Roger Wambold here: Once again as your host in this series of podcasts, “Ancient Words, Modern Message” I have the privilege of settling in at my desk with a bagel and a beverage for an informal chat about things Jewish.

With tongue-in-cheek one Jewish pundit opined that “We Jews have a blessing for everything!”

In a similar humorous vein, another Jewish observer theorized that “Since every Jewish holiday includes special foods, and since we Jews love to eat, we had to come up with lots of Jewish holidays!”

While it is true that the Jewish calendar does seem to have an inordinately large number of “special days,” some of these “special days” were ordained by God and commanded in Scripture.

It is the subject of one of these divinely-commanded “special days” that is the focus of this new “Bagel-side Chat.”

So. . .I invite you to join me—maybe even with your own bagel and beverage—for this episode entitled, “Heavy on the Leaven: The Feast of Pentecost.”

Thank you for listening to Ancient Words, Modern Message. You can expect episodes twice a month on Monday. Ancient Words, Modern Message is supported by Hebrew Christian Fellowship. To learn more about our ministry, or to ask a question, contact HCFellowship4819@gmail.com. We might just answer your question on a future episode of Ancient Words, Modern Message. If you know a person that you think would benefit from this teaching, please share it with them. And if you’d like to support Ancient Words, Modern Message, please leave a review on Apple Podcasts. Your input helps us make the podcast even better and reach new listeners. Ancient Words, Modern Message is produced by Studio D Podcast Production and hosted by Rev. Roger Wambold, Director of Hebrew Christian Fellowship.

God’s people throughout history have always used the medium of music to express their praise, worship, and gratitude to God.

And so it was when Israel’s fourth judge, Deborah, the “stout-hearted woman,” reflected on a glorious victory over the Canaanite Confederacy “against all odds” more than three millennia ago, the details of which are recorded in Judges, chapter four. The next chapter provides a record of the song of praise that she wrote and sang on that occasion.

The last verse—really the chorus—of the song is Judges 5:31: “So may all your enemies perish, O LORD! But your friends be like the sun as he rises in his might.”

In essence, Deborah is declaring that in every contest between God and man, between good and evil, the final score is always the same: “God wins, and His enemies lose!” So the question that begs to be asked of every one of us is: “Which side am I on?”

Many years after Deborah’s song, another song writer, Maltbie Babcock, reminded himself and all of us that, “Though the wrong seems oft’ so strong, God is the Ruler yet.” A few years after that, Eugene M. Bartlett gave us his musical reminder of “Victory in Jesus”:

I heard about a mansion He has built for me in glory, And I heard about the streets of gold beyond the crystal sea; About the angels singing, and the old redemption story, And some sweet day I’ll sing up there the song of victory.

So the question remains: “Who is on the Lord’s side?”

And that is the title of this sixth and final episode in the series, “Stout-Hearted Men and Women: Studies in the Book of Judges.”

Thank you for listening to Ancient Words, Modern Message. You can expect episodes twice a month on Monday. Ancient Words, Modern Message is supported by Hebrew Christian Fellowship. To learn more about our ministry, or to ask a question, contact HCFellowship4819@gmail.com. We might just answer your question on a future episode of Ancient Words, Modern Message. If you know a person that you think would benefit from this teaching, please share it with them. And if you’d like to support Ancient Words, Modern Message, please leave a review on Apple Podcasts. Your input helps us make the podcast even better and reach new listeners. Ancient Words, Modern Message is produced by Studio D Podcast Production and hosted by Rev. Roger Wambold, Director of Hebrew Christian Fellowship.

It is significant that the longest book in the Bible is a songbook, referring, of course, to the book of Psalms in the Old Testament, which is a collection of songs of praise written by various men (and possibly women) of God to be sung to His glory.

It is also significant that there are so many examples in Scripture of God’s people “breaking into song” in response to demonstrations of God’s greatness and goodness on their behalf.

And so it is in the book of Judges when, against all odds, God delivered Israel from twenty years of oppression at the hands of the Canaanites. When the dust settled after the heat of battle, Deborah the Judge composed lyrics and music for a song of praise.

Though we don’t have the tune, we do have the words to that song recorded in Judges, chapter five.

And so, let’s enjoy and be challenged by these words in this fifth in our series, “Stout-Hearted Men and Women: Studies in the Book Judges,” an episode entitled simply, “Deborah’s Song.”

