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.

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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.

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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!

You’ve been in those boring staff meetings before, right? The excruciatingly long staff meetings. Staff meetings that make you want to go read some Leviticus, just to live a little. Yes, we’re all familiar with a staff meeting.

Did you know that Heaven has staff meetings? In fact, Heaven’s staff meetings are where the affairs of earth are dictated. They involve various spiritual beings who are assigned authority over various territories. And they all get together and hash out their plans.

And unlike your workplace’s staff meetings, I’m sure the ones in heaven aren’t boring at all.

Now, perhaps you’re hearing all this and you’re thinking: I think if God had staff meetings, He would have told us something about it in the Bible.

And if that’s you, you’re in the right place. Because guess what: this is all through the Bible. So if you listen through to the end, I’m going to demonstrate three outlandish things, and you’re probably going to be skeptical that I can really do this, but give me a chance here. In the next 20 minutes, I’m going to prove:

1. That God has staff meetings to determine the affairs of man
2. That both good and evil spiritual beings are invited to attend and contribute at these meetings
3. That this is mentioned in various places of scripture

Pretty wild, right? But if you’re willing to listen until the end, I’ll back it all up with Bible.

And we’ll start with I Kings 22. Turn there in your bible, and let’s get weird.

0:00 - Introduction

3:25 - Ahab and Micaiah - the Earthly Drama

11:55 - God and His Council - the Heavenly Drama

19:00 - Next Time, Newsletter and Closing Thoughts on God’s Sovereignty

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

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

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!

Christianity is a monotheistic religion. In fact, if you go to Wikipedia’s page on Christianity, the very first line says, “Christianity is an Abrahamic monotheistic religion.” If you google it, Google will tell you that “Christianity is the largest monotheistic religion in the world.”

So obviously, if we know anything about Christianity, we have to know it’s monotheistic.

Mono is a prefix that means “one.” Theistic refers to deity. Christianity has one deity: God.

This differentiates us from the polytheists such as the Hindus or Greeks and Romans or Norse mythology or any of the pagan religions out there. They believe in multiple gods; we only believe in one.

Christianity is monotheistic, this I know; for Wikipedia tells me so.

But what does the Bible say?

Well, you’ll hear verses that speak of the God of the Universe as the One True God.

Isaiah 45:5

I am the Lord, and there is no other;
There is no God besides Me.

Sounds simple, right? But then you read verses like

Psalm 82:1

God stands in the congregation of the mighty;
He judges among the gods.

Who are these gods it speaks of here?

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

Turn to Psalm 82, 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

1:30 - Psalm 82

6:30 - Introducing the Divine Council

11:00 - Multiple gods in Scripture

15:15 - Next Time, Newsletter and Closing Thoughts on the Trinity

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!

Are you ever reading through your bible and then you come across a word that your mama used to tell you not to say?

That might happen especially if you’re reading the King James Version. It has quite a few verses that can have you doing a double-take. But every version of the Bible has some shockingly crude or maybe even vulgar statements that don’t sound like they should be coming out of the Holy Scriptures.

So I hate to put a content restriction on today’s episode and I’m not going to say any curse words, but you might not want little ears to hear some of the things we’re going to study in Isaiah or Ezekiel today. But let me just say: I’m assuming Ezekiel’s grandma wasn’t in the audience when he used some of his sexual metaphors.

And Paul himself in the New Testament said a few things that may have gotten the bar of soap put in his mouth. If you don’t believe me, there’s a sweet little verse in Philippians 3 where Paul is talking about how nothing we we do can measure up to the work of Christ when it comes to our salvation.

In Philippians 3:8, he says

Indeed, I count everything as loss because of the surpassing worth of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord. For his sake I have suffered the loss of all things and count them as rubbish, in order that I may gain Christ

OK. That’s a nice pleasant verse to hammer home the sufficiency of Christ’s sacrifice…in the English.

But in the Greek, the word “rubbish” right there is a little stronger. It’s the Greek word “Skubala,” which doesn’t mean rubbish, but actually means poop. And not just any poop. One of the strongest words in the Greek language for poop.

We have some strong words for poop in our language, too. Words I won’t say here on this podcast- especially because my grandma might be listening.

But Philippians did say it. Am I listening to Howard Stern here, or am I reading the Apostle Paul?

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

Turn to Ezekiel 6, and let’s get weird.

