Sure you understand the stories of the Bible, but what can you do to better understand the places of the Bible? The land where it all unfolded? Coming up, a sneak look at a new Bible atlas with features to help you see it all. Plus headlines from the Middle East along with listener Bible questions. And then we'll wrap it all up with an unforgettable look at the Might Have Been Town. Join us now for the land and the book A Unique Approach to Understanding the Middle East through
the Lens of Scripture. Doctor Charlie Dyer is our host, and I'm John Gager. And did you know that most Jewish people have never heard the gospel? Every week we talk about Israel and the Jewish people, and it's important to remember that they, like everybody else, need to hear the good news.
That's absolutely true. And that's why life in Messiah, a ministry that's been in existence for over 135 years, is devoted to sharing the gospel with Jewish people around the world. And now they're offering a gift to moody listeners. This free book, Reaching Jewish People for Messiah, highlights the need for the gospel among the Jewish people. It will equip you with practical ways to share the good News with them. Now, to receive this free e-book, visit Life in Messiah org
and click on the Moody Radio logo. Sign up today to get your copy. That's life in Messiah.
All right, let's turn our attention toward current events from the Middle East. Last week, President Trump said he would make a, quote, very, very big announcement before setting out on this week's trip to the Middle East. So what was that big announcement? And beyond that, what were the president's goals for this particular trip?
Yeah, speculation over his cryptic announcement went into overdrive after he made it, since he connected the timing of it with his trip to the Middle East. Some suggested he might announce U.S. support for the creation of a Palestinian state. Ambassador Huckabee dismissed the accuracy of that suggestion. He wrote, my four year old grandson Teddy is more reliable. And take it from Teddy. This report is nonsense. Others connected it to a possible dramatic breakthrough between Israel and Hamas,
especially with Hamas's release of dual U.S. Israeli hostage Aiden Alexander. Well, that idea fell through when Israel resumed its attacks against Hamas, hitting a key command center below a hospital where they believed Mohammed Sinwar, brother of Yahya Sinwar and commander of Hamas's military wing, was located. So what was this announcement? Well, it wasn't completely clear, though. Trump did make two announcements
before he took off. He reported on an apparent breakthrough between the U.S. and China on tariffs, and he also signed an executive order aimed at lowering the cost of prescription drugs. Now, in regard to President Trump's goals for the trip, his focus was on economics and mediation at the U.S. Saudi Investment Forum. He described the future as a time when the Middle East will be defined by commerce, not chaos, and where the Middle East will also export
technology rather than terrorism. He ordered the lifting of sanctions against Syria, as he said, to give Syria a chance at greatness, and he met with the current leader of Syria. He also said his administration was ready to help Lebanon create a future of economic development and peace with its neighbors. The president agreed to sell over $140 billion in arms to Saudi Arabia, while the Saudis agreed to invest part of their sovereign wealth fund in the US. Deals were
also struck with Qatar and the United Arab Emirates. The Abraham Accords. Iran and the conflict between Israel and Hamas were also on the agenda, as President Trump worked to push forward his plans to mediate solutions that could draw the region into a greater sense of peace and prosperity. Though not stated directly, the obstacle to all these goals remains Islamic fundamentalism. Hamas's charter calls for it to continue fighting until the Jewish state is eliminated and an Islamic
state is established. The same is true of Iran, which is ruled as a theocracy by the ayatollahs. Iran has been weakened by Israel's defeat of its allies and by crippling US sanctions, but there's still a danger to surrounding countries now that the trip is over. Let's watch to see what the long term results will be.
Yeah, and it'll be interesting to see what plays out. Speaking of Iran, the nuclear talks with them resumed Sunday after being postponed for a week. What do we know about the most recent round of negotiations?
You know, we actually don't know much, though. The word from the negotiators was, quote, cautious optimism along with an agreement to continue negotiating. One key area of disagreement, though, remains Iran's demand to continue enriching uranium. Iran has said it must maintain the right to enrich Rich uranium, and that US demands to limit enrichment are not helpful. Both President Trump and the US envoy Witkoff have said Iran can expand civilian nuclear activities, but that it must get
rid of all centrifuges. During his time in Saudi Arabia, President Trump issued a strong warning to Iran, saying if Iran's leadership rejects the olive branch and continues to attack their neighbors, then we will have no choice but to inflict massive maximum pressure. The choice is theirs to make. And recent satellite imagery appears to have uncovered a previously unknown nuclear site in Iran being used to extract tritium,
a radioactive isotope of hydrogen. In addition to creating things like self-illuminating lights, tritium can also be used to boost the yield of nuclear weapons. The bottom line right now is that there's much we don't know about the negotiations, but President Trump is very clearly telegraphing what his expectations are if Iran hopes to achieve a successful outcome in the negotiations.
