The Theopolis Podcast

Jaksot

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  Episode 898: Deborah, Mother in Israel (Judges 4:1–10) 16.09.2026 56min

  Peter Leithart, James Bejon, Jeff Meyers, and Alastair Roberts begin their discussion of Judges 4 by considering Deborah’s judgeship and her commissioning of Barak. They challenge the common assumption that Deborah’s leadership should be understood merely as a consequence of male failure, instead presenting Deborah and Jael as heroic women who employ distinctively feminine weapons in Israel’s holy war. Along the way they discuss women as “battle mates,” Deborah as a mother in Israel, the Lord’s use of weak and unexpected instruments, and the breakdown of ordinary social structures under Canaanite oppression. The conversation then turns to Jabin’s reversal of the conquest, Israel’s inverted jubilee, Sisera’s 900 iron chariots, the chapter’s Exodus patterns, the significance of Deborah’s name, her palm-tree court between Ramah and Bethel, and Barak’s hesitation to obey the word of Yahweh. Give to our work and become a partner! theopolisinstitute.com/give/ Get the new Theopolis App! app.theopolisinstitute.com/menu Use Code "theopolitan" to get your first month free! ______________________ Sign up for In Medias Res mailchi.mp/0b01d726f2fe/inmediasres ________ Theopolis on Youtube www.youtube.com/c/Theopolisinstitute Theopolis Blog: theopolisinstitute.com/theopolis-blog/ Website: theopolisinstitute.com Twitter: @_theopolis
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  Episode 897: Ehud, Shamgar, and Strange Deliverers (Judges 3:24–31) 09.09.2026 46min

  Peter Leithart, James Bejon, and Alastair Roberts continue their discussion of Judges 3 by finishing the story of Ehud and turning to the brief account of Shamgar. They explore the aftermath of Eglon’s death, Ehud’s escape, the trapping and slaughter of the Moabites at the Jordan, and the Exodus and conquest patterns running through the episode. Along the way they discuss Eglon’s fall as a parody of idolatrous glory, the repeated imagery of piercing and bodily destruction in Judges, Ehud’s attack on the head of Moab, Benjamin’s role in the victory, the significance of the 10,000 slain Moabites, and the land itself fighting on Israel’s behalf. The conversation then turns to Shamgar, his possible foreign background, his relationship to Jael and Samson, his oxgoad as an unconventional weapon, and the way God raises up unexpected deliverers to fight regional battles on Israel’s behalf. Give to our work and become a partner! theopolisinstitute.com/give/ Get the new Theopolis App! app.theopolisinstitute.com/menu Use Code "theopolitan" to get your first month free! ______________________ Sign up for In Medias Res mailchi.mp/0b01d726f2fe/inmediasres ________ Theopolis on Youtube www.youtube.com/c/Theopolisinstitute Theopolis Blog: theopolisinstitute.com/theopolis-blog/ Website: theopolisinstitute.com Twitter: @_theopolis
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  Episode 896: Ehud and the Fat King (Judges 3:12–31) 02.09.2026 53min

  Peter Leithart, James Bejon, Alastair Roberts, and Jeff Meyers continue their discussion of Judges 3 by examining Ehud’s deliverance of Israel from Eglon, king of Moab. They explore the grotesque birth imagery running through Judges, the Exodus and conquest patterns embedded in Ehud’s story, the significance of Ehud’s left-handedness, and the priestly and sacrificial dimensions of Eglon’s death. Along the way they discuss Moab, Ammon, and Amalek as enemies of Israel, the chronology and regional character of the judges, Shamgar’s place in the narrative, the graven images near Gilgal, Ehud’s movements as a parody of priestly worship, Eglon as a fattened sacrificial calf, the shofar and Jubilee imagery, and Ehud as a new Moses and Joshua who delivers Israel and reconquers the land. Give to our work and become a partner! theopolisinstitute.com/give/ Get the new Theopolis App! app.theopolisinstitute.com/menu Use Code "theopolitan" to get your first month free! ______________________ Sign up for In Medias Res mailchi.mp/0b01d726f2fe/inmediasres ________ Theopolis on Youtube www.youtube.com/c/Theopolisinstitute Theopolis Blog: theopolisinstitute.com/theopolis-blog/ Website: theopolisinstitute.com Twitter: @_theopolis
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  Episode 895: Learning War - Othniel and the First Judge (Judges 3:1–11) 26.08.2026 50min