Thank you for listening to Ancient Words, Modern Message. You can expect episodes twice a month on Monday. Ancient Words, Modern Message is supported by Hebrew Christian Fellowship. To learn more about our ministry, or to ask a question, contact HCFellowship4819@gmail.com. We might just answer your question on a future episode of Ancient Words, Modern Message. If you know a person that you think would benefit from this teaching, please share it with them. And if you’d like to support Ancient Words, Modern Message, please leave a review on Apple Podcasts. Your input helps us make the podcast even better and reach new listeners. Ancient Words, Modern Message is produced by Studio D Podcast Production and hosted by Rev. Roger Wambold, Director of Hebrew Christian Fellowship.

There are those who avoid reading and studying the Old Testament due to the misguided opinion that it is boring and irrelevant. The current episode of “Ancient Words, Modern Message” will certainly demonstrate that such a thought could not be farther from the truth.

This portion of the Book of Judges recounts what might well be considered one of the most intriguing and dramatic scenes to be found among the narratives of Israel’s many conflicts with their enemies in the nations surrounding them.

And yet, the two principal players in this scene are not battling warriors, but a sleeping general and a woman with camping gear!

Out of this incident comes yet again a reminder that God delights in using the most ordinary of people and the most humble of instruments to accomplish His plans, so that there can be no doubt as to the source of success.

With this in mind, let’s turn to the fourth chapter of the Book of Judges to meet another of the “Stout-Hearted Men and Women” in this fourth study in the series, an episode we call “The Hammer of Justice in the Hand of the Brave."

Thank you for listening to Ancient Words, Modern Message. You can expect episodes twice a month on Monday. Ancient Words, Modern Message is supported by Hebrew Christian Fellowship. To learn more about our ministry, or to ask a question, contact HCFellowship4819@gmail.com. We might just answer your question on a future episode of Ancient Words, Modern Message. If you know a person that you think would benefit from this teaching, please share it with them. And if you’d like to support Ancient Words, Modern Message, please leave a review on Apple Podcasts. Your input helps us make the podcast even better and reach new listeners. Ancient Words, Modern Message is produced by Studio D Podcast Production and hosted by Rev. Roger Wambold, Director of Hebrew Christian Fellowship.

A highly respected Christian leader and Bible teacher famously said, “Just once I’d like to walk into a church and have it smell more like after-shave than perfume!” His point was that far too often women take the lead when it comes to spiritual matters because the men have shirked their responsibilities.

It is this troublesome weakness of male leadership that is very much in evidence in this next study in the Book of Judges, as the repetitive cycle of Israel’s disobedience to God, divine judgment at the hand of their enemies, appeal for help from Heaven, and deliverance under the leadership of a judge is once again on display.

A careful consideration of the Biblical record suggests that God’s “man for the hour” to lead Israel to deliverance from a twenty year oppression by the Canaanites was actually Barak, but he sadly shrank from his duty, at which point a Godly woman named Deborah stepped in to bolster his resolve and courage. It might be said that the two main characters in this account could be identified as “a stout-hearted woman and a faint-hearted man.”

We will take note of Deborah’s inspiring reminder to Barak as they faced their enemies, “Does not the LORD go out before you?” It was this assurance that Barak needed to “step up to the plate,” and it is the assurance that we need likewise to face challenges in our lives today.

So let’s open our bibles to Judges 4:1-15 for the next study in this series, an episode entitled, “Behind Every Good Man. . .”

Thank you for listening to Ancient Words, Modern Message. You can expect episodes twice a month on Monday. Ancient Words, Modern Message is supported by Hebrew Christian Fellowship. To learn more about our ministry, or to ask a question, contact HCFellowship4819@gmail.com. We might just answer your question on a future episode of Ancient Words, Modern Message. If you know a person that you think would benefit from this teaching, please share it with them. And if you’d like to support Ancient Words, Modern Message, please leave a review on Apple Podcasts. Your input helps us make the podcast even better and reach new listeners. Ancient Words, Modern Message is produced by Studio D Podcast Production and hosted by Rev. Roger Wambold, Director of Hebrew Christian Fellowship.

The iconic instruction of the classic Hollywood movie director was: “Lights, camera, action!”

In some ways these same instructions could apply to a study of the Old Testament book of Judges.

“Lights!” A careful study of the text shines a light on what took place in Israel over three thousand years ago.

“Camera!” We want to be sure that what we see and learn is something we retain and apply to our own lives here and now.

“Action!” There certainly is plenty of dramatic action to be seen in the lives and service of the twelve individuals featured in these accounts.

