The terrorist group Hamas returned four more captives to Israel yesterday, and in exchange, Israel will release 200 terrorists from prison, some serving life sentences for murder. Why would Israel pay such an exorbitant and dangerous price? The answer is rooted in Scripture. Stay with me. We'll talk about that in just a moment. Hello, friends. Welcome to Open Line. My name is Michael Ray. I'm the academic dean and professor of Jewish studies and Bible at Moody Bible Institute. It's
time for our Bible study across America. We're sitting around the radio kitchen table and we're talking about your questions about the Bible, God, and the spiritual life. If you have a question, now is the time to call, because it's always best to get in early in the program. And, uh, so if you could do that, that would be great. Uh, the, uh, number here, (877) 548-3675. That's (877) 548-3675. Tricia McMillan is in the producer's chair, and Omar Mendoza is our tech guy today.
Titus is answering the phones and Courtney is visiting. We're glad you're back. Court. You're out there someplace. Again, the phone number here is (877) 548-3675. Time to go. Get yourself a cup of coffee. Open your Bible, because we're about to study the scriptures together. Well, if you've been watching the news, I'm sure you're aware that there's a cease fire in Israel. And Hamas has begun releasing female captives taken on October 7th, 2023, and their atrocity filled attack
on Israel back then. On that day, October 7th, 2023, they murdered some 1200 people. Hamas took 251 people captive women, children, infants and elderly folks. Some Holocaust survivors. Hamas. Hamas has thus far released seven hostages in the last two weeks, with Israel releasing 50 terrorists for each one hostage that's released 50 terrorists. In November of 2023, Hamas released 105 civilian hostages. Civilian captives. And again, the numbers were just
about the same, with 50 terrorists for each one. The question I'm asked frequently is why does Israel willingly give up murderous terrorists in such great numbers? Isn't this too dangerous? And the answer is, of course it's too dangerous. But nevertheless, these deals are rooted in Jewish values which come from Scripture. Here's what I mean. The rabbis have historically pointed to the Bible as calling for the redemption of captives. For example,
Deuteronomy 15 seven. They would point, says, point out, says, you shall not harden your heart, nor close your hand from your poor brother. According to the rabbis, Leviticus 1918 guides them. It says, you must not jeopardize your neighbor's life. And then they take it all together with Proverbs 2411 where it says, rescue those being taken off to death.
Save those stumbling toward slaughter. From these verses, rabbinic law sought to give guidance on how to obey these verses, and it led to the concept of pigeon shivoham, or redemption of captives. The rabbis concluded that redemption of Redemption of captives was a great commandment, as captivity is viewed as worse than starvation and death, according to the rabbis.
One book of Jewish law is called the Shulkhan Arukh says every moment that one delays in freeing captives is cases where in cases where it's possible to expedite their freedom, is considered to be tantamount to murder. The only warning given in rabbinic law is not to pay exorbitant prices, because it will cause evil ones, like Hamas to only take more captives in the future. It's the old principle
of that which gets rewarded, gets repeated. Still, the rabbis taught that, uh, exorbitant payments could be paid for exigent or desperate circumstances. There are exigent and desperate circumstances today. The entire nation of Israel is heartbroken over these captives, and they desperately want their return, and they are trusting the Israeli government to once again protect the nation despite
the release of these terrorist murderers. Here's my point Israel is an entirely secular nation, yet it derives its values from Jewish. It has Jewish values, which comes from rabbinic law, and rabbinic law derives the principle of redemption of captives from Scripture. And that is how to understand the unbalanced deal Israel has accepted for the release of some captives. For our part, since there are 90 remaining captives, what
do we need to do? We need to keep praying for the safe return of these innocents who were so cruelly taken by Hamas. And, uh, that's the answer to the to the question of why these unfair.
Deals are rooted in Scripture.
Well, I would like to go to the phones. And Trish, if you're listening, I've got a little problem here with my screen. Could you tell me who our first caller is? Betty. Betty, welcome to Open Line. How can I help you?
