When were the first maps of the Holy Land created? And what tools did those ancient cartographers use? How do today's maps of the region influence the Arab-Israeli conflict? Well, that's our focus coming up. As always, we'll take plenty of time to answer your Bible questions. Plus bring you the latest headlines from the Middle East. That's all ahead this week on the program we call the Land and the book. Hey, welcome. If you're new, welcome. If you're
not new, we're glad to have you back. I'm John Gieger, glad to connect as well with your friend and mine, Middle East expert Doctor Charlie Dyer. And this week, Charlie, it just feels like the Middle East has once again been shaken like a snow globe.
Oh, John. It has. You know, I'm a news junkie, and I found myself going back again and again just to find out the events that are happening are moving at such a rapid pace. Uh, but yeah, it's incredible. It's like seeing all the the snow flying around in that globe.
Well, as we zoom out just a bit, we have to ask ourselves, at this season of the year, what does Passover mean for us as believers in Jesus? Some might remember the story from the book of Exodus, but there's so much more to it. Did you know that the Last Supper was actually a Passover meal? And not only did Jesus and his disciples celebrate Passover, it also foreshadowed his death on the cross for our redemption.
That's right, John. In fact, Jewish people have been keeping the feast of Passover for thousands of years. Understanding the history and importance of this holiday will help you connect better with your Jewish friends and neighbors. And what better way is there to learn about Passover than to experience a Passover Seder yourself? If you've never celebrated Passover, our friends at Life in Messiah would love to partner with
you in hosting a Seder experience. Every year, their staff engage churches and small groups in an interactive Messiah in the Passover Seder, allowing participants to taste and see the redemption story. Now, if you're interested in having someone come lead a Seder in your area, visit Life in Messiah Org and click on the radio button there to learn more. That's life in Messiah.
Thank you Charlie. No doubt at the center of the very swirled up snow globe situation in the Middle East is the ongoing conflict, the drama with the hostages between Hamas and Israel. And while, at least in theory, there's a ceasefire in hostage exchange in place between Israel and Hamas, everything took a dramatic turn on Monday when Hamas announced it was suspending the further release of hostages. What reason did they give and what's been happening since then?
Yeah, Hamas announced it was suspending the release of hostages until further notice because of what it called Israeli violations. In reality, Hamas is manipulating the hostages and the negotiations for its own cynical political advantages, trying to use Israel's anguish over the deteriorating physical condition of those hostages to force Israel to make additional concessions. The expected protests in Israel did take place, but then something very unexpected happened.
President Trump issued his own stark warning to Hamas. He demanded that all hostages be released at once by noon, February 15th. Otherwise, he said, it will be a different ballgame. Now, he used some other words as well, but we'll leave those unsaid right here. His clear message, though, was that he would give Israel the green light to resume the war, to eliminate Hamas if all the hostages aren't released. Hamas
responded by saying the president's threats have no value. Israel called up reserves and sent additional soldiers to the Gaza border area. Prime Minister Netanyahu said Israel would resume fighting if the hostages aren't released and the cease fire deal collapses. And that's where the situation stands as we record this program before the actual arrival of that deadline. In spite of all the cheering and jeering and hand-wringing and and threats that have been going about. Here's what we do
know right now. A majority of Israelis really don't want to go back to war. They want the hostages to come home, even if it means allowing Hamas to remain in control of Gaza. Their fear is that renewed fighting will result in the deaths of the remaining hostages who are still alive, along with the deaths of additional soldiers. Hamas, in spite of its tough talk, also doesn't really want renewed fighting because this time Israel won't be restrained by
the US to hold back. They'll push for the total destruction of Hamas's political and military infrastructure. Israel has provided an off ramp to the current crisis by saying it would continue to adhere to the ceasefire deal if Hamas releases the sixth group of hostages on Saturday, in accordance with the terms of the agreement. And that leaves us with all eyes on Hamas to see what they'll do this weekend and then on into the future.
From Moody Radio. This is the land and the book. Our host, doctor Charlie Dyer. I'm John Yeager. We're looking at current events from the Middle East this week. Lebanon has formed a new government, the first since 2022. How important is this milestone and could it help bring about peace between Lebanon and Israel?
