A New Voice of Freedom

Podcast 62, Stories of the Bible, “The Book of Malachi, Ch 1” The opening statement of Malachi is curious. Malachi 1:1 The burden of the word of the Lord to Israel by Malachi. Why is it a burden? It is a burden because the children of Israel have fallen away from their covenants. Malachi, the last prophet of the Old Testament, like other prophets, must call them to repentance. They don’t listen. T...

Podcast 61, Stories of the Bible, “The Book of Jonah, Ch 4 b” Isn’t the true story of the Book of Jonah that God is creator of all things, that God created the twelve tribes of Israel, that God created the Assyrians, and that God created all the children of the earth, and that he loves them all; Furthermore, that God is no respecter of persons.  Consider the following scripture. Deuteronomy 10:17...

Podcast 60, Stories of the Bible, “The Book of Jonah, Ch 4” Notice how the parallel introductions tie the four chapters of the Book of Jonah together. Chapter 1:1 Now the word of the Lord came unto Jonah the son of Amittai, saying, Chapter 2:1 Then Jonah prayed unto the Lord his God out of the fish’s belly, Chapter 3:1 And the word of the Lord came unto Jonah the second time, saying, Chapter 4:1-2...

The Lord is patient with Jonah. He gives Jonah a second chance. Let’s compare the beginning of Chapter 1 with the beginning of Chapter 3 for they are parallel. Now the word of the Lord came unto Jonah the son of Amittai, saying, Arise, go to Nineveh, that great city, and cry against it; for their wickedness is come up before me. And the word of the Lord came unto Jonah the second time, saying, Ari...

Chapter 2 of Jonah is also prophetic of Christ for it contains a beautiful description of death and the resurrection. In Chapter 1 of Jonah, we learn that Jonah was in the belly of the whale for three days. Now the Lord had prepared a great fish to swallow up Jonah. And Jonah was in the belly of the fish three days and three nights. [1] On the third day Jonah came out of the whale’s belly.  Then J...

The Twelve Tribes split about 930 BC. Jonah, a prophet of the Northern Kingdom, lived about 760 BC.  I shall compare Job to another prophet about 1400 BC named Balaam. The two are somewhat similar because Jonah was commanded to go to Ninevah and refused. Balaam was commanded not to go with the princes of Moab but he went anyway.  Now the word of the Lord came unto Jonah the son of Amittai, saying,...

I have introduced the five forms of parallelism that distinguish the Book of Job which is written in ancient Hebraic poetic form: Chiastic Parallelism, Antithetical Parallelism, Synonymous Parallelism, Synthetic Parallelism and Step Parallelism. I have also added a fifth: Climactic Parallelism.  As illustrated, the parallelism exists distinctly within the chapters, most written in chiastic form. H...

Chapters 40 & 41 of Job are parallel, one is an extension of the other. Chapter 40 introduces the Behemoth. Chapter 41 introduces the Leviathan, both legendary creatures known for their strength. The Behemoth is a land creature. The Leviathan is a Sea Creature. They are symbolic of the power of God on Land and in the Sea. Remember that the Lord is speaking, not in a still small voice, but out...

Job Chapter 40 is divided into three sections. In Section 1, God addresses Job, asking him a question.  Job 40:1-2 Moreover the Lord answered Job, and said, Shall he that contendeth with the Almighty instruct him? he that reproveth God, let him answer it. The Lord establishes his almighty power. This is in parallel to the introduction of Chapter 38. Job 38:1-7 Then the Lord answered Job out of the...

Podcast 53, Stories of the Bible, “The Book of Job, Ch 39” Chapter 39 of Job is an extension of Chapter 38; therefore, there is no salutation. The Lord lists the following animals: wild goats, wild ass, unicorn, peacocks, ostrich, horse, hawk, and eagle. The unicorn is not the mythical white horse of medieval texts, but scholars speculate it was based on a real creature, a massive wild ox that was...

Podcast 52, Stories of the Bible, “The Book of Job, Ch 38” In the other chapters of Job, we hear the voices of Bildad, Eliphaz, Zophar, and Elihu. In Chapter 38, in verse 1, we hear the voice of the Lord. Job 38:1 Then the Lord answered Job out of the whirlwind, and said, Following the salutation, Chapter 38 is divided into 5 parts. We find the same pattern in other chapters of Job. It is a Chiasm...

Podcast 51, Stories of the Bible, “The Book of Job,” Ch 37 Chapter 37 contains Elihu’s final words. It is also an optimistic chapter, not condemning Job, but praising God. Elihu is not perfect, and in my personal opinion, Elihu is not a prophet. He is a good man, a biblical scholar, a pious man who loves God, but he is young and passionate and overbearing. He is speaking to his elders without show...

Podcast 50, Stories of the Bible, “The Book of Job, Ch 36” As with the other chapters, Chapter 36 uses the chiastic format: A1,A2—B1,B2. A1 Verse 1 is characteristically the salutation that introduces the speaker.  Job 36:1 Elihu also proceeded, and said, Elihu, a devout person, praises God. First he politely requests the other men to listen to his words. He testifies that he speaks the truth. How...

