1 00:00:08,160 --> 00:00:11,320 S1: His friend Max was hit and on the ground, but 2 00:00:11,320 --> 00:00:14,040 S1: when Michael tried to assist, he was assaulted as well, 3 00:00:14,080 --> 00:00:17,760 S1: to the point somebody broke his wrist. What fueled this attack? 4 00:00:18,040 --> 00:00:20,640 S1: A hatred for Jewish people, that's what. And it happened 5 00:00:20,640 --> 00:00:23,560 S1: right here in America. How could we be seeing so 6 00:00:23,560 --> 00:00:27,920 S1: much anti-Semitism and how should we respond? That's our conversation 7 00:00:27,920 --> 00:00:30,960 S1: coming up. Welcome to the land and the book. Our host, 8 00:00:30,960 --> 00:00:34,120 S1: Doctor Charlie Dyer, is a noted Old Testament scholar and 9 00:00:34,120 --> 00:00:37,280 S1: Middle East authority, having taken more than 100 trips to 10 00:00:37,320 --> 00:00:41,040 S1: the region. I'm John Geiger, and Romans 116 clearly tells 11 00:00:41,040 --> 00:00:43,520 S1: us the gospel is to the Jew first and also 12 00:00:43,520 --> 00:00:45,839 S1: to the Gentile. But how do you share the gospel 13 00:00:45,840 --> 00:00:49,720 S1: with Jewish people? Because of cultural, historical, and religious differences, 14 00:00:49,720 --> 00:00:52,880 S1: it sometimes challenging to just kind of navigate a gospel 15 00:00:52,880 --> 00:00:56,040 S1: conversation with somebody from a Jewish background. You ever wondered 16 00:00:56,040 --> 00:00:57,880 S1: how the quote, professionals do it? 17 00:00:58,120 --> 00:01:00,590 S2: Well, to answer that question, our friends at Life in 18 00:01:00,590 --> 00:01:03,550 S2: Messiah want to mail you samples of the tracks their 19 00:01:03,550 --> 00:01:06,430 S2: staff use as they share the gospel. This will serve 20 00:01:06,510 --> 00:01:09,190 S2: a dual purpose of equipping you with methods of presenting 21 00:01:09,190 --> 00:01:12,510 S2: the gospel, while also supplying you with tracks you can 22 00:01:12,510 --> 00:01:15,550 S2: share with your Jewish friends and neighbors. Life in Messiah's 23 00:01:15,550 --> 00:01:18,270 S2: Prayer is that these tracks will help further the spread 24 00:01:18,270 --> 00:01:21,510 S2: of the gospel among the Jewish people. Not to receive 25 00:01:21,510 --> 00:01:24,149 S2: this helpful assortment of tracks, all you need to do 26 00:01:24,150 --> 00:01:27,270 S2: is visit Life in Messiah org and click on the 27 00:01:27,510 --> 00:01:32,870 S2: radio button for more information. That's life in Messiah. Don't 28 00:01:32,870 --> 00:01:35,030 S2: miss out on this great opportunity. 29 00:01:35,150 --> 00:01:37,550 S1: And now we'll swing our focus toward current events in 30 00:01:37,550 --> 00:01:41,390 S1: the Middle East. Cease fire! Talks are finally underway again 31 00:01:41,390 --> 00:01:44,830 S1: between Israel and Hamas. How likely is it that these 32 00:01:44,830 --> 00:01:47,710 S1: talks could finally result in an end to the conflict 33 00:01:47,710 --> 00:01:48,430 S1: in Gaza? 34 00:01:48,750 --> 00:01:52,110 S2: Well, the current talks, I don't believe, will automatically lead 35 00:01:52,230 --> 00:01:55,030 S2: to a complete end to the conflict. Israel agreed to 36 00:01:55,030 --> 00:01:58,030 S2: the proposed cease fire that was presented. Hamas said it 37 00:01:58,030 --> 00:02:02,860 S2: was positive about the proposal but still demanded additional changes now. 38 00:02:02,900 --> 00:02:06,380 S2: Those changes included deciding who will control the distribution of 39 00:02:06,380 --> 00:02:09,500 S2: aid in Gaza. Who will control the area from which 40 00:02:09,540 --> 00:02:14,380 S2: Israeli forces will withdraw. And also guarantees that the fighting 41 00:02:14,380 --> 00:02:18,299 S2: won't resume after the 60 day ceasefire if further progress 42 00:02:18,300 --> 00:02:21,620 S2: hasn't been made. The two meetings between President Trump and 43 00:02:21,620 --> 00:02:25,900 S2: Prime Minister Netanyahu were low key and very businesslike, apparently 44 00:02:25,900 --> 00:02:29,580 S2: focusing especially on working through what it would take to 45 00:02:29,620 --> 00:02:32,459 S2: reach an initial ceasefire and what it will take to 46 00:02:32,500 --> 00:02:36,060 S2: free all the hostages. Hamas wants to hold on to power. 47 00:02:36,180 --> 00:02:38,780 S2: They believe one key way to do so is by 48 00:02:38,780 --> 00:02:42,940 S2: using the hostages to force Israel to make additional concessions. 49 00:02:43,180 --> 00:02:47,019 S2: Netanyahu has said this is something Israel won't accept. Trump 50 00:02:47,020 --> 00:02:49,940 S2: and Netanyahu apparently also discussed what needs to happen in 51 00:02:49,940 --> 00:02:53,260 S2: Gaza the day after the war ends and Hamas is gone. 52 00:02:53,580 --> 00:02:56,420 S2: Both agree that providing an opportunity for those who want 53 00:02:56,419 --> 00:03:00,290 S2: to emigrate will help ease the humanitarian crisis in Gaza 54 00:03:00,450 --> 00:03:03,930 S2: and make it easier to begin the necessary reconstruction. An 55 00:03:03,930 --> 00:03:07,050 S2: alternative plan has been advanced by the Arab states with 56 00:03:07,050 --> 00:03:10,090 S2: backing from Europe and the UN. That plan would take 57 00:03:10,130 --> 00:03:14,810 S2: five years and cost $53 billion. Wow. Yeah. Two major 58 00:03:14,810 --> 00:03:18,490 S2: questions will remain no matter what the final plan looks like. First, 59 00:03:18,530 --> 00:03:21,530 S2: who will pay for it? Many are promising support, but 60 00:03:21,530 --> 00:03:25,290 S2: in the Middle East, those promises often don't materialize. And 61 00:03:25,290 --> 00:03:30,010 S2: then second, who will control Gaza during the reconstruction and afterward? 62 00:03:30,330 --> 00:03:33,210 S2: Israel has made it clear that Hamas can't remain in power, 63 00:03:33,570 --> 00:03:36,210 S2: but it's far less clear what groups or nations will 64 00:03:36,210 --> 00:03:39,369 S2: be acceptable to all the major stakeholders. Right now, there 65 00:03:39,370 --> 00:03:42,770 S2: are a lot of questions, but few answers. A temporary 66 00:03:42,770 --> 00:03:47,250 S2: 60 day cease fire and partial hostage release does appear likely, 67 00:03:47,250 --> 00:03:49,370 S2: but until Hamas is willing to give up all the 68 00:03:49,370 --> 00:03:54,450 S2: hostages and disarm and relinquish power, the conflict won't be over. 69 00:03:55,010 --> 00:03:58,120 S1: Story number two During the war with Iran, an Iranian 70 00:03:58,120 --> 00:04:02,440 S1: missile hit the Technion. That's one of Israel's top research universities. 71 00:04:02,600 --> 00:04:05,600 S1: Tell us about the race to save ongoing studies there 72 00:04:05,800 --> 00:04:08,640 S1: that could one day impact the lives of millions around 73 00:04:08,640 --> 00:04:09,400 S1: the world. 74 00:04:09,440 --> 00:04:11,720 S2: You know, John, this story could someday be a Hollywood 75 00:04:11,760 --> 00:04:17,360 S2: blockbuster movie. Two researchers spent years developing a leukemia breakthrough 76 00:04:17,520 --> 00:04:21,680 S2: just before the missile destroyed the building. Their groundbreaking study 77 00:04:21,680 --> 00:04:25,360 S2: tracked subtle changes in human blood to detect early signs 78 00:04:25,360 --> 00:04:29,120 S2: of leukemia. They demonstrated that a blood test focusing on 79 00:04:29,120 --> 00:04:33,000 S2: stem cells could be used to detect leukemia and completely 80 00:04:33,000 --> 00:04:38,040 S2: replace more invasive and painful bone marrow biopsies. Just after 81 00:04:38,040 --> 00:04:42,320 S2: their research had been submitted and accepted and days before publication, 82 00:04:42,560 --> 00:04:45,320 S2: the Iranian missile hit the building. But that's not the 83 00:04:45,320 --> 00:04:47,680 S2: end of the story. The power in the building was 84 00:04:47,680 --> 00:04:50,279 S2: knocked out, and many of the clinical samples for their 85 00:04:50,279 --> 00:04:53,800 S2: research and that of others, were stored in freezers in 86 00:04:53,800 --> 00:04:56,500 S2: the building that were now at risk of shutting down, 87 00:04:56,540 --> 00:05:01,300 S2: destroying decades of study. The researchers, along with others, rushed 88 00:05:01,300 --> 00:05:04,580 S2: into the badly damaged building to rescue their samples, along 89 00:05:04,580 --> 00:05:07,340 S2: with the research of other colleagues. It was a race 90 00:05:07,339 --> 00:05:10,620 S2: against time to save untold years of research that was 91 00:05:10,620 --> 00:05:13,460 S2: in danger of being lost, thanks to the labors of 92 00:05:13,460 --> 00:05:18,099 S2: these dedicated scientists. Records and samples were recovered that represent 93 00:05:18,100 --> 00:05:21,539 S2: decades of research and hopefully the clinical trials of their 94 00:05:21,540 --> 00:05:24,779 S2: own research, which have now begun, will lead to earlier 95 00:05:24,779 --> 00:05:28,419 S2: detection of leukaemia and other blood related cancers through the 96 00:05:28,420 --> 00:05:31,100 S2: use of a simple blood test, rather than having to 97 00:05:31,140 --> 00:05:35,860 S2: undergo a painful and expensive bone marrow biopsy. The world 98 00:05:35,860 --> 00:05:38,180 S2: owes a debt of gratitude to this dedicated group of 99 00:05:38,180 --> 00:05:41,540 S2: scientists and researchers, who not only labored for years to 100 00:05:41,580 --> 00:05:46,140 S2: develop a unique approach to understanding, identifying and testing for 101 00:05:46,140 --> 00:05:49,500 S2: blood borne cancers. But who then rushed into harm's way 102 00:05:49,500 --> 00:05:53,060 S2: to rescue not only their priceless data, but that of 103 00:05:53,210 --> 00:05:56,570 S2: other colleagues, which will also benefit all humanity. Now, if 104 00:05:56,570 --> 00:05:59,610 S2: this someday does become a Hollywood film, it'll definitely be 105 00:05:59,610 --> 00:06:01,130 S2: one worth going to see. 106 00:06:01,290 --> 00:06:03,370 S1: Thank you Charlie. This is the land and the book, 107 00:06:03,370 --> 00:06:06,330 S1: by the way, from Moody Radio. I'm John Geiger. We're 108 00:06:06,330 --> 00:06:08,690 S1: working our way through a list of current events, stories 109 00:06:08,930 --> 00:06:11,729 S1: based in the Middle East. Uh, question for you, Charlie. 