[Music] When a Jewish synagogue finishes reading The Torah together they end by throwing A big party it's called simcat Torah and Today on the podcast Tim and I want to Have a little celebration of our own Because together with all of you we've Read the Torah we want to reflect on This reading Journey we've had and we Want to look forward and talk about how To continue to read the Hebrew Bible Through the prophets and the writings And the way that we've read it together So today on the podcast our own simcat Torah there might even be dancing thanks For joining us here we go [Music] Hey Tim hey John hi it's the end of the Year yes it is and we are coming back Having finished reading through the tour Yes this whole year 2022 has been Dedicated too A podcast Series going through the five Scrolls of the Torah yep start in January we've gone week by week Movement By movement through the Torah doing Question response at the end a double Question response last week yeah and so There's a few weeks left in the year yep And uh one of the things we wanted to do Was just celebrate stop and celebrate Yes we did it yeah and by we we mean all Of you who have been listening to the Podcast yeah we all did it and then a
Whole bunch of you who listen to the Podcast have also been doing the tour of Reading experience that we created in Our app throughout this year about Project app and so it's been a guided Reading experience through the first Five books of the Hebrew Bible it's a Way to go if you have listened and or Read through the Torah it's a Significant investment of time and Mental energy It is and emotion depending on your Temperament and uh so way to go way to Go it's a it's very significant if only There was some way to celebrate having Accomplished something like This having read through the Torah okay Well John let me tell you a story I've mentioned now and then that uh Jessica and I many years ago before we Had kids went to go live in Jerusalem For a year The part of graduate school this was the 2006-2007 school year and we had a small Apartment did you have a smartphone oh Because that was like the year they came Out you know what we got two little Nokia phones remember the super little Tiny ones yeah Kia phones we didn't have Them but we got them for the year we Were there the bricks yeah totally it Was Tiny it felt like it's the size of My Toyota like key fob for my car yeah You play snake on it yeah oh no no just
Phone calls and it was so laborious to Text yeah because every every button was Three potential letters you had to click Through anyway I had a Nokia yeah that year that's how We communicated anyway Um it's so funny well because when we Got back when we moved back to the States you started seeing we didn't have Them anymore and we were like oh man we We got to do that now so then we signed Up cool got our first phones anyway oh Those were your first cell phones period We got cell phones to live in Jerusalem And now we didn't have a cell phone Before 2007 no sick 2006. no no man Analog wow yeah to keep it landline Okay yeah that was old-fashioned yeah I laid a doctor I'm just thinking like I Feel like the iPhone came out in 2008 Okay it doesn't matter so you're in Israel yeah with your dumb phone okay Yes so we had a little apartment in West Jerusalem and I forget the time of year It was in the winter so it was like you Know a dark kind of cooler night gets Cool up in Jerusalem snowed one time so I forget what we were doing we we're Doing something in our apartment making Dinner or something and you know how When you hear a car drive by that has Someone's put thousands of dollars into The sound system in the car yeah you Know and they want you to experience it
With them they do So that's what we heard going on outside It was like a car was approaching with Heavy heavy bass going on and we lived On a little side street so it's like What's really weird why would a car be Coming through and so we looked out our Window and we were in a kind of a roof Unit with sort of slanted walls and so It was like an angled Skylight roofs and So we looked at our Skylight roof and All I could see was like color blurred Lights spinning on the street below and I was like what what's going on so we Ran downstairs I'll never forget this And they were just I don't know a few Dozen felt like a hundred because it's Packing the street of people like Dancing and singing and all jostling Around to this loud Bassy music yes Surrounding a van and the van had huge Mounted speakers on it facing out so it Was actually that's why it sounded so Loud it was well they weren't inside the Car they were mounted on the sides of The van and then it had this Disco ball type spinning just lighting Up the street yeah on the top of the van But not mirror pieces but it was just Dozens of colored lights being lit up From within the ball spinning around and There's all these people jostling around And so it's just like house music but Like kind of you know Jewish style house
Music and all the women were aware had Head coverings and were wearing like Dark dresses and then all the men had These Eastern European style robes many Of them had the long you know kind of Hair locks on the side and were wearing Old style hats and they were all dancing And then it became very clear they were All circling around this one guy in the Front who's carrying this huge scroll Like a gigantic scroll with a big silver Crown on the top And they were just dancing just dancing On the street so I went down and asked When person like what is going on and This woman said that they were it was Simcha Torah it's the phrase Actually was the name of our landlady Who owned the building her name is Which means Joy It's the joy of Torah So many synagogues are set just kind of Like in the Christian tradition there's Developed What's called the lectionary Cycle we're in the Sunday Gatherings the Readings read aloud yeah from often it's The prophet Torah prophets and gospels Or something and so in many synagogue Traditions they operate on a one year or A three-year Torah reading cycle In the Shabbat Gathering something and Is it it's the Jewish calendar year yeah And all yeah and for Shabbat Gatherings And it's tied off of actually in the
Last chapters of Deuteronomy we're Moshe Moses talks about reading every seven Years gather and read the Torah Beginning to end to everybody so that Developed into lack a lectionary Tradition and then every time they Finish a synagogue finishes the Torah They dance party they do a simcha Torah Celebration and so they had begun from Their synagogue they were looping all Around the neighborhood and then would End back at their synagogue and then Just have a huge Pollock and a big feast And it was so amazing so if we had Thought this through we could have Organized the big dance party We could be doing a dance party right Now we could so we're talking about it Totally so I feel like we can up the Game at least a little bit some of the People on our podcast team thought Wouldn't it be fun to just take a moment To have our own Bible project version a Simcha Torah to celebrate celebrate Finishing a meditation year through the Torah So John yeah I kind of have this idea Where I feel like we're not all together Having a dance party yeah but I guess Wherever you are we're gonna play we're Gonna play yeah Music yep and you can dance yes if you Did this with us and you want to dance Grab your Torah yep yeah and it's gonna
