1 00:00:08,080 --> 00:00:11,120 S1: When you think of the Psalms, who's the first person 2 00:00:11,119 --> 00:00:14,680 S1: that comes to mind? Probably David. After all, he wrote 3 00:00:14,680 --> 00:00:17,920 S1: more than 70 chapters or songs. But did you know 4 00:00:17,920 --> 00:00:20,759 S1: that the Psalms actually point to Christ? What if we 5 00:00:20,760 --> 00:00:24,320 S1: could learn to read this biblical collection with fresh eyes? 6 00:00:24,520 --> 00:00:28,280 S1: What if we really learned the art of treasuring the Psalms? Well, 7 00:00:28,280 --> 00:00:30,520 S1: that's your invitation as you join us now for the 8 00:00:30,520 --> 00:00:34,040 S1: land and the book. Our host is the always reading, 9 00:00:34,040 --> 00:00:38,080 S1: always learning. Doctor Charlie Dyer, a noted Old Testament scholar 10 00:00:38,080 --> 00:00:41,320 S1: and Middle East expert. I'm John Geiger, and, you know, 11 00:00:41,440 --> 00:00:43,879 S1: a lot of us hear about reaching out to the 12 00:00:43,880 --> 00:00:45,920 S1: Jewish people, but never think about the fact that they 13 00:00:45,920 --> 00:00:49,000 S1: really do need Jesus. It's important to remember that they, 14 00:00:49,000 --> 00:00:52,159 S1: like everybody else, need to hear the good news. 15 00:00:52,200 --> 00:00:54,400 S2: That's right. And that's why life in Messiah, which is 16 00:00:54,400 --> 00:00:57,880 S2: a ministry that's been in existence for over 135 years, 17 00:00:58,000 --> 00:01:01,230 S2: is devoted to sharing the gospel with Jewish people around 18 00:01:01,230 --> 00:01:04,510 S2: the world. And now they're offering a gift to moody listeners. 19 00:01:04,510 --> 00:01:08,670 S2: This free e-book, Reaching Jewish People for Messiah, highlights the 20 00:01:08,670 --> 00:01:11,590 S2: need for the gospel among the Jewish people. It will 21 00:01:11,590 --> 00:01:14,310 S2: equip you with practical ways to share the good News 22 00:01:14,310 --> 00:01:17,670 S2: with them. Now, to receive this free e-book, visit Life 23 00:01:17,670 --> 00:01:21,190 S2: in Messiah org and click on the Moody Radio logo there. 24 00:01:21,230 --> 00:01:24,790 S2: Sign up today to get your copy. That's life in Messiah. 25 00:01:26,230 --> 00:01:28,630 S1: And now let's swing our focus toward current events in 26 00:01:28,630 --> 00:01:31,509 S1: the Middle East. President Trump is traveling to the Middle 27 00:01:31,510 --> 00:01:34,949 S1: East this coming week for meetings with Arab leaders. Is 28 00:01:34,950 --> 00:01:38,310 S1: there any connection between this upcoming visit and the recent 29 00:01:38,350 --> 00:01:41,910 S1: Houthi missile strike against Ben Gurion Airport? And could the 30 00:01:41,910 --> 00:01:45,150 S1: meeting impact the nuclear talks with Iran, or perhaps the 31 00:01:45,150 --> 00:01:47,230 S1: conflict between Israel and Hamas? 32 00:01:47,670 --> 00:01:50,470 S2: Well, the events do appear to be indirectly linked. Now, 33 00:01:50,470 --> 00:01:53,190 S2: here's what I mean. The Houthis fired that missile and 34 00:01:53,190 --> 00:01:57,310 S2: it managed to hit inside Ben-Gurion airport's perimeter. Israel was 35 00:01:57,310 --> 00:02:00,180 S2: able to detect and track the missile, but they experienced 36 00:02:00,180 --> 00:02:03,380 S2: a technical failure with the interceptor, which is what enabled 37 00:02:03,380 --> 00:02:06,060 S2: that missile to get through. Israel and the US then 38 00:02:06,060 --> 00:02:09,020 S2: responded by launching a new wave of attacks on Yemen. 39 00:02:09,260 --> 00:02:12,460 S2: Israel destroyed the airport in Yemen's capital, as well as 40 00:02:12,460 --> 00:02:16,579 S2: several power stations and a cement plant. Following these attacks, 41 00:02:16,580 --> 00:02:20,340 S2: and apparently pressed by Iran to help in their negotiations 42 00:02:20,340 --> 00:02:23,420 S2: with the US, the Houthis agreed to stop firing on 43 00:02:23,419 --> 00:02:26,540 S2: ships in the Red sea. In response, President Trump said 44 00:02:26,540 --> 00:02:30,020 S2: the US would stop its bombing campaign. Now, that announcement 45 00:02:30,020 --> 00:02:34,139 S2: blindsided Israeli officials who weren't told in advance. And then 46 00:02:34,139 --> 00:02:38,220 S2: the Houthis clarified that the cease fire agreement didn't include Israel. 47 00:02:38,660 --> 00:02:40,780 S2: So does this mean the US has just thrown Israel 48 00:02:40,780 --> 00:02:43,300 S2: under the bus, so to speak, leaving them to face 49 00:02:43,300 --> 00:02:47,740 S2: the Houthis alone? Right now, the answer isn't clear. President 50 00:02:47,780 --> 00:02:50,780 S2: Trump also said, somewhat cryptically, that he would be making 51 00:02:50,780 --> 00:02:54,260 S2: a very big announcement in connection with his upcoming trip, 52 00:02:54,460 --> 00:02:57,889 S2: but he didn't elaborate, leading to speculation that it could 53 00:02:57,889 --> 00:03:01,329 S2: involve a plan to provide entry of aid to Gaza, 54 00:03:01,330 --> 00:03:04,530 S2: perhaps in connection with a cease fire plan between Hamas 55 00:03:04,530 --> 00:03:08,450 S2: and Israel, or possibly an expansion of the Abraham Accords, 56 00:03:08,650 --> 00:03:12,850 S2: or even something else totally unexpected. President Trump's visit to 57 00:03:12,850 --> 00:03:15,850 S2: the different Gulf states could also focus on the status 58 00:03:15,850 --> 00:03:20,210 S2: of nuclear negotiations with Iran, which continue to inch forward. 59 00:03:20,570 --> 00:03:22,929 S2: What's amazing, though, is that the visit to the Gulf 60 00:03:22,930 --> 00:03:26,410 S2: states doesn't include a stop off in Israel. So on 61 00:03:26,410 --> 00:03:29,890 S2: the eve of President Trump's impending visit, the major questions 62 00:03:29,889 --> 00:03:32,730 S2: are these. Is the president looking to forge some sort 63 00:03:32,730 --> 00:03:35,970 S2: of grand bargain to tie together Saudi Arabia and other 64 00:03:35,970 --> 00:03:39,410 S2: Gulf states and maybe Israel? Or is he working to 65 00:03:39,450 --> 00:03:42,930 S2: secure the release of the hostages by Hamas? Or is 66 00:03:42,930 --> 00:03:46,050 S2: he trying to make multiple deals to promote trade while 67 00:03:46,050 --> 00:03:50,450 S2: also eliminating Iran's ability to develop nuclear weapons? And in 68 00:03:50,450 --> 00:03:53,730 S2: the midst of all the negotiations, will the genuine concerns 69 00:03:53,730 --> 00:03:57,600 S2: of Israel be taken into account or are they being ignored? 70 00:03:57,840 --> 00:04:00,880 S2: And right now we don't have the answers. But the 71 00:04:00,880 --> 00:04:04,280 S2: coming weeks should reveal what's been going on behind the scenes. 72 00:04:04,320 --> 00:04:08,160 S1: Very complex story there. Two weeks ago, Israel was devastated 73 00:04:08,160 --> 00:04:11,800 S1: by two days of wildfires. What caused all the blazes 74 00:04:11,800 --> 00:04:14,000 S1: and what was the impact on the country? 75 00:04:14,200 --> 00:04:18,520 S2: Yeah, well, three major factors came together to cause the devastation. Heat, 76 00:04:18,680 --> 00:04:22,760 S2: holidays and Hamas. The weather pattern that came through, bringing 77 00:04:22,760 --> 00:04:27,120 S2: with it high temperatures, low humidity and very strong winds. 78 00:04:27,320 --> 00:04:30,640 S2: The weather patterns called a sharav in Hebrew or Khamsin 79 00:04:30,640 --> 00:04:33,600 S2: in Arabic. It usually lasts for a few days before 80 00:04:33,600 --> 00:04:37,120 S2: a cold front, then sweeps through, lowering temperatures and often 81 00:04:37,120 --> 00:04:40,839 S2: bringing rain. The Hamsin arrived just in time for Israel's 82 00:04:40,839 --> 00:04:45,599 S2: two national holidays, Memorial Day and Independence Day. Many Israelis 83 00:04:45,600 --> 00:04:49,920 S2: celebrate with gatherings, picnics and outdoor barbecues and hiking in 84 00:04:49,920 --> 00:04:54,520 S2: the parks and nature reserves, while burning embers discarded, cigarettes 85 00:04:54,700 --> 00:04:58,820 S2: landing in bone dry brush provided the ignition source, and 86 00:04:58,820 --> 00:05:01,980 S2: the blowing winds whipped up small fires into large infernos 87 00:05:01,980 --> 00:05:04,260 S2: in a matter of minutes. Though in addition to the 88 00:05:04,260 --> 00:05:07,740 S2: heat and the holidays, the third H in this combination 89 00:05:07,740 --> 00:05:11,460 S2: was Hamas. They quickly took to social media, calling on 90 00:05:11,460 --> 00:05:16,140 S2: followers to deliberately set fires inside Israel. Over 100 fires 91 00:05:16,140 --> 00:05:20,300 S2: were reported. Many were contained early, but several exploded into 92 00:05:20,300 --> 00:05:23,859 S2: massive blazes, especially in hills near the highway that connects 93 00:05:23,860 --> 00:05:27,419 S2: Tel Aviv and Jerusalem. In terms of impact, the good 94 00:05:27,420 --> 00:05:29,580 S2: news is that there was no loss of life. Though 95 00:05:29,620 --> 00:05:33,060 S2: a number of people were trapped in cars on the highways. 96 00:05:33,300 --> 00:05:35,580 S2: Fires are a fact of life in Israel during the 97 00:05:35,620 --> 00:05:38,420 S2: summer months, but this outbreak made the news because of 98 00:05:38,420 --> 00:05:42,580 S2: its size and severity. Now, unfortunately, another impact in this 99 00:05:42,580 --> 00:05:45,940 S2: case was the rain that followed the khamsin. It didn't 100 00:05:45,940 --> 00:05:48,820 S2: cause any major flooding in the areas hit by fire, 101 00:05:48,820 --> 00:05:52,060 S2: but it did cause problems in the wilderness. A flash 102 00:05:52,060 --> 00:05:55,850 S2: flood roared through the nature reserve by the Dead Sea 103 00:05:55,890 --> 00:05:58,010 S2: as nearly an inch and a half of rain fell 104 00:05:58,050 --> 00:06:00,450 S2: on that area in a very short period of time. 105 00:06:00,650 --> 00:06:04,970 S2: The wall of water washed out hiking trails, handrails and signage. 