WEBVTT - Hour 1: Bible Questions and Purim 0:00:09.590 --> 0:00:14.000 Next week, the Jewish people will be celebrating Purim. This 0:00:14.000 --> 0:00:17.150 holiday is derived from the Book of Esther in the Bible, 0:00:17.150 --> 0:00:21.230 a book which contains a biblical mystery. Stay with me 0:00:21.230 --> 0:00:25.549 and we'll talk about that in just a moment. Hello, friends. 0:00:25.550 --> 0:00:29.390 Welcome to Open Line, Moody Radio's Bible study across America. 0:00:29.420 --> 0:00:32.630 My name is Michael Radonich. I'm the academic dean. I'm 0:00:32.630 --> 0:00:35.960 a professor of Jewish studies and Bible at Moody Bible Institute. 0:00:35.990 --> 0:00:38.840 I'm so grateful that you're joining me around the radio 0:00:38.840 --> 0:00:44.390 kitchen table, because we're talking about your questions about the Bible, God, 0:00:44.390 --> 0:00:47.660 and the spiritual life. If you have a question you'd 0:00:47.659 --> 0:00:55.190 like to call, the phone number here is (877) 548-3675. Let 0:00:55.190 --> 0:00:58.370 me give you a clue. Sometimes people say I can't 0:00:58.370 --> 0:01:00.590 get through I try and I try. Well, the way 0:01:00.590 --> 0:01:02.210 to get through is to call at the beginning of 0:01:02.210 --> 0:01:04.580 the hour. And so if you're listening, you're thinking, I 0:01:04.580 --> 0:01:06.860 want to call today. Now's the time to call the 0:01:06.860 --> 0:01:15.860 phone number (877) 548-3675. Tricia McMillan is sitting there in the 0:01:15.860 --> 0:01:20.090 producer's chair. Omar Mendoza is our tech guy today. Lisa's 0:01:20.090 --> 0:01:23.240 answering the phones. We're grateful for that. And the phone 0:01:23.240 --> 0:01:30.860 number here again is (877) 548-3675. So go get yourself a 0:01:30.860 --> 0:01:34.700 cup of coffee. Open your Bible. We're about to study 0:01:34.700 --> 0:01:41.179 the scriptures together. Can you imagine someone writing a history 0:01:41.180 --> 0:01:44.750 of the birth of the United States, including the Revolutionary War, 0:01:44.780 --> 0:01:50.810 the Constitutional Convention, the first federal government, and omitting George Washington, 0:01:50.840 --> 0:01:56.870 the indispensable man? That would be inconceivable. How much more? 0:01:56.870 --> 0:01:59.840 When we look at the book of Esther, and the 0:01:59.840 --> 0:02:03.890 one who is central to the entire story isn't even mentioned. 0:02:03.920 --> 0:02:09.350 That's right. God is never mentioned directly, even one time 0:02:09.350 --> 0:02:12.440 in the book of Esther. The book tells of a 0:02:12.440 --> 0:02:16.459 Jewish girl, Esther, who becomes the Queen of Persia. Her 0:02:16.460 --> 0:02:22.399 cousin Mordecai, who advises her and Haman's ultimately thwarted plot 0:02:22.430 --> 0:02:27.470 to destroy all the Jewish people. Jewish people still celebrate 0:02:27.470 --> 0:02:31.640 Purim because of this great deliverance. The name of the 0:02:31.639 --> 0:02:37.430 festival is derived from the Hebrew word poor, which means lots, 0:02:37.910 --> 0:02:44.239 and the book recalls the overturning of Haman's plan, but 0:02:44.240 --> 0:02:49.130 it still omits God's name. This certainly couldn't have been 0:02:49.130 --> 0:02:52.880 an accident. It's not an oversight. The author must have 0:02:52.880 --> 0:02:57.769 had some purpose since Purim, the Jewish holiday that celebrates 0:02:57.770 --> 0:03:00.109 the deliverance of the Jewish people in the Book of Esther, 0:03:00.110 --> 0:03:02.810 will be celebrated next week. I thought it would be 0:03:02.810 --> 0:03:07.460 good to answer the great Purim mystery. Where is God 0:03:07.460 --> 0:03:11.450 in the book of Esther? There are four possible answers 0:03:11.450 --> 0:03:15.440 that have been given. Some say this is the first one, 0:03:15.440 --> 0:03:18.830 that the book is too profane for God to be 0:03:18.830 --> 0:03:20.930 in it. According to this view, the King in the 0:03:20.930 --> 0:03:26.720 Book of Esther. Xerxes is essential despot. Esther is a 0:03:26.720 --> 0:03:31.280 manipulator who uses her beauty to advance herself. Mordecai is 0:03:31.280 --> 0:03:35.330 considered insolent because he refused to bow to Haman, and 0:03:35.330 --> 0:03:40.400 the whole book is merely about vengeance. One author says, morally, 0:03:40.400 --> 0:03:43.190 Esther falls far below the general level of the Old 0:03:43.220 --> 0:03:48.470 Testament and even the Apocrypha. A second view is that 0:03:48.470 --> 0:03:52.400 the Scroll of Esther is merely nationalistic propaganda, and it 0:03:52.400 --> 0:03:56.360 has no spiritual message, since this view, says Esther, is 0:03:56.360 --> 0:04:00.380 merely a tale of national defense and struggle against Hellenism, 0:04:00.380 --> 0:04:04.550 one commentator said, God forbid that God should appear in 0:04:04.550 --> 0:04:08.540 such a story. A third approach is to view the 0:04:08.540 --> 0:04:12.680 Book of Esther as a picture, or an allegory in 0:04:12.680 --> 0:04:15.830 which God is hidden in the book through various characters. 0:04:15.830 --> 0:04:20.840 Mordecai represents the Holy Spirit. The king represents the believer's flesh. 0:04:20.870 --> 0:04:28.099 Esther represents the redeemed believer. Haman represents Satan. This allegorical 0:04:28.100 --> 0:04:32.540 approach is far too subjective. It's actually far fetched and 0:04:32.540 --> 0:04:36.919 we can't take it seriously. A fourth, and the most 0:04:36.920 --> 0:04:42.080 likely explanation is that the Book of Esther is about providence. 0:04:42.110 --> 0:04:45.530 The book deliberately conceals the name of God to reveal 0:04:45.529 --> 0:04:50.090 his actions. Providence means that God is lovingly guiding all 0:04:50.120 --> 0:04:54.470 of history with his good purposes and intentions. It refers 0:04:54.470 --> 0:04:59.659 to God's invisible hand. Someone wants to find Providence as God, 0:04:59.660 --> 0:05:05.029 performing a miracle but deciding to remain anonymous. The Scroll 0:05:05.029 --> 0:05:07.640 of Esther reveals that the Jewish people had adopted the 0:05:07.640 --> 0:05:11.719 Persian culture, but forgotten their god. The message of this 0:05:11.720 --> 0:05:16.910 book is that even when Israel forgets God, God always 0:05:16.910 --> 0:05:20.510 remembers his people. So the name of God is deliberately 0:05:20.510 --> 0:05:23.870 left out, just as the Jewish people of Persia had 0:05:23.870 --> 0:05:28.130 left him out of their lives. It declares that God 0:05:28.130 --> 0:05:34.520 is working even when we don't acknowledge him. Providence is 0:05:34.520 --> 0:05:37.099 evident throughout the Book of Esther. Here are just a 0:05:37.100 --> 0:05:41.930 few examples. It's all the just happens. Esther just happens 0:05:41.930 --> 0:05:44.300 to find favor with the royal official in charge of 0:05:44.300 --> 0:05:50.900 the beauty contest. Mordecai just happens to overhear the plot 0:05:51.970 --> 0:05:56.050 To against the king. The king just happens to welcome 0:05:56.050 --> 0:05:58.930 and point his scepter at Esther. The king just happens 0:05:58.930 --> 0:06:02.529 to have insomnia and hear the story of Mordecai saving him. 0:06:02.529 --> 0:06:06.880 And Haman, the genocidal maniac and hater of Jews, just 0:06:06.880 --> 0:06:10.120 happens to perish on the very day that he planned 0:06:10.120 --> 0:06:12.580 to murder all the Jewish people, and on the very 0:06:12.610 --> 0:06:16.990 gallows that he prepared for Mordecai. Well, what does this 0:06:16.990 --> 0:06:20.830 all have to do with today? Well, first of all, 0:06:20.860 --> 0:06:24.039 God was active in preserving the Jewish people so the 0:06:24.040 --> 0:06:28.299 Messiah Jesus could come if God hadn't intervened in the 0:06:28.300 --> 0:06:31.690 days of Esther. The Messiah wouldn't have been born. God 0:06:31.690 --> 0:06:34.360 secured the safety of the Jewish people so the Jewish 0:06:34.360 --> 0:06:39.070 Messiah could come and redeem the whole world. Second, God 0:06:39.070 --> 0:06:43.419 remains active in preserving and protecting the Jewish people today 0:06:43.420 --> 0:06:49.029 and always in light of the huge explosion of anti-Semitism 0:06:49.029 --> 0:06:51.760 around the world and in particular in the United States. 