Be in your Bible or on your phone yeah So I guess you can grab it wherever yep And dance around and celebrate our Journey through the tour yeah the joy of Torah and a one and two and a one two Three four five [Music] [Music] [Applause] I really hope somebody Just like parked their car And got out Good dancing oh yeah yeah I hope so too Yeah maybe somebody did that Yeah tell us your stories if anyone if Anyone had a cool dance party moment With your family or on your own I know Some people listen to podcasts while They wash dishes maybe just there in the Kitchen yep just yeah jamming out quick Little dance party Yeah so we thought in this end of your Episode and simcat Torah celebration Episode we would also Name a fact that we are not going to be Continuing on doing reading Journeys in The podcast Journeys through the Prophets going into the year 2023 and We've heard from many of you listen to Podcast you would love us to do that and That would be really fun to do like we Could we could just keep going start in Joshua next year yep and Joshua we would Do the same thing there's movements yep
There's literary units we could trace Themes we could see how it all connects To the bigger story yep and and it would Be rad like it would be rad it would be Totally and and probably one day we'll We'll do something yes oh yeah And so we haven't actually full Technically announced this for many People they're going to be hearing about This right now okay for the first for The first time so we need to tread Lightly Yeah I mean I think what I've noticed is The few people I have told Kind of were disappointed I'm kind of Sad about it yeah and I was sad that They were sad [Music] And so two things one is it's gonna be Okay we'll get to it also we got some Really cool conversations coming yes on Some new theme videos yeah and then also Yeah there will be a time to do it Secondly though you can continue to read Through the Bible you won't have Uh I guess this is a dialogue partner as You go but Tim you're going to show us How the thing that we've been doing Doesn't end here and how this stuff that Happened in the Torah is going to get Picked right up in Joshua yeah and Through those stories all the way Through the whole shape of the Hebrew Bible totally yeah so this conversation
We're just gonna do like an overview of How the core themes of the Torah launch Into the prophets and then into the Writings which are the two big main Subsections the rest of the Tanakh and So I thought we'd meditate on a few Paragraphs right at the transitions Between the Torah and the prophets and Then the transition between the prophets And the writings and these are insights That were pointed out to me long like at The beginning of me going down the Rabbit hole biblical studies so many People have drawn attention to these Seams or transitions between the macro Parts of the Tanakh but lo and behold It's the language and the vocabulary all Dialed in to what's been happening in The Torah which is dialed in what's Happening in the Garden of Eden so we Want to at least give you some Inspiration to keep on reading through The Torah and Prophets and we will catch Up and join you in the podcast one day In the future yeah so we've talked a lot Over this year about how the Torah is a Designed well-designed hole and that Genesis and Deuteronomy form these Balanced bookends yeah if you've been Following along you've heard us talk About this many times many times yeah Five Scrolls one Mega literary unit Called the Torah that's right and it's a Three-part Mega thing with Genesis three
Parts five Scrolls three parts Genesis And Deuteronomy or parts three and one One and one and three three as the outer Frame and then in the center is this big Complex thing called Exodus Leviticus Numbers which is so awesome how it's all Wired together but significant for what We're doing is how Genesis 1 to 11 which Is the first movement of the Genesis Scroll And then Deuteronomy basically 27 Through 34. are the two places in the Torah where the language of blessing and Curse and the themes of Exile being Inside or outside a garden land are like Really prominent But in different ways so in Genesis 1 Through 11 God puts his human Partners In a garden land blesses them They forfeit that blessing through Folly Bring curse upon the land and are exiled From Eden and so God's on this Mission to keep choosing one of their Future descendants to restore that eaten Blessing When you come to the conclusion of Deuteronomy it's a bunch of people Poised on the edge of a garden land About to go back into it because they've Been in exile for a long time And Moses warns them of the disastrous Curse consequences if they aren't Faithful to their Covenant with Yahweh But also of the Eden blessings that will
Pour out on them if they do And so it's as if The people of Israel with Moses at their Lead at the end of the Torah are like Poised about to return to the promised Land but it's all going to hinge on how They respond To the command and the voice of Yahweh Yeah it's interesting as bookends you've Got the Story begins with Humanity in The garden land With a Torah Which is eat of every tree Except for the tree of knowing good bad Yeah yeah and trust me for that And then They're exiled from the garden land and Then that so that's how that's the first Book end yeah you go to the end and it's They're now poised outside the the Garden land the garden land yeah and They've been given a new Torah to then Allow them to prosper as they go back in Yeah yeah there's a lot of symmetry There yeah but it's inverted but it's Inverted yeah which is kind of it makes It feel like a mirror right of each Other cool so yeah there's real Beautiful symmetry there for how the Torah begins and ends and also all the Way back in on the Genesis and there was A promise that that exile Would be somehow addressed undone Resolved in some way through a future
Seed a descendant of the woman's lineage Yeah the seed of the women and the Torah Has been following like intensely Through all the genealogies keeping a Particular lineage in front of you that Led from Adam to Noah from Noah to Abram Abram to Isaac to Jacob and then it's Kind of a showdown between Joseph and Judah that's how the fight Jacob's Twelve Sons two of which are Joseph and Judah and Judah becomes the kingly line That's right which we aren't into the Stories of the Kings yet but yeah he Becomes like a royal leader of the Tribes and the that seat of the woman Promise gets attached to his his lineage So you keep reading Joseph becomes Important because well he's important as A rival brother of Judah and what God Does is with Joseph Is at the poem at the end of Genesis Applied as an image of what God will do With a future seed from the line of Judah so Joseph becomes a narrative Image of that future seed coming from Judas line so the seed is going to come From judah's line but Joseph is going to Do Joseph like stuff Joseph my stuff Okay yeah and then of course we then get Into Exodus Leviticus Numbers and we're Introduced to the Levites who become It's specifically two descendants of Levi Moses and Aaron and then of those Two Moses yeah and so Moses isn't put in
Front of us as one with power over the Snake his staff even turns into a snake And God gives him power to grab it and Master yield it yeah through Moses god Brings down the biggest baddest snake in The story so far king Pharaoh yep Destroys him in the waters and then Moses becomes this heaven on Earth Mediator who can Ascend into heaven and See God's back and know God face to face Yeah kind of right at the center of the Torah then is Moses Getting access to The Garden yeah space the mountain Garden the mountain guard but the cosmic Mountain Garden exactly yeah heaven on Earth the appears on Mount Sinai but Then that heaven on Earth Garden Presence shifts from the top of the Mountain to hovering over the sacred Tent and Moses is the primary mediator Even though there is a high priest in The mix the high priest is an idolater His brother in the golden calf story so Moses ends up being This powerful narrative image of the Seed of the woman with power over the Snake but then Moses has his own Failures in the wilderness Exile and so By the time we reach the end of Deuteronomy he's saying goodbye to them And so there's actually a perfect segue Then he gives as many speeches To the Israelites and then here is the Last uh the last paragraph
