Drive through History Adventures

in for the land and the book. Welcome! I'm John Gager, our host and tour guide par excellence is Doctor Charlie Dyer, the guy that students and scholars alike turn to for reliable perspectives on the Middle East. Good to be with you, Charlie.

the Feast of Tabernacles. You'll also hear how you can use these holidays as a point of connection with your Jewish friends and neighbors, to show and share the love of Jesus with them. To sign up for this free teaching, all you have to do is visit Life in Messiah org. Click on the Moody Radio logo and sign up. Be sure to sign up today to discover the fascinating connections between these feasts and Jesus at Life in messiah.org.

Now Israel's enemies took note. They saw that as proof that Israel was imploding internally. And that wasn't the sole cause for the October 7th attack. but it was a factor. Israel temporarily came together to stand against Hamas. Their goals were to defeat Hamas and to retrieve the hostages. The problem is that these two goals became mutually exclusive. Defeating Hamas meant conquering Gaza, eliminating the battalions of fighters and choking off the supply of weapons coming in from Egypt.

Getting the hostages back meant negotiating with Hamas and giving in to their demands, which included a total Israeli withdrawal from Gaza and the release of thousands of Hamas prisoners. Prime Minister Netanyahu was willing to agree to some demands, but he refused to give up the Philadelphi corridor, the narrow boundary between Gaza and Egypt over the past 17 years.

This is the place where Hamas used tunnels and the above ground crossing points to bring in weapons, supplies, ammunition and all the other items it used to attack Israel. Compounding all this is the total disunity in Israel. Opposition lawmakers have portrayed Netanyahu as an opportunist whose only goal is his survival. Every decision he makes is second guessed until there's virtually no level of trust. Here's my perspective.

John Sinwar, the leader of Hamas, was convicted of murder by Israel back in 1989 and given four life sentences. He spent 22 years in prison until he was released with over a thousand others in a prisoner exchange for one captured Israeli soldier. Wow. Was Israel happy to have that soldier back? Yes they were, but at the time, they failed to see that the release of Sinwar and a thousand others would eventually result in the loss of over 1200 Israeli lives and the capture of 250 hostages.

13 years later, now, I believe Netanyahu dug in his heels on the Philadelphi corridor because he knows Hamas needs it to remain in power and to rearm. But many Israelis and the US, unfortunately, are pressuring him to do just that, to get the remaining hostages back. Now. Right now, it's unclear how long Netanyahu will be able to survive in office. Israel's fractured politically, and the US is pressuring

him to give in to make a deal. He's facing life and death decisions that few politicians ever really face. He really needs our prayers for wisdom. Israel also needs our prayers. They're deeply divided as a nation. And you know, as Jesus said, a house divided against itself cannot stand. We need to be praying that the internal anger and hatred there will be replaced with unity.

off the resupply of weapons and ammunition to Hamas. And they did it all without causing mass starvation or killing large numbers of civilians, as the US and others had predicted. Sinwar is now more concerned about his own survival as Israel works to track his location and movements. Intelligence sources report that he's now surrounding himself with at least 20 handcuffed hostages to thwart any Israeli attack. Another problem Sinwar is facing is with the other terror groups in Gaza,

over which he appears to be losing control. These smaller groups are holding an unknown number of the hostages. They were upset when Sinwar was focusing on prioritizing the exchange of hostages for Hamas fighters, not members of their groups. They want a deal to include the release of all convicted terrorists, and they oppose the idea that the terrorists

released would be sent somewhere other than Gaza. Apparently, some of these smaller groups have stopped communicating with Sinwar and are threatening to kill the hostages they control if their demands aren't met. So the situation here, John, is just absolutely complex, and those demanding that Israel give in to Hamas's demands need to realize that Hamas itself isn't really in control of all Gaza or of all the hostages. That's Doctor.