0:06:51.760 --> 0:06:54.400 In fact, in the United States, there's been a 400% 0:06:54.400 --> 0:07:00.370 increase in anti-Semitic incidents in 2024 alone. Well, this should 0:07:00.370 --> 0:07:03.099 give us comfort to know that God will always keep 0:07:03.100 --> 0:07:08.230 his promises and preserve the Jewish people. Third, God is 0:07:08.230 --> 0:07:11.380 active in the lives of all followers of Jesus today, 0:07:11.410 --> 0:07:16.210 caring for us, accomplishing his purposes, protecting us even if 0:07:16.210 --> 0:07:20.380 we neglect him sometimes. All those coincidences that happen for 0:07:20.380 --> 0:07:25.030 our good are not coincidences at all. They're the invisible 0:07:25.060 --> 0:07:28.990 hand of God, working all things together for our good. 0:07:29.620 --> 0:07:33.250 To this day, the Jewish people continue to celebrate their 0:07:33.250 --> 0:07:37.450 deliverance by God from the genocidal plans of Haman. The 0:07:37.450 --> 0:07:40.600 celebrations include reading the Scroll of Esther in the synagogue, 0:07:40.600 --> 0:07:43.600 complete with noisemakers, to drown out the name of Haman 0:07:43.600 --> 0:07:47.410 every time his name is read. It's also customary to 0:07:47.440 --> 0:07:50.590 deliver baskets of foods and sweets to neighbours, just as 0:07:50.590 --> 0:07:54.190 in the Book of Esther, chapter nine, verse 22, it's 0:07:54.190 --> 0:07:58.750 customary to eat tri cornered pastries reminiscent of Haman's hat, or, 0:07:58.750 --> 0:08:04.240 some say, his ears. It's reminiscent, and as a result, 0:08:04.240 --> 0:08:09.160 we perform plays re-enacting the defeat, reenacting the defeat of Haman. 0:08:10.090 --> 0:08:13.300 And in light of Hitler's Holocaust, these celebrations have broadened 0:08:13.330 --> 0:08:17.140 their meaning to remember God's preservation of his people at 0:08:17.140 --> 0:08:23.140 all other times. And so, just as the Passover liturgy states, 0:08:23.740 --> 0:08:27.040 we remember, for not only one enemy has risen up 0:08:27.040 --> 0:08:31.840 against us in every generation they rise up to destroy us. 0:08:31.840 --> 0:08:37.270 But the Holy One, blessed be he, always delivers us 0:08:37.270 --> 0:08:49.090 from their hands. Well, I hope that will be an 0:08:49.090 --> 0:08:52.209 encouragement to you the next time you read the Book 0:08:52.210 --> 0:08:54.339 of Esther, and maybe a good week to read it 0:08:54.340 --> 0:08:58.510 as you prepare for Purim. Well, we're going to go 0:08:58.510 --> 0:09:00.730 to the phones right now. We're going to talk to 0:09:00.760 --> 0:09:05.200 Patty in Arlington Heights, Illinois, listening on Wmbi. Welcome to 0:09:05.230 --> 0:09:07.689 Open Line, Patty. How can I help you today? 0:09:08.470 --> 0:09:11.020 Thank you. Michael, my friend posed a question to me 0:09:11.020 --> 0:09:14.440 the other day. Is it commonplace for kings to ride 0:09:14.440 --> 0:09:18.100 into the city of Jerusalem on mules or donkeys? She 0:09:18.100 --> 0:09:21.280 read that in the Book of Kings. And I said, well, 0:09:21.280 --> 0:09:23.500 I know the Messiah did, but I didn't know anybody 0:09:23.500 --> 0:09:25.600 else did. Is that a normal thing? 0:09:25.630 --> 0:09:31.900 Well, in fact, that's what was considered something that, uh, like, 0:09:31.929 --> 0:09:36.820 for example, uh, behold, your king comes to you, uh, 0:09:36.820 --> 0:09:39.939 and the Lord Jesus comes on, on a riding on 0:09:39.940 --> 0:09:43.090 a donkey. It was I've heard some people say, well, 0:09:43.090 --> 0:09:46.570 that's the royal animal. I think that the verse in 0:09:46.570 --> 0:09:49.540 Zechariah nine nine. By the time Zechariah is writing in 0:09:49.540 --> 0:09:53.319 the Post-exilic age, kings are not coming in on donkeys, 0:09:53.320 --> 0:09:56.140 and that's why it says he's coming to you lowly 0:09:56.140 --> 0:09:59.410 and seated upon a donkey. So a horse would be 0:09:59.440 --> 0:10:02.590 what you would expect the king to come on, not 0:10:02.590 --> 0:10:08.679 a donkey. Uh, and so, uh, and of course, we 0:10:08.679 --> 0:10:11.770 have the imagery of the Lord Jesus returning in revelation 19, 0:10:11.770 --> 0:10:15.850 and he returns. How? On a white horse. So I 0:10:15.850 --> 0:10:17.260 think that not. 0:10:17.380 --> 0:10:18.819 I'll pass that on. 0:10:18.970 --> 0:10:22.750 Great. Okay. Thanks for your call. Really appreciate it. And 0:10:22.750 --> 0:10:28.000 we're going to talk to Theo in Stickney, Illinois, listening 0:10:28.000 --> 0:10:30.970 on wmbi. Hi, Theo. How can I help you today? 0:10:31.630 --> 0:10:33.820 Um. Shh. 0:10:34.240 --> 0:10:37.569 Wait wait, wait. Theo, before you ask me a question, 0:10:39.520 --> 0:10:40.720 are you. Are you all. 0:10:40.720 --> 0:10:43.479 Alone? Are you with your folks? 0:10:43.960 --> 0:10:46.089 I just I'm just talking to somebody. Okay. 0:10:48.880 --> 0:10:54.910 Ah! Hey. Hey, Theo. You know what? Uh. Are you 0:10:54.910 --> 0:10:57.459 alone yet? So that you can. We can hear you. 0:10:57.880 --> 0:11:00.460 I'm not lonely at my grandma's. Still by me. 0:11:00.490 --> 0:11:00.970 Hear, hear. 0:11:01.000 --> 0:11:04.420 Oh, good. Well, I'm glad your grandma's by you. You. Hello. 0:11:04.420 --> 0:11:10.599 You keep. You keep talking. How old are you? Theo. Hey, 0:11:10.630 --> 0:11:12.880 I'm not sure. Theo. How old are you? 0:11:14.200 --> 0:11:15.340 I'm six. 0:11:15.700 --> 0:11:18.820 You're six years old. And you decided to call the 0:11:18.820 --> 0:11:21.520 program by yourself, or did someone put you up to it? 0:11:22.059 --> 0:11:24.340 My grandma put me up to it. 0:11:24.760 --> 0:11:29.290 I thought so. Yeah. And so your grandma listens to 0:11:29.320 --> 0:11:31.540 the program? She thought you. Did you ask her this 0:11:31.540 --> 0:11:32.829 question first? 0:11:33.880 --> 0:11:35.440 Um, yes. 0:11:35.650 --> 0:11:40.810 Yes. Okay. And how? What grade are you in, Theo? 0:11:41.140 --> 0:11:42.309 First. 0:11:42.550 --> 0:11:46.630 First grade. Okay. And do you go to school or 0:11:46.630 --> 0:11:48.819 are you homeschooled? How do you go to school? 0:11:49.420 --> 0:11:52.059 I'm going to school. I'm not at home. 0:11:52.210 --> 0:11:54.460 At home? You're homeschooled. Gotcha. 0:11:54.490 --> 0:11:55.420 No, I'm not okay. 0:11:55.450 --> 0:11:59.380 I'm not. I'm not at homeschool. I'm at regular school. 0:11:59.500 --> 0:11:59.950 Oh. 0:11:59.980 --> 0:12:03.340 Are you okay? Good good good good. Do you still 0:12:03.340 --> 0:12:07.329 have first grade? You're studying everything. Do you have a 0:12:07.330 --> 0:12:08.560 favorite subject? 