WEBVTT - 2026-08-22_The_Land_And_The_Book_HQ 0:00:08.160 --> 0:00:11.640 Scripture commands us to serve one another, but most of 0:00:11.640 --> 0:00:14.960 us are only so-so at serving. That may be good 0:00:14.960 --> 0:00:18.640 in small bursts, but not really immersed in a lifestyle 0:00:18.640 --> 0:00:21.840 of service. So what's the answer? Coming up, we'll look 0:00:21.840 --> 0:00:26.040 at servants in Scripture and learn their secrets. Later on, 0:00:26.040 --> 0:00:28.720 we'll find out what listeners are wondering about as they 0:00:28.720 --> 0:00:32.559 read scripture. Plus, we'll take a drive down the Jordan Valley. Hey, 0:00:32.560 --> 0:00:35.480 welcome back to the land and the book. It's Moody 0:00:35.520 --> 0:00:38.680 Radio's one hour flyover of the Middle East in the 0:00:38.680 --> 0:00:41.960 pilot seat. As always, Doctor Charlie Dyer, one of the 0:00:41.960 --> 0:00:46.080 most respected Israel experts you'll ever meet. And I'm John Geiger. 0:00:46.120 --> 0:00:48.160 As believers, as a great need for us to share 0:00:48.159 --> 0:00:51.199 the gospel with the Jewish people. In fact, many of 0:00:51.200 --> 0:00:55.240 our listeners faithfully pray and partner with ministries doing just that. 0:00:55.240 --> 0:00:59.040 But what if you could personally take part in bringing 0:00:59.040 --> 0:01:00.710 the gospel to Jewish people. 0:01:00.750 --> 0:01:02.790 Yeah. And that's why our friends at Life in Messiah 0:01:02.790 --> 0:01:07.350 would love the opportunity to get believers involved in Jewish ministry. 0:01:07.470 --> 0:01:11.430 They regularly organize outreach teams to Brooklyn, to South Florida, 0:01:11.470 --> 0:01:14.990 and even to Israel outside times of conflict. These ministry 0:01:14.990 --> 0:01:17.510 trips will equip you to understand how to share the 0:01:17.550 --> 0:01:21.150 gospel with Jewish people, give you the opportunity to actively 0:01:21.150 --> 0:01:24.870 share your faith, and provide tools and resources that you 0:01:24.870 --> 0:01:27.110 can take home with you. If you want to get 0:01:27.150 --> 0:01:31.429 hands on training and practical experience in Jewish evangelism, you 0:01:31.430 --> 0:01:35.669 can learn more by visiting Life in messiah.org and clicking 0:01:35.670 --> 0:01:39.910 on the Moody radio button there. That's life in messiah.org. 0:01:40.750 --> 0:01:43.229 If you're new to the program, this opening segment is 0:01:43.230 --> 0:01:46.110 always devoted to a fresh look at current events, all 0:01:46.110 --> 0:01:48.870 based in the Middle East from this week. And it 0:01:48.870 --> 0:01:52.190 seems like the Gaza peace plan seems to be unraveling. 0:01:52.190 --> 0:01:55.190 Who is at fault and what exactly can be done 0:01:55.190 --> 0:01:56.790 to keep it moving forward? 0:01:57.110 --> 0:02:01.140 Well, according to eight countries, and that includes Turkey, Egypt, Jordan, 0:02:01.180 --> 0:02:05.300 the UAE, Qatar and Saudi Arabia. Israel is at fault. 0:02:05.660 --> 0:02:09.220 They point to Netanyahu's public rejection of the proposal and 0:02:09.220 --> 0:02:13.940 Israel's continuing strikes at Hamas targets in Gaza. Israel's response 0:02:13.980 --> 0:02:16.900 is that they'll keep their part of the bargain once 0:02:16.900 --> 0:02:22.020 Hamas disarms and decommissions its terrorist infrastructure, something they promised 0:02:22.060 --> 0:02:25.540 to do but haven't yet done. Israel also pointed out 0:02:25.540 --> 0:02:29.020 that Hamas has continued to plan and launch attacks against 0:02:29.020 --> 0:02:32.700 Israeli forces, including an attack where they used an explosive 0:02:32.700 --> 0:02:37.060 device against a tank. U.S. envoy Jared Kushner and others 0:02:37.060 --> 0:02:40.100 met with a Hamas delegation in Cairo this past week, 0:02:40.340 --> 0:02:43.739 and he was blunt in telling Hamas that promises alone 0:02:43.740 --> 0:02:47.380 weren't enough. They needed to begin disarming. Kushner then met 0:02:47.380 --> 0:02:50.780 with Israeli officials, and while he did encourage Israel to 0:02:50.820 --> 0:02:53.540 follow through on its commitments, he agreed that the ball 0:02:53.540 --> 0:02:58.090 was now in Hamas's court. Disarmament comes first. The bottom 0:02:58.090 --> 0:03:00.930 line right now is that everyone has said Hamas needs 0:03:00.930 --> 0:03:04.410 to disarm for the process to move forward. Hamas says 0:03:04.410 --> 0:03:07.850 they agree, but they've not really taken any concrete steps 0:03:07.850 --> 0:03:11.690 to make that a reality. After the events of October 7th, 0:03:11.730 --> 0:03:15.010 Israel is justified in digging in its heels and not 0:03:15.010 --> 0:03:18.450 moving forward until that happens. Hamas has shown in the 0:03:18.450 --> 0:03:21.450 past that pledges and agreements aren't really worth the paper 0:03:21.450 --> 0:03:24.650 they're written on. Israel won't allow Hamas to reach the 0:03:24.650 --> 0:03:27.890 point where it can begin again to rearm and reassert 0:03:27.889 --> 0:03:31.089 control over Gaza. And by the way, the same thing 0:03:31.090 --> 0:03:34.210 is also true right now in Lebanon. With Iran's help, 0:03:34.250 --> 0:03:37.610 Hezbollah has been trying to reassert itself up there, and 0:03:37.650 --> 0:03:41.450 Israel has struck back hard. In response, Hezbollah and Hamas 0:03:41.450 --> 0:03:44.610 are hoping they can wear down the U.S. and get 0:03:44.610 --> 0:03:46.890 us to force Israel to honor their part of the 0:03:46.890 --> 0:03:51.850 agreements based on promises alone. Right now, Israel is standing firm. 0:03:51.850 --> 0:03:54.410 And in light of the past three years, I think 0:03:54.410 --> 0:03:56.880 that's what we would want our government to do if 0:03:56.880 --> 0:03:59.120 it were our citizens who had been attacked. 0:03:59.480 --> 0:04:02.280 Charlie, I've been reading a lot about munitions supplies and 0:04:02.280 --> 0:04:05.680 stockpiles and so on. And of course, that also impacts Israel, 0:04:05.680 --> 0:04:09.160 where I have read that they are now developing internally 0:04:09.160 --> 0:04:12.560 their own sources to manufacture weapons and that kind of thing. 0:04:13.000 --> 0:04:15.480 For Israel's case. That's exactly right. In fact, part of 0:04:15.480 --> 0:04:19.279 the reason is that they're concerned about U.S. and Europe 0:04:19.279 --> 0:04:22.760 withholding supplies at crucial points, which happened in the past. 0:04:23.120 --> 0:04:25.520 They're also concerned about some of our low stockpiles that 0:04:25.520 --> 0:04:28.160 we may not be able to supply even if we want. 0:04:28.560 --> 0:04:30.560 So they're developing their own, and they're also looking for 0:04:30.560 --> 0:04:34.800 alternative sources, including India, which has now become one of 0:04:34.839 --> 0:04:35.800 their suppliers. 0:04:36.400 --> 0:04:39.200 In addition to the situation in Gaza. There have also 0:04:39.200 --> 0:04:43.600 been a growing number of clashes between Israelis and Palestinians 0:04:43.600 --> 0:04:46.800 in the West Bank. Help us understand this very complex 0:04:46.800 --> 0:04:48.360 and confusing situation. 0:04:48.680 --> 0:04:50.640 Well, I'll try to give a broad overview, but the 0:04:50.640 --> 0:04:54.360 situation really is complex and there's enough blame to go 0:04:54.500 --> 0:04:57.740 around on all sides. It starts by how we even 0:04:57.740 --> 0:05:00.660 label the area. Is it the West Bank or is 0:05:00.660 --> 0:05:04.419 it Judea and Samaria? West Bank was the modern name 0:05:04.420 --> 0:05:08.659 given to the country when Jordan annexed that land in 1948. 0:05:08.980 --> 0:05:12.180 Judea and Samaria are the biblical names for the region, 0:05:12.180 --> 0:05:14.780 but which are rejected by much of the world because 0:05:14.779 --> 0:05:18.580 of their connection to Israel. After Israel captured the area 0:05:18.580 --> 0:05:22.380 in the Six Day War in 1967, Jewish groups began 0:05:22.380 --> 0:05:25.060 moving into the area. And right now there are just 0:05:25.060 --> 0:05:28.500 over half a million Jews living there. The vast majority 0:05:28.500 --> 0:05:32.420 are in major towns, most of which are right around Jerusalem. 