The Family Bible Journey Podcast

Jesus tells a frightening parable of judgment, comparing God to a shepherd who must sort out His flock by seperating sheep and goats. Am I a sheep or a goat? How can I know? In this episode, we consider why we do good as God's people and determine the place of grace and good works when it comes to the question of salvation.

Every thread of the High Priestly garments taught God's people important truths of His love for them. In today's episode, like good tailors, we will pay close attention to each piece of the holy vestments, how they were made, and learn how they communicated God's love then and now.

We live in a world that likes to minimize distinctions and the distinctiveness of people. But sometimes it's good to know who belongs and who doesn't. Even in giving Moses the pattern for the Tabernacle, God made important distinctions that would help His people stay true to Him in their practice of the faith.

The parable of the wise and foolish virgins leaves us wondering, "why didn't the wise share?" We will consider some basic facts of first century Jewish life to learn why they couldn't share and what this means for us and our salvation.

We explore how the eternal reality of worship in God's presence was communicated to those who worshiped in and around the Tabernacle. We learn how the design of the Tabernacle made it a portable, yet functional home of worship for the sojourning Israelites for some 500 years. Every detail of its design made it practical and perfect for God's mercy to be shown His people in worship.

God gave His people many earthly representations of the heavenly reality when He gave Moses the design for the Tabernacle. It's good for us New Testament believers to recognize these signs in His design. We are also blessed when we are aware of how these were fulfilled by Jesus and where we see such signs still today.

Will Jesus return once or twice? What about rapture and tribulation? Is there something we must do in order for Jesus to return? We will consider Jesus's admonition to make the best use of the time, so that He finds us well prepared for His return.

Moses and the elders of Israel were invited to feast with God on Sinai. Here we see a foreshadowing of the feast to come when all God's people get to feast with Him in glory. Hope and joy spring from our hearts as we look forward to that wonderful day.

God protects the most vulnerable in the very first laws He gives His people. In this episode, we learn the three different forms of law expressed at Sinai and which apply to us today. We learn a valuable lesson about God's character and how we can grow to become more like Him.

Jesus told His disciples what would happen to the Temple 40 years before it would be destroyed by Titus and his Roman legion. We are prepared for the End Times not by knowing the details and timeline of events, but simply by trusting our God with the future. As we consider the End Times, we will ponder how to be prepared for Chris't return.

The Ten Commandments tell us God's will for our lives. Life on earth would be much more like heaven if we just kept God's rules. But we don't. So God tells us His way, with a mind to fulfill it for us, so that in Him, we can be holy as He is holy.

Moses learned a painful lesson about leadership when he failed to delegate properly. He was at least partially responsible for gathering all the disgruntled Israelites into one place, day after day, stoking their anger by failing to hear their cases in a timely fashion. God sent Jethro to help Moses by teaching him his error and showing him a better way. There are great lessons here for all who aspire to leadership.

Warning signs tell us of danger ahead, and so too does Jesus who challenged those who rejected His words and love. But He doesn't deal with them in anger. Rather, in love, Jesus warned his opponents, telling them of the tender loving care they would receive from His Father, were they to repent of their stubborn unbelief.

Why did God's people fight with God and Moses when they were fighting for them? It seems human nature can never be content. Even so, in this chapter, we see two powerful types of Christ in Moses and Joshua, who teach us that God fights for His people, despite their tendency to fight with Him every step of their earthly way.

God's people were not impressed enough with the plagues and the crossing of the Red Sea to trust Him. When they got a little rumbly in the tummy they cried out against God and Moses. Why did you bring us into the desert to kill us with hunger? We can laugh at their antics, not even trusting the Lord when bread starts falling from heaven, but lets be on guard unless we forget that the same unbelief lives in our hearts.

The parable of the wedding feast teaches that only those who are clothed in the robe of Christ's righteousness will get to celebrate the life and love of God. Many then, many now, are too busy, too distracted or outright hostile to God and His generous invitation. We do well to embrace His invitation, knowing that in Christ, in glory, the things that detract from our human relationships, the things that interfere with true love and openness will be gone and we will get to live in the light of Christ's love with those we love, without all of the stuff that gets in the way of relationships now.

