You saw their faces on posters as hostages, and then you saw them making their way through the jeering Hamas crowds released after more than a year in captivity. But what secrets do these Israeli hostages hold? What scars do they bear? Coming up, we'll get insights from an expert. Who knows? Plus, our devotional takes you into Hezekiah's famous water tunnel. And we'll connect with more of your Bible questions, too.
Welcome to the land and the book. I'm John Gager and our host, Doctor Charlie Dyer, is out of the studio on assignment for the next two weeks, but before he left, he was kind enough to share his thoughts with you and me about the headlines coming out of the Middle East this week, and we'll get to all of that and more. First, though, Passover will soon be upon us, right? And one of the traditional Passover questions
is what makes this night different from all others? Well, Passover is an important biblical holiday that has great meaning for Jewish people and for believers in Jesus. And this is a great question to ask. Now, if you want to learn more about what makes Passover so very special. Our friends at Life in Messiah are offering to mail
you a free copy of their Messianic Passover Haggadah. This is a booklet that will lead you through the celebration of Passover to see the rich connections to Jesus, our Messiah, and the Last Supper. You'll also receive a link for an interactive Passover Seder video with the Haggadah and the video together. You can really celebrate Passover this year with your family and friends. Now, to get this free offer, just go to Life in messiah.org and click on the
Moody Radio button. You'll see there to learn more and to request your copy. Again, that's life in messiah.org. All right. Let's take a look at current events based in the Middle East. This week. The debate over the future of Hamas and the Palestinians in Gaza continues, even as negotiations get underway for the next phase of the hostage deal amid calls for renewed fighting. What do we need to
know about all these discussions? Well, Charlie Dyer suggests we need to start by saying that when dealing with Hamas, anything is possible. They've broken virtually every promise they've made in the hostage negotiations, even trying to pass off the wrong body for the mother that they had brutally killed along with her two sons. The first phase of the hostage deal is scheduled to expire today. And and there's been some concern over whether the second phase will actually
even continue. Now, if no agreement is reached, Israel has said it will resume the war. However, there's been a bit of optimism over the past week because of two issues.
The first is Ramadan, which just began Friday night. Now, Hamas would prefer not to resume fighting right now, since during Ramadan they're to refrain from eating and drinking during the day, and this could make it more difficult physically to fight while also making them more vulnerable to attack at night when they stay up after dark to break
their fast. the second reason that they would like the cease fire to continue is that they want more aid convoys into Gaza, including the heavy equipment being sent in to clear rubble. Well, the hostages are their ace in the hole, no doubt about that. And the thing that kept Israel from being more aggressive in trying to root them out. But right now, Hamas has been willing to give up at least some hostages to buy time to
regroup and rearm. Still, don't expect them to willingly give up all hostages or to cede power and control over Gaza. At the same time, Israel's anger over Hamas's brutal murders of Shiri Bibas and her two young children is palpable. And if fighting does resume, Israel is strongly united in wanting to eliminate Hamas once and for all. The struggle over what Gaza will look like the day after all the fighting ends is still very much up in the air.
By and large, Israel embraces President Trump's proposal, while also surrounding Arab nations and much of the rest of the world does not. Hopefully some of this can even be sorted out during Ramadan. While most, if not all, of the remaining hostages are released. Story number two Egypt has been beefing up its armed forces along its border with Israel and Gaza. And you have to wonder, is this a defensive move on their part or an offensive one?