0:05:32.860 --> 0:05:35.940 The world might call them settlements, but those are really 0:05:35.940 --> 0:05:39.140 bedroom communities for those living and working in and around 0:05:39.140 --> 0:05:42.540 the capital. But others do live in isolated settlements and 0:05:42.540 --> 0:05:46.460 outposts on land that was largely unoccupied and owned by 0:05:46.460 --> 0:05:49.460 the state. Some of the Arabs living in those areas 0:05:49.460 --> 0:05:53.140 have taken to attacking these settlements, causing physical injury and 0:05:53.170 --> 0:05:56.170 some deaths. At the same time, a small group of 0:05:56.170 --> 0:06:00.529 settlers has responded with revenge attacks on Arab villages and homes, 0:06:00.690 --> 0:06:05.010 also causing physical injury and some deaths. U.S. ambassador Mike 0:06:05.050 --> 0:06:10.690 Huckabee called those individuals Israeli terrorists. These excesses on both 0:06:10.690 --> 0:06:14.210 sides are wrong, and the government there needs to step 0:06:14.210 --> 0:06:16.810 in and put a stop to it before it spirals 0:06:16.810 --> 0:06:19.810 out of control. This is a case where the government 0:06:19.810 --> 0:06:23.050 just needs to do what's right. Stop the violence and 0:06:23.050 --> 0:06:27.010 punish those on all sides who are responsible. This includes 0:06:27.010 --> 0:06:31.370 guaranteeing the safety of those living there legally, including Arabs 0:06:31.370 --> 0:06:35.570 and Jews. Now, that's not politics. That's a biblical mandate 0:06:35.570 --> 0:06:40.130 from Leviticus 2422 where God said very clearly, you're to 0:06:40.130 --> 0:06:42.970 have the same law for the alien and the native born. 0:06:42.970 --> 0:06:44.409 I'm the Lord your God. 0:06:44.850 --> 0:06:47.410 From Moody Radio. This is the land and the book 0:06:47.410 --> 0:06:50.130 with our host, Doctor Charlie Dyer. I'm John Geiger. A 0:06:50.130 --> 0:06:52.640 look at current events is how we always start out. 0:06:52.839 --> 0:06:55.280 In a recent op ed in The Jerusalem Post, the 0:06:55.279 --> 0:06:59.960 writer argued that Jewish educators should stop basing Israel's right 0:06:59.960 --> 0:07:03.479 to the land on archaeology. Was he making a valid 0:07:03.480 --> 0:07:06.640 point or giving away a strong historical argument? 0:07:06.839 --> 0:07:09.479 Yeah, I found this fascinating. The writer was saying that 0:07:09.480 --> 0:07:13.040 basing Israel's claims to the land solely on archaeology can 0:07:13.040 --> 0:07:16.120 be a two edged sword. Archaeology isn't a hard science, 0:07:16.120 --> 0:07:20.720 and some discoveries are capable of multiple or different interpretations. 0:07:20.720 --> 0:07:23.600 And even when there's clear evidence like that being uncovered 0:07:23.600 --> 0:07:27.920 in Jerusalem, for example, showing the historical connection doesn't mean 0:07:27.920 --> 0:07:30.480 the connection is still valid. When I worked on a 0:07:30.480 --> 0:07:33.760 farm growing up, I found several arrowheads left by Native 0:07:33.760 --> 0:07:37.120 Americans who had lived and hunted there. But their past 0:07:37.120 --> 0:07:39.520 connection to the land doesn't give them a right to 0:07:39.560 --> 0:07:44.960 that land today. And archaeology alone can't answer that objection. Now, 0:07:45.120 --> 0:07:47.880 what archaeology can do is answer the critics who say 0:07:47.880 --> 0:07:50.830 there was never a connection between the Jewish people and 0:07:50.830 --> 0:07:53.710 the land inscriptions like the one mentioning the House of 0:07:53.710 --> 0:07:57.150 David or the one from Hezekiah's tunnel are recent finds 0:07:57.150 --> 0:07:59.750 like the pool of Siloam and the Pilgrim Roadway are 0:07:59.750 --> 0:08:03.150 just some of the many archaeological finds that clearly connect 0:08:03.150 --> 0:08:06.950 the Jewish people to the land, historically. But the writer argued, 0:08:06.950 --> 0:08:10.150 and I agree, that there's an even more compelling argument 0:08:10.150 --> 0:08:13.150 the clear statements in the Bible that show God gave 0:08:13.150 --> 0:08:16.510 the land to the people of Israel. One example among many. 0:08:16.550 --> 0:08:20.470 Genesis 17 I will establish my covenant between me and 0:08:20.470 --> 0:08:24.270 you and your offspring after you throughout their generations. For 0:08:24.270 --> 0:08:26.950 an everlasting covenant I will give to you and to 0:08:26.950 --> 0:08:29.790 your offspring after you all the land of Canaan, for 0:08:29.790 --> 0:08:33.869 an everlasting possession. Now that promise is reaffirmed multiple times 0:08:33.870 --> 0:08:36.590 throughout the Old Testament, and Paul affirms it. In the 0:08:36.590 --> 0:08:41.110 New Testament, archaeology is simply a visible reminder that Israel's 0:08:41.110 --> 0:08:44.630 connection to the land promised them by God clearly extends 0:08:44.630 --> 0:08:48.030 back thousands of years, even as it continues on into 0:08:48.030 --> 0:08:48.900 the future. Sure. 0:08:49.420 --> 0:08:52.580 At times Israeli elections take on the character of a 0:08:52.580 --> 0:08:55.260 three ring circus. What are some of the most recent 0:08:55.260 --> 0:08:58.179 items and how might they impact the results? 0:08:58.500 --> 0:09:01.220 Oh man, this one is really wild. Jon. My personal 0:09:01.220 --> 0:09:04.660 favorite this week were the different poll results. Two polls 0:09:04.660 --> 0:09:08.220 were released on the same day. In the first, Netanyahu's 0:09:08.220 --> 0:09:12.500 party surged to 30 seats while Eisenkot Yashar party remained 0:09:12.500 --> 0:09:16.300 at 23. In the second poll, Eisenkot, his party rose 0:09:16.300 --> 0:09:20.420 to 25 seats while Likud sunk to just 21. The 0:09:20.420 --> 0:09:24.459 first poll had Netanyahu's coalition having a total of 59 seats. 0:09:24.780 --> 0:09:28.220 The second gave him just 50. And then polls later 0:09:28.220 --> 0:09:31.820 in the week gave the current right wing bloc either 52, 0:09:32.059 --> 0:09:37.220 58 or 63 seats. Those numbers show how wildly inaccurate 0:09:37.220 --> 0:09:40.460 polls are, especially right now. And then there was a 0:09:40.460 --> 0:09:44.540 scenario being floated by some suggesting disgruntled Knesset members from 0:09:44.540 --> 0:09:47.980 Netanyahu's own party might plan a coup to oust him 0:09:48.010 --> 0:09:51.490 by presenting a no confidence motion in the Knesset. Netanyahu 0:09:51.530 --> 0:09:54.130 would be removed from office and replaced by Benny Gantz, 0:09:54.130 --> 0:09:57.010 who would agree well to serve only until the election, 0:09:57.010 --> 0:10:00.810 when he'd retire from politics. Of course, that scenario assumes 0:10:00.850 --> 0:10:03.490 other party members would go along with the plan, and 0:10:03.490 --> 0:10:06.210 no one would try to hijack that vote. And then 0:10:06.210 --> 0:10:09.250 there's the push to establish a new ultra-Orthodox party that 0:10:09.250 --> 0:10:12.450 would promote the drafting of yeshiva students into the military, 0:10:12.450 --> 0:10:15.050 and supporters say it could attract tens of thousands of 0:10:15.050 --> 0:10:19.210 younger ultra-Orthodox voters. And then finally, there's a growing legal 0:10:19.210 --> 0:10:23.010 battle over offering discount airline tickets to overseas Israelis to 0:10:23.050 --> 0:10:26.410 get them to fly back to Israel for the vote. Obviously, 0:10:26.570 --> 0:10:29.410 all these sides see this as a crucial election, and 0:10:29.410 --> 0:10:32.250 that means the wild maneuvering and speculation is sure to 0:10:32.290 --> 0:10:35.969 continue as the October 27th vote draws closer. 0:10:36.090 --> 0:10:38.250 Well, more to come, and we'll keep you posted as 0:10:38.250 --> 0:10:40.329 you stick with us here at the land and the book. 0:10:40.330 --> 0:10:44.050 Coming up, an interesting conversation with Gordon Jackson. I'll be 0:10:44.050 --> 0:10:47.760 your server. Scripture commands us to serve one another and 0:10:47.760 --> 0:10:50.120 we're good at it. Maybe in small bursts. How do 0:10:50.120 --> 0:10:54.040 we learn to adopt that, though, as a lifestyle? Fascinating insights. 