0:12:09.640 --> 0:12:12.100 Yes, it's kind of. It's Jim. 0:12:12.520 --> 0:12:18.190 Jim. That's always was my favorite subject, too. That's great. Well, Theo, 0:12:18.220 --> 0:12:20.800 what's your question? Maybe I can help you. 0:12:22.450 --> 0:12:27.640 Is God real or not? I might not. My grandma 0:12:27.640 --> 0:12:30.940 told me that he was there always in the sky 0:12:30.940 --> 0:12:34.630 when nothing was there. Well, I'm kind of. It's hard 0:12:34.630 --> 0:12:36.100 to believe. 0:12:37.090 --> 0:12:41.229 Huh? Well, what do you think is harder to believe 0:12:41.230 --> 0:12:45.790 that God always Existed or that this world came out 0:12:45.790 --> 0:12:50.650 of nothing. Think about it. You know that there's an 0:12:50.650 --> 0:12:53.410 old thing that nothing comes from nothing, that there's always 0:12:53.410 --> 0:12:58.270 something that causes anything else. Like, for example, do you 0:12:58.270 --> 0:12:59.589 have a favorite toy? 0:13:00.550 --> 0:13:02.050 Um, yes. It's my Legos. 0:13:02.080 --> 0:13:02.740 What is it? 0:13:02.800 --> 0:13:07.449 Your Legos. Ah, my grandson loves Legos, too. Now, do 0:13:07.450 --> 0:13:10.839 you think those Legos just appeared, or were they made? 0:13:10.870 --> 0:13:11.320 No. 0:13:11.740 --> 0:13:12.790 Well, who made them? 0:13:12.820 --> 0:13:13.060 They were. 0:13:13.059 --> 0:13:13.630 Made. 0:13:14.350 --> 0:13:17.050 At a factory, right? At a toy factory? 0:13:17.140 --> 0:13:17.949 Yeah, right. 0:13:17.980 --> 0:13:18.700 They were. 0:13:19.150 --> 0:13:23.709 And and, uh. And that's the point. When you look 0:13:23.740 --> 0:13:27.820 at the world, it's really important to remember that this 0:13:27.820 --> 0:13:32.110 world didn't come from nothing. The Bible teaches us that 0:13:32.110 --> 0:13:36.100 God alone is the Eternal One. He always existed. And 0:13:36.100 --> 0:13:39.280 then everything else that came. The very first part of 0:13:39.280 --> 0:13:43.870 creation came because God created it. We. When we look 0:13:43.900 --> 0:13:47.020 at the world, we have to assume that there's a creator. 0:13:47.020 --> 0:13:51.219 And not only that, he's the master engineer. Think about 0:13:51.220 --> 0:13:55.870 how great this world is, how everything works just so wonderfully. 0:13:55.870 --> 0:13:59.410 The sun comes up and the and the earth rotates, 0:13:59.410 --> 0:14:02.920 and all the things that we're supposed to know about 0:14:02.920 --> 0:14:06.760 the world. How does that all happen without a great 0:14:06.760 --> 0:14:11.200 designer making it happen? So I think it's important to 0:14:11.230 --> 0:14:14.080 listen to your grandma and believe her when she says 0:14:14.080 --> 0:14:16.870 that God is absolutely real. But I'm going to tell 0:14:16.870 --> 0:14:19.900 you one more thing. God not only made the world, 0:14:20.290 --> 0:14:23.530 he not only designed it to be perfectly, but the 0:14:23.530 --> 0:14:27.040 Bible teaches that he made you, and he designed you 0:14:27.070 --> 0:14:31.150 perfectly because he has a wonderful purpose and plan for 0:14:31.150 --> 0:14:35.680 your life. He wants to use you in a great way. 0:14:36.580 --> 0:14:37.900 So would you be like Jesus? 0:14:38.950 --> 0:14:42.850 I it is. It was. It's really easy to believe 0:14:42.850 --> 0:14:48.190 that Jesus rose again because literally, there's an afterlife. It 0:14:48.220 --> 0:14:53.950 kind of, um, it makes a lot of sense how 0:14:53.950 --> 0:14:55.150 he died for our sins. 0:15:04.840 --> 0:15:08.500 We're having some technical difficulties with Michael's connection. But, Theo, 0:15:08.530 --> 0:15:12.100 thank you so much. I'm glad that's making sense to you. Um. 0:15:12.100 --> 0:15:14.860 And that we could have this. Um, we're going to 0:15:14.860 --> 0:15:17.590 take a break, and we'll come back and reconnect with Michael. 0:15:17.620 --> 0:15:21.160 You're listening to Moody Radio's Open Line with doctor Michael Melnick. 0:15:21.190 --> 0:15:24.670 I'm producer Trish McMillan. We'll be back in just a moment. 0:15:27.400 --> 0:15:29.320 What did he say? What happened? Okay. 0:15:50.860 --> 0:15:53.950 And we're back. Seemed that had a little bit of 0:15:53.980 --> 0:15:58.300 a technological technology glitch there. I'm glad that Tricia was 0:15:58.300 --> 0:16:03.250 able to pick up the the microphone and keep on going. Uh, 0:16:03.250 --> 0:16:07.090 glad that, uh, you know, it's always great to have 0:16:07.090 --> 0:16:10.930 a team like we have at Open Line. I don't 0:16:10.960 --> 0:16:13.989 know how I could do it without this team and 0:16:13.990 --> 0:16:19.030 Tricia picking up the the the break. There is just 0:16:19.060 --> 0:16:23.050 an example of why a team is so necessary. Omar, uh, 0:16:23.050 --> 0:16:26.560 part of the team, uh, getting getting me back connected 0:16:26.560 --> 0:16:29.410 in with the studio. Into the studio. My studio. Into 0:16:29.410 --> 0:16:33.910 the studio there. So that's that's really about teamwork. And 0:16:33.910 --> 0:16:36.880 I so appreciate it. I met a member of the 0:16:36.940 --> 0:16:41.710 team last week that I didn't even think about. It's 0:16:41.740 --> 0:16:46.810 a it's someone that that hosts, uh, on their station. 0:16:46.810 --> 0:16:49.360 It's one of our affiliates. They have open line and 0:16:49.360 --> 0:16:52.150 the station manager said to me, uh, I'm a kitchen 0:16:52.150 --> 0:16:56.290 table partner. And I thought, really? He not only has 0:16:56.290 --> 0:16:59.830 the program on his local station, but he's also a 0:16:59.830 --> 0:17:02.020 kitchen table partner. And that's part of the team, too. 0:17:02.050 --> 0:17:04.480 We've got a lot of partners, and they are the 0:17:04.480 --> 0:17:09.159 ones who, uh, help keep us on the air by 0:17:09.190 --> 0:17:11.770 giving every month. They keep us on the air every week. 0:17:11.770 --> 0:17:14.740 And so if if you are interested in becoming a 0:17:14.740 --> 0:17:17.109 kitchen table partner, one of the things that we do 0:17:17.109 --> 0:17:19.540 is every other week we send out a Bible study moment. 0:17:19.570 --> 0:17:22.750 Trish and I prepare it, and it's a Bible study 0:17:22.780 --> 0:17:25.780 moment designed to give you a little brief Bible study 0:17:25.780 --> 0:17:27.790 about 8 or 10 minutes. It's a way of saying 0:17:27.790 --> 0:17:30.400 thank you for being part of the team. If you're 0:17:30.400 --> 0:17:32.560 interested in becoming part of the team, all you have 0:17:32.560 --> 0:17:40.740 to do is call 447122. That's (888) 644-7122. Or go to 0:17:40.770 --> 0:17:45.660 open line radio.org. And we're going to go to the 0:17:45.660 --> 0:17:51.359 phones right now. Uh, and our uh next caller is 0:17:51.390 --> 0:17:55.740 Amy in Chicago listening on Wmbi. Welcome to Open Line, Amy. 0:17:55.770 --> 0:17:56.940 How can I help you? 0:17:57.240 --> 0:17:59.760 Good morning, Doctor Adele. God bless you. 0:17:59.970 --> 0:18:00.990 Thank you. 0:18:01.590 --> 0:18:04.830 Um, I have a question that's really not important, but 0:18:04.830 --> 0:18:08.220 is something I've been wondering about. Like, okay, this morning 0:18:08.220 --> 0:18:13.050 I was reading Psalm 130, which says, and it's this 0:18:13.050 --> 0:18:16.560 particular phrase that I'm wondering about. It's he's talking about 0:18:16.560 --> 0:18:20.610 how his hope is in the Lord and he's waiting 0:18:20.609 --> 0:18:22.740 on the Lord. And he says, I wait on the 0:18:22.740 --> 0:18:25.110 Lord more than they that watch for morning. And I'm 0:18:25.109 --> 0:18:28.740 wondering what what is the context of this in ancient times? 0:18:28.740 --> 0:18:31.470 Do you happen to know what? Who are the people. 0:18:31.500 --> 0:18:31.650 That. 0:18:31.680 --> 0:18:32.639 Wait for the morning? 