Bible in a Year (The Story) Podcast

Day 22: Maturing in Maddening Situations

Today we read Genesis 39-40, Job 31-32, and Proverbs 3:33-35. This is the story of Joseph maturing through maddening situations. Job is also going to be challenged to mature in his maddening situation. We are introduced to a fourth, perhaps more mysterious friend of Job’s named Elihu, who is going to challenge both Job's and his three friends' views of themselves and God's immutable character and wisdom.  Elihu is going to focus on Job's understandable, but perhaps a bit arrogant and sinful, reaction to undeserved suffering which was illustrated by Job's statements which took a kind of pride or refuge in questioning the justice of God and stressing his "dogooderness."
Resources:
Marty Solomon and Brett Billing (March, 2021). BEMA Discipleship Podcast. Character Study - Jacob Part I, https://www.bemadiscipleship.com/212 
Genesis: A Parsha Companion by Rabbi David Fohrman
Credits:
Podcast music by Stockaudios from Pixabay. Speaker, Dr. Rachel Bodell. Podcast Sound Engineer, Alan Darling. Podcast Artwork, Will Gerard.

Day 21: The Plot Thickens

Today we read Genesis 38, Job 29-30, and Proverbs 3:28-32. This passage may seem disruptive and confusing as we might expect the Joseph story to continue here, yet, this passage has a specific place in the unified story of the Bible with connections in repetition of motif and Hebrew word choices. This passage answers the question, which of the sons of Jacob will take over the right of primogeniture and step into the line of blessing coming down from Abraham after Isaac and Jacob? We might expect it to be Joseph, and yes Joseph does receive a double portion of inheritance from His father and God does bless Him and give Him favor, but God is also picking who will be the descendants of His earthly family - Mary and Joseph. And I notice that God’s picks are typically socio-culturally unexpected. We see that here, again, in this story. God chooses Judah and Tamar to continue the rescue mission of bringing the wounded victor, Jesus. We continue to see a pattern, God does not pick a person and call them into His mission based on merit. We do not earn or deserve the call to be blessed or be a blessing, but rather the call is a testament to the amazing immutable character of God who loves us prodigally with grace and that Jesus Christ will save us based on God’s merit, not the chosen people in the rescue mission. He does not want any confusion about Him descending from a line of people who were holy in their own right but that God aligns with sinners who trust Him, seek and accept His restoration and redemption back into the Kingdom mission of close relationship with Him in a special place (where Heaven meets Earth; where the Holy Spirit fills us) with special benefits (forever with Him) for the purpose of blessing others and creation care! The story of the Bible is unfolding today and Jesus will return for the completion of this Kingdom mission restoration and redemption project. So exciting!
Resources:
Hans-Georg WÜNCH. (January, 2012). Genesis 38 – Judah’s Turning Point: Structural Analysis and Narrative Techniques and their Meaning for Genesis 38 and its Placement in the Story of Joseph, Old Testament Essays. pgs. 777-806
 
Matthew Henry Commentary on Genesis 38, Bible Hub. Retrieved from: https://biblehub.com/commentaries/mhc/genesis/38.htm 
 
Father Mike Schmitz (2021). Day 20: Judah and Tamar. https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/day-20-judah-and-tamar-2023/id1539568321?i=1000595616695 
 
Credits:
Podcast music by Stockaudios from Pixabay. Speaker, Dr. Rachel Bodell. Podcast Sound Engineer, Alan Darling. Podcast Artwork, Will Gerard.

Day 20: Betrayal, Exile, and an Empty Well

Today we read Genesis 37, Job 27-28, and Proverbs 3:25-27. We start the Joseph story. I introduce some sources and perspectives from the Jewish tradition that I had not learned before, which I thought was interesting and I hope you think so too. It’s a story about a teenager, favoritism, sibling jealousy, and then the conflict - kidnapping, human trafficking, and a cover-up. Yet, I believe there is a telling in this story about betrayal, exile, and an empty well that lays an expectation to the unified story of the Bible where Jesus will be betrayed by Judas, not Judah - like this story. Jesus will be sentenced to death, which is a similar word to exile in Hebrew and yet we know that Jesus will conquer death, which is why there is an empty grave and His disciples find it hard to believe. Likewise, Reuben, in this story, cannot believe the well, where Joseph was supposed to be, was empty.
Resources:
Marty Solomon and Brett Billing (March, 2021). BEMA Discipleship Podcast. Character Study - Jacob Part I, https://www.bemadiscipleship.com/212 
Genesis: A Parsha Companion by Rabbi David Fohrman
 
Credits:
Podcast music by Stockaudios from Pixabay. Speaker, Dr. Rachel Bodell. Podcast Sound Engineer, Alan Darling. Podcast Artwork, Will Gerard.