And this is important So what we're reading is not just the Last paragraph of Deuteronomy it's the Last paragraph of the Torah oh actually We did go through this already in the Podcast yeah so he gets taken up onto a High mountain He sees the land that the Israelites Again inherit and then he dies outside The land and it seems like God buries Him and nobody knows where he's buried To this day But verse 9 This is key Joshua the son of noon was full of the Spirit of wisdom Because Moses placed his hands on him And that's an important symbolic Ritual of appointing someone as your Representative we talked about that last Week we did and actually you can see the Effect of it it says then the Israelites Listened to Joshua And they did just as Yahweh commanded Moses So now listening to Joshua is like Listening to Moses yeah Joshua is this New representative of Moses who is the Representative of humanity for God yeah Or Israel yeah totally so Joshua's the New Moses he's the new human he's gonna Lead them back into the garden land so You're like okay maybe this is the guy Because Moses has been talking about
Like a servant who's going to come Yeah do we think maybe this is that guy Well I mean what he and Moses Anticipated in his poems was there would Be a long history of Israel's Covenant Betrayal that would lead to destruction And doom okay but that God there would Be a group in Israel that would maintain Faithfulness called the servants the Servants yep So with that forecast in our minds Joshua appears and you're like oh maybe This is going to be the leader of Faithful Servants and we're just gonna Have to read his story yeah see what Happens next but what's funny so after You tee up Joshua and you're like oh Bright Hopes for the future then you get Verse 10 which tells you you know but There has never again Arisen in Israel a Prophet like Moses hmm You know the one who knew Yahweh face to Face and all the signs and wonders and Mighty Deeds like what he did in Egypt All that stuff yeah That person's never come So you're kind of like oh So maybe Joshua wasn't as right as I Thought he was going to be it kind of Deflates these hopes attached to Joshua In verse 9. the story is going to Continue with Joshua but we know he was Not not the one he was not he didn't do Better than Moses right and Moses is the
Closest we got yeah to the snake Crushing yeah And see to the woman yeah so the fact That Joshua is described as a new Moses Because he's his replacement and the People now listen to Joshua as the way That they listen to Yahweh like they did Through Moses so it's very clearly Portrays Joshua as a new Moses yeah and Then in the next line tells you and There's never been anybody like Moses Yeah that's a that's not a great setup Too like yeah you taking over but I Think it's part of the strategy for how The Hebrew Bible Works which is okay so Now you're set up to see the Book of Joshua which comes next You're set up not to see Joshua as like Oh maybe he's the Messiah but he is like A Joseph figure in fact he's from the Line of Joseph and He becomes a narrative image of the new Humanities victory over the snake and Going into the garden land but it tells You from the beginning that it wasn't The final deal if it was just a partial Realization along the way and so that's How the Torah ends yeah anticipating a Future Moses-like prophet and Moses had it all Man he was like a prophet but he was he Was in charge recently stuff He yeah he was a ruler and leader among The people so he was super he was like
Yeah he was recovering the Adam and Eve Royal Priestly calling in the Eden land So with that we closed the Taurus girl And we open up the next scroll which is Joshua in both the Hebrew Bible and in Christian Bibles can we stop there for a Second okay yeah because this this will Still be new to a lot of people okay There's a different ordering of Scrolls Or books yeah yeah and your English Old Testament and in the Hebrew yeah Hebrew Bible Tanakh Hebrew Bible not different Scrolls same same scroll same Scrolls Different order different Arrangement Yeah and we have a video that walks Through that but let's quickly tag it Like what is the shape of the Hebrew Bible yeah so the Torah is the first Third And then come it's the middle section Which is split into two parts but it's Just the profits okay and so the to Knock remember the acronym for Torah And then never aim which is the word for Prophets and then which is the word for Writings and then you put a little a in Between Torah prophets and writings the prophets Are split into two there's four Works They're called the former prophets and That's Joshua Judges Samuel and Kings Yeah and it's confusing to think of These as prophetic books because when I Think of prophetic books I think of the
What you're calling the latter prophets Yeah which are clearly like here's a Bunch of apocalyptic poetry and crazy Prophets doing crazy things right right Where Joshua Judges Samuel Kings yeah Their narrative accounts they're almost Like historical narrative yeah that's Right that's what they are yeah it tells The story of Israel's entry into the Land That's what it begins with in Joshua and Then in the last paragraphs of Kings It's about the Exile of Israel and their Defeat by Babylon and their Exile out of The land so why are they called Considered prophetic books yeah so it's Retelling the story of Israel's Time in the promised land told from the Perspective of the prophets so you know Anytime you tell a story you're telling It from an angle a certain perspective Yeah and so there are many ways that you Could tell the story of Israel's history In the land and the prophets tell that Story of one of consistent Covenant betrayal and failure Leading them to go right back out of the Land from where they came in okay and That History of failure with a few number of Bright spots of different cycles and Generations of key leaders throughout The story is if it's hand in glove with The second half of the prophets which is
Another four Scrolls of the prophets Isaiah Jeremiah Ezekiel and the squirrel Of the twelve And that's the prophet eight Scrolls Eight oh the prophets yep eight Scrolls Total of eight Scrolls and but in your English Bible that's gonna be they're Split apart well they're not together Yeah so they're not all contained in one Area correct and it's not eight books It's actually oh yeah totally because The 12 Minor Prophets all get their own Yeah are all counted as separate books And then Kings and Samuel are split in Two yeah because they're just big Scrolls correct yeah so what do you got Samuel Samuel is splitting the first Samuel yeah so you'll want to you got Six six plus fifteen twelve you get 21 Right 3 21. nice math on the quick math On the Fly public math yep so my 21 Books in my English Bible that are they Start here where Joshua starts but then At one point they turn over towards the Writings yep and then it ends with the Latter prophets correct where in the Hebrew Bible you go straight from the Former prophets which I think of as the Historical books yeah and but you're Saying they're written from the point of View of the prophets arguably so is the Torah it totally is but it's not called The profits no it's called the Torah Yeah and then they yep that's right okay
And then the latter problem so and the Latter prophets all begin with little Like heading little narrative Introductions so the vision of Isaiah The prophet Which he spoke in the days of and it'll Name a bunch of times and kings and so On and all that's just a big glowing Hyperlink back to the former prophets so The prophets are all bound together Telling you a story from one end to Another and then going back and Presenting four Scrolls hmm giving you The words and poetry and writings of key Figures during those times that Hyperlink back to different moments Within the history that you just read Yeah it's bound together real tightly Okay and it all reflects this Perspective that one Israel Was unfaithful to the Covenant but God Didn't abandon Israel in the land Israel Left them staged to go in the land They're going to go in the land And instead of becoming the image of God In the garden land Like fulfilling this Covenant promise With God yeah they abandon it exactly so That's what they abandoned it and so God's going to keep handing them over to Decreation and ruin and Covenant curse And so on and they just consistently Don't get the Clue the Israelites don't And so it comes about in the old leads