0:18:33.420 --> 0:18:38.070 Yeah, The the idea is that every city had watchmen 0:18:38.100 --> 0:18:42.900 on the walls and they were watching not just for 0:18:42.900 --> 0:18:46.290 the to make sure that no enemy was coming and 0:18:46.290 --> 0:18:49.469 that people were safe, but they waited for the morning 0:18:49.470 --> 0:18:53.220 when they could see better, because the most dangerous time 0:18:53.220 --> 0:18:58.650 was when attack would come. And at night. And so 0:18:58.650 --> 0:19:03.330 they would watch not just through the night, but they 0:19:03.330 --> 0:19:05.340 would watch for the morning to come, because it would 0:19:05.340 --> 0:19:10.050 always be safer than a surprise attack at night. And 0:19:10.050 --> 0:19:13.440 so that's there was a real longing, a desire for 0:19:13.470 --> 0:19:15.240 morning to come. 0:19:15.240 --> 0:19:16.470 And I. 0:19:16.470 --> 0:19:21.300 Think it's, uh, Isaiah 62 that talks about the watchmen 0:19:21.330 --> 0:19:32.460 on the walls. Uh, uh, it says, uh, Isaiah 62 six, uh, Jerusalem. 0:19:32.460 --> 0:19:35.680 I have appointed Watchmen on your walls. They will never 0:19:35.710 --> 0:19:38.620 be silent day or night. There is no rest for 0:19:38.619 --> 0:19:41.140 you who remind the Lord. Do not give him rest 0:19:41.140 --> 0:19:45.100 until he establishes and makes Jerusalem the praise of the earth. 0:19:45.100 --> 0:19:47.140 And so it's using the watchmen on the walls, kind 0:19:47.170 --> 0:19:50.860 of metaphorically there to represent, just as there are watchmen 0:19:50.859 --> 0:19:53.919 on the walls to protect the city. So there are 0:19:53.950 --> 0:19:56.770 a watchmen on the walls for the Jewish people, praying 0:19:56.770 --> 0:20:02.560 for them and protecting and seeking God's help. So that's, uh, 0:20:02.560 --> 0:20:05.230 that's what that's about. Does that help, Amy? 0:20:05.710 --> 0:20:07.900 Absolutely. Thank you so much. God bless. 0:20:07.990 --> 0:20:08.260 You. 0:20:08.530 --> 0:20:13.359 Thanks for your call. Appreciate it. Uh, Judy in Round 0:20:13.359 --> 0:20:16.630 Lake Beach, Illinois, listening on wmbi. Welcome to Open Line. 0:20:16.630 --> 0:20:17.889 How can I help you? 0:20:18.970 --> 0:20:24.250 I was hoping you could help explain, um, the feast 0:20:24.250 --> 0:20:30.190 of Passover and what we have traditionally called Good Friday 0:20:30.220 --> 0:20:35.820 as believers. And I've heard it both ways. Um, for 0:20:35.820 --> 0:20:39.480 years and years I was taught, oh, Jesus was crucified 0:20:39.480 --> 0:20:44.910 on Friday. And then someone explained, well, it was probably 0:20:44.910 --> 0:20:48.900 Thursday because of the High Holy Days. Can you explain 0:20:48.900 --> 0:20:49.980 all that to me? 0:20:51.090 --> 0:20:54.240 Well, it's it's kind of complicated, but I do think 0:20:54.240 --> 0:20:58.620 he was crucified on Friday. Uh, the reason that people 0:20:58.619 --> 0:21:04.109 say that it was Thursday is, uh, that they are 0:21:04.109 --> 0:21:12.479 looking for, uh, a an explanation because Jesus says in 0:21:12.480 --> 0:21:15.900 Matthew 12 that the Son of Man will be in 0:21:15.900 --> 0:21:18.660 the belly of the earth for three days and three nights. 0:21:18.660 --> 0:21:20.490 And so they get out their fingers and they count 0:21:20.520 --> 0:21:23.820 three days and three nights and Friday, Saturday, Sunday just 0:21:23.820 --> 0:21:28.080 doesn't compute to three days and three nights. And so 0:21:28.080 --> 0:21:31.060 they say Thursday. And then there's a reference in the 0:21:31.060 --> 0:21:35.140 book of Mark to the high holiday, the High Sabbath, actually. 0:21:35.140 --> 0:21:41.080 And so the the explanation, I think that's more reasonable 0:21:41.080 --> 0:21:45.010 is that in both the Bible and Jewish literature of 0:21:45.040 --> 0:21:51.550 that time, they use something called inclusive time reckoning. Inclusive 0:21:51.580 --> 0:21:59.500 time reckoning. And what inclusive time reckoning means is that 0:21:59.530 --> 0:22:03.340 any part of a day constitutes a day and a night. 0:22:03.820 --> 0:22:05.950 So it's just a term. It's used in the Book 0:22:05.950 --> 0:22:09.130 of Esther, for example. Uh, Esther had them pray for 0:22:09.130 --> 0:22:11.139 three days and three nights, but it was on the 0:22:11.140 --> 0:22:16.629 third day that deliverance came. So, uh, that she was 0:22:16.630 --> 0:22:24.220 able to go to see the King. So the point being, uh, that, uh, 0:22:24.220 --> 0:22:26.950 when it says three days and three nights, it just 0:22:26.950 --> 0:22:29.850 means a part of three days. So Friday would be 0:22:29.850 --> 0:22:31.709 a day and a night. Saturday would be a day 0:22:31.710 --> 0:22:33.420 and a night, and Sunday morning would be a day 0:22:33.420 --> 0:22:39.300 and a night. It's just an idiomatic expression for three days. Uh, 0:22:39.300 --> 0:22:43.770 and then the other issue is there's no evidence of 0:22:43.770 --> 0:22:47.610 Passover ever being called a high holy day, which is 0:22:47.609 --> 0:22:51.690 what you have to believe, uh, for the high Sabbath 0:22:51.720 --> 0:22:55.710 thing that that happens, uh, in the book of Mark 0:22:55.710 --> 0:22:59.370 that mentions it's just talking about Sabbath, and it's considered 0:22:59.369 --> 0:23:02.700 a high Sabbath because it's the weekend of Passover. And 0:23:02.700 --> 0:23:06.300 if you go back in the Jewish calendar, uh, that, uh, 0:23:06.300 --> 0:23:10.710 first night of Passover was Thursday night, and then Friday 0:23:10.710 --> 0:23:15.690 was the the day of the Passover in A.D. 33. 0:23:15.690 --> 0:23:18.929 And it was on a Friday that the Lord Jesus 0:23:18.930 --> 0:23:22.409 was crucified. So that's how I understand it. But you 0:23:22.410 --> 0:23:27.210 know what? Uh, it's kind of, uh, I hope that 0:23:27.210 --> 0:23:29.609 explains it somewhat to you, but there's a little more 0:23:29.609 --> 0:23:34.290 detailed explanation. In a book I wrote called 50 Most 0:23:34.290 --> 0:23:39.540 Important Bible Questions. And, uh, maybe what you could do 0:23:39.540 --> 0:23:42.629 is you hang on. Trish will get your name and number, Judy, 0:23:42.630 --> 0:23:45.480 and I'll mail you a copy. We'll mail you a 0:23:45.480 --> 0:23:49.860 copy of 50 most important Bible questions. Okay? 0:23:49.890 --> 0:23:53.370 Okay. Well, I have one of the Chosen People calendars 0:23:53.369 --> 0:23:56.160 you had mentioned on the program, and I have one 0:23:56.160 --> 0:23:59.790 of those. And this year I think Passover is on 0:23:59.790 --> 0:24:04.380 the previous Thursday, like the week before. So I was 0:24:04.440 --> 0:24:07.470 wondering if anybody traced it back to see which day 0:24:07.470 --> 0:24:09.180 it was that year. 0:24:09.210 --> 0:24:10.439 Yeah, yeah. 0:24:10.470 --> 0:24:12.990 It was on a Friday. 0:24:13.350 --> 0:24:13.709 Uh, it. 0:24:13.710 --> 0:24:14.850 Was on a Friday. 0:24:14.880 --> 0:24:18.780 Yes. The first day. Uh, and and just so you know, 0:24:18.810 --> 0:24:22.889 that that there's a difference between when Passover and Good 0:24:22.890 --> 0:24:26.910 Friday come out today is because since the Council of Nicaea. 0:24:27.210 --> 0:24:32.640 The date of the observance of the crucifixion has changed, 0:24:32.820 --> 0:24:37.920 and and the Christian calendar is based on a solar calendar, 0:24:37.920 --> 0:24:41.910 and the Jewish calendar is based on a lunar calendar. 