Well, the formation of this new government is a good thing and it comes with some very positive signs. You know, Lebanon's government is arranged along religious lines. The president is always a maronite Christian. The speaker of the parliament is always a Shiite Muslim, and the prime minister is always a Sunni Muslim. In 2008, an agreement was reached that allowed any one of those three, in essence, to have veto power in the Council of Ministers, the the executive
body of the country. Well, Hezbollah effectively used that power to hold the country hostage by blocking issues that required the two thirds vote or more to pass. Over the past six years, Lebanon has experienced several traumatic events, beginning in 2019, with the collapse in the value of its
currency that led to a banking crisis and a debt crisis. Then, just one year later in 2020, there was a massive explosion in the port of Beirut that killed at least 218, injured 7000, and destroyed a major portion of the area around the harbor. Most assumed the explosion was caused by Hezbollah storing ammonium nitrate at the port. But Hezbollah has
blocked an investigation. Finally, over the past year, Hezbollah fired rockets into Israel, and that led Israel to respond with devastating airstrikes on Hezbollah's sites and leadership in Lebanon, severely weakening the group but also impacting the infrastructure of the country. The US and Europe pushed to have Lebanon form a new government without Hezbollah's stranglehold. And apparently that has now succeeded. Now, will it bring about peace between Israel and Lebanon? Probably not.
At least not anytime soon. Iran is still trying to rearm Hezbollah until Iran's influence is removed. It seems unlikely that Hezbollah will sit by and allow Lebanon to make peace with Israel. However, if Iran's influence is reduced and if the latest conflict with Hamas can be resolved, and if Israel is then able to make peace with Saudi Arabia, then peace between Israel and Lebanon might just follow. But, John, there are a lot of ifs in that pathway to peace.
Well, I heard a lot. I didn't count them, but there's a lot there. Well, here's an interesting story. For the first time in over two years, Israel has officially entered a period of drought. What's been happening weather wise? And has this created any short term problems for the country?
Yeah. Israel's water authority has publicly declared that the current winter is one of the most arid in recent years, and is on course to be the driest in a century. Israel's winter rainy season extends from October to March. But thus far they've only had one single heavy downpour. Up till this past weekend, the Sea of Galilee had risen less than one inch. And the flow of the Jordan River was the lowest since 1960. Now rainfall totals do
totals do vary by region in northern Israel. Nazareth has only received about 70% of its normal year to date rainfall, or that's about 50% of what it would get for the annual total. Further south, though, along the coast those numbers dropped to 60% of the year to date rainfall and 45% of the total. In Jerusalem, it drops still more. They've only gotten 50% of the year to date average rainfall, and only a third of the year to date total annual rainfall. But there is a silver lining in this
cloudless sky, John. Beginning last weekend and continuing on through this past Wednesday, a series of storms did move in from the Mediterranean, providing a little relief, and Israel's desalination plants continue to supply the country with water from the Mediterranean. Some of that's even being piped into the Sea of
Galilee to help replenish it. Right now, the Sea of Galilee is holding steady at just over eight feet below the upper Red line, which is the lake's maximum capacity, and just over 5.5ft above the lower red line, which is the lowest level they ever want it to reach. Hopefully there'll be more storms on the horizon through this month and into early March to make up for the shortfall this fall. You know, God said rain is a blessing.
And right now, the people in Israel are in fact, the entire region are hoping to receive some of that blessing before the dry summer months arrive, for sure.
Our final story takes us to the beautiful Greek island of Santorini, which unfortunately has been experiencing a swarm of earthquakes. How serious is the threat facing the island and what potential impact could it have on surrounding countries?
Yeah, this swarm. And so right now it's more than 12,000 earthquakes. It began on January 28th. It continues even as we're speaking. Scientists don't know if the swarm will simply cease on its own, or if it's leading up to a much larger earthquake in the near future. The good news, if there is any when it comes to earthquakes,
is that these aren't volcanic earthquakes. A Santorini was one of the world's largest volcanic eruptions back in 1600 B.C. that caused the collapse of the Minoan civilization on Crete. But the greater risk right now with this one is that a major earthquake might generate a tsunami that could reach out across the region. Greece placed Santorini under a
state of emergency. Turkey's Disaster and Emergency Management Authority is looking carefully at the coastline of Turkey, which is about 100 miles away, and Israel's National Security Council is looking as well, even though they're nearly 750 miles away. Uh, let's hope that these swarms of earthquakes subside without leading to a much larger earthquake in the near future. For the people on the island and for all the surrounding nations, holding their breath and hoping not to see that tsunami.
