Observations from the Word by The Barking Fox

Bottom Rail on Top

If God really sees all people equally, why are inequalities built into His word? Is He really unfair, or is there something wrong with us?
Exodus 21:1-24:18; Isaiah 2:1-4; Jeremiah 33:25-26, 34:8-22; Matthew 19:3-9; Galatians 3:28-29; Colossians 3:9-11; 1 Timothy 6:1-2; Titus 2:1-15
Click here to download a transcript of this podcast: Bottom Rail on Top
Music: "Patriotic Medley March No. 2: Adjutant’s Call – Marching Through Georgia – Battle Cry of Freedom – Kingdom Coming – Dixie,” Victor Military Band, Victor (35657-A, 1917. The full recording is available at The Internet Archive, https://archive.org/details/78_patriotic-medley-march-no-2_victor-military-band_gbia0413684a.
Photo: Split rail fence along a dirt road. Photo by Janine, October 23, 2011, via Flickr.

Delegation of Fire

The fact that our Creator delegated authority over the earth to our first ancestors indicates that He intended all of us to walk out some degree of leadership in our own spheres of influence. An essential part of that involves how we respond to the leadership of others, whether over us, or over their own spheres of influence.
Exodus 18:1-20:26; Isaiah 6:1-7:5, 9:6-7; Acts 6:1-6, 10:34-35, 17:22-31; Romans 2:14-15, 27; 1 Timothy 3:1-13; Titus 1:5-9
Click here to download a transcript of this podcast: Delegation of Fire
Music: "Come Thou Fount,” Celtic Worship, Morningtide, Integrity Music 2021. See the official video on Youtube at https://youtu.be/XKOoeTbjSeI. Celtic Worship’s music is available at https://celticworship.co.uk/. 
Photo: Kindling a fire, by Fr Lawrence Lew, O.P., March 29, 2014, via Flickr.

Forever War

If war is so terrible, why do we embrace it so easily? Maybe the answer is more complicated than we like to think. It's one thing to desire peace, but it's quite another to endure willingly all that is required to attain true peace.
Exodus 13:17-17:16, Judges 4:4-5:31; Deuteronomy 25:17-19; Isaiah 2:4, 9:6-7; Jeremiah 6:13-16; Ezekiel 13:8-16; Ephesians 6:10-17; Philippians 4:4-7; Hebrews 4:4-12, 8:8-12, 11:1-6; Revelation 6:3-4
Click here to download a transcript of this podcast: Forever War
Music: "Three Little Drummers from the George Washington Show,” The United States Army Old Guard Fife and Drum Corps, Celebrating 50 Years 1960-2010, Naxos Classical 2011. 
Picture: World War I - War of Destruction. Image by Diego Sideburns, August 3, 2014, via Flickr.

Working Without Tools

We are fearfully and wonderfully made, equipped by our Creator with some amazing capabilities. Yet if we apply those gifts and abilities outside the Creator's  intended context, then we may do more harm than good.
Exodus 10:1-13:16; Jeremiah 46:13-28; Proverbs 9:10; Matthew 5:13-16, 7:24-27; Luke 6:31; Romans 2:13-16
Click here to download a transcript of this podcast: Working Without Tools
Music: "Fig Leaf Rag – distressed,” Scott Joplin, arranged and performed by Kevin MacLeod. Kevin MacLeod’s music is available at https://incompetech.com/. Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 4.0 License http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/.
Photo from Inga Korolkovaite, “Why Women Live Longer Than Men In 81 Pics,” Boredpanda, 2018.

Authority to Break

Our Creator has been delegating His authority from the beginning. He's got some very important reasons for doing that. We're miss those reasons, however, if all we want to do is maintain the status quo until He fixes the universe.
Exodus 6:2-9:35; Ezekiel 28:25-29:21; Genesis 1:28; Deuteronomy 32:39; 1 Samuel 2:6; Matthew 23:29-39, 28:16-20
Click here to download a transcript of this podcast: Authority to Break
Music: "God of the Universe,” Cody Ryan Cribbs, Exodus Road Band, Prodigal Son, Exodus Road Records 2022. See the official video on Youtube at https://youtu.be/tuc8u6qzjoU. This song and others by Exodus Road Band are available at https://www.exodusroadband.com/.
Picture: When my dog, Blue, exceeds her authority, I often lose a hat. 

The Steppingstone of Fear

Fear is a fundamental element of the human condition. Too often, our fears paralyze us, or leave us vulnerable to the manipulation of others. What happens, though, if we view our fears as instruments in our Creator's hands? Could He possibly make something beautiful out of them?
Exodus 1:1-6:1; Isaiah 27:6-28:13, 29:22-23; Luke 12:4-5; Philippians 2:12-13; 1 John 4:17-24
Click here to download a transcript of this podcast: The Steppingstone of Fear
Music: "Brandywine Quickstep,” The United States Army Old Guard Fife and Drum Corps, Celebrating 50 Years 1960-2010, Naxos Classical 2011.
Picture: At Guilford Courthouse on 15 March 1781, Nathaniel Greene ordered his militia to fire a few volleys and then retreat behind the regular Continental troops, repeating the tactic that brought success to Daniel Morgan's command at Cowpens two months earlier. (Soldiers of the American Revolution poster series, U.S. Army Center of Military History.)

The Where and When of Home

If home is where the heart is, what does it mean to be so heavenly minded that we are no earthly good? Maybe we should adjust our thinking a bit. Instead of thinking about heaven after we die, maybe we should think about the intersection of eternity with our moment-by-moment present. We should learn as much as we can about our eternal home. It will help us bring our current reality more in line with our Eternal King's desires.
Genesis 47:28-50:26, 24:1-9; 1 Kings 2:1-12; Exodus 10:8-10; Jeremiah 29:1-14; Acts 7:15-16; Romans 1:18-32; 2 Thessalonians 2:9-12 
Click here to download a transcript of this podcast: The When and Where of Home
Music: "Teshuvah Aliyah,” Exodus Road Band, The Tree, Exodus Road Records 2017. See the official video on Youtube at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ADtaVBXq5Vw. This song and others by Exodus Road Band are available at https://www.exodusroadband.com/. 
Photo: Homestead at Mount Roland, Tasmania, Australia, by Anthony Tong Lee, December 28, 2016, via Flickr.

Walk Like An Egyptian?

God's ways are different from the ways of the world, as Messiah Yeshua explained. So why do we see Joseph, a man of God, apparently following the ways of the world when God put him in charge of Egypt's government?  
Genesis 44:18-47:27; Ezekiel 37:15-28; Deuteronomy 33:13-17; Amos 8:11-12; Matthew 20:25-28; Philippians 2:1-11
Click here to download a transcript of this podcast: Walk Like An Egyptian?
Music: "Am Yisrael Chai,” Solomon O. Lopez, The Born At Home Collections, The Hebraism Project 2014. To hear more of Solomon’s music, visit The Hebraism Project on YouTube.
Photo: Walk Like An Egyptian, by Niharb, February 10, 2010, via Flickr.