Observations from the Word by The Barking Fox

A House for the Lonely

A family should exhibit some degree of cohesion. Family members should look out for one another, encourage each other, and love one another through the endless trials of this life. But if we have trouble doing that in our own flesh-and-blood families, how can we hope to do better as the family of God?
Numbers 1:1-4:20; Hosea 1:10-2:21; Jeremiah 31:31-34; Psalm 68:5-6; Matthew 23:13; Romans 9:24-26
Master Sgt. Ernie Valley cradles his new adopted daughter, Oleksandra, after greeting her at the Boise Airport, Boise, Idaho, January 23, 2014. U.S. Air Force photo/Tech. Sgt. Samuel Morse, via Flickr.
Music: "Home,” Teshuva, Return, Teshuva 2014. Visit https://www.teshuvamusic.com/ to hear more by Teshuva.
Click here to download a transcript of this podcast: A House for the Lonely.pdf

A Map and A Guide

There may be a broad consensus in the world today that humanity has lost it's way. There is no consensus, however, when we consider where we lost our way, and where we thought we were going in the first place. These are questions our Creator answers quite plainly, but we usually don't recognize His answers because we're too busy shouting answers of our own imagination.
Leviticus 26:3-27:34; Jeremiah 16:19-17:14; Genesis 3:1-24; John 14:15-27
A couple consults a map to determine their way in unfamiliar territory. Photo: Byronv2, Edinburgh, Scotland, October 21, 2020, via Flickr.
Music: "Return,” Solomon O. Lopez, The Born At Home Collections, The Hebraism Project 2009. To hear more of Solomon’s music, visit The Hebraism Project on YouTube.
Click here to download a transcript of this podcast: A Map and A Guide.pdf

Awaiting the Great Cosmic Reset

We hear often these days about a "Great Reset" that is needed to correct the economic and other imbalances in our world. That's not a new idea. God established His covenants with humanity on the basis of a Greater Reset that would restore order in His Creation. In fact, Creation testifies about that in the cycles and patterns all around us.
Leviticus 25:1-26:2; Jeremiah 32:6-27; Genesis 8:20-22; Psalm 24; Ecclesiastes 1:9; Joel 2:28-32; Matthew 12:1-13; Mark 7:1-12; Luke 12:15-20; Revelation 5:1-14, 13:8
Signs and warnings appear to testify that our Creator built a rhythm into His universe that pulses with His life. Should we fear, or should we learn to move with that Divine rhythm? (Photo: Partial solar eclipse, Lewes Beach, Delaware, June 10, 2021. NASA/Aubrey Gemignani.)
Music: "Dear Hate," Exodus Road Band, Hard Rain, Exodus Road Band 2018. This song and others by Exodus Road Band are available at https://www.exodusroadband.com/.
Click here to download a transcript of this podcast: Awaiting the Great Cosmic Reset.pdf

A Bride’s Journey

If marriage is a picture of our collective relationship with our Messiah, then we might want to pay more attention to how that relationship is portrayed in every wedding story we hear.
Leviticus 21:1-24:23; Ezekiel 44:15-31; Psalm 110; Ephesians 5:21-33; Galatians 6:15-16; 2 Timothy 2:15; Hebrews 7:11-28; Revelation 19:7-10
Music: "My Soul Sings," Exodus Road Band, Heart of the Matter, Exodus Road Band 2017. See the official video on Youtube at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iwWq-D0N0_o.
Click here to download a transcript of this podcast: A Bride's Journey.pdf

Unfouling the Well

Our Messiah promises that those who trust Him will receive in their hearts wells of living water springing up to eternal life. He keeps His promise, of course, but then we have the responsibility of keeping the well clean so that what springs up from our hearts carries life to those around us. That's one way to understand what God means when He says we are to be holy as He is holy.
Leviticus 19:1-20:27, 24:22; Amos 9:7-15; Exodus 19:5-6; Matthew 12:33-37; John 4:7-14; Acts 15:1-32; Titus 2:11-14; James 3:1-18; 1 Peter 1:13-17
Outlet of deep well in Abu Minqar, Farafra, Western Desert, Egypt. Photo by Alvar Closas, via Flickr.
Music: "Share the Well," Caedmon's Call, Share the Well, Essential Records 2004. See the official video on Youtube at https://youtu.be/Do9iwp8Lat8.
Click here to download a transcript of this podcast: Unfouling the Well.pdf

Confessions of a Scapegoat

We think of a scapegoat as someone who takes the blame for someone else. That's the opposite of what we see in scripture about scapegoats. They're actually the ones who go free after another goat is sacrificed in their place. Or do they really go free? Considering the burdens they bear, one wonders which of the two goats is truly the free one.
Leviticus 16:1-18:30; Ezekiel 20:2-20, 22:1-19; Matthew 5:17-48; Romans 7:14-25; Hebrews 13:11-16
The Scapegoat, William Holman Hunt, 1854, Lady Lever Art Gallery, Liverpool, via Wikimedia Commons.
Music: "There Is A Redeemer,” Keith Green, Greatest Hits, Sparrow Records 2008.
Click here to download a transcript of this podcast: Confessions of a Scapegoat.pdf

The Pain and Joy of the Fragments

Being in the world and not of it is an easy game to play as long as the world system allows us to mimic the Kingdom of Heaven. The façade inevitably wears away, though, and we have to make a choice. That's when those who opt to run after the Kingdom of Heaven become the outcasts of society, while the rest continue to run after whatever new normal brings a new illusion of peace and safety. Everyone experiences pain in this process, but some will have joy in the end. 
Exodus 13:1-15:26, 22:24-23:19; 34:1-26; Deuteronomy 14:22-16:17; Leviticus 19:9-10; Isaiah 10:20-12:6; Matthew 7:13-14, 21-23; John 6:1-14; Revelation 21:1-4 
The Crossing of the Red Sea, Nicolas Poussin, 1632-1634, National Gallery of Victoria, Melbourne.
Music: "It Is Well / I Exalt Thee,” Celtic Worship, Morningtide, Integrity Music 2021. See the official video on Youtube at https://youtu.be/jqKO-oScDBI. Celtic Worship’s music is available at https://celticworship.co.uk/.
Click here to download a transcript of this podcast: The Pain and Joy of the Fragments.pdf

Joined by the Blood

So much of this walk with our Creator involves our identity. If we know Whose we are, then we can know who we are - and then maybe we won't be so threatened by those who share that same identity, but express it differently. 
Exodus 12:21-51; Joshua 5:2-6:1; Jeremiah 23:7-8, 16:14-15; Genesis 25:27-34; Luke 20:1-39; John 11:45-52; 1 Corinthians 5:6-8; Ephesians 2:11-21
The Signs on the Door, James Tissot, 1896-1902, The Jewish Museum, Brooklyn, via Wikimedia Commons.
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/. 
Click here to download a transcript of this podcast: Joined by the Blood.pdf