0:10:54.080 --> 0:11:11.439 Coming up next on the land and the book. Scripture 0:11:11.440 --> 0:11:14.560 commands us to serve one another, but most of us 0:11:14.559 --> 0:11:19.360 are only so-so at serving good in small bursts, maybe, 0:11:19.360 --> 0:11:23.200 but not really immersed in a lifestyle of service. So 0:11:23.200 --> 0:11:26.040 what's the answer? Coming up, we'll look at servants in 0:11:26.040 --> 0:11:29.480 Scripture and learn from their secrets. Welcome back to the 0:11:29.480 --> 0:11:32.040 land and the book. I'm John Geiger, and before we 0:11:32.040 --> 0:11:35.280 meet our guest, let's think through this creative idea on 0:11:35.280 --> 0:11:39.079 loving our Jewish friends and neighbors for Christ. You hear 0:11:39.080 --> 0:11:41.719 us talking about reaching out to your Jewish friends, and 0:11:41.720 --> 0:11:44.480 you say, I don't know any Jewish people in my neighborhood. 0:11:44.480 --> 0:11:47.300 Don't know any on the job. How would you respond? Well, 0:11:47.300 --> 0:11:50.540 that's a question for Eva Rediclinic, who serves as adjunct 0:11:50.540 --> 0:11:53.059 faculty member for the Moody Bible Institute. Eva, what would 0:11:53.059 --> 0:11:53.459 you say? 0:11:53.740 --> 0:11:57.459 I'd say that most people surprisingly know more Jewish people 0:11:57.460 --> 0:12:01.900 than they realize. Perhaps there's a car dealer in town, 0:12:01.900 --> 0:12:04.340 as there was in Lowell, Indiana, when I was a kid. 0:12:04.700 --> 0:12:08.900 Smith Chevrolet, but they were actually Jewish or Miller's Pharmacy, 0:12:08.900 --> 0:12:12.260 actually Jewish. And you don't have to have an outstandingly 0:12:12.300 --> 0:12:16.140 stereotypical Jewish name to be a Jewish person. The other 0:12:16.140 --> 0:12:19.099 thing is, sometimes people expect Jewish people to be identified 0:12:19.100 --> 0:12:22.740 by distinctive Orthodox type clothing. But most Jewish people in 0:12:22.740 --> 0:12:27.300 America are not Orthodox. They are basically secular. And so 0:12:27.300 --> 0:12:28.620 you wouldn't be able to pick them out of a 0:12:28.620 --> 0:12:30.380 crowd because of the kind of dress they wear or 0:12:30.380 --> 0:12:33.420 the way they cut their hair. So most Jewish people 0:12:33.460 --> 0:12:36.740 are among us, even though we don't recognize who they are. 0:12:36.780 --> 0:12:38.900 So you just you just need to look a little harder, 0:12:38.900 --> 0:12:39.780 look a little further, maybe. 0:12:39.860 --> 0:12:41.780 Pay a little more attention, right? Just pay a little 0:12:41.780 --> 0:12:45.210 more attention and you'll find that people that you never suspected, 0:12:45.210 --> 0:12:47.929 perhaps are Jewish, and people who the Lord loves and 0:12:47.970 --> 0:12:50.370 has given you an opportunity to be in their life, 0:12:50.490 --> 0:12:52.250 to share that love of the Lord with them. 0:12:52.250 --> 0:12:54.090 And don't you think that's where a relationship has to 0:12:54.090 --> 0:12:56.450 begin in the first place? Opening your eyes, beginning with 0:12:56.450 --> 0:12:58.970 intentionality and caring to want to care. 0:12:59.010 --> 0:13:01.770 Exactly. I think that the key to any type of 0:13:01.770 --> 0:13:05.250 communication of the gospel is intentional friendships, where we have 0:13:05.250 --> 0:13:08.650 intentional relationships, and especially in terms of Jewish people who 0:13:08.650 --> 0:13:11.809 are going to be surprised that you as a non-Jewish person, 0:13:11.850 --> 0:13:14.050 a follower of Jesus, a person who loves Jesus, love 0:13:14.050 --> 0:13:15.650 and care about them everyday. 0:13:15.929 --> 0:13:18.890 Is an adjunct faculty member with the Moody Bible Institute. 0:13:20.490 --> 0:13:25.010 Doctor Gordon Jackson is a South African born educator and author. 0:13:25.210 --> 0:13:28.250 He grew up in Cape Town, which is a beautiful city, 0:13:28.250 --> 0:13:31.729 I have to say, where he received his undergraduate education. 0:13:31.730 --> 0:13:35.290 He then completed his master's degree at Wheaton College and 0:13:35.290 --> 0:13:39.450 a doctorate in mass communication at Indiana University. For many years, 0:13:39.450 --> 0:13:42.610 he was on the faculty of Whitworth University, a liberal 0:13:42.610 --> 0:13:47.320 arts institution in Spokane, Washington. He retired in 2015 but 0:13:47.360 --> 0:13:50.560 has remained active as an author. And I'll Be Your 0:13:50.559 --> 0:13:53.520 Server is his 20th book. He and his wife have 0:13:53.520 --> 0:13:58.079 two adult children and identical twin granddaughters as well. Hey, 0:13:58.080 --> 0:14:00.280 welcome to the land and the book, Gordon. 0:14:00.320 --> 0:14:03.079 Yes. Thank you for your welcome. 0:14:03.559 --> 0:14:06.080 So I have to ask you, how would you rate 0:14:06.080 --> 0:14:10.000 the evangelical church today in terms of this idea of serving? 0:14:10.000 --> 0:14:12.520 You're a professor. So what kind of grade would you 0:14:12.520 --> 0:14:13.120 give us? 0:14:13.360 --> 0:14:16.720 Oh, that's a tough question because I'd need to see 0:14:16.720 --> 0:14:21.280 the homework handed in. And I think that it would 0:14:21.280 --> 0:14:25.760 be a really mixed bag. I think that the role 0:14:25.760 --> 0:14:31.080 of service is absolutely critical to Christian ministry, and I 0:14:31.080 --> 0:14:35.800 think most Christians understand that, at least at a head level, 0:14:36.160 --> 0:14:39.520 at a heart level, there are so many distractions from 0:14:39.520 --> 0:14:45.230 our capacity to serve, just keeping the rent paid, keeping 0:14:45.230 --> 0:14:50.150 the kids on soccer schedules, getting a grand to her 0:14:50.150 --> 0:14:53.510 appointments with the doctor. All of these things get in 0:14:53.510 --> 0:14:57.030 the way. But at the heart of it, we need 0:14:57.030 --> 0:15:02.190 to be adhering to Jesus's invitation to be his friends. 0:15:02.430 --> 0:15:07.710 And friends do things for each other. So yes, taking 0:15:07.710 --> 0:15:11.590 the kids to soccer, getting grand to her doctor's appointments, 0:15:11.590 --> 0:15:15.270 those are all acts of service. But my question would 0:15:15.270 --> 0:15:21.310 be how much of that is consciously Christian service? Or 0:15:21.350 --> 0:15:25.030 how are we different from our secular neighbors who are 0:15:25.030 --> 0:15:29.430 doing the same things with soccer runs and with taking 0:15:29.430 --> 0:15:33.550 family members to the doctor? A Christian service needs to 0:15:33.550 --> 0:15:40.230 be distinguished by our overall motivation, and that motivation is 0:15:40.380 --> 0:15:44.540 to serve our Lord. So to answer your question, John, 0:15:44.540 --> 0:15:48.140 I'm just going to be evasive and say, I don't 0:15:48.140 --> 0:15:51.260 know how I would give it a grade, but I 0:15:51.260 --> 0:15:55.340 would want to emphasize that Christians everywhere ought to have 0:15:55.340 --> 0:15:57.300 a mindset of service. 0:15:57.340 --> 0:16:00.860 Yeah. Well, let me ask, why are we comfortable in 0:16:00.900 --> 0:16:04.460 finding so much service in the life of Christ, but 0:16:04.460 --> 0:16:06.859 so little service in our own lives? 0:16:06.900 --> 0:16:11.900 Oh, I hope we're not comfortable with that. We're flawed people. 0:16:11.900 --> 0:16:15.220 We are sinful people, and we will never attain the 0:16:15.220 --> 0:16:19.900 heights that Jesus modeled for us. But we need to start, 0:16:19.900 --> 0:16:23.780 and we need to keep going at that. And to 0:16:24.100 --> 0:16:27.820 see him as our role model in the realm of 0:16:27.820 --> 0:16:30.700 service is absolutely crucial. 0:16:31.180 --> 0:16:34.100 What does it mean to serve people biblically? That's our 0:16:34.100 --> 0:16:37.180 focus today on the land and the book as we 0:16:37.180 --> 0:16:41.530 talk with Gordon Jackson, South African born educator and author. Well, 0:16:41.530 --> 0:16:44.130 you've mentioned the book. Take us to one of the 0:16:44.130 --> 0:16:47.370 favorite servants in the book that you present us with. 0:16:47.690 --> 0:16:51.410 I've always been charmed by two of the characters. The 0:16:51.410 --> 0:16:56.570 one is the little Israelite girl who is captured and 0:16:56.610 --> 0:17:02.410 is enrolled as a maid in the Syrian general's household. 