WEBVTT - Esther - Becoming a Girl of Purpose 0:00:07.910 --> 0:00:11.900 What's your unique purpose? There's no better place to understand 0:00:11.900 --> 0:00:15.020 your calling than by studying the life of Esther, who 0:00:15.020 --> 0:00:18.770 lived out her purpose with conviction and faith. Coming up, 0:00:18.770 --> 0:00:22.340 special guest Dannah Gresh has an encouraging word for you 0:00:22.370 --> 0:00:24.350 as you join us for this week's edition of The 0:00:24.350 --> 0:00:27.680 Land and the book, a welcome to our weekly flyover 0:00:27.710 --> 0:00:30.530 of the Middle East. Our pilot is Doctor Charlie Dyer, 0:00:30.530 --> 0:00:34.250 and I'm John Gager strapped in right next to him. Charlie. 0:00:34.250 --> 0:00:36.890 Last week we launched one of our famous book blasts. 0:00:36.890 --> 0:00:39.620 Five books were giving away, and it looks like Angela 0:00:39.620 --> 0:00:42.110 from Grand Rapids is our winner. Tell me, what did 0:00:42.110 --> 0:00:44.390 she have to say in her email? Charlie? Yeah, she. 0:00:44.390 --> 0:00:46.820 Wrote. I love listening to the land in the book. 0:00:46.850 --> 0:00:50.150 I especially enjoy and grow from hearing how modern day 0:00:50.180 --> 0:00:53.000 events are connected to the Bible. The land in the 0:00:53.000 --> 0:00:55.550 book is very informative and I feel like I gain 0:00:55.550 --> 0:00:57.470 knowledge each time I listen. 0:00:57.500 --> 0:01:00.560 Well, that's a neat note from Angela. Congratulations. And those 0:01:00.560 --> 0:01:02.690 books are headed out to you. And if you didn't 0:01:02.690 --> 0:01:05.090 win this time, well, you'll have an opportunity in the 0:01:05.090 --> 0:01:07.429 near future, I promise. And thank you, by the way, 0:01:07.430 --> 0:01:09.860 for writing to let us know how the land and 0:01:09.860 --> 0:01:12.979 the book connects with you. Well, Charlie, as the end 0:01:12.980 --> 0:01:15.410 of the year approaches, many world events have left us 0:01:15.410 --> 0:01:19.130 wondering what God's plan is for the future, especially when 0:01:19.130 --> 0:01:22.310 it comes to Israel. Despite its small size, boy, people 0:01:22.310 --> 0:01:25.580 around the world are focused, right? There are today's headlines 0:01:25.580 --> 0:01:28.819 connected in any way with the prophecies in the Bible. 0:01:28.850 --> 0:01:32.480 How should followers of Jesus interpret current events as we 0:01:32.480 --> 0:01:33.860 await his second coming? 0:01:33.890 --> 0:01:37.010 Well, to help answer those crucial questions, our friends at 0:01:37.040 --> 0:01:41.240 Life and Messiah urge you to check out their book, God, Israel, 0:01:41.240 --> 0:01:45.020 and Bible Prophecy with Scripture as its foundation. This book 0:01:45.020 --> 0:01:47.179 will take you on a journey into what God has 0:01:47.180 --> 0:01:50.330 in store for the Jewish people and the nations. The 0:01:50.330 --> 0:01:53.120 book is for anyone who wants to explore where modern 0:01:53.120 --> 0:01:56.510 day events fit on God's grand timeline. And if that's 0:01:56.510 --> 0:01:59.130 you or someone you know, this would be a great 0:01:59.130 --> 0:02:03.270 resource or gift. Visit Life in Messiah org and click 0:02:03.270 --> 0:02:05.460 on the Moody Radio button to find out how you 0:02:05.460 --> 0:02:09.630 can receive your copy of God, Israel and Bible Prophecy. 0:02:09.630 --> 0:02:12.390 That's life in messiah.org. 0:02:12.780 --> 0:02:15.300 Well, our elections are now in the rear view mirror, 0:02:15.300 --> 0:02:17.820 but the results are just starting to be felt in 0:02:17.820 --> 0:02:21.540 the Middle East as we open up this current events segment. Charlie, 0:02:21.540 --> 0:02:25.109 what impact could this election of President Trump have on 0:02:25.110 --> 0:02:28.200 Israel's conflicts with Hamas, Hezbollah and Iran? 0:02:28.200 --> 0:02:30.990 Well, in one sense, President Trump can't do anything for 0:02:30.990 --> 0:02:34.619 the next two months until he's inaugurated in January. But 0:02:34.620 --> 0:02:38.459 his influence is already being felt in both Israel and Iran. 0:02:38.460 --> 0:02:40.799 And I think it will eventually be the other countries 0:02:40.800 --> 0:02:43.590 there in the Middle East. The US Department of Justice 0:02:43.590 --> 0:02:47.370 charged Iran's Revolutionary Guard Corps with a plot to kill 0:02:47.370 --> 0:02:51.630 Trump back in September. Iran has denied the accusation, but 0:02:51.630 --> 0:02:55.320 this immediately put Iran on notice. The Biden administration said 0:02:55.320 --> 0:02:57.980 any attempt to harm Trump would be considered an act 0:02:57.980 --> 0:03:01.160 of war on the part of Iran. When Trump was president, 0:03:01.160 --> 0:03:05.329 before he scuttled the nuclear agreement with Iran, reimposed economic 0:03:05.330 --> 0:03:08.930 sanctions and ordered a drone strike that killed Iranian Guard 0:03:08.930 --> 0:03:12.649 Corps leader Soleimani. Look for Trump to exert more pressure 0:03:12.650 --> 0:03:17.090 on Iran economically, politically and militarily when he takes office. 0:03:17.120 --> 0:03:20.510 This is already causing concern in Tehran. In fact, the 0:03:20.510 --> 0:03:23.810 value of their rial is dropping since he's been elected. 0:03:23.840 --> 0:03:27.020 Trump has voiced strong support for Israel, and he's backing 0:03:27.020 --> 0:03:29.960 up his verbal support by naming strong supporters of Israel 0:03:29.990 --> 0:03:33.350 to his cabinet. The impact of the election extends beyond 0:03:33.350 --> 0:03:37.160 just Israel and Iran. In response to pressure from the U.S., 0:03:37.160 --> 0:03:41.480 Qatar has supposedly agreed to oust Hamas's political leadership from 0:03:41.480 --> 0:03:45.020 their country, though this is still uncertain. What they have 0:03:45.020 --> 0:03:47.450 said is that they'll cease trying to mediate a hostage 0:03:47.450 --> 0:03:51.140 deal between Israel and Hamas. Many look for Trump to 0:03:51.170 --> 0:03:54.650 try to re-energize the Abraham Accords, pushing for a deal 0:03:54.680 --> 0:03:58.230 between Israel and Saudi Arabia. Trump comes into office with 0:03:58.230 --> 0:04:01.770 past experience and with fresh ideas on how to move forward. 0:04:01.800 --> 0:04:05.130 The man who finally moved the US Embassy to Jerusalem 0:04:05.130 --> 0:04:09.780 is certain to have other surprises up his sleeve come January. Certainly, 0:04:09.780 --> 0:04:13.440 nominating Mike Huckabee as US ambassador to Israel is just 0:04:13.440 --> 0:04:15.030 one of those surprises. 0:04:15.060 --> 0:04:18.539 Well, in spite of the change in Washington, Russia's President 0:04:18.540 --> 0:04:21.750 Putin is still pushing forward with his own vision for 0:04:21.750 --> 0:04:24.779 a new Middle East. How could that plan unfold? 0:04:24.779 --> 0:04:27.810 It could unfold as part of Putin's larger strategy to 0:04:27.839 --> 0:04:31.290 develop a new world order to counter the West. Trump's 0:04:31.290 --> 0:04:34.440 election will cause some concern, though it won't change Putin's 0:04:34.440 --> 0:04:37.500 fundamental goals. In fact, it might provide a way for 0:04:37.500 --> 0:04:39.989 him to end the war in Ukraine while holding on 0:04:40.020 --> 0:04:42.330 to some of his gains. But in terms of his 0:04:42.330 --> 0:04:45.990 larger vision, Putin wants to expand BRICs. That's the alliance 0:04:45.990 --> 0:04:50.159 of Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa to include 0:04:50.160 --> 0:04:53.909 other countries willing to join this non-Western bloc of states. 0:04:53.940 --> 0:04:57.279 A major part of the alliance will be economic, providing 0:04:57.310 --> 0:05:00.460 access to trade and goods to countries restricted in some 0:05:00.460 --> 0:05:03.760 manner by the West. This week, Russia and Iran linked 0:05:03.760 --> 0:05:07.299 their banking systems to overcome Western sanctions, and they plan 0:05:07.300 --> 0:05:10.420 to expand their system to other countries as well. But 0:05:10.420 --> 0:05:15.279 Putin is looking beyond just economic cooperation to include defense cooperation. 0:05:15.310 --> 0:05:18.849 Russia is preparing to sign a comprehensive treaty with Iran 0:05:18.850 --> 0:05:22.690 that will include closer defense ties. Iran and North Korea 0:05:22.690 --> 0:05:25.630 have been providing Russia with drones and shells for its 0:05:25.660 --> 0:05:29.080 war in Ukraine, and now North Korea is sending troops 0:05:29.080 --> 0:05:32.560 to bolster Russia's forces there. In return, Russia is supplying 0:05:32.560 --> 0:05:35.500 North Korea with food aid and both North Korea and 0:05:35.500 --> 0:05:38.890 Iran with technology. Lurking on the edge of all this 0:05:38.890 --> 0:05:42.159 is Turkey. They're connected to the West through NATO and 0:05:42.160 --> 0:05:45.520 through trade. But Turkey also shares common interests in the 0:05:45.520 --> 0:05:48.820 Middle East with both Russia and Iran. Now, watch to 0:05:48.820 --> 0:05:52.029 see if Turkey can put aside some very real differences 0:05:52.029 --> 0:05:55.300 to align with Russia and Iran and other countries, and 0:05:55.300 --> 0:05:57.760 watch to see if the United States puts pressure on 0:05:57.790 --> 0:06:01.659 Turkey to choose between supporting NATO or supporting Russia and 0:06:01.660 --> 0:06:03.070 Iran and Hamas. 