The Bible Unplugged Podcast Podcast Por J. Brent Eaton arte de portada

The Bible Unplugged Podcast

The Bible Unplugged Podcast

De: J. Brent Eaton
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The deepest and most profound insights in The Bible are hidden under centuries of dogma, doctrine, glitz, and glamor that hide what scripture actually says. We take a deep dive into language and culture of The Bible to find what God wants us to know and how we should live.

www.powerloveandmiracles.comJ. Brent Eaton Cristianismo Espiritualidad Ministerio y Evangelismo
Episodios
  • Tears in the Temple- Hannah

    Tears in the Temple- Hannah
    Jul 15 2025
    Introduction• Hannah’s experience of grief comes from many years of infertility, rejection, and silent prayers to God. What comes from her painful experiences leads to one of the most profound acts of surrender in all of Scripture.• If you’ve ever waited, or cried out to God without words—Hannah’s story is a message of hope.• I’m Brent, and this is episode 45 of The Bible Unplugged. We continue series on people in the Bible who experienced grief with a look at Hannah, the mother of the prophet Samuel. If you know someone who needs this message, please feel free to share these episodes with them.• Please take a minute to look at the show notes for this episode at PowerLoveandMiracles.com under the Podcast tab.Hannah’s Story• We learn about Hannah’s experiences from the book of 1 Samuel chapters 1 and 2. This takes place during the time of the judges in Israel. There was no king. The prevailing ethic was to do what was right in your own eyes instead of following God’s law. It was a time of chaos, idolatry, and spiritual decline.• The story begins with a guaranteed set up for failure. Elkanah, a man who lived in Ephraim, a territory to the northeast of Jerusalem, had two wives. That can’t turn out well. One was Hannah, pronounced Chanah in Hebrew and means “favored.” His other wife was Penninah, whose names means “jewels.” The problem? Penninah had children. Hannah did not.• Penninah provoked and harassed Hannah and Hannah grieved her emptiness and refused to eat.• Elkanah routinely went to worship and sacrifice before God. He went to Shiloh, which was the religious center in Israel before Jerusalem became prominent. Hannah went to worship as well, but we don’t have any of Hannah’s prayers written in the text. She grieved silently before God.• On on particular trip to Shiloh, Hannah left the family and went to worship alone. After years of bitter tears and silent prayers she made a bargain with God: look on my affliction, grant my request for a child. If the child is a boy, I will give him to Yahweh all the days of his life.• Eli, the priest who heard Hannah’s intense emotional prayer and accused her of being drunk. Hannah pleaded her case. In the book of 1 Samuel 1:17 Eli replied, “Go in peace; and may the God of Israel grant your petition that you have asked of him.”• Hanna was so relieved that from then on she regained her appetite, and her face no longer showed signs of grief and pain. Hannah’s life changed even before God answered her prayer.• Hannah’s burdened was lifted—not because of immediate results, but because of renewed trust with God.• Two verses later we find that Hannah is pregnant with a son. She named him Samuel. This is a perfect name. It means “God heard.” God did hear Hannah’s cry of despair when those cries had no words attached and answered the prayer when the time was right.What Do We Learn from This?• Hannah’s story teaches us that grief can lead to surrender—and surrender to God invites a divine encounter. Hannah doesn’t demand or try to manipulate God. She simply poured out her heart and left the outcome in God’s hands.• Pay attention to the order of things in this story. Hannah wanted a child, but she didn’t voice that request earlier in the story. When Hannah reaches a point in her struggle that she voices her desires to God, she got a response. Could it have been that God was waiting until Hannah reached a point where her grief turned to resolve? There are times when we feel pain, rejection, and loss. God often waits until we work through the meaning of the pain and have the confidence to voice that pain to God.• After Hannah’s prayer was answered in the birth of Samuel, she gave Samuel to the priests in keeping with her promise. After completing her agreement with God, Hannah sings one of the most beautiful songs in all of Scripture in 1 Samuel 2:1-10. We see the rebirth of joy and faith in Hannah’s reply to God. I invite you to read that passage and listen again to episode 16 where discussed the similarities between Hannah’s song and Mary’s song found in the first chapter of the Gospel of Luke.What Do We Do with This?• Maybe you have experienced painful and uncomfortable times of waiting for God to show Himself. You may have waited for healing, for an answer to prayer, or for a change in your outlook. Extended periods of grief can make it hard to talk about it anymore. The good news is:• God hears the prayer you can’t put into words• He see the tears that fall silently in the night• And He honor surrender more than eloquent prayers• There are times when the lack of an answer to a prayer shows that you are still trying to control or manipulate the situation to fit your wants. Hannah’s story shows us that God responds when we give up trying to fix a problem and ask God to show a solution. What are you holding on to that God wants to take care of Himself?• And, we ...
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    7 m
  • From Bitter to Blessed: Naomi