Day 19: Faith Grows and Fear Grasps

Today we read Genesis 35-36, Job 25-26, and Proverbs 3:19-24. Today we read about Jacob’s maturity in his faith and He responds to God with less wrestling. We read about Rachel dying as she gives birth to the 12th son of Jacob, Benjamin. We also learn about Jacob’s eldest son, Reuben and a new generation of wrestling begins as Reuben takes and violates Rachel’s handmaiden, Bilhah, for reasons we do not know, but we explore some options. Then we read about Esau’s descendants and continue to read about Job’s discussion with his friends about justice, suffering, righteousness, and God’s wisdom. 
Resources:
Dr. Sahani Tzoref (2021). Did Rueben Lie with Bilhah? Yes, No? We Don’t Talk about it! Reuben’s sin and its consequences in the Torah, Pseudepigrapha and Midrash. The Torah.com, https://www.thetorah.com/article/did-reuben-lie-with-bilhah-yes-no-we-dont-talk-about-it
Dr. John Walton (2009) Volume 1, Zondervan Illustrated Biblical Commentary Genesis, pg. 120
Credits:
Podcast music by Stockaudios from Pixabay. Speaker, Dr. Rachel Bodell. Podcast Sound Engineer, Alan Darling. Podcast Artwork, Will Gerard.

Day 18: Reconciliation, Violation, and Vengeance

Today we read Genesis 33-34, Job 23-24, and Proverbs 3:13-18. It’s a rollercoaster reading today that starts with a high and ends with dark low. This reading contains adult themes that may not be suitable for children and it pertains to sexual violence. The story starts with the reconciliation of Esau and Jacob. This is something special to savor. Then it takes a startling turn away from forgiveness and reconciliation to a neighboring prince taking and violating Jacob and Leah’s daughter, Dinah. The neighboring king and prince try to negotiate with Jacob to marry Dinah, but Jacob and his sons devised a plan to get the king, prince, and all their men to agree to circumcision in order to allow the marriage but after the agreement, Simeon and Levi, two of Dinah’s 12 brothers kill all of the neighboring men when they are healing from circumcision and take their sister back. Then all of the brothers take all of the neighboring women, children, animals, and wealth. Wow, the high is the forgiveness and reconciliation of Esau and Jacob. The low is violating the innocent, taking, followed by deceiving, murder, and presumably more violation at a larger scale - vengeance.
Resources:
Dr. Timothy Kelly. (2008). Prodigal God, Recovering the Heart of the Christian Faith
Father Mike Schmitz. The Bible in a Year. https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/day-17-jacob-meets-esau-2023/id1539568321?i=1000594827356 
Marty Solomon. BEMA Discipleship Podcast. Character Study - Jacob Part I, https://www.bemadiscipleship.com/212 
 
Credits:
Podcast music by Stockaudios from Pixabay. Speaker, Dr. Rachel Bodell. Podcast Sound Engineer, Alan Darling. Podcast Artwork, Will Gerard.

Week 3: Weekend Review and Reflection Challenge

This is the weekend review and reflection challenge. We'll be back on Monday! If you need to catch up, the weekend gives you the chance to do that. Remember, you can start whenever, pause whenever, but never stop listening (or reading) the Bible!
Reflection challenge question: What is one or two things you learned this week from listening to the Bible that you can put into practice in your life today? 
Don’t forget, you can subscribe to our show wherever you are podcasting to get notifications to remind you on Monday that the show has been posted! Subscribing, rating, reviewing and sharing our show also helps to organically grow our channel and make it easier for people to find us! Thanks for listening and we look forward to being back with you next week.

Day 17: Change and Wrestling

Today we read Genesis 31 and 31, Job 21 and 22, and Proverbs 3:9-12. This is a story about the chosen family of God’s transition home and their struggle to let go as well as their fear of what comes next. Change is hard. There can be fear and frustration with staying and fear and a thin spark of hope in leaving or going home. It’s the story of God responding to all of Jacob’s wrestling with and for the blessing God had already promised would be his. God wrestles Jacob in this story and in wounding him, Jacob seems to gain perspective and God blesses Him, renaming him Israel. In the other story we are reading, Job is angry and hurt by the situation, his friends, and his lack of understanding with the “why.” He’s feeling misunderstood and perhaps lost in this story.
 