Hi. There is something that has been troubling me. I know someone who. Well, let me back up a little bit. When someone lives immorally, they can come to Christ and have their sins forgiven. When a Christian lives immorally, turns their back on Christ. Is there a scripture that says they cannot return to Christ? That once they have tasted Christ's grace and forgiveness, they cannot come back?
No, The Bible teaches that we all sin, and if we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive our sins and cleanse us from all unrighteousness. That's first John one nine. Uh, we have the example of, uh, someone in, uh, moral failure, uh, that Paul says that he was grateful that he repented and was restored in first. Uh, I guess it's, uh, in Second Corinthians. Uh, but he
is grateful for their repentance. Uh, it says in Second Corinthians chapter two, if anyone has caused pain, he has caused pain, not so much to me, but to some degree not to exaggerate. To all of you, the punishment inflicted by the majority is sufficient for that person. As a result, you should instead forgive and comfort him. Otherwise, this 1st May be over overwhelmed by excessive grief. That's, uh,
second Corinthians two, verses six and seven. So the verse you're thinking of is from Hebrews chapter six.
Yes. I thought it was.
Yeah. And, uh, now what, uh, what Hebrews six is talking about. I'll read it to you. Here's what it says. Uh, it's impossible to renew the six four to to renew, to repentance. Those who were once enlightened, who tasted the heavenly gift, became companions with the Holy Spirit, tasted God's good word and the powers of the coming age, and who have fallen away because to their own harm they are crucifying the Son of God and holding him up
to contempt. So it says it's impossible. Impossible to renew such people to repentance. Now, who's it talking about here? Is it talking about believers who have fallen into sin and now they want to come back and they can't be repentant. They can't repent. They can't be restored. That that's not what it's talking about. We have to understand
who it's talking about. Remember Paul? Paul, the writer of Hebrews, not Paul, but the writer of Hebrews, whoever that was, was writing to Jewish believers, and there was a mixed multitude in his audience. Some of these people, most of them had had become believers. Some of them had professed faith but were not genuine. And what he is saying in Hebrews six is that it's important for them not to stay where they are, but to actually come to a full faith in Jesus. Here's why I say that.
If you look at chapter six, verse one, it says, leaving the elementary message about the Messiah, let us go on to maturity, not laying again the foundation of repentance from dead. Works. Faith in God. Teaching about ritual washings. Laying on of hands. The resurrection of the dead, and
eternal judgment. He is telling them to move on. Some people think he's telling them to move on from the basics of the faith, that they are believers, but actually all those things that he's telling them to move on from could be either an Old Testament faith or a believer type faith, except for one. And that tells me he's talking about something different. He says move on from the teachings about ritual washing. Some versions say baptisms. Well,
it's that's a bad translation. There are two words in Greek, one for baptism. And then there's a different word that's used for the Old Testament ritual washings. And that's what's used here. So what he is saying is we have to move on from an Old Testament faith that looked forward to the coming of the Messiah, to one That focuses its faith on the Messiah who has come, Jesus. And then he says, now you've you've come close, but you're not there yet. Uh, you've tasted the good word
of God. You've, uh, you were in the community of believers. You were in the congregation, but you weren't really believers yet. And if you go back now, it'll be impossible to bring you back now. I think it's impossible for us to bring anyone back. But God might open the door. We don't know how far they fall, but that's talking about people who had come close to being believers but were not. And then they fall away. And he warns
them it might be impossible to bring you back. Okay, so it's not not about believers losing their salvation, but people who are close but did not really experience salvation. Okay. Can I ask one more question? Sure.
About this individual. This individual is struggling with feeling like he can't come back. He feels very unattached to Christ. He feels Christ is unapproachable. That his relationship is lost. Mhm. Um. How can I help him?
Look up everything you can in your Bible. Okay. About the grace and mercy of God. Okay. Do a search. Uh, find everything where it says that God welcomes those of us who are penitent, that God desires us to come to him. You find every verse about forgiveness and mercy. Okay. And then you sit down and you, you say if you feel lost, everyone is lost. Uh, but but for the mercy and grace of God, and you show it to him. That's what you do. Wow. Uh, okay.
He wants his relationship with Christ back.
