118: Divine Retribution and the Old Testament (with Dr. J. Michael Thigpen)

In this episode of the Theology and Ethics and Podcast, Dr. Michael Thighpen, OT scholar at Phoenix Seminary, discusses the idea of divine retribution in the Old Testament. Does God operate differently in the Old Testament than He does in the New? How does God’s punishment work, is it aimed only at individuals, or is it applied to groups and even generations?

Dr. J. Michael Thigpen earned a BA in Religious Studies from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, an MDiv from Columbia Biblical Seminary, and an MPhil and PhD in Judaic, Hebraic, and Cognate Studies from Hebrew Union College. Michael’s special areas of interest include Old Testament Theology, Babylonian and Persian period biblical books and history (Jeremiah, Lamentations, Ezra–Nehemiah, Haggai, Zechariah, Malachi), Book of the Twelve (Minor Prophets), prophetic literature (biblical and ANE), Genesis, Kings, God’s motives, repentance and forgiveness, the OT and classical theism, and the theology of work and economics. His passion is to help the church connect more deeply to the Old Testament by understanding its literary nature and historical background. He is currently Professor of Old Testament at Phoenix Seminary, having previously served as Provost and Executive Vice President at the seminary. In addition to his work at Phoenix, he serves as lecturer in Old Testament at Munster Bible College in Cork, Ireland.

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#theology #oldtestament #divinejustice #God #hebrew #bible #retribution #kirkwoodcenter #church #christianity #ethics

Chapters:

00:00:00-Intro

00:04:20-Does God Punish Individuals, Groups or Generations?

00:14:17-God’s Justice and Individual Faith

00:19:43-The Punishment of Achan in Joshua 7

00:25:49-Generational Sin and Retribution

00:33:13-Social Justice, Racial Guilt and Biblical Justice

00:46:04-Outro