And how concerned should Israel be? Well, in spite of some breathless reports suggesting a possible prelude to war, Doctor Dyer suggests this seems to be something far less ominous. Back in 2018, Israel gave Egypt permission to almost double its forces in Sinai to put down or fight Islamic extremists in the area, and at the same time, Egypt has given Israel permission to conduct airstrikes in the Sinai at smuggling targets. Two things are likely behind the current
increase in Egyptian forces. First, it might be partly in response to Israel's occupying of the Philadelphi corridor between Gaza and Egypt, which Israel took over in spite of Egypt's objections. Moving Egyptian forces closer to the border would be seen as a popular move by Egyptians to protect their country should Israel move into Egyptian territory, which, by the way,
Israel isn't planning to do. Second, the force could be there to guard against any plan to open the border, to allow hundreds of thousands of Gazans to flee across into Egypt. Allowing Hamas terrorists into Egypt would pose a real threat to the current government in Egypt, which overthrew the previous Muslim Brotherhood Islamic government. Until the issue of Hamas and the people of Gaza is resolved, the uncertainty
will continue to keep Egypt on its toes. But right now, this isn't a prelude to an Egyptian attack against Israel, that much we know from Moody Radio. This is the land and the book. I'm John Geiger. If you joined us midstream, our host, doctor Charlie Dyer, out on assignment. But he shared his perspectives on the week's news and headlines that we're sharing with you now. Last weekend and into this past Monday, Israel experienced another winter storm, this
one named coral. What impact did the storm have on Israel, you wonder? Well, unfortunately, the impact Israel was hoping for a nice extended soaking rain didn't really happen. Instead, coral brought mainly unseasonably low temperatures, frost in some areas and strong winds, but only a little rain and a dusting of snow up in the higher elevations. Now the Sea of Galilee crept a few inches higher, though it's still nearly eight feet below the upper red line, which is
full capacity. So they're down quite a bit. And while it's still possible for more rainfall this month, right now it's looking like this year is turning out to be significantly below average in terms of rainfall. The impact won't be as great on Israel because of their desalination plants, but countries like Jordan, countries like Iran, were already experiencing water shortages. So we'll see what happens there. This winter has seen the lowest amount of rainfall in Jordan. Get
this now. In 65 years in Iran, rainfall across 29 provinces has dropped by a third since October. This follows a year of weather extremes, including heavy flooding in the central and southeastern regions of the country. Egypt has always been known as the gift of the Nile, right? But they're also experiencing a rapidly increasing gap between the Nile's
limited resources and the country's rapidly increasing population. 95% of Egypt is desert, with virtually all of the country's 114 million people living along both banks of the Nile River. Ethiopia's Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam is threatening to cut into Egypt's supply of water from the Nile. Simply put, they're running out of water, and any increase in rainfall in the region will not really impact Egypt. As someone has observed, the next year in the Middle East could end up
being over water. Stay tuned. Our fourth story, a recently translated Old Babylonian flood tablet, adds new dimensions to the debate over Noah's Ark. What, if anything, can we learn from this tablet? Well, let's start with the most important lesson. Charlie says this tablet, along with others discovered in that region, align with the Bible in describing a flood that destroyed
the world, apart from those individuals who entered into a boat. Now, I believe all the stories are pointing back to a historical reality, that there really was a universal flood that destroyed all of humanity except Noah and his family. This new flood tablet had some other details that also align with the biblical account on two major points. First, it records that God gave the hero of the story detailed instructions on how to build and waterproof an ark or
ship to survive the flood. And second, it reports that the animals came into the ark two by two. Now that's remarkable. But at the same time, we need to remember one key fact the Bible records the event as it actually happened. While these other accounts record the event as it was passed down between subsequent generations, and as it was passed down, many of the details became corrupted.
For example, the Ark and the new flood tablet is round and shaped like the small round boats used in Mesopotamia. That's what they knew as a boat. But this boat was 230ft in diameter, with 20 foot high walls. It would definitely not have withstood a severe flood with all the wind, the waves and the rain. Well, the best lesson here is the reality that the multiple flood accounts serve as a reminder that there must have been an actual flood that really did occur, in which God saved
individuals and animals by having them build an ark. And the second lesson is that the details in most of these other accounts depart from reality, as the writers try to visualize the events through their own experiences. Thus, the arc looks like a giant version of the little boats that they were using on the water. But the biblical account describes in great detail a vessel that had never
existed and that wasn't in existence afterward either. But that is so exact that we can build a replica today and know that it could float, and that it could hold Noah and his family and all those animals. When you think about it, it has the ring of reality to it, doesn't it? And that's a look at current events. You know, we'd love for you to check out our podcast. You'll find it at our page, The land and the book org. That podcast, you can enjoy yourself and share
it with a friend as well. It's a great way to grow this program and and to encourage others about what you're learning. Our Facebook page is always available to you. Lots of great photos and things that Charlie posts there week after week as well. We welcome you to email your Bible question to us. You know you can't help it, but open up your copy of the scriptures and bump into something that makes you wonder. Scratch your head. Makes
you ponder. Why not get an answer to that question when you email us at The Land and the book@moody.edu. That's the land and the book@moody.edu. And while you're in the writing mood, we'd love to hear how the program helps you or encourages you. Again, write to us at the Land and the book@moody.edu. Well, what do former Israeli hostages deal with now? So many questions, so many scars, so many things to think about. It's a conversation we're going to have next here on the land and the book.
You won't hear it anywhere else, so stick around for more right here on.
The land and the book.