If you joined us midstream, this is the land and the book from Moody Radio. Our host is Doctor Charlie Dyer, noted Middle East expert and scholar. I'm John Gager. Story number three. The conflict over a bill requiring ultra-Orthodox Jews to serve in the military in Israel seems to be coming to a head. Could this be the issue that ultimately brings down the current coalition?
He almost want to say, Oy vey. It really is a problem. In fact, the short answer is this could bring down Netanyahu's coalition. The different ultra-Orthodox parties have been demanding that Prime Minister Netanyahu pass a bill exempting most ultra-Orthodox from military service. And, of course, they continued threatening to bring down the government if he fails to do so.
In fact, right now, they're refusing to vote in the Knesset, forcing the coalition to remove all proposed legislation from their docket for the past two weeks. One major problem with the bill they want is that the vast majority of Israelis believe all citizens should be subject to the draft, especially in light of the war Israel has been fighting for the past 18 months. Most Israelis resent the ultra-Orthodox
refusing to serve. A number of news reports recently appeared suggesting Netanyahu might preempt the ultra-Orthodox by dissolving the Knesset over this issue and calling for new elections. He would then claim he refused to give in to the ultra-Orthodox on this important matter, which would very likely increase support for him and his party by those opposed to such apparent inequity now. So would Netanyahu really dissolve the government, or is this just a threat to force the ultra-Orthodox
to back down? And right now, we don't know. Netanyahu would prefer not to go to elections right now or really at any time. But he also can't allow parties in the coalition to hold him hostage to their threats and demands. Watch to see if some sort of compromise can be worked out in the coming weeks. That will increase the number of ultra-Orthodox going into the military while also providing some exemptions. But if a compromise can't be reached, this could indeed bring down the government.
Story number four A controversial announcement claimed to have discovered massive structures underneath the pyramids in Egypt. What exactly was reported and how valid are these claims made by the scientists?
Yeah, it's amazing how how breathless these reports were and how they appeared in so many different newspapers and journals and online sources. But here's what the bottom line is. Researchers from the University of Glasgow and the Italian University of Pisa caused a stir when they announced they had mapped tunnels, pillars, pathways and halls beneath the central pyramid
at Giza. They said this vast network descends over a mile beneath the pyramids, and they claim to have mapped it all out using synthetic aperture radar beamed down from satellites. So how valid are these claims? Well, they've been rejected by virtually all scientists and archaeologists. While NASA has used synthetic aperture radar from space to map the Earth's surface. Scientists say it's impossible for such radar waves to reach
thousands of feet underground. These researchers have no background in Egyptology or archaeology, and they chose not to publish their findings in a credible scientific journal. In addition, one of the researchers apparently specializes in ufology, which is the study of UFOs. One renowned Egyptologist summarized it all best when he said the claims are false and the details supposedly
discovered could not have been detected using such methods. All that to say, if you've seen those articles, don't expect to see detailed photos of this supposed discovery underneath the pyramids anytime soon.
Thank you Charlie. Many listeners might be wondering what is the proper understanding of Middle East hospitality, so-called, if that's what it is, in the gifting of this plane to the United States of America. Your thoughts?
Yeah. Well, make a friend before you need them is one of the phrases I learned very early on in the Middle East. In fact, you find David giving presents and gifts to the towns in Judah as he defeated the Amalekites and others. And then later they made him king. It was just a concept of Near Eastern hospitality that it still extends today. And I think that's probably what's behind the offer of that airplane.
All right. Interesting. We'll follow that story as it unfolds. Well, coming up next, a conversation about why you still need a Bible atlas. Yeah. You understand the stories of the Bible, but what could you do to better understand the places of the Bible where it all unfolded? We're going to take a sneak peek at a new Bible atlas with features to help you see it all. Plus, we'll get to your Bible questions later on, and then Charlie's devotional wraps it all up. I love the title of this one.
The might have been town. It's all ahead on today's edition of The Land and the book. If you haven't yet told a friend about us, today's a good day to do that. Sure, you understand the stories of the Bible, but what can you do to understand the places of the Bible? The land where it all unfolded? Up next, a conversation about a new Bible atlas with features to
help you see it all. This is the land and the book I'm John Gager and what do you say we take a second or two and think about a creative idea for loving our Jewish friends, neighbors, and co-workers? When you sit down in an honest conversation with a Jewish friend about Christianity, the objection you often hear is that the New Testament is full of errors. Levi Hazen is executive director of Life in Messiah. How should we reply to that?