0:06:03.100 --> 0:06:06.220 Interesting. And I also noted that President Erdogan, you know, 0:06:06.250 --> 0:06:10.480 offered a call of congratulations to President Trump, maybe merely symbolic, 0:06:10.480 --> 0:06:12.820 but that was an interesting gesture. I thought it. 0:06:12.820 --> 0:06:15.070 Was. And yet, at the same week, he also broke off, 0:06:15.070 --> 0:06:17.980 he said, ties with Israel. So he's trying to play 0:06:17.980 --> 0:06:20.470 both sides. And that gap is going to continue getting 0:06:20.470 --> 0:06:21.969 wider and wider for him. 0:06:22.000 --> 0:06:24.250 You're listening to a current events segment as we open 0:06:24.250 --> 0:06:26.200 up here on the land and the book. Our host, 0:06:26.200 --> 0:06:30.130 Doctor Charlie Dyer. Middle East expert, I'm John Gager. Well, 0:06:30.130 --> 0:06:34.030 the attacks by Iran and her proxies against Israel have 0:06:34.029 --> 0:06:38.440 included missiles, rockets and drones as Israel's high tech defenses 0:06:38.440 --> 0:06:42.039 continue to evolve to face these attacks. What lessons can 0:06:42.070 --> 0:06:44.590 the West learn from Israel's response? 0:06:44.620 --> 0:06:47.380 Yeah, we all know about the success of Israel's Iron 0:06:47.410 --> 0:06:51.010 Dome system, and the current conflict also showcased the success 0:06:51.010 --> 0:06:53.830 of its longer range systems like David's Sling and the 0:06:53.830 --> 0:06:57.640 arrow system, which have. Taken down longer range ballistic missiles, 0:06:57.640 --> 0:07:00.520 but Iran and its proxies developed. Tactics to test the 0:07:00.520 --> 0:07:04.360 limitations of all these systems. And they did find some weaknesses. 0:07:04.540 --> 0:07:08.020 One weakness is cost. The cost to shoot down rockets 0:07:08.020 --> 0:07:11.410 and missiles is high. And. Israel has experienced times when 0:07:11.410 --> 0:07:14.980 its supply of interceptors has dwindled. It costs far less 0:07:14.980 --> 0:07:17.560 to produce the drones and rockets than it does for 0:07:17.560 --> 0:07:20.260 Israel to. Defend against them. And they've also been able 0:07:20.260 --> 0:07:24.670 to overwhelm Israel's defenses by. Launching scores of rockets simultaneously, 0:07:24.670 --> 0:07:28.060 allowing some to make it through. Drones have proven to 0:07:28.090 --> 0:07:32.170 be even more effective. Israel has had less success locating 0:07:32.170 --> 0:07:35.110 in shooting down drones since they fly so close to 0:07:35.140 --> 0:07:38.620 the ground, evading radar. The drone that hit the Prime 0:07:38.620 --> 0:07:42.490 Minister's home in Caesarea is just one example. More soldiers 0:07:42.490 --> 0:07:45.730 have been killed by drones than by rockets. So what 0:07:45.730 --> 0:07:48.130 are some of the lessons Israel has learned? Well, they 0:07:48.130 --> 0:07:50.170 learned they need to have a system that uses more 0:07:50.170 --> 0:07:53.560 than just radar to detect drones. They're now developing a 0:07:53.560 --> 0:07:58.240 system that uses wireless technology, deep signal processing, and machine 0:07:58.240 --> 0:08:01.720 learning to detect and intercept them. They've also learned not 0:08:01.720 --> 0:08:04.480 to focus on just the missiles and drones, but the 0:08:04.480 --> 0:08:08.740 infrastructure behind them. They destroyed the factories in Iran, making 0:08:08.740 --> 0:08:12.370 the solid rocket propellant for missiles in Lebanon. They focused 0:08:12.370 --> 0:08:17.200 on the drone operators firing positions, assembly sites, underground bases 0:08:17.200 --> 0:08:22.090 and storage centers. Now, this required solid intelligence gathering. Finally, 0:08:22.090 --> 0:08:25.780 they learned to push for new, lower cost defensive alternatives. 0:08:25.780 --> 0:08:28.210 They hope to have their ion beam system up and 0:08:28.210 --> 0:08:30.940 running next year, as well as what they're calling the 0:08:30.940 --> 0:08:35.260 Light Beam Short Range Laser system to protect vehicles from 0:08:35.260 --> 0:08:38.830 drones and mortars. The operational cost for these new systems 0:08:38.830 --> 0:08:41.680 will actually be less than the cost of the drones 0:08:41.679 --> 0:08:44.140 used by the enemy. The key lessons in all this 0:08:44.140 --> 0:08:47.410 for the West are these don't depend on just expensive 0:08:47.410 --> 0:08:52.300 high tech systems. develop a multi-layered defense and be prepared 0:08:52.300 --> 0:08:55.300 to respond to changing tactics, and look for ways to 0:08:55.330 --> 0:08:58.780 leverage technology to make it all as low cost and 0:08:58.780 --> 0:09:00.610 cost effective as possible. 0:09:00.640 --> 0:09:04.000 Well, it sounds like good wisdom to me. Samaritan's purse 0:09:04.000 --> 0:09:08.050 continues to offer practical ministry help to the people of Israel. 0:09:08.080 --> 0:09:11.470 Describe the impact that Franklin Graham and his organization have 0:09:11.470 --> 0:09:14.380 had on Israel over the past year. Yeah. 0:09:14.380 --> 0:09:17.410 When Israel was attacked on October 7th, two results immediately 0:09:17.410 --> 0:09:20.020 became apparent here in the U.S. the first was the 0:09:20.020 --> 0:09:23.650 rise in anti-Semitism. Israel was shocked to see the hatred 0:09:23.650 --> 0:09:27.730 and hostility that spread across our country. The second result 0:09:27.730 --> 0:09:30.939 was the willingness of evangelical Christians to take a stand 0:09:30.940 --> 0:09:33.340 for Israel and come to her aid in her hour 0:09:33.370 --> 0:09:36.220 of need. One of the greatest examples of this was 0:09:36.220 --> 0:09:39.550 Franklin Graham and Samaritan's Purse. Within days, they sent an 0:09:39.550 --> 0:09:41.860 advance team to see what they could do to offer 0:09:41.860 --> 0:09:44.500 practical help. You know, when we were there back in March, 0:09:44.500 --> 0:09:47.110 we met with two of those team leaders, including one 0:09:47.110 --> 0:09:50.800 who's a graduate of Moody Bible Institute. Samaritan's purse quickly 0:09:50.800 --> 0:09:53.470 seized on the need to replace the ambulances that were 0:09:53.470 --> 0:09:56.170 destroyed on October 7th. We were there just a few 0:09:56.170 --> 0:10:00.460 weeks after Samaritan's Purse dedicated the 14 fully equipped ambulances 0:10:00.460 --> 0:10:03.550 they had sent. They've since committed to provide an additional 0:10:03.580 --> 0:10:07.450 28 armored ambulances, which are now starting to arrive. Those 0:10:07.450 --> 0:10:10.000 are better prepared to operate in areas like the border 0:10:10.000 --> 0:10:13.690 communities that have been attacked. Samaritan's purse also committed to 0:10:13.720 --> 0:10:16.750 establish two new ambulance centers near the border with both 0:10:16.750 --> 0:10:20.470 Gaza and Lebanon. Two realities emerge from all these donations. 0:10:20.470 --> 0:10:24.069 The first is that Israel recognizes that evangelical believers do 0:10:24.100 --> 0:10:27.250 care for them. The second is that Samaritan's Purse is 0:10:27.250 --> 0:10:30.700 working with both Jewish and Arab believers while they're there. 0:10:30.730 --> 0:10:33.670 These practical displays of love and support have opened doors 0:10:33.670 --> 0:10:36.640 for local believers there to share their faith in very 0:10:36.640 --> 0:10:37.929 practical ways. 0:10:37.929 --> 0:10:41.050 Thank you Charlie. Well, a full program today. Coming up, 0:10:41.050 --> 0:10:44.140 a conversation with Dana Gresh about the life of Esther. 0:10:44.170 --> 0:10:47.890 Then it's Bible questions and answers and Charlie's devotional, so 0:10:47.890 --> 0:10:49.600 don't miss any of it. As you stay with us 0:10:49.600 --> 0:11:06.880 here for Moody Radio's The Land and the book. What's 0:11:06.880 --> 0:11:10.179 your unique purpose? I mean, you weren't exactly born with 0:11:10.179 --> 0:11:13.000 an instruction tag, right? But if you're a Christian, the 0:11:13.000 --> 0:11:16.780 Bible offers an entire book of instructions. And there's no 0:11:16.780 --> 0:11:20.230 better place to understand your calling than by studying the 0:11:20.230 --> 0:11:23.890 life of Esther, who lived out her purpose pretty well. 0:11:23.890 --> 0:11:26.770 This is the land and the book. I'm John Gager, 0:11:26.770 --> 0:11:30.069 and before we join our special guest, Dannah Gresh, let's 0:11:30.070 --> 0:11:32.559 focus our thoughts for a moment on being more effective 0:11:32.559 --> 0:11:37.480 in loving our Jewish friends and neighbors for Christ. Sometimes 0:11:37.480 --> 0:11:39.640 you and I are reluctant to engage a Jewish friend 0:11:39.640 --> 0:11:42.880 in conversation, because we presume that they know more about 0:11:42.880 --> 0:11:46.350 the Bible than us. Should we think that way? And 0:11:46.350 --> 0:11:49.020 if we do, are we right or wrong? Gregg Savitt, 0:11:49.050 --> 0:11:49.890 your thoughts? 