106 00:06:05,290 --> 00:06:08,050 S2: Other desert areas from the Dead Sea down to a 107 00:06:08,050 --> 00:06:12,290 S2: lot also experienced sudden flooding, causing the temporary closure of 108 00:06:12,290 --> 00:06:17,370 S2: roads from fire to water. God's fearsome power was on 109 00:06:17,370 --> 00:06:19,170 S2: display in Israel. 110 00:06:19,170 --> 00:06:21,650 S1: From Moody Radio. This is the land and the book 111 00:06:21,650 --> 00:06:24,409 S1: I'm John Gager. We're looking at current events from the 112 00:06:24,410 --> 00:06:27,690 S1: Middle East this past week. In a poem, The Road 113 00:06:27,690 --> 00:06:31,849 S1: Not Taken, Robert Frost wrote, two roads diverged in a wood, 114 00:06:31,850 --> 00:06:35,330 S1: and I I took the one less traveled by. And 115 00:06:35,330 --> 00:06:38,330 S1: it has made all the difference. But as Yuval Levy 116 00:06:38,330 --> 00:06:41,570 S1: recently wrote in The Jerusalem Post, the road less traveled 117 00:06:41,570 --> 00:06:45,290 S1: apparently doesn't exist anymore in Israel. Charlie, what did she mean? 118 00:06:45,290 --> 00:06:48,130 S1: And what are the transportation problems facing Israel? 119 00:06:48,370 --> 00:06:50,770 S2: Yeah. Robert Frost never was in Israel when he wrote 120 00:06:50,770 --> 00:06:54,400 S2: that poem, because travel in Israel, right? Today is a mess. 121 00:06:54,440 --> 00:06:56,080 S2: You know, it used to take an hour to drive 122 00:06:56,120 --> 00:06:59,360 S2: between Tel Aviv and Jerusalem. Now it takes an hour 123 00:06:59,360 --> 00:07:03,120 S2: and a half to two hours. Driving across Jerusalem from 124 00:07:03,120 --> 00:07:05,560 S2: the Old City over to the Israel Museum used to 125 00:07:05,560 --> 00:07:08,299 S2: take 15 or 20 minutes. It can now take 30 126 00:07:08,300 --> 00:07:11,240 S2: to 60 minutes, depending on the time of day. Now, 127 00:07:11,240 --> 00:07:14,720 S2: there are multiple reasons for all the traffic snarls. This 128 00:07:14,720 --> 00:07:18,880 S2: country of 10 million people now has 4 million cars, 129 00:07:19,120 --> 00:07:22,000 S2: with hundreds of thousands more being added to the road 130 00:07:22,000 --> 00:07:26,520 S2: every year. A second major problem is geography. In places 131 00:07:26,520 --> 00:07:29,880 S2: like Jerusalem, the hills, the valleys and the old homes 132 00:07:29,880 --> 00:07:33,560 S2: crowded against the roadways limit the width of those roads. 133 00:07:33,560 --> 00:07:36,280 S2: In spite of adding a light rail line and underground 134 00:07:36,280 --> 00:07:40,040 S2: tunnels at some junctures, driving around the walled old city 135 00:07:40,360 --> 00:07:45,040 S2: can still be painfully slow. Now Israel has added new highways, 136 00:07:45,240 --> 00:07:48,640 S2: but they're quickly clogged by all the additional drivers. And 137 00:07:48,640 --> 00:07:50,440 S2: once you get off the main roads and into the 138 00:07:50,590 --> 00:07:54,270 S2: cities and towns, the roads again become a nightmare along 139 00:07:54,270 --> 00:07:57,390 S2: with parking. Now you might think public transportation would be 140 00:07:57,390 --> 00:08:03,110 S2: the solution. Unfortunately, it's used mostly by older people, students, children, 141 00:08:03,110 --> 00:08:05,510 S2: and those who don't have a car. Now, I do 142 00:08:05,510 --> 00:08:08,750 S2: have some good news for tourists. Most tourists avoid the 143 00:08:08,750 --> 00:08:13,150 S2: greater Tel Aviv area, which has relatively little biblical significance, 144 00:08:13,310 --> 00:08:16,470 S2: and apart from Jerusalem, most of the biblical sites are 145 00:08:16,470 --> 00:08:20,150 S2: in less dense traffic areas. So there are still some 146 00:08:20,150 --> 00:08:22,790 S2: roads that are less traveled, but you do need to 147 00:08:22,830 --> 00:08:25,150 S2: know where they are and the time of day when 148 00:08:25,150 --> 00:08:27,470 S2: they're open. And that's why it's so good to have 149 00:08:27,470 --> 00:08:30,430 S2: a guide and a driver in Israel when you're there. 150 00:08:30,470 --> 00:08:34,110 S1: Boy, that's for sure. Hey, what do fake online profiles 151 00:08:34,110 --> 00:08:37,630 S1: on social media and abnormal protein activity in the human 152 00:08:37,630 --> 00:08:41,790 S1: body have in common? Well, scientists at Ben-Gurion University have 153 00:08:41,790 --> 00:08:44,870 S1: come up with the answer in another remarkable discovery from 154 00:08:44,870 --> 00:08:46,110 S1: amazing Israel. 155 00:08:46,630 --> 00:08:50,220 S2: Yeah, I found this one truly fascinating, John. A cybersecurity 156 00:08:50,220 --> 00:08:55,340 S2: researcher at Ben-Gurion University who analyzes fraud on social networks, 157 00:08:55,340 --> 00:08:57,860 S2: joined forces with a team of biologists from the same 158 00:08:57,860 --> 00:09:02,340 S2: university to develop a machine learning system that can recognize 159 00:09:02,380 --> 00:09:07,219 S2: abnormal activity in protein networks inside the human body. The 160 00:09:07,220 --> 00:09:12,460 S2: cybersecurity researcher had developed an algorithm that uncovers suspicious behavior 161 00:09:12,460 --> 00:09:16,020 S2: in social networks. It goes beyond what you would normally expect. Well, 162 00:09:16,020 --> 00:09:20,180 S2: he connected with this other researcher who focuses on computational 163 00:09:20,179 --> 00:09:23,660 S2: approaches in network biology, and they decided to apply his 164 00:09:23,700 --> 00:09:28,699 S2: algorithm to discover atypical behavior in the networks of proteins. 165 00:09:28,700 --> 00:09:33,420 S2: They detected anomalous proteins in human tissue. Using weighted graph 166 00:09:33,420 --> 00:09:36,780 S2: anomalous mode detection. How's that for a mouthful? Yeah. The 167 00:09:36,780 --> 00:09:40,699 S2: research was recently published in Gigascience, a journal that's part 168 00:09:40,700 --> 00:09:45,540 S2: of Oxford University Press's academic research platform. The algorithm that 169 00:09:45,540 --> 00:09:49,250 S2: was developed is open source, allowing other researchers to build 170 00:09:49,250 --> 00:09:52,730 S2: upon it to solve other types of problems. Using a 171 00:09:52,730 --> 00:09:56,170 S2: tool developed to find fake profiles in social media, to 172 00:09:56,210 --> 00:10:00,050 S2: discover abnormal protein reactions in the human body, and then 173 00:10:00,050 --> 00:10:03,090 S2: sharing the process with other researchers around the world to 174 00:10:03,130 --> 00:10:07,090 S2: solve still other problems. That's just the kind of collaborative 175 00:10:07,090 --> 00:10:10,410 S2: innovation we've come to expect from the scientists and the 176 00:10:10,410 --> 00:10:12,770 S2: researchers in amazing Israel. 177 00:10:12,770 --> 00:10:15,050 S1: And that's a look at current events from the Middle East. 178 00:10:15,090 --> 00:10:17,090 S1: If you have yet to check out our podcast, we 179 00:10:17,090 --> 00:10:19,010 S1: want to encourage you to do that not only for 180 00:10:19,010 --> 00:10:21,370 S1: your own benefit, but for the benefit of others who 181 00:10:21,410 --> 00:10:24,410 S1: don't live near a radio station that carries the land 182 00:10:24,410 --> 00:10:27,010 S1: and the book. You'll find us at the land and 183 00:10:27,050 --> 00:10:31,410 S1: the books, the land and the book org. I should 184 00:10:31,410 --> 00:10:34,170 S1: also share our email address upfront. If you've ever got 185 00:10:34,170 --> 00:10:37,450 S1: a question about the Middle East prophecy scripture, you're welcome 186 00:10:37,450 --> 00:10:39,690 S1: to send that to us at The Land and the 187 00:10:39,690 --> 00:10:44,730 S1: book at Moody dot the land and the book at Moody. 188 00:10:46,010 --> 00:10:48,359 S1: Coming up on the land and the book a conversation 189 00:10:48,360 --> 00:10:52,040 S1: about treasuring the Psalms. They all point to Christ. You'll 190 00:10:52,080 --> 00:10:54,480 S1: be amazed at what you hear coming up right here. 191 00:11:08,840 --> 00:11:11,240 S1: When you think of the Psalms, who's the first person 192 00:11:11,240 --> 00:11:14,680 S1: that comes to mind? Probably David. After all, he wrote 193 00:11:14,679 --> 00:11:17,679 S1: more than 70 chapters or songs. But did you know 194 00:11:17,679 --> 00:11:20,880 S1: that the Psalms actually point to Christ? How can we 195 00:11:20,880 --> 00:11:24,439 S1: learn to read this collection with fresh eyes? Coming up, 196 00:11:24,440 --> 00:11:28,120 S1: your invitation to join us in treasuring the Psalms. Hey, 197 00:11:28,120 --> 00:11:30,440 S1: we're glad you've joined us for segment two of The 198 00:11:30,440 --> 00:11:33,800 S1: Land and the book. I'm John Gager, and before we 199 00:11:33,800 --> 00:11:36,880 S1: explore what it means to treasure the Psalms, let's consider 200 00:11:36,880 --> 00:11:40,200 S1: what it means to treasure our unsaved Jewish friends by 201 00:11:40,240 --> 00:11:42,800 S1: sharing the love of Christ with them. Here's an idea. 202 00:11:43,480 --> 00:11:46,020 S1: You know we can't really be friends with a Jewish 203 00:11:46,020 --> 00:11:49,340 S1: friend if we don't take into account their celebrations like 204 00:11:49,340 --> 00:11:52,060 S1: the Passover. What is that all about? And and what's 205 00:11:52,059 --> 00:11:54,540 S1: the connection with Easter? And why are they sometimes on 206 00:11:54,540 --> 00:11:58,140 S1: the same weekend? But not always. Let's ask Eva Rydell. Nick, 207 00:11:58,260 --> 00:11:58,860 S1: what do you say? 208 00:11:59,260 --> 00:12:04,340 S3: Well, Passover and Easter actually originated in the same celebration. 