And that's a look at current events. Up next, mapping the Holy Land. Insights into the first maps ever created on the land. And the book. When were the first maps of the Holy Land first drawn on paper? And what tools did those ancient cartographers really use? How did today's maps of the region influence the Arab-Israeli conflict? Well, that's our focus next. Welcome to the land and the book from Moody Radio. I'm John Gieger, inviting you into
a conversation about mapping the Holy Land. What do you say we welcome our guest, Jean-Pierre Isbouts, along with Neil Asbury. He has coauthored Mapping the Holy Land An Illustrated Atlas. Jean-Pierre is a professor in the social Sciences PhD program at Fielding Graduate University in Santa Barbara, California, and an archaeologist, author, screenwriter, director and producer. I've looked at some of his work. It's a great collection, and we've got a lot of
regard for what you're doing. With that, welcome to the land and the book, Jean-Pierre.
John, it's my pleasure. Thank you.
Well, what do we know about the oldest surviving maps of the Holy Land? How old are they? And what is their origin?
Well, of course we we don't know exactly what maps exist during the time of the great kingdoms of Israel and Judah. The oldest map that's in the book is actually a Babylonian map of the world from the second millennium B.C. so in clay it was a clay tablet. So unfortunately, once paper starts to be used, paper is very brittle. It's very vulnerable. And so not much of that has survived. But we do have reconstructions of these
earliest maps and during the Roman time. So let's say this is the time of the first century, the time of Jesus. In fact, the oldest map in the book was created by a Roman geographer called Pomponius Mela, and he created a map of the world in which Palestina, as it was called in those days, and Judea, are very clearly marked at the center of the map. And that's the map we're very proud of. And that's really
at the heart of the book. And from that point on, we chart how the developments in the Holy Land from the Roman period, from the time of Jesus all through the Persian conquest and the Muslim conquest, have affected the way people imagine the Holy Land, especially Christian pilgrims who use these maps to come to the Holy Land.
Okay, so you mentioned the difficulty of of hanging on to paper copies of these maps, but how were these oldest of the oldest that are still extant survive? How were they preserved? Time and elements are not friends to printed things, as we've already discussed.
No. That's true. And we have to thank really the scribes, first of the period in Spain. Andalusia. When Spain was basically ruled by Muslims, and they built large libraries who basically preserved the great texts of Greek and Roman authors. They, of course, transcribed them and copied them, and from them from these great libraries in Al-Andalus, which is Andalusia today.
They were transferred to the monasteries of the Great Western Europe, the Benedictine, all these other great monasteries that emerged during the Dark Ages and became really centers of European culture. And they preserved these maps. And so the most important map which is throughout the book is the map created by a geographer called Ptolemy in the second century, who created maps of the world, and particularly the Holy Land, which would be copied for centuries to come.
An intriguing journey to the Holy Land, as told by the rare maps and prints that we have today That's mapping the Holy Land. Our conversation on the land and the book with our guest, doctor Jean-Pierre Isbouts. What tools did ancient cartographers use? They had no laser measuring things. No views from space, no Google Maps, certainly. What did they use?
They used what we call portolan charts, which are basically maps that are drawn by mariners. You know, obviously, particularly in the second century, there were many scheduled services by ship throughout the Mediterranean. It's amazing. You know, you could book a seat on a ship from Alexandria to Rome even as far as Britain. And these scheduled services obviously required captains who knew how to navigate their way across
the Mediterranean. And so we believe that it was these trade portolan charts that these captains used all the way, in fact, to what we believe is Southeast Asia. Roman traders were believed to go as far as India. Some believe as far as Vietnam and even China, where the Romans were customers of silk. Chinese silk made its appearance
in the Roman Empire in the second century AD. So thanks to these great trade routes that we have, the the great maps by Ptolemy and so many other great geographers that were to come afterwards.
In addition to the very colorful and plentiful maps in this book, I noticed you do a remarkable job of explaining in your text thousands of years of history in a relatively few number of pages. I was just amazed. I take my hat off to you, Jean-Pierre. But how difficult was that part of the process?
Well, I've been very blessed, John. As a historian, I was asked in 2006 by National Geographic to write a book called The Biblical World, which describes the world of the Hebrew Bible and the New Testament from its geographical, political, social viewpoint. And I had the full services of the cartography section of National Geographic. That book, The Biblical World, became a worldwide bestseller. I don't know who was more surprised, my editor or myself, but in any case, they printed
close to half a million copies of that book. It's been translated in many languages, and since then I wrote many other books for National Geographic about In the footsteps of Jesus and so forth. So I've become very, very obviously very familiar with the history of the Holy Land. But, you know, John, my goal is always to make texts like these accessible to the general reader. These are not scholarly works. I mean, I write scholarly articles, but maybe two guys and a dog will read those. It's the
right books for that. Everyone can enjoy that. A family can gather around and browse through these beautiful illustrations and and read the text and enrich their lives. And particularly for Christians, it's it's so important for us to know how the Holy Land shaped the stories of the Gospels and everything that was to follow. So that's really my target audience.