0:11:49.920 --> 0:11:53.340 Well, that's a common misconception that Jewish people are people 0:11:53.340 --> 0:11:56.610 of the book. People that know the New Testament and 0:11:56.610 --> 0:12:02.069 love Jesus. There's over 880 allusions to the Old Testament 0:12:02.070 --> 0:12:08.220 and 250 direct quotations. So Christian, just by their faith 0:12:08.220 --> 0:12:11.550 in the New Testament, know so much more about the 0:12:11.550 --> 0:12:15.900 Old Testament than Jewish people. Jon, I can't tell you 0:12:15.900 --> 0:12:19.530 how many hundreds of times Gentiles have told me that 0:12:19.530 --> 0:12:23.130 when they witness to their Jewish friends who are not believers, 0:12:23.130 --> 0:12:27.570 they say, you know so much more about my Bible, 0:12:27.600 --> 0:12:31.620 about Jewish holidays than I do. How can you do that? And, 0:12:31.650 --> 0:12:35.610 you know, Paul talks about making somebody being jealous. You know, 0:12:35.610 --> 0:12:38.550 and I think that's highly a Jewish thing, is that 0:12:38.550 --> 0:12:41.220 you know their religion better than they do. 0:12:41.550 --> 0:12:45.030 That's Gregg Savitt, who serves with Rock of Israel Ministries 0:12:45.030 --> 0:12:49.440 joining us on the land and the book Dannah Gresh 0:12:49.470 --> 0:12:52.680 is a best selling author and the founder of True Girl, 0:12:52.710 --> 0:12:56.790 a ministry just for tween girls and their moms. One 0:12:56.790 --> 0:12:59.880 of Dana's latest books in the True Girls series is 0:12:59.880 --> 0:13:03.900 Esther Becoming a Girl of Purpose from Moody Publishers. Hey, 0:13:03.900 --> 0:13:06.420 welcome back to the land and the book, Dana. 0:13:06.840 --> 0:13:09.750 Oh, I'm so thrilled to be back. Thanks for having me. 0:13:09.780 --> 0:13:11.010 You know, I got to say, right off the bat, 0:13:11.010 --> 0:13:13.380 it's a shame. This is just radio. No pictures. Because 0:13:13.380 --> 0:13:17.520 I love, really love the colorful design of the pages 0:13:17.520 --> 0:13:21.750 in this book, generously splashed with images and illustrations. It 0:13:21.750 --> 0:13:24.270 seems to me, in a visually oriented culture like ours, 0:13:24.270 --> 0:13:28.410 that communicates something to kids these days. Something good. Your thoughts? 0:13:28.440 --> 0:13:32.340 Yeah, that's really important. You know, with the attention span 0:13:32.340 --> 0:13:36.120 that they have, um, they need that. And when we 0:13:36.120 --> 0:13:40.140 started designing things for True Girl, we went to the 0:13:40.140 --> 0:13:45.120 bookstore and we said, who is attracting these girls. And 0:13:45.120 --> 0:13:48.689 it was the American girls line, and they just set 0:13:48.690 --> 0:13:51.630 the standard for how things look. And yet they don't 0:13:51.630 --> 0:13:54.780 always have content that leads you to biblical truth. Right. 0:13:54.809 --> 0:13:59.010 And so we wanted to create something that would sit 0:13:59.040 --> 0:14:02.490 on a shelf in a bookstore next to an American 0:14:02.490 --> 0:14:08.309 Girl product and compete visually and quality wise, but attract 0:14:08.309 --> 0:14:12.150 them because there is biblical truth in it. So that's 0:14:12.150 --> 0:14:14.040 really important to us, and we're proud of that. 0:14:14.070 --> 0:14:17.819 All right. Beyond the obvious visual appeal, we crack open 0:14:17.820 --> 0:14:21.060 the book itself. And there you write. God's story and 0:14:21.060 --> 0:14:25.140 purpose isn't complete yet, and it's continuing with you. It 0:14:25.140 --> 0:14:27.570 seems to me that's a message that every girl and 0:14:27.570 --> 0:14:30.480 boy and adult needs to hear. How would we live 0:14:30.510 --> 0:14:33.180 differently if we really believed that, Dana? 0:14:33.540 --> 0:14:37.800 Mhm. We would definitely live differently. You know, Esther was 0:14:37.800 --> 0:14:42.960 a girl who didn't live for her own Satisfaction. I mean, 0:14:42.990 --> 0:14:45.840 we're reading a story about a teen girl who gets 0:14:45.840 --> 0:14:51.180 taken away. She is trafficked, essentially, and yet she walks 0:14:51.180 --> 0:14:54.990 with dignity and grace on the pages of Scripture and 0:14:54.990 --> 0:14:57.989 fulfills the purpose of God's big plan. When she went 0:14:57.990 --> 0:15:02.729 before King Xerxes and risked her life. She was laying 0:15:02.730 --> 0:15:05.460 her life down for the bigger plan of God's purpose 0:15:05.460 --> 0:15:08.310 and will. And that's what we exist for. We exist 0:15:08.340 --> 0:15:13.290 to glorify him, to serve him, to enjoy him, and 0:15:13.290 --> 0:15:15.990 to be enjoyed by him. And she gets that. Esther 0:15:16.020 --> 0:15:19.800 got that. And I am so excited about taking tween 0:15:19.800 --> 0:15:21.989 girls and their moms into the pages of Esther to 0:15:22.020 --> 0:15:25.080 have new eyes, to see how that might work in 0:15:25.080 --> 0:15:26.010 our lives. 0:15:26.040 --> 0:15:30.420 You outline your Bible study around four z words, and 0:15:30.450 --> 0:15:32.910 though you've intended this for kids, I think we adults 0:15:32.940 --> 0:15:35.729 could benefit from these as well. Let's look at each one, 0:15:35.730 --> 0:15:39.000 starting with zoom in. What do you intend for us 0:15:39.000 --> 0:15:40.320 at this stage, Dana? 0:15:40.320 --> 0:15:40.320 It. 0:15:40.410 --> 0:15:43.229 Yeah. The four Z method of Bible study. This is 0:15:43.230 --> 0:15:46.890 a true girl signature, but not really because it's just 0:15:46.890 --> 0:15:50.880 a simplified, inductive Bible study method. But it's a whole 0:15:50.880 --> 0:15:54.450 lot more graspable for the 8 to 12 year old 0:15:54.450 --> 0:15:56.820 mind when we say, hey, you got to zoom in, 0:15:56.850 --> 0:15:58.710 you got to zoom out, you got to zero in, 0:15:58.740 --> 0:16:01.350 you got to zip it up. And they remember that. 0:16:01.350 --> 0:16:06.870 So zooming in this is zooming into the details, the particulars. Like, 0:16:06.900 --> 0:16:10.410 you know, this morning I was meditating on Psalm 92 0:16:10.440 --> 0:16:13.980 verse 12. And the word flourished really stuck out to me. 0:16:13.980 --> 0:16:15.720 So I was like, what does flourish mean? Let's look 0:16:15.750 --> 0:16:18.630 at what the Hebrew word for flourish was, and then 0:16:18.630 --> 0:16:20.970 let's look at the dictionary. What does the dictionary say 0:16:20.970 --> 0:16:23.040 about this word and stuff like that. So that's really 0:16:23.040 --> 0:16:27.240 just becoming familiar with maybe one word or maybe one character. 0:16:27.240 --> 0:16:29.880 So maybe just getting to know who was Mordecai. What 0:16:29.880 --> 0:16:32.760 would we know about Jewish men in that day and age? 0:16:32.760 --> 0:16:35.730 What would we know about Jewish men living in that time, 0:16:35.730 --> 0:16:38.250 living in that city in that day and age? And 0:16:38.250 --> 0:16:40.800 you just really take one word and you become super 0:16:40.800 --> 0:16:43.560 familiar with it. And that's a whole lot easier if 0:16:43.590 --> 0:16:46.020 you zoom out. So that's the second you can zoom 0:16:46.020 --> 0:16:50.160 in or zoom out first. But zooming out then is like, okay, 0:16:50.190 --> 0:16:53.820 the city of Susa, what do we know? Well, we 0:16:53.820 --> 0:16:57.810 know that being Jewish in that day and age was 0:16:57.810 --> 0:17:01.620 a great risk. It's much like being Jewish or being 0:17:01.620 --> 0:17:03.630 a believer in the Middle East is today. It's a 0:17:03.630 --> 0:17:07.229 great risk to be a Christian in Iran, where Susa 0:17:07.230 --> 0:17:10.860 would have been. It's a great recipe. Jewish in Iran, 0:17:10.859 --> 0:17:12.840 where Susa would have been. And so you start to 0:17:12.869 --> 0:17:16.050 get the broad view of the stuff that I'm reading 0:17:16.050 --> 0:17:18.090 have to do. And when you do those two things, 0:17:18.090 --> 0:17:21.750 you start to really understand something about the Scripture, at 0:17:21.780 --> 0:17:25.440 least for that time and that area. So zoom in, 0:17:25.440 --> 0:17:29.520 zoom out, and then zero in. Now we're starting to say, 0:17:29.520 --> 0:17:32.550 what does this mean for me today? So when a 0:17:32.550 --> 0:17:37.109 little girl learns that Esther is not considering her own life, 0:17:37.109 --> 0:17:40.560 but she's laying it down. We can go to Scripture 0:17:40.560 --> 0:17:43.320 that teaches us in the New Testament that we're supposed 0:17:43.320 --> 0:17:46.169 to be laying our lives down for others, to that 0:17:46.170 --> 0:17:49.980 we're supposed to be emulating the sacrificial life of Christ 0:17:50.010 --> 0:17:53.970 and then zip it up. That's what we do. We 0:17:53.970 --> 0:17:56.490 talk to God in prayer. We zip all of our 0:17:56.490 --> 0:18:01.080 zooming and zeroing up in prayer to God. And we say, Lord, 0:18:01.080 --> 0:18:03.900 help me to live like Esther. Help me to live 0:18:03.930 --> 0:18:07.350 not full of and consumed by my own passions and 0:18:07.350 --> 0:18:09.660 my own wills. But what is your will for my life? 0:18:09.660 --> 0:18:11.640 And what do you want me to do for such 0:18:11.670 --> 0:18:14.459 a time as this, in this culture? So that's the 0:18:14.460 --> 0:18:15.720 Fawzi method of Bible study. 