209 00:12:04,740 --> 00:12:08,300 S3: Passover is the celebration of God's deliverance of the Jewish 210 00:12:08,300 --> 00:12:11,380 S3: people from Egypt, bringing them back into the Promised Land. 211 00:12:11,700 --> 00:12:16,220 S3: And that is the memorial that Jesus, our Messiah, used 212 00:12:16,220 --> 00:12:19,219 S3: to institute the Last Supper and the New Covenant. 213 00:12:19,260 --> 00:12:21,380 S1: Okay, so how do I, as I'm getting to know 214 00:12:21,380 --> 00:12:24,300 S1: my Jewish friend better, how do I leverage that in 215 00:12:24,300 --> 00:12:27,099 S1: a conversation or in some sort of an event? 216 00:12:27,140 --> 00:12:30,020 S3: You know, I think it's interesting to say that Jewish 217 00:12:30,020 --> 00:12:34,180 S3: friends understand that. We understand that the beginning of the 218 00:12:34,179 --> 00:12:37,620 S3: basis of the Easter celebration is Passover, and the name 219 00:12:37,620 --> 00:12:39,860 S3: Easter really has nothing to do with the biblical event 220 00:12:39,860 --> 00:12:42,220 S3: that that was a name that was brought on quite 221 00:12:42,220 --> 00:12:44,140 S3: a bit later after the Bible was finished. 222 00:12:44,250 --> 00:12:46,650 S1: So you're really saying, let's celebrate our common ground for 223 00:12:46,650 --> 00:12:47,210 S1: goodness sake. 224 00:12:47,250 --> 00:12:50,490 S3: Exactly. The common ground of redemption. Jewish people are celebrating 225 00:12:50,490 --> 00:12:54,770 S3: the redemption from Egypt. We are celebrating our redemption from sin. 226 00:12:55,090 --> 00:12:58,690 S3: And Jesus used that at the Last Supper to say, okay, 227 00:12:58,850 --> 00:13:01,290 S3: that was a big event that we were remembering. This 228 00:13:01,290 --> 00:13:04,170 S3: is an even bigger event that you're going to remember forever. 229 00:13:04,210 --> 00:13:06,410 S1: I love that phrasing. Thanks for sharing that. Eva Reidel 230 00:13:06,410 --> 00:13:10,290 S1: Nick here on the land and the book. Doctor Ian J. 231 00:13:10,330 --> 00:13:13,570 S1: Vaillancourt is a professor of Old Testament and Hebrew at 232 00:13:13,570 --> 00:13:17,890 S1: Ontario's Heritage Theological Seminary. He's an ordained pastor with more 233 00:13:17,890 --> 00:13:21,410 S1: than 14 years of church experience, both in his writing 234 00:13:21,410 --> 00:13:25,090 S1: and his teaching. Doctor Vaillancourt seeks to exalt Christ from 235 00:13:25,090 --> 00:13:28,570 S1: the Old Testament. Our conversation today is based on his book, 236 00:13:28,610 --> 00:13:31,450 S1: Treasuring the Psalms. And with that we say welcome to 237 00:13:31,490 --> 00:13:33,090 S1: the land and the book, Ian. 238 00:13:33,250 --> 00:13:34,690 S4: Thanks. Great to be here, John. 239 00:13:34,890 --> 00:13:37,410 S1: Well, let's clear away a misconception or two. Some people 240 00:13:37,410 --> 00:13:40,690 S1: are under the misguided information that David wrote. All the 241 00:13:40,690 --> 00:13:42,650 S1: Psalms correct that misnomer. 242 00:13:42,880 --> 00:13:46,280 S4: He did not. We have titles on the Psalms. Um, 243 00:13:46,400 --> 00:13:50,520 S4: sometimes called them Superscriptions. Sometimes call them titles. And David's 244 00:13:50,559 --> 00:13:53,760 S4: name appears in 73 of them, I believe. 245 00:13:53,920 --> 00:13:56,400 S1: Okay. So there are other authors, including Moses, right? 246 00:13:56,760 --> 00:14:01,120 S4: Yeah. Moses wrote Psalm 90. Solomon is listed. Um, the 247 00:14:01,120 --> 00:14:04,439 S4: sons of Korah are prominent, and others as well. So 248 00:14:04,440 --> 00:14:07,400 S4: when we read those titles, we we find out who 249 00:14:07,440 --> 00:14:08,920 S4: the author of the psalm is. 250 00:14:08,960 --> 00:14:12,160 S1: Okay. Well, you've suggested that the Psalms are often layered 251 00:14:12,160 --> 00:14:14,520 S1: in their meaning, which says there's more to them than 252 00:14:14,520 --> 00:14:18,280 S1: a cursory reading might suggest. Elaborate. An example, perhaps. 253 00:14:18,480 --> 00:14:22,600 S4: If we're reading Psalm three and David is crying out 254 00:14:22,600 --> 00:14:26,440 S4: to God in his distress, we remember that Jesus is 255 00:14:26,440 --> 00:14:29,040 S4: a greater Son of David. So that's one way we 256 00:14:29,040 --> 00:14:32,360 S4: can kind of look at how did Jesus fulfill this Psalm? 257 00:14:32,360 --> 00:14:34,800 S4: He was the greater Son of David to come. So 258 00:14:34,840 --> 00:14:37,920 S4: how much more were the cries of Jesus for us 259 00:14:37,960 --> 00:14:40,960 S4: kind of thing? Maybe that's one one example. 260 00:14:41,400 --> 00:14:44,030 S1: Well, let's focus for a minute on a subset known 261 00:14:44,030 --> 00:14:47,550 S1: as the Messianic Psalms. Which are we referring to here? 262 00:14:47,550 --> 00:14:50,870 S1: And what makes a psalm a messianic psalm by definition? 263 00:14:51,390 --> 00:14:55,670 S4: Well, it's my position that all the Psalms in some 264 00:14:55,670 --> 00:14:59,390 S4: way or another point to Christ. And so some people 265 00:14:59,390 --> 00:15:02,510 S4: might just say, okay, some of the Psalms are messianic, 266 00:15:02,790 --> 00:15:05,590 S4: some aren't. But I would say, you know, in part 267 00:15:05,630 --> 00:15:08,950 S4: two of my book, I talk about how all 150 268 00:15:08,990 --> 00:15:11,950 S4: Psalms in some way, and I believe every chapter of 269 00:15:11,950 --> 00:15:14,990 S4: the Bible of the Old Testament points in some way 270 00:15:14,990 --> 00:15:18,190 S4: to Jesus. We need to think about Jesus as fulfilling 271 00:15:18,190 --> 00:15:19,390 S4: it in some way. 272 00:15:19,790 --> 00:15:22,510 S1: Yeah, it feels like in many ways, many of our 273 00:15:22,510 --> 00:15:25,590 S1: churches have sort of de-emphasized the Old Testament. We are 274 00:15:25,590 --> 00:15:29,310 S1: really cheating ourselves out of a rich, rich texture, out 275 00:15:29,310 --> 00:15:31,950 S1: of a lot of informative scripture that does point to 276 00:15:31,990 --> 00:15:33,190 S1: Jesus your thoughts. 277 00:15:33,510 --> 00:15:36,830 S4: It's just incredible. That's one of the big reasons I, 278 00:15:37,190 --> 00:15:40,580 S4: after pastoring for so many years, did a PhD in 279 00:15:40,580 --> 00:15:44,980 S4: Old Testament and now teach because I started as when 280 00:15:44,980 --> 00:15:48,620 S4: I was pastoring, it was such a challenge to preach 281 00:15:48,620 --> 00:15:52,580 S4: Christ from the Old Testament. And, you know, biblical theology 282 00:15:52,580 --> 00:15:57,340 S4: was my favorite biblical theology, Hebrew. I love studying those. 283 00:15:57,340 --> 00:16:00,900 S4: Biblical theology is how the Bible fits together. So when 284 00:16:00,900 --> 00:16:03,460 S4: I was in seminary, I loved studying those things, but 285 00:16:03,500 --> 00:16:06,860 S4: in the nitty gritty, it was challenging. And I found 286 00:16:06,860 --> 00:16:11,220 S4: there weren't as many resources for Old Testament as there 287 00:16:11,220 --> 00:16:15,100 S4: were for new, for how to preach, how to study 288 00:16:15,100 --> 00:16:18,580 S4: in my Bible study, how in my devotions to read 289 00:16:18,580 --> 00:16:22,580 S4: the Old Testament and be led to Christ for worship. Yeah. 290 00:16:22,580 --> 00:16:25,420 S4: So it is a challenge. And I think that's one 291 00:16:25,420 --> 00:16:29,060 S4: reason Christians neglect the Old Testament, is they've had poor 292 00:16:29,220 --> 00:16:31,780 S4: modeling for how to read the Old Testament. 293 00:16:32,260 --> 00:16:35,980 S1: Treasuring the Psalms. That's today's adventure on the land and 294 00:16:35,980 --> 00:16:39,450 S1: the book. I'm John Gager, joined by Doctor Ian Vaillancourt, 295 00:16:39,450 --> 00:16:44,010 S1: professor of Old Testament and Hebrew at Ontario's Heritage Theological Seminary. 296 00:16:44,650 --> 00:16:46,170 S1: All right. Let's let's go to some of those that 297 00:16:46,170 --> 00:16:50,930 S1: are considered classically, you know, messianic Psalms, maybe Psalm 22 298 00:16:50,970 --> 00:16:55,650 S1: or or number 4041. My question is, why do they 299 00:16:55,650 --> 00:16:59,130 S1: they seem to weave in and out of, quote, regular content. 300 00:16:59,130 --> 00:17:02,170 S1: If I could be so juvenile and then sprinkle in 301 00:17:02,170 --> 00:17:06,129 S1: something of a truly obviously messianic nature. What's with that 302 00:17:06,170 --> 00:17:07,090 S1: weaving in and out? 303 00:17:07,890 --> 00:17:10,730 S4: Yeah, that's the one that begins. My God, my God, 304 00:17:10,730 --> 00:17:12,770 S4: why have you forsaken me? Why are you so far 305 00:17:12,770 --> 00:17:15,050 S4: from me, so far from the words of my groaning? 