Rejoicing in the victory God won over Pharaoh, Moses sings unbridled praise for God Almighty. His praise climaxed with the expression, "The Lord has become my salvation!" In this episode, we learn how to praise the Lord, and how Jesus is the key to understanding how God would fully save his people even in this song sung 1,500 years before His birth.

When Pharaoh changed his mind about letting the Israelites go, they found themselves caught between a mountain, the Red Sea and Pharaoh's army. The moment of their salvation seemed to be their demise. But when God divided the Red Sea, the waters that provided their salvation became God's instrument of wrath when He drowned hard-hearted Pharaoh and his host in the Red Sea. Here we see a powerful illustration of the saving power of baptism.

Jesus challenged the religious establishment of His day by telling them they were giving lipservice to God instead of doing the Lord's work. Too many churches today are suffering for the very same thing. Today we consider how we, as the people of God, can learn what's most important and be blessed by sharing God's love with others.

Mass marketers know how important it is to get us to remember their products, which is why billions are spent every year on marketing. God also knows, so He inspired Moses to record the basis of the Passover and Feast of Unleavened Bread so that Israel would begin every year by remembering God's redeeming love. Learn how the calendar and worship life of Israel were designed so that they would never forget God's great love for them.

The Passover, the night when the Angel of Death would literally pass over the houses of the Israelites who listened to God, would become the beginning of the year and most important anual remembrance of God's mercy shown to His people in Egypt. The Israelites and the Egyptians who listened to God sacrificed an unblemished lamb and painted its blood upon their doorposts as an act of faith in the God Who saves. In this episode, we explore how this act of faith prophesied many aspects of Christ's work for us on the cross and how church practice still today demonstrates faith in the God who saves.

Jesus fulfilled all sorts of prophecies with his Palm Sunday procession into Jerusalem. The praises sung by the people flowed from the psalms they had been singing for a thousand years as they entered the Holy City. Learn how the events of the triumphal entry encourage all who seek the Lord still today.

Have you ever experienced complete and utter darkness? The plague of supernatural darkness, this one aimed at Ra, the Sun God, who was believed to be the first Pharaoh, crippled Egypt for three days while the land of Goshen was bathed in light. This dark premonition warned of the death that was on the horizon for Pharaoh and all who refused to let God's people go.

While Pharaoh continued his stubborned unbelief, the people of Egypt began pleading with him to listen and let Israel go. What good are slaves if we ourselves are dead? God, in mercy, gave Egypt a 24 hour warning before the plague of hail, so all who listened in Egypt were spared. Here we learn that God is merciful to all who listen to His voice, regardless of tribe or nation.

The parable of the vineyard, where every worker received the same wage whether they worked twelve hours or just one seems an injustice to many, especially those who had done most of the work. But the lesson of the parable is not so much about what the workers earned as it is about the generosity of the master. Here we consider how God rewards faithfulness and what we "deserve."

God's holy war against the false gods of the Egyptians and hard-hearted Pharaoh continues, with God now afflicting the land of the Egyptians, but not the land of Goshen, where Israel dwelt. Every step of the way God has demonstrated his power over everything Egypt has to counter with. Pharaoh feigns repentance, offering to let Israel sacrifice in Egypt, but that is not what God had asked for, so the plagues continued and the suffering of Pharaoh's people grew.

Learn how each of the ten plagues inflicted on Egypt was an attack on specific deities of Egypt. God wasn't just redeeming His people in the Exodus. He was making a public statement of his superiority over the false Gods of the Egyptians. Here we get to see how God begins to deliver His people as only He could.

Jesus continued to teach the blessings of putting other people first, while dismissing the notion that anyone is good enough for His kingdom. The disciples were perplexed by his rebuke of a rich young man who seemed to have done everything right, but was not worthy of God's kingdom. Jesus responded to the confusion of the disciples saying, "With man it is impossible, but all things are possible for God." The chapter ends with Jesus describing the blessings of living one's life in grateful appreciation for the miraculous gift of faith.