  Jeff Meyers, James Bejon, and Alastair Roberts move into Judges 3, where the nations remaining in the land become instruments for testing Israel and the book introduces Othniel, its first major judge. They discuss what it means for Israel to “learn war,” why warfare in Judges is inseparable from covenant faithfulness and dependence upon Yahweh, and how divine testing makes God’s knowledge of His people a publicly demonstrated covenant reality. Along the way they explore Israel’s intermarriage with the Canaanites and the resulting religious syncretism, the contrast between pagan intermarriage and faithful incorporation of converts such as Ruth and Rahab, failures of generational covenant formation, the nations surrounding Israel as distorted mirror images of Israel itself, Cushan-Rishathaim and possible echoes of Abraham’s Mesopotamian origins, Othniel’s connection to Judah and Caleb, the Spirit’s empowerment of the judges, and Othniel as an example of generational faithfulness amid Israel’s growing generational decline. Give to our work and become a partner! theopolisinstitute.com/give/ Get the new Theopolis App! app.theopolisinstitute.com/menu Use Code "theopolitan" to get your first month free! ______________________ Sign up for In Medias Res mailchi.mp/0b01d726f2fe/inmediasres ________ Theopolis on Youtube www.youtube.com/c/Theopolisinstitute Theopolis Blog: theopolisinstitute.com/theopolis-blog/
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  Episode 894: The Cycle of Judges (Judges 2:6–23) 19.08.2026 46min

  Jeff Meyers, James Bejon, and Alastair Roberts continue through Judges 2, where the death of Joshua gives way to the recurring pattern of Israel’s apostasy, oppression, and deliverance that will structure the rest of the book. They discuss the generation that arose without knowing Yahweh or His works, the importance of passing covenant memory from one generation to the next, and why the cycles of Judges should not be understood as an inevitable or fatalistic pattern of history. Along the way they explore faithful communities within declining cultures, the attraction of Baal worship and its transactional view of religion, the judges as more than merely political or military deliverers, the Exodus-like character of Yahweh’s repeated rescues, God’s compassion toward Israel even before explicit repentance, and the role of testing, hardship, punishment, and fatherly discipline in forming God’s people toward maturity. Give to our work and become a partner! theopolisinstitute.com/give/ Get the new Theopolis App! app.theopolisinstitute.com/menu Use Code "theopolitan" to get your first month free! ______________________ Sign up for In Medias Res mailchi.mp/0b01d726f2fe/inmediasres ________ Theopolis on Youtube www.youtube.com/c/Theopolisinstitute Theopolis Blog: theopolisinstitute.com/theopolis-blog/
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  Episode 893: Israel’s Failure in the Land (Judges 1:27–2:10) 12.08.2026 45min

  Peter Leithart, James Bejon, Alastair Roberts, and Jeff Meyers finish Judges 1 and move into the opening of Judges 2, where Israel’s incomplete conquest gives way to the angel of the Lord’s covenant lawsuit at Bochim. They explore the increasing failure of the northern tribes to drive out the Canaanites, the contrast between Israel dwelling among the Canaanites and the Canaanites dwelling among Israel, and the withdrawal of Yahweh’s empowering presence as Israel compromises in the land. Along the way they discuss the geography and fertility of northern Israel and Judah, the movement of the tabernacle from Gilgal toward Shiloh, the possible identification of Bochim with Bethel, the chronology of Judges 2, the angel of Yahweh’s appearance to the gathered tribes, parallels between Joshua and Joseph, and the Adamic overtones of Israel’s failure to listen to Yahweh and faithfully inhabit its Edenic land. Give to our work and become a partner! theopolisinstitute.com/give/ Get the new Theopolis App! app.theopolisinstitute.com/menu Use Code "theopolitan" to get your first month free! ______________________ Sign up for In Medias Res mailchi.mp/0b01d726f2fe/inmediasres ________ Theopolis on Youtube www.youtube.com/c/Theopolisinstitute Theopolis Blog: theopolisinstitute.com/theopolis-blog/ Website: theopolisinstitute.com Twitter: @_theopolis
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  Episode 892: Fractured Tribes and an Unfinished Conquest (Judges 1:16–26) 05.08.2026 47min