Okay. Well, you gotta show him that he that he needs to come by faith, and and the Lord will welcome him. Read him, the prodigal son. What a great. What a great reminder. Luke 15. Okay.
Yeah. Yeah.
Okay. Well, thank you for your call. We're going to take a break here. We come back, we'll be talking to you about your questions about the Bible, God and the spiritual life. This program is called Open Line. You can call (877) 548-3675 with your question. My name is Michael Riddick. Stay with me. I'll be right back with more of the questions that you are calling with right here on Moody Radio's Open Line. Welcome back to Open Line. Let
me tell you about our current resource. Uh, sometimes people get a little lost. They wonder. They get a little overwhelmed trying to figure out how all the books of the New Testament fit together. And that's why I've chosen survey of the New Testament by Doctor Paul Benware as our current resource. Uh, it's a it's from the Everyman's, uh, Bible commentary series, but it's a survey. Doctor Benware taught Bible survey survey for years and years and years at
Moody Bible Institute. And he was he's he's still with us, and he's an exceptional Bible teacher. And this book, uh, gives you a comprehensive guide to take you on the journey. It gives you a roadmap from Matthew to Revelation. It helps you see the big picture of God's Word in the New Testament. You'll see how each book connects to the one story of God's redemptive plan. Uh, and this book is yours. If you give, uh, with, with any gift, uh, with any size gift that you might give to open
line or grateful for it. We want to send it to you and say thank you for your gift. And so if you'd like to give a gift so you can receive a survey of the New Testament by Paul Benware, all you have to do is call (888) 644-7122. That's (888) 644-7122. Or you can just go to open line radio.org. I hope you get it. I love that book by the way. Even I have been using that book for a long time. There we go. Okay, we're going to talk to Vicky
in Rantoul, Illinois, listening to WGN. Welcome to Open Line, Vicky. How can I help you?
Thank you. I am wondering about, um. A Bible study teacher has been telling us that when the Jewish people lived in Egypt and they came out of Egypt, that they were like a bunch of animals. They knew nothing about God. And I'm wondering, um, isn't there something about them worshiping God in Egypt?
Um, I don't see any. Why would someone say such a thing about anyone?
Well, I don't know.
I don't know. I mean, that seems so ridiculous to me. I can't hardly believe it that someone would say that. Uh, now, now, let's let's remember, uh, Moses was sent to Egypt because the Israelites cried out to God for deliverance. That's that's why God sent Moses, because they were crying out to God. Also remember, Moses was raised with all the wisdom of Egypt. We know that because he had been adopted by Pharaoh's daughter. Do you remember that? Yes. But who was his? Who
was his nurse? Who cared for him? Remember, Miriam brought, uh, Moses mother and, uh. And Moses mother. Jochebed raised him. Do you remember that?
Right, right. I do remember that.
And of course, Moses wrote the whole Pentateuch, and it included stories about Abraham, Isaac, Jacob. Right. And all those stories from the Pentateuch. From the book of Genesis. Now, let me ask you this. Where did Moses learn those stories? Well, they were carried on orally, from generation to generation by the Jewish people. He learned them at at his, at his mother's side, learning from her. Right. You know, people are made in the image of God. They're not like
animals that. But Israel understood that God had chosen Abraham. They had all these stories of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. They weren't written in Scripture yet, but Moses wrote them down. He learned them from his family. Uh, now I don't understand why someone would say such a thing. It seems harsh. Unkind. So yes.
But were they able to gather together and worship when they were living in slavery for 400 years?
You know, I don't know the details of their lives. I'm sure that they didn't work every minute of every day for seven days. I'm sure they had something that they knew. Some sort of gathering. I don't know, really. You know, that's imposing our experiences on them from, you know, 1800 to 1400 BC. They were in, in Egypt. I don't know all the details, but they weren't animals and they weren't without any knowledge of God. Uh, and so that's that's what I would say. Thank you.
Okay. Thank you very much.
Okay. Thank you. Vicki. Appreciate it. Uh, we're going to talk next with Carolyn listening in Chicago, Illinois on WNBA. Welcome to Open Line, Carolyn. How can I help you today?