Well, John, volumes have been written that provide evidence of the New Testament's reliability as a historical document. Are you aware there are no contemporary historical records that contradict the New Testament authors, and where the New Testament can be checked against external sources, they are consistently accurate. So why wouldn't we take the New Testament as being historically reliable? When I encounter this topic in conversation with my Jewish friends,
I like to try and work in several questions. The first of which is have you read the New Testament? I'm shocked by how many people have opinions about a book they've never actually read. Second, I like to ask my Jewish friends if they're aware that the New Testament is a Jewish document at its core. The authors were Jewish. It's about a Jewish messiah from Israel, and it relies
heavily on the Hebrew Bible to make its case. In using these questions and others like it, my hope is that God will soften their hearts to exploring the New Testament and Jesus for themselves.
Insights from Levi Hazen, whose with life in Messiah and you're listening to The land and the book. Doctor Jack Beck is a scholar, educator, and writer with extensive experience in biblical geography. He has a Ph.D. in Theology and Old Testament from Trinity International University, and is an adjunct
faculty member at Jerusalem University College in Israel. And in the past 20 years or so, Doctor Beck has collaborated on many projects with our Daily Bread Ministries, including the Holy Land video series and several books including the Our Daily Bread Bible Atlas. Welcome back to the land and the book, Jack.
John, thanks so much for the chance to visit.
So obviously, uh, no shortage of Bible atlases out there. What made you passionate about taking on this particular project, Jack?
Yeah, so it's a little different, John, in the sense that I have used a different paradigm for integrating Eating land and text, and that changes the way the atlas reads. It is less a history oriented book and more of a commentary like read, so it is organized chronologically as you move through the Bible, but it pays attention to geography, particularly looking for ways in which not only it shaped events and culture, but the way it shapes the very
way the Bible itself speaks. Because some of what God has had to say to us, he said, using geography.
Yeah. Well, having said that, uh, don't be scared off. This is in addition to being a visually stunning book, uh, one that really does piece the whole narrative together for us. So I, I like that it's the kind of thing you can sit down and just take your time with, uh, what are the sources that you used for the many, many, very, very nice photographs in the Our Daily Bread Bible Atlas?
Yeah. The photos, John, by and large, are my own, uh, few of them from the Our Daily Bread Ministries collection, but quite a few of them from my own. You know, I've been hanging out in that land for about 30 years, and camera equipment has changed over time. But I've tried to refresh that collection. I have, and many of those refresh pictures appear in the atlas.
Well, they're well done. Doctor Jack Beck is an adjunct faculty member at Jerusalem University College in Israel. He's collaborated on a lot of projects with our daily Bread ministries, including the Our Daily Bread Bible Atlas we're talking about today. Describe how the in-depth commentaries bring a greater sense of
understanding of the land itself. We've touched on some of it, but I think until it's all between two covers, all flowing nicely historically, chronologically correct, we don't quite get it. What do you think?
Yeah, I think that's true. And it's a fundamental truth, John, that who we are and how we think and how we most naturally communicate is very much a product of where we're from. I very much sound like someone from southern Wisconsin. And you can't take who I am and move me to a different place and have the same backstory that that I have. The same is true of the lives of people in the Bible, who they are, how they thought, how they most naturally communicated as a
product of where they're from. And I try to listen really carefully to the way in which they speak, the way the biblical authors and poets speak, to listen for the way in which they use place to inform my thinking.
Well, another innovation with this updated atlas is the use of QR codes embedded in the text. What kind of content can listeners expect when they give those a click?
Yeah, so I've had the opportunity to do a number of film series with our Daily Bread Ministries, and among the things that we've filmed are some two minute shorts. And it's those brief shorts that are often connected via the atlas to the video web portal. So, for example, if you happen to be reading about a region, you might get a two minute introduction visually to the region
in a video. If you happen to be reading about an olive oil crushing press, you could be linked to a two minute video on the olive oil crushing press. So they're designed to be brief but insightful.
That's a neat feature. Doctor Jack Beck is a scholar, educator, and writer with extensive experience in biblical geography. He joins us today on The Land and the book. I'm John Yeager saying thanks for being part of our conversation. Jack. What were some of the challenges you guys had in shooting those videos? I mean, having been there, many of our listeners will be aware it's it's a dusty place. It gets real hot. So photographically that can be a challenge.
Extreme light. What were some of the issues you had to deal with?
Yeah, well, I got to give credit to the film crew on this one. They are excellent at picking the time of day when it's best to be out shooting. Often that's earlier in the morning or later in the evening. Leaving the middle part of the day to do other things. So they really do a great job of picking time and place to get those shots.