306 00:17:15,410 --> 00:17:18,450 S4: And it goes on. And it seems as though David 307 00:17:18,450 --> 00:17:22,170 S4: is writing that from a real personal life experience he 308 00:17:22,170 --> 00:17:26,689 S4: was going through in hand-to-hand combat. And so, on the 309 00:17:26,690 --> 00:17:30,890 S4: one hand, yes, it is David speaking about himself, but 310 00:17:30,890 --> 00:17:34,010 S4: it seems as though there are times in Psalm 22 311 00:17:34,570 --> 00:17:41,000 S4: where David intentionally overstates it because in Psalm 110 David 312 00:17:41,000 --> 00:17:44,800 S4: calls this one Lord, the Lord said to my Lord, 313 00:17:45,160 --> 00:17:49,240 S4: so my Lord, my master, that's who this one he's 314 00:17:49,240 --> 00:17:52,879 S4: talking about is. Psalm 22 is is a good test 315 00:17:52,880 --> 00:17:56,480 S4: case where David, in the midst of his suffering, in 316 00:17:56,480 --> 00:18:00,080 S4: the midst of recording about his suffering, says things in 317 00:18:00,080 --> 00:18:03,840 S4: Psalm 22 that are more than his life experience, but 318 00:18:03,840 --> 00:18:07,080 S4: ultimately pointing to us to a coming Messiah. 319 00:18:07,240 --> 00:18:07,640 S1: Yeah. 320 00:18:08,080 --> 00:18:10,840 S4: So like that opening line, My God, my God, why 321 00:18:10,840 --> 00:18:14,600 S4: have you forsaken me? Or they pierce my hands and 322 00:18:14,600 --> 00:18:17,600 S4: my feet. Those are just some examples. 323 00:18:17,800 --> 00:18:23,000 S1: Yes. What is your personal favorite? Jesus in the Psalms moment? 324 00:18:23,040 --> 00:18:25,480 S1: A passage where the heart of Christ is just so 325 00:18:25,480 --> 00:18:26,879 S1: very brightly illuminated. 326 00:18:27,640 --> 00:18:29,840 S4: Well, on the one hand, there are so many. Psalm 327 00:18:29,880 --> 00:18:34,480 S4: 22 is absolutely beautiful because I think Spurgeon called it 328 00:18:34,480 --> 00:18:38,750 S4: the Psalm of the cross. Jesus quoted it from the cross. 329 00:18:39,270 --> 00:18:43,550 S4: But probably my I'm going to go two favorites. John 330 00:18:43,550 --> 00:18:47,750 S4: is Psalm 110 and 118, and they are the most 331 00:18:47,750 --> 00:18:50,950 S4: quoted psalms in the New Testament. I did my own 332 00:18:50,950 --> 00:18:55,310 S4: PhD dissertation on those two psalms from an Old Testament perspective. 333 00:18:55,350 --> 00:18:58,950 S4: How it points to a coming Savior. And I just 334 00:18:58,950 --> 00:19:02,429 S4: love the way they, in so many different ways, point 335 00:19:02,430 --> 00:19:05,070 S4: us to Jesus. So 110 and 118. 336 00:19:05,109 --> 00:19:08,750 S1: Okay. All right. What's the best way for a listener 337 00:19:08,910 --> 00:19:11,110 S1: who would say, hey, I'm a beginner here? How do 338 00:19:11,109 --> 00:19:15,110 S1: they begin to learn to appreciate the Psalms like this? 339 00:19:15,109 --> 00:19:16,710 S1: Finding Christ in the Psalms. 340 00:19:17,670 --> 00:19:21,670 S4: Well, there's two ways. One is read like one is 341 00:19:21,990 --> 00:19:25,830 S4: why not read a Psalm every morning and ask God 342 00:19:25,830 --> 00:19:31,190 S4: to help you see Jesus? And secondly, God has given 343 00:19:31,190 --> 00:19:33,630 S4: people with different spiritual gifts for the church. And one 344 00:19:33,630 --> 00:19:37,290 S4: of those spiritual gifts is teaching. And so whether it's 345 00:19:37,290 --> 00:19:41,730 S4: your pastor, whether it's a book that helps you sometimes 346 00:19:41,770 --> 00:19:43,610 S4: kind of getting the lay of the land a little 347 00:19:43,650 --> 00:19:47,530 S4: bit and getting some instruction, whether it's adult education class 348 00:19:47,530 --> 00:19:50,730 S4: at your church or reading a book that kind of 349 00:19:50,730 --> 00:19:53,290 S4: gives you the lay of the land, sometimes that's a 350 00:19:53,290 --> 00:19:55,930 S4: burden in my writing. I want people to read my 351 00:19:55,930 --> 00:19:58,770 S4: book and be equipped to put my book away and 352 00:19:58,770 --> 00:20:02,930 S4: read the book. The Bible. Yes, with more understanding and 353 00:20:02,930 --> 00:20:07,729 S4: just immerse themselves in God's precious word more effectively and 354 00:20:07,730 --> 00:20:11,129 S4: more skillfully for the rest of their lives. So just 355 00:20:11,130 --> 00:20:16,810 S4: finding accessible, understandable teachers in person and through their writings 356 00:20:16,810 --> 00:20:20,169 S4: or podcasts and all these things that are available to 357 00:20:20,170 --> 00:20:23,130 S4: us today, that some instruction, I think the church has 358 00:20:23,170 --> 00:20:26,490 S4: been given teachers, and we ought not to neglect that 359 00:20:26,490 --> 00:20:27,650 S4: blessing from God. 360 00:20:27,690 --> 00:20:30,010 S1: Well, I love that passion. That's great. If you're joining 361 00:20:30,010 --> 00:20:32,770 S1: us midstream, this is the land and the book. I'm 362 00:20:32,770 --> 00:20:36,080 S1: John Gager, our guest, Doctor Ian Vaillancourt, who has written 363 00:20:36,080 --> 00:20:39,200 S1: the book Treasuring the Psalms. You suggest that the Book 364 00:20:39,200 --> 00:20:42,400 S1: of Psalms is a work that is truly greater than 365 00:20:42,400 --> 00:20:44,359 S1: the sum of its parts. What do you mean? 366 00:20:45,200 --> 00:20:49,159 S4: I mean that the Psalms were individual poems written by 367 00:20:49,160 --> 00:20:54,280 S4: individual authors, but they were compiled into a book, intentionally 368 00:20:54,520 --> 00:20:57,480 S4: and purposefully, that it isn't like a hymn book. That's 369 00:20:57,520 --> 00:21:00,120 S4: kind of a hodgepodge. You know, you don't usually read 370 00:21:00,119 --> 00:21:02,520 S4: a hymn book from front to back. They might be 371 00:21:02,520 --> 00:21:05,000 S4: arranged topically in your hymn book, but you know what 372 00:21:05,000 --> 00:21:08,840 S4: I mean. They're not kind of purposely arranged, but the Psalms, 373 00:21:08,840 --> 00:21:11,920 S4: it seems as though we can see, you know, there's 374 00:21:11,920 --> 00:21:16,480 S4: five different books, and we can see broad themes emerging. 375 00:21:16,480 --> 00:21:19,520 S4: When we read the overall shape of the book. We 376 00:21:19,520 --> 00:21:21,840 S4: read the book from start to finish and see kind 377 00:21:21,840 --> 00:21:25,520 S4: of a beginning theme, and it kind of develops. And 378 00:21:25,520 --> 00:21:28,360 S4: then there's an end theme. That's kind of what I mean. 379 00:21:28,480 --> 00:21:32,520 S1: Okay, well, you know, there's a difference between understanding the 380 00:21:32,590 --> 00:21:36,270 S1: Psalms and treasuring the Psalms. The title of your book, 381 00:21:36,270 --> 00:21:39,550 S1: how do we move from mere head knowledge and sort of, uh, 382 00:21:39,710 --> 00:21:43,950 S1: technical exploration to, to really loving the Psalms? 383 00:21:44,109 --> 00:21:47,510 S4: Yeah, I think that's with every portion of scripture that 384 00:21:47,510 --> 00:21:51,910 S4: this isn't just an academic exercise. If the Word of God, 385 00:21:51,950 --> 00:21:55,949 S4: Old Testament and New Testament is living and effective, sharper 386 00:21:55,950 --> 00:21:58,430 S4: than any two edged sword, and if it's breathed out 387 00:21:58,430 --> 00:22:02,109 S4: by God, all Scripture is breathed out by God. Then 388 00:22:02,270 --> 00:22:05,910 S4: when we approach Scripture, if we approach Scripture and kind 389 00:22:05,910 --> 00:22:08,070 S4: of come away with a bunch of information, but we're 390 00:22:08,070 --> 00:22:11,189 S4: not closer to God, the problem's not with the Bible. 391 00:22:11,190 --> 00:22:14,710 S4: The problems with my heart. Yeah, sometimes it's with my head. 392 00:22:14,750 --> 00:22:17,990 S4: I you know, we need to understand what we read 393 00:22:17,990 --> 00:22:21,430 S4: right and get some instruction. But it's both a head 394 00:22:21,430 --> 00:22:22,869 S4: and a heart exercise. 395 00:22:22,910 --> 00:22:23,390 S1: Yes. 396 00:22:23,430 --> 00:22:26,389 S4: And I just always want to approach the Bible in 397 00:22:26,390 --> 00:22:30,190 S4: a context of worship. You know, doing my personal devotions. 398 00:22:30,190 --> 00:22:32,540 S4: I'm reading the Psalms right now in my personal devotions, 399 00:22:32,540 --> 00:22:35,860 S4: and I just go over whatever section I'm in that 400 00:22:35,859 --> 00:22:39,020 S4: day a couple times, and then I sit back in 401 00:22:39,020 --> 00:22:43,940 S4: my desk chair, and I pray through that psalm and, 402 00:22:44,380 --> 00:22:46,859 S4: and just let the words of the Psalms become my 403 00:22:46,859 --> 00:22:50,460 S4: own words and worship, and then move on to praying 404 00:22:50,460 --> 00:22:55,060 S4: for my day ahead. Yeah, but church involvement, being a 405 00:22:55,060 --> 00:22:58,980 S4: committed part of a local church that's committed to God's Word, 406 00:22:59,020 --> 00:23:01,420 S4: like we could say a lot of different things pursuing 407 00:23:01,420 --> 00:23:05,620 S4: personal holiness. Nothing dries up a soul like sin, right? 408 00:23:06,060 --> 00:23:09,980 S4: And nothing like dampens our palette, our ability to taste 409 00:23:09,980 --> 00:23:13,580 S4: and see that God is good. Like tolerating any sin 410 00:23:13,580 --> 00:23:15,820 S4: in our lives. There's there's so much we could say, 411 00:23:15,820 --> 00:23:17,820 S4: but those are some things that come to mind. 412 00:23:18,220 --> 00:23:20,340 S1: You know, even as I ask that question, it strikes 413 00:23:20,340 --> 00:23:23,859 S1: me that, you know, Jesus calls himself the Living Word. Well, 414 00:23:23,859 --> 00:23:26,380 S1: when we spend time with the Bible, you know, too 415 00:23:26,380 --> 00:23:28,740 S1: often we think of it as a a leather bound 416 00:23:28,740 --> 00:23:30,890 S1: book on the shelf like those other leather bound books, 417 00:23:30,890 --> 00:23:33,129 S1: but this one sort of special. No, we are spending 418 00:23:33,170 --> 00:23:36,090 S1: time with a person when we're spending time in the word. 419 00:23:36,090 --> 00:23:38,490 S1: And that's how you get to to truly love someone 420 00:23:38,490 --> 00:23:41,050 S1: is spending time with them. I mean, there's that dynamic 421 00:23:41,050 --> 00:23:42,010 S1: to it seems, right? 