You saw their faces on posters as hostages, and then you saw them making their way through the jeering Hamas crowds released after more than a year in captivity back to Israel. But what secrets do they hold? What scars do they bear? We'll get insights from an expert. Who knows? Next from Moody Radio. This is the land and the book. I'm John Gager. Glad you've joined us for the second segment of our broadcast. I want to introduce you to
today's guest. Rabbi Steven Weil began his career as a pulpit rabbi, first serving at the Young Israel of Oak Park in Detroit, Michigan, and then at Congregation Beth Jacob in Beverly Hills, California. In 2009, he assumed the position of Senior Managing Director of the Orthodox Union, leading their institutional advancement and community engagement efforts. In 2020, he was appointed Chief Executive Officer of the friends of the Israel
Defense Forces as an internationally recognized scholar and lecturer. Rabbi Weil has lectured in over 50 communities throughout North America and more than 15 countries across Europe, the Middle East and South Africa. Well, we're really glad to have you join us today on the land and the book. Welcome, Rabbi Weil.
It's an honor to be with you on the land in the book. And I want to thank you very much.
Well, I have to ask right off the bat. You, I understand, have a child that is in the Israel Defense Forces right now. What is that like to be a parent of somebody who's involved with the IDF?
It's been a challenging two years. In fact, my daughter's roommate was actually killed during the war. Good friend and a roommate, a young woman from Dunwoody, Georgia. So it's been very challenging.
Yeah. For sure.
How have your perspectives been changed, or at least influenced by first hand accounts that you hear from having a soldier in the family?
Well, I would.
Say the following. I think that the challenge they face, even though what we've seen in Lebanon and Syria, is nothing short of miraculous in terms of what they've been able to accomplish and the way they've been able to respond and rebound from October 7th, 2023. That's on the one hand, but I think the challenge is moving forward
are twofold. One is, is that you're going to have a lot of these young people that will have PTSD issues, all kinds of challenges, because the brutality of this war, the way Hamas uses human shields, the activities that they did on October 7th that are undescribable. And that's going to be a challenge for them. Yeah, that's one factor. I think the other factor is, is that you're going to go from an army that was relying on intelligence and technology, and you saw the success of that in
Lebanon and Syria. But there's no substitute for foot soldiers. If there had been one brigade on the Gaza border. October 7th, there were a couple of battalions, but had there been an additional brigade, that would have never happened. And it's going to change the need, for instance, going from two years and eight months of mandatory service to three years, young men and young women in their 20s and early 30s. In 2025 are going to have to be doing two months of reserves. Now think about that
as an employer, right? You're going to be missing your young staff for a significant part of the year. So there are some real challenges ahead. On the other hand, Israel is probably safer today than it's been in the last 20, 25 years.
Sure.
Yeah, absolutely. Well, we're here to talk about the hostages as our main focus, 251 of them who have been at the epicenter of a drama that began, as you say, back on October the 7th, 2023. What do you think, Rabbi? Americans maybe not quite understand about the taking of those hostages.
The brutality and the abuse in terms of how they were treated is very significant. I'll give you just a couple of statistics. The hostages that were released during a temporary cease fire in November of 23 of those hostages, 80% of them were not sexually or physically abused. 20% were, but 100% of them were emotionally abused in just some
very evil, horrific ways. And the ramifications of that, you know, in terms of how they lead their lives moving forward and have had the chance to sit with many of them, as well as to sit with the team of psychologists that's working with them to try to mainstream them back into regular civilian life. Those are things that are going to bear with them for years.
Yeah.
Rabbi Steven Weil is the chief executive officer of the friends of the Israel Defense Forces. I'm John Geiger. This is the land and the book. We hear bits and pieces of information about the lives of the hostages while living in Gaza. But specifics have been very few and far between. I can only assume that's because this is very much an active, hostile action underway.
Your thoughts? Yeah.
Just one other fact that's interesting is that those hostages that have transitioned back to any sense of normalcy, the ones that have done the best, is when they were held as a group, not as an individual, in isolation. None of them were allowed to speak. I'll give you an example. Many of the hostages who've been released in 23 hostages have been released now in 2025. Many of them took 4 or 5 days before they stopped whispering. They weren't allowed to speak out loud.
Wow.
Some of them were not allowed to speak in Hebrew. You know, but those who at least were in captivity with others, they had each other to strengthen each other. One of the young women who was released in 2025, you know, she observed, the fast of Yom Kippur, the holiest day of the year. She observed the fast on the ninth of AV. How she was able to keep a calendar and know the days is also shows something incredible for a 19 year old young woman. And so
those have done better as well. Believe it or not, I think we've all heard that term the Stockholm syndrome. There were a few cases where, because most hostages were not kept in large groups, they were either kept in isolation or they were kept in small groups of three. And what happened was there were a few cases where it was there were Hamas affiliated civilians that were controlling them, and a couple of cases where they actually treated them
like a pseudo human being. They didn't treat them worse than you would treat an animal. And in those cases, they also transitioned a little bit better. They transitioned to a greater degree because their sense of of humanity, you know, at least existed during their time of captivity. That's not true for most of them.