0:18:15.720 --> 0:18:18.900 Pretty simple if you just dropped into our conversation. Our 0:18:18.900 --> 0:18:21.929 guest today on the land and the book is Dannah Gresh. 0:18:21.960 --> 0:18:24.629 We're exploring the life of Esther as we hit the 0:18:24.630 --> 0:18:28.110 highlights in her new Moody Publishers book. You write that 0:18:28.109 --> 0:18:32.070 nothing and no one can stop God's purpose for your life. Well, 0:18:32.070 --> 0:18:34.859 that is so empowering. Where do you think that message 0:18:34.890 --> 0:18:37.139 ought to land with girls who are reading this book. 0:18:37.170 --> 0:18:38.610 And what's your hope there? 0:18:39.180 --> 0:18:41.790 Well, so this is a really big piece of the 0:18:41.790 --> 0:18:45.270 book of Esther, right? Because we have Haman, the bad guy, 0:18:45.300 --> 0:18:48.510 coming into the picture, and he is determined to wipe 0:18:48.510 --> 0:18:51.990 out the Jewish people, which wouldn't be the first or 0:18:51.990 --> 0:18:55.230 last time that somebody wanted to wipe out the special 0:18:55.230 --> 0:18:59.820 chosen people of God. But where Esther, the protagonist, is 0:18:59.820 --> 0:19:03.600 in an impossible situation where there's absolutely there are laws 0:19:03.600 --> 0:19:08.100 on the books to where Xerxes giving Haman that permission 0:19:08.100 --> 0:19:13.050 can't be overridden like it is impossible. Nothing could possibly 0:19:13.080 --> 0:19:17.280 save the Jewish people. And yet the Jewish people are saved. 0:19:17.490 --> 0:19:21.660 King Xerxes thinks of a loophole and he says, you know, 0:19:21.690 --> 0:19:24.210 we're going to do it this way. And in doing so, 0:19:24.210 --> 0:19:27.450 he allows the Jewish people to rise up to protect themselves. 0:19:27.450 --> 0:19:31.740 And he can't override the decree he's already signed. But 0:19:31.740 --> 0:19:35.609 because of Esther's courage and because she stepped into the 0:19:35.609 --> 0:19:39.210 plan and the purpose that God appointed her to. He 0:19:39.210 --> 0:19:42.210 is able to override that law and the Jewish people 0:19:42.210 --> 0:19:45.720 instead of looking back with mourning and like we do 0:19:45.750 --> 0:19:48.899 on nine over 11, instead of looking back on what 0:19:48.930 --> 0:19:54.330 Sousa could have meant had Haman been successful, they throw 0:19:54.330 --> 0:19:57.720 a party called Purim, which is a party that's still 0:19:57.720 --> 0:20:01.679 celebrated today. They still make these triangular shaped, jelly filled 0:20:01.680 --> 0:20:05.670 cookies that Jewish families grow up loving. But they have 0:20:05.670 --> 0:20:08.400 meaning in those cookies. Those cookies have purpose because they're 0:20:08.400 --> 0:20:11.850 reminding them God delivered us when it looked like we 0:20:11.850 --> 0:20:16.350 could not be saved. He used Queen Esther to keep 0:20:16.350 --> 0:20:18.870 the Jewish line alive and well. And it's just a 0:20:18.869 --> 0:20:23.310 beautiful reminder to all of us that when everything looks dark, despondent, 0:20:23.310 --> 0:20:27.810 and hopeless, our circumstances don't get the last say. God 0:20:27.810 --> 0:20:30.869 gets the last say in our lives. His plan cannot 0:20:30.869 --> 0:20:31.859 be thwarted. 0:20:32.160 --> 0:20:35.600 So, Dana, what is the most important idea that you 0:20:35.600 --> 0:20:38.570 want girls to hang on to once they've studied the 0:20:38.570 --> 0:20:39.590 life of Esther? 0:20:40.100 --> 0:20:43.820 That God will invite them into his purpose and plan. 0:20:43.820 --> 0:20:47.090 And that's kind of what happened to Esther. I'm burdened 0:20:47.090 --> 0:20:52.460 right now that we really are seeing such complacency in 0:20:52.460 --> 0:20:56.690 young adults and teenagers in terms of meaning and purpose. 0:20:56.720 --> 0:20:59.990 You know, we really are seeing them not being called 0:20:59.990 --> 0:21:03.500 to rise up to something beyond themselves, but they want 0:21:03.530 --> 0:21:07.070 to do kind of what they feel like doing and 0:21:07.070 --> 0:21:10.850 not necessarily hard things. And yet in the book of Esther, 0:21:10.850 --> 0:21:14.570 we see Esther being invited by God into his big 0:21:14.570 --> 0:21:19.760 plan and sacrificially serving in that spot. And so I 0:21:19.760 --> 0:21:23.119 guess for those times when your teenage daughter or your 0:21:23.119 --> 0:21:26.330 college daughter or your young adult daughter doesn't have an 0:21:26.330 --> 0:21:29.750 Etsy page that is exploding, or she isn't an influencer 0:21:29.750 --> 0:21:32.210 on social media or all these other things she's comparing 0:21:32.210 --> 0:21:34.970 yourself to. And she's like, I don't know. I'm not 0:21:34.970 --> 0:21:37.550 doing big things, so maybe I don't have a purpose. 0:21:37.640 --> 0:21:40.220 That's not true. That's a lie from the pit of hell. 0:21:40.250 --> 0:21:43.820 God has created her with purpose. It is to glorify 0:21:43.820 --> 0:21:47.060 him and to enjoy him forever. And he is going 0:21:47.060 --> 0:21:50.270 to invite her into that purpose in the perfect time 0:21:50.270 --> 0:21:52.939 and the perfect way, in a way that honors and 0:21:52.940 --> 0:21:55.159 glorifies him. And she is going to enjoy it, and 0:21:55.160 --> 0:21:56.330 she is going to love it. 0:21:56.540 --> 0:21:59.540 That's Dannah Gresh, who is a bestselling author and the 0:21:59.540 --> 0:22:03.050 founder of True Girl, a ministry just for tween girls 0:22:03.050 --> 0:22:05.210 and their moms. It's an honor to have her with 0:22:05.210 --> 0:22:07.730 us today on the land and the book. I'm curious, 0:22:07.730 --> 0:22:11.840 any reaction to this series so far? Or maybe this 0:22:11.840 --> 0:22:13.790 book in particular, the True Girl series? 0:22:14.420 --> 0:22:17.240 Oh, moms love it. We actually have an online Bible 0:22:17.240 --> 0:22:21.800 study we do every fall based on one character of 0:22:21.800 --> 0:22:25.700 the Bible, Miriam. Ruth. This fall, it's Esther. It starts 0:22:25.700 --> 0:22:28.640 in two weeks. You can learn about that at my gurl.com. 0:22:28.640 --> 0:22:31.850 And moms can really just take girls through this Bible 0:22:31.850 --> 0:22:35.449 study on their own, or they can join us for 0:22:35.480 --> 0:22:37.850 that online Bible study. And we kind of facilitated to 0:22:37.850 --> 0:22:40.340 make it fun for them. They get to interact with 0:22:40.340 --> 0:22:42.470 some of the other girls around the nation and the 0:22:42.470 --> 0:22:45.560 world who are learning the Fawzi method of Bible study. 0:22:45.590 --> 0:22:48.350 We have thousands of moms go through these studies with 0:22:48.350 --> 0:22:52.369 us every year, and what we hear is two things. 0:22:52.369 --> 0:22:58.130 One is girls discover that the Lord really does speak 0:22:58.130 --> 0:23:01.340 to them through Scripture, not through their pastor, not through 0:23:01.340 --> 0:23:04.160 their Sunday school teacher, not through a Bible teacher, or 0:23:04.160 --> 0:23:07.490 not even their parents. The Lord speaks to them through 0:23:07.490 --> 0:23:10.609 the scriptures when they learn the Fawzi method of Bible study. 0:23:10.609 --> 0:23:12.920 And the other thing I love hearing this is so 0:23:12.920 --> 0:23:16.070 cool is that when moms take our Bible studies, especially 0:23:16.070 --> 0:23:19.340 our online version, they say, oh, this is amazing, but 0:23:19.340 --> 0:23:20.960 I've been in my Bible. I've been reading it, but 0:23:20.960 --> 0:23:23.629 I wasn't studying it. Even learning this Fawzi method of 0:23:23.630 --> 0:23:27.169 Bible study, I am seeing scripture with new eyes and 0:23:27.170 --> 0:23:30.290 I think I'm handling it with more accuracy. So we 0:23:30.290 --> 0:23:32.960 love hearing that. We love hearing that there's growth in 0:23:32.960 --> 0:23:35.480 these girls and growth in the moms, too. As we 0:23:35.480 --> 0:23:36.650 study God's Word together. 0:23:36.680 --> 0:23:39.919 Hey, what's one aspect of the character of Esther that 0:23:39.920 --> 0:23:44.060 maybe you never really saw before you created this Bible study? 0:23:44.060 --> 0:23:46.100 Anything that caught you by surprise? Dana. 0:23:46.130 --> 0:23:48.710 Okay, so it's not even a biblical thing, but it's super. 