422 00:23:42,530 --> 00:23:45,170 S4: Yeah. Well, we open the Bible, we hear the voice 423 00:23:45,170 --> 00:23:48,890 S4: of God. Like, if someone says to you, if I 424 00:23:48,890 --> 00:23:52,810 S4: could say to you, just come here and listen and 425 00:23:52,810 --> 00:23:56,410 S4: you will hear a word from God for you, I'd 426 00:23:56,410 --> 00:23:58,930 S4: want to go. Yeah. Will we have that in the 427 00:23:58,930 --> 00:24:02,689 S4: Bible every time we open it? This is God's word 428 00:24:02,690 --> 00:24:05,690 S4: for us, and it's according to Peter. It's all that 429 00:24:05,690 --> 00:24:08,530 S4: we need for life and godliness is in this book. Yeah, 430 00:24:08,570 --> 00:24:11,290 S4: he's given it to us. And the whole Bible is 431 00:24:11,290 --> 00:24:13,729 S4: an absolute treasure. But the books on the psalm. So 432 00:24:13,730 --> 00:24:16,689 S4: we're just treasuring the Psalms in the book. Yeah. 433 00:24:16,690 --> 00:24:18,330 S1: One last question. I want to squeeze in here, and 434 00:24:18,330 --> 00:24:21,170 S1: it's a little off the path to me, the presence 435 00:24:21,170 --> 00:24:24,730 S1: of so much brute honesty, particularly in many of David's Psalms, 436 00:24:24,730 --> 00:24:27,609 S1: where he admits to feeling terror or anger or even 437 00:24:27,650 --> 00:24:31,520 S1: thirst for revenge. This feels like permission for me to 438 00:24:31,560 --> 00:24:34,600 S1: come before God with my concerns and my emotions as well. 439 00:24:34,640 --> 00:24:35,480 S1: Your reaction? 440 00:24:36,240 --> 00:24:39,720 S4: Yeah. My reaction is two pronged. The first one is 441 00:24:39,920 --> 00:24:44,640 S4: the lament. Psalms are massively neglected in favor of kind 442 00:24:44,640 --> 00:24:48,240 S4: of happy clappy worship all the time. And yes, victory 443 00:24:48,240 --> 00:24:52,000 S4: in Jesus. Yes. As New Testament saints, we look back 444 00:24:52,000 --> 00:24:55,960 S4: to Jesus fulfilling the Old Testament and absolutely to joy 445 00:24:56,000 --> 00:24:58,480 S4: as a bedrock of the Christian life. But the Apostle 446 00:24:58,480 --> 00:25:02,840 S4: Paul could be sorrowful, yet always rejoicing, right? And there's 447 00:25:02,880 --> 00:25:06,600 S4: a both and. And the lament Psalms help us to emote, 448 00:25:06,880 --> 00:25:10,960 S4: even give us words to emote in worship and move 449 00:25:10,960 --> 00:25:14,840 S4: us away from getting out of ourselves to the God 450 00:25:14,840 --> 00:25:17,600 S4: in whom we ought to hope in the midst of 451 00:25:17,600 --> 00:25:20,760 S4: that lament. So it helps us with the brutal honesty, 452 00:25:21,040 --> 00:25:24,199 S4: but then moves us to. And here is who God 453 00:25:24,200 --> 00:25:28,270 S4: is for me in this situation. Now that is amazing. 454 00:25:28,310 --> 00:25:31,710 S1: Yeah. You are amazing. To doctor Ian Vaillancourt. Thank you 455 00:25:31,710 --> 00:25:34,310 S1: for your insights here. If you want to dig deeper, 456 00:25:34,310 --> 00:25:37,189 S1: if you want to really understand the Psalms as the 457 00:25:37,190 --> 00:25:39,950 S1: treasure that they represent, this is a resource for you. 458 00:25:39,950 --> 00:25:42,750 S1: Treasuring the Psalms. A link at our website. The land 459 00:25:42,750 --> 00:25:45,550 S1: and the book org. Doctor Vaillancourt, thank you so much 460 00:25:45,550 --> 00:25:46,270 S1: for your time. 461 00:25:46,670 --> 00:25:48,510 S4: Thank you so much for having me, John. 462 00:25:48,510 --> 00:25:50,790 S1: And we'll dig further into Scripture along the lines of 463 00:25:50,790 --> 00:25:54,030 S1: your questions on our next segment. Plenty of answers here 464 00:25:54,030 --> 00:26:07,590 S1: on the land and the book. This is the land 465 00:26:07,590 --> 00:26:10,030 S1: and the book from Moody Radio. It's segment three. I'm 466 00:26:10,030 --> 00:26:13,830 S1: John Gager, seated across from the one, the only doctor, 467 00:26:13,830 --> 00:26:17,150 S1: Gerald Peterman. He's at our Moody Bible Institute faculty, a 468 00:26:17,150 --> 00:26:19,910 S1: really good guy. He loves the word. He loves your questions. 469 00:26:19,910 --> 00:26:22,109 S1: And we love having him here. Good to see you, sir. 470 00:26:22,150 --> 00:26:24,030 S5: Well, thankfully, there's only one of me. I'm not quite 471 00:26:24,030 --> 00:26:26,300 S5: sure the world could handle two of this guy. 472 00:26:27,260 --> 00:26:29,940 S1: All right, before we, uh, dig into our first question, 473 00:26:29,980 --> 00:26:32,060 S1: here's something to think about. Did you think about the 474 00:26:32,060 --> 00:26:35,060 S1: fact that most Jewish people have never heard the gospel? 475 00:26:35,300 --> 00:26:38,139 S1: Each week you hear us talking about Israel and the 476 00:26:38,140 --> 00:26:41,500 S1: Jewish people, and it's important to remember that they, like 477 00:26:41,500 --> 00:26:43,939 S1: everyone else, need to hear the good news. 478 00:26:44,220 --> 00:26:48,300 S5: Life and Messiah. A ministry in existence for over 135 479 00:26:48,340 --> 00:26:51,340 S5: years is devoted to sharing the gospel with Jewish people 480 00:26:51,340 --> 00:26:55,060 S5: around the world. Now they're offering a gift to listeners. 481 00:26:55,060 --> 00:26:59,820 S5: This free e-book, Reaching Jewish People for Messiah, highlights the 482 00:26:59,820 --> 00:27:02,220 S5: need for the gospel among the Jewish people, and will 483 00:27:02,220 --> 00:27:05,180 S5: equip you with the practical ways to share the Good 484 00:27:05,180 --> 00:27:09,020 S5: News with them. To receive this free e-book, visit Life 485 00:27:09,020 --> 00:27:13,220 S5: in Messiah. Click on the Moody Radio logo and sign 486 00:27:13,220 --> 00:27:14,899 S5: up today to get your copy. 487 00:27:14,940 --> 00:27:18,540 S1: That's life in Messiah. And look for that moody radio button. 488 00:27:18,540 --> 00:27:20,580 S1: Thank you so much for that. All right. You ready 489 00:27:20,580 --> 00:27:23,580 S1: for our first question? This one happens to be from Todd, 490 00:27:23,580 --> 00:27:28,369 S1: who asks, how does Deuteronomy 15 four relate to Deuteronomy 15, 491 00:27:28,410 --> 00:27:29,330 S1: verse 11? 492 00:27:29,609 --> 00:27:33,129 S5: Oh, thanks, Todd. The importance of the question becomes clear 493 00:27:33,330 --> 00:27:36,770 S5: when we read the two verses side by side. Deuteronomy 494 00:27:36,770 --> 00:27:40,250 S5: 15 four says, but there will be no poor among you, 495 00:27:40,250 --> 00:27:42,450 S5: for the Lord will bless you in the land, that 496 00:27:42,450 --> 00:27:45,010 S5: the Lord your God is giving you for an inheritance 497 00:27:45,010 --> 00:27:49,330 S5: to possess. And then we read Deuteronomy 1511, for there 498 00:27:49,330 --> 00:27:52,330 S5: will never cease to be poor in the land. Therefore 499 00:27:52,330 --> 00:27:54,850 S5: I command you. You shall open wide your hand to 500 00:27:54,890 --> 00:27:57,290 S5: your brother, to the needy, and to the poor. Now 501 00:27:57,290 --> 00:28:01,490 S5: this sounds like a contradiction. So we've got to keep reading. 502 00:28:02,090 --> 00:28:05,369 S5: We see the solution if we read chapter 15, four 503 00:28:05,410 --> 00:28:09,729 S5: and five together. But there will be no poor among you, 504 00:28:09,730 --> 00:28:11,689 S5: for the Lord will bless you in the land that 505 00:28:11,690 --> 00:28:13,889 S5: the Lord your God is giving you for an inheritance. 506 00:28:14,090 --> 00:28:18,770 S5: Verse five if only you will strictly obey the voice 507 00:28:18,890 --> 00:28:21,729 S5: of the Lord your God. Well, now read the rest 508 00:28:21,730 --> 00:28:24,670 S5: of your Old Testament. I'm laughing, or else I'm going 509 00:28:24,710 --> 00:28:27,350 S5: to cry because you read the rest of your Old Testament, 510 00:28:27,350 --> 00:28:32,950 S5: and it's a story of Israel's disobedience. So they could 511 00:28:32,990 --> 00:28:37,910 S5: have had a thriving community with generosity and no poor. 512 00:28:37,950 --> 00:28:41,750 S5: But it didn't happen because of their disobedience. The poor 513 00:28:41,790 --> 00:28:44,830 S5: were always there and often neglected. 514 00:28:45,310 --> 00:28:48,110 S1: A question from Jim. Who wants to know how did 515 00:28:48,110 --> 00:28:51,990 S1: God inspire the writing of the Old Testament and New Testament? 516 00:28:52,150 --> 00:28:54,470 S1: It wasn't telepathy, and I know it wasn't just dropped 517 00:28:54,470 --> 00:28:57,670 S1: out of the sky as dictation, like the Muslims suggest 518 00:28:57,670 --> 00:29:01,790 S1: about the Quran. I know God used the writer's distinct personalities, 519 00:29:01,790 --> 00:29:05,310 S1: but how did God actually put his thoughts into those writer's? 520 00:29:05,310 --> 00:29:06,150 S1: Your thoughts? 