Last March, our host, Charlie Dyer and his wife Kathy, along with me and my wife Diana, we traveled to Israel, and there we met with the families of several hostages and the agony on their faces and in their voices made it difficult to sleep. And ever since then, you know, to most Americans, these hostages were just faces. But to us, they were. They were like friends. Every news report, every update, every photo or video that we saw. We looked for
our loved ones and we prayed for them. Talk about the role of of connection in understanding the hardships that these families have gone through as they wait for their loved ones.
I'll give you an example. We've you know, we've met with many of the parents or spouses of those who are being held, you and I, if the phone rings. Okay. The phone is ringing. You know, if I'm in a meeting, we'll return the call later. Every time the phone rings, they're in a state of trauma. Because is this going to be the army notifying them that their loved one is no longer alive? In the case of the Army,
they don't do that. They do that in person. But just a phone ringing that you and I take for granted is a traumatic experience for them every time that it happens.
What kind of secrets about Hamas do you think these former hostages hold?
Um.
Little children, you know, 4 or 5, seven, eight year old children in Gaza. Every time they mention the word Jew or Israel, they spit. You know, you've got little children treating hostages, you know, worse than you treat the most wild animal that exists. It's just, you know, no human being is prepared for something like that. And no human being is prepared to see that another human being is so bereft of decency of humanity that they act that way, and that they've so poisoned the next generation,
the children of Gaza, you know, they subscribe. Not all of them, but I would say 70% of the population believes in a dimension of Islam known as the Muslim Brotherhood. What is the Muslim Brotherhood? That any Christian or Jew who's on a land that at one time was islamically controlled. For instance, the Balkan states, for instance, southern Spain, Andalusia, central Spain, Castile. That has to be Muslim land. It's not just Israel. And they don't believe that in a
theoretical sense. They believe that in an active sense that the most important thing they can do on this earth is rid infidels, rid Jews and Christians from land that they deemed to be Muslim land. And that's their religion. That's not the typical Sunni Muslim on this earth. It isn't. But that is the theology of the Muslim Brotherhood, which is why they've been expelled from Saudi Arabia, expelled from
the Emirates. They're illegal in Egypt, but yet in Gaza, with the support of Qatar and with the support of Turkey in Gaza, that is the theology. And that's what they believe in. And it's a vicious, vicious theology.
This is the land and the book. I'm John Gager, and if you joined us midstream, we're talking with Rabbi Steven Weil about the state of the Israeli hostages taken by Hamas. What do you think will be the greatest factors in determining the success of their transition back, to quote, normal life? I mean, can it ever be that way again?
I would say there's two factors. One thing about Israel, it's a big family. It's a small country, but it's a big family. And the love there that they have for each other and the support, you know, whether it's the extended family structure, whether it's the community structure, it's very significant in America. You don't see that outside of a church or outside of a synagogue community. But in Israel, it's just part of life. So there's an incredible network
and support system. And the other part of it is, is that they have psychologists who are designated for each of the hostages to do serious therapy to support them. And many of these hostages have transitioned fairly well. Now, the hostages that are coming out in 2025. We don't have data yet. And we you know, we won't know that for months and months. But, um, there is an incredible support system, an incredible network and incredible love. And that love is so tangible.
Yeah.
And faith is a major factor. The faith is a major factor. And it's a country where the majority of the people have a very serious faith in God, very serious tradition of religion. And in that sense, those will help in a very significant way over the course of the years.
In addition to that, what kinds of tools do caregivers, professional and non-professional, have to help in the recovery process?
Probably I you know, and please push. If I'm not being clear, I would say it's it's the therapy. I think it's the ability to listen. I think it's the ability to give space to the hostages. You know, everyone deals with trauma in a different way. And part of the challenge, and this is true in general of survivor is survivor always asks, why me? In other words, think about a Holocaust survivor where the whole family was killed. They're haunted the rest of their life with this guilt.
You know, why did I survive? I wasn't the most righteous. I wasn't the kindest, you know. And there's that. We call it survivor guilt. And I think you'll see that'll be a factor as well.
I want to go back to a figure. You used to talk about some of the hostages that have previously been released, 80% not sexually or physically abused, but 20% of them certainly sexually abused. Physically abused. Do you think those numbers are going to be typical for the entire group of hostages yet to be released?