110 00:06:11,730 --> 00:06:14,890 S1: Where is the tomb of King David? Now, that sounds 111 00:06:14,890 --> 00:06:18,050 S1: like a straightforward question, but apparently it's one with a 112 00:06:18,050 --> 00:06:21,290 S1: very convoluted answer. Help us sort this whole thing out. 113 00:06:21,330 --> 00:06:23,770 S2: Yeah, like much in the Middle East. It's not always 114 00:06:23,770 --> 00:06:26,730 S2: what it seems to be. Visitors to Jerusalem are often 115 00:06:26,730 --> 00:06:30,250 S2: shown the tomb of King David on Mount Zion. Amazingly, 116 00:06:30,250 --> 00:06:33,370 S2: it's directly below the traditional upper room, though it's hard 117 00:06:33,370 --> 00:06:36,489 S2: to imagine Jesus and his disciples holding the Last Supper 118 00:06:36,490 --> 00:06:39,770 S2: right over the tomb of King David. In reality, I 119 00:06:39,770 --> 00:06:42,490 S2: don't believe either side is authentic, though at least the 120 00:06:42,490 --> 00:06:45,690 S2: traditional upper room is on the right hill in the city. 121 00:06:45,850 --> 00:06:47,890 S2: But when it comes to the tomb of David, things 122 00:06:47,890 --> 00:06:52,239 S2: become murky very quickly. Most Orthodox Jews believe David's buried 123 00:06:52,279 --> 00:06:54,719 S2: in the traditional tomb on Mount Zion, but not all 124 00:06:54,720 --> 00:06:58,839 S2: Orthodox agree. One group claims a mystical incident occurred nine 125 00:06:58,839 --> 00:07:03,039 S2: years ago on Shavuot, Pentecost, that signaled where David was 126 00:07:03,040 --> 00:07:06,960 S2: really buried. Jewish tradition holds that David was born and 127 00:07:06,960 --> 00:07:10,760 S2: died on Shavuot, so they gathered David's tomb to celebrate 128 00:07:10,760 --> 00:07:14,000 S2: both events. As the story goes, the group was gathered 129 00:07:14,000 --> 00:07:16,640 S2: to celebrate when they felt a rumbling and cracking in 130 00:07:16,640 --> 00:07:19,840 S2: the ground separating the spot from a nearby church garden. 131 00:07:20,040 --> 00:07:22,840 S2: The Antiquities Authority inspected the site and covered it up, 132 00:07:22,840 --> 00:07:26,400 S2: but some ultra-Orthodox believed the pit revealed a tunnel leading 133 00:07:26,400 --> 00:07:29,840 S2: to the entrance to David's actual burial place. And as 134 00:07:29,840 --> 00:07:33,880 S2: one rabbi now claims, we have comprehensive evidence that Kings David, 135 00:07:33,880 --> 00:07:37,480 S2: Solomon and Hezekiah are all buried there. Well, likely the 136 00:07:37,480 --> 00:07:41,360 S2: evidence is in this apocryphal account. Is the hole opening 137 00:07:41,360 --> 00:07:43,960 S2: up and the stairs that they think were there, that 138 00:07:43,960 --> 00:07:46,680 S2: they now claim to have seen? This is a case 139 00:07:46,680 --> 00:07:49,720 S2: where hearsay and myth are directly refuted by the Bible. 140 00:07:49,960 --> 00:07:53,430 S2: First Kings 210 says David rested with his fathers, meaning 141 00:07:53,430 --> 00:07:56,390 S2: he died and was buried in the city of David. 142 00:07:56,510 --> 00:07:58,990 S2: The city of David refers to the original city of 143 00:07:58,990 --> 00:08:02,350 S2: Jebus at the time of David's death and burial. The hill, 144 00:08:02,350 --> 00:08:05,950 S2: now called Mount Zion, wasn't part of the city of Jerusalem. 145 00:08:06,350 --> 00:08:08,870 S2: There are a series of caverns or short tunnels at 146 00:08:08,870 --> 00:08:11,630 S2: the southern end of the original city of David. These 147 00:08:11,630 --> 00:08:13,950 S2: were likely the place where David and the other kings 148 00:08:13,950 --> 00:08:17,030 S2: of Israel were buried, not on the western hill, which 149 00:08:17,030 --> 00:08:19,710 S2: is today mistakenly called Mount Zion. 150 00:08:19,870 --> 00:08:21,990 S1: Wow. I wish I could say I've got it all down, 151 00:08:21,990 --> 00:08:26,590 S1: but I don't. Story number four. Drug resistant bacteria pose 152 00:08:26,590 --> 00:08:30,830 S1: an increasingly difficult threat to global health. Now, researchers from 153 00:08:30,830 --> 00:08:34,670 S1: Ben-Gurion University of the Negev have developed a novel approach 154 00:08:34,670 --> 00:08:39,189 S1: to solving this problem by using substances found in coral. 155 00:08:39,309 --> 00:08:42,270 S1: Tell us about this unique solution from Amazing Israel. 156 00:08:42,550 --> 00:08:44,670 S2: Yeah. You know, the coral reef in the Red sea 157 00:08:44,710 --> 00:08:48,390 S2: just south of Eilat is spectacular. But these researchers didn't 158 00:08:48,390 --> 00:08:53,260 S2: go there to snorkel. Instead, they isolated 120 bacterial strains 159 00:08:53,260 --> 00:08:56,820 S2: from the coral in a lot that naturally produce compounds 160 00:08:56,820 --> 00:09:01,459 S2: that interfere with quorum sensing. That's a communication system used 161 00:09:01,460 --> 00:09:06,140 S2: by harmful bacteria to coordinate attacks and form protective layers, 162 00:09:06,179 --> 00:09:10,460 S2: known as biofilms. These layers of biofilm allow bacteria to 163 00:09:10,500 --> 00:09:15,740 S2: resist antibiotics. The researchers isolated the compounds that significantly reduce 164 00:09:15,780 --> 00:09:20,260 S2: a bacteria's virulence, and when combined with existing antibiotics, the 165 00:09:20,260 --> 00:09:23,940 S2: treatment becomes even more effective. What makes the discovery unique 166 00:09:23,940 --> 00:09:26,780 S2: is that the compounds don't kill the bacteria. Rather, they 167 00:09:26,780 --> 00:09:31,020 S2: reduce its virulence while allowing drugs to penetrate the biofilm. 168 00:09:31,220 --> 00:09:35,140 S2: The study highlights the potential of using marine ecosystems to 169 00:09:35,179 --> 00:09:39,180 S2: solve problems like drug resistant bacteria. It also helps open 170 00:09:39,179 --> 00:09:43,260 S2: the way for new nature based treatments, a novel approach 171 00:09:43,300 --> 00:09:46,500 S2: straight from the Red sea to help solve a very 172 00:09:46,500 --> 00:09:50,170 S2: real medical issue. Now that just sounds like something we've 173 00:09:50,170 --> 00:09:53,929 S2: come to expect from the researchers there in amazing Israel. 174 00:09:54,090 --> 00:09:56,050 S1: And that's a look at current events. Thank you Charlie. 175 00:09:56,050 --> 00:09:59,730 S1: Appreciate those perspectives. This is a four segment broadcast, a 176 00:09:59,730 --> 00:10:01,969 S1: one hour flyover of the Middle East, as we call it. 177 00:10:01,970 --> 00:10:04,929 S1: And we've just brought you some current event stories. Coming up, 178 00:10:04,929 --> 00:10:07,970 S1: a conversation with Michael, who was on the ground was 179 00:10:07,970 --> 00:10:10,650 S1: being hit, whose wrist was broken. All of this because 180 00:10:10,650 --> 00:10:14,770 S1: of anti-Semitism. Segment three is Bible questions and answers. And 181 00:10:14,809 --> 00:10:17,050 S1: if you have got a question, I'm telling you something 182 00:10:17,050 --> 00:10:19,650 S1: that you've encountered as you've read Scripture. There is just 183 00:10:19,650 --> 00:10:22,770 S1: nothing so satisfying as getting an answer to that question. 184 00:10:22,970 --> 00:10:24,730 S1: And you can do that with a quick email to 185 00:10:24,770 --> 00:10:29,050 S1: us at The Land and the book at Moody's. That's 186 00:10:29,050 --> 00:10:32,970 S1: the land and the book at Moody's. Our fourth and 187 00:10:32,970 --> 00:10:36,690 S1: final segment is Charlie's Devotional. Always a wonderful thing to experience, 188 00:10:36,690 --> 00:10:38,890 S1: so stick around for all of it here on Moody 189 00:10:38,890 --> 00:10:57,080 S1: Radio's The Land and the book. On an average November day, 190 00:10:57,320 --> 00:11:01,880 S1: two college students were attacked on the campus of DePaul University. Why? 191 00:11:02,200 --> 00:11:06,880 S1: Because they were Jewish. The assault was violent, planned, and painful. 192 00:11:07,200 --> 00:11:10,160 S1: It left both students in the hospital. You're about to 193 00:11:10,160 --> 00:11:13,280 S1: meet one of them. From Moody Radio. This is the 194 00:11:13,280 --> 00:11:16,360 S1: land and the book. I'm John Gieger. Glad you're along 195 00:11:16,360 --> 00:11:19,679 S1: for today's broadcast. This is a story, quite frankly, that 196 00:11:19,679 --> 00:11:23,040 S1: has no business unfolding in America or any corner of 197 00:11:23,040 --> 00:11:25,920 S1: this globe. The whole thing makes me angry, I think, 198 00:11:25,960 --> 00:11:28,920 S1: in a proper biblical way. We're honored to visit today 199 00:11:28,920 --> 00:11:32,560 S1: with DePaul University student Michael Kaminski. A welcome to the 200 00:11:32,559 --> 00:11:33,720 S1: land of the book, Michael. 201 00:11:33,960 --> 00:11:35,400 S3: Welcome. Thank you for having me. 202 00:11:35,720 --> 00:11:38,520 S1: So take us to that. That moment, the day that 203 00:11:38,520 --> 00:11:41,839 S1: you were attacked. It's in November of last year. What's 204 00:11:41,840 --> 00:11:45,199 S1: the climate like at DePaul? How comfortable do you feel 205 00:11:45,500 --> 00:11:48,500 S1: expressing your Jewishness. What's going on there? 