0:24:41.910 --> 0:24:46.170 So since the fourth century, things are really different. So 0:24:46.170 --> 0:24:48.600 you hang on and what we're going to do is 0:24:48.600 --> 0:24:51.420 send you a copy of the 50 Most Important Bible questions. 0:24:51.420 --> 0:24:54.210 That'll go into it a little bit more detailed. And 0:24:54.210 --> 0:24:55.739 if you're listening and you think, I have a lot 0:24:55.770 --> 0:24:58.410 of Bible questions and I can't always get through, what 0:24:58.410 --> 0:25:00.780 you can do is you can go to your local 0:25:00.780 --> 0:25:03.300 Christian bookstore and pick up that Moody Publishers book I 0:25:03.300 --> 0:25:06.540 wrote called 50 Most Important Bible Questions that probably the 0:25:06.540 --> 0:25:10.980 most common questions that we get here on Open Line. 0:25:10.980 --> 0:25:16.709 And I'm always grateful that when someone asks a question 0:25:16.710 --> 0:25:20.340 that I actually answered on in the book 50 Most 0:25:20.340 --> 0:25:26.729 Important Bible Questions because because that that gives me confidence 0:25:26.730 --> 0:25:30.600 that that I, I really did answer the right ones. 0:25:30.600 --> 0:25:33.090 So anyway, we're going to come right back with more 0:25:33.090 --> 0:25:35.850 of your questions in just a moment. In fact, the 0:25:35.850 --> 0:25:39.180 mailbag is coming in with Tricia in just a bit 0:25:39.180 --> 0:25:42.209 the Febc mailbag. So don't go away. You're listening to 0:25:42.240 --> 0:26:10.560 Open Line with Michael Radonich. Welcome back to Open Line. 0:26:10.560 --> 0:26:15.060 It's time for the Febc mailbag. Febc far Eastern Broadcasting 0:26:15.060 --> 0:26:19.050 Company partners with Open Line to bring us the mailbag 0:26:19.050 --> 0:26:22.590 every week. And I so appreciate this ministry. They bring 0:26:22.590 --> 0:26:26.399 the gospel to people all around the globe with the 0:26:26.400 --> 0:26:31.709 use of media and also personal engagement with people. People 0:26:31.740 --> 0:26:34.560 to people. I so appreciate this ministry. You should check 0:26:34.590 --> 0:26:38.790 out their their podcast. It's called Until All I've Heard. 0:26:38.790 --> 0:26:42.060 The way to find out about Febc and the podcast 0:26:42.060 --> 0:26:47.399 is by going to their website febc.org. And joining me 0:26:47.430 --> 0:26:52.710 right now, back from being away for a couple of weeks. Uh, 0:26:52.859 --> 0:26:55.560 is Tricia McMillan here? How you doing, Tricia. 0:26:55.590 --> 0:26:57.480 I'm doing okay. Yeah. 0:26:57.510 --> 0:27:01.770 Okay. Hey, so here's a really interesting thing that one 0:27:01.770 --> 0:27:05.369 of the most common questions I get from people is, 0:27:05.369 --> 0:27:07.200 how did we get the Bible? You know, I love 0:27:07.200 --> 0:27:09.330 the Bible, but how did we get it? How do 0:27:09.330 --> 0:27:13.020 we know it's inspired? How do they choose the books? 0:27:13.050 --> 0:27:16.260 You know, after The Da Vinci Code, people are like, well, 0:27:16.290 --> 0:27:20.760 was there some conspiracy in choosing the books? Uh, how 0:27:20.760 --> 0:27:24.869 did how did they get it transmitted down from generation 0:27:24.900 --> 0:27:27.690 to generation? How did they translate it? Like, for example, 0:27:27.720 --> 0:27:30.510 what version of the Bible do you usually use? 0:27:30.720 --> 0:27:34.800 I mostly use the ESV, the English Standard version, and 0:27:34.800 --> 0:27:37.770 then my fallback is the new American standard. Yeah. 0:27:38.040 --> 0:27:42.420 See. And I use the the Hcsb, the Holman Christian 0:27:42.420 --> 0:27:45.750 Standard Bible. And then I also fall back to the 0:27:45.750 --> 0:27:49.500 new American Standard. Or if I'm really, really serious, I 0:27:49.500 --> 0:27:52.470 read the Hebrew and the Greek, but that's not what 0:27:52.470 --> 0:27:57.780 everyone else can do. So but anyway, the the the 0:27:57.780 --> 0:28:00.540 reason I mention this is because I get this question 0:28:00.540 --> 0:28:03.930 so much. Here's the resource I've picked for this month 0:28:03.930 --> 0:28:06.869 and next month. It's called The Story of the Bible. 0:28:06.869 --> 0:28:09.510 It's written by a friend of mine, Carl Laney. Uh, 0:28:09.510 --> 0:28:12.270 and it takes you on this journey to understand from 0:28:12.270 --> 0:28:17.699 inspiration to canon to transmission, copying the texts, ultimately to 0:28:17.730 --> 0:28:21.340 English translation. And it really shows how God worked to 0:28:21.340 --> 0:28:25.660 preserve his word. And that's that's the resource that we're 0:28:25.660 --> 0:28:28.900 using this month and next. And if anyone would like 0:28:28.900 --> 0:28:32.680 to give a gift to Open Line, it's theirs. Uh, 0:28:33.010 --> 0:28:37.180 as our thank you to them. Uh, it's it's theirs. 0:28:37.180 --> 0:28:38.560 All you have to do is give a gift of 0:28:38.560 --> 0:28:42.310 any size and ask for the story of the Bible. 0:28:42.310 --> 0:28:44.650 It's a really wonderful little book, and it will really 0:28:44.650 --> 0:28:47.290 help you with those questions. Uh, if you'd like to 0:28:47.320 --> 0:28:54.220 give a gift, go to Open Line radio.org or call (888) 644-7122. 0:28:54.580 --> 0:28:57.760 And make sure to ask for the story of the 0:28:57.760 --> 0:29:01.720 Bible by Carl Laney. Have you seen the book yet, Tricia? 0:29:01.750 --> 0:29:03.640 I have, I haven't had time to look through it. 0:29:03.670 --> 0:29:04.719 It arrived. 0:29:04.750 --> 0:29:08.560 Yeah, it arrived and I'm so glad I saw it. 0:29:08.560 --> 0:29:11.380 And I thought, yep. When I first, you know, I 0:29:11.380 --> 0:29:13.750 found this book. He's a friend of mine. I saw 0:29:13.750 --> 0:29:17.260 that he published it, and I found the book, and I. 0:29:17.290 --> 0:29:19.270 He didn't send me a copy. Well, not that good 0:29:19.270 --> 0:29:22.140 a friend, huh? So he just. I bought a copy, 0:29:22.140 --> 0:29:24.330 and I just liked it so much that I said, hey, 0:29:24.330 --> 0:29:25.890 let's use this as a resource. 0:29:25.920 --> 0:29:28.080 Yeah. And when there's a good resource, we want to 0:29:28.110 --> 0:29:29.400 pass that on as a thank you. 0:29:29.430 --> 0:29:32.280 Yeah. And, you know, we've got an unusual audience about 0:29:32.280 --> 0:29:35.400 the resources we use. I listen to some of the 0:29:35.400 --> 0:29:39.750 other radio programs that have resources, and they're not quite 0:29:39.750 --> 0:29:44.250 as content driven as Open line listeners. Like. They like 0:29:44.250 --> 0:29:47.489 to know books that are. I think it's because they 0:29:47.490 --> 0:29:50.729 love the Bible. Our listeners and they. Okay. Well, give 0:29:50.730 --> 0:29:52.920 me a book that explains something to me that really 0:29:52.920 --> 0:29:55.890 helps me. And and that's why I think they respond 0:29:55.890 --> 0:29:56.910 to books like this. 0:29:56.940 --> 0:29:59.520 Yes. And I think that the books that the resources 0:29:59.520 --> 0:30:02.730 that we find are designed to help you in your 0:30:02.730 --> 0:30:05.520 Bible study. We're really trying to focus on resources that 0:30:05.520 --> 0:30:10.290 would talk about or help you study the Bible, God 0:30:10.290 --> 0:30:13.710 or theology and the spiritual life. And so those kinds 0:30:13.710 --> 0:30:16.980 of things, um, are what we're looking to help you do, 0:30:16.980 --> 0:30:18.890 because that's what we're trying to do on the program. 0:30:18.890 --> 0:30:21.110 And so we're out of out of that. We're also 0:30:21.110 --> 0:30:23.660 trying to pick resources that would also help you do that. 0:30:23.900 --> 0:30:27.530 Yeah yeah I agree. So hey, well, let's let's get 0:30:27.530 --> 0:30:28.370 to the mailbag. 