I think the numbers will be much worse of those yet to be released.
Why do you say that?
Because of the duration of time that they're there. And as the first group that was released were either liberated by the army or in a cease fire. Those were 50 some days we're looking at. Hostages came out in January and came out in February that were in captivity for 470, 480, 490 days. Very, very different situation.
Yeah.
Well, in 30s, what do you think listeners could or should do to help in this situation? We feel helpless, but our hearts go out to these families. What can we do?
Well, you know, your prayers are very crucial. Number one. Number two is being an advocate for Israel, because Israel is not just about Israel, and it's not just about the Jews. It's really on the front line of what the 21st century is going to look like. Will it be a century of barbarism, of the justification of evil, or will it be a century of justice, of decency and morality? And that is what Israel is, and that's what Israel represents. But in many media and many campuses
across America. There's such a perversion of facts, such a perversion of the truth. And to be an advocate is very, very significant.
That's Rabbi Steven Weil, chief executive officer of the friends of the Israel Defense Forces. A link to his website. When you visit ours at the land and the book. Org. Thanks for your time, sir.
Thank you very much, John.
And we're looking at a brand new set of Bible questions and answers that's coming up in our next segment right here. There's just no two ways about it. The Bible is an absolutely amazing book. You could read it and reread it and read it 400 times in a row and not run out of wonder and more importantly, perhaps not run out of questions. What do you do with them? Well, we suggest you shove them our way.
This is the land and the book. I'm John Gager joined in studio now by Doctor Gerald Peterman, who's about to answer some questions that have come in via email. First, though, this 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. Did you know that the Last Supper was actually a
Passover meal? Not only did Jesus and his disciples celebrate Passover, it also foreshadowed his death on the cross for our redemption. Jewish people, of course, have been observing the feast of Passover for thousands of years. Understanding the history and importance of this holiday will help you better connect with your Jewish friends and neighbors. And boy, what better way is there to learn about Passover than to experience a Passover
Seder yourself if you have 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. If you're interested in having somebody come to lead a Seder in your area, visit Life in Messiah. Org and click on the Moody Radio button there to learn more.
That's life in messiah.org. Well, it's always good to see the very smiling, very competent Doctor Gerald Peterman, professor of Bible at the Moody Bible Institute in our studio. Ready to go, are you, sir?
Yes. And I'm giving a big amen to your encouraging people to go to a Seder. It's wonderful. All right.
Good for that. You know, we had a Seder at our church, and boy, what an awesome experience that was. So anyway, yeah, I agree with you. Let's get to Avis's question. She says. I'm asking about the locations of the four rivers of the Garden of Eden. Tigris and Euphrates are familiar. The East of the Eden study by Sandra Richter shows the pishon in Arabia next to Egypt. My Harpercollins dictionary says the Gihon and Kush, which is now Ethiopia. My Bible class was surprised by that. To
think that the Garden of Eden was that large. And, you know, I have no problem with it extending to Ethiopia. But can you confirm the locations of the rivers or add any comments from my Bible class?
Oh yeah, I'm so glad you're looking into this. You have your rivers, correct? Pishon, Gihon, Tigris and Euphrates and the rivers do cover a lot of territory. Let's go back to Genesis two and we're going to start at verse eight. It says, and the Lord God planted a garden in Eden in the east. And there he put the man whom he had formed. So there is the garden. It is in Eden, and Eden is said to be
in the east. So it looks like Eden is actually larger than the garden, because the garden is planted in Eden, not said to be Eden. And if we keep reading on, here's what we find in verse ten. And the river flowed out of Eden to water the garden, and there it divided and became four rivers. And then in verses 11 to 14 we read about the places where the
four rivers go, including Havilah, Cush, Assyria. So rather than saying that the garden itself extends as far as javelin, Kush and Assyria, I think it's better to say that we don't know how much land the garden covered, but that the river that flowed through it watered a vast territory.
So we're talking about a big chunk of land. The Garden of Eden was not a little thing.
Not a little thing.
You know, we go to Israel and we go to the Garden of Gethsemane. Well, the Garden of Eden was way, way bigger than that, you're saying? Right. Possibly hundreds of.
Miles. Possibly hundreds of miles.
Nancy has a question for us. How did God provide the very rare ingredients for incense ordered in Exodus 30, verse 40? She says, I looked it up and found that Ankia comes from sea snails. I know with God all things are possible, but sea snails.