0:17:02.450 --> 0:17:06.729 Naaman gets leprosy, and this young girl, we don't know 0:17:06.730 --> 0:17:10.210 how old she is. She tells him, look, there's this 0:17:10.210 --> 0:17:14.610 prophet in Israel who can help you. He will heal you. 0:17:15.050 --> 0:17:18.970 Here's a little girl whose life has been turned upside down. 0:17:19.170 --> 0:17:23.570 She's in slavery, and yet she has the big minded, 0:17:23.609 --> 0:17:27.570 the big hearted thinking of I can serve this man 0:17:27.730 --> 0:17:34.290 who is my master. And that example of magnanimity is 0:17:34.490 --> 0:17:39.280 something that really strikes me in a very different category. 0:17:39.280 --> 0:17:44.600 I've always chuckled over the New Testament story of Rhoda, 0:17:45.040 --> 0:17:49.080 the servant who's in the home where the disciples are gathered. 0:17:49.240 --> 0:17:53.919 Peter is miraculously released from prison, shows up at the house, 0:17:53.920 --> 0:17:58.639 knocks on the door. Rhoda sees him, and then runs 0:17:58.640 --> 0:18:01.720 away to the back of the house to tell the disciples, 0:18:01.720 --> 0:18:06.480 Peter's here, Peter's here, and leaves him knocking on the door. 0:18:06.800 --> 0:18:10.360 I say in the book that maybe she hadn't finished 0:18:10.480 --> 0:18:15.840 watching the video training series of what to do when 0:18:15.840 --> 0:18:20.959 someone comes in response to a miraculous release and knocks 0:18:20.960 --> 0:18:24.919 on your front door. But she shows us how she's 0:18:24.920 --> 0:18:29.320 just an ordinary, probably a very simple young woman who 0:18:29.520 --> 0:18:34.160 wanted to serve. And eventually they let Peter in. But 0:18:34.200 --> 0:18:39.030 I think it's a charming story that is included in scripture. 0:18:39.350 --> 0:18:41.469 All right. I have to make a confession to you here. 0:18:41.830 --> 0:18:45.990 One of my servant issues is I can possibly be 0:18:45.990 --> 0:18:50.350 reasonably decent at it for a time. A concentrated project, 0:18:50.390 --> 0:18:53.469 a special season. But then my heart can become strangely 0:18:53.470 --> 0:18:57.270 cold toward service. Otherwise, how can we move toward an 0:18:57.270 --> 0:18:59.590 everyday service mindset? 0:18:59.830 --> 0:19:03.550 That's a tough question, I think. What I said a 0:19:03.550 --> 0:19:08.110 moment ago about having Jesus as our role model is 0:19:08.109 --> 0:19:12.350 one part of it. Perhaps another part might be each 0:19:12.390 --> 0:19:18.430 morning to say a simple prayer about Holy Spirit, direct 0:19:18.430 --> 0:19:22.230 me today. Help me to see opportunities to serve you 0:19:22.510 --> 0:19:24.710 and not to walk by them. 0:19:25.270 --> 0:19:28.750 Biblical servanthood. That's what we're talking about today on the 0:19:28.750 --> 0:19:32.110 land and the book with our guest, Doctor Gordon Jackson. 0:19:32.470 --> 0:19:37.170 What's another servant story in Scripture that models something that 0:19:37.170 --> 0:19:39.170 maybe we can borrow from today. 0:19:39.690 --> 0:19:43.610 I think I want to give a negative example, because 0:19:43.609 --> 0:19:47.729 the book has several studies of people we know well, 0:19:47.770 --> 0:19:54.690 servants like David and the, uh, arch Angel, Gabriel, Mary Moses, etc. 0:19:54.730 --> 0:19:58.250 these are all very familiar characters, but there are other 0:19:58.250 --> 0:20:02.410 characters whose names we may not know, or perhaps they 0:20:02.450 --> 0:20:06.610 are faintly familiar to us. One of them is Gehazi, 0:20:07.090 --> 0:20:12.050 and you say, who's that? Well, he's the greedy servant 0:20:12.210 --> 0:20:17.730 who works with Elisha, who heals Naaman the prophet, and 0:20:17.730 --> 0:20:24.050 he goes off and lies about what rewards cash, rewards 0:20:24.250 --> 0:20:27.250 his master would like. And Naaman gives him a whole 0:20:27.250 --> 0:20:32.250 lot of loot. And Gehazi is a really reprehensible servant 0:20:32.250 --> 0:20:37.320 because he is driven by greed. Another one is the 0:20:37.880 --> 0:20:43.240 military fellow dog. DOEG. We don't know much about him, 0:20:43.240 --> 0:20:47.080 except that he was a ruthless fellow, obeying the order 0:20:47.080 --> 0:20:52.840 of King Saul in slaughtering about 80 of the priests 0:20:53.119 --> 0:20:59.879 who had helped young David. Doug is a truly reprehensible figure, 0:21:00.080 --> 0:21:04.800 yet he is a servant who was a ruthlessly following 0:21:04.840 --> 0:21:09.440 what his boss told him. And they are examples of 0:21:09.680 --> 0:21:15.479 human people in Scripture whose bad deeds are shared for 0:21:15.480 --> 0:21:19.080 our example. Now, I don't think any of your listeners 0:21:19.080 --> 0:21:23.240 are wanting to rush out and kill 80 priests, but 0:21:23.240 --> 0:21:27.240 there are things that we can do that are very 0:21:27.240 --> 0:21:31.600 displeasing to God, and we are all his servants. And 0:21:31.600 --> 0:21:35.510 we need to be very clear on the actions that 0:21:35.510 --> 0:21:38.270 could bring dishonor to our Lord. 0:21:38.630 --> 0:21:42.870 Well, what do you think we misunderstand or maybe underestimate 0:21:42.869 --> 0:21:44.510 about biblical servanthood. 0:21:44.910 --> 0:21:50.389 The need for a Christian mindset and a willingness to 0:21:50.550 --> 0:21:55.950 sacrifice our own well-being. We are not just servants. There 0:21:55.950 --> 0:21:58.550 are lots of people in the secular world who do 0:21:58.590 --> 0:22:03.270 wonderful things as acts of service. But Christians should be 0:22:03.270 --> 0:22:07.950 motivated by their love for God and act out of 0:22:07.950 --> 0:22:12.389 gratitude for what Jesus has done for us on the cross. 0:22:12.950 --> 0:22:16.510 I want to read a quotation that is at the 0:22:16.510 --> 0:22:19.750 beginning of the book, because it serves as something of 0:22:19.750 --> 0:22:23.869 an anchor for what follows. It's by a fellow named 0:22:23.869 --> 0:22:28.150 Frank Warren who said this if you wish to be 0:22:28.150 --> 0:22:32.899 a leader, you will be frustrated for very few people 0:22:32.900 --> 0:22:36.460 wished to be led. If you aim to be a servant, 0:22:36.619 --> 0:22:41.820 you will never be frustrated. Now, I imagine plenty of 0:22:41.820 --> 0:22:45.500 us who are servants have moments of frustration. But his 0:22:45.500 --> 0:22:50.459 point is focus on serving rather than leading. If you 0:22:50.500 --> 0:22:55.300 don't have followers, if you don't have servants, then all 0:22:55.300 --> 0:22:58.660 you're doing is going out and taking a walk. If 0:22:58.660 --> 0:23:00.100 no one's following you. 0:23:00.420 --> 0:23:03.100 This is the land and the book. I'm John Geiger. 0:23:03.180 --> 0:23:07.700 Our guest today, Gordon Jackson. He's written, I'll be your server. Hey, 0:23:07.700 --> 0:23:11.700 what role do you think authentic servanthood plays in our 0:23:11.700 --> 0:23:14.620 Witness to Non-Believers? You've already pointed out. Many of them 0:23:14.619 --> 0:23:18.620 are are excellent servants in a restaurant, in the hotel business, 0:23:18.619 --> 0:23:22.340 wherever they might be. How does authentic servanthood help our 0:23:22.340 --> 0:23:23.460 witness for Jesus? 0:23:23.859 --> 0:23:27.220 Let me tell you a story about World War Two. 0:23:27.980 --> 0:23:33.169 The short version Is that a whole bunch of Westerners 0:23:33.170 --> 0:23:38.010 were in a concentration camp or a detention camp that 0:23:38.010 --> 0:23:42.930 the Japanese set up in China after they'd conquered China. 