Commuter Bible OT

In our last episode, Saul had just been anointed as king by Samuel the prophet and priest of Israel. In today’s episode, he is appointed as king in Gilgal to a fuller degree, complete with sacrifices and rejoicing. Samuel gives Saul instructions to wait for him there, but when the newly minted king feels like he is pressed for time he assumes that it will be best to make the burnt offering himself. King Saul, however, is not a part of the priesthood, and while he is king, it doesn’t mean that he can do whatever he wishes, especially if it means going against the Lord’s statutes. As we’ll find out today, Saul’s tendency to pay little attention to God’s instructions has huge ramifications on his life and his reign as king.

1 Samuel 11 - 1:04 .

1 Samuel 12 - 4:19 .

1 Samuel 13 - 11:03 .

Psalm 84 - 16:06 .

Psalm 85 - 17:50 .

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Christian Standard Bible translation.

All music written and produced by John Burgess Ross.

Co-produced by the Christian Standard Bible.

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In today’s reading, Israel asks an aging Samuel to appoint a king over them before his death. Samuel warns them about what a king would demand from them, but the people urge him all the more. Ultimately, the concern is not so much that they want a king, but that they are looking to have a human king as a source of strength, protection, and provision. All throughout their history, God has been their strength, their protection, and their provider, but they fail to trust in Him. As Samuel installs Saul as king in today’s reading, take note that it is the Lord who performs remarkably through Samuel, and it is not Samuel himself who is particularly noteworthy.

1 Samuel 8 - 1:01 .

1 Samuel 9 - 4:54 .

1 Samuel 10 - 12:04 .

Psalm 83 - 17:35 .

:::

Christian Standard Bible translation.

All music written and produced by John Burgess Ross.

Co-produced by the Christian Standard Bible.

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Today, Israel goes to battle against the Philistines. They assume that if they bring out the ark of the covenant to the battlefield, that it’s presence would either oblige God to win the battle for them or that the object itself has some kind of mystical power. They are sorely mistaken, and the Philistines promptly defeat them and capture the ark. Assuming that their victory is a victory over Israel’s God, the Philistines place the ark in Dagon’s temple. Time and again, however, the Lord silently causes destruction, catastrophe and misery for the Philistines wherever the ark is taken, until finally, they become so desperate they put it on a cart and send it back where it came from.

1 Samuel 4 - 1:02 .

1 Samuel 5 - 6:07 .

1 Samuel 6 - 10:07 .

1 Samuel 7 - 15:02 .

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Christian Standard Bible translation.

All music written and produced by John Burgess Ross.

Co-produced by the Christian Standard Bible.

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The instructions that the Lord has given to his people concerning justice, holiness, and priesthood have all been shattered in the time of the judges. It seems like all is lost for Israel, but even here we can see foreshadows of the Christ who has yet to come. There is a woman incapable of having children who is faithful to the Lord. In His providence, kindness and mercy, the Lord raises a prophet and priest from the barren womb of this woman, who had promised the Lord that her son would serve God all the days of his life. This young boy is at home in the Lord’s service and eventually replaces sinful men and intercedes between God and His people. One day, Samuel will usher in a new kingdom, though he himself will not be king.

1 Samuel 1 – 1:02 .

1 Samuel 2 – 6:20 .

1 Samuel 3 – 15:15 .

:::

Christian Standard Bible translation.

All music written and produced by John Burgess Ross.

Co-produced by the Christian Standard Bible.

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It seems like so much has been lost in the time of the judges, but the author of Ruth gives us a glimmer of hope. In a season of drought, a family leaves Israel and moves to Moab hoping to find relief, but instead they find sorrow. The wife, Naomi, becomes a widow without family to help her. Her daughter-in-law, a foreigner, commits to love her and care for her, returning with her to the people of Israel. There, she meets Boaz, a family redeemer who honors Ruth, cares for her, and in obedience to the Lord, redeems her into his own family. Ruth is part of a bigger story of redemption, as her lineage will include not only King David, but Jesus the Christ.

Ruth 1 - 1:01 .

Ruth 2 - 5:19 .

Ruth 3 - 10:56 .

Ruth 4 - 14:19 .

:::

Christian Standard Bible translation.

All music written and produced by John Burgess Ross.

Co-produced by the Christian Standard Bible.