Yes. Good morning. It came up in a Bible study the other day, and it's a verse that I'm so familiar with, but had never thought of it in this way. It's Matthew 2436.
Mhm.
Um, but of that day and hour knoweth no man, not, not any of the angels, but my father only. Now does it say my father only because Jesus is on earth right now or. Um, the question came up that if it's one God which we believe, why wouldn't Jesus know what the father.
If if after his I understand, how could Jesus not know if Jesus, if the Lord Jesus is omniscient as God the Father is? How could he not know? It says, now concerning that day and hour. The return of the Lord Jesus. No one knows, neither the angels in heaven nor the son. That's what you're talking about, right? Exactly. And except the father only. Some versions leave out. Nor the son. But I think it probably should be there.
Some manuscripts leave out. Nor the son. But nevertheless, uh, the only way we could understand this is that the. There's a self-limitation on the part of the God, the son. There are some things that he chooses not to know, and therefore he doesn't know them. It's not because he can't know them. It's he chooses not to. The self-limitation of the son. He does this in deference to the father. The father always the son always does. The father's will
is what John chapter six, Uh, verses 37 through 40 says. So, uh, he just limits himself. And that's why he doesn't know. Okay.
Okay. I you know, actually, when you said that, I think that came up not too long ago and, um, in the morning, morning call. And thank you for what you do. I am a table, uh, kitchen part partner.
Your table partner. Thank you so much, Carolyn. I really appreciate that. Uh, we appreciate you so much. You know, uh, the the kitchen table partners, since Carolyn mentioned it. I'll mention it now, too. Uh, I appreciate every listener, I really do. I'm always amazed. I used to laugh when, uh, when I was going to go on the air, I said, Eva to my wife, who will listen to this program
if I'm on the air other than you. And so the fact that there are other people listening and people calling, it means a lot to me, and I appreciate every listener. But then there are some people that are so committed that they want to make sure that we stay on the air, that they commit to giving monthly to open line. They are our kitchen table partners, like Caroline, who I appreciate immensely. What a sacrifice and what a generous heart
to do that. And what we do in response here at Open Line is I prepare an audio Bible study exclusively for our kitchen table partners every month. You'll get it in the mail, your email, you click on it. And it's a special Bible study designed exclusively takes about 5 or 10 minutes. It's designed exclusively for our kitchen table partners, and we're really grateful for each kitchen table partner. If you'd like to become a kitchen table partner, the best way to do that is just give us a call.
The number is (888) 644-7122. That's 47122. Or you can go to open line radio.org. And Carolyn, thank you so much for being a kitchen table partner. We really, really appreciate it. Uh, we're going to talk next with Tony in West Chicago, Illinois, listening on Wmbi. Welcome to Open Line, Tony. How can I help you today? Good morning. Yeah. Good morning.
Um, I had a question about taxes. And so taxes are coming up pretty shortly. Um, and I know that in the time of the kings that the kings taxed the people. But prior to that, was there any other tax on people? Um, as you know, under, let's say, the times of the prophets and so on. Um, because in our experience, if we don't pay our taxes, we lose our property. So, um, I just was wondering if there was a tax, um, above and beyond the usual tithe that everybody paid to pay for the for the temple.
Well, I think sometimes I think we we misunderstand the tithing system that is in the Pentateuch. It's it's not just 10%. There is a tithe for the priests, a tithe for the temple. And then there was a tithe for the poor, which was given over three years, uh, 10% over three years. So it really came to a 23 and a third. What are we doing over there, Tony? I'm sorry.
That's that's just opening my blinds up. Excuse me.
Yeah, yeah. Uh, the the the idea was 23 and a third percent of what Israel had was given. And then on top of that, there were free will, Thanksgiving offerings, things like that. In addition, the point being, when you see 23 and a third percent, you realize that the tithing system in the Torah was Really it was the Constitution of Israel and it was a taxation system.
Yeah, yeah I see.