How long would you say it took to accumulate, shoot, edit all of those little inserts that you're a part of our Daily Bread Bible Atlas.
Wow. You know, I would say they're the shorts are very much a part of the four seasons of the Holy Land that we've done. So there are 34 longer episodes there. Every time we went to shoot one of those seasons, we ended up collecting some two minute shorts. And I think there's something like 60 of them that are available.
At the risk of overstating the obvious, there are also lots and lots of maps included. Uh, I think they just feel fresh. They feel current. Talk about the value of having accurate and detailed maps as we try to piece together scripture.
Well, it's for me all about Orientation. It's not the full story of geographic understanding, but I think it's an important, fundamental piece. I need to know where things are. And one way I can do that is through a map. If I can gain some sort of orientation that is similar to the orientation the biblical authors and poets had. I'll be able to both recognize the geography more quickly in their texts and of course, understand what they're saying.
This is the land and the book. Our guest today, doctor Jack Beck. The one component to any atlas that is so limiting, it seems to me, is the inability to truly convey the topography. Only when you've been to Israel do you understand that having a scale in hand and saying, oh, that was just five miles away is almost irrelevant when you realize how steep the hills are. These folks would have to walk up and then try
not to tumble down. How do you resolve that issue of the challenge of conveying topography?
Well, first of all, I want to acknowledge the reality of everything you've just said, John. Many people come to Israel to get a geographic picture of the land, and there's not just one. It is a place that changes quickly over short distances. And so I make there to be at least 14 or 15 separate geographic regions. We call them out in the atlas. We describe them in detail. We show photos of them. We have topographic maps that illustrate.
So in one or more of those ways, we hope to be able to give folks a chance to not only think about how that space might have looked generally, but individually. How did a region look so that we might better understand how that region produced unique stories?
Yeah. I mean, that issue really is at the heart of something that just blew me away after my first visit. You know, as I said, a scale that says, you know, a quarter inch is ten miles or whatever does absolutely nothing to convey what these Bible characters would have experienced traveling those distances, be they ever so small numerically.
Yeah. Lots of up and down in the horizontal.
Yeah. For sure. Another feature that I really appreciate in the back you have a number of charts. These are historical charts that list things out in a way that's that's sort of visual, but helps me kind of wrap my brain around it. I can't just seem to read a text and get it lodged there. I need to see it simplified in a chart, and you guys have done a great job with that too.
Well, thanks. I think that is an important part of this. If you're trying to get your mind wrapped around the meteorology or weather of a season's of Israel, I think a chart is incredibly helpful. If you're trying to get a chronological picture of where that particular person or story fits in the arc of the larger storyline of the Bible. We've got those sorts of chronological timelines as well, and for me too, they really are helpful. Visual aids.
In just one visit to Israel, you are almost overwhelmed with the geography and topography. One tiny little nation the size of new Jersey has mountains, plains, deserts, valleys, everything in between. Maybe the best atlas, though, in the end, is ultimately a trip to Israel. Your thoughts Jack?
Yeah, I would absolutely agree. Everything that I have done comes up short of actually being in the land, walking that land, feeling the breezes, smelling the smells, hearing the birds. That sort of a sensory surround experience really makes a difference. And your point is well taken too. The first trip can be incredibly overwhelming. I've had folks come with me on trips two, three, four, five times, and inevitably on the second trip they'll say something like, well, you didn't
say that the first time I was here. I said, yeah, I bet I did. It was just you were thinking and trying to grasp something else. And that's why the the second trip of people who do multiple trips, the second trip is almost always the one that they report the most learning on.
I don't know, I can't speak for anybody else. But to me, no matter how many times I go to Israel, I just cannot comprehend the extraordinary extremes there are geographically. You know, I think of going up north and you go to the Bonniest waterfall. No one, no one would imagine that such a lush, green, cool, spectacular place like that existed in Israel, I think, unless they actually went there.
Yeah, it's exactly right. And then you move 15 miles and you're in a different ecosystem, and another 15 miles and you're in another ecosystem. And John, something that I learned early on is that you can't move one of these stories in the Bible, one of these pieces of poetry in the Bible, from one region to another and
not impact how you understand and interpret it. So I think one of the one of the keys for me as a Bible interpreter, and you'll appreciate this, that I began my scholarly career as a linguist and literary analyst. Those were the tools that I thought would most help me understand the text. I realized after I started incorporating geography that I needed that tool in my belt as well, to really come around to a full understanding of a text and its interpretation.
You know what we're talking about geography. I'm thinking of an evening I spent recently with a couple of our granddaughters, and we're reading a Bible story, and of course, it envisions a sheep in a green pasture. Well, green pastures a la what we see in the United States just don't exist in Israel, period. And again, until you go there, you don't quite get that right.