0:23:43.330 --> 0:23:48.810 And one of them was Eric Liddell's home. Many of 0:23:48.810 --> 0:23:53.130 you will remember him as that wonderful Scottish athlete who 0:23:53.130 --> 0:23:57.650 was a missionary. His story was told in Chariots of Fire. 0:23:57.970 --> 0:24:02.250 One of the most marvelous Christian themed movies of all time, 0:24:02.690 --> 0:24:07.609 Eric Liddell, was in that camp, and he led an 0:24:07.609 --> 0:24:12.370 exemplary life working with the young kids, the teenagers who 0:24:12.369 --> 0:24:17.209 were bored and frustrated. And because of his Christian commitment, 0:24:17.250 --> 0:24:21.090 he stepped forward and worked with these kids. But he 0:24:21.090 --> 0:24:24.210 wasn't the only one. There were a bunch of Catholic 0:24:24.210 --> 0:24:28.649 priests who were in the camp as well, and they 0:24:28.800 --> 0:24:33.440 were the ones who stepped forward to clean the toilets 0:24:33.440 --> 0:24:37.160 that had become clogged, and it was an absolute mess. 0:24:37.320 --> 0:24:40.480 No one was willing to take on this task, but 0:24:40.480 --> 0:24:44.119 these Catholic priests stepped forward and said, this is a 0:24:44.119 --> 0:24:47.200 job that needs to be done. We will do it. 0:24:47.600 --> 0:24:51.640 So in that one setting, you have a couple of 0:24:51.640 --> 0:24:57.960 examples of people motivated by selfless Christian love stepping forward 0:24:57.960 --> 0:25:01.640 to do what needs to be done. And it reminds 0:25:01.640 --> 0:25:06.480 me of the time management consultant, a man named Allen Larkin, 0:25:06.480 --> 0:25:11.080 who said the question we should constantly be asking ourselves is, 0:25:11.240 --> 0:25:14.560 what is the best use of my time right now? 0:25:14.840 --> 0:25:18.080 And I think that fits in very well with the 0:25:18.080 --> 0:25:22.679 Christian mandate to be available to serve whatever's coming up. 0:25:22.880 --> 0:25:26.200 We need to be ready. If this seems to be 0:25:26.240 --> 0:25:29.990 God calling us. We need to be ready to act. 0:25:30.510 --> 0:25:34.070 And that's a great place to land this conversation. Lots 0:25:34.070 --> 0:25:36.350 more to discover, and we encourage you to check out 0:25:36.350 --> 0:25:39.030 the book. I'll Be Your server. There's a link at 0:25:39.030 --> 0:25:43.629 our website, The Land and the book.org. Gordon, thanks so 0:25:43.630 --> 0:25:44.629 much for joining us. 0:25:44.990 --> 0:25:46.750 Oh, it's been my pleasure. 0:25:47.190 --> 0:25:49.110 And up next on the land in the book, it's 0:25:49.109 --> 0:25:52.030 your friend and mine, doctor Gerald Peterman. To answer some 0:25:52.030 --> 0:25:54.270 of your Bible questions. Stick around for more on the 0:25:54.270 --> 0:26:08.149 land and the book. This is the land and the 0:26:08.150 --> 0:26:11.430 book from Moody Radio. I'm John Gieger, and we know 0:26:11.430 --> 0:26:14.030 it's a fact because we hear from you. And so 0:26:14.030 --> 0:26:17.350 for many listeners, this next segment, number three is their 0:26:17.350 --> 0:26:20.909 all time favorite. It's Bible questions and answers. I'm seated 0:26:20.910 --> 0:26:23.430 across from one of my all time favorite people, Doctor 0:26:23.430 --> 0:26:26.260 Gerald Peterman. I love him because he loves the word 0:26:26.260 --> 0:26:28.380 of God knows the Word of God, but he never 0:26:28.380 --> 0:26:31.580 makes me feel like I'm somehow mentally impaired when I 0:26:31.580 --> 0:26:35.100 ask simple questions that I should really know the answers to. Anyway, 0:26:35.300 --> 0:26:36.619 thank you for being with us. 0:26:36.820 --> 0:26:39.180 Oh, it's my pleasure. Thanks for the encouragement, John. I 0:26:39.220 --> 0:26:39.940 appreciate that. 0:26:39.940 --> 0:26:42.260 And thank you for your humility not just toward me, 0:26:42.260 --> 0:26:44.820 but to our listeners as well. We're grateful for your 0:26:44.820 --> 0:26:48.100 taking the time and just explaining things simply and easily. 0:26:48.140 --> 0:26:48.820 Well thank you. 0:26:49.260 --> 0:26:51.460 You can, by the way, start that process with an 0:26:51.460 --> 0:26:56.780 email to the land and the book@moody.edu. The land and 0:26:56.780 --> 0:27:01.820 the book@moody.edu. We'll get to our first question after this 0:27:01.820 --> 0:27:04.379 quick thought. As believers, there's a great need for us 0:27:04.380 --> 0:27:06.900 to share the gospel with the Jewish people, and many 0:27:06.900 --> 0:27:10.260 of our listeners are already faithfully praying for and partnering 0:27:10.260 --> 0:27:13.419 with ministries that are doing just that. But here's the 0:27:13.420 --> 0:27:16.859 deal what if you could personally take part in bringing 0:27:16.859 --> 0:27:19.500 the gospel to Jewish people? Well, our friends at Life 0:27:19.500 --> 0:27:22.980 and Messiah would love the opportunity to get you involved 0:27:22.980 --> 0:27:27.010 in Jewish ministry. And they regularly organize outreach trips and 0:27:27.010 --> 0:27:30.530 teams to Brooklyn, South Florida, even to Israel outside of 0:27:30.530 --> 0:27:33.449 conflict times. And these ministry trips will equip you to 0:27:33.450 --> 0:27:36.850 understand how to share the gospel with Jewish people, give 0:27:36.850 --> 0:27:40.210 you the opportunity to actively share your faith and provide 0:27:40.250 --> 0:27:43.130 tools and resources you'll take home with you and keep 0:27:43.130 --> 0:27:45.770 on using if you want to get hands on training. 0:27:45.770 --> 0:27:50.129 Practical experience in Jewish evangelism. Learn more by visiting Life 0:27:50.130 --> 0:27:54.050 in messiah.org and click on that moody radio button there. 0:27:54.050 --> 0:27:59.410 You Can't miss at Life in messiah.org. Barb starts us 0:27:59.410 --> 0:28:02.850 out taking us to Mark chapter 12. Jesus said, the 0:28:02.850 --> 0:28:05.929 greatest commandment is to love God with all our heart 0:28:05.930 --> 0:28:08.530 and mind. He also said that if we love him, 0:28:08.530 --> 0:28:11.170 we will obey him. She says, I'm thinking this kind 0:28:11.170 --> 0:28:13.770 of love is not emotional, but a matter of will. 0:28:14.250 --> 0:28:17.330 Could you explain, please, what it means when Jesus talks 0:28:17.330 --> 0:28:18.929 about loving God? 0:28:19.450 --> 0:28:23.169 Wow, that is a deep and wide question. I'll do 0:28:23.170 --> 0:28:24.030 the best I can. 0:28:24.030 --> 0:28:25.950 In 30s or less. Of course. Yes. 0:28:26.109 --> 0:28:30.750 Sure. It's a question we need to ask ourselves and 0:28:30.750 --> 0:28:34.510 we ask ourselves. So let's think about this for just 0:28:34.510 --> 0:28:39.910 a moment. Is love an action? Is love a matter 0:28:39.910 --> 0:28:42.270 of the will? Wait wait wait wait wait. Okay. Love 0:28:42.310 --> 0:28:47.190 has to include action, right? Love must include action. But 0:28:47.230 --> 0:28:51.310 is love an act of the will? Ah! Imagine a 0:28:51.310 --> 0:28:54.590 husband and wife, and they're having a conversation. And so 0:28:54.590 --> 0:28:57.630 the husband says to the wife, wife, my love for 0:28:57.630 --> 0:29:00.030 you is an act of the will that has spoiled 0:29:00.030 --> 0:29:04.030 the moment, that has, that has, that has totally spoiled 0:29:04.030 --> 0:29:06.070 the moment. It's got to be more than that. So 0:29:06.070 --> 0:29:08.550 when we think about love, I think we should think 0:29:08.550 --> 0:29:12.870 about two things. Love includes action and love is a 0:29:12.910 --> 0:29:17.750 heartfelt motivation. Love for God is about appreciation for him. 0:29:17.750 --> 0:29:20.950 Love for God is about is about feeling grateful to him, 0:29:20.990 --> 0:29:25.860 being astounded by him, enjoying him. Love for our neighbor 0:29:25.860 --> 0:29:28.340 is having compassion on them, feeling for them as we 0:29:28.340 --> 0:29:32.140 would feel for ourselves. So I think love must be 0:29:32.140 --> 0:29:38.260 both a motivation part, emotional, and an action. Let's go 0:29:38.260 --> 0:29:42.820 to one example from Jesus and this comes from John 0:29:43.060 --> 0:29:47.740 chapter 14 verse 15. Jesus said, if you love me, 0:29:48.340 --> 0:29:51.860 you will obey my commandments. Now what does love mean? 0:29:52.340 --> 0:29:55.500 Does love mean only an action here? So if love 0:29:55.500 --> 0:29:57.420 is only an action here, it means something like if 0:29:57.420 --> 0:30:00.260 you do an action, you do an action. No, this 0:30:00.260 --> 0:30:02.580 can't be what it means. If you love me, that is, 0:30:02.580 --> 0:30:06.460 you have this astounding gratitude to me. That is, you 0:30:06.460 --> 0:30:09.780 feel attached to me. You feel obligated to me. You 0:30:10.100 --> 0:30:13.380 find me astounding. Then if you love me, you'll obey 0:30:13.380 --> 0:30:18.780 my commandments. So this is hard for us sometimes. We're just. 0:30:18.820 --> 0:30:20.180 We're just driven by duty. 0:30:20.540 --> 0:30:23.330 Yeah. I think of First John and it says, you know, 0:30:23.530 --> 0:30:25.770 if you see somebody in great need and you have 0:30:25.770 --> 0:30:28.250 no pity on him, how can the love of God 0:30:28.290 --> 0:30:29.690 be in that person? 