    From Bitter to Blessed: Naomi
    Jul 8 2025
    Introduction• Have you ever experienced a loss to painful that you feel you have lost your direction and future? If you have, God has a message of hope for you. The pain of grief and loss can slowly transform into a sense of hope and the confidence that God is on your side.• I’m Brent, and this is episode 44 of The Bible Unplugged. We begin a 4-part series on people in the Bible who experienced grief and how God showed His grace and love in the middle of the pain. If you know someone who needs this message, please feel free to share these episodes with them.• Please take a minute to look at the show notes for this episode at PowerLoveandMiracles.com under the Podcast tab.Naomi’s Story• In this episode we look at Naomi, one of the central figures in the Book of Ruth. These events took place in the time of the judges of Israel. It was an era of moral confusion and instability that threatened the existence of the nation.• The Book of Ruth opens with a famine in that caused Naomi and her husband Elimelech and their two sons, Mahlon and Chilion, to move from Bethlehem to Moab. It’s ironic that “Bethlehem” means “house of bread” in Hebrew.• Within a short time, Elimelech died leaving Naomi a widow. The two sons married women from Moab, Orpah and Ruth. About 10 years later, Mahlon and Chilion died. Naomi was now without family and without any means of support. Widows at that time had no inheritance and depended on charity from others to survive.• Naomi planned to go back to Bethlehem and send her daughters-in-law back to their families. While Orpah and Ruth offered to stay with Naomi only Ruth went with her.• Naomi had encouraged Ruth to go back home, but Ruth’s reply is something we often hear in a wedding ceremony. The Book of Ruth chapter 1:16-17 Ruth said, “Don’t urge me to leave you, and to return from following you, for where you go, I will go; and where you stay, I will stay. Your people will be my people, and your God my God. Where you die, I will die, and there I will be buried.”• When Naomi and Ruth arrived in Bethlehem, the people there were excited to see them. Naomi, though, told them, “Don’t call me Naomi. Call me Mara, for the Almighty has dealt very bitterly with me. I went out full, and Yahweh has brought me home again empty. Why do you call me Naomi, since Yahweh has testified against me, and the Almighty has afflicted me?”• The word “mara” in Hebrew means “bitter” and we can understand why Naomi felt that way.• She was so immersed in her grief that she believed her life would not get better.• Naomi wasn’t aware that God had already started a process to help her. Ruth, who stayed by Naomi’s side, committed to finding a means of support for both of them.• The rest of the story unfolds quietly.• Ruth follows after the farmers to pick up leftover grain in the fields to provide for them. It was a common practice in that time to allow the poor to gather up grain leftover from the harvest.• In doing so, she caught the attention of Boaz, a relative of Elimelech.• Boaz shows kindness and protection. He instructed his helpers to leave a little extra in the fields for her and to be sure she was safe.• Eventually, Boaz married Ruth through a complicated process called levirate marriage. This restored Naomi’s family line and provided support for her and for Ruth.• I encourage you to read at least chapters 3 and 4 to see the sophisticated process involved in arranging Ruth’s marriage to Boaz. There’s a lot of conniving and planning on both sides of the relationship.• Ruth gives birth to Obed, who was the grandfather of King David.• In a beautiful twist in the story, the women of Bethlehem tell Naomi, that Ruth is more valuable than seven sons would have been.What Do We Learn from This?• We find the grief experience of Naomi to be like our own today. In the middle of pain and loss we may feel that God has abandoned us, and we have no hope. What we learn is that God is already at work for our good even when we may not see it. God was already moving:• In Ruth’s loyalty in spite of her own grief• In Boaz’s kindness and love toward Ruth• In the reward of continuing ordinary work. Ruth’s gleaning to find food led to her marriage to Boaz.• More importantly, God was at work in the birth of Ruth’s child who would be part of the Messianic line of Jesus.• We also learn that God works beyond our expectation and understanding. Naomi’s grief was cancelled, erased, and more than equally compensated. God’s movement led to Naomi’s redemption. God doesn’t always remove the pain, but He does transform the meaning.What Do We Do with This?• When you experiences grief and loss, trust that God is already at work for your good. Watch for subtle signs that God is moving. It may be the words someone says, a surprisingly beautiful sunset, or a passage of Scripture you read with a whole new meaning.• Ask yourself: ...
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    6 m
  • The God Who Sees Me