Yeah. That's right. There is no southern Wisconsin, upper Midwestern sort of landscape. You know, my grandparents had a dairy farm. And so prior to my engagement with Israel, a lot of my agricultural understanding and pictures were were coming out of that experience. I didn't have another experience to attach to the language. But when I suddenly get into that land. And I understand the culture of movement of the shepherds
from wilderness pastures into farm fields and back again. I had a whole different understanding of Psalm 23.
And standing outside of Bethlehem, on the hills where those shepherds were positioned at the time of Christ's birth. You look at the sheep there and you go, how do they find enough to fill their stomachs? But they do. And for me, the sort of rush to a devotional mentality says, you know, God is going to provide, even if it doesn't look like there's enough there. He'll make sure there's enough. And that's another great lesson.
It really is. And Psalm 23, it's not that the livestock are in a place that is so abundant in food and water that they don't have to worry. They're in a place that lacks almost everything. But when they look at the shepherd, they lack nothing.
That's doctor Jack Beck, who has put together our Daily Bread Bible Atlas. This is not just a collection of maps or a collection of really pretty pictures. It is a book that moves you through the entire Bible in a way that puts it together for you and helps you understand it on several different levels. Thank you for your investment with the book. Thank you for sharing with us today on the land and the book.
John, thanks for the opportunity to be with you. I always appreciate the visit.
And we hope you come back. Well, coming up on the broadcast, it's your friend and mine, Gerald Peterman, to look at Bible questions that have come in. See you on our next segment of The land and the book. The Bible is one big book, 66 books inside that book, and so many different chapters and verses and subjects and people and places. If you read it and don't have questions, you got to wonder whether you're really reading it. I'm
John Gager. This is the land and the book. Seated across from me, the one and only Doctor Gerald Peterman on the Moody Bible Institute faculty. Now on the land and the book faculty. Welcome back.
Oh, thank you, sir. Wonderful to be here.
Always fun to take a look at what listeners are wondering about. Before we get to our first question. Let's think about the fact that most Jewish people have never heard the gospel. Each week we talk about Israel and the Jewish people, and it's important to remember that they, like everyone else, need to hear the good news.
Life in Messiah and ministry in existence for over 135 years, is devoted to sharing the gospel with Jewish people around the world. Now they're offering a gift to moody listeners. This free book, Reaching Jewish People for Messiah, highlights the need for the gospel among the Jewish people and will equip you with practical ways to share the gospel with them. To receive this free e-book, visit Life in Messiah. Click on the Moody Radio logo and sign up today to get your copy.
All right. Sounds good. Thank you. Jerry. Here's Charlie's question to kick things off. And before we even let him ask his question. I have to let you know that you can ask your question when you connect with us via email at the Land and the book at. The land and the book at Moody Dot. All right. Charlie's waited long enough. His question. Uh, this came up at his Bible study at church regarding fasting. He says there was a discussion as to whether it is required or
is expected, fasting as it required or expected. And the scripture that they're referencing is Matthew 617. What do you think?
Well, it's a great question. The law of Moses. We see that fasting is only required on the Day of Atonement. You can read Leviticus 16 to see that. But then after the Israelites had come back from exile, there were several regular fasts of remembrance. And you can go to Zechariah seven about this. And Daniel, oh, man, was he a pillar of faith. Daniel mentions a three week period of mourning where he abstained from what he calls delicacies
meat and wine. Daniel. Chapter ten. So from Luke 18 with talk about a Pharisee, it becomes quite clear that many Jews fasted on a regular basis twice a week. Now, I'm sorry, Charlie, to get to your question. Our Lord, I think in Matthew 617 is not commanding fasting. Rather, he's assuming that his Jewish audience is doing it on a regular basis. They do it to draw close to God, to, you know, when we have a hunger in our body, you know, it drives us to rely upon God and
trust in him. So, uh, doing this fasting on a regular basis kind of opens us up to God. So again, I don't think Jesus is commanding it. I think he's assuming we're going to do it, and then he's telling us how we should do it. We shouldn't do it to be seen by other people so that we think we're godly. Right, right. We're doing it for our relationship with God.
Okay, so he is assuming that we as modern day followers are also fasting. Is that fair?
Yeah, I think he is. That is, um, it kind of tests our self-control. Yeah. Okay. You know, you live in the modern West. There's food all over the place all the time, and we could be snacking all day long. But then when we change our schedule and we grow hungry, and then we let that hunger last for several hours, it makes us rely upon God and realize how good we have it. Yeah. It's a wonderful spiritual practice for drawing near to God.