Up to the ultimate and we're not dogging On the Israelites this is like no this Is the story of humanity exactly yeah We're meditating on human nature yeah in Humanity's exile From heaven on Earth by retelling how All these generations of characters are Themselves forfeiting Eden over and over And over and over again throughout the History leading to the ultimate Loss of Eden which is Israel's Exile From the garden land yep And then the latter prophets come along And reflect on that and say yeah here's Why it happened and then they also say But yahweh's purpose for creation and For his Covenant people Transcends even their own failure and He's going to create a new covenant Family through whom he's going to Restore the Eden blessing to the world And send that snake crushing seed and so The latter prophets really fixate on That cool so here's what I thought we'd Do we looked at the bookends of the Torah what if we just looked at the two Bookends of the prophets okay which is The opening of Joshua opening of Joshua And then the last paragraph of Malachi Which is the last prophet in the 12th And just like there's all this Electricity between the beginning and End of the Torah there's a lot of Electricity between the beginning and
End of the prophets and those beginning And endings of the prophets have all This electricity with the beginning and Endings of the Torah it's all super Hyperlinked together cool so that'll Just merge so let's do that right now Let's transition to reading the Beginning and ending of the prophets [Music] Thank you [Music] Okay Joshua chapter one chapter one just Dive in okay and it came about after the Death of Moses the servant of Yahweh I Remember him yep then Yahweh said to Joshua son of noon the assistant of Moses saying my servant Moses is dead I think you already knew that and now Rise up cross the Jordan you and all These people into the land that I'm Giving to them the Israelites every Place The Souls of your feet will tread I've given it to you just like I said to Moses okay from the Wilderness in this Lebanon up to the great river Euphrates The land of the Hittites up to the great Sea in the west that's really far north This will be your territory yeah super Far enough it's a big territory okay Yeah so let's just pause real quick here This is a bigger territory than Israel Ever like possessed and this is a whole Puzzle I forget if we talked about this In numbers but this came up earlier this
Year yeah and some contacts there's two Sets of descriptions of the promised Land in the Torah one of them is Fantastically huge and this is an Example this is another example but here In the prophets and then one of them is A little more realistic that actually Describes the land the tribes actually Come to possess in this book so what's Interesting is The fantastically huge borders when They're described they're described in Genesis 15 what's in numbers I think Deuteronomy and then right here Usually there are Eden hyperlinks or Vocabulary In it in the fantastically huge Descriptions and there's one staring at Us right here the mention of the river Euphrates it's one of the four rivers of Eden of Eden the threat or the one river Goes out of Eden turns into four turns Into four So you're going to cross a river and Possess this land The boundaries of which was one of the Connection points for the shape of the Land of Eden so when you get these Fantastically huge lists of the borders Of the promised land I think it's the Narrator Portraying the promised land as an Eden Garden land yeah and this is a this is a Good example of it verse five no one
Will stand before you all the days of Your life just as I was with Moses so I Will be with you in other words it's Very clear that you're like the next Moses-like one you've known you're not Really the ultimate Moses like one but For the moment you are like Moses I Won't fail you and I won't forsake you Be strong courageous You'll give this people The land is an inheritance just like I Swore to give them okay so now you're Thinking okay so we're gonna go in and There's going to be some conflict There's people there they're going to Try and stand against you Yeah and Everywhere You tread I'm gonna Give you the land but you know you're Gonna have to work for it were you Getting that it says no one will stand Before you oh no well okay but that's an Anticipation of the fact that there's Going to be lots of people who resist Them but none of them are gonna Win okay they're all gonna lose at least That's the promise here yeah So so be strong and create yeah the Whole thing is get ready the whole book Of Joshua has the flavor of a military Campaign to it yeah So what is the instruction that Yahweh Gives to a captain planning a military Campaign verse seven Be strong and courageous to keep to do
The whole Torah That Moses my servant commanded you to Keep to do the whole Torah to keep to do That's right to make sure and that word Keep is one of the words of the job Description of Adam and Eve in in the Lord keep and work the garden to work it And to keep it yep and then God gives Them a command Yeah So here God asked Joshua to keep to do the whole Torah that Moses my servant commanded You again this is the language of going Into Eden and living by God's command And by God's instruction do not turn Aside from it to the right or to the Left Don't do good or don't go bad just hmm Just do Right do but just do the word do the Word so that you may have success Wherever you go this Scroll of the Torah Will not depart from your mouth meditate On it day and night Hmm so we usually associate the phrase Meditate on the Torah day and night with Psalm 1. yeah we've talked about that And there's an important relationship But it appears first here okay is this Haga this is haga yep meditate yeah to Recite quietly out loud to yourself as You read and memorize something And what's the purpose of that quiet
Meditation so that you may keep to do All that's written in it then you will Prosper in the way you go and you will Have success Didn't I command you Be strong and courageous Don't Be Afraid Yeah wait your God is with you wherever You go So what's interesting is the instruction Given to this guy who's about to lead a Military campaign Is to become a scholar and become a Student of the Torah become a yeah Student and meditator on the Torah That's the instruction yeah And to do it boldly yeah that's right So there's something going on here where So we're presuming there's a whole bunch Of stuff in the Torah that I guess is Going to be helpful and there are going To be all the stuff we talked about in Deuteronomy about portraying the Canaanite the seven Canaanite tribes Like snakey people that need to be Exiled from the land And that's what Joshua is going to lead The people to do But there's a whole lot of other stuff In our version of the Torah you're like Well what's Joshua going to do with all That you know but it's apparently going To shape him into the kind of person who Just knows how to live by the will of Yahweh
