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Word in the Wild is a one year Bible adventure with friends. Join from anywhere and enjoy a fun, rewarding, and doable 12-month journey through the Bible where you read it from cover to cover and understand it. It’s not a devotional or recap. It’s a guide by your side through God’s Word. With support from a weekly podcast and an online community of fellow travelers, this is the year when you finally explore the Bible in its own words and on its own terms for yourself.
05 Word Wild Week 03
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[00:00:00] Owen: Hello and welcome in. This is Word and the Wild, a one year Bible adventure with friends. My name is Owen. I'm delighted to be your host and guide as together we are on a 12 month journey as a podcast plus community where we read the Bible for ourselves, but not by ourselves. No, we're not out here to tell you what it says, we're here to help you get into it and discover what it says for yourself.
[00:00:38] And here we are, it's week 3, and I don't know if it's true what they say about a habit being formed in 21 days, but if that's true, we are well on our way. We're about to jump into the reading in our chrono bibles marked January 15 through 21.
[00:00:58] And this week, we're going to see those nomads known as Abraham's family find a safe harbor... for now... and a man named Job gives us a peek behind the curtain of why sometimes good people endure hard things out here in this messy middle. We live in, outside of Eden.
[00:01:21] So, settle in around the campfire, my friend, as we look back at last week's storylines first, and then get a preview of what's ahead. And as we do get cozy around this campfire, I have to give a tip of the cap.
[00:01:36] To the kind people who are providing the fuel to keep us all warm. They are the members of our word and the wild plus community trailblazers, pathfinders, and Sherpas all together. They've chipped in to support this nonprofit adventure. And as a thank you, they have access to our fun, safe, private, online community space filled with conversation, weekly live stream, Q and A's reading tracker, and other bonuses.
[00:02:05] I mean, this week there in the wild, that's our community space we got into some interaction on questions like why did they marry their relatives back then? Why did God need to change the original names of Adam and Sarah? And how did the. People in Genesis passed down their stories to us today.
[00:02:25] Those were just some of the things we talked about this week. So if you're enjoying our journey together and want to take things up a notch, consider joining the word and the wild plus tribe. There's a link in the show notes and all the details are over at word and the wild. com. Big thank you to our word in the wild plus community members.
[00:02:49] And now let's get into the story. Now, remember our goal here, we're watching the Bible kind of unfold like a movie. We're not getting bogged down. We're taking it in story order and we are following the way the Bible slowly reveals more and more about God, who is the main character of this movie through how he interacts with everyone we meet in the story.
[00:03:16] So, let's take a look at where we are so far here at the end of week two, jumping into week three.
[00:03:27] Okay, we're going to use our imaginations here for a minute. So, take a breath, let your mind drift away to that world of the patriarchs, and put yourself in their sandals. Okay, imagine yourself standing next to Isaac, Jacob, and Esau. Those are Abraham's sons and grandsons. Isaac's wife, Rebecca, is there too, and you stand outside the door of the family headquarters tent.
[00:03:59] You hear the tent flap, snap, as a hot breeze blows up from the south. Isaac squints as he looks out and scans the horizon. Corners of his eyes show wrinkles of age. His skin is tough as leather from years of battling the elements, and his big gnarly beard. As he looks out there, experience tells him that the seasons are changing, and it's time to move on.
[00:04:36] They gotta move up north. Further up in search of better pastures and higher elevations. And you see a little worry on his face. He's hoping they can hit water along the way, and he's also hoping they can keep the peace with their hostile neighbors. And that's their life, constantly on the move. Nomads. It sure feels like we've drifted a long, long way from Eden, doesn't it?
[00:05:07] I mean, forget Paradise. The world we're standing in now, it's not even a picnic. For us, it's only been a couple of weeks, but it seems like forever since then. All the life and greenery we saw bursting out at the mere word from the creator God in the beginning. Rivers bubbling, birds singing, and Adam and Eve strolling around with God without shame, without a care.
[00:05:36] Now the grim realities of the curse just play out everywhere. And not only does nature itself work against you, but it feels like you have to face all of this hostility. Alone, there's danger and betrayal behind you and around every corner. It's a battle for survival and everything bites you. You can't trust your neighbors, your brothers, your spouse.
[00:06:08] You can't even trust yourself.
