Talking Scripture

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(00:00) The story of David and Goliath. The Hebrew and Greek versions of 1 Samuel 17 render different accounts of Goliath’s height. An overview of Goliath’s weapons and armor.
(05:10) Goliath as a symbol of the unconquerable foes that we all face. David employs six strategies to defeat Goliath that can also be applied to our challenges.
(13:53) The sword of Goliath as an article of kingship and evidence that God is with us.
(16:25) King Saul is jealous of David and is obsessed with killing him.
(26:32) Jonathan is a true friend to David, even though he has reason to be jealous of his success.
(29:56) David continues his quest of goodness, yet Jonathan is not threatened.
(32:26) David has opportunity to kill Saul, but doesn’t.
(32:55) Nabal rebuffs David and refuses to give him food. Abigail acts as a peacemaker, thus saving Nabal’s life.
(36:11) King Saul consults with the Witch of Endor for revelation. He interacts with the ghost of Samuel, who has died. This experience with the spiritualist medium destroys hope.
(39:31) The Philistine leaders send David away during their attack on Saul’s forces. David goes to Ziklag and finds that his city has been sacked by the Amalekites and his family has been taken captive. David rescues all the people and shares the spoils of war.
(41:58) The Philistines defeat Israel. King Saul and his sons are slain.
(43:19) The rise of King David in 2 Samuel.
(46:47) Uzzah is smitten for steadying the Ark.
(51:03) David acts as both king and priest in his return to Jerusalem. He wears the ephod and offers sacrifice.
(53:50) David obtains the threshing floor, where the Ark will rest. The threshing floor can be seen as the foundation stone, the heart of the Holy of Holies and a symbol of Jesus Christ as Savior of the world.
(55:43) David desires to build a temple for the Lord. Nathan prophesies that the House of David will continue forever. This prophecy finds fulfillment in Jesus Christ.
(1:02:13) David is not to build the temple, but his son Solomon will built it.

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The post Ep 376 | 1 Samuel 17-31, 2 Samuel 1-7, Come Follow Me 2026 (June 15-21) appeared first on LDS Scripture Teachings.

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(00:00) Israel wants to have a king like everyone else. Saul is chosen.
(07:41) Forms of unrighteous dominion.
(11:14) Saul was chosen as Israel’s first king for his goodness, but falls into unrighteous dominion.
(24:18) Jonathan, King Saul’s son, is victorious in battle but disobeys his father.
(27:38) King Saul builds altars. He disobeys Samuel’s specific instructions. To obey is better than to sacrifice.
(39:55) The Lord tells Samuel to find Jesse, as he is the father of the future king of Israel. This shepherd’s son is David, founder of the “House of David.” Three traditions of David’s ascent to the throne are given.
(41:53) Samuel is told by the Lord to not look upon David’s outward appearance. God sees the intent of our hearts, not just our actions.

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The post Ep 375 | 1 Samuel 8-16, Come Follow Me 2026 (June 8-14) appeared first on LDS Scripture Teachings.