So what's interesting is here's our First post Moses figure And he's portrayed As being called to this ideal leadership Role to lead the people into the land And the most prominent thing about his Character and this like job description Is that he is to be a meditator on God's Written instruction So there's this is meta This is both for Joshua as a character Within the story but we're also I think it being given a portrait here By the final framers of the whole tanak Of what the ideal posture is of God's People As we are still waiting for our entry Into the garden land and it's to take up A joshua-like be strong courageous and To keep and do the whole Torah yep Totally in other words it's Joshua being Told to do this but we have this feeling That he's a model for the reader As something for the aposture for the Reader to adopt as we as the reader Waits to go into the garden land okay so That's the opening paragraph of the Prophets right so let's hold all that in Mind and let's go to the final paragraph Of the prophets okay and we just talked About the prophets or Joshua Judges Samuel Kings Isaiah Jeremiah Ezekiel and then the 12. This means going to the very end of
Malachi but think through what is in all Of that yeah so much history yeah and we Just summarized it as a history of Failure yeah and then a history how many Centuries are we talking about oh well Depends on when you date the events of The Book of Joshua so some people debate If it's in the 14th to 12th century so Let's bat in the middle okay it's around The 1200s okay and then it narrates down To the exile to Babylon which happened In 586. so that's about a sick little Over 600 year stretch okay but then Somewhere in there was King David yeah And the threaten that's right his whole Career and then there's three prophets At the end of the 12 prophets haggai Zechariah Malachi and they are all Located After the people first returned to the Land from Babylon okay so yeah Ezra Nehemiah which in the days of username That's part of the writings the book The Story of Ezra Nehemiah is in the writing Okay but three Prophets Who were did their thing in those days Are in the end of the Prophet so then That takes you another hundred years Forward okay into the late 500s for us So it's like you know a long many many Centuries okay And so we're going to go to the last Paragraph of Malachi we're gonna fast Forward like 800 years yep totally to
The end of Malachi and Malachi is Standing in a day when Israel has some Of Israelites have returned back to the Land and they've staked out of life in Jerusalem this is what we call the Second temple period because they Rebuild they rebuild the Temple the Temple and Malachi is convinced that What's happening in the temple is just Totally offensive to Yahweh this new Temple yeah the new priesthood is Offensive to Yahweh that some things Don't change something yeah about people And the way they'd worship Yahweh they Allow Injustice in the land and so Malachi says you know what that thing That happened with Babylon that was just The lead up to like the bigger even more Bigger badder decreation that Yahweh is Coming and he calls it the day of the Lord Oh Malachi chapter 3 verse he's not the Only one who talked about the day of the Lord no so Malachi chapter 3 verse 16. He says you know there were some who Fear Yahweh Some just some yeah not everybody so We're now not all is real is Israel yeah There's and fearing Yahweh that's a Phrase in Hebrew to describe the person Who instead of choosing good and bad on Their own terms yeah like yep goes to Yahweh and says give me wisdom give me
Wisdom and I will fear you in the best Way possible and do what you say yeah so There's a crew Malachi's describing a Crew within Israel okay That are the ones who fear Yahweh And they get together and that when they Talk together Yahweh listens and hears Them And so a scroll of remembrance was Written before him before Yahweh About those who fear Yahweh and who love To meditate on his name they Ponder his Name is this a different word here Because it's not hagas But it's to Muse and to hold at the Forefront of your attention So there's this crew within Israel who Fears Yahweh yeah and these are the Servants yeah I think so yeah yeah and What they love to do is to ponder The Scroll of remembrance which is I think It's a reference to well as we're going To see to the to the Torah to the Torah Okay yeah just wait for it just call the Tour guys yeah Then what we're told is a little quote From Yahweh this is what Yahweh of host Says they will be mine they are my Treasured possession I will have compassion on them as a man Has compassion on his son who is his Servant so there's a day coming Yahweh Is going to do something on the day And this crew that actually fears him
They will become the treasured Possession and that's a big glowing Hyperlink to the Torah how so Um treasured possession when Yahweh Brings Israel to Mount Sinai and says Keep my Covenant or make a covenant I Brought you out of all the nations to be My people keep my Covenant and if you do You will be for me a kingdom of priests A holy nation and a treasured possession Oh okay yeah so in other words all of Israel has proven themselves unfaithful To the Covenant but there's this crew of Those who fear Yahweh and love to Meditate on his name and they love to Hear the scroll read before them And those are yahweh's Covenant people Who are like a subset within Israel So on that day when Yahweh does this What we're told is you will see a Distinction between the righteous and The wicked You'll see a distinction between the one Who serves God And one who does not serve God because Look the days who's who's the you here Who's is this Malachi talking to uh this Is God still talking well it's it's hard Because it's mentioning God in the third Person yeah so it seems like it's Malachi again talking to those who fear The lord okay and on the day of the Lord That's coming there's going to be this Distinction yeah a separation between
The righteous and the Wicked the Servants of God And those who don't actually serve God Okay the day is coming burning like an Oven and all the arrogant and everyone Who does wickedness will become stubble You know like chaff that the wind yeah This is exactly where my mind went like Reading Jesus without this How should I say this huh I've heard Jesus you hear Jesus talk a lot about Separating the wheat from the chaff oh He totally the righteous from the wicked Sheep and the goats sheep and the goats Yep yep and reading Malachi here In light of what we've talked about what Moses predicted yeah this was very Centered in Israel's story yeah Jesus Was coming and saying look there's going To be a group of people who are going to Stay faithful and they I'm finding them I'm getting that crew yeah yeah and it Just makes what Jesus was saying like so Much kind of clearer it's good it's good Yeah that's totally right the fact that There's this crew within Israel that Calls themselves the god-fearers who Love to meditate on the name and that They're the righteous these are the People from whom the Tanakh comes yeah This is The Minority Report crew yeah Within Israel This is the prophet yeah this is the Crew of Covenant faithful Israelites
That was a minority throughout most of Israel's history that's what we're Meditating on and that Yahweh is going To bring about a day that like fire will Separate The consumables from the things that can Endure the fire a great test yeah yes And this is what John the Baptist is on About when he starts things like that Day's come it's totally right yep so Let's keep reading okay so the coming Day will consume the wicked and will not Leave behind for them root or Branch but For you who fear my name that burning Fire Is like the son of righteousness Rising Like day one of Genesis like the sunrise With healing in its wings and you will Go out and leap like fattened Calves Sleep like that which is a compliment The joy of a full hearty calf yeah yeah Like a well-fed calf yeah gets the gate Opened and it's just like around Go for it yeah just yeah so it's so Funny like there's a fire coming and Depending on how you relate to the fire It can either keep you warm and bring You Joy like the sunrise Or it can consume you yeah and you've Got to just like the fire of Yahweh that Came on Mount Sinai The people were convinced it would Consume them so they didn't go up But then when Moses and the elders go up