  Peter Leithart, James Bejon, Alastair Roberts, and Jeff Meyers continue their discussion of Judges 1 by examining Israel’s partial conquest of the land and the tribal fractures already beginning to emerge. They explore how differing levels of faithfulness, compromise with the Canaanites, and the geography of the land anticipate the later division of Israel, as well as the role of common worship in holding the tribes together. Along the way they discuss the Kenites and their relationship to Israel, Judah’s conquest of the Philistine cities, the problem of the iron chariots, the gradual character of the conquest, the movement from Hebron to Jerusalem, the distinction between destroying and possessing, the limits of archaeological population estimates, and the house of Joseph’s conquest of Bethel as a distorted echo of Jericho. Give to our work and become a partner! theopolisinstitute.com/give/ Get the new Theopolis App! app.theopolisinstitute.com/menu Use Code "theopolitan" to get your first month free! ______________________ Sign up for In Medias Res mailchi.mp/0b01d726f2fe/inmediasres ________ Theopolis on Youtube www.youtube.com/c/Theopolisinstitute Theopolis Blog: theopolisinstitute.com/theopolis-blog/ Website: theopolisinstitute.com Twitter: @_theopolis
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  Episode 891: The Thoughtful Craftsman - Restoring the Dignity of the Trades, with Jonathan Sedlak 29.07.2026 40min

  Jon Sedlak calls Christians to recover the dignity of the skilled trades and to recognize craftsmanship as a vital form of Christian vocation. Drawing on his experience as a master electrician, he argues that the trades cultivate embodied wisdom, genuine competence, humility, endurance, excellence, and face-to-face service within local communities. Sedlak challenges churches, parents, and educators to stop treating the trades as a lesser path. Instead, Christian communities should train young people in practical skills, connect them with skilled mentors, honor tradesmen as essential servants of the city, and build networks that pass craftsmanship from one generation to the next. The 2026 Theopolitan Ministry Conference on the Theopolis App! https://app.theopolisinstitute.com/tabs/home/albums/71604?collectionId=1656 Give to our work and become a partner! theopolisinstitute.com/give/ Get the Theopolis App! app.theopolisinstitute.com/menu Use Code "theopolitan" to get your first month free! ______________________ Sign up for In Medias Res mailchi.mp/0b01d726f2fe/inmediasres ________ Theopolis on Youtube www.youtube.com/c/Theopolisinstitute Theopolis Blog: theopolisinstitute.com/theopolis-blog/ Website: theopolisinstitute.com Twitter: @_theopolis
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  Episode 890: Artificial Intelligence in the City of God, with Jonathan Barlow 22.07.2026 41min

  In this episode, we feature Jonathan Barlow’s lecture from the 2026 Theopolitan Ministry Conference. Barlow examines several common anxieties surrounding artificial intelligence: the fear that technology will reduce human beings to measurable outputs, the temptation to treat AI as an oracle, and the concern that intelligent machines will become rivals to human labor and creativity. Against the assumption that humans and machines belong on the same scale, Barlow grounds the unique dignity of humanity in the image of God and, ultimately, in Christ—the true image of the invisible God and the fulfillment of the human vocation. He argues that Christians can therefore approach AI without anxiety: neither worshiping the work of our hands nor fearing it as a rival, but receiving it as a potentially powerful tool in humanity’s priestly task of building the city of God. Barlow will develop these themes further in his upcoming intensive course, Artificial Intelligence and Christian Theology, September 10–12 in Birmingham. Register for Barlow's Course, here: https://theopolisinstitute.com/courses/artificial-intelligence-and-christian-theology/ Give to our work and become a partner! theopolisinstitute.com/give/ Get the Theopolis App! app.theopolisinstitute.com/menu Use Code "theopolitan" to get your first month free! ______________________ Sign up for In Medias Res mailchi.mp/0b01d726f2fe/inmediasres ________ Theopolis on Youtube www.youtube.com/c/Theopolisinstitute Theopolis Blog: theopolisinstitute.com/theopolis-blog/ Website: theopolisinstitute.com Twitter: @_theopolis
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  Episode 889: Ornament Between Work and Rest, by Dr. John Ahern 15.07.2026 1t 8min

