Friends With the Bible: Recent Episodes
Christine Patel
In this final episode in the prequel series, we're going to tie everything together. We'll learn how Jesus is the fulfillment of all the covenants we've covered so far, and how he's the fulfillment of another, different covenant. We'll talk about whether idolatry still exists today, and how Jesus dealt with spirits in the unseen realm. Finally, we'll take a peek into Revelation to see what the future holds for Christians (not just believers!).
Season 2.5 on Hosea will pick up in the fall. Stay tuned!
Today we'll see King Ahab's explosive confrontations with Naboth and Elijah, and we'll get to know his wife Jezebel and learn what her influence was on Samaria. King Jehu will stir up some controversy that lasts even to this day. We'll also get to see God's redeeming grace toward every nation, even to Samaria and beyond.
Israel is stepping out of her infancy as a nation and is starting to make grownup decisions that will have lasting consequences. We'll take a look at the first 3 kings of Israel and examine their relationships with idolatry and we'll look at the covenant that God made with King David. By the end, we'll see the cracks in Israel begin to show, and despite that, we'll see how God's faithfulness keeps showing up.
We pick up on the other side of the Red Sea today, and we get the Ten Commandments. We'll take a look at them in the context of idolatry and the realm of the Elohim. We also get a golden calf and a new covenant! With that covenant comes the law, and we'll go over a select few that are relevant to idolatry and future kings, which will eventually lead us to the conditions in Israel that Hosea will pick up in.
Today, we hear the story of the Baal Cycle and we explore some of the counterfeits that Satan has created to imitate the things of God. We also catch up with Isaac and Jacob and later find Israel in Egypt. And then we finish by learning about the idolatry that was happening in Egypt and God's dominion over all other gods.
Episode 2 covers the Abrahamic covenant, an overview of Baalism, what Baalism practice looked like, and who the major players in Baalism are. We'll talk about how the God of the Bible is different from the idols of the world.
DISCLAIMER: This episode contains explicit details about idolatrous practices. It picks up at the 22:36 mark and continues until the end of the episode. This segment of this episode is not meant for children, and it's strongly advised that you use discretion when listening.
Welcome back to Season 2! This study will cover the background knowledge we're going to need to help us understand Hosea better, and I'll tell you some interesting stories along the way!
Episode 1 covers the creation, the Edenic covenant, The Unseen Realm, the Noahic Covenant, the discovery at Ras Shamra, and what happened to Noah's sons after the flood
In this final episode, we put everything in context within the Bible's narrative and talk about how to apply what we learned to the way we look at ourselves, and how it informs how we view people who are different from us. We also learn about why, despite everything appearing as grim as can be, we still have reason to rejoice.
Listen to the end to find out what the next season's study will be!
Here's the discussion questions for this episode.
Habakkuk has a spiritual glow-up, and we get to witness the ways he's matured and how his faith in God has grown. He's come a long way since his despair in the beginning, and we see a truly amazing prayer and praise that could only be possible because of God. Even though his situation doesn't change, we can see a monumental change in his heart. High five, Habakkuk!
Discussion questions for session 5 can be found here.
Today, we're finishing up our discussion about the difference between justice and vengeance and revenge. We'll spend some time talking about how Satan can distract us from moving forward when we're called out on our sins, and then we'll talk about a core issue that God addresses, which is idolatry. And finally we'll talk about what it means to be silent before the Lord.
Language warning: I will use some words that may not be appropriate for little ears but they are necessary to call out the severity of the sins God is addressing. You can find these words in the Bible in the narrative about Tamar and Amnon in 2 Samuel 13:19 (mentioned at 27:23), and in Hosea 4:12-13 (mentioned at 29:45-30:04).
You can find the discussion questions here.
Have you ever felt exposed and all your secrets laid bare? We're going to watch as God is going to lay it all out there for the Babylonians in this episode. We'll touch on what it means to be puffed up in our hearts and to have hardened hearts, then we'll get started on their condemnation. We'll pick up the rest of the discussion about condemnation and justice and revenge in part 2. Don't miss it!
Here are the discussion questions!
We'll continue our discussion from part 1 about whether God is being abusive toward Habakkuk and Judah. We'll also talk about how a more evil nation like Babylon can be used to purify Judah, and about how to endure hardship well, and whether we can see hints about Jesus in this Old Testament text.
Discussion questions for part 3 can be found in the previous episode link.
After Habakkuk's transformative exchange with God, we see his way of thinking change, but he still has some really difficult questions he needs to work through. In episode 3, we will talk about how Habakkuk evidences peace in the midst of chaos, and praise in the midst of pain. We'll wrestle together through questions about how a good God can allow pain and suffering, and we'll touch on whether this relationship is abusive. We'll pick up with that discussion in part 2, as well as some more other hard questions Habakkuk is facing down. Stay tuned for part 2! You won't want to miss it.
Discussion questions can be found here.
God responds to Habakkuk's accusations by challenging his thinking, and Habakkuk will be forced to make an important decision about how to respond.
Study questions for session 2 can be found here.
The nation of Judah has fallen into depravity, and Habakkuk has to decide how to respond, both to his people and to God. He is deeply troubled. He cries out to God and demands answers.
Session 1 discussion questions can be found here.
Most people haven't ever studied Habakkuk before because it doesn't make a lot of sense without context, and there's a lot of it going on in the background in this book! In the introduction, I'll share about who Habakkuk was, what was going on in Israel and Judah and beyond that influenced Habakkuk's writing, and give historical information that helps this book make sense. It will provide a backdrop to deepen your understanding before we start digging in on the next episode.