They're not consumed God lets them enjoy His presence and have a meal in his Presence So this gets even more intense so you Who fear my name who experience my fire As like a sunrise that heals you you Will trample down the wicked and they Will be like ash Underneath the soles of your feet on the Day that I'm going to act now the wicked Here these are the ones that aren't Fearing God's name and am I to think of Just Is Malachi just centering in on a Distinction between Israelites who fear don't fear God or Really just like this crew that fears God and like the whole rest of creation It seems centered on Israel the whole Book seems centered on Israel but Remember Israel exists as a You know a Microsoft of all Humanity Okay yeah okay so in other words but Yahweh and that's the whole story is What Yahweh is doing with Israel is an Image of what he's doing with all Humanity okay yeah So there's a day coming that will Separate those who are faithful to Yahweh and those who are not and fire Imagery Why would that be um we get All this sounds really nice like healing In the wings the son of righteousness
Leaping around like fat and calves even That you can kind of figure out yeah and Then he's like and then you get to Trample the wicked it's like well yeah I Mean Well okay so I hear about think this is The cap to the prophet so the prophets Begin with Israel called To go crush the seed of the snake living In the land in the garden land Which in the narrative is you know like The Giants and the Nephilim and all of Their snake seed in the in the land of Canaan so I think that's the image here But it's a troubling image yeah for us And we've named this before it is for me And it is for a lot of people it is also A visceral like destroy your enemies Thing that happens for people it's kind Of like those people are in the way Yep They're the enemies we gotta get them Yep and that doesn't you know square With the teachings of Jesus Apostles totally right so you get to These places where it's like I get it Like when people cause evil it's like You're just kind of like everything Inside you're just like oh I hope they Get what they deserve yeah yeah but you Read this through a Jesus lens and You're like trampled the wicked totally Yeah it seems like Jesus would take a Phrase like this and he's he Saw himself
With orders to let his enemies trample Him right and he said that's how the Kingdom of God's going to come yeah so You can't read Malachi as a part of a Unified story Lisa Jesus means you can't Just rip this passage out of context and Make it mean whatever you want it to Mean but I think in the context what it You know in the context this is written Among A persecuted religious minority Within a people that is a persecuted Yeah people agree ethnic minority living In an occupied territory under centuries Of Empires and oppression yeah so I Don't know what it's like to have Enemies and to have experiences like That generation after generation and I Think that's a part of what The vision of a world set right is a World where the tables get turned and The Mighty Fall from their Thrones and The poor are elevated and I think that's The kind of visceral Feeling that's coming out in A Moment Like This of trampling the wicked Under The Souls of your feet but we have but To figure out what does that actually Mean to trample the wicked or The Souls Of your feet when through the lens of Jesus yeah it's not what you would Expect it's the opposite So what Jesus said yeah it's the Opposite it's the opposite yeah that's Right so that requires some sensitivity
For how to do biblical interpretation Yep okay so that's all about the day of Yahweh okay so we're meditating on this Little crew yeah within Israel right Then there's the day coming that'll Separate that crew from the wicked Last paragraph of maokai last paragraph Of the prophets Remember the Torah of my servant Moses That I commanded him at Mount Horeb to All Israel you know the statutes and the Judgments they're like oh yeah yeah I Remember that because well you know I Read that Scroll of remembrance that Those if you're the Lord okay right so This is bookending this chapter in a way Yeah so this this whole last paragraph Is designed as a symmetry with this Torah scroll as at the beginning and Then at the end yeah So remember there's there's a day of Yahweh coming that will separate the Righteous and the wicked so let's think More about that I'm going to send you Elijah the prophet Before the coming of the day of Yahweh That is great and fear inspiring Okay Couple things Elijah One is great we're getting another Profit this is kind of the like yeah This is where we're used to hand off to A new prophet and often yeah profit but What's weird here is Elijah yeah he
Already came and went he about 400 years Ago from Malachi's perspective so that's Odd yeah so notice this pairing of Moses And Elijah So what's interesting Elijah the Narratives about Elijah that are in the Middle of the king's scroll Are all so hyperlinked and patterned After the Moses story yeah culminating In the fact that Elijah goes to Mount Sinai looking to meet Yahweh and he you Know he there's an appearance of fire Cloud storm and he talks with Yahweh on Top of the mountain so he's clearly Portrayed as a prophet like oh yeah he Gets fed in the wilderness oh really Yeah food some Ravens God commands Ravens to feed him yeah feed him so he's Portrayed as a new Moses yeah a prophet Like Moses and when Jesus goes up to the Mountain and transfigures into this Figure yeah pushes up with them yep Moses and Elijah exactly so what Moses Is to the Torah Elijah is to the Narratives of the prophets he becomes Kind of like an icon of the heaven on Earth mediator who ultimately fails But he was pretty awesome so you could Read this and say oh Elijah's getting Resurrected and coming back or you can Say oh just like we're getting someone Like Moses but better yeah we're also Gonna get someone like Elijah but better That's exactly right okay yeah so notice
Then what's just happened is That really feels like similar to the End of Deuteronomy right where Moses has Been like squirrel of the Torah be Faithful to the Covenant yeah there's The separation happening within Israel The faithful are called the servant yeah He'll vindicate them And in the meanwhile wait for the coming Prophet who will restore and do all the Stuff that Moses and now that Elijah did Yeah so both the Torah and the prophets Conclude With hyper-linked conclusions Pointing you forward to a great Seed of the woman who's going to come Bring restoration and defeat evil a Prophet yeah a prophet figure yep and a Day of the Lord and that it gets Intensified I suppose in the Deuteronomy Scroll the language of data Lord is in There right ah well not in Deuteronomy 34. it's anticipated in Moses's song oh Is it okay that you know it's all going To hit the fan yeah at one point yeah But Malachi turns Up the Volume just Calling it The Coming day yeah yeah So that's how the profits begins and Ends with Joshua Malachi in the Arrangement of the Tanakh then the next And final third collection called the Ketovim begins with the psalm scroll And if you look at what is in the Tanakh The next literary unit after what we
Just read in Malachi In the Hebrew Bible it's Psalm one which We've read many times So I just want to scan it real quick Because we're going to see all the same Themes coming up again yeah Have we have we jammed on it on the Podcast maybe not you know what maybe Not we don't have time yeah to read Through this whole Psalm we are going to Put out a whole video on the psalm yes We are next year in 2023. that's true And the reason why is because it talks About the kind of person who meditates On the Torah yeah as a tree of life yeah But now you're situating this whole idea Of the person who meditates on the Torah In the largest context possible That's right and this now you're talking About it seems so we're going from the Seam of the prophets now into the last Third of the Hebrew Bible the writings Which is Psalms and then there's Proverbs and yeah job Lamentations and Job you've got Ruth and Esther and yeah All of it song songs Chronicles Daniel It's all the good stuff okay It feels like kind of like yeah yeah the Extras yeah totally and it's interesting Because every one of them is hyperlinked Like mad into back into the tour and Profit and this is often referred to as The writings or the Psalms Jesus calls It the Psalms yeah because Psalms is the
