Bible Fiber

Shelley Neese
  • 5.0 (20)
  • CHRISTIANITY
  • UPDATED WEEKLY

Tired of scripture study guides that leave you wanting more substance? Discover a resource that offers comprehensive teaching and deep insights into the prophetic message.Have you been avoiding the more challenging books of the Bible because they are hard to understand or apply to your life? Let Bible Fiber build your foundational knowledge about ancient Israel’s history and culture.Welcome to Bible Fiber, where we are encountering the textures and shades of the biblical tapestry through twelve Minor Prophets, two reformers (Ezra and Nehemiah), and one priest in exile (Ezekiel). Along the way, we take pauses for minicourses on peoples of the Bible and ponder why the prophetic office ended. I am Shelley Neese, president of The Jerusalem Connection, a Christian organization devoted to sharing the story of the people of Israel, both ancient and modern. You won't find another podcast so committed to teaching the parts of the Bible that get the least attention and also is constantly calling for prayers for the modern state of Israel during this moment of crisis.

  1. 6D AGO

    Bamidbar (Numbers 1:1–4:20)

    This week, we begin the book of Numbers, the fourth volume in our weekly Torah readings. Before decamping from Mount Sinai, God commands Moses and Aaron to take a headcount. The specific instructions given to Moses and Aaron focused on identifying and counting those fit for battle. They had to have a record of the number of men “able to go forth to war,” which meant all men over the age of twenty. The Levites were the only tribe not eligible for military service, as they were set apart for work at the Tabernacle.  Despite the emphasis on the Levitical role as servant to the community, it still feels as though the Levites are elevated above the other tribes. This naturally raises the question: by what merit did the Levites secure such a position? Knowing human nature and group dynamics, I am certain this question arose within the camp as well. However, God preempts the accusation with a history lesson from Exodus. And Bible Fiber is going to share that history lesson with you! Support the show Consider donating (one-time or recurring) to www.TheJerusalemConnection.us so we can continue to bring valuable content via podcasts free to the public. Help us increase our audience reach and improve production quality. Your donation is 100% tax-deductible to our non-profit organization. Bible Fiber and The Red Alert Report are available via YouTube and all major podcast platforms. The Jerusalem Connection also engages in additional educational and advocacy programs. Check our "Projects" tab for all the endeavors we invite YOU to be part of.

    12 min

  2. MAY 7

    Behar–Bechukotai: Leviticus 25:1–27:34

    This week’s Torah portion is known as Behar–Bechukotai and covers Leviticus 25:1–27:34. These are the final two Torah portions in the book of Leviticus. In Leviticus 25, the concept of the Jubilee is introduced as the ultimate expression of God’s sovereignty over the land and time. It functions as a “super-Sabbath,” occurring after seven cycles of seven years. Moses instructs the nation to count off seven cycles of sabbatical years—seven years seven times. In the fiftieth year, the people are to hallow the Year of Jubilee. During that year, on the Day of Atonement, a shofar is blown all across the land to announce the moment of redemption. The Jubilee year is defined by three primary mandates that reset the economic and social structure of Israelite society. The most significant aspect of the Jubilee is the restoration of property. In the biblical framework, land could not be sold permanently. Instead, it was leased based on the number of years remaining until the next Jubilee. Families who sold their land due to poverty or debt received it back. The practice reinforced the idea that the land belongs to God. The Israelites were merely tenants or stewards of his property. Any Israelite who had sold himself into servitude to pay off debts was set free. These individuals were permitted to return to their ancestral clans and their own family land. The Jubilee transformed the concept of “ownership” into “stewardship.” Ask Support the show Consider donating (one-time or recurring) to www.TheJerusalemConnection.us so we can continue to bring valuable content via podcasts free to the public. Help us increase our audience reach and improve production quality. Your donation is 100% tax-deductible to our non-profit organization. Bible Fiber and The Red Alert Report are available via YouTube and all major podcast platforms. The Jerusalem Connection also engages in additional educational and advocacy programs. Check our "Projects" tab for all the endeavors we invite YOU to be part of.