Our guest today on the land and the book is Jean-Pierre Isbouts. He has co-authored Mapping the Holy Land An Illustrated Atlas. When did the idea of including a sense of distance, a scale, you know, one inch equals x amount of meters or miles? What did that become commonplace?
That became commonplace in the Renaissance? So what you see in the Renaissance are two things. You see, first of all, the invention of the printing press, which is very, very important.
In fact, the Reformation could not have succeeded as it did, were it not that the words of Martin Luther and John Calvin were printed in booklets and spread rapidly throughout the Empire, and second of all, nautical charts and nautical measuring instruments were introduced in the 16th century, particularly developed in Florence during the time of the Medicis, who ruled
Florence in the 16th and 17th centuries. And that's when you see that the compass and other important instruments were developed, which allowed people to measure these distances. And in fact, the first maps that use these distances are the ones from the 17th century, which we call the golden era of cartography, when you can really see rhumb lines and other ways of measuring the distance between these various territories,
which of course was very important. If you planned a journey, you wanted to know how much food and water you were supposed to bring along. So yeah, that's really an invention of the Renaissance.
Have the ways that we use maps evolved over the over the years with the increasing sophistication and accuracy, or no. We've pretty much always used the maps the way we've used maps.
Oh, no. No, John, you're absolutely right. It changed a lot. I mean, as I said, first there were documents for trade. Then, you see, in the wake of the Reformation, it is very, very interesting, you see that Bibles are being printed now with the printing press, and it is specifically Protestant Bibles, not Catholic Bibles, but Protestant Bibles, who first of all printed the Gospels in the vernacular, whatever local language you know,
you might find. And second of all, it is these Protestant Bibles who begin to print maps with the text of the Gospels and of the Old Testament, because they were really keen that people understood the social and geographical and the historical context of the stories. And one very prominent feature of Protestant Bibles is the Exodus, and they are countless maps, beautiful maps, hand-colored in many cases of
the route of the exodus from Egypt. Because just as Moses led his people from Egypt into the Promised Land, so did Martin Luther and John Calvin, and countless people like them lead Christians away from the papacy into the Promised Land. Or at least that was the view of the Protestants. And then Catholic Bibles finally began to follow
that example. And so, you see, starting in the 18th century, that Catholic Bibles begin to include maps and engravings of the Second Temple and important locations where these events took place as well. And then by the 19th century, a total change, the Christian connotation of the maps of the Holy Land, including the placement of the 12 tribes of Israel sort of falls away, and now maps gain far
more political character. The geographers who created these are really more interested in the political and the geographical features, because guess what? This is the time of the construction of the Suez Canal. And the British primarily were very concerned that the surrounding territory, including what was then called Ottoman Palestine, would be accessible to troops in the event of trouble.
And when they needed to protect the Suez Canal. And those are the maps that General Allenby used as he conquered Palestine and entered Jerusalem in 1917, near the end of the World War one. And, of course, for the rest of that period, until 1947, Palestine was British ruled territory. And that gets us into the modern era.
Jean-Pierre Isbouts has co-authored Mapping the Holy Land An Illustrated Atlas. He is a professor in the Social Sciences PhD program of Fielding Graduate University in Santa Barbara, California, and an archaeologist, author, a screenwriter, director and producer. Let me ask you, how do you look at today's maps when you try to process the Arab-Israeli conflict? Do those maps somehow influence that conflict?