206 00:11:48,660 --> 00:11:52,620 S3: Yeah. So in November, this was after the encampments, encampments 207 00:11:52,620 --> 00:11:55,340 S3: on our campus was very dangerous. There were knives found. 208 00:11:55,340 --> 00:11:58,260 S3: There were pellet guns found, booby traps. It was just 209 00:11:58,260 --> 00:12:01,740 S3: overall very violent towards the Jewish students. And so Max 210 00:12:01,740 --> 00:12:04,700 S3: and I took it up ourselves to establish a Ask 211 00:12:04,700 --> 00:12:09,340 S3: me Anything session, simply to counter anti-Semitic rhetoric and make 212 00:12:09,380 --> 00:12:11,819 S3: sure that Jewish students feel like they are being supported 213 00:12:11,820 --> 00:12:14,300 S3: on campus and can be visibly Jewish on campus. 214 00:12:14,340 --> 00:12:16,140 S1: Okay, let me hold you right there. You mentioned the 215 00:12:16,140 --> 00:12:18,620 S1: name of Max. He's also joined us to tell his 216 00:12:18,620 --> 00:12:21,060 S1: portion of the story on a previous broadcast. Fun to 217 00:12:21,059 --> 00:12:23,699 S1: visit with him. We'll let you pick it up right there. 218 00:12:24,140 --> 00:12:27,180 S3: So while we were holding these Ask Me Anything sessions, 219 00:12:27,179 --> 00:12:29,940 S3: an individual wearing a ski mask approached us. And just 220 00:12:29,940 --> 00:12:33,059 S3: like any other conversation, he started off by shaking our 221 00:12:33,059 --> 00:12:37,780 S3: hand and asking us basic questions about anti-Semitism or our 222 00:12:37,780 --> 00:12:40,300 S3: thoughts in the Middle East. All the while, we didn't 223 00:12:40,300 --> 00:12:44,140 S3: know that another individual wearing a ski mask would simply 224 00:12:44,290 --> 00:12:47,209 S3: ambush us while we were completely defenseless. Engaging with this 225 00:12:47,210 --> 00:12:50,650 S3: other individual who was masked up and strike my friend 226 00:12:50,650 --> 00:12:54,170 S3: Max from behind. Leaving Max on the ground. And I'm 227 00:12:54,210 --> 00:12:58,410 S3: trying to come in and save my friend from this ambush, 228 00:12:58,530 --> 00:13:01,209 S3: and all of a sudden they start attacking me as well, 229 00:13:01,450 --> 00:13:04,570 S3: which ended up me having to get surgery because I 230 00:13:04,570 --> 00:13:07,730 S3: ended up breaking a bone in my wrist. And so 231 00:13:07,770 --> 00:13:11,929 S3: the overall environment was just generally dangerous. The university knew 232 00:13:12,050 --> 00:13:15,930 S3: that there was violence towards Jewish students happening, and while 233 00:13:15,929 --> 00:13:19,010 S3: we were being attacked, a university public safety officer stood 234 00:13:19,010 --> 00:13:22,810 S3: only feet away, watching the entire attack unfold. Did not 235 00:13:22,809 --> 00:13:26,210 S3: say stop, did not intervene, and let the individuals escape. 236 00:13:26,210 --> 00:13:29,250 S3: Only until five months later. One individual would be arrested 237 00:13:29,290 --> 00:13:31,809 S3: and the other one to this day is still at large. 238 00:13:31,850 --> 00:13:34,650 S1: Wow. Well, we we covered a lot of ground there 239 00:13:34,650 --> 00:13:36,610 S1: in just a few sentences. That had to have been 240 00:13:36,610 --> 00:13:39,970 S1: absolutely terrifying. I mean, I'm guessing for a while you wondered, 241 00:13:39,970 --> 00:13:42,210 S1: am I even going to survive this? Am I overstating 242 00:13:42,210 --> 00:13:43,520 S1: things being too dramatic? 243 00:13:43,720 --> 00:13:47,120 S3: No, definitely. I mean, it was an assault that we 244 00:13:47,120 --> 00:13:50,080 S3: did not even see happening. Every conversation we've had, we 245 00:13:50,080 --> 00:13:53,000 S3: always shake people's hands, whether they agree with us or not. 246 00:13:53,040 --> 00:13:56,280 S3: And the fact that this individual approached us from an 247 00:13:56,400 --> 00:14:00,400 S3: innocent perspective, shaking our hand. Yes, he was wearing a mask, 248 00:14:00,400 --> 00:14:03,600 S3: but it's Chicago. It's not uncommon sometimes for people to 249 00:14:03,640 --> 00:14:06,800 S3: wear masks, but he used that as his way to 250 00:14:06,880 --> 00:14:10,080 S3: lure us in, try and gain some of his trust 251 00:14:10,080 --> 00:14:12,720 S3: simply for his accomplice to come in and strike from behind. 252 00:14:12,720 --> 00:14:14,920 S3: It was definitely a scary situation. 253 00:14:14,920 --> 00:14:17,240 S1: Were there no others around at that point? Were there 254 00:14:17,240 --> 00:14:19,800 S1: no other students or what was going on there? 255 00:14:19,800 --> 00:14:21,800 S3: No, it was it was midday. It was a Wednesday 256 00:14:21,800 --> 00:14:24,760 S3: at 3 p.m., students walking around on campus. It was 257 00:14:24,760 --> 00:14:27,800 S3: a bright, sunny day. People witnessed the attack. In fact, 258 00:14:27,800 --> 00:14:30,480 S3: after the attack unfolded, students came up to us and 259 00:14:30,480 --> 00:14:33,640 S3: instead of offering support, they said, you guys all deserve 260 00:14:33,640 --> 00:14:38,560 S3: to go to hell for supporting Israel and for allowing 261 00:14:38,560 --> 00:14:41,200 S3: this attack to occur on you guys. They were in 262 00:14:41,200 --> 00:14:43,710 S3: support of the attackers, rather than asking us if we 263 00:14:43,750 --> 00:14:45,870 S3: were okay, and it was just completely mind baffling. 264 00:14:46,470 --> 00:14:48,630 S1: Well, we have to ask the question, what are some 265 00:14:48,630 --> 00:14:51,790 S1: of the factors do you think that led to the 266 00:14:51,790 --> 00:14:56,150 S1: increasingly brazen attacks, you know, on Jewish people at DePaul 267 00:14:56,150 --> 00:14:58,510 S1: and other campuses? What what's going on there? 268 00:14:58,550 --> 00:15:02,230 S3: I think it's the failure of the institutions failing to 269 00:15:02,270 --> 00:15:06,510 S3: understand that anti-Zionism is anti-Semitism, and failing to talk with 270 00:15:06,510 --> 00:15:10,630 S3: the Jewish communities on the college campuses to really gauge 271 00:15:10,630 --> 00:15:13,070 S3: their sense of the violence that is happening towards them, 272 00:15:13,070 --> 00:15:15,710 S3: and understand what exactly needs to be put in place 273 00:15:15,710 --> 00:15:20,070 S3: in order to counter violence against the Jewish people specifically. 274 00:15:20,230 --> 00:15:23,630 S3: And the fact that the university, in fact, ended their 275 00:15:23,630 --> 00:15:26,750 S3: contract with a safety company that they put in place 276 00:15:26,950 --> 00:15:30,990 S3: following the encampments set up, they increased security by 30% 277 00:15:30,990 --> 00:15:35,270 S3: after the encampment on November 1st. That security contract ended, 278 00:15:35,270 --> 00:15:38,950 S3: for whatever reason, without ever asking Jewish students if we 279 00:15:38,950 --> 00:15:43,020 S3: felt safe. And right afterwards, on November 6th, we get attacked. 280 00:15:43,060 --> 00:15:45,740 S3: I mean, if you don't kind of correlate between the 281 00:15:45,740 --> 00:15:49,660 S3: fact that the safety has decreased on campus without asking 282 00:15:49,660 --> 00:15:53,060 S3: Jewish students and then immediately five days later, students get attacked. 283 00:15:53,100 --> 00:15:55,220 S3: I mean, it's just so out of touch between the 284 00:15:55,220 --> 00:15:58,540 S3: administrators and the students. And this is what's happening globally, 285 00:15:58,540 --> 00:15:59,900 S3: across college campuses. 286 00:16:00,100 --> 00:16:02,100 S1: It's an honor to be joined today on the land 287 00:16:02,100 --> 00:16:05,660 S1: and the book by Michael Kaminski, a courageous college student 288 00:16:05,660 --> 00:16:08,980 S1: who deserves our full salute, along with his friend Max long. 289 00:16:09,020 --> 00:16:11,980 S1: He was attacked and hospitalized. But of course, he's lived 290 00:16:11,980 --> 00:16:13,940 S1: to tell about it, and we're glad to have him 291 00:16:13,940 --> 00:16:16,220 S1: with us on the land and the book. What else 292 00:16:16,220 --> 00:16:19,060 S1: do you recall about that attack that surprised you? 293 00:16:19,340 --> 00:16:21,660 S3: I feel the fact that they were wearing full face 294 00:16:21,660 --> 00:16:25,460 S3: ski masks, and not a single person was stopped while 295 00:16:25,500 --> 00:16:28,260 S3: approaching us. I mean, a public safety officer was there, 296 00:16:28,260 --> 00:16:31,940 S3: standing right behind us outside, observed everything, and he didn't 297 00:16:31,940 --> 00:16:34,180 S3: even come up to question why this person is wearing 298 00:16:34,180 --> 00:16:38,740 S3: a ski mask in warm weather. And if this person 299 00:16:38,740 --> 00:16:41,090 S3: was even a student, there was no way to possibly 300 00:16:41,090 --> 00:16:43,850 S3: identify this individual. And this individual talked to us for 301 00:16:43,850 --> 00:16:46,530 S3: several minutes and engaged in conversation. The fact that the 302 00:16:46,530 --> 00:16:51,170 S3: public safety officer either wasn't paying attention, or simply thought 303 00:16:51,170 --> 00:16:55,090 S3: that it was a normal response for an individual to 304 00:16:55,130 --> 00:16:58,090 S3: approach other students that are known to be Jews on 305 00:16:58,090 --> 00:17:02,290 S3: campus is just completely confusing, and only until now, the 306 00:17:02,290 --> 00:17:07,330 S3: university releases, uh, efforts in order to ban full masks 307 00:17:07,330 --> 00:17:11,930 S3: on campus to an extent only right before their committee hearing, 308 00:17:11,970 --> 00:17:15,770 S3: when the university had to testify before Congress for their 309 00:17:15,770 --> 00:17:20,090 S3: failures to combat antisemitism, is just so out of touch 310 00:17:20,090 --> 00:17:23,130 S3: with the realities that Jewish students face on this campus. 