0:30:29.690 --> 0:30:30.330 Right? 0:30:30.330 --> 0:30:33.290 So that's, that's a sense of action. It's compassion. Again, 0:30:33.290 --> 0:30:34.290 it's something you do. 0:30:34.330 --> 0:30:37.330 And it's a full orbed response. You see, you see 0:30:37.330 --> 0:30:40.450 the need you have, you have heartfelt mercy, then you 0:30:40.490 --> 0:30:41.450 do something. 0:30:41.450 --> 0:30:44.450 Dear children, let us not love with words or tongue, 0:30:44.450 --> 0:30:47.090 but with actions and in truth. This then is how 0:30:47.090 --> 0:30:49.050 we know that we belong to the truth and how 0:30:49.050 --> 0:30:51.210 we set our hearts at rest whenever our hearts condemn us. 0:30:51.370 --> 0:30:54.810 So yeah, good perspectives there. Thank you for that question, Barb. Trust. 0:30:54.810 --> 0:30:57.810 It's helpful. Let's go to Jim, who says, I've always 0:30:57.810 --> 0:31:01.450 thought the Lord is merciful and gracious and forgiving. And 0:31:01.450 --> 0:31:04.970 then I ran into second Kings 24, verse four that says, 0:31:05.130 --> 0:31:07.690 the Lord was not willing to forgive. How do we 0:31:07.690 --> 0:31:08.650 make sense of that? 0:31:09.210 --> 0:31:12.970 Well, you know, sometimes when our minds just aren't quite 0:31:12.970 --> 0:31:15.210 in the place where they ought to be, we treat 0:31:15.210 --> 0:31:17.810 Scripture as if it's a textbook, as if it's a 0:31:17.810 --> 0:31:20.680 mathematical book, as if it's a book of physics. You know, 0:31:20.720 --> 0:31:23.160 you you push one button, you get this as an action. 0:31:23.160 --> 0:31:27.280 And it's not. The book of Scripture is about a relationship. 0:31:27.560 --> 0:31:32.160 It's about knowing God and responding to God. So anytime 0:31:32.160 --> 0:31:34.840 you're in a relationship, sometimes their ups and sometimes there 0:31:34.880 --> 0:31:38.760 are downs. So yes, Psalm 103. The Lord is merciful 0:31:38.760 --> 0:31:41.120 and gracious, slow to anger, and abounding in loving kindness. 0:31:41.120 --> 0:31:44.040 He forgives our iniquity. Yes, but there will come a 0:31:44.040 --> 0:31:47.800 time when God's patience runs out. And the passage that 0:31:47.800 --> 0:31:50.920 Jim has taken us to comes from this time when 0:31:50.920 --> 0:31:54.040 Manasseh was King of Israel. Have you read about Manasseh? 0:31:54.080 --> 0:31:58.840 Oh my, oh my goodness. He was horrible and evil, evil, 0:31:58.840 --> 0:32:03.800 evil man. And so largely because of Manasseh sins, his idolatry, 0:32:03.840 --> 0:32:07.000 his leading the nation astray, then the Lord comes to 0:32:07.000 --> 0:32:11.720 the place to fulfill his promise. And the promise is exile. 0:32:11.840 --> 0:32:15.440 If you go way back into Deuteronomy 28, what we 0:32:15.480 --> 0:32:18.710 hear from God is you go into the land. But 0:32:18.710 --> 0:32:21.709 if you go in the land and you consistently disobey me, 0:32:22.070 --> 0:32:24.110 there will come a time when I will take you 0:32:24.150 --> 0:32:26.150 out of the land. In other words, I'm telling you 0:32:26.150 --> 0:32:29.630 in advance, there will be a limit to my very 0:32:29.630 --> 0:32:35.190 gracious patience. So God both forgives, but he has a 0:32:35.190 --> 0:32:36.350 limit to his patience. 0:32:36.670 --> 0:32:39.350 This is the land and the book from Moody Radio 0:32:39.390 --> 0:32:42.710 doctor Gerald Peterman serves on the Faculty of Moody Bible Institute, 0:32:43.070 --> 0:32:46.950 knows the word, loves talking with you and answering your questions. 0:32:46.950 --> 0:32:49.750 You connect with him via email at the land and 0:32:49.790 --> 0:32:56.950 the book@moody.edu, the land and the book@moody.edu. Let's go to 0:32:56.950 --> 0:32:59.790 Heather's question. Can you tell me how we as Christians, 0:32:59.990 --> 0:33:03.110 can know which promises of God are meant for the 0:33:03.110 --> 0:33:07.590 Jewish people and which are pertinent to us as non-Jewish believers? 0:33:07.910 --> 0:33:11.550 Well, I can answer this question simply. It's it's actually 0:33:11.550 --> 0:33:15.230 not simple, but I can answer this question. Get us started. Simply, 0:33:15.270 --> 0:33:19.260 we ask the question as we read, to whom is 0:33:19.260 --> 0:33:25.060 God speaking or about whom is Scripture talking? Is Scripture 0:33:25.060 --> 0:33:29.060 talking about the one who has received Christ? Is Scripture 0:33:29.060 --> 0:33:33.940 talking to the Christian or a Scripture talking to the Israelite, 0:33:34.140 --> 0:33:38.860 or a scripture talking to the Jewish non-believer? So there's 0:33:38.900 --> 0:33:41.820 a bit of overlap here that is promises made to 0:33:41.860 --> 0:33:45.820 Gentile Christians. Messianic Jews get to enjoy those as well. 0:33:45.820 --> 0:33:50.420 But Messianic Jews would have then their own promises. I take, 0:33:50.420 --> 0:33:53.100 for instance, one of these promises is something like this. 0:33:53.540 --> 0:33:56.900 Joshua one verse two. Moses, my servant is dead. Now 0:33:56.900 --> 0:33:59.620 therefore go, arise, go over this Jordan, you and all 0:33:59.620 --> 0:34:03.740 this people into the land I am giving to them 0:34:04.220 --> 0:34:08.300 the people of Israel. Who's being talked about? The people 0:34:08.300 --> 0:34:11.780 of Israel. But this is not just something that happens 0:34:11.780 --> 0:34:15.140 in the Old Testament. How about we go to Romans 11? 0:34:15.180 --> 0:34:18.170 We get to Romans 11 and Paul says this in 1125, 0:34:18.690 --> 0:34:20.770 I do not want you to be unaware of this mystery. 0:34:20.770 --> 0:34:24.930 Brothers and sisters, a partial hardening has come upon Israel, 0:34:25.290 --> 0:34:28.570 who's being talked about until the fullness of the Gentiles 0:34:28.570 --> 0:34:31.770 has come in, and in this way all Israel will 0:34:31.770 --> 0:34:36.410 be saved. As it is written, Isaiah 59, the deliverer 0:34:36.450 --> 0:34:41.250 will come from Zion. He will banish ungodliness from Jacob. 0:34:41.250 --> 0:34:47.210 So the principle is, to whom is Scripture speaking? Stop, think, 0:34:47.370 --> 0:34:50.970 pray carefully. Read again who's being talked about? 0:34:51.210 --> 0:34:54.009 All right. Those are good tips. Stop. Think, pray. Who 0:34:54.010 --> 0:34:56.170 is this being written to? Who is God speaking to? 0:34:56.930 --> 0:34:59.250 A question here from Alex who takes us to Psalm eight. 0:34:59.290 --> 0:35:01.650 This is a beautiful Psalm, one of the. One of 0:35:01.650 --> 0:35:04.330 the shortest ones in the Bible. Let's. Let's think about 0:35:04.330 --> 0:35:08.890 it together. Psalm eight. O Lord, our Lord, how majestic 0:35:08.890 --> 0:35:11.210 is your name in all the earth. You have set 0:35:11.210 --> 0:35:13.890 your glory above the heavens from the lips of children 0:35:13.890 --> 0:35:16.670 and infants you have ordained praise because of your enemies, 0:35:16.830 --> 0:35:20.030 to silence the foe and the avenger. When I consider 0:35:20.030 --> 0:35:22.950 your heavens, the work of your fingers, the moon and 0:35:22.950 --> 0:35:25.230 the stars which you have set in place, what is 0:35:25.230 --> 0:35:27.350 man that you are mindful of him, the Son of 0:35:27.350 --> 0:35:29.590 man that you care for him. You made him a 0:35:29.590 --> 0:35:31.670 little lower than the heavenly beings, and crowned him with 0:35:31.670 --> 0:35:33.910 glory and honor. You made him ruler over the works 0:35:33.910 --> 0:35:37.150 of your hands. You put everything under his feet, all 0:35:37.150 --> 0:35:39.629 flocks and herds, and the beasts of the field, the 0:35:39.630 --> 0:35:41.310 birds of the air, and the fish of the sea, 0:35:41.510 --> 0:35:44.070 all that swim, the paths of the sea. O Lord, 0:35:44.270 --> 0:35:49.150 our Lord, how majestic is your name in all the earth. Amen. Alex. 0:35:49.150 --> 0:35:52.350 Question is. This appears to be quoting from Genesis one, 0:35:52.670 --> 0:35:56.750 verses 26 and 28. Is this Psalm, though, talking about 0:35:56.750 --> 0:35:59.870 man as created by God, or is he also referring 0:35:59.910 --> 0:36:00.670 to Jesus? 