Isn't God amazing? The best theory about the incense mentioned there in Exodus 30 is that stoked is probably from the sap of the storax tree, and Galbanum is a gum resin that comes from Ferula gummosa plants. And these are all native to the Mediterranean, so they'd be easy to find. Now let's go to Annika. This is a species of marine mollusk. As you mentioned, they're called Strombus. And they can be found in one, I guess the
Red sea. So that's the eastern border of Egypt. And of course, the Israelites had to pass through the Red sea with no water, right, to get to the Promised Land. Maybe they even picked some up on the way. So God provided.
Interesting. Ali is question. We toured Israel 18 months ago. Our tour guide spoke of living in Ashdod with no bomb shelter because that's all he could afford. Here's the question. With so many Jews migrating to Israel, where are they all living?
It's a great question. I'm going to read an answer provided by Charlie Dyer and it goes like this. The short answer is Israel is living all over. Okay. Ashkelon. Ashdod have expanded greatly. Some of the older apartment buildings in some towns don't have bomb shelters, but most of the new construction does. And when John and I were in Israel in March, we visited the apartment of a friend who lives in Ascalon, just seven miles from the
Gaza border. And we actually did some recording in the so-called safe room in their apartment, which had a blast door and a heavy metal plate that could slide over the window. Older apartments don't have this, but newer ones do. Other modern towns have developed in Israel all over the place, with safe rooms and bomb shelters. These include small cities like Har Gilo, Har Homa, Ma'aleh Adumim, Givat Shaul, Pisgat Ze'ev which are really bedroom communities to Jerusalem. And we
could go on and on and on. Israel is doing a lot of building furiously to keep up with its population growth. And while some towns along the border of Gaza, like Ashkelon and Ashdod, were impacted by the war, many others were not. In the north, there's been much growth around the area of Haifa, Jezreel Valley, Nazareth, Tiberius and other towns. So Israel is a really small country, and it's under a lot of pressure to build because the population is expanding and expanding.
Yeah, people sometimes think of Israel and they equate it with, you know, O little town of Bethlehem, you know thy dreamless streets. Well, there aren't too many dreamless streets these days. Right. They're alive with jackhammers and cranes and construction workers. And everywhere you turn, you're seeing something new being built. So that's. That's the short answer to that question. Thank you. You're listening to The Land and the book from Moody Radio.
I'm John Gager. Doctor Gerald Peterman welcomes your questions any time at the land and the book at Moody dot. Edu. That's the land and the book at Moody dot. Edu. Eric takes us to Second Chronicles 20, verse 12, where it says, we do not know what to do, but our eyes are on you. Well, how does a person keep their eyes on the Lord? Is this simply a matter of praying? What's the deal here?
Well, this is a really good thing for us to think about. So let's go to Second Chronicles 20. In verse one, we find that a large army of Moabites and ammonites. Ammonites come to fight against Jehoshaphat, king of Judah, and the king prays, and the last part of the prayer he says, God, we are powerless before this vast number that comes to fight against us. We do not know what to do, but we look to you. So I take it that, as Eric said, looking to God
entails praying to God. But looking to God, I think, also entails anticipating that he will help us because we need his help. I'm reminded of something very similar in Psalm 123. It says, behold, as the eyes of servants look to the hand of their master, as the eyes of the maid, servant to the hand of her mistress. So our eyes look to the Lord our God, till he has mercy on us. I think looking to the Lord means trusting him and anticipating his work on our behalf.
You know this phrase, anticipating his help takes me to Ephesians chapter six, where we're given the list of the armor that we're supposed to be wearing. And one of the pieces, of course, is the helmet of Salvation. Doctor Fred Dickerson, who is the former chairman of the theology department here at Moody Bible Institute, said to me that that this is a lot more than just knowing you're saved. He's saying the helmet of salvation should cue us to expect his deliverance.
Right, right, exactly. We have our mind set on anticipating his deliverance for us.
That's great. That's a much broader picture. Thanks for bringing that to our attention. Let's go to Diana's question. Josiah's son, Jehoahaz, is his youngest son. According to first Chronicles 315, he became king when he was 23. Yet Zedekiah, who was older than Jehoahaz, became king 11.5 years after Jehoahaz. And he was 21 years old when he became king. The math doesn't work. Can you untie this for me?
Well, the genealogies are really difficult. And I should say up front. I've pondered over this one and prayed over it, and I don't have a really good answer, but let me just mention a couple of things along the way. We can start with First Chronicles 315 and we find King Josiah's sons Johanan, Jehoiakim, Zedekiah, and Shallum. Now Shallum is also called Jehoahaz. Now to get details on when they reigned and how many years. We go to two
Kings 23 and 24, and we find out. We put all those numbers together, and we find that there was reigns of 19.5 years. So indeed, it's rather strange. We don't have enough information to draw the conclusion. Why did this happen? But I'll just point out one thing that's a little bit odd. Here you have the youngest son who is the first to become king. That's a very strange thing. So I'm not quite sure how to put this together. It's a great question. Um, I haven't quite solved it yet.