  In this lecture from the 2026 Theopolitan Ministry Conference, Dr. John Ahern argues that ornament is not an unnecessary addition to useful things, but the natural overflow of human love, gratitude, and delight. He explores ornamentation as the meeting place of work and rest: the patient, repetitive labor of the six days gathered up and enjoyed in the contemplation of the seventh. Drawing from Scripture, Augustine, Hugh of Saint Victor, John Ruskin, and the history of architecture and craftsmanship, Ahern shows how ornament unites beauty and usefulness, gives dignity to labor, and reflects the fruitfulness of God’s creation. Against modern minimalism, planned obsolescence, and instrumentalized work, “Ornament Between Work and Rest” calls for the recovery of a world in which our tools, homes, buildings, and common life once again bear the marks of gratitude, abundance, and joyful submission. Give to our work and become a partner! theopolisinstitute.com/give/ Get the Theopolis App! app.theopolisinstitute.com/menu Use Code "theopolitan" to get your first month free! ______________________ Sign up for In Medias Res mailchi.mp/0b01d726f2fe/inmediasres ________ Theopolis on Youtube www.youtube.com/c/Theopolisinstitute Theopolis Blog: theopolisinstitute.com/theopolis-blog/ Website: theopolisinstitute.com Twitter: @_theopolis
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  Episode 888: The Gift of Land and Mission (Judges 1) 08.07.2026 50min

  Peter Leithart, James Bejon, and Alastair Roberts continue their discussion of Judges by turning to chapter 1 and the unfinished conquest of the land. They explore how the opening chapters frame the whole book, including Israel’s tribal failures, the recurring cycle of idolatry and deliverance, the chronology of Joshua’s death, and the distinction between conquering the land and truly taking possession of it. Along the way they discuss Judah’s alliance with Simeon, the defeat and mutilation of Adoni-Bezek, Jerusalem’s contested conquest, Caleb and Achsah’s request for springs of water, and the creational and bridal imagery embedded in Israel’s inheritance. Give to our work and become a partner! theopolisinstitute.com/give/ Get the new Theopolis App! app.theopolisinstitute.com/menu Use Code "theopolitan" to get your first month free! ______________________ Sign up for In Medias Res mailchi.mp/0b01d726f2fe/inmediasres ________ Theopolis on Youtube www.youtube.com/c/Theopolisinstitute Theopolis Blog: theopolisinstitute.com/theopolis-blog/ Website: theopolisinstitute.com Twitter: @_theopolis
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  Episode 887: Judges - A Comedy of Horrors 01.07.2026 47min

  Judges is a book of riddles, grotesque comedy, tribal fracture, liturgical chaos, and unexpected deliverance. Peter Leithart, Jeff Meyers, Alastair Roberts, and James Bejon open a new Theopolis series on the book of Judges, considering why this strange and violent book rewards close attention. The conversation explores the legacy of James Jordan’s work on Judges, the book’s intricate literary design, its unusual heroes and weapons, its recurring images of mutilation and deliverance, and the long Christian tradition of reading figures like Samson as types of Christ. Along the way, the discussion moves through Jonathan Edwards on Samson, E.T.A. Davidson’s work on the book’s visual “tableaux,” the role of women like Deborah and Jael, the political and tribal tensions of Israel, and the repeated refrain that “there was no king in Israel.” The episode closes by considering how Judges exposes Israel’s liturgical disorder and points beyond human kingship to the reign of Yahweh. Give to our work and become a partner! theopolisinstitute.com/give/ Get the new Theopolis App! app.theopolisinstitute.com/menu Use Code "theopolitan" to get your first month free! ______________________ Sign up for In Medias Res mailchi.mp/0b01d726f2fe/inmediasres ________ Theopolis on Youtube www.youtube.com/c/Theopolisinstitute Theopolis Blog: theopolisinstitute.com/theopolis-blog/ Website: theopolisinstitute.com Twitter: @_theopolis
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  Episode 886: How Music Orders Our Affections, with John Ahern 24.06.2026 30min