The president of Moody Bible Institute, doctor Mark Jobe, first kind of introduced me to this whole challenge. And, um, so to this day, I try and skip breakfast, for example, on Wednesdays and devote that time to prayer. And also, if I'm not, listen to the legalist in me doing it right, quote unquote. Before I eat, I like to go over my little prayer list a last time, so I'm sort of a bookend trying to remember those requests. Remember why I'm doing this. This is not a health thing.
It's about being serious with God, about things that are on my heart.
Exactly right. Exactly right.
Yeah. Thank you, Charlie, for bringing that to our attention. Let's go on to Ron's question. He takes us to Matthew one verses five and six. Say, And Boaz was the father of Obed by Ruth, and Obed the father of Jesse, and Jesse the father of David the king. But if Boaz marries Ruth to raise up offspring to her dead husband, Mahlon's name and the neighbor woman declare a son has been born to Naomi, wouldn't the line of David technically go through the dead husband Mahlon, instead of Boaz?
Ah, thanks so much for the question. It's actually a tough question. Let me mention three things about this. First, in the law of Moses, levirate marriage is outlined in Deuteronomy 25. What does it do? It obligates a man to marry his deceased brother's widow, to ensure the continuation of the deceased brother's lineage, and the firstborn son will be considered the heir, and then the air will be able to supply the needs of the family. So the
issue here is really having property? Where's the property going to go? It will stay in the family this way. And then the family has property to grow. Food. They can take care of themselves. Now, second, in the book of Ruth, it looks like the son Obed, who is born to Ruth, would inherit his melons property as well as Boaz's property, since Boaz is single when he marries Ruth. So let's end up back at Matthew, right? I think what Matthew is doing is not giving us the legal
line that would go through my life. Yeah, right. He's not giving us the legal line. He's giving us the bloodline. So Boaz is the father of Obed by Ruth, and Obed the father of Jesse, who is the father of David. Again, that's not the legal ownership. That's the bloodline.
This is the land and the book from Moody Radio. Doctor Gerald Peterman on the Moody faculty. Always open to your Bible questions, and you get them to us via email at the land and the book at Moody Got a question from Eric, he says. A while back on a news broadcast, I heard that many young men were joining Orthodox churches in the United States. The question how is the Orthodox Church different from Protestant and Catholic churches in their beliefs and practices?
Oh, that's a really deep and wide question. And whole books are written about it. So let's try to cut to the chase. Okay, so first with the Roman Catholic Church, the pope is their leader and the pope is believed to be infallible when he speaks from his official place as pope. The church has seven sacraments which communicate grace, baptism, confirmation, Eucharist, penance, anointing of the sick, holy orders, and marriage. And the Roman Catholic Bible has what is called the Apocrypha, or
sometimes called the Deuterocanonicals. That's an additional seven books. And of course, we all know Roman Catholic priests are single. Now second, the Orthodox Church very similar. They have the same seven sacraments. I won't go through them. They have the same apocrypha in their Bible. But their church is not led by a pope, but by patriarchs. And when the patriarchs gather for a council, that council is believed to be infallible. Lastly, with Protestants, things are a bit different.
We often use the phrase sola scriptura. That is, we're relying on the Bible. That is, the Bible is the final authority with 66 books, not the additional seven with Protestants. There are two sacraments, or, I would like to say, ordinances, baptism and the Lord's Supper. And leadership is mostly decentralized with the result that individual congregations rule themselves. So that's a sketch of the differences.
Okay. In John 20, Mark wants to know when Mary encountered Jesus outside the tomb, he told her, don't hold on to me, for I have not yet ascended to my father in heaven. Can you shed some light on this statement? What's going on here?
I find this one of the most difficult verses for me in John's Gospel. Here's what I think is going on. When Jesus says, don't cling to me. I don't take it that he's being dismissive. I don't take it that he's being rude. Let's keep in mind what he says next. He says, go tell my brothers that you've seen me. So I'm reading the interaction between Jesus and Mary. Like this. Let's stop the hug for now. There will be time for that later. Yeah. Right now you have a task
to tell about the resurrection. And I have one too. So let them all know I'm alive. So he's giving her the opportunity to go from grief to spreading the good news, and she's transformed by that commission.
Well, you know, we mentioned earlier that Jesus assumed his followers were fasting and regularly. Okay. My question is, does it follow also that Jesus assumed his followers were are memorizing scripture? What do you think?
I think so. That is in Jesus's life. Growing up in the synagogue, I'm sure that Mary and Joseph took him Sunday. By Sunday, I'm sorry. Saturday by Saturday. Please excuse me. Right. And how is it that our Lord knows so much Scripture? Because he has heard it over and over and over and over and over again. And so we need to be taking Scripture in on a regular basis. And I think if we just take it in day by day, week by week, year by year, month by month, it will be in our heart.