311 00:17:23,609 --> 00:17:26,330 S1: What do you think is the single most dangerous thing 312 00:17:26,450 --> 00:17:29,010 S1: that we're allowing to go on in this country that 313 00:17:29,050 --> 00:17:32,490 S1: leads to attacks like the one you and Max experienced? 314 00:17:32,970 --> 00:17:36,690 S3: It's definitely a difficult question. I think that safety measures 315 00:17:36,690 --> 00:17:41,480 S3: not being put in place is definitely dangerous, and allowing 316 00:17:41,800 --> 00:17:45,280 S3: encampments to go up and not immediately taking action, and 317 00:17:45,280 --> 00:17:49,960 S3: instead trying to talk with individuals who are simply advocating 318 00:17:49,960 --> 00:17:53,040 S3: for the erasure of the State of Israel and the 319 00:17:53,040 --> 00:17:57,440 S3: erasure of all Jewish people is just completely disappointing. And 320 00:17:57,440 --> 00:18:01,960 S3: I think that administrators are just allowing themselves to be 321 00:18:02,240 --> 00:18:08,359 S3: whitewashed by individuals who want to come and spread terroristic 322 00:18:08,359 --> 00:18:12,360 S3: views and are not being stopped because they're playing a 323 00:18:12,359 --> 00:18:15,280 S3: role in shaping the way that they phrase things in 324 00:18:15,280 --> 00:18:18,600 S3: order to not sound like they're specifically saying, we don't 325 00:18:18,600 --> 00:18:22,119 S3: like Jewish people, and we want all Jewish people to 326 00:18:22,400 --> 00:18:25,800 S3: die or go somewhere else. The fact that administrators are 327 00:18:25,800 --> 00:18:30,240 S3: not understanding the very basics of Judaism, of people on 328 00:18:30,240 --> 00:18:34,320 S3: their campuses, and are allowing conversations to occur where students 329 00:18:34,320 --> 00:18:37,630 S3: are able to shout all the profanities and hate towards 330 00:18:37,630 --> 00:18:40,550 S3: Jewish people on campus in the sake of, quote, freeing 331 00:18:40,550 --> 00:18:44,430 S3: Palestine is just completely absurd, and I think institutions need 332 00:18:44,430 --> 00:18:48,510 S3: to take immediate action right away in disciplinary hearings with 333 00:18:48,510 --> 00:18:52,270 S3: individuals who want to spew hate and discriminate against people 334 00:18:52,310 --> 00:18:53,750 S3: simply based on their religion. 335 00:18:53,990 --> 00:18:56,550 S1: Do you ever scratch your head or say, this is 336 00:18:56,550 --> 00:18:59,109 S1: a non-sequitur, that on the one hand, we want to 337 00:18:59,150 --> 00:19:04,710 S1: champion the cause of free thinking and and inclusiveness? And 338 00:19:04,750 --> 00:19:07,350 S1: on the other hand, we we allow the bashing of 339 00:19:07,350 --> 00:19:10,470 S1: of Jewish people. Doesn't that just seem like how can 340 00:19:10,470 --> 00:19:13,109 S1: you say with a straight face, we want to encourage 341 00:19:13,109 --> 00:19:18,070 S1: all viewpoints and then allow anti-Semitic activity to go on? 342 00:19:18,109 --> 00:19:20,470 S3: Right. I feel like it's counterintuitive. I mean, how could 343 00:19:20,470 --> 00:19:23,229 S3: you encourage people to say it's a college campus? You 344 00:19:23,230 --> 00:19:26,350 S3: have a First Amendment right? Free thinkers. We encourage people 345 00:19:26,350 --> 00:19:29,389 S3: to have ideas of their own and then at the 346 00:19:29,390 --> 00:19:31,670 S3: same time say, oh, but if you want to discriminate 347 00:19:31,670 --> 00:19:34,910 S3: against the Jews, it's perfectly fine if they were discriminating 348 00:19:35,090 --> 00:19:40,690 S3: against any other religion, race, gender, sex, identity, anything. These 349 00:19:40,690 --> 00:19:45,370 S3: individuals would be immediately suspended or immediately on probation. But 350 00:19:45,369 --> 00:19:48,010 S3: it's only when it's against the Jewish people that the 351 00:19:48,010 --> 00:19:50,649 S3: word context always seems to come up. 352 00:19:51,090 --> 00:19:54,330 S1: DePaul University student Michael Kaminski joins us today on the 353 00:19:54,330 --> 00:19:56,890 S1: Land and the book. He and his friend Max long 354 00:19:56,930 --> 00:20:00,210 S1: were attacked on campus just for being Jewish. I stood 355 00:20:00,210 --> 00:20:02,890 S1: at the very spot where they were attacked. We're hearing 356 00:20:02,890 --> 00:20:06,090 S1: his important story firsthand. Do you feel that there has 357 00:20:06,090 --> 00:20:09,450 S1: been any change, either sort of in the wind, in 358 00:20:09,450 --> 00:20:12,610 S1: the vibe on campus, or in policies and procedures at 359 00:20:12,609 --> 00:20:14,970 S1: DePaul since your attack? Or now, is it pretty much 360 00:20:14,970 --> 00:20:16,290 S1: business as usual? 361 00:20:16,330 --> 00:20:18,850 S3: Absolutely. I think there is change being put on, but 362 00:20:18,850 --> 00:20:21,730 S3: that's because it's coming directly from the students that have 363 00:20:21,730 --> 00:20:24,690 S3: had enough, such as myself and Max and other Jewish 364 00:20:24,690 --> 00:20:27,490 S3: student leaders on campus. We are forcing the hand of 365 00:20:27,490 --> 00:20:29,889 S3: the university to have to listen to us because of 366 00:20:29,890 --> 00:20:33,250 S3: their continued efforts of not trying to listen to the 367 00:20:33,250 --> 00:20:36,760 S3: Jewish students on campus. In turn, we are trying to 368 00:20:36,800 --> 00:20:39,680 S3: speak out wherever we can and bring to light the 369 00:20:39,680 --> 00:20:44,119 S3: continued systemic failure of protecting Jewish students on campus for years. 370 00:20:44,320 --> 00:20:46,680 S3: And we finally got the university to have to even 371 00:20:46,680 --> 00:20:49,560 S3: testify in front of the Education and Workforce Committee on 372 00:20:49,560 --> 00:20:54,160 S3: May 7th, 2025, in their failures to combat anti-Semitism, the 373 00:20:54,160 --> 00:20:58,280 S3: ADL American Defamation League literally gave our university an F 374 00:20:58,320 --> 00:21:00,639 S3: grade rating, one of only nine schools to receive an 375 00:21:00,680 --> 00:21:03,920 S3: F grade rating in protecting its Jewish students. And so 376 00:21:03,920 --> 00:21:07,399 S3: the Jewish students are speaking up. Finally, it's very encouraging, 377 00:21:07,400 --> 00:21:09,840 S3: but it wasn't until we finally started to use our 378 00:21:09,840 --> 00:21:12,360 S3: voice and amplify it for the better that the university 379 00:21:12,400 --> 00:21:15,840 S3: finally decided to take some action. And that action just 380 00:21:15,840 --> 00:21:18,840 S3: so happened to come right before they had to go testify, 381 00:21:19,040 --> 00:21:20,919 S3: and they had a year and a half to make change, 382 00:21:21,040 --> 00:21:23,280 S3: and now all of a sudden they have to go 383 00:21:23,280 --> 00:21:26,439 S3: testify and they're making change now for the for the 384 00:21:26,480 --> 00:21:30,200 S3: betterment of looking good in front of the committee is 385 00:21:30,200 --> 00:21:32,240 S3: just completely mind baffling. 386 00:21:32,440 --> 00:21:34,590 S1: Yeah. Doesn't the timing on that, though, call into question 387 00:21:34,590 --> 00:21:38,230 S1: your own confidence in their willingness to actually stand behind 388 00:21:38,390 --> 00:21:41,030 S1: these supposed changes and actually pull them off, or is 389 00:21:41,030 --> 00:21:42,510 S1: it just sort of lip service? 390 00:21:42,550 --> 00:21:44,869 S3: No, it's definitely all lip service is what I think. 391 00:21:44,910 --> 00:21:48,870 S3: I mean, now the university created a, quote, anti-Semitism task force. 392 00:21:48,910 --> 00:21:53,710 S3: Now the university released, um, a mask ban violation that 393 00:21:53,750 --> 00:21:56,470 S3: any public safety officer can ask anybody wearing a full 394 00:21:56,470 --> 00:22:00,110 S3: face mask to lower their mask and ask for their identity. 395 00:22:00,150 --> 00:22:04,150 S3: Now the university suspended SJP students for Justice in Palestine. 396 00:22:04,150 --> 00:22:06,670 S3: That holds most of all of these protests on campus 397 00:22:06,670 --> 00:22:10,550 S3: that are directly targeting Jewish students only now, when they 398 00:22:10,550 --> 00:22:13,550 S3: have to go testify before this committee hearing, do they 399 00:22:13,550 --> 00:22:16,190 S3: do this. I mean, it's just so out of touch 400 00:22:16,190 --> 00:22:18,670 S3: with the Jewish students. They had so long to create 401 00:22:18,670 --> 00:22:21,830 S3: all of these different measures to put in place. I 402 00:22:21,869 --> 00:22:22,870 S3: don't understand it. 403 00:22:23,030 --> 00:22:25,750 S1: What's your message for Americans who say, well, maybe this 404 00:22:25,750 --> 00:22:27,670 S1: was sort of a one off. It's not it's not 405 00:22:27,670 --> 00:22:30,109 S1: really happening that much on our campuses, is it? 406 00:22:30,270 --> 00:22:31,780 S3: Oh, it definitely is. I mean, you can look at 407 00:22:31,780 --> 00:22:35,260 S3: Columbia almost every single day. There's something going on. In fact, 408 00:22:35,660 --> 00:22:39,100 S3: May 7th, 2025 as well, the same day that my 409 00:22:39,100 --> 00:22:42,020 S3: university had to go testify before the committee, there was 410 00:22:42,020 --> 00:22:46,980 S3: a storming in Columbia University's library where students, Jewish students 411 00:22:47,020 --> 00:22:49,660 S3: wanted to use the library to study for finals, and 412 00:22:49,660 --> 00:22:53,820 S3: they were met with angry mob of protesters, not just students, 413 00:22:53,820 --> 00:22:59,020 S3: but outside community organizers coming storming into their libraries, dismantling 414 00:22:59,020 --> 00:23:03,260 S3: the entire place, writing Free Palestine all over the windows, yelling, screaming. 