"Night is darkest just before the dawn." The Israelites learned the hard way the truth of this statement when Pharaoh made their lives unbearable. God was not deterred because He was determined to secure the freedom of His people. In this chapter, we count ourselves among the Israelites when things get worse before getting much better.

When Moses asks Pharaoh's permission for Israel to leave and worship God, Pharaoh responds by increasing the burdens of his Israelite slaves. Conflict erupts between Israel, her leaders, Pharaoh and Moses is left crying out to God, "what have you done to your people?" In this episode, we consider how we respond to difficulties and how we treat our leaders. It seems people are way more interested in taking the easy way out than being patient and doing what it takes to see lasting positive change.

Matthew 18, particularly 15-17, is one of the most weaponized passages in scripture. But the message of this chapter is not condemnation, but rather one of restoration and forgiveness. As we consider the parables of the Lost Sheep and the Unforgiving Servant, we learn how God's children seek to restore broken relationships in the spirit of humility and forgiveness, not willing that anyone should be lost.

The powerful signs God gave Moses to demonstrate his authority as a prophet of the Most Big God were unmistakable. The perfect correlation between God's words and works gives us opportunity to consider how our words and actions are not always in alignment. Moses was living proof of this fact, wavering between faith and fear even on the mountain with God. Yet, God had mercy on Moses, and sent Aaron to be his spokesperson, accommodating Moses waffling faith.

Moses has all sorts of questions when a mysterious God speaks to him from a bizarrely burning, oh wait, not burning, bush. God answers his questions with affirmation and promises, pledging to use Moses to redeem His people from slavery. Here we learn that God will not be overcome by our questions or doubts, but will rather overcome them by His mighty power to save.

At the Transfiguration, the Father spoke a blessing over His Son, who was determined to go the cross. "You are my beloved Son, with you I am well pleased." What powerful words of affirmation to carry Jesus to and through His time of suffering. This blessing gives us strength as well, because we know that in Jesus, God is well-pleased with us.

The Exodus begins by highlighting two women as saviors of God's people, in particular, saviors for the Hebrew boys who were sentenced to death by Pharaoh simply for being born to the wrong parents. Despite the Egyptians doing all they could to oppress God's people, Israel grew to become a great nation. Moses was one of the Hebrew boys born an outlaw. Against all odds, by the end of chapter two, Moses, a fugitive and an outcast, would be well prepared for leadership among God's people.

Joseph's dying wish was that Israel take his bones to Canaan when they depart Egypt. This bold request was an expression of his deep faith in the God Who was faithful to him and prospered him despite his afflictions. Little did he know it would be some 400 years before Israel would leave Egypt, but his dying wish was a bold testimony of faith to the nation that would go from being loved to loathed by the Egyptians. From Joseph we learn how to leave an enduring legacy of faith.

Peter stars in this chapter as both a hero and a villain. He is the first disciple to proclaim Jesus as the Christ, the Son of the Living God. But in the very next passage, he rebuked Jesus when told that Jesus must suffer and die. In Peter, we receive encouragement for when we get it right, and grace when we get it wrong.

In this episode, Jacob blessed each of his sons before his passing. These blessings contained many prophecies about the tribes who became Israel. Some wouldn't be fulfilled for thousands of years, yet they testify to us that God had the plan for His people laid out long before they realized. These prophecies are a great encouragement to us because we see God's faithfulness proven as He keeps His promises even when His people don't deserve it.

Jacob grows reflective in his dying days, recounting how God had faithfully shepherded him through all his sojourning. A shepherd himself, he appreciated the closeness and love between shepherd and sheep. This metaphor of close care and concern resounds now as well as it did then because God is still the Shepherd of His people.

Is your faith more form than substance? In this passage, Jesus condemned the Pharisees for a false faith while commending a woman of the "wrong" practice and ethnicity. Here we have opportunity to reflect on what truly matters when it comes to faith and practice.

