Epistles in the Bible are letters written to God’s people by the apostles and prophets. Similar to the modern-day sermon, they reason with their listeners and offer wisdom for their lives. While the biblical epistles today are often dissected and applied broadly to Christian life, the epistles were originally meant to be heard in one sitting by very specific audiences. Applying Hebraic thought while reading the epistles can change how we view them entirely, and can tell us even more about the messages the biblical authors were trying to convey. In this episode, we’ll be looking at the oldest biblical epistle and using Hebraic thought to dig deeper into its context and meaning.
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In this episode, we’ll be discussing:
- Epistles as sermons 2:23
- The epistles’ auditory nature- 2:48
- How epistles should be “gulped down”- 4:08
- Reframing how we hear New Testament epistles- 4:55
- Wisdom traditions- 05:19
- The oldest epistle: Jeremiah 29- 8:14
- Understanding the context surrounding individual epistles- 10:46
- How the epistles exhibit Hebraic thought- 16:12
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References:
“Jesus on the road to Emmaus” – Luke 24:13-35
“One epistle in this mode written by Jeremiah” – Jeremiah 29
“He grew in stature and wisdom before God and before men” – Luke 2:52, 1 Samuel 2:26