Commuter Bible OT

When we last left Israel, they had just prostituted themselves with the women of Moab as an act of Baal worship. The Lord sent a plague among them that was only stopped when Phinehas impaled a fornic…

In our last reading King Balak of Moab had hired Balaam, the professional soothsayer and prophet for hire, to come and put a curse on Israel. The king had heard about how Israel had plowed through th…

Our reading opens with another instance of Israelite rebellion, and this time, the Lord punishes them by sending poisonous snakes into their camp. In order to be healed, they must lift their eyes upw…

In our last episode, Korah and his posse decided that they wanted to present offerings to the Lord, but the Lord God has made clear, that Aaron and his sons were to receive the priesthood as an inher…

You’d think that by this point, the people of Israel would have settled on the well-established conclusion that Moses is in charge by command of the Lord and by the signs and wonders performed that c…

Israel has finally arrived just outside the Promised Land, and all that’s left to do is enter it and take from those people whom God has set apart for destruction. Their journey should have ended her…

Just like any family trip to a far away place, everyone starts getting grumpy quick. New complaints arise about not being able to take the Passover while unclean. After Israel leaves Mount Sinai for …

As noted in previous episode introductions, we are in a section of Numbers that includes a lot of numbers and repetition, but take heart: after this episode, we’ll begin the narrative section of Numb…

We’re continuing in the book of Numbers today, which has a reputation for putting people off both because of the title and because the first seven chapters (or so) contain a good bit of repetition. Y…

Numbers are boring, right? I mean, who gets excited about counting things? Well, did you ever count your Christmas presents as a kid? Have you ever memorized the stats of your favorite athletes, or c…

Our time in Leviticus comes to a close today as we hear a foreshadowing of the coming exile of Israel some 900 years before it occurs, as the Lord God makes plain that to abandon the covenant is to e…

Our reading begins with instructions for the bread and the oil in the tabernacle, but soon thereafter these instructions are somewhat interrupted by a fight. A young man has blasphemed the Name of Go…

Moses continues to receive instructions from the Lord, and today’s episode begins with instructions for the priests in eating their portion of the sacrifices to the Lord. Recall that the Levites will…

Our passage today begins with an appeal to Israel to be holy before their holy God, using some of the Ten Commandments as bullet points for discussion. As we read, you’ll notice that there is to be a…

We’re continuing to read through the Levitical law that was given to Moses and Aaron. These were the statutes, ordinances, and observances commanded by the Lord that Israel must keep in order to main…

We’re continuing to work our way through the Levitical law concerning those occasions where one is considered clean and where one is considered unclean. As mentioned previously, to be unclean is not …

As part of their covenant with the Lord, the Israelites were given regulations concerning what is considered clean and unclean. At times this is a means of health and well-being. At other times it se…

The Lord has been giving explicit instructions to Moses and Aaron concerning the manner in which he should be worshipped. In our reading today, the priestly ministry of the Levites begins when Aaron …

As you continue to listen to these instructions on sacrifices, I encourage you to imagine what it would be like to be present for these sacrifices and experience them first-hand. The warmth of a live…

We are beginning the book of Leviticus; which basically means, “pertaining to the Levites,” as this book dives deeper into the responsibilities of priests and the divine-human relationship codified o…