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

0:00 - Introduction

2:15 - Ezekiel’s Dirty Jokes

11:00 - Our Righteous is as WHAT?!

17:00 - Shock Jock Paul

23:40 - Next Time & Closing Thoughts

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!

Some decisions are just too big to be left to chance. There are some decisions in life that are so huge, you wouldn’t dare flip a coin on them.

• What career you want to have.
• Who to marry.
• Which house to buy.
• Whether to challenge your 6-year-old to a Fortnite rematch after how he destroyed you the last time.

These are weighty matters to consider. And yet, you would actually see people in the Bible casting lots to make some of these types of big decisions. Decisions of going into battle, figuring out who was guilty of a crime- and even matters of life and death.

Do I think it’s weird that Bible characters would use games of chance to make important decisions? Not necessarily. People make bad decisions all the time.

It’s not necessarily weird to see people making important decisions in ways left up to random chance.

The weird think about it to me…is that it worked.

God often worked through people casting lots- literally playing games of chance- to reveal His will to them and to guide them to the correct choice.

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

Because if God revealed His will like that to them, would God reveal His will like that to me?

Turn to Ezekiel 21, 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

1:50 - Ezekiel 21, Guiding Nebuchadnezzar

7:25 - Is Anything Random?

15:45 - By the Spirit

18:50 - Next Time & Mailbag

20:40 - Closing Thoughts

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!

How they Prove the Past and Foretell Our Future

Probably my favorite movie of all time is Inception, the 2010 Leonard DiCaprio film with the dreams within dreams within dreams.

The plot of that movie is a tangled web if there ever was one. You have to take it nice and slow, understand things one piece at a time, and once you understand all the smaller parts, you can put it all together and finally understand what’s going on.

You might need to watch it a few times to get it all, but trust me, it all fits together. And even if you don’t always understand what you’re looking at, the Hans Zimmer music is usually enough to keep you interested.

Dreams can be kind of loopy sometimes. And heavily symbolic. And you don’t always understand what’s going on when you’re in them. That was certainly the case for the Prophet Daniel in his book.

Daniel has a few truly wacky dreams and visions throughout his story. They involve ferocious beasts, a goat having a showdown with a ram, and a statue made of many types of metals.

These dreams are so hard to understand, they cause many Christians to just kind of read past them and move on to the next chapter as quickly as they can.

But these dreams are not just the effects of eating that leftover Chinese food. Daniel’s dreams were from God. They actually had real-world predictive power. The details Daniel saw in his dreams were specific to things to come.

And some of these things he dreamed about have already happened; there are others that actually haven’t happened yet.

So we’re going to dig into Daniel’s dreams in chapters 2, 7 and 8 of his book, and I’ll explain what they mean today. And just like trying to understand Inception, we’re going to do that by taking things nice and slow; understanding one piece at a time, and then putting all those pieces together. Maybe with a little help from Leonardo DiCaprio.

So if you’ve ever found Daniel’s Dreams to kinda weird, and would like to know why they’re in the Bible, then turn with me to Daniel 7, and let’s get weird.

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0:00 - Introduction

3:15 - Daniel 7 and the Four Beasts

11:25 - Daniel 8 and the Ram and Goat

14:50 - Daniel 2 and the Statue

21:15 - Closing Thoughts

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 Matthew 16, Jesus told us that those who believe in Him become part of the church, and the gates of hell will not prevail against us.

But what exactly are the gates of hell?

Over the past few weeks, we have been discussing the idea of spiritual gateways in the Bible. The modern word for these gates or gateways would be “portals,” but that’s not a term that was used back when King Jimmy wrote his translation, so the biblical vocabulary for these would be gates.

I’ve been digging into this concept of the gate of heaven in the Old Testament. We traced out its whole story of what it was: a portal between heaven and earth- where it came from, the role it served in the Old Testament, and how it was eventually taken down by defiling its altar.

So when Jesus spoke of the gates of hell, could he have been referring to these entry points between our realm and the spiritual realm?

And if the gates of hell are these entryways, then what has Jesus given us- the church- the task of doing about them?

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

Turn to Matthew 16, 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:

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0:00 - Introduction

2:30 - Real Witchcraft

8:00 - Keys to the Kingdom

15:00 - Our Authority

22:30 - Newsletter

24:10 - The Altar of the Cross

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!