Jacob and Joseph are reunited in most dramatic fashion with the two grown men collapsing and weeping on each other. The day Jacob never dared hope for had come and his spirit was revived by his long lost son. Joseph immediately plans to set his family up for success by planting seeds in his brothers' minds and Pharaoh's that will land his family in the best part of the land. His brothers even get to manage Pharaoh's own flocks. Here we learn how to use cunning and planning in a positive way, by seeking the welfare of all parties, as Joseph did in this story.

Joseph, overcome by his brothers' changed character, breaks down and reveals his true identity to his brothers. They thought they were dead men. But Joseph had forgiven them. He saw how God had used their treachery to save his family. After the initial shock, all rejoiced in God's favor and glorious provision. When word reached Jacob, he couldn't believe it at first. Amazed and perplexed, he decided he was going to Egypt to see his long lost son.

Jesus hears of the death of His cousin John and crosses the sea for some rest and spiritual refreshment. But the crowds heard of it and were waiting for Him. Before He could rest, Jesus healed, taught and fed them all. When the day had passed, we see Jesus make that alone time He needed to be refreshed by His Father. In this passage, we again see Jesus' care and receive divine permission to stop and rest when we need personal time with the Lord.

Joseph gets an opportunity to seek revenge on his brothers for selling him into slavery so many years ago. When they return to buy grain, the youngest, Benjamin is with them. He sets Benjamin up for a crime, demanding he be imprisoned for theft. The brothers plead with Benjamin, defending his cause and willingly offering themselves up on behalf of their younger brother. Joseph sees his brothers have changes and are no longer the ruthless men who had sold him into slavery. How will Joseph respond?

The famine presses in on Jacob and his family so much so that he has no other choice than to send his youngest son Benjamin to Egypt with his brothers to buy grain. The last time he sent the youngest to his brothers, it was Joseph, who didn't return from the trip. Jacob hopes against hope that all of the boys return. He had run out of options and ends up trusting the Lord to take care of them all. Here Jacob is like all of us who will only turn to the Lord after we've exhausted every other option.

How do you know if you are in or out of the Kingdom of God? This podcast explores parables of God's wrath bracketing two parables of great mercy. We will learn the wisdom of focusing on the revealed will of God in Christ Jesus when exploring mysteries of the faith instead of getting lost in the hidden will of God.

Jacob and his sons are reduced to poverty by the famine that has spread from Egypt and into the Promised Land. Jacob sends ten of his sons down to Egypt to buy grain. Joseph recognizes his brothers, interrogates them, imprisons Simeon and lets the others go, threatening that if they don't bring Benjamin with them next time, that they won't be allowed to buy more grain. When the brothers return and tell their father Jacob what had happened, his depression deepens. The loss of yet another son and the prospect of losing Benjamin, his only living reminder of his beloved Rachel, was too much for him to bear.

Joseph's friend in Pharaoh's court remembers Joseph and his ability to interpret dreams when Pharaoh has a troubling vision. Summoned from the prison, Joseph is dressed and gets to meet Pharaoh. In interpreting the dream, Joseph gives God all the credit for the interpretation. He offers a solution to Pharaoh's problems along with the interpretation of the dream that pleases Pharaoh. In this chapter, Joseph experiences a true rags-to-riches rise from prisoner to Governor of all Egypt.

We learn the blessing of God's generous love sown into our lives. We consider the dangers that come from trying to understand Jesus' parables from a 21st century perspective, without taking into account the people, places and culture of Jesus' ministry. May we be blessed to see and hear as Jesus taught.

Joseph, languishing in prison for a crime he didn't commit finds himself the favored inmate of the warden and put in charge of the prison. He makes friends of a couple of prisoners who had served among Pharaoh's most trusted officers. When they had troubling dreams, he interpreted them. All he asked for in return is that when one of the men was restored to his position that he put word in with Pharaoh so that he can get out of jail. The man forgets Joseph, leaving him to rot in prison. Here we learn of endurance, especially when those who could help you forget you instead.