What does the book of Lamentations reveal through the cries of its children? In this powerful conversation, Pastor Johnny Ova sits down with Dr. Timothy Yap, Lecturer in Historical Theology and PhD in Old Testament studies, to uncover the overlooked voices at the heart of Jerusalem’s fall.

From starving infants to abandoned sons and daughters, Lamentations paints a haunting picture of suffering, resilience, and survival. Dr. Yap shows us why these passages matter, how they speak to modern crises of war and famine, and what it means to grieve with God at the center.

📖 Episode highlights include:

• Why children play such a unique role in Lamentations
• How Hebrew terms reveal age groups and social classes in crisis
• The shocking betrayal of mothers, and the nurture of Daughter Zion
• The tension of God’s sovereignty, raw lament, and lasting hope
• What ancient lament teaches us about modern suffering and survival

🔥 Don’t miss this deep dive into Scripture that will change how you see both grief and hope.

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What did the ancient world really believe about the gods? And how did humanity move from countless divine beings to the bold claim that there is only one God?

In this episode of The Dig In Podcast, Pastor Johnny Ova sits down with Dr. Michael Hundley, professor of Religious Studies at the University of Memphis and Ph.D. graduate of the University of Cambridge. Dr. Hundley’s research focuses on the intersection of the human and the divine in the Hebrew Bible and the ancient Near East. He has taught at Georgetown, Syracuse, and other universities, and is the author of several books exploring how ancient cultures understood gods, divine councils, and the rise of monotheism.

Together they unpack:

• The religious landscape of the ancient Near East before Israel
• Why Israel’s God stood apart in a world full of competing deities
• The role of wars, exile, and empire in shaping faith and exclusivity
• How angels, demons, and divine councils fit into the bigger picture
• Why monotheism still influences culture, morality, and identity today

This conversation will change the way you think about the Bible, ancient faith, and the story of how one God came to stand against the gods.

Grab Johnny’s book: The Revelation Reset — a fresh, scripture-rich look at the Book of Revelation and why it matters

Listen now on Apple, Spotify, or watch on YouTube.

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Today on The Dig In Podcast, Johnny Ova welcomes Dr. Guy MacLean Rogers, one of the world’s leading historians of the ancient world, for a deep dive into the destruction of the Jerusalem temple in 70 AD. This is the moment that forever changed Jewish life, shook the Roman Empire, and influenced the rise of Christianity.

Dr. Rogers is Professor of History and Classical Studies at Wellesley College. He earned his PhD in Classics from Princeton University, has received fellowships from the National Endowment for the Humanities, the American Philosophical Society, and All Souls College, Oxford, and is an award-winning author. His acclaimed book, For the Freedom of Zion: The Great Revolt of the Jews against Rome, 66–74 CE (Yale University Press), was named an Outstanding Academic Title by Choice. You can grab it here: https://a.co/d/chKjInN

In this conversation we explore:

• The explosive tensions that led from uneasy peace to open revolt in Judea
• Josephus, Roman inscriptions, and archaeology as our key sources
• Messianic and apocalyptic expectations in the first century
• The siege of Jerusalem and the burning of the temple under Titus
• How Rome celebrated this “victory” and what it meant for the empire
• How Jewish life shifted from sacrifice to scripture after the temple’s destruction
• The ripple effects on the early Christian movement

This is not just history, it’s the story of identity, empire, and faith colliding in one of the most dramatic turning points of the ancient world.

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