  In this re-released lecture, Dr. John Ahern explores why music moves us so deeply, arguing that music works not only through text and melody but through deeper structures—harmony, rhythm, form, and repetition—that shape our emotions often before we consciously notice them. He traces the rise of “art music” as a kind of substitute liturgy and contrasts ancient, churchly, and modern ways of understanding music’s power over the soul. Along the way, Ahern shows why debates about worship music run emotionally hot: music is not neutral background, but a force that orders—or disorders—our affections, desires, and imagination. _____ John Ahern is the director of the Te Deum Music Fellows Program at Theopolis. Learn more and apply, here: https://theopolisinstitute.com/te-deum-music-fellows-program/ _____ Give to our work and become a partner! theopolisinstitute.com/give/ Get the new Theopolis App! app.theopolisinstitute.com/menu Use Code "theopolitan" to get your first month free! ______________________ Sign up for In Medias Res mailchi.mp/0b01d726f2fe/inmediasres ________ Theopolis on Youtube www.youtube.com/c/Theopolisinstitute Theopolis Blog: theopolisinstitute.com/theopolis-blog/ Website: theopolisinstitute.com Twitter: @_theopolis
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  Episode 885: The Church as the New Humanity (Q&A Episode) 17.06.2026 46min

  In this Q&A episode, Peter Leithart, Jeff Meyers, and James Bejon take up listener questions on John Webster, the structure of 1 Corinthians, church polity, and the modern debate over race and marriage. They commend Webster as a rigorous and uplifting Reformed theologian, then trace the unifying threads of 1 Corinthians through Paul’s concerns for love, unity, the body, and rightly ordered freedom. The conversation also explores Theopolitan instincts on polity—holding together local rule, presbyterial order, and episcopal responsibility—before turning to the church as the new humanity in Christ, a chosen people drawn from every tribe, tongue, and nation. GIVE TO THEOPOLIS! theopolisinstitute.com/give/ Get the Theopolis App! app.theopolisinstitute.com/menu Use Code "theopolitan" to get your first month free! Sign up for In Medias Res mailchi.mp/0b01d726f2fe/inmediasres
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  Episode 884: Star Signs - Part 1 (Revelation 12:1-5), with James Jordan 12.06.2026 49min

  James B. Jordan continues his Revelation series with a study of Revelation 12:1–5, showing how the “great signs” in heaven reveal the drama of the old creation coming to its end. He explains the woman clothed with the sun, the dragon, and the child through the imagery of Israel, the constellations, the temple, and the long biblical story from Eve to Christ. Along the way, Jordan argues that Revelation is not abstract symbolism but a heavenly unveiling of history under God’s rule, culminating in the victory of Christ and the formation of His bride, the Church. GIVE TO THEOPOLIS! theopolisinstitute.com/give/ Get the Theopolis App! app.theopolisinstitute.com/menu Use Code "theopolitan" to get your first month free! Sign up for In Medias Res mailchi.mp/0b01d726f2fe/inmediasres
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  Episode 883: Can Evangelicals Recover Liturgy? (Q&A Episode) 10.06.2026 55min