Resources:
Why did people keep family idols in the Bible? Got Questions.org https://www.gotquestions.org/family-idols.html 
Dr. Carissa Quinn and Dr Tim Mackie, (Jan. 2021). Wrestling God, Reflections, Episode 2, Podcast (13 minutes) https://bibleproject.com/podcast/wrestling-god/
Credits:
Podcast music by Stockaudios from Pixabay. Speaker, Dr. Rachel Bodell. Podcast Sound Engineer, Alan Darling. Podcast Artwork, Will Gerard.

Day 16: Wanting and Weakness

Today we read Genesis 29 and 30, Job 19 and 20, and Proverbs 3:5-8. This is another story about a marriage that starts at a well, but there are some rough patches. In this marriage, there is less calling out to God and there continues to be a pattern of deception. Jacob wants Rachel. Laban wants Leah married first. Jacob doesn’t want Leah. Jacob still wants Rachel. Leah bears 6 of the sons which leads to 6 of the 12 tribes of Judah. Rachel wants to conceive, Leah wants to be loved by Jacob. Jacob, Leah, and Rachel double down on the sins of Abraham and Sarah taking two of their slaves as handmaids - Bilhah and Zilpah. They each had two sons, Bilhah had two for Leah and Zilpah had two for Rachel. The mothers didn’t even get to name their children. God gives Rachel a son, Joseph. When the wanting becomes weakness; when we want an outcome and profit more than we want to be a blessing and trust the Lord, dark and hurtful decisions are made. Soft hearts become hard and we hurt people. Jacob and these four women are the parents of the twelve tribes of Israel, but before that happens, there is more to this story.
Resources:
John Parsons, Vaytezei - Leah's Weak Eyes. Accessed from: https://www.hebrew4christians.com/Scripture/Parashah/Summaries/Vayetzei/Leah_s_Eyes/leah_s_eyes.html
Credits:
Podcast music by Stockaudios from Pixabay. Speaker, Dr. Rachel Bodell. Podcast Sound Engineer, Alan Darling. Podcast Artwork, Will Gerard.

Day 15: Taking, Running, and Revelation

Today we read Genesis 27 and 28, Job 17 and 18, and Proverbs 3:1-4. As I’m reading it, I’m seeing a story that starts with a lot of “taking.” There is a family of people focused on taking from someone, taking away something, and being consumed with the desire to take or get back something. Even Rebekah tries to take at the same time she is trying to give and Isaac gives but is deceived, and unlike Dr. Timothy Keller’s portrayal of the father in the prodigal son story, Isaac runs out of the “give.” I thought this story was supposed to be about being blessed and being a blessing, right? Jacob runs away from Esau, who is enraged about losing or having his blessing taken by Jacob in a deceptive scheme. Then in Jacob's exile, the story moves to one of the most exciting parts of of the narrative where God comes close to Jacob and reveals himself to him in a dream - vows are made. Meanwhile, Job, perhaps rightfully so, continues his lamented debate with himself and his friends.  
References:
Pastor David Guzik  (2018). Genesis 28 - Jacob Feels Esau https://enduringword.com/bible-commentary/genesis-28/ 
 
Father Mike Schmitz, Bible in a Year, Day 14: Isaac Blesses Jacob (20 minutes) https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/day-14-isaac-blesses-jacob-2023/id1539568321?i=1000594405835 
 
Dr. Tim Mackie and Jon Collins, Genesis Scroll Podcast, Episode 9 (March, 2022 - 62 minutes). Why Can’t Jacob and Esau Both Be Blessed?https://bibleproject.com/podcast/why-cant-jacob-and-esau-both-be-blessed/ 
 
Credits:
Podcast music by Stockaudios from Pixabay. Speaker, Dr. Rachel Bodell. Podcast Sound Engineer, Alan Darling. Podcast Artwork, Will Gerard.

Day 14: Rivalry and Tension

Today we read Genesis 25 and 26, Job 15 and 16, Proverbs 2:2-22. There is real and experienced tension in this story and the tension is with Jesus’s statement from Matthew 19: 30  . . “many who are first shall be last and many who are last shall be first. This is a very different socio-cultural model of structuring family and organizing a mission, in this case, God’s rescue mission. There is a natural and social rivalry in this story. There is also another struggle with conceiving in this story. We read how Job continues to push back on his friends who are offering Proverbs wisdom, yet Job knows there is something discerning about his case because He is righteous and faithful to God. We also discuss something interesting about the North, South, East, West, and how it’s often used in the Old Testament to have a meaning.
References:
https://bibleproject.com/podcast/why-cant-jacob-and-esau-both-be-blessed/ 
Credits:
Podcast music by Stockaudios from Pixabay. Speaker, Dr. Rachel Bodell. Podcast Sound Engineer, Alan Darling. Podcast Artwork, Will Gerard.