415 00:23:03,260 --> 00:23:05,580 S3: I mean, there were over 40 arrests made, and that's 416 00:23:05,580 --> 00:23:08,859 S3: just one school we can look at. Harvard, where Shabbos 417 00:23:08,900 --> 00:23:12,100 S3: kestenbaum is suing the university on title six complaints. We 418 00:23:12,100 --> 00:23:15,179 S3: can look at almost any university, UCLA, you name a 419 00:23:15,180 --> 00:23:19,820 S3: university that doesn't have antisemitism on their campus. The fact 420 00:23:19,820 --> 00:23:23,380 S3: that it's so mobilized so quickly right after October 7th 421 00:23:23,619 --> 00:23:26,540 S3: just seems like it was a pre-planned attack against the 422 00:23:26,540 --> 00:23:32,930 S3: American educational institutions. And it's an anti anti-American, anti-Western calling 423 00:23:32,970 --> 00:23:36,169 S3: against not just Jewish people, but people who just want 424 00:23:36,170 --> 00:23:39,730 S3: to think freely and be democratic. 425 00:23:40,490 --> 00:23:43,970 S1: If you were suddenly made president of DePaul University, what 426 00:23:43,970 --> 00:23:46,689 S1: change in policy would you initiate with regard to treatment 427 00:23:46,690 --> 00:23:47,730 S1: of Jewish students? 428 00:23:47,810 --> 00:23:50,130 S3: I think the first thing I would do is immediately 429 00:23:50,130 --> 00:23:55,770 S3: hold any individual who ever threatened whoever tried to harass 430 00:23:55,810 --> 00:24:00,210 S3: any Jewish student on campus immediately accountable for their actions, 431 00:24:00,530 --> 00:24:04,010 S3: no matter what, as long as it's verifiable. And there 432 00:24:04,010 --> 00:24:06,850 S3: is evidence that that things like this happen because of course, 433 00:24:06,850 --> 00:24:09,090 S3: you always have to go through that system. But if 434 00:24:09,090 --> 00:24:12,370 S3: you can verify that these students on our campus are 435 00:24:12,369 --> 00:24:15,610 S3: spewing hate and discrimination against other students who simply want 436 00:24:15,609 --> 00:24:18,730 S3: to have an education, they need to be held accountable 437 00:24:18,730 --> 00:24:22,770 S3: immediately for their actions. Only two individuals were arrested as 438 00:24:22,770 --> 00:24:25,410 S3: a result of the encampment. Not a single student was 439 00:24:25,410 --> 00:24:28,530 S3: held accountable. Not a single student was put on suspension. 440 00:24:28,640 --> 00:24:31,160 S3: Not a single student was expelled and the encampment went 441 00:24:31,160 --> 00:24:33,840 S3: on for 17 days with weapons. I mean, how could 442 00:24:33,840 --> 00:24:37,360 S3: the university be so out of touch with trying to 443 00:24:37,359 --> 00:24:40,639 S3: hold individuals accountable? I think immediately the first thing I 444 00:24:40,640 --> 00:24:44,480 S3: would do is create disciplinary hearings for every student who 445 00:24:44,480 --> 00:24:48,280 S3: is involved on their campus, trying to discriminate against my 446 00:24:48,320 --> 00:24:51,520 S3: own student community that I would be president of, and 447 00:24:51,520 --> 00:24:54,240 S3: ensure that their policies taken in place for us to 448 00:24:54,280 --> 00:24:57,120 S3: set a clear precedent that hate is not allowed on 449 00:24:57,119 --> 00:24:57,800 S3: our campus. 450 00:24:58,200 --> 00:25:00,680 S1: Last question. We've got to make this one quick. What 451 00:25:00,680 --> 00:25:03,680 S1: would you say to listeners who hear this conversation and say, wow, 452 00:25:04,000 --> 00:25:06,240 S1: we'd like to make a difference, but how? Michael. 453 00:25:06,520 --> 00:25:09,440 S3: I think just standing with the Jewish people however you can, 454 00:25:09,840 --> 00:25:13,600 S3: whether that's, uh, reposting something on social media, whether that's 455 00:25:13,600 --> 00:25:17,160 S3: going to a Shabbat dinner, trying Jewish food, Israeli food, 456 00:25:17,400 --> 00:25:21,080 S3: whatever you can to understand the culture, read history, read 457 00:25:21,119 --> 00:25:23,800 S3: background and just stand with the community. At the end 458 00:25:23,800 --> 00:25:25,879 S3: of the day, Israel is central to not just the 459 00:25:25,880 --> 00:25:30,590 S3: Jewish community, but to the Christian community and several other religions, 460 00:25:30,590 --> 00:25:33,629 S3: it is pretty much the center of the universe. And so, 461 00:25:33,670 --> 00:25:35,470 S3: as long as we can all try and live in 462 00:25:35,470 --> 00:25:37,949 S3: a more united space, then I think that we can 463 00:25:37,950 --> 00:25:39,909 S3: lead to interfaith unity. 464 00:25:40,270 --> 00:25:43,070 S1: Michael, you have our salute. We appreciate your courage in 465 00:25:43,109 --> 00:25:46,990 S1: showing up and sharing this story, informing our listeners. Thank 466 00:25:46,990 --> 00:25:48,790 S1: you so much for your time. Appreciate it. 467 00:25:48,790 --> 00:25:49,429 S3: Thank you. 468 00:25:49,790 --> 00:25:52,150 S1: Up next, it's a fresh set of Bible questions. I'm 469 00:25:52,150 --> 00:25:54,710 S1: looking forward to hearing those right here on the land 470 00:25:54,710 --> 00:26:08,869 S1: and the book. Welcome back to segment three of the 471 00:26:08,869 --> 00:26:11,510 S1: land and the book. I'm John Gager joined in the 472 00:26:11,510 --> 00:26:14,190 S1: studio by Doctor Gerald Peterman. He serves on the Moody 473 00:26:14,190 --> 00:26:17,310 S1: Bible Institute faculty. How many students, Jerry, do you typically 474 00:26:17,310 --> 00:26:21,390 S1: teach in a given semester? You got 30, 40, 60, 100, 150. 475 00:26:21,430 --> 00:26:23,110 S1: How many are you typically working with? 476 00:26:23,150 --> 00:26:26,030 S4: Oh, it varies a little bit between, say, 50 and 100, 477 00:26:26,100 --> 00:26:27,699 S4: depending upon the class I teach. 478 00:26:27,740 --> 00:26:29,340 S1: That's a lot of students to keep track of. 479 00:26:29,740 --> 00:26:32,460 S4: Ah, thankfully. Thankfully, I don't have to keep track of 480 00:26:32,460 --> 00:26:34,500 S4: all myself. You know, I have a student assistant who 481 00:26:34,500 --> 00:26:35,580 S4: helps me with that. Yeah. 482 00:26:35,619 --> 00:26:38,300 S1: All right, well, you're a student assistant. This time is 483 00:26:38,300 --> 00:26:41,060 S1: just me, little old me, dishing out the questions that 484 00:26:41,060 --> 00:26:43,260 S1: have come to us from listeners. And by the way, 485 00:26:43,540 --> 00:26:45,900 S1: if you've got a question for our Q&A segment, it's 486 00:26:45,900 --> 00:26:48,340 S1: welcome when you email us at The Land and the 487 00:26:48,380 --> 00:26:52,540 S1: Book at Moody's. Before we get to our first question, 488 00:26:52,580 --> 00:26:56,020 S1: a quick observation that Romans 116 tells us the gospel 489 00:26:56,020 --> 00:26:59,020 S1: is to the Jew first and also to the Gentile. 490 00:26:59,380 --> 00:27:01,020 S1: But how do you share the gospel with a Jewish 491 00:27:01,020 --> 00:27:05,620 S1: person because of cultural, historical, and religious differences? Sometimes it's 492 00:27:05,619 --> 00:27:09,659 S1: challenging to just navigate a simple gospel conversation with somebody 493 00:27:09,660 --> 00:27:13,180 S1: from a Jewish background. You ever wondered how the professionals 494 00:27:13,180 --> 00:27:13,900 S1: do this? 495 00:27:13,940 --> 00:27:16,700 S4: Well, to answer this question, our friends at Life in 496 00:27:16,700 --> 00:27:20,260 S4: Messiah want to mail you samples of the tracks their 497 00:27:20,260 --> 00:27:23,379 S4: staff use as they share the gospel. This will serve 498 00:27:23,420 --> 00:27:27,570 S4: a dual purpose of equipping you with methods of presenting 499 00:27:27,570 --> 00:27:30,610 S4: the gospel and also supplying you with tracts you can 500 00:27:30,609 --> 00:27:34,129 S4: share with your Jewish friends and neighbors. Life in Messiah's 501 00:27:34,130 --> 00:27:36,850 S4: Prayer is that these tracks will help further the spread 502 00:27:36,850 --> 00:27:40,170 S4: of the gospel among the Jewish people. To receive this 503 00:27:40,170 --> 00:27:42,770 S4: helpful assortment of tracks, all you need to do is 504 00:27:42,770 --> 00:27:47,730 S4: visit Life Messiah and click on the radio button for 505 00:27:47,730 --> 00:27:53,090 S4: more information. That's life in Messiah. Don't miss out on 506 00:27:53,090 --> 00:27:54,330 S4: this great opportunity. 507 00:27:54,369 --> 00:27:57,050 S1: Well, fasten your seat belts. We're about to shoot all 508 00:27:57,050 --> 00:27:59,770 S1: over the Bible from the Old Testament to the new, 509 00:27:59,970 --> 00:28:03,130 S1: and we'll get in as many questions as we can. Again, 510 00:28:03,130 --> 00:28:05,689 S1: our email address for your question. The land and the 511 00:28:05,730 --> 00:28:10,250 S1: book at Sharon is first up with her question about 512 00:28:10,250 --> 00:28:13,889 S1: verses that say something like, If God permits. That's the 513 00:28:13,890 --> 00:28:16,610 S1: operative phrase here in Hebrews six three. It says we 514 00:28:16,609 --> 00:28:19,930 S1: can go on to maturity if God permits. In second 515 00:28:19,930 --> 00:28:23,790 S1: Timothy 225, Paul says in humility, correcting those who are 516 00:28:23,790 --> 00:28:27,630 S1: in opposition. If God perhaps will grant them repentance so 517 00:28:27,630 --> 00:28:30,390 S1: that they may know the truth. And in acts 822 518 00:28:30,430 --> 00:28:34,629 S1: Peter says, repent therefore of this your wickedness, and pray God, 519 00:28:34,630 --> 00:28:38,590 S1: if perhaps the thought of your heart may be forgiven. Why? Perhaps, 520 00:28:38,590 --> 00:28:40,470 S1: or if God permits. 