A New Voice of Freedom

Podcast 87 Ecclesiastes, “Pt 2” Every great writer finds his voice. If he does not find his voice, he shall never be a great writer. King Solomon found his voice. Who but Solomon could have written Ecclesiastes. The word Ecclesiastes comes from the Greek meaning “one who addresses an assembly” or “preacher,” hence the title of the Book. He is reflecting upon his life. Ecclesiastes 2:1-3 I said in...

Podcast 86 Ecclesiastes, “Pt 1” King Solomon, son of David, the last king of a united Israel, is known for his wisdom. Also famous for building King Soloman’s temple, he is the author of Proverbs, Ecclesiastes, and Songs of Solomon. Thank you for joining Linda and me as we discuss Ecclesiastes, an incredibly rich book from the mind and heart of one of the Lord’s anointed Kings who helped shaped th...

 Podcast 85 Story if Elisha, “Pt 11”   Miracles, by their nature, are strange things, for they often appear to deny nature or probability or common sense. Furthermore, often miracles, no matter how spectacular they appear, can often be explained away by ordinary things. For example, everyone witnessed that the Syrian army left in a great hurry, but not everyone attributed it to the Lord. They undo...

Podcast 84 Story if Elisha, “Pt 10”   Modern readers are often shocked when reading ancient texts. For one thing they are shocked at how little human life is regarded. For another they are shocked at the brutality.  and for another they are shocked at the extremes people are willing to go to survive. Some Old Testament stories reveal that extremism. The following miracle of Elisha is peculiar from...

Podcast 82 Story if Elisha, “Pt 8” First, we learn something about the group called the Sons of the Prophets. 2 Kings 6: 1-3 And the sons of the prophets said unto Elisha, Behold now, the place where we dwell with thee is too strait for us. Let us go, we pray thee, unto Jordan, and take thence every man a beam, and let us make us a place there, where we may dwell. And he answered, Go ye. And one s...

Podcast 83 Story if Elisha, “Pt 9” The prophet Elijah, who had the courage of a lion, was perhaps more flamboyant and dramatic than his protégé Elisha, but the miracles of Elisha, which often parallelled the miracles of his mentor Elijah, outnumbered the miracles of Elijah.  Among Elisha’s miracles, which also paralleled some of the miracles of Jesus, are the following. ·      He saw Elijah being...

Podcast 81, Story if Elisha, “Pt 7” In the previous podcast we discussed the Story of the miracle of the healing of Naaman, the Captain of the Syrian army. In this podcast we complete that story. We learn another great lesson from the healing of Naaman. Consistent with other miracles, something is required of the person receiving the miracle. There is a law irrevocable with God that faith must pre...

Podcast 80, Story if Elisha, “Pt 6” To study Elijah and Elisha is to study miracles. Their lives are defined by miracles. Remember Elisha asked for a double portion when requesting the mantle of Elijah. It may appear ironically significant that of the recorded miracles, Elisha performs twice as many as Elijah. Some Biblical scholars interpret that to mean his double portion. But one thing that is...

Podcast 79, Story if Elisha, “Pt 5” It is no coincidence that the miracles of God’s true prophets parallel those miracles that will be performed by Christ when he comes to the earth. They are meant to be interpreted that way for it is by the power of Christ that they are performed. It was a common belief among the Jews that miracles could only come from God. John 3:2 The same came to Jesus by nigh...

Podcast 78, Story if Elisha, “Pt 4” The miracles performed by Elisha continue. Again, let’s consider the circumstances of the next miracle. 2 Kings 4:8-11 And it fell on a day, that Elisha passed to Shunem, where was a great woman; and she constrained him to eat bread. And so it was, that as oft as he passed by, he turned in thither to eat bread. And she said unto her husband, Behold now, I percei...

Podcast 77, Story if Elisha, “Pt 3” One quickly sees a parallel between the miracles of Elijah and the miracles of Elisha. 2 Kings 4:1 Now there cried a certain woman of the wives of the sons of the prophets unto Elisha, saying, Thy servant my husband is dead; and thou knowest that thy servant did fear the Lord: and the creditor is come to take unto him my two sons to be bondmen. These were very h...

Podcast 76, Story if Elisha, “Pt 2” About 852–850 BC all twelve tribes united against Moab. Moab, the father of the Moabites, was the son of Lot, nephew to Abraham.  2 Kings 3:1-3 Now Jehoram the son of Ahab began to reign over Israel in Samaria the eighteenth year of Jehoshaphat king of Judah, and reigned twelve years. And he wrought evil in the sight of the Lord; but not like his father, and lik...