Head Scroll of this third and final Collection at least the way Jesus saw it So we're at the seam there and you're Saying as we read the first literary Unit at the seam moving into this last Third yes what are the ideas yeah that We're gonna meditate on totally yep and It just happens to be yeah so they just It doesn't take that long I'm just going To read someone okay yeah yeah and You'll just see it pop [Music] [Music] Foreign Oh The Good Life Blessed oh yeah oh how blessed oh how Blessed is the man is the man you say The good life the good life yeah of the Man who doesn't walk in the counsel of The wicked there it is okay oh the Wicked we've heard this a lot and now The wicked's just like that's just yeah I just learned a lot about the wicked in The story of the prophets yeah and then In the last paragraph of Malachi okay And doesn't stand in the path of Sinners Doesn't sit in the seat of mockers Rather his Delight is in the Torah of Yahweh the instruction of Yahweh and on Yahweh's instruction he meditates day And night you're saying instruction That's just a a way to translate Torah Yep Is the typical English translation Yeah
In our Bibles so there's this guy who Doesn't associate with the wicked yeah He doesn't walk stand or sit with them That's right his Delight is in yahweh's Instruction Torah and on the Torah he Meditates day and night he meditates And that's what Moses said to do now Joshua was it's what Yahweh told Joshua Today Yahweh told Joshua he would win The military campaign he had to meditate It's verbatim copy and pasted well okay So now all of a sudden Psalm 1 is linked to the end of Malachi Distinction of righteous Wicked and it's Super hyperlinked to Joshua chapter one Because what this guy's doing is what Joshua was told to do he will become Like a tree planted by streams of water Which gives its fruit in its time its Leaf just never Withers and everything He does he's successful success and That's in Malachi and Joshua yes and That word success is filled with the Same letters as the word wisdom Which um it's the word haskil but it's What the woman saw when she looked at The tree that it was desirable to make Her skill oh that's a different word yep It's a synonym for wisdom okay yeah ask You so This person The joshua-like figure becomes like the Tree of Life planted by the river with Perpetual right leaves and fruit yeah
And in doing so they become the thing The woman wanted thing the woman wanted When she grabbed for the tree of knowing Good and bad So this is hyperlinked to Genesis one Through three wow so do whoever wrote Someone Wrote it as a synthesis yeah of the Beginning and ending of the Torah yeah And the beginning and the ending the pro I was so rad to think about it's really Rad you know it makes you think of the Just the Brilliance of a Mozart or you Know yeah where they just have so many Things happening that they can just pull From all of these Musical motifs and bring them together In new ways and in ways that just bring You a sense of awe and make you kind of Wonder like how did someone's mind do This yeah totally yeah this is just the First half of Psalm one and it's weaving Together language words imagery from the Beginning of Genesis The end of Deuteronomy the beginning of Joshua at the end of Malachi and we're Not even done yet not so the wicked They're like chaff that the wind drives Away oh yeah the chair so what Malachi Said the wicked will become like stubble Consumed in the flame therefore the Wicked won't stand in the Judgment oh Yeah that sounds like Malachi Nor sinners in the Assembly of the
Righteous and the Assembly of the Righteous and we're talking about a crew A crew that fears the Yahweh and loves To ponder his name yeah yeah because Yahweh knows the path of the righteous Remember because he said that crew is my Special possession but the path of the Wicked Will perish So all of a sudden the whole Psalms Scroll is introduced By Up holding this model human Who is like Joshua And like Adam and Eve and like Moses Who's this embodiment of the instruction And Torah of Yahweh and they become like A tree of life that provides life to Everyone around them and Yahweh is he's Got an eye on that person And in the coming separation between the Righteous and the wicked that one will Flourish like the Garden of Eden that's The imagery here So whatever the Torah is about Is also what the profits are about is Also what the writings are about yeah Because the beginnings and endings have All been coordinated so if you've ever Been confused about what the Bible the Hebrew Old Testament is about welcome to The club but Whoever organized it together has given Us clues in these matching mirror Beginnings and endings as to what the
Big ideas are and so let's at least if You're going to read on to Joshua after This year of Torah and go on into the Prophets at least kind of let these Passages be your kind of guideposts for What to pay attention to and when you Say what the story is about what you're Saying is if I could try to recap please The story is about Humanity Given the opportunity to be God's the People of God 's image And they're given a Torah Adam and Eve Are given a Torah And they are meant to fear God and live In abundance in an abundant land with God where God and creation are one Heaven and Earth are one yeah or well God God's Presence is in the middle of creation God's Garden creation are one got it Okay yeah that's good yeah I think so Too God's presence is in the middle of Creation yeah and Heaven and Earth are One yeah there you go and so that Isn't where humanity is at obviously Something went wrong We've taken of the tree of knowing good And bad and the whole story was about God saying I'm going to fix this Through some sort of human seat of the Woman who's going to defeat evil make Things right and as we trace and find
This person we know this person is going To keep God's instructions Torah and We're we're given a story of a people Who are given an opportunity to kind of Reboot a covenant relationship with new Torah Which Now isn't a simple little like one Command one command it's a it's a whole Covenant code yeah which we have Portions of in the Torah And so Moses at the very end as they're Going to go back into the land this Image of the garden he's saying do what Humanity has never been able to do yeah Sure the one thing no one's figured out This is what you got to do yeah you got To keep the Torah yeah and for them it Was a it was a covenant command but for Us reading the Torah it's We don't have that like Covenant law Code but what we have is Scrolls that Tell a story with some of the law code And that in itself becomes God's Instruction for us yeah the threat kind Of becomes a little meta at that point And now we are hearing Moses say this to Ancient Israel and we realize oh that's Us too yeah we are we're have the Opportunity to And we say that to us are you talking About you and me sitting right here yeah I am okay but also at the prophets who Have formed this collection 800 years in the future right