0:30:28.400 --> 0:30:32.000 All right. Again these are these are also a little 0:30:32.030 --> 0:30:34.250 bit different than some of the questions we've had before. 0:30:34.250 --> 0:30:37.610 So I love it. Um, and this one from Lori. 0:30:37.640 --> 0:30:40.970 She wrote us on Facebook and said, did Moses, Joshua 0:30:40.970 --> 0:30:44.180 and other Old Testament authors walk around with pen and 0:30:44.180 --> 0:30:47.540 papyrus or the New Testament authors? Were they following Jesus 0:30:47.540 --> 0:30:50.270 with no pads of some sort, like they're depicted in 0:30:50.270 --> 0:30:53.990 The Chosen? And then I have a yeah, go ahead. 0:30:54.560 --> 0:30:58.700 Well, like they're depicted in The Chosen. I think that's 0:30:58.700 --> 0:31:03.620 kind of funny. Well, I don't know if they walked 0:31:03.620 --> 0:31:06.410 around with it or what they did. I know Moses 0:31:06.410 --> 0:31:10.730 had I'm sure they carried things with them, but I 0:31:10.730 --> 0:31:14.870 don't when I picture when I am. And in my mind, 0:31:14.900 --> 0:31:20.210 I can't speak to this absolutely, categorically. But I think 0:31:20.210 --> 0:31:24.530 Moses had a lot of time on his hands, for example, 0:31:24.560 --> 0:31:29.840 because of the wilderness wanderings. And he, you know, 40 0:31:29.840 --> 0:31:33.560 years in the wilderness. So he just sat down and 0:31:33.590 --> 0:31:38.600 would go into his tent, his sukkah, he would take 0:31:38.600 --> 0:31:43.190 out his papyrus or his actually probably was more leather 0:31:43.190 --> 0:31:47.030 than papyrus, uh, his skin that he would write on. 0:31:48.110 --> 0:31:50.450 And then he would write there. I don't think he 0:31:50.480 --> 0:31:52.940 carried around with him like a memo book and the 0:31:52.940 --> 0:31:55.520 same thing, I don't know, I haven't seen that part 0:31:55.550 --> 0:32:01.430 of The chosen where they carry around paper. Uh, but, uh, 0:32:01.430 --> 0:32:04.160 I think the same thing that, uh, first of all, 0:32:04.190 --> 0:32:09.590 because writing and reading, reading was common, but, you know, 0:32:09.620 --> 0:32:12.200 billboards and all the different things that we see all 0:32:12.200 --> 0:32:15.500 the time, all the it wasn't quite as common. So 0:32:15.500 --> 0:32:18.950 people had a much greater memory. And so they would 0:32:18.950 --> 0:32:23.600 really work to remember and memorize what they saw and, 0:32:23.600 --> 0:32:27.050 and heard. And I think as a result of that, 0:32:27.080 --> 0:32:29.390 then they would go and write it down after they 0:32:29.390 --> 0:32:32.810 memorized it. And so what you have when Matthew writes 0:32:32.960 --> 0:32:36.110 the book of Matthew somewhere, I think in the mid 40s, 0:32:36.140 --> 0:32:39.260 that's I put it very early in the mid 40s, 0:32:39.260 --> 0:32:44.660 about 12, 13 years after the resurrection of of Jesus. 0:32:44.660 --> 0:32:50.180 He's writing it down from memory, and maybe he had 0:32:50.180 --> 0:32:53.060 taken some notes through the years after, let's say he 0:32:53.060 --> 0:32:55.040 heard the sermon on the Mount, and then he wrote 0:32:55.040 --> 0:32:57.590 it down. But then what he does when he writes 0:32:57.590 --> 0:32:59.780 his book, The First of the Gospels, he puts it 0:32:59.780 --> 0:33:03.020 together in a literary fashion. He's got a structure to 0:33:03.050 --> 0:33:06.560 it that he wants to follow. And, uh, and so 0:33:06.590 --> 0:33:10.610 they're not writing down. They're not they were not like, uh. 0:33:11.000 --> 0:33:14.420 Like journalists, like at a, at a press conference where 0:33:14.420 --> 0:33:17.540 they've got their notepads or their iPads. Now, obviously they 0:33:17.540 --> 0:33:19.760 wouldn't have had iPads, but where they have their little 0:33:19.760 --> 0:33:22.160 notebooks and they're just taking notes and writing down the 0:33:22.160 --> 0:33:23.570 quotes in this. 0:33:23.720 --> 0:33:27.140 Even more so they're not court stenographers is what I 0:33:27.140 --> 0:33:29.540 wanted to say. Okay. You know who who get down 0:33:29.540 --> 0:33:32.300 every word. Exactly. Even the US and the ums. Yeah. 0:33:32.330 --> 0:33:32.990 You know. 0:33:33.140 --> 0:33:36.560 Okay. So now you you had mentioned my follow up 0:33:36.560 --> 0:33:39.560 to this is you had mentioned a few weeks ago, 0:33:39.560 --> 0:33:44.120 we had talked about, um, the, um, the people that 0:33:44.510 --> 0:33:47.840 it was a passing comment, but I'm, I was teaching 0:33:47.840 --> 0:33:52.790 through my Sunday school class, teaching about the the exodus 0:33:52.820 --> 0:33:58.040 and the wilderness time in the Pentateuch. And Moses had 0:33:58.040 --> 0:34:01.640 selected 70 leaders to help him lead. And they had 0:34:01.670 --> 0:34:05.150 even leaders. There were like leaders to the, you know, 0:34:05.180 --> 0:34:07.219 a leader for the hundreds and the leaders for the 0:34:07.250 --> 0:34:08.900 down to the tens kind of a thing. 0:34:08.930 --> 0:34:09.560 To take tens. 0:34:09.590 --> 0:34:13.370 Yes. To to to help him lead these people and 0:34:13.370 --> 0:34:16.339 answer these questions that they had that that he just 0:34:16.340 --> 0:34:19.100 didn't need to spend his time on while he was 0:34:19.100 --> 0:34:21.830 also leading these people through. And you made some passing 0:34:21.830 --> 0:34:24.980 comment about that may have been so that he could 0:34:24.980 --> 0:34:29.120 be writing down the law. I was like, what? Like that. 0:34:29.120 --> 0:34:32.960 Had I I've never actually thought about like, when would 0:34:32.960 --> 0:34:35.570 he have written all of these words, which I have 0:34:35.570 --> 0:34:40.610 to imagine the specificity of the law in the Pentateuch 0:34:40.610 --> 0:34:45.320 in those first, you know, those, um, Exodus, Leviticus, numbers, Deuteronomy, 0:34:45.320 --> 0:34:48.980 those would be very important, much like a court stenographer. 0:34:48.980 --> 0:34:52.460 But but that, that that you were like, that's that 0:34:52.460 --> 0:34:54.710 would be part of the reason that he didn't need 0:34:54.710 --> 0:34:57.980 to settle these disputes between brother and brother or different 0:34:58.010 --> 0:35:01.490 tribes and things. And he also needed to write down 0:35:01.489 --> 0:35:05.330 the first five books of the Bible. And I was like, oh, 0:35:05.360 --> 0:35:07.460 you're right, because he has to do that before he dies. 0:35:07.460 --> 0:35:10.310 He dies at the end. So somewhere he has written 0:35:10.310 --> 0:35:11.270 that down. 0:35:11.540 --> 0:35:12.050 And. 0:35:12.050 --> 0:35:15.230 I think it's really important to understand the, the Torah, 0:35:15.260 --> 0:35:19.580 the it's one book really. Genesis in five volumes. And 0:35:19.580 --> 0:35:23.810 it's a story. Yeah. And, uh, you know, you've got 0:35:23.870 --> 0:35:27.560 you've got creation, you've got the patriarchs, you've got the 0:35:27.560 --> 0:35:30.680 deliverance from Egypt, you've got that whole story. Then all 0:35:30.680 --> 0:35:33.260 of a sudden laws get dropped in. Uh, I like 0:35:33.260 --> 0:35:36.170 to consider it. So think about it. I think Moses 0:35:36.200 --> 0:35:38.690 was very quick to write down the laws as he 0:35:38.690 --> 0:35:40.609 received them from God. Like when he went up on 0:35:40.610 --> 0:35:43.730 top of Mount Sinai, he wrote them down. But that's 0:35:43.730 --> 0:35:45.859 really not the Torah, what the Torah is. He took 0:35:45.860 --> 0:35:49.759 those laws and