Oh, absolutely. I mean, maps have become crucial. And in fact, John, this is interesting because originally the book was supposed to end in the 19th century, and then the October 7th invasion of Israel by Hamas took place. And we placed the call to our publisher, Apollo Publishers, and we said, we need to end this book now. We can't just stop in the 19th century because maps are so critical. Now, as we decide, you know, how do Palestinians and Israelis
can live in peace together? And they agreed. They postponed the release of the of the book. And so I wrote a last chapter with Neil. Which brings us all up to date on the situation, including Gaza in the 21st century. And the most important thing is that we include the map from 1947, when the United Nations. Agreed by majority on the division of Palestine into a Jewish state and an Arab state. This was the two state solution that we're still talking about. And it was agreed
in 1947 that this would take place. And we have that map in there and the Jewish Agency led by David Ben-Gurion. They weren't terribly happy with the way the division was made, but okay, they accepted it. And thus the State of Israel was born. The Arab League, on the other hand, did not agree, and as a result, the Arab states invaded what was then the newborn state of Israel really trying to push the Israelis into the Mediterranean Sea. And of course, as we know, that war
was won by Israel. 60% of the land allotted to the Arab territories were taken. And guess what? This is something that most people don't realize. The West Bank and Gaza were then not given to the Palestinian people, as the United Nations had ruled. They were taken. They were annexed. The West Bank was annexed by Jordan or Transjordan, as it was called at the time, and Gaza was taken as property by Egypt. And that's why the Palestinian people never had a chance. And often people blame a lot
of people for the conflict. But it was really the fact that the Arab states did not turn over the West Bank and Gaza, which were the two remnants of the Arab state decreed by the United Nations, back to the To the Palestinians, they were taken. And that's really the seed of all of the conflicts that have come ever since.
Well, so much to learn, so much to look at in this book, Mapping the Holy Land. We encourage you to check it out. There's a link at our website. Jean-Pierre, it's been a great conversation. I love your enthusiasm and thanks for keeping it simple.
John, this is wonderful. Thanks for having me.
You betcha. Up next on the land and the book A return to Your Bible questions. I'm looking forward to the answers next. Right here. I'm not even sure it's possible to open the Bible and read more than one or 2 or 3 verses and not have a question of some kind. I am John Gager. At least that's my experience. Welcome back to segment three of The Land and the book, and your questions are very much at the front and center of what we're about to do. They come to us via email. I'll share that email
address later on. First, though, a quick thought. What does Passover mean for us as believers in Jesus? Some might remember the story from the book of Exodus, but there's so much more to it. For example, did you know that the Last Supper was actually a Passover meal? Not only did Jesus and his disciples celebrate Passover, it's also
foreshadowing his death on the cross for our redemption. Jewish people have been observing the feast of Passover for thousands of years, and understanding the history and importance of this holiday will help you better connect with your Jewish friends and neighbors. And what better way is there to learn about Passover than to experience a Passover Seder yourself? If you have never celebrated Passover. Well, our friends at Life in Messiah would love to partner with you in hosting
a Seder experience. Every year, their staff engage churches and small groups in an interactive Messiah in the Passover Seder, allowing participants to taste and see the redemption story. So if you're interested in interested in having somebody come lead a Seder in your area, visit Life in Messiah and click on the Moody Radio button there to learn more. Again, that's life in Messiah with me in the studio, Doctor Gerald Peterman of the Moody Bible Institute faculty. How's your day going, sir?
Well, I've avoided frostbite, so I'm doing well.
All right, let's dig into our questions with this one from Stan, who takes us to Exodus 2319. Where it says the first of the first fruits of thy land. Thou shalt bring into the house of the Lord thy God. Thou shalt not see the a kid in his mother's milk. And Exodus 3426 says, the first of the first fruits of thy land, thou shalt bring it to the house of the Lord thy God. Thou shalt not see the kid in his mother's milk. All right. He wants to know. Don't boil a kid in his mother's milk. Why did
God have Moses write this? Can your Jewish expertise help me answer this? And I think it it might be a way to avoid prions disease. Prions only comes from eating infected meats. Is it possible that the DNA in the mother and the baby could become infected, creating mad cows disease or chronic wasting disease of deer? I know this is getting complex, but I'd love to hear some Jewish perspectives on this law.
Yeah, good. Well, the law against boiling a kid in his mother's milk is in these two verses you mentioned, and also one in Deuteronomy 14. Now, I've actually never heard this about a theory about prions disease. And maybe God, in his great wisdom and his omniscience, is giving this
as a health concern, but I doubt it. I think the best way to understand these verses is that God wants his people, and their sacrifices that they bring to be holy, to be set apart for him, and to be different from the pagan religious practices around them, because all around them in the land of Israel would be
all worship and all sorts of corrupt worship. This difference, indeed this holiness, is implied in the Deuteronomy passage about this, which says, you shall not eat anything that has died naturally. You may give it to the sojourners within your towns, that he may eat it, or you may sell it to a foreigner. For you are a people holy to the Lord your God. You shall not boil a goat
in its mother's milk. So I think the practice is forbidden because it's a pagan practice which God forbids for his people.
Okay. Great answer. Hope that's helpful. There, Stan. Aaron says, is the Euphrates River mentioned in Genesis two before the flood? The same river mentioned in revelation? I thought the flood changed the earth so dramatically that features like rivers would have been completely changed or destroyed.
