beacons of truth.

It does a soul good to know that God knows the future and sees around corners. In providing rules for a monarchy, God was addressing a need His people would have four hundred years in the future. How does it help you to know that God is already providing for future needs you couldn't even imagine?

Have you ever been left by someone you love? If so, you know a measure of Jesus's pain when He was left by all who loved Him. He was forsaken, so that in Him, we would never be forsaken by God.

How does God expect His people to deal with economic desparities that emerge due to human greed and sloth? How do work and worship play nicely together? In these chapters, we reflect on how faith provides the finances to be generous with others, and the time to spend with God in worship and His word.

When Jesus gave His disciples the blessing of His body and blood in communion, was He ushering in a new covenant? Or was He fulfilling the old? Or was He doing both?

God told his people that even if their dearest loved ones tried to lead them astray, they must trust and love the Lord above all others. He goes on to tell them specific ways that they would be distinct as his chosen people. In the purity and dietary laws of God people, we see how he protected them from unseen diseases.

As Israel moved into the Land of Promise, God told them to break idolatrous altars and pillars and to burn Asherah poles. We will learn why these hotbeds of paganism were destroyed in this fashion. We also consider how the "easy way" is still a temptation to God's people today.