But then there is yet another command barked out by the aforementioned director: “Cut!” That order is given when the scene does not go well and the one in charge wants everything to come to a halt and the scene improved.

That instruction, too, could apply to the book of Judges with the same scene repeated over and over again in its troublesome form as a four-step cycle is seen in its pernicious form over a 337-year period of time. In watching the action unfold, we feel like shouting, “Cut!”

And so we begin a consideration of the script acted out by the first three of twelve judges featured in the Book of Judges in this series of studies entitled, “Stout-hearted Men and Women” in this episode entitled, “Fit for the Master’s Use.”

Thank you for listening to Ancient Words, Modern Message. You can expect episodes twice a month on Monday. Ancient Words, Modern Message is supported by Hebrew Christian Fellowship. To learn more about our ministry, or to ask a question, contact HCFellowship4819@gmail.com. We might just answer your question on a future episode of Ancient Words, Modern Message. If you know a person that you think would benefit from this teaching, please share it with them. And if you’d like to support Ancient Words, Modern Message, please leave a review on Apple Podcasts. Your input helps us make the podcast even better and reach new listeners. Ancient Words, Modern Message is produced by Studio D Podcast Production and hosted by Rev. Roger Wambold, Director of Hebrew Christian Fellowship.

The plot of Groundhog Day, the 1993 comedy film starring Bill Murray, revolves around a television weather broadcaster who reports from Punxsutawney, Pennsylvania on February 2, covering the annual appearance of that town’s famous groundhog and its impact upon winter weather patterns. In a bizarre set of circumstances, he finds that every day is a repeat of the day before it, February 2, “Groundhog Day,” until he breaks the chain with a change of character and attitude.

In some ways, Ancient Israel had its own “Groundhog Day” that lasted for 337 years, with a cycle of events that was repeated over and over throughout that long period of time.

In today’s episode of “Ancient Words, Modern Message” we begin a study of the Book of Judges and learn about this distressing cycle and its disturbing consequences, interrupted periodically by the appearance of a courageous, bold leader, only to resume when the leader is gone.

With this in mind, let’s turn to the fascinating, and all-too-relevant book of Judges for the first of six installments in a series entitled, “Stout-hearted Men and Women,” an episode we call “Stuck in History.”

Thank you for listening to Ancient Words, Modern Message. You can expect episodes twice a month on Monday. Ancient Words, Modern Message is supported by Hebrew Christian Fellowship. To learn more about our ministry, or to ask a question, contact HCFellowship4819@gmail.com. We might just answer your question on a future episode of Ancient Words, Modern Message. If you know a person that you think would benefit from this teaching, please share it with them. And if you’d like to support Ancient Words, Modern Message, please leave a review on Apple Podcasts. Your input helps us make the podcast even better and reach new listeners. Ancient Words, Modern Message is produced by Studio D Podcast Production and hosted by Rev. Roger Wambold, Director of Hebrew Christian Fellowship.

Regular listeners to this podcast know that every seventh episode is different from the other six. Each of the six includes a Bible study, usually of an Old Testament book. The seventh is a break in style and content as I, Roger Wambold, Director of Hebrew Christian Fellowship, sit in front of a microphone in my home, with a cup of coffee and ideally a bagel with a “shmear” of Philadelphia cream-cheese, for an informal “Bagel-side Chat.” In these I like to discuss a variety of subjects related to the Jewish people—Their history, culture, religious thinking and practice, and current events in Israel and worldwide affecting them.

In this thirteenth “Bagel-side Chat” I touch on the fascinating subject of “keeping kosher,” with some of its nuances and peculiarities, but also with some spiritual principles growing out of the subject.

For some listeners this may be a review of what they already know, but for others it might be an introduction to a subject little understood outside of Jewish communities.

In which of the two groups you may be, or somewhere in between, we are glad that you have joined us for this “Bagel-side Chat,” an episode entitled “Nosh-knowledge.”

Thank you for listening to Ancient Words, Modern Message. You can expect episodes twice a month on Monday. Ancient Words, Modern Message is supported by Hebrew Christian Fellowship. To learn more about our ministry, or to ask a question, contact HCFellowship4819@gmail.com. We might just answer your question on a future episode of Ancient Words, Modern Message. If you know a person that you think would benefit from this teaching, please share it with them. And if you’d like to support Ancient Words, Modern Message, please leave a review on Apple Podcasts. Your input helps us make the podcast even better and reach new listeners. Ancient Words, Modern Message is produced by Studio D Podcast Production and hosted by Rev. Roger Wambold, Director of Hebrew Christian Fellowship.