Marty Solomon, Brent Billings, and Elle Grover Fricks discuss the first in a series of images found in the desert—what it means to be a shepherd in the biblical world.<a target="_blank" href="https://bemadiscipleship.s3.us-east-2.amazonaws.com/BEMA+026+Images+of+the+Desert+Shepherd.pdf">Images of the Desert — Shepherd Presentation (PDF)</a><a target="_blank" href="https://amzn.to/2oDPzH2">Walking with God in the Desert — Ray Vander Laan (Amazon)</a><a href="https://www.bemadiscipleship.com/ttwmk" target="_blank">TTWMK Faith Lessons on DVD and Digital (Focus on the Family)</a><a target="_blank" href="https://amzn.to/2ocBeAp">Walking the Bible by Bruce Feiler</a><a target="_blank" href="https://amzn.to/2o09Pzs">The Good Shepherd by Kenneth Bailey</a><a href="https://brentbillings.com/blog/2024/7/22/lawning-and-gardening" target="_blank">“Lawning and Gardening [with goats]”</a>

<h3>Study Tools</h3>
<ul>
<li><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qPwCIsrfF4k" target="_blank">Discussion Video for BEMA 26</a></li>
<li><a href="https://bit.ly/3I6Q1Yq" target="_blank">The Companion for BEMA 26</a></li>
<li><a href="https://bemadiscipleship.s3.us-east-2.amazonaws.com/thecompanion/notes.pdf" target="_blank">Take Your Own Notes</a></li>
<li><a href="https://docs.google.com/document/d/e/2PACX-1vSYB2rH-VItigZEvV4GBVyCsC_ppkGYEIdDx3s6UC_sm3fFM5fKC_-tfYsrtexZadx2_cq8WOnKFsTM/pub" target="_blank">Transcript for BEMA 26</a></li>
</ul>

<h3>Legacy Episode Content</h3>
<ul>
<li>Episode updated 30 June 2025</a></li>
<li>Original audio from <a href="https://bemadiscipleship.s3.us-east-2.amazonaws.com/s1v16/BEMA+26.mp3" target="_blank">6 April 2017</a></li>
<li><a href="https://docs.google.com/document/d/e/2PACX-1vSigIeJDXAMgFiG4VhAKacHCa0lBDfdpVn5vyvtBmhhltV17PS0C6GtKgos7fHlWRH1O5wzxJyUPoml/pub" target="_blank">Transcript for BEMA 26</a> of 6 April 2017</li>
</ul><a rel="payment" href="https://www.bemadiscipleship.com/support">Support The BEMA Podcast</a>

BEMA Discipleship

The BEMA Podcast is a walk-through of the context of the Bible and the Text itself, as well as surrounding history. We deconstruct our common readings of the Bible and attempt to reconstruct them through the lens of historical context. The main body of work is contained in Seasons 1–5, and we encourage you to start with episode 0 (or even -1) and continue in order through episode 204. Beyond that, we explore new topics, revisit old topics, and dive deeper into practical ways of living out the things we have learned together. BEMA Discipleship is a ministry of Impact Campus Ministries.

Episode Summary

Clips