So that was the taxation system. And, uh, you know, uh, it's really important to, to not just look back then, but Romans 13 says that we're to obey the government and to pay taxes to whom taxes are due. Pay your obligations to everyone, taxes to those you owe taxes. So I actually I had a really dear friend. He's with the Lord now. But, uh, before he came to the Lord, he never registered for Social Security. He he he never paid taxes. He kind of lived off the books.
And then he came to the Lord. And after studying the Bible, he became convicted. And he he walked into the IRS to tell them that he made an appointment. And they couldn't believe it that he was just volunteering. Uh, and they said, did you get a letter, like from the IRS? and he's like, no, I didn't get a letter. They kept insisting, did you get a letter? And finally he said, yeah, I got a letter from Paul. And he read them Romans 13 and and boy, it was
hard for him, but he did it. He he fulfilled that obligation. It's a it's a great reminder. Pay taxes. To whom taxes are due. Uh, well, we'll come right back with the Febc mailbag in just a moment. Trish is dragging it in, so stay with us. This is open line with Michael Radonich. Welcome back to Open Line with me, Michael Radonich. So glad you're listening today. I'm so grateful for the Far Eastern Broadcasting Company partnering with Open Line to bring you the weekly Febc mailbag. Febc
far Eastern Broadcasting Company is a terrific organization. They bring the good news to people via media and personal engagement throughout the world. Check out the Febc podcast called Until All Have Heard. All you have to do is go to febc. Org that's febc.org. And joining me right now Tricia with that Febc mailbag is Tricia McMillan. Hey, Tricia. Hello. Yeah. Well, uh, I suppose that you've got a bunch of questions there that people have sent in. I do, I do want
to remind people about how to send the questions. I think the best way is just go to our website, openline radio.org, and there's a link there that says Ask Michael a question. Click on that and you can post your question there. And then what do you do with it Tricia when it comes in.
Uh, then I add it to the mailbag. I, I go through them, but yes. And then I add them to how do you.
Decide which ones you know. I know you organize them. You try and put them in some sort of order, right?
I try to. I don't always succeed. And I realize it often doesn't matter because. Yeah, because there doesn't need to be a flow. We're talking about the entire Bible. And so right there doesn't have to be a flow from one to the next. I like to group them because my brain works that way. But there doesn't have to be that. So sometimes it's a little more by the, you know, just kind of by the seat of my pants.
But sometimes it's a lot more organized. The mailbag ones I tend to make very organized, like, here's a chunk that are all dealing with this similar topic, because.
For a full mailbag.
For a full mailbag program, um, but for the this one, not so much. Um, and.
When people write to me and they say, how come you didn't answer my question, I mailed it. You blame me. I just blame Tricia because I don't pick them. You do.
Right. And sometimes it's it's because we've answered that question more recently. And so I'm trying to pick different questions that we haven't answered in a while. That's that's a lot of it. Um. That's right. And if I, you know, if it.
Or sometimes you'll, you'll get 2 or 3 people will ask the same question.
Right. And then I'll kind of combine them into one, um, because they'll be similar or like today I've got a couple from like towards the end of Genesis that work well together. So, you know, um, some of the different ones are nice because just for a change, because there are so many questions people have about the Bible, um, a lot of them are the same, and a lot
of them are in that. So that's where, like you wrote a book called 50 Most Important Bible Questions, where those are a lot of the questions we have gotten, but I like to ask some of the ones that maybe aren't in that book too sometimes. And so, yeah, so that's kind of.
Where we're at. I'm so glad that you do that. And I don't, because that's, uh, that's great for me that you do it and I appreciate it. So. Okay, well, let's get started.
All right. Our first question is from Michael. Uh, listens to Listens to Keys in Florida. And he's asking a question about Genesis 3511 and Genesis 48 four, where it talks about the Assembly of Nations and many nations that God says will come from Jacob. He wants to know, you know, is this what is this a prophecy for.
Uh, a nation indeed an assembly of nations will come from you and kings will descend from you. And that's, uh. He says that to Jacob. Uh, and I believe that that's just saying that nations would come out of him. Uh, I think it's wondering which nations. Right? Because mostly we think of the people of Israel coming from him. Right. Uh, so, uh, well.
Is that all it is?