521 00:29:06,350 --> 00:29:08,790 S5: Well, thanks so much for the question. I've pondered this 522 00:29:08,830 --> 00:29:12,470 S5: and sort of say the exact how is not told 523 00:29:12,470 --> 00:29:16,110 S5: to us. Now, we do know from Second Peter chapter 524 00:29:16,110 --> 00:29:21,310 S5: one that no prophecy of Scripture comes from someone's own interpretation, 525 00:29:21,310 --> 00:29:24,500 S5: for no prophecy was ever produced by the will of man. 526 00:29:24,980 --> 00:29:29,020 S5: But men spoke from God as they were carried along 527 00:29:29,020 --> 00:29:31,980 S5: by the Holy Spirit. So, as you mentioned, their personalities 528 00:29:31,980 --> 00:29:37,060 S5: were engaged, but they were carried by the spirit. We 529 00:29:37,100 --> 00:29:40,580 S5: come later, say, into John 20 and John lets us 530 00:29:40,580 --> 00:29:42,780 S5: know that he has a lot of stuff he's not telling. 531 00:29:43,140 --> 00:29:46,980 S5: He says Jesus did many other signs in the presence 532 00:29:46,980 --> 00:29:49,500 S5: of his disciples which are not included in this book, 533 00:29:49,860 --> 00:29:52,260 S5: but these are written so you might believe. So John 534 00:29:52,260 --> 00:29:57,900 S5: has decided to select certain things to say. So the 535 00:29:57,900 --> 00:30:04,340 S5: spirit works, the author works, and somehow they work together. Exactly. 536 00:30:04,340 --> 00:30:05,740 S5: I do not know. 537 00:30:06,020 --> 00:30:09,220 S1: That's Doctor Gerald Peterman. Appreciate your honesty there. Let's not 538 00:30:09,220 --> 00:30:12,100 S1: speak where Scripture doesn't write. You can email your question 539 00:30:12,100 --> 00:30:16,620 S1: to us at the land and the book at the 540 00:30:16,620 --> 00:30:21,210 S1: land and the book at Bret says, I have a 541 00:30:21,210 --> 00:30:24,050 S1: sister in law who's not a believer. She's a psychologist, 542 00:30:24,250 --> 00:30:26,610 S1: and she says that when Paul talks about rejoicing in 543 00:30:26,610 --> 00:30:30,610 S1: the Lord always, that's a kind of toxic positivity. I 544 00:30:30,610 --> 00:30:32,490 S1: wasn't sure what to say. What do you think? 545 00:30:32,530 --> 00:30:36,290 S5: Toxic positivity. That's an interesting way of talking about it. 546 00:30:36,730 --> 00:30:39,810 S5: I don't think that that's what Paul has in mind 547 00:30:39,810 --> 00:30:42,890 S5: in Philippians four. I do think what Paul comes into 548 00:30:42,890 --> 00:30:49,250 S5: Philippians for he means joy, joy we get from God. 549 00:30:49,650 --> 00:30:54,290 S5: Joy we get from the spirit should be our typical perspective, 550 00:30:54,330 --> 00:30:57,690 S5: should be our typical heart and mind. Oh wait, no, 551 00:30:57,810 --> 00:31:01,530 S5: there can be evil joy. Pay close attention during football season. 552 00:31:01,530 --> 00:31:05,570 S5: You'll know what I'm talking about, right? But should must 553 00:31:05,570 --> 00:31:09,810 S5: joy be our experience? 24 over seven 365 I think 554 00:31:09,810 --> 00:31:14,090 S5: the answer is no. Here's why. Because Paul himself tells 555 00:31:14,090 --> 00:31:18,610 S5: us we should rejoice with those who rejoice and weep 556 00:31:18,610 --> 00:31:21,400 S5: with those who weep. Notice what the passage doesn't say. 557 00:31:21,440 --> 00:31:24,440 S5: It doesn't say. Rejoice with those who rejoice and tell 558 00:31:24,440 --> 00:31:26,040 S5: those who weep why they shouldn't. 559 00:31:26,280 --> 00:31:27,120 S6: Yeah. No. 560 00:31:27,520 --> 00:31:32,360 S5: You weep with them. So as Christians, guided by the spirit, 561 00:31:32,360 --> 00:31:35,240 S5: there will be times we have painful. Or you might 562 00:31:35,240 --> 00:31:39,520 S5: call them negative emotions. And they're just the emotions of love. 563 00:31:40,080 --> 00:31:43,680 S5: So I don't think Paul is urging us to a 564 00:31:43,680 --> 00:31:46,080 S5: toxic positivity. No, not at all. 565 00:31:46,120 --> 00:31:47,200 S1: Positively not. 566 00:31:47,800 --> 00:31:49,960 S5: Yeah. Well done. Yes. Well done. 567 00:31:50,120 --> 00:31:52,600 S1: Go on to Dan's question. Now. He wants to know 568 00:31:52,600 --> 00:31:55,440 S1: what is the difference between soul and spirit. You see 569 00:31:55,440 --> 00:31:57,760 S1: that in Scripture. What can we know here? 570 00:31:58,280 --> 00:32:00,440 S5: Well, whole books are written about this question, and it's 571 00:32:00,440 --> 00:32:04,400 S5: a really good one. Here's my perspective. Soul and spirit 572 00:32:04,400 --> 00:32:08,760 S5: are two aspects of us, not two parts of us. 573 00:32:08,800 --> 00:32:12,440 S5: Let me illustrate this. I mean, it's something like you 574 00:32:12,440 --> 00:32:15,520 S5: have emotions and you have thoughts. I mean, if you're 575 00:32:15,520 --> 00:32:17,960 S5: like most people, you have emotions and you have thoughts. 576 00:32:18,160 --> 00:32:21,390 S5: And how are they related? Well, they're not exactly the same, 577 00:32:21,950 --> 00:32:25,110 S5: but they're intimately related. One relates to the other and 578 00:32:25,110 --> 00:32:27,030 S5: the other relates to the one. So I take it 579 00:32:27,030 --> 00:32:30,830 S5: that soul is more like the personality of us, and 580 00:32:30,830 --> 00:32:34,670 S5: spirit is more like the animation of us. But I 581 00:32:34,670 --> 00:32:37,190 S5: don't take it that they're exactly the same, nor do 582 00:32:37,190 --> 00:32:40,030 S5: I take it they were made up of composite pieces, 583 00:32:40,030 --> 00:32:41,790 S5: as if we have body, soul and spirit. And you 584 00:32:41,790 --> 00:32:44,510 S5: put the three pieces together. Now you've got human. Hopefully 585 00:32:44,510 --> 00:32:45,270 S5: that's helpful. 586 00:32:45,710 --> 00:32:48,350 S1: Yeah. Typical question, as you say, in entire books written 587 00:32:48,350 --> 00:32:50,590 S1: about it. Here's a question I'd like to ask. What 588 00:32:50,590 --> 00:32:54,110 S1: is a a reliable grid we can use to make 589 00:32:54,150 --> 00:32:57,510 S1: sure our worship and church is authentic, not just emotional? 590 00:32:57,510 --> 00:33:00,110 S1: And I ask that because, you know, I'm in church 591 00:33:00,110 --> 00:33:02,870 S1: and I'm showing my age here. I was not raised 592 00:33:02,870 --> 00:33:05,030 S1: that we raise our hands and so on, though I 593 00:33:05,070 --> 00:33:08,030 S1: sometimes do that I do. And there are others who 594 00:33:08,070 --> 00:33:12,070 S1: that's their home base and some really appear to be, quote, 595 00:33:12,110 --> 00:33:15,230 S1: getting into it. And I ask myself, am I somehow 596 00:33:15,270 --> 00:33:19,060 S1: less spiritual because I'm not as demonstrative. And the flip 597 00:33:19,100 --> 00:33:21,260 S1: side of this, if I could, is some of these 598 00:33:21,260 --> 00:33:24,980 S1: same people who seem the most joyous, the most worshipful man. 599 00:33:25,020 --> 00:33:27,140 S1: You catch them in a conversation and they're using language 600 00:33:27,140 --> 00:33:29,740 S1: I don't think is appropriate. And, you know, so I 601 00:33:29,780 --> 00:33:32,060 S1: don't want to be judging them. But there's all of 602 00:33:32,100 --> 00:33:34,500 S1: that part of the puzzle to help me make sense 603 00:33:34,500 --> 00:33:35,020 S1: of it all. 604 00:33:35,060 --> 00:33:36,500 S5: Mhm. Well, I hope I can make sense of it 605 00:33:36,500 --> 00:33:39,780 S5: in just a couple of minutes. That is one thing 606 00:33:39,780 --> 00:33:43,540 S5: that I do that I shouldn't do is I compare 607 00:33:43,540 --> 00:33:47,500 S5: myself to other people. Right. Sometimes I look down on 608 00:33:47,500 --> 00:33:50,500 S5: myself when I compare myself. Right. Sometimes I look down 609 00:33:50,500 --> 00:33:54,780 S5: on them when I compare myself. Let's not do either one. Okay. 610 00:33:54,820 --> 00:33:58,820 S5: Let's not judge the way our brother or sister worships. Secondly, 611 00:33:59,180 --> 00:34:04,340 S5: in worship, am I thinking and feeling? Am I hearing 612 00:34:04,340 --> 00:34:08,060 S5: what's being said and pondering it? And am I enjoying it? 613 00:34:08,100 --> 00:34:11,540 S5: When I sing these words? Am I having pleasure in 614 00:34:11,580 --> 00:34:15,140 S5: having a voice that I can sing these words? And 615 00:34:15,140 --> 00:34:19,370 S5: how will that emotion? How will those thoughts be seen? 616 00:34:19,650 --> 00:34:22,330 S5: I'd say show them your way. You don't have to 617 00:34:22,330 --> 00:34:25,130 S5: show them anyone else's way. Um. 618 00:34:25,330 --> 00:34:28,930 S1: Sometimes I wonder that we're enjoying the familiar tune and 619 00:34:28,930 --> 00:34:32,450 S1: loving the excellence of the band more than processing the 620 00:34:32,450 --> 00:34:33,730 S1: content of the lyric. 621 00:34:33,890 --> 00:34:36,609 S5: That could well be. That could well be. And I 622 00:34:36,610 --> 00:34:39,410 S5: have to ask myself that question. Sometimes I say, Jerry, like, 623 00:34:39,410 --> 00:34:42,570 S5: what's going on? Yeah. Why are you doing what you're doing? 624 00:34:42,770 --> 00:34:46,489 S5: Why are you feeling what you're feeling? This is a 625 00:34:46,489 --> 00:34:51,250 S5: question that God asks us. Outside the garden came. Why 626 00:34:51,250 --> 00:34:55,090 S5: are you angry? Right outside Nineveh. Jonah, why are you angry? 