Yeah. Well, I think right there you've revealed tip number one to somebody who says, oh, my brain just doesn't work that way. I, you know, I used to when I was younger or, you know, I just can't seem to hang on to it. It's exposure. It's like anything else we can all quote a dumb TV jingle. We should surely be able to quote a verse or two.
Oh, you're so right.
Just be patient with yourself and just make sure you're getting Bible input consistently and it will sink in. You'll find it's in your heart.
Be patient and be persistent. And that word will sink in. Advice from Doctor Gerald Peterman, who answers your question anytime you email us at the land and the Book at Moody's. More to come. On today's broadcast, Charley returns with a devotional you don't want to miss here on Moody Radio's The Land and the book. Hey, thanks for connecting with us today at the land and the book. I'm John Gager and Charley. How small was the town you grew up in? Small? Not so small.
500 people.
All right. I can beat that. The town that my wife grew up near is so small that when our kids were taking their driver's training, we had them back around the entire town. But you've got a different kind of a town you're looking at today in your devotional, I understand.
Uh, we are we're looking at the might have been town of Riblah.
Mentioned three times in Scripture. I'm guessing none of us have ever heard it or recalled it, but we'll get to that after this Holy Land experience. Testimony.
Hi, my name is Suzanne Strizic from Chicago, and I just wanted to say that the power of prayer was the most remarkable thing. We were prepped before we left Chicago to to pray, and we honestly did it each night. And we prayed for everything from the bus driver to good weather. And God answered all those prayers and just gave us a joy, you know, of seeing the sights and and the new friends that we met and beautiful, um,
time together. It was every detail taken care of. So the answer to prayer was the most beautiful experience.
Hi, my name is Alan Strizic from Chicago, Illinois. One of the things that really surprised me was when we were at the Senechal in the upper room, and Charlie pointed out the statue that was in there. It said, not by power or might, but by my spirit, says the Lord. Hearing those words from Zechariah and actually seeing it in the same place as the Last Supper had been held, seeing it the same place as the Pentecost event.
It was just a very, very powerful thing. I had been to the room once before, but it was really such a surprise and it really moved me a lot. Thank you Charlie, thank you. Land in the book.
All right Charlie, I'm looking forward to your devotional today. Have at it.
Thanks, John. Well, few today know much about the 19th century poet John Greenleaf Whittier. With the possible exception of a single couplet from one of his poems, that couplet goes like this. For of all sad words of tongue or pen, the saddest are these. It might have been Whittier's poem might be an apt one to read today as we drive to the site of ancient Riblah in Syria. The site itself isn't impressive, but the surrounding area is
located by the Syrian Lebanese border. Riblah sits in a fertile plain, watered by a number of streams that eventually link up to form the Orontes River. Unlike much of Syria, which is desert, the immediate area around Riblah is a patchwork of green fields and well-tended trees. Little wonder this became a major stop on the route between Egypt and Mesopotamia. But how can a place of such beauty become a
town of sadness and regret? Well, we'll discover the answer by visiting the city on three separate occasions through the Bible. Our first visit to Riblah takes place in the springtime of Israel's birth as a nation. The people are camped along the eastern edge of the Jordan River, about to enter the Promised Land. Moses is giving his final instructions before turning over the keys of leadership to Joshua. One item on his Divine Punch list is to share the
specific land boundaries promised by God to the nation. These boundaries are given in numbers 34, and along the far northeastern boundary of the land is Riblah. The land God promised to Israel included much of what is today Lebanon and Syria, and the beautiful region of Riblah was on the border of God's promised Land. In Israel's early history, Riblah represented God's goal, God's ideal for his people. He was to be their God. They were to be his people.
If they obeyed him, he promised to bless. And part of that blessing was to include beautiful riblah. Sadly, this was not to be. Fast forward in time to our second visit to Riblah, the last good king of Judah, King Josiah has just died trying to stop Pharaoh Necho of Egypt from heading north to engage the army of King Nebuchadnezzar. Josiah took his stand and lost his life at the hill of Megiddo, in a futile attempt to keep Judah from being swallowed up by Egypt's plans for expansion.