Palestinian areas from Jewish areas. That separation barrier was built in response to the terrorist attacks, and it choked off that conflict. Now the barrier is still in place, and as a result, I don't believe the same level of terrorism will be experienced in Israel proper. Most of the current attacks are taking place against Jewish towns and settlements in the West Bank, and Israel is taking a very

aggressive role in attacking those terrorist infrastructure positions. Iran has been trying to smuggle weapons and explosives into the West Bank to help the terrorists, and Hamas's leadership has called on Palestinians to resume suicide bombings. Not one danger in all this is that the fighting, along with the reprisals by some of the more radical West Bank settlers, could end up driving Palestinians from the West Bank into Jordan,

creating a refugee crisis there. Iran would love to develop an armed terror cells in Jordan that could function much like Hezbollah does in Lebanon, and that would not be good for Jordan or for Israel. The goal should not be to create a refugee crisis for Jordan, but to provide peace, security and prosperity for Palestinians in the West Bank. And that's hopefully what's going to be happening as Israel goes after these terrorists, but not after the population in general.

a man standing with an outstretched arm and with wings. Well, they found seals before that had more of an Egyptian influence. This shows that indeed there was an Assyrian influence at the time, and that matches what the Bible says. So the seal is a good reminder that Jerusalem was the capital of Judah during this period, and a reminder that there was Egyptian influence and Assyrian influence, just like the Bible pictures during that time. Is this.

I couldn't resist the pun. We are heading for drive through history adventures. This is the land and the book. I'm John Gager hoping you're having a decent day. And before we head off for faraway adventures, though, let's talk about the adventure of sharing Christ with your unsaved Jewish friend. Here's a quick thought. You've been praying for that Jewish friend, and you know you need to witness to them. But part of you says, I really can't share Christ with

him or her. I mean, they know more than I do, right? Is that a safe way to think? Levi Hazen is executive director of Life in Messiah. I think we do fall into that thought, which we know is wrong. But tell us why that's wrong.

greater Bible scholar than somebody else. Or we don't have to know the biblical languages in order to share the truth of the simple gospel with our Jewish friends. The New Testament teaches us that we plant and water in our ministries, but it's always God who gives the growth. Even if an individual possessed the right answer for every question, it still would not be our right answers that saved a person. It's always God who does the work of saving.

So the next time, if you're hesitant to share your faith because you're afraid you'll lose a debate or you might not know the answer, just remember it's God working through the gospel message that has the ability to save, not us.

their two sons. Hey, Dave, I'm glad we could pull you over to the curb for a minute to stop and visit here on the land and the book.

so we really love taking people on location. That's kind of the secret sauce of our of our show is to kind of remind people that, hey, stories in the Bible, they actually happened in time, space, history. There's a place on the map you can go and explore. You know, where it happened. And so we get to kind of conjure up that imagination in the viewer and give them a reminder that the Bible, while it is so much more than a history book, it's certainly no less than

a history book. And it's got reliable stories that you can bank on.

linchpin on which history turns. And when you look at it through those lenses, John, we believe that it can get really exciting to explore history because you like you said, you sort of bring in theology with it as well, and you can see yourself as a viewer, as a participant in this narrative that God is weaving together from the beginning of time to the end.

what zany thing is he going to do next? You know, I'm not a I'm not an academic. I'm not an intellectual. I know just enough to be dangerous. But I do love history. And, uh, I'd like to have fun when I, when I travel and and when we go on these trips. And so hopefully a lot of that comes across on screen.

historicity of the stories in the Bible. And I think that could give people confidence when they consider their faith that it's not just some philosophy that might be an optional thing on the table in a buffet of options. No, this actually happened in time space, history. You can have confidence that your faith is grounded in real history, real people, real places, and real events. And taking people on that journey to see where they took place is, is an adventure.

And we think it really helps people learn and.

And I'll never forget the Alfa Romeo in Rome. We were driving around in Italy and we pulled over for gas, and we were pumping gas in the car, and I was the one holding the gas pump. And I just thought, man, how big is this fuel tank? It's never filling up. It just stood there for minutes. And we looked down and we were all standing in a puddle of gasoline because the fuel line had ruptured in this old vintage car.

And the vintage cars look really cool on camera, but it's a mixed bag because you do sometimes break down. And that's happened on multiple occasions.

written some books. He really has a strong grasp of archaeology and of history. And, you know, he brings a lot of academic credibility to the content that you hear coming out of my mouth. But, you know, if you want to talk about Bible history, you're going to be going to Israel quite a lot now. These days, that travel has slowed down quite a bit for obvious reasons, but we're excited. We'd love to go back at some point in the not too distant future. But you mentioned

the latest stuff. It's called Bible Backroads. That's mostly a studio based program that we've been working on for a couple of years, and we sort of take viewers from the studio out to a lot of the content that we've acquired from Israel and all over the Mediterranean region on these huge screens behind me, as I'm in the studio, it's almost like kind of a mr. Rogers, because it's all it's a garage theme. So I've got my Jeep

in there. I've got all my garage kitsch and all my paraphernalia that I've acquired over my travels all over the world. We use that with TV monitors and screens all over the place to really let this footage and this content we've acquired over the last really 20 years all over the world, and let that be a way to introduce people to our stuff that way.

it was finding an audience out there somewhere. And when we dug in, we realized that a significant percentage of our audience are homeschool families who use our shows as sort of a supplement to their history and Bible curriculum.