0:23:48.740 --> 0:23:51.020 It's an archaeological thing. And I think you geek out 0:23:51.020 --> 0:23:52.580 on archaeology. So can we geek out? 0:23:52.609 --> 0:23:53.480 Go for it. 0:23:53.630 --> 0:23:57.649 Way back in the 1800s, some French archaeologists did some 0:23:57.650 --> 0:24:01.879 serious digging in Iran, and they uncovered the ancient city 0:24:01.880 --> 0:24:05.210 of Susa. It is one of the few places in 0:24:05.210 --> 0:24:08.810 the world where we can go and stand in the 0:24:08.810 --> 0:24:12.470 exact spot where Esther would have been risking her life, 0:24:12.470 --> 0:24:16.429 and Xerxes extended the scepter to her, the exact spot 0:24:16.460 --> 0:24:20.479 where Queen Vashti was banished. Because we know where the 0:24:20.480 --> 0:24:24.290 ballroom was, we know the spot where Mordecai stood. And 0:24:24.290 --> 0:24:27.440 what's really interesting to me is not only do we 0:24:27.440 --> 0:24:31.109 have this archaeological dig. But the Book of Esther, it's 0:24:31.109 --> 0:24:33.900 almost like God knew. You're going to find this place 0:24:33.900 --> 0:24:36.480 one day, and I want you to be sure that 0:24:36.480 --> 0:24:39.540 this is it. So the book of Esther gives so 0:24:39.540 --> 0:24:42.780 many details, like that Queen Esther stepped out of her 0:24:42.780 --> 0:24:46.920 chamber and turned, and she went into the King's chamber. Well, 0:24:46.920 --> 0:24:49.500 when we dug up Susa, we found the. Would have 0:24:49.500 --> 0:24:53.130 been the Harem's chamber, the concubines chamber. And there was 0:24:53.130 --> 0:24:55.800 a private throne room that the king had for like 0:24:55.830 --> 0:25:00.060 closer extended family and friends, not the big throne room, 0:25:00.060 --> 0:25:02.550 which would have been in the palace. And the Book 0:25:02.550 --> 0:25:04.980 of Esther just describes exactly how she would have stepped 0:25:04.980 --> 0:25:08.040 out of it, stood and turned. And there she is. 0:25:08.040 --> 0:25:10.770 So it gives me chills. And it's not that we 0:25:10.770 --> 0:25:14.250 need archaeology to prove the Bible, but every now and 0:25:14.250 --> 0:25:17.850 then we have these wonderful glimpses of this book can 0:25:17.850 --> 0:25:20.790 be trusted because we dug this place up, and it's 0:25:20.790 --> 0:25:23.609 laid out exactly as described in the Book of Esther. 0:25:23.640 --> 0:25:25.560 That just gives me chills. 0:25:25.560 --> 0:25:27.980 I love it, I love it too, and I really 0:25:27.980 --> 0:25:30.260 appreciate you bringing those details to our attention. I had 0:25:30.260 --> 0:25:33.170 no idea. Hey, if you're a parent, you're a grandparent. 0:25:33.170 --> 0:25:35.960 You got tween girls in your life. You need this book. 0:25:35.990 --> 0:25:38.360 Esther becoming a girl of purpose. It's in the True 0:25:38.359 --> 0:25:41.570 Girls series from Dannah Gresh and Moody Publishers. A link 0:25:41.570 --> 0:25:45.470 is at our website. The land and the book. Org. Dana, 0:25:45.470 --> 0:25:48.200 thank you as always for your time. Appreciate your insights. 0:25:48.230 --> 0:25:50.030 My pleasure. Thanks for having me. 0:25:50.060 --> 0:25:52.399 All right. Looking forward to Charlie Dyer rejoining us at 0:25:52.400 --> 0:25:55.820 the microphone for his answers to your Bible questions next. 0:26:06.920 --> 0:26:08.960 Hope you're having a great day. This is the land 0:26:08.960 --> 0:26:12.020 and the book from Moody Radio. I'm John Gager, our host, 0:26:12.020 --> 0:26:16.399 as always, the cheery Charlie Dyer. He's got his Bible open. Why, Charlie? 0:26:16.400 --> 0:26:17.780 Why is that Bible open? 0:26:17.900 --> 0:26:20.300 Uh, because people have questions about the Bible. And when 0:26:20.300 --> 0:26:21.920 they have questions, we want to have answers. 0:26:21.920 --> 0:26:24.980 That's right. Well, here's a thought to process as the 0:26:24.980 --> 0:26:28.160 end of this year approaches, many world events have left 0:26:28.160 --> 0:26:31.550 us wondering what God's plan is for the future, and 0:26:31.550 --> 0:26:34.310 this is especially true when it comes to Israel. Despite 0:26:34.310 --> 0:26:37.850 its small size, people around the world are intensely focused 0:26:37.850 --> 0:26:41.479 on what takes place there. So are today's headlines somehow 0:26:41.480 --> 0:26:45.080 connected with prophecies in the Bible? How should followers of 0:26:45.080 --> 0:26:49.280 Jesus interpret current events as we await his second coming? Charlie. 0:26:49.280 --> 0:26:51.919 Well, that's a great question. And to help provide answers 0:26:51.920 --> 0:26:54.920 to that question, our friends at Life and Messiah encourage 0:26:54.920 --> 0:26:57.830 you to check out their book, God, Israel, and Bible 0:26:57.830 --> 0:27:01.730 Prophecy with Scripture as its foundation. This book will take 0:27:01.730 --> 0:27:04.340 you on a journey into what God has in store 0:27:04.340 --> 0:27:07.429 for the Jewish people and the nations. The book is 0:27:07.430 --> 0:27:10.640 for anyone who wants to explore where modern day events 0:27:10.640 --> 0:27:14.689 fit on God's grand timeline. If that's you or someone 0:27:14.690 --> 0:27:17.990 you know, this would be a great resource or gift. 0:27:17.990 --> 0:27:21.410 Visit Life in Messiah org and click on the Moody 0:27:21.440 --> 0:27:24.440 Radio button to find out how you can receive your 0:27:24.470 --> 0:27:30.590 copy of God, Israel and Bible Prophecy. That's life in messiah.org. 0:27:30.740 --> 0:27:33.710 All right. Question number one for today comes from Todd. 0:27:33.710 --> 0:27:37.010 He says, can you provide any insight on Jeremiah 12 0:27:37.040 --> 0:27:39.800 verse two? Charlie, I know you love the prophet Jeremiah. 0:27:39.830 --> 0:27:42.170 Oh, I do, and I see Jeremiah 12 in light 0:27:42.200 --> 0:27:44.900 of what took place, actually in the first 11 chapters, 0:27:44.900 --> 0:27:48.800 in chapters 1 to 10. Jeremiah's basic message was repent 0:27:48.800 --> 0:27:52.460 or else. Chapter 11 then parallels the revival under King 0:27:52.460 --> 0:27:56.119 Josiah in second Kings 22 and 23, the book of 0:27:56.119 --> 0:27:59.060 the law was discovered in the temple. Josiah held a 0:27:59.060 --> 0:28:02.750 public covenant renewal ceremony. Now to Jeremiah, it looked as 0:28:02.750 --> 0:28:05.390 if his years of ministry to that point were finally 0:28:05.390 --> 0:28:08.000 starting to pay off, as he now called on the 0:28:08.000 --> 0:28:11.060 people to listen to the words of this covenant. But 0:28:11.060 --> 0:28:13.700 then in chapter 11, verses 18 to 21, he was 0:28:13.700 --> 0:28:17.240 confronted with the reality that the people weren't going to repent. Instead, 0:28:17.240 --> 0:28:19.520 they planned to kill him. And all of that then 0:28:19.520 --> 0:28:22.790 leads to Jeremiah's realization and his complaint to God in 0:28:22.790 --> 0:28:25.840 chapter 12. In fact, Jeremiah began by bringing a court 0:28:25.840 --> 0:28:29.530 case against God, and he specifically focused on God's justice 0:28:29.530 --> 0:28:33.790 or from Jeremiah's perspective, God's apparent lack of justice. He 0:28:33.790 --> 0:28:36.129 asks in verse one why the way of the wicked 0:28:36.130 --> 0:28:38.500 seems to prosper. And then here comes that verse in 0:28:38.500 --> 0:28:42.070 verse two without waiting for God to answer, Jeremiah supplies 0:28:42.070 --> 0:28:44.920 what looks to him like the obvious answer it's God's fault. 0:28:44.950 --> 0:28:48.070 He says, you planted them and they've taken root. In 0:28:48.070 --> 0:28:52.420 other words, Jeremiah is accusing God of mismanagement from his perspective. 0:28:52.450 --> 0:28:55.450 God's listening to the words these people are speaking and 0:28:55.450 --> 0:28:59.680 overlooking their evil character. In verse three, Jeremiah tells God 0:28:59.680 --> 0:29:02.440 what he ought to be doing. In such cases, he says, 0:29:02.440 --> 0:29:06.610 drag him off like sheep to be butchered. Jeremiah, in effect, 0:29:06.640 --> 0:29:09.580 rests his case by calling on God to judge the 0:29:09.580 --> 0:29:12.100 wicked people who threaten to kill him. It's as if 0:29:12.100 --> 0:29:15.340 Jeremiah is viewing God as his own personal attack dog, 0:29:15.340 --> 0:29:18.370 and he finally says to God, sic em! Now some 0:29:18.370 --> 0:29:21.340 are shocked when they read that, but actually, I personally 0:29:21.370 --> 0:29:25.000 find it incredibly refreshing because it shows Jeremiah was just 0:29:25.000 --> 0:29:28.060 like us in his personal struggles and as he's so 0:29:28.060 --> 0:29:30.550 open and honest with God. Well, God responds the same 0:29:30.550 --> 0:29:33.130 way to him. God's answer is in chapter 12, and 0:29:33.130 --> 0:29:35.590 it's classic. He says, if you're raised with men on 0:29:35.590 --> 0:29:37.720 foot and they've worn you out, how are you? Compete 0:29:37.720 --> 0:29:40.900 with horses. If you stumble in safe country, how will 0:29:40.900 --> 0:29:43.600 you manage in the thickets by the Jordan? In other words, 0:29:43.600 --> 0:29:45.580 he says, hey Jeremiah, I never said it was going 0:29:45.610 --> 0:29:48.010 to be easy. In fact, in chapter one, when he 0:29:48.010 --> 0:29:50.020 called him, he already told Jeremiah how tough it was 0:29:50.020 --> 0:29:52.300 going to be. He says, if you're having troubles already, 0:29:52.300 --> 0:29:54.670 you know, running this Boston Marathon, what are you going 0:29:54.700 --> 0:29:56.980 to do when I have you run in the Kentucky Derby? 