[00:06:14] Nomads. Time and again, Genesis describes Abraham and his family as nomads. It calls them foreigners and strangers. God calls them that. They are wanderers, they're, they're just moving back and forth wherever pasture takes them. Even the word that the local tribes in Canaan use to describe Abraham when they call him the Hebrew, that word carries the idea of not being from around here, you're from the other side of the river, from the, across the border, you're immigrants.
[00:06:55] Now, personally, there's always something that's called to me about living out kind of in the wild. No pun intended. I mean, I live by a Creek. I love the, the feeling of being out there, being free and not being tied down. But, but for Isaac Jacob. And their families, they face down starvation and risk every day.
[00:07:18] They live at the mercy of the elements and neighbors who play dirty. And so for them, the life of a nomad, it's not, it's not romantic. It's, it's frightening. It's, it's tragic. There's a feeling of scarcity that haunts them. And when you feel that scarcity, it pushes you to scramble. For relief, to do whatever it takes to win the struggle and to survive.
[00:07:46] In Genesis so far we've seen now here and there, you've got these settlements and cities that begin to pop up. But Abraham and his family, Isaac, Jacob, Joseph, and on down they can continue to just be out there roaming, literally pulling up stakes when pasture and water gives out. Now, God promised Abraham that his descendants would one day own the land of Canaan.
[00:08:12] It's that territory they're now swandering, searching for water and feed for their flocks. Someday, they will have a home, but to Jacob and his sons, that promise seems a long time coming. And so we have seen them do what their family does. They're known for it. They scheme, they scrap, they do whatever it takes to secure their position, to lock down the resources they need.
[00:08:43] and most of all to speed up the pace of God's promise. Now, will this family wander forever? God's promise of a homeland to Abraham's descendants says no, but the pressures of keeping their herds alive, keeping their homes from tearing apart, those pressures say otherwise.
[00:09:18] Well, that's where we are now that we are at the start of week three, and let's take a look now at what's ahead. At the start of this week, we stay with the amazing story of Joseph. Right now, he's still in prison, but things are about to take a turn, and through a surprising series of events, we are about to discover that Joseph's ongoing loyalty to the God of his fathers, well, that loyalty is mutual.
[00:09:46] God's loyal to him, and God is going to use him to move his own plans and promises forward. And we're also going to say goodbye to Isaac, and then we're going to leave Jacob and Joseph's family in a place that gives them hope, gives them safety. For now. Then, we're going to meet a new character in a new location, and his name is Job.
[00:10:14] Now, at first, that jump in our chrono bibles from Joseph in the end of Genesis to Job is gonna feel a little bit abrupt, but There is a connection between these two stories, and it all has to do with one of the great why questions that gnaws at all of us in moments of pondering and thought. The question is, why do hard things, bad things, happen to good people?
[00:10:42] And most of all, how does all of that fit inside what we know? And what we've discovered so far about this creator, God, powerful, personal God of purpose and promise with a plan, read on and we'll learn more. Okay? And just like that, my friend, you are all set to head out into the wild of God's word this week.
[00:11:12] And don't forget word and the wild is a Bible adventure with friends. So the friends, that's a key part of this whole thing. So don't be going it out there alone. First thing you can do, just subscribe to this podcast so you will get next week's episode delivered right to you. They drop on Mondays. And then you can also join our Facebook community, there's a little bit of interaction going on there.
[00:11:34] You can check it out, just search for Word and The Wild on Facebook. And then if you really want to take the interactivity up a notch, just chip in a few bucks. and become a member of the word and the wild plus community. Lots of people already inside. It's safe, private, online space where no question is a dumb question.
[00:11:53] Plus get little extra things like the Friday bonus live stream Q and a and more. Your membership is a thanks for your support for this little nonprofit endeavor we have going on here. And as such, it is tax deductible links to all that. And more in the show notes or over at wordandthewild. com. Word in the Wild is a LineHouse community.
[00:12:17] It's part of the LineHouse Community Network. It's a non profit organization with a mission to bring neighbors together. to promote awareness, appreciation, and understanding of the Bible because friendship and God's word change lives and change cities. Word and the Wild presented by LumaVoz and the LumaVoz podcast network.
[00:12:39] Many thanks to our friends there for giving our podcast a home. And with that. We're out. I'm Owen, your host and your guide. So until next time, I'll see you out there on the trail in the word and the wild. Have a good one.
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