The Theopolis Podcast

Peter Leithart, James Bejon, and Alastair Roberts continue their discussion of Judges 3 by finishing the story of Ehud and turning to the brief account of Shamgar. They explore the aftermath of Eglon’s death, Ehud’s escape, the trapping and slaughter of the Moabites at the Jordan, and the Exodus and conquest patterns running through the episode. Along the way they discuss Eglon’s fall as a parody of idolatrous glory, the repeated imagery of piercing and bodily destruction in Judges, Ehud’s attack on the head of Moab, Benjamin’s role in the victory, the significance of the 10,000 slain Moabites, and the land itself fighting on Israel’s behalf. The conversation then turns to Shamgar, his possible foreign background, his relationship to Jael and Samson, his oxgoad as an unconventional weapon, and the way God raises up unexpected deliverers to fight regional battles on Israel’s behalf.

Give to our work and become a partner!
theopolisinstitute.com/give/

Get the new Theopolis App!
app.theopolisinstitute.com/menu
Use Code "theopolitan" to get your first month free!
______________________

Sign up for In Medias Res
mailchi.mp/0b01d726f2fe/inmediasres
________
Theopolis on Youtube
www.youtube.com/c/Theopolisinstitute

Theopolis Blog:
theopolisinstitute.com/theopolis-blog/

Website:
theopolisinstitute.com

Twitter:
@_theopolis

Peter Leithart, James Bejon, Alastair Roberts, and Jeff Meyers continue their discussion of Judges 3 by examining Ehud’s deliverance of Israel from Eglon, king of Moab. They explore the grotesque birth imagery running through Judges, the Exodus and conquest patterns embedded in Ehud’s story, the significance of Ehud’s left-handedness, and the priestly and sacrificial dimensions of Eglon’s death. Along the way they discuss Moab, Ammon, and Amalek as enemies of Israel, the chronology and regional character of the judges, Shamgar’s place in the narrative, the graven images near Gilgal, Ehud’s movements as a parody of priestly worship, Eglon as a fattened sacrificial calf, the shofar and Jubilee imagery, and Ehud as a new Moses and Joshua who delivers Israel and reconquers the land.

Give to our work and become a partner!
theopolisinstitute.com/give/

Get the new Theopolis App!
app.theopolisinstitute.com/menu
Use Code "theopolitan" to get your first month free!
______________________

Sign up for In Medias Res
mailchi.mp/0b01d726f2fe/inmediasres
________
Theopolis on Youtube
www.youtube.com/c/Theopolisinstitute

Theopolis Blog:
theopolisinstitute.com/theopolis-blog/

Website:
theopolisinstitute.com

Twitter:
@_theopolis

Jeff Meyers, James Bejon, and Alastair Roberts move into Judges 3, where the nations remaining in the land become instruments for testing Israel and the book introduces Othniel, its first major judge. They discuss what it means for Israel to “learn war,” why warfare in Judges is inseparable from covenant faithfulness and dependence upon Yahweh, and how divine testing makes God’s knowledge of His people a publicly demonstrated covenant reality. Along the way they explore Israel’s intermarriage with the Canaanites and the resulting religious syncretism, the contrast between pagan intermarriage and faithful incorporation of converts such as Ruth and Rahab, failures of generational covenant formation, the nations surrounding Israel as distorted mirror images of Israel itself, Cushan-Rishathaim and possible echoes of Abraham’s Mesopotamian origins, Othniel’s connection to Judah and Caleb, the Spirit’s empowerment of the judges, and Othniel as an example of generational faithfulness amid Israel’s growing generational decline.

Give to our work and become a partner!
theopolisinstitute.com/give/

Get the new Theopolis App!
app.theopolisinstitute.com/menu
Use Code "theopolitan" to get your first month free!
______________________

Sign up for In Medias Res
mailchi.mp/0b01d726f2fe/inmediasres
________
Theopolis on Youtube
www.youtube.com/c/Theopolisinstitute

Theopolis Blog:
theopolisinstitute.com/theopolis-blog/

Jeff Meyers, James Bejon, and Alastair Roberts continue through Judges 2, where the death of Joshua gives way to the recurring pattern of Israel’s apostasy, oppression, and deliverance that will structure the rest of the book. They discuss the generation that arose without knowing Yahweh or His works, the importance of passing covenant memory from one generation to the next, and why the cycles of Judges should not be understood as an inevitable or fatalistic pattern of history. Along the way they explore faithful communities within declining cultures, the attraction of Baal worship and its transactional view of religion, the judges as more than merely political or military deliverers, the Exodus-like character of Yahweh’s repeated rescues, God’s compassion toward Israel even before explicit repentance, and the role of testing, hardship, punishment, and fatherly discipline in forming God’s people toward maturity.

Give to our work and become a partner!
theopolisinstitute.com/give/

Get the new Theopolis App!
app.theopolisinstitute.com/menu
Use Code "theopolitan" to get your first month free!
______________________

Sign up for In Medias Res
mailchi.mp/0b01d726f2fe/inmediasres
________
Theopolis on Youtube
www.youtube.com/c/Theopolisinstitute

Theopolis Blog:
theopolisinstitute.com/theopolis-blog/

Peter Leithart, James Bejon, Alastair Roberts, and Jeff Meyers finish Judges 1 and move into the opening of Judges 2, where Israel’s incomplete conquest gives way to the angel of the Lord’s covenant lawsuit at Bochim. They explore the increasing failure of the northern tribes to drive out the Canaanites, the contrast between Israel dwelling among the Canaanites and the Canaanites dwelling among Israel, and the withdrawal of Yahweh’s empowering presence as Israel compromises in the land. Along the way they discuss the geography and fertility of northern Israel and Judah, the movement of the tabernacle from Gilgal toward Shiloh, the possible identification of Bochim with Bethel, the chronology of Judges 2, the angel of Yahweh’s appearance to the gathered tribes, parallels between Joshua and Joseph, and the Adamic overtones of Israel’s failure to listen to Yahweh and faithfully inhabit its Edenic land.

Give to our work and become a partner!
theopolisinstitute.com/give/

Get the new Theopolis App!
app.theopolisinstitute.com/menu
Use Code "theopolitan" to get your first month free!
______________________

Sign up for In Medias Res
mailchi.mp/0b01d726f2fe/inmediasres
________
Theopolis on Youtube
www.youtube.com/c/Theopolisinstitute

Theopolis Blog:
theopolisinstitute.com/theopolis-blog/

Website:
theopolisinstitute.com

Twitter:
@_theopolis