dropped them into the narrative. Uh, it's 0:35:49.760 --> 0:35:52.819 like the way I when I teach at Moody, I 0:35:52.850 --> 0:35:55.460 show a screen with the narrative, you know, just a 0:35:55.460 --> 0:36:02.569 timeline with the different creation. Uh, and primeval history, patriarchal history, 0:36:02.690 --> 0:36:07.250 redemptive history from Exodus, wanderings. And then a bag of 0:36:07.250 --> 0:36:09.950 laws gets dropped in, and it. And the timeline kind 0:36:09.950 --> 0:36:13.130 of animates and goes all around the bag of laws. 0:36:13.160 --> 0:36:16.910 And it's a book about the law. It's a story 0:36:16.910 --> 0:36:20.450 of how God gave the law to Israel. It's not 0:36:20.450 --> 0:36:23.270 the law itself. It's the story about the law. Okay? 0:36:23.300 --> 0:36:28.670 And it's and there's there's real. We're taking too long 0:36:28.700 --> 0:36:31.490 on this, but it may help people. There's real literary 0:36:31.489 --> 0:36:35.060 art in that book. One of the things that that 0:36:35.060 --> 0:36:38.450 you can see is that there's a long narrative. Then 0:36:38.450 --> 0:36:42.800 there's a this happens four times long narrative, long, long story. 0:36:42.830 --> 0:36:47.390 Then there's a poem or a song like in Genesis 0:36:47.420 --> 0:36:50.480 one through 48. And then there's Genesis 49, this oracle 0:36:50.510 --> 0:36:55.549 by In Poetic Fashion by Jacob. Then there's an epilogue, 0:36:55.550 --> 0:36:58.790 the death of Jacob and Joseph. And then you start 0:36:58.790 --> 0:37:01.850 the next story, which is the enslavement in Egypt and 0:37:01.850 --> 0:37:05.450 God's deliverance, then the song of Moses, and then the 0:37:05.450 --> 0:37:08.870 travel to Sinai is the epilogue, and then you've got 0:37:08.870 --> 0:37:11.720 the next story and it goes on and on like that. 0:37:11.719 --> 0:37:16.640 And so it shows. Narrative poem, epilogue. It shows structure. 0:37:16.640 --> 0:37:19.219 Moses wasn't just saying, where do I dump the laws, right? 0:37:19.250 --> 0:37:22.190 He had a whole strategy in what he was doing. 0:37:22.219 --> 0:37:25.790 And I think even, even the reminder that the Bible 0:37:25.910 --> 0:37:33.140 has structure, each book has structure. And each author, even 0:37:33.140 --> 0:37:35.690 if they had written down notes, they went back and 0:37:35.690 --> 0:37:38.720 they added the structure, or they wrote it with structure, 0:37:38.719 --> 0:37:42.710 depending on who it was. They may have done that too. Um, 0:37:42.710 --> 0:37:45.590 but that there is it's not just like I think 0:37:45.590 --> 0:37:47.600 we think about those first five books, like, oh, this 0:37:47.600 --> 0:37:50.150 is the law, okay. And I just have to slug 0:37:50.150 --> 0:37:52.910 through it. And it's really hard. I've been surprised in 0:37:52.910 --> 0:37:57.200 teaching through it that how many, how many again, how 0:37:57.200 --> 0:38:00.050 many stories I've read it before, but how many stories 0:38:00.050 --> 0:38:02.570 are in there? This narrative that you're talking about is there. 0:38:02.570 --> 0:38:05.270 And then there's, you know, 2 or 3 chapters of 0:38:05.270 --> 0:38:09.290 laws or Are more but but often I think at 0:38:09.290 --> 0:38:11.420 this time of the year, this beginning part of the year, 0:38:11.420 --> 0:38:15.920 people can get lost in, oh no, I have to 0:38:15.950 --> 0:38:20.930 read through all of these laws and in even just 0:38:20.960 --> 0:38:24.140 the idea is overwhelming. And so they may not even 0:38:24.140 --> 0:38:26.120 start or they'll just skip it. But there's a lot 0:38:26.150 --> 0:38:27.319 of narrative in there. 0:38:27.350 --> 0:38:27.650 Yeah. 0:38:27.950 --> 0:38:30.590 And there are blocks of laws that's very interesting to 0:38:30.590 --> 0:38:33.080 me there. There are whole sections and then they have narrative. 0:38:33.080 --> 0:38:34.790 One of the things you're going to find is every 0:38:34.820 --> 0:38:40.010 time Israel sins, they get another block of law and 0:38:40.580 --> 0:38:45.590 the sin leads to the next block. And the point 0:38:45.590 --> 0:38:49.219 of that is, is someone I think it may well, 0:38:49.219 --> 0:38:51.080 I know it was Paul in the book of Galatians 0:38:51.080 --> 0:38:55.339 the law was added because of transgression. Yeah. So, hey, 0:38:55.340 --> 0:38:58.460 we're going to take a break here. All right, Tricia, but, uh, 0:38:58.610 --> 0:39:02.540 it's interesting. I think Paul was reading the Torah as 0:39:02.540 --> 0:39:05.450 a narrative, and that's how he got the law was 0:39:05.450 --> 0:39:08.210 added because of transgression. Well, we're going to come back 0:39:08.210 --> 0:39:11.120 with more of your questions right here on Open Line. 0:39:11.120 --> 0:39:13.580 That was Tricia McMillan. I'm Mike Radonich. We're glad to 0:39:13.610 --> 0:39:17.120 be with you and talking about the scriptures together with you. 0:39:17.150 --> 0:39:34.520 Stay with us. We'll be right back. Welcome back to 0:39:34.550 --> 0:39:38.180 Open Line. So glad to be with you today. You know, 0:39:38.180 --> 0:39:42.260 people often ask me, do Jewish people still need to 0:39:42.290 --> 0:39:45.920 hear about the Messiah Jesus? Do they still need to 0:39:46.130 --> 0:39:48.620 put their trust in him? Well, I think it's absolutely 0:39:48.620 --> 0:39:52.250 essential that Jewish people hear the good news. And there's 0:39:52.250 --> 0:39:55.399 a booklet that Chosen People Ministries is offering. It's called 0:39:55.400 --> 0:39:58.010 To the Jewish People First, to the Jew First. And 0:39:58.010 --> 0:40:02.000 it was written by Doctor Al Mohler, who is the 0:40:02.000 --> 0:40:07.549 president of Southern Baptist Seminary, He said that the cause 0:40:07.550 --> 0:40:10.700 of reaching Jewish people with the good news is the 0:40:10.700 --> 0:40:14.629 test of faithfulness to the gospel today, that we have 0:40:14.630 --> 0:40:18.380 to continue with that commitment. And I think it's a 0:40:18.380 --> 0:40:20.779 great booklet. I hope you'll you'll get a copy of it. 0:40:20.780 --> 0:40:25.010 The way to get it is by going to our website. 0:40:25.010 --> 0:40:29.120 That's Openline radio.org. Scroll down. You'll see a link that 0:40:29.120 --> 0:40:33.020 says A free gift from Chosen People Ministries. Click on that. 0:40:33.020 --> 0:40:36.650 You'll be taken to a link where you can sign 0:40:36.650 --> 0:40:39.500 up a form that you can fill out and sign 0:40:39.500 --> 0:40:42.230 up for your very own copy of Al Mohler's booklet 0:40:42.260 --> 0:40:45.740 To the Jew first. And we're going to talk now 0:40:45.739 --> 0:40:52.220 with Mike in Alabama, uh, listening on Wmw. So glad 0:40:52.219 --> 0:40:58.969 you called. Let me just remind people the phone number here, (877) 548-3675. Uh, 0:40:58.969 --> 0:41:00.650 you can give us a call right now. We've got 0:41:00.650 --> 0:41:03.560 a couple of lines open, and, Mike, uh, Calling from 0:41:03.560 --> 0:41:06.739 Alabama on Wmw. How can I help you today? 0:41:08.060 --> 0:41:10.040 Thank you for taking my call. And good morning to you. 0:41:10.070 --> 0:41:14.330 I'm wondering about Hebrews chapter six, verses four, five and six. 0:41:15.260 --> 0:41:18.890 It came up in Wednesday night Bible study. The you're 0:41:18.890 --> 0:41:22.969 not going to be able to restore that person crucifying 0:41:22.969 --> 0:41:25.879 Christ afresh. What are your thoughts on it? 0:41:26.540 --> 0:41:28.310 What are your thoughts on it? 0:41:28.430 --> 0:41:32.540 Well, what came up was can you lose your salvation? 