Podcast 49, Stories of the Bible, “The Book of Job, Ch 35” Chapter 34 follows the same chiastic pattern as the others. It has two major parts:  Part one is divided into A1 (verses 2-3) & A2 (verses 14-16). Part two is divided into B1 (verses 4-7) & B2 (verses 8-13).   The primary theme of the parable is found in the last verse of B2 where we expect it to be, “Surely God will not hear vanit...

Podcast 48, Stories of the Bible, “The Book of Job, Ch 34” Chapter 34 begins with the familiar refrain. Job 34:1 Furthermore Elihu answered and said, From that point on, Elihu uses the following refrain to divide his chapter into stanzas or paragraphs.. 1.     Hear my words (verses 2-9) 2.     Therefore hearken unto me (verses 10-15) 3.     Hear this: hearken to the voice of my words ((verses 16-3...

Podcast 47, Stories of the Bible, “The Book of Job, Ch 33” In verse one, as with other chapters, a narrator is established. It is Elihu, the youngest of the group, and he is directing his comments directly to Job. This is like a play enacted on stage. They are the actors. We are the audience. Though the arguments get very direct and personal, there is a very formal nature and politeness in the gro...

Podcast 46, Stories of the Bible, “The Book of Job, Ch 32” In Chapter 32 we are introduced to a new character, Elihu. He is younger than Job and his three friends. Apparently Elihu has been present from the beginning but because of his youth, he remained silent. However, his outburst demonstrates almost uncontrolled passion for he is angry with Job for proclaiming his own righteousness, and he is...

Podcast 45, Stories of the Bible, “The Book of Job, Ch 31” The structure of Chapter 31 is very interesting. It is a simple chiasm divided into only two parts. A1 & A2. In A1 Job asks seven questions:  A1 Job 31:1-4 1.     I made a covenant with mine eyes; why then should I think upon a maid? 2.     For what portion of God is there from above?  3.     And what inheritance of the Almighty from o...

Podcast 44, Stories of the Bible, “The Book of Job, Ch 30” In Chapter 30, we see the social order breaking down. We need to consider Job’s social condition before tragedy struck. As we learned earlier, even princes remained silent when Job spoke. Job, with all of his wealth, looked after the poor. Job gave counsel to the highest dignitaries. Now as we see in Part 1 A, even the rabble hold him in d...

Podcast 43, Stories of the Bible, “The Book of Job, Ch 29” Job is speaking. Verse 1 is of the usual salutation identifying the speaker. Job 1:1 Moreover Job continued his parable, and said, The rest of the parable is divided into four parts, following the chiastic pattern of A1, B1—B2, A2. Customarily the emphasis falls on B2 which lists Job’s charity, proving that he was a righteous man who did n...

Podcast 42, Stories of the Bible, “The Book of Job, Ch 28” Job 28 is very straight forward. It is organized into two parts, each antithetical to the other. Part 1 addresses the laws of nature. Part 2 addresses the laws of God. The two parts are analogical—that is to say that each is an analogical contrast to the other. Job 28 answers two questions: Question 1: Where do you search for gold and silv...

Podcast 41, Stories of the Bible, “The Book of Job, Ch 27” Job continues his answer to Bildad. Job 27:1 Moreover Job continued his parable, and said, Chapter 27 is divided into four distinct parts. It is a chiasm with the following structure: A1,B1,C1,D1—D2,C2,B2,A2. That means that the emphasis falls in the middle upon D2 which is the primary theme of Chater 27. In D2 Job asks, “Why then are ye t...

Podcast 40, Stories of the Bible, “The Book of Job, Ch 26” Of course, chapters 25 & 26 need to be read together. Chapter 26 is Job’s answer to Bildad in Chapter 25.   As is common in Job, the first verse introduces the speaker. Chapter 25 introduces Bildad as the speaker.  Job 25:1  Then answered Bildad the Shuhite, and said, Chapter 26 introduces Job as the speaker.  Job 36:1 But Job answered...

Podcast 39, Stories of the Bible, “The Book of Job, Ch 25” In Chapter 25, the shortest chapter in Job, only six verses, Bildad curses man, calling him a worm. It may seem odd, but Chapter 25 of Job goes to the heart of the gospel of Jesus Christ: The answer to two of the greatest questions of the universe is at stake. Question One: What is Man? Question Two: What is the Son of Man. How we answer t...

Podcast 38, Stories of the Bible, “The Book of Job,’ Ch 24. Since one of my purposes is to share with my reader how the ancient Hebrews would read the Old Testament, please allow me to use Chapter 24 of Job as another model.   In addition to the forms of parallelism such as Climatic, Antithetical, Chiastic, Synonymous, Synthetic, and Step Parallelism, sometimes the prophets taught by using questio...