Telling these stories they're talking About them exactly we have this Opportunity Yeah Yeah from the Perspective of the people who put the Tanakh together this is the crew sitting Back in the land After the return from Exile but like the Day of Yahweh and the new Eden has not Come yeah and we're waiting for it and So that's what it's the whole thing's About and there's so there's so many More stories to go but let's frame the Stories of Joshua and and moving forward It's all about will you yeah like keep This Covenant yep will you fear God yeah And walk with him and find the place We're having an earth unite now that we Fast forward and there's been a great Exile and there's an opportunity to come Back to the land and try again like and We're still not figuring it out will you Be that people and when Psalm 1 starts It's just this call like look at how Beautiful the life is to actually be That kind of person yeah yeah yep Psalm 1 is describing what it would have been Like if Adam and Eve or Moses or Joshua Or David Had actually done the will of God Consistently and from the heart they Would have become like trees of life to Everyone around them So Psalm 1 begins this collection yeah The psalm scroll it's a whole meditation
On all these themes through the form of Poetry but then you get the wisdom Scrolls And Proverbs Begins by saying like every One of us isn't Adam and Eve sitting at The tree and take the tree of life that Is wisdom and trust you know live by God's wisdom you get portraits of Daniel Who does live by God's wisdom and he Suffers miserably along with his people And his moments of exaltation in Babylon Become images of a son of man's Exaltation through suffering over the Nations that's Daniel chapter seven so Like we're just working the themes yeah In the writings you're just all these Creative ways of working the core themes Over but that's basically it so the Tanakh comes to a conclusion with us Sitting in the same position as the Israelites were with Moses Waiting to go into the garden it's kind Of begging you to be part of the crew Yeah that decides to meditate on God's Instruction and to be that kind of Person because to be that kind of person Means that you can be the place we're Heaven and Earth unite yeah and that God Can then You might have an earth through you and The crew with also this vision of when That happens it's gonna be intense Because yeah it's going to be a Reordering of everything it's going to
Be another decreation Recreation like The flood like Sodom and Gomorrah like The exile But it'll be a recreation and There were back to the cycles of this Thematic cycle or Melody throughout the Hebrew Bible over and over and over Again and it's training all of us to see Our lives as a cycle in the drama Where every one of us has the potential To become a conduit for God's Eden Blessing out to others if we will align Ourselves with the will of God and to Its Jesus fulfillment that God actually Became The human partner that we've all failed To be on our behalf So that he could become the channel of Eternal Eden blessing for all the Nations so that even when I fail If I'm attached to the one that my Failure has no chance of overcoming God's Own faithfulness that's Demonstrated in the coming of the Messiah the snake Crusher Yeah so much comes together and so many Interesting ways yeah I guess it makes Me think you know Jesus does come and Talk a lot about the language of Malachi Of the separating Louis the chaff And he creates a crew a faithful yeah Like but you don't get stories of them Just going and being like Torah students Like you know they become like students
Of the teachings of Jesus yeah and you Know you get a few stories of Jesus Going to like synagogue and like reading The Torah but it's not like a massive Motif well that's both This Is by The Sermon on the Mount is so pivotal hmm Because Jesus defines Torah observance that's Faithfulness to his vision of what it Means to live by the Torah yeah and he Famously says like I've come to fulfill It yeah I haven't come to cancel the Toran prophets opposite I've come to Fulfill them which will lead to a Greater righteousness Before I gave you righteousness the Fulfillment of the Torah is Gonna Give You greater greater righteousness and Then we're on Into The Sermon on the Mount so in a way he was about Torah Observance but the Torah observance Dreamed of by Jeremiah or Ezekiel where God's spirit would write God's will on The heart so that You don't just observe commands but just Your very core is saturated with the Will and desire of Yahweh so that you Know how to live in alignment I think it's a good place to end because This gets back to what kind of Literature is this and this is lit this Is wisdom Messianic wisdom literature Yeah yeah yeah when we go into it any of These stories and these poems these
Ideas Are supposed to bring us to a place Where our will and God's will align our Vision for what it means to have the Good life what Righteousness is that that becomes Not something that we have to like even Learn anymore or discern but like There's this like relationship with God That develops yeah and what we get in Jesus and the apostles the writing Apostles is talking about Jesus and this Unity with Jesus and the gift of the Spirit and then we still have these Writings To meditate on yep and all that kind of Works together to Help us reclaim this thing of being the Image of God yeah that's right and Because you know we're brought into the Story through Jesus Messiah it's Precisely through his story His example and what he accomplished for Humanity the humanity couldn't do by Itself that all like creates a whole new Cycle of the pattern That we are brought into and I have this What's so great about Jesus that Portrayed as like the new human because When I associate myself with him through Trust what's true of him becomes true of Me or as Paul will say the Messiah is my Life And uh it's not even fully me who's
Living anymore it's me but Messiah Living in me and through me And that's the me that I really want to Be I just rhymed and I didn't even mean to I could go in a coffee mug but uh The Messiah is the me who I really want To be but that's true that's that's what It means to live in a Messianic Fulfillment version of the story So Lord have mercy on us but also let's Keep reading on into the prophets in the Writings and uh for those of you who do Keep going feel free to reach out and Tell us what you're learning what you're Seeing and discovering and like I said In some future time John and I will join You and we'll do our journey through the Prophets as well Thanks for listening to this episode of Bible project podcast this episode was Produced by Cooper Peltz with associate Producer Lindsey Ponder edited by Dan Gummel Tyler Bailey and Frank Garza Hannah Wu provided the annotations for Our annotated podcast in our app Bible Project is a crowdfunded non-profit and We exist to experience the Bible as a Unified story that leads to Jesus and Everything that we make is free because It's already been paid for by thousands Of generous supporters just like you so Thank you so much for being a part of This with us hi this is
And I'm from Egypt but I currently live In Canada I first heard about by the Projects from the YouTube and the YouVersion application I use Bible Project for studying the Bible and Preparing lessons for my Ministry hi This is Sam blades and I'm from Madison Alabama I first heard about Bible Project when I was really confused about Some folks of the Old Testament probably Leviticus so I look for a summary on YouTube about animated overview videos For every book in the Bible if I use Bible project for personal study or Small group study I'm super excited to Dive into the newest classroom course my Favorite thing about Bible project is That it teaches the truth the message of The scriptures in a way that is relevant It accessible to anyone it helped me to Visualize all the information which make It easier to study and understand the Idea of the book we believe the Bible is A unified story that leads to Jesus We're a crowdfunded project by people Like me find free videos study notes Podcasts classes and more and Bibleproject.com Foreign [Music] Foreign