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At this point in the narrative of Judges, the Lord is noticeably absent from the life of Israel. It seems like nobody knows how any of this covenant stuff works, even in the slightest. It becomes so bad that a Levite is involved in a scenario almost identical to that of Sodom & Gomorrah, only this time, those who are intent on sexually assaulting the town’s visitors are successful because the Levite betrays his concubine. Though he is not supposed to touch a dead body, he then mutilates her corpse just to make a point. Time and again the author captures this darkness by stating that there was “no king in Israel” for Israel had rejected their Lord.

Judges 19 - 1:02 .

Judges 20 - 8:06 .

Judges 21 - 17:09 .

:::

Christian Standard Bible translation.

All music written and produced by John Burgess Ross.

Co-produced by the Christian Standard Bible.

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Today, we’ll conclude the account of Samson, one of Israel’s judges. As you may recall from the last episode, Samson was supposed to be dedicated to the Lord as a Nazirite from birth, and yet he did very little to keep that vow. We pick up his story with the account of his interactions with a Philistine woman named Delilah, a woman of the very nation that Israel had been tasked with destroying for their perpetual evil. As a representative of Israel, it’s no surprise that in the end, he falls to the strength of another nation because he gives into his passions. In the end, however, the angel’s prediction is true: he will begin to save Israel from the power of the Philistines.

Judges 16 - 1:01 .

Judges 17 - 9:24 .

Judges 18 - 11:46 .

Psalm 82 - 18:24 .

:::

Christian Standard Bible translation.

All music written and produced by John Burgess Ross.

Co-produced by the Christian Standard Bible.

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Today, we’ll begin to look at the life of Samson, a man who kept the Nazirite vow from his birth, until he didn’t, and violated it several times over. In short, Samson is a picture of Israel in one person. Meant to be set apart and holy, he instead takes his vows and his God lightly, defiling himself over and over. A Nazirite was supposed avoid dead bodies, yet he eats honey from a lion’s carcass and uses a jawbone for a weapon. A Nazirite was supposed to abstain from wine, yet Samson threw a drinking party for the Philistines. And, in our next episode, the last vow to go is that of not cutting his hair, which he hands over to a Delilah, a woman of the very nation that Israel had been tasked with destroying for their perpetual evil.

Judges 13 - 1:00 .

Judges 14 - 5:43 .

Judges 15 - 11:06 .

Psalm 81 - 15:47 .

:::

Christian Standard Bible translation.

All music written and produced by John Burgess Ross.

Co-produced by the Christian Standard Bible.

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Two judges of Israel follow the death of Abimelech, and we know little about them, except that they each judged Israel for over 20 years with no ruckus to speak of. When Israel turns to idols yet again, they suffer under the Philistines & the Ammonites. They cry out to the Lord, but he rejects their pleas. When they confess sin and burn their idols, God begins to become weary of their misery. Later, God appoints a ne’er-do-well named Jephthah to deliver Israel from the Ammonites. Sadly, Jephthah doesn’t truly know the Lord or His commands, and he makes a vow to the Lord that is abominable in the Lord’s sight, standing in direct conflict with the statutes handed down through Moses. Thinking that he is being faithful to the Lord, he makes a heartbreaking decision.

Judges 10 - 1:02 .

Judges 11 - 5:00 .

Judges 12 - 13:19 .

Psalm 80 - 16:18 .

:::

Christian Standard Bible translation.

All music written and produced by John Burgess Ross.

Co-produced by the Christian Standard Bible.

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When we last left Gideon and his army, he had attacked the forces of Midian with 300 hundred men. Though he and his small band had already killed 120,000 men, there are still 15,000 left. We begin with a discussion between Gideon and the men of Ephraim who have just killed the two princes of Midian as Gideon’s men routed them from battle. They’re upset that they weren’t called to fight, but Gideon basically tells them their leftovers are better than the full harvest of what his men have reaped. After securing victory, Israel tries to make Gideon their leader, but he refuses and says that the Lord should lead them. Then, strangely he makes an ephod out of gold, which becomes a snare of idolatry.

Judges 8 - 1:01 .

Judges 9 - 8:23 .

Psalm 79 - 19:20 .

:::

Christian Standard Bible translation.

All music written and produced by John Burgess Ross.

Co-produced by the Christian Standard Bible.

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