    The God Who Sees Me
    Jul 1 2025
    Introduction• Have you ever felt invisible? Do you ever feel that you don’t matter to anyone and that nobody sees your struggles or your pain? That was the experience of Hagar, the slave to Sarai and Abram in Genesis. What she learned the hard way gives us hope for our difficulties today.• I’m Brent, and this is episode 43 of The Bible Unplugged. We take a look at the name Hagar gave to God found in Genesis chapter 16 and what that name means to us.• Please take a minute to look at the show notes for this episode at PowerLoveandMiracles.com under the Podcast tab.Hagar’s Story• The story of Hagar can be confusing to modern readers, but everything that happened in this story is rooted in Near Eastern culture and the Covenant God created with Abram.• Sarai, Abram’s wife, could not conceive a child. They both knew that God promised to make a great nation of their descendants. Not being able to have a child at that point, Sarai took matters out of God’s hands and tried to solve the problem herself.• That culture accepted a barren wife giving her maidservant to her husband to have a child. That’s what Sarai did with her slave Hagar. When Hagar got pregnant, trouble started.• Hagar developed an attitude and felt better than her mistress. Tension flared to the point that Abram told Sarai to do whatever she wanted to do about the conflict.• Sarai was harsh with Hagar. Hagar ran away to the wilderness to get away from the mistreatment.• Scripture tells us that Yahweh’s angel, which we find to be a physical manifestation of God himself in this story, appeared to Hagar and told her to go back home. God promised that he would take care of her and her offspring.A New Name of God• Hagar was so overwhelmed with God’s grace that she created a new name for God. Genesis 16:13 says, “She called the name of Yahweh who spoke to her, “You are a God who sees,” for she said, “Have I even stayed alive after seeing him?”• The name Hagar created, “The God Who Sees Me,” is the English version. The Hebrew named is “El Roi.” “El” is the shortened version of “Elohim,” the most common word translated “God” in the Hebrew Bible. “Roi” comes from the Hebrew word “ra’ah.” We find that word elsewhere in the Bible. In Exodus 3:7, God sees the affliction of His people in Egypt. The word translated “see” is “ra’ah.”Hagar’s Unique Experience• Hagar is the first person in the Bible to create a new name of God.• Hagar was a foreigner, a woman, and a slave. In Hebrew society, she was at the very bottom of the social ladder. And yet, she becomes the first person in Scripture to name God.• Hagar is also the first person to be visited by the angel of the Lord. And she’s not even part of the covenant family, but she is important to God.What Do We Learn from This?• This tells us a lot about God’s character and His love for His creation.• God doesn’t only care about the chosen patriarchs. The righteous are not the only ones God pays attention to.• God sees the oppressed, the abused, and the forgotten. He met Hagar in the wilderness—a place that symbolizes chaos, isolation, and often, desperation. The wilderness, though, is also a place where God reveals himself in new and compassionate ways.• Several prominent Bible characters encounter God and receive divine inspiration to continue God’s will for them.• Moses saw God in a burning bush while tending sheep.• Elijah fled into the wilderness to escape Jezebel’s wrath and found a gentle and compassionate God.• Jesus overcame temptation after many weeks in the wilderness alone.• John the Baptist grew up and lived in the wilderness before he proclaimed the coming of the Messiah.• A complete list with Scripture references is at the end of the show notes if your are interested.• What we learn from this something profound about God’s nature. He is not a passive observer. God is intimately present with those who suffer and are alone. The name Hagar gave to God reminds us that:• God sees you in your own personal wilderness.• God sees the part of your story that others overlook.• God sees your pain even when you can’t articulate those feelings yourself.• Most of all, we see that you matter to God.What Do We Do with This?• Take some time when you can focus without distractions. Think of the times in your life you have felt alone, unsure, or afraid. How did God intervene and what was the result? God has a plan for your good, but sometimes we have to feel the discomfort before we see the goal.• When you have some idle time during your day—whether driving, in line at a store, or waiting for an appointment—try to imagine God watching over you then. Let El Roi, the God Who Sees You, become part of that experience.• When you experience difficult times—when you feel you are invisible or don’t matter—allow God’s presence to overcome the discomfort and reassure you.•...
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    6 m
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