Yeah, I appreciate that. Certainly. When the flood came, it caused all sorts of changes. But but of course, we can't know exactly what those changes were. So I think the short answer is yes, we're dealing with the same river later in Genesis. Genesis 15, God makes a covenant about the promised Land to Abraham, with the river Euphrates as its eastern border. So here we're, you know, after the flood and the Euphrates River is there as a border.
And then later, centuries later with Solomon, the Euphrates is not just the promised border, but the actual geographic border of the kingdom. So I take it the short answer is yes. The river in revelation and the river in Genesis are the same river.
You're listening to the land and the book with Doctor Gerald Peterman answering questions. I'm John Gieger. Yours is welcome at the land and the book at. Pat says, I recently read a book that had a chapter or two on the different genealogies, two of them given for Jesus in Matthew one. And then in Luke three. The author gave his explanation for them both about Jeconiah being cursed so he'd be childless, and then being listed as the
father of Shealtiel and the two different fathers listed for Joseph. Now, I've looked at several other books since then and each one has a different opinion. Can you help me untangle this?
Well, I hope so. First, in the ancient world, we have to keep in mind that genealogies are serving a serving a purpose that it's kind of unusual for us. So Matthew has 41 names and Luke has 57 names, so they're obviously doing something a little bit different. As for Jeconiah, he's also known as Konia and sometimes known as Jehoiachin. Was he childless? In the typical sense that we think about it, let's go to Jeremiah 22 and
we're going to start at verse 28. Quote. Is this man konia a despised broken pot, a vessel no one cares for? Why are he and his children hurled and cast into the land? They do not know. Oh, land, land! Hear the word of the Lord. Thus says the Lord God, write this man down as childless, a man who will not succeed in his days, for none of his offspring will sit upon the throne. So Jeconiah is not actually childless, just childless in the sense of the kingdom does not keep going through him.
Okay. Important distinction. Thank you for that. Judy wants to know when Jesus was 12 years old, the religious teachers were amazed at all he knew and taught. My question were these the same religious leaders who wanted him crucified? 18 years later, this.
Question really made me think and I just love that. So thanks so much for the question. The time when Jesus at 12 years old was astonishing. The religious leaders. That's Luke two. So the short answer is we really can't know exactly whether the leaders then are the same ones at the time of his crucifixion, because that's, as you mentioned, 18 years later. But I suspect there was
a lot of overlap when our Lord was 12. Perhaps the religious leaders were in their 40s or 50 or 60, so perhaps a number of them have died, but perhaps a number of them are still alive when we come to how they treat him horribly several years later, let's look at a slightly different example. You recall the triumphal entry in Luke 19. Yes, Jesus is coming in and the crowd is praising him and the crowd is joyful and they're calling him King of Israel. And then one
week later, the crowd shouts for his crucifixion. So I think part of this question is, how can there be such a radical change over the course of maybe even a week, or just a few years? Well, there are several examples of that in Scripture.
Marvin asks, do we know how many years there were between Noah and Abraham? What are we to make of the gaps that are apparently there? How do we account on a larger scale for China, for example, with a 5000 year history? How does this fit in? Or are these people just wrong? Do they not allow for more time? Do you know of any good book that matches Bible history to world history? Some people say the Bible isn't true because it doesn't fit historical data. Maybe non-Christian historians
data is not accurate. Your thoughts?
Well, according to Genesis seven, Noah is 600 years old at the time of the flood. Blood. And then in Genesis 929, we find that he lived 350 years after the flood. Then if we go to Genesis 11 and we follow the list of descendants, we find that Abraham was born 292 years after the flood. So in other words, their lives overlapped a little bit. As for China's 5000 year history, that's not a problem. The Bible doesn't tell us the history of all people groups. It focuses on
the people of God. But if we look at biblical history, and with 2000 years since the life of Christ, then all of biblical history comes out to be 6000 years. So 5000 years of Chinese history is not a problem. Lastly, a good book. Yes, there is one by Doctor Stephen Leston the Bible in World History How History and Scripture intersect. From 2011.
All right. Interesting question. And I appreciate that resource that you were able to provide. Here's a question from Ken, who takes us to Genesis 219. Got a lot of Genesis type questions today. Verse 19 of chapter two says that out of the ground God created the fowls of the air and the beasts of the field. So were the sea creatures created out of nothing.