627 00:34:55,130 --> 00:34:58,049 S5: After Peter sinks into the sea, Jesus asks Peter, why 628 00:34:58,050 --> 00:35:00,649 S5: did you doubt? So it's a good thing for us 629 00:35:00,650 --> 00:35:04,330 S5: to ask these questions about our emotions. Why are we 630 00:35:04,370 --> 00:35:07,450 S5: having them? Why are we not having them? But here's 631 00:35:07,450 --> 00:35:12,129 S5: a typical characteristic. A typical characteristic is that those who 632 00:35:12,130 --> 00:35:18,790 S5: might be more silent, more withdrawn, a little bit more thoughtful, perhaps, 633 00:35:18,910 --> 00:35:22,190 S5: or maybe less given to a dramatic show of emotion 634 00:35:22,190 --> 00:35:26,310 S5: and worship. But on the other hand, if that show 635 00:35:26,310 --> 00:35:29,150 S5: in worship would be helpful, one thing they do have 636 00:35:29,190 --> 00:35:34,230 S5: is self-control, and they're likely to get slow to be angry, right, 637 00:35:34,270 --> 00:35:36,910 S5: in a conversation. But perhaps others of our brothers and 638 00:35:36,910 --> 00:35:42,989 S5: sisters who are feel comfortable showing emotion and worship. Perhaps 639 00:35:42,989 --> 00:35:46,670 S5: they have a little trouble sometimes controlling emotion outside of worship. 640 00:35:46,870 --> 00:35:49,709 S5: And now I'm not judging either person, right? I'm just 641 00:35:49,710 --> 00:35:53,390 S5: saying God made different personalities and that's okay. 642 00:35:53,910 --> 00:35:56,189 S1: Takes me to Colossians three and over all these things 643 00:35:56,190 --> 00:35:59,549 S1: put on love, which binds them all together in perfect unity. 644 00:35:59,590 --> 00:36:04,910 S5: Right, right. And again, love will include appreciation for all 645 00:36:04,910 --> 00:36:08,029 S5: the good things that our brother and sister does. And 646 00:36:08,030 --> 00:36:11,069 S5: the love would also mean that maybe sometimes we offer 647 00:36:11,070 --> 00:36:14,460 S5: some correction based on what our brother or sister does. 648 00:36:14,500 --> 00:36:16,779 S1: Lots of ground covered today. Maybe you'd like to hear 649 00:36:16,780 --> 00:36:18,460 S1: it all again. The good news is you can do that. 650 00:36:18,460 --> 00:36:21,219 S1: We've got a podcast that you can enjoy yourself or 651 00:36:21,260 --> 00:36:24,100 S1: hopefully even share with a friend. Where do you get it? 652 00:36:24,100 --> 00:36:27,780 S1: At our website. The land and the book org. That's 653 00:36:27,780 --> 00:36:32,700 S1: the land and the book.org and look for the podcast 654 00:36:32,700 --> 00:36:35,060 S1: there also. Your question is welcome. We've gone through a 655 00:36:35,060 --> 00:36:36,939 S1: bunch of them today, but if you'd like to get 656 00:36:36,940 --> 00:36:38,859 S1: one to Doctor Peterman, you can do that when you 657 00:36:38,860 --> 00:36:42,259 S1: email us at The land and the book at Moody's. 658 00:36:43,660 --> 00:36:48,180 S1: That's the land and the book at Moody's. One more 659 00:36:48,180 --> 00:36:49,940 S1: segment to go and you don't want to miss it. 660 00:36:49,940 --> 00:36:53,100 S1: It's Charlie Dyer's devotional coming up next right here on 661 00:36:53,100 --> 00:37:09,940 S1: Moody Radio's The Land and the book. Who was Erastus 662 00:37:09,980 --> 00:37:13,170 S1: in Scripture? And if he's important to us today, why 663 00:37:13,170 --> 00:37:15,410 S1: do we hear so little about him? Bet you didn't 664 00:37:15,410 --> 00:37:18,489 S1: see those questions coming, did you? I'm John Yeager. This 665 00:37:18,489 --> 00:37:20,810 S1: is the land and the book. And we're about to 666 00:37:20,850 --> 00:37:25,970 S1: continue Charlie Dyer's devotional series, inscriptions to the Bible. And Charlie, 667 00:37:25,969 --> 00:37:28,330 S1: I assume, will get some answers to those questions. Eh? 668 00:37:28,530 --> 00:37:29,690 S2: Uh, we will, John. 669 00:37:29,730 --> 00:37:31,730 S1: All right. I'm looking forward to that. First, though, this 670 00:37:31,730 --> 00:37:35,250 S1: personal reaction to a trip to Israel. Listen to this. 671 00:37:39,570 --> 00:37:42,770 S7: Hi, my name is Gina. I'm in Brandon, Florida. I 672 00:37:42,770 --> 00:37:45,489 S7: just wanted to say that I've been to Israel twice. 673 00:37:45,690 --> 00:37:47,649 S7: I just want to say that for anyone who is 674 00:37:47,650 --> 00:37:50,610 S7: considering going, who had a dream all their life to 675 00:37:50,650 --> 00:37:53,609 S7: go to Israel to do it, it is truly an 676 00:37:53,610 --> 00:37:58,130 S7: investment in the land, the people and your spiritual development. 677 00:37:58,170 --> 00:38:01,690 S7: You'll never, ever be the same. There is an impartation 678 00:38:01,690 --> 00:38:05,050 S7: that happens when you're there, and God's Holy Spirit comes 679 00:38:05,050 --> 00:38:07,570 S7: down in a way like you've never felt it before. 680 00:38:07,850 --> 00:38:09,650 S7: And when you come back, you're never the same. So 681 00:38:09,650 --> 00:38:12,240 S7: I just want to encourage you to go the book. 682 00:38:12,239 --> 00:38:16,080 S7: The Bible comes alive. You see, you smell. You feel. 683 00:38:16,640 --> 00:38:19,200 S7: The Word of God is just so real. And then 684 00:38:19,239 --> 00:38:21,799 S7: you're just changed when you come home. So I just 685 00:38:21,800 --> 00:38:25,319 S7: want to encourage everyone to make that investment because it's 686 00:38:25,320 --> 00:38:27,720 S7: an investment you can never, ever put a price tag on. 687 00:38:29,840 --> 00:38:33,319 S1: All right, let's get right to our devotional segment. Now, Charlie, 688 00:38:33,320 --> 00:38:34,080 S1: you're up. 689 00:38:34,520 --> 00:38:37,080 S2: We've reached the end of our 11 week series on 690 00:38:37,080 --> 00:38:40,239 S2: 11 inscriptions to the Bible. Now, most of the inscriptions 691 00:38:40,239 --> 00:38:44,080 S2: we've explored are housed in museums in Jerusalem, London, Istanbul 692 00:38:44,080 --> 00:38:48,120 S2: or Chicago. But today's inscription remains in the very spot 693 00:38:48,160 --> 00:38:52,600 S2: where it was first discovered back in 1929. Our destination 694 00:38:52,600 --> 00:38:55,399 S2: is the site of ancient Corinth. We were here back 695 00:38:55,400 --> 00:38:58,840 S2: in January to visit the Bema Seat. Today's visit actually 696 00:38:58,840 --> 00:39:03,160 S2: takes us outside the main archaeological site, just below the entrance, 697 00:39:03,160 --> 00:39:06,879 S2: near the remains of the ancient theater. Today's discovery. At 698 00:39:06,880 --> 00:39:10,149 S2: first glance might not look that impressive, But I've saved 699 00:39:10,150 --> 00:39:12,069 S2: it for last because I think it's one of the 700 00:39:12,070 --> 00:39:16,509 S2: most revealing of these ancient inscriptions, giving us great insight 701 00:39:16,510 --> 00:39:19,750 S2: into an otherwise obscure friend of the Apostle Paul. And 702 00:39:19,750 --> 00:39:21,989 S2: I'm getting ahead of myself. So join me on a 703 00:39:21,989 --> 00:39:25,670 S2: short trek to a spot seldom seen by most visitors 704 00:39:25,670 --> 00:39:28,549 S2: to Corinth. On my first visit here, I had to 705 00:39:28,590 --> 00:39:31,430 S2: hack my way through chest high weeds to search for 706 00:39:31,430 --> 00:39:34,109 S2: this inscription. I'd read an article on it, which is 707 00:39:34,110 --> 00:39:36,710 S2: how I knew about it. Using a diagram of the 708 00:39:36,710 --> 00:39:39,109 S2: site from that article, I managed to work my way 709 00:39:39,110 --> 00:39:42,830 S2: down a somewhat steep incline to reach the general location, 710 00:39:42,830 --> 00:39:44,710 S2: and then I had to push my way through more 711 00:39:44,710 --> 00:39:47,830 S2: weeds to actually find it. The inscriptions a bit easier 712 00:39:47,830 --> 00:39:50,989 S2: to find today, as more visitors to the site help 713 00:39:50,989 --> 00:39:55,150 S2: keep the weeds at bay and the pathway more defined. Okay, 714 00:39:55,190 --> 00:39:57,589 S2: I suspect by now you're getting impatient with me and 715 00:39:57,590 --> 00:40:00,469 S2: are ready to shout out, so what's this inscription you're 716 00:40:00,469 --> 00:40:03,790 S2: so excited about? Well, here it is in front of us. 717 00:40:03,790 --> 00:40:05,989 S2: So let me help you read it. Carved into the 718 00:40:05,989 --> 00:40:09,060 S2: stone block. One of the paving stones for this walkway 719 00:40:09,260 --> 00:40:14,460 S2: are 22 seven inch high letters, forming six words in 720 00:40:14,460 --> 00:40:17,980 S2: the economy of the time. Three of the words are abbreviations, 721 00:40:18,420 --> 00:40:24,620 S2: but it says in my poor Latin Erastus pro dilatata 722 00:40:24,860 --> 00:40:31,740 S2: sua pecunia struvite, or in English Erastus, for his aedileship, 723 00:40:31,780 --> 00:40:35,460 S2: laid the pavement at his own expense. The letters of 724 00:40:35,460 --> 00:40:38,299 S2: the inscription would originally have been filled with bronze of 725 00:40:38,300 --> 00:40:41,420 S2: the metals gone, but the inscription is still very legible 726 00:40:41,420 --> 00:40:45,580 S2: even after 2000 years. The office of aedile might be 727 00:40:45,580 --> 00:40:48,780 S2: compared to that either of a city treasurer or public 728 00:40:48,780 --> 00:40:54,300 S2: works commissioner. Today they maintain public buildings, regulated public festivals, 729 00:40:54,300 --> 00:40:57,580 S2: and even had the power to enforce public order. But 730 00:40:57,580 --> 00:41:01,299 S2: what makes this inscription so special? Most date the inscription 731 00:41:01,300 --> 00:41:04,620 S2: to around A.D. 50, during the reign of Emperor Claudius. 