521 00:28:41,390 --> 00:28:43,950 S4: Oh, this is a wonderful question. Made me think. And 522 00:28:43,950 --> 00:28:46,310 S4: I just love that I can see where the verses 523 00:28:46,310 --> 00:28:50,310 S4: can be difficult. Let's ask the question is it God's 524 00:28:50,310 --> 00:28:53,270 S4: will for us to grow? Is it God's will for 525 00:28:53,270 --> 00:28:56,950 S4: us to repent? Yes, indeed it is. That's the short answer, 526 00:28:56,950 --> 00:29:00,270 S4: and it's the right answer. But sometimes I think there 527 00:29:00,470 --> 00:29:03,470 S4: are opportunities. Or maybe I should say sometimes. There are 528 00:29:04,070 --> 00:29:07,830 S4: times when we flirt with sin. We flirt with evil, 529 00:29:08,670 --> 00:29:13,470 S4: and then it becomes difficult for us to repent, to turn, 530 00:29:13,510 --> 00:29:16,030 S4: to grow. And only the grace of God can get 531 00:29:16,030 --> 00:29:20,710 S4: us there. Let's read all three of these passages in 532 00:29:20,710 --> 00:29:24,460 S4: their context Text in Hebrew six right after the verse 533 00:29:24,460 --> 00:29:28,100 S4: that we read. It talks about those who are enlightened, 534 00:29:28,300 --> 00:29:30,940 S4: who know about the heavenly gift, and then they fall away. 535 00:29:31,620 --> 00:29:35,500 S4: They can't be renewed to repentance. Other versions say it's 536 00:29:35,500 --> 00:29:38,700 S4: impossible for them to be renewed to repentance. That is 537 00:29:38,700 --> 00:29:41,580 S4: a scary, scary thought. They can only come to that 538 00:29:41,580 --> 00:29:45,820 S4: place if God is working, if God permits it. In 539 00:29:45,820 --> 00:29:48,100 S4: the Timothy passage, if we go on to read more 540 00:29:48,100 --> 00:29:51,260 S4: of it, Paul talks about people who were caught in 541 00:29:51,260 --> 00:29:54,100 S4: the snare of the devil. Oh my goodness, what a 542 00:29:54,100 --> 00:29:56,780 S4: horrible place for them to be. God would have to give, 543 00:29:56,820 --> 00:30:00,420 S4: if you will, some special grace for them to repent. 544 00:30:00,420 --> 00:30:04,460 S4: And the acts eight passage we have Simon, who used 545 00:30:04,460 --> 00:30:08,460 S4: to be a sorcerer. He enacts a. Seems like he 546 00:30:08,460 --> 00:30:12,900 S4: comes to believe the gospel. He is baptized. But then afterwards, 547 00:30:12,900 --> 00:30:15,420 S4: when he sees what kind of power Peter has, he 548 00:30:15,420 --> 00:30:19,620 S4: tries to buy that power with money. That is a 549 00:30:19,620 --> 00:30:24,770 S4: serious deception. And so Peter rebukes him quite harshly with 550 00:30:24,770 --> 00:30:27,690 S4: this word of Perhaps God will allow you to repent, 551 00:30:27,690 --> 00:30:31,650 S4: so we shouldn't abuse the grace of God. If we 552 00:30:31,730 --> 00:30:35,450 S4: flirt with evil, it might be very difficult for us 553 00:30:35,450 --> 00:30:38,330 S4: to return unless God especially permitting it. 554 00:30:38,490 --> 00:30:40,130 S1: Okay, I want to stay with this question for just 555 00:30:40,130 --> 00:30:43,370 S1: a moment, please. For somebody who has flirted with evil, 556 00:30:43,370 --> 00:30:46,490 S1: they're hearing this conversation and they go, gee, I guess 557 00:30:46,490 --> 00:30:49,850 S1: that is sort of me. I have flirted with evil. Uh, 558 00:30:49,970 --> 00:30:53,450 S1: you know, sin becomes habitual. What is the road back 559 00:30:53,450 --> 00:30:54,090 S1: for them? 560 00:30:54,210 --> 00:30:56,290 S4: What is the road back? It's a great question. The 561 00:30:56,290 --> 00:31:00,130 S4: road back is remorse for what has happened, the evil 562 00:31:00,130 --> 00:31:03,330 S4: we've done in the past. The road back is hating 563 00:31:03,850 --> 00:31:06,410 S4: these things that we have done. The road back is 564 00:31:06,410 --> 00:31:09,690 S4: repenting of these things we have done. Now, that may 565 00:31:09,730 --> 00:31:12,890 S4: take time. It may take several days or several weeks, 566 00:31:13,050 --> 00:31:15,530 S4: but it means getting back on the journey of turning 567 00:31:15,530 --> 00:31:18,890 S4: away from these things. And I think God will be 568 00:31:18,930 --> 00:31:23,360 S4: active in that process. But there must be a deep 569 00:31:23,400 --> 00:31:27,080 S4: emotional and spiritual revulsion, if I can say, of our 570 00:31:27,080 --> 00:31:30,360 S4: past evil, that we turn away from. Again, you read 571 00:31:30,360 --> 00:31:32,280 S4: the book of Hebrews. Again, you read other places in 572 00:31:32,280 --> 00:31:34,480 S4: the book of acts. Again, you read. You read in Paul. 573 00:31:34,640 --> 00:31:40,080 S4: God works graciously with those who are remorseful and repentant. 574 00:31:40,640 --> 00:31:44,000 S1: I'm reminded of Jay Carty book I read Jay, a 575 00:31:44,000 --> 00:31:48,000 S1: former NBA player, strong believer. He talked about this, this 576 00:31:48,280 --> 00:31:52,560 S1: restorative process. And he says a good measuring tool is 577 00:31:53,000 --> 00:31:57,239 S1: can you see yourself lengthening the space, the frequency that 578 00:31:57,240 --> 00:31:59,760 S1: you have to confess the same sin? Is that getting 579 00:31:59,760 --> 00:32:02,800 S1: longer and longer? That's a good measuring place to to 580 00:32:02,840 --> 00:32:04,440 S1: know that, you know, God is at work in your 581 00:32:04,440 --> 00:32:06,240 S1: life and and you're doing your part of it, too. 582 00:32:06,280 --> 00:32:09,280 S4: Oh, absolutely. When the space is much bigger and grows 583 00:32:09,280 --> 00:32:12,000 S4: larger and larger between the times we have to repent, 584 00:32:12,000 --> 00:32:15,360 S4: we can see that as a marker that God is 585 00:32:15,360 --> 00:32:16,960 S4: working in us. Absolutely. 586 00:32:17,000 --> 00:32:20,070 S1: Doctor Gerald Peterman sharing his wisdom, his knowledge of Scripture 587 00:32:20,070 --> 00:32:22,430 S1: with us as he does every week on the land 588 00:32:22,430 --> 00:32:24,750 S1: and the book where your question is welcome. If you 589 00:32:24,790 --> 00:32:27,910 S1: email us at The Land and the book at Moody's. 590 00:32:28,950 --> 00:32:32,270 S1: Chris takes us to Jeremiah chapter nine, verse 13 says, 591 00:32:32,470 --> 00:32:35,550 S1: it is because this is God speaking. They have forsaken 592 00:32:35,550 --> 00:32:38,030 S1: my law, which I have set before them. They have 593 00:32:38,030 --> 00:32:41,469 S1: not obeyed me or followed my law. It goes on. Instead, 594 00:32:41,470 --> 00:32:44,470 S1: they have followed the stubbornness of their hearts. They have 595 00:32:44,470 --> 00:32:48,190 S1: followed the bales as their ancestors taught them. Therefore I 596 00:32:48,190 --> 00:32:51,230 S1: will scatter them among the nations that neither they nor 597 00:32:51,230 --> 00:32:54,150 S1: their ancestors have known, and I will pursue them with 598 00:32:54,150 --> 00:32:56,830 S1: the sword until I have made an end of them. 599 00:32:56,830 --> 00:33:00,710 S1: Now here's the question. Are these verses describing the ongoing 600 00:33:00,750 --> 00:33:04,430 S1: persecution of Jewish people because they still fail to recognize 601 00:33:04,430 --> 00:33:07,990 S1: God's Son as their Messiah? We always hear of anti-Semitism, 602 00:33:07,990 --> 00:33:10,510 S1: but is this really coming from the Lord himself as 603 00:33:10,510 --> 00:33:11,510 S1: he is declared? 604 00:33:11,950 --> 00:33:14,390 S4: Well, I really appreciate what Chris is doing. Even though 605 00:33:14,430 --> 00:33:18,300 S4: Jeremiah is hundreds of years old. He's wondering, does the 606 00:33:18,300 --> 00:33:21,060 S4: Scripture apply to today? We should be thinking these kinds 607 00:33:21,060 --> 00:33:25,700 S4: of questions. So coming to this question, let's ask ourselves 608 00:33:25,700 --> 00:33:29,980 S4: how God has worked in Scripture many times. Many times 609 00:33:30,300 --> 00:33:36,540 S4: God has worked with his people, using unbelieving nations to 610 00:33:36,580 --> 00:33:40,580 S4: discipline his people. Think judges chapter two. And if you 611 00:33:40,580 --> 00:33:43,900 S4: read judges chapter two, you see there's a pattern. The 612 00:33:43,900 --> 00:33:47,260 S4: people of God go after idols. God raises up a 613 00:33:47,260 --> 00:33:50,500 S4: foreign nation to oppress them. They cry out for help. 614 00:33:50,540 --> 00:33:54,060 S4: God raises up a judge. So they come back to 615 00:33:54,060 --> 00:33:56,700 S4: the Lord. And then the whole cycle returns, and it 616 00:33:56,700 --> 00:33:59,940 S4: comes over and over and over and over and over again. 617 00:33:59,940 --> 00:34:04,220 S4: So I'm going to repeat it. God has often worked 618 00:34:04,220 --> 00:34:08,780 S4: with foreign nations to bring his people to repentance. Now, 619 00:34:08,980 --> 00:34:12,620 S4: does this mean that God works with those nations, and 620 00:34:12,620 --> 00:34:17,050 S4: all that those nations do is righteous? Just oh, no, 621 00:34:17,370 --> 00:34:21,610 S4: here's going to be my conclusion. Antisemitism and violence against 622 00:34:21,610 --> 00:34:26,209 S4: the Jewish people is always wrong. Even if God is 623 00:34:26,210 --> 00:34:30,370 S4: so big and so powerful as to work in it 624 00:34:30,370 --> 00:34:34,330 S4: for his people's good. The antisemitism and the violence of 625 00:34:34,330 --> 00:34:39,810 S4: Hamas is always evil. Let me give you another scriptural example. Pilot. 