0:36:01.469 --> 0:36:06.190 I think the primary reference is man. Adam and Eve, 0:36:06.510 --> 0:36:09.150 to whom God has given care for creation so that 0:36:09.150 --> 0:36:13.070 we're working with him and caring for creation. And then 0:36:13.140 --> 0:36:15.739 when we come later to the book of Hebrews, we 0:36:15.780 --> 0:36:20.860 find that Jesus is the man. What has happened there? Well, see, 0:36:20.900 --> 0:36:23.859 we get this commission to manage the earth and we're 0:36:23.860 --> 0:36:27.540 not doing it very well. So we need a new man, 0:36:27.780 --> 0:36:33.140 a new humanity, someone who will properly obey God and 0:36:33.140 --> 0:36:35.380 be the steward that he ought to be. 0:36:35.860 --> 0:36:38.060 Well said. And you're welcome to be a part of 0:36:38.060 --> 0:36:44.100 the conversation with your question at the land and the book@moody.edu. 0:36:44.540 --> 0:36:47.700 It's Charlie Dyer's devotional and it's next on the land 0:36:47.700 --> 0:37:02.299 and the book. This is the land in the book. 0:37:02.300 --> 0:37:05.820 Segment four. I'm John Yeager. Welcome back. You know, Charlie, 0:37:05.820 --> 0:37:07.939 one thing I have noticed is that our Bible does 0:37:07.940 --> 0:37:11.140 not lack for names that are difficult for us English 0:37:11.140 --> 0:37:13.090 speakers to pronounce. AM I right? 0:37:13.290 --> 0:37:16.489 Oh, you're exactly right, John. It's a mouthful. In fact, 0:37:16.489 --> 0:37:18.090 we tend to skip over them as a result. 0:37:18.330 --> 0:37:21.570 I'm guilty as charged. But I think you have two 0:37:21.570 --> 0:37:24.450 unpronounceable names for cities that are at the heart of 0:37:24.450 --> 0:37:25.650 your devotional. Is that fair? 0:37:26.050 --> 0:37:28.530 That's exactly right. And I hope by the time we're done, 0:37:28.530 --> 0:37:29.930 people will never forget them. 0:37:29.969 --> 0:37:32.490 I'm looking forward to that after we hear this Holy 0:37:32.489 --> 0:37:33.890 Land experience. 0:37:37.969 --> 0:37:41.290 One thing that really hit me spiritually was being at 0:37:41.290 --> 0:37:47.330 the Mount of Beatitudes and hearing the message. Just reading 0:37:47.330 --> 0:37:50.609 the scriptures, we're in the same place that Jesus taught 0:37:51.170 --> 0:37:56.010 the scriptures was just so impactful for me. The second 0:37:56.010 --> 0:37:59.529 thing that just, I think points out to Charlie's expertise 0:37:59.570 --> 0:38:04.490 is being at Mount Carmel with, um, where Elijah was, uh, 0:38:04.489 --> 0:38:08.410 tested against the prophets of Baal and the victories Elijah had. 0:38:08.650 --> 0:38:12.600 And just seeing all of the geography that Elijah encountered 0:38:12.640 --> 0:38:15.160 there being on top of the hill. Seeing the plain 0:38:15.680 --> 0:38:20.359 with Charlie talking about, um, just all the factors and 0:38:20.360 --> 0:38:24.200 the timing involved in the, uh, the whole episode and 0:38:24.360 --> 0:38:26.680 the rains that came and the chariots that got bogged 0:38:26.680 --> 0:38:29.680 down and the mud and, uh, just could picture the 0:38:29.680 --> 0:38:35.000 whole episode happening. So Charlie's geography knowledge is just outstanding. 0:38:35.239 --> 0:38:36.640 So it had an excellent time. 0:38:38.800 --> 0:38:42.120 All right, let's press onward with two unpronounceable names of 0:38:42.120 --> 0:38:44.760 places we're never gonna forget. Charlie. It's all yours. 0:38:45.239 --> 0:38:47.719 Thanks, John. Yeah. Our drive down the Jordan Valley from 0:38:47.719 --> 0:38:50.760 the Sea of Galilee to the Dead Sea is almost over. 0:38:51.160 --> 0:38:54.520 The past few hours have taken us from tropical vegetation 0:38:54.520 --> 0:38:58.200 to barren desert. The date palms and bougainvillea around the 0:38:58.200 --> 0:39:00.919 Sea of Galilee gave way to fields of vegetables near 0:39:00.920 --> 0:39:04.360 Beit She'an, the northernmost crossing point of the Jordan River. 0:39:04.360 --> 0:39:07.359 And as we traveled further south, those cultivated fields gave 0:39:07.360 --> 0:39:11.430 way to grassy slopes, and farms yielded to flocks midway 0:39:11.430 --> 0:39:14.029 down the Jordan Valley was the atom crossing point, the 0:39:14.030 --> 0:39:16.629 perfect place for the patriarchs to move their flocks and 0:39:16.630 --> 0:39:20.069 herds across the Jordan and into the Promised Land. But 0:39:20.070 --> 0:39:23.630 as we've continued driving south, grass for grazing has become 0:39:23.630 --> 0:39:27.910 increasingly sparse and the hills more barren. We're still driving 0:39:27.910 --> 0:39:30.509 through the land of shepherds, but the land is far 0:39:30.510 --> 0:39:33.830 more harsh and rugged. And just before the bus tops 0:39:33.830 --> 0:39:36.109 this next rise, I want the driver to pull off 0:39:36.110 --> 0:39:38.469 to the side of the road. Okay. Hop off the 0:39:38.510 --> 0:39:40.430 bus and follow me to the top of the hill. 0:39:40.710 --> 0:39:43.189 Now it's quite warm and the sun is very intense, 0:39:43.510 --> 0:39:46.109 but there's not a lot of haze today. So our 0:39:46.110 --> 0:39:49.270 view down the Jordan Valley really is quite clear. If 0:39:49.270 --> 0:39:51.669 you look off in the distance, you can actually make 0:39:51.670 --> 0:39:54.790 out the northern shore of the Dead Sea. We've almost 0:39:54.790 --> 0:39:58.790 arrived at our final destination. Now look into the valley 0:39:58.790 --> 0:40:01.430 between where we're standing and the Dead Sea. Do you 0:40:01.430 --> 0:40:05.109 see that large area of dark vegetation? It's difficult to 0:40:05.150 --> 0:40:08.380 make out specific details, but that large region is the 0:40:08.380 --> 0:40:11.780 oasis of Jericho. When we get closer, those dark patches 0:40:11.780 --> 0:40:15.739 will become palm trees and fields. A very powerful spring 0:40:15.780 --> 0:40:19.299 provides life giving water to this oasis in the desert. 0:40:19.620 --> 0:40:21.980 And our third and final crossing point on the Jordan 0:40:21.980 --> 0:40:27.140 River gave this location its strategic significance. Now look down 0:40:27.140 --> 0:40:29.540 toward the left edge of the Dead Sea. Do you 0:40:29.540 --> 0:40:32.980 see the highest peak? Just behind on the mountains? That's 0:40:32.980 --> 0:40:36.739 Mount Nebo, where Moses gazed into the Promised Land before dying. 0:40:37.140 --> 0:40:39.540 And do you see the flat plain right across the 0:40:39.540 --> 0:40:43.540 Jordan River from Jericho? That's the plains of Moab, where 0:40:43.540 --> 0:40:47.380 Israel camped before crossing the Jordan River. Picture the nation 0:40:47.380 --> 0:40:50.020 of Israel camped in their tents on that side of 0:40:50.020 --> 0:40:52.859 the Jordan, with the people of Jericho watching from this 0:40:52.860 --> 0:40:56.460 side and separating the two was the rushing Jordan River 0:40:56.460 --> 0:41:00.899 overflowing its banks during the annual spring flood. As I said, 0:41:00.900 --> 0:41:03.379 the broad area where Israel was camped is called the 0:41:03.380 --> 0:41:06.930 plains of Moab in numbers 22. But the spot also 0:41:06.930 --> 0:41:10.049 had another name. A few chapters later, the Book of 0:41:10.050 --> 0:41:13.810 Numbers says Israel was staying in Shittim, and in Joshua 0:41:13.810 --> 0:41:16.969 two and three, the spies were sent from Shittim to 0:41:17.010 --> 0:41:20.489 check out the land, including Jericho. Now there's no discrepancy 0:41:20.489 --> 0:41:22.969 in the Bible. The plains of Moab looked at the 0:41:22.969 --> 0:41:27.850 general geographical region where Israel camped, while Shittim identified the 0:41:27.850 --> 0:41:31.450 specific location. Now, I grew up in the Susquehanna Valley 0:41:31.450 --> 0:41:35.730 in Pennsylvania, but I also grew up just outside Bloomsburg, Pennsylvania. 