That's a great question, Ken. I'm sorry. I don't know the answer. We're not told exactly. But we see that God can create out of nothing, and he can create using something that he's previously made. So we come to Genesis 124. What do we find? God said, let the earth bring forth living creatures. This is similar to Genesis 120 And God said, let the waters swarm with swarms of living creatures. So the commonality is God creates by his powerful command.
Well, thank you, Jerry. And, you know, we have covered a lot of ground today, as we always do. And maybe you'd like to join this conversation with a question of your own. You're welcome to do that any old time. You can just email us at The Land and the book at. That's a mouthful. Let me slow it down. The land and the book at Moody's. You may well know that we've got a podcast at our website for you to take advantage of that if you're not already.
More importantly, we'd love for you to share us with a friend. You know, there's no advertising budget here, and you're letting somebody else know about the podcast is a great endorsement and we'd appreciate you doing that. Again, you'll find the podcast at The Land and the book.org. Charlie Dyer's devotional is coming up next here on the land and the book. Hope you stick around. We're sure glad for your company today at the Land and the book.
You've got lots of choices and you're spending time with us and we say thank you. In a recent visit out to the Boston area, I remember visiting the bridge from which the shot that was heard around the around the world was fired the start of the American Revolution. There's a a statue there. And there was an inscription on that statue I read, and boy, it really, really kind of tugged at my heart. But Charlie, your devotional is about an inscription of a different type. Is that right?
It is. It's one that goes back much earlier in time and I think is incredibly relevant for those of us who love the Bible.
We're looking forward to your devotional, which we're going to get to after this Holy Land experience. Listen.
Hi. I'm fearless and I cherish this Holy Land experience because it confirms that everything in Scripture makes sense down to the smallest detail. Doctor Dyer took us up to the top of Mount Carmel, where Elijah and our Lord took care of the priests of Baal. And then Scripture reports that Elijah scampered down the mountain and beat Ahab home. How can that happen? Seeing the terrain, I could very
well understand. I could probably do it myself. We visited Engedi, where Saul and his thousands of troops chased after David for months and months. And you think he should be able to find David? But I saw the holes in the rocks and the cracks and the ruggedness of the terrain, and it all made sense. And then just yesterday, I believe we visited Ayla Valley and stopped at this inconsequential
and very inconvenient place. And Doctor Dyer read scripture and painted the picture of how the Philistine army came up from the sea and covered the hills on one side of the valley. And Saul and the troops were protecting the road leading to Bethlehem and Jerusalem. And how David walked into the brook and picked up his five smooth stones. And the brook still has an adequate number of smooth stones.
All right, Charlie, take us to your continuing series, 11 inscriptions.
Yeah. And today we're beginning this multi-part series, which I'm calling 11 inscriptions to the Bible. We'll be exploring 11 archaeological finds, written inscriptions that have given us new insight into our understanding of God's Word. So lace up your boots, grab your shovel. Don't forget your Indiana Jones fedora. Today's journey takes us to the plaza just outside the main gate of the ancient city of Dan. As we walk up to the gate, I have so many things I
want to show you. For example, notice how we came through the outer gate into the courtyard, and you were forced to turn to the left before reaching the inner gate. Now, how many of you listening are right handed? Well, you just died. And think about it. Right handed warriors carry their sword in their right hand and their shield in their left. As you came in the gate and turned left, your shield is on the wrong side. It won't protect you from the archers shooting down at you from the
wall inside. No wonder the Bible singled out left handed warriors. And before we turn around, take note of the small platform here in this inner courtyard. This was the spot where the local governor would sit to judge. We read in the Bible about the elders sitting in the gates, and about the kings setting up their thrones in the gate. Well, here's a real life example. This courtyard was the courthouse for the ancient city of Dan. Now follow me back
outside the gate. As you can see, the archaeologists also excavated out here in this broad plaza. And this is where the first inscription in our series was uncovered. As the archaeologists were digging, they found a small fragment of a monumental pillar that had been set up in this courtyard area. And then another piece was discovered and another. What was even more amazing was the fact that there was writing on this pillar commemorating a military victory by
one of Israel's enemies. But later the pillar was smashed and buried, most likely by the Israelites when they retook the city. The inscription was written by a king who worshiped the god Hadad. Hadad was another name for Baal, but more importantly it was the chief god of Aram, modern day Syria, and the king of Aram, who ruled in Damascus, was known as the son of Hadad Ben Hadad. This inscription was Was placed at the city of Dan by one of Syria's kings. But which one and when
was it written? In the inscription, the king names two of his enemies, though parts of the names are missing enough remains to fill in the blanks. Here's the boast made by the king of Syria I killed Joram, son of Ahab, King of Israel, and I killed Ahaziah, son of Jehoram, king of the house of David. And with that statement were taken to a very specific, tumultuous period in the history of the kingdoms of Israel and Judah. Ahab and his wife Jezebel are two of the most
evil individuals in the Bible. They made Baal the official god of the northern kingdom of Israel, and by giving their daughter in marriage to the king of Judah, they exported Baal worship to that kingdom as well. The Bible says King Ahaziah of Judah walked in the ways of the house of Ahab. The king of Israel and the king of Judah were not only united in marriage, they also shared a commitment to follow the god Baal. And that's when the true God of Israel called for a change.