So we've really had homeschool families sort of living in our heads rent free for quite a while because we try to we try to check all the boxes, make it entertaining and An engaging and something that a young person would find interesting and entertaining and fun, but at the same time make it really robust with information and content,

rich and dense with history. And what we found is that a lot of these homeschool families, they watch the shows multiple times because they hear things they didn't hear the first time they saw the.

these programs. And so we've we've been building an audience that way and point people to that educational resource and are really excited about how it's growing and finding new audiences. I mean, the homeschool community is growing by leaps and bounds. You know, Covid really influenced a lot of families to consider homeschooling. And so we have seen our audience grow, and we are certainly invested in making more content for that. We've done a lot on the Bible, so that stuff's

always going to be there. And now we're sort of considering maybe doing more on how did Christianity influence North America and look at some eras in our own recent history. And sometimes that's going to be looking at stories involving America, how it was born, some of the wars. Civil war, World War two, things like that, that families are interested in making sure their kids grow.

his face because he loves this. Your questions, no matter how challenging, don't make him sweat. They make me sweat, though. All right, before we get to that first question, think about this. Fall is here again. And that means that the Jewish high Holidays are right around the corner. These biblical feasts have been celebrated for thousands of years, but this year, boy has added weight and significance as Jewish people around the world mark one year since the brutal

attack on Israel by Hamas terrorists. Boy, lots to think about there, Charlie.

the Feast of Tabernacles. You'll also hear how you can use these holidays as a point of connection with your Jewish neighbors, to show and share the love of Jesus with them. To sign up for this free teaching, all you have to do is visit Life in Messiah org, click on the Moody Radio logo and sign up. Be sure to sign up today and find out the fascinating connections between these feasts and Jesus at Life in messiah.org.

still alive. And Paul says this to support his words in verse 15, that those of us who are still alive at that time will in no way take priority or precede those who have died. Now I need to balance that, though, in Paul's message to the Corinthians. In first Corinthians 15, verses 51 and 52, Paul says that entire process, that is, those who are asleep and those who are still alive, who are caught up to be with Jesus will happen. He says in a moment, in

the twinkling of an eye. Now the word for moment is the Greek word atomos, which refers to an individual moment of time that can't be split. We get our word atom from it, and Paul further describes it as happening in the blink of an eye. So if I summarize it all, there's an order in the resurrection. But if we're still alive when it happens, we'll only be half a blink behind those who have already died. And I don't think we need to worry about waiting in

line when we arrive. I think God has all those logistics already worked out.

are a rebellious house. You know, Ezekiel needed to be stubborn and persistent, forehead like flint, because he'd be facing a nation that was absolutely stubborn in its rebellion against God. So there are times when steadfastness or stubbornness is a good thing. In describing the servant of the Lord in Isaiah 50. It's one of the servant songs that point to the work of Jesus. It says there because the

sovereign Lord helps me, I will not be disgraced. Therefore I have set my face like flint, and no, I will not be put to shame. So the servant was determined to accomplish God's will, even when it involved being mocked and spit upon. Now. Okay, let me land the plane here. Stubbornness and determination are two sides of the same coin. It's a commitment to continue in a certain

direction no matter what. Now, ultimately, the force of character can be either good or bad, depending on the relationship the person has to God and to his or her willingness to submit to God. So Ezekiel and Jesus were unwavering in their determination that in spite of pressure, they were going to stick with God and do what God wants. That's positive. But those who refuse to accept God and His Word, and the advice of godly people and who

stubbornly follow their own ways, they're foolish. So all that to say, those who are stubborn and who refuse to submit their will to that of the Lord do open themselves up to the results of foolish, sinful choices.