0:29:57.010 --> 0:29:59.680 If you're struggling here in the safe country of the hills, 0:29:59.680 --> 0:30:00.910 what are you going to do when I have you 0:30:00.940 --> 0:30:04.570 hack your way through the Jordan Valley? That's the dire translation, 0:30:04.570 --> 0:30:07.000 by the way. But I think what Jeremiah asks a 0:30:07.000 --> 0:30:09.610 hard question, at least what he thinks is a hard question. 0:30:09.610 --> 0:30:12.700 And God provides a very honest and refreshing answer. 0:30:12.730 --> 0:30:16.150 Jerry says, we've been studying Ezekiel and the Millennial Temple, 0:30:16.150 --> 0:30:18.940 and I'd like to know where are the raptured Christians 0:30:18.940 --> 0:30:22.030 at this time? I know God's glory appears in this temple, 0:30:22.030 --> 0:30:24.250 but where is Jesus and where are we? 0:30:24.280 --> 0:30:26.560 Well, we know at the time of the rapture, Christians 0:30:26.560 --> 0:30:29.170 are taken to heaven to be with the Lord. The 0:30:29.170 --> 0:30:32.020 dead in Christ also receive their glorified bodies at that 0:30:32.020 --> 0:30:34.840 same time. When Jesus then returns to earth at the 0:30:34.840 --> 0:30:37.810 end of the tribulation period. I believe we also return 0:30:37.810 --> 0:30:40.900 to earth with him in two Timothy 212. We're told 0:30:40.900 --> 0:30:43.450 if we endure with him, we will also reign with him. 0:30:43.480 --> 0:30:45.610 And I take that to mean we'll have positions of 0:30:45.610 --> 0:30:49.240 authority in the Millennial Kingdom. So during the millennium, we're 0:30:49.270 --> 0:30:52.240 citizens of the New Jerusalem. That's the dwelling place that 0:30:52.240 --> 0:30:55.870 Christ prepared for us, according to John 14. But we'll 0:30:55.870 --> 0:30:58.630 also be directly connected to Christ's reign here on earth 0:30:58.630 --> 0:31:01.810 and have positions of authority during that time. And while 0:31:01.810 --> 0:31:04.570 we're not told all the details of how that works, 0:31:04.570 --> 0:31:07.000 I'm sure it's going to make perfect sense at that time. 0:31:07.030 --> 0:31:10.960 Second question on Ezekiel from Vernon in chapter nine, verse four, 0:31:10.990 --> 0:31:13.270 a mark was put on the foreheads of the men 0:31:13.300 --> 0:31:17.170 who sigh and groan over all the abominations that are committed. 0:31:17.200 --> 0:31:19.510 Does this mean that they were given a soft heart 0:31:19.510 --> 0:31:21.850 in place of a stony heart to believe. 0:31:21.880 --> 0:31:24.490 Well, the mark isn't the imparting of a new heart 0:31:24.520 --> 0:31:27.490 on those who are grieving and lamenting. Their attitudes suggest 0:31:27.490 --> 0:31:30.340 they were people who were already sorrowing over the evil 0:31:30.370 --> 0:31:33.940 being done in Jerusalem. I suspect Jeremiah, the prophet who 0:31:33.940 --> 0:31:36.250 lived in Jerusalem at this time, would have been one 0:31:36.250 --> 0:31:38.380 of those who received the mark on that day. And 0:31:38.380 --> 0:31:40.300 by the way, that mark was visible to God and 0:31:40.300 --> 0:31:43.360 his angels, but it wasn't visible to anybody living in 0:31:43.360 --> 0:31:45.790 Jerusalem at the time. So the point of the vision 0:31:45.790 --> 0:31:48.070 is to show that God knew those who belonged to 0:31:48.070 --> 0:31:51.160 him and was marking them for his protection in the 0:31:51.160 --> 0:31:53.320 coming destruction of Jerusalem. 0:31:53.560 --> 0:31:56.980 Vernon takes us to the Book of Ezekiel and points 0:31:56.980 --> 0:31:59.140 out that in chapter three, verse six, it states that 0:31:59.140 --> 0:32:01.570 the prophet will be speaking to a people who will 0:32:01.600 --> 0:32:04.780 be able to understand, but will not listen. But had 0:32:04.780 --> 0:32:07.210 the message been given to the people with a hard language, 0:32:07.210 --> 0:32:09.760 would they have listened? Does this mean if they heard, 0:32:09.760 --> 0:32:12.190 they would believe unto salvation? Well, I. 0:32:12.190 --> 0:32:14.770 Think we need to take verses 4 to 6 actually 0:32:14.770 --> 0:32:17.890 together there in chapter three. God is sending Ezekiel to 0:32:17.920 --> 0:32:20.890 speak to the house of Israel. He says he's in captivity. 0:32:20.890 --> 0:32:23.500 So the group he's speaking to are those who've already 0:32:23.500 --> 0:32:26.770 been taken into captivity in Babylon. And God makes this 0:32:26.770 --> 0:32:28.960 clear in verse 11 where he says to him, go 0:32:28.960 --> 0:32:31.870 now to your own countrymen in exile, and speak to them. 0:32:31.900 --> 0:32:34.510 God's point in these verses is that those who should 0:32:34.540 --> 0:32:37.570 understand the message God is about to have him deliver, 0:32:37.660 --> 0:32:40.900 because they have no language barrier. They'll be the ones 0:32:40.900 --> 0:32:43.150 who will refuse to accept it. And I think the 0:32:43.150 --> 0:32:46.300 point of comparison is that the pagan Babylonians would have 0:32:46.300 --> 0:32:49.210 been more receptive to the message than his own fellow 0:32:49.210 --> 0:32:51.490 countrymen to whom God was sending him. 0:32:52.150 --> 0:32:54.400 Our question now from Sadie here on the land and 0:32:54.400 --> 0:32:57.640 the book where we're taking questions from listeners, by the way, 0:32:57.640 --> 0:32:59.650 I'll share our email address later. That's how you get 0:32:59.650 --> 0:33:03.070 your question to us. She takes us to Proverbs 626, 0:33:03.070 --> 0:33:06.370 pointing out that translators and scholars are divided on how 0:33:06.370 --> 0:33:09.820 to translate and interpret it. Some scholars even claim that 0:33:09.820 --> 0:33:13.210 the verse proves that visiting a prostitute was permitted for 0:33:13.210 --> 0:33:15.670 a season. I know that the Lord and the Apostle 0:33:15.670 --> 0:33:17.770 Paul would forbid this, but that's in the New Testament. 0:33:17.770 --> 0:33:22.270 I'm asking specifically what was permitted in the Old Testament. 0:33:22.300 --> 0:33:26.440 Yeah. And this is an interesting verse. It's incredibly difficult 0:33:26.440 --> 0:33:29.710 to translate, which is why translations differ so much. And 0:33:29.710 --> 0:33:31.660 I think the best approach here, though, is to look 0:33:31.660 --> 0:33:35.050 at the larger context and see if it offers some help. Now, 0:33:35.050 --> 0:33:37.780 some things left out in verse 26 that the writer 0:33:37.780 --> 0:33:41.890 intends for us to supply. The verse literally says, because 0:33:41.890 --> 0:33:44.140 the price of a woman or harlot as a loaf 0:33:44.140 --> 0:33:47.650 of bread and a wife, a man's precious soul hunts. 0:33:47.680 --> 0:33:50.470 Now something obviously needs to be added to have that 0:33:50.470 --> 0:33:53.830 comparison he's giving there. Makes sense. Here's what I think 0:33:53.860 --> 0:33:55.989 needs to be added. The first line, I believe, is 0:33:55.990 --> 0:33:58.480 suggesting that it can appear to a naive man that 0:33:58.480 --> 0:34:02.890 adultery is a relatively inexpensive thrill for very little commitment 0:34:02.890 --> 0:34:06.730 or expense. He can experience the sexual benefits of another, 0:34:06.760 --> 0:34:09.669 either a prostitute or, more likely, I actually think of 0:34:09.670 --> 0:34:12.790 another man's wife. But then the second line focuses on 0:34:12.790 --> 0:34:15.310 the real results. He might think he only had to 0:34:15.310 --> 0:34:19.030 pay a small price for that sexual encounter. But in reality, 0:34:19.030 --> 0:34:22.390 the woman was seeking to trap his very life. Here's 0:34:22.390 --> 0:34:25.090 why I think that might be the better translation. The 0:34:25.090 --> 0:34:28.930 overall context is a parent's instructions to their naive son, 0:34:28.930 --> 0:34:31.480 and the focus is on helping the young man avoid 0:34:31.480 --> 0:34:34.600 the temptation of the evil woman who's an adulteress. That's 0:34:34.600 --> 0:34:38.290 verse 24. The temptation starts when the young man desires 0:34:38.290 --> 0:34:41.350 her beauty in his heart. Verse 25, the first part, 0:34:41.350 --> 0:34:44.319 and it's fed by her attempts to lure him into 0:34:44.320 --> 0:34:47.439 a relationship. The last part of verse 25. Then after 0:34:47.440 --> 0:34:50.380 verse 26, the verse in question. Here the writer goes 0:34:50.380 --> 0:34:53.500 on to share the real consequences of falling into this trap. 0:34:53.500 --> 0:34:57.129 In the end, it'll burn. The individual verses 27 and 28. 