732 00:41:04,940 --> 00:41:08,730 S2: This city official named Erastus authorized the laying of the 733 00:41:08,730 --> 00:41:12,450 S2: pavement in the theater area, but he also personally paid 734 00:41:12,450 --> 00:41:16,049 S2: for the pavement to be laid. This generous donation suggests 735 00:41:16,050 --> 00:41:19,130 S2: that Erastus was not only an important leader in the 736 00:41:19,130 --> 00:41:21,689 S2: government of Corinth, but that he was also a man 737 00:41:21,690 --> 00:41:24,089 S2: of some financial means to be able to cover the 738 00:41:24,090 --> 00:41:28,090 S2: cost personally. But I've still not answered your question. What 739 00:41:28,090 --> 00:41:31,890 S2: makes this inscription so special? To answer that, let's visit 740 00:41:31,890 --> 00:41:35,969 S2: Corinth about that time. We know from acts 1811 that 741 00:41:35,969 --> 00:41:40,370 S2: Paul spent 18 months in Corinth during his second missionary journey, 742 00:41:40,650 --> 00:41:42,770 S2: and the next verse says he was there when Gallio 743 00:41:42,770 --> 00:41:47,529 S2: was proconsul of Achaia. That's right around A.D. 51 to 52. 744 00:41:47,930 --> 00:41:51,010 S2: The Erastus who laid the pavement in Corinth would likely 745 00:41:51,010 --> 00:41:53,850 S2: have been a prominent official in Corinth about the same 746 00:41:53,850 --> 00:41:57,970 S2: time in acts 20. On his third missionary journey, Paul 747 00:41:57,969 --> 00:42:01,890 S2: spent an additional three months in Greece, most likely in Corinth, 748 00:42:02,010 --> 00:42:04,370 S2: and it was during this visit to Corinth when Paul 749 00:42:04,370 --> 00:42:07,440 S2: wrote his letter to the church in Rome. At the 750 00:42:07,440 --> 00:42:10,120 S2: end of that letter, Paul includes a series of greetings, 751 00:42:10,120 --> 00:42:13,320 S2: first to friends in Rome and then from individuals with 752 00:42:13,320 --> 00:42:16,479 S2: him in Greece. And it's one of those individuals who 753 00:42:16,480 --> 00:42:20,640 S2: now steps onto the pages of Bible history. In Romans 16, 754 00:42:20,840 --> 00:42:24,320 S2: Paul sends the church in Rome a greeting from Erastus, 755 00:42:24,360 --> 00:42:28,880 S2: the city treasurer. Other translations identify him as the director 756 00:42:28,880 --> 00:42:32,760 S2: of public works. In describing Erastus, Paul used the Greek 757 00:42:32,760 --> 00:42:36,680 S2: word oikonomos, from which we get the word economy. The 758 00:42:36,680 --> 00:42:39,200 S2: word has a general idea of stewardship, and was used 759 00:42:39,200 --> 00:42:42,880 S2: of individuals who managed the households or estates of others 760 00:42:43,200 --> 00:42:46,000 S2: used in reference to a city. It helps describe someone 761 00:42:46,000 --> 00:42:49,359 S2: who handled the finances and affairs of that city, or, 762 00:42:49,360 --> 00:42:53,400 S2: to use the Latin expression, he was the aedile at Corinth. 763 00:42:53,800 --> 00:42:56,920 S2: The odds of two different men named Erastus holding the 764 00:42:56,920 --> 00:43:00,320 S2: same position in Corinth at about the same time seems 765 00:43:00,320 --> 00:43:04,120 S2: pretty unlikely. The Erastus being referred to by Paul is 766 00:43:04,260 --> 00:43:08,100 S2: almost certainly the same one who laid the pavement outside 767 00:43:08,100 --> 00:43:11,660 S2: the theater in Corinth at his own expense. This inscription 768 00:43:11,660 --> 00:43:14,339 S2: is fascinating. If all it tells us is that a 769 00:43:14,340 --> 00:43:17,940 S2: highly placed public figure in Corinth was a friend of Paul, 770 00:43:18,140 --> 00:43:21,779 S2: but Erastus appears two additional times in the Bible. In 771 00:43:21,780 --> 00:43:24,740 S2: acts 19, Paul was in Ephesus. He planned to eventually 772 00:43:24,739 --> 00:43:27,819 S2: travel to Jerusalem after taking up a collection for the 773 00:43:27,860 --> 00:43:31,820 S2: saints there from the churches in Asia, Macedonia and Greece, 774 00:43:32,140 --> 00:43:35,220 S2: while Paul finished his work in Ephesus. Verse 22 says 775 00:43:35,219 --> 00:43:38,700 S2: that he sent two of his helpers, Timothy and Erastus, 776 00:43:38,739 --> 00:43:41,700 S2: to Macedonia. It would seem that in addition to his 777 00:43:41,700 --> 00:43:45,460 S2: public service in Corinth, Erastus also found time to travel 778 00:43:45,460 --> 00:43:49,460 S2: with Paul. Perhaps his expertise in financial matters made him 779 00:43:49,460 --> 00:43:53,299 S2: a logical choice to help organize the collection for the saints. 780 00:43:53,700 --> 00:43:56,900 S2: But in this verse, Luke uses the verb diacono to 781 00:43:56,940 --> 00:44:01,020 S2: stress that both Timothy and Erastus were serving or ministering 782 00:44:01,060 --> 00:44:04,330 S2: to Paul. Erastus took on the role of one willing 783 00:44:04,370 --> 00:44:08,450 S2: to serve another to help Paul. The final time Erastus 784 00:44:08,450 --> 00:44:11,609 S2: appears in the Bible is in Second Timothy four. As 785 00:44:11,610 --> 00:44:14,290 S2: Paul writes from prison in Rome, he ends with an 786 00:44:14,290 --> 00:44:17,650 S2: appeal to Timothy to come as soon as possible. Paul 787 00:44:17,650 --> 00:44:20,089 S2: records the names of those who had abandoned him in 788 00:44:20,090 --> 00:44:22,850 S2: his time of trouble, but he also gives Timothy a 789 00:44:22,890 --> 00:44:26,010 S2: list of those who were not currently with him. By 790 00:44:26,010 --> 00:44:29,009 S2: separating the groups, it seems Paul is helping Timothy know 791 00:44:29,010 --> 00:44:32,690 S2: where to find these individuals who were still faithful and 792 00:44:32,690 --> 00:44:36,129 S2: who might not even know Paul's current circumstances. And in 793 00:44:36,130 --> 00:44:40,290 S2: verse 20, Paul simply notes, Erastus stayed in Corinth, and 794 00:44:40,290 --> 00:44:43,850 S2: I left Trophimus sick in Miletus as Paul went along 795 00:44:43,850 --> 00:44:47,049 S2: on his journey. Following his first imprisonment in Rome, he 796 00:44:47,050 --> 00:44:51,690 S2: traveled through Corinth, allowing Erastus to once again return to family, friends, 797 00:44:51,690 --> 00:44:55,050 S2: and church. It's a parting note from Paul regarding someone 798 00:44:55,050 --> 00:44:58,250 S2: Timothy could visit should his journey to Rome bring him 799 00:44:58,250 --> 00:45:01,130 S2: through Corinth. Well, it's time to hike back up to 800 00:45:01,170 --> 00:45:03,959 S2: the parking lot and say goodbye to Corinth and this 801 00:45:04,000 --> 00:45:07,000 S2: inscription from Erastus. But before we go, let me ask 802 00:45:07,000 --> 00:45:10,600 S2: one key question. What does this inscription have to do 803 00:45:10,600 --> 00:45:16,080 S2: with us today? Actually, I see two applications that seem appropriate. First, 804 00:45:16,120 --> 00:45:19,600 S2: Erastus was able to serve as a believer in government, 805 00:45:19,600 --> 00:45:22,360 S2: even in a government that was often opposed to Christians. 806 00:45:22,640 --> 00:45:26,160 S2: Much like Daniel serving in Babylon, Erastus was able to 807 00:45:26,160 --> 00:45:29,640 S2: be a beacon of light in an arena often antagonistic 808 00:45:29,640 --> 00:45:33,240 S2: to the God of the Bible. That took courage and conviction. 809 00:45:33,680 --> 00:45:37,200 S2: And second, Erastus might have been an important government official, 810 00:45:37,200 --> 00:45:40,320 S2: but he also used his gifts and abilities to serve 811 00:45:40,320 --> 00:45:43,400 S2: the people of God. He traveled with Timothy and ministered 812 00:45:43,400 --> 00:45:45,680 S2: to Paul. We're not told what he did, but in 813 00:45:45,680 --> 00:45:50,000 S2: the historical context, he likely used his administrative and financial 814 00:45:50,000 --> 00:45:53,239 S2: skills to help the church collect and handle the funds 815 00:45:53,280 --> 00:45:56,000 S2: being gathered for the saints in Judea, to make sure 816 00:45:56,000 --> 00:46:00,160 S2: everything was done decently and in order. Being too important 817 00:46:00,230 --> 00:46:03,950 S2: or being too busy. Weren't excuses used by Erastus to 818 00:46:03,989 --> 00:46:06,989 S2: keep from serving the larger body of Christ? Now, if 819 00:46:06,989 --> 00:46:08,870 S2: you want to see the inscription, head to our land. 820 00:46:08,870 --> 00:46:11,310 S2: In the book Facebook page where I posted my most 821 00:46:11,350 --> 00:46:13,950 S2: recent photo of it, the high weeds are gone and 822 00:46:13,950 --> 00:46:16,270 S2: the letters are quite visible, and you'll be able to 823 00:46:16,270 --> 00:46:19,790 S2: make out the words Erastus, Pro and Struvite even if 824 00:46:19,790 --> 00:46:21,830 S2: you don't know Latin. All right. 825 00:46:21,989 --> 00:46:24,830 S1: We'll look for that weed free visit there at our 826 00:46:24,830 --> 00:46:27,550 S1: Facebook page. Thank you Charlie. And we want to encourage 827 00:46:27,550 --> 00:46:29,790 S1: you to visit our website as well. It's the land 828 00:46:29,790 --> 00:46:32,989 S1: and the book where you'll find our podcast that you 829 00:46:32,989 --> 00:46:35,910 S1: can enjoy for yourself or share with any friend. Again, 830 00:46:35,950 --> 00:46:38,510 S1: you'll find us at the land and the book for 831 00:46:39,710 --> 00:46:42,150 S1: our time is gone. But as always, we thank our producer, 832 00:46:42,150 --> 00:46:45,109 S1: Dan Anderson, who keeps us all on track. Our host, 833 00:46:45,110 --> 00:46:48,310 S1: Charlie Dyer. I'm John Gager. Thanks to this station for 834 00:46:48,310 --> 00:46:51,150 S1: carving out airtime for the land and the book. A 835 00:46:51,150 --> 00:46:54,950 S1: production of Moody Radio, a ministry of Moody Bible Institute.