As Josiah's dead body was being carried back to Jerusalem, Pharaoh Necho and his army marched north to Riblah and set up camp. They had hoped to reach Carchemish on the Euphrates River, but Nebuchadnezzar beat them to the prize. Carchemish had fallen the next best place for Egypt to prepare for the coming conflict with Babylon was Riblah. Meanwhile, preparations were made in Jerusalem for Josiah's funeral and to determine who would follow him onto the throne. Jehoahaz was
chosen to succeed his father. Unfortunately, he didn't possess his father's godly character. Though only 23 years old, he had already decided to follow a different spiritual path rather than following in the ways of his own father, Josiah. He chose instead to walk in the ways of his forefathers, Amnon and Manasseh. He only sat on the throne for three months, but in that short time he set a pattern for wickedness that was followed by every succeeding king
of Judah. What a sad legacy. When Pharaoh Necho summoned Jehoahaz to Riblah, the young king appeared before Egypt's monarch and learned his punishment for being head of a nation that had dared oppose the might of Egypt. Pharaoh Necho put him in chains at Riblah and carried him off to Egypt, and there he died. Riblah. The town that represented the extent of Israel's blessing were she to obey her God, became the town where the king from the
line of David was enslaved and taken to Egypt. The country from which God had once freed his people from slavery. But we've not yet reached the end of the story on Riblah. We need to circle back to the city one last time. Jehoahaz was followed to the throne by Jehoiakim, who was followed by Jehoiachin, who was followed by Zedekiah. Each seemed to be a carbon copy of his predecessor. The Bible describes each king as a man who did
evil in the eyes of the Lord. The final king, Zedekiah, was perhaps the most tragic of all, because it appears that he actually had a struggle of conscience over what God wanted him to do. But in the end, he didn't have the strength of character to take a stand for what he knew to be right. For example, when the nobles of Jerusalem wanted to kill Jeremiah, he responded meekly. He's in your hands. The king can do nothing to oppose you. Reading that verse, you want to shout out,
for crying out loud, Zedekiah, you're the king! You can oppose them. It took an African slave, David Melech, the Cushite, to stand up to the king and display the courage needed to rescue Jeremiah from certain death. Zedekiah was king when the Babylonians finally broke through the defenses of Jerusalem. As the Babylonians poured into the city from the breach in the north, Zedekiah and his family slipped out of
the city. At its southern end, they fled into the Judean wilderness, down through the countless twisting valleys, making their way toward the Jordan River, breaking out onto the plain by Jericho. Zedekiah and his family made a desperate dash toward the mountains of Ammon. On the far side of the valley. But the Babylonians caught up with them before he could get away, and after they captured him, where
did they take him? To Riblah. While the main part of Nebuchadnezzar's army had been attacking Jerusalem, Nebuchadnezzar himself wasn't there. He had set up his headquarters in Riblah. Why? Because Judah wasn't the only nation in rebellion. The ammonites and the people of tyre had also rebelled against Babylon. Nebuchadnezzar selected Riblah for his base to prevent these other nations from slipping behind his forces to cut off his supply route.
Its strategic location and natural resources made Riblah the perfect location. The Babylonian soldiers were under orders to bring Judah's leaders to Nebuchadnezzar to be sentenced for their rebellion. Jeremiah provides a vivid account of what happened next. They captured Zedekiah and took him to Nebuchadnezzar, king of Babylon at Riblah, where they pronounced sentence on him. There at Riblah, the king of Babylon slaughtered the sons of Zedekiah before his eyes,
and also killed all the nobles of Judah. Then he put out Zedekiah's eyes and bound him with bronze shackles to take him to Babylon. Riblah, a town known for its beauty, became for Zedekiah a place of judgment, incredible sadness and loss. Loss of freedom, loss of family, loss
of friends, and finally loss of his own sight. Judah's last king got to see the very outer limits of the land God had promised to his people, but he watched that land soak up the blood of his own children, and then all went dark as he was led away, blinded, and in chains into exile, where he died. And that brings us back to John Greenleaf Whittier's haunting rhyme. For of all sad words of tongue or pen, the saddest
are these. It might have been. Our journey home is a little quieter than before as we ponder the decisions made by Judah's final kings that resulted in such tragedy. Rebecca didn't have to be a place of sadness for Jehoahaz or Zedekiah, but it was because of the choices they made which had consequences. And that forces us to pause and reflect on our own lives, on the decisions we've made and on the ones yet to be made.
Will the rebels of our lives be places of joy where we experience God's blessing that comes from obeying him, or will they be places of sadness and regret as we ponder with heavy hearts what might have been?
Well, if that doesn't sober you up, boy, nothing will. Thank you, Charlie, for that devotional. I want to say thank you to you for hanging with us. All four segments here on the land and the book. Our time is gone, but we'll be back next week, Lord willing to connect you with everything that God's doing in the Middle East. I'm John Gager in the land, and the book is a production of Moody Radio, a ministry of Moody Bible Institute.