    14 min

  3. MAY 1

    Emor (Leviticus 21:1–24:23)

    This week’s Torah portion is known as Emor—which means “speak”—and it covers Leviticus 21:1–24:23. The counting of the Omer began on April 2 and will end on May 21. For the Jewish people, the goal of counting the Omer is to become a vessel ready to be filled by God’s holy law. For the Christian, we can also count the Omer as we retrace the life of our messiah Jesus from his death, resurrection, and the outpouring of the Spirit. Right now, at this moment, on Day 29 of the Omer, the disciples were still learning at the feet of Jesus. What Jesus did for his followers during those days is the goal of Bible Fiber. He sat with them, and “beginning with Moses and all the prophets, he interpreted to them the things about himself in all the scriptures” (Luke 24:27).  By prayer and study, I suggest that we all retrace the steps from Egypt to Sinai and from the resurrection to Pentecost. JerusalemConnection Support the show Consider donating (one-time or recurring) to www.TheJerusalemConnection.us so we can continue to bring valuable content via podcasts free to the public. Help us increase our audience reach and improve production quality. Your donation is 100% tax-deductible to our non-profit organization. Bible Fiber and The Red Alert Report are available via YouTube and all major podcast platforms. The Jerusalem Connection also engages in additional educational and advocacy programs. Check our "Projects" tab for all the endeavors we invite YOU to be part of.

    10 min

  4. APR 23

    Acharei Mot–Kedoshim (Leviticus 16:1–20:27)

    These chapters contain some of the most vital commands for the people of Israel. They include the liturgy for the holiest day on the Jewish calendar—Yom Kippur. A unique part of the ceremony involved two goats of similar size and appearance. One goat was for Yahweh, and the other was for Azazel. These animals represented two aspects of atonement. One paid the penalty and was sacrificed in the sanctuary. The other removed the sin from the community and was released into the wilderness. Which goat represented Jesus? Support the show Consider donating (one-time or recurring) to www.TheJerusalemConnection.us so we can continue to bring valuable content via podcasts free to the public. Help us increase our audience reach and improve production quality. Your donation is 100% tax-deductible to our non-profit organization. Bible Fiber and The Red Alert Report are available via YouTube and all major podcast platforms. The Jerusalem Connection also engages in additional educational and advocacy programs. Check our "Projects" tab for all the endeavors we invite YOU to be part of.

    10 min

  5. APR 16

    Tazria (Leviticus 12:1–15:33)

    This week’s reading is called Tazria and it covers Leviticus 12:1–15:33. This portion is completely occupied by issues of ritual impurity. Last week’s reading, Shemini, was concerned with the structural boundaries between the sacred and the profane, as it pertained to the Tabernacle and priesthood. Tazria–Metzora shifts the lens toward the human body and the private experiences of the laypeople. It deals with the laws of ritual impurity arising from childbirth and every possible skin affliction. Where Shemini focuses on the physical structure of the sanctuary and the behavior of the priests, this portion focuses on the physical state of the common person. It addresses how natural life cycles and mysterious illnesses affect an individual’s ability to participate in communal worship. The laws of ritual purity in Leviticus were the essential start of what would later become one of the most important sacraments of our faith. By understanding the origins of immersion in these chapters, we gain a deeper appreciation for baptism, recognizing it not as a new invention but as the beautiful fulfillment of a divine promise. Support the show Consider donating (one-time or recurring) to www.TheJerusalemConnection.us so we can continue to bring valuable content via podcasts free to the public. Help us increase our audience reach and improve production quality. Your donation is 100% tax-deductible to our non-profit organization. Bible Fiber and The Red Alert Report are available via YouTube and all major podcast platforms. The Jerusalem Connection also engages in additional educational and advocacy programs. Check our "Projects" tab for all the endeavors we invite YOU to be part of.

    12 min

  6. APR 10

    Shemini (Leviticus 9:1–11:47)

    Until this point, Leviticus emphasizes that all the preparations and sacrifices had been performed just as the Lord commanded. However, the second the priests went off script, acting spontaneously on their own, disaster struck. Aaron’s oldest sons, Nadab and Abihu, “each took his censer, put fire in it, and laid incense on it, and they offered unholy fire before the Lord, such as he had not commanded them” (10:1). Just as fire had previously consumed the sacrifices as a sign of divine favor, “fire came out from the presence of the Lord and consumed them, and they died before the Lord” (10:2). The reader is left imagining the horror of the scene. It was all going according to plan when God consumed the offerings laid on the altar, but then the same divine fire consumed the offerors. Aaron’s highest high, encountering the power of God so intimately, was followed by his lowest low: witnessing the tragic death of his sons and fellow priests. Leviticus 10:3 attests that after Moses offered a divine explanation that might seem jarringly blunt in the wake of such loss, “Aaron remained silent.” Support the show Consider donating (one-time or recurring) to www.TheJerusalemConnection.us so we can continue to bring valuable content via podcasts free to the public. Help us increase our audience reach and improve production quality. Your donation is 100% tax-deductible to our non-profit organization. Bible Fiber and The Red Alert Report are available via YouTube and all major podcast platforms. The Jerusalem Connection also engages in additional educational and advocacy programs. Check our "Projects" tab for all the endeavors we invite YOU to be part of.