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(00:00) Ruth, a Moabite, becomes a central character in Israel’s history as the great-grandmother of King David, through whose line comes Jesus Christ. Her story shows that God is the God of the whole world.
(10:52) After becoming a widow, Ruth goes to Bethlehem and gleans in the fields of Boaz. The Law commanded that owners “not reap the corners of their fields,” thus providing for the poor.
(13:53) How Boaz symbolizes Christ and how Ruth represents all of us coming unto him to be redeemed.
(23:15) Ruth proposes marriage to Boaz. The threshing floor as a symbol for covenants and the temple. Jesus says “I will gather my people as a man gathereth his sheaves into the floor.”
(29:46) The other kinsman that has claim upon Ruth can be seen as a symbol of Jesus reconciling and paying our debts for the things that have claim on us. God will compensate us for the difficult times in our lives.
(33:03) All the characters in the story of Ruth are demonstrating hesed, or covenant love. The image of the circle and square coming together as a symbol for the union of heaven and earth.
(38:46) In the Book of Samuel, Hannah comes to the tabernacle at Shiloh to pray for God to give her a son. Like Hannah, all of us experience times of deprivation, even when it is a righteous desire we seek.
(43:02) Hannah’s prayer led to the birth of Samuel and then an even more abundant blessing of many children. God is bounteous in his loving kindness.
(45:39) The Song of Hannah as a triumphant song of praise and overcoming adversity. It gives reference to the King, but there is no monarchy yet. This song can be seen as a prophecy of the Savior and contains temple imagery.
(49:13) Eli’s sons reject the Lord, so Samuel will take their place as High Priest.
(50:08) The Lord calls young Samuel to be a prophet, but he doesn’t immediately understand. Eli helps him open his ears. Sometimes we brush off impressions as coincidence, but oftentimes they are revelation.
(54:32) Samuel is recognized as a prophet. Prophets advise Israel’s kings and when they listen to the prophet they are blessed.
(57:42) The Israelites are defeated by the Philistines. Eli and his sons die. Samuel exhorts Israel to serve the Lord and the Philistines are subdued.

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The post Ep 374 | Ruth; 1 Samuel 1-7, Come Follow Me 2026 (June 1-7) appeared first on LDS Scripture Teachings.

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(00:00) A brief overview of these chapters.
(06:25) The pride cycle explained.
(11:29) The pride cycle illustrated in the Book of Judges.
(15:56) Successive generations of Israelites forget God and the things he has done for them.
(17:56) The theme of denigrating the northern tribes of Israel.
(21:33) Othniel is the first judge. Ehud, the second judge, brings a “gift” to Eglon, the fat king of Moab.
(27:24) Deborah is the third judge. How her story compares to the Ishtar myth.
(36:51) Gideon is the fourth judge and humbly trusts in God.
(47:43) Gideon refuses the invitation to be the king of Israel and teaches that Israel should make God their King.
(53:20) Samson is the 7th judge and is blessed with great strength. His ultimate destruction is symbolic of the descent of the House of Israel. Other myths of the ancient world, those of Nergal and Oedipus, may indicate that Samson’s story contains recontextualized tropes from older times.
(1:11:00) Abimelech is the 5th judge and slays his seventy brothers.
(1:14:15) Jephthah is the 6th judge and makes a rash vow and sacrifices his only daughter.
(1:17:47) In the first epilogue Micah sets up a false religion.
(1:19:59) In the second epilogue a Levite woman is horribly violated and killed. Civil war ensues among the Israelites. We see that if Christ isn’t our King, we will be without civilization.

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The post Ep 373 | Judges, Come Follow Me 2026 (May 25-31) appeared first on LDS Scripture Teachings.

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→ Detailed Show Notes

→ Timestamps:
(00:00) A brief overview of these chapters.
(02:47) Balancing the violence in Joshua with modern revelation and other ways of interpreting the text.
(12:49) If we want the Lord’s help in conflict, then we need to do things the Lord’s way. The three rules of conflict: have the right attitude, have the right motive, and do not be guilty of the first or second offense.
(21:46) Some archaeological evidence does not match the book of Joshua’s description of the conquest of the Land of Canaan.
(28:00) Models of how Israel came to exist in scholarship.
(32:28) Get off the beach. Joshua illustrates how the Lord guides us and how revelation works.
(41:43) What mean these stones? The God who did wonderful things in the past will do wonderful things in your life.
(46:03) The circular pattern of stones at Gilgal can invite readers to see Joshua as an ascension text.
(51:33) Joshua taking the land as a type of Jesus conquering sin and death. Rahab and the scarlet thread as symbols of sin and the atonement.
(1:06:14) Joshua’s final speech. “Choose you this day whom ye will serve: … but as for me and my house, we will serve the Lord.”

→ For more of Bryce Dunford’s podcast classes, click here.

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The post Ep 372 | Joshua, Come Follow Me 2026 (May 18-24) appeared first on LDS Scripture Teachings.