Hezbollah is that Hamas surprised Israel. They were able to capture hostages. Israel has evacuated tens of thousands of Israelis from its border with Lebanon to take that option away from Hezbollah, so they won't be hindered by any worries over hostages. But now, let me put it all in a biblical perspective. I go back to some foundational passages in Genesis 12 three. God said he'll bless those who

bless Israel and curse those who curse Israel. Well, that tells me where Nasrallah is in relationship to the God of the universe. In Zechariah 12 three, God talked about what will happen to the nation that threatens Jerusalem in the last days, he said. On that day, when all the nations of the earth are gathered against her, I will make Jerusalem an immovable rock for all the nations. All who try to move it will injure themselves. Now that tells me how to put those threats by Nasrallah

and others in perspective. In Psalm 83, the psalmist wrote, O God, do not keep silent. Do not be quiet. Do not be still. See how your enemies are astir. Know your foes rear their heads with cunning. They conspire against your people. They plot against your cherished. Come, they say. Let's destroy them as a nation. And then, if you want to keep reading that Psalm 83, just read verses 13 to 18 and we're told how that story is going to end.

saved in acts 16? It looks like Lydia wasn't married, but she wants to be a Christian, and Peter tells wives how to respect and show love to their unbelieving husbands. So please explain women's accountability to God in terms of salvation, especially prior to Christ's death and resurrection.

words are intended to be inclusive without regard to gender. Now, it's true that much of the biblical account focuses on the exploits and faith of men, but it doesn't do so to the exclusion of women. I love the images of faith presented by Rahab at Jericho, or by Deborah in the Book of Judges, by Ruth, and in the book that has her name and the portrait of a

wife of noble character in Proverbs 31 is remarkable. Now, in the New Testament, Lydia, as you mentioned, is an amazing woman who is the first convert to Christianity in Europe. So whether before or after the death of Christ, faith came by hearing and hearing by the Word of God. And both women and men responded to that message.

with him. Now. In that last clause, Paul's describing how our old self was crucified together with Christ on the cross. In verse seven, Paul is then continuing his argument. The word for freed comes from the word meaning to pronounce righteous or to justify, and the word is in the perfect tense, describing a past act with continuing results. And his point is that since our old self was crucified with Christ, we've been freed in the sense of having

been declared righteous because of Christ's death for us. So it's referring to the continued standing of a believer because of what Christ's death for us was on the cross.

I think Mark 1542 clearly shows the day of the crucifixion was the day before the start of the Sabbath, because it says when evening had come, because it was the preparation day, that is the day before the Sabbath. And then, of course, all four Gospels make it clear that Jesus was resurrected on Sunday.

I believed him as he would say that. But I must say that as I began to read scripture, my mind would always go back to those events and where Jesus had been, the picking up a stone and thinking that that was the very valley that David had picked up a stone to kill Goliath, but it reminds me again and again that it was God's hand that gave. Strength to David as he flung that and killed a giant. Thinking about giants in my own life, and my allowing Jesus to be the one that takes the stones that

are around me. His scriptures and slays the the giants that I, I struggle with daily. I highly recommend the trip to Israel. It will change your life.

of course, is the Greek word for horse. You might have learned that somewhere back in school, when you learned about the word hippopotamus. That comes from two Greek words hippos for horse and potamus for river. But where we're standing today, it doesn't matter whether you use the Hebrew name or the Greek name. Either way, this is horse town. Hippos was one of the group of ten Hellenistic cities

on the eastern end of the Roman Empire. At the time of the New Testament they were collectively called the Decapolis, which is the Greek meaning ten cities. And no, this isn't a Greek lesson today. That's the last Greek word I'll use so you can breathe easier. Susita or hippos is one of the northernmost of the towns in the Decapolis. Look just over to the west and you can see that this town is sitting almost halfway up the eastern

side of the Sea of Galilee. Now we think of the Sea of Galilee as being a Jewish area in the time of Jesus, and much of it was. But starting here and heading south all the way to modern day Amman, Jordan, was an area dominated by Greek speaking gentiles. A ridge of land just to the north of where we're standing was the dividing line between the Jews and Gentiles. On this side of the lake. As you can see, hippos provides an impressive view of the Sea of Galilee.