Yeah. Well, I think that's all it is for now. That's what I'm going to say. But I would have to do a little bit more searching off the top of my head. I can't think of of anything else. Okay.
And when we do these questions for the mailbag, often you don't know what questions are coming. So, so so when I put you on the spot like this.
That no, it doesn't bother me at all. I actually I'll let everyone know when when someone asked. I hardly ever know what the question is in advance. Uh, sometimes when I even pick the callers, I'm reading the question as I'm. Right. Uh, so it doesn't bother me. Uh, what's what was the second verse of.
Genesis 48 four?
Yeah.
Uh, which says and he said to me, behold, I will make you a fruitful and numerous and I will make you a company of peoples, and will give this land to your descendants after you for an everlasting possession.
Yeah. I think this is not talking about anything other than, uh, the different tribes that came out of out of Jacob. Okay. Uh, and that that and in fact, that there were two nations ultimately, that came out Israel and Judah, from him. Uh, and so I think that's all it's talking about, the 12 tribes. But, you know, I'll do further checking on that. I think it's just talking about that.
Okay. Uh, there was there was another. Oh, man. I will look for this other question that was kind of related to that, but this, uh, the next question is from Kathy, um, in Ohio, listens to Wkkf and says, in Joseph's dream in Genesis 37, he states that the sun, moon and 11 stars bowed down to him. This is after Rachel's death, and so is Rachel the moon. And if so, how could that be? Um. Is it that
the 11 and the star, sorry. And the sun and the moon all immediately Correspond or is it more metaphorical?
I think it's just saying in Joseph's dream, he says, the sun, moon and 11 stars were bowing down to me and it sounds like a father, a mother and his 11 brothers. That's what it's referring to. And likely Rachel as as said, she died with Benjamin's birth, so it's probably talking about Leah there.
Okay, so would she have been the mother figure?
Well, she's she's a matriarch of Israel, so. Okay. So yeah. That's it. Joe. Oh, yeah. Jacob and his wife and and then his 11 brothers. 11 brothers. That's the idea.
Okay. All right. Um, our, uh, Christy wanted to know, how did the people of Israel become known as Jews? And the Bible, they're referred to as Hebrews or Israelites.
They're also called Jews. If you go to the book of Nehemiah and the book of Esther. Okay.
And the New Testament calls them that. But yeah. Okay.
The way it happened. Okay. Hebrews was, uh, very ancient. Uh, and then, uh, as a people.
Group, you mean.
As a people.
Group? Not the book of the Bible.
Okay. Yeah. Hebrews was, uh, the he Abraham. The Hebrew. Okay. So in ancient times, they were called Hebrews. And then, uh, with the the 12 sons of Jacob, Jacob was was renamed Israel. So they become the tribes of Israel, or they're called Israel. Okay. Uh, of course, there was Judah, who was the leader of the brothers, uh, in the book of Genesis. And that's the tribe from which King
David came. And then, of course, the kingdom split, and the ten northern tribes became known as Israel kept that name, but the two southern tribes of Judah and Benjamin became known as Judah. The. The Israelites went into captivity into Assyria in 721 BC. The Judeans, the people from Judah, from the southern kingdom, went into captivity to a similar area. However, to a different dynasty, a different kingdom, a different empire,
the Babylonian Empire. And so they went there. And when they got there, uh, they kind of joined with the Israelites. And the, uh, Judean captives were there together, and they were called Judeans or shortened Jews. That's where it comes from. And, uh, then, then when they returned, uh, together, even though some were Israelites, some were Judeans that together, they were called Jews.
Okay. That's as a collective group of people then?
Yeah. Collective people. Group. Exactly. Okay. And, uh, and so, uh, now we've got all these, uh, synonyms, you know, there's Israel, the people, Israel, the land. Uh, there's, uh, so we no longer Israel. Hebrews. Yeah. The term Israelite in the Bible is Israeli. And that's why we talk today about modern Israel. The people of Israel are called Israelis.
Okay.
Okay. Yeah. Same. Same word. Uh, but, uh, you know, and there are Jewish Israelis and Arab Israelis. There's lots of different it's kind of interesting the way it the word has developed.