626 00:34:41,290 --> 00:34:44,689 S4: Pilot was the governor of the land. Jesus is brought 627 00:34:44,690 --> 00:34:48,850 S4: before him. Do we need Jesus to die for our sins? 628 00:34:48,850 --> 00:34:51,529 S4: We do. What does Pilate need to do? He needs 629 00:34:51,530 --> 00:34:55,370 S4: to be a righteous judge. Is he? He is not. 630 00:34:55,770 --> 00:35:00,290 S4: Jesus dies wrongly. And so even God worked through the 631 00:35:00,290 --> 00:35:03,890 S4: disobedience of Pilate to accomplish his purpose. 632 00:35:04,290 --> 00:35:05,930 S1: Yeah, I would go so far as to say strongly 633 00:35:05,930 --> 00:35:09,090 S1: that anti-Semitism is a product of Satan himself. 634 00:35:09,130 --> 00:35:11,210 S4: Oh, absolutely. Absolutely. 635 00:35:11,250 --> 00:35:14,370 S1: So there's there's no crossover there at all. Well, we 636 00:35:14,370 --> 00:35:16,670 S1: got to squeeze one more question, and this one from Carol. 637 00:35:16,670 --> 00:35:18,670 S1: She says, I was reading through John's gospel and I 638 00:35:18,670 --> 00:35:21,910 S1: was struck by John 1917. It says, for this reason 639 00:35:21,910 --> 00:35:24,629 S1: the father loves me because I lay down my life 640 00:35:24,630 --> 00:35:27,270 S1: so that I may take it again. This sounds like 641 00:35:27,270 --> 00:35:30,069 S1: a conditional love because it says the father loves me 642 00:35:30,070 --> 00:35:33,790 S1: for this reason. Is this agape or something else? I mean, 643 00:35:33,830 --> 00:35:36,550 S1: I thought all conditional love was evil. What do you think? 644 00:35:36,830 --> 00:35:41,669 S4: Well, I really appreciate this question. In John 1017, the 645 00:35:41,670 --> 00:35:46,830 S4: word is agape, and it is a conditional agape. That is, 646 00:35:46,830 --> 00:35:49,350 S4: the father loves the son because the son gives up 647 00:35:49,350 --> 00:35:52,350 S4: his life. Are we to be worried about this? No, 648 00:35:52,350 --> 00:35:56,910 S4: we're not, because we know that the son is always 649 00:35:56,950 --> 00:36:02,270 S4: obedient and always doing his Heavenly Father's will. Let's think 650 00:36:02,270 --> 00:36:04,790 S4: about this by way of an illustration. When I was 651 00:36:04,790 --> 00:36:08,750 S4: a rebellious teenager in college, I knew my mom loved me. 652 00:36:08,750 --> 00:36:11,710 S4: But I caused her heartache. But then when I came 653 00:36:11,710 --> 00:36:14,540 S4: to know Christ, she loved me in a different way 654 00:36:15,140 --> 00:36:18,340 S4: before as a mom. Unconditional love no matter what I do. 655 00:36:18,540 --> 00:36:22,339 S4: But then afterwards, seeing my life transformed a different kind 656 00:36:22,340 --> 00:36:24,900 S4: of love. I think God can have both of those 657 00:36:24,900 --> 00:36:27,780 S4: for us. Conditional and unconditional. 658 00:36:27,980 --> 00:36:31,540 S1: Boy, great set of questions today and again, yours is welcome. 659 00:36:31,540 --> 00:36:34,300 S1: Why not send it to the land and the book 660 00:36:34,540 --> 00:36:38,140 S1: at Moody's? Give a couple of days to Doctor Peterman. 661 00:36:38,140 --> 00:36:40,140 S1: He'll get you an answer. Or maybe he'll hear your 662 00:36:40,140 --> 00:36:42,940 S1: question on a future broadcast. The land and the book 663 00:36:43,140 --> 00:37:01,540 S1: at Moody's. Charlie's devotional is next. Right here. Stick around. Historically, 664 00:37:01,540 --> 00:37:06,020 S1: it's been known as America's pastime. I'm talking about baseball. 665 00:37:06,380 --> 00:37:08,819 S1: But did you know that a recent survey indicates that 666 00:37:08,820 --> 00:37:12,970 S1: football is now more popular? Yeah. A 2024 Pew Research 667 00:37:12,969 --> 00:37:16,969 S1: survey found that 53% of Americans consider football to be 668 00:37:16,969 --> 00:37:23,170 S1: America's sport, while 27% cited baseball. That aside, Charlie Dyer, 669 00:37:23,210 --> 00:37:25,730 S1: your devotional today is focused on baseball. 670 00:37:26,050 --> 00:37:28,649 S2: It is. We're going to try and recreate that greatness 671 00:37:28,650 --> 00:37:30,610 S2: of baseball in the past, in the future. 672 00:37:30,770 --> 00:37:32,930 S1: All right. I'll look forward to that. After we listen 673 00:37:32,930 --> 00:37:35,810 S1: to this testimony from someone who's traveled to Israel and 674 00:37:35,810 --> 00:37:37,770 S1: share this unique highlight with you and me. 675 00:37:41,810 --> 00:37:46,690 S5: Today we went to Masada. And just to visualize the 676 00:37:46,690 --> 00:37:50,170 S5: Psalms that are being written, when David writes a psalm 677 00:37:50,170 --> 00:37:54,050 S5: about the Lord as the as the stronghold, it just 678 00:37:54,090 --> 00:37:56,730 S5: you all of a sudden you see really what he's 679 00:37:56,730 --> 00:37:59,930 S5: talking about and what his perspective was. Because one of 680 00:37:59,930 --> 00:38:04,010 S5: the problems with reading the Bible is you. It's hard 681 00:38:04,010 --> 00:38:07,649 S5: to empathize with the perspective of those people who are 682 00:38:07,690 --> 00:38:13,400 S5: writing the Bible. And by seeing the land and by 683 00:38:13,400 --> 00:38:18,800 S5: seeing the the activities, the culture that's here, by seeing 684 00:38:18,800 --> 00:38:23,200 S5: how the different areas of the land come together, all 685 00:38:23,200 --> 00:38:26,200 S5: of a sudden you have more of an understanding as 686 00:38:26,200 --> 00:38:29,760 S5: to who these people are and what their perspective was 687 00:38:29,800 --> 00:38:35,280 S5: in writing these various books. Like the Psalms, the Psalms 688 00:38:35,280 --> 00:38:39,240 S5: have always been very difficult sometimes for me to to read, 689 00:38:39,239 --> 00:38:41,719 S5: and I'm just looking forward to reading them now with 690 00:38:41,719 --> 00:38:45,799 S5: a whole different image as to what, uh, where they 691 00:38:45,800 --> 00:38:51,960 S5: were coming from. So it's been an absolutely enlightening experience. 692 00:38:53,960 --> 00:38:57,640 S1: So our devotional today is Bible Baseball. I guess that 693 00:38:57,640 --> 00:39:00,520 S1: would make this the wind up the pitch. And, Charlie, 694 00:39:00,880 --> 00:39:02,200 S1: I'll let you take a swing. 695 00:39:02,239 --> 00:39:05,080 S2: And it's a long fly ball out there, John. So 696 00:39:05,120 --> 00:39:08,160 S2: grab your mitt, knock the dirt off the spikes and 697 00:39:08,160 --> 00:39:11,149 S2: follow me out to the ballpark. The boys of summer 698 00:39:11,190 --> 00:39:14,029 S2: are showing up to play baseball. Okay, lest you think 699 00:39:14,030 --> 00:39:17,989 S2: this regularly scheduled devotional time has been interrupted by this 700 00:39:17,989 --> 00:39:21,469 S2: week's Major League Baseball all star game, let me explain. 701 00:39:21,830 --> 00:39:26,469 S2: For most Americans, geography isn't a strong subject. In fact, 702 00:39:26,469 --> 00:39:30,270 S2: we tend to be geographically challenged. And this hurts us 703 00:39:30,270 --> 00:39:33,750 S2: when it comes to understanding the Bible, especially the Old Testament. 704 00:39:34,070 --> 00:39:37,109 S2: The writers assumed we would know the places they were 705 00:39:37,110 --> 00:39:40,790 S2: writing about, but for most of us, those places are 706 00:39:40,830 --> 00:39:43,590 S2: nothing more than hard to pronounce names on a page. 707 00:39:43,910 --> 00:39:46,629 S2: We have no clue where the place was located or 708 00:39:46,630 --> 00:39:48,750 S2: what it looked like, or how it connects to other 709 00:39:48,750 --> 00:39:53,270 S2: places in the Bible. The names become ghostly locations floating 710 00:39:53,270 --> 00:39:56,509 S2: through the pages of Scripture, and only loosely attached to 711 00:39:56,550 --> 00:39:59,989 S2: the land itself. Here's a brief test to prove my point. 712 00:40:00,350 --> 00:40:03,430 S2: Picture in your mind a map of Israel. Now place 713 00:40:03,430 --> 00:40:10,700 S2: the following cities on that map. Gibeon. Gibeah. Ramah! Bethel. 714 00:40:11,500 --> 00:40:15,180 S2: How'd you do? I suspect most of us wouldn't score 715 00:40:15,180 --> 00:40:17,340 S2: well if we had to turn that pop quiz in. 716 00:40:17,700 --> 00:40:19,859 S2: In fact, we might even do worse if we were 717 00:40:19,860 --> 00:40:22,819 S2: asked a second question. Name a key person from the 718 00:40:22,820 --> 00:40:26,620 S2: Bible whose name is connected with each of those cities. Yikes. 719 00:40:27,060 --> 00:40:30,020 S2: But back to my introduction. What do these cities have 720 00:40:30,020 --> 00:40:32,779 S2: to do with baseball? Well, to answer that question, I 721 00:40:32,780 --> 00:40:34,860 S2: need to take you to a spot in Israel just 722 00:40:34,860 --> 00:40:38,700 S2: five miles north of Jerusalem. Our time in Jerusalem was 723 00:40:38,700 --> 00:40:42,100 S2: spent walking uphill and downhill. God told Israel that the 724 00:40:42,100 --> 00:40:45,339 S2: Promised Land was a land of hills and valleys. And 725 00:40:45,340 --> 00:40:48,820 S2: you're now convinced of that description based on our time there. 