The Theopolis Podcast

Latest Episodes:

Episode 899: The Lord Fights at the Kishon (Judges 4:9–16) Sep 23, 2026

Show notes

Peter Leithart, Jeff Myers, James Bejon, and Alastair Roberts continue their discussion of Judges 4, following Deborah and Barak from the summons to battle through Sisera’s defeat at the Kishon. They explore the story’s echoes of the Exodus, the significance of Barak’s name, and the return of Zebulun and Naphtali to the fight after their earlier failures in Judges. Along the way they consider Heber the Kenite’s relationship with Israel and Canaan, Jael’s coming role, and whether the torrent in Deborah’s song describes a flood, Barak’s army, or both. The episode closes with Sisera fleeing on foot while Barak pursues and destroys his army. 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

Episode 898: Deborah, Mother in Israel (Judges 4:1–10) Sep 16, 2026

Show notes

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

Episode 897: Ehud, Shamgar, and Strange Deliverers (Judges 3:24–31) Sep 09, 2026

Show notes

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

Episode 896: Ehud and the Fat King (Judges 3:12–31) Sep 02, 2026

Show notes

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

Episode 895: Learning War - Othniel and the First Judge (Judges 3:1–11) Aug 26, 2026

Show notes

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/

Episode 894: The Cycle of Judges (Judges 2:6–23) Aug 19, 2026

Show notes

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/

Episode 893: Israel’s Failure in the Land (Judges 1:27–2:10) Aug 12, 2026

Show notes

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

Episode 892: Fractured Tribes and an Unfinished Conquest (Judges 1:16–26) Aug 05, 2026

Show notes

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

Episode 891: The Thoughtful Craftsman - Restoring the Dignity of the Trades, with Jonathan Sedlak Jul 29, 2026

Show notes

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

Episode 890: Artificial Intelligence in the City of God, with Jonathan Barlow Jul 22, 2026

Show notes

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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