And were they called Hebrews because they spoke Hebrew or were they called Hebrews? And then some of the language they spoke became called Hebrew also?
Yeah. I think it's because they were people who crossed over. That's what it's the word. It sounds like someone who crossed over. They crossed over the river to river to enter the land.
Avery means to cross over. Is is that translated, then to Hebrew?
Yeah. Avery is.
Hebrew.
Okay. It's the Hebrew language. Okay. And every is a Hebrew person.
So bonus Hebrew lesson today.
Yeah. That's it. Okay. Well, it is interesting, you know, that where all these words come from, we just use them without thinking about how they come. Yeah. Anyway. Well, we're going to take a break here. Thank you. And thanks for thanks for for going over those questions with me in advance.
But yeah. Next time.
No, no. It's great. We're going to come right back with more of your questions in just a moment. You're listening to Tricia McMillan and me, Michael Dolnick, right here on Moody Radio's Open Line. Stay with us. More questions coming up. Straight ahead. And we're back. I'm Michael. I'm so glad you're listening in today as we talk about the Bible, God and the spiritual life right here on Open Line. I did want to mention the Chosen People offer that has just come out. Uh, it's meaningful to me.
You know, this week is the International Memorial Day for the Holocaust. Uh, there's a Jewish one in the springtime, but right now, it's the anniversary of the liberation of Auschwitz. Uh, that the nations think of that. Uh, my parents survived
the Holocaust. And my mom, interestingly enough, found her faith just before going to concentration camp, before going to the ghetto in the concentration camp and Chosen People Ministries because of this, is offering a not because of my mom, but because of the the timing of it with the memory of it and the explosion of anti-Semitism in the world.
They're offering a book called Never Again The Holocaust, remember, it's a collection of stories from the Chosen People Ministries archives about the courage, the bravery, the grace found in the midst of all the unspeakable tragedies of the Holocaust. And it reminds us that the Lord was still at work during those terrible days. And it encourages us, as we read these stories, to stand up for the Jewish people, to pray for the peace of Jerusalem, and to oppose
this explosion of anti-Semitism that we're seeing today. And so that's that's really important. If you'd like to get a copy, just go to our website, openline. radio.org. Scroll down. You'll see it says a free gift from Chosen People Ministries, and you'll be able to get your own copy of Never Again. Also, when you go to our website, I do want to tell you that we held the summit in November at Moody Bible Institute, the summit opposing anti-Semitism
and all the messages. My message. Don Sweeting's message. Eva Redlich's workshop. They're all posted now on the Moody YouTube channel. And if you'd like to get the links to those, just go to Openline radio.org and you'll see it there on our webpage. You can you if you are not able to come but would like to hear and see those messages, you can find them right at openline radio.org.
And then another thing I did want to mention, people are asking me all the time about trips we had done, the journeys of Paul tours, and we've we've done other kinds of trips, obviously to Israel. Right now we're a little bit of a hold pattern on Israel trips, but I've scheduled a kind of a fun Bible conference cruise for next December, and it's on a tall ship, just like we did when we did the Journeys of Paul.
But this time it'll be in the Caribbean. If you'd like to see more about that, if you'd like to do a Bible study on a boat. The best way to do that is to just go to my webpage michael-ray. Org that's linked at the bottom of the open line web page Michael Ray. Org. You can learn all about that December time of the Bible study. We're going to study the book of Daniel on a boat. So uh, anyway, we're going to go right to the phones now, uh,
Beth in Homerville, Ohio, listening on CRF. Welcome to Open Line. How can I help you today, Beth.
I heard you say not to read the Bible chronologically, but it's so much more interesting because you read the Psalms. And. Oh, that's why David wrote that psalm there. And the prophets. You read through second Chronicles, first and second Chronicles, and then you just keep going on and the prophets, but chronologically they show which project, which Profit went with which king, and it just makes it easier for me to read chronologically. Exciting.