    14 min

  7. MAR 24

    Tzav (Leviticus 6:8–8:36)

    This week’s Torah portion covers Leviticus 6:8–8:36. The second reading in Leviticus is titled Tzav, which means “Command!” Like last week, the text dryly expounds on how the priests are to present the sacrifices in the tabernacle. Details include how they are to dispose of the ashes, eat the grain offerings, and maintain the eternal fire. Each type of offering—be it burnt offering, grain offering, sin offering, or peace offering—has a distinct set of rules. What are Jewish people supposed to do with the manual now that there is no temple? At this point, they have lived far longer without a sanctuary than they lived with one. There are still those who know they are in the Levitical priesthood, but they have not had an altar to service or an animal to slay for 2,000 years. It isn’t as if the Jews ever had the chance to voluntarily phase out their sacrificial system; the Romans decided that for them. The destruction of the Second Temple in 70 CE abruptly ended the Jews’ most central form of worship. As they mourned the loss of their sacred sanctuary, they asked themselves how they were supposed to atone for their sins without a temple. Of the 613 laws, 150 pertain to temple worship. How were they to maintain God’s laws when a sixth of them were no longer possible? Support the show Consider donating (one-time or recurring) to www.TheJerusalemConnection.us so we can continue to bring valuable content via podcasts free to the public. Help us increase our audience reach and improve production quality. Your donation is 100% tax-deductible to our non-profit organization. Bible Fiber and The Red Alert Report are available via YouTube and all major podcast platforms. The Jerusalem Connection also engages in additional educational and advocacy programs. Check our "Projects" tab for all the endeavors we invite YOU to be part of.

    9 min

  8. MAR 19

    Vayikra (Leviticus 1:1–6:7)

    The first reading portion in Leviticus goes from 1:1 to 6:7. If you have read ahead—and I always encourage you to take that approach—we are not blazing through creation and early human history like in Genesis. We aren’t following the earth–shaking signs and wonders of Exodus. We haven’t yet arrived at Numbers, where the chosen people get on the move. Leviticus is the Bible’s pause, and I don’t mean a dramatic pause; it’s more like a prescriptive pause. In a window of about 30 days, God established the architecture of the sacrificial system and the institutions that will govern Israelite religious life for 1,500 years. Support the show Consider donating (one-time or recurring) to www.TheJerusalemConnection.us so we can continue to bring valuable content via podcasts free to the public. Help us increase our audience reach and improve production quality. Your donation is 100% tax-deductible to our non-profit organization. Bible Fiber and The Red Alert Report are available via YouTube and all major podcast platforms. The Jerusalem Connection also engages in additional educational and advocacy programs. Check our "Projects" tab for all the endeavors we invite YOU to be part of.

    8 min
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About

Tired of scripture study guides that leave you wanting more substance? Discover a resource that offers comprehensive teaching and deep insights into the prophetic message.Have you been avoiding the more challenging books of the Bible because they are hard to understand or apply to your life? Let Bible Fiber build your foundational knowledge about ancient Israel’s history and culture.Welcome to Bible Fiber, where we are encountering the textures and shades of the biblical tapestry through twelve Minor Prophets, two reformers (Ezra and Nehemiah), and one priest in exile (Ezekiel). Along the way, we take pauses for minicourses on peoples of the Bible and ponder why the prophetic office ended. I am Shelley Neese, president of The Jerusalem Connection, a Christian organization devoted to sharing the story of the people of Israel, both ancient and modern. You won't find another podcast so committed to teaching the parts of the Bible that get the least attention and also is constantly calling for prayers for the modern state of Israel during this moment of crisis.

Information

  • Creator
    Shelley Neese
  • Years Active
    2021 - 2026
  • Episodes
    182
  • Rating
    Clean
  • Copyright
    © 2026 Bible Fiber
  • Show Website
    Bible Fiber

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