The two kings of Israel and Judah went to fight against the king of Syria at Ramoth Gilead on the Golan Heights. And the Bible tells us that the Arameans wounded Joram, the king of Israel. So Joram returned to Jezreel to recover from the wounds. And King Hezekiah of Judah also went to Jezreel to see Joram. Picture the scene in the camp of the Syrians. An officer rushes into the tent of the king. Your Majesty, we just got this report from the front. Our archers hit the
King of Israel. We saw him slumped down in the chariot, which then raced from the battlefield. We're not certain, but we believe we might have killed him. The king then asks, and what about his ally, the King of Judah? We're not sure. It's possible. He was also hit in that volley of arrows and taken from the field. His chariot is nowhere to be seen. In the confusion of battle,
one king is definitely wounded and another goes missing. The reports are sketchy, but it bodes well for the King of Syria, and the news only seems to get better. The military commander of Israel's forces, a man named Jehu, is seen leaving the battlefield and driving his chariot furiously across the Jordan Valley, back toward the city of Jezreel. The king of Syria doesn't know what's taking place, but with the opposing kings possibly killed and the general racing away,
he's quick to press the battle. In fact, the Bible reports that Haziel overpowered the Israelites throughout their territory east of the Jordan, in all the land of Gilead. And this is also when he must have captured the city of Dan. The Bible tells us what really happened to
the kings of Israel and Judah. They were killed by Jehu when he reached the city of Jezreel, not by the King of Syria, but since the king of Syria knew his archers had wounded the King of Israel, he claimed the credit when he heard the king was dead. We know exactly when this all took place. 841 BC. And once we understand the historical background, we can now see how the inscription and the Bible fit hand in glove, each helping us better understand what was really happening at
the time. But here's the real significance of the inscription. In it, the ruler over the kingdom of Judah was called the King of the House of David. Now, why is that important? Well, many have claimed that David never existed, that he was a mythological ruler invented much later in Israel's history. According to the Bible's account, David died in 970 B.C. here, just over a century after his death, is an inscription clearly identifying the rulers of Judah as
descendants of the House of David. This inscription might very well be the original MythBusters. By showing the accuracy and historicity of the Bible and the silliness of the idea that David was just a myth, it's even more significant in light of God's words to David in second Samuel seven. David wanted to build a house for God, but God didn't allow him to do so. However, just a few verses later, God uses the same expression to describe the dynasty he would give to David. The Lord will establish
a house for you. Your house and your kingdom will endure forever before me. The inscription found at Tel Dan mentions the name of the King of Israel, but it then identifies Judah's king as the king from the house or dynasty of David. But what does any of this have to do with us today? Let me end with two quick thoughts. First, the more archaeologists uncover, the more reliable the Bible is shown to be. The House of David inscription is just one more example showing you can
trust the Bible. And second, this inscription also reminds us that the Bible is accurate when it says there are consequences for actions. Two kings chose to turn away from God and God judged them for it. We not only can trust the Bible, we also need to listen carefully to what it says and live our lives accordingly. Now, as I go through this series, I'll also post photos of these fines on our land in the book Facebook page.
So take some time to go to Facebook, explore the site and see what these discoveries look like up close and personal.
Thank you Charlie. The first in your new series on biblical inscriptions. I'm looking forward to more. And if you've not been to our website lately, we do encourage you to give it a visit. We're found at The Land and the book. That's the land and the book. Org. You can find information about today's guest, past guest, future programs, books, Charlie's written, and a whole lot more. That's the land and the book. Sure appreciate having you with us today,
and I hope you'll share us with a friend. Let them know how they can listen, either on this station or by our podcast at The Land and the book for our producer, Dan Anderson, our host, Charlie Dyer. I'm John Gallagher and the land and the book is a production of Moody Radio, a ministry of Moody Bible Institute.