All right. And there are some questions that are just plain like that. We're not going to try and tell you we've got the answers if we don't. But your question is welcome when you email us at The Land and the book@moody.edu the land and the book@moody.edu, we'd love for you to visit our website. The land and the book.
Org and when there, we'd really like it. If you checked out our podcast, it's a great way for you to listen to this program again at your own convenience, and it's a great tool for introducing us to your friends who maybe don't live anywhere near a radio station that carries the land in the book. So look for that podcast, use it yourself, and share it with a friend. Would you do that? Thank you for doing that at
the land and the book.org. Well, it's Charlie Dyer's devotional and it's coming up next right here on the land and the book. Welcome back to the land and the book. I'm John Gager, and for a whole lot of Israel travelers, a visit through Hezekiah's tunnel is a truly memorable moment, I think. Speaking of memorable moments, Charlie, one of our more unusual interviews ever on this broadcast took place when Dan Anderson and I were walking through Hezekiah's tunnel with
a guide and sloshing through that water. We just recorded a conversation, even in the dark at times. But your devotional is taking us there today as well. Is that true?
It is exactly right. In fact, we're all going to head to Hezekiah's tunnel today.
All right, so we all get to take that walk. I look forward to that after we pause for a testimony from a traveler who has these thoughts about their visit to Israel.
This is Val from Texas, and it has been so enlightening to be here in the Holy Land to see just exactly how Jesus could have traveled from town to town, and been welcomed by the people who were hospitable to him and stay in their homes to see this just made it so real. And then to be on the Sea of Galilee and think of Jesus Just walking on that water out to a boat, and in the evenings we would have these quick winds that would come up, and you would definitely see a difference in how that
could happen. On the Sea of Galilee when Jesus was there in the boat, asleep. So, so many things that I've read in the Bible for years started really making sense and coming together for me. And that's been thrilling. Just thrilling.
Hezekiah's tunnel. Boy, it's a fascinating achievement. And Charlie, I'm looking forward to what you have to share with us.
Well, thanks, John. This is week three. In my 11 week series, I've called 11 inscriptions to the Bible. We're exploring written inscriptions uncovered by archaeologists that give us new insight into our understanding of the Bible. And this week, I hope you brought along your bathing suit, flip flops, and flashlight because our journey today is taking us through a 2700 year old tunnel carved under the city of Jerusalem, and our watery trek begins at the Gihon Spring, the
original water supply for the city. Now watch your step getting into the water. It'll feel cold at first, but you'll quickly get used to it. The rectangular opening looks small, and there are a few places inside where the ceiling is a bit low and where the water will be mid thigh deep, but most of the way it won't be that high. Okay, it's time to turn on your flashlights. Here we go. Now, as we slosh our way through the tunnel, let me tell you a little bit about it.
It snakes under the original city of David, and comes out in the Central Valley between the original part of the city and the larger hill to the west that became part of the city during the reign of King Hezekiah. In fact, the tunnel and a major wall placed around the western hill were part of Hezekiah's preparations to help fight off an attack against Jerusalem by the Assyrian army.