726 00:40:49,219 --> 00:40:51,900 S2: The city sits atop a spiny ridge that runs north 727 00:40:51,900 --> 00:40:54,859 S2: to south through the hill country of Judah. And a 728 00:40:54,860 --> 00:40:58,260 S2: bit farther north, a similar ridge runs through the territory 729 00:40:58,260 --> 00:41:01,420 S2: promised to the tribe of Ephraim. But between these two 730 00:41:01,460 --> 00:41:06,100 S2: mountainous ridges rests a relatively flat area called the Central 731 00:41:06,140 --> 00:41:09,650 S2: Benjamin Plateau. And don't let the name fool you. It's 732 00:41:09,650 --> 00:41:12,810 S2: not perfectly flat, but compared to the hilly ridges to 733 00:41:12,850 --> 00:41:16,810 S2: its north and south, it's a relatively flat region centrally 734 00:41:16,810 --> 00:41:20,970 S2: located between these two tribes. And as the name implies, 735 00:41:20,969 --> 00:41:23,170 S2: this area was part of the land allotted to the 736 00:41:23,170 --> 00:41:28,130 S2: tribe of Benjamin, hence the name Central Benjamin Plateau. The 737 00:41:28,130 --> 00:41:31,090 S2: plateau itself is only about eight miles long and five 738 00:41:31,090 --> 00:41:34,450 S2: miles wide. Yet, according to Jim Monson, the man who 739 00:41:34,489 --> 00:41:38,250 S2: 43 years ago ignited my passion for the land of Israel, 740 00:41:38,489 --> 00:41:42,130 S2: about 50% of the action narratives in the Old Testament 741 00:41:42,130 --> 00:41:47,490 S2: took place on and around this small piece of real estate. 50%. 742 00:41:47,810 --> 00:41:50,689 S2: And that's what brings me back to Bible baseball. In 743 00:41:50,690 --> 00:41:53,730 S2: trying to help students understand the importance of this plateau, 744 00:41:54,050 --> 00:41:57,129 S2: I searched for whatever help I could find. And that's 745 00:41:57,130 --> 00:42:00,450 S2: when I came across the idea of Bible baseball. Almost 746 00:42:00,450 --> 00:42:03,330 S2: everyone knows what a baseball diamond looks like, so we 747 00:42:03,330 --> 00:42:05,520 S2: decided to make a baseball diamond out of this the 748 00:42:05,520 --> 00:42:09,120 S2: central Benjamin Plateau. If you have a piece of paper handy, 749 00:42:09,160 --> 00:42:12,040 S2: draw a baseball diamond on it. I'm also going to 750 00:42:12,040 --> 00:42:14,319 S2: share the starting lineup, so be ready to write down 751 00:42:14,320 --> 00:42:18,279 S2: some names. Now at first base is the city of Jebba. 752 00:42:20,040 --> 00:42:23,560 S2: It's on the eastern end of the central plateau, and 753 00:42:23,560 --> 00:42:27,960 S2: playing first is King Saul's son, Jonathan. Jonathan and his 754 00:42:27,960 --> 00:42:31,080 S2: armor bearer went from Jebba when they attacked the Philistine 755 00:42:31,120 --> 00:42:35,560 S2: outpost and routed the entire Philistine army. Second base. At 756 00:42:35,560 --> 00:42:39,400 S2: the very northern edge of the central Benjamin Plateau is Bethel, 757 00:42:39,760 --> 00:42:43,520 S2: and guarding second is the patriarch Jacob, who had his 758 00:42:43,520 --> 00:42:46,439 S2: dream of a ladder extending to heaven while he was 759 00:42:46,440 --> 00:42:51,040 S2: sleeping at Bethel. Midway between second and third is shortstop. 760 00:42:51,440 --> 00:42:57,160 S2: Shortstop is the city of Gibeon. Gibbethon and playing shortstop. 761 00:42:57,160 --> 00:43:01,760 S2: Today is Joshua. Joshua marched all night from near Jericho 762 00:43:01,760 --> 00:43:04,080 S2: to rescue the people of Gibeon, with whom he had 763 00:43:04,080 --> 00:43:06,779 S2: he'd made a treaty of protection. And that leads to 764 00:43:06,820 --> 00:43:12,339 S2: third base, which is a place called Nabi Samwil. Nabi. Sam. 765 00:43:14,260 --> 00:43:18,339 S2: Not everyone agrees, but I'm convinced it's biblical mitzvah. And 766 00:43:18,340 --> 00:43:22,140 S2: playing third is the prophet Jeremiah, who went to Mizpah 767 00:43:22,180 --> 00:43:26,620 S2: after the fall of Jerusalem. Unfortunately, the temporary governor ruling 768 00:43:26,620 --> 00:43:30,580 S2: from Mizpah was assassinated, and Jeremiah was carried from there 769 00:43:30,580 --> 00:43:35,020 S2: to Egypt. The pitcher's mound is a city named Ramah, 770 00:43:35,380 --> 00:43:39,060 S2: and on the mound today is the prophet Samuel. Samuel's 771 00:43:39,060 --> 00:43:42,180 S2: hometown was Ramah, and it sits in the very heart 772 00:43:42,180 --> 00:43:45,859 S2: of the central Benjamin Plateau. And our final stop around 773 00:43:45,860 --> 00:43:48,819 S2: the infield is home plate, which is Gibeah. G I 774 00:43:48,860 --> 00:43:52,779 S2: b e. Don't get confused by the three towns with 775 00:43:52,780 --> 00:43:57,620 S2: similar names. First base was Geba. Shortstop was Gibeon, and 776 00:43:57,620 --> 00:44:00,540 S2: home plate is Gibeah. And in the batter's box at 777 00:44:00,540 --> 00:44:04,650 S2: home is King Saul, because Gibeah is his home town 778 00:44:05,250 --> 00:44:07,569 S2: and we have one spot yet to fill on our roster. 779 00:44:07,730 --> 00:44:11,610 S2: Behind home plate is young King David. The catcher's position 780 00:44:11,610 --> 00:44:15,130 S2: is the location of Jerusalem, the town chosen by David 781 00:44:15,130 --> 00:44:19,049 S2: as his capital. It's just off the central Benjamin Plateau, 782 00:44:19,290 --> 00:44:22,770 S2: the first town south of Gibeah. Okay, I know this 783 00:44:22,770 --> 00:44:25,609 S2: sounds more like a sports story than a devotional, but 784 00:44:25,610 --> 00:44:27,730 S2: follow me to the rooftop of the building here on 785 00:44:27,730 --> 00:44:31,410 S2: Nebi Samwil. Third base on our diagram. From this one 786 00:44:31,410 --> 00:44:35,250 S2: spot you can see from Jerusalem to Bethel, and from 787 00:44:35,250 --> 00:44:38,970 S2: Geba to Gibeon, and the compact size of the central 788 00:44:39,010 --> 00:44:43,290 S2: Benjamin Plateau becomes instantly apparent. Yet, in spite of its 789 00:44:43,290 --> 00:44:47,209 S2: small size, it played an amazingly significant role in Bible history. 790 00:44:47,489 --> 00:44:50,650 S2: From the patriarch Jacob to Joshua at the time of 791 00:44:50,650 --> 00:44:54,169 S2: the conquest to Samuel, during the period of the judges 792 00:44:54,170 --> 00:44:57,609 S2: to Saul, Jonathan and David at the start of the monarchy, 793 00:44:57,930 --> 00:45:01,320 S2: to Jeremiah at the time of Jerusalem's fall to Babylon. Abalon. 794 00:45:01,520 --> 00:45:04,360 S2: This tiny piece of real estate witnessed some of the 795 00:45:04,360 --> 00:45:08,000 S2: most remarkable events in Bible history, and those events take 796 00:45:08,000 --> 00:45:11,560 S2: on a greater degree of tangibility and reality when we 797 00:45:11,560 --> 00:45:16,799 S2: understand their geographical setting and relationship to one another. But 798 00:45:16,800 --> 00:45:20,480 S2: what difference can the central Benjamin Plateau or Bible baseball 799 00:45:20,480 --> 00:45:23,399 S2: for that matter, make in your life this week? I'd 800 00:45:23,400 --> 00:45:26,200 S2: like to suggest the following. The next time you're reading 801 00:45:26,200 --> 00:45:28,920 S2: your Bible and come across the name of a place 802 00:45:28,920 --> 00:45:32,240 S2: with which you're not familiar, stop. Take a few moments 803 00:45:32,239 --> 00:45:34,359 S2: to look at the maps in your Bible, or at 804 00:45:34,360 --> 00:45:36,799 S2: a Bible atlas, or to do a Google search on 805 00:45:36,800 --> 00:45:41,120 S2: the name itself and ask yourself these questions. Where is it? 806 00:45:41,480 --> 00:45:44,879 S2: What did it look like? Why was it important? You 807 00:45:44,880 --> 00:45:47,879 S2: just might find yourself playing your own game of Bible baseball, 808 00:45:47,920 --> 00:45:51,080 S2: populated with your very own team of Bible All Stars. 809 00:45:51,400 --> 00:45:54,560 S2: Take time to study the places and watch your Bible 810 00:45:54,560 --> 00:45:57,520 S2: study come alive. The greatest way to get to know 811 00:45:57,520 --> 00:46:00,120 S2: the geography of the Bible is to travel to Israel. 812 00:46:00,350 --> 00:46:04,590 S2: But if that's not possible, then invest in an illustrated Bible, atlas, 813 00:46:04,630 --> 00:46:07,430 S2: Bible dictionary or some other book that will help you 814 00:46:07,430 --> 00:46:10,750 S2: discover where the different sites are located and what they 815 00:46:10,750 --> 00:46:14,190 S2: look like. That investment in time will help your Bible 816 00:46:14,190 --> 00:46:16,710 S2: study take on a new depth of meaning. 817 00:46:16,910 --> 00:46:19,629 S1: Thank you Charlie, I hold in my hand here my 818 00:46:19,630 --> 00:46:23,390 S1: hand-drawn Enfield that you've just described. Question how far? How 819 00:46:23,390 --> 00:46:27,310 S1: many miles? Roughly between third base and first base. Nabi. 820 00:46:27,310 --> 00:46:28,590 S1: Samwil and then Jebba. 821 00:46:29,070 --> 00:46:29,989 S2: About eight miles. 822 00:46:30,030 --> 00:46:31,710 S1: Okay, so not real big. As you said. 823 00:46:31,870 --> 00:46:33,110 S2: It is not big at all. 824 00:46:33,270 --> 00:46:35,710 S1: Yeah. Fascinating. Well, thank you for laying that all out 825 00:46:35,710 --> 00:46:38,190 S1: for us, Charlie. Thank you for a great time together 826 00:46:38,190 --> 00:46:40,710 S1: on this broadcast as well. Hope you've enjoyed it as 827 00:46:40,710 --> 00:46:43,670 S1: you've listened. And our website is the land and the book. 828 00:46:45,350 --> 00:46:47,069 S1: Our time is gone, but we thank you for being 829 00:46:47,070 --> 00:46:49,830 S1: a part of it all. I'm John Geiger, for Charlie Dyer, 830 00:46:49,870 --> 00:46:52,589 S1: the land and the book is a production of Moody Radio, 831 00:46:52,750 --> 00:46:54,950 S1: a ministry of Moody Bible Institute.