Just across the lake is the city of Tiberius, and just to the north of Tiberius, you can make out the silhouette of Mount Arbel, with its steep cliff that provides a panoramic view of the lake from that side. Continue north along the lake, and you soon come to the cities where Jesus spent most of his time. In fact, most of Jesus's ministry in Galilee focused on the towns

along the northern edge of the lake. Archaeologists excavating here have discovered the remains of eight different churches from the Byzantine period. That's a lot of churches for a relatively small city. They've also uncovered the remains of a theatre and an odeon, which is a smaller theatre used for musical performances and poetry readings, and they found remains of the main street that extended from east to west through the centre of the town. This was a thoroughly modern town,

but it wasn't perfect. See that row of columns that are toppled over over there? Much like the larger cities of Beit She'an and Jerash to the south, Hippus was destroyed by a massive earthquake that tore through this region in 749 AD. On the far west side of town is a church, sometimes called the Burnt Church because it was destroyed by fire, possibly by the Persians in the early seventh century. What makes this church so special are

the inscriptions and the mosaics discovered there. But to explain why these mosaics are so important, I need to share a second reason. This site is significant. To our north, in the far northeastern end of the Sea of Galilee, is where Jesus fed the 5000, and the actual number fed was much greater. Matthew says there were 5000 men besides women and children. There could have been as many

as 10,000 who were fed. We don't know the exact spot where that miracle took place, but we do know it was somewhere to our north, not very many miles away. So what does that miracle have to do with this town and more specifically with that particular church? Well, as the archaeologists began uncovering the mosaics on the floor, they discovered baskets with something inside. 12 baskets filled with something. And while some suggest they represent fruit, the archaeologist believes

the number is significant. He thinks they could represent the 12 baskets of leftover bread that were collected once the multitude had been fed. But there's a third reason we've come to this site today, and it might just be the most important one of all. You see, this is the hometown of the demon possessed man healed by Jesus. And from here we can gain new insight into that event.

The gospel accounts record several different names for the place where Jesus encountered the man possessed by a legion of demons. Matthew records the exact spot where it happened. While Mark and Luke record the nearest major town that would have been known to their Roman and Greek audiences. Matthew places the event at Gergesa, a seaside village just over the ridge of land to our north, about four miles away. Now, you probably remember most of the details from that story.

Jesus encountered the man after arriving on the east side of the lake. The man was possessed by so many demons that he was known as Legion, and he lived in the tombs cut into the hillside by the town. When Jesus commanded the demons to depart, they asked to be sent into a herd of swine on a nearby hillside. Jesus granted the request, and the demons entered the swine, who rushed down the steep bank into the sea and drowned.

All well and good. But the story raises two questions. First, what were pigs doing in a story about the Jewish Messiah? After all, pigs were considered unclean to the Jews. But again, look at the hillside just to our north. That's the border between the Jewish region where Jesus landed and the

Gentile region where we're now standing. The pigs were grazing on that hill right on the border, but they belonged to the Gentiles living on this side of the hill, likely from the people who lived in this very town. And that leads to the second question. Does the town where we're now standing play any role in the story? Now, it's not the place where Jesus encountered the demon possessed man, but it does play a role. Listen to the final verses in Mark's account of the event in Mark five,

verses 18 to 20. As Jesus was getting into the boat, the man who had been demon possessed begged to go with him. Jesus did not let him, but said, go home to your family and tell them how much the Lord has done for you and how he has had mercy on you. So the man went away and began to tell in the Decapolis how much Jesus had done for him. And all the people were amazed. Where was this man from? He's from the region of the Decapolis, almost certainly from the town of Hippos or Susita, where

we're now standing. This is the town the man returned to. We don't know if it was because of his witness, but quite possibly this town saw a large number come to know the Lord. And maybe that's why this relatively small place ended up with so many churches. So what's the lesson for us as we get ready to leave? How about this? God wants us to tell others about him. And frankly, that thought can be frightening to many. But just remember, you don't have to preach to thousands to

be effective. The man who returned to his family and horse town simply told them about his encounter with Jesus and how it had changed his life. But that simple message, accompanied by a dramatic change in his life, ultimately impacted this entire city. Dwight Moody spoke to millions about Christ, but before that could ever happen, God used Edward Kimball to share the message of God's love with a young moody, when Moody was just a salesman in a shoe store.

Just tell others what God has done for you and then trust God to do the rest.

program and to share us with a friend. Go to the land and the book.org. Well, that'll do it for today's broadcast. On behalf of our producer Dan Anderson, our host, Charlie Dyer, I'm John Gager. The land and the book is a production of Moody Radio, a ministry of Moody Bible Institute.