0:41:36.130 --> 0:41:39.970 One name described the region, the other the specific location. 0:41:39.969 --> 0:41:42.410 And that's what Moses did with the children of Israel 0:41:42.850 --> 0:41:46.250 when Israel crossed the Jordan River. They started out at 0:41:46.250 --> 0:41:50.009 Shittim on the plains of Moab and ended up at Gilgal, 0:41:50.050 --> 0:41:54.969 just north of Jericho. Each name has significance. Shittim is 0:41:54.969 --> 0:41:57.890 the Hebrew word for acacia trees. These are the type 0:41:57.930 --> 0:42:00.089 of trees from which the Ark of the covenant and 0:42:00.090 --> 0:42:03.370 the other objects in the tabernacle had been crafted. And 0:42:03.370 --> 0:42:07.120 Gilgal comes from the Hebrew word that refers to rolling something. 0:42:07.440 --> 0:42:10.760 I talked about Gilgal just two months ago. Joshua five 0:42:10.800 --> 0:42:13.800 nine says the place was named Gilgal because God had 0:42:13.800 --> 0:42:18.080 rolled away the reproach of Egypt after Joshua circumcised those 0:42:18.080 --> 0:42:21.560 born during the wilderness, wandering. All these details might seem 0:42:21.560 --> 0:42:24.640 like little more than historical trivia, but they're really quite 0:42:24.640 --> 0:42:28.880 important for today's study. Micah six is sometimes referred to 0:42:28.920 --> 0:42:32.440 as a prophetic lawsuit, a chapter where God took Israel 0:42:32.480 --> 0:42:36.320 to court for breach of contract in verses 3 to 5. 0:42:36.360 --> 0:42:39.879 God demonstrates his faithfulness to Israel from the time he 0:42:39.880 --> 0:42:42.320 brought them out of Egypt until the time he brought 0:42:42.320 --> 0:42:46.280 them into the land, he ransomed them from slavery, provided 0:42:46.280 --> 0:42:50.279 godly leadership through Moses, Aaron, and Miriam, and refused to 0:42:50.320 --> 0:42:54.279 let kings or profits rise up against or pronounce a 0:42:54.280 --> 0:42:58.279 curse on his people. Then God rests his case by 0:42:58.280 --> 0:43:01.480 asking them to remember what he had done from Shittim 0:43:01.640 --> 0:43:05.980 to Gilgal. Now most skip over those words, but don't 0:43:05.980 --> 0:43:09.180 do that. Instead, look back over at the other side 0:43:09.180 --> 0:43:13.140 of the Jordan. That's the location of Shittim. Probably a 0:43:13.140 --> 0:43:16.140 place named for a large group of acacia trees growing 0:43:16.180 --> 0:43:20.219 there and down below us, just above Jericho, was the 0:43:20.219 --> 0:43:24.540 location of Gilgal. Now picture the Jordan River in flood stage. 0:43:24.860 --> 0:43:29.100 It's dark, muddy water spilling over its banks, extending out 0:43:29.100 --> 0:43:32.660 a half mile in both directions. Then think about God's 0:43:32.660 --> 0:43:36.819 concluding remark. He led Israel out of Egypt, guided them 0:43:36.820 --> 0:43:40.020 through the wilderness, guarded them from all their enemies, and 0:43:40.020 --> 0:43:44.780 then brought them from Shittim to Gilgal. In short, God 0:43:44.780 --> 0:43:49.180 kept every promise he had made. The final obstacle was 0:43:49.180 --> 0:43:52.379 a raging torrent that separated the children of Israel from 0:43:52.380 --> 0:43:55.939 the Promised land, and God pushed back those waters to 0:43:55.980 --> 0:44:00.339 allow his people to enter from Shittim to Gilgal is 0:44:00.340 --> 0:44:04.009 more than just a geographical reference. It's a reminder that 0:44:04.010 --> 0:44:07.649 God kept his word and that no obstacle was too 0:44:07.650 --> 0:44:11.290 big for him to handle. So what has God done 0:44:11.290 --> 0:44:16.370 for you lately? Have you found yourself depressed, anxious, hurting? 0:44:16.850 --> 0:44:20.250 Has your personal journey taken you through the desert or 0:44:20.330 --> 0:44:24.529 seemingly left you stranded at the edge of life's raging torrent? 0:44:24.890 --> 0:44:30.850 If so, remember four words from Shittim to Gilgal. From 0:44:30.850 --> 0:44:34.649 one side of life's impossibilities to the other. God can 0:44:34.650 --> 0:44:39.169 take you through, just like he did for Israel. Take 0:44:39.170 --> 0:44:42.129 some time this coming week to get by yourself and 0:44:42.130 --> 0:44:44.930 think back over those times in your life when God 0:44:44.930 --> 0:44:49.170 has brought you through what seemed to be impossible circumstances. 0:44:49.610 --> 0:44:52.969 Make a list of your past Shittim to Gilgal moments 0:44:53.330 --> 0:44:56.770 and place that list in your Bible at Micah six 0:44:57.250 --> 0:45:00.690 and the next time you begin to feel discouraged or anxious, 0:45:01.050 --> 0:45:03.879 pull out the list to review what God has done 0:45:03.880 --> 0:45:07.160 in the past. Then ask God to help provide another 0:45:07.160 --> 0:45:09.960 Shittim to Gilgal moment in your life that you can 0:45:09.960 --> 0:45:12.840 add to your list. But just be sure to thank 0:45:12.840 --> 0:45:14.239 him when he does. 0:45:14.840 --> 0:45:17.680 And I thank you, Charlie, for that great devotional. Maybe 0:45:17.719 --> 0:45:20.400 some of the reason for the angst, the upset, the 0:45:20.840 --> 0:45:23.239 the tenseness in some of our listeners souls is that 0:45:23.239 --> 0:45:26.399 they've never really come to Jesus as Savior. What does 0:45:26.400 --> 0:45:28.719 that mean, Charlie? To have Jesus as your Savior. 0:45:29.200 --> 0:45:31.880 It means that you've placed your trust for your eternal 0:45:31.880 --> 0:45:34.440 destiny in his hands. You say, I know that I 0:45:34.440 --> 0:45:36.640 can't get to heaven on my own. I'm not good enough. I've. 0:45:36.680 --> 0:45:39.359 I've sinned. I've fallen short of God. And that's why 0:45:39.400 --> 0:45:41.759 God sent his Son Jesus to earth to pay the 0:45:41.760 --> 0:45:44.399 penalty for my sin. And I want to place my 0:45:44.400 --> 0:45:47.359 trust in him. Turn for myself to Jesus as my 0:45:47.360 --> 0:45:50.440 sin bearer and Savior. And when someone does that, they 0:45:50.440 --> 0:45:52.760 pass from death to life and become part of God's 0:45:52.760 --> 0:45:53.759 eternal family. 0:45:53.920 --> 0:45:57.000 There's a volunteer who can answer your questions further right now. 0:45:57.040 --> 0:45:59.879 I mean, right now, they're honored to talk with you, 0:45:59.989 --> 0:46:03.670 pray with you to receive Jesus as you call 888. 0:46:03.750 --> 0:46:07.190 Need him? Let me slow that down. Eight. Eight. Eight. 0:46:07.310 --> 0:46:12.510 Need him. There's no cost, no obligation. There's nothing to buy. 0:46:12.550 --> 0:46:15.190 So there's nothing to sell. It's just an honest conversation 0:46:15.190 --> 0:46:18.830 about what it means to know Jesus. So call 888. 0:46:18.910 --> 0:46:22.150 Need him. Well, the clock says we're just about out 0:46:22.190 --> 0:46:23.870 of time. But we want to say thank you to 0:46:23.910 --> 0:46:25.790 you for hanging out with us today at the land 0:46:25.790 --> 0:46:27.830 of the book. Want to say thanks as well to 0:46:27.870 --> 0:46:30.670 the management at this station? They've got lots of programs 0:46:30.670 --> 0:46:33.110 who would love to be on, but they've kindly shared 0:46:33.110 --> 0:46:35.670 this slot with us and we say thank you. Our 0:46:35.670 --> 0:46:40.270 website is The Land and the book.org, and your emailed 0:46:40.270 --> 0:46:45.710 question is always welcome at the land and the book@moody.edu. 0:46:46.070 --> 0:46:48.950 For our producer, Dan Anderson, our host, Charlie Dyer, I'm 0:46:48.950 --> 0:46:51.550 John Yeager, the land and the book is a production 0:46:51.550 --> 0:46:54.910 of Moody Radio, a Ministry of Moody Bible Institute.