Podcast 75, Story if Elisha, “Pt 1”   We are introduced to Elisha in 1 Kings when he is called by Elijah. 1 Kings 19:19-21 So he departed thence, and found Elisha the son of Shaphat, who was plowing with twelve yoke of oxen before him, and he with the twelfth: and Elijah passed by him, and cast his mantle upon him. And he left the oxen, and ran after Elijah, and said, Let me, I pray thee, kiss my...

Podcast 74, Story of Elijah, “Pt 8” Regardless of where Elijah is there is spectacle. No other prophet is more dramatic than Elijah. He comes in like a whirlwind and leaves in a whirlwind. He controls every situation, making kings bow to his power. The best known story of Elijah is being taken up in a chariot of fire, not tasting death. The story is recorded in 2 Kings 2. 2 Kings 2 And it came to...

Elijah prophesied the gruesome deaths of Ahab and Jezebel. Now Ahaziah, the son of Ahab and Jezebel, because of his wickedness suffers a similar fate. Following the idolatrous reign of Ahab, Ahaziah, c. 853-852 BC reigned only 2 years.   2 Kings 1:1-2 Then Moab rebelled against Israel after the death of Ahab. And Ahaziah fell down through a lattice in his upper chamber that was in Samaria, and was...

Podcast 72, Story if Elijah, “Pt 6” Elijah remains a thorn in the side of Ahab and Jezebel. Whenever Elijah appears to Ahab it is to prophecy drought, death, or humiliation for Ahab. Ahab refers to Elijah as his enemy. The strangest thing about Ahab, as wicked as he is, is how he manages to escape the wrath of God. One problem is that Ahab is under the powerful influence of his wife Jezebel, the P...

Podcast 71, Story of Elijah, “Pt 5” For King Ahab and his Phoenician wife, Jezebel who worships Baal, Elijah has become the number one force to be reckoned with. Elijah, under the power of God, has just put an end to the three-year drought; however, rather than repenting and acknowledging the hand of the Lord, Ahab supports his wife Jezebel who desires to kill Elijah for killing the 450 priests of...

Elijah is no longer playing the crowd. He is now in deadly earnest. Though he is clearly speaking to everyone (to King Ahab, to the Canaanite Baal worshipers, to the 450 priests of Baal, to the ten northern tribes of Israel), he is also speaking as a prophet to the world and to all the tribes of Israel, declaring that only Jehovah is the true God. He is reestablishing God’s authority. How exciting...

For pure drama, Elijah is the prophet to read. A true prophet has a complex mission. First his mission is to people who fall under his domain. For example, Elijah is from the Northern Kingdom. The evil king Ahab is king of the ten northern tribes. The capitol is Samaria. Relatively speaking, in a short time, they will disappear from history and become known as The Ten Lost Tribes. The ten tribes a...

About three years earlier the Lord sent Elijah to King Ahab to inform him that there was going to be a drought in the land. Now he sends the prophet Elijah back to King Ahab to tell him the drought is going to be lifted. One can only imagine the courage it must have taken Elijah to return to Samaria and face the king who is very wicked. Samaria is the capitol of the Northern Tribes. And it came to...

Most people, perhaps remember Elijah for colorful and peculiar events that mark his life. Some of the memorable highlights are— ·      During a famine he is fed by ravens. ·      He raises a boy from the dead. ·      He calls down fire from heaven to consume the sacrifice, and he destroys the 450 priests of Baal. ·      He is taken up into heaven in a fiery chariot without tasting death. ·      He...

 Podcast 66, Stories of the Bible, “The Book of Malachi, Ch 4 B In studying the words of the prophets relating to the Millennium, we learn that a new heaven and a new earth shall be created. Isaiah 65:17 For, behold, I create new heavens and a new earth: and the former shall not be remembered, nor come into mind. Jerusalem shall be restored to its former glory. There shall be no tears of sorrow. I...

Podcast 65, Stories of the Bible, “The Book of Malachi, Ch 4 A The birth of Christ was announced to only a few, and Christ lived his life in relative obscurity in a small corner of the world, but in his brief life he accomplished more than all mankind have accomplished over thousands of years. He saved the world and brought about the resurrection of the dead. He gave meaning to life Following his...

Podcast 64, Stories of the Bible, “The Book of Malachi, Ch 3” One cannot find any book that is more fitting than the Book of Malachi to end the prophets of the Old Testament. Malachi is divided into four chapters, but it is one long beautiful poem written in the vein of Isaiah of the Old Testament and John the Revelator of the New Testament. As with most of the Old Testament and New Testament prop...

Podcast 63, Stories of the Bible, “The Book of Malachi, Ch 2” Malachi Chapter 2 is an extension of Chapter 1. In Chapter 1 the Lord condemns Israel for not obeying the law of sacrifice. They used imperfect animals. In Chapter 2, the Lord condemns the Priests for leading the children of Israel astray; he condemns Judah for leaving the “wife of their youth.” He is comparing their infidelity to their...