Beth, at least you're reading the Bible, so I'm okay with that. But. Well that's good. Uh, that's fine if that's how you want to read the Bible. I mean, I'm glad you're reading the Bible. However, the books of the Bible were written as individual books. They were not written as a series of events that you take from a little bit from this book and a little bit from that book, and put them in chronological order. They were designed with an author who had a theme and
a purpose and wanted to communicate something. And so if we want to understand what the author wanted to say to us, the author that the Holy Spirit superintended to write God's Word, then what we have to do is read the book as a whole. Do you understand?
Okay.
So that's that's what we're that's why I think it's better to read books as books. Uh, so I don't want to put all the events from the life of Jesus together from the four Gospels. What I want to do is read each gospel individually to see what Matthew wanted me to learn, what Mark wanted me to learn. That's the way I do it. Okay, now it helps to maybe to.
Put them from one to the other.
Yeah, it helps to put them in chronological order, because that shows that we can make everything fit and it works. But yeah.
But yeah, yeah.
But, Beth, listen, you're reading the Bible however you want to read it. I'm happy. Okay.
Okay. Thank you very much.
Okay, great. We're going to talk to Miriam in Delray Beach. Uh, listening on R&;B. Welcome to Open Line. Miriam. How can I help you?
Good morning. Or good afternoon? Rather, it's not so much in form of a question. However, I heard of the chorus of the singers. Um, in the Old Testament, even King David wanted them only because they were the best. Could you tell me a little bit about them.
Uh, well, the sons of Korah, uh, they were descended. Let's see. I'm trying to remember who they descended from. Uh, they they're from ancient times. From the times of Moses. Uh, and, uh, they they were involved in worship. Uh, what else do you want to know about them? What would you like to know?
Why were they the best singers? Um, there were a lot of singers, but King David chose.
Yeah, well, here's the thing. They were responsible for the care. Uh, of of the Tabernacle. Originally, they were part of those people. They were involved in worship. Uh, you know, we can look at their genealogies and see that they were involved in worship. And as a result, it's much like today in our congregations, we have certain people who are designated because of their music, gifts to be involved in, in leading worship and things like that. That's who the sons of Korah were. That's all.
I see.
Now, let me just tell you, this is a great example of Miriam, of something that would I think everyone should have a Bible dictionary. I think a Bible dictionary is a great tool. Yeah, because what if you had a Bible dictionary? You could look up Sons of Korah and it would tell you every verse where they're mentioned. It would tell you everything that we know about them. Uh, that that's where I would go if, if, uh, if I want to know more about the sons of Korah.
So in terms of Bible study methods, that's what I would make sure I think everyone should have a one volume commentary on the Bible, a one volume Bible dictionary, and maybe a Bible handbook, that that's a basic skill set that that will a basic tool set that you have to to read the Bible or. the other thing too. Uh, are you, uh, do you use computers much, Miriam?
I do not know. I do not.
Know. Okay, then you're going to have to get a book. But you could always, uh, look up Sons of Korah. And there's all these Bible dictionaries that are already online and available that you could have looked that up. Okay. But as far as I know, that they off the top of my head, they were from the descended from the Levites, and they were involved in worship in the Tabernacle and later in the temple. Uh, and that's who they were. So, okay.
So that's why that you think that that's why King David would use them? Well, that's what I heard, that he he liked them the best.
I don't know if he liked them. I wouldn't say he liked them the best. He was just going to use them because of their gifting and their calling.
Okay, I see, I see. Okay.
Yeah. Okay. Well, great. Miriam, thanks for your call. Really appreciate it. Uh, well, first hour is up. Can't believe that, uh, that went so fast. But here we are. Second hour coming up straight ahead. Uh, keep listening to the second hour if if you like. But if your station doesn't carry it all, you. What you could do is you could listen online. You can get the podcast, you can get the Moody Radio app, all sorts of ways to catch the second hour if your station doesn't carry it.
During the break, check out our webpage open Line radio.org. It's got links to past programs, everything you're looking at. It's got a link to my personal web page. Uh, anything you're looking for, you'll find it right there. Our Bible study across America will continue in the second hour, so stay with us. Open line with Doctor Michael Riedel is a production of Moody Radio, a ministry of Moody Bible Institute. We'll be right back.