But I'm getting ahead of myself. The purpose for the tunnel was to block off the original entrance to the Gihon Spring, and then to divert the water inside the city to the Pool of Siloam to provide an easily accessible water supply for the people of Jerusalem. The project was actually an amazing engineering feat. Two teams of workers started on opposite ends and snaked their way toward each other,
ultimately digging a channel that was 1800 feet long. In fact, the compiler of Second Kings summarized the reign of Hezekiah this way. Now, the rest of the acts of Hezekiah and all his might, and how he made the pool and the conduit, and brought water into the city, are they not written in the book of the Chronicles of the Kings of Judah? And the Book of Second Chronicles repeats that theme. It was Hezekiah who stopped the upper outlet of the waters of Gijon and directed them to
the west side of the city of David. This tunnel was an amazing engineering feat, built to provide security for the city. It was part of a series of elaborate preparations to protect Jerusalem from attack by Assyria. The same chapter of Second Chronicles records the other defensive measures taken
by King Hezekiah and his military advisers. Now, when Hezekiah saw that Sennacherib had come and that he intended to make war on Jerusalem, he decided with his officers and his warriors to cut off the supply of water from the springs which were outside the city, and they helped him, and he took courage and rebuilt all the wall that had been broken down, and erected towers on it, and built another outside wall, and made weapons and shields in
great number. You can see the checklist of military preparations. New pool ready? Check. Tunnel almost complete? Check. New walls and towers. Ready? Check. Bows, arrows, sling stone shields and swords. All prepared? Check. Once the tunnel was finished and its water flowing into the city, they would be ready. They were so excited when the two groups of workers finally connected with one another, that they chiseled a plaque into
the tunnel recording the event. The water flowed from the source of the pool for 1200 cubits, and 100 cubits was the height of the stone over the head of the stonecutters. This plaque was discovered in the 1800s, cut from the rock and taken to the Istanbul Archaeology Museum, where it is still on display today. A replica has since been fashioned and placed inside the tunnel to show
visitors where the original carving was discovered. The people of Judah had done everything possible to get ready for the coming battle with the Assyrians, or at least that's what they thought. But then the prophet Isaiah stood to address the crowd. He first took note of the arrival of the Assyrian forces with their chariots and horses. Your choices. Valleys are full of chariots, and the horsemen take up
fixed positions at the gate. Isaiah then reminded them that a large number of Judah's cities and towns had already been captured by the Assyrians, and he removed the defenses of Judah. But Isaiah reserved his greatest rebuke for how the people had responded to the impending threat. In that day, you depended on the weapons of the house of the forest, and you saw that the breaches in the wall of the city of David were many, and you collected the
waters of the lower pool. Then you counted the houses of Jerusalem, and you tore down houses to fortify the wall, and you made a reservoir between the two walls for the waters of the old pool. What exactly are you trusting in to protect yourself from the Assyrians, your weapons, your new walls, your updated water supply. Isaiah ends by focusing on the one item that people hadn't thought to strengthen. But you did not depend on him who made it.
Nor did you take into consideration him who planned it long ago. They had been so busy focusing on how they could stop the Assyrians, they forgot to turn to the Lord to ask for his help. In fact, it wasn't until the Assyrians reached the outskirts of Jerusalem and handed their terms of surrender to Hezekiah that he finally went to the temple to seek God's assistance, and in response, God sent the angel of the Lord to kill 185,000 Assyrian soldiers. The city was saved, but it wasn't because
of their weapons or their walls or their new water supply. Well, we've reached the spot where the original inscription was carved into the wall of the tunnel. As you can see, they've placed this copy of the original, along with an explanatory plaque here on the wall. We're almost to the end of the tunnel, but as we get ready to climb out, dry off our feet and look over the I hiked Hezekiah Tunnel t shirts that are offered for sale. What spiritual lesson can we carry away with us from
our time here in the tunnel? Looking at the reproduction of the inscription carved by Hezekiah's workers more than 2700 years ago, perhaps the key lesson for us is the one raised by Isaiah in chapter 22. Everyone faces problems, difficulties and challenges in life, but what sets people apart is where they turn for answers to those problems. They can try to do it all by themselves. We just
need more weapons, bigger walls, more dependable water. Or they can choose to seek out the God of the universe who has promised to never leave us nor forsake us. It took a while, but thankfully Hezekiah and the people of Jerusalem finally turned to God and discovered he didn't need their weapons, walls, or water to fight his battles. So how about you? What enemy are you facing today? You can choose to wear yourself out, hoping you can
do enough to make it through the crisis. Or you can choose to turn your troubles over to the God of the universe and let him handle them. The choice is yours, but the plaque on the wall of Hezekiah's tunnel is a good reminder to let God resolve your problems and spare yourself a lot of pain, aggravation, and heartache in the process. And if you'd like to see photos of the original plaque in the Istanbul Museum or
photos of the copy from inside Hezekiah's tunnel in Jerusalem. Well, just head over to the land and the book Facebook page where I've posted them, and you'll be able to see what they look like.
Nothing like seeing that for yourself. Thank you for posting those photos, Charlie, for doing that research and bringing this story to life for us. Our website is The Land and the book org, and we're anxious for you to visit there because that's the gateway to everything we have to offer you, including our podcast. It's a great way to stay connected, to share us with friends who aren't able to listen to the broadcast on a traditional radio station, and a neat way for you to hear it all
again yourself. Check out the podcast at the Land and the book.org. Looks like our time is just about up. I want to say thank you to you for listening to this station, for carrying the broadcast to our host, Charlie Dyer, and to our producer, Dan Anderson. I'm John Geiger. The land and the book is a production of Moody Radio, a ministry of Moody Bible Institute.