  In this Q&A episode, Peter Leithart is joined by Jeff Meyers, Alastair Roberts, and James Bejon to answer listener questions on Trinitarian theology, church unity, family worship, evangelism, and liturgy. They discuss the monarchy of the Father, the biblical pattern of calling the Father “God” and Jesus “Lord,” and the mystery of the Trinity’s unity. They also consider what a future united church might look like, how families can practice worship at home without confusing household devotion with church liturgy, whether evangelism is hindered in places devoted to other gods, and how evangelicals can recover richer liturgical practices without simply becoming “high church.” GIVE TO THEOPOLIS! theopolisinstitute.com/give/ Get the Theopolis App! app.theopolisinstitute.com/menu Use Code "theopolitan" to get your first month free! Sign up for In Medias Res mailchi.mp/0b01d726f2fe/inmediasres Show less
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  Episode 882: The Sun of Righteousness (Malachi 4) 03.06.2026 1t 2min

  Malachi closes with a vision of the coming day: burning like a furnace for the wicked, but rising with healing for those who fear the Lord’s name. Peter Leithart, Alastair Roberts, and James Bejon discuss the final chapter of Malachi, tracing its imagery of fire, harvest, threshing floor, calves released from the stall, and the sun of righteousness with healing in its wings. Along the way the conversation moves through John the Baptist’s warnings, Jesus’ Olivet Discourse, the destruction of Jerusalem in AD 70, the temple as the Lord’s threshing floor, and the Exodus-shaped release of God’s faithful remnant. The episode closes by considering why Malachi ends with Moses and Elijah, how John the Baptist comes in the spirit and power of Elijah, and how the Lord promises to heal the breach between fathers and children before the great and terrible day. GIVE TO THEOPOLIS! theopolisinstitute.com/give/ Get the Theopolis App! app.theopolisinstitute.com/menu Use Code "theopolitan" to get your first month free! Sign up for In Medias Res mailchi.mp/0b01d726f2fe/inmediasres
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  Episode 881: The Seventh Trumpet (Revelation 11:14-19), with James Jordan 29.05.2026 49min

  James Jordan continues his walk through the Book of Revelation. To listen to this ENTIRE series right now (with class notes!), download the Theopolis App! Use the code "theopolitan" to get your first month for FREE. app.theopolisinstitute.com/menu
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  Episode 880: Vain to Serve God? (Malachi 3:13–18) 27.05.2026 47min

  Malachi’s final disputation exposes Israel’s despairing complaint: “It is vain to serve God.” Peter Leithart, Jeff Meyers, Alastair Roberts, and James Bejon explore the loss of confidence that comes when the wicked seem to prosper and the righteous appear unrewarded. Along the way the conversation moves through Psalm 73, Job, the biblical shape of the problem of evil, the difference between short-term reward and eschatological vindication, and the priestly language of serving and guarding that echoes Adam’s task in Eden. The episode closes with Malachi’s surprising portrait of the faithful remnant: those who fear the Lord, speak with one another, and are written in His book of remembrance as His treasured possession — a remnant finally distilled in Jesus, the faithful Israelite. GIVE TO THEOPOLIS! theopolisinstitute.com/give/ Get the Theopolis App! app.theopolisinstitute.com/menu Use Code "theopolitan" to get your first month free! Sign up for In Medias Res mailchi.mp/0b01d726f2fe/inmediasres
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  Episode 879: Robbing the Storehouse (Malachi 3:6–12) 20.05.2026 36min

  Malachi’s next disputation begins with the Lord’s unchanging covenant faithfulness: because Yahweh does not change, Jacob is not consumed. Meyers, Roberts, and Bejon explore Israel’s insincere question, “How shall we return?” and the Lord’s shocking answer: they have been robbing God in tithes and contributions. Along the way the conversation moves through the temple storehouse, the Torah’s provision for Levites, widows, orphans, and sojourners, the difference between transactional worship and enacted prayer, and the risky faith of giving before the blessing is visible. The episode closes by connecting Malachi’s empty storehouse to Jesus’ denunciation of a temple system that devours widows’ houses — and to the early church’s reversal of that injustice in Acts. GIVE TO THEOPOLIS! theopolisinstitute.com/give/ Get the Theopolis App! app.theopolisinstitute.com/menu Use Code "theopolitan" to get your first month free! Sign up for In Medias Res mailchi.mp/0b01d726f2fe/inmediasres