0:41:32.540 --> 0:41:37.100 And yeah, there's there was three points made. Yes you can. 0:41:37.100 --> 0:41:39.529 No you can't. And the writer of Hebrews is just 0:41:39.530 --> 0:41:43.550 trying to scare them to death, to stay into Christianity 0:41:43.550 --> 0:41:47.330 and not go back into Judaism. Uh, but my personal 0:41:47.330 --> 0:41:49.969 thought is that these people were never saved. 0:41:50.630 --> 0:41:51.110 Mhm. 0:41:51.350 --> 0:41:54.620 Well, it's it's kind of an interesting discussion. I had 0:41:54.620 --> 0:41:58.940 a real hard time with this passage. I really believed 0:41:58.940 --> 0:42:02.140 in the security of the believer. Or even better, I 0:42:02.140 --> 0:42:04.690 like to call it the perseverance of the Savior, not 0:42:04.690 --> 0:42:08.830 the perseverance of the saints that Jesus holds us. But 0:42:08.830 --> 0:42:10.960 I came to this passage and it really bothered me. 0:42:10.960 --> 0:42:13.270 And I remember being a freshman at Bible college and 0:42:13.270 --> 0:42:15.910 bringing it up in class when we were talking about 0:42:15.910 --> 0:42:20.770 the security of the believer, and the professor tried to 0:42:20.770 --> 0:42:24.220 give me all sorts of explanations that just didn't satisfy me. 0:42:25.210 --> 0:42:27.820 And then finally he said, I'm going to teach you 0:42:27.850 --> 0:42:32.529 one of the most important Bible principles that you'll ever learn. 0:42:32.560 --> 0:42:35.229 And I was ready, and it really is, he said, 0:42:35.230 --> 0:42:39.910 always interpret the unclear in light of the clear. 0:42:40.540 --> 0:42:40.930 Right. 0:42:40.960 --> 0:42:43.960 And what that means is what is the clear teaching 0:42:43.989 --> 0:42:46.360 of Scripture. Then you come to something against it. You've 0:42:46.360 --> 0:42:49.420 got to kind of build your interpretation of that over 0:42:49.420 --> 0:42:52.810 what overall what Scripture says. And I'm going to share 0:42:52.810 --> 0:42:57.130 with you one of the clearest verses there is. Uh, 0:42:57.130 --> 0:43:01.060 it's John six, and in John six it says, all 0:43:01.060 --> 0:43:03.880 that the father gives me will come to me. You 0:43:03.880 --> 0:43:06.100 know that verse, I think, uh, yeah. 0:43:06.100 --> 0:43:07.779 Where he says he never lost no one. 0:43:08.620 --> 0:43:11.290 Uh, here's what he says of all that he has 0:43:11.290 --> 0:43:13.360 given me. This is the I've only come to do 0:43:13.360 --> 0:43:15.609 the will of the one who sent me. And then 0:43:15.610 --> 0:43:20.590 he says in verse, uh, uh, this is the will, 0:43:20.590 --> 0:43:24.129 verse 39, this is the will of him who sent me, 0:43:24.130 --> 0:43:26.890 that I should lose none of those he has given me, 0:43:26.890 --> 0:43:29.530 but raise them up on the last day. And so 0:43:29.530 --> 0:43:35.320 Jesus stakes his entire identity as the Messiah on the 0:43:35.320 --> 0:43:37.840 fact that he cannot lose one of us. So I 0:43:37.870 --> 0:43:40.750 hope that clear teaching of Scripture that nothing will ever 0:43:40.750 --> 0:43:43.239 separate us from the love of God that's in Messiah. 0:43:43.239 --> 0:43:46.330 In Romans eight, the clear teaching of Scripture that we 0:43:46.360 --> 0:43:49.330 are sealed with the spirit until the day of redemption. 0:43:49.330 --> 0:43:52.299 And who's going to break that seal? No one. Uh, 0:43:52.300 --> 0:43:57.550 all those are good evidence that we are secure. However, 0:43:57.580 --> 0:44:00.850 Hebrews six is a difficult passage, but I'll tell you 0:44:00.850 --> 0:44:05.320 what clears it up for me. First of all, in 0:44:05.350 --> 0:44:09.939 Hebrews three six it says that Christ was faithful as 0:44:09.940 --> 0:44:13.359 a son over his household, and we are that household. 0:44:13.390 --> 0:44:17.350 If we hold on to the courage and confession of confidence, 0:44:17.350 --> 0:44:20.920 of our hope. But if we don't hold on to it, 0:44:20.920 --> 0:44:26.770 then what it's saying is that we are not his household. 0:44:26.770 --> 0:44:28.930 In other words, if we don't hold fast, we're not 0:44:28.930 --> 0:44:32.950 his household. Uh 314 if we hold firm until the end, 0:44:32.980 --> 0:44:35.200 the reality we had at the start, we have become 0:44:35.200 --> 0:44:38.739 companions of the Messiah. If we hold firmly, if we 0:44:38.770 --> 0:44:42.400 don't hold firmly, then we have not become companions of 0:44:42.400 --> 0:44:47.200 the Messiah. And then in chapter six, when it starts 0:44:47.200 --> 0:44:50.710 describing those moving on, a lot of people think he's saying, 0:44:50.739 --> 0:44:55.540 leave the elementary message, meaning the the foundational principles of 0:44:55.540 --> 0:44:58.120 being a Christian. But that's not what he's saying. When 0:44:58.120 --> 0:45:01.359 he says leave the elementary message. He's talking about the 0:45:01.360 --> 0:45:06.910 Old Testament predictive element about the Messiah. And the reason 0:45:06.910 --> 0:45:09.189 I know this, he says that we have to move 0:45:09.190 --> 0:45:13.509 on from teachings about ritual washings. In verse two that's 0:45:13.510 --> 0:45:17.920 talking about Old Testament washings, not about Christian baptism. So 0:45:17.920 --> 0:45:20.140 he's telling them, you need to move on from an 0:45:20.140 --> 0:45:24.459 Old Testament faith to a full New Testament faith. You 0:45:24.460 --> 0:45:27.040 have to move on from looking for the Messiah to 0:45:27.280 --> 0:45:32.080 to believing in the Messiah. And, uh, then what? He says, 0:45:32.080 --> 0:45:36.400 if you abandon this faith now, it's impossible to renew 0:45:36.430 --> 0:45:39.910 you to repentance. Uh, you've come close. You've tasted, you've 0:45:39.910 --> 0:45:43.120 been in the congregation. You've seen the signs and power. 0:45:43.150 --> 0:45:45.430 If you abandon the faith now. And that's what they 0:45:45.430 --> 0:45:47.950 were thinking of doing because they were being persecuted. 0:45:48.489 --> 0:45:48.729 Right? 0:45:48.850 --> 0:45:51.070 There's nothing going to renew you. So it's not talking 0:45:51.070 --> 0:45:54.670 about losing your salvation. It's talking about you need to 0:45:54.700 --> 0:45:58.510 get saved. Is what he's saying to these Jewish people. 0:45:58.510 --> 0:46:03.070 You need to go to the. The to a full faith, 0:46:03.100 --> 0:46:07.060 a complete faith in the Messiah. Not just some sort of. 0:46:07.090 --> 0:46:10.690 Superficial that you're going to abandon until such time that 0:46:10.690 --> 0:46:14.410 the persecution goes away. That's his warning in Hebrews six. 0:46:14.410 --> 0:46:20.110 So I hope that helps, uh, understand it when, uh. Uh, 0:46:20.260 --> 0:46:26.350 just trust the that which is clear, uh, rather than unclear. 0:46:26.680 --> 0:46:29.560 Interpret the unclear in light of the clear. Well, thanks 0:46:29.560 --> 0:46:31.870 for your call. Thanks for listening. That's the first hour. 0:46:31.900 --> 0:46:33.730 We're going to come back with more questions in the 0:46:33.730 --> 0:46:37.150 second hour. Check it out. Uh, our web page, open 0:46:37.150 --> 0:46:40.509 line radio.org. During the break, uh, shows you everything you're 0:46:40.510 --> 0:46:44.140 looking for. Our Bible study across America will continue in 0:46:44.140 --> 0:46:46.750 the second hour, so stay with us. Open line with 0:46:46.750 --> 0:46:50.530 Doctor Michael Radonich is a production of Moody Radio, a 0:46:50.530 --> 0:46:54.219 ministry of Moody Bible Institute. Stay with us. We'll be back.