0:34:57.130 --> 0:34:59.740 And then he writes in verse 29, so is the 0:34:59.739 --> 0:35:02.710 one who goes in to his neighbor's wife. Whoever touches 0:35:02.710 --> 0:35:05.410 her will not go unpunished. Now, when I put verse 0:35:05.410 --> 0:35:08.920 26 in that larger context, I don't see anything here 0:35:08.920 --> 0:35:12.489 that speaks to or permits a man visiting some prostitute 0:35:12.489 --> 0:35:15.240 for a season. I believe the context is warning a 0:35:15.239 --> 0:35:18.029 naive young man and telling him that what might look 0:35:18.030 --> 0:35:21.000 like an easy good time, possibly with the wife of 0:35:21.000 --> 0:35:24.149 another man who is herself trying to seduce him, will 0:35:24.180 --> 0:35:26.879 in the end cost the young man his reputation and 0:35:26.880 --> 0:35:30.480 perhaps even his most important possession, his own life. 0:35:30.510 --> 0:35:33.000 Mary wants to know, is there any Scripture at all 0:35:33.000 --> 0:35:37.589 that says we're escorted by angels to heaven? A broadcaster 0:35:37.590 --> 0:35:40.110 on the radio says they do. Thanks for your help. 0:35:40.140 --> 0:35:42.840 Yeah, I think the broadcaster was probably referring to the 0:35:42.840 --> 0:35:45.960 story of the rich man and Lazarus told by Jesus 0:35:45.960 --> 0:35:49.380 in Luke chapter 16. In verse 22 of that chapter, 0:35:49.380 --> 0:35:52.589 Jesus describes the death of the poor beggar Lazarus. This 0:35:52.590 --> 0:35:55.319 way the time came when the beggar died and the 0:35:55.320 --> 0:35:58.980 angels carried him to Abraham's side. That's the only reference 0:35:58.980 --> 0:36:00.870 I know of. And it was part of a story 0:36:00.870 --> 0:36:03.750 or a parable told by Jesus. But I also believe 0:36:03.780 --> 0:36:07.320 Jesus wouldn't have shared something that wasn't true. And Jesus 0:36:07.320 --> 0:36:10.200 does say he was carried by the angels into glory. 0:36:10.380 --> 0:36:13.440 And as always, if you didn't hear your question, Well, 0:36:13.440 --> 0:36:15.630 stick around if you've emailed it to us, it's coming 0:36:15.630 --> 0:36:18.180 on a future broadcast. But if you'd like to send 0:36:18.180 --> 0:36:20.940 in a question that's welcome to here's how You connect 0:36:20.940 --> 0:36:27.120 with Charlie Dyer. The land and the book@moody.edu the land 0:36:27.120 --> 0:36:30.750 and the book at Moody dot. Edu. Charlie, how long 0:36:30.750 --> 0:36:32.490 does it take to answer those questions? 0:36:32.489 --> 0:36:34.320 Well, I try and answer within a day or two. 0:36:34.350 --> 0:36:36.540 And then. Then, of course, it takes a little longer 0:36:36.540 --> 0:36:38.670 to get it here on the air. But my goal 0:36:38.670 --> 0:36:40.739 is to try and respond as quickly as possible. 0:36:40.770 --> 0:36:43.410 All right. So you'll get great service as you email 0:36:43.410 --> 0:36:47.790 us at the land and the book@moody.edu. And I'm looking 0:36:47.790 --> 0:36:50.850 forward to Charlie's devotional. It's next right here on Moody 0:36:50.880 --> 0:37:06.930 Radio's The Land and the book. Welcome back to the 0:37:06.930 --> 0:37:09.870 land and the book. I'm John Gager, and you know, 0:37:09.870 --> 0:37:12.509 when it comes to clothing and fashion, I have a very, 0:37:12.540 --> 0:37:15.089 let's just say, low level goal. I'm trying to just 0:37:15.090 --> 0:37:18.900 stay one step ahead of nerd, and I rarely succeed 0:37:18.900 --> 0:37:21.330 even at that. If I ever look halfway decent, it's 0:37:21.330 --> 0:37:23.820 because of something my wife got me. Charlie, you have 0:37:23.820 --> 0:37:26.640 a clothing item. Focus in your devotional today, though. 0:37:26.670 --> 0:37:29.250 I do, and it's going to take people by surprise. 0:37:29.250 --> 0:37:31.140 We're going to talk about how to ruin a girdle. 0:37:31.170 --> 0:37:32.040 Okay. 0:37:32.370 --> 0:37:34.950 I'm intrigued. And that's going to take us to Jeremiah 0:37:34.950 --> 0:37:37.860 chapter 13. We'll get to that, though, after we pause 0:37:37.890 --> 0:37:40.859 for this Holy Land experience. I love these stories. 0:37:44.760 --> 0:37:48.210 I went to the Holy Land when I was about 0:37:48.210 --> 0:37:51.270 25 years old. It was at a point where I 0:37:51.270 --> 0:37:55.230 was studying the Bible and I went to church, but 0:37:55.260 --> 0:37:57.930 up till that point I felt like I was a churchgoer. 0:37:57.930 --> 0:38:00.390 But faith wasn't part of my life. The trip to 0:38:00.390 --> 0:38:04.260 the Holy Land allowed me to see every single story 0:38:04.260 --> 0:38:07.109 from the Bible as if it were real. And not 0:38:07.110 --> 0:38:11.400 only that, I also gained a historical perspective because the 0:38:11.400 --> 0:38:14.400 current events suddenly made so much more sense because of 0:38:14.400 --> 0:38:18.270 the rooting in history. It was devastating to see how 0:38:18.270 --> 0:38:22.440 many centuries people have not been able to resolve their 0:38:22.440 --> 0:38:25.620 view of the Lord. But what I kept with me 0:38:25.650 --> 0:38:30.060 for the next 30 years has been that our Christ 0:38:30.090 --> 0:38:34.860 walked those streets in Jerusalem, and I felt like every 0:38:34.860 --> 0:38:38.339 single thing that I tried to wonder and believe in, 0:38:38.370 --> 0:38:40.890 that is, in God's Word. I go back to the 0:38:40.890 --> 0:38:45.540 fact that, well, Jesus was real and his world was real, 0:38:45.540 --> 0:38:48.420 and these messages from God in the Bible are real 0:38:48.420 --> 0:38:49.290 for me too. 0:38:51.120 --> 0:38:53.430 Charlie, I've never thought of you as a fashion expert, 0:38:53.430 --> 0:38:55.739 but I think I'm about to be corrected. Take it away. 0:38:56.040 --> 0:38:59.040 My wife would say I'm not a fashionista by any means, 0:38:59.040 --> 0:39:01.170 but this is the second of two weeks we're spending 0:39:01.170 --> 0:39:04.530 in my favorite part of Israel, the Judean wilderness. And 0:39:04.530 --> 0:39:06.600 just as I did last week, I want to illustrate 0:39:06.600 --> 0:39:09.750 today's devotional by including some photos on our land in 0:39:09.750 --> 0:39:12.570 the book Facebook page. So go there and you'll see 0:39:12.600 --> 0:39:16.260 exactly what I'll be describing. Leading groups to Israel for 0:39:16.260 --> 0:39:18.840 more than 40 years has taught me one important lesson. 0:39:18.840 --> 0:39:21.390 I'm not as young as I used to be. In 0:39:21.390 --> 0:39:24.299 my younger days, I liked passages like Psalm 18. He 0:39:24.300 --> 0:39:26.910 makes my feet like hinds feet and sets me upon 0:39:26.910 --> 0:39:29.609 high places. I have my share of photos standing on 0:39:29.610 --> 0:39:33.690 the edge of cliffs and scampering up and down steep inclines. Now, 0:39:33.690 --> 0:39:37.500 following knee replacement surgery and more than my share of bumps, bruises, 0:39:37.530 --> 0:39:40.590 twists and falls, I think the passage I resonate with 0:39:40.590 --> 0:39:45.330 today comes from Ecclesiastes 12. The grasshopper drags himself along. 0:39:45.360 --> 0:39:48.750 The hills appear steeper, the ground seems rockier, and my 0:39:48.750 --> 0:39:51.750 legs are definitely not as spry or as sturdy as 0:39:51.750 --> 0:39:54.420 they once were. On my very first trip to Israel, 0:39:54.450 --> 0:39:56.790 the teacher at the school I was attending offered to 0:39:56.820 --> 0:40:00.330 take us on optional trips during our free days. I 0:40:00.360 --> 0:40:03.090 signed up for every single one, and one of those 0:40:03.090 --> 0:40:05.640 turned out to be the most difficult hike I ever took. 0:40:05.670 --> 0:40:07.980 I know I wouldn't be able to do it today. 0:40:07.980 --> 0:40:10.620 And the crazy part is, it sounded so simple when 0:40:10.620 --> 0:40:12.960 he first announced it. We would be going on a 0:40:12.989 --> 0:40:16.560 Jebba to Micmac hike. I see those blank looks on 0:40:16.560 --> 0:40:19.650 everyone's faces, so stay with me here. Jebba and Micmac 0:40:19.650 --> 0:40:21.990 are only about a mile and a half apart. If 0:40:22.020 --> 0:40:24.930 you remember the story of Jonathan and his armorbearer defeating 0:40:24.930 --> 0:40:28.230 the Philistine army. They started out in Jebba and defeated 0:40:28.230 --> 0:40:31.529 the Philistine garrison near Michmash. So the walk had some 0:40:31.530 --> 0:40:35.009 great biblical significance. Now, what the leader didn't tell us 0:40:35.040 --> 0:40:37.710 is that we would start at Gaba, head toward Michmash, 0:40:37.710 --> 0:40:41.190 then turn and walk nearly halfway to Jericho before heading 0:40:41.190 --> 0:40:43.980 back by way of another canyon and then climbing up 0:40:43.980 --> 0:40:47.310 a cliff near the hometown of Jeremiah the prophet. It 0:40:47.310 --> 0:40:50.700 was an all day hike. The day began with an 0:40:50.700 --> 0:40:54.060 aha moment, as I understood how Jonathan and his armorbearer 0:40:54.090 --> 0:40:56.880 were able to rout the Philistines, though that's a story 0:40:56.880 --> 0:40:59.040 for another day. But I ended the day with a 0:40:59.040 --> 0:41:02.100 second aha moment that actually became a chapter in my 0:41:02.100 --> 0:41:04.830 doctoral dissertation. And that's the story I want to share 0:41:04.830 --> 0:41:08.440 with you. It's found in Jeremiah 13, where the prophet 0:41:08.440 --> 0:41:11.530 from the nearby village of Anathoth explains how to ruin 0:41:11.530 --> 0:41:14.530 a girdle. Actually, this is a place in the Bible 0:41:14.530 --> 0:41:17.469 where growing up with the King James Version wasn't too helpful. 0:41:17.500 --> 0:41:19.690 As a kid, I somehow knew what a girdle was, 0:41:19.690 --> 0:41:22.960 but it wasn't an article of clothing associated with a man. 0:41:22.960 --> 0:41:26.290 And yet in Jeremiah 13 one, God told the prophet 0:41:26.290 --> 0:41:29.169 to go and get thee a linen girdle and put 0:41:29.170 --> 0:41:32.080 it upon thy loins. In this case, a more modern 0:41:32.080 --> 0:41:37.180 translation definitely helps most translate the word as waistband or belt. 0:41:37.210 --> 0:41:40.240 It actually refers to a linen sash or belt that 0:41:40.239 --> 0:41:43.060 someone would tie around his waist to help hold his 0:41:43.060 --> 0:41:46.359 garment in place. Jeremiah was sharing a message in story 0:41:46.390 --> 0:41:48.880 form with the people, just as the priests wore a 0:41:48.910 --> 0:41:52.419 linen belt or sash when ministering before the Lord. So 0:41:52.420 --> 0:41:55.450 now Jeremiah was wearing a similar sash, but in this 0:41:55.450 --> 0:41:58.479 case he was representing the Lord, and the sash was 0:41:58.480 --> 0:42:01.450 representing Israel. He was told to keep it around his 0:42:01.480 --> 0:42:04.420 waist and to not let it touch water. It was 0:42:04.420 --> 0:42:07.859 to stay permanently close to him. Jeremiah did this for 0:42:07.860 --> 0:42:10.590 some time until God came to him again with another 0:42:10.590 --> 0:42:13.560 command take the belt you bought and are wearing around 0:42:13.560 --> 0:42:16.020 your waist, and go now to Pirot and hide it 0:42:16.020 --> 0:42:19.620 there in a crevice of the rocks. Literally, God told 0:42:19.620 --> 0:42:22.110 Jeremiah to go to Pirot and hide the belt. Now 0:42:22.110 --> 0:42:25.440 the word Pirot is the Hebrew word for Euphrates, and 0:42:25.440 --> 0:42:29.070 we picture Jeremiah walking nearly 300 miles to reach the 0:42:29.070 --> 0:42:32.880 nearest branch of the Euphrates River. But if that's the case, 0:42:32.880 --> 0:42:35.730 then most of his audience would have no idea what 0:42:35.730 --> 0:42:39.630 he was doing because few, if any, would follow him there. 0:42:39.660 --> 0:42:41.700 This was always a puzzle to me until that all 0:42:41.700 --> 0:42:44.759 day hike we ended up at a natural spring called 0:42:44.760 --> 0:42:48.990 Ein Porat, literally the Euphrates Spring, and it was just 0:42:48.989 --> 0:42:54.180 over two miles from Jeremiah's hometown and five miles from Jerusalem. 0:42:54.210 --> 0:42:57.150 This had to be the place Jeremiah went to bury 0:42:57.180 --> 0:43:00.510 his linen sash. The spring of Porat is in a deep, 0:43:00.510 --> 0:43:04.250 rocky gorge just on the edge of the Judean Wilderness 0:43:04.280 --> 0:43:07.850 access is easier today, but back then we ended up 0:43:07.850 --> 0:43:10.130 climbing out of the gorge, up the side of a 0:43:10.130 --> 0:43:13.129 very steep cliff. As you can see in the pictures 0:43:13.130 --> 0:43:16.460 I took, it was a rough and rugged area, but 0:43:16.460 --> 0:43:20.779 Jeremiah's actions now made perfect sense. He was delivering the 0:43:20.810 --> 0:43:24.020 same message as the previous 12 chapters, but now it 0:43:24.020 --> 0:43:26.840 was being acted out in a far more dramatic way 0:43:26.840 --> 0:43:31.160 because of the nation's unbelief. Jeremiah represented God in this 0:43:31.160 --> 0:43:35.240 extended pantomime, and the linen belt or sash represented Israel. 0:43:35.270 --> 0:43:38.510 As long as Israel remained close to God, they were safe. 0:43:38.510 --> 0:43:42.110 But then Jeremiah took the sash to this rugged gorge 0:43:42.110 --> 0:43:45.049 to hide in a crevice of the rock. No doubt 0:43:45.050 --> 0:43:48.200 some of those from Jerusalem and his hometown followed Jeremiah 0:43:48.200 --> 0:43:51.530 to see what he was doing. Sometime later, God sent 0:43:51.530 --> 0:43:54.920 Jeremiah back to the gorge to retrieve the sash. So 0:43:54.920 --> 0:43:57.020 I went to Pirot and dug up the belt and 0:43:57.020 --> 0:43:59.359 took it from the place where I'd hidden it, but 0:43:59.360 --> 0:44:04.010 now it was ruined and completely useless. The water, dampness 0:44:04.010 --> 0:44:06.770 and dirt at the spring had caused the linen sash 0:44:06.770 --> 0:44:10.759 to rot and decay. It was worthless. God then had 0:44:10.760 --> 0:44:13.910 Jeremiah explain the point of the story. These wicked people 0:44:13.940 --> 0:44:16.489 who refused to listen to my words, who followed the 0:44:16.489 --> 0:44:19.310 stubbornness of their hearts and go after other gods to 0:44:19.340 --> 0:44:23.509 serve and worship them, will be like this belt completely useless, 0:44:23.510 --> 0:44:25.910 for as a belt is bound around a man's waist. 0:44:25.910 --> 0:44:28.280 So I bound the whole house of Israel, and the 0:44:28.280 --> 0:44:30.920 whole house of Judah to me, declares the Lord, to 0:44:30.950 --> 0:44:34.009 be my people for my renown and praise and honor. 0:44:34.010 --> 0:44:37.219 But they have not listened. And there's one more key 0:44:37.250 --> 0:44:41.570 detail Jeremiah doesn't explain, but that the people would have understood. 0:44:41.570 --> 0:44:45.620 What did God use to destroy this sash that represented them? 0:44:45.680 --> 0:44:49.940 It was parrot. The Euphrates. God would send the Babylonians 0:44:49.940 --> 0:44:53.480 from the region of the Euphrates River to destroy the nation, 0:44:53.480 --> 0:44:57.590 unless they missed the point. God has Jeremiah emphasize how 0:44:57.590 --> 0:45:00.620 the belt was hidden in the crevice of the rock. 0:45:00.620 --> 0:45:04.489 Why is that significant? Back in chapter four, verse 29, 0:45:04.489 --> 0:45:07.160 God described how the people will scramble to get away 0:45:07.160 --> 0:45:10.520 when the invaders arrive at the sound of horsemen and archers. 0:45:10.520 --> 0:45:13.610 Every town takes to flight. Some go to the thickets, 0:45:13.640 --> 0:45:16.970 some climb up among the rocks, and then later in 0:45:16.969 --> 0:45:20.120 chapter 16, God described how he would send the invading 0:45:20.120 --> 0:45:22.520 army to search out the people. I will send for 0:45:22.520 --> 0:45:24.649 many hunters, and they will hunt them down on every 0:45:24.650 --> 0:45:28.219 mountain and hill and from the crevices of the rocks. 0:45:28.219 --> 0:45:31.100 When Israel stopped clinging to God, there was no other 0:45:31.100 --> 0:45:33.680 place of safety. Even if they tried to hide in 0:45:33.680 --> 0:45:36.799 the rocky crevices and cracks in the wilderness, God would 0:45:36.800 --> 0:45:41.720 make sure the Babylonians, those from the Euphrates, would find them. 0:45:41.719 --> 0:45:44.600 Before we walk up the steep but more modern roadway 0:45:44.600 --> 0:45:47.270 to leave the spring of parrot, what lesson can we 0:45:47.270 --> 0:45:50.660 take with us from Jeremiah 13 and his instructions on 0:45:50.660 --> 0:45:53.750 how to ruin a girdle? How about this somber warning? 0:45:53.750 --> 0:45:56.960 The only way we can experience true security is to 0:45:56.989 --> 0:45:59.600 cling tightly to God the moment we let go of 0:45:59.600 --> 0:46:03.169 him and turn to someone or something else for our security. 0:46:03.200 --> 0:46:06.500 We're setting ourselves up for failure. The words of the 0:46:06.500 --> 0:46:10.100 chorus by Mildred Lightner Dillon are a good reminder of 0:46:10.100 --> 0:46:13.010 the place we need to go to find our safety 0:46:13.010 --> 0:46:16.850 and security. Safe. Am I safe? Am I in the 0:46:16.850 --> 0:46:20.600 hollow of his hand? Sheltered or sheltered or with his 0:46:20.600 --> 0:46:24.770 love forevermore. No ill can harm me. No foe alarm me. 0:46:24.770 --> 0:46:28.910 For he keeps both day and night safe. Am I safe? 0:46:28.940 --> 0:46:32.420 Am I in the hollow of his hand? 0:46:32.480 --> 0:46:35.540 Thank you Charlie, I love that old chorus. Brings back 0:46:35.570 --> 0:46:38.629 a lot of great memories. We should sing that one. Well, 0:46:38.630 --> 0:46:40.670 we're singing your praises for hanging out with us at 0:46:40.670 --> 0:46:42.680 the land of the book. Thanks for your company today. 0:46:42.710 --> 0:46:46.400 Our website is The Land and the book. Org. Thank 0:46:46.430 --> 0:46:48.800 you to our host, Charlie Dyer, our producer, Dan Anderson. 0:46:48.800 --> 0:46:51.110 I'm John Gager the land and the book is a 0:46:51.110 --> 0:46:54.950 production of Moody Radio, a ministry of Moody Bible Institute.