Back in January, I received this interesting question from a listener:

“So how is Jesus Jewish but Jewish people do not believe he is the messiah?? This is something I’ve been trying to wrap my head around… Nyssa from Houston Texas”

That’s a good question. Jesus was the Jewish Messiah. He had all of these prophecies about Himself throughout the OT, which He then fulfilled. He worked all kinds of miracles. He even died and rose again, and some of them still didn’t get it. So, that’s kind of weird, right?

Well I think it’s weird. And I’d like to explore why it worked out that way in the Bible.

Turn with me to John 6 and let’s get weird.

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0:00 - Why Jesus Was Rejected? (Nyssa)

11:35 - Was Balaam’s Oracle Messianic? (Greg)

15:00 - Why Was Elihu not Pardoned? (Beau)

16:55 - The Dominion of Man (Walter)

20:40 - Be a Weird Christian

If you want to get in touch, my email is weirdstuffinthebible@gmail.com

Hosted by Luke Taylor

If you’re intrigued by strange Bible stories, uncovering Bible mysteries, or learning about unusual biblical teachings, this podcast is for you! Dive deep into weird Bible facts, biblical controversies, and the supernatural in the Bible, while exploring the hidden stories of the Bible you may have never heard. Get a fresh perspective as we explain the Bible in ways that challenge the norm and uncover the unexpected. I’m so glad you’re here- don’t forget to SUBSCRIBE so that you never miss an episode!

When Balaam was asked to curse Israel, God gave a pretty clear NOPE

If you don’t remember the story, King Balak of the Moabites comes to Balaam and says, “I want you to climb up on this mountain above the camp of the Israelites and curse them for me so that they aren’t a threat to my people.” And he offers Balaam a lot of money to do this.

And Balaam prays about it repeatedly and begs God for permission to do this. And like I said, God shot it down. At least at first.

When He actually allowed Balaam to go up on that mountain, it was with the stipulation that he could only say what God allowed him to say.

Now, what was the big deal with Balaam going up on this mountain? If some guy wants to climb up on a big hill and yell his head off saying mean things about you, what’s the harm in that? I mean, we might kind of scoff at him and say, “what an idiot,” but we probably aren’t that worried about it. Cory Booker got up and yelled his head off for 25 hours straight. Didn’t have any effect on my life and probably not anybody else’s either. As the old saying goes, sticks and stones could break my bones, but words can never hurt me. So why should we care about Balaam doing the same thing?

Well obviously, Balak thinks it would be pretty significant; he’s willing to shell out a lot of money only to have Balaam curse the Israelites.

And God clearly didn’t treat Balaam’s attempted curse on the people of Israel as empty words or hokey superstition.

Was there something deeper going on behind Balaam’s actions?

I find this to be weird, and I’d like to explore why it’s in the Bible.

Turn to Numbers 23, and let’s get weird.

Sign up for the weekly newsletter! Get additional insights and Bible study tips for unpacking strange things in scripture. Enter your email here:

https://weirdstuffinthebible.beehiiv.com/

You can also find a list of past newsletters at that same link so you never have to miss one.

0:00 - Introduction

2:00 - Failed Curses

10:30 - A Successful Curse

19:00 - The Doctrine of Balaam

22:25 - Next Time & Mailbag

24:45 - Corrupting the Tabernacle

If you want to get in touch, my email is weirdstuffinthebible@gmail.com

Hosted by Luke Taylor

If you’re intrigued by strange Bible stories, uncovering Bible mysteries, or learning about unusual biblical teachings, this podcast is for you! Dive deep into weird Bible facts, biblical controversies, and the supernatural in the Bible, while exploring the hidden stories of the Bible you may have never heard. Get a fresh perspective as we explain the Bible in ways that challenge the norm and uncover the unexpected. I’m so glad you’re here- don’t forget to SUBSCRIBE so that you never miss an episode!

In case you haven’t noticed as you’re reading your Bible, Jesus could be a bit of a trouble-maker. He was constantly riling up the Pharisees and ultra-religious Jews, He was making the Roman authorities uncomfortable, He was known to flip tables and push buttons and run off His own followers. And He’s been known to step on my toes a few times as well.

Jesus also had this tendency to outsmart the smart people. And smart people really don’t like that. That’s what they tell me, anyway.

And on one of those many occasions where the Jews literally wanted to stone Jesus, He had just said that He was equal with God. They accused Him of blasphemy for this, and He gave a very interesting reply to their accusation- one that the Jews of Jesus’ day would have comprehended, but something I think most of us Christians misunderstand.

John 10:33-34

33 The Jews answered him, “It is not for a good work that we are going to stone you but for blasphemy, because you, being a man, make yourself God.” 34 Jesus answered them, “Is it not written in your Law, ‘I said, you are gods’?

Now that’s a strange thing to say. It sounds like Jesus is saying, “what’s the big deal with calling myself a god? Doesn’t scripture say all of us are gods?”

And then that begs another question: when did Scripture say that all of us are gods?

I find this to be weird, and I’d like to explore why it’s in the Bible.

Turn to John 10, and let’s get weird.

Sign up for the weekly newsletter! Get additional insights and Bible study tips for unpacking strange things in scripture. Enter your email here:

https://weirdstuffinthebible.beehiiv.com/

You can also find a list of past newsletters at that same link so you never have to miss one.

0:00 - Introduction

2:05 - The John 10 Context

10:40 - The Psalm 82 Context

12:45 - Putting it All Together

16:50 - Next Time

If you want to get in touch, my email is weirdstuffinthebible@gmail.com

Hosted by Luke Taylor

If you’re intrigued by strange Bible stories, uncovering Bible mysteries, or learning about unusual biblical teachings, this podcast is for you! Dive deep into weird Bible facts, biblical controversies, and the supernatural in the Bible, while exploring the hidden stories of the Bible you may have never heard. Get a fresh perspective as we explain the Bible in ways that